《Astrid and the god of Deception》 Chapter One: The day the monster鈥檚 attacked Dark figures roamed in the distance, so far away that it was impossible for Astrid to tell if they were regular animals or vicious monsters. It was likely the latter. It had been a while since she had seen wild animals in the area near the farm, as they had fled to other places when the monsters began arriving. That was almost three years ago, and each passing day brought those ferocious beasts closer to her home. At first, there had only been a few monsters, but soon their numbers increased, which made it too dangerous to venture outside the fence surrounding the cottage and stables. Monsters had always existed, but outside of dungeons, they were only found in remote places such as the tops of mountains or deep inside of caves. Astrid still found it difficult to content herself with staying inside the fence. Less than half a mile away, the forest lay, and it had been her favorite place to play when she was younger. She missed climbing trees and swimming in the lake, and she worried she would never get to do those things again. She was already fourteen and rapidly growing too old to play around. One of the creatures stopped and stared right at her. Shivers ran down her back, and she looked away momentarily. When she looked again, the figures had dissipated, almost like they had never been there in the first place. Astrid let out a sigh and shook her head. It was no use standing here worrying about things she couldn¡¯t change anyway when there was work to be done. Her list of daily chores was endless, but most of the time she didn¡¯t mind. She enjoyed tending to the chickens and the herb garden, although her skills in animal care and plant care were progressing at an agonizingly slow rate. Despite having had the ability to gain skills for over a year, she was still at level one in everything, even though she worked hard every single day. It was because the tasks she did offered no real challenges. She had, after all, done them for as long as she could remember, even before her system matured enough for her to develop skills. She tossed a handful of seeds on the ground, and the chickens rushed over and began eating. While they were distracted, she went over to their nests, looking for eggs. There were only two. Even fewer than yesterday. For months, the chickens hadn¡¯t been laying eggs as often as they used to. Astrid¡¯s father said the monsters stressed them. After picking up the eggs, she carefully put them in her basket before walking back towards the cottage following a sunken cobblestone path. The wooden facades of the cottage resembled patchwork, with new and old materials mixed together. Some parts were dark and weathered while other parts were bright and new. The door creaked as she entered.The cottage only had one room. The windows were just holes in the wall that could be closed with shutters, and the floor was exposed earth stamped until it was hard and flat. Even so, her home was perfect. It was cozy and had everything a person needed. The sleeping area at the back of the room had two small beds. Her parents slept in one, and Astrid shared the other one with her sister. The straw-filled mattresses rested on old bed frames, and the blankets were worn thin through many years of use. The dining table in the middle of the room had a piece of wood pushed in under one of the legs to stop it from wobbling. The bench on either side was all the seating the cottage had to offer. The kitchen area was beside the entrance. It had a bit of counter space, a few shelves, and a basin for washing dishes. Then there was the fireplace, which kept the cottage warm and allowed her mother to cook food. Astrid suppressed a groan as the smell hit her. It seemed like they would have gruel for breakfast. Again. Complaining about it would only earn her a scolding from her mother, but she was getting tired of the bland porridge. She wanted pancakes, but with the low egg yield, it wasn¡¯t possible. ¡°Are you sure there weren¡¯t any more?¡± her mother asked after checking the basket¡¯s content and taking it from Astrid¡¯s hands. Her blond hair, streaked with gray, was tied back in a messy bun, and her dress had so many patches that it was hard to tell what the original fabric had been. ¡°I am. I checked everywhere.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just have to make do,¡± she said, giving Astrid a warm smile. ¡°Now, hurry up and set the table. Breakfast is almost ready.¡± Astrid grabbed a stack of bowls off the shelf and quickly placed them on the table. If there was a table-setting skill, she hadn¡¯t unlocked it yet despite being given this task three times a day. Unlocking a skill could be tricky and would often require the aid of a teacher or a book. Both were too expensive for her family to afford. However, sometimes a skill was unlocked through trial and error. Just as Astrid placed down the last bowl, her sister Sigrid entered with the milk bucket. She looked like a younger version of their mother, with a single braid down the back reaching all the way to her hip. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Astrid wished her own hair was that long, but it barely reached past her shoulder blades. She also wishes she could keep her dress as neat as her sister¡¯s. Sigrid¡¯s were never dirty or damaged, despite working in both the fields and the stables all day. However, as soon as the dress was passed down to Astrid, not a day would go by without it getting either stained or torn. She spent more time than she would like, trying to mend it neatly, but it was impossible to hide the places where she had stitched the fabric together. As Astrid went to pick up the spoons and cups, she peeked into the bucket, and her mood sank. It wasn¡¯t even half full. ¡°Hurry up and finish setting the table,¡± her mother said. ¡°Breakfast is ready.¡± ¡°Yes mom¡± Astrid quickly placed the last things, completing her task. Her father entered the cottage just as her mother placed the food on the table. Where Sigrid looked like their mother, Astrid looked more like their father. His dark brown hair was the same shade as hers, and likewise were the brown eyes. They all sat down at the table and ate the thin gruel. It was hard not to let her discontent show as she swallowed the bland food. ¡°I saw monsters near the forest,¡± Sigrid said anxiously. ¡°They are getting closer.¡± ¡°I saw them too.¡± Astrid added. ¡°As long as you stay inside the fence, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Astrid¡¯s father said, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as his daughters. ¡°We really need to evacuate soon. We can¡¯t hold out like this for much longer.¡± Astrid¡¯s mother said. This was a discussion they had had several times before. ¡°After the harvest is sold, we¡¯ll have enough money to settle in the city until the monsters are dealt with. Just two more months now. We¡¯ll be fine for that long.¡± Her father was reluctant to leave, as the farm had been in his family for generations, but he was slowly getting around to the idea. Astrid didn¡¯t want to leave. This farm was the only home she had ever known. After breakfast, it was back to the chores. Astrid kept busy cleaning the dishes, sweeping the floor, getting water, and peeling vegetables. Despite all the work she did, none of her skills gained any experience at all. Not a single point. The lack of improvement was getting frustrating. It was mid-afternoon, and Astrid was tending the herb garden when a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. Astrid looked up, and a sight so horrible she couldn¡¯t believe it was real, greeted her. A large wolf monster had jumped over the fence and tackled Sigrid. Her arms flailed, trying to push the monster away, but it wasn¡¯t deterred in the slightest. It just sank its fangs into her throat and tore away a large piece of flesh. Blood sprayed in every direction, and Sigrid went still. Astrid wanted to rush to her sister¡¯s aid, but she couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Get off her!¡± Astrid¡¯s father shouted, rushing towards the monster with a pitchfork. Before he could reach his daughter, another wolf leaped out of the tall grass, knocking him to the ground. Astrid watched helplessly as her sister and father were ripped apart. Suddenly, her mother was beside her. ¡°Snap out of it, Astrid, and get inside the house.¡± Fear radiated through her voice. ¡°But we have to help them. We can¡¯t just leave them like this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late. Now get up.¡± Somehow, Astrid managed to get to her feet and force her legs to walk towards the cottage. They were halfway there when one of the wolves let out a howl. Astrid turned and found herself staring into a pair of yellow eyes. The monster snarled and lunged forward, sprinting towards her. The other one followed suit. The cottage seemed endlessly far away as she raced towards it, her mother urging her to go faster. Still, the wolves gained on them with every step. Astrid and her mother ran through the door, and her mother slammed it shut behind them. A heartbeat later, the first wolf rammed into the door, followed by the second. The wood cracked and splintered from the impact, and Astrid backed away from the door, clutching her mother tightly. Soon, they hit the wall on the other side of the room. The door wouldn¡¯t hold long, and they had nowhere to go nor anywhere to hide. They were trapped, and in a few moments, the monsters would get through the door and rip them apart, just like they had done to her sister and father. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, and she let out a sob. She was going to die. ¡°Listen to me, Astrid,¡± her mother said. ¡°You have to run.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Climb out the window and run. Don¡¯t look back, and don¡¯t stop until you¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Another slam against the door interrupted her protest. One of the wolves had managed to get a paw through a hole in the door and was clawing viciously at the wood. ¡°No buts. Just go.¡± Astrid wanted to protest more, but a quest appeared. This was the first quest she had ever received, but she instinctively knew how to view it.
New quest from mom Monsters are attacking your home Objective: Run away to escape monsters Reward: 3 large copper
Astrid barely managed to skim the text before the door flew off its hinges and the wolves entered the room. ¡°I¡¯ll hold them back,¡± her mother shouted, swinging the broom she had picked up at the wolves. Astrid pulled herself together and ran over to the window. It was small, and Astrid could barely squeeze her body through the hole. Her mother would never have been able to make it through. The realization made Astrid sob harder, and as she landed on the ground outside, it took all her willpower not to curl up on the ground. Which way should she run? There were no monsters on this side of the cottage that she could see, but it was impossible to tell if anything lurked in the tall grass, waiting to ambush her. She picked a direction at random and ran as fast as she could, not looking back. From the cottage, her mother screamed, and images of her body torn to pieces and devoured flashed through Astrid¡¯s mind. Chapter Two: On the Run Astrid sprinted across the fields faster than ever before stumbling and staggering through the uneven terrain. The tears streaming down her cheeks clouded her vision, but she didn¡¯t care. All she wanted was to get away from the horrible wolves that had taken her family. They would not take her too. A rock caught her food, and her body slammed into the ground. She got up again without missing a beat, ignoring the sting of her scraped knees and palms. She didn¡¯t dare to stop or look back. Not even for a moment. For all she knew, the wolf monsters could be hot on her heels. Even if they weren¡¯t, many other dangerous monsters roamed the area, just waiting to ambush her. Soon the hard line that marked the forest edge sprang up before her, forcing her to zigzag between the trees as she left the fields of home behind. Branches whipped against her face as dodging them all proved to be unfeasible. Astrid had no idea where she was heading or for how long she ran, but it didn¡¯t matter as long as she escaped. Eventually, her depleted stamina forced her to stop. In this state, it would be impossible to run another step even if her life depended on it, so she collapsed against a tree trunk while nervously scanning her surroundings for threats. Sweat dripped down her body, and her throat burned. Her breath came in short gasps as she waited impatiently for her stamina to go back up. The wait passed agonizingly slowly, and her nervousness did not help. This was not a safe place to recover, but her options were limited. As long as she was out in the open, monsters could appear at any moment. If that happened, her stamina would need to have recovered enough to endure another sprint. She needed a plan, but no matter how much she racked her brain, nothing came to mind. Where could she go? In an instant, everything was gone. She had no home, no family, and no equipment. All her skills were either irrelevant or at too low a level to be of any use. The only village she knew lay many miles away in the opposite direction. The path to get there was blocked by the vicious wolf monsters, so going there was out of the question. It might not even exist anymore. It, too, could have been overrun by monsters. It was impossible for her to deny that her situation was dire. If the monsters didn¡¯t get to her within the next few hours, dehydration or exhaustion would. Even if she somehow survived the night, she would slowly starve. She tucked her knees to her chest, hugging them tight. Maybe it would be better to just stay here and hope the monsters would finish her off quickly. Then the pain in her chest would disappear too. Astrid shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts before her despair consumed her completely. Giving up now was not an option. She had been told to keep going until she was safe, and she owed it to her mother to at least try her best. Her mother had, after all, sacrificed her life so Astrid could get a chance to live, so that was what she had to do. Get to a safe place and build a new life for herself. With renewed resolve, she managed to push away her depressing thoughts and read through her health stats to figure out where her dark notions were coming from.
Health: 10/10 Stamina: 3/10 Mana: 10/10 Focus: 7/10 Spirit: 1/10
The issue was easy to spot. Her spirit was almost depleted. Getting stats too low came with a wide range of terrible side effects. Her low stamina had caused muscle aches, and clearly, her low spirit was causing negative thoughts. Astrid had always stopped using any of her stats when it began to get uncomfortable, which usually happened when she had drained around half of the points. This was the first time any stat had gotten close to zero. The spirit stat was responsible for motivation, and with it almost used up, it would be difficult to find the will to do anything. That made it her biggest concern at the moment, so she had to do something to raise it quickly, or she would end up in a catatonic state. No more despair, she told herself. Think positive thoughts. You¡¯re alive, the sun is shining, and the birds are singing. Everything will be fine. She got up and began walking, even though she still didn¡¯t know where to go or what to do next. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Don¡¯t think about that now. You can deal with that later. For now, just focus on surviving. Keeping the pace slow allowed her to continuously recover stamina even as she walked. Like this, everything almost seemed normal. She was out playing in the forest, just like so many times before throughout her childhood. The good memories helped her spirit recover a bit, and soon it was at a stable level. A branch snapped behind her, and she noticed the birds were no longer singing. Shivers ran down her back as she turned around. Her heart almost stopped as the wolf monster slowly sneaked closer. Thick, blood-stained saliva dripped from its maw, and it lowered its body, getting ready to pounce. Astrid turned and ran, even though she knew it was futile. There was no way to outrun the wolf for long, no matter how hard she tried. It was much faster and had gotten too close. However, with no weapons or fighting skills, it was her only option. Her stamina had not had time to recover much, and now it was rapidly depleting again. She spun to the right, hoping the sudden change of direction would buy her a few extra seconds. It did, but no more than that. Soon, the wolf caught up again. It was so close, she could feel it behind her. Its breath smelled like blood and rotten meat. She forced herself to run faster, but it was hopeless. She changed direction again as something sprang out from behind some bushes and joined the pursuit. It had to be a monster, but Astrid never got a good look at it. Every part of her body protested. Her muscles ached, and her head pounded as much as her heart. Her mind screamed at her to stop running before she hurt herself, and she didn¡¯t know how much longer she could ignore its command. Just as she thought she couldn¡¯t take another step, there was a thud behind her. Behind her, the monsters had stopped. Astrid was so exhausted that she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. For some reason, the monsters didn¡¯t come any closer. They snarled and barred their fangs while pacing from side to side as if an invisible barrier kept them at bay. Astrid was too exhausted to move, so all she could do was lie on the ground. It was hard to believe that she was actually safe, and she feared that the barrier would disappear at any moment. Then the monsters would swarm her and rip her throat out. However, the invisible barrier stayed in place, preventing the monster from coming closer. That left her with a question she wasn¡¯t sure she wanted the answer to. Why had a barrier been set up here in the first place? This was in the middle of nowhere. She noticed she had received a few messages and opened them.
Quest from mom is complete Monsters are attacking your home Objective: Run away to escape monsters Reward: 3 large copper
Seeing the first and last quest her mother would ever give her made her eyes burn. The reward must have been every coin her mother had on her when the monsters broke through the door into the cottage. The reality of her situation struck her again. Everything she had ever known was gone. Her mother, her father, her sister, and her home were all lost forever. Tears ran down her cheeks again, but she wiped them away and shook her head to clear her mind. I¡¯m still in danger, so I¡¯ll have to deal with my grief later. Before she could despair again, she opened the next message.
New level Running skill has reached level 2 of 10 You can now run faster and spend less stamina while running You have received a bonus for your stamina. Its maximum value has doubled form
That message came as a surprise. This was the first time she had leveled up a skill, and on any other day she would have been ecstatic, but now it was hard to care. The flight from the farm had left her physically and mentally exhausted, and her entire body hurt like nothing she had ever experienced before. If that¡¯s what it took to level up, it wasn¡¯t worth it. The horrible images of her sister''s brutal demise would haunt her memories forever. Don¡¯t think about it, she scolded herself. After suppressing her feelings, she stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress as best she could. Looking around gave her no clue why this place warranted a magical barrier like the one keeping the monsters out. It looked like any other part of the forest, with its trees, bushes, and dirt. However, as she studied the ground closer, she noticed the smallest hint of a road. Under a thin cover of earth and moss, stones lay in a line so straight that it couldn''t have occurred naturally. Someone had to have built it a long time ago. Following the path let her further away from the barrier edge, where the monster still stood snarling at her. Out of nowhere, a large building appeared. If it hadn¡¯t been for the ivy growing all over the walls, it looked like it could have been built yesterday. Dark stone columns held up the overhanging roof, and stairs led up to a heavy wooden door. The colored window glass made it impossible to see what lay inside the building. The daunting realization hit her that she was standing in front of a temple. Someone had built all this and dedicated it to one of the gods. That would explain why there was a barrier keeping monsters out, but it also filled her with dread. These days, all gods had temples in towns and cities, but a long time ago, it had only been the ones people worshipped openly. She had no idea which god this temple belonged to, but the fact that it was located in the forest and not in a city didn¡¯t bode well for Astrid. Chapter Three: Dealing with a God This was bad. Astrid stood on holy ground, belonging to some unknown deity, most likely one she didn¡¯t want to meet. She searched her brain for potential candidates among the gods. Growing up, she had only owned one book, and she had read it until she had it memorized. It was a children¡¯s book filled with tales about the kingdom of Otimra and the gods the people worshiped. This temple belonged to one of them. Maybe the goddess of Nature owns this temple. Forests are very natural, after all. That would be the best-case scenario. Although her parents had cared little about religion, they had occasionally prayed to the goddess of Nature, especially when weather conditions threatened the crops. Most of the time, when the topic of the gods came up, it was to warn her not to get involved with them. Leaving would be the best thing to do, but the monsters still waited outside the barrier, so it wasn¡¯t an option. Hopefully, whoever owned this temple wouldn¡¯t mind her staying for a while. She walked over to the temple and up a couple of steps before pushing the heavy wooden door open. It went up without a sound, which was unsettling. Doors were supposed to squeak. That way, people know when someone opened them. Carefully, she made her way inside. She wasn¡¯t sure how to make her presence known now that the door had failed to do so. Should she call out? Was there even anyone here? The room she entered was spacious, and the only furniture was a big marble slab in the middle. That has to be the altar. All temples had one of those. A thick layer of dust coated everything, which proved it had been years since anyone was in here. She ventured further into the room, ignoring the altar. She hadn¡¯t come here to worship after all. Every step she took left footprints in the dust. On her left, a staircase led to the next floor, so she climbed it. Even though she hadn¡¯t been to a temple before, she assumed it led to the sleeping quarters. Supposedly all temples had one of those too, so the priests could sleep in the temple where they worked. All she wanted was to find a place to lie down before she collapsed on the floor. She had never felt this exhausted in her life. At the top of the staircase, she went over to a door and opened it. This one was also eerily quiet. There was something seriously wrong with this place. The new room was a long rectangle with a dozen beds lined up along the walls on either side. Here too, dust covered everything. Astrid went over to the closest bed, pulled the sheets off, and shook it as best she could, coughing at the dust cloud it created. Then she stripped out of her dirty dress and shoes before lying down. She had thought she would doze off instantly, as exhausted as she felt, but sleep wouldn¡¯t come to her. Her mouth was dry and tasted like dirt, and her stomach was empty. It didn¡¯t help that whenever she closed her eyes, images of her family being slaughtered by monsters invaded her mind. She could no longer suppress the severity of the situation she was in. The tears that had never stopped burning in her eyes fell freely down her cheeks once more as she no longer had the energy to hold them back. At some point, she must have fallen asleep despite her distressing circumstances, but nightmares plagued her rest, and she woke up feeling as exhausted as the night before. Begrudgingly, she got out of bed, stretched her arms, and rubbed her eyes. Then she checked her health stats, as she did every morning.
Health: 10/10 Stamina: 20/20 Mana: 10/10 Focus: 10/10 Spirit: 4/10
They had all returned to their maximum values except for her spirit, which was stuck just below half. Her stamina had even gone up several points due to the bonus she had received from leveling up. Still, if her spirit remained low, it would become a problem again, and then her other stats wouldn¡¯t matter. She had to find a solution soon, but every time she thought about the reason for the issue, her spirit would drop even lower. Then don¡¯t think about it, she told herself sternly. Focus on what to do instead. With a sigh, she dressed in the same dirty dress she had worn yesterday. Not thinking about her family was easier said than done, but she had to try harder if she wanted to survive. Firstly, she needed to find water and maybe some food as well. Hopefully the monsters were gone so she could go find a stream. Once outside, the smell of cooking food filled the air, making Astrid¡¯s mouth water. This was unexpected, but regardless, she followed the smell to the back of the temple. There, Astrid stopped in her tracks. A black-clad figure sat on the ground, roasting meat over a small fire. A hood obscured his face, so she couldn''t get a good look at him. Who was this guy? She had been certain this temple was abandoned. Yesterday, there had been no indication that anyone lived here. Maybe it was a traveler camping at the temple, as it was a safe place from monsters? However, that felt like too much of a coincidence. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was safe to get close to the stranger, but she was so hungry that she figured it was worth the risk. As she got closer, the stranger looked up at her, and she caught a glance at his face. However, the more she looked, the less certain she became of his appearance. Every time she thought she saw something, it morphed into something else. Short hair grew long, then short again. Skin went from sickly pale to dark as night. The only thing that was consistent was the scrutinizing gleam in his eyes and his sinister smirk. "Ah, you are awake. Come sit. The food is just about done.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked, staying where she was. ¡°I¡¯m the god of this temple you have taken refuge in. My friends call me Sham.¡± ¡°You are the god of Deception,¡± she said, recognizing the name. This was as bad as it could get. Only criminals had anything to do with this god. ¡°That right. Here, eat this.¡± Suddenly, she sat by the fire next to Sham, ready to take the offered plate. How had this happened? A moment ago, she had been standing several feet away with no intention of getting closer. The meat on the plate made her stomach rumble. ¡°How do I know this is safe to eat?¡± It probably wasn¡¯t the best idea to question a god like that, but she didn¡¯t trust him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to eat it if you don¡¯t want to,¡± he shrugged and offered her a cup of water, which she accepted as well. She looked at the food again. It smelled so good, and she was famished. Tentatively, she took a small bite. The savory meat melted on her tongue, and in a few bites, she swallowed down the entire plate and emptied the cup. ¡°Thank you. That was good,¡± she said, remembering her manners. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t thank me. Let''s talk about how you are going to pay me instead.¡± His words chilled her to the bone. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Sanctuary at my temples is not given to outsiders, so we will have to rectify that.¡± Well, if the god wanted payment, she could pay. ¡°Will a large copper cover it?¡± It was a lot of money for most people, so surely it would be more than enough for a night''s rest and a meal. ¡°I have no interest in your money, although if you happen to carry any gold, I suppose I could make an exception.¡± He looked expectantly at her. She shook her head. She didn¡¯t have that kind of money. Few people did. ¡°Then what do you want?¡± she asked, dreading the answer. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything.¡± ¡°I want you to become my follower.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to worship you.¡± Even though she feared angering this god, there were limits to what she would do. ¡°You already do.¡± His smirk made it run cold down Astrid¡¯s back. ¡°No, I don''t.¡± ¡°Of course you do. every time you lie or cheat or steal just to name a few.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do any of those things.¡± ¡°Everyone does and whenever someone performs actions that fall under my domain, it is a form of worship for me. There are so many, it¡¯s impossible to avoid them all. So, I¡¯m not asking you to worship me. I already get plenty of that. I¡¯m asking you to follow me.¡± The way he said it sounded menacing and didn¡¯t sit well with her. ¡°What exactly does that mean?¡± Her parents¡¯ warnings about the gods flashed through her mind. Don¡¯t get involved with gods. You¡¯ll never get out of it again. ¡°You¡¯ll pledge yourself to me. You¡¯ll do my bidding when I want you to, and in exchange, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Astrid had no intention of doing anything this god wanted. He was evil, and she most definitely was not. ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline,¡± she said as politely as she could. Sham''s demeanor changed instantly. ¡°Then get out of here,¡± he said. ¡°What?¡± The sudden shift in personality startled her. ¡°Leave the temple ground. Only my followers are allowed to be here.¡± Before she could react, the god got up, grabbed her arm, and dragged her towards the edge of the barrier. At first, it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal to get kicked out of the temple. Sure, she would have to find another place to stay, but that had been the plan all along, and she avoided ruining her life by devoting herself to an evil god. Then she saw the monsters. The vicious beasts were still waiting for her just outside the barrier, banging and clawing at it in an attempt to get in. Even more had gathered there since yesterday. She dug in her heals, trying to break free of Sham¡¯s grasp. ¡°Please let me go. Don¡¯t do this.¡± Astrid sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Sham showed no indication that he had heard her pleas. He pulled her along, her struggles doing nothing to deter him. In a few moments, she would be shoved through the barrier, and the monsters would eat her alive. There was only one way out of this. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll be your follower.¡± Astrid said as her resolve broke inches from the snarling face of the monster that had murdered her family. ¡°How wonderful.¡± Sham beamed. All signs of cruelty had disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°W-What do I d-do?¡± Astrid stammered. As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she noticed her hands were shaking. What have I just agreed to? ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Sham said. ¡°All you have to do is kneel in front of the altar and say, God of Deception, I pledge my life to you.¡± Astrid followed Sham back to the temple. She didn¡¯t want to do this, but she saw no alternative. Sham had already proven that he didn¡¯t take kindly to getting told no. She had no clue what Sham wanted from her after this, but she couldn¡¯t trust that he would give an honest answer, so asking would be pointless. Becoming a follower of Deception allowed her to live, and for now, survival was all that mattered. They arrived at the altar much too soon for Astrid¡¯s liking. Reluctantly, she got down on her knees, gathered her hands in front of her chest, and opened her mouth. No sound came out. ¡°Go on,¡± Sham said, crossing his arms. He looked a lot bigger from her position on the floor, and she swallowed hard, trying to get her voice to work. ¡°God of Deception, I pledge my life to you.¡± ¡°I accept your pledge.¡± A warm sensation spread through her entire body, growing in intensity until it was on the edge of being painful. For a moment, she feared she would be burned alive, but finally the feeling subsided again. ¡°If you need me in the future, just pray.¡± Sham said. ¡°I might help, or I might not, depending on my mood. Don¡¯t waste my time.¡± Then he disappeared. ¡°Wait. What about the help you promised me for doing this?¡± Astrid shouted. She got no answer, and Sham didn¡¯t return, but a moment later she received a message.
New quest from the god of Deception You¡¯re surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out Objective: defeat monsters 0 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
The blood drained from her face as she read. This had to be a mistake. Chapter Four: How to Slay Monsters Astrid read and then reread her new quest, still unable to believe what it said. This had to be a mistake.
New quest from the God of Deception You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out Objective: defeat monsters 0 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
Ten monsters were a lot. There was no way she would be able to defeat that many without extensive training and the right equipment. No one could. She doubted she could even handle one in her current state. Even if the reward was more than she had ever thought she would have at one time in her life, it wasn¡¯t worth risking her life over. ¡°This is not fair,¡± she shouted, her voice reverberating through the spacious temple room. ¡°You can¡¯t ask me to do this.¡± Maybe the god of Deception would hear her and change his mind. She waited for a while, but nothing happened. Just as she was about to give up, a new message arrived. I hope this is good, she thought, suddenly worried that her outburst could end up making her situation worse. Was that even possible at this point? Delaying would do her no good, so she focused her mind and read the message. It was short. Just three words long.
New items received!
She opened her belt pouch and saw three new objects taking up every available slot she had in the small bag. Carefully, she retrieved one to get a better look at it. Removing the black leather sheath revealed a pointy dagger with a steel blade. The grip was wrapped in the same material as the sheath, and the pommel was decorated with a little green stone. Had Sham given her the dagger to aid in the quest? How was that going to help her? She had no experience with knife fighting or any other weapon for that matter, and monsters were strong, not to mention really dangerous. The item came with a description that, hopefully, would give her an explanation.
Divine Dagger of Deception Level 1 Received as a gift from the God of Deception Normal attack, stab: deals 5 hp damage Normal attack, slash: deals 5 hp damage Special attack, backstab: deals 50 hp damage when the target is caught by surprise
This sounds like the kind of weapon an assassin would use. She looked at the dagger with contempt. The idea of wielding such a weapon disgusted her, but it was the only one she had. Maybe she could kill the monster in one hit if she managed to use the special attack? Reluctantly, she admitted that her only chance to get out of here involved using the dagger. After returning the dagger to the sheath, she secured it to the rope around her waist for easy access. Then she moved on to the next item. It was a black wool cloak with a hood so large it could completely obscure her face. Sham''s cloak looked a lot like this one did. The cloak also came with a description.
Divine Cloak of Deception Level 1 Received as a gift from the God of Deception A piece of cloth armor that offers the wearer some protection from damage as well as keeping them comfortable in most temperatures Special ability: aids in hiding and disguising the wearer in any way desired
Armor would be good to have when fighting monsters. Still, Astrid couldn¡¯t help thinking it would only make her die slower and, therefore, more painfully. At least she wouldn¡¯t be cold when the monsters ate her. She didn¡¯t know if she should laugh or cry at her own bad jokes. This whole situation felt so unreal, it had to be a fever dream. She was even less qualified to be a monster slayer than the chickens at home. Well, her old home. It was unlikely she would ever go back. There was nothing left to return to. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Don¡¯t think about it, she reminded herself, and reluctantly put the cloak on. It fit her better than anything else she had worn in her life. She instantly hated it, so before she could change her mind about wearing it, she pulled out the third object. It turned out to be a circular piece of metal attached to a silver chain. The metal piece had a symbol on one side and an inscription on the other. The symbol belonged to the god of Deception, and the inscription simply stated, Follower. This object too had a description.
Divine Amulet of Deception Level 1 Received as a gift from the God of Deception This amulet marks you as a follower of the God of Deception, allowing you to identify yourself to other followers and gain access to restricted areas Special ability: if worn with other Divine Items of Deception, it gives those items more power
More power sounded good, so she put it around her neck. Even though it was pretty light, it felt heavy, like the chains of a prisoner. Now she could no longer deny that she was a follower of Deception. There was no coming back from this. Everyone who saw her amulet would know which god she served, and they would despise her. A quick shake of the head chased the thought away. Other people¡¯s opinions of her would make no difference if she never made it out of this forest. For now, she had to focus on what to do in the moment, and everything else could wait until later. Staying at the temple just led to a slow death. Sure, there were no monsters, but also no food or water unless Sham brought it. How long would he be willing to do so, and what happened when he ran out of patience? It was likely not something worth experiencing, so that left only one option. Fighting monsters. She went over the item descriptions again, trying to formulate a plan. Maybe the cloak could hide her enough to let her sneak up behind a monster unnoticed. Then she could stab it. If her new dagger¡¯s special attack was as strong as she suspected, there was a chance she could avoid real combat entirely. She imagined that she was invisible and then felt a light ripple pass through her entire body. Had it worked? She could still see herself, so she wasn¡¯t sure. There¡¯s only one way to find out, she thought, taking a steady breath before leaving the temple and making her way up to the barrier. None of the monsters reacted as she got closer, so she took that as a sign that she was invisible. As she scanned her surroundings for the least scarry-looking monsters, her gaze settled on a sheep-sized rabbit as her target, sitting a few feet from the barrier. With her heart beating in her throat, she stepped outside the protective barrier. Nothing attacked her. The monsters didn¡¯t even look in her direction, so maybe her plan would work. With her mind made up, she crouched down, taking a few steps towards the rabbit monster while pulling out her dagger. She held it tightly, aiming at the monster''s back. She knew it was a coward¡¯s tactic, but she didn¡¯t feel very brave, and her new dagger dealt the most damage if she took the enemy by surprise. All her gear was designed for assassination, so that was the tactic she had to use. Before she could rethink her actions, she stabbed the blade into the monster. It let out an ear-piercing screech that made Astrid winch. Then it collapsed on the ground, twitching a few times before going still. Messages flooded her consciousness, and on instinct, she began reading them.
You have unlocked the knife-fighting skill knife-fighting is level 1of 10 You now have instinctive knowledge of basic knife-fighting techniques
You have unlocked the monster-slaying skill monster-slaying is level 1 of 10 you now have the ability to identify monsters and gauge their level as long as it doesn¡¯t exceed you own by more than one
Quest update You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out Objective: defeat monsters 1 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
She was so engrossed in checking out her new skills that she didn¡¯t notice the danger until it was too late. Claws sliced across her chest, and she staggered backwards with a gasp until her legs gave out under her. The finishing blow never came, even as she lay helpless on the ground. Burning pain radiated from her chest while the rest of her body grew cold. Blood seeped from the wound, dying her dress red, and her breath came in raspy gasps. Her vision went blurry as a new message appeared.
Warning! You are suffering from bleeding Health will be lost continuously until bleeding is stopped. Current health it 3/10
How had this happened? She had been invisible, so how had the monster seen her, and why wasn¡¯t it about to eat her? The only explanation she could think of was that somehow, she was back inside the barrier.
Current health is 2/10
The realization hit her that she was dying. The pain she had experienced yesterday was nothing compared to now. Her brain screamed at her to get up and do something, but her body refused to move.
Current health is 1/10
The wolf¡¯s howling echoed through the forest as everything went dark. Chapter Five: It just takes practice Astrid regained consciousness. The bed under her was soft, but at first she had no recollection of going to sleep the night before. Then the memories of the previous day rushed over her like a tidal wave. She had almost died. Just to be sure there was no lasting damage, she pulled up her stats.
Health: 12/12 Stamina: 20/20 Mana: 10/10 Focus: 10/10 Spirit: 12/12
Relief filled her as she saw everything back at full capacity, and her health had also increased several points. So had her spirit. She got out of bed and found that the cloak she was still wearing had been cleaned and repaired while she slept. Her dress, however, had not. Four jagged lines spanned most of the front, where the wolf¡¯s claws had ripped through the fabric, now stained red with her own blood. There was no way for Astrid to mend the dress or even wash it, but since she had no others, she had to keep using this one. The smell of food alerted her to the plate on the side table next to the bed. Sham must have left it there for her, since he was the only one who knew she was here. Maybe she was the only one who knew she existed. Had he been the one who put her to bed and healed her as well? Deciding not to think any more about it, she grabbed the plate and took a bite. Once she was done, she would have to continue the quest Sham had given her, so she took her time. She was in no hurry to get mauled by monsters again. However, sooner than she liked, the plate was empty, and she had no more excuses to delay. Outside, the sun had just started to rise, and the grass was wet from the morning dew. Astrid made herself invisible and scanned the periphery of the barrier for an easy target. Another rabbit monster jumped around on its own, just outside the protective wall. Her new level in monster-slaying gave her the ability to identify it as a humongous hare in level one. Apparently, whoever named these monsters couldn¡¯t tell a rabbit from a hare. The tips of its ears weren¡¯t even black but the same light brown color as the rest of the creature. Since she had made quick work of one yesterday, it would be a good place to start. She crouched low as she pulled her dagger free of the belt and took a step forward. This would all fail if she made any sound that alerted the monster to her presence, so each step was placed with great care, and her breath kept slow and even. It was difficult to sneak up on a monster jumping around, and it took a while before she got into a position where she could carry out her attack. She tightened the grip on the dagger and sprang forward, plunging the blade deep into the back of the unsuspecting monster. It fell to the ground, dead. Astrid received several notifications while retrieving her dagger from the carcass. However, she wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake she had made yesterday. After all, it had almost cost her her life. This time, she waited until she was safely inside the barrier before reading them. It only took her a moment to get there, as she hadn¡¯t ventured far. The first notification alerted her to a new skill.
You have unlocked the stealth skill Stealth is level 1 of 10 You now have the ability to move silently when focusing
Astrid wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about this new skill. Sure, it was useful for her current situation, but it sounded suspicious. A skill gained from sneaking around would make other people wary of her if they found out. However, there was no way to get rid of an unlocked skill, so it would be a problem for her future self to deal with. At that moment, she had another message to read.
Quest update You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out Objective: defeat monsters 2 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
Astrid sighed. Had she really only killed two monsters? It felt like a lot more. At this rate, it would take her forever to finish the quest. She just wanted it to be over already. Scanning her surroundings again for another easy target proved futile. No more humongous hares jumped around in the area. Instead, her gaze fell on a gray cat lying on a tree stump. This monster was called a ferocious feline and was also in level one, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to slay. It was sleeping, and much smaller than the other monsters around. After reapplying her invisibility, she left the barrier. Her new stealth skill gave her an instinctive idea of where she could step and not make any sounds, but it did slowly drain her focus. The distance to the stump was cleared in no time. She raised the dagger and slammed it down, only for it to strike the wood where the cat had just been. Where did it go? Astrid thought, glancing in every direction, desperately searching for the monster. A sharp pain erupted on her shoulder, and she swung the dagger, hoping to land a hit on her attacker. The cat hissed, showing off a dozen sharp teeth that looked way too big for its mouth. Astrid attacked again, but the cat dodged to the side, so she only managed to graze its skin. The cat wasted no time before retaliating, and Astrid barely managed to avoid having her eye gouged out by claws as large and sharp as her dagger. This monster was fast, and if it hadn¡¯t been for her level two running skill, she wouldn¡¯t be fast enough to keep up. Jumping back, she narrowly dodged the monster¡¯s claws. Before it had a chance to attack again, Astrid pushed the dagger forward, stabbing the blade deep into the monster. It recoiled with a hiss, sending spit flying from between its oversized teeth. Then it leaped forward. Astrid lifted her arms up to protect her face, and the cat bit down on her hand with crunching force. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "AAAH!¡± she screamed, shaking her arm, trying to dislodge the monster, but to no avail. Then she attempted to stab it, but the monster swiped the dagger away every time it got too close. At this rate, it was more likely her own arm would be stabbed. There had to be a way to get off the monster without losing a limb in the process. Then an idea came to mind. With as much force as she could muster, she swung her arm and the monster into a tree. The impact sent shockwaves through her entire body, but the cat finally released its grasp and fell to the ground. To ensure it was not getting back up for a rematch, Astrid stabbed it in the chest until a message popped up. She didn¡¯t bother to read it, as she knew what it would say. Three monsters down, seven more to go. This had to be excitement enough for one day, so she returned her dagger to its sheath and walked back towards the barrier. Her wounds needed treatment before they became infected, but she wasn''t sure how without water, medicine, or any experience tending to wounds. The injury from yesterday had already been fixed when she woke up. A weird grunting sound behind her made her turn around. A boar scraped at the ground just a few feet away, and its large tusk pointed right at her. Its eyes glowed with anger. Without her ability to appraise monsters, she would have thought this was a regular wild boar. Most low-level monsters looked very similar to normal animals, so it could be difficult to tell them apart at first glance. Often, the only difference was that monsters were bigger, faster, or stronger. She identified this one as a beastly boar. Like the other monsters this one was level one too. Astrid stood completely still, hoping the monster would disappear into the bushes again. It kept grunting and scraping at the ground, slowly stepping closer to her. She took a step backwards, and in that moment, the boar decided to charge. It moved fast, and Astrid had to dodge sideways to avoid getting speared by the tusks. Fighting this thing directly would end badly, so she set off towards the barrier at full speed. Her running skill allowed her to outpace most level-one monsters, but the boar proved to be the exception. Just before the monster reached her, she made a sharp turn, hoping the boar wasn¡¯t as agile. It had, after all, worked for her last time monsters chased her. This time too, it bought her a few seconds, but the boar was already gaining on her again, and she was no longer headed towards the barrier. Just before the boar got her, she jumped and grabbed onto a tree branch, pulling herself up and out of the boar¡¯s path, and it charged right into the tree. Astrid tried to climb higher up the tree, but her injured arm, injured by several cat bites, gave out. The dazed bear cushioned her fall. Not wanting to give the monster time to recover, she stabbed it in the throat. It let out an anguished whine and began thrashing. Astrid wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long, so she quickly stabbed it a few more times until it stopped moving. On shaking legs, she stumbled off the monster''s body, feeling lightheaded from the adrenalin rush. Her breath was labored, and her clothes were soaked in fresh blood. The feeling of it seeping through the fabric almost made her gag. Ignoring the system message, she instead scanned her surroundings for threats. Her eyes widened as she spotted the two wolves walking towards her. Level two wolf-beast. That¡¯s what her ability identified them as. With her current skill she didn¡¯t stand a chance against that. The barrier was still far away, so it was impossible to make it there in time. Since the wolves had been spotted, they gave up on their sneak attack and pounced. With nowhere else to go, Astrid used all her strength to pull herself back up on the tree branch. Her arm throbbed at the effort, but at least the wolves couldn¡¯t get to her up here. They still tried, though, jumping and snapping at her feet, so she climbed to ensure she was out of reach.
Hours passed, and still the wolf-beasts circled the tree tirelessly. Astrid didn¡¯t know how much longer she could stay in the tree. Hunger and thirst plagued her, and the branch made her backside hurt. Still, waiting them out was the only thing she could do. They were much too strong for her to fight, and she couldn¡¯t outrun them either. Besides, eventually they would get tired and leave. At least that¡¯s what she tried to convince herself of, but it was getting harder by the moment. Hot tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. This was not the time to cry. To get an idea of how much longer she could last, she checked her stats. Her health was recovering, but most of her other health stats were slowly being drained. It took a lot of stamina and focus to maintain her balance, and at this rate, she would run out before nightfall. Those thoughts only made her spirit drain faster. She shook her head to clear it. Despair wasn¡¯t going to help her. She had to come up with a plan that could get her out of this situation. Maybe the god of Deception would help her? It was after all his fault she was in this situation to begin with, and he had said she could ask. She discarded the thought immediately. Begging for his help would be mortifying, and he would likely deceive her in some way. He could not be trusted. She glared angrily at the wolves below, who snarled back, baring their large, sharp fangs. The images of the gruesome fate of her family returned. Her resolve crumbled, and she swallowed her pride. "Sham, if you can hear me, please help.¡± She waited several moments, but nothing happened. The disappointment was soul-crushing. This had been her last hope, and now she had no options left. Despite her best efforts, she would still end up dying alone in the forest. What had she done to deserve this fate? A hiss caught her attention, yanking her out of her thoughts. As she saw the source of the sound, she froze in place. A snake, or more accurately, a venomous viper in level one. Vibrantly colored scales glistened in the sunshine that managed to get through the tree canopy, and large fangs dripped venom that sizzled and smoked as it hit the branch. It stared at her, ready to strike. Where did that come from? Astrid thought as she slowly pulled her dagger from its sheath. She had barely gotten it out when the snake struck. Only her quick reflexes saved her from getting bitten as the snake¡¯s fangs sank into the branch where her leg had just been. Astrid scrambled to her feet, almost losing her balance in the process. The snake tried to wiggle its fangs free again, so now was her time to stab it, but she couldn¡¯t will herself to do it. The short blade she wielded would force her hand far closer to the snake than she dared. Without an antidote, a single bite from this monster would be fatal. Instead, she grabbed onto a branch above her and strained to pull herself out of harm¡¯s way. Her wounds ached, and the strain made her arm muscles burn in protest. They threatened to give out at any moment, and still, she couldn¡¯t pull her body up. The snake got free and launched a new assault at her dangling legs. She swung them violently, trying to keep them out of the snake¡¯s reach. Somehow, a kick landed, and the snake flew off the branch. Astrid let out a relieved sigh and carefully lowered herself back on the branch before collapsing against the trunk. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to regain her breath. Below, a pained howl sounded, followed by growls and hisses. Astrid could barely make out what was happening below her, but it looked like a fight had broken out between the wolves and the snake. Too exhausted to do anything other than rest, she tuned out the spectacle. Time passed in a blur until a message appeared. Opening it revealed a quest update, which was strange. She only had one ongoing quest, and it involved fighting monsters and not hiding in a tree. Did the snake she kicked count as a slayed monster? If so, she wasn¡¯t going to complain about it. However, she didn¡¯t dare go down and investigate. She had just started to relax again when whines filled the air. It sounded different than the growls and howls she had grown accustomed to. What now? she thought, glancing down. The wolf-beasts looked miserable. They lay on the ground, breathing hard, with blood leaking from their gums and eyes. This could be her best chance to get away from the tree and back inside the barrier. Her health was fine, although her shoulder still ached. If she waited too long, she risked something worse coming by. She imagined herself becoming invisible to the monsters. The finer details of the cloak¡¯s abilities and limitations were still unclear, but she knew it had worked when she felt shivers running through her body. Quietly, she climbed down, worried that any sound she made would give her away to the monsters. Maybe that was why the invisibility occasionally failed. She stepped down on the ground, just feet from where the wolves lay. Either they hadn¡¯t heard her, or they were too weak to care. The barrier was close, and she set off towards it but then stopped. The two wolves behind her were the biggest threats around here, and they had murdered her family. In their current state, they couldn¡¯t fight back, which meant if she was ever going to kill them, it had to be now. In a few hours, they would either be dead or recovered. The latter was unacceptable. A level-two monster was, after all, still twice as strong as her. How had they even ended up in this state to begin with? Her best guess was that the snake had bitten them before it died. Serves them right. A rage like she¡¯d never felt before ignited inside her, fueled by her grief and despair. In a moment, it had burned away any trace of the terror, leaving nothing behind but her hatred for these monsters. She was going to slay the wolf-beasts. Chapter Six: Revenge and Regret Astrid sneaked closer to the two wolf-beasts, twitching, and whimpering on the ground. They didn¡¯t notice her, as her cloak kept her hidden. Her rage burned as she studied the wolves, trying to decide how best to kill them. This will be easy, she thought as she snuck up behind the first wolf. Her dagger sank through the skin with ease, and the wolf jolted once before going completely still. She smiled to herself as she received the message informing her that she had, in fact, just slayed the beast. Her attention shifted to the other wolf, and her smile was quickly replaced by horror. The monster had managed to get back on its feet and was staring right at her, thick glubs of bloody saliva dripping from its maw. The backstab attack had given away her position, so she no longer had the element of surprise in the fight. This is bad! Astrid scrambled backwards as the monster crouched, preparing to launch. Her foot caught a root, tripping her, and she fell on her butt. The wolf had chosen that moment to spring, and it soared over her head. She rolled out of the way as it clawed at the spot where she had just laid. Then it tried to bite her throat, but its movements were sluggish, like someone who had drunk way too much alcohol during the harvest festival. This allowed Astrid to keep up, and she swung the dagger wildly in front of its face. It recoiled as the blade slashed across its snout. This gave her enough time to get up on her knees and throw herself forward with her dagger aimed at the monster''s throat. The blade sank to the hilt, and the wolf howled as it collapsed. It was still breathing, so Astrid stabbed it again. The wolf whined weekly but continued to breathe. She stabbed it over and over. Blood sprayed from each wound she made, splashing her face and coating her hands and clothes. Why- stab. won¡¯t it just- stab. die? Stab. The wolf lay on the ground, making no attempt at getting up. The shock of her stabs must have knocked it prone, but that wouldn¡¯t last forever. How much damage can this monster take? She thought miserably as she brought the dagger down again. Each stab made the wolf whine and twitch, and bile rose in her throat. ¡°Please just die already.¡± Tears ran down her cheeks, and she wanted to stop. Her regular stab was weak compared to her back stab. It was awful to keep stabbing the wolf-beast, when her attack barely did any damage, but she didn¡¯t dare disengage. One good hit was all it would take for the wolf to end her life, so all she could do was keep hacking away at it. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the beast stopped whimpering and fell limp. Astrid was breathing heavily. She had won, but it didn¡¯t feel like a victory at all. This had been too cruel. She staggered to her feet, disgusted with herself and her actions. However, staying here was too dangerous, so after checking her surroundings for more treats and finding none, she went back to the safe side of the barrier. System messages were fighting for her attention, so with her mind still in a shocked daze she quickly skimmed through them to see if there was anything important. She had gained experience in various skills, and it happened at a faster rate than she was used to from working on the farm. Then again, new skills often saw rapid growth in the beginning when everything provided a challenge. As soon as that stopped, skill growth would slow to a crawl. She kept skimming through notifications until she found the latest quest update. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Quest update You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out Objective: defeat monsters 7 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
After all this, she still had to fight three more monsters. She couldn¡¯t help it. Sobs escaped her throat, and tears mixed with the blood on her face. Trying to wipe them away only made the mess worse. She should find a place to wash it off soon, but she still didn¡¯t have any water. All she had the energy to do was curl up on the ground and cry. Why was all this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this fate? Was it because, deep down, she was a bad person? She had never thought of herself that way before, but how could she not be? After all, the way she had killed the last wolf had been so cruel only an evil person could have done it. She had no idea how long she lay on the ground, crying. Maybe a few minutes, or maybe several hours. Either way, she didn¡¯t care. Occasionally, the thought of going inside to lay in bed entered her mind, but she didn¡¯t. Her limbs felt so heavy she wasn¡¯t sure she could move, even if her life depended on it. Eventually, she ran out of tears and drifted off to sleep.
¡°Wake up, silly girl, what are you lying there for?¡± Astrid woke, recognizing the voice. However, she didn¡¯t respond. The god of Deception was the last person she wanted to talk to. All this was his fault. If she ignored him, he might go away. ¡°You¡¯re not that hurt, so snap out of it,¡± he demanded. When Astrid still didn¡¯t acknowledge his presence, he let out an exasperated sigh and crouched down beside her. She let out a yelp when Sham grabbed her by the arms. ¡°Let go of me,¡± she said as Sham forced her into a sitting position. ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± she said, stretching her body, which had gotten stiff and sore from lying still on the ground for who knew how long. ¡°Now come on, tell me what¡¯s wrong.¡± Astrid figured that Sham would continue to pester her until he got an answer, so she began talking. ¡°I killed the wolf-beast, but it suffered so much.¡± She stared at her shaking, blood-covered hands, trying not to break down and cry again. ¡°That¡¯s no reason to be so upset. The wolf killed your family.¡± Astrid lost the fight against the tears. ¡°I want to go home.¡± ¡°I am not interested in dealing with your emotional problems any longer. Now hurry up and finish the quest. I¡¯m getting impatient,¡± Sham said as he got up and turned to leave. ¡°NO! I don¡¯t want to. I hate you.¡± She had barely finished shouting the sentence before the god grabbed the front of her dress and hoisted her up off the ground, so they were eye to eye. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his murderous expression. He could kill her with ease right there if he wanted to. ¡°Watch your tone, girl. Don¡¯t forget who you are talking to. A little attitude is fine, but there are limits to what I will tolerate,¡± he said before throwing her back on the ground. ¡°And stop wasting tears on that vile beast. Monsters don¡¯t give a second thought about who they kill, so neither should you.¡± Then he disappeared, leaving no trace that he had even been there, and Astrid fell to her knees. It took her several moments to calm her raging heartbeat. She had just made a god angry. Not just any god, but the one she had pledged herself to. He could basically force her to do anything and decide how the rest of her life would be spent. She despised him for that, but he was right about what he said. The wolf didn¡¯t feel bad for killing humans. No monsters did. They were vicious and killed anything that got close. Since there was no reasoning with them, they had to be slayed. It was no use sitting here feeling sorry for what she had to do. With new determination, she stood up. Three more monsters to kill. She could do this. Her health and stamina had healed completely, so there was no excuse to delay any longer. After picking out her next target, not bothering to identify it, she made herself invisible and snuck up on it. The dagger penetrated its skin, killing it with cold efficiency. The last two monsters were dealt with in no time. Afterwards, she returned to the safe zone behind the barrier, where she read the messages to confirm that the quest had been completed.
