Chương 90: 88: Very Good Girl

The walk to Betsy's house was quick and remarkably easy. True, it was only a few blocks away, but I also had this weird little sensation of certainty at every corner. I think it was the Wayfarer's Jacket. I looked at it with [Analyze] again to see the description of the attributes. Wayfinding: wearer gains an intuitive sense of direction and route familiarity while traveling. And yeah, that was exactly what it felt like. I just knew where we were going, as if I'd been there a thousand times before.

True, we were also following Bear, who had been back there half a dozen times, so it's not like we were going to get lost. The feeling was noticeable, though. I thought about playing with it, thinking about searching for something else, maybe the second closest rift, and the thought was as good as a decision, because suddenly my intuition wanted me to turn right. I was gonna love this jacket. We reached the scene of the battle. I bit my lip as Jack and his parents exclaimed.

A few more people had come out of their houses, too, and were standing around in little conversational clumps. A couple of teenagers were poking through the rat remains. Any loot left seemed like fair game by now, so I didn't say anything even as one kid held up a healing potion she'd found, squealing with excitement. She was more likely to need it than us, anyway. I don't think any words could accurately convey how absolutely disgusting the street was.

The bougainvillea was gone and what was left in its place was blood, gore, and bodies of rats ranging from the size of a Doberman to just a little bigger than normal. Hundreds of them. Well, okay, a couple hundred anyway. I'd never seen anything like it, even in the worst of the goblin encampment, and obviously neither had anyone else. The dogs and I had continued to walk while the Francis family paused to exclaim (or maybe, in Jack's case, admire), but Missy caught up to us and said, "You did this?"

A week ago, I wouldn't have known what her expression meant, but [Uncanny Insight] told me the admiration was stronger than the horror, although maybe not by much.

"I have an excellent defensive ability," I told her while looking for the right porch. Which house had it been? But Bear was already turning into a driveway, heading for the front steps, so I didn't have to figure it out myself.

"I want one," Missy muttered, shifting her fireplace poker on her shoulder. I gave a faint chuckle, glad that I'd converted Jack's mom from bystander to wannabe. I was pretty sure every step in that direction improved her odds of survival, maybe by a lot. Betsy—or at least the woman from the porch who Bear was currently visiting—waved hello from her steps. Bear had gone past her to the closed door and was sniffing along the bottom edge, as if she smelled something interesting hidden inside.

"Thank you so much for coming," she said as we approached.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I wasn't sure if—I hope you don't mind, but—" Her words were spilling out, but she paused and took a deep breath. Then closed her eyes and took another. She had conventional, all-American good looks. The white, perfect teeth that meant good dental care; the hair with the discreet highlights that cost real money; the shape that suggested she paid for a gym membership and actually used it. None of which I truly held against her, but one glance and anyone would know she had money.

"It's my dog," she said. Okay, it turned out I was holding those looks against her, because with that single sentence my mood switched from, "How do I get this over with quickly?" to "How can I help?" When I said so (not the part about getting it over with quickly, just the offer to help), the relief dropped her shoulders by a solid two inches.

"Thank you." She exhaled, breathed out a laugh, shook her head.

"I don't even know where to begin. But Lola has been… well, maybe if you see her. Will your dogs be okay if I bring her out? Or do you want to come in? You can come in, you're welcome to. Lola's good with other dogs if that's… although I don't know if that's still true." She pressed her hands together in front of her, then folded her fingers into a tight clasp.

"She's always been good with other dogs," she said in a determined voice.

"I can't imagine that would have changed." Probably it was the posture, but it felt more like a prayer than an authentic belief.

"Let's not stress her by bringing three strange dogs into her space," I suggested pragmatically.

"Mine will all be fine, and Riley's great, he can manage the introductions, but there's no reason to make it harder than it has to be."

"All right, that's good. I'll bring her out." She turned and disappeared into her house, brushing past Bear with the casual passing stroke of a truly dog-comfortable person. Could Lola have become mana-crazed? I knew it was possible, but it seemed unlikely. Bear was still at the door, tail low but relaxed, and if Lola had become a threat, surely Betsy would seem more afraid than worried.

