The virtual landscape rolled out before him like a never ending sea of grass. Scott looked out at it for as long as he could before he had to rapidly descend back to the ground. From his vantage point in the air he had seen nothing but grass as far as the horizon, but he knew that it was a deception.

Scott curled one hand into a fist then nodded. A lot had happened recently. There were many problems in his life that he really did not know how to deal with properly. Now that he had returned to the dungeon that nearly claimed his life it was time to do the one thing he could understand, clearly. It was time to fight.

"Let's put some of my high school combat electives to good use today," said Scott before he punched at the air. He took a breath then smiled. This was where he belonged. This was his place, the place he had chosen to be for most of his life. Alien wives, and his sudden desire to change his diet aside, this was the one thing he had been trying to prepare himself for throughout his life.

He stalked the high grass for a few minutes. Monsters in the training programs came few and far between. It was necessary since the student candidates were still quite weak, but it did keep their growth to a minimum as well. Scott needed to find a way to increase his development points, and today he planned to put a bit of advice that he had received into motion. Shoppy had given him an idea, when he had mentioned his development problems.

Scott set that idea into motion the moment the first monster appeared. Grass suddenly rose up and whipped at him with cutting force. Scott took a few light injuries before he managed to get out of the area, but he knew that his opponent was still after him.

Out of the grass leapt a small rodent-like creature. It stood on two legs like a man, but still looked mostly like a rodent. The biggest difference was that instead of fur, it had tiny blades of grass growing from its body.

The rodent hopped forward then curled up into a ball. Tiny blades of grass shot out at Scott like spears made of lawn clippings. His physicality was heighted by wearing his cape, as was his defensive power by all of his equipment. Still, the beast's weak attack stung him throughout his body.

Scott did not retaliate. Instead, he did his best to dodge and weave around the attacks. He danced with the grass coated rodent for quite some time. Shoppy had claimed that it would take a lot of effort for his tip to work, but that the end result would be better than simply killing a monster as soon as he found it.

Eventually, they wandered into the territory of another of the tiny aggressive little rat-things. Really, they looked more like beavers who had strayed away from their dam. It was even harder to dodge the attacks of two of the beasts. For Scott, with his current powers, it was impossible to dodge when the third one showed up. However, that was a key strategy in the Shoppy path to power plan.

Scott shot up into the air and flew a short distance away. The angry rodents gave chase. When he set down once more, they came at him from a singular direction. He could dodge and weave around their attacks again for a time.

Blood leaked from dozens of small lacerations. His shirt and pants were torn in several places. Even his cape had small tears in it. That did not matter, however. Scott was forced to face a difficult situation and instead of ending it quickly, he used it to force himself to practice evading attacks.

A fourth beaver-thing appeared. It came at him from behind, and managed to land several painful strikes to his formerly pristinely undamaged rear. Butt hurt and bleeding from dozens of wounds, Scott continued the plan. At the very least he would gather several monsters to fight. These creatures, unlike the thing that had nearly killed him the first day, were weak. He could handle this many with no problem.

After a while, he noticed a sort of rhythm in their attacks. He was not skilled enough to properly capitalize on it, but he did try. Over time he was successfully able to dodge a few of their attacks, even after the fifth monster appeared.

Surrounded, bombarded by painful lawn clippings, Scott was near the end of his ability to endure the pain. He was not badly injured, but he had taken so many small wounds that it became difficult to move with complete ease. It was time to try out something he wanted to try out ever since he had gained the burst punch ability. Coincidentally, it was also the final step in the Shoppy path to power plan.

The cool down period for his flight ability had ended. Scott shot up into the air and kept flying. The angry little rats drew closer together and fired straight up at him. Five seconds up, he turned in mid-air then angled himself downward. He drew back his fist then cried out as he rocketed back toward the Earth. Just before he would have crashed into the ground he unleashed his explosive attack. The force of the blow did two things. One thing was that it helped him stop before he hit the ground. The second thing was that the combination of his headlong dive and the explosive fury of his burst punch sent out a small shockwave. The monstrous beavers were knocked back and gave out panicked cries of pain.

