《Chronicles of the Weakest Wind Mage》


 Prologue

    Year 193 of the Hoplian calendar, Mia Hart (7 years old).


    An almost imperceptible change in the wind jolted Mia awake from her typically light sleep, as she always cast wind magic passively even while sleeping these days. While her magic was weak in terms of offense, its nature made it quite suitable for scouting-related purposes such as what was apparently happening tonight. Her [Detection lvl. 3] spell had notified her that another human presence was approaching the nearby vicinity.


    Mia took a quick look outside her window. There were no clocks in this world, so she wasn¡¯t sure of the exact time, but the faint light trickling in from the moonlit night informed her that it must have been close to twilight.


    An unknown figure was skulking around in the corridor outside her bedroom in the Hart mansion. However, their target didn¡¯t appear to be Mia¡¯s room. Rather, the furtive intruder slowly took their time in front of the room adjacent to hers ¨C the bedroom that belonged to her father, the lord of this domain.


    No normal servant of the Hart household should have been up and about at this time of night. If he was a servant, his purpose here at this timing could only be a nefarious one. With her curiosity naturally piqued, Mia silently picked up her ceremonial sword which was basically a glorified dagger from her bedside table as she slipped out of bed barefoot in an effort to muffle the sound of her footsteps as much as she possibly could.


    Mia smoothly slipped out of her nightgown and into clothes that were easier to move around in, having a premonition that freedom of movement may come in handy. The simple action of changing her clothes was something incredibly normal, but the feeling of fabric against her skin only raised her tension instead of giving a comforting feeling. She also grabbed her pouch of sand that she carried around for the sake of blinding a potential attacker¡¯s eyes and loosened the pouch¡¯s drawstring. Then, she summoned her pet Slime and put on her armor.


    Tiptoeing through the darkness to her bedroom door, Mia opened it by an unnoticeable amount and peered through the crack. Although the corridor was dimly illuminated, the moonlight streaming in from the window showed her the clear side profile of a medium height black-haired boy who had an intense gaze as he focused on breaking through her father¡¯s bedroom door without making too much noise. He had a slender build that showed signs of malnourishment, and he was evidently trying and failing to prevent his hands from shaking as they were still trembling ever so slightly.


    He was concentrating solely on the door, showing no vigilance towards his surroundings. If looks could kill, he would have burned a hole through the door already with the crystal-clear killing intent that he was exuding.


    Mia recognized who he was, even if she wasn¡¯t too familiar with him. He was a new ¡®servant¡¯ who had been picked up by her father for ¡®training and pleasure¡¯ purposes just three days ago. She hadn¡¯t spoken to him yet, nor did she know his name. Was he here for his own purposes, or was someone instructing him? The expression on his face seemed far too serious for someone who was merely carrying out orders, so she suspected it was a personal grudge of some sort. No surprise there, given that her father Count Hart ruled this domain with an iron fist and was as corrupt and depraved as any typical storybook noble one could imagine.


    This was a private hallway on the second floor, with guards stationed at the staircase. Nobody that didn¡¯t have permission would be allowed here, but this boy had been stashed in the other room adjacent to her father¡¯s bedroom, which explained how he was easily able to appear here.


    After about one minute, there was a soft *click* in the air as the lock popped open and the boy clenched his fist in a victorious pose. Without even a second¡¯s hesitation, he rushed into her father¡¯s bedroom.


    Mia didn¡¯t have the luxury of taking her time to consider. She made a split-second decision ¨C to follow him and find out what his intentions were. If what he was planning matched her suspicions, then the two of them shared a common cause ¨C desiring the demise of her father.


    Just in case, Mia used her wind magic to envelop this area with a soft breeze blowing inwardly, serving to trap sound within an isolated pocket. This worked on the same principle of how she typically controlled the airflow around her to bring faraway sounds to her ears. Mia had a hunch that it would serve her purposes for nobody to overhear what was about to occur.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Even if there was any danger to her, Mia considered it likely that she would have the advantage of surprise over him. It also seemed as if the boy was unarmed: there were no telltale bulges of weapons on his figure, nor did he pause to draw one as he excitedly rushed into the room.


    With her body fully tense, Mia stealthily approached her father¡¯s bedroom door with drawn dagger at the ready. Fortunately for her, he didn¡¯t close the door behind him and left it ajar. Was it recklessness or inexperience on his part? Or could it be¡­ that he simply didn¡¯t care about the consequences of being discovered now?


    The black-haired boy was holding his hands over the sleeping figure of Mia¡¯s father. His back was turned to her, and Mia couldn¡¯t quite comprehend what was going on. However, Mia quickly figured out the situation when her father¡¯s previously peaceful sleeping figure began contorting.


    Although Mia had mentally prepared herself beforehand, witnessing the death of a human firsthand was no simple thing to tolerate, even if it wasn¡¯t her first time by now. She still hadn¡¯t hardened herself to such an extent. However, she felt disgust only at the way he died, with no remorse at the fact of his death.


    Mia¡¯s father wasn¡¯t a complex man; he was a despot that robbed his own citizens, plain and simple. Mia¡¯s mother had died a few years after giving birth to her, which was why her father slept alone. The only reason why Mia hadn¡¯t turned out like him was because she was a reincarnator and retained her memories from her previous life. This world was a different one from Earth, with magic taking the place of technology and had the setting of a game she played in her previous life.


    Count Hart was now thrashing violently while struggling with his blanket. She could hear nothing but gurgles, as any speech he attempted was incoherent. A reeking stench soon filled the room ¨C he must have soiled his nightclothes. Vomit soon came after, but that was the least of Count Hart¡¯s problems, as his hands stopped struggling and went limp.


    During this entire time, the boy still had his back facing her. He never touched her father even once that Mia saw, but it was apparent this was the effect of a powerful poison. So, was it magical in nature? No matter if it was physical or magical, it must have been spread through the air. Staying vigilant, Mia sent the air currents in the room towards the boy¡¯s direction, not wanting to accidentally breathe even a tiny portion of whatever the poison might be.


    Perhaps the boy detected the change in the air, or he was simply finished with his dastardly deed, but he finally turned around and noticed Mia standing in the doorway.


    ¡°Serve me, and I shall have you spared.¡±


    In retrospect, this may not have been the best icebreaker to begin with, but that was the first thought that came into Mia¡¯s mind.


    ¡°What? Are you crazy? Just who are you?¡±


    Mia met the black-haired, violet-eyed boy¡¯s gaze directly as she held the tip of her dagger out in front of her protectively. He was glaring viciously with his head tilted in confusion, but he had more surprise than animosity. Mixed in with the contempt in his eyes was a sign of surprise at Mia¡¯s clearly unnatural request to him.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m Mia Hart, pleased to meet you. Who might you be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Zeke Ester ¨C wait, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now! Hart? Doesn¡¯t that make you the daughter of Count Hart!?¡± The boy ¨C Zeke¡¯s expression instantly hardened, but it didn¡¯t seem that he was about to instantly attack her. That was a good sign for the discussion Mia wanted to have with him.


    Wait a moment, Zeke? While the last name was different, that was the name of a major antagonist in the original game of the world she was now in! Was this a chance for her to recruit him to her side before any life-changing events that transformed him into a pure villain? Well, this current event probably counted as the initial act that set him onto the path of a villain, even if his backstory wasn¡¯t expanded upon in the original game.


    She knew his character backstory and motivations from the game, perhaps even more than he did. She affirmed her mental decision that she needed someone with his talents on her side.


    ¡°Yes, indeed it does. Thanks to you, I¡¯m now going to be the next lord of the Hart domain, as I¡¯m the person in the line of succession.¡±


    ¡°Join and serve you? What are you even thinking? I just killed your father!¡±


    ¡°Well, I can guess at the reason why you did so. Obviously, it was something like ¡®Count Hart was a despot, so let¡¯s murder him and improve everyone¡¯s lives,¡¯ etc. etc. Foolish. Haven¡¯t you ever considered the consequences of your actions?¡±


    The boy¡¯s wiry frame trembled with what Mia perceived to be outrage. ¡°Why do you think I just poisoned your father to death! I didn¡¯t do it for anyone¡¯s sake but my own, he ruined my life! Your Hart soldiers are nothing more than bandits masquerading as defenders of the peace! Why don¡¯t you have me executed and get things over with!?¡±


    While inwardly sighing at his rash behavior that ended in the outcome of his assassinating her father, Mia kept her patience and began explaining her intentions, judging he would be a useful person to make use of in the future. He seemed like the selfish type who only considered his own feelings, so she needed to first reignite his passion now that he seemed to have given up on himself after accomplishing what he set out to do. Mia still remained tense and on guard against any potential sudden movements by the boy, causing her voice to have a terse tone.


    ¡°When I said consequences, I wasn¡¯t referring to your fate, I was talking about the domain that you¡¯re presumably trying to protect so desperately. Who would assist the common folk after you were caught and executed? As the heir to this domain, what if I was just as tyrannical as my father? Even if it wasn¡¯t me, whoever ended up inheriting the Hart domain would make a display of punishing the commoners for this treasonous act of rebellion to discourage further instances. What then? Wouldn¡¯t things end up worse than before? Wouldn¡¯t more people just like you appear in the end?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± The boy was rendered speechless by Mia¡¯s words that resembled a lecture.


    ¡°Regardless of what your specific grievance against my father was, you¡¯ve done something that cannot be undone. There¡¯s no use crying over spilled milk, so you must move on and deal with the aftermath. Judging by the magical skill that you just used to kill my father, I can make use of someone with your abilities. I don¡¯t hate you for killing my father, it¡¯s undeniable that he was nothing more than scum. I shall give you two choices: serve me and atone for your crimes by living, or die right here and now by my hands.¡±


    ¡®Just how did things become like this, that I would want to recruit the killer of my father?¡¯

 Chapter 1 - New Life

    Two years ago, during Year 191 of the Hoplian calendar.


    Mia began making her secret preparations to overthrow her father when she was five years old.


    No, this wasn¡¯t due to a young child¡¯s desire to take over the world or anything like that.


    Mia had been born into this life with her memories of a previous life intact. She recalled that she had been a Japanese college exchange student studying in America for a psychology major when she met an untimely end at the hands of a random university shooter. Now that she had a second chance to lead a new life, Mia wanted nothing more than to live at least to enjoy a peaceful conclusion rather than meeting a violent death.


    It took several years for Mia to get used to this new environment, as the language was unfamiliar and took time to learn. Unlike normal children though, she retained her adult mind and learned the language quite swiftly, along with maintaining an awareness of her surroundings.


    What Mia did know was that she had apparently been born into a high-ranking noble family, as her own parents never personally took care of her. Instead, this work was typically done by a girl wearing an actual black-and-white maid uniform: something that Mia had never personally witnessed in real life before. Unfortunately for Mia, her personal maid had some nasty habits that Mia could only do her best to ignore.


    Everyone in the mansion Mia lived in addressed her father as Count Hart. He was a tall young man approximately thirty years old, with a handsome face that just about every young female in the mansion would swoon over. He had dashingly fine silver hair and charming green eyes that Mia had inherited. Personally, Mia privately believed that her father¡¯s overly handsome appearance caused everyone around him to flatter him so much that he was led into depravity.


    She also had an older half-brother named Barnaby, born outside of wedlock. Mia didn¡¯t know who his mother was, but he was also living at their mansion. Barnaby was a straight up bully that Mia tried avoiding as much as possible. Every time they met, he would always greet her with an unavoidable noogie, using the advantage of his much greater size and power.


    According to what Mia¡¯s tutor taught her, the illustrious Hart family had been serving the Hoplia Kingdom loyally for many generations.


    While Mia couldn¡¯t claim to know the name of every country on Earth, she knew for a fact that monarchies had already become a defunct form of government in the 21<sup>st</sup> century that she was from. Not to mention, there was no way that she wouldn¡¯t know the continents of Earth. When she got her hands on a map of Hoplia, the surrounding countries¡¯ geography confirmed what she had suspected all along: that this was a new world.


    Not only that, after Mia saw the map of Hoplia and the surrounding countries, she finally came to a realization: that this was the world of an RPG game she had played in her past life! The game was called Legend of Eristan, named after the setting of the game¡¯s main continent of Eristan, and was a typical tale of heroes battling against a monster invasion. Nonetheless, she considered it only of medium importance ¨C since the RPG game¡¯s scenario would take place in the neighboring country to the south, the Rodan Empire.


    Long ago, in the land of Eristan, everything was peaceful and flourishing under the protection of the gods, the elemental lords, and past emperors¡¯ rule.


    However, after the Eristan Emperor passed away, the empire split up into many smaller countries as his retainers battled with each other for power. In approximately ten years¡¯ time from now, the Demon King was going to revive and summon countless monsters into existence, causing massive chaos in the land.


    Mia assumed that she had been reincarnated into a minor character who wasn¡¯t even mentioned in the game and that it would have nothing to do with her, so she put the game¡¯s scenario out of her mind and focused instead on her daily life and figuring out the system. She didn¡¯t realize at the time how wrong she was that it would have no connection to her life.


    Since this was an RPG game world, people here had many unusual hair and eye color combinations just like Mia¡¯s. A dazzling array of palettes was available: all the bright anime colors a person could think of were commonplace here.


    Technology here seemed to be a few centuries behind her previous world, with no concept of electricity existing. At the very least, Mia was grateful for the existence of toilets. Magic definitely existed however, something that Mia dearly wanted to learn more about. However, judging from what she learned, magic seemed rare in this world, and most of it was at a weak level. That didn¡¯t seem to match the RPG game that took place at a noble school where just about all the students could use magic of some form.


    Mia was unaccustomed to throwing fake tantrums or pretending to cry just to act like a normal toddler. She believed in practical solutions rather than wasting time needlessly on something as unproductive as crying. Nor did she make any selfish requests as most children would, instead having spent the majority of the past three years learning her new country¡¯s language at a far rapider pace than other children.


    It was Mia¡¯s own choice to avoid all unnecessary interaction with her father, Count Horatio Hart. Mia felt no familial affection for him at all. If all Count Hart did was lavishly enjoy an opulent lifestyle at the expense of his citizens, that would have been bad enough. But, there were two incidents in total that goaded Mia into wanting to become strong enough to overthrow her father.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Both incidents happened in quick succession right in Mia¡¯s presence. The first incident occurred on the day that Mia decided to ask her father about learning magic.


    ¡°You have something to talk to me about? Wait your turn. I have a guest to take care of.¡±


    When Mia went to visit her father¡¯s study, there was a merchant from a northern country haggling with her father about some gems for sale. Mia knew the merchant was foreign from his clothing that was evidently a different style; he was wearing a thick yellow cloak that seemed out of season for the summer emblazoned with an unfamiliar insignia. While they shared a common language, the merchant spoke with a thick accent that required Mia¡¯s full concentration to understand his words.


    ¡°These mana gems are the finest wares from the Arland Kingdom! They can be ground into mana stones for enchanting magical equipment, or simply make a fine accessory for this young lady here! They could all be yours for the low, low price of 5000 elemental crystal shards!¡±


    Elemental crystals were the basic currency of Hoplia. This was due to the vast influence of the Elemental Church that spread the worship of the six Elemental Lords of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness. Elemental crystals contained minute amounts of their respective elemental magic, and were a critical component in forging magical equipment in this world, as well as being a catalyst for many powerful spells.


    One loaf of bread could be purchased for two elemental crystal shards. 5000 elemental crystals as the asking price meant that¡­ well, it was a lot of money.


    ¡°Mana gems of the highest quality, you say? Interesting. I hardly think this pathetically small bag is worth my effort though. I could simply import mana gems from the Rodan Empire at a much lower price. These stones are worth nothing more than 2000 crystals at best.¡±


    ¡°Surely you jest, Milord. Even in the far north, we¡¯re aware that the southern Rodan Empire strictly controls the trading of mana gems as a precious national resource. Even if their government was to permit the exporting of mana gems, they would surely place high tariffs to protect their national interest. I can go no lower than 4500 crystals.¡±


    ¡­and so on. After another five minutes of detailed haggling, both sides agreed on the price of 3800 elemental crystal shards. With a brilliant smile, Count Hart sealed the deal with a firm handshake. However ¨C


    *Sizzle!*


    The foreign merchant seemed momentarily confused when it seemed like Count Hart was continuing the handshake for longer than necessary. Then, confusion transformed to terror when his hand lit up in flames.


    Mia could only helplessly look on in horror as the merchant burned to death while screaming and rolling on the ground right in front of her, leaving behind only a nightmarish charred smell of burnt flesh. Throughout all this, Count Hart remained calm and smiled as he witnessed this scene, as if he was enjoying the spectacle.


    Mia fled from her father¡¯s study without even remembering to ask about the possibility of learning magic. Not long after, she was too busy with the act of puking.


    The subsequent incident occurred right on the next day after when Count Hart took Mia out together with him on a tour of the eponymous Hart domain. Perhaps Mia¡¯s unfinished visit yesterday had reminded the Count of the fact that he had a daughter, since he personally visited Mia¡¯s room and told her ¡°let¡¯s go see our domain together!¡± with a jolly smile on his face.


    Being an inland non-border domain close to the capital, the Hart domain was relatively rural and peaceful, with the greatest public disturbances coming from the Count himself. Mia later learned that such ¡°raids¡± by the Count were actually commonplace.


    Was it because Mia turned five that the Count involved her more in his affairs? Was this a benchmark age of some sort? Mia didn¡¯t know, but this ¡°raid¡± opened her eyes to what this world was truly like.


    ¡°Okay, men, that¡¯s a nice-looking bitch right there! Hahahaha, let¡¯s take her back to the mansion, just like usual! Everyone gets to share!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s tax collection time! Time to pay your dues as gratitude for our protection! It¡¯s all thanks to us that you get to enjoy this peaceful life free of monsters, don¡¯t you know!¡±


    It was a typical situation straight out of a textbook villain scenario. Under the leadership of Count Hart, a fine-looking young lass caught his attention and was captured to be taken to the mansion. Mia never saw her again, and only learned what happened to her eventually much later. Another incident occurred in which Count Hart ordered his soldiers to deliver a vicious beating to a pregnant woman¡¯s elderly father for failing to pay rent. The soldiers also went around in armed small groups, bashing doors in, ransacking homes, and generally acting more like a group of bandits rather than defenders of the peace.


    Mia¡¯s older half-brother Barnaby participated in the beatings as well. He was only a few years older than Mia and wasn¡¯t old enough yet to entirely understand some of the more carnal affairs that were happening, but liked to talk the part. Privately though, Mia felt like she knew a lot more than he did, thanks to her experience in a past life.


    ¡°Mine, mine, and mine! You¡¯re all going to be mine! I¡¯m going to take you all back the mansion with me to serve my needs! You¡¯re going to play with me every day until I get tired of you!¡±


    Well, the girls that he took were the ¡°lucky¡± ones, as when Barnaby said ¡°play,¡± he wasn¡¯t going to be nearly as lecherous as the adults¡­ even if he did pick up some bad habits from the negative influences around him.


    Mia was spurred to take action to change things, but to be honest with herself, it was more out of a sense of self-preservation rather than a desire to be heroic.


    Mia was fully aware that she was currently nothing more than a powerless, weak five-year-old girl. There was nothing she could do for anyone. If she spoke out, there was even the possibility that she might be killed herself.


    That didn¡¯t mean that she could just turn a blind eye, however. The person committing the atrocities was her father and the ruling noble of this domain. Just from history in her previous life, Mia knew all too well how the eventual downfall of every tyrant would end. Not to mention, this was a fairly common trope known as the ¡°death flag¡± ¨C an event that would lead to the death of the villain.


    In fact, Mia almost never saw Count Hart doing any work related to governing, and she privately wondered to herself how he even kept this domain running. The Hart domain would collapse eventually if this situation was allowed to continue, with great repercussions for the ruling noble family Mia was a part of by heritage.


    Of course, Mia had a sense of right and wrong carried over from her previous world. But there were no heroes, no adventurers in that life who really existed that could fight against evil. They only appeared in fiction. Mia didn¡¯t think of herself as such a character even after reincarnation. She had only been a normal college girl, albeit one slightly on the nerdish side.


    The Hero wasn¡¯t supposed to appear for another ten years yet. Nor was there an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Hoplia, as its lack of strong monsters and rural status meant that there was no business for adventurers to do here. Apparently, the last Adventurer¡¯s Guild had closed down twenty years ago for having gone out of business. But even had there been adventurers around, there was an unwritten rule that adventurers and the nobility wouldn¡¯t interfere in each other¡¯s affairs. After all, adventurers were closer to mercenaries than heroes: they were paid to do their jobs. There were actually very few in real life that would go out of their way to oppose a powerful faction like the nobles just out of a sense of justice with no money involved. Those that did would usually meet a quick demise.


    The only possible force that could oppose Count Hart in his own domain would be the Elemental Church, but Mia didn¡¯t know much about them as she never saw them around despite knowing of their existence.


    Mia had died once already. She was unwilling to just become a bystander and passively die without being able to fight back again. Shivering in fear at the sight of someone she didn¡¯t even know pointing his gun at her and pressing down on the trigger was a memory she felt she would never forget. While she had reincarnated, there was no guarantee that reincarnation would happen again. People in this country worshiped various gods and the elemental lords, but who knew if they really existed?


    Mia took three days to mentally steel herself and resolved to live at least long enough to die in peace and comfort at old age. The first step was to learn more about magic. She needed to gain enough strength to take charge of her own life.

 Chapter 2 - Learning Magic

    Count Hart¡¯s twisted logic in raising his child succeeded in raising his bastard son Barnaby to become a stereotypical arrogant noble just like him. However, his daughter as well as successor Mia was actually someone from another world who had a completely different set of standards.


    Five years old was far younger than average to be learning magic in this world. As someone from a non-magic world though, Mia was highly interested in finding out more about magic. First, she wanted to know if she had any aptitude for casting magic herself. Witnessing her father use magic for the first time to burn that merchant alive gave her the idea that she should consider training herself in this world if she wanted to survive, and overthrow her father.


    Mia went to her father once again and this time succeeded in requesting to have her magic aptitude tested. Count Hart was rather surprised, as it was quite rare for Mia to speak to him of her own volition. Her care was left entirely up to a personal maid, and thanks to the maid spreading rumors, all the servants viewed Mia as a creepy child.


    ¡°That girl is always staring at you! I think she must be retarded. She doesn¡¯t seem like she knows how to laugh, cry, or show any emotion! Stay away from her, maybe she¡¯s just an evil little witch that will curse you!¡±


    Mia knew about such rumors, but kept quiet about it. Her lack of expression was just her own way of doing her best to not reveal her thoughts. Right now, she was nothing more than a weak child, so she wanted to keep a low profile. However, she made a mental note to definitely deal with her personal maid sometime in the future.


    Count Hart acquiesced to her unusual request coming from a five-year-old, and summoned for a magician from the capital who was specialized in appraisal magic. Apparently, magic in this world was split up into six main elements: fire, earth, wind, water, light, and dark, a common magical system used in many games. There were also many types of magic categorized as typeless, such as the aforementioned appraisal magic or summoning magic. That was what Mia remembered from the RPG game which had a magic school for nobles as the setting. Less than one percent of the general population had talent for magic, but nobles generally came from magic families and married with each other in order to maintain hereditary magic powers, so Mia was hopeful that she would have some magic ability in this new world. She knew that her father was a mid-ranked Fire Mage while her mother was also a mid-ranked Wind Mage during her life.


    But alas, Mia¡¯s hopes were quickly dashed. The magician from the capital merely snorted at her after casting the appraisal spell, and then turned to Count Hart with a look of utter disdain on his face as he informed Mia¡¯s father that she possessed wind magic with only an E rank, the lowest level of magic power.


    It seemed that each type of magic had its specialties depending on the user¡¯s personality and how they apply the magic. Some water magicians reign over ice, for example, while both wind and water magicians could influence the weather. The E rank magicians in other elements were all considered more useful than wind, being able to perform mundane tasks such as farming for earth magic, or lighting fires and providing clean, fresh water for fire and water magic respectively. Light and dark magic were both rare, so it would always be prized even if it was E rank. Of course, since magic was limited to begin with, this meant that magic users would be under the country¡¯s control. The Hoplia Kingdom seemed to have a system that any magic users born with a D rank or higher class in magic must be reported to the nation and go to the capital for training ¨C but Mia was exempted due to her low power classification.


    Wind magic, so she was told, was the most useless of the E rank ones. All she would be able to do was no more than summon a light breeze. Mia would have no power to fly through the sky, control the weather, or summon fierce windstorms to batter an enemy.


    Still, it was something special to Mia, an ordinary person in her past life with no magic to speak of. She surreptitiously vowed that she would train her ability and make use of it the best she could. Since magic was also partly based on imagination, Mia believed that she wouldn¡¯t be lacking in this area thanks to her accumulated experience (well, mostly ideas about magic learned from various media in her past life.) Not to mention, Mia also had insight into the game system that this world was based on.


    In her past life, whenever she played video games, Mia always had a predilection for playing characters that fought from the rear. It just seemed safer and more natural to her, as in real life she certainly had no penchant for close combat. Now that she was living in this world though, she figured that perhaps she should also take up a defensive skill like swordsmanship in this medieval world that she now belonged to. After all, even spellcasters in games couldn¡¯t just spam their spells endlessly, and what was the most important and commonly used command in many RPG games? That¡¯s right, the ¡°normal¡± attack. Knowing from the game¡¯s setting that this world was a dangerous one where an all-out monster invasion would occur in ten years¡¯ time from now, Mia definitely wouldn¡¯t allow herself to die again like in her previous life: powerless and helpless to defend herself. Still, she was a total beginner, and training would have to wait for the time being.


    Mia was five years old now, and could read in addition to speak the Hoplian language fluently. She also finished picking up the basics of the Rodanian language, knowing that the Rodan Empire was the setting of the game and figuring that the knowledge would come in handy down the road. Her progress in language astounded her tutor.


    In fact, Mia became something of an eerie child at Count Hart¡¯s mansion, with rumors spreading about how nobody had ever seen her smile. While Mia knew about those rumors, she considered them completely fabricated for no apparent reason. All the servants avoided her whenever possible ¨C which she paid no mind and continued doing the things she wanted to do with zero interference, and that was just how she preferred it, anyways.


    Nowadays, Mia typically spent her days in Count Hart¡¯s study. She considered his book collection a paltry one, but anything was better than nothing. He had more novels than nonfiction, and a single large bookshelf of books was all he possessed. Still, Mia devoured all the nonfiction books first: ravenously wanting to gain more knowledge about her new life. History, politics, geography, she studied them all. She figured that any servants that saw her would probably think that she was play-acting at being the part of an adult.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Of course, the topic Mia wanted to find out the most about was magic. However, when she brought it up to Count Hart, he reacted the same way as the magician from the capital: with contempt. He told her that it would be a waste of his time and money to have her trained as nothing could possibly come of it, that the topic was not up for discussion, and that she should go run off and play or something. Typical. Well, it helped him to lose his burgeoning unwelcome ¡°interest¡± in his successor, so it wasn¡¯t all that bad for Mia in the end.


    Fortuitously, she was able to discover a tattered book titled ¡°Introduction to Magic.¡± It was quite musty, seeming like it hadn¡¯t been read by anyone in forever. It didn¡¯t have any specifics on the wind element, but instead focused on the principles of magic, which was just fine for Mia.


    To be honest, this book was only at the tutorial level of teaching how to use magic. Like many video game players, Mia had always preferred skipping tutorials and learning the controls on her own, but only now that magic had become possible, she felt that the foundations were important for her to begin from.


    According to the book, those with innate magical ability could channel their thoughts into reality. All you had to do was visualize a fireball, for instance, and one would appear for you. But, there were still limitations depending on the environment. Spells drew from both the caster¡¯s personal mana as well as the mana in the surrounding environment, and a spell like Fireball would be created using by condensing mana with the heat in the environment. In other words, magic was unable to create something out of nothing. Again with fire magic as the example in the book, fire magic would thus be at its strongest during the summer and weakest during the winter when there was very little warmth to draw on, so fire magic would be a greater strain on the caster¡¯s own mana capabilities during the winter.


    Of course, the magic¡¯s scale depended on the user¡¯s power as well, an E rank fire mage would be unable to summon anything more than a small flame. Apparently, many magicians would close their eyes or say a simple invocation like ¡°Fireball!¡± in order to help them cast their spells. Generally speaking, the more powerful the spell, the more of a toll it would take on the caster¡¯s body. Well, not that there were many high-ranked magicians to begin with.


    After finishing that book, Mia decided to experiment right away. Closing her eyes, she tried imagining a light breeze flowing around her just like how the capital¡¯s magician claimed it was the only thing she¡¯d be able to do. ¡­Nothing happened.


    Well, it was too early to give up just yet. This time, she closed her eyes and visualized a breeze around her one more time, while shouting ¡°wind, come to me!¡± for a lack of anything better to say.


    To Mia¡¯s surprise, even though she was also anticipating it, a light breeze indeed swirled around her for a few short seconds, causing her short hair to swish slightly. To make sure it was actually her that caused this phenomenon and not some random draft, Mia repeated the process one last time.


    ¡°Wind, come to me!¡±


    Once more, there was the feeling of cool air blowing on her skin. Barely able to contain her excitement, she almost wanted to jump up and down like a little girl. Ahem. Well, right now she was indeed a little girl.


    It was currently summer. If Mia could master this ability, if nothing else, it will be useful for keeping herself cool, like a personal air conditioner.


    Three months had passed since Mia began self-studying about magic. Considering how her father Count Hart reacted, she decided not to tell anyone what she was doing. Her magic training was both proceeding smoothly¡­ and also not making much progress.


    With how things currently stood, she was now able to command soft breezes without needing to close her eyes or say an invocation anymore. She was unable to progress beyond that, however, making her wonder if perhaps that visiting magician had been correct in his assessment of her abilities, that a soft breeze was her limit.


    As for the scope of her power¡­ the wind she could command was at the level where it would maybe cause a girl¡¯s skirt to flutter. Sure, she could control a large amount of it if necessary, but so far, she needed to think of some way to make it useful¡­ Mia also tried to see how forceful she could make the wind by experimenting on inanimate objects, but she learned to her dejection that she wasn¡¯t able to budge even a wooden cup. So, basically, the wind¡¯s strength was at maximum equal to how hard she could blow¡­


    Just as Mia expected, this ability was most useful in dealing with the weather. She was now able to keep up a constant light breeze around her at all times without feeling any significant mental fatigue. Perhaps this was because her magic was so weak that as a side effect it didn¡¯t require much mana to maintain? Mia was currently unable to check her status like in a game for any information about her own condition, but she was grateful for at least this small boon which helped insulate her from the scorching hot days of summer in Hoplia. After all, there was nothing like air conditioning here¡­


    Speaking of status profiles however, Mia believed that the ability to see one¡¯s own status was a critical element of any game. She learned from the book that there was a common magical accessory purchasable at just about any equipment shop. Status Stones were a re-usable magical artifact for just one simple purpose: informing the user of their current status. Mia made up her mind that a Status Stone would be one of her first purchases to make when she got the chance to go outside of the mansion and explore by herself.


    As for how to use her wind magic power¡­ Mia felt that she may have to give up the idea of using it as an offensive or defensive skill of any sort. She would simply have to wait and see if her power would develop in any way as she aged...


    Nonetheless, perhaps she could use wind magic in other ways, as a type of support magic. Mia knew from basic science classes that sound was carried on the air. After having that idea in mind, Mia decided to see if she could use her power for eavesdropping.


    The range that she could control wind was roughly as far as she could see. Wondering if it would work indoors, Mia experimented to see if she would be able to overhear conversations even through walls and doors.


    Mia headed for the dining hall, then once she arrived, she focused on imagining the kitchen area. Envisaging an air current flowing in her direction, Mia concentrated her senses.


    ¡°Sigh, that crazy Lord Hart is ordering that duck meat be served again for tonight¡¯s dinner. Just where does he think we¡¯re even supposed to get such a thing!!¡±


    ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll have to go out hunting and pray for good luck. If we can¡¯t provide Count Hart with duck meat, he¡¯ll have us whipped again...¡±


    ...Mia felt as if she overheard something quite awful. Well, at the very least this was a confirmation that she could use her wind magic for clandestine purposes like spying, if she felt like it.


    The Hart domain was a medium-sized domain in the southwest of Hoplia. Given its size, the Hart domain should have been more prosperous than it really was - her father, Count Hart, enacted terribly high taxes alongside despotic policies. In fact, Mia knew that he resupplied his coffers whenever they ran low, which was quite often, by sending out his soldiers that were truly no better than brigands. His soldiers would use the excuse of ¡°tax collection,¡± which was in reality nothing more than an excuse for ransacking the Hart domain citizens¡¯ residences and stealing any wealth they could find. Mia knew this personally, because by now, she had gone on multiple ¡°raiding¡± trips together with the soldiers. Mia could notice just from the oppressive atmosphere that all the citizens loathed Count Hart and his soldiers.


    As someone bearing the Hart name, she was unable to stand the situation. Mia had a feeling that she was going to inherit a huge problem on her hands that she would have to clean up. To her sensibilities, it was entirely wrong, both economically and morally. If looking at it from a pragmatic point of view, smart thieves should leave something for the villagers, so that they may recover and have something actually worth taking the next time around.


    Regardless of the corruption abound in the soldiers, Mia felt it was necessary for her to understand just how deep-rooted the problems were, and to see if she could make the best of a bad situation and find something useful for her, such as someone willing to give her combat training. The main problem was that even finding someone as a combat instructor seemed difficult, with the average soldier in the Hart army always lazing about, drinking and gambling rather than ever doing any military training.

 Chapter 3 - Skills

    Mia was typically allowed to wander around as she pleased without any servants following her around or meddling in her affairs. She knew that this was largely due to the fact that the servants perceived her as a creepy child, but regardless, it was convenient for her. A servant would begrudgingly assist her if she ever needed it, but she didn¡¯t make use of them very often as she could take care of herself already. There was also the fact that she was unused to being waited on hand in foot, having only been a commoner in her past life.


    After learning the rudimentary basics of controlling magic, Mia felt that the next step was to begin physical training. In her past life, she had led what could be called a sedentary lifestyle, and while she was slim, she definitely wasn¡¯t very athletic. But now that she was born into a world where she knew an apocalyptic event would occur in ten years¡¯ time, she felt it was absolutely necessary to prepare beforehand as early as possible.


    Mia definitely had the mental fortitude necessary to begin exercising every day. That said, she still only possessed the body of a five-and-a-half-year-old child, and had rather limited stamina. So, she would alternate between magic practice and physical training each day.


    While Mia had enough basic knowledge to organize a schedule of simple physical exercises for herself, she felt that the main problem was that she had zero experience with weapons of any kind. Just because a video game character knew how to swing a sword around didn¡¯t mean that she would, obviously. And, more importantly than wanting to learn how to use a sword or any other weapon, was the issue of skills.


    In the Legend of Eristan, most adventurers and warriors relied on skills rather than magic. After all, magic was a talent that only one percent of the population would possess. Rather than relying on the elemental forces like magic, skills were a different way to channel mana that was characterized as external in nature, compared to the internal nature of magic.


    To be honest, Mia didn¡¯t have a good understanding of just how skills were supposed to be different from magic. After all, neither magic nor skills existed in her previous world. It was just a common feature of many games, and Mia decided to simply accept it as it was without pondering too deeply about it.


    If her magic was considered weak, then she would simply have to grind her physical stats. Well, in the game, skills and stat increases were simply handed out for free whenever a character leveled up, or through certain storyline events, but Mia currently had no way of knowing if that was still the case, as she was unable to even check her own status right now.


    Mia began hanging out in the soldiers¡¯ barracks stationed right next to Count Hart¡¯s mansion. The soldiers were a roughshod bunch that mostly spent their time gambling and drinking with each other when not out and about on ¡°tax collection¡± business.


    It was difficult to get an exact estimate of the number of soldiers in her father¡¯s employ as they hardly ever gathered all together at the same time. Her best guess was that there were approximately 50 or so soldiers in total. She used the term ¡°soldiers¡± loosely, as she never saw them doing anything resembling what she imagined a military force should have been doing: physical training or keeping the peace.


    In fact, there were several of them that were pudgier than they were muscular. It was still indisputable that they were better equipped than the villagers: their leather armor and basic swords allowed them to swagger about acting high and mighty as they always went together in small groups, and none of the villagers dared act against them. Mia privately felt that none of these soldiers probably even had the courage to walk outside unaccompanied.


    Of course, not all the soldiers were like this. Mia noticed a red-haired boy among them who was always going out by himself to the deserted practice grounds in order to train in sword swings by himself. After observing him continue at this for a few days, Mia finally decided to approach him out of curiosity.


    Privately, she also wondered if his red hair meant that he would fit the stereotype in her previous world that he would be a fiery, passionate, and hot-blooded youth, but she also knew deep down that she shouldn¡¯t judge simply by appearances.


    Mia got the impression that he was most likely ten or so years older than her, aged about 15 or 16. He was a little below average height for his age group, yet had a sturdy muscular build that showed he worked out regularly. When she called out to him for the first time this morning, there was surprise in his golden yellow eyes as he turned around.


    ¡°What¡¯s a little girl like you doing here? Are you lost? What¡¯s your name? Do your parents know where you are?¡± He even reached out to pat her on the head.


    Mia frowned, as she wasn¡¯t used to being treated like a little child, when she inwardly viewed herself as an adult. However, this helped her to come to terms with her own situation as she thought about it ¨C perhaps her status as a loli could even be useful in certain situations when dealing with certain types of ¡°gentlemen.¡±


    After Mia recovered from her surprise and introduced herself as Mia Hart, along with showing him her family crest as proof, it was the boy¡¯s turn to be shocked.


    ¡°Whoa there, aren¡¯t you Count Hart¡¯s daughter, Mia? What¡¯s Milady doing out here by herself?¡±


    ¡°Please, dispense with the formalities. Just Mia is fine.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, Milady. I¡¯m here to serve you, after all. What could have possibly brought you out here?¡±


    Mia inwardly sighed as she supposed there was no convincing him to not be so formal during just their first meeting. She figured she might as well answer his question with one of her own.


    ¡°As you presumed, I¡¯m Mia Hart, daughter to Count Hart. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I was wondering what you were doing out here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself. I¡¯m Colson Azure, from Dorn village. I was just training from the practice regimen I set for myself: 500 sword swings every morning. Things seem quite relaxed around here even though I joined the army just a few days ago, so I was giving myself something to do.¡±


    ¡®Ahh, so he¡¯s fresh meat that just joined. He doesn¡¯t seem to have been corrupted by the environment here just yet. This could be useful.¡¯


    ¡°Colson, what is an army to you? For what purpose did you join the army?¡±


    The boy seemed rather taken aback by Mia¡¯s flurry of questions. He probably didn¡¯t expect such a young child like her to ask philosophical-sounding questions like these. However, he was able to quickly recover and answer her immediately, evidence that he must have strong beliefs about this matter.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to defend our homes and protect the people! That¡¯s only the natural thing to do! As for me personally, it was also because I¡¯m the second son, so I wanted to set out and find a job of my own, haha...¡±


    Mia understood it that he was the naive idealist type who hadn¡¯t had his hopes and dreams dashed yet. As for the second half of his comment, that was because Hoplia was a feudal society in which only the eldest male child would inherit everything, a common system even in her original world in medieval times. Older female children could only inherit if there were no younger males in the line of succession, so it was patriarchal as well. Luckily for Mia, she was the main successor so far, a fact that would end up greatly benefiting her as well as pushing many responsibilities onto her before she had expected.


    ¡°You¡¯re from Dorn village, you said? I recall that it takes three days to walk here. I doubt you¡¯d be able to afford hiring a horse carriage to take you here, after all. Have you heard anything about how the army here works while you were still in Dorn village?¡±


    Although Mia had never visited Dorn village before, she knew from her geography lessons that Dorn village was on the farthest outskirts of the Hart domain. This caused her to privately wonder if that meant the village would be shielded from the worst of the plundering from the Hart soldiers.


    While there were indeed a few old horses stabled here, it definitely wasn¡¯t to the degree where each and every one of the soldiers would have their own mount. In fact, Mia had only seen three or four horses in total, and none of them seemed all that energetic anymore as they were beyond their years.


    The Hart soldiers most certainly were not a hard-working bunch. Since they weren¡¯t equipped with horses, she doubted that most of them would ever go to visit the farthest-off village in the domain without a pressing cause. Mia wanted to confirm for herself just how far this boy¡¯s naivety extended.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re an independent bunch in Dorn village, and we even have our own militia force in town to deal with any stray bandits or monsters that make their way over! We hardly ever see any army folks; I just heard stories about what it was like in my grandpa¡¯s day.¡±


    Yet another confirmation of this boy¡¯s lack of knowledge about the world. Looking back at this moment in time, Mia considered if this was when her personality began twisting itself... Her knowledge of this world being a game world may have caused her to callously treat Colson as a useful tool to be recruited rather than a real person; viewing him only as a potential party member and follower. Or was it that this feudal society itself and the depravities she witnessed that ended up changing her?


    Well, she might never find out the answer to that question, but that didn¡¯t matter. What mattered currently was building up a support base of allies to help her take the domain, allies she could rely on.


    RPG games always would typically have some arbitrary headcount limitations, such as limiting the main character to only three or four party members out on the field. Mia had no intention to foolishly obey by the game rules now that they didn¡¯t exist anymore, and fully intended to go around in a larger party in the future. Well, that was if she could make enough friends, of course, but Mia was fairly confident in her judgement of other peoples¡¯ characters.


    ¡°Well then, please allow me to show you what it¡¯s really like around here. I hope that you¡¯ll be able to find what you¡¯re looking for here, and give yourself a purpose in life.¡±


    Mia put her plan to obtain her first slave, er, retainer into motion on that day. What she needed right now the most was someone she could manipulate and listen to her command, rather than her father. As Colson was someone from an outlying town, he came with fewer prejudices and was young enough to have plenty of growth potential. She figured that even if he turned out to be weak, it would be fine as long as he did whatever she needed of him under her employ. She was still too young and weak for now, and needed to rely on others.


    ------


    Three days ago, Colson arrived in the city of Palmo, which was the city that Count Hart directly ruled over.


    Colson had always wanted to be an adventurer just like his grandfather after having grown up while listening to all his grandfather¡¯s stories about glory from times past. Being more influenced than any of his other siblings, he even pestered his grandfather to teach him the Azure swordsmanship style that his father had passed on learning to become a regular farmer.


    Naturally, Colson¡¯s grandfather was overjoyed to finally have a disciple from his own family, and doted on his grandson. Colson learned the ins and outs of the Azure family swordsmanship style over the years.


    His family¡¯s swordsmanship techniques could honestly be said to only be average or slightly above average. It definitely wasn¡¯t anything an experienced swordsman would be interested in learning. However, it was completely suited for beginners, as it stressed the importance of a solid foundation with proper sword stances and techniques for attack as well as defense, with more emphasis on the latter. If analyzed at a higher level, Azure swordsmanship may have been inadequate, but it happened to just be the right level for Mia to begin at.


    Even if Colson¡¯s real dream was to be an adventurer, Hoplia didn¡¯t even have an Adventurer¡¯s Guild established as it was rather rural and the monsters were weak. His grandfather recommended that he join the army instead to gain some discipline and experience, knowing that Colson was perhaps a bit spoiled and lacking in real experience. Of course, his grandfather never would have made such a recommendation if he knew the real state of the Hart army, but retirement and an idle lifestyle had dulled the former top-tier adventurer¡¯s edges to the point where he no longer kept in touch with many of his old connections or knew about the happenings of the world around him.


    Thus, Colson arrived in Palmo, applied to the Hart army, and was readily accepted on the basis that he seemed to be a sturdy enough youth.


    A few days after he joined the Hoplia army, he ran into a mysterious little silver-haired girl. After learning that this girl was Mia, the daughter of the lord, Colson¡¯s first reaction was to think about escorting her back to her father, but this idea was quickly dispelled by Mia herself.


    For the next few days, Mia kept visiting Colson in the barracks, and chatted with him about various topics such as politics, academics, or just idle gossip. Colson got the impression from her that she was far more intelligent and mature than he was, a fact that he was readily willing to admit as he himself knew that he was lacking in academics. That¡¯s why he was so surprised when Mia then requested that he become her sword instructor, as she didn¡¯t strike him as the type to be interested in such an activity.


    ¡°What!? You want me to become your personal attendant and bodyguard, as well as teach you the sword? The first part I can understand, but why does Milady need to learn how to wield a sword? Just speak, and we soldiers shall happily fight on your behalf!¡±


    Well, while he may indeed be the type who would act the hero in rescuing a damsel in distress, it was doubtful whether the Hart soldiers were of a similar character. Colson had yet to learn about the scoundrel nature of the Hart army, having been preoccupied with his own personal training as well as Mia coming to chat with him.


    ¡°I believe that in times of danger, the only person I can rely on is myself. After all, even if I hire you as my guard, it¡¯s not like you can follow me everywhere still, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Colson felt like he somehow disagreed with the individualistic girl and wanted to give her a speech about the values of friendship and teamwork, but he refrained as he knew he lacked the verbal talent to win a debate against her. As for teaching her the sword, he readily agreed after just a moment¡¯s consideration. The Azure family style of swordsmanship was no closely-guarded secret, and Colson¡¯s grandfather had taught a few other novice adventurers back in the day as well. There was no need for Colson to write a letter to his grandfather and request permission, as fifteen years of age was already considered an adult in this society. Colson felt that he could handle his own decisions.


    Luckily for Mia, Colson already possessed a Status Stone, which was a basic magic item that any adventurer or warrior in training would have. Colson agreed to let Mia check her own status with the item and also showed her his own status so that she could have a comparison.


    [Mia Hart]


    Race: human


    Job: Wind Mage


    Level: 1


    Experience: 0/100


    HP: 12/12


    Mana: 101/101


    Attack: 2


    Defense: 0


    Magic: 5


    Resistance: 9


    Skills: None


    Magic: Light Breeze lvl. 2, Detection lvl. 1, Wind Magic rank E


    [Colson Azure]


    Race: human


    Job: Swordsman


    Level: 12


    Experience: 947/7800


    HP: 132/132


    Mana: 24/24


    Attack: 16 (+5)


    Defense: 8 (+2)


    Magic: 0


    Resistance: 4


    Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship Proficiency lvl. 6, Azure Sword Technique lvl. 4, Arc Slash lvl. 2, Stab lvl. 3, Parry lvl. 3


    Magic: None


    Innate talent: Swordsmanship Mastery ¨C 10% bonus to all swordsmanship skills.


    Apparently, the additional bonus numbers in the brackets came from their clothes and weapons which counted as [equipment.] Colson was wearing a [Tough Leather Jacket] which gave him +2 in defense on top of his base stat, as well as a basic [Iron Sword] that had a value of +5 attack points. Sadly, none of Mia¡¯s clothing seemed to be sturdy enough to provide any bonuses.


    Mia could only smile wryly at this. She supposed that with her young age, having low base stats was only to be expected. It definitely didn¡¯t seem like she would be able to inflict much damage to anyone with her fists alone through a piece of clothing like the [Tough Leather Jacket.]


    Mia also managed to get a slightly more concrete grasp on her own ability descriptions for the first time, vague as they were.


    Light Breeze lvl. 2: Controls the wind in an area around the caster. Costs 1 mana per 5 minutes to maintain. Specialty magic.


    Detection lvl. 1: The wind will whisper its information about the surroundings to you for the next 5 minutes. Costs 10 mana.


    Well, this magic still wasn¡¯t anything to be bragging about, however. Mia knew that even ten of her probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Colson, or any other adult really, at their current levels. Her only outstanding stat in comparison was mana, but that was only natural as she apparently had a magic job class.


    Now she finally had some specifics about how skills and magic spells worked! While the main characters of the game were customizable and would learn skills and magic automatically upon leveling up, the same couldn¡¯t be said of the side characters. Just think about it, just how many side characters in most games were there with more than two or three abilities at best? Even enemy bosses typically had no more than three or four! Mia knew that she wasn¡¯t any main character from the game, and that she would have to work hard if she wanted to learn any skills by herself as nothing would be handed to her on a silver platter.

