Chương 32: Luna's Morning

Luna—otherwise known as 'Mouse' by a certain alchemist—woke up to the sound of her alarm. The repeated blaring noise irritated her mind awake. Sitting up, she blinked repeatedly while wiping her eyes with her wrists, trying to adjust to the light peeking through her blinds. The raccoon plushy that was in her arms fell beside her. After a few moments of daze, she eventually gathered her senses and finally turned off that annoying alarm.

There were so many times she wanted to just smash it on the floor, but, after her last alarm broke for totally unrelated reasons, she purchased a sturdier alarm—one that wouldn't break from coincidentally hitting the floor hard.

"Tsk…" She inwardly clicked her tongue, glaring at the devil noise producing machine. Strands of her pure silver hair fell in front of her eyes, breaking the stare down.

"Haah…" Deciding it was best to move on with her day, she shook her head and brushed her hair aside.

"Another day…" She sighed, staring out the window. Usually, this would be around the time she'd get up and start her precarious morning routine. Showering, checking her mail, eating breakfast, and ending it off with a morning workout. But, she hadn't done so since two months ago—When she had a fallout with her previous party and quit. After that day, she's been living like a slacker—or as Bin would call it, a hikikomori.

Her outings had reduced to only a couple times a week—if at all—and her contact with others was completely severed. It was only after finally meeting and talking to Bin in person did her isolated ways start to retreat. And truthfully, Luna was fine with that. After that last fallout, she felt sick of people. If not for Bin, she'd still just be playing games or watching shows all day. Begrudgingly getting up from her comfortable haven, she threw one last glare at the alarm clock.

As much as she hated it, she felt that if she got rid of it she'd cross a line of no return. She might truly become a hikikomori then. Looking away, Luna headed to the bathroom.

"Hm…" She stared at her bare body in the mirror. Recently, it has felt like her clothes were a little tighter lately. And that's only gotten worse after Bin tempted her with dessert after every dinner. But, it's probably nothing. Luna couldn't see anything different about herself anyway. Stepping into the shower, she let out a relieved breath as she soaked in the warm water. She was once again reminded how nice it was to not be in such a demanding party.

In the tower, there were days where you couldn't wash yourself. Since some floors last multiple days, it was normal. But! It was also normal to at least buy 'Cleanse' scrolls. That damned former party leader of hers wouldn't allocate any party expenses towards those. Just thinking about it made her question why she put up with all the stuff he put the party through. Well, she knew why. It was due to the guild behind him, but that didn't lessen her annoyance. Though, it didn't stay for long.

The water washed away all her problems. After taking in the water for a few minutes, she finally opened her eyes and started to use shampoo and conditioner. While washing her hair, she decided to check her status. Something she hadn't done in a while. Class - Mage Skills ~ ~ ~ [Call of Thunder] - Rank A (Gold) [Jolt Bolt] - Rank C (Silver) [Shock] - Rank A (Bronze) [Charge] - Rank B (Bronze) [Paralyze] - Rank C (Bronze) Did you know this story is from Royal Road?

Read the official version for free and support the author. [Meditate] - Rank C (Bronze) Traits ~ ~ ~ [Electric Senses] - Rank B (Gold) [Electric Affinity] - Rank C (Silver) Alias - ElectricTypeMouse Title - Bringer of Thunder Followers - 98 Points - 12, 513, 920"Mm… I'm still doing good on funds." She mumbled after checking her balance. If there was one good thing about her last party, it was that they didn't skimp out on payments. Closing the menu, she had a sudden thought.

"What does Bin's status look like?" Though they talked everyday and hung out pretty much twice a week now, tower affairs were something neither of them really talked about. Luna didn't know whether it was for her sake or if Bin just didn't care to bring up the tower, but she knew almost nothing about Bin's tower climb. She only knew that Bin was an alchemist with a skill that helps plants grow. Nothing more. Not her alias, not her title, followers, or even her party members.

The more she thought about it, the more curious she got.

"Her alias is probably BinLover…She doesn't use much variety for usernames…"

"Her title…" Luna recalled her first title given by the system, 'Zappy Fly', and chuckled. She absolutely hated it. The first chance she got to switch her title, she took and never looked back. Maybe that's why Bin doesn't talk much about the tower. It gave her an awful title!

"Haha." Luna chuckled at the thought. She didn't think a low tiered alchemist would have much followers so she didn't give it a second thought.

"Though, there was that 'Raccoon' person…" Luna wondered, "I wonder if Bin knows about them." It was likely she did. Bin was just as much as an internet-addict as herself. Though, she seems to be more a potion-making addict nowadays.

"Wonder what she thinks of them." Her voice trailed off. Bin was the type of person to grumble about it, saying 'That person stole my whole flow!' even if they came before her. Thinking about it made Luna chuckle. Shaking her head, she thought of Bin's party members. Who was she teaming up with? Even if they didn't talk much about the tower itself, Luna figured Bin would've said something about her teammates.

"Unless she switches parties every time?" Thinking about it like that, that made sense. It's what most production-type classes without a guild do. And unless someone in the party really messed up, Bin would have no reason to remember or even think about them. Luna nodded at her solid reasoning. Tapping her finger against the wall for a moment, she sighed.

