《The Taboo Child》 Chapter 1: Leaving one world for another Sometimes there are worlds with too many souls. Sometimes there are worlds with not enough souls. In the first case it is because of over production of soul essence, drastic drop of population, or inherited souls from a different world. While the lack of souls usually is from a lull in production or an unforeseen population boom. This was the basic explanation given to everyone gathered here in this endless space. There must be thousands. We are all going to a new world because they are running low on souls. They are experiencing a population increase that the production side cannot keep up with. Apparently, this causes losses in pregnant people, which is discouraging for a medically progressing civilization. The world asked Earth_7583, my current world, to transfer souls. My world has plenty to spare with only 4 billion people living on the two moons from the once 5 billion 100 years ago. Many of the souls sit and wait years to be reborn as the population has been declining on the Earths¡¯ surface as well. Of course, this is just my rough estimations. Most children aren¡¯t taught population statistics. I hear things though and see things. I overhear some people whispering. They are a group of three, a tall boy with black hair looking near 20 years old was speaking. He was softly flickering between transparent and solid. He spoke with a girl looking 30 with dark skin, and brown hair. She flickered though, between tall and short. The final person in their group was a very short boy near 10. He was not stable in his looks; he must not have many lives. In this space you look like the average you. Your age is the average age you have lived to, your eyes the average colour you have had and so on. To be that unstable he must not have lived that much, no real average. I am pulled from my thoughts by tall boys¡¯ words. ¡°What is that eight-year-old doing here? I get why this boy is here. He has had a few lives, and high potential for magic.¡± He came closer to me eyeing me up and down making others draw near. He speaks again almost like he is thinking aloud. ¡°She is completely solid looking, and stable. Eight years old, brown hair with blonde streaks, green eyes and pale. This is a rare look, and she has had many lives somehow coming to this rare look often. OR. She has only lived onetime¡± The girl spoke up next ¡°We were told there are no souls are here who have lived less than 3 times. We were picked because we have lived many lives, or due to our potential in magic. So how can she be here?¡± I knew this could happen when the Gods said they would have to send me here first before coming to grab me. I happen to have a great relationship with the Gods of Earth_7583. ¡°Does this explain it?¡± I ask as I show my life counter. In this space there are two panels that can be shown. Ones¡¯ status screen, and a life counter. The status screen of this world only records name, age, and life journal. The life counter shows how many lives you lived, mine shows a number over 2 billion. Now the average soul beaks down between 300,000 - 700, 000, 000. Sure, some live more some live less. At least in this world that is about 17 billion years old. It could be older, I never cared to ask. It never seemed important. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. They all look shocked. In this space we usually have the capacity to remember our other lives in their entirety. Once reborn it is rare to remember previous lives while living in the mortal world. The issue is the more lives you have lived the more you have to remember. It can be a strain on the soul, even more so on a physical body. The few who have the aptitude to remember their lives in a mortal body break down faster. Souls break down and need to be repurposed, or fully cleaned because of the strain of remembering everything. Except me, who must suffer each life with memories from all my other ones. They are not clear though. Too many memories to properly remember everything, at least when I am in my human body. In this space I can remember more, but still not everything. I still can¡¯t remember anything but blurry vision from before I came to this world. It usually makes me sick for a few ticks as well as there are just so many. Therefore, I am currently laying on my back on the floor. ¡°That, how is that possible? That old man over there has only lived 800,000 lives!¡± The tall boy points at a man that looks to be 80 years old. He must have lived many long lives. It appears he is one of the oldest souls as well. He gives me a warm smile with a shaky wave of his hand. ¡°Please leave me alone, I am experiencing memory sickness still¡± I explain through gritted teeth. Closing my eyes, I breath in trying to calm my mind. I feel my body being lifted; I fear for a second the tall boy is to explain. However, I soon recognize the chest I am pressed into as my head rests on a broad shoulder. This is the God of Fertility. He is a strong handsome man; his hair is a deep green. His eyes a blue. Not many features of the Gods come through, as they are a bit shiny or misty. Apparently in this world the God of Fertility was created by the God of Nature. Many worlds have a team of Gods, either assigned by the council, or wondered to. Some have naturally born Gods, usually after other Gods have already come to the world. The Gods born to worlds before other Gods come are rare finds apparently. These Gods have absolute claim over their worlds, as they create them. ¡°Leave this child alone, you should be lining up with everyone else, no?¡± The God holding me sees all children as his children. This is why his words come softly with a bit of anger in them. His words always make me feel better. ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± I can hear the tall boy and everyone else quickly walk away. From my perch in the Gods¡¯ of Fertility arms I can see countless souls lining up ready to walk across a bridge. The bridge was here when we got here however, I heard many people trying to get close and being pushed back by an invisible wall. Other Gods were guiding people to line up in front of the bridge. I was carried to the front. Fertility was appointed alongside, Sun, Hope, and Love to lead the souls to the new world. Caution, War, and Seas were apparently in the back to ensure everyone crossed. In the arms of Fertility, I begin the journey to a new world. I am hopeful as are the Gods taking me, that my luck would be better. Could I really live happily? It was obvious happy lives were rare for me, as even after 2 billion lives my average age was just 8. We move slowly over oceans of stars, moons, and planets. It seems quick and slow at the same time. I am very nervous. After some time, Fertility spoke in a loud voice. ¡°Everyone we will be taking a rest here as to not damage you¡± In a soft voice he leaned close to my ear. ¡°Close your eyes, I will wake you when we begin to move again. You are too curious for your own good¡± ¡°I know I am, but how could I miss this once in a lifetime view?¡± I snickered as the Gods near shake their heads. I fall into a deep sleep. When I wake up, we continue. Chapter 2: New Gods We eventually reach a gate. It¡¯s tall and wooden. Many symbols are carved into the door, some old and some newer looking. ¡°What is that?¡± I leaned into the God of Fertility more, the gate¡¯s intimidating even to me. A soft chuckle came from the chest I was pushing myself into. ¡°Oh, little forbidden Child. That is your new home. The gate to the new world. All worlds have gates, it keeps things out. Sometimes rifts or breaks in the wall of a world can appear letting things in. Don¡¯t worry about that though. Shall we go?¡± The God of Fertility smiles warmly at me as he walks through the gate not waiting for me to answer. Now below the bridge we are walking is a world in the sea of darkness. This world looked different. It was almost softer than the world I was used to. Looking closer I noticed there was only one grey moon, instead of two blue ones. The star at the centre of the solar system was also different. It was yellow. ¡°Yellow?¡± I ask pointing to the small star. The one I knew was a blue/white star. ¡°Yes, this yellow star will be easier for you to live under. Especially since you have a curse to burn in the sunlight. Unlike our blue/white sun, this one is less hot. It means less UV radiation. Having not had to develop under such hot conditions this world has much more fauna and flora.¡± The God of Fertility speaks the last part loud enough for everyone to hear. Many people are getting excited. We had lived in a harsh world. The sun burned many people, especially the fair skinned. The surface was usually bare, with flora having a hard time growing under the white light. We lived under the surface. In cave systems. We had created a system of bent caves to let in the harsh light to grow food. We did advance as a society to the point of tara forming our moons despite the harsh environment. I lived lives in dark caves before we figured out how to cook. I also lived lives on the tara-formed moons. I had the pleasure of watching the humans of Earth_7583 go from struggling in the dirt to our journey in the stars. I feel a bit disappointed that I won¡¯t see the next leg of that journey. The tara forming of a planet further from our blue/white sun is well underway. The humans of Earth_7583 dream of a lush green world with water on the surface. Much like the one below us right now. Will my last world ever know this beauty? Everyone around did not seem to mind they would have to relearn a lot of information. Then again, most would not be born with their memories like me. The new world had more pros than cons for them. ¡°The world is in a more primitive state. Not many have the levels of intelligence it takes to match the scientists of our world. Some do, the rich, or the lucky mostly. So, you do not have to worry about not being able to use your knowledge. You will catch up quickly.¡± The Sun God winked at me. He had guessed again, my worries. ¡°He is right little one¡± The God of Hope smiles. We walk to a big open space. Similar to the one we had been in at the start of this journey. This space had a few doors in it though. One door was blue, one red, and one purple. There was a yellow door as well, though not many were going into it. It seemed like everyone was being forcefully drawn to a door. I wanted the yellow one. ¡°This is the place where the Gods of this world have dead souls who are going to be reborn go. Everyone is drawn to the right door. The blue one is for souls that no God has taken an interest in. It is best that way.¡± Sun starts. ¡°The Red door is for souls that the Gods have taken an interest in. Only a small interest in though. They get some perks but nothing big. These people might get past life memories, or a slight boost in stats. This is an okay door¡± Hope speaks next. ¡°The purple door is the pressure door! The Gods expect a lot from these people, if they fail to live up to that they could be shunned for a few lives. Gods don¡¯t like to be let down.¡± War who had now come to join the front speaks. ¡°The yellow door. That is the door you will go into. Anyone who doesn¡¯t fit the other ones go here. If they are hated by the Gods, they go here. Anyone with special circumstances go here as well. Like if a God kills them by accident, or they are unique people. You fit under unique.¡± Fertility puts me down. By now most people had left the hall. Except one the short boy who was unstable. He smiled softly and grabbed my hand. We started walking towards the yellow door. ¡°Why?¡± I ask the boy. ¡°The Gods asked if I wanted to come with you, they said I should keep why a secret.¡± The boy smiles gently at me and continues towards the yellow door. He leaves me in front of the door. Smiling one last time and went to the red door, disappearing. ¡°That was odd, why did you have him follow me?¡± I ask now remembering him slightly. His voice was that of a boy I met in class in my last life. He seems more familiar than that though. ¡°We must say goodbye now¡± All the Gods I have grown to love pat my head and gave me their blessing one by one. ¡°Our blessings won¡¯t do anything in this world though, sorry¡± Hope smiles. ¡°I thank you for them anyway,¡± I say ¡°Goodbye my family¡± I walk through the yellow door backwards. I cannot stand to turn my back towards them. ¡°Thank you for loving a forbidden child such as myself.¡± ¡°Forbidden or not, we love you enough to let you go¡± War smiles wryly ¡°After all Gods don¡¯t let souls, they take an interest in go so easily.¡± ¡°Live well my child.¡± Fertility smiles, and tears fall down his face. As he speaks the door closes automatically between us. I am left staring at the blurry sight of a yellow wall. There is no going back. I knew that when I agreed to come to this world. Still, it hurt to leave. I am a soul that was not created by the Gods of Earth_7583. I arrived by the World Gate. I was crying and could not speak the language. They took me into their world and let me be reborn. That was at nearly the start of their world, I joined the small population of humans. As they huddled in the dark, scared, and hungry. They did not need to be so kind, to allow me to mingle with their people. They didn¡¯t care, not even about my curses. I felt nothing but kindness from them. I can feel a hole growing in me, a void leaving them has created. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I am cursed with two curses. They told me one was ¡°To burn¡± which made my skin fair and easily burn in sunlight. In my last world, it was a huge issue. I could get three degree burns if I travelled to the surface, even when in the moon colonies. The next one was ¡°Forbidden Child of the Twin Gods¡± they said it would bring bad luck. I was not given more information. The status screen of my last world was incomplete. Apparently, because I was not created by the Gods of that world the status screen knew nothing before, I arrived at the gate. My story always begins with ¡°A forbidden child arrives at a gate lonely. They were welcomed by the Gods behind the gate¡±. The status screen of the old world was just a record or story of the soul. Mine was much too long to read. Though sometimes I jump to the beginning and read about my first mortal life, and arrival. I can remember bits of it though most reads just like a story book. My tears all dry up I moved away from the door. I had seen a few people enter the door. There was no one here now though. The room seems like a waiting room of kinds. There are a few chairs, a table, and a bookshelf. Picking up a book from the shelf I sit down in a rocking chair. The book caught my eye because of the title ¡°Job Descriptions¡±. I was told this world had special jobs for everyone. It was like a game, people had jobs, skills, and levels. This book explained that most humans had one to three jobs. Some rare people had up to five. However, humans all possessed the potential to have ten jobs. It was odd if the potential was so high, why did the people of this world usually have less than 5? I notice the writing stating the potential was in a different colour. It seems the different colour are notes from Gods that control this world. So, the book from the mortal world had been edited before being placed on the shelf. The book continued. People have skills, these skills were displayed with two words. The first word is how much effort the skill was trained with. This was displayed as low, medium, and high. The second word coincides with the person¡¯s job level that skill belongs to. Job level only increases when skills are used form the category. This means a person can be an Expert over level 38 and have jobs still in the novice category. Skills without a job are usually novice level. The overall level of people can be different from the various job levels they have. The overall level of a person can be increased through official guild quests, killing monsters, and through Gods quests. God quests are given through the status screen at random. The overall levels of people are organized in a nice chart in the book. It also explains that the average human has a level 30-115. The average levels for beings like elf, beast kin, dwarf, and other long-lived beings are 30-150. Heroes¡¯ can reach between 160-200. Some legends say some heroes have reached 300. Though they are most likely rumours. The sentence stating, they are rumours has a single line through it. The books also state overall levels follow the same pattern but is discussed in detail in a different volume.
Job category Job level
Novice 0-5
Beginner 6-16
Common 17-37
Expert 38-78
Master 79-159
Spirit 160+
A person will have job slots. When they are born a person will have one job slot. More job slots can be given to a person from the Gods. Why and when are unknown. However, the second job slot usually opens once the job in the first slot is Beginner level. Humans can be born with jobs, though most are not. In some cases, A person is born with multiple beginner level jobs. The book continues with detailed explanations on many different jobs. There are close to a thousand different jobs in this book. It gives me a headache. A few titles I look through are Thief, Sage, Tailor, blacksmith, Swordsmith, Tamer, Tank, Spell Weaver, Knight, Light Knight, and more. I notice many jobs can be very similar with each other with only slight differences. I don¡¯t see why I should worry too much. It said most people work towards a job they want, and eventually gain the skills that merge it into the job. Some get a job by completing God quests, and sometimes the Gods grant jobs randomly. So, I can worry about it once I am reborn. ¡°Are you finished reading? I didn¡¯t want to interrupt you¡± A small lady with blue and pink glowing hair speaks. She stands near a door opposite the yellow panel. I had not noticed it before. ¡°Have you come to guide me to the next life?¡± I ask reshelving the book. ¡°Yes, Forbidden Child. I am called Lotus. I am the God of Fresh water. The mortals have also given me Health, Love, and Change to guard.¡± She opens the door gesturing to the doorway. ¡°To guard?¡± I ask as I walk through. In the new room there stood a table in the middle. As well as a big table with seven people sitting at it facing the middle table. The Lady sat with the other seven people. I sat at the table in the middle. There was nothing else, even the door disappeared. ¡°When we say guard, we mean the attributes or domains given to us by the mortals. We Gods started with very basic domains, as the world grew so did we and our domains. I am Holly, God of Seas. I also protect sea travellers, calmness, and exploration.¡± A male with dark blue hair speaks. ¡°I am Yucca, God of deserts. I guard intelligence, perseverance, and strength.¡± He has grey hair like all Gods seeing their face was difficult. Lichen spoke next he seems tired ¡°I am Lichen, the God of Caves. The humans see me as pain, fear, and darkness. In reality I am a God of exploration, curiosity, and darkness the other races acknowledge this.¡± ¡°Parraya is the name! I am the God of winter. The mortals have me guard loneliness, cold, and beauty. Nice to meet you!¡± She looks young with vibrant purple hair. ¡°Yarrow, pleasure to meet you. I am a God of Wind and mountains. Engineering, craft, and adventure is mine.¡± With a nod the yellow haired women looks at the next person. ¡°Ohia Lehua. God of Volcanoes. Violence, Beauty and combat is what the mortals give my name.¡± A man with vibrant red hair puts on a wry smile. Like he wants to eat me. ¡°Lastly I am Iris. God of earth. The mortals give me fertility, harvest, and stability.¡± She moves her brown hair behind her ear and looks to Lichen. ¡°You were brought here because Earth_7583 would not give us souls if we did not take you. We were told you need special treatment. We don¡¯t think you will.¡± Lichen gets up from his seat and stretches. He doesn¡¯t sound mean, or aggressive more exhausted. ¡°We think instead we will let you live your life. We don¡¯t think you will struggle as much here as you did on your old world. Most curses don¡¯t transfer with the souls on such long journeys anyway. Once you are reborn it will probably disappear due to your new vessel.¡± With a smile he comes towards me and picks me up, I feel only warmth from him. ¡°And if I just die a cruel death? Will you then give me a hand?¡± I ask. Knowing my curse as a forbidden child usually lowers my survivability. The forbidden child curse was a Godly curse unable to inhabit a mortal vessel. Instead, it was stripped to a lesser but still awful curse Taboo Child. Mine was special. It showed as Taboo child in my mortal bodies, even though the full curse was present. Mine had a specially made clause, even mortal vessels will experience the full effects of the curse. The only vessel that would not was a vessel of a lesser form. Basically, I could live as a healthy bug, curse free. However, after death the curse would still be on my soul. I have spent a few of my lives as bugs, animals, and once a tree. ¡°You won¡¯t, now be sure to enjoy your new life.¡± Lichen smiles, and I am sent to a new world. I feel the warmth from his arms as I peacefully fall sleep, ready to be reborn. Chapter 3: A new life I wonder if the Gods are right? They are Gods it should be fine. I feel a nice breeze on my face. I was born a few months ago. I saw my mother smile at me a lot in the first week I became aware. That was about month three of my life. By the second week she looked at me with scorn. A man had come by to talk to her, giving me both of us looks of pity. This morning she picked me up and placed me in a basket. She was speaking softly to me and looked happy. She speaks with a man that picks me up. The words I could not understand yet. It seemed I truly was born with no perks. This new world spoke a language I did not know. Without any perks from the Gods I was born as if I entered the blue door. Without any help. I had my memories due to my curse, Forbidden Child. The old Gods had told me my soul was made stronger so not to break. This strength also made it so the normal memory blocking of being reborn was not effective. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The man had walks with me for a long time. I saw the moon rise. It¡¯s odd only seeing one. The air isn¡¯t as hot as I knew on my last world. It was pleasant. The man put me down in the darkness of the one moons¡¯ light. It¡¯s now morning. I am deep in a forest. No one is coming back for me, are they? Will I die as a small baby alone in a forest? Will it be hunger, thirst, or a predator that takes this feeble life. I got flashes of a few times I died this way on my old world. The suns¡¯ heat usually took me. Not many predators lived on the surface after all. The few times the suns¡¯ heat did not take me thirst did. I heard a low growl nearby. I do not think I have ever been eaten as a baby. At least this would be a new experience. And then I die, painfully. It¡¯s quick though. I do not know what beast kills me all I see are the teeth. Chapter 4: Start over I wake up again. I am still 8. I felt a bit younger though. I looked at the doors in front of me. I was being pulled to the blue door. I was not going to take this lying down. I lived hundreds of lives before the old Gods noticed something was wrong. I would not suffer that much again. I was told I would be helped. I will make sure I can live peacefully. I have lived and suffered enough. I force my way into the yellow door. I sit down arms crossed. Lotus eventually comes. ¡°Why are you back?¡± She asks leading me into the next room in front of everyone. ¡°Do you think I did it on purpose?¡± I ask with anger in my voice. ¡°How about you uphold your end of the deal with the Gods from my other world. Give me some help!¡± The Gods look at me calmly. Lichen speaks up. He must be their leader. ¡°Very well, there seems to be some validity from the young Gods who sent you here. We were thinking they were just attached.¡± ¡°I have over 2 billion lives, what about that makes you think I am just another soul?¡± Lichen looks calm as I yell, the other Gods are a mix of anger and confusion. They must not be used to anyone speaking against them. ¡°Alright, calm down. If you want, you can sit in the waiting room for a while. We will discuss what to do with you¡± Lichen speaks calmly gesturing to the door I just came through. Instead, I sit down on the floor. The table I sat at previously was not there. Only the Gods¡¯ had a table and chairs. Still, I am not going anywhere. They seem to understand this after a few minutes. They begin speaking however it¡¯s in a language I can¡¯t understand. I am shaken awake. I must have fallen asleep. It¡¯s always an odd feeling sleeping in soul form. It was also healing for souls, especially ones as old as me. ¡°We have come to a decision on what to do¡± Lotus carries me with her sitting down with me on her lap. On the table in front of me is the book I read last time. ¡°We would like you to pick a job, we will give any one you want. We will also give you the language of this world. If you want, we can also give you a few other boosts to make you a bit harder to kill¡± Lotus strokes my hair as she speaks. She seems to have taken a liking to me. ¡°Is there a job that would allow me to gain a bunch of skills?¡± I ask. ¡°There are a few, though they are harder to raise their job level. Due to the number of skills that can be gained they take more experience to level up. Also, because so many skills can be gained a new job is usually acquired.¡± Lotus explains. ¡°I just want to be able to do things for myself. It would give me a good chance of survival. I don¡¯t want a cheat skill or top-class job. I want something normal, that way I can stay in the shadows.¡± I speak thoughtfully. After a few hours I settle on the job ¡®Noble¡¯. Nobles usually get this job from their family lineage. Sometimes people are granted this job from the Gods or gain it after being given a Noble title. Majority of jobs give random starting skills. Noble has many fancy skills to do with arts, like painting, embroidery, and more. It also has combat skills like swordmanship, archery, and hunting. My luck isn¡¯t the best, though even art skills could help me survive. It does mean I will have to be born into a noble family. Which could give me problems as well. ¡°What else can you do?¡± after picking my job I am not so sure I can survive. ¡°We can boost your stats; most babies start with 5 points in each. We could give you more¡± Holly smiles. ¡°Would that make me a freaky baby?¡± I have died from people thinking I was possessed due to my intelligence. ¡°Yes, it would stand out¡± Holly smiles an unnerving calm smile. Did he want me to be a freak? ¡°Then no thank you¡± I glare at Holly. ¡°How about we just keep an eye out and if we feel you need a skill, we can give it to you?¡± Iris smiles warmer. ¡°I don¡¯t know, gaining skills too easily may be an issue as well¡± I shrug standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll just take the language, and the Noble job.¡± The Gods smiled and showed me the door, I was going to restart once again. It takes some time before I become aware. Usually a few weeks, I have been aware for a few days now. It seems like I am maybe a month old now. There are rarely people in my room, a few maids have come and gone. The room looks modest. It is a small room with a crib in the centre. There is enough room for a dresser and a window seat. The colours of the room are soft blues and whites. It¡¯s too small, though it does have a connected washroom being built. It seems that my room was a last-minute thought. I am rarely removed from my room. I have not even seen my mother once. I am still trying to figure out how to get my status screen open. The Gods had said everyone could see their status screens. Some items allowed others to see a persons¡¯ status screen. I should have asked how to open it. I have tried a lot of phrases in my head, none worked. Maybe I am too young? A few maids are sitting here with me. I can understand their language though I am not sure what they are saying. Something about my jobs? It should just be noble right? ¡°Did you hear? This poor baby is also cursed. A taboo child.¡± The one feeding me a bottle shakes her head. ¡°Yeah, on top of having that dreadful job. Her older brother had that job as well, though they were able to fix it with a teacher. This poor child has that job and a curse? There will be no fixing that. Her own mother isn¡¯t even coming to see her. I heard they are going to raise her here in this garden shed.¡± The maid cleaning the room speaks with sadness. ¡°That¡¯s fine, the staff are happy to raise her. This may have been a storage room a few months ago. Now this is the room of first lady of Count Regan Jade. Her Brother Lord Seth doesn¡¯t get much attention from their mother either.¡± The maid puts me back in my crib. ¡°Yeah at least she won¡¯t know for a while. It takes time for children to be able to open their status screens. We just have to make sure no one tells her she has to set status open key. Mines Silly Bear. I regret it a bit, but I didn¡¯t want to open my status screen randomly.¡± She covers me in a blanket. ¡°You know you have to use the words and have the intention of opening the status screen, right?¡± The cleaning maid laughs. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°I do now, 4-year-old me did not. We should make sure she knows that as well.¡± Chuckling they leave me. So, I have to set it up? No wonder nothing worked. Thinking the words over for a bit I think, set status open key. A moment later I heard an automated voice telling me to continue. I think Status. Staying quiet in my mind I wait until the voice tells me the word is set. I think the word status. A white screen opens before my eyes. It looks like an internet browser from my previous world.
Earthly Name Not named, Jade
Soul Name AunaLuna
Gender Female
Species
Human
Fairy
Level 1
Status Points
Health 5
Mana 5
Physical Strength 5
Mental Strength 5
Intelligence 5
Agility 5
Luck 10
Job
Noble 6
Moon Slave 2
Blessings
Old Friends farewell
The Other World Person
Curses
Taboo child
To Burn
At least I am female. My parents gave me their last name, but no first name. Is it a cultural thing? I try to focus in on my species section. The screen lets me know humans are the dominate species, with average life spans of 100 years. It continues to tell me humans are often magic users or combat people. The next one surprised me. Fairy? The status screen said fairy folk are rare due to being bought and sold for 100s of years. It continued to say they are great with magic and long lived. As a half breed, I am unsure what that means for me. Will being a halfling cause me trouble? I look into my blessings next, not wanting to deal with the jobs. Its description said ¡°A tearful goodbye from a group of friends carried over into this life. The person blessed will have higher luck, and the ability to understand who a true friend is.¡± It comes with a skill called true friend. The skill did not explain how to use it well. It seemed to be a bit of a lie detector skill. It also seemed to hint it would be more useful at a higher proficiency level. It will remain under the blessing, and not in my other skill sections. The next blessing was The Other World Person. It said the otherworlder may experience flashes of other world memories. The flashes may make the person insane. The person will also possess a strong body and soul due to traveling between worlds. The person will experience an experience gain boost relevant to past skills. This blessing looked amazing it basically means skills I knew before would be easier to obtain in this life. However, would I go insane? No, I shouldn¡¯t I have a lot of experience. The issue was this Taboo Child. The description said it would appear as Taboo Child to all other people. What other people see is that the person was born without love. As such the child will have bad luck and will gain experience at a slower rate. The actual curse was worst. It read this child was born from twin Gods. Their creator forbade them from making a child. Now this forbidden child existed. For a few years they existed together, until the creator sent the child away cursed to live alone. The status screen continued to say the curse would make life hard. That was all it said. It had errors for the rest of the section. It seemed even this world had troubles figuring out this curse. The Other curse to burn though was very easy to figure out. It said the person will have pale skin and sensitivity to the light. It wasn¡¯t as bad as it could be. Next was the jobs. The noble job seemed great. The Gods really pulled through. The other job well that was going to be an issue. I was told that slaves did not exist in this world anymore. The book I read had the slave job and said anyone who gets this job is usually oppressed and made to do many things against their will. This is why when people get this job, they either are hidden to learn a new job or killed. When a person is found out to have a slave job, people begin treating the boss or parents differently of the one with the slave job. They would treat them like slave owners and the authorities would look into them. This could cause issues. That was why right now I was in a storage room, hidden away. My brother managed to get a different job though, could I as well?
Job title Noble
Job description A job given to those of noble standing. A person with this job will have a variety of upstanding skills in the arts, combat, and social categories.
Skills
Painting Low-Beginner
Etiquette Medium-Beginner
Swordsmanship Medium-Beginner
Appraisal Low-Beginner
Painting was simple, it means I am good at painting. The Etiquette was most likely from my last lives. I did have to learn a lot of different manners over the years. I also have used a sword before. The appraisal skill was nice, I looked at the window. The screen told me it was a window. Not anything else. I assumed it was because it was low, and I was at beginner level for the job. The job and skills are great. If I was not cursed, and not a slave maybe this life would not be difficult.
Job tile Moon Slave
Job description Born to serve a god that never existed in this world. With no one else left to serve the moon life will be a lonely one.
Skills
Night Vision Low-Novice
Moon Dance Low-Novice
Water Magic Low-Novice
Dark Magic Low-Novice
The description alone told me this job sucked. However, the skills were not bad. They were odd though. Night vision was easy to understand, and I could start training it right away by staying up at night. Moon dance just said moon light was my friend. Very odd. The water magic would be helpful. The Dark magic just said weird things can happen in the darkness. I spend the next few days listening to the maids. There were many different ones who came in. It seems as if no one was assigned to me, instead everyone was told to care for me. I had a budget as well. Unlike my brother Seth I was not allowed to be seen or allowed outside when guests were in the garden. Seth had been born with Slave as his first job. Now with the help of a teacher that job was changed to Noble. Unlike me it was easy to take away his slave job in two years. Mine apparently was a weird unknown job. I was also cursed. It was easier to let the female heir just live in the staff building. My mother did not argue. She was a bride from a different country, that did not want to be here. Apparently, this was a political marriage. My mother was a fairy. I would most likely get wings, like my mother did at five. My mother did visit Seth though after he no longer had a slave Job. It was odd we both got the slave job as my mother did not have it. Her jobs were Noble, Artist, and Merchant. Father apparently wanted more children though. The staff would leave gifts as well. I now had more blankets, and handmade toys. Chapter 5: Life will be hard AunaLuna spent her days hidden away at the Jade estate. Her father, the head of Jade, decided she would be added to the registry as A, Jade. When a noble was not given a first name everyone understood the person would be an outcast. The staff started calling AunaLuna AJ instead. AunaLuna was not permitted to enter the garden often. She was only permitted to leave her room when summoned by her uncle for dinner, or when Count Jade said she could. It was not very often. Instead, she got all her fresh air from her window seat. Guests that wandered too far away from the gardens to near the staff quarters would often see the child in the window. She wore light clothes with some cut outs on her shoulders, and elbows. The exposed skin would be rosy. Most would think she was a staff members child. The staff were given a budget to spend on AunaLunas¡¯ education, necessities, and entertainment. The budget was nowhere near that of her brothers, or what a noble child should get. There were rules as well. She was not allowed to have any tutors, or too fancy of clothing. She was essentially abandoned. I read over my log, my status screen still had the story option or section. I often read it when I have nothing to do. The story changes from time to time, to summarize and tidy itself up. I am not sure how it works, but I do like looking it over. Right now, it sounds pitiful, though I have lived in worse ways. I am comfortable, fed, and relatively healthy. My bonus skill true friend hasn¡¯t grown yet. But I can tell the people around me are usually telling the truth. Sometimes my uncle lies to me, or the staff. I think it is because they don¡¯t want me to feel the full weight of my situation though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Happy birthday AJ!¡± A boy Jack hands me a small box. It is indeed my birthday. Today I turn six years old. My uncle would usually request me for dinner though he hasn¡¯t yet. My brother Seth, and my uncles twin children, my cousins, will be there as well. We talk about how I am, and what I am doing. Without a teacher for anything all my education comes from books, and the staff. They don¡¯t realise I remember a lot of my previous memories, using them as well to learn and adapt. My brother Seth always criticises me for my poor clothes, and lack of education. As if I have control over it. He is a little dick head. ¡°Thank you, Jack, I love it!¡± Jack gives me another book on magic. I had the books of fire, water, earth, wind, lightening, and now this one dark. Dark magic books are not common, this one looks worn and a little torn in spots. Jack was the head butlers¡¯ boy so he often gave me these books every year on my birthday. I know these books are bought using my education fund. Only once a year due to how expensive they are. I don¡¯t mind though. The other education books I get are hand me downs from the staff and their children. It makes sense that the head butler would use the money for magic books instead. As well as clothing. Jack smiles and leaves. He prefers to play outside with the rest of the staff children. I open my window to read my new book. My sunglasses make it slightly difficult, though due to my burn curse I need them. I can get headaches from being in the sun without them. My dark magic has not moved from Low despite how much I worked on it. Instead, I gained a new skill basic dimensional magic, which I grew to dimensional magic. I had thought dark magic would be things like storage, and movement. This is why I worked on trying to teleport and creating an inventory system of sorts. I now have an inventory system, I can store 20 items, without stacking them. I can only store things in 1.5x1.5 cubic feet. I did figure out I can name, and store chests with multiple items. Doing this has allowed me to store more than I should have been able to. At first the items in the storage would rot. Now that the basic has been dropped from the name nothing rots. As a worry wort I have been gathering things I could steal. With my dimensional magic I can teleport to a spot I can see. This made stealing small amounts of things easy, I even got materials to build my chests. I made sure to have any empty slots hold empty chests just in case. No one checks my stuff, so storing majority of my items away doesn¡¯t matter.
Dried meat Chest x1 General education books Chest x1 Magic books Chest x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Blankets Chest x1 Clothes Chest x1
Fabric and leather Chest x1 Dried fruit Chest x1 Fresh fruit Chest x1 Tools Chest x1 Fresh vegetables Chest x1 This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Empty Chest x1 Empty Chest x1 Empty Chest x1 Empty Chest x1 Empty Chest x1
I can¡¯t find anymore pails; I have already used the extra ones. Taking anymore would cause issues for the staff. Not that I need fresh water, I do have a bathroom with running water. Still life has been a little too easy for me lately. Sighing I call forth my Magic books Chest and place my newly acquired Dark magic book in it. I feel a little too listless to study. Instead, I lay back in the sun. This world is great as instead of getting actual burns I just get a sunburn. My eyes hurt if I don¡¯t have sunglasses though. I like the feeling of the sun on my skin though, the sunburn is nothing compared to my actual burns in my old world. Looking around my room I sigh again. I have hand made toys, and blankets from the staff. They take pity on me, but they still can¡¯t do much to give me a fulfilling life. I study, play, and exercise in this room. My food is brought to me, and my washroom is attached. How boring of a life, though at least I am alive. It is not often I live this long so easily. ¡°AJ, your father has requested you to go to the main hall.¡± Lilly the first maid I ever met looks worried as she tells me this. I cannot blame her though this would be the first time I have seen him. Count Regan Jade, I have heard he is a strict but fair man. He rules over a nice territory as well. ¡°Alright, should I change?¡± I ask. I am wearing a night gown. With a quick nod Lilly starts to pull out a dress for me. It¡¯s a soft green colour with an open back, cut out shoulders with long sleeves. The back is cut out because I should be getting my wings soon. Lilly brushes my long black hair that seems to shimmer in the light. Due to time, she leaves it down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I step into the main hall. Usually, this hall is to hold balls, and events from what I hear. There is a head table set up today at one end of the hall. There are people lining the walls. An isle has been cleared to a small table facing the main table. Lilly pushes me forwards. I walk alone to the table and stand behind it. There is no chair. On the table is a single crystal plate. ¡°I greet the great Count Jade¡± I say as I curtsy. ¡°Where are your shoes? Are you not a noble?¡± My father asks. ¡°Count, it would be shameful on my part to buy with your money something I do not need¡± I state clearly looking at my father. My sunglasses are off sitting on the table. ¡°Don¡¯t need?¡± He asks. ¡°I do not leave my room more than once every few months sir.¡± I smile. ¡°Let us get to why we called you here. You are now six years old it is time for you to register with the guild. Every child in our nation is registered for ID purposes.¡± Count Jade waves his hand. A man steps out of line and took my hand. He pricks it with a needle and places it on the crystal. My status screen appears on the crystal. It was then taken to my father to scroll through.
Earthly Name A, Jade
Soul Name AunaLuna
Gender Female
Species
Human
Fairy
Level 5 (20/29 EXP)
Status Points
Health 10
Mana 12
Physical Strength 10
Mental Strength 10
Intelligence 16
Agility 7
Luck 10
Job
Noble 8
Moon Slave 3
Extra Skills
Basic Fire Magic High-Novice
Basic Earth Magic High-Novice
Basic Lightening Magic Low-Novice
Basic Wind Magic Medium-Novice
Wood working Medium-Novice
Craftsmanship Low-Novice
Blessings
Old Friends farewell
The Other World Person
Curses
Taboo child
To Burn
Job title Noble
Job description A job given to those of noble standing. A person with this job will have a variety of upstanding skills in the arts, combat, and social categories.
Skills
Painting High-Beginner
Etiquette High-Beginner
Swordsmanship Medium-Beginner
Appraisal Medium-Beginner
Job tile Moon Slave
Job description Born to serve a god that never existed in this world. With no one else left to serve the moon life will be a lonely one.
Skills
Night Vision Low-Novice
Moon Dance Low-Novice
Water Magic Medium-Novice
Dark Magic Low-Novice
Light Magic Low-Novice
Dimensional Magic Medium-Novice
My father spends some time looking over my status, then he hands the small card size crystal back to the man who gives it to me. ¡°So, it is true, you need more experience for levels than most people. Level 5 should be 25 but yours is 29. Apparently, the gap is growing larger as well with each level. I give you credit for being able to obtain such growth in your room. Still, you have many curses and were born as a slave. You bring shame to this house of Jade.¡± My father sighs and waves again a man hands him some paperwork. ¡°You will be sent to the great monster forest on the edge of our region. You will depart tomorrow morning.¡± My father speaks. ¡°Brother she is only six years old, she should be starting school in two years. By throwing her out of this house you bring shame! Especially in such a barbaric way.¡± My uncle is screaming. My body is warm, I knew life was being too easy. A way of getting rid of unwanted children was to send them into a dungeon or dangerous area. It was under the pretence that it was training. Then they would change the register of the family to reflect the child died. Only nobles used this method. As nobles who abandon their children were shamed. This was an easy way to get rid of undesirable children. ¡°Enough, you speak so highly of this child. You are always telling me she has done great things and is very smart. You should be happy she is getting a chance to prove her worth.¡± My father is smiling. My brother is smirking at me. I don¡¯t know what my mother looks like so I can not pick her out of the crowd. I don¡¯t see a women near my father or brother. ¡°Thank you for this opportunity, Count Jade. May I ask for a weapon?¡± I ask. I was then given a bag and sword. I leave the hall as my uncle continues to yell. Chapter 6: Enter the great monster forest Lilly cried all day and did not want to leave me alone. I did finally convince everyone that I needed sleep. Everyone gave me gifts of parting. I got a sewing kit, some new tools, seeds, and toys. I put most things in an empty chest. I knew taking toys would be weird if I only had a backpack, I don¡¯t want to leave them though. The rest of my stuff is already full. I have enough food and water for a little while at least. I have heard the great monster forest is very dangerous. I actually have a book on it that has maps, monster information, diagrams, and even information on the plants in the forest. I should sleep a bit as well. I have stripped my room of nearly everything. All that remains is some old clothes, bedding, and a few broken toys. There was nothing else left to do. I wake up before the sun. I am a bit nervous I have never left the estate. I have maps of the world, and our region. They aren¡¯t the same though as real-life experience. My last world we lived underground. Unground doesn¡¯t have many animals and plants so this will be a new experience for me. My bag that I was given has a hunting knife, water bottle, dried meat, some bread, and matches. I put the matches and bread in my storage instead. I do not want them getting wet by mistake. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Lilly asks me after I have changed into a shirt and pants. My shoulders, elbows, and back are exposed. My legs are fully covered. They are green clothes that are light in material. My long hair covers my back most days, however today I put on a light mantle. Lilly helps secure my sword to my waist. ¡°Yes, Lilly¡± I smile as I take her hand. She walks me to the front of the estate. My uncle, brother, father, and a woman are standing by a wagon. Lilly bends down and gives me one last hug before turning away, leaving me alone with them. Seth is holding onto the women by her dress. She must be my mother. Her gaze is cold as she stares in front of her. ¡°Count Jade¡± I greet father as I walk towards the wagon. There are a few men sitting in the wagon. They seem to be a part of the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°We have come to see you off.¡± My father nodded as I climbed into the wagon. ¡°Do not come back if you know what is good for you.¡± That¡¯s the last thing I heard before the wagon begins to move. Uncle looks sad, and my brother looks happy. He really did not like being compared to me. We rode for many days, about 12. We camped out along the main roads. I overheard many conversations. Most were centred around how they had to leave me in the forest and say I walked away from them. Then everyone would presume I was dead. They were paid a handsome amount of money to do this. All 7 of them were older, they need the money to retire. I understood why they were doing it. Money speaks more than morals at times. I just don¡¯t get why they had to do it this way. They rode 2 days into the forest, then in my sleep put me in a bag. I was then carried for at least 2 days, they blended together. I was filthy as I was not allowed out of the bag I could not relieve myself properly. My hands had been bound together as well, so getting out of the bag was going to be hard. They were surprised how little I struggled. What could someone as small as me do anyway? I was smaller than most kids my age, I had been told that often. Eventually they set me down, said goodbye and left. I listened for a while. It seems they really left me here in a bag. They must have been told to make sure I do not live. I wiggle for a while until I am sitting up. I can see through the bag to another spot, teleporting outside of the bag. My hands are still tied though as I teleport with my clothes. It was a gamble though as I didn¡¯t know if a bag was clothes or not. Looking around I see other bags like mine, though they are unmoving. Some are fairly old as well. It seems this place is a dumping ground for children. I wonder why no monsters have taken the remains. Looking around I notice we are in a clearing with a lake. Around the clearings edge are rocks with runes carved in them. First, I need to untie myself and wash off. Calling a chest from my storage I grab a knife I stole. My sword and bag with the hunting knife were taken from me. I am happy I stored the matches away. I use my water magic to clean my body and change clothes. I don¡¯t trust the lake just yet. Now, what are these rocks? They have runes in them, the runes are for protection. They keep out monsters, this place is a ¡®safe zone¡¯. Safe zones are man made areas that allow people to rest in dungeons. They are difficult and expensive to make though. I take out my map of the forest. The safe zone is not on this map, it is also not in the book about the forest either. It seems this is a hidden safe zone. There are a few camp sites here as well. It might be a place for the people ditching kids to rest. The lake is on the map though. The lake is unique with yellow water due to the stones. The map shows it is near the middle of the forest, which is the most dangerous area. No one ventures this deep into the forest anymore. Many armies have been lost trying to conquer this forest. The safe zone must be a secret to make disposal worth it to paid dumpers. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I stuff my bag with rocks and grass. I do not need anyone thinking a child escaped. I can¡¯t leave this zone though. I decide to use my tools and basic earth magic to create a cave in one of the big stones in the clearing. I am fairly small so it should be fine. After a few long hours I have a cave facing the lake. The clearing is protected however, the lake is not. The runes stop at the lakes edge. No one should come from this angle. Still, I make sure to seal the entrance leaving only a small hole in the top. Day 2 in the clearing I spend my time going over my situation and resting. I look over the other bags to check for anything of use. I found a few bracelets, necklaces, and toys. There were some clothes on the remains though they were too gross. I did not need the other things either, so I left them. I feel warmer than I should, most likely getting sick from my travels. As I go into my cave to rest, I hear voices coming near. I seal up my cave as quickly and quietly as possible. I listen to the voices I can not figure out who is talking. ¡°Wow there really is a rest area here, like that damn noble said. Let¡¯s rest here.¡± ¡°Yeah, lets drop the kid here as told. We will have to rest here tonight.¡± ¡°We can head out in the morning. They are expecting us back next week¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe the kid didn¡¯t even get a name, she is only 4 as well.¡± ¡°Yeah a 4-year-old being thrown away is a bit harsh they usually wait till at least 8.¡± ¡°Well apparently she was being raised in secret by her mother. Her mother died though.¡± ¡°Her mother was a farmers¡¯ daughter; she was her fathers first born child though.¡± ¡°Yikes a half noble child as the first born¡± ¡°Yup, he thought he wasn¡¯t able to have kids because of his wife never having any. However, he just got a second wife now, and she is with child.¡± The child seemed to also be of noble blood. Unlucky for her she was not wanted either. Poor kid. Can I really take care of another child? I can¡¯t take care of myself. The morning comes quickly. The people who dropped the child off left as well. I wait until I could see the sun through the hole in the rock. I climb out. I feel a bit dizzy today, the cool nights taking a toll on my small body. Looking around the clearing I spot the new bag. It is not moving much; she seems very calm. I walk over to the bag and open it. I can¡¯t leave her here. Even if it might doom me to die, I won¡¯t have a regret. ¡°Hello?¡± I say to a small child with bright blue hair and eyes. She stares at me not saying anything at all. She doesn¡¯t even try to leave the bag. I take her out myself. She is not even tied up. I fill her bag with grass and rocks as well. ¡°I don¡¯t think we should stay here any longer.¡± I think that too many nobles are thrown out here to stay here. What are the chances we are both dropped off close to each other and this place isn¡¯t used often? She still doesn¡¯t speak. Looking closer I see she has many scars, and bruises. I leave her in the clearing, I saw on the map we are close to the crater at the centre of this forest. It should be defendable enough; I could possibly move the rune stones. I¡¯m exploring the area, trying to find a way to the crater. A way I can bring the younger girl with me. I am used to navigating cave systems, not dense forests. After a few hours I am tired, dizzy, and cold. I must be sick; I have to power through though if I want to live. I hear a rustle in the bushes not far from me. I tense up, the last dozen times it was small animals that didn¡¯t bother me. I can¡¯t fully keep my tension at bay though. I even killed a few low rank monsters, like bunnies. This time though a huge bear comes running at me. Bears in books look almost cuddly, this one looks angry. Very angry. I start to run, having never seen a bear in my last world, we had small cattle and some pets. Rodents as well. Not big bears. I continue to run. Damn it, damn it! Running isn¡¯t going to work. I must make it back to the clearing. I won¡¯t make it back. I gained one level though! Every level I get 4 points to use on my stats. I can also increase my stats naturally. Right now, I need everything in agility. Jumping into a tree ahead of the bear I wait. The bear is too big to move as easily as me. Exhausted and bloody. I almost had made it to the creator. It would be a nice spot to try and make a camp. This damn bear is in my way. As the bear came under the tree I dropped. Digging one knife into his neck I put the other into his eye. It is a stupid idea, but the only one I can think of in my dizzy state. He thrashed a bit and then died the knifes being long enough to hit his brain. It gave me 134 points which levelled me up. Animals don¡¯t give experience unless they are full of magic. Basically, this bear must have been close to changing into a monster. If he had done that, I would be dead. I dressed it as best I could putting everything in an empty chest. I bury the rest with my earth magic. I don¡¯t want any other monsters or animals to be drawn here, we need meat though. We also need furs; the nights are cool. Once I get back to the clearing the girl was still in the same place, I left her. At least she won¡¯t wander off I suppose. My true friend skill isn¡¯t helping me to figure out anything. It didn¡¯t even signal to me anything was wrong when the men brought me here. It was just a lie detector right now, and she had not said anything yet. I pull the girl into my stone with me. I have to seal it up just in case anyone else comes. I have a few blankets in the stone already. I can feel my warm blood leaking out of my body, making me colder. Her warm body crammed against mine helps fight the cold. I think about how a healing skill would not have been too much of a cheat. Though in this world the healing magic I knew in stories doesn¡¯t exist. Apparently healing magic is rare, and usually at the level to heal broken bones. Sometimes people can heal sicknesses they know how to heal. It takes a lot of mana/magic as well. I¡¯m still not use to the terminology. Still healing magic can be very useful, the church has high healers that can almost do what stories of my last world did. The books on magic, general education, and staff had burst my bubble on having a fix all healing magic. I should have asked for a healing skill anyway. I think about how my body is supposed to be. I think about when I am healthy and not bleeding. I fall asleep thinking about this. Chapter 7: New and old skills AunaLuna sighed as she stretched. She thought about how lucky she and her new friend were. They struggled the first month due to the cold; winter had now officially ended though. Now it should be Yarren, the 6th month of the year. Summer will start next month. They had found the crater shown on the map. It looked like a big hill with a hole in the centre. The inside was about a football field in size. There were not many monsters in the field. This was most likely because the sides leading into the field were high, and mostly smooth. It would be hard to get in without earth magic. The few monsters in the field either flew in, or managed to dig in. AunaLuna spent weeks trying to replicate the runes writing on the stones in the clearing. She did eventually gain a skill called runic magic under moon slave. She had heard about runic magic scholars and mages studied. It was a powerful magic that was too slow for battle use. Instead, people used it to enchant items. She used her new ability to copy the stones and create a magical barrier in their new home. These runes were special they did not use very much of the users magic to activate. Once activated they fed off the magic of the land. Once the new spot was ready, she moved here to the crater with the child she named Ciela. There were no more children dropped off in the clearing. AunaLuna made sure to visit once a day to check. It seemed that they don¡¯t drop off children that often. AunaLuna sighed again thinking about how her odd habit of narrating her life turned into a skill. She wondered if this is what it meant to be crazy. ¡°I Am not crazy¡± She spoke aloud. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t randomly say things like that? It really makes you sound crazy.¡± Ciela smiles sweetly while she shakes her head. She got up most likely to tend their little garden. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m still not use to this inner voice, it¡¯s so sassy at times like it has a mind of its own¡± AunaLuna began getting ready for her hunt to which she may catch something. Maybe if she didn¡¯t feel the need to always distance herself through narrating everything in her own head she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this situation. Stop it. She thought. Both of them had gained the survivalist job. It was a job that many adventurers had after getting lost. While Ciela had a level 1, AunaLuna raised hers to level 3 what a go getter. AunaLuna used her mapping, tracking, and hunting skills under survivalist to hunt small prey. She wouldn¡¯t get experience points from killing animals only monsters. The monsters were too strong though. She had managed to take one by surprise early on in the crater, but she was not ready to risk her life again. The bear had been a fluke, and there were not many small monster bunnies around. She did kill as many monster bunnies as she could. She looked at the mapping in the corner of her eye through her skill. On it a few red dots appeared. She knew to avoid these; she had placed a tracker on the most dangerous monsters in the area. With her hunting skill she looked for prey like rabbit. Calming her breath and steadying herself she shot her arrow. It hit the neck of a rabbit not too far away from her. A rabbit is good enough for both to eat for a few days. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I¡¯m home my little farmer!¡± I call out to Ciela. The little girl bounces towards me with a big grin. She is small for her age though that did not stop her from knocking down AunaLuna. Do you really have to point that out? She thought to her narrator. ¡°You got a rabbit? Yummy! My tomatoes have finally bore fruit as well!¡± Ciela pulled me with her. Showing me the plants. I had named this girl and taught her how to see her own status screen. She had had unused stat points. As people got 4 per level, she had a few from her time with her mother. She was born with the farmer job, which brought shame to her father. Her mother often told her this, and that was why she was a secret. She wasn¡¯t named simply because the mother was too ashamed to name her. AunaLuna narrates to herself, still surprised she got the narrator skill. AunaLuna ignores her narrator, allowing it to become a hum in the back of her head as she self-narrates instead. At least when she can do it before the narrator. After her mother died, to which Ciela didn¡¯t know how, her grandfather handed her over to her father. She was then directly handed over to the people who brought her to this forest. She doesn¡¯t know how far she travelled though, she thought at least 5 days. AunaLuna thought she would have had to be from close to the edge of the forest. Most likely a border town. You know you are distracting right? AunaLuna asked herself. I asked you not me! She thought frustrated. Her narrator would not be distracting if AunaLunas¡¯ own mind did not wander so much. AunaLuna sighed defeated looking back at Ciela who was explaining the different plants she was growing. The little farmer has skills that allow her to identify seeds, and plants similar to appraisal magic. They had found seeds and plants in the clearing, the field, and from animal droppings. They sorted them out knowing they would need to grow food. By emptying their mana into the plants, they made them grow faster, and increased both of their mana levels. ¡°Should we try to skin the rabbit?¡± Ciela asks me snapping my narrator to the edge of my mind momentarily. ¡°We should yes.¡± I move to the pond near one edge of the field. The water was clear most likely coming from an underground spring. After about 2 hours of hard work, the rabbit was dressed. All organs were removed, the girls¡¯ lunches also came up a few times. They were still not use to it. AunaLuna had dressed the bear in a state of fear and adrenaline. Which made it easier than in her normal state. The pelt was badly removed and lay drying on a rock. The meat was removed from the bones. Some meat was wrapped in leaves to smoke and the rest was boiling in a pot. ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ciela pokes in the pot with a wooden spoon. ¡°Did your other world memories tell you that?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, though mine are not as clear as yours¡± Ciela was also blessed with the other world person blessing. She also had a long-life blessing that claimed her life would be longer than normal. Her memories were unclear most of the time with just bits coming in. She lived on a world similar to this one without magic. She talked about how much she loved maple syrup. One of my books did say that maple trees grew in this forest. AunaLuna thought about looking for a sapling again. ¡°We should dance in the moonlight.¡± Ciela states after our meal of tough meat, berries, and tomatoes. ¡°Sure.¡± I smile. We did not often get a chance to just be children. The girls danced in the moonlight for many hours laughing and giggling. AunaLuna felt a strange peace and strength. Soon her movements seemed more calculated and focused. For a second, she felt like she was in a dream. Ciela broke my thoughts ¡°So pretty, it¡¯s like you were a spirit for a minute¡±. Chapter 8: Home sweet home ¡°Ciela! Where are you?¡± Auna smiled as her little farmer came rushing over with blue apples from her garden. They came from a tree sapling Auna had brought home on one of her hunts. They had been in the Great Monster Forest for roughly five months. It was now the 9th month-Sunen, the 20th day to be exact. It was Cielas¡¯ 5th birthday. ¡°Yes Auna?¡± Ciela¡¯s filthy from farming, I am going to have to bathe her. ¡°Happy birthday! You are now 5 years old! Here.¡± I hand the small girl a sapling. ¡°Is this a maple tree sapling?¡± Ciela already knows what it is due to her skills. She gives me a quick hug and runs away with the little tree. With that done I leave to dress the few rabbits, and small monsters I killed. As I skin and butcher them my thoughts wander. I had spent a lot of time making sure Ciela had learned all the basic magic I could teach her. I also had Ciela use my fruits and vegetables from my chests as seeds. I know we have to live here for a very long time, so we made sure to ration the supplies I originally had. We even built a one level house using earth magic and supplies from my storage. The house is positioned near our entrance tunnel that¡¯s sealed when not in use. The house is mostly rectangular with one wall slated to follow the crater shape. The triangle part of the house is used as a food storage, seed storage, and a butchering area. We each have a windowless room at the other end of the house in the back. The middle section is used for a kitchen, with a work bench for other projects. Our house is protected from the weather with an earth magic ledge supported with pillars. More runic stones were added in the crater as time went by. Now we have roughly 40 all around the edges of the ledge, and inner edges. There are a few in the field as well, to ensure no flying beasts would get in. They all worked together, the more there were the stronger their area of coverage was. They were not perfect though; a few monsters did manage to come into the field, though they usually left on their own. That was why they built windowless rooms. Auna thought about their little home. The crater was now home to a garden in the upper left side across from the pond. It had potatoes, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, and onions. Only the onions and tomatoes had been harvested. Below the garden was the small orchard with blue apple, lemon, pear, and now maple trees. Their house was below that. Below the pond on the upper left side was a mushroom farm. Ciela had gathered logs, and fungi to grow saying her past self loved fried mushrooms. Below the mushrooms were berry bushes Auna uprooted for them. They had a few training dummies below that near their tunnel. The big firepit in between the training ground and house in an open space was Aunas¡¯ favourite spot. She enjoyed dancing in the moonlight. Her Moon Dance skill grew to medium. She was not fully sure why, but she felt it was important to learn it. The more she did it the more moves would come to her mind. Ciela said she looked like a spirit as she danced, like she was becoming the moonlight. Thumbing the crystal on her neck she walked the fresh skins to a rock near the pond. The crystal on her neck hung from a leather braided band. Above the crystal was a hollowed-out piece of meteorite from the crater. Most people called it space rock though. The crystal itself was a naturally hallowed out mana stone. It was empty when she found it. After having for a while, it now had her purple and deep blue magic inside of it. Everyone had a colour to their magic, usually it was an elemental colour. Hers however was mostly purple which was not one of the main elements. Ciela had a green/yellow mixture to her magic. It was most likely because she was a farmer. She had carved her crystal as close to a circle as possible though there was a sharp bump left. She had tried to file it down but only made it worse. She often found herself running her fingers over it, a reminder of the hours spent trying to carve it. The mana stones are not rare per say, however ones that can hold human magic are. They usually absorb magic from their environment over time. Once they did this only that magic type would be absorbable again. After Auna had picked up the stone she had noticed Ciela couldn¡¯t use it even after it emptied. The sharp edge on the one side cut Auna. ¡°Damn it¡±. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t swear¡± Ciela smiled. ¡°Sorry, I cut myself. How is the farming going?¡± Auna laid the skins down nicely. ¡°How are you handling the voice in your head?¡± ¡°I ignore it mostly now; I feel a lot better. Thanks.¡± Auna continued to poorly ignore the narration. ¡°Should you check the clearing? Pada will be here soon.¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take a quick look I don¡¯t want to get caught in the rain.¡± Auna smiled at Ciela moving to leave. This world has five seasons, pada was in-between summer and autumn. It was a season of heavy rain, and increased monster activity. The girls would have to stay inside the crater for both months. They did not want to risk the increased monster activity. AunaLuna arrived at the clearing making sure to walk around each bag to check for new kids. As she finished, she was close to the original little cave from months ago. Hearing voices she hid inside the stone again. It seemed she would have to stay the night here. She did worry about the possibility of another mouth to feed though. ¡°Here boss! We made it to the clearing.¡± Auna opened a small opening in her stone cave to watch the young man speak. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Let¡¯s set up camp.¡± A big older man sat on a rock as the younger three men set camp. Auna noticed a cage with two small wolves in it. One was a moon wolf the other a sun wolf. Wait, I didn¡¯t know that though. Auna wondered if her inner narrator skill was evolving. Is there more information you can tell me? Auna asked with no answer from her cool and not at all annoying skill. Wow be that way then. Why do they have pups? She wondered to herself. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°What noble even wants two different pups? Like couldn¡¯t we have just stolen two from the same nest¡± A different young man with crooked teeth asked. ¡°Males are moon wolfs; the females are sun wolfs. If we grabbed two from the same nest breeding them would not be profitable. The pups may come out weird. Count Jade wants to breed them apparently. They are endangered so he has to get them from us.¡± The leader said. ¡°I thought Count Jade was one of the good guys.¡± Crooked teeth said. ¡°Really did you not hear. Count Jades mysterious hidden child died. I bet one of these bags is the poor kid.¡± The short one said. ¡°Really? I thought that kid died from an illness. Isn¡¯t that what the registry said?¡± Crooked teeth asked. ¡°No, the registry said missing in training exercise, body unrecoverable. Apparently, the story was the child was ill growing up however wanted to go on a training exercise. Then having never been outside wandered off from the group. I heard though the kid was fine. She was born like her brother with a slave job.¡± The leader spoke. ¡°Wow if you think about it, we may be bad guys but we aren¡¯t that bad. We just smuggle things, animals, and sometimes people. These nobles are killing their own kids. Ruthless.¡± Crooked teeth smiled. ¡°I suppose we aren¡¯t as bad as them. Say leader why does no one expose this place?¡± The short one asked. ¡°Roger, would you like to explain?¡± The final young man was handsome. ¡°Only nobles know about this place. A few other people connected to nobles know as well. Should a noble or anyone else that knows try to report it they will be taken down. It is unlikely anyone can reveal this place without the rest of the nobles catching on. Once they do catch on, your whole family and sometimes even your connections are eliminated or brought into their fold. So even the nobles who don¡¯t use this place won¡¯t tell.¡± Roger finished. ¡°How do you know?¡± Crooked teeth asked. ¡°I tried to tell the king about this place. Therefore, we know this place. I was once a baron. My father was given the title. He was soon let into the fold of the nobles due to his charm. When I took over, he told me about this place and how I had to ignore it. I did not want to. I needed to tell the king, to save these children. The other nobles destroyed my family. Only I escaped with my life.¡± Roger got up then and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed¡±. ¡°Yes, we all should rest.¡± The leader said, ¡°No need to stand watch this is a safe zone.¡± After a few hours Auna decided to take the pups. She did not want to let her father get them. She knew it was childish to act out in such a way. I am a child though you know. She rolled her eyes as she quietly slides free of her stone cave. Inching closer to the pups she noticed they were hurt. They were also very small she could easily hold one in her hand. She opened the cage; it was not locked. She removed both pups. She tucked them into her shirt. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Rogers¡¯ voice woke everyone up. Scared Auna looked up at the moon. With four men holding swords towards her the sight of the moon calmed her. She felt the urge to dance, so she did. ¡°She has the pups! Get her!¡± the leader yelled. As he yelled that AunaLuna disintegrated along with the pups. She felt like she had become weightless. She soon realised she was inside the ray of moonlight. She also noticed her mana being drained. Thinking of her home in the crater she felt herself moving over the forest. She eventually appeared near their fire pit. Everything was quiet. She stayed in the moonlight until her mana ran out, at that time she became corporeal again. Good job her narrator told her as she fell asleep.
Earthly Name A, Jade
Soul Name AunaLuna
Gender Female
Species
Human
Fairy
Level 10 (10/61 EXP)
Status Points
Health 16
Mana 20
Physical Strength 13
Mental Strength 12
Intelligence 16
Agility 14
Luck 10
Job
Noble 9
Moon Slave 6
Survivalist 3
Extra Skills
Basic Fire Magic High-Novice
Basic Earth Magic High-Novice
Basic Lightening Magic Low-Novice
Basic Wind Magic Medium-Novice
Inner Narration High-Novice
Blessings
Old Friends farewell
The Other World Person
Curses
Taboo child
To Burn
Job tile Moon Slave
Job description Born to serve a god that never existed in this world. With no one else left to serve the moon life will be a lonely one.
Skills
Night Vision High-Beginner
Moon Dance High -Beginner
Water Magic Medium-Beginner
Dark Magic Medium-Beginner
Light Magic Medium-Beginner
Dimensional Magic Medium-Beginner
Runic Magic High-Beginner
Chapter 9: Growing wings My back hurts AunaLuna was experiencing her wings growing in. Really? That¡¯s good news, I guess. How did you know that? She asked herself. The old skill inner narration had evolved to world voice. It was now at low-novice as well. As such the skill would be able to fill in some information in proportion to the skill level. Auna decided to think of her newly evolved skill as a tutorial or hints option in a game. ¡°Are you awake big sister?¡± Ciela was looking at Auna with a small pup on her lap. The rain was falling heavily, cooling them both. ¡°Yes dear, apparently my wings are growing finally.¡± The smaller male pup licked her face. It had a glowing moon crescent on its forehead. The dark grey fur that felt very fluffy was soft against her arm. The female in Cielas¡¯ lap had a glowing sun on its¡¯ forehead. It was also dark grey and fluffy. ¡°That is great I think.¡± Both girls gathered themselves and headed inside. ¡°I caught a few rabbits, a deer, and a bore yesterday. I dressed them in the forest as well. So, we just have to cook it. I also took the furs from the rabbits and deer. The chests are nearly bursting.¡± Auna had many of the same chests she had while living at the Jade estate. Though some chests were empty but still had their label. She had not been able to increase the skill. Most likely due to her cheating way of using it.
Dried meat Chest x1 This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it General education books Chest x1 Magic books Chest x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Fresh water Pail x1 Blankets Chest x1 Clothes Chest x1
Fabric and leather Chest x1 Dried fruit Chest x1 Fresh fruit Chest x1 Tools Chest x1 Fresh vegetables Chest x1 Misc Chest x1 Raw meat Chest x1 Raw meat Chest x1 Furs Chest x1 Empty Chest x1
¡°I can cook it while you rest¡± Ciela smiled. It was always comical to Auna seeing such a small person work so hard. She was reborn here from a similar world though, which made her more mature than an average 5-year-old. Her memories were more of feelings, and flashes unlike Aunas¡¯. ¡°Thank you I appreciate it¡± with that she took out the meat and furs in their front room and left for bed. The small pup followed her. Waking up Auna felt off balance, she now had two wings. They were taller than she was, as she could see the tips only by tilting her head backwards. They were also just longer than her arm span. Her wings reflected the colour of her magic, glowing with purples and deep blues. They were closer to what angel wings would look like with only one segment per wing. They were similar to butterfly wings with the smooth feeling, and vibrant patterns. Little swirls circles, and ¡®vein¡¯ lines could be seen. Thankfully she was already accustomed to not wearing clothes with backs. Chapter 10: Taming our pups ¡°Ciela?¡± Auna called out, she had been asleep for three days. Really three days are you sure? She stupidly asked her world voice skill. Fine be that way. Auna continued to find her little farmer. By this time the constant narration of her everyday life was ignorable, or background noise. She had mostly given up letting her skill narrate for her, finally breaking her bad habit. She continued to the small farm in their home. There she found the girl she was looking for, bent over pulling out onions. ¡°Hey.¡± Auna called out startling her little farmer. ¡°Wow your hair changed as well?¡± Ciela said tilting her head. ¡°Did it?¡± Auna pulled her long black hair over her shoulder. There were now streaks of purple and blue that seemed to glow faintly. Like most fairy born their wings and hair were the colour of their magic. Auna being a half breed, her hair still retained her human colouring. ¡°Apparently it is normal for this to happen. According to my evolved skill world voice.¡± Auna explained. ¡°Really? Your skill evolved already? So cool! Well, the pada season is in full swing. I heard monsters outside, and the rain is not letting up. I think we need to create a way for the rain to drain.¡± Ciela pointed to the flooding pond and other indents in the crater. Both girls were covered in a cool rain. ¡°Well, we could create drain holes, near the runic stones on the outside walls.¡± Auna was in deep thought on how to do so. She decided on basic sloping earth pipes around the whole crater leading to the drains. ¡°AunaLuna, are you hearing me?¡± Ciela had been trying to get her attention for a few moments. ¡°Yes?¡± Sheepishly Auna answered, her full name rarely being used by the little girl. ¡°I learnt a new skill, taming. I tamed this sun wolf pup. Do you want to tame the moon one? It follows you around.¡± Ciela asked pointing towards the little pup Auna had forgotten about. ¡°How?¡± Auna asked, the younger girl shrugged and walked away. Her attention span wasn¡¯t the best unless it was to do with farming. She must have done the taming by instinct. Aunas¡¯ world voice told her to move to a dry place and sit down with the pup. For once she listened without complaint. Once she was sat down the voice in her head simply said ¡®send magic through your finger to the pup and name it. If it accepts the new name, it will be yours. Taming magic is a basic type. Most instead try to overpower the monsters, or divine creatures by overwhelming the beast with magic. That is not necessary¡¯. After three different attempts to bring forth magic without a spell Auna tamed her moon wolf pup. She named him Theodore, after a teddy bear from a pervious life. The skills the pup had were Moon beam, Razor Claw, and Howl. Howl was to intimidate, and bring in other wolves, the claw attack was simple as well. The moon beam looked like a simple magic shot from the mouth of the pup, it was still weak. ¡°Big sister did you finish?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Yes, can I see your pups¡¯ stats as well?¡± Auna wanted to compare.
Name Theodore
Master A, Jade
Gender Male
Basic Monster information
Species This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Moon Wolf
Class Divine
Age 3 months
Status Points
Health 12
Mana 12
Physical Strength 12
Mental Strength 14
Intelligence 12
Agility 12
Luck 5
Skills
Moon Beam
Razor Claw
Howl
Blessings
Curses
Name Willow
Master Ciela
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Sun Wolf
Class Divine
Age 4 months
Status Points
Health 12
Mana 12
Physical Strength 12
Mental Strength 14
Intelligence 12
Agility 12
Luck 5
Skills
Sun beam
Razor Claw
Howl
Blessings
Curses
The pups were very similar. Both being divine monsters. They were also endangered, which made them very sought after by collectors. Though not impossible most tamers would not have many opportunities to tame the monsters. Monsters did not have obvious levels, though their stats are still displayed. As the monster grew in age, their skills would grow as well to survive. Some that were kept only as pets would have low stats in adulthood as well. ¡°Why don¡¯t monsters level like us?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°I am not sure, maybe the world voice will tell me¡± Auna replied. Her world voice skill activating to tell her ¡®Monsters were not given the Gods blessing to level up. The people of this world often use this as an explanation. To know more ask the Gods.¡¯ ¡°Ah, it said ask the Gods basically. It is just how it works, I guess. We can still train them though¡± Auna smiled, as she got up to now deal with the flooding issue. After a few hours Auna learnt a few new magic skills, Mud, clay and glass magic. In her frustration of trying to create a clay like pipe, she instead turned a section to glass. She did this by yelling a few curse words and throwing lightening magic at the mud pipe. Glass magic was seen as a utility magic. She did eventually create proper clay pipes using mud, and fire magic. Do you have to be so sassy? She wondered to the voice as she was finally listening to it again. ¡°Theo! Come here sweet puppy.¡± Auna called to her wolf as she began to ignore the voice in her head again. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try knocking over this training dummy?¡± After a few more hours, it was obvious that training dummy practice was not going to increase the stats of the puppy. All four the residents sat inside their home. The two pups on the floor, the girls at their table. They were eating rabbit stew with onions, mushrooms, and potatoes. ¡°Do you think you could make actual windows?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous to put windows in our home? We know that monsters won¡¯t come far into the crater. Humans, and ordinary animals still can though, the runic stones don¡¯t stop them.¡± Auna asked a question instead of answering. ¡°We close our room door holes with rock so why not put windows in this area?¡± Countered Ciela. ¡°I could try that.¡± ¡°Really? It would be so much less gloomy in here! I know we have a few glow stones but actual light would be better.¡± Ciela smiled finishing her food, she gave Auna a hug and went to her room. Chapter 11: Becoming a sage Today is my 7th birthday, the 15th of Lunen. After Ciela got her new skill farmers calendar tracking days became easier. It lets her know what the date is each morning, along with the season. If she looks at a plant or crop it¡¯ll also tell her what season it grows, and growth time. It is a handy skill for her. I can¡¯t believe it has already been a year since I was thrown out. I¡¯ve even come to terms with my insanity, by which I mean you Mr voice. Auna laughed as the voice groaned and began their narration again. It was like the voice had been peacefully sleeping. ¡°The snow is still coming down.¡± Auna looked through the kitchen window. She had succeeded in creating glass windows. She had also learned that job levels grew based on skills, and skill use. A person¡¯s overall level had very little effect on it. When gaining a new skill, a persons¡¯ over all level, and job level would gain experience. When working on the skill to master it, only the job level would gain experience. It was not possible to see the job levels experience total like with over all levels. ¡°Happy birthday!¡± Ciela came bouncing in covered in snow. ¡°Thank you. You shouldn¡¯t spend too much time in the snow, you will get sick.¡± Auna smiled. She remembered the touch and go issues while both girls were almost constantly sick the first few months. ¡°I thought I would check the sap from the maple trees there is almost enough to boil!¡± Ciela really loves maple syrup and is not going to stop until she gets some. ¡°Very nice, where is Willow?¡± Auna noticed the pup was not with Ciela. ¡°In my room, she does not like the snow.¡± Ciela smiled again walking away. Though the trees were not far from the house Auna still did not like them having to go through the snow to get there. Thinking she began trying to make a doorway again. The last few months being inside hiding from the snow gave both girls a lot of practice time. They learnt ice magic and honed other skills as well. Auna even got a few more noble skills. Now Auna was trying to create a new magic. In her mind dimensional magic should allow a person to create a doorway between two far away places. In reality it allowed a person to create a teleportation anchor, as long as they were not too far away. The limit to this was a person needed a lot of magic to travel between the anchors. Even if they were not that far away. The world voice let Auna know there was no easy doorway magic. This she took as a challenge. She spent nearly two of the three winter months trying to create such a magic. She even added to her nightly prayers a plea for the gods to help her. Using her knowledge of teleportation anchors, space magic, and even the runic language she had managed to learn she got to work. ¡°Auna time for dinner.¡± Ciela said setting down a bowl of stew beside her. Ciela watched as Auna created, tried to use, and then destroy many doors. Each was made of either wood, plant mater, ice, and earth. There were a few with cute designs, others just had runic magic. Most were normal sized doors, however after a while they became odd. When Auna started making small doors even a child would have to crawl through Ciela left. She didn¡¯t think there would be much progress, and she was correct. In the middle of the night Auna screamed loudly enough to wake Ciela in her closed room. ¡°What?!¡± Ciela screamed coming out ready to fight. ¡°I did it!¡± Auna was bouncing around the room like the small child she was. Then she promptly fell over due to magic exhaustion. An annoying beeping sound woke Auna. What is that she thought, to which Mr. voice answered. ¡®The spell you created needs a name¡¯. Opening her eyes she could see the status screen, and an unfamiliar screen in front of it. It was mostly blank looking for data input, she was allowed to put any name she wanted, and the rest of the information as well. She soon noticed this was how the odd descriptions of spells, and jobs were given. People had control over almost all information, which lead to many authors.
Skill Name
Skill creator
Type Magic, dimensional magic subset
Skill function Connection of two or more doors over long or short distances. Only the creator or those approved by the creator may pass through. Anyone not approved will see only a walled in door.
Skill description
How the skill works If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
After some time Auna finished the skill screen.
Skill Name Moon Door
Skill creator AunaLuna, J
Type Magic, dimensional magic subset
Skill function Connection of two or more doors over long or short distances. Only the creator or those approved by the creator may pass through. Anyone not approved will see only a walled in door.
Skill description Under the moons, during Lunen two doors were created on different ends of a crater. By walking through one the creator walked out the other door a distance away. Thus, the moon gate was created. Two or more doors are needed to activate this skill.
How the skill works By using the anchor fundamentals of dimensional magic and the idea of worm holes in space the doors become connected to different points in space, maintaining their anchor in time.