 Chapter 4 - First Combat

    Mia began her long days of training under the tutelage of ¡°instructor¡± Colson Azure.


    Although Colson had the skill of [Intermediate Swordsmanship,] a few days after training began, Mia finally had the new skill of [Beginning Swordsmanship lvl. 1] added to her status window. Apparently certain skills would automatically be upgraded upon reaching certain criteria.


    She mostly practiced the simple, repetitive motions of horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, diagonal slashes, and stabbing. According to Colson, these were the movements that she needed to ingrain into her body first. Higher-level techniques like dealing with various different enemy weapon types and blocking enemy weapons would only come much later. Colson taught Mia the same way that he had been by his grandfather, from the foundation up.


    ¡°Correct your posture! Keep your arm straight and raise it another two centimeters!¡±


    ¡°Too slow! You¡¯ll be dead if you react this slowly in a battle! Do it over again ten more times!¡±


    Colson was an effective, if dull instructor. A normal young child probably would have found his lessons boring and given up out of frustration, but Mia had been through more than ten years of the schooling system already and was used to far more boring tasks already.


    To be honest, Mia didn¡¯t know for sure just how strong or weak Colson was considered in this world, but that didn¡¯t matter to her. Sense of naive righteousness aside, he was hard-working, and in her eyes that automatically qualified him as stronger than the average guard in her father¡¯s employ. She felt no need to have him do something so immature as compete against the guards. It was better to keep her future weapons concealed until they were ready to be used.


    So, Mia was satisfied with starting from the foundations. It was exactly what she needed, as someone who had never so much as touched a weapon in her past life. As a previously excellent student with top grades, she realized that nothing came for free in life and that hard work was required in order to succeed, or as how success was measured in this world, to get stronger.


    All this training didn¡¯t come for free, of course. Mia went to Count Hart again and requested for Colson to be hired as her personal escort and bodyguard. She didn¡¯t tell Count Hart anything about intending to learn the sword, preferring instead to keep it a secret. After all, why was she planning on learning the sword in the first place? The monster invasion was still ten years in the future, but she already intended to depose her father and take power for herself.


    Mia even tried using some basic acting and fawned over Colson¡¯s supposed handsome appearance to her father. It succeeded by thoroughly convincing Count Hart as he believed his daughter was taking after his own fashion: wanting to fulfill a personal desire for a pretty face through the use of money. He graciously paid Colson an extra 200 elemental shards per month for the increase in status, bringing Colson¡¯s monthly salary up to 1400 shards per month.


    Of course, this caused no small amount of jealousy amongst the guards when they learned how an uppity newcomer had somehow received such a ¡°promotion¡± via the favor of the young lady of the house. Mia herself only sighed at learning of Colson¡¯s salary. While it was sufficient for Colson to live on, Mia remembered how just a week earlier her father had burned that merchant to death while haggling over several thousand elemental shards at once.


    While Mia wasn¡¯t a believer in equal distribution of wealth or anything like that, she knew that too much of an income disparity between the top and bottom would only result in civil unrest. Before her father¡¯s crimes came to light, she needed to ensure the stability of this domain that she bore name to. Otherwise, either a civil unrest or royal execution would be all that awaited her, two all too familiar common bad endings to Mia. It was just human nature to seek self-preservation after all, wasn¡¯t it?


    One month after her swordsmanship training began, Mia was still at only [Beginning Swordsmanship lvl. 1.] It seemed that this skill would not be so easy to increase. She was able to remain patient about it, as she was already accustomed to studying for many hours at a time or grinding for several hours in a game from her previous life. Colson was the one who was left wondering just how Mia could put up with the swordsmanship drills that even he considered as boring when he was just a little kid. If it wasn¡¯t for his passionate fervor in wanting to seek a life of adventure, he would have given up long ago before he could even start on the path to becoming a swordsman!


    Mia also saw improvement in the evidence that her stats were beginning to increase slowly but surely. Although her level had remained at 1, her hit points and attack had both increased by 1 point each, perhaps signifying an improvement in her physical strength and stamina. Magic had also risen by 1 point, as Mia hadn¡¯t been slacking off in her personal magic practice even though she didn¡¯t have an actual teacher for this. She believed that as she got older, as long as she kept training herself, her stats would continually improve until she reached an eventual stat ceiling where it would be difficult to improve any further.


    For today however, Mia called off her training in both magic and swordsmanship. She had asked Colson two days ago to prepare for a trip outside to the nearby Clearlight Forest east of the city of Palmo that they were in.


    Mia had already learned from her tutor that the Clearlight Forest contained some very low-level weak monsters, and she set a goal for herself to begin gaining some actual experience in real-life combat, with Colson backing her up as a failsafe.


    Of course, since the Clearlight Forest was filled with only a few weak monsters, there was plenty of information available on the monster types within it. Mia was a firm believer in doing her research before taking any planned action, after all.


    [Wild Boar]


    Level: 1-2


    HP: 16-22


    Mana: 5-10


    Attack: 6-8


    Defense: 4-5


    Magic: 0


    Resistance: 0


    Skills: Charge


    [Humongous Bee]


    Level: 1-2


    HP: 12-14


    Attack: 5-7


    Defense: 2-3


    Magic: 0


    Resistance: 0


    Skills: Poison Sting


    Notes: FlyingSupport the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    [Slime]


    Level: 1-2


    HP: 25-30


    Attack: 1-3


    Defense: 16-20


    Magic: 4-7


    Resistance: 12-14


    Magic: Depends on element


    Of the monsters in the forest, the Wild Boars and Humongous Bees were considered the aggressive type that would attack humans on sight. Slimes were friendlier and wouldn¡¯t attack a human unless provoked, and people mostly left them alone due to the slimes¡¯ naturally high defense ratings. The low levels of the monsters in the forest meant that even a single villager would typically be able to pass through unscathed with no problems.


    However, Mia had a second goal in addition to using the Clearlight Forest as her training grounds. She wanted to capture a magical elemental slime!


    According to her memories of the game, there was a massively popular ¡°pet¡± system in the game where the player character and each NPC character would be able to befriend and tame wild non-boss monsters! Non-aggressive and lower-level monsters such as slimes were the easiest of all to capture. Of course, very few players would assign such pets to their characters past the tutorial stages, Mia had something different in mind.


    What would players normally look for in a pet for combat? The typical answer would be either high damage capabilities, or some sort of special ability that could help turn the tides of battle such as a stunning effect.


    However, Mia was now in a game world that differed from a game in a critical aspect: she didn¡¯t have the ability to save and load! One mistake would mean that everything was over for her! Therefore, Mia decided to prioritize defense, defense, defense! This was simply in her nature as someone with a cautious personality above all. However, she knew that her natural class of [Wind Mage] wasn¡¯t exactly suited for melee-range close combat, so she needed to make up for it somehow. In other words, she was looking for a tank!


    It could be said that the developers of the game were lazy and copied many common monsters such as the slime from many other games and placed them in the tutorial section of the game. In this game, they were color-coded according to the elements for convenience, and posed no threat to the main character¡¯s party, having only high defense and not so shabby resistance with incredibly low attack. As pets, the slimes weren¡¯t able to cast any attack spells, but instead could provide a 10% bonus to elemental spells of the slime¡¯s respective attribute.


    In her past life, Mia had a baby dragon as a pet. The most important reason was that it was cute! Baby dragons had decent combat capabilities as well, but they were actually an end-game monster, unobtainable until the player character had a very high skill level in monster taming. Although Mia wanted to be able to meet her golden baby dragon once again, dragons wouldn¡¯t appear in this world for another ten years, having been re-awakened from their deep slumbers by the future apocalypse that began the Age of Chaos. She definitely didn¡¯t have the time to wait that long.


    Mia was now focused on practicality above all else. In a turn-based RPG game, having a slime pet may not have been useful as it lacked any abilities that could attract the enemies¡¯ attention towards itself. But now that the game world had turned real, Mia had some creative ideas in her mind about how to use its high defenses. If only she could make an armor out of slime¡­ cough cough, that sounded a little wrong.


    There were also many things Mia wanted to experiment with in real combat. She had a weak child¡¯s body and only some magical spells that were unsuited for combat, so the only thing she could rely on would be her memories of game mechanics and events.


    The first thing Mia wanted to confirm was about HP, as this concerned her own life. The gap between her and Colson¡¯s levels was too huge, as he would likely be able to knock her out with only one or two hits, so a serious practice would be meaningless. According to Mia¡¯s sensibilities, a person standing with 1 HP being able to fight at full strength and dying to a single scratch seemed ridiculous. But when she asked Colson about it, as HP seemed to be a commonly accepted concept in this world, she found out that a decrease in HP would typically also decrease the person¡¯s stats by a small amount, and that having HP reduced to zero wasn¡¯t necessarily fatal. Instead, the person would be knocked out, but that would also be a dangerous situation in and of itself. Unlike in a game, where a party character with 0 HP would be rendered untargetable, real life enemies, both humans and monsters, would never go easy on someone just because the person was unconscious, after all. It would still be a dangerous situation to be in.


    The second game mechanic Mia wanted to confirm was regarding experience. Her level had remained at 1 after all this time even though she was gradually improving. Was actual combat the only way to gain experience after all? And what exactly would happen to her if she leveled up?


    As for other mechanics like how this was suddenly turned into a real-time strategy game instead of a turn-based RPG thanks to the fact that everything had turned real, she would have to figure it out with her upcoming experiments.


    Mia was frustratingly unable to even land a blow on Colson, as he was able to dodge each and every one of her telegraphed novice-level attacks that were easy to read just like a book. That was also another reason why she suggested changing the practice to gaining practical experience in the nearby Clearlight Forest, which was a perfect area for beginners to train.


    Mia now had a Wooden Practice Sword that provided a paltry +1 Attack, given to her by Colson. After all, she had no experience with swords in her previous life, and neither she nor Colson felt that it was a good idea to start from metal swords. She was also wearing a Light Cotton Dress that mystifyingly managed to provide +1 in Defense as well. ¡­Of course, she also wore shorts beneath it.


    As Mia¡¯s hired guard, Colson could only go together with her. There was a strong sense of hierarchy impressed into commoners¡¯ minds about the higher status of nobility, not to mention the fact that Colson was considered Mia¡¯s employee to begin with. He didn¡¯t mind, as he knew that he would easily be able to deal with any low-level monsters in a single blow or two. For today though, he was just supposed to hang back and only step in if necessary.


    The Clearlight Forest was just one of many verdant forests in the Hart domain. There was a well-traveled path that cut through its middle, and monsters rarely ventured onto the path, having learned their lessons from the humans that often passed by. The trees weren¡¯t particularly dense, and there were many small clearings and fields, which was said to be the reason behind its naming.


    Mia had a slight feeling of anticipation as she entered the forest with Colson behind her. As their goal wasn¡¯t to travel past the forest, they veered off the path and headed straight into the wooded area. Mia made a mental note of how Colson marked various trees on their way so that they wouldn¡¯t get lost when trying to exit the forest. While Colson was by no means an experienced adventurer himself, his grandfather had ingrained the basic survival techniques into him for future traveling use.


    Just a few minutes after walking into the wooded area, they came across their first monster, a Wild Boar.


    Despite its name of boar, Mia privately felt that it was misnamed as it was only the size of a medium-sized dog. It had its back turned to Mia and was preoccupied with nibbling something at a tree¡¯s roots. Its body was short and stout, and it was definitely pink in color. This ¡°boar¡± wasn¡¯t hairy at all. Wasn¡¯t this more of a pig than a boar?


    Still, the beginning-level monsters were the same in Hoplia as the game¡¯s main country of Rodan. Mia knew that a tamed Wild Boar could also grow in level together with the player character and eventually transform into a majestic hog, well, as majestic as a hog could be. Wild Boars were specialized in speed and attack, but that wasn¡¯t what Mia was looking for. While pets in the game could be revived, that seemed to only be a player perk. Mia highly doubted that pets could simply be revived after dying in her new reality. It was simply too easy to kill Wild Boars that had only average HP and Defense, and there was also the fact that Mia didn¡¯t even know how to tame monsters that were naturally aggressive like the Wild Boar.


    ¡°Okay, so you have the chance to perform a sneak attack. Try to strike its back before it notices you!¡±


    Colson whispered that piece of advice to Mia as she nodded. It was just common sense that back attacks were far harder to guard against than frontal attacks. If this was still a game with random encounters, perhaps this could even be termed as a ¡°preemptive strike.¡± But now, Mia could only rely on her own physical abilities, lacking as they were.


    Mia slowly unbuckled the wooden sword buckled to her waist. Although it was dull, a wooden sword was still far better than using her bare fists, as she would likely only end up injuring herself.


    She took a glance at the forest floor and judged that it would be difficult for her to approach entirely without getting noticed as her shoes would surely crunch the leaves beneath her feet. It wasn¡¯t like she was a Thief class or anything similar that could use stealth skills, after all. She decided instead to cast Light Breeze instead to stir up the leaves, hoping that the rustling sound would cover her footsteps.


    Using that as her cover, Mia approached the Wild Boar. The distance between her and the Wild Boar was now approximately ten steps. She walked slowly and carefully¡­ and suddenly started dashing from five steps away! The boar turned around when she was only three steps away, but its reaction was too late. There was a look of utter piggy surprise on its face as Mia succeeded in whacking it on its face right on the snout with a vertical slash!


    Mia hadn¡¯t learned any true sword skills yet, so she already expected that she would be unable to defeat the Wild Boar in a single strike. Especially all the more so since Mia¡¯s level 1 stats as a mage class couldn¡¯t even compare to that of a Wild Boar¡¯s in HP, Attack, or Defense¡­ she was inferior in every way, even with equipment factored in!


    Of course, being a low-level non-magical monster, the Wild Boar had an inferior level of intelligence compared to higher ranked monsters. Wild Boars were merely one of the lowest-ranking types of monsters, a mutated form of a normal creature, the common pig. It even had lower intelligence than normal pigs, and was a creature purely of instinct.


    That being said, Mia didn¡¯t underestimate the Wild Boar one bit. After all, she was just level 1 herself, and only a novice at fighting. And just because she wanted to experiment didn¡¯t mean that she was the type who enjoyed inflicting pain on herself for the sake of learning knowledge.


    Mia hadn¡¯t placed her full force into her attack, because Colson had taught her that using her full force would cause it to take longer to recover her balance after the attack, something which smarter opponents would definitely take advantage of.


    Right after the wooden sword connected with the boar¡¯s snout, Mia was already retreating in an effort to place distance between herself and the boar. However, the boar was furious at having its meal interrupted. Mia could see that the boar was huffing and snorting as its face turned red! It immediately stomped the ground with its hooves, and activated its species¡¯ only skill ¨C Charge!

 Chapter 5 - First Meeting

    Mia knew that in a direct speed confrontation, there was no way that her top speed would be able to outrun the boar. However, she knew that thanks to the laws of physics, there would be one drawback to the boar¡¯s high-speed Charge!


    Objects in motion must stay in motion. Even if this was a magical world, and the scientist known as Newton didn¡¯t exist here, the laws of physics still worked ¨C well, for the most part.


    Mia surmised that a high-speed Charge would only be able to charge in one direction. The bane of high speed and acceleration was sharp turns, after all. Mia jumped right to the side when the boar began charging, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. The boar¡¯s Charge clipped the right side of her leg, causing her to nearly stumble.


    Mia quickly took a glance at her status using the Status Stone she borrowed from Colson. The Charge attack only glanced off her, but it still gave her 3 damage. She shuddered to think what would have been the result of a direct blow, as she had only a paltry 13 HP to begin with.


    The boar seemed unfazed as it turned around to face Mia again. She couldn¡¯t tell its status, as there was no more convenient visible HP bar any more like a game¡¯s to determine its condition. She had gone over this scenario with Colson already. According to his calculations, it would likely take her four good hits on the boar to defeat it.


    This time, the boar¡¯s speed was obviously slower than the first time as it rushed towards her again! Mia was unsure if there was anything like a cooldown limitation, a use restriction, or if it was just the boar¡¯s random whim on how to use its only known skill. But, this definitely seemed easier to dodge, even in a child¡¯s body.


    Mia mentally calculated the boar¡¯s course and speed as she sidestepped. She considered her reaction speed above average. Not only did she play turn-based RPGs before in her past life, she also played real time strategy games before and had some experience in dodging enemies¡¯ attacks. However, that was all in a game in the past, and didn¡¯t extend to her physical body. Well, that was part of the point of this training against low-level monsters, to train her body¡¯s reaction time to follow her brain¡¯s.


    This time, the boar zoomed past Mia at a speed resembling a dog¡¯s without managing to touch her. Mia sliced down diagonally in the basic form that she had been practicing, and her wooden sword smacked with a satisfying thud against the boar¡¯s back.


    *Squeal!*


    If Colson¡¯s calculations were correct, this attack should have reduced the boar¡¯s HP to approximately half! A natural wild animal¡¯s first instinct in this type of situation would have been to flee, but the Wild Boar was a mana-infused creature whose aggression had overtaken its sense of reason. It only knew that it absolutely had to take down the hated enemy before it using the only method it knew: brute force.


    The Wild Boar used Charge once more, but Mia was beginning to get accustomed to keeping up with the Boar¡¯s speed.


    Just as Mia was about to prepare for her next attack -


    A figure suddenly stepped out of the woods and intercepted the boar, before slaying it with a single vicious slash! The boar¡¯s corpse vanished and transformed into two earth element crystal shards which fell onto the ground.


    Mia was too stunned at this sudden occurrence to even react, but she quickly regained her senses. Colson, however, still had his mouth wide agape.


    The figure turned around and smiled at Mia. He was a young boy that Mia judged to be roughly three years older than she was, so perhaps eight or nine years old. He had a head of blonde curly hair with a fair and handsome complexion, and was dressed in what Mia saw as regal attire. Add on to the fact that following him out of the woods were several adults dressed in a typical knightly fashion, Mia guessed that this boy must be a wandering noble from somewhere else. No commoner boy would even have such knowledge of swordsmanship or be out here with such an escort, after all.


    When the noble-seeming boy noticed Colson standing behind Mia, his wide smile instantly changed into a frown.


    ¡°You there, just what do you think you¡¯re doing? I assume you¡¯re this girl¡¯s escort? What could you possibly be thinking, just standing by and watching as this young lady fights with her life in peril?¡±


    Mia understood instantly as the young boy who was obviously used to being in a position of authority began berating the much older Colson. This boy had mistaken her for a damsel in distress! Before the dumbfounded Colson could respond, she decided to respond first as she believed it was only right for her to deal with situations that arose as she was the master. Imperceptibly, she was also getting used to a position of authority.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood something here. While this young man here may indeed be my guard, he was merely standing aside as per my orders. This was merely part of my personal training. Besides, just who might you be, and what are you doing here? This is the Hart domain, and I am Mia Hart, daughter of Count Hart. You appear to be noble yourself, so what business do you have here?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Mia wasn¡¯t inclined to interfere in political affairs at her current young physical age. She was just somewhat displeased at having her training interrupted like that on her very first try at defeating a monster, so challenging this noble boy¡¯s presence in the Clearlight Forest was merely her way of venting.


    The adults standing behind the boy seemed more taken aback by her question than the boy himself. They appeared to become uneasy and Mia even heard one of them say ¡°Milord...¡± in a low voice. This caused her to mentally go on guard, and she began counting the adults. There were seven of them, six men and one woman, spread out in a semicircle behind the boy.


    ¡®Did I accidentally trod upon something I shouldn¡¯t have? I know it¡¯s definitely breaking noble protocol to visit another noble¡¯s domain unannounced. Are they doing something they shouldn¡¯t be doing here?¡¯


    At this time, the blonde boy raised his right hand and quelled his followers¡¯ murmurs. ¡°I understand. I am Jared Asharon, son of Count Asharon from your neighboring domain. I should be asking you instead: if you are a noble lady as you say, what are you doing in a forest such as this, entangled in an encounter with a dangerous, vicious beast? Why do you have only one personal attendant? What is this personal training you speak of?¡±


    Although exasperated, Mia knew that this would likely be the first in a long line of future similar questions. The society here was somewhat patriarchal, and while it wasn¡¯t unheard of for women to be in direct combat, it was far rarer for noble girls to do so. It was considered an issue of class, as direct combat was viewed to be the work of commoners, while nobles preferred what they saw as the elegance of magic. Well, this limitation was only placed on girls, as noble boys would still typically learn swordsmanship as part of their education. Still, it wasn¡¯t strictly forbidden, so Mia intended to do as she pleased. She preferred to look on the bright side in this instance: things were still better here for women than in some societies she could name for women in the previous ¡°modern¡± world of hers.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I see no reason why I cannot do as I please in the Clearlight Forest of my own domain. I¡¯m currently honing my swordsmanship skills for the future. Rather than relying on others, I simply prefer to be able to rely on myself once I have the ability to do so, rather than relying on strength of numbers. As a noble, one must have the proper qualities to take command of others and be worthy of being respected. This has nothing to do with being male or female. As a fellow noble, surely you would agree?¡±


    The blonde boy¡¯s face flushed slightly red upon hearing this, perhaps detecting the subtle jab aimed at him in Mia¡¯s words. However, he quickly regained his composure and smiled brilliantly once more.


    ¡°Indeed, your words make sense. In that case, I apologize for interrupting your ¡®training,¡¯ and I shall be on my way. However, as a gentleman, I cannot possibly let my conscience rest at ease if I were to send off a lady such as yourself with only one guard in this forest where dangerous beasts run rampant. Risa!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Milord.¡± The only woman among Jared¡¯s retinue stepped forward.


    ¡°Please see to it that Lady Hart and her guard safely return to Count Hart. Act as their temporary escort while they remain in this forest. Meet up with us at the prearranged meeting location afterwards. The rest of us shall withdraw and leave Lady Hart to continue her training or return home as she pleases. Goodbye, Lady Hart. It was a pleasure meeting you.¡±


    Mia mentally scoffed at how he described the Clearlight Forest as a location where ¡°dangerous beasts run rampant,¡± when she knew already that there were only level 1 and 2 monsters in this location that was basically a beginner¡¯s area. She also noticed that this boy calling himself Jared sidestepped her question, not answering anything about what he was doing here. However, she didn¡¯t intend to pry or escalate this into a possible direct confrontation, as the result would obviously be disadvantageous to her. If there was to be another ¡°escort¡± for her, she didn¡¯t mind, no matter what the motivations were as long as it didn¡¯t affect her directly, and she wouldn¡¯t allow such a thing to inconvenience her plans.


    ¡°Goodbye, then. Thank you for your kind offer of assistance. I shall graciously accept your generous offer. Come, it¡¯s also time for us to be on our way as well.¡±


    Unbeknownst to Mia, as the noble boy¡¯s party split up from her, his group walked into an empty clearing before one of ¡°Jared¡¯s¡± followers spoke up.


    ¡°Prince Felix, what if your true identity gets exposed? Could this noble girl possibly end up jeopardizing our mission?¡±


    ¡°Relax, haven¡¯t our scouts already determined that the lord of this domain, Count Hart, is nothing more than a local tyrant who doesn¡¯t pay the slightest attention to politics? It¡¯s already an anomaly for him to have such a daughter who¡¯s so clearheaded despite her age and upbringing. That¡¯s why I sent Risa, who¡¯s skilled in clandestine techniques to follow her. I shall also send Risa a follow-up message for her to pay attention to the situation and if my identity as an imposter for the real Jared is uncovered.¡±


    The man nodded, but he was secretly thinking to himself that his lord was akin to the pot calling the kettle black as the young prince himself was only nine years old and already being groomed to become a potential future ruler, although of course he wouldn¡¯t say such a thing out loud. Meanwhile, Harls, Prince Felix¡¯s eldest retainer, spoke up.


    ¡°Our current mission involves only gathering intelligence, and causing the disappearance of a young noble would only needlessly stir the waters. As reliable as that young lady just now may have seemed, judging by her age, she must be at most five or six years old? Perhaps she¡¯ll mature into a fine leader in the future, but it is highly unlikely that she¡¯ll have the time to do so before our Rodan Kingdom finishes its preparations for invading the Hoplia Kingdom. Even if that despot Count Hart of Hoplia managed to miraculously produce a talented heir, it¡¯s doubtful that she¡¯ll have any influence within her own domain for many years to come. We should have Risa simply observe the situation for the time being and continue our mission of gathering intelligence on the Hoplia Kingdom. This is supposed to also serve as a training of sorts for our young prince, so let us trust in his judgement and decision making and guide him only as necessary.¡±


    Felix smiled upon hearing this. ¡°Thank you for your support as always, Harls. Even if the Hoplians will become our enemies in the future, there are some things that simply shouldn¡¯t be done to beautiful girls like the girl we just met. She seems to be an interesting one; perhaps I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on her in the future if we ever have a chance to meet again.¡±


    Felix¡¯s smile then changed to a frown as he thought of something.


    ¡°Still though, that girl was really a noble? I never would have deigned to intervene had I realized she was a noble. Based on how she was dressed in commoner attire, I never would have guessed! If she had been a commoner, this would have been an excellent opportunity to give some local residents a favorable impression of me, but it turns out that she¡¯s a smart-ass noble! Hmph, I¡¯m going to have to teach her a lesson if I ever see her again.¡±


    Harls inwardly sighed at hearing this. As the third prince and one of the candidates for inheriting the throne in the future, Felix had received the finest upbringing and education, making him far more intelligent than most children his age. However, his status at the royal palace meant that few would dare to talk back or disrespect him, so Felix had developed an arrogance typical to upper-class nobles. Harls had been assigned to Felix¡¯s side and watchedthe young prince grow up ever since being a baby, and viewed Felix almost like he would his own son. Harls felt that the prince¡¯s only drawback of arrogance was due to the environment he grew up in. Harls privately hoped that Felix could mature through this opportunity of going outside the Rodan Kingdom during this mission to gather intelligence on the Hoplia Kingdom for a future invasion.

 Chapter 6 - Grinding

    Risa was a woman of average appearance and average height, but her stocky build and sword attached to her waist revealed that she was no delicate flower vase, at least in Mia¡¯s eyes. But since Jared¡¯s orders were to follow and protect her until she went home, rather than anything like a forcible escort, Mia had no intention of cutting short her training against monsters on the very first day. As long as Risa didn¡¯t interfere, Mia decided not to care and to just ignore Risa¡¯s presence.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Mia came across another Wild Boar in the forest. This time, Risa also received instructions to stand back and simply watch. Colson, of course, would step in if necessary and defend her from any danger.


    Unlike last time, this Wild Boar noticed their presence and attacked without being provoked. With prior experience from her previous interrupted battle, Mia was able to fend off its Charge easily by reading the course the Wild Boar would take. In fact, she landed what could be considered a lucky blow for her age and skill level - her wooden sword managed to slash the Wild Boar right in the eye. This caused the boar to immediately squeal loudly in pain as a small spurt of blood splashed onto Mia¡¯s clothing.


    Not being used to such experiences, Mia felt somewhat queasy in her stomach. However, the boar¡¯s vicious attitude helped to quell the butterflies in her stomach and focus on the enemy at hand, weak as it was. With a simple repeat of two more sidesteps and sword slashes, the boar was finished off. Mia collapsed on the ground, out of breath, and watched as the Wild Boar¡¯s corpse slowly vanished into the air, leaving only a few earth elemental shards behind.


    Colson had already explained this phenomenon to Mia beforehand, and it was also the same mechanic as in the game. Mana-infused wild creatures were no longer purely physical beings, and they drew their power more from the elements themselves rather than physical might. Once slain, their bodies would no longer contain the life force necessary to hold the elements together and be naturally returned to nature. Afterwards, they would leave only some elemental shards behind that were the materialization of their remnants of power.


    Mia did some contemplating as she rested on the ground. In games, characters were always capable of running around everywhere on wide-open maps, never slowing down to walk. They would proceed again right away no matter how many battles in a row they just had. Of course, this was impossible in real life. Running around everywhere was just for players¡¯ convenience, and nobody could have the stamina to do that all day long in between fighting monsters, much less Mia who was only a young girl again.


    Mia suddenly wondered if monsters in this world were capable of dropping equipment and if there would be treasure chests lying out and around for no apparent reason in the wild. While there were undeniable gaming elements to this new world she was in, there were also many parts that behaved like a real world rather than a game one. Monsters dropping equipment that they had no use for and kind-hearted people leaving treasure chests for future generations to find seemed incredibly unrealistic to Mia. Well, for the time being, there was no way to check.


    She decided to focus on learning what she could. So, she opened up her status window with the stone and saw that her experience was now at a paltry three points rather than zero.


    However, she had just fought two Boars earlier. What were some contributing factors to the different amounts of experience gained? She wanted to experiment with learning how a few game mechanics would work with experience points.


    This was something easy to test. Mia asked Colson to slay the next Wild Boar they came across, intending to check experience gain for both of them.


    She didn¡¯t mention why to Colson, but she was his employer and lord that he served, so he obliged. He figured it was no big deal as a level 1 or 2 Boar was just a piece of cake to him.


    After finishing the deed, Mia checked both their statuses to see that the experience bar had remained the same for Colson, while she had gained one experience point. Maybe it was that Colson¡¯s level was too high, and he couldn¡¯t earn any experience from such a low-level monster.


    The following experiment was just as simple: Mia had Colson knock out the next Boar instead of killing it, while she gave it a finishing blow.


    A¡­ resounding success? While meager, Mia did end up getting 2 experience points from the kill.


    This seemed like an adequate confirmation that the experience system remained the same with the person landing the killing blow in the party receiving extra experience points. Somehow, it seemed that whatever magic or gods that ran the natural laws of this world counted Colson and her as being in a ¡°party¡± together, so Mia could share and divide Colson¡¯s earned experience.


    Mia thus immediately decided to go around with Colson as her ¡°babysitter.¡± This was an apt description of a gaming tactic in some RPGs where a party consisted of an overleveled character together with an underleveled character or characters.


    Well, such overleveled ¡°babysitter¡± characters typically acted as meat shields and strong attackers in the early stages of the game, but had weaknesses such as experience leeching or poor growth potential. They would soon become overshadowed or some event would cause them to leave the player¡¯s party, but this time Mia hoped that none of those tropes would come to pass. She didn¡¯t know Colson¡¯s growth potential as he was no named character from the original game, but she hoped for at least average combat strength from him as well as continued long-term employment. Still, she wouldn¡¯t be able to control the future, even with knowing some game events that would eventually occur far down the road.


    After some rest, Mia told Colson about her plan for the next few hours.


    ¡°Colson, I¡¯d like you to begin eliminating the monsters in this forest. However, leave all the last hits to me, and only render them unconscious.¡±


    Naturally, Colson was rather confused by this, and it showed on his face. ¡°Yes, Milady, that will be fine, but what¡¯s the purpose behind all this? Do you have something in mind?¡±


    Technically, it was a breach of etiquette for a servant to question a noble like this. If anyone had dared to question Count Hart, it was likely that the servant would have been whipped or worse, depending on the Count¡¯s mood. However, Mia wasn¡¯t someone used to such formalities, so she actually preferred Colson¡¯s direct manner of speaking.


    ¡°Killing these monsters can give me valuable experience that I need to level up. The efficiency rate is a little low, but there are only weak monsters here and we should be able to kill them at a fairly decent pace due to their weakness. My goal is to level up and become stronger; there are things I want to do that can¡¯t be achieved without sufficient strength. Colson, you know about experience and levels already, so how is it that you level up?¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Colson felt like Mia was always filled with surprises. Killing as many weak monsters as possible only for the sake of experience points? It seemed rather meaningless to him.


    ¡°Level up? I never really paid attention to it. I just trained under my grandfather. While I did fight monsters from time to time under his instruction as well, I¡¯ve never heard of anyone that used the method of slaying weak monsters in order to get stronger. Shouldn¡¯t people be challenging themselves against the strong as the correct method to train and level up? Is it really possible to get stronger by repeatedly killing these weak enemies?¡±


    Mia came to the realization from this that ¡°level grinding,¡± another gaming strategy that she was familiar with, must not be a thing in this world. Of course, nobody in her original world either would do such a thing in real life, camping out in a forest and doing incredibly basic repeatedly for the purpose of improving their skill level.


    However, as long as whatever system was out there responsible for these status windows via the Status Stone magic indicated that she was receiving experience points, Mia believed that it was evidence that she could indeed increase her level through even repetitive, meaningless appearing actions like level grinding. Since she couldn¡¯t explain the logic behind this, she decided to not think too deeply into it.


    For now, Mia simply wanted to focus on obtaining level 2 and seeing what would happen, along with hunting for a pet Slime in the Clearlight Forest. After capturing a slime here, she could then move on to other areas with slightly stronger monsters to ramp up the difficulty and her rate of growth, much like a game would do.


    She also wanted to see if she would be unable to unlock an innate talent at level 10 just like the game characters. Colson had Swordsmanship Mastery, which was a talent that couldn¡¯t be more ordinary which would improve his swordsmanship skills. Still, she figured it was probably on par for an average person, as there were plenty of NPCs that didn¡¯t even have innate talent bonuses to begin with.


    While foundational training was important, Mia wasn¡¯t adverse to taking shortcuts when they presented themselves. Besides, in the end, her class was still [Wind Mage] and not one particularly suited for physical combat, nor was it her style. If possible, she wanted to unlock or learn new skills that would allow her to fight from the back lines. Using a sword to defend herself should only be a last resort. Then again, she didn¡¯t know what she would be able to do or learn, so perhaps she would be stuck as a physical fighter mage class in the end?


    Risa was merely following behind them at a long distance as an observer to ostensibly ¡°protect¡± them and was unable to hear their conversation. Thus, she ended up with a much different interpretation of Mia¡¯s level grinding session¡­


    While in the forest, Mia also practiced casting [Detection lvl. 1] as they went along. She figured that since it was termed ¡°lvl. 1,¡± it was obvious that its powers could be improved. While there were no instructions on how to level up the skills, the basic method in the original game was simply to use them repeatedly and the skills would level up based on the number of times they were used.


    It was difficult to describe, but Mia felt that the most apt analogy to how [Detection] worked was like the function of minimaps in most game. She could sense in a radius around her with a rough idea of the terrain as well as any living creatures nearby. She was at the center of this ¡°minimap¡± in her mind, with Colson next to her and Risa following a bit after. Any monsters that entered the area of effect for her [Detection] spell would also reveal its presence to her, but she was unable to determine specifics like what type of monster it was. At an estimate, Mia figured that the range was approximately ten meters.


    ¡®Other people in reincarnation stories I¡¯ve read about receive all sorts of amazing powers and have an assortment of good friends and companions gathered to them right away by the magnetism they exude as the main character. Meanwhile, the only powers I have are personal air conditioning and a minimap in a world of magic and my first companion is someone that I had to hire to accompany me. Well, I suppose I can also eavesdrop in on others a bit easier. I also have a strange suspicious woman following me that doesn¡¯t really count as my companion. Sigh, why did things become like this?¡¯


    Five minutes later, Mia located a nest of Humongous Bees.


    Unlike the Wild Boars which were solitary, these monster versions of normal bees were just like their original forms in that they lived in colonies. Mia counted five dots on her internal minimap.


    ¡°Colson, can you handle a small swarm of Humongous Bees? I estimate that there¡¯s about five ahead of us.¡±


    Colson didn¡¯t need to ask about how Mia knew, because he could also see the Humongous Bee nest. The Humongous Bees were each slightly smaller than the size of a basketball, making Mia feel like they would likely give a normal five-year-old child nightmares.


    ¡°Leave it to me, they¡¯re actually not much of a threat. Their only danger is that they can inflict the Poison status if they land a hit. Don¡¯t worry though, it¡¯s not highly venomous, so the damage over time you¡¯ll receive is low. Here, take this basic antidote I have as well that should work against their weak poison. I might not be able to cover for you if there¡¯s five of them. You¡¯re absolutely sure that you want to do this, Milady?¡±


    Mia somehow had an impression like she really was in a beginner¡¯s tutorial, even receiving a free early game item like an antidote¡­


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s begin. Didn¡¯t that boy from earlier say that his servant would protect us on our way home? Surely she¡¯s capable of fighting as well if it comes to it. I doubt that sword of hers is just for show. Remember, just knock them unconscious, and leave the last hits to me!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    Colson immediately jumped up and attracted the Bees¡¯ attention by throwing a large rock at the Bees¡¯ nest. There were no ¡°taunting¡± skills in his arsenal which would be able to lock the monsters¡¯ attention on to him indefinitely, but the rock instantly marked him as an invader in the Bees¡¯ eyes which should be eliminated. Well, even without the rock, the Bees would have attacked him regardless if they noticed him. It was simply in their nature. However, this had the bonus side effect of gathering the Bees together as they all rushed him ¨C


    ¡°Arc Slash!¡±


    This was one of Colson¡¯s only mana-infused attacks that he knew how to use. It was just a normal damaging sword slash which would send out an energy wave in a small arc that could be effective on a few enemies at a time, a low-level AOE. Colson also didn¡¯t have enough mana to cast it for very many times, but he decided to use it here to deal with the Bees as fast as possible.


    A minor wave of sword energy shot out from his sword and knocked four Bees to the ground, flapping their wings helplessly but failing to get up, dazed by the blow. The final Bee had dodged the [Arc Slash] and went straight for Colson¡¯s arm with its protruding stinger.


    However, Colson¡¯s [Tough Leather Jacket] ended up simply deflecting the blow from the Bee¡¯s stinger as it glanced off harmlessly. Mia was rendered speechless as she knew that her basic children¡¯s clothes which provided zero defense of any sort wouldn¡¯t be able to imitate the effects of Colson¡¯s [Leather Jacket], as she privately vowed to obtain at least some beginner-level equipment in the future.


    She suddenly wondered about how certain types of female equipment like flimsy dresses and skirts could provide top-level defense in the game¡­ Whoops, she was getting sidetracked.


    Colson smacked the remaining Bee into the ground with the flat of his sword. After he gave the Bees on the ground a few more blows that made them stop struggling without killing the Bees, Mia cautiously approached while staying at a distance from the long stingers.


    She had a sudden thought before she swung down her sword. Could these poisonous stingers be gathered? Even if the poison within these Bees was weak, it would be potentially useful.


    ¡°Colson, could you lend me a hand? Is it possible to cut off their stingers and store the poison within them for future use before killing these Bees?¡±


    ¡°Erm, I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never tried¡­ I suppose it should work, but what could you possibly want Bee poison for? Even if it barely counts as venomous, it¡¯s still a poison, and using poison is hardly honorable¡­¡±


    ¡°I know that it¡¯s weak, but such a thing may come in handy. It¡¯s always better to have more knowledge. Only by studying about it can you be on guard against it. Even if you aren¡¯t the type to use poisons, that can¡¯t be said for everyone now, can it? There¡¯s no telling when it will potentially become useful to know about or have such a thing available to us.¡±


    Colson nodded begrudgingly while Mia inwardly sighed.


    ¡®It¡¯s good that he seems to be the straight-laced honorable type, but there¡¯s also downsides to his personality. While he¡¯ll most likely be reliable and trustworthy, there¡¯s certain¡­ pragmatic actions that I won¡¯t be able to have him perform for me.¡¯


    ¡®The Age of Chaos is coming, and pristine concepts like honor won¡¯t exactly be useful to survive the upcoming catastrophe. Well, even if there wasn¡¯t an upcoming apocalypse, there¡¯s always times when the ends justify the means ¨C or at least that¡¯s what I believe.¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯m going to have to find another companion who doesn¡¯t mind doing certain types of¡­ dirty work in the future.¡¯


    Colson used his [Iron Sword] to cut off the Bees¡¯ stingers before Mia finished them off with blunt impacts from her own [Wooden Sword]. Luckily for her, it wasn¡¯t particularly gory, as the monsters¡¯ bodies disintegrated¡­ which was still somewhat hard for Mia to take in, but it was better than the bloody alternative.


    Mia then took a look at her status again. This time, she gained ten experience points. Obviously, it was a much nicer sum than one or two experience points for a single Boar, as the Bees typically came in small groups.


    It was only a few minutes¡¯ work for ten experience points, although the work was mostly done by ¡°babysitter¡± Colson. Well, this didn¡¯t account for time spent traveling, resting, and searching for enemy monsters, but Mia figured that she could at least make it to level 2 by either the end of today or tomorrow.

 Chapter 7 - Slimes

    A little more than two hours after Mia and Colson began Mia¡¯s level grinding expedition in the Clearlight Forest, they finally encountered their first Slime.


    Mia had done a lot of thinking in the meantime. Slimes were one of the tankiest creature types in the original game, so the same should hold true for this world as well. This was the main selling point for her decision on why to take a Slime as her magical pet.


    However, many questions still remained. What was the best way to use the Slime¡¯s natural tankiness to her advantage? Slimes were one of the lowest-popularity magical pets to have in the original game for several reasons.


    First of all was that the tankiness didn¡¯t provide any advantages to the player! Slimes had no way of forcing the computer-controlled monsters in the game to attack them. Most monsters would simply choose targets according to a random number algorithm, which left the Slimes unable to perform the tank¡¯s main role in any party formation, absorbing damage for the party.


    There was also the factor of the Slime¡¯s low attack power. It was so paltry in the early levels that it was almost ignorable, and Elemental Slimes wouldn¡¯t learn attack or support spells until they leveled up at least a few times, by which time players would typically switch to some other magical pets.


    Not to mention the rarity: Mia and Colson (and Risa) had encountered and slain sixteen Humongous Bees, and ten Wild Boars in the past two plus hours. She was about halfway complete to receiving her first level up already, but this was the first Slime she encountered in all this time.


    However, the main reasons that Mia preferred a Slime to the other possible creatures in this area were that Slimes were one of the strongest endgame creatures available to her in this nearby area, and that Slimes were comparatively docile and non-aggressive towards humans relative to most other monsters around here. She figured that without an actual monster taming ability, it would be best to start from a friendlier creature.


    Mia planned on locating a Wind Slime, conveniently color-coded as green in order to help protect her and enhance her own wind magic powers. This particular Slime that they met was a sky blue in color, indicating that it was a Water Slime. It wasn¡¯t the element that Mia wanted, but she decided to stick around and observe and learn about Slimes.


    After all, the capturing and taming of magical pets was made easy by the game itself through a simple ¡°Capture¡± command available in the battle menu, and any taming would be automatic. Although Mia figured it would be possible to replicate, she currently had no idea of how to recreate the effects.


    Not only that, there were also mundane things to now worry about. Just what did Slimes eat? What did Slimes like to do? Would Slimes have to¡­ go to the bathroom? How did they reproduce?


    Okay, well, maybe the last one wasn¡¯t particularly important to Mia. But, Mia knew that having to take care of a magical pet would be rather similar to taking care of a real one. Luckily, she had experience with raising both a cat and a dog before in her past life, so she had some confidence with animals, if not a wild magical creature like a Slime.


    She figured that without a convenient system in place, the best way to obtain her magical pet would be through befriending one. In order to do this, she intended to observe the Slime in its natural habitat first and learn how it behaved.


    ¡­Unfortunately, they spent about half an hour doing nothing, as the Water Slime was simply sleeping! Even Risa who was trained in the political arena and knew the value of patience couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going on. Of course, she was a trained professional, and wouldn¡¯t ask in such a direct manner. However, Colson wasn¡¯t afraid to speak his mind.


    ¡°Milady, what are we doing here? Is there some specific purpose you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to do research regarding Elemental Slimes. Tell me, what do you know regarding Slimes?¡±


    Colson was rendered speechless by this question. Slimes were a common creature found in many places, well known to all for being harmless and possessing tough defenses. Elemental Slimes were a slightly rarer variant that possessed additional magical abilities, but nothing significant, and they weren¡¯t considered all that much stronger than their normal brethren. Slimes were a species that nobody ever bothered paying attention to ¨C relegated to the farthest back corner of most people¡¯s minds. He was unable to fathom why the young girl he was serving would take an interest in Slimes.


    He told Mia the limited common knowledge that he knew about Slimes and directly asked what he was thinking. ¡°Milady, what specifically did you want to know?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh, I was thinking of catching and raising one. You know, just what does a Slime eat, what do Slimes like doing, how to befriend a Slime, these sorts of things. Proper research will be necessary so that I can take proper care of it.¡±


    Colson¡¯s mouth was now so wide agape that it seemed like his jaw would hit the floor. Judging from his reaction, Mia figured out that the catching and taming of wild magical creatures had not been popularized yet. Perhaps it was only a necessary step taken by the humans later in the future, as a resort against the later calamities?


    If there was no information available on this topic then, it was all the more important for her to figure it out on her own.


    However, merely observing with no results seemed to be a poor, low-efficiency idea, so she started asking Colson about this topic.


    ¡°I was thinking of keeping a Slime as a magical pet. I had the idea that perhaps I could catch and tame one. What do you think? Have you ever heard of anyone doing something similar?¡±


    Colson wordlessly shook his head no as various thoughts flashed through his mind.


    ¡®What would be the purpose? Slimes are well known to have weak attack power, and humans are unable to communicate with them. It¡¯s not like you can ask a Slime to act as a guard dog or know that it understands your intentions. Why would anyone want to befriend a magical beast which is supposed to be the natural enemy of humans anyways?¡¯


    Well, these thoughts were too direct for him to say out loud, as even he knew they would be rude and disrespectful.


    ¡°Colson, have you ever had any interactions with Slimes before?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? I think there were some ordinary Slimes that lived in the area close by to my hometown. I never actually bothered with them though, as there was no point. They won¡¯t attack unless they¡¯re attacked first, and their defenses are so tough that it¡¯s difficult to even scratch them. Might as well just leave them alone.¡±


    Mia nodded upon hearing this. ¡°Do you know if they like to live in groups or if they¡¯re typically alone?¡±


    ¡°¡­I think that the ones I saw from a distance were always by themselves. Are you really planning on catching a Slime and raising it? How are you going to do that?¡±


    To be honest, Mia didn¡¯t know how to do it either, but since there was a system for doing it in the original game, she figured it was worth a try to get her own magical pet. Besides, there were no possible downsides that she could think of for doing so for the time being.


    At any rate, Mia decided to take action rather than wait around for the Water Slime to wake up. She started slowly walking up to the Water Slime, maintaining her sense of vigilance in case that anything would happen, even if stories said that Slimes were non-aggressive.


    The Water Slime woke up and turned around to look at her inquisitively. It had a blobby shape where no distinct body parts could be seen on it apart from some basic facial features; in fact, it appeared rather cartoonish. Its overall size was roughly equal to a medium-sized dog, and since Mia was currently only five-and-a-half-years-old, it reached a bit over half of Mia¡¯s height.


    Mia¡¯s first impression however was¡­


    ¡®It looks so much like Jello! I wonder if I can have a taste?¡¯


    But before she could get any closer, the Water Slime turned around and began to hop off. Boing, boing, boing. Mia felt like she was watching a delicious dessert escape¡­


    Well, there was no need to chase after the Water Slime. It wasn¡¯t of the element that she desired, and there would always be further opportunities in the future to learn more about Slimes.


    And if future Slimes that she met behaved in the same way and avoided humans, then that would mean that the first part she would need to work on was to befriend a Wind Slime without it running away at the sight of her.


    Not to mention, there was still currently an unknown outsider with them. Judging from Colson¡¯s reaction already, catching and taming a magical monster was something that was currently uncommon, although it would surely become popular by ten years in the future.


    Mia had no desire to stand out and become the center of attention. She preferred to keep her own knowledge as a transmigrator to herself. After all, tropes were tropes for a reason.


    All in all, Mia did have the self-realization about her own current young physical age, however old she may be mentally. Besides, information would be more valuable if kept to herself. She felt that it would be to her advantage, if she could somehow master having a magical pet before everyone else.


    After all, she was born into a different country rather than the main country of the game¡¯s storyline, and well before the game¡¯s main storyline was scheduled to begin. Much of her knowledge about what would eventually occur down the road couldn¡¯t be applied as of yet, so she could only stick to some foundational basics.


    They could always continue tomorrow as well when it came to level grinding or looking for Slimes. There were almost ten years remaining before the game¡¯s storyline was set to begin, which Mia considered to be ample time. There was no need to rush.