Scott proceeded to pummel the formerly aggressive rodents with everything that he had. His skills were basic, but solid. He had taken American Combat Boxing and Grappling as an elective, even completed the level two course. At the very least he could be considered a solid amateur combat boxer. His grappling skills were not too shabby, either.

Combat boxing, a resurgence of the old style of the sport, included crippling elbow strikes and head butts. Knees and kicks had their place as well, but they were mostly used in combination with upper body strikes.

Every part of the body was used in combat boxing, and the individual fingers had their place as well. One of the angry little beavers found that out when he leapt up to bite at Scott's face, but was caught in mid-air. The combat boxer gripped the critter's head tight and gouged both of his eyes using his thumbs. He followed the attack with a rising knee-strike that shattered the creature's little rodent jaw. It was left in a broken heap as the youth turned to his next opponent.

Kicks were kept simple. They never rose above the height of the human waistline. This was perfect for attacking short creatures as Scott performed quick, simple, sweeps that forced the beavers back.

Blades of grass shot out to lash his flesh. Without the defensive aura provided by his equipment, especially the passive bonus granted by the defensive aura attached to his cape, he would have been cut apart long ago.

Beavers screamed in mortal terror as Scott heroically stomped a mud hole in their little rodent backsides. These creatures would have been a deadly threat to a normal teen, but with just a little training and equipment, they were not that much of an opponent.

He finished up the battle and watched as the virtual monsters dissipated. They left behind a handful of items, a tooth, a claw, and several grass needles. The most interesting item was a grass-tail. It looked like a beaver's tail but it was made out of a thick grass blade.

Scott collected his loot, such as it was, and then considered his options. His regenerative powers would heal his current injuries faster than a normal person, but by his best guest it would still take a day or two to completely heal if he left his body to its own devices. "I should go get patched up, I guess."

He left the dungeon and headed to his storage box. The box was close to full by the time he finished loading his items. "Hmm, need more space."

Leveling his storage box would be a problem as it took a lot of development points. Though, considering the fact that it allowed him to manifest loot and items from the virtual dungeon in the real world, it could not be helped. Such a thing would not be cheaply had, no matter what his personal desires might be about the situation.

"Alright, let's check my status." said Scott. He had not bothered to check it before training as nothing would have changed since last time.

[Scott Hennessy]

Age: 18

Development Points: 62

Offensive Aura: 2 [3-5]

Defensive Aura: 1 [17]

--

Resilience: 101 [111]

Vitality: 136 [146]

Dexterity: 113 [123]

Physical Prowess: 154 [164]

Mental Acuity: 159 [169]

[--]

Scott stared at his status information. "What... the hell?"

It was all wrong. Somehow his base stats had increased by a solid margin. He had yet to save up enough development points to increase even one stat, and yet his scores had all risen to well over one hundred. They were still only what an average person might have, but he was looking at a change that would have taken several months of dedicated physical, mental, and physical training in the traditional manner.

"What caused me to grow so much in only a day?" It made no sense. Was it Shoppy's suggestion?

Curious, Scott paid closer attention to his development points. Even though he was a virtual psionic representation of himself, he nearly choked on his own surprise when he noticed the truth. He had been so focused on his weird stat increase that he had never noticed that his development points had increased substantially! "There's no way. I couldn't have gotten all of those points from a handful of angry beavers."

Something was wrong here, something he did not understand. "Maybe I should ask Alice about it."

A sudden sense of pressure arose behind his virtual eyes. Scott reached up to rub his head, but he stopped mid-movement. "Nah. I shouldn't bother Alice about this. It's probably nothing."

He then thought about what had happened recently. A thought occurred to him. "Well, there was that business with Electra." He rubbed his chin. "I gained knowledge of her language just from a kiss and ingesting a little of her blood."

Scott nodded, justifying the situation in the process. "Bet this is just a delayed reaction. Who knows what her blood is doing inside me right now?"

