《In That Moment of Suffering》 Prologue 1 Prologue 1 A barren wasteland spans as far as the eye can see. Cragged and broken rock tower into the sky, sand floods the ground. The area is completely devoid of life. In the sky, a large blood red moon shines giving everything a dim red glow. A darkened castle quietly rules over the area. *BABOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!* *BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!!* White and black light burst as a part of the castle wall collapses. A streaking white light bursts from the hole followed by a dark light. ¡°Die! You demon! [Holy Cross]!!¡± A feminine voice cries out as white light gathers at the end of the white streak and shoots towards the encroaching black streak in the form of a cross. Within the white streak, a blonde hair girl shoots through the air. The girl is easily different from normal humans with the bright white angel wings on her back. She is dressed in silver armor lined with a golden trim. On her waist rests a sleek longsword with a golden handle and white sheathe. ¡°MWAHAHAHAHA!!! Stupid angel, do you think that¡¯s enough to take me down?! [Absolute Negation]!!¡± Within the black streak, a large male cackles. His face resembles a large ant with horns protruding from his head. Dressed in black armor, he pursues the angel. He pursues her equipped with nothing but the claws in his hand. He gathers dark energy as he fires a black orb towards the [Holy Cross]. The black orb and white cross clash. Both spells fight for dominance, but the white cross starts to weaken. The orb begins pulling the cross into its pitch lack core eventually swallowing the spell. The black orb continues flying towards the angel. ¡°Wha?! You dirty demon how dare you?!¡± The orb closes in on the angel despite making several abrupt turns. ¡°Die you filthy angel!!¡± The demon flicks two fingers upwards causing the orb to shoot up from beneath her. ¡°No you won¡¯t!! [Lightbringer]!!¡± The angel unsheathes the sword at her waist and swings downward cutting the black orb in half. The angel crosses her arms in front of her and rapidly flaps her wings back as the black orb explodes. She is blasted back and breaks through several mountains before crashing into a mountain and leaving a large imprint. ¡°Ughh¡­¡± The angel crawls out of the mountain. Her blonde hair is in disarray and a bit of blood runs down the corner of her mouth. ¡°MWHAHAHA!! You puny angel! That¡¯s what you get for looking down on Demon Lord Zaemezahr!! Lord of the demonic wastelands!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s you think, you damn demon!! Take this! [Judgement Rain]!!!¡± The angel raises her hand high into the air. In response to her cry, an enormous magic circle forms under the two of them. A pillar of light erupts from the center of the circle. Zaemezahr easily dodges the pillar. "How pathetic!!! Do you think something like that can hit the great ZAEMEZAHR?" The angel keeps silent as she swings her arm down. The sky brightens as the pillar of light bursts. Large asteroids, made of light, rain down from the sky enveloping the two of them and the surrounding area in the blast. The rock mountains crash to the ground as dust clouds float back down to the ground. The angel flies out of the dust and hovers over the ground. "Hmph. That''s what you get for looking down on the Archangel Ariel." Ariel starts to fly off, but falters when an impact strikes her back. She turns her head to see a black nail piercing through her wing and into her back. Several white angel feathers float to the ground. Some stained with a touch of black color. "That''s what I should be saying, you puny angel!" Zaemezahr cackles as he emerges from the dust unharmed. Ariel condenses magic in her hand and rips the nail out of her back as she turns to look at him. "Wha?! Unharmed?!" She notices the glove armor starts to corrode forcing her to discard it. *Tch* Ariel clicks her tongue as she gathers her magic in her hands again. Her hands glow white, but fades as the magic disperses. ¡°What?! Why?!¡± She tries gathering her magic again, but it disperses at an even faster rate. ¡°MWHAHAHA!!! How do you like it you stupid angel? Zaemezahr¡¯s magic disruption poison! You won¡¯t be able to use magic now!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!¡± Ariel pales at his words. She clenches her free left hand. Ariel quickly grabs and thin metal canister from her belt. She depresses the button on top and throws the canister at Zaemezahr. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°HAHAHAHA!!! Is that your last struggle, pathetic angel?¡± Zaemezahr swings his arm attempting to knock the canister away. As soon as his hand makes contact, the canister explodes with a brillant white light. Zaemezahr squints his eyes at the flash and sees a faint figure moving away. ¡°[Dark Maelstrom]!!¡± After gathering magical energy, a dark hurricane forms quickly moving towards Ariel. Ariel flies away with her distraction. Her right wing moves awkwardly from the attack. Several feathers are stained black. Ariel¡¯s altitude continues to drop after traversing several feet. She pulls out a case and opens it revealing several vials. She extracts a vial filled with holy medicine and opens it. Her focus concentrates too heavily on recovering that she barely notices Zaemezahr¡¯s spell. Ariel flaps her wings to escape the hurricane, but her damage wing inhibits her ability to escape. Ariel is drawn into the hurricane and spun heavily around as arcs of wind and debris scratches her armor and cuts into her uncovered skin. A large rock crashes into her causing the medicine and case to slip from her hand. They fall to the ground without the least bit of resistance. Ariel forcibly shifts her position intending to dive down, but a gust of wind blasts her higher up into the tornado. The case and vials make contact with the earth. Every tube of medicine shatters on impact, the medicine seeps into the ground mixing with the sandy earth. ¡°FUHAHAHAHA!! Do you think I¡¯ll let you recover that easily?¡± Zaemezahr catches Ariel by the throat. The winds from the [Dark Maelstrom] spell continue to cut in her armor and skin. Ariel grabs his arm attempting to break his grip, but his arm remains still like an unmovable rock as it tightens on her throat. Ariel presses her hand against his stomach. ¡°FUHAHAHA!! What do you think you can do¡­ ARGHHH!!!¡± He cries out as throws Ariel away from him. A gold handled dagger with a pure silver-white blade protrudes from his abdomen. *Cough* *Cough* ¡°¡­Got you.¡± Ariel rubs her throat as she weakly flies backwards. She mutters a weak comeback as pulls out a small box at her waist and tosses it further behind her. The box explodes in the air releasing a bright white mist. A magic circle forms hovering in the air. Ariel turns and moves as quickly as possible towards the circle. Zaemezahr reaction is delayed from the pain of the dagger. He tries to rip it out, but the light from the blade shines brighter as his hand approaches. He''s forcing to ignore the dagger looking at Ariel with deep hatred. ¡°YOU BITCH!!! How dare you defile the great Zaemezahr with your puny light?!!! Do you think I¡¯ll let you ESCAPE?!!!!¡± He quickly releases a mass of dark energy without casting a spell. Ariel reaches the circle as Zaemezahr retaliates. The light from the circle shines as her body starts to disappear. ¡°Come on! Hurry!!¡± She urges the circle to move faster as she sees the energy mass fly towards her. Her body becomes fully corporeal allowing the energy mass passes through her, but the energy makes an abrupt turn as it collides with the magic circle. The dark energy explodes clashing with the light magic forming the circle causing both to mutually shatter. "Wha...? T-This can''t be?!" Ariel''s body flickers as dark and light mix enveloping her in the explosion. Zaemezahr approaches as the explosion dies down. Ariel is no where to be seen. Zaemezahr looks around for a trace of her, but is forced to give up. "ARGHHHH!!! THAT DAMN ANGELLLL!!" Zaemezahr forms a large mass of dark energy and throws it down to the ground. A gigantic pillar of sand and debris flies into the air forming a mushroom cloud when the energy explodes. Zaemezahr flies back to his castle in a huff, the dagger no long embedded within his body. "Just wait. I''ll pay you back next time." The dust settles after some time. A faint silver-white glimmer shines within the sand revealing a buried metal blade. Author''s Note First time posting on RoyalRoadl. Normally, I post on my own site, http://aquarilasscenario.blogspot.com/, but I was curious how this story would be received. I''m mostly writing for fun and on a whim, and since I''m essentially a capricious person on many levels the story is random as a result. Hopefully, the story is enjoyable for someone. Prologue 2 I apologize for the dark tone and rape within this prologue chapter. I censored the rape/torture scene by throwing it into a ''spoiler'' box. I left a quick summary for those that choose to skip. The theme of the story does not match what will be seen in later chapters, at least not with what''s been planned so far. Prologue 2 Ariel is sent hurtling through space. Her original destination distorted because of Zaemezahr¡¯s interference. She struggles to move, but pain wracks her body as Zaemezahr¡¯s poison courses through her. Her surroundings brighten as she¡¯s released from the spell. Bright green grass meets her vision and quickly closes in. She averts her head and narrowly avoids slamming into the ground head first. She hits the ground landing on her shoulders with full force. The impact rattles her body and mind causing her to black out. At the mountain resort for a wealthy weapon magnate, the servants are scattering in every direction preparing the home for their master. A distance away from the villa stands a tall tower reaching four stories in height. A single wooden door faces the distant resort with only one window in the tower facing the same direction. A girl that looks to be 18 years old sits with her arms supporting her head as she stares out the windowsill. Her hair is a unique snow white color with heterochromatic eyes, one sky blue and the other pale gray. She¡¯s dressed in a simple yellow one piece that suits the appearance of a girl her age. An odd accessory can be seen on her neck, a thick black collar. Rather than an accessory, it is easily seen as a restraint because of the flickering red light on the collar. ¡°He¡¯s coming today for a week-long visit¡­¡± The girl mutters to herself. *CRASH* The ground rumbles as a crash resounds throughout the area shaking the villa and tower. The servants in the villa cry out and take cover waiting for the earthquake to pass. "Did something happen?! A landslide?!" The girl in the tower leans out the window looking farther up the mountain, but finds nothing important. She gives a sigh of relief as her gaze turns down to the ground. Her pupils dilate seeing the crater near the base of the tower. She sees the blonde haired girl lying unconscious at the center of the crater. The girl turns away from the window grabbing her shoes as she dashes down the tower. ¡°Why did this have to happen now?!¡± Senna cries out to herself sliding down the stair handrail. She doesn¡¯t regulate her speed at all, only pushing herself faster as she descends the circular stairwell at her top speed. She bursts through the entrance door and dashes to the left away from the villa towards the crater. She reaches the crater and starts to descend to the center, but stops partway down. ¡°Shit!!! So close! Only a few more feet!¡± Senna yells and curses looking at the girl before her. Her legs remain still, standing partway down the crater. ¡°What are you doing?¡± A man¡¯s gruff voice calls out behind Senna. Her body trembles as she awkwardly turns around. A guard dressed in a red uniform walks in her direction. The guard was sent to check on Senna after the quake, but heard her yell. Senna doesn¡¯t respond waiting for him to get closer. Her mind quickly runs through different scenarios determining the best course of action. When she saw the guard¡¯s face, she relaxed slightly knowing this guard was a sympathizer to her situation. However, she didn¡¯t know how far this man would go to actually help her. ¡°No choice, but to gamble¡­¡± She mutters to herself biting her lip. She takes a deep breath as she ascends the crater. ¡°Please help me.¡± She pleads with him bowing her waist as low as possible. ¡°What happened?¡± The guard asks reaching Senna¡¯s position. She motions to the crater. The guard peers over and sees Ariel in the center. His eyes widen staring at the spectacle before him. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m just a lowly slave and I have no right to be making requests. But I¡¯m hoping you can help me conceal her for a time. She hasn¡¯t done anything wrong to deserve to be bound in the same position as me.¡± Senna appeals to the guard. He frowns as he looks between Senna and the angel. ¡°I''m not asking for you to help me treat her or something like that. I just ask of you to move her here and not say anything for a time. I¡¯m¡­ at the boundary and can''t do anything. Please!¡± A tear inadvertently runs down her cheek as she bows. Senna patiently waits for the guard¡¯s response still bowing to him. The guard grunts and goes down the crater. He lifts the angel up and carries her on his back. He checks if the coast is clear and climbs out of the crater. Senna extends her hands to accept Ariel, but the guard ignores it and motions to the tower. ¡°Let''s go. Make sure nothing falls down.¡± Senna expression changes from shocked to ecstatic. ¡°Thank you!¡± She bows and follows the guard. The two of them move quickly. Senna occasionally bends down to pick up loose feathers that fall from Ariel. They reach the tower without being spotted and head inside. Senna walks to the stairs, but the guard stops her and operates the elevator. The guard carries the angel into Senna''s room. He starts to put the angel on the bed, but Senna stops him and directs him to the desk chair. He looks at her in confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t think she can lay down with those wings.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± He nods in agreement. Senna strips the sheet from the bed and covers the chair. ¡°Thank you. I can take it from here.¡± Senna replies looking at Ariel. The guard shakes his head and helps remove the armor from Ariel. Senna frowns at the unexpected response. ¡°Is that okay? Don¡¯t you need to get back to your job?¡± ¡°Consider it a favor for ignoring your situation.¡± The guard replies completely removing Ariel¡¯s armor. ¡°I see¡­ Thank you. I should take it from here though since I need to remove her clothes to check how badly she¡¯s hurt.¡± (Senna) ¡°Fine. What are you going to do with her armor?¡± (Guard) ¡°Hide it. That¡¯s the only thing I can do.¡± (Senna) The guard grunts in affirmation and starts to leave the room. He stops at the doorway and turns his head towards her. ¡°Tell me something. Do you know this angel?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve never seen her before.¡± (Senna) ¡°Hmm¡­ So you¡¯ll go this far for someone you¡¯ve never met.¡± (Guard) ¡°If I can do something, then I will. Especially in this situation, since I don¡¯t want her to experience my fate.¡± (Senna) ¡°I see¡­¡± The guard replies with a hint of guilt. He leaves the room and hears a ¡°Thank you¡± as he shuts the door. He takes the elevator down and leaves the tower locking the entrance before returning to his post. Senna strips off the angel¡¯s top. ¡°Better hurry before someone else finds her.¡± She finds numerous cuts on Ariel¡¯s arms, shoulders and neck. Senna runs her head down Ariel¡¯s back. ¡°No broken bones I think. Her legs seem okay. I don¡¯t know how I can check for a concussion though...¡± She sighs, before refocusing on Ariel. ¡°Better focus on the cuts and bruises.¡± She opens the desk drawer and pulls out the plywood revealing a false bottom. Six jars of an ointment sit lined up in the drawer along with several rolls of bandages. ¡°Good thing I¡¯ve been saving up.¡± She grabs the first one and opens it as a medicinal smell spreads from the jar. Senna grans some of the ointment and begins smearing it over Ariel¡¯s cuts. ¡°Too bad there¡¯s no disinfectant, but with all these wounds that¡¯s not possible. *sigh* Just hope for the best I guess.