    Mia decided to end any further explorations of the Clearlight Forest for today. Although it was only the middle of the afternoon, her stamina was quite drained. Physically walking around in a forest was far different from controlling a game character on a screen for many hours at a time. Plus, she wanted to see if their ¡°follower¡± would leave them alone after she returned, or if there was something else this woman had in mind.


    Luckily enough, when they arrived at the Hart mansion, that seemed sufficient for Risa. Mia didn¡¯t want to go through the hassle of bringing a stranger which would put a damper in her habits of coming and going as she pleased, nor did Risa intend to draw extra attention to herself, as she had also achieved her goal already. Risa had been paying attention to the topographical lay of the land as she followed Mia to the Hart mansion, and she valued this information more than anything regarding Mia herself.


    Two days later, a letter from the spy Risa made its way to Felix and his retainers.


    Milord,


    The girl in question was indeed the daughter of Count Hart, in more ways than one. She seems to have inherited his penchant for cruelty, if nothing else. After struggling with facing another Wild Boar after we separated, she appeared to have lost her temper and ordered her retainer to begin clearing out the monsters in the forest. However, this was no act of altruism. What happened was that her retainer was ordered to merely knock the monsters unconscious and that she would come up and give the helpless monsters a killing blow. While monsters may be us humans¡¯ enemies, this is no different from a slaughter just to sate one young girl¡¯s bloodlust from throwing a temper tantrum. Not only that, Milord, as you are aware, there are harmless Slimes residing in the Clearlight Forest. This girl appears to have an abnormal fascination with the Slimes for an unknown reason. She patiently watched a Water Slime sleep for thirty minutes, an act of unusual patience for a child her age. After finally losing her patience and rushing towards the Slime, she spooked it as the Slime escaped successfully. However, the burning passion I saw in her eyes at that moment gave me the shivers. I could not guess at what tortures she must have planned for that poor Slime, as she then returned home to the Hart mansion. Regardless, she appears to be an ordinary, even meaner than most noble girl with strange fetishes. She should pose no threat of any kind whatsoever to our future plans. This concludes my report on the investigation of Count Hart¡¯s young daughter.


    PS: Attached is a basic map I have drawn of the surrounding area. May it be useful to our cause. May our Rodan Kingdom remain ever prosperous.

 Chapter 8 - Two Months

    Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now late autumn.


    Mia had created a regular schedule for herself, alternating between sword training, fighting (okay, letting Colson do the dirty work and getting the last hits) monsters in the forest, and the occasional day of rest.


    According to whatever game system was out there, if there was one, she was indeed getting stronger. For example, her original [Detection] skill now had a more detailed description indicating that it enhanced all her senses, allowing her to sense other living lifeforms as well as hear things more clearly within a now fifteen-meter radius. It worked basically as a combined minimap and eavesdropping skill, and seemed to be quickly becoming the cornerstone of her [Light Breeze] branch of wind magic.


    She also had a new spell called [Whisper]. This was developed when she tried reversing the effects of eavesdropping ¨C after all, if she could listen to conversations from a distance using the air currents, shouldn¡¯t she be able to also perform the reverse and talk to others at a distance?


    Experiments regarding this with Colson had proved to be successful. She could now talk to him at the same distance that she could hear him from. He was the only one who knew about the development of her abilities.


    Count Hart had kept a tight lid on not letting the fact that Mia had E rank wind magic be known, as he considered it an utter shame upon his name. This suited Mia just fine, as it meant that she could secretly research on her own without having anyone interfere or know about her abilities.


    Mia also reached level 4 in this time period, but had begun stalemating. Her stats had only improved minorly for the most part, and she learned no new skills whatsoever via leveling up.


    Instead, she learned [Whisper] through her own efforts in refining her skills. Not only that, she wasn¡¯t only gaining stat ups through levels, but also through continuous training. It seemed that there would be no shortcuts to take after all via level grinding.


    Still, there were some breakthrough levels that Mia was looking forward to. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t reach these levels in this year or even the next, but level 10 would help her awaken a personal innate talent, while level 20 would open up advanced classes to her.


    For now, one step at a time was how Mia wanted to take things. She had mostly finished all preparations that she could for taming a Wind Slime in the Clearlight Forest, after which she could stop training entirely in the forest as the monsters there were now too low leveled to give her any experience.


    In order to oppose her father, she needed not only personal power, but also connections. Even if she toppled her father Count Hart later on, there was no way that she would be able to rule as a little girl with only one loyal retainer. After catching herself a Wind Slime, the next step in Mia¡¯s plan for her personal development was to go either to the Thieves or Assassins Guild and begin thinking about getting a secondary job class for herself, in addition to beginning to have her own sources of information.


    Like many games, Legend of Eristan had a dual job class system where players could pick up a second job class at lowered efficiency for the sake of learning additional skills. However, this would typically require tutoring from various NPCs that Mia currently didn¡¯t have access to, being in both the wrong country and wrong timeframe.


    There would still be some elements that remained the same in each country, though.


    Mia knew the secret symbol of the Thieves Guild that every player of the game would know, and had already located one in the nearest town, Clearlight Town, which had the same name as the nearby forest.


    Perhaps it should be said that one of the game developers had a special love for the Thief and Assassin job classes, because the Thieves Guild logo was the same as the game company logo, making it easy for Mia to identify.


    She figured that she could attempt going down the Thief and Assassin job class line, as her current Wind Magic abilities over the realm of ¡°breeze magic¡± had led to spells such as [Detection] under her own development, which seemed more suited for reconnaissance and sneaking around rather than direct combat. Not to mention, in order to receive a second job class, she would have to receive teaching, and she had no idea where to find other teachers for different available classes. She didn''t want to have to wait several years to receive a chance to go to the neighboring Rodan Kingdom to seek NPCs there for teaching.


    Colson was teaching her basic swordsmanship abilities, but she didn¡¯t intend to take a job class like Swordsman. Pure melee combat was distasteful for her, and she preferred to either be able to attack others from afar or take them by surprise. If her primary job class of Wind Mage was going to be unable to provide her with ranged damage, then she figured she might as well revert to her other playstyle of Assassins. Besides, Colson wasn¡¯t level 20 yet and was still in a basic job class himself, and only those in promoted job classes would be able to teach a secondary job class in the game, so she figured it would work similarly here as well.


    Mia felt a twinge of pity for herself as she planned things through. She had only been a normal girl to begin with in her previous world, albeit one more into gaming and novels than most. And now, she was hoping to catch a Slime for her first friend in this world, and was plotting the downfall of her own father. Why had things come to this?


    She missed her old family and friends greatly. At first, she did indeed attempt researching to find out if there was any dimensional summoning magic available, such as the all too common summoning a hero from another world magic. However, her research revealed nothing. Although the magical resources available at Count Hart¡¯s mansion was sparse, Mia decided to put this topic aside. It wasn¡¯t that she had given up on returning to her old world, but rather that she had thought things through afterwards.


    She was already considered dead in her previous world. In fact, she knew this for a fact, as she had the unfortunate experience of ¡°living through her own death,¡± when a random insane individual decided to shoot up her school.


    There was a philosophical question that went something like this: if you could choose between knowing about your death before you were going to die, or dying unknowingly in an accident or in your sleep, which would you choose?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mia had never thought about such things before, but now that she was in her second life, she would unhesitatingly choose the latter. It was a terrifying experience like no other, and while this world was undeveloped compared to her previous one, at the very least it seemed to lack anything like people that killed each other for no real reason. Sure, humans in this world warred with each other, and did sinful things to fulfill their desires or for personal benefits. Still, she considered all of that better than randomness ¨C at least people with evil intentions was something she could be on guard against.


    If she returned somehow to her previous world, what of the fact that she had already died? What about the timeline? Since almost six years had passed already in this new world, would that mean that six years had passed on Earth as well? What would her identity be since she had died? Would she be spirited away by the American government where she was studying, or her own Japanese government, locked away and sequestered for research purposes? She felt that there would be too much trouble involved even if she did manage to successfully return, so she let go of the idea with a fond farewell and decided to live the best she could in this new world of hers. After all, even if she reincarnated once, there was no explanation for this phenomenon, no game god or god from her previous world that claimed responsibility. So, she definitely didn¡¯t want to die again.


    Even if she was unable to overthrow her father, she figured she could always run away and try to make a living for herself, as something like an adventurer or a wandering mage. However, in order to do so, she would at the very least need the power to be able to take care of and defend herself, and she knew that she was currently far too young and too weak for that.


    Therefore, she continued living in her father¡¯s mansion for the time being, isolating herself from everyone but Colson, and keeping her intentions secret. She didn¡¯t tell even Colson, although she planned on telling him eventually. Although he seemed like the honorable type to her, it was impossible to know how he would react, and it was still far too early. She would let him know later when she had collected more knowledge about the world and had at least sufficient power to defend herself. After all, it was impossible to know another human completely, and she didn¡¯t know if he would betray her.


    Of course, there were exceptions to being impossible to know other humans ¨C she was looking forward to being able to potentially meet some game characters in the future. After all, the game had plenty of stock characters with clich¨¦ personalities, and while Mia knew that with character potentially acting differently from expected, she still had hope that the game characters here would at least be similar to those she knew. Plus, with her knowledge of future events, she could at least try to control or influence the situation then, but that would require her to go make her way to the neighboring country of Rodan eventually where the game¡¯s events would take place. That was why Mia had worked especially hard at learning both Hoplian and Rodanian languages after arriving in this world.


    Luckily, the Hoplian and Rodanian languages had many similarities. In fact, they were more like two dialects of the same language than two different languages. This was for good reason ¨C Hoplia had been a former vassal country of Rodan which broke off and declared its own independence almost two hundred years ago. In fact, a basic rough communication was possible between the two countries even if one didn¡¯t speak the other¡¯s language. After Mia learned the Hoplian language, she considered learning Rodanian to be much easier than the process of learning English in her previous life, which had taken many years.


    She hoped that she would be able to at least succeed in taming a Slime for her first friend. Colson was more of a subordinate than a friend, and the age difference as well as status difference between them made things rather awkward, with Colson not knowing at times to remain formal or to be direct. Well, at least communication between them was made much easier by the fact that she was no normal child.


    Still, precisely because Mia was no normal child, she found it difficult to make friends her own age. There were no other children her age to begin with in the Hart mansion, as any servants who had children of their own weren¡¯t permitted to have their children stay in the mansion; instead, they lived in Clearlight Town. Although it was possible for Mia to go to town and meet other children, she had no interest in doing so. Most five and six-year-olds were still busy playing games like hide and seek with each other and engaging in children¡¯s squabbles, so how could she possibly be interested? Therefore, friends her own age was something that was out of the question for her currently.


    During the past few months, locating a Wind Slime was easy enough to do. In fact, she and Colson discovered one on the third day of exploring the Clearlight Forest. Or, perhaps it should be said that the Wind Slime discovered them.


    It happened on the edge of a small pond within the forest. Mia was able to constantly keep [Detection] up like a permanent minimap, so it didn¡¯t come as a surprise. Well, it was perhaps the only advantage to be found in lower-ranked magic ¨C a low amount of magic power meant that very little mana was required to maintain it, even for a semi-permanent effect that was somewhat of a utility spell.


    As Mia and Colson approached the small pond, there was a fast blip on the minimap in her senses that rapidly got closer to them. Mia pulled out her wooden sword, but ¨C


    *Plop!*


    Something warm and soft hit Mia in the face.


    She was stunned for a good several seconds before she was able to react.


    ¡®What just happened here?¡¯


    When she looked, there was now a green blob on her head. It was indeed a Wind Slime that she had been searching for, but no other Slime had ever behaved like this!


    Colson had taken out his sword as well, but Mia indicated to him that he should sheathe it, seeing as how the Wind Slime wasn¡¯t making any particularly aggressive moves. Nor had she actually taken any damage from its ¡°attack,¡± it just surprised her more than anything else.


    Slimes weren¡¯t supposed to be particularly friendly or aggressive towards humans, so what was with this Wind Slime¡¯s actions?


    Mia was able to come up with a theory after constant interaction with the Wind Slime for a few months. Unfortunately, since there was no known method of communicating with it that she knew of, it was only a theory.


    Mia felt that perhaps it had something to do with elemental mana. Not only was this particular Wind Slime friendly with her, the other Wind Slimes she eventually located in the forest seemed friendlier as well compared to other Elemental Slimes. Of note was that there were no Fire Slimes in the Clearlight Forest. Mia wondered if this had to do with the environment here: this was a forest after all, so wind, earth, and water elements were plentiful compared to the fire element.


    She secretly checked the stats of the various Wind Slimes she came across using the Status Stone and found that the first one she met had the best base stats, which made her feel as if she was playing an RPG game where she was constantly resetting for better randomized stats. It was also the one that left her with the deepest impression with its jump-on-her-face greeting that it seemed to repeat every time.


    This particular Wind Slime was easy to locate every time as it typically stayed in the same section of the forest. Mia didn¡¯t fear that it would run off as it seemed eager to come up to her every day, nor did she worry about other monsters attacking it as Slimes were renowned for their defenses.


    During the time she spent attempting to get closer to the Wind Slime #1 (temporary name), she never saw it doing anything resembling the act of eating. This was the same for the other Elemental Slimes as well. However, Mia doubted that Slimes truly didn¡¯t need anything to subsist on, as the original game had a pet raising system which even included various types of foods that could increase a pet¡¯s stats or give them buffs, as well as an affection system which would also affect a pet¡¯s performance in battle.


    It was just that she had never raised a Slime in the game before, so she didn¡¯t know what types of foods they ate. However, she made her theory based on the fact that only Wind Slimes seemed attracted to her.


    ¡®Do they feed on my wind element mana rather than eating physical foods? If that¡¯s the case, then what if¡­¡¯


    Mia tried turning off her [Detection] spell temporarily. It was as if she had turned off a light switch, and the Wind Slime indeed no longer seemed so interested in sticking by her side like glue. It was the same case when she repeated this experiment on other Wind Slimes. Mia was rather bemused by the prospect of being nothing more than a walking food bowl, but she found it useful as a way to build up the relationship between her and the Wind Slime.


    Still though, she needed to figure out a way to actually tame it and make it her companion. The Wind Slime still currently preferred to stay in its home area and wouldn¡¯t leave to follow her, so evidently something more was needed than simply playing with, hugging, and squeezing and pinching it, er, ignore the last part.


    If this was the game, all she would need to do was beat it until it was almost unconscious, then use the [Capture] command. Mysteriously, capturing would no longer work if the targeted creature was unconscious, even though Mia felt that the opposite should be true instead¡­


    However, without a convenient system of her own to aid her in capturing, Mia had to figure out everything by herself. Just thinking about it from a logical standpoint, befriending a wild magical monster like a Slime through the defeat means friendship trope seemed unwise to her. After all, who would want to follow someone that just beat you almost to death? Not to mention being forced to go to all sorts of dangerous places¡­ was that really any different from kidnapping?


    Mia preferred to take a slightly friendlier approach to things, but she wasn¡¯t averse to a little acting. She came up with a little plan of her own that she planned to put into action today, to see if she could stimulate the Wind Slime into taking action and become her magical pet. The idea for her plan even came from the meeting between her and the noble that she met before in this forest, ¡°Jared.¡±

 Chapter 9 - Saving a Damsel in Distress

    Mia recalled how Jared had swooped into the middle of her training session and acted as if he was doing a favor while ¡°saving¡± her. Of course, such clich¨¦s had their reasons for existing. Why did boys especially like to attempt such an action? It was one of the best ways for getting into a girl¡¯s good graces, well, if you believed what television, stories, and games depicted.


    Mia didn¡¯t know if the Wind Slime was male, female, or even had a gender, but she could tell that it was intelligent. She figured that since it had intelligence, if she was able to act out the role of the hero saving the damsel in distress, perhaps that would be the quickest way to the girl¡¯s, or in this case, the Slime¡¯s heart.


    And that was why Mia was currently running as if her life depended on it, with a pack of approximately seven or eight Wild Boars behind her. Actually, they were still faster than she was, but she was able to keep ahead of the boar pack by making repeated sharp zigzags and turns.


    This was something that she had partially rehearsed for already. She was now a few levels above the Wild Boars, and they no longer posed a significant threat to her, but this many would still be troublesome. Just in case, Colson was jogging alongside at a slight distance, keeping a watch on things.


    Mia ran directly for the lake area where her target Wind Slime typically resided. What she intended was for the Wild Boars, in their rampage, to indiscriminately attack everything before them, including the Wind Slime. In her mind, this would theoretically rile up the Wind Slime, and then they would finally try fighting together for the first time which would be a bonding experience that she could use to tame it.


    However ¨C


    ¡°Urk! Get off my head! I can¡¯t see anything!¡±


    ¡®I was too na?ve¡­ why did I expect that anything would change? It would seem that this Wind Slime isn¡¯t paying any attention to the Wild Boars charging right behind me and is an airhead that doesn¡¯t pay attention to the surroundings!¡¯


    That was the first thought that flashed through Mia¡¯s mind. But, she soon noticed that something was different this time.


    Rather than its typical greeting of smushing itself all over her face, the Wind Slime had changed its form and was now enveloping itself all over her body. Meanwhile, Mia had stumbled when the Wind Slime hit her face, and the Wild Boars chasing after her had caught up. The first boar leading the pack tackled her, and Mia braced for impact, knowing that she didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge.


    *Boing!*


    Rather than taking a somewhat painful hit as she expected, Mia felt as if she had merely been lightly pushed on her leg without even enough force to knock her over. She instantly understood what had happened ¨C the Wind Slime¡¯s natural Defense value and elasticity had caused the Wild Boar¡¯s attack to glance off harmlessly. This was far better than she had expected!


    What she had hoped for was to fight together with the Slime helping to block off some of the attacks, as a small pack of Wild Boars was still too much to handle by herself without Colson¡¯s aid, even if she was now a few levels higher than before. But if the Wind Slime had an armor form (well, that was what she called it) that could totally protect her, then she had nothing to fear from these small fries anymore.


    She waved to Colson, indicating that she was alright and didn¡¯t require his assistance, as it appeared he was about to charge in to help her. Then, she purposefully stood still and allowed the Wild Boars to use their skill, Charge, on her as they pleased.


    *Boing! Boing! Boing!*


    The result was similar to just earlier. Although their skill usage had a slightly stronger than just ordinary headbutting, it still wasn¡¯t sufficient to even knock Mia over anymore, which she knew from experience would happen if she took once of those Charge attacks head-on. Still, her leg felt slightly sore despite the Slime¡¯s cushioning the impacts, and Mia understood from this that there were probably limits to what it could block. Stronger attacks would likely only be mitigated but still damage her.


    Well, in that case, Mia leisurely took her time with the Wild Boars. Since she didn¡¯t have to fear taking damage from them, it was a piece of cake for her to knock them out one by one with her wooden sword. After that, she finally took a breather and beckoned Colson over.


    Meanwhile, as she laid down, back against the ground, Mia brought out a Status Stone and checked the Wind Slime¡¯s status as she had done before as well.


    [Unnamed, Mia¡¯s pet]


    Race: Wind Slime


    Level: 2


    Experience: 0/100


    HP: 30


    Attack: 2


    Defense: 18Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Magic: 7


    Resistance: 14


    Skills: Slime Armor


    Magic: Wind Support (passive) ¨C 10% bonus to all Wind Magic skills.


    Success! So the saving a damsel in distress plan had worked after all, no matter who the damsel was in the end! Mia had a hunch that the Wind Slime still saw her as nothing more than a walking food bowl which needed its protection just now, but hey, whatever worked.


    Still, there were some parts that Mia was still dissatisfied with. There was just too much she didn¡¯t understand about how things worked in this world, and the lacking descriptions of skills in statuses was part of it. She decided to spend some time next experimenting and obtaining information and to work out the details later.


    Right now ¨C ¡°Hey, Colson! Things were a success! How about I help you obtain your own pet Slime as well?¡±


    Recently, Colson had been wondering about the sanity of his employer, as well as whether he should stay in this job or not.


    It was a common sight for Swordsmen such as himself to be in the employ of nobles as guards or mercenaries. The only other jobs where he could swing his sword around would be to become an adventurer or neutral mercenary for hire.


    Those jobs, however, would require more experience. His grandpa was a veteran adventurer back in the day, and had recommended against adventuring until he was more experienced and had friends he could rely on to form a party with him.


    ¡°Only the most veteran of adventurers would be able to accept requests on their own,¡± so his grandpa had told him, recommending that he first try the military where his skills or lack thereof wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    While Colson obeyed his grandpa, he still had a heart which yearned for adventure. After joining Count Hart¡¯s private army and meeting the lord¡¯s daughter Mia, he somehow obtained the job of being her personal guard without understanding too much how that happened.


    The job was fine to him, as it was relatively easy, if a little boring. All he had to do was follow Mia around and protect her from some low-level monsters, as her interests seemed to be mostly focused around going outside and exploring. Later, he went along with her wishes and started knocking out low-level monsters for her to kill, which she said was the fastest way for her to gain experience. However, Colson felt as if his skills weren¡¯t being put to good use ¨C nor was he able to foresee any growth for himself while performing this job.


    Simply speaking, he was a normal teenage boy who wanted something more exciting.


    Recently, he noticed that Mia had been getting more and more obsessed over Slimes lately. She was asking him all sorts of questions on what Slimes ate, what their habits were, everything that he knew about Slimes.


    She was also spending most of the past few weeks playing around with a particular Wind Slime that they found in the forest. At first, Colson figured that it was a temporary child¡¯s whim that she would get tired of eventually, but in fact it seemed like she was getting more serious as time passed!


    In Colson¡¯s eyes, monsters were enemies of the human race. Not only monsters, but other species such as elves and dwarves were also on unfriendly terms with the human race. Well, he didn¡¯t hate monsters to the extent where he wanted to exterminate even a harmless Slime on sight, though. He simply didn¡¯t understand why it was that Mia spent so much time carefully researching and intentionally getting closer to this Wind Slime.


    Today, he was told that his task would simply to stay back and observe, and to step in only if the situation demanded it.


    What he saw was ¨C


    The little girl who was his master intentionally attracting the attention of numerous Wild Boars at once, tossing stones at them to get their attention, and running off without fighting.


    Colson had been watching over Mia¡¯s growth, and knew that she was definitely strong enough now to take on a Wild Boar or two by herself now, even if she still wasn¡¯t ready for actual combat. They were the weakest monsters around, after all. So why was she intentionally doing such a thing?


    He continued jogging along, watching to see just what exactly Mia intended. Then, he realized that they were heading for the Wind Slime¡¯s typical home area.


    ¡®Could this have something to do with that Wind Slime she¡¯s so enthusiastic about?¡¯


    However, what he saw next almost caused him to choke.


    That Wind Slime had an almost comic method of greeting Mia, which was to always jump on her head. Still, as a wild monster itself, it should have at least known how to fight and defend itself against other aggressive monsters like Wild Boars.


    Even if Colson thought that Mia wasn¡¯t quite right in the head, he wasn¡¯t one who would simply stand by and watch a little girl in danger. He unsheathed his sword, and stepped forward as Mia was obviously in a dangerous situation, having lost her balance from the Wind Slime jumping on her face, but ¨C


    A green light enveloped Mia took the first Wild Boar¡¯s tackle to her leg, and grinned. Then, she indicated with her hand that Colson should ¡°stop,¡± and she stood still as she even gave the Wild Boars time to power up their Charge skills and rush at her. After she allowed all those attacks to connect with her leg, without even making an effort to dodge, she shook her leg and winced in what Colson interpreted as obvious pain.


    He did some mental calculations and figured that at her current level, all those attacks combined had probably taken off half her HP already. Had she awakened to a masochistic side? Was she the type that reveled in her own pain?


    What he witnessed next was a total change in her fighting style.


    Normally, Mia was the cautious type, who preferred to take as little damage as possible when fighting monsters. She focused on defense over offense. That was fine and all, but what was with her sudden change in style?


    Mia was whirlwinding around, swinging her wooden sword at full force. She was clearly focusing on offense, not defense, ignoring any boars that rushed her while focusing on taking out one boar at a time. Mia¡¯s attacking style reminded Colson of something that he had only read about before, but never seen: the advanced job class known as Berserker, which was a job class that was supposed to focus on offense while sacrificing defense.


    However, wasn¡¯t Mia supposed to be a Wind Mage? Colson knew her job class already, and was doubting his own eyes. Her job class¡¯s natural stat growths would naturally be magically oriented, not physical.


    While there weren¡¯t any weapon restrictions for job classes, as everyone could freely choose as this was real life and no longer a game where people were locked into specific weapon types, there was still practicality to consider. After all, most mages wouldn¡¯t exactly have the physical strength to be wielding a heavy battle axe in combat, nor would they need to.


    Mia was an exception, but only of sorts. She simply wanted to train herself physically as well as magically because of how poor her magic¡¯s power had been assessed at ¨C E rank. Even if she trained herself physically, she didn¡¯t expect to become a Master Swordsman or anything like that overnight, as she had already noticed her own natural stat allocation being magic-oriented in both base stats and levelling up. She simply hoped to have some means of being able to defend herself and fight in this world, as all her current magic spells weren¡¯t suited for actual combat. She had no idea how far she could take this, nor did she have a particularly streamlined planned path for her physical abilities.


    Colson felt that it was a pity that her main class was a Wind Mage after watching this. Perhaps she was more suited to the Swordsman path after all, and he even wondered if he should ask his grandpa to teach her the Swordsman job class as a sub class.


    A minute later, Mia had finished defeating the Wild Boars on her own and laid down on the ground, taking a rest, and finally indicating for him to come over. As Colson walked over, he saw Mia taking out a Status Stone and inspecting the Wind Slime with it. Whatever she saw must have made her really happy, because she rolled around and around in the grass like a little girl. In fact, it was the first time Colson ever saw her doing anything like a little girl would. Sometimes, he also wondered just how old she really was.


    ¡°Hey, Colson! Things were a success! How about I help you obtain your own pet Slime as well?¡±


    The way she acted and the huge seeming change in her personality and fighting style caused Colson to recall what his grandpa had taught him about the side effects of drugs before. Was all this due to the Wind Slime¡¯s influence in some way? Did it have an effect similar to drugs on a person¡¯s body? That was why, as a proper good boy, Colson¡¯s reply was ¨C


    ¡°No thanks, I don¡¯t want to get high!¡±

 Chapter 10 - Birthday Duel

    Mia was rendered speechless.


    ¡®He doesn¡¯t want to get high? Did I hear him right?¡¯


    All she did was ask him if he wanted a pet Slime of his own, so what was up with that response?


    Mia didn¡¯t know what he meant, so she decided to ignore it and move on to other things of her own. After all, she did at least understand the ¡°No thanks¡± part, and she wasn¡¯t the type to force him if he didn¡¯t want to.


    According to the status update, she had achieved her goal, and successfully tamed her Wind Slime, which would likely take on the role of her only pet and tank for the time being. While that [Slime Armor] ability in the status seemed interesting, the Status Stone she used which was Colson¡¯s originally was only D rank, and showed just above a bare minimum of information. She would need to obtain a higher-ranked Status Stone if she wanted to learn more details about this ability.


    Besides, there were also many things to test out regarding her new companion, such as the most important one for right now: would it follow her home?


    Currently, the Wind Slime was still wrapped all around her, over her clothes, giving her a faintly light green appearance. Mia definitely appreciated what it had done for her earlier, protecting her from the impact of the boars¡¯ attacks. However, now that the small skirmish against the monsters was over, walking about in such a form would certainly attract unneeded attention. What she needed was a way to control this ability, or at least hide it under her clothing.


    Wearing a Slime under her clothing sounded like the plot of some hentai to her, and Mia could only shake her head. However, she would do whatever it took to gain any small advantages she could ¨C the idea seemed like a practical one to her, at least when disregarding any context. It could become a surprise ace up her sleeve that an opponent, whether human or monster, wouldn¡¯t expect.


    That meant that she couldn¡¯t go around with this glowing green appearance that made it obvious something magical was wrapped around her. Mia manipulated the waves of mana in a smaller area around herself, trying to minimize the wind mana so that the Slime would compress itself¡­ and it succeeded! The Slime Armor now extended to roughly only over her elbow and knees.


    She decided to experiment with wearing the Slime under her clothing in an unnoticeable fashion later. After all, Colson was still currently here with her.


    Anyways, it was now time for her to return. There were still many things for her to try out, but that could wait for the privacy of her own room.


    Upon returning, Mia asked her personal maid to bring her a blank notebook. She then began recording as much information about the game as she could possibly remember in this notebook. Just in case this notebook was discovered by someone else, she wrote it all in English, a language which didn¡¯t exist in this world. After all, Mia didn¡¯t want to suddenly become revered as some prophet, or get locked up on suspicion of being insane if her notes were ever discovered.


    Mia knew that her memories would fade over time. Several years had passed already since her rebirth in this world, and it was likely to be several more years before she was old enough to start safely journeying in this world on her own.


    A few hours later, Mia finally put down her quill pen as she rubbed her aching hand. She direly missed the ease at which she could type away swiftly at a keyboard! Unfortunately for her, she was no scientific genius or technological expert on anything. Even if scientific natural laws worked the same way in this world of fantasy and magic, Mia didn¡¯t have the knowledge required to recreate anything such as a gun or a cell phone from scratch. All she could rely on was her knowledge of preordained events, item locations, and characters that would appear later down the road. Still, it was questionable how useful all this knowledge was, as she wasn¡¯t even in the same country as where these game scenarios would take place.


    Mia figured that it couldn¡¯t hurt to write whatever she remembered. She had already confirmed certain aspects of the world being identical to the game, such as taming friendly monsters and how status windows existed, being treated as commonplace by everyone. The safest place to be once the demons arrived and the Age of Chaos began would be in the Rodan Kingdom, where Mia knew who the strongest and most reliable individuals were, as well as who couldn¡¯t be trusted as traitors and backstabbers.


    Perhaps that would throw her into the midst of where all the action and danger was, but Mia still preferred to eventually make her way to the Rodan Kingdom rather than staying in Hoplia and waiting for almost certain disaster. Her noble status in Hoplia now seemed like a hindrance to her rather than a boon ¨C would it really be that easy for her to visit a foreign country as she pleased? Mia didn¡¯t know, but what she did know was that she couldn¡¯t just sit back and watch forever as the citizens of the Hart domain suffered under Count Hart¡¯s rule. She would have to clean up the mess in her own backyard first.


    As for the Wind Slime she just befriended and wore, it was now happily bouncing around her room all this time like a mischievous toddler. Well, Mia didn¡¯t exactly have many breakable possessions, so she didn¡¯t really mind. The rest of the time, the Slime preferred to sit on top of her head, which Mia didn¡¯t quite understand. Was sitting on someone¡¯s hair really all that comfortable? At least it was a small price to pay if it kept the Wind Slime happy enough.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    While resting, Mia decided that it was time to experiment with controlling her Wind Slime pet. She found out that shaping the flow of the wind mana around her could influence the form of her Slime Armor. She could even change the Wind Slime into just about any shape she wanted, such as a weapon!


    That didn¡¯t mean that the Wind Slime would be best used as a magical pet weapon, however. Its soft and elastic nature didn¡¯t make for an excellent offensive weapon. In fact, Mia had a hunch that swinging it around might hurt an enemy even less than a wooden sword would, since the latter could at least act as a blunt weapon. Not to mention, it was questionable whether the Slime would be willing to let her swing it around and around¡­


    After using her [Detection] spell to make absolutely sure nobody was nearby, Mia stripped off her clothing, leaving only her underwear on. She then enveloped herself in a slight breeze of wind mana as always, attracting the Wind Slime¡¯s attention. The as of yet currently unnamed Wind Slime transformed into its Slime Armor form just like always as it began soaking in the essence of her wind mana.


    As for what it felt like to wear a Slime right against her bare skin¡­ Mia didn¡¯t even know how to describe it. It was a mixture of softness, warm in some places yet cool in others¡­ She decided to put away any idle thoughts in the back of her mind and focus on practical matters instead.


    It seemed that movement was basically unaffected while wearing the Slime Armor. Mia then tried putting her clothing back on, over the Slime Armor, before looking at herself in a mirror. Nothing bulged noticeably, although she definitely looked less slim than earlier. Well, that was a necessary sacrifice.


    Mia also checked her status window and confirmed that the Slime Armor added the full 18 points of defense to her own defense rating. This was just what she wanted! There were no quick powerups available for herself, but at the very least shoring up her defenses should help to some degree. The overall usefulness would have to be seen later in practical combat.


    Satisfied, Mia decided to call it a night. When she woke up the next morning, she found to her surprise that the Wind Slime had replaced her pillow with itself!


    It was pleasantly squishy and soft, and reminded Mia of memory foam pillows and mattresses from her previous life. She spent a full five minutes playing around and squeezing the soft Slime before finally returning to her senses. There were more important things to do than just play around, after all.


    After breakfast, Mia went to Count Hart¡¯s study and petitioned him to purchase a higher-ranking Status Stone for her. She considered this absolutely necessary if she wanted to try her best to level up and become stronger, as she believed in the saying ¡°know thyself.¡± She thirsted after more clues regarding her own abilities in this world and how they worked in order to have a better understanding of how and what to do in order to improve in power level just like a game player could.


    Count Hart frowned upon hearing this request from his daughter. Previously, he had granted her requests to have her magic aptitude tested and to hire a retainer for her, but he agreed to those due to the same underlying reason ¨C what he considered to be the honor of nobles. After all, it would be quite unbecoming for a noble like his daughter to not have her own retainers, and it would have been quite glorious if she showed great talent in magic. If only.


    Ever since learning about her magic aptitude, or lack thereof, Count Hart decided in his mind to start focusing more on his bastard son, Barnaby, who was tested to have D rank fire magic aptitude.


    After all, a son was still a son, even when born out of wedlock. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to groom Barnaby¡­ and to show his daughter that this was a dog eat dog world out there.


    ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no need for such frivolous expenditures. But since you absolutely insist, I recall that your sixth birthday is coming up in two weeks, is it not? In my home, only the worthy shall be allowed to have such extravagant gifts. On your sixth birthday, if you can defeat your older half-brother Barnaby in a duel, I shall grant your request. Otherwise, don¡¯t even think about it. This isn¡¯t open for negotiation.¡±


    Her birthday? To be honest, Mia had completely forgotten about such a thing. She hadn¡¯t celebrated it even once after being reborn in this world. Was the age of six a benchmark age in this world for children of nobles to begin being noticed and celebrated? She didn¡¯t know, but that wasn¡¯t important to her right now. A duel? Against her older half-brother?


    ¡°Very well, father,¡± Mia replied after some consideration. ¡°Thank you for giving me this opportunity. What will the conditions of the duel be?¡± Mia kept up her good girl act in front of her father as always.


    Count Hart started in surprise at hearing his daughter accept, but quickly regained his composure. One would think that an almost six-year-old girl would know how obviously unfair it was to duel against a boy nearly twice her age, but it didn¡¯t matter too much to Count Hart even if she accepted. After all, it would serve his purposes either way.


    ¡°Oh? Excellent. The duel shall commence on your sixth birthday at the training grounds. No metal weapons will be allowed. All magic equipment and spells will be permitted. Of course, that¡¯s if you can even come up with anything useful for a duel,¡± Count Hart scoffed with obvious disdain in his voice.


    Mia ignored his attitude, bowed, and left the room. Having a duel in two weeks would be a good chance to test herself, even if the opponent might be slightly overwhelming.


    She knew that Barnaby was considered a D rank fire mage prospect. What exactly did that D rank entail?


    The ¡°Introduction to Magic¡± book that Mia was studying from on her own didn¡¯t offer much help to her in the way of how to become stronger, but it did have a nice basic explanation of power ranks among mages.


    E rank, the lowest, was a state where people were born with the innate talent to control what was known as mana, shaping it as the user willed. However, those in E rank would only be able to control a low amount of mana, unable to handle higher mana densities. This meant that there would be no access to more powerful spells with high mana costs or flashy effects.


    D rank magic granted access to medium levels of mana density or the potential to control a concept other than the basic elements, such as summoning, teleportation, and so forth. Barnaby was pudgy and out of shape, and metal weapons were forbidden to begin with, so Mia knew that she would have to watch out for his magic more than anything else. This wasn¡¯t supposed to be a battle to the death between half-siblings, so metal weapons weren¡¯t allowed, but Mia was one hundred percent certain that Barnaby wouldn¡¯t go easy on her just so she could obtain the high-ranked Status Stone she wanted. He was the type who would shove her in the hallways for no apparent reason or provocation whenever they met. She would need to make some preparations, and she had two weeks¡¯ worth of time.


    Magic items such as Status Stones and other job classes also had similar letter rankings, ranging from E to A, and a special S class reserved for the top level. Rankings were typically administered by Adventurer¡¯s Guilds and other such guilds. According to Colson, his grandfather had been an A ranked adventurer back in the day. However, he didn¡¯t know too much about the specifics.


    At any rate, Mia wasn¡¯t the type to back down from a challenge, provided it was reasonable. This challenge may have seemed unreasonable on the surface, but Mia didn¡¯t consider it overwhelmingly so. She had the advantage of being a reincarnator, after all. Surely she could come up with a way to use her knowledge to her advantage, just like how she created her own unique spells that were suitable for low mana cost spells that only had a weak amount of control over the wind. Besides, she felt that there wouldn¡¯t exactly be serious consequences if she lost this particular duel. Mia wasn¡¯t the type who cared too much about her personal reputation or anything like that.


    She decided to make a trip into the nearby Clearlight Town. It was time for her to try and obtain a sub-class from the Thieves Guild there.

 Chapter 11 - Thieves Guild

    The next morning, Mia went alone to Clearlight Town. Well, perhaps it wasn¡¯t technically alone, as she took her pet Wind Slime with her. It was only a fifteen minute trip by foot through the forest, easy enough for Mia to make the trip on her own even with her young age.


    Mia couldn¡¯t help but compare this fantasy world society to the one she knew back in her previous world. When she asked Colson if it would be safe for her to go out and about in town on her own, his reply was ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± In fact, Mia had a hunch that perhaps the largest source of crime actually came from her father¡¯s soldiers.


    Back in her previous world, there was a good percentage of parents that would never dream of letting their five or six-year-old children run out and play unsupervised. Unknown dangers supposedly lurked around every corner, with potential pedophiles or lost children being every parent¡¯s worry. This was a fantasy world with wild, hostile magical beasts, yet young children were still free to roam around on their own within reason. Mia smiled wryly, wondering just which society was the more dangerous one in the end. She reaffirmed her mental vow to make it past eighteen years of age this time.


    Colson had taken her around before and escorted her in Clearlight Town previously. However, she didn¡¯t wish to take him this time ¨C he would seem too conspicuous. Her goal this time was to make contact with and join the Thieves¡¯ Guild, and how was she supposed to be able to do that as a noble with her own retainer? Mia didn¡¯t want to expose her identity. Nor did she feel like it would be wise to tell Colson that her real goal was the Thieves Guild ¨C what would he think of such a thing, with his sense of honor and justice? And why would an almost six-year-old girl like her know about such things? Mia didn¡¯t feel like having to explain herself.


    But once Mia arrived in Clearlight Town, she was slightly at a loss for what to do next. In the game, it was easy for players to simply visit the Thieves Guild and exchange money for tips, or learn class related skills. What was she supposed to do, though? She was only an almost six-year-old girl who was a noble. It was highly unlikely that the thief class members would want anything to do with her. Mia decided to scout things out first and simply observe the situation to see if she could learn anything useful.


    She had ¡°disguised¡± herself by wearing more tattered clothes than usual, so that she wouldn¡¯t stand out too much. Mia located the tavern that was a front for the Thieves Guild, went to an adjacent alleyway, and began eavesdropping on what was going on inside.


    ¡°Hey, are you sure we should be meeting here like this, relatively out in the open? What if your wife or someone she knows sees us?¡±


    ¡°Ha, fat chance of that ever happening. I chose this place specifically because it¡¯s one that the old hen back home, or any of her friends, would never dream of visiting. Rather than that, take a look at what I purchased for you as a gift this time¡­¡±


    Alright then, the first conversation that came to Mia¡¯s ears was one regarding an extramarital affair. Mia could only sigh, realizing that some things remained the same no matter which world she was in. She shifted her focus away from this conversation and tried to find anything else that was worth listening to instead.


    Well, even though there really wasn¡¯t much to listen to, Mia found it useful for training and developing her control over mana. She quickly got absorbed in practicing the [Detection] related skills at her disposal.


    A few hours later¡­


    Nymon, a teenaged boy thief, entered the Bear¡¯s Paw tavern which served as a legitimate business front for the Thieves Guild. He then took a secret passage inside to a hidden room in the back of the tavern, far away from the dining area and also out of Mia¡¯s earshot.


    ¡°Hey uncle Miguel, there¡¯s this kid outside who¡¯s been staring at our establishment for several hours now. You want me to go do something about her? Give her a scare?¡±


    Miguel, the forty-six-year-old local leader of the Thieves¡¯ Guild branch in the Hart domain, raised his head from a stack of documents he had been perusing. ¡°How many times do I have to tell you to call me boss whenever it¡¯s anything about business, and not uncle? I have more important things to be worrying about than some little girl,¡± he responded. ¡°Our corrupt nobles seem to be too busy playing around these days to notice the storm brewing on their doorstep with our next door neighbors.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, boss? Stop worrying so much or you¡¯ll have white hairs before you know it. Who do you think this kid could be? We absolutely can¡¯t let our hideout be discovered!¡±


    Miguel sighed at his teenaged nephew¡¯s naivety. Well, that was just how kids were, he surmised. No matter how hard adults tried, they would never successfully understand younger minds and their thought processes that had an entire generation gap. Nymon¡¯s parents had both died several years prior, leaving Miguel, who was Nymon¡¯s mother¡¯s older brother, as the only living relative to take care of him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    What was a Thieves Guild exactly, anyways? While it was the guild that oversaw the basic job class known as thief and the advanced classes thief could promote to, that didn¡¯t mean that literally every thief was someone who stole from others. While some indeed chose to become a thief out of a desire to liberate riches from others, there were also those who joined the job class as it was the most suitable for their combat style, choosing high agility and stealth over brute force. Meanwhile, Miguel¡¯s nephew Nymon was basically forced into this lifestyle, as Miguel didn¡¯t know any other to teach him.


    It wasn¡¯t even like Thieves Guilds were considered top secret. Most adventurers knew how to find one in each city, and only rookies wouldn¡¯t know anything about the Thieves Guild. Nor did most thieves actually rob others on a daily basis. Thieves dealt in information far more than stolen goods, as there were plenty of interested parties willing to pay up for all sorts of information, making information a profitable albeit risky business, depending on the information involved.


    Yet, the Hart domain¡¯s local branch of the Thieves Guild was basically inactive. Miguel knew of less than ten registered members of the Thieves Guild active in all of the Hart domain, and this was the only Thieves Guild in the domain, established only because Clearlight Town was the closest city to Count Hart¡¯s residence.


    This was because rather than nobles and thieves having a poor relationship as one might think, one party typically being the robbed and the other being the robber, nobles were typically a group that was one of the Thieves Guild¡¯s biggest customers. However, Count Hart didn¡¯t do any business with the thieves at all. Either he had less savory sources of information, or he simply wasn¡¯t concerned with political maneuvering at all¡­


    Miguel felt that Nymon¡¯s head was filled with too many fantasy tales of thieves who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Nymon also had far too much of a black and white view of how nobles were, since Count Hart had been involved in Nymon¡¯s parents¡¯ deaths. It was all Miguel could do to even rein Nymon in.


    ¡°Fine, fine, go ahead and investigate this little girl you¡¯re telling me about if you wish. I suppose it¡¯s unlikely that anything will happen. Just make sure not to do anything rash, you understand?¡±


    Nymon nodded, but secretly thought otherwise. He was currently in his most hotheaded teenage years, and felt that he had greatly improved his skills as a thief ever since being taught by Miguel. Nymon was quite grateful to his uncle for taking him in, but also felt that his uncle was far too much of a worrywart and a coward, always forbidding him to have anything to do with or to target the nobles. Nymon was of the opinion that he wanted to do something, anything at all, against the local domain lord, although he didn¡¯t have any concrete ideas as of yet. For the time being, he decided to investigate the suspicious (in his mind) little girl outside the tavern.


    Mia was indeed trying her best not to draw attention to herself as a noble, but she had actually forgotten one little detail. She was a former teenager herself who was now in only a child¡¯s body, but without the habit of acting like a child. It was precisely her non-childlike behavior that stood out, which would soon bring unwanted attention down upon her.


    Nymon left the tavern and glared at Mia who he viewed as an overly inquisitive child intruding where she didn¡¯t belong. He used a simple tracking skill, common to thief and hunter job classes, to begin tracing where Mia came from.


    Meanwhile, Mia had become somewhat fatigued, as she had concentrated on her magic for a few hours in a row now. While she was able to maintain all her spells since they had low mana costs for their ¡°low¡± power level, it still required much concentration and Mia felt like it was time for a break. It was now lunchtime and Mia was getting hungry, without having managed to find out anything more interesting than the extramarital affair. She remained confident that this was really a Thieves Guild, though, due to her knowledge of game information like the Thieves Guild¡¯s logo. This couldn¡¯t possibly be a coincidence.


    Since this Thieves Guild doubled as a tavern, it obviously served meals as well. Mia decided to have her lunch here to see if she could learn anything.


    When she entered the tavern, Mia felt all eyes upon her, but she wasn¡¯t too concerned about this. For one thing, although the citizens knew that Count Hart had a young daughter, she had hardly ever appeared in public before, so few knew what she looked like. Also, she intended to be doing far more in the future than what the limits of her age would normally allow, so she had decided beforehand that this degree of attention was unavoidable.


    Mia slid into a seat at an empty table and called out to a middle-aged man at the counter who seemed like he worked here, judging by his greasy apron. ¡°Mister, could I try that beef stew on the menu, pretty please? I have some money on me, I can pay, don¡¯t worry!¡± She brought out a small pouch of elemental coins, the local currency which was refined from elemental crystal shards, as she spoke in a manner that was her attempt to act her own age.


    The man glanced over at her and responded with ¡°Sure thing missy, we welcome any paying customer here at our place. One bowl of beef stew, coming right up!¡± To Mia¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t even ask her about where her parents or guardian was, like how Colson did when he first met her. Was this due to the differing natures of knight types and thief types?


    Mia stuck to something reasonably familiar for her first try at ordering something off the menu of a place she had never eaten at before. One of the benefits she enjoyed as a noble was that her food could be considered superior quality in comparison to what commoners had access to, and Mia always made sure to not be a picky eater and have a balanced diet so that she could grow up properly. This world possessed identical food types to her previous world, so she could feel reassured when eating those. There were also additional magical foods as well, but Mia preferred to stay away from the unknown with who-knows-what side effects.


    Mia slowly consumed the rich and hearty beef stew that was filled with carrots and potatoes in addition to beef chunks. The nostalgic taste filled her back up with energy; it tasted basically identical to what she had before in her previous world. She decided to relax and let go of her worries for a few minutes before pondering what to do next.


    At the exact same moment, Nymon found to his surprise as he followed Mia¡¯s tracks that she came from outside the town, through the Clearlight Forest. Mia¡¯s tracks were easy enough to follow, as she was no espionage expert, nor did she expect anyone to do anything like track her.


    Nymon noticed from her tracks that she seemed to have trekked through the Clearlight Forest by herself. This was clearly no ordinary feat for a young girl like her. Although the Clearlight Forest only contained incredibly low-level monsters that were easy for even untrained commoners to defeat, that didn¡¯t mean that a young girl like her should have been able to pass through safely.


    He only grew increasingly suspicious of her identity and motives as he followed her trail. When he arrived before Count Hart¡¯s residence, he understood everything (at least about her identity). After all, he had a friend who worked as a servant inside the Count¡¯s residence, and had heard before that none of the servants¡¯ children were allowed on the premises, so that could leave only one possible explanation as to who she was.


    ¡°Damn it, that little brat was a noble all along! Those accursed nobles! Well, I¡¯ll show you that you¡¯re messing with the wrong thief! Ha, I know just who to go to for dealing with that little brat. Dega¡¯s bandits will be more than happy to hear what I have to tell them! Even Uncle Miguel won¡¯t be able to blame me if I¡¯m not the one personally taking action.¡±

 Chapter 12 - Are You All...?