"…I should probably prepare to re-enter the tower again soon." She mumbled. Though she had a lot of points, it wasn't infinite. Eventually, she'd need to start making money again. And with her skills, the only reasonable path was the tower.

"Will Bin reach my floor by the time I'm ready…?" She was naturally thinking of forming a party with Bin. Though they hadn't discussed it, she naturally felt that Bin would happily accept being a party. Of course, she'd confirm this later, at a closer time to when she was ready to reenter the tower, but that just felt obligatory. They'd have to find some other party members but that seemed simple enough. Luna was, in fact, a mid tier mage after all.

Though not at the top of the list, someone like her was still desired by most middle tier parties. That'd all come in due time though. For now, Luna needed to get back in shape first. Though two months away might not seem like a long time, it was long enough for her to become rusty. Especially when on the 24th floor.

"Bin should take… Maybe half a year to reach my floor?" Luna calculated. That was the maximum amount of time it'd take, she guessed. If Bin hired skilled party members to carry her, it'd take maybe half the estimated amount of time. Either way, that was enough time for her to get back into top shape. She might even be able to upgrade or learn a couple skills. Luna was eying a skill book for [Cleanse]. Since it was a general skill, it was cheaper than class specific skill books.

But, she decided against purchasing it. There was no need to buy it. For now at least. Rather, her eyes turned to her [Meditate] skill. Another general skill like [Cleanse], except [Meditate] increased mana recovery while in use.

"I should get it to B rank…" Luna mumbled.

"Haah…" Luna let out a relieved breath before turning off the water. When in the shower, she tended to think a lot. And, although she didn't like the way Bin worded it, especially since she was 'jobless'. That thinking habit seemed to grow with the amount of free time she had. After wrapping a towel around her body, she started to blow dry her hair. The pleasant hot air warmed her scalp and soon enough, her hair was dry. Finally, she grabbed a brush and straightened her hair.

"Hm…" She looked at herself in the mirror a few times, even striking a couple poses.

"Good." She nodded and even took a photo. As she was walking away, she stopped in the doorway. Just now, she hadn't even questioned her actions. But…Though she cared about how she looked, she was never one to randomly take photos. Before, only if it was a really good day would she take a selfie. Now…she unconsciously took some. And that was without makeup on, and while only wearing a towel. This was unthinkable of the past her. And Luna, she knew the reason all to well. Frowning, she jutted her lips.

"… Did I get conditioned?" Bin would constantly take photos of almost anything. Sometimes it was together, other times it was of Luna alone. Anything that Bin found even slightly interesting, she'd take a picture of. And she even pushed Luna to start taking pictures. She was curious, just how much storage space did Bin's phone have? She always sent a bunch of pictures through text after parting, and Luna saved a lot of them, only to find her storage filling up too fast.

At some point, she had to pick and choose what to save and leave the rest of them in the messages. But, how did Bin seem to never have that problem?

"I'll ask her about it later…" Sighing, she headed to her bedroom to get dressed. What could she do? Even if she felt wronged, she didn't dislike taking photos. So, she decided just to accept the new habit. Of course, she'd grill Bin about it though. Luna could already predict the response. Just a bunch of giggles and teasing. After getting dressed, Luna headed to her kitchen. She cleaned the night before, so it was spotless. Even the sink was empty. With a smug nod, she looked inside the fridge.

She still had some ingredients left—the ones Bin bought her. Having never cooked herself, she didn't know if this was good enough. Shrugging, she closed the fridge and didn't think about it longer. Even when she was with a party, she only ate cereal for breakfast since she didn't want to spend money to order it. Plus, she liked cereal. It was a win-win. But for now, she didn't pour a bowl for herself. With no other reason to be in the kitchen, she headed to her prized room.

She sat at her computer and sent a quick 'Good Morning' text to Bin, who was probably still sleeping. Turning on the desktop, she settled into her chair and opened a game. … After dying to a cheating skeleton, her phone lit up. Checking, she saw a message from Bin. [Stella: Here!!] [Me: Coming.] Yes, today was Saturday. It was practically a designated hang-out day for the two of them by now. But, unlike usual, the two planned to stay at Luna's place.

There was no real reason for it, just neither of the two had any particular desire to go out. At their core, they were both homebodies after all. Luna opened the door with a smile. In front of her was her best friend: A girl slightly shorter than herself; A girl with golden hair and amethyst eyes—Bin.

"Good morning!" Bin said with a smile, opening her arms.

"Good morning." Luna replied, entering her embrace. After a moment, the two parted and Luna led Bin inside. But, before either of them could talk, a rumbling noise echoed in the silence. The silver-haired girl's face flushed red and didn't dare look back. However, a certain alchemist pushed forward and stepped in front of Luna with a teasing smile.

"Hehe! Someone's hungry!" Luna looked away toward a wall and didn't reply.

"Me too! Don't worry, I'll make us the best breakfast!" Bin said, maintaining her smile before heading to the kitchen.