¡± After applying the ointment, she unravels the rolled bandages before applying it. Senna scratches her head after finishing the treatment. ¡°I made her look like a mummy. Well it was to cover the wounds, so hopefully she won¡¯t be too mad.¡± Ariel¡¯s arms, legs, neck and body are wrapped extensively in bandages making her look like an actual mummy. Senna refrained from wrapping up her face at all to prevent a misunderstanding later. *Crash* ¡°Not good! He¡¯s early.¡± Senna curses to herself. She picks up Ariel gently and slides her under the bed. She grabs the armor and the bed sheet off the chair and jams it in the corner of her closet covering it with her other clothes. She wraps one of her wrists lightly with the rolled bandage before hiding all of the supplies closing the drawer. The sound of the elevator arriving reaches her ears. Senna quickly glances around the room checking for anything she missed. A fallen white feather catches her eye. She grabs it quickly, but the doorknob starts to shake. With a split second decision, she eats the feather swallowing it in one gulp. The door slams open revealing a man in a gray tailcoat and two guards in their red uniforms. One of the guards is the one that helped her earlier. ¡°Ye-Yes? How can I help you?¡± Senna¡¯s voice cracks slightly as she greets the butler in the center. ¡°The master will be here in a couple of hours. I hope you¡¯re prepared to receive him.¡± (Butler) ¡°Of course I am. Master Rimmer is visiting and will be here for a week. I¡¯m fully prepared.¡± (Senna) ¡°Good¡­ What happened to your arm?¡± The butler glances at the wrapped bandage on her arm. ¡°I was surprised by that quake earlier. I bumped my arm when I fell.¡± Senna replies calmly to the probing question. ¡°Yes... I can smell the ointment in the air. Your injury won¡¯t get in the way of tonight I trust.¡± (Butler) ¡°It¡¯s a small bump. There¡¯s no problem. Plus I think Master Rimmer would enjoy it more if I have an injury like this.¡± (Senna) ¡°Good point. Let¡¯s worsen it then.¡± The butler takes out a blackjack. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_%28law_enforcement%29#Blackjack) ¡°Eh?¡± Senna questions as the butler grips Senna¡¯s hand. He swings down the blackjack producing a sound crack breaking Senna¡¯s wrist. The guards flinch at the harsh action, but refrain from saying anything. ¡°Th-Thank you very much.¡± Senna bites her lip as the pain courses through her body. She barely restrains herself from crying out in pain. ¡°Good. Make sure to entertain the master.¡± The butler leaves along with the guards. They close the door with a large bang leaving the tower entirely. Senna breathes a sigh of relief seeing them head back to the villa. ¡°You¡¯re awful calm for someone that just got their wrist broken.¡± A voice rings out from under the bed. Ariel awkwardly crawls out from under the bed. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re awake. How do you feel?¡± Senna smiles at Ariel. ¡°That¡¯s the first thing you say?¡± Ariel looks at her like a foreign creature. ¡°¡­You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry that was rude of me. Pleased to meet you Miss Angel. My name is Senna.¡± Senna bows to her with a bright smile. ¡°Not that! Shouldn¡¯t you be crying out in pain right now?! Or asking about me?! It¡¯s not every day you meet an Archangel.¡± Ariel points at herself with exasperation. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Um¡­¡­It¡¯s not my place as a lowly slave to wonder about such matters.¡± Senna gives Ariel a bright smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± Ariel sighs and shakes her head as she introduces herself. ¡°Nevermind. My name is Ariel.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Senna bows again. Ariel looks at the bandages covering her body. ¡°You did a good job, even if it was a little excessive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I only know how to treat simple wounds. I know I overdid it on the ointment, but I was worried about any internal injuries from that impact.¡± Senna bows repeatedly in apology. ¡°Wait¡­calm down. I¡¯m not mad. I was just commenting on your skilled work.¡± (Ariel) Senna breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°Miss Ariel. I should warn you that if Master Rimmer were to see you. He will be sure to attempt to capture you to be his sex slave. I¡¯ve done what I can to hide you, but you should consider getting out of here as soon as possible before the information leaks out.¡± Ariel shakes her head. ¡°That''s not possible. My condition is better, but that demon¡¯s magic is still interfering with my ability to use magic. It will take some time to fully recover.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Senna glances out the window and sees a particularly fat man walking towards the tower. ¡°Then we need to find a place for you to hide. Master Rimmer is coming.¡± ¡°No need. I can still turn myself invisible, so that humans cannot detect me.¡± Ariel flickers before disappearing from sight. ¡°I¡¯m still here in this room though. ¡°That¡¯s good. You might wish to go in the closet to avoid seeing or hearing anything. This won¡¯t¡­ exactly be pleasant.¡± Senna checks her appearance one last time before waiting in front of the door. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll do that.¡± Ariel¡¯s voice sounds out as the closet door slides open and shut. ¡°He might want me to dress up in costume, so please be careful if the closet is opened.¡± Senna whispers as she hears the elevator reach the top floor. The door opens as an obese man walks in front followed by butler and same two guards walk into the room. The obese man is dressed in a gray suit specially tailored to meet his large body size. His head is completely bald with a large scar running down the side of his head to his damaged ear. His brown eyes are barely seen beneath his large scowl. Spoiler : ¡°Good evening Master Rimmer.¡± Senna bows to the obese man. As Senna returns to a standing position, she feels a strong impact on her cheek. Her body flies backwards crashing into the side of the bed. ¡°Damn bitch. I heard you hurt yourself. Your body is mine, got that? Your only job is to make yourself pretty and spread your legs.¡± Rimmer starts to kick Senna in the stomach. Each kick makes the other three turn away seeing the force used on the unresisting Senna. A kick slides away from Senna¡¯s stomach attacking her ribs. (Author¡¯s note: I do not support/believe in Rimmer¡¯s view and personally found this entire scene disgusting even though I wrote it.) ¡°Ow¡­¡± She mutters a faint cry of pain at the rattling attack. Rimmer¡¯s face contorts as a pulsating vein appears above his forehead. He grabs Senna by her scalp and stomps down breaking her right hand. Fresh tears run down her face, but she restrains herself from saying anything more. ¡°Leave.¡± The butler and guards bow to Rimmer and leave without a word. Rimmer proceeds to rape Senna and torture her without mercy. He worsens Senna¡¯s broken hand and wrist inflicting more pain on her. Eventually, he brings out a knife stabbing into her broken right hand generating a loud yelp from Senna. Her cry gives him more reason to inflict more pain on her. (Summary for those that skip: He beats her, rapes her taking pleasure in her pain and goes as far as stabbing her right hand with a knife.) After satisfying himself, the guards are allowed to come in and bandage Senna¡¯s hand and wounds. The butler forces medicine down Senna¡¯s throat. The kind guard leaves behind a jar of ointment discreetly under the bed. After the treatment, the four of them exit the room leaving Senna to lie limply on the bed. After the coast is clear, Ariel exits the closet with an unpleasant look on her face. ¡°That was excessively brutal of him.¡± ¡°I apologize for making you watch that.¡± Senna looks at Ariel, sincerely apologizing to her. ¡°Why is that the first thing you say?!¡± Ariel screams out in anger. ¡°Because it happens all the time?¡± Senna looks at her with a purely confused look. ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be used to!!¡± Ariel yells back at her. ¡°Enough. We¡¯re escaping right now.¡± Ariel pulls her uninjured arm, but Senna resists the pull. ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± Senna immediately rejects her suggestion. ¡°Why not?! You can¡¯t expect me to believe you enjoy being with such a madman?!¡± Ariel becomes more and more exasperated talking to Senna. ¡°Whether I enjoy it or not is a different issue. I am Master Rimmer¡¯s slave. He is free to use and damage me as he pleases.¡± Senna replies matter of factly with a strong determination in her voice. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?!¡± Ariel cries out, but looking into Senna¡¯s eyes shows that she isn¡¯t joking. ¡°Besides¡­¡± Senna taps the collar on her throat. ¡°I am bound to this tower. I have never been allowed to move around freely.¡± Senna turns her head looking out the window. ¡°Even the center of the crater is just outside the boundary, I had to receive help bringing you here.¡± ¡°Ugh. You really are a prisoner.¡± Ariel mutters in disgust. ¡°I suppose.¡± (Senna) ¡°He¡¯s quite cruel though. Why doesn¡¯t he confine you to the room?¡± (Ariel) ¡°To use me outdoors.¡± Senna replies easily. Ariel clicks her tongue in disgust. ¡°That¡¯s enough about me, Miss Ariel. I was thinking. Is there some way you can use me to recover faster?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ariel¡¯s expression changes back to a look of astonishment. ¡°I was wondering if using my blood or energy would help you recover faster? I don¡¯t know anything about magic, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s possible. The faster you recover, the faster you can escape.¡± (Senna) ¡°You¡­¡± Ariel¡¯s face changes from surprise to anger with a bit of disgust. ¡°¡­Are you trying to get me to leave so that your position as a slave isn¡¯t compromised?¡± Senna tilts her head at the unexpected question. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Senna¡¯s gaze is one of pure curiosity and innocence making Ariel turn away disgusted in herself. ¡°Never mind. Stupid question.¡± ¡°Is there a way to help?¡± Sena asks again. ¡°¡­¡­If I draw your life energy, it would help me recover much faster.¡± Ariel reluctantly answers Sena. ¡°Okay! What do I do?¡± (Senna) ¡°Let me finish! Draining your life energy will ultimately shorten your lifespan.¡± (Ariel) ¡°And¡­?¡± Senna asks with a stern expression. ¡°I understand my place. Master Rimmer is not one to simply remove me from the premises when he¡¯s bored of me.¡± Ariel¡¯s face flushes red in rage when she comprehends Senna¡¯s fate. ¡°¡­Fine. You just need to lay down and hold still.¡± Senna complies obediently. Ariel holds her hand over Senna¡¯s chest. Ariel¡¯s hand brightly glows as she extracts energy from Senna. ¡°Why are you going so far to help me? Shouldn¡¯t you be trying to capture me if you really wanted to please your master?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to force my position on others. I know it isn¡¯t a pleasant situation, but I¡¯ve already accepted it long ago.¡± Senna answers calmly. Ariel averts her gaze from Senna. ¡°I have to get her out of here.¡± She silently resolves to break Senna out of this place, no matter how hard she protests. After some time, she finishes up stopping before she completely exhausts Senna. ¡°That¡¯s all I can take for now without endangering you.¡± ¡°Is it enough?¡± (Senna) ¡°No. It helps, but I need more time.¡± (Ariel) ¡°Then let¡¯s continue this tomorrow?¡± (Senna) ¡°Yes, yes to¡­¡± Ariel freezes as she turns her gaze to Senna. ¡°You¡¯re fine with that?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Senna smiles at Ariel. Ariel looks at the bright smile and reluctantly agrees sensing that changing her mind is impossible. Senna immediately falls asleep to recover her energy. For the next few days, Rimmer comes to abuse Senna. After a short rest, Senna allows Ariel to extract Senna¡¯s energy, much to Ariel¡¯s reluctance. After six nights of concealing Ariel, Ariel¡¯s energy recovers significantly. When Senna wakes up, Ariel informs her that the next drain will give her sufficient power to return home. Rather than waiting until night, Senna insists on providing the energy right away. ¡°Yes, I think that¡¯s enough.¡± Ariel gauges her power and judges it to be sufficient. The poison from Zaemezahr has been suppressed to the point that it won¡¯t affect her performance. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Senna replies lying exhausted on the bed. ¡°Yep. That¡¯s good.¡± Ariel rests her hand on Senna¡¯s forehead releasing a jolt of magic. ¡°Eh? Aaa¡­¡± The jolt shocks her, but her mind blackens before she can resist. ¡°Good. That went well.¡± Ariel smiles lifting Senna up pulling her close. Ariel¡¯s body glows brightly as a white magic circle appears. White light fills the room as the magic surges and is released. The villa residents notice the light and start approaching the tower. As the light reaches its peak, an explosion emanates from Senna¡¯s room shattering the top floor. The entire tower starts to crack and collapses on itself in a matter of seconds. The white light fades leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. Rimmer orders the guards to search the tower remains, but finds no trace of Senna. Author''s Note I apologize for the dark, nasty things happening in this chapter. Even writing it, I felt disgusted with the actions of Rimmer. I even shortened the rape scene I was originally planning to write because I was too disgusted and wanted to just move on. Funny I''ve read material much worse than this, but even though it doesn''t compare I was still equally disturbed because it''s something I created myself. As mentioned, Senna is my self-insert character for this series. Similar appearance, but I chose not to name her Rose like I always do. For any new readers, my self-insert characters are the characters with the most similar bits of my actual personality. They are also the one I chose to cause the most suffering to as I imagine myself suffering in various ways in my mind. >_> Also, I know that Senna seems like an excessively distorted character. Prologue 3 Prologue 3 In a large white hall, various angels are running around in a fluster. ¡°Have you still not found her?!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve looked all over, but there aren¡¯t any traces of Archangel Ariel since the fight concluded.¡± ¡°There has to be something!! She couldn¡¯t have just disappeared off of Remia that easily!!¡± At the entrace, white light gathers creating a large flash as Ariel and Senna appear in the room. All the angels stop working at the sudden appearance. ¡°I have a human here that needs treatment!! Get me an Arch Healer right away!¡± Ariel¡¯s yell spreads through the silent room. All of the younger angels scatter to find a healer. Several angels approach Ariel with a look of relief on their faces. ¡°Archangel Ariel, it¡¯s a great relief that you¡¯re alright. We have been searching everywhere for you.¡± (Head Angel) ¡°Please let us take care of this human. Your mother has been extremely concerned about your well-being.¡± (Angel) ¡°No. Get this girl treatment first. I owe her my life, so this is of the highest priority.¡± Ariel refuses the help and carries Senna to an infirmary placing her on one of the beds. A female angel with four wings and flowing aqua blue hair walks into the room. Ariel stands up quickly and salutes the angel. ¡°Cherubim Sabrael?! What can I help you with?¡± ¡°No. I was called here. You needed help with a human?¡± Sabrael¡¯s gaze moves from Ariel to Senna lying on the bed. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I had no idea they would bother you with my problems.¡± Ariel apologizes in a fluster. Sabrael holds up her hand. ¡°Stand down. It¡¯s fine. I volunteered to come here after hearing the situation. What happened?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Ariel swallows her nervousness and explains the situation. ¡°I see. I understand the situation now. You should go report to your mother though. She¡¯s been concerned about your safety.¡± (Sabrael) ¡°I will. But I wish to confirm this girl¡¯s condition before I do.¡± (Ariel) ¡°Fine.¡± Sabrael sits at Senna¡¯s bedside. ¡°Stop!