Quest from the God of Deception complete You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out. Objective: defeat monsters 10 of 10 Reward: 10 large coppers
Astrid barely managed to read the message before the new one arrived. Chapter Seven: Survive for one more day
New quest from the God of Deception You are alone in the forest with nowhere to go Objective: survive alone in the wild for 24 hours Reward: map of Otimra Time left: 24 h
Astrid stared at the quest, no longer sure what to think about the situation she found herself in. What would the God of Deception achieve by giving her these quests? Was it a test? Was he trying to get her killed? The timer wasn¡¯t counting down, which gave her a suspicion. When the quest told her to survive in the wild, it meant outside the protective barrier. To test her theory, she took a step outside the barrier, and as she had expected, the timer began counting backwards. Stepping back inside immediately reset it. By the look of the sky, it was early afternoon. Leaving now would be as good a time as any. There was nothing she could do to prepare. She also had a feeling that Sham was done providing her free meals, so the longer she stayed here, the worse her situation would get. Without further delay, she made herself invisible and left with no idea where she was heading. However, finding water was her first priority. Her thirst was beginning to make itself known, and the dried blood itched. She would like to wash it off as soon as possible. Each step through the underbrush was taken with great care to ensure she didn¡¯t alert anything to her presence. Even though she had the skills to slay monsters, fights always came with great risks, so they were best avoided as much as possible. Eventually a river appeared before her, and with renewed energy, she rushed to its bank, where she sank to her knees, cupped her hands, and shoveled water into her mouth. The cool liquid soothed her dry throat and filled her stomach. Then she cleaned the blood from her hands and face. However, her attempt to remove the bloodstains from the dress was a lost cause. Scrubbing only exacerbated the tears in the fabric, leaving the reddish-brown blots unaffected. She¡¯d never get it into a wearable state again. Giving up on the dress, she went to examine the cloak. It looked like it did when she received it. No holes and no dirt. It apparently had some cleansing and self-repair ability, and it made her wonder if it was possible to get dresses that could do the same. It would be awesome not to have to wash and mend clothes anymore. Checking the quest told her there were still twenty-three hours left. Maybe it would be a good idea to find a safe place to spend the night. However, she was hungry and still had no clue what would happen after the quest, so finding something to eat might be the best action. She set out to look for food, but despite her ability to identify plants, that came with the plant-care skill, she only found a few berries, which did little to satiate her hunger. As the sun set, she gave up and resigned herself to going hungry. Back at the river, she refilled her stomach with water and then found a place to lie down. Sleep was hard to come by, and multiple times during the night, sounds startled her awake. Even as the sun rose, she made no attempt to leave her hiding place. The quest had only told her to survive, not thrive. As long as she lived through the next eight hours, she would complete the task the god of Deception had given her. Several more hours passed as she huddled up in the shelter, drifting in and out of sleep, but around midday, her thirst and hunger became too much to ignore. Before leaving the shelter, she scanned her surroundings to ensure the coast was clear. Then she went to the river to drink. She still had no food, but that was fine. There were only a few hours left of the quest. Once she completed it, she would. . . Well, she would still be stuck in the middle of the forest with nothing to eat. The realization was discouraging. After everything she had been through, her situation was still precarious. How much longer could she last on her own out here? What if she never got out of the forest? Astrid shook her head, well aware of what happened to her spirit whenever she allowed her thoughts to spiral out of control. She had to put more effort into finding something other than water to fill her stomach. Maybe she could catch a fish in the river and then roast it over a fire. However, she had nothing to fish with and no way to start a fire. She let out a scream of frustration before sitting down, trying to fight back the tears. Crying would be useless, and so would sitting here doing nothing. Why did everything have to be so hard? She didn¡¯t want to be alone out here anymore. It had been so long since she had seen another person¡ªSham did not count¡ªthat she was starting to feel like she was the only one left in the world. She wanted to sleep in a bed, eat real food, and wear clean clothes. Most of all, she wanted to go home. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That¡¯s not an option, so stop thinking about it. She mentally berated herself for the thousand time. Now pull yourself together and do what you have to. She forced herself to get back up and walk toward the forest. If she kept going, eventually she was bound to find something to eat. Astrid had only taken a few steps when she noticed that something felt off. She strained her senses, trying to figure out why she suddenly got this unsettled. No sounds could be heard. That was the problem. Normally, the forest was full of noises, from the birds singing to the insects buzzing. It only got this silent when danger lurked nearby. She turned around just as a shadow emerged from a bush, headed right at her. While dodging out of the way, she unsheathed her dagger in time to counter the shadow''s next attack. She slashed at it with her knife, but it evaded her and flew into her stomach, knocking her to the ground. The monster hovered in the air above her. It was just a dark, formless blob with no discernible features, so it was difficult for Astrid to gauge its intentions. Her ability to appraise monsters told her it was a level-one lighting sphere, but offered no more details about what that meant. Suddenly, the lightning sphere rushed towards her, and she rolled to the side, avoiding the hit. Her next slash finally struck the monster. It let out a screech, but otherwise, the attack only served to aggravate the creature further. Fast as lightning, it moved in and bit her hand with hundreds of needle-like teeth. Astrid dropped the dagger with a yelp and swung her hand around, trying to dislodge the creature. It flew off and hit a tree, but that didn¡¯t stop it either. It opened its mouth and shot an energy beam at her. Magic, she thought as she dropped flat on the ground, narrowly avoiding the beam as it flew over her head. She had never fought a magical monster before, but she had been told that they were rare at level one and often had very dangerous powers. Where other monsters would claw and bite, those with magic could deal damage from a distance. With no ranged attacks of her own, Astrid had to get in close and finish it fast. She rolled over out of reach of another blast, grabbed her dagger on the ground, and sprung to her feet. Taking advantage of her level two running skills, she zigzagged towards the monster, dodging the magic beams it sent her way. Then she stabbed it. The blade went all the way through its body, pinning it to the tree behind it. It stilled, the beam it had been about to release dying in its mouth. How could such a small creature cause her so much trouble? How had it even seen her? She had thought she was invisible. Had she somehow given her position away? She had no recollection of when the clock had lost its effect, but it must have happened. She had to be more careful. Before anything else could attack her, she reapplied the invisibility and then sheathed the dagger again. Half of her health had been expended in the fight, so she decided to hide until she could recover. Back in the shelter, she fell asleep and only woke up when she received a new message.
Quest from the God of Deception completed You are alone in the forest with nowhere to go Objective: survive alone in the wild for 24 hours Reward: map of Otimra Time left: 0 h
She found the map in the inventory and examined it.
Map Of Otimra Received as a quest reward The map can help the holder navigate over land
It was a scroll of parchment, yellowed with age. She unrolled the map and studied it for a moment. Maps were expensive, so she had never seen one depicting the entire kingdom before. It was fascinating, and she could have looked at it for hours if another message hadn¡¯t arrived at that moment.
New quest from the God of Deception You are alone in the forest Objective: get to Largon Reward: book
She sighed as she finished reading through the quest. Something about this didn¡¯t sit well with her. It wasn¡¯t the quest objective that bothered her. She had wanted to get out of this forest before she received it. And a book reward sounded intriguing too, especially if it was a skill book. What bothered her was the fact that the god of Deception kept sending her quests. For how long would he dictate her every action? What were his plans for her? Based on the limited knowledge she had about the god of Deception, it couldn¡¯t be anything good. She set off towards the city of Largon. She had never been there, so she didn¡¯t know anything about the city, but the map told her to head further east towards the ocean. Hopefully, she would arrive before dark. The dread of spending another night in the forest with no food encouraged her to walk faster. She stayed invisible the whole way, not wanting monsters to slow her down. It was early in the evening when the forest abruptly turned to farmland. Fields stretched out ahead of her, and small cottages dotted the landscape. She felt a sting in her chest at the reminder of the life she had lost, but immediately pushed the thought away. She didn¡¯t want to deal with the pain. She had to focus on getting to the city. Largon should be close by. Maybe on the other side of the hill. A path snaked between the fields, wide enough for two wagons to pass each other. She followed it, and as she had expected, the city came into view at the top of the hill. The cluster of buildings was surrounded by a wall of wooden poles, likely a safety measure to keep monsters out. A gate, guarded by a couple of men, had to be the entrance. A few people stood in line, waiting to enter. She got in line as well, and soon she was inside the city. She had arrived at Largon. Chapter eight: Largon
Quest from the God of Deception complete You are alone in the forest Objective: get to Largon Reward: book
Astrid barely registered the message, taken aback by the overload of sensory input. Never had she seen so many people in one place before, not even during the festivals in the village near her farm. So many different voices blended together that she could barely make out anything. The many sights made it impossible to choose what to focus on first, and the smells mixed until they were completely unrecognizable. She could have stood like that forever, stunned, and overwhelmed, but she was holding up traffic. A fact she was politely made aware of by a hard shove in the back and the words, ¡°Watch where you are going.¡± Her cloak had kept her invisible up until that point, but the impact broke the spell. She turned to reply with some angry words of her own but stopped herself. The man who had shoved her was twice her size and more scarry-looking than any monster she had slain. The look in his face unsettled her to the bone. It was filled with hatred and disgust that made Astrid wonder what she had ever done to this man. Surely this couldn¡¯t be because she had been standing in his way. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they let your kind into the city,¡± the man sneered. ¡°It¡¯s revolting.¡± He spat in her direction before moving on, leaving Astrid confused and scared. If all city people were going to behave like this, she would take her chances in the forest. She hurried further into the city before other people here could take issue with her existence. She found an alley where she could hide until she figured out what to do next. She was still shaken by the man¡¯s aggression towards her, so first she had to figure out why he hated her. It would be best if other people didn¡¯t feel the same. She looked down at herself, noticing that her shoes were caked in mud and her tattered dress was blood-stained. Her braids had come undone at some point, and now her hair was a tangled mess filled with twigs and dirt. No wonder others reacted poorly to her. She looked awful. She began removing the twigs from her hair and running through it with her fingers, trying to untangle all the knots. There was nothing she could do to fix the dress right now, so she pulled the cloak closer around her, hiding it as best she could. Her hands brushed against something, and she remembered the amulet Sham had given her. She had forgotten she was wearing it, so she quickly took it off and stuffed it in her pouch. It wouldn¡¯t do to walk around the city with a big sign around her neck, declaring her a follower of Deception. They wouldn¡¯t know that she had only joined to survive, and they wouldn¡¯t believe her if she told them. No one trusted those associated with that god. Therefore, no one could know she was a follower of Deception, so she stuffed it into her belt pouch. With this sorted, she hoped she could move around the city without drawing the attention of everyone around her. However, first she wanted to take a glimpse at the book she had just gotten.
Divine book of Deception level 1 Received as a gift from the god of Deception An introductory skill book that helps the reader unlock multiple different skills and increases skill gain by twenty percent The skills included are: Lying Traps Poison
Astrid stopped reading after that. This was not something she wanted to read. She had half a mind to throw it in the trash so it wouldn¡¯t take up the last slot in her inventory, but decided against it at the last moment. It was a gift from a god after all. He might not take kindly to her throwing it away, and she had to be careful not to anger him. Again. The memory of what had happened the last few times still sent shivers down her spine. It still worried her that Sham had taken such an interest in her when she had no idea why. She found him hard to understand. One moment he was kind, talking to her as if they were friends, and the next, he threatened to kill her. Her empty stomach made itself known and pulled her out of her thoughts. She had to get food soon, or starvation would start to affect her badly. As she was about to leave her hiding place in the alley, she received a new message. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
New quest from the God of Deception You have just arrived in Largon Objective: deceive someone Reward: 1 large copper
There¡¯s no way I¡¯d ever do that, Astrid thought after she had read the new quest. Deceiving people was wrong. Beside, she had no reason to do it since she had a large sum of money. Thirteen large copper she had earned doing quests and 35 small copper she had saved up during her childhood. All she had to do was find an inn where she could rent a room and get some food. No questionable actions would be required. This was her chance to start fresh and build an honest life for herself. She was used to hard work, so she had no doubt she could find a good job in no time. As long as she didn''t ruin her chance by being deceitful. Rejecting the quest wasn¡¯t an option, so she settled for ignoring it as she set out to find an inn. Her map showed no details of the city¡¯s layout, so she asked a woman for direction. After thanking her, she set off towards the inn. A few moments later, she stood in front of a large, three-story building. A sign stating ¡°Largon Inn¡± assured her she was in the right place. She went inside and found a room filled with tables and benches, all made from wood. Several people sat, eating, and talking. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± a man said, startling Astrid. She hadn¡¯t noticed him coming up beside her. His clothes were neat and clean. The few strands of hair he had left were neatly combed back over his scalp. ¡°I¡¯d like to rent a room, please,¡± Astrid said, giving the man a polite smile. The man gave her a distrustful glance. ¡°I don¡¯t rent rooms out to street children.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a street child. I¡¯m just new in the city, and I can pay,¡± Astrid said, pulling a handful of small coppers from her inventory. The man took the money and inspected them carefully. ¡°I don¡¯t accept stolen money.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve earned these coins.¡± Astrid tried not to let the offense of being accused of stealing show on her face. ¡°I find that hard to believe.¡± The man began counting the coins in his hands. "Please, I lost my entire family to monsters a few days ago. I just need food and a place to sleep.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that story a million times. I don¡¯t run a charity.¡± ¡°I promise I will pay.¡± ¡°I already said no. Now get out of here. Go pester someone else.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Astrid sighed, realizing this was a lost cause. ¡°Just give me back my money, and then I¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°What money?¡± ¡°The money you just took.¡± She looked at the man but could no longer see the coins she had handed him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t know what to say. Her cheeks burned as she realized the man wasn¡¯t going to give them back, and she had no way of getting them back. A quick glance around assured her that no one was paying attention to her or the man. No one would take her word over his. In her short life, she had only interacted with about a dozen people, but they had all been kind, hardworking, and trustworthy. Well, except for Sham, but he didn¡¯t count. This was the first time anyone had lied to her and stolen from her. Why did the god of Deception want her as a follower when people like the innkeeper existed? ¡°Why are you still here?¡± The innkeeper snarled. ¡°Get out!¡± Astrid left, as starting an argument would be pointless. She still had to figure out where to spend the night. The sun had started to set, so she had to hurry if she wanted to find a place before it got dark. She went over her belongings, trying to find something that could help her. Threatening with a dagger wouldn¡¯t do, and she couldn¡¯t let anyone know about her new book and the amulet. She had often made herself invisible, but that wouldn¡¯t help her rent a room either. Maybe she could use her cloak in other ways. It had the ability to disguise her, so if children couldn¡¯t rent a room, she would just have to look older. She pulled the clock tight around her and imagined herself as a young adult. A picture of her sister, Sigrid, came to mind. That might work. She felt the shivers rippling through her body, but it was the only sign that the cloak had taken effect. She still looked like herself. Hopefully, others would see her as a grown woman. One thing she knew for sure was that the mean innkeeper would never get any more of her money. There had to be other inns in the city.
A while later, she found an inn on a small side street. Shouts and laughter erupted from the run-down building. Astrid found all the noise frightening and questioned if it was safe to enter, but it was almost completely dark outside, so there was no time to search for another place. It was either this inn or the streets. Before she could change her mind, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The place was smaller than the other inn had been but otherwise laid out in much the same way, with wooden tables and benches. It was packed, smelling like food and unwashed bodies. No one paid attention to her arrival, so she walked up to a desk standing to the side. Behind the desk stood a man, and Astrid assumed he worked at the inn. ¡°I¡¯d like to rent a room for the night,¡± she said, making her voice a little deeper to sound more mature. ¡°Of course. Do you want breakfast and dinner as well?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± She couldn¡¯t believe this was actually working. ¡°That¡¯ll be ten small coppers.¡± She pulled out the money and held her breath as she handed it over. What if this guy tried to cheat her too? What would she do, then? The man counted the money and handed her a key. ¡°The rooms are upstairs. Your room number is on the key," he said before grabbing a pen and opening a book. ¡°What name do I put down?¡± ¡°Astrid.¡± ¡°Alright. Just show the maid your key, and she will bring you a meal.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said as she went to find a place to sit in the crowded room.
Quest from the God of Deception complete You have just arrived in Largon Objective: deceive someone Reward: 1 large copper
What? I didn¡¯t do that, did I? Then she realized that by pretending she had been older than she was, she had just deceived the innkeeper. But she had no choice. It was either disguising herself or sleeping on the streets. Still, it worried her how easy it was for her to perform deceitful actions without even thinking about it. Astrid showed the key to a waiter, and a moment later, a bowl of stew was brought to her. She swallowed it down quickly, unable to control herself. She felt so hungry. After eating, she went to her room. She locked the door behind her and looked around. It was small, with a bed taking up the length of the wall to her side. Through the grimy window, she could just make out the dark street below. She got ready for bed and fell asleep shortly after lying down. Chapter nine: double identity Astrid felt well rested when she woke up the next morning, so she got out of bed and dressed in her tattered dress and her cloak. She really needed to get some new dresses soon before the one she had fell apart completely. Since she was in a city and had money, she could get whatever she wanted. Before she could get too excited, she steeled herself. Until she had a reliable income, her money should only be spent on the most necessary things. She also had room rent and food to think about, after all. Finding a job should be a main priority for now. She still hadn¡¯t gotten any new quests from the god of Deception, which was a good thing. Maybe he had finally lost interest in her now that she had made it safely to the city. She put on her shoes, which had also seen better days, and went down to the main room of the inn for some breakfast. A few people were already seated, but it was nowhere near as crowded as it had been last evening. She was about to go find a seat when someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see the innkeeper, who looked at her with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked. At first, the innkeeper¡¯s words confused her. They had, after all, met just yesterday. However, she quickly realized what the issue was. She had forgotten to disguise herself before leaving her room, so now she looked like her normal fourteen-year-old self and not like her eighteen-year-old sister. How could she have been so careless? ¡°Um,¡± Astrid said, mentally scolding herself for the blunder while trying to come up with a plausible response. ¡°I¡¯m Astrid¡¯s sister, Sigrid.¡± The name that had belonged to her sister was the first that came to mind. A wave of emotions rushed over her from the memories of everything she had lost, making her eyes burn and her throat tighten. Don¡¯t think about it, she told herself, and pushed the grief down before it could spill over. Now was not the time to deal with her sorrows. The innkeeper grunted. ¡°If you and your sister want to keep the room another night, it will cost another ten small coppers. Fifteen in both of you want the meals.¡± ¡°All right,¡± Astrid said, handing over the money. Just the ten coppers. She didn¡¯t feel like paying extra for food for a person who didn¡¯t actually exist. The innkeeper didn¡¯t comment as he went back to the desk, counted the money, and wrote something in his notebook. Astrid took this as a sign she could continue with her breakfast plans, so she found a place to sit, and soon a plate with pancakes and fresh fruit was brought to her table. For so long, she had wanted pancakes, but now they just reminded her of the home she would never see again. She quickly swallowed the food without tasting it and left the inn to search for the market. If she just kept busy, she wouldn¡¯t have to think about her dead family. As soon as she got back to the main road, she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people moving in every direction. It reminded her of the large flock of sheep her old neighbor had before they abandoned the place. There had been so many of them, and when they stood close together, it was hard to tell where one ended and another began. Astrid took a deep breath and entered the masses. She immediately jumped back again, narrowly avoiding getting run over by an overstuffed cart. After a moment, she had recovered enough to try again, this time checking to make sure nothing big and heavy was hurdling towards her before stepping out on the road. She could only hope she was heading towards the marketplace. She didn¡¯t dare stop to ask someone for directions out of fear of being trampled. Eventually, she made it to a big, open area where the crowds thinned. This looked like it would be a good place for a market, but there was nothing but empty space and people. Whenever she had been in the village, there had been rows and rows of stalls that sold anything imaginable, but here no one had even begun setting up shop. Where did all these people buy the stuff they needed? She looked around, trying to figure out what to do, and noticed that a lot of people were entering and exiting the building surrounding the square. At first, she thought it was because they lived there, but after a while, that seemed implausible. One woman entered a building, then exited a few moments later, only to enter another one immediately after. Curiously, she went over to the nearest building and looked through the window. Inside, selves filled with shoes stood in neat rows, and a man showed one pair to another man. It looked like a bigger and fancier version of a marketplace stall, so this had to be where people shopped. Astrid looked through the windows until she found a shop with clothes. The many beautiful dresses hanging on display looked stunning. The vibrant colors glinted in the sunlight, and the lace trims had intricate patterns. They were completely impractical for any kind of physical labor, but she still wanted them. Before she could stop herself, she entered the building and made her way over the fine dresses. ¡°Is there anything I can help you with, dear?¡± a woman asked. She was elderly, with wrinkled skin and gray hair. Her orange dress fit her body perfectly. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I like this one,¡± Astrid said, pointing at a blue silk dress with tiny white bows on the skirt. ¡°It would suit you so well,¡± the woman said. ¡°And for a small silver, it can be yours.¡± Astrid returned to reality as her dream of owning the fine dress shattered. It was more expensive than she could hope to afford. Maybe one day, she thought, casting one last glance at the dress. ¡°I¡¯m also looking for a couple of sturdy work dresses,¡± she told the woman, trying not to let the disappointment show. ¡°We have a nice selection of those over here in the back.¡±
A while later, Astrid left the building with two new dresses. She had to carry her new purchase back to the inn by hand since her pouch was full. She was not comfortable leaving anything she currently owned unattended in her room, even if the door was locked. Both the book and the amulet would be a dead giveaway that she followed the god of Deception. Maps were valuable, and she didn¡¯t want to lose the one she had, should someone gain access to her room while she was gone. She would need to get a bigger bag soon. Three inventory slots might not be enough for much longer. She already had to tie her room key to her belt. Back in her room, she freshened up and changed into one of the new dresses. The green linen felt soft against her skin. This was the first time in her life she wore something that hadn¡¯t been passed down from her sister. It had never bothered her, as she knew just how expensive clothes could be. These dresses were the cheapest in the store, and they still cost one large copper each. The woman in the shop had tried to sell her a nice leather belt to go with the dresses, and Astrid really wanted it. However, in the end, she turned it down. The rope she had was still good enough, so spending money on a new belt would have been wasteful. Besides, there were many other things she needed to buy that were a lot more important, like a bar of soap and a comb for her hair. She also had to make daily payments to stay at the inn until she could save up enough to get her own place. She would need to find a job as soon as possible. She combed her hair as best she could with her fingers. Then she braided it and tied the ends with strips of fabric she ripped off her old dress. They were not as nice as the ribbons she had lost in the forest when she fled from her farm, but they would do for now. After disguising herself as her sister, she went downstairs and over to the innkeeper. ¡°I¡¯m looking for work,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t have any vacancies, but you can try at the job hall. People looking to hire often post there.¡± The innkeeper gave her directions, and she thanked him before leaving the inn again. The job hall was easy to find. Inside, multiple notice boards stood in neat rows, and people walked among them, browsing the offers. Astrid looked around, trying to figure out where to start. She saw a group of young girls standing by one of the boards and decided it would be a good place to start. She went over and quickly scanned through the different notes, trying to find something that caught her interest. The first one was for a position as a maid, paying one small copper a day. No way, Astrid thought, moving on to the next note. It was much the same, as were all the others on this board. Taking a full-time job at such low pay would never get her anywhere. The other people around her didn¡¯t seem to have the same concerns, as they eagerly took down the notes to go apply for the jobs. Astrid decided to check out the other boards before making any decisions. There, the options weren¡¯t any better. Either the pay was less than she needed to afford her inn, or they required specific skills to be at certain levels. She needed work as soon as possible, so raising a skill would take too long. Maybe she was being too picky about the jobs. After all, other people seemed happy taking jobs like this. Then again, they likely had families working together to cover expenses. Astrid was all on her own and had lost everything when the monsters attacked her farm, so in addition to paying rent, she needed enough to replace necessities. None of these jobs allowed her to do that. Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly true. Some of the first jobs she had looked at had a boarding option, which meant that the small copper she earned would be hers to keep. Still, it felt unfair to be paid so little for a full day of work. Sham had offered a lot more for completing his quests. It would take several years of working as a maid to earn the same amount. Astrid shook her head. What was she even thinking? Had she really gotten so greedy and spoiled in a few days that regular work was beneath her? That could not be allowed. She would take a job with a boarding option, work harder than anyone else had ever done before, and she would be happy about it. Maybe in a few years she would have gained the skills to get a better job. That was how the world worked for people in her situation. Filled with new determination, she marched back to the first noticeboard, only to find it completely empty. A young girl had just snatched the last slip of paper off the board. I guess I¡¯ll have to come back tomorrow then. She thought. Since she was already here, she might as well check out the last few boards in the back. She had almost given up on finding anything when she reached the last board. It was stuffed with notes, and she perked up as she read through a few of them. This could be it. Each note contained a one-off quest and most only required her to go to the forest, pick a few plants, and then bring them back to the right person. If you had the right equipment, it would be easy. To make things even better, they paid at least a large copper each, which was a hundred times more than the other jobs she had been looking at. Why is no one else taking these? She couldn¡¯t think of any reason, so she shrugged off the concerns. It meant that there would be more for her. She just needed to buy a few things first. Astrid quickly found a store that sold bags. If she got a big enough bag, she could take on multiple quests at once and then avoid having to go back and forth a hundred times. She decided on a brown leather bag with fifty stackable inventory slots. It was the best she could afford, as magical items were expensive. After paying, she only had a few large coppers left, but it would be worth the investment. She could make the ten large coppers back in a few days. The next stop was a store that sold all kinds of tools. Here she got a sickle to harvest plants. Although food could be plucked by hand, any attempt at harvesting magical plants without the right tool would leave the plant useless. She secured her new sickle beside the dagger on the rope for easy access. She had spent most of her money now, so she really hoped taking these gathering quests would be as lucrative as she imagined. Otherwise, she would have wasted all her money. With her new equipment, she went back to the job hall to sign up for some quests. Chapter Ten: First Job Astrid placed a handful of notes on the desk where the job hall manager sat. ¡°I¡¯d like to take these.¡± The job hall manager studied her quizzically. He was a short man with black hair and a full beard. ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t think I have seen you around here before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Astrid. I¡¯m new in the city.¡± The job hall manager read over the notes she had handed him with a concerned look on his face. ¡°Are you sure about this? It¡¯s not safe for anyone to go out into the forest these days, you know, with all the monsters roaming around.¡± The increasing numbers of monsters would explain why no one wanted to take on the quests since they would have to leave the city to gather plants. Astrid wasn¡¯t scared of monsters. At least not as much as she used to be. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can handle it. I have fought monsters before.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t exactly look like a monster slayer.¡± Astrid still used the cloak to disguise herself as a grownup, so it couldn¡¯t be her age that concerned him. She wasn¡¯t sure what a real monster slayer was supposed to look like, but she imagined a big, burly man, heavily scared from countless battles. Someone so grotesque that the monsters took one look at him and ran away in terror. There was no way she was going to disguise herself like that. ¡°As I said, I can handle it.¡± She said it with as much confidence as she could muster, but she was getting worried. She needed this man¡¯s permission to take out the quests in here, and if he wouldn¡¯t give it to her, she would have wasted a lot of money on equipment. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure about it, then I guess I can let you have them.¡± He tapped his finger on the corner of each note, and they began glowing for a moment before returning to normal. Astrid immediately knew that the information on the notes had been added to her quest log. She was relieved that it had worked. Now all she had to do was find the right plants and bring them to the right person while not getting ripped to pieces by monsters. That would be easy. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said before leaving the job hall.
It was just past noon when she stood at the edge of the forest, second-guessing her decision to do this. Even though she had slayed several monsters in the past few days, they still posed a great risk. One good hit, and she would be done for. Too late to turn back now, she thought, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart while she went over the plan in her head one more time. Stay invisible, get the plants, and get out. Don¡¯t fight monsters unless absolutely necessary. She pulled her amulet from her belt pouch and put it on. Out here, she didn¡¯t have to worry about other people seeing it, and it offered a power boost to her other items she didn¡¯t want to be without. After checking her surroundings one last time and making sure no one was watching her, she activated the invisibility. She had taken out five quests, as that was the maximum number of active quests she could have at any given time. She took a closer look at the first one.
New quest from the apothecary The apothecary is in dire need of new supplies Objective: collect Fire flowers 0 of 5 and bring them to the apothecary Reward: 1 large copper Time: 23 h and 40 m
She knew the plant well, having seen it before. It had large orange petals that made it look like a small flame. It grew in sunny places, so she had to find a clearing. She set out to look for one. It didn¡¯t take long to find one. Hundreds of Fire flowers sprawled over the ground like a carpet, and she bent down and quickly cut the five she needed with her sickle. Then she noted the location of the clearing on her map in case she needed to find Fire flowers again later before looking at the next few quests. She had taken these specifically because they asked for the same common plant.
New guest from the temple of medicine Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Plants are urgently needed to restock the temple of medicine Objective: collect Water moss 0 of 10 and bring them to the temple of medicine Reward: 1 large copper Time: 22 h 55 m
New quest from apothecary The apothecary is in dire need of new supplies Objective: collect Water moss 0 of 5 and bring them to the apothecary Reward: 1 large copper Time: 22 h and 55 m
New quest from the Dye house The dye house needs new raw materials to stay in business Objective: collect Water moss 0 of 5 and bring them to the dye house Reward: 1 large copper Time: 22 h and 55 m
Her ability to identify plants told her that Water moss grew in large patches near the banks of rivers. Luckily, she knew there was one running through the forest, not too far from here. She heard the stream before she saw it. The roar of rushing water reverberated through the forest, drowning out all other sounds as Astrid got closer. She walked along the riverbank until she found a good place to gather the Water moss. Here, the water was calm, allowing the blue-green plants to grow in big clusters close to land, making them easy to pick. She hurriedly got the moss she needed. Four down, one more to go, she thought as she stood back up. If it kept being this easy to gather plants, she would be rich in no time. She checked her quest log to see what was next on the list.
New quest from the apothecary The apothecary is in dire need of new supplies Objective: collect Shadow leaves 0 of 5 and bring them to the apothecary Reward: 1 large copper Time: 21 h and 17 m
Astrid had never seen shadow leaves before, but she surmised they grew in shaded places, and her ability to identify plants would let her know when she saw them. She walked away from the river, back into the forest, and began to search. A few hours later, she still hadn¡¯t seen any shadow leaves, and she was beginning to lose hope that she would stumble upon them today. The sun would start to set soon, and unless she wanted to spend the night in the forest, she had to be back in the city before dark when the gate closed. Maybe she should go back now and return tomorrow to continue the search. She would have plenty of time if she got an early start. But what if she still couldn¡¯t find it? Not only would she fail the quest but also the apothecary, who needed the shadow leaves. Although she wasn¡¯t sure exactly what the leaves were used for, it had to be medicine of some kind. A lot of people could end up suffering if she failed to complete the quest. She couldn¡¯t let that happen. She would stay out all night looking for the leaves if that¡¯s what it took. With renewed determination, she intensified her search. The forest got denser, and the trees looked older, with large canopies that blocked out most of the sunlight. At times, she had to push her way through bushes and in between trees. Thornes cut into her hands and face, slowly eating away at her health. Just as she had decided it was too dangerous to continue on this route, she spotted them. The dark gray leaves sprouted up from the ground like jagged rocks, but her ability identified them as Shadow leaves. Scrambling through the last few thorny bushes, she managed to get to the plant. A swift swing with her scythe severed the leaves she needed from the rest of the plant, and with a smile, she put them in her inventory next to the other plant she had gathered that day. Now she just had to make it back to Largon. Or, at the very least, find a safe place to camp for the night. She looked around and soon realized the only way out of this part of the forest was back through the bushes. With a sigh, she began the painful journey back the way she had come. A few health points later, she was back in the less dense part of the forest where she could move freely, and she set off walking briskly. From time to time, she passed by a monsters, but as she was invisible, none of them bothered her. She ignored them in return, not wanting to get into a fight because of all the risks it entailed. She came across a large herd of deer grazing in a clearing. At first, she thought they were normal deer, but as she got closer, she noticed the antlers were too sharp and pointy. A moment later, her ability confirmed that they were monsters called spearheaded dear. Most were level one, though a few were level two. She shuttered and focused on her stealth skills as she moved through the herd. She stopped abruptly as a large stag passed right in front of her. Its scared fur glistened with fresh blood. Suddenly, the stag turned towards her and lowered its head, scraping the ground with its hoof. Astrid screamed and jumped to the side just in time to avoid the monster as it charged forward, right past the spot where she had stood. She watched in stunned horror as the stag rammed its antlers right into the neck of another stag, almost taking its head off. For a heartbeat, Astrid was relieved that the monster had been after another monster and not her, but that quickly changed. Even if the stag hadn¡¯t known about her presents when it first launched its attack, it did now. And so did the rest of the herd. This is bad, she thought as the monsters rushed towards her. The invisibility spell had broken, and putting it back up now would be useless. It only worked on those who didn¡¯t know about her presence, and all these monsters had already seen her. She did the only thing she could. She ran. The monsters were fast. Her running skill was level two, so she was just as fast. Still, she had been in the middle of the herd when they saw her, so a few managed to block her path forward. Without slowing down, she lashed out with her dagger, slashing at the beasts in front of her. She struck one, and it recoiled, but another went in and bit her arm. Sharp teeth sunk into her skin. She let out a scream and slashed at the monster, but kept running. If she stopped, she would be swarmed in seconds. In the distance, the river came into view. If she could make it there, she would be safe. At least from the monsters pursuing her. Most monsters stayed away from running water as they weren¡¯t strong swimmers. There were exceptions to this rule, but these beasts didn¡¯t strike her as the semiaquatic type. Sharp antlers dragged down her back, and she almost lost her footing. Luckily, her cloak had protected her from most of the damage. Otherwise, she would be dead now. Just two health points left. This is bad. She pushed herself to sprint faster than she had ever before, rapidly burning through her stamina. With one last spring forward, she threw herself into the roaring river. Chapter 11: Completing quests The strong current carried Astrid down the river rapidly, taking her far away from the spear-headed deer. Trying to return to shore proved futile, so all she could do was keep her head above the water, which drained her stamina. She tried not to panic, as it would only make her situation worse. It was easier said than done. It had been years since she had last gone swimming, and even then, it had only been in calm water. Back then, she had yet to mature enough to unlock skills. Without an unlocked swimming skill, she had no abilities to aid her. A poorly timed inhale sent water into her lungs, and she coughed for what felt like forever to clear them again. In the meantime, it was only luck that prevented a fatal collision with a rock. Her health was still at two hit points, and the stress of her situation slowed her recovery rate to almost nothing. Just as she thought she wouldn¡¯t be able to last any longer, the trees thinned, and the farmland opened up in front of her. The current slowed enough for her to gain her footing, and she was able to wade to shore. As she dragged her exhausted body up on land, she collapsed on the muddy ground, breathing hard. Her stamina was almost depleted, and Astrid wondered if she would be able to get her hands on some stamina potion. Maybe some heath potion as well would come in handy. Today had been way to close a call, and that was despite her best effort to be careful. She decided to ask at the apothecary when she delivered the plants she had gathered. The sun was about to set, but if she got up now, she could still make it through the city gate before it was closed for the night. She decided to make herself invisible first, as walking into the city wet and covered in mud would attract too much attention. The fact that she was becoming more and more reliant on the gifts she had received from the god of Deception bothered her, but what else could she do? This world offered little aid to an orphaned child, so she was just doing what she had to do to survive. She pushed herself back up on her feet and staggered toward the city gate. She managed to sneak in just before it closed. Most of all, she wanted to go back to the inn for dinner but decided that she should complete the quests first. She set off toward the temple of medicine, as she had a pretty good idea of where it was. She found it in the city center, next to the temples dedicated to the other gods. She made herself visible again, removed the amulet, and made sure she appeared as her adult persona before walking inside. Immediately a woman in a white dress rushed up to her. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± she asked with concern in her voice as she tried to guide Astrid towards a bed in the healing area of the temple. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine,¡± Astrid said. That was probably a lie, but she was confident that her health would recover by itself before tomorrow. Also, getting healed might involve removing her clock, and that would reveal her identity as a child. ¡°Are you sure?¡± The woman was clearly not convinced. ¡°Yes, I just came to deliver some plants I found in the forest. It¡¯s for the quest you posted.¡± Her new bag was still soaked from her trip down the river, but its magic should have kept everything inside nice and dry. She pulled the Water moss from her inventory, and the woman¡¯s face lit up. ¡°This is fantastic,¡± the woman exclaimed as she took the Water moss from Astrid. ¡°I¡¯ll go inform the high priest, and he¡¯ll find your reward. But first, let me show you a room where you can wash up a bit.¡± Ten minutes later, Astrid left the temple again. She had cleaned the mud off her body, changed into the second dress she had bought, and received the reward. Now she was on her way to the apothecary. The woman at the temple had given her directions, so it was easy to find. She entered the store and went up to the desk, as it was the only furniture in the room except for some benches along the walls. She waited a minute, but no one approached her. "Hello,¡± she called out, and an elderly man stepped through a door behind the desk. ¡°The store is closed for the day. You can come back tomorrow or go to the temple of medicine if it¡¯s an emergency.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just here to deliver some plants you requested.¡± ¡°Oh, hand them over so I can see.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Here they are,¡± Astrid said, putting the plants on the desk. ¡°Thank you,¡± the man beamed. ¡°We have tried to get some of this for months with no luck.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have anyone in the city who can go gather these in the forest?¡± Astrid had wondered about that before and wanted to know how things had gotten to this point. All the farmers around here should be able to identify and harvest the plants with no issue. ¡°With all the monsters running around, no one wants to go too far outside the city gate, even though we offer a good price for the jobs these days.¡± ¡°You can get to the river without entering the forest. Can¡¯t you pick Water moss there?¡± ¡°We could, but a lot of industries use that plant, and the area near the city has been depleted.¡± He pulled something out from behind the desk. ¡°Here¡¯s your reward.¡± Three large copper clinked as they landed on the desk. ¡°Thank you.¡± Astrid said, and put the coins in her inventory. ¡°Do you by any chance sell something to replenish health and stamina?¡± ¡°As I said earlier, the store is closed, so I can¡¯t legally sell you anything. However, I have something I can give you. Wait here.¡± The man went back through the door and returned a moment later with a box. ¡°This is a medicine box. It has potions to replenish all your stats. Also, some balm to heal burns and infections. And a few antidotes to cure poison. And several rolls of bandages. Basically, anything you could want when you¡¯re away from the city.¡± ¡°I can have this for free?¡± ¡°Sure, no one buys them anymore. We used to sell a lot of these, but that was before...¡± he trailed off. Astrid wanted to know what he was about to say but sensed that he preferred not to talk about it. Instead, she changed the subject. ¡°Do you know where the dye house is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s down by the harbor.¡± Astrid put the medicine box in her inventory and bid the man goodnight. While she had been in the store, it had gotten dark outside, and she decided that visiting the dye house could wait until the morning. It would likely be closed for the night by now anyway. Instead, she walked back to the inn, eager to get some dinner as she hadn¡¯t eaten anything since breakfast, a fact her stomach loudly complained about. She entered the inn, and the innkeeper greeted her. ¡°Good evening, Astrid. Is your sister not with you? "Um,¡± Astrid said, taken aback by the question. Being two people at the same time was proving to be more difficult than she had thought, especially with the innkeeper keeping track of who came and who left. If this continued, she would have to think of some other solution, but for now, she had to convince the innkeeper that everything was fine. What would even be a plausible explanation? ¡°Isn¡¯t she in the room?¡± She asked uncertainly. ¡°No, we went to check an hour ago to see if you wanted dinner, but the room was empty.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I am trying to end the discussion. ¡°It¡¯s not a good idea to let children roam the streets on their own after dark. It can be especially dangerous for young girls, if you know what I mean.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t know but pretended she did. She was clearly expected to. I¡¯m sure she is fine,¡± she said. ¡°My sister is a smart girl.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out for her anyway and let you know if she¡¯s not back in an hour.¡± ¡°There¡¯s really no need for that.¡± Astrid protested. Why did this innkeeper have to be so kind? It made her situation more complicated.¡± ¡°It''s no problem at all.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be in the room then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want your meal?¡± ¡°Give it to my sister when she comes in.¡± Astrid headed towards her room, deep in thought. What do I do now? If my ¡°sister¡± doesn¡¯t come in, he¡¯ll get suspicious, she thought as she ascended the stairs. The only solution she could think of was to somehow get outside unnoticed, change her persona, and then go back in. Then she could hopefully eat. She didn¡¯t dare walk through the innkeeper in the main room to go through the door. Sure, she could make herself invisible, but it only worked if no one was looking for her, and only so long as she didn¡¯t do anything that would give herself away. Opening the front door would definitely get noticed. She had seen no other doors, though she was sure there had to be one for the workers to come and go. Likely near the kitchens. That would also take her past the innkeeper and, therefore, not be an option either. It would be too risky. She entered her room and looked around for a solution. The window might be able to provide a way out. It was small, but she should be able to get through. She went and opened it. The street below was dark and deserted. She was only one floor above ground level, but her health was still too low to risk jumping. That left climbing. She had climbed enough trees as a child and even unlocked the skill when monsters chased her up a tree, though she hadn¡¯t paid attention to the skill back then. That meant she had a good idea of what she was capable of when it came to climbing and the ability to find the best route. The wall would be a challenge, but not undoable. There were plenty of places to place her hands and feet, but most were quite small. She swung herself out the window, holding on tight while searching for footholds on the wall. Once she found something to stand on, she carefully let go of the window edge with one hand, finding someone else to hold onto. Her arms were burning from the straight of clinging to the wall as she slowly descended. Too tired to hold on any longer, she jumped the last few feet. She landed safely and made her way back inside the inn through the front door. This time as her 14-year-old self. "Sigrid, good to see your back safely.¡± The innkeeper greeted her the second she entered. ¡°Your sister just came in. I¡¯ll get someone to bring you some food, so go find a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, and went to find a seat at an empty table. Around her, other patrons were drinking and laughing. She was not used to having so many people close by, and it made it hard to relax and enjoy her meal. Therefore, she ate her meal quickly and went back to her room, getting ready for bed. She was just about to fall asleep when she received a new quest. Chapter 12: An encounter with monster slayers Astrid stared at the message she had just received. It was a quest, and there was only one person who could have sent it to her. The god of Deception. What does Sham want now?¡± she thought apprehensively. Knowing it would do her no good to ignore it, she opened the message.
New quest from the god of Deception You are safe in the city. Time to learn some skills Objective: Read the Devine Book of Deception Reward: 1 large copper
That was the book she had received for completing a previous quest and only at the last moment, decided to keep. After reading the index, she had decided that she had no interest in learning anything the book had to offer and had no intention of ever reading it. However, now she no longer had a choice. At the moment, her room was too dark to read the book, and she had no candle to light. She made a mental note to get one next time she went shopping. For now, she had a valid excuse to postpone starting the quest until tomorrow. Besides, it was getting quite late, and she was tired after a long day. Her sleep was plagued by nightmares of monsters ripping her family apart while she just stood and watched. They pleaded with her to save them, but still, she didn¡¯t move. She couldn¡¯t. Her entire body was frozen in place. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you save us?¡± her mother asked. ¡°You could have fought them off with ease, but you did nothing.¡± ¡°No mom I couldn¡¯t fight at the time, and you told me to run, so I did that.¡± Astrid stammered, trying not to cry at her mother¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re an evil, selfish child. You should have been the one to die.¡± The screams of her dying family mixed with the howls of the monsters. Then she woke up, her heart pounding. It took her a moment to recognize where she was, but she soon remembered the inn where she was staying. The first signs of sunrise were visible through the window, so she didn¡¯t bother going back to sleep. She doubted she would even manage to doze off again after that nightmare. Checking her stats showed that her spirit was half empty, but at least everything else had recovered. She could deal with low spirit. She had done that before. All she had to do was keep herself busy. Giving up on falling back asleep, she got dressed while making a mental list of what she had to do today. She would have to deliver the last Water moss to the dye house, buy a few items at the shops, find a place to do laundry, and take out a new stack of quests. That reminded her of the quest Sham had given her last night. She should probably start on that as well. She found the book in her inventory and turned to the first chapter called "Traps." She grimaced at the title but began reading regardless.
You have unlocked trapping skill. Trapping skill is now lv 1 This skill gives you the ability to spot traps, identify them and set simple traps of your own You gained a 20 % skill boost until you reach the next level from reading a skill book on traps
Astrid stopped reading. That had to be enough for today. It was no longer too early for breakfast, so she put the book back in her inventory before heading downstairs, remembering to disguise herself as an adult at the last moment.