That did not explain the development points, however. Scott brought up the DP Salvage menu. It was one of the information screens that he had learned to use. Items from the dungeon could be taken out and sold for Ideons, but they could also be trashed and converted into development points.

"Need eight of the needles for one point," said Scott. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that the tail was worth two points by itself.

"Must be a rare drop," he said thoughtfully. "Better see if Shoppy wants it."

Combining all of the items he had gathered, without the tail but including the daggers he had been storing, would allow him to earn two additional development points. "Yeah, now it makes even less sense. Where did all of those other development points come from?"

The beavers were weak monsters, if he had to guess the lot of them would have been worth perhaps a single development point during his old beat as quickly as possibly method. At best he had expected to double or triple his point take by training in the way that he had.

Dealing with tougher encounters allowed for the development of more points. Fighting five beavers at once was much more lucrative for his development purposes than singular quick kills. Still, he had expected to earn two or three points, not end up with over sixty of them.

"Damn. Why didn't I check my stats earlier?" Scott rubbed his forehead. Had he done so, he would have known for certain if the training caused this change, or if something caused it.

Scott frowned at his stats. He loved the upgrade, but hated that he did not know why it happened. "Maybe Maxine can tell me something?" he whispered. He needed to go see her to get patched up anyway.

He left the simulation, and went to see Maxine. Upon his arrival, she eyed him critically, but finished working on one of the girls who had come in due to an injury. "All better now sweety. You go be careful."

"Thank you," said the red haired girl. She smiled at Maxine warmly, and the teacher smiled back. "You're always looking out for us."

"It's why I'm here, hon. You students have to deal with a high learning curve, and things that could happened at any moment. I'm glad to help," said Maxine with a smile.

The red haired girl bit her lower lip then nodded. She scurried out of the room, but offered Scott a smirk as she left. Scott rolled his eyes and sighed. He knew what that smirk had meant. Damned gossip hounds.

"Well, what happened to you, sweety?" asked Maxine. She gestured toward Scott and beckoned him toward her.

Scott fought down a blush, he was not accustomed to her mannerisms. Maxine was always warm and cheerful. She was incredibly good looking as well. It was common for people who trained with real ID-Drives since they could upgrade anything they wanted over time. But if he had to be honest, she was almost too pretty to look at right now. "I— uh, I danced with a few beavers."

"Oh? Did they not like the song?" asked Maxine, her smile growing brighter.

Scott sat down on her treatment bed and the medical expert began her treatment. "Hmm, you seem different somehow."

"You can tell?" asked Scott.

"Oh, so you are different? Is anything wrong?" she asked, a hint of concern in her tone.

"I dunno. My stats are weird, and I have a wife who won't talk to me," said Scott.

Maxine pouted at him then patted him softly on the shoulder. "You poor dear."

She treated his multitude of minor lacerations then asked, "Want me to run a diagnostic to see if you are alright, sweety?"

"Could you?" asked Scott with growing excitement.

"It would be my pleasure," she said, a sweet smile on her lips. Maxine turned away from him to prep the machines, revealing something that Scott had not seen until now.

"What's...? What's up with your ears?" asked Scott.

Maxine stopped suddenly. Slowly she turned back to him, a curious expression on her face. "My ears, sweety? What do you mean?"

"Must be something wrong with my eyes," said Scott.

"Maybe... But tell me what you see," she asked him softly.

Scott frowned a little then squinted his eyes slightly. "Well, I see your ears like they are supposed to be, but there's also this weird sort of invisible triangle thing stretching out from them. Makes it look like your ears are much longer and pointed."

Maxine sighed softly. "You can actually see it, huh?"

The brief sigh passed and her cheerful demeanor returned. "Sweety, you're right. You definitely have something going on if you can see past my glamour."

"Glamour?" asked Scott.

"Yes, quite honestly it's the only way I can function in human society anymore," she admitted.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about... Aren't you human?" asked Scott.

She shook her head slowly from side-to-side. "No, sweety. In my third year at IDEA I hit a wall in my development. In order to go past my human limitations I became something else."

