Chapter 33 Aptitude (1)

Apparently, Lana didn't understand what Louise said, but after a while, she concluded that she wanted Lana to become a player that focused on support. Instead of attacking, she will buff Jake and Louise before a fight, or she could even debuff the enemies. During the fight, she could always focus on healing since that was something she didn't need mana to do.

"I am not sure if playing like that would be fun," Lana rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, I want to be a doctor and help people to prevent pain and suffering, but inside a game, all this in the end is just an illusion."

"Even if it isn't one hundred percent real, I think it has some value," Louise said. "What matters is what we accomplish together and what your intentions are. You might think that I am doing a lot, but without Jake drawing the attention of the monsters, I wouldn't be able to focus. But I bet that if you decide to help us even more with other types of support magic, we will accomplish even more."

That conversation was becoming quite long, but Jake didn't stop them because Louise was right. Putting her bad Aim aside, Lana's skills would combine more with a build completely focused on support. Still, Jake could understand the feeling of not wanting to become that kind of character. After all, a player like that couldn't do much by themselves… they had to have absolute trust in their allies.

Before Lana could come to a conclusion of her own, a new group of scorpions appeared. Jake dashed toward them, and this time he frowned since they didn't try to use Poison Bullet. The three monsters tried to surround Jake, but he finished one quick combo of Bash with his sword and scabbard, but the other two hit him. However, Jake didn't feel pain because Lana used Barrier. That surprised Jake. Still, he quickly recovered and then finished off another monster.

When Jake turned around to face the last one, Louise hit it with Ice Arrow. The creature flinched, and then Jake held his katana with both hands and then thrust his sword on the monster's face with all his might.

You obtained 07 coins.

It seemed that Lana was contemplating the idea of becoming a full support character, but when Jake looked at her, he saw her in deep thought. It seemed that would take a while…

"What do you think, Jake?" Louise asked.

"I think we should get going, otherwise we will need more than a few runs to find the dungeon," Jake replied.

"And what about Lana?" Louise insisted.

"That is up to her to decide," Jake replied. "Whatever she chooses, I will keep fighting in the same way."

? Louise sighed. She had only known Jake for a couple of days, but she was thinking that he desperately needed to improve his character as well. At least when it comes to his social skills.

While Lana was in deep thought, they began to move in the opposite direction of the sun since it would be hard to fight while looking in that direction. Considering the sun's position, Jake assumed that on such a map, they were in the middle of the afternoon. Until now, they didn't find a map where they had to consider the time, but it seemed things were different this time.

Whenever the group found a high dune, they climbed to find any weird places in the area. However, they didn't find anything weird, and there were no signs of players either.

"Hey, Jake," Louise whispered. "I think you should give your honest opinion about the matter. Only you can give her the push necessary."

"I told you… it is up to her and it doesn't matter to me the outcome," Jake said. "Whatever she decides, I can live with it."

"Still… this isn't just for the sake of our party," Louise said. "Lana is a good girl, but she is a bit impulsive. By changing her playstyle, she might learn how to control her actions more and that is necessary considering that she wants to be a doctor."

"... I won't do anything," Jake said.

"Jake… why?" Louise asked, visibly troubled. "This is for her future, even if you want to keep your distance from others, you should at least do this much for those who are even this bit close to you."

"I am not the one to decide what is good or not for someone," Jake explained. "Besides, I know for a fact that she will be more useful if she becomes a completely supporting character. I can't say to her something that will be useful for her in the long run, when I will be thinking about my own gains. Besides, this change might cause problems for her later."

"How come?" Louise asked.

"We don't know for how long this party will last, so if one day she decides to play by herself, she won't be able to do it with her skill set," Jake replied. "She will be forced to join another party that will most likely treat her like a tool, or she will have to start all over again. Becoming a tool, or wasting time, I don't want to be responsible for either of them. If you think about it calmly, you might realize that perhaps, this choice might also backfire later. If she regrets the choice of becoming someone who only help others, she might even question if she truly wants to become a doctor… someone who can help others more than most professions."

"I think you are going a bit too far," Louise said.

"You think so?" Jake asked. "How many hours a day you have played since you log in the game for the first time? With that in mind, do you honestly think that your experiences here might not affect yourself in the real world?"