Chapter 97: Folie à deux

"There’s nothing to be surprised about, these things are practically useless to me now. Might as well give them out."

"Oh. Thank you."

It was all Miles could manage before nodding and accepting the offer. He wasn’t going to reject it based on pride or anything of the sort, not if said help was all he needed to go up a level.

Ryan looked to the others.

"I still have some more points. If anyone’s below the upgrade threshold, I can help you out too."

"I am."

Brandon immediately raised his hand, only to receive a dismissive glance from Ryan.

"Show me your points balance first."

"It was worth a shot at least."

He huffed before lowering his arm. Mia rolled her eyes but chose not to pick any fights just yet.

Ignoring them both, he scanned for any more raised hands before settling his gaze on Sarah and Chloe. Mostly Sarah.

The girl slowly raised her hand, hesitating before speaking.

"I have about twenty-two."

Ryan glanced at the air in front of him with a look of consideration on his face before nodding.

"Then I can help you too."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank..."

Chloe put an arm on her shoulder, just in time to save Ryan from her gratitude bombing.

Brandon frowned.

"Why doesn’t she have to show her points?"

"Because we have eyes, you goof."

Mia shut him down before Ryan could. It was a rather rhetorical question to begin with; Miles had only seen the girl take down a single ghoul in his memory. She’d gone off with Chloe while he hadn’t been looking, so there was a chance she had killed more then.

Brandon’s frown only deepened. He threw a customary glare at Mia before settling his gaze on a fidgeting Sarah. His lips shifted, clearly wanting to say something, but he remained silent.

Eventually, he took his gaze off her and onto the bean cans in the corner. The sight seemed to calm him down.

Still, Miles had a pretty good guess what he’d wanted to say. ℯ

’How can we trust her?’

If her ability improved to the level of being able to transfer damage without even requiring consent, then they’d all be at risk.

He wasn’t too worried about it, though. At least not yet. She could only upgrade her EGO at the moment. It was hardly a qualitative increase.

There was still enough time to observe her.

He got off his blanket, moving across the dim room towards Ryan. The boy already had his hand outstretched towards him. Miles stared at it for a moment before shaking it.

A notification instantly popped up.

[Ryan Johan wishes to transfer 4 points to you. Accept?]

[Y/N]

’A bit stingy.’

Not that he was one to complain, though. As long as it was enough to get him over the threshold, nothing else really mattered.

He accepted the deal mentally. His points automatically ticked up.

[Points: 100]

Right on the dot.

"Thanks, again."

Ryan just shook his head.

"It’s nothing much, no need to bother."

The wry smile on his face betrayed his thoughts.

Miles loosened his grip, slipping his hand out of the handshake before heading for the black box of metal standing ominously at the back of the room. Behind him, Sarah hesitantly made her way towards Ryan. He paid them no heed.

The moment he got there, he placed his palm against the cold surface of the pylon. A familiar screen popped up.

There was hardly anything new, so he quickly navigated his way to the upgrade section.

[Upgrades]

[EGO: Little prince by the sea Lv2(0/1000)]

[Skills: Delusion(Unique) Lv1(0/100), Cold Resistance(Common) Lv1(0/100)]

’1000 points?’

He hadn’t checked this menu after upgrading last time, so he’d completely missed the new requirements for leveling up his EGO.

’It really is exponential.’

He’d started expecting it after seeing how the requirements changed for the pylon.

Two possible options, but his mind had already been decided. While he hadn’t been one for video games in the past, unique sounded a hell of a lot better than common.

Besides, while upgrading cold resistance would give him some measure against the cold, it wasn’t what he was looking for at the moment. He needed something offensive.

He selected [Delusion].

[Do you wish to upgrade your skill, [Delusion], for 100 points?]

[Y/N]

’Y.’

The menu disappeared.

Miles waited there, expecting a change like what happened last time.

Nothing.

He raised a brow.

’Is this like-’

He paused mid-thought.

Something shifted in his mind. He wasn’t sure what exactly, and could only even identify the change by the disruption it had caused.

He closed his eyes, focusing.

’There.’

It was an odd feeling. Like he’d gained a new organ, or a new part of himself. A formless appendage attached to some part of himself that he couldn’t quite identify.

Even then, it didn’t feel strange at all. As though it had always been there, and he was just becoming aware of it now.

’Hmmm...’

He tried flexing it, and it actually moved.

Opening his eyes, he looked to the wall he had directed it to, only to find nothing there. Yet, he could still feel it; he could still tell its position.

It was then he got an instinctive feeling of what to do with it, like primal inspiration bubbling out of his sea of unconsciousness.

He sent a discreet glance to the people behind him before his gaze settled on Grimm.

’He’s still sleeping, right?’

He directed the appendage towards him. Its formless body moved with ease, stretching across the room and attaching to something in him. He couldn’t still tell what it was.

’A soul?’

Miles sent the question to the back of his mind. It wasn’t that important. Instead, he continued following that instinct and imagined the starfish he’d drawn earlier.

His mind unconsciously filled the gaps in his imagination, even adding more details than the last time. The weight, the texture, the wetness of the creature.

All the little pieces added up to form a vivid, lifelike image in his mind. Then he activated [Delusion].

A sudden pressure rose in his skull.

Grimm immediately shot up from sleep, clawing at the starfish now resting on his face. His words came out muffled.

"G... Off. G... Off."

’What’s happening?’

The mix of pressure and Grimm’s reaction made him immediately disable the ability.

"Get it... what?"

Miles quickly turned back to the pylon, steadying himself against it and tapping his feet obliviously like the scene behind him had nothing to do with him.

He massaged his aching forehead a bit, suppressing whatever guilt he might’ve felt, and looked directly at the screen.

[Congratulations, you have upgraded your core skill, from [Delusion] to [Folie à deux].]