¡± A voice rings out. The door bursts open. A tall woman with long flowing golden hair enters the room. Ariel and Sabrael stop and kneel in from the woman. ¡°Lord Remilia.¡± Sabrael greets the woman keeping her head lowered while kneeling. ¡°Mother. I¡¯m back.¡± Ariel greets the woman in front of her without raising her head. ¡°Stand. Stand¡­I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back dear. I was worried you were lost for good.¡± Remilia orders Ariel to stand and hugs Ariel. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mother. I¡­¡± Ariel begins to cry in her mother¡¯s embrace. ¡°No need. I heard everything already.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Mother, this girl desperately needs treatment. She¡­¡± Ariel breaks away from Remilia¡¯s embrace. ¡°No.¡± Remilia firmly rejects her. She walks over to the bedside and taps on Senna¡¯s collar. The collar disintegrates without leaving a trace. She taps on Senna¡¯s forehead releasing a bit of magic. ¡°Uuunn¡­¡± Senna groans as her eyes flicker open. She sits up and looks around the room. Her mind jolts awake and tries to stand up, but Remilia wordlessly forces her to stay in bed. ¡°Umm¡­I¡¯m very sorry for the late greeting. This lowly slave¡¯s name is Senna. I belong to Master Rimmer.¡± ¡°No need to stand on airs Miss Senna. Your master and home isn¡¯t here.¡± Remilia replies. ¡°Huh?¡± Senna notices the missing feeling on her neck and feels around for the familiar sensation of her collar. Her face goes pale. ¡°No, that¡¯s no good. I¡¯m Master Rimmer¡¯s and shouldn¡¯t be out on my own.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still saying that? This place is another world. It¡¯s impossible for him to come here and also impossible for you to go to him.¡± (Ariel) ¡°Th-th-th-that¡¯s no good! Wh-wh-what should I do?¡± Senna starts to look around the room in complete panic. Her face starts to turn blue as she hyperventilates. ¡°Oh dear. Our talk won¡¯t be able to progress like this¡­ There¡¯s no helping it.¡± Remilia snaps her fingers making Senna go into a stupor. Senna¡¯s eyes glaze over as her hands fall weakly on the bed. Her body shines slightly before her expression returns to normal. Senna looks around the room and at the others. ¡°How do you feel, Miss Senna?¡± ¡°¡­¡­O-okay, I think¡­ Am I really away from Master Rimmer?¡± Senna replies quickly with some disbelief in her voice. ¡°Yes.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I-I see. I¡¯m really away. Uuu¡­*hic*¡­thank¡­you¡­¡± Tears stream down Senna¡¯s face quickly soaking the bed. She tries to thank them, but her voice cracks. Her tears flow down her face like a broken faucet. She attempts to wipe her face, but tears endlessly stream down soaking her hands. ¡°Um¡­Mother. What happened?¡± (Ariel) ¡°Her mind was altered in many ways to fulfill the desires of the man named Rimmer. The most dangerous one is to have her mind completely breakdown if she somehow escaped from the side of Rimmer. I¡¯ve repaired that part of her mind for the time being.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Lord Remilia, there¡¯s no need to go to the trouble of healing her. I could easily do the same.¡± (Sabrael) ¡°Yes, of course I know that Sabrael. I¡¯m interfering because she is a rather odd child. It would be best to wait until she asks for a full recovery rather than perform it against her wishes.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Mother, she has been damaged in many ways. It would be best to heal her to the best condition.¡± (Ariel) ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to wait until she calms down. Sabrael, I expect this will take some time. Why don¡¯t you join Nanael in overseeing while I handle this?¡± (Remilia) ¡°It would be my honor.¡± Sabrael bows and leaves the room with a skip in her step. After several more minutes, Senna composes herself enough to stop crying. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry for wasting your time with that embarrassing display.¡± Senna bows repeatedly in apology. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was very hard on you. You¡¯re very strong to not completely break given the circumstances.¡± Remilia pats Senna¡¯s hand cause her face to flush a bright red. ¡°N-no. I was just controlled to the point I did not know what was around me nor understand my circumstances.¡± Senna awkwardly replies. ¡°It was still very admirable considering you did what others could not.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Thank you¡­um¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know your name yet.¡± (Senna) ¡°Oh yes. Where are my manners? It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Senna. I¡¯m Remilia, the Goddess of Creation for the world Remia. This is my daughter Ariel, a young genius that has already reached the realm of an Archangel.¡± Remilia introduces herself and Ariel lightly, but Senna¡¯s face becomes sleet white hearing Remilia¡¯s identity. ¡°I-I¡¯m very sorry for my rudeness.¡± Senna tries to get out of the bed to prostrate on the ground, but Remilia prevents her from leaving the bed. ¡°Now none of that. You should be resting. Also, I do not mind speaking informally to my daughter¡¯s savior.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Y-Yes! Thank you!¡± (Senna) ¡°If you¡¯ve composed yourself, let¡¯s have a discussion about your circumstances.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Yes!¡± (Senna) ¡°Because of my daughter¡¯s impetuousness... It is not possible to return you back to your own world without great efforts.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Ariel apologizes at her mother¡¯s scolding. ¡°I see¡­¡­¡± Senna takes a moment to compose her thoughts before continuing. ¡°I think¡­ that is fine. Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Since you seem to know of my circumstances, I wonder if you know if my family is still alive?¡± (Senna) ¡°I did ask. They were killed when you were taken by that Rimmer.¡± Remilia bluntly breaks the news to her. Ariel¡¯s eyes widen in shock as she turns to Senna. ¡°¡­I see. Thank you for telling me. I wonder if I can make some requests about my home world. Ah! But you¡¯re the goddess for Remia, so that may not be possible.¡± Senna replies with an apathetic tone as she changes the topic. ¡°That¡¯s it?! You were just told your parents are dead and that¡¯s all you have to say?!¡± Ariel screams at Senna looking at her with disgust. Before Senna can respond, Remilia cuts in giving Ariel a light pat on the head. ¡°Dear, you shouldn¡¯t say that. It¡¯s not Senna¡¯s fault.¡± (Remilia) ¡°What do you mean?¡±(Ariel) ¡°Senna here has suffered from many things because of this Rimmer man. Her mind was completely remodeled, her body has gone over heavy experimentation to remain the same over her 8 years of imprisonment, and every single memory before meeting Rimmer was completely erased.¡± As Remilia states the changes to Senna¡¯s body, Ariel stares at Senna with increasing shock. Her eyes bulge more and more hearing of the atrocities performed to Senna. ¡°I see¡­ That explains why I can¡¯t remember them.¡± (Senna) ¡°The basic knowledge you have from your education was left intact, but personal memories were thoroughly erased.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Then I guess I have no connection with my home world. There¡¯s not much point in making requests then?¡± (Senna) ¡°If they¡¯re reasonable, I will contact the god of that world and request the favor for you. That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but it depends on the request.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I have two requests. The first is to destroy the knowledge of all the remodeling that Master Rimmer had performed on me. The body adjustment, mind erasure, mind adjustment. I do not wish for other girls to suffer the same fate as me.¡± (Senna) ¡°That was already planned without your request, so there is no problem with that. And the second?¡± Remilia smiles granting Senna¡¯s request easily. ¡°The second is to raise Master Rimmer¡¯s karma up a suitable degree so that he has a higher chance of receiving divine punishment for his sins.¡± (Senna) ¡°That¡¯s it?!¡± Ariel cries out again. Senna calmly gives a nod. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask for him to be killed.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I do not think I can request such a thing with how I¡¯m programmed. Even if he is a terrible person, I still think of him as my master.¡± (Senna) ¡°We should fix that for you.¡± Remilia comments. Senna shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I still call and think of him as such. But I¡¯m sure I could resist Master Rimmer¡¯s commands if he attempted to control me again.¡± ¡°Even so, we should adjust it to a more acceptable degree.¡± Remilia comments before releasing some magic towards Senna. ¡°Do you still want to only request those two things?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Senna replies with little change to her tone or gaze. ¡°Did the change have no effect?¡± Remilia frowns slightly at the lack of change. ¡°I think I can drop the Master when talking about him now? But we¡¯re done with the topic anyways so there¡¯s no need?¡± (Senna) ¡°Well that¡¯s fine¡­ Let¡¯s change the topic.¡± Remilia agrees with a bit of surprise in her voice. ¡°Then¡­please tell me about Remia and what the world is like.¡± (Senna) ¡°It will be a vastly different world than the one you¡¯re used to.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I only remember my time stuck in the tower. Even my old world would be a place I barely know anything about.¡± (Senna) ¡°You have a point. Remia is a world of swords and magic. Carrying weapons and performing magic are normal occurrences. As a result, the science side of things is much lower compared to your old world.¡± (Remilia) ¡°There are many different races existing through the world. Some examples you would know are beastmen that are a mix of animal and people, elves, and even¡­devils and demons.¡± Ariel enthusiastically explains before spitting out the final part. ¡°Devils and demons¡­? ¡­And Angels¡­ Um¡­ You wouldn¡¯t be asking me to fight the devils and demons would you?¡± Senna nervously asks. ¡°No, I¡¯m just going to introduce you to my world and so you can enjoy your life as much as possible. You¡¯re not obligated to fight unless you wish to.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. I¡¯m not sure I would be helpful in a fight.¡± (Senna) ¡°There is much more danger is Remia, so you will need to fight.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I expected as much from the description. But I¡¯m not really strong.¡± (Senna) ¡°Your status will be improved and you will be given skills before we send you there. I wouldn¡¯t want my daughter¡¯s savior to suffer the second you arrive.¡± Remilia explains the details to Senna. Senna breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Before we consider your skills and status. We first have to repair your condition. I plan to heal your lifespan that was taken to heal Ariel. Your physical condition and also the adjustments that were made to your mind. From what I understand, you might not want to be fixed to the best condition?¡± "That''s true. I would rather fix myself up through my own power. Ariel''s already repaid me by taking me away from Mas...R-Rimmer." (Senna) "I don''t think I repaid you at all! You were willing to sacrifice your life to help me!" Ariel protests at Senna''s comment. "That''s true. There''s a difference in abilities between you two. Ariel has more power, so it''s natural she helps you. You did something far above your own ability." (Remilia) "Mmm... I guess I can''t convince you to call it even?" Senna frowns at the gratitude. ""No!!"" Ariel and Remilia answer. Senna sticks out her tongue playfully. "And what do you wish to do?" (Remilia) "Mmm... Ah! A question first. Am I... pregnant from... him?" Senna nervously asks holding her stomach? "No. You''re not." Remilia replies quickly. Senna gives a sigh of relief. "Your womb has been damaged by him, so it''s currently not possible for you to have a child." Both Senna and Ariel freeze up at her explanation. Senna sighs heavily. "I see..." "Um..." Ariel tries to console Senna, but Senna keeps talking not noticing Ariel''s attempt at comfort. "...For my body''s condition, please leave the scars and only fix the irreparable and life threatening damage that I would never be able to repair even if I fully master healing magic." (Senna) Remilia and Ariel''s eyes widen as they look at Senna. "Do you understand what you''re asking? The most difficult wounds would have to wait tens of years, if even that, until you completely master that branch of healing magic for the wounds to fade." "Yes. I know. For the time being, I want to keep the scars to remind myself of how weak I am. I wish to become strong enough that I can eventually restore my body to normal. Even if I don''t make it, I know I''ll have progressed from my current self." Senna states her goals with pride. "You realize that to other people, you sound completely crazy?!" Ariel shrieks. "I know... But I would like the scars to mark the changes in my life. Even if it''s odd, I simply want to do it." Senna smiles stating her reasons. Ariel groans looking at the adamant Senna burying her face in her hands. "It doesn''t look like you will budge from your decision. Even if I don''t agree to it, I suppose I will have to comply with your wishes." Remilia sighs before waving her hand. Senna''s body glows with a white light. Senna checks her body and sees the scars are still littering her body. "Thank you." Senna replies with a bright smile. "Are you going to use the same reasoning for the alterations to your mind? Your emotions were heavily altered so that your fear and acceptance of everything was amplified while every other emotion was repressed. It stabilized to the point that these levels were engraved in your soul. That kind of thing is not normal." (Remilia) If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "If it can be fixed eventually and isn''t affecting my ability to live and survive, then I don''t really don''t mind leaving it as is." (Senna) *Snap* A snapping sound is heard from Ariel as she pounces on Senna. "Why don''t you just accept the treatment?! You''re not even in a sane state to even say such things?!" Ariel grips Senna''s shoulders shaking her heavily in all directions. "Mother!! Just heal her back to normal without listening to her nonsense!" Remilia looks at them with a bitter smile. "I can''t..." "Why not?!" Ariel''s shrill shriek echoes through the room. "Mother is the greatest!! You could easily do something like restore her to her original condition!!!" "It looks like Senna is instinctively aware that fixing her condition is not that simple. Rewriting her soul is a difficult endeavor, but keeping her memories intact makes it that much more time consuming. The span of her soul is sure to wane during the process. Without her explicit permission, I cannot dive into such a complicated endeavor because the risk of complications is amplified many times over." (Remilia) "Ugh..." Ariel is forced to let go of Senna. "You overestimate me. I simply do not wish to be a burden to you. As long as I can live on, I''ll just adjust to the situation." (Senna) "At the very least, I''ll make minor adjustments so you can live properly as asked." Remilia wryly smiles. Senna''s body glows with various colors due to her influence. "Though minor I brought your emotions closer to a balance, but it''s still far from normal. Your survival instincts were raised slightly too." "I understand. Thank you... Oh. Is it possible to regress my body¡¯s age a bit?¡± (Senna) ¡°Easily done.¡± With a wave of Remilia¡¯s hand, Senna¡¯s body shrinks slightly. ¡°I regressed you back to your appearance as a 14 years old. Is that sufficient?¡± Senna looks at her body and takes a glance at a mirror. ¡°Yes! Thank you.¡± ¡°Why would you want to be younger? It¡¯s more dangerous that way.¡± (Ariel) ¡°I¡¯m going to take some time to adjust to things in Remia. Plus¡­ I just wanted to get back some lost time.¡± Senna smiles happily. Remilia sighs looking at Senna''s pure smile in contrast to her train of thought. "Let''s talk about the gifts to your status for living in Remia. I was thinking about presenting you with this type of status."