"Bear." I whistled her to my side, making room for Betsy and Lola on the porch, and pulled my [Mana Absorption] ability to the front of my HUD, ready if necessary. Lola was an absolutely beautiful golden retriever, probably about seven or eight—calm and steady, with hints of aging in the white on her muzzle and face. And she was definitely not mana-crazed. A small child, maybe four or so, had followed her out, literally holding onto her tail. Okay, Lola was clearly a Very Good Girl.

Two bigger kids, boys, around six, stood behind them, peeking out at us with giggling curiosity. I didn't see the problem. I tapped [Analyze]. I still didn't see the 'problem,' but my jaw dropped as I gaped at Lola. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Name: Lola Species: Dog Class: Guardian Level: 4 Condition: Optimal, bond enhanced Wards: Abigail Sheridan, Patrick Sheridan, Henry Sheridan, Elizabeth Sheridan And then it dropped even more as [Analyze] caught the child behind her. Name: Abigail Sheridan Title: Lola's Ward Species: Human Class: Minor Level: 1 Condition: Optimal, bond enhanced"What is it?" Betsy asked, sounding desperate.

"Is she… is she okay?"

"She's great." I laughed, closing my gaping mouth.

"She's… wow." I stopped talking. I'd been holding [Analyze] on the little girl, and the tooltip on her class had expanded. It read: Minor: You have entered the System by absorbing XP. However, your current age and attributes prevent you from accepting a standard class at this time. A Minor classification has been assigned, providing base-level support until a full class becomes available. I stayed focused. Sure enough, her abilities appeared next. Resilient (Passive): Natural healing rate increased.

Minor to moderate injuries resolve at 3x baseline rate. Safety Net (Passive): Negates a single instance of damage that would otherwise cause serious injury or death. Recharges at a rate determined by the bearer's Endurance attribute." Holy shit," I breathed out. I needed to let Emma know that a class existed for kids. I did a quick check and neither Betsy nor the boys were in the System. All three of them were still [Unknown].

"How did your little girl get into the System?" I demanded of Betsy.

"Did you have her kill something?"

"What? No!" Betsy half-laughed, half recoiled in horror.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your daughter." I gestured at the little girl, trying to stay calm.

"She's in the System." Betsy looked taken aback. She put her hand on her daughter's head.

"The first rats. Lola killed them. They weren't… it wasn't like that." She nodded toward the street.

"There were maybe half a dozen of them. It was the third day, I think. They got in the house and Lola—she just tore them apart. Abby was there. I've been worried ever since that Lola was going to be like the…" She shuddered and the shudder was more expressive than words would have been.

"Like the mana-crazed animals?" I filled in for her. She nodded.

"George, my husband, he thought it was too dangerous to let her stay in the house with the kids, but I wasn't leaving her outside. Not with everything that was going on out here. But every time we've taken her out to do her business, she's found more rats to kill. It's great, I guess, at least they're not getting in the house, but…" She ran a hand through her hair, and shook her head, looking tired.

"Anyway, when I saw you with your dogs, I hoped you could tell me how you did that. How you made sure they were safe." I looked at my dogs. Bear was obviously yearning to meet Lola, her back half swaying with anticipation, but she was staying by my side as ordered. Zelda was calmly sitting at my feet, as always, and Riley stood on my other side. Also interested in Lola, also waiting patiently. Pre-System, I would have needed leashes to ensure this behavior, albeit mostly for Bear.

It was definitely not my superior training skills that had brought them to this level of awareness.

"We love Lola," Betsy continued.

"George and I got her the day we came home from our honeymoon. She was our pre-baby baby, and she's still—" She blinked back tears.

"She's family. It'll break my heart if she's dangerous." A corner of my mouth lifted, wry.

"The good news is that she is dangerous. But not to you or your kids." I turned [Analyze] back onto Lola.

"She's a Level 4 Guardian class and something about her class lets her have Wards. I don't know what that means yet. Gimme a sec and I'll—oh." Guardian: Some protect through strength. Some protect through strategy. A Guardian protects through devotion. A Guardian forms bonds of protection with designated Wards, sharing the benefits of their System growth and abilities. A Guardian may designate one Ward per Level. Wards need not be System-affiliated.