Auna looked at the screen for a while. She wanted to make sure she was doing the right thing. She felt Moon Door was a fitting name, it fit well with her unique job. She also had the breakthrough by staring at the moon. She had noticed that she was placing two doors very close to each other which was messing with the anchors. For anchors to work properly there needs to be some distance from other ones. This applied to the persons own anchors as the magic would be the same and interfere with each other. So, to prevent this she placed a door inside the house, walked to the tree grove and placed an identical one there. Then she tried to connect the two anchors into one over the distance. It worked and she walked back into the house within seconds with a joyous scream. The door she created was an arched 6ft tall stone door. It had carvings of the moon, runic language, and maple leaves along the edges. The stone doorway moved like a normal wooden door when pushed lightly. She also noticed the amount of magic she needed to activate the door was about one third the magic needed to teleport the distance. She also took note that the doors were assigned names as well. She would later change their names. I think it is fine, go ahead and save that. Auna thought to the screen hoping that would work. It did work, and the new skill Moon Door was added to her status screen. Under Moon Slave, which made her worry no one else would be able to learn it due to the name she picked. Mr. Voice eased her worries though by explaining that skills moved to the job they fit under best, and many skills could fit under many jobs. As an example, swordsmanship fit under Noble, and soldier. It fit with soldier better, so it would move to that job as long as the job was not lower ranked. If Noble was at common, and soldier was at novice the skill would not move until the soldier rank matched. After the skill was saved another screen opened. Asking Auna if she would like to evolve her survivalist skill to sage survivalist. As it blinked Auna went into hyper drive trying to figure out what was happening. She had read a few books that said evolving a skill cost mana, and only happened when certain conditions are met. Some jobs had easier conditions. It was a known fact that to get the sage job the conditions were Auna did not understand the conditions for adding sage to another job, few people did. ¡®It is because of me, or the inner narration skill you gained. There are a few other conditions as well, however we prefer people did not let others know¡¯. Auna nodded knowing people with the sage job were usually secretive. Should I evolve it? Or leave it. She asked Mr. Voice. ¡®Evolving would strengthen you, the job, and the skills under it. As you are unlikely to get a fourth job anytime soon, I think this is the best way¡¯. So, with that advice she evolved her skill to Sage Survivalist. Only wondering briefly what Mr. Voice meant by we. Her new job description was ¡°Lost in an unfamiliar place the only choice was to survive by any means necessary. No matter where you are you will adapt. You began to collect knowledge which soon turned to power. Using this power in form of magic you began to not just survive but to thrive.¡± Auna also noticed she no longer had any extra skills, they had all been moved to Sage Survivalist. ¡°Auna?¡± Ciela was watching her with curious eyes. All the screens had been in a private mode. To share them with others one had to either give the person their crystal or willing think for the screens to be visible to others. ¡°My job evolved, to Sage Survivalist.¡± Auna smiled weakly, she had once again used the entirety of her magic. She handed the small girl her crystal and went back to bed. A bonus of using so magic completely in less than one day was her mana pool increased to 31. After a few days Auna was back to normal, though a bit weak from fever. She had named her Moon Doors, Home, and Maple trees. She had also braved the snow, and cold to go to the clearing. Now that she was a Sage Survivalist her body was a bit sturdier. Perks from the job evolution. Once at the clearing she first checked for any new bags. She did not think that anyone would be braving the late snow fall. Still, she had to check. She decided to set up the door near the stone she used as a cave. She pointed the door away from the middle of the clearing. On the back of the door facing the clearing she put random but similar runes on a big stone, so it did not stand out too much. Each Moon Door she made was now an exact replica of the first one she made. Mr. Voice said anyone who used the skill would also have the same door design no matter the material. They would have to put more magic into changing the doors appearance if they wanted to. It was like how all fire balls were the same at the basic level. Though a person could add more oxygen to create a blue one or make them different shapes. All of this cost mana. After installing the door Auna felt very pleased with herself. She knew that now she did not need to take time from hunting to check the clearing. In fact, she could now come here first thing, hunt, and come back to zip back home. Like any magic the more she used it the more efficient it would become. Currently using the door from the clearing was about one third the amount of mana than using the anchor teleport system. There was another plus as well. The door could simply be pushed opened and walked through almost instantly. The anchor teleportation took about thirty seconds up to a few minutes to focus and move between them. It was just a simpler way to travel. The runes she put into the door were most likely the cause. ¡°Welcome home.¡± Ciela said as Auna stepped through the door near the maple trees. ¡°Thank you, do you have enough for us to boil down yet? And don¡¯t we need sugar?¡± ¡°I may have found and planted sugar cane in secret, I know you don¡¯t like me planting food products that won¡¯t help our survival and all.¡± Ciela smiled sheepishly. ¡°Sugar will be useful in making the candies hard and clear. Though we really didn¡¯t need it. Though soft candies and normal syrup is amazing as well.¡± ¡°Sugar is a very good thing to have though.¡± Auna said as both girls giggled. Chapter 12: Catching a bore ¡°It¡¯s so hot!¡± Ciela smiled laying at the ponds¡¯ edge. ¡°I wish we had a cow for milk, or watermelon.¡± ¡°What is a cow?¡± Auna asked confused. ¡°You don¡¯t know what a cow is? It¡¯s an animal that gives us milk, and meat.¡± ¡°So, like a goat? We used to have those on my world.¡± Auna smiled remembering the ice-cream made from goat milk. ¡°Cows are much bigger; they eat similar foods though.¡± Ciela was splashing her feet. ¡°Oh, the caves of my world didn¡¯t have a lot of space, or food, maybe that¡¯s why we didn¡¯t have cows. I wonder what they taste like. Do you think we could get some?¡± ¡°No silly, how would we feed it? We grow and hunt enough food for us four to eat reasonably. We would have to grow like at least double the food I think.¡± Ciela seemed unsure. ¡°Okay, say do you want anything for your birthday?¡± Right now, it was the beginning of Summer, Yuccen. There was about two months left before the young girl¡¯s birthday on the 20th of Sunen. ¡°I don¡¯t know, what do 6-year-olds really like?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Hmm, I got kicked out of my house, so I am not sure. Maybe a toy?¡± Auna sighed. For a few minutes neither of them spoke. It was early morning, soon they would have to begin their daily chores. Auna had to hunt, check the clearing, then process their food. She was in charge of butchering the meat, which included drying the furs. They realised the past winter they did not have enough. They spent a lot of time huddled together with the wolf pups. They also got sick enough they feared they would die. Ciela spent her days managing the farm and the small orchard. She had to weed the farm often, as her skill cultivation also helped weeds grow. She spent time nurturing the trees, making sure they would bloom fruit. She also did the yard work, cooking, and candy creation. Neither girl had much time for toys, nor playing. Their spare time spent training had hit a wall. They weren¡¯t gaining anymore experience for their jobs and increasing their stats had slowed down. That was why instead they were just relaxing at the pond. It was obvious they would need actual teachings to grow from this point. Though they could potentially learn new skills. You know that it would be much more relaxing if you stopped for like a minute Auna sighed while thinking about her amazing world voice skill. ¡°I¡¯m going to go hunt.¡± Auna needed to hunt every day because the prey she could safely catch were small, and not easily found. The Great Monster Forest had many strong monsters, and few actual animals. This meant she had to be careful, though her now-1-year old Theodore did help her hunt. Soon they should be able to take on smaller monsters. Auna started out by checking the clearing. It was a very hot day so she would come back in the afternoon as well to make sure no one new came. She soon began to hunt with her not so little anymore Theodore. Theodore and Willow were now large enough to ride. When they stood their backs were over Aunas¡¯ head. Moon and Sun wolves grew big enough for grown warriors to use as mounts. That would be a few more years still. They grow to roughly to the size of a horse. Of course, Auna didn¡¯t know for sure what that was, though it was mentioned in her books. Aunas¡¯ general education books she had were all about high society rules, and basics of math, language, science and geography. There was one with the very basics of magic as well. She had been bought magic books by the Jade estates¡¯ staff, and the children gave her their old books as well. Once they didn¡¯t need them, she was free to have them. ¡°Theo good job!¡± Theodore had been tasked with chasing small prey towards Auna to slay. They now had 5 rabbits, and a bore. Auna was unsure why the status screen that logged her kills wrote it as bore not boar. It was their first time catching a bore, it was a bit smaller than fully grown ones they saw around though. Still, it was exciting to catch something with more fat, they could create soap with it. Their supply from Aunas¡¯ storage was decreasing, they had yet to find a good replacement. With this they could make lye soap, to make lye they would need to leach their wood ashes. Auna was familiar with rendering fat into lard as on their old world they would use every part of an animal. Waste was frowned on. She also knew how to make bird feeders and candles from lard. The candles were not needed as they used light magic, and glowing stones for that. Auna thought about putting bird feeders near their closed tunnel. It could entice birds to nest there, which in turn could provide eggs. She had yet to find any ground laying birds this deep into the forest. Her old world raised many smaller animals to sustain the population, mostly due to the surface being almost baren. She wanted to raise animals again. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I think this is enough, we can¡¯t really dress it fully out here. We can let the blood out though.¡± Auna bled the bore into a hole, covering it up with dirt. She then placed the bore over Theos¡¯ back, slinging the rabbits over her shoulders. Soon they arrived back at the clearing. ¡°Let¡¯s take a quick rest!¡± Auna said as she put down her rabbits, and Theo laid down for a rest. She needed to check the bags so giving Theodore a rest was a given. ¡°There really is a safe zone here! Thank the Gods! My Ladies are you okay?¡± Auna was caught off guard when three men, a woman, and small girl came rushing into the clearing while a monster bear chased them. The bear was unable to pass the stones. One of the three men was bleeding from a claw attack to his side. ¡°Mom!¡± The little girl pointed to Theodore, as she did the two healthy men pointed their swords at him. ¡°STOP¡± Auna acted on instinct sliding in front of Theodore. ¡°Put your swords away only a tamed monster, or a captured one would be able to cross the stones. Sorry child is this your fathers tamed monster?¡± The woman asked. ¡°No, he is my friend.¡± Auna answered. ¡°Why are you here?¡± A man asked. Slowly Auna pointed to a lone bag in the clearing, it was not as old as the other bags. ¡°I left my bag.¡± Is all she said, while she started gathering up her kills. Auna moved to the moon door not wanting to stay in the clearing with the adult strangers. The strangers were too stunned and exhausted to move into action quick enough. Auna was through the gate out of sight before they registered, she was leaving. Concerned the women ran after her. However, the women would only find a stone door carved into a stone facing the outside of the clearing. Auna came out inside their house. She then placed their kills on the butcher table. Heading to the farm to notify the little farmer she was home. The sun was still high in the sky, early afternoon, Ciela would still be working on her chores. ¡°Auna! Something odd is happening!¡± Ciela could be heard near the trees, Auna jumped on Theodore, and they dashed forward. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Auna called nearing the moon door by the trees where Ciela was standing. ¡°Listen.¡± she said. Both girls quieted down and listened closely. ¡®Knock, Knock, Knock¡¯ ¡°Hello? Little girl?¡± The lady from the clearing was knocking on the gate door from the other side. It was very weird to hear. ¡°I didn¡¯t think this was possible?¡± Auna said mentally exhausted. Her handy dandy skill world voice came to the rescue. Explaining clearly that the doors would remain connected even while not in use. This was why the mana cost was lower to activate it. It also meant that even though no one could use the door without permission they could still knock if they infused the door with mana. All doors would hear the knock. Basically, the woman was using her magic to communicate through the door. Quickly Auna explained to Ciela what was going on, including how the people in the clearing had reacted to Theo. ¡°I don¡¯t know, do we really leave a bleeding person in the clearing alone?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°He has his friends though?¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°Do they have healing spells?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°How would I know?¡± Auna shrugged again and sighed seeing the glare from Ciela. Auna opened the door, she could now see the women. The women could see her as well. Both were a little startled as Auna had been planning to walk through not knowing this was possible. ¡°Do you need help with the bleeding man?¡± Auna asked glaring back at Ciela. ¡°Can you help us? We don¡¯t have any healers we were separated from the rest of our group.¡± The lady looked between both the girls. ¡°Why should I? It¡¯s people like you who know about that clearing that caused us both to be here.¡± Auna spoke as Ciela hid behind her, having lost all earlier gusto. ¡°We were traveling to meet my husband, near the Jade estate. We were asked to come and introduce our daughter to his son. We really did not wish to as they are a few years apart in age, however the Count insisted. My husband Duke Bloodwave thought it would be a good excuse to audit his lands for the king. He went a few days ahead of us. We were attacked by people and driven into the forest. We lost the rest of our escort running in the forest. We only survived because I know about this safe zone. We have never used it, I promise. Please give us a hand?¡± The Lady Bloodwave was pleading seriously. ¡°I can give you another friend if you want.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Auna asked thinking this woman meant to abandon her child after all. ¡°Before we were attacked, I tamed a slime near the edge of the forest, to show my daughter how to. I was planning on releasing it back to its habitat, however if you like you can have it. I will also bring a different reward after we escape the forest, you have my word, anything you want.¡± Lady Bloodwave pulled a small almost glowing yellow slime from her coat. It was about the size of her palm. ¡°Seeds for the farm? Or ground laying birds.¡± Ciela asked tugging on Aunas¡¯ tunic. ¡°We can do that easily, both.¡± Lady Bloodwave said. ¡°We won¡¯t hurt you promise.¡± ¡°Fine, come through.¡± Auna said. All five people came through the door into the tree field. ¡°My Lady is this a good idea the clearing is at least safe.¡± The injured man said through gritted teeth. ¡°Big sis made safe stones here as well!¡± Ciela said puffing out her chest proudly. ¡°Come this way, I don¡¯t know how well my magic will work during the day though.¡± Auna smiled. All five newcomers were very quiet. They saw the small farm through the trees, near the pond. They moved towards a huge fire pit between a house, and what looked like a training field. They were in awe. There was another wolf laying in the shade of the house. They seemed to understand that hurting these girls, even if they wanted to, would not be easy. The men were guided into the house, past the storage room area, past the kitchen and work bench. They ended up in Aunas¡¯ room. She told them to place the injured man on her bed. ¡°My skill is called healing moon. I am not sure how well it works during the day¡± Auna had picked the skill up during her meditative dancing during the night. It could heal moderate wounds. The man was injured but it didn¡¯t look too serious. ¡°Go ask Ciela to bring the herbs for wounds.¡± Auna said activating her magic. At first the men when to move to find this Ciela however, Theodore left quicker, bringing back the small farmer who had a few clay pots in her arms. With her magic, and the herbs the wounds were cleaned and mostly closed. ¡°I will heal him more when the moon comes out.¡± Auna took Cielas¡¯ hand and left the room. She took the little farmer into the butcher area not wanting to let her out of sight. Chapter 13: Getting to know one another I ¡°Did you see their parents?¡± Lady Bloodwave asked as the men came outside. Auna could hear their conversation from her spot breaking down the kills. ¡°It looks like the girls are the only ones who live here.¡± A man answered sitting down in the shade as well. ¡°Is Robert going to be, okay?¡± Lady Bloodwave asked. ¡°Yes, his wounds are closing, and they seem clean. The older child said she would try again when the moon comes out.¡± Everyone seemed to quiet down some. After a few hours of butchering the rabbits Auna needed a break. She took the furs to the drying rack near the fire pit. She began to set a fire while Ciela brought out the wrapped meat to smoke. They had a smoking rack for the fire pit, Ciela was placing the meat on it. ¡°Do you want help with the bore?¡± A man asked. To which he received a glare from Auna. He totally did not flinch, not at all. Mr. Voice sounded amused. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m Jeff I use to butcher with my dad I could show you some things.¡± Jeff had a sheepish smile on his face. He was not used to being glared at by a small child. ¡°Fine, but I hold the knife. My name is AunaLuna. You may call me AJ or Auna though. This little farmer is Ciela. I¡¯m going to the fields with her for a bit then we can break down the bore. There is a pond here if you want water, and the berry bushes are full. We will cook dinner later.¡± As Auna spoke Ciela got excited and started signing farm, farm, farm. ¡°That sounds good, how far can we go with out getting attacked?¡± Jeff asked. ¡°This crater is protected, the only ways in are the doors, the sky, and using earth magic to open our tunnel. The tunnel is lined with safe stones as well. The sides of the crater also have some stones as you can see. We haven¡¯t had an issue in our crater for a while, you should be fine.¡± Auna answered moving the smoking rack over the now smoking fire. For a few more hours they spent time in the fields. Ciela had finished taking care of the trees, and mushroom fields before the return of Auna. They had a decent amount to do in the fields. The light was going though, so they decided they needed to start dinner. Their wolves had been watching the smoking fire, they had been instructed to let the girls know if they needed to come back and stoke it. Instead, the men had been keeping it smoking properly. They had also found a few clay water pots, and woven baskets filled with berries. The men filled the clay pots from the pond and gathered more than enough berries. They also decided to fix up the training dummies, they really did not like sitting still. The small girl had been through a lot, she slept for the rest of the afternoon. The Lady Bloodwave had noticed materials for weaving baskets and decided to make a few more for the girls. She had learned how to as a little girl by her grandmother. ¡°I have lots of mushrooms for tonight, and we left a lot of rabbit meat on the frozen butcher table.¡± Ciela was talking to Auna about dinner, both girls had baskets on their hips full of vegetables. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind we did some work.¡± Jeff said stoking the fire. ¡°I don¡¯t mind, though you did not have to. We will be starting dinner soon.¡± Auna said looking at the Lady making a basket. ¡°The slime?¡± She asked noticing the small jelly like creature sitting on the grass beside her. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I will release my tame on her, she might get scared though because we are inside a safe zone. I¡¯ll put her in the basket, so she doesn¡¯t run away.¡± Lady Bloodwave picked the slime in a basket she had made. She was working on her third basket. The little yellow slime was released from the ladys¡¯ tame. As predicted, she was scared and tried to run away immediately. Laughing Auna picked the small slime up in her hands bringing it to her nose. She started signing softly. A song in her old worlds¡¯ language. The young lady Bloodwave had woken up and was staring at the seen in front of her. Her mother had taught her that taming involved overpowering the monster with your mana until it gave in and let you name it. This kid was singing to the slime gently. After a few minutes everyone could see Auna send her mana towards the small slime, she sent much less than the lady Bloodwave had done a few days ago. She spoke the name Ayda, and the slime glowed more before jumping onto Aunas¡¯ shoulder. ¡°That slime is a rare one, it has a unique type. However, it is very weak. The Unique-Normal in its class means it can evolve. Only monsters that have the ability to evolve have a unique class. Now not all slimes are unique class, most are though. The unique type of Moon light slime is one I have never heard of.¡± Lady Bloodwave smiled. ¡°I guess it¡¯s similar to my Moon Wolf Theodore, and me as my job is Moon Slave.¡± Auna thought aloud, not used to having to mind what she speaks aloud. The newcomers just looked at her curiously. ¡°You¡¯re a slave? At this age? I thought slaves didn¡¯t exist anymore mom?¡± The small lady Bloodwave looked at her mother. ¡°Well, some are born with the job, and other accidently pick it up.¡± Lady Bloodwave seemed to understand why the girls were alone in the forest now. ¡°I was born with two jobs, Noble and Moon slave. My father Count Jade hated me from the moment I was born. Once I was six, I was left for dead here. Ciela is an illegitimate child of a Noble. She was born as a farmer; nameless she was hidden much like I was from the world. She like me was then left for dead here. Anymore questions?¡± Auna asked sincerely. ¡°You have a name though? You both do.¡± The girl spoke again. ¡°My soul name is AunaLuna my given name is simply A, Jade. I gave Ciela her name. It registered as her earthly name, probably because I am her guardian.¡± Auna said as Ciela tugged on her tunic. ¡°Can I eat some maple candies?¡± Ciela smiled sweetly. ¡°No.¡± Was all Auna said. To which Ciela pouted. Auna got the meat and potatoes into a pot of water hanging over a smaller fire near the pit. She wanted to continue to smoke the meat, though she needed an actual fire to boil the stew. They usually ate stew for most meals, it was easy to make although bland. Throwing in some spices she placed a lid on the pot she had stolen from the Jade estate so long ago. Ciela began cutting mushrooms, onions, and lettuce. They would all be put into the stew at varying times. First though the onions and mushrooms would get a light frying while the stew simmered off the fire. ¡°Mom I¡¯m bored!¡± The young Bloodwave spoke loudly to her mother. ¡°Meredith we should be grateful for their hospitality.¡± Was all lady Bloodwave said. ¡°You want to help?¡± Ciela said cheerfully. ¡°No way, that¡¯s staff work.¡± Meredith said sulking. ¡°Big sis has some education books if you want to read.¡± Ciela tried again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to study, that is not fun.¡± Meredith shot her down. ¡°Then be miserable?¡± Ciela shrugged going back to her chopping. ¡°What?¡± Meredith looked stunned she got up and headed towards Ciela. She raised her hand to hit the girl, then she did before her mother could stop her. Ciela started to cry, she did not like being hit. Though the strike to the back of her head only stung a little bit, her pride was hurt a lot. She saw through blurry eyes Willow and Theodore get up and start growling at Meredith. Auna had gone into butcher the bore with Jeff moments after she set the stew to cook. She was now coming out anger rolled off her in waves. ¡°What is going on?¡± She yelled. ¡°I just put this girl in her place! She wanted me to do work of the lower class!¡± Meredith yelled pointing at Ciela who was now running into the arms of Auna. ¡°I am sorry for my daughter¡¯s behaviour she¡¯s only 7.¡± Lady Bloodwave bowed. ¡°Mom why are you bowing to them!¡± Meredith stomped her foot. ¡°I am not sure where I went wrong with you, your older brothers are much better behaved than this. These people are hosting us, and even sharing their food.¡± Lady Bloodwave scolded her child. ¡°Keep your brat under control. Theodore, Willow stand down. Ciela come with me, I am sure lady Bloodwave will finish cooking dinner. We will learn from Jeff away from that brat.¡± Auna glared at the Bloodwave ladies. ¡°Of course, I will finish cooking.¡± Lady Bloodwave waved off the men going for the pot and vegetables to cook in her stead. ¡°Good, your daughters¡¯ attitude has lost you a room. Robert will sleep in mine, and Ciela and I will sleep in hers. The rest of you find your own place to sleep.¡± Auna Spoke. Chapter 14: Getting to know one another II Dinner was served by Jeff. He had been very quick at teaching the girls how to butcher the bore. It had taken about an hour. Auna even learned the skill butcher which fell under her Sage survivalist. Auna could almost feel her job growing, she felt near a breakthrough to the next level. Lady Bloodwave had cooked the meal herself. Jeff would not let her serve it though due to her being a noble. Her daughter had quieted down as well, eating her stew in silence. She had argued for a little while with her mother about the sleeping arrangements however her mother told her to be grateful for safety. ¡°I want a bath.¡± Meredith spoke in a small voice. ¡°We can go to the pond and bathe in the tub there. We pull the water from the pond and empty it down the drainpipes. I¡¯ll heat the water with fire magic. We all need a bath.¡± Auna said standing up to head into the house. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else to wear.¡± Meredith looked to her mother. ¡°Here, you can wear something of mine.¡± Auna handed her a shirt and pants. ¡°I don¡¯t have any adult clothing though.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a spare change of clothes in my backpack, as do our men. We lost the bag with Merediths¡¯ belongings.¡± Lady Bloodwave smiled ¡°May I join you girls?¡± ¡°Sure, you can, the men can bathe second. Do you know fire magic?¡± Auna asked Jeff. ¡°I Don¡¯t but Will does¡± Jeff waved them off ¡°Have a great bath!¡± ¡°Weird thing to say but okay thanks?¡± Auna eyed him carefully while Jeff sighed. The three girls walked with the lady to the pond. There was a stone that had been carved with magic and tools into bathtub. It was big enough that three grown men could bathe together. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit big for you two?¡± Lady Bloodwave asked. ¡°We bathe our pups in here as well, besides we bathe together usually, is that a problem?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Not at all there is room for all four of us, I have some soaps in my bag we can use.¡± Both Auna and Ciela light up excitedly. They were running out of soap and knew a noble lady would have very nice smelling soaps. Soon Auna and Ciela got to filling the stone tub with water magic, while Auna created water through hers Ciela merely moved it from the pond. Soon the tub was full enough, Auna used fire magic on the stone slab the tub sat on. It was the same size of the tub; the edges were covered with leather to keep them from burning their feet. The method of heating the stone tub directly had caused the girls to burn their feet and hands. ¡°Shall we?¡± Auna asked helping Ciela undress, lifting her into the tub. ¡°Yes, come Meri.¡± Lady Bloodwave helped her daughter undress as well. ¡°Say why do you have clothes without backs in them?¡± Meredith asked as her mother lathered her hair with soap. ¡°Oh, because the backs get in the way of my wings. I should give them a wash as well.¡± Auna answered bringing her wings out from her back. Ciela rinsed her hair that Auna had lathered. The two Bloodwave ladies were shocked as Auna started to clean her wings with the help of Ciela. Auna still had soap in her hair as well to which she swiped at randomly while trying to clean the tips of her wings. ¡°You really are the daughter of Count Jade.¡± Lady Bloodwave spoke softly. ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t lie about that.¡± Auna glanced confused at her. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I knew his wife was a fairy but still, to actually meet a half fairy is rare. I haven¡¯t even told you my name, it¡¯s Marybeth. Nice to meet you both.¡± Marybeth smiled warmly. ¡°Don¡¯t have to call you Duchess or Lady Bloodwave?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Nonsense you saved Robert, and us as I don¡¯t think we would have survived trying to hunt for food. Consider us friends my dear children.¡± Marybeth continued to bathe her child. She even gave Auna a hand with her wings when Ciela couldn¡¯t reach. After the girls were all bathed, they drained the tub using water magic. The drains they had created to prevent flooding were great for this purpose as well. ¡°Welcome back girls, Robert seems to be awake. I gave him some food and told him to rest still.¡± Jeff smiled at them. ¡°I¡¯ll go heal him some more, he will probably be able to bathe with you guys.¡± Auna walked towards her room. ¡°Did I wake you when I came in for clothes earlier?¡± Auna asked Robert. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, my stomach woke me.¡± Robert laughed. He was a pale man, that looked like he was still in great pain. Auna had closed some of his wounds but not all of them. He seemed very tough, though it looked like he had lost a lot of blood. He would have to rest for a few days. ¡°Hey?¡± Marybeth asked softly touching Auna on the shoulder. Auna had been sat still healing the man for more than an hour, he was fully healed. He had called for Jeff when he noticed the girl didn¡¯t stop. Jeff had called for his lady not knowing what to do. ¡°Oh, it worked?¡± Auna asked confused. She often got zoned out when using magic for long periods of time. She noticed a lot of her mana was gone. She decided she would dance, she felt restless. Dancing under the moon made her feel better. Without a word more she walked outside. Her head hurt due to the mana drain. She stood in the open space between the fire pit and edge of the crater and began her dance. The adults and Meredith were staring at her in awe. She was beautiful and appeared to be glowing. ¡°What is she doing.¡± Jeff asked captivated by the strange sight. ¡°She likes to dance under the moon when she feels restless, or happy, or sad, well any time really she will dance for hours if I let her.¡± Ciela smiled. Speaking as if she was the older one in charge. Sometimes she had to mother Auna as much as Auna mothered her. Ciela got a small hand made drum from the house and start to hit out a rhythm. The dance soon changed to match whatever rhythm Ciela produced. At times she changed the rhythm part way through giggling as Auna quickly changed her stance. Soon William asked for the drum, Ciela handed it over. He was much better at playing and soon the captivating dance turned into a graceful solo waltz. Auna knew this dance from a few of her past lives. She had learned a wild variation which was grounded in a basic waltz of her old world. This new world had a very similar basic waltz as well. It was just similar enough to look like she had learned this worlds¡¯ basic waltz first. The people watching thought she had invented a new style. As high nobles usually had their own variations of common dances. They did this to make their families stand out and pass down a family skill that could be learnt. Soon something odd happened, Auna gained three new skills, while one changed. One was Waltz under Noble, and the other was Moon Waltz under Moon Slave. The description of Moon Waltz said, ¡°A dance created by the Moon Slave from memories of a distant past¡±. The previous Moon Dance changed to Moon Walk ¡°Once a formless dance this walk allows for the user to step properly between the rays of moon light. Which is a form of sun light. At higher levels the user will walk between any reflections¡±. This surprised Auna as skills only evolved when conditions allowed it. The condition for this must have been doing a proper dance under the moon light after having figured out the ability to jump from moon ray to moon ray. The final skill was a new meditation skill. It allowed the user to regain mana faster while giving the slight chance of the user having an epiphany. There was nothing else explaining it. It did not fit under any of the jobs, though she would have thought Noble would allow it. Even Sage survivalist should have been able to take it. Still, it was worth having. She activated it and continued to dance feeling slightly better. She soon noticed that this meditation skill was not normal. She had an epiphany, if this skill didn¡¯t fit under any three of her jobs it must be odd. She then focused more on the skill and noticed it. Usually meditation meant staying still, though her meditation skill allowed her to continue moving. The voice in her said it most likely had a different evolution path than normal skills. She must have learnt it due to how calming dancing was for her. Soon she was done dancing, her mana back to full she felt tired and energized at the same time. ¡°Auna it would be easier for us to sleep outside with our pups. Can we give the Bloodwaves¡¯ my room?¡± Ciela was already hunkered down with Willow and Theodore having pulled a few blankets out. ¡°Fine I prefer sleeping under the moon anyway.¡± Auna yawned and settled down as well. Soon the two men also settled down with sleeping packs near the fire. The ladies were inside. The beds in each girls¡¯ room were big enough for them and their wolves to sleep. The night was a calm, cool night everyone slept very well. Chapter 15: Getting to know one another III The morning came in hot. The girls left to go to the pond again. They had been doing this the past few mornings. Auna had a headache from everything that happened the day before. She was not looking forwards to the company waking up. She was already missing their calm lives. Each girl was eating maple candies. Usually, they ate left over stew in the mornings, or berries. However, they didn¡¯t want to wake their guests. After about thirty minutes they had eaten way too many. Both girls were now in the pond splashing each other, Willow and Theodore staying away. Ayda was happily floating in the water making little slime noises. ¡°Girls?¡± Jeff smiled as he came walking up with the rest of the adults and Meredith. ¡°We thought you might like some food.¡± he put down two bowls of stew with berries on a plate. The girls looked at him, each other, then splashed everyone giggling like mad men. ¡°Girls!¡± Marybeth scolded, to which she also got splashed again. ¡°Yes Marybeth?¡± Auna asked cheekily moving her wings to create more splashes. ¡°You girls are so not lady like.¡± Meredith giggled. Auna took water into her mouth and spit it at her. The feisty red head jumped into the pond and tackled Auna giggling the whole time. ¡°Meredith! Not you too.¡± Marybeth sighed. ¡°Girls at least eat something?¡± ¡°We ate maple candies; they are under the lid in that bowl if you want some.¡± Auna said as she simply tossed Meredith off her back. The girls were the same age, and nearly the same height both being short for their age. Meredith did not wait, quickly grabbing a candy before her mother could tell her not to.¡± She happily popped it into her mouth. ¡°So yummy!¡± ¡°Thanks, we made them ourselves! We have maple trees over there.¡± Ciela pointed to her small orchard. The adults seemed to understand they would not be able to pull the sugar rushed children of the crater out of the pond. The pond was about 10ft deep at the centre, the edges gradually went from ankle deep to 5ft. They were currently playing in the 3ft area. Auna had made sure to tell Meredith not to go deeper. The 5ft section turn to 10ft very quickly and if one was not prepared, they could be injured. The bottom of the lake was something Auna had seen due to the clear water. Without a swimming skill she was not a good enough swimmer to reach the bottom. The water flowed in from the bottom though that was easily noticed. After about an hour the girls got out, with Ayda to eat a proper breakfast. In the sun they dried quickly. ¡°I¡¯m going to clean our clothes from yesterday would you like me to wash yours as well?¡± Jeff asked. ¡°I can wash my own clothes thanks.¡± Auna said ¡°Also isn¡¯t it odd for you to offer to clean a girls clothes?¡± Auna had begun enjoying teasing Jeff as he sighed shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m basically a warrior butler. When my lady is on the road, I take care of things the maids and butler would normally. I also help with the protection of her. I am not a weird guy AJ please believe me.¡± Jeff said sighing heavily. ¡°A warrior butler that wants to wash a strange little girls¡¯ under clothes.¡± Ciela giggled as she spoke. She too had taken to teasing Jeff. ¡°Come now girls, Jeff is actually captain of our guards, he really isn¡¯t weird.¡± Marybeth smiled shaking her head. ¡°You can do the laundry if you want, I won¡¯t stop you from doing chores.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Speaking of chores, Ciela I am heading out. Make sure to get your chores done as well.¡± Auna kissed Ciela on the forehead and walked towards the door in the house, with Ayda and Theo following. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Where are you going?¡± William asked. ¡°To hunt, we don¡¯t get much game as most of the monsters are too strong. The animals are also too strong. We do usually get a rabbit or two if I hunt daily. I also look for any plants Ciela might like. I am working on mapping out the area. Oh, and I need to check the clearing for any thrown away kids like us to bring home.¡± Auna turned to him ¡°Stay here, do not leave the crater I don¡¯t need to go looking for you.¡± Auna left them alone. She walked through the door to the clearing. Smiling as she was finally alone. She did a quick check for any new bags. Soon she was walking through the forest. She had a knife, and bow. She had gained the skill archery under noble instead of survivalist. Mr. Voice told her it was most likely due to noble having a higher job level. The gods were merciful at times. She had raised it to high, though that did not mean she was any good. She was decent though as she did spend a lot of time working on it. Slowly the three of them crept threw the forest. The clearing was no longer in sight, which meant they had to be more careful. Every now and then Ayda would jump down to absorb a plant, or bug it found. Auna still didn¡¯t know what the skill did for real, it seemed like it was a way of eating. The description simply said, ¡°Can absorb anything, if something really yummy is absorb new skill could be gained¡±. She found herself now checking the slimes skills after every meal it ate. It apparently had not found anything yummy yet. After two rabbits killed, the sun was in the early afternoon position. Auna began to head back to the crater as it was closer to their position. From there she would jump through the door to check on the clearing. She activated her meditation skill to regain the mana she had used during hunting. Auna walked through the tunnel closing the entrance after Theo walked through. Three startled men stared at her. ¡°Did you just pop up like an earth rodent?¡± Jeff said. ¡°Be careful who you call rodent, after all you are staying in this rodents¡¯ home.¡± Auna glared. ¡°Before I created the Moon door skill, we had to use basic earth magic to get in and out. I¡¯m just stopping by I have to check the clearing; I¡¯ll start dinner when I¡¯m back.¡± Auna quickly dropped the rabbits on the butcher table, using magic to free the stone. She stepped into the clearing. Hmm she wondered in her head, there were no new children. It had to have been a fluke that her and Ciela were dropped off so close in time to each other. She still felt mournful for the other bags she had not been able to save. After she came back to the house she went to start butchering the rabbits. She found Jeff had already done so the table empty. She walked outside. Ciela and all of their guests were sitting by the fire. The sun was not yet setting though dinner was ready, again by Jeff. ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± Jeff said handing her a bowl of bore stew instead of rabbit. ¡°I don¡¯t, thank you.¡± Auna accepted the bowl and sat beside Ciela. She noticed Theodore, Willow and Ayda had already been served. ¡°So, AunaLuna you created a skill?¡± Marybeth asked. Everyone else seemed to tense a bit. ¡°Yes, after I did my job Survivalist evolved to Sage Survivalist. The skill is called moon door.¡± Auna moved closer to Marybeth showing her the status screen, specifically the Moon Door skill. ¡°I see very interesting.¡± Marybeth said then changed topic ¡°We would like to head out tomorrow. I am sure my husband is worried about me. Would you guide us?¡± ¡°I can take you to the clearing, and then as far as I have gone, but I won¡¯t go further. I have not explored that far into the forest due to my level. I do value my life after all, even if just slightly.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°That is more than enough, the clearing must be fairly far from here. It took us about a whole day to get to the clearing. We ran through the night hours. Can we leave before the sun rise?¡± Marybeth had a good point, just taking them to the clearing was more than most could do. She also would be able to safely guide them halfway to the forest edge. Auna had mapped out the area and noticed a few landmarks that was in her Monster Forest book as well. She roughly estimated it was halfway to leaving the forest at her and Theos pace. It would be more for humans though. If they left before the sun rise, she could have them to that point before midday. They then should be able to escape the forest by nightfall, or at least the most dangerous parts. ¡°Is that why dinner is so early compared to yesterday?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes, so is it a deal?¡± Marybeth asked. ¡°Sure, we will leave when the moon is a few hours before setting.¡± Auna said in a tone of finality. ¡°That sounds great, will you wake us if we are not up? I have a feeling you will be up more easily than us.¡± Marybeth smiled as Auna nodded going back to her spot by Ciela to eat. After dinner everyone took a bath, then headed to bed while the sun was beginning to set. Ayda still did not have any new skills. Auna slept soundlessly snuggled with Ciela, Ayda, and their wolves. Chapter 16: Farwell I The moon was a crescent shiny brightly in a clear sky. Auna still couldn¡¯t get over the beauty of a single moon. On her old world the surface was usually only traversable during the night. She had spent many lives learning the stars, now though they were all unfamiliar. She wanted to learn more about the constellations of this world. What did they all mean? Did the people of this world even put meaning to constellations? ¡°Hey, you like stars? Or just the moon?¡± Jeff asked yawning. ¡°I want to learn all the patterns in the sky from every point of this world.¡± Auna said dreamily. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know that many. But you see that constellation there that looks like a five-pointed star with a star in the middle?¡± Jeff asked pointing to sky. ¡°Yes.¡± Auna had spent many nights looking at it, the five points were dull compared to the middle star. ¡°That is called the star of stars, at its centre that is the Gods Ice star. It points north always. There is a similar constellation in the southern lands. Instead, it is a X shape with the Gods fire star in the centre. Even though the southern lands are warmer the south pole is just as cold the northern one.¡± Jeff spoke calmly captivating Auna. ¡°What are the southern lands like? I know the kingdom of Jules encompasses majority of this continent. The Artic country taking the most northern, and Lindle taking the southern.¡± Auna asked Jeff. ¡°Hmm there is a lot of water in the southern part of the world. It¡¯s why the southern land has warmer temperatures. The water takes longer to warm up and cool down. There are a few countries made up of islands. The only whole land masses are Lindle and Filan, they are both connected to two main continents. There is a southern continent, Iceland, however majority of it is waste lands. Iceland the country taking up the Eastern side with Wan taking a piece of it. Wan also has some islands. Perhaps I should get you a map one day.¡± Jeff noticed Auna was a little confused. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s confusing enough trying to remember the 18 main territories or noble families of Jules. Then there is the kings¡¯ family as well.¡± Auna sighed, it was time to wake the others. Perhaps one day she will get a map? After waking everyone except Ciela they ate and left the crater. They started out by the clearing. Aunas¡¯ map was in her head due to her skill though she could show it on the status screen to everyone else. They travelled in relative silence. Meredith was on Theos¡¯ back for the trip while Auna led by foot. Auna was more comfortable walking for long distances. It was just before midday when they reached another clearing, this one was a marked safe zone. Many people were here. They had travelled much further than Auna had gone. The adult males were able to handle most lower-level monsters with ease. So, their route was much faster and easier than Auna had thought it would be. The group had convinced her to keep going, with the promise of finding a spot for her to place a Moon door. At the thought of a moon door back in civilization she could not resist. Apparently, they could trade clay pots, their maple candies, and their kills for things. Their other produce and fruits may not go for much though as it was common. The people at this safe zone didn¡¯t take notice of the group until some one noticed Auna on her wolf. She had switched with Meredith a few minutes before the clearing, she was not comfortable with large crowds. Auna had her wings out as well. Many people were staring, apparently this clearing was only an hour away from the border town. They were technically in Bloodwave territory. This meant the town was under Marybeths¡¯ control. With her looks the people stopped staring and went back to what they were doing. It was a like mother glaring at her child. ¡°We are almost there how are you girls?¡± Marybeth sked. Auna had fallen asleep on Theo and began stirring at her words. They had travelled 10 straight hours from the clearing. With the most direct route possible. Auna was tired. She had flown for part of the way as it was faster than walking even. These people were mad. ¡°I¡¯m okay mom! I¡¯ve only been walking for a few hours!¡± Meredith smiled, with her speed slowing down the group they had taken double the time the adults and Auna would have taken. On a bright note, it gave Auna more rest. ¡°I¡¯m awake.¡± Auna said wiping drool from her mouth and Theos¡¯ fur. ¡°Ah sorry Theo.¡± ¡°Good morning, well, mid-afternoon. We can see the town from here.¡± Jeff smiled. ¡°You are all mad men how you are all still going?¡± Auna flopped back down on Theo she had never expended so much energy. She shifted lightly. ¡°Is my back burnt?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh, my gods! Look at her back. We haven¡¯t even left the forest yet how did you get so burnt?¡± Marybeth looked very worried and went to pick Auna up. ¡°I have a curse; it makes me pale and burn easily in sun light. I usually wear a mantle.¡± Stretching Auna waved away Marybeth. ¡°It¡¯s okay really, can we stop for a second?¡± They stopped at Aunas¡¯ request. She jumped down from Theo Ayda rolling off as well. She opened her storage to show a chest, first she pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Next, she pulled out a mantle to drape over her shoulders. She tied it in a loose bow in front of her. Jumping back on Theo she put away her chest. ¡°Ready.¡± She spoke yawning again. ¡°How could a child have a curse like that?¡± Jeff said quietly. ¡°Here check for yourself, it isn¡¯t like my status is a secret.¡± Auna handed over the crystal that had her full status screen. Jeff handed it off to his lady right way. After a few minutes of walking while looking at it Marybeth handed it back ¡°I see, please don¡¯t be so trusting with such information in the future. Most people don¡¯t hand these around to everyone¡±. Auna ended up understanding she opened a chest again putting it away. She had not known it was something to protect. She had been keeping it on her person. Soon they walked up to a building that was closer to the centre of the small town. ¡°MARY!!!!!¡± A tall man with flaming red hair rushed up to the medium sized blond women. He picked her up swinging around. He then grabbed Meredith swinging her around while Marybeth straightened her clothes. ¡°Auna This is my husband, Edward; you may call him just Edward. You did save our lives and guide us out of the forest after all.¡± Marybeth smiled. The people around them shifted their eyes to Auna and went quiet. They looked like they could not believe the words of their lady however, they knew she would not lie about such a thing. ¡°Um, hi just Edward I¡¯ve brought your friends home.¡± Auna was blushing and trying not to look at the tall man. He was similar in build to her father which brought up bad memories. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go inside somewhere more private?¡± Edward seemed to gloss over the joke, while Jeff was snickering beside Auna. Once inside what Auna now knew was the mayors house she was settling on the floor with Theo and Ayda. She had declined twice to sitting on the couch. She was nervous and just wanted to feel her pups¡¯ fur on her back. ¡°So, you are?¡± Edward smiled softly looking down. Auna had taken her glasses and mantle off out of respect. ¡°My name is A, Jade.¡± Auna spoke softly not meeting his eye line. ¡°I see, why did my wife call you Auna then?¡± Edward was still speaking softly. ¡°My soul name is AunaLuna.¡± Edward nodded at that. ¡°I was at the Jade estate, until I heard my wife had disappeared. I heard a few whispers about a small girl that had died. The register listed her as lost during training over a year ago. Oddly enough she had the same given name.¡± Edward continued to ramble a bit before Marybeth elbowed him. ¡°I take it you were thrown away in the forest. That method of ridding a noble of children is not uncommon after all. I know Regan and I look similar. We are cousins after all. Well third cousins twice removed. It means we have the same great great grandparents.¡± Smiling Edward waited for Auna to say something. ¡°You look more handsome than Count Jade.¡± At that Auna blushed and put her hands over her face. ¡°Ha, yeah I know. Thank you though. So, Marybeth while I enjoy teasing this girl will you explained what happened?¡± Edward turned his attention to his wife. Marybeth spent awhile explaining the events that led to them being lost in the forest, going to Aunas¡¯ crater and even the details of everything she learned about Auna. Auna had dosed off again as they spoke, she was physically tired. ¡°Perhaps we should let her go to bed and pick this back up in the morning?¡± Edward had said, even though the sun was not setting yet. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Ciela then, you said I could put a moon door here?¡± Auna was suddenly at attention. ¡°Sure, if you promise to come back in the morning. Oh, and let me use the Moon doors as well.¡± Edward smiled as Auna gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Mayor!¡± Edward called for the mayor. He was a small man with grey hair. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± The mayor asked. ¡°Did you set up what Jeff asked you to?¡± Edward said. ¡°Right this way my lord, we have a spare closet on the upper floor. We rarely use it; it just had some bedding in it. We have cleared it out for you as asked. I hope this is good enough for you.¡± The mayor explained as he took everyone to the second floor. Soon they stood in front of the empty closet, it was a roughly 4 feet deep and wide. All the shelves had been hastily removed. ¡°Here put it in here at the back.¡± Edward said motioning for Auna to enter the closet. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Auna walked forward into the closet. The mayor watched curiously. His 12-year-old son was standing beside him as well. Auna touched the wall, for a moment she wondered will it work on a wooden wall without stone? Of course, it will, the door will adapt it will cost a bit more mana though your reserves are full. With that she pressed forwards humming a song, she found it easier to focus and calm her nerves if she sang. She had loved music in her old world, and often sang in the moons light when everyone else was asleep. Soon the door appeared. The carvings were still the same. The door itself was now a wooden one though. She opened the door as majority of the people watching gasped. ¡°Theo Ayda go on through, Ciela must be waiting worried sick.¡± The purple hue of the inside of the door turned into the small orchard again. She had figured out only the doors people have permission to enter in the network would work for them. She planned to give Edward the permission to enter this door, the clearing, and the tree door. She didn¡¯t want anyone using her door in the house. She could also edit the list of who could use the doors, and which ones they could use on her screen. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be going now Edward, Marybeth.¡± Auna went to step forwards. ¡°Make sure to come back in the morning, we will have your requested items ready for you.¡± Marybeth waved goodbye as Edward did with a silly grin. He was a goofball for sure. Auna walked through the door shutting it behind her. Ciela tackled her as soon as she was on solid ground. After Ciela let go, she went to the clearing to check for kids. Auna ate dinner with Ciela as she spoke about what had happened that day. Chapter 17: Farwell II Auna woke up just before the sun, she set the pot with stew on the fire. She went to the clearing to check for children and looked for any quick prey near the clearing. There was none. ¡°Ciela wake up love.¡± Auna woke the little farmer gesturing for her to eat. ¡°Are you going back as soon as the sun is in the sky?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Yeah, we have enough meat for a little while and I checked the clearing this morning.¡± Auna smiled as she started cleaning up the breakfast things, letting her stew cool a bit. After the girls talked for a bit and finished their meals Auna left through the orchard door. She took Theo and Ayda with her. The sun was just peaking up over the crater, which meant soon the town would be seeing the sun as well. Auna peaked out of the closet door where she put her moon door in the mayors¡¯ house. She still felt a bit uncomfortable, so she made sure to wear her Mantle and sunglasses. She also put away her wings so not to attract too much attention. ¡°There you are, have you eaten breakfast already?¡± Jeff asked. ¡°Are you trying to scare me to death?¡± Auna harshly whispered clutching her chest. ¡°No, no sorry I was asked to wait for you this morning.¡± Jeff snickered motioning for her to follow. ¡°Do you people not rest? Is that normal?¡± Auna asked reaching the top of the stairs. She had not gone downstairs at all in this life. She managed going up them yesterday so it should be fine she thought to herself. Not two seconds after she thought this, she tripped tumbling down about halfway into a very flustered looking Jeff. The noise brought Edward around the corner as well. Theo whined. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I, have never um. Gone downstairs before.¡± Auna was mortified her face bright red while her hands still clutched onto Jeffs open arms. By now Marybeth, the mayor, Robert, and William had joined them to hear her say that. Making her blush more she felt like she was about to cry. Theodore gracefully went down the steps to sit at the bottom still whining. Jeff did not real look like he knew what to do. ¡°Well, I think I understand your ¡®are you trying to scare me to death statement now¡¯ so please be more careful AJ.¡± Jeff gently lifted her into his arms carrying her the rest of the way down the steps. Jeff seemed to understand she was very embarrassed and elected to continue carrying her to the room from yesterday setting her on the floor. Theo wrapped around her as she placed her face in his fur and groaned. ¡°Well, you sure know how to startle a person.¡± Edward said as Marybeth elbowed his side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it dear we should have known better, before you leave you should practice.¡± Marybeth got down to rub her back. ¡°Where are your wings?¡± ¡°I did not want people looking at me so much. So, I pulled them into my back. I only need to take them out every few days to keep them in good shape. I do prefer having them out more though.¡± Auna had calmed down a bit. ¡°Ah sorry our town folk made you feel uncomfortable. We will make sure they know not to be so rude to you. I understand you might also be bringing another small girl from time to time, with bright blue hair, right?¡± The mayor asked as his son eyed me. ¡°Yes, I might bring Ciela, we have a few items we could trade or sell.¡± Auna said trying to ignore the boy. ¡°Yes, very good you can come by when ever you want. You are a permanent guest in this house as requested by my lord and lady.¡± The mayor seemed nice. ¡°Yes, we also have gathered about 5 laying birds for you. We will have Jeff and William build the coup for you. Edward would also like to visit your home. There are a few bags of different seeds for your little farmer. And the mayor so kindly allowed us to pull up a few small berry bushes we noticed you did not have.¡± Marybeth smiled softly at her. ¡°I will be staying back though as I have had enough adventure for now.¡± ¡°Are you sure about this? It seems a little unfair to you. We only hosted you at our house.¡± Auna said trying to avoid looking at the mayors¡¯ boy. ¡°Auna, Robert was seriously injured, and we had no food or water. You saved us. This is more than fair; we feel it is unfair.¡± Marybeth was shaking her head. ¡°Can I ask for some materials to make Ciela a stuffed toy? Her birthday is coming up.¡± Auna did not like being in peoples debt. They seemed to think they still owed her so what was the harm in asking for more? Marybeth quickly agreed. The materials for the coup, the seeds and laying bird were gathered and brought upstairs. William and Jeff were already taking items into the cater. Edward watched them with fascination. The mayor had left to do his work, though his son was still around. Marybeth had also left. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Auna was spending time practicing going up and down the steps. After about forty minutes the guys had seemed to be done moving things. Auna also felt much more confident in using the stairs. The whole time the mayors¡¯ son would not stop staring at her. ¡°Would you like to go now?¡± Auna asked Edward near the closet once she sent Theo and Ayda through the door. ¡°Can I come as well?¡± The mayors¡¯ son asked. ¡°No.¡± Both Edward and Auna said at the same time. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Edward smiled at Auna walking with her to the door. Auna walked in first pulling Edward with her. They stepped out on the soft grass of the small orchard. They could hear Jeff commanding the others in the building of the coup. They could see Ciela working in the field having ignored the people coming and going. Most likely because she knew only people Auna allowed would be able to enter threw her doorways. She would only have to worry if a new door from a different person appeared. ¡°Ciela why don¡¯t you come over and look at the seeds?¡± Auna called letting go of Edwards hand. She turned around to see the mayors¡¯ son staring at her through the doorway. She calmly shut the stone door. As she did, she saw the wooden one shutting as well. Her screen notified her both doors were currently closed. She also noticed the Moon door skill went from low to medium. It seemed that the skills ¡®worked on level¡¯ was more related to distances or creation than to how often she used the doors. ¡°That kid is kind of a creep?¡± Auna wondered out loud. ¡°Yeah, I think he has a crush on you.¡± Edward laughed patting her on the head. As he ruffled her black hair the glowing highlights shimmered. Auna did a quick tour of the crater for Edward, and then they got down to looking at the seeds. Edward also made sure to discreetly give Auna the extra supplies she asked for. ¡°Wow we got rice plants, wheat seeds, beans, strawberry bushes, and more sugar cane! We can make so much maple candies! Look they even sent us molds for the candies.¡± Ciela was ecstatic. ¡°Very cool, why don¡¯t you take them little farmer?¡± Ciela happily ran way with all the farming seeds, and supplies. She used Willow more like a pack mule then a wolf. ¡°She is very energetic, is she always like this?¡± Edward asked. ¡°I think she must have been eating some maple candies when I was away. She saw her chance and took it. Can¡¯t blame her I would do the same thing.¡± Auna smiled softly. ¡°After they finish the coup, I will have to go, I still have to meet with count Jade. I am going suggest something to you. Marybeth and I think it would be advantageous for you.¡± Edward looked seriously at Auna. ¡°I saw the register. You turn 8 this coming winter. Now most nobles start school at the capital¡¯s academy between ages 6-8. The 6 and 7-year-olds are given pre-courses mostly. Now we the Bloodwave house would like to sponsor both of you to go to school. We would like to sponsor you both until you are 18. We think it is a waste of talent to not educate you both. It would also make Count Jade look horrible. After one year of a child presumed dead another family may adopt or sponsor them no questions asked.¡± Edward paused. ¡°Why would I want to leave our home?¡± Auna asked. ¡°That is the best part, you won¡¯t have to. Not with your moon doors. You could come back and care for your chickens daily, and the fields at least every few days. Though planting might slow down to make it more manageable. The school has garden spaces students can sign out though so Ciela would still be able to farm a lot.¡± Edward answered. ¡°Can we bring our tamed monsters?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes, without an issue. The monsters that can fit in the dorm rooms can stay with their owners. The other monsters that are too large stay in very comfortable stables.¡± Edward looked like he was worried. ¡°Is making Count Jade look bad the only reason?¡± Auna asked. ¡°No, we think you girls are very special. To be able to raise your levels as high as you have by yourselves is amazing. Curse or no curse you are valuable talent. We want our daughter to have friends she can rely on. Most kids just bow down and let her walk all over them. When she gets to school the class divide is not as great. We fear she will have a hard time making friends. You are already helping her attitude.¡± Edward said. ¡°So, what is the deal though. Surely you won¡¯t pay for our schooling just to be your daughters¡¯ friends.¡± Auna looked at Edward very seriously. ¡°You are very smart. We would like to hire you as a mage in our territory. Your abilities would help strengthen our mages greatly. We would also like Ciela to help our agriculture programs. She has done great work in such a small space. We would love that expertise on our islands.¡± Edward held his breath. ¡°Well, what if once we are finished my father wants us? Or if I find a man I want to marry. Will you force me to go to your territory?¡± Auna asked. ¡°No, if your father wants you back and you want to go back, we will not separate you. Also, if you find a nice man and want to move to his land, we will not make you come to our territory. However, we would like you to promise to maintain good relations with us.¡± Edwards said. ¡°So, your real goal is a strategic alliance between us and Bloodwave for our lives?¡± Auna asked with an eyebrow cocked. ¡°You are very wise little girl. Yes, we would like to form an alliance in exchange for sponsorship to the academy till you both are at least 18. If you want to do more school and still need sponsorship, we will continue to give it.¡± Edward smiled wiping his brow. ¡°You said dorm rooms, would Ciela and I be in the same one?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes, we could arrange that easily.¡± Edward looked more relaxed. ¡°Can you make sure there is a bench window seat in the room?¡± Auna asked innocently. ¡°You know I heard about the ghost child in the bay window seat of the staff building. That really was you, wasn¡¯t it? I cannot promise that. But I will do everything in my power to do it. I know the library has a few window seats though.¡± Edward smiled. The men had finished the coup. ¡°When do we have to decide?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Will have to know no later than the 12th month Hollen. The new year starts the new semester, so applications close at the end of Hollen. Also, you both would need to take a test written and practical. We have included the necessary study material with the stuff we brought today. Everyone needs to pass the tests.¡± Edward said. ¡°Alright I will have an answer for you no later than Hollen.¡± It was five months away. Edward then explained how to care for the laying birds, and their food. Which they gave them about 6 months stock worth. It would have to be stored properly though. The girls should get between 10-15 eggs a week from the five laying birds. Edward and the men left. Chapter 18: Preparing for school Auna arrived back home with another bore. It was her third one this week. She had thought it strange they were taking down so many. ¡°Auna, you need to stop doing such dangerous things.¡± Ciela was standing there with a book in one hand and the other on her hip. She looked cute. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Auna asked setting the bore down. ¡°What do you mean, what do I mean!¡± Ciela opened the book to a page about bores. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand it¡¯s just a pig, also is that one of the books Edward gave us?¡± Auna asked. ¡°It said in this book that bores are a low rank monster born out of boars. It said it charges at prey using sleep magic. It is very hard to kill unless you have a skill that nullifies the effect.¡± Ciela handed the book over. ¡°Wait. There are actual Boars that aren¡¯t Bores?¡± Auna asked then realised how silly she sounded. ¡°Did none of them use sleep magic on you?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°No?¡± Auna said, distantly remembering how Ayda and Theodore would stay out of the path of all the bore. Auna thought reaching out to the voice inside her head. What is going on? Mr. Voice simply answered. Have you not checked your job characteristics? ¡°What are job characteristics?¡± Auna thought aloud. ¡°There is actually a book that talks about it, let me grab it.¡± Ciela went back into the house. Moments later she came back flipping to a page. Ciela had spent the past couple months reading a few different books while Auna was reading other ones. They were rotating them between each other as to not hinder each other¡¯s process. The girls looked at the book. It explained that each job would come with randomized characteristics which could be positive or negative. Some jobs would come with ones like ¡®very appealing appearance¡¯, ¡®perfect pitch¡¯, ¡®cannot lie¡¯, ¡®very ugly¡¯ which were fairly common. Once a job was learnt the characteristics would be final. People often tried to do things that would get them the ones they wanted. This did not always get what they wanted, for instance the Gods would often give liars a can not lie characteristic. Jobs had certain pools of characteristics; a farmer would not get a characteristic of ¡®kills plants with a touch¡¯. It was thought that the Gods would hand select the characteristics for each individual when they were born, and only if they got a job fitting it would it be realized. These could be things that the Gods thought would help the person, control them, or even expectations. Auna thought the gods most likely did not hand pick these, maybe they had unlocked conditions or were random to a degree. ¡°So, why does Mr. Voice want me to know this? And who would name a bore the same as a boar?¡± Auna was frustrated. ¡°Maybe the person thought it was funny?¡± Ciela shrugged. ¡°How is that funny?¡± Auna rolled her eyes. ¡°Wow this is such a bore I am falling asleep.¡± Ciela said putting her hands out in a ta-da sign. ¡°Really? What a twisted way to name things if that is true.¡± Auna pulled up her status screen, Ciela following her lead pulling hers up as well. Both girls looked at their job list thinking about the characteristics. Soon Auna saw more under noble she had quick-learner, and air of authority. Moon slave had graceful, immune to mind alterations, and mesmerizing. Finally, she had observant under sage survivalist. Looking over to Ciela she could see the girl had touch of nature and strong body under her farmer job. Her survivalist job had strong will and observant. Auna sat for a moment before speaking. ¡°How am I graceful? I fell into Jeffs arms just a few months ago.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°You have to get over that, besides now we know why you can hunt bore so well.¡± Ciela shrugged. ¡°It said in the book that the tusks that are bright red can be sold at decent prices, which is anywhere from one silver to two gold. Depending on if they are broken or not.¡± ¡°We have twenty of them, all in perfect condition.¡± Auna said. She went to go grab a book she had been reading. ¡°This book has a handy chart for money value as a math lesson.¡± Auna said placing the book down. The book had said one copper could buy a non-alcoholic drink. Auna then compared one copper being roughly one dollar of her old-world currency.
Stone Coin Lowest Value
Copper Coin X 2 Stone
Bronze Coin X 10 Copper
Silver Coin X 10 Bronze
Gold Coin X 10 Silver
Platinum X 10 Gold
Palladium X 10 Platinum
Mithril X 10 Palladium (Highest value)
If the other book said the tusks could be worth one silver to two gold would mean the value was between 100, to 2000 of her old currency. If money was similar here that would be more than a decent amount. ¡°Want to go to town tomorrow after I give you your birthday present?¡± Auna asked. ¡°We haven¡¯t been to town at all though. You stayed here after you came back. Why now?¡± Ciela tilted her head. ¡°Well, we should get some practice selling and buying. We could use some money for school as well.¡± Auna smiled going to collect all the tusks that the wolves had not wanted to chew on. She now knew why they would leave them alone deciding to chew on just the bones. There was most likely still magic in them. ¡°Isn¡¯t Edward and Marybeth paying?¡± Ciela asked following Auna into the storage room. ¡°Yes, but having some pocket money won¡¯t be too bad right?¡± Auna was smiling. ¡°Okay, are you going to tell them we decided to go to school?¡± Ciela said having agreed to going to the town. ¡°Not yet, we should study first. If when the deadline is reached, we feel we can pass the tests we will tell them yes.¡± Auna did not want to agree before she felt she could pass the test. They both had missed out on their early year education compared to other nobles. ¡°That is a good idea. There is a lot to study, books on math, science, art, geography, music, politics, monsters, magic and even a book on history.¡± Ciela groaned. ¡°We don¡¯t have too much else to sell. We need the furs, meat, and food.¡± Auna sighed looking at their laying birds. They produced about 10 eggs a week. It was enough to help the girls get more precious vitamins. The new crops had been planted in small quantities switching out some of the old ones. They were not harvestable yet. Still, they would need to eat the food themselves. ¡°We could sell the magic and mana stones you have found. They are pretty yeah; we don¡¯t need them though. We even have extra glow stones.¡± Ciela spoke as she started heading to her fields. She really had a short attention span when it wasn¡¯t about farming. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see what we can sell. Oh, maybe we can pick up more cook ware.¡± Auna busied herself with butchering her bore. She wondered what else she had miss understood. She thought about the blue apples Ciela was growing. It was something that was normal here as well she thought, are they also weird? Why would they be? Mr. Voice asked, it was rare for the voice to want a conversation. Well, why are they not red? Auna questioned. Only man-eating trees produce red fruit, it is red due to the blood soaked up by the trees prey. Auna sighed aloud. In her old-world apples had been red normally without people dying to the tree. Really that is odd Mr Voice commented. I will try to point out things more clearly from now on Mr. voice said then went quiet again. Auna and Ciela spent more time on the chores in the crater. They wanted to spend most of the day in the town. They would be bringing their wolves with them, who had learnt a new skill from Ayda. A few days ago, Ayda had eaten another slime and gained the skill resize. It allowed the slime to become any size it wanted. The wolves had watched the slime for a while eventually they learned the skill as well. It had been a surprise for the girls. Though the wolves could only go between their current proper size, to their old puppy size. This would allow the girls to take them almost anywhere without issues. The girls could carry them in both arms in their puppy forms. Small enough to travel indoors with them, big enough to still be a threat. The morning was misty. Summer would be over soon, and pada would start. It was now also Cielas¡¯ birthday, Sunen 20th. Auna crept into the smaller girls¡¯ room, as much as one could when having to use earth magic to make a door. ¡°Good morning big sis.¡± Ciela smiled as the not so quiet Auna stepped through the door she made. ¡°Happy birthday!¡± Auna came over with something wrapped in a blanket. ¡°Open it.¡± Ciela opened the blanket wrapped gift, it was a hand made bunny. It was soft with blue fur, stuffed with cotton. It was about one foot tall, and half the width. The eyes were mana crystals full of Cielas¡¯ mana. Auna had asked for empty ones from Edward that could absorb any mana. They were fairly common at this size, as they could be created by people. It was different from the one around Aunas¡¯ neck. ¡°It is beautiful.¡± Ciela hugged the toy very tightly. She would not let go of it for the rest of the morning. Soon they were preparing to leave. ¡°Why are we making Theo carry the things we want to sell?¡± Ciela asked as Auna put a hand made saddle pack on the wolf. It was made with leather and two sacks. ¡°I want as little people to know about our skills as possible.¡± Auna said walking towards the orchard. ¡°The book said there is a skill called conceal. That anyone can learn. It allows the person to hide any line of their status screen when showing it. Only magic items above the persons job skill will cancel it out. Apparently to learn it you need someone to teach you though, or a special magic item.¡± Ciela explained as they walked. ¡°We should see about learning it, did the book say anything about appraisals to people?¡± Auna had not been able to use her appraisal skill on people but that didn¡¯t mean other people could not. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Apparently the Gods don¡¯t allow it. People can appraise monsters, animals, but not anyone considered people. Apparently though at one point beast kin and other species not human could be appraised. Once all of the kingdoms passed laws to make them equal appraisal stopped working.¡± Ciela recited the information she had learnt in the books. ¡°You are studying well.¡± Auna smiled. She like the fact the Gods would implement such a system. Soon the girls were in a closet. Willow was in Cielas¡¯ arms, Ayda was on Theodores¡¯ head. The girls had waited until the sun was fully in the sky, they did not want to disturb the mayor or his family. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Auna smiled grabbing Cielas¡¯ hand. Together they walked out of the closet. Right into a maid woman who gave a bit of a shriek. Which brought the mayor running upstairs. So much for not disturbing anyone. ¡°Hello Mr. Mayor, sorry there was no way to announce our presence in advance.¡± Auna smiled sheepishly. It was not like they could phone ahead; phones were not in this world. They could not send a letter either, being so far into the Great Monster Forest. ¡°It is okay, we did warn everyone beforehand she should not have been so rude.¡± The mayor eyed the women. ¡°No, she wasn¡¯t rude I would have yelled as well. This is our first time coming after all.¡± Auna smiled softly at the women ¡°We are sorry to have startled you, is there a better way to enter for next time?¡± ¡°Oh no, please continue as you were. We will adjust.¡± She bowed and left. ¡°So, what brings you girls here?¡± The mayor was warmly gesturing to the downstairs. ¡°We want to sell some sleeping magic tusks from a few bores. We have some crystals as well.¡± ¡°Mana or magic?¡± The mayor asked opening the reception room for them. Auna and Ciela sat on the floor after taking the saddle bag off Theo who resized to a pup. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure of the difference we use the terms to mean the same thing.¡± Auna said taking a glass of juice from a butler. ¡°Oh, I suppose that is understandable you both are very young. A mana crystal is a rock that can absorb mana directly, from people, animals, or monsters. When it does it can act like a reservoir for mana, like your necklace there.¡± The mayor pointed to Aunas¡¯ neck. ¡°Some mana crystals are naturally formed, usually they are usable by anyone. Rarely a mana crystal is formed naturally and is only usable by certain people. When this happens, the crystal is said to have been placed by the Gods for the person. These crystals are usually very powerful, some even having hidden attributes.¡± The mayor took a sip of tea. ¡°The more common mana crystals are made by people. Usually for mana manipulation practice or as pretty gifts. I see you have a few for your bunnys¡¯ eyes.¡± The mayor smiled softly. His wife was sitting quietly with a warm smile. His son had been staring the whole time. His explanation meant somehow Auna found a natural mana crystal that would only hold her magic. Apparently, her earlier thinking was wrong, after Cielas¡¯ crystal eyes were empty they would easily take Aunas¡¯ mana. ¡°Now magic crystals are stones that have gathered mana of a certain attribute. When a person puts their mana in the crystal it will release that attribute. Anyone can use them. Like the glow stones or fire stones we use for everyday life.¡± The mayor seemed to be done with his lecture. ¡°I see we have a few natural mana crystals but mostly magic ones then.¡± Auna said nodding. ¡°Well, I could buy everything from you now if you want? I could give you a fair price.¡± The mayor said. ¡°No thank you, we want to learn how to sell and buy things properly. We have never handled trade, or money.¡± Auna got up setting her drink on the table and putting her sunglasses on. ¡°Is there a market here?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Not really we are a small town after all. If you want to sell you could sell to the adventurers or market guild. Some stores will buy as well though we don¡¯t have many here.¡± The mayor looked to his son ¡°Why don¡¯t you guide these two to the guild house? Girls the guild house holds both the merchants and adventurers¡¯ guild.¡± With that he smiled and left with his wife. ¡°My name is Burt.¡± The boy got up and led the way. After Auna resaddled Theodore they followed Burt out of the house. They were being led closer to the edge of the town. A huge double building stood in front of them. Two four story buildings were connected by a small one-story building in the middle. ¡°Wow.¡± Auna said, Ciela holding onto her leg with one arm. This left her new bunny and pup sized Willow squished in one arm. ¡°Come inside, they are very nice people.¡± Burt said walking in. Auna and Ciela walked up to a counter behind Burt. There was a small man looking through paperwork. There was a lobby to both sides of them as well. One was for the merchants guid and the other for the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°How may I help you children?¡± The man asked noticing them. ¡°We would like to sell some monster parts.¡± Auna said pushing to stand beside Burt. ¡°Well, we can by them directly there will be a tax. If you want, you can join one or both of the guilds. If you get a card you will have to meet requirements for keeping active, once you reach 16. Before 16 just buying the membership is enough.¡± The man said. ¡°Why would we want to be a part of the guilds?¡± Auna asked. ¡°If you are a part of the merchant guild you can sell to them at current market price, without a handling tax. If you are a part of the adventures¡¯ guild you can do quests for rewards of different kinds. Monster parts as proof of slaying can be shown for a reward. Usually you can keep the parts.¡± The man explained. ¡°How much to join for two people?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Two silvers per person for both guilds, so four in total.¡± The man said, making Burt give her a side eye. ¡°I could ask dad to give you the money.¡± Burt said. ¡°Can I sell one of these please?¡± Auna asked putting down one perfectly intact bore tusk. It was a very deep red. ¡°Certainly, there will be a handling tax though. It will be one gold coin, we will take one sliver and give you nine silvers back.¡± The man wrote a receipt, handing it to Auna to sign. Once she did, she got nine silver coins. ¡°Thank you, do we register at the guilds counters?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes child.¡± The man said going back to his papers. Auna walked over to the adventurers¡¯ guild. ¡°Hello, we would like to register please.¡± She said to a woman behind the counter. ¡°Do you have the silver per person?¡± The woman asked. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Auna put down two silvers and pointed to Ciela. ¡°Alright will you both come with me then? Also bring any monsters that are yours alone.¡± The woman guided them to a back room. She gave both the girls a paper. It wanted them to fill out their name, what role they would have, and basic profile information. After a few questions they learnt that their jobs did not have to be what role they would have. For instance, they could put down tank or tamer without having the job. Of course, it was recommended to put down a role in which you had the same job. Auna put down Sage survivalist, while Ciela put farmer. ¡°Now a farmer might not be asked to join many parties and may have some difficulties climbing the ranks.¡± The woman said looking at them. ¡°No worries big sis and I always are together so it will be fine.¡± Ciela smiled. ¡°Yes, she can put down farmer, she is my little farmer after all.¡± Auna smiled as well. ¡°Alright then, also you really shouldn¡¯t put sage down it is one of the roles that are sought after. If someone sees this, and you don¡¯t have the job to back it up you could be targeted.¡± The woman put her hand on her hip. Auna simply pulled up her status screen pointing the job section. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be! You really are a sage. Wait here.¡± The woman ran out in a hurry, coming back in with two tall old men. ¡°We are the guild masters of this branch. We are both named Gary.¡± One of the men put out his hand. ¡°What am I supposed to do with your hand?¡± Auna asked, making Ciela giggle as she took it and shook it. A memory from her previous world or life? ¡°Is it a greeting?¡± Auna whispered to Ciela. ¡°It is yes, you must be very sheltered to not know little miss sage.¡± The second Gary spoke. ¡°I live in the Great Monster Forest so yeah sheltered.¡± Auna said a little offended. It was not her fault she was sheltered. ¡°I see you must be the children the Bloodwave family spoke of.¡± the first Gary said. ¡°What do we call you, because Gary and Gary is just as silly as bore and boar.¡± Auna groaned out while nodding. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are referring to. However, people call me Adventurer Gary and him sleezy Gary.¡± Adventurer Gary laughed as the other Gary elbowed him. ¡°They call me Merchant Gary.¡± He said eyeing Adventurer Gary. ¡°So, we can get your paperwork done, it is not often a sage so young signs up though. Usually such a role is from a role change later on in life.¡± Adventurer Gary said. ¡°I hear you also want to be in the merchant guild.¡± Merchant Gary said. ¡°Yes please.¡± Auna placed two more silvers on the table. ¡°Sure, we can use the same forms to register you for the merchant guild as well.¡± He smiled taking the silvers. ¡°So, we also came in to give you both this.¡± Adventurer Gary set down two sticks. ¡°What are these?¡± Auna asked picking one up and handing the other to Ciela. ¡°They are skill sticks; these ones have concealed. The receptionist said you showed her your whole status screen, and most people with a job like yours will hide it.¡± Adventurer Gary said. Auna and Ciela both broke the sticks; they each got the skill. Auna got hers under Nobility, while Ciela had hers under farmer. Every job could get this skill apparently, so when learned it when to the highest-level job. After that they were made to drip blood on to two separate metal plates. These plates were both iron. After their blood was spilt on them their names appeared with a rank on each. Both guilds had the same ranks. Lowest was G highest was SSS. The ranks SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G had their own perks, and requirements. Once someone was S or above, they no longer needed to pay a fee, for either guild. They still had to maintain activity though. Most times when a membership was lost a person would have to start two levels lower than their previous rank. With S and above this was not the case. There were not many A rank and above adventurers as the job was very dangerous. The merchants could achieve rank A usually once they began trading to other kingdoms. It was a minimum though as some merchants achieved A before that. The merchants only had a handful of members at rank S and above. The Guild master said they could bring in monster parts as proof of being slayed. However, they would have to bring back undesirable parts, freshly. This was to cut down on fraud. Also, guilds could use certain skills to detect lies when every they wanted. ¡°Don¡¯t lose the plates, and make sure to work on your new skill a lot.¡± Adventure Gary said. ¡°Can we sell some items here before we go?¡± Auna asked as they all got up. ¡°Of course, follow me.¡± Merchant Gary said. ¡°Our tamed monsters are listed on the back of the plate?¡± Ciela said. ¡°Yes, they do that. It¡¯s a tradition to give the plates to the tamed monster should the master die and the monster survive.¡± Merchant Gary smiled. Burt managed to re-join them on the way to the selling counter. ¡°You guys were gone for like an hour what happened?¡± Burt asked. ¡°We signed up for both guilds.¡± Auna said. Reaching the sale counter a smaller elf woman was smiling. ¡°Hi Guild master!¡± ¡°These girls are new members and would like to sell some items. The Bloodwave family have vouched for them.¡± Merchant Gary smiled ¡°I¡¯m just here to watch that they are learning how to do this properly.¡± ¡°Alright then, please place the items you want to sell on the counter.¡± The women smiled professionally as the girls placed nineteen deep red bore tusks on the counter. They also placed two small mana crystals on the counter. Finally, they placed four light crystals, five fire crystals and three earth crystals. The light crystals were still glowing slightly. ¡°I see this is a bit abnormal for most young children you know?¡± The elf woman smiled looking at Gary. ¡°We live in the Great Monster Forest.¡± Auna said while the elf womans¡¯ smile fell. ¡°It is true, these two live in the forest.¡± Edward smiled as he walked up behind the girls. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± The elf woman bowed down then started inspecting the items on the counter. ¡°Hello girls.¡± Edward smiled; he had his wife with him. ¡°Why are you here? We were trying to get some real experience Edward.¡± Auna sighed. Today was not going as she planned. All she wanted was to be a little normal. ¡°Yeah, I heard from the mayor, still thought you might need some help.¡± Edward smiled, and Marybeth shook her head. ¡°Edward, I told you doing this would turn out this way.¡± Marybeth scolded. ¡°Come on girls we were on our way back to our estate and were so happy to hear you were here. We were going to visit you though Marybeth here thought you would not appreciate it.¡± Edward bent down patting Willow and Theodore on the head. ¡°I guess it¡¯s okay, we are pretty new to this anyway.¡± Auna sighed ¡°Also you are welcome to visit anytime.¡± ¡°Girls?¡± The elf woman continued once all eyes were on her ¡°The tusks here are little old, we prefer to get them right away, one was fresh enough. The other items are high quality though they are small. For everything we can give you fifteen gold, thirty bronze, and seven copper.¡± Auna thought for a moment, that would equal about fifteen thousand of her old currency. ¡°Is that good?¡± she sighed looking back at the Bloodwaves. ¡°A family of four can live off about four gold coins a month. So, fifteen is about three months¡¯ worth of living expenses, for a commoner family. It seems like a lot; however, these tusks are very hard to get usually. A team of five C rank adventurers usually take days to take one bore down. Also, these bore only appear in heavily infested areas with high-ranking monsters. The price is high due to the risk.¡± Edward smiled and gave a thumbs up ¡°Good job girls!¡± Auna completed the sale, splitting the profits on paper with Ciela. It all went into Theodores¡¯s saddle pack. The Bloodwaves dismissed Burt and instead walked the girls back to the mayors¡¯ house. It was already nearing lunch time. ¡°So have you girls given any thought to the school thing?¡± Edward asked. ¡°We want to go, though we don¡¯t want to say yes until we are closer. We want to make sure we can past the test.¡± Auna said. ¡°How much does it cost?¡± ¡°Well boarding school runs from the middle of the 1st month of the year to the end of the 5th month. Takes a break month 6, 7, and 8. Picks back up for the 9th month to the end of the 13th month. Then the 14th month to the middle of the 1st is another break. So, each semester is about 5 months. For the entire school year about six platinum is needed.¡± Edward smiled. Auna thought about this it meant for each girl it would cost 60,000 per year. Over the span of the entire school career for Auna would cost 600,000. For Ciela it would cost 720,000 due to the extra years. She would still have to graduate at 18 years old. Unless they managed to skip grades, it would cost around 1,320,000 in her old currency. One mithril, three palladium, and two platinum coins. That on top of the cost of his own child. ¡°Are you really able to spend over a mithril coin to send us to school for our entire education?¡± Auna had done the calculations in her head in less than a minute. ¡°Did you really calculate it that fast?¡± Edward smiled. ¡°This is why it is worth it. You both are showing such promise at such an early age too!¡± ¡°Dear don¡¯t pressure them.¡± Marybeth smiled ¡°Don¡¯t worry we are making sure to come back in Hollen to get your answer. We do want you both to come though.¡± Auna nodded. Soon they reached the mayors¡¯ home. Burt was outside waiting, watching Auna as she came up. She kept close to Edward as they walked in. They all ate lunch together quietly, soon the Bloodwaves saw them off. Over the next two months the girls studied very hard. They read and reread all the books given to them. They couldn¡¯t leave the crater because of the pada season, which gave them a lot of time inside to read. They tested themselves a lot as well. They made sure to exercise and fight mock battles in the rain to better train. They were not worried about their magic abilities, they still trained it though. They did train their conceal skills as much as they could though. Soon they began packing up their home. Leaving nothing out to rot. The bird feed would stay out as they would come back to care for the birds. They were confident the Moon door would work. They had made sure the field was empty before the rain started. The mushrooms, berries, and trees would be tended still. Ciela was planning to farm at the school instead of in their field. They would come back to live full-time only on long breaks. Soon the girls were standing by the orchard door on the 1st of Hollen. Chapter 19: Going to the capital. With a deep breath the girls left the crater, the only place they felt at home. The sun was still low in the sky, only just breaking the horizon for the day. They quietly left the closet. Both their wolves were in puppy size to make travel easier. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± Ciela asked in a hushed tone as they made it to the first floor of the house. ¡°No idea, perhaps they are asleep still?¡± Auna shrugged going towards the front door. ¡°Are we leaving?¡± Ciela looked a bit worried. ¡°No, I just want to see the weather here. I want to know if I need to cover my back.¡± Auna opened the front door taking a look outside. It was the first day of autumn. Usually, she did not need to cover her skin as the sun was blocked by clouds. Today was the same, a cloudy wet day. ¡°I see Jeff.¡± Auna said ushering Ciela outside with her. ¡°Hi Jeff!¡± ¡°Auna you¡¯re here!¡± Jeff was excited. ¡°Yes? Edward said this was the day he needed his answer.¡± Auna looked around the front of the house. There were two carriages, both with the Bloodwave symbols on them. It was the same symbol on the weapons of the guards. It appeared they had just got here. ¡°Yes, we all thought we would have to travel to your house though.¡± Jeff said passing Robert some coins. ¡°Gambling isn¡¯t very good.¡± Auna said with her hands on her hips. ¡°Oh, girls you are here, does that mean you wish to go with us?¡± Marybeth was smiling as she leaned out of the carriage. ¡°Yes.¡± Both girls said together. ¡°Oh, good that means we don¡¯t have to stop, jump in and we will continue.¡± Marybeth opened the door wider. Inside the carriage was Edward and Meredith both sleeping. The girls struggled a bit getting into the carriage, Jeff easily picking them up instead. He also picked up each wolf putting them inside as well. The girls settled on one side of the carriage that had been empty. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Oh well, we came from the transportation anchor in Wardite. The territory beside ours. We had been at a function there. We will travel back to that anchor heading to the capital. The test is in a week. We should have more than enough time.¡± Marybeth as she handed the girls some cookies. ¡°Transportation anchors are in the larger cities, right?¡± Auna asked remembering reading about them. ¡°Yes, each territory has a few that are interconnected, and all are connected to the capital. They have to use physical runes and a team of mages to work it.¡± Marybeth yawned. ¡°Why two carriages?¡± Auna asked ignoring the tired look from lady Bloodwave. ¡°My parents are in the other one. They were the previous heads of the Bloodwave territory. They were at the function with us and are going along to the capital for the test. They want to cheer on Meredith.¡± Marybeth leaned backwards shutting her eyes. There would be no more conversation from her. The girls sat in the carriage watching the sun rise. They were seeing many smaller towns, and villages. The different sights kept their minds occupied for a little while, soon though they became restless. Auna decided to pull out a game, it was checkers. She had created the board from wood, and they stained half the circles blue. They spent the next few hours sitting on the floor of the carriage playing. Auna had a few games she created from memories, teaching Ciela how to play. ¡°We need to disembark my lord and lady.¡± Jeff opened the carriage door, it had stopped a few minutes ago. What he saw was the girls¡¯ playing chess, a game that was considered for adults. He also saw the three Bloodwaves watching them. ¡°Just few minutes they are almost done.¡± Edward said. ¡°What is the hold up?¡± An old woman that looked very similar to Marybeth walked up to the open door. ¡°One moment mother, the girls are playing.¡± Marybeth waved at them to quiet down. The grand Bloodwaves came closer, watching the game unfold as well. It took about twenty more minutes before Auna managed to win the game. Ciela was shaking her head muttering that she would beat her one of these times. ¡°Oh sorry, we will pack it up down.¡± Auna spoke putting the toy back in her storage. ¡°Where did you learn?¡± The older Bloodwave woman asked. ¡°Ah, mostly books.¡± Auna said not lying. She had only learnt the game from reading books in her last lives. She just had more time to understand it than most did. The older woman eyed her for a moment then walked away following Jeff to the teleportation anchor. A few other guards picked up the luggage and followed as well. Auna and Ciela picked up their pups, Willow being squished beside Mr. Blue Bunny. Everyone walked quietly to the carved circle inside the building. Auna was nervous as there were many people everywhere. She made sure Ciela and herself were standing very close to the Bloodwave family. ¡°Nothing to worry about girls, this is normal.¡± Edward said as the circle they had been led to began to glow a deep red once everyone was inside. Still Auna and Ciela involuntarily stepped closer to each other. ¡°See all done.¡± Edward said thirty seconds later when the circle stopped glowing. It had been glowing so brightly Auna could not see through the colour. Now she could, she saw different people in a different building. ¡°Are these circles hard to keep running?¡± Auna asked as she followed Edward outside. ¡°They are magic intensive. They take magic of the runic kind to carve the circle, and then dimensional mana to activate it. Once activated they need a team to put in any type of mana each time, they want to use it. It can be difficult to keep running.¡± Edward ushered the girls to a set of different carriages with the Bloodwave symbol on them. ¡°I see, why don¡¯t they use skills like mine?¡± Auna asked as she was picked up by Jeff and placed in the carriage. She had not even bothered trying to get in. Instead, she walked up to Jeff and raised her one arm not holding Theodore. Jeff understood and immediately placed her inside, picking Ciela up next. Auna was short for her age, though Ciela was growing more each day. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What is that girl going on about? It is a magical marvel that created quick transportation in this kingdom before any other.¡± The older woman stared at Auna. ¡°Mother we talked about this, once we reach our villa here in the capital, she will set up a door. So please just wait before assessing her.¡± Marybeth was shaking her head ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her Auna. Like many of our people she is stuck in her way.¡± ¡°As far as I am aware there are no other skills like yours. The anchors people can use for self-teleportation are close. The circles the kingdom use are permanent but require a lot more resources than yours.¡± Edward said closing the door. ¡°We have a villa here in the capital. We figured if you want of course, you could place a door inside. You can also place a door in your dorm if you are careful.¡± Edward looked out at the city ¡°It should not be too long before we reach the villa.¡± ¡°You speak as if we already passed our test.¡± Ciela said as she fluffed the fur on her blue bunny. ¡°We are very certain you will pass.¡± Edward smiled as if he knew something the girls did not. After about an hour of travel they were at a large mansion. The Bloodwaves kept insisting it was merely a small villa they kept for capital visits. Auna and Ciela were shown a room, that they would share. It was as big as their whole house in the crater. There were two huge beds on the long side of the rectangular room. Past the beds on the same side were two desks, one for each girl. Behind the desks was an inner wall covered with bookshelves. A bay window seat was beside the desks on the short wall. The inner wall was the wall for the washroom and walk-in closet. It covered half of the back wall, or short wall of the room. The first door led into the closet, which in turn led to the washroom with a claw foot bath. In front of the beds before the washroom were three sofas around a low table. There in the corner beside the double doors they used to enter was a tall table. It had two chairs only, it would be used for eating. ¡°Is this really ours?¡± Ciela asked as the girls slowly walked around the room. The beds were king sized, much too big for small girls. Auna did not understand why they would go through such trouble; they would be at the school or in their crater house mostly. ¡°Yes of course it is, we figured you would like to share.¡± Edward explained going towards the closet. ¡°Place your door inside here, we made sure to leave a space blank for it.¡± Walking up to the area without any wardrobe inserts Auna place her hands on the wall. She was very nervous, as the elder Bloodwaves were both watching her intently. She began to sing a favourite lullaby from her old world. It was not in the same language. After a few bars she stopped to focus only on the magic in her hands. She needed to focus more for this door as it was very far away from her home now. After about two minutes the wall began to glow, a door with peculiar markings appearing. Without a word Auna tested the door as soon as it fully formed. She walked right into their orchard. She hadn¡¯t thought they would return so quickly; they had left out extra feed for the chickens and Ayda watching them. Ayda would be able to refill their water daily by absorbing it into herself. ¡°Ayda.¡± Auna called, wishing to bring the slime back with her. While she waited, she added the elder Bloodwaves to the entry list of the orchard door. They would be able to use these two doors. This is how she learned their names, Samantha and Brian, as they tried to walk through. ¡°This is remarkable.¡± Brian said in awe as he walked further into the crater. ¡°Truly I understand now. I thought you were being soft.¡± Samantha said looking at Marybeth. ¡°Mother.¡± Marybeth scolded. ¡°Soft?¡± Auna asked looking back. ¡°Yes, I thought my daughter was being soft. There are a lot of orphaned children in this world, and she would like to save them all. She pays for a few orphanages to run in the territory instead of the towns being responsible. When I heard she would sponsor you, without adopting you I thought she was being soft.¡± Samantha touched a few leaves from a blue apple tree. ¡°And now?¡± Auna said curious. ¡°Well now I understand. The story was real. I did not think two children would be able to do such things. Look at this though.¡± Samantha was speaking softly. ¡°I never agreed to be adopted by you.¡± Auna spun around looking at Marybeth and Edward. There was a hint of anger in her voice, she felt she had been tricked. ¡°We know don¡¯t worry about that. An alliance is more than enough.¡± Edward smiled. ¡°I agree, please do not worry. Let¡¯s go back to eat, dinner should be served soon.¡± Marybeth put her hands out to the girls. ¡°Alright.¡± Auna grabbed a hand while Ciela grabbed another. Ayda had jumped onto Aunas¡¯ head. They all left the orchard, Auna removed the elder Bloodwaves from the access list. She did not trust them yet. She had begun to trust Marybeth and Edward though. They all sat around a very fancy table. With a very fancy meal being present to them. Meredith was using a fork and knife to eat, like everyone else. The girls had only read about table manners in the books given to them. They were at a loss for how to actually use them. ¡°Eat, you don¡¯t want the food to go cold.¡± Edward smiled with his mouth full. ¡°Honey please use your manners.¡± Marybeth shook her head as Edward nodded. Auna picked up her fork. It had been a few lifetimes since she had to use one. Slowly she picked up the knife as well. She began to eat; her table manners were not that bad. Ciela however was making a mess. Auna resorted to feeding her instead. ¡°It really is too big.¡± Ciela said as she, Auna, Ayda, Willow, and Theodore were lying in a bed. The pups were in in their adult size still, there was room to spare. They had crawled into one of the two beds, feeling a bit nervous about sleeping in their new room. They had agreed though that they would not spend nights in the crater until long holidays. ¡°I agree, though it is very soft. Want to hear a bedtime story?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Of course!¡± Ciela smiled. ¡°Long ago there was a creator. He first made a garden for his children. He made the darkness, light, stars and much more. They were all his children, equally loved. There was just one rule, they must not make anything between them. One day he noticed something new in his garden. A child he had not created. Angry he banished the child immediately. The child cried and cried. Creating huge oceans outside of his garden. This made him angrier. He called all of his children together, upset that his creation was being ruined. His children all gathered up. Flowers, grass, animals, wind, and more would claim they did not create anything as it was forbidden. Soon all that stood was light and darkness. They pleaded for their creator to spare their child. The children were twins, opposites at that. The creator had planned for them to never be together. Now they had created a child, which was wreaking havoc in his world. To punish his children, he banished the child to the sky. They would then be known as Moon, the forbidden child. Moon was lonely their tears would be pulled from the world towards them when they raised high in the sky. Darkness was banished into a shadow like existence. They would never hold their child again or touch light. Light was banished to the far reaches of the sky, turned into a ball of fire. Light would shine onto moon when they were in reach, it would burn Moon lightly. Light would hurt the moon, and the moons light would hurt the shadows. All was lost, the three were in pain set to live as such endlessly. The creator did not like seeing his children in pain. He could not forgive them though instead he decided ignored it. He continued on his work. He did pity the moon though, as the child did not decide to be created. One day the moon disappeared, the creator looked for it but could not find it. His twin children cried and mourned the loss of their child. The creator stopped creating, instead he allowed the world grow as it wanted without intervention. He too mourned the loss of his moon. He placed a rock in the sky as a grave marker.¡± Auna finished the story Ciela looked peaceful. ¡°Why did the creator hate the moon so much?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Like us the moon was an unwanted child. Only once they were gone did the creator realize it too was precious. Soon our parents will feel the same way.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Where did you hear that story?¡± Ciela asked Auna. ¡°I don¡¯t remember, I have lived many lives. I¡¯m sure it was told to me by someone.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°What do you think happened to the moon?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°I think the moon ran away.¡± Auna answered confidently. The girls fell asleep after that. Chapter 20: The test results They spent their next few free days studying. Even the elder Bloodwaves tried to get the girls to do something else. Instead, they studied even harder. They knew they were behind on their studies and really wanted to score similarly to Meredith. They did not want to disappoint their sponsors. Soon the week ended. The girls now found themselves sitting in a big lecture hall. The school was a cluster of old buildings mushed together. They had been guided in with the rest of the applicants. Meredith was sitting a few rows ahead of them. Everyone had been assigned a number. The written part of the test took four hours. It had sections on math, science, language, history, religion, and a miscellaneous section. Auna had found the questions relatively easy, there were a few that made her think. The applicants were then brought outside to do non-magic combat. Each one would be sparing with a volunteer adventure. Ciela faired similarly to most of the applicants even though she was two years younger than most. ¡°A, Jade you are next.¡± The tester man said. Auna walked up to a 15-year-old boy. He was very tall and broad. Smirking he ran at her very quickly. His weapon had the Jade symbol on it. All the adventurers¡¯ weapons had it, her father must have paid them off to hurt her or make her fail. Auna side stepped the boy bringing her sword down on the back of his knees. He folded easily. Auna put her sword to the back of his neck. ¡°Surrender.¡± Auna said. ¡°That is enough, you have been marked move on A, Jade.¡± The tester man said as Auna went back to line. ¡°Enough!¡± He screamed as the boy got up running at Aunas¡¯ back. Theodore who had been sitting as a puppy on the side lines grew to his adult size knocking the boy down. Theodore had been small enough to be granted entry to the school, he like the other tamed monsters he had been waiting outside for Auna. Auna smirked at the boy. ¡°Theo darling come here.¡± Theo was in Aunas¡¯ arms as she walked to the next section. It was time to do the magic test. It was a very simple test, they had to destroy a target with anything. Most applicants were picking fire. That was fairly boring though. Ciela threw a few seeds at the target with her wind magic, the tester tilted her head. Soon the vines grew and ripped apart the target until there was nothing left. Ciela returned the vines into seeds calling them back with wind magic. Her nature magic had grown a lot. Soon it was Aunas¡¯ turn. She walked up to the line. Looking at the target she knew she wanted to put shock in the testers¡¯ eyes. She smirked. Soon shadowy figures long and smooth appeared out of the targets shadow. They wrapped around the target squeezing until it popped into two pieces, then it dragged the pieces into the shadows. There was only a few splinters left on the ground. Everyone stared at her. ¡°How did they do that?¡± ¡°Neither used incantations.¡± ¡°Is that the standard?¡± ¡°Are they freaks?¡± These were the few things that Auna could hear as they walked away. She was beginning to feel that maybe they were really talented like Edward explained. She didn¡¯t care though. She and Ciela waited for Meredith by the front gate. They were planning to walk back to the villa as a group. ¡°Hey girls.¡± Meredith smiled as she walked up. It had taken her an hour longer due to the order. ¡°Ready?¡± Auna asked though she was already turning away. ¡°Sure, want to do some shopping on the way back?¡± Meredith is a shopaholic. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we head back like we were told to?¡± Auna eyed her. ¡°Fine.¡± Meredith whined. I don¡¯t get why she wants to shop so much. She has a lot of things already. Auna thought as they passed a few children playing in the street. They were obviously slum children their thin bodies covered in mud. Auna stopped for a moment bowing her head to give a quick silent prayer for the childrens¡¯ health. It was a habit from some of her previous lives where she was raised by the church. She always prayed daily since that life even if she didn¡¯t think anyone was listening. She assumed the Gods of this world had left her once again. ¡°You pray so much, do you want to be a priest?¡± Meredith said rolling her eyes. ¡°It would be priestess. And no not really. I just know what it is to suffer, they don¡¯t deserve it.¡± Auna walked onwards not paying the dirty children another thought as Meredith just squinted her eyes looking at the seemingly happy children. ¡°They said the test results will be out the day after tomorrow.¡± Meredith was trying to start a conversation with the girls. ¡°I am interested in the results.¡± Auna was thinking about what they would do if they did not pass. Would they retry next year? ¡°I¡¯m sure all three of us will pass, my parents are always having me read and learn more than what is needed for the test. Most commoners get around 50% of the questions right, nobles are higher at 70%.¡± Meredith shrugged as Auna stopped to look at her. ¡°Wait, the test is that hard?¡± Auna asked remembering how she answered every question with only a few giving her pause. ¡°Yes, the Bloodwave children are expected to get an 80%. My brothers both got over 90%. They were their years representative.¡± Meredith smiled. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Representative?¡± Auna had began to move forward again. ¡°Yeah, the highest score for our age will be our class representative until the next test. The under eight children have a separate representee to keep it fair.¡± Meredith spoke. ¡°Wait, another test?¡± Auna was very confused. ¡°Hm? Yeah, every two years we take a similar test, to see if we qualify for other branches of study. I guess it also shows our growth, and most times changes the years representative. Oh right, you¡¯re in the 1st years or eight-year-olds. Your birthday is within the first semester.¡± Meredith was rattling off information. ¡°Every student will complete ten years of school. If they fail the bi-yearly test they are removed. They will continue their education through private tutors or public school.¡± ¡°Now most 1st years don¡¯t have a major as they didn¡¯t qualify. You have to get certain grades in certain sections to qualify. Some can be recommended for the less known majors.¡± ¡°All children will have a minor, usually something that interests them. You can start majority of them in the 1st year.¡± ¡°Each day has six available class slots of two hours. Two of them are optional all ten years depending on your major and minors. 5am to 7am is the early morning option, and the 6pm to 8pm is the late classes option.¡± ¡°Normal classes run between 8am and 5pm with an hour lunch at 12pm. Breakfast is served 7am to 8am, and dinner 5pm to 6pm. I hear the food is amazing.¡± ¡°Most 1st and 2nd years only have three classes a semester. We can have up to nine in a year, or four each semester with one extra. They don¡¯t want students pushing themselves too hard.¡± ¡°The class slots are two hours every day though teachers don¡¯t usually use the whole slot. Instead, we are given free time under their supervision. It sounds like a lot though my brothers rarely have the whole eight class hours.¡± ¡°I think they said it was closer to six.¡± Meredith seemed to stop talking finally. ¡°Wait. Why would you give me so much new information at once?¡± Auna was holding her head, feeling a headache coming on. ¡°Oh, you really didn¡¯t know?¡± Meredith shrugged. ¡°If we score a perfect 100 in a subject on the first test, we are allowed to start taking it as a major or minor. The second test is a bit different; we pick the subjects we want. We have to score at least 70% to continue the classes or start them in that field.