The harbor bustled with activity as Astrid walked towards the dye house. The smell of sea and fish filled the air, and a few moored boats rocked in the calm water. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Soon, she found what she was looking for and went inside. Splotches of different colors stained the ground and walls. Men, women, and children stirred around in large vats filled with bubbling solutions. The workers also had colorful stains on their skin and clothes. No one paid her any attention. They were all too focused on their work for that. Astrid kept her distance so as not to disturb anyone¡ªor get dye on her dress¡ªwhile she looked around for the owner. She spotted a man standing to the side, inspecting some newly dyed fabric, and approached him. ¡°Good morning, sir,¡± she said to get his attention. ¡°I¡¯ve come to deliver some Water moss. It¡¯s to complete a quest.¡± ¡°Finally. Let me see what you¡¯ve got,¡± he said. Astrid nervously pulled the moss from her inventory for the man to scrutinize. ¡°It will do,¡± he said after a moment of silence, and then handed her a large copper. ¡°Would you be able to bring me yellow fern and plume berries as well? I posted a quest several weeks ago, but no one has responded yet. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run a business when you can¡¯t get the raw materials you need anywhere?¡± ¡°I can imagine it would be difficult,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Difficult doesn¡¯t describe it. It''s downright impossible. I¡¯ve already had to let workers go and turn down customers.¡± He seemed a bit hostile, but she figured it was stress from seeing his livelihood slowly crumble and being unable to do anything to stop it. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do about the plants you need.¡± Astrid said. Then she left the dye house before she was dragged into a lengthy, one-sided conversation. On her way back to the inn, she picked up a few items from the shops. She got a bar of soap and a sewing kit so she could fix the dress she wore yesterday. The innkeeper had told her he had a laundry room she could use whenever she needed it. Then she bought a candle and a box of matches, so she always had access to fire and a light source. She also got a comb for her hair and some bread rolls for lunch. Back at the inn, she quickly washed the dress from yesterday as best she could and hung it up to dry. Then she headed off towards the job hall. The notice board with quests was as full as it had been the day before. She studied it for a while, trying to get an idea of what people were looking for. Now that Sham had issued her a quest that would take a while to complete, she only had room for four others. But if she knew what plants people wanted, she could get them as well if she came across them. That would save her a few trips to the forest. Finally, she picked up the quests she wanted and went to the job hall manager. There, a group of people approached her. Two men and a woman. They looked to be in their early twenties, and they were armed. The man in front had a quarterstaff, and the two others had swords. ¡°You must be Astrid,¡± the man with the quarterstaff said. It wasn¡¯t a question, so denying it would be useless. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me,¡± she said. ¡°How do you know? I don¡¯t think we have met before." Astrid gave him a closer look. She got the feeling that he was the leader of the group. His clothes were practical yet screamed of wealth, and unless the staff was just for show, he knew how to do magic. That made him the most dangerous person in the group. ¡°We haven¡¯t. We just heard that you took a bunch of quests yesterday and headed out to the forest on your own. That¡¯s a very dangerous thing to do these days. I¡¯m surprised you made it back alive.¡± ¡°Oh, it was nothing. Just gathering different plants and such,¡± Astrid said, trying to figure out what these guys could possibly want while the job hall manager processed the quests she had selected. ¡°So, you completed the quests then?¡± the guy asked, surprise evident in his voice. ¡°I did. In fact, I only got here to pick up a few more, and then I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared you¡¯ll get attacked by monsters?¡± ¡°A bit.¡± She answered honestly. ¡°It¡¯s practically unavoidable these days, but I usually manage.¡± "Well, we have an offer for you,¡± the leader said. ¡°We can protect you and then split the reward.¡± ¡°So, I get one half and you get the other?¡± Maybe extra help with fighting monsters wouldn¡¯t be too bad, although it would make it hard for her to use her cloak to make herself invisible without giving away which god she followed. "No, there are four of us. We would each get a quarter.¡± ¡°No thanks, I¡¯ll pass.¡± There was no way she would part with the majority of her earnings for something she could do herself. She began to leave the building, but the man blocked her path. ¡°What you need is someone to protect you while you¡¯re outside the city, and we are professional guards training to fight monsters. You may have been lucky enough to survive your first trip on your own, but that¡¯s not going to last.¡± ¡°If you want to fight monsters, you don¡¯t need to act as my guards. I doubt anyone would mind if the monster population decreased.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no money in that. Who¡¯s going to compensate us for our work?¡± ¡°Have you tried asking someone in charge of the city, like the mayor? Maybe they¡¯ll make a deal with you.¡± ¡°The mayor is still adamant that we wait for the king to send someone to help us with the monsters. She won¡¯t be doing anything in the meantime.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to pay most of my earnings for someone to watch my back while I pick flowers. If you need money, you can take on some gathering quests of your own. There¡¯s enough for all of us.¡± ¡°We are fighters, not gatherers,¡± the guy with the sword said, looking horrified as if he equated the notion of picking flowers with killing children. His red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his chin was stubbled. ¡°You get to fight monsters as well. They tend to attack out of nowhere, whether you want them to or not.¡± ¡°You mean you both gather plants and fight monsters? Those are two very different skills. I have never heard of an occupation that requires both,¡± the woman said. Her black hair was chopped short, and she had an intense look on her face. ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid said hesitantly. ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± ¡°Only poor people choose not to specialize in one area when unlocking skills. Everyone else pays someone to do things outside their profession,¡± the red-haired man said. ¡°Well, some people have a hobby skill or two and take on a second profession once they master the first one or it becomes obsolete. Maybe that¡¯s her reason?¡± the leader said, looking at Astrid expectantly. ¡°Nope, I grew up on a farm, so I am one of those poor people who can¡¯t afford to hire help, so I¡¯ll take my changes with the monsters for now, but I¡¯ll let you know if I change my mind. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some quests to complete.¡± She pushed her way past the three people towards the exit of the job hall. Hopefully she hadn¡¯t made a lot of enemies just now, but she was not going to give them a lot of money for something she could do herself. Chapter 13: Loneliness Chapter 13: Loneliness The next few weeks went by quickly as Astrid settled into her new routine of going out to the forest to do quests. The late summer month made for an optimal time of year to harvest all sorts of plants, and she had taken advantage of that by stocking up on the most important ones. The problem now was that the number of quests available was rapidly diminishing. She completed the old quest much faster than new ones appeared. Either she would have to find new work soon or accept that her income would be low for a while. She had made good money clearing out the quest board in the job hall, so she would be able to manage for a while. Astrid entered the job hall like she did every day. ¡°Good morning, Lennard,¡± she greeted the job hall manager. ¡°Any new quests today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. You¡¯ll have to try again later.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do that then.¡± She couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit disappointed as she left the job hall again. Yesterday, there had only been one quest that she had completed before noon. The rest of the day had been spent walking aimlessly through the streets. She resigned herself to another day of boredom. It was in these idle times that her loneliness bubbled to the surface. Sure, she talked to people, but most of the conversations were just polite remarks or work-related. They were all several years older than her, and they also believed her to be an adult. She wanted to make real friends. But how could she with the secret she had? No one would want anything to do with her if they found out. The lack of work also made it hard to keep thoughts of her family at bay. Without the dangers of monsters, the memories plagued her mind. Her father¡¯s smiles, her mother¡¯s hugs, and her sister¡¯s teasing were always followed by screams, blood, and monsters. It made it impossible to keep her spirit from dipping dangerously low. She arrived at the worship square, where all the temples were located. She had been here plenty of times whenever she delivered plants to the temple of Medicine. People were lined up in front of the building, waiting for their turn to see a healer. Other temples were also frequented by people. At the temple of Love, the first marriage of the day had just begun, attracting a large crowd to the celebration. A priest watered plants outside the temple of Nature and a group of teens made offerings at the temple of Education. The temple of Deception was deserted. There was no one who entered or left, not that she had expected anyone to. If she ever had to go in there, she would make sure no one saw her doing it. The temple was by far the smallest. Maybe twice the size of her room at the inn. It was barely big enough to hold the altar and a bed or two. There were no windows and no decorations. the black paint pealed exposing the rotting wood underneath. This was a stark contrast to the mansion-like temple she had stumbled across in the forest, making it clear the city only built this because they had to. The law required all cities to have a temple dedicated to each god. Astrid turned her gaze away from the desolate building before anyone could notice her staring. Instead, her eyes fell upon the temple of Death. Like Sham, the goddess of death was considered a dark deity you didn¡¯t want to be associated with. However, she held a legitimate role in society, arranging funeral rights and comforting those going through loss and grief. It was customary for people who had lost someone to visit the temple and pay their respects. At some point, Astrid would have to do it for her own family, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. The thought of her old life still brought tears to her eyes, so she avoided thinking about it as much as possible. If she gave into the grief, she wasn¡¯t sure she would be able to go on. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She shook her head, forcing the memories to retreat to the back of her mind. She needed to find something useful to spend her time on soon. All this extra leisure time did her no good. While walking through the city, she explored streets she hadn¡¯t seen before. Some streets were so narrow that two people couldn¡¯t pass by each other. Those mostly served as shortcuts leading from one part of the city to another, and she found that they made traveling a lot faster. Other streets were large. Those were crowded with people and wagons from sunrise to sunset. Astrid avoided those as much as possible. She just couldn¡¯t get used to having so many people around her at one time. She would constantly be bumped into or told to get out of the way. It made her deeply uncomfortable. She entered a street that was wide but mostly free of traffic. Letting out a sigh of relief, she took in her surroundings. The buildings here were bigger and fancier than anything else she had seen in the city so far. A quick glance through some windows told her these weren¡¯t shops but homes. She had a hard time believing that anyone could live in houses this big. A group of children around her age caught her attention as they walked down the street talking and laughing. Astrid felt a pang of longing at the sight. Since she had nothing better to do, she followed them to see what they were up to. Trailing after them was easy enough, and soon she found herself in front of another building. The group had just entered, so she did the same. ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± a man said, blocking her path. He was big and muscular, with a stern face. Astid almost fled at the sight, not wanting to get in trouble with this guy. ¡°My name is Astrid. I¡¯m just wondering what this place is.¡± ¡°This is a private academy. Only students and teachers are allowed in.¡± ¡°How do you become a student here?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re a bit too old for that,¡± he said. At first, Astrid was unsure of what he meant. The kids she had seen enter were her age, after all. Then she remembered that she was still disguised as an adult after her visit to the job hall earlier. ¡°It¡¯s for my sister. She fourteen.¡± Lying had become uncomfortably easy over the past few weeks. She wished she could stop, but she had no idea how. She had considered staying as her adult persona permanently as she wouldn¡¯t get to rent a room or take quests as a child, but if she ever forgot to disguise herself, the charade would fall apart. "Well, I guess I can take you to the office, and then you can talk with the principal about enrollment. Follow me.¡± Astrid followed the man down the marble hallway. Doors stood evenly spaced on both sides of the hallway, but the man walked past them all until he reached the end. He knocked on the door and stepped back, allowing Astrid to enter. ¡°Welcome,¡± the principal said. She sat behind a large desk covered in stacks of paper. Her black hair was gathered in a neat bun, but the wrinkles on her face made Astrid question if it was natural. ¡°Please take a seat. What brings you here today?¡± Astrid sat on the chair to which she had been appointed and repeated what she had told the man earlier. ¡°So, you want to enroll your sister in this academy? Where has she previously gone to school?¡± ¡°She has been homeschooled, as we lived on a small farm before coming here.¡± It was hard not to let her nervousness show. ¡°Well, we have high standards for the students we take in here, but I¡¯m willing to give her a chance if you are able to pay the fee.¡± ¡°How much does it cost?¡± Astrid asked, hoping it was a price she could afford. ¡°A large copper a day, and you must pay for at least five days at a time. The school supplies books, but your sister needs to bring other supplies herself.¡± It was a lot of money, but Astrid really wanted to attend this school, if for no other reason than to be around people her own age. It would be fine to pay the fee for the first five days just to see what this school was about. She could always drop out if the price became a problem or if it turned out school wasn¡¯t worth the price. "Alright, I can pay for that. When can she start?¡± ¡°She can begin tomorrow if it works for you.¡± ¡°Sound good.¡± She handed over the five coins. "Okay. Then I¡¯ll see your sister here tomorrow morning. Classes start at eight in the morning every day.¡± Astrid left the building, heading out to find a store where she could get the school supplies she needed. A few sheets of paper and a cheap pen would do for now. If she needed more than that, she would get it later. After buying the supplies, Astrid once again found herself with nothing to do, and it wasn¡¯t even lunchtime yet. She sighed and walked back to the job hall. Maybe someone had set a new quest up since she was last there two hours ago. Chapter 14: First day of school Astrid woke up the next morning feeling better than she had in a while. Today she would attend school for the first time. She put on her newly washed dress, which she had found the time to mend last night, and combed her hair thoroughly before braiding it as neatly as she could. She wanted to wear her best outfit today. It was with a mixture of nervousness and excitement that she made her way downstairs for a quick breakfast before setting off towards the private academy. Since she had never attended a school before, she didn¡¯t know what to expect or how she was supposed to act. Still, this was her chance to be around other people her own age, so she couldn¡¯t mess this up. The academy building was stunning. Yesterday she had been so focused on the other children entering that she hadn¡¯t noticed, but now she took a moment to appreciate it. The stone walls stretched high, fitting in with the rest of the buildings in this area of the city. The details in the masonry spoke to the work of a high-level craftsman and countless hours of labor. Even with her limited knowledge of stones, she could tell that not all of them were from the local area. The door was made of dark wood, and symbols belonging to the god of education were painted on the frame in vibrant colors. It must have cost a fortune to build. She went into the building but then stopped, unsure of where to go. Other kids moved past her. Most of them ignored her, and a few sent her glances before returning to the conversations they had with their friends. ¡°How do I find out where to go?¡± Astrid asked the man guarding the door. ¡°Go to the office and talk to the principal.¡± He answered in a monotone voice, keeping his eyes on the door where students were still streaming in. ¡°Thanks.¡± She knew where it was but figured she should probably pretend she hadn¡¯t been here before. After all, when she visited yesterday, she had been disguised as her sister. She asked the man for direction, and he pointed her towards the office. Soon, she reached her destination and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Astrid entered, and the principal beckoned her to take a seat. ¡°You must be our new student, Sigrid,¡± the principal said. Astrid was about to correct her when she remembered that she had named her older persona Astrid and her actual self for Sigrid. ¡°Yes, it''s me,¡± she said, realizing that now she had to get used to going by her dead sister¡¯s name. The reminder of all she had lost made her eyes burn. Don¡¯t think about it, she scolded herself before the grief could overpower her resolve. ¡°We¡¯re happy to welcome you to Largon Academy. My name is Gertrud, and I¡¯m in charge of this school. You can call me Principal Gertrud or just Principal, understand? ¡°Yes, Principal Gertrud,¡± ¡°Wonderful. Your schedule should be available in your system by now. You¡¯ll find it under occupation. Do you see it?¡± Astrid concentrated and brought forward the occupation tab in her system. She had never used it before, as she had never had an official occupation. None of the quests her mother or Sham had given her nor the quests she had taken in the job hall counted as an occupation. She was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of information it contained, so she quickly scanned the content until she found the schedule.
Schedule: If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. 8.00-9.00: Otimranian studies. Location: classroom 3 Description: The history, religion, and language of the kingdom of Otimra. 9.00-12.00: Elective specialty. Location: Information will be available once an elective has been chosen. Description: Information will be available once an elective has been chosen.
¡°Yes, I see it. Which specialties can I choose?¡± Astrid asked ¡°You should have a list in your system with your options. They all have vacancies and no need for prior knowledge, so pick whichever one you want. But you should pick wisely, as the skills you gain in those classes are going to determine what you study later and what kind of jobs you can get after graduation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I should pick, though.¡± ¡°You can think about it. Just make sure to decide before the elective class begins. I believe that''s all for now. Classes start in fifteen minutes.¡± Astrid said her thanks to the principal and headed off towards classroom three. While walking, her thoughts circled around which specialty to choose. She had found the list that principal Gertrud had mentioned, but she knew next to nothing about what each elective would teach her, and without that information, it was difficult to decide. In the end, her decision should be based on what she wanted to do with her life, but she still wasn¡¯t sure what that was. Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly true. She wanted to rid the world of monsters, but that was impossible. Monsters were the price of living in a world with magic, so the best anyone could do was keep them from leaving the dungeons where they spawned and slay those who escaped before they could cause trouble. She could imagine that several of the specialties would be beneficial if she wanted to play a role in dealing with the monsters. An appeal for action could be made through journalism, and governance would put her in a position of power, which would enable her to dictate what needed to be done. She could also fight monsters on her own, like she had already been doing, but did she want to risk her life every day doing so? She had firsthand experience with the dangers it entailed, and that was just from level one and two monsters. Stronger monsters would pose even more danger. The school didn¡¯t offer monster-slaying classes either, but it did teach sword fighting and combat magic. She had always wanted to learn magic, but she had never had the chance to do so. Then again, no matter what she chose, it could take years of training before she would be able to do anything, and the city couldn¡¯t wait that long. There had to be people already qualified who could step up to the task. Surely someone was already working on it. She made it to the classroom, which was easy enough to find as a big number was painted on the door. She still hadn¡¯t made up her mind as she found a seat. Around her, the other students talked, and no one even looked in her direction. For a moment, she thought she had accidentally made herself invisible, but then remembered her cloak was in her inventory. She had decided to only do it when she disguised herself as an adult to better distinguish her two personas from each other. Suddenly everyone in the class stood up, and Astrid scrambled to follow them as she saw a man she assumed was the teacher enter the classroom. ¡°You may sit,¡± the teacher said, and the class did so. The teacher was a tall, middle-aged man with graying hair and a protruding belly. Astrid listened to the teacher go on about important people and dates for an hour, trying to take notes and remember everything the teacher said. By the end of the class, her focus was almost depleted. As the students around her began packing up their stuff, she panicked. She still needed to decide her specialty, and she was almost out of time. She scanned through the list again. She wished she had time to figure out more about the different classes, but a decision had to be made. Uncertainly, she focused on the combat magician elective. She figured it would be the most useful skill at the moment. It would give her an extra attack option during monster battles. One she could do out of reach of most monsters, a thing she had wished for multiple times in the past few weeks. Having made up her mind, she mentally confirmed her decision and instantly got notified about the update to her schedule.
Schedule: 8.00-9.00: Otimranian studies. Location: classroom 3 Description: The history, religion, and language of the kingdom of Otimra. 9.00-12.00: Combat magician Location: classroom 8, training ground. Description: The conditioning and magical training needed for duels and battles.
For the rest of the school day, her classes would focus on her specialization. Astrid was the last student to leave the room, and she hurried to the next class. Chapter 15: learning magic Astrid entered the class, and the other student looked over at her. This was the first time since she arrived at the school that any of the students paid attention to her. Maybe it was because there were only seven other people in this class compared to over thirty in her previous one. "Hi,¡± she said nervously. ¡°This is the combat magic class, right?¡± ¡°It sure is,¡± a boy said. ¡°You must be the new student. I¡¯m Villads.¡± He held out a hand for her to shake, so she took it. His straw-colored hair was cut short. He wore a deep blue tunic and crisp white pants. ¡°I¡¯m As... um... Sigrid.¡± She had almost used her real name instead of her late sisters. Maybe it would be harder than she had expected to remember which name to use at any given time, but she had to try harder. She couldn¡¯t afford to make a mistake like that. ¡°Nice to meet you, and thanks for joining our class. Have you studied combat magic before?¡± "No, not yet,¡± she said sheepishly. ¡°Is that going to be a problem?¡± ¡°Not at all. We work at our own pace.¡± At that moment, the teacher entered the room. And Astrid hurried to find a desk to stand behind, mimicking the other students. ¡°There is no need to sit down. We¡¯ll be going out to the training grounds,¡± the teacher said. He was tall and broad-shouldered. Long scars ran down his arms. The students line up in a single file before following the teacher out of the classroom. Astrid had a lot of questions, but she wasn¡¯t sure what to say, so she followed the class out to the training grounds behind the school. As soon as they reached the big open lawn behind the academy building, the teacher began leading the class through a number of warm-up exercises, and Astrid found that she had no trouble keeping up with the others. She had feared she would be far behind the other students, but the exercises were easy. Even as they ran multiple laps around the training grounds, it hardly made a dent in her stamina. The other students were breathing hard by the time they all came to a halt back where they started. ¡°Now that you¡¯re done with the warm-up, the real training can begin,¡± the teacher said. He still hadn¡¯t introduced himself or even acknowledged her as a new student in class. ¡°We¡¯ll start with a race.¡± As soon as the teacher said that, a message about the new task popped up.
Current tasks Partake in combat magic class 5 grade tokens Complete the race Up to 10 grade tokens depending on performance.
After quickly reading through the new task, she got in line with the other students, mentally preparing herself for the race. The distance was short compared to what she usually sprinted when she was in the forest, and the terrain here was a lot easier as well. No branches to dodge and no root to trip over. That meant she would have enough stamina to run at full speed the entire distance without issue. The teacher gave the signal, and Astrid set off with the other students down the long side of the training ground. She quickly pulled ahead and wasted no time looking back. The others had to be right behind her, but if she kept up the pace, she might be able to win. Halfway through the race, she pushed herself to run faster. This drained her stamina faster, but she still had more than enough to make it to the finish line. She was the first to complete the race, and when she finally looked back at the others, they were only just crossing into the final stretch of the lap. ¡°That was impressive,¡± her teacher said, and he finally introduced himself as Teacher Birk. ¡°Do you have a lot of experience running?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at level two.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll have to take that into account for your physical training going forward. What about your other skills?¡± ¡°Running is my highest skill, and I don¡¯t have anything else combat magic-related.¡± Astrid would prefer not to reveal her other skills. Not only did she have a lot, which was looked down upon by the more affluent people, but some of them might also get her in trouble if someone found out. It would make it obvious that she followed the god of Deception. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She considered mentioning her monster-slaying skill but decided against it. There was no way of knowing how people would react to a fourteen-year-old monster slayer, and it would make it harder to keep her two personas separate. It was best to keep that skill to herself as well. The other students passed the finish line one by one, and as the last one arrived, the teacher beckoned all of them over. He led them through a series of other exercises, and Astrid could keep up with the other students but didn¡¯t excel at the unfamiliar movements. She was beginning to wonder if they would ever get to practice magic when the teacher called an end to the training. ¡°Go grab your staffs so we can get started on the spell work.¡± Astrid followed the others to a shed containing a multitude of equipment. She didn¡¯t have time to study any of it as the other students quickly got the staff and left. She did the same. The staff was taller than she was, and it felt a little awkward to walk with as she didn¡¯t know how she was supposed to carry it. Looking at the other students didn¡¯t help, as they all had their own way of doing it. Some used it as a walking stick, and others rested it over their shoulders. She ended up holding it out with a stretched arm as far from her body as possible, as if she worried it would bite her. As soon as she got in line with the other students, Birk said, ¡°Now show me that you can cast a basic shield.¡± Astrid took a quick look at the new task she had received, hoping it had some instructions on how to cast the spell.
Current tasks Partake in combat magic class 5 grade tokens Cast a basic shield Up to 10 grade tokens depending on performance.
Around her, the other students swung their staffs in a circular motion in front of them while saying ¡°basic shield." In front of each person, a shimmering barrier appeared. Astrid tried to mimic their movements, but nothing happened in front of her. The shield spells disappeared again a moment later. ¡°Not so impressive now.¡± The boy beside her said, He was stocky, with black hair and gray eyes. He was dressed in a red silk shirt, and his off-white pants had golden embroidery down the sides of the legs. Astrid could tell that his clothes were expensive, and it made her a bit self-conscious about her own dress covered in patches from the many repairs she had done. ¡°You can¡¯t even cast the easiest spell.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first day. I have never done this before.¡± She answered, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment and anger over being called out like this, though nobody else seemed to notice. Part of her wanted to comment on the boy¡¯s own spell, which had been significantly smaller and more shimmery than all the other students¡¯, but she didn¡¯t want to make enemies on her first day if she could avoid it. ¡°Nicely done,¡± Birk said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see how well your basic shields hold up to attacks.¡± He began casting spells at the shields one by one, and about half of them held up to the attack. The other half collapsed in on themselves, including the mean boy beside her. Ha, he deserved that, Astrid thought, then realized she was next in line, and she still hadn¡¯t figured out how to cast a shield spell of her own. She got ready to dodge the attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary. The teacher walked back to the front of the class and began giving new instructions. ¡°Those of you who didn¡¯t manage to block the attack will continue to practice the basic shield spell for the rest of the class. Those who blocked can practice another defense spell of their own choice. Sigrid, you will come with me.¡± Sigrid followed Birk to the side of the training ground. ¡°Since you haven¡¯t done this before, I¡¯ll go over the basics with you.¡± Birk said. "First, you have to push the necessary amount of mana into your staff. Start with just one mana point, as it will be enough to cast a weak version of the spell.¡± Astrid followed his instructions. She intuitively knew how to move her mana, so it didn¡¯t take long to push it into her staff. ¡°Good,¡± Birk said, continuing his instructions. ¡°Now you have to focus on what you want to happen. In this case, you want a barrier to appear in front of your chest. Make sure to visualize it clearly in your mind.¡± He paused for a moment, giving Astrid time to follow his directions. ¡°Once you¡¯re ready to cast, you draw a circle with your staff in front of you where you want the shield to be, and afterwards, you push your staff forward while saying basic shield.¡± Astrid did what she was told, carefully carrying out each step. ¡°Basic shield,¡± she said. Nothing happened except the one mana she had focused on the staff was spent. She looked at the teacher questioningly. ¡°You have to speed up the movement and make sure you visualize what you want to happen the entire time. Try again.¡± Astrid pushed another mana point into the staff and made the movement as fast as she could. ¡°Basic shield.¡± A few sparks sprang from her staff, glittering in the air for a second before fizzling out. ¡°Good try. In order to maintain the shield, you need to keep visualizing it and continuously feed it an appropriate amount of mana. ¡°My full mana capacity is only ten, though.¡± ¡°It will grow stronger with practice, so don¡¯t worry about that for now. The only thing that happens if you deplete it is that you won''t be able to do magic until it has had time to recover a bit. You can stick to using one at a time. Now cast it again and try holding it for as long as you can.¡± She did so, making sure that she maintained her focus on the spell. After a second, it began to fade again, but she pushed another mana into it, and it regained its glow. She helps with the shield for a few more seconds. She began to feel the strain she normally felt when one of her stats was getting low. The faint muscle ache that spread throughout her entire body urged her to stop. She was used to it, so she kept going until she ran out of mana to feed the spell.
You have unlocked the defensive magic skill defensive magic is level 1of 10 You now have the ability to cast level one shields
¡°You should take a break for the rest of the class. Then you might be ready for when we cover attack spells later. I have to check on the other students.¡± Then he left, and Astrid sank to the ground, exhausted. Despite the pain she felt, she was excited. She had just cast her first magic spell. She couldn¡¯t wait to learn more. Chapter 16: Making friends and enemies Astrid watched the other students practice while her mana recovered. They were significantly better than she was. How long had they been practicing? She should ask someone later, as it would give her an idea of how long it would take before she was as good. Villads seemed to be the best student and the only one she knew by name, as he had introduced himself when she first entered the classroom for combat magic class. He cast five different shields, each holding up to Birk¡¯s attacks. The weakest student was the mean boy who had stood beside her. He could only cast the basic shield, and it dissolved immediately after a single attack from the teacher. Eventually the defense class ended, and the teacher announced they would take a break. The other students sat together in the middle of the training ground, talking, so Astrid went over to join them. "Look, it¡¯s the new girl,¡± the mean boy said as she sat down as far from him as she could while still being part of the group. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go home already? If you can¡¯t even last one class, you don¡¯t belong here.¡± Astrid had no idea where this boy¡¯s hostility came from. Had she done something to offend him? She had very limited social experience, so it was possible, but the few people she had interacted with in the past had never treated her like this. ¡°Don¡¯t mind Ruben,¡± a girl next to her said. ¡°He¡¯s just upset that you beat us all in that foot race. I¡¯m Brigitta, by the way.¡± The girl was pretty, and Astrid felt the same envy towards Brigitta as she had always felt towards her sister. Her shoulder-length copper hair was thick and braided in a fancy style that Astrid had never learned to do. Freckles dotted her cheeks and nose. Her dress was a deep purple, a shade Astrid knew was quite difficult to make as she had listened to the man at the dye house rant about it several times. ¡°How do you run so fast?¡± Villads asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure she cheated. Ruben snorted. ¡°I did not cheat,¡± Astrid said, unable to mask her rising anger. ¡°I¡¯m just level two in running.¡± ¡°As I said, she cheated. We should report it to the teacher.¡± ¡°You have a level two skill already?¡± Villads asked, ignoring Ruben¡¯s comment. ¡°Yeah, shouldn¡¯t I have that?¡± Astrid felt self-conscious, with everyone¡¯s attention directed towards her. "Well, neither of us have any skills above level one yet, although we are getting close now. How did you do it?¡± ¡°I had to outrun the monsters attacking my family¡¯s farm.¡± Just mentioning this brought back memories from that horrible day. Her sister''s bloody body sprawled on the ground, with a wolf beast howling above her. Her father¡¯s angry scream reverberated through the fields as he rushed to fight the monsters. Her mother¡¯s tear-stained face as she dragged Astrid into the cottage and ordered her to flee. "Sigrid, are you okay?¡± Brigitta''s worried voice brought her back to the present moment. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Astrid wasn¡¯t sure the others believed her, but thankfully they didn¡¯t ask more questions about it. She didn¡¯t want to talk about it. ¡°How did a farm girl even get into this academy? Pathetic peasants shouldn¡¯t be able to afford this,¡± Ruben said. ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± Astrid asked, fed up with this boy¡¯s behavior. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°This is a prestigious institution that educates the best people in Largon.¡± ¡°Then how did you get in?¡± The words flew out of Astrid¡¯s mouth before she could stop them. The other kids snickered, and Ruben¡¯s face turned red. He gave Astrid a glare that sent shivers down her back. If she wasn¡¯t confident in her own fighting abilities, it might have scared her. Instead, she sent a glare at her own back. ¡°My father is an important member of the city council. When I tell him that they let refugees from the countryside study here, he¡¯ll have you kicked out, so you might as well save yourself the embarrassment and go back to where you belong.¡± ¡°I paid to attend this academy like the rest of you, so I¡¯ll stay.¡± ¡°Your parents must have sold their entire farm to afford that.¡± ¡°My parents are dead.¡± Images of that day threatened to overwhelm her again, but she pushed them aside. Don¡¯t think about it, she reminded herself. An awkward silence hung in the air. This hadn¡¯t gone as Astrid had hoped. All she wanted was to make friends with someone so she wouldn¡¯t feel alone in the world anymore. The loneliness was gnawing at her insides, getting worse with each passing day. Why did this boy have to be so mean? ¡°I still don¡¯t get how you can afford to attend for even a day. Peasants shouldn¡¯t have that kind of money.¡± ¡°My sister earns money doing quests.¡± She couldn¡¯t tell them that she was the one doing it, even though she really wanted to. The lure of the satisfaction it would give her to prove Ruben wrong was almost too much to resist, but everyone else already assumed it was her sister doing it. Lying about it made her feel dirty, but they probably wouldn¡¯t believe her either if she told them the truth. ¡°Your sister is the woman who goes out to the forest alone?¡± Villads asked. ¡°Yes, do you know her?¡± Astrid wrecked her brain trying to remember if she had met this boy before while impersonating her sister. She couldn¡¯t think of anything. ¡°My brother told me about her. She turned down his team''s offer for protection.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds like her.¡± Astrid said, remembering the incident at the job hall where the monster slayers had approached her. ¡°I hope she didn¡¯t offend your brother.¡± Part of her was still worried that she had made enemies with those people, but she hadn¡¯t needed their help. ¡°Not at all. At first, he worried she would get killed by the monsters, but she always returned unharmed.¡± "Okay, students line up again so we can start the next class,¡± Birk said, and the class quickly followed the order. ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s see how well you remember the basic blast spell. I¡¯ve set up the targets, so fire when you are ready.¡± As she had never cast this spell before, she paid close attention as the other students went through the necessary staff movements, trying to commit them to memory so she could cast it herself. ¡°Basic blast,¡± the other students said one by one, sending small balls of magic towards the targets lined up about twenty feet away. About half the class managed to hit the target. The same people had also been able to cast the shield properly on their first try. Those were told to practice their other attacks. The others who hadn¡¯t hit the target were told to keep practicing the basic blast spell. Finally, the teacher made it to Astrid. ¡°For attack spells, you need to add more mana up front, but there is no maintenance cost, nor do you have to maintain focus after firing. You do have to aim, however. Try starting out with three mana. Now the movement is a big X and then a thrust through the middle while you say the spell.¡± Astrid did as her teacher had said. Her mana had returned to full capacity during the break and even gained two new points to its maximum value, which meant it was now twelve points total. However, that still made these attack spells quite expensive. She pushed three of them into her staff and did the movement. ¡°Basic blast.¡± The attack shot from her staff flying towards the target. It hit it, but not in the center. It only manages to graze the top. She received a few messages that she quickly scanned.
You have unlocked the offensive magic skill Offensive magic is at level 1 of 10 You now have the ability to cast level one attack spells
¡°Make sure your staff is pointing straight at where you want to hit. Magic blast attacks don¡¯t change their trajectory. They continue in a straight line until they either hit something or fizzle out when they reach their limited range. Try it again.¡± Astrid did so, and this time she hit the target closer to the center. ¡°Nice. Go a few more times if you can, then rest while you recover your mana.¡± Chapter 17: How to duel Astrid sat at the edge of the training grounds, watching the other students practice their spells, while Birk walked around giving feedback. She had just finished her own practice, as her small mana pool only allowed her to cast a few spells before it was completely drained. This was the second time today that she had to stop practicing long before the other students because of it. Annoyance bubbled in her, and she had to remind herself that today was the first time ever that she even used mana. It would grow stronger in no time, and then she could participate in class like the other students. She briefly considered taking one of the mana potions she had stored in her first aid kit so she could keep casting spells for longer, but quickly disregarded the notion. If she relied on potions to recover her mana, it would never increase in value, so it was best to only use them in an emergency. Even if that meant she could only participate in class for a few minutes at a time. That last spell had been especially grueling to cast, as low stats always resulted in symptoms ranging from mildly uncomfortable to incredibly painful. In this case, it had been tremors, which didn¡¯t sound as bad as headaches and nausea, but since she was trying to aim, it was the worst possible symptom. Her hand had been shaking so badly that her spell had flown right over the top of the target before fizzling out without hitting anything. To make matters worse, Ruben, who had been standing beside her, laughed and once again questioned why she was allowed to attend the school. She had done her best to ignore him, but the comments had hurt, and it had taken all her willpower not to club him with her staff. Ever since she fled her home, she had felt alone, and this school was her chance to change that, and now this boy was trying to ruin everything. Worst was that a part of her believed he was right. She didn¡¯t belong here. As an orphaned farmer¡¯s daughter, a refugee, and a follower of deception, could she ever belong anywhere? She shook her head, driving the thoughts away before they could drain her spirit again. The last thing she needed now was more low stats to deal with. Focusing on the other students practicing served as a good distraction. Especially the more skilled ones. It was interesting to see the different kinds of blasts they could cast. Most offensive magic spells at level one seemed to be elemental blasts. Villads cast a fire blast and Brigitta cast a mud blast, both of them hitting the target right in the middle. Astrid hoped that one day she would be as good at these two. Soon, the class ended again, and Birk gave them another break. Astrid¡¯s mana had recovered about halfway, and she hoped it would manage to recover all the way before the next class, but she doubted it would. Complete regeneration could take a while. She went over to the students, hoping she could have a better interaction with them this time. Luck was not on her side. ¡°Are you still here?¡± Ruben said as soon as he saw her approaching. ¡°Don¡¯t you get that we don¡¯t want your kind at our school?¡± Astrid gritted her teeth and refused to look at him. She didn¡¯t know what else to do, as she had rarely interacted with other children, and those she had didn¡¯t act like this boy. How was she supposed to handle rude people anyway? ¡°What are we gonna do next?¡± Astrid asked Villads. ¡°We have dueling class.¡± ¡°How does that work?¡± Astrid was uncertain about fighting another student with magic, especially since she could barely cast any spells and all the other students had a lot more experience than her. ¡°We pair up and practice dueling techniques on each other.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna crush you so hard you¡¯ll never dare set foot here again.¡± Ruben said. Astrid doubted that. She had seen him practice, and he was far behind the rest of the students, and even if he wasn''t, she was certain she had the speed to dodge most things thrown her way as long as she stayed focused. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to do that.¡± Brigitta said. ¡°Maybe not, but accidents happen.¡± For some reason, Ruben seemed confident that he would get to duel with Astrid. Part of her wanted to duel with him just so she had an excuse to blast him in the face. Maybe that would shut him up. Besides, if she stood a chance of winning a duel against anyone in the class, it was this guy. Another part was weary that the guy¡¯s intense hatred for her would make him do something stupid that could seriously hurt her. Either way, she would deal with it when the time came. For now, she wanted to spend her break talking to someone who was actually nice to her. ¡°How long have you guys been studying here?¡± she asked. She knew most people signed up for classes as soon as they had decided what they wanted to study, so there was no set time of year when classes began and ended. This meant that the experience among people in a class varied a lot. It also allowed students to learn at their own pace, as final exams could be held whenever they were ready. ¡°I started about five months ago,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°And I have attended these classes for two months,¡± Villads said. ¡°That¡¯s a big difference, so how come you¡¯re one of the best? Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Some of us are able to push ourselves harder during the practice despite the discomfort of using all our mana. That helps us build our experience and mana faster than others.¡± ¡°It took me a long time before I was able to drain my mana more than halfway. I used to get anxious every time the symptoms began,¡± the girl said. Astrid was quite comfortable draining her stats at this point. Sure, the tremors earlier had been annoying, but they were nothing compared to the shear agony of losing most of her health, and in the past few weeks, that had happened more times than she dared to count. However, she didn¡¯t feel like she could tell that to the other people. They would think she was crazy. She had also gotten a lot of training in dealing with the low stat symptoms of the days when her spirit refused to recover. She couldn¡¯t tell them that either. Now that she thought about it, she was unsure if there was anything she could say about herself that wouldn¡¯t upset herself or others. To deter them from asking about her, she asked more questions about them. ¡°What is your maximum mana?¡± she asked. "100,¡± Villads said. ¡°That¡¯s the highest it can get until I reach level two in a magic skill and get my bonus.¡± That was quite an impressive feat for someone who had only practiced for two months. "91,¡± the girl said. ¡°A few more days, and I won¡¯t have to continuously drain my mana anymore. At least not until I level up. Astrid realized just how far she had to go if she wanted to reach maximum mana before reaching the next level. Birk returned, calling an end to the break. Astrid followed the students back in line, and Birk began explaining how the dueling was going to proceed. ¡°You can fight using any of the offensive and defensive spells you have learned in class.¡± Birk said. ¡°Whoever hits the opponent with an attack first wins but remember to never charge them with more than three mana at a time. She guessed the one-hit rule was for safety, but she wondered how they improved their health points if they never pushed them a little. Maybe they did, and it just wasn¡¯t part of today¡¯s lesson. That had to be it. ¡°Villads, Brigitta, you two are up first.¡± The two of them walked into the large circle that made up the dueling ground and took their positions in the periphery on opposite sides. Then they bowed to each other and raised their staff. ¡°On the count of three,¡± Birk said. ¡°One, two, three.¡± The two students wasted no time starting. Immediately, they fired a basic blast, only for them to collide in the air between them. It caused a minor explosion, but that didn¡¯t bother anyone, and the duel continued. Villads quickly followed with another attack. This time it was the fire blast Astrid had seen him use earlier. Brigitta only just managed to cast a shield to block the incoming attack, but Villads didn¡¯t give her time to recover as he bombarded her with spell after spell. Most of them were fire blasts, but he also thew a few water blasts and mud blasts. Astrid was impressed with his ability to endlessly conjure more spells. Somehow Brigitta managed to block or dodge all of them, but Astrid could tell from her labored breath that it was taking a toll on her. Since a shield needed to be fed mana continuously to stay in place, it seemed like a good way to rapidly drain yourself. Brigitta managed to cast a mud blast while jumping to the side, forcing Villads to stop the barrage and cast a shield of his own. If she had been able to follow up her attack with another, she might have had a chance, but her movement had put her off balance. She was unable to raise another shield or dodge in time to avoid the next attack. Villads fired a basic blast that hit her square in the chest, knocking her to the ground. ¡°The duel is over,¡± Birk announced. ¡°Villads wins.¡± The two students bowed to each other again before returning to the others. Birk gave them a few words of feedback that Astrid couldn¡¯t hear before sending the next pair out to duel. Astrid was glad she had more time to regain her own mana, but the wait was making her nervous. It became more and more likely that she would end up dueling with Ruben. ¡°How much damage do the attack spells do?¡± she whispered to Villads, who had sat down beside her. ¡°That depends on a lot of things, like the level of your weapon and what armor your opponent is wearing. The training staffs we have here multiplies your mana input with one, and the basic spells we have learned so far can do up to ten damage when fully charged, but during duels we aren¡¯t allowed to use more than three mana per attack spell.¡± It took Astrid a moment to understand what Villads meant. ¡°So, if I put one mana into the attack, it will do one damage?¡± ¡°Well, you have to put at least three mana into the attack for it to work, but that attack would do three damage if you hit a person without armor or another item that offers protection.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let this guy bore you with too much theory. He has a tendency to talk like a textbook whenever he gets the chance,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Astrid answered.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get why we waste this much time sitting around instead of dueling.¡± Ruben complained. ¡°There is a lot to be learned from watching how other people do it.¡± Villads said ¡°We¡¯d learn more if we dueled more than once a day. This school is deliberately trying to sabotage my career.¡± Astrid decided to take the top student¡¯s advice and focus on the duel going on in front of her. The two students¡ªLina and Filip¡ªstill stood in their starting position with staff raised and aimed at each other. One would cast a basic blast, and the other would cast a basic shield just in time to block. Then they would switch roles, with neither getting the upper hand at any point. It didn¡¯t look like much of a duel, and Astrid wondered what she was supposed to learn from this. If it were her dueling, she would move more as moving targets were harder to hit, though she wasn¡¯t sure she could coordinate casting and walking at the same time. She couldn¡¯t afford to miss her target or cast shields with her current mana pool. The duel ended when one of them ran out of mana and couldn¡¯t block the incoming attack. ¡°Lina wins this duel,¡± Birk announced before giving feedback. The next duel was between Axel and Sofie. It played out much like the previous duel had and ended when Sofie ran out of mana and couldn¡¯t block the incoming blast. Again, the teacher gave feedback. Astrid knew she would be up next and quickly checked her stats to see what she had to work with.
Health: 24/24 Stamina: 28/28 Mana: 14/14 Focus: 12/12 Spirit: 16/16
¡°Next up are Ruben and Astrid.¡± Astrid saw the update to her occupation tasks, but she already knew what it said, so there was no need to read it. She got up and went to the starting position. At least her mana had fully recovered, but it still wasn¡¯t much to work with. However, it would have to do. Her first duel was about to start. Chapter 18: The First Duel Astrid stood on the periphery of the circle that made up the dueling ground. Across from her stood Ruben, glaring hatefully at her. Coming up with a last-minute plan was difficult, and she was getting nervous. This boy had threatened her multiple times, and if she hadn¡¯t seen how poorly he had performed in class, she wasn¡¯t sure she would have participated in the duel to begin with. She didn¡¯t have the mana to pull off what she had seen in any of the other duels, so she would have to use the bit she had sparingly. Ruben could have anything between ten, as everyone was born with that amount, and a hundred, as that was the maximum amount until a magic skill was leveled up. She had no way of telling how much exactly, as he had never mentioned it. However, she had to assume he had vastly more than her. That meant dodging instead of blocking with the shield, which shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Speed and stamina were her strong sides. The large staff felt awkward as she performed the customary bow before the duel could begin. She was mentally prepared to be attacked while in this vulnerable position, but Ruben followed protocol and made a quick bow of his own. At least he had a bit of sense. ¡°On the count of three, you may begin,¡± the teacher called out, and Astrid lifted her staff into the starting position she had seen the other students make. ¡°One,¡± Astrid took a deep breath, tuning out everything except her opponent and the countdown. ¡°Two,¡± Astrid saw the bully begin to move the staff, even though it wasn¡¯t allowed yet. Cheater, she thought. For a moment, she had thought that he was going to follow the rules, but now it was clear that something as simple as that was way above his head. Maybe she could ask Sham to take him as a follower and set her free. He was a lot more qualified for the job. Then again, it would be a terrible idea to give a person who hated her the backing of an evil deity. ¡°three,¡± Astrid stepped to the side as soon as the duel had officially started. At the same time, Ruben shouted, ¡°Basic blast.¡± She was already well out of the trajectory of the attack but kept moving, following the periphery of the dueling ground, closing in on her opponent. He seemed unsettled by this and began to move on his own. Astrid still wasn¡¯t sure what she was going to do, but as long as Ruben was moving, he would have a harder time casting spells. That was a weakness she wanted to overcome herself, but now wasn¡¯t the time to practice that. After a minute or so, she stopped chasing Ruben around. She could have easily caught up with him, but what would that achieve? Magic was for ranged attacks, and hitting him would be against the rules. Instead, she moved to the center of the dueling ground, as the shorter distance between them was to her advantage. They would both have less time to react to each other¡¯s attacks, but she was faster at dodging. At least she hoped she was. The bully stopped and stared at her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± he sneered. ¡°This is not how you duel.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the rules preventing me from standing anywhere I like as long as I don¡¯t leave the dueling ground.¡± Ruben responded with a basic blast, which Astrid easily sidestepped. Again, she wondered how much mana he had. Maybe she could get him to spend all of it, so he would be helpless to defend against any of her attacks. He sent another basic blast her way, and she stepped back into the middle. ¡°Is that the best you can do?¡± Astrid taunted. She hated how good it felt to get back at this guy, but seeing his face turn red with anger made it worth it. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°I¡¯m better than you,¡± he retorted. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± She stepped to the side again to dodge the mud blast that Ruben cast, proving that he could do more than the basic blast even if he hadn¡¯t been practicing them this class. She decided that the time had come to try casting some attacks of her own. ¡°Basic blast,¡± the energy ball, rushed through the air, colliding with Ruben¡¯s hastily cast shield spell. She had expected it to collapse, as it had every time the teacher had tested it earlier, but it held. Either he had been improving in class or he had been holding back for some reason. The first option was most likely. Either way, she would need to throw him off balance if she wanted to land a hit. Ruben dropped the shield, and Astrid began the movements needed to cast a basic blast. She watched as her opponent did the same. It instantly became clear that she wouldn¡¯t be able to launch her spell in time. She might be faster than Ruben in general, but he had much more experience casting spells, which let him execute the movement in half the time it took for her to do it. She gave up on casting her own spell and dodged the blast Ruben fired. She had thought that the mana she had put into her attempted attack would be lost, but she could feel that it was still in the staff waiting to be used. It would cut a large amount out of her casting time for her next spell. It was a relief, as wasting mana was something she couldn¡¯t afford until she had a lot more of it. Determined that she needed to create a better opening, she began moving towards Ruben again. Last time, it had unsettled him, and this time was no different. She had only taken two steps toward him when he began running, trying to maintain the distance between them. Astrid once again thought about how easy it would be to smack him in the face with her staff, but restrained herself. Instead, she moved towards Ruben to cut him off, and while he tried to stop and change direction, she cast her spell with her already charged staff. This gave him no time to dodge or raise a shield. The spell collided with the bully¡¯s back, and he fell to the ground. ¡°Astrid wins this duel,¡± Birk announced. Astrid bowed to her opponent, who was still sprawled on the ground. She was pretty sure he was faking to be more injured than he actually was since she had only used three mana for the attack. The teacher went over to Ruben, and he slowly got to his feet. ¡°She almost killed me,¡± he said, pointing at Astrid. ¡°She needs to be expelled.¡± ¡°I did not,¡± Astrid said angrily, but Birk held up a hand to stop her before she could say anymore. ¡°Show me your health stats,¡± Birk said to Ruben. He did so, but Astrid got a feeling it was somewhat reluctant. ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± Birk said. ¡°You still have over half your health points left. It will heal up in an hour or so. Now let¡¯s go over the duel. Let''s start with you, Ruben. Nice work keeping up the shield after an attack, but don¡¯t let the opponent chase you around like that and try to create better openings before casting spells.¡± Ruben grumbled something Astrid couldn¡¯t hear, but she was sure it wasn¡¯t nice things he said. Then Birk turned his attention towards her, and she began to feel nervous again. What would he say? Had she accidentally broken the rules somehow or been a terrible dueler? She had no idea how well she had performed, as she had never dueled before. ¡°Good work, Sigrid, using your speed to your advantage. However, your dodging pattern was repetitive, and it won¡¯t take skilled opponents long to predict it and counter by aiming for where you are going.¡± Astrid nodded, relieved that she had done alright, though it still felt weird when people called her by her sister¡¯s name. Birk called for the class to line up again before dismissing them for the day. Astrid returned to the staff in the shed and was about to leave with the others when Birk called her back. She walked over to the teacher, not sure why he wanted to talk to her. He pulled a book from his bag and handed it to her. ¡°You can read this in your own time if you want a better grasp of the theory behind combat magic.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said, taking the book from the teacher. The title on the cover read, Combat Magic for Beginners. She put it in her own bag beside the other schoolbook she had gotten earlier. According to her schedule, classes were done for the day, but just to be sure she wasn¡¯t missing anything, she asked the teacher. ¡°The lessons are done for the day, but some students stay behind to study a bit more or watch the advanced classes practice. "Okay,¡± Astrid said, and went back into the school building. She wasn¡¯t planning on staying as she still had to earn money, although getting to spend more time with the other students would be nice as long as Ruben wasn¡¯t there. She had had enough of his snide comments for one day. She also had a lot of catching up to do if she wanted to be as good as the other students, so she would have to study when she got back to her room at the inn. However, first she wanted to see if there were any new quests at the job hall. Chapter 19 Astrid had no luck finding any new quests at the job hall. The manager had apologized, and Astrid had reassured him that it was alright. She would just come back and check again tomorrow. Once outside again, she contemplated what to do next. She didn¡¯t fancy walking the streets, as she had done so a lot lately. Maybe she should read. After all, the god of deception had given her a quest to read his book, and she had barely made a dent in it, even though it had been several weeks. However, her room was too hot this time of day to spend much time in there, and she couldn¡¯t exactly read the book in the common room downstairs. If other people saw what she was reading, they wouldn¡¯t like it. Where could she find a comfortable spot to read where no one would see her? The answer came almost immediately. The forest. No one ever went out there, and the shades under the trees would provide protection from the hot afternoon sun. She might even be able to stock up on more plants for future quests. With her mind made up, she set off towards the city gate. After her many trips in and out of Largon, she could recognize the faces of a lot of the guards watching the gate. Today, it was the sword fighters from the group that had approached Astrid a few weeks ago. They seemed to recognize her too. ¡°Hey Astrid, still alive, I see.¡± The red-haired man said. Astrid didn¡¯t know his name. ¡°I am,¡± she said. ¡°And I didn¡¯t have to spend all my money on bodyguards. How are you guys doing?¡± ¡°Aside from guard duty being boring, we¡¯re doing fine,¡± the short-haired woman that Astrid didn¡¯t know the name of either said. ¡°The mayor agreed to fund our monster-slayer training since her request for aid was denied by the king again.¡± ¡°Why does the king refuse to send help? Doesn¡¯t he get how dire our situation is?¡± ¡°The king is adamant that we must handle a low-level treat like this by ourselves and that he has bigger problems to deal with,¡± the man said. ¡°How is this a low-level threat? More refugees from farms and villages enter the city every day, so soon no one will produce any food. And many industries were on the verge of collapse before I began clearing quests.¡± ¡°The monsters around here are level one, so they aren¡¯t considered a big deal by the king,¡± The woman said. ¡°But there¡¯s a lot of them, and they just keep coming. I¡¯ve even encountered a few monsters in level two.¡± ¡°For real?¡± the man said. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I killed them.¡± Astrid said, shuddering at the memory of the wounded wolf she had stabbed over and over again. The two swordfighters stared at her in disbelief. ¡°They had already been weakened by another monster, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal. She hurriedly added. ¡°Turns out you are more capable than we gave you credit for,¡± the woman said. ¡°If you ever feel like joining the city guard, let us know. We could use more people on our team.¡± ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m cut out for teamwork.¡± There was no way that joining a group to fight monsters would work out. Her fighting style relied mostly on sneak attacks and running away. She doubted those were appropriate techniques, and the last thing she needed was people finding out she followed the god of deception. Also, she wanted to avoid boring guard duties as well. Astrid continued into the forest and made herself invisible before looking for a good spot to sit. She found one by a large tree where she could lean against the trunk. She pulled the dreaded book out of her inventory and read it while eating a bread roll for lunch. She had already read the chapters on traps, poisons, lying, and lockpicking, unlocking the corresponding skills. The chapter she was about to read was about stealing, which was another skill she''d rather not unlock. Just thinking about it sent shudders down her spine. ¡°Why are you doing this to me?¡± she said out loud. She hadn¡¯t expected Sham to answer or wanted him to, so it both surprised and annoyed her when he did. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Because I can,¡± the god said as he appeared right in front of her. ¡°And I find it fun. How¡¯s the reading coming along?¡± He leaned forward to peek at the book. ¡°Fine,¡± she said, pulling the book to her chest so he couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why you want me to read this. ¡°I promise it will be worth the reward.¡± ¡°Your promises are unreliable at best,¡± Astrid said, remembering how he promised to help her when they first met. He had given her a few items and sent her out to fight monsters. Back then, she had no fighting skills and had never slayed a monster before, so it was pure luck that she had survived. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t think of one large copper as a lot anymore. Not compared to how long it takes to read a book like this, at least.¡± ¡°So you''re starting to get greedy?¡± He smirked. ¡°I like that.¡± ¡°No, I just have a lot of expenses.¡± She defended her check, flushing. ¡°Oh yeah, your new school you enrolled in.¡± ¡°Yes, Astrid said. It¡¯s not cheap.¡± ¡°The book''s true reward isn¡¯t the coppers you get for completing the quest, but the information it provides. All the skills you unlock and the boosts you get are things you can¡¯t get for money. ¡°That¡¯s a lie. I could go buy a skill book if I wanted. It might not be a divine one, but it would still offer much the same benefits, and it would be about skills I actually want to learn.¡± ¡°The boost won¡¯t be as powerful. And even though you don¡¯t want to learn these skills now, you¡¯ll need them one day.¡± ¡°Why, I don¡¯t plan on ever stealing anything.¡± ¡°Neither did you plan on living a double identity.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°You always have a choice.¡± ¡°I would have had to live on the streets.¡± ¡°Most people in your situation would have gotten a job in domestic service. There, you get food and a place to sleep. It¡¯s also a lot safer than doing these quests in the forest.¡± ¡°And a lot more boring. I¡¯d be stuck for ever, making next to nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not criticizing your choices, but letting you know that they were always there and that they are yours to make. As long as they don¡¯t contradict what I want you to do, that is. I honestly like the ones you have made so far. I see a lot of potential in you.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°You have made the entire city of Largon reliant on you to function.¡± ¡°No, I haven''t,¡± Astrid said, confused. ¡°Haven¡¯t you? Earlier today, you said industries would collapse if you didn¡¯t do the quests.¡± ¡°You¡¯re spying on me?¡± she said. "No, of course not,¡± he said. ¡°I have people to do that for me.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s spying on me?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t already know, I¡¯m not gonna tell you. Now tell me, what¡¯s the next step in your devious plan? Raise your reward demand for doing quests? Pressure the citizens to put you in a position of power? ¡°I¡¯m not planning any such things. Why would I even do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see the benefits of my suggestions in time. The world is a lot more complicated than a fourteen-year-old can comprehend. Just remember that without the knife and cloak I gifted you, your current way of life wouldn¡¯t have been an option for you. Don¡¯t take my gifts lightly.¡± With those words, he disappeared, and Astrid let out a sigh of relief and put the book away. She was no longer in the mood to read. Sham¡¯s comments about her actions filled her with unease. He had suggested that she would use her powers to take advantage of the people in Largon. Even assumed or expected her to do so. The moment of respite was short-lived, as a couple of badger monsters had spotted her. The conversation with Sham had broken her invisibility spell, and she hadn¡¯t thought about replacing it. Now it was too late. She had fought plenty of monsters before but preferred to do so when she could take full advantage of her dagger¡¯s backstab ability. Against one monster, she could fight without using the special attack if she absolutely had to, but she refused to take the risk if there were more than that. In those situations, she found running away to be the safer option, so that¡¯s what she did. She sprinted through the forest, relying on her running skills for the speed to get away from the monsters and her stealth for moving silently through the forest. Snapping a branch or tripping over a root would alert more monsters to her whereabouts. The distance between herself and the badgers behind her slowly grew, but not as fast as she would like. Monsters would keep up a pursuit until they lost track of their pray or environmental factors, like rivers or cliffs, forced them to stop. To her knowledge, neither could be found around her. Walls would do the trick too, but she was far from the city, and even if she wasn''t, bringing monsters to the gate would be a bad idea. That left her with only one option. To keep running. She reached a part of the forest she hadn¡¯t been to before. She spotted the mouth of a big cave, almost completely covered by tree roots and foliage. Maybe I¡¯ll be safe in there, she thought. It would allow her to get out of the monsters¡¯ sight long enough for her to go invisible again. Her stamina was getting low, so waiting for a better option was out of the question. She just had to hope worse monsters didn¡¯t lurk in the darkness inside. She covered the last few feet to the cave, went inside, and immediately received a message.
You have entered a dungeon Get to the other side to escape
Chapter 20: trapped
You have entered a dungeon. Get to the other side to escape.
