STORMWEAVER II: Chapter 28 Sneak Peek and reminder

Quick reminder that there will be a gap in chapter drops next Friday while I am at Dragon Con. I'm trying to make the trip as much of a vacation as possible, so I'm going to be avoiding work other than essential tasks and maybe a liiiiiittle bit of writing to keep my momentum up!

So yeah. 28 tomorrow, followed by a 2-week break before 29 dropping on Friday the 8th!

Cheers!

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Instead, as they reached the elevator lobby and Cashe poked at the smart glass to call them a car, Rei took advantage of his teammate's general distraction to make a spec request.

Specifications Request acknowledged.

…

Combat Assistance Device: Shido. User identification… Accepted.

Type: A-TYPE

Rank: C7

…

Identifying Preferred Mode.

Preferred Mode Identified as: BRAWLER-TYPE

…

User Attributes:

- Strength: C3

- Endurance: C2

- Speed: C6

- Cognition: C6

…

CAD Specifications:

- Offense: C3

- Defense: C4

- Growth: S

…

Display Additional Modes?

YES/NO

Rei nodded to himself, taking in the numbers. Shortly after the Team Battle his base Strength had notched up from C2 to C3, and his Endurance had already raised from C1 to C2 after their Tuesday Wargame. Combine that with the Defense and Offense jump he’d had on their first day, and Rei honestly couldn’t have been more pleased with how Shido was progressing at the tournament.

Scrolling to the bottom of the spec request, he found the “Display Additional Modes?” option and selected “YES”.

Additional Modes Request acknowledged.

Type: A-TYPE

Rank: C7

…

Additional Mode Identified as: SABER-TYPE

…

User Attributes:

- Strength: C6

- Endurance: C4

- Speed: C3

- Cognition: C3

…

CAD Specifications:

- Offense: C4

- Defense: C6

- Growth: S

Good, as he’d expected—or hoped, maybe—the improvement to his base Strength had translated to a boost in Cognition, bringing it up from C2 to C3. The jump in Endurance earlier in the week had already converted into Speed, so while his two strongs stats in Brawler Mode were still his weaker as a Saber, overall the numbers were much more well-balanced.

If he leaned into Saber training—especially if he took advantage of the extra supervised hours the Institute had promised they would provide Firesong once they got back from Sectionals—he could still see serious potential in his Type Shift Ability that hadn’t even been scratched yet.

“Especially if I learn voiceless commands…” he muttered to himself, not realizing he’d spoke the words out loud.

At least not until he got a familiar poke in the ribs.

“What are you muttering to yourself about now, Mr. Prince?”

Rei winced, and turned to find that Aria had detached herself from the rest of the team—probably noticing his distraction—to come over to him. She was studying his face carefully—as she tended to whenever he zoned out, Rei realized—and beyond her Catcher and the others were still singing Viv’s praisers while Viv herself looked on with a smile that was maybe just a liiiiittle less wooden than it had been a minute before.

Choosing again to ignore the pinch of concern at her expression, Rei dismissed the spec request as he answered Aria.

“Just thinking about what Takeshi said Tuesday, about vocal commands being a bane as he get stronger.” He dropped his voice a slipped a touch closer to her just as the numbers not he wall above the doors before them showed a car was on the way up. “Shido jumped in Strength, just now. Saber Mode translated it to Cognition, balancing me out pretty well.”

“And you’re thinking about how to use Type Shift more effectively,” Aria finished for him with something between a sigh and a quiet laugh. “Honestly, I thought it would take longer than this for me to get desensitized to the insanity that his your CAD, Rei, but here we are. ‘Shido jumped in Strength’… Unbelievable. Isn’t that four spec upgrades since the start of the tournament?”

Rei nodded, giving her a somber look.

“Better watch out. At this rate I’m gonna be C8 before we get back to school.”

Aria narrowed her eyes at him. “… And?”

He grinned. “And obviously I won’t want to associate with someone who isn’t as high of a rank as—Owe! Owe! Okay, okay!” Rei laughed as took two more hard pokes to the ribs. “Put the fingers away! I’m just teasing.”

“Well tease someone else, mister,” Aria growled as the car reached them, glaring at him threateningly. Still, despite this, she dropped her hand so that the back of her knuckles brushed his as the door opened before them.

And promptly snatched it away and up again into a stiff salute—mirroring Rei’s—as Dyrk Reese stepped out of the elevator.

“Ah, Firesong,” the Major said. “Perfect. Just the group I was looking for.”

Even had the Major’s tone not been pleasant and even, Rei would have had alarm bells going off at the site of the man.

He wasn’t sure he had—in more than 6 months of school—ever seen Dyrk Reese smile.