    Mia had just finished her beef stew and paid her bill when she noticed a large group of dots approaching on her mental minimap. She wondered if this was related to her search for information regarding the Thieves Guild, since no group of people as large as this one had come visiting the Bear¡¯s Paw tavern as of yet. It was getting to be quite late for lunchtime now, and no other customers remained in the tavern. And if they still weren¡¯t related to the Thieves Guild, Mia figured she could just try the direct approach and asking for the guild. Or, there was one particular person located close by on her mental minimap who hadn¡¯t moved all this time, but was apparently inside this tavern somewhere that she couldn¡¯t discern. This was actually Miguel, the Thieves Guild leader.


    Approximately thirty seconds after she noticed the dots, a group of seven men entered the tavern together. Mia looked them over and felt that none of them appeared to be ordinary villagers. Most were rough and burly in appearance and had more imposing auras than even the Hart domain soldiers. Well, except for one man amongst the bunch ¨C he had a rather incongruously silly grin.


    Were these people related to the Thieves Guild? Mia felt like they definitely seemed like the type. She got out of her seat and prepared to leave, intending to go back outside and then secretly eavesdrop on their conversation.


    However, this was where she was mistaken. This group of men wasn¡¯t related to the Thieves Guild or here to do business with the guild. They were Dega¡¯s bandits, a group of local outlaws who had an axe to grind against Count Hart, sent here on a tip by Nymon the thief. They were here for her, not the


    ¡°Whoa there, where are you off to in such a hurry, little missy?¡± A tall man with curly brown hair and a rugged face that had a classic slash scar diagonally across his face stepped in front of Mia, blocking her path. ¡°How about taking a little stroll with us?¡±


    The other men stood around her in an encirclement somewhat threateningly. Mia found to her surprise that they were actually here for her. Why was this? She hadn¡¯t done anything at all besides order some beef stew here. Mia remained calm, as she wasn¡¯t the type to panic at such a situation. She could only rely on herself here, and knew that panicking in dangerous situations meant that it was likely she would head to an early grave.


    ¡°Who might you all be, Misters? I don¡¯t know any of you, so what business could you have with me? My mommy always told me to never go with strangers.¡±


    Well, technically, her mother in this world had died in childbirth, but that was beside the point. Mia just wanted to know who she was dealing with, and why they were here for her.


    ¡°Little girl, come with us if you don¡¯t want to get hurt. There¡¯s something we need to talk to you about.¡±


    So, they were specifically targeting her? There was just one thing Mia wanted to confirm first before anything else.


    ¡°Are you all pedophiles?¡±


    The men were all dumbstruck at her question. They exchanged awkward glances with each other while the man with the goofy expression hurriedly responded.


    ¡°No! Me no harm children! Me like children very much! Me no pedo file!¡±


    Alright then, that was a response that was quite easy to misconstrue. The awkward expressions of disgust on the other men, however, slightly reassured Mia. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t the worst possible result that she was fearing.


    The brown-haired man cleared his throat and a steely glint appeared in his eyes. ¡°You should be careful what you accuse people of, little girl. You just said it¡¯s not safe to talk to strangers, right? Well, why don¡¯t we escort you back to your parents and have a nice discussion with them about your upbringing?¡±


    Her parents? Mia speedily came to a conclusion about what this was about. Was she being targeted because of her status as a noble? If so, her father¡¯s identity and his heavy-handed despotic rule was creating quite a troublesome obstacle for her now. However, Mia had only come here today to scout things out at the Thieves Guild, and hadn¡¯t prepared anything like a fake identity. There would be no way to get around this. Mia was the type who preferred telling the truth anyways, although she understood the necessity of lying and scheming when necessary.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She decided to drop the pretense of being an innocent little girl and went with the direct approach.


    ¡°My parents? I¡¯m Mia Hart, the daughter of Count Hart. Am I who you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    The steely glint in the brown-haired man¡¯s eyes grew even harsher upon hearing her admittance. Mia also noticed that the other men, apart from the goofy one, were all glaring at her with more unfriendly expressions than before. ¡°Since you¡¯ve introduced yourself, I¡¯ll return the honor. Call me Dega. Little girl, we may not be pedophiles, but we¡¯re not going to take no for an answer. You¡¯re coming with us. You can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I can promise that you¡¯ll be in for a world of pain if you don¡¯t. We have a lot to talk about with you regarding your father.¡±


    Mia mentally assessed the situation as she thought about what to say. She had her Slime Armor available, which would likely keep her safe ¨C but only to a certain extent. There was probably no way that she would be able to outrun seven adult men even if she somehow managed to slip free from their encirclement. Not only that, all she had was a wooden practice sword, and she doubted that she would be able to knock any of them unconscious even in a one on one fight. After all, in training, she wasn¡¯t even able at the level of being able to land a single good blow on Colson yet. And even if she screamed and shouted and attracted some attention, it was highly doubtful that any villagers would come to her aid the moment they learned that she was the daughter of Count Hart.


    Mia wondered about if she should have told Colson about where specifically she was going to go today after all, but then put the thought behind her. There was no use crying over spilled milk now. The most important thing right now was to figure her way out of this predicament. These men had obvious hostility towards her, but it wasn¡¯t at the extent of having attacked her right away even after she confirmed her identity. It meant that they could still be reasoned with. She decided to be proactive here.


    ¡°You¡¯re all members of the Thieves Guild, aren¡¯t you? Why not just talk right here? Isn¡¯t this your home base? How about we get a room in the tavern for a good private discussion? I promise not to scream and shout or make a commotion. There¡¯s a lot I want to talk about regarding my father as well.¡± Saying this, Mia then called out to the server before Dega could even respond, as he was still taking in her words. ¡°Give us a normal room, please. We¡¯ll be staying here for a while.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± the server answered. In the Thieves Guild¡¯s line of business, if something didn¡¯t involve them directly, sometimes it was just best to turn a blind eye. However, he paused for a moment in his footsteps upon hearing a soft wind chime¡¯s ring. That was a coded message from his boss, Miguel, to give them Room 3. The server instantly understood that something was about to go on. Room 3 was a room that was specially designed so that it could be easily eavesdropped upon. His boss wanted to listen in to whatever was about to be said inside!


    Dega mulled things over and decided why not, it couldn¡¯t hurt to stay here for a little while. Although he had great enmity towards Count Hart, he didn¡¯t want to simply kill off his daughter like this now that she was in her hands. She could be quite useful to him as a hostage.


    Just as Nymon had told him, Dega ascertained that she was indeed here alone for whatever reason. Dega didn¡¯t fear her running away or causing a big commotion that would put him in danger somehow ¨C he considered it impossible for a little girl like her to accomplish.


    However, this was the Thieves Guild¡¯s tavern. He didn¡¯t want to antagonize the Thieves Guild right on their home turf. And while he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to knock Mia unconscious if she resisted, trying to figure out a way to transport an unconscious little girl back to their hideout would still be somewhat bothersome. Since she was apparently under the mistaken impression that they were members of the Thieves Guild rather than the bandits that they were, Dega decided to play along and see what it was that she wanted to talk about.


    After all, he was fully confident that he had this excellent hostage right where he wanted her. Right now, more than anything else, Dega was surprised at Mia¡¯s unflustered manner and adultlike manner. He was self-aware that as a former mercenary, he had a hardened appearance that was prone to scaring children. Not only that, Mia was a far more eloquent child than any he had ever met, not that he had met many, of course. Dega had been expecting a pampered, spoiled brat, in all honesty. He attributed her seeming intelligence to the excellent education that nobles probably received compared to a commoner like him, rather than anything else.


    Dega decided to speak to her alone and assigned two of his subordinates to guard outside the room¡¯s door, and three to stand watch outside the tavern for anything suspicious. The seventh member, Derek, was a gentle giant who was rather simple-minded ever since he took a nasty blow to the head as a child. Still, Derek possessed great physical strength and obediently followed orders, although he wouldn¡¯t be able to carry out complex ones. Dega told Derek to simply go enjoy himself and have a meal.


    Mia had been nonchalantly observing the tavern room ever since she entered, while waiting for Dega to finish arranging his subordinates. She paid close attention to anything that could be useful, but came to the conclusion some seconds later that there wasn¡¯t anything she could use. The window was also far too high up for her to easily reach.


    This Dega carried himself with the demeanor of a veteran warrior. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t notice her climbing up and attempting to escape, even if he had his back turned. And what was she supposed to use in the room? Hit him with a pillow from the bed? Was this supposed to be a girls¡¯ pajama party pillow fight? Smack him with a chair? Her current physical strength as an almost six-year-old would be only sufficient to drag around this heavy wooden chair obviously designed for adults, not lift it and swing it around.


    Besides, she really wanted to hear Dega¡¯s motivations. Only that would help her understand what he truly wanted with her, as long as he was willing to tell her by not treating her like a little girl. And if possible, perhaps she would be able to offer him something that he desired¡­ No, obviously not anything improper!


    Mia also noticed somewhat to her surprise that the dot on her mental minimap which had remained stationary and hidden from her for so long had suddenly moved. In fact, she could detect this mystery person in the space adjacent to this room, but Mia swore that she only saw a hallway when passing by that area of space. Mia had questions about who this mystery person and apparent secret passage were, but this was the Thieves Guild, so she wasn¡¯t all too surprised. It also wasn¡¯t really the time to make this a major concern right now.


    Mia sat down on the edge of the bed, while Dega sat down in the chair, slouching rather than sitting up properly. Mia took the lead again in speaking first.


    ¡°So, Mister Dega, what is it that you would like to tell me?¡±


    ¡°First of all, stop calling me Mister! I¡¯m only twenty-six, you little brat!¡±

 Chapter 13 - Degas Story

    Mia soon began wondering if she had made a mistake when she asked Dega to tell her what it was that he wanted.


    Rather than giving her some short and simple answer, it appeared that Dega was the really talkative type. He started getting all nostalgic about the past and began telling Mia about his life story¡­


    The abridged version was that Dega had been a mercenary in the past until he left the trade four years ago and returned to his hometown of Clearlight Town after having saved up enough money to marry his childhood sweetheart. Yet, the good days were destined to last only a short while.


    Soon after the birth of Dega and his wife Iris¡¯s first child, a daughter, Count Hart just happened to go out and take a fancy to Dega¡¯s wife upon seeing her coincidentally. The rest was yet another typical example of the result of noble villainy and power abuse ¨C Count Hart wanted to take Iris for himself, but she refused. When Count Hart ordered his soldiers to seize her, they discovered to their surprise that Iris was more iron-willed than most women or children they seized, as she fought back with a knife. When it became obvious that she was no match for the soldiers, she then turned the knife upon herself and committed suicide.


    Count Hart was one who believed in never leaving any loose ends behind, and sent a small fireball at the wailing infant daughter that perhaps managed to instinctually sense the death of her mother. All that remained behind was a scene that Mia had to do her best to not imagine.


    Dega had been out on a hunting trip at the time, not knowing what was going on in his family¡¯s home. Only when he returned home did he discover the truth. In his grief, he instantly attempted to take revenge, but was thwarted constantly by the Count¡¯s fire magic keeping him at a distance as well as the Count¡¯s high number of personal soldier bodyguards. Dega was a veteran mercenary who was amongst the more skilled of his group back when he was a member, and managed to retreat with only some medium injuries, including the scar inflicted across his face.


    Now, Dega had apparently been biding his time for the past several years, gathering a crew of like-minded individuals who had similar hatred of Count Hart for various differing reasons. Well, with the exception of Derek the simple-minded. Dega hurriedly added that he was only looking out for him as a favor to Derek¡¯s elderly mother.


    That was the gist of what Mia understood from his tale. This was just the summarized version of what she heard as Dega talked her ear off for an entire hour and more. To be honest, she had trouble concentrating on paying full attention as he talked, as she was constantly thinking about what to say and how to deal with him. After all, would a normal person be able to listen to a threatening kidnapper talk about his life story and fully focus on that alone? She doubted that anyone would be able to fully empathize when placed in such a dangerous situation. Even Stockholm Syndrome wouldn¡¯t develop this quickly.


    Dega had a soft expression of sadness as he told his tale. However, by the end, his expression had hardened into one of burning anger. His expression was somewhat frightening, causing Mia¡¯s heart to skip a beat. Although she was somewhat flinching inside, she steeled her resolve to speak her part, knowing that things would likely get highly dangerous for her if she didn¡¯t do something for herself.


    ¡°If my daughter had received the chance to grow up as she deserved, she would have been just a little bit younger than you are. Tell me, little girl, no, Mia Hart. Just what is it do you think that you can do for me?¡±


    Mia had plenty of time already to consider what to say in response to such a question. Dega was someone who was obviously motivated by the idea of obtaining revenge. What remained now was to see just how much reason was left in him apart from the desire of revenge. Would it be possible to negotiate something with him?


    ¡°I can offer you my father, Count Hart.¡±


    Dega scoffed upon hearing this. ¡°Hah. As expected of nobles. Are all nobles like you, willing to sell out their own fathers when faced with danger?¡±


    Mia was unruffled by this retort. She supposed that what he said was perfectly reasonable, after all. She did indeed sound like someone willing to betray her father just because she was being threatened.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you familiar with how nobles are? That¡¯s just how things work in noble society. Sometimes in life, we must choose the lesser of two evils. The world isn¡¯t made up of black and white choices. You see, I¡¯m currently having an inheritance dispute with my older half-brother, Barnaby Hart. Since you¡¯re a local, you must surely know of him and his behavior. He¡¯s just like a younger version of my father, Count Hart. Assisting you will be the equivalent of assisting myself.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Dega was inwardly astonished to hear such words coming out of a young child¡¯s mouth. The lesser of two evils? An inheritance dispute amongst nobles? Was this how all noble children were? Unsure what to make of it all, he indicated with a hand gesture for Mia to continue speaking.


    ¡°If you kill me, Count Hart won¡¯t be bothered as much as you would like, because he still has his bastard son as a successor. Rather, your action could very well cause more people just like you to appear, as he would likely vent his rage on the innocent villagers. No, I doubt there will be many other people like you ¨C you only survived so long because you were a trained warrior. Nothing but death will await any that try to resist against Count Hart, as I¡¯m sure you well know.¡±


    The burning flames in Dega¡¯s eyes were somewhat doused as he recalled back to four years prior. Indeed, at that time, after he caused a huge mess by attacking the Hart mansion by himself, he had managed to escape successfully. However, his friends and family had undergone much suffering afterwards at the hands of the soldiers¡¯ interrogations, demanding they give him up. Dega gritted his hands tightly as his knuckles whitened. He would never be able to forgive Count Hart, never.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that I should support you in competing against your older half-brother and your own father? An amusing proposition. Do tell me more about this idea of yours.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I came here today? This is the Thieves Guild, as I¡¯m sure you well know. I actually came here to see if I could receive training and teaching in the thief job class, so that I¡¯m able to better fight against my older half-brother.¡±


    Dega paused in surprise upon hearing this. Indeed, he hadn¡¯t thought too much about this question. Why was she here, anyways? He had merely gathered up his bandit crew and rushed over here upon receiving Nymon¡¯s tip that Count Hart¡¯s daughter might currently be at the Thieves Guild. He hadn¡¯t had the time or the mind to wonder what a young girl like her would be doing here alone. It was more obvious than anything else to him now that she must be a girl born of nobility, as no commoner girl could possibly speak like that. He also knew that nobles typically went around everywhere with their retainers.


    ¡°As is obviously apparent, I¡¯m a girl. I have no interest in such uncouth behavior like men would in stealing women and children away from their families. I believe that you should be able to at least trust that much. I¡¯m willing to offer you detailed data on the Hart mansion¡¯s layout. I can also help to get your companions undercover into the Hart army. Not only will that make things much easier for you when it¡¯s finally time to make a move, this can help to mitigate the impact on the citizens by warning them beforehand whenever the Hart army is about to make a raid.¡±


    The last part of Mia¡¯s offer was especially enticing for Dega. Could things really work as well as she said?


    Dega hadn¡¯t managed to accomplish anything much in the past few years apart from picking off one stray drunk soldier from the Hart army. Count Hart¡¯s soldiers made sure to always stick together in large numbers, making up for their insufficient combat skills. Although Dega was a former mercenary and combat veteran, he was actually the only member of his bandit group who had killed before. This was also because he didn¡¯t want to dirty his companions¡¯ hands, bearing all the burden by himself. While Dega taught his companions what he could, he knew that there was no hope of ever confronting Count Hart head-on with the current situation as it stood.


    Coming here to capture Mia Hart was just a coincidental opportunity. It wasn¡¯t like he had the time to plan things out beforehand. Although Dega was skilled in combat, he would readily admit that coming up with plots or schemes wasn¡¯t his forte. He figured that if they really did meet the Count¡¯s daughter here, that they could do something typical like hold her for ransom and make her father suffer as much as possible. Honestly, doing something like killing or harming a little girl was something Dega found quite distasteful. Dega inwardly began wondering to himself, would he really be any better or different from Count Hart if he resorted to such an action in the end? Dega was no saint, far from it, but he still had his moral boundaries and felt that there were boundaries that weren¡¯t meant to be broken.


    Meanwhile, Mia¡¯s offer sounded quite good at giving him what he wanted. The biggest problem was, would she really be trustworthy? Could he actually rely on a little girl like her to do as she said she would?


    Dega decided to discuss the situation with his companions. He called all the bandits into the room, making the room quite crowded.


    ¡°Boss Dega, what took you so long?¡± One of his underlings was apparently rather curious.


    Mia almost wanted to make a joke here about what a man and a woman could do together in a tavern room for so long, but decided not to out of respect for Dega¡¯s feelings and the story she just heard.


    Dega explained to his companions about what Mia had just proposed to him.


    ¡°I think she has a point. However, I¡¯d like to hear your opinions as well. What shall we do?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just kill her and be done with it?¡± One man had a sinister expression and made a hand gesture of slitting someone¡¯s throat. Mia glanced over at him and recorded his face in her mind. If he wanted her dead that badly due to her father¡¯s crimes, this man was a dangerous element that needed to be dealt with, no matter what her father deserved.


    ¡°It sure sounds good, but can she really be trusted?¡± This man seemed to support her.


    ¡°Me want more potatoes please!¡± Okay then, this was Derek the simpleton. At least he was polite and knew to say please?


    The men all glanced around at each other awkwardly. They had mostly been ordinary villagers and farmers before being forced into banditry by various circumstances involving Count Hart. None of them, except for the man with the sinister expression, were particularly taken with the idea of doing something overly cruel to a little girl. All of them had grudges against Count Hart though, and Mia seemed to be an excellent opportunity for them to do something about that.


    In the end, they decided to leave the decision up to their leader, Dega. He mulled things over, but still didn¡¯t know what to do. Neither Dega nor the other bandits had ever received any higher education beyond basic reading and arithmetic. They weren¡¯t the type to come up with or analyze complex plots.


    The best that Dega could come up with after consideration was to test Mia¡¯s worthiness, much like how he had handpicked each of his companions.


    ¡°You said that you came here to learn from the Thieves Guild, didn¡¯t you? Well, how about you try learning a few skills from me instead? Prove your worthiness to me.¡±

 Chapter 14 - Treasure Hunting

    At everyone¡¯s agreement, including Mia¡¯s, she was taken outside the tavern to a cave on the outskirts of Clearlight Town.


    She did consider trying to tank her so-called escorts¡¯ attacks with her hidden Slime Armor and making an escape, but decided against it. It didn¡¯t seem worth it to her to have come this far only to run away. After all, didn¡¯t she want to learn some thief class skills and obtain a thief sub-class in the first place?


    The entrance to the cave was secluded in a remote hilly area where even magical beasts were scarce. Upon arriving, Dega pulled out a small booklet from his tunic and lightly tossed it over to Mia.


    ¡°This is a [Ransack] skill book, a basic skill for locating valuable items,¡± Dega informed her. ¡°Do you know how to read?¡±


    Mia nodded in affirmation. ¡°I was taught from a young age.¡± Well, the truth was that no normal child as young as she was would normally be able to read anything more than children¡¯s stories, but she couldn¡¯t say that now, could she?


    Dega believed it to be the result of her upbringing and scowled at the reminder, but paid it no mind. At any rate, it remained to be seen if Mia would be able to pass this little trial or not that he had in mind for her.


    ¡°Your task is to explore this cave and bring back the most valuable item you can find within it to me. It¡¯s not a very large cave. I estimate that it would only take thirty minutes at most to finish exploring ¨C if it was uninhabited, that is. You see, there¡¯s also some weak monsters inside. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. You need to have at least some level of strength if you want to prove to us that you¡¯re worthy of working together with.¡±


    Dega paused for a moment here. ¡°Oh, and, by the way, this is the only exit, so don¡¯t get any funny ideas. We¡¯ll be waiting right here for you. If you can¡¯t bring me the correct item, that means you don¡¯t have the strength or the talent to discern and bring back whatever¡¯s the most valuable item inside. This is the trial cave I¡¯ve used to test everyone who¡¯s wanted to join me, so you¡¯re going through what everyone else did. It¡¯ll be completely fair. If you¡¯re not worthy of working together with us, we¡¯ll just have to think of some other method to make use of you.¡±


    Mia noticed that the man with the sinister expression grinned upon hearing this. She really was going to have to do something about him in the future, but knew that she first needed to concentrate on this little ¡°Cave of Trials¡±.


    As for ¡°fairness¡±?


    Mia was only a young girl still, a fact evident for anyone to see. She was supposed to undergo a trial meant for adult men, even if it was only a beginner-level trial? How ludicrous. Still, Mia knew that it wouldn¡¯t be wise to speak up about her opinion.


    Besides, Mia had her own plans. She needed to make them accept her so that she could finally have her first batch of followers that would do her bidding, no matter how shady these followers seemed.


    She wanted more resources at her disposal before she made her move against her father Count Hart. What was she, a single little girl, supposed to do against an entire mansion¡¯s worth of roughly thirty servants as well as the fifty or so members of the Hart army stationed in the nearby barracks? It was impossible, no matter how you looked at it. It didn¡¯t matter even if Colson was added into the equation.


    And even if she removed Count Hart from the equation somehow, she couldn¡¯t possibly rule an entire domain by herself. Mia had asked her personal tutor before regarding what would happen to underaged noble heirs, and learned that the royal capital would send a guardian noble to manage the domain in her stead. There was no telling what type of person would arrive.


    That¡¯s why Mia wanted more support first ¨C where the support came from didn¡¯t matter to her. She was the type who valued the result over the means. If she could get these thieves on her side instead of them becoming her enemy, that would complete the first step of her plan. Relying on the power of friendship and true companions? She felt that relationships of mutual benefits were far more trustworthy.


    ¡®Still, a bunch of low-level thieves like them? Isn¡¯t this just like the typical game scenario where they always throw some small-time hoodlums at the main character at the beginning of the game? Such characters are typically incredibly weak and easy to defeat. However, the current me isn¡¯t even strong enough to take any one of them on.¡±


    Mia could only smile wryly at her own current lack of power. Even if she suddenly attacked one of the men, at worst she would probably only leave a bruise. It was questionable whether she even had enough physical strength to knock any of the men unconscious. Mia knew her own body¡¯s limits quite well after all her practicing with Colson.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The cave was completely pitch-black inside and Mia wondered if she would have to rely entirely on her [Detection] minimap skill once inside. She stepped inside the cave to take a better look.


    To her surprise, all the torches embedded in sconces on the walls suddenly lit up magically for no apparent reason. It was now more than simple enough for her to see her way without stumbling.


    ¡°What just happened? Why did all these torches suddenly light up?¡± Mia inquired out of curiosity.


    Dega sent Mia a condescending look. ¡°You don¡¯t even know about the God of Adventurers¡¯ blessing? He oversees all who would risk themselves on an adventure for glory or treasure or whatever else. His blessing provides magical lights in places where there are none to be found. Not only that, he even provides treasure chests filled with helpful items for any daring adventurer. Your challenge is to bring back only the most valuable item for me, which will prove to me that you have the strength and knowledge to obtain The fact that the torches are lighting up is evidence that the God of Adventurers is acknowledging your spirit,¡± he said with a hint of surprise at the end.


    The God of Adventurers? Mia felt like her jaw was almost about to hit the ground. She knew that there were multiple gods in this world and numerous religions, but hadn¡¯t paid much attention to studying them. Hoplia¡¯s dominant local religion worshiped the Elemental Lords, not the gods, which was the extent of her knowledge. She wasn¡¯t the highly religious type, and thought that the gods wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with her either, as no god had ever appeared before her and taken credit for her reincarnation.


    Mia was now feeling that she still had much to learn in order to catch up to and truly become a resident of this new world she was in. The God of Adventurers sounded like a complete handwave on how treasure chests would always magically appear untouched for game players, or how caves and dungeons that should have theoretically been pitch-black were always well-lit without the players so much as carrying a light.


    She couldn¡¯t help but want to learn more about such mechanics as they would be of great use to her in this world. ¡°Treasure chests? Are they one time only or refillable? Do they appear for everyone?¡±


    Well, perhaps it was only natural that her interest was piqued by this topic. What gamer wouldn¡¯t love the idea of treasure chests?


    However, she could tell from Dega¡¯s tone that he was apparently becoming impatient with her as he answered. ¡°Treasure chests? Only those acknowledged by the God of Adventurers can see them; not just anyone can open them up freely. Just hurry up and start your trial already! I don¡¯t have the time for all your questions.¡±


    Mia was somewhat disappointed at not learning everything she wanted to know. However, she put her disappointment behind her. After all, it wasn¡¯t like Dega was her teacher or even friend yet, so she couldn¡¯t possibly expect him to be that patient or kind. She could always experiment by herself later, or ask Colson about what he knew.


    Just as she prepared herself and began walking inside the cave, Dega called out to her again, seeming to think of something. ¡°Take this with you,¡± he said gruffly as he tossed a small pouch to her. ¡°You¡¯re of no worth to us dead. Open this up and scatter it if you¡¯re in danger ¨C it¡¯s very low level magic beast repellent. Should be more than enough to save you if you¡¯re in a pinch. Of course, you fail the test if you use any. I¡¯ll be checking to make sure if you¡¯ve touched this or not at the end.¡±


    Was this his way of trying to ensure that she didn¡¯t die in there? Mia supposed that was probably a good sign of sorts. Still, that also meant that the magic beasts inside would be potentially dangerous. Mia accepted the pouch and gave her thanks.


    She then went deeper inside the cave until the passageway took a turn and she could no longer see the men waiting at the cave¡¯s entrance. Mia summoned out her Wind Slime to give it some exercise, as it had been cooped up, hidden on her body for the entire day so far. She then began taking a look at the [Ransack] skill book.


    Skill books. So, this game concept, like many others, existed as well? Mia idly wondered if the fact that people could learn skills from books was a contributing factor to the high literacy level for a world with only medieval technology.


    [Ransack] was a basic skill that would teach a person how to identify certain non-mundane items¡¯ mana wavelengths. This was an active skill which could scan in a certain radius around the user for valuable items.


    Mia had a different idea for it, however. Weren¡¯t minimaps in many games conveniently equipped with the function to identify items or treasure chests on the map? Mia wanted to see if she could pull off something similar and upgrade her mental minimap.


    Presently, she had the ability to identify living creatures¡¯ mana waves over the air currents at a roughly fifteen-meter radius. However, that was only when outdoors ¨C she noticed that the radius was drastically reduced whenever she was indoors or in enclosed areas like this cave.


    However, that was it ¨C she could only identify mana wavelengths for living creatures, but not for anything that wasn¡¯t magical in nature. Basically, she could only sense magical beasts and humans, while ordinary non-magic creatures and plants were excluded. It remained to be seen if she could find magical plants, but she didn¡¯t have any available to test that out on.


    Nor was she capable of sensing specific terrain features. In the end, her mental minimap function worked just like a blinking array of dots that she could keep track of in her mind. It was far more inconvenient than an actual minimap function in any video game and was probably closer to radar instead.


    It took Mia about ten minutes to get down the basics of sensing items¡¯ mana wavelengths. Suddenly, a faint small blue dot appeared in her mind, right on top of her. Mia didn¡¯t think that she had anything that valuable on her, though.


    Was it her wooden sword? Mia unbuckled it and placed it a few meters away. However, the light blue dot was still on top of her. She then tried putting the [Ransack] skill book together with the sword. That worked! She now saw the light blue dot a small distance away from her.


    The skill book wasn¡¯t consumed after usage and remained perfectly usable. Still, that didn¡¯t mean that anyone could just learn any skill they wanted. People were limited to learning skills only related to their main and sub job classes.


    Mia continued integrating her newly learned [Ransack] skill and succeeded in being able to sense items passively without having to use [Ransack] as an active skill. This was a lot more convenient, as it meant she wouldn¡¯t have to constantly stop and scan around her. She definitely planned on taking inspiration from other features from her previous world and creating her own magic spells or modifying existing ones in the future as well.


    Since Mia had learned [Ransack] successfully, she knew that meant she probably successfully received a sub class along with this new skill. She didn¡¯t have Colson and his Status Stone with her, so she would check her own status later. However, what she didn¡¯t realize was that Dega and his crew were all bandits, not thieves or even members of the Thieves Guild. This meant that the job class she actually received from Dega wasn¡¯t thief at all. Instead, she became a bandit, with no way to change her sub class¡­

 Chapter 15 - Bats

    Although Mia successfully learned a new basic skill in approximately ten minutes, she was unsure how this compared to others. Was reading from a skill book always this fast? Did it differ from person to person? Or was it based on the skill¡¯s complexity level, or a mixture of both?


    Mia decided to set these questions aside for the time being. The most important thing right now was to focus on the task at hand.


    She glanced over at the Wind Slime hopping around next to her. Not only did she have to worry about herself, she also had to worry about how to help the Wind Slime next to her gain experience. While Colson¡¯s Status Stone previously indicated that the Wind Slime also gained experience points by acting as her armor, Mia was still hoping for more.


    Slimes, like all other magical beasts, had the ability to unlock additional skills and/or magic spells upon leveling up. Not to mention, Wind Slimes were Magic Slimes ¨C they had the ability to use magic spells from their element. Mia was looking forward to see if her Wind Slime would be capable of being a stronger magician than she was in the future, as sad as it sounded. Would her pet Slime end up becoming a stronger wind mage than she?


    Mia was someone who believed in practical experience over strength on paper. Although she was technically level 4, that didn¡¯t mean that she was stronger than all the level 1 novices. Her base stats were increasing very slowly; she surmised that this had to do with her young age. Besides, there were plenty of ways to defeat others that didn¡¯t involve direct showdowns of pure strength.


    She simply wanted to have more options available than just the Slime Armor. Flexible options would never be a bad thing. The main issue was, how was she supposed to communicate with her Wind Slime?


    There were still so many things she didn¡¯t know. For instance, Mia didn¡¯t know if this Wind Slime was male or female or perhaps even asexual. How did Slimes reproduce, anyways? Was there some sort of magical beast daycare that she could leave her Wind Slime at together with another Slime? Would there be a Slime egg waiting for her after she took a specific number of steps?


    Monsters had a different path of evolution from humans. In the game, they would grow more intelligent as they leveled up and grew stronger, and given better AIs to reflect this. Most magical beasts were even capable of learning human speech upon hitting certain target levels, and some were even capable of human transformation.


    This was all still far beyond her beginner-level Wind Slime¡¯s capabilities at the moment, of course. Still, Mia couldn¡¯t help but dream. What would it be like to stand at the pinnacle together with her Wind Slime?


    ¡­Mia was unable to imagine such a scenario, so she gave up the thought and began to focus on the present. Right now, what she needed to ensure was that the Wind Slime understood her intentions and could cooperate smoothly with her in battle when not in Slime Armor form.


    ¡°Wind Slime, attack that wall!¡±


    The Wind Slime merely stared blankly back at her. It then extended a slimy appendage and patted her on the face.


    Mia tried using her control over the wind element mana to send a light breeze blowing directly against the wall. The Wind Slime moved over and plastered itself against the wall; it appeared that it was feeding off of her mana somehow. Mia supposed that she would have to settle for this as it was better than nothing. She could simply try sending a breeze blowing at some enemy in scenarios where she didn¡¯t need it to act as her armor.


    ¡°Windy, dodge and roll left!¡±


    Mia tried to lightly toss the [Ransack] skill book at it. However, the Wind Slime didn¡¯t react at all and the book merely bounced off harmlessly. After this, the Wind Slime then jumped up on top of Mia¡¯s head!


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re supposed to be the tank here. Are you intending to use me as your shield now?¡±


    Well, Mia knew that the Wind Slime didn¡¯t actually mind acting as the Slime Armor so much. It had gained experience together with her and leveled up to level 3. Nor had it ever seemed to complain when shielding her from the boar and bee monsters¡¯ attacks in the Clearlight Forest. Still, it remained to be seen what it would do if they were ever pushed to the brink.


    Mia then recalled that she had neglected to give her pet a name yet. If she recalled correctly, the Wind Slime¡¯s status previously said [Unnamed, Mia¡¯s pet]. It was possible to name bonded pet magical beasts in the game as well, but Mia was actually the type who always went with whatever default names were available. She didn¡¯t consider herself good at coming up with names.


    ¡°Constantly calling you Windy or Wind Slime doesn¡¯t seem very appropriate or sound much like a real name¡­ Whimsy! I¡¯ll call you Whimsy from now on. How about it? Do you like it?¡±


    Mia settled on naming the Wind Slime ¡°Whimsy¡± after a few seconds of consideration. Although it was a whimsical name, just like the meaning of the name itself, she also had her reasons. Whimsy sounded phonetically similar to wind, the Slime¡¯s element, and it was also gender neutral.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Whimsy¡¯s response to its new name was to reach down and smush itself against her. Mia supposed that this was an act of friendliness? She didn¡¯t know just what exactly her pet Slime viewed her as. Mia could only let it be for the time being.


    Mia began proceeding down the cave¡¯s passageway. A minute or two later, she sensed the first presence appear in her mind.


    However, as she approached closer, she noticed that there were actually numerous creatures sticking close together in the passageway! Mia trudged forward cautiously, paying attention to whatever might be in front.


    She suddenly noticed that she had stepped in something that evidently wasn¡¯t the rocky cave ground. Mia had been paying more attention to her mental minimap indicating the creatures¡¯ locations rather than the ground at her feet. When she looked downwards, she saw some little gray pellets that were now smashed under her feet.


    ¡°These are¡­ animal feces of some sort?¡±


    Mia managed to identify what she had stepped in. It seemed that her first adventure by herself would literally begin with a first step in animal poop. This was something that a game would never replicate for a player¡¯s experience!


    Mia shook off the pellets still attached to her shoe. She didn¡¯t consider herself the clean freak type; in fact, she even disliked girls who acted like delicate little flowers that would wilt at the hint of any dirt. Yet, that didn¡¯t mean that she enjoyed having such objects sticking to her.


    Moving on, Mia took a turn in the corridor and arrived in a relatively large underground cavern. She saw several bats hanging from the ceiling ¨C these bats had been the presences she sensed in her mind.


    When she entered, the bats also sensed her presence, and swooped down towards her while screeching loudly!


    Mia was prepared for what she might encounter and swung her wooden sword at one bat, successfully knocking it out of the air. She sent a light breeze at another bat, seeing if Whimsy would be able to help her in combat.


    While still attached to her body, Whimsy sent out a tendril and entangled the bat surrounded by the breeze. The bat flapped furiously but was unable to break free from its predicament.


    Mia was unable to block all of the bats with her sword and some got through and attempted to bite her. Luckily enough, they were unable to pierce through the Slime Armor with their fangs. Mia took this opportunity while they were busy biting to knock another bat off of her and onto the ground.


    It appeared that Dega had indeed told her the truth, as these bats were quite weak and easy to take care of. The most annoying part about fighting them was actually their loud screeching, not any damage they could cause to her. Mia was somewhat tempted to try and find out if she could borrow some small part of Whimsy¡¯s body to make some Slime earplugs, but decided against it in the end. She felt that it was more important to be able to hear her surroundings, however ear-piercing the screeching may be.


    Wanting to reduce the bats¡¯ overall numbers, Mia swung her sword down forcefully and smashed it into one of the bats on the ground. The bat started magically dissolving as was the norm for such magical beasts, evidence that it was quite weak indeed, as it had been taken out in a mere two hits. Yet, to Mia¡¯s surprise, all the other bats left her alone, and swarmed upon the dying bat¡¯s corpse in a feeding frenzy!


    The other bats devoured the unlucky dying bat and it was soon gone from existence. Disgusted, Mia ran further into the cave while the bats were distracted. She had never seen anything quite like this same species cannibalism before, and it gave her quite a deep impression that these were indeed magical monsters, rather than being the same species from her previous world.


    Mia actually had a favorable impression of real bats, that was, as long as they were doing what they were supposed to. She knew that bats typically ate either fruit or insects, and were considered a beneficial species for humans. The bats in this cave, however, were monsters that preyed on even their own kind at even the slightest hint of blood.


    Although these bat monsters were quite weak and easy enough to take on, Mia decided to save time and not do anything unnecessary. She continued onwards in the cave, using the same method of slaying one bat to distract the remaining members of the bat horde so that she could continue mostly uninterrupted.


    As Mia went deeper into the cave, she noticed that the layer of gray pellets on the ground became thicker and thicker. Soon, it became completely unavoidable that she had to walk on them.


    ¡®So, this must be bat guano. Who knew that I would be walking down a road of bat poop in an attempt to achieve my goal?¡¯ Mia could only smile wryly at the experience. After all, complaining wouldn¡¯t be of any help.


    The next cavern room Mia went in contained only the presence of one monster. However, Mia saw no visible monsters when she entered this room. Was it a type that could conceal its presence? Mia decided to proceed slowly and carefully.


    When she passed by a large boulder in the middle of the room, the rock suddenly animated itself, opening up three large eyes, and rolled straight towards her! Mia unhesitatingly started running. Even with the Slime Armor protecting her, that didn¡¯t mean that she would be impervious to damage. Strong impacts from a high-speed collision would be more than capable of breaking her bones.


    Thinking back to her fights against the Wild Boars, Mia decided to use zigzagging to see if that would work against this boulder monster as well. The rolling boulder crashed into the wall¡­ and embedded itself within, getting stuck!


    Mia carefully poked at it with her sword and swung down a few times as well, but the blows didn¡¯t seem to have any effect. The rock kept trembling as it shook itself in the crevice it had created from the impact, attempting to free itself. All three eyes appeared to be viciously glaring in Mia¡¯s direction.


    Mia decided to leave well enough alone and continue onward. She figured that such rock monsters would fit the common stereotype of high defense and low magic resistance. However, she was unable to deal with such a monster with her current available skills, as neither she nor Whimsy knew any attack magic spells. She would simply have to avoid all the rock monsters on her way.


    At a fork in the path, Mia sensed an item at the end of the left passage, which soon reached a dead end. There was a small wooden chest, guarded by yet another boulder monster.


    ¡°Always a monster to guard a treasure chest, eh. Can¡¯t there simply be unguarded treasure chests laying around for the taking? Why would monsters have any interest in treasure chests, anyways?¡±


    Mia commented to herself while having Whimsy distract the boulder monster. Unlike her, Whimsy had a soft body that wouldn¡¯t be easily affected by any impacts, so this was much safer. Mia took this chance and grabbed the wooden chest before running back to the fork in the road with Whimsy following after.


    The boulder monster attempted to chase after them¡­ but couldn¡¯t accelerate at all! This particular passageway was somewhat sloping downwards as it reached the dead end, so Mia was running back uphill. The boulder monster had great difficulty in ascending as it lacked any feet.


    Mia was rendered somewhat speechless at the sight.


    ¡°So this was all pointless? I don¡¯t even need to fight it? Who would stash treasure chests only in out-of-the-way areas and dead ends, anyways? I don¡¯t think any normal person would do such of things. The God of Adventurers must be a sadist!¡±


    Mia opened up the wooden chest, which was unlocked, to find a small vial inside. Perhaps it was some sort of potion, but Mia didn¡¯t have any relevant knowledge or anyone with her who could tell her what it was. She decided to pocket it and move on. Meanwhile, the wooden chest magically disappeared and vanished into thin air.


    ¡°Well, at least the God of Adventurers doesn¡¯t leave litter behind. That¡¯s good. I suppose he likes to recycle?¡±


    Mia continued onwards, following a rule of thumb that games almost always followed: the best treasure and goal would always be at the very end. She finally reached another large cavern that appeared to be the final one. She sensed an item¡¯s presence in her mind that evidently had more power than the vial she discovered earlier. She looked to see a silver chest sitting a distance away from her in a corner of the cavern.


    There was only one problem ¨C the tremendous bat hanging from the ceiling, about the size of a human adult, and much larger than any of the smaller bats she had faced on her way here.

 Chapter 16 - Applications of Science

    Meanwhile, outside the cave, the bandits decided to amuse themselves with a little friendly wagering while they waited.


    ¡°You think that little girl will make it out alive? I bet 50 coins that she doesn¡¯t.¡±  Bandit A had a deriding expression.


    ¡°Nah, she¡¯ll be fine, boss Dega gave her some monster repellant, remember? My money¡¯s on that she¡¯ll run out scared witless and fail boss Dega¡¯s test. That means we¡¯ll get to do whatever we want to her, heh heh.¡± Bandit B seemed to be imagining something vulgar.


    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you trust the boss a little more? I guess I¡¯ll bet on the girlie, seeing as how none of you are doing so. But to make it fair, give me 1:3 odds if I win. Deal?¡± Bandit C wanted to make some money.


    ¡°Deal. No complaining when I take your money! I¡¯ll be waiting for your generous donation.¡± Bandit B felt like his companion was quite an idiot. This was practically like taking money from a baby!


    ¡°Hah, we¡¯ll see who¡¯s laughing in the end. I think she¡¯s a smart one; no ordinary little girl could persuade boss Dega so easily like that.¡± Bandit C had a better impression of Mia.


    ¡°Hmph, what would a pampered little noble brat know? She¡¯s probably going to pee her pants the moment she runs into the monsters down there.¡± Bandit A was disdainful and considered nobles nothing more than all bluff.


    ¡°Me no pee pants anymore! Wahh! Oh, pretty butterfly!¡± Derek suddenly ruined the atmosphere and caused all the bandits to exchange awkward glances with each other as he immediately forgot about his embarrassment and went off chasing some random pretty butterfly that he saw in the air.


    Dega didn¡¯t participate in his underlings¡¯ betting and had a more contemplative expression. Nymon had informed him about how Mia was able to evidently travel through the Clearlight Forest by herself without an escort. That meant she would likely be more than capable of handling the weak monsters down in the cave. The real question was whether she¡¯d be able to handle the boss monster at the end. Although it was a weak boss monster among boss monsters, it was still significantly stronger than anything else down there.


    Dega checked the sun and estimated the time. It had been approximately one hour since Mia entered the cave. He decided to go down the cave and see how she was doing. It was almost about the time that she would likely have reached the end of the cave, facing off against the boss at the end. Would he arrive only to clean up her corpse to send to Count Hart, or would he be able to see something that impressed him?


    ¡°Prove to me that you¡¯re not all talk,¡± Dega muttered to himself as he entered the cave.


    At this moment, back in the cave, Mia had retreated as she was currently strategizing on how to handle the giant bat.


    The bat boss monster hadn¡¯t noticed her presence. However, Mia felt that it was basically guaranteed that it wouldn¡¯t be friendly enough to allow her to simply saunter up and walk away with the contents of that silver chest. Wouldn¡¯t that just put all so-called boss monsters to shame?


    Since the giant bat hadn¡¯t noticed her presence yet, Mia saw no reason to rush into battle in a foolhardy fashion. She wanted to do a small experiment on the earlier smaller bats.


    The giant bat appeared to simply be a larger version of the same species of bat monster. In that case, Mia wanted to try and see if she could find any particular weaknesses that the bat monsters might naturally possess. Although it was possible to simply use brute force and distract the bat horde, she doubted it would be so easy against a boss type monster.


    Mia thought back to what she had learned in high school biology class. She recalled that bats used echolocation, the ability to detect their surroundings and sense prey by sound, in order to compensate for their poor eyesight. While many magical monsters in this world, such as slimes and dragons, were completely fantastical creatures, others were simply corrupted versions of perfectly ordinary animals.


    Mia didn¡¯t have too much knowledge of how echolocation worked specifically, but she figured that since bats sensed their prey by sound, not vision, perhaps she would be able to interfere with their sensory systems? After all, the air was a medium for sound waves, and she already possessed the ability to hear sounds on the wind under her control or send her voice some distance farther than normal on the wind. She felt that it was worth a try to experiment against the weaker bat monsters first. It would never hurt to have too much information.


    She backtracked slightly and went to a previous room where there were still many bats waiting for her. Mia tried summoning the strongest possible breeze she could muster and observed the bats¡¯ movements to see if they would be affected.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡­All that happened was that she received a musty smell of bat guano right to her face. Meanwhile, the bats seemed to be completely unaffected by her gentle breeze as they swooped right down at her with no apparent problems. Mia supposed that it was too much to hope for after all, as such a light breeze had barely any strength to it. If only she could summon gales, whirlwinds, or use wind blades¡­


    Mia shook off the bats flocking to her while also pinching her nose. If using the most ¡°powerful¡± breeze she could summon didn¡¯t have any seeming affect, how about doing the opposite?


    She envisioned stopping the airflow entirely and attempted to block off the airflow in this area. She doubted that she would be able to create a perfect vacuum, as that would be too much to hope for. Still, there were definitely future potential uses for being able to create air pockets. Would she be able to block off the sound waves, or at least part of them and interfere with the bats¡¯ echolocation systems?


    As expected, no such total blockage of all sound occurred. Was it just her imagination, or did the bats¡¯ cacophonous screeching seem to become a few decibels lower?


    The important thing was that the bats now seemed to be flapping about more chaotically than before, and some of the bats even crashed into each other. Mia took advantage of the opportunity to withdraw herself from the fray, unnoticed.


    She returned to the passageway before the giant bat¡¯s room to think about what just happened. Was it some type of air refraction affecting the sound waves¡¯ transmissions? Mia was unsure, as she was no expert in wave mechanics or physics. Several years had passed already since she last attended high school, and she could only remember the basics. Who knew that such esoteric knowledge would actually come in useful for a real-world situation?


    Besides, the laws of physics that she knew might not even fully apply. After all, everything that magic did went against the laws of physics. Perhaps the wind element she was using somehow magically interfered with the bats¡¯ echolocation sensory systems.


    There was a lot more that she still wanted to test out later, as now wasn¡¯t the best time for magical experimentation. Mia felt that simply the power to control light breezes had plenty of unexplored potential, limited only by her imagination. Who said that gentle breezes would be unable to kill? She wasn¡¯t going to complain about receiving a weak cheat power or anything like that. A magic power was still a magic power, and far better than having nothing at all.


    Mia mentally prepared herself and rested for a few minutes before heading to the confrontation with the boss bat monster. It was just like how games would always have a save and often times even a recovery area right before a fixed boss encounter. She wanted to be in her best condition.


    Still, when she entered the final room of the cave and the giant bat monster took notice of her presence, Mia found herself unable to suppress her quickening heartbeat. Fighting large monsters from the comfort of her room on a computer screen was completely different from facing off against them in reality, after all.


    Mia almost wanted to turn and flee when she saw the human-sized bat diving straight for her. She immediately tried out her new tactic ¨C full suppression over the air, making it as still as possible!


    Mia was someone who believed that trump cards were meant to be used, not saved. She personally disagreed with people who always saved their true abilities for last, or suddenly came out and said ¡°Oh, just so you know, I am not left handed.¡± If that person¡¯s enemy went all out right from the start, wouldn¡¯t that give the enemy a serious advantage?


    It was the same with gun standoffs that she commonly saw on television. If it was up to her, she would simply shoot immediately without even wasting words. Talking too much was a weakness. Well, that was just her personal opinion. Who knew what she would really do if she found herself in such a situation?


    Just for extra insurance, Mia dodged and rolled on the ground in order to dodge the swooping bat monster¡­ which resulted in bat guano sticking all over her clothing and Whimsy. While grimacing, Mia swung her wooden sword and clouted the bat monster on the head.