Astrid read the message multiple times, not quite believing what it said. She had never been in a dungeon before, but she had heard stories about them as a child, and they were said to be notoriously dangerous. This was the place where the monsters that plagued the forests and farmland spawned. But according to the stories, the monsters were the least of the dangers found here. Only professional dungeoneers dared to enter this place, and Astrid wasn¡¯t one. This was bad. She had to get out of here. She quickly made herself invisible, hoping no monster had seen her yet, before studying her surroundings. With relief, she found she was alone in the room. The walls and ground were indistinguishable from a normal cave except for a single door on the far wall. It was dimly lit by the sunlight that managed to enter through the cave opening. She could still see the forest outside, but when she tried to walk out, she was blocked by an invisible barrier. It reminded her of the barrier that had kept monsters out of Sham¡¯s temple in the forest. Now, however, it was preventing her from leaving. What had the message said again? She had to get to the other side to escape. Was there really no other way out? Her chances of making it through a dungeon were slim, as she had no idea what awaited her on the other side of the door. Maybe there was someone who could help her, although she loathed to ask him. ¡°Sham, can you hear me? I could use your help.¡± No answer. Either he couldn¡¯t hear her, or he wouldn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t tell which. Staying here won¡¯t do me any good, so I have no choice but to go though. With her mind made up, she walked over to the door and pulled it open. She had expected the door to be heavy, so she almost fell when it swung open with ease. On the other side, she found a long, dark corridor. The air was damp and smelled of mold. Ahead was the sound of footsteps and snarls from several monsters, but the darkness made it impossible to see them. She debated with herself whether she should light a candle. Monsters could see in the dark better than she could, so it would be to her benefit to do so. She would never find her way out, stumbling through the dark, and her cloak would still prevent them from noticing her. At least she hoped so. Shielding herself behind the door, ready to shut it if necessary, she pulled the candle out and lit it. The warm light spread through the tunnel in front of her. Nothing attacked her, so that was good. She carefully made her way through the tunnel. A couple of monsters roamed in front of her, but they ignored her. She did the same. The tunnel was quite narrow, so she could probably have fought them, but not without getting hurt, and she had no idea what else she would encounter in the dungeon or how big it was. Besides, the message only said to get to the other side alive, not that she had to kill every monster in here. It would be better to only engage in battle when she had the advantage or was forced to do it. She reached the door at the end of the corridor safely. She carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside, ensuring that her invisibility remained intact. Forgetting to do so had caused her troubles before. Behind her, the door disappeared and was replaced with rocks indistinguishable from the rest of the cave walls. She pushed her hand against the place where the door had been to check if it was just an illusion, but what she found was solid. Apparently, going backwards wasn¡¯t allowed. Astrid looked around the room, trying to figure out what her next step should be. The room was so big, she couldn¡¯t see all of it in the candlelight. She spotted nothing of interest in her tiny bubble of light, so she slowly began walking, keeping her senses sharp. Something roamed around just out of sight, but since she hadn¡¯t been attacked yet, she was confident the monster would ignore her. She decided to do the same unless a confrontation became necessary for her to progress through the dungeon. Each step was placed with great care so it wouldn¡¯t make any sound as she walked through the room in what she imagined was a straight line. With her limited range of vision, it was hard to be sure. Eventually, she made it to the cave wall on the other side without finding anything of interest in the room. Luckily, she hadn¡¯t come across anything dangerous either. She followed the wall, searching for a way forward, until she found a door much like the one she had entered through. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. She grabbed the handle and pushed the door. It didn¡¯t open. She pushed harder, using her entire body weight, trying to force the door open, but it didn¡¯t butch. Then she tried pulling,cluded that the door was locked. but the door remained stubbornly closed. She concluded that the door was locked. Immediately afterwards, she began analyzing the lock, trying to figure out how to get it open. She didn¡¯t even realize what she was doing at first, as if she were driven by an instinct she had no idea she had. The moment she understood what she was doing and how she stopped.
Lockpicking skill Lockpicking skill is level 1of 10 You have the ability to analyze locks and attempt to unlock them if you have the tools for it
Lockpicking was one of the skills she had unlocked by reading the divine book of deception, but it was also a skill she had no plans of actually using. She also knew that picking the lock wouldn¡¯t work as she didn¡¯t have any tools on her for such a purpose. The key must be somewhere in this room, she thought, looking around. If it wasn¡¯t in the room, Astrid would be in big trouble. She shook her head. That possibility was too terrible to even think about. There had to be a way to get out. She was still unable to see more than a few feet in every direction, as the darkness outside of the candlelight was like an impenetrable wall to her eyes. She could still hear the monster roam around the room, sending shivers down her back. Without getting a good look at the monster, she would be unable to identify it or gauge what level it was at. She wished she had a better light source than the candle so she could get a better sense of what the room contained. As things were now, she had no other option than a slow, methodical search of the room. She followed the rough cave wall all the way around the room until she again stood by the locked door. That told her that the room was square and that there was nothing of interest along the edges. That left the entire middle of the room, so she began searching, walking in lines back and forth between the walls. After what felt like an eternity of searching, she came across a large treasure chest. Again, her instincts analyzed the lock before she could stop it. Doing so was properly impossible, as her ability to identify locks was now second nature to her. It was much like her ability to identify plants or monsters just by looking at them. Unless they were at too high a level or protected by some means, she could get a lot of information from a single glance. It happened automatically and instantly. Realizing that it was a lost cause trying to suppress the ability, she might as well use it to her advantage. She held the candle closer to the lock and allowed it to do its thing. It was a level-one combination padlock. A code made up of three symbols was needed. Another ability she had never used before told her that the wrong code would be disastrous.
Lockpicking skill Lockpicking skill is level 1of 10 You have the ability to analyze locks and attempt to unlock them if you have the tools for it
She recognized the ability as coming from her trapping skill, and it allowed her to identify traps, but as this was of a magical kind, she could gauge no more than that poisoned gas would be released if the chest was opened the wrong way. This skill, too, came from the book and was one Astrid would prefer not to use. However, desperate situations called for desperate measures, and she had to use all the tools available to her to even stand a chance of getting out of this dungeon alive. The fact that Sham had been right about the value of the book''s content made her want to punch him in the face. She went back to the trapped lock, trying to recall what she had read in the book so she could figure out the best way to get the chest opened. Sometimes a good knock with a hard object was enough to make a padlock open, but that wouldn¡¯t work in this case. If she tried, it would only spring the trap. Maybe the code was depicted somewhere in the room, but with her limited light source gradually burning away, she wasn¡¯t sure she had the time for a lengthy investigation. That left her with another attempt at picking the lock. She knew that if you held the lock the right way and paid close attention, she would be able to feel when the right symbol clicked into place on the lock. At least that was what the book said, but she had never tried to do it before, and unlike abilities to identify things that came naturally to her, actually using the skill for something took practice. At least she had a good grasp on the theory behind what she was about to attempt. She took a deep breath and grabbed the lock, holding it tight, and before she could lose her nerves, she began scrolling through the symbols. She went slowly, carefully feeling for any change in the resistance as symbol after symbol passed by until she found one that felt differently. Then she moved on to the last slot on the lock, repeating the same process. She could only hope she was doing it right, as there was no turning back. She would only get this by chance. The middle symbol slid into place, and the lock sprang open with a click. She held her breath just in case something had gone wrong and the poisoned gas would be released, and she pushed the lid open. Chapter 21: A fight in the dark For a moment, the treasure chest shone so brightly that Astrid was blinded, but it soon faded to a faint glow, and she began examining the content.
You have received 5 large coppers You have received 2 vials of healing potion You have received 2 vials of stamina potion You have received 2 vials of mana potion You have received large iron key
Astrid added the coins to her inventory and the vials to her medicine kit before holding up the large iron key for a better look. This had to be the one she needed to unlock the door. She was about to go to the door when she froze. Something felt off. She dodged to the side just in time to avoid getting pinned to the ground by the monster. She barely got a glimpse of the beast attacking her as she dropped the candle during the evasion, and it went out before it hit the floor. All she managed to see in the faint light from the empty treasure chest was a slender black creature with large fangs and claws that her ability told her was a level one monster called a shadow panther. Astrid pulled out her dagger and backed away from the spot she had seen the monster at. Maybe she would be able to disappear into the darkness and make herself invisible again, then make a run for the door. How had the monster even found her? She had been so careful not to make any sounds that could give away her position. Her only explanation was that opening the chest had given her away, and if that was the case, it had been impossible for her to avoid. Astrid had only taken a few steps by the time the monster launched another attack at her. She winced as sharp claws ran down her arm, and she quickly swung her dagger. The monster let out a howl as the blade slid across its skin. Astrid tried to stay on the offensive, getting close enough to use her dagger. It was difficult against an opponent who fought with fangs and claws. Only the higher running skill allowed her to evade fatal blows, turning them into glancing once instead. Still, her health was depleting rapidly, along with her stamina. Astrid stabbed the dagger into the side of the monster and retreated before the monster could retaliate. She used the moment of reprieve to chuck a few potions. They tasted like burned cooking grease and left a waxy feeling in her mouth, but they did the trick of restoring her stats. A warm feeling spread through her body as her health and stamina were fully healed. The short break ended, and she threw herself back into the fight with renewed resolve. She knew she could beat this monster. She had, too. Dying in here was not an option. She would find a way out, whatever it took. This was not the first time in her short monster-slaying career she had wished for a different weapon. Not that her dagger was a bad weapon, but its real strength lay in surprise attacks and not in combat. At least not at her current skill level. At times like this, she would really like something with ranged attacks, or at the very least something that dealt more damage. The quarter staff would have been nice even if she only knew how to cast a single spell. A sharp pain across her chest brought her back to the fight, and she slashed her dagger, trying to discourage the monster from further attacks. The wound the claws had left hurt, and she could feel blood seeping out, soaking her dress, but there was no time to deal with it. She couldn¡¯t allow herself to be distracted. Her focus had to be on the fight. Her health told her the wound wasn¡¯t too bad, but a few more hits would still be fatal. It would be best to try to end this quickly. She lashed out after the monster again and slashed it across the snout. The monster reared back in pain, avoiding getting stabbed in the chest by Astrid¡¯s follow-up attack. Stupid monster. Why can¡¯t you just die already? When she had fought monsters in the forest, it often felt easier than now. Normally, she used her environment to her advantage. Out in the forest, there was always a tree she could climb or a river to jump into when things got out of hand. If that didn¡¯t work, she could always run away. Even with her increased speed, she found it harder and harder to hit the monster while simultaneously avoiding getting hit in return. She realized why as the monster¡¯s claws came out of nowhere and slashed her across the arm. The dim glow from the chest was fading quickly, and soon it would be gone. Then the room would be encapsulated in total darkness, leaving her unable to see anything. When that happened, she would stand a chance, as the darkness was to the monster¡¯s advantage and not hers. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Astrid stepped backwards, avoiding a claw swipe to her face, only to have her leg slide out from under her body. She hit the ground with a sickening crack from her skull slamming against the rocks of the cave floor. She lay dazed on the ground, unable to comprehend why she had fallen. A message appeared, and she read it.
Warning! You have a concussion You will spent more focus when concentrating and focus will be unable to recover until you have fully healed from the concussion Current focus 8/ 12
She had only just finished reading when she had the wind knocked out of her by the monster landing on her chest, pinning her to the ground. Sharp pain erupted from her shoulder as the monster sank its fangs into her flesh. Tightening her hold on her dagger, she plunged it into the monster¡¯s throat. As she pulled it back out, sprays of warm liquid splashed onto her face, and the monster was retrieved. She staggered to her feet through waves of nausea and dizziness that almost made her collapse again. Somehow, she managed to stand, but she was in no condition to fight. She knew the monster was far from dead, and any moment now it would launch a new attack. She had to get out now. She still had the key, so she ran toward the door. No matter what she found on the other side, it couldn¡¯t be worse than thins. At least she hoped it couldn¡¯t. With shaking hands, she located the lock and inserted the key, but before she could turn it, she had to jump out of the way to avoid the monster. It slammed into the door as Astrid ran to create distance between them. Staying out of its reach was the only defense she had left. The room was now completely dark, as the light from the chest had finally died. This meant Astrid had no way of knowing where the monster was. She quickly drank another health potion, winching at the taste. It closed her wounds and restored her health to full capacity, but it did nothing to fix her concussion. She would need a proper healer to fix it. She focused her senses, trying to determine where the monster was, but concentrating made her head hurt. She heard footsteps echoing through the room, making it impossible to tell where they were coming from. She moved around the room for what felt like an eternity, avoiding the monster as best she could. She no longer had any idea in which direction the door was or if the monster was still after her. However, she knew this couldn¡¯t go on for much longer. Something knocked into her back, and she slashed at it with her dagger. This time, she didn¡¯t let the monster retreat. She stabbed and slashed repeatedly, keeping up a continuous barrage of attacks and not allowing the monster any time to counter or recover. One way or another, the battle would end here. Either she killed the monster, or it killed her. Her stamina was quickly depleting as she continued the assault, but eventually the monster went still. Astrid let out a sigh of relief. The monster was dead. She sheathed her dagger and went to loot the monster, receiving a black hide. Then she went to pick up the candle she had dropped earlier. She had a suspicion that it had been the thing she tripped over earlier, and she hoped it hadn¡¯t been damaged. She only had that one, and she couldn¡¯t buy a new one while still stuck inside this dungeon. Besides, they were expensive to replace. After searching for a while, she found the candle. She relit it and debated with herself whether she should keep going now or rest for a bit. She checked her stats to get a better idea of her condition.
Health: 8/24 Stamina: 12/28 Mana: 14/14 Focus: 6/12 Spirit: 10/16
She was injured, but taking a few potions refilled her health and stamina for the third time since she entered the dungeon. At this rate, she would quickly go through her entire stash of potions, but she couldn¡¯t risk moving forward unless she was as healed as she could get. Her concussion prevented her from doing anything about her focus, which had half its points left. With no way to heal that and no food or water, staying here for long wouldn¡¯t benefit her. It might even make her situation worse. Leaving now would be her best course of action. With her mind made up, she made herself invisible and walked toward the door. She turned the key, still stuck in the lock, and heard a click, indicating the key had worked. With the candle in one hand and her dagger in the other, she managed to push open the heavy door and step through. Immediately, the door disappeared behind her. As she saw what waited on the other side, she was glad she had had the foresight to apply her invisibility. The cavern ahead was swarmed by monsters. It didn¡¯t seem like they had noticed her entering, and she planned to keep it that way. She held the candle high and scanned the room, hoping to find something to aid her in getting through. The cave walls were green with a thick layer of moss that emitted an eerie glow where the candlelight hit them. The air smelled stale, and the ground was so slippery that she feared she would fall at any moment. She carefully walked through the long cavern, trying to avoid making any noise that would give her away or accidentally bumping into a monster, which would also give her away. The last thing she wanted right now was to fight more monsters. Her progress was slow, but she remained unseen, and worries about what she would face ahead began to make themselves known. Would she find another locked door? More vicious monsters? Not knowing was nerve-racking. She had no idea how long she had been trapped in the dungeon or how much longer it would take to get out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the cavern ended at a door. She went through it and disappeared behind her like the other doors had done. She had expected it, but it still unsettled her. Now she was trapped in another room with whatever unknown danger lurked outside the candle¡¯s dome of light. Chapter 22: Escape Astrid strained her senses, listening for any potential dangers hiding in the darkness. The candlelight only allowed her to see a few feet in every direction, and there was nothing but air inside the small, illuminated area. Once she was sure she couldn¡¯t hear anything, she began exploring the room, using her abilities to ensure there were no traps in her path. Her first priority was to figure out where the exit was and if it was locked. She assumed it was, but just in case it wasn''t, there was no reason to spend time in this room. She had had enough of this dungeon and just wanted to get out as soon as possible. She reached the wall on the opposite side of the room without incident and searched for a while without finding anything resembling a door. She double-checked, but nothing indicated that there was an exit here. Then she checked the other walls. She made it all the way around the room without finding an exit. Then she went around again, examining every inch of the walls from the ground to as high as she could reach, looking for any clue that could help her, yet she still found nothing. Fear rose inside Astrid. What if she could find a way out? She pushed the thoughts away before they could affect her spirit negatively and forced herself to check everything one more time. The exit had to be somewhere, right? After all, dungeons weren¡¯t supposed to be impossible to clear. She completed the third round with no luck and sank to the ground miserably, not knowing what to do next. Her head pounded from the effort of concentrating, and she just wanted to sleep until the pain went away. However, she didn¡¯t dare rest here. Who knew what would happen if she let her guards down? Besides, her concussion wouldn¡¯t get better until she got medical attention, so she had to keep looking for an exit. If it wasn¡¯t by the walls, it had to be elsewhere in the room. Maybe there was a staircase hidden in the darkness. If she was going to find it, she had to start looking immediately. Every second, the candle burned away, and in a few hours, she would have no light left. She forced herself back up and began searching the room. With nothing but the small candle, it was difficult to make any sense of her surroundings. Even after walking through the whole thing, she had found nothing of interest. She decided to search one more time. After all, it would have been easy to miss something. Suddenly, the ground under her foot no longer felt like the cave floor. Instead of being rocky, it was smooth. She bent down, moving the candle closer so she could get a good view of the ground. It looked like she was standing on large tiles with blue lines and curves that didn¡¯t form anything she recognized, though one of the tiles in the middle seemed to be missing. Was she supposed to find it? Was that how she got out? Since she didn¡¯t know what to do with it, she went to look for more clues. Now that she was looking for it, she found a few other tiled areas, but these clearly depicted a flower. It was odd that it was just that one that was different from the others, so she went back to examine it some more. There were eight in total, with a gap where the ninth should have been. She found that the tiles could be slid along the ground into the spot of the missing one with ease. Maybe she had to rearrange them so they made a flower pattern like the rest. It seemed plausible, and she had no better plan, so she began working on it. It wasn¡¯t as easy as she had hoped to get all the tiles into the right place, as she could only move one at a time. She tried to lift them up, but they would budge. The process was only made harder by her concussion, which made her unable to recover focus. It was quickly going down, getting dangerously low. She had to solve this puzzle before her focus ran out completely, or she would be stuck with no way of escaping. For a moment, she worried that rearranging the tiles wouldn¡¯t amount to anything. In that case, she would have used up her last focus on nothing. She doubted she would get a chance to try something else. Eventually, she got the last piece slid into place and heard a loud click. A green light flashed out from one of the walls, and a door appeared. She rushed towards it, ecstatic that she would finally get to leave the room. Just before opening the door, she ensured that he was still invisible. She had no idea what she would find on the other side, so she had to be careful. The newly formed exit led into another tunnel where the moss-covered walls provided a bit of lighting, even if it was a bit creepy. With dismay, she noticed that monsters crowded the tunnel more tightly here than they had in the previous one. She wasn¡¯t fond of crowds, and it didn¡¯t matter if they were people or monsters. Still, she had to get through here to escape the dungeon, so she steeled herself and began walking. Every nerve in her body was on edge as she carefully made her way through the tunnel. The monsters were snarling and snapping at each other. Sometimes fights broke out between the monsters, and it was a miracle that Astrid didn¡¯t get caught up in one. She worried that since so many monsters roamed this dungeon, more of them would soon escape to the outside world, causing more havoc for the people living in and near Lagon. Soon, the city wouldn¡¯t be able to take in any more refugees. Part of Astrid felt like she should do something about the monster while she was in here, but she would stand a chance against all of them coming at her simultaneously. Eventually she got through the door, and as she had learned to expect, it disappeared behind her. It bothered her less this time, as she was just glad to be out of the monster-infested tunnel. Still, she doubted she would ever get fully used to it. She scanned the room, trying to figure out what she was dealing with. Light streamed in from an opening in the opposite wall, illuminating the room. Stalagmites and stalactites covered large parts of the room, and in a few places, they had grown together, forming a pillar from floor to ceiling. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Astrid focused on the light. She couldn¡¯t make out what was on the other side, but it had to be the exit. She wanted to go there immediately, but a monster in the middle of the room was blocking her way. It looked like a giant bear with frizzy brown fur and daggerlike claws. She stood frozen in place, staring at the monster, but it didn¡¯t move except for its chest slowly rising and falling. If the monster was sleeping, this would be an easy kill. She pulled out her dagger and slowly moved closer, careful not to make a sound. However, as she neared it, something felt off. Her low focus and pounding headage made it hard to think, but for some reason she felt like she was in imminent danger, and the only thing dangerous in here was the sleeping bear. She stopped and looked at it some more, trying to figure out why it made her feel so uneasy. This was just a single monster, and she had fought countless of them in the past, so what made this one different? Sure, it was bigger than others she had seen, but it was sleeping, and she had a powerful surprise attack. No matter how long she looked at the monster, all she could see was a sleeping bear. Then she realized that was the problem. Looking at the monster didn¡¯t give her any information about it. Ever since she unlocked her monster fighting skill, she had been able to tell what kind of monster she was encountering and what level it was at through an ability she had gained with the skill. That ability didn¡¯t activate when she looked at the bear, which was something she had never experienced before. She knew this was a monster, but that was because no natural bear would grow this large. She thought about how her ability worked and realized it could only get information about monsters up to a single level above her own monster-slaying skill, which was currently level one. If she was unable to identify this monster, it was because it was level three or above. She stood no chance in a fight against that monster, even if she took it by surprise. Even level two monsters were more than she could handle in a direct fight. If this monster woke up while she was still in the room, it would kill her in one strike. This was not a fight she could win. She carefully walked away from the sleeping monster again and around it towards the exit. She feared her heartbeat was loud enough to wake the bear, and she hardly dared to breathe as she used all her stealth skill to make it around the bear. The monster shifted, and she froze in place, then chided herself. If the bear was waking up, she had to hurry. She began walking again, faster now, while still doing everything she could to be quiet. The bear behind her grunted, but she did not waste time looking back to see what it was doing. Instead, she bolted for the exit. The noise behind her got louder, and the cavern shook as the bear let out a powerful roar. Stalactites rattled and broke off the cave ceiling, crashing to the ground and splintering, sending countless sharp rocks in every direction. Avoiding them all was as impossible as avoiding hail, and Astrid was quickly losing health to cuts and bruises. Luckily, she wasn¡¯t crushed under a falling stalactite. However, she lost valuable time dodging, and when the cavern stopped shaking, she was lying on the ground, still several feet from the exit. She watched in horror as the bear got to its feet and began walking towards her. As she scrambled to her feet, she had no idea if she was still invisible or if the bear could see her, but she knew she couldn¡¯t risk waiting around to find out. She ran towards the exit as fast as she could. Behind her, the sound of rocks shattering reverberated, and since she didn¡¯t dare look back, she could only assume the bear was pursuing her. Any moment, she feared that its teeth and claws would sink into her body and tear her apart. Astrid threw herself through the exit, and it vanished behind her before she hit the ground. She lay gasping as relief flooded through her. That could have gotten horribly wrong. Figuring that she might still not be out of danger, she took in her surroundings. She could see a cave opening just a few feet away, with light streaming in from it. If this isn¡¯t the exit, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do, she thought as she got to her feet. She was about to walk to it when she noticed something. Treasure chests lined one side of the room. She counted six in total, but only two of them were unlocked. She went to the first and opened it. Its bright glow blinded her for a moment, but it quickly dimmed enough for her to see the content. Five potions that she took up.
You have found a heath replenishment potion You have found a stamina replenishment potion You have found a mana replenishment potion You have found a focus replenishment potion You have found a spirit replenishment potion
She still had plenty of healing potions in her first aid kit, but she also knew how fast she could go through her supplies when she found herself in dire situations, so she put them in her bag with the rest. She moved on to the next chest and opened it, this time shielding her eyes from the glow while taking out the content.
You have found ten large copper coins
She looked at the other chests, especially paying attention to the locks. She was sure she could break one or two of them. She debated whether or not to try picking them until she realized what she was thinking. She was horrified that she would even consider doing so. It would be like stealing. Those chests clearly weren¡¯t meant for her, or else they would have already been unlocked like the others. It scared her how quickly she had come to consider using the abilities she had gained from reading the divine book of deception. She tried to convince herself that it was because of the concussion and the massive headache that she pondered such things, but she knew it was a lie. This wasn¡¯t the first time the abilities she gained from her skills tried to convince her to do something wrong. She decided to ignore the remaining chests and headed for the exit. She ended up in the same place she had entered the dungeon, but luckily the monsters that had chased her inside were long gone. The sun was setting, which was less lucky. Soon the city gates would close, and spending the night in the forest after everything she had just been through was the last thing she wanted. She began running, hoping she would make it back in time. Chapter 23: Healing and reflection The only thing Astrid could think about was making it back to Largon before the gates closed for the night. She ran as fast as she could until her stamina was depleted. Then she stopped, but only long enough to chuck down a stamina potion before continuing her frantic sprint. Her concussed head pounded every time her foot hit the ground, but she did her best to ignore it. Her stamina was almost depleted again by the time she made it to the city with only a few moments to spare. The guards had been just about to close the gate but allowed her to enter before they shut it behind her. She wanted to go back to the inn right away but knew she was in desperate need of seeing a healer. The trip to the Temple of Medicine happened in a daze. Now that she was safely back in the city, she felt so exhausted she could barely think coherently. Only at the last moment did she remember that she couldn¡¯t use the cloak to disguise herself in case she had to remove it for the healing. She had left the city disguised as her sister but now had no idea what people saw when they looked at her. To be sure she didn¡¯t end up having to explain a sudden change in age and appearance, she took off the cloak before entering. Someone was over her the moment she stepped through the door, and before she knew it, she was lying in a bed with a priestess standing over her, chanting a spell. Gradually, her headache diminished until it vanished entirely. ¡°Do you feel better?¡± The priestess asked. ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡± ¡°How long have you gone with that concussion?¡± Her stern voice reminded Astrid of how her mother would scold her as a child whenever she delayed doing her chores. ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly, but it can¡¯t have been that long. Why?¡± Astrid asked. She was suddenly worried that going with a head injury for so long had caused serious damage. ¡°A concussion like this often comes with a great loss in health, and yours has already recovered quite a bit.¡± ¡°I took a healing potion and got here as fast as I could.¡± ¡°I see. You¡¯re lucky it¡¯s so high to begin with. That unusual for someone your age.¡± Astrid had no idea how to respond to this and just shrugged. Fortunately for her, the priestess didn¡¯t ask further questions. ¡°Well, you''re fine now, and there shouldn¡¯t be any lasting damage, but if you have any headaches or memory issues in the next few days, don¡¯t hesitate to come back.¡± "Okay,¡± Astrid said and got up to leave. Healing was free for everyone, and those who could would often leave a donation at the altar upon exiting. She decided to give one of her large coppers as a thanks for the healing before heading back to the inn. * If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The next morning, she woke still exhausted from the ordeals of yesterday. It didn¡¯t help that her sleep had been plagued by new nightmares of getting trapped in the dungeon. Every time she thought she had gotten out, she would somehow find herself back at the beginning, and she would have to go through everything all over again. It was tempting to stay in bed, but she had things to do, so there was no time to dwell on what had happened. She shook her head, disbursing the remnants of the dream. First, she checked her stats to ensure she had recovered properly.
Health: 24/24 Stamina: 30/30 Mana: 14/14 Focus: 14/14 Spirit: 16/16
With relief, she noted that everything looked fine, and as she didn¡¯t have any headaches, she figured she was fit to go to school. It would be a good way to keep her mind off dungeons and monsters. She made it to school just in time for her first class. However, no matter how hard she tried to focus on her teacher¡¯s lecture on Otimra¡¯s geography, her thoughts kept drifting back to the very thing she tried not to think about. Yesterday. The horror of what she had experienced had been dimmed by adrenalin and her head injury. Now that was no longer the case, and that left her terrified with no idea what to do. She doubted that her efforts in the dungeon had done anything to slow the release of monsters into the real world and therefore hadn¡¯t achieved much, if anything. The dungeon still needed to be cleared completely in order to make it safe for people to live outside of Largon¡¯s gate. ¡°Sigrid, are you paying attention?¡± It took some time for Astrid to realize that it was her the teacher was talking to.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I asked if you could tell us which part of Otimra Largon is located in.¡± Astrid felt her check flush as she was unable to answer the teacher¡¯s question. She was sure this was basic knowledge and that everyone in the class already knew the answer, but she had never learned about this before. Trying to recall Largon¡¯s location on the map Sham had given her proved futile. Was this a side effect of her concussion? She hoped not. ¡°It¡¯s in the eastern part,¡± the teacher supplied after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence. ¡°If you don¡¯t start paying attention, you won¡¯t get any grade tokens for this class.¡± The teacher resumed the lesson, and Astrid tried her best to focus, but a few minutes later her mind drifted again. Now that she knew what was inside, she had no plans of ever going back. It was too dangerous, and besides, she was far from strong enough to slay all the monsters found inside. It would take too long for her to reach the point where she could confidently fight level three monsters, assuming that was the level the bear was in. She couldn¡¯t know for sure, as her ability hadn¡¯t allowed her to appraise the monster. Anyway, someone else had to deal with it, but she should probably report her findings to someone. Maybe the mayor or the guards. Perhaps the monster slayers could use the information to clear the dungeon. However, Astrid was hesitant to tell anyone, as she feared she wouldn¡¯t be believed even if she disguised herself as an adult. How could she explain how she accidentally found the dungeon and managed to get out alive without giving herself away as a follower of Deception or being required to go back inside? She couldn¡¯t risk it, and the only way to stay safe was to stay silent. Maybe she could talk to Sham about it. However, then she would have to admit that the stuff he had made her read about had been useful. She was not ready to deal with that. She still hated how easily using both her trapping skill and her lockpicking skill had come to her. Eventually her first class ended, and Astrid left the room to get to her next class. The teacher didn¡¯t grant her the five grade tokens for participating in class, but that was fair enough. Astrid knew she didn¡¯t deserve them since she had been distracted during the entirety of the lesson. If anyone asked her what she had learned, she would struggle to answer. Hopefully the physical activity of her combat magician training and seeing her friends would take her mind off the dungeon for a while, though if it was going to be like yesterday, she would spend a lot of time sitting on the sideline recovering her mana. Chapter 24: new goals Astrid walked through the streets of Largon. Classes had ended just around lunchtime, and the temperature was rapidly climbing. She was glad school had been in the morning, as doing physical training now would have been unbearable in the afternoon heat. Her room at the inn would be like an oven until evening came, so she had no plans to return there any time soon. Instead, she was heading towards the job hall, hoping to find some quests to do. After entering a deserted alley, she pulled out her cloak and shifted into her adult persona unnoticed, then fastened the dagger to her rope belt. However, she didn¡¯t want to put on the amulet before she was out of the city. Changing in the alley reminded her of something Sham had said yesterday. Had it really not been longer since she last spoke to him? It felt like an eternity ago. He had mentioned that he had people spying on her. Astrid cast worried glances in every direction but didn¡¯t see anything suspicious. As far as she could tell, she was alone. On her way to the job hall, she kept up her search for the spy, but either Sham had lied about it, or the spy was really good at their job. Still, just the thought that someone was watching her every move was uncomfortable. Arriving at the job hall, she noticed how empty it was. Apparently, the quest board wasn¡¯t the only one that was low on available jobs. Everything else was empty as well. The only person there was the job hall manager. ¡°Hi Lennard, Are there any new quests today?¡± Astrid asked, approaching his desk. ¡°A few came in earlier today. You can go ahead and take them from the board if you want them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take them,¡± Astrid said before heading to the noticeboard in the back of the room. Two new quests had been posted since the last time she checked the board. She snatched both without reading them and went to check them out. * At the city gate, hundreds of people stood in line waiting to enter. Astrid had seen this before and knew it could only mean one thing. Another village in the area had fallen to the monsters, and every survivor was seeking refuge here. Largon was running out of places for the refugees to stay. All inns were at full capacity, most apartments were rented out, and few houses were for sale at the moment. Astrid had checked the housing market a few times just to get an idea of how much money she would need to move out of the inn, but each time she checked the price had gone up. Most of these refugees would likely join those already living on the streets. It was sad, but there was nothing Astrid could do to help them, so she ignored the people in line and made her way to the forest. Just before entering, she took the time to read through the quests she had taken.
New quest from the apothecary The apothecary needs sage root Objective: gather sage root 0 of 10 Reward: 50 small copper Time: 23 h 45 m
New quest from the dye house Water moss needed at the location Objective: gather Water moss 0 of 20 Reward: 20 small copper Time: 23 h 45 m
With dismay, she noticed that the rewards for completing these quests were significantly less than she had gotten used to. It made sense, as since the notice boards were empty, people no longer tried to compete by outpricing each other. This was likely what the reward used to be before the monsters made it dangerous to enter the forest. Still, it was a large blow to her major source of income. Then she remembered something else Sham had said. Since she was the only one taking this quest, she could basically demand whatever she wanted. People would either have to pay the price or go without the plants. It was unlikely anyone else would go out to gather, so she held a lot of power in this situation. She quickly discarded those thoughts again. Back when Sham had suggested this, she had decided she wouldn¡¯t take advantage of desperate people. While doing her quest, she had often gotten to talk to business owners from many different industries, and they all had similar complaints. Overland trade had been nonexistent for a few years because of the monsters, and the only things arriving by boat were marked-up luxury goods. Getting common plants shipped from other places of Otimra just wasn¡¯t worth the expense. Other people¡¯s livelihoods were dependent on getting resources to make products. Lots of businesses had just rehired those they had had to lay off when they couldn¡¯t get raw materials. Astrid refused to be the reason others lost their jobs again. That meant she would have to keep doing as many quests as she could, no matter how low the reward got. Now she got the chance to prove that she would stand by her own morals. With a sigh, she turned her attention back to the things she had to gather. She already had the Water moss as it was a plant she often went to get and therefore had stocked up upon. Her bag had magic that kept the plants fresh for months, so she had no worries that they would lose their value. That left Sage root. She had never harvested it before, but she had seen it multiple times on her previous trips, so she knew exactly where to find it. After putting on her amulet and making herself invisible, she headed off to the nearest plant. As she harvested it, she gained a few points in her plant care skill for the first time in weeks. It was closing in on level two, but as she rarely found any challenge in harvesting plants, it had stagnated. It was only because this was a new plant that she had gained experience. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. It could be tempting to go harvest all sorts of plants in order to build the skill, but the goddess of nature hated such waste. Her parents had drilled into her head that if you had no intention of using the things you took from nature, it was best to leave it where it was. The goddess of nature was not someone you wanted to get on the bad side of. Astrid was also always careful not to overharvest in any particular area the way the Water moss near the city had been. It was still early in the afternoon, and Astrid didn¡¯t want to return to the overcrowded city yet, but she also couldn¡¯t justify harvesting more plants. Instead, she ended up just walking around, although she was careful not to enter any place that could potentially be a dungeon. She was never going to enter one of those again. Even though she had slayed a few monsters almost every day since she lost her home, the population had increased. If it went on for much longer, the forest would end up as crowded as the tunnels inside the dungeon. Then it would be too dangerous to go out even for her. Maybe it was time for a more active approach to her monster slaying. Up until now, she had only fought monsters when absolutely necessary. Other than that, she had avoided them. She hated fighting monsters but simultaneously felt a duty to do so. After all, she was one of the few people in the area who had the skills to do it. She also felt like she had to atone for her crimes of being a follower of deception. If she did enough good deeds, maybe others would forgive her for her allegiance to that evil god and all the lying she had done. With her mind made up, all there was left to do now was find a monster she could slay with minimal risk to herself. Soon she came across a monster she hadn¡¯t seen before, though her ability identified it as a toxic slug in level one. It was purple in color and about as long as she was tall. That meant somewhere between five and six feet. Exact measurement tools were expensive and only used in industries where precision was key. If they weren¡¯t absolutely needed, they weren¡¯t invested in. The slug left a slimy trail behind it that made the ground smoke. She carefully avoided stepping in it as she snuck up on the monster. Then she embedded the dagger in its body. Poison sprayed from the wound, flying in direction and covering most of Astrid in the foul liquid. She staggered backward out of the spray, shocked at what had just happened. The poison burned where it hit her skin but nowhere near as much as she would have expected it to. It was more irritating than actually painful. Her cloak had protected most of her body and other clothes and didn¡¯t seem to be damaged by the poison. That left only her face and her hands affected. After ensuring the slug was dead and no other monsters were rushing towards her, she checked her messages to see what was going on. You have been covered in toxic slug blood. It has seeped into your skin and poisoned you. The effect will last for another hour or until the poison is cleared with healing. Ability has taken effect. Since you are level one in poison you will only suffer minimal affect from poison and venom in levels equal to your own. You have immunity to lower-level poison and venom and the effects are reduced for those of higher levels although the reduction smaller the greater the difference between you and the substance is. Astrid checked her stats just in time to see the second health point being spent. Apparently minimal effect would still be dangerous if left untreated, but her situation could have been a lot worse without her poison resistance. She grabbed an antidote from her first aid kit and drank it. The bitter taste it left in the mouth was more irritating than the poison itself, but it did its job. In just a few moments, she was completely cured. She looted the monster despite the risk of being doused with toxic slug blood again.
New items received Vial of toxic slug blood lv 1 Received from looting a monster Poisons anyone who comes in contact with the substance
Astrid reluctantly left the item in her inventory. It wasn¡¯t an item she could sell to anyone, but neither could she just leave it here as it posed a danger to anyone exposed to the liquid. She would just have to keep it for now. * By the time she headed back to the city, she had lost count of how many monsters she had slain. Her knife-fighting skill and her monster-slaying skill ran into the same problem her plant care skill had earlier. The same was true for her stealth skill, which had also stagnated. All of them needed greater challenges in order to progress in any meaningful way. Still, her bag was now full of new loot, and most of it could be sold. Hopefully it would be enough to make up for the lower reward for doing quests offered. After delivering plants from the gathering quest, she went back to the inn. As she entered her room, she froze at the door. Someone was standing in there with his back to her, looking out the window. He turned to face her, and she realized it was the god of Deception. What does he want now? She thought in a mixture of annoyance and apprehension as she walked closer and shoved her backpack under the bed. ¡°I was informed that you returned rather late yesterday and that you were hurt.¡± Sham said. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± If the god of deception didn¡¯t know what she had been through, she didn¡¯t want to tell him. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me. I don¡¯t know whether to be angry or proud.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t want him to be either, so she changed the topic. "Well, as you can see, I¡¯m fine. I have to study now, and I¡¯m sure you have better things to do than hang out in my room. She had hoped he would take the hint and leave, but apparently, he had other plans. ¡°How is the reading in my book coming along?¡± Astrid was getting about at Shams constantly pushing her to read that dreadful book. She had already mentioned multiple times that she didn¡¯t want to learn the things he had to teach, but he didn¡¯t seem to care. She didn¡¯t know how much longer she could push her luck on the matter. He usually tolerates some attitude and backtalk, but she was still in the process of figuring out just how far she could push it. After all, he could go from kind to murderous in less than a second, as she had learned during their first meeting. Besides, as much as she loathed to admit it, the skills he made her unlock had their uses on occasion. Not that she would ever let him know that. ¡°I¡¯m still planning on reading your book, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°You sure are taking your time.¡± ¡°We talked about this yesterday. Don¡¯t you have other followers to bother.¡± ¡°No one as interesting as you at the moment.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t like that. Her hope that Sham would grow tired of her and forget her existence was dwindling every day. ¡°Was there something you wanted with this meeting? If not, I really do have to study now.¡± ¡°In my book I hope.¡± She had not planned to read his book tonight but didn¡¯t dare say that to his face. It was hard to motivate herself to read the book as all she would gain from it was progression buffs to a bunch of skills she didn¡¯t want in the first place and a large copper. It didn¡¯t seem worth it to her. Sure, a large copper was a lot of money for most people, but she could make that amount in a few days depending on how many quests she could get her hands on in the job hall. She told the god that much. ¡°When did you become such a spoiled brat?¡± He said slightly annoyed. ¡°A large copper is what most girls your make in a hundred days.¡± ¡°Then you can¡¯t really complain if it takes me a hundred days to read the book.¡± Sham gave her a look that made her want to sink into the ground and disappear. ¡°Not acceptable. What do you want instead?¡± Astrid hadn¡¯t actually thought about it, but there were so many things she wanted, though most were quite pricy or would seem silly to the god, and therefore she didn¡¯t dare ask for them. ¡°What are you offering?¡± She asked instead. Sham didn¡¯t respond, but a moment later she received a new message.
Quest update Read the Devine Book of Deception Reward: a divine quarterstaff Time left: 72 h
Astrid read it a few times, not believing what she was seeing. ¡°Is this for real?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes. This staff can be yours if you finish the book within the next three days. But if you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll get nothing, and I¡¯ll make sure you regret it. Chapter 25: The best way to train Astrid stared at the spot where the god of Deception had just been before he disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked at the new quest he had given her and noticed that the timer had already begun counting down.
Quest update Read the Devine Book of Deception Reward: a divine quarterstaff Time left: 71 h 58 m
Three days was a short time to finish the rest of the book, especially considering everything else she had going on, and she still felt reluctant about unlocking the skills it taught. However, a divine quarterstaff would make up for all that, as she would be able to use magic whenever she wanted. It almost seemed too good to be true, so there had to be a catch somewhere other than a vague threat that she would regret it should she fail to complete the task. Those words still rang in her ears, and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Why was he so insistent that she read the book in the first place? What was he planning? It still unsettled her that she had no clue what his long-term intentions for her were. She had no intention of playing a part in some evil plot, but it was impossible to guard herself against it when she had no clue what sinister things he was preparing her for. She refused to believe she was only being used as entertainment for a bored deity. There had to be more to this. Right? She had no answers to her questions, and time was ticking down. For now, all she could do was comply with his wishes and finish up reading the book. Pulling the book from her bag, she quickly found the chapter about stealing where she had stopped reading yesterday. Stealing was going to be another skill she couldn¡¯t let other people know she had. She would never be able to come up with a plausible explanation for why she had it. Then again, it was not like one more undesirable skill made her situation worse. She had already accepted that she would never be able to get hired for a job that required her to show her skillset, which was basically all of them except those that required no skills at all. * The next morning, as she went down for breakfast, she was approached by the innkeeper. ¡°Good morning, Sigrid,¡± he said. ¡°Is your sister around? I need to talk to her.¡± ¡°No. What do you want to tell her? Maybe I can let her know.¡± Astrid had gone down as herself since she would be going to school soon, and she didn¡¯t have time to sneak in and out to change her persona so she could talk to this guy. She had already left her room later than usual, as she had tried to squeeze in as much reading as possible, and now she would be lucky if she got to finish her meal before she had to leave for classes. ¡°I guess you could,¡± he said much to Astrid¡¯s relief that she wouldn¡¯t have to find a way to change into her sister after all. ¡°Just tell her that from now on it will cost twenty small coppers per night for the room and the meals.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Astrid asked as she handed over the money. She had no problem affording the increased rent, but it was still a doubling in price overnight. ¡°Food prices are starting to go up as more people seek refuge here, and it¡¯s questionable how much of the crops will be harvested since most people are reluctant to leave the city.¡± That was understandable, as farms were abandoned when people fled from monsters. The crops on her old farm would likely rot in the fields this winter. And if the monsters weren¡¯t dealt with before spring, it was unlikely anyone would be able to sow new crops. That didn¡¯t leave much time to find a solution. She could only hope someone was working on it. Again, she wondered if there was a way for her to tell the mayor or the monster slayer what she knew about the dungeon without revealing any of her secrets. While eating, she contemplated this, but she couldn¡¯t think of anything that would be taken seriously and wouldn¡¯t lead to questions she didn¡¯t want to answer. * This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Astrid made it to class earlier than she had expected, so she figured she could spend the time reading in her schoolbooks. She hadn¡¯t had a chance to check them out yet, as Sham had shown up and more or less demanded that she read his book first every time she had tried. However, she couldn¡¯t read his book in the middle of a classroom, so this might be the only chance she got to brush up on the theory she would need for her combat magician classes. She wanted to catch up to the other students as fast as possible, so she pulled the book from her bag and began reading. Chapter 1 What is a combat magician? A combat magician is someone trained to fight using magic spells both defensively and offensively. They are most often hired by individuals, groups, or nations to settle disputes with a duel when diplomacy has failed to find a resolution. The terms of the duels can be set by the involved parts before they begin. In cases involving distributing nations, duels between combat magicians or other types of fighters are usually a last attempt to avoid an all-out war and are often fought to the death as neither party wants to give up. They can also be hired to work as guards or soldiers. Astrid shuddered. A duel to the death was not something she would want to partake in. She just wanted to learn magic because it seemed cool, and having a ranged attack option when fighting monsters was a bonus as well. The rest of the chapter was just examples of famous duels and illustrations of the events, so she skipped to the next chapter. Chapter 2 The physique and mentality of a combat magician A combat magician has to have a specific physique in order to do the tasks assigned to them (see Ch. 1). High-level duels can last for hours, so they need to have the stats for drawn-out battles. Health, stamina, mana, focus, and spirit are all in use during intense duels and must therefore be improved upon during training. They need to be strong to hold the quarterstaff and continuously cast spells, and they need to be fast and agile to dodge spells and have good balance and coordination, as the slightest misstep can mean defeat. They must be able to maintain concentration for long periods of time or under pressure and have the courage to persevere even while injured. All this was something Astrid already knew or at least would have guessed if asked, but it made her more determined to raise her stats as high as possible before leveling up skills that increased them. Her stamina had been nowhere near a hundred points when her running skill leveled up. That meant that even after her bonus, it was now thirty points when it should have been over two hundred instead. That would put her at a disadvantage, and it would only be exacerbated at higher levels unless she found a way to catch up. The next chapter described the tools used by combat magicians, which were mostly different types of quarterstaffs and defensive clothing. She could read that more closely when she needed to buy her own gear one day. The chapter on dueling etiquette was skipped for now, as she already knew the rules this academy used. And it sounded boring. The next chapter covered the thing she wanted to read about. Spells. All level one spells were blasts or shields but based on different elements. There were a lot of them, and it would take a long time to learn to cast all of them and even longer to learn when to cast what in a fight. So, she decided to just read about one of each today. The first on the list after the basic blast was the wind blast. Wind blast is cast by spinning your staff in front of you while you load it with the desired mana. When you are ready to fire, you push the staff forward while saying the name of the spell. Wind blasts don¡¯t do damage to your opponent directly but can knock them over if sufficiently powerful. As more people entered the classroom, it became harder for Astrid to focus on reading. She heard Villads and Brigitta talking and went over to talk to them. ¡°Hi,¡± she said as she approached. "Hi,¡± the others responded. ¡°What do you think is the best way to level up?¡± Brigitta said. ¡°We are having a discussion.¡± ¡°Uhm. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Come on,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°You already got a skill in level two.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I got that when I had to run for my life, but I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s the best way to do it. Sure, real-life or death situations are effective at pushing you past the limit, but they¡¯re also dangerous. If you fail, you¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°So, you think safe grinding is the best way then?¡± Brigitta said. ¡°That would be too slow, especially near the end. There could be days, if not weeks, between experience points.¡± ¡°Then what do you think is the best way?¡± ¡°I guess it would be somewhere in between.¡± It was weird being asked about this when she was the new girl in the class. ¡°How would that look?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what skill are we talking about?¡± ¡°My combat magic skills. So, my attack spells and my shields. I¡¯m so close to the next level, but even my duel with Brigitta isn¡¯t doing much for me anymore. I only need four points for my attacks and six points for my shields, but as you said, that could take months at my current rate. ¡°You could duel someone stronger,¡± Astrid suggested. ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone stronger in class,¡± Villads complained. ¡°What about dueling the teacher?¡± ¡°I already asked him the other day, but he said no.¡± Astrid wrecked her brain for more suggestions. ¡°Could you duel more than once a day?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t enough time in class for that.¡± ¡°And what about after class? Teacher Birk said a lot of people stayed to study in the afternoon.¡± ¡°I guess that could be arranged. We just need a small area with no other people, but would one extra duel really do that much, and who would I duel?¡± Astrid looked over at Brigitta. "No, that won¡¯t be an option,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°I will likely have lost health points during the duels, and so would half of the other students.¡± ¡°We have to finish this conversation later.¡± Villads said as the teacher arrived, ready to start the first class of the day. Chapter 26: attempted murder ¡°So, in five days the harvest festival begins,¡± the Otimranian studies teacher said. ¡°Can anyone tell me which deity this holyday honor?¡± Astrid still didn¡¯t know his name, as he had never bothered to introduce himself, and at this point it was too embarrassing to ask. ¡°The Goddess of Nature,¡± a student said. "Good,¡± the teacher responded. ¡°As you know, these holidays take a lot of work, so I expect all of you to help just like everyone else will be. There is a list on the school notice board where you can sign up for the task you want to do during the festival. Please select based on where you will be most useful. I expect you all to decide no later than the day before the festival.
Current tasks Partake in Otimranian studies class (ongoing) 5 grade tokens Pick a task to help with during the harvest festival 0 of 1 (new) 5 grade tokens Time remaining: 4 d
Astrid didn¡¯t know what she wanted to help with. Hopefully there was an easy task that didn¡¯t take too much of her time and wouldn¡¯t expose her double identity. She could only assume that ¡°her big sister¡± would also have to help in some way, and she didn¡¯t want to end up in a situation where she was expected to be in two places at once. ¡°During the festival, regular classes are suspended, but you¡¯ll still be awarded grade tokens if you complete your chosen assignment,¡± the teacher said, and then went on to talk about the history of the harvest festival. Astrid had attended the festivities in the village near her home several times growing up, but the last few years she hadn¡¯t gone because the monsters made traveling too dangerous. It would be nice to hear music and play games. It had been a while since she last had a chance to relax and have fun. After the class, Astrid went with Villads and Brigitta to the combat magician classroom. Teacher Birk arrived moments later and led the class to the training grounds. Birk had them go through the same warmup exercises as the previous days, and soon it was time for the foot race.