¡± Meredith was smiling knowing she was causing Auna a headache. Auna had caused Meredith many headaches with what she knew so it was being done on purpose now. ¡°Do you think you will start a major?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yeah, I focused on etiquette because it will take a long time to major in it.¡± Meredith said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give us all this information when we agreed to go to school?¡± Auna was in MaryBeth¡¯s study. The lady seemed to do most of the administration items of running their territory. ¡°We did not want to pressure you. You just needed to pass; we did give you more than enough study material to reach high scores as well. Our daughter took four years to read all of them properly.¡± Edward was sitting on the sofa; he had been reading a book. ¡°We weren¡¯t supposed to read them all?¡± Cielas¡¯ voice was small, and in shock. She had not enjoyed the last few months reading and studying. ¡°We did not expect you to, no. We thought you would read the ones that interested you. It would have given you enough marks to pass your first test. Ciela your test was even easier as you will be entering the preschool division.¡± Marybeth had put her quill down. ¡°Well, we did read them all. Now what?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Well, if you got the grades to start a major you should do that. It is rare but even pre-schoolers can start a major.¡± Marybeth smiled warmly, ¡°Now go play it isn¡¯t worth worrying about it until the results are out¡±. The next day the whole group ventured to the school to see the results. Auna stood at the result board at the front entrance of the school. It was massive there was a board for the preschool, the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th years. The 10th years had private final exams at the years end. Right at the top of the 1st year board was Aunas¡¯ name, she scored an overall 97%. Her magic test was 100%, combat and written were both 95%. A person named Jensen scored an overall 94%, his magic was 95%, combat 94%, and written was 93%. Looking further she saw Merediths¡¯ name. She had an overall score of 84%. Her magic was 91%, combat 70%, and her written was 89%. She had made the cut off for the Bloodwaves¡¯ overall score and written. Auna could see the elders were not happy with her combat score. Meredith also looked disappointed she was not the representative of her year. ¡°I should have studied more instead of going to all those parties.¡± Meredith was sulking. Auna looked over to the preschool board. Ciela had managed to score a 98% on her written, 100% on magic and 91% with combat. Her practical tests had been marked on an easier grading scale though it was still impressive. Her written was very impressive most of her group was in the 70% range. Her overall score was 96%, the top for her age group. She would be their representative. Though the representative for her age range had very little responsibility. Auna would have to make an opening speech and be a part of the student council. The president was usually a higher year though so she would not have to worry too much. ¡°Girls, great job.¡± Samantha called over all three girls praising them for their grades equally. ¡°Here passing gifts.¡± She handed each girl a bag with a couple school uniforms, the official handbook, candies, and a customized hair accessory. ¡°It is tradition that all Bloodwaves get a hair accessory for their first passed test into the royal Jules academy.¡± Marybeth explained as she helped Auna tie her hair with a silver bow ribbon. The ribbon had a metal crescent moon clasp in the centre. Ciela had been given a similar ribbon that was orange with a beautiful sun clasp. Meredith had a black ribbon with a bloodred flower shaped clasp. ¡°Even boys?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Yes, though they usually get hair clips that dangle.¡± Marybeth was smiling brightly. ¡°We will get your class options tomorrow; they would have been sent out this morning. It will let us know which subjects you passed for study.¡± Edward ushered them to continue walking so others could get to the boards. ¡°Well, Auna are you excited?¡± Marybeth asked. Auna could only shrug because behind her glasses her eyes were dewy. Oh, stop it they are only a little bit teary! Auna harshly scolded Mr. Voice. The adults laughed slightly and began talking about their own school days. ¡°Hi AunaLuna, you bested me again in grades. I thought I had a leg up on you this time around!¡± A short boy with a very familiar voice had all heads twisting his way. His bright red eyes were startling against his white hair streaked with blue and red. What was more startling was his wings, blue with sparks of red. He was the flickering boy. ¡°You must be mistaken child.¡± Edward sounded serious. ¡°Not at all, AunaLuna knows me, well a me.¡± He winked while a tall man with similar colouring patted his shoulder. ¡°Sorry Duke and Duchess Bloodwave. My child is cursed as a runaway please don¡¯t take offense.¡± The man was bowing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Duke Pearl what does that curse have to do with him bothering my child.¡± Marybeth was scolding the other duke. ¡°Ah part of his curse is he is a wild child that will chase what fascinates him.¡± Duke Pearl smiled softly at Auna ¡°Sorry if he bothered you dear.¡± ¡°Um Marybeth, I do know him. From my last world I think sorry.¡± Auna was holding on to her dress to get her attention. ¡°Oh? Well then I owe you both an apology for the misunderstanding as well.¡± Marybeth bowed back to Duke Pearl. ¡°Did I hear you call my child your child?¡± Count Jade walked up. ¡°She was presumed dead on your registry for a year, we are within our rights to sponsor her. And while she is under our sponsorship, she is considered our child.¡± Marybeth smiled gently as she ushered the children forwards. ¡°Good day Count Jade.¡± Auna looked behind her to see Jensen waving madly, she waved back at the boy gently. Chapter 21: Picking classes Auna and Ciela sat on the floor of their room looking through the class catalogue. Auna had scored enough points to have multiple majors open to her. ¡°Do you really think you can do that many classes?¡± Ciela asked referring to how the Bloodwaves had recommended she major in politics, and magic while minoring in history and religion. Most children would major in one sometimes two subjects and minor in one. The school had a rule that no child could take more than nine classes in a year. That meant four classes a day in one semester and five in another one. It would be a lot. However, Auna knew she could handle nine classes as her old world had a brutal school system. ¡°Yes, I know I can. I might as well make it worth it for sending us to school. That way you can do what you want.¡± Auna smiled. Auna had chosen to major in politics, magic, history and religion. This would make her have nine classes for years one to five and eight classes from years six to ten. It meant she would spend eight to ten hours in class a day. The nice thing was that majority of classes did not do take homework. Majority of projects and assignments could be done with in the lesson time. Without having to do homework and only having to study in her dorm room she should be able to handle it. She would know though once classes started if she was right. She would have to continue to self-study as well to keep the subjects open. The school had children plan out as many years in advance as they could. Auna planned out all ten years for subjects. Each year it could be changed if needed. Auna would start her first year in common language, math, geography, basic history, basic magic, basic social studies, religious history, scripture and prayer. The more advance classes in her subjects would not be available until year three. Ciela had an odd schedule. She was starting school early so her years would be red and then blue before year one would start. The red and blue years had playtime and day-care each semester. Ciela was also able to do a few classes in her major of Agriculture. Her first year would have common language, math, plant identification, hands on garden care I, play time both semesters, day-care one semester, and arts and craft class. The school would only put the children in the day-care class when they did not have a class in one of the four normal slots. When the younger children were not in class outside of the class hours they were confined to the dorms. When leaving the dorm, they had to sign out with an adult or older student. Adults would be assigned groups to take the children to meals, and outside. Some children like Ciela would be paired with their older sibling in the dorms on request. This meant the older sibling would be automatically responsible for bringing them to meals. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I think that looks like a lot though.¡± Ciela sighed looking at Aunas¡¯ classes for the next ten years. ¡°Girls are you done?¡± A male butler was standing in the doorway to the room. ¡°Yes Mr.¡± The girls got up and were led to Marybeth and Edward. Meredith joined them as well. All three girls handed in their planned classes. They needed them to be signed and mailed in. ¡°Are you sure Auna you want this class schedule? We know we said religion and history could help you figure out what your unique job is about, but this is a bit much.¡± Marybeth shook her head holding the bridge of her nose. ¡°I am sure.¡± Was all Auna cared to say as she worried, they would not sign off. She wanted more information on her job sure, but really, she wanted to put an end to her curse. ¡°Alright, do you remember that boy Jensen Pearl?¡± Marybeth stopped shaking her head. ¡°Yes?¡± Auna replied. ¡°He has requested to have the same schedule as you. He has the grades to take the same classes as well. His father handed in a blank sheet. Are you okay with that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if he wants to, I don¡¯t know much about him though.¡± Shrugging Auna looked to Edward ¡°Is it weird? Should I be worried this boy is copying me?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t worry just yet. If you feel worried at any point, tell a teacher.¡± Edward had walked over to pat her on the shoulder. Meredith had picked politics as a major with the goal to minor in animal and monster care. She was going pick another major later. The Bloodwaves had many tamed monsters and animals they used for combat and labour. Her brothers had both chosen politics and combat for their classes. Politics as a major was basically noble class. All nobles took politics in school as a major or it would disgrace their family. They would take extra home classes for hobbies. The only time a noble could get away without having politics as a major was if they were the second or more born. The second and more in line was seen as needing different skills to support themselves or their house. If a noble child was fourth or more born, they could even get away without minoring in politics either. There were many commoners that minored in politics in hopes to network. They also had many merchants minoring in politics to better understand the noble society. ¡°When do we start?¡± Auna asked as they signed the papers putting them in envelopes. ¡°Well about two and half months. In days about 75 days. We have the new year winter festival first. Until then we want you three to relax. We will buy all your books. Oh, and some clothes for the two days you are off a week.¡± Edward was writing hastily in his notebook. I am excited for new clothes Auna thought thinking about how cute the uniforms looked for the school. Each year would have their own colour, which stayed with them all years except for the red and blue years. Auna and Meredith would be a part of the orange group. Their ties would be orange. A festival called Halloween was her favourite in her past life, walking around in a black uniform and orange tie just tickled her pink. Chapter 22: Winter festival The last few months had been mostly relaxing in the capital. Auna and the girls had bought five uniforms each. Auna would have a class on the weekend, so they made sure she didn¡¯t have to worry about doing laundry until her day off. Females had two uniforms they could use, one with pants and one with knee high skirts. The girls got three sets with skirts and two sets with pants. They would need to use pants for combat training and other physical classes. Both the females and males would wear either a short or long sleeve white dress shirt. Over that they had a black blazer, with cufflinks in your years colour. They then had black long socks. They wore closed toe black combat boots, regardless of their classes. Their ties also had to be in their colour. The girls each got five short and long sleeve dress shirts. Their clothes were a bit big, as recommended for their age so they could grow over the semester. Aunas¡¯ uniform would be very restricting for her. The Bloodwaves would have to get special permission for a uniform adjustment. They also got many other clothes for their free time. Their books would be delivered to the campus dorms for them. Now all that was left was the new year winter festival. The girls were getting dressed. Auna had her wings out wearing a very simple but heavy long sleeve open backed dress. It was white with blue flowers reaching her ankles. She had warm socks on with white combat boots laced up with silver laces. She had a mantle matching her dress. Of course, she had her sunglasses on as well due to all the snow and light. Ciela had on a long heavy green dress with yellow flowers on it. Her shoes were slip on with warm socks. Both girls preferred their hair down though as tradition they had it half up. Meredith had a blood red dress on, with many accessories befitting a noble. Her dress nearly touched the ground. Her face was full of makeup as well. ¡°Are you girls sure you don¡¯t want any accessories or makeup?¡± Marybeth was holding a makeup kit. ¡°No thank you.¡± Auna and Ciela took a step further away from the woman. ¡°Fine, fine. I still don¡¯t know why you would be like that though. All noble children will be dressed up properly with makeup. Do you want to stand out?¡± Sighing she put down the makeup kit. ¡°Mom, leave them alone. Not all young noble girls are so focused on looks anymore.¡± Gary, Merediths¡¯ 12-year-old brother was adjusting his red tie. Why are there so many Gary named people in this world? Auna thought to herself. ¡°Yeah, mom sheesh¡± Mathew, Merediths¡¯ 10-year-old brother was tugging his black blazer on. Both boys were in black suits with blood red ties. They arrived at the noble ball; the commoners were in the streets celebrating while the nobles were above that. They would simply hold a ball. Auna rolled her eyes at Mr. Voice. ¡°Come on girls.¡± Marybeth led them through the doors of the hall. ¡°Announcing Mrs, and Mr Bloodwave alongside their five children.¡± A guard on the door spoke in such a loud voice Auna covered her ears making him soften slightly towards the end. ¡°I¡¯m going to say hello to my friends, go ahead and mingle.¡± Meredith smiled walking off in the opposite direction her parents and brothers had gone moments earlier. ¡°All alone in a big room of people.¡± Sighing Auna looked at Ciela who was eyeing the food tables. ¡°Let¡¯s go grab a snack.¡± Ciela pulled Auna with her to the food tables. Soon both girls were a little disappointed. The food before them was classy, but they really just wanted something more festival like. They did find the cakes section which eased their disappointment a bit. ¡°Do you want to dance?¡± Gary asked Auna as she was debating jumping out the window off to the side of the ball. Ciela had taken to following around Marybeth as she didn¡¯t know what to do either. ¡°I might not know a dance you know.¡± Auna replied. ¡°I am a great dancer, if you lead, I will follow.¡± Garys¡¯ reply caused Auna to roll her eyes making him laugh and drag her to the dance floor with him. ¡°Why are you being so nice?¡± Auna asked as they began her moon waltz to her surprise Gary was keeping up, although a little clumsy. Even in combat boots she was less clumsy than him. ¡°You are basically my sister, why would I not treat you well?¡± Gary spun with Auna stepping on her foot. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t really though; we are just being sponsored by them.¡± Auna giggled as Gary stepped on her foot again. It was obvious to anyone watching Auna was leading, and Gary was unable to match. ¡°Yeah, I guess but in noble society if you are being sponsored as a child to go to the academy it is an unofficial adoption. Usually, the children marry into the sponsor family after they come of age. Though with you and Ciela I don¡¯t think that will happen. Dad and Mom say they think you will run your own house one day.¡± Gary sighed as he stepped on Aunas¡¯ foot again. ¡°I won¡¯t ever be allowed to run the Jade estate; I don¡¯t know what they are talking about.¡± Auna lead them off the dance floor. Her combat boots were thick but not thick enough to shrug of a 12-year-old stepping on her foot that many times. ¡°Sorry about that, I am good at the waltz, but I guess not your style. You could teach me.¡± Gary was going to continue however a smaller white-haired boy interrupted him. ¡°May I have this dance?¡± Jensens¡¯ eyes looked calm. He was wearing a white suit with a red and blue tie. His wings were not out. Auna felt a bit odd for having hers out. ¡°Um, sure Jensen. Gary is that okay?¡± Auna was being led by Jensen to the dance floor as Gary nodded walking towards his mother. ¡°Why did you follow me to this world? Who are you?¡± Auna rattled off questions as she led them through a waltz of her old world. It was still different from this world, but Jensen knew it well. They had both learned it in class together in their last life. ¡°Hmm well I followed you because you fascinate me. You always have. I can¡¯t really say much more than that though.¡± Jensen smiled as he began leading them instead. ¡°Why can¡¯t you?¡± Auna was glaring into his red eyes. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be fun.¡± Jensen laughed at Aunas¡¯ sigh. ¡°Do you know what would be though?¡± He continued. ¡°What?¡± Auna had retaken the lead. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Let¡¯s sneak out from this ball, I don¡¯t want to spend all day here. Why not participate in the festival the proper way? Like back on our last world.¡± Jensen lead them off the dance floor near a balcony. ¡°Okay I¡¯ll call over Ciela.¡± Auna quickly asked Ciela to come with her. Marybeth did not think anything of it. ¡°Ready?¡± Jensen pulled the girls to the balcony pulling his blazer off. His undershirt was backless, like he had planned this. Grabbing one of Cielas¡¯ hands he motioned for Auna to grab her other one. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Auna whisper screamed at him. Ciela was small but still a bit much for Auna to carry while in flight. ¡°Only as crazy as you my dear moon.¡± Jensen pulled Ciela with him over the edge causing Auna to scramble to grab her other hand going over the edge with them. They easily carried Ciela in flight over the wall of the garden into the street. ¡°See?¡± Jensens¡¯ laugh was quiet as Auna hit his shoulder; He had left his blazer inside. Auna readjusted her mantle. ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate.¡± Jensen tore off his tie stuffing it into his pockets. They had spent about three hours at the ball, it was now time for lunch. Auna had money and so did Jensen, so they headed to a restaurant nearby getting greasy food. ¡°It¡¯s so yummy!¡± Ciela smiled as she ate a burger and fries. ¡°Why thank you little lady.¡± The waiter smiled pouring them juice. ¡°So, what should we do next?¡± Ciela asked between bites. ¡°I¡¯d love to walk down the market, if it isn¡¯t too cold for you Jensen?¡± Auna was enjoying her own burger. Auna didn¡¯t mind the cold anymore. ¡°It¡¯s fine I use fire magic, so I have a warm body skill. Very hard to make me cold moon.¡± Jensen slopped on his white shirt. ¡°Though I think this might give us away.¡± He looked almost confused as he stared at the ketchup stain. ¡°Why are you calling me moon?¡± Auna simply used water magic to remove the stain. ¡°What is more fascinating than the moon? Nothing, what is more fascinating than you? Also, nothing so simple math.¡± Jensen grinned as a couple of girls near them giggled visibly taken by his remark. Auna sighed rolling her eyes. ¡°Weirdo.¡± ¡°Not any weirder than you, moon.¡± Jensen winked that time causing Ciela to laugh. The kids left the store, walking through many stalls. They ended up in a small alley away from majority of stalls. ¡°So pretty.¡± Auna was looking at a silver bracelet. It had runes engraved in it. ¡°What does it say?¡± Jensen leaned in for a better look. The shady looking merchant in this dark alley tilted his head ¡°I don¡¯t know, no one knows that¡¯s what makes it unique.¡± It was selling for ten coppers. ¡°I¡¯ll take it for seven coppers.¡± Auna held out seven coppers to the merchant. ¡°See fascinating, why would you want that?¡± Jensen was watching Ciela lead the way into a more well-lit area. ¡°I am not sure, I felt I would need it. I usually try to trust my gut you know?¡± Auna watched Ciela as well. ¡°I understand.¡± Jensen was oddly serious. The kids had rented a room to nap from 2pm to 6pm, they got up eaten dinner then walked around the market some more. Now they had six hours until the ball would end. They would have to slip back in before that though. ¡°So, we got some time before the ball finishes.¡± Auna pointed to a square with people dancing in the moon light. ¡°How about you dance while we watch?¡± Jensen grabbed Cielas¡¯ hand due to it being more crowed. ¡°Sure.¡± Auna didn¡¯t hesitate, she took off her mantle and sunglasses handing them to Jensen. She also threw her boots and socks off, smiling at the cold stone under her feet. Auna danced her moon waltz, mesmerising the people of the square. Soon the music changed to better match her moves. People were clapping and laughing asking each other who the girl was. A few people would enter the circle to dance with her for a while, leaving the circle to let another try to match Auna. Jensen joined her a few times as did Ciela. Soon the moon was high, and they needed to head back to the ball. ¡°My moon, we must head back now.¡± Jensen was louder than the crowd, Auna slowed down to a stop. ¡°Okay my ember.¡± Auna startled herself with the nickname and Jensen smiled brighter like he had been waiting for it. ¡°You¡¯re going?¡± A man on the drums asked, the music had stopped. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Auna was handed a sliver ribbon with three small silver bells on the end. ¡°It would suit you, my wife asked I give it to you should you stop dancing.¡± The man turned away. ¡°Have a safe trip home.¡± He began playing the drums again which caused the rest of the music to play as well. ¡°Thank you!¡± Auna yelled over the drums before leaving for the ball. ¡°Even they didn¡¯t think you would stop.¡± Ciela was teasing Auna as Jensen planned their re-entry point into the ball. Auna had placed the bracelet and hair ribbon in her storage. She also placed the toys Ciela got inside. They couldn¡¯t let anyone see them, or they would be found out. Jensen had bought food, and a few items he stored in his own storage. ¡°Hey, I found a spot no guards are guarding right now hurry.¡± Jensen peeked over the wall holding his hand out to Ciela. Ciela reached up to him taking his hand, all three of them then flew to the same balcony they had left from. Jensens¡¯ jacket was still stilling in the corner, he quickly pulled it on as they looked into the ball room. ¡°I think we should re-enter now.¡± Auna pulled them into the room to a quiet corner. It was nearly midnight now; people were beginning to wrap up a few having already left. ¡°Girls.¡± ¡°Boy¡±. Both the Pearls and Bloodwaves were all looking at them. They had watched them re-enter having had kept an eye on the balcony since they noticed they left. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you. I knew you would sneak out but to take the young ladies with you?¡± Duke Pearl looked sickly pale. ¡°She didn¡¯t have to come you know.¡± Jensen elbowed Auna. ¡°Yeah, I wanted to go, and I brought Ciela.¡± Auna glared at the spot Jensen had elbowed. ¡°I had much more fun! Auna danced for hours while we played games with the other children in the streets!¡± Ciela yawned. ¡°I agree much more fun than standing in a corner.¡± Auna nodded patting Ciela on the head. ¡°I understand you are not comfortable in this setting. You can¡¯t just leave without permission though.¡± Marybeth scolded Auna. ¡°I am grateful for your sponsorship; however, you are not my mother. I have no mother or father I make my own decisions I thought you understood that?¡± Auna was calm. ¡°Still, we worry.¡± Marybeth scolded more. ¡°Did you send anyone out to find us?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Duke Pearl said Jensen would bring you back.¡± Marybeth eyed the small girl in front of her. ¡°Then you could not have been that worried?¡± Auna tilted her head. She was not use to parents taking an interest in her. ¡°Look, I understand you feel like an adult due to your upbringing. However, you are just a little girl. You will listen to us and let us know your whereabouts form now on. End of discussion.¡± Marybeths¡¯ eyes were daring Auna to argue. Auna however did not. Instead Auna stared back in silence, she was not going to say another word out of spite. If Marybeth wanted a seen not heard unless talked to child, she would get one. ¡°Fascinating as always. I¡¯ll see you in classes, moon.¡± Jensen bowed dramatically walking away from the group. His father apologised again and followed after him. ¡°That man has a lot on his hands with that boy.¡± Edward was shaking his head, pity obvious in his eyes. ¡°Well girls did you buy anything neat?¡± Edward tried to ease the tension between Auna and his wife. Auna refused to speak and Ciela seeing that copied her. ¡°Really, you have nothing to say?¡± Marybeth asked. ¡°No ma¡¯am.¡± Auna had a wry smile on her face. ¡°Let¡¯s go home honey.¡± Edward was rubbing Marybeths¡¯ back. They arrived back at the villa. Auna and Ciela were told to go to their room and go to bed. They crawled into a bed and went to sleep. ¡°You know it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to have parents.¡± Ciela said as they fed their laying birds. They told the butler that asked what they wanted for breakfast that they would be in the crater doing chores. ¡°I know, I guess. I¡¯m not sure how to act as a good kid that¡¯s all.¡± Auna picked up a few eggs putting them in her storage, she would probably give them to the kitchen staff again. ¡°Probably start by saying sorry.¡± Ciela was being cheeky. Auna was pacing in front of Marybeths¡¯ study. She had checked Edwards¡¯ first, but they were not there. ¡°Oh, my Gods.¡± Gary pulled a stunned Auna into his mothers¡¯ study. ¡°Someone is here to see you mom.¡± He gave Auna a thumbs up on his way out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for last night.¡± Auna said after about three minutes of silence between the two of them. They were the only ones in the room. ¡°I¡¯m sorry as well. It must be hard to adjust, but you lived in another world do you not have memories of good parents?¡± Marybeth had put her work back down. ¡°My curse taboo child has been with me for many lives. I have had very few parents that showed me love. At best they ignore me, sometimes they abuse me, at worst they kill me.¡± Auna was monotone as she watched Marybeths¡¯ face twist in shock. ¡°I see. We¡¯ll have to change that.¡± Marybeth held Auna in her arms tightly. Auna was still, she didn¡¯t know how to respond. Edward found them like that, joining in on the hug. ¡°You feel a bit warm? Are you sick?¡± Edward asked as they pulled away. Auna was still getting sick so easily, she couldn¡¯t understand why. She merely shrugged at him. A doctor was soon called, who told her to rest until school. She had been put on bed rest basically, much to everyones surprise she actually rested. She was tired, and sick. Taking her shoes off was not a smart move. She enjoyed the cold usually though. She spent many cold nights looking at the moon on the surface of her old world, and moons. Chapter 23: Enter the academy The 15th of Lien the first month of the year came quickly. The girls stood in their dorm room, having said goodbye to their parents already. They had a room with four queen sized beds. There were desks beside the beds. Two small washrooms with showers were at one end of room. A small alcove with four wardrobes was also at one end of the room. It was about 30ft by 20ft rectangular in shape. ¡°This isn¡¯t too bad.¡± Auna was placing her bag on a bed near the door, Ciela picked the one beside it near the wardrobes. ¡°Much better than the cheaper option.¡± Meredith picked the bed across from Aunas¡¯ away from the bathrooms. ¡°What do they have tiny beds?¡± Auna began to empty her bag. Each bed, desk, and wardrobe had a number on it. Hers¡¯ was one, Ciela two, and Meredith had three. ¡°No, they have queen sized beds. They are bunk beds though, so eight to a room. They have wardrobes in the spots our desks are. They also only have two bathrooms still.¡± Meredith shivered. ¡°So do they have to study in a common room?¡± Auna began placing her and Cielas¡¯ clothing in their wardrobes. Luckily anything that did not fit would go in her storage instead of under the bed, desk, or any other spot overflow would go normally. ¡°No, they can use the bed desks we are all provided. Under the bed should be one, in their rooms there are two under each bed.¡± Meredith reached under her bed to pull out a worn but sturdy wooden object. It would create a table over their lap while sitting on the bed. ¡°I guess that isn¡¯t too bad, the rooms are so nice. The bed size is a real win.¡± Auna continued to unpack. ¡°Sharing a bathroom with three other people is already bad enough though. Could you imagine sharing one with seven other people?¡± Again, Meredith shivered. ¡°Did you forget we lived without inside plumbing in our crater?¡± Auna raised her eyebrow. ¡°No, how could I? It was a very shameful time for me.¡± Again, Meredith shivered almost making Auna feel cold. ¡°Ah sorry for that.¡± Auna rolled her eyes. ¡°So, why is there a difference?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Well, the nobles pay a lot more to be able to have less children in the room, and to decide who their children are roomed with. We don¡¯t get any more perks than that though. I heard the commoners pay three platinum a year.¡± Meredith started to unpack as well. ¡°Can they really afford that?¡± Auna finished unpacking. ¡°Well, some can, this is a prestigious school. Only the wealthy or really smart children come here. Like you for example if you were not sponsored by my parents, you would have been sponsored eventually because of your talent. You most likely would transfer into this school later though.¡± Meredith smiled at her. ¡°I wonder how many kids actually can go here then?¡± Auna sat back down on her bed. ¡°Well, each floor has seventeen rooms, ten of which per floor are the eight person rooms. There are four levels of rooms, the ground floor, second floor, third floor, and fourth. The basement has a lounge area and combat training gyms.¡± Meredith organized her clothes trying to fit more in. ¡°That means 320 commoners and 112 noble children can fit in one dorm building. Since one building is for girls and the other for boys that means a total of 864 children can be living on campus at one time. Since our year is only 70 children, I doubt all 864 beds are filled at any one time.¡± Meredith shrugged placing some of her clothes in the storage under the bed. ¡°I guess it would be unreasonable to have every bed filled.¡± Auna rolled over to look at Ciela who was playing with Theo and Willow. ¡°Say why do we not have a fourth yet?¡± Ciela asked rolling over o her back. ¡°Dad said we will be getting a fourth soon. Once they heard they would be rooming with two children removed from the family registry they requested a room change.¡± Meredith sat down to look at the door as it opened while she was speaking. ¡°Hey, so no noble wanted to room with you guys. I hope you don¡¯t mind if I do? My parents were told I could room here for no extra cost.¡± A tall girl with brown hair and eyes in an obviously farmer girl outfit stood in the doorway with a man. ¡°Hello girls, I am a teacher here in the history department. We thought Chloe would be a good fit for this room. We didn¡¯t want to leave a bed empty for the next ten years after all. Chloe here was fourth place in the testing scores, she has been given a few sponsorships as well. We thought she would fit in well with the first, and third place testers.¡± The man said. ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all.¡± Ciela and Auna spoke at the same time, looking at each other giggling. ¡°Ms Bloodwave?¡± The man was looking at Meredith. It was a nobles¡¯ right to pick who they shared a dorm with, since no other noble wanted our company, we would be three people in here. However, it was reasonable to move a promising commoner to our room. It would open up a bed as they were not getting a full amount from her anyway. Not all sponsorships would be given in money some would simply be donations to the school for giving the student a place. So, they would be gaining a bed and making Chloes¡¯ sponsors happy. Very smart indeed. Mr Voice agreed with Aunas¡¯ thought process. ¡°I don¡¯t mind Mr.?¡± Meredith tilted her head trailing off. ¡°My name is Mr. Jenkins. Chloe will officially be your roommate. Have a lovely day.¡± He left without another word. Tomorrow school would start. ¡°We know your name. And you know my name. That is Auna and her younger sister Ciela.¡± Meredith pointed to both girls. ¡°That is Willow a sun wolf, she is the tamed monster of Ciela. Theodore the moon wolf is one of Aunas¡¯ tamed monsters. Don¡¯t let the size fool you it is a skill; they are nearly full grown adults now.¡± Both wolves gave a yip. ¡°Auna also has a tamed slime. They got permission for all three to room inside with us. They do have to take them for walks and put them in the monster pen during school hours for proper exercise. Though they don¡¯t need to go in the pen every day.¡± Meredith finished talking. ¡°Well, hello everyone, as you know I am Chloe. I come from a family with ten other kids. I am actually the first of my family to get into this school. My older siblings have tried before.¡± Chloe started unpacking as Auna guided her to her bed and wardrobe as she spoke. ¡°I am very excited to be here, I will be majoring in magic and combat. I won¡¯t really have a minor though.¡± Chloe sat on her bed with a big smile. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I bet this is a lot better than the other room you were going to have.¡± Ciela flopped down on the bed beside Chloe. ¡°Yeah, I was unpacking with the other girls when a girl was brought into our room. My parents were asked to help me pack my stuff back up. I thought they changed their minds and were going to kick me out.¡± Chloe flopped backwards bouncing a giggling Ciela. ¡°Luckily it was just a room change. It was a bit cramped in the other room. Like it was the same size but twice the people. And I wasn¡¯t too happy about the bed desks.¡± Chloe was smiling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad we have another smart person here. We can help each other keep up with our classes.¡± Auna was brushing Theo. ¡°Sounds fun.¡± The girls agreed. ¡°So, what is with this set up of the dorms? Like two giant Ls interlocked into a rectangle. Who thought that was great?¡± Chloe opened the window curtain. They were on the short end of the L at the very end, so they had two windows over Merediths¡¯ and Chloes¡¯ bed. Most rooms had a window in their bathrooms, and near the wardrobes. ¡°See I can see the room in the boys¡¯ dorm, there is a weird guy waving at us.¡± Chloe pointed at Jensen. ¡°That is Jensen.¡± Auna opened the window. ¡°You made sure this happened, didn¡¯t you?¡± Auna yelled between the five-foot gap. ¡°Of course, I knew you would want a room with lots of windows. It was fairly easy to get one as well. Want to hang out?¡± Jensen was leaning out of his window. ¡°No thanks.¡± Auna shut the window and the girls giggled. ¡°Auna why didn¡¯t you pick this bed? Near the window? Dad made sure we had a room with them.¡± Meredith asked. ¡°Well, I like windows yeah. However, I am also cursed to burn so if I have a bed on this side, we can open it without me having to cover all my skin.¡± Auna stretched as she sat back on her bed. ¡°The courtyard in the middle is very pretty though. I think maybe that is why they designed it this way?¡± Auna had seen the beautiful garden that would be used for parties in the nicer weather. ¡°I guess that makes sense they would have to keep it well maintained; must be easier if it is protected.¡± Chloe nodded. The girls spent the rest of the day talking and putting away their books once they were delivered. Chloe had worn out books, while the girls¡¯ were new. They were in agreeance if she needed to borrow one, she could. Jensen threw a few stones at their window to ask if Auna needed help with her speech tomorrow. She declined both times to which he just smiled. The girls thought it was odd. They were on the first floors, also requested, so people walking around could hear them. The building had three sets of stairwells, and elevators. Auna was still stunned on how far technology had advanced in this world. She had thought magic would stop the growth. Instead, it was just different, greener as well. Soon the night came and lights out at ten pm had the girls in bed. Each floor had a floor mother. They slept in rooms in the basement, four of them. They were accessible if the girls needed them. Most did not though, as they were encouraged to rely on their roommates. Their roommates would only change under drastic need. If one was expelled or failed out a new one would be brought in. If a serious enough falling out happened, they would also be switched out. Very few people had rooms with less than full capacity, they were mostly the problem children or older ones. The girls were sat in chairs in a big auditorium watching the stage. The principal was a man, and he was introducing the teachers and rules. Soon though Auna was ushered out of her seat by a staff member to get ready for her years speech. Years one to ten representatives would be giving one. The red and blue years were considered too young. ¡°Now to introduce A, Jade. This years¡¯ year one representative.¡± The principal clapped with everyone as he motioned for her to step up. Auna had her wings put away as she was in the school uniform. She had to use the stepping stool to get up to the microphone like device. ¡°Hello everyone. I am sure like myself many of you are nervous, and worried about how this year is going to go. As a year we collectively scored higher than any year in the last thirty years. If we work together, we can continue to achieve such amazing feats. Let¡¯s work together to make this year an amazing year. I will take this responsibility of representative seriously so please do come to me with any problems.¡± Auna walked away from the microphone, there was clapping as the principal introduced the next speaker. ¡°Guess you didn¡¯t need my help with the speech.¡± Jensen smiled at her. They were seated together in their second class, scripture. Their first-class common language was missed due to the assembly. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be reading?¡± Auna smirked looking at him sideways. ¡°I¡¯m finished the assignment, like you did already. Are you reading ahead?¡± Jensen was balancing his pencil on his eraser. The children in this world used pencils while the adults used quills. ¡°Yeah, but we still have thirty minutes left of class. You should take this time to read the scriptures. It¡¯ll help you better understand them for the future.¡± Auna shook her head lightly. ¡°You would be wise to follow As¡¯ lead young lord Pearl.¡± Mrs. Veil, the teacher tsked at him, taking his assignment to look at. ¡°Well done though.¡± Mrs. Veil smiled. Auna and Jensen went back to their books. There were many different years in this class. It was an elective for a major or minor, which meant children were mixed together. Auna and Jensen had scored enough points to have the right to study this subject. There were no other year ones. Though their prayer class would have some as anyone could take the weekend class. ¡°Want to eat lunch together?¡± Jensen asked as they left the classroom, both having stored their books in their magic storage. ¡°Sure, are you okay eating with the girls? What about your roommates?¡± Auna was sitting down to eat, having grabbed their trays sitting near her roommates. ¡°There they are, over here boys.¡± Jensen called out to identical triplets. ¡°Hello cutie.¡± One said to Jensen winking. The triplets were introduced to the girls as Diego the cocky one, Mateo the sassy one, and Bruno the mischievous one. They all had fluffy curly hair to their shoulders. It was pink while their eyes were purple. They were also fairy hybrids. ¡°I thought fairy people were rare but there are five in our year?¡± Chole was eyeing up the five of them. ¡°Well, my mother was basically bought by my dad politically. Or so I heard.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°Same story, but our mom ran away. We were then given to lord Pearl to raise. So, we are basically brothers. Our last name is Coral still but like your girl we have technically been removed from our registry.¡± Diego explained. ¡°Nobles like rare things so of course they would do whatever they could to have fairy children.¡± ¡°Gross, I am sorry about your mom though.¡± Chole said. ¡°It is gross, but true. My mother didn¡¯t look alive the few times I could see her, she was just going through the motion.¡± Auna ate some of her food. ¡°About ten years ago a few villages of fairy people were found. They burned them to the ground and took as many prisoners as possible. The rest of the survivors ran away. The only reason the nobles got away with it was they claimed to the public that they attacked. It was during an expedition into the waste lands, so everyone believed it. And thus, the once thought of as nearly extinct people were named savages. Or worst they were seen as willing brides.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°I found a journal of my dad¡¯s. I stole it before I left, he probably still is looking for it. It names everyone involved. Many ran away or died before getting back here. Only my dad and Lord Coral were able to secure a bride. Their men were the only ones who brought an alive girl back.¡± Auna finished. For a few moments everything was quiet. ¡°Yeah, I guess you five are the only ones I have ever seen. As far as I heard you five are the only ones in the school right now. All the other years are gossiping about you like crazy.¡± Chole looked around the eating hall. ¡°I know we heard as well. There are nasty rumours about our fathers because of it.¡± Jensen said looking upset. ¡°My mom loves my dad; they have two older children and another on the way. My mom was found as a child by my granddad in the sea. She was brought back and raised in an orphanage. My dad found her years later. My granddad never knew she was a fairy.¡± Jensens¡¯ spoon broke. ¡°Sorry you have to deal with this.¡± Auna put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°My moon you always know how to calm me down.¡± Jensen seemed to have completely calmed down. ¡°We all have basic magic next; it should be fun.¡± Chole smiled. ¡°I have playtime next so I should have fun as well.¡± Ciela got up to put her dishes away. ¡°See you later?¡± ¡°Of course, behave.¡± Auna waved goodbye. ¡°Should we get ready as well?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡± One of the triplets said stretching. ¡°You always want to sleep after a meal, so lazy.¡± Jensen teased as they got up. The children had spent about thirty minutes in the eating hall. They would need some time to walk across campus and pick their seats for their next class. They figured a head start wouldn¡¯t hurt, especially since Jensen would always get distracted. The children arrived twenty minutes early to class, picking their seats in the back. The fairy people of the group had had enough of being looked at. ¡°You children are very early. How studious. I¡¯m Mr. Merlin. Why are you in the back?¡± Mr. Merlin was a kind looking young man with eyeglasses. ¡°Our peers give us odd looks because we are fairy born.¡± One of the triplets spoke. ¡°Oh, how unfortunate. I understand. Well, I will not treat you any different if it helps. You¡¯ll have to earn your grades just like everyone else.¡± Mr. Merlin winked chuckling as well. Chapter 24: First dungeon crawl ¡°You and Jensen need to cool it a bit.¡± Chole had just sat down for breakfast. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Auna rolled her eyes. Chole had become very vocal in the few months they had known each other. Auna thought it must have been her normal personality coming out. She was no longer worried about offending nobles, or their group of nobles at least. ¡°The teachers are even exhausted dealing with you two. How are you getting your grades while having so many classes? Not to mention how you go to take care of your laying birds all the time too!¡± ¡°Wait, who looks after what birds? Where?¡± A triplet spoke, which one Auna had no idea. ¡°Choe. You just had to say something? Our grades aren¡¯t even that weird we are just doing the assignments.¡± Auna was tired, but not overly, from all the classes. ¡°You guys are getting no lower than 95%s on everything. The class averages are closer to 70%. That is exhausting I heard the teachers saying they can¡¯t even increase the hardness of the assignments, or they¡¯ll fail others. Apparently, the principal thinks they are giving you special treatment, they are under evaluation.¡± Meredith piped up. Most likely hoping to steer the conversation to their grades. ¡°No, no nice try. Tell us about the birds.¡± A different triplet tsked them. ¡°We go back to our crater every day, either in the morning or late at night to tend to our orchard and lying birds.¡± Ciela looked at Auna. ¡°They weren¡¯t going to drop it anyway.¡± ¡°How do you sneak out?¡± Jensen was officially fascinated. ¡°I use a skill that allows me to create doors connecting two faraway places instantly.¡± ¡°So, like a worm hole, just no time passage.¡± Jensen had a lopsided smile on his face. ¡°You two are the same type of crazy. We don¡¯t even understand her explanation and here you are spouting the same odd words. Why would a worm with a hole let you travel?¡± Chloe was now holding her nose bridge. ¡°It¡¯s just a name some guy gave it. He saw the holes worms leave behind in fruits as a similar image.¡± Jensen shrugged as Chole sighed. ¡°Jensen my dear worms are big enough to eat most fruit in one bite. How would they leave holes in them?¡± ¡°Yeah man are you actually smart or just pretending?¡± A triplet said as Meredith choked on her drink. ¡°Oh, my gods.¡± Meredith couldn¡¯t contain her smile. ¡°Ha-ha on my old-world worms were very tiny. You could pick them up. Right my moon?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like having to bail you out however, yes that is right ember.¡± ¡°My moon it hurts me when you roll your eyes at me.¡± Jensen pretended his chest hurt with a wry smile lighting up is face. ¡°So, about this door, my moon why am I not invited to sneak off? I promise to help with the chores you speak of.¡± ¡°I would need access to your room though. So sorry not happening you know the strict rules.¡± ¡°Pretty sure you have wings.¡± A triplet again spoke, this time Auna thought it was Mateo. ¡°Fine, but you really do have to help.¡± ¡°Wait, Auna wont that give them a direct link to our room?¡± Chloe had her arms crossed. ¡°No, not if I don¡¯t allow it. I can make it so they can only access the orchard door and their dorm room door. I will also make it so you girls can¡¯t get into their dorm.¡± ¡°Cool, now on to the second act of business. I believe it is both Jensen and Aunas¡¯ birthday today.¡± One of the triplets spoke wiggling his eyebrows. ¡°Should we bring some cake to this crater?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t get how we have the same birthday.¡± ¡°Well, my moon, you would have to ask the gods that. Though we had the same birthday in every life we have lived together so is it that weird?¡± ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t notice, did we really?¡± Jensen lost his smile for a moment. ¡°Always.¡± Auna and him were locked staring at each other, neither blinking. ¡°Anyway, where are you going to get cake?¡± Ciela was either unaware or ignoring the tenson between the two other worlders. ¡°We have access to the cooking classroom. We also have class today and have already approved it to make cake for Jensen. So, we will just make more.¡± ¡°Ah the triplets are taking a few classes for home managing.¡± Jensen explained. ¡°I see, if I wasn¡¯t so busy, I would take cooking classes too. I am not the best cook.¡± Auna looked a bit sheepishly at Ciela knowing she had made the girl eat truly questionable food. ¡°You never are, trust me practice does not make perfect in this case. Please don¡¯t go down that road again. I don¡¯t think I can be a test subject again.¡± A grimace painted Jensens¡¯ face as if he was remembering something truly horrifying. ¡°I agree with him, your food is okay if you just do basics. Please don¡¯t go above that.¡± Ciela was patting Auna on the shoulder, a look of pity and worry on her face. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t cook anything too complicated. Also, cake sounds great. After math class I will sneak into your room.¡± ¡°Mr. Merlin, can you explain why monsters are also outside of the dungeons?¡± A kid in the front row asked. It was the third class of the day, basic magic. ¡°There are a few reasons for monsters to be outside of a dungeon. They could have escaped, either because they were too weak or too strong for the natural barrier of the dungeon.¡± ¡°The dungeon could also collapse. If too many resources, not including monsters, are removed from a dungeon it can no longer support itself. Once a dungeon can no longer magically support itself it returns back to a normal cave or disappears completely. Usually all living things are transported out safely to the surrounding area. Some monsters manage to escape during this, not all monsters left inside though. We have no conclusive cases of living people being lost in a collapse.¡± ¡°Monsters can also be created naturally in our world. Monsters from dungeons can reproduce still, so they give birth to monsters born outside a dungeon. Also, normal animals can be transformed into a monster, by mana. This is rare and usually happens in mana dense areas like the Great Monster Forest.¡± ¡°Teacher, what kind of resources do we take out of the dungeon?¡±¡± Another kid in the front asked. ¡°Different dungeons have different resources, and this includes monsters. A monster is a perfect inhabitant of its dungeon. You won¡¯t find a fire monster living on a dungeon floor covered in water.¡± ¡°Resources could be anything from stone and wood, to mana and magic crystals.¡± ¡°Why do some dungeons have floors?¡± A triplet asked. ¡°We are not sure about this. We know when a dungeon is created it can have between one and ten floors. As the dungeon is left alone more floors can appear. We can guess an age of a dungeon on how many floors there are.¡± ¡°So how much time does it take for a floor to appear?¡± A different triplet asked. ¡°Well, it depends on the level of the dungeons. Lower levelled ones can produce one to two a year. While the higher ones can produce up to ten a year.¡± ¡°How old is the oldest dungeon?¡± A kid in the middle near where the teacher was standing asked. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°We have collapsed many in our time, but one right outside of the capital has been explored to the 1010th floor. So, it can be over 100 years old. However, there could be older ones in places we cannot reach.¡± ¡°Where can we not reach?¡± Auna asked. ¡°In the seas, on islands not discovered, in mountains, unexplored forests, the waste lands, many places are still untouched or barely touched by people.¡± ¡°Can anyone enter one?¡± A triplet asked. ¡°Well in theory yes. Any person can enter, even races we think are lesser can. What doesn¡¯t seem possible is untamed monsters passing through. Animals can usually pass through as well.¡± ¡°However, I would not say just anyone can. Many dungeons are controlled by the towns and cities. Only adventurers or other officials can enter. They usually have to pay a fee as well. Once a dungeons¡¯ mana output decreases it is either closed to the public or put through a controlled collapsed.¡± ¡°Are the upper floors less dangerous?¡± ¡°In most dungeons, yes, they are the easiest in terms of monster levels and overall risk. However, in a very difficult dungeon the top floors might have, for example, monsters levelled at 60. Now this doesn¡¯t seem easy or less dangerous, but if the lower floors had monsters at level 100 it would technically be less dangerous on their upper floors.¡± Mr. Merlin rambled, obviously flustered at the question. ¡°You children should not be going into a dungeon until at least the second year of basic combat training. That will happen in year four when you should be around 12-years-old.¡± ¡°Oh, I have rambled on too long about dungeons. Let us get back to the lesson at hand.¡± The rest of the day went by like any other. A few teachers and people in passing wished Auna and Jensen a happy birthday. After math class they were whisked away to the eating hall. They and a few other children had been given a cupcake and birthday candle to celebrate. They were also told the gifts sent by their parents would be at the post counter for pick up. ¡°Ready?¡± Auna called across the gap as Jensen was making sure the window was properly open. ¡°Yes, my moon.¡± ¡°Meet you girls at the orchard.¡± Auna crawled slowly out of her window on the ledge. She needed space to open her wings properly to fly. She opened her wings and fell downwards. She had never tried to fly in the winter, her wings were cold. She couldn¡¯t touch the ground though. There was magic on the ground, it would alarm the adults someone was outside walking on the grass. She pumped harder, making it to the other window. She was out of breath though when she got inside their room. ¡°Wow never thought such a low flight would be so tense.¡± Mateo smirked. ¡°Shut up.¡± Auna and Jensen spoke in unison. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to put the door here at the end of the wardrobe area.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t room inspections be tricky?¡± Another triplet asked. ¡°Well without any mana put into it, it looks like just a painting. It is made out of the material I place it on. Technically it will be on paint and made from paint. It also means it could be painted over. I only ever used stone and wood before, so it was a pleasant surprise.¡± ¡°We are expected to live here for majority of the year for the next ten years. We are allowed to paint and decorate however we want. Hopefully they don¡¯t notice the doors on the walls are the same. Could cause other issues.¡± Stepping forward Auna began to sing, to calm herself. This skill needed a lot of focus, hers was broken by Jensen beginning to sing along. ¡°Sorry.¡± Jensen zipped his mouth taking a step back with a sheepish look on his face. ¡°Here it is, step on up.¡± Auna motioned for the boys to walk through the door one, by one. ¡°Wow, it really works. I thought you were pulling an elaborate joke on us.¡± A triplet said as another elbowed him. ¡°What is that?¡± Jensen was pointing towards a tree all the girls were crowded around. It was glowing a red colour. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It wasn¡¯t like that this morning when we did our chores.¡± ¡°Wait so no chores tonight?¡± The same triplet said being elbowed again. ¡°What is this?¡± Auna tapped Ciela on her shoulder. The young girl turned to face her. ¡°It looks like a dungeon in one of my maple trees.¡± The young girls face was a mix of anger and awe. ¡°We should enter it.¡± Jensen was practically jumping in place. ¡°Mr. Merlin told us we shouldn¡¯t though.¡± Auna was being safe. ¡°What if a monster comes though it? It would wreck your home. We should make sure it doesn¡¯t happen by culling the population.¡± Jensen was making valid points though his excited grin made it a bit harder to believe. It was rare for a dungeon to overpopulate enough to have monsters of high or low level escape. ¡°Fine, does everyone have a weapon?¡± Auna asked as she pulled out a sword, bow, mace, and staff from her storage. She carried the sword, Ciela the bow, Chole the mace, and Meredith the staff. The triplets all had shields and swords; Jensen carried only a huge shield. All children in the school had a weapon and were encouraged to practice in their free time. She had offered to hold the girls in her storage as Cielas¡¯ was full of seeds, saplings, and other plant things. No one else had a storage among the girls. ¡°Alright, Jensen and I will lead with Chloe. Meredith and the Coral triplets will be the middle. Ciela will bring up the rear with Willow and Theodore. Ayda will bounce along as she feels fit.¡± Auna had taken control, and no one had argued. They entered the crater dungeon. They heard a voice as they passed through into a lobby type area. Each dungeon had one, in it was at least one podium that allowed you to go to previously visited floors, or floor one. This one was glowing red as well. ¡°Please register the owner of the dungeon.¡± The voice said. The children had learned about higher level dungeons having an owner. The owner was able to bar people from entering the dungeon. It was basically whoever discovered the dungeon, and thus they would also name it. This was why there was an old dungeon called Ashes¡¯ Lair. He had made it as a stupid teen boy. The owner could transfer but the name would never change. ¡°Auna go and register it.¡± Ciela pointed to the podium. ¡°Are you guys okay with that?¡± Auna was worried they would all want to be the owner. There were magical registries so once she became the owner, the kingdom would know. They might not notice right away but they would eventually. ¡°Very sure, I don¡¯t want the hassle of the king trying to buy it from me.¡± Jensen said while the rest nodded. ¡°Besides it is in your crater. Even Ciela defers to you about decisions of this place.¡± Auna walked over to the podium. ¡°Would you like to register?¡± Auna thought yes. ¡°What name would you like to use?¡± ¡°Guys I can choose my name?¡± ¡°I think you can, but it has to be something similar or close to your name. So, like you can mix your earthly and soul names, nothing too crazy though.¡± ¡°Enter the name AunaLuna J.¡± The podium glowed brightly for a few second. ¡°Name AunaLuna J registered as owner, please name the dungeon.¡± ¡°Ember Moon.¡± The podium lit up once more. ¡°Registration complete.¡± The voice then disappeared. ¡°Why did you name it Ember first, my moon?¡± Jensen was grinning ear to ear. ¡°You convinced me to come in, so I thought it was fitting. Especially since it glows red. I name most things with moon now as well.¡± Auna touched the podium, a menu came up only floor one was in the list. She first messed with a few settings she could see about the dungeon. Mostly privacy, and she added Burt to the no entry list along with all the adults she knew. Just in case. Auna took one last look at everyone then hit floor one thinking about them. They were all transported to the first level of the dungeon. It was a wide-open field green grass and flowers were everywhere. ¡°This is going to be a long night, how are we going to find the stairs to the next level?¡± Jensen said pretending to look sad, though his grin would not leave his face. Aunas¡¯ true friend skill let her know Jensens¡¯ look of sadness was a lie. It had grown to instinctively let her know small details like this in social situations. After about six hours they found the stairs to the next floor. There had been no monsters on the first floor. It was only inhabited by grass and flowers. It was a bit of a let-down. Before going further, they ate their cake, and sang happy birthday. ¡°I know it is midnight, and we had a picnic and everything, but please can we just look at floor two?¡± Jensen was shaking with excitement. ¡°Just a peak.¡± Auna said as they walked down the steps. ¡°Oh, my gods.¡± Auna was in shock. This floor was just as big as the first. It had two moons in the sky. Like her last world. They were standing on a beach. Behind them a forest. ¡°Should we go in?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Sure, but if we see something too high level we leave.¡± They did not have to walk long before they found some monsters. They were low level none being over level 3. Though monsters didn¡¯t have actual levels when using appraisal a level estimate would appear, Theo and Willow were around 10, while Ayda was 5. If the person appraising was too low level, nothing would appear when appraised. There were slimes of different colours, rabbits with three eyes and horns, spiders that were red and larger than a melon. ¡°I think we should head back. I don¡¯t know about you but a gained a level, so I am satisfied.¡± Auna began leading them out of the forest. It was now nearly one am, she needed to go to bed. She felt tired. ¡°I gained a few.¡± A triplet said as the girls nodded. Jensen like Auna had a hard time gaining levels. They walked back to the beach. ¡°I wonder if this dungeon needs you to sail across the water.¡± Ciela was gazing at the water, she had never seen so much. ¡°Well, we know how to build a boat. We could bring the materials needed to build one.¡± Jensen was also gazing at the water. ¡°We can worry about that this weekend; we don¡¯t have time to do this dungeon crawling during the week. It will have to be after our prayer class.¡± Aua tugged Jensen towards the stairs. ¡°Are you home sick?¡± ¡°He has always looked at the sea at night with such a gaze. Pretty sure he loves it.¡± A triplet said. Auna still was having trouble telling them apart. ¡°It isn¡¯t the ocean I love. But yeah, I guess I am home sick.¡± ¡°That was so cool!¡± Chloe was full of energy as she crawled fresh from a shower into bed. The children had gotten back into their dorm rooms without any issues. They had shut the lights off, locked the doors, and closed the windows before they left. So, when bed check came all the floor mother saw was a bunch of beds with what looked like children in them. ¡°You know that you can¡¯t tell anyone right? Not even your family.¡± Auna yawned as she spoke. ¡°Of course, at least not until you say it is okay. Like once we are older, and the government finally notices it is you.¡± Chloe made a valid point even though the name she registered under was different it was not different enough to hide forever. ¡°Good night, Chloe I have a full day tomorrow.¡± Auna rolled over. She felt like she only blinked when Ciela had begun shaking her awake. She was also very warm and cold at the same time. Ciela looked worried, Mr. Merlin and the floor mother was also beside her bed looking just as worried. She tried to say something but instead fell asleep. Chapter 25: EmberKai ¡°AunaLuna? It¡¯s time to wake up my child.¡± ¡°Mommy? Why are you here?¡± ¡°You have to run child. The creator is still angry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you mommy; you shouldn¡¯t be near me.¡± ¡°Please, run away.¡± ¡°Where would I go? I left paradise already. Why do I have to go again?¡± ¡°You are in pain, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You have no reason to stay here.¡± ¡°What about EmberKai? The creator made him to keep me company. Won¡¯t he be lonely? Like I was before he kept me company?¡± ¡°EmberKai will be welcomed into paradise, go now before anyone notices. Don¡¯t stop, run until you no longer know why you are running.¡± A soft but tight hug was given to Auna, her own arms not long enough to reach around the shadowy figure. Though blurry Auna felt the person in front of her was very pretty. ¡°I¡¯ll run then mommy; will you say goodbye to Daddy for me?¡± ¡°Of course, now go through that hole right there.¡± Auna felt herself crying as she ran over seas of stars, until there was nothing, then more star seas, nothing, and more. Soon she felt the pain in her body dissipate a little, as well as the memory of shadowy figure. She continued to run until she found herself wondering why she was crying. When she did, she stopped crying. After what seemed like forever and then some she slowed to a jog. She looked around below her was a bright blue light. She could not remember why she was running. She felt a pang of fear, where was she? Why was she here? What was she? She couldn¡¯t remember. She began crying, scared and lonely. She arrived a gate, a gentle voice greeted her. ¡°Hello, I am called Fertility. Why don¡¯t you come in?¡± A man with blue eyes and green hair had his arms opened wide to Auna. She hesitated for a moment before allowing him to pick her up. ¡°I don¡¯t remember what I am.¡± ¡°Silly child, it¡¯s who I am. Don¡¯t worry some souls who stay as souls too long have a hard time with remembering. It will eventually come back to you as you heal and rest.¡± He carried the small Auna through the gate. Auna woke up with a start. She nearly jumped out of the bed. It was not the bed she had become accustomed to sleeping in over the last few months. She looked around crazed trying to figure out where she was and what her dream meant. ¡°Who is EmberKai?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Jensens¡¯ soul name. I thought you knew that. Why else would you call him Ember?¡± ¡°Bruno?¡± ¡°Ding, ding. You finally guessed right. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Auna slowly laid her head back down and closed her eyes. ¡°You have been sleeping for the entire day. You even missed dinner. Everyone else is taking care of the chores you know where.¡± ¡°Thanks for that. Where am I?¡± ¡°Nurses room. You did not get up in the morning. Mr. Merlin is our floor father, when Ciela came running outside to get your floor mother Jensen freaked out. To calm him down and keep him from going into the girl¡¯s dorm Mr. Merlin went instead.¡± ¡°Well male teachers don¡¯t usually come in either. I¡¯m sure my floor mother was very happy about that.¡± Auna grinned at Bruno. ¡°Actually, your floor mother, Mrs. Hopper, is Mr. Merlins¡¯ sister. So there really wasn¡¯t an issue. She was physically restraining Jensen from coming into the dorm, so it was a happy compromise.¡± ¡°Besides, Auna you know the mothers and fathers are allowed to enter both dorms if they are needed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they are though.¡± ¡°Jensen said the same thing, something about it being dangerous. You two are both very pessimistic. There aren¡¯t really many children in this world who are hurt in such a way you know. Very rare, though I guess it has happened before. You really should try to acclimate better to this world. You both should.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try. Am I allowed to go back to my room?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll grab the doctor.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°A, Jade how are you feeling?¡± The doctor was a short chubby man. ¡°I¡¯m just a little tired.¡± ¡°I bet you managed to catch pneumonia. We have some medication you will have to take. We caught it quick enough though so you will be fine.¡± ¡°Do I have to cut down my classes?¡± ¡°Not at all. I check in with your teachers. You finish all the assignment work in class, have great grades and have not seemed tired at all. So, I don¡¯t think, at this time, we need to be so dramatic.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Now if you keep coming in, I will have to recommend that. Please take better care of your self lady Jade.¡± ¡°Call me Auna or AJ please.¡± ¡°Lady AJ have you been outside more than you should be?¡± ¡°Define more than I should be.¡± ¡°She defiantly has been outside in the evening and early mornings Doctor.¡± Bruno answered for her. ¡°I see, please make sure to properly cover up. As a fairy you should know exposing your wings to the cold can make you sick. Unless you have a skill that negates that common weakness. Your curse exacerbates this as well. Also, it said here that you spent the first six years of your life confined to a single room, is that true?¡± ¡°Yes doctor. I would leave it maybe once a month. People came in though.¡± ¡°I see, well your immune system is most likely not as strong as it should be. I assumed that; I added some medication you will be taking for a while. I will have you come in for regular check-ups. Your floor mother will make sure you get it every breakfast and dinner.¡± ¡°Am I free to go then?¡± ¡°Yes, lord Coral please lead her back to her dorm. Make sure she walks in.¡± ¡°Yes doctor.¡± Bruno got up putting a hand out to Auna, she took it stepping out of bed. There were clothes on the nightstand, she went to the washroom to change. ¡°So, were you really living in just a room?¡± Bruno didn¡¯t make eye contact as they walked. ¡°It was more of storage area in the staff housing. It did have a washroom though, so I was able to live in some comfort.¡± ¡°That must have been cramped.¡± ¡°I have lived in much worst in past lives. I prefer my parents to ignore me actually, less pain.¡± ¡°I suppose. Our father ignores us as well. Making his ex-friend raise us. We have had it very easy compared to you though. I couldn¡¯t imagine growing up in a room, then being left for dead. Sheesh, he literally captured a woman to have you born and he does that.¡± Bruno raised his voice slightly. ¡°No need to get upset. The staff were very nice, though they didn¡¯t really pick me up or hug me. I was the daughter of their lord after all, they had to be respectful. It was a bit lonely. I didn¡¯t hate it though.¡± They arrived at her dorm. ¡°Go on inside, I¡¯ll meet you later.¡± Bruno winked at her; Mrs. Hopper was staring him down. ¡°Run along to your dorm as well boy.¡± ¡°Now you child, get some rest.¡± Mrs. Hopper led her right to her room. ¡°Good night, Mrs. Hopper.¡± ¡°Dear you can call me floor mother.¡± ¡°I prefer Mrs. Hopper.¡± ¡°As you wish, if your roommates keep you up let me know. I can have a temporary room assigned to you. You don¡¯t have to worry about getting anyone sick, all your classmates and roommates will be taking a precautionary course of medication.¡± ¡°Is it healthy to give kids medicine they don¡¯t need?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mostly vitamins and we will keep an eye out for signs.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Auna waved as she entered her room. Careful to not open the door too little or too wide. ¡°Hi.¡± Auna called out when once she got to the coup for the bird. ¡°Oof.¡± ¡°Jensen, I know you were worried but don¡¯t tackle a sick girl. They don¡¯t like that!¡± Defiantly Mateo had said that pulling Jensen from Auna. ¡°I thought I was out for only a day, not years.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke about these things! It¡¯s serious you need to take care of your health.¡± Jensen was staring deeply into her eyes, a look of complete seriousness on his face. It was a rare look for him. It startled everyone, including Auna. It was only for a moment before his usual carefree demeanour returned. ¡°Just be more careful, okay?¡± Jensen patted her shoulder. ¡°I will, see I¡¯m properly dressed already.¡± Auna twirled to show her thick dress and leggings with an overcoat on. ¡°Alright, so we have finished our chores. Do you want to hang out a bit or rest?¡± Meredith was stretching, she was not use to hard work. She had been helping out though because it would help for her animal care practice. ¡°I¡¯d like to rest if that is okay.¡± Auna left the gang in the crater, heading back to her dorm room. After a quick shower she went to bed. Again, she had the same dream, it scared her enough that Theo woke her up. She spent the rest of the night in Cielas¡¯ bed with her and Willow. The next morning during weekend prayer class before breakfast Auna was alone with Jensen setting out holy books. They were often excused from the preprayer lectures due to their grades being so high. Instead, they would be asked to set things up for the prayer group. ¡°Why do I know your soul name is EmberKai?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t a secret.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that, you know something. I¡¯m having dreams.¡± ¡°Awe you dream about me?¡± ¡°I was dreaming about me and a woman talking about running away. I felt sad because EmberKai would be lonely. You weren¡¯t in the dream really.¡± ¡°How do you know it was me you were dreaming about. You had a fever and are taking medicine. You could have heard my name and just dreamt it.¡± ¡°You serious right now? It¡¯s been obvious from the start you know something I don¡¯t¡± ¡°I do yes. I don¡¯t really want to tell you though. I want you to know on your own.¡± ¡°Are you sick in the head?¡± ¡°Awe my moon. Of course, I am, but no more than you.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a hint for every time you come up with something on your own.¡± ¡°I came up with ember and kai isn¡¯t that two?¡± ¡°No just one.¡± He pressed her forehead with his briefly in a soft headbutt. ¡°Fine I was told to run until I forgot everything. I did just that. I passed many star seas. Before I left, I was told you were made to ease my loneliness. Is that enough for two?¡± ¡°Hmm, okay two hints. Hint one, you were born on a world far away from the one you lived on before this one. One where only one creator called it home, this person made Gods treating them like a God would humans or pets. They were allowed to live but not create, a set twin Gods broke this rule. They created you or gave birth to you something they were not designed to do. That is why you are forbidden; creator was so angry he created a terrible curse for you.¡± ¡°Hint two. Your job as moon slave is actually your true nature leaking through. The Gods didn¡¯t mess up, they just didn¡¯t know. This world allows us both to be closer to our true natures.¡± ¡°Are you trying to tell me I am a God?¡± Auna laughed. ¡°You were born from twin Gods. The creator had a sick sense of humour, he wanted to create a world full of Gods where he would be a God of Gods. And that I believe is two hints and a little more.¡± A cheeky wink was thrown at Auna. ¡°Children are you finished setting up?¡± A priest called out as they entered the room with the rest of the class. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Jensen answered ending their previous conversation. ¡°Let¡¯s start our guided prayers then.¡± Chapter 26: Accidental prophet Prayer was going well, until Auna felt a pain in her head. It was like something was crushing her head from the inside out. Her body began to overheat, she fell to the ground. ¡°Auna!¡± Jensen had her in his arms trying to understand what was happening. ¡°Oh marvellous! She must be getting a skill from the Gods. This happens usually later in life, she must be very devoted to her prayers.¡± A priest grabbed her hand putting it against a device. ¡°Let¡¯s see what skill she gets.¡± ¡°Teacher priest you shouldn¡¯t be looking at her status screen without permission.¡± A random girl from a higher year had spoken up. ¡°What is this job?¡± Just as the priest had gotten the status screen up Auna yanked her hand back, angry. ¡°It is against school rules to have a device higher than novice to read status screens. Only the principal¡¯s office is supposed to have one.¡± Auna held her head grinding her teeth. ¡°Why would you break the rules Priest?¡± The same upperclassman asked. ¡°Well, it must¡¯ve been an oversight. Here at the church, we have several I must have grabbed the wrong one earlier. What skill did you get child?¡± ¡°Praying Prophet? It says ¡®Some Gods recognize a devoted person with potential to lead their people. The prophet can hear the voices of the Gods that recognize them as a prophet while they pray.¡± ¡°Your joking, you¡¯re a prophet?¡± By now many priests and a few saints had come in. ¡°I just have the skill. Not a job as a prophet, there is a difference, right?¡± Auna used Jensen to steady herself, he was more than willing to hold her up as she stood shakily. ¡°Come let¡¯s talk in a more private location.¡± The saint in charge of the church stepped up trying to separate her from Jensen. He was having none of it though. Very quickly the saint understood they wouldn¡¯t be able to separate the two. She brought both of them to an office, presumably the saints. ¡°Being a prophet as a job is different than getting any skill having to do with being a prophet. However, it is actually more common to have the job then a skill. The job has skills similar to a priest and saint, usually a mix. Even among prophets a skill with prophet in the title is rare. Some will have it in the description only.¡± ¡°Wait, so am I going to be forced into the church? Will I have to quit school?¡± ¡°Nonsense. You are already majoring in religion so there is no reason for you to change any classes. Usually, your parents will be asked if they¡¯ll give the church custody of you. However, I fear even if we get permission from your parents your sponsors will step in. They are the wealthiest and most trusted family in this kingdom aside from the king. So, I don¡¯t see us winning this battle. The church will probably try though. I may run this church, but it is a learning church not the head one.¡± ¡°I would rather run away to where no one can find me. I don¡¯t want to be a puppet for the church.¡± ¡°Strong words from such a small child. I will tell you that praying prophet hasn¡¯t been seen very often.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°Well to get a praying skill it usually takes at least five years of devoted praying morning and night. It also takes some teachings from people with a saint title. To get a prophet skill is a bit unclear. We think you need to be loved by at least one God, have a job that has prophet as a skill in its pool, and spend a minimum of eight years praying. It¡¯s impossible for a child of only eight to have it. Unless somehow you were praying at a month old. Because a deviation of a few months has been found before.¡± ¡°How old are prophets usually?¡± ¡°The youngest one recorded in history was twenty-three. You are now, if you are telling the truth, are the youngest. Usually, a prophet is between twenty-five and thirty.¡± ¡°I am not lying.¡± ¡°An official request to look at your status screen will be issued. We will analyse why and how you got the skill as well. It is unlikely even the Bloodwave family will be able to stop that. Don¡¯t worry though your information will be protected.¡± ¡°I get no say?¡± ¡°None, the king will be very interested in how a small child was able to reach such heights in the church before they even complete their major in religion.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that? Auna isn¡¯t high in the church.¡± ¡°She is now. How could we not give her a place in the church even if it is just honour title until she finishes school. She has a praying prophet skill. We have some with the prophet skill every few years, and a lot with the praying skill. This praying prophet skill though? There are only two people in the kingdom other than her who have it right now.¡± ¡°Who are the others?¡± ¡°One is the head saint of the church. And the other is her son, he is twenty-four. Last year he was the youngest prophet, and the youngest praying prophet.¡± ¡°Will he be angry I took his spotlight?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°Consider class over for today. I suggest you go home and pray, see what the Gods have planned for you. The church will go through official channels to get a look at your skills.¡± The saint dismissed the children. ¡°Why me?¡± Auna and Jensen where on their way back to the dorms, they had been walked back to school by a man of the church. He was a quiet man and didn¡¯t ask why they had been sent back to school early. ¡°I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t let them lock you away in the church towers. Not this time.¡± Jensen gave her a serious look. ¡°You know about that? I was born in the towers, never met you?¡± ¡°I found you, you had passed already though. You left a note in the stones a simple curse to your keepers.¡± He chuckled dryly. ¡°Ah yeah I did carve a curse into the floor, forgot about that. Pretty petty of me.¡± ¡°Petty sure, did they deserve it? Yes. You should have seen their faces; it was like you cast an actual curse on them. They fretted about for weeks praying for forgiveness before a mass passing was done to appease their God.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°As for what to do, I suggest we head to the crater. The rest of the gang is doing chores waiting for us to go to the dungeon. I say we go early; I help with chores, and you pray. We can decide what to do after that. Who knows maybe they won¡¯t answer you and you will be angry enough for us to sweep the dungeon?¡± ¡°We really shouldn¡¯t be risking so much, you heard Mr. Merlin most children become adventurers and go on dungeon crawls with adults as training. This doesn¡¯t happen till until a child reaches twelve. We are eight and six.¡± ¡°Yeah, but he also said new dungeons are usually lower level, and they grow to a higher level. Besides we are careful, and your door ability works inside we tested it remember? We can escape at the very least.¡± ¡°See you at breakfast first, then the crater.¡± Auna walked into the girl¡¯s dorm there was not many people out and about it was still too early. Auna went arrived at her dorm room, no one was inside. The team had decided they would get up and do chores so they could spend the day in the dungeon. Without causing Auna to miss rest in the evening. They planned to spend both days in the weekends from now on in the dungeon. Auna decided she would pray before breakfast; they could then keep on track. Sitting down on her bed she closed her eyes and began to meditate. She then reaches out with her mind to the gods. She had done this everyday twice a day for years. She would talk about many things mostly just how she was doing, what she had done that day, and what her future hopes were. She had never asked for anything not even to make her life easier. This time though she did ask for something. Not just empty why me asking either. She though inside her mind very clearly. I would like a face to face, or at least to hear your voices. I have serious questions. It took about five minutes of her repeating this over and over like a chant in her mind. Eventually though the call was answered. She found herself in front of a table with the Gods. ¡°Hello child.¡± Lichen smiled. Patting his lap. ¡°Come sit, Lotus is busy.¡± Auna easily sat down on Lichens¡¯ lap resting the back of her head on his chest. She felt calmer than she had in many years. Although their relationship got off to a rocky start, she didn¡¯t feel any unease around these Gods. It was the same in her last world. He wrapped his one arm around her using his other to offer her snacks. She gladly took some. ¡°We just want to let you know we did not give you that slave job. It just appeared. It is rare but some people are predisposed to getting a job. It could be called random though.¡± ¡°Thank you I appreciate that to be honest I was wondering for a while. I figured it wasn¡¯t something picked for me.¡± ¡°Now the prophet skill was a bit of an oversight on our part. You see you can get the praying prophet skill if you are loved by Gods, devoted, and have a job that has a skill pool with prophet in it. We tried to give you a praying skill, it automatically upgraded to praying prophet.¡± ¡°Why give me a praying skill so young?¡± ¡°We did wait a couple months. The praying skill can be given to those who prayed away from a church then were guided in prayer. It happens often enough. It would mean you prayed since three years old. That wouldn¡¯t be too weird given your smarts, and your other world person blessing.¡± ¡°So, it was a pure accident?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know what skill pool moon slave has. We have plenty of job information, but we are not omnipotent. We were all brought to this world from dying worlds. When we got here there were no Gods anywhere, there were people though. Another God was doing the work of managing the world.¡± ¡°So how does a world exist without Gods?¡± ¡°Well, it looked like there was a mass extinction event, the God could have abandoned the world after that. It wasn¡¯t a known world and without any records from the council of Gods.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a council?¡± ¡°Yes, they assign Gods who want work, work. Some of us want a permanent job where we live in the space between worlds. Some call it the Gods realm. Some Gods prefer to live among mortals, usually they are immortal though. There is a type of God that is not completely immortal though just very long lived. These Gods sometimes live on worlds that are aware of Gods. Some like me pick a job like this. We age slower in the God realm.¡± ¡°So, some Gods aren¡¯t immortal untouchable persons?¡± ¡°That is right, many worlds actually have open portals where people, Gods, and Embodiments travel for trade and leisure back and forth.¡± ¡°What are Embodiments?¡± ¡°The parallel to Gods. They are beings like mother nature or jack frost.¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t this world do that?¡± ¡°Some worlds are considered closed worlds. This could be because they don¡¯t believe in what they call supernatural things as a society. Sometimes the Gods running it prefer it. We also like to let worlds grow up a bit first. And of course, if they are too dangerous, they are kept closed.¡± ¡°What do you mean by grow up?¡± ¡°It looks different for most worlds. This one is considered not grown up due to a few things. Mostly due to the infighting of its own people. We got a bit side-tracked though.¡± ¡°Right, why don¡¯t you know my skill pool?¡± ¡°Simply put, this world already had laws and the system when we got here. We started documenting things and learning by watching. We have figured out the rules for the most part and have even edited the system. However, we have never seen this job before.¡± ¡°Oh. So, we will have to figure it out ourselves?¡± ¡°Well yes. We did figure out the description is a little wrong. We fixed the system a while back to take out unnecessary words. When the worlds¡¯ common language changed the system translated from the original one. This left description with things like the big, huge arrow. We edited it so it would remove extra words.¡± ¡°So, what were my extra words?¡± ¡°Born to serve a god that never was meant to be in this world. With no one else left to serve the moon life will be a lonely one.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean something completely different?¡± ¡°Not really. In the only language the words ¡®was meant to be¡¯ was the same word as existed.¡± ¡°What made you look into this.¡± ¡°When we couldn¡¯t figure out what the job was, we pulled up the original translations hoping it would help. Sometimes the automated system to fix things up changes the meaning. It is a rare issue.¡± ¡°This means the God did exist in this world?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What good does that do for me?¡± ¡°We think studying history as you are planning might help you. If you got this job, it must have been for a reason, the system was expertly designed. It would not have picked you for this job without one. Usually, I would think you had a genetic connection to an old slave. However, we checked both of your earthly parents there was no connection. Both were relatively new family lines created from new souls. Your mother¡¯s family lived in the wasteland only for a few hundred years they came from the islands of isolation.¡± ¡°The islands of isolation were created by us when we got here. We populated it with other worlders we brought with us from our dying world. They were physically different from this worlds people.¡± ¡°Your fathers blood line started and existed in the Jules kingdom many years after we came here. So, there can¡¯t be a connection there either. We checked the off shoots as well similar explanations.¡± ¡°The only other option is your soul. It was somehow marked in a way that allowed the system to give you this job. However, that would mean you lived on this world once. Is that possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t remember much from over two billion lives ago. Is it really possible I lived here in this world before my last one?¡± ¡°You had to have been created somewhere. You were not created on your last world and there were no clues really. We were told when they found you there was evidence of many different worlds, and you had been running for so long your soul was damaged. Almost worn down.¡± ¡°Do you think I might find clues here?¡± ¡°That boy claims you were born from two Gods. It may be true; you might not awaken as a God though. If you do awake as a child to being a God the council will try to remove you for training and being raised. There are rules Gods must be raised by Gods if they are found as children.¡± ¡°Are you telling me to not awake as a God?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to prevent that? Will it defiantly happen?¡± ¡°I am not sure on either question. However, it might not happen you were born from mortals your soul might have lived as a God once but that doesn¡¯t mean it is a Godly soul.¡± ¡°I see, do you believe him?¡± ¡°Honestly you both are a bit difficult to wrap our heads around.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Time is up. We can only keep you here so long. Please live well. Let us know if you need us. We will only answer when you want us to.¡± Lichen carried Auna to a door setting her down in front of it. All of the Gods who were quietly watching the exchange were waving brightly and all chatting over each other saying things like ¡®nice to see you¡¯, ¡®good luck in school¡¯, and ¡®we¡¯ll talk next time¡¯. Lichen must have told them to let him get Auna the information he needed to. Auna walked through the door into the orchard, she had been quiet over breakfast. Promising to go over everything she learnt once they got to the crater. She did not need others to overhear them. Chapter 27: Research, Games, and Rain. Auna spent enough time explaining what had happened that morning that they were ready to enter the dungeon. They knew they would have to let their food settle a bit before running around killing monsters. The information Auna had given them left everyone confused. They spent time bouncing ideas around and asking each other questions. Jensen was oddly quiet. Though Auna assumed it was because he truly knew some of the answers if not all to the questions they were asking. He really wasn¡¯t just going to tell her. ¡°Okay we know where the stairs are for level one, and we already scouted the whole map. Isn¡¯t it unheard of to find no monsters in a new dungeon? It isn¡¯t like they were killed off so fast none could be born.¡± Auna was pretty sure it was Mateo speaking. I have a feeling you can tell them apart, but you aren¡¯t doing it for me because you¡¯re a jerk. Auna thought to Mr. Voice being partially right. Mr. Voice just wanted her to figure out how to tell the boys apart herself. Jensen seemed to be able to, so she should be at some point as well. Auna sighed. ¡°It is very odd but have a dungeon with such landscaping on the first floors is as well odd. Mr. Merlin said that happens in some dungeons but much lower.¡± Auna continued walking in the bright field of flowers. ¡°I could make a very big farm in here; too bad the weather doesn¡¯t change.¡± ¡°Girl that is all you think about. If flowers are growing, then it must rain sometimes, right?¡± A triplet said. ¡°Auna, I tried to identify them, but I can¡¯t. Can you try please?¡± ¡°Sure. My skill says it is a magic flower. It grows in dungeons with high levels of mana. It makes the soil around it rich in nutrients. The different colours represent different effects to the soils, and potions for alchemy and medicine. Monsters don¡¯t inhabit the areas where these flowers grow.¡± ¡°Wait if no monsters inhabit the area where these flowers grow. Doesn¡¯t this mean no monster will ever leave this dungeon?¡± Bruno asked looking at a purple flower. ¡°What it means is this dungeon is very odd, why would they grow on the first floor. Also, if they only grow in high levels of mana does that mean this dungeon really is too dangerous for us?¡± Diego was speaking directly to Auna. ¡°I agree. I don¡¯t think we should go further into this dungeon even the second floor might be dangerous. We might have been lucky last time. Maybe we should research these flowers, and the oddities of this dungeon.¡± Auna was stern already putting her weapon away, she would ban people from the dungeon if she had to for their safety. ¡°Does this mean I could grow seeds in here?¡± Ciela was hyper focused on her farming as per usual. ¡°We could use water magic to water them, we should research all about if other people tried farming in a dungeon as well.¡± Jensen was encouraging her even picking her up. ¡°Fine we can leave. It makes sense at least. We did get ahead of ourselves.¡± Chloe put her weapon away as well. ¡°We should go to the library right away. We might be able to find some things about the information the Gods gave Auna as well.¡± Meredith put her weapon away as well. Soon they all arrived at the campus library. The library was a big place they enlisted help to find some books that would interest them. There was a whole section on dungeons divided into smaller sections. ¡°This book here also said the dungeon flower usually grows in patches of three or four in a small corner of a level. If all these books are saying it no one must have ever seen this before. I think you were right about it being lucky we had no issues on the second floor.¡± Diego put his book down sighing. ¡°Also, from what I gather dungeons don¡¯t usually have multiple floors at once being so big. They are usually more spread out having one per ten floors. To have two back-to-back means it is defiantly a scary place.¡± Jensen was grinning as he pointed out his section. ¡°I read that there have been some farming attempts in dungeons however the crops either don¡¯t grow due to the soil, get eaten by monsters, or sometimes change into something different.¡± Meredith set the book face open on top of the other ones in the middle of their table. ¡°See here, some reports say carrots went from orange to black. Blue apples turned green. They haven¡¯t done many tests because the patches of soils are small. Once the flowers are removed monsters will come near.¡± Flipping the page Meredith continued. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°The soil has been removed from the dungeon and used to grow crops without any issues. So, once it is removed there is no issues. However, anything grown in the soil is usually a magical vegetable or fruit when appraised. Though some are good ingredients for alchemy most appear to just be infused with some mana.¡± ¡°I want to plant a garden. We just have to be careful not to remove any on the outer parts of the floor, so monsters don¡¯t travel.¡± Ciela was almost drooling. ¡°Well since we have decided to hold off on exploring the dungeon why don¡¯t we help the kid garden? We could also try making different potions with the flowers see if we can get useful skills. I¡¯m sure using Aunas¡¯ doors we can dress up and sell some without people knowing it is us. Pretty sure we are all a part of the guilds as well, so they will let us sell under our dungeon name. The guild way would be less shady, but I¡¯m all for the shady way of dressing up.¡± Jensen was messing up Cielas¡¯ hair as he spoke. She was too focused on her book to care though. ¡°I think doing it under our dungeon name would be best we could set up a shared account with us eight. We could register as a party. Dungeons will recognize up to ten people together as a party so eight is within regulation.¡± Auna began closing the books. ¡°It is recommended to enter a dungeon with at least four people, being double that size usually means we can¡¯t participate in cramped dungeons. So, if we register as a party now, we can get the required years and dungeon dives to upgrade to a small guild. Being a small guild would allow us to pay one fee for sending in two parties to cramped dungeons.¡± ¡°Wow Jensen you really know a lot about the guilds and how they work.¡± Chloe was organizing their books to be put away. ¡°Yes, yes I do. My father spends a lot of time in the adventurer¡¯s guild because the guy that runs it in our area is an old friend.¡± Jensen helped reorganize the books, handing one to Ciela. ¡°Sign this one out.¡± ¡°Yes, big brother.¡± Ciela was gone like a flash leaving Jensen to stare at the air with an open mouth. ¡°Awe how cute. She likes you.¡± Mateo was hiding his grind behind his hand. ¡°Why did she call me that?¡± ¡°She calls me big sister from time to time. We have nicknames for each other. She must think we are very close. She just figured a close person to me would be another sibling, probably.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°What book did you give her?¡± ¡°A book on the different flowers and what they do. We can copy the information of any of the ones present in the dungeon. Then return the book. I figured it would look the least odd if a kid majoring in agriculture signed it out. If any of us sign it out the librarian might question us.¡± Jensen straighten still looking at the space Ciela had left. ¡°We will go to the dungeon tomorrow as planned but only the first floor. We will have to keep an eye out to make sure no monsters attack us.¡± Auna started restacking the books with Chloe. ¡°Hello lady Auna.¡± The doctor had come up with Mr. Merlin. ¡°Hello doctor how may I help you?¡± ¡°Well, I thought I asked you to rest. You aren¡¯t studying too hard right?¡± ¡°No doctor we are just looking into dungeons for fun.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry doctor dungeons in Mr. Merlins¡¯ class caught my attention, and you all know how I am I just had to research more about it. My friends here thought they could help make it go faster. Which it did because we are done now. And Ciela here found a book about interesting plants she didn¡¯t know about before. So, we all had fun.¡± Jensen put his hand on Cielas¡¯ shoulder as she returned trying to hide the book. ¡°Yes, I am aware of your condition lord Pearl. Please don¡¯t push lady Auna so much she is still sick.¡± ¡°Sorry doctor this might be partially my fault. We got side-tracked in class a few times I should have been in better control.¡± Mr. Merlin looked a bit red. ¡°Alright well don¡¯t let me catch you over working yourself lady Auna, or we may have to revisit if I need to recommend a lighter class load. Now go rest somewhere.¡± The doctor dismissed himself. The children soon left the library. ¡°Wow he really is watching you, my moon should I be jealous?¡± ¡°No, you shouldn¡¯t be. He is a doctor he is just making sure a student doesn¡¯t become too sick. The school could be in big trouble if he does allow one to get very sick.¡± ¡°Stop being so negative he might just care.¡± Chole moved a piece on the board game they were playing in the common lounge. ¡°I don¡¯t know I might have to agree with her on this one. My family is her sponsor, and she comes from a well know duke family as well.¡± Meredith moved her piece. ¡°True, I know these two can be downers but yeah I have to agree this one time.¡± Diego smiled. As the other triplets nodded. The children played games until dinner time. All of them were given medicine Aunas¡¯ more bitter tasting than theirs. Soon they went to bed after a long day of research and playing games. The morning came quickly the children opted to sleep in, eat breakfast, then head to the dungeon. ¡°Chores first.¡± Auna said as she stepped onto the grass of the crater. ¡°Yes, but my moon you go lie down in your old room. You need a lot of rest.¡± Auna did eventually go lie down, being woken up a few hours later. ¡°Okay Ciela you brought your seeds, right?¡± ¡°Yes sister. But isn¡¯t something a bit different today?¡± Just as Ciela said that it started to pour. The children were shocked but ecstatic at the same time. They spent the next two hours playing in the muddy rain. It finally stopped just as quickly as it started. ¡°Yeah, we should leave a bowl here to see if it rains daily or every few days. Coming to check when we do chores.¡± Diego nodded as he looked up at the sky of the dungeon. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter right now. What were we thinking Auna you need to warm up and get into dry clothes.¡± Jensen grabbed her shoulders as he guided her to the exit. He took her out before anyone could complain, walking right through the moon door into his dorm. ¡°Take a hot shower you can borrow my towel and clothes. No arguing I know you. You¡¯ll go back to your room dry yourself half off and crawl into bed. Shower, now.¡± Jensen pulled out a pair of sleep pants and a shirt. ¡°Jensen dude if we get caught with her in our room, we are going to have to answer a lot of questions.¡± Diego said grabbing Auna a towel and pushing her towards the washroom. ¡°That¡¯s why we have to be quick.¡± ¡°Auna, did you go to the boys room?¡± Meredith was standing by the moon door looking angry. ¡°Yeah, he wanted to make sure I properly warmed up. I¡¯m going to lie down.¡± Chapter 28: The church makes its first move. ¡°Are you warm?¡± Mrs. Hopper was holding her hand on Aunas¡¯ forehead. ¡°I feel alright.¡± Auna moved past her to sit down, Jensen was getting her food as he had been for the past few days. ¡°What was that all about?¡± Meredith sat down with her tray. ¡°Nothing, she was just checking in on me. I was thinking we could go to the border town in the Bloodwave territory this weekend. We can set up our account and ask if they will sell the flowers for us.¡± ¡°That sounds good. It would be even harder for the church to see our moves if we do it anonymously as well.¡± Jensen put a tray of food down in front of Auna. ¡°True, and it is a place far away. What would be best is to set up doors in more places. Spread our actions around.¡± Diego put his muffin on Cielas¡¯ plate. ¡°We could ask the Grays that run the guilds to do that for us. In places we have no relation would be best. If they take the products and sell it all around the church will not have any real proof of our involvement.¡± ¡°Did you just say Garys?¡± Mateo put his muffin on Chloes¡¯ plate. ¡°Yeah, they are both named Gary. We could ask them to spread rumours as well they seem like the type to enjoy that.¡± Auna was watching Bruno place his muffin on her plate. ¡°Sounds like my kind of people.¡± Jensen switched his muffin for the one Bruno placed on Aunas¡¯ plate. ¡°Okay what is up with you guys and the muffins today?¡± Meredith was rolling her eyes. ¡°And Jensen was that really necessary?¡± ¡°It was yes. The triplets hate blue berries. They only eat the red ones.¡± ¡°Then why take them?¡± ¡°Auna, Ciela, and Chloe love them. We see how excited they were the last time we had them for breakfast.¡± Bruno winked at Chloe. ¡°How kind. Please keep doing it.¡± Ciela was talking with a mouth full of muffin. They ate their breakfast heading to class. Common language was a catch-up day leaving Auna and Jensen with little to do. The other children appreciated time to work on their assignments from all their classes. The teacher just seemed like they wanted a break. ¡°Good morning children. Today we are going to be covering the third scripture section of Iris. This section is for prayers of harvest mostly. It all speaks to what kind of God Iris is. There are many temples within our church devoted to her and her followers.¡± The class continued for about an hour before the teacher said they were done for the day. Since the class consisted of mostly older students who were allowed to wander without adult supervision, only a few students were left behind. ¡°A, Jade may we have a word?¡± The teacher motioned for Auna to come to the desk. ¡°Yes teacher?¡± Auna was now standing at the front of the class Jensen keeping his eye on them. ¡°I wanted to ask if you would give permission to have your status screen looked at by the church.¡± ¡°No thank you teacher.¡± ¡°The principal asked we ask you first before our next steps. Are you sure you want to say no?¡± ¡°Is that a threat teacher?¡± ¡°Not at all child, just asking if you are willing to change your answer.¡± There was sweat on the teachers¡¯ forehead. ¡°No means no. I will not change my answer. Feel free to take your next steps if you must.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t hurt, and we won¡¯t share the information with the public. Only the top people in the church will know. If you aren¡¯t lying about your skill, there should be no issue.¡± ¡°I am not lying. The issue is I like my privacy, and you are trying to invade it.¡± ¡°Look, don¡¯t make this harder than it has to be.¡± Auna began to walk away leaving through the door. Jensen was following her closely with the teacher. ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡± ¡°To talk to the principal.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The teacher stood a bit stunned. Conflicted between chasing her and watching the other students in the classroom. The plan of making Auna give permission did not work. The teacher went back to the classroom, not wanting to leave the other children unsupervised. Jensen and Auna walked quietly to the principals¡¯ office. Auna was seething, rage radiating off of her. Jensen knew better than to bug her when she was like that. The stubborn but calm girl had a serious temper when pushed too far. It was just rare to see her pushed that far. Even other teachers in the hallways did not stop her, as she didn¡¯t answer them. That is why Mr. Merlin and Mrs. Hopper were now following both students. ¡°You can¡¯t go in just, yet he is busy.¡± A kind receptionist motioned for them to sit on the wating seats in the lobby. ¡°Don¡¯t really care right now.¡± Auna walked right into the principals¡¯ room. There was a man sitting in the room, the Bloodwaves, and her parents. ¡°The priest that runs scripture just threatened me. He did not want to take no for an answer, and even told me to stop making it harder than it has to be.¡± Auna looked right at the principal. ¡°I will not continue to go to school here when teachers are obviously threatening me. Fix this or I am gone no one will be able to find me.¡± ¡°Someone threatened her?¡± Marybeth looked angry, Auna didn¡¯t know if she was angry or not before she got into the office. ¡°I¡¯m sure she misunderstood lady Bloodwave.¡± The unknown man spoke waving his hand dismissively. ¡°Do you wish to call me a liar as well?¡± Auna gritted out between her teeth with her head tilted as she glared daggers at the man. Everyone in the room seemed to stall for a second. No one had thought the polite but stubborn child could have such a murderous aura. ¡°Hey moon, can we take a breath?¡± Aunas¡¯ head audibly clicked as she twisted it to look at Jensen who visibly cringed. ¡°Child, please sit. Let¡¯s talk this out.¡± Marybeth patted her lap. ¡°Fine.¡± Auna sat on her lap. Jensen stood off to the side with the teachers. ¡°As we were discussing. We would like to have custody of A, Jade.¡± ¡°Look the Bloodwaves¡¯ have already denied that request. I am not sure why you wanted the Jades¡¯ here.¡± The principal wiped sweat off his face. ¡°The Jades are her parents they should be the ones to make the decision.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t think you are going to want her after you see her jobs. We would gladly give you custody, but she isn¡¯t a part of our registry anymore.¡± Regan Jade was cold. Her mother, Lilly, glanced at her with empty eyes. ¡°Is she a part of the Bloodwaves¡¯ registry?¡± The unknown man did not look pleased at his own words. ¡°She was orphaned, but the king has an initiative to place orphans under his custody if they don¡¯t go to another registry or the church. It happens automatically.¡± Regan shrugged. ¡°See you will have to talk to the king if you want her custody. And without custody of her, I cannot share her status screen. At least not without her permission. We only keep basic information on public file such as level, age, and stats. Any jobs and skills are private and kept in official records only accessible by certain individuals. Anyone caught trying to break into these files are jailed, and sometimes executed. So, you can see how serious your request is. I can¡¯t just grant it.¡± The principal was sweating even more. The poor man was stuck between two dukes, and the church. Possibly the King as well. ¡°Sir. We understand how serious a request this is. But if she really has the praying prophet skill. We need to understand how she got it. This is unheard of in our history.¡± The man who Auna assumed was from the church spoke with a raised voice. ¡°I am more than willing to show you the skill. But I won¡¯t show you my whole status screen. I did not appreciate the teacher grabbing my hand and using a device higher than novice level to forcefully appraise me.¡± Auna had calmed down a bit, knowing the principal was on her side made her feel better. ¡°We also need to know the job you have.¡± ¡°Not negotiable.¡± Auna looked at her parents giving them her best, I¡¯ll kill you for talking look. ¡°Duke Jade you must know what it is.¡± The man was pleading with her father. ¡°Don¡¯t. Haven¡¯t we done enough to her?¡± Her mother put her hand on his arm. ¡°I will not be disclosing her job. It is unlikely that job pertains to this skill anyway. She must have gained a new job.¡± Regan looked coldly towards Auna. ¡°I am not doing this for your sake. You bring shame to this household even after we disowned you. Like a bug you keep coming back. Could you not have just died peacefully?¡± ¡°Did you really think that would kill me?¡± Auna winked. ¡°Please show us you have the praying prophet skill.¡± The unknown man didn¡¯t even bat an eye at lord Jades¡¯ words. The principal though seemed taken aback by their exchange. Auna pulled up her status screen. Her noble job and skills were visible her other jobs were blurred out, their skills as well. The only skill visible from her two other jobs was her praying prophet skill. Her talk with the Gods and continued praying had bumped it to medium-beginner. ¡°This is amazing. An eight-year-old having not just a praying skill but the praying prophet skill. Amazing. I run the church in Wardite, would you like to become a saint there?¡± ¡°No thank you.¡± The Wardite church head was about to say something when a women came in. She looked very elegant, but simple. Her skin was a deep brown her hair black. ¡°I am pretty sure we said to leave this girl alone. Did we not Wardite church head?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am we didn¡¯t think it would harm anyone if we asked her permission and she agreed.¡± ¡°Well, she didn¡¯t. I am sorry child. I am the head of the church I just got back from the Gods land. Most call me church mother.¡± She reached her hand out to shake, Auna shook it. ¡°Now that I have proven my skill may I go?¡± ¡°Not yet. You should be here for this. I propose we bring this matter to the king.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The principal looked like he was ready to puke. ¡°The king holds an end of spring garden party every Yarren. I have arranged for an audience with him at that time. We can leave this child alone until then. Her first semester will be uninterrupted she is also very ill at this moment I heard. She needs her rest.¡± ¡°Yes, church mother she does have pneumonia, we recommend also waiting to push this matter anymore.¡± The principal looked relived he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this mess. Quickly he added. ¡°For her health of course.¡± Lilly, her mother, glanced at her. For a second Auna thought she saw worry or some kind of motherly compassion. It was gone just as quickly as it came though. Chapter 29: Chatting with the Garys After everyone agreed to leave Auna alone for the time being she went back to class. For the rest of the week nothing else happened. Even her prayer class on the weekend went by without any issues. They were now all gathered in the dungeon on the first floor. Currently tilling the land with the little farmer. ¡°Wow you really are working us little farmer.¡± Jensen joked taking a break. ¡°If I really was, I would tell you to get back to work.¡± Ciela stuck her tongue out. ¡°How much more tilling do we have to do?¡± Diego also sat down. They had tilled about the size of their crater by now. It was nearing dinner; they had taken a break for lunch. They had a few time pieces to keep track of time, so no teacher sought them out. ¡°Just a bit more. If we do all of this today, then we just have to plant tomorrow. I already have all the signs to label everything made. I did them in arts and crafts class.¡± ¡°Do we really have to do this much though? Isn¡¯t it a bit excessive?¡± ¡°We are going to sell right? So, we should have a decent amount. Plus, we now have a lot of flowers to sell. We didn¡¯t even make a dent in the useable farm space here. We could probably till six craters worth of land while keeping a ring the size of our crater around everything untouched.¡± ¡°Kid are you trying to tell me this is only a small part of what you actually plan on tilling?¡± Diego had wide eyes as the rest of the group laughed. ¡°Got a problem with that?¡± Ciela was holding her hands on her hips. ¡°Jensen why are you in love with a girl who has such a dedicated little sister?¡± ¡°Shut up Diego.¡± Jensen threw some dirt at him. ¡°Well, the kid reminds me of Jensen. So fixated on something that interests her.¡± Bruno smiled. ¡°However, please wait till we grow some more before making us till more my muscles are on fire. Muscles I did not know existed are on fire.¡± ¡°I can appreciate that request.¡± Ciela nodded causing everyone to laugh again. ¡°Tomorrow we should head to town first thing.¡± Jensen said setting a tray of food in front of Auna. They were now at dinner. Tonight, was something similar to tacos with brownies for a snack. ¡°We can go to town first, come back for lunch, plant the seeds, then be back for dinner.¡± Auna started with her brownie. ¡°Please be sure to eat properly.¡± The doctor was back making Auna sigh. ¡°I will doctor.¡± Auna put down her brownie to eat her meal first. ¡°You stayed inside your room all day today, were you resting?¡± ¡°Doctor I don¡¯t want to be rude, but you seem to have a problem if I am in the library during my free time, and a problem if I just stay in my room instead. My friends are even kind enough to stay in my room with me.¡± ¡°Yes, I heard the boys also stayed inside their room.¡± ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t be scolded for that can I?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I will let you kids go back to your meal.¡± The doctor left them giving them a short nod. ¡°Is it just me or is he too invested at this point?¡± Meredith watched the doctor leave. ¡°Who knows. If they go to our rooms, we can just say we were else ware. Taking a walk around campus. They can¡¯t possibly think we left campus so we should be fine.¡± ¡°My moon is right. They can¡¯t possibly be angry kids are spending time in their room after they were warned about being sick.¡± ¡°True.¡± Meredith nodded. The kids ate their meal and headed back to their rooms. The girls were playing a board game Auna had recreated from her last world. It was a version of monopoly. They were interrupted. ¡°Come in!¡± They called as Meredith rolled the dice. ¡°Hello girls. Just wanted to check in with you. See what has kept you all so occupied.¡± Mrs. Hopper walked in. ¡°Just playing games.¡± Ciela said taking the dice to roll her turn. ¡°What are you playing?¡± ¡°Big sister made it from her memories of a different world.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Mrs. Hopper then spent about thirty minutes watching the girls play. She had a book with her and sat on one of their beds as they were playing on the floor. Finally, Meredith had enough. ¡°Should I be telling my parents we are being watched so closely even though we have not misbehaved? It is becoming borderline stalking.¡± ¡°No lady Bloodwave we are just looking out for you.¡± ¡°This is harassment at this point. We are being good kids.¡± ¡°I will make sure everyone understands. Have a good night girls.¡± Mrs. Hopper left. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Hey, can I ask a weird question?¡± Auna was putting away the game as they got ready for bed. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Is there only one religion in this world?¡± ¡°Well, there use to be one for each God. My mom said they all came together to one church. Except for Lichen he is seen as a bad God, one that causes only fear and pain. I don¡¯t know why though. Mom said there are some smaller religions in the waste lands, islands of isolation and maybe another place?¡± Chloe was thinking very hard with her eyes shut trying to remember. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about as much as I know as well. Why do you ask?