    Deadening the air seemed to have less of an effect on the boss bat monster compared to its smaller cousins. Still, there was some apparent effect, as it appeared to be flying shakily through the air now. Or, was that simply the effect of the blow on its head?


    The boss bat monster still had too much of a size advantage on Mia, and she knew that it was unlikely that she could seriously damage a monster of its size. At most, it would do only a few HP points of damage. She didn¡¯t want to get into a battle of attrition with this boss that she could only do chip damage to. In fact, she was intending on taking a shortcut.


    Who said that one was absolutely required to defeat the boss in order to obtain the treasure at the end of the path? While video games may have been hard coded in such fashions, Mia had no intention of ¡°playing by the rules¡± here. Her only objective was to grab that silver chest at the end of the room. She personally felt that there was no need for her to fight and defeat this boss bat monster right now. All she needed to do was obtain the item inside and show it to Dega in order to obtain his assistance.


    Mia envisioned a breeze blowing around the bat monster while maintaining the still air in the cavern. She then peeled Whimsy off of herself, canceling the Slime Armor, and letting Whimsy act on its own.


    As she expected, Whimsy jumped up onto the bat monster, attracted by wherever the highest density of wind element mana was. Mia suddenly wondered if ¡°eating¡±, or absorbing wind mana or whatever it was that Whimsy did, was the only thing on its mind.


    While Mia was mostly confident in Whimsy¡¯s high defenses, she was still somewhat worried and observed a few seconds to see if Whimsy would need any assistance from her. She saw the Wind Slime expanding its body and enveloping the bat monster, much like what Whimsy would do for her whenever she surrounded her own body with wind mana. However, the bat monster was a flying creature, and this inhibited its ability to fly. Soon, it crashed into the ground, continuously struggling against Whimsy.


    This was all Mia needed. Whimsy could stall the bat monster for her with its high defenses while she ran over to pick up the treasure chest. It wasn¡¯t necessary to defeat the boss, after all. Nor did she count on Whimsy to actually deal any damage; slimes¡¯ attack power was simply too low. Some ten-plus seconds of time was all she needed.


    When Mia reached the silver treasure chest and opened it up successfully, she heaved a sigh of relief. She had been worried that there would be some ridiculous setting like the treasure chest being magically locked and only opening up once the boss was defeated.


    There was a small book inside, the title of which said ¡°Rank C ice magic ¨C Icicle Crash¡±. Mia hurriedly put the book away in her pouch. It was now time to leave!


    ¡°Come, Whimsy, we¡¯re getting out of here!¡± Mia canceled the breeze swirling around the boss bat monster and summoned Whimsy back to her. She then ran off at her top speed, ignoring the bat monster¡¯s struggling and screeching behind her as it shakily flew back up.


    Meanwhile, Dega had finally arrived at the end of the cave when Mia, who still had quite a bit of bat guano clinging to her clothes, ran straight into him.

 Chapter 17 - Falling Asleep

    ¡°The hell!?¡± Dega was almost barreled over by Mia who crashed into him. With a look of disgust on his face, he flicked off the bat guano that got on his clothing. ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°Unless you intend to help me here, run! That giant bat is coming!¡± Mia was in a hurry to get out of here.


    Hearing this, Dega¡¯s expression turned into a scowl. ¡°Who cares, I can take care of a boss monster that weak in just an instant. So, you can¡¯t even defeat this boss monster in here? You failed to prove your mettle, then!¡±


    ¡°Actually, I already obtained this book from a silver treasure chest inside that cavern.¡± Mia tossed the ice magic skill book over to Dega. ¡°This is what you¡¯re talking about, right? I didn¡¯t detect anything else that really stood out in this entire cave.¡±


    Dega was astounded to hear this. She somehow obtained the treasure inside without even defeating the boss monster? How was this even possible? It was simply ludicrous to presume that the bat monster would simply allow her to take it for free. And as obviously evidenced by the fact that the bat monster was apparently chasing after her, it was perfectly fine.


    Still, questions would have to wait for later. The bat monster had arrived!


    Since Mia had obviously obtained the ¡°most valuable item¡± inside here, Dega had no more qualms about helping her out. He was a man of his word.


    ¡°Step aside, little girl. I¡¯ll show you how things are really done!¡±


    ¡°Sure, but could you stop calling me little girl? My name is Mia. If you keep calling me little girl, I¡¯m going to start calling you Mister again.¡±


    Dega would have chuckled if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the bat monster was rapidly approaching, having caught up due to their conversation here. He focused his own mana into his sword, and ¨C


    Mia witnessed Dega jumping up into the air, and slicing three times in quick succession. The first two slashes were diagonal slashes in an X shape, while the final slash was vertical. The bat monster roared in pain as it started magically dissolving. It had lost in just three hits, without even putting up much of a fight!


    ¡°See, that¡¯s what true strength is!¡± Dega seemed quite proud of himself.


    ¡°True strength? If you had true strength, you would have went after Count Hart long ago, rather than attempting to take revenge on me. I¡¯m just a little girl, as you pointed out not long ago. You and your friends are all adult men. Do you really think it¡¯s a fair comparison?¡± Mia didn¡¯t hold back with her words at all.


    Dega was rendered speechless. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± He could only mutter to himself as he winced. She had hit him right where it hurt. Everything she just said was indeed the truth. He had never thought about ¡°fairness¡± like that before.


    ¡°I obtained the treasure behind the bat monster using strategy, not might,¡± Mia continued. She knew that it was unlikely for a group of adult men to fully listen to everything she said, so Mia intended to make herself sound exaggeratedly intelligent so that Dega would be more likely to listen to her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you need right now? You know perfectly well that just your numbers won¡¯t be enough to win against my father.¡±


    Dega nodded weakly. After all these years, he still hadn¡¯t figured out a way to deal with the Count¡¯s powerful fire magic, or the high number of guards. Not to mention, he was the only member of his bandit crew who had significantly higher combat strength than the others.


    ¡°How about we talk more outside? This is hardly the best place for a chat.¡± Mia brushed off the bat guano on her clothing as well and made sure to carefully tuck Whimsy inside her clothes so that Dega didn¡¯t notice. Unfortunately, this meant that the bat guano on Whimsy was directly sticking to her skin¡­ she hadn¡¯t had the time to clean Whimsy off before Dega arrived. She was definitely going to have to take a bath the moment she got back to the Hart mansion!


    ¡°Alright.¡± Dega finally recovered from his astonishment and started walking back towards the entrance together with Mia. He then recalled something. ¡°Oh, here, you can have this back. So, the God of Adventurers gave you a book on ice magic? It¡¯s of no use to me, and it¡¯s what you deserve to keep after working for it, no matter how you obtained it. By the way, you nobles typically have magic bloodlines, don¡¯t you? Do you know how to use ice magic?¡±


    Mia hesitated for a moment, considering how much to tell him, before replying. She decided it would be alright to let him know the truth about her magic. It wasn¡¯t like it was something that needed to be top secret, as nobles were commonly in mage job classes to begin with. Besides, if they were to be allies, the more they knew about each other, the better. Although, she would still keep the information about Whimsy a secret for now as a trump card if necessary. She had only met Dega today and still didn¡¯t know how reliable he was, after all.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°I know wind magic, at the E rank level. I don¡¯t know why the God of Adventurers placed an ice magic book in the chest for me. Is he some sort of jokester? Are the items random? Will that treasure chest respawn?¡± To be honest, the last question was the one that Mia really wanted to know the answer to. She already knew that monsters were capable of respawning, as they were simply formed from magical energies. But would it be the same for


    E rank? Dega paused in his footsteps for a second upon hearing this. Although he wasn¡¯t a mage, the letter-based power ranking system was common all throughout the land of Eristan, ranging from magic, adventurers¡¯ ranks, item power ranks, and so on. If she was E rank, that meant she only had the most basic amount of control over the wind, nothing more.


    Five minutes ago, he probably would have scoffed at Mia. But now, he had seen evidence that she was able to obtain the treasure at the end by herself, although he still didn¡¯t know how she did it yet. She had just shown him through her words that might wasn¡¯t everything. Dega wasn¡¯t entirely sure why, but he got the impression that she was far smarter than her age suggested. He decided not to worry about her magic power level.


    ¡°Yes, the items inside the God of Adventurers¡¯ treasure chests are randomized, but typically beneficial for the job class you¡¯re in. However, the treasure chests won¡¯t respawn. Each designated adventuring location will only spawn treasure chests one time per person.¡±


    So, there were anti-grinding measures in this world as well? Mia was slightly disappointed. A book on ice magic seemed equally useless to her as it was to Dega. Would it really be possible for her to learn a C rank ice magic spell? Well, she supposed that it would never hurt to try later. And even in the worst-case scenario, perhaps she could keep it and exchange it for something else in the future.


    Dega noticed that Mia¡¯s pace was much slower than his. This was only natural, as she was just a child and quite fatigued after an hour of trekking through the cave and the battles she just experienced. Dega made an offer to her.


    ¡°How about I carry you out so we can leave this place faster? I don¡¯t know about you, but this is no place to be having a picnic.¡±


    Mia thought about it for a moment and decided to accept his offer. She felt that it couldn¡¯t hurt. There was no need for him to use any schemes if he wanted to try and harm her, with the power difference between them.


    And so, Dega scooped Mia up in his arms and princess carried her! To be honest, Mia had been expecting to be able to ride on his back. This took her greatly by surprise, and her face started flushing slightly red, not used to having intimate contact with men. She was more concerned about such things because she was actually a college-aged girl inside, after all. Meanwhile, Dega began jogging at an even pace after he cradled Mia in his arms.


    Mia closed her eyes in an effort to take her mind off her embarrassment. She found that being carried was a more comforting experience than she expected. It wasn¡¯t nearly as jolting of an experience on her body as she expected. Was it because Dega was intentionally jogging as even as possible? How long had it last been since she simply felt the warmth of human contact, even a hug? Her mother in this world had died while giving birth to her, while the rest of her family¡­ Well, everyone knew how her father and half-brother were like. She didn¡¯t even have a single person she could call a friend yet in this new world. Tired after a long day, Mia slowly drifted off to sleep while thinking such thoughts in Dega¡¯s arms as he kept running.


    Dega noticed that Mia¡¯s breathing became even and that she fell asleep as he ran. While holding her, Dega wondered about what kind of life she possibly could have experienced so far in her young life. What would it be like to have such a family like hers? What could drive such a young child in agreeing to help him take revenge upon her father? He didn¡¯t know. She was definitely far more mature than any child he had ever met. Was it really that hardship brewed maturity?


    It took Dega a mere ten or so minutes to jog back to the cave entrance as he avoided all the monsters on the way, much faster than Mia¡¯s speed. She didn¡¯t wake up at all during the entire way and kept sleeping peacefully.


    Dega¡¯s underlings noticed when he exited the cave and swarmed around him. ¡°Boss ¨C¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Dega almost snarled in a low voice. ¡°Let her sleep!¡± For some unknown reason even to himself, he didn¡¯t want to disturb her. ¡°She passes my test. We¡¯re going to work together with her from now on.¡±


    The bandits all exchanged various with each other, filled with awkwardness, disappointment, and various other expressions. One was even excited, as he was mentally counting the coins he had won in the earlier little bet. They all wanted to know what had happened, but now evidently wasn¡¯t the best time to be asking.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later,¡± Dega whispered. ¡°For now, disperse and return to our hideout. I¡¯m returning Mia here back to her home.¡±


    The perceptive among them noticed that Dega was now calling Mia by her name, rather than little girl. Still, nobody dared to speak up against Dega, fearing his wrath, as he was behaving differently from his usual self. Who knew what they would talk about as they were on their way, though?


    Dega started walking towards the Clearlight Forest as the other bandits left. He recalled what he had said to Mia earlier in the day: that his daughter would have almost been her age, had she only survived. What kind of life would he have been able to give her, even if she did survive? He was nothing more than a bandit now, someone on the wrong side of the law. His glory days of being a skilled mercenary were over. Would she be similar to Mia, wise beyond her years, and only thinking of revenge?


    He thought about many things as he walked through the forest. He had the Count¡¯s daughter right here in his arms, sleeping and defenseless. If he wanted to, he could probably kill her right here and now in just a few short seconds so that the Count would also taste the bitter feeling of losing a daughter.


    In the end, he just couldn¡¯t do it. With the Count¡¯s personality, would he really even care? It was just like Mia said. Besides, Dega just couldn¡¯t bring himself to harm Mia anymore. Although her father may be heinous, she knew right from wrong and was innocent. Dega still had his moral boundaries and couldn¡¯t bring himself to harm Mia. Or was it because he was overlapping his dead daughter onto her?


    Dega stopped after nearing the Hart mansion in the Clearlight Forest. He gently put Mia down and shook her lightly. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s time to wake up. We¡¯re almost at your home.¡±


    Mia groggily opened her eyes, but quickly sat up in surprise upon seeing where she was. This was the Clearlight Forest! She had actually fallen asleep!? Why did she fall asleep? That could have been incredibly dangerous!


    Still, since she had been mostly defenseless, apart from her Slime Armor, this meant that Dega could be trusted, at least for now. She relaxed slightly after thinking of this point.


    ¡°Thank you. While I do have a relatively high degree of freedom in wherever I go ¨C that¡¯s simply because nobody there cares about me. Although, they¡¯ll still notice if I don¡¯t return by the time it¡¯s night, so it¡¯s good that you¡¯ve brought me here. Again, thank you.¡± Mia paused for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s meet up again tomorrow to discuss things in more detail. Where should we meet at?¡±


    Dega thought about it for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the same cave as today. Some things shouldn¡¯t be discussed out in public. You still remember how to get there from Clearlight Town, right?¡±


    Mia nodded. ¡°Yes, I remember. Alright then, see you tomorrow.¡± She then turned around and left immediately, hurrying back to the Hart mansion. This was actually because she still needed to wash the bat guano off of her skin under her clothing that rubbed off of her from Whimsy!

 Chapter 18 - Fireman

    Dega stood there for quite a while, filled with emotions that he didn¡¯t know how to describe, before he finally left.


    Upon returning to his hideout, he saw that Nymon, the teenaged boy thief who gave him the tip on Mia¡¯s location and identity, was waiting for him.


    ¡°Yo, Dega! I already heard from your pals. So she really was that bastard¡¯s daughter after all? Why¡¯d you let her go?¡± Nymon had a look of disbelief.


    ¡°We had a little talk and decided to work together,¡± Dega replied nonchalantly. ¡°She has some pretty interesting ideas. I felt that it would be good for everyone¡¯s mutual benefits. With her helping us from the inside, perhaps we¡¯ll finally have a chance at getting our revenge. After all, none of us have managed to accomplish anything over the years as of yet.¡± He then paused for a moment as he considered something. ¡°Why don¡¯t you finally join us now? I know that you have just as deep a grudge against Count Hart as any of us, and you¡¯re old enough to make your own decisions now. How about it?¡±


    However, Nymon¡¯s face distorted upon hearing Dega¡¯s offer. ¡°Why the hell are you working together with that little girl? What would she even know? You¡¯re just falling for her trap! All nobles are cut from the same cloth! Haven¡¯t you lost enough already? You lost your wife and daughter, and I lost my parents, yet you don¡¯t understand how I feel? We should just kill that girl already!¡±


    Hearing this, Dega shook his head. He had a sad yet resolute expression as he spoke. ¡°Her name is Mia, not little girl. That¡¯s part of what I learned from her today. Everyone deserves their chance at life, regardless of who their parents may be. If we simply killed her just for being a noble, how does that make us any different from Count Hart who kills commoners as he pleases?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m different from that scum piece of shit noble!¡± Nymon shouted angrily. ¡°How can you even possibly compare us! Just you watch, I¡¯ll take revenge on Count Hart by my own!¡± He then ran out of Dega¡¯s hideout before Dega even got a chance to respond.


    Dega could only helplessly sigh. He knew that such things required time to change people¡¯s minds. After all, if someone told him just yesterday that he¡¯d become allies with the young daughter of Count Hart starting today, he probably would have laughed his head off.


    Dega decided to give Nymon some time to cool off, hoping that the thief would be able to think things through on his own. Dega looked around at his subordinates and saw expressions of hesitation among them as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all rest for tonight and meet up with Mia again tomorrow at the cave and see what she has to say,¡± Dega told them. It wouldn¡¯t be that easy to convince a group of people with grudges against Count Hart to suddenly start working with his daughter.


    Dega understood how it was, as he had also been quite hesitant to begin with. But, he changed his mind now that he had seen her headstrong courage and intelligence. Perhaps this land really did have hope after all if someone like her became the domain lord.


    Meanwhile, Mia entered the Hart mansion, fully intending on cleaning herself before doing anything else. She didn¡¯t expect to run into any trouble here for the time being, especially with all the servants tending to avoid her and her father never so much as even coming to check how she was doing. However, there was one person in the mansion who was an exception.


    Unfortunately for Mia, her long day was yet to end.


    ¡°Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. If it isn¡¯t my dear little sister. I heard from Father already about how he told you to duel me on your birthday if you want additional spending money on buying that whatever stone of yours. You must be trembling in your tiny little shoes already. I suppose that I could bring myself to go easy on you in our duel if you kneel and beg me. How about it?¡±


    Mia glanced at her older half-brother, Barnaby Hart. He was five years older than she was, and had inherited their shared father¡¯s good looks. Unlike Count Hart however, Barnaby was far pudgier and not in good physical shape. Still, thanks to his handsome genes, Barnaby merely appeared like a cherubic little angel rather than a disgusting fatty. That was simply the unfairness of how people would be judged by physical appearances.


    He was accompanied today by an elderly man that she knew to be his personal butler, Maxwell. Like always, the butler seemed to fade into the background and didn¡¯t interfere with anything his young master did or said.


    Barnaby would often pick on her whenever they met, while Mia could only suffer in silence due to her young age and weaker body. However, things were different now. She had been training for several months, and her strength and speed had significantly improved, even if she was still only at a young child¡¯s level. She looked forward to the upcoming duel as an opportunity to get some payback.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°You¡¯re my half-brother, not my brother. Don¡¯t call me your little sister, because it¡¯s shameful to even think about you being related to me. Don¡¯t you dare touch me before the duel either, unless you want rumors spreading that you had to resort to cheating in order to defeat a girl half your age.¡±


    Barnaby had been opening his arms wide for a bear hug, which was actually his way of squeezing Mia as tight as possible while giving her a painful knock or rub on the head. However, this was the first time that Mia had resisted, which shocked Barnaby to the core. What was going on with his little toy that he enjoyed dominating? Barnaby became angered at this unusual situation.


    ¡°The hell! To think this is how you respond to my pity! Apologize to me now, or I¡¯ll make you really regret it!¡±


    ¡°Oh? How would you do that?¡± Mia responded in an icy tone.


    As this was going on, Butler Maxwell widened his eyes in surprise for one second before closing them again. Lady Mia Hart seemed obviously different to him today. The meek little housecat had grown claws. What could have brought about this change in her? Still, it wasn¡¯t his role to pry. His only duty was to serve and protect the Hart household, and he would carry out his duty loyally and faithfully.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Barnaby was filled with fury and was almost seized with an urge to slap the little cheeky brat before him. How dare she talk back to him, the great Barnaby Hart! So what if she was still currently the main heir in line to succeed the Hart noble title? He would show her and everyone else at the duel that he was a far better candidate!


    If he hit her now, just as she said, the servants would start gossiping about him. Barnaby was too prideful to allow such a thing to happen. Still, he felt too aggrieved right now to not vent his anger somehow. As he wasn¡¯t the particularly eloquent or intelligent type, he decided to resort to one of his favorite tactics ¨C intimidation.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re messing with! Let me show you my trump card that will make you pee in your pants! This is what you¡¯re going to be dealing with at our duel! Rraggh!!!¡±


    Barnaby¡¯s skin started to turn redder and redder. Mia could also sense that the temperature seemed to be rapidly rising. Was he using some type of fire magic? Mia wasn¡¯t familiar with what fire magic techniques Barnaby knew how to use. She decided to take a few steps backward while remaining on guard.


    Suddenly, Barnaby¡¯s upper body half erupted in flames and was wreathed in fire! ¡­However, his clothes weren¡¯t immune to his own fire magic like he was, and they started burning away.


    Mia didn¡¯t even know what to say at this display. Should she say that boys really loved taking their shirts off? But even so, he didn¡¯t have to do it so extravagantly! And if he burned away his clothing every time, wouldn¡¯t that be really inconvenient? Did he also have the ability to cover his entire body if he wished? Would that mean that she would have to battle him while he was naked and on fire?


    Mia suddenly felt lucky that she didn¡¯t have this ability. After all, with how society worked, it would be far more inconvenient for girls to have such an ability that burned off their own clothing.


    ¡°Hahahaha! This is my ultimate technique that I¡¯ve named ¡®Fireman¡¯! Isn¡¯t it wonderful? It¡¯s not too late to beg for mercy! Beg for my forgiveness now, and I¡¯ll consider not using this skill against you in our duel!¡±


    Instead of apologizing as Barnaby expected, Mia simply turned around and left without even saying anything. She really didn¡¯t want to deal with him right now, as taking a bath was the biggest priority on her mind. She decided to simply treat his words as the ravings of a mad dog. As she left, she casually flicked some of the bat guano originally under her clothing onto Barnaby''s body, which he didn''t notice.


    Often times, being ignored can hurt more as a form of condescension than any words. Barnaby was so astonished at not even receiving a reply that he simply stood still where he was, without understanding what was going on. The flames on his body slowly burned out some time after he let Mia go without stopping her.


    Mia returned to her room and called for her personal maid to prepare and draw a hot water bath for her. Mia then thought about what just happened in her encounter with Barnaby just now while waiting for the bath to be ready.


    ¡°Fireman? Ha, what a joke. The concept of fireman that I know is someone who puts out fires and works hard to keep others safe while risking their own safety. Who do you think you are?¡±


    Well, no such job like fireman existed in this world, so technically Barnaby wasn¡¯t doing anything wrong by giving his skill such a name. Mia almost wanted to laugh out loud when she heard his self-named skill, however.


    Barnaby was only a pampered brat, a spoiled noble with no real ability of his own apart from some fire magic. He merely bullied those weaker than him due to the fact that his father was Count Hart, but didn¡¯t even know how to react when his intended bullying target started resisting against him.


    Mia felt that Barnaby was even more foolish than she ever realized before. With just a little taunting, he became angered so easily. Not only that, he even revealed his trump card to her, or what he claimed to be his trump card, anyways. However, Mia didn¡¯t doubt that the ¡°Fireman¡± skill of setting himself on fire was indeed his most powerful skill.


    After all, she already heard before that Barnaby had only D rank fire magic skills. This meant that his control over fire magic wouldn¡¯t be all that much stronger than her control over wind magic. Not to mention, there was no way that he would have started practicing from such an early age like she did. Perhaps he could only control fire at a melee combat distance?


    In Mia¡¯s mind, trump card skills like Slime Armor or Barnaby¡¯s so-called Fireman skill were meant to be kept secret. How else could they remain trump cards if one¡¯s enemy could learn about them so easily and plan for a strategy to counter them? All of this showed that Barnaby was nothing more than an immature brat.


    Mia heaved a small sigh. Although he may be an immature brat, it was still undeniable that he was physically taller and stronger as well as possessing more powerful magic at his disposal. She would have to think of some way later to fight against him and his Fireman skill.


    Still, Barnaby was nothing more than a small fry in the grand scheme of things. With Mia¡¯s knowledge of the game scenario that the Age of Chaos was arriving in ten years, she also knew that there would be far more powerful and intelligent enemies waiting in the future compared to just an idiotic noble brat or even Count Hart. How was she supposed to survive if she couldn¡¯t even deal with Barnaby, who didn¡¯t even count as a boss-level enemy? Maybe he was actually even weaker than that boss bat monster from earlier, although she was unsure which of the two would win in a fight.


    Mia grit her teeth and vowed to give her half-brother what he deserved at their duel. She was born into noble status in this world, and with it came privileges and powers that commoners wouldn¡¯t have. One example was something as simple as the ability to command servants to prepare a hot water bath, while most commoners wouldn¡¯t even have easy access to such a large amount of hot water. She would make sure that people like Barnaby and her father wouldn¡¯t be able to abuse their power in the future. Mia didn¡¯t consider herself a virtuous hero who would interfere with everything wrong in the world, but at the very least, she felt that she should take responsibility for correcting her family¡¯s actions and doing what she could within her limited influence.


    Finally, a large wooden barrel filled with hot water for Mia¡¯s bath arrived.

 Chapter 19 - Bathing

    Now, Mia faced a new dilemma, one unrelated to any fighting ¨C how was she supposed to clean herself and her slime, Whimsy?


    Technology was at a lower level in this world. There was no such thing as a running shower or a bathwater drain. Maybe it would be worthwhile to look into if she could invent a makeshift showering device later in the future, but for now, it was low on Mia¡¯s list of priorities. After all, she already had the equivalent of personal air conditioning with her breeze magic.


    Normally, she would just climb into the barrel of hot water and soak herself while the water was still hot. But this time, she had to figure out a way to get rid of the bat guano first ¨C otherwise, she would be bathing in guano-stained water. Who would enjoy such an experience?


    After the servants that brought the barrel left, Mia decided upon her course of action. She¡¯d give herself an ¡°air bath¡± first!


    Since magic took the place of technology in this world, why not use it to make life more comfortable for herself? Her magic all cost miniscule amounts of mana, and it was even useful to practice it as much as she could. Mia didn¡¯t know if more powerful spells would be more taxing on the body, but she could maintain her wind spells all day without any trouble. There was no reason not to use magic whenever she could.


    And so, Mia surrounded herself and Whimsy in a gentle breeze that whisked off the bat guano and into a dustbin that Mia brought over. She¡¯d only used her breeze magic to help dry herself after bathing before, but this felt pretty nice as well! She could definitely get used to this!


    Unfortunately, in her eagerness to become clean, Mia forgot about Whimsy¡¯s penchant for jumping on to any area with wind mana in it.


    *Boing!* Whimsy bounced straight onto Mia just as she was climbing into the barrel for her bath. Mia was knocked off balance, and she fell right into the hot water together with Whimsy!


    ¡°Ptui! Ptui!¡± After spitting up some water and righting herself, Mia found to her pleasant surprise that the water didn¡¯t feel nearly as hot as she was expecting. Yet, the water that she just spat out had been scalding!


    Meanwhile, Whimsy was having fun even in the water. It would appear that the slime wasn¡¯t hydrophobic at all. Instead, it was even splashing around, causing some water to splash out of the barrel. Or was it dancing? Wriggling? Mia was unsure how to describe its current actions.


    ¡°Oh, Whimsy. Warn me next time you want to bathe together with me!¡± Mia wasn¡¯t really angry with Whimsy, though. She was more bemused than anything. Would Whimsy ever be able to control its hunger? She was going to have to look into how to teach Whimsy to differentiate between situations in which it could absorb wind mana as it pleased and inappropriate or inconvenient situations like this one.


    Mia was wondering more about why it was that the water didn¡¯t seem as hot as she expected. Did it have anything to do with the layer of wind mana she just surrounded herself with before she was suddenly knocked into the barrel?


    As a small test, Mia canceled her control over the wind, but she soon regretted doing so.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± With a yelp, Mia jumped out of the bathing barrel. The water was so hot! Normally, when entering a hot bath, she would do it slowly so as to gradually get used to the water temperature. This was just like having jumped in all at once!


    Yet, the minor scorching sensation Mia felt on her skin was nothing compared to her inner excitement. Thanks to Whimsy¡¯s antics, she¡¯d discovered that her wind had some minor heat-insulating effects, even if only slightly.


    Was this due to activating her so-called [Resistance] stat somehow, providing some minor defense against the elements? Or did her wind have some magical effects she didn¡¯t know of?


    To confirm, Mia surrounded herself in a slight layer of wind again before reentering the barrel. Whimsy once again attempted to wrap itself around her, but Mia was prepared this time as she lightly pushed Whimsy back into the water. The Wind Slime deserved a good washing!Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    As expected, the water now felt merely hot ¨C but not scalding. It was now much easier for Mia to ease herself into the water. Some seconds later, Mia felt the heat against her skin again as her control over the wind around her dissipated, the air around her having been replaced by water. Still, it was much better than what just happened one minute ago, as she only felt the water¡¯s heat gradually this time around.


    There was still so much that Mia didn¡¯t know about how things worked in this world. Was what just happened a magical effect, or a physical effect having to do with thermodynamics? She didn¡¯t know, as she was no science expert. Perhaps it was even a combination of the two, some type of magical science?


    This was precisely why she needed to obtain an upgraded Status Stone. It would be difficult to make the best use of her abilities, after all, if she didn¡¯t know the full specifics of what they did.


    Magical experimentation, sword training with Colson, teaching and raising Whimsy, meeting with Dega, planning for the duel against Barnaby and also to eventually overthrow her own father, Count Hart¡­ Not to mention, she also wanted to eventually travel to the neighboring Rodan Kingdom to make use of her prior knowledge and get involved in the game¡¯s storyline. There were so many things she wanted to do. Why had her life turned out like this? Weren¡¯t game worlds supposed to be fun and relaxing?


    Mia kept her mind busy as she bathed together with Whimsy. When the bath was finally over and Mia was satisfied with how clean they both were, she couldn¡¯t help but stretch the slime¡¯s cheeks, tempted by the soft pliancy. Whimsy had a mystified expression, as if to say, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, sorry, you just seemed like such a great de-stressor. I mean no harm. How about some more wind mana?¡±


    After Mia dressed herself again and put Whimsy away on her body, she went to go look for Colson. She needed to talk to him about the upcoming duel as well as what happened today with Dega.


    Mia considered what to tell him as she headed downstairs. The second floor was reserved for the direct Hart family, which meant her and the Count. Only a few servants and guards were permitted to be there, while Colson had a room on the first floor in the servants¡¯ quarter.


    Colson seemed to her like the honest, hardworking type who didn¡¯t know much about how the world actually was. If he didn¡¯t get along with Dega due to his sense of knightly honor or whatever other reason, she would have to do her best to keep them away from each other.


    Well, she would just have to see how he would react. It wasn¡¯t like she had known him long enough to know him inside and out.


    Mia reached Colson¡¯s room and knocked on his door. ¡°Hey Colson, it¡¯s me, Mia. You in there?¡± Actually, she could already sense that he was inside his room. It was just that nobody knew about her minimap ability to detect others¡¯ presences, so she had to keep up the pretense.


    ¡°Milady! Where have you been all day! I know that you told me to take a rest day today, but I still expected to see you!¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll tell you about things over dinner. I¡¯m starving. Have you eaten yet? How about some food first?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Milady.¡±


    Mia and Colson went to the kitchen and grabbed some simple rations before returning to Colson¡¯s room to have a discussion. Mia wanted to talk in a place where nobody was around to overhear.


    ¡°Colson, have you heard about the duel scheduled between me and my half-brother Barnaby?¡±


    ¡°What, a duel!? Milady, why? That¡¯s completely unfair! You¡¯re too young! How could you possibly duel against your older half-brother, Lord Barnaby?¡± Colson¡¯s astonishment indicated that he hadn¡¯t heard at all.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like this¡­¡± Mia explained the situation regarding her upcoming birthday duel to Colson. ¡°¡­So, I¡¯m going to be preparing for this duel. Do you have any advice for me?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t think you have a chance, Milady. Must you go through with this?¡± Although Colson now understood what caused there to be a duel in the first place, he was still mystified why Mia was going through with it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure things will be fine. Do you remember the Wind Slime I tamed recently? I named it Whimsy. My slime will be helping me out in the duel. All I have to do is to feed it some food.¡±


    ¡°Are you really sure that will work?¡± Colson was quite doubtful of this strategy.


    ¡°I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but nothing¡¯s guaranteed. That¡¯s why I¡¯m preparing as much as I can for the upcoming duel.¡±


    Colson came to a sudden realization upon hearing this. ¡°¡­Milady, winning may be important, but remember that your body is the most important. There¡¯s no need to resort to drugs in order to win! Temporary strength gained will only set you backwards even farther!¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m really not resorting to drugs in order to win, Colson. Where would I even get any?¡± Mia really didn¡¯t know what Colson was talking about. ¡°There¡¯s something I absolutely wish to obtain, which is why I¡¯m going through with this duel Not only that, this is a good chance for me to do something about my half-brother Barnaby. Are you familiar with him?¡±


    ¡°I know that he¡¯s Milady¡¯s older half-brother, that¡¯s about it. I¡¯ve never met him.¡±


    Well, he would have to find out sooner or later. Mia decided that showing Colson how things actually were around here would be a lot more effective than telling. It was time to break his naivete. She needed someone by her side who could make informed decisions while truly supporting her.


    ¡°Well, you can think of it like an inheritance dispute. I¡¯m currently the heir to the noble title for this domain, and he considers me to be in his way. Since your job is to primarily act as my bodyguard, you may come into conflict with him sooner or later. You told me before that I should rely on you to protect me. So, let me ask you this. Are you willing to kill someone who threatens my life, no matter who they are?¡±


    ¡°Milady¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer me immediately. I want you to take your time with your answer. Also, go to the barracks tonight and ask the guards when the next scheduled ¡®tax collection¡¯ excursion will be. We shall be joining them the next time they go out.¡± Mia decided that it would probably be best to not tell Colson about Dega yet for the time being. She would wait first to hear what he had to say after he saw what the Hart army was really like.


    ¡°Yes, Milady.¡±


    ¡°Oh, loan me your Status Stone again. There¡¯s something I need to check.¡±


    Colson nodded and handed Mia his Status Stone. Before Colson left, Mia had a sudden idea regarding magic experimentation and called out to him again. ¡°By the way, do you think you can catch a rat for me? A live one?¡±


    ¡°A rat? Is that what your slime eats in exchange to help you out!?¡±

 Chapter 20 - Bandit Job Class

    Colson felt like he never understood what was going on in his master¡¯s mind.


    First, there was the matter of the upcoming duel, and now Mia wanted him to capture a rat? What could she possibly use a rat for? His astonishment showed clearly on his face.


    Mia noticed his expression and realized that her request must have seemed rather strange. She decided to explain herself.


    ¡°Do you remember that wind magic spell that I developed before which allows me to communicate with you at a distance of slightly over ten meters? I have an idea for a new magic spell that I need to test out, which is why I need a rat.¡± The fight against the boss bat monster in the cave had given her some inspiration.


    ¡°¡­I see. Where am I supposed to find a rat, though? Back at the farm back home, I do have some experience making mousetraps. But, I haven¡¯t seen a single rat ever since I came here. Things are much cleaner here than back in my hometown!¡± Did he sign up for a bodyguard role or to become an exterminator?


    ¡°You could try asking some of the servants if they¡¯ve seen any rats around. Or, it doesn¡¯t have to specifically be a rat. I just need a small living creature, a harmful pest that nobody will miss.¡±


    Colson nodded in realization and didn¡¯t say anything else. Although he was actually quite curious what Mia wanted to do with the rat or other living creature, he felt that perhaps it was best for him to not know. Who knew what other strange things his master would come up with?


    ¡°Alright, so there¡¯s that, and remember to go to the barracks and ask about the next tax collection trip. It¡¯ll be good for you to go out and see the world,¡± Mia said with deep meaning behind her words and an inscrutable smile.


    After parting ways with Colson and leaving him to his tasks, Mia returned to her own bedroom again. It was time for her to use the Status Stone and check on her own progress. She especially wanted to see how things looked for her after everything that happened today, after the cave exploration and her learning the [Ransack] skill.


    Mia sat on her bed and injected some of her mana into the Status Stone. This was a simple process anyone could learn, as having an estimate of one¡¯s own power level was one of the most basic requirements of surviving in this world of magic and monsters. From what she understood of this world, one¡¯s power level affected social circles, the jobs one could take, potential teammates, and so on. It was about far more than just reputation.


    Of course, she could choose to ignore all that and simply try having an ordinary life. However, Mia felt that would be far too much of a waste. That would mean not having the power to control her own destiny. Previously, her first life was already ended without her having any say, before she felt like she even got to do anything in her life. She didn¡¯t want to leave any regrets behind now that she had a second chance.


    Since this world was one of magic and skills having real power, Mia wanted to follow down this path to the end. It was just like choosing to go to college back on Earth. Of course, it wasn¡¯t mandatory to go to college either, but didn¡¯t most people who went if resources permitted choose to do so in order to have a better life? That was how Mia viewed things.


    Mia brought out a status window which hovered in midair before her, detailing her attributes with numerical stats. It had been a while since she last checked out her own profile.


    [Mia Hart]


    Race: human


    Job: Wind Mage


    Sub-class: Bandit


    Level: 4


    Experience: 762/1000


    HP: 20/20


    Mana: 143/143


    Attack: 4This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Defense: 1


    Magic: 10


    Resistance: 13


    Skills: Azure Sword Technique lvl. 1, Ransack


    Magic: Light Breeze lvl. 2, Detection lvl. 2, Eavesdrop lvl. 1, Whisper lvl. 1, Still Air lvl. 1, Wind Magic rank E


    Mia felt internally conflicted as she looked over her own status window. It was good that she was making progress, and the ever-increasing list of skills and magic available at her disposal was a concrete way for her to measure her own improvement. Yet, what was with some of her stats? She didn¡¯t have much to say about the fact that she previously had a 0 in base defense at level 1, but she still only had 1 defense now that she was level 4?


    Should she say that she was just too young, and that a little girl like her was simply too fragile? Or was it the frailty of human flesh? Even Colson, who was level 12 and in a swordsman job class, had a mere 8 points of base defense. In fact, there were pieces of armor that provided more defense value than the human body itself. Then again, Mia supposed that it was reasonable. After all, what was with certain games where people had several hundred defense points even when stripped naked? That seemed absolutely ridiculous to her.


    Her Attack stat was also growing at an obviously slower pace compared to her Magic and Resistance stats. Mia wondered if she would be able to obtain some permanent stat-increasing potions in the future. Those were rare and incredibly hard to come by, and impossible to purchase no matter how much money one had. Wouldn¡¯t most people simply use one immediately for themselves if they had one? Mia felt that she could only rely on the God of Adventurers¡¯ treasure chests. She still wanted to see if the treasure chests containing specific powerful items in the game would still have the same items from her memory, or if they would be completely different and randomized.


    As she looked over her own status, her eyes were gradually drawn to a line that she was almost certain wasn¡¯t present before. It said that her sub-class was now ¡°Bandit¡±. What was going on here?


    Mia recalled that she definitely didn¡¯t have a sub-class the last time she checked. For her to enter a sub-class, the game¡¯s method was that she had to receive teaching from a level 20 person in an advanced job class. That was why she had wanted to go to the Thieves Guild in the first place, so that she could become a thief and eventually go down the assassin job class path.


    Mia felt a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The only new skill she¡¯d learned apart from Colson¡¯s family swordsmanship was the [Ransack] item finding skill. Could that have somehow led to this?


    There was supposed to be no way to change one¡¯s job class. Some of the game¡¯s main characters had unique job classes, while side characters and hirable NPCs one could add to their party provided a high degree of customization, so nobody felt particularly inconvenienced by this when it was only a game. But if Mia couldn¡¯t change her job class anymore, being locked into the bandit class, that would completely derail her original plans?


    If [Ransack] was one of the bandit class¡¯s basic skills, how was she supposed to develop herself in the future? Was she going to have to become a treasure hunter rather than a stealthy assassin in the shadows?


    While Mia had plenty of knowledge about how each of the game¡¯s job classes worked, bandit was an enemy NPC-only job class. This was only natural. After all, weren¡¯t bandits supposed to be merely some low-level early game enemies? What game would ever have the protagonist dealing with bandit problems late into the game? Wouldn¡¯t that put bandits almost at the equivalent of an endgame boss?


    Mia didn¡¯t even know what would come after the bandit job class. She could only rub her temple. What was she supposed to do now?


    She could only take things one step at a time and play to her strengths. With her young age guaranteeing that she would remain weak for now regardless of what job class she was in, she hadn¡¯t been counting on any miracles happening overnight regardless.


    Mia closed her eyes and decided to rest for the night. It was pointless to dwell on something which already happened that was unchangeable. She could ask more specifics from Dega tomorrow. Why worry about it now when she couldn¡¯t do anything about it? She would make do with whatever resources were at her disposal. It wasn¡¯t like she was in a position where she could afford to be choosy.


    ¡°Good night, Whimsy.¡± Mia didn¡¯t know how much of her words Whimsy could really understand, but maybe talking to it would help the Wind Slime to gain in intelligence?


    Mia then summoned a light breeze to blow away all her enemies ¨C er, to give Whimsy a comfortable environment to sleep in and continuously practice mana circulation even while asleep. Her wind magic was her core ability, so only countless practice would help it to become stronger. Even if there was no way for her to summon anything like a tornado, she still considered it important to at least refine her control.


    As she rested on her bed and prepared to go to sleep, Mia thought about how to improve her attack power. The fights in the cave earlier today had shown her that she was still quite helpless to damage many monsters, such as the rock monsters with high physical defense, or that boss bat monster which Dega took care of in three hits. Mia idly wondered how hard it would be for Colson to fight that boss bat monster. Perhaps it would be good to take him there sometime later for a comparison, even if there were no more rewards to be gained in that cave from the God of Adventurers.


    Catching a rat or other small creature was part of her magic experimentation plan to improve her offensive repertoire. While she only used the [Still Air] magic as a disruptor earlier today, she felt that this was perhaps one of the greatest potentials of her wind magic.


    In both this world and her previous one, every single living creature, without exception, needed to breathe the air and the oxygen contained within. Mia had already done her research and found out that the concept of the periodic table of the elements didn¡¯t seem to exist here. Yet, nothing seemed different about the air that she breathed. Mia wanted to experiment if she could pull off anything like oxygen deprivation with her magic, using a rat as the test subject. Well, that was the nice way of putting it. A more blunt term would be suffocation.


    Mia finally fell asleep as she hugged Whimsy while dreaming such things.


    The next morning, Mia woke up at the same time as usual. Although there were no alarm clocks, her biological clock had gotten used to her training schedule, so she rarely overslept.


    After Mia got dressed and washed up, there was a knock on her door. Colson shouted out to her through the door, in perfect earshot of some other servants, ¡°Milady, I¡¯ve brought the rat that you requested me to capture!¡±

 Chapter 21 - Eating Rats for Breakfast?

    Mia slapped her palm against her forehead upon hearing this. Did Colson want the whole world to know that she was performing animal experimentation? Or, even if the other servants didn¡¯t know exactly what she wanted a rat for, it couldn¡¯t possibly be a normal thing for a little girl to be wanting a rat to ¡°play¡± with. Her reputation in the mansion was only going to become stranger.


    Forget it, she didn¡¯t care what the others thought of her anyways. Well, maybe just a little, but she had more important things to worry about regardless.


    Mia hurriedly opened her bedroom door and pulled the red-haired boy inside. She noticed that he was holding on to a small sack that seemed to contain something struggling within. Presumably, this was the rat that he spoke of.


    ¡°Colson, have you ever heard of the phrase, discretion is the better part of valor?¡±


    ¡°Discretion is¡­ valor? What¡¯s that mean?¡± Colson had a confused expression. He was also busy trying to hold on to the sack and not letting the rat inside escape, so he wasn¡¯t paying full attention to Mia.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a precise fit for this particular situation, but it basically means that sometimes, it¡¯s better to lay low than do or say something unnecessary. While this matter of rat catching doesn¡¯t need to be kept top secret, there¡¯s still no reason to let others know about it. The same goes for anything else that happens around us. Understood?¡± Mia was beginning to wonder who the teacher was between them.


    While Colson knew a lot more about the background of this world, along with being far more experienced in combat than her, it seemed to her like he greatly lacked common sense. Were all hermits who hid away, studying only swordsmanship, supposed to be like this? Any protagonist who had such an upbringing should have social problems like these.


    Mia suddenly felt that people like Colson would never survive for long if they had to deal with any sort of political trickery. He would just be too easy to take advantage of. Wasn¡¯t his original goal to become a soldier? Whatever his intentions may be, soldiers were political tools as well, with few exceptions. He would have to fight for whatever reasons that the higher-ups decided upon, regardless of whether they aligned with his personal views. Maybe she was technically taking advantage of him as well, but she comforted herself with the fact that she had no nefarious intentions towards Colson. She was paying him for his services, and he was a willing employee. Someone like him would probably be equally disillusioned with his ideals if he had really joined the Hart provincial army which was really no more than Count Hart¡¯s personal guards.


    Meanwhile, Colson was thinking similar things about the silver-haired, green eyed little girl before him. Common sense? Did Mia have any in her at all? In Colson¡¯s opinion, magical experimentation wasn¡¯t nearly as useful as normal physical training to become stronger. Why was she always so focused on mysterious goals such as insisting on continuing on with the duel, no matter what? He felt that Mia was likely to learn nothing but a painful lesson.


    This world was one in which more than just mages could become strong. Humans were able to train their bodies and master the use of ¡°skills¡± that would allow them to perform almost mystical-level feats similar to the realm of magic.


    And as for discretion? His grandfather always told him that ¡°Honesty is the best policy¡± along with ¡°Stay firm in your convictions.¡± Was he supposed to just give up so easily on his grandfather¡¯s teachings?


    Regardless, he wasn¡¯t the type to argue with a little girl who was also his employer and master. Besides, he was quite curious to see just what Mia had planned. He ended up deciding to go along after all and see what Mia would do with this rat he captured for her.


    ¡°Yes, Milady. I got lucky and found this rat scurrying around in the barracks last night when I went for a visit. What would you like to do with it? Oh, and they told me that the next tax collection trip will be in three days¡¯ time. For some reason, they were laughing uproariously when I told them that we would join them. Does Milady know why?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Mia answered with a shrug. ¡°I have some things to take care of by myself in town again today. There¡¯s no need for you to accompany me, so why don¡¯t you go to the barracks today to train instead of training by yourself as you always do? Perhaps you can try making friends with the other guards, or do some training together.¡± Mia had serious doubts about whether that was even possible with his personality and the guards¡¯ debauchery. Did this count as her tossing a lamb to a pack of wolves? Colson was sixteen years old already though, and considered an adult in this world. She needed him to hurry and mature quickly.


    ¡°Alright! Why didn¡¯t I think of that!¡± Colson¡¯s eyes shone with the light of eager anticipation. ¡°This will be great! We can all get some bonding time together before setting out to deal with the injustice of tax evaders! Those who don¡¯t properly pay their taxes must be punished! We must all do our part to support our motherland of Hoplia that helped to raise us!¡±


    Mia wondered if she should rain on Colson¡¯s parade here. In the end, she went with simply giving him a small reminder. ¡°Remember that things aren¡¯t always what they seem. Be your own judge on what¡¯s right and what¡¯s wrong.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    She then took a look at the rat struggling in the sack in Colson¡¯s hands. Mia knew that rats were incredibly well known in her previous world for spreading germs to humans and being common carriers of lots of infectious diseases. She had no intention of letting such a creature run around in her room.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else to deal with this little rat,¡± Mia told Colson. She then summoned Whimsy to her and left the room.


    As they walked down the hallway together, Mia was able to pick up some servants¡¯ comments on the wind. She used [Eavesdrop] in order to see what the fallout was from Colson having been so indiscreet this morning.


    ¡°Have you heard? Lady Mia requested a rat for breakfast this morning!¡±


    ¡°Eeeek! No way! That girl is so creepy. She hardly ever talks, and it¡¯s impossible to know what she¡¯s thinking. Last time I had to clean her room, I even found some mysterious green goo inside. Disgusting! She even keeps this notebook with incomprehensible scribbles all over it, an entire notebook! What child would do such a thing?¡±


    Eating rats for breakfast? Mia raised her eyebrows at this. Rumors always did have a way of being blown out of proportion.


    What she heard after that caused her to frown. Servants that were overly inquisitive about their master¡¯s affairs were definitely no good. So, this particular maid had discovered some green goo? That could only be a piece of Whimsy¡¯s body.


    Not only that, the maid had snooped in her desk drawer and attempted to read her notebook filled with all the game information that she could remember? Thankfully, she had recorded the notebook in English, a nonexistent language in this world. It would be nothing more than gibberish to anyone that wasn¡¯t an otherworlder, but it still felt mildly unpleasant to be viewed strangely because of it.