Current tasks Partake in combat magic class (ongoing) 5 grade tokens Complete the racetrack 0 of 2(new) Up to 10 grade tokens depending on performance. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Astrid found that a bit strange. Normally they had only had to run one lab for the race. Then again, she probably didn¡¯t know what was considered normal after just two days of classes. Maybe this wasn¡¯t something unusual after all. ¡°So we''re running two labs today.¡± She asked Brigitta, who gave her a confused look. "No, just one. We always only do one.¡± ¡°But my quest says two.¡± ¡°Astrid, you have to run the track twice,¡± Birk informed. ¡°What? Why?¡± that didn¡¯t seem fair. ¡°You are level two in running, and the others are level one. Now get to the starting line.¡± It made sense, but still. It would be harder to win the race when she had to run twice as much as everyone else. And a bad performance meant fewer grade tokens, and she still had a long way to go before she had enough to take the exam. However, the teacher had already made up his mind, so there was no helping it. She got in line with the rest of the students and waited for the teacher to give the signal to start. She began running and quickly pulled ahead of the others. There was little reason for pacing herself in the early phase of the race. That could be done once she caught up with the other students again. She had to hope her stamina could hold out for the entire race. She crossed the finish line for the first time but didn¡¯t slow down at all. She was starting to get winded though, and she was burning through her limited stamina quickly. It was nearing the point where keeping up the pace was difficult. The body naturally tried to prevent the complete depletion of a stat. Normally, when she had punched herself to run longer or faster, she had been chased by monsters or been about to be locked out of the city for the night. Right now she only had grade tokens to motivate her, and that was a poor substitute for life-and-death situations. She didn¡¯t have any interest in running the way she had in learning magic, so she couldn¡¯t use that for motivation either. She made it up to the other students and began passing them one by one while every part of her body screamed at her to stop. The burning sensation in her kegs and lungs was quickly becoming unbearable. It took all her willpower to keep running, which meant she was beginning to burn through her spirit stat as well as her stamina. That was something she hated. Her spirit had been almost depleted once, and she had lost the will to do anything. It had been hard to move, as she didn¡¯t see the point in doing anything anymore. That had been just after her farm had been attacked and her family had been¡­ Don¡¯t think about that, she mentally scolded herself and focused on the race again. They had just made it to the last quarter, and she was about in the middle of the group. She pushed herself to pull ahead again, but the other students were also preparing for the final sprint. She manages to push ahead with a few other students, but she wasn¡¯t able to get ahead of the front runners. She crossed the finish line fourth and had to fight the urge to drop to the ground in exhaustion. The teacher only gave them a minute to rest before making them line up again for the next part of the class. ¡°Today we¡¯ll keep practicing our basic shields.¡± Birk tested everyone¡¯s shield before giving them instructions on what to do. It was much the other days where half of the class was sent off to practice what they wanted, and the other half worked on the basic shield. Astrid was among those still working on the basics. Birk hadn¡¯t even bothered to test her, just telling her that building her mana pool was her primary goal for now. Astrid saw the logic in that but was still disappointed that she didn¡¯t get to learn more magic in this class. She cast the spell, continuously feeding mana into it until she ran out, ignoring her trembling arms. It still annoyed her that her low mana caused her to shake, as it would make aiming harder when her mana got low, but there was no helping it. Everyone''s reaction to low stats was different. She found a comfortable spot at the edge of the training grounds at a safe distance from the other students and sat down in the soft grass. From here, she had a good view of her classmates. Taking out her combat magician book, she alternated between reading about the shields and trying to identify which ones the students were practicing. Villads was practicing an electric shield, which sent out small sparks. According to her book, the electric shield was able to absorb the mana from any attack it encountered and use it to maintain itself. Brigitta was practicing a wind shield that whirled up dust from the dry ground and sent it spiraling in all directions. The teacher stood beside her, giving feedback that Astrid couldn¡¯t hear from her spot on the ground. Astrid read that the wind shield could change the trajectory of incoming attacks. She kept reading about all the shields she observed and committed their incantation and staff movements to memory. That way she might be able to learn them quickly once her mana was higher or if she needed a particular spell in an emergency. As she looked up from her book, trying to find a new shield to observe, she noticed a large ball of fire heading towards her. There was no time to react, even if she had had the mana to cast a shield. All she could do was watch in horror and brace for the inevitable. The fire blast hit her right in the chest, knocking her flat on the ground. Chapter 27: The consequences
You have lost ten health points
That was the first message Astrid saw while she was still lying prone on the ground. Where did that blast originate? They were practicing shields and not attacks, so it didn¡¯t make any sense. "Sigrid, are you alright?¡± the teacher asked as he dropped down beside her. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She sat up slowly as the prone effect wore off. The pain in her chest was excruciating, but she had felt worse, so she knew the injury wasn¡¯t too bad. The other students had gathered in a half circle a few feet away. ¡°How much health do you have left?¡± Birk asked, pulling some vials out of a bag. Astrid looked at her stats.
Health: 14/24 Stamina: 8/32 Mana: 4/16 Focus: 8/16 Spirit: 10/16
¡°Fourteen¡± Birk looked at her confused, as if he didn¡¯t believe her. ¡°How much health did you lose?¡± "Ten,¡± Astrid said, and then realization hit her. The other students only had ten health points total, as the vast majority of people did unless they had near-death experiences or leveled up a skill that boosted health points. That meant someone in her class had tried to kill her. She should have been horrified at that thought, but she felt calm. After several fights that almost claimed her life, this incident seemed tame in comparison. This didn¡¯t even count as a near-death experience. She still had over half her health left, so she wouldn¡¯t even get a bonus as she recovered. However, the intent was clear. No one in her class had known that her health stat was above ten before now. She looked down at herself, noticing scorch marks all over the front of her dress, revealing blistered red skin beneath. The book she had been reading lay a few feet away, burned to a crisp. Birk handed her the vials. ¡°Apply this one to the burn wound and then drink this one to restore your health.¡± Then he turned to address the rest of the class. ¡°Who cast that spell?¡± Birk shouted, his voice echoing over the training ground. Astrid had never seen the teacher angry before, but now he looked furious. No one answered him. ¡°I¡¯ll find out who did it so you can save us all time and confess immediately.¡± Still, no one answered. Birk sighed and turned his attention back to Astrid, who was finishing up applying the content of the first vial to her burn. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, but someone owes me a new book and dress.¡± ¡°The school will compensate you for this once we find the culprit. I have to report it to the principal now. Do you want to come along?¡± Astrid shook her head. She didn¡¯t want to spend who knew how much time listening to the teacher and principal talking. ¡°Class is suspended until this issue is dealt with.¡± Birk said to the whole class. ¡°Put your staffs away and return to the classroom. You¡¯ll all stay there until further notice. Astrid followed the rest of the class to the shed where the school equipment was stored. She felt like it was her fault class had been dismissed and was sure everyone was going to hate her for it. Why would anyone do this to her? It wasn¡¯t fair. All she wanted to do was make friends and learn magic. She made it back to the classroom and sank into a seat. Villads and Brigitta rushed over to her. ¡°Sigrid, Are you okay?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe anyone would do this.¡± ¡°I can,¡± Villads said, glancing towards Ruben. If Astrid had had to guess, she would also have chosen Ruben as her attacker, but she didn¡¯t want to accuse anyone without evidence. ¡°I know he is mean, but you think he would actually do such a thing?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°Attempted murder is a serious crime. How did you even get so much health to begin with?¡± ¡°If you get it low enough, it grows back stronger just like all the other stats,¡± Astrid said with a shrug, winching as the movement pulled on her burned skin. ¡°We know, but it¡¯s a really risky thing to do. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t practice it,¡± Villads said. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it deliberately,¡± Astrid said. ¡°It just sorta happened.¡± ¡°Is it that dangerous to be a farmer?¡± Astrid shrugged again, instantly regretting it. Whether the question had been serious or meant as a joke, Astrid couldn¡¯t tell. Nor could she tell the others that she had been fighting monsters in the forest, as they thought it was her sister who did that. She guessed she could spin a story about the dangers of working the land and caring for animals. She had heard about a neighbor who had gotten scratched by a chicken and almost died from the infection. However, she was getting tired of lying and doing so towards those she was starting to consider as her friends only made her feel worse. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I guess I have just been a bit unlucky from time to time.¡± Even though it wasn¡¯t technically a lie, the words still tasted bad in her mouth. ¡°More like clumsy,¡± Ruben said with a laugh as he approached. ¡°What do you want?" Astrid said ¡°Haven¡¯t I made that clear yet? I want you out of my academy. People like you don¡¯t belong here.¡± ¡°Criminals like you don¡¯t belong here,¡± Villads said. ¡°You can¡¯t prove that I cast that spell.¡± ¡°But we can.¡± Birk said as he entered the classroom, followed by principal Gertrud. ¡°Settle down everyone.¡± Astrid was already seated, but the other students quickly found their desks and sat. Gertrud went to the front of the room before addressing the class. ¡°I have been informed that there was an incident during class today. We can only assume it was a deliberate attempt on Sigrid¡¯s life. This will be the last chance for the culprit to turn themselves in before I review the evidence. Astrid looked around at her fellow students as no one said anything. She thought Ruben had gone pale from the principal¡¯s words, but then again, so had several other people in the class. Having a murder attempt during class had likely shocked most of them. A boy she had never talked to before was sobbing. ¡°No one has anything to say?¡± the principal asked. ¡°How disappointing. We¡¯ll have to investigate the staffs. Then we¡¯ll know who cast the spell.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± the crying boy said, gaining everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°It was me.¡± That confession left Astrid confused, and all she could do was stare at the boy in disbelief. She didn¡¯t even remember his name, so why would he try to kill her? That didn¡¯t make any sense. Alright. Follow me to my office. Sigrid, you can come as well. The rest of you can continue class. Astrid followed the principle with the boy casting questioning glances at him, but he avoided eye contact. They entered the office, and Gertrud told them to sit. ¡°Now tell me, why did you fire that spell at Sigrid? ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± The boy mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know?¡± the principal said, sounding like she was losing her patience. ¡°I just don¡¯t...¡± the boy shook his head sobbing harder. ¡°Sigrid. Can you explain what happened?¡± She told the principal about it, but as she hadn¡¯t actually seen anything, the story didn¡¯t provide any new information. ¡°Do you know what could possibly have motivated Filip to attack you?¡± ¡°No, we have never even spoken to each other. I have a hard time believing he did it.¡± ¡°Well, he confessed, and we¡¯ll have evidence soon enough.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Filip asked. ¡°The staffs are enchanted to keep a record of every spell cast with it within the last twenty-four hours and by whom.¡± For some reason the boy looked relieved at hearing this, further raising Astrid suspicion that something more was going on. As if on cue, the teacher entered the room, dragging Ruben along. ¡°Principal, Filip didn¡¯t do it. I checked all the staffs and found that Ruben is the real assailant.¡± I knew it, Astrid thought, but she didn¡¯t give any outward signs of the glee she felt. Ruben was placed on a chair beside the boy, sending death glares at both Astrid and Filip, who whimpered. ¡°Someone, tell me what¡¯s going on,¡± the principal gaze shifted between the three of them. ¡°I have no idea why I¡¯m here.¡± Ruben said. ¡°Filip already confessed. That should be the end of it, right?¡± ¡°I only confessed because you threatened to hurt my family if I didn¡¯t take the blame for this.¡± ¡°I think we should wait for your parents to arrive before we discuss this matter further. We have already sent out a message for them.¡± Astrid felt her body freeze. This wasn¡¯t good. There was no way she could be both her sister and herself at the same time. She had to come up with something quickly. ¡°My sister is probably still working on quests in the forest and won¡¯t be back for a long time.¡± ¡°Do you want to schedule this meeting for another day when she can be here?¡± the principal asked. "No, it¡¯s fine. I can manage on my own.¡± ¡°Alright. I would still like to speak with her though, so please let her know to show up as soon as she can.¡± ¡°I got a new book for you, Sigrid.¡± Birk said, handing it to her. ¡°And a dress you can borrow. ¡°Thank you¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going back to the class now.¡± Birk said and left the room. ¡°And what about us?¡± Ruben said. ¡°You¡¯ll wait here until your parents arrive.¡± Gertrud said. ¡°But if we miss class, we¡¯ll get behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure missing half a day of classes won¡¯t have an impact on your final grade.¡± Astrid shared similar concerns as Ruben, but she would never admit that out loud. She went to the corner of the room and changed out of her ruined dress and into the new one. The burn wound was healing quickly, but the skin was still tender, so she moved carefully. ¡°May I read while we wait?¡± She asked the principal as politely as she could as she sat back down.¡± ¡°Of course. ¡°Thank you.¡± Astrid grabbed the replacement book she had just gotten and began reading. After thirty minutes of waiting, two men entered the room. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± The short, wrinkly-faced one said. "Farther,¡± Ruben said. ¡°You have to make these people see sense.¡± ¡°Thank you for coming at such short notice,¡± Gertrud said. ¡°Please take a seat.¡± The principal must have spent the wait setting up more chairs without Astrid noticing as the two men sat down beside their children. The principal explained the situation to the two men who listened attentively. ¡°All I want to know is why you tried to kill your classmate.¡± ¡°It was an accident,¡± Ruben said. Apparently, he had figured out that denying his guilt was pointless and was now trying to come up with lame excuses to save himself. Astrid couldn¡¯t let him get away with that. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. No one is stupid enough to accidentally cast an overpowered fire blast when they were told to practice basic shield. Not even you.¡± Astrid responded, earning a glare from Ruben, which she returned. ¡°I doubt it was an accident as well.¡± Gertrud said. ¡°For much the same reasons as Sigrid just stated.¡± ¡°He did it because he hates her,¡± Filip said quietly. ¡°Can you elaborate on that?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t think she should be allowed to attend this academy because she was a farmer and now a refugee. He is also angry that he lost the duel to her the other day.¡± ¡°She tried to kill me during the duel,¡± Ruben said. ¡°What. I did no such thing.¡± Astrid said angrily. ¡°If there had been such an incident, the teacher would have reported it.¡± ¡°I expect that you¡¯ll look into the matter further.¡± Ruben¡¯s father said. ¡°I can ask the teacher about it, but I trust that he would have reported it immediately if there had been any merit to Ruben¡¯s claims. As it is now, I have no reason to believe otherwise than that Ruben deliberately attacked Sigrid with the intent to kill her and then threatened Filip into taking the blame. ¡°Well, the girl is clearly not dead, so no real harm done.¡± Ruben¡¯s father said. ¡°Well, that is hardly the point.¡± Filip¡¯s father said. ¡°Your son still committed atrocious actions against my son and the girl. I demand compensation and I assume she does the same. ¡°I don¡¯t see why that is necessary.¡± You child could stop being such a pushover, and the girl only got what she deserved. Maybe she¡¯ll think twice about trying to rise above her station in the future. I didn¡¯t think this academy even took in charity cases. ¡°Sigrid is a student here paying the same rate as everyone else.¡± The principle said. ¡°Now if you still want your son to attend, you¡¯ll compensate Filip and Sigrid right this instance. ¡°Alright,¡± Ruben¡¯s father said, pulling out coins from a small bag and handing one to the boy and one to Astrid. ¡°I believe this should do.¡± Astrid looked at the coin in her hand, unable to believe what she was seeing. It was a small silver coin. She had never had this much money at a time. At most she had had large copper coins, and a small silver was worth a hundred of those. Her first instinct was to hand it back and tell the man that she couldn¡¯t possibly accept this but caught herself just before doing so. This was meant as compensation for an attempt on her life. If anything, it wasn¡¯t enough, nor did it feel like Ruben had faced any consequences for his action if he could get his father to pay his way out of it. ¡°Is the compensation to your satisfaction?¡± ¡°It will do.¡± Filip¡¯s father said, pocketing the coin. Everyone looked at Astrid for her response. ¡°I suppose so, but only as long as Ruben doesn¡¯t get near me or talk to me unless it is necessary for class work.¡± ¡°Those are reasonable terms.¡± Gertrud said, getting a nod of agreement from Ruben¡¯s father. ¡°Then the matter is settled,¡± she declared. Astrid still felt like Ruben was getting off too easy, but since he was from a rich, influential family, there wasn¡¯t much she could do about it. Chapter 28: After-school practice Astrid made it back to the classroom just as it ended for the day. ¡°What happened?¡± Brigitta asked as she rushed over to her, followed by Villads. Astrid filled them in on how the meeting had gone. ¡°I still think Ruben is getting away with this too easily,¡± she said as she finished up explaining everything that had happened in the principal¡¯s office. ¡°Why aren¡¯t law enforcement getting involved?¡± "If they were, it wouldn''t help you much," Villads said. ¡°Ruben¡¯s father is a powerful man here. He¡¯d just give them a lot of money, and then they would ignore the case.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be legal. Surely someone amongst the city leadership wouldn¡¯t be okay with that.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll document the bribe as a fine, and no one will be able to prove otherwise.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to stop him from attacking me again?¡± ¡°Unless his father talks some sense into him, nothing. You just have to be careful when he¡¯s around.¡± The conversation stopped as Astrid had no response to this. Being careful around Ruben was easier said than done. They were in the same class after all. She would have to keep her guards up at all times. ¡°So, are you staying this afternoon?¡± Brigitta asked, changing the topic. ¡°We¡¯re planning on doing the thing you suggested this morning. Birk gave us permission to use a corner in the bag of the training ground.¡± It took Astrid a moment to realize what the girl was talking about. She had planned to go out and complete some quests this afternoon, but she really wanted to train with her new friends. Besides, it was likely that no new quests had been posted, and even if there was something on the notice board, she could always check it out tomorrow. After all, no one else was taking the gathering quests. "Sure, I can stay.¡± "Great,¡± Brigitta said happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± A few minutes later, they were on the grounds with their staffs in hand, ready to start. ¡°How did dueling class go earlier?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°We didn¡¯t get to duel. Birk had us read the theory book ever since you were attacked,¡± Villads said. The disappointment was evident in his voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Hey, it wasn¡¯t your fault,¡± Brigitta reassured. Astrid knew she was right, but she still couldn¡¯t help but think that she should have done something to avoid the attack. She wasn¡¯t sure what. If only she had been stronger or faster, she wouldn¡¯t have been caught off guard like that. ¡°So how are we gonna do this?¡± Villads asked. ¡°Well, if you haven¡¯t dueled yet, you''re still at full health, right?¡± Astrid said, looking at the girl. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you two to duel.¡± ¡°That would still only be one duel.¡± Villads said. ¡°If you keep attacks as week as you can, you could duel multiple rounds or go for two hits in a round instead of one to make it more challenging. ¡°But that¡¯s dangerous.¡± The girl said. ¡°You would only lose slightly more than half of your health points as long as you keep our attacks weak. Then it will also heal back stronger.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Villads said. ¡°You¡¯re trying to get to the next level, right? ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Then you need to be challenged, and in my experience, that means taking risks and pushing yourself beyond what you think you are capable of. It¡¯s hard, and it¡¯s uncomfortable. ¡°Well, I¡¯m the one most likely to take that damage,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°I don¡¯t stand much of a chance against him to begin with. No one in class does.¡± ¡°A duel against Brigitta wouldn¡¯t be much of a challenge,¡± Villads said. ¡°No offence.¡± Astrid thought about what to do now. How could you make it challenging when they couldn¡¯t find a stronger opponent?¡± ¡°You could duel two opponents at once. The girl and me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s against the dueling rules.¡± ¡°Combat magicians do more than dueling. If you get a job as a guard, the experience fighting multiple opponents at once will be beneficial.¡± ¡°There''s no way I¡¯ll ever work as a guard. I¡¯ll be a duelist for my family.¡±¡¯ ¡°Your family needs a personal duelist? What do they do?¡± ¡°They trade with people all over Otimra.¡± ¡°And you need a duelist to do that?¡± ¡°Sometimes there are disagreements about the price or quality of the goods, so a duelist is needed.¡± ¡°So, whenever you can¡¯t agree, you fight about it.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°It¡¯s only used as a last resort, and everything is done to prevent the situation from escalating to that point in the first place. Most of the time the duelist is just there to deter either part of cheating or being unreasonable. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t the one with the strongest duelist be able to demand whatever they want? They could insist that a cart of half-rotten fruit was of excellent quality and demand full price.¡± ¡°That would be a lie,¡± he said, appalled as if lying was equivalent to kicking children down staircases. ¡°No one wants to trade with liars. They¡¯d just go buy their stuff from someone else.¡± ¡°So, if everyone is honest, how can disagreement even happen?¡± Astrid asked, feeling uncomfortable about all the lies she herself had told in the past few weeks. She couldn¡¯t think of an aspect of her life that wasn¡¯t shrouded in lies upon lies. If anyone ever found out, she would lose everything. ¡°The market is unpredictable, especially if you have to ship it to other parts of the kingdom. If many people sell the same as you, you can¡¯t charge as much as you expected, but if no one does, you can charge more. Finding the exact price can be hard, as no one wants to pay more than they absolutely have to, and no one sells for cheaper than they have to. Other times you make an agreement in advance, but then conditions change, and you no longer agree whether the deal is valid or not. Those are the most likely to turn violent.¡± ¡°Hey guys, can we talk about something else?¡± Brigitta said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to unlock the business skill today or another day for the matter.¡± Astrid was reminded of how careful most people were about unlocking skills outside of those needed for their chosen occupation. It still seemed silly to her and also a lot of trouble. ¡°Have you unlocked the business skill since you know so much about the topic?¡± She asked Villads. ¡°No, I don¡¯t, and I only know a few basic things because I heard about them growing up. Since I gained the ability to unlock skills, my family has kept business-related conversations in places where I won¡¯t overhear them. ¡°So, are we gonna duel or what?¡± Brigitta asked impatiently. ¡°Right,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Since this is not an official duel but just training, we can make whatever rules we want. I still think two against one could work.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t know.¡± Villads said. ¡°My only other suggestion is that we go to the forest and fight monsters, so unless you have a suggestion yourself, pick one of mine or let''s cancel this. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll fight the two of you.¡± Villads relented. ¡°Lets just keep the attacks weak. Only three mana per blast. And we can go to two hits. At least on me.¡± ¡°I guess I can do two hits as well.¡± The girl said. ¡°I can go for five,¡± Astrid said, earning a glance from the other two. ¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you hurt from the attack earlier?¡± the girl asked. ¡°I have recovered some, and even if I hadn¡¯t, I would still have more health than either of you.¡± ¡°Seems a bit unfair that you have so much extra health.¡± Villads said. ¡°Seemed unfair that you have so much extra mana,¡± Astrid retorted. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± The tree of them found their place in the dueling ring. Astrid and Brigitta on one side and Villads on the other. Brigitta did the countdown, and they were off. Villads wasted no time casting the first spell. The girl raised her shield while Astrid ran along the periphery, closing half the distance to the boy. He cast a blast at her, but she easily dodged. Then he had to raise a shield to defend an incoming blast from Brigitta. Astrid aimed a blast just outside of the shield range, so Villads had to move to defend against it. The girl quickly followed up with another attack, forcing Villads to drop the shield and dodge. Just as Astrid thought they had him on the defensive. He twisted and simultaneously cast a blast at Brigitta, followed a second later by another blast directed towards Astrid, who managed to dodge the spell just barely. However, Brigitta wasn¡¯t as lucky. She hadn¡¯t raised her shield fast enough, so the spell collided with her chest. The weak spell didn¡¯t do much damage, and she quickly recovered. Astrid found it impressive how fast Villads could cast spells. He quickly fired two spells after Astrid one, where she was standing, which she dodged only to get into the path of the second one. She raised her shield just in time to avoid the impact of that spell, but it greedily ate through a large portion of her mana during the few seconds she left it up. When she thought it was safe to take down the shield, he fired another spell at her, forcing her to keep it up for longer. Brigitta moved closer, giving Villads less room to maneuver before casting a spell. Villads managed to dodge it, but Astrid was ready with another blast, aiming at where he was going. He managed to raise a shield in time to block it but got hit in the back by Brigitta''s next spell. He used the wind blast to push Brigitta off balance and cast another spell, efficiently sending her out of the duel. Astrid still hadn¡¯t been hit, but now she was the only target left, and she only had mana enough for one more attack. Still, this was the most fun she had had in a while. She avoided the next attack, moving in the direction of the center of the dueling ring. There she would have more room to move around, and she no longer had to worry about friendly fire accidentally hitting her in the back. Her center position wasn¡¯t as advantageous as it had been in the duel against Ruben. Whether it was because Villads had seen this trick before or not, she didn¡¯t know, but he never gave her a chance to fire. He barraged her with a continuous streem of blasts that she only managed to dodge due to her higher level in running, increasing her speed. However, she was quickly burning through her stamina as well as her focus, trying to predict where the next blast would be aimed at. She was hit in the shoulder by a blast, she didn¡¯t have time to dodge properly, and a few seconds later one struck her in the knee. She had to come up with something fast, but Villads kept up the barrage, not giving her a chance to counter. First, she thought that if she could get him to burn through his entire mana store, she wouldn¡¯t have a chance. But since he had a hundred mana, she would have to dodge over thirty times. How much exactly was hard to tell as some recovery was bound to happen over that long a time period. She scrapped that idea. She had already been hit twice, and her stamina would run out long before his mana would. She had to find another way to break through his barrage. Then an idea came to her. Instead of dodging the next blast, she ran straight at it, letting it hit her straight on. Sure, she took some damage, but the surprised look on Villads¡¯ face was worth it. She fired a basic blast of her own as soon as she could, but she still wasn¡¯t fast enough at casting her spells, and Villads raised a shield, easily blocking her attack. Astrid was nearing exhaustion now, and she was running out of ideas. She didn¡¯t have mana enough for any more attacks, but she was too stubborn to surrender just because of that. She began swinging her staff as if she were casting a spell but without pushing any mana into it. Villads predictably raised his shield, ready for a blast that never came. They stared in silence at each other for a moment. ¡°Are you gonna fire that spell?¡± Villads asked. ¡°Maybe, are you gonna drop that shield?¡± ¡°You¡¯re out of mana, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No¡± Astrid lied ¡°He dropped the shield, baiting Astrid to fire, but she had nothing left to push into the spell. She lowered her staff as well. "Fine, I¡¯m out of mana.¡± Sha grumbled. "It''s fine. I already got my levels.¡± ¡°What when?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°About halfway through.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing I¡¯m also pretty close to leveling up now. Hey Sigrid. Do you think you can help me level up tomorrow?¡± Astrid thought about it for a bit before answering. A few days ago she struggled finding things to do, and now she was beginning to feel like she had too much stuff going on all at once. Outside of classes, she had to read the book within the next few days. then there was a quest. Although she strictly speaking didn¡¯t have to do those, as she had enough money to live for the foreseeable future, she felt responsible for doing them. After all, no one else seemed able or willing to do it. If she also had to add after-school training to her daily tasks, it might not be sustainable in the long run. On the other hand, she didn¡¯t want to disappoint Brigitta. She was beginning to genially enjoy the girls company, and turning her down might sour their relationship. Astrid couldn¡¯t risk that. ¡°Sure. We can train again tomorrow.¡± Chapter 29: So much to do Astrid made it back to her room at the inn after her practice session with Birgitta and Villads. The hot, humid air felt suffocating, and she quickly went over and opened her window, hoping to get some fresh air inside. This allowed the noise and smell of the street to seep in, but it was still an improvement. She dropped down on her bed and looked at the quests and tasks she had to complete. For school, she had to decide what she wanted to do for the harvest festival. Apparently, it was expected that everyone in the city would help out with something. She had asked Brigitta about what she should choose, but her answer hadn¡¯t helped much. Something you¡¯re good at that does not give experience in skills outside your focus area and that aren¡¯t beneath or above your status. Astrid sighed. While she didn''t care much about keeping her skills within her specialty area, her peers certainly did. If she chose something outside the few selected skills she used for her combat magician classes, her classmates would disapprove, maybe even ostracize her. She couldn¡¯t risk losing her new friends. However, she had only attended a couple lessons so far, so she doubted she could be considered good at it. Then there was the question about her status. What even was it at this point? She was an orphaned refugee, but despite that, she attended a fancy school for some of the richest kids in Largon. Where did that put her? Did that make her status high or low or something in the middle? To make matters worse, she would also have to find something her adult persona could help with. Here she also had to consider her status and what skills the task used. Then she had to ensure the tasks didn¡¯t take place at the same time. She sighed again. Sometimes pretending to be two people was difficult, and there was still some time left to make a decision, so she could ask Brigitta for help tomorrow. That reminded her that principal Gertrud wanted to speak with her about the incident. She would deal with that tomorrow as well. Then there was the Devine book of deception, which she still had to read. Although this was a straightforward task, it was still something she dreaded. Do it for the quarterstaff, she reminded herself as she pulled the book from her bag and flipped through it until she found the place she left off. * It was late afternoon the next day when Astrid found herself standing outside the principal¡¯s office mentally preparing herself for the meeting. After training with Villads and Brigitta, she had left school just long enough to change into her adult persona unnoticed before returning. The school day had been uneventful, and no one had tried to kill her. Ruben had kept his promise and left her alone, not even looking in her direction. Hopefully he would keep doing that, as she didn¡¯t want to deal with him anymore. She still felt like he had gotten off easy, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she let it go. As soon as this meeting was over, she could put the whole incident behind her. Figuring it was pointless to delay any longer, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± Gertrud¡¯s voice sounded from inside the office, and Astrid went inside. ¡°Sigrid said you wanted to speak with me,¡± Astrid said as she sat down on the same chair she had occupied yesterday. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. How much did Sabrina tell you about what happened yesterday?¡± ¡°She said another student hit her with a spell.¡± ¡°Ah. That¡¯s a bit of an understatement,¡± Gertrude said and continued explaining every detail about yesterday¡¯s event. Astrid tried to pretend it was the first time she heard the full story but had no idea how well she had succeeded. "Alright, thanks for telling me,¡± Astrid said after Gertrud finished her story. ¡°If that''s all you wanted to talk with me about, I¡¯ll be going now.¡± She stood up and went to leave, but Gertrud called her back. Apparently, the meeting wasn¡¯t over after all. Astrid suppressed a sigh as she sat back down. ¡°Aren¡¯t you more concerned about this attack? You''re sister could have died.¡± Gertrud gave her a stern look that made Astrid wish she could sink into the ground. ¡°Of course I¡¯m concerned, but Sigrid is fine. Besides, she already accepted the compensation, so I was under the impression that nothing more could be done.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that the case is settled, but I¡¯m not so sure Sigrid is fine after this even. She¡¯s only alive because she has more health than kids her age should have, and I can¡¯t imagine the traumatic experiences she must have had to get to that point.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I don¡¯t agree. Although Sigrid doesn¡¯t show any signs right now, that doesn''t mean she isn¡¯t struggling with some mental health problems. If those are left untreated, they could have severe consequences. Astrid tried to wrap her head around the principal¡¯s concerns. Sure, a lot of horrible things had happened in the past few months, and it had been difficult to keep her spirits up, but that didn¡¯t mean she needed help. She was fine. She could manage. As she didn¡¯t respond, Gertrud took the opportunity to continue speaking. ¡°If I were you, I would take Sigrid to the temple of medicine so they can evaluate her and come up with a treatment plan. It could help her better deal with everything if she had a professional healer to talk to.¡± The last thing Astrid wanted was to talk to the healers about her life. She also doubted it would work as she had to hide some things and lie about other things. There was no way she could be open and honest like she had heard this kind of treatment required. Still, completely dismissing the suggestion would not satisfy Gertrud, and Astrid needed to do that to get this meeting to end on a good note. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll talk to Sigrid about your suggestion, and if she wants to go, I¡¯ll take her.¡± * Astrid left the room feeling relieved at having crossed another item of her to-do list. The next step was to finish that stupid book Sham had given her. As soon as she entered her room at the inn, she found the book and continued reading. She had gotten through most of the remaining part yesterday, so now there were only a few chapters left. These covered a skill called deception magic, which seemed to be magical versions of several of the other skills she had learned. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The last chapter described a divine protective barrier that only those who followed a god got access to. It seemed quite similar to the barriers surrounding temples that prevented monsters from entering the holy grounds. However, it was only as powerful as the rank bestowed upon the caster by the god they served. As a follower of deception, Astrid held the lowest rank. If she ever became a priestess or high priestess, the barrier would be stronger, but she had no intention of getting promoted. Being a follower was bad enough. Still, the barrier could be pretty useful even at her rank, as it didn¡¯t have a continuous mana cost like other shields did. Once the barrier was cast, it remained in place until it had taken too much damage to sustain itself. After finishing the chapter, Astrid closed the book.
Quest from the god of Deception complete Read the Devine Book of Deception Reward: a divine quarterstaff
Excitedly, Astrid pulled her new staff from her inventory and read the description.
Divine quarterstaff of Deception lv 1 Received as quest reward Category: weapon Normal attack, any spell: the damage delt is dependent on the spell used Special attack, club: deals 25 hp damage
Normally magical quarterstaffs weren¡¯t meant to be used as a club to hit people as they were prone to breaking, so that had to be a trait Sham had given it. Still, it was a nice staff and now she had an extra weapon she could use when she went out for quests in the forest.
New quest from the god of Deception Objective: use any kind of deception magic 0/1 Reward: 1 large copper Recurring: daily
That couldn¡¯t be good. The god of Deception seemed determined to mess with her life. She considered ignoring the quest but decided it wouldn¡¯t be worth it. After all, it was only one spell a day, and the reward would be enough to cover her school. With the dwindling number of quests she could take and the rising prices on basically everything, she had already begun using her savings to cover daily expenses. Sure, she had the small silver coin, but unless you needed to buy a whole lot of stuff or something very expensive, she couldn¡¯t use it. Normal shops simply couldn¡¯t give you money back. There were a few high-end stores that would accept it, but right now she didn¡¯t need anything they sold. She had heard of a place that could exchange it into large coppers, but they also took a transaction fee. She wasn¡¯t willing to pay that unless she was in desperate need of money, so she had decided to hold on to the coin for now. She looked at her skill for deception magic. It was among many of the skills she didn¡¯t want to use. She had hoped she¡¯d never have to use this skill, but Sham had other plans, and now she was left with no choice. Thinking back on the spells she had just read about, she decided to settle on one that seemed to be the least offensive. It was a simple illusion spell that worked a bit like the cloak she already used all the time. The spell would make Astrid appear unremarkable to everyone else, making it unlikely that anyone would pay attention to her or remember seeing her. The spell also had the benefit of being simple, hardly requiring any movement from the caster. A small wiggle forth and back with the top of the staff and then tap it on the ground while saying the name of the spell: conceal. The spell itself had a cost of five mana. Wanting nothing more to get the new quest over with, she cast the spell.
Quest from the god of Deception complete Objective: use any kind of deception magic 1/1 Reward: 1 large copper Recurring: daily
That confirmed that it worked. Astrid looked at the book still lying on her bed. Reading it had unlocked a good number of skills, and as she struggled to remember them all, she decided to take a closer look at her skill list.
Animal care: level 1 Climbing: level 1 Deception magic: level 1 Defensive magic: level 1 Knife fighting: level 1 Illusions: level 1 Lockpicking: level 1 Lying: level 1 Monster slaying: level 1 Offensive magic: level 1 Plant care: level 1 Poison: level 1 Running: level 2 Stealing: level 1 Stealth: level 1 Swimming: level 1 Traps: level 1
All the skills were in level one except her running skill. Despite her reluctance to do so, she had used several of the skills from the book already. The lying skill alone was already halfway to level two help forwards by the skill gain bonus the book provided. She closed her skill list again, trying to decide what to do next. As there were still plenty of hours until the gates closed for the night, she decided to go to the job hall. Maybe someone had posted new quests on the noticeboard by now. * The job hall was empty except for Lennard, who sat at his usual spot behind the counter. ¡°Hi Astrid, Long time no see,¡± he greeted her as she entered. ¡°I had a few things I needed to do,¡± she answered, hoping Lennard wouldn''t ask questions. She wouldn''t know what to say if he did. ¡°Are there any new quests?¡± ¡°No. With everyone focused on preparing for the harvest festival, very few jobs have been posted here. What is your contribution to the harvest festival?¡± That was another thing Astrid had to decide, and maybe Lennard would be able to help. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet. Do you have any suggestions for me?¡± ¡°Hmm, most people with fighting experience are on harvest lookout.¡± ¡°What¡¯s harvest lookout?¡± ¡°Its people standing guard while the farmers harvest the crops.¡± ¡°You need guards for that?¡± At home, Astrid had never had a guard when she helped with the harvest, so the concept seemed strange. ¡°Well, the major want as much of the crops harvested as possible, and no one wants to do it because of the monsters unless they have someone to protect them.¡± ¡°That makes sense. I think I¡¯ll go see if they want my help.¡± Astrid left the job hall and went to the fields just outside the city gates. A lot of people stood bent over, cutting grain or pulling up vegetables. A few people stood staring at the forest edge. They had to be the guards, so she went over to the nearest one and offered her help. A few minutes later she had been assigned to a field where the harvest had yet to begin. A few farmers followed her, looking a bit uncertain about working so close to the forest. Astrid had to admit she was a little uncomfortable too. Being only fifty yards from the forest edge wouldn¡¯t give her much time to react to a threat, and right now she was responsible for more lives than just her own. She took a deep breath, trying to reassure the farmers that she had everything under control as they began working. Knowing she couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistakes, he kept her quarterstaff loaded with mana and ready to fire a basic blast at a moment¡¯s notice. Her eyes were constantly scouring the surroundings for movements that could belong to monsters. Maybe she could set up a protective barrier so no monster could get close to the farmers. She discarded the thought. It wouldn¡¯t do anyone to know she could do that, as it would make it clear she was a follower of a god, as they were the only ones who could cast such a spell. Besides, if the protective barrier was a viable option, the priests would already have been out here setting it up. The light was fading quickly as she stood guard. The plan was to keep working until the darkness made it impossible to continue. Movement caught her attention. It was too dark to make out any details, but a dark silhouette was slowly exiting the bushes by the tree line. It was staying close to the ground, quickly moving closer to one of the farmers she was meant to protect. Not on my watch, she thought as she aimed her staff at the approaching monster and fired. Chapter 30: Harvest lookout The spell shot from Astrid¡¯s staff hitting the monster, knocking it to the ground. However, it didn¡¯t take it many moments to get back up, and Astrid feared she wouldn¡¯t have mana enough to slay it using only her staff. "Run!¡± she shouted to the startled farmers standing in the field she had been tasked to protect. She fired another blast at the monster and sprinted towards it, hoping to get it to attack her instead of the fleeing farmers. As she got closer, she got a good enough view of the monster to identify it as a shadow creeper. To her great relief, it was only in level one. Its elongated body was covered in scales, and countless tiny legs kept it close to the ground. As it turned its face towards her, she noticed the ring of sharp teeth glinting in the fading light. The mouth took up most of its face and looked big enough to snap off a head in one bite. Cold shivers ran down her back at the sight, yet she didn¡¯t let that deter her as she continued her frantic dash to intersect the monster. Deciding to use her mana sparingly, she pulled out her dagger and picked up the pace even more. The monster¡¯s attention was now on her, and she dodged to the side as it launched itself at her. Then she jammed her knife into its neck. The monster didn¡¯t seem particularly bothered by getting stabbed, and too late she remembered that her dagger didn¡¯t do much damage unless she caught her target by surprise. The Shadow creeper lifted its body into the air, pulling Astrid, who was still holding on to the dagger, up with it. Dangling with her feet ten feet above the ground, her grip on the dagger began to loosen. She screamed as the monster began swinging its head, and she held on as tightly as she could, feeling the leather-wrapped handle digging into her skin. However, the effort was futile as the dagger slipped out of the wound and she was flung through the air, landing hard on the ground. Pain shot through her body, and the wind was knocked from her lungs, but she had no time to recover before the monster struck again. Roling to the side, she barely avoided the mouth full of sharp teeth that snapped at the ground right where she had been a moment ago. Astrid got back on her feet, ignoring the pain radiating through her limbs. There had to be some damage, but she didn¡¯t dare check her stats in the middle of a fight. Besides, she could still move, so the damage couldn¡¯t be too bad. The Shadow creeper stared right at her, and she knew she had to come up with something soon if she were to defeat this monster. Her dagger wouldn¡¯t be much help without its backstab attack, as the damage its normal attack did was weak. Astrid was about to unleash another basic blast when a previously unseen spell struck the monster in the side. The monster collapsed on the ground and didn¡¯t get back up. She looked in the direction the attacks had come from and saw four other guards rushing towards her. ¡°Are you okay?¡± A man asked slightly out of breath. He was tall and lean with straw-colored hair. He held a quarter staff in his hand, so it was probably him who had cast the spell. Astrid recognized him as the leader of the city¡¯s monster-slaying team. He and the rest of his team had approached her in the job hall once and offered to protect her during her harvesting quests, but she had turned him down, confident that she could take care of herself. She also recognized two of the remaining three people as being part of that team. She had met them multiple times since the day in the job hall, as they often stood guard when she left or entered the city. Both of them were carrying swords. ¡°I think so.¡± Astrid said, looking at the monster. It still hadn¡¯t moved, so it was safe to assume it had died. ¡°Thanks for the help.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Just doing our job. I don¡¯t think I ever introduced myself. I¡¯m Walter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Astrid, but I think you already know that.¡± ¡°You took quite the fall. Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± The last member of the group asked. Astrid hadn¡¯t seen him before. He had dark skin, and his black hair was short and curly. He was dressed in a white robe and held a quarterstaff tightly in his left hand. ¡°I¡¯m a priest of medicine, so I can heal you.¡± ¡°No need. I still have plenty of health, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She still didn¡¯t feel comfortable about healers tending to her while the cloak made her appear older, as she feared they¡¯d see right through her disguise. ¡°Did all the farmers get away safely?¡± she looked around, noticing that they had all disappeared.¡± ¡°Yes, the other guards escorted them all back inside the city. It¡¯s getting too dark to continue the harvest anyway, so we should get back inside ourselves.¡± They began walking back to the city, keeping their guards up in case more monsters decided to attack. There was only the faintest hint of gray light left where the sun had set, and the rest of the sky was dark and speckled with stars. A torch burned on either side of the city gate, which made it easy to see. It also made the surrounding darkness seem even darker, and Astrid had to fight the urge to make herself invisible so any lurking monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to see her. However, with all the other people around her, turning invisible wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°So, Astrid, have you changed your mind about joining our team yet?¡± Walter asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You turned down the offer when Ina and Jerrik asked, but I thought that maybe now that you have seen what a strong team can do, you¡¯d change your mind. So, I¡¯d just let you know that the offer is still standing.¡± Astrid remembered the offer, and she also remembered all her reasons for turning it down. Firstly, her fighting technique relied heavily on the tools and tricks she had gotten from the god of Deception and those would be difficult to hide in a team. Secondly, there was her double identity and the fact she was trying to live two lives at once. With all her other activities, adding monster slayer training wouldn¡¯t be possible. There simply weren¡¯t enough hours in a day to do it all.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m not interested. I prefer to fight on my own,¡± she replied. ¡°Why do you want me on your team anyway?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t many monster slayers left in the city after the failed expedition, and it takes years to train up new recruits. You¡¯re a capable fighter, and you''re tough. You took at least some damage from that monster, and you still kept fighting. Even now you¡¯re walking around like nothing happened.¡± ¡°It probably looked worse than it was,¡± Astrid defended. She had already forgotten she had been hurt in the fight. ¡°Oh yeah? How much damage did you take then?¡± ¡°Eight health points,¡± Astrid said after a quick glance at her stats. ¡°See that what I mean. Everyone else on my team would have been in dire need of healing if they had taken that much damage, but you act like it''s nothing. ¡°I have a bit more than ten health points, so losing eight isn¡¯t a big deal for me.¡± She didn¡¯t want to give a specific number because it was already known that her younger self had over twenty health points, and it would be suspicious if it were known that both she and her ''sister¡¯ had the exact same amount of health when it was so uncommon to grow it outside of the bonus gained from leveling up a skill. ¡°How much extra?¡± Ina asked, shattering Astrid¡¯s hope that she could get out of this conversation without relaying any more information. ¡°It¡¯s over twenty,¡± she said, hoping it would satisfy the others. ¡°So, its from a bonus, then?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°Which skill?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t level up any skill to give me a health bonus. I have just been through a lot.¡± She briefly considered lying about leveling up a skill, but since she didn¡¯t have the abilities to back it up, it would be easy to find out that she wasn¡¯t telling the truth. ¡°So, both you and your little sister have more than double the normal health. That¡¯s disturbing. Walter said. ¡°I¡¯d never have thought faming was that dangerous.¡± ¡°It isn''t,¡± the priest of medicine said. ¡°I have tended to multiple farmers, and few of them have more than ten health unless it''s from a level-up bonus.¡± Astrid felt the blood drain from her face. Had this guy just seen through all her lies? Was he going to tell on her? ¡°Come on, Kelan, you saw how she got up after that fall. You can¡¯t mean you don¡¯t believe she has a lot of health.¡± ¡°Oh, I do believe her. I just doubt it''s from farming alone. Although it¡¯s not uncommon for people to get injured while working, and farming has more occupational hazards than many other jobs, it would still have had to have happened more than ten times for her to get above twenty health points. That¡¯s a lot for someone this young. Especially since each time your health increases, it takes a little more damage to get to the point where you¡¯ll gain additional growth. Surely her parents would have stepped in if she repeatedly got hurt while working.¡± The mention of her parents felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart with a dagger, and it took a lot of effort not to let it show. Likely the darkness helped mask her pained expression. ¡°So how do you explain it then?¡± Walter asked. ¡°Monster attacks surely account for some of it, at least for Astrid. She fights them along and seems willing to take a lot more risk than the rest of us.¡± ¡°What about Sigrid then?¡± ¡°How do you know about my sister?¡± ¡°Villads is my little brother. He told me about the incident at school.¡± ¡°What incident?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Astrid said, hoping again that this topic of conversation would be dropped. ¡°One of Sigrid¡¯s classmates tried to kill her with a fully powered spell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awful. Is she okay?¡± Ina said. ¡°She¡¯s fine. The attack barely hurt her at all.¡± ¡°Still the intend was on her life, so surely she¡¯s shaken up about it. surely, you¡¯re shaken up about it as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Sure, someone had tried to kill her but failed miserably, so no real harm was done. That meant she was fine. She had to be. It was no worse than all the other things that had happened to her lately. All the other times she had almost died. If she just didn¡¯t think about it, she could keep going. ¡°I¡¯m still curious how your sister got so much extra health though,¡± Jerrik said. Since it¡¯s not from farming or monster slaying. ¡°Some people are just unlucky and get hurt a lot.¡± Kelan said with a shrug. Astrid realized that he had basically just called her clumsy. How dared he? She was about to tell him off when she realized it would only keep the group focused on the topic she desperately wanted to change. Since the other seemed satisfied with Kelan¡¯s answer, this would be her best chance to change the topic without it seeming too obvious. ¡°You mentioned a failed expedition earlier. What happened?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Walter said. ¡°There was an attempt to clear the dungeon. Well, multiple attempts, which all failed.¡± Astrid shuddered at the word dungeon, but hopefully the others would think it was because of the chilly night air. ¡°I think I have heard others mention it. That¡¯s the reason why there¡¯s hardly any monster slayers left in Largon. ¡°Yes, although I doubt those, we called monster slayers would classify as that anywhere else. We don¡¯t have any official school for monster slaying in Largon, as all our monsters are low-level ones. Those who want to be real monster slayers travel to Okiergon to train and don¡¯t come back.¡± Okiergon was the capital of the kingdom where the king lived. It lay almost on the other side of the continent. For those who couldn¡¯t catch a ride on a boat, it would take weeks to walk. If she remembered her map correctly, there would also be several mountain passes to cross on the journey. Astrid couldn¡¯t imagine going through all that. ¡°Those sent to fight monsters here were basically just anyone with weapons training¡ªarchers, swordfighters, combat magicians, and the like.¡± Walter continued his story. ¡±The same people normally do guard duties at the city gate or privately for their families. We were all still students back then, so I only know what I¡¯ve heard from others, but they sent out a team of five of the best fighters to clear the dungeon once it became apparent the monsters were becoming a problem in this area. The team never returned, so they¡¯re all presumed dead. Then the mayor asked the king for help but was denied, stating the city should be able to handle a situation like this on its own. Another team was sent to the dungeon. His time it was seven highly trained people, but again no one returned, and again the king denied offering assistance. Some months passed, but the monster problem got worse and worse, so the mayor decided to send all but a few fighters to clear the dungeon. Over a hundred people went. Once again, no one returned. This was years ago, and the situation has only gotten worse since then. The mayor refuses to fund another expedition, but I can¡¯t really blame her for that. I doubt anyone would be willing to go anyway, and we can¡¯t afford to lose more fighters either. Well, we graduated shortly after the failed expedition, and I began to put together this team, although we are still looking for members. The hope is we¡¯ll be able to keep the monsters at bay until we¡¯re strong enough to clear the dungeon ourselves or until a miracle happens. Chapter 31: Decisions After returning to the inn, Astrid had cast an illusion spell just to complete Sham''s daily quest about using deception magic. Afterwards, she drained her mana by casting and maintaining a shield spell. By tomorrow, it would have recovered and grown stronger by a couple points. Then she went to bed feeling exhausted. Despite that, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Thoughts about the story Walter had told kept spinning in her mind. How could so many trained people have died in a dungeon? After all, she had gotten through one on her own relatively unscathed. Sure, she hadn¡¯t tried to clear it and tried to avoid as many monsters as possible, but it still seemed unlikely that no one else was able to do the same. Why had no one made it out? The answer came to her almost immediately. The dungeon had contained traps that could easily kill a person. Maybe even a room full of people. If no one in the group had known how to sense or dismantle traps, everyone could have been eliminated in minutes, if not seconds. It was also unlikely anyone had the trapping skill, as it fell under the god of Deception''s domain. Maybe hunters or fishermen could justify having the skill as part of their occupation, but for everyone else it would be highly suspicious. If anyone in the expedition had had the trapping skill, they would likely want to keep that information to themselves. Only too late would they have realized that their knowledge could have saved lives. Astrid turned over to her other side, pulling the thin cover tighter around her. It did nothing to help quiet her thoughts. Part of her felt like she was obligated to tell Walter and his team everything she knew about the dungeon. After all, if they were planning to go there, they would need as much information as possible, and she was likely the only one in Largon who had returned from that place alive. However, another much larger part of her was not interested in telling them anything. She couldn¡¯t risk getting dragged back inside the dungeon. She had promised herself she would never go back to that dreadful place. Despite everything she had been through, she was still a fourteen-year-old girl. It couldn''t be her responsibility to deal with such dangerous situations, no matter how much some of her thoughts told her it was. * At school the next morning, Astrid sat at her desk trying to decide what her contribution to the harvest festival was going to be. Sure, Astrid had helped with the harvest lookout and would do so again after school ended for the day. But the school couldn¡¯t know that that was her, so she had to make a choice for her student self, and she only had a few minutes left to do it. ¡°Come on, Sigrid. Just pick whatever you want.¡± Brigitta, who sat beside her, said. ¡°You are a student here, so no one will think you¡¯re too low class to help with their tasks.¡± It was easy for Brigitta to say, as she came from a wealthy family. She had signed up as the representative for the combat magic class at the school, so her job would be to give demonstrations and answer questions to potential new students. Astrid wasn¡¯t exactly sure what that had to do with the harvest festival but didn¡¯t care enough to ask. In the past few days, she had learned that people could get away with a lot of things if they were rich. If murder attempts were one of them, then using a holyday to advertise the academy seemed rather tame in comparison. ¡°I just don¡¯t know what to choose." Astrid said, desperately looking at the timer counting down. Three minutes left to decide. ¡°Most of our class has picked between dueling for entertainment, working as security guards, or as a sponsor on different events.¡± Villads said. He was sitting at the table in front of Brigitta and had turned in his chair, so he faced Astrid. ¡°Joining the decor committee or the clean-up crew are also good options.¡± ¡°What have you picked?¡± Astrid asked. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m a sponsor.¡± ¡°You really think your best qualified as a sponsor?¡± Astrid found that hard to believe. ¡°It¡¯s what I have always done. Every holiday, my family pays for a portion of the d¨¦cor.¡± ¡°That is so generous of you.¡± Astrid said sarcastically. ¡°Do you also let everyone know who paid for the festival?¡± ¡°Yes, there are posters around the city with family names, and the major also mentions them in her opening speech.¡± ¡°You have to pick now, Sigrid,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°Class starts in less than a minute.¡± Astrid looked at the timer and saw Brigitta was right¡ªfifty seconds left. She looked back at the options. She didn¡¯t have the mana for multiple duels or the money to be a sponsor. Nor did she feel like hanging up flower garlands or clenching up after everything after the festivities. That left only one option. With seconds to spare, Astrid selected ¡®Security Guard''. The Otimranian studies class went by quickly, and soon the combat magician class began. As always, teacher Birk assigned them numerous exercise drills before he let them practice any magic. Astrid was getting tired of practicing the same two spells¡ªbasic shield and basic blast¡ªover and over again. She felt like she had mastered the spell and yearned to try some of the things the other students around her were doing. Shooting fire spells and water spells would be so cool. It might also be useful if she ever found herself in a situation where she needed something other than a basic blast. It wasn¡¯t an unlikely scenario, as she encountered various monsters whenever she went on quests in the forest. If Birk wouldn¡¯t teach her, she could always teach herself now that she had her own quarterstaff. After all, every spell she needed to know was written in her textbook. It would be easy enough to do and would also mean she leveled up faster. Brigitta and Villads were both in level two, and Astrid wanted to join them as soon as possible. As things were now, her experience gained in defensive magic and offensive magic had stagnated. When she mentioned this to Birk, he had told her it was the whole point. She had to increase her mana a lot more before she could start learning the other spells, so she didn¡¯t accidentally level up too soon. She checked her stats to see how far she still had to go.