"What? Uh, what did you—?" he tried to ask her a coherent question, but something was happening to her face. Before she seemed absurdly pretty, but now she was slowly becoming glorious.

"In the dungeons there are ways and means for a human to become something else. I became what is known as a Solar Alfarii, or the Golden Sun Elf. It's why my medical treatments are so much stronger than most," said Maxine. Her glamour fell away entirely revealing a creature out of myth.

Scott nearly swallowed his own tongue while attempting to speak. Maxine smiled at him then lightly stroked his hair. "Calm down, sweety. I won't hurt you," she said softly.

"Y-you're glowing..." he said inanely.

"Yes, I do that when I'm happy," she said with another warm smile. "Let me try to tone it down a little."

The brilliant glow radiating from her now golden-tan skin slowly faded. She sparkled a little in the light, like she wore a fine coat of glitter. "That better, sweety?"

Scott nodded lightly. He still had trouble speaking, for a moment he had forgotten to breathe. He now took that breath in a slow, shuddering, manner.

"Oh, It wasn't that bad, surely?" she asked with a warm laugh. She gently placed her hand to his cheek. "Besides, you're still a few years too young for me."

"D-do you have a time machine?" he asked, and then blinked. He mouthed the words that he had just spoken then pulled the pillow under his head, over his head, and groaned loudly into it.

Maxine laughed a little, but not in a cruel manner. "Such boldness. Perhaps you'll be a superhero someday after all."

After Scott recovered from his mortifying moment, Maxine ran her diagnostic. The blonde elf gazed curiously at the results. "This is quite the upgrade compared to your previous statistics."

"I know," said Scott. "What I don't know is how it happened."

Maxine tapped her chin briefly as she thought about the situation. "Well, there are a few possibilities."

She looked at him gently. "Have you had any recent traumatic experiences?"

"Does marrying an alien girl, and nearly being killed when she realizes it was a poor life decision, count?" asked Scott.

The beautiful elven healer giggled warmly at him then tapped him lightly on the chest. "No. Despite the teenage angst, that isn't nearly enough of a trauma to cause something like this. A few points maybe, but not this much of an increase."

"Then, no," said Scott.

Maxine nodded to him. "I see. How about food? Have you eaten anything truly bizarre lately? Something from a dungeon, perhaps?"

"No, not unless you put that sort of thing in the cafeteria." he said.

"I see, I see. This is curious. Short of a severe psychological trauma, or ingesting something alien, I don't know what could cause this sort of growth."

"Well, when I was tricked into marriage, I did ingest a little of Electra's blood." he admitted.

Maxine's eyes widened and she slapped her fist into her palm. "Ah, that's true." After a moment of exultation, however, she shook her head. "I could easily see that increasing your stats by a few points, but it does not explain your development point total."

Scott was now curious. "Would drinking monster blood increase my stats?"

She placed a finger to her chin then acquired a thoughtful expression. "Maybe. In some cases, definitely."

"Though," she said after a brief moment of thought, "It could also give you a disease, poison you, make you have explosive diarrhea, or turn you into a monster."

"Pass," said Scott. His expression was as flat as his aspirations for development through eating monsters.

"Good choice. I've known a few people who tried it. For a while it worked, but eventually they all ended up dead or wishing that they were," said Maxine.

Scott thought about it again, drinking monster blood. "Heh, like some kind of vampire," muttered Scott. Suddenly, the intense pressure behind his eyes re-emerged. He hissed a little and clutched his head.

"What's wrong?" asked Maxine, suddenly less warm and friendly. She showed signs of true concern, now.

"Headache came back. Been pretty bad recently," he said, just before the pressure died away once more.

"Hold on." She ran her hands over his head while humming a soft song. A gentle light and a sense of warmth played along the surface of his face and head while she checked him out.

Maxine frowned. "That technique is far more accurate than a CAT Scan. I did not see any physiological issues. When did these headaches start?"

"Huh? Well... I'm not really sure," said Scott.

"Think, sweety. We need to know if we are to find the cause," said Maxine. She smiled at him in a warm and gentle manner to ease his confusion. "When's the first one that you can recall?"