Status
Name Senna Level 1
Race Human Age 14 years old
HP 20000 MP 20000
Strength 700 Endurance 700
Agility 700 Dexterity 700
Intelligence 700 Wisdom 700
Luck 700
Skills
Katana Lv. Max Dagger Lv. Max Trap Lv. Max Martial Arts Lv. Max All Elemental Proficiency Lv. Max - Fire - Water - Wind - Earth - Lightning - Light - Dark - Null Magic Spell Proficiency Lv. Max Magic Power Lv. Max Magic Manipulation Lv. Max Detection Skills Lv. Max - Presence - Magic - Enemy - Danger Tactics Lv. Max 3 Dimensional Movement Lv. Max Parry Lv. Max Identification Lv. Max Self Recovery Lv. Max Disguise Lv. Max Keen Sight Lv. Max Hawk Eyes Lv. Max All Resistance Skills Lv. Max - Fire - Water - Wind - Earth - Lightning - Light - Dark - Poison - Mind - Disease - Pain - Magic Damage - Paralysis - Petrification Storage Lv. Max Reading Lv. Max Persuasion Lv. Max Bartering Lv. Max Appraisal Lv. Max Arithmetic Lv. Max Language Translation Lv. Max Poker Face Lv. Max Etiquette Lv. Max Survival Lv. Max Cooking Lv. Max Craft Skills Lv. Max Blacksmith Lv. Max Tailoring Lv. Max Enchantment Lv. Max Enhanced Health Lv. Max Enhanced Magic Power Lv. Max Enhanced Strength Lv. Max Enhanced Endunrance Lv. Max Enhanced Agility Lv. Max Enhanced Dexterity Lv. Max Enhanced Intelligence Lv. Max Enhanced Wisdom Lv. Max Enhanced Luck Lv. Max
¡°This is way too much.¡± Senna comments as she scrolls through the status list. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a special service, so that you never have any worries in the future.¡± (Remilia) ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to refuse this status. It¡¯s too excessive no matter what. I would like to start off slowly and gain strength over time.¡± (Senna) ¡°As expected¡­ I won¡¯t allow you to leave easily if you don¡¯t have a way to protect yourself. It would be an embarrassment to me if my daughter¡¯s savior died easily after being dropped in my world.¡± Remilia sternly scolds Senna. Senna scratches her head with an awkward look. ¡°If I take a last resort type skill and max it while leaving my other abilities low, then that would help the issue wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± (Remilia) ¡°I don¡¯t know. I would have to see my options first. But I would rather have a skill as a last resort rather than rely on it all the time. Can I see how the status for a beginner warrior and a master warrior?¡± (Senna) ¡°Are you thinking of becoming a warrior?¡± (Remilia) ¡°Nothing of that level. I just want a reference to how their skills look like.¡± (Senna)
Status
Name Warrior Level 1
Race Human Age N/A
HP 250 MP 30
Strength 25 Endurance 25
Agility 10 Dexterity 10
Intelligence 4 Wisdom 3
Luck 9
Skills
Sword Lv. 1
Status
Name Warrior Level 54
Race Human Age N/A
HP 2239 MP 230
Strength 174 Endurance 125
Agility 70 Dexterity 68
Intelligence 4 Wisdom 13
Luck 15
Skills
Sword Lv. 6 Enhanced Strength Lv. 4 Self Recovery Lv. 2 Pain Resistance Lv. 2 Survival Lv. 3 Danger Detection Lv. 4
¡°Wow. There¡¯s such a difference.¡± Senna gasps comparing her offered status to the generic information given to her. ¡°Normally people wouldn¡¯t complain to such extravagant gifts.¡± Ariel complains to herself. ¡°I know. But I feel it¡¯s more of an achievement to develop the skills myself.¡± (Senna) ¡°Choose something suitable then.¡± (Remilia) Senna takes the time to search through the list of abilities. ¡°I think this is good.¡± (Senna)
Status
Name Senna Level 1
Race Human Age 14 years old
HP 300 MP 50
Strength 30 Endurance 30
Agility 30 Dexterity 30
Intelligence 30 Wisdom 30
Luck 30
Skills
Dagger Lv. 1 Magic Power Lv. 1 Identification Lv. 2 Poison Resistance Lv. 5 Mind Resistance Lv. 5 Storage Lv. Max Arithmetic Lv. Max Experimentation Lv. Max Language Comprehension Lv. 1 Etiquette Lv. Max Blood Manipulation Lv. Max Last Stand Lv. Max
[Dagger] Lv. 1 ¨C You can use Daggers. [Magic Power] Lv. 1 ¨C You can weakly release magic. [Identification] Lv. 2 ¨C You can identify objects at a basic level. [Poison Resistance] Lv. 5 ¨C You can fully resist intermediate grade poisons and some advanced poisons. [Mind Resistance] Lv. 5 ¨C You can fully resist intermediate grade spells that affect the mind and has a chance to resist advanced grade spells. [Storage] Lv. Max ¨C You have access to an alternate space to store any object you desire. Your use of [Storage] is at an almighty level and has no limitations to space. Time does not flow inside of your storage and will be kept in the condition that the object was stored. [Arithmetic] Lv. Max ¨C You are an almighty mathematician and can instantly calculate numbers. [Experimentation] Lv. Max ¨C You have an almighty skill in experiments. Experiments will instantly lead to the desired result. Blind experiments will automatically eliminate unfavorable results during the process. [Language Comprehension] Lv. 1 ¨C You can slowly understand other languages after a long period of time. [Etiquette] Lv. Max ¨C You have an almighty skill in etiquette. You can instantly pick up mannerisms of different areas to avoid offending the other party. [Blood Manipulation] Lv. Max ¨C You have an almighty skill in manipulating blood. The flow of blood moves however you wish. A large amount of blood can be controlled for a near negligible amount of MP. [Last Stand] Lv. Max ¨C Near the edge of death, your abilities multiply ten times over.
¡°So low!!¡± Ariel cries out looking at the status. ¡°You really wish to act as a common person.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Yes. I wanted to take out more, but I compromised. I only looked quickly through the skills, but there were some I couldn¡¯t find.¡± (Senna) ¡°What type of skills did you want?¡± (Remilia) ¡°Is there anything like Drug Resistance or Alcohol Resistance?¡± (Senna) ¡°That falls under Poison Resistance.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Is that so? Then is there a skill to engrave what I learned into my body or something similar?¡± (Senna) ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Because magic exists, I¡¯m afraid I might be captured at some point and have all the experiences and skills I¡¯ve acquired to be erased.¡± (Senna) ¡°I don¡¯t believe you have to worry since you have a strong Mind Resistance.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Possibly. But I want to cover every option since I do not understand many things in that new world.¡± (Senna) ¡°Fine. Learning [Soul Engraving] would be best. It would engrave your abilities into your soul and prevent you from losing anything.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Thank you. And am I covered to learn the common knowledge there quickly?¡± (Senna) ¡°Yes. It looks like you¡¯ve covered both areas.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Also, I wanted to decrease some of the skills like Etiquitte and Arithmatic, but they wouldn¡¯t decrease. Why is that?¡± (Senna) ¡°They¡¯re skills you learned already in your home world. Your status screen is simply displaying these acquired skills.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Hmm. Is that so? Then are there any skills I need to hide from the public? Like the [Storage] skill? Or [Identification]?¡± ¡°Your [Storage] skill is a bit different from the magic spell version because has no item limit. Other than that, letting others know you can use both of those skills will make you a convenient asset for groups.¡± Remilia explains. ¡°Good then I think that¡¯s all I have to ask.¡± Senna smiles brilliantly. ¡°I¡¯ll leave a notebook in your [Storage] explaining your skills. You can refer to it if you need it. Then I will provide you with some of the local currency in the area.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Can I say no? It will be more interesting to acquire things on my own.¡± (Senna) ¡°That¡¯s no good!¡± Ariel yells at Senna unable to hold herself back. ¡°You need money for food and a place to live. How can you say ¡®no¡¯?!¡± ¡°Is it really impossible?¡± Senna puts on a depressed face as she questions Remilia. Remilia sighs. ¡°How about this?¡± She takes out a necklace and bracelet. Both pieces have a large sapphire set in the center with smaller rubies set on either side. ¡°When you feel like you need money, trade these two pieces in for money. At least you wouldn¡¯t need to worry about money then. Each piece should go for about 3 Gold coins, which in total should cover you for two weeks¡¯ worth of expenses. Satisfied?¡± Ariel looks at her mother with a weird look, but doesn¡¯t say anything. ¡°That will work. Thank you!¡± Senna nods. ¡°I¡¯ll put these inside your [Storage]. Take them out when you need them.¡± The jewelry disappears from Remilia¡¯s hand. ¡°That should be it. I¡¯ll send you off now. Dear, if you have something you want to say, then you should say it now before it¡¯s too late.¡± ¡°Thank you again for saving me.¡± Ariel bows to Senna. ¡°Thank you too for saving me.¡± Senna smiles and bows to her. With a wave of Remilia¡¯s hand, Senna disappears from the bed. ¡°Well that¡¯s done with. What a stubborn girl.¡± Remilia sighs with an awkward smile. ¡°Mother, about those pieces of jewelry, isn¡¯t gold coins worth much more than two weeks of expenses?¡± (Ariel) ¡°Yes, but she doesn¡¯t know that.¡± Remilia smiles mischievously. ¡°Also, how can you let her go with barely any skills? She resembles a common person now.¡± (Ariel) ¡°Well, we never would have gotten anywhere otherwise. Don¡¯t worry I have a plan while still ¡®complying¡¯ with her wishes.¡± Remilia chuckles. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see a child. Even distorted, she hasn¡¯t been stained with any greed. She passed that test wonderfully.¡± ¡°Was that really a test? I only saw that as her being stupidly stubborn.¡± (Ariel) ¡°Yes. It¡¯s because your constitution is different, so you obviously wouldn¡¯t notice. A human wouldn¡¯t be able to take on that many skills at once. In addition to having every skill maxed out, both her mind and soul would overload from all the information.¡± Remilia pats Ariel when she makes an unpleasant face. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry though. I have it perfectly under control.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ariel nods satisfied that her mother has control of the situation. ¡°Now let¡¯s get you treated. You went through a lot, and you still need to report on everything that happened.¡± (Remilia) ¡°Yes!¡± Ariel bows to Remilia as she leaves the room. Author''s Note The last of the prologue chapters. I''m thankful that Royalroadl''s table editor is so easy to understand. No need for complicated coding. Main story chapters are up next. I should be able to complete it soon I hope. Chapter 1 - New Beginning Chapter 1 ¨C New Beginning Senna opens her eyes and sees a clear blue sky. She sits up and looks around finding herself in a flowing field of grass extending as far as the eye can see. She looks at herself noticing her clothes have changed. Her thin dress has been changed with a beige blouse and a brown leather tunic on top. A long brown skirt and shoes when all combined make her look like a simple commoner. ¡°I guess this is how they dress here.¡± Senna comments to herself. ¡°Well time to get moving.¡± Before she can stand up a large window appears before her.
You have acquired +200 HP, +200 MP, +20 to Strength, Endurance, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Luck! You have acquired [Katana] Lv. 1! You can use Katana weapons! You have acquired [Martial Arts] Lv. 1! You can perform different Martial arts abilities now! You have acquired [All Elemental Proficiency] Lv. 1! You can perform magic of the same level for Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light, Darkness, and Null elements! You have acquired [Magic Spell Proficiency] Lv. 1! You can cast spells with a higher level of potency! You have acquired [Magic Manipulation] Lv. 1! You can control spells with a higher level of control! You have acquired [Detection Skills] Lv. 1! You can detect any presence, magic, enemy, or danger within a two meter radius. You have acquired [Tactics] Lv. 2! You can plan out fair strategies in battle! You have acquired [3 Dimensional Movement] Lv. 1! You can move in any directional plane for three seconds! You have acquired [Parry] Lv. 1! You can parry attacks now! You have leveled up [Identification] to Lv. 4! You can accurately identify most objects! You have acquired [Self Recovery] Lv. 3! You can automatically heal normal wounds over time! You have acquired [Disguise] Lv. 1! You can make yourself unnoticed in the crowd with a disguise! You have acquired [Keen Sight] Lv. 2! You can accurately see moving objects! You have acquired [Hawk Eyes] Lv. 2! You can accurately see distant objects 15 meters away! You have acquired [Disease Resistance] Lv. 1! You have a chance to resist minor diseases! You have acquired [Paralysis Resistance] Lv. 3! You can resist minor paralysis and have a chance at resisting intermediate class paralysis! You have acquired [Petrification Resistance] Lv. 4! You can¡¯t be petrified by Lv. 4 class abilities. You have acquired [Reading] Lv. 5! You love to read and now you can quickly read books faster than a normal person. You have acquired [Improved Memory] Lv. 4! You can memorize almost everything you focus on! You have acquired [Persuasion] Lv. 1! You can persuade people about simple topics! You have acquired [Bartering] Lv. 1! You can do simple bartering when making purchases! You have acquired [Appraisal] Lv. Max! Everything on the planet has value! You can determine the price of any object just by looking! You have acquired [Language Comprehension] Lv. Max! No matter the language, you can understand and speak the language within the first few seconds! You have acquired [Poker Face] Lv. 3! You can lie and keep a straight face in normal situations. You have acquired [Survival] Lv. 3! You can survive in the wilderness without any problems! Don¡¯t expect comfort though! You have acquired [Cooking] Lv. 1! You can cook a dish that¡¯s barely edible! You have acquired [Specialized Growth] Lv. 3! Your abilities develop faster than a normal person! You have acquired [Concealed Status] Lv. 4! You can hide your status from common guards! You have acquired [Skill Development] Lv. 3! You can develop and learn new skills at twice the normal pace!