Health: 24/24 Stamina: 20/38 Mana: 4/26 Focus: 8/20 Spirit: 10/16
Although skill progression was often slow, it could be unpredictable. With books granting boosts, quest rewards giving experience, and challenging situations, she could quickly end up pushing herself enough to get to the next level even unintentionally and with relatively low mana capacity. The level-up bonus to a stat would only work once per level. Once she got a magic skill in level two, she would double her current maximum mana, but then she wouldn¡¯t receive another mana boost until a magic skill got to level three. That meant she only got one chance to get a good bonus, and there was a big difference between starting level two with around fifty mana and two hundred mana. The school preferred to play it safe, and Astrid had firsthand experience of why. She had leveled up her running skills before she had built her stamina up, and now she was trying to catch up. It was tedious work. For now, it was best if she focused on building mana as much as possible. Maybe after the festivities it would be high enough to start practicing more spells. As soon as the classes ended, just around midday, Astrid left the academy. She found a spot where she could change into her adult persona unnoticed, then continued to the fields outside the city for another shift as a harvest lookout. Today was officially the last day of harvest, as the festival began the next day. For five days, everyone would have other things to do than work in the fields. The first day was for decorating and preparation, the next three were where the festivities took place, and the fifth day was for cleanup. Astrid wouldn¡¯t have any classes during that time. After talking with the man in charge, Astrid was assigned the same field as yesterday. Only half of the crops had been harvested here before the monster attack had forced all the farmers to retreat back to the safety of the city. Part of Astrid wanted to help cut the grain as it was the kind of work she was used to, but she knew it would take her focus away from the forest edge and that would put lives in danger. If something attacked, she would only have seconds to react. Therefore, she kept her eyes on the tree line, only occasionally glancing at the other guards to ensure none of them were under attack. As she looked closer at the guards, she noticed that they fell into two categories. They were either past retirement age or in their twenties. She couldn¡¯t find anyone that looked to be between those ages. This disturbed her deeply. Maybe it was wrong of her not to join Walter''s team. Chapter 32: The Harvest festival begins The next morning, Astrid went to an introduction meeting for those who had signed up as security guards during the harvest festival. As she walked down the streets towards the meeting spot, it was fascinating to watch how everyone worked together to transform the city. The normally dusty and dirty streets had already been cleaned up, and garlands of leaves and flowers had been hung across the street secured to the building on either side. Wreaths hung on a couple of doors, but Astrid was sure that by the end of the day every door in the city would have one. The scent of roasted meat and sweet desserts permeated the air, which made Astrid¡¯s mouth water. A couple of children were played on hay bales while the two men beside them argued about who had the right to set up a stand in that spot. Those who didn¡¯t have a store in one of the buildings often used the marketplace during the harvest festival and other holidays to sell homemade goods, hoping to make a few extra coppers. The meeting would take place outside a large building where the mayor and the other governing people worked. It was at the center of the city, just beyond the temple square. The decoration party hadn¡¯t made it here yet, but the square was as clean as it could be, like it always was. No one dared to litter here, this close to the gods sacred places. Astrid spotted a group of people standing outside a door to the building, and she recognized some of them as students from her class. There were also many she didn¡¯t recognize¡ªmostly amongst the adults¡ªbut she assumed they were either former students of her class or someone with experience doing whatever a security guard was supposed to do during the harvest festival. She still wasn¡¯t sure what exactly she had signed up for. She stood with the others, waiting as more people gathered. Exactly at the agreed time, a man stepped out of the office. Astrid recognized him as Walter, the leader of the only monster-slayer team in Largon. Astrid was surprised to see him, as he had already worked as a harvest lookout and likely also a sponsor like the rest of his family. It appeared that he would also be in charge of the security guards. Apparently, Astrid wasn¡¯t the only one working multiple job for the harvest festival. ¡°Good morning, everyone, and thank you for offering your service in keeping our city and citizens safe during the harvest festival,¡± Walter said. ¡°My name is Walter, and I¡¯ll be in charge of security for the next few days. Our primary objective as security guards is to make sure everyone is safe, which can involve anything from breaking up fights to helping lost children find their families. We¡¯ll take turns patrolling the streets in small teams for the duration of the festival. In a moment you will be given a badge, and it is used to identify you as security and to communicate with each other, but only about things relevant to your work. I¡¯ll provide a weapon to aid in your work before your shifts begin. Are there any questions?¡± No one said anything. ¡°Good. As I call your name, please step up here to receive your shifts and badge.¡± For the next few minutes, Walter called out names from a scroll he held in his hands and gave each person the badge. As her own name was called, she stepped forward and got her badge before returning to the group. She received a notification telling her that she had new tasks for her occupation as a student, but before she could go over them, Water began talking again. ¡°Be sure to show up to your shifts on time. Trading shifts is not allowed.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± someone in the group asked annoyed. ¡°The teams are carefully selected to ensure that there always are enough experienced adults with varying abilities on duty in case something happens and that everyone gets proper rest between their shifts. Now if there are no more questions, you¡¯ll report back here when your shift starts.¡± The group began to disperse after that, and Astrid followed, unsure what she should spend her day doing. First things first. She had to check which shifts she had been assigned.
New task Work as a security guard during the harvest festival. meet with leader at the mayor¡¯s office in: twenty-three hours Patrol the streets for eight hours. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Deal with any situation you encounter Reward: ten grade tokens
New task Work as a security guard during the harvest festival. meet with leader at the mayor¡¯s office in: fifty-five hours Patrol the streets for eight hours. Deal with any situation you encounter Reward: ten grade tokens
She did some quick math in her head and found that her first shift would start tomorrow morning. The other was during the evening on the second day. * When the next morning arrived, Astrid went back to the mayor¡¯s office for her first shift. She made sure to be there ten minutes early. Two other people were already present, and she recognized A thin black-haired boy as Filip¡ªone of her classmates. He was the boy who had falsely admitted to attacking her the day Ruben had tried to kill her. ¡°Hi Filip,¡± she said as she walked up to him. ¡°Hi Sigrid,¡± he answered. They hadn¡¯t spoken since they left the principal¡¯s office, and Astrid didn¡¯t know what to say to him. He had mostly kept to himself since that day. Before the silence could become too awkward, Walter came over to them. ¡°I assume you are both trained to handle these,¡± he said, handing each of them a quarter staff. ¡°You are only to use these in emergency situations, understand?¡± "Yes, sir,¡± they both said simultaneously. ¡°Good, you¡¯ll stay together, and don¡¯t hesitate to call for help if needed. Time to go.¡± Astrid and Filip walked through the marketplace. The stands were still being set up, so there weren¡¯t many people yet, but she knew that it would happen soon. She still disliked being on a crowded street, but hopefully her staff and badge would ensure that others gave her a wide berth. She looked at the boy beside her. They had been walking for half an hour without saying a word to each other, which was starting to become awkward. If they were going to be stuck together most of the day, it would be better if they communicated. ¡°So, why did you sign up to be a security guard?¡± She asked. ¡°My father didn¡¯t want to pay for a sponsorship in my name after what happened in school the other day, so I had to pick this. He said it would help build my character.¡± Astrid wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond to that. She saw how Filip winched as a group of people walked into the marketplace laughing and talking. ¡°Are you okay?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said, looking around. He was shaking now, and his skin was pale and sweaty. Maybe he was sick? Astrid had to control herself to not step away from him. Sickness tended to spread and could often be fatal as it drained away health faster than it could recover. ¡°Are you sure you''re fine? If you¡¯re not feeling well, we should get you out of here.¡± ¡°I have to stay. My father won''t like it if I leave. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll understand it if you are ill.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ill.¡± ¡°You look like you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I just don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± was he unconfutable in crowds too. No, that couldn¡¯t be it. The crowds hadn¡¯t formed yet. ¡°This whole situation. Being the one responsible for all these people. What if something goes wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s going to go wrong.¡± Astrid reassured. ¡°We¡¯ll just walk around, and help lost children find their parents and deter people from stealing.¡± ¡°He said we would have to break up fights. He even gave us staffs to use in emergencies. Something bad is going to happen, and I can¡¯t remember a single spell.¡± His blue eyes were with and watery. Astrid wondered how this kid intended to be a combat magician if he was this bad at dealing with pressure of responsibility and potential danger. ¡°If we need to break up fights, I can deal with it, but I doubt anyone would start one. ¡°There are fights every year. People get drunk and then decide to beat someone up.¡± ¡°Alcohol won¡¯t be sold until after dinner, and our shift ends well before that.¡± Her words didn¡¯t seem to do much to reassure the boy of their safety. He was getting paler by the minute as the marketplace filled with more people than Astrid had ever seen gathered in one place at once. Great, now she was getting uncomfortable too. Would she really be able to handle it if there was a fight? She shook her head. It wouldn¡¯t do to allow herself to think like that now. She just had to focus and do her best. Turning her head from side to side, she scanned the growing crowds for any sign of trouble but found none. So far, so good. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± They spent the next few hours walking around the city area where the harvest festival took place. From the marketplace, they went to a park where a lot of children were involved in various games. The boy seemed to calm down a bit once they were away from the worst of the crowds, but Astrid feared it wouldn¡¯t last once they returned to a place where people clustered together. From the park, they went on to the academy. Brigitta was in the middle of showing a few children how to hold a quarterstaff. On the training ground, the mock duels had just started and were quickly gathering an audience. There was no trouble with the people here, so Astrid and Filip had no reason to stay. They made it back to their starting point just beside the temple square. This place too was filled with people, most of them praying to the gods and giving them offerings in the form of food and coins. Even though the harvest festival was dedicated to the goddess of nature, the other deities also received their fair share of offerings. All except for the god of Deception. No one openly worshiped that god if they wanted to be in good standing with the rest of the community, so it made sense. However, Sham had once mentioned that he had a lot of followers in all kinds of places. Astrid had yet to meet a single one of them, but she was fine with that. Chapter 33: The harvest festival continues Astrid threw herself down on the bed as soon as she returned to her room. Her first day as a security guard had gone by mostly uneventful, but walking around for eight hours was exhausting, not to mention boring. Still, she was glad nothing had happened, as she doubted Filip would be much help in an emergency. He had looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown the whole time, and nothing Astrid said seemed to reassure him. Deciding it would be a shame not to enjoy the festivities outside while they lasted, she dragged her body back up and went out to the marketplace. The streets were packed with people walking forth and back between the stands, buying food and drink. She got some dinner for herself, as the food options here were more interesting than the thin stew the inn had to offer. After eating, she went to the academy. The final duel of the day would start soon, and she wanted to see it. Lots of people had already gathered by the training ground, but she spotted Villads and Brigitta sitting on the grass, waiting for the final duel to start. Astrid went over to them and sat down beside Brigitta. ¡°How was your day?¡± Astrid asked them both. ¡°It was fine,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°I think I managed to convince a few kids to join our class once they are old enough.¡± "Well, my day was boring,¡± Villads said. ¡°I just walked around on my own since everyone else was working.¡± ¡°You could just have signed up for something. You brother signed up for several things.¡± Astrid said. ¡°Walter hardly has a choice. He has overseen Largon¡¯s security since he graduated. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you couldn¡¯t have signed up for something and maybe helped him out a bit. At least then you would have had something to do.¡± ¡°As if you didn¡¯t just spend the entire day walking around,¡± Villads countered. ¡°I also helped a child find their parents again. I have heard that the day shifts are usually the slowest, so not much happened. I have the evening shift tomorrow though.¡± ¡°The final duel is about to start.¡± An announcer said, and Astrid turned her attention towards the field. Two older students she didn¡¯t know stepped inside the dueling ring and bowed to each other. One was a dark-skinned girl with long braided hair, and the other was a tall brown-haired boy. Both wore grey shirts and pants. Astrid wasn¡¯t sure what she had expected from the duel between the older students. She knew that both their offensive magic skill and their defensive magic skill were at level two, as that was a requirement for moving on to the next class. So was getting enough grade tokens and passing an exam. Still, she was surprised to see how much better these students were compared to her and her classmates. They threw spell after spell with practiced ease. The duelists moved so fast it was hard to keep track of all the things that were happening. They fought for several minutes, each trying to get the upper hand. Astrid couldn¡¯t tell if either of them were succeeding. As soon as she thought one of them had the other on the defensive, it would change a second later with a well-timed dodge and counterattack. Astrid couldn¡¯t wait until she was as strong as these duelists. Then no monster would be able to bother her. No, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case. Dueling and fighting monsters were two very different things. Walter and all his other teammates would have their weapons skills in at least level two and likely closing in on level three, but they still didn¡¯t take lightly on fighting monsters. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After about ten minutes, the duel ended when the boy of the duelist didn¡¯t dodge fast enough and took a glancing blow to the arm. * The next morning, Astrid allowed herself to sleep in a bit, something she had never really done before. Back on the farm, she had always been up with the sun to start on her chores, as that was the only way to complete them all before it got dark. The habit had carried on as she settled into her new life in the city. The only reason she had allowed for this exception was because she had the evening shift that wouldn¡¯t end until midnight. She needed to be well rested for that. Still, she found it difficult to sleep much more than an hour longer than usual. Eventually she gave up on trying and got out of bed. She went downstairs, paid the innkeeper for another night, and went to get breakfast. Then she left for the market. The stalls were just beginning to open, so she spent a while just walking around looking at all the things on display. When she looked around the city, she also saw the increasing number of refugees sitting on the side of the streets, as there was nowhere else for them to go. It wouldn¡¯t matter if they had enough money to pay for a room at an inn, as there simply wasn¡¯t any left. Even the temples were filled, although the gods only offered shelter to their own followers. Many of the refugees came from villages, and Astrid found it hard to imagine monsters strong enough to send dozens of people running. Why didn¡¯t they stay and fight? Especially since you would be leaving everything behind. Even her dad had tried to fight off the wolves, although with no success. Then again, attacks would happen so fast that there wouldn¡¯t be time to organize a defense. There hadn¡¯t been when her farm was attacked. Don¡¯t think about that, she scolded herself. Thoughts of her old life appeared less and less as time passed, but the memories were still painful whenever they showed up. To distract herself, she went to the park to participate in some of the games that had been set up. It would do her good to spend a few hours just being a child. * Later that afternoon, Astrid hurried as much as she could through the crowded streets to get to the meeting point in time. She had thought she had plenty of time to get there, but it took a lot longer than she had anticipated to get anywhere with all the people milling about. Apologies and pleas to let her through flew from her moth as she tried to get through the masses faster. Walter wouldn¡¯t take kindly to anyone arriving late. With relief, she joined the group waiting outside the building where they met up before the shift started. Not even a minute later, Walter stepped out and began giving instructions. ¡°As this is an evening shift, we must assume that trouble will occur.¡± Walter said. ¡°Therefore, we will be going out in teams of three where at least one member is an experienced guard.¡± He began assigning people their groups before sending them out into the city. There would be three groups of three patrolling the streets, and each group had their own route to follow. Astrid was teamed up with Filip and a grumpy middle-aged man with gray hair and a scared face. His name was Gorm, and Astrid wasn¡¯t sure what had made him this unhappy, but she hoped it wouldn¡¯t affect his work performance. He was supposed to be the experienced member of the team after all. She took the staff that was handed to her, and the three of them began their route. They had barely made it past the temple grounds before they heard a commotion. A large crowd had gathered, which made it impossible to see what was going on. However, it was clear from the screams that it was nothing good. ¡°Sounds like someone is fighting,¡± Gorm grinned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do something?¡± Filip asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± he retorted. Filip went deathly pale, and for a moment Astrid thought he was going to pass out. ¡°I... uhm...¡± he stammered. ¡°You¡¯re the adult, so you really should deal with this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it. Whoever is taking a beating probably deserves it.¡± Astrid looked at Gorm in disbelief. No one deserved to get beaten up, and it was their responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizens. That entailed stopping fights. She wanted to tell Gorm off for not doing his job, but she doubted it would work. Besides, the longer the fight went on, the more likely it became that someone would get seriously hurt. Since neither of her teammates seemed up to the task, Astrid figured she had to step in herself. She would have to tell Walter how Gorm was acting. No excuse would be good enough to justify him not stepping in when that was the job he had signed up for. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Astrid said resolutely, and with as much confidence as she could muster, she marched over to deal with the commotion. Chapter 34: Threats of Exposure Astrid struggled to push her way through the people gathered to watch the fight. Their shouts and cheers drowned out her call for them to move out of her way. She had hoped being a security guard would have garnered some amount of respect from the other citizens, but they seemed like they couldn¡¯t care less. Finally, she managed to force her way through the onlookers and could get a proper look at what was happening. A large, burly man punched another man with gray hair and a wrinkled, bloodied face. Two other men¡ªone was blond and the other had auburn hair¡ªheld the old man¡¯s arms, immobilizing him and preventing him from defending himself. That was the only reason he was still standing. His face was swollen from the many punches it had taken, and blood seeped from the broken nose. Astrid felt a burning anger rising inside her. ¡°That¡¯s enough guys, break it up,¡± she said loudly, trying to be heard over the shouting onlookers. It didn¡¯t work. ¡°HEY!¡± She yelled, and this time she got everyone¡¯s attention. Some looked at her with bewilderment and others with annoyance. It made her uncomfortable, and for a second, she stood frozen, not sure what her next step should be. ¡°What do you want, little girl?¡± The burly man sneered. ¡°Can¡¯t you see we¡¯re in the middle of something?¡± Astrid managed to point at the badge on her dress that identified her as a security guard. ¡°This fight is over, so you can move on now.¡± Most of the onlookers seemed to accept that and left, leaving her to deal with the men who had fought. ¡°Now let the old man go,¡± Astrid ordered. To her surprise, the two men obeyed her command, and the old man fell to the ground, where he stayed unmoving. She had to get him to a healer as fast as possible, but the three men blocked her path. ¡°Now why did you have to ruin our fun, little girl?¡± the burly man said. ¡°We were just showing this man his place. Now he¡¯ll think twice before showing his face here again.¡± ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Astrid said, rage fuming. ¡°No one deserves to be beaten like that.¡± ¡°He¡¯s one of those pesky refugees who think we want to see them around here asking for coins like homeless beggars. Now he¡¯ll know better.¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t tolerate this behavior, so find something else to do.¡± Astrid wished they would just leave already so she could get to the old man who still hadn¡¯t moved. The occasional pained moan reassured her that he was still alive. ¡°You think you can boss us around, little girl?¡± Astrid grimaced at the nickname the burly man had given her. She raised her staff, pointing it towards the men as a reminder that she was armed, hoping it would deter them from starting a fight with her. To be honest, she had no idea how a fight between them would end. She was confident that she could handle either of them in a one-on-one as long as none of them carried a weapon. However, facing multiple opponents at once always made the fight more complicated, and she doubted she could count on her own teammates to step in and help. They still stood where she had left them, some twenty feet away. Maybe it would be best to use her badge to call for help. However, she was hesitant to do that, as it felt like if she couldn¡¯t handle this situation, she had no business acting as a security guard. The burly man came at her, trying to throw a punch to her face, but she sidestepped and used her staff to trip the man. ¡°I am trained in combat, so you don¡¯t want to fight me,¡± Astrid said with as much confidence as she could muster. ¡°This is your last chance to leave unharmed.¡± She pointed her staff towards the man who had tried to attack her. She noticed her hands were shaking, and since none of her stats were low, that couldn¡¯t be the cause of the tremors. Maybe it was caused by her anger? Or maybe by her fear? She just hoped none of her opponents noticed, as they would see it as a weakness. ¡°Let¡¯s just leave. This is not worth getting in trouble over,¡± the blond man said. The burly man gave Astrid one last hateful look and spat in the direction of the old man on the ground before leaving with the other two men. Astrid turned her attention back to the old man still sprawled on the ground. She crouched down beside him, trying to gauge the man¡¯s condition. ¡°Can you stand?¡± Astrid asked. The man shook his head slowly. At least he was still alive, but he had to be low on heath. She pulled a health potion out of her inventory. ¡°Here, drink this. It will help you recover.¡± She managed to tip the contents of the vial into the man¡¯s mouth, and he swallowed it with some difficulty. A few seconds later, he sat up, his wounds already starting to heal. ¡°You saved my life.¡± The old man said. ¡°But I can¡¯t repay you for that potion.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°But healing potions are expensive and not something you just give away.¡± ¡°It was given to me by the leader of the security team to help in emergencies like this during the festival,¡± she lied, hoping the man would stop thinking he owned her anything for it. Astrid still had several health potions and could always buy more should she need them, so her giving one away to a person in need was no big deal. ¡°You should stop by the temple for the god of Medicine,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Just to be sure you''re fully recovered.¡± She could have sent him there to begin with, but he had looked like he was a papercut away from death, and he wouldn¡¯t have been able to walk there on his own. She sure wasn¡¯t able to carry him, and even if she was, that in itself could have hurt him enough to take away his remaining health. ¡°I¡¯ll do that. Thank you so much for saving me.¡± Astrid watched as the man disappeared in the crowds before she turned back to her two other teammates. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Things seem fine here now, so let¡¯s continue our route.¡± Astrid said. They walked for another ten minutes without incident and arrived at the marketplace. Things seemed calm here as well. ¡°You know you two seem to have everything under control.¡± Gorm said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can handle this without me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Filip asked. ¡°I have other things to do tonight than walk around in circles.¡± ¡°What could be more important than this?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°That is none of your business.¡± ¡°So, you are just going to leave us?¡± Filip asked, growing paler by the second. ¡°If you do that, we¡¯ll tell Walter,¡± Astrid said, crossing her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯re on the same team after all.¡± Gorm said in a tone that made Astrid shiver. ¡°We should help each other.¡± ¡°You¡¯re about to leave this team,¡± Filip pointed out, but Astrid had a feeling Gorm wasn¡¯t referring to the security job but something else. Something sinister. However, there was no way he could know that, right? She had been careful not to tell anyone. Then again, hadn¡¯t Sham mentioned that he had people watching her? Could that be Gorm? And if he too was a follower of Deception did that mean she was obligated to help him? No way. Even though she had no idea what he was planning to do, she doubted it was anything good. ¡°Whatever you want to do can be done when the shift ends,¡± Astrid said. ¡°No, it can''t, so I¡¯ll be going now. And if you tell on me, I¡¯ll tell on you,¡± Gorm said matter-of-factly. Now there was no doubt left in Astrid¡¯s mind that he knew. ¡°What would you say against her? She hasn¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± Filip said. Astrid felt her previous anger turn to shame and dread. If this information got out, her new life would be over. ¡°We all have secrets,¡± Gorm shrugged. ¡°All I have to do is start a rumor so awful someone will have to investigate. Who knows what people will find out about Astrid here? ¡°Astrid is my sister,¡± she said, the anger returning at Gorm''s audacity. ¡°My name is Sigrid.¡± This conversation was heading into very dangerous territory, as Gorm had just tried to get her to slip up and expose herself. She could not let him get away with that. ¡°Of course it is. My bad. You two are just so much alike it¡¯s easy to get you confused.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Walter know that we got separated in the crowds here on the marketplace next time we pass by him. That¡¯s the best I can offer,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I can work with that.¡± ¡°However, you owe me for this.¡± Astrid whispered so only Gorm could hear it. ¡°I¡¯ll keep your secrets. That should be enough.¡± ¡°Not if you want me to keep your secret as well as lie on your behalf.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any evidence.¡± ¡°All I have to do is start a rumor, and someone will investigate.¡± ¡°Ha. You¡¯re better at this than I expected. Alright, I¡¯ll owe you a favor. Do you have anything in mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know.¡± In truth, she had no idea what she wanted the favor for or if she would ever use it, but it couldn¡¯t hurt to have the option. "Fine. But be reasonable.¡± Then he walked away. ¡°What was that about?¡± Filip asked, startling Astrid. Even if he hadn¡¯t heard what she had said, the whispered conversation would still have seemed odd. ¡°Gorm clearly has something very important to do. Now let¡¯s continue our route.¡± She began walking out of the marketplace, and Filip followed. ¡°Are we really going to tell Walter, we lost Gorm in the crowd?¡± ¡°I said I would, but you made no such promise, so you can do what you want. ¡°But it is wrong to lie.¡± ¡°It is, but as I don¡¯t see Gorm anywhere and this place is quite crowded, saying that we lost him here wouldn¡¯t be untrue.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Walter the truth about everything. What secret could you possibly have that would make you do this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing really.¡± Astrid said, her brain working overtime, trying to come up with a plausible reason that wouldn¡¯t make her situation worse. ¡°I just don¡¯t want him spreading rumors about me that will hunt me forever. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not lying right now? You don¡¯t seem to have a problem with it.¡± ¡°Would you want someone to tell everyone that you pick your nose?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Filip said aghast. ¡°But a lot of people would believe it to be, and you wouldn¡¯t be able to convince them otherwise. And I think Gorm will spread far worse rumors than that.¡± ¡°I still think there¡¯s more to it than that.¡± "Well, there isn¡¯t, so drop it.¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t trust you until I know what this is about. If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll let everyone know that you¡¯re hiding something.¡± ¡°Then tell me your secret first. We all have something we don¡¯t want others to know.¡± ¡°We are talking about you, not me,¡± he said defensively. ¡°I bet it¡¯s the nose-picking thing then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t pick my nose.¡± ¡°Or maybe something worse. Did you ever steal something? or maybe kill someone?¡± The boy paled at the last word. Maybe she had hit a nerve. "Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°Its fine.¡± ¡°The thing is, you already know my secret,¡± Astrid said, having finally decided on what to tell Filip. ¡°But I guess I can remind you. I¡¯m technically one of the refugees.¡± This was the most believable excuse she could come up with, although it wasn¡¯t something she had tried to keep secret. ¡°Why do you want to keep that secret? It''s not a bad thing... Well, it¡¯s a bad thing that you lost your home, but..." ¡°You know how Ruben tried to kill me at school because he doesn''t think I belong there, and you saw how the old man got attacked. Most here don¡¯t like refugees, and they definitely hate those who try to change their status like I have.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re nothing like that old man who''s begging on the street. You attend the academy, and you know how to fight. You¡¯re a citizen now more than a refugee.¡± ¡°Sure, today I have this badge and this staff, but most of the time I¡¯ll be unarmed. It would only take a few men ganging up on me to beat me to death. The only reason I can afford school is because my sister takes the quests no one else wants to take. Although we are lucky to have gotten this far, our situation is far from stable.¡± ¡°I guess I can understand that,¡± Filip said. ¡°You asked me what my secret was. Well, I¡¯m the reason my mother died.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Now Astrid felt horrible about her harsh comments earlier. ¡°When the monsters first appeared here some years ago, my parents decided to become monster slayers as a secondary occupation. They wanted to become heroes and elevate their status. I trained with them and was brought along the first time they went out to slay. As you might have noticed, I¡¯m not really cut out for fighting. When the monster came after me, I froze. My mother jumped in front of me and took the blow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Astrid said, not knowing what else to do. She knew the pain of losing family to monsters and the guilt of having done nothing to save them. She often had to remind herself that she hadn¡¯t had the skill to save them back then. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have been that old at the time. Could you even develop skills yet?¡± Children didn¡¯t get access to their quests or the ability to develop skills before they hit puberty. Sure, they could still learn stuff when they practiced, but it didn¡¯t unlock skills or grant abilities. That meant children had some time to try different things before they had to choose what to specialize in, although this only benefited those who valued a focused skillset. ¡°No. But I had as much fighting training as they had. Despite that, when I saw the monster running towards me, I forgot everything I had learned.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Astrid said again, and they continued walking in silence. She wanted to say something to comfort him but didn¡¯t know what. She also wanted to ask why he was in a class for combat magicians if he didn¡¯t want to fight, but it felt like the wrong time. Suddenly, a scream reverberated through the streets. More cries followed seconds later. ¡°Someone is in trouble. Let¡¯s go!¡± Astrid and Filip ran towards the sound. They had to fight their way through the masses fleeing in the opposite direction. Finally, they managed to break free of the crowds. In front of them lay the small park where families had done activities all day. Everyone who could had already fled the area, but several people were tangled up in webs or bleeding on the ground. Looming above the victims stood three gigantic spiders. Chapter 35: Monster Breach Astrid watched as one of the big spiders sank its sharp fangs into a body on the ground, tearing a large piece of flesh off. The sight was horrifying, and it wasn¡¯t made better when she saw what her ability had to say about this monster. It was called a gigantic arachnid, and it was at level two. Over the terrified screams of the people trapped in webs, she yelled, "We have to do something." ¡°This isn¡¯t in our job description,¡± Filip shouted back. ¡°It is now,¡± Astrid answered, getting ready to cast a spell. Filip made no move to do the same, and Astrid realized he wasn¡¯t up for this fight. ¡°Call for backup and then help the people stuck in the webs. I¡¯ll deal with the monsters. ¡°But you¡¯ll get hurt.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Wasting no more time, she ran towards the nearest spider before she could change her mind. There was no way she could fight them all, but she still had to try. If she could just distract them until help arrived, then no more people would die. She cast a basic blast at the spider as soon as she was within range. No reason to get closer than absolutely necessary. The monster reared backwards, screeching more in annoyance than pain. These monsters were tough, but that was to be expected from a level two monster. This would be harder than she liked. That backup better arrive soon, she thought, hoping Filip had called. She didn¡¯t dare take her eyes off the spider to check. She threw herself sideways, narrowly dodging a spray of acid. Before she could regain her composure, the spider had closed the distance between them. On instinct, she hit the monster with the staff. Too late, she remembered that she wasn¡¯t holding her divine staff of Deception that had a special attack when used as a club, but a normal one borrowed from Walter. This staff didn¡¯t have that ability, and instead of doing damage to the monster, it snapped in half. This was bad. She was alone against a large monster, and now she had no weapon. Well, technically, she had her dagger and her other staff in her inventory, but she couldn¡¯t be seen using those as they belonged to her ''sister¡¯. She dodged another attack and saw that more spiders were headed towards her. She tried to cast another basic blast with her broken staff, but it only sputtered a few sparks out of the end, wasting all the mana she had put into the attack. In frustration, she tossed the useless staff at the spider, but it did nothing to deter it from attacking. Her stamina was draining quickly as she dodged the attacks of all three spiders while trying to come up with a plan. She decided to risk using her dagger. Saving the people in this city from the monsters was more important than keeping her double life and connection to the god of Deception secret. For the next few minutes, she dodged and stabbed at the monsters, dealing five damage every time she hit them. However, she took too many hits herself when she wasn¡¯t able to dodge fast enough or dodged right into the path of another monster¡¯s attack. She would die if this went on for much longer and the spiders didn¡¯t seem to weaken despite her efforts. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she saw the backup arriving. Walter ran towards her, followed by five other people. She recognized Ina, Jerrik, and Kelan, but the remaining two she hadn¡¯t seen before. The spiders must have been smart enough to realize they were outnumbered as they scattered in every direction. Astrid fell to her knees exhausted. ¡°Are you all right, Sigrid?¡± Walter asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± ¡°Good, where is the rest of your team?¡± ¡°Filip helped free the people while I distracted the monsters,¡± she said, looking around, but there was no sign of him anywhere nor of any other people except for a few mutilated corpses. ¡°He must have helped them get to safety as well.¡± ¡°And Gorm?¡± ¡°We got separated at the marketplace,¡± she said, sticking to the story she had promised to tell. ¡°You didn¡¯t think to call for help then?¡± Walter snapped. This was the first time Astrid had seen Walter get angry, and she was taken aback. ¡°You said to only do that in an emergency.¡± Her cheeks flushed red from the embarrassment of being told off. ¡°Losing a team member qualifies as an emergency.¡± Screams from nearby abruptly ended the scolding, but the relief she was feeling at that was short-lived. The monsters were still out there, and people''s lives were in danger. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Get out of here, Sigrid. Find somewhere safe to recover.¡± Walter said. ¡°The rest of you follow me.¡± ¡°But there are more monsters in other parts of the city.¡± Astrid said. As if to illustrate her point, screams from the opposite direction pierced through the air. ¡°I know. But I don¡¯t have enough men to split up. We have to fight them one at a time.¡± He left with his men, and Astrid knew that there would be a lot of casualties if the monsters weren¡¯t dealt with fast. She had to do something to help. While she was alone in the park, she retrieved her cloak and staff before changing into her adult persona. Then she downed a health potion, a stamina potion, and a mana potion. She had to be at her best to pull off a fight against one of the spiders. More screams reverberated through the city, and Astrid knew she had to hurry before too many people got caught up in the spider¡¯s web. She ran towards the sound, quickly finding herself pushing against a torrent of people fleeing for their lives. As she had expected, the monster the people were running from was a spider. She didn¡¯t dare try to use magic when there were still so many people close by. More likely than not, she would hit them and not the monster. Instead, she rushed towards the gigantic arachnid, quickly closing the distance. She clubbed it in the face with her staff. This time the special attack took effect, and the monster reared back in pain, shaking its head. Astrid didn¡¯t give it time to recover before she smacked at it again, getting a similar reaction. She was about to go for a third time, but the monster, having learned its lesson, swiped at her with one of its long, hairy legs, knocking her to the side. She slammed into a haystack placed there as a decoration, which saved her from taking the damage an impact with a wall would have delt. It still hurt, but she ignored the pain and got back to her feet. The monster¡¯s attention was now solely on her, which she saw as a good thing. Now all the people had had time to escape, and she had room to use magic. The spider jumped at her, and she cast the basic blast spell, hitting it in midair and sending it flying backwards through a house wall on the other side of the street. For a second, she thought she had managed to kill it, but it crawled out of the debris after a minute. How powerful was this thing? Unlike people, monsters never had underdeveloped stats for their level, which meant a level two monster had at least two hundred health points. Furthermore, this spider¡¯s exoskeleton likely worked as armor, protecting the spider from most of the damage she had dealt. She darted away from the monster as it charged at her. It had to have a weakness somewhere. She knew eyes were vulnerable, but she doubted the monster would let her hit it in the face again. Instead, she sent another basic blast after the monster, cursing the fact that she didn¡¯t have any better spells to cast. Fire would have been nice to have right now, as it caused extra damage if the target caught ablaze. The monster easily dodged the blast countering with a spray of acid. She avoided getting hit by most of it, but a few drops landed on her face. Astrid tried not to scream in pain as her skin began to dissolve, and she wiped her cheek with her cloak. It was tempting to throw more spells at the monster, but she had to steel herself. Her mana was still limited, so she couldn¡¯t waste it on spells that didn¡¯t do damage. The spider turned its back to her, and she realized that it wanted to encapsulate her in its sticky web. She got out of the way, and while the spider was still spewing web, she slammed her staff down on its body as hard as she could. Cracks appeared in the spider¡¯s exoskeleton, and a bluish fluid seeped out. Glee filled her at the sight of the damage. She was making progress, but there was a long way to go. The spider was still strong and went on the offense, slicing at her with its legs so fast she couldn¡¯t dodge all the strikes. She countered with attacks of her own, swinging her staff from side to side, trying to break its legs, but as her own health fell below half and the spider still showed no signs of slowing down, she decided it was time to create some distance again and come up with a new plan. Preferably one that would actually work. The spider didn¡¯t give her much time to think before it went after her again with more acid spray. She ducked behind some debris from the wall that had been destroyed earlier to avoid getting splashed. She had expected the spider to charge at her again, but it seemed reluctant to do so. Maybe her hits with the staff had done more damage than she had assumed. Blue liquid was still seeping from the cracks, dripping down its body and on to the street. The stone she was hiding behind was slowly dissolving from being doused in acid. It wasn¡¯t going to offer her protection for much longer. She wished the other guards would come to her aid soon, but as they were caught up in their own fight, she doubted they would. Not before it was too late anyway. Walter had been right not to split the fighters up, as even she, with all her experience as a monster slayer, was way over her head. Astrid tried to calm her panicking mind so she could think clearly. At this distance, all she had was the basic blast spell, but it was too easy to avoid and hadn¡¯t done much damage the last time she had hit the monster with it. Colliding with the wall had properly done more damage to the spider than anything she had thrown at it. That gave her an idea. She got ready to cast another attack spell, but instead of aiming at the spider, she aimed at the top of the building behind it. Hoping no one was inside, she fired basic blast, which blew a large hole in the wall, sending large pieces of stone hurdling towards the ground. The spider didn¡¯t realize what was happening before it was crushed under tons of debris. She waited a minute and then another to be sure the spider wouldn¡¯t dig its way out of the wreckage before feeling certain it was dead. Just to be extra sure, she got out her looting tool and taped it to a leg that stuck from the rubble. It only worked on dead monsters, so she was relieved when she got a new item.