"Well, hmm. Actually, it was yesterday afternoon some time. I woke up after I went to talk to Alice about this whole marriage thing, and I had one," said Scott.

Maxine blinked. Slowly, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She spoke in her typical sweet voice, however. "Sweety, you went to talk with Alice?"

"Yeah. She was busy, but she explained everything... Not that I liked the answer," said Scott, his voice becoming a little huffy near the end.

"I see." said Maxine. "Not what you wanted to hear, huh?"

"Not really. If I'd have talked with Electra more, this might not have happened. Though, the fact that you teachers were so happy to take advantage of the situation is annoying," he groused.

"You don't like your pretty alien wife?" asked Maxine with a smile.

"I don't even know her," said Scott quickly. He glanced over to Maxine the sarcastically said. "Thanks for all the help with that, by the way."

"Is it really so bad? Some of us can't even get a boyfriend because of the life choices that we made," said Maxine, a hint of sadness in her tone.

Scott blinked at her. "Do you mean, you?"

Maxine coughed slightly then shrugged. "You've seen me. I'd have to spend my entire life pretending not to be what I am."

Scott blinked when she muttered something that he barely heard. It sounded like she had never had a boyfriend. "Now, that I don't believe!"

"Wha—you heard that?" asked Maxine. Her face reddened slightly.

"Seriously? You've never had a boyfriend?" asked Scott incredulously.

"By all means announce it to the world!" cried out Maxine. "Like it's such a surprise, anyway! I'm not an old maid, you know."

"How old are you?" asked Scott, without realizing that it wasn't really nice to ask.

Thankfully Maxine did not care about the social convention. "I'm twenty years old, thank you very much."

"Oh! Oh..." said Scott. He looked at her in a new light. He had originally thought she was a few years older than that. "Not really that much older than me..."

"Whoa now, no getting ideas." Maxine made a stopping motion with her hands. "I admit that you're fun to tease, but I have a hard rule not to date anyone who can't legally get married without special dispensation and parental permission."

"What?" Scott blinked at her. "I wasn't talking about that... I was just surprised we were so close in age."

It was Maxine's turn to groan. "Figures."

Something about her response suddenly did not add up, however. "You went to IDEA for at least three years, right?"

"Yes, sweety?" asked Maxine softly. "I did. Why do you ask?"

"How can you have done that if you're only twenty?" asked Scott. "I mean, it's a four year school."

"Ah, I was a bit of a prodigy. I originally went to IDEA's American sister campus when I was sixteen. I transferred to the main campus when I was eighteen, since international law requires everyone there to be eighteen, or older," said Maxine.

"So, you counted the first two years at the sister campus?" asked Scott.

"Of course. It's still IDEA course work. I was only at the main campus for about a year before my change, though," said Maxine. "Finished my course work as a two-year transfer, and graduated last semester."

"I see," said Scott.

Silence reigned in the room for a moment before Scott spoke again, "Maxine... Alice told me that the teachers all capitalized on the situation with Electra. What did that really mean?"

Maxine blinked at him. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No. It really isn't," said Scott.

The golden elf smiled at him then reached out and mussed his hair. "You have no idea what a good thing it is that you have someone in your life."

Scott snorted derisively, "Good thing? We barely tolerate each other."

"At least you have each other. Why do you think we're working as teachers?" asked Maxine.

"You like to teach?" asked Scott. He had never really thought about that sort of thing.

Maxine laughed. "No, no." She leaned forward and smiled at him. "It's the best possible chance we'll get to find a boyfriend... though we have to wait a few years and try to let the crops grow, so to speak."

"That's... a little disturbing," said Scott.

She shrugged at him. "I can't date a normal man. If I have one overly excited vaginal contraction I'll probably crush his manhood."

"Wait... You... You're serious?" asked Scott.

"Did you think it would be easy? That it was like a comic book?" asked Maxine, a little heat in her voice. "The truth is that once you reach a certain level of raw power, normal humans can't even survive a sexual relationship with you."