Senna stares at the window in shock, reluctantly opening her [Status].
Status
NameSennaLevel1
RaceHumanAge14 years old
HP400MP250
Strength50Endurance50
Agility50Dexterity50
Intelligence50Wisdom50
Luck50
Skills
Katana Lv. 1 Dagger Lv. 1 Martial Arts Lv. 1 All Elemental Proficiency Lv. 1 - Fire Lv. 1 - Water Lv. 1 - Wind Lv. 1 - Earth Lv. 1 - Lightning Lv. 1 - Light Lv. 1 - Dark Lv. 1 - Null Lv. 1 Magic Spell Proficiency Lv. 1 Magic Power Lv. 1 Magic Manipulation Lv. 1 Detection Skills Lv. 1 -Presence Lv. 1 -Magic Lv. 1 -Enemy Lv. 1 -Danger Lv. 1 Tactics Lv. 2 3 Dimensional Movement Lv. 1 Parry Lv. 1 Identification Lv. 4 Self Recovery Lv. 3 Disguise Lv. 1 Keen Sight Lv. 2 Hawk Eyes Lv. 2 Poison Resistance Lv. 7 Mind Resistance Lv. 7 Disease Resistance Lv. 1 Paralysis Resistance Lv. 3 Petrification Resistance Lv. 4 Storage Lv. Max Reading Lv. 5 Improved Memory Lv. 4 Persuasion Lv. 1 Bartering Lv. 1 Appraisal Lv. Max Arithmetic Lv. Max Experimentation Lv. Max Language Comprehension Lv. Max Poker Face Lv. 3 Etiquette Lv. Max Survival Lv. 3 Cooking Lv. 1 Enhanced Growth Lv. 3 Blood Manipulation Lv. Max Last Stand Lv. Max Soul Engraving Lv. Max Concealed Status Lv. 4 Skill Development Lv. 3
¡°Uuuu¡­She tricked me¡­¡± Senna¡¯s energy hits rock bottom as she falls forward on her hands and knees. After working out her depression, she forces herself to her feet. ¡°¡­No choice, but to accept it. Time to look for civilization.¡± Senna heads to a nearby hill and climbs to the peak. At the top, she sees a large expansive sea of trees in front of her. The trees are closely knit providing little light from breaking through the crown of trees. Senna turns around and sees the open sea. ¡°A forest on one side and an ocean at the other.¡± Her eyes scan along the coast and spot a large port city. ¡°There!¡± Senna smiles as she decides her destination. She casually walks in the direction of the city. ¡°At this pace, I¡¯ll get there in two hours? Hopefully, I won¡¯t get into too much trouble.¡± ¡°Gii-Gaaaaaa!¡±
You¡¯ve learned . Due to [Language Comprehension], you can perfectly understand Goblin talk now.
An odd cry reaches her ears. Her sight shifts to a side where she spots a green pimply humanoid pointing at her with a wooden club and waving the other at someone behind the hill. A sense of danger fills her as she detects the hostility of the green creature. ¡°What¡¯s that? Not good? What now? Oh right! [Identify]¡± Senna looks at the thing in confusion before remembering about her skill.
Status
NameN/ALevel2
RaceGoblinAge5 days old
HP20MP0
Strength9Endurance3
Agility5Dexterity2
Intelligence2Wisdom0
Luck1
Skills
N/A
Description
A green humanoid monster. Thrives in killing small animals. Likes to capture human women to use as a breeding pool. Fast growth from infancy.
¡°A monster and a disturbing one.¡± Senna grimaces at the description. She touches her cheek when she realizes her expression. ¡°Wow~ When was the last time I felt disgust? I can even show it on my face.¡± Senna talks to herself with an out of place calmness. She notices two other goblins appear armed with rusty knives and start to close in on her. ¡°No time to play around I guess. What to do?¡± Senna looks around for a tool or weapon without any luck. ¡°Guess I have to rely on my hands.¡± She clenches her hands preparing herself for the fight.
You have acquired +50 HP, +5 Strength, Endurance, Wisdom! You have leveled up [Martial Arts] to Lv. 2! Your martial arts can deal with small enemies! You have leveled up [Presence Detection] to Lv. 2! You can detect presences within 5 meters. You have leveled up [Enemy Detection] to Lv. 2! You can detect enemies within 5 meters. You have leveled up [Danger Detection] to Lv. 2! You can detect danger within 5 meters. ¡­
¡°Wah!! Um, um¡­ Hide skill notices!!¡± Senna panics seeing the sudden influx of skills and tries to command it. The window disappears before it can finish displaying the messages. ¡°Woman! Capture!¡± The goblin closes in on Senna. The closest one swings its club at her. Senna jumps back quickly expanding the gap to over ten meters between them. ¡°That scared me!¡± Senna looks at the goblins continuing to charge at her. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no choice, but to fight.¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She hardens her gaze as she dashes towards the club wielding goblin. Before it can react, Senna throws her fist forward swiftly meeting the goblin¡¯s face. *Crack* Senna¡¯s eyes open wide as her hand smashes through the goblin¡¯s head. Before her hand punctures deeper into the head, the goblin¡¯s neck is strained to its limit and cracks. The goblin¡¯s head flies off smashing into the base of the hill. Blood sprays out from the decapitated body drenching Senna. She stares blankly at her hands.
Senna has leveled up! You have reached level 2!
Before Senna can process the damage she did or the status window, the cries of the two goblins before her snap her out of her reverie. She quickly waves the message away making it disappear. ¡°Have to keep moving.¡± She grabs the feet of the fallen goblin and quickly twirls throwing the body at the closest goblin. The body slams into the goblin. Its knife gets stuck in the body as the goblin is knocked off its feet. As the goblin flies, it crashes into its comrade knocking both of them to the ground. The last goblin drops its rusty knife to the ground as it flies. "Wow." Senna stares in surprise at the fallen goblins. "I guess that''s the benefits of a strong status? I was too na?ve I guess¡­" She sighs thinking of the help that Remilia''s stubbornness has given her. "I better finish things before they get up." Senna jogs to the fallen rusty knife. She walks over to the fallen goblins. One of the goblins has already extracted itself from underneath the decapitated body and points at her angrily grunting. "Woman!!" Before it can approach, Senna throws the knife strongly. It shoots out from her hand stabbing directly into the goblin''s head. Blood lightly squirts from the goblin''s head as it crumples to the ground. The body falls directly on top of the decapitated body trapping the final goblin under the combined weight. "Heavy! Escape!!" The goblin squirms under the weight. It attempts to push the bodies off of it, but lacks the strength or leverage to move them. The goblin stops when a shadow looms over it. It sees Senna staring down calmly at it. ¡°Escape!! Escape!!!¡± It panics and tries pushing the bodies again to escape from Senna. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Sorry. But you attacked me first.¡± She raises her foot over the goblin¡¯s head. The goblin cries out again, but Senna stops down without mercy. The goblin¡¯s head bursts open like a watermelon splashing more blood onto her clothes. Luckily, she covered her face preventing more blood from getting on her. She sighs with the end of her first battle.
Senna has leveled up! You have reached level 3!
Another window pops up in front of her. ¡°Not now.¡± She flicks the window away turning her gaze to the goblin corpses. She claps her hands together giving a quiet prayer. ¡°Leaving the corpses here gives a bad taste in my mouth considering I went and killed them like this. ¡­What to do? I guess I should take it with me. There might be something I can sell.¡± Senna stores the bodies in her [Storage], but keeps one of the rusty knives in hand. ¡°It looks like it will break any second, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Senna comments examining the knife.
Rusted Copper Knife Type: Dagger Durability: 2/5 +0 Attack A metal knife thoroughly covered in rust. The blade has completely worn down making it impossible to cut anything.
She takes a quick glance as her [Storage]. ¡°Good, at least they didn¡¯t slip anything else with me. I should be happy the status helped me survive that battle, but I still feel weird about such convenient gifts. [Status]¡±
Status
NameSennaLevel3
RaceHumanAge14 years old
HP510MP300
Strength65Endurance65
Agility60Dexterity65
Intelligence60Wisdom65
Luck70
Skills
Katana Lv. 1 Dagger Lv. 1 Martial Arts Lv. 3 All Elemental Proficiency Lv. 1 - Fire Lv. 1 - Water Lv. 1 - Wind Lv. 1 - Earth Lv. 1 - Lightning Lv. 1 - Light Lv. 1 - Dark Lv. 1 - Null Lv. 1 Magic Spell Proficiency Lv. 1 Magic Power Lv. 1 Magic Manipulation Lv. 1 Detection Skills Lv. 1 -Presence Lv. 3 -Magic Lv. 1 -Enemy Lv. 2 -Danger Lv. 2 Tactics Lv. 3 3 Dimensional Movement Lv. 1 Parry Lv. 1 Identification Lv. 4 Self-Recovery Lv. 3 Disguise Lv. 1 Keen Sight Lv. 3 Hawk Eyes Lv. 3 Poison Resistance Lv. 7 Mind Resistance Lv. 7 Disease Resistance Lv. 2 Paralysis Resistance Lv. 3 Petrification Resistance Lv. 4 Storage Lv. Max Reading Lv. 5 Improved Memory Lv. 4 Persuasion Lv. 1 Bartering Lv. 1 Appraisal Lv. Max Arithmetic Lv. Max Experimentation Lv. Max Language Comprehension Lv. Max Poker Face Lv. 4 Etiquette Lv. Max Survival Lv. 4 Cooking Lv. 1 Specialized Growth Lv. 4 Blood Manipulation Lv. Max Last Stand Lv. Max Soul Engraving Lv. Max Concealed Status Lv. 4 Skill Development Lv. 4
She takes a look at her status, which only makes her sigh more heavily. ¡°So strong¡­ They really overdid it. Hah. No point complaining. I need to get to town. I wish I had some water to wipe off all this blood though.¡± Senna walks towards the town replaying the battle in her head. ¡°I¡¯m really calm even though I killed something for the first time. Is it always like this? But there¡¯s no choice other than to take them done since they¡¯re hostile¡­¡± Along the way, Senna meets another two groups of goblins along the way. She swiftly dispatches them by throwing rocks at their heads resulting in ten goblin corpses collected in her [Storage]. As the town comes into sight, she stops and looks at herself drenched in blood. ¡°Would they even let me in like this? I don¡¯t want to be confused with a murderer. The blood¡¯s starting to dry though¡­Oh Blood!¡± Senna remembers her status and her [Blood Manipulation skill]. ¡°Will it work if it¡¯s not my own blood? ¡­Well I have to try. Um¡­ [Blood Manipulation]!¡± Senna stretches out one hand turning her palm towards her body. As she calls out the skill, the loose and dried blood separate from her clothes and body collected in the palm of her outstretched hand. ¡°It worked!¡± She tries dropping it in her [Storage] and successfully fills a slot with an ¡®Orb of Goblin¡¯s Blood¡¯. She approaches the town and sees the large stone walls surrounding the town.
You have found the town of .
A long line of carriages stretch out from the gate. While thinking if she should wait in the line, she catches sight of a smaller line with people carrying weapons and armor. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll try going in that line first.¡± When she reaches the gate, the smaller line has already cleared. Two guards dressed in steel armor stop Senna from approaching any further. ¡°¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ! ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ ID.¡± (Guard A)
You¡¯ve learned the . You can now understand the most prominent language of humans in the kingdom of Lalfiya.