Her abilities were: Bond (Passive): Guardian shares a portion of all XP gained equally among designated Wards. XP is distributed at the moment of gain. Aegis (Passive): Guardian's natural regeneration rate extends to designated Wards in physical contact with the Guardian. Ward Selection (Active): Guardian may designate or release a Ward from among eligible sapient entities. Maximum Wards determined by Guardian's current Level. I looked at my dogs.

"How come none of you got this class?" I demanded. Then I shook my head.

"Dogs are the best. That's all there is to it." One of the boys, peeking out from behind his mom, chirped, "Lola is the best." I grinned at him.

"Lola is great, you're right." Betsy was looking immeasurably relieved, but also eager to find out what I knew, so I explained Lola's abilities. Her tears started spilling over before I was halfway through.

"Okay, you should probably get a tissue for the next part," I said when I'd finished telling her about Lola. She wiped her eyes, index fingers sweeping underneath them like a woman used to wearing mascara, and laughed.

"I'm good. Tell me." I nodded toward Abby.

"Her class in the system is called Minor, and she has two abilities, both passive. One is an enhanced regeneration rate that lets her heal faster than most people. The other is called Safety Net, and it means she can take a hit. One hit. After that, the ability has to regenerate, so don't count on it if she's already used it." Betsy put a hand to her heart. The tears hadn't started again, but they were obviously not far off.

"Thank you. Oh, lord, that feels so inadequate. I don't know how I could ever repay you, but I'm so grateful that you came. I've been so worried and—and I'm so glad I didn't listen to George." She gave a weepy chuckle. My mouth twisted. I wanted to help her more—get her into the System, make sure the boys had what Abby had—but I couldn't save the world. And then I realized what I could do.

"Oh, hey, so you and the boys are also Lola's Wards. You probably can't tell that yet because you haven't gotten enough XP from her to gain a level and you're still unknown as far as the System is concerned." Betsy grimaced.

"I know I'm supposed to go out there and kill things, but with three kids… George is out trying now. Avoiding the rat swarm, but we heard there were oozes downtown that were easier. I'm hoping… well." She glanced at the boys behind her. I read the 'hoping he was okay' as clearly as if she'd said it aloud.

"Maybe you can get ahead of him before he makes it home," I said cheerfully.

"You'll gain XP as Lola gains XP. If she gets enough, you'll be able to level up and the boys will hopefully get the same class as their sister, with the same protections."

"That would be incredible, but I think you might have killed all the rats around here."

"Maybe." I tilted my head toward the Francis family.

"But I'm taking—" Total brain freeze. Were they friends? Acquaintances? A friend's family? After a complete stumble on how I wanted to label Missy and David, I not so smoothly said, "—these folks to gain some levels by killing monsters. Can I borrow Lola for several hours and get her some levels, too?" Betsy blinked at me.

"You want…"

"I'll take good care of her."

"Oh, but—" Betsy took a half-step toward Lola before she caught herself.

"I'm not sure she'll go with you. She's pretty attached." I shrugged.

"Let's see." I turned to my dogs, made the circling motion with my finger that means 'all of you' and then the flat hand that means 'stay.' And then, while the dogs complained in silent dog body language about it not being fair that I got to meet Lola first, I stepped forward and held out my hand for her to sniff.

"Hey, Lola," I said, using the slightly higher pitch that sometimes lets a dog know you're friendly.

"Would you like to help your people by getting stronger?" Calm brown eyes met mine, a direct gaze that said, Yes.

"What a good girl you are." I dropped my own gaze, not wanting to suggest that I was battling for superiority, turned my head, and gestured to my own dogs.

"Want to meet the pack?" Lola stood, did a little stretch, then turned, smoothly disentangling her tail from Abby's clutching hands. She gave Abby a sniff, followed by a hint of a lick on the cheek, nudged Betsy's leg, then turned and sauntered down the steps and over to the dogs. As Riley greeted her and they all did the polite circle dance, I looked back at Betsy.

"I think it'll be fine. Give us several hours, and hopefully you can just hang out with the kids and watch your XP go up."