¡± Meredith was looking at her. ¡°In my last world there where a lot of religions at one point. Then none, then more, then one. It was a bloody mess. I was just curious at what point in the cycle we were at. Also, why everyone just calls it the church and not an actual religion name. They seem to hold a lot more power than they should.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Other churches are known by their name. The church is officially known as ¡®Seven God faith¡¯.¡± Auna thought about her questions with the religion for a while before falling asleep with Theo and Ayda. She awoke to Theo whining to go outside. He needed to use the washroom; she took Willow with her as well. She walked into the tamed monster pen so they could do their business. They were not supposed to go anywhere else; the pen was cleaned by staff daily. It was a wide open with a few structures to give cover. The stables were connected allowing most tamed monsters free roaming privileges. Some were dangerous and had have their privileges removed. It came down to training and if they could be trusted without their master near them. ¡°Hey kiddo, early morning walk?¡± A staff member from the stables came up with a pitchfork in hand. He would often greet the girls when they came over. ¡°No Ciela?¡± ¡°She is asleep still.¡± ¡°It is amazing how well Willow listens to you. She even listens to me when you are not here. That is surprising for a tamed monster. Even some animals aren¡¯t that well trained.¡± ¡°Well, we do our best, and it helps that they are very smart animals. Even Ayda here seems smarter than her peers.¡± Auna poked the jelly body of her little slime. ¡°I¡¯d say so, she doesn¡¯t wreck the fencing or try to eat the other monsters. The rest of the slimes tamed by students are in stone pens.¡± The man was laughing watching Ayda lazily roll around her masters¡¯ feet. They talked for a while longer. Allowing for the monsters to get a good stretch. Just before breakfast Auna took them back to her dorm. She had to wake up the other girls. After breakfast they took the wolves, Ayda, and themselves through the moon doors to the border city. Auna just had to add the boys to that door, it was relatively simple. ¡°I am surprised no one cared a bunch of kids came out of a closet.¡± Diego was walking just behind the girls who were leading the way to the guild. ¡°The first time a women screamed. I guess they got used to it.¡± Auna pulled her hood down further. Burt had been following them quietly after being told they wanted to be discrete. She did not know what his deal was. ¡°Can we please see Gary?¡± Auna asked the person who had once looked over their bore tusks. ¡°Sure, he was wondering when you would come back. Let me get both of them.¡± ¡°Just the one please.¡± Auna called out but both Garys were brought to the front desk anyway. Quickly they led them all, except Burt to a room. ¡°So, what can we do for you little ladies today? Been a while you know.¡± Merchant Gary offered snacks as he spoke. ¡°You even brought friends.¡± ¡°We want to form a party, buy Chloe a guild membership, and sell under our dungeon name some dungeon flowers.¡± Auna watched as both Garys faces went from shock to curiosity. Auna put two silvers down for Chloe, it had taken some convincing for Chloe to accept. ¡°Okay, we can do that. Sure, so that new Ember Moon dungeon is yours? You know people have been looking very hard for it and the owner. Apparently, the owner set their name as private immediately so only the dungeon name has been visible. Smart girl.¡± Merchant Gary took a sip of tea. ¡°My moon you are too smart sometimes.¡± ¡°Where is your dungeon?¡± Adventurer Gary asked as he finished Chloes¡¯ registration. ¡°In our crater, where else?¡± ¡°Of course, no will find it there. How lucky.¡± ¡°Can you show us your guild plates, we will create an account for you as a party. There are not enough of you to create an official guild account. When you do have enough people, you can create your guild under either the adventurers or the merchant guild. We don¡¯t allow you register for both as a guild.¡± ¡°Your party is also not allowed to register for both. We recommend registering your party as an adventure one, keeping your individual memberships for the merchant guild. This will allow you to enter dungeons together in the future. It will also make it more believable that you are not selling the Ember Moon products. You won¡¯t get a discount though or any privileges for bulk selling.¡± Merchant Gary nodded along with Adventurer Garys¡¯ words. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Can we see how much these are worth first? We might want the bulk selling privileges.¡± Auna opened her storage, there were about 80 flowers in it. They had kept 40 in Cielas¡¯ storage for experimentation. ¡°Are these all dungeon flowers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How did you get so many?¡± Merchant Gary was almost drooling at the sight of the flowers. It seemed like a lot for him but to the children they only gathered the ones in the least populated section of the 1st floor. They assumed it would make less work for them. Other parts of the floor were covered more densely. ¡°Why are you surprised?¡± Ciela asked. ¡°Well usually a dungeon produces one to six every month at most. This is ridiculous. Just how many flowers are growing in there?¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t going to disclose that to you. We will be selling crops if our experiments work. You can tell customers that if the ask too much. We would like you to sell around as well.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t need bulk privileges. Normally we buy at 50% of what we can sell it at. With privileges we buy at 70%. However, since you are kids, I don¡¯t think you need that extra 20%, if it was a low quality or cheap product maybe.¡± Merchant Gary began to inspect the flowers. ¡°I can give you eight gold coins for the lot. You took very good care of removing them, even have the roots, good job.¡± ¡°I think we register under the adventurers¡¯ guild.¡± Jensen started a vote by raising his hand. Soon everyone including Auna had their hands raised up. It was settled. The money could be sent to a party account or paid out. They had it paid out directly as some of them, namely Chloe and Meredith, wanted to go shopping. Soon everything was completed. Proper paperwork was completed to set up the dungeon account without a direct link to the owner. It was done in a way that someone would have to break into the secure file room to figure it out. The guilds upper management that controlled the branches wouldn¡¯t even know. Only the head of the accounts ¡®home branch¡¯ would know. Unless there was an order from the king, or an investigation from the guards. They left the room all smiles, ready to go back to the crater. Burt followed them into his house, he had waited the hour it took to get everything done. ¡°Will you be leaving now?¡± Burt asked as they went to the closet. ¡°Yes, have a nice day.¡± Auna motioned for everyone to start going through the door. They began going, leaving just Auna and Jensen behind. Jensen reached out his hand to Auna wanting to walk through the door together. ¡°Can you stay back a moment?¡± Burt glanced at Jensen. ¡°We can sure. What do you need?¡± Auna took a step closer to Jensen out of reflex. ¡°I just wanted to talk to you for a bit. Alone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really think that is a good idea though.¡± ¡°I think we could be good together. You¡¯re very pretty. I am willing to make you mine despite the fact you are a disgraced noble.¡± ¡°You are too much older than me sorry. Besides I don¡¯t want to be with someone who calls me disgraced. Goodbye.¡± Auna walked through the door with Jensen. They turned around to see Burt staring into the door, again he was trying to push through it. It sent shivers down Aunas¡¯ spine. She did not want to deal with it though, shutting the door calmly. Chapter 30: Garden party solution It was now the end of Yarren, time for the Kings¡¯ party. The Bloodwaves had asked the girls if they wanted to stay in their actual home over break. They did for a week, before they placed a door and left to spend time in the crater. Jensen had convinced them to visit in the summer after the party. Chloe had gone home to her rural house. The girls would be stopping by on their way through Lapis on their way to Pearl to place a door for her. The girls were now in the Bloodwave villa in the capital. This evening was the party. The sun stayed in the sky longer during these months so there would be more than enough light in the gardens. ¡°Did you arrange something with the king?¡± Auna was getting dressing in an open back light-yellow almost white dress. It had baby blue spots on it. She wore no shoes only a pretty ribbon in a bow on her ankle. She had become stubborn wanting to feel connected to the ground whenever possible. It was her fairy blood that compelled her. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Marybeth was looking at the hair accessory Auna had pulled out to wear. It was the three bell one given to her when she snuck out with Jensen. ¡°You seem very calm. Will you put that bell ribbon in my hair please?¡± ¡°Sure, it feels like a skill stick though. But one that requires you to have a specific job.¡± Marybeth brushed Aunas¡¯ hair. Her strains of magic coloured hair were becoming more plentiful. Making her black hair shimmer. Once the ribbon was in Auna felt dizzy and warm. ¡°I got skills.¡± Auna showed her skills to Marybeth. She got Dream Weave that allowed her to enter other peoples¡¯ dreams and could help her influence them. She got the Dream Dance skill as well it was a dance style that would lull people to sleep. The style was almost beamed into her head. ¡°I got a message that the skill moonwalk was already learned.¡± ¡°Three bells, three skills. Why did the bells not break?¡± Marybeth looked closely at the hair piece. ¡°The description says it is the three bells of the moon, it has been passed down from worshiper to worshiper since ancient times.¡± Auna thought she might need to ask the Gods about it. ¡°Some holy items can grant skills without breaking. I would keep it a secret, I will tell Edward at a later time privately. Girls you too keep it a secret. Only tell people you trust.¡± The other two girls in the room nodded. Soon they were off to the party. When they arrived Jensen and the Duke of Pearl were waiting by the entrance to the garden. Jensen was also not wearing any shoes. ¡°Hey, my moon, the triplets are inside already.¡± ¡°Hi, I see you also are not wearing shoes.¡± ¡°What can I say we are similar.¡± ¡°Duke Pearl I feel your pain.¡± Marybeth said motioning to Aunas¡¯ shoeless feet. ¡°Don¡¯t struggle to much Duke Bloodwave fairy born really prefer to feel the ground beneath their feet. My wife is forever throwing her shoes away.¡± A loving smile appeared on his face at the mention of his wife. ¡°How is she doing? We see so little of her now a days.¡± Marybeth guided them further into the garden. ¡°She is well, she takes care of administrative tasks when I am out of the territory. Besides she doesn¡¯t appreciate the stuffy customs of these parties.¡± ¡°And your boys do?¡± Edward asked pointing at all the fairy boys sitting in the tree near the centre of the garden. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°No, but they are too much of a handful for my wife to care for while caring for our territory alone. I have enough trouble with then in relatively small environments such as these. Dear you should feel free to join them if you desire.¡± He motioned for Auna to join the boys. ¡°I¡¯m not an animal, you can¡¯t just tell me to go climb a tree with all do respect Duke Pearl.¡± Auna rolled her eyes. Even she knew better than to act a fool in the kings¡¯ garden. Especially since she was a female, under the kings¡¯ custody even if it was a technicality. ¡°Ah please don¡¯t take offense. I fear raising boys has made me a bit bias in young behaviour of the fairy born.¡± He bowed slightly in apology. ¡°I understand. They are hard to deal with.¡± Auna was sympathetic after having dealt with them for five months. ¡°Welcome you must be the young fairy from the Jade family. Or should I say you use to be a part of the Jade family.¡± The king was dressed very expensively. ¡°I greet the king.¡± Auna curtsied appropriately, it also showed she had no shoes though. ¡°Everyone gather around.¡± The king declared leading Auna alone to the outdoor platform with a throne on it. He sat down while Auna stood to the side head bowed lowly. ¡°I wish to explain the situation. A, Jade was removed from her family a few years ago. The Bloodwaves decided to sponsor her for school. Which is fine they don¡¯t need custody for that. This child got the highest grade in her year for the entrance test. Without the proper education our nobles get.¡± ¡°Now while in the academy here at the capital she gained a skill. A praying prophet skill. As much of you have probably heard already the church would like custody of her, and to analyse her jobs and skills. The issue is this child would rather not have them do that. She for whatever reason is very against being in their custody. She also would like her job to remain a secret for privacy reasons. She has let us see she does indeed have the praying prophet skill.¡± ¡°I currently have custody of this child. I have custody of all orphaned children in this kingdom. Usually, I do not have much interaction with them especially the smart ones like her. They don¡¯t need my support; they just need a roof and food.¡± ¡°I am at a loss what to do, if the church wishes to take over responsibility, I should give them it right? What kind of example would that send to all the other orphans though? It would tell them I could and would give them to people they didn¡¯t want to be with. That would make me look bad.¡± The king paused his speech for a few minutes to drink water. The guests of the party were whispering about how the church was trying to make the king look bad. The church mother and her son looked a bit annoyed. Soon the king began to speak again. ¡°I have a solution though. She is only eight, her accomplishments are not that grand yet. So why should we give her such control?¡± Auna moved her head slightly, she was feeling angry. Was this what the Bloodwaves had set up? Why were they so calm? ¡°My solution is to allow her the chance to grow. By the time she is sixteen she must be able to stand on her own two feet. She must have enough income to live as any adult would, and she must still be in school. If she can prove this, then I will allow her to be her own family line.¡± ¡°Her own line? Surely this must be a jest my king.¡± Regan Jade had a very red face. ¡°Calm yourself Lord Jade. I merely mean she may live as a solitary adult. I am not prepared to give her a noble title of her own. If she wishes for that she would have to earn it. I believe the task set before her is already very hard let¡¯s not set a harder task for her so soon.¡± ¡°My king why the task at all? No sixteen-year-old is going to be able to live on their own without any help while also attending school full time.¡± The church mother was pleading, it was obvious she did not want to wait to find out Aunas¡¯ details. ¡°If you believe that to be true you, a Godly woman, would have more than enough patience to wait until she has completed this trial. No?¡± The king reached out to Auna pulling her towards him to face him. ¡°Look me in the eye child.¡± ¡°Yes, my king.¡± ¡°Do you think you can earn at least seven platinum coins a year by the time you are sixteen? That is my stipulation. I think if you can be earning that amount by that time and prove it you are welcome to hold your own custody. If not, the church will gain custody of you, for ten years. It will be too late for you to marry or find a spouse by the time they no longer have custody. I will give them ten years because if they had you now, they would have custody for ten years. I don¡¯t want anyone to feel slighted by this solution after all.¡± ¡°I can do it my king.¡± ¡°Everyone here come let us celebrate the end of spring. Now that we have come to a peaceful solution about this child, we should have no worries.¡± The king winked at Auna out of view of everyone because she was still in front of him. Then he gently got up patted her head and walked off the platform. The rest of the garden party had some tension but was uneventful. The king had given her time. That was all she needed; she would use it to her advantage. Chapter 31: A long journey After the party Auna and Ciela headed back to the villa to gather their things. Duke Pearl followed them to the villa. They would be going with him to Lapis, then Pearl. Chloe will be waiting for them in her hometown close to the border of Pearl. It was a small town, and a detour for the duke. ¡°Ready children?¡± Duke Pearl was waiting by a carriage the boys were inside. He helped the girls climb up, and their monsters jumped in easily. ¡°Good day Dukes of Bloodwave.¡± ¡°Children we will take the carriage directly through Lapis. We could take a teleportation circle however it makes the triplets feel so ill. I hope you girls don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°No worries, sir. We are used to camping out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it Auna.¡± Auna was sat beside Jensen with Ciela by the wall. Diego sat on the other side of Jensen, the other two were on the other bench with Duke Pearl. Their monsters sat on the floor settling in for a long ride. Auna couldn¡¯t help but fall asleep her head resting on Jensen. Ciela was also sleeping. They would be riding through the night tonight, the soldiers taking turns sleeping in their separate carriage. The beasts pulling the carriages were magical ones that could easily run full speed for 12 hours, they would be fine walking for 24 hours at a time. The morning light woke Auna, she noticed Jensen was drooling on her shoulder. They had been sleeping with their heads together. She also noticed she really had to use a washroom. She began to look around to see if they would be stopping anytime soon. ¡°What is wrong dear?¡± Duke Pearl had a book in his hand as the boys were sleeping with their heads on his lap. Ciela was beside Auna lightly snoring. At his question Auna became very red. She did not want to be crass and tell the man her bladder was seriously threatening to burst. ¡°Ah, I think I know what is wrong.¡± He pulled the window open and called for a man on a horse beast. ¡°We need to make a stop; the children will need to use a restroom soon. How long?¡± ¡°We are pulling into a public rest stop in a few minutes. There are washrooms on site.¡± The man left as Duke Pearl nodded. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be long dear.¡± After a few minutes they did pull into the public rest stop, Auna flew out of the carriage directly to the building with the washrooms. The horse beasts were given a break, while the soldiers set up camp. They would stay for a few hours before leaving for the next stop. There were many public rest stops for people to rest, camp, and clean up in the kingdom. They were mostly on major roads though. High traffic areas were safer for travellers, the rest stop increasing that safety. There were guards at each one. ¡°Feeling better?¡± Duke Pearl asked as a female soldier gave a scolding glare. ¡°Yes, sir thank you.¡± Auna bowed. ¡°You are so polite. You can just call me by name like you do with the Bloodwaves.¡± ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t know your name?¡± Aunas¡¯ words made the female soldier laugh. ¡°Right, my name is Nick.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Nick.¡± Auna bowed again. They set up to eat breakfast the boys and Ciela looking like zombies. Auna was wide awake though and decided to practice her sword swings. Jensen watched with half closed eyes. The triplets laying on the ground trying to go back to sleep. Ciela went to look for new plants, hoping to put some in her storage. Their tamed monsters were out exploring, Theo had a rabbit in his mouth trying to offer it to the cook. The cook did not look pleased to have a bloody rabbit covered in wolf spit offered to him. ¡°You work too hard!¡± Bruno yelled after some time. ¡°You work too little. I have to get stronger. I¡¯m thinking about asking Gary to take me to a dungeon to learn.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t do that; you need written permission from your guardian to go into a dungeon before twelve-years-old.¡± ¡°Maybe I should sneak into a lower level one?¡± ¡°I¡¯m all for helping you do that; however, Nick is going to faint if we do.¡± ¡°There will be no dungeon sneaking!¡± Nick was standing looking pale at the thought. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t sneak into a low-level dungeon.¡± Auna winked at Bruno who laughed at her statement. He had caught on that she was willing to attempt their dungeon again. Her situation had changed. ¡°I feel like you are going to cause just as much issues as the boys. I will write a letter to the king to see if I can get permission for you to enter one of the lower dungeons.¡± The Duke shook his head walking away. ¡°My moon you really want to try our dungeon again. Shouldn¡¯t we wait until we are a few years older?¡± ¡°We can yeah, but I just want to get properly prepared. You know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, I want you to live a long healthy life.¡± ¡°How can I do that if I¡¯m given to the church at sixteen?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen, the crops are looking good. They will bring in money.¡± ¡°I guess but will it be enough to earn seven platinum a year?¡± ¡°We can do the maple candies. The magic in the dungeon allows plants to grow all year. The white flowers mimic a cold environment so we can plant them around the trees. When they bloom, we can get sap, then they will wither after a few months. They will regrow and we can harvest sap again. We can even line it up to the winter season.¡± Ciela was rattling off information. ¡°You could do that? Control the trees that way and the flowers?¡± Jensen looked impressed. ¡°I can yes. I have been watching the flowers, the white ones don¡¯t grow often and where they are is cold. If we plant enough of them around the trees it will mimic winter. The soil will be good enough that even if we are tapping them more than usual, they should grow fine. I noticed the white flowers died out even though their bulbs are fine. They must run on a cycle. And if we can¡¯t make the flowers work, we can use magic to frost and freeze the ground, so the trees think it is winter to produce sap. Then we can make candy and sell syrup.¡± Ciela was sitting down with the older kids listening intently. ¡°There are not many orchards dedicated to maple trees in this kingdom. There are a few but none can produce on a large scale. It is a high class treat to have maple sugar, or a rural treat in some areas. Other trees that produce fruit are more popular because you can make more money off of them quicker.¡± Diego explained. ¡°We have the space though, and no risk for monsters taking the trees down.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°You two do know we are only eight strong right?¡± Diego glared at them. ¡°We do our own maple syrup in the crater. We spend a few hours in the winter, you know that. It actually isn¡¯t that much work because it stores well. The issue is getting enough sugar to make the actual candies. Without it they can appear cloudy.¡± Auna pondered. ¡°We could make a field of sugar cane; it only needs to be replanted every 3-5 years. We could also make structures in the dungeon. A store house, and a processing building. We could make and store a lot of sugar, sugar sells well, right?¡± Ciela looked at Diego. ¡°It does yeah. But I don¡¯t think we could produce high quality stuff, at least not a quality that will sell well. Instead, we should focus on the candies. They would be unique and sell well. They could be stored as well.¡± Diego was writing in his notebook. He often carried one with him. ¡°We need bees by the way.¡± Ciela was looking oddly seriously. ¡°Before we start doing too much. I noticed the flowers are doing okay, but they need to be properly pollinated. The crops would benefit as well.¡± ¡°How are we going to get bees though?¡± Diego looked at her. ¡°We need a hive and then place that hive in the dungeon.¡± Ciela was very matter of fact. ¡°How do we get a beehive?¡± Diego asked as Nick walked up. ¡°Why do you kids want a beehive?¡± They stayed silent for a few minutes before Auna asked Jensen. ¡°Can we trust him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We need it for the dungeon we control. In our crater home a tree became a dungeon. The first floor is a huge field of dungeon flowers we have been tilling for crops.¡± ¡°Your serious.¡± Nick sat down with the children, waving the soldiers away from them. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Yes. The second floor is an island. It seems like a fairly small island we walked around the beach. There is a sea around it as far as our eyes could see. There were some low-level monsters in the forest on the island. We had decided not to continue to investigate because of how odd the dungeon is.¡± ¡°Wow, so why do you need the beehive.¡± Nick was a bit in shock. ¡°We are growing crops, trees, and of course our little farmer is experimenting with the dungeon flowers. She said we need the beehive.¡± Ciela was nodding to Aunas¡¯ words. ¡°Wait. How are you managing to sneak away from the school, get to a crater in the middle of the Great Monster Forest, and explore a dungeon without being found out?¡± Nick was waving his hands in the in a stop motion. ¡°We use my doors. I have a skill similar to the teleportation circles and the anchor teleportation method. It allows us to walk through a doorway and be in another place. The mana cost is very low, and I control who can use them. They are connected similarly to selecting a floor in a dungeon. I can control which doors people can go in as well.¡± ¡°That is amazing. Do the Bloodwaves know about this?¡± ¡°They about the doors only. I don¡¯t want to tell them about the dungeon. And they haven¡¯t had a reason to go to our crater.¡± ¡°Will you tell them about the dungeon?¡± ¡°No. I feel like they would tell the king. I don¡¯t want the king knowing yet.¡± ¡°I understand I don¡¯t have as close of a relationship with the king. I won¡¯t tell him.¡± ¡°Will you tell me the real reason your wife doesn¡¯t travel with you? A secret or a secret.¡± Aunas¡¯ true friend skill had let her know Nick was lying at the party. ¡°You picked up on that did you?¡± Nick sighed. ¡°Jensen told me you know how your mother came to this land, and the triplets¡¯ mother as well. After the slaves, who were not publicly known as slaves, started to be dragged to the events she stopped going. She hated to see them like that. Corals¡¯ wife ran away, and we took the boys. They are officially adopted though they are the only heirs of Coral, so they kept their name.¡± ¡°Everyone still believes your mothers marriage is political. They swept the event under the rug, the women surfaced later. People were led to believe after the cities in the wastelands attacked us, they sent over brides for political alliances. We know it isn¡¯t true. It just hurts her. Especially because some people seem to know there is something fishy going on with the marriages. Lord Corral couldn¡¯t even get a new wife due to his reputation being so bad.¡± ¡°Thank you for sharing.¡± Auna began to stand. ¡°You are going to set up doors in your friends¡¯ homes, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Did you just figure that out?¡± Auna winked walking towards the cook for food. It wasn¡¯t long before they were all back into the carriage. They would stop to camp for the night later down the road. They would be close to the Lapis border by mid-day tomorrow, the plan was to rest tomorrow night in Lapis. Currently Auna and Jensen had the chest board out. Auna had won five games Jensen won two. ¡°That makes six for Auna. Jensen just give up.¡± Mateo patted his shoulder. ¡°Shall we play something else? I have Stratego.¡± Auna knew this game was his favourite from their last world. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so. We used to play that game every day! You know it is my favourite.¡± Jensen quickly began to pack up the chess board. ¡°Is that a game from your last world?¡± Nick put his book down slightly. ¡°Yes. I made it by hand, we bought a paint set when we were still in the crater. Ciela helped paint it.¡± The next hours passed with the kids playing games. They had stopped a few times to stretch and use a restroom. They stopped to set up camp, ate dinner and began to get ready for bed. ¡°The moon is so pretty tonight.¡± Auna was gazing upwards. ¡°Why don¡¯t you dance for a bit? The tents are set up so once you are done you can go right to bed.¡± Jensen was settling on to the ground. ¡°Do you want to dance with me?¡± ¡°Thought you¡¯d never ask my moon.¡± Jensen was up right away hand in Aunas¡¯. They danced for a long time, different dances from their old world. They had both practiced many styles in their old world. Especially on the moon colonies with so many high class people. Soon Auna was dancing on her own, she began to dance her dream dance. Auna was surprised when the people watching her all fell asleep, the guards also fell asleep. They weren¡¯t slumped over though; they were more like in a trance. She was a bit embarrassed and worried that if the guards were asleep something bad could happen. She stood there for a few minutes. The looks of tranced faces turned into daze, then confused. ¡°What just happened?¡± Nick asked holding his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I have a skill that can lull people to sleep if I dance a certain way.¡± Auna bowed her head in shame. ¡°Wow, at least we know it works. We should head to bed and be more careful with your skills child. Nothing happened this time but that might not be true in the future.¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± They headed off to bed without another word. The girls slept in their own tent. Ciela and Auna curled up with their monsters instead of in their sleeping rolls. The wolves were much warmer, and more comfortable. Morning came too quickly. The long journey was hard on their small bodies. They were not use to the lack of sleep; the adults were more accustomed to it. ¡°Ugh. I feel tired still.¡± Auna crawled to the floor of the carriage stretching out she put her head on Theodore. ¡°Your body is weaker than everyone else due to your curse and how you were raised. This journey will be harder for you. Try to rest.¡± Nick placed a blanket over the nearly sleeping Auna. When she woke it was already lunch time. ¡°Morning sleepy head.¡± Mateo waved as she disembarked the now empty carriage. ¡°Morning.¡± Auna stumbled a bit over the uneven ground. ¡°How are you feeling? Traveling to new places can make people sick sometimes.¡± Nick brought her a bowl of soup, everyone else was eating sandwiches. ¡°Soup will be easier on your body.¡± ¡°I appreciate it, really. Thank you.¡± She took the soup and began to eat. As Nick touched her forehead trying to tell if she had a fever. After lunch they rested for a bit, they were on track to enter Lapis for the evening camping. The rest of the carriage ride Auna laid on the floor sometimes reading. She didn¡¯t have much energy. Given how she was raised her immune system was very weak, she could have gotten sick from the garden party from someone. She was not used to being in a moving carriage for so long either. They set up camp in Lapis, which had many rivers and lakes. Auna was sent to bed early and given more blankets than the previous night. She slept deeply enough that she was carried to the carriage the next morning. She had a slight fever. She spent the next few days spending very little time awake, sick from travel. They arrived at Chloes¡¯ town without issue. Auna was housed at the town doctor¡¯s house. Is that really the only information you are going to show Mr. Voice? I think I liked it better when you a narration skill. Auna thought lazily as she looked through the log of her skill. Even when she slept Mr. Voice would narrate. It made it easy for her to recall information at later dates. It helped her study a lot due to the search feature. She was in the spare room of the doctors¡¯ house. It was night-time. Auna got up and walked outside to get fresh air. She felt a lot better. She was excited she would see Chloe again. By the place of the moon in the sky she knew the sun would be raising in a few hours. She was about to head back inside when a tall man came out in a sleeping gown with a blanket. ¡°I can see why you were so sick when they brought you here. Come child at least put on a blanket.¡± Auna noticed at his words she was wearing a short sleeping gown with short sleeves. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice sorry.¡± Auna grabbed the blanket and walked back inside with the doctor. ¡°I was told you didn¡¯t go outside until you were six. As a fairy born that must have been hard. I understand why you are so drawn to the outdoors now. Come let me make you some hot chocolate.¡± Auna drank the hot chocolate then got dressed as did the doctor. Nick showed up with the other children once the sun was up. Auna had been reading a book while the doctor worked. ¡°Are you alright my moon?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry for being a worry.¡± Auna was pulled into a tight hug by Jensen while Nick sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you doctor.¡± ¡°Of course, Lord Pearl. I am happy to help. Our lord is very friendly with you. Being this close to the border I often see residence of Pearl here as well.¡± ¡°I thank you further then for your continued help in keeping my people healthy.¡± Nick took Auna with him to Chloes¡¯ house. It was a nice farm with cattle and fields. A few of her siblings could be seen working around the farm. They waved with bright smiles as they saw them. Chloe was chattering away about who was who there was just too many. ¡°My room is this way. I¡¯m the only girl that still lives here so I have a room to myself. My sister moved in with her husband last year.¡± There was a small room with a bed and desk in it. It was cute filled with different drawings, and mementos. ¡°You can put the door here.¡± She had moved a floor length mirror for a space to be free on the wall. ¡°Can I put it on the back of the mirror?¡± Auna thought out loud. ¡°Would that work?¡± Chloe moved the mirror with the help of the boys into a position that the back was facing Auna. She walked over placing her hand on it. Soon there was a door that looked wooden on the back of the mirror. It would be hidden much better this way. They tested the door; it was a bit awkward to walk into like walking up a step and having to duck at the same time. They didn¡¯t spend too much time in the crater as Chloe said her family would check on them soon. They ate dinner with Chloes¡¯ family as they had been insistent on hosting them. They also spent the night with them instead of going to an inn. The girls slept in their rolls on the floor of Chloes¡¯ room. They did stay up chatting for a bit before her mother came in to scold them. Her mother was a nice lady with strong features. She was a true farmers¡¯ daughter. In the morning they continued towards the Pearl estate. They lived closer to the sea, which was at the other end of their territory. It took a few days of hard traveling to get there. This time though Auna was not as sick. She was just tired and put to bed as soon as they got to the estate. There was a room ready for the girls. ¡°Good morning.¡± Auna said as she entered the dining room the maid led her to. ¡°Good morning my moon, your just in time breakfast is going to be served soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad, I am very hungry.¡± Auna took a seat beside Jensen across from the triplets who were sitting beside Ciela. ¡°Hello, I am Seni. Mother of these unruly boys.¡± She glanced with love on her face at the boys. ¡°I hope they are not causing too many issues for you.¡± ¡°Of course, not ma¡¯am. They are true gentlemen.¡± Seni laughed at Aunas¡¯ words. ¡°No need to lie. I know they are wild.¡± ¡°You can be a wild gentleman.¡± Auna took a bite of her breakfast that was given to her. It was eggs with fresh fruit and toast. There was also an odd sauce that tasted good on it. ¡°I suppose you can be.¡± After breakfast Auna installed a door in Jensens¡¯ room to the crater orchard door. She made sure to give Nick and Seni access as well. They were now all standing in the crater. Nick and Seni were exploring it asking a million questions. Finally, Auna asked if they wanted to see the dungeon. ¡°So, this is the dungeon the king is trying to find. It has the right name.¡± Nick was shaking his head. When a person entered a dungeon, they would get a notification of the dungeons name and that they have entered it. She had removed them from the do not enter list. ¡°Yes, I am surprised they didn¡¯t figure it out. It¡¯s a combination of our soul names. Are they just not that bright?¡± Auna looked at Nick as she asked, while she selected level one. ¡°Who would think an eight-year-old claimed a dungeon? Also, soul names are not documented. You also made sure your name was private right way, so no one could have caught it. Don¡¯t blame them for not figuring it out.¡± Nick started walking around the dungeon floor shaking his head. ¡°This is amazing did you guess till this yourself?¡± ¡°This little farmer works us to the bone.¡± Bruno gave Ciela a poke in the cheek. ¡°Impressive though. We can get you a few beehives and move them in.¡± ¡°We would appreciate it.¡± The rest of the summer break was spent at the Pearl estate. They swam in the sea, ate good food, and relaxed properly. They almost did not want it to end. Soon they had to go back to school. The kings¡¯ solution was the talk of the teachers and students social circles. It made it very difficult to make more friends. Auna kept to her roommates and Jensen with his roommates. Everyone else would pester about why she took religion but didn¡¯t want to be adopted by them. Chapter 32: The years fly by The time flew by, they passed their second year of school. Their dorms would remain empty but untouched until school started up again. Of course, they could come and go as they pleased. Auna and the other kids took turns checking the clearing for new children. It was rare a day was missed, even Meredith helped out checking. Auna spent her ninth birthday celebrating their first harvest of crops, they all turned out to be magic crops. Which sold for slightly above market price for the normal version of the crop. Except for a few plants that could be used for potion making, like sweet potatoes. Their bees had turned into tamed monsters everyone taking a queen as theirs to keep the hives under control, a total of eight queens. Their second year flew by without issue before they knew it, they were taking the second ranking test. Auna scored the highest again with Jensen right behind her. Meredith and Chloe tied for third while the triplets tied for fourth. Ciela ending up in the top 15 as well. There was no incident this time with the combat section. She was forced to do actual representative duties in her second year, mostly mediating small fights between students. The problems became much worse in the first month of their third year; assassins began entering the school. Their target was Auna. Unfortunately for them every time they entered her room to kill her, she was not there. The guards would notice something was up arresting them before they could even see her. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The principal and teachers had decided they would take extra lessons and start their leveling up early. They would spend one weekend day a month in a dungeon. The king had no choice but to allow Auna the right for her own safety. The king had denied the request a few times claiming it was too early, she did not need such practical combat experience. Now though she did need it. The security of the school was also tightened up. The church mother and other nobles not a part of teaching or staff were no longer allowed entrance. This was fought against but eventually, the king sided with the school. The next few weeks passed with tension in the air. Soon the school calmed down some as the attempts on Aunas¡¯ life stopped. They were still watched closely so the trips to the crater were less frequent than before, and often were after lights out. The children would go to bed early wake up after lights out and head to the crater for chores. Their health and grades were fine, so the adults let them go to sleep whenever they wanted. Even if it was strange. They couldn¡¯t say anything as every surprise check was met with sleepy children questioning why they were being woken up in the middle of the night. Again, the king and the parents of the other students had to request the checks so late at night be stopped. The Dukes both knew what was going on though. Aunas¡¯ tenth birthday was in a few days. This year they planned to celebrate it on school grounds. They had convinced the teachers to allow them to use a classroom to have a small party with them and a few friends they had made from class. They were all excited. The teachers even let them bake a proper cake. Chapter 33: Count Jade makes a move ¡°Happy birthday dear sister.¡± A twelve-year-old boy with black hair and black wings said to Auna. Everyone in the room seemed a bit nervous. Seth had spent the last two years ignoring Auna. Almost pretending they were not related. ¡°Thank you, Seth. However, I don¡¯t consider you to be my brother.¡± Auna gave a slight bow. ¡°Please enjoy the party young Jade lord.¡± Auna walked to Jensen and triplets. ¡°Are you enjoying the party?¡± ¡°Of course, we are, are you?¡± Bruno handed her a drink, blue apple juice. ¡°I think I am. I didn¡¯t think so many people would show up. Everyone seems to be enjoying it though.¡± She drank the juice as she watched Seth mingle for a bit. ¡°Why do you think he is here?¡± Jensen was also eyeing him. ¡°I have no idea. I heard he is near the bottom in grades for his year. He might want me to tutor him like the other kids that have asked recently.¡± ¡°Somehow I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Dear sister can I talk with you for a moment?¡± Seth had come over; a few teachers were watching the exchange. ¡°Sure, what would you like young lord Jade?¡± ¡°In private.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to excuse myself from my own party.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn. I want to talk to my little sister in private.¡± ¡°You never visited me. I was locked in a small servants¡¯ storage room for six years. The only time I saw you was when my uncle forced me to have dinner with you and our cousins. Why would I go anywhere with a stranger alone?¡± ¡°I am not a stranger; we are share blood. Stop making a fuss. It is unbecoming of a counts¡¯ daughter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a counts¡¯ daughter. I am an orphan of the king. Didn¡¯t you hear?¡± ¡°Our father has petitioned the court to allow him to readd you to the family registry. The king said it was your decision if you wanted to give father custody over you again.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t. You had to of heard about the deal the king has with the church about my custody.¡± By this time everyone was watching them listening closely. Seth was looking upset with having this conversation in public. ¡°Sister, father wants you home. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± Seth looked more anxious by the second. ¡°It¡¯s the why that worries me. Why now? Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice that you are below your peers in grades. I also noticed our cousins didn¡¯t make it into this school.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Seths¡¯ face was turning red. ¡°What doesn¡¯t it have to do with this? Do you think I am stupid? With your grades below average, and my cousins not even getting into the school for royalty. The only reason he could want me is to use me. He can¡¯t name an heir because no noble has ever had an heir that didn¡¯t graduate this school in this kingdom. He wants me as a tool. Nothing more.¡± ¡°Even if that was true, I am in this school. He wouldn¡¯t need you. He just hasn¡¯t named an heir because it is obvious it will be me. I am his only boy, one of two children.¡± ¡°Then there is no reason to go back. I have nothing to gain. And don¡¯t tell me I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about what I could gain. Father removed me from the registry as soon as he assumed there was nothing to be gained from me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a kid what would you know?¡± ¡°You are also just a child. If he really wants me to believe he has had a change of heart. Shouldn¡¯t he come to me himself? Shouldn¡¯t he come rushing with open arms saying how sorry he is about what happened? Even if he is a noble if he truly loved me, he would say so, not send a proxy. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡± ¡°Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time? This is your chance to be a part of a family, a lineage. Why are you snubbing that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I just don¡¯t want to be a part of a lineage that removed me once already.¡± Auna leaned in closely to him, whispering so only he could hear. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask our mother why we both had slave jobs, and if she is happy to be a part of this lineage you are so proud to be one of.¡± She backed up to look at his face which was twisted with anger and confusion. ¡°Will you please leave or stop making my birthday party upsetting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave for now. I still want to talk to you more about this.¡± Seth left the classroom. Auna was given a few presents, had cake then went back to her room. She didn¡¯t want to talk about the conversation with Seth. Her friends and the teachers had understood that leaving her alone. Auna had used her true friend skill, which had evolved. It would now show a slight aura around a person and change their dot colour on her mini-map. Seth had a white aura, which meant he was not lying and felt no ill will to her. Green would show lying, and no ill will. Orange would show truthful and ill will. Red would show lying and ill will. There was a soft yellow colour for lying and no ill or goodwill. When people were not lying, and indifferent to Auna there would be no colour, and the dot on the map would remain blue for friendly. ¡°He felt no ill will to me and was being truthful.¡± I lean close to Jensen to let him know; I don¡¯t want Seth to be hated for no reason. He is still my brother. ¡°He actually thinks it is in your best interest to go back?¡± Jensen looks shocked. ¡°Probably, I don¡¯t know what Count Jade tells him.¡± I turn back to my party shrugging. Chapter 34: A new child, Aku ¡°That is so crazy!¡± Chloe was shaking her head as we did our weeding with our gang. ¡°Right, maybe Count Jade tells him lies? He might not have known he had the slave job as well. Not everyone can remember that far back.¡± I shrug as we continue, the triplets cursing about the job in the background. ¡°I could see that. Poor guy must think his daddy is a perfect man!¡± Mateo most likely. ¡°He must.¡± I say thinking about if I should pity him or not. I don¡¯t think I can. ¡°Auna, we have a problem.¡± Jensen said coming up to us holding a childs¡¯ hand. ¡°Who is this?¡± I ask looking at the child. The boy had white hair and eyes. His skin was tan, with weird markings all over him. ¡°Found him in the clearing. He hasn¡¯t said a word. I was thinking maybe my dad could keep him?¡± Jensen ruffled the boys¡¯ hair. ¡°Hmm, I took care of Ciela though. I would rather take care of all the children left here.¡± I feel responsible, like this is my forest. My responsibility for the children seems right. ¡°You still could check up on him, and my dad would let you make decisions for him. When you have your own home, you can move him in with us.¡± I don¡¯t like the assumption that Jensen and I will live together in the future. However, everyone nodding seems to cement the idea as truth. ¡°We should ask your dad.¡± I say bending down to the boy. He looks thin, too thin. My appraisal skill activates. He is a half fairy. ¡°Are fairy folk not considered people?¡± I ask surprised. ¡°They are?¡± Jensen looks at me, then the boy. ¡°My appraisal isn¡¯t working on him.¡± ¡°Mine worked?¡± I say opening my status screen, making it visible to everyone. There on my screen my appraisal skill had moved. It was under noble, as high-common. Now it was under Moon slave, low-common. However, the name changed as well. Now the skill is called Moons¡¯ Appraisal. The description was mostly errors, the only part visible was ¡®can appraise your children¡¯. Quickly I looked around, trying to appraise things. I let out a sigh of relief as the skill is still working well. ¡°Does it work as normal still?¡± Jensen nudged me a bit. ¡°Yes, it said the boy is three years old. A Fairy mixed with elf. His job is moon slave as well. He also has the runaway child. Maybe your dads¡¯ home would be a good place for him.¡± I look into his white eyes, they are dull. Like he has nothing to live for, even though his curse should have them shining with curiosity. ¡°We can go to the crater first, give him a bath?¡± Jensen held his hand tighter. ¡°Sure thing, his status has no name for him. Was there anything that would tell us where he came from?¡± I ask. ¡°Not really, we checked last night and there was no one. It¡¯s only noon, how did someone come and go so fast?¡± Jensen looked puzzled as we left the dungeon farm. Everyone else followed us as well. Ciela going to grab some of her old clothes for him. ¡°Hmm, we should come up with a name for you. Your soul name is little moon. We could call you that?¡± I ask as I scrub his hair that comes to his shoulders already with soap. He immediately tenses up at the name tears spilling from his eyes. The markings that were dull black begin to glow white. I can feel the wind pick up, and the temperature drop. ¡°How about you pick a new name for him? Like you did with Ciela?¡± Jensen suggested. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°But I won¡¯t be fully caring for him, will it work?¡± ¡°Your skill said you can appraise your children; wouldn¡¯t that mean you thought of him as yours right away?¡± Jensen smiled uncharacteristically soft. ¡°Will you be okay with me naming you?¡± I ask the small boy, who still had tears running down his cheeks. His eyes lit up a moment, nodding he looked away again. ¡°Hmm, Aku. That will be your name now. How do you like it Aku?¡± I leaned down close to the boy, he calmed down. There was a small nod, nothing else to even acknowledged I was there. We quickly washed, dried, and clothed the boy. The others had finished the chores as we did this. The boy was covered in small scars, and bruises which made the bathing go slower. Auna did not want to accidently hurt him. It also looked as if his hair had never been brushed. Both Jensen and Auna spent a considerable amount of time untangling it. The boy was very still the whole time. Auna began to suspect he had been abused each time he did what his curse wanted him to. The poor boy was supposed to be full of curiously bouncing off the walls. Instead, the boy was a shell of a person. At only three years old he seemed broken beyond repair. ¡°Are we ready? We do have to go to the school for dinner.¡± I say as we all pile Infront of the moon door. A few quick yeses and they were off. ¡°Dadddddddddd!!!!!¡± Jensen and the triplets all screamed very loudly as soon as everyone was in the hall of the Pearl home. ¡°What is going on!¡± Duke Pearl and the boys¡¯ mother was coming right behind him. They both were comically under dressed. Especially since it was 2 in the afternoon. ¡°A new child was dropped off. He is a moon slave, with the runaway curse! Meet Aku!¡± Jensen then picked the small boy up raising him up over his head in outstretched arms. It vaguely reminded Auna of a movie from her past world. ¡°Oh?¡± Nick looked a bit stunned as he tried to tidy his clothes. Seni was also fixing her clothes and hair. They led the children to a sitting room. ¡°So, Aku?¡± Nick asked once they all sat down. ¡°Yes. Jensen and I thought we could leave him to your care? I know Seni has her hands full with a two-year-old already. If it is too much issue, I could raise him in the crater.¡± Auna was backing down as Seni had a hard look on her face. Jensen had a few older siblings, then him and triplets. Now Seni had a two-year-old, adding a three-year-old might be too much of an ask. She squirmed a bit, Aku was seated in her lap. Ciela was beside her. They were all on the floor, Auna never really got used to sitting on plush furniture. ¡°I will have none of that. The boy will stay here. It is safe, whoever threw him away won¡¯t find him. You make sure to visit often, as I will merely be a grandparent to him.¡± Seni smiled poking Akus¡¯ cheek. ¡°Grandparent? Because of Jensen, right?¡± I ask a bit nervous for the answer. ¡°Well, yes. Also, we all know you two will most likely wed one day.¡± Seni had the same wry smile as her son. This was not news to Auna though she had already seen it before, it caused her groan and everyone else to laugh. ¡°Aku, you will stay with grandmother Seni and grandfather Nick. Be sure to call them that so no one has too many questions, okay?¡± I pat the small boys head as he nods. He still is way to quiet. I notice Seni has a hard look again. ¡°Why are you looking at him like that?¡± I can¡¯t help myself I have to know. ¡°He has the runaway child curse, right?¡± Seni responded ¡°Yes.¡± I say not getting why that was important right now. ¡°Jensen was uncontrollable at that age. So many things caught his attention he would be dashing from place to place. This boy is much to quiet, and still.¡± Senis¡¯ hard look was actually a look of sadness and pity. The hardness in the look was directed to whoever did this to the boy. That put Auna at ease. ¡°Will he be, okay?¡± I worry about him, looking so broken. ¡°He will be, eventually.¡± Seni assured me with a pat on my back. ¡°We should be going. Aku try to enjoy your life here, okay? You don¡¯t have to behave too much; my parents are used to troublemakers. I think they secretly enjoy it!¡± Jensen gave the small boy a kiss on his cheek. Auna laughed and gave him a kiss as well. ¡°Don¡¯t fill the boys head with your wickedness Jensen.¡± Seni pulled his ear hard dragging him to the moon door. Aku followed with a soft smile on his eyes. ¡°Goodbye!¡± Everyone said as they left. Aku waved to everyone as they left. His eyes already seemed a little less dull. ¡°He is going to be okay.¡± Jensen said pulling me from my thoughts, he was setting my tray of food down in front of me. I heard a few kids at the next table question why he does that, some other kids explained I did not like crowds. So, Jensen would pick up my tray for me. It wasn¡¯t a completely wrong assumption, mostly he did it because he wanted to. A few times I tried to, he pushed me back to the table. Ciela, Chloe, and Meredith were also shooed away from the dinner line. The triplets would always bring their food trays to them. ¡°Thank you. Tomorrow we are going on an official dungeon crawl, right?¡± ¡°Yep! The king had to let us due to the obvious kill order on your head. My moon you are popular!¡± His wry smile made me feel better about leaving Aku. Chapter 35: The first official dungeon crawl ¡°Alright children have you learnt a formation yet?¡± A bleak looking man who when by head instructor asked the eight kids in front of him. ¡°We have one yes, in formation!¡± I gave a shout, and everyone fell in. Jensen and I were at the front. He had a huge shield and a thin rapier for thrusting. I had an ordinary looking sword, though it didn¡¯t suite my style. A double edged one would better fit my style, but they were expensive. The triplets spread out covering the sides and back, they were obviously switches. They would help the front, middle, or back as needed. Each had a sturdy sword, spear on their backs, and small arm shield. Meredith and Ciela were the ranged attackers and support casters. Ciela had her bow that was comically too big for her. She was a farmer, so her strength was more than enough to pull the string. She often coupled the arrows with magic as well making her attacks more devastating. Meredith was great at casting buffing spells, and ranged attacks. She had a staff that was sturdy enough to use as a club if needed. Finally, our true middle was Chloe. She was a tall sturdy farmers daughter. She held a mace that she had sharpened the points on. She was violent and seemed to enjoy watching the blood spill from monsters. She was placed in the middle partly due to her inability to notice her surroundings. She often focused so much on killing the thing in front of her, she would get hurt from the side. She also provided a layer of protection for the back line. Auna always thought that if she was on the front line, she would go full kamikaze. When they break into smaller groups, she was the back line for the main striking force. ¡°She carries a mace; she should be on the front line.¡± The head instructor sighed. ¡°No sir, she has tunnel vision.¡± Auna shock her head giving a look at Chloe who had not moved. Chloe and Auna had argued enough about this issue that Chloe had eventually given in. ¡°I see. Then we will leave your formation as is. How on earth did you get approval for an eight-year-old?¡± Shaking his head, he walked towards the relatively safe dungeon while a few other instructors pushed their group to follow. Auna and Jensen had worked very hard to explain that all the girls in the room would need combat practice. The king relented and gave Ciela his permission as well. The killers were coming into their room after all. The boys got approval easily as Duke Pearl didn¡¯t even try to fight his sons¡¯ request. Chloe was given permission after her parents got a visit from both the Pearl and Bloodwave heads. They spent the next three hours crawling through the first few floors of the training dungeon. The instructors rarely said anything, content to let the children continue in their clearing without correction. Every once in a while, tips like ¡°A triplet should have gotten that one¡± or ¡°Miss Jade let Mr Pearl use his shield for you, jump back behind it when needed¡± where given. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Alright, I think that is enough. We might have picked too weak of a starting point.¡± The head instructor led them back outside. ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything we actually need to teach you. You are at the level most twelve-year-olds are when they come to us for their first experience in the dungeon. I am confident you can go into one yourselves. Not one rated for high-level adventurers but beginner ones easily enough.¡± The instructors then stepped aside to have a private conversation. ¡°Do you think they will just issue our pass?¡± Jensen asked as the children waited calmly. ¡°I can¡¯t see them doing that. It would look bad. Most teams from our school take at least three babysat dungeon crawls before getting the green light to solo.¡± I say shaking my head. It was unheard of to be given the pass to enter a dungeon before three sessions with an experienced member. ¡°Aright children, we will update your guild cards. You don¡¯t need to come back tomorrow.¡± The head instructor gave a bleak smile. ¡°What is this world coming to when youngsters no longer need us for guidance?¡± He walked away as a different man shook his head laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. Your kiddos did great, you are all well-coordinated. You are all strong as well, can use your skills effectively and no one threw up at monster blood! Though Chloe, right?¡± Chloe gave a quick nod as he pointed at her. ¡°You should try to tone it down with the crazy laughing and smiling when you kill. It was a bit creepy.¡± We all nodded at that. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Chloe sheepishly looked away. ¡°Anyway. Your guild cards should be updated soon. It is easier because you all already are guild members. We usually guide people until we are sure they won¡¯t cry, throw up, or pee themselves in a dungeon alone. You are all already beyond that. So truly good job!¡± He gave a final wave as our teacher Mr. Merlin came to gather us. ¡°How did your first session go?¡± Mr Merlin asked as we walked back to the school. The training site was not too far from the school. The school having been built purposely close to the weaker dungeon. ¡°They said we don¡¯t need anymore and that our cards will be updated today.¡± Jensen beamed as Mr. Merlin stumbled a bit looking at us trying to see if we were lying. ¡°He isn¡¯t lying¡± I say. Mr. Merlin just shook his head staying quiet for a while finally he spoke when we reached the school gates. ¡°You children are all weird, aren¡¯t you?¡± He gazed at each of us for a few seconds before bidding us farewell. It was nearly lights out. Tomorrow would be the start of the week, which meant classes. Auna didn¡¯t gain a single level from the exercise. She was not pleased having wasted her time. The weak monsters having been too small to gain exp from for them. Once someone was a certain level higher than the monster, they would no longer gain exp from the kill. It was different for each monster type, and not well documented. Instead, a person would instinctively know the monster wouldn¡¯t give them exp. Some people though didn¡¯t have that instinct. Instead rule of thumb dictated to fight within 10 levels of your level. Chapter 36: Advice from the Gary couple ¡°Say Meredith your brother is named Gary as well, right?¡± I asked as we walked toward the guilds in border town. It was the weekend, so we were going to visit the two Garys. ¡°Yeah, my parents apparently went to school with one of their older brothers. They look older than they are. Mom said because of the stress of running a guild branch. They named him after both of them, his middle name is merchant Garys¡¯ middle name.¡± ¡°I see. So, they are younger than your parents? So closer to early 30s?¡± I ask, I had assumed them closer to their late 40s. ¡°I think so, maybe. Mom says it is rude to ask people their age when you are an adult. Some people are more sensitive about it.¡± ¡°Alright I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I nod remembering my past lives, many women would get angry at the question. I hadn¡¯t noticed men getting angry though, maybe they do as well here? ¡°Welcome, would you like to come into your private room?¡± A guild receptionist brought us to the room we had been assigned. Since our business was confidential the Gary guild branch managers would handle it themselves. Often, we were expected, and a room was always set aside for us. ¡°Hello children!¡± Merchant Gary smiled warmly having arrived first. ¡°Should I inform your husband?¡± A maid asked as she put down tea. ¡°Yes please¡± Gary waved her off to do so while he poured the tea instead. ¡°Your married?¡± I asked after a few minutes, just as adventurer Gary walked in. ¡°Of course, I am?¡± Merchant Gary looked at me confused. ¡°Aren¡¯t you married to the job? What weirdo would marry you?¡± I asked with a big smile, I was teasing him but also curious. ¡°Um, I am that weirdo.¡± Adventurer Gary blushed as he sat down. ¡°Did you kids not know that?¡± ¡°You, and you?¡± I pointed between the two. ¡°My moon, did you seriously not pick up on that?¡± Jensen looked towards me with genuine shock. ¡°Yeah, we all figured that out. The people here refer to them as husbands, and they often sneak kisses when they think no one is looking. We are all looking by the way Gary.¡± A triplet smiled towards merchant Gary. ¡°Wow how can someone so smart be so clueless?¡± Meredith asked the room. ¡°Well, she is still trying to deny she and Jensen will wed one day so what do you expect?¡± Chloe spoke next. After about ten minutes of everyone agreeing Auna was a very dense person when it came to matters of the heart they moved on. Leaving Auna trying to understand how she did not notice the two Garys were husbands and running the branches together. ¡°Wait¡± Auna raised her hands while the others were going through the crop list. ¡°So, you both are named Gary, and are married. On top of that you run the branching guilds. Did you pick to run them in one building? Is that why many other towns have to separate branches for the adventurers and merchants¡¯ guilds?¡± ¡°My moon, my dear clueless moon.¡± Jensen sighed. ¡°Small towns merge the branches as they are too small to need two separate ones. The staff doesn¡¯t have enough work to justify having two sets of everyone.¡± Jensen put his arm around her bringing her ear close to him. ¡°Now for the talk about how a relationship works while both have the same name is best had behind closed doors. However, they do probably use pet names during evening activities instead of calling their own. If you know what I mean.¡± Jensen winked everyone was blushing a bit except Auna. She had no idea what he was getting at. This made the boy actually laugh and excuse himself for a few minutes. ¡°You are going to have such a hard time with her Jensen.¡± A triplet told him when he came back in. ¡°We have a few years yet before we have to deal with that. It isn¡¯t her fault many of her lives she never went through puberty. She didn¡¯t live long enough for it. Though she should be this time. Are you going through puberty my moon?¡± As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He had forgotten for a second how bad her temper could be. ¡°I just asked a short-tempered girl if she was going through puberty.¡± This thought was loud in his mind. He wasn¡¯t even surprised as her hand connected with his face. Nor was he surprised when she angrily grabbed his collar dragging him to a more private area to give him a good scolding. ¡°Welcome back, we have finished the usual transactions while you two were having your lovers spat.¡± Adventurer Gary teased as Merchant Gary elbowed him very hard in the ribs. ¡°We wanted some advice as well. On a few things.¡± Auna sat back down, with Jensen on the floor. Theo nuzzled between the two. ¡°Yes, go on.¡± Merchant Gary said. ¡°The people that are trying to kill me. Can we try to track down who they are or who sent them?¡± I ask a bit unsure. ¡°Both the dukes are already working on that, so I don¡¯t think you should concern yourself right now. Once they have more information, I am sure they will bring you into the fold of what is going on. Just keep doing what you are.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the crops are going to allow me to make enough money. The king has said I need to be making nearly two pallidum coins a year. That is close to what upper nobles with two working adults make a year.¡± In her old world it would be nearly 200,000. She didn¡¯t know how she could manage to make so much. Most jobs paid closer to 60,000 a year. ¡°Yes, I heard he set such a high number for you. I think it is because you have Ciela and yourself going to such an expensive school. Also, if he had set it too low the church might have accused him of being unfair.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Even if I took everyones¡¯ share from our crops, it would only equal a handful of platinum coins. How can I actually meet this?¡± ¡°Hmm. I would recommend exploring your dungeon more, find more resources that can be sold more often. Your flowers are exceptional, but they bring up too many questions if we sell them too often and in too high of volume. Your syrup trade is going to bring in more now that the trees are properly grown and established. You should be able to tap them twice a calendar year.¡± Merchant Gary got quiet still thinking. Everyone kept quiet to let him think. ¡°I think, you could try to do something else instead of making a stable income. If you do something that gains you a noble title you would be free of the deal as you would automatically gain land to which would make more than the needed amount.¡± ¡°How do I get my own noble title?¡± ¡°Well, you could map a new dungeon with many resources and gift it to the king, you could achieve great victory in a war, save the royal family from death, things like that.¡± Merchant Gary is a bit of an air head. How could I do any of that? ¡°Gary, how is my moon supposed to do any of that? She is ten. There is no war, and no one seems to be going after our royal family. And we can¡¯t give up our dungeon, we would have to give up the moon door for anyone to get there.¡± Jensen was shaking his head. ¡°True, so try to just push forward. You have six years left. Ask me again closer to the time I might actually have a reasonable answer.¡± Merchant Gary shrugged. It was obvious he too was still at a loss. ¡°Anyway, can we buy some mapping tools?¡± Auna moved on. ¡°Sure, is that boat ready?¡± Merchant Gary asked as he beckoned a maid in, giving her a paper with what the children would need. It would automatically come off the top of what their party would be owed for the crops. ¡°Yeah, Duke Pearl tested it.¡± A triplet nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he did that.¡± Merchant Gary was sighing. ¡°So dangerous.¡± ¡°Not as dangerous as us just doing it ourselves because he wouldn¡¯t help.¡± Jensen shrugged. He was of course right; the children were building a boat either way. The low-level bug monsters on the island were no longer giving exp to the kids. They had to venture out more. They had to explore their dungeon to gain more levels, to protect themselves. ¡°That is true.¡± Merchant Gary smiled as a box of mapping material was given to him. ¡°I seem to remember you have a mapping skill, why use instruments like compasses?¡± Adventurer Gary was staring at Auna. ¡°Yeah, but apparently Mr Voice said she is going to have actually use tools if she wants to improve it. Also, we should all know how to read, write, and do mapping.¡± Chloe spoke without thinking. Everyone gave her a hard stare as the two men named Gary gave a concerned look to Auna. ¡°Mr. Voice?¡± Merchant Gary asked in a tone that one would carefully ask a crazy person a question. ¡°It is a skill that started as a pure narration or log of everything around me. Now it gives me useful tips or advice when it isn¡¯t being sassy.¡± Auna was sighing heavily as she knew Mr. Voice did not like to be called sassy. She knew Mr. Voice would be more difficult to deal with. ¡°A skill. Is it called World Voice by any chance?¡± Adventurer Gary asked, while merchant Gary looked wide eye at him. ¡°Yes, how did you know?¡± I asked while merchant Gary looked even more shocked. ¡°I knew a guy when I was younger with it. He ended up going crazy, he still lives in a safe room at a hospital complex. He went crazy.¡± Adventurer Gary looks very concerned. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will go crazy, don¡¯t worry.¡± Reaching forwards, I put my hand on his knee. It looked so small compared to the huge mans¡¯ knee. Will I really go crazy? I remember few lives where I did spiral into madness. ¡°Please don¡¯t think too hard about the few times you went mad on our last world. It usually triggers the madness.¡± Jensen was staring right into my soul as he spoke. He isn¡¯t wrong even now I can feel the madness threatening to enter my mind. It always is just on the edge of my being, for as long as I can remember it has been a close companion. I nod slowly. You won¡¯t go mad, at least not in the way you think. As long as you learn to accept all parts of you, the sane and the insane. You will be fine. Mr. Voice was uncharacteristically straight forward and serious. I don¡¯t want to go mad though. A little madness will do you good. Mr. Voice pushed. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you for now. Please be careful though.¡± Gary looks very sad, a weird expression for the joking man. ¡°How will you explore in secret? Being on the boat you will be trapped inside the dungeon for extended periods of time, no?¡± Merchant Gary quickly changed the topic patting other Gary on the back. ¡°Auna can place a door on a different island if there are any. She can¡¯t place on the boat though. We tested that and it isn¡¯t stable enough.¡± Jensen answered as Auna, and Gary kept looking at each other in silence. ¡°Is that what you two were doing back home during the summer? We thought you lost your marbles!¡± A triplet shouted snapping the two staring at each other out of it. ¡°I placed a door in a carriage and one by the house. When the carriage was moving sometimes, we could walk through the door. Sometimes we could not, and rarely it sent me to a random spot. I ended up in a random forest once, so we decided it was too dangerous. Though if the carriage is brought back to the spot, it was when I put the door in it works normally.¡± Auna shivered a bit remembering the panic she had at being transported to a random location forgetting for a moment she could easily teleport back through a door. She left her door in the forest it automatically was labelled unknown forest. She didn¡¯t feel like breaking it down. ¡°I see. I suppose that does make sense. So, you will be careful to come back at appropriate times then?¡± Merchant Gary asked. ¡°Of course. We plan to mostly explore on days off, no one bothers us anymore. Especially since we are allowed to go to dungeons alone now. We only have to check in at the school gate on entry for security reasons. We have a door at the villa, so we plan to always hit that one and walk back in through the front gate as an alibi.¡± Auna said matter of fact. ¡°That is actually a smart plan. Aside from the people trying to kill you will have access to you while you walk outside without an escort.¡± Gary shook his head. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they be watching the school for us to leave though? At least in the beginning they should be. We will take different routes coming back each day. If it becomes too dangerous or the time isn¡¯t too late, we can just come back to our rooms. And make up an excuse.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I suppose you can try it for now and see what happens. Today I think you should do that. Head through the front gates to see if they make a big stink about it. It will also help us to see if anyone starts watching the villa or scanning the capital for you.¡± ¡°Are you trying to have us flush them out?¡± ¡°Yes¡± The kids said goodbye to the two men named Gary. They put their hoods up and went to the mayor¡¯s home. Burt was still following them as per usual. The few years he had gotten bigger with more muscles. Still, he seemed obsessed with Auna. He asked to come through the door more often now. Every time Auna told him no. Even in their rush to get to the villa to test their plan of walking casually through the gates he bugged to join. They assumed no one would question it, that no one was monitoring the outgoing people as much. They were right as they signed in no one seemed to notice they had not left that way. However, at dinner they were asked when they left as everyone had thought they were in their rooms. They would have to come up with a different plan. The kids didn¡¯t want to sign out, head to the villa and then to the crater. If they did this the people waiting for a chance to follow and kill Auna would be waiting for them at the villa or try to take them out before they made it to the villa. They would need to consult the different dukes on a plan. Auna was thinking about stashing a door or two in different areas around the city. Which could also create issues with the moon door being exposed. Chapter 37: Educational Skills The next few weeks had gone by slowly. The children were told by both Dukes to stay inside for a bit. They still did their daily chores before anyone would come to check where they were. Exploring the dungeon was out of the question though. Apparently, a written threat was given to Duke Jade that his daughter would be killed. He forwarded the threat to the king, as he was no longer the charge of A Jade. ¡°Auna, who is that?¡± Chloe pointed out a boy sleeping in Aunas¡¯ bed. They had just returned from dinner. They all panicked a bit before the smaller child opened their eyes. They were white, and unseeing. They quickly entered the room shutting the door. ¡°Who are you?¡± Auna was still on guard of course. ¡°Jaihhyia is the name! I came bearing a message from the gods of your last world.¡± The boy simply got off of the bed, walked over and handed a letter to the girl. Could he see? ¡°That is not a normal name.¡± Ciela said tilting her head. The boy before her was weird. His hair was an unearthly blue, even more so than magic infused hair. His wings were similar but different, they were also one segment each. However, they were obviously a different ¡®material¡¯ than any fairy born she had met. The shape was sharper, sturdy, and almost see through at the same time. It invoked a sensation that no one seemed to be able to put to words. ¡°Ah sorry about that.¡± Sheepishly the boy put on a mantle fastening it to his shirt into imbedded fasteners. His outfit was completely white, and very baggy. The only colour was his metal fasteners on his mantle and shirt. There seemed to be a few pieces of jewellery hidden under the long sleeves as well as a hidden rope necklace. His wings now hidden the sensation ebbed away. ¡°Why would I believe you?¡± Auna deadpanned. ¡°Don¡¯t insult me. I don¡¯t lie.¡± The boy looked angry. ¡°Anyway. Also, I want to tell you not to awaken as a god. Trust me as a child who has done just that. It is not fun, bad people will make you a soldier. That is all I am going to say. There are rules about information after all.¡± Shrugging the boy stood there. ¡°If that is all, why are you still here?¡± Meredith was ever so impatient. ¡°I figured she would have at least one question. Besides I am not in a rush to head to my next assignment. I am just passing through this world after all.¡± Again, he shrugged, it was a bit eery to watch him move his head towards you to speak. He couldn¡¯t see so his eyes never properly met yours. ¡°Please stop fake looking at me when you talk.¡± Meredith said, to which the boy immediately looked away. Resting his head forwards. ¡°Mama said it is rude not to look at someone while you talk.¡± The boy shrugged again, a nervous tick probably. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t see, surely there is an exception for you.¡± Meredith sighed sitting on her bed, more comfortable now that the unseeing boy wasn¡¯t following them with his white eyes. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll tell my mama that next time.¡± A wry smile lit up his face. ¡°Anyway, how can I avoid becoming a god then?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Simple. Don¡¯t.¡± Jaihhyia and Auna stared at each other after he seriously said that. They both must be cut from the same cloth to be so dense. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Auna tried. ¡°You will. I promise. When you are ready to truly awaken you will feel it. A burning, cold feeling. You will want to surrender to it, bathe in it. Don¡¯t. Instead fight it, will it back into your soul. My twin sister and I didn¡¯t know what was going on when it happened. I went first, I surrendered to it. Then they came.¡± The boy paused deep in thought. ¡°She fought it. She never awakened as a true god, not yet at least. She can still feel it at the edge of her mind. Like a madness that wants to consume her. However, she ignores it, fights it when needed. Until she is an adult and the bad people can¡¯t hurt her too.¡± The boy nods as he finishes. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t your mother protect you?¡± Chloe asked with horror on her face. She comes from such a loving home after all. ¡°Mama did, for many years. She adopted me you see. Then I awakened. The bad people sent gods to kill me because mom wouldn¡¯t hand me over. Gods must be raised by Gods if they awaken as a child.¡± He spoke the line with anger. ¡°Anyway. Mama is not a god; however, she has earned the title god slayer for killing all the gods that have tried to kill me. She amassed many wounds though, some that still hinder her. To protect her I made a deal. The bad people can use me, but I live with mama when not on assignment. Also, my family isn¡¯t touched.¡± He smiled with sadness as his voice hitched. ¡°I can awaken once I am an adult? What do you classify as an adult?¡± Auna asked. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°That is actually easy! The rules state that if the person is of majority age, or legally classified as an adult they should be left alone. It is rare they break this. But to be double sure wait until you reach the oldest age.¡± ¡°So, the highest not average of what the worlds countries agree is an adult. If there were three countries one with an age of majority of 18, the other 16, and the last 15. I should wait until 18, not 16?¡± Auna nodded along as she thought. ¡°Yes. Anyway. Good bye.¡± The boy seemed to be glowing a blue, similar to his hair colour. ¡°Will we ever see you again?¡± Ciela asked as he faded. ¡°Maybe? I hope so. Y¡¯all seem chill!¡± Then he was gone, as if he never existed. The only reminder being the letter in hand. ¡°That, was odd. I thought I had gotten used to odd things around you.¡± Meredith shook her head heading towards the washroom. ¡°I¡¯m going to update the boys.¡± Auna also sighed putting her letter in storage. ¡°I am so sick of staying on school grounds.¡± Jensen groaned as he continued to play with his cats¡¯ cradle moving the string in odd positions. The last evening had been forgotten. It was no use to fret over something they could not explain. The letter had been a simple message of regret the curse was not fixed, and missing her. ¡°I know, I am as well.¡± Auna also sighed playing with her own cats¡¯ cradle, she was not nearly as good as Jensen though. ¡°Yeah, sorry we are asking for help. We thought having you two teach us would give us the advance educational skills. Guess we need more practice?¡± Chloe turned to Meredith who was shrugging. ¡°What do you mean educational skills?¡± Auna asked nonchalantly. ¡°What do you mean what do you mean? You should have so many you are so smart!¡± Chloe said in too loud of a tone bringing over the floor teachers. They had been keeping a closer eye on them. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what an educational skill is. Jensen?¡± Auna looked to her friend for comfort surely, he would explain. ¡°Sorry my moon. I don¡¯t know what they are talking about. Are you guys trying to prank us?¡± Jensen continued to play with his string shrugging it off. The triplets often tried to prank and fool him. ¡°Are you two saying you both don¡¯t have any educational skills? How is that possible?¡± Mr. Merlin asked slowly. ¡°No?¡± Auna said looking at Jensen who was shaking his head. Finally, he put his string down beside Aunas¡¯ long forgotten string. ¡°Hm, you must have not practiced enough. To get a basic educational skill you need to be taught by someone with it. Then you must practice it properly. You two are both brilliant, it is possible you practiced so little that you never got the skills?¡± Mr. Merlin almost sounded like he was asking instead of telling. ¡°I think you are right, here take this book.¡± Mrs. Hopper put down a book called ¡®Educational skills and you¡¯. Jensen moved closer to Auna and opened the book. At a speed that was ridiculous they began to read the book. After about thirty minutes they were both staring at the book, having finished it. Basically, the book outlined that a person would need to be taught basics of a subject alongside extensive practice, to gain an educational skill for that subject. As long as one existed. Then to gain more advance skills in education it was more abstract. Some people claimed to get them without ever being properly taught, while others claimed to never practice. They would then be in the educational skills section of the status screen. Thus, the book concluded that the advanced, mastery, and specialty levels of educational skills are dependent on understanding. Once a person properly understands enough of the subject they are trying to learn, they can gain the skill. A speciality in basic maths would be a skill called mathematician, or something with that title. One could be a teacher of math without a specialty skill. Though they could only teach younger children with a basic skill. As such in every subject that had educational skills revealing the skill or skills was required to get the job. Religion did not have an educational skill. Some people could get odd educational skills that were still unknown such as Astronomy pioneers. When the system acknowledges a new field of study the skill would be labelled pioneer. Then people could learn the basic skill from them. The person who first created or discovered the skill would then be able to learn the basic skill and so forth. They would keep the pioneer skill. Currently, Astronomy or the study of space was still at a basic understanding no one had been able to move it further. Perhaps no one wished to from other worlds. The book went on to say that sometimes knowledge or people with it are lost, so the next person to rediscover a field of study was labelled an explorer. They too could then allow people to get the basic in the skill again. This would only happen if the amount of people with the basic skill was less than ten percent of the total population (an estimate). ¡°Why did no one mention this?¡± Auna asked as she kept looking over the summary of the book in her world voice skill. Jensen was sitting with his eyes closed breathing deeply. ¡°The book also said studying can give experience points. Why would no one mention it to two people who need more points per level?¡± Jensen still has his eyes closed. ¡°I assumed you knew.¡± Ciela spoke up looking at Auna with guilty eyes. ¡°I am sorry, I should have thought better. You didn¡¯t even know what a cow was.¡± She muttered. ¡°No sweet girl, I should have paid more attention.¡± Auna pulled the girl into her lap. ¡°Most students who go here already have basic educational skills due to their lineage. The scholarship students are put through an intensive ¡®catching up¡¯ class for the first year to catch them up. Because you both are from great bloodlines, we assumed you knew.¡± Mr. Merlin was rambling as always. ¡°I am an orphan of the king you know.¡± Auna rolled her eyes, always upset over being mentioned as a Jade. ¡°Of course. Jensen?¡± Mr. Merlin asked. ¡°I, might have skipped too many lessons.¡± Jensen kept his eyes closed, a grimace now on his face. ¡°Yeah, we were taught this, and even had a competition to see who would get their basic math, science, history, geography, and social studies. We never included you as we assumed you had them. Even the teachers assumed it when you finished work so easily. Why do you think you never got lectured for skipping class while we did?¡± A triplet answers while the other two snicker. ¡°I see.¡± Jensen opened his eyes a huge smile on his face. ¡°Shall we go practice the basics my moon?¡± His wry smile full of excitement at being able to ease his boredom. Chapter 38: The attack It was now Iren, spring was in full bloom. The children escorted by heavily armed men were on their way to the Bloodwave villa. It was the first time since the threat they were off school ground officially. They had spent almost no time in the dungeon only doing the farm chores. Auna also spent time with Aku whenever she had a spare moment. The boy was loving the sea and slowly becoming more lifelike. ¡°So why do educational skills not have any levels at all again?¡± Jensen whined. ¡°I told you no one knows. They are just skills, with descriptions. They are normally basic, advanced, mastery of, and then the special ones.¡± Diego nearly growled out. ¡°But there is no indication on when we can get the next skill.¡± Jensen whined more. ¡°You both already have multiple advanced skills! Stop moaning about it.¡± Diego pinched his nose bridge. ¡°Look, it is a bit annoying but we both have nearly gained a level. Shouldn¡¯t that be enough?¡± Auna smiled as she shook her head. Jensen was itching to gain more though. ¡°But my mo-¡± Incoming attack, fatal to Jensen. Mr. Voice spurred Auna into action. She cut the boy off mid-sentence slamming him to the ground. As soon as she did that. A blast of fire magic hit a wall behind them. The wall cracked with the force. The attack had slipped through two of the guards. ¡°Protect the children!¡± The guards began running around looking for attackers. A few jumped out from the crowd to attack directly. More magic was coming at them. Auna was still holding Jensen down. ¡°We need to leave now.¡± Ciela calmly tugged on Aunas¡¯ mantle. ¡°Okay, get up Jensen.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jensen with Aunas¡¯ help slowly got on his feet never taking his eyes off of her. ¡°You saved me, thank you my moon.¡± ¡°Move!¡± The guard close to them yelled. This further spurred the children. They had an escape plan. They needed to find a quiet place to place a door. ¡°Are they still following?¡± Chloe with Ciela on her back whispered. The kids had been running around town for about ten minutes at full speed. So many people just jumped out at them with weapons along their way. They had managed to keep together only losing the guards along the way. Most likely because they were small enough to slip through gaps in the crowd and walls. Even the taller Chloe was still obviously more slender than the guards and men giving chase. ¡°I see no one.¡± Jensen said as he motioned for Auna to make the door. ¡°Got it, where do we go?¡± Auna asked. ¡°If we all head to the crater they¡¯ll think we are missing. One of us should head to the villa?¡± Meredith said, looking like she really did not want to be the one heading to the villa. Everyone was terrified, even Chloe looked scared. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the villa, everyone else to the crater.¡± Auna said with a tone that left no room for argument. Everyone piled into the door quickly. She had removed their permissions to go to any other door. She needed to make sure they made no mistake, as Mr. Voice directed her. ¡°My moon.¡± Jensen looked at her with a determined look. ¡°Fine, we will go together.¡± With a smile she put out her hand for him to take. They walked through the door into the villa. It was a very quiet day at the villa. Too quiet. Slowly the children of only ten years old crept through the villa. Instead of running to safety they thought it was their duty to find someone, help if they could. Auna had changed the door permissions to allow the others to go back to the school. She was not sure if her death would allow for the doors to stay. Attack incoming, fatal to you. Mr. Voice spoke. Auna moved out of her attackers¡¯ way, a lean man with a knife. Attack incoming fatal to you, suggest fighting back. Mr. Voice echoed in her head. I can¡¯t fight back. Auna spoke in her mind. You must to survive. Mr. Voice wished he could sigh. How? Auna meekly asked in her mind as her and Jensen kept dodging the man. Jensen had started throwing magic at the man, and fighting back. Let the madness in, just a little bit. Mr. Voice soothed. No, I can¡¯t. Auna fought. As she disagreed Jensen was knocked over sliding across the hall until he hit the wall with a sickening thud. His eyes were closed, she could not see if his chest was moving. She was moving too fast. She wondered why she did not leave him in the crater with the rest. Why had she brought him? Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It was slow at first, she got faster more flexible. Her eyes became colder, her wings and hair glowing like the night sky. She was mesmerising to watch. It was like she was dancing. ¡°Galaxy, a dancing galaxy how beautiful.¡± The man who was attacking was momentarily mesmerised. Just enough time for her to shove the sword she carried deep into his heart. His limp body fell to the floor as she slowly came back to her mind. She shook with fear for what she had done, and fear for madness that was just on the edge of her mind. She did not notice the guards, or the Bloodwave Dukes. Who had come in to hear the man say his last words. They had watched the small child drive her sword deep into his chest. They were stunned only for a moment before heading over to Jensen. He was coming around mumbling something about being caught off guard. Jensen was helped to his feet by Marybeth as she cooed sweet words to him. He was obviously a bit dizzy, swaying slightly. He bolted out of the Dukes¡¯ grasp to grab onto AunaLuna. ¡°My moon, thank you.¡± Jensen was gently shaking her, though it might not have been on purpose. ¡°Snap out of it, please. We may have more to do. What about the others who are depending on you?¡± ¡°Jensen?¡± Auna asked trying to focus on the boy. She grabbed onto to him burying her face in his shoulder. Trying to stave off the madness. He was right, she had people depending on her. ¡°We took care of the rest; however, they have set the villa on fire. We need to leave.¡± Edwards¡¯ words rang in her ears, she did not have the strength to move yet. She felt the Duke lift her himself heading towards the room with the moon door. ¡°Be careful with her!¡± Jensen yelled as they ran, now he noticed the smoke coming from deeper in the villa. ¡°I am!¡± Edward yelled back, as they entered the room. To his surprise Auna laughed. ¡°The moon door has been sealed; my moon please open it for us.¡± Jensen encouraged her as she kept giggling. ¡°The madness is taking root; you must fight it.¡± ¡°Open Sesame!¡± Auna giggled as she waved her hands before falling into a deep dream. One full of madness both familiar and new. Gory images of death and odd beings flashed before her closed eyes. A warm blanket of madness lulled her into a deep sleep. Quickly everyone passed through the door. They were all welcomed by the children already in the crater. They were stuck though as the trip to the clearing was not a safe one, nor was the trip to the town from the clearing. They did not know the route to the clearing even if they wanted to leave. They spent the next few days waiting for the small girl to wake, so they may leave. ¡°Good morning.¡± Auna spoke dryly as she left her room, she saw way too many people in the small house. Waiting out the rain in the crater, though the rain would not stop her. She headed towards the patch she often danced in; she didn¡¯t even stop when called to. Jensen pulled back the Duke who tried to keep her from leaving the small house. After a few hours she was exhausted and renewed. It was an odd feeling however a drenched Jensen gave her a thumbs up before speaking. ¡°There is no lightning or thunder, I filled the bath for you. One of the triplets made a wall for you for privacy as well. So, feel free to bathe.¡± ¡°Thanks! The moon door to the villa was destroyed, would you like to figure out where we will go?¡± Auna was already walking towards the bath, confident Jensen would do as she asked. ¡°Did you really just bathe in the rain, in the start of spring?¡± Marybeth had her hands on her hips. She was giving her a scolding look; Jensen was in the corner still trying to dry himself off. ¡°It is not as cold as winter.¡± Auna deadpanned. She was not feeling up to a scolding so she put her best disinterested look on her face. ¡°We will have to talk about proper etiquette again?¡± She sighed half asking the small girl. ¡°I¡¯d rather not to be honest. My teachers¡¯ scolding is enough.¡± Auna turned to Jensen. ¡°Just magic yourself dry Ember, why are you doing that? While you are at it dry me off as well.¡± Auna pointed at the towel he was struggling with. ¡°Well, darn. I was keeping it a secret you know. Not many people have decent fire and decent water talents. Usually one or the other, come here my moon.¡± Jensen quickly dried them both. ¡°You really can use both?¡± Edward and Marybeth said together looking completely surprised. Auna did not take notice and Jensen was happy to pretend they did not ask. ¡°You two are not getting away with this. Did you guys know as well?¡± Marybeth turned to scold the rest of the kids, who all tried to scatter. There was no where for them to go though. Auna sat down on the lap of Edward as she watched the other Duke scold the children. Jensen handed her some dried meat to munch on as she watched the show. ¡°She is not going to get anything from them, is she?¡± Edward asked quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The triplets won¡¯t cave easily, and the rest don¡¯t know anything.¡± Jensen answered for the both of them. ¡°We should head back. People are most likely very curious as to where we are right now. Some might even think we all had been killed, or taken.¡± Marybeth gave up after an hour the triplets smirking behind her. ¡°Sure, did we decide where?¡± Auna asked stretching as she walked to the front door, she began making a new door on top of the front door. She no longer had to hum to make them, but she felt better doing so anyway. So, Jensen remained quiet until she was done. ¡°We want to go to the alley. Did you leave the door there?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°I did, yes. I will reach out to it. Hopefully it was not damaged.¡± Auna made the connection to the door. ¡°Say before we go can we talk?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Marybeth answered, everyone settling back in. ¡°Why did no one go back to the school? I opened the doors to do so.¡± ¡°Well, we had not checked before you came here. So, we didn¡¯t know. Once you got here the doors became useless as you slept. That was new.¡± The triplets took turns explaining. ¡°That is reasonable, I suppose.¡± Auna muttered in thought. A few seconds later she spoke again. ¡°Can we keep these things a secret? I don¡¯t need more attention.¡± She addressed the guards. All of them gave a bow. Agreeing together. ¡°Okay. Good enough. I¡¯ll leave the explaining to you two.¡± Auna glanced at the Dukes. Then opened the door to the alley. They all walked through the door. Auna and Jensen were last through the door. The alleyway was now very crowded. Chapter 39: First voyage ¡°Now be sure to be back in time for the Kings¡¯ End of spring garden party.¡± Seni told the children for the hundredth time. The poor woman was so used to having to repeat herself to the boys. ¡°Yes mom! We know. We will only explore Ember Moon for the month.¡± Jensen sighed but was holding tightly onto her with a big smile. ¡°Why does the King need us there anyway?¡± Auna groaned once again. ¡°You know he wants to keep you under his eyes. You do have a deal with him after all. Besides since the capital was literally under siege last month in attempt to kill you it isn¡¯t too unreasonable, he requested you come.¡± Seni shrugged lightly with a small pity filled smile. She understood the wish not to be around high society. ¡°I know.¡± Auna sighed as well. Giving her little moon one last hug. He had grown a bit and had much more chubby features. ¡°Everyone has a swimming skill, right?¡± Seni asked again. ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone laughed at her, she had asked them many times now. Auna began to set up the door. They would be entering the dungeon from here. ¡°Also, Auna, I know you used your map skill very much lately. You upped your mana pool, right?¡± Seni smiled as she asked the question already knowing the answer. ¡°Yes, I will not make the same mistake twice. I will keep the map up to ensure I know when enemies are coming.¡± Auna sighed, the siege on the capital would not have been so much of an issue with it. The map would have warned her about the bad people with ill will coming up. She would not have needed her Mr. Voice to warn her. ¡°Okay, be safe everyone.¡± Seni gave them each one last hug. Nick did as well. They were unsure if they were making the right decision. The Bloodwaves had been upset after all. They all knew the children would go anyway though. They had prepared them as much as they could. The cover story was that they were all spending their entire break within the capital, under guard. ¡°Okay, everyone ready?¡± We have to finish this by the end of the month. We need to find more land. For a door.¡± Auna yelled as they all get settled into their small ship. Jensen took the helm as the triplets pushed the ship into deeper water. ¡°We should go for about two weeks, if we find nothing we have to turn back.¡± Chloe was staring into the bright sky; a big yellow sun was hanging in it. The water was clear, with very little fish. They travelled with high hopes and excitement. ¡°Good thing we have people with the storage skills. I still can¡¯t decide who has the better one though.¡± Bruno mused as they ate food from Aunas¡¯ storage. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The ship was brought here by Jensen. Though Auna can technically hold more.¡± Mateo answered. They had been having this conversation everyday for a whole week. They were all a little annoyed with having nothing to do. The waters were calm and now full of fish. They did not fish though, as they didn¡¯t bring the equipment for it. They had yet to see any land either. The fish were just normal, non-monster fish. It truly was odd. ¡°Say. Is this dungeon for supplies? It is just so odd.¡± Diego mused out loud as Jensen continued to steer the ship. The girls just watched them talk as they tried to play chess. ¡°I have never heard of such a place.¡± Jensen fiddled with the tools meant for charting the course. They had been using the proper tools in hope of gaining the skill for sea navigation. They had not gotten it yet though. It was most likely because the course was a straight line south. They found going North from their island ended in a wall after just a few hours. They then decided to go South. When they veered to far off course East or West though they were met with more walls. Even Auna could not see past the walls. There were also no fish or coral near the walls. They decided staying in the middle of the ocean ¡®hall¡¯ was best. It was not uncommon for dungeons to have unnatural walls or endings. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°This might help us bring in more money though.¡± Auna stretched from her spot in the crows¡¯ nest. She had taken to the spot; it was high up and her map range was slowly growing. Even if currently, it was all just water. It was fairly quiet so they could talk even if she was so high up. ¡°That is true, we could maybe set up a fishing spot. Fresh fish is always a nice item to sell. Many merchants have storage skills that allow them to transport goods without too much decay. Though not as great as yours.¡± Diego answered as Jensen laughed. ¡°My moon when did you become so money focused? You used to love the adventure!¡± Jensen continued to laugh as Auna scoffed at him. ¡°Come on, she has to pay for her freedom after all.¡± Chloe came closer to the helm. ¡°She could just run away to another country?¡± Jensen had his signature wry smile plastered on his face as he steered the ship. ¡°The other countries would immediately hand her over to the church.¡± Chloe deadpanned not putting up with his crazy attitude. Auna had already decided to ignore him. ¡°A fishing spot would be a nice change of pace.¡± Jensen gave in. ¡°The type of fish keep changing.¡± Diego pointed to a new stream of fish swimming alongside the ship. Every so often the fish would change, sometimes even coexisting even though they were not native to the same areas. ¡°This is a very odd place.¡± Jensen agreed. The next few hours were quiet as everyone just hung around. Until Auna spoke. ¡°Land Ahead!¡± She nearly leaped from the crows¡¯ nest in excitement. Dropping down the main deck of the ship. ¡°Here look!¡± Auna showed everyone her map. On it was a wall, with a small area that seemed to stick out. ¡°Another wall? Is this the last floor?¡± Chloe groaned. ¡°The stairs to the next floor might be in the small jutted out area here though.¡± Mateo poked her cheek to which she swatted at him. Making everyone else laugh. ¡°How long do you think it will take?¡± Jensen spoke up, looking impatiently. ¡°Maybe a day?¡± Auna shrugged climbing back to her nest. ¡°A DAY? Why even bother telling us!¡± Jensen yelled after her, muttering even more. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t even see the wall yet. Her map skill has really upgraded, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Diego spoke in awe. ¡°It really has. She doesn¡¯t want to ever be caught off guard again. You know the gods might have answered her prayers.¡± Jensen answered. The next day of travel went by agonizingly slow. They had less than three weeks left before the party. Everyone was very anxious to do something other than sit on a ship. They had practiced sailing so much but now it seemed it was not needed. The trip was so boring. ¡°Wow Look at that wall! Is it even taller than the other ones?¡± Ciela was bouncing up and down. Pacing on the deck as the boys worked to dock the ship to the dock on the only visible landing area. She had been sleeping when the wall came into view waking with the rough docking. ¡°I think it might be. Be on guard though this is a dungeon!¡± Meredith scolded everyone. ¡°My map is not picking up any hostile beings.¡± Auna said as she jumped off the ship. Her wings spreading open to carry her landside. ¡°No fair!¡± Jensen called after her as he handed the ship over to a sighing triplet. He also flew catching up quickly, landing with her. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± Auna scolded as she watched the boys struggle to finish docking the ship. They soon were joined by everyone. ¡°Really another floor with no monsters?¡± Chloe looked around as everyone gathered. The island was odd. It was connected to the wall. There was a small village on it as well. Roughly one hundred homes sat empty with all of their belongings left behind. Dust had settled on everything. There even was long rotted food on the tables. Small fields lay baren closer to the wall. ¡°This really must be a dungeon for gathering?¡± Ciela was sitting on a small wall overlooking a plot of field. ¡°Mr. Merlin did say dungeons can be similar inside to the outside.¡± Jensen answered her as he fed her candy. ¡°What do you mean big brother?¡± Ciela asked around a mouthful of candy. ¡°Uh so dungeons in forests might be forest like inside, or ones in big cities can be labyrinths or more like this village. With monsters though of course.¡± Jensen motioned around. ¡°Do you think this place is like this because of big sis then?¡± Ciela looked towards Auna. ¡°How so?¡± Meredith came closer, as the others also gathered. ¡°Well, our crater is safe and full of gathering items. There is also the great monster forest. It does border the ocean.¡± Ciela smiled at Auna who was deep in thought. ¡°It could be, that might be why it is odd.¡± Auna easily accepted that as the case. ¡°Should we give up on this then?¡± ¡°Not so fast. I found a dungeon podium in what seems like a temple. It is in the back, near the center of the village.¡± Bruno pointed towards the wall. ¡°Why is there one here? Are they not suppose to be in lobbies?¡± Auna questioned the boy as he looked around at the fields. ¡°Well yeah. Sometimes they appear on floors that are basically special like this, they are a way to move safely between such unique floors. A dungeon with unique floors like this are often researched. As such it is thought that the gods have shown mercy, giving researchers easy access to the floors. Even if a person has not gone to other floors the unique ones are open to all who enter.¡± Bruno answered as if everyone should have known that. ¡°Why do you know that?¡± Auna asked curious. ¡°Not everything is taught in classes, sometimes you need to sit around and listen in taverns or guild halls.¡± Bruno finished, showing no signs he would continue. ¡°Then should we go down a floor?¡± Auna asked everyone. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone jumped excited to go down to the next floor. Chapter 40: Not all children yearn for the mines ¡°Okay. Anyone know how long we have been in here?¡± Jensen asked. They had travelled all the way down to floor five. ¡°Ugh. Yeah, floor threes¡¯ cave maze we managed to clear in a few days. The second cave maze as well. So, a total of one week. This one we have been in for a week. So, we have been in the dungeon three weeks. We will need to leave soon.¡± Mateo answered as they rested for a few minutes. ¡°The first two floors only had moles and worms. I don¡¯t think I saw any above level 20. Now I don¡¯t think I have seen anything below level 20. It is getting hard for sure. Auna, you have made it to level 26, right?¡± Chloe asked for confirmation. ¡°Yes, you guys are higher levels though!¡± Auna answered. ¡°We should be able to find the stairs soon, I am sorry my skill is not reliable here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Many adventures say navigation skills don¡¯t work in maze floors.¡± Bruno said shrugging. ¡°Thanks for the reassurance.¡± Auna nodded urging everyone to continue. They only had a few more days before they would have to go back. ¡°I really do not want to put a door here.¡± ¡°My moon, us four other fairy born understand. Being underground is not a happy experience for us. That is most likely why we completed the other caves so fast. However, the next floor might be a cave as well.¡± Jensen answered after they had defeated a level 30 goblin. It stunk so much. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for you guys.¡± Meredith spoke as she wiped blood of her staff. In such close quarters she had been using it more as a blunt weapon than a staff. ¡°Thanks, really.¡± Auna nodded at her as they continued. ¡°Another one?¡± Jensen moaned. They had defeated a whole hoard of level 30 goblins over the few days since they last stopped. They would need to stop again soon. Healing moon and the other healing skills in their group was not enough. The mental stat also made it easier for them to push through. Everyone had experienced significant gains in their health and mental strength stats just from the sheer will of pushing forwards. ¡°No one our ages should be fighting such strong foes.¡± Meredith groaned as they continued down their chosen path. ¡°Most kids our age are level 10 maybe level 15. From just jobs and educational skills. To gain so many levels just from killing monsters is ridiculous.¡± Chole said as she dragged her mace. ¡°What about kids who are 12, don¡¯t they go into dungeons?¡± Auna asked. ¡°They do yes, but they usually fight monsters lower levelled than them. Most people prefer fighting things five levels below them, minimum. We have been fighting things higher levelled than us. We are crazy people.¡± Meredith answered to everyone else nodding. ¡°Well, do we gain more experience for fighting higher levelled monsters?¡± Auna asked curious. They had not had many classes on this topic as they just started basic combat classes. They like most children were prepped for monster fights from ages 10 to 12. ¡°It is theorised that yes, we gain more experience. Though it is not very studied. Only a few people are dumb enough to do it. Of those people that are that dumb, usually they have a curse of some kind.¡± Meredith continued. ¡°What do you mean? Why does a curse matter?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Most curses do make gaining levels or experience harder in some manner.¡± Meredith answered with a shrug. ¡°You would think you would know this. Sheesh.¡± ¡°Sorry, I thought I was unique in my suffering.¡± Rolling her eyes Auna added. ¡°Aside from that wild boy.¡± To which Jensen laughed nodding roughly. ¡°Yeah, not too unique in that way. Most people who can gain levels at the normal rate prefer to do so. Aside from people who would fall behind the average person in their field, many do not want to risk their life.¡± Meredith groaned. ¡°When are we going to finish this floor! I want a bath.¡± ¡°Well. Maybe pay more attention?¡± Jensen laughed as he pointed to the stairway to the sixth level. ¡°Oh, my gods! YES!¡± Meredith basically pushed everyone to the stairs. ¡°Should we rest on the stairs? It is rare a monster enters them?¡± Diego said as he sat down once, they were halfway down. He had been carrying Ciela, he gently rested her on his lap leaning back. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Thank you for carrying her so far.¡± Auna sat down beside him, everyone else sat down too. Meredith sat down, even in her eagerness to head down. ¡°Of course, she is your baby sister.¡± Diego rubbed her back gently as he closed his eyes. ¡°Jensen is my brother, and he is infatuated with you. So, caring for Ciela is a given.¡± ¡°I really do appreciate it. This is a lot for a child of 8 years.¡± Auna sighed closing her eyes. ¡°It is hard for children of ten years.¡± Chloe laughed as she spread herself out on a step, they were more than wide enough for her to use as a bed. ¡°You can say that again. These two are going to get us killed, or kidnapped at some point.¡± Mateo lay down beside Chloe with a huge smile. ¡°That is why we are trying to become ridiculously strong.¡± Jensen giggled as he stretched out as well. They slept for nearly ten hours before continuing down the stairs once again. This time Auna put Ciela on her back. She was awake but not ready to walk. Auna did not feel right making Theo or Willow hold her. They had carried each child a lot during this dungeon crawl at different times, due to them pushing forward so hard. ¡°I see light I think.¡± Auna said as they reached the sixth floor. ¡°Okay, this is getting stupid.¡± Meredith sighed as they walked around the sixth floor. It was a floor with a small empty village. Instead of fields though there were mines scattered around a few mountains surrounding the village. It seemed the village had been built in the hollow of a mountain rich with many different ore types. There was no noticeable way to leave the hollow, the level really consisted of a place to mine ore that had no business existing in the same mine. ¡°Really? Another temple like structure with a podium.¡± Jensen said. They had explored the whole village. There was nothing of note in it. Only a few hundred homes, a few forges, and other needed buildings for mining and processing ore. ¡°That is very odd.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°I so vote not actually mining I hate being underground.¡± ¡°We second that.¡± A triplet raised their hand. ¡°I have no use for the caves either.¡± Ciela yawned still a bit tired. ¡°I am not doing it either.¡± Meredith groaned still trying to brush off the dirt on her clothes. ¡°Me either.¡± Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. That had all the children in fits of laughter. ¡°Shall we head home?¡± Auna asked happy to leave the quiet mining village. ¡°Sure, are we heading to the new Bloodwave villa? We only have a few days left before the party, right?¡± Chloe asked. She had been invited by the King as part of the group. He had been watching closely to their official dungeon dives they kept as a farce. Chloe was hailed as a crazy prodigy. ¡°Sure, Ciela really needs to rest.¡± Auna went to the podium, there was no reason to build a door. It seemed the dungeon would allow them to easily travel to the empty villages anyway. As they all gathered near it, the dungeons¡¯ voice rang out. ¡°Congratulations! You are the first team to complete the first five floors uncovering the ¡®Ore mine village¡¯. You each will be given the reward for this once you travel to the lobby. May you continue to progress.¡± ¡°Holy shit! Isn¡¯t this rare? Not all dungeons have progression rewards!¡± Meredith was bouncing on her feet. ¡°Though some rewards are very bad, like one dungeon gave out a curse for its¡¯ reward. The poor people had to enter a dungeon for at least five hours a week. One got sick and died due to the curse.¡± ¡°Meredith don¡¯t say that! Most are just enhancers or items.¡± Chloe rolled her eyes. ¡°Shall we head to the lobby?¡± Auna laughed as she took Ciela into her arms. The dungeon had woken her. ¡°Reward has been given. You must consume before exiting.¡± The voice of the dungeon spoke as each person was given a small stone. Auna used her moon appraisal skill on the small stone. ¡°A small mana stone, once consumed the individuals will gain 200 points to their mana pool/stat.¡± ¡°You have to be kidding, this for only five levels?¡± Mateo downed his without a second thought. ¡°We should push forwards.¡± ¡°Now, now we can¡¯t do that. Look how hard we struggled this last run. We should instead improve our stats. Even if we stop earning experience from kills, we can increase our stats.¡± Auna pointed out as she ate her stone as well. One big gulp. ¡°I agree. Sorry I was a bit over excited. Though now we all have bigger mana pools we could improve other stats more and use our magic more.¡± Mateo stretched looking at his status screen. Everyone took a moment to do so. Even the tamed monsters had been given a stone. They were a part of the team. Now Auna had 280 points in her mana pool. ¡°I am amazed though. An instant improvement of 200 points in our mana? I already feel stronger. I wonder, what ten-year-old has this much raw magical power? This is so stupid.¡± Jensen sighed deeply. ¡°What a cheat of a dungeon. Has Mr. Voice come back yet?