¡°ID? I apologize I don¡¯t have one.¡± Senna bows to them. ¡°Can anyone enter this way or do I have to wait in that line?¡± ¡°No ID? You¡¯re not an adventurer?¡± (Guard A) ¡°No?¡± Senna shakes her head. ¡°If you don¡¯t have ID, you have to pay 30 Triton as a tax to enter .¡± (Guard B) ¡°Uuu¡­I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m lost and have no money. All I have are some goblin corpses and some items I can sell to get some money. I¡¯d have to go inside to do that though.¡± Senna groans at the predicament she got into because of her stubborn rejection of Remilia¡¯s help. ¡°Goblin corpses? You said you weren¡¯t an adventurer? Why would you goblin corpses?¡± One of the guards question Senna staring intently as he evaluates her. ¡°They attacked me, so I got lucky and killed them when I stole their weapon?¡± Senna meekly answers as she senses the sudden hostility. The two guards talk to themselves as they look at her. ¡°Show us proof that you killed a goblin. You¡¯re not carrying anything.¡± (Guard A) ¡°Okay.¡± Senna pulls out a stabbed goblin from her inventory. The guards stare in shock at the sudden appearance. Guard A steps away rushing to the guardhouse. ¡°P-Please wait for my partner to return, Miss!¡± Guard B stutters as he speaks. ¡°Okay. May I put the goblin away?¡± Senna ask while looking at the nervous guard. {Miss?? why did he suddenly change his tone and get so nervous?} ¡°P-Please go ahead.¡± Guard B still stutters slightly as he speaks. Senna nods and puts the goblin away. After a few minutes, Guard A returns and relays a message to Guard B. Guard B takes out a white crystal as ¡°T-Then please put your hand on this crystal and answer my questions.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Senna obediently complies. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Senna.¡± ¡°Age?¡± ¡°Ei¡­Fourteen.¡± ¡°Race?¡± ¡°¡­Human?¡± ¡°Have you ever committed a crime?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Have you killed a person recently?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­If the goblins don¡¯t count, then no.¡± Guard B takes back the crystal after the last question. Senna also retracts her hand. Guard A hands Senna a piece of parchment with the basic information she provided. ¡°You¡¯ll want to go to the Adventurer¡¯s guild in the center of town to trade the goblin corpses. If you go straight ahead, you¡¯ll see it immediately. If you wish to become an adventurer, you should register with them to obtain access to their services. You will also get identification as proof of joining them.¡± ¡°Okay. That sounds good. Thank you for the information. Is it fine that I¡¯m not paying the tax though?¡± (Senna) ¡°A-a-about that, we would be very grateful if you can return to pay the tax by tomorrow afternoon would be greatly appreciated.¡± Guard B nervously salutes her. ¡°Understood. Thank you very much.¡± Senna bows to the two guards and heads inside the town. When Senna is completely out of sight, the guards finally relax. ¡°Thank god, she took that well.¡± Guard B comments. ¡°Yeah. Hopefully she doesn¡¯t report us later.¡± (Guard A) ¡°Why did she have to be so misleading dressing as a commoner? Even if she can¡¯t carry her ID, she could at least have some money on her.¡± (Guard B) ¡°Why do you think she was so polite? She could have easily executed us?¡± (Guard A) ¡°How should I know?! She must be some personal spy for the Lord carrying top secret information. There¡¯s probably some reason that common people like us wouldn¡¯t know.¡± (Guard B) ¡°What are you talking about?¡± A man approaches the two guards. ¡°Captain!¡± The two guards salute their captain. ¡°And what were you discussing?¡± (Captain) ¡°A young girl that passed through. She wasn¡¯t carrying any ID nor had any money on her.¡± (Guard A) ¡°What did she look like?¡± (Captain) ¡°No older than 15. A very innocent looking commoner with long, sleek white hair. We let her through asking her to pay the tax by tomorrow.¡± (Guard B) The captain frowns, ¡°Why did you do that? You could have turned her away?¡± ¡°She was a top class magician. We think she¡¯s probably connected to the Lord.¡± (Guard A) ¡°Oh? Did she say that?¡± (Captain) ¡°No, she didn¡¯t. But that would be the best explanation for the lack of ID.¡± (Guard B) ¡°Then there¡¯s no proof. She should have shown a mark of the Lord if she really worked for him. No need to skip carrying identification at all.¡± The captain explains. ¡°Next time she comes call me immediately.¡± ¡°But Captain?! Even if she doesn¡¯t work for the Lord, she must be some sort of official with her level of skill!¡± (Guard A) ¡°You don¡¯t know that. Besides if she isn¡¯t anyone important, I can have some fun with her.¡± The captain licks his lips thinking about her appearance. The two guards panic seeing their captain¡¯s lascivious attitude, but refrain from rebuking their superior any further. Author''s Note Apologies for the delay on this chapter. It was too hectic at work this week dealing with work for two other people while they''re out on top of mine. Chapter 2 is coming in a bit once I deal with the tables. Also, I wanted to use some Japanese quotation marks for different situations. It''s fairly intuitive, but here it is for reference. "word" - Speaking [word] - Skills *word* - Sound effect {word} - Thoughts - Significant Names of places, objects, magic spells ¡ºword¡»- Thoughts ¡¾word¡¿- Names of places, objects, magic spells Edit: Decided to stop using the Japanese Quotation marks since it became a burden to copy and paste them all the time. Chapter 2 - Adventurers Guild Chapter 2 ¨C Adventurer¡¯s Guild The town is mostly populated by wooden homes. Down the main street, many homes line the road painted in varying bright colors. People line the street walking in every direction. Some people peddle things on the side of the road or selling various snacks. Senna calmly walks down the street taking in the sight before her. She represses her urge to run around the city and see the sights. Locked up for as long as she can remember, the unfamiliar town brings forth a jubilant atmosphere within her. Senna¡¯s appearance draws significant attention to herself, but she chooses to ignore her knowing it¡¯s because of her out of place white hair. {Well it¡¯s impossible not to stand out. I already knew that.} After walking for some time, Senna reaches the heart of town and notices the large wooden building before her. The building gives an imposing presence with its size, easily taking up the space of eight homes. Various letters are written above the door, but Senna is unable to read the letters. A different wooden sign hangs on the side with a picture of a dragon¡¯s head. Dual swinging doors with an oversized arch make up the entrance to the building allowing easy access to larger sized individuals. Senna calms herself as she heads inside. As the doors swing open, numerous people stop and gaze at the sudden guest. Many quickly lose interest in the petite young lady. Quite a few gazes linger on her, trying to guess her race because of her oddly colored hair. Several men stare at her with a more lustful gaze licking their lips. Senna ignores all of that and walks forward. Several windows are open in front of her with people lined up waiting their turn. To either side of her, many wooden tables and chair line the room with adventurers talking merrily, drinking, or having a meal. On the either side of the room, various boards are lined up with many slips of paper tacked on. She walks up to an open window. The receptionist is a young lady with chestnut brown hair. ¡°Welcome to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. How can I help you?¡± ¡°Hello, my name is Senna. Pleased to meet you. The guards told me I could come here to sell the goblins I killed. I¡¯m not an adventurer though, is that okay?¡± Senna uses her best smile as she nervously explains her situation. ¡°Yes. That is perfectly okay.¡± The receptionist smiles in response. ¡°The appraiser for monster kills is that long line to your left. If you¡¯d like, do you want to register as an adventurer now to receive a larger reward for your work? The cost of registration is 100 Triton.¡± Senna smiles a bit bitterly and bows. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. I have no funds for that right now. I only just arrived in town and need to acquire some money as fast as I can.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, how about you spend the night with me? I¡¯ll give you the money you need. Gahahaha!¡± A man¡¯s voice sounds out from one of the tables behind her. Some of the men nearby join in laughing at her. The receptionist smiles awkwardly as she sees the pained smile on Senna¡¯s face. ¡°I apologize. They¡¯re decent people, just a bit vulgar at times.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say.¡± A woman stands up to Senna. Senna looks up seeing the taller woman before her. Most of the woman¡¯s upper body is covered in a green cloak. The woman¡¯s hair is a short wavy flaxen colored hair. Her brown eyes give a stern gaze as she examines Senna. The black pants, leather boots and gloves give her the impression of a skilled thief. ¡°I heard your problem. How much are you missing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything.¡± Senna replies honestly. The woman looks at Senna in surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t have any money? How have you been living?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I was knocked out and taken from the place I was living, when I woke up I was in a field of grass a couple of hours from town. I came here to get money and figure out what to do.¡± The woman and the receptionist¡¯s surprise increase even more listening to Senna. ¡°You weren¡¯t carrying anything?¡± ¡°No. Nothing significant. I do happen to have something I can pawn off for some living expenses. So it¡¯s not completely horrible. I¡¯m just a little disoriented since I don¡¯t know where I am.¡± (Senna) ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s quite the story.¡± (Woman) ¡°Haha. I know it¡¯s quite unbelievable. Anyways, I¡¯m sorry for wasting your time.¡± Senna bows and starts to walk away. ¡°Wait.¡± The woman grips Senna¡¯s hand. Senna turns back at the sudden call. The woman takes out a silver coin and hands it to Senna. ¡°Here. Use this to pay for the fee.¡± Senna pushes the money back. ¡°Oh no. I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°No buts. Take it.¡± The woman forces the coin into Senna¡¯s hand and closes her hand. ¡°Thank you¡­ Ah. I¡¯m sorry. My name is Senna. Pleased to meet you.¡± Senna nervously bows to the woman. ¡°Ah I¡¯m Anahid Galstyan. Nice to meet you. Also, you shouldn¡¯t bow like that. You give off the impression of a sheltered girl that¡¯s easy to take advantage of.¡± (Anahid) ¡°I¡¯m Maria Sibrian. If you have anything you¡¯re unsure about, I¡¯ll be happy to listen. I agree with Anahid. You shouldn¡¯t bow.¡± The receptionist uses the chance to interject and introduce herself. ¡°Ahahaha.¡± Senna dryly laughs at their advice. ¡°Um¡­well I can¡¯t deny the sheltered part. And I was severely beaten for most of what I can remember if I didn¡¯t bow, so stopping is a bit impossible.¡± Their smiles disappear listening to Senna. ¡°Just what kind of past do you have?¡± (Anahid) ¡°Nothing pleasant.¡± Senna replies seriously. ¡°Here¡¯s the fee.¡± She changes the topic quickly. ¡°O-okay.¡± Maria accepts the money and pulls out a sheet of paper. ¡°Can you write?¡± Senna looks at the paper, but shakes her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It looks different from the language I know. I must be further away than I thought. Oh the guard gave me this.¡± She takes out the piece of parchment from the guard. ¡°Yes. This is the information I need.¡± Maria copies the information on the parchment and gives it back to Senna. ¡°Here you are. Please wait a moment.¡± Maria steps away from the desk and goes into the back room. She returns after a short wait carrying a silver card. ¡°Here¡¯s your card. Please mark it with your blood.¡± She passes the card and a simple needle to Senna. Senna accepts the car and needle. She pricks her finger and marks the card with a drop of blood. The blood is quickly absorbed into the card and quickly spreads turning the entire card blue. Senna returns the needle to Maria while she examines the card. The card is completely flat without a single word recorded on it. ¡°You need to recite ¡¸Guild Status¡¹to see your ranking.¡± (Maria) ¡°¡¸Guild Status¡¹.¡± (Senna)
Name: Senna Age: 14 years old Race: Human Rank: F Missions completed: 0 Missions to Next Rank: 10F
Senna quickly reads the status that is displayed for her. {Good thing it somehow came in English.} ¡°Would you like to hear the rules for the guild?¡± (Maria) ¡°Please.¡± ¡°The guild has a ranking system from F, E, D, C, B, A, and finally S rank. By completing missions, your card will naturally change colors to reflect a change in rank. For your current rank, ten missions of F rank or two E rank missions will immediately bring you to the next rank. You can only take missions at your level, above one rank or below one rank. Understand everything so far?¡± Maria takes a pause to check with Senna, who nods immediately. ¡°The rank up system only applies to D rank and under. Starting from rising to C rank, you must be evaluated by the guild after completing the required missions to rank up. You can take up to three jobs actively at one time. If you have to quit a job at any time, you will be asked to pay a fine depending on the guild rank. The exception is the jobs with wooden boards. They¡¯re permanent jobs that are always active. They do not need to be accepted to receive the reward. You only have to fulfill the request.¡± (Maria) ¡°Understood.¡± (Senna) ¡°Unless you give prior notice, 3 years of inactivity without taking any jobs will result in your membership being revoked. At that time, you¡¯ll be forced to start again from the beginning.¡± (Maria) Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Is any reason accepted?¡± (Senna) ¡°As long as it¡¯s reasonable. Illness, family problems, or an extended job that might not be with the guild are all reasonable excuses. There are many guild branches in other cities, so it is generally very simple to keep track of accepted jobs.¡± (Maria) ¡°Okay!¡± Senna nods listening to every word. ¡°That¡¯s about it for the explanation on jobs. As an adventurer, you can access the services that each guild provides with a discount compared to the general commoner. However, an adventurer also has to follow the rules. One, avoid fighting your other guild members.¡± (Maria) ¡°¡®Avoid¡¯? Don¡¯t you mean ¡®never¡¯?¡± (Senna) ¡°Some adventurers don¡¯t get along, so conflicts happen unfortunately. Second, you have to answer the local guild¡¯s summons if called.¡± ¡°What happens in the guild¡¯s summons?¡± ¡°Normally, a dangerous monster is attacking and needs to be subdued. Third, you must listen to the guildmaster, if he addresses you. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Okay! Thank you very much!¡± Senna bows. ¡°Good luck then. I¡¯ll be here if you have any troubles.¡± (Maria) ¡°Thank you!¡± Senna bows again and waits in the other line to sell the goblins. Anahid follows Senna and waits with her. ¡°Huh? Did you need something else of me?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m just curious about you and plan to follow you for a while.¡± Anahid replies apathetically. ¡°¡­Because you want me to pay you back?¡± Senna tilts her head at the odd direction of the conversation. ¡°No. That was a gift. I¡¯m just curious.¡± (Anahid) ¡°Is that so?¡± Senna shrugs and accepts the answer. Senna reaches the front of the line before any further discussion occurs. ¡°Welcome. What have ya got?¡± The appraiser greets Senna and Anahid when she approaches the counter. The appraiser is a large gruff man with a stern expression as he appraises the two of them. A look of confusion passes his face when he attempts to appraise Senna.
Status
NameSennaLevel?
Race?Age?
HP?MP?
Strength?Endurance?
Agility?Dexterity?
Intelligence?Wisdom?
Luck?
Skills
???
