10 - Meeting at the hallway [3]
I felt much better now that I was in the clinic.
Even more at ease knowing that Dr Grace will discharge me soon.
Despite being a stable patient who now needed little to no attention, she still assigned a nurse that checked on me at intervals.
Though it wasn't as much as the less stable ones, I was happy with it.
That was quite thoughtful of Dr Grace, but then, I still couldn't shake off the possibility that she was simply trying to appeal to my feelings and get closer to me.
I laid on my assigned bed and while waiting for my discharge to be worked out, I took the free time to gather my thoughts alongside the memories of the original Link.
The idea was to form a coherent whole rather than the chaotic mind that I met as soon as I opened my eyes in this world.
Realising that I might have flawed the original's character at first, I sighed.
Nevertheless, I was relieved because Eris DeLorentis didn't care about others that much to notice such things.
Wendy Arclight, on the other hand, didn't care whatever Link did or said.
Regardless, she will still be obsessed with him.
As far as the druid was concerned, Link Remington was perfect.
"Link Remington, an average final year cadet of the academy. Sabre class with skill of his family sword art. Originally, he awakened a D- potential but after training in the Remington Sword Art, his potential in the sabre class leveled up to C rank. That didn't happen often, perhaps he is a lucky chap.
"There was nothing exceptional about him aside from the fact that he is dating the heroine, Wendy Arclight."
I exhaled, clicked my tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Guess dating Wendy brought some spotlight into his life. I need to work on making something of myself and forging my own reputation."
I wasn't the original Link Remington and I didn't play on letting whatever legacy he had created for himself, good or bad, be attached to me.
I need to be my own person.
An entity outside of this new body.
'Status.'
I uttered a simple command in my mind and a system panel appeared above me.
< Status Window >
< Name: Link Remington >
< Age: 19 >
< Race: Human >
< Class >
— Sabre (Primary)
— Caster (Secondary)
< Ability >
— Bond
— Remington Sword Art
— Absolute Zero
— ??? (Locked)
< Bond (2/2) >
— Eris DeLorentis (12.5 ❤︎)
— Wendy Arclight (81.5 ❤︎)
…
I quickly sat up, gaping at the system panel.
"It inc-increased…" I stuttered.
My eyes were focused on Eris' bond data.
Back then it had, by some miracle that I couldn't explain, gone up to 10. But right now, that wasn't what I was seeing.
It increased… again.
This time, to 12.5.
'How? What happened?'
I was genuinely confused.
If I could find out what triggered this, maybe I could also figure out a way to get the bond numbers up.
This status screen had a lot going on with it.
Following the rewards I got from creating my first bond with Eris, I received and upgraded one of her core ice abilities, Lady of the Winter.
After this happened, the system automatic assigned me a secondary class, caster.
Dual class Awakener were uncommon, and partly the reason why Eris and her family were also respected in this world.
She was a sabre and a caster as well, just like I was now—using both ice techniques and DeLorentis sword art.
Dual class was good. Definitely something to be excited about, especially with our final assessment approaching.
I needed all the help I could get.
'I'm still yet to choose an ability from Wendy's arsenal but this bond…'
It still bothered me how Eris' bond value rose by 2.5 despite having not come in contact with her after the incident.
'System.'
[Hello, host]
'What exactly is this bond stat?'
[Bond Value (❤︎): This stat assesses the level of host's relationship with target character. The higher the bond value, the higher the chances of a reward]
"Hmm. A bit vague and short."
I massaged my chin. 'Perhaps, the full extent of what I should know is not yet accessible to me.'
'System. Does it work on all characters?'
[No, host. Considering that the world of The Account of a Failed Villain is a harem one, your bond skill only works on female characters. The greater their significant to your main goal, the better the rewards]
"Ah, is that so?"
I recalled what the main goal was.
It had appeared to be during my awkward moment with Eris back in the carriage.
The image of the system screen flashed back into my mind.
[Main Objective: Complete all scenarios and reach endgame]
The way I understood it was simply the system telling me to reach the tail end of the story.
I'm not certain what would happen if I die before then, or if I fail to reach the end, or even if I succeed.
I shook my head. "Only think of succeeding," I chided myself.
Maybe that was my ticket back home, to my original life.
Recalling the hectic schedule of the labour market that I found myself deep inside, I didn't miss Earth.
However, I had friends and family, and I missed them.
"I wonder how they are all doing."
[I hope host find the explanation satisfactory]
"Oh, yes! You are very helpful. Thank you."
Leaving the moody atmosphere that almost formed because of my memories of Earth, I focused next on the rewards associated with Wendy's high bond value.
That was the highest of the two, and right off the bat it was already eight times more than what Eris had before the current increase.
—Click!
I tapped the [??? (Locked)] option under the Ability tab, allowing another screen to appear.
Wendy's profile, showing a little information about her, and her picture appeared.
[Name: Wendy Arclight]
[Age: 19]
[Race: Druid]
[Class: Caster]
[Ability]
— Embrace of Divine Light
— Greater Heal
— Guardian of the Divine Forest of Life
…
Wendy was one of the heroines of the original story.
Without a doubt, I knew these abilities were high ranked, maybe even broken and I only get to pick just one.
I already have Absolute Zero which is EX- and my sword art at C rank.
'Absolute Zero is good for offense and defense but I can't control it yet,' I thought, analysing my strengths and weaknesses.
'Wendy's abilities offer the same thing to an extent as well.'
I heaved a sigh.
It was a tough one because all three abilities were worth coveting.
After giving it a few minutes of thought, I lifted my finger and tapped on the ability I decided on.
I had chosen the…