¡± ¡°No, still quiet. I think that new blessing that weird child gave us all is keeping the madness away. That means Mr. Voice is just on narration mode. I still don¡¯t understand how you boys got the blessing though.¡± Auna shrugged. She missed Mr. Voice. ¡°I guess that is reasonable. I hope he comes back soon. Maybe he would know why this dungeon is such a cheat. Maybe try praying?¡± Jensen suggested. ¡°I should.¡± Auna nodded. She too was curious as to why this dungeon was such a cheat for them. They left their dungeon. Heading through the moon door to the new Bloodwave villa. It had been constructed in haste, from an old noble home in the capital. It was not publicly known where it was yet. Auna carried Ciela in her arms through the door as Jensen brought up the rear. Ciela was peacefully humming in her arms, too excited to be tired. ¡°Welcome, we thought you would be arriving soon.¡± Edward smiled as he saw the children walk into the study. It was obvious they had been escorted by a staff member. ¡°What happened to you!¡± He came running up to the children picking Meredith up in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m fine dad!¡± Meredith tried to get out of his arms. ¡°We cleared six floors! I¡¯m level 33!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Edward swung her around happily. As Marybeth tended to the rest of the children. ¡°Good job kids. I bet you are all tired. Time to bathe, and head to bed.¡± Marybeth gently took Ciela from Auna and led them all to the separate baths for the girls and boys. Chapter 41: The Yarren Party The children had debriefed the Bloodwave Duke, and her husband the morning after they had arrived. They were told not to let anyone know their levels. They all knew, and to keep up appearances they would have to go to lower-level dungeons. ¡°Do I really have to wear this?¡± Auna asked as Marybeth for the tenth time tried to put her in shoes. ¡°It is not proper for a lady not to wear shoes!¡± Marybeth held the girl down tightly trying to put the shoes on her kicking feet. ¡°Mom leave the poor girl alone. You are messing up the rest of her outfit.¡± The oldest son, Gary and the twin Bloodwave children were standing at the door. ¡°I agree, she does not need shoes. Do you have no regard for the Fairy born!¡± Jensen gave a serious shout at the woman. The tone made everyone pause for a second, enough time for Auna to wiggle out of her arms. Marybeth was a strong woman for her standing. ¡°Thank you.¡± She gave Jensen a bow. ¡°My dear friend let her be.¡± Seni, the mother of Jensen came walking in to the room. It was rare for her to leave her home. She had said she would come as support for the children. She was wearing a summer dress that was much to light for noble standing. She also had no shoes to speak of, just ribbons tied around her legs. Aku was left with her parents and her other baby. ¡°I am sorry. She must though.¡± Marybeth tried again to catch Auna. This time Seni stood in her way blocking her. ¡°No Mary. She does not need shoes. It is not winter. Her feet will be fine. Don¡¯t give me that look.¡± Seni scolded Marybeth for another thirty minutes while Jensen fixed Aunas¡¯ hair. He brushed it out putting it half up. ¡°My moon, are you ready?¡± He asked. ¡°Yup.¡± Auna answered taking his hand to the carriage. She wore a light purple dress with yellow flowers on the bottom hem. Her mantle was a deeper purple with the same yellow flowers. Her arms were covered by see through dress sleeves except for her shoulders. She had bright yellow ribbons holding her hair in place. Ciela wore a similar style dress with green and blue colouring. Neither girl liked the stuffy gowns nobles wore. Meredith was in such a gown already complaining about the heat. Auna looked at Jensen. He was wearing a washed-out yellow light suit with a few purple stars on it. ¡°Did you match by design?¡± ¡°Sure did. I asked what you and Ciela had picked out.¡± Jensen nodded looking at Marybeth. ¡°I heard it caused a fight similar to the one about the shoes.¡± ¡°It did.¡± Both Dukes, and Meredith answered on the behalf of Auna. The ride to the garden where the party was to be held was full of Marybeth giving last minute lectures to her children and Auna. Auna had wanted to go in the carriage with Duke Pearl but was forcefully brought by Marybeth into hers. There was not enough time for her to fight it. Ciela was spared the lecture due to space issues. ¡°My moon you already look exhausted.¡± Jensen laughed as he looped his arm into hers. They were now walking into the party with Ciela leading the way. The smaller girl loved the gardens and would be spending majority of her time crawling through them. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I am, spent the whole time here being lectured.¡± Auna groaned, smiling as they were announced by a guard at the gardens entrance. ¡°Come let us escort the little farmer as she rudely studies the gardens.¡± Jensen pulled both the girls along deeper into the party. Making sure to dodge anyone trying to nab their attention. The triplets with Chloe followed closely to them. All of them would rather not mingle. ¡°This is a rare flower; I wonder if I could take a few?¡± Ciela mused to herself as she started putting a few with their root systems in her storage. ¡°Nice, destroying the royal gardens.¡± Chloe poked Ciela in the cheek as stole the flowers. ¡°The king isn¡¯t watching anyway.¡± Ciela shrugged glancing through the bushes to see the king on his garden throne chatting. He turned to where the children hid, giving a quick wink before turning away. ¡°Yeah, I am not so sure about that.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°At least everyone is leaving us alone for the time being. It was so awful to be pulled on staged and showed off.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think anyone here enjoyed that. Even Meredith looked uncomfortable.¡± Mateo gave a soft laugh as he tried brushing Ciela off. ¡°It was such a long, stupid speech. Like come on he was acting like he was the one to protect us. He didn¡¯t even do anything though. It is very frustrating. He even reminded us all of the arrangement with the church.¡± Auna was sitting on a low branch in a tree. She was essentially the lookout. ¡°Yeah, it was. We only have a few hours left. Then we can go back to our break!¡± Jensen was looking up from the ground to Auna. He was covered in dirt. They had stolen more plants than even she was comfortable stealing. ¡°Should we go deeper?¡± Ciela asked the group. ¡°No, this should be enough. Besides there is a slight commotion going on. I will use water magic to clean us. Jensen will use fire magic to dry us.¡± Auna jumped down using water magic as she fell. ¡°Okay. What commotion? You still good at reading lips?¡± Jensen followed up with his fire magic, they all looked as if they had been behaving not digging in dirt. ¡°Yeah, I can. It is the Count Jade family.¡± Auna sighed as she led her team back to the main party. ¡°Where is she?¡± Count Jades'' wife, Countess Lilly, had her teeth clenched. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Jensen asked calmly as they re-joined. ¡°My daughter.¡± Countess Lilly Jade looked directly at Auna. ¡°I was unaware you had a daughter.¡± Jensen spat at her. ¡°Calm down.¡± Auna placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I too was unaware you had a daughter Countess Lilly. Please tell me what is her name?¡± ¡°What. Is her name?¡± Countess Jade looked stunned as she watched Auna closely. ¡°My daughters¡¯ name is A, Jade.¡± ¡°Really a single letter? No proper name for a noble surely you jest?¡± Auna mocked. ¡°I did not name her.¡± Countess Jade ¡°Then is she really yours to claim now?¡± Auna countered back. ¡°Forgive my wife, she is unwell. We will excuse ourselves.¡± Count Jade dragged her away. There were a few hushed whispers but no outright words against the couple. Fairy born were known for such outbursts. The party went on without issue. Everyone silently agreeing to pretend they did not understand what had just happened. ¡°I am so over this.¡± Auna sighed as she lay on the carriage floor. She had convinced Marybeth to let her go back to the villa with the Pearls. ¡°Same.¡± Jensen agreed from his spot on a seat. Ciela was curled up beside him. ¡°Why do we have to go to every event? Most children our age don¡¯t go to everyone. Especially children like me who are not a true part of any noble family.¡± Auna whined. ¡°Well, you have shown promise. Promise that was removed from the family tree. Many are interested in taking the pruned sapling to strengthen their own family trees. They don¡¯t have to even worry about your lineage as they know where you came from. It is different from picking up a random orphan.¡± Duke Pearl spoke sternly. ¡°I get that, I guess.¡± Auna nodded along to is words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a sapling.¡± ¡°My moon it is too late for that, no?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± Auna sighed deeply. Closing her eyes for the rest of the trip. She was more exhausted than she had thought herself to be. When the carriage came to a final stop at the villa Duke Pearl carried her in, Seni and him tucking her in. Chapter 42: Chat with the gods. ¡°So, are you going to pray now?¡± Chloe asked pointing towards the temple. They were all working towards cleaning the fishing village, next would be the mining village. They wanted to clean them, make them liveable. ¡°Why are we making these villages liveable again?¡± Jensen groaned as he moved more debris to the center of the village. ¡°I am not sure really. I thought it would help improve our stats, the physical ones at least. Also, who knows if there is anything here?¡± Auna shrugged walking towards the temple. ¡°True, also we never know when we will need to hide away, or how many people we will pull into this fold of crazy people. Oh! And a bigger place for anyone we find at the clearing as they grow?¡± Chloe said excitedly. ¡°I suppose once they grow having them safe in here to train would be right.¡± Auna agreed. ¡°Yeah, but didn¡¯t the bees turn into monsters? Like we have them tamed but we can¡¯t tame people.¡± Ciela tugged on Aunas¡¯ shirt as she spoke. She was covered in dirt as usual. She was working the small fields, testing the soils. ¡°It has been studied that people do not turn into monsters. Not even every living thing that spends extra time in a dungeon goes through this transformation. We do still have a few hives that are normal.¡± Diego answered giving her hair a pat. ¡°Okay, then we could just clean it for practice. Then we can use it as a fishing spot, a spot for refugees, and anyone else big sister saves.¡± Ciela gave a stern nod then headed back to the fields. Her attention span was getting better though it still revolved around farming. ¡°Yeah, for now we can use it as training. We never know when we will need the extra space. I am going to give the gods a visit.¡± Auna sat in the middle of the temple her back against the dungeon podium. ¡°Hello.¡± Holly smiled warmly guiding the small girl into the large room with everyone else. Her soul age was still young though she appeared to the gods in her current form. She was using the praying skill so her current form was what passed not her entire soul as she was not dead. ¡°Can I ask a few questions?¡± Auna got on the lap of Lichen the gods were very tall, their table also tall. She would not be able to reach it not on his lap. She also felt comfortable having lived majority of her lives as a child she enjoyed the feeling of safety. ¡°Is it about the dungeon?¡± Lichen gave a small smile as Auna nodded, not surprised he guessed. ¡°Some dungeons are generated naturally from density of magic. Other ones are created by the system as part of a natural cycle. The system also rewards certain people with dungeons for them to find.¡± Lichen pulled up a menu like screen. There was a noticeable locked image on the screen. It showed different dungeons and cycles that were beyond her understanding. ¡°Why is there a lock on it?¡± Auna asked. ¡°It was in automated mode when we arrived in this world. We don¡¯t have access to do much in it. We can see information and send it to people as an oracle to help.¡± Shrugging Lichen continued. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Some dungeons are created automatically by the system as a reward of kind. It is an advanced system beyond us. Do you know the dungeon called Ashes¡¯ Lair?¡± ¡°I have heard of it.¡± Auna nodded eating a snack. ¡°A long time ago there was a little boy. He was cursed with low mana generation. It limited his ability to gain mana stats, and did not allow him to invest points into it. He was basically stuck with five points. Born from a slave with a similar curse. His family had made the slave birth many children. The others instead were born with blessings increasing their mana.¡± Lichen paused to let the information sink in before continuing. ¡°His family considered him a failure. His mother loved him though. He trained very hard day and night. One night he stumbled into a dungeon. It gave him many rewards revolving around increasing his mana and magic types.¡± ¡°He kept the dungeons¡¯ location a secret. He had given it the name his mother bore Ashe. No one knew her which helped keep the dungeon secret. He spent many days training in it. He even became known by his father. He had no longer wished to be loved by him though so he broke his mother free and left for the dungeon. He kept her there safely for many years. Growing in power and fame. Then one day someone saw him enter his now well-known dungeon, never to return.¡± ¡°Even us gods do not know what became of him. His soul never ended up here. I suggest you try to visit it one day. His dungeon had a red glow as well. The people of your world do not yet know what that means.¡± ¡°It means, the dungeon will only allow one person to initially claim it. Blue, pink, purple, black, and any other colour is usually based on magic, type, and time of creation. However red means it was awarded to someone the system acknowledged. We don¡¯t know what conditions are needed though as they seem to differ.¡± Lichen smiled at the open-mouthed girl. ¡°Also, we can¡¯t say anything about the child god you met. You figured that though, didn¡¯t you? That is why you didn¡¯t ask.¡± Lichen nodded approval. ¡°Honestly I forgot about him to be fair.¡± Auna gave a sheepish smile and a shrug at the now sighing God. ¡°Thank you for telling me about the dungeon system though. This praying takes a lot of effort. I do not have much time. Do you know about my dungeon?¡± ¡°I do, however. I will not tell you. It is no fun that way. However, we think it was made for you to grow into a hidden nation. There are some dungeon cities after all.¡± ¡°A Nation. How odd. Though the monsters are strong and advancing quickly.¡± Auna thought out loud. ¡°Yes. We think this place is also made for you to train yourself and any friends you acquire. How did that little one say it?¡± Lichen looked to Holly. ¡°I think she said something like ¡®we never know how many people we will pull into this fold of crazy people¡¯ sir.¡± Holly gave a slight bow. ¡°Yes exactly. Please do be careful though exploring further. Also, there will be a large shipment of slaves from overseas. They will pass through your forest coming from the sea and quickly traveling into the Jade territory. Will you take them?¡± ¡°Take them?¡± ¡°Yes. The slave traders are weak from sea travel and are few. Many slaves and their traders died on the journey. Your group should be able to knock them out and steal the people. They will arrive in one week.¡± ¡°Why me? How would we support them?¡± Auna gave a panicked squeak, she was ten. ¡°Why not have them work the farm, the fishing village, and the mines?¡± Lichen gave a smirk. ¡°Would that work?¡± Auna thought out loud. ¡°I feel they would follow you; I have sent word to a few slaves. Through their patron Gods.¡± A few others waved. ¡°They have spread this word as well among them. I think it is why so many survived the harsh trip. They have hope for a safe life.¡± ¡°I will do my best I guess. Every poor soul that is forced into my forest will become mine. Mine to care for, mine to protect.¡± Strong determination blazed in her eyes as the Gods faded away. ¡°We have work to do.¡± Auna gave each of her friends a hard look. She had summoned them to her once her prayer was done. Tired though she would now need rest. Chapter 43: Free labour ¡°You are joking right?¡± Diego and Mateo spoke at the same time. ¡°I am not. I do not wish to disappoint the gods.¡± Auna had explained the request to save the slaves coming in one week. She had been shown an image while she was sleeping of the spot their ship should make landfall. Soon the entire group devolved into a mess of overlapping complaining. ¡°It would be free labour.¡± Bruno was very quiet. Everyone almost missed his words. ¡°What?¡± Auna looked at him as everyone else went silent as well. ¡°Yes, they could live here. They would work the farm, and the two villages. What they gather could first feed them, then store a bit for emergencies. The rest could be sold. We could even have more laying birds bought, and raised here or in the crater. It would be self-efficient. Hopefully they have talents as well that could bring us more money.¡± Bruno finished as if he was speaking about what he was going to eat for dinner, not the use of vulnerable people for profit. ¡°Would that not just make them slaves?¡± Auna gave him a glare. ¡°No, they would be making a life for themselves. They can always have us drop them off in the nearest city. We don¡¯t have to force them into the dungeon.¡± Bruno explained his point of view. ¡°They would have a chance of being recaptured if we drop them in a city. However, they could gain strength and live in a comfortable community. Not saying they would never visit a city ever again though. They just might not have the means to survive in this country without living here.¡± ¡°I think you might be right. They are being brought in on a boat. I would be surprised if they were welcomed here, or even had somewhere to go.¡± Auna sighed she wanted to keep the people anyway. She just didn¡¯t think about putting them to work. ¡°It would be silly to have them here and not working. Were you just going to support them for free?¡± Bruno was now the one sighing. ¡°Besides that, we have another issue.¡± Meredith rose her hand as she spoke. She did not want the conversation to derail into how dense Auna was. Too often did their conversation derail into this conclusion. ¡°What is that?¡± Jensen asked also wanting to avoid derailing the conversation. ¡°How are we going to do it? Sure, they maybe are weak. There is no real reason for anyone to regularly cull the population near the water in the great monster forest. The monsters in the outer ring of the forest are usually the monsters actively culled. The deeper you go the more dangerous the monsters. This keeps people from going deeper to cull them, thus they get stronger.¡± ¡°Oh, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue they should be landing near the ocean door.¡± Auna nodded looking at her map she made visible to everyone. ¡°What ocean door?¡± Diego asked. ¡°Did Jensen not tell you? He said he would after he had some alone time?¡± Auna gave a shrug effectively shifting the attention to a whistling Jensen. ¡°See I did say that. However, I was not done with my alone time.¡± Jensen yelled as the triplets chased him around the fishing village. They had finished cleaning it while Auna slept. ¡°We also want to be near the ocean without having to be lectured by our parents!¡± A triplet yelled as they missed a tackle to Jensen. ¡°Calm down everyone.¡± Auna smiled as she walked towards the now wrestling boys. As she walked into the sun without her mantle her skin sizzled slightly turning a deep red. ¡°Careful!¡± Jensen came over covering her back and wings. It was midday in the dungeon for twelve hours and night for the other twelve no in-between. It was hypnotized at some point it did rain in a cycle on this floor like the first. It would have to for the fields. ¡°Relax. It is not like I don¡¯t burn my skin often? My shoulders are always red.¡± Auna laughed as she went back to the shade. When not in direct sunlight her protective creams worked well, only allowing her skin to burn to a slight red. ¡°But your wings?¡± Jensen asked clearly exasperated. ¡°Oh, right. I took my mantle off to sleep.¡± Auna gave a shy smile. ¡°Anyway. Can I ask how you sit by the sea without the strong monsters eating you?¡± Meredith asked giving Auna her mantle. She had gone to fetch it for her, along with her protective cream. ¡°Easy. Auna made secret rune stones. Should we show them?¡± Jensen was practically jumping towards the dungeon podium. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Auna laughed walking after him. It did not take the children long to leave the dungeon and head to the ocean door. They stood just inside the treeline to the forest. The door had been carved into a tall stone slab nestled between two trees. ¡°Can you see the rune stones?¡± Jensen smiled pointing to the trees, and random other places scattered around him. ¡°No?¡± Ciela and Chloe were both squinting at the last place he had pointed. ¡°Why are you acting so proud?¡± Bruno asked. ¡°We all know you have no patience for runic magic. Especially since there doesn¡¯t seem to be any easily obtained skill for it.¡± ¡°I can be proud of my moon!¡± Jensen huffed. ¡°Here look closely.¡± Auna pushed aside a few leaves in the tree showing runes running the whole span of the branch having been carved into the branch and the trunk. They were very small and almost not noticeable even while looking closely. ¡°Did you really carve tiny runes into the tree?¡± Meredith looked at the tree with intrigue. ¡°Actually trees, I found out through trial and error that trees with the protective runes cover more area. Most likely because the magic extends to their roots. Runic magic is very odd though. I have finally got the skill Rune Magic, but it is at low. Even after all my work!¡± Auna gave a huff. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the attempts at carving the roots of different plants. She has also buried normal rune stones at the base of trees with out the runes. There are a few very big rocks buried in the sand and anchored with purposely grown tree roots.¡± Jensen gave a big smile. ¡°So do you have rune magic now?¡± Bruno gave Jensen a poke in his cheek. ¡°No way, that is way too hard! I don¡¯t even understand what they mean! My moon can keep her skill all to herself. Years of work and only has low? No thank you.¡± Jensen kept saying no shaking his head. He really did not have the patience for it. ¡°Why not just put stones like the clearing and crater?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°I did not want anyone seeing them. I did not know no one accesses the forest by the ocean. I thought being on the edge people would come here as well.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°That was a lot of work when I could have just placed rocks.¡± ¡°How long did this take?¡± Diego asked. ¡°Over a year.¡± Auna sighed again leaning against the closest tree. ¡°I¡¯m sure the skill was not a waste. We should look it up more?¡± Diego tried to soothe the girl. ¡°I could, but when I tried the librarian said they were restricted.¡± Auna sighed again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to start runic magic classes this semester coming up?¡± Bruno laughed. Giving Jensen a pointed look. ¡°Are you also taking it?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yeah, but a year ago it was very annoying to be told I had to wait.¡± Auna gave him a glare. Answering first. ¡°No, I have no interest in such a dangerous and boring skill. Maybe if it wasn¡¯t so boring. Instead, I will be taking the home making classes. They also only have two levels at the same time as the runic magic classes she will be taking.¡± Jensen smiled wide at the stunned looks of their friends. He always just handed in his schedule with ¡°Match A, Jade.¡± Written in big letters on it. ¡°You two are too similar at times.¡± Meredith patted Aunas¡¯ head. ¡°Now why don¡¯t we come up with a plan? I recently learned sleep magic it should help.¡± ¡°We know sleep magic as well.¡± Mateo pointed at himself, Jensen and, his brothers. ¡°You do?¡± Meredith tilted her head in wonder. She was mostly a caster but the four boys didn¡¯t seem to be that. ¡°Yeah, we learned because we thought we could sneak out easier that way.¡± Jensen gave his signature wry smile. ¡°Our mom is immune though, and caught on too fast.¡± ¡°She made protective charms for the staff.¡± Mateo sulked. ¡°Anyway. Maybe that is why we were given this task? You five having that skill is most likely our best option.¡± Auna pondered out loud. ¡°I agree.¡± Meredith sat down. The rest of their week before slave arrival was spent hatching a plan. They laid a few different traps just inside the forest edge. They knew the traders would need the cover of the trees to travel to the Jade territory. They could not risk the islanders happening to sail too close and see them. The children also prepared the two villages each with at least one hundred homes still standing. Some could house a family of four while others only had one bedroom. They estimated they could hold about 250 people to their own homes. Closer to 450 if whole homes were used one person per bedroom. The fishing village had farming plots that Ciela had seeded for a quicker start for them. The ore mining village did not have any farming space, though it did have processing buildings that could be useful later. The day of the slave traders¡¯ arrival came quickly. The children sat on the tree branches near the edge of the forest. It was the middle of the night, which made Auna very happy. ¡°These guys probably think the cover of night will help them. Little do they know we have our moon with us.¡± Chloe said snickering. ¡°My moon.¡± Jensen corrected. ¡°I am not just yours.¡± Auna also corrected. ¡°Stop bickering they are here. Did you set up the stones that are filled with light magic?¡± Diego asked. ¡°Yes, I will bounce from stone to stone. I will trigger the stones near people needing sleep magic. If that doesn¡¯t work, we can always send Chloe in to bash their heads in.¡± Auna joked. ¡°Hell yeah.¡± Chloe did not catch the joke. It made everyone else sigh deeply. Their friend was truly a maniac. ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys on the other side.¡± Auna said as the ship made landfall. She melted into the moon rays scattering the shore. She always felt absolute peace as she became one with the moonlight. Nearly forgetting what she needed to do as time always slowed for her in this state. Slowly she made her way to the ship watching the slaves and their traders disembark. There were huge claw marks and even roughly patched holes in the haul. A great battle must have been fought. She moved around trying to find which traders to have the others put to sleep first. After about ten minutes she found what she thought was the highest-ranking person. He was stumbling in the sand yelling orders to everyone to get into the forest quicker. She activated the stone by his feet by pushing a bit of her mana into it. His whole body was covered in a soft yellow light. Before anyone could understand the man was asleep in the sand. It was too dark to see where the sleep magic had come from, especially when blinded by the stone. Auna moved around looking for the next person to take charge of the situation. As soon as some order was established, she would light another stone. Soon the slaves were forgotten as the traders ran into the forest to escape. Unfortunately for them hunting traps of nets and rope snares had been liberally placed. The whole ordeal only took one hour. The children finished tying up the last slave trader and making sure they had an extra hit of sleep magic. They placed them in their boat which still had some dead slave bodies. They couldn¡¯t be tossed into the sea as it would attract sea monsters to them. Tied up they were sitting ducks. Hopefully another boat would find them not a monster. Auna used her water magic while she skimmed along the water in the moonlight to pull the boat out. In the moonlight most monsters didn¡¯t even see her. Auna finally left the moonlight to walk beside her friends. ¡°I did a quick look. It seems there are at least six hundred people. We do not have nearly enough supplies ready. We don¡¯t even have enough beds for that many.¡± Auna sighed as she saw an elderly man and woman of the elf race step towards them. ¡°We have been the leaders of the resistance. Many of us were taken from our homes in rural areas. Thank you for saving us. We know we number many however a dry warm place is just as good as a bed. For now, at least. We have many children that can share space. As well as many families willing to share. Please do take us in, we will work.¡± The elders gave a deep bow, which spurred everyone else to do the same. ¡°You will work? We have a fishing village and a mining village that have about two hundred empty homes between the two. The beds are mostly unusable though. You can eat what you fish and farm. Process what you mine.¡± Auna left out the fact it was a dungeon not wanting them to know if they did not stay. ¡°We have many races, and workers. We have smiths, tailors, waterborn, and more. For a safe place to heal, live, and grow our children we will work.¡± The elder woman answered confidently. They were still working on removing the chains from everyone. ¡°Bring the empty chains, they can be melted down as used as practice material. Everything you learn about us children must remain a secret. I will allow you elders to continue to manage this group. However, I will have final say.¡± Auna walked them to the door. ¡°Where are we going?¡± The elder man asked. They had been relaying the information down the lines of newly freed slaves. ¡°Well, I am going to my dungeon. I will have Ciela standing by to guide people into the dungeon. We will send people in groups. Ciela will come and guide more in when I am ready. I will set you all up to be only researchers in my dungeon. You will only be able to travel to special floors. For the first while I will make the doors unusable to you all until, I trust you can use them safely.¡± Auna began to walk away. Auna had learnt how to leave her doors in an open state recently. ¡°She is nicer normally. She gets a bit cranky right after she leaves the moonlight form of hers.¡± Jensen shrugged. ¡°She has a crater home deep in the forest. I have written the rules down for you.¡± The small booklet he gave the elders described the rules. It contained rules about how to interact with each other, the main children, and the outside world. Glancing at the book the rules were very simple. They would not disclose information about their crater, dungeon, or the children to the outside world. They would not fight among themselves, or the children. They would only fight people outside their group if needed for survival. There were other rules around the farming on the first floor, and not removing the flowers ever. All in all it was very simple, they had to be good people, keep their lives secret, and work for the community. The children started guiding the new citizens of Ember Moon into the crater to the dungeon. The process was relatively easy. Auna would allow dungeon entrance to the ten people as researchers and ask them which floor, they would like to live on. She took a booklet separating it out by age ranges she would write their name, age, profession, and floor they wanted to live on. Some did not even have a name having been born as a slave, starting at B she gave them each a letter. Promising that they could either pick a name, or she would give the youngest ones names later. ¡°That took a very long time.¡± Auna sighed looking through her notes. They had a variety of professions in their group. Tanners, tailors, builders, smiths, cooks, fishers, hunters, teachers, and farmers to name the groups with the most. There were a few with unique professions such as story tellers, scribes, and even an alchemist. Alchemy was rare as a job, to actually make money from it turning it into a profession was rare. Not everyone was in a profession that matched their jobs perfectly. Even teachers didn¡¯t have a teacher job. ¡°Thank you again.¡± The elder man gave a bow looking at a boy hastily writing. The scribe, who was a thirteen-year-old boy named Nero had ink all over him. His race was human he had soft red hair, and a freckled face. His father was a king, and Nero was born to a young woman who worked in the castle. His father doted on him, loved him, and paid to give him a great education. He had happened to be the first born to his father. His mother was set to become the Queen after she gave birth as to not put stress on the baby. She happened to die in childbirth. ¡°Almost done!¡± Nero gave a warm smile. He had become a slave due to his stepmother, the woman who became Queen when he was three. She quickly had a son who was now nine. She had tried many times to kill Nero, and failed. This time she merely sold him to a slave trader. She had let the slave trader into the castle in the night to gather him nearly four months ago. He would not tell them where he was from though. ¡°Thank you for making a copy, Nero.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°No problem, my scribe job is perfect for this! Apparently, my mother was a great scholar so I was born with the basic class scribe. So, it is nice to be able to use it for once instead of messing around with it.¡± Nero kept copying down the information on the last few pages. The scribe job allowed him to store a copy of anything he ever wrote down, and magically make more. He had a high enough level in it could make edits in his skill before making a copy. ¡°I am glad to have you.¡± Auna gave a slight bow to the lost prince. ¡°Anyway. It is very late. I think we should all rest.¡± The elder woman spoke as Auna yawned. ¡°I agree.¡± Auna gave a nod of goodbye before leaving the dungeon. The children spent the nights at the Pearl home. It was safer as everyone thought they were in the Bloodwave home. They never left the house so it was unlikely anyone outside of the trusted servants would know. ¡°Do you think it will work out?¡± Ciela asked cuddled beside Auna. Chloe and Meredith shared a room with them still. It was similar to their school dorm except there were more washrooms around the home. ¡°We will make it work.¡± Auna gave her a tight hug not letting go until she felt the smaller child fall asleep. ¡°We will make it work. You don¡¯t have to worry alone.¡± Meredith gave a reassuring thumbs up in the dark knowing Auna would see it if she looked her way. ¡°Thank you.¡± With that Auna fell asleep dreaming about a thriving nation inside her dungeon. A safe place for people seeking it. Chapter 44: The first Dungeon Podium ¡°Miss Aunaluna¡± Grandmother Elf, the elderly elf who only went by this title called out. ¡°Auna is fine.¡± Straightening up from weeding the farm with many people she gave a look to the woman. ¡°What is it?¡± The next semester was starting tomorrow, since the people came Auna didn¡¯t have too many issues. The elders were happy to manage the people. ¡°We would like to build a schoolhouse.¡± Grandmother Elf explained. ¡°We would like to take some space on this level. There is not really enough room in either village. We know there are too few teachers, and none have the basic skills in anything. We still want the children to go to school.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have the basic educational skills?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Many rural teachers don¡¯t, it is too expensive for the small towns. So, country kids need supplemental classes to correct this if they manage to test into a city school. Same thing happens if they move to a city as well.¡± Chloe answered for Grandmother Elf. ¡°Well, couldn¡¯t we teach the teachers the basic skills? If they were teachers, they should be able to get it after a few classes from us.¡± Auna spoke as she opened her map. ¡°Holy fuck.¡± ¡°Language!¡± Grandmother Elf yelled before blushing and quickly apologizing. ¡°Look.¡± Auna showed her map to her friends paying no mind to the elder. ¡°Does this mean I won¡¯t have to give up farm space?¡± Ciela asked looking at the map. Far off in the corner, there was unexplored space. It was beyond the boundary of the fields. On every side but this small upper corner there was an invisible wall. Back when they discovered this dungeon Auna had weaker mana, and a smaller range on her map. As such she did not like having it up always, instead spot-testing the invisible wall. ¡°Yes. Come on.¡± Auna led a group of roughly ten people to the unexplored area. After walking out of sight of where the invisible wall was everywhere else the people on the farm looked half their size. It was funny. ¡°See this?¡± Auna walked down a hill, that was perfectly unnoticeable from the farm as the farm was the top. ¡°A cave.¡± Spinning around from the path down which was roughly one flight of steps a huge cave opening carved out the whole hillside. ¡°Sneaky.¡± Jensen laughed as he peeked inside. ¡°Any monsters?¡± ¡°None. Look.¡± Auna pointed out the dungeon flowers behind them and around the cave mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Jensen ran in with everyone else following them. ¡°Wow. Why didn¡¯t we see this on the dungeon screen?¡± Auna asked as she touched the podium on this special floor. ¡°If it is not found, it is not registered. The same thing happens with stairways.¡± Meredith answered looking around. The cave had gone down for a few minutes into an underground lake. It was beautiful with glowing green moss everywhere. Enough so even people without night vision could see well. The podium that Auna was at sat in the middle of the lake on a small temple island she had to take a bridge to. The glowing moss covered it fully, Auna having to scrape some off to touch it. The water was warm, and glowing with a magical light. ¡°Why is the water glowing?¡± A random wolf beastkin that had been farming asked. ¡°Not sure.¡± Auna walked up making a show of it she spoke her skill name out loud. ¡°Moon Appraisal.¡± Item: Pure Magic water. Description: Pure Magic water from a dungeon. When water is infused with magic via stone, person, or environmental absorption, it becomes magic water. Magic water is a coveted ingredient for many potion makers as they would rather use their magic for the potion making not infusing the water. Many potion makers do not take the time to properly infuse the water with magic, making the potions less effective. The magic water raises the efficiency of any potion made by a minimum of 30%. Some magic water has an affinity, if there is no affinity it is pure. Pure Magic water can be made naturally, or by infusing the water with every type of affinity. ¡°I wonder why it is magic.¡± Auna asked looking in the water as she showed the message to everyone around her. ¡°There!¡± A person pointed to the bottom of the lake. ¡°Are they magic crystals?¡± ¡°They are, and of many different affinities. We should not remove them. Add that as a rule.¡± Auna quickly looked to the elder to make sure she understood. ¡°I think that is best as well. We could profit from the magic water, our alchemist could use it as well. It seems there is an underground river feeding this lake as well.¡± Grandmother Elf bowed. ¡°I agree.¡± Auna nodded. ¡°Can I farm mushrooms here?¡± Ciela smiled tugging on her vig sisters¡¯ shirt. The small farm was already covered in the green moss and dirt from the cave. Having not cared why the water glowed she instead explored the cave with Jensen. ¡°Yes. We will build a path with low walls to guide people out of the cave away from the mushrooms. We will build a school not directly up top, but to the side of the cave opening. There should be enough space. It should keep the children from being able to pick the flowers as well.¡± Auna guided everyone to the top and off to the opposite side of the path.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°This should be enough space. The builders gave me a rough amount of space that would be needed for a two-storey building and small yard for the children. This is roughly twice that.¡± The area she was looking at was easily 20 acres or 20 of their craters. The dungeon had played a trick on them in the beginning. The flowers had stopped in rings and had wide open grasslands in between. Once they had actually explored more, they counted nearly 600 acres. Of course, they only farmed less than three of that themselves including the trees. Now though, they would be able to increase that by a lot. Ciela was happy. Now that they even found this place roughly an hour walk from their current fields. It was only a few minutes from the podium though. It was most likely designed for the children to find the podium and farm the cave, and land near it first growing outwards. It was too late for that though. ¡°I am glad the walk was not useless.¡± Auna sighed thinking about how long it would have taken them if their levels were not higher than average. ¡°We should get horses to help in the field, and travel between the podium and here.¡± Grandmother Elf continued. ¡°Before when we used the other podiums or the lobby we would be placed in the starting point of the floor. Now that we have this podium we should be placed here.¡± ¡°We need money first, then proper clothes and supplies for you all. After that we can buy horses. Besides I think we need to spend money on the building of this school, no?¡± Auna pointed to the place they had selected for the school. ¡°Yes, the builders said they would need more than the stone from the mines. They are going to give me a list after they see how much land the little farmer was willing to give up.¡± A warm smile graced her lips. ¡°Well. I guess our gross incompetence solved that issue.¡± Auna laughed at everyones¡¯ faces. ¡°You children are far more advanced than anyone I know. Even I an elf am only level 63. You children are going to reach the level of hero one day.¡± Grandmother Elf gave Auna a gentle pat on the head. ¡°Anyway. I am going to allow you and that list of people you gave me yesterday to use the doors. We won¡¯t be around as long from now on. School will take our time. We spoke with the mayor in town and you guys can use the door. We had these moon brooches made, wear them when you go to town. The mayor will recognize them, as well as both Gary guild leaders.¡± Auna handed over ten pins. The children had matching ones. ¡°They are very pretty.¡± Grandmother Elf turned the full moon made of white quartz and metal in her hand. ¡°Jensen had them made.¡± Auna nodded towards the grinning boy. ¡°Anyway. You have the chore list, right?¡± Auna had begun walking back to their fields. ¡°Yes, and we should be able to sell more materials. The water-born have been exploring the fishing village, they have found different ocean materials. Mostly coral, but also a few pearls. We also understand we have to check the clearing, especially on days you can¡¯t sneak away from school. Everything is under control.¡± Grandmother Elf was following them back to the fields, and the moon door they had placed years ago. ¡°Thank you. Make sure you buy what you need for the school. We will bring our old books, and assignments we still have to help. We will have to wait till the next break to do actual teaching though I think. We want to redo the dungeon levels to push forwards some more.¡± Auna continued as the others gave excited nods and words of agreement. ¡°I understand. We can take over the running of everything at least until you are ready to do it. We will do our best to hold off on buying the wood for the school though it might be out of our ability right now.¡± Grandmother Elf watched the children go back to weeding the farm. ¡°We have been collecting fresh water from the rain cycles on all three floors. Also, we wanted to discuss salt production.¡± ¡°Salt production?¡± Auna asked as the other kids wandered away, not wanting to partake in the boring work talk. ¡°We have a lot of seawater as you know. We could boil the water for salt, or we could put some land aside and carry water to shallow ponds. The sun will evaporate the water and we can rake up the salt. We have a few people with skills that can separate the impurities out of it as well.¡± Grandmother Elf watched as Ciela came back over shaking her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough land to farm enough for everyone as it is. You want to take some for salt?¡± Cielas¡¯ words brought more people around. ¡°She does have a point Grandmother Elf.¡± Jensen backed up the little farmer with a wink directed at her. ¡°Salt is a valuable resource though. It can be sold to merchants, used to pressure our fish, clean our mouths, clean cookware, and more. We really want to capitalize on it.¡± Grandmother Elf pushed forward with her request. ¡°We live by the ocean, most of our world is covered in it. Salt is only expensive in the landlocked territories. It is not a gold mine for resale.¡± Jensen countered. ¡°This is the Kingdom of Jules right?¡± Grandmother Elf asked. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Jensen answered. ¡°As one of the biggest countries on the biggest land mass it has a salt production problem. Especially for the inner territories. Don¡¯t many ocean-adjacent territories only produce what their territory needs because of that very attitude? Sure, we can¡¯t sell large quantities and make huge amounts of money. However, we can make enough to help support us all.¡± Grandmother Elf finished as the children looked at each other. ¡°She is not wrong. However, her method is. Why use the limited space inside your dungeon when you have a safe space outside near the ocean? Sure, the islanders might be able to see what is going on, or some bad people might land on shore. However, the islanders would most likely think the Bloodwave or Jade lords are just moving production down due to increased need.¡± Mateo may be smarter than we think. Mr. Voice approved the plan. ¡°I think we need to fix the danger issue?¡± Auna asked the one with the plan. ¡°There are people with decent levels here. If we set up traps and give them some strong magic crystals it should be okay. They can always escape to the moon door.¡± Mateo nodded as she spoke thinking it through. ¡°Then you may start this endeavour. The list of people that can use the moon door will have to double as the salt makers if that is okay.¡± Auna looked to the grandmother. ¡°That will work. Can we spend the rest of the day setting up? We need proper boundaries as we don¡¯t know which areas are safe.¡± Grandmother Elf looked to a few other workers on the farm. ¡°Take over for them.¡± She was answered with thumbs up and nods. ¡°Okay let¡¯s go.¡± Auna patted her clothes off. Heading to the moon door. After a few hours proper traps, and boundary lines were set up. There were now twenty salt ponds set up. They had made them with earth magic to give a hard rock-like base. This would keep the water from soaking into the sand. The rakes and scopes could then collect the salt. The salt would be washed with fresh water and dried with magic. This could then be ground, or used as is. It would be a lot of work, but at least it would not take away valuable space in their dungeon. The issue was they would not be useable in the winter or the Pada month of rain. They had one month to prove the concept, if proven more salt ponds may be made in the dungeon. Chapter 45: Count Jade visits ¡°Welcome to Runic Magic.¡± Ken, the Runic Magic teacher spoke. It was the first class slot of the day before breakfast. He was looking around at everyone. His eyes landing on Auna. ¡°As most of you are aware runes are very dangerous. People have lost body parts and even their lives. To be able to test into this course is usually difficult.¡± He sighed looking at Auna. ¡°How they let a little girl in is beyond me.¡± ¡°Sir, aren¡¯t you being too harsh?¡± A girl missing rose her hand which was missing two fingers. She was sat beside Auna. ¡°It is just Ken. No Sir, or Mr. Just Ken. I don¡¯t think this little girl knows as much as she thinks. Look around you most of your peers in this discipline have scars to show it. Runes are violent magic, learning about them is just as violent. This small child is in perfect shape, never knowing real pain. Well, her skin burns easily I hear.¡± Ken shrugged looking towards Auna. ¡°Know I will not go easy on you because you are child.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to Ken. However, your assumption is wrong. Please do carry on though I find you entertaining.¡± Auna smiled warmly the little girl seemed to be a masochist. I am not Mr. Voice shut up. Mr. Voice did not in fact shut up though. ¡°Hm do tell how I am wrong?¡± Ken smirked. ¡°I know real pain. Did you know I am from another world?¡± Auna asked as she put her pen down. She had been ready to take notes. Now she was questioning if he would actually teach today. ¡°I hear you were.¡± Ken nodded. ¡°Most other worlders come from a world with no magic, especially no runes. How does this fact prove me wrong?¡± ¡°Simple. Torture had to be done by hand, with no magic. There also was no truth magic, which meant even if you did the truth you were punished. Ever been slowly skinned alive Ken? I have. I doubt you have though. One usually dies within a few hours. If you are unlucky, like myself, you can live for a few days dying from the cold instead. Is that enough pain? Or do I need to recklessly lose a body part to prove myself? I can¡¯t help but notice you seem to be pretty whole as well.¡± Auna gave a tilt to her head. The smile replaced with a grimace from her past memories. ¡°I am whole as well. I was taught by a cautious woman. I see your point though. I have never been skinned alive. My skill of lie detecting also seems to acknowledge your truth in saying you have been.¡± Ken sighed shaking his head. ¡°I guess I was being too harsh.¡± The rest of the class went well. Ken went over basic history of where the runes had come from, and been rediscovered. Auna was captivated in her lesson learning about what some basic runes meant she could now practice. She could now borrow rune books with her teachers¡¯ permission. Though he did say he would not be giving permission until after first test scores. Auna left her class happy, and excited heading towards the dinning hall. For food. ¡°You have a free period next right?¡± Meredith yawned looking at Auna. ¡°Yup, took five classes last semester so only four this one.¡± Auna happily ate egg-fried bread. ¡°Jensen if Auna has a free period after breakfast why on blue Abhaile did you also pick an early class?¡± Diego groaned not understanding such antics. He could have helped with their chores. They were still taking care of the crater chores themselves. ¡°What is Abhaile?¡± Auna asked causing not just her table but the tables around her to stop and stare at her. ¡°Come now children back to your breakfast, Auna that is not a funny joke pretending you don¡¯t know planets'' name. Sheesh. I guess you are a child.¡± Mr. Merlin tsked the other children who seemed to be spreading the word Auna didn¡¯t know the planets'' name quickly. ¡°Well, I guess what is done is done. I swear you are too dense at times.¡± Giving Auna a pat on the head he left. ¡°Really my moon are you serious?¡± Jensen asked before turning to Diego. ¡°I like taking my breaks with Auna duh.¡± Answering his earlier question. ¡°Sorry?¡± Auna shrugged going back to her breakfast. Her good mood was not going to be ruined. Jensen gave a sigh and Diego nodded at her. ¡°A, Jade can you come with me? You have visitors.¡± A staff member approached the group while they were on their way out. Jensen and Auna were the only ones without book bags. ¡°Sure, we can come.¡± Jensen answered for them both, Auna just nodded. ¡°Only A, Jade please young lord Pearl.¡± The nice man tried sighing as he knew the boy would follow even if he was told no. The principal and the King had given permission for the boy to join, still he was asked to try and keep him from doing so. ¡°Yeah, right buddy. If she is going, I am as well.¡± Jensen waved to the others of their group as they all took it as a cue to leave. ¡°Alright this way please.¡± The nice man led them to the principals¡¯ office. ¡°Welcome Auna.¡± The principal was very sweaty dapping a cool cloth on his head. The man was usually calm and stern. Auna quickly figured out this man only got this way when she was called in. Mostly because of who followed her around, for a moment she thought the church was back to bug her. ¡°Daughter.¡± Count Regan Jade stood with his arms open to her. For a second the thought of running into his arms crossed her mind. Of having a father who loved her dearly, a family where she belonged. Instead, she stood still for about 15 seconds.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. You are a child, no one would blame you for running into his arms. Mr. Voice was right. No, I would blame me. Auna made her choice she walked to an open chair beside her principals¡¯ desk. Jensen sat on the arm between her and the other visitor, the King. ¡°Daughter, why not sit with me?¡± Count Jade tried again pointing to another chair beside him. ¡°No thank you Count Jade. Auna stood to give a proper courtesy. Although she was in uniform, she never wore the shoes. This was noticed by the King as she got back onto the chair, he smirked shaking his head. ¡°Fairy born children are fairly unruly, aren¡¯t they?¡± The King looked to Count Jade with a broad grin. ¡°Yes, my King they can be.¡± Count Jade bowed slightly. ¡°Now, Auna darling. These two men have come to talk to you about a very important topic. Please do try your best to be polite and focused.¡± The principal passed her over a bowl of hard sweets. She took two giving one to Jensen. ¡°Yes Principal.¡± Auna nodded looking back to the two men. ¡°Count Jade would like to readd you to his family record.¡± The king said. ¡°No thank you.¡± Auna bluntly gave her answer. ¡°May I go?¡± She looked to her principal. Jensen had decided to occupy himself with his cats¡¯ cradle. ¡°Not yet Auna.¡± The principal sighed. ¡°Now, daughter I don¡¯t think you understand what saying no means.¡± Count Jade started. ¡°If you say no you will have to continue this deal with the King. Which is likely going to end with you in their care until you are well past your wedding age. This could have drastic results on your future. It would be better for you to come home.¡± Count Jade finished. ¡°Home? The place where I was not allowed outside unless there were no visitors. The place where only my uncle called me to share dinner in my presence. The place where I only spoke to you on my sixth birthday? The place that I had to prove I was worthy to be accepted?¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°Count Jade, that place was only a home to me because of the people who raised me. The people who taught me in place of teachers you would not allow for me. The people who cried when I left. It is no longer my home. My home is the forest you sent me to.¡± Auna rubbed her eyes which were watering up. ¡°Count Jade the last time I was in your home my uncle pleaded for you to not send me away for training. Do you remember what you told him?¡± Auna looked with blurry eyes to her birth father. ¡°No, I can¡¯t remember.¡± Count Jade admitted looking uncomfortable having this conversation in front of the King. ¡°You told him he should be happy I was being given the chance to prove I was worthy of the Jade house. Am I worthy to you now?¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Of course, child, more than worthy.¡± Count Jade gave a smile back to her. It was obvious he thought she was coming around. ¡°Thanks. I appreciate that. Truly I do. However, I will not be accepting your proposal to rejoin the Jade family officially. I have given my word to the King, and the church. I wouldn¡¯t be worthy of any noble house if I went back on my word, would I?¡± Auna kept her smile on her face. ¡°A childs¡¯ word is not that trustworthy no one would take it seriously. No one would think you unworthy.¡± Count Jade tried. ¡°I think we can agree to disagree on that one Count Jade. I would think myself unworthy, which would be what matters most no?¡± Auna nudged Jensen as he snickered at the angry face Count Jade was making. ¡°Count Jade please fix your face. We are in the presence of children who are better hiding their emotions.¡± The King gave a light-hearted sigh. ¡°Sorry my king, I just want my daughter home.¡± Count Jade gave a sigh himself. ¡°Please stop calling me your daughter. You didn¡¯t even give me a proper name. You never held me as a baby, or child.¡± Auna took another few candies for her and Jensen. Jensen slides down shifting her to half sit on his lap. He continued to play with his string. ¡°I understand.¡± Count Jade gave another sigh. ¡°My sweet daughter, why do you think this man wants you to be a part of his family?¡± The King gave a smirk to the Count. He was a bit childish at times especially to the nobles he did not care for. ¡°Well Seths¡¯ grades are poor, and my cousins did not get into this school. In this Kingdom every noble who runs their home has gone to and graduated from this school. Not one noble house had broken this unspoken rule. He wants me to be a puppet, or possibly to be a real heir.¡± Auna gave a nod to the King, ignoring the daughter comment. She was technically his child right now. ¡°Is this a true assumption?¡± The king gave a long look to the Count. ¡°I would rather not answer such an accusation.¡± Count Jade dodged the question. ¡°Well, I think we have our answer though anyway. Auna does not wish to become a part of the Jade family again. She will instead be a ward of mine until she is 16. At which time she is either going to be a free person or a ward of the church.¡± The king gave her a soft smile and wink. ¡°I would like her to not have the Jade name then.¡± Count Jade said which made the principal gasp. When a noble has their last name removed, they usually are seen as lower than a named commoner. For nobles walking around with no last name was shame. Auna would not be able to gain a new last name until adopted, one being given to her, or she was married. ¡°My dad will give her ours. No worries. Take your name back.¡± Jensen spat. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is possible as she technically needs to remain in the custody of the king to keep her word. Which she refuses to break right?¡± Now Count Jade was smirking, Jensen hung his mouth open his string gone slack. The Count was right. ¡°I figured this would happen. It is not legal to remove the last name of a person who has the status of deceased on your registry. Auna is still on your registry as deceased, and to change this status you need my permission. I do not think I will give that permission.¡± The king took a breath. ¡°As I don¡¯t think you can prove this child is the same child you lost, I can not give that permission. No one had seen her in high society and there are no photos, or DNA evidence. Her name might be A. Jade. However, anyone who was looking after her could have given her that name and it would register in her status. There is no mention of her soul name in your registry, which should have been inputted in the registry. She could have gained it later though. This is why nobles must take proper precautions in the identity of their children.¡± The King smirked. ¡°My king, she is my child, she has proven that herself.¡± Count Jade looked baffled. ¡°A childs¡¯ word is not that trustworthy no one would take it seriously.¡± The King nearly laughed as Count Jade gave a final bow and left without another word. ¡°Nice one.¡± Auna nodded taking some more candies. Jensen happily put one in his mouth. ¡°Thank you. Now I think we have taken enough of your time, and have given your principal heartburn. Back to class, or studying whatever you were doing.¡± The king waved them out. Chapter 46: Preparing for the Monster Hunting festival ¡°How did I do?¡± Seth asked Auna who was marking the assignment she had given him. Since the beginning of the semester Seth had come for help. Like a few other children Seth needed help with his classes. Auna had even taken some classes before him because he couldn¡¯t test high enough to take all the necessary ones. ¡°I¡¯m still marking it.¡± Auna shook her head looking over it. Jensen snorted in the chair beside her. ¡°Don¡¯t be mean. He is learning.¡± ¡°That bad?¡± Seth sighed as his friend patted his back. ¡°No, you got 75% of the questions right. Compared to a few weeks ago when you were getting closer to 60% you are doing well. Jensen is just being protective.¡± Auna patted Jensen on his head as he gave a playful growl to Seth. ¡°Wild.¡± Seth shook his head taking his assignment back with a smile. ¡°Well, he is cursed with runaway child. Being a little wild is reasonable.¡± Diego smirked as Jensen threw a balled-up paper at him. ¡°Anyway. Are you entering the hunting festival this year? You are ten now, it is the first year you are eligible.¡± Seth put away his assignment and books. It was late, lights out would be soon. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it. We have class for the entire week it is running. Why do we even hold a monster hunting festival in the pada season? Wouldn¡¯t the rain ruin it?¡± Auna tilted her head. ¡°The rain makes the monsters more aggressive increasing the challenge. That is why the hunting festival is in pada. The adult events are during the first four days of the week. The last two days, the weekend, are for the under 19 events.¡± Seth explained. ¡°Oh, what are the events?¡± Auna asked. ¡°The adults have the four days to hunt in the great monster forest as singles and in groups of ten. Whoever brings back the strongest monster wins. The judges have a system to decide which is the strongest. The top three win: honor, prizes selected by the King himself, and a plaque with a custom message engraved magically at the time of winning. There are often commoners that make the top three. Though a noble usually wins in both the single and group events.¡± Seth took a breath as everyone was now looking at him intently. ¡°The children 10-14 inclusive event is held in an arena. Monsters are caught and raised for both the single and group events. Everyone participating fights monsters from weak to strong in ten stages of the arena. While this is happening on both days the older kids from 15-18 inclusive go into the forest to hunt. It is up to the participants to pull out of the arena or forest when they feel they can not handle it anymore. People have died in the past.¡± Seth took a drink of water; it was not often he had to talk so much. ¡°The prizes for our age group this year are a packet of seeds hand-selected by the king for the single arena event. People speculate the seeds are rare. For a child event it is not a bad prize as you do get a plaque and honor as well. The group event is a set of ten eggs. Apparently, the eggs have been placed under a spell so they are ready to hatch the moment the spell is removed. It is going to be a great show for the winners. The older group for the group event also has a set of ten eggs as a prize.¡± Seth concluded with a big sigh. ¡°Are you participating?¡± Auna asked as Ciela pulled on her shirt. ¡°I have for the last few years yes. I don¡¯t place though so father gets angry.¡± Seth looked away. ¡°No one wants to partner with me or our cousins because of it. Also, the recent public image revolving around you makes everyone else not want to. They can¡¯t taint their family image. Mothers out burst at the Kings¡¯ party also damaged our family image.¡± ¡°Yeah, my parents said I could not partner with Seth.¡± Seths¡¯ friend gave him another pat on the back. Auna had not bothered to learn his name, no in their group had. They only called poor Josh Seths¡¯ friend. ¡°Big sister, I want the seeds. Can you win them?¡± Ciela now on her lap had taken her face in her little hands grabbing her attention. ¡°Seth is registration still open?¡± Auna sighed in defeat. She should have known. ¡°It opens this weekend. There will be sign up tables on campus. You will have to put the king down as your guardian, and then they will reach out personally to get his permission for you to participate. Fun fact this will be one the rare occasions our King is not in the palace.¡± Seth laughed at the younger girls¡¯ insistence over seeds. ¡°I heard the little farmer was obsessed with farming but wow.¡± Josh shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll sign up.¡± Auna patted Cielas¡¯ hands still grasping her face. At her words the hands were removed with the girl laughing happily. ¡°Can we sign up for the group event as well?¡± Meredith gave a sheepish smile. ¡°I still only have one tamed pet. Aren¡¯t I supposed to be the tamer of our group? My second job is tamer I would really like to raise it a bit.¡± ¡°Okay we can sign up. It will only be seven of us though, say Seth are we allowed under the limit of ten people?¡± Auna asked as the rest of her group got excited. ¡°No, it must be ten.¡± Seth sighed. ¡°Our cousins and I are three.¡± He gave a hopeful look. ¡°Count Jade will be very angry if they can¡¯t find a group to participate.¡± Josh offered. ¡°We will need to train with you. I want an egg. So temporary truce?¡± Jensen gave a smile holding his hand out to Seth. ¡°Truce.¡± Seth nodded taking his hand. ¡°Wait sister are you okay with this?¡± ¡°Call me Auna. If Jensen is okay with It I am. Are our cousins available?¡± Auna started to pack her things. ¡°They go to school in the capital school meant to help them get into this school. We can meet this weekend at the guild after we sign up. You remember their names, right? We all have to put each other names down for it to go through. You will need to use your legal name.¡± Seth stood looking happier than he had in a while. The children had noticed he didn¡¯t really mean any harm to Auna, it was the opposite. He wanted to form a loving connection; one he did not get from either parent. He did feel love from his uncle and cousins though it wasn¡¯t the same. He wanted his sister and him to be as close as his cousins. ¡°Sounds good. Yes, I remember Marell and Darell Jade. I am not nearly as forgetful as you.¡± Auna laughed as Seth dramatically held his hand over his heart in fake pain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Auna and her group handed in their paperwork for both the single and group events for the weekend. They would travel with Duke Pearl as the Bloodwaves would already be at the forest. They had been grateful the Pearls would carry their child. They couldn¡¯t moon door to the event without suspicion as along the way their lack of presence would be noticed. ¡°This looks good, you children make sure you leave Darday night. Your classes for Fiday will be cancelled, counted as a holiday, no impact to your grades.¡± The lady handling the desk explained as she filed their forms. ¡°Thank you miss, have a lovely day.¡± Auna gave a bow to a flustered lady and left. ¡°I forget you can actually be polite.¡± Mateo smirked at her. ¡°Making the rest of us fairy born look bad.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t look bad if you also had basic manners.¡± Auna shot back with her own smirk. This light-hearted ribbing lasted all the way to the guild. They had been assigned Kings guards as an escort due to the events last semester. The attacks had stopped for the time being though. ¡°Are you guys always fighting?¡± Marell teased as she came up to Auna giving her a big hug. She was a tall 11-year-old girl with fluffy black hair and green eyes. They looked fairly similar due to their fathers looking similar. She was fully human as far as anyone was aware. Their mother was not known though, her uncle said she died during birth. ¡°Can you not?¡± Auna asked pulling away as Jensen put himself between the two. ¡°You, okay?¡± Mateo looked between Auna and the girl he did not know. ¡°Yes, Marell has always been touchy. It is why I pulled my wings into my back.¡± Auna stretched giving a small wave to Darell, Marell, and Seth. ¡°Ready for training? Can everyone enter the dungeon?¡± ¡°No, we are too young, and our father said no. We did rent out a training room though and father has a few monsters caught for today.¡± Marell gave a big smile motioning for everyone to enter the guild. ¡°I guess that will have to work.¡± Auna followed her to which everyone else did as well. ¡°Hello my little niece how are you?¡± Her uncle held his arms open for her; Jensen stood between them though. ¡°I see. I guess that is reasonable. I am Markell by the way. Feel free to call me that.¡± Everyone gave him a look and his kids one. Their names were weird. ¡°I am fine uncle. Would you like to see us fight first? Then we can place these three into appropriate roles?¡± Auna took her mantle and sunglasses off, setting them on a bench to the side. She stretched her back releasing her wings again. It was uncomfortable to keep them inside and would rot if left inside too long. ¡°Sounds good. You kids do your thing. Instead of a monster I¡¯ll be your first opponent.¡± Markell smiled moving to the middle of the training arena as a few other guild people stood on standby. ¡°Form three.¡± Auna gave a stern shout. Form three had Auna break to the front right, Jensen stood in the middle, with Bruno to their left. Diego would circle around the target from the right while Mateo circled around the left side. Diego and Mateos¡¯ goal would be to move behind the target while the other three kept the targets attention. Meredith casted support spells, Ciela would usually be beside her doing the same. Chloe would stick near Meredith to protect her, and would enter the front line if needed. ¡°Oh, how organized.¡± Markell spoke before rushing the front-line crashing against Jensen and his shield. Quickly Jensen dropped into a crouch destabilizing Markell. Bruno grabbed the back of Markells¡¯ shirt pulling him back, backing off as Auna rushed in with her blade. Markell managed to deflect her blade and push her off, though her wings allowed her to land softly. Bruno attacked again as Meredith covered him a warm orange glow. The boys quickly managed to make it behind Markell which caused him to have to spin around often deflecting their attacks. Once Markell looked like he was going to be taken down the standby people around them joined the fight. ¡°Uncle! Unfair!¡± Seth yelled looking to help. ¡°Stay put Seth.¡± Auna yelled glaring at him. ¡°Show me what you got.¡± Markell laughed as he dodged a close call with Diegos blade. The three men went straight for Meredith, looking to take out the support first. ¡°Are you not going to help your friend?¡± Markell smirked pointing behind them. ¡°No call for help was given.¡± Auna replied not looking back, or stalling at all. Soon loud explosions could be heard behind them, Meredith had changed to combat spells. She was not great at them but she was efficient enough to defend or create a smoke screen. Wails of pain followed by laughter could be heard from the smoke. Auna gave a sigh as she dashed backwards as Jensen held Markell down with his shield. ¡°I give I give.¡± Markell laughed. ¡°What is going on?¡± As the smoke cleared Auna could be seen standing over a fallen man groaning in pain. Her blade was holding off the mace Chloe had brought down. ¡°Chloe this is training, not hunting. You need to control that bloodlust.¡± Auna was calm as she spoke. The Laughing Chloe seemed to begin to calm down wiping blood from her face. ¡°Ah sorry, I was not expecting them to join. My instinct just kicked in there for a second. Is everyone okay?¡± She looked around sheepishly. The smoke screen gone. ¡°Wow. You guys got your asses kicked by little kids!¡± A tall man standing near the door roared in laughter. ¡°The Gary guild masters told me they would be crazy tough. Call me Capital Guild Master. Cap for short!¡± He walked over to the kids. ¡°Cap, didn¡¯t know you would be watching.¡± Markell smiled. ¡°He came in around the time Diego got behind you.¡± Auna pointed out. ¡°Come on how did you know that?¡± Markells¡¯ smile grew wider. ¡°Secret. Did we prove we are worthy?¡± Auna tilted her head. ¡°Most defiantly. I am worried these three will not be much help. Do you mind carrying them through the event?¡± Markell gave a shameless smile. ¡°I don¡¯t mind we need the extra people. What can they do?¡± Auna asked. How kind of you. Shut up Mr. Voice. ¡°Seth is a magic shield and swordman. He uses a short sword and a shield not as big as that little boys¡¯.¡± Markell pointed out Jensen. ¡°The twins are great with magic and daggers. They prefer running around their target and inflicting small damage and magic debuffs.¡± ¡°Okay. We can incorporate that. Seth will stick near Meredith. The twins will take the place of the two boys who got behind you. While the two boys will switch to which line needs them.¡± Auna gave the plan to which her members nodded in agreement. ¡°Say, you are good at magic, aren¡¯t you?¡± Markell looked at Auna confused. To which she nodded equally as confused. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you use it?¡± Markell finished. ¡°I didn¡¯t really need to. We all are good at magic. We can weakly infuse magic into our weapons. We also have basic spells to use when needed.¡± Auna finished as Chloe came up asking for a cleaning cloth for her mace. Auna opened her storage and gave her a cloth. ¡°Wow, storage?¡± Markell mused; the children had arrived with the weapons in hand for security reasons. ¡°Hear that Markell? You didn¡¯t pose enough of a challenge to make them use magic!¡± Cap laughed loudly. ¡°Maybe the king will let them do the special challenge at this rate?¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Jensen asked his interest being caught. All the children had signed up for the individual event as well increasing their chances of getting the seeds. ¡°All four events have a special event. If the king deems the winner of the event worthy enough, they can challenge the special monster. The special monsters are monsters the king himself has caught alive, or if someone manages to bring a monster back alive that is stronger it becomes the special monster. If no one gets the right to fight them, the king puts on a show of fighting them himself. He is a king known for his battle feats.¡± Cap explained. ¡°Can we not make a harder goal for us?¡± Auna looked at Jensen who had excitement in his eyes. ¡°Too late, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, my moon. Much too late I want to fight it!¡± Jensen roared with a big grin. The rest of the weekend was spent practicing and training together. The children would need to work together for the event. Just killing the monsters would not give them the right to pass to the next stage. The judges also scored other things like teamwork. Teams found to just have one or two good people in the arena would not move to the next stage. While the older children and adults could work this way any loss of a team member would disqualify them. While major injuries to team member would lower their ranking. The next week was full of excitement as even some of their teachers had left for the festival. It caused some classes to be cancelled while others were covered. Auna had not noticed the last few years this many teachers leave for it. However, Mr. Merlin explained that the prizes were very good this year, even for the younger categories, so many more had gone this year. chapter 47: Monster Hunting Festival Day one ¡°I do not want to continue.¡± Jensen groaned as they got out of the carriage for a break. They had left the campus with droves of other students heading to the festival. He did not take kindly to the long trip. ¡°Stop complaining you could be motion sick like her.¡± Meredith scolded Jensen pointing at Auna. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. We should arrive in tonight, right? It will give me some time to rest.¡± Auna moaned quietly as she lay on the grass. It was early morning. They had left the evening before going through the capital teleport to the Wardite one. They then rode in the carriage all night the creatures pulling the carriage easily able to do so. The drivers being switched out as needed. They were now near the border of Bloodwave territory. It would take a few hours after that to get to the hunting grounds. The border town of Bloodwave would be hosting the event as usual. The Bloodwaves and the Pearls would be staying at the mayors¡¯ home which did not surprise Auna. The king would also be at the mayors¡¯ house. In small towns like this the Mayors¡¯ house was as big a manor to host such guests. The part of the house Auna had seen was mainly the front area. A hall would connect the front to the guest wings. The mayors staff lived in the front of the house while the mayor and his family lived in the east wing. The larger west wing was for guests. She would have to be careful visiting Ciela. Ciela stayed home, and would be in contact with the elders in their dungeon for the next few days. She was a little worried, but willing to have Auna leave her if it meant winning the seeds. She didn¡¯t even know what was in the seeds. ¡°We will reach by the end of the day, should be in time for dinner.¡± Duke Pearl smiled. This was the first time in a few years he made the journey for the festival. It was dangerous to travel so far in the pada season, which had most of the nobles on the western side of the country struggle to make it. Some would just stay in the capital for the pada season, while others like duke Pearl just did not go. Though they usually sent at least one person from their territories to participate by hosting them in the capital for the season. Duke Pearl would usually stay with his children and wife sending a representative. This year though his wife said he had to go to watch their children. ¡°Please don¡¯t mention food.¡± Auna moaned. ¡°You really can¡¯t handle motion in a carriage well.¡± Jensen sighed putting a cool cloth on her head as he placed her head on his lap. ¡°Thanks.¡± Auna groaned again closing her eyes. It wasn¡¯t a long stop before they were back on the road with Auna looking even more pale than she usually did. The next few hours were awful for her. Once they arrived in the town, she was carried off the carriage wrapped in a blanket. She was groaning and not opening her eyes. It was near dinner time. ¡°Is the child, okay?¡± The king had arrived before them and came to great his ward. ¡°She will be. She gets sick from motion. It¡¯ll take a few hours at least for to be okay.¡± Duke Pearl bowed to the king jostling Auna who moaned loudly in protest. ¡°So sorry.¡± He tried to calm her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about etiquette please take care of the child.¡± The king waved them away to which the Duke gave a nod leaving with the children. Other people had seen the scene and rumors that the girl would not be able to participate began to spread. In the evening Auna woke up. The moon was brightly shining in the room she, Meredith, and Chloe were sharing. She looked through her logs to see she had been bathed by the female staff and put to bed. She had a couple hours before the events would start. She decided to start her day. Ciela would understand if she didn¡¯t visit till tonight. She had warned her she might not. Stretching she got dressed in thicker pants and a short-sleeved tunic with a partial back, and a turtle neck. Her mantel was secured to her shirt instead of around her neck. She had picked stronger fabric for the event, the cotton fabric ripping too easily. She wore no shoes still instead wrapping her knees and ankles for extra support. She grabbed her sunglasses for later, along with putting her sword on her hip. Slowly she slipped out of her room. She wanted to find the kitchen to eat, her storage only having snacks. She would need a proper meal if she wanted to be her best. She had never been in the guest wing though, quickly she got lost. Even with her map she struggled to find her way. ¡°Careful child.¡± Auna heard from above her when she bumped into a person rounding the corner. Looking up Auna saw the King, dressed and ready for the day as well. ¡°Why are you wandering around in the dark?¡± ¡°Sorry for bumping into you.¡± Auna smiled sheepishly. ¡°I don¡¯t need light to see. I am cursed when it comes to light you know.¡± ¡°You really drop your formal manners when alone don¡¯t you?¡± The king laughed as he motioned for her to follow. ¡°I am heading to the kitchen want to join?¡± ¡°Sorry my king, I can be unmannered.¡± Auna bowed before following after him. ¡°Is it good?¡± The king asked again as Auna scarfed down fruit tarts he had offered her while the staff cooked them breakfast. The staff knew the king would wake early which was why a crew was awake. ¡°Yes, my king.¡± Auna nodded happily. ¡°Are you feeling well enough to participate?¡± The king asked warmly with a small hint of disappointment in his voice. ¡°Yes, I just need some food and fresh air. I was planning to go outside it is rare to have a morning with the moon shining through in the pada season. I just get motion sick is all.¡± Auna nodded as she ate the final bite of the fruit tart. ¡°I see. I am glad you can participate.¡± The hint of disappointment was gone from his voice. ¡°Please enjoy.¡± The staff gave a bow as they placed plates in front of the two early birds. ¡°Thank you!¡± Auna gave a smile folding her hands in prayer. It was habit she picked up from her old world, and revived during her religious classes. ¡°Are you done praying?¡± The king asked as she picked her fork up. ¡°Do you not pray?¡± Auna asked taking a bit of sausage. ¡°I do sometimes.¡± The king grabbed his own fork to eat. He had politely waited for her to pray. ¡°Okay, time for fresh air.¡± Auna smiled placing her plate in the sink for the dish washer. The king brought his plate as well. ¡°May I join you?¡± The king asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t people think you are giving me inside information about the events?¡± Auna questioned. She did not want people to think she cheated. ¡°True, can my body guard escort you? There are many people around.¡± The king asked not expecting Auna to turn her gaze to the body who was hiding in the shadows. He wasn¡¯t physically visible but she looked right at him. The king could see him only due to the charm around his neck. ¡°Sure, he can come. Only if he stays in the shadows though, I don¡¯t want people to think I am cheating.¡± Auna gave a smile and waved at the man hidden who tilting his head gestured for her to lead the way outside. She did give a final goodbye to the king with a polite curtsey. ¡°It is so nice out here.¡± Auna took a deep breath as Theo came walking up to her. He had been asleep upstairs when she left the room. She had not wanted to disturb him as he was cuddled cozily beside Chloe. Chloe often got cold easily so Theo would sleep with her. ¡°Theo, do you want to go for a run? Would the shadows be able to keep up with us?¡± Auna asked glancing at the man in the shadow, who gave her a thumbs up. Quickly Auna melted into the moonlight which surprised the man in the shadow, who could still see her. ¡°Is this why you could see me?¡± He questioned. ¡°Most likely the moonlight and the darkness does exist side by side. Theo come on.¡± Auna called to which Theo then melted into the moonlight. They had found out the beasts could enter moonlight and sunlight naturally. Being moon and sun wolves it made scene, even without a skill it was a part of them. They did maybe the trace skills they had made it possible. The three of them spent nearly an hour zipping through the town watching people and exploring the different temporary stalls being set up. They ended back in the garden to the king waiting with Duke Pearl. ¡°You really need to be more mindful of letting us know where you are going, Jensen nearly burned the town down looking for you. I convinced him to eat breakfast first though. Please go calm him.¡± Duke Pearl half scolded her. He was unaware of the kings¡¯ guard still in the shadows, laughing at her being scolded.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I will go calm him, but please remember I am not your child.¡± Auna smiled asking Theo to shrink down before entering the house. She gave the king a proper curtsey again before leaving. ¡°That girl is going to be the death of me.¡± Duke Pearl sighed deeply watching the little girl leave. ¡°Thank you for caring for her. She did tell me she was heading out though. I allowed it; I have someone watching her.¡± The king gave smile to Duke Pearl before leaving. ¡°Is she one of the shadows as well?¡± The king asked quietly. Although he wasn¡¯t he could communicate with the shadows. ¡°No sir. She was in the moonlight. It was beautiful. I am not sure she could do such things in the day time though.¡± Giving a bow only the king could see the man laughed. ¡°I was surprised though. A moonwalker has not been seen in many eras.¡± The king nodded satisfied for now, he felt a presence he would rather not speak in front of. Ayda who had absorbed a stealth skill slunk away back to her master who was reading the logs in real time. A convenient way to eavesdrop. Soon the event started. Once the older children were sent into the forest the younger ones began fighting in the arena that had been set up. The first day was for individual matches, the group event would be tomorrow. The event tested endurance, skill, and strength as such participants would have to do all ten fights back-to-back. The only break given was the time it took to bring in the next monster. Many children could do three without issue. Once the fourth round started many would pull out. Some made it to six, others eight. No one had made it to ten yet. Even Jensen had to stop at eight due to a rough hit to his head making him see double. He left the arena to rest for tomorrow. Meredith made it only to five as she was better in support. The triplets struggled working alone each making it to seven. Chloe made it to the ninth but she ran out of energy falling unconscious before they could bring out the tenth. It was horrifying to see the difficulty of the challenge. Many parents were complaining that it was too hard this year. They gave credit to anyone able to reach six. Apparently, it was common for majority of the children to make it to eight. This year it seemed too hard. Auna was the last contestant, the order was picked by class level. As a ward with no real family backing, she was lower than even commoners. Tomorrow her group would also be last due to that. Stepping into the arena Auna gripped her sword. The first few monsters had been weak, suddenly increasing in power at the third. The first monster was a purple slime. A toxic shot of liquid was sent at her from it landing on her mantle as she pulled it protectively over her. She rushed the slime monster quickly destroying the core with her sword. Auna jumped back to the far end of the arena as they brought in a goblin, with black skin. As she met it in close combat, she noticed her sword would not cut his skin. It was solid as metal, sparking as she hit it. Jumping back, she took a second to think continuing to doge the blunt weapon in its hand. Making up her mind she sighed. She sheathed her sword on her hip. Rushing forward she kicked the goblin as hard as she could in the nuts. It dropped down dropping the blunt weapon on its¡¯ way. She picked up the blunt weapon clenched her teeth and began the long process of beating it to death. Huffing heavily, she dropped the weapon when the staff member began cleaning the corpse away. She again went to the far side of the arena. A wolf was next with red hair. It shot fire at her as she ran around it. She heard screams of injustice saying Auna was being given only unique monsters unlike the other children. Auna came to a quick stop stepping backward she casted water magic. She surrounded the head of the wolf maintaining focus as she moved the wolf drowned after five minutes. Stepping to the opposite side of the arena again she waited for the fourth monster. What came was a horned rabbit. Instead of one horn there was two, it was obvious someone was putting her through the wringer on purpose. She clenched her teeth and sheathed her sword again. Using her mantle as a distraction the rabbit missed her body and was caught by her. She snapped its neck. The fifth monster was a huge snake. It swallowed her after a thirty-minute fight. She cut herself out covered in blood and stomach acid she smiles screaming for more. The sixth monster was a winged bat like creature that didn¡¯t seme interested in escaping. Using her own wings, she fought it in the air removing both wings before its¡¯ head. The seventh monster was a pack of cat like creatures with stingers. Everyone had had to fight a pack of creatures for their seventh round. ¡°You have to be joking me, my pack has ten! Everyone else had five what the heck!¡± Auna roared as she began to ready her spell, she was not going to take them down one by one. ¡°Lighting chain¡± Auna whispered as she pointed her hand towards the biggest cat scorpion. They had a weakness of lightning releasing her spell it was the quickest round yet. They all fell dead. The shock of her defeating them so quickly gave her more time before the eighth monster even if it was just thirty-seconds more. The eight monster was a mole like creature. It really pissed Auna off as she hated going under ground. She crawled through the tunnels made in the arena killed the creature after a few deep bites dragging her kill to the surface. The ninth monster was an orc with blue skin. An ice orc very rare. She sliced away at it using a hit and run method. She would throw fire magic at it sparingly. She didn¡¯t want to show too much of her power or it would be suspicious most kids couldn¡¯t just fire off high level magic constantly. Soon though she managed to hit an important blood vessel causing it to bleed out. The tenth monster was a bear. ¡°Really?¡± Auna couldn¡¯t help but laugh thinking about the first monster bear she fought. This one had lightning magic arching off of it though. Fully evolved into a monster. It stood over three times her height. Without wasting any time, she flew up as high as she could while still being able to see the bear. The bear was looking side to side for its¡¯ prey. It had not noticed her leap into the air, the damaged arena made many possible hiding spots. Her blood was splashed everywhere as well, confusing the nose on the bear. She didn¡¯t allow for it to be confusing long. Using wind magic to keep her quiet and her scent away from the bear she dropped propelling herself faster than gravity. With great effort her sword entered the bears head cracking into small chunks. Breathing heavily, she raised her arms with a big smile. ¡°I have killed the bear!¡± ¡°You have. Do you wish to claim your prize, or to go another round? An interesting monster was brought back the other day by a group. Would you like to fight it?¡± The king asked as everyone screamed with excitement. The king did not often present the special monsters for fights, usually fighting them himself. ¡°I will fight.¡± Auna nodded with a growl. Soon a pure black wolf with red eyes was brought into the arena. ¡°Shit.¡± Auna groaned as the wolf dashed to her. She jumped into the air spreading her wings moving her mantle to the front of her. The wolf made wings of smoke following her to the air. ¡°Fuck you!¡± Auna yelled as he dove out of the way of the teeth aimed at her throat, they landed on her shoulder. They had been fighting for nearly an hour, Auna smiled wickedly. She had been waiting for this. Both of her arms were sore and bleeding. There was no strength left. Instead, she bit down on the wolfs¡¯ neck. Blood soaked her chin and chest. The wolf yelped and tried to thrash her off. Her teeth would not release though, her sword had been knocked away so she used her nails to gain purchase on the huge wolf. After five minutes the fight was over. ¡°I have killed the wolf.¡± Auna howled loudly to the spectators excited screams. While Auna was guided else wear to be cleaned and bandaged the older group of children had returned. The king would award the kids after the older ones¡¯ hunts were cataloged. ¡°That was morbid!¡± Chloe laughed as she howled. ¡°It really was.¡± Jensen gave a howl as well. ¡°Are you guys going to all howl now? I did what I had to!¡± Auna laughed as she was being bandaged. They were watching the rain from under the covered arena seats. The king would be calling up the top three winners soon. ¡°Third place, Jordan Sapphire. Jordan, you made it to eighth using precise calculating skill. You suffered very little wounds and accurately knew when you had to leave the arena. You should be proud of your accomplishment here today.¡± The king gave the 11-year-old boy a plaque. Chloe and Jensen had both scored low for ending their arena challenge unable to fight. They would have been dead. That is why they would not place in top three. Though they did make top ten. ¡°Second place, Ellie Gysm. Ellie, you made it to eighth leaving the arena after defeating your monster. You suffered wounds that would take down warriors, instead your unique skills allowed you to continue to fight till your last ounce of energy. Be proud of your strength and willpower shown here today.¡± The girl was about 14 she would be aged out next year. ¡°Finally, but not least, A Jade. Better known to her friends as AJ or Auna. You thought through pain, despair, loss of your weapon, and fatigue. You managed to defeat not just ten regular monsters but eleven unique monsters. A challenge put to you to test your resilience and endurance. When you arrived, rumors claimed I would give you easy monsters, to prove to them the power you have I gave you the hardest ones I could. I am proud of you, so may no one question your strength from here onwards. Be strong, be brave, be savage, my ward, my orphan. Our orphan champion of the Kingdom of Jules.¡± The king handed over the plaque with the words magically inscribing onto it. She wanted to cry but was too tired. Looking up she gave a weak smile, then a proper curtsey thanking the king. The crowd was going nuts as they screamed about their orphan champion. Although it was just the child arena, she had shown strong promise killing so many unique monsters one after another. ¡°Child. Congratulations on your victory.¡± Count Jade came up to Auna after she had joined the crowd again. He held out a small box with a ribbon on it. ¡°It is late, this is a present for you.¡± ¡°I appreciate the kindness Count Jade. I must refuse though. Have a lovely night.¡± Giving a proper curtsey for the hundredth time today she left the slacked jawed count behind. ¡°Savage.¡± Jensen laughed as he led her to a place people were dancing. ¡°May I have this dance?¡± He gave her a wink gently pulling her seeds and plaque away from her giving it to his dad. ¡°Of course.¡± Auna gave a smile. Ready to exhaust herself some more. The next few hours were exhausting and joyful. Auna danced with Jensen for a bit the both of them moving in such sync people clapped and gave them a circle to dance in. When it started raining some people left to the shelters. Auna just kept dancing her light clothes stuck to her as did her hair. There was a huge smile on her face as she sung at the top of her lungs, careful not to put anyone to sleep. It was only when Jensen grabbed her hand again, she knew it was time to sleep. Auna left to the protest of the people who wanted to continue the party. ¡°Auna, do you think tomorrow will be okay? Like your body took a lot of damage.¡± Meredith looked at the girl as they crawled into bed. ¡°I hope so. I used healing moon, and a top-level healer also used his magic on me.¡± Auna gave a soft smile to Meredith. Hoping again Ciela would not mind they did not visit. Aunas¡¯ mind wandered again, she wished healing was the cheat skill stories in her last world claimed it to be. Not this nearly impossible to have enough mana to effectively heal a broken bone. Going to bed Auna knew tomorrow promised to be just as hard. She hoped this display of giving her harder challenges would not continue tomorrow. Chapter 48: Monster Hunting Festival Day two It was raining heavily. Auna was up early again sneaking down the halls with Theo as her guide. Theo was much better at direction than her, her map was helpful but not nearly as clear as just following the pup. ¡°Up early again? I thought for sure you would rest later today.¡± The king smiled at the small girl he once again caught sneaking in the dark of the morning. ¡°Good morning, my king.¡± Auna gave him a wide smile while squinting at his lamp which was at eyeline. ¡°I am always awake early. I usually have an early class.¡± ¡°I see, sorry about the lamp.¡± The king raised his lamp higher out of her eyeline. ¡°Breakfast?¡± The king started toward the kitchen as Auna happily followed. ¡°Is it good?¡± The king was wiping her face as she went for more fruit. ¡°I know fairies like fruit, but please try to get it into your mouth.¡± ¡°It is so yummy!¡± Auna hummed as she ate more fruits, the king had eggs and meat with his fruit. Auna was happy with just fruit for breakfast. ¡°Can I ask a question?¡± ¡°Sure, you can. I can¡¯t let you know the monsters for the event though.¡± The King teased as a staff woman took over cleaning Aunas¡¯ face. ¡°I know. I want to know about the prize. I heard there are ten eggs per category. No one told me what kind of egg, though.¡± Auna ignored the light teasing. ¡°They are spirit eggs. Do you know what that means?¡± The king asked. ¡°Not really.¡± Auna admitted, she didn¡¯t have classes on taming or monster care. The only thing she knew about monsters was how to hunt them. ¡°Your tamed beast, Theo, is a divine class, right?¡± The king asked. ¡°Yes, my slime is a unique-normal class.¡± Auna nodded. ¡°Really? Do you know what that means?¡± The king smirked. ¡°Are you a tamer?¡± ¡°No, and also no. My jobs are not tamer. I do have a skill for taming though. Do you want to see my status?¡± Auna tilted her head to the side. ¡°Do you often let random people see your status?¡± The king sighed shaking his head. ¡°No. Don¡¯t you remember the whole ordeal with the church?¡± Auna glared. ¡°I am not stupid. I don¡¯t show my status to just anyone. You can see it though because you are the king. I can trust you.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°I appreciate it. How about if you manage to free yourself from the church and myself, I will gladly look at your status at that time?¡± The king gave a warm pity-filled smile at her. ¡°Sure. Now the eggs?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Hmm. Let''s start with explaining the classes of beasts. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Divine, and Spirit are the main classes. There are subclasses of normal, and peculiar that are actually fairly rare to have. The common class is numerous with most creatures of low magic and intelligence.¡± The king stretched. ¡°The uncommon class are creatures with more magic, and slightly smarter. The rare and unique creatures have more magic, and intelligence and are harder to find. The Chances of common up to unique pets birthing a creature unique and above is low. Even the unique monsters have a hard time having unique babies.¡± The king took a drink of his morning wine. ¡°The Divine creatures are ones with high intelligence and magic. They can give birth in a conventional way by having a father and mother. They can also lay eggs by gathering magic to form the egg. This egg can then produce any class of creature. It is almost random, at least from our point of view. The Spirt creatures have intelligence far greater than even some sentient races. Their magic is also far greater. They rarely give birth properly mostly just laying magic eggs.¡± The king sighed. ¡°The eggs are precious but most come out as rare or lower creatures. So having them as a prize is fine. The eggs here as prizes are from my personal spirit beasts. They have been examined to have lower magic power. Even if a spirit class is hatched, I won¡¯t take it back. That is why everyone is excited.¡± The king held up his hand. ¡°Now, subclasses are normal and peculiar. If a monster or creature has this it means they have potential to grow to a higher class. The normal means it is possible, the peculiar means they are close to doing so. The subclass can be lost as well, meaning something made it lose the ability to grow in class.¡± The king gave a nod. Showing he was done. ¡°I see. So, it is random to what we will get?¡± Auna asked holding her head with her eyes shut. ¡°Very random.¡± The king gave a long laugh. ¡°Interesting.¡± Auna groaned. ¡°My king I think you have given her too much information at once.¡± The man in the shadows whispered even though no one but the king and Auna would hear him. ¡°Hmm. Say why did you participate this year? And with your brother and cousins no less.¡± The king pondered this while the girl leaned back with a big sigh. ¡°My king, how cruel of you to overload my head to catch me off guard to ask your questions.¡± Auna giggled at the face the king had made to that. ¡°Honestly my friend is a tamer, she really wanted to try for the eggs.¡± ¡°The matter of your brother and cousins?¡± The king pressed. ¡°They needed partners, and we needed three more. I don¡¯t hold any real hostility towards them. They are only products of their upbringing. Besides Seth has calmed his attitude down some.¡± Auna gave a shrug. ¡°I see. How mature. I do hope you put on a good show again today.¡± The king rose giving her a pat on the head as he left. ¡°Bye!¡± Auna gave a big wave as she left with Theo as well. Auna and her friends watched the other children in the event fight. They mostly fought packs, or unique monsters. The rain was making it very difficult physically and by increasing the aggressiveness of the monsters. The children who had gone into the forest had returned before the arena event finished. Many came back injured. They had even finished the judging and would announce the winners after the event. ¡°Wow, no one is really making it past the seventh today. It¡¯s taking longer though.¡± Jensen mused as he watched the current team fighting a pack of wolves. ¡°I know the battles are being drawn out due to the slippery ground and anger of the monsters.¡± Auna stretched one final time. ¡°We are up next, then we can eat dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, please. Ciela must be worried about us as well. I want to hurry home.¡± Auna gave a look to the rest of the team. ¡°Get ready this team is nearly out. Our aim is the tenth.¡± ¡°Tenth?!¡± Seth glared. ¡°Only one team has made it to eighth, how are we going to get to tenth?¡± ¡°There is no room for failure, so prepare yourself properly.¡± Auna gave him a last look before their team was called into the arena. ¡°This is going to be so fun!¡± Jensen called out as they were faced with a group of over fifteen slimes of various colours. ¡°You are all crazy! Why are we getting unique monster packs? The others didn¡¯t.¡± Seth groaned as he got into position defending Meredith. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? The king loves to test our Auna.¡± Meredith laughed lightly as she prepared buffing spells for her friends. She was not worried. The slimes went down easily, the children were no strangers to fighting in less-than-ideal conditions. Seth only needed to kill a few as Chloe was able to stop the others. Though the children would be tested on their teamwork, Seth not participating often would not score them lower. He was a rear guard for the support caster he was only needed if the others couldn¡¯t manage the front line. Next were wolves with various magic. They attacked with great swiftness. The cousins were able to take a few down from behind. Auna and Jensen led the triplets in a front assault while Chloe and Seth handled the smaller ones who quickly passed them.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Next was another bear, everyone except Meredith surrounded it taking turns dealing damage. Jensen mostly dove in front of the others with his shield using his rapier sparingly. He was quick even with such a huge shield often avoiding dangerous blows to his friends. ¡°I can not understand how we have gotten this far.¡± Seth wiped his face despite the rain. They had won against goblins, orcs, a giant lizard, ants, and ugly bats. They had all been unique with odd powers. No other team had to deal with such creatures. Right now, they were fighting crazed pixies with no real thought left. They were not the gentle and curious pixies of legend. ¡°Focus Seth.¡± Meredith called out taking a pixie down with a swing of her staff. Chloe was also close swinging widely. There were at least twenty of the small-bodied things throwing out random magic in all directions. ¡°Sorry.¡± Seth groaned with exhaustion. ¡°WOW look at them go!¡± The announcer which Auna had been ignoring in both events got really close to her. He was using special magic that allowed him to fly, increase the volume of his voice, and put up a magic shield. He was not supposed to get so close. In response Auna threw out fire magic in his direction. ¡°How Feisty!¡± ¡°What is this?¡± The announcer floated towards the back line. ¡°Why is the support wizard throwing useless light stones?¡± In an instant Auna whirled around just as one such stone got close to her. She knew this as the signal for help, they were drowning. ¡°Change to form 2! Seth Stay, cousins flank the triplets. Everyone pull to the back!¡± ¡°Oh, a new form? Ladies and gentlemen, our champion orphan seems to have switched tactics. Again, though it seems three of her teammates are not practiced in them. Forcing her to partly explain what they are doing, wasting precious seconds!¡± The announcer was very annoying today as he was yesterday. ¡°Looks like this will be the end for them the little Bloodwave girl seems doomed, is all lost!¡± Auna dropped her sword, Jensen grabbed it, spreading her wings she dashed to Meredith. Using her wings as a shield she deflected, with great pain, magic aimed at the back of Merediths¡¯ head. ¡°Seth pull in! Group up!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Came a weak reply. ¡°Triplets, Chloe surround them! They need a rest. Jensen with me, lose the shield.¡± Auna began using her fists to pummel the pixies, grabbing some and ripping their heads off. Jensen soon joined her, the triplets using his shield and theirs to fully cover the tired children. Meredith was still standing using her magic to slow the pixies near for Chloe to pummel. ¡°Oh wow, what a save! While the three rest, the others are clearing the field for them! What teamwork! It seems they are switching out now, how clever. While fighting pixies with overwhelming stamina switching out is a reasonable strategy!¡± The announcer got close to Jensen who was now on the ground with Auna while Chloe and Meredith rested the cousins and Seth began to fight again. ¡°Why are you so close you freak!¡± Jensen threw his great shield slamming the announcer to the ground. The announcer was a bit dazed but not hurt due to his own magic shield. ¡°Wow, just as feisty! But what are you going to do without your shield little Pearl?¡± the smirk on the announcers'' face turned to shock as Jensen rolled his eyes. The shield reappeared in his hands before his eyes were finished rolling. ¡°I am a great shield user; do you really think I can just drop it?¡± Jensen roared as he turned away, back into the fight. ¡°How interesting, these kids show great promise don¡¯t they folks?¡± The announcer didn¡¯t get so close after that, making it easy for Auna to block him out again. After a grueling hour, all the pixies were dead. Blood covered the children. The tenth level was next, there would be no more rest. A big bore was released. Auna squealed in delight much to everyones¡¯ surprise. ¡°Are you really happy? Do you know how hard it is to fight that thing! It has sleep magic! We need to bow out before it gets close.¡± Seth pleaded. ¡°Stay here!¡± Auna called with a beautiful grin on her face, she walked into the range of the bore. ¡°What is this? Does the strong sleep magic not work on her?¡± The announcer was now beside Jensen who was watching her with a wry grin, he quickly followed. ¡°Does it not work on him either?" The announcer questioned the remaining children to no response. Magic screens were showing close-ups of the two children fighting the bore with bright smiles. ¡°I almost feel sorry for the bore, the sleep magic it is always relying on is not working!¡± The announcer was going wild as the other children decided to flank the bore. They stuck to the outside as Meredith cast support spells. The other children threw ranged spells when they could, shifting around to ensure they didn¡¯t get too close. It was over far too quickly. The bore should have put up a bigger fight. ¡°We have killed the bore!¡± Auna yelled. ¡°Yes, would your team like to fight the special monster? You have exceeded my expectations; I thought no group of children would defeat the bores.¡± The king smiled warmly. ¡°What do you say?¡± Auna asked looking around. The triplets, Chloe, and Jensen were grinning with big thumbs up. While the cousins and Seth looked like they were going to drop any second. Meredith was looking at them in pity. ¡°My king, thank you for the opportunity to gain more honor. At this time though my team can not continue.¡± Auna sheathed her sword putting Seths¡¯ arm around her shoulder to support him. Meredith held Marell and Jensen took Darell with him as they began to walk away. ¡°Very well. It is a sign of a true leader to know when to retreat.¡± The king sat back down as the festivities continued. There would be a break, the prize for the older kids would be given, then they would get their prize. They were sure they would be first place. ¡°Sorry.¡± Seth said as they sat waiting. They had heard the older kids had all gotten winged salamanders from the eggs. It was likely they would too, as the eggs came from the same parent. It was possible the spirit eggs that were given for this event were all the same as they all had similar magic signatures. ¡°Don¡¯t be. We are a bit crazy when it comes to combat. You guys all did a great job!¡± Auna soothed the upset boy as Jensen groaned nearby. ¡°Jensen be nice.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. Honestly, it was probably for the best. You had a hard time yesterday. You need proper rest.¡± Jensen got up. ¡°I think it is time, let us go.¡± Sitting in the arenas¡¯ prepping area the children watched the third, and second-place teams be given plaques and a speech. They were really excited; a few other teams were also standing by excited. They all wanted to be first place. ¡°Come forth the team led by A, Jade. You have won first place.¡± The King welcomed the children to the stage giving each child a little speech about their courage, strength, and willpower. ¡°Now what everyone is waiting for. The eggs.¡± Auna was given an egg bigger than a kicking ball. They all were big. Excited she leaned into it giving it her magic power to release the spell. She was greeted with a cracking egg. It fell into magic residue quickly leaving a small blue and red-winged salamander. It was an uncommon-peculiar class. Excited she called out to Jensen. ¡°Look isn¡¯t she cute! I¡¯m going to name her Kaida! Awe yours is so cute too!¡± Auna was basically jumping with joy showing her Kaida to the little one in Jensens¡¯ hands. ¡°Kade, his name will be Kade. They both look similar.¡± Jensen smiled happily. ¡°Look, isn¡¯t she so cute?¡± Auna held the small creature closer to the Kings'' face with bright eyes. She bonded with the little creature instantly. ¡°Yes, child she is. How heartwarming unlike the older children you seem very pleased with getting a little salamander as a pet.¡± The king patted her head as the other children caught up in her excitement were now all smiles. ¡°Oh, sorry my king I forget myself.¡± Auna blushed lowering her head and bringing the small creature to her chest. ¡°Do not worry, I don¡¯t mind.¡± The king laughed and addressed the crowd again. The children were escorted to the stands to watch the king fight the special monsters. There was only one left. A huge wyvern was released into the arena. ¡°I am very happy we did not have to fight that.¡± Chloe and Jensen spoke at the same time. ¡°Wow that is something coming from you two.¡± Auna laughed as she watched Theo carefully shift with the little salamander on his head. Auna cooed a little at the sight. ¡°You, really like the little thing, don¡¯t you?¡± A bigger boy with blonde hair asked. ¡°Of course, I do?¡± Auna answered puzzled. She was watching the king easily play with the monster. He was like a cat playing with a mouse. ¡°Do you want mine? I didn¡¯t name it.¡± The boy reached out, a small winged salamander with a yellow body in his hand. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yeah, my dad said not to bring it home, to release it. I feel bad releasing it though. You were very happy to get yours thought two would make you even happier?¡± The boy gave a sloppy grin. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Auna gently took the small creature putting it on Theos¡¯ head beside Kaida. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No thank you, my dad was disappointed. We come from another taming house so having me care for such a monster would look bad.¡± The blonde waved goodbye. ¡°The king is amazing, say what are you going to name it?¡± Meredith asked. ¡°I¡¯ll let Ciela have this one. It appears to be female as well. I missed the whole fight?¡± Auna was surprised it went so fast. ¡°Ciela will love it. Besides that, that boy isn¡¯t very smart. Mine has a subclass, did his not?¡± Meredith sighed. ¡°It does. As does mine.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Why does that matter?¡± Seth asked. He was sitting with them, his father sitting in the noble section had not called for him. ¡°It means their class has a chance to evolve. He must have not known that?¡± Meredith looked to the spot the boy had been. ¡°Oh, that makes this prize even cooler.¡± Seth smiled at the small thing in his hands. ¡°Very.¡± The cousins agreed. ¡°I for one am tired, I think I am going to go to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be hell for me.¡± Sighing Auna left. The next few days were royal holidays so they had some time to get back. There would be just as much motion sickness for her though. Auna retired to her bed, again she would need to travel with everyone for appearances. She couldn¡¯t wait to see her little farmer again. ¡°Good morning, leaving so early?¡± The king asked as he once again saw Auna in the early morning. ¡°Yes, my king, the Duke Pearl has a long way to travel. It is fairly dangerous this season.¡± Auna answered as she walked to the front. ¡°No breakfast? I saw your friends eating already. Also, why do you have two of the salamanders?¡± The king eyed the two sitting on the wolfs¡¯ head. ¡°A blonde boy gave me his. Said his dad told him to release it. I get sick from the carriage motion; I will not eat until later.¡± Auna reached the front door with a smile she saw the Duke already loading some items with his men. They would move out quickly at this rate. ¡°I see. I think I know who you are talking about. I am going to make it a point to ask him about the yellow-bodied salamander and how it is doing from now on. I might even ask him to bring his son to show me, if he lies about it doing well. It would be a great shame if his family lost a tiny thing. They are tamers, they should be able to keep it alive and well.¡± The king gave a crazy smile as he laughed. It was apparent he would be having a great time teasing the poor noble. The king saw them off before leaving himself. Auna made herself comfortable on the floor of the carriage hoping to lessen the sickness. Chapter 49: Lost in memories ¡°AunaLuna, Come here.¡± A tall glowing man came walking over to the waters'' edge. Auna was staring into the water, her face was more nostalgic than familiar. She felt like the eyes were wrong, the hair too long. ¡°Yes, my creator.¡± Auna gave a low bow with her hands on her knees. It felt right and wrong at the same time. She felt off, though she could not yet put her finger on why. ¡°I have told you I did not create you.¡± The man sighed deeply. ¡°I guess you can call me creator but not your creator.¡± ¡°Yes, creator. What have you asked me for?¡± Auna gave another bow which felt strange to her. She noticed a bundle of cloth in the creators¡¯ arms. ¡°I made you a new toy. You don¡¯t seem to enjoy the last ones I made you.¡± The creator gave a confident smile. ¡°This one, as requested will not worship you as an untouchable person above their station. Even though you are, they should worship you. Besides the point though I guess. This one will merely see you as a master, an owner. He will always be by your side. I made him by releasing the fire from the core of the world into your tears.¡± The bundle moved. ¡°I have named him EmberKai. You will have to teach him most things, though the basics of eating, talking, and walking, I have instilled into him. Whatever you teach him will form his personality.¡± The creator removed the cloth to release a small boy, her size. EmberKai had white hair and red eyes. ¡°Why does he have white hair? Every other toy made from my tears has blue hair.¡± Auna asked as she looked at the boy, his face bringing her comfort. ¡°I am not sure; the pressure of the tears could be why. I did go to the deepest part. To create him. Maybe he is taking after your glow I was trying to make him for you. You do wrap yourself with that glow all day and night.