Status
NameAnahid GalstyanLevel48
RaceHumanAge27
HP1340MP435
Strength88Endurance74
Agility126Dexterity107
Intelligence20Wisdom24
Luck79
Skills
Dagger Lv. 5 Trap Lv. 3 Presence Detection Lv. 3 Trap Detection Lv. 3 Lockpicking Lv. 4 Stealth Lv. 4
¡°I had some goblin corpses and wanted to trade them in. I¡¯m a newcomer.¡± Senna shows him the newly acquired guild card. ¡°And where are they? You should have them ready to show me or I can¡¯t appraise it.¡± (Appraiser) ¡°I have it. Just one second.¡± Senna opens her [Storage] and places the goblin corpses and weapons on the counter. Both the appraiser and Anahid¡¯s eyes open wide seeing the items suddenly appear. ¡°You have [Storage] magic?¡± Anahid fires off the question. As a veteran, she knows better than to pry into other people¡¯s privacy and question their . However, the surprise from seeing the [Storage] ability prevents her from rationally keeping quiet. ¡°Yep.¡± Senna smiles as she returns her attention to the appraiser. ¡°I¡¯m a complete amateur, so I just took the entire thing. What do you normally take from a goblin?¡± ¡°Normally the fangs are taken. They¡¯re useful in some medicinal recipes. These two headless goblins aren¡¯t worth as much because of that.¡± The appraiser carefully examines each of the goblins. Senna just smiles awkwardly. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll be more careful next time.¡± ¡°The knives are completely rusted and the clubs are chipped. Even so the clubs are worth more since you can use the wood for other things. I¡¯ll give you 5 Triton for the intact goblins, 2 Triton for the headless ones, 1 Triton for the rusty knives, 2 Triton for the clubs.¡± The appraiser lists off the prices for the items. Senna just stares at him blankly. ¡°What not satisfied with the price?¡± Senna shakes her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll assume that¡¯s the normal price.¡± ¡°¡°It is.¡±¡± Both the appraiser and Anahid reply. ¡°Then I have no problem with it.¡± (Senna) ¡°Let me calculate the total then.¡± The appraiser picks up an abacus and starts calculating the price. ¡°Why do you look so confused then?¡± Anahid asks looking at Senna. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the money, Triton is it?¡± Senna whispers to Anahid. ¡°Triton is the currency in the kingdom of Lalfiya. There are eight type of coins, copper, big copper, silver, big silver, gold, big gold, white gold, big white gold. 1 copper coin is equal to 1 Triton. 10 copper coins are 10 Tritons, which is also equal to 1 big copper coin. 10 of each coin make up 1 coin of the next grade.¡± Anahid calmly explains the currency to Senna while showing her how each coin looks like. ¡°Did you understand all of that?¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you for the explanation. Are big gold coins and white gold coins rare?¡± Senna asks looking through the coins in Anahid¡¯s hand. The coins she carries go up to gold coins, but stop there. ¡°Yes. White gold coins are more for high class merchants and kings. You would almost never see those as a common adventurer. Gold coins are fairly rare unless you¡¯re a high class adventurer. Even then you have to take big jobs to acquire any.¡± (Anahid) ¡°I see.¡± Senna comments lightly. {She tricked me. Gold coins are probably worth a lot more than a couple of weeks in town¡­.What else will happen now?} Senna sighs to herself. ¡°Ok. The total comes to 45 Triton.¡± The appraiser hands her the money for the exchange. ¡°Thank you!¡± Senna smiles taking the money. ¡°Yep.¡± He places the materials away in a large box behind the counter. Senna and Anahid leave the guild building finished with their business. ¡°Where are you off to now?¡± Anahid asks following Senna still. ¡°I was let into the city without paying the tax, so I need to go and pay it off before it becomes a problem later.¡± Senna blushes admitting her pitiful state. Anahid¡¯s eyes widen when she hears the response. ¡°¡­How should I say this? ¡­You¡¯re really in a bad state. Will you even be able to manage like this?¡± ¡°Well I have something for emergency funds. I just need to sell it.¡± Senna laughs awkwardly admitting her terrible state. Anahid sighs to herself. ¡°It would be better if you didn¡¯t have to sell your belongings to survive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a trinket, so it isn¡¯t a problem. Will you still follow along as I drop by the guard station?¡± (Senna) ¡°Yes. I¡¯m still planning on following.¡± (Anahid) ¡°Then I¡¯ll try and make it quick.¡± Senna replies increasing her walking speed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to rush. I have time.¡± Anahid comments following Senna. Author''s Note General Guild rules and talk. A bit boring, but I''m focusing on some world building for these early chapters. Once I set things up, things will quickly escalate and bring Senna all sorts of trouble. Edit: Changed guild membership inactivity from 6 months to 3 years. 6 months is a bit short for a fantasy setting where transportation is less developed. Chapter 3 - Introductions Chapter 3 - Introductions When they reach the guard station, Senna greets the same two guards. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Ah! You¡¯re back already?¡± (Guard A) ¡°Yes. I have the money for the tax. It was 30 Triton right?¡± Senna pulls out three large copper coins. ¡°Yes. You should hurry and¡­¡± Guard A starts to accept the money slightly panicked. ¡°Oi. What¡¯s going on?¡± Guard A clicks his tongue before facing his Captain. ¡°Nothing Captain! The girl from before is paying her entrance tax.¡± ¡°Oh. This is her? I believe I said to inform me if she came.¡± The captain looks up and down admiring Senna¡¯s body. ¡°She just arrived, so I didn¡¯t have the chance to inform the Captain yet.¡± (Guard A) ¡°Fine. Come with me.¡± He motions to Senna and starts walking back to his office. ¡°Tch¡­ Sorry.¡± Guard A whispers to Senna. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like it matters.¡± Senna smiles briefly and follows the captain. Anahid follows along with an annoyed expression. Guard B¡¯s expression hardens. ¡°I¡¯m going to follow them.¡± He chases after them while glaring at his captain. ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Guard A happily supports his partner¡¯s choice as he runs off. Anahid discreetly glares at the Captain¡¯s back. ¡°Did you do something to catch his attention?¡± ¡°No. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen him.¡± Senna replies calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t think the way he looked at you bodes well.¡± (Anahid) ¡°Mmmn¡­ I expect he wants to blackmail me to do something lewd?¡± Senna mutters calmly. Anahid briefly stops staring at Senna¡¯s calm demeanor. Before she can say anything further, Senna enters the guard office. ¡°Tch. Not on my watch.¡± Anahid hisses quickly following her into the office with Guard B quickly following behind. The Captain sits down as his desk, while Senna enters the room. She ignores her surroundings and focuses on the Captain waiting for him to speak. Anahid and Guard B enter the room quickly after Senna. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡° adventurer, Anahid Galstyan, head thief and number 3 of the .¡± ¡°Tch.¡± He clicks his tongue quietly. ¡°And why are you here? I believe I asked for this young lady.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a friend of mine that I was late in meeting. It¡¯s my fault that she couldn¡¯t get through the gate. Naturally, I¡¯ll be here.¡± Anahid sternly replies with a glare. The captain inwardly groans to himself seeing his plan fall through. ¡°There is no trouble. I wanted to make sure she properly pays the entrance tax since she did not pay earlier.¡± ¡°I have the money. Here you are.¡± Senna calmly places the money on his desk. ¡°Good. I will also ask that you do not spread the fact that you entered the city without paying the tax. It would be troublesome if people constantly enter the town and never pay the tax.¡± (Captain) ¡°I know. I won¡¯t speak of the topic anymore.¡± Senna smiles. ¡°Good. You can leave.¡± The Captain sighs. Guard B breathes a sigh of relief that his Captain¡¯s lascivious desires did not affect this girl. ¡°Thank you.¡± Senna bows. ¡°And since Sir Captain was so kind as to let me off. I should give you an important piece of information.¡± Senna smiles innocently, but her gaze gives off a mischievous air. Senna points to her face first, and then to her chest. ¡°My skin here is far different from the skin under my clothes. Rather than pretty, it¡¯s better to say mauled by a monster? Scars and scabs everywhere. Ripped flesh in various places even on my breasts. It¡¯s quite the sight.¡± She calmly speaks with a cheerful tone. The others go pale listening to her talk. She rolls up the sleeve of her shirt showing her upper arm riddled with various whip marks and fresh scars. ¡°There was one occasion where a piece of my back was sliced off and a flesh eating bug dug into¡­¡± ¡°Stop! Stop! I got the point!¡± The Captain yells at Senna. His face is completely pale listening to her talk and slowly turns a tinge of green. Anahid and Guard B are equally pale listening to Senna. ¡°Right? I don¡¯t really care at this point, but the damage is quite heavy. Seeing it is more likely to induce a trauma than feel any erotic emotions?¡± Senna continues to talk in her cheer free tone. ¡°I don¡¯t mind taking off my clothes for you to see everything.¡± ¡°I got it! So please stop!¡± The Captain covers his mouth imagining the state of her body. ¡°Then so long as you understand.¡± Senna rolls down her shirt. ¡°Thank you again.¡± She bows and walks out of the room. Anahid follows after her, while Guard B remains in the room. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for aiming at her Captain.¡± Guard B comments with a smug look on his still pale face. ¡°I know that! Damn! Who would have thought a pretty one like that is such a huge miss?¡± The Captain slams his fist on his desk. Guard B shrugs and leaves the room. ** ¡°Thanks again for the help Anahid. I¡¯m grateful that went so smoothly.¡± Senna smiles when she sees Anahid catch up to her. ¡°No problem.¡± {Just what kind of things have you gone through?} Anahid inwardly mutters the question in her heart. Senna sees her pondering face and decides to answer her. ¡°I was a plaything to a cruel aristocrat for eight years. Let¡¯s leave it at that¡­since I¡¯ve probably made you ill enough already.¡± Anahid looks at Senna in shock. She opens her mouth, but no words come out. She opens and closes her mouth like a goldfish, but not a single comforting word comes to mind. When walking back to town, Senna waves to Guard A, and gives a nice smile. He gives a sigh of relief that things went well, none the wiser about what happened. Anahid¡¯s mind runs at top speed processing Senna¡¯s words. {Eight years!! I can¡¯t believe it! She was captured for so long!! Just what kind of things did she go through?! How can she even smile like that?! I would still be in pain and traumatized. No, I would have gone insane by the looks of the scars on her arm. And the rest of her body is supposed to be even worse?!} ¡°I guess I should find a place to stay¡­ Or not, I have to get money first. I guess I should sell that piece off.¡± Senna comments to herself. Talk of a place to stay snaps Anahid out of her reverie. ¡°Before that, why don¡¯t you come with me first?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Where to?¡± Senna tilts her head at the sudden suggestion. ¡°My house.¡± Anahid directs Senna to her home. They arrive at a simple wooden house painted a pale orange. The homes in the area are all similar in design, so the bright color of Anahid¡¯s home made it easier to identify. Anahid knocks on the door and opens it immediately after. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± ¡°Oh Anahid! You scared me! You said you wouldn¡¯t be home until this evening.¡± An older woman with mahogany brown hair stands near the doorway. She is dressed conservatively in a yellow long dress with an apron over her clothes. ¡°Sorry Mom. Something came up. Is Dad home?¡± Anahid asks looking around the house. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°He just stepped out to take out the trash.¡± The door slams as the woman speaks. ¡°That¡¯s him now.¡± ¡°Dad, I¡¯m back.¡± (Anahid) ¡°Oh? Weren¡¯t you coming back this evening?¡± The man asks looking at Anahid and moves his gaze to Senna. Senna takes a look at the man. He is taller than her by a head with crew cut blonde hair. Even with simple clothing, his body emanates a sublime strength. ¡°I had something important to discuss with both of you.¡± Anahid makes a quick glance at Senna. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down then.¡± The mother welcomes Senna in and the four of them sit around a table. The table has a small candle like object made of silver metal. With a click, a ball of light forms lighting up the entire floor.