Maxine pointed at him. "Guys like you are about the only chance some of us have to find love, and have a family."

"Oh... It... It's really that hard?" It was one thing he had not thought about. How would he date once he graduated? If he had the power to throw cars around, he would break a normal girl in half with little effort.

"Do you even understand the math?" asked Maxine heatedly. "No? Obviously not."

She pointed at him then said, "Let me break it down for you."

Maxine took a breath and said, "Five thousand students at any given time. Less than three hundred boys at any given time. Most of the time, far less than that. Those boys are also among the only men on the planet who can reach a point where they can survive the affections of a female graduate long term."

"I... Wow, the gap is that big?" asked Scott.

"It's also a war of attrition! Nearly seventy-eight percent of all male students die or drop out! The handful that make it to the end are literally the only legitimate opportunity for a woman like me!" said Maxine in a low growl.

"You think it's creepy that a grown woman has to pick her potential boyfriend from a bunch of guys who are a couple of years younger?" Maxine leaned in and frowned prettily at him. "Try being a twenty year old woman who knows for a fact that only a handful of men in the world could even get her off without dying horribly in the process."

"That's why? Are you seriously telling me that this is why the teachers were so unhelpful when Electra and I got married by accident?" asked Scott, still incredulous but a little more understanding.

"Yes! We like Electra. She's our friend, and she got her man," said Maxine. She then sighed a little and leaned back. "She was so happy, and we were happy for her."

"I get that, but the situation was messed up. How could I just go along with that?" asked Scott. Why were the teachers not more realistic about the situation?

"You still don't get it?" Maxine laughed sadly.

"No, I really don't," said Scott.

The golden elf placed a comforting hand to his shoulder. "Sweety, you are piece of raw meat about to be tossed into a shark tank filled with lonely girls who want a boyfriend."

"Wha—" began Scott.

"You have no idea how likely it is that some random second or third year girl will just sling you over her shoulder and run off with you as her war bride," said Maxine seriously. "You think being married to Electra is bad? It was going to happen at some point anyway, and probably not to a girl you even knew."

Maxine's eyebrows drew together. "Those girls, most will be nice, but some will be insistent. It doesn't matter if you're a nice guy, or funny. All that matters is that you represent power. Some of them will try to claim you solely because of their country. Some will do it because they think you are a little cute."

She took a breath then continued, "Other girls will fight over you because they are bored, or want to make another girl jealous. Yet others will fight you specifically, because they want to prove they are better than a man."

"In the end, either you get strong, or you get a girlfriend." said Maxine. She eyed him carefully then said, "It might not even be a girl you know."

"How can any of that be legal?" asked Scott, completely incredulous.

"Sweety, you use that word a lot." Maxine squeezed his shoulder. "As far as you're concerned, the word legal no longer has any meaning in your life. All you can do is get strong and guard that precious little ass of yours, or cultivate connections with girls who will guard it for you."

"You... You can't be serious," said Scott, his eyes growing wide. "It's not that bad is it? Besides, there had to be other reasons why you teachers went along with the marriage thing."

"Well, yeah. There's also the whole bit about a human and a Minotyran noble getting together. It's a big deal, and could go a long way toward solidifying relations between our peoples," said Maxine. "You know protecting the Earth, the interests of America, and all that."

"Why be so happy that some other girl is getting one of your few potential boyfriend candidates, though?" asked Scott after a brief moment of thought. He was still reeling from this weird bit of information. It was like they were tending a garden, waiting to pluck the forbidden fruit, and he was the fruit!

Maxine giggled at him. "Well, it's not like you're off the market. The thing is, that it actually makes it easier."

"How does me being married make it easier for you to date me?" asked Scott.

Maxine poked at him. "Stop putting thoughts in my head. You're not old enough, yet."

He grunted at her and she sighed. "Come on, this is simple information. Have you forgotten already?"

"Probably," said Scott. "My memories are a bit fuzzy..."

The blond healer shook her head. "Come on. You have a beautiful wife who openly tells you that you must have a minimum of five wives to satisfy the customs of her people, and you forget?"