¡± The creator shrugged. ¡°I created him on your birthday, so his creation day was four days ago.¡± ¡°I see.¡± AunaLuna thought deeply on this. In her mind, she knew calling the ocean her tears, was odd. However, she also knew everyone even her toys called the oceans her tears. She knew the vast water was the tears that had flowed from her eyes over the years. What couldn¡¯t remember was why she cried so much to flood the once nearly waterless world. ¡°Don¡¯t you like him?¡± The stern voice of the creator snapped her from her thoughts. ¡°Should I gift you a different toy?¡± He stood behind the boy with a look of indifference. ¡°No, I was just thinking about what we should do first. I have not had a playmate in a long time. The other toys do not like to play with me.¡± AunaLuna gave a bow as she spoke, hoping the creator would leave her alone. ¡°I thank the creator.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going then. Do try to still those tears, I don¡¯t like what you have done to my world.¡± The creator gave her a look full of disdain before vanishing. ¡°Hello, EmberKai. I am AunaLuna. How do you feel?¡± Auna stepped closer to the newly created boy. He was looking around with wide eyes. ¡°Hello master, I am well.¡± His wide eyes looked slightly hollow. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. I don¡¯t want to be your master.¡± Auna sighed going to sit by the waters'' edge again. ¡°My creator said to call you Master. I am your toy, to do what you tell me. Nothing more, nothing less.¡± The boy spoke in a monotone voice. ¡°Come sit.¡± Auna watched both of them in the waters¡¯ reflection thinking about what she would do about this boy following her everywhere. She didn¡¯t want to look into the hallow eyes begging for freedom, so similar to her own. They sat like that for hours, soon Auna stood, walking across the water. EmberKai followed her, also walking on the waters¡¯ surface. She didn¡¯t pay too much attention to him. Still thinking about why she felt off. She arrived on an island populated with winged people, similar to them. Different though as they didn¡¯t ooze power like them. ¡°Luna, we humbly welcome you back to our home. Please rest while you are here.¡± The woman who greeted them bowed in the strange way she did to the creator. ¡°This is EmberKai he will be with me. Treat him well, your children are free to play with him.¡± Auna walked to a temple and stretched out on the comfortable pillow placed at the altar. ¡°EmberKai, you are welcome to play with the children.¡± The woman left them. ¡°You can play. I will merely rest.¡± Auna waved the boy off. ¡°Yes, master.¡± EmberKai gave a smile, running off to the few children the woman had brought. They looked worried at first but brightened when he called Auna master. ¡°A servant you travel with?¡± A boy sitting behind the altar spoke. He would often hide behind the altar to not be seen talking to her. He was an orphan boy his parents having been killed a few years back by the creator. They had angered him. ¡°The creator made him for me. Didn¡¯t like how the other toys did not help stop the tears. Like a few toys would wash away the pain, fear, and anger caused by him.¡± Auna gave a sigh she could not remember what she was talking about. She could almost grasp the thought of her parents, torture, loneliness, and unending rage at the creator. The why was just out of her reach though. Unknown to her she was slowly waking from her deep slumber, becoming A, Jade again. ¡°I see. Well, he seems cute at least.¡± The boy giggled softly. ¡°Yeah, he is adorable, his eyes are wide full of curiosity as well as a deep yearning for freedom.¡± Auna rolled over to look at the alter. It was an altar for her, often the people put sweet fruit on it. ¡°You should try to make friends with him. I know it didn¡¯t work out here, but if he is with you every day it should be okay.¡± The boy gave a sigh of his own. He had tried to follow her when he was younger, unlike Auna, he aged and grew. Soon he was too big for her to carry over the vast oceans, that just continued to grow each year. He had not been the first to follow her either. It was considered a great privilege for her to take a child for a few years to join her. So much so the boy was now treated specially, akin to a priest. ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t feel too badly. Only a few people have ever learnt how to walk on my tears. No one has ever lived more than one hundred years either, so I always lose my friends. You are right though. This boy might make a great friend.¡± Auna gave a weak smile. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad yourself. I know you take children from the few settlements the creator has allowed us. I know you travel with us teaching us many things. However, it hurts you though. To watch us grow old, to watch us die. To watch us achieve ultimate freedom. You never age, or if you do it is so slow no one has noticed. You are trapped. Now that boy is trapped too. Why not spend some time teaching him? I doubt he grows old.¡± The boy sniffled slightly. It was likely he was remembering the day he could no longer travel with her. ¡°I think I might.¡± Auna got up walking around the altar. The boy looked at her with cloudy eyes. His face sagged from the years, wrinkles from laughs and smiles littering the surface. To her he was still just a boy, a boy that she had raised for a few years. A boy she had given a piece of her soul to, a boy she loved. This boy was soon to return to the creator in soul alone. She mourned for that, knowing he would forget their time together. She would not though, she never did. This soul, this boy was hers. The first boy she took with her because she birthed him many eons ago. The creator had asked her what would stop her crying, back when the oceans were small puddles of tears. She had said she wanted her own child to care for, like her parents had done for her. It had brought them joy, she wanted that joy as well. The creator being the person he was created her toys and told her how she could create a child.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She had been old, but young. Not understanding everything. The creator had been cruel. She followed through though, and alone she gave birth to him. It had caused her much pain and suffering; her travels had become much better though. For a while, until the boy grew too big to carry. She had to leave him with her toys, the boys'' father took care of him. There was still a tale among the people about her son. She took girls and boys with her, the tale talking about her son being sent back to her in many forms. Sometimes even as pets by the creator who had a cruel streak toward her. This boy didn¡¯t know about that though. His memories gone. This pained her deeply, though she had still taken him in. She always did, as a girl, boy, or animal. He would always be her sky, the little child with brilliant blue hair and eyes. In every life she would find this child as a cruel twist of fate, usually the childs¡¯ parents would be killed or abandon him. The plus was his soul was blessed with long life; unlike her curse he was granted this blessing by the creator. It gave her more time with him. ¡°Lani? Are you going soon?¡± Auna gave him a strong hug, which he returned. ¡°Yes, very soon. I may not be here when you come back. Just promise me you will try with the boy.¡± Lani pulled back to look at Auna. She was still childlike in appearance. Her eyes full of complex emotion though a true marker of someone who had lived many lives. Her dark hair shimmered; her eyes brightly stared through your very soul. He was comfortable with her. ¡°I will try.¡± Auna pulled away to rest again. He left quietly after placing her favourite fruit on the altar. ¡°The children went to bed.¡± EmberKai sulked as he sat down near a half-asleep Auna. ¡°You should rest a bit as well.¡± Auna patted the spot beside her, EmberKai crawled over closing his eyes. They walked together for years. The time blending for Auna as she could not shake the feeling of something being wrong. They crossed oceans, rivers, islands, and more. The only place they did not go was the creators¡¯ land. The boy often questioned why they moved around. Auna always shrugged, saying it was better than staying in one place. She felt better if she was moving, less time to cry. The creator had noticed this, placing toys near the top and bottom of the world. Causing her to walk the whole distance. He placed a few interesting toys on the sides as well. It would take about a month in between each area, sometimes longer if she stopped. Her glow would push away the eternal darkness of the world when not facing the sun. The darkness felt comforting to her though, always on the edge of her perception. Unable to fully grasp it. She didn¡¯t know why; the sun had the same feeling even if it made her skin red and sore. Sometimes a message of encouragement would be delivered on the back of animals. It was rare these days though. She vaguely remembered the reason or who was giving them to her. Though each time her body moved on its¡¯ own. Jumping around with excitement and pure joy, answering the letter with ones detailing everything she had done between them. ¡°Wow you found me!¡± Auna giggled as EmberKai rolled his eyes. They were full of joy now, no longer hollow. ¡°Why did the creator make you glow? It is no fun for hide and seek.¡± Pouting he sat on a rock. Her glow making his hiding spots easily found as well. ¡°Is it not still fun?¡± Auna asked. ¡°It is, sorry master.¡± EmberKai gave a weak smile. ¡°Stop that, how many times do I have to tell you?¡± Auna groaned. ¡°What should I call you if not master, master?¡± A more familiar wry smile painted his lips, even though this was the first time she had seen it. Was it the first time? ¡°Friend.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°Friend? Really you mean it?¡± EmberKai gave her a big hug before walking away from her. He knew the creator was coming, like Auna he could feel it. His eyes went hollow. ¡°Welcome, creator.¡± Auna said as she and EmberKai gave a proper bow. ¡°Hello, I came to check-in. You have not taken a child from your toys in a while.¡± The creator asked. ¡°Yes, I am focusing on teaching EmberKai, before bringing a child. I am not as brilliant as the creator; I can not hope to be able to mentor multiple people at once.¡± Another bow by Auna seemed to be a satisfactory answer as the creator vanished. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± EmberKai made his face look angry like hers. ¡°I do not like the creator, anger and rage show through my face when he is around. Though he does not seem to mind as long as I am polite to him.¡± Auna gave a soft sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s train your wings.¡± ¡°Please no, why do I have to?¡± EmberKai groaned. ¡°We walk most places!¡± ¡°We walk because you can not fly well.¡± Auna rolled her eyes. ¡°Where do we need to fly to?¡± EmberKai groaned. ¡°Just do it.¡± Auna laughed. ¡°Give me a reasonable reason.¡± EmberKai glared. ¡°I want your wings to grow big and strong. I want you to be able to fly so high that every problem you have seems like a little speck of dust, to be wiped away with the back of your hand. Please let me help you do that.¡± Auna smiled. Warmly remembering when this boy would not give her no as an answer. Now he was complaining and arguing with her. A true friend. Slowly as the boy started to practice his flying the world blurred. ¡°AunaLuna, Come here.¡± A tall glowing man came walking over to the waters'' edge. Auna was staring into the water, her face was more nostalgic than familiar. She felt like the eyes were wrong, the hair too long. Wait, where am I? Why am I here, is this me? It is right? Who is that man? Auna was confused as she began trying to put together what was going on. Barely hearing the words from her own mouth as she went with the motion of the memories. Her soul not being strong enough to hear Mr. Voice while deep in her souls¡¯ memory. ¡°Yes, my creator.¡± Auna gave a low bow with her hands on her knees. I feel angry, why angry. No focus, what was I doing? Right, I was checking in on the dungeon this morning, right? She was putting her day back in order. ¡°I have told you I did not create you.¡± The man sighed deeply. ¡°I guess you can call me creator but not your creator.¡± Yes, I was told the salt farming inside the dungeon was going well. I was also told more than usual had become magic salt, an ingredient for potion making and other magic crafting. The money used on keeping the residents fed and clothed is going down as the farming, food preservation, and more selling increased. They also now had teachers that had books scribed by their scribe, and basic educational skills. They had also given them assignments from their classes. The school was not built yet as the lumber for it was too expensive for it. The forest too dangerous to chop wood. ¡°Yes, creator. What have you asked me for?¡± Auna gave another bow. Auna was now completely ignoring her memories. After the dungeon was classes, then we stopped by the stables for training the winged salamanders. This past year we have not been able to explore the dungeon more, too busy. Busy with what? Right the school classes, the running of the dungeon, researching more ways to run the dungeon, the training of salamanders, and the fame. Many students and teachers were now crowding them everywhere from last years hunting festival. They had celebrated Cielas¡¯ ninth birthday with many people because of this. The next festival was a few weeks away. I can¡¯t remember anything else, can I? Auna thought about this deeply, so deeply the world blurred around her restarting. This startled her a bit, until she understood what was going on. I remember once that I was pulled into a dream-like state after remembering something. I woke up years later as a nearly dead person, and died. The gods told me it was soul damage, memories hidden deeply in my soul being remembered caused it. It was not uncommon to happen to mortals. No one could predict when it would happen. She was told by them if she found herself roaming in her own memories to look for the trigger words. These words, if she could remember them, could bring her back to the current reality. After a few more memory trips she got it. ¡°I want your wings to grow big and strong. I want you to be able to fly so high that every problem you have seems like a little speck of dust, to be wiped away with the back of your hand. Please let me help you do that.¡± Auna sighed deeply in her mind. She could now picture Jensen saying these words to the little winged salamander who, with stubbornness akin to his own, had been refusing to fly. Are you waking up? Mr. Voice greeted the girl. Yes Mr. Voice can I look at the log? Auna looked through the log. After Jensen had said the words¡¯, she told him many eons ago she dropped like a puppet whose string had been cut. The keeper of the tamed pets immediately got the doctor. Jensen refused to leave her side the entire time. He yelled and screamed about how he should have known better. The doctor explained to the king who had come as her guardian what was happening. He had explained the soul damage and what it was most likely caused by. Other world people were at higher risk for this to happen. The doctor tried to remove Jensen when the night came, he would not leave. The doctor arguing that the modesty of the young woman must be upheld. How would her reputation be damaged if it was found out she spent the night with a boy unwed? The king waved away his worries saying he would stay by the children. No one would dare question the girls¡¯ modesty if he was watching her the entire night. The doctor relented. Next, there were hundreds of pages of logs of her going through the memories. Time inside ones¡¯ soul could be greatly skewed. ¡°Are you awake?¡± The king sitting reading paperwork by candlelight asked her. ¡°I am.¡± Auna shifted gently, Jensen was holding onto her tightly. She was careful not to wake him. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Only a few hours, about six. It is the middle of the night though. You should go back to sleep for a few hours before your morning class.¡± The king gave her a smile. ¡°My king, I really do not want to sleep anymore tonight.¡± Auna gave a shy smile. ¡°Well. Should we talk instead?¡± The king gave her his full attention. Jensen kept lightly snoring. Chapter 50: Talking with the king ¡°What would you like to talk about?¡± Auna asked with a small yawn. She moved herself to sit up fully while Jensen rolled over. ¡°He seems to have calmed down now.¡± The king gave a soft look to the boy who was now drooling on her stuffed toy. It had been brought in by Ciela. ¡°Yeah, he gets a little overwhelmed when it comes to me.¡± Auna snickered touching his forehead lightly. ¡°I have to agree.¡± The king put his papers together and off to the side. ¡°How is school going?¡± ¡°It is going well. I am sure you get reports. I enjoy my second runic class. We are making different runic artifacts. It is much better than last semester when we studied only, no hands-on stuff.¡± Auna gave a big grin. ¡°I made a wind-up doll.¡± ¡°That does sound interesting.¡± The king shifted. ¡°Are you really going to major in magic, history, politics and religion? I mean you already have the religion major. Most children don¡¯t score high enough to be allowed in the classes, you did it your first two years.¡± ¡°I am. I can handle it so why not? It would be a waste not to take advantage of this learning institution.¡± Auna waved her hands around indicating the school. ¡°I do understand, aren¡¯t you afraid you are working too hard?¡± The king eyed her. ¡°Jensen is following your lead as well.¡± ¡°I know, I was thinking I need to spend more time playing hide and seek.¡± Auna looked at Jensen with pity. She really had been stressing the poor boy out. ¡°That sounds good. If you do more relaxing child things you should be able to lessen these incidents.¡± The king stood. ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a walk?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Auna wiggled out of bed being sure to not wake Jensen. ¡°Stay here with Jensen.¡± She told Theo, Ayda, and Kaida. ¡°So, can I ask more questions?¡± The king spoke as they walked around the hospital wing, which was always brightly lit. He had taken her by the hand. ¡°Sure, you are the king.¡± Auna smirked at the cough he gave. ¡°Are you happy?¡± The king stopped as he felt the little girl stop. He waited for her. ¡°I think so. I eat good food, have access to great friends, I am clothed, and I have access to so many books. I think I am happy. Maybe ask me again after I turn 16 and gain my freedom?¡± ¡°I will. You need a job; you are too young though yet. Are you selling things from the beginner dungeons?¡± The king guided her around the corner. ¡°I sell things sometimes. I have time, children can get apprentice jobs at 14.¡± Auna gave a shrug. She was not ready to tell him about EmberMoon though she thought he might have already guessed. He was not a dumb king. ¡°Oh, I have been practicing something neat.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± The king asked. ¡°This.¡± Auna melted into the shadows and poked the kings¡¯ guard. He gave a very girlish squeak. Laughing Auna left the shadows leaving the guard slack-jawed. ¡°Neat?¡± ¡°Wow, very neat. Did you acquire a shadow skill?¡± The king eyed his guard giving a chuckle. ¡°You surprised us both. Shadow walking is fairly rare.¡± ¡°Well. I told Jensen and the gang about your guard. They came to the conclusion I should be able to do the same. What is the moon if not a mixture of dark and light? I have basic Dark magic. So, I practiced. It was easier for me than everyone else as I know what it feels like already. It was fun to learn it.¡± It was Aunas¡¯ turn to stop because the king had stopped. ¡°Are you telling me all eight of you now know how to shadow walk?¡± The kings¡¯ eyes were wide. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible! It took me years to learn!¡± The guard yelled, only the king and she could hear him though. ¡°Well. It is easier to learn when someone is teaching you. It took me years to learn Moon walk, Shadow walk was much easier. I had already learnt dark magic. Everyone in my group knows the basic for dark magic as well. It was tricky I admit. We powered through though.¡± Auna gave a sly wink to the still shocked guard. ¡°You know, even that man has had trouble teaching underlings this skill.¡± The king gave a slight glance at the guard. ¡°Are you telling me you are a better teacher?¡± ¡°I might be. Not everyone has the patience for teaching.¡± Auna remarked with a giggle. ¡°I heard you have quite the temper yourself.¡± The king sighed. ¡°Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you on how well you are doing.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Auna beamed at the praise. ¡°I am really amazed how you are keeping first in every class. Well second in Etiquette. Still overall first by a lot.¡± The king turned them down another hall. ¡°Can I ask you a hypothetical question?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Auna fluttered her wings at that. Her mapping skill with the true friend blessing had put a sheen of green around him, his dot solid green on the map. It meant he was lying but not ill will. She was curious about this obviously not hypothetical question. ¡°We are going to say you are a powerful person with many people under your care. Most people love you, feel a kinship with you. Among these people there a few who are indifferent, who like you as a leader, and some who hate you.¡± The king gave a smile looking into her eyes. ¡°The people who hate you will stop at nothing. They have killed innocent people, attempted assignation attempts on your life, and much worse. You have tried everything you can think of and still can¡¯t find the actual leader of these people.¡± The king turned down another hall. ¡°Every time you catch a person, they die never saying anything about who is actually running the operation. What would you do? Would you leave it alone, allowing more innocents to die? Would you use yourself as bait to lure out as many people as possible?¡± The king stilled. ¡°Neither. Using yourself as bait without proper planning will obviously be a trap. No one important will be lured. It would be a waste.¡± Auna shrugged pulling the king along the passage. ¡°What would you do? Just continue to investigate in safety while innocent people die?¡± The king pushed with his questionings.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°No. Instead I would play the long game. Bide my time. Slowly start showing little mistakes, leaving myself open for attack. Not always just sometimes. Leaving my safety more, but not often. More like I had become cocky, arrogant, and stupid. This would lull my attacker into arrogance.¡± Auna smiled softly. ¡°Then one day, it might be years later. The arrogant attacker will come to collect my head himself. When he does, I would take his as the prize.¡± A crazy smile crept onto her face. ¡°What could one do to lull such an aggressive attacker?¡± The king pondered out loud. ¡°Well. I would start leaving my palace more often, to I don¡¯t know, visit a young girl I have publicly shown interest in? I would also walk around my capital more with the young girl or my children under the guise of spending bonding time with them. I would then start taking trips to tourist areas of my kingdom saying I needed to inspect them.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°I would then throw more parties, and pretend to drink more but always have no alcohol. I would always have high security hidden while the seen security would appear lax. Of course, only my most trusted people would know about this. To everyone else in my castle I would appear lax in my attitude. Finally, I would make sure my hidden security only comes out when needed. For lower-level attacks meant to test the lax security for a trap I would make sure they stay hidden.¡± Auna looked at the king expectantly. ¡°What you are saying is to take a long time building an image of an overconfident person, who no longer feels the threat of the attacker. Then to keep this up, even if some people die, until the attacker comes out himself?¡± The king sighed. It did not appear like he enjoyed the plan. ¡°Hypothetically of course. Though the hypothetical me is always free to pick a different plan. A plan not from an eleven-year-old child.¡± Auna smirked at the kings'' second sigh. ¡°I suppose you are right.¡± The king guided her back toward the room she had been in. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot, remember the winged salamander you got from the blonde-haired boy?¡± ¡°Yes. Ciela named her Ziti.¡± Auna supplied. ¡°Well, the boy is called Beckett, he is about 17 years old now. I have been keeping up on the salamanders¡¯ health through his father. His father did not have the guts to tell me a prize from me was given away. The boy may try to reclaim the salamander.¡± The king rounded the last corner. ¡°Well, he can not have it. I know he goes to school with us. So, I will keep an eye out. He has two years left right?¡± Auna yawned. ¡°Yes, he does. Did Ciela like the seeds from last year?¡± The king gave a knowing smile. ¡°She liked the seeds, said the rice will come in handy. A hard seed to get. The medical flowers too were nice.¡± Remembering Ciela had planted everything in the dungeon and not the school plot she quickly added. ¡°She wants to propagate them when she has the space to do so.¡± ¡°I thought she might. There are a few children who are little farmers. That is why I picked them out. Can I assume you will participate again this year?¡± The king asked as he helped her back into her bed. ¡°Yes, what are the prizes?¡± Sleepily Auna asked. ¡°The individual arena event will feature an advance magic book; the winner will get to pick one of three. The choices will be common ones; fire, wind, water. The advance books are fairly rare and can usually cut off many years of training from basic to mastery. Most can get from just fire magic to advance by internalizing the advance material. It will also sell for a high price after it is read.¡± The king pulled the blanket over her yawning form. ¡°The group arena event will feature a set of communication stones. Worth a lot of money these stones are programmed to connect to each other. They also have room for four more connections to be made. That is a total of fourteen connections, common personal stones connect with five on average.¡± The king sighed sitting back in his chair. ¡°Sleep well.¡± The king spent the entire night watching over the children. He did not need as much sleep as most would. He was known for his sturdy body that did not require as much sleep, food, or care as a normal human. Many thought he might even be a hybrid of another race. ¡°Morning.¡± The king spoke as he saw both the children blinking and rubbing their eyes. Their class was not for another hour. ¡°I was going to wake you thirty minutes before your class. Your friends had brought your uniforms and class materials last night.¡± ¡°Morning.¡± Both children said together. ¡°Did you stay all night?¡± Auna asked looking to the dark corner of the room she saw the guard sleeping on the floor, still inside the shadows. ¡°How does he do that?¡± ¡°I did give my word to watch you children all night, and do what?¡± The king spun to the corner. ¡°Get up we are leaving soon.¡± The king chuckled as the guard startled awake wiping drool. ¡°When your skill and job level it belongs to is a higher level you can stay in the shadows for as long as you have mana. Even if you fall asleep. If your mana pool is large enough to replenish at a rate higher than it decreases you can even sleep in the shadows.¡± The king gave a smug look. ¡°Why do you look smug when it is your guard that is the skilled one?¡± Jensen asked with a yawn. Leaning over he put his head on Aunas¡¯ shoulder. ¡°Are you okay my moon?¡± ¡°I am okay.¡± Auna confirmed as the guard snorted and the king shook his head, smug look gone. ¡°Say, Jensen would you like to play hide and seek over our spare period?¡± Auna dethatched herself to grab her uniform. ¡°Really? I would love to.¡± Jensen got up with a huge smile, all sleep gone from his eyes. ¡°I guess you two really are children.¡± The King stretched pointing to a washroom. ¡°Change one at a time in there.¡± He then went back to his paperwork. The morning went by very quickly. Their first classes passing without issues, they even ate quickly. Both very eager to play, Jensen not asking why the sudden change in her. Soon they were running around the campus counting loudly in the sleepy morning. Most were in their first class of the day. ¡°Twenty-four, Twenty-five! Ready or not here I come!¡± Auna gave a loud shout, she had turned her mapping skill off to be fairer. Asking Mr. Voice to alert her if anyone sneaks up on her. ¡°Where, oh where could you be?¡± Auna taunted happily. They had about twenty minutes until their next class, one last round. Non-hostile person approaching from the west. Mr. Voice gave her a warning, so when the person spoke, she did not start. ¡°I heard you were out here. Everyone is talking about how you two must have lost your minds. Playing childish games instead of held up in the library studying?¡± The boy she now knew was Beckett was walking up to her side. ¡°We are just eleven. Why does everyone think it is odd? Also, if you are here for the salamander, it is a no, my little sister has bonded with it.¡± Auna gave a smirk as the boys¡¯ faces fell. ¡°Can I just borrow it?¡± Beckett tried. ¡°It is not up to me. Ciela should be between classes now though.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°Jensen, we need to go see Ciela.¡± She called out, within a few seconds Jensen came out of his hiding spot greeting the boy with a glare. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He doesn¡¯t like you.¡± Auna shrugged lightly laughing at the two boys¡¯ facial expressions. ¡°Ciela, are you here?¡± Auna called out inside the barn used to keep their tamed animals when not in their rooms. ¡°Here.¡± Came a soft call from the stall that homed Willow, Theodore, and Ayda. They were paired together as they didn¡¯t like being separated, they were raised as siblings. The salamanders all shared a stall as well since they were still smaller than a kicking ball. ¡°Hi, this is Beckett, he has a question for you.¡± Auna pointed to Beckett as he gave a gentlemans¡¯ bow. ¡°Hello Ciela. How are you?¡± Beckett started. ¡°Hello, I am fine. What do you want?¡± Ciela was not one for idle chatting unless it was about farming. She held Ziti in her arms as her head was resting on Willows'' side. Theodore and Ayda were by her feet resting. ¡°Right. I would like to borrow her.¡± Beckett pointed at Ziti. ¡°Why do you want to borrow Ziti?¡± Ciela pulled the creature closer to her chest. ¡°My dad had told me to release Ziti. I did not want to do that. I gave her to your big sister to care for. Now the king himself has been asking about Ziti and her health. My dad apparently could not own up to his own mistake and lied that Ziti was being well taken care of by us. I think the king knows I gave her to you two.¡± Beckett paused to look at Auna who gave a nod in confirmation. Sighing Beckett continued. ¡°My father has told me if I don¡¯t produce Ziti for the king to look at this weekend our family reputation will be tarnished. He said he was willing to do anything for allowing me to have or even just borrow Ziti.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll give her back after the weekend, on Woodday, right?¡± Ciela questioned. ¡°I promise, and I will take the best care of her possible.¡± Beckett gave another bow. ¡°Hmm, I would like payment. Rare seeds will work.¡± She gave a smile. ¡°Tell your dad.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Beckett shook her hand. That is how a long-standing pact about Ziti was created. Chapter 51: A good cry ¡°Young Ciela, where is Ziti?¡± The grandmother Elf had approached them to give them an update. ¡°Big brother Beckett said the king had told his father he was excited to see Ziti again at the festival. So, I let him borrow her again.¡± Ciela stood up showing a small bag of new seeds. ¡°He came prepared when he asked for Ziti. The Viscount Flor is a very smart man. He gave me seeds of winter grapes. That is why I am planting these here with the dungeon flowers of frost.¡± Ciela then quickly went back to what she was doing. ¡°Can you help make some trellis and arbors for her? We will have to divert some money for it. Sorry.¡± Auna grimaced she knew she was spoiling the girl; she couldn''t help it though. The little farmer wanted to make wine, there was no stopping her. Apparently in her past life she was a lover of wines. ¡°Of course. The dwarfs are looking forward to alcohol, some even have brewing and fermentation skills. It will help speed up the process. They have been talking about using some of the potatoes, now they should leave them alone. I will make sure to have them make juice as well. How are you going to put them into a dormant phase to allow the plant to rest?¡± The grandmother was walking beside Ciela as Auna followed behind. ¡°I am not completely sure yet. I think one of my skills might help, or I¡¯ll just prune them down so they have to take a rest. If we are lucky some might turn into a magic crop that can produce more. I was told these grapes are hard to grow, the viscount was given the grapes by the king. The king was given them years ago by the Arctic country as a gift of friendship. The king gave them to the viscount because they were school friends, he thought he might have success. The Flor viscount did not have great success he doesn¡¯t have many farmers in his territory.¡± Ciela continued to drone on even after Auna and the grandmother Elf had stopped following her. ¡°She really does only talk about farming.¡± The grandmother Elf gave a sigh turning to Auna. ¡°Do not feel bad, if we can make good wine, we may be able to make decent money. It looks like she has enough seeds to fill about five acres worth. That should produce eighteen thousand.¡± ¡°Half should be consumed by the dungeon people; a little luxury should help morale. Also, we will need taste testers. We are too young to test it. Should we increase the sugar yield?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes, we should move from one acre to five acres of sugar cane. That should be enough to continue the candy, wine, and preservation. The fruit trees are almost ready for production. They could make good wines as well.¡± The grandmother Elf looked happy. ¡°I¡¯d say some blue apple wine would be very yummy. We should start with the winter grapes though.¡± A dwarf came striding up. ¡°I was told the little farmer may need some help with wine grapes.¡± A sheepish smile crossed his face. ¡°Larn, you are still taking care of the mining village, right?¡± Auna asked as they walked. ¡°Yes, little ma¡¯am. We are still working on fixing the production building, and stock pilling ore. We have begun making more farming and fishing tools, we shouldn¡¯t have to rely on buying them or using magic soon.¡± Larn stretched having run all the way over. ¡°We are working on making the pedal carriages you gave us plans for.¡± ¡°Oh, good that should make travel around the farm a bit easier. Especially for the younger kids.¡± Auna looked over the fields. In the distance she could see the three acres of free-range laying birds being chased by the children. The workers at the salt ponds were using fire magic to speed it up, so they could do other tasks today. The rest of the farm was being tended by pockets of people here and there. ¡°You are a child.¡± The two adults said at the same time. ¡°Anyway. How are you guys keeping up on the farm? Nearly 100 acres are being used right now. Isn¡¯t that too much on top of the sea and mine floors?¡± Auna questioned them as they began walking towards the school area. ¡°Yeah, it is a bit tough. We don¡¯t have to worry about food, shelter, or safety though. We also take breaks when needed, and have little parties in the villages. Come now, babies are being born so you should know we have at least some free time.¡± Larn laughed loudly as Auna blushed brightly. ¡°We should be nearly self-sufficient soon. Are the people getting enough food, and food variety?¡± Auna caught sight of Jensen lying in the middle of a field with the triplets. ¡°They seem a bit tired?¡± The grandmother Elf asked. ¡°Oh, we leave in a few hours, they have been helping their dad this morning. Chloe, and Meredith are helping the Bloodwaves. Chloes¡¯ parents are being brought this year, so they can watch. Ciela is here to plant grapes, I am checking in. Jensen probably thought this would be a good place to rest without being bothered.¡± Auna looked at them questioningly waiting for her previous question to be answered. ¡°With eggs, hemp seeds, fish, mushrooms, soon to have fruits, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and the berry bushes in the crater we have most of the food needed to survive. We have some rice, wheat, sugar, salt, fresh water we collect in the rain barrels on the farm, candies, hemp oil, and various shellfish we have begun to thrive. Please do not worry.¡± The grandmother Elf touched Aunas¡¯ hair. ¡°Is there anything you are missing? Something that would make the children healthier? The adults as well?¡± Auna pushed, she didn¡¯t know what a balanced diet would consist of in a magic rich environment. ¡°As I told you before living in a high magic environment can substitute needed nutrients that the body is not getting. If they are getting everything it can help naturally boost stats, especially in children. Just spending as much time here as you kids do is already boosting yours. We seem to have enough of a variety though, we are already making medicine as a bonus. Though the children don¡¯t get sick often. I do worry the closed environment may hinder their immune systems.¡± The grandmother Elf stopped to watch the children running around the fenced-in area that housed the laying birds, and the school grounds. The school was not finished, just a storage shed, stone foundational walls, and stone furniture. The shed had a roof to protect the books and other materials of learning from the weekly downpour on this level. ¡°I see. The forest in the crater is too dangerous though. The seaside would be difficult because people might see them. How would you fix this?¡± Give them access to the crater to start with, it is still the outside world. Mr. Voice was sassy as ever. ¡°Dairy would help, different cheese, milk, and yogurt. It is too expensive to buy.¡± The grandmother Elf sighed. ¡°Would raising goats help?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Why goats over cows?¡± Larn asked. ¡°They eat less, and are smaller.¡± Auna shrugged at their gazes. ¡°Cows would be better; they produce more and make milk more palatable for children.¡± Larn answered her. ¡°We would need to start corn production though; I don¡¯t think we have enough people to do that.¡± ¡°I also don¡¯t think adding more production would help. The wine alone will take more of our man hours. Maybe we should get more people?¡± Larn joked. ¡°Where would we get more people?¡± Auna hummed thinking about it. ¡°When we sell our goods, we have heard rumors of people trying to flee Wardite. Apparently, they are experiencing high taxes, and famine. They are being forced to stay, in brutal ways. The King has been giving assistance to the territory, though the people don¡¯t seem to be seeing it. Apparently, their land isn¡¯t growing food anymore.¡± The grandmother Elf gave her answer. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have the space to be fair.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°They are the kings'' responsibilities as well.¡± Auna looked up at her. ¡°Keep an eye on the situation though, if it becomes possible to get them here let me know.¡± ¡°I will. Also, I think you children need to start clearing the dungeon again. I know you guys have put clearing it on hold to help us, we are nearly self-sufficient though. The dungeon is still relatively young so we think you might be able to clear it.¡± The grandmother Elf looked serious. ¡°We are planning to start in earnest as soon as we are not so closely monitored by our school. There have been no incidents this year so the strict monitoring has slowed down. We might be doing it while y¡¯all sleep though. We will leave the running of everything to you now though.¡± Auna was confident they would be left alone more often. ¡°Good we think it is possible there may be more special or unique floors, they could provide more space for us. We were also thinking it might be possible to set up a safe zone or safe village just outside the crater. No one travels to the side facing the ocean, and definitely not as deep as the crater. If we could set up a safe village, we could build homes and travel to the crater through a tunnel.¡± Grandmother Elf was interrupted as a small boy with big floppy ears came up to give her a hand-drawn photo. ¡°Thank you, sweetheart. ¡°The children like you.¡± Auna remarked as they watched the boy hop back to the others. ¡°Making the stones, and runes for such a project is not easy work. It took me a few years to do the beach ones. Though the trees were a bit of a waste of time.¡± ¡°I see. Perhaps we should train someone else in runic magic?¡± Larn asked. ¡°It is very dangerous magic; I am not sure I can teach it safely. Not yet at least. The school teaches us, but only the basics really. Enough to craft some runic things, and read the main runes. However, we need to apprentice or go to higher level scholar schools to advance beyond that.¡± Auna gave a sad smile. ¡°I remember the first time I copied the runes. It caused headaches and nosebleeds. I powered through though. That was just copying them, I can¡¯t imagine if I had tried untrained to do more. I don¡¯t want anyone to be hurt.¡± ¡°I understand lass. We won¡¯t ask you to do it. We can just keep working as we are. We are working on building bigger buildings in the villages to house more people. The weather is stable in the dungeon so building houses is a bit easier. We know which corners we can cut.¡± Larn gave a deep laugh. ¡°That sounds good. How is schooling going?¡± Auna changed the subject, she needed to finish up grab Jensen and head out. Again, she needed to travel with everyone, which would make her sick. ¡°The schooling is going very well. Many of the children have managed to get a host of basic skills, the adults as well. Magic skills are being learnt as well due to the books you have, makes it easier to teach the magic. Some weird magic skills have been learnt too.¡± Larn paused waiting to see if he caught her interest. ¡°What do you mean by weird?¡± Auna asked with a big smile, knowing full well she fell for the bait.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Some water born children managed to teach some humans how to breathe underwater. The skill is called water breath. You should try to learn it, apparently it is a higher level from swimming and breath control. Other skills less interesting to you like metal consumption, alchemy have also been learnt.¡± Larn paused again. ¡°Metal consumption? Yes, we will all work towards learning water breath. Do we have more alchemists now?¡± Auna questioned her grin still there. ¡°Yes, some dumb teen was playing in the mining village. Humans are all dumb.¡± Sighing he continued. ¡°They dared the teen to try to bend metal with his teeth, not the first time they had been doing it all year. He must have been eating slivers of metal all year. He got a skill that allows him to eat metals. When he eats them, the lad can pull pure metal bars out of his hands.¡± ¡°That is cool. Say how many dwarfs are now eating metal?¡± A sly grin passed her face as Larn groaned. ¡°Too many lass, too many. We do have a few more people who unlocked the alchemy job.¡± Larn rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I am also eating metal trying to get the skill.¡± ¡°What could the skill possibly give you other than being able to essentially store metal bars inside of you?¡± Auna questioned. ¡°That is the neat thing. His skill growing is allowing him to take on properties of metal, even coat his skin in targeted areas. The ability to purify metal is also helpful. We metal workers could benefit from hardening our skin. Besides how cool is it to be able to eat metal! I hope it can grow to other ores.¡± Larn still looked a bit embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m glad the learning is going well.¡± Auna stated as the kids were being ushered down the hill path to the next floor. The day was over. The workers in the fields were coming as well. ¡°AUNA!¡± Jensen gave a shout and a wave. ¡°We should go!¡± ¡°Ah I have taken too long I fear.¡± Auna smiled giving Larn a big hug, he was like a father to her. He even treated her like his child, she did not mind. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about the education; the people here are more educated than most villages. I say they are being educated at the level of most cities at least. These children, and now even the adults are getting knowledge equal to wealthy people. Hell, if we keep going most of these children will be educated at the level of nobles! The adults we are just giving the basics to, only the ones showing promise we are teaching higher knowledge to.¡± Larn ducked as the grandmother Elf took action to hit him for his swearing. ¡°That sounds great. We will have the smartest people. I¡¯ll check in after the festival, hopefully with an advance magic book.¡± Auna gave a wave as she left. ¡°Jensen, shall we go?¡± Auna asked as she got closer to him. ¡°But of course, my moon.¡± Jensen held out his hand for her to take. ¡°I hate my life.¡± Auna groaned as she rocked on the floor of the Bloodwave carriage. The dukes had insisted she travel with them this year. They had come to the capital for something else and stayed to travel with them. Jensen was with his father, the Bloodwaves and him had some issues. ¡°Please stop, can you sit on the seat please?¡± Samantha the grandmother Duchess spoke. They were travelling with them. Auna had been placed with them while the rest of the children were riding in another carriage. ¡°So sorry my pain is making you uncomfortable.¡± Auna groaned as they hit a bump dry heaving. ¡°It is disgraceful for a noble child to behave so widely. I understand my daughter has let you get away with it but not anymore. Last years'' showing was barbaric! Howling like a wolf?¡± Samantha shook her head. The other adults content to allow her to say what she wants. ¡°I am not a noble.¡± Auna groaned flopping over on the floor. ¡°Brian was born of commoners'' blood, that did not excuse him from the rules of noble society. You were born as a noble behave as such.¡± Samantha grabbed her arm yanking her up. ¡°Sit here properly.¡± ¡°I am not a noble, nor do I want to be one. I was thrown away, removed from my noble line. Why can¡¯t you leave me alone?¡± Auna glared. She and Samantha had more trouble than Marybeth and she did. ¡°You represent the Bloodwave name now. Act like it.¡± Samantha glared deeply at her. ¡°I do not. And will not.¡± Auna growled out grinding her teeth. ¡°You will eventually. The boys have all taken a liking to you. In the future it would be wise to wed you to one. I know the pearl boy and you enjoy each others'' company; he isn¡¯t our Mathew or Michael though.¡± The old woman kept going without noticing Auna opening the window. In a flash she jumped. ¡°Auna? Are you okay?¡± Nick Pearl was picking the child up carefully. She was drenched and crying. ¡°Why did you jump out of the moving carriage?¡± ¡°A, Jade. Get back in here.¡± Samantha came crashing out of the carriage, luckily since they had left a bit later than most from the school there was no one else on the road. ¡°She prefers to be called Auna. I think I¡¯m going to take her in my carriage for the rest of the trip. Theodore!¡± Nick called for the wolf in the carriage to come out. He wrapped Auna up tightly in his arms as Jensen called for his dad to bring her to him. Jensen was being very self-controlling by staying in the carriage. It was slightly because he did not want to go out in the rain, he trusted his father to care for Auna. ¡°Duke Pearl you are not her guardian. We are her sponsor, and will continue to be so. She will be coming back with me.¡± Samantha reached out for the child. ¡°Oh, did your daughter not tell you?¡± Nick smiled walking towards his carriage. ¡°Tell me what?¡± Samantha looked to her daughter now standing outside. ¡°Auna is going to be sponsored by Duke Pearl starting next semester. Duke Pearl has given us back the money we spent on both girls for the last three years, plus extra.¡± Marybeth bowed to her mother; she had taken the Bloodwave title though she still was scared of the last head. ¡°What is the meaning of this? Why would you do this?¡± Samantha asked carefully. ¡°Auna requested it. She claimed she did not want to be forced to marry into the Bloodwave line. We had reassured her when we first sponsored her that would not happen. We promised she would be free to live as she wanted. Since she was ten you have been putting pressure on us to officially engage her to one of our sons. She knows that, she doesn¡¯t want it. She spoke to Nick, who with the kings¡¯ approval went through the process of taking over sponsorship.¡± Marybeth finished. ¡°You allowed that? A sponsorship can¡¯t be taken without the king overruling it, or the original sponsor agreeing. The king is more aligned with us, not Pearl.¡± Samantha was seething, it could be seen and heard in her words. ¡°The king overruled us. Auna had said she was going to leave the school, and go to one cheaper. She also said she could apprentice early somewhere instead to start making money for the deal with the king. That is why the king overruled. He did not want the child to leave the school.¡± Marybeth was still bowed. ¡°Honey please come back in the carriage.¡± Brian the old Bloodwave Duke spoke to his wife. ¡°This is not right.¡± Samantha relented to getting back into the carriage without anything else. ¡°I¡¯m glad they are done.¡± Jensen groaned as the carriages began to move again. He had been able to hear them talking. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry any of them.¡± Auna sniffled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know so many nobles engage their children to be web at the age of ten. We are not like that. You don¡¯t have to marry anyone. Well. If you try to marry someone other than me, I might fight them.¡± Jensen slid down to the floor to rub her back. ¡°Rest my moon, the journey is long.¡± ¡°Yes rest.¡± The triplets said in unison. They were on one bench while Nick was on the other. She lay on the floor with Theo, Ayda, and Kaida. Jensen crawling back to the bench to put his head in his dads¡¯ lap. ¡°We are here.¡± Nick softly woke Auna. ¡°Should I carry you?¡± ¡°No, I can walk it.¡± Auna gave a soft smile. Her eyes still a bit wet. ¡°Me too!¡± Jensen laughed as he locked his arm with hers pulling them down to the ground. ¡°AAHHH¡± Auna and Jensen crumpled to the ground as soon as their feet hit the ground. The pain was hot and cold, their hands and knees also began to hurt wildly. ¡°What is wrong? Boys stay there!¡± Nick shouted as he tried to get the children to talk. ¡°What is going on? Get that child to stop crying, it is disgraceful!¡± Samantha gave a call as others got closer. ¡°We are so sorry! We were planning on informing you before anyone disembarked. There have been reports of sharp glass scattered around the ground, along with shattered magic stones. Many tamed pets are being treated for injuries.¡± An attendant of another noble bowed deeply. ¡°Please bring them this way.¡± Auna was crying loudly with abandon. Her tears would not stop, Jensen was crying softly. Auna could hear nobles around making snide remarks. They were mostly whispering about how allowing a savage disgraced noble to compete was wrong, how this should be enough to prevent a repeat of last year. They were even trying to convince the king to not allow her to join. She knew this because she had been hearing rumors about how savage she was. She shouldn¡¯t be allowed to compete as an orphan. Ayda was rolling around the king discreetly recording for her log all the nasty things people were saying. They were connected allowing Mr. Voice to record and narrate as she sobbed, what was going on. The king had sent his eldest daughter to check on her. Ashley and Ashen, her twin brother, poked their heads in as Auna ignored them crying instead. ¡°Auna?¡± The king tried to get her attention. Auna continued to cry, even after the glass had been removed from her feet, knees, and hands. ¡°Should I keep her from participating?¡± He asked Jensen. ¡°Of course, you should.¡± Samantha said looking at Auna with a look of pity. ¡°No, she gets like this when too much piles up. She is still a child. It is in her nature; her tears will stop when she is ready for them to. By morning she should be okay.¡± Jensen shrugged giving Auna a tight hug. ¡°What is stressing her?¡± The king asked gently pushing her hair back. ¡°Well, that woman wants to make her marry one of her grandchildren. The nobles around the capital, school, and here are all whispering about her. Saying cruel things, very cruel things. She is being treated like a noble when she is not a noble. She is being forced into this noble life, even though she was removed from her line. Forcing her to continue to bear the Jade name that she has no claim to. That on top of the motion sickness had her raw. It is obvious someone placed the glass to try and get her not to participate this year. Who else does not wear shoes but us fairy born, and a few beastkin?¡± Jensen sighed giving a soft kiss to her head. ¡°Her tears can be unending, filling vast oceans when she gets like this.¡± ¡°Well, we should take her to her room. Previous Duke Bloodwave, Samantha, I am ordering you to leave the child alone. There will be no marriage talks, I will not allow any Bloodwave to marry AunaLuna.¡± The king gently picked up the still crying child. ¡°My king that is not fair.¡± Samantha called after the king, he ignored her. Auna cried late into the night, so late many complained about it. The king quieted the complainers saying someone purposely putting the glass and sharp stones around, if they had not, she would not be crying. If they wanted to complain about someone, they should direct their anger to the unknown person who decided to harm a small child. ¡°Good morning.¡± Auna said as she met the king outside in the early morning. She had stepped out of the shadows, effectively sneaking up on the aging man. ¡°Your eyes are not as puffy as I thought they would be.¡± The king commented patting the seat next to him. ¡°We cleaned up the glass.¡± ¡°I noticed. Thank you. My eyes don¡¯t puff much when I cry. I am practically built for long crying sessions.¡± Auna gave a slight smile. ¡°Thank you for decreeing I will not marry into the Bloodwaves. They are nice people, just too focused on noble tradition. Are your children engaged?¡± ¡°Yes actually, even my youngest it. They all have reasonable partners. If they wished to marry for love I would allow them to though.¡± The king gave a soft sigh. ¡°Are you feeling ready to compete?¡± ¡°I am. I won¡¯t let a sneaky trick like that keep me from being your orphan champion. I know my image as a strong-willed, savage, orphan from a noble line who threw me away is important to you.¡± Auna smirked. ¡°Ah, you saw through that? Do you know why it is important to me?¡± The king asked. ¡°I think you want my image to be similar to your own. You see great potential in me, you want me as a close adviser when I grow up.¡± Auna tilted her head. ¡°I am not sure why you want me as an adviser.¡± ¡°The potential I see is the main reason. The other reason is your unique outlook on things. You look at even emotional things with cold logic. Though it is nice to see you can act like an emotional child. You have great magic skills, though I am still unsure what your job is, you are suited for information gathering. You also seem to attract strong, if a little crazy, people to you. A powerful team is more than worth trying to get on my side.¡± The king finished as a maid came out with breakfast. ¡°Thank you.¡± Auna nodded to the maid. ¡°Are you sure you are okay to do this today?¡± The king asked once they had finished breakfast, and people had begun to wander about. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Auna gave a goofy smile. ¡°My king, I still recommend not allowing an injured child to participate. She cried all night.¡± The Marquis of Wardite spoke coldly as he looked at the two. ¡°Are you saying I do not know how to care for the children in my charge?¡± The king asserted. ¡°Not at all, my king. I just think a child who does not have shoes on is at risk of further hurting themselves.¡± Bowing the man took a step back. ¡°Do not worry about her. This orphan champion is as tough, if not tougher than me when I was her age.¡± The king looked to Auna. ¡°You are dismissed, go get ready for the day.¡± chapter 52: Monster hunting festival year two ¡°Are you ready?¡± Jensen gave a big smile. He had already fought for the day, doing all ten levels with ease. He was excited to see what would happen as one other child managed all ten as well. ¡°Very.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Last but not least the orphan champion is stepping into the arena. Jensen Pearl, her best friend, has defeated all ten rounds. As well as a boy named Samie the slum rat!¡± The announcer was irritating her. He was the same man from last year. Now he had a stronger magic shield and a projection device. He was so close she couldn¡¯t fully block him out. The monsters were similar this year. It started with a pack of slimes, which had a few metal ones mixed in. She cut, sliced, and kicked the slimes to break their cores. She broke her sword on the final slime, a strong metal one. ¡°Oh no! She has broken her sword! The once long sword is now closer to a short sword. Whatever will she do!¡± The announcer was being overly dramatic as Auna visibly grimaced. The next monsters were goblins of red skin. Fire starters as their skin was crackling with sparks. It seemed the king had picked unique and difficult monsters for her again. He passed it off last year as her being the last in line needed a harder challenge. This was because some would accuse her of being able to study the fights before to better equip herself. ¡°Fuck you!¡± Auna screamed as her mantle was burned by the stupid goblin. She kicked the private parts of it. Once the goblin hit their knees, she drove her broken sword deeply through the back of its neck. ¡°Wow. How vulgar! Of course, expected of our Orphan Champion! Though the slum rat champion might be competing for vulgarness!¡± The announcer was nearly foaming at the mouth. The next round of a single kobold was too easy for her, a quick stab to his heart ended it. The skeletons were more of an issue, she did have a type of holy magic. The announcer assumed it was from a holy class due to the church interest in her. She smiled wickedly as they were very off. It was her light holy magic from her slave job. Next was a single monster rat it flung its tail around knocking her off her feet a few times. She had to use her wings to avoid it. She thought for a moment it was too easy to get through the levels. She had watched many children only make it to the fifth level, and she had easily got here. Quickly thought she remembered most children did not have the stats and levels she had gathered. Even her maniac Chloe only made it to level six. ¡°What the fuck!¡± Auna rolled to the side to avoid acid spit from a small bear. ¡°Oh no she may be on the rocks! Who else but our king could find a rare acid bear!¡± The announcer looked too happy to watch her struggle. Using her earth and water magic she turned the arena into mud. She had more than enough mana to do such large-scale things. She no longer cared if people questioned her. The bear got stuck in the mud and died as she cut the head off. ¡°The arena cleaners are struggling in the mud!¡± The announcer laughed showing Auna laughing as well. ¡°Even the savage child can laugh! Would you look at that folks!¡± A giant spider was next. It shot sticky webs that lit on fire, fire being a common trait this year. She sacrificed her mantle completely to the fire webs. She used her water magic to drown the spider to which the announcer was a little horrified. A small bull looking monster rammed his horn deeply into her arm. She winced in pain throwing her legs around its neck. Now she was stuck on the bull as it swung her around like a rag doll. ¡°She is impaled on the baby minotaur! What is she doing?¡± The announcer got closer to her. ¡°Is she carving something into the other horn?¡± He asked as he tried to see but could not get too close to the rampaging creature. ¡°She is! With her nails! Look at the blood!¡± Auna was breaking her nails as she painfully kept herself impaled on the baby minotaur to steady herself. She was doing this to inscribe the runic word explosion onto the horn. She would have less than twenty seconds after she infused it with magic. Unlike her runic stones protecting her home, these runes needed to be powered externally. ¡°What now?¡± The announcer saw her free herself from the minotaur and literally run away as fast as she could. ¡°Run away announcer!¡± Auna yelled as she ran. The announcer was not a fool. He backed up quickly. Careful to keep the projection object on the minotaur. A thunderous boom was heard less than twenty seconds later. The arena shook as the barriers protecting the spectators were splattered with blood, organs, and bone. ¡°Wow. The minotaur exploded.¡± The announcer whispered as the dust settled. He flew over to the small girl standing covered in warm blood. The light rain doing nothing to clean her. ¡°What did you do!¡± The announcer asked. ¡°I used runic magic, a word, explode. Cool, eh?¡± Auna beamed with pride as the announcer seemed to be in shock at her answer. It was possible he didn¡¯t expect an answer or he didn¡¯t expect that answer. Possibly both. ¡°How interesting, such a young girl using runic magic in battle. I heard even high-class mages have trouble creating runes on the spot like that. Most prefer to create them before entering battle.¡± The announcer explained to the crowd as the cleaners tried their best to tidy the arena. A naga was released into the arena, almost immediately it started spitting out snakes. They were of all different colours and types. Auna danced around the snakes as she threw magic at the main naga. Her ankles were being bitten which made her a bit woozy. Kicking she shook the snakes off her. After a few minutes her patience was done. The naga threw more snakes at her face, she caught them one by one. Holding all three wiggling snakes she bit the heads off, spitting them to the ground with their lifeless bodies. This move stunned even the naga. Auna drove her sword into the eye socket of the naga, killing it, while it was stunned. ¡°That was so unexpected even the monster was stunned in fear of the girl!¡± The announcer got the crowd roaring again. Next a small plant was brought to the center of the arena. At first it confused both Auna and the announcer. The announcer rattling off random monsters it could be. He landed on treant, just before the tree grew rapidly into a scary monster. The tree had a mouth that was endless, branches sweeping the entire arena, and razor-sharp leaves that fell as it moved. ¡°H-How?¡± Auna stuttered out as she fled the leaves. The tree was now much taller than the highest seat in the arena. She did not know how to fight such a thing. The other groups had similar monsters to hers, just less at once or weaker. The last groups had to fight small moving stick like beings. ¡°Wow a mother treant! They are rather common treant variants that require special magic to relocate. Usually, they are fairly calm in nature unless you enter their den. It appears the arena is now her den though! This could be the undoing of our orphan champion! How will she kill such a beast?¡± The announcers¡¯ words gave understanding to Auna. Using basic fire magic Auna started setting the entire tree on fire. It did little damage to the reinforced monster. It seemed to have either evolved from such a weakness or her fire magic was just too weak. Next, she used ice magic to freeze places the fire was not making any damage, hoping it would slow it down. After an hour of this tactic, she knew she would not win. She pulled out another leaf from her hair, cutting her hand. She decided to do something very stupid. She activated her woodworking and craftsmanship skills. These skills helped her identify soft spots in wood, the grains, and shape it into anything she wanted. She began hacking at the tree from all angles, she was so focused, so unhearing. She only stopped when her skills deactivated, which meant she was done. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± Auna whispered, she stood in burning ash of the mother treant. In front of her was a wooden girl with hair of silver leaves. The girl moved weakly with confusion on her new face. She twisted her head looking around, green liquid fell from her eyes as she looked at the fire. Her mouth opened and closed weak sounds coming out. At her chest was a big silver gem with thin branches keeping it in place. She touched it and sighed. ¡°The mother treant doesn¡¯t seem able to regenerate. I wonder what skill could do that?¡± The announcer got closer. ¡°The core of the monster is exposed; it should be an easy win now!¡± The silver girl looked frightened of the mans¡¯ words turning to look at Auna. Her eyes were deep black spots with dim light shining through periodically. The girl tried to speak again, and failed. Do not kill this creature, it is frightened can¡¯t you see that? Mr. Voice spoke. For once giving her a strong direction, not alerting her, not suggesting vaguely. Mr. Voice was pushing her down a different path, one that seemed to be gentler than the path of madness. ¡°No, I will not harm you. I will call you, Rowan.¡± As Auna spoke her taming skill activated, enveloping both of them in a silver glow. It was obvious to everyone watching she had tamed the creature. Quickly Auna looked at her skills. Her age and stats were surprising. Her luck being so low was due to her curse. The curse wasn¡¯t very detailed just that she had been created and forgotten. It explained that she was created to protect a garden, which was abandoned by all the residents after the creator went mad. Her blessing was basically a curse, it said she would be reborn in the garden with all of her stats intact. Her luck would decrease by one each time though. As a forgotten creature it would have been horrible to have to keep coming back to an empty home.
Name Rowan
Master A, Jade
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Tree of life
Class Spirit
Age 4,000 years 0 months
Status Points
Health 2,000
Mana 6,000
Physical Strength 12,000
Mental Strength 200
Intelligence 400
Agility 50
Luck 14
Skills
Command
Cultivation
Treant birthing
Nature magic
Silver blade attack
Wind magic
Seed propagation
Water magic
Blessings
Eternal cycle
Curses
Forgotten child of the creator
¡°Well done! As in previous years taming the monster counts as a victory! Can you send it here for now?¡± The king smiled motioning for Rowan to come to him. ¡°Go stand by the king up there, I will pick you up when I am done. Do not attack, or do anything other than stand by him. Understood?¡± Auna looked to Rowan. ¡°Yes master!¡± Rowan croaked out before heading to the king. ¡°What a smart Treant!¡± The king waited for Rowan to climb the stands to his spot. She used her tree limbs to scale it quickly. As she was doing this Jensen and the boy named Sambor were brought into the arena. The cleaners were making quick work cleaning it. ¡°Hi.¡± Auna smiled taking the cloth Jensen handed her. She wiped some of the blood from her face. ¡°Hi my moon.¡± Jensen laughed pulling sticks, bone, and silver leaves from her hair. ¡°Hello.¡± Sambor gave a nod to them both. ¡°Sorry for being so close I was told to stand here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such a thing. You did a great job.¡± Jensen pulled the boy in-between them. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the title the announcer gave you. He gives us all stupid titles.¡± Jensen laughed as the boy tried to move away.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Now, I have brought you three here as you all have impressed me. As a special treat I want to offer you all a chance to fight a special monster. The catch will be you¡¯ll have to share. Do you accept?¡± The king was petting Rowan, as if her hair was not razor-sharp. ¡°What do you say my moon? Shall all three of us fight together?¡± Jensen asked quietly. ¡°Sure, it should be fun. Sambor, right? Do you want to work alongside us? If not, I am willing to allow you to do it alone. It is your first time I don¡¯t want to take that away from you.¡± Auna looked at the boy a year younger than them. ¡°How kind to offer such a chance to the slum rat!¡± the announcer was thrown to the ground by Jensen. He had thrown his shield at the guy so many times today Auna lost count. ¡°Stop that already!¡± The announcer lost his temper. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude to the kid.¡± Jensen was glaring holding his shield in position to knock the man down again. ¡°Stop it. Give me your answer.¡± The king said sounding amused. ¡°Let¡¯s do it together.¡± Sambor said. ¡°We wish to fight together.¡± Auna asserted loudly to the king. ¡°Very well.¡± The king waved his hand, now littered with small cuts. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Jensen growled. A huge troll with green and blue bumpy skin was released into the arena. They were known for magic, and physical resistance. They were also very tall, with a rancid smell. This one carried a huge club in his hand. ¡°Take the left!¡± Auna yelled. They had been fighting for another hour. Auna was out of mana, she had spent so much on the taming and fights. Jensen was keeping the thing tied down with magic and his shield. Sambor was stabbing it with his daggers, and using fire magic. ¡°This is bullshit, I¡¯m ending this shit.¡± Auna muttered. ¡°What a bold claim, it might be time to bow out.¡± The announcer was rattling on about the hopelessness of the situation. He had claimed multiple times that the only known ways to kill a troll was to overwhelm it, or to feed it explosive rune stones. Auna had no magic left to make the stones. ¡°What are you doing!¡± Jensen called out at the same time as the announcer. Auna had created a big gash in the leg of the troll. Before the skin could heal over, she crawled inside of it. Like a bug under the skin, she pushed her way towards the body. The troll tried to hit her, she moved too quickly. Jensen also was distracting it with Sambor to keep it from fully focusing on her. They all watched her reach the chest. The Troll had thrown itself on the ground, back first. It was clawing at its chest, with the boys slashing the arms over and over. Soon it stopped moving, Auna burst from the chest holding a warm heart in her two hands. ¡°We have killed the troll.¡± She yelled, then howled loudly. Not even the announcer said a word as the three left the arena. ¡°As savage as ever, I see.¡± Beckett smiled as he greeted Auna. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Auna asked taking the towel he handed her, wiping blood from her face. ¡°You bit the head off of three different snakes today.¡± Beckett laughed. ¡°That is savage.¡± ¡°Well, it was not fair that the giant snake was spitting out little minions, I got a bit frustrated.¡± Auna shrugged sheepishly. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t believe you got to fight the special monster again! That was a troll. A troll Auna! You crawled inside of a troll. You really can¡¯t tell me you are not savage.¡± Beckett laughed looking at her. ¡°You smell very bad. I heard the king said us older kids are being given our prize first. Most likely for you three to clean up. So, hurry up.¡± ¡°I shall.¡± Auna nodded as Jensen also gave a nod pulling the boy with him. ¡°Now I shall give the prize to the winner of this year.¡± The king spoke loudly as everyone whispered who it could be. Auna, Sambor, and Jensen had been left last. No one else had even defeated ten levels of this arena. Still third and second place had already been given away to a few fourteen-year-olds. ¡°Come up, A, Jade, Jensen Pearl, and Sambor. You are all first-place winners. I could not decide between you three. You all showed courage, strength, viscousness, and cleverness. You all deserve to be honored as champions!¡± The king continued his speech as they came to the stage. They were all given a plaque. ¡°You will each get a book of advance magic. Would you like to select who gets what one?¡± The king looked to the three. ¡°Sambor, which one would benefit you most?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Wind.¡± Sambor said after a pause. Auna knew immediately it was a lie. The boy might have thought she had asked to steal it from him. ¡°Are you sure? Learning a new magic from an advance book might be too difficult, you should get one that you already have the basic magic for at least.¡± Auna gave a warm smile. ¡°Fire then, please.¡± Sambor blushed a bit, obviously not comfortable talking with people. ¡°Sambor will take fire, I will take Wind, and Jensen will take the water book.¡± Auna told the king, Jensen gave a nod. ¡°Then it shall be as such.¡± The king gave each one a book. When he gave Auna hers she passed out. The book had been heavy, her body exhausted. The blackness welcomed her. The king had her rushed to the doctor. ¡°My head hurts a bit.¡± Auna groaned as she got up. Again, the king was watching over her and Jensen. ¡°Thank you for protecting my modesty.¡± Auna smirked at the king who cracked a smile. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it the doctor would not allow the duke to watch over you. Apparently, my word alone can prevent your modest reputation from being ruined. How are you feeling?¡± The king put his papers down. ¡°I can fight.¡± Auna assured him. ¡°Good. I want to fill you in on what happened.¡± The king motioned for her to follow him. Auna slipped out of Jensens¡¯ arms, removed Rowans¡¯ leg from her body, and jumped down to the floor. She took the kings¡¯ hand to allow him to lead her. ¡°Rowan is a very powerful monster, take care to hide her so others don¡¯t know.¡± The king started to which Auna nodded. She knew what he meant. ¡°Now that boy Sambor, Duke Pearl is going to take him home. He said he won¡¯t sponsor him for school though. Instead, he wants him as an apprentice to the knights in his land. He said you had asked him, as you are close to him, he could not say no. This kept other nobles from trying to take him. I know you did not ask him. However, I don¡¯t know how you are doing it.¡± The king paused. ¡°Doing what my king?¡± Auna asked. ¡°There was a ship of tied-up slave traders a year ago now. It was said a group of children did it. No one believed them of course, who would? I did though because it was near the great monster forest. The forest everyone claims you spent years living in, the one rumors say you vacation in. How are you caring for and hiding so many people in the forest? It must be dangerous, they could die.¡± The king gave her a glare. ¡°Hypothetically if I was a part of tying them up, and setting them adrift. Why do you think I am caring for them? Or that they are in the forest?¡± Auna asked with a smirk as the guard groaned in the shadows. It was obvious the guard was frustrated that she had admitted it. ¡°There is no way my information network would miss moving hundreds of people through the kingdom.¡± The king pushed. ¡°There are ways to move large amounts of people without anyone seeing.¡± Auna was careful not to lie, she was sure other lie detecting skills existed. ¡°I suppose there are. What ways could a small child have though? The Duke Pearl doesn¡¯t hang around the capital often, and is rarely this far out.¡± The king paused. ¡°I would not be able to hypothetically move so many people myself. I don¡¯t know about other children though. Or adults, everyone has secrets you know.¡± Auna got up, heading toward the building. ¡°I should get ready for today.¡± ¡°Well, this is a bit easier this year.¡± Seth huffed as he stretched in the few seconds they were given between levels. It had been hours for them, fighting level after level. They had defeated wolves, slimes, fire lizards, crazed stags, magic fire goblins that numbered nearly thirty, creepy spiders, three big rats, five orcs, crazed gnomes, and finally they were fighting a creature with a lions¡¯ body and snakes for a tail. It was taller than them, faster as well. ¡°We did train our fighting formations a lot.¡± Meredith laughed as Seth let out a groan. He could remember the cruel training. Auna had made them train in weird conditions. Sometimes she had them blindfolded, other times she made them fight with only one hand free. It was all in the name of preparing them for anything. ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Seth gave another groan as a rock hit his shield. Using a skill, he put up a small magic shield, protecting Meredith from debris. ¡°Looks like they nearly got this.¡± Meredith sighed, as they took down the lion. The only ones not howling were herself, the twins, and Seth. ¡°Do y¡¯all have to be party poopers? Howl with us, it is so gratifying.¡± Chloe laughed at their grimaces. ¡°Nobles.¡± She shook her head going back to howling. ¡°Settle down.¡± The king once again sounding amused settled them. Rowan was sat on his lap nibbling on candy, it couldn¡¯t have been good for her. ¡°I would like to offer the team run by A, Jade and the team run by Rick Flipper to participate in the special monster fight. It seems like next year I must get stronger monsters wouldn¡¯t you say so?¡± The king fed the announcers'' excitement which fed the audience to cheer. Rick came walking up with his team. They were all fourteen, their last year to do this event. They had been among the fighters in the morning, they only reached level eight. They may not win the event, but that doesn¡¯t decide who the king allows to fight extra fights. They all looked cheerful and friendly as they walked up. They all avoided Chloe and Auna going directly to Seth. ¡°Master Jade, pleasure. Shall our teams work together?¡± Rick smiled putting out his hand. ¡°Master Flipper, pleasure. I am not sure you will have to talk to Auna.¡± Seth shook his hand, then stepped out of the way to show Auna. ¡°Miss Jade. Pleasure.¡± Ricks'' smile faltered slightly. ¡°Call me Auna. I do not wish to be associated with the Jade name. Now, do you wish to fight beside my team? If not I¡¯m open to kicking your ass so you can¡¯t fight.¡± Auna showed her teeth getting up close to the taller boy. ¡°What do you say Rick?¡± ¡°Oh, do you hear that! The little savage is ready to throw down with the noble boy disrespecting her authority! That is what he gets for trying to ignore her leadership. What a disrespect to such a strong leader! Was he not watching their fight!¡± The announcer was screaming right beside Rick causing Auna to laugh hard. Rick was holding his ears. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m sorry just stop yelling in my ears!¡± Rick grimaced as he yelled. The announcer didn¡¯t move though, he really seemed to enjoy causing discomfort. ¡°My fire, would you please?¡± Auna asked Jensen, who understood what she meant. ¡°Of course, my moon.¡± Jensen quickly advanced on the still rambling announcer knocking him to he ground, he put his shield on the mans¡¯ magic shield. Then sat down leaning back, effectively holding the screaming announcer in place. ¡°Better Rick?¡± Auna smirked. ¡°Fine, thank you. We would be happy to fight by you and your team.¡± Rick smiled. He looked to the king. ¡°My king, we would like to fight as a team.¡± Auna gave a deep, and proper bow. It was off to see, she was covered in blood and bits of monster. ¡°My king, we would like to fight as a team.¡± Rick Flipper gave a bow as well, grinning like a fool. The girl had caught his attention. ¡°Very well. Will the Orphan Champion call the Pearl boy back?¡± The king gave a wave to the still complaining announcer. ¡°Jensen come here.¡± Auna put her hand out for his. ¡°Okay~¡± Jensen bounced up taking her hand. He twirled her around a few times as they giggled. He then settled with a serious face, his shield pointed to the arena entrance for monsters. ¡°In formation six adjusted.¡± Auna gave a soft call. This caused Meredith the back up with Seth, she pulled the two casters from the other team with her. Seth pulled the girl he saw protecting the back line during their fight. Chloe and the triplet boys quickly ran to flank the group. Chloe pulled a poor boy by his heavy chest plate with her. The poor boy gave a shout for another to follow. Auna pulled Rick to the front center with her. Jensen stood beside her while Rick called for his remaining people to scatter with the twins. They like the twins were more glass canons than anything else. Rick did have someone with a smaller shield and short sword stand beside them. As the monster was brought in there was five people slowly moving along the edge of the arena waiting for a chance to deal sneaky damage. The back line was three casters and two guardians. There was Auna and Rick standing out front ready to charge. A great shielder, Jensen, was to Auna¡¯s side. A medium shield user was to Ricks side. Flanking the tighter formation on Ricks'' side was Chloe and her new friends. The triplets were to Jensens¡¯ side. They would work as extra protection for the back line, and reinforcements for the front line. ¡°I can¡¯t say the formation is bad. It makes good use of our talent. Thought that maniac pulling him by the chest plate was a bit cruel.¡± Rick laughed lightly. ¡°Though I am not sure a great shielder is very useful, you can¡¯t move as fast as us. Shouldn¡¯t he at least be in front of us as a tank?¡± ¡°Nah, he is my shield, and I his. We work best in tandem. His speed is just fine. I am more worried your team does not have any proper tanker, and even more worried no one with speed enough to defend.¡± Auna gave a shrug. ¡°Try to make sure no one on his team dies.¡± She looked at Jensen. ¡°Do I have to? I would rather prioritize our team.¡± Jensen sighed at the look Auna gave. ¡°I will try my best, but I will protect our kin first. I will not prioritize a rude boy.¡± ¡°That is all I ask.¡± Auna cracked her neck. ¡°Wow, what a tense conversation! I wonder what will happen!¡± The announcer was floating near Rick. Rick seemed to be more annoyed by the announcer than even Jensen was. ¡°What the f-¡± Rick was cut off as a lich with a small hoard of undead creatures. There must have been twenty. ¡°Backline! Pull in closer together! Move as a unit! Do not cast any spells until we get the liches'' attention!¡± Auna yelled to the back line. ¡°What are you doing!¡± Rick roared. ¡°Liches are smart, they attack the support line first. We must pull his attention before they cast. If they cast first, we will be forced to scatter them.¡± Auna charged forward. ¡°Do as she said!¡± Rick followed her. ¡°Wow, smart boy to follow advice! Smarter girl to know better!¡± The announcer gave a wink. ¡°A LICH IS REDICULOUS!¡± Rick shouted in frustration. ¡°They are known to kill C rank adventures. We are only E at most!¡± ¡°Stop complaining and focus, or you will die!¡± Auna yelled back to him. They had been fighting for only a half hour. Their casters were mowing down the underlings. It was obvious the lich was a low level, a recently awakened monster. The young ones usually needed at least C rank parties to fight them. There were two parties here though. They would be able to take it down. ¡°How are you guys doing?¡± Rick turned around to check on the back line. It was a big mistake as he turned back around a heavy claw of an undead bear came crashing down. He winced bracing as best he could. The hit never connected though, instead a sound of bone on metal rang out. At the same time a scream of anguish came from the great shielder. He was not hurt though; he was looking at Auna. ¡°My moon!¡± Jensen cried. The girls'' body lay limp in the dirt to the side of the arena. The bears¡¯ claw was stuck in his shield. ¡°Why are you so stupid! Why did you have to leave yourself open to a death blow! Do you not have a team signal for the back line, when they need help? Look what you have done.¡± Jensen whispered the last part as he nearly fell to his knees. ¡°I am her shield, I failed to stay by her side. ¡°Jensen, pull your shit together. We are still in a death battle!¡± A voice from one of the triplets rang through. ¡°Yes.¡± Jensen whispered. He dropped his shield, which took the bear down with it. It was a heavy shield, much too heavy for a small boy. He ripped the very head off of the bear. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Rick looked in horror to the unmoving girl. Then back to the unhinged boy screaming, crying, and laughing as he tore the creatures apart with his teeth and hands. ¡°Don¡¯t say sorry, fight for your life. You know the rules of the arena there is no backing down, no fleeing. You live or you die.¡± A triplet put his hand on the shoulder of Rick. ¡°Jensen is ready to follow his moon. If you are not, get your head back in it. Do not worry about the back line we are second in command; we will handle it.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± The announcer came floating to the girl after the rest of the teams got refocused on the fight. They were right, no one would save them. If it had been in the ten levels the king would stop it, but this was a bonus round. It was a death battle. Everyone knew it. ¡°¡­.¡± Auna was breathing, her head spinning out of control. She was dizzy. She had used her magic to cushion her fall, she still hit hard. She had sent Jensen to Rick as soon as Mr. Voice told her he would die. What an idiot. Now she could not see right, her thoughts hurt. ¡°Daddy?¡± Auna asked looking at the announcer. He reminded her of a past father, he was kind to her. She had loved him deeply. Until he sold her to the church. It had been an awful life after that, she had hated him for many years. She learnt years later he had been sick from the plague, selling her to save her. He had thought she would grow big and strong. ¡°Oh child.¡± The announcer lost his annoying voice for a second. He even made to reach for her before pulling back. ¡°You can just stay here, your second in command is handling it. Just rest.¡± ¡°I will grow big and strong. I will not let the pain push me down.¡± Auna spoke as she cried blood. Her nose was oozing it by now. Slowly she stood coughing more blood. ¡°Ah, a punctured lung.¡± ¡°All the more reason to allow the others to fight. They only have the lich left. Rest.¡± The announcer tried again. He seemed like he cared. ¡°Thank you for sending Jensen to save my nephew, now take my advice do not fight any longer.¡± The announcer then left to announce the fight. You are not going to stay put, are you? Mr. Voice asked. I can¡¯t Auna thought, Jensen had lost control. I am as much his shield as he is mine. What can you do in your state? Mr. Voice sobered her up. What I can. Auna smiled softly. On her team she and Jensen were the only ones with holy magic. With Jensen in this condition, he would not be focused enough to use it. Auna couldn¡¯t yell, her equipment was dropped. Her wing broken. ¡°Focus.¡± Auna said breathing deeply, she needed to use holy magic. It required a clear mind, and focus. The pain in her body made that difficult. Slowly though she managed to bring it to the front. She had made sure to not use too much magic today. She had her caster behind her, she didn¡¯t need it. ¡°Jensen!¡± A triplet yelled for his brother. ¡°Disengage please!¡± He had been trying to get the boy to pull back. The lich was too strong they needed him to calm down. They need his holy magic. It had been thirty minutes since Jensen began his unhinged fighting. The worst case happened soon after. Jensen was going to be dealt a death blow, he did not have his shield though. The entire team stopped, knowing none of them would be able to save him. As the lich came down with his bone staff a brilliant warm, yellow-white light covered the entire arena. As their eyes adjusted, they saw Auna standing off to the side. A soft smile on her face as she limped over to Jensen. He had fallen to his knees exhausted with a goofy smile on his face. ¡°My moon.¡± Jensen sighed deeply. The lich seemed to be stuck in time slowly disintegrating into the ether. Everyone was watching breath held. ¡°Will she be able to keep up the holy shield long enough to kill the lich?¡± The announcer almost whispered to keep from breaking the tense atmosphere. Auna put her hand on Jensens¡¯ head. ¡°My friend, my fire, my path blazer. I will be your shield. I will protect you as you have me. So, rest now.¡± As she spoke Jensen was lulled to sleep. He fell to the ground softly. Auna then looked to the lich. ¡°Sorry, I know that must be painful. Please forgive me.¡± She then walked to Rick. ¡°How dare you poke fun at my shield, then rely on him to save you. Learn to be better than that.¡± Auna shook her head. She was wheezing as she spoke, blood running down her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Rick bowed deeply to her. Auna sighed as best as she could. Turning back to look at the lich one last time. ¡°Rest peacefully now.¡± With a wave of her hand, her holy magic condensed to the lich tearing it to little pieces. Then she fell to the ground, exhausted. The light slowly faded from her body. The arena cleaners came running, with a healer. chapter 53: A good rest ¡°How long has the moon been there?¡± A small child of EmberMoon whispered to another child. ¡°I heard since last night. Apparently yesterday, at the festival, she was hurt. They brought her here in secret. Everyone thinks miss moon is travelling with haste in the carriages.¡± The second child whispered as well as they made their way out of the cave. ¡°Why bring the moon here?¡± The first child, a little younger than the second continued. ¡°Magic is very dense in a dungeon, especially in the lake. She had some internal injuries that healers wouldn¡¯t be able to fix. They put her here for the magic water to seep into her. With the influx of magic, she has a better chance.¡± The second boy paused slightly looking back. ¡°I heard mr moon had to be dragged away. His body absorbs magic with greed. If he was here, she wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb as much.¡± ¡°Oh. Sad they are rarely separated.¡± The smaller child gave out a giggle. ¡°Teacher said today the fruit can be picked!¡± The children left the cave. More came and went, all being hushed by the adults that also passed through. They were heading to the fields and the school. ¡°You awake?¡± Larn asked sitting near the waters¡¯ edge. ¡°I want to say no.¡± Auna whispered, she did not open her eyes. ¡°Everyone was screaming, and yelling when they brought you in last night. It took three adults to pull Jensen off of you. His body was greedily drinking in the magic in the air. We all were worried it could prevent you from absorbing enough. As you know you have a harder time absorbing magic, it is why your mana pool doesn¡¯t recharge as fast. You body is just more fragile than his.¡± Larn touched her forehead softly. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. The healers at the festival are fairly good at magic. They are not just doctors. I heard they can do the impossible, like regrow fingers. They did their best, said it was up to my body and mana supply now. Their magic boosts the natural healing properties of a persons¡¯ body. The catch is it drains mana. Good thing I have a stupid amount.¡± Auna gave a goofy eyes-closed smile. ¡°Yes, good thing. Though from what I can see your mana is nearly empty anyway. I can see mana of people and things, yours is weak. Usually, you have so much you almost glow.¡± Larn sighed. ¡°I know. I am just resting. Hey. Did you hear? My sword broke. I had to borrow one, that also ended up broken.¡± Auna sighed and shifted deeper into the water, now only her shoulders and head stayed above the water. ¡°I did. We are making you a new one. One that should be able to withstand your savage usage of swords. It will not be delicate in anyway.¡± Larn smirked as Auna finally opened an eye. ¡°Really? I¡¯d love that. In my defense it broke on a metal slime, not necessarily from my usage.¡± Auna smiled a genuine face splitting smile. ¡°It broke because of your previous savage use. Swinging it back and forth like it was double bladed.¡± Larn smiled again as he saw Auna had started to lightly snore. ¡°How is she?¡± The alchemist, Allison crept slowly over. ¡°She is going to be okay. Just be quiet while you do your work. You could also just sit and watch over her instead. No one will think you are slacking. A 26-year-old alchemist deserves some rest.¡± Larn gave the sitting woman a strong pat on the shoulder before leaving. ¡°I¡¯ll guess I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t drown yourself.¡± Allison sat far enough away to not disturb her, close enough to pull her up. She pulled out some notes from her recent experiments. ¡°Hey miss alchemist.¡± A teacher gave a bow to Allison as she led the children back to the lower floors. ¡°Hello teacher.¡± Allison gave a wave, going back to her scribbling have a second later. ¡°Teacher, why is miss moon in the water still?¡± A child asked as he was guided to leave via the dungeon podium. ¡°She is resting, we should let miss moon be.¡± The teacher answered softly. Soon the field workers also travelled through the cave to go home. They spoke softly among each other. A few gave a short bow to the alchemist. She was well liked by the people of the dungeon. She was creating different potions, and bettering the crops yield through experimentation. She was also a bit feared as she was itchy to experiment on dungeon monsters, she had been given a few bugs. She was a true alchemist that was nearly manic to study and create. ¡°How is she?¡± Jensen came the next morning with Ciela and everyone else. He looked crazed as he tightly held Aku, who they had picked up. Everyone came to the shore of the lake to see Auna in the water up to her shoulders. ¡°My moon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay. Can¡¯t I rest without you freaking out?¡± Auna finally opened her eyes, looking at everyone. She gingerly pulled herself up. She felt a bit weak, though fully healed. ¡°Hungry I think.¡± ¡°Eat.¡± Ciela came rushing over with a blue apple. ¡°Thank you.¡± Auna took it, moaning as she bit into it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I could not visit yesterday. I was being watched carefully by the teachers. They think I get too lonely without you guys around. They spoil me a bit though, so it is okay.¡± Ciela crawled onto Aunas¡¯ lap as Jensen used his magic to dry her. ¡°Hi everyone, should we talk at the school?¡± Auna got up, swaying with Ciela in her arms. Diego quickly took Ciela into his own arms. As Bruno took Auna by the elbow, steadying her walk to the school area. ¡°How are you all here?¡± Auna asked. ¡°We ran the carriage through the night, hit the transport gate, came here. Us running through the night was not awkward as you were hurt. We used the door at the mayors¡¯ house to bring you here. Then we picked up one of our children and wrapped them up tightly to be you. We were pleasantly surprised that the doors worked in your state. I think they only disconnect in extreme cases of mental strain.¡± Nick answered as his wife pinched the cheeks of Aku who cooed gently in Jensens¡¯ arms. ¡°I see. Thank you. I don¡¯t think I would have survived without the quick thinking. We really need to train harder. I think it might be time to bring my brother and cousins into the dungeon, in secret of course. We should train them on floors we have cleared first, and dive deeper ourselves.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°Will we bring them as we dive deeper?¡± Jensen asked. ¡°No, I want the rewards for clearing to be given to us. Maybe a few other kids in the dungeon. We will need to fill out the position Seth will leave the year after next. His last year should be next, he just makes the cut of. The year after my cousins will be unable to fight with us.¡± Auna gave her answer. ¡°I think training some of the dungeon kids would be a good idea. We can start with Sambor here.¡± Jensen pointed to the boy sitting off to the side. ¡°I know Ciela doesn¡¯t like fighting all that much. So, I don¡¯t think we should ever have fight at the festival. We can win the prizes she wants.¡± ¡°I agree, I don¡¯t mind exploring. I do mind fighting for sport.¡± Ciela gave a nod. ¡°Okay, Sambor? Would you be okay with staying here? I know the Duke here is supposed to take care of you, in the kings'' eyes. I don¡¯t want to intrude.¡± Auna looked between the two. ¡°About that, I would like to make a proposal. Sambor here is from Wardite, I couldn¡¯t just let him suffer. He told me he had been heading to the great monster forest, to escape the people chasing him. He would have eventually become a person you would protect.¡± Nick smiled softly.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I talked to him; he is interested in living here. He doesn¡¯t like being controlled, especially by adults. He is willing to work with you, and listen. He recognizes your strength. He did ask to be included in clear rewards of the levels.¡± Nick paused. ¡°Sure, that should not be an issue. A team of eleven can still move through the floors without too much issue. Our tamed monsters are still small as well. What is your actual proposal?¡± Auna eyed him. ¡°I know Aku is very much a child you care for. We also care for him. I know you plan on moving him here when the dungeon stabilizes itself. However, I would like to keep him at our manor. We would start walking him to classes here though, which we would like our Gema to study here when she can as well. Having the children spend time in the dungeon will be great for their growth.¡± Nick stopped looking to Auna. ¡°The teachers you use for Gema, they are the ones you used for your other children, right?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Yes, they are part of the Pearl families. Each one comes from a trusted branch. We have three very trusted ones. The other two are rather new, I would not say I trust them. Why?¡± Nick was sure his guess was right, but needed to ask anyway. ¡°Why don¡¯t we bring in the three trusted teachers everyday they teach normally. Then Aku and Gemma can leave to be taught by the other two at your manor. I trust you, if you trust them, I will give them that trust as well. You have saved me from a marriage I did not want. Allowing you to benefit from our ties more should be okay.¡± Auna smiled adding. ¡°Your two older sons should be brought into the dungeon more as well. They can come in through the door in Jensens¡¯ room.¡± ¡°Really you would allow that?¡± Seni had tears in her eyes. ¡°I know you love Aku, I want to continue to raise him beside Gema though. They are only a few years apart; they are good siblings.¡± ¡°I would. I understand you love Aku, I love him as well. I feel like he is mine, as much as I feel that about Ciela. I don¡¯t feel that about every child here.¡± Auna paused to sweep her arm toward the children, who were listening intently to their teacher on the other end of the school area. ¡°I feel responsible for them, but not like a mother to them. I understand it would be hard for you to release him to my care so easily. I know even when I have a home in the outside world, I will have to make a door for you two. He will be just as attached to you, his grandmother.¡± Auna smiled softly. ¡°As for your other children. I really should have been allowing them in the dungeon already, letting only four of your seven children to benefit is rude.¡± ¡°I would never accuse you of being rude. A dungeon is a great resource, allowing others to benefit from it is not smart. We do not want it to collapse, though I think since you farm here it won¡¯t. The farm should count as resources, though you need to be careful how often the floors are cleared.¡± Seni sighed. ¡°I know, we can start with rotating the floors in monthly intervals. We will open floor 3 for a month, then 4, then 5, then a month of no floors opened. This should keep a collapse from happening. It will have to be honor system, as I can not block off stairways. Though I think everyone will listen as this is their home, they do not want to lose it. As we open more floors the rotation will grow.¡± Auna watched as Grandmother Elf came up. ¡°I agree, we have discussed this with the people already. This is why we want you to clear more floors, to decrease the risk of collapse.¡± She sat down near Auna. ¡°I think it is very smart. Allowing us to benefit even just a little, it is such a lovely thing. You will have to be sure Seth will not tell Count Jade though.¡± Seni pressed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be an issue. My youngest brother was born last month. Count Jade has named him Regan Jr. Count Jade also told him that Regan Jr. will be taking the Jade title. Apparently, the recent improvement in grades, and fighting is not enough. Regan Jr. he was the only child born with classes, stats, and blessings Count Jade approves of.¡± Auna gave a smile of pity. ¡°I see. I heard rumors; I didn¡¯t dare think it was truth.¡± Nick sighed deeply. ¡°Yeah, it is fairly shitty. Seth doesn¡¯t think he will be allowed to stay in the house once he turns 16. Count Jade has to keep up appearances, so Seth should be able to continue school. For now.¡± Auna took the drink Grandmother Elf handed her. ¡°I see poor boy. Your cousins?¡± Seni pushed. ¡°They don¡¯t like Count Jade. My uncle lives in the capital now, he has left the estate.¡± Auna took a look at a few papers the grandmother Elf had brought. ¡°We did hear he was running his business from the capital, no one thought much of it though. Many second sons, and daughters do that.¡± Nick was thinking hard. ¡°Yes, it is why they were not forced to stay in the territory.¡± Auna reassured Nick, turning to grandmother Elf she asked. ¡°You already have inventoried three advance magic books. Isn¡¯t the fire one Sambors¡¯ book? You can assume mine and Jensens¡¯ will be public use. However you must ask Sambor for his.¡± ¡°I had assumed when the Duke gave me all three it was already decided.¡± Grandmother Elf explained. ¡°Sambor, did you agree to give the book up?¡± Auna asked the boy standing off to the side. ¡°He said it would be safer to put it here, instead of travel with it.¡± Sambor gave his non-answer. ¡°Would you like the book back?¡± Auna tried a different approach. ¡°Can I?¡± Sambor raised his eyebrows. ¡°Give him the book back.¡± Auna directed to the Grandmother Elf. ¡°Next time please be more mindful. I do not want us to become a society that removes belongings from people as they feel fit. Taxes, labour, even some insights can be expected from people for the greater good. However, removal of something owned by another without explicit permission should not happen again.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± The Grandmother Elf walked to the storage shed. She gathered the advance book of fire. ¡°Sambor, here this is yours. Please accept my apologies for the misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Sambor snatched the book and turned away to huddle with it in his arms. He eyed everyone with suspicion for a few moments before relaxing. He then sat opening it to read. ¡°Well, please update your inventory list. Are there any other pressing matters?¡± Auna asked. She still felt tired. ¡°Not really. The crops are growing well. Though as we feared the amount is getting a bit hard to harvest in a timely manner.¡± Grandmother Elf sat back down. ¡°I can help that.¡± Rowan who had been quietly playing in the grass looked up. ¡°How so?¡± Auna asked putting her hand out to the girl. Rowan carefully dusted herself off before coming close. ¡°I can birth treants, intelligent ones, not the crazed ones. I am comfortable allowing a few to be tamed, it can actually help me as I can¡¯t control them all. Though I can birth about forty in a month. I will need to go to the forest to actually do it though, it may be a bit dangerous. I can birth more if they are tamed. I won¡¯t let just anyone take my babies though, only people you trust.¡± Rowan finished. ¡°Okay, and how long will it take for them to be able to work the fields?¡± Auna questioned. ¡°A day or two, they will have to get their feet under them. After that it is just needing to show them what to do. Most are born with decent intelligence especially when it comes to plants.¡± Rowan smiled proudly. ¡°Everyone in this dungeon can be trusted. Grandmother Elf here will add checking on the birth Treants well being. She will report to you once a month. Will that work?¡± Auna asked. ¡°That will work. The Duke said I will have to spend time at the school, not here. Everyone knows I am yours. So, it will be odd if I am not kept at the school. I understand though.¡± Rowan looked a little sad. ¡°You can decide if you want to sleep with me in my bed, or stay in the tamed beast barn.¡± Auna gave her a look of pity. It was going to be difficult for a tree to live that way. She could not do anything about it, not yet. She needed to keep her secrets for a little while longer. ¡°I¡¯ll decide later.¡± Rowan said nodding. She then just walked away. ¡°I can explore right?¡± ¡°Of course, just please don¡¯t hurt anyone, or anything.¡± Auna waved the wooden girl off. ¡°Hey kid!¡± Larn yelled as he got out of the cave. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude to her! Address her with respect!¡± The Grandmother Elf scorned him again. ¡°Leave it, I am a child. I am sure he meant no disrespect.¡± Auna waved the dwarf over. He was holding something. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well. We all worked very hard through the night. This is your new falcata.¡± He handed Auna the bundle. ¡°A what?¡± Auna asked unwrapping the weapon. It was not long enough to be a long sword, nor was it short enough to be a short sword. It had a slight curve on the normally sharp side, making it fatter just before the tip. The top was sharp from the tip to the midpoint. The point at which the top of the blade was sharp and not sharp came together as a sharp jet out. Like waves crashing. The handle had a thick grip, and nearly c-shaped cutouts to keep her hand in place. The entire thing was made from black mithril. An extremely rare metal, that looked like the more common black steels used to make swords. ¡°It is so beautiful, are you sure I can, have it? Wouldn¡¯t it fetch a high price?¡± Auna asked though she didn¡¯t really want to give it up. ¡°I am sure. We want you, and your team to have weapons strong enough to keep up with you. We will work on more for the rest of the team. As for the metal it is actually worth more unprocessed. People prefer custom items from such a rare metal.¡± Larn gave her a cheeky thumbs up. ¡°I see. How much of this rare material can we get?¡± Auna asked turning her new sword in her hands. ¡°Well, to get that much took about the entire time we have been mining. There is not much of it, it does regenerate though. We think we might find more deeper as we expand the tunnels. Say, can you maybe get a strong ancient mining tamed creature?¡± He gave a smirk and winked. ¡°I will see what I can do. For now, please try to cope.¡± Auna winked back. ¡°Well, I think we should get everyone back to the school.¡± Nick sighed. He had a door in the capital, at his own villa. He had parked his carriage there as well. ¡°I agree. Thank you again Larn. Sambor, please stay here for now. Read, learn with the other children if you will as well.¡± Auna gave him a wave as he nodded. Chapter 54: Deeper into the dungeon The children began their new routine the weekend the festival ended. After Duke Pearl, and her uncle spent time explaining why the children did not need 24/7 monitoring they began. They would spend the mornings before class, excluding Auna and Jensen, working on homework and the dungeon running. Auna and Jensen would spend their free period after breakfast in the dungeon with Rowan. Rowan had managed to make fifty Treants to help the farm. Using the Treants they gathered enough wood to make the structures for the wine grapes. They also helped boost the harvesting, and the amount of land being worked. The weekends were spent diving into the dungeon. They had brought her uncle, cousins, and Seth to dive the floors they had already explored with the untrained people of the dungeon. The Jades had promised not to tell anyone about their secrets. In exchange they were given a place to train, experiment out of her fathers¡¯ eyes, and benefit from unique monster drops. ¡°This is crazy.¡± Ciela laughed as they finally were ready to go to level seven of the dungeon. They had trained their stats, and skills well. They did not want to enter unprepared. Aunas¡¯ uncle made sure to train up their skills in combat as well. ¡°It is. So pretty, maybe we should have brought Rowan?¡± Auna laughed. Floor seven was a forest, dense and full of odd monsters. There were purple horned rabbits, deer, slimes, and more forest creatures. It was very nice compared to the caves though. ¡°I almost wish we had done this earlier. Though the level 33 rabbit is ridiculous.¡± Jensen moaned. He knew it was odd for such a starter creature to be that high of a level. ¡°There are so many precious plants here, even pockets of dungeon flowers. We should have the adults who were adventurers go through these floors for them. The Alchemist would love it.¡± Ciela was nearly goofing off as they walked around the floor. They were spending much time searching the entire area. Apparently, some thought the more of a floor explored, the higher any dungeon rewards would be. Instead of using Aunas¡¯ map to find the stairs, they used to fully map the floor. Which they wrote on the paper they had made with hemp. ¡°Yes, please focus on clearing the dungeon combat wise, not plant wise.¡± Auna laughed at her. ¡°We really should bring Rowan here some time.¡± ¡°Did we get the whole floor?¡± Chloe asked. They had spent the entire two days of the weekend in the dungeon. They had not expected to be able to clear two floors in that time. ¡°Yes, it looks like it.¡± Shall we look at the next level? We have about five hours before we need to be back at the school.¡± Auna smiled. Their plan on heading to the Pearls villa, or her uncles¡¯ house every weekend worked well. The school allowed students to spend time at the residence of their parents in the capital, on weekends only. They had spent the last five training. ¡°Yes please.¡± Chloe looked excited. ¡°It is much nicer now that we are higher level. You and Jensen are gaining the most levels though. It is a little unfair.¡± ¡°Well, we are the ones taking care of the majority of the highest-level monsters.¡± Auna winked. She took the time to take a look at her status screen. Chloe was right she was now level 43, though majority of the others were higher levels. They had been earning more, just their experience gain was lacking by so much they climbed too slowly in comparison. Ciela had grown as well. She didn¡¯t ask the others to show her their status often, though she made sure to monitor Ciela. She rarely put stat points into intelligence, or agility. She had to monitor and make sure did.
Earthly Name A, Jade
Soul Name AunaLuna
Gender Female
Species
Human
Fairy
Level 43 (46/281 EXP)
Status Points
Health 60
Mana 280
Physical Strength 50
Mental Strength 32
Intelligence 50
Agility 59
Luck 37
Job
Noble 17
Moon Slave 23
Sage Survivalist 13
Extra Skills
Meditation High-Common
Story Telling Medium-Common
Tilling High-Common
Educational Skills
Advanced Math
Advanced Science
Advanced Geography
Basic Social Studies
Basic History
Blessings
Old Friends farewell
The Other World Person
Warning from Jaihhyia
Curses
Taboo child
To Burn
Auna Didn¡¯t look too deeply into their screens. She could see the rest of her friends looking at their own. They all wanted to make sure they were ready to go deeper. The levels of the monsters had been increasing, like the gods had warned her. They were not taking it lightly. Ciela had used her stats for health, and physical strength instead of agility and intelligence again. This made Auna sigh slightly at her, though as a back liner it did not matter too much. Willow could make up for it by allowing the child to ride her back when in a pinch. ¡°Okay everyone. Should we head down? If the pattern holds, it should be another round of forest.¡± Auna gave a smile at everyone. Taking on last look at Cielas¡¯ screen. The little farmer was a little higher level than her. She should be okay, even if they got in a bit over their heads.
Earthly Name Ciela
Soul Name
Gender Female
Species
Human
Level 45 (35/225EXP)
Status Points
Health 80
Mana 256
Physical Strength 50
Mental Strength 15
Intelligence 35
Agility 30
Luck 16
Job
Farmer 17
Survivalist 8
Extra Skills
Basic Fire Magic High-Common
Basic Lightening Magic Medium-Common
Wind Magic Medium-Common
Basic Dark Magic Medium-Common
Basic Dimensional Magic Medium-Common
Educational Skills
Basic Math
Basic Horticulture
Blessings
Long Life
The Other World Person
Warning from Jaihhyia
Curses
¡°Ready.¡± Everyone gave a call. They got into formation and headed down the steps. They were all in high spirits. Until they saw a simple door at the end of the staircase. ¡°Is it a boss room?¡± Meredith asked trying to look over everyones¡¯ shoulders. She was swaying on her tiptoes. ¡°It looks like it.¡± Mateo sighed. ¡°Does this mean the dungeon is over? It is a newer one. We could only have so much luck.¡± ¡°The gods would not have pushed for me to take in the people if this was all.¡± Auna looked to the door putting her hand on it. ¡°Are we moving forward?¡± She gave a final out to anyone who wanted it. They all knew boss fights could drastically increase the level of the monster between floors. ¡°Yes.¡± They were all sure, they readied themselves for a long five hours. They might even be late getting back to the school. Her uncle would wait at his place with her cousins and Seth to make it less of a difficult task. He would get scolded, the children sent to bed. It had happened a couple times already. ¡°What is it?¡± Giggled Ciela. She could see the boss monster was an oversized stag with bright pink antlers. It was also level 45, a little bit of a disappointment for them. With their team, it would not be impossible to kill in the five hours they had. ¡°To the side!¡± Auna gave a call as the last intact antler crushed into the spot the triplets had been. They laughed and mocked the beast who was bleeding to death. They had cut his sides down, removed an antler, and took both eyes. The monster was nearly dead. They were now just waiting for it to wear itself out. ¡°That was not as easy as I thought it would be. We have two hours before we have to be back at the school.¡± Chloe huffed deeply. ¡°Drag it with us?¡± Diego pointed to the dead stag. They had already put the antlers into Jensens¡¯ storage. ¡°It could be useful for food, or anything else the adults might be able to salvage.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll put it in my storage.¡± Jensen shrugged and put it in his storage. ¡°We could try to take it down again, will less violence.¡± ¡°A lobby?¡± Auna laughed, they had been prepared for it but not expecting it completely. They had hopped for another unique floor. ¡°Congratulations! You are the first to make to this floor. You have received a consumable to increase your mana by 200 points.¡± The voice of the dungeon finished. ¡°Is anyone else a little disappointed?¡± Chloe sighed as she ate hers. ¡°Like I am happy we got more mana but the same reward two times. It is a little sad.¡± ¡°I agree, I was hoping for something different. Though I won¡¯t be as rude as to snub my nose up at it.¡± Auna shrugged downing her own mana consumable. She saw her slime, Kaida, and Theo eat their own. They had brought their winged salamanders as they were small, and they wanted to teach them. Everyone stopped to look at their status menus deeply. They needed a break, they had a few hours left though. They would continue for a bit longer after a rest. Auna took the time to deeply look at her, and her tamed monsters¡¯ stats.
Earthly Name A, Jade
Soul Name AunaLuna
Gender Female
Species
Human
Fairy
Level 43 (46/281 EXP)
Status Points
Health 60
Mana 280
Physical Strength 50
Mental Strength 32
Intelligence 50
Agility 59
Luck 37
Job
Noble 17
Moon Slave 23
Sage Survivalist 13
Extra Skills
Meditation High-Common
Story Telling Medium-Common
Tilling High-Common
Educational Skills
Advanced Math
Advanced Science
Advanced Geography
Basic Social Studies
Basic History
Blessings
Old Friends farewell
The Other World Person
Warning from Jaihhyia
Curses
Taboo child
To Burn
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Job title Noble
Characteristic Quick-Learner; air of authority
Job description A job given to those of noble standing. A person with this job will have a variety of upstanding skills in the arts, combat, and social categories.