    Mia wasn¡¯t really completely used to having servants at her beck and call, anyways. In fact, she viewed the thirtyish servants that the mansion had as completely unnecessary. It was a huge drain of resources. She was more used to doing things for herself. If she ever took over, one of the first things she intended to do was to fire more than half of the servants, keeping only a few critical roles.


    There was nothing she could do right now. Her young age was simply far too much of a limitation. If she wanted to have her own free life in the future, she would first need to work on becoming stronger in her own way and taking care of problematic elements within her own home.


    Mia led Colson to a small storeroom that was filled with farming implements and various odds and ends. The room smelled musty, and judging by the fine layer of dust on the ground, it was evident that this room was in disuse.


    ¡°Let the rat out, but make sure it can¡¯t escape out the door. Then, exit immediately and trap the rat inside.¡± Mia had a contemplative expression as she considered how to go about this.


    Colson did as he was told and carefully squeezed out of the door, making sure that the rat would remain trapped inside. He then stood aside, not knowing what Mia was planning.


    Mia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began sensing the rat in the locked storeroom. The rat possessed incredibly low innate mana and was quite difficult for her to sense. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t even notice its presence on her mental minimap. However, since she was quite physically close to it through the wall and concentrated fully on this task, Mia was eventually able to discern its presence in her mind.


    After locating the rat, Mia then concentrated on the air within the storeroom. Although the storeroom¡¯s air was somewhat stale, it was not a completely airtight area. She felt that such a small room would be a suitable location for this experiment she wanted to try.


    Mia remained completely silent as she used [Still Air] to deaden the air in the room as much as possible and make it unmoving. There would be no exaggerated spellcasting with her, which she viewed as both silly and broadcasting to one¡¯s enemy what one was about to do. If anything, she was the type who preferred to shout out the name of some completely unrelated ability while doing something else instead.


    Mia mentally estimated that roughly five minutes must have passed since she started using the [Still Air] effect on the room. Yet, she could tell that the rat remained perfectly fine, as it was still scampering around the room, perhaps looking for an exit. Meanwhile, Whimsy was becoming restless, and Mia had to hold Whimsy to not let the slime attempt at breaking and entering into the storeroom. She definitely didn¡¯t want Colson to misunderstand that and think that Whimsy really did intend to eat the rat. ¡­Fine, perhaps she really did care about her slime¡¯s reputation, just a little.


    Was this no good? Mia opened her eyes and decided to check out the air quality in the storeroom for herself. She readied her foot, just in case the rat would attempt to make its escape. Upon stepping into the room, Mia coughed slightly; the air seemed a bit mustier than before, yet it was still breathable. What would she have to do then in order to extract the oxygen from the air or otherwise make it unbreathable?


    One of the first ideas that came into Mia¡¯s mind previously was to somehow use the wind to spread poison. However, the main problem with that was the fact that she was still only a little girl. How was she even supposed to obtain any poison? It wasn¡¯t like she had even the most basic of knowledge on identifying poisons in this world. Not only that, if she spread poison over the air, she would also need to have the corresponding poison¡¯s antidote on hand in case she accidentally inhaled some as well. This was far too troublesome to implement, so she could only put this idea on a sideline for now.


    There was also the idea of directly interfering with elements present in living creatures. However, this was actually impossible as well. Every living creature had their own internal mana which would automatically reject the application of magic spells directly upon it from outside sources. So, there was no materializing a foreign object inside someone else¡¯s body for an instant kill, nor would a water mage simply be able to rip out the water in a person¡¯s body in a bloodbath.


    Since Mia had learned these basic laws of magic in the introductory textbook, she could only think of roundabout ways to interfere with the air that was outside people¡¯s bodies. If this failed, she would just have to try using a different method.


    Was animal experimentation on a rat like what she was doing wrong? Mia had to wonder if her morals were slipping. While she had never experimented on live animals before, did dissecting a frog in biology class count?


    Maybe some would consider what she was doing unethical, but Mia viewed it as a matter of course necessary for survival. Back in her previous world were people that advocated for the equal treatment of all animals. All Mia had to say was, why not first focus on equal treatment of humans first? There was so much inequality in the world, no matter which world it was. Was she supposed to value a rat¡¯s life over her own, when the rat might spread a fatally infectious disease to her?


    Humans had to take lives in order to survive. Even vegetarians would have to consume plants, and eating plants meant that perhaps some animal that could have used that plant as nourishment would end up dying of starvation instead. Or, an animal spared in an act of kindness might end up overpopulating and causing a natural disaster, making the balancing scales of nature end up swinging in the other direction in the end.


    Mia had been thinking about how she had asked Colson previously if he was willing to ¡°kill¡± for her sake. She was asking herself the same question: if her life was directly in danger, would she be able to kill?


    To be honest, she didn¡¯t know. She had certainly never done any killing before in real life. In her previous life, she probably would have said no. But after being killed herself, without even any hope of defending herself, her world view now seemed to be different and more cynical to herself.


    Mia gripped her hands tightly as she prepared her next experiment for the captured rat.

 Chapter 22 – I Do Eat Rats for Breakfast, Thank You Very Much

    Since she only had two weeks¡¯ time left before her duel against her half-brother Barnaby, Mia really wanted to invent a new spell for herself that would provide her with some insurance during the duel.


    No fight could possibly be won purely with defense alone. Even the mightiest of tank characters would have to be able to inflict some damage in order to be able to win. Mia wasn¡¯t even sure how her Slime Armor defense would hold up against fire. What was she supposed to do, attempt to burn Whimsy in order to test Whimsy¡¯s fire resistance? That seemed far more like animal abuse to her. Or should she call it slime abuse?


    She only had a very basic beginner¡¯s level of swordsmanship skill. After all, she had only been learning the sword for a few months. Colson had been forthright when teaching her by letting her know that the Azure family swordsmanship techniques could only be considered average as sword skills went. In that case, she wouldn¡¯t possibly be able to rely on physical skills to overwhelm Barnaby, who clearly had numerous physical advantages on her such as reach and physique. Even if he was rather chubby, that wouldn¡¯t change his physical advantages. Mia felt that the only physical area where she could outshine him was speed.


    Besides, Barnaby had his self-named [Fireman] magic technique that he showed off to her. If his main method of fighting involved covering himself in flames, Mia felt that it would be dangerous for her to be anywhere near melee range when fighting him. Not only did she have to develop some type of offensive technique for herself, she wanted a ranged skill or magic spell of some sort.


    What were the obvious advantages of wind magic? The first things that came to Mia¡¯s mind were range, speed, flexibility, and so on. Compared to wind magic, fire magic seemed a lot simpler in its possible combat applications. What was fire magic always the most commonly used for? Brute force and area of effect magic spells. Mia felt that wind magic was far more adaptable ¨C as long as she could use it properly.


    At most, it appeared that the [Still Air] spell might reduce the oxygen content in the air and make it slightly more difficult to breathe for her opponents, while she could easily maintain an air pocket around herself and have full access to oxygen. Indeed, this was a tiny advantage in battle, yet it was also one that she wasn¡¯t strong enough to take significant advantage of right now. Small advantages would only be useful when there was only a slight difference in power between two people. Perhaps she was being impatient or greedy, but she definitely wanted more than this at her disposal.


    Mia closed the door to the storeroom and exited it, locking the rat inside again. She closed her eyes once again and began visualizing the air in the storeroom.


    Mia considered magic practice to be just like physical training. One would only possibly improve by constant practice. After all, with physical skills, nobody would possibly know how to swing a sword correctly without training their muscles and sword stances first. Wouldn¡¯t magic be the same way? It was just like how constant studying was the foundation for her good grades in her previous life.


    Well, this was just Mia¡¯s personal understanding of how magic worked, as she currently had no access to a magic teacher. Her father Count Hart would never stand for the embarrassment of letting it be known that his daughter was a mere E rank wind mage. She had no idea if others would be able to instantly learn powerful magic spells. Slow and steady experimentation was the only way for her.


    Just like right now, Mia generally had to close her eyes in order to have better control over her wind mana. While it was possible for her to cast spells with her eyes open, it was also much harder and drastically reduced her precision and range. One of her goals was to be eventually able to cast spells just as well with her eyes open without having reduced concentration ability.


    If she couldn¡¯t do anything to the rat by deadening the air, what about drawing the air towards her instead? Mia tried to envision the storeroom as a plastic bag filled with air that she was gradually squeezing the air out from. She was able to feel a faint musty breeze wafting towards her from the storeroom¡¯s direction¡­


    The more air that Mia ¡°drained¡± from the room, the more difficult it became for her to drain additional air. Not only that, Mia also found that she had to maintain her concentration to not allow any air to reenter the storeroom. For the first time ever, Mia felt like she was having some trouble. Her head was also faintly beginning to throb. Was this a sign that she was trying something beyond her power? Was this spell too much of a drain on her maximum mana pool?


    Still, only by overcoming difficulties would one obtain greater rewards. Mia decided to continue the experiment despite the throbbing in her head. She wanted to see what could come about of this even if there were potential consequences. And as for consequences, Mia also felt it would be useful to know if there would be any negative effects having used up all of her mana.


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    Most of her control over the wind required a constant output of mana, rather than a one-time cost, as she could passively use skills like her minimap [Detection] for basically as long as she wanted. This was due to the low mana cost required for maintaining the spells. However, now that she was using multiple spells at once ¨C sensing the rat¡¯s life force, draining the air from the room, and also preventing any air from flowing back in, she was tiring rapidly, something she¡¯d never experienced before.


    In games, when a mage ran out of mana, the player would probably have the mage do one of two actions. Either run around and hit enemies with their mage staff for paltry amounts of damage, or sit back and drink some mana recovery potions for the next onslaught of spells. However, Mia didn¡¯t want to be limited to game mechanics only. Who said that mages had to use staffs as their weapons? And was this really healthy for a mage¡¯s body in reality?


    Constantly drinking potions to heal up was actually no different from using medical drugs. Anyone that always had to drink medicine every single day couldn¡¯t possibly say that they possessed a healthy body. Mia was of the opinion that she wanted to avoid becoming a potion addict if possible. Well, this was probably because of her prejudice from her previous world; she knew how problematic opioid addictions could be.


    In a way, mana was a type of essence, a new energy that people in this world possessed. Using it up would mean fatigue for one¡¯s body. It was just like how becoming seriously injured as a battle went on would weaken your combat capabilities. Were people truly capable of unleashing their full potential when being pushed to the brink? Except for hot-blooded main character types or those who possessed special skills, Mia didn¡¯t think so. As the pragmatic type, she much preferred to always keep her HP bar safely in the green zone. This was why she was also experimenting with seeing what would happen if her mana amount reached zero.


    Focusing was becoming a taxing process, so Mia decided to cancel the effects of [Detection]. She no longer cared so much about what happened to the rat. Mia simply focused fully on emptying out the storeroom of its air and stopping any air from entering back in.


    Finally, Mia reached a point where her legs became wobbly and she was forced to sit down on the floor. Her head was dizzy and she was unable to stand back up right away. Nor was she able to sense the wind anymore. It was as if she was suffering from tinnitus, as there was a ringing sound in her head.


    Mia shook her head in an effort to clear her mind and squinted as she brought out the Status Stone to check her own condition. Unlike a game, she didn¡¯t have constant access to seeing her own HP and mana values. Instead, she could only estimate roughly based on her own body¡¯s condition. She wouldn¡¯t have the spare time to worry about things like HP and mana and bring out a Status Stone to check these stats during a real battle, after all. This was just how real life was, far less convenient than a game, even in a world where magic existed.


    She couldn¡¯t even inject any mana into the Status Stone to ascertain her current condition. Well, this was basically what she expected, and it told her what she wanted to know without even needing to check anymore. Her mana pool had definitely reached zero, and she would need to rest in order for it to be restored.


    At this moment, Whimsy came out from under her clothing and propped itself against her back, offering itself as a pillow to lean against. Not only that, Mia even felt a cool sensation flowing into her ¨C was Whimsy helping somehow to restore and accelerate her mana recovery by giving her some of its own wind mana?


    ¡°Thank you, Whimsy.¡± Mia spoke weakly to her pet slime and stroked it as she rested against the squishy blob. She was truly grateful for everything that Whimsy was doing for her. Was this Whimsy¡¯s way of giving back to her? Mia reminded herself to constantly maintain wind magic and fatten ¨C er, feed Whimsy as much as she could.


    ¡°Milady, are you alright? Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like some water?¡± Colson also noticed her fatigued condition and offered his assistance. He had basically zero talent for sensing mana and didn¡¯t know what Mia had done just now. The most he could do was ask if she needed any help with anything.


    The way Colson used mana was different from mages. What he, as well as other skill-based warriors typically did was mana compression ¨C gathering the mana within their bodies and emitting it through a medium such as a sword or gauntlet to utilize powerful skills not normally achievable by the human body without expending mana. While he was no mana expert, he knew the symptoms of mana fatigue and realized that she had overexerted herself.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, thank you.¡± Mia waved him off and glanced at Colson with complex feelings inside. Truthfully, she knew that she should be grateful to him as well, having been reminded that she should be grateful of what she had by Whimsy just now. After all, he was her first ally in this world. Was it simply human nature to want to complain about the people closest to you?


    She had recruited him in the first place because she valued his knightly ideals and honor that made him a loyal and trustworthy individual. That meant that she should learn to accept the negatives of such traits as well. Still, it wouldn¡¯t do to have him being overly idealistic or na?ve if he was to continue serving as one of her companions, and he would find out the truth of the world sooner or later regardless, even if not directly through her. Mia could only hope that Colson would manage to grow and mature on his own when he faced the dark side of human society. Some things had to be experienced and figured out on one¡¯s own, after all.


    ¡°Could you open the storeroom¡¯s door and check on what¡¯s happened inside?¡± Mia asked Colson to do this for her as she feebly leaned on Whimsy.


    Colson nodded and opened the door. The moment he did so, both Mia and Colson felt a breeze as air rushed back into the storeroom. There was no source of ventilation in this room, not even a window, so the only air that otherwise circulated in the room could only enter from the cracks between the door and the frame, which wasn¡¯t enough to have immediately restored the room back to normal.


    Colson stepped inside and looked around for the scurrying rat, but didn¡¯t notice any movement. He then looked around the small room and immediately saw the rat in a corner. It had apparently been attempting to dig a hole, judging by the scuff marks on the ground, as an instinctive reaction by any rat that knew it was in danger or wanted to escape.


    He stepped over to take a closer look, holding a sack in hand in case the rat tried to slip past him. However, when he got closer ¨C


    ¡°Milady! Don¡¯t come in here! This isn¡¯t a sight that you should see. What happened here! The rat has died!¡± Colson¡¯s astonishment was quite evident.


    Mia smiled faintly upon hearing this. That meant everything she did just now had been worth it. It had been a great success!


    Still, it wouldn¡¯t be meaningful unless she could repeat it and control the outcome every time as well as learn more about her own powers. This meant additional experimentation, which would have to wait for later, as she was both out of mana and needed to go to her meeting with Dega.


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s what I¡¯d like you to do next for me today. Catch some more rats for me, maybe around three to five. Get some of the other servants to help you if needed. Tell them that Mia Hart wants to eat rat meat for breakfast today!¡±

 Chapter 23 - Boiled or Fried?

    Mia was actually just joking about eating rat meat for breakfast. It was just her way of offhandedly responding to the servants¡¯ earlier comments that she overheard.


    After some consideration, Mia forced herself to enter the storeroom and take a look at the rat¡¯s corpse despite Colson¡¯s pleas to the contrary. It was imperative to her that she understood precisely what had happened here.


    There were some brown pellets underneath the rat¡¯s body, a result of the rodent losing control over its bodily functions as it perished. Mia idly wondered if she had some sort of mystical connection to animal feces ¨C why was it that she was constantly having such encounters over the past two days?


    The rat was bleeding from its eyes, an unpleasant sight to see, which Mia ended up averting her gaze from. Colson had an incredulous expression on his face ¨C all Mia did was close her eyes for a few minutes, and she managed to kill the rat through a closed storeroom without even lifting a finger? It was as if he¡¯d witnessed an ant suddenly throwing down a heavy boulder. He knew about Mia¡¯s E rank in wind magic, and that she didn¡¯t have anything more than the power to summon light breezes.


    ¡°What happened here? How¡­ how did the rat become like this?¡± Colson couldn¡¯t comprehend at all.


    ¡°Well¡­ science.¡± Mia didn¡¯t know how to explain the concept of asphyxiation via lack of oxygen to him, so she went with a simpler explanation. ¡°You know that all of us have to breathe air in order to survive, right? I basically removed all the air in the room so that that rat had nothing left to breathe. This is the end result.¡±


    Colson was stupefied as he listened to Mia¡¯s explanation. Remove all the air from a room to prevent a person from breathing? This seemed¡­ unimaginably scary to him. Wouldn¡¯t this mean that Mia had the ability to kill anyone she wanted with the power of her mind?


    ¡°It¡¯s not as powerful as it looks,¡± Mia added upon seeing his expression. ¡°There are many limitations on using this. As you can see for yourself, it took everything I had to even accomplish it. Who knows if this will even work on an actual human? Relax, I have no intentions of killing my half-brother Barnaby at the duel. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.¡±


    This indeed had too many limitations for her to be using it in the duel. Just having used her magic to drain the air from the storeroom caused her to run out of mana. Not to mention, could she really just kill Barnaby in the duel with zero consequences for her?


    In this world, nobles were the ones who made and enforced local laws, as much as Mia could tell. Count Hart basically acted like a king in his own domain, viewing citizens¡¯ lives like insects that could easily be trampled on. But no matter what, Barnaby was his own son, bastard son or not. Mia highly doubted Count Hart would react in a friendly manner if she killed her half-brother right in front of him.


    There was also plenty more for her to experiment with when her mana recovered. For instance, whether she could replicate the effects, or if she would be able to do this in an open-air environment.


    She also needed to start thinking of a method to deal with Barnaby on fire¡­ whoops, Barnaby¡¯s fire magic. After all, fire also relied on oxygen in order to burn. Would it really be the same for magical fires, though? Mia felt that it would. After all, what she read before in the introduction to magic was that elemental magic would be affected by the environment a mage was in.


    If that was the case, with water mages being weaker in deserts and so on, wouldn¡¯t lacking oxygen inhibit the ability for the fire to burn as long as it could have? Mia figured it was worth a try. How she could safely experiment with fire was the main question at hand.


    Theoretically speaking, as a wind mage, she should have been the weakest in enclosed locations or underground areas. Instead, such areas might actually become the best possible places for her to fight in, as they would be the easiest to thin out the oxygen from, Mia bemusedly thought to herself.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Mia returned to her room and rested for several minutes before packing some of her things. There was the matter of the ice magic book and the unknown potion that she received from the treasure chests, which she wanted to ask Dega more about.


    Rather than actually waiting to have a rat breakfast, Mia grabbed some simple rations to eat as breakfast on the way and left the Hart mansion to go to her meeting with Dega. Colson was left behind to his majestic rat catching duties for the sake of magical experimentation.


    However, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts and plans to realize that Colson had interpreted her words regarding rat catching a little too seriously.


    Catching that many rats would be no easy feat. Colson accepted Mia¡¯s words at face value and took the ¡°advice¡± to ask some other household servants for rat catching assistance.


    He recalled another piece of advice from Mia regarding not saying more than necessary. And so, he headed to the kitchen and asked the maids working there for assistance¡­


    ¡°Hey, could you all inform me if you see any rats around here? Lady Mia said that she would like to try eating some for her breakfast.¡± The way Colson thought of it that it was a joke excuse that Mia was using to catch rats for her magic experimentation. Even he didn¡¯t interpret it literally that she wanted to actually eat rats.


    Yet, the scenario was different for the Hart mansion¡¯s servants. While Mia often conversed with Colson, she rarely talked to the servants at all, except for the occasional task that she was unable to do herself, such as carrying a heavy barrel of water for her bath.


    In a way, it was Mia¡¯s own fault that there were so many rumors amongst the servants about her being an eerie child. She was simply unused to acting the part, and much preferred to just be herself.


    Her personal maid, Ellie, was one of the main sources of rumors regarding Mia being a creepy child.


    While Ellie performed her duties adequately when she first arrived, she was simply a teenage girl who was far more interested in looking pretty than taking care of young children. Well, this was part of the reason she got hired in the first place.


    Ellie was a slightly taller-than-average auburn-haired beauty with violet eyes, dressed in tight clothing that accentuated her busty figure. She soon caught the eye of Count Hart, and became just one of his women among many.


    In theory, she was the maid assigned to take care of any and all of Mia¡¯s personal needs. In practice, since Mia didn¡¯t particularly need Ellie¡¯s services, Ellie had more free time than the average servant and used a lot of time on idle gossip.


    ¡°Lady Mia never smiles or even laughs. She¡¯s always reading a book or together with her bodyguard. Ha, I almost feel sorry for the poor kid for not knowing how to have fun.¡±


    ¡°Did you know? She hardly ever screamed or cried even as a baby. She always just sat there, staring at me. I bet anything that she¡¯s not right in the head.¡±


    ¡°Lady Mia has a fascination with monsters. Just recently, she asked me if there are any books around about slimes. Slimes! Could it be that the only thing she loves is a slime?¡±


    It could be said that Ellie had no respect for her noble master at all. Mia was more than aware of this, which was why she¡¯d never even considered the idea of taking in Ellie as one of her close personal retainers. This was also why Ellie had incredibly few duties to take care of, as Mia generally didn¡¯t want to have Ellie around to bother her.


    So, when Colson told Ellie that Mia would like to ¡°eat some rats for breakfast¡± as the reason why he was searching for rats, Ellie actually didn¡¯t even blink in surprise. Mia¡¯s eccentricities were nothing strange to her. But of course, with her gossipy mouth, this was destined to become headline new all across the mansion almost instantly.


    ¡°But of course. Would Lady Mia like them boiled or fried?¡±


    That definitely wasn¡¯t what Colson expected to hear. He had been expecting a laugh, or at least a question as to why. Instead, Mia¡¯s personal maid seemed to just take this in stride. Did she really consider his master Mia as the type to actually eat rats? He let his mouth hang wide agape for a few moments before he finally thought of something to say.


    ¡°¡­Uh, there¡¯s no need for that. She said that she wants the rats to be alive.¡±


    ¡°Live rats for breakfast? Understood. I¡¯ll have it arranged for tomorrow.¡±


    Colson really didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. This was what his master Mia wanted, right? She would be getting some more rats tomorrow morning, as she wished. However, he was having serious doubts about the excuse that Mia had given him in order to obtain rats.


    Meanwhile, Mia arrived at the bat monster¡¯s cave, where she saw Dega waiting for her as expected.


    ¡°Did you wait long?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Upon seeing Mia arrive, Dega stood up and greeted her. ¡°I just arrived here maybe fifteen minutes ago.¡±


    Mia thought about what to go over first with Dega. Yep, although she needed to go over future plans with him as well, the most important right now was to learn more knowledge about the present. Specifically, regarding the fact that she was now apparently in a bandit sub-class, according to her status. She also wanted to know more regarding his specific power level.


    ¡°Dega, please allow me to formally introduce myself again, as we¡¯re now going to be allies, not enemies. I am Mia Hart, the daughter of our local domain lord, Count Hart. My goal is to overthrow Count Hart and become the domain lord. This is for my own sake. However, I believe that our goals coincide. Now then, could you please tell me more about yourself?¡±


    Hearing this, Dega thought back to his first encounter with Mia Hart. Now that she mentioned it, he never really did properly introduce himself, did he? During their first meeting, he had brought along all his subordinates in an attempt to intimidate her since he learned that she was Count Hart¡¯s daughter. Now that he thought back onto it, that was actually rather embarrassing of him, especially since she never seemed scared of him at all.


    Still, a proper introduction was something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time with the lifestyle he¡¯d been leading as of late.


    ¡°Cough, I¡¯m Dega Stormwell, former member of the Bluewing mercenary group, and current bandit chief, at your service. My goal is also to overthrow Count Hart and become the domain lord. No wait, that¡¯s not what I meant to say!¡± Dega had tried to copy Mia¡¯s format for doing an introduction, but accidentally ended up copying a little too much. He definitely had no intentions of becoming the domain lord!

 Chapter 24 - Becoming a Bandit

    Mia looked directly at Dega when she heard that he ¡°wanted to become the domain lord¡± as well. While this was no job she was particularly enchanted with, she still felt somewhat obligated to do what she could for the citizens.


    Yet, a free adventurer¡¯s lifestyle was what Mia would truly prefer. She idly wondered if she could really just leave the domain lord job to someone else like Dega. That would mean leaving the domain in the hands of a bandit¡­ which didn¡¯t seem like such a good idea. Wait, wasn¡¯t she technically now a bandit as well?


    ¡°Ugh, I just made a mistake with my words, a mistake! Ignore what I just said. I definitely won¡¯t overthrow you!¡± Dega was obviously quite flustered.


    Seeing how he was, Mia decided not to pursue the matter. There were more important things for her to be focusing on right now.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll make sure it doesn¡¯t come to things such that you want to overthrow me. Could you tell me more about occupations and job classes? You mentioned being a former mercenary, and you¡¯re currently a bandit. What exactly does that entail?¡±


    Dega scratched his face as he thought about how to explain to the young noble, glad to have a distraction. ¡°Well, mercenary, adventurer, and so on are all simply occupations that people work at in order to support themselves. You know, to make money. I hadn¡¯t entered a job class yet back when I was working as a mercenary. As for bandit¡­ that¡¯s just a job class like any other. I was basically forced into it by the Count,¡± Dega stated bitterly.


    ¡°What do you and your men do to support yourselves?¡± Mia wanted to know if they also acted like real bandits or if the job class title was just a name.


    ¡°¡­We lay in wait for merchant caravans and rob them,¡± Dega replied sheepishly. It wasn¡¯t exactly something he considered glorious. ¡°I don¡¯t really have much of a choice,¡± he added to defend himself. ¡°I¡¯m now a wanted criminal. I can¡¯t even have a proper job if I wanted, so I¡¯ve been reduced to highway robbery for the past few years¡­ and before I knew it, I became a Bandit Lord.¡±


    ¡°Bandit Lord?¡± This term caught Mia¡¯s attention. ¡°Is that your job class?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The brown-haired man nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve just reached level 20 recently and entered this job class. I didn¡¯t even know of its existence before then! I don¡¯t know a single person who¡¯s gone this far down the bandit job class line. Since this job class is typically only received by those who go down a certain lifestyle, it¡¯s not one where most people can have a long and peaceful life¡­¡± Dega chuckled sarcastically at himself.


    ¡°If you could work again, would you like to come work under me when this is all over?¡± Mia gave Dega a job offer. He was the first level 20 advanced job class member she had come across, after all. But even if he wasn¡¯t at this level, she wasn¡¯t in a state where she could afford to be choosy about her allies.


    Still, what was with her unbalanced party composition? She was still only level 4 and incredibly weak, while Colson was level 12. Add the level 20 Dega to the mix and all three of them would have wildly differing skill levels. Weren¡¯t player character parties in games supposed to be well balanced? Well, real life was quite different after all. Mia had no intentions of ¡°partying up¡± with other little kids on her level.


    If she had it her way, once she became a full-fledged noble, she would use her money to hire the most powerful adventurers she could and train up her own team. Wouldn¡¯t that be one of the best ways to make use of her noble status? She could be allowed such a small selfish personal desire, right?


    ¡°Really? You¡¯d take me in even after knowing that I¡¯ve committed robbery?¡± Dega was shocked to hear this. He had presumed that they would only be temporarily working together until Count Hart was stopped. Nobles had their pride, after all. What noble would want to take in a criminal like him? Even he looked down on his own current situation and lifestyle.


    ¡°Of course. What happened to you before wasn¡¯t your fault. If you still want the chance to work at a proper job rather than being an outlaw for the rest of your life, that means you still have at least some decency left in you. Besides, I need allies as well, people I can trust. You know how the Hart soldiers really are, better than anyone. They¡¯re all just my father¡¯s lapdogs. I fully intend to do internal cleansing once I¡¯m able to take power.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Mia knew from her studies in psychology that one of the ways to truly reform a criminal was to give him an honest job. Of course, this only worked for criminals who were forced into crime by their circumstances, rather than hardened career criminals. She hadn¡¯t lied to Dega at all, as she indeed needed allies to stand by her side even after Count Hart was dealt with.


    When she had been asleep in his arms, Dega hadn¡¯t done anything towards her at all even though she was at her most vulnerable. Not only that, he was an adult who was willing to talk to her and hear her out as an equal rather than simply treating her as a child. It wasn¡¯t like she could go straight out and tell a person she just met that she was actually mentally much older inside, so having someone she could talk to like this was quite invaluable to her.


    Colson worked under her as well, and would do as she asked, but he still had the tendency to treat her as a young child. Not to mention, he was still quite immature himself, being only sixteen years old. Mia actually found it far easier to talk to the adult Dega. She could only hope that Colson would mature soon.


    Dega was quite moved at hearing the silver-haired little girl call him a ¡°person she could trust.¡± When was the last time he had heard something like that?


    Although he had fellow bandits working under him, Dega knew quite well that some of them weren¡¯t exactly the nice type. But, what could he do about them under the circumstances? He needed every bit of power he could muster, and all of them were connected together by mutual grudges against Count Hart.


    Ostensibly, he was the bandits¡¯ leader. This was due to the law of the jungle, as he was recognized by everyone as the strongest among them due to his time working as a former mercenary. Derek was probably the most trustworthy person he had with him, if only because of Derek¡¯s simple mind.


    Still, speaking of trust? Dega did his best to rein his underlings in and not kill unnecessarily. Basically, all they could do was pick on the weak and avoid the strong. A normal lifestyle had completely gone out the window for him ever since he returned home that day and found his wife and daughter dead.


    Could it be that he really had a chance at returning to a normal lifestyle once again, rather than having to hide in the woods and mountains?


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be more than happy to accept, if you¡¯ll have me!¡± A faint smile even replaced his previously bitter expression.


    Mia nodded when she heard his acceptance. That was one peg assured of in her plans now. However, that was something quite a way off in the future. It was now time to discuss the present.


    ¡°I found out that the next tax collection levying is scheduled in three days¡¯ time. As you and I both know, that¡¯s basically just a euphemism to outright rob the citizens. There will be too many guards going to face directly. My idea is to warn the citizens of Clearlight Town before it happens, along with seeing if we can do anything about any guards that separate from the larger groups they¡¯ll be traveling in.¡±


    By now, hearing such detailed planning from the silver-haired little girl no longer surprised Dega. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll talk with the other guys in my group and see what we can do about telling some of the folks in town. There¡¯s some families that sympathize with us, even if I don¡¯t dare to show my face around due to the reward money placed on my head.¡±


    ¡°This time, apparently the Count won¡¯t be personally going, but my older half-brother Barnaby will. I¡¯m going to have a duel with him two weeks from now. ¡­Think of it as an internal power struggle among nobles. Are you familiar with Barnaby Hart?¡±


    Dega shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of him but have never seen him in person. You nobles sure have it rough as well, huh. Dueling family members like that? Sure must be a fancy lifestyle.¡± He¡¯d heard before of nobles¡¯ internal struggles for power, but never expected to find out about something like this happening to kids so young.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated. By the way, did you realize that I¡¯ve now become a bandit job class member as well?¡± Mia had a subtle expression in her eyes. She wanted to see Dega¡¯s reaction to this.


    ¡°You what?¡± Clearly, Dega wasn¡¯t expecting to hear this. A bandit girl of Mia¡¯s age? Besides, all he did was give her a skill book on one of the most basic bandit class skills, [Ransack]. For her to have entered the bandit class, didn¡¯t that mean that she mastered it already? In just such a short period of time?


    ¡°Mia¡­ how? Just what did you do to actually enter the bandit class?¡± Did she rob some merchant blind?


    Mia shrugged. ¡°Nothing much. All I did was read the skill book you gave me. The next thing I knew, my sub-class was a bandit, according to my status. Oh ¨C there is one thing. I integrated the [Ransack] spell with my wind magic so that I could use it constantly without having to activate it over and over again. I¡¯m primarily a wind mage, by the way. Does that count?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Dega didn¡¯t even know what to say as he paused for a moment. ¡°Yeah, you enter a job class by mastering one of its basic skills, just like what you¡¯ve apparently done with [Ransack]. Do you know what you¡¯ve done? There¡¯s no changing your job class once you¡¯ve entered it! This will lock you out of all other class-specific skills! All of the bandit class skills are basically related to violence and robbery!¡± He felt as if he had ruined her future.


    Mia wasn¡¯t nearly as concerned as Dega. Violence and robbery? Perhaps that could even come in useful in this world. Technically, just fighting an ever-stronger onslaught of monsters and demons meant that there would be an endless amount of violence.


    Besides, her gaming experience told her that it was fruitless to simply rage at circumstances out of her control. Keeping a good mentality was more important than anything. She would just have to make the best out of what she had.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, really. And no, I clearly didn¡¯t know that it would happen. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have done what I did. But, it¡¯s not the worst-case scenario. Don¡¯t I have you? Are you willing to help teach me the bandit class skills along with training me to become stronger?¡±


    Although she already had Colson, Mia figured that she couldn¡¯t go wrong with wanting to learn even more. After all, Dega was also stronger than Colson was. Dega would likely have more techniques he could teach her along with greater combat expertise. She wanted to master everything she could.


    ¡°Well¡­ I suppose I could¡­ But, are you really sure this is what you want? To officially become a bandit?¡± Dega had experience teaching his subordinates already. It was just that he had never taught anyone like Mia before ¨C the other bandits in his group were all young men. He was still hesitant on getting Mia involved any further as a bandit.


    ¡°Do I have any other choice? You¡¯ve already made me into a bandit, so take responsibility!¡±

 Chapter 25 - Slime Bandits?

    And so, it was decided upon that Dega would take responsibility for having taken Mia¡¯s first time ¨C for joining a sub-class, of course.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to start by learning anything that can be directly useful for combat,¡± Mia told him. What was that skill he used to finish off the boss bat monster in the cave, for instance?


    ¡°Understood. First, I¡¯d like to see what you already know about the basics. Show me anything that you can already do.¡± He figured that she had to have at least some basic skill already to have been able to go through the Clearlight Forest as well as the cave they were in front of.


    Mia took a short moment to gather her knowledge learned from Colson on the basic sword stances. After alternating between magic and physical training every day, the basic sword motions were slowly becoming imprinted in her muscle memory.


    Dega took a look at her movements and shook his head slightly. In his eyes, she was still a pure beginner. Well, this was only to be expected, considering her age. It was alright for him to teach a beginner, as he had done it for the other bandits. Still¡­


    ¡°Is this all you know? The basic stances and swings? Anything else that you can show me?¡± It didn¡¯t seem like Mia¡¯s skill level was sufficient enough for her to even deal with that boss bat monster in the cave.


    Mia stopped practicing her sword movements and stood still. ¡°No, this is all that I know how to do. I only started learning the sword two months ago. My sword teacher is my hired bodyguard. He told me that it¡¯s too early for me to practice against humans, and that I should focus on the fundamentals.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. But with just these alone, it¡¯s still not enough for you to have grabbed the treasure from inside this cave. I can tell that the boss bat monster


    should at least be stronger and faster than you by far. What did you do to help you grab the treasure in that cave? You mentioned being a wind mage, right? Did you use some wind magic?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I used wind magic against it. But, I can¡¯t use any attack magic spells. You see, I¡¯m an E rank in wind magic.¡± Mia fell silent to let the impact of her words sink in.


    E rank? Dega knew perfectly well what that meant. To use adventurers as an analogy, only the pure novices would start at E rank. But, it was a different scenario for E rank magic, as this was a measure of one¡¯s natural talent and power. Magic ranks would be far more difficult to level compared to an adventurer ranking.


    ¡°You were able to succeed even with E rank in wind magic? That¡¯s really impressive. What did you do? Try it against me. There¡¯s no need to worry about me, as I¡¯m a lot stronger than that bat.¡±


    Mia thought about it for a moment. What was she even supposed to show him? She had used [Still Air] to disrupt the bat¡¯s echolocation system, but that obviously wouldn¡¯t work on him, would it? Was she supposed to give him an explanation of echolocation?


    Well, there was still something else she could show him ¨C Whimsy!


    ¡°Alright, but why don¡¯t you try attacking me instead? You could say that I have a special defensive technique. ¡­How about going a little easy on me though? Say¡­ using medium force?¡±


    As she said so, Mia began casting [Still Air] on the vicinity while wrapping herself in wind element mana. It would be a test of Whimsy¡¯s defensive capabilities for her.


    Dega furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this. Was he supposed to actually attack Mia? Sure, he was the one who mentioned showing him her abilities, but¡­


    ¡°Are you really sure about this? You could get hurt, you know!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. Come at me!¡± There would be plenty of opponents that wouldn¡¯t be going easy on her at all in the future, so why not use this as a chance to get some extra training? Mia brought out her wooden sword.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Still hesitant, Dega walked over slowly and didn¡¯t even assume a proper fighting posture. He easily read Mia¡¯s attack as aiming for his right arm, and chopped down with his right hand, knocking the wooden sword out of her hands and causing her to stagger.


    Dega then followed up his disarming of Mia with¡­ a light tap on her shoulder. Mia stopped with a blank expression as she shook her wrist that was numb from the wooden sword being knocked away.


    ¡°I said go easy on me, but not this easy! Try to knock me over! Or are you afraid to hit a little girl?¡±


    ¡°But ¨C¡±


    ¡°No buts! I said it¡¯s okay to attack me, so do it to me! How am I supposed to test my defense if you don¡¯t at least get slightly serious?¡±


    Dega¡¯s face started flushing slightly red out of embarrassment from being lectured at by the little girl. He also noticed that he seemed to be breathing slightly harder than usual.


    Since he was much taller than Mia, it was rather inconvenient for him to fight with his hands at a normal height. Dega elected to sweep Mia off her feet with a low kick aimed at her shin, carefully controlled so that he wouldn¡¯t give her more than some slight scrapes when she fell.


    When his kick connected against Mia¡¯s left shin, rather than immediately knocking Mia off her feet as he expected, he felt the blow being absorbed by something soft and rubbery. Something green then emerged from under Mia¡¯s clothing and entangled his foot.


    Dega hadn¡¯t been taking this mock fight too seriously, so he was caught off guard and thrown off balance, as he hadn¡¯t made use of any footwork or a proper stance to begin with. Dega found himself on the ground instead, not understanding what had just happened!


    ¡°Okay, stop! Whimsy, he¡¯s not an enemy. It¡¯s alright. Come out and say hello!¡±


    Mia stopped her slime from acting aggressively as she winced and rubbed her shin. Although Whimsy¡¯s Slime Armor had succeeded in cushioning the impact of the kick for her, some of the force was still transmitted through, leaving her shin slightly sore.


    Dega merely stared blankly at Mia and Whimsy. Where had this slime suddenly appeared from? He was unable to put two and two together.


    ¡°Dega, this is Whimsy. Whimsy, this is Dega. Whimsy is my pet Wind Slime. She¡¯s the one who took the blow for me just now, along with being the main reason why I could go through the cave successfully.¡± Mia decided to start referring to Whimsy as a ¡°she¡± for convenience¡¯s sake, despite not knowing Whimsy¡¯s gender. She could only hope that Whimsy wouldn¡¯t mind, and that Whimsy wasn¡¯t a boy¡­


    ¡°A slime? Pet? What is this? I¡¯ve never heard of monsters and humans being together on friendly terms! Just what did you do?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you spend some time together with the slimes, you¡¯ll find that they¡¯re actually quite easy to get along with. All you have to do is be nice to them and they¡¯ll befriend you. I¡¯m making use of her defensive capabilities to protect me. Would you like to try for yourself?¡±


    Previously, Colson had refused Mia¡¯s offer to help him obtain a pet slime of his own. But, having magical pets was something that Mia saw no reason to keep for only herself. This was something commonly available to game players already, and if it was a large part of the game, it would surely be developed sooner or later regardless. Perhaps it was even common already in the neighboring Rodan Kingdom.


    Mia tried envisioning having the entire bandit group being equipped with slimes and fighting like so¡­ and failed to figure out what it would be like. What would ¡°slime bandits¡± even be like, anyways?


    Dega glanced over at the green blob that had an expression almost as if it was glaring at him. This ¡°Whimsy¡± seemed obviously protective of Mia. Dega shook his head and stood back up, marveling at the wonders in the world.


    ¡°About working with a slime¡­ let me think about that some more. Who¡¯s supposed to be the teacher here, anyways? It¡¯s my fault for having gotten overconfident. I can see now why you were able to survive in that cave. It was due to¡­ Whimsy? Good job on taking care of her,¡± Dega said gruffly. He had no idea how to interact with a slime.


    ¡°Still,¡± Dega continued speaking. ¡°Although you had the advantage of surprise, you were unable to make use of it. Is this the extent of what you can do?¡±


    Mia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I would like to learn combat-related skills from you. Right now, I have some non-combat skills available to me, such as [Whisper], which allows me to communicate with others over longer than normal distances on the wind. Oh, and I was using [Still Air] on this area just now, which has the effects of somewhat deadening the air. Did you feel any effects from it at all?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ deadened the air?¡± Dega took a deep breath and checked his current condition. Indeed, he felt as if he was slightly out of breath, something that shouldn¡¯t have happened with how little exercise he had just done. Earlier, he had chalked up his breathing to embarrassment, but now that he was calmer, it did seem a little unnatural to be short on breath.


    Dega told her about what he felt, and made a suggestion for her. ¡°Breathing plays a critically important part to any fight. Maybe this isn¡¯t the strongest of magic spells, but it can still give you a slight advantage. Not only will this type of effect make your opponent more prone to tiring, you could try controlling your own breathing patterns as well for maximum efficiency. Remember to always inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Also make sure to exhale when exerting power and control your own breathing to match the pacing of your own movements¡­¡±


    Mia abandoned all thoughts of creating a ¡°slime bandit¡± group and focused on Dega¡¯s combat teachings. This was what she was here for, after all.


    Besides, slime or other monster taming was something that couldn¡¯t be done in a quick manner ¨C at least not by her. Right now, she just needed to focus on learning whatever she could, as much as she could.


    Mia didn¡¯t notice what was happening, as she had her eyes closed while practicing breathing techniques, but Whimsy was actually starting to imitate her movements. Dega really didn¡¯t know what to say as he watched the green slime bob up and down in tandem with Mia¡¯s breathing. Were slimes even capable of learning breathing techniques meant for humans? Did Whimsy simply have a habit of imitation?


    At any rate, Dega suddenly felt in his mind that he would never be bored as long as he was around this strange little girl, Mia Hart. He would always be able to see strange and interesting things around her.


    Dega stopped Mia after he judged that she had gotten the basics of breathing. ¡°You said you wanted to learn useful skills for combat, right? Combat skills can¡¯t simply be learned from books ¨C you have to practice them in practical situations as well. Are you ready to go through this?¡±


    Actually, Dega couldn¡¯t help but admit that he wanted a little payback for having tripped him successfully and making him fall on the ground¡­ just a little! The skills he intended to teach her, while useful ones, would be rather hard on her body.

 Chapter 26 - Im Not a Masochist

    Mia wondered, just when did it all begin?


    Was it because she said ¡°Treat me just like one of the guys?¡±


    Was it because she said ¡°I want you to train me?¡±


    She was now half beaten up, collapsed on the ground, unable to even move.


    Just how did things come to this?


    Mia was now regretting having not believed in the realism of skills becoming more powerful as one became more injured.


    This was because she was now being forced to learn the bandit class skills, [Savagery] and [Raid], by Dega!


    [Savagery] ¨C One will draw out more strength when in desperate situations or weakened states. Passive skill. Level 1 effect: Attack increases by 15% when HP is under 50%. Maximum of 25% increase in Attack when HP is at 1%. This was a common warrior type job class skill available to several job classes, most famously used by the berserker class.


    [Raid] ¨C Increases user¡¯s Attack and speed for a short duration of time while sacrificing Defense. Buff skill. Level 1 effect: Attack and speed increased by 15%, Defense decreased by 30%. Costs 3 mana per second to maintain. This was a bandit-only job class skill that showcased the class¡¯s reliance on Attack and speed as the main statistics.


    Dega started with teaching her a passive skill and a buff skill, saying that it was too early for her to being with fighting techniques right away. Since she already knew the basics of sword training thanks to Colson, he intended to shore up something else that she was missing: her basic conditioning.


    According to Dega, it was required for her to get used to being in a state of semi-injury in order to properly learn the effects of [Savagery].


    That¡¯s why, immediately after she said ¡°I want you to train me,¡± all he said was ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± before immediately attacking her ¨C and instantly knocking her flat onto the ground. Mia didn¡¯t even have a chance without Whimsy to reinforce her.


    Dega controlled his attacks so that Mia wouldn¡¯t be seriously injured, striking only at her limbs.


    ¡°This is to toughen you up so that you¡¯ll become more resilient to taking blows in the future. Even if you have that Slime Armor of yours, it¡¯s no good if you¡¯re too soft on the inside. Just remember: this is for your own good!¡±


    After decreasing Mia¡¯s HP through controlled attacks, Dega guided her on how to internally channel her mana to improve her body¡¯s physical potential while in a state of being forced to the brink.


    Despite the fact that Mia felt tired and bruised, Dega kept forcing her to stand back up repeatedly only to knock her back down over and over again.


    ¡°Get back up on your feet! You¡¯ve already rested for fifteen seconds! You need to get used to constantly being on the move! Now, come at me!¡±


    The friendly Dega had been replaced with a different version once he entered instructor mode. He gave Mia the hardest course he learned in the mercenary group, thinking that she would perhaps whine and give up. After all, didn¡¯t all children hate being told ¡°It¡¯s for your own good¡± more than anything else?


    However, Mia was someone who could perfectly accept the phrase ¡°It¡¯s for your own good.¡± Unlike a real child, it was quite easy for her to understand the potential benefits of undergoing such training, even if it was rather difficult.


    She could feel the power coursing through her veins¡­ of a massive 1 extra Attack boosting her strength. Ok, fine, she could barely notice the difference due to her low base Attack rating, but something did indeed feel different. Rather than the throbbing pain in her body making it harder for her to focus as it normally would, she actually found her concentration even clearer than usual.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°You know, some berserkers with a high level in Savagery will even intentionally injure themselves before battle in order to access their full strength right from the very start. You want to try something like that for your training?¡± Dega was mostly just joking with this. He just wanted to see if anything would possibly shake Mia, to get a reaction of some sort out of her


    ¡°I¡¯m not a masochist, you know! Besides, I¡¯m just a novice at this. I don¡¯t want to accidentally hurt myself more than intended or necessary. So, can you keep attacking me every day that we have training?¡±


    Dega was rendered speechless. What was with a little girl like her knowing a word like masochist? But, when he thought about it more closely, didn¡¯t she have a point? What was he even doing, asking the silver-haired girl to injure herself? Technically, she was correct, as he was the better candidate to ¡°injure her¡± as he was a trained fighter who could control his attacks so as to not actually injure Mia for real. He was completely lost for words.


    Dega decided to change the topic to escape from the strange indescribable feeling he now had.


    ¡°Try attacking me with everything you have! I promise that I won¡¯t attack you this time; I¡¯ll only defend. You see, unarmed combat is the basics for all other styles of combat. I¡¯m going to show you a few more pointers.¡±


    Mia glanced all over Dega¡¯s body as he assumed a defensive stance. Where should she attack? Well, the upper part of his body wasn¡¯t even an option as she wasn¡¯t tall enough. She decided to go with a punch to his stomach. While Dega was reasonably muscular, he wasn¡¯t buff to the point where he had a six pack of abdominal muscles. She felt that maybe she could at least make him feel something if she landed a blow there.


    When Mia tried a high jab (for her) to Dega¡¯s stomach, he swiftly moved his right arm down to his stomach area and blocked Mia¡¯s punch attempt. Mia felt as if she had punched a rock, and winced as she shook her hand in pain.