"Yeah, that... She was actually serious?" Scott stared incredulously at Maxine. The concept was far too bizarre to believe. What woman openly wanted her husband to have multiple wives?

Maxine nodded at him then shook her finger. "You need to understand something. Men who can withstand a fully trained IDEA graduate are at an extreme premium. The conflicts over their affections are one of the most common reasons that students fight in the latter years."

"Why not just date Minotyrans or whatever?" said Scott. "It's not like they look too much different than human beings."

"I'd crush one of them, too," said Maxine. "It's a pity too. They're so... beefy." Her eyes widened and she started to drool a little while she thought about the typical Minotyran man.

"Seriously?" asked Scott. He briefly recalled the sheer massiveness of the Minotyran male that he'd seen an image of previously. The idea that someone the size of Maxine could crush him would normally be ridiculous. The power of the ID-Drive, however, threw conventional logic out the window.

She sighed languidly then made a sad little pout. "Afraid so. The Minotyran males don't like IDEA graduates. We make them look bad. They are far stronger than most of humanity, but their strength is a natural byproduct."

"Can't they just train like we do?" asked Scott.

"They don't have the ID-Drive, and it does not work for them in the way it does for us," she said before taking a short breath. "They can use one to plug into our false dungeons as they call them, due to their psionic ability to connect with other types of technological devices, but they can't gain development points and the like. They use other means, but those means are slower to work than the ID-Drive."

"So, Electra can't train like I do?" asked Scott softly. That was a strangely sad thing to hear.

"No, but she can use the device to accelerate her natural capacity to grow stronger. She doesn't generate development points, but her psionic abilities can increase." Maxine reached over and took up a glass of water she had poured a while back. After taking a drink, she continued. "Electra can use her new potential to reinforce her natural talents through mundane ways, such as martial arts practice and meditation. She can also use items found in a dungeon."

"What about you? Can you still use the ID-Drive...? You're not human, right?"

Maxine mussed his hair a little more. "Worried about me?" she said before taking another drink of water.

"Well, as a potential member of my harem I do need to consider your needs." said Scott lightly.

She snorted at him and some of her water went down the wrong way. She spent a moment trying not to drown, while coughing up her cool refreshing beverage. "You—" she gasped out softly. "You need to be old enough to marry, first! You can barely vote"

"I'd vote for that," said Scott lightly. "Especially if I get to train for a few years first."

"Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to do the teasing," she said, before poking him in the chest.

Scott reached up and patted her on the hand. "My busty future harem member is so cute."

Maxine blew out an exasperated breath. "Since when are you like this? Weren't you a prude the other day?"

"No, I was married without consent and hated the idea of it." Scott grinned at her. "I do like girls, you know. Especially the busty kind who might be willing to help me protect my precious little ass." He wiggled his rump a little for emphasis.

Maxine rolled her eyes then shook her head. "What manner of horror did I set in motion?"

Scott laughed and released her hand. "Who knows? But if it's really that hard for you to find a date, I'd be glad to hang out with you."

"Really? An old maid like me?" asked Maxine lightly.

"Dunno... Maybe you should give us a little spin. Show us what you're working with, dahling," said Scott, feeling a little saucy. He made a spinning motion with his finger.

"I'm not doing that!" exclaimed Maxine with a laugh.

"Now who's the prude?" asked Scott with another grin.

Maxine shook her finger back and forth. "You better be careful, sweety. I'll start to take you seriously if you keep this up."

"Good. It's nice to talk to someone who isn't trying to smash me with a table," said Scott.

She placed her hands to her hips then leaned forward. "So that's all you want to do with me? Talk?"

"Well, sure. What else are you good for?" he asked her with a silly grin.

She reached up and squished his cheeks together. "Why aren't you a few years older?"

"Invent that time machine," said Scott while Maxine squished his cheeks together to give him fish lips.

"No. I don't think so," she said after releasing his cheeks.

"Why not? Voting age and all that," said Scott.

The blond elf shook her head. "I'd crush you. You need to be stronger..."