Skills
Painting High-Common
Etiquette High-Common
Swordsmanship High-Common
Singing High-Common
Story telling High-Common
Archery High-Common
Conceal High-Common
Calligraphy Low-Common
Horsemanship/Mount riding Medium-Common
Diplomacy Low-Common
Military Strategy Medium-Common
Job title Moon Slave
Characteristics Graceful; immune to mind alterations; mesmerizing;
Job description Born to serve a god that never was meant to be in this world. With no one else left to serve the moon life will be a lonely one.
Skills
Night Vision High-Common
Moon Walk Medium -Common
Water Magic High-Common
Dark Magic Medium-Common
Light Holy Magic High-Common
Dimensional Magic High-Common
Runic Magic High-Common
Healing Moon High-Common
Moon Waltz High-Common
Moon Door Medium-Common
Praying Prophet Medium-Common
Dream Weave Low-Common
Dream Dance Low-Common
Scripture High-Common
Moons¡¯ Appraisal Medium-Common
Shadow Walk Medium-Common
Job tile Sage Survivalist
Characteristics Observant;
Job description Lost in an unfamiliar place the only choice was to survive by any means necessary. No matter where you are you will adapt. You began to collect knowledge which soon turned to power. Using this power in form of magic you began to not just survive but to thrive.
Skills
Wood Working High-Beginner
Craftsmanship High- Beginner
Hunting High- Beginner
Gathering Medium- Beginner
Mapping High- Beginner
Tracking Medium- Beginner
Taming High- Beginner
Basic Fire Magic High- Beginner
Basic Earth Magic High- Beginner
Lightening Magic Medium- Beginner
Basic Wind Magic Medium- Beginner
World Voice High- Beginner
Mud Magic Medium- Beginner
Clay Creation Medium- Beginner
Glass Creation High- Beginner
Nature Magic Medium- Beginner
Ice Magic Medium- Beginner
Butcher Medium- Beginner
Swimming High-Beginner
Rune Magic Low-Beginner
Name Theodore
Master A, Jade
Gender Male
Basic Monster information
Species Moon Wolf
Class Divine
Age 4 years 4 months
Status Points
Health 42
Mana 452
Physical Strength 76
Mental Strength 32
Intelligence 35
Agility 59
Luck 18
Skills
Moon Beam
Razor Claw
Howl
Resize
Bleeding Bite
Body Slam
Moon Trace
Moon Glow
Star Blast Swimming
Blessings
Messenger of the Sun
Curses
Name Ayda
Master A, Jade
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Moon light slime
Class Unique-Normal
Age 3-year 11 month
Status Points
Health 26
Mana 426
Physical Strength 24
Mental Strength 23
Intelligence 30
Agility 22
Luck 10
Skills
Absorb
Healing Moon (AOE)
Resize
Poison shot
Sound attack
Corrosive shot
Swimming
Stealth
Blessings
Messenger of the Sun
Curses
Name Little Queen
Master A, Jade
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Monster Bee
Class Common
Age 3-year 15 month
Status Points
Health 33
Mana 45
Physical Strength 12
Mental Strength 5
Intelligence 10
Agility 50
Luck 2
Skills
Command
Pollinate
Dash
Poison sting
Blessings
Curses
Name Kaida
Master A, Jade
Gender Female, colour blue/reddish (like Jensens Kade)
Basic Monster information
Species Winged Salamander
Class Uncommon- Peculiar
Age 0-year 15 month
Status Points
Health 12
Mana 215
Physical Strength 9
Mental Strength 6
Intelligence 9
Agility 6
Luck 8
Skills
Fire-Breath
Water-Breath
Blessings
Ancient Power
Curses
Name Rowan
Master A, Jade
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Tree of life
Class Spirit
Age 4,000 years 0 months
Status Points
Health 2,000
Mana 6,000
Physical Strength 12,000
Mental Strength 200
Intelligence 400
Agility 50
Luck 14
Skills
Command
Cultivation
Treant birthing
Nature magic
Silver blade attack
Wind magic
Seed propagation
Water magic
Blessings
Eternal cycle
Curses
Forgotten child of the creator
Blankets Candy Clothes Dried Fruit Dried Meat Fabric and Leather Flowers Fresh Fruit Fresh Vegetable Fresh Water Pail
Furs General Education Books Living Plants Magic Books Misc Raw Meat School Books Year 1-2 School Books Year 3 Seeds Tools
Various Magic Stones Various Mana Stones Weapons
Auna even took a moment to look at her, and Cielas¡¯ storage skills. They should really update the contents she thought. She took some time trying to figure out Cielas¡¯ soul name tab. The information had updated after eating of the mana consumable. It was just blinking saying it was not yet manifested. Everyone was able to say there may be a condition for her to get one, or one that she already has. The increase in mana must have been part of the condition.
Earthly Name Ciela
Soul Name Currently not manifested
Gender Female
Species
Human
Level 45 (35/225EXP)
Status Points
Health 80
Mana 456
Physical Strength 50
Mental Strength 15
Intelligence 35
Agility 30
Luck 16
Job
Farmer 17
Survivalist 8
Extra Skills
Basic Fire Magic High-Common
Basic Lightening Magic Medium-Common
Wind Magic Medium-Common
Basic Dark Magic Medium-Common
Basic Dimensional Magic Medium-Common
Educational Skills
Basic Math
Basic Horticulture
Blessings
Long Life
The Other World Person
Warning from Jaihhyia
Curses
Job tile Famer
Characteristics Touch of nature; Strong body;
Job description A job given to those who get their food from the land, and animals they raise
Skills
Sowing High-Common
Plant identification High- Common
Water Magic High - Common
Earth Magic High- Common
Cultivation High- Common
Seed identification Medium- Common
Farmers Calendar High- Common
Conceal High- Common
Nature Magic High- Common
Tilling High- Common
Job tile Survivalist
Characteristics Strong will; observant;
Job description Lost in an unfamiliar place the only choice was to survive by any means necessary. No matter where you are you will adapt.
Skills
Wood Working Medium-Beginner
Craftsmanship High- Beginner
Hunting Medium- Beginner
Gathering Medium- Beginner
Mapping Medium- Beginner
Tracking Low- Beginner
Taming High- Beginner
Swimming Medium- Beginner
Shadow Walker Medium - Beginner
Name Willow
Master Ciela
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Sun Wolf
Class Divine
Age 4 year 5 months
Status Points
Health 43
Mana 450
Physical Strength 78
Mental Strength 31
Intelligence 35
Agility 60
Luck 18
Skills
Sun beam
Razor Claw
Howl
Resize
Bleeding Bite
Body Slam
Sun Trace
Sun Glow
Fire Magic
Swimming
Blessings
Messenger of the Moon
Curses
Name Queenie
Master Ciela
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Monster Bee
Class Common
Age 2-year 15 month
Status Points
Health 35
Mana 32
Physical Strength 11
Mental Strength 5
Intelligence 10
Agility 51
Luck 4
Skills
Command
Pollinate
Dash
Poison sting
Blessings
Curses
Name Ziti
Master Ciela
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Winged Salamander
Class Uncommon- Peculiar
Age 0-year 15 month
Status Points
Health 12
Mana 208
Physical Strength 10
Mental Strength 6
Intelligence 8
Agility 6
Luck 8
Skills
Basic Earth Magic
Water-Breath
Blessings
Ancient Power
Curses
¡°I can¡¯t say we have not improved. Do you think normal children take thirty whole minutes to go through their screens?¡± Auna laughed as everyone had gotten up to move on again. ¡°No, of course not. Are you crazy?¡± Meredith laughed hard. ¡°My brothers, older brothers, are lower levels, and have lower stats than me.¡± ¡°Sorry I don¡¯t feel right allowing them in the dungeon anymore.¡± Auna gave a sheepish smile. After the issue with Merediths¡¯ grandmother trying to make her marry a Bloodwave boy she did not want to allow them anymore access. She had kept her parents to the same floors as the researchers, she felt bad if she removed all access. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My grandmother is very old fashioned, she does these things. My mother should grow a backbone. If you just engage Jensen, it would all stop.¡± Meredith had been tasked with carrying notes from her grandmother to Auna. They were all trying to convince her to marry a Bloodwave. ¡°Thanks for your understanding.¡± Auna nodded pointing the stairs. ¡°Come on.¡± ¡°Wow. No way. How is that possible?¡± Jensen gaped. They were now on the 11th floor. The dungeon had called it the forest village. The village could hold about three hundred people scattered across a vast forest. The most populated area could hold at least one hundred people. There were rivers with moss, stones, and river fish. ¡°This is so cool.¡± Chloe pointed to a temple made of wood. ¡°It is. It is most likely dangerous here though. My map shows a few dots. Should we check it out?¡± Auna asked Jensen. ¡°Can the rest of you stay here, explore the buildings.¡± ¡°It looks like normal animals. Like what hunters usually take down on their own.¡± Jensen said as they walked back. They had spent an hour flying, and running around the entire floor. The most they found were normal animals like deer, bear, rabbit, and other game. ¡°I agree. There should be strong enough villagers to live here. It would not be anymore dangerous than a normal village in the forest.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°We need to get back to school.¡± ¡°Welcome back!¡± Grandmother Elf was very excited the next weekend. They had left the forest village to her. ¡°How is it?¡± Auna asked happy. ¡°Well, we have moved a good portion of the people into the village. The villages are now less populated, more comfortable.¡± She guided them to the village through the podium. ¡°We have made sure to let everyone know not to kill more than what we need. We have expanded our fishing to the freshwater fish here. We also had a lot of hunters that had actually been taken from their forest homes. They are hunting, well. They are also securing the villages defenses from normal animals, while the farmers move dungeon flowers to the edges of the floor just in case.¡± She rambled as they walked around. ¡°It looks like tanning, and clothes making has already began.¡± Auna said as she watched the people mill about. They were all busy. With the Treants working the farm they had more time to do other things like hunt, and process the kills. ¡°Yes, they are doing a very good job. We should be able to have good blankets, and clothes. Though we don¡¯t need many of each, it will make us comfortable. The excess can be sold, and a few stored.¡± The grandmother Elf kept going. Talking about how the forest bounty would supplement the needs of the people as well. They would be able to be nearly self-sufficient on this floor. This would take the strain off of them much quicker. This could allow them to expand the farm properly, and increase other initiatives. They wanted to increase the mining operations to gain more spending money. This would allow them to trade for more items they needed. Right now, many were still sleeping on blankets and not real beds. The trees would allow them to gather wood for the school, and furniture. ¡°Oh right. Ciela, she can help maintain the tree density right?¡± Grandmother Elf got her attention back again. ¡°She should be able to.¡± Auna answered softly. They spent the next few weekends settling the village, and allowing others to farm on the forest levels. They were able to gather different spices, plants, and meats. Monster meat was nutritious, and full of magic. Some dungeon villagers were even able tame unique monsters. Meredith was sporting a unique horned rabbit, with room to grow. She was happy. chapter 55: Autumn Break ¡°It is so nice today.¡± Chloe smiled. ¡°I am happy my parents are okay with me spending my break with you guys this year.¡± ¡°I agree. Spending some time just being kids is very nice.¡± Meredith relaxed in the beach chair she was sat in. The Pearl territory was close to the middle line of the world. This meant it was fairly warm all year round. It never snowed here. Though the winter months in the capital were close it felt tropical here. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it.¡± Seth sighed deeply. He had come. There cousins were with their uncle. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Auna asked softly. ¡°Father said I should spend the break in the capital with uncle. It would be a waste to go home he said. I am depressed, yet you never seem to care.¡± Seth sighed. ¡°I cared; I still care. Why would you say I do not?¡± Auna stopped making her sand castle. Everyone looked to her. Their friends, the Pearls, and Sam were now looking to them. ¡°You should say sorry.¡± Josh elbowed Seth. He had been let in on the door secret. Auna trusted him after interrogating him with her true friend skill. ¡°Well, you always seem mature, and focused. Thought right now you seem a bit more normal. You never cried at home, never mopped around. You always looked everyone in the eye. I feel embarrassed, I don¡¯t want to look anyone in the eye. I feel like everyone is looking at me strange, like they know father no longer wants me. How could I be so stupid?¡± Seth sighed deeply. ¡°I cried, many times. In this life I cried, I want nothing more than to be loved. I want a normal life, even if only one time. I know seem cold; it is a defense mechanism. If I cried all day, I would get nothing done. I would not have survived.¡± Auna went back to her sand castle while continuing. ¡°When I was young the staff taught me to walk, eat, and speak. They had work to do though. I spent many hours in soiled clothes, and tied to the bed as I got bigger. They needed to make sure I would not wander away. The soiled clothes could not be helped.¡± ¡°They potty train me as quickly as possible. They were not allowed to hire teachers for me. They had almost no time to teach me. Instead, they focused on one skill, reading. They taught me the language of this world, after that it was all about books. They brought me as many as they could without being scolded.¡± ¡°These books were mostly from their own children. They bought me magic books as they saw how talented I was at it. I had some understanding of the language due to being from another world. I could not read it though, even now my status screen is sometimes in my old language.¡± ¡°I spent everyday locked away in the staff wing. I looked to the garden, rarely being able to leave my room. I cried as I watched you with a woman. You always had a big smile, always holding onto her dress. I couldn¡¯t see her face; she never once looked my way.¡± ¡°I cried after you would bully me at dinners with uncle. I cried when I woke in the night with nightmares, no one would come to soothe me. Soon I ran out of tears, why cry when no one came to wipe them away?¡± ¡°After I came to a realization, I had many times in my previous lives I stopped. Instead, I looked everyone in the eye with a calm expression. When people think you are scum, or pity you, looking into their eyes calmly unnerves them. It makes them angry to see someone so far below them looking so comfortable in their position.¡± ¡°When I finally met my father, he basically tossed me away. The men he hired put me in a bag, tied it tightly. They left me to starve on the floor of the forest. I managed to escape the bag only because of my skills. Without them I would have died from starving, or illness.¡± ¡°Ciela was left in a bag, I freed her. I knew going back was not an option. Father would try to kill me again, or try to use me for his own benefit. I stayed put, it was dangerous but safer than the Jade family.¡± ¡°I helped Meredith and her mother. They in turn helped Ciela and I. As you know that did fall through a bit. The church then tried to pressure me to be their tool. Now I am fighting for my freedom again. I am almost always yearning for freedom. Our mother cried and freaked out in public because she was looking for me. I don¡¯t remember her face; I wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize it if she were to walk up right now.¡± ¡°As a person always fighting to survive, I can look very mature, very serious. However, I am a child. I do want to enjoy that. I want to play hide and seek more, build castles, spend time doing nothing important, and just being a trouble maker. I can¡¯t though, I never have that much allowance.¡± ¡°No, you are here. You say you are upset because you are being cut off from the Jade family. You are acting like you are being thrown onto the street, or sold off. No, you are not. Jade is still paying for your school, still keeping you on the registry, and is not trying to kill you. Stop feeling down for yourself. You need to take advantage. Learn as much as you can, gather power of your own. Grow strong enough to survive.¡± Auna stopped her speech. ¡°I just don¡¯t know how you can be so strong. We were both born defective, aren¡¯t you still afflicted with it? How can you stand so tall with such thin shoulders?¡± Seth didn¡¯t make eye contact. ¡°I know I don¡¯t have it as bad as you have. I am scared though.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. You can always escape to the dungeon. So, stand tall, proud, and without remorse. If anything goes wrong run away to Ember Moon.¡± Auna smiled softly. ¡°Thank you. I know I have not treated you well. I let father and mother poison my mind. I thought we were better than you. That I was better for being able to rid myself of it.¡± Seth sighed. ¡°I must ask, why did Count jade count you both as defective? He showers his youngest with love and praise. Like a father should.¡± Chloe asked. ¡°Oh. I guess you don¡¯t know my class other than my sage one.¡± Auna laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. Seth is it okay?¡± Auna asked. When Seth gave a nod, she continued. ¡°Look here.¡± Auna showed her job Moon Slave. ¡°You are a slave?¡± Chloe looked confused, it made everyone laugh. ¡°Did everyone else already know?¡± ¡°I think so, either they figured it out, or I showed them.¡± Auna shrugged lightly as she dug a moat for her castle. ¡°Why are you a slave?¡± Chloe pushed. ¡°Both Seth and I were born with slave jobs. His was upgraded within two years. Mine was not, it was obviously unique. Father hid me away because of it. Mother did not have a slave job; she must have felt like it though. She was brought from the wastelands against her will. I still have the documents to prove it. I have finance documents to as a backup plan.¡± Auna used her water magic to fill the moat. ¡°Back up for what?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°Easy, if he pushes me too far, I will destroy him. The only reason I have not used it yet is because it was proved the assignation attempts were not Count Jade.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Right Nick?¡± ¡°That is right, intensive information gathering was done into him. We found out other secrets along the way. Nothing too scandalous though. We did not find any connections to the attempts on your life. We did find some information that it is someone powerful. Most likely someone close to the King. We have yet to narrow it down though.¡± Nick gave a wink. ¡°Please leave it to us though.¡± ¡°I will for now.¡± Auna nodded. ¡°Can I?¡± Jensen shot up once the moat was full. ¡°Sure, go for it.¡± Auna backed up as Jensen gave a soft roar stomping all over the castle. He smiled and settling down in the place that once held a brilliant sand castle. ¡°I¡¯ll make the next one on you.¡± ¡°Go for it.¡± Jensen gave a wry smile before closing his eyes again. ¡°You two are very odd.¡± Meredith shook her head as she and Mateo added more details to their castle.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°So?¡± Auna drew her eyes together. ¡°Why does that mater?¡± ¡°Do we have to go over how dense you are again?¡± Meredith laughed loudly as Auna rolled her eyes. Auna focused too much on creating a new castle. ¡°So how are the dungeon finances going?¡± Seni asked. ¡°Do you think you will your freedom?¡± ¡°I am not sure yet. The wine might bring in lots, we are thinking about planting more rice and corn for different alcohols. They are fairly easy to make in the dungeon with the dwarfs and sell for a decent coin. The fruits are being processed into alcohol as well. We might be known as a brewery soon at this rate.¡± Auna tilted her head. ¡°We think I should be able to free myself.¡± ¡°That sounds wonderful. I hope you children are not tasting it. You are all still too young for it.¡± Seni gave a scolding grin. ¡°I would love to try it though. You have winter grapes rights?¡± ¡°I see, you asked as you wanted some of the first batch.¡± Auna gave her a knowing smile. ¡°Auna, do you want to swim a bit?¡± Jensen asked looking up with a castle on his stomach. The castle was beautiful, with spiral turrets and windows. The detail achieved on a moving stomach was incredible. ¡°Sure. Sounds fun. Does anyone else want to jump in the water?¡± Auna asked everyone as Jensen took his time destroying the castle. ¡°Sure.¡± A chorus of voices rang out. They all went into the water to explore. A little swim for the children was more like deep water diving. They spent an hour in exploring underwater caves, and the seabed. They found neat shells they brought back for the younger kids. They also found pretty stones they gave to the Seni as she collected them. ¡°Shall we eat?¡± Seni asked as they went toward the house. They ate a big meal of grains, fruits, and meat. They were going to spend the night by the sea in sleeping bags. ¡°Shall I tell you children about the constatations?¡± Seni asked as the children were looking to the sky. They would be watched all night by the guards to ensure their safety. The spent the next hour listening to Seni talk about the stars. Auna was drifting in and out, not very interested in the stars of this world. At least not at this time when she should be more focused on her survival. However, the lonely moon constellation brought her back into focus. ¡°Why is called that?¡± Auna asked snaping her head to the place Seni was describing. ¡°Well, my people say the moon once walked among us. The moon had been kicked out of the creators¡¯ garden long before the fairy born were created by said creator. There are many different theories as to why. The most common one is the moon had committed a serious sin.¡± ¡°The serious sin is unknown to our people, not passed down among us. Some of think our people never knew the real reason. We do know the creator made us to worship the moon, play with the moon.¡± ¡°When our people were first created the oceans were shallow, and very few. Our world was mostly land, and fresh water. The creator did not like salt water, or vast water. However, the moon cried so much that the world filled with salty water. It is why the oceans¡¯ tide moves with moon.¡± ¡°Our people were praised, and care for by the moon. The moon did not want worshipers though, it longed for a family. The moon would walk the world running from the sunlight toward the darkness. The darkness would run from the moon though. You see the sun hurt the moon when it was close, and the glow of the moon hurt the darkness. They were, and still are in a constant struggle of balance.¡± ¡°The constellation is a row of three, a cluster of stars in a circle followed by a crescent shape, with in turn in followed by a line. It is to represent the sun, moon, and blanket of darkness. The moon still cried so much the creator needed to give the moon more. First the creator tried giving the moon a child.¡± ¡°That child grew old and died though, creating more tears. The creator gave the moon back the child over and over. Creating the rebirth cycle on this world. The next thing the creator gave the moon was a friend. This friend for a while kept the moon happy, kept the tears at bay.¡± ¡°Then one day the moon left, followed by her friend. Then the sun, and finally the darkness. The creator mourned them all. He put a bright rock in the sky made of fire to replace the sun, he created a smaller rock that would reflect the light to replace the moon. The darkness was harder to replace, many things like clouds, and monsters helped. The world began to rotate to imitate the journey the moon use to make, not perfectly though.¡± ¡°After that the creator cried deeply for many nights. That is why we have the Pada season. It is believed by our people to be the creators tears, as they still mourn the lost of the true moon, sun, and darkness.¡± ¡°If the creator kicked the moon out of the garden, why were they sad when they left for good?¡± Auna questioned. Something struck a chord deeply inside her, she just couldn¡¯t put her finger on it though. ¡°The creator did not know what they had. It is a moral story about treasuring what you have before you have to mourn what you have lost.¡± Seni covered her back up with the blanket, patting her chest lightly. ¡°It is a legend passed down for eons. Who knows what is and is not true?¡± ¡°I feel like there is some truth to it.¡± Auna yawned as she looked back to the stars. ¡°I do as well. Maybe one day I will travel back to my homeland, look though the ruins more. They say deep within the old temples the story of the creation of the world is written. They say we can even find the creator if we learn the temples.¡± Seni spoke softly about the temples and their secrets until all of the children were deeply sleeping. ¡°Good morning!¡± Auna called as she tackled Jensen awake. ¡°Don¡¯t be lazy!¡± ¡°You are just excited for my moms¡¯ pancakes. Five more minutes.¡± Jensen turned throwing her off of him. ¡°Yes, and she said she won¡¯t start them until we are all awake and ready.¡± Auna pressed more. ¡°Also. I want a hint. I remember you were created for me, travelled with me. You said if I can up with things on my own you would give me more. You have been stalling for months!¡± Auna whined deeply. The rest of their friends were mostly occupied with breakfast preparations. ¡°Fine. Let me think a minute.¡± Jensen rolled over closing his eyes again. ¡°That story last night. It isn¡¯t just fiction, is it?¡± Auna pressed. ¡°You are right, it is not completely fiction. Anyway. I was your first true friend, and you were mine. I might have been created for you, but not as a friend. As a toy. You were too kind for that. You never did anything to upset the creator, the sins were not your own to shoulder.¡± Jensen smirked. ¡°That is, it.¡± ¡°Come on I could guess most of that. I¡¯ll take it I guess, as long as you wake up!¡± Auna smiled. She knew that he was worried about giving her too much at once. If he, did it could have her end up in a coma again. She shook her hair out; it had gathered too much sand over the night. ¡°Yeah, I am awake. I should brush that for you.¡± Jensen sighed. ¡°Why do you never take care of it?¡± Jensen was right she would wash it, and brush it but nearly as often as other girls. ¡°Auna. What are you going to do once you are free?¡± Jensen asked dreamily as they ate pancakes. ¡°So much. I want to sail the ocean, map the world. See everything! Though I will still have a year of school left. I will have to wait I guess.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°Well, you could spend your summer break after the Yarren party that year sailing. You kids know how to do that. From what I hear you did not get to use the skills yet.¡± Seni smiled. ¡°I guess we could, make it to the Dunder islands down east from here. Could explore them and sail back. If it takes too much time, we can use a door. By then I will not care about who knows about how powerful I am.¡± Auna smiled. ¡°Well, you might want to keep somethings secret. The moon door is something amazing, just letting everyone know might be bad. Even if you have the power, you think can protect yourself.¡± Nick said. ¡°I guess you are right, I will have to be more careful than just zipping around the world without a ship.¡± Auna nodded. ¡°Yes, no obvious zipping around. No mater how cool it would be.¡± Nick agreed with her. ¡°Though I hope to be able to benefit from the not so obvious zipping around the world we all know you will be doing.¡± He gave a smirk as Seni sighed. ¡°I will allow you to benefit from it.¡± Auna winked. ¡°Of course, we will have to be careful.¡± All them laughed and continued to talk about what they would do when she was free. They would travel with her, explore new lands. Even map the entire wastelands to find more answers about her, and her job. They would try to find more dungeons to explore, assuming they would be at the bottom of their own. Perhaps they would be strong enough to clear out a village area in the great monster forest. They spoke about the number of babies in the dungeon there would be by the time they were sixteen. The people were getting more comfortable with their lives. They wondered briefly how the Wardite territory would look in the few years it would take for them to reach sixteen. Would the king still be trying to save them? Would the soils become fertile again? Would their dungeon be holding deserters from the Wardite territories? They spoke about the secrets the wastelands should be holding. They could have unique monsters for Meredith to tame, plants for Ciela to plunder, treasure for the triplets to discover, creatures for Chloe to slaughter, and answers for Auna. When Auna had mentioned Jensen might not want to travel, as there didn¡¯t seem to be a big reason or motivation for it. Jensen just shook his head with a shrug letting her know he would follow. That was motivation enough for him. The other derailed for a while to talk about how dense she was. In all seriousness they had to work out how they would free Auna. Their Ember Moon dungeon profits were no where near enough to give her that. Especially since she was too honest and would not take their share. They spoke in jokes saying they could start a war for her stop, gaining her own title which could partly void the agreement. If she got a title, she would most likely get land, that could generate money. A title would also allow her to move more product without being eyed as much. The two Gary men also seemed gaining a title was the best thing to do. She didn¡¯t know how that was really achievable. They moved on to more serious topics. They wanted to carefully cultivate the growth of their pets. They did nto want to lose the unique subclasses they had. They put together a strategy that would help make sure they would be the best they could be. They would feed them a variety of food, take them to fight different creatures, make sure they used their wings, and try to teach them different magics. They were already specializing their magics, feeding off their owners¡¯ styles and strengths. Ciela was happy Ziti seemed to be gaining farming characteristics. They settled that what they were already doing might be the best actions. They ended their autumn vacation blissfully gathering the school books they needed, they made sure the dungeon was ready to go back their school schedule, and finally made sure all the moon doors were ready. Soon they would be entering the fifth year of school. chapter 56: Friend of Ciela ¡°I still don¡¯t know how you both did that.¡± Chloe laughed at the breakfast table. The children had just started their fifth year of class. It had required the ranking testing, the one that if failed had you removed from the school. ¡°We just did our best.¡± Auna shrugged. As Jensen gave a nod. They had both scored perfect 100%s in all three categories. As such they were now co-representatives, something that was very rare to happen. Jensen had been overjoyed as he finally caught up to his moon, for now at least. ¡°You know the tests get harder right?¡± Chloe gave a half glare. ¡°Yes, we do.¡± Auna tilted her head, not understanding what her friend meant. ¡°Then why do your scores keep going up? Everyone else struggled to keep similar scores.¡± Now Chloe was pouting. Chloe and Meredith had scored third place again with near identical scores. The triplets took fourth as a team as well. Ciela had managed to slip into second place. ¡°And Ceila, what the heck girl! How did yo-¡± ¡°Sorry to interrupt, may I sit with you?¡± A boy who they recognized as a class mate to Ciela asked. He had dark eyes and hair with pale skin. His smile was nervous, and small. ¡°Sure?¡± Auna motioned for him to pull up a seat. The triplets slid over, one grabbing a seat from a nearby empty table. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°I started classes here last year. My name is Edgar Poe. I have classes with Ciela.¡± The boy sat with a grateful smile and a small shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t have any friends here.¡± ¡°Oh. I see. Well, hanging around us wont change that. I don¡¯t know if you know, but most think we are a bunch of crazy kids. They only come to us in study halls.¡± Auna gave a bright smile as she spoke. Most of her friends were nodding with mad grins. Meredith was groaning. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I spent all last year sitting alone at meals. I don¡¯t even have roommates because no one wants to room with the blood drinker.¡± The boy bowed his head in embarrassment. ¡°You drink blood?¡± Jensen asked with only curiosity in his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Auna gave a stern warning to Jensen. It startled Edgar until he noticed her glare was towards Jensen. ¡°Yes. But I only need roughly a tall glass once a month. It has to be from a being that eats meat regularly. I am not a vampire, I don¡¯t drain people, nor can I change them.¡± Edgar gave a cute little huff. He was roughly nine, but too small for a nine-year-old. He was as pretty as a glass doll. ¡°I see, if you are not a vampire or blood born what are you?¡± Diego asked as he pulled on Jensens¡¯ ear. Jensen was struggling to speak. ¡°I am shadow born, though most just assume we are blood born. No one really understands what shadow born means. We can gain a skill that lets us enter the shadows, for a short time. Though almost all of us are classified as human, and shadow born. Only the ones with only shadow born have an easy time learning that skill. By easy I mean it only takes them like ten years I think?¡± Edgar smiled. ¡°Why are you holding him back?¡± ¡°Can you drink my blood?¡± Jensen blurted. It made many people look their way, including the doctor who was now coming toward them. ¡°No?¡± Edgar visibly leaned back looking to Auna. ¡°What is wrong with that guy!¡± ¡°Calm down everyone. Lord Pearl no Lord Poe is not going to be drinking your blood. I am sure your father would not approve.¡± The doctor pulled out a cloth to dab his forehead. ¡°Come on, please?¡± Jensen smiled moving closer to the boy. ¡°Jensen don¡¯t taint the small boy. Go back to your breakfast, no more asking him to bite you. Also no more asking him to drink your blood. I can not believe you still have that on your bucket list!¡± Auna whisper screamed at him. ¡°If you know it is on my list, why not allow it?¡± Jensen whisper screamed back. ¡°What list?¡± Chloe asked between laughs. ¡°A list of things I want to try before I die. It rolls over considering.¡± Jensen shrugged. ¡°Wait. You want to try getting bitten and drained of blood?¡± Diego looked horrified. ¡°Yeah, the first time it happened I was not fully aware. So, I want to re-experience it. Auna has! I want to as well!¡± Jensen pouted. ¡°Though not to death.¡± ¡°What is this conversation?¡± The doctor was now sitting, completely having lost control. ¡°You were bitten to death?¡± Diego was now even more horrified. ¡°It was a weird guy with a blood and biting fetish. He drugged Jensen and I. It took so much time for Jensen the drugs wore off halfway through. Jensen was not aware enough to fully notice though. He did not have more drugs for me. I really don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Auna sighed putting her fork down, her appetite gone. ¡°What is a fetish?¡± Ciela asked innocently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± And more answers were given in rapid fire to the young girl by Auna, the adults, Jensen, and a few older students who had been listening. ¡°That is horrible.¡± Diego mused as Jensen turned back to the smaller boy, having gotten up to whisper in his ear. ¡°Whatever he is whispering ignore it.¡± Auna sighed deeply. ¡°Well, my appetite is gone.¡± ¡°No, sorry. I¡¯ll stop. Please eat my moon.¡± Worried Jensen picked up her fork to bring scrambled eggs to her lips, which she did not take. Instead, she turned her head like a stubborn child. ¡°Let her be. If she has lost her appetite, it would not be smart to force feed her.¡± The doctor stood. ¡°Is there going to be a problem with Young Lord Poe being near you?¡± ¡°No doctor.¡± Jensen sat back in his seat, pushing his food around his plate. ¡°Back to more pressing matters. Ciela how did you steal second place?¡± Chloe asked changing the subject back to the one before Edgar had come. ¡°I studied.¡± Ciela gave a blunt answer with a straight face, which only cracked into a grin after a few seconds of looking into Chloes¡¯ eyes. ¡°Cold.¡± Chloe shook her head with a grin of her own. ¡°Edgar, you are welcome to hang around us. Are you free in the mornings before breakfast?¡± Auna asked dumping her food to the small boys¡¯ plate. He had been eating with gusto. ¡°Thank you, I have class though. I took prayer in the mornings.¡± Edgar smiled at the extra food. ¡°Thank you for this as well, shadow born eat more than humans.¡± ¡°Be careful around the church.¡± Auna said. ¡°Oh, I know, don¡¯t worry. Dad wants me to gain my prayer skills though.¡± Edgar gave a weak smile. ¡°The Poe Duchy are all very skilled in holy magics, and other church like skills.¡± ¡°Really? I heard the church rarely visits Vulcana, isn¡¯t your Duchy also the island further away from Gods¡¯ land?¡± Meredith asked as she watched the small boy eat the rest of Jensens¡¯ food as well. Well, he can pack it away well. Mr. voice gave a near chuckle in Aunas¡¯ head. ¡°Yeah, that is true. We have our own temples, and priests. They are invited to the main temples though. We worship all their seven gods but we mostly worship Lichen, the eighth god.¡± Edgar took a break to drink some juice. ¡°Really, and the seven god faith is okay with that?¡± Merediths¡¯ eyes went wide. ¡°Yes, because technically Lichen is a god they are supposed to worship. I learnt it was relatively recent that they stopped worshipping Lichen.¡± Auna answered as Edgar nodded eating more food.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Really? Isn¡¯t Lichen an evil god?¡± Meredith asked. ¡°My, young one. That is not true. It is true the temple that worships him did not join together when the religions of all eight gods came to one. It was during a time of war, illness, and overall fear. Lichen is known as a god of caves, which people began to see as fear, pain, and anything dark. Auna knows this. We have for a long time been trying to heal the sore spot when it comes to Lichen. It is one of the reasons why the Poe Duchy was invited to send their children. We have tried for many years. This was the first year.¡± The religion teacher gave a soft smile to Edgar. ¡°My family doesn¡¯t trust many outsiders. We prefer to run our duchy in peace. Even our King leaves us to it mostly. Last year he came personally to advocate sending me here. Apparently, the church thinks it can help heal the peoples¡¯ faith in Lichen.¡± Edgar sighed as he leaned back, full. ¡°We are happy you are here. I have come to give you back your notebook, you left it by the alter this morning.¡± The teacher gave him a book covered in little drawings. He then gave a soft smile as he walked away. It was nearly time for the next class period. ¡°Well, you are welcome to study with us later. We all meet after the late class to do a study hall. We have a little over an hour before we are sent to our rooms. The librarian leaves us to our studying so it is very nice.¡± Meredith spoke as Auna and Jensen gathered everyones¡¯ plates. Chloe was gathering the cups and silverware. They took turns cleaning up their dishes, though the boys always got their food still. ¡°Sure, sounds fun. I ranked in the top fifty, I could do with some extra study time.¡± Edgar thanked them and left for his next class. ¡°He seems like a nice boy.¡± Jensen said as they cleaned up their table set. Their late etiquette class was wrapping up. They had been learning about noble table etiquette of different countries. It was similar but different enough that they could really offend someone. Today they were mimicking a noble gathering they would have on the Islands of Isolation. It required using eating with different types of eating sticks, and strange utensils. ¡°Edgar? Yes, he does.¡± Maybe it would be nice for little Ciela to have a friend her age, outside of the dungeon, and outside of the secrets you all have. Mr. Voice chimed up for the first time in a while. It nearly startled Auna to hear him in her head. Are you really not used to me yet? Mr. Voice nearly chuckled again. ¡°Say, maybe we should encourage her to spend time with him? She should have more friends in her class. We have each other, the girls and triplets. Ciela has no classes with us. She is in all classes with the younger kids. She might get lonely.¡± Jensen stretched as they walked from the classroom. The triplets and Meredith were close behind. ¡°I think you might be right, Ciela!¡± Auna called out Cielas¡¯ name as they came near her classroom that was also letting out. They had all been let out early. ¡°Yeah?¡± Ciela answered as she stuck to Aunas¡¯ side. Edgar was right beside her. ¡°You and Edgar seem to be fast friends.¡± Auna didn¡¯t know if she should encourage them hanging out in front of the boy. ¡°We have many of the same classes. Last year too.¡± Ciela took Aunas¡¯ hand and they began walking to the library. ¡°Edgar and I are usually partners for projects, and sit beside each other as well. We were friends before this morning. Edgar just never sat with us.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Auna looked to Jensen to help her out of the now awkward situation. ¡°That¡¯s great, you should have invited him to sit with us last year.¡± Jensen laughed at the face Auna had been making. ¡°I did. He said no.¡± Ciela looked around Auna to Edgar who had wandered to the other side of Auna as they walked. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get in-between you all. The bond you guys share seems intimate. Dad told me over the Autumn break not to worry about it though. So, that is why I came over this morning.¡± ¡°I see. Your dad was right, you are welcome to hang around us.¡± Diego laughed a bit. ¡°Yeah, we are a close group, that doesn¡¯t mean we avoid meeting new people.¡± ¡°I can see that now. We have some extra time to study too.¡± Edgar answered as they entered the library. ¡°Good. We are happy to have you.¡± Auna took a seat with the rest of the gang. Seth and Josh had joined them. Her cousins came in just a few minutes later. They had just made the cut to enter the school. ¡°Hi, who is this cute doll?¡± Marell asked as she sat down near Edgar. ¡°Edgar Poe.¡± He gave a slight nod of his head. ¡°Yourself?¡± ¡°Marell Jade. This is my twin, Darell. I have never heard of the Poe family. Are you sponsored?¡± ¡°Young Countess Jade. I am the next in line to the Poe Duchy of Vulcana, an island territory. Though we do have some land on the main land. I am a young Duke. I should have properly introduced myself.¡± Edgar was stern but polite in his speaking. ¡°Oh, sorry. I shouldn¡¯t assume either. Many students are from other nations. I heard the number of foreign students is going to increase.¡± Marell changed the subject. ¡°How so?¡± Meredith asked handing her finished practice sheet to Auna. ¡°The nobles of our nation are still advocating for allowing their children to stay at their capital villas. It has been going on for years. The incidents have given them a great push the school is really considering it.¡± Marell ripped her paper as she erased an answer. ¡°Be careful, here take a new one.¡± Auna gently took the torn page giving her a fresh one. Their scribe, Nero, was happily making practice sheets for them. Auna nearly had too many. He often spoke with the dungeon teachers to create ones Auna and Jensen had to do. They only had answer keys for the ones Nero made for everyone else. The ones for Auna and Jensen had no keys, they would have to bring it back to the dungeon. ¡°I heard the real reason they didn¡¯t do so in the past was money. They would lose a lot of money if foreign interest was high enough to fill the dorms. I don¡¯t think that is an issue anymore. Our school is very famous.¡± Marell happily took the new sheet. ¡°That does sound reasonable. I could see how they need the dorms running at a certain capacity. Many nobles here are smaller ones, lords and ladies working under higher nobles in their territories. Some Barons are even smaller. These smaller ones would not have a villa here in the capital. Only the dorms with only four students, like ours, would need filling.¡± Meredith stopped to think. ¡°That means the school needs to attract the higher nobles of different nations, to fill the four student rooms. It would mostly be higher nobles anyway, very few would sponsor someone to come to a different nations¡¯ school. With how famous we are now; you are probably right. Though many nobles see it as a rite of passage to have some independence from the pampered life of a noble.¡± Meredith finished. ¡°This is still fairly pampered. The beds are huge.¡± Auna started. ¡°The food is great, nearly no rules, even broken rules are ignored if you have enough power, and the entertainment areas are amazing.¡± ¡°I guess that is true.¡± Meredith laughed. ¡°Well, I have four big beds to myself. I rotate where I sleep for fun.¡± Edgar laughed. ¡°You could always come sleep in our room if you get lonely. The boys often share a bed.¡± Jensen pointed out to Edgar as Mr. Merlin came up to them. ¡°I don¡¯t see an issue with that, Edgar does sleep on your floor. There was no space anywhere else. Just let me know the nights he will be, so I can properly do bed checks. It is difficult for such a young man to sleep so isolated. Also, it is time to start packing up, how are you all doing?¡± Mr. Merlin would walk them back to their dorms. ¡°Well thank you.¡± Auna answered for everyone as Marell gave a groan. ¡°I see that well.¡± Mr. Merlin laughed as they packed up, making sure they got to their dorms. Mrs. Hopper and him would often take turns doing so. ¡°Auna, do you think Edgar is going to be okay?¡± Ciela asked in the darkness of their room. ¡°Sure, Jensen won¡¯t bother him. He should be able to get a restful sleep.¡± Auna answered with a smile Ciela could not see. ¡°Can I sleep with you tonight?¡± It was obvious to everyone Ciela had not waited for an answer, she was already crawling out of bed. ¡°Of course, you can.¡± Auna moved back the covers, their tamed pets arranging themselves. ¡°I feel slightly jealous. I used to sleep with my big brother, it¡¯s a bit awkward now though.¡± Chloe sighed deeply. ¡°You are welcome to join.¡± Auna barely finished speaking before Chloe and her winged salamander crawled up in bed. ¡°Meredith, are you joining?¡± Auna teased. ¡°It is not dignified of a noble. I said earlier staying here is seen as a rite of passage.¡± Meredith crawled into Aunas¡¯ bed anyway. No one teased her though. The girls slept deeply, so deeply they did not notice the large teen enter their room. He had slipped in through the window, watching Auna. Their tamed pets all noticed though, frozen in fear they did nothing. Their instinct told them they would not win, especially when a boy with no color in his eyes entered soon after. ¡°Can¡¯t you leave them be? They should rest.¡± Jaihhyia gave a heavy sigh as he watched the older teen. Jaihhyia had on all white, his wings hidden with a mantle. The teen wore dark greens in the shape of a robe like dress. ¡°I was told to pick up any awakened children from here. I see they have your blessing. You know forcefully sealing a child from awakening is against the rules.¡± The teen spoke. ¡°I know, my blessing doesn¡¯t seal. It warns, gives off a warning to me when people like you show interest in them.¡± His tone was soft. ¡°I see. I suppose a child wouldn¡¯t be able to seal someone in such a way. It is very complex soul magic.¡± The teen stood up to look at the boy. ¡°Everyone knows about you. The little suicide running, assassin under the thumb of the gods council. Most say they feel uneasy around you, afraid and sick. I feel at peace.¡± ¡°I do get sent on many missions with a very high death prediction and low return probability. I suppose some call it suicide running. I do also assassinate, only when my judgment lines up with the councils¡¯ though. Otherwise, I bring them back alive. I will not taint my hands more than I already have.¡± The boy looked down to his hands, as if he could see them. ¡°Anyway. The people that feel unwell near me are bad, guilty people hiding things. Your soul is bruised, but clean. You don¡¯t feel guilty. So being near a god of judgment doesn¡¯t rattle you, instead it calms you. I heard you, the landscaper, don¡¯t say many words?¡± The boy ended with a question a beautiful and teasing smile on his face. ¡°Not usually. Say, why don¡¯t we continue our talk as we head back to that rotten council? There are no awakened children here. I will not remove anyone. We should let them sleep.¡± The landscaper left the room. ¡°I will give your friends my blessing as well. I have watched you closely. You will be a strong leader one day. I just hope you can live long enough. Graceful Moon, may you glow brightly.¡± Jaihhyia gave the girl a kiss on her head. ¡°Do not worry, I will help keep beings like me away.¡± He spoke to the still frozen pets. ¡°Rest well.¡± The next morning many noticed a new blessing. The entire dungeon, the cousins, and Edgar had gained Jiahhyias¡¯ warning. They did not know how or why. The children were forced to tell Edgar about the dungeon, as he panicked about his religious standing with Lichen. Chapter 57: Aunas’ 14th birthday ¡°My moon, what are you doing?¡± Jensen came through the moon door into her dorm room. The boys had access during the ¡®public hours¡¯ to their room and vice versa. They had put this into practice once Edgar started sleeping the boys¡¯ rooms more. The young boy had spent the last two years in their room so often a special exception was made. A comfortable cot like bed was added to their room. He shared storage space with them, no longer having his own dorm. The school didn¡¯t mind as it left a dorm free. Edgars¡¯ dad, Lord Poe, welcomed it saying something about roughing it out with the boys. ¡°I¡¯m just reviewing the dungeon finances.¡± Auna was weakly smiling at Jensen. ¡°We have made much progress in these last two years. We found the mountain village which helped further spread our people, helping the over crowding. Then we got nearly two hundred refugees from wardite, which has us back into crowded territory.¡± ¡°Yeah, but aren¡¯t we making loads of money?¡± Jensen sat down on her bed. The rest of the group were setting up her birthday celebration. The dungeon people had thrown one as well. ¡°We make over 2,700 gold a year. Roughly. We have the trees that produce maple, and fruit. We process it to make candies, juices, syrups, canned goods, and even booze. We use less than twenty acres to produce this. We consume most of the goods.¡± Auna cracked her neck pulling another set of papers over. ¡°Next our mostly consumable products like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, rice, wheat, mushrooms, grapes, sugar cane, chickens, and even salt take up roughly fifty acres. We do make money from that obviously, but our people need to eat.¡± ¡°Grapes, rice, and wheat have double uses. They can be used for animal feed, and wine. Our wine is getting us hundreds of golds a year, though we age most of our product currently. Once our wines are aged, we should be able to sell them for more. The mountain village being covered in snow seven months a year, and cool all year around has given us some more space to grow the winter grapes. The goats like the taste though so it has been a struggle. Especially since the treants can not work in cool mountain.¡± Auna groaned deeply as she pulled more papers. ¡°The fishing village and forest village are mostly supporting our people. They sell extra meat, skins, scales, and products. With the hemp field on the farm, we have dealt with the hygiene, paper, and textile supply issues. We can even sell a decent amount of it. Having Nero, our scribe helps as he has skills for paper making. It makes the quality top notch.¡± ¡°The mountain village was unlocked only last year and it is already a great producer. The goats and sheep are giving us milk, and cheese. Enough to keep the pregnant women, and children fat and full. I also love cheese, our people being able to eat it more often is nice. They are aging some as well. The goats produce hair for paint brushes, and writing tools. These tools have upgraded our school programs. The goats produce cashmere, and the sheep wool. Now we have comfortable clothes, and even beds!¡± ¡°There is a huge lake at the top of the mountain that is frozen nearly solid eight months a year. It sells well, our merchants take it to the stores and other merchants in the spring and summer. Because of the dungeons properties the lake ¡®grows¡¯ new ice weekly in these months. We store the ice with people that have the ability to do so without it melting. So, we now have a near monopoly on ice, that is not made from magic. That means we can sell it cheaper than ice made by ice mages.¡± Auna gave a bright smile. ¡°The mountain village has great nooks of acres of viable land. Perfect for cabbage, barley and herbs. We now sell a variety of teas, make high quality cheap ale, and the meals in the dungeon have become more enjoyable.¡± ¡°We are trying not to eat the sheep or goats, as we have enough protein sources. We want to keep them more for milk, and fiber. They do sometimes attack the fields though, which the villagers laugh about often. Even though it is a cool, and harsh village the people there are mostly from wardite. As you know wardite has mountain ranges both in their north and south regions, with the baren problem on top of that makes them perfect for the village. They don¡¯t mind working hard, or in the cool to cold conditions.¡± ¡°I know we were worried about bringing in the refugees of Wardite. I think they are a great bunch, and are helping bring up our finances. They are also very skilled in a variety of subjects. When not busy they help with the school programs.¡± Jensen gave a nod as Auna continued. ¡°On the farm we have the school buildings for the young children to play, and learn. We have a school house for the older apprentice level children, more around our age well into mid twenties. We have a school building exclusively for adults to ¡®catch up¡¯ or learn new skills. In the same complex we have a town hall for the management and running of the dungeon. As you know we have the community centre that is used to hold events, like my birthday party over the weekend we had. Many in the community use it. We also have research buildings, and a few multi residential buildings to help with the crowding of villages.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°That and the storage areas take nearly 160 acres. Now that isn¡¯t too bad, we do have roughly 250 acres left on the farm, including the mushroom cave. Which the cave is so over grown with mushrooms, we can¡¯t sell them fast enough.¡± Falling back on her bed Auna sighed. ¡°Our food growing, and material making helps our people survive. What we sell brings in more seeds, tools, and materials we are not producing. This helps our people live. Now the school, and events this helps our people thrive. Though we are not fully at that point.¡± ¡°Living in the dungeon helps keep people relatively healthy, lowering their consumption needs as they live in a magic dense area. Many of our people even travel into the towns to work as apprentices, or other jobs. Our merchants travel as well. They all seem to have a fulfilling life. To give them that we take sixty-five percent of the dungeon profits the merchants bring back and put it back into the dungeon. Then I divide the left over among us eight. We all own it together.¡± ¡°The magic practice, the ambient magic leaked from us, the growing plants, the experiments, and the limits on killing the monsters and animals help keep the dungeon briming with magic. This helps our crops grow, and replenishes the natural resources. It also means we can¡¯t just strip everything at once. So, we make money more slowly.¡± ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Auna looked at Jensen who was on his elbow watching her in awe. ¡°I do, it takes a lot for small city to run, even more inside a dungeon. I also understand if you took Ciels¡¯ share of the money you would have made 200 gold this past year. You only need 180 gold steady income.¡± Jensen smiled as Auna groaned deeply. ¡°I won¡¯t take her share, even if I am technically her guardian.¡± Auna looked at the papers on her bed from her laying position. ¡°Say, how is the forest city thing going?¡± Jensen smiled moving on from the topic they had struggled with before. Some of their money was taken by the Merchants¡¯ guild when their people sold goods. However, it was all being sold under Ember Moon, which meant once Auna gave up that secret she would gain her freedom. They were very close to her having 180 gold herself in a year. Enough for school for two children, and a modest living. More if the king right fully counted Cielas¡¯ share into it as well. He would have to wait and see though. It was ridiculous to think a sixteen-year-old girl with very little political backing would be able to generate enough money for a family of four and to send two children to school. Though Auna would stand tall in a few years, properly free. ¡°You help me every second we have free.¡± Auna scolded. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°I like hearing you talk; besides I just do what I am told to and let you handle the big picture things.¡± ¡°It seems like that is how it always has been.¡± Auna spoke in a whisper. ¡°Yes, my moon. I will always refer to you. Besides you managed to get a 99% in the ranking test. I only got a 98 this year. Of course, I will refer to you.¡± Jensen winked and tugged her cheek. ¡°I think they made the test we took harder, I asked around and our questions were for sure not just different. They were much harder.¡± Auna slapped him gently for tugging her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, come on. Tell me about the grand city in the forest you are trying to build.¡± Jensen settling back onto his elbow. ¡°Well. I want to build a great big port city at the edge of the great monster forest. The forest is deep enough that we can create a port city with out anyone being able to enter it by the forest. It will be closed off from the other territories, only accessible by boat. Our people would take a short boat ride to one of the territories near us then travel deeper inland. It would mean another port in the canal made by the three islands. It would allow our merchants to move around less sneakily.¡± Auna sighed lulling her head to the side. ¡°Once the city becomes big enough, we would invest in a teleportation circle that connects with the capital. Though our dungeon people would still most likely use our moon doors. We would keep them as our inner circle. Some dungeon people would gladly live in the forest, though still have access. It should lessen the burden on the dungeon, and make our people thrive better. It would also help make sure the immune systems of our people aren¡¯t so fragile. I know our merchants bring back illness and such but I don¡¯t know if that is enough.¡± ¡°Once we are properly established, we will have achieved something no one has. We will have conquered a place so full of magic and monsters. A place deemed unfit for survival. A place that has taken over a thousand years to prune into what we call the great Monster Forest. It was once so grand it covered well into wardite, and even the islands. What would people think if we could live in more harmony with it? Instead of destroying it.¡± Auna paused to look at him with a smile. ¡°Yes. It is a grand plan. To live with the forest, to etch out just a small spot while allowing it to thrive. It would be a city more suited for adventures, retired fighters, and other strong people. But how are you going to build a city? Monsters would destroy it, and you don¡¯t have enough magic to make ancient runes at that scale. It nearly killed you to make the small area for the salt mining. And that was before you were so busy.¡± Jensen snickered as Auna rolled her eyes. ¡°We have begun building a wall. At the base of the wall, underground, in intervals are stones with ancient rune magic. A magic that is basically one hundred percent at keeping monsters, and predatory animals away. At the top of the walls visible to everyone in alternating intervals are modern runes.¡± ¡°The modern runes are less effective at keeping monsters away, though able to keep most predatorial animals away. They do help a bit though. The alchemist team have created a few different items in forms of mist producers, light emitters, and some other devices. All of these also help slightly ward off monsters of all levels.¡± ¡°Next on the inside of the wall dungeon flowers are being planted, not in the same places of the ancient runes below the ground. We have picked flowers that grow and bloom in the warm conditions. To keep them blooming all year a glass roof, and siding has been created to enclose the whole side of the wall. Workers will be in charge of monitoring the temperature, and water levels of them. A canal between the city streets and the flowers will be created.¡± ¡°To cross this canal and walk along the wall and flowers, one will need a pass that allows them to. There are modern security runes that create a magical barrier to keep people from touching the flowers.¡± ¡°The top of the wall will be walkable for guards to stand watch. They too will need a pass. The beach will have the wall but no flowers. The city entrance will be inside the forest and have a proper wall and gate. The beach will be considered outside of the main city, and possibly dangerous. Though ancient runes will protect the beach, we will have a double encased wall protecting the port. Though we all know most monsters don¡¯t leave the forest and roam the beach.¡± ¡°The boats we build will have ancient runes carved on the bottom to help keep sea monsters from attacking. The more normal modern runes will littler the more visible parts of the ships. You know I have managed to teach Nero the ancient runes, though it takes him much longer than myself. We have a few others learning as well.¡± ¡°Say, my moon. You never told me what that bracelet says.¡± Jensen asked as Auna stopped. ¡°Oh, right after we learned a few ancient runes in class my teacher gave me access to the library section meant for people specializing in rune magic. He said I could continue to use it, even though I am not majoring in runes, only magic with the runes¡¯ subset. Apparently, there is a whole major on runes both modern, and ancient though you need to be invited into that major. Maybe after, I¡¯ll take it in the scholars¡¯ school? Anyway, I learnt the bracelet said ¡®In moon we trust.¡¯¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Does the description say anything yet?¡± Jensen sat up taking her arm with him. ¡°Yes, it said ¡®An old bracelet from a saint of a dead religion.¡¯ Be gentler!¡± Auna half laughed, half screamed as Jensen pulled her up into a full sitting position. ¡°That is very neat. I can see why you wanted it. If anything, did you scam that guy by taking it for a few coppers?¡± Jensen smirked letting her go. He began picking up the papers on her bed. ¡°Ah, maybe?¡± Auna also started to clean up the papers. Her party would be starting soon. She had dressed in a light purple dress with black stars on it. She had on slip on shoes with the same pattern. Her mantle was a nearly see-through fabric of lighter purple. The clips that attached to her dress were black crescent moons. Her hair was down, with a small braid tied by a red ribbon. She still had her three-bell ribbon in as well. The red ribbon matched Jensens¡¯ eyes, they were getting closer by the day. ¡°Come on, we should head to the party.¡± Jensen reached out his hand to her. He wore a light blue suit, with red stars on it. His mantle was more solid, but still see-through, a light blue. His claps were red crescent moons. His hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, with pieces falling down to frame his face. He had a bright green ribbon, matching the eyes of his moon. Auna laughed as they took the moon door to the main building. A small corner of one of the halls in the arts study wing now had a beautiful door painted on it. No one had removed it as many students painted the walls in expression here. It was so beautiful no one felt the urge to cover it up. ¡°Happy fourteenth birthday!¡± Everyone in the event room yelled at once. There were people from her grade, and below. Some from above her grade had joined as well. Auna and her friends might have been known as the crazy kids, they were also known as the crazy smart kids. They often helped the older children who were taking classes they had completed, or were currently in. This made the crazy kids well liked, even if they were a bit avoided outside of study groups. ¡°Thank you everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful time.¡± Auna paused for a second looking around. ¡°I also hope to see everyone who was supposed to be at tonights¡¯ study group tomorrow.¡± This caused some groans, laughs, and whines from the crowd. ¡°Oh sister, you are very hard on people.¡± Seth pulled her into his arms, he was now much taller than her, easily picking her up to swing around. Their relationship had only improved. ¡°Yes, brother. If I am not hard on them, they will fall behind!¡± Auna giggled as he spun them, making her dress and mantle flow like a beautiful river. ¡°Well said.¡± A teacher known for his harshness gave her a gentle nod as handed her a gift. ¡°This is from the teachers.¡± Students usually got a gift from the teachers left in their rooms on their birthdays. They were children away from home, often it was a simple gift the parents had confirmed their child would like. ¡°Thank you, Sir.¡± Auna took it from him, as Seth put her back down. ¡°Sir, usually we do presents at the end.¡± Seth scolded the harsh teacher without worry. He had become more confident and assertive. He had stop relying on his name as his father had not seen him in over two years now. ¡°I know, though I wish to see her open this one. I am leaving soon, papers to grade.¡± The teacher gave an expected look. ¡°Alright, Alright I understand. Auna you should open it.¡± Seth motioned for her to go to the middle of the room. The others all formed a semi-circle to watch. ¡°Okay.¡± With a smile Auna carefully pulled the ribbon tying the box together. Inside was a simple looking book with runes carved into it. Reading the runes made her aware this book would never run out of pages, saving the information internally into the runes. It also made it possible to hide information as well. In normal writing ¡°AunaLunas¡¯ Private Journal¡± had been embroidered with threads of different colours resembling a galaxy. The book had a slot for a writing tool on the spine. It held a carved wooden stick held together with twine; a graphite centre was already rubbing off on her hands. It looked like the centre could be replaced. ¡°It is beautiful, thank you.¡± Auna teared up slightly. The book itself was a normal leather-bound journal with blank pages. Without knowing what runes meant it would appear like nothing special. Identifying further would reveal the leather was from a bore. One of the first known creatures she had killed. It was obvious the Bloodwaves, or perhaps the Gary couple had told the teachers of this. ¡°We are happy to see how much you like the gift.¡± The harsh teacher gave her face a wipe with a soft cloth. She had let a few tears fall down her face. ¡°Ah, Sorry. It¡¯s just such a well thought out gift. I am happy.¡± Auna meant every word, the journal was perfect for her. She had recently thought about making Nero something similar, though she had failed a few times. She just couldn¡¯t get the right combination of runes. Now she would be able to. So, you like it because you can make something for Nero? Mr. Voice asked. I suppose partly that is the reason, however, it is also well thought out and meaningful. I don¡¯t get many things like that in any life. Auna thought back, which satisfied the answer. ¡°Come, let¡¯s dance!¡± Jensen carefully took the box handing it to a triplet. He then pulled Auna close as the music started, they began the waltz from their old world. As usual it looked wild, yet controlled as they moved gracefully with their mantles flowing. Soon others joined. ¡°Chloe! Come dance!¡± Mateo chased down the young lady as she shook her head no. She was not the best dancer, though with some persistence he did get her on the dance floor. She stepped on his foot at least four times before they went to mingle instead. ¡°It¡¯s so good!¡± A few girls were squealing about how good the cake tasted. It was something similar to a strawberry, chocolate cake with hints of banana. Though the fruits were not the same from her old world. ¡°You boys really are excellent cooks, and bakers.¡± Auna winked at the triplets. ¡°Thank you. We have worked hard on our house keeping skills.¡± Bruno smiled. ¡°You really don¡¯t want to run your own house? Content to just live under someone else? Isn¡¯t Lord Pearl also isn¡¯t able to run his family. So, what is your actual plan?¡± An older girl asked. ¡°Oh? We will stay by Aunas¡¯ side. Just like how the rest of our group will. Sure, right now she doesn¡¯t run a family line, and maybe she never will. I do know that she will be highly powerful, and successful. Maybe we will wander as a well-known adventuring party, or a merchant group. Maybe she will rise to enough power that she is granted a noble line of her own. We might even leave this nation for good someday and settle down in a nation that grants her said line. Even if we all just live simple lives as commoners, I would be content to follow. She doesn¡¯t know how to cook at all so us three will most likely be in charge of meals.¡± Diego was bold in his declarations. ¡°I might be sold to the church though.¡± Auna pointed out. ¡°Only for like what ten years? Then you will be free anyway. So, we will follow you to the church until you are free.¡± Diego countered. ¡°I¡¯d rather not bring you all down that way.¡± Auna gave him a cheeky smile. ¡°Nonsense, you are not being sold. It is just a deal to have you as our ward.¡± A religion teacher repeated again. Over the years the religion teachers and the other religious figures had to constantly repeat that line. Others had even begun to see the church as trying to go around the no slaves¡¯ rule of the kingdom. Other nations allowed slave sales, which the church partook in, making them look even worse. ¡°Yes teacher.¡± Auna said in a monotone voice. Not for a second do I agree with that bullshit, if they take me, I won¡¯t ever be free again. Auna thought full of malice. After cake she opened gifts, most were interesting books of varying subjects. Some were different feather pens, and other tools. She even got a rune carving kit. Jensen was last. He handed her a plain looking box. ¡°My moon. Do you like it?¡± Jensen was grinning like a fool. He had given Auna something truly odd. It was a simple cast iron like metal chain, it then changed to small eight-pointed stars with small purple stones in the centres. In the middle of the item was a hanging crescent moon carved of a white gem, inset into a silver metal holder. The white gem had deep red veins in it, most likely from Jensen when making it. Auna immediately recognized the item as a band for her head, she placed it there moving her hair to cover it. Her ears would help hold it, though it was a perfect fit as it wouldn¡¯t slide down more. The moon hung right between her eyes. ¡°I love it, you did an amazing job.¡± Auna threw herself into his arms giving him a huge hug. Everyone started praising the boy for such a pretty gift. Some even recognized that he had made it himself during his crafting lessons. He was in different metal working lessons while Auna took her history classes. He had had no interest in history lessons, having taken the basics and some advance while at home. During the third year his classes were slightly different, taking all the same only when they were not rune or history-based electives. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡ª¡± Jensen started and was interrupted by a loud boom. ¡°The perimeter has been breeched!¡± A man came running inside the event room. ¡°Again?¡± The history teacher sighed. ¡°Just head to the dorm room belonging to A, Jade as usual. I am sure the intruders are there.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The man, a patrol officer left. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Auna said unwrapping herself from Jensen. ¡°No, really it¡¯s fine. Just¡ª¡± The history teacher was interrupted. ¡°There you are!¡± A masked person with three others were covering the door now. ¡°Come with us quietly or die here.¡± Another of the masked people spoke from behind the first as they slinked into the room. ¡°These attempts on my life are becoming boring, and predictable.¡± Auna dusted herself off, making a slow show of getting up. She didn¡¯t need to unpack her weapon, or her friends. They were old enough now that they were allowed to carry their weapons openly. ¡°Okay everyone not in my party head to the back corner. That includes the twins, Seth and Josh. Teachers please secure the students, let us handle this. Ciela it is your choice, fight or go to the teachers?¡± Auna gave the youngest one a choice in battles like these. ¡°I¡¯ll fight.¡± The little farmer got herself ready. ¡°A, Jade you are a student as well, fall behind.¡± A teacher tried to tell them. Though the teachers still followed orders and made no more of a move to keep the children from fighting. ¡°A cocky child for sure.¡± The first masked person rushed the children, Jensen easily throwing them with his shield. Next all four came running at the two front runners. Jensen and Auna kept them occupied while more masked people came rushing in. The late commers were met by Chloes¡¯ mad thirst for blood, the teachers, and the triplets. Ciela and Meredith kept their support magic aiding the teachers in protecting the other children. They also used ranged attacks. Meredith summoned her tamed monsters that had been left in the room, and the monster barn. She had learnt this trick in her classes, now she could treat her tamed monsters as summons. She was still not great in the ability to purely summon monsters yet though. The event hall became very crowded, with no one really being able to evacuate. The masked people rushing in were followed by the guards, and patrol officers of the school. A few other teachers not apart of the celebration also came to help. The mask people were now trapped. ¡°Ha! You trapped yourselves!¡± Diego the ever-cocky guy sang as he killed a masked person. ¡°I think it is time to retreat boss!¡± Another masked person yelled. ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± The original masked leader shouted. ¡°My moon, are you blocking any space magic?¡± Jensen asked as they stood back-to-back. There were easily over fifty masked people in the event room. The huddled students, and teachers in one area were fending off a group with the aid of Aunas¡¯ party. ¡°Yup. They keep trying to teleport, either out or to bring more in.¡± Auna shrugged. Her Space magic was still in the beginner class Sage Survivalist, she had worked it into the highest level for beginner ¨C Advanced Space magic. When her job grew it would be knocked back to basic. ¡°What?¡± One masked person stopped moving, having a rapier plunged deeply into their chest. It was not surprising they had such a reaction. Usually at a beginner job, advanced space magic could let you feel when others activated their own space magic. However, usually it took a job level of thirty-seven(common) with advance space magic, or higher (Expert) with intermediate space magic. It was unheard of to be able to disrupt someones¡¯ space magic when such low leveled, or appearing low leveled. ¡°What, teleport magic is my thing.¡± Auna shrugged slashing the chest of another. She was not lying though; her moon doors gave her a unique insight into teleportation magic. This insight allowed her to disrupt other teleportation magic near her. Though that was about it, any other space magic was not disreputable for her. It also costs an outrageous amount of magic to disrupt teleportation. With the four hundred eighty points into her mana her mana reserves were more than enough. Auna and her friends had been a bit upset when they got the same reward twice from their dungeon clearing. They all had over four hundred status points in mana. With fifteen units of mana per status point Auna had over seven thousand mana units in her reserve. She was not at risk of running out, especially since her intelligence was at sixty-five. That meant she would regenerate one hundredth per status point in intelligence. She would regenerate three hundred ninety per minute. More than enough given her big pool of mana. ¡°This is fucking ridiculous, sir we need to give up this job!¡± A masked person screamed as they punched a hole into the outer wall. ¡°I agree, retreat.¡± At the words of the original leader the ten or so masked people left through the hole. The school guards followed them while the patrol people came to check on the children. ¡°It doesn¡¯t appear like anyone is hurt.¡± The teachers led everyone but the nine left. Edgar was apart of their dorms now, so he would be escorted as well. ¡°It appears none of you children are overly injured either. We shall escort you to your dorms. There are no more intruders on campus.¡± A kind looking guard helped the children pack themselves up, ready to leave the event room. The room was in shambles now, many had screamed in fear and soiled themselves. It couldn¡¯t be helped most had only been in mock battles, or low leveled monsters in dungeons. They were not ready to really face their deaths. ¡°We are alright, how is everyone else?¡± Auna asked as they walked to their dorms. ¡°The intruders managed to do some damage. Not more than we could handle though. They seemed to invade the main campus only. They did not try to get into the dorms this time though, so that is a good thing.¡± The man forced a smile. The last time intruders came to kill her, they had to sleep in a different dorm room for a few weeks. Their room had been covered in poison magic, which had been contained, taking time to disperse. ¡°I suppose so. I am sorry though.¡± Auna said after a pause. ¡°There is no reason to blame you. You have not done anything to warrant such aggression and assignation attempts. Please do not feel responsible for others attempts at your life. We will handle the fools.¡± He gritted his teeth before patting her head softly. ¡°You children are very vicious.¡± He grinned with a smirk. ¡°We need to be, to survive.¡± Auna was serious, she was only met with an odd grunt. They were tucked in bed after some showers. The boys had slipped into their room. After an attack they usually did. Auna slept with Ciela. Meredith and Chloe slept together. The triplets slept in the third bed, and Edgar slept beside Jensen in the final bed. Auna would sleep in her own bed, while Chloe climbed into Merediths¡¯. Jensen took Cielas¡¯, and the triplets would take Chloes¡¯. Although there were guards at the dorms, they never opened the doors anymore. The attacks were becoming way too frequent, even the king himself had suffered a few attempts on his life. The king laughed them off to the public but the few times he and Auna had met he seemed worried. The king had started to visit nearly every two weeks. In these meeting they spoke about hypothetical issues, and plans. Auna had an inkling they were tests of some kind. Chapter 58: Loyalty ¡°Auna! Where are you! We need to get to class!¡± Jensen was seen calling out as he quickly searched the halls of the campus. This was a common sight; they played hide and seek often now. ¡°You really are not great at this are you?¡± A random boy laughed as he stopped to help Jensen search an empty classroom. ¡°Well, she does have a skill that lets her know who is around, friend or foe. So, I would say she is just too good at it, not that I am not.¡± Jensen sighed deeply as their search came up empty. ¡°I heard many merchants have a skill like that, even hunters need it. Why don¡¯t you have it yet? It would make your games easier.¡± The boy followed him to another room to search. The whole campus would stop, when available to, helping the group play their games. Even teachers found looking for Auna hard. Their other games were easier, attracting even more to join the fun. ¡°I have tried, I just don¡¯t seem to be built for it.¡± Jensen shrugged. He knew he would never learn a skill that allowed him to know were anything but monsters¡¯ locations. He was unsure why, even in other worlds he did not have a great sense for knowing when others were nearby. Only knowing when animals, or threats had closed in. Auna on the other hand always seemed to know who and what was around her. Even if it posed no threat to her, she would know something was nearby. It made hunting in their last world easier for her. ¡°Maybe she already went to the class?¡± The random boy asked as they searched yet another area. ¡°No, the rules were with in the art wing.¡± Jensen stated as they rounded the corner. ¡°Oh, have you not searched all the rooms yet?¡± The random boy laughed as he caught Auna walking up behind them. ¡°How did we miss you?¡± ¡°Auna!¡± Jensen ran up to her giving her a hug. ¡°You looked in the room I was in together. I guess you two were distracted talking?¡± I can¡¯t help but smirk at them. I was hidden inside the teachers¡¯ podium. They passed me groaning about how hard it was to find me. It was pretty funny. Mr. Voice backed me up for once. ¡°I see, we tried at least. Thank you for playing.¡± Jensen gave the sighing boy a pat on the back. ¡°We better be off to class.¡± The two walked to their last classes before spring break would start. By the end of next month, the king would hold his famous end of spring Yarren party. After that the children planned to spend the next two months in their dungeon. ¡°Say Auna are you worried?¡± Seth was in the same history class as her. They were done the assignment packing up. ¡°About?¡± Auna asked with a sigh. ¡°You need to be more specific.¡± ¡°The Yarren party. The king has increased the amount needed for your freedom the last two years. All because the church keeps saying it isn¡¯t a proper amount, that it is too easily obtained. Are you really not worried they won¡¯t convince him to do it again?¡± Seth gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be raised any more. The king has said I need to make the average income of a family of four, and the amount to send both myself and Ciela to school. That is the same as the wealthiest commoners and low nobles. Many lower nobles don¡¯t even make one Palladium and eight Platinum with their own merits. They have to use their lands. If the church pushes for any more, people will look very poorly on them.¡± Auna led them to the study hall, the last time they would have a study group this semester. ¡°Why would it look poorly on them?¡± Seth asked as they sat down at the table. They had arrived first. ¡°It is simple. The lower nobles, and high-end commoners will be looked down on as it is. How can a little girl of sixteen make more than a small noble house? They have to limit the amount I need to make to keep it just below that. They need to save face. Right now, the king is toeing the line the lower nobles will handle.¡± Auna explained as she pulled out some test sheets Nero made. ¡°Basically, if the church pushes for you to make more the king can easily say no. Any higher and it would be the same as asking you to make the same as low noble houses. That would really be an outrageous ask of a sixteen-year-old.¡± Josh snickered as he sat down. He had heard the end of the conversation. It was obvious that Josh had figured it out before Seth. ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart ass.¡± Seth groaned lightly punching Josh. Josh had a different class section than Seth and Aunas¡¯. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Perhaps if you weren¡¯t such a dumbass.¡± Josh punched him back lightly. ¡°Now, now kittens don¡¯t fight.¡± The Jade twins came next, sitting down. ¡°Okay, we should do our last study session.¡± Auna waited until everyone was seated before cutting off their chatting. ¡°Wait before that! Who is going to be in your party for the hunting festival?¡± Marell asked. ¡°Oh. Sam.¡± Auna then tried to continue onto the studying, Marell would not let them. ¡°Who is this, Sam? Why don¡¯t one of us get priority?¡± Marell shrieked. ¡°He is a young boy we met a few years ago at the festival. The one my dad took home.¡± Jensen butted in, making sure everyone remembered the cover story. In truth the boy Sam, Sambor, lived in Ember Moon. ¡°Oh. Still, why not one of us? We have wanted to team up, and next year we will be in the older group.¡± Marell was now pouting. ¡°I understand, however, he had dibs. Also, you have a team you have been competing with since you could compete. Why do you want to change?¡± Auna questioned. ¡°Well, we are never in the top ten. It was why dad had us train with you guys.¡± Marell continued to pout. ¡°Then work harder. Changing your team can be counter productive. You should try to stay with a team for as long as you can. Learning how to work well together takes time. Remember the first few times we competed with Seth? He struggled to keep up, so we had to slow down. If we didn¡¯t there would have been serious consequences.¡± Auna lectured. ¡°I guess. I am still bummed though.¡± Marell relented and let them carry on with studying. ¡°Auna, the head seamstress really wants to make you a dress for the kings¡¯ party. Even asked Jensen if she could make his outfit. She is making mine, and Cielas¡¯. Edgar is going as well, though his dad is bringing him an outfit from home. The church is hosting Lord Poe for the month, he should already be here. Edgar, are you excited?¡± Chloe asked, as this year she and her family were staying at the Pearl villa. She had been invited due to her school effort, and knowing Auna. ¡°I am very excited. I don¡¯t see dad as much as I want to. I know I can¡¯t tell him about the dungeon, but I do enjoy telling him about everything else.¡± Edgar answered from the bed he shared with Jensen. They were all sleeping together for the final day of classes. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with her tomorrow. She can make our outfits. She has been bugging me about it, wanting to match my head band. Also, something about looking too young for the mature lady I am. I am not sure. Either way.¡± Auna gave a shrug. ¡°Good, she has been bugging me. Said she asked and never got an answer.¡± Chloe yawned, turning over. They would not be getting anymore conversation from her. The next day they said their goodbyes to Meredith and Edgar before heading to the Pearl villa. They would meet again at the party. Auna would not put a door in the church, and Meredith had some at home things needing done. ¡°So, we have a month nearly. What do we want to do?¡± Chloe asked at the dinner table. Her family were struggling with being in a nobles¡¯ house. Only her parents, her twenty-five-year-old sister, and her twenty-two-year-old brother. The rest had stayed home, her parents worried they would be too much for such a noble event. ¡°Well, we have the fittings for our outfits. I thought we could also give your family a tour of the capital.¡± Auna paused to look at Rosa and Charlie, Chloes¡¯ siblings. ¡°Do you two have anything you want to do?¡± ¡°Oh, Lady Jade you don¡¯t have to.¡± Rosa was the first to decline. ¡°I am Auna. Not a Jade.¡± Sighing I soften my tone I try again. ¡°You are the siblings of Chloe. I want to get to know you. I think Jensens¡¯ parents would also like to get to know your parents. So, we should all head out. We children should all go.¡± ¡°I understand the Pearls have two young children, and two older than you but also younger. Who is going to care for everyone? I watch my younger siblings all the time, wouldn¡¯t staying here with the adults be better for me and Charlie? We are adults.¡± Rosa spoke with more attitude than before. ¡°Rosa!¡± Chloes¡¯ Mother scolded her daughter. ¡°Stay here, I really don¡¯t mind. Also, I don¡¯t know you. Why would I trust you to look after Aku, and Gemma? That is a bit pompous of you to think we would.¡± I gave her my sweetest smile. ¡°Stay here with your husband, he looks so happy that you declined a tour of the capital.¡± ¡°Auna, can we tone it back a bit?¡± Seni asked with a scolding look. ¡°And Rosa, if you want to stay here you can. Just know, for your own protection, you are not permitted to leave without proper personal with you.¡± ¡°Proper personal includes a fourteen-year-old child?¡± Rosa asked rolling her eyes. ¡°I get my sister is some genius and her friends are too, but I am an adult I can take care of myself.¡± ¡°I for one would love a tour with you all.¡± Charlie interrupted Rosa. ¡°As for my sister she is just upset because she was the star, precious girl in our family before Chloe got accepted into the capital school. She should get over it.¡± ¡°Really Charlie? At least I have a husband. You are still living at home with our parents.¡± Rosa, very childishly, stuck out her tongue. ¡°Children. We are in the home of the Pearl!¡± Chloes¡¯ father raised his voice at his two children. ¡°It is okay. We understand! Gorge and I were hailed as geniuses! Out parents couldn¡¯t stop talking about us. Then Jensen, Diego, Mateo, and Bruno began to make waves. Now we look almost stupid next to our little brothers. Even Gemma is showing signs of being another over achiever, I think Aku is a strong positive influence.¡± Joseph, the older brother of Jensen by three years, spoke up. ¡°Yes, it can be frustrating for a child to go through that.¡± Seni gave a knowing look to her oldest son. ¡°However, no loving parents love one child over the other. There are no worries, Rosas¡¯ behaviour is fine for such a meal. Though I must warn you such behaviour is frowned on at events like the kings party we will be attending.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Rosa backed down. ¡°Anyway. Auna take some guards with you on your outing.¡± Seni motioned for a maid to come over. ¡°Please arrange some guards, and make sure to pull our best. These kids get in too much trouble.¡± ¡°I find that offensive.¡± Auna grinned widely. ¡°Even if it is the truth.¡± Couldn¡¯t help but add that? Mr. Voice spoke in her head. She ignored the voice. The rest of dinner went well. The next weeks were spent relaxing, and playing games. The tension from the dinner soon dissipated as everyone settled. They would be spending an entire month at the villa. It was easier to have them there early enough to get quick lessons of noble party rules. They even went on a few tours of the capital. Though they did not have too much fun as Rosa complained the entire time there were too many people. ¡°Chloe, darling we want to go with you to the seamstress.¡± Chloes¡¯ mother asked a dinner a few days before the party would happen. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think that would be possible.¡± Chloe looked to Auna worried. ¡°Why not? You children have gone twice a week this entire month. Surely it is safe enough for us to come.¡± Her mother pressed. ¡°Why not have the seamstress come here to do the last fittings?¡± Seni offered. ¡°Sure, I can arrange that.¡± Auna nodded before thinking. ¡°Why would you arrange it?¡± Rosa asked confused. ¡°Because I can? Why bother the Duke, and Duchess with such a simple task?¡± Auna countered. Seriously I am so over this girls¡¯ attitude. She thought exhausted. ¡°No need to be so rude, I was just confused why a small girl would be able to arrange that.¡± Rosa shrugged with a smirk. ¡°Now, now. Everyone calm down. We will have the seamstress come here.¡± Nick put an end to the conversation. ¡°She is here, Jensen!¡± Auna called through the villa. She had picked up Lacey their seamstress from the dungeon a few minutes ago. She had made sure to do it while everyone was distracted so they wouldn¡¯t question how they missed her arrival. Her name was given to her by Auna. She was one of the slaves they had saved, she was fifteen and unnamed. She already had the seamstress job, so Auna gave her a name she thought was good for her. Her naming sense was not great. Still Lacey loved her name, her home, and Auna. She was very loyal.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Who are you yelling about?¡± Rosa asked, they had just woken up and were heading down for breakfast. ¡°Lacey, the seamstress is here. She wants Jensen, myself, Ciela, and Chloe to get dressed. The triplets are already dressing. Aku is also already being fitted.¡± Auna walked towards the rooms Lacey had been set up in. ¡°Mom! Chloe is getting in her dress!¡± Rosa yelled. ¡°Dress?¡± Auna asked as they closed in on the rooms. Rosa ignored her. ¡°Auna! Get dressed! We have so little time!¡± Lacey pulled Auna into a room with a ¡®girls¡¯ sign stuck to it. ¡°Wow, you look lovely.¡± Seni said as Gemma walked out first. Now everyone was here. The Pearls, and Chloes¡¯ family. All the siblings, who had also decided to get into their party clothes. They decided to start with the youngest. Little Gemma had on a light pink dress, with off white flower designs. It reached just below her knees. She had on soft slip-on shoes with pink ribbons. Her hair was tied with a pink bow with a small silver bell. She wore a few items of Pearl jewelry, also pink. Her favourite colour was pink. Everyone cooed at the small girl. Next Aku came out wearing an outfit similar to a dress. It was a long thing white shirt with a low cut. Over top of it, square piece of red fabric tied at the waste with a green rope. At the end of the rope was a silver bell. He was really into bells, even started working with a crafts man to make them. He had on white sandals laced by small white rope. It looked like something ancient people in Aunas¡¯ old world wore. Apparently ancient people of this world wore something similar. ¡°What kind of outfit is that?¡± Rosa laughed, making Aku tear up. ¡°Back off.¡± Seni scolded in a serious tone which made every one quiet down. ¡°Aku, I am sure Auna is going to love it, comer here. Don¡¯t cry love.¡± Seni held the small boy in her arms. Ciela came out next, her outfit had a few pins in it for last minute adjusting. Her dress was deep forest green. It had silver leaf patterns embroidered from the bottom hem to half way up the dress. Her shoes matched. She had silver items of jewelry which included a bell around her neck. Her hair had a silver leaf headband holding her bright blue hair back. Everyone cooed at her as well. Next was Chloe. She wore black leather shoes and pants. Her top was also a long one that reached just above her knees. It was a warm brown with a turtle neck, and three quarter sleaves. She had a black leather belt across her mid section. The buckle was a large silver one with a pretty design carved into it. She wore her hair half up with a silver rope which also had a silver bell. ¡°No. You are not going to the kings party in pants, you are a girl!¡± Chloes¡¯ mother jumped up in protest. ¡°Mom, I am known for my combat and intelligence. I don¡¯t like dresses. Not all women have dresses on.¡± Chloe protested. ¡°She is not wrong, many women at the party wear pants.¡± Nick shrugged. ¡°Personally, I think suits you. You look very nice.¡± ¡°I am her mother.¡± Chloes¡¯ mother turned to the seamstress. ¡°How dare you dress her like that? A child of your age should have a master you work under. Bring her here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a master. My craft is my own. Chloe looks good, more importantly she feels good. Besides I was under the impression the king invited Chloe, not you. Aren¡¯t you being brought to the party by the Pearl house?¡± Lacey stood her ground, even standing in front of Chloe. ¡°How dare you!¡± Lacey was grabbed by Rosa. Auna immediately walked out and kicked her in the back of the knee. She let go of Lacey as she fell. ¡°Don¡¯t touch her again. I will break your bones.¡± Auna then patted Chloe on her shoulder. ¡°You look like you. It is perfect.¡± ¡°I agree, children should not be confided by our rules.¡± Seni smiled. Everyone settled down. ¡°My moon, you look amazing.¡± Jensen smiled as he grabbed her hand to twirl her around, causing a few giggles. Auna and Jensen were matching. Auna had a black dress with a side slit from her ankle to her knee. The dress sparkled with blues, purples, silvers, and reds, like a galaxy. The collar was a low bertha one made of lace. It had thin black mesh sleaves that covered her hands partly. Her shoes were solid black open toes with laces up her calf. She wore her normal mana stone necklace, her moon bracelet, her three-bell ribbon hung in her down hair, and her forehead band. Her ankle now had a new small band with a silver bell. She was not wearing a mantle as it had been rainy and overcast for weeks. A bit rainy for the end of the season, though not too uncommon. Jensen wore a light black suit that also sparkled in the same way. He wore light slip-on shoes. His hair had a silver backward head band. It held leaf charms and a silver bell. Around his neck he wore a mana crystal that was white, blue, and red. It had been carved into the same shape as Aunas¡¯. He had found it over the summer on the beach. It like Aunas¡¯ seemed to be made for him. His shirt was a dark grey, with black spots. ¡°You two look breath taking!¡± Seni smiled happily. Everyone complimented the two. Next came out the brothers Gorge, and Joseph. They both wore white suits that seemed to sparkle. Their father and mother matched them as well. They all looked very noble. They all also had small silver bells included. The boys wore an earing each, Nick fastened one to his breast pocket, and Seni wore a necklace. They even had matching slip-on shoes that sparkled. The triplets came out in pink suites matching Gemma. Though their suits had purple flowers on the ends of the jacket sleaves, and collar. Their shirts were off white. Like Nick they had silver bells on the breast pockets. Chloes¡¯ father, her sisters¡¯ husband, and brother wore light brown suits with black shoes. Her mother and sister had light yellow dresses with flowers on them, closed toe shoes. They had modest jewelry. It was obvious they were not nobles, though there were other commoners that attended the party. It would be okay. ¡°Can I ask why you all have silver bells?¡± Charlie asked with a goofy grin. ¡°Aku helped make them all for us. He wanted us to all match.¡± Auna pulled the small boy into a hug. As far as everyone knew Aku was an adopted child of Pearl. Though once Auna was free, he would one day become her child. He had been such a good child, even if he had an odd obsession with bells. She loved him deeply. He had even made bells for Meredith, Edgar, and Edgars¡¯ father. Though he didn¡¯t know Lord Poe, Edgar had said he would love one. They didn¡¯t want to be too friendly to the Bloodwave family considering they were still trying to pressure her. Even though the king told them to back off. Soon the party day came. They were all dressed well, loaded into carriages. They had to leave their tamed pets at home. It was not common to bring them to parties, only festivals, or some noble parties. The Bloodwave parties of all kinds were often known to allow tamed pets. This was because they were known for it, a few other nobles as well had an open-door policy. They all had to wear shoes as the muddy ground was unpleasant to walk in without them. Though they usually didn¡¯t mind, it would be very feral of them. ¡°Okay let me help you down.¡± Nick gently pulled Auna out of the carriage last. The steps were very slippery as it was lightly raining. ¡°This way please, the party has been moved to inside.¡± An attendant welcomed them inside to the party. ¡°That seems reasonable.¡± Nick smiled taking the hand of Seni. They then entered a huge ballroom. Many people were already there. Lord Poe found them easily, as Edgar pulled him toward them. ¡°Auna! Ciela! Jensen!¡± Edgar came puffing as he yelled the rest of their names. He also gave them all big hugs. ¡°It has only been a month dear.¡± Auna pulled him back into a tighter hug giving him a kiss on the crown of his head. Edgar and Lord Poe matched. They wore blood red suits with black shoes, ties, and undershirts. They also both had the silver bells strung on simple bands around their necks. Other than that Edgar only had their family ring as jewelry. His father had the family ring, and his wedding band. His mother was sick, so only his father was here. Apparently, his mother had been sick since his birth. His father had bright blue eyes, and blood hair. It was apparent Edgar got his mothers looks. ¡°You are very kind to my boy. Thank you.¡± Lord Poe put his hand out for a hand shake. Auna just looked at it. ¡°Is a hand shake not common here?¡± He asked Nick. ¡°They are.¡± Nick took his still offered hand. ¡°Auna is just a bit odd. She is still accessing you. Once she is comfortable, she will shake your hand. Until then, she will not let you touch her.¡± Nick shrugged guiding everyone deeper into the hall. ¡°So, I hear you are staying at the church how is that?¡± Auna asked after a while. ¡°It is. Interesting.¡± Lord Poe answered. ¡°Hmm.¡± Auna nodded looking towards the crowd. She noticed the king take the throne at the end of the room. It was not his actual throne; the garden throne had been brought inside. There was also a small stage that was set up to host it. His children were all sat off to the sides as usual. ¡°Did I pass?¡± Lord Poe asked but Auna was already moving to the stage. ¡°Don¡¯t, she needs to see the king first.¡± Nick put his hand on Lord Poes¡¯ shoulder. Auna could hear him explain about the deal. ¡°A, Jade. Please do come here.¡± The kings booming voice easily covered the hall. Everyone stopped to watch the king. He had now sat down as Auna made her way to stand in front of him. As usual she started by looking at him, with her back to the people. ¡°You look very lovely. Have you reached the goal of bringing in a yearly income of one palladium, and eight platinum coins? Which equals one hundred eighty gold a year.¡± The kings voice still carried over the whole hall. ¡°No, my King.¡± Aunas¡¯ voice was not as loud, but could be heard in the quiet hall. ¡°I see, stand beside me child.¡± The king motioned for her to stand to the side of his throne. It was a usual occurrence as well. She would be standing there until everyone was satisfied with their ogling. ¡°Does anyone have anything they wish to say?¡± The king asked as he settled more comfortably into his throne. ¡°How are the studies going?¡± A noble asked smiling softly in Aunas¡¯ direction. Beside him stood a boy she knew from her classes. ¡°She is top of the school right now. Though younger her scores are higher than her seniors. Anything else to say on the subject?¡± The king looked to Auna. ¡°I still have many lessons from my teachers, and senior classmates to learn.¡± Auna gave a small nod to signal she was done talking. ¡°I heard you are teaming up with the boy Lord Pearl pick up from the festival a few years ago this year. Why is he not here?¡± Another noble asked. The king looked to Auna, not knowing anything about it. ¡°Sambor was unwell today. He stayed at the Pearl residence. Yes, he will be on our team.¡± Again, she nodded. ¡°King, we the church think the amount should be raised again.¡± The saint looked at the king with a lovely smile. Auna felt a bit sick even though she knew they would ask. ¡°Request denied.¡± The king said simply opening the floor again. ¡°King Jules. We, the church, have documents here showing the increased costs for the school and other things. Please reconsider.¡± The saint asked again. ¡°Request denied. I should not have to explain myself. However, an act of good will I will explain. Currently we have a goal which we have moved twice now set for A, Jade. Not only have I already gone back on our original deal twice, to which she did not complain once, I have broken my word by doing so for the church. I will not break my word again. Next, the amount needed is already over the average of a family of four in my kingdom. I should not have to explain why this is enough, perhaps in the gods land the average person is much richer?¡± The king asked with a blank face. Auna felt relief. She was happy as she did not want the goal to continue to move. The kings¡¯ words basically were suggesting the church were greedy, their people richer than average. ¡°I understand King Jules. I will not press the issue. Perhaps we miss understood the current financial situation of the kingdom.¡± The sly words from the saint had the king stand up. ¡°Do not insult my people.¡± The king spoke simply, while others nodded with him. The ire of the kingdoms people now firmly on the church representatives. ¡°Is there anything else? Or may we get back to the party?¡± Auna was released from her position on the stage. She walked back to her people with eyes still on her. It took a few hours before no one was looking at her anymore. Some still gossiped about her, the church, and the deal. With two years left they were seriously now betting on who would essentially win. ¡°A, Jade. Come here!¡± The king called out to her after she had been dancing with Jensen for a while. ¡°Yes, my king?¡± Auna asked as she was close to the group the king was with. Lord Wardite was included. ¡°Lord Wardite here has some issues with baren soils in his lands. I know Ciela, the little farmer, has some ideas on how to fix baren soils. Do you think she would like to take on the project? It would count as extra credit; I was thinking the rest of summer break?¡± The king asked nicely. ¡°King, why are we asking the child? Is the other child also not under your wardship?¡± Wardite asked in a condescending tone. ¡°The little farmer will not listen to a word I say. I have asked her a few times. She has said only if her big sister asks. I can not physically make her.¡± The king said as Ciela came over to hand Auna a cookie. ¡°Ciela, would you like to try and fix the baren soils on our school breaks?¡± Auna asked taking the cookie. ¡°I think it would be fun, can I ask Rowen to help?¡± Ciela looked into Aunas eyes with a shinning hope. She really wanted to try. Though she did not want to without approval from Auna. ¡°Alright Ciela will be helping then.¡± Auna gave the little farmer a pat on her head, the little farmer then walked away into the crowd. ¡°Okay, then I guess we should talk about it?¡± Wardite sighed deeply. ¡°Should we try to catch up to her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring her back.¡± Auna gave a small giggle, turning around. Her back towards the king, she a few steps away now. Lethal attack aimed at the king, five, four ¨CAuna sprung into action as Mr. Voice did as asked. He warned her that someone she cared about was about to be hurt, lethally. Even though it would be potentially harmful to Auna. The king seemed unaware as Auna jumped between him and the direction of the attack. The faces of the people around them did not even have a chance to register confusion at this. She used her wings, and arms crossed in an X over her chest. Auna thought that would block the attack enough. She was wrong. It seemed like slow motion to everyone. They watched the small fairy born blur into action. She was in front of the king when a projectile surrounded by dense dark yellow magic flew through the air. Small lightening strikes falling off of it easily indicated the yellow magic was lightening based. Unfortunately, the projectile bore a hole through both of her wings, the lightening magic paralyzing her, causing burns everywhere. The projectile then passed through one wrist, embedding itself into the other. The pressure of the impact broke her ribs, collarbone, and cracked her jaw. Her lung slowly began to collapse, having been punctured. Time seemed to come back into view for most people once Auna slammed into the kings¡¯ chest. He caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground. Everyone screamed and ran at the same time. It was pure chaos in the hall. Even Wardite ran, leaving the king alone. Quickly the king oriented himself, pulling Auna into one arm putting a sword from a storage device in the other. He looked around the hall, locating his children being evacuated. He saw Lord Pearl fighting off masked men, along side Jensen. Jensen was looking towards the king every few moments. He was too far away to take Auna. The Bloodwaves, and other nobles with strong warriors were in the same situation. Wardite was seen over to the side fighting a few masked people as well. The king briefly wondered why Wardite had left his side. He should have been beside him in such times, it was his houses¡¯ main function. The sword of the king. He dodged a few attacks, killed a few masked men. He continued doing this for what felt like hours. Though it was less than thirty minutes before the guards, and nobles got the situation under control. The masked men that were left standing were being taken to the dungeon to be questioned. The nobles were being moved to a clean room, for protection and to be debriefed. Many were hurt. For the first time since the fighting started, he looked down to the girl in his arms. He tried calling for a doctor, though nothing came out. He was in shock the small girl had holes in the middle of her wings which lay limp, blood was pouring from them. More blood was pouring from her wrists which were turning a purply blue, and very swollen. Her breath was shallow, and wheezy. She was still alive though. ¡°Doctor.¡± The king whispered. ¡°I need a doctor.¡± The king looked up at the crowd slowly dispersing, a few doctors and healers from the church were checking on people. ¡°Doctor.¡± He tried again. Shaking he hauled the small girl into his arms, dropping the sword. He left the sword heading slowly to the first person he could. ¡°Church mother.¡± The king whispered when he came up to her. She was healing a broken arm of some noble child. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I am busy?¡± She spat turning around. Her next words died in her throat. For a few moments she just stood there. No longer caring about the noble childs¡¯ broken arm. ¡°TO ME!¡± She yelled in a voice much louder than the king could muster at the time. As soon as she did many church healers came running, the palace doctors having finally understood came as well. No one else was fatally injured, their assistants would be able to handle them. Soon an entire team of doctors and healers regarded as some of the best in the world were working on Auna. They had quickly stabilized the child by punching a hole in her chest. The king had protested, along side Jensen though she began to breathe deeper. The king and Jensen couldn¡¯t enter the operation room. They sat well into the next morning, both covered in blood. Waiting. Chapter 59: Is the pain worth it? ¡°Where am I?¡± I ask looking around. I feel cold, but not a bad cold. ¡°Welcome to the land of the living, the garden of the creator.¡± A man with long black hair that seemed to flow into smoke is holding me. He is cold, a comforting cold though. His skin is black like space, with little sparkles that seem to move around slowly. I look toward his face; his eyes are endlessly black. His smile is brilliantly white. I can see smile wrinkles on his face. ¡°Are you crying?