There was one more thing Tanya wanted to do before she slept. She navigated the Interface with ease, moving from Ishita's character sheet to her own.

"Wanna help me look at me level ups?" Tanya said.

Assistant tapped its fingers happily.

The unrealness of the situation hit her as the list appeared. She could still remember so vividly how it felt glancing through the notifications, wanting a chance to look before her world ended.

Assistant's tapping slowed, then stopped. Yoo ohcay? It wrote.

"I forget you can feel stuff like that nowadays. Yeah, I just… Didn't know I'd be here for this ya know?"

Assistant stroked her shoulder with one finger and Tanya's existentialism was overtaken by a small smile.

"You ready?"

One tap for yes.

Tanya skimmed through most of it, having read it when she was in oblivion with The System. She was left with two notifications.

• • •

Level Up!

Phantom Brand is now Level 3

You have unlocked an Ability Crossroads.

Would you like to see your choices?

• • •

Level Up!

You have levelled up Tattoo Summoner to Level 6

Congratulations!

You have unlocked a Major Ability Crossroads. These are Abilities you choose rather than just unlock.

Would you like to see your choices?

• • •

She started with Phantom Brand, her hand instinctively reaching for the tattoo sword on her thigh and hip as she read the options.

• • •

Siphon Brand

When consuming organic material via Possessive Inscription, Phantom Brand can leech Vitality, increasing its Absorption and reducing what it requires from its Wielder.

Nestling Barb

When stuck in a target for more than a moment, you can use Vitality to begin breaking down the enemy from the inside.

• • •

"Woah," Tanya breathed. She was already imagining what it would have looked like to see Phantom Brand devour the Boss. In her mind's eye, she saw Phantom Brand plunge into the monster's mass—a blur of silver and shadow anchoring itself in slick, thrashing ichor. Black vines writhed in pain as the sword pulsed hungrily, siphoning vitality in thick, glowing threads that twisted back into the blade. The monster shrivelled around it, veins dimming like dying embers, until only a sagging husk remained.

In reality, she knew it wouldn't be like that until the sword was stronger, but it still felt like a fascinating direction to go.

However, the first was everything that Phantom Brand needed. That last fight had gone so poorly because Phantom Brand needed more Vitality than Tanya could spare if she needed to summon, or even worse, create another tattoo. If Phantom Brand was more self-nourishing and took less Vitality from her, she wouldn't need to worry about rationing it—something that was already on her mind after that last fight.

"Whatcha think?" Tanya asked. "I was thinkin'—" she continued.

No. I noh. Assistant wrote. It took Tanya a second to realise that 'noh' meant know.

"Wait you could hear my thoughts?"

Assistant thought about it for a moment, then wrote slowly.

No but I noh that i noh evureething yoo considurd. I felt the proces.

"First is best 'cause of that last fight, yeah?" Tanya affirmed.

Assistant tapped once.

Tanya chose it.

"Now the exciting one," Tanya said, moving on to the Major Ability Crossroads. Assistant crawled further onto Tanya's lap, like an excited kid getting closer to a television screen.

• • •

A Step Beyond Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Beyond the Brink While one or more of your Attributes is below zero, you may summon tattoos that draw from their own Attributes, allowing them to also go into negative numbers.

Note: Summons cannot enter negative Attributes unless you are already in the negatives yourself.

• • •

Tanya initially expected she'd read through them all, but as soon as she finished the first, she couldn't help but think through its pros and cons. She scooped Assistant up in her palm, holding it eye to eye with herself so they could chat better.

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"Hm, this could have helped us in the fight with the Boss. We were lucky that the Boss disappeared through the portal; otherwise, we could have had both me and Ishita incapacitated with the others injured and out of Abilities."

Assistant feebly stretched for the paper, and Tanya could almost hear the forced stretching noises and 'I can't reach it.'

"Yeah, yeah," Tanya said, and she chuckled softly. She could feel Assistant's general feeling in her head. "I already know you agree with me ya know."

She passed Assistant the paper and pen and Assistant floated off her hand before grabbing it and turning it over.

"Oi , I'm not a table," Tanya protested.

Aneething that needs yoo on negertiv numburs is dojee.

"Dojee?" Tanya said. "Dojee. Dojee…Oh! Dodgy."

Assistant passed her the pen, and she wrote the sentence back underneath.

Anything that needs you on negative numbers is dodgy.

"We use 'y' as 'ee' sometimes, and 'er' can sound like an 'ur' too." Tanya looked at the other differences. "No clue why we spell 'you' like that though, or 'dodgy'."

Assistant grabbed Tanya's arm and squeezed. It felt like a hug.

"No worries, dude. We'll have you speaking right proper English in no time."

Assistant swooped in an excited circle.

"Now, let's see what's next."

• • •

The Heart of the Matter Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Mini Boss Slayer You may now consume the core of Mini Bosses to forge a Tattoo Boon based on its nature, abilities, or essence. The more powerful the core, the stronger the boon but more volatile the process of consumption.

• • •

"That's… interesting." Tanya could almost feel the cogs turning in her head.

She looked over at Assistant, who seemed as confused and curious as her.

"Boons can change the effect a lot," Tanya pondered. "Like I can tell you level faster 'cause of your mana core. It's very noticeable. I mean, you're reading an' shit so fast. That's pretty wild."

Init. Assistant wrote.

Tanya chuckled and took the pen, showing them how to spell it. "We put two 'n's' a lot. That's a weird one, but normally its when we are turning a shorter word like run into like runner or whatever." She wrote the words as she said them.

