It was quickly becoming a trend one that hed rather not perpetuate but Gage once again found himself underfoot. Presently, Rima sat on a chair reading and humming while he struggled beneath her sole. With all the strength he could muster, he tried to move the mass of flesh that pressed down on him, but it was to no avail. Gage much preferred trying to lift her hand, but Rima had begged him to let her use her foot and he had eventually relented. It makes me feel so powerful, she said breathlessly. Between that and her rape jokes, Gage wondered if she wasnt an evil witch after all.
After a few more seconds of effort, he gave up. Rima smiled and scooped him up. Nobody said it was gonna be easy, she chided. The best analogy I can come up with is this: its like learning a new sport. It takes hours of practice, and even then youll never master it.
Gage nodded as he tried to recover the breath that had been pushed out of him by her foot. What else can you tell me?
She put on a thoughtful expression, one finger pressed against her pursed lips. Its really tough to explain, but once you get it to work, youll know. Honestly, this is the best way to go about it.
Suddenly, something occurred to him. Who taught you?
Rima grinned. Nobody. I read about it and taught it to myself. Im more talented than you think, she winked. And youve turned out to be a bit of a dud. Im starting to think you made that teleporting incident up.
Gage didnt rise to the bait. Id like to keep working on it, but Charis should be logging on any minute.
Youll get it eventually, she encouraged. It honestly just takes time. Oh, and there she is now. Ill tell her to come here.
Yeah, she definitely needs to see your place. Chariss arrival reminded him of something. Ive been meaning to ask you something: why have I been disconnected from the messaging system and all that?
Im not sure, but my theory is that when you were shrunk the game started treating you as an item, and so youve been disconnected from the global communication grid. That also ties in with why you give armor and equipment power boosts. The funny thing is, neither of those effects happens to normal characters it must be a bug having to do with you being jailbroken.
Your little stunt has been a real chafe, Rima. Her expression fell, and she looked away. But its okay, he added hurriedly. It has its upsides. The quick save elicited a smile, but she still looked a little hurt. She really did regret her prank, he thought.
A bell tinkled somewhere in the penthouse. Thats Charis, Rima explained. Lets go get her. She gathered him up in her hand and the pair headed towards a nondescript circle in the corner of the apartment. Upon standing on it, the circle rose up to the ceiling, and the pair exited through the roof via a sleek opening. They spotted Charis immediately, looking bewildered.
Charis! called Gage. When she spun around and saw them, her face lit up. Charis literally skipped over to them before grabbing Rima in a tight hug, which meant the witch had to grip him carefully as her arms were pushed against her sides. Hey, I was your friend first!
Yeah, but shes just so much prettier than you, teased Charis. Rima laughed and raised him up on her palm. I think this tiny look is good for you though. Maybe we should leave you that way.
Why dont we make me big and you two can try it out? Gage fired back. Youll be like cute little Tinkerbells.
Has he been this cranky the whole time? Charis asked.
Pretty much, Rima answered. Come down into my apartment; I need to grab some things, and then well go.
They went down the little elevator and entered Rimas penthouse. Chariss reaction was predictable. Holy
this place mustve cost a fortune! While a dollar went much farther in Perfect Dimension than in the real world, a place this luxurious would still fetch a high price.
I have my ways, smiled Rima with a slight blush. Here, take the little guy. Ill be right back. She handed him over and scurried away.
I like her, Charis declared.
Me too, Gage agreed. What have you been up to today?
Oh you know, the usual: class, and whatever. Its the worst, she complained. You guys might be on to something with this whole escape-from-real-life plan.
You should give it a try, he joked.
Just then, Rima returned with what appeared to be a blue jumpsuit draped over one arm. Here, Charis, put this on. Its the Zero Suit its far superior to the equipment you have on now.
Oh my god! she squealed and practically threw Gage onto a nearby table in her excitement. In a flash, she had switched out of her comparatively clunky silver suit in favor of this sky blue number, which hugged her figure with undeniable allure. Wow, it looks so cool!
Yeah, its based off of some really old game. It should give you a huge stat boost too.
Thank you so much, Rima! Charis cried with glee, wrapping her arms around her.
Rima blushed again. No problem, she mumbled.
But what are we going to do about Gage?
Well, I dont think theres anywhere for him to latch securely onto you; but I dont think youll need his stat boost anyway unless theres an emergency, in which case youll probably just want to stuff him in your boot. Rima gave him an apologetic look. Sorry, Gage, thats the best I can think of for that.
Fine, fine, he muttered.
Anyway, if Gage can give boosts to items, theres no reason why he shouldnt be able to boost familiars as well. Rima whistled loudly, and in a puff of a smoke a bat appeared. It screeched and flew around for a moment before landing on the table beside him. This is Nightwing, my pet bat. Hes Level 100 already, and if you ride him... well, lets just say hell be tough to beat.
Not exactly the most intimidating beast of the night, observed Gage wryly. The flying rodent could almost be described as cute until it opened its mouth, revealing a set of razor sharp fangs.
Trust me, hes a very capable fighter, smiled Rima. Anyway, I Crafted you a saddle it actually doubles as a rune slot, so there shouldnt be any issues with your stat boost not working for whatever reason. She stroked the creature affectionately before putting on the saddle. Well, give it a try.
Gage approached the animal resolutely; he would never admit to being nervous, but that didnt stop him from engaging the bat in a stare-down as he approached. To his credit, Nightwing seemed downright nonchalant about the whole affair, and it didnt take long for Gage to get situated. Still, he felt ridiculous and rightly so.
Awww! said the girls, practically in unison.
Youre so cute! My hearts gonna melt, Charis cooed.
Lets get going, Gage cut in gruffly, but the girls ignored him and began petting him and the bat, all the while making more noises about how adorable he was. He was on the verge of drawing his sword and stabbing them their fingers when they finally relented.
Okay, we should get going. Also, just so you know, Nightwing wont take orders from you, explained Rima. He follows my commands only so youre kind of just along for the ride.
Whatever can we just go and make me big again?
This elicited a peal of laughter, but they at last left the building.
They emerged from the ubiquitous white portal onto a scene that could only be described as quaint. Gently sloping hills stretched as far as the eye could see with the occasional tree dotting the landscape. Just a little ways off, a tiny farm nestled in a valley. This was all well and good, but the main attraction wasnt the farm or the pleasant landscape it was the simply colossal beanstalk.
Like the finger of some god, the dark green beanstalk formed a massive tendril up into the clouds. At its tremendous size, Gages shrunken state made little difference: even at his normal height, he wouldve been similarly inconsequential compared to the monolithic plant.
The trio had been staring for some time when Rima broke the silence. So I guess we go up? Having long since changed back into her witchs attire, she hopped onto her broom and zoomed upwards. Gage followed on Nightwing, while Charis used her disc to fly upwards.
They traveled in silence as they made their way up the beanstalk. Even on their various modes of the transportation, the trip took a while, but Gage didnt mind. He enjoyed the downtime, although he specifically ignored the fact that he was riding a bat. By the time they broke through the clouds at the top, he felt rested and prepared for anything.
Look girls, we already found our first victims! boomed a gigantic voice.
Are you kidding me? Gage groaned.
Five titanic women loomed above them, their size relative to Charis and Rima roughly proportional to Gages size to his friends. Each of them wore wicked grins as they looked down at the group clearly they had nothing good planned for their prey.
Gage? said Charis shakily.
"Yeah?"
I think Im starting to see why you dont like being so small.