¡± He asks me, his happy look turning to one of fear. ¡°Darling come quickly!¡± He calls to the opening of the cave we are in. ¡°What is going on?¡± A woman with glowing skin of oranges, yellows, and reds came inside. She carried a basket of fruits. Little wisps of fire seem to roll of her skin as she moves. Looking at her leaves an imprint behind my eyes when I close them. ¡°She started crying.¡± The man answers the woman as she got closer to us, sitting down. ¡°Most cry when they are brought into the world. At least that is what happens during natural creation according the creator. It is a bit odd she is crying. Though it is our third try. The other two never even opened their eyes.¡± The woman comes closer, she is very warm. Though it also feels familiar and not overwhelming. Between them both I feel safe, and comfortable. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I say as I try to sit up better. Instead, I fall face first into the man. My body is stiff. ¡°Her speech is great, though the body control seems to be lacking. I think we finally have a daughter brother.¡± The woman came closer rubbing my back. She pulls my hair behind me. She also tilts my head back and forces my eyes open. ¡°Why are her eyes green?¡± I look into hers; they are a blinding yellowish, white with hints of red and orange. ¡°I am not sure. We used parts of us. Shouldn¡¯t they be more of a darker version of yours?¡± The man was humming as he thought. He even begins to rock me; it is so soothing. ¡°Oh, she likes that. Also, we were made from the creator. His eyes are a brownish green. Perhaps that was passed onto her?¡± The woman kisses my head. ¡°What should we name her?¡± ¡°AunaLuna.¡± The man seems sure as he places his head on the womans¡¯. ¡°Sister we did it.¡± For some reason them calling out to each other as siblings, and being so intimate makes me feel off. I am not sure why though. ¡°What do I call them?¡± I say out loud by accident. ¡°Father.¡± The man answers as the woman answers ¡°Mother.¡± Again, something about that feels off. I don¡¯t think about it too much as a mind blinding pain shoots through my entire body. ¡°Please father spare her. She is just a child.¡± I hear mother begging; I am not sure where I am. I manage to open my eyes; the sight is blurry. I see my parents on their knees, a hand is wrapped around my neck holding me away from a person. Slowly I manage to turn my head enough to look at the person holding me. I can see a glowing figure, the colours shifting constantly. The only constant I can see is a brownish green, maybe reddish? My vision is going dark I turn back to my parents. ¡°It is wrong, I told you. You two are twins you can not make children! It is wrong. This thing.¡± The glowing man shook me. ¡°This is a mistake, a sin, a forbidden child.¡± He was getting louder and louder. ¡°We did not make her the way beasts make their young. We created her the way you create. We were following your example.¡± Father explained, he did not raise his head though. It hurts. ¡°Still. Wrong.¡± The glowing man dropped me. ¡°However, I should make a stronger example of you three.¡± Coughing I struggle towards my parents, I long for their touch. I want to be held, the pain to go away. Can¡¯t father rock me? The vision fades away to a black void of nothing. Why am I here? ¡°I am so sorry. I should have protected you. This should have not happened.¡± A voice I remember from somewhere echoes through the blackness. ¡°Sir, please.¡± Another voice with a soft tone came through. ¡°It is my fault. I should have told her I was using her idea. She said I could lure the people attacking me and her out into the open. It worked; we have caught so many people. Some are already talking. It worked so well, they really thought I had become over confident. They attacked because they thought I had let my guard down.¡± The first voice sounds sad.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°She would not blame you. We did not know she had such perception.¡± The soft voice is trying to calm the first one, what happened? ¡°Why would she do that?¡± The first voice asks. ¡°Do what?¡± A new warm voice echoes in the void, I try to reach for it. It feels so warm in my chest when I hear it. Where is it? ¡°Jump in front of me. Why would a child I am constantly using for my own gain do that? Does she not resent me? She did it without hesitation. Even Lord Wardite ran away, the sword of my kingdom. She gladly put herself between me and a lethal attack.¡± The first voice grew louder. ¡°Oh. You are her king. She loves you deeply, she will always protect your life with hers. She understands as a leader you need to move your game tokens to the right place on the game board. Sure, you can¡¯t just sacrifice your pawns, as they might have connections to your knights. That could lead to a civil war. However, you do need to use each one to its own potential. If that means using her as a political diversion to do what you want, go for it. You are a great king; she will question some things but always stand behind you.¡± The warm voice sounds close and far at the same time. ¡°I did not know she felt like that. I use her so much. I even moved the goal for her freedom. Doesn¡¯t she want to be free from me?¡± The first voice was getting quieter, who is this her? ¡°She does not want to be free from you. You let her do what ever she wants all the time. You never have taken her freedom away. For the good of the kingdom, you could not just say no to the church. She understands that. Instead, you gave her a chance to be free despite the issues it could cause with the church. And we know it has.¡± The warm voice has a beautiful laugh, it is also fading away. The vision changes again, I am back on my knees in front of the glowing man. My whole body is burning, and feels like it is being devoured at the same time. What is happening? ¡°I have come to my decision. Your punishments will be handed down now.¡± The glowing man looks to my father, then my mother. You both will have to walk this world for two million days; you will not be allowed to stop moving.¡± The glowing man looks sad as he turns between both my parents. ¡°There is more. During this time, the light will burn through the darkness. The darkness will devour the light. This is temporary though. Once they are done walking, they will be forced apart for twenty million more days. After that the twins can come back together, as one.¡± The glowing man comes closer to me. ¡°You will also be punished. Branded as a sin, a forbidden child. You seem to reflect light well. Now you will reflect the light of your mother, it will burn you as it burns darkness. It also means you will burn your father, while your mother burns you. Your father will also seek to devour you, you will always have to live in-between light and darkness. Cursed to burn.¡± ¡°You may not be forced to walk the world; you will want to. If you don¡¯t your father will devour you, or your mother will burn you. I do not have to destroy you, that is beneath me.¡± The glowing man makes an odd sound with his fingers. As he does the pain becomes unbearable, I can feel my skin melting and my mind fading away. My mother runs away, father stands me up. ¡°My child, you must walk that way. Always stay in-between mother and I. We love you very much.¡± He kisses me, pushing me lightly towards mother. I walk until the burning slows down; my skin is still sizzling. I look behind me. Is the pain worth it? Do I keep going? I ask myself again. I can¡¯t remember how long I have been walking. When I walk too fast skin bubbles. If I slow down enough to stop the burning of my skin, my mind feels like it is being devoured. I constantly feel the pain on my skin, it turns a rosy red. My mind is always a bit unfocused, dizzy. Why do I keep going? Can¡¯t I let the darkness take me? The light destroy me? I stop for a second. My mind begins to fade, it feels liberating to let go. The pain will fade eventually, sweet release. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me.¡± The warm voice fills my chest. I open my eyes to see a boy with a goofy smile. His hand is outstretched to me. I take it, he pulls me along. My mind refocuses, my skin begins to burn once again. The boy hums a comforting tune. Many more visions pass by my eyes. The pain sometimes fades, cooled by something. Many of the visions include the boy. The ones that don¡¯t I give in to the pain, let it take me away to nothing. I sometimes end up in the void, listening to the voices in the echoes. The echoes seem close some times, and far away other times. I can not stop them. I feel like I have somewhere to be, like these visions are not the right me. Where am I suppose to be? Why does the warm voice ask me to stay? Stay in the visions of pain? Why would the warm voice want this? ¡°School is in a week. You should wake up. Ciela said she will not go without you. I also refuse. You know, we moved you to the schools¡¯ hospital. The king got special permission for us all to be here early. I suggested we move you here, I thought it would be easy for you when you wake up.¡± The warm voice sounds shaky. Is it crying? Can a voice cry? Wake up? Yes, wake up. A new voice inside my head spoke. I know it. I need to wake up. ¡°Wake up.¡± I say over and over. ¡°I am child. Jensen left to sleep with Edgar, he is not taking your injury well.¡± The king keeps rambling on. I don¡¯t care though. I jump into his arms, well I try to. His shadow guard gently lifts me to the still rambling king. ¡°Rock.¡± Is all I can say before I cry hard. The pain is intense, though I know being here is worth it. I will live this life through, because the people in it are worth the pain I feel. I settle as the king rocks me gently, still rambling as the guard softly laughs patting my head. Who use to rock me? Chapter 60: Jasper now owns part of the Great Monster Forest ¡°Are you sure you are up for this?¡± Jensen asked again, over breakfast. ¡°Yes, it is our first day of the second semester. I am well enough. I slept for weeks.¡± Auna stretched picking up her fork. ¡°I¡¯m just worried. You don¡¯t look great.¡± Jensen started eating breakfast as well. ¡°He is right. Your wrists, and chest have this odd pattern. Your wings and wrists are even still wrapped up.¡± Chloe pointed her fork at Auna. ¡°Fairy wings are difficult to heal. However, it is observed that aside from ripping them off the back of a fairy they do heal. Though it can take years. I am not sure how long it will take. I can¡¯t wait for them to heal before coming back to school. My wrists were mostly healed by the church, and palace doctors. They are still wrapped to prevent strain and infection.¡± Auna took a deep breath. She could see everyone was listening, not just the ones at her table. She strained to properly use her fork. The miracle healing magic used took a lot of mana, so only her most pressing injuries had been healed. She was still required to heal the rest of the way naturally. ¡°As for the marks. The lightning magic caused them. They will never fully heal. I will have them forever.¡± Auna sighed, her wings also had the burn scars. They were slightly raised, but invisible due to the magic flowing in her wings. Her wrists now have lightening burns radiating from the places that had holes punched through. The burns lick her elbows in some spots, wrapping around her fingers in others. The burns on her chest start near her heart covering a part of her torso, up her neck a bit and around her back in some places. They were noticeable red marks on her pale skin, raised slightly. ¡°I think they are pretty.¡± Edgar smiled, though it was small and weak. ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t really mind them though.¡± Auna shrugged as the triplets took away the dishes. With careful movements she walked to class, no one bothered her aside from the odd bow and praise for protecting the king. The rest of the day went smoothly, with Auna taking breaks to sleep often. Only when she had free time of course, with Jensen or her friends waking her. ¡°This weekend, is a tight timeline. I can do it though.¡± Lacey was fitting Auna, Jensen, and Ciela for new outfits. They had finished classes for the day when an urgent note had been given to Auna. It said this weekend there would be a formal audience with the king. Auna was to bring Ciela, and Jensen with her. That is why in the middle of the night they had woken Lacey, to tell her they would need something formal to wear. ¡°It would be most appropriate to wear light brown for Ciela and Auna to show they are not part of a noble house. Jensen you will wear the Pearl colours, sparkle white, and off white.¡± Lacey rattled on even though her eyes were full of sleep. ¡°That sounds right. Sorry my moon.¡± Jensen looked to the brown cloth Lacey had picked up. ¡°It is okay, she is right. I do not want to stand out at a formal audience with the king. It would only cause issues. Technically I could wear the Jade colours, as I hold the name. However, I don¡¯t want to. Thank you for guessing that, Lacey. They don¡¯t have to be perfect, just presentable.¡± Auna gave her a pat on her shoulder before motioning for Jensen and Ciela to leave with her. ¡°Are you going to look over the data tonight?¡± Jensen was asking about the data they all had gathered while she slept. Mr. Voice had not been very helpful during this time as her mana was always being drained. She had only a basic record of what went on around her during those weeks. Mr. Voice had turned off functions of recording her outside world to allow for her mana to heal her instead. ¡°I guess I should.¡± Auna turned to the main building on the farm land, pushing Ciela to the exit. Ciela was happy to go back to bed. Jensen followed Auna though. He easily curled up on a sofa while she read. Ciela had gone through with helping the Wardite territory with their baren soil issues. She had spent nearly the entire time with Rowen taking samples, and testing magics. She had come to Aunas¡¯ bedside a few times for brief periods. Her findings had not been shared with the king. Auna had taught her to write in the language of her old world. All confidential data in Ember Moon was now written in the language. It had taken time to teach the residences but now everyone knew it. The only ones of Ember Moon who did not know it were the outsiders like the Bloodwave family. Continuing to read Auna learned something very disturbing. The reason Wardite was currently baren was due to magic warfare. It seemed they had been testing weapons similar to the ones on her old world. They would pollute the air, and water making people sick. Sometimes so slowly no one noticed the sickness. How they managed to do these tests without alerting the surrounding territories was beyond her though. Ciela thought the contamination was coming from the ground water, which could mean testing was happening underground. She was not sure if she would tell the king. Ciela had only told the king it would be unlikely for her to fix the issue at this time. That the land needed rest. The king seemed to accept this at the time. She continued onto what the others had been doing. Edgar had spent his time with his father, looking into the church as best as he could. From his work he had concluded it was not the church that attacked. The church was planning on using unfair increases in the money need to gain her freedom to capture her. Though they internally did not use the word capture, they merely wanted her to join the church. Chloe had explored more deeply the commoners of the capital. She had hoped she might be able to gain information from the seedier parts of the capital. She had learnt the current information guild has no involvement. They had invited Auna and her group to have a proper conversation in the future. They had been monitoring her and Ember Moon merchants carefully. They were known to take contract killing jobs, though never against the kingdom apparently. They did take out nobles they found were not helpful to the kingdom. They had said they were curious about Ember Moon since they could not find the location of the entrance to the dungeon. They also confirmed the king also could not find it. Though many rumors it belonged to the little fairy girl that claimed the great monster forest her home. They had found Chloe themselves after noticing her travel with some of the merchants from Ember Moon. Her parents had left back to their farm, so she was left to the merchants¡¯ care. Not many followed her where abouts, as she was a true commoner. The information guild did though, not letting a single one of Aunas¡¯ friends escape monitoring. Chloe had let slip their language though, having pulled out a few papers of it. She had been attempting to foster good peace with them, by sharing some information from Ember Moon. She had needed the papers as a guide to said information. Auna thought the information guild would be able to decipher the language given enough time now. Though currently she was not worried, the guild seemed truly loyal to the kingdom. As she and Ember Moon were also truly loyal to the kingdom, she had no fear. Next Jensen had mostly spent the time working on the new city by the shore. The walls were nearly done, the flower cases all created. There were many products for monster deflection already on the walls. There had been a few monster attacks during the nearly two months she slept. The adults from the dungeon were able to kill them. The different tools, weapons, and weakening of the monsters due to the different products on the walls helped greatly in their battles. Jensens¡¯ report continued to explain how the city would be safer than originally thought. He had taken command of the dungeon to put all effort into the building of the city. He had let their merchants focus on information gathering. Everyone wanted to find out who hurt Auna and why they had targeted the king and Auna. The rest of the dungeon wanted to work on Aunas¡¯ ¡®pet project¡¯ so she was happy when she came home. Jensen and the team worked hard enough that there were was a bustling but small working district with in the completed areas. It housed the workshops for the construction of the town currently with a few odd buildings. One being a full-blown restaurant, it having been the first built. The other oddity was a three-story work of art, it was a cottage like building. Made of brick, and mortar with pretty windows and crawling plants. It was surrounded by Aunas¡¯ favourite flowers, and plants, with a tree of blue apples in the front yard. The entrance was a round turret three stories high. The entrance was the just the first level. The blue prints were in his report. The top of the turret, just below the roof lay a wide bay window, and a cozy bedroom. It included a washroom which led to the closet. The walls were covered in book cases, and a bed lay in the middle of the room. Over the bed was shown to have a huge metal chandelier that held stones of light, heat, and fabric fasteners. It would make a beautiful full canopy around the bed. The rest of the third floor was only bedrooms, and a few more washrooms. The bedrooms could easily hold two big beds each, though right now only had one each. There were twelve rooms, six on each side of the corridor with six washrooms total. The end of the corridor had a staircase leading to the second level and main level.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The second level had a large kitchen, library, and washroom near the stairs. The library had a false wall leading into an inner room. This room was said to be a relay point for our information of the highest security level. As we grew there would need to be more of these spots to move items and information to the dungeon main hall. Further in was a large living area with soft sofas for resting. It also had tables, games, and other entertainment items of this world. Connected to the side was a storage area. This storage area was currently empty. On the other side of the hall were two classrooms that were noted for studying and meetings. The turret held an intimate meeting room, similar to a small classroom. The second floor was the ground level floor. The turret was the main entrance which held storage, mainly for shoes and coats. The doors were brilliantly made from glass and wood. When one walked in there was a slanted wall which led to a proper meeting hall for guests. There was also two public multi stall washrooms, making a near rectangle that took up a third of one half of the floor. The other half had display cases, empty, and an open lounge area. There was a huge ballroom, with double doors by the staircase. It could be closed off by shutting the doors. Between the ballroom and lounge was an open eating area filled with tables, which could be changed to one table. It had a half wall separating from the lounge. The kitchen was on the other side of the hall. It was closed off by a half wall and glass, to keep sound down. It had a closed storage area closer to the ballroom. The floor did not have a hallway instead there was a support beam, and a column in-between the kitchen and dinning area. This column facilitated a circular path between the two. The basement held the same open concept design. Near the stairs on either side were washroom and locker areas separated by biology. The turret held a comfortable observation area. There was a small room to maintain the heating, cooling, and plumbing of the building. This building was a marvel as it used no fire places. Instead, it used magic, and what Auna considered green energy. Though other energy had not been invented. The rest of the training area would be configured as needed. It was named as ¡®Ember Moon; capital home¡¯ Which was odd. It had been a very busy nearly two months for Jensen. Though she could assume the plans had been happening in secret longer. Meredith had spent her time with her family, and taking extra lessons at home. The triplets had split their time, and locations between Jensen, Ciela, and Chloe. They had taken turns protecting and following the three. Mateo always sticking to Chloe, while the other two switched off. Their reports were similar, and did not pose anything new. The dungeon reports were very interesting. With the recent presence of Ciela in Wardite caused more people to be brought into Ember Moon. Being made possible by the grandmother elf and a few others gaining a Moon Door adjuster job. It had been a newly created skill by grandmother elf as she tried to allow more people to use the doors after the attack. She had tried previously as she had a skill maker class. Her breakthrough was made in desperation as Auna slept. She could allow others temporary access, a one-way trip only. She could make a doorway that would last for twenty-four hours, then disappear. It was a plan looking door, but would do the job. It took a lot of mana though, and she could only make one door every three days. She coordinated with Ciela, and a triplet to bring in refugees. These refugees were mostly children who had lost their parents, and were currently in the slums of once prosperous farm land. Once they were brought to the dungeon, they were only allowed access to the main floor as Jensen, who had been given access to the dungeon after the dungeon grew enough to allow a secondary admin, said no. He was still having them vetted to ensure they were not a threat to Ember Moon. Auna would be taking control of that soon. With the increase of former farmers and their children the fields had begun producing higher quality and quantity of goods. This was helping to stabilize the consumption needs in Ember Moon. Auna stretched shaking Jensen. It was time to get back to their rooms. Jensen woke easily enough, carrying her to her bedroom, Ciela was already in her bed. ¡°Is she okay?¡± Meredith asked as Jensen tugged Auna in. ¡°Yeah, tired. She is always over compensating, you know? She feels bad we were all working toward her freedom while she slept.¡± Jensen gently tugged off her mantle and jewelry. ¡°I¡¯ll change her.¡± Meredith got up, grabbing her some fresh clothes. ¡°Thank you.¡± Jensen left them to it. They all knew Jensen had special permission to use the doors always. Auna never actually blocked him, he only followed the rules out of respect. The girls had grown to trust and understand he would not abuse the power. The next week went well. During the day Auna attended classes, and slept as she could. She had done no study sessions, resting instead. She had began taking back control of the dungeon, and port city as well. Lacey had easily finished the formal wear for the three. They all slept in the dungeon the last night before the audience. They did not want to take the chance of an attack the night before the audience. With luck nothing of such happened while they slept safely in their fields, though that could have been because of another visit from the blue hair boy. ¡°Are you sure we have to do this?¡± Ciela asked again as they walked through the castle. The guards walking them to the audience hall chuckled. Ciela ignored them groaning. ¡°Yes. Please have more manners in front of the king.¡± Auna tucked the girl slightly behind her as they neared the doors to the hall. ¡°We announce young lord Jensen Pearl, A, Jade, and Ciela the little farmer.¡± The guards yelled loudly once the doors were fully open. Ciela jumped a little putting herself further behind Auna. ¡°Go on now walk to the king, and kneel.¡± The closet guard spoke softly. The hall was filled with people on either side of an aisle, all standing facing them currently. Slowly Auna moved forward first, Jensen putting himself behind Ciela. They reached the king quickly kneeling at the foot of the stairs to the main throne. It was a throne made of simple metal, encrusted with all the jewels of the families, both present and past. The ones that had fallen had been moved to the legs of the throne, as the new ones (families) stood on what they built. The most important families¡¯ jewels were at the head of the tall throne above the kings¡¯ own head. It represented how they were to advise, and help lead the king and kingdom. Currently Wardite, Bloodwave, Pearl, and Sapphire in that order were placed at the top. ¡°Welcome. I have gathered you here today to reward you for act of loyalty.¡± The king paused as everyone started to whisper. ¡°I called Jensen, and Ciela here as I knew you would not travel without them.¡± More whispers could be heard. ¡°Silent. Rise children.¡± The children rose their heads to meet the gaze of the king. His eyes looked tired. He had not left Aunas¡¯ side often, that she knew. ¡°Auna come.¡± The kings¡¯ voice was like a call from the deep, she did not hesitate to walk to him. Kneeling again once at the throne. ¡°From today you will be known as AunaLuna Sage Jasper. Ciela, the child you take responsibility for, will be Ciela Silvia Jasper from this day on. You may go back now.¡± The king handed Auna a black polished stone. It was black Jasper, looking at it reminded one of the stars, a perfect fit. A very rare stone. Auna went back to her place. ¡°King Jules you can¡¯t!¡± Mother of the church, was present and loud. ¡°I can, and have.¡± The king moved his body showing the black Jasper inlaid beside the Coral, and Lapis stones on his throne. ¡°How could you? A family name? What next, land?¡± Mother of the church continued to ramble as nobles for the most part were quiet. ¡°How could he not? The child protected the king with her own body, became his shield. It would be an afront to exclude her from the nobility!¡± Samantha spoke over the church mother. Many nobles agreeing with her. They may not like commoners but they were never against rewarding one for such acts of loyalty and bravery. ¡°Our deal though.¡± The church mother pleaded. ¡°I will be giving the Jaspers control of the inner parts of the currently unclaimed great monster forest. They will be allowed to do with it as they please. If she can create enough money from it to met the deals requirements so, be it. I will not be known as a king who does not fairly reward his subjects. I will not be known as a king who gives impossible bargains, and deals. I feel the deal made has been adjusted to favor you, the church, twice now, is not only fair to slightly give my subject a fair chance once?¡± The king smiled. ¡°Does that mean the great monster forest will now be split between the three noble houses of Jade, Bloodwave, and now Jasper?¡± Count Jade asked the king calmly. ¡°Yes.¡± The king was to the point. ¡°I would like to propose one of our sons for engagement.¡± Samantha spoke up. ¡°I believe I told you before, no?¡± The king looked annoyed. ¡°No Bloodwave was to marry A Jade, this girl is AunaLuna Jasper. She is also fourteen noble tradition is to have a proposed partner selected at ten. She is much too late; she will need to follow this tradition to fit into the noble families. Not every engagement is fulfilled, there should be no problems.¡± Samantha threw a grin to Auna. ¡°Though most are.¡± ¡°AunaLuna Jasper would you object to me, in place of a father, selecting who you are to be engaged to?¡± The king asked. Auna looked to the shadow guard only a few select people could see. He was grinning like a mad fool shaking his head and winking. ¡°I do not object, it would honor me further my king.¡± Auna gave a bow as well as she spoke. ¡°Alright. Then it shall be.¡± The king paused as Samantha grinned wider looking to her daughter with a superior air about her. ¡°Jensen Pearl shall be your engaged. May your relationship continue to strengthen. I am sure his father will also give his blessing. A proper engagement party shall be held, in tradition, once you both are sixteen. If I remember correctly, you both are born on the same day so it should make it easier to schedule.¡± The king smiled warmly; it was obvious he planned this. ¡°My king that is not fair.¡± Samantha tried. ¡°I believe the Duke Pearl has a slightly lower station than yours not higher, how is it unfair?¡± The king entertained the disagreement. ¡°Bloodwaves found her, raised her, schooled her. ¡ª¡± Samantha was cut off by a wave of the kings¡¯ hand. ¡°Are you telling me the Bloodwave family helped the children for gain only? As I am aware all monetary spending has been given back to you by the Pearl family. I also believe your daughter is a team member and has gain reputation and prizes by not just her efforts but Aunas¡¯. Besides if you truly see the child as yours, wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to marry her to a son of Bloodwave?¡± The king stopped talking. Samantha never rose her head; she had conceded the argument. After a few more arguments the children were sent back to school. They gathered their friends and headed to the dungeon. They filled in everyone on what had happened, Seth and others would be filled in later. Everyone celebrated the huge step towards freedom Auna had gained. chapter 61: Monster Festival—The rise of Jasper Part one ¡°Welcome child of Jasper.¡± A kind looking man motioned for Auna, Jensen, and a member of the Ember Moon merchants to sit. Sargent, an obvious fake name, had invited them to the information guild to talk. ¡°Auna is fine, considering there are no adults in the Jasper line.¡± Sitting down on the floor with Theo, Ayda, and the now nearly as big as Theo¡ªKaida. Theo was in his larger form, which was large enough for her to still ride. The wolves had grown to the size of the animals that pulled their carriages, something a bit bigger than a horse. ¡°Thanks for hosting us in a larger room.¡± Auna gave a slight bow of her head. They had been brought to a room with nearly no furniture on the ground floor, easily able to fit the large wolf. The winged salamander was still able to be carried by Auna. ¡°Of course, we have seen you ride your wolf. We didn¡¯t know if the skill had a cool down time or not. We wanted you to be as comfortable as possible considering everything.¡± Sargent waved a hand, which had a few maids bring in refreshments. ¡°Considering what exactly?¡± Auna asked taking a cup of juice. ¡°I think he means to say he is assuming you are not participating this year in the festival.¡± Jensen was shaking his head as he snuggled close Auna, Theo laying his head on his lap. Kade was walking around getting pets from everyone. He was a very attention seeking salamander. ¡°By the words of Lord Pearl can I assume you are going to participate?¡± Sargent hesitated before taking a drink from a tea cup. ¡°Yes. I wouldn¡¯t miss it. Enough of that though, why did you want us to be here?¡± Auna pet Kaida who was sleeping on her lap now. ¡°I called you here to discuss the attacks from the last few years. We know Ciela had been looking into the soils of Wardite.¡± Sargent stopped talking. ¡°Are you asking if she found out about the pest issue?¡± Auna raised her eye brow. ¡°I see, you are a little too clever for that? Fine, I will be more direct. Have you figure out they are doing war grade magic testing?¡± Sargent changed his tactic. ¡°Yes, we think they are doing the testing under the ground. Have you noticed the ships they are sending out and receiving? I think it is about once a month.¡± Auna offered. ¡°Are you saying you know where the ships leave from?¡± Sargent leaned forward. ¡°Are you saying you know where they end up?¡± Auna leaned further into Theo. ¡°Can we move past this weird tension? I want to do something fun.¡± Jensen groaned. ¡°I see, I suppose we could put this dance behind us. We know a ship leaves Jules under the Wardite flag, we know it stops at EnCo, and Lindle before coming back. The EnCo stop is very normal from what we can understand. The Lindle stop is less so. From what we can tell the shipments happen late at rotating ports, no pattern.¡± Sargent again went silent. ¡°They always leave from the shore of the great monster forest, near Jades¡¯ territory. The ship is from the Jade ship yard. They leave and receive late at night. From what we could tell they unload cargo and travel through the edge of the great monster forest, then through Jade territory the last part of the journey.¡± Auna pulled out a map to show the location. It was visible from the walls of their new city. It was far enough away though that most people would not be able to see the ship. They had a few different races with great eyesight though. ¡°If it is so close to what looks like a city, I am assuming a city of Jasper, why do they continue to use that spot?¡± Sargent was now nearly on the floor with them. ¡°Our walls are full different devices and runes that make it hard to see past. We also only have low light sources to not attract monsters. Without knowing the city was there, it would be hard to find. The whole point is to blend in.¡± Auna stood up to stretch. ¡°I see, that is smart. You have been in control of majority of the great monster forest for less than a few months. How are you already so far along in building a city?¡± Sargent picked up the attention seeking Kade, which gave a guttural purr in his arms. ¡°Why should I tell you that?¡± Auna was now sitting down again, Jensen nearly snoring. ¡°I propose an alliance. We have been following the Ember Moon merchants for a few years now. We know they are loyal to you, and you are loyal to the king. We also know you are very close to making enough money. We are willing to help you complete your city. We currently have our main headquarters in the mountains of Wardite. I¡¯m sure you can see why we are not happy about that arrangement.¡± Sargent stopped again. ¡°I am open to an alliance, though I do not want your headquarters in our port city.¡± Auna firmly answered. ¡°I see. That is unfortunate. However, could we set up a branch like we do here? We have a mage with great space magic. They can set up small transportation circles that take less mana to run, we would like to set one up in your city.¡± Sargent pointed to his own map showing their headquarters was places in the mountains of Wardite close to the Kings¡¯ land. The map also showed a branch in Sapphire. Each country had at least one branch of what Sargent had labeled plainly as Information guild branches. ¡°You have a branch in the Gods land?¡± Auna was stunned. ¡°Yes, though information guilds are not globally connected. So, in other countries we don¡¯t present as information guilds. The branches are from the first great war, currently they appear as long-standing businesses. We have found a few other countries also do this, though not as good as us.¡± Sargent got all smug. ¡°So, you are breaking the peace treaties?¡± Auna smirked back. ¡°Yes, and no. The treaties state no act of aggression. What is aggressive about gathering information? We don¡¯t actually use majority of it. We never use the information to better our country, just keeping tabs.¡± Sargent shrugged lightly. ¡°We do use it to keep our country safe.¡± ¡°I see, well feel free to visit Jaspers¡¯ Capital.¡± Auna stood waking Jensen. ¡°You may even set down a transport circle. I will tell my people to build you a building, a store front?¡± ¡°That would be great, a store front for textiles would be perfect. We trade in fabrics mostly.¡± Sargent turned to the merchant that had been brought. ¡°Can you provide the safe route you use to get to your city?¡± ¡°No, I can not. At least not without Aunas¡¯ permission.¡± The merchant gave a deep bow. ¡°Well, Lady Jasper?¡± Sargent looked hopeful. ¡°You will have to find your own route. There is no path through the forest, at least not a safe one. I suggest taking a boat?¡± Auna smirked. Her true friend skill had told her she could trust Sargent, though she did not want to show all of her cards. ¡°How do your merchants travel it? We know they do not use a boat; they usually appear in the border town or capital. Sometimes from the Pearl estate.¡± Sargent hummed for a few seconds. ¡°I see me bragging about my space mage was not as spectacular as I thought. You have one that has also created a smaller version of the transportation circles?¡± ¡°We do not use transportation circles.¡± Auna teased. ¡°You¡¯ll have to keep guessing.¡± ¡°Fine, I will. We will arrive in Hollen, beginning of Autumn.¡± He paused. ¡°I will figure out how you do it. That is a promise little Jasper.¡± Sargent gave her head a pat. ¡°Don¡¯t pat me.¡± Easily she pushed away his hand. ¡°Is this alliance smart?¡± Jensen asked once they were heading to the festival. They had met with Sargent before taking the long journey to the festival. ¡°I think it is.¡± Nick spoke up as he patted Akus¡¯ back. They had officially given Aku the Jasper name, as well as Sambor. There was not a grand event just a quiet name change. As they were aware not many people noticed. Jade and Bloodwave heads noticed though, both sending letters of congratulations. ¡°I do as well. It will help us improvement our port city. It will also help our information reach. Sargent seems like a great person to have on our side.¡± Auna groaned though as the carriage hit a bump. She lay her head back down on the floor. Theo and Willow were both on the floor with her. The winged Salamanders were all sitting on the roofs. In their carriage was Nick, Aku, Jensen, Ciela, Sambor, and Auna. Seni, the triplets, and Chloe were in the second one. Meredith was in a carriage with her parents and grandparents. ¡°Can¡¯t we make a better carriage?¡± Auna groaned deeply. ¡°Well, if you actually knew proper space magic you might be able to. Right now, your space magic is just due to your doors and storage magic. You need to study more alchemy things to create a Tardis like one. Or idk, create suspension?¡± Jensen teased as he rubbed her back in big circles.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I have no idea what either one of though words mean.¡± Nick sighed as Aku groaned. ¡°Aku also seems to get sick in carriages.¡± ¡°Poor baby.¡± Auna groaned, closing her eyes. She felt Aku be gently placed beside her on the ground. ¡°Nick, can you get out first?¡± Auna asked as they pulled to a stop. ¡°Of course.¡± Nick disembarked first turning around to carry Auna inside, Seni quickly came over to carry Aku. Both of them looked sick, they would be put to bed. ¡°Why is she here?¡± Samantha asked as Auna was taken to her room. ¡°Is appropriate for you to follow us?¡± Nick countered. ¡°She is not fit to participate this year; I am sure the king will agree.¡± Samantha said the last part as the king came to greet the duke. ¡°I do agree, however as pointed out to me, I am no longer technically in control of Auna. She is now the head of her family; the Jasper family has every right to let her compete.¡± The king gave Auna a pat on the back before leaving. ¡°Rest well Lady Jasper.¡± ¡°Good morning my king.¡± Auna said as she came up to the king in the early morning. Theo was in his small form with Kaida and Kade walking on either side. Ayda was as always, on his head. Willow had been held down by Ciela as she snored in the poor pups¡¯ ear. ¡°Good morning, Lady Jasper. How was your rest?¡± The king motioned for her to sit with him. ¡°Good my king, yours?¡± Auna sat beside him as she ate a blue apple. They had become her favourite fruit. She offered one to the king, who took it. ¡°Good, are you sure about this? Your wrists are still too injured to properly use your sword.¡± The kings¡¯ voice was full of concern. Even his shadow guard was giving her a look of pity. ¡°I think you, and too many people forget I use magic.¡± Auna sighed standing up. ¡°Just you wait and see, I will still win.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait Jasper!¡± The king called to her as she walked away. Auna, now was not the last participant. She was placed to go before the commoners, though after all of the nobles. She was currently the lowest noble in Jules. ¡°Now here comes the savage! With a new family name! Welcome Jasper the savage to the arena.¡± The annoying reporter was basically bouncing around in his bubble. ¡°How on Arcadia are you still announcing this thing?¡± Auna grumbled. ¡°Well as many know I am an elf, so I will be young enough to report on this event for a long time!¡± The reporter then flipped upside down. ¡°Let¡¯s see what the king has in store for this year!¡± The crowd got very loud. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice Jasper has changed her sword for a staff! What a beauty as well!¡± He was twirling around her commenting on the staff. It was a white piece of wood carved smooth. Leather was wrapped around it in three spots, each had a strap to hold her hand. She currently was holding the middle strap, the other two were spaced for combat. The top was in the shape of a crescent moon standing properly. The moon had two sharp sides to be used for combat. It also had mana and magic crystals of different types on both sides. If one looked closely, they would see modern runes for focusing magic, and increasing durability. The first monster to appear was an earth elemental. Auna stayed put shotting dark magic orbs at the elemental followed up by wind slices. It exploded into a million chunks of rocks. Everyone was silent. Next came a wolf-bear pack, she used water magic to drown them. ¡°How savage! She drowned them! Who knew the savage could use magic?¡± The announcer was going nuts. Using lightening bolts, she killed the water elemental. Then used her fire to kill the treant, next a wind elemental in the form of a tornado nearly tore the area apart. However, Auna surrounded it in a fire vortex removing all the oxygen¡ªkilling it. ¡°For the first time since this started Jasper has moved!¡± The announcer got close to her, so she used wind magic to push him away. As she moved, she sliced the legs of a few wolfs which goblins were riding. Using her magic she drowned half of them, and burnt the other half before they could touch her. She was a level so much higher than she should be at her age that these monsters were too far below her. ¡°Wow six goblin riders down in a blink of an eye!¡± ¡°Oh no what is she going to do against an ice elemental? Fire magic is known to be too weak to melt such things!¡± The announcer was keeping a safe distance from Auna now. Slowly Auna stopped moving looking at the creature. It moved closer freezing the ground as it went. Even the announcer moved as far away as he could, Auna began getting a thin layer of frost on her. Many people had ended the tournament here. Not Auna though she simply stepped forward to it, most ice elementals preferred to kill their foes without actually attacking. More Ice covered her, she saw the king stand up, ready to end the duel. He had a right to pull out anyone he saw fit, Auna just smiled. ¡°You poor thing. So far away from home. Let me end your suffering.¡± Auna gently touched the creature. Ice elementals were known to be gentle, and never attacked first. They were also rare. She felt bad so many had been brought in to be killed. She sent a mix of lightening, fire, and earth magic through the elemental. It shattered after a rainbow of colour exploded inside of it. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how she did that!¡± The announcer was back as Auna used fire magic to warm herself up. Next was ten salamanders of the dark magic variant. She used a holy magic spell to kill them all at the same time. ¡°How could we have forgotten! This child is a church prodigy!¡± Auna ran at first from the literal hoard of fist sized spiders of different magic types. She really was not happy. She was using all kinds of magic to take them out as quickly as she could. Sighing she opened her wings, damaged as they were, the patches should have held for a few minutes. She was wrong, crashing down right into the center of the hoard. She was for a moment drowned in spiders, which bit her and pulled at her. Angry she exploded in fire and lightening magic; the hoard perished. ¡°Wow what a show!¡± A fire elemental came out into the arena. ¡°Does she even have enough mana left to fight? Who knew the savage sword fighter had such strong magic? She does look like she is puffing!¡± Auna rolled her eyes, using water and ice magic she finished the elemental easily within a few minutes. The announcer was right though she was down to one third of her magic. ¡°I have defeated the fire elemental!¡± Auna howled before leaving the arena. She washed up, and sat to watch the final people go through their ten levels. As usual her monsters had seemed different, often stronger or in higher quantity. Not even Sambor defeated his Ice elemental. Jensen did though, however, his fear of spiders was much stronger than hers. He saw the hoard, and dropped his shield having been so rattled. He loudly announced ¡°Fuck that shit! I¡¯m out.¡± And ran to the exist. He was now sitting beside her shivering still. She was holding his hand. ¡°Do you want to fight the special monster? I have a different one for the singles and groups. You will have to share though.¡± The king had asked Auna, and two other people. Auna had won first place the other two were second and third, she did not know them personally. They were both younger. The prize for Auna was a delicate egg, inside was a dormant bird monster. All three had gotten one, hers was the biggest. ¡°Do you want to?¡± Auna asked them. ¡°Do you think you can handle it, how is your mana level?¡± The second-place boy asked. ¡°I drank a few mana potions, so yeah I should be good.¡± Auna was just over half full of mana. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it.¡± The boy yelled loud enough for the king to hear. ¡°Have fun children.¡± The king smirked lightly. ¡°That, is not a good face.¡± Auna said getting closer to the other two. ¡°Nope.¡± The third-place boy whined as the ground shook. ¡°I have identified the monster; it is a sand worm.¡± ¡°How reckless.¡± Auna groaned using earth magic and wind magic to rise the three of them up on a platform. ¡°Magic at range?¡± ¡°Yeah, that is probably good choice, I am not great at it though.¡± The boy whined again, he was only ten, Auna had watched him. He won second because he nearly completed all ten. For someone who used very little magic he managed the elementals well. Though it was obvious he preferred magic swordsmanship. ¡°No worries, you can track it for us.¡± Auna looked at the third-place boy. He had used a mix of range, and close combat magic. Using a small wand instead of a staff. ¡°You use your close combat magic when it comes close, I¡¯ll bait with long range magic.¡± They all nodded, having fell into their tasks. ¡°Amazing Jasper has taken to leader, and her formation choice seems to be working. How long can she keep them floating though? Surely the long-range magic must be draining her!¡± The announcer kept a play by play for the next four hours. Even a sandworm was too much for Auna alone. She had to move the platform several times as the worm got closer and closer. ¡°I¡¯m out of mana.¡± The close combat boy looked pale. ¡°Same.¡± The swordsmanship boy said as well. Both looked to Auna as the announcer made sure the audience knew what they had just said. ¡°Okay, no issue.¡± Auna shrugged, then dropper her staff into the mouth of the sandworm, it had an odd glow of dark and other colours. ¡°I do suggest y¡¯all huddle around me, you too announcer.¡± Auna gave a smirk as she beckoned him to her. He hesitated for a second but once the magic in the staff seemed to rise, he came closer. Auna put up a holy magic shield. ¡°Wow.¡± The announcer whispered as the staff was eaten. It blew up in spectacular colours wiping the worm leaving a huge hole in the arena. ¡°We have killed the worm.¡± Auna looked to the two beside her who shook their heads. Shrugging she howled along with the audience. Then she pointed to the hole. ¡°Theo fetch.¡± Theo jumped from the stands growing to his full-size diving into the hole. He quickly grabbed her staff bringing it to her. ¡°It is undamaged? Who made that!¡± The announcer yelled as he got close. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know.¡± Auna teased giving him a wink as he grumbled under his breath. He looked to the king; a silent begging was obvious. ¡°Jasper who made your staff?¡± The king asked happily. He knew she would have to give an answer. ¡°My king, this staff was made by a team of dwarfs. The leader of this team is called Larn. Larn.¡± Auna bowed deeply. ¡°Larn? It is not a name I know. Tell me where is this Larn from?¡± The king smirked. ¡°I honestly do not know his homeland my king.¡± Again, she bowed. ¡°Where did you meet him?¡± The king pressed. ¡°On the beach.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°Please stop playing games, Larn of where? All dwarfs introduce themselves using their place of origin, current living home, or last name.¡± The king looked at her with another smirk. ¡°Larn of Ember Moon.¡± Auna answered. He must have figured out you control it, or the information guild told him. They are his loyal servants. Mr. Voice stated the obvious. ¡°Oh? Do you know where this Ember Moon is?¡± The king asked as everyone seemed to hold their breath. ¡°Of course, I do. I named it my king.¡± Auna smiled softly, it was not the way she wanted to spill the secret. She didn¡¯t have much of a better option though. ¡°I see.¡± The king paused. ¡°Well at least that mystery is settled. Great job children, you bring honor to your families. You are dismissed.¡± The king waved them away. ¡°What. No. Where is the entrance! No one has been able to find the entrance since it was found! I am sure we all want to know.¡± The announcer followed Auna as she walked away. ¡°Come on now, the king dismissed me.¡± Auna laughed as he kept pressing. The crowd was wild. Chapter 62: Monster Festival—The rise of Jasper Part Two ¡°Your showing yesterday was something. Here eat.¡± The king handed Auna a bowl of warm mush. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me that way. It is very good for strained bodies.¡± ¡°Fine, I will eat it. I will not like it though.¡± Auna took a few spoonfuls before continuing. ¡°Why are you surprised? I am strong. I have been winning for a few years now. Tell me something though what is this egg?¡± The egg would not go into her storage, no mater how much she tried. Which was why she was still holding it. ¡°I know you are strong, but I didn¡¯t think you could fight without a weapon.¡± The king sighed as he absentmindedly played with Aunas¡¯ hair, lightly braiding it. ¡°Some times monsters are born unresponsive. Scholars think the parents didn¡¯t give enough mana to the unborn for whatever reason. This causes dormant eggs; live birth monsters don¡¯t have a dormant variant. The dormant eggs are mostly just decoration, it is rare but sometimes they are still able to hatch. It is a living being, but unlikely to ever hatch. Many nobles collect them, especially the rare ones.¡± ¡°That sounds a bit creepy.¡± Auna continued to eat the gross mush. ¡°Seriously what is this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know. I just know it works?¡± The king stood, others were starting to wake and move about. ¡°Be careful today, I don¡¯t want to be the one responsible for such a talented person dying.¡± ¡°Will do my king.¡± Auna bowed before she and her group of tamed animals left. She was going to rest until their turn to fight in the arena. The others would watch the teams go through. She still needed rest; she had pushed too hard the day before. Besides they all knew the king would give her team something odd to deal with. Sure, the king had every right to hand select challenges for the teams. Though that usually meant easier opponents for higher ranking children, not giving lower ranks stupid strong opponents. It was now an unspoken rule though they would have the strongest, or most uniquely difficult ones in that years¡¯ arena. Though with luck it would not continue once they were a part of the older kids¡¯ competitions. ¡°Auna?¡± Ciela gently shook her. It was nearing their time to fight. Most of their team were nobles, however they still were last to fight. It was a rule that the previous champions would go last, a closer of shorts. If the champions had moved on, or were not participating they would go by average rank of the groups. ¡°I¡¯m up, anything I should know?¡± Auna asked as she pulled on a combat outfit. A thicker mantle and pants. She also pulled on shin and wrist guards. ¡°Well, there were a lot groups. There was even a Golem that was resistant to magic! There were also cute bunnies that flamed up!¡± Ciela was chattering happily as Auna grabbed her staff. She made sure the egg she got had been given to the dungeon the night before, as she did not want to carry it. ¡°Sounds good. Thanks.¡± Auna patted her on the shoulder as they walked into the waiting area of the pop-up arena. ¡°Morning my moon.¡± Jensen was playing with Theo on the ground as they walked in. ¡°So that is where they were.¡± Auna gave a small scratch to his head as he played. ¡°They like me.¡± Jensen shrugged standing up to give her a small hug. ¡°I am excited, lots of strong beats, and such this year. Do you think it is because the pada season came early?¡± ¡°Possible, it is even stronger. I heard many nobles are going to be stuck in the capital this year. Commoners staying here in Bloodwave.¡± Auna gave a slight smile as he hugged her, it hurt. ¡°You sure about this? Should I really lead?¡± Jensen looked serious. ¡°Yup, I should stay in the back. Support.¡± Auna assured him with a smile. ¡°The triplets will act as front attackers. Chloe and Sambor will be our defenders today. We got this.¡± ¡°We are next, so deal with it man.¡± Sambor gave him a wicked smile and a pat on the back. He had truly become one of their people. Ciela giggled as she led the tamed beasts away to watch. ¡°Alright! Everyone your favourite team of crazy kids is up next!¡± The annoying announcer laughed as everyone cheered. ¡°Okay everyone get ready the gates are opening.¡± Jensen took to his new role hefting his shield up. ¡°Looks like an average ogre.¡± Chloe readied her weapon with a grin. She was right it was a normal ogre, the triplets easily killed it. Next two monster horses were let into the arena, the triplets handled one. The other was taken down by Chloe through a savage beheading. She was already covered in blood less than a few rounds in. ¡°This is not great.¡± Meredith groaned as they continued to throw magic around, not at the three golems. ¡°One is hard enough to deal with, three is a bit silly. Even for us.¡± Auna took a deep breath. ¡°Just aim around them to knock them off balance. Use healing when needed. Save your magic.¡± ¡°Look at that! She may be on the back lines but she is still a great leader. Their heavy hitter she is not today!¡± The announcer was nearly spitting as he spoke so quickly. ¡°So annoying.¡± Auna muttered trying not to glance his way. Jensen used his heavy shield to deflect and crush the golems as they attacked. Chloe used her heavy hitting mace to finish the job. The triplets and Sambor didn¡¯t heave heavy enough weapons to deal damage worth anything. ¡°This is just dumb. Is it worth it?¡± Chloe asked as she backed up to the support mages. ¡°I think so. What is the prize this year?¡± Auna asked. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Chloe laughed. ¡°I think this year the group prizes were kept hidden. That is the whole reason even more people signed up this year. There are rumours though. They say it is something fantastic, like top of the line fantastic.¡± ¡°Give me a break I was literally on my death bed you know.¡± Auna laughed as they all huddled under Jensens¡¯ shield and an earth magic ledge. The griffins, four of them, were trying to eat them alive. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± Chloe laughed as she crushed one of beaks that came too close. ¡°Look at that, having a calm conversation as four griffins are trying to eat them.¡± The announcer was invisible to the monsters, at least it seemed like it to everyone. Auna thought it was possible the announcer was one of the ones who raised the beasts for slaughter. He must be a cold, cold master. ¡°He is so annoying.¡± Auna muttered again. ¡°Game plan for these pesty things?¡± ¡°I was thinking you could just drown them?¡± Jensen groaned as the heavest bird landed on the shield he and Sambor were holding up. They both gritted their teeth. ¡°I need a clear line of sight, unless you want me to just cover the whole arena in water? The shields should keep the audience dry and the announcer, while I don¡¯t care if he drowns.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°Someone will need to make a pocket of air though.¡± ¡°What a crazy plan! No way she can do something so ridiculous!¡± The announcer kaughed as he floated around. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make the air pocket. He¡ª¡± A triplet pointed to another one. ¡°¡ªWill make sure we all stay put by covering our feet in rock.¡± ¡°Okay. I will need tome to regenerate after though.¡± Auna nodded as they nodded to her. Next Auna closed her eyes taking deep breaths. The necklace with her stone began to glow. Everyone was quiet as the triplets also began doing what they needed to do. Stone covered their feet holding them to the ground. Air began to compress around them. Next a torret of water started to flow from the around the air. Within just ten minutes the whole shielded arena was covered in water, the griffins panicked. They tried to escape but found no way to, the announcer seemed to also panic as his shield broke under the pressure. ¡°Save the annoying announcer please.¡± Auna groaned. ¡°Sure thing.¡± A triplet left the pocket of air, grabbed the helplessly swimming announcer before rejoining them. ¡°Got him.¡± ¡°Thank you, really.¡± The announcer panted as he looked around, his feet having been pinned to the floor as well. ¡°Well, what a development! The entire arena is covered in water. Truly a feat.¡± Everyone just waited for the beats to die. Chloe did try to tame one but it was not in the state to be tamed. Auna closed her eyes and rested. Griffins were not easily drowned as they also had wind magic. Though they also were too panicked to properly fight them, instead instinct told them to find a way out. So, they waited, and the sun began to set. Once they were sure they had died the water changed and dissipated into the air. The children got up. ¡°That was something.¡± The announcer was back in the air floating around, still damp though. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I am going to be useless for a few rounds possibly.¡± Auna took out a mana potion, which was allowed. Many people didn¡¯t have spatial storage as children, and would have to carry things into the arena. To keep up appearances their team also carried these things on their person. ¡°Well, I guess this is lucky then?¡± Chloe giggled as three trolls came into the arena. ¡°I guess so.¡± Auna laughed as they took back their formation, Chloe heading to the front. Trolls were slow, and had no magic other than healing themselves. Meredith and Auna just needed to move and keep out of range. It wasn¡¯t like the last time they fought a troll. The groups weapons all had poison blades. These weapons had a specific metal that drained magic, and poisoned blood. It was low level but enough for monsters that should appear in this festival. The trolls also didn¡¯t stand a chance against Chloe, who was nearly dying to crawl inside one like Auna had. Which she did, laughing like a lunatic. Next were the twelve goblin riders of higher ranks than normal. They even had a mage with them. The triplets chased them around as Meredith kept them as pinned down as possible with long range magic. Jensen dealt with the ones that had fallen off their mounts. Meredith managed to tame a boar mount, but a goblin killed it once it noticed. It did not take long to wipe them out. Auna stood on guard but did not participate. The next hoard Auna had to participate. Over twenty ants, possibly 25 as Auna count not count the things on the move. They had a variety of magic. The team split into small pairs. Meredith stayed near Sambor. Auna ran with Jensen. Chloe and Mateo were circling the ground picking off stragglers and helping teams as needed. The last two triplets were paired together. They ran around the arena taking down ants that each team had ability that put them at an advantage. ¡°This is bullshit.¡± Auna wheezed. They had been running away from six oversized fire rabbits. ¡°Are these the bunnies Ciela told me about?¡± ¡°She called them bunnies? Other teams had three.¡± Jensen yelled back. They had remained in their teams to deal with the fire rabbits. They shot long streams of fire at them, with the agility to dodge them as well. ¡°Okay what now?¡± Auna spun around with Meredith against her back. They could see nothing but the announcer laughing made them know the next fight had started. Auna had four dots on her map, that faded in and out of existence. ¡°Cloud elementals. We see them near coasts due to the environment fitting them.¡± Jensen called over to them. ¡°Stay on guard. They hate fire, so go nuts.¡± As he said that Jensen started firing fire everywhere, so much that the rest of the team ran to a huddle to protect themselves. ¡°Crazy! We thought the boy was water magic based like his parents! Seems like he also has strong fire magic! These kids are unbelievable!¡± The announcer was huddled with the group as well, his shield also didn¡¯t block fire. It was likely he had gone for physical attacks over magic, as the monsters didn¡¯t aim for him. ¡°Got them!¡± Jensen smiled brightly as steam rolled off his cooling body, his clothes a little charred but still together. The arena started to shake, a few platforms staying at ground level as the rest of the ground fell away. ¡°It is going to be a water fight, one other team got this far. They defeated the lizard monsters that crawled out of the water.¡± Jensen stretched as they broke apart, not wanting to stay on one platform together. ¡°Jensen, dear, it is only one target. Coming in hot.¡± Auna pointed at the water rippling towards the platform Jensen was on. ¡°Got it, stay mobile support.¡± Jensen raised his shield to block. Not a great decision as a water drake knocked him clear into the water. Auna groaned. ¡°Okay stay mobile! Triplets and me in the water! Sambor, Chloe, Meredith don¡¯t fall in!¡± Auna jumped into the water as everyone called out. The announcer was complaining he could not see anything. Under the water Jensen was struggling to keep hold of his heavy shield, it was the only thing keeping the drakes¡¯ teeth from tearing his throat out though. Quickly Auna and the triplets attached themselves to the drake digging in, Auna with her teeth. Aunas¡¯ wrists were not stable enough to hold on. Instead, she pumped magic into the thing using her teeth. She basically had indestructible teeth, a fact she had learnt by mistaking a rock for candy once. She did not know why. She felt the triplets also release magic on mass into the beast as Jensen kept it entertained. It did not take long for the beast to die. ¡°How did that happen?¡± The announcer was screaming as the arena reset. The kids ignored him and dragged themselves off to the waiting area. The potential teams that might get placements were already waiting. Jensen used fire magic to dry everyone off. Auna closed her eyes and rested for a bit while the king made a few speeches, and brought up the other winners. The child of Wardites¡¯ team managed to achieve second place. Soon Auna and her team were showcased on the stage as well. The other teams had won very expensive weapon creation rights. It meant they could get a custom weapon created by the kingdoms¡¯ best blacksmith shop for free. ¡°For your team I offer a choice. You can get rights for weapon creations as well. Your other choice is a right to have something made by a jeweller.¡± The king smiled, having predicted they would not need the weapons. ¡°Jeweller please.¡± Jensen gave a shrug as he spoke. ¡°So, it will be. Now for the next option. Step up here Wardite team. I want to offer both teams to partake in the special round together.¡± The king stopped to allow them to decide. He didn¡¯t always ask on the platform but this year because the prize was not physical, he asked on the platform. ¡°Well, what do you guys think?¡± Jensen looked first to his team as Wardite did the same. ¡°I have some fight left in me, nothing too grand though. Full support role.¡± Auna said as she had her staff leaned against her, not holding it. Her wrists were throbbing strongly, the rest of her body not doing too much better. ¡°Cool, Marell?¡± Jensen called over. The Jade twins had been a part of the Wardite boys¡¯ team since they started. This was the first year they placed higher than fifth though. They had even completed all ten rounds. ¡°Can we?¡± Marell smiled at little Wardite. ¡°Sure.¡± Little Wardite nodded. Soon they were all back into the arena. Waiting. ¡°I am excited.¡± Auna smiled as Chloe bounced up and down as she spoke. With the greatest prize yet she was excited to see the special monster. ¡°Oh, that is not good, SCATTER!¡± Auna yelled as a black and red dragon appeared inside the arena. The shields around the arena shuttered at the force of the magic having entered. At her yell her team scattered, and kept moving not allowing the dragon to pin them. However only two members of the other team scattered. It left the rest of the Wardite team vulnerable. ¡°I. SAID. SCATTER!¡± Auna threw wind magic at them, scattering them to her team members who grabbed them. Her team dragged the Wardites as they all ran circles. ¡°What, is this?¡± The announcer whispered, though loud enough to be broadcasted. The king also stood up, looking worried. ¡°MOON!¡± Jensen jumped to Auna who had not been able to run fast enough. The dragons claw landed on Jensen¡¯s¡¯ shield, which gave slightly. Jensen could not hold it up. So Auna braced it with him. Her wrists cracking under the pressure, blood staining her sleaves through the bandages. ¡°Moon, we have to do something. We won¡¯t be able to escape. The shields are meant to keep us in as much as the special monsters.¡± ¡°I know. Just hold for a few minutes while I figure it out.¡± Auna kept bracing as the audience started screaming about how unfair it was. A few of them, like Auna, had appraised the dragon. It was a level 500 Dark Fire Dragon. It was way beyond them. As Auna thought that the shield began to crack. ¡°Okay brace for impact.¡± Auna was calm as they were punched fully into the ground. She had used earth magic to mage a tunnel away from the impact zone. Auna also covered their escape route as they moved. She used earth magic and nature magic to pull everyone else under the ground, deeply. She even kindly brought the announcer down. They now all sat huddled deep below the ground in a small chamber as Auna tinkered with something. ¡°What is going on?¡± Marell cried. ¡°Uncle told us not to accept doing the special level. He said we had been lucky this year, and didn¡¯t deserve it. Father said not to listen to him. Maybe we should have.¡± She rambled on some more quietly as Wardite was saying a similar thing, his father had told him not to part take as well. ¡°Why is there a dragon, that thing has to be at least level 200.¡± A freckled boy from the other team muttered. ¡°500.¡± Nearly everyone else said. ¡°The special monster was suppose to be a metal golem. Not this.¡± The announcer sighed deeply. His broadcast still happening. On the screen around the arena everyone could see and hear was happening below them. ¡°Turn the broadcast off, I don¡¯t need the dragon knowing what my plan is. Also shut the hell up, I don¡¯t need that thing hearing us!¡± Auna whisper yelled. ¡°Right.¡± The announcer shut his device off. ¡°So, what do we do?¡± He asked in a whisper as they all moved closer. He had seen the blood pouring from her nose, eyes, ears, and wrists. No one had been surprised about the blood on her wrists. Everyone, including the ones outside, had been shocked about the other blood. ¡°Survive of course.¡± Auna sighed. ¡°I am going to lay explosives around. Then Jensen and I are going to get eaten by that thing. Once we are eaten start running around like mad men throwing these. Then, well, hope for the best honestly. If you run out throw any magic you can.¡± The next hour was spent with the group slowly moving around under the ground as the dragon dug around looking for them. It occasionally got close. Soon the charges were set. Auna was covered in blood. With a nod they all started counting going their opposite ways. Once they were all done with their count explosions rocked the arena. The dragon was momentarily confused. ¡°Oh no! It looks like the dragon has killed Jasper and Pearl!¡± the announcer screamed as he started his broadcast again. He was hoping to distract it. He was not allowed to participate, so this was all he could do. As well as hope for the best. The others did as told, throwing the explosive stones at the dragon as they ran. It was a great distraction, though caused very little damage. They ran out in less than twenty minutes. As the others began to run out of magic though the dragon slowed. It roared with anger. It began to throw its¡¯ head back and forth, rolling on the ground. Blood poured from its¡¯ mouth. Soon it stopped moving. Falling to the ground it gave one last roar, a death cry mixed with anger. ¡°We have killed the dragon.¡± Auna said quietly as the announcer had come to meet them. Her and Jensen had crawled out of the dragons¡¯ mouth. They had been eaten, using magic to keep the acid of the stomach from killing them. They then crawled up the throat, down the wind pipe into the lungs. They cut through the lungs then into the heart. Once in the heart they let out as much magic as they manage throwing explosive stones into the path they came from. Once the heart stopped, they crawled back into the lung, up the windpipe and out the mouth. They were covered in blood, and all kinds of grime. ¡°You will be rewarded the carcass for your efforts.¡± The king was sitting back down, like this wasn¡¯t a mistake. Though most people had caught what the announcer had said, no one had proof after the fact. So, they all calmed down as well. Trusting their king. ¡°Come my moon.¡± Jensen spoke, knowing Auna had closed her eyes already. He supported her body slowly limping them both to the exit. Theo met them there carrying her off to the medic. They spent a few hours being fixed, before the carriages left for the capital. There were no bodies in them though. Only a few drivers, who had short range teleportation magic. They instead all left for the dungeon, and the crater. They all needed proper rest. The Bloodwaves had chosen to stay behind, without Meredith. They would field any questions and move out with the rest of the caravan. The king would not get a chance to see Auna off, he still did not have the moon door. He was busy dealing with the fallout of the last special event. He made sure no one tried to claim the dragon. His shadow guard had managed to attach himself to Auna, going through the gate. Auna was conscious enough to give access when she noticed there was some trouble getting through. The guard remained in shadow form. He spoke to the king though, Auna noticed a device in his hands¡ªlike a communicator. Chapter 63: A new strategy ¡°Are you awake?¡± The shadow guard asked as Auna gave a weak groan. ¡°I am. Are the kids gone?¡± Auna pulled herself up, she was once again sat half way into the magic lake in their dungeon. ¡°I didn¡¯t leave here. I know you allowed me in, Jensen gave me a dirty look though so.¡± He trailed off as Auna was now the one giving him a dirty look. ¡°Some guard, a dirty look from a child has you back down. Not once but twice?¡± Auna was now smiling as she reached out for a hand up, it was hard as she currently was avoiding using her wrists. ¡°Very funny.¡± The guard easily pulled her to a sitting position, then into his arms. ¡°Okay, let us take a tour I suppose. I prefer to stay here a bit longer. The dense magic really helps. How long?¡± Auna asked as she adjusted her self to sit sideways across his chest. ¡°All night, it is about mid day now. The communicator works well. So, this dungeon has to be with in the kingdom.¡± The guard walked a few steps. ¡°Do I go to the podium?¡± ¡°No, leave the cave.¡± Auna pointed weakly to the cave mouth. ¡°What is with the mushrooms, and the creepy girl drooling over them?¡± Shadow, the new name I came up with for him, looked to one of the alchemists under the care of Allison. The alchemist was currently muttering to a mushroom patch that was glowing. ¡°Honestly, I tend to let them be.¡± Auna half shrugged. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Shadow carried Auna out, and up the small hill. ¡°Wow, it is gorgeous.¡± ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Both were watching the people mill about. There were kids in the school yards, people running around the administration buildings, and far off in the fields people and treants were working. ¡°Lady Moon! Come Play!¡± Multiple children came to the edge of the yard, most from Wardite. They had settled in well, over the few months they had been in Ember Moon. They still were restricted to the farm floor, sleeping in the school. None cared though as it was much better than the streets. They had taken to calling her moon like Jensen, and many of the residents of Ember Moon still did. ¡°I can¡¯t right now, be good students for your teachers alright?¡± I answered with a warm smile, trying not move due to the pain in my body. ¡°Awe! Okay Lady Moon.¡± The children easily left as Jensen poked his head out from the main administration building. ¡°You, um.¡± Jensen thought for a moment as Auna smiled. ¡°Shadow.¡± Auna called loudly. ¡°Take me to Jensen.¡± Both the guard and Jensen shook their heads, but did not complain about the new name. ¡°I really wanted to see everything though.¡± Shadow pouted as he sat Auna down in a comfortable chair at the head of a long table. As he stood off to the side. Many people were already sat down. ¡°Well, I could kick you out of here, you¡¯ll get a great sightseeing tour of the great monster forest. Just say the word, Shadow.¡± The smile on Jensens¡¯ face was not very friendly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you like the kings¡¯ shadow?¡± Auna was seriously curious, she had nothing against the poor guy. Even giving him a warm smile as she asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like him. I just don¡¯t like him.¡± Jensen gave a derisive smile. ¡°Stop teasing the poor man, should we get down to business?¡± Auna sighed as she shifted slightly to ease the ache in her joints. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Fine idea Lady Moon.¡± Grandmother elf started to continue before Shadow interrupted her. ¡°Sorry, the King will have to divide the dragon materials among the team. He can do half for each team. If there are materials you would rather have though, he might be able to convince the other teams¡¯ representative to let you.¡± Shadow apologised for his interruption but waved his communicator. ¡°I see. Well, that is an important topic. Does anyone here have any request?¡± Grandmother elf looked around the table. There were representatives for the major professions and races gathered. ¡°I would the blood and any organs that are usually discarded.¡± Allison, Al, the Alchemist spoke up first. ¡°We would like the intestines please.¡± An unassuming woman said, she was the representatives of the people with music professions. ¡°I get the creepy alchemist there, but the intestines?¡± Shadow shifted on his feet. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They make sturdy, long lasting musical strings.¡± The woman answered with a straight face. ¡°Though processing them will be very smelly. We will manage.¡± ¡°Okay, anyone else?¡± Shadow continued. ¡°Can we have some, claws, spikes, bones, and scales?¡± Larn smiled as ne gnawed at some jewel. Obviously trying to increase the benefits of his odd skill. Shadow was a bit shocked but said nothing to the dwarf. He only nodded slightly while seeming to take mental notes. ¡°Hide would be nice.¡± A man who Auna knew to be a great tanner spoke up. ¡°We can store, and dry the meat for food. Dragon meat is supposed to be very tasty.¡± A hunter laughed at everyones¡¯ faces. ¡°Come on it wasn¡¯t a pet or anything!¡± The man shook his head. ¡°Alright, anything else?¡± Shadow asked. ¡°I want the skull horns and all.¡± Auna spoke last. ¡°I will see what I can do.¡± Shadow sighed. ¡°Though the other team will also want it.¡± ¡°The other team just ran around in circles.¡± Auna deadpanned. ¡°True.¡± Shadow nodded. ¡°Moving on then.¡± Grandmother elf said. ¡°We need to take a more serious approach to your safety. We can¡¯t let attempts on your life to keep happening.¡± ¡°More security is being put in place at the school. The king is putting Auna on lockdown, no more off campus trips. Aside from here, I guess.¡± Shadow added quickly. ¡°That is all good, however, I have little confidence in that. However, we must accept it. I mean we need to fix the issue at the root. We need to find out who is trying to kill you and take them out of the picture one way or another.¡± Grandmother elf finished as a few others nodded. ¡°Are you suggesting violence?¡± Auna smirked lightly at her. ¡°Only if we need to, I suggest we use our information gathering resources to find the person or persons doing this. Then we hand it over to the king to deal with.¡± Grandmother elf confirmed. ¡°I agree we should.¡± Auna spoke firmly. ¡°However, I won¡¯t tolerate anything happening to my people. I did not bring you all here to die, or be injured.¡± ¡°I understand we will work closely with Sargent, to learn how to be safer while gathering information.¡± Grandfather elf spoke up. He was currently representing the city in the forest, even though there were no people living in it full time. Once the next winter was gone there would be full time settlers. During the Autumn and winter, they were hoping to complete the last of the walls, and buildings. Auna was worried the couple would suffer some relationship issues, they assured her they would be fine. Even separated in duty and possibly home bases they would be fine. ¡°You know the Sargent.¡± Shadow had to sit down. ¡°How did you pull that off? That hard head rarely makes friends.¡± ¡°Impressed?¡± Jensen smirked. ¡°Anyway, yes work with Sargent. That solves that issue for now. We know Jade, and Wardite are the main suspects so please start there.¡± Jensen looked to Auna. ¡°I updated everyone that Wardite and Jade heads both tried to get the other team to not do the special round. They are for sure suspicious.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Auna nodded as Shadow nodded as well humming in approval. ¡°Good. Now the issue of Auna not being able to keep up with her studies is an issue.¡± Grandmother elf sighed. ¡°She needs proper rest, straining so much is not working.¡± ¡°I have a solution.¡± Nero spoke up. The head scribe. ¡°I could carry you around, and take all your notes.¡± Nero shifted slightly. ¡°I miss school, and learning facilities. It would be a nice change, if I go as your assistant no one will really be looking at me. So, no one should find out my identity. Even if they do, I am confident I can just disappear again, you know?¡± Nero wouldn¡¯t look at her. ¡°Can that be arranged?¡± Auna asked Shadow. ¡°It can be. He would have to check in to a teachers¡¯ room, or arrive every morning. I will have the king set it up. If the king sets it up then he would be even more invisible. Everyone would just think he was a child of a trusted servant under the king. The king would only select someone trusted by him in some way to give you a hand.¡± Shadow rambled. ¡°Nero is a great scribe, so he is perfect. It should be safe enough either way.¡± Auna nodded her head. ¡°Alright Nero prepare to leave.¡± The rest of the meeting was dungeon business, and finalizing the game plan for safety. Chapter 64: Why did you let assassins get to our rooms? ¡°Nero, I won¡¯t need you here soon. I could try to get you into the scholars school?¡± Auna said as Nero carried Auna to the library. It was now near the end of Jazen, almost three months since the festival. Auna had healed a lot and by the end of next month she should be walking and writing on her own. Currently she was still having Nero write for her for most things, while practicing lightly. Her body was still weak, but no longer in constant pain. Between her own healing magic, the palace healers, the church healers, and good rest in her dungeon her body was recovering. She still had holes in her wings though, and the terrible burn scars had turned white refusing to fade completely. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about that. I learn more from experience, I kind of miss the dungeon now. Funny, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t seem to know what I want or where I want to be.¡± Nero was wistful as he sat her down in a chair. ¡°That isn¡¯t bad, you had a home. A future. Now you are still trying to create a new one. I think if you want to learn from experience, we can make that happen. You already travel with the merchants when you can right? I plan to travel this world, map every nook. I¡¯ll take you with me?¡± Auna asked as the others settled in. ¡°Yes. I would enjoy that. I think.¡± Nero gave a small smile as he pulled out the study sheets he made for the group. ¡°I think that would be great.¡± Jensen gave a double thumbs up before getting down to business. ¡°I want to go to bed early tonight.¡± ¡°I see, it is the end of the semester we don¡¯t have too much to do. I am sure everyone is nearly prepped for their classes in the new year?¡± Auna smirked as everyone groaned. She always made sure to push them to study for the next semester while the current was slowing down. It was hard work but they managed to stay near the top of their years, and classes. It was well worth it as Ciela, and Edgar were now on track to finish school two years early. They would graduate at 16 after their eighth year. They had been able to take enough extra classes to achieve this. ¡°Alright this is where I leave you.¡± Nero gave a bow as Mrs. Hopper took Auna to the dorm. He left for his room, which had a moon door in it. While in shadows, or moon light no alarm spells would be set off. This allowed Auna to put a door in his room. ¡°Now girls I will be here bright an early. I expect you to not leave the room until I arrive this time.¡± Mrs. Hopper was giving a disapproving look. A few days ago, she had come for Auna, but they were already in the library. Nero had taken her through the art wing door directly from the dungeon. She had figured Auna walked down. Thus, the scolding now. ¡°Yes Mrs. Hopper.¡± They said together. ¡°Okay, Jensen said the code phrase. Tonight, we go to the dungeon for sleep.¡± Auna moved carefully to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll have some of the ladies help with my shower tonight.¡± Meredith and Chloe had been a great help in her daily chores like dressing, and showering. ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s go.¡± Meredith gathered their things up, shutting the light off behind them. ¡°So, why are we here tonight?¡± Auna asked once they were sat around the table. Everyone had gotten ready for bed already. They would sleep in this building tonight; a room had been set up for them all. Edgar was yawning in a seat; he couldn¡¯t be left in the room. ¡°Our information network has heard there could be an attack tonight.¡± Grandmother elf gave a soft smile. ¡°We have learnt much from Sargent. We have some evidence already against Wardite and Jade.¡± ¡°However, that can be dealt with once we have enough evidence for a sure thing with the king.¡± Grandfather elf gave a stern look to his wife. ¡°Instead, we wanted to update you on the dragon materials that finally came in.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Exciting, what did we manage to get?¡± Auna perked up. ¡°We got nearly all of the blood, some went to Bloodwave family and a bit to one of the families from the other team. They both have alchemist and potion makers. The inners that are usually thrown away, and the intestines, went fully to us.¡± Continuing grandfather elf went on. ¡°We got half of the scales, meat, bone, and hide. One eighth of our half was given to the Bloodwave family, they would not take no for an answer. However, the skull with its attached horns is yours. They wanted it but the king declared the only two who deserved the trophy was you and the Pearl family. Since you are engaged, he saw it as a nonissue giving it to you. Didn¡¯t think you collected such things though.¡± ¡°Collected? Trophy?¡± Auna questioned. ¡°No, I have a use for it.¡± ¡°The use?¡± A few people asked at once. ¡°Rowan can explain first.¡± Auna waved the silver haired wooden girl over. ¡°If I have the skull I can create or birth a treant-adjacent dragon. Using a medium I can take some of the power and characteristic of the original and birth a new creature. This one will be a dragon like thing most likely dark and nature elements. The fire element will most likely disappear. However, with the skills my master has we could do better¡± Rowan looked back to Auna. ¡°Yes, with my runic magics, dark magic, taming skill, and space magic I think I can elevate the outcome. I will be practicing with other skills of fallen monsters. I will inscribe runes of both ancient and modern types. Then I will imbue the skull with space, and dark magic until the runes have enough. I may also give a prayer, or use other magic if my instincts tell me to. I will have Rowan beside me and when we are ready, she will use her skill. If everything goes well, I will create a new guardian for our town in the forest.¡± Auna beamed at the faces around her. ¡°Oh, before I forget. Before break there is a last test for us older kids. We don¡¯t know what it is though. We were told it could last for a few days into our break. Some combat test.¡± Auna finished. ¡°Okay. That is okay. The dungeon residents are worried about how little progress is being made in the dungeon though. Do you children plan on continuing it? It would be safest here. Also, the residents want to rename the town. It needs to be a strong name as it will be our capital.¡± Grandmother elf had decided to ignore the dragon skull for now. ¡°Jensen, do you remember Altan?¡± Auna asked. ¡°The guy who was a leader of ruffians? The one from the text books in our old world?¡± Jensen questioned. ¡°He was a man who brought the different tribes, and cultures of his nation together. He created law, order, and introduced a unified religion to the so-called ruffians. I knew him personally. I was a sister to him. I saw what he did, how he did it. Sure, it was rough but really, he made a new dawn come to his nation. That is why he renamed to Altan. He was a rough, but kind man.¡± Auna sighed remembering a past brother. ¡°So, do you want us to name the city Altan, meaning dawn? No one will know it means dawn though. We should name it Altan Dawn, which will mean dawn dawn. However, it will be clear to the people of this world.¡± Jensen explained. ¡°Okay, then Altan Dawn will be the capital of Jasper. How does that sound?¡± Auna asked the wider audience gathered. ¡°I think the people will love it.¡± Grandfather elf nodded. ¡°We have all been given a new dawn by settling within Jasper. It is perfect for our first, and capital city.¡± ¡°Already, now for the progress issue?¡± Larn brought up. ¡°We plan to continue in earnest again. Everyone is right, it is safer here anyway.¡± Auna shrugged. ¡°We should get to bed though.¡± ¡°Alright, good night children.¡± After that the children went to their beds. They learnt the next morning that assassins had infiltrated the campus as verified staff members. They waited until the night, disabled the alarms and snuck into all three rooms. At the same time. They all were met with empty rooms. However, the security teams in charge of watching the rooms caught them. They had planned to be out before the security teams came back around. However, due to not being able to locate the targets they had been checking under the beds, washrooms, and closets. They had even turned on the lights in desperation which had alerted the security teams. The school had covered up the incident, only telling the group as they were directly involved. They had questioned the group separately on why they were not in their rooms. They all gave the same answer. ¡®Why did you let assassins get to our rooms?¡¯. Not one person cracked under the interrogation, and the king put a quick end to it as well once he found out. The children were watched even more closely for the last days of school. Soon it was time for the older children to take their combat test. Chapter 65: The test of resilience ¡°Now everyone is gathered. I will explain the test.¡± The combat teachers for the few different classes of combat were present. ¡°Now for some of you this is your last chance to pass this test.¡± The unfamiliar teacher looked to their group. ¡°Some of you are here early, due to skipping classes of the basic combat training.¡± ¡°You will have a chance each year at the of Jazen to take this test. You can tell your younger siblings or friends. It won¡¯t help them though. In fact, it may even make it worst for them. Your sense of time will be magically skewed. You can take the time down now, but when you leave it may not be when you were done the test. Some times we hold you for another few hours or days.¡± The teacher turned to a group that was chatting. ¡°Stop chatting this is important.¡± Her pointed glare made them stop. ¡°We will be putting you all into your own testing area. You are all, or should be, over sixteen. Those of you who are younger your parents have signed off. You may end the test when ever you want.¡± Again, she looked to their group. ¡°We will stop the test if we need to. The test is a tradition of this school. Every combat student who goes past the basics must take, and pass this test. We will not be telling you how long you must last to pass the test.¡± ¡°The test will be one of resilience. As an adventurer, dungeon raider, or solider there will be times you can¡¯t find food, or water. Even in these times you will have to fight still, to survive you will have to keep going. To verify you can do that we will test you.¡± ¡°Each student will be placed in a room with training weapons they are familiar with. There will be no access to, light, food, or sound. You will be given water via tap once a day. You will be isolated completely. You will have to practice daily, either in the dark or via your magic. If you stop practice for more than a few hours, outside of sleeping, the test will be ended by us. We will be watching 24/7. If you sleep for longer than ten hours at a time, the test will be ended. If you sleep less than six hours daily, the test will be ended.¡± ¡°This test is to make sure you can stand the mental pressure of survival. The pressure of hunger, and thirst will be difficult. Once you can not handle anymore you may end the test. There is a list of criteria we will use to test you. We can tell you there are points for how long you stay, how much practice you do, how much sleep you have, and more. We will not tell you the specifics.¡± ¡°You can bring your tamed pets. However, you must trust they will last as long as you. If we find they are unable to continue your test will be ended as well. If you do have a storage skill you are not allowed to use it. You may only have the items that are in the room. If you use the storage skill your test will end.¡± ¡°Does anyone have any questions?¡± The teacher asked. Then pointed to Auna who had her hand up. ¡°Can I request weapons I am not familiar with?¡± Auna asked. ¡°You may if you want to.¡± ¡°Can I request a letter be sent to my younger sister; she worries. I need to let her know I may take a few days.¡± ¡°That can be arranged.¡± ¡°Thank you miss.¡± ¡°Anyone else have questions?¡± The teacher moved around the room answering questions. ¡°Can I go get my tamed monster?¡± A boy asked. ¡°We will collect it for you.¡± The teacher answered. ¡°Can I have paper and a pen?¡± A girl asked. ¡°No.¡± The teacher answered. Some asked for books, or other entertainment items. All items were denied. Others asked for extra clothes, also denied. Some asked other small questions. The rules did not change though. ¡°Are you going to bring Theo?¡± Meredith asked as they were given ten minutes to ask for which weapons they wanted, send the letters they needed, or to ask for their familiars to be brought. ¡°No. If I were to ever come to a point similar, I would send Theo away. I would send them all away, releasing them in hope they could live. I would not allow them to suffer along side me. I am not really a tamer though. If you wish to have your tamed monsters by you, then do so. Do what you think will help you pass this test.¡± Auna sighed as she carefully wrote to Ciela. The teacher who took the letter read it carefully. Auna had written only a few lines. ¡®Hi Ciela. My test is going to go for longer than I thought. Take care of Theo and the others for me. Take them to Grandmother and stay there until I am done. Jensen and the others are with me. They also want you to take their tamed pets to Grandmother. Play with Rowan until I get back. Love you.¡¯ Meredith had decided not to take any of her tamed monsters with her. She wanted to test herself not pull them into the test as well. They had been separated and led under the school to hallways of small chambers. Auna without much trouble had been placed in a room without light. In the room was a bucket, a pipe with a different buck but no taps, blankets in a corner, a training dummy, and the weapons she asked for. She asked for a spear, staff, sword, and bow. The bow would not be useful in the room, there was barely room to properly swing a sword. The floor space was tiny. Auna gave a stretch and took a look around, running her hands on the soft stone walls of the room. There was only silence. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Slowly Auna sat down on the bed. Her eyes could see perfectly well in the pitch black. The weapons that had been given were all dulled. She decided to meditate first, her mapping skill told her there were other rooms close. She could see the dots pacing or perhaps already practicing. She picked up ten other rooms by spreading her magic out. The plan was to be the last one of her self-made groups. Her skills allowed her to keep track of time as Mr. Voice did it in her log. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time she had no food or little water. Slowly she got up and picked up one of the dull arrows. She scratched into the soft stone a rune, a modern one. When she was finished, she touched it, and push some magic into it. Modern runes needed magic to be pushed into them, the ancient ones would take the magic from surroundings. If she used an ancient one, she may accidently steal magic from the others. She didn¡¯t want that. She also didn¡¯t want the teachers to know she could easily see in the dark. The rune gave off a soft blue glow. She then took the bow and practiced releasing it without an arrow. She did not want to hit herself with an arrow bouncing off the wall. She did this for a few hours. Then she had to go to the washroom, which made her feel very uncomfortable without privacy. It was more like a torture cell then a test. However, she did not wish to do this test again. She then swung her sword for a few hours. After she meditated, scratched a few runes into the floor, drank the water provided, then went to sleep. The runes she scratched into the floor would make a small pop sound in seven hours. They were used in military for shift changes, and different strategic decoy attacks. It would make sure she would not sleep too long. The next day she started with going to the washroom. Scratching random runes into the walls and floors for practice. Then she did some normal exercise, bow practice, sword practice, ending with a bit of staff practice. She did not want to use too much magic under such surveillance. She would mediate, then scratch more runes into the floor. Lastly, she drank the water provided and went to bed. The day after was also the same, though she had stopped using the washroom. She noticed that everyone else in her self-made group had left on the third day. Auna had not heard Mr. Voice since entering the room. She had become consumed with her routine, her mind going into a gentle emptiness. It was her coping strategy at times like this. ¡°Miss Jasper. It is time to go.¡± The teacher who had placed her in the room opened the door. Jensen was stood beside her. Auna just kept practicing her sword swings. ¡°My moon, Ciela waits for us with Grandmother.¡± Jensen walked slowly into the room. ¡°Do you know how long you have been in here? I personally left at least two days ago. I had refused to leave the waiting area until you came out. Everyone else is waiting still.¡± Auna continued her practice. ¡°My moon, can we go?¡± Jensen tried again. Auna did not stop, then slowly she did. She blinked slowly at him. Then looked around the room. The walls and floors were covered in runes. The smell in the room was very strong. Her clothes were closer to soiled rags than the soft fabric she had come in. The clothes were covered in grime from the walls, and her sweat. There seemed to be some dried bile on her clothes as well, she must have dry heaved a few times. The training dummy was in small splinters, as were most of the weapons. ¡°I think it is time to leave. Sorry about that. I was a bit too focused, wasn¡¯t I?¡± Auna seemed to eerily shake off the emptiness in her eyes. Dropping the weapon, she looked to the teacher. ¡°Does this mean I don¡¯t pass?¡± ¡°You passed. It is not customary to let people know how long they have been in the room. However, I can tell you were the last to leave. And we only opened the door as we are not permitted to keep you longer than this. There is a room with clothes, and a shower for you.¡± The teacher led them to another small room. Jensen waited as she showered and got dressed in a track suit that had been provided for her. Are you back? Mr. Voice asked as she brushed her hair. Why didn¡¯t you tell me to leave? Auna asked. The spells stop a lot of different skills; however, I have now corrected the logs for you. Auna quickly looked to the logs. What she thought was only a few days turned out to be ten whole days. The logs time stamps had been fuzzy and improper before. Mr. Voice had been mostly blocked too. The rooms had strong magic designed to keep students from cheating. However, now outside of the room her skill reset or rebooted itself. It is impressive how well you are able to survive in such situations, then just bounce back. Mr. Voice said after she finished looking. I think the key is practice. Auna answered putting down the brush. Right now, though I just want something to eat. Leaving the small room, she was guided back to the waiting area they started in with Jensen. Once there Meredith, Chloe, and the triplets were waiting for them. ¡°Want an apple?¡± Bruno pushed one into her hand. She eagerly bit into it. ¡°Shall we go?¡± Auna asked looked around. She saw Mateo and Chloe whispering together. ¡°Yes please, we have been waiting for days!¡± Diego laughed. As he started leading the group out. They would pick up their tamed monsters from the handler, then head to their dorms. On the short break between the second and new first semester many stayed on campus. From there they will head to the dungeon as planned. ¡°Your pets missed you guys.¡± The handler called out as the group approached. ¡°Yikes did the combat test I take it?¡± ¡°That easy to tell?¡± Auna remarked as she climbed on to Theo. Ayda and Kaida followed behind. Auna was too tired to walk the rest of the way. The handler bid them farewell as they left. He was a kind man who had worked along side the original handler when they started school years ago. He was also now accompanied by a young boy, a teenager who was now the apprentice. ¡°I take it you all passed the test?¡± Grandmother elf asked as they entered the administration building. ¡°The dungeon raid should be pushed off until you all look better.¡± ¡°I second that. I want more food, and rest. I might work on the skull. I think we all should take a bit of a break.¡± Auna slid off Theo to sit on the floor. ¡°The city is safe currently. Why don¡¯t you children rest there?¡± Grandmother elf gave a smile. ¡°The walls are finished, and the monsters don¡¯t bother it much. That dormant egg you brought here is also at the Altan Dawn. It has begun to change a bit.¡± ¡°That sounds interesting. I think I will take you up on that offer.¡± Auna pulled herself up once again. Everyone was in agreement, even Ciela was happy to join they had about thirty days until the next semester would start. They would be safe inside the dungeon or Altan Dawn, no one would get to them. While they took their break their information network would continue to hunt down Wardite and Jade. They even had a group called new moon; they were basically ninjas. Within a few minutes Auna was tucked into a big circular bed under a beautiful canopy. She was in her tower in the main building of Altan Dawn. The others were also in her room at the tables, in her bed, and in the bay window. The book cases were nearly empty as she didn¡¯t have many books, the ones she did had been given to the school in Ember Moon. Nero had copied the books, giving her back the original ones. They sat nicely on her shelves now. Little trinkets she had gathered over the years also were placed on them. She was happy. It felt like home. Ciela cuddled closer. A woman had brought them all food and drinks. Some other rooms on the floor had been claimed, though she knew Ciela would sleep with her tonight. Chapter 66: Back into the dungeon (1) Auna turned the egg that had once been a dull lifeless thing over in her hands. Everyone had been taking turns with it. It travelled often from the dungeon to the city and the beach. It now had every colour she could think off, and them some covering the shell. It pulsed with life, wanting to hatch, but still not ready. It was now heavier, and thicker. Everyone was a bit excited to see if the dormant egg would hatch. Auna placed it back on the pillow in the school. It was the schools turn to have it. Auna went to the middle of the open space between the fields and building on the first level. It had been ten days since she came to the dungeon. She was ready to try to complete the creation of a dragon. She and Rowan sat across from each other on the ground. Many had come to watch them. Auna had placed runes of summoning, life, magic, a few heretic rebirth ones, and a couple other ones that had felt right. She had saturated them as well. Now it was time to try their luck. It took nearly a whole hour of them both activating their skills, guiding the magic. Soon a new dragon nearly as big as a house stood in the field. It was a dragon covered in flowers, vines, and wooden branches. In random spots black, red, white, and brown scales looked as if they fell into the mass of branches. The scales were sturdy though, humming with power. The eyes were black holes with red flames. It had pure black claws, with sharp white teeth. The dragon sat looking at Auna, then it spoke. ¡°Give me a name, my creator, my master. I shall serve you.¡± Everyone stayed quiet looking between the dragon and Auna. ¡°I shall name you Alexios Jasper. You will protect this dungeon, and the city Altan Dawn. That is what is considered the territory of Jasper right now.¡± Auna spoke then took a look at the status of Alexios, the new protector of Jasper. She quickly let others see the status screen of Alexios. ¡°You have created an undead creature that can use holy magic?¡± Grandmother elf couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡°It is so big; can it even leave the dungeon?¡± ¡°Um. Alexios, can you leave the dungeon?¡± Auna asked the dragon. ¡°I can use my nature magic to become smaller.¡± As the dragon spoke, he became smaller until he was smaller than even Ayda. ¡°This is amazing did you get any new skills for this?¡± Jensen jumped around the now tiny dragon. ¡°What a perfect thing, the school kids are going to love him.¡± ¡°I did, it is called creation of life, under my first job. The only description is that ¡®The person of this skill has created a new life form¡¯ nothing else.¡± Auna shrugged. It hadn¡¯t even given her experience. ¡°Well, are you good to dive into the dungeon?¡± Jensen asked. Once everyone settled down a bit. ¡°Sure.¡± Auna handed the now small dragon to the elf grandmother as she pulled herself together. Her body was now fully healed. She took one last look at her new tamed monsters status sheet.
Name Alexios Jasper
Master AunaLuna, Sage, Jasper
Gender Female
Basic Monster information
Species Undead Treant Dragon
Class Unknown
Age If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Unavailable
Status Points
Health 1000
Mana 1000
Physical Strength 3000
Mental Strength 500
Intelligence 200
Agility 1000
Luck 20
Skills
Dark Magic
Fire Magic
Minion summon
Human speech
Nature Magic
Earth Magic
Primal Hunter
Holy Magic
Blessings
Curses
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ciela laughed as they jumped to the last floor, they had made it to, level 18. It was a damp floor with crab monsters and other aquatic ones. They were all excited to get back to what they considered normal. They had twenty days to spend in the dungeon. They had their tamed monsters with them, splitting between the front and back of their formation. Everyone walked down the wet slimy path as they hunted down snails, crabs, octopus, and more. They had not really found anything of value in these floors. Which was fine, they could not expect each floor to give them rare or useful resources. They were also gaining experience at a decent rate. ¡°Level 19 here we come!¡± Mateo yelled as they went to leave the stairwell. ¡°I hope it smells better than these ones.¡± The last few floors had smelt awful. ¡°I think it is a boss room.¡± Auna pointed to an odd door. ¡°Shall we?¡± They entered the room. It was almost a beach like area. With nice trees around the coast. The middle of the room began to move slowly. A mountain rises from it. Green slimly flesh leading to many different long tentacles. At the center one glossy eye below that a sharp beak. It looked slowly until landed on a target. Then it sent majority of its¡¯ tentacles to the group. They scattered without a command. They had gotten good at that. ¡°Ciela, Meredith support the triplets. Chloe you are with me, we are going for the eye.¡± Auna bounced to the side with Chloe chasing after her. Jensen followed closely. The triplets kept the tentacles busy while being supported by all of their pets, Meredith and Ciela. They were keeping the focus off the main strike team. The single eye was still on the main group when Chloe jumped off Jensens¡¯ shield that he had crouched under to spring her up. Auna flew up, having put strong fabric over the holes, her wings could now carry her small distances again. The girls both smashed the eye at the same time. Chloe had a face full of blood with a wicked smile. She was very happy to be back to this. Auna had sliced downwards and was now stuck in the eye, her feet bracing herself against the beak. Chloe was already on her way back to the ground. ¡°Uh my moon, perhaps not the safest place?¡± Jensen called after her as the monster swayed reaching for her sword. ¡°Like this was the plan! My sword is stuck in the socket!¡± Auna roared. ¡°Then let it go?!¡± Jensen roared back. ¡°I like this sword!¡± Auna argued. ¡°Can we not have a lovers spat right now!¡± Chloe yelled over them. ¡°It¡¯s not a lovers spat.¡± Jensen and Auna yelled together. Chloe was already back on her way to the eye, while the triplets were trying to keep the tentacles from going to Auna. ¡°What ever it is. Can we not?¡± Chloe now also balancing on the beak holding the hilt of Aunas¡¯ sword with her. She was attempting to remove it while also swinging into the eye more. ¡°Are you really serious right now?¡± Chloe demanded as the sword would not come free. ¡°Very, it was a gift!¡± Auna grunted as she pulled. ¡°Can we get some magic aimed at the eye here?¡± Chloe gave another shout. ¡°Let¡¯s burn the thing.¡± Auna growled. Letting out a torrent of lightening as Chloe purposely dropped from her perch. ¡°More warning please.¡± Chloe landed in a roll. ¡°Everyone!¡± Fire, Lightening, and earth magic targeted the main eye all at once. It bled and the monster swayed falling forwards in pain. They kept up the attack cutting and hacking the tentacles while smashing the beak and eye more. After nearly two hours the beast died, they cut the teeth out as the meat smelled too gross. The teeth in the beak though were small and sharp, they could make for great material. Then they washed up the best they could, not wanting to go to the next level covered in blood and slime. They rested for a bit on the stairwell. ¡°Do you think the next floor will be different?¡± Ciela asked stretching, it was time to move. ¡°I hope so, I am so done with the dampness.¡± Meredith complained as they moved further down the stairs, happy to move on. ¡°Congratulations! You are the first team to make it to this level of the dungeon, your reward has been given to you.¡± ¡°Wow this is really cool! Still tastes gross though.¡± Meredith laughed as they all consumed their pearls. This time it was a consumable pearl that would increase each stat by 25. It was a great boost as they wouldn¡¯t have to increase stats like luck with their level gains. It was no little boost either, they were all very pleased.