Scott nodded to her. "I doubt you'll still be looking for a boyfriend in two years."

Maxine sighed. "I don't know about that. By the time most guys graduate from IDEA they're already paired off or in long term multiple partner relationships. I focused too much on training, and now I'm that older girl who hangs out at high school parties."

"Well, I suppose it's not that weird. It's not like any of us are underage, and you can't even legally drink yet, either," he said while placing his hand on her shoulder.

Maxine looked at him curiously for a moment. "Are we really having this conversation?"

"Hey, look at it this way." Scott scooted over toward her. "You mostly want someone to spend time with, right?"

Maxine bit her lower lip a little then said, "Well, yeah... But."

"All teasing aside, we don't know each other so I know you're not into me." said Scott. He did not wait for her to say anything. Instead, he said, "But you don't have to be."

"I don't, huh?" asked Maxine. Her eyes sparkled a little just before she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No. You don't. We can hang out and stuff. We might figure out that you aren't interested in me in slightest, but at least you won't be bored," said Scott.

"What if you aren't interested in me after we hang out," she said, her fingers making air quotes while saying the last two words.

Scott blinked at her then laughed. "I'm already interested." He leaned forward and waved his finger from side to side, a smile on his face. "Why do you think I'm trying so hard?"

Maxine threw her hand to her mouth and laughed obnoxiously. "OK! OK... We'll hang out."

Scott's eyes widened and he presented a goofy smile. His smile drooped a little when she continued, "As friends."

"Friends with benefits?" he asked hopefully.

"The benefit is that you get to be my friend," she replied with another warm smile.

"Friends who see each other naked?" asked Scott curiously.

"Naked emotionally? Maybe," she said lightly.

"Friends who do butt stuff?" asked Scott in a cheerful tone.

"No," she said simply.

They looked at each other for a moment then they both smiled. A loud feminine cough echoed from the still open doorway. They turned toward it to see Electra standing there, her hands on her hips.

"Electra," said Scott.

"Husband," she said simply. Electra then glanced over to Maxine. She eyed the woman up and down for a moment.

Maxine eyed Electra as well. For a moment no one made a sound. Finally, Electra turned to Scott. "At least you take your position seriously."

She turned to walk away, but Maxine called out to her. "Was there something you needed, sweety? Are you injured?"

"I wished to speak with my husband and heard that he was being treated for his injuries here." Electra glanced over to Scott. "I see that he is in good health, and obviously has no need of his wife to check in on him."

Electra lifted her chin then turned away again, tossing her hair to the side in the process. Before she left, she said. "It will be dinner time soon, if you still want to keep your promise, husband."

She walked away, leaving Scott and Maxine slightly confused. He spoke first. "You know more about this stuff than me, right?"

"You mean, girls?" asked Maxine.

"Yeah." said Scott.

"Been one all my life, sweety," she said.

Scott slowly turned to look at her. "Did she actually seem jealous to you?"

Maxine smiled at Scott. "Honey, take my advice."

"Yeah?" asked Scott.

"Eat dinner with her tonight." said Maxine.

"Aww, and I was going to invite you out to eat," said Scott lightly.

Maxine poked him lightly in the chest. "Just friends, remember."

"Friends eat," said Scott.

"Fine. We'll eat together sometime. Now get out of here, and go train, you wannabe Casanova," said Maxine. She pushed at him a little, while she offered a light hearted smile.

Scott lunged forward and slipped his arms around the healer's waist. "Training you say?"

Maxine gasped at him then exclaimed, "Friends! Friends!" before pushing lightly at him again.

"I'm feeling all sorts of friendly," laughed Scott. This was fun! For once he actually felt like the man in the relationship, instead of the tiny bastard who needed to work on his cardio. Escaping from his wife might prove more challenging in the future.

Just outside the room to the infirmary, a certain Minotyran girl took in a deep breath then let it out slowly. Staying where she currently stood would be unseemly. Her fingers curled into fists, she slowly walked away. Her tail lashed from side to side as she moved, showing a hint of something even she was not certain of at the moment.