New item received You have received a bundle of spider silk thread from gigantic arachnid
Astrid didn¡¯t dwell on her new item as there were still more spiders roaming the city. After drinking another set of potions, she began her search for the next monster. Chapter 36: Monster fight at Temple Square Astrid found the spider-monster in the temple square in the middle of devouring a person. The monster hadn¡¯t seen her yet as she was approaching from behind. To ensure it stayed that way, she used her cloak to turn herself invisible before carefully sneaking closer. Unless one counted the dozen or so corpses sprawling on the ground, bloodied and broken, the square was empty of people. Anger surged through her at the sight, and she wanted to tear the spider limb from limb. However, she would never be able to do that with her current powers, so she had to be strategic about how she fought. Therefore she pushed her feelings down and focused on her task ahead. Slay the monster. Her most powerful attack was her dagger''s backstab technique. It wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near strong enough to outright kill the monster, and she would only get one shot at executing it, but it was the best she got at the moment. Clutching the dagger tightly, she silently inched closer. It wouldn¡¯t do to give away her presence before her dagger was deep inside the spider. The monster kept ripping large pieces of flesh from its victim¡¯s body, and Astrid had to swallow hard to avoid puking at the scene. She contemplated how best to strike, scanning the monster for weaknesses. Eyes were out of the question, as the monster would see it coming. Most of the body was covered in an armor-like exoskeleton that she couldn¡¯t be certain she had the strength to penetrate with her blade. This left her very few options. The area with the least protection seemed to be the underbelly, but in order to strike there, she would have to get under the monster. The long legs made the spider tall, and having to stab upwards meant she wouldn¡¯t be able to use her body weight and gravity to gain more power for the attack. Despite the risk, it was the best option. She stopped right behind the monster. Another few steps and she would be underneath the monster, but this part was complicated by the spider¡¯s movements. It scuttled erratically from side to side, so it was impossible to predict where it would be at any given time. Best as she thought she had an opening, the spider would move and block her trajectory with its hairy legs. She took a calming breath. It wouldn¡¯t do to scream in frustration now. She had to concentrate. The next time the monster stood still, she would have to make her move. The moment came, and Astrid rushed forward using all the speed her level two running gave her. She dodged in between the legs and jumped up, stabbing her dagger into the monster with as much power as she could get. The monster howled in pain and began thrashing wildly, trying to get its legs in under itself. Astrid did her best to avoid the legs while trying to retrieve her dagger. The blood liquid oozing from the wound coated the handle, making it slick. Due to that, she couldn¡¯t get a proper grip. Before she had a chance to solve that problem, she had to jump to the side to avoid getting speared by the leg. She darted out from under the table before pulling her staff from her inventory. The monster turned towards her, lowered its head, and prepared to spit acid. Astrid had seen the other spider-monster do this multiple times, so she knew how much damage it could do to the surroundings. She wasn¡¯t about to let that happen. Before the monster could execute the attack, she smacked her staff into one of its eyes. It reared back and hissed at her, but she only smacked it again, this time in another eye. After a few more hits in the head the spider dashed forward, tackling Astrid to the ground. She rolled out of the way as it brought down its legs where she had lied a moment ago. Wasting no time she got back on her feet and ran backwards to create some distance. The melee attacks had done as much damage as they could, so now she had to rely on her limited magic powers. The only combat magic she had tried to cast was basic blast, and it would be easy to dodge if she used it at the wrong time. She could not afford to waste the mana. She looked around for something to crush the spider under just like she had done with the previous one, but the open temple square didn¡¯t offer any such opportunities. All the temples were lined up at the edges of the square, leaving the middle wide open. She stared at the monster, which stared back at her, neither of them moving. Astrid figured the spider was as anxious of her as she was of it. The dagger was still embedded in its belly, and blue liquid dripped from the wound onto the tile-covered ground. Four of its eight eyes were swollen shut, and more blue liquid seeped from a cut on its forehead. Despite this, the monster still looked strong, and Astrid knew the fight was far from over. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. She scoured her brain for any piece of information she could use to win this fight. Right now, it didn¡¯t matter where it came from. Maybe she could run and hope the monster would follow her to a different location where she could kill it like she killed the other spider. However, it seemed more likely she would lead it straight to a place where people were hiding. She could endanger others like that. She jumped to the side narrowly, avoiding the acid the monster sprayed towards her, making sure to shield her face from the small drops with her cloak. Its self-repair ability prevented it from getting damaged. The monster continuously spat acid, forcing Astrid to be on the move. The corrosive fluid splashed against the tiled ground that sizzled and smoked as it dissolved. With her stamina quickly depleting, she knew she had to come up with something soon. She went back to searching her brain, going over all the knowledge she had gotten from reading Sham''s book. It had helped her in the dungeon after all, even though she was reluctant to admit it. There was no time to set a trap or cast any of her magic spells while the monster kept up its acid spray. What else could she do? She had already used all her strongest attacks, and it had worked as well as she could have hoped for. Maybe a notice me not spell could allow her to do the backstab again, but it was unlikely to work if someone was paying close attention to you, which the minster undoubtedly was. Also, she had lost her dagger in the previous attack. She ran behind a temple, hoping to get a break from the acid sprays. Now that she was out of sight, she used her cloak to make herself invisible and climbed up on the roof. Maybe the higher ground would give her an advantage somehow. She had only just made it up on top of the building when the spider darted around the corner and sprayed the wall with acid right where she would have stood before she climbed up. The acid quickly burned a large hole in the wall, and Astrid hoped that the goddess of Love wouldn¡¯t blame the destruction on her. From inside the temple, she heard screaming, and she realized the temple square wasn¡¯t as deserted as she had assumed. She eyed the other temples and saw faces staring out the windows. People were hiding inside the buildings. The gods offered protection from monsters in their temples, but usually only to their followers. The only exception was the god of Medicine, who allowed patients to stay at the temple while they recovered. Were they making an exception due to the circumstances or using it to expand their number of followers? Astrid didn¡¯t know but hoped it was the former. However, the audience complicated things for her, and she could only wonder what they had already seen. Had she done something that would give her away as a follower of Deception? She couldn¡¯t be sure, but it didn¡¯t matter now. Her first priority had to be stopping the monster, so no more people got hurt. Keeping her secret would have to be a secondary objective. She looked down and saw the monster hammering its head against the invisible barrier that kept it from entering the temple, despite the large hole in the wall. It gave Astrid a bit of relief to know that the monster wouldn¡¯t be able to get inside. The people would be safe as long as they stayed there. As if on cue, the temple door opened, and a young girl rushed out screaming. The spider abandoned its attempt at getting inside and pursued the girl. Astrid cursed and cast a basic blast, making it as powerful as she could. It struck the monster in the back and flattened it against the ground, hopefully pushing the dagger still stuck underneath it further into its body. She lowered herself down from the roof again and rushed towards the monster before it could get back up. The girl had stopped to look at the spider in shock as it slowly got back to its feet. Astrid fired another basic blast, hoping to keep the monster down so it couldn¡¯t attack the girl. ¡°Get back inside,¡± Astrid shouted, hoping the girl would listen, but as she began running back towards the temple, she tripped over one of the partially dissolved tiles. The spider was quick to get up, and Astrid was still too far away to do much. Her basic blast was as likely to hit the girl as the monster if she tried to aim while running and she didn¡¯t have time to stop. As the spider got ready to strike the girl, Astrid used some of her precious mana on the wind spell she had only read about. Her effort paid off. The girl was pushed out of harm¡¯s way, and the spider was knocked off balance, landing flat on its belly again. It howled as the dagger pushed into its body once more. Without thinking, Astrid jumped on top of the monster, slamming her staff into its head over and over again. Despite her continuous assault, the spider managed to get up again so fast she didn¡¯t have time to jump off. It began thrashing wildly, and Astrid had a hard time holding on. She bored her fingers into a joint in the exoskeleton. The edge cut into her fingers, making them slick with blood. She tried to hit the spider some more, but its wild movement made it impossible. She lost her grip and for a second felt weightless as she flew through the air. Then she crashed into the ground with a sickening crack. The impact would have killed most people twice over, but her high health points for her level meant that she got to be in agonizing pain instead. Warnings flashed before her eyes, but she was too out of it to focus on them. Her breath came in small gasps, and she couldn¡¯t move. Her vision was blurry, and her ears were ringing. This is how it ends, she thought as she closed her eyes. Any second now, the spider would sink its fangs into her body and tear her apart. Chapter 37: meeting with the mayor Astrid had no idea how long she lay on the ground waiting for the spider monster to sink its fangs into her flesh. Every gasp for air felt like getting stabbed in the chest, and any attempt at moving caused spikes of agony to radiate through her entire body. Astrid wished it would hurry up so the pain would stop. Something brushed against her shoulder, and she braced herself for the finishing blow, but it didn¡¯t come. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a human figure crouched beside her. Despite the blurry vision, she recognized him as the healer from Walter¡¯s team. If she remembered correctly, his name was Kelan. Was he talking to her? His mouth was moving, but she couldn¡¯t make out any words over the ringing in her ears. She tried to say something, but all she could manage was a groan. Kelan pulled a glass vail from his bag, uncorked it, and pressed against Astrid¡¯s lips. She thought she heard the words ¡®drink this,¡¯ so she did. Warmth spread through her broken body, and instantly she began to feel better. Her breathing eased, the ringing in her ears stopped, her vision cleared, and the pain subsided. With Kelan¡¯s help, she carefully sat up and took in her surroundings. The spider was fighting three people that she recognized as Walter, Ina, and Jerrik. It was difficult to tell who was winning, and Astrid wanted to go help them. She tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, and if the leader hadn¡¯t caught her, she would have hit her head against the ground. She sat back down on the ground, trying not to throw up, waiting for the dizziness to subside. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Kelan asked ¡°I¡¯m fine. We have to help them.¡± She tried to stand again, but Kelan pushed her down. ¡°You¡¯re not going back to the fight. You need to rest. And I recommend you go to the temple of medicine for more healing as soon as possible.¡± He left to join the fight, and even though Astrid wanted to join, she stayed put as the healer had said. She had to admit that she was currently in no condition to fight. If she joined them now, she was more likely to get in the way than be of any help. The team clearly had experience fighting together and gradually managed to take away the monster¡¯s health. They played it safe, so the battle stretched on for several minutes, but their teamwork meant that no one got hurt. Astid watched, impressed at how they used their attacks in turn, never giving the monster a chance to single out any individual or predict where the next attack was going to come from. Walter would cast a spell getting the monsters attention so Ina could attack with her sword and then retrieve before the monster could strike back. Walter would attack the spider with another spell, giving Jerrik an opening to attack with his sword. When the spider tried to use its acid spay, Kelan raised a shield strong enough to protect the entire team, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Astrid knew these people were at higher levels than her. Still, it was disturbing how many attacks it took before the monster finally succumbed. This monster was after all only at level two. Walter walked over to her after the monster was killed with a knife in his hand. He held it out for her to take. ¡°I assume this is yours,¡± he said. ¡°Yes, thanks,¡± she said, putting the knife back in her inventory. ¡°Are all the monsters dead now?¡± ¡°My team and I have killed two, but there were three when they were first spotted.¡± ¡°I kill one in a street down there somewhere.¡± She pointed in the direction of the street she had entered the temple square from. ¡°You managed to kill one by yourself?¡± Walter asked in disbelief. ¡°And you sure it¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°I looted it, so yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°I have already looted this monster, but since you did some of the damage, you should have your share of the spoils.¡± ¡°You and your team just saved my life, so keep my share, and we¡¯ll call it even,¡± she said. She didn¡¯t believe in life debts, but some people took that kind of thing very seriously. Whether Walter was one of those people or not, she didn¡¯t know, so it was better to settle it immediately if possible. ¡°You got yourself a deal. My team and I are going to debrief at the headquarters now. You should come along too, so we can hear more about your fight. * Fifteen minutes later, I entered a room inside the mayor¡¯s office building. This was apparently the headquarters for the security guards of the city. The room was spacious, with a long table in the middle and enough chairs to host twenty people. Along the walls, shelves stood filled with books and bins. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Walter entered with a woman Astrid hadn¡¯t seen before. She had graying hair tied back in a neat bun. Her dress was yellow with an embroidered flower pattern that must have taken forever to create. The woman introduced herself as Mayor Tuva and took a seat at the head of the table. Walter sat in the empty seat between Kelan and Ina. ¡°We have a lot to discuss tonight,¡± Tuva said. ¡°Firstly, do we have any reports on how the monsters got into the city in the first place?¡± "No, we don¡¯t.¡± Walter answers. ¡°When one of my security teams reported the breach, the monsters were wreaking havoc in the park.¡± ¡°And does that team know how the monsters got in?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on it. but I¡¯ll try to debrief them tomorrow to find out exactly what happened. Astrid, can you tell your sister to be here tomorrow at noon?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll do that.¡± ¡°I have sent all our healers out to help the injured. Anyone not involved with that are to remain inside,¡± Tuva said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the counsel about getting more people on the security team when we meet tomorrow. Then hopefully we can prevent another monster breach from happening. Kelan, you should go join the healers.¡± ¡°I should check Astrid over more thoroughly first. She was quite injured when we arrived at the temple square.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Astrid said. She still wasn¡¯t sure if a healer would be able to tell that she was in disguise or lying about her age if they cast diagnostic spells at her, but she preferred not to risk getting exposed if she could help it. ¡°I¡¯ll drop by the temple of medicine later. Right now, other people need help more than I do.¡± ¡°Maybe your right,¡± Kelan gave her a last look of concern before he left the room. ¡°Walter, what¡¯s your plan for security going forward?¡± Tuva asked as soon as the door closed behind Kelan. ¡°The nightshift for the security guards starts soon, so I¡¯ll have them patrol the city wall, so no more monsters come in. I can have them enforce the curfew as well.¡± ¡°That would be nice. Now that¡¯s settled, we can move on to the next point. Astrid, I hear you took on one of the monsters all by yourself. Could you please tell us how you managed to do that?¡± Astrid told the story, feeling a bit uncomfortable with everyone¡¯s attention directed towards her. She had to be careful not to say anything that could get her in trouble, although she was starting to worry if she had already slipped up. Gorm knew about her, and there was no telling how many people had seen her fight at the temple square. ¡°That was impressive,¡± Walter said as she finished her story. "Thanks,¡± Astrid answered awkwardly. It felt weird being praised for fighting monsters when she had just been scolded for doing so a few hours ago. And by the same person, none the less. She was glad they didn¡¯t feel a need to make any more comments on her story. Instead, Walter told how he and his team had defeated the first spider. It was much like how they had fought the last one. Astrid envied their ability to get through battels like that without taking any significant damage. She herself had almost died multiple times tonight. ¡°All of you have done a great service to the city tonight. A lot of people owe their lives to you, but the danger is far from over. The monster population increases every day, and we haven¡¯t been able to get aid from the capital despite many requests.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get why they don¡¯t send a team to help us,¡± Jerric said. ¡°The kingdom is big, and we¡¯re near the borders, far from the capital.¡± Ina said. ¡°Even if they could find someone qualified to help who was willing to travel all the way here, it would be expensive. We have to deal with this on our own.¡± ¡°Other people tried that already,¡± Jerrik said. ¡°All of them died in an attempt to clear the dungeon.¡± ¡°Have you told the king that?¡± Walter asked Tuva ¡°Yes, but it didn¡¯t change their response.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the king doesn¡¯t care about us.¡± Ina said Astrid had heard most of this before, but the last part was new to her. Was it true the king didn¡¯t care about them? She didn¡¯t want to believe that, but why else would he refuse to send help? ¡°Of course, the king cares,¡± Tuva said. ¡°It¡¯s just expected that cities can handle any level tree and below monsters on their own.¡± ¡°Then we should try clearing the dungeon again. My team will be able to do this,¡± Walter said. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Tuva said. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to lose you guys too.¡± ¡°If only we knew what we would find inside the dungeon, we could prepare for it,¡± Walter said. ¡°Monsters, traps, and puzzles,¡± Astrid said. The way the others looked at her made her realize she had said more than she should. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°Uhm¡­ Isn¡¯t that what you find in all dungeons?¡± Like most people, she knew very little about dungeons, as for the longest time this whole area of the kingdom hadn¡¯t had any. That meant no one had seen one, and it wasn¡¯t taught or talked about publicly. ¡°Monsters yes.¡± Ina said. ¡°They spawn in dungeons and only begin leaving once the dungeon is filled to capacity or they are chased out by stronger monsters. However, the other challenges vary depending on the type of dungeon. Traps and puzzles are the worst combination. They are notoriously difficult and extremely dangerous.¡± ¡°They are also supposed to be rare at low levels,¡± Walter added. ¡°It¡¯s more likely that the challenges are more straight-forward. Maybe something like killing a strong monster or running an obstacle course. That could still pose a danger, but it¡¯s something my team can handle. Please let us do this, Mayor Tuva.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re sure you can handle this, I guess I can let you have the location to the dungeon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± This was bad. If the mayor allowed Walter and his team to enter the dungeon unprepared, they would die like all the others. Astrid remembered how she had easily been able to imagine how a hundred people could get stuck and killed in the dungeon. She shuttered at the thought. She didn¡¯t want that to happen to these people. ¡°You can¡¯t go,¡± Astrid said, getting everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Why not?¡± Walter said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous, and you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up against.¡± She felt like a whiny child, but at the moment she didn¡¯t care. ¡°I know the danger, but I have full confidence in my team.¡± ¡°A hundred people died in there. And so too will you if you enter unprepared.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way to prepare, as there¡¯s no way to know what we¡¯ll face. But every day we don¡¯t do something is a day where the monsters grow stronger, so we have to act now. Can you give us a location, mayor?¡± ¡°It¡¯s right here,¡± she said, drawing a circle on a map she had retrieved from somewhere. Astrid had no more ideas for how to change Walter¡¯s mind, which left her with just one option. ¡°You asked how I know there are traps and puzzles in this dungeon.¡± She took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°I know because I¡¯ve been there.¡± Chapter 38: homeless All the people in the room stared at Astrid in disbelief. She herself couldn¡¯t quite believe she had just told them, but she had been desperate to stop Walter from trying to clear it. Despite only having interacted with him and his team a couple times, she was starting to care about them. She didn¡¯t want them all to die because they entered the dungeon unprepared. ¡°What do you mean you have been in the dungeon? The location is kept secret to stop anyone from going there,¡± Mayor Tuva said. ¡°I stumbled upon it one day when I was out in the forest. I tried to seek refuge inside when I was being chased by a group of monsters. ¡°Then how are you here?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°I thought you had to clear it to get out. Did you do that?¡± "No, I didn¡¯t clear it, but you don¡¯t have to. You just have to get all the way through to find the exit, so you don¡¯t necessarily have to kill every monster. If that was the case, I wouldn¡¯t have made it. The strongest monster I saw in there was above level two, but I couldn¡¯t tell by tell much as my own monster-slaying level is too low. Luckily, it was sleeping when I was there, so I could walk around it. ¡°And you¡¯re sure the dungeon is a trap and puzzle type? It couldn¡¯t be just one of them? Or maybe something else?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not sure what you mean by types, but I would say I encountered traps and puzzles.¡± "Well, dungeons are made by one or more of the gods, and they design the challenges around their domain,¡± Tuva said. ¡°A trap and puzzle type would indicate a dungeon created by the god of deception and the goddess of education. It¡¯s considered one of the most dangerous combinations. If you tell us what you experienced there, we might be able to determine the type. ¡°My memories of it are a little hazy,¡± Astrid admitted. ¡°But I remember one of the rooms had a locked treasure chest that would spring a trap if you didn¡¯t open it the right way. You had to open it though, as it contained the key needed to open the door. There was no other way out of the room. There was also a monster lurking around the room, and everything was dark. In another room, I had to rearrange some tiles on the ground to open the door. That room was also really dark, and it took me a long time to find the tiles.¡± ¡°Sounds like it''s at least a puzzle type and probably a combination, Tuva mused.¡± ¡°How do you know the treasure chest was trapped?¡± Ina asked. Astrid had long feared these questions so had planned a response for them a while ago. There were a few skills like hunting and fishing where sensing and setting traps were acceptable, so she just had to allude that she had one of those. People already knew she had many skills, so pretending to have one more wouldn¡¯t raise suspicion. If she had to prove it, she could likely fake a hunting skill. It couldn¡¯t be that different from sneaking up on a monster and stabbing it in the back. ¡°When I was young, I sometimes set traps in the forest to catch small birds and rabbits when food was scarce, so now I have the ability to sense traps.¡± It wasn¡¯t something she had done, but it sounded believable enough. Food had never really been a problem until the monsters arrived. Even then, she couldn¡¯t say she had gone hungry. The food had just been blander than she was used to. ¡°I think then it¡¯s best to assume the worst,¡± Tuva said. ¡°The dungeon is a combination. ¡°Then how do we clear it?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± Tuva said, in a tone that didn¡¯t leave room for arguing. ¡°I¡¯ll send another messenger to the capital. Maybe once the king hears this new information, he¡¯ll send help.¡± * It was an exhausted Astrid who finally made it back to her room at the inn. Luckily, this part of the city had not been wrecked by the spidermonsters. The other inn had not been so lucky, and a lot more people would be sleeping on the streets for the foreseeable future while repairs were made. She quickly undressed before lying down on her bed and immediately falling asleep. A knock on the door woke her up. Sunlight poured in through her window, and she sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes. The knock sounded again, and Astrid stumbled out of bed, pulled on her dress, and went to open the door. In the hallway stood Walter and Astrid, straightening up immediately. ¡°Sigrid, good to see you. I want to talk to you about yesterday¡¯s event. I asked your sister to tell you to meet me, but you didn¡¯t show, so I got worried you had been hurt.¡± Astrid had completely forgotten that she was supposed to meet with Walter at noon to debrief. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just woke up. What time is it? Two in the afternoon,¡± Walter answered, and Astrid felt breath quicken her. Had she really slept for over twelve hours? She had missed the window to rent the room another night. It had to be done before noon. Now it was likely already rented out to someone else. That meant she had nowhere to stay tonight or any other night. What was she going to do now? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Walter said, and for a second, she thought he had read her thoughts and were referring to her living situation but then remembered what they had been talking about. He had just assumed she had panicked over the missed meeting. ¡°We can have the meeting now. Can I come in?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Astrid nodded and stepped aside. She sat down on the bed, trying to regain her composure as Walter sat on the only chair in the small room. ¡°I have already talked to Filip, and he informed me how Gorm blackmailed you. ¡°I promised not to tell on him.¡± Astrid said her panic was returning. ¡°It alright. I just want to let you know that he has been apprehended earlier today and will be charged for skipping his duties, amongst other things. Any rumors he tries to spread about you won¡¯t be taken seriously. ¡°Thank you. Why did he leave guard duty to begin with?¡± ¡°You¡¯re too young to worry about that. But maybe you can tell me more about what happened yesterday. You and Filip were the first ones at the scene of the monster breach.¡± Astrid told the story as accurately as she could without giving away any of the information she was trying to keep secret. ¡°What made you engage in a fight with the monsters in the first place? That was very dangerous.¡± ¡°I know. But as a security guard, it felt like it was part of my role to protect the civilians.¡± ¡°We would never ask our first-year students to risk themselves like that. You could have just helped your teammate evacuate.¡± ¡°Maybe I could, but then more people would have been killed. The spiders weren¡¯t going to stand around while we freed their captives. They had already started to eat people.¡± ¡°And you decided you should fight the monsters and not your teammate, who has more experience.¡± ¡°He may have more mana and know more spells than me, but not enough to fight three level two monsters at once.¡± Astrid said. She wasn¡¯t going to mention that Filip was too scared of monsters to be of any help in a fight. ¡°I at least have the speed to keep up with them and the health to survive a few hits. I figured I had the best chance at distracting the monsters until help arrived.¡± ¡°Seems reasonable. I¡¯m glad to hear that your actions were based on risk assessment and not recklessness. You have potential to become a good monster slayer. We need people like that. ¡°Thanks.¡± Silence fell over the room, and Walter studied it with a frown. ¡°Do you and your sister really live here?¡± ¡°Yes, we do.¡± She wasn¡¯t going to tell the leader that by dinnertime she would be homeless unless a miracle happened before then. "We were looking for an apartment a while back, but everything was either already rented out or too expensive. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can arrange something for you. It won¡¯t do for the heroes of the city to live in this place. I¡¯m sure Mayor Tuva will agree.¡± * After the leader had left, Astrid went down to the innkeeper, but just as she had thought, her room had already been rented out to someone else. The innkeeper told her to be out as soon as possible, so she went back up to her room to pack. She didn¡¯t have much already stored in her bag, so she was ready to leave a few minutes later. As she left the inn, fear filled her. She had no idea what to do now. Walter had said he would try to find a home for her, but she doubted he would be able to do so before nightfall, so it wouldn¡¯t help her tonight. Would she have to sleep on the streets until then? That was what most of the other refugees did. The thought alone made her spirit drop. Aside from a single night when she had had to survive twenty-four hours in the wild, she had always had a bed to sleep in. Tears began to burn in the corners of her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. She refused to cry over this. It wouldn¡¯t do her any good. She pushed the thoughts away before they could drain her spirit completely. Astrid wandered the streets for a while looking at the destruction and the people busy cleaning up and doing repairs. The harvest festival was supposed to have lasted a couple more days, but no one was in the mood to celebrate after last night''s monster breach. To pass the time, she disguised herself as an adult and went to the job hall. Maybe there were some new quests she could take. There was one from the high priest of the healer asking for a number of different plants that she had come to learn were used in healing potions and ointments. She already had everything the quest asked for and more, so she accepted it and went to deliver the plants. As she made it to the temple square, she noticed a long line in front of the god of medicine¡¯s temple. It seemed that there were far more injured than the city had the ability to handle, and the priest and priestesses scrambled around trying to help as many as they could. She walked up to the door, receiving angry looks and comments from the people waiting in line. She ignored them and quickly made her way to the door. ¡°Miss, you have to wait your turn like everyone else. We¡¯ll be with you as soon as we can.¡± A priestess said, sounding like she had already had this conversation a hundred times today. ¡°I¡¯m here to complete this quest,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Oh wonderful. The high priest is inside tending to the critically injured. Go in and turn right, and then you¡¯ll find him. I have to get back to work.¡± The priestess left, and Astrid stepped inside the temple and looked around. The walls were polished stone, and along the far wall stood the altar. On it there was a bowl with a handful of copper coins, some incense burners, and a few lit candles. There were a lot of people in the room. Some praying by the altar and some resting on benches along the walls. She turned right and walked through a door into a long room lined with beds. All of them were occupied. Astrid hadn¡¯t realized how many had been grievously hurt last night, but this room held at least fifty injured and a dozen healers tending to them. They wore white ropes with different hem colors to symbolize their rank. All the healers were followers of the god of healing, as no one was allowed to practice more than basic first aid if they weren¡¯t, and she recognized a few of them as she had delivered plants to them as part of her quests. Astrid went over to the high priest, easily recognizable with the gold-colored hem, who was in the middle of assigning work to the other healers. "I''m here to deliver the plants you requested,¡± Astrid said. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. Our stocks are almost depleted.¡± Astrid pulled the plants out of her bag and handed them to the high priest. It barely made a dent in her stored supplies. ¡°Seems in order.¡± The high priest said he was pulling a large copper from his belt pouch. Astrid took the coin and looked around the room at all the injured people. What she had just given didn¡¯t seem like enough to help all of them. ¡°I still have quite a bit of those plants, so if you need more, you can have them.¡± ¡°We could sure use it, but we can¡¯t afford it right now.¡± The high priest answered. ¡°Why not?¡± Astrid had assumed all the temples were rich as they received offerings and donations constantly. ¡°Many of the injured are refugees who won¡¯t be able to donate anything for their treatment, and I have everyone working overtime that needs to be compensated as well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about payment.¡± Astrid emptied several slots in her inventory out on a table beside her. After all, Kelan, one of the healers, had saved her life yesterday, so this seemed like the least she could do to repay the favor. ¡°This is too much. I can¡¯t possibly accept this.¡± ¡°I have no need for it myself, but a lot of people here do.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pray for your good health,¡± the high priest said. Chapter 39: The Temple of Deception Astrid bought some stew at a crowded tavern, one of the few places open today. She tried to figure out what she should do now that she was basically homeless again. Maybe the mayor would give her an apartment one of the following days, but that didn¡¯t help her situation for tonight. She had spent most of the day trying to find Villads or Brigitta, hoping she could stay with one of them for a night or two, but with no luck. They were likely being kept at home by their families after the monster breach, and Astrid didn¡¯t know where they lived. Now she could only think of one place where she could spend the night other than the street, and she hated that she had to resort to this. The one place she could stay was the temple of the god of Deception. People could stay in the temples of gods at no other cost than a lifetime of servitude, which she was already paying. She might as well use the few privileges it granted. Maybe she¡¯d even get a free meal in the morning. Astrid finished her stew and got up from her seat, which was immediately taken by another person. Then she headed out towards the temple square. Outside the temple of medicine, the line of people had only grown longer. Astrid should probably seek medical attention herself, as Kelan, the healer on Walter''s team, had advised. However, she felt fine at the moment and didn¡¯t want to waste the healers¡¯ time when so many people urgently needed their help. More people stood by the other temples, praying to whatever gods or goddesses they thought could best help them at the moment. However, no one went near the temple of Deception which meant that if she did it, everyone would notice. Unless¡­ She used her cloak to change her appearance into a mixture of several strangers she saw, as her own appearance was too recognizable. Then she used her notice me not spell as an extra precaution, and after checking one last time to make sure no one was paying attention to her, she walked up to the temple and quickly slipped inside. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± a gruff voice said the moment the door closed behind her. Astrid hadn¡¯t expected anyone else to be inside and immediately dropped her disguise. "I''m...¡± she wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Should she introduce herself as Astrid, Sigrid, or something else? ¡°Oh, I know who you are. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡± The man was tall with graying hair. The gold trims on his black robes indicated that he was the high priest of this temple. ¡°You have?¡± It filled her with unease that another person knew her secrets. Could she trust this guy to keep it to himself? ¡°I have. Our god is quite fond of you. He finds you quite entertaining.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure how else to respond to that. She couldn¡¯t exactly tell this guy that she wished Sham would just leave her alone. Not when she had come here on her own volition, seeking shelter. ¡°I¡¯m just looking for a place to spend the night.¡± She looked around the small room that contained nothing but the altar along the back wall and an old rug taking up a good chunk of the floor. It didn¡¯t look like there was anywhere to sleep. The room barely looked big enough for the high priest to lie down. Astrid had thought all temples offered followers a place to sleep, but maybe she had been mistaken. The high priest must have picked up on her confusion. ¡°This is just the front room, which is open to the public. The rest of the temple is down here.¡± He bent down and pulled the rug aside, reviewing a trapdoor hidden underneath. With a swift movement, he pulled the door open. ¡°Let me show you to your room,¡± he said and descended the ladder. Astrid hesitated a moment before carefully following the high priest. It was dark, so she had to feel her way down. It was slow going. With no idea what she would find at the button, she could only hope it wasn¡¯t worse than spending the night on the street. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the bottom. The high priest had found a lamp, so Astrid was able to see that she was standing at one end of a tunnel. The end lay out of sight, so there was no telling how long the tunnel was. ¡°This way.¡± The high priest said he was setting off at a fast pace, so Astrid had to run a bit to keep up. Each step reverberated through the tunnel, and Astrid was beginning to second-guess whether coming here had been a good idea. ¡°Are there others in the temple?¡± Astrid asked. It would be nice to know if she should expect encountering more people during her hopefully short stay. ¡°Not right now." ¡°What about in the rest of the city?¡± ¡°Largon has many followers of Deception.¡± ¡°How many people? Who are they?¡± ¡°Only I know the exact number and identities of the followers. And I am not sharing that information with anyone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair¡± She was actually relieved that he wouldn¡¯t tell anyone. That meant he wouldn¡¯t tell others about her either. It would have been bad if anyone could learn of her identity just by asking the high priest. They continued walking, and Astrid spotted a staircase up ahead. However, they continued walking right past it, and there was still no end inside of the tunnel. ¡°What¡¯s up that staircase?¡± Astrid asked. "That''s the entrance to the temple that most people use.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Theres another entrance?¡± ¡°Of course there is. Not everyone dares to use the main entrance in the temple square.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°At the pawnshop, not far from Temple Square. If you ask the shopkeeper if you can see the stuff in the back, he¡¯ll take you out to a storage room. There you can show your amulet, and he¡¯ll open the door for you.¡± They continued walking in silence for another minute before the high priest stopped in front of a door. ¡°This is the living area of the temple,¡± he said, pushing the door open. ¡°Where does the tunnel end?¡± Despite having reached their destination, Astrid still couldn¡¯t see the end of the tunnel. ¡°It leads outside the city so we can avoid the guards at the gate when we want to come and go unnoticed. The exit is carefully hidden somewhere in the forest. You won¡¯t be able to find it unless you know where it is.¡± He opened the door and entered a common room with a table and chairs in the middle and a fireplace by the far wall. ¡°The rooms are through the door on your left. They are all vacant, so you can take whichever one you like,¡± the high priest said before leaving the way they had come. With nothing else to do, Astrid went through the door on her left and walked to the very end of the hallway before taking the last room. The room was bigger than the one at the inn, but not by much. It had a bed, a small table, and a chair. There were no windows, but since they were deep underground, it made sense. It was still a bit too early to go to bed, especially since she had slept so long, so she figured she could spend some time training. With everything that had happened during the harvest festival, she had had very little time to build her mana, which meant it was unlikely she would be allowed to learn the new spells in her next class. Especially not since her fight had given her a good chunk of experience points, so she now found herself halfway to leveling up. The last thing she wanted was to reach level two with a subpar mana pool and miss out on a good bonus.
Health: 24/24 Stamina: 40/40 Mana: 30/30 Focus: 20/20 Spirit: 16/16
Astrid sighed. There was still a long way to go. She retrieved her quarterstaff and cast her basic shield, holding it until her mana was completely drained. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided she should try falling asleep. * As Astrid entered the common room the next morning, she froze in place, unable to believe what she saw. At the table, Gorm sat eating breakfast with the high priest. ¡°Astrid.¡± The high priest said, gesturing at the chair beside him. ¡°Come join us.¡± Astrid slowly walked to the table and sat down. She accepted the plate of food that her high priest offered her. ¡°Is someone in hiding?¡± Gorm said with a smirk that made Astrid¡¯s cheeks flush with anger. ¡°No, I¡¯m just saying for the night. I thought you had been apprehended by the guards.¡± ¡°I was thanks to you telling on me, but I managed to escape.¡± ¡°What did you tell the authorities about Gorm?" The high priest asked, sending Astrid an angry glare. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them anything. He¡¯s the one who told them about me.¡± ¡°Only because you told on me first.¡± ¡°I said nothing but what we had agreed upon.¡± ¡°You told them about Astrid.¡± The high priest said. Now he was livid. ¡°You know that is not allowed. Is that why you¡¯re here, Astrid? Are they after you?¡± ¡°No, they didn¡¯t believe what Gorm said. They think he¡¯s just trying to spread nasty rumors about me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky, Gorm. If she had been exposed, you would be facing serious consequences. The high priest said his anger was slowly dissipating. ¡°The same goes for you, Astrid. Anything you see or hear here, you keep to yourself. The same goes for anything you might learn about other followers of Deception unless our god himself tells you to do otherwise.¡± Astrid nodded in agreement. ¡°It must be nice to be the hero, so no one will believe you can do any wrong.¡± ¡°If you had stayed like you were supposed to instead of running off in the middle of your shift, you could have been a hero too,¡± she retorted. ¡°What were you even doing that was so important that you left us to fend for ourselves?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? I thought Walter would have told you everything.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t had the chance to talk about it yet.¡± No way she would tell Gorm that Walter thought she was too young to be told the reason. ¡°Well, since you want to know, I had a little errand to run. Some people had agreed to work for friends of mine.¡± The way he said ¡®work¡¯ made Astrid shutter. ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why you had to leave us.¡± ¡°It really is none of your business, but I guess it won''t hurt to tell you about it. It¡¯s not like you can share the information with anyone. I was ensuring the people got safely onto the boats. If it hadn¡¯t been for the monster breach slowing down the process, I would have made it away with the last boat as well.¡± ¡°Why would people want to leave Largon on boats to go work for your friends?¡± ¡°You have seen the conditions most refugees in the city live under. With winter approaching, they are getting desperate, and options here are limited. That makes it easy to get them to sign a work contract as long as you promise them a place to sleep and a bit of food. Often, they don¡¯t even care that you won¡¯t be paying them anything. Then once they are far away from all they have ever known, it¡¯s too late for them to change their minds.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound legal.¡± ¡°But it is. I offered a work contract, and they signed it of their own free will. Of course, sometimes we have to break the laws a little. Not everyone is willing to sign these contracts. For those people, it¡¯s better to offer them a loan. Then all you have to do is steal the money back and wait a bit. Soon they¡¯ll fail to pay back the loan as agreed, and you can demand that they work for you until their debt is paid. And if they are far away from their former home, they might just keep working for you afterwards, as traveling back is too expensive or dangerous. ¡°You can¡¯t just take advantage of people like that.¡± Astrid said. ¡°It¡¯s evil.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s evil. Did you expect anything else? We are followers of Deception. Deceiving people is what we are supposed to do.¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t be doing it.¡± ¡°Really? Then what do you call this double-life thing you have going? You basically have the leadership of Largon deceived. What will your ¡®friends¡¯ say when they find out the truth about you?¡± Astrid didn¡¯t have a response to that and looked down on her food that had suddenly lost its appeal. Gorm let out a short laugh at her silence. ¡°Just be glad that your status as a follower kept you safe from the scheme I¡¯m running.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When I first saw you roaming the streets alone, I thought you¡¯d be an easy target, but after watching you for a bit, I noticed that you weren¡¯t as innocent and helpless as you appeared to be.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you knew what I was. You have been spying on me! Sham mentioned he had people watching me.¡± ¡°I would see you on occasion, and let our god know what you were up to if he asked.¡± ¡°Good thing you¡¯ll be hiding in here for the foreseeable future. That way you won¡¯t be able to spy on me or hurt any more people.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be out of here sooner than you think. In the meantime, there are a lot of people doing the same scheme as me all over Otimra, and many are worse than I am.¡± Chapter 40: Drafted Astrid left the temple of deception as soon as she finished her breakfast. She didn¡¯t want to spend a second longer with Gorm than she had to. As if a switch had been flicked, the weather had changed overnight from warm and sunny to windy and rainy. She was glad her cloak kept her warm and dry, but she would still have to get some winter clothes soon to keep up with her double life. She didn¡¯t want to wear the cloak to school. It was still early, so she wandered the streets aimlessly. People around her were still cleaning up after both the attack and the harvest festival, which officially ended today. Tomorrow everyone would go back to their normal work, and since Astrid hadn¡¯t heard anything else, she assumed she would go back to school as well. She went to the job hall as soon as it opened, hoping it would have some new quests for her to take. She had barely made it in through the door when Walter approached her. ¡°Astrid,¡± Walter said. ¡°I hoped I would find you here.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Why was Walter looking for her? Had he decided to look into Gorm''s claims about her? Had he found something? Was she going to get arrested? ¡°It¡¯s nothing new, but as we talked about the other day, I am putting a team together that can deal with the monster attacks, and I want you to join.¡± Astrid sighed in relief. This was not as bad as she had feared. She had already turned this offer down multiple times before and she could do so again. ¡°No thanks. I work best alone.¡± She could only imagine how hard it would be to keep up her double life if both her identities had commitments to other people. She couldn¡¯t quit school without it being noticed. It would be seen as weird to drop out, especially since she was doing quite well. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not asking. This is a formal draft.¡± He held out an envelope stamped with a wax seal, and Astrid''s relief was immediately replaced with dread. Astrid stared at the envelope like it had personally offended her before reluctantly taking it. She opened it and pulled out a piece of paper. As soon as she began reading, a quest appeared.
New quest from the Mayor of Largon The situation in Largon is dire, and your help is required Objective: schedule time for training sessions, meetings, and missions with your new teammates Reward: 10 small coppers
¡°Fine,¡± Astrid reluctantly agreed, knowing she didn¡¯t have a choice in the matter. She would just have to find a way to make it work. ¡°But I can¡¯t meet earlier than three in the afternoon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can work with that. Are you available now? I¡¯m holding an introductory meeting with the other team members in an hour, and I want you to be there too.¡± "I guess I can meet in an hour.¡± ¡°Great. I have a few more errands to run before then, but we¡¯ll meet at our headquarters. ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± ¡°See you soon then,¡± Walter said, leaving the job hall. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Quest complete
Astrid knew what it was going to say, so she ignored it. Her mind was a whirlwind of panicked thoughts about everything that could possibly go wrong. How had she gotten involved in all this? * Fifty minutes later, Astrid sat down in the same chair she had occupied a few days ago. She had managed to suppress her panic just enough to focus. Ina and Jerrik were already in the room, along with another guy Astrid hadn¡¯t met before. He had blond hair that reached down to his shoulders, and his clothes were amongst the finest Astrid had ever seen. He looked about as happy to be here as Astrid felt, so she assumed he was forced into this. Maybe he had been drafted too. Ten minutes later, Walter and Kelan entered the room and found their seats. ¡°Good to see that you are all here,¡± Walter said. ¡°You have been personally selected to join this team by the mayor and me. From now on, we will be responsible for the safety of the city until the threat of monsters has been eliminated. We¡¯ll train together every day to improve our monster-slaying skills, and if there is another monster breach, we¡¯ll be responsible for dealing with it. But before we get started on all that, I think some proper introductions will be in order. I¡¯ll start. I¡¯m Walter, and I will be leading this team. I trained as a combat magician and am currently at level three in both defensive and offensive magic. I began training as a monster slayer a few months ago when it became clear that the city needed people with that skill.¡± Walter finished his speech and gestured for Kelan beside him to continue. ¡°I¡¯m Kelan. I¡¯m a level five healer and a priest for the god of medicine. I won¡¯t be fighting monsters directly, but I¡¯ll offer medical assistance when necessary. Kelan looked no older than the other team members, so he would have had the same amount of time to develop his skills. However, as a priest, he likely had access to books that would boost his skill progression significantly, allowing him to level up much quicker than people who didn¡¯t follow any of the gods. Astrid had similar boosts to the skills she had unlocked from reading Shams book. However, as she didn¡¯t want to use those skills, it didn''t do her any good. ¡°I¡¯m Einar,¡± the new guy mumbled. "And I don¡¯t get why I have to be here.¡± ¡°We have talked about this,¡± Walter said. ¡°The city needs everyone who is qualified to step up.¡± ¡°I studied combat magic to be a duelist for my family. And I already have my secondary profession since I help run the business. I don¡¯t want to corrupt my skillset fighting monsters.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a level three combat magician,¡± Walter said. ¡°That means you have a duty toward the city and its inhabitants, so you just have to deal with it.¡± No one had a response to that. Astrid still didn¡¯t get why these people were obsessed with avoiding unlocking skills not relevant to their profession. It worried her slightly that his unwillingness to be part of the team could make him a liability. If he wasn¡¯t willing to do his part in a fight, others might pay the price. Then again, she wasn¡¯t here of her own free will either. Wouldn¡¯t that make her a liability as well? No, regardless of her feelings about being a part of this team, she would not let the others down. ¡°My name is Ina. I¡¯m a swordfighter at level three. I also recently got into monster slaying due to the current situation.¡± ¡°And my name is Jerrik. I trained sword fighting with Ina, and I am also at level three. Astrid felt better compared to the others. She had known they were stronger than her for a while, as they were all adults who had trained for years but hearing them put a number to their level made it so much more real that she was going to be the weakest link on the team. ¡°I¡¯m Astrid, and I just started combat magician training, so I¡¯m still at level one. I also train knife fighting, and that skill is in level one as well.¡± ¡°If you can put this newbie on the team, it shouldn¡¯t be that hard to replace me,¡± Einar said. ¡°She¡¯s not a newbie. Her monster-slaying skill is as good as any of ours, and that''s what counts here,¡± Walter said. ¡°After some training, her weapon skills will improve. Now that the introductions are over, we can get to the point.¡± The meeting lasted for several more hours. Astrid mostly listened to the others talk. They planned how to train and eventually settled on alternating between three different activities. First, there was a day of training, which would start as soon as the meeting ended. There they would focus on incorporating Astrid and Einar into the team as well as practicing their fighting skills. Secondly, they would spend a day evaluating the training and come up with new fighting strategies. The third activity was monster slaying. They would venture into the forest to test if the things they learned during practice also worked in the real world. This would hopefully also lower the number of monsters in the forest, reducing the chances of another monster breach. Finally, the meeting ended, and the team headed out to the training ground at the academy for their practice session. Chapter 41: training with the team ¡°Okay, let''s get in formation.¡± Walter said while setting up the target they would use during practice. Astrid had no idea what she was supposed to do and stood uncertainly as the others arranged themselves in a V-shape with the tip pointing away from the target. Even Einar knew what to do, so either someone had already filled him in, or it was a standard formation taught to combat magicians at some point. The lack of knowledge made her feel even more out of place on this team. ¡°We have to find a place to incorporate Astrid,¡± Walter said. ¡°Do you prefer ranged attacks or melee attacks?¡± Both, Astrid thought, but she couldn¡¯t say that. In order to fit in on the team, she would have to choose. ¡°Ranged attacks,¡± she answered. Sure, she could only use one spell that delt damage at the moment, but she didn¡¯t want to get close enough to the monsters without using her cloak¡¯s invisibility and her backstab attack. She couldn¡¯t use either in front of others without giving herself away. "Okay, Astrid, you can stand beside me if we expand the formation a bit,¡± Walter said. ¡°You¡¯ll attack fist.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Astrid said and moved to stand next to Walter at the tip. From there, she had a clear view of the target. ¡°Just start whenever you are ready.¡± Astrid took a deep breath, focusing a few mana points into her staff. ¡°Basic blast.¡± The attack sailed through the air and hit the target. Right after Jerrik rushed in and delivered a sword strike to the target before returning to his original place just in time to avoid a fire blast Einar had cast. Before the smoke had even cleared, Ina rushed in for an attack, slashing her sword across the target and retreated again. Then Walter cast a magic attack that Astrid couldn¡¯t identify. "Astrid, it¡¯s your turn again,¡± Walter said, and Astrid quickly cast her basic blast again. This continued for a few more rounds before the leader called for a break. ¡°Is basic blast the only spell you know?" Einar mocked. Astrid got the feeling that he didn¡¯t like her much. If this continued much longer, the feeling would be mutual. It could be that he was just angry that he had to be here, so Astrid decided not to taunt him back. ¡°I have also cast wind blast once, but that would affect everyone in front of me,¡± she said, remembering the fight against the spider monster. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of my limited repertoire when it came to magic, but I¡¯m still focusing on building my mana. ¡°You''re even newer at this than I thought. Are we sure she¡¯s needed on the team?¡± Astrid didn¡¯t know if Einar was concerned about his own or her safety, maybe both. If she was unable to keep up with the others in a fight, it would put them all in danger. She still didn¡¯t feel like she had anything valuable to contribute to the team. Especially not when it came to fighting monsters with them. ¡°Astrid is a capable fighter despite her limited mana and spells.¡± Walter said. "Besides, she¡¯s the only one who knows how to make it through a dungeon, so we need her if we have to do it ourselves. I don¡¯t want to hear any more jests at her expense. Now let¡¯s get back to training.¡± Astrid followed the others back in formation, hoping she would never have to set foot inside a dungeon. Surely, she wouldn¡¯t have to. With the new information about the dungeon type, the king would be mad not to send someone professional to clear it. just thinking about the dungeon could drain her spirit as fast as the memory of her family being killed. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind so she could focus on the training. They practiced different formations and techniques, adapting them to also accommodate Astrid and Einar. The one they started with had by far been the easiest. The training continued until every member of the team could execute the formations smoothly. By then Astrid felt exhausted. ¡°We¡¯ll meet tomorrow at the mayor¡¯s office for studying,¡± Walter said, and the other team members began to leave. ¡°Astrid, please wait. I have something I want to talk to you about.¡± Astrid waited while the rest of the team members left the training grounds. Soon the two were alone. ¡°So, I talked with your sister yesterday to debrief her about the attack, and I promised her to talk to the mayor about your living situation. She agreed that the two of you shouldn¡¯t be staying in a tiny room at the inn, so she found an apartment you might like. If you want, we can go check it out now.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°What does it cost?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t cost you anything. It¡¯s a gift for you and your sister¡¯s heroic actions the other day.¡± ¡°Did you and the rest of the team also get gifted an apartment?" As much as she would love to avoid spending another night at the temple of deception, getting gifted an apartment seemed excessive, especially with so many refugees still living on the streets. No, but we got paid for doing our job. Even got a bonus so large we could buy one. You, on the other hand, stepped up to the fight even though no one asked you to or expected you to. You saved a lot of lives that day. Maybe even mine and the other team members.¡± ¡°You handled yourself pretty well against the spiders.¡± ¡°Maybe, but it took us a long time to kill each one, and there were several close calls. If we had had to deal with two at the same time, we would have taken casualties." ¡°All right. I would like to at least see this apartment,¡± Astrid said as her desire for a real home won over her moral apprehension of accepting it as a gift. * Ten minutes later, they stood in what could become Astrid¡¯s new apartment. The room they entered was slightly bigger than her family¡¯s cottage had been. A large fireplace stood against one wall surrounded by couches and armchairs. On shelves stood random nicknack That didn¡¯t seem to serve any real purpose and large painting and tapestries hung on the walls that was already covered in flowery wallpaper. ¡°This place is huge,¡± Astrid said. ¡°This is just the living room. Wait till you see the upstairs.¡± ¡°Theres another floor?¡± "Yes, that¡¯s where the bedrooms are. I think there¡¯s a small study too. And through those doors over there you¡¯ll find the kitchen and a dining room.¡± ¡°All this is just for me... and my sister.¡± She almost forgot to add that last part. ¡°If you want it, it is.¡± Astrid wanted nothing more than to do just that. Anything to not spend more time in the god of deception¡¯s temple than necessary. ¡°Let¡¯s see the rest of the apartment before I make a decision.¡± Astrid ended up saying. They spent a few minutes touring the place, and every time Astrid saw something new, she got more overwhelmed. She couldn¡¯t fathom that there were people who had this much space to themselves, and especially not that she could be one of them. The place was also furnished with more stuff than she had ever seen in one building before, and most of it looked expensive. She was almost nervous to walk around in case she broke something. She doubted she could afford to replace anything in here. ¡°So, is this place to your liking?¡± the leader asked once they got back to the front door.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s yours.¡± He handed her a key, and she took it carefully and looked at it. Even the key looked expensive with small engravings in the metal. ¡°Are you absolutely sure that I can have all this at no cost?¡± ¡°Of course. For as long as you want it. Do you need help finding people to take care of this place?¡± It took Astrid a moment to realize what the leader was asking. ¡°No, I can manage on my own.¡± She didn¡¯t want to hire anyone to cook and clean for her. She could do those things on her own. Besides, if she hired someone, it wouldn¡¯t take them long to figure out that Astrid and her sister were the same person. The leader left shortly after that, saying he had more research to do, and Astrid walked another round of the apartment, taking in every detail about her new home. She found her pantry fully stocked and wondered if she would be able to eat all of it before it turned bad. Maybe the cabinets had a preservation spell like her bag did? She sure hoped so. She figured it was about time for dinner. This was the first time since she fled from her farm that she had the opportunity to cook a meal. Though this would be the first time she did everything on her own, as her mother or sister had always been there to give her directions. Even then she had rarely done more than cut and peal vegetables. Her mother had prioritized her sister¡¯s cooking skill as she was older. Astrid quickly pushed the memories away. Her cooking skill, like most of her other skills, was only at level one, so she would have to make something simple. She started a fire under the stove and found the stuff she would need. Half an hour later, she had a bowl full of boiled vegetables floating around in warm water. She had attempted to make a stew, but it hadn¡¯t turned out as she had wanted. The greens were overcooked, and the flavor was bland. She ate it, anyway, as doing otherwise would be a waste of food. Despite her exhaustion, she spent another half hour cleaning up the mess she had created while wondering what she was supposed to do with food scraps. She had no animals to feed them to and no compost to throw them on. Maybe living in her own apartment was going to be more challenging than she had thought. She put them in her inventory so she could deal with them later and then went to find the study. Her classes started again tomorrow, so she wanted to prepare a bit by reading up on the topic they would be going over. The room had a large desk made of dark wood facing a window and two empty bookcases. She didn¡¯t read for long as her eyes refused to stay open, but she did manage to drain her mana by holding a shield spell. When she woke up, it would have recovered and gained a few more points in the process. She had just laid down in a bed way too soft to be comfortable when she got a notification, and Astrid felt her heart sink as she read the message.
New quest from the god of Deception Your identity is at risk of being compromised and you need to get away Objective: travel to the capital Time left: 30 days Reward: a large copper
Chapter 42: Practice Fight Astrid reread the new quest multiple times, hoping that it would somehow change by doing so. Yet the quest stayed the same.
New quest from the god of deception Your identity is at risk of being compromised, and you need to get away Objective: travel to the capital Time left: 30 days Reward: a large copper
Was it even possible to get there in the time she had been given when travelling on foot? In class, Astrid had learned that the capital lay at the other end of the country, many miles from here. And why would the god of deception want her to leave Largon now that she was just starting to feel at home here? She had moved into an apartment. She went to school and worked with a team to defend the city. She couldn¡¯t leave all that behind. She didn¡¯t want to leave. The thought of losing everything she had worked so hard to gain was unbearable. There was no way she would let anyone take away the life she had established. Not even a god. She would just ignore the quest and continue her life as if nothing had happened. Besides, there was no reason for her to leave to begin with. No one had believed a word Gorm said about her, so her secrets were still safe. With her mind made up, she fell asleep surprisingly easily. The next morning, Astrid went to the academy for her first day back after the harvest festival. It felt like an eternity since she had last attended class, even though it had only been five days. So much had happened in those few days. As she entered the classroom, she spotted Filip sitting in the back by himself. She wanted to see how he was holding up after the monster breach, so she went over and sat down at the desk next to his. ¡°How are you?¡± she asked ¡°I¡¯m fine. How about you?¡± ¡°All good.¡± ¡°Look, Sigrid, I¡¯m so sorry about the other day.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°After I cut people free of the spiderwebs, I just ran off, leaving you to fend for yourself.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be sorry for that. You got the citizens to safety, and that¡¯s what¡¯s important. Walter showed up shortly after and took over the fight.¡± ¡°Still, I wanted to help you, but I just couldn¡¯t get myself to do it. I¡¯m so pathetic.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. No one expected us to defend against monsters during our shift.¡± ¡°But you did, and I just ran. If I¡¯m ever going to make it as a combat magician, I have to stop being such a coward.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll come with practice, I guess,¡± Astrid tried to reassure although she couldn¡¯t tell how effective it was. ¡°If you want, you can train with me, Brigitta, and Villads after class.¡± ¡°Do you really want me to practice with you? I¡¯m not any good compared to you three.¡± ¡°Of course you are. I have seen you in class. You''re better than I am, and you know far more spells too. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure it''s alright, I would like to practice with you guys.¡± Shortly after the teacher entered, the first class of the day began. The Otimranian studies class went by in a blur, and Astrid busied herself writing notes. Due to last night¡¯s reading, she even managed to answer some of the questions the teacher asked her. The combat magician class, on the other hand, dragged on forever. Astrid was still stuck practicing the basic blast and basic shield as her mana was too low to start on the other spells. Most of the time she spent watching the others practice, only participating for the few minutes it took to drain her mana. After class, Astrid brought Filip over to Brigitta and Villads. They accepted him into the group easily, but they didn¡¯t do much training that day. Since Brigitta and Villads hadn¡¯t been present during the monster breach, they were more interested in asking questions. Astid didn¡¯t mind the missed training too much, as she had to train with Walter¡¯s team in a few hours. Although Filip tried to downplay the role he had played, Astrid didn¡¯t let him. She made sure to highlight how he had freed people trapped in spiderwebs and helped them get out of harm''s way.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Villads complained that his brother Walter hadn¡¯t wanted to tell him about it, and his parent had forbidden him from leaving the house for the past few days. Brigitta thought it was awful that none of the guards had stopped the monsters before they made it inside the city walls. * Astrid stood at the edge of the forest with the other team members. They had practiced together for a few weeks, and Walter had decided they were ready to put their skills to the test against monsters. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± Walter said. ¡°We¡¯ll play it safe today, but monster encounters are always risky, so remember our training. We¡¯ll retreat if things get out of hand. Now get in formation and let¡¯s go.¡± They got in formation and entered the forest. The mood was tense as they made their way deeper into the forest. ¡°It¡¯s not fair we have to be in front,¡± Jerrik joked with a nervous laugh. ¡°If a monster shows up, we¡¯ll be attacked first.¡± ¡°A monster would be more likely to attack from behind,¡± Astrid said matter-of-factly, causing everyone to turn their heads to watch behind them. ¡°Or from the sided,¡± She elaborated, causing more nervous glances around. ¡°Stay calm,¡± Walter said. ¡°We have contingency plans for all of those instances. Just follow my orders and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± They continued walking in silence, and soon they came across their first monster. It was an earth slug. Slugs were generally good monsters for beginners to fight as long as they weren¡¯t the toxic kind. They were slow, and other than biting, their only attack was spitting slime, or in the case of earth slugs, mud. ¡°Let¡¯s fight,¡± Walter said, and Astrid initiated the fight with her basic blast. Before the monster had a chance to react, Jerrik jumped into action and cut a large gab in the slug. A sludge-like substance oozed from the wound, spilling onto the ground. The slug spat mud, but Einar used a windshield to blow the mud away from the team. As soon as the shield dissipated, Ina ran forward only to slip in the sludge. Even if the monster had been faster, it wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to get close to the fallen swordfighter as Walter sent his attack right at it, and it collapsed to the ground. ¡°Nice work, guys. Now let¡¯s move on.¡± They all followed Walter¡¯s order and continued walking through the forest. It only took them a couple of minutes to find the next monster. Or rather it found them. A large rodent sprang from a bush beside them, aiming its sharp claws at Einar. He was quick to raise a shield strong enough to send the monster flying backwards. Astrid identified it as a rabid rodent before firing a basic blast at the monster before it could get a chance to recover. They kept taking turns attacking the beast, never giving it the chance to land an attack of its own. Despite their efforts, the monster didn¡¯t seem fazed by their attacks. But then again, monsters rarely did at first. It kept trying to slash at them with its claws, but since attacks kept coming at it, it wasn¡¯t able to decide who to fight first, leaving it to run forth and back between the team members. A high-pitched screech sounded through the forest, and from the bush sprang another rodent just like the first. ¡°There''s more of them!¡± Einar said. ¡°What do we do?¡± Jerrik got struck by the first monster¡¯s claws as no one followed up his attack, too busy dealing with the new arrival. Kelan was quick to cast a healing spell, closing Jerrik¡¯s wounds and clearing his body of the disease the rodents spread. ¡°Second formation,¡± Walter ordered. Everyone scrambled to follow the instructions. This maneuver had been easy to execute during practice but doing it on uneven forest terrain while monsters attacked from multiple directions proved difficult. Eventually all managed to find their place in the formation forming a circle with their bags against each other. Kelan stood in the middle of the circle as he was the healer and not an active combatant. For a while they slowly chipped away at the two rodents¡¯ health, but then a third arrived. The team tried to keep up with the fight, but they were quickly getting tired. Kelan was busy healing everyone whenever they took damage, and it was only because he was in level five that they were all still alive. Astrid wanted Walter to order them to retreat but quickly noticed it wouldn¡¯t be an option. Walter must have seen it too since he didn¡¯t initiate their escape. Every path not blocked by dense forest or thick bushes was blocked by a rabid rodent. Maybe if they made a run for it, they could get away. All the fighters were level two runners, and with the exception of Astrid, had good stamina. However, they weren¡¯t all fighters, and they couldn¡¯t leave Kelan behind. ¡°Astrid, can you fight one of them on your own?¡± Walter asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous,¡± one of the team members argued. Astrid didn¡¯t know who. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m used to fighting on my own. This might be our best chance.¡± Walter gave Astrid the signal to move, and she wasted no time before doing so. She sent a basic blast after the nearest rodent, taunting it to go after her while she moved away from the other team members. The monster was level one, so it shouldn¡¯t take too long to deal with it. Once she had gotten the monster and herself out of view of the others, she initiated her strongest attack. Using her staff as a club. The impact with the rodent¡¯s head made a sickening crack, and blood sprayed out from the wound. It reared back out of range of her staff, which didn¡¯t bother Astrid as she still had magic while the rodent only had claws. She sent another basic blast after it before it could get its bearings again. However, she couldn¡¯t keep sending spells after it as her mana was still limited, and she didn¡¯t know how much more life the rodent had. She didn¡¯t want to run out of mana during this fight, as she also had to make it back out of the forest with the rest of the team. The rodent ran at her again with all its speed. It was fast for a level one monster, but it was nothing compared to Astrid''s own speed. She stepped aside at the last moment, and the rodent raced past her. It turned around towards her again just in time for her staff to club it in the face. It fell to the ground and didn¡¯t get up again. She was about to go back to the others when she got a notification. She couldn¡¯t help smiling as she saw what it said. Chapter 43: News from the capital
New level Monster slaying skill has reached level 2 of 10 You can now identify monsters up to lv. 3 You can now see the stats of level 1 monsters Select a stat to receive a bonus in
Astrid couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the notification. This was amazing. Her second skill had reached level two, so now she stood a far better chance against the monsters around here. However, the last line made her pause. The first time she leveled up, the bonus had automatically been applied to her stamina. Back when she was little, her parents had told her that if a skill weren¡¯t directly tied to a stat or if you had already received a bonus for it, she got to decide where the bonus would be added. The thought of her lost family made her heart ache, so she pushed them away, bringing her thoughts back to the message. She had to select a stat now, but none of the ones she had were anywhere near maxed out yet. Applying the bonus to her mana was out of the question, and stamina had already received one and couldn¡¯t get another before a skill reached level three. That left health, focus, and spirit. After a moment of thinking, she decided to apply it to health. It didn¡¯t matter that it was still in the twenties, as it wasn¡¯t something she planned on deliberately training. It was simply too dangerous to do so. There had already been way too many close calls for her liking. Taking a deep breath, she mentally selected her health before taking a look at her updated stats.