    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you say that you would only defend yourself? Why did it hurt so much when I punched you? And, how did you block me so quickly?¡±


    ¡°You made your attack far too obvious,¡± Dega told her bluntly. ¡°You were staring at my stomach almost as if you wanted to eat me. Any semi-skilled opponent will easily be able to read an attack like that. And, while I did say that I would only defend myself, what idiot would ever let themselves take hits for free? I simply moved to block the attack that I saw coming. As for why your hand hurts, that¡¯s because you still lack conditioning. Your hand is too soft.¡±


    Dega paused for a moment to catch his breath after saying so much in one go before continuing to speak. ¡°My muscles are much harder after mercenary service and training, you see. However, I¡¯m only someone who¡¯s in an offensive combat class. Those in defensive knight-type job classes have defensive skills that can improve their toughness even further, and some even rely on reflecting damage back at the attacker. You need to train your own body even further so that you don¡¯t injure yourself as easily. This is known as conditioning.¡±


    Mia nodded in acceptance of this. Although she sounded like she was complaining just earlier, it was just her way of asking a question in order to learn. She had always been the inquisitive type in class who liked to ask the teacher questions. So, her attacks were too easy to read? Maybe it was time she tried a little deceit herself then, such as her previous idea of calling out a fake attack name while doing something else instead¡­


    As Mia and Dega trained together, they were suddenly interrupted. Apparently, Whimsy had gotten bored of simply watching on the sidelines. Or, maybe Whimsy was feeling hostile towards Dega as he continually attacked and knocked Mia down onto the ground. Whimsy joined in to attack Dega as well!


    Although somewhat surprised by this, Dega easily dealt with Whimsy. Her attacks were even simpler than Mia¡¯s, as she basically attacked by trying to directly jump him. Considering that in a way, Whimsy was part of Mia¡¯s combat strength as well, he allowed the two of them to team up together to try facing him.


    ¡°Just remember to not rely on your slime companion too much. You never know when there might be a situation where your little friend here is incapacitated or isn¡¯t with you. And if you use her overly much as a crutch, that¡¯ll also hinder your own personal strength. Only by enhancing your own base stats and foundations will you be able to have greater output and efficiency when in a situation where you can only rely on yourself. This will help you to become more aware of your own physical limits and weaknesses as well.¡±


    Even when fighting together, the combination of Mia and Whimsy were unable to land even a single blow on Dega. Still, neither showed signs of giving up. Mia suddenly became curious, were slimes capable of learning skills for humans as well? Could they even be taught? Was she going to have a pet bandit slime before having slime bandits?


    In the end, after being beaten into the ground for the umpteenth time, the girl and the slime laid listlessly on the ground, unable to rise up anymore.


    Dega nodded in satisfaction, as Mia had been tougher than he expected, not having given up due to the difficult training. In fact, he even found himself quite pleased at having such a good student. Wait, what happened to his desire for some minor payback? That feeling had completely disappeared as he found himself taking the training surprisingly seriously as it went on. He even gave her his best advice, even if he was unsure how well she would absorb or understand it. Well, even if she didn¡¯t, he would beat it into her bones until she did. These lessons had her life at stake, after all.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop here for today. Too much training will also have the opposite effect from intended. Make sure to rest well. You could try activating [Raid] on yourself whenever your mana is replenished again, however. I chose this skill for you because you have more base mana than the rest of us, so you can maintain it for a longer period of time. Not only that, your Defense is so low already that you can afford to sacrifice your personal Defense stat. I think it will go well with your Slime Armor technique or whatever, as it shouldn¡¯t affect her defense rating.¡±


    Dega then considered the merits of the Slime Armor before speaking up again. ¡°You know, generally speaking, the offensive classes like Berserker avoid wearing heavy armor even though some people are strong enough to equip it, because heavy armor will reduce their speed. Does your Slime Armor not affect your mobility at all? It can even remain hidden? This is a truly interesting idea you¡¯ve come up with. Just how did you think of such a strategy, anyways? Can you show me as well? I¡¯m interested in testing it out for myself.¡±

 Chapter 27 - Promised Present

    Mia caught her breath and rested on the ground as she explained to Dega about the process she used to befriend Whimsy.


    ¡°In the end, I think that she¡¯s just a foodie,¡± Mia spoke in a fond manner as she glanced over at Whimsy, who was resting next to her with an expression of listlessness. Whimsy had no tongue, but Mia idly imagined Whimsy having one anyways, panting as if she was a small dog exhausted from summer heat, although it was almost winter.


    ¡°I set up a scenario where Whimsy came to my rescue for being her food source,¡± Mia continued. ¡°If you would like, since you don¡¯t have control over elemental mana, I could try doing the same thing for you with another Wind Slime.¡±


    Dega shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can take care of such a creature after all. Wouldn¡¯t I have to feed it constantly? It¡¯s not like you can always be around to feed it. For the time being, it¡¯s not like I can go and work at the Hart mansion right now even if I wanted to. I¡¯m considered a wanted criminal, after all.¡±


    Mia thought about it some more and imagined having to feed a horde of Wind Slimes all by herself. That actually sounded far more draining than even today¡¯s training¡­ she now felt that there was a need for her to investigate just what exactly ordinary, non-elemental slimes ate for their food. Otherwise, she would be drained dry of all her mana if she had to act as the food source for a Wind Slime for everyone¡­


    ¡°Could you take a look at these for me?¡± Mia brought out the ice magic skill book and potion that she received from the cave before. ¡°I haven¡¯t used this potion yet because I¡¯m unable to identify what it is. Also, is this ice magic skill book something I can even use?¡±


    ¡°Ice magic?¡± Dega received the items and started looking through the book first. ¡°Well, for one thing, you don¡¯t have to worry that these are anything dangerous. The God of Adventurers usually doesn¡¯t put items that are harmful to you in his treasure chests unless he really disfavors you for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What about you? What kinds of items has the God of Adventurers given you?¡± A few examples of what someone else received would be nice.


    ¡°Well, pretty much everything that I¡¯m wearing, actually. Don¡¯t you know that equipment you can pick off the ground is far better than the equipment you can find in shops? It¡¯s not like being a bandit pays well, so I can¡¯t afford to buy equipment in shops. Besides, people always keep top-tier equipment for themselves, rather than selling it. You can even find food in some treasure chests, which is really helpful, as it saves the trouble of having to always scrounge for food.¡±


    Mia didn¡¯t know what to say at this. Picking up equipment off the ground gave you stronger equipment than shops could? Well¡­ technically, many games did have such a setting where equipment earned from boss monsters and dungeons or instances were far better than mass-produced equipment found in shops. However, it felt really strange when being applied to real life!


    There was even food available in treasure chests? Indeed, while this was also somewhat common in games, Mia felt rather hesitant about eating something that came out of a treasure chest. It was fine when it was still a game, but who wanted to actually eat food that had been sitting around in a treasure chest for god knows how long? Didn¡¯t this type of food have expiration dates?


    If she was hungry enough due to starvation, perhaps she wouldn¡¯t care anymore¡­ Mia shuddered at the thought. That was just how things were in this world.


    She tried to think about which location she should go to in order to check if all the items in the chests were still the same as she remembered in the game¡­ It needed to be a place that was relatively low level as well, enough for Mia and her companions to handle.


    The main problem with any place she could recall was the issue of geography. The entire game took place in the Rodan Kingdom! What was with her being in the neighboring kingdom of Hoplia instead? This wasn¡¯t how reincarnation stories was supposed to go!


    Any planned visit to the Rodan Kingdom would have to wait until she was old enough as well as being able to make decisions for herself. She decided to forget about this for the time being until after Count Hart was taken care of.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Meanwhile, Dega finished glancing over the ice magic skill book and shook his head, handing it back to her. ¡°This is a nice skill, I¡¯d think, but not one that you¡¯ll be able to learn. Rank C means that it¡¯s an intermediate-level technique already. There¡¯s class-specific skills like the bandit¡¯s [Raid], and generalist skills like [Swordsmanship] that anyone can learn. You can try reading it if you want, and I don¡¯t think any harm will come of it. Still, unless you have talent for controlling ice mana, which means you¡¯d be in an ice mage class, I doubt you can do anything with it.¡±


    Mia nodded and accepted the book wordlessly. Weren¡¯t there always cases in games of receiving seemingly useful items that later turned out to be for a future party member? Or, if she really needed money, she could always sell it off or exchange it in the future, although she didn¡¯t know how much money this book was worth.


    The potion was simply a clear vial which contained some murky yellow unidentifiable liquid inside. At the very least, Mia had no idea what it was, and didn¡¯t want to experiment using herself if she didn¡¯t have to.


    Dega uncorked the vial and took a careful whiff. Whatever he smelled caused him to furrow his eyebrows before he quickly corked the vial again. Considering the color of the potion, Mia couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it had a smell similar to that of pee?


    ¡°This is a level 1 Paralysis Potion,¡± Dega spoke while holding his nose. ¡°Level 1¡¯s effects are rather weak, but inhaling or coming into contact with it will still make you feel slightly numb. Of course, those with a high enough Resistance stat will be able to ignore its effects entirely.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mia gave her gratitude as she took the Paralysis Potion back from Dega. She then paused for a moment as she recalled something. ¡°Do you know how to synthesize potions? I¡¯ve been collecting quite a number of stingers from the Humongous Bees in Clearlight Forest, thinking that perhaps I can somehow put the toxins to use, mild as they are. Any ideas?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been collecting bee stingers?¡± Once again, Dega was astonished at the silver-haired girl¡¯s hobbies. Weren¡¯t girls her age typically more interested in playing with dolls or toy building blocks instead of cutting off monsters¡¯ body parts?


    ¡°Yep. I got the idea from reading about it in a book.¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­ You¡¯ll have to find someone with a talent for potion-making for that, I¡¯m afraid. I can only identify the most common types of potions, and I have no idea how to create them. Nor does anyone I know have the potion-making talent. It¡¯s not too common around these parts. You¡¯ll have to go to a much bigger city than the ones around here.¡±


    Mia shook her head in disappointment. ¡°This should only be a basic talent that can be commonly found. In a way, this is all thanks to my father¡¯s despotic policies, which have probably caused the most talented individuals to leave the Hart domain already. Normally, with a high enough population, common talents like potion-making, foraging, mining, and so on should be quite easy to find. Education in the Hart domain is really lagging behind. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like in the other domains, but much needs to be improved about the Hart domain.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know anything about improving the educational system and all that, so I¡¯ll be leaving that up to you¡­ Milady Mia Hart.¡±


    ¡°¡­Whoa there, why are you suddenly addressing me like that?¡±


    ¡°Because I think that you¡¯re worthy of the title. I have a feeling that the future will be in good hands if you¡¯re in charge.¡±


    Mia was somewhat embarrassed with Dega¡¯s directness. It wasn¡¯t like she was some expert politician or reformist. In fact, she knew nothing about how to run a domain other than what she learned in kingdom-building simulation games. Mia could only tell herself that Dega¡¯s praise was because almost anyone would seem like a massive improvement compared to Count Hart.


    ¡°¡­If you say so. At any rate, let¡¯s prepare for the upcoming tax collection and meet again one day before it¡¯s going to happen. Talk to your men and see what they think. Also, even if you¡¯re not able to join me right away because you¡¯re recognized as a wanted criminal, what about the others with you? Try to send a few of them to join the Hart provincial army and see if they¡¯ll get accepted. I need more people by my side.¡±


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll discuss it with the guys and gather their opinions. ¡­By the way, do you need some help returning home?¡± He just witnessed Mia attempting to stand up and wincing noticeably, even using Whimsy as a crutch in the end. Were slimes such all-purpose creatures after all due to the nature of their bodies?


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Mia stated while leaning on Whimsy. However, what she didn¡¯t expect was that the green Wind Slime was also much wobblier than usual, which caused Mia to fall back down on the ground yet again! It was impossible to know just how many times she had fallen down today, mostly due to Dega¡¯s strict training.


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll help carry you on my back through the forest to nearby the Hart mansion.¡± The brown-haired bandit crouched down and offered his sturdy back to Mia.


    ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± With some hesitation, she ended up accepting. After all, it technically wasn¡¯t the first time he had carried her before. Mia told herself that she definitely couldn¡¯t let this become a habit.


    And so, Dega carried Mia back to an area in the forest close to the Hart residence, nagging her all the way as she nursed her battered body.


    ¡°Remember to drink lots of fluids after the training sessions. You need to stay hydrated and recharge yourself.¡±


    ¡°You should start stretching before each round of training. It¡¯s important to prevent injury to your muscles.¡±


    ¡°By the way, you can¡¯t train every day like this. It will damage your body too much. So, make sure to rest every other day.¡±


    ¡°Your birthday is coming up soon in two weeks, you mentioned? I¡¯ll prepare a little something for you.¡±


    Mia bemusedly listened to Dega going on and on about the common sense of training like a worried mother. She knew some knowledge on how to train already, such as how she already alternated between sword training and magic training with Colson and herself. Still, it was helpful to have someone much stronger showing her the ropes, and it wasn¡¯t as if she could remember all the details on how to properly train by herself regardless.


    ¡°A birthday present? You don¡¯t really have to. I¡¯m not really going to be celebrating my birthday anyways.¡± Was there really anything worth celebrating on her birthday in this world? She was going to have a duel against her half-brother and was planning the downfall of her own family.


    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. I can¡¯t give you much, but I¡¯ll think of something useful to give you.¡±

 Chapter 28 - Rat Princess

    Utterly exhausted, Mia returned to the Hart residence upon where she was greeted by Colson.


    ¡°Worry not, Milady. The other servants have agreed to help us and promised to deliver a batch of live rats to you tomorrow morning.¡± Colson had an expectant look on his face as if he wanted to be praised for this.


    ¡°¡­Thank you. I¡¯ll deal with it tomorrow morning, then.¡± Mia put off thinking too much about this, as she was too tired. She simply had some dinner and then went to her room to rest, much earlier than usual.


    When she returned to her room, Whimsy jumped on her bed before she could. The green slime spread itself flatly all over her bedsheets with an expression of utter bliss.


    ¡°Haha, I suppose that you¡¯re exhausted from today as well, doing all that training with me. You really didn¡¯t have to put yourself through all that, Whimsy. ¡­But, thank you as well for accompanying me.¡±


    This time, Mia was quite grateful for her status as a noble. While she didn¡¯t object to sleeping together with the green Wind Slime, Whimsy was definitely quite capable of making her bedsheets rather messy. One advantage of being a noble was that she had servants to wash the sheets for her!


    It was actually surprisingly comfortable to wear Whimsy on her body all day long, due to the oil that Whimsy secreted. Mia couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the oil¡¯s properties as she got into bed together with Whimsy. Was it supposed to be this world¡¯s version of a skin care product? Would it be possible to collect slime oil somehow and market it? Did it actually have protective effects for her skin? Mia fell asleep while wondering such thoughts.


    The next day, Mia went to go find Colson after she woke up. She was planning on using today for additional magical experimentation and research about her own powers as well as how to deal with Barnaby. For that purpose, she needed more victims¡­ er, rats.


    ¡°Last night, you said that live rats have been arranged, right? Where are they?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask Ellie about that. She was the one who said it would be arranged for you.¡±


    Ellie? Mia raised her eyebrows at hearing this, but didn¡¯t say anything. If Colson had asked her personal maid Ellie to help him find rats for her, that meant Ellie would definitely spread even more rumors about her. Well, it didn¡¯t matter so much to Mia, as long as she got what she wanted.


    There was no helping it. Mia took Colson along with her as they went to Ellie¡¯s room.


    When Mia knocked on Ellie¡¯s door, she heard only the sounds of snoring inside. While Mia had woken up quite early due to sleeping earlier than usual, and Colson was an early riser to begin with, it seemed that Ellie was still sleeping in at this hour of the day.


    A frown started growing on Mia¡¯s face. What was with the servant sleeping in so much later than the master she was supposed to serve? Although it couldn¡¯t be said that Mia had strong feelings for the master-servant system in this world, she still felt that Ellie¡¯s behavior was improper.


    Rather than calling it a master-servant relationship, Mia felt that it was more along the lines of an employer-employee relationship. She¡¯d already learned before in her studies that slavery was outlawed in Hoplia, which meant that the role of household maid was actually a paid position, just like Colson¡¯s. While Mia didn¡¯t know what Ellie¡¯s salary was, she never saw Ellie doing anything appropriate for her supposed position as Mia¡¯s personal maid.


    As the role of being Mia¡¯s personal maid was considered a higher-ranking position than an ordinary maid, Ellie was allowed to have a room to herself, rather than having to share a room with other servants in the servants¡¯ quarters.


    Some seconds after the knocking, the snoring stopped and the auburn-haired maid opened the door. ¡°What is it?¡± She almost growled in a low voice, evidently only being half-awake. ¡°Oh, Lady Mia!¡± Ellie¡¯s grogginess mostly disappeared when she finally noticed who was at her door.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the breakfast I ordered?¡± Mia inquired in a sarcastic tone of voice. She had no intentions of telling Ellie that she actually ate breakfast already. It simply didn¡¯t matter to her what the maid thought she needed the rats for.


    ¡°¡­Uh, yes, the rats. Wait just one minute!¡± Ellie ran back into her room and returned while dragging a large cage behind her. Several cantankerous rats were locked together inside the cage, scratching at the bars, along with making ratty sounds of anger at suddenly being dragged out.


    ¡°Please, take them away!¡± Did Ellie like her job of being Mia¡¯s personal maid? The answer was that she didn¡¯t enjoy it one bit, even if there wasn¡¯t much she actually had to do.


    She had to serve this creepy child who wanted to eat live rats for breakfast? Seriously? Not only that, Count Hart had actually tasked her with sending reports to him about his daughter¡¯s progress, unbeknownst to Mia.


    When she reported to the Count that his daughter desired to have live rats for breakfast, he merely chuckled and responded with ¡°Wonderful! As expected of my daughter. Just give her the rats that she wants!¡±


    Just what were this father and daughter pair even thinking? Ellie didn¡¯t understand at all, nor did she have any desire to. The only consolation was that the pay at the Hart mansion was much better than any job she could find in town, and that the Count was so devilishly handsome ¨C Ellie felt that none of the strangeness about the Harts mattered as long as he smiled at her, even if she was forced to sleep with rats in her room for an entire night.


    Not knowing anything about Ellie¡¯s internal conflicts, Mia simply had Colson pick up the cage of rats and left Ellie standing there lost in thought.


    As they were leaving the servants¡¯ quarters, Mia decided to activate her [Eavesdrop] spell and see if she could hear what was now being said about her.


    ¡°That little girl¡¯s bedsheets have been so damned hard to wash these days! They¡¯re always so sticky! What the hell!?¡±


    ¡°Hey, have you heard? Our little ¡®Rat Princess¡¯ just arrived to pick up a batch of live rats from Ellie for her breakfast! She¡¯s really eating them! I saw it with my own eyes, that she stuffed a shrieking rat into her mouth headfirst and bit down with her vicious little chompers!¡±


    ¡°Silence! What is with this unseemly ruckus so early in the morning? As proper servants of the Hart household, you should always address our Lords with their proper titles! If you have the free time to gossip about our masters, you have the time to work! You there, come with me, I have a task just for you!¡±


    Mia recognized this last voice as belonging to Butler Maxwell, who usually served as Barnaby¡¯s personal attendant. Why was it that someone like Barnaby had the benefit of such a well-cultured butler at his service? This unexpected way that Maxwell stood up for her, although he was merely enforcing proper etiquette, gave Mia a better impression of this butler that she barely knew and hardly ever saw.


    She made a mental note of the butler as someone she could try and get on her side in the future. The only thing was, his direct master had irresolvable conflicts with her stemming from the succession issue. There was no way to know what Butler Maxwell would think once she began to plan against her half-brother, Barnaby Hart.


    What was with the tendency for rumors to always get blown out of proportion, anyways? That servant was completely making stuff up now, about how she was seen behaving in such a barbaric fashion and ¡°viciously eating a shrieking rat.¡±


    At the very least, Mia suddenly discovered another benefit of being a noble ¨C there was no need for her to explain herself to the servants. Still, if she ever took charge here, she was definitely going to have to do some serious layoffs with the servants.


    Mia idly imagined herself pointing at someone and saying, ¡°You¡¯re fired!¡± before she shook her head and put it out of her mind. She had more important things to focus on right now.


    They returned to the disused storeroom that Mia had used for her previous rat experiment. After sweeping the surrounding area with [Detection] to make sure that there were no prying eyes, Mia told Colson that it was time to begin the experiment.


    ¡°First, I want to make sure that what happened last time was no fluke or lucky coincidence. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to repeat the exact same process as the previous time. Colson, could you release one of the rats inside the storeroom?¡±


    Colson glanced over at the cage of rats that he was holding. ¡°How do I do that? There¡¯s so many of them that I¡¯m worried some of the other rats will escape when I open the cage.¡±


    ¡°Try sprinkling a few drops of this, then.¡± Mia brought out her Paralysis Potion that Dega identified for her yesterday. She figured that since rats were much smaller than humans, it shouldn¡¯t require too much Paralysis Potion for the effects to work.


    ¡°Is that a Paralysis Potion?¡± Colson was also able to identify this common potion as he took the bottle. ¡°Where¡¯d you get something like this?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the God of Adventurers gave it to me,¡± Mia mentioned nonchalantly. ¡°I went on a little adventure when I went out without you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Astonishment showed on Colson¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the God of Adventurers showing favor to someone so young! Even I didn¡¯t receive his favor until I was almost ten years old!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I didn¡¯t know, but that¡¯s just how it is.¡± When the Paralysis Potion was sprinkled on the rats in the cage, they noticeably quieted down and stopped struggling so fervently. Mia then took the Paralysis Potion back from Colson, a little proud of herself for having come up with such an idea.


    If this had been a game event, she would have likely been forced to use the entire bottle of potion as a ¡°one-use¡± item, wasting most of the potion. Instead of using the whole bottle, why not just use a few drops in order to conserve resources? She couldn¡¯t afford to be so wasteful with what little she had.


    ¡°What¡¯s the God of Adventurers¡¯ goal in handing out so many treasures to those that go on adventures, anyways?¡± The game hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about gods being involved in the storyline at all. Evidently, the lore of any real world was much vaster than any game could possibly depict. Mia couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the God of Adventurers¡¯ motivations, and if the gods actually played in a role in the future war against the demons that she knew about as well.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Actually, I don¡¯t know, sorry. You¡¯d have to ask a priest of the God of Adventurers for that. All I know is that he provides assistance to those seeking a life of adventure.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know? Well, there was nothing she could do about that. Mia decided to begin what they were originally here to do.


    ¡°Shall we begin? It should be much easier to release a rat now without having all the others run off. If you¡¯re still worried, let¡¯s go inside the storeroom first. That way, even if some others escape from the cage, there will be nowhere for them to escape to.¡±


    ¡°Milady¡­ Would it be alright with you if I stayed inside here and observed? I¡¯d really like to know what exactly happened here to make the previous rat end up like it did.¡±

 Chapter 29 - Windstorm!

    ¡°You want to observe? It could be dangerous. Why would you want to watch a rat die, anyways?¡± Mia pondered upon what Colson could possibly be up to. Was it sheer curiosity killing the cat?


    ¡°I wish to understand the concept behind your magic in order to further strengthen myself. Physical fighters like me train our bodies by reinforcing our bodies and attacks with mana, which works internally as opposed to how mages like Milady utilize mana externally. It¡¯s said that warriors who¡¯ve reached the peak possess the ability to deflect or dodge even the most powerful of magic spells. I simply wish to train myself together with Milady¡¯s magic training.¡±


    Seeing that Mia was nodding and listening to him, Colson continued his explanation. ¡°I¡¯ve never had the opportunity to train together with a mage before. Milady will surely face warrior-type opponents in the future if you continue down your path of training. This will be beneficial for both of us, so that we can better understand each other¡¯s abilities when cooperating with each other, as well as improving our skills against various types of opponents. Last time, Milady successfully caused a rat¡¯s death using your magic, but what of a human opponent? I¡¯m much stronger than a mere rat and can handle myself. What does Milady think?¡±


    Training was one of his favorite topics that he always took seriously. After having witnessed a spell that he didn¡¯t understand, Colson wanted nothing more than to test his mettle against it. He brimmed with anticipation as he eagerly waited for Mia¡¯s reply. Honestly, he didn¡¯t believe that ¡°removing the air¡± from the room would work quite so easily against him. He was no defenseless rat who didn¡¯t know how to defend itself.


    Mia closed her eyes and thought about Colson¡¯s offer to train each other¡¯s abilities together. His reasons were convincing and she really wanted to accept. However, what was she supposed to tell him?


    Her main power was simply breeze magic, which lacked attack power on its own. Was she supposed to give a more scientific explanation regarding oxygen and its necessity for all humans? Not only would that be difficult for Colson to understand, it would also bring up the question of how someone as young as Mia knew about it.


    And if she truly tried her spell against him, what if he ended up dying? Even if a human guinea pig would be useful for her experimentation, Mia would much rather experiment on an enemy rather than an ally. But other than that, all she could directly do was waft a gentle breeze at him or use some [Still Air] to impede his breathing. Just what should she do?


    ¡°You want to try defending yourself against my spell? Okay, that¡¯s fine. But, promise me that you¡¯ll tell me the moment that you start feeling uncomfortable. Also, this time, I¡¯ll be staying in the storeroom as well.¡± Mia decided to take every single possible precaution and stop the moment that it seemed like Colson had any trouble.


    There might be situations in the future where she would have to rely on this spell with someone else in close vicinity, so now was a good opportunity to learn more about her own limits, as long as she could carefully control this situation.


    Colson began to mentally prepare himself after hearing Mia¡¯s agreement. She mentioned previously that her magic spell worked by removing the air in the room? Would he be able to ward it off by circulating his mana through his body and enhancing his breathing?


    The red-haired boy was self-aware about his own shortcomings. While he had learned several offensive skills based on his swordsmanship skill, his defensive skills were sorely lacking. In this world, many skills could be self-created, not just taught. Colson was hoping for a breakthrough with his own bottleneck in strengthening his weaknesses.


    The young noble girl entered the storeroom together with her hired bodyguard, who released one rat into the storeroom before placing the cage with the rest of the somewhat paralyzed rats outside. Mia stepped up onto a cargo box, not wishing to be distracted by a rat running around her feet. Colson closed his eyes and began channeling his limited mana, focusing fully on his breathing.


    Mia didn¡¯t know what Colson was doing, but decided to proceed along with her own experiment. First, she enveloped herself in wind mana, creating an air pocket all around her. If she wanted to use her ability to its fullest, she had to make sure she could breathe while her opponents couldn¡¯t.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Right when she created the air pocket, Whimsy started moving around on Mia¡¯s body. At first, Mia presumed that Whimsy was merely interested in having another meal, since the slime typically reacted whenever she cast a spell. However, Mia soon felt a familiar cool sensation together with a slime tendril placed on her back.


    The cool sensation was actually the Wind Slime amplifying Mia¡¯s mana with its own supporting mana! Perhaps Whimsy had detected how Mia was intending to cast more spells than usual here, or maybe it was a sign that the bond between them had grown stronger.


    Wind Slimes had the ability of [Magic: Wind Support (passive) ¨C 10% bonus to all Wind Magic skills.] This was actually yet another of the primary reasons Mia had for wanting to recruit an Elemental Slime. By having the correct element bonus, the slime would be able to enhance her own powers through the pet contract. It was just that Mia didn¡¯t know how to establish a formal pet contract still, so this had been only an aside while Mia focused instead on Whimsy¡¯s physical attributes which could protect herself.


    A 10% bonus was actually considered a weak ability, just like Colson¡¯s swordsmanship bonus natural talent. There were plenty of monsters out there with far greater talent in casting magic compared to the slimes.


    However, it was completely infeasible for Mia to go looking for any such monsters to become her pet. Monsters willing to serve humans still required the human to be stronger than the monster in question, so there was no way Mia could go searching for some high-level monster pet. It was far likelier that she would be killed in a single second if she ever tried it at her current level.


    Mia was delighted to receive Whimsy¡¯s magic assistance as support, even opening her eyes and smiling. For some reason, her mind felt more refreshed and she could now concentrate without having to close her eyes.


    It was now time to fully begin the experiment.


    ¡°Windstorm!¡± Mia shouted out loudly, causing Colson to expect strong winds coming at him. He reflexively held up his hands to cover his face.


    ¡°Windstorm¡± was nothing more than a red herring. Mia certainly had no such spell available in her arsenal. Instead, she began casting [Drain Air] on the storeroom, imagining all the air not present in her air pocket being pushed out of the room.


    Colson held up his arms for several seconds until he finally realized that no powerful gales were coming at all. His face flushed slightly red in embarrassment at his own actions upon this realization. He then spoke up in a discontented tone.


    ¡°Milady, did you just call out the name of an attack that you didn¡¯t actually perform? Such a move isn¡¯t considered honorable, especially for a noble such as yourself¡­¡±


    Due to the fact that he was now speaking, Colson was no longer able to maintain his breathing technique from earlier. When Mia shouted ¡°Windstorm!¡±, Colson naturally assumed that her spell utilized some powerful gusts to ¡°remove the air¡± from the room, not realizing that the spell was actually carried out by soft, almost unnoticeable breezes.


    Nothing seemingly happened, which made Colson preemptively believe that her spell had obviously been a failure.


    He glanced around him, first seeing that the rat was furiously scratching at the ground to no avail. Well, this was only natural. Wasn¡¯t digging holes something that rats instinctively tried to do?


    Colson then glanced in Mia¡¯s direction and saw that she was simply looking at him with an intensely focused gaze. However, it didn¡¯t appear that she was doing anything at all. Colson saw no telltale signs of casting magic that most other mages preferred to use in order to enhance the effectiveness of their spells.


    It was general knowledge that while mages were able to incant spells nonverbally, speaking the spell¡¯s name out loud along with using certain flourishing movement patterns would aid in the mage¡¯s focus, making it easier for the mage to control the mana. However, Mia was just a self-taught mage who used her basic game knowledge to invent spells on her own, and didn¡¯t find it difficult to concentrate without such training wheels.


    Not to mention, she wanted to try the effects of deceiving an opponent while casting her spells. Why was it that in literally every single game she ever played, the main characters always insisted on shouting the name of their attacks out loud? This wasn¡¯t even limited only to protagonists. Sometimes, villains would have this problem even worse than the heroes, always bragging about their powerful ultimate ability to the heroes and causing their own downfalls.


    Mia carefully observed Colson and was quite pleased to see him reacting by raising his arms to defend his face. What was wrong with a little trickery in combat? It would be the opponent¡¯s own fault for being off guard. Mia resisted the urge to giggle at apparently having fooled Colson so easily. She ignored Colson¡¯s little speech about dishonorable actions and continued draining the air from the room.


    Would honor still matter to him if he was dead? The answer to that question would determine just how salvageable he was, or if he was an idiot who believed in death before dishonor.


    Still, Mia didn¡¯t dislike such innocence. It was just that she needed him to at least be able to accept certain ways she did things, even if he didn¡¯t entirely change his way of thinking.


    Colson was about to speak up again when he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. Only when he opened his mouth did he notice that no words would come out due to his surprising breathlessness, as he spent all his effort on inhaling instead. Not only that, Colson touched his forehead as he was suddenly beginning to feel dizzy.


    Mia immediately stopped casting [Drain Air] upon noticing that Colson wanted to speak but didn¡¯t and that he was clutching his forehead. She then sent a wave of fresh air at him to help him rapidly recover. Even Whimsy jumped over to Colson¡¯s side, offering a slimy tendril.


    Colson regained his senses to find that Mia and Whimsy were now surrounding him with concerned looks on the duo¡¯s faces. He also noticed that the rat in the corner had stopped in its digging efforts. Was it dead? Prodding it with his shoe, Colson found that the rat was merely unconscious. But how, and why?


    ¡°Milady¡­¡±


    ¡°This is the power of science. Remember, you said you wanted to become stronger as well, right? Your enemies definitely won¡¯t all be as nice and honorable as you are. A single little trick could be the end of you. Now then, do you have any matches on you? After I finish with these rats here, I¡¯d like to experiment with fire next.¡±

 Chapter 30 - Psychology

    ¡°Yes, I have some matches on me. Being able to create a fire when out adventuring is one of the most basic requirements of survival, after all.¡± Colson brought out some matches and showed them to Mia.


    Mia inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, she was still unfamiliar with the overall technological level of this world, but now it appeared that it was quite high for a medieval one. She had been quite worried that she would have to try starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together or striking some stones for sparks. It wasn¡¯t like she knew how that actually worked, though.


    Not only did matches exist, the printing press or something similar obviously existed as well, since the literacy level in this world was such that average commoners could read. Skill books seemed to be fairly commonplace. And most importantly of all, there were toilets!


    If only she knew that reincarnation existed, she would have studied some more practical classes in college rather than Psychology and Political History¡­ Why couldn¡¯t she have been one of those overprepared survivalists? She was just an ordinary college student, a nerd with high grades who loved to play video games.


    Mia took the matches from Colson and thanked him. She decided against saying anything else for now, leaving him to his own devices. It was Colson¡¯s own responsibility to develop himself. Teaching him wasn¡¯t something that she wanted to do, or felt she was qualified for. If she taught him, then who was supposed to teach her?


    The issue with Colson was one that Mia felt internally conflicted about. She was quite appreciative of his direct, trustworthy, and honorable nature. In fact, she recruited him for those precise reasons. He was also the first person she made a real connection to of some sort in this world.


    She had no wish to see him die due to his naivety. Unfortunately, Mia knew that this world wasn¡¯t nearly as bright as he envisioned it, starting right from his dream to join the army and defend the people. Well, it was up to him how he handled finding out the truth of the Hart army that he joined during the tax collection two days from now.


    If he continued to support her after undergoing a crash course in what the real world was like, Mia planned on telling him about her future plans like overthrowing her own family. She also needed to introduce him to Dega, which she hadn¡¯t done yet out of concern for their wildly differing backgrounds.


    Not wanting to undergo the experience of mana fatigue again, Mia rested for approximately ten minutes while Colson continued to work on his breathing technique again and mulled over her earlier words.


    ¡°Alright, ready to continue where we left off?¡± Mia finished resting and felt quite refreshed. She hadn¡¯t used up all her mana like the previous experiment, and Whimsy was supporting her this time as well, making it much easier to recover her energy. ¡°Are you going to challenge my spell again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Colson nodded. ¡°At the very least, I need to figure out the mechanics of your spell and how to defend against it. Also, I won¡¯t be fooled by you this time!¡± He added the last part with a mild glare that looked more like a pout than anything else.


    ¡°Teehee, if you say so.¡± Mia was interested as well in seeing if he could develop some counter to her spell. While she figured that [Drain Air]¡¯s greatest use would be against unsuspecting enemies, she couldn¡¯t count out the possibility that more powerful opponents might notice what she was doing and protect themselves.


    They entered the storeroom together again and faced off against each other, with the unconscious rat still in a corner of the storeroom. Mia suddenly had the feeling as if Colson was somehow turning into a rival who was going to challenge her endlessly until he won ¨C that wasn¡¯t really going to happen, was it? He was supposed to be her bodyguard and helper! Maybe she should consider letting him ¡°win¡± on purpose for the sake of his ego¡­ but only after some more experimentation.


    This time, Mia began casting [Drain Air] on the storeroom immediately without even saying anything about having started. It was only natural that the ¡°Windstorm!¡± misleading tactic wouldn¡¯t work on Colson again right away, so she tried something else this time.


    ¡°By the way, does mana fatigue affect warriors like yourself as well as mages?¡± Mia asked nonchalantly while also making another air pocket around her like previously.


    Mana fatigue had placed a great strain on Mia¡¯s body during the last experiment when she intentionally used up all her mana to ascertain what would happen. She was curious if it would similarly affect non-mages like Colson and Dega. After all, in video games, even if a warrior-type character ran out of mana or whatever resource required to cast skills, they were still far more useful than mages with empty mana bars thanks to being far more proficient with the basic attack command. What would it be like for Colson?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Ah, mana fatigue? Yes, it affects us as well, but not as much as it would for a mage like yourself, Milady. That¡¯s because warriors use a different method of utilizing mana, known as mana compression for internal mana control, while mages use mana emission for external mana control. Compression is far more efficient compared to emission, because the difficulty is far higher to control mana outside our bodies compared to within. That¡¯s why even if a warrior runs out of mana from using too many skills, he¡¯ll be much less affected by mana fatigue compared to a mage. I think my grandfather taught me before that it¡¯s only an approximate ten percent reduction in combat strength for a warrior.¡±


    Mia listened attentively to Colson¡¯s explanation while simultaneously draining the air from the room. While Dega had taught her how to cast the self-buff bandit class [Raid] skill on herself, he didn¡¯t go over mana usage with her at all. Dega¡¯s type of training made it obvious that his expertise was with physical toughness, not slightly higher-level knowledge such as mana. If she could combine aspects of both their styles and teachings, wouldn¡¯t that be good for own development?


    ¡°Is it possible for me to learn mana compression as well? What if I want to enter a physical sub-class? I think I already know how to perform mana emission on my own, but is it possible to learn both methods of using mana?¡± For now, Mia left out the part where she had actually entered a bandit sub-class already.


    ¡°Uh, I suppose it¡¯s possible if you wish to enter a physical sub-class, but I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s not really recommended. As you probably know already, anyone who starts training their power level will receive a predetermined primary job class based on their natural talents and attributes. Learning both types of mana control, however, is said to dilute one¡¯s power level. Besides, Milady, mages like yourself will typically have poorer base stats in physical attributes. It¡¯s recommended that you enter either a magic or support type secondary job class.¡± The red-haired teenager continued to advise Mia as he viewed it as part of his role as both her sword teacher and bodyguard.


    Dilute her power level? She was already assessed as the weakest magic rank there was. Could it really get any worse for her? Mia felt that rather than judging too much by power levels, proper application of one¡¯s abilities was far more important. She instantly made up her mind to learn mana compression at a later date to further study the topic of mana control on her own.


    ¡°Thank you, that was very helpful. Perhaps we can talk more about this subject at a later date, I¡¯d love to hear more. For now ¨C¡±


    At this point, Mia stopped talking, because Colson suddenly fainted! Whimsy was faster to react than Mia was, and acted to cushion Colson¡¯s fall, darting between him and the floorboard.


    Colson was still feeling a bit of a slight headache when he woke up again five minutes later to discover that he was now resting on a slime pillow. He hurriedly shook himself awake and stood up, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over him. Yet, he had to ask in order to clear away his confusion.


    ¡°Milady? Weren¡¯t we just discussing the fundamentals of mana control? What just happened to me?¡± He was still under the impression that the magic experiment hadn¡¯t begun at all, as Mia hadn¡¯t mentioned the beginning of her attack like last time. Once again, he hadn¡¯t made use of his breathing technique as he was speaking to her all the time. Hadn¡¯t he just been teaching her some basic knowledge? What just happened?


    ¡°Oh, you see, I started casting my spell while I was asking you to teach me,¡± Mia informed him directly. ¡°Just like announcing one¡¯s attacks, not everyone will be so kind as to tell you that they¡¯re an enemy who wants to kill you. If I was actually your enemy and not your employer, you¡¯d be dead right now despite the fact that I¡¯m just a little girl who¡¯s much weaker than you. You¡¯re supposed to be my bodyguard, yet you couldn¡¯t defend against my spell two times in a row. Remember, a bodyguard always needs to remain vigilant at all times.¡±


    While she had no desire to become his teacher, Mia viewed this as simply imparting some common sense to him. If she could fool him so easily, wouldn¡¯t it be the same for others as well?


    Colson didn¡¯t know what to say in response to Mia¡¯s frank admission. While he felt like he disagreed with the essence of her words, he was unable to come up with a rebuttal. He had allowed himself to be distracted twice in a row and wasn¡¯t even able to check if his breathing technique would work against her air removal spell or not.


    ¡°Milady¡­ I apologize. I was derelict in my duties.¡± Colson bowed lowered his head in shame. ¡°What you have said is true. I would understand if you wish to relieve me of my post.¡± In the end, he felt that he could only admit his incompetence and take any punishment that Mia wanted to hand out to him, including firing him from his job.


    The silver-haired girl shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Nobody is perfect. Didn¡¯t you say that we should train and learn how to become stronger together?¡± Mia stood up on tiptoe and patted Colson on the head. She suddenly got the impression that she was the older sister type character here despite the obvious age difference between them. Well, she supposed that technically she was mentally older than he was, even if not by much.


    Mia then pushed up on Colson¡¯s chin and tilted her head backwards, doing her best to be able to meet his eyes directly. ¡°Weren¡¯t you challenging my spell just now to see if you could defend against it? Is failing two times really enough to make you give up, Colson Azure? Shouldn¡¯t a proper knight have an indomitable spirit? Show me your resolve!¡±


    Mia did her best to give a speech that she felt like some classic hot-blooded protagonist would say, feeling that this type of motivational speech would work the best on someone with Colson¡¯s personality. Technically, this wasn¡¯t what her true personality was like. It was more that she would adapt herself to whoever she was dealing with.


    ¡°Milady¡­ I¡­ thank you for giving me another chance to prove myself and reminding me what¡¯s truly important, to never give up!¡± The cloudy aura around Colson seemed to be lifting already. He clasped both his hands around one of Mia¡¯s much smaller hands and shook it vigorously. ¡°I promise to serve and protect you faithfully, Milady! I shall make sure that you have nothing to fear!¡±


    Mia breathed a sigh of relief at seeing how Colson had evidently been consoled by this. In a way, this was yet another experiment of hers. Colson¡¯s personality was rather easy to read, but she still wanted to know just how accurately she could read him and predict his way of thinking.


    In the future, she would surely be meeting many characters from the game itself, each with their own unique personalities. Would it be possible for her to respond appropriately to each game character in turn to better her own situation? Would the game characters remain true to their personalities, or would things be changed due to her presence as a butterfly effect? How should she adapt? There were so many unknowns.


    Mia couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she was becoming a little selfish or twisted due to this new world she was in.

 Chapter 31 - Secretly an Earth Mage?

    After cheering the red-haired boy back up again using a heroic protagonist speech, Mia had to rest once more to allow her mana to recover.


    Last time, casting the [Drain Air] spell which constantly cost mana while maintaining the effects had sent her into mana fatigue. This time, she cast [Drain Air] twice, but rested in between each usage. She also stopped the spell each time before things could become any worse for Colson, and with Whimsy¡¯s support, she actually felt like she could still keep casting spells for a while longer.


    Mia took a look at her own status and found to her pleasant surprise that she still had approximately twenty-five percent mana remaining. This was the difference of Whimsy¡¯s [Wind Support] passive along with resting for ten minutes?


    The rat in the corner was perfectly still and unmoving. Mia had almost forgotten about it, with Colson somehow taking over the focus of the experiment that should have originally been on the rat.


    ¡°Is it¡­ dead?¡± No matter what Mia was doing to the rats involved in the experiment, she was still a girl. She definitely had a preference to avoid touching a rat if she could help it.


    Colson walked over and prodded it with his foot. The rat didn¡¯t respond at all. Flipping it over with his foot, Colson saw that the rat was bleeding from its orifices.


    ¡°Milady¡­ it happened again.¡± Colson kneeled down and checked the rat closer for any signs of life. ¡°I think it¡¯s still alive, right on the verge of death¡­ Is your spell really that effective?¡±


    Mia shook her head. ¡°No, it has limitations, remember? If it was that easy to use, I wouldn¡¯t need to perform all these experiments or take roundabout methods to come up with my own attack spells. Why do you think that I picked this storeroom? It¡¯s not only because this room is rather disused. More important to me is the environment here.¡±


    They cleaned up after themselves before the silver-haired girl then led Colson outside the mansion, continuing to make sure that nobody saw them by avoiding servants with the [Detection] spell. Mia stopped a few meters away from the mansion, indicating to Colson that he should set down the cage of rats in a patch of grass.


    ¡°Okay, would you please watch over me as I try my spell here? I want to see how the environment affects the spell that I came up with.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Colson prepared himself to watch and learn what he could as well. He had already found himself on the losing end of this spell of hers twice in a row, even if she used some slightly cheap tactics. It was his duty for both their sakes to discover if he could find any additional weaknesses of her spell.


    Mia took a deep breath and once again started casting [Drain Air] for the third time today on the vicinity of the rat cage.


    Casting [Drain Air] in the stuffy storeroom that lacked ventilation was akin to scooping water out of a cup, a process that was slow but doable.


    However, using [Drain Air] in a wide-open field was more analogous to scooping water out of an ocean! Whenever Mia moved a pocket of air away from the rat cage, another pocket of fresh air would instantly swoop in to replace it. Mia soon sensed that she was accomplishing nothing, and changed her spell.


    Could she somehow create a type of mini-vacuum and block off all fresh air from entering a certain area, even if it was out in the open? Mia tried combining her [Still Air] spell with [Drain Air] to see if she could somehow asphyxiate the rats. That was her penultimate goal, to defeat her opponents through scientific trickery rather than outright magical or physical brute force since she didn¡¯t have the means to do the latter.


    Unfortunately, maintaining these two spells constantly ended up draining her mana far too quickly. Not only that, Mia could still sense that some air was still breaking through ¨C her control was imperfect and unable to block off the area entirely.


    Mia could only cancel her spells and force herself to stop there as she sensed she was on the verge of entering the state of mana fatigue. Clenching her fists tightly, the little girl also grit her teeth and bit her lips in disappointment at not being able to succeed. Even though she had already expected it to be much harder in an open environment and that this might possibly fail, she still couldn¡¯t contain her feelings of letdown.


    Whimsy seemed to sense her disappointment and gently patted Mia on the back, reminding her that she wasn¡¯t by herself. The silver-haired girl shook herself, stomped her foot once in order to vent, then regained her composure.


    Meanwhile, Colson simply waited while staring at the rat cage, clueless as to what Mia was doing. However, he noticed a small commotion and turned to look at what was going on.


    While the red-haired boy had zero talent for sensing external mana outside his body and remained unaware of Mia¡¯s attempts to control the air, he could still tell that Mia was obviously frustrated.


    Was she¡­ throwing a small temper tantrum? Colson even witnessed her slime coming out to give her a small hug while she stomped on the ground. He put two and two together and figured that something must have failed.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Milady. There¡¯s always next time, even if you fail, right? We can do this together!¡± For once, Colson felt like Lady Mia Hart was acting her age. She always seemed so mature and calm, but she was prone to temper tantrums just like other young children as well? Colson was struck with the sudden urge to console her. He even reached out to pat Mia on the head, returning the favor from earlier.


    The moment he patted her on the head, *Smack!* A green tendril slapped his hand away. Whimsy jumped up onto Mia¡¯s head and appeared to be glaring at Colson in an angry manner!


    Mia giggled when she realized what was going on. She felt much better already simply from seeing all this.


    ¡°Haha, thanks for the thought, Colson. I¡¯ll be alright, really.¡± She did consider herself to mentally be a mature person who could at least regulate her own emotions. Unfortunately, it was far too early to be telling him something like that yet.


    ¡°I think that Whimsy considers my head as her own personal territory that only she gets to claim. I apologize, but I think you¡¯ll have to refrain from patting me on the head in the future.¡± The silver-haired girl chuckled once again.


    Was that really what happened to him just now? Colson was too surprised to even formulate a response. He had never realized before that slimes were capable of being so territorial!


    ¡°I appreciate your concern,¡± Mia continued. ¡°As you probably figured out already, my spell didn¡¯t work like I was hoping for, but I already expected as much, so it¡¯s okay. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day.¡±


    ¡°Rome? What¡¯s that? Is that some type of building?¡± Colson had never heard of such an object by the name of ¡°Rome.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ what I meant is that while this is important to me, it¡¯s not something so critical that it needs to be rushed. Yep, that¡¯s all!¡± Mia wiped some sweat off her forehead. That was bad of her! She was really going to have to pay closer attention to not use phrases from her previous world that people wouldn¡¯t understand here.


    ¡°Why was it that your spell failed?¡± Colson asked out of genuine curiosity. ¡°Didn¡¯t it succeed back in the storeroom? Normally, elemental spells are amplified by the environment they¡¯re in. Wind spells will usually receive a bonus, albeit small, from being cast while outdoors. Meanwhile, your wind magic should have been slightly weaker in that storeroom that was so dusty and poorly ventilated. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Well, you could say that my spell works oppositely from the norm. This particular spell works much better in an enclosed environment than in an open one, precisely because there¡¯s less air that I need to worry about. It¡¯s a matter of quantity.¡± Mia decided to go with such an explanation.