Status
NameRussell GalstyanLevel45
RaceHumanAge44 years
HP2280MP180
Strength130Endurance112
Agility86Dexterity64
Intelligence42Wisdom31
Luck26
Skills
Sword Lv. 4 Earth Magic Lv. 2 Enhanced Strength Lv. 2 Survival Lv. 2 Tactics Lv. 3 Presence Detection Lv. 2 Cleaning Lv. 1
Status
NameLeah GalstyanLevel34
RaceHumanAge42 years
HP875MP1023
Strength47Endurance32
Agility56Dexterity25
Intelligence132Wisdom108
Luck32
Skills
Staff Lv. 2 Light Magic Lv. 3 Null Magic Lv. 3 Magic Spell Proficiency Lv.3 Magic Power Lv. 2 Magic Manipulation Lv. 2 Dark Resistance Lv. 1 Bartering Lv. 3 Persuasion Lv. 3 Appraisal Lv. 2 Arithmetic Lv. 2 Cooking Lv. 3 Cleaning Lv. 3
¡°Like I said earlier, my name is Anahid Galstyan. I work as a thief class adventurer with my clan, . These are my parents. Leah Galstyan and Russell Galstyan. This girl is Senna¡­ ah¡­ what¡¯s your family name?¡± Anahid introduces everyone, but falters with Senna. ¡°Um¡­¡± Senna thinks about her name. {I¡¯m not taking Rimmer as my family name. That would just be disturbing at this point. My original family name¡­ no good, I can¡¯t remember it at all. I guess it was erased.} Senna ends up shaking her head and gives a sad smile. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Oh sorry.¡± Anahid averts her gaze at the uncomfortable topic she brought up. Russell and Leah notice the uncomfortable atmosphere, but patiently wait for her to continue. ¡°*ahem* I noticed she was having a bit of trouble and wanted to ask if she can live here for a while?¡± ¡°EEHHHHHHHHH?!?! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!¡± Before Leah and Russell can react, Senna stands up yelling at Anahid in a high pitch. Anahid is surprised by Senna¡¯s interruption, but makes use of the situation. ¡°That would be best, wouldn¡¯t it? You¡¯re lost in a city that you¡¯ve never seen before. You have no place to stay and spent most of your money to enter the city. The money you have left wouldn¡¯t be enough to pay for a place to stay and food.¡± ¡°That may be so!! But how can you offer a place to stay to someone you¡¯ve barely known over an hour?! I could be a criminal or thief for all you know!!¡± Senna yells back completely flustered. None of her usual composure is seen on her face. ¡°If you were a criminal, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter the city. And do you think an expert thief like me would be able to tell if we had the same profession?¡± Anahid calmly refutes her wild claims. Senna opens and closes her mouth at the obvious logic. ¡°Stop.¡± Russell calmly interrupts the two of them. Senna¡¯s face pales when she realizes the attitude that she¡¯s been using. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯ve been very rude!¡± ¡°Come here.¡± Russell tells her to stand next to him. Senna obediently walks up to him and stands completely still with her head hanging down. ¡°Look at me.¡± Senna meets his eyes and stares at him patiently. He mumbles to himself. ¡°Okay. Sit down.¡± Senna tilts her head at the pointless action, but still obediently sits down. ¡°She can stay.¡± Russell declares once Senna sits back down. Senna¡¯s jaw drops at the decision. ¡°Ho¡­¡± She starts to protest, but stops realizing how far things have progressed. Russell responds to Senna¡¯s unspoken question. ¡°I¡¯m a veteran adventurer myself. I can tell who can be trusted well enough. I don¡¯t have a problem letting an innocent girl like you staying here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s decided then.¡± (Leah) Senna stares in shock at their kind decision. She snaps out of her shock and bows to them. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome dear. Please feel free to treat this like your own home.¡± Leah smiles warmly at Senna. ¡°Now then, from what you said. You have nothing at all?¡± ¡°I have about 10 Triton and something I can sell for emergency money. I have nothing else. I plan to work as an adventurer to earn my keep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a dangerous choice. Will you be able to handle it?¡± (Leah) ¡°I plan to spend a year or so doing odd jobs around the city while learning the basics. I don¡¯t know anything, so I want to cram as much knowledge as I can during that time.¡± (Senna) ¡°Then the first thing you need is clothes. Your body size is much too petite to wear Anahid¡¯s clothes. We¡¯ll have to buy a whole new set of clothes for you.¡± Leah declares with a glint in her eye. She stands up circling around the table. ¡°Eh?¡± Senna stares as the sudden turn in the conversation. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there dear. We¡¯re going.¡± Leah grabs Anahid and Senna and dashes out of the door. ¡°Have fun.¡± Russell resignedly waves as his wife goes on a shopping spree. Author''s Note Chapter 3. Not the best since I tried to do some world building, but I generally suck at doing descriptions. I''m working out what length of description is good for this type of story since it involves more traveling than I''m used to. Also I''ve stopped using the Japanese quotation marks since it was troublesome to copy and paste all the time when I need them. {a} for thoughts and for Special names, spells, etc. Chapter 4 - Family Chapter 4 - Family Leah pulls Senna quickly and lets go of Anahid after exiting the house. Anahid knows of her mother¡¯s love of clothes and follows along quietly. On the other hand, Senna continues to be dragged by Leah with incredible force. ¡°Wait, wait! Do we have to rush like this?!¡± ¡°Yes, of course dear. The store is already open. We¡¯ll run out of time if we don¡¯t hurry.¡± Leah retorts impatiently. Senna turns to Anahid pleading with her eyes. ¡°Sorry. Can¡¯t help. Resign yourself to being her dress up doll.¡± Anahid ruthlessly rejects her. Senna hangs her head resigning herself. {I¡¯ll have to trade in those pieces and pay them back.} Leah brings them to a clothes shop she frequents. ¡°Welcome!¡± A woman with dark brown hair greets them as they enter the store. ¡°Oh! Leah! That was fast. Are you here to buy new clothes already?¡± ¡°Isabelle! I have a new resident and she needs a full wardrobe. She looks much too shabby like this.¡± Leah smiles at her friend and presents the reluctant Senna. ¡°Oh my! Full wardrobe you say?¡± Isabelle speaks with brimming enthusiasm. ¡°Then we have a lot of work to do. Let me close the shop, so we¡¯re not interrupted.¡± She dashes and closes the front door locking it. ¡°Eh? Is that okay?¡± Senna asks in a fluster. ¡°Yes~ If you¡¯re getting a full wardrobe, then it¡¯s much better than a customer buying one or two items. There¡¯s no one else here at the moment, so the timing is perfect!¡± Isabelle replies with a smile. ¡°Mother, please refrain from going over 50,000 Triton.¡± Anahid comments. ¡°50,000 Triton! How generous.¡± Isabelle¡¯s eyes glitter at the spending limit. In contrast, Senna goes pale. ¡°50,000 Triton. Isn¡¯t that 5 gold coins?! That¡¯s too much!¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m putting in money to help with the expense.¡± Anahid replies as if it were obvious. Senna inadvertently groans. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get your measurements!¡± Leah puts her hands on Senna¡¯s clothes. ¡°Eh?! Wait!¡± Before Senna can protest further, Leah pulls Senna¡¯s clothes off of her upper body. The room goes silent seeing the state of Senna¡¯s back. Numerous large scabs protrude throughout her back. As if competing with the scabs, various scooped out and cut marks can be seen. The damage isn¡¯t limited to only her back, but covers her upper arms, hips and down to her thighs. Black burn marks in the shape of a ¡®R¡¯ litter the non-scarred areas of her body. ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s really ugly isn¡¯t it?¡± Senna takes the shirt back from Leah, her face flushed red with embarrassment. ¡°I can measure myself. You can just tell me how I should measure myself.¡± ¡°No, no. That¡¯s not what you should be saying. Just what happened to your back?!¡± Anahid retorts. Senna tilts her head staring back at Anahid. ¡°I told you though? I was a plaything for 8 years. Didn¡¯t I describe my body to that guard captain already?¡± ¡°You were serious??¡± Anahid covers her mouth imagining how she got the wounds. ¡°Of course.¡± Senna replies plainly before turning to Isabelle. ¡°What do you use to measure? I¡¯ll do it myself. There¡¯s no need to touch my disgusting skin.¡± ¡°N-No. I¡¯m a professional. I¡¯ll do it, dear. There¡¯s a dressing room there.¡± Isabelle replies with determination, her face still slightly pale. ¡°Okay. If you insist.¡± Senna glances at Anahid and nods moving to a dressing room. ¡°Anahid, what happened with Senna?¡± Leah turns to her daughter with a serious look on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was curious how an unarmed girl like her was going to join the guild, so I offered to pay her membership fees.¡± Anahid relays the bits of information she knows. Leah approaches Senna and Isabelle as they step out of the dressing room. ¡°Senna, were you a slave?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Senna answers automatically. ¡°You don¡¯t have a mark of being a slave though?¡± (Anahid) ¡°The person that rescued me destroyed the collar I had and made sure I would never come in contact with my old master again.¡± Senna replies with a slightly strained smile. ¡°That¡¯s¡­good to know. Are you working to reunite with your family then?¡± (Leah) ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible. They were killed when I was first kidnapped.¡± The room goes deadly silent with Senna¡¯s blunt response. ¡°H-How can you be so calm about it?¡± (Anahid) Senna scratches her head. ¡°My former master had my memory erased. I remember nothing before serving him, my family included. Their faces, my home, if I had any siblings, I can¡¯t remember a thing¡­ Since I¡¯ve gotten away, my main focus is to live on and experience new things.¡± Leah tears up and hugs Senna burying Senna¡¯s face in her bosom. ¡°You poor dear!! It¡¯s okay now! You¡¯re nowhere near that awful man.¡± Senna mumbles a response and tries to break from the hug without avail. {Can¡¯t breathe. Why can¡¯t I break away? My strength is higher than hers.} She looks to Anahid and Isabelle for help, but they gaze back with pity and tears building up in their eyes. (A.N. The power of a mother. :) ) Leah suddenly releases Senna from the hug as she looks at her with an ecstatic expression. ¡°I know! You can be our daughter too!¡± ¡°¡­Heh?¡± Senna stares back with a dumbfounded expression.
[Status Change] You have been offered to take up the Galstyan name. Do you accept? Yes/No
¡°That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Isabelle comments hugging Senna. ¡°Mmn Mmn.¡± Anahid nods and pats Senna¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure, Sis~¡±
[Status Change] You have been forced to take up the Galstyan name. You are now officially Senna Galstyan.
Senna¡¯s eyes widen as she looks at them dumbfounded. {How did this happen?} Without any choice, she¡¯s forced to divert the topic, waving off the status window. ¡°Ummm¡­Can I start picking out clothes?¡± ¡°Oh, yes dear. Let¡¯s get you the best clothes!¡± Isabelle comments. ¡°¡°Agreed!!¡±¡± Leah and Anahid immediately undress Senna and start dressing her up in various clothes. After several hours, Senna¡¯s mouth twitches uncontrollably at the large pile of clothes on the countertop. Every single piece meant for her wardrobe. ¡°And all paid for.¡± Isabelle finishes sorting all the clothes. ¡°Thanks for the large discount Belle.¡± Leah grins with an ecstatic smile. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do to help. Whenever you need more clothes, just come see me okay?¡± (Isabelle) "Y-Yeah..." Senna replies ambiguously. {Will I even need more clothes after this?} "I''ll prepare some bags. You''ll need quite a few." (Isabelle) Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "Ah. No need. I got it." Senna stops her and places all the clothes into her [Storage]. Isabelle and Leah freeze up seeing her [Storage] skill. "You can use [Storage] magic?" (Isabelle) "Yes? Why? I heard lots of people can use it." Senna asks wondering why they''re surprised. "No. That''s wrong. Few people can use [Storage], mostly skilled magicians." Leah explains the details to Senna. "Even then the majority can only carry up to a few books worth of space. The ones that can carry large amounts are greatly respected after spending decades building up the skill." "A-ahhhhh......" Senna cringes. {Uh-oh. It''s rare to have and rarer to have it at a high skill level. And here I was displaying it everywhere. I have to be careful in the future.} "I''ll be more careful about showing it off. Thank you for telling me." Senna bows to the two of them. "It''s no problem dear. I''ll keep it a secret. Don''t worry." Isabelle waves off Senna''s concern. "Yes dear. Don''t worry. But..." Leah grips Senna''s shoulders tightly. "You will be a big help next time I go clothes shopping." "Yes..." Senna bitterly laughs resigning herself when she sees Leah''s determined gaze. Outside of the shop, Anahid waits for them to wrap up before they head back. "Oh!! There you are!! I finally found you!" A man calls out waving to Anahid. "Davor? What do you want?" Anahid replies with a disgruntled tone. The man dressed in steel body armor stops in front of Anahid. "Now don''t say that. The boss had something he needs to talk to you about. You left too early, so he couldn''t catch you." "Tch. Bad timing." Anahid clicks her tongue. "We''re done~" Senna and Leah step out of the store drawing their attention. The man named Davor freezes up seeing Senna dressed in a sky blue dress, her long white hair swaying slightly as she moves. ¡°Hmm? Is something wrong?¡± The women¡¯s gaze turns to the frozen Davor. Davor unfreezes when he sees her looking at him. ¡°N-n-no! N-n-nothing¡¯s wrong! I-It-It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! M-m-my name is D-Davor Zebec!¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Senna smiles and bows lightly to Davor making his face flush a beet red. She secretly activates [Identification].
Status
NameDavor ZebecLevel41
RaceHumanAge25
HP2410MP121
Strength122Endurance154
Agility65Dexterity55
Intelligence20Wisdom15
Luck18
Skills
Sword Lv. 4 Shield Lv. 4 Null Magic Lv. 1 Tactics Lv. 2 Enhanced Endurance Lv. 4 Self Recovery Lv. 1 Pain Resistance Lv. 3 Last Stand Lv. 2
Anahid, Leah and Isabelle smile knowingly looking at Davor¡¯s face. Anahid decides to interrupt the moment. ¡°Sorry, Davor came to get me. I need to talk with my clan leader, Davor and I will have to head off first.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a shame. I wanted to take a look at some weapons and armors to figure out what I need. I guess I¡¯ll leave it for another day.¡± Senna replies melancholic. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Davor abruptly volunteers himself for the job. The women all stare at him. ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t you need to participate in your meeting with your leader?¡± Senna asks calmly still using her polite tone. ¡°N-no, not at all. I¡¯m just a messenger. I¡¯m done with my work for the leader. I have a LOT of free time!¡± Davor refutes the question emphasizing his spare time. ¡°I see~ I wonder if I should trouble you?¡± Senna tilts her head cutely looking at Davor. {He definitely looks like he¡¯s interested in how I look. The question is whether he would take advantage of the situation or not? ¡­Maybe [Identification] can describe people like it did for the goblins?}
Description
Head knight of the [Pact of Ambition] clan. An upright man that has worked continuously to reach his current position. His focus on gaining strength has left him lacking in the field of romance.
{Looks like it should be fine to trust him.} Senna thinks to herself. ¡°Sorry, this idiot actually does need to go back with me. No need to worry about his nonsense.¡± Anahid forcefully interrupts wrapping her arm around Davor¡¯s neck. ¡°I see. I don¡¯t actually mind since a skilled adventurer would help, but if he¡¯s not free, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Senna directs the words towards Anahid. Senna smiles looking at Anahid and gives a short nod. Anahid frowns grabbing Davor¡¯s neck forcibly turning the two of them away from Senna. ¡°Listen.¡± She hisses in a low voice. ¡°If you¡¯re going to take her out, you have to treat her kindly.¡± ¡°Of course. Who do you take me for?¡± (Davor) ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make a move on her! I¡¯ll see to it that the Captain and I teach you a special lesson if I found out anything happened.¡± (Anahid) ¡°I said I won¡¯t do anything. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Davor replies. Anahid lets go of him reluctantly. On the other side, Leah whispers to Senna. ¡°Senna, are you really okay going out with him? Aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I don''t mind. It''s not like I can always avoid men. If he wasn''t safe to be around, then I think Anahid would reject the idea more.¡± Senna replies. ¡°That¡¯s true. He is a good boy.¡± Leah agrees. ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m not going to develop any feelings anyways.¡± Senna replies. ¡°I see. Though it¡¯s a little sad to hear you say that.¡± (Leah) They finish up their conversation as Anahid and Davor does the same. Davor nervously approaches Senna. ¡°S-shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Senna smiles and follows him. Anahid sighs and heads off to the guild, while Leah returns home. Author''s Note Here''s Chapter 4. It''s a bit short, but I''m hoping to get another chapter up soon. Sooner if my computer didn''t decide to take a dump on me. >_> Ran into a looping Bluescreen of Death. I had to refresh my computer and spend a good 10 hours fixing and reinstalling everything on my computer. GIANT PAIN! *sigh* I used a rare chance to throw in a random comment in this chapter. Sadly, I''m not great in the humor department or I''d do it more frequently. Well what can I do. Anyways, will do what I can to get a chapter out today or tomorrow I hope. Chapter 5 - Shopping for Supplies First Part Chapter 5 ¨C Shopping for Supplies First Part ¡°W-where should we go first?¡± Davor continues to stutter in Senna¡¯s presence. Senna giggles. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. I won¡¯t bite.¡± ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± Davor replies simply. ¡°Good! I¡¯m new and don¡¯t know where I¡¯m going. I need to sell a piece of jewelry first to get some money. Then¡­let¡¯s see¡­if I¡¯m going to be an adventurer, I need a weapon, armor, medicine, books to read, a place to learn about magic, and¡­ I think that¡¯s good for today.