Afterword - Book 2 - Chapter 45 (Patreon)

Chapter 45: Her Worldview

(Original Chapter Titles: Skill Swap I, Skill Swap II (as in two separate chapters))

I'd really wanted to combine this one and the next into one chapter, but there were too many character moments to manage it. At least they make the chapters far more interesting to read and, more importantly, it's not three chapters anymore. Yes, there's a Skill Swap III in the OG draft, a week of updates... A+ pacing there, past me.

It was a daunting prospect, trying to make two LitRPG characters sharing their list of Skills actually somehow interesting. The best solution I found was to keep the character moments rich and to play with how the characters would summarize their own Skills. But there were also numerous other concerns I had to address.

Fortunately, in-universe explanations saved me from one pitfall. Listing Ranthia's stats would have been easy, but Avyna had no character sheet. Fortunately, as Ranthia pointed out, the numbers would have been somewhat meaningless—stats only amplify the baseline of what the innate being already possesses. A muscular man with 1000 strength has more physical might than a scrawny, chronically starved beggar with the same. But a bear with 1000 strength could probably tear both men in half at the same time. And, ultimately, Ranthia suspects elves have a higher baseline than humans do (because of course they would), but she has no idea how they compare and she chose to assume that the same was true for Avyna. Which renders the numbers meaningless.

So, who called it that Avyna already knew that Ranthia was immortal? I never called attention to this particular exchange, but I tried to make it clear that Ranthia was being a bit too open during both of her visits to Coalition City. When you share your entire life story with someone you're definitely not flirting with (I'm just being a good friend!), it's somewhat easy for her to notice when you've included more events than your age should allow for.

Ranthia does run into some trouble though. First, Avyna assumes that Ranthia's been dishonest with her. Then, once Ranthia convinces her that she isn't wearing a guise, Avyna is floored that Ranthia wouldn't make use of such a useful ability! It's not as broad as Avyna is assuming (Ranthia can't shift into anything that's too far removed from 'her' thanks to choosing a narrower option during her last class up), but Avyna isn't the first to point out that Ranthia largely ignores a useful tool. Plenty of readers have said the same!

Then, of course, they come to the largest roadblock. Ranthia was reborn, at Xaoc's behest, which is... somewhat outside of the expectations and standards that Avyna is used to. But Ranthia has receipts! ...So long as Avyna believes her about what the System tells her. Avyna is, at the very least, willing to listen, and she knows what to say to undo the hurt she caused.

It's easy to read the conclusion of this chapter as Avyna accepting Ranthia's explanation and choosing to believe her. But it's also possible to read it as Avyna choosing to mollify Ranthia. She promised to listen; she never promised belief.

Which is the true interpretation? I left it intentionally nebulous. At least for the time being...

But for the moment, Ranthia has been stricken blind. Is that enough to put an end to their discussion?