    Now that she thought about it after Colson reminded her, she wasn¡¯t much like a typical wind mage at all, was it? Wind magic was regarded as a magic type which excelled in area of effect damage, long range, and support spells related to one¡¯s speed, with terrain bonuses anywhere that was outdoors. Meanwhile, she excelled in defense with her self-created [Slime Armor] skill with Whimsy, and her greatest terrain bonus came from being in enclosed areas where she could more easily deplete the air. Was she secretly supposed to have been an earth mage instead?


    Who decided such things like the primary job class one automatically received, anyways? The God of Adventurers? Or was there some God of Job Classes or another God?


    Mia shook her head and decided to put such thoughts out of her mind. Even if there were Gods somewhere out there capriciously deciding upon such things, she doubted it was anything that a human like her would be able to interfere with. For now, she wanted more to focus on the present.


    ¡°For now, I¡¯d like to ask you to continue teaching me while I rest and recover my mana,¡± Mia requested to Colson. Upon seeing how he took two steps backwards from her, she added another sentence to reassure him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to attack you this time, I promise! My mana is almost exhausted, and I have no more reason to fool you, because I already showed you what I wanted you to realize, that you shouldn¡¯t trust others so easily. Could you teach me more about job classes?¡±


    Mia even tried to adopt an innocent-looking expression by widening her eyes. ¡°Please, won¡¯t you forgive me for tricking you earlier?¡±


    In the end, Colson found himself unable to resist the little girl¡¯s pleading and puppy eyes, causing him to sigh. ¡°What would you like to specifically know?¡±


    ¡°Specifically? Could you tell me in more detail about the benefits and downsides of having a physical and magical job class together?¡± This was a topic Mia was quite concerned about, since it had already happened to her.


    ¡°Mixed job classes? Alright.¡± Colson took a moment to gather his thoughts.


    ¡°First of all, people can only choose secondary job classes that they have the talent for. For instance, a person won¡¯t be able to become a wind mage like Milady without having the ability to control wind mana. Or, for physical job classes, you won¡¯t be able to enter a job class like swordsman without first having enough talent or been taught enough to understand the job class.¡±


    The red-haired boy took out a flask of water and took a sip to rinse his throat before he continued speaking. ¡°Physical and magical job classes tend to have different stat growth patterns. While each job class has slightly different variations, the overall trend is that physical job classes will have better stat growths in HP, Attack, and Defense as you level up, while magic job classes are oriented towards Mana, Magic, and Resistance stats. If you level up in two different job classes with very different stat specializations, you¡¯re going to end up having lower stat points all around than someone who focused on only physical or magic job classes. That will usually make you weaker in direct combat.¡±


    Colson paused at this point in his lecture. ¡°Are you following me on all this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mia nodded. ¡°Basically, a person that mixes job classes will become a generalist, and will probably never be as good at a particular role as a specialist can be. Is it really that bad, though? Aren¡¯t generalists usually more versatile and team-oriented?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just a nice way of putting it. When adventurers or mercenaries recruit for a team, everyone has a specific role to play on the team. Just think about it, would you really want someone who¡¯s only half decent at everything to perform a critical role like vanguard? Every major team out there would prefer to recruit a specialist. That¡¯s just how it is. Well, that¡¯s what my grandfather taught me,¡± Colson added at the end.


    Generalists weren¡¯t very popular with adventurer and mercenary teams? Mia had never thought of it in such a fashion before.


    Yet, Colson¡¯s logic made sense to her when she thought about it. She supposed that if she was recruiting and organizing her own team, she would probably want specialists on her team as well. And now that she thought about it, whenever she played video games with large casts of characters to choose from, she indeed picked specialist characters rather than the ¡°jack of all trades¡± type of characters.


    Even if generalists that mixed their job classes like Mia weren¡¯t considered a popular choice, Mia felt that there were still things that only she could accomplish. After all, she was quite familiar with the job class system of this video game world. While she couldn¡¯t claim to be intimately familiar with every single job class available, she had more than enough knowledge about what job classes were considered simply higher tier than others in overall power level and efficiency.


    Mia had a sudden flash of inspiration. Could she possibly try having people work under her command in the future, with herself customizing everyone¡¯s equipment and job classes? That would be quite similar to how some RPG games had the option where players could hire NPC characters and customize every little detail down to the party members¡¯ abilities. Mia wanted to try that out as well in the future, if she was able to.


    Still, that would require both reputation and money. Otherwise, who would even want to work for her? Mia also had doubts regarding whether it would be so easy to pull off in real life. Would other people really be willing to allow her to advise them on choosing sub-classes to complement their main job classes? Mia felt that if someone suddenly came up to her and told her to join whatever sub-class, she¡¯d feel like it was nothing more than a scam.


    ¡°Colson, have you ever thought about what you want for your own sub-class? As I recall, you haven¡¯t entered one yet, correct? And, would you be willing to let me pick one for you?¡±

 Chapter 32 - Give All Your Equipment and Clothes to Me!

    ¡°My sub-class? I haven¡¯t really thought about it. What suddenly brings this up? I thought that you didn¡¯t know very much about job classes, Milady?¡± Colson was understandably confused.


    Mia thought about how to phrase it to him. What was she supposed to say, that she was actually quite knowledgeable about job classes and their strengths as well as best abilities? What she lacked was just the foundational knowledge about how they worked in a real world, which was why she needed to ask him the basic questions.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re mine. If you¡¯re working for me, you belong to me. I reserve the right to choose the role you act in that best fits my needs. I¡¯ll help you choose a job class that¡¯s most suitable for your fighting style in the future and do my best to help you to grow stronger as well. Depending on whether you want to focus more on offense or defense, helping allies or personal strength, I¡¯ve read on this subject before in a book!¡±


    After some consideration, Mia decided to go with the spoiled little girl route. Nobody would be able to refuse a cute little girl, right?


    It wouldn¡¯t be necessary to outright force him into a specific sub-class that he didn¡¯t want. She was kind enough to offer him choices! And even though she could point him on the right path for which sub-classes were the best to choose from, it wasn¡¯t like she was actually a qualified teacher who could guide him. At most, she could describe a few skills to him and see if he could work out the rest on his own. This was all just something to think about in the future.


    ¡°My fighting style? Honestly, I think I¡¯m still just starting out on the path of the sword myself. I¡¯m still working on finding what I want to do, which is why I came here to join the army originally. Let¡¯s train well together and work at finding our paths of development! Of course I¡¯ll be yours,¡± Colson promised.


    He figured that Mia must have still been unhappy about not succeeding with her spell earlier, and agreed simply in order to placate her. Wasn¡¯t that one way of dealing with young children? This Mia seemed much easier for him to interact with and ¡°understand¡± compared to the calm and mature little girl.


    Mia looked Colson up and down, glancing over at the clothes that Colson was wearing. The red-haired boy was currently clad in a padded leather jacket, along with ordinary leather pants that were easy to move around in but offered scant protection. They were well-worn but showed signs of care, judging by the oil sheen and that his clothes were evidently old but not tattered.


    Was it that he didn¡¯t even have the money to afford to buy some better armor? Even the guards in the small Hart army had access to light leather armor and rudimentary chain mail that would offer more protection.


    Maybe it was true that Colson was just a poor boy who set out on a journey with almost nothing to his name when he first arrived here. But, hadn¡¯t he been receiving a salary for the past few months? What was he doing with the money?


    Perhaps it was now a time to have a conversation with him about his clothing. Since¡­


    ¡°What have you been doing with the salary you¡¯ve received for being my bodyguard? I apologize for prying into what should have been your personal freedom to spend as you like. Still, don¡¯t you know that half of getting stronger is all about the equipment? That you¡¯re supposed to constantly upgrade your equipment when you can afford it?¡±


    ¡°My money?¡± Colson paused for a moment. ¡°I haven¡¯t really touched it. Grandfather always told me to save my money and only spend it on things that were really important to me. I just haven¡¯t found anything to spend my money on yet, since I have free food and a free room to live in here. This is actually a pretty good job, so I¡¯m grateful to you, Milady.¡± He even flashed a bright and shiny smile at her at the end.


    Mia was rendered speechless as she thought about it. He had free food, free rent, and no bills to pay? That did indeed seem to be the case, didn¡¯t it? But why was it that a medieval world had much better working conditions than the modern world she came from? When she was a college student, she had been swamped with rent, tuition, and all sorts of bills!


    The silver-haired girl couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly aggrieved at how in this aspect, life in the medieval world was actually better. It was all because the benefits from working for a noble family like hers were so good! She now felt like she absolutely had to get Colson to spend some of his own money.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Well, she wasn¡¯t actually averse to spending her own money to equip her allies. Technically, that was how it worked in every game, with the main character in charge of everyone¡¯s money and deciding how to spend it all. It was just that she didn¡¯t actually have any money right now except for some pocket change. In fact, she was actually poorer off than Colson¡­


    ¡°You remember how we¡¯re joining the tax collection two days from now? You should go to town and buy some better equipment for yourself. Make sure that you¡¯re prepared for any possible incidents that arise.¡± Mia didn¡¯t mention the fact that the guards were far likelier to cause an incident than the citizens.


    ¡°Alright, Milady. I suppose I could go for a set of light armor that I¡¯ve been wanting.¡± The red-haired boy rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if you ever leave temporarily or permanently for whatever reasons, I won¡¯t force you to give all your equipment and clothes to me!¡± Mia spoke the first thing that came into her mind here. Since he was going to purchase new equipment for himself with his own money and not hers, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to have him leave it behind if he ever had to leave, now would it?


    Only when she noticed Colson¡¯s mouth wide agape expression did she realize that she made a mistake with her words. She really needed to remember and watch her mouth!


    ¡°Um¡­ if you¡¯re interested in my old clothes and equipment¡­ I suppose I have some old socks and shoes that I can give to you¡­¡± Colson spoke rather hesitantly, unsure why Mia had a sudden interest in his clothing.


    ¡°Ahhh! That¡¯s not what I meant at all!¡± Even Whimsy had a mystified expression as she jumped over and patted her on the back.


    What Mia had really been thinking about was that every time she knew a character would leave her party in a game, she would always strip the character of their valuable equipment and accessories¡­ Which wasn¡¯t quite so practical or doable in real life.


    She was just promising not to do something like that to him, that was all¡­ But the problem was that her words were so easy to misinterpret!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, forget I said anything.¡± Mia decided to forcefully ignore what just happened with a change in the topic of conversation. ¡°Here, take these matches that you gave me earlier. Now that I think about it, you¡¯re probably better at starting fires than I am. Do you know how to start a controlled fire?¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­ yeah¡­¡± Colson woodenly took the matches. He took a glance over at Whimsy, as if to say ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on here?¡± However, the Wind Slime averted its gaze from him and would only look at Mia in concern.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go start a fire already! This is to help me prepare for the duel against Barnaby, or do you really want to see him win? Oh, and make sure not to burn this entire area down.¡± The best way to stop him from thinking about what she just said, obviously, would be to keep him busy.


    Barnaby would be going along on the tax collection as well. No matter if he tried something during the tax collection or the upcoming duel, it was time for her to prepare against him.


    In the elemental natural laws, the most obvious one of all was that water would counter fire. In that case, should she try carrying some water on her? Or even go into the duel while drenching herself in water beforehand? Should she practice trying to fight while in wet clothes and wearing Whimsy as Slime Armor? That seemed a little¡­


    Regardless, there was no way for her to experiment with a magic source of fire at the moment. Except¡­ maybe the torches in the bat cave? But that was the God of Adventurers¡¯ source of magic. And, should she really be messing with a God?


    Mia shook her head and decided against it. It was probably best not to do anything that would antagonize a mysterious and unknown God. That would be far beyond anything she could handle. For now, she would focus on learning how to tamper with the elements.


    Apart from water countering fire, the cycle was that earth was strong against water, wind was superior to earth, and fire was supposed to be advantageous against wind. Meanwhile, light and darkness were both strong against each other. This was an incredibly common element balance seen in many games.


    Why was fire advantageous against wind? The way Mia understood it was that any wind magic directed at a fire had a tendency to power it up instead due to giving it even more of its fuel: oxygen.


    If that was the case, then Mia felt that magical fires were more than likely to work based off the same laws of nature that she was used to.


    As she was thinking all this, Colson gathered some firewood as well as stones to surround the fire with and lit the fire.


    ¡°The fire is ready, Milady. What will you be doing with it? Are you going to try and put it out with magic?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, something like that. This is exactly why I¡¯m experimenting.¡±


    To be honest, Mia was quite curious how well Whimsy would hold up against a real fire. However, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to test that on the Wind Slime. There was just no way she could treat her companion like that.


    It would have to become a matter about keeping her distance from Barnaby during the duel and not allowing him to close the gap. Was it time to start trying to self-invent some of the wind self-buff spells from the game focused on her speed? Maybe she should ask Dega for assistance with that tomorrow.


    Mia continually tried casting [Still Air] on the area, but was unable to snuff out the fire. The most that happened was that the fire flickered and appeared to weaken ever so slightly. There was simply no way for Mia to differentiate between oxygen and all the other gases present in the air and only remove the oxygen. Nor was it possible for her to deaden the air entirely. More air would always rush in eventually, not under her control.


    Meanwhile, Whimsy was bouncing around everywhere, evidently in a happy mood. When Mia came close to exhausting her mana reserves yet again, Whimsy returned and gave Mia her support.


    With nothing else to do while resting, Mia took out the Status Stone and checked Whimsy¡¯s current level and abilities. It had been a while since she last did so, and it seemed as if Whimsy was possibly growing even faster than she was ever since they all started training together. The Wind Slime had even started providing [Wind Support] to her on its own.


    Upon checking the Wind Slime¡¯s status, Mia was so surprised that she almost dropped the Status Stone! What was with all these skills that it had somehow managed to learn by itself? [Raid]? [Savagery]? [Armor Mastery]? [Oil Secretion]? [Toughness]? Just what was going on?

 Chapter 33 - Secretly Talented Slime?

    [Whimsy, Mia¡¯s pet]


    Race: Wind Slime


    Level: 5


    HP: 45


    Mana: 43/80


    Attack: 4


    Defense: 22


    Magic: 10


    Resistance: 18


    Skills: Armor Mastery, Oil Secretion, Raid, Savagery, Slime Armor, Toughness


    Magic: Breeze Magic, Detection, Drain Air, Eavesdrop, Still Air, Wind Support


    Pet Bond: D rank


    Upon checking Whimsy¡¯s full status window, not only had the Wind Slime managed to learn the same bandit skills as Mia, she had even managed to copy Mia¡¯s wind magic spells!


    ¡°What¡­ just how is this possible?¡± Mia muttered to herself. Were all magical monsters supposed to be capable of learning human abilities? Or, was there something special about Whimsy?


    Noticing that something appeared to be amiss, Colson asked if anything was the matter.


    ¡°Colson, you have some experience fighting against monsters, right? Are magical beasts supposed to be able to use human abilities as well?¡±


    ¡°What? Magical beasts usually have their own skillsets. I suppose it is possible for some of their skills or spells to overlap with human ones, such as the incredibly common [Fireball] spell. Why do you suddenly ask?¡±


    ¡°Take a look at this.¡± Mia handed him the Status Stone so he could see for himself.


    Some seconds later, Colson dropped the Status Stone, hitting himself in the foot! He yelped and hopped up and down on one foot as Mia picked up the stone.


    ¡°Milady¡­ what is this? Your pet slime has learned so many skills and spells! I don¡¯t even recognize half of them, although I do know of [Savagery]¡­ isn¡¯t that a classic warrior-type skill? How did your pet even learn such a skill!?¡±


    ¡°I think that Whimsy has been watching us as we trained,¡± Mia explained even though she was unsure herself just what occurred. ¡°¡­Maybe slimes just have the ability to copy what they see?¡±


    Was this an ability of slimes in general, or could all magic beasts learn abilities created by humans? Mia felt that this definitely needed testing in the future. Maybe ¡°slime bandits¡± would really become a thing after all?


    ¡°You need to be careful about this, Milady. I don¡¯t particularly mind it myself, as Grandpa always said to keep an open mind. However, there¡¯s some out there that will consider it heretical to be getting so close to monsters and even teaching them human skills.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll keep it in mind. What are some groups that are anti-monster?¡±


    ¡°Um, mostly religious groups, I believe. There¡¯s too many out there to count. But our main church in Hoplia, the Elemental Church, has a relatively neutral stance on monsters.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Mia took the Status Stone from Colson and looked back over at Whimsy¡¯s status window once more.


    There were some new categories, such as Whimsy¡¯s [Pet Bond] which showed they were at D rank. If E rank was the category that represented strangers, Mia supposed this meant they were at least on friendly terms now?


    At least their Pet Bond ranking was higher than her magical ranking! Mia idly wondered if it would be possible to have Whimsy tested for magical aptitude like a human. Would it be possible to have a Slime Mage or even Slime Archmage?A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    That feeling when your pet was stronger than you¡­ Actually, upon taking a second look, every single one of Whimsy¡¯s stats was higher than her own, except for Attack! She only beat out her own pet slime by 1 measly point in Attack, and they had identical Magic ratings of 10.


    Sure, Whimsy was one level higher than she was, but that didn¡¯t mean much in the grand scheme of things! Was it simply a racial bonus that slimes had on humans to have so many extra base stats? Or was it simply due to her own young age?


    Mia couldn¡¯t help but almost wish that she was reincarnated into a slime, instead! Well, that would only be if she could still retain her human mind.


    Okay, there was also the Mana stat ¨C Mia supposed that she had more Mana than Whimsy did. Still, this was of little consolation.


    Mia was certain that Whimsy previously didn¡¯t have a Mana stat recorded. Was it because Whimsy didn¡¯t know how to cast any spells in the past?


    ¡°Whimsy, I choose you! Use [Breeze Magic]!¡±


    However, the green slime merely blinked innocently at her. Whimsy then hopped up onto her head and proceeded to lick Mia¡¯s face with a long, slimy tongue.


    Colson simply remained numb to the sight. ¡®Nothing should surprise me anymore when it comes to Milady and her slime,¡¯ he commented in his mind.


    Mia did her best to ignore the heat rising up on her face. It was simply too irresistible an opportunity to not make a reference there!


    In the end, she supposed that Whimsy was more like an NPC ally who would act with her own will. Perhaps Whimsy could infer certain things from the situation, but it appeared that the Wind Slime still couldn¡¯t be communicated with. That would need to wait for the gradual progression of their Pet Bond as well as Whimsy obtaining more levels to see if Whimsy could improve in intelligence.


    One noticeable absence from Whimsy¡¯s list of spells was the [Whisper] spell that Mia could use to communicate with Colson at a distance of over ten meters. Was this simply because Whimsy was unable to verbalize anything?


    But, why was it then that Whimsy apparently knew how to use the [Eavesdrop] spell to listen to others on the wind? Mia tried to imagine Whimsy spying on human conversations or other endeavors¡­ how would that even work? Was it that the slime found humans a curiosity that were fun to observe?


    There was also the issue of Whimsy¡¯s physical-based skills¡­ [Raid] and [Savagery] were clearly from the bandit class training that she underwent with Dega yesterday. No other explanation could be possible.


    Yet, nothing showed up on Whimsy¡¯s status window about a job class. There were also the [Armor Mastery] and [Toughness] skills¡­


    [Armor Mastery] simply referred to familiarity with using armor, and it provided a +5 bonus to Defense at level 1 of the skill. [Toughness] was a standard damage reduction skill which would continue leveling up as one took damage. This skill started out at 7% damage reduction at level 1.


    Yet, Mia was aware that these two skills were both basic foundational skills of the knight job class. What were they doing in Whimsy¡¯s skillset together with the bandit¡¯s [Raid] and [Savagery] skills? Was this a sign that Whimsy was capable of developing skills based on actions taken and experiences, regardless of job classes?


    Mia kneeled down and removed Whimsy from her head, placing the green slime in front of her. She then looked Whimsy in the eyes¡­ and lightly stretched the slime¡¯s squishy cheeks! Not knowing what was happening, Whimsy escaped back onto Mia¡¯s head, where she let the slime be.


    ¡°I¡¯m so envious of you, Whimsy! You¡¯re so lucky that you get to learn so many skills! Why do human bodies have so many limitations!?¡± Rather than being jealous, right now she just wanted to tease the slime, just a little. It wasn¡¯t like she truly wanted a non-human body!


    ¡°Hey, Colson, after the tax collection, will you go through the basics of swordsmanship training with me one more time?¡± She had started to learn the sword before she met Whimsy. While it was doubtful that Whimsy could wield a sword, maybe it would still benefit the slime in some way?


    And, just what if, the slime could somehow whip a sword around? Although Mia attempted to imagine it, the scene seemed too cute to her to make it work. But anyways, there would never be any harm in training her fundamentals more deeply. She knew that she had been slacking off from sword training over the past few days.


    ¡°Yes, of course, Milady! I¡¯m always more than happy to train in the path of the sword with you, any time you wish!¡± Colson was quite pleased to see his master working hard at training.


    What was with this last mysterious ability, though?


    [Oil Secretion]: When in Slime Armor form, secretes a small amount of aromatic oil.


    That was all the skill description said, leaving Mia with nothing else to go on. She definitely recalled no such skill available in the game.


    Previously, she already noticed that Whimsy had been secreting oil, but never expected that it became an actual skill! Just what other daily life conveniences could actually become skills as well? The closest analogy to Whimsy¡¯s oil that Mia could think of was skincare products from her original world.


    Mia almost wanted to put Barnaby and the tax collection out of her mind to learn more about Whimsy and the other creatures of this world. It was a real pity that a Pet Bond could only be established with one pet monster.


    Technically, Mia supposed that she could try training additional monsters herself regardless of any limitations. However, that seemed bothersome, not to mention the fact that without a Pet Bond, it would be impossible to become very close to the pet monster in question. It was doubtful whether a second pet monster would even obey her command.


    First of all, she needed to convince others to agree and try and learn how to tame a pet slime from her. Dega already tentatively agreed, but there was another excellent experimental subject, er, subordinate right here, wasn¡¯t there? Mia wondered to herself how she could convince Colson to accept having his own pet slime as well. Perhaps she should try catching a Fire Slime for him to go together with his red hair?


    Mia glanced over at the still crackling fire. Just as how a sufficiently hot enough fire would be able to evaporate water, she felt that there was still yet another option available to her so that her wind magic could overcome its natural weakness to fire magic.


    ¡°Colson, back away from the fire a good distance, will you? I¡¯d like for you to stand more than twenty meters away. The next and final experiment I have in mind with the fire could get a little dangerous.¡±


    If her magic was unable to work on fires, then she would simply use science instead.


    Mia also backed away what she estimated to approximately ten meters away from the small fire. Ten meters was getting into the outer limits of how far she could control the breezes around her, and she wanted to put as much possible distance between her and the fire for what she wanted to do next.


    From under her clothes, the silver-haired girl took out a sack filled with a certain fine powder that she had pilfered from the kitchen.

 Chapter 34 - Flour explosion

    Mia grabbed a small handful of flour from the cloth sack and released the flour onto the wind, allowing her basic [Breeze] magic to carry it towards the fire.


    While doing so, Mia noted that the outside of the cloth sack was slightly covered in Whimsy¡¯s green goo and oil. Fortunately, the flour inside remained dry, but Mia wondered what she should do if she wanted to carry more items on her.


    Why was it that she couldn¡¯t magically carry ninety-nine of every single item type on her? Mia felt that it would be difficult for her to keep ten Paralysis Potion bottles on her body, much less ninety-nine. Where was a magic infinite inventory when she needed it? If she ever came across someone who possessed dimensional storage magic, she would definitely instantly recruit that person.


    Meanwhile, Mia tentatively backed away as the flour slowly drifted towards the fire. Just in case, she even decided to get down flat on the ground.


    Noticing her caution, Colson couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going on. Although he was currently ten meters behind her, he started heading over. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Milady?¡±


    ¡°Get down!¡± Mia hissed at him in a low voice. ¡°The fire might explode!¡±


    Explode? Why would it randomly just explode? Colson raised his eyebrows, but did as requested and crouched down on the ground.


    Mia was trying to reproduce a scientific phenomenon that she had only heard about but never tried out before: dust explosions. This concept was something she learned about from watching a certain detective boy anime.


    If what she learned was true, this wheat flour she just spread into the air was capable of causing a dust explosion. It was supposed to be much easier to cause in enclosed locations, but Mia didn¡¯t want to try that quite yet as it would be quite difficult to control. Why not just start out small?


    Mia held her breath as she carefully guided the wind to deposit the handful of flour right on top of the fire. However¡­ nothing appeared to happen at all.


    ¡°Nothing is happening at all, Milady.¡± Colson was wondering if he could stand up again yet.


    ¡°Yes, thank you very much for stating the obvious. Now get down, and stay down, until I tell you that it¡¯s safe to stand up.¡±


    After ensuring that Colson obediently remained on the ground, Mia thought about what it was that she was missing. Was the dust density still insufficient to cause a combustible explosion? However, the more flour she used, the larger the resulting explosion would be. Would it really be fine to use more flour?


    ¡°Whimsy!¡± The silver-haired girl covered herself with wind mana, attracting the Wind Slime over as always. She then had Whimsy take the Slime Armor form on herself before she tried again.


    This time, Mia grabbed two handfuls of flour and released it on her breeze, backing up immediately as she did so. She backed up all the way until she reached Colson, approximately fifteen meters away from the fire and at the very outskirts of how far her breeze control extended.


    Just in case, she remained in front of Colson, figuring that Whimsy¡¯s Slime Armor form would probably be better able to defend against any potential heat wave from the explosion than Colson¡¯s physical body and light leather clothing would.


    Mia counted down for several seconds until her breeze carrying the flour reached the crackling fire again¡­ then she got down as flat as she could and covered her head. Some more seconds later though, nothing had occurred once more than she could see with her naked eye.


    All Colson saw was that the silver-haired girl kept releasing some white powder into the air before behaving strangely. Was this some sort of strange ritual or prayer of hers? This action didn¡¯t possibly seem like it had any danger at all as she kept stating. Did it really have anything to do with her supposed anti-fire research?


    ¡°Milady¡­ If you would like to pray, I can teach you the Elemental Church¡¯s most basic form for praying to the Elemental Lords¡­¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to pray here.¡± Mia was quite mystified. Just what part of her actions just now had seemed like an attempt at prayer to him? What exactly did praying in this world even look like? Perhaps she should look into learning more about the local religion later, simply to fit in better with this world.


    The God of Adventurers clearly existed, with his magical torches and treasure chests in the bat cave being the best evidence of all. That meant the Elemental Lords that Colson spoke of were likely quite real as well. Mia decided it would be best to keep an open mind and tread carefully so as to not offend any gods.


    ¡°This is a defensive magic spell that I¡¯m testing out against fire,¡± Mia told him. She didn¡¯t know how to properly explain the science of rapid combustion to him, considering that she was no expert on the topic herself. Nor would it be a good idea to actually explain it, with her young age. Luckily, there was always the convenient excuse of ¡°magic¡± in this world.


    ¡°¡­Really? Milady, I may not be an expert on magic, but it doesn¡¯t appear to me that you¡¯re spreading any magical ingredients into the air there. Remember, Milady, drugs are bad for your body, especially at your age! You should make sure never to touch illegal drugs!¡± Colson adopted a rather serious expression.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m not doing drugs, don¡¯t worry. This is only ordinary wheat flour. Have a look for yourself.¡± Mia beckoned for Colson to come take a look.


    After Colson confirmed that the white powder was indeed just flour and not some suspicious drug, he actually became more confused. ¡°If this is just flour, why are you throwing handfuls of it in the air?¡±


    ¡°That? I¡¯m simply doing so as a concentration aid.¡± Mia made up the first excuse that came to her mind. ¡°Throwing it makes me feel happy and relaxed, so that it¡¯s easier for me to cast spells. Would you like to try it for yourself?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ no thank you.¡± Colson gestured that he wasn¡¯t interested with a hand wave. Maybe she was just a young child after all who was easily satisfied with something so simple? Or was she secretly a druggie after all? He glanced directly over at the slime-clad Mia, unsure what to make of her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not interested in trying it out? It¡¯s your loss. But for real, this could be quite dangerous, so get back down again.¡± Mia ignored Colson¡¯s evident confusion. He would soon see anyways that dust explosions were a powerful force to be reckoned with. ¡­That is, if she could succeed in igniting one in the first place.


    Mia made up her mind and emptied the entire sack of flour into the wind. Maybe her hands were still too tiny and the amount of flour she used was still too insufficient? She might as well just use all the flour on her, consequences be damned. It wasn¡¯t like there was that much flour in the sack to begin with, Mia consoled herself.


    This time, the amount of flour that flew towards the fire was of a sufficient amount that a white cloud was visible to the naked eye. Mia wondered if she should keep her eyes open or closed, but in the end decided to keep them open out of curiosity for what would happen.


    When the white cloud reached the fire, it suddenly rapidly expanded in size and turned orange-red! In less than a second, the fiery cloud exploded, sending a shockwave through the ground and residual heat through the air!


    The fireball spread rapidly in area before disappearing almost as fast as it arrived, leaving behind only some smaller burning fires in the grass along with a small amount of flour still visible on the ground. Mia quickly cast [Still Air] on the area in an attempt to control the fires, but found to her surprise that the fires soon burned themselves out. Was it because the explosion had consumed most of the oxygen in the nearby area?


    Mia had only felt a sensation of warmth wash over her due to the fact that she was covered with the cool Wind Slime. She peeled Whimsy off of herself and petted the Wind Slime to find that Whimsy¡¯s skin was also slightly warm to the touch. So, Whimsy wasn¡¯t too bothered by the heat conduction, was it?


    In that case, how was Colson doing? Mia turned around to check on his condition.


    Colson¡­ appeared to be mostly fine, except for the fact that his mouth was wide agape and that he remained absolutely still, prostrate on the ground. Mia poked at him.


    There was no reaction, so Mia poked him again, this time in the stomach.


    ¡°Hey, that tickles!¡± Finally, she got a reaction out of him.


    ¡°What¡­ what, just happened?¡± Colson inquired in a shaky voice.


    ¡°What happened? It¡¯s my wind magic anti-fire spell,¡± Mia informed him.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s amazing! Milady, you must be a magical genius! The fire element is supposed to counter wind, so how did you even do it?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s nothing, really. I¡¯m just glad that I was able to make it work.¡± Rather than feeling proud, Mia was actually more relieved that she finally managed to succeed on the third try. All she really did was copy an idea that she saw in an anime. It wasn¡¯t like she invented the concept of a dust explosion from scratch.


    ¡°But, Milady, judging from the power of that explosion just now, it would surely be fatal for anyone who stood closer to the center of the radius¡­¡± The red-haired boy now had a worried expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll only use this spell as a last resort,¡± Mia promised. ¡°It¡¯s just an ace card to protect myself. Please make sure not to tell anyone about it. ¡­Besides, it will only be useful against fire mages, who typically have some fire resistance against their own magic at the very least,¡± she added after a short pause.


    ¡°Ah! Alright then.¡± Colson appeared to believe her words, although truth be told, Mia didn¡¯t know for sure what would happen if she used this on a real person like Barnaby, even if he was a fire mage. Nor was there any feasible way for her to experiment on a live fire mage, but it was definitely certain that an ordinary human would die. At least, she had been telling the truth that she would use this only as a last resort.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough for today.¡± It was time to end this conversation here. If he kept asking about the nature of the spell she just used, Mia was unsure if she would still be able to come up with some suitable excuse. ¡°Remember to go into town tomorrow and purchase some new equipment and armor for yourself. I¡¯ll be preparing my own things for the tax collection two days from now as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Milady. ¡­But what should we do about this place?¡± Colson was looking at the patch of grassland that was now nothing more than a burnt black crisp.


    ¡°¡­Just leave it, I suppose. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it now.¡± Mia closed her eyes for a moment and offered a small prayer. ¡°My apologies for damaging the land here. Next time, I¡¯ll make sure to choose a barren location for any fire experiments.¡±


    In the end, Mia and Colson did some minor cleaning up in the area before they finally left and returned to the Hart mansion.


    As Mia rested back in her room, she dreamed about Whimsy¡¯s skills for an entire night. Upon waking up the next morning, she felt almost as if she could visualize already how to continually help the Wind Slime grow stronger than she was. Perhaps she should ask Dega about the topic of skill books for monsters when they met up later today to finalize the plans for the tax collection tomorrow?

 Chapter 34.5 - Side Story: Adventures of a Wind Slime

    Whimsy POV


    Slimes were a type of creature that possessed average intelligence. They were an incredibly common magical monster which could be found just about everywhere: in forests, open plains, caves, your backyard, grandma¡¯s pie, and so on¡­ okay, the last part was just a joke.


    Slimes themselves came in a wide variety as well and were almost always color coded. They ranged from the lowest level of slime with no abilities whatsoever, to Elemental Slimes, or Terrain (Cave, Wood, Mountain, and so on) Slimes that were simply recolored palettes of other slimes.


    There were all sorts of Metal Slimes of different metals, which were quite rare due to the fact that their bodies were highly prized as excellent magical crafting material for high-tier equipment, thus leading to them being hunted to almost extinction. Even rarer were Gem Slimes, as the capture of just a single one meant more riches than one would be able to spend in their entire life ¨C if they were able to protect such wealth, that was.


    According to legend, there were even slimes that had mastered some of the highest-level concepts, such as so-called Time Slimes. Still, nobody knew if such Time Slimes really even existed, as their very existence was impossible to verify.


    Regardless, this is simply the story of one particular Wind Slime known only as #17 in slime language.


    While all the different types of slimes had different food sources, Elemental Slimes in particular loved to feed on their corresponding elemental mana. The low-level slimes may have been famous for acting non-aggressively toward humans, but this was simply because they didn¡¯t view humans as a food source.


    Wind Slime #17 was a young, newly-born Wind Slime of indeterminate gender, not much different from any other slime in Clearlight Forest. Well, it could be said that #17 was just a little bit stronger and just a little bit smarter than the others, which resulted in slightly higher than average base stats than other Wind Slimes.


    Typically, #17 spent its days hunting the Humongous Bees in the forest for the wind element crystals, the essence of wind mana, within the bees¡¯ bodies. Clearlight Forest was a nice and safe location for the slimes, as all the monsters here were very low level and the slimes possessed no natural enemies here. Of course, this also meant that it was impossible for any slime to ever achieve a very high power level here as there was nothing but low level opponents for them.


    One day, the young #17 came across a pair of two-legged monsters the likes of which it had never seen before in its young life. For some mysterious reason, although it could tell that these two two-legged monsters (henceforth referred to as humans) were of the same species, one appeared much taller than the other, and they didn¡¯t physically resemble each other at all. The bigger one had really red hair¡­ it knew that Fire Slimes were red, so did this mean he was a Fire Human?


    But, #17 was unconcerned with the identity of what it presumed to be a Fire Human. It sensed that swirling all around the silver-haired girl was a high density of its favorite meal, wind mana!


    #17 acted on its instincts and jumped immediately to where the wind element was the densest ¨C around the little girl¡¯s head. It then relaxed itself and claimed its spot there, soaking in the breeze that evidently originated from this little girl.


    This was like heaven! Was this the true meaning of ambrosia? #17 had never managed to taste pure wind element mana before. To think that it had only ever known how to absorb wind element crystals before! The difference was as great as if someone who had only obtained their nutrition their entire life through vitamin pills had just eaten a real meal for the first time in their life.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The Wind Slime only needed to sit on the Wind Girl¡¯s head and absorb the wind element through its porous skin. Unlike humans that could only get stronger through combat and experience, slimes were able to grow stronger simply through the action of consuming ¨C or in some instances, devouring, for species such as Undead Slimes.


    #17 was elated at this wonderful new source of food. It didn¡¯t even have to work hard to obtain the wind element mana, as it surrounded this little girl!


    After satiating itself, #17 hopped off the Wind Girl creature that had an expression it recognized as surprise. There were no traces of hostility and feralness that were always present in the Humongous Bees and Wild Boars of the forest. #17 decided to observe this new food source.


    Since there was no hostility emanating from the girl, #17 allowed her to press what appeared to be some strange stone against itself. Although it sensed a magic power within the stone that activated on contact with itself, the spell didn¡¯t seem to be harmful in any way, so #17 ignored it.


    #17 started spending its time on observing this curious new food source. One meal for it would last for more than a day at a time, so it now had plenty of free time now that it no longer needed to hunt Humongous Bees. The Wind Girl and Fire Boy came by to the forest to visit it almost every day. #17 was quite pleased with this turn of events. Was the Wind Girl making offerings to it?


    The Wind Slime could sense that the Wind Girl was quite weak, even weaker than itself, along with the fact that Fire Boy seemed to be much stronger. However, it was evident from the humans¡¯ interactions, that the Fire Boy was the subservient one, a fact that the Wind Slime didn¡¯t quite understand. Monsters always lived by the law of the jungle, where the strongest were the rulers. But if the Wind Girl was accepting it as her ruler, then didn¡¯t that make it the strongest?


    #17 simply had a more adventurous spirit than other slimes. Veteran slimes knew that humans were dangerous to be around and avoided the pair of humans that came back to the forest every day. Other slimes were scared or hesitant of the unknown. #17 was one of the few who even constantly approached the Wind Girl for more of that heavenly breeze that always seemed to swirl around her.


    As time passed, #17 noted that this girl appeared to only have two hobbies ¨C pressing that magic stone object on the slimes, along with swinging some sort of wooden stick around every day. For the first time in its life, #17 experienced the emotion known as pity ¨C it pitied the girl for what it viewed as having such a boring life. For slimes as well as most other monsters of either below-average or only average monster-level intelligence, eating and becoming stronger were the only interesting things in life.


    One day, the Wind Slime noticed that its food source was being chased towards its direction by a group of Wild Boars. This was no good! The slime knew that the Wind Girl was relatively weak and probably not a match for the boars. But, how dare those boars touch its food source! That was something it absolutely couldn¡¯t forgive!


    Since the Wind Girl was kind enough to bring it offerings of wind mana on a daily basis, #17 decided to take her in as its subordinate. Wasn¡¯t it the responsibility of a ruler to defend their subordinates?


    #17 had at least some combat experience from fighting a few Wild Boars and hunting the Humongous Bees in the forest. It understood that its slime skin was highly durable and would barely feel a thing from these other low-level monsters¡¯ attacks. Although its own attacks were quite weak as well, the slime could simply whittle other monsters slowly to death.


    The slime made use of its stretchy, elastic body and plastered itself all over the Wind Girl, covering all of the fleshy creature with itself. Why was it that these human creatures were so soft and easily injured?


    Unfortunately, #17 was unable to attack in such a form. Even it instinctively understood that only defense and not offense was no way to win a battle. It was quite nervous as it waited to see what the Wind Girl would do.


    To its pleasant surprise, now that #17 was protecting the girl, she was able to beat the Wild Boars simply by waving that little wooden stick around. In fact, the slime counted the number of hits it took to defeat each boar and discovered that the weak Wind Girl was able to defeat them much quicker than it itself could have with its tendril slaps.


    Maybe this Wind Girl wasn¡¯t so weak after all? #17 was somewhat confused. It possessed, like all monsters did, an innate ability to roughly estimate other creatures¡¯ power levels. While it understood that it wasn¡¯t exactly strong, far from it, its senses clearly told her that the silver-haired girl was even weaker than itself. Had something gone wrong with its senses?


    Seeing this helped #17 to realize that there was still much about the world that it still didn¡¯t understand. For the first time in its life, #17 made a conscious decision rather than an instinctive one. It wanted to continually improve itself and learn more about the world around it. Curiosity was a trait that was present in more than just humans.


    And, most importantly of all, if it kept allowing its food source to run amok as she pleased, who knew what dangers this Wind Girl would find herself in? #17 considered it unacceptable that anything should happen to its subordinate that treated it so well.


    And so, #17, who would in the future later be known as Whimsy, began its travels together with Mia Hart, allowing the silver-haired girl to carry it around everywhere, and even beginning to imitate some of her actions.

 Chapter 35 - Tax Collection (Part 1)

    The morning of the day before the scheduled "tax collection".


    "Hey, been waiting long?" A whisper arrived on the wind while Dega was waiting in the forest and doing his own physical training routine.


    He looked around, but nobody seemed to be here next to him at all. Still, the voice was a familiar one. "Is that you, Mia?" Dega asked aloud in confusion.


    For a moment, Mia was tempted to answer with "No, I am your mother," but shook her head and decided it would be in poor taste.


    "Yeah, it''s me. I''m using a wind magic spell to communicate with you at a short distance," the silver-haired girl informed him while stepping out from behind a tree. "I''d like to ask you to keep a set distance away so that I can talk to you instantly if any situation occurs¡­"


    The two of them talked about what they felt was likely to happen and made various plans. Mia''s primary goal here was to help Colson see the reality of the world as a way of training him into one of her right-hand men, along with a special plan she made just for Barnaby in case he somehow managed to go off by himself and get captured by the bandits.


    With Mia helping from within, it would be quite easy for the bandits to keep track of the guards'' actions. While the guards went around everywhere in large groups, exceptions would always occur, with the most common reason being a bathroom break.


    All the guards that volunteered themselves for the tax excursions were already of the less savory sort. The difference between them and Dega''s bandits was a very thin line indeed. It was just that the guards picked on the weakest group of all, the citizens, while bandits tended more to pick on wealthy merchants. Mia told Dega not to worry about attacking any guard with their pants down and that it would be an excellent opportunity to thin the guards'' ranks.


    Naturally, if a few of the guards died, Mia''s plan was to eventually have some of the lesser known bandits join the guard themselves, so that she could have her own subordinates within the Hart army as well.


    Dega was also itching for a chance at taking some action against the hated Hart army. "I''ll be ready," he promised. "Leave any blood-shedding to me."


    Mia nodded. None of her plans involved anything major ¨C she preferred to take things step by step. Still, she was now actively plotting someone''s death, no matter how evil they were.


    Even though Mia resolved herself, she still slept poorly that night. Unfortunately, there was no way to postpone this tax collection trip that had already been scheduled for so long. Roughly half the guards in the Hart army would be going, a party consisting of twenty-something men.


    Although Palmo City was the demesnes, or direct area under the control of the Count, Palmo was always spared from tax collection. This was because the Count was a villain who didn''t pick on his immediate neighbors, and that the tiny city''s population mostly consisted of the wealthiest merchants in the domain as well as the servants and guards'' families.


    Palmo always got spared from the tax collection efforts. Of course nothing came for free, in exchange the merchants had to bribe the Count in order to be able to do business. Naturally, the Count enriched his own coffers rather than handing such unrecorded money over to the Hoplia Kingdom.


    Early in the morning, Mia arrived at the barracks to join the guards'' procession heading for the nearby Clearlight Town. The supposed soldiers had seen her join them multiple times before and felt nothing of it. The first time it happened, they had mightily protested, thinking that she would be nothing more than a troublesome babysitting job.


    Mia had forced her way along that time by claiming her status as a noble, saying something like it was necessary for her to learn about her own domain and how things worked. The guards guffawed at the time and let her come along, only to mostly forget her presence because Mia never said a word and simply observed their atrocities without comment.


    Once the guards learned that she was barely there, just like a ghost, and didn''t need much babysitting, they stopped caring about what they did and always went about business as usual, ignoring the fact that there was a little girl amongst their midst. This time, however, there was a new face joining them, the red-headed bodyguard of the little girl.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Yo! Nice to see that Mr. Sword Teacher here has finally deigned to join us, heh heh heh. Hey, don''t worry, I''m a nice guy, and I''m willing to share a slice of the pie with ya as long as ya do some work, gahaha." One "nice" guard even came over and offered to share the spoils with Colson, knowing full well that the farm boy probably didn''t know what he was talking about.


    "It''ll be my honor. I''ll make sure to work hard and do my best so that I don''t drag everyone down," Colson responded.


    Naturally, there were also guards that were jealous of Colson''s special treatment as a newbie in being able to get hired as Mia''s personal bodyguard, which meant a slightly higher salary as well as a room for him in the mansion, rather than having to stay in the barracks like all the rest. At the very beginning, some irascible guards had challenged Colson to duels. However, the end result was that they all lost.


    The average level of guards in the Hart army was merely at level 10. They typically had only mediocre combat experience at best, and most were "failed" adventurers that couldn''t take the lifestyle or didn''t want to risk themselves in danger. While this was all quite low compared to most average adventurers, it was more than sufficient for them to run around in a province like the Hart domain.


    After all, the Hart domain was a rural location filled with mountains and forests. Agriculture was the mainstay of the domain, and this land had no particular unique exports or valuable resources. There weren''t even any known high-level dungeons in here that could be exploited. And once Count Hart started ruling, the Hart domain grew only poorer and poorer.


    To attract adventurers here, concrete benefits were required. But what was there to even do in the Hart domain? The Adventurers Guilds in this domain had closed up shop due to a lack of business. Ever since then, high-level adventurers almost entirely stopped visiting.


    It was also said that part of the reason was that Count Hart hated the idea of having more powerful individuals than himself within his own domain. While there were plenty of adventurers out there far more powerful than the Count, who was only in the level 20s, most adventurers would choose against directly opposing the nobility of a country, as opposing a noble would typically bring about the wrath of an entire government. Thus, Count Hart had it easy in his own domain, being able to rule like a king, with his guards doing as they pleased.


    Colson was a sixteen-year-old teenager in the prime of his youth who loved to train, having already reached level 12. Although there wasn''t much of a significant power level difference on the surface between him and the other guards, most of the guards now led a relatively sedentary lifestyle. It was a foregone conclusion that he would win the duel challenges.


    Naturally, this caused some guards to resent him even more. Still, as the saying went, out of sight, out of mind. Colson was barely around the barracks as he mostly attended to Mia''s personal needs. While some guards greatly disliked him, this was mostly out of an instinctive recognition that he wasn''t of their own kind. However, none of them had such deep grudges that they hated him to death, or anything like that.


    What, they were supposed to hate him to death for beating them in duels? These guards were more people that could only pick on the weak and feared the strong. Besides, Colson didn''t really have direct clashes of personal benefits with any of them. Why bother with someone who wasn''t a threat and wasn''t around most of the time?


    Colson was also the type that didn''t understand anything that wasn''t direct, and he saw the challenges against him as only friendly competition for everyone to improve themselves. Such a person wasn''t even fun to pick on for these bullies, so they quickly lost interest in him.


    Mack, however, was one such exception. He was the only one who had challenged Colson multiple times ¨C and had lost each and every time. At first, he was simply intending to teach the newcomer a lesson and even intended take the redheaded boy under his wing. However, that little shithead brat didn''t know what was good for him, and beat Mack every time with such seeming ease!


    Mack was a burly individual with beefy muscles that he was incredibly proud of. His two favorite hobbies in the world were fighting and gambling. He was also considered slightly strong amongst the guards, having also reached level 12 himself. However, he had gotten into the bad habit of relying far too much on brute force and knew very little in the way of techniques, which was why he kept losing to the newcomer brat.


    Of course, that wasn''t how Mack viewed things. All he saw was an uppity little snot-nosed brat who didn''t know his place. Ever since Mack lost those duels, he (in his imagination) felt that the other guards were snickering at him behind his back. Truth be told, most of these guards only cared about themselves, but nobody was going to tell him that.


    Mack glanced over at Colson and saw that today, the redheaded boy was wearing a shiny blue new suit of armor that looked like it was made out of light plating. This was in stark contrast to his own tattered, old leather cuirass. Mack''s cheek twitched in anger and jealousy. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to upgrade his equipment, it was that he couldn''t afford to. Gambling was an expensive hobby, after all.


    Still, even if he couldn''t win in a direct battle, Mack had started thinking of a plan once he heard that the sword lover boy would be joining them for today. Payback could take the form of more than just a beating. Wouldn''t it be fun to grind the kid''s so-called honor into the dust as he took advantage of the citizens in the name of the law? Pahaha! Mack grinned widely as he imagined the kid''s reaction.