Health: 48/48 Stamina: 37/50 Mana: 22/68 Focus: 35/46 Spirit: 34/38
She was glad to see she was getting stronger. Even after fighting several monsters, she still had the ability to go on. Now that the bonus had been applied, she hurried back to the other team members, reaching them just in time to see them deliver the killing blow to the monster. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Walter said as she approached. ¡°I¡¯m fine. What about you?¡± ¡°Nothing Kelan can¡¯t fix. However, I think we have had enough for the day.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Astrid said and rejoined the formation with the others. The trip back to the city was uneventful to everyone¡¯s relief. They went to their headquarters to debrief. Astrid was beginning to feel tired from the long day and knew that even after the meeting it would be several hours before she could go to bed. Still, she did her best to focus as Walter went on about how they would adjust their fighting strategy in the future. Astrid also informed the others of her new level-up. It was completely dark outside when the meeting finally ended. ¡°I think that¡¯s all for today. See you all for training tomorrow.¡± Once Astrid got home, she wanted to go straight to bed, but she still had dinner to make and schoolwork to do. She forced herself to spend an hour making dinner, eating, and cleaning up the kitchen again. Then she got on with some reading for tomorrow''s classes. *This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The next days passed in a blur as she adjusted to her new routine. Despite the busy schedule, she felt happier than she had in a long time. She had a home, friends, and a steady income. She was receiving recognition from all the citizens for her work with the team to keep the city safe, and in school she finally progressed from basic blast and shield to all the other level one spells. She could totally imagine spending the rest of her life doing this even if it meant living a double life. The only worry was the quest she had received from the god of deception. He wanted her to travel to the capital, but Astrid had chosen to ignore it him. Every day the timer went down, and she couldn¡¯t help worrying about what would happen when it hit zero. Deception hadn¡¯t shown up in a while, so she hadn¡¯t even been able to talk to him about it. No way was she going to be the one praying to him. Still, this was the longest time she hadn¡¯t seen him since she became a follower, which should have made her relieved, but instead it was unsettling. However, she didn¡¯t allow herself to linger on those thoughts for too long, and her hectic routine helped distract her. The day for the timer reaching zero came and went, and as nothing happened, she began to relax. The god of deception had properly decided she was no longer interesting enough to bother. Every day the temperature dropped as winter got closer. It rained almost every day, and the wind howled continuously. Astrid had started lighting her fireplaces to keep her home warm and bought herself a set of winter clothes. Sure, her cloak would keep her warm, but she only used it when she had to disguise herself as a grown-up. Filip had recommended a shop that sold battle-friendly winter gear. It would keep the user warm without hindering movements and without getting them drenched in sweat during physical activities. Filip had begun to hang out with her, Villads, and Brigitta after school every day, joining them in their training. It was one of Astrid¡¯s highlights of her day when she got to hang out with her friends. They were the same age as her, so she got to mostly be herself and relax. Spending time with Walter¡¯s team was different. She liked all the people there well enough but found it difficult to connect with them. Whenever they talked about things not related to training and monster fighting, it became clear to her how big the age gap actually was, and Astrid put a lot of energy into not letting it show. Often, they would go out for drinks after meetings and invite Astrid to come along. Astrid thought it was a bad idea for her to go with them as she had heard of the effect alcohol could have on people. She couldn¡¯t risk spilling all her secrets in a drunken stupor. She usually excused herself, saying she had to get home to her little sister, but she didn¡¯t know how much longer that would work. ¡°Can¡¯t your sister be home alone for one evening?¡± Jerrik asked. ¡°How old is she again? Fifteen?¡± ¡°Fourteen,¡± Astrid mumbled. She didn¡¯t know the exact date of her birth, but she would be fifteen early this winter. She didn¡¯t tell the others that. ¡°Your sister isn¡¯t a little kid and can look after herself a bit from time to time.¡± Ina said. ¡°You need to start living your own life. Maybe find someone to marry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m far too young to get married,¡± Astrid blurted out. ¡°If you wait too long, all the good options will be taken,¡± Jerrik said. ¡°Are you guys married then?¡± Astrid asked to take the others attention away from her before they made it their mission to set her up with someone. ¡°I am,¡± Kelan said. ¡°Have been for years now. I also have a son and a daughter.¡± Kelan was the oldest of them, so it made sense for him to have a family. The others weren¡¯t quite there yet but were all either engaged or looking for someone to settle down with. * On the first day of winter, the news they had all dreaded came. Walter relayed it during a team meeting. ¡°The messenger we sent to the capital has returned. He brings bad news.¡± Astrid already had a pretty good idea where this was going. It was after all a situation that they had prepared for even though they had hoped it wouldn¡¯t be necessary. ¡°The king will not send a team to clear the dungeon here or to deal with our monster problem. We¡¯ll have to do it on our own. We¡¯ll leave at sunrise tomorrow.¡± The others nodded in agreement, but Astrid felt her blood run cold. ¡°We¡¯re not ready to deal with the dungeon ourselves,¡± she protested. The thought of going back terrified her. Still, she wasn¡¯t lying when she said she didn¡¯t think they were ready. If they went now, it was likely they would all end up dead. ¡°We have to be. We¡¯re out of time. Every day the monster population increases, pushing them closer to our walls. We must act now.¡± There had been no monster breaches since the harvest festival, but only because Astrid and the others had slayed those who tried to scale the wall before they succeeded. ¡°We could spend some more time training.¡± All but Astrid were at level three in their preferred weapon, but their monster-slaying skill was still at one. Astrid had maxed out her mana a few days prior but still hadn¡¯t leveled up her combat magic skills. She was the only one who had reached level two in monster slaying. Astrid tried to explain how big a difference leveling up that skill made. How she could now tell the stats of the monsters weaker than her and how she instinctively knew their strengths and weaknesses, but it seemed like Walter had made up his mind. ¡°The monsters will get more aggressive as the winter progresses. We¡¯ll be overrun. The only way to protect the city is to clear the dungeon. ¡°If we go now, we¡¯ll all be killed!¡± ¡°Then we die knowing we did everything we could.¡± ¡°And who¡¯ll protect the city then?¡± ¡°The city will find a way to manage. Maybe then the capital will see reason.¡± ¡°This is ridiculous. Do you even have a plan?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll enter the dungeon, and then we¡¯ll kill every single monster we find in there. Now are you going with us or not?¡± Everyone looked at Astrid, waiting for her response. They all seemed determined to go through with this. Well, if they were so eager to throw their lives away, they could do so without her. ¡°I¡¯m not going with you.¡± Astrid said. She got up and left the room. Chapter 44: Departure The next morning Astrid stood outside the headquarters watching Walter¡¯s team depart for the dungeon. She wasn¡¯t in disguise, so she appeared as her young self on her way to school. Everything in her life had been going so well. Why did it have to change so suddenly? ¡°Aren¡¯t your sister going with them?¡± the mayor asked from beside her. Astrid shook her head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t think they are ready yet.¡± ¡°Walter has reassured me that they are.¡± That¡¯s easy to think when you don¡¯t have a clue what you''re about to face. Astrid thought grimly. She was sure she¡¯d never see any of them again, and a part of her felt bad for not going with them. A larger part felt angry that they hadn¡¯t listened to her yesterday. She was the one who had been in the dungeon before, and she was the one who could spot hidden traps. The whole reason she had been put on the team in the first place was because of her experience with the dungeon. It still wasn¡¯t too late to follow them. She could catch up to them and guide them through the dungeon. Maybe. There was no guarantee that she herself could do anything if too many monsters attacked at once or if a puzzle were too hard to solve. Sure, she had some abilities that could increase her odds significantly, but they were all tied to the god of deception, and using those in front of the other team members would be a dead giveaway of her secret. As soon as the team was out of view, she turned away, walking towards school. Her first class was supposed to have covered some historic event, but instead the teacher explained how Walter''s team would go down in history as the heroes who saved the world from monsters. Astrid thought he was overstating things. Even if they somehow managed to clear the dungeon, they would at most have saved Largon and the surrounding area. It would take a lot more than a single successful dungeon to kill all the monsters that plagued the world. On her way to the first combat magician class, the Villads came up to her. ¡°Why did your sister refuse to go with the others?¡± This felt like a conversation she had had before, so she repeated the same answer. She wished people would just stop talking about it. Every time it was brought up her emotions were all over the place, sad that she would lose so many of her friends, guilty that she hadn¡¯t gone with them and angry that they hadn¡¯t listened to her. What she really wanted was a distraction. ¡°My brother will succeed, and he will return with the entire team.¡± Villads seemed angry, but Astrid could see through the fa?ade and tell how anxious he was for his brother¡¯s safety. ¡°I hope so too,¡± she said. The teacher called the class over and instructed them to do the warmup exercises as usual. Astrid¡¯s stamina was improving from all the running she did during class, but she no longer got any real experience points for it. It would take much bigger challenges to push through the last quarter of the level progression for her running skill. This was fine. She was behind on stamina from her premature level-up, so she could use the opportunity to build it up as high as it could go before trying to get to the next level. During her offensive magic class, the situation was reversed. She had maxed out her mana for the level and was now working hard to push herself through the last bit to level two. Many of her classmates had reached level two, including Filip. Some still hadn¡¯t, though. She was happy to see that Ruben, who had tried to kill her a few months ago, was still working on building mana and was nowhere near level two. It filled her with glee that it was unlikely he would level up in time to graduate with many of the others. However, casting spells at the air didn¡¯t provide much challenge when she was used to fighting monsters, so there was no guarantee she was going to make it either. She had worked hard to get all the grade tokens necessary to be allowed to take the test, but she still needed her skills to level up. She had until midwinter, so she was confident she could do it. There was no way she would let herself be held back with the bully when all her friends graduated. Although each student got to work at their own pace, there were two official tests a year that the students could take to move up to the advanced classes if they passed. Of course, for the right price, the test could be taken any time as long as the criteria were met. In the afternoon she trained with her friends. Since they had already reached level two, they focused on getting Astrid to that level as well using the same training techniques she had used to help them. They teamed up against her. Astrid dodged one spell and cast a shield to block another one. Before she had a chance to counterattack, she had to dodge the third spell. With three opponents, it wasn¡¯t easy to get any offensive spells in, as all her focus was on avoiding getting hit. She had to be ready to protect against attacks from every direction and sometimes multiple at once.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Even though it was hard, she occasionally managed to fire an offensive spell, and no longer stuck with only using basic blasts, she took every opportunity to use different ones. She swung her staff and cast a fire blast straight at Brigitta but then had to move out of the way of an unidentifiable blast headed towards her. She still couldn¡¯t tell most of the level two spells apart. There were a lot more of them than there were of level one spells, and many of them weren¡¯t as straightforward as elemental blasts were. She managed to stay in the fight a bit longer and even landed a mud blast at Filip before a wind blast knocked her off balance and she tripped over a root spell someone had cast when she wasn¡¯t looking. ¡°That¡¯s two hits.¡± Villads said. ¡°You lose.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± Brigitta asked, helping her to her feet. ¡°I¡¯m hardly hurt at all. Are you guys ready to go again?¡± They fought a couple more times, and Astrid lost every round, but she managed to get a good chunk of experience points in both her defensive and offensive magic skills each time. She was getting really close to leveling up. * A frantic banging woke Astrid early the next morning. Who could that be this early? She thought as she threw on her dress and went to open the door. Villads stood on the other side, out of breath. ¡°What happened?¡± Astrid asked concerned. ¡°Where is your sister?¡± he managed to get out between gasps of air. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Astrid said. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know?¡± Villads seemed confused now, and Astrid hurriedly came up with an explanation. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her since I left for school yesterday.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about her?¡± ¡°She has been out on her own before. She is properly training or doing quests.¡± ¡°Do you think she could have changed her mind about going with the others?¡± ¡°I guess she could have.¡± Astrid said uncertainly. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°My brother and the others haven¡¯t returned yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a day. Clearing a dungeon might take some time.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t believe her own words having gotten through the place in half a day. ¡°My brother said they would be back before sunrise.¡± Astrid looked out the window where the sky was only beginning to turn orange. ¡°Maybe they are just a bit delayed.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure why she was trying to reassure Villads. She was pretty sure the team wouldn¡¯t return. Most likely they were all dead by now. Still, a part of her hoped she had been wrong about the team¡¯s abilities and that any moment now they would come walking into town with triumphant smiles on their face. However, that was unlikely considering what they were up against. ¡°Or maybe they are in trouble and need our help,¡± Villads said. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously mean you¡¯re planning to go to the dungeon yourself.¡± ¡°Of course, I am. I would have asked your sister to go, but since she¡¯s not here, we¡¯ll have to do it.¡± ¡°We? What could we possibly do?¡± Astrid needed to talk him out of this crazy idea. ¡°We have to try to help them somehow. We can¡¯t just let our siblings die.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even think my sister went there.¡± ¡°She could have. You said you haven¡¯t seen her since yesterday when the others left.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know where the dungeon is.¡± Astrid''s hope that this argument would settle the matter was quickly shattered. ¡°I do. My brother left a map in his study.¡± He held out a piece of paper with an area circled in red ink. It was the place Astrid herself had confirmed as the dungeon during one of her first meetings with the team. ¡°Still, even if we manage to get to the dungeon, we¡¯ll never get through alive.¡± ¡°I had never thought you were such a coward,¡± Villads snarled. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Astrid defended. ¡°I just know my limits.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going with or without you.¡± ¡°At least wait another day for them to return.¡± ¡°By then it might be too late.¡± He turned to leave, and Astrid knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to change his mind. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m coming with you. Just give me a minute to pack supplies.¡± * Astrid and Villads made it to school. Since Villads didn¡¯t have his own quarterstaff and Astrid couldn¡¯t use the one she had without drawing suspicion, they had to borrow some. However, first they went to the classroom to see if Brigitta and Filip had arrived yet. They had. It was surprisingly easy for Villads to convince both of them to come along. They didn¡¯t even bring up how dangerous it would be or how they weren¡¯t prepared for anything they could encounter in there. Astrid had hoped Brigitta could talk some sense into the Villads, but she didn¡¯t even try. Filip just looked determined. Maybe he saw this as a chance to prove himself. Astrid suppressed an exasperated sigh. Their eagerness to go only showed that they had no idea of the terrible thing hiding in the dungeon. Somehow, she had to find a way to keep her friends safe so that they could all return alive. After grabbing a staff each, they headed out. It didn¡¯t take long before the four of them were in the forest. If they didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, they would be by the dungeon in an hour. Villads didn¡¯t seem concerned about the dangers lurking amongst the trees, and Astrid knew she had to step in. ¡°We have to move more carefully,¡± she said. ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to attract every monster within a mile if we continue like this.¡± That seemed to get his attention, and he slowed down significantly. For good measure, Astrid discreetly cast a spell on each of them so the monsters wouldn¡¯t notice them. It wouldn¡¯t prevent them from seeing each other as they already knew where everyone was, but monsters would leave them alone. ¡°What are we going to do when we get to the dungeon?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°We are going to go in and get my brother and his team out.¡± Astrid was about to comment that that wasn¡¯t a plan, but Filip beat her to it. ¡°That¡¯s not a plan. It''s an objective. What challenges will we face in the dungeon? ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Villads looked uncertainly at the others. ¡°But we have to try something.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too late to turn around,¡± Astrid said. ¡°No,¡± Villads said. ¡°We keep going. We¡¯ll figure something out.¡± Soon they found themselves standing in front of the dungeon entrance. ¡°Once we enter, the only way out is to get all the way through.¡± Astrid said. ¡°This is our last chance to turn around.¡± Villads didn¡¯t hesitate before stepping through, and Astrid sighed. ¡°Guess we¡¯re actually doing this then,¡± she muttered and took a step forward, entering the dungeon. Chapter 45: Back in the dungeon
You have entered a dungeon Get to the other side alive to escape
The entrance room was empty and lit up from an invisible source. All four of them were gathered, looking around. The entrance was blocked, and the only thing in the room except for the bare cave wall was a door leading further into the dungeon. ¡°So, this is a dungeon?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°It is,¡± Astrid answered. She could feel her heart beat faster. She really didn¡¯t like being back here. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go,¡± Villads said and walked towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s be careful,¡± Astrid warned. ¡°We don¡¯t know how far the others have gotten. There could still be a lot of monsters beyond this point. Villads opened the door regardless. Astrid raised her staff, ready to cast a spell if something attacked. The hallway ahead came into view, and Astrid relaxed a bit. The ground was littered with monster corpses. Clearly Walter and his team had made it through this part of the dungeon. They proceeded slowly as they had to climb over all the dead monsters. ¡°This is disgusting,¡± Brigitta complained. ¡°Who did the others even manage to fight all these monsters at once?¡± Filip asked. ¡°The hallway is narrow, so only a couple of monsters can attack at a time,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Hurry up.¡± Villads said. He moved faster than the others and was already near the end of the hallway. Astrid picked up the pace, not wanting Villads to enter the next room on his own. Brigitta and Filip did the same, and soon they were all gathered in front of the heavy wood door. ¡°We don¡¯t know what we¡¯re going to encounter on the other side, so be on guard and stay behind me until we have some idea of what we are dealing with.¡± Astrid warned. ¡°Why should we stay behind you?¡± Villads asked. ¡°Your fighting skill is still at level one, where all of ours are at level two.¡± Astrid had forgotten that her friends didn¡¯t know that she had been here before nor how she felt responsible for getting them through this place safely. She doubted they would take it well if she told them, so she had to come up with a better reason. They likely saw her as the weakest member of the group in all but one area. ¡°It''s true you''re at a higher level than me, but I have more health, so if something attacks us, I have the best chance of surviving.¡± ¡°She makes a fair point.¡± Filip said ¡°Alright, Sigrid. Lead the way.¡± Astrid opened the door and took a single step inside, scanning the room. It was large and the floor was covered in white tiles. A few of them were missing leaving big holes in the floor. The door was on the opposite side of the wall. About twenty pillars stood randomly around the room. They reached all the way to the ceiling, thirty feet above the ground. A body lay sprawled on the floor next to one of them. Astrid looked closer at the body. It took her a while to recognize the body as Jerrik. His limbs stuck out at awkward angles, and blood had dried in a large pool all around him. There was no way he could be alive. Villads was about to run into the room, but Astrid grabbed his arm. ¡°Wait, we can¡¯t rush into this. We don¡¯t know what happened.¡± ¡°Is someone there?¡± A voice came from one of the holes in the floor. ¡°Walter?¡± Villads shouted back. ¡°Villads? What are you doing here?¡± Came the angry reply. ¡°When you didn¡¯t return, we came here to help.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s we? Did you bring Astrid?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not with you?¡± ¡°No. She refused to come along. I think she was right when she said we weren¡¯t ready for this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get you out.¡± Astrid said. ¡°Don¡¯t go in here. ¡°But we have to go in there to help,¡± Villads protested. It¡¯s a trap. We don¡¯t know where it¡¯s safe to step. It all happened so quickly. Jerrik and Einar, they just¡­¡± Walter¡¯s voice trailed off. He was clearly distraught about what had happened. Astrid had no idea where Einar was, as the only body on the ground belonged to Jerrik. That also left Kelan and Ina unaccounted for. She would have to ask Walter about it, but first she wanted to get him out of that hole.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Give me a minute. I¡¯ll find out what¡¯s going on with the floor.¡± Astrid knelt down, studying the tiles carefully. They were square, the same size as the randomly placed pillars and the holes. It didn¡¯t take long before the trap started to make sense. ¡°Okay, if I¡¯m not mistaken, some of the tiles shoot upwards when you step on them, and some of them sink.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we figured out too.¡± Walter shouted. ¡°There was a monster too. It came out of nowhere, but we managed to kill it.¡± Astrid looked at the walls and saw a continuation of the trap. ¡°Some of the tiles release a monster.¡± ¡°Are any of the tiles safe to step on?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°Of course there is,¡± Astrid said. ¡°How do you know all this?¡± Filip asked. ¡°I set traps to catch small animals as a child when food was scarce.¡± She said using the same lie as when she had told Walter. ¡°It gave me the ability to sense traps, so I know where it¡¯s safe to walk. Only step on the tiles that I step on.¡± Astrid began moving, not giving the others time to ask more questions. Carefully she guided her friends towards Walter. They made it safely to their destination, and Astrid pulled a rope out of her bag and threw one end down the hole. ¡°Grab onto this and we¡¯ll pull you up.¡± Together they managed to pull Walter out of the hole. He was in bad shape, so Astrid found several potions in her bag and gave them to him. ¡°Where are Ina and Kelan?¡± Astrid asked, looking around in case she had missed something. ¡°I told them to go on. Maybe they could make it out.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring any rope so they could have pulled you out?¡± Villads asked. ¡°We did.¡± ¡°Then why not use it?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t. It¡¯s up there.¡± He pointed to the top of one of the pillars. Its tip was stained red. Astrid instantly knew what Walter meant, and by the shocked gasps, the others knew too. Einer had stepped on a trapped tile, and gotten crushed against the ceiling. ¡°We should probably move on,¡± Astrid said after a moment of silence. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right to just leave them here,¡± Walter said, getting nods of approval from the others. Astrid felt the same way, but there was no way they could carry even one body out of here, let alone two. She doubted they would even be able to recover Einar¡¯s body. After a while, Astrid began leading the group safely through the room. ¡°So, you can sense traps like your sister, I see,¡± Walter said. ¡°Did you hunt too?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Astrid said, jumping over a row of trapped tiles. ¡°Since your sister didn¡¯t catch up with us before we entered the dungeon, I read a hunting book and unlocked the skill. However, I didn¡¯t get the ability to sense traps as I had assumed.¡± Astrid could feel the blood drain from her face. What should she do now? Her secret felt dangerously close to being revealed, and she didn¡¯t know how to fix it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± was all she managed to get out. ¡°How did you really get that ability?¡± Walter asked. His face was blank and showed no emotions, so she couldn¡¯t tell if he was suspicious or angry or something else. Telling the truth was out of the question. ¡°I set hunting traps as a child,¡± she said, sticking to the same story she had made up. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t the hunting skill I unlocked.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Walter said. ¡°That makes sense, I guess. ¡°What does?¡± Filip asked. ¡°She unlocked the trap skill.¡± Walter clarified. ¡°But isn¡¯t that a bad skill?¡± Brigitta asked with horror in her voice as she looked at Astrid for an explanation. ¡°Right now, I find it pretty useful.¡± Astrid defended. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where Sigrid got the skill from as long as she gets us safely through this room,¡± Walter said leaving no room for further discussion. Astrid felt grateful for that. They made it safely to the door that led out of the room. ¡°Do we have a plan for dealing with monsters on the other side?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°Kelan is the one who has the protective barrier, but he¡¯s already gone in there with Ina. Does any of you have a shield that can cover all of us?¡± Astrid technically had one, but she shook her head like the others. The sacred ground spell wasn¡¯t something she could cast without giving away that she was a follower of a god and theyn they would undoubtedly question which one. It created a barrier like those surrounding temples. Only those who followed a god could learn to do it. ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to fight without a shield. You all have ranged attacks, right? ¡°Yes,¡± Villads said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll keep them at a distance, and you hit them with spells.¡± Astrid pushed the door open, letting Walter go through first. He wasted no time sending a powerful wind through the hallway, pushing all the monsters inside back. Astrid cast the fire blast at the closest monster. Before retreating again. The hallway was only wide enough for two of them standing side by side, and one of them had to be Walter, so the others took turns moving up to cast a spell and then back again. After a minute of trying, they fell into a circular pattern that kept up a nonstop barrage of attacks on the monsters. Astrid was the first who had to take a mana potion as she was still level one and hadn¡¯t yet gotten the bonus. Slowly but surely the number of monsters thinned out, and no one took serious damage as Walter did a good job keeping them all at a distance. The few monsters daring to use ranged attacks were more likely to hit other monsters than any of the five combat magicians. Soon they were able to see two figures huddling together on the ground against the wall halfway down the hallway. ¡°It¡¯s them,¡± Walter said, rushing towards them and using the wind spell to push away any monster in his path. Astrid and the others followed, not wanting to get left behind. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Walter asked. ¡°We¡¯re out of mana and mana potions, and the barrier won¡¯t hold much longer. Kelan said his voice weak from exhaustion. Astrid had thought that a sacred barrier like the one the healer had cast would have been infallible, as unlike a shield, you didn¡¯t have to continuously feed it mana to sustain it. However, now that she thought about it, it made sense that it would lose mana every time it had to deflect an attack. It still made it a lot stronger than any other shield she knew about, but unless cast by an actual god, there were limits to how long it could be sustained. ¡°I have mana potions,¡± Astrid said, handing one to Kelan and one to Ina. ¡°Thanks,¡± they said, then downed the content. Astrid and her friends got back to firing spells at the monsters for what felt like an eternity. They had to step outside the protective barrier to launch their attack, putting them at risk of getting struck in return. Stamina and mana potions were rapidly expended by the team, but she also used several potions to refill health, focus, and spirit as Kelan didn¡¯t have the strength to use healing magic. Eventually the last monster fell, and the hallway went silent. ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for a bit before moving on,¡± Walter declared. At the words, they collapsed to the ground. Astrid was relieved they had made it this far, but there was still some way to go. Getting as much rest as possible while they had the chance was important, as there was no way to tell what they would find in the next room. Chapter 46: Suspicions Astrid had no idea how long they rested for, as she had lost all sense of time in the dungeon. She shared the food she had brought and recovered all her stats back to full capacity, yet the break didn¡¯t end. She overheard Kelan tell Walter that he was suffering from mana fatigue, and it would take him a long time to recover. Astrid knew that mana fatigue happened when mana was drained repeatedly without allowing time to fully recover in between. It could also happen to health, stamina, focus, or spirit and it slowed recovery to almost nothing unless a healer helped. The condition also left normal potions useless. ¡°So, you must be Astrid¡¯s sister, Sigrid,¡± Ina said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have met.¡± Astrid, of course, knew who this was, but Ina was probably right that she hadn¡¯t met this persona, so she played along with the introduction. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Astrid said. ¡°You¡¯re a lot like your sister,¡± the woman said. ¡°Where is she anyway?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t seen her since you guys left. I thought she might have followed you, but..." She trailed off, hoping that the topic would be dropped. Finally, Walter called that it was time for them to continue. ¡°Once we enter, we¡¯ll all stay by the entrance until we know what¡¯s going on in the room,¡± he said. ¡°Sigrid, you¡¯ll scan the room for traps. The rest of you be on guard. If anything moves, put up a shield.¡± They entered the room, and Astrid got to work scanning the room immediately. There were three boxes in the middle, each with a big padlock. On the first box it was red, on the second it was blue, and on the third it was yellow. However, she saw no keyholes on the locks. She looked around the room some more. The door that they had to get open to continue through the dungeon had a complicated locking mechanism. Astrid was sure they would need the stuff in the boxes to get it open. As she continued scanning the room for hidden dangers, one thing became clear. There were no traps they could trigger. The damage had already been done the second they entered the room. ¡°So, there are no traps inside the room,¡± Astrid explained, trying to stay calm. ¡°But we have activated something. I¡¯m still not sure what will happen, so we have to find our way out quickly.¡± They had only made it a few steps into the room when the first monsters appeared. Three large, colorful slugs. One red, one yellow, and one blue. They got to fighting and quickly slayed the tree slugs, as they were some of the weakest monsters that existed. But about thirty seconds after the last slug had been killed, three new appeared. ¡°I think we have to get the boxes opened.¡± Walter said. ¡°Does anyone have any idea how?¡± Astrid couldn¡¯t think of anything to try that didn¡¯t rely on deceptive abilities which she couldn¡¯t use in front of the others. No one else came up with any ideas, so Walter assigned Ina and Kelan to the puzzle and the rest of them to fight monsters. Astrid threw herself into the fighting, and once again it didn¡¯t take long to kill the slugs. However, unlike last time, these slugs weren¡¯t replaced by three new ones. Seconds after the fight had ended, six slugs crawled out of the wall. Two of each color. ¡°Any progress on the boxes?¡± Walter shouted. ¡°Not yet,¡± Ina shouted back. ¡°we¡¯re working on it.¡± ¡°Work faster.¡± Astrid and the team got back to fighting the monsters, but the slugs now outnumbered them. If this continued, they would soon be overrun. ¡°Let¡¯s try not to kill the monsters. Every time we do more, just more appears.¡± Walter ordered. ¡°Instead, we¡¯ll focus on keeping them away from the boxes while Ina and Kelan work.¡± It became obvious a minute later that that plan wasn¡¯t going to work. Even though they hadn¡¯t killed any of the slugs in the room, six more decided to appear from the walls, joining the others. ¡°New plan,¡± Walter said. ¡°Slay the stupid monsters as fast as you can.¡± Astrid cast a water blast at the fire slug, killing it, and then cast her shield to avoid getting hit by a lightning bolt a yellow slug sent after her. She fought along with the others for a while, and they only just managed to kill the slugs before more appeared, this time nine. ¡°Any progress with the boxes?¡± Walter asked, unable to conceal his worry any longer. ¡°Not yet,¡± came the response. Astrid and the other fighters were no longer able to keep all the monsters occupied simultaneously, so the slugs began to attack the shield Kelan had set up around the boxes. Astrid tried to stop it as much as possible, but as she also had to keep herself safe, it was a lost cause. Another round of monsters appeared, and this time there were twelve. The new slugs joined the ones remaining from the previous set and fired a continuous barrage of attacks at the fighters and the shield surrounding the boxes. The fight felt like it lasted forever, although it could only have been a few minutes. The fighting formation Walter had tried to keep them in fell apart as the monsters kept coming. Astrid ran out of mana and got separated from the others as a couple of the slugs pressed her to retreat towards the corner of the room.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Seeing no other option, she swung her staff at the nearest slug. The impact sent it flying into the wall. She swung at the other slug, and this one too collided with the wall. However, the first had already recovered and was preparing to fire an electric blast at her. With as much force as she could muster, she brought her staff down onto the slug¡¯s head, crushing it against the floor. The audible crack that ensued first confused Astrid. She had not thought the slug had any bones to break, but then she noticed her staff. The top had broken off. Before she could figure out what to do about it. Pain radiated from her right ankle. She looked down and saw that the other slug had just bitten her. Before it could do it again, she stabbed it with the broken end of her staff, impaling it. Quickly she retrieved her dagger from her inventory and finished off the slug off. Scanning her surroundings for more threats, she noticed all the other slugs were concentrated at the other end of the room where the others still fought. Kelan had left his protective barrier and joined the fight at some point, leaving Ina to study the boxes on her own. He would only have done so if someone needed healing. Since all the others were engaged in fights, he must have succeeded. He should have returned to safety, but the number of monsters in the room blocked his path. As he had no fighting skills, he was completely dependent on the others to protect him. Astrid rushed back to the fight with her dagger raised. She managed to backstab several slugs, slaying them instantly before the slow creatures noticed she had rejoined the fight. Slowly but surely, they managed to reduce the number of slugs in the room. Astrid concentrated mostly on her own fights. Her speed allowed her to easily get close enough to deliver her attacks with her small blade and get away again before the monster could counter. At close range, the only attack she had to worry about was bites. However, with so many in the room, she couldn¡¯t stay close to all of them simultaneously. She used that to her advantage. When a monster fired a blast in her direction, she would dodge out of the way, ensuring the attack would hit a monster instead of her. Occasionally she caught a glimpse of how the others were faring. Villads was fighting next to Walter, and Ina was still frantically working on the boxes. Brigitta and Filip stayed near Kelan as their lack of experience required more frequent healing. A new wave of slugs arrived, and Astrid focused on slaying as many of those as she could before she lost the element of surprise. They had almost managed to clear the room of monsters when the fight took a turn for the worse. A blast soared through the air, striking Kelan in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He didn¡¯t get back up. Astrid couldn¡¯t believe Kelan was downed by a single attack. He was by far the one with the highest levels out of all of them. If she remembered correctly, he was level five in healing. Then again, if he had never trained his health or applied a level-up bonus to it, then it would be no stronger than the ten points everyone started out with. The shield that had protected Ina while she worked on the boxes collapsed seconds after Kelan had been knocked out. She quickly noticed what had happened, drew her sword, and joined the fight. Astrid tried to get to Kelan as she had the healing potions, but the path was blocked by monsters. With her current knife-fighting skill, her dagger wasn¡¯t much use unless she could use her backstab technique, so she switched weapons to her staff. Not the training staff she had broken earlier but the one she had gotten from the god of deception. With it she bashed the slugs blocking her path away and fired a few spells to aid Brigitta and Filip in keeping the slugs from biting into Kelan¡¯s flesh. As soon as Astrid reached them, she knelt down beside Kelan, who let out a pained groan. Relief flooded through Astrid. At least he was alive. ¡°Drink this,¡± she said, tipping the contents of a potion into his mouth. She helped him up into a seated position, willing him to recover faster. ¡°Can you make a new barrier?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any mana left. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He lay back down and closed his eyes. This was bad. At any moment now, more monsters could arrive, and they couldn¡¯t focus on solving the puzzle when all of them had to fight. They needed a break to recover and plan what to do, but for that to happen, they needed a barrier. Astrid knew what she had to do. There were no other options left. With her staff, she quickly drew a large circle around the place where Kelan lay while chanting the necessary words. She was painfully aware of Brigitta¡¯s and Filip¡¯s stares, but this had to be done. Besides, they were her friends, so surely, they would understand. She finished the protective barrier just as Walter killed the last monster in the room with a powerful wide area attack Astrid hadn¡¯t seen before. Still, more were due to appear any second now. ¡°Hurry in here before more arrives,¡± Astrid shouted. The others sprinted towards her and entered the barrier. Just as the last person entered, more slugs crawled from the walls. Astrid had lost count of how many each new wave produced. The slugs moved around slowly but didn¡¯t attack them. They didn¡¯t even seem to notice they were here. Astrid let out a sigh of relief. It had worked. They were safe. At least for now. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Walter asked, confused. ¡°This isn¡¯t Kelan¡¯s barrier. Where did it come from?¡± Astrid''s barrier was nowhere near as strong as Kelan¡¯s and Walter''s, along with everyone else who had a magic skill above level one, could tell. ¡°Sigrid made it,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention you could make these earlier?¡± Walter said. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Astrid mumbled. ¡°I haven¡¯t really done it before now.¡± At the moment she couldn¡¯t remember if that was the truth or another lie. ¡°Why aren¡¯t the monsters attacking us? Ina asked. ¡°They would attack Kelan¡¯s barrier all the time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they can see us in here,¡± Kelan answered, having recovered enough to sit up on his own. He gave Astrid an intense look that made her feel like he could see right through all her secrets and lies. He knows, Astrid thought. He¡¯s going to tell the others. However, he didn¡¯t say another word even though it looked like he wanted to. Even though Astrid didn¡¯t know why she was grateful he kept quiet. Now she just had to get the others to focus on something other than her. ¡°We still have to find a way out of here,¡± she said. ¡°More monsters will arrive soon. In a few minutes the entire room will be filled.¡± ¡°Which god?¡± Villads asked, studying Astrid. ¡°What? ¡°Which god are you following?¡± ¡°We can talk about this later. Right now, we must focus on getting out of here,¡± Walter said, but the others didn¡¯t listen. ¡°Tell us who it is.¡± Astrid couldn¡¯t get a word out. Part of her was trying to find a believable story that would keep her secret safe, but another part was tired of all the lies and just wanted to come clean. In the end she said nothing. However, her silence spoke volumes. Astrid looked down but could feel the other stare at her as they tried to figure out which god she was a follower of. She was only partially aware of her friends talking to each other, trying to come up with an answer. Walter and Ina tried in vain to break up the discussion so they could focus on getting out of this room. Kelan had lain back down to rest, likely still suffering from mana fatigue. Astrid felt like she should say something but still couldn¡¯t get her voice to work. ¡°She grew up on a farm so it could be the goddess of nature. Natural camouflage could explain why the monsters can¡¯t see us through the barrier,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°If it was the goddess of nature she would have told us a long time ago.¡± Filip countered. ¡°Theres only one explanation for why she has kept it hidden.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t make that accusation without proof,¡± Brigitta hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll just ask her directly,¡± Villads said turning towards Astrid. She looked up at him. His expression was uncertain, and he spoke slowly. ¡°Are you a follower of deception?¡± Chapter 47: Coming Clean As soon as she heard the question, Astrid knew that her ruse was over. Denying it now would be futile as she couldn¡¯t think of any believable stories. The others would ask too many questions, and she couldn¡¯t keep lying her way out. Despite her desire to tell them everything, her voice refused to work. Villads and the others took her silence as a confirmation. ¡°You are,¡± Villads stated coldly. ¡°I am,¡± Astrid whispered, averting her eyes to look at the ground. She didn¡¯t want to make eye contact with anyone scared of how they were taking the news, but she could feel them staring contemptuously at her. She knew she had to say something. Explain her situation. There were so many things she had kept hidden or been untruthful about that she didn¡¯t know where to start. ¡°Does your sister know about this?¡± Walter asked. Astrid nodded then shook her head. How could she even answer this question? She knew Walter referred to her other identity, but she couldn¡¯t continue lying about that anymore. She thought of her real sister. Did she know about all the things Astrid had done in the past few months? Did those who had passed on have any way of knowing what happened in the world of the living? Astrid hoped not. Her family would be ashamed of her if they knew of what she had done. The thought of her family hating her was worse than the thought of all her friends hating her. Don¡¯t think about it, she mentally scolded herself, forcing all thought of her dead family from her mind. Her spirit was already taking a toll from the desperate situation of being trapped in this dungeon again, and now with her friends being angry with her, she couldn¡¯t afford to make it worse by thinking about those she had lost. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she finally answered with a shrug, still refusing to make eye contact with any of them. ¡°Is she a follower of deception too? Is that why she refused to go with us? Was this a plot to get rid of us? Walter continued. ¡°No,¡± Astrid said, horrified that he would think that. ¡°I never wanted to harm any of you. I just didn¡¯t think we were ready to clear the dungeon.¡± ¡°What do you mean you didn¡¯t think we were ready?¡± Walter asked, confused. ¡°You weren¡¯t part of the decision-making?¡± Astrid''s voice failed her again. She still had to explain her double identity to them, but she still hadn¡¯t figured out how best to tell them. Silence filled the room again. Astrid couldn¡¯t bear to look at the other, so instead studied the slugs moving around outside the protective barrier. When she had cast it, she had known it might give away her secrets, risking everything she had worked to build for herself. However, she didn¡¯t regret doing it, for without the barrier, all her friends would likely be dead now. That realization brought her the courage she needed to tell the others everything. If she just explained why she had done all this, surely her friends would understand. Then they could all go back to focusing on getting out of this dungeon alive. ¡°I¡¯m Astrid.¡± Astrid said, breaking the silence. She looked back at the others, seeing the confusion on the other¡¯s faces. ¡°Why are you impersonating your little sister?¡± Brigitta asked. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I¡¯m being myself right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense. If you''re Astrid, then where is Sigrid?¡± Ina asked. ¡°Sigrid was my big sister, but she died when my family farm was attacked by monsters.¡± ¡°But we have seen both you and your sister.¡± Walter said.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You have seen me disguise myself as my sister. I just got the names switched around.¡± ¡°How could you?¡± Villads said venomously. ¡°Well, the inn wouldn¡¯t rent a room to a child, so I pretended to be older to get a room, but the next day I forgot to change my appearance and went out as a child, and since I had already called my disguise Astrid, I had to come up with another name. Since then, I have dealt with two personas.¡± ¡°I meant who could you join the god of deception in the first place? He is evil.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice. He would have fed me to the monsters if I didn¡¯t agree to follow him. I did what anyone would do in that situation.¡± ¡°I would rather have died than follow deception or accept anything he offered me,¡± Villads sneered, his voice full of hatred. ¡°Would you really?¡± Astrid sneered back. She couldn¡¯t stop herself from getting angry at his words. ¡°Would you leave the protective barrier to face the monster outside knowing there is no way you can defeat them all before they kill you?¡± Villads looked out, and Astrid followed his gaze. The slugs outside had kept multiplying while they had been talking, and now there were more monsters than Astrid could count. Villads looked furious but made no moves to leave the barrier, nor did anyone else. Astrid hadn¡¯t wanted them to either. She just wanted them to understand how dire her situation had been when she agreed to be a follower of deception. ¡°If I had the option to stop following Sham, I would, but gods rarely let their followers go.¡± ¡°We can talk more about this once we''re back in Largon,¡± Walter said. ¡°For now, let¡¯s focus on getting out of this dungeon.¡± Kelan and Ina, did you make any progress at all on the puzzle?¡± ¡°The boxes have different colors, so Kelan tried unlocking them with elemental magic, but nothing happened. Then I searched them for any kind of hidden mechanisms, but I didn¡¯t find any of those either, so we went back to the magic, though this time we tried doing it in different orders. We got through every combination possible, but still nothing. Then I tried cutting the lock with my sword, but that didn¡¯t work either. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Astrid ask her god for help?¡± Villads said angrily, ¡°This is his dungeon after all, and he helped her through last time she was in here.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t true.¡± Astrid said, trying to remain calm. It hurt to hear one of the first friends she ever had talk to her with such hatred and disgust, but she tried not to let it show. She didn¡¯t want to break down crying now. ¡°So you were lying about having been in a dungeon as well.¡± ¡°No, I was here, but Sham didn¡¯t help me out. I had to rely on my own abilities.¡± ¡°Abilities he had given you¡± ¡°We agreed to discuss this later,¡± Walter interrupted. ¡°Sigrid, Astrid, or whatever your real name is, do you have a way to get us out of here?¡± ¡°I can try. I might be able to pick the locks.¡± ¡°Oh, so now you¡¯re a thief too.¡± Villads mocked. Walter gave him a stern look, and he fell silent. ¡°Won¡¯t it attract the attention of all the monsters if you leave the barrier?¡± Kelan asked. ¡°Not if they can¡¯t see me.¡± She found her amulet and cloak from her inventory and put them on. There was no point in hiding them anymore or holding back on using any of her abilities. She willed herself to become invisible, but as she was about to step outside the barrier, Filip stopped her. ¡°Was that supposed to do anything?¡± he asked. ¡°I can still see you.¡± ¡°So can I,¡± Brigitta said. ¡°I¡¯m sure all of us can,¡± Ina said. ¡°You can see me because you already know that I am here, so the magic doesn¡¯t work on you. The monsters, however, won¡¯t be able to as long as I don¡¯t do anything to give away my location.¡± Astrid turned and left the barrier. She headed straight for the boxes. Or as straight as she could while zigzagging between the monsters. As soon as she reached the center of the room, she bent down in front of the first box and grabbed the lock.
Your level is insufficient to open magic locks.
She swallowed down a string of swear words and studied the boxes again. She had to figure this out fast. The boxes were locked with magic, that much was clear from the message she had received. She went over all the things the woman and healer had tried. There had to be something they hadn¡¯t done yet. Maybe there were keys hidden somewhere in the room? Looking around the room again, she realized it couldn¡¯t be the case; aside from the boxes, there was nothing but monsters in here. However, there had to be a solution that anyone could figure out. The puzzle couldn¡¯t be impossible to solve. Not having any better ideas, Astrid decided to try the same thing that Ina and Kelan had. First, she tried cutting the padlock with her dagger, but that didn¡¯t even scratch it. Then she rapidly cast every spell she knew, but none of them had any effect on the lock either. In frustration she slammed her staff into the lock, hoping to break it open, but once again it did nothing. Suddenly, something hit her in the back, and she let out a scream. She turned to see what had attacked her and narrowly avoided getting hit again. The monsters were moving closer. They could see her. Chapter 48: Solving the puzzle Astrid stared at the approaching monsters. Why could they see her? Probably because she had made a lot of noise trying to open the box. She jumped to the side as another fire blast rushed towards her. She couldn¡¯t fight all of them, so she had to get the boxes open now. Retreating to the barrier would give away its position and bring the others in danger. Then again, if she died, the barrier would collapse, exposing her friends anyway. She sent the most powerful wind blast she could muster at the slugs, pushing them back a bit before turning her focus to the boxes. With no new ideas, she returns to beating the padlock with her staff. It would have to break eventually. At least she hoped so. Another blast rushed towards her, and she threw herself out of harm''s way again, crashing hard on the ground. The slug¡¯s fire blast crashed right into the red box she had been trying to open. The lock dissolved, and the box sprang open, emitting a glowing red light. As fast as she could, she got back to the now-open boxes and retrieved its content. A Key. It had to be for the door that would get them out of this room. Without missing a beat, she sprinted towards the door, slamming her staff into any monster that got within reach. She reached the door and inserted the key into its complicated locking mechanism. Now that she was close enough to study it, it became clear that one key wasn¡¯t enough. She needed two more, and there was only one place they could be. Astrid fought her way back to the boxes, trying to understand what had happened. The box had unlocked when it was hit by the slug¡¯s attack. Could that be the answer to the puzzle? Use the monsters¡¯ own magic to break the locks. It was worth a try. With the new plan in mind, Astrid placed herself in front of the blue box and, with another wind blast, pushed the slugs a few feet further back. She wanted them to stay at a distance as she needed them to attack with magic blasts. It didn¡¯t take long before the first lightning blast from a yellow slug rushed towards her. At the last moment, she jumped aside so the blast hit the box instead of her. With anticipation she looked at the blue box expecting it to spring open, but nothing happened. Disappointment and confusion filled her. Why hadn¡¯t it worked? After all, the red box had opened when it had been hit, so why was this different? Maybe it had to be a specific type of magic for each box. The red box had been opened by fire magic, so the blue must be opened by water magic and the yellow by lightning magic. Astrid slammed her staff into a slug that had gotten too close, killing it instantly before casting another wind blast. This was going to be almost impossible to time properly. There were too many slugs in the room attacking her at once for her to stay in one place waiting for the right magic type, and with more appearing every minute, she had no hope of reducing their numbers on her own. ¡°I think I know how to get the boxes open,¡± she shouted, hoping the others hiding inside the protective barrier were listening. ¡°But I need help clearing out some of the monsters.¡± She quickly explained her plan, hoping the others would come to her aid despite everything they had just learned about her. She waited for a reply while trying to keep the monsters from hurting her too badly. It was getting impossible. Dodging one blast led her right into the trajectory of another. While she was busy fighting monsters in one direction, some would sneak up on her from behind and deliver a painful bite before she angrily knocked them down with her staff. The only reason she hadn¡¯t been overrun yet was that the slugs moved slowly and took a long time to fire their attacks. Even so, if it hadn¡¯t been for her high amount of health, she would have succumbed to her injuries already. When, after a minute, Astrid still hadn¡¯t received a reply from the others, she began to lose hope that they would help her. Maybe they planned on waiting until she was dead before solving the puzzle for themselves. They knew how to do it now as she had just told them. Then two figures appeared from the barrier, wasting no time before joining the fight. Walter cast spells into the horde of monsters, and Ina stabbed at those near the edge. Astrid was glad some of her friends had decided to help, and soon most of the monster¡¯s attention was directed towards the two stronger fighters, who quickly reduced their numbers to a more manageable amount. Now that Astrid could move freely without needing to dodge incoming attacks every other second, she got back in front of the blue box and scanned the remaining monsters for the perfect target. It didn¡¯t take her long to find what she was looking for. A blue slug at the edge of the horde. It had its back to her, trying to get to the other fighters but unable to do so as all the other monsters were in the way. Firing a basic blast at it got its attention. It wouldn¡¯t do to kill the monster before it had done what she wanted it to, so she had kept the attack as weak as she could. Now all she had to do was wait. The blue slug moved slowly towards her while preparing to fire a water blast to retaliate. Astrid held her ground. The slug fired, and at the last moment, Astrid got out of the way. The box¡ªnow soaked in water¡ªsprang open as the lock dissolved into nothing. She quickly retrieved the key and went to the yellow box to repeat the process one last time. This time it took a bit longer before a slug got into position. Astrid wasn¡¯t sure how long, but it had to be over a minute as a new wave of monsters appeared from the wall and began approaching the fighters from behind. Astrid hoped they would be able to keep on fighting long enough for her to complete the task. Finally, a yellow slug was pushed to the edge of the horde by the others, and Astrid quickly fired her weak basic blast before it could disappear back into the crowd. Astrid watched the yellow slug prepare its lightning blast, wishing it would do so faster. The moment the monster fired its attack at Astrid, she jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding getting hit. Instead, the lightning hit the box that had been behind her, and the lock dissolved like the others had. Astrid got to her feet and raced to the box. She grasped the key and pocketed it so she could join the fight. However, the slugs no longer seemed interested in attacking her or Walter or Ina. Instead, they slowly moved back to the walls and disappeared the same way they had entered.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I got the keys,¡± Astrid informed the others who were looking confused at the retreating monsters. ¡°Then let''s go,¡± Walter said. Astrid dismantled her barrier, and they all rushed to the door. ¡°Any idea what we¡¯re going to face beyond that door?¡± Walter asked ¡°Another hallway full of monsters if I remember correctly.¡± Astrid said as she inserted the last two keys into the locks. ¡°In that case we¡¯ll use a similar plan one last time.¡± The leader said. ¡°I¡¯ll make us some room with a powerful wind blast, and Astrid will set up the protective barrier. All fighters will attack the monsters one at a time. Stay inside the barrier when it''s not your turn to attack. Kelan, you should stay at the back and rest some more. Only help if it''s absolutely necessary. ¡°I¡¯m not working with followers of deception.¡± Villads said, sending Astrid an angry glare. It hurt to see her friend look at her with such contempt, and she began to doubt she would ever be able to fix their relationship. What would she do if he and the others never forgave her? ¡°Until we''re out of here, we don¡¯t have much choice,¡± Walter said sounding reluctant. ¡°But how do we even know if we can trust her?¡± Brigitta said. ¡°For all we know, she¡¯d kill us all here, and return to Largon pretending to be a hero.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± Astrid defended, angry that anyone would even suggest she would do something like that. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to take the chance,¡± Walter said. ¡°Now let¡¯s go.¡± Before anyone could start another argument, he pushed the door open. He stepped in first and made some space just like planned. Astrid set up the barrier as fast as she could while the others began attacking. As soon as she was done with the barrier, she caught the first glimpse at what they were up against. The hallway was packed with monsters of various kinds. Most of them were at level one, but she noticed at least a handful that were at level two. The monsters in the hallways hadn¡¯t been that strong the last time she had been here. She knew they were in for a long fight and quickly joined the others. They fought for what felt like hours, slowly slaying the monsters. Astrid was the first who had to step out to replenish her mana with a potion. Her once substantial supply of various potions was getting low. She didn¡¯t want to think about what would happen when she ran out. With Kelan still suffering from mana fatigue, these potions were their best source of healing. She rejoined the fight, but as she was about to cast her next blast, something struck her in the back. She turned to see Villads still with his staff lifted after the attack. He didn¡¯t look the least bit apologetic. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she asked ¡°You were in the way.¡± ¡°No time for arguing,¡± Walter said. ¡°Stay focused.¡± Astrid retreated to the barrier. She looked towards Brigitta, Filip, and Ina, but none of them showed her any sympathy. It was like they couldn¡¯t care less that she had gotten hurt. She was once again out of the fight as she had to check how much damage she had taken.
Health: 15/ 43
Though she hadn¡¯t been at full health when the battle began, she could see that Villads hadn¡¯t held back. At level two, each of his spells could deal up to twenty damage when fully powered. It felt like a waste to take one of her few remaining health potions, but she had no other choice. She couldn¡¯t trust Villads not to repeat his actions, and another hit like that would finish her off. Even after recovering all her health, Astrid was hesitant to rejoin the fight. They clearly didn¡¯t want to work with her, and at the moment she didn¡¯t feel like working with them either. Astrid made herself invisible, left the protective, and rushed unnoticed towards the other end of the hallway. Her eyes were burning from the tears she desperately tried to hold back as she zigzagged through the monsters. She made it to the other side and stopped in front of the next door. Beyond that, the boss awaited them. She didn¡¯t think she could fight it alone, but she should be able to sneak past it like last time. However, that would not count as a full clearing of the dungeon. Maybe the others could defeat the boss on their own, especially since Walter and Ina were both level three fighters, but that wasn¡¯t a chance Astrid was willing to take. Besides, even if the others hated her, it didn¡¯t feel right to just abandon them here. Behind her the sound of fighting reverberated through the hall, but she could not see what was happening. Were they holding their own, or were they about to be overrun? She sank to the ground, furiously wiping the tears she could no longer hold back. There was no way she would be able to go back to her old life after this. She wasn¡¯t sure she could handle losing everything again. She noticed that her spirit bar was dropping to a dangerously low amount. This was not the time or place for that. With her last strength of will, she downed a spirit-replenishing potion and pushed away her negative thoughts. Whatever happened, happened, and she would deal with that later. For now, there was a hallway full of monsters that needed to be slayed. All the monsters were trying to get to the other end of the hallway where they could hear the ongoing fight, so it was easy for Astrid to sneak up behind them. She managed to backstab half a dozen before any of the monsters noticed she was there, and she had to retreat back to a safer distance. She began firing fire blasts at the monsters that approached her, and whenever one got too close, she would finish it off by slamming her staff down on its head. Unlike the slugs in the previous room, who had been exceptionally weak, often dying from a single one of her spells, these monsters took five or more spells before going down. Only her backstab and hitting with her staff killed the monsters immediately, as they were both divine special attacks that dealt a lot more damage than regular attacks. Only a few monsters attacked her at once as they had difficulties turning around in the narrow, crowded hallway. Still, she occasionally took a few hits when she could dodge or raise a shield fast enough, but she ignored them. Her health bar was high, and her cloak offered extra protection. Soon the monster population began to dwindle, and she was able to see the others again. It seemed like they were all still alive, which was a relief. They were still at the entrance where she had set up the barrier, taking turns attacking. As soon as the last monster was defeated, Astrid dismantled her barrier. ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for a while before we move on,¡± Walter said. Astrid sank to the floor, suddenly feeling how exhausted she was. She noticed she had received a message and quickly read what it said.
Offensive spells have reached level two. You can now cast new spells and use less mana per spell.
The level-up bonus was automatically added to her mana, raising its maximum value from one hundred to two hundred. She excitedly told the news to the others, but they just ignored her. Villads even gave her a hateful glare, solidifying the fact that their friendship couldn''t be saved. She had truly lost all the people she cared about forever. Again. Just like she had lost her family. What had she done to deserve this? Don¡¯t think about it, she scolded herself. She couldn¡¯t afford to let her spirit drop again. They were still in a dungeon, and she could no longer rely on the others to help her if she needed them. However, that didn¡¯t mean she should do the same to them. She would ensure they got out of here, and then maybe they would like her again.