She tapped the pen against her hand and read the Ability through it again, slower. Something clicked. "Mana core, eh?"

She could feel the question marks coming off of Assistant and it made her smile even through her numbness and exhaustion.

"They're Mini Boss Cores, and you got a Mana Core. I wonder how similar they are." She sucked the air through her teeth. "Not sure how I feel about the word volatile ya know."

Assistant swiped the pen back.

Cood be good but its yet anuther riskee won.

Tanya started with 'could' underneath and enjoyed Assistant's indignant stomps about how it was spelt.

"Next one?" Tanya asked.

One stomp.

• • •

Passing the Mark Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Not Your Vessel You may permanently transfer a tattoo from your own body onto another living being—ally or otherwise. The transferred tattoo retains its current state, but may behave differently depending on the host.

• • •

Tanya dropped the pen. "Oh my god. I love it," she breathed. She read it through a few more times, checking for some hidden catch.

"I mean, knowing these Abilities, it'll take a lot of energy at first, and I'll need to be wary of what kinda differences Wielder's would give the same tattoo… But, Assistant, it lets me prepare tattoos ahead of time and—and—it's basically like I become a magical flash sheet."

Flash sheet? Assistant wrote.

"Oh yeah," Tanya raked her fingers through her hair, sitting up straighter. "Good spellin' by the way. Flash sheets are common in the business. They're predesigned so ready for people to pick 'em. You have me memories, yeah? Remember my pinball machine of designs. That's how I did flashes."

Sownds good for the shop.

"Oh man," her grin only widened. "I was thinking about like mid fight stuff, but you're so right."

Assistant tore her out of her imagining by scrolling down to the next option.

• • •

Drawn Out Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Return to Sender You may now summon your tattoos from other living beings who bear awakened versions of them, regardless of distance to you. This Summon is still under your control but you do not gain any better methods of awareness or communication than you'd otherwise have.

• • •

"Cool direction, but nah. You agree?" Tanya said.

Wood be good for biger groop. I asoom it levels to giv you moor control over tiym.

"Yeah. I bet there are some cool ways of utilising it," Tanya said as she wrote out Assistant's sentence with correct spelling underneath. "But this one!"

She scrolled back to 'Passing the Mark'. "I don't even know where I'd start. Potions? I have no idea how potions would work. What else is pretty universal?"

You could work owt sum way of ditermining groups of peeple and mayk sumthing for diferent tipes.

Tanya jabbed her finger in the air. "That just might work." She rubbed her chin. "I wonder how we classify folks. There's the obvious tank, damage, healer approach, but I feel like more categories would be good. Like for damage, you have everythin' from sneaky rogue types to huge hitters. An' even with that, I'd need to work out what's actually useful for all those groups."

Mayking custom stuff and wayting for the right person could work to.

"That's true. I probably want a mix."

She pulled her legs up to her chest and rocked back and forward, staring at the Polaroids on the wall

"People being able to return stuff would be wicked. I could be like a lending library of magic shit. All like—" she held up both hands, palm up, like tattoos were shooting out of her wrists Spiderman style. "Pow pow have some enchanted swords and potions and—I swear, I still don't even know what I make that could be useful."

Mobilitee? Armer? Maner storage? Assistant wrote.

Tanya was getting better and better at puzzling Assistant's more obscure word spellings and this time she barely paused. "Hm, yeah, good ideas."

"Anyway," Tanya said.

Aneeway. Assistant wrote at the same time.

Tanya laughed. "We're gettin' ahead of ourselves, aren't we? You were gonna say that too, weren't ya? Feels like an obvious choice though, yeah? I love this Ability already and we haven't even levelled it up yet."

Agreed.

Tanya confirmed the selection, the interface flashing white for just a moment as her choice locked in. A faint pulse travelled down her arms, not painful, but weighty—like something shifting into place beneath her skin. She flexed her fingers instinctively, half-expecting to feel a difference in her tattoos.

She leaned back against the tattoo chair, exhaling as her body slumped into the padding. It was surprisingly anticlimactic considering she definitely didn't have the Attributes to try it out now.

The room around her was quiet, except for the subtle tapping of Assistant's fingertips across the seat beside her and the faint rasp of wind against old insulation. A candle left by Mrs Eceer cast a pale glow across her feet, the shadows of her legs stretching like ghosts across the ceiling. It had almost burnt out.

"Thanks for your advice, bud," Tanya said.

Dont menchun it. Assistant wrote. Then: Is that riyt?

Tanya yawned. "Close enough."

Assistant curled into a neat spiral on her wrist, the tip of its fingers tucking into her skin like a cat folding itself into a loaf. Then Assistant was back on her arm, and she was alone.

Grief didn't howl now. It crept like fog rising off cold ground. Without the comforting distraction of adrenaline-fuelled decisions, it sat behind her eyes, in the sore spots of her ribs, in the tightness just beneath her collarbone. She blinked slowly, willing the pressure away, but it lingered.

Ishita would have been fascinated by 'Passing the Mark', come up with a few ideas and offered herself up as the guinea pig. She wondered if she'd tell her the next day, how seriously Ishita was going to take this time apart.

"I miss you already," Tanya whispered into the room. The words barely left her lips.

Assistant stirred under her skin, but not enough for her flesh to rise up slightly like something alien within. It felt like fluttering. That strange feeling that once sent shivers down her spine grounded her. She used the last of her energy to think of the parlour and decorating of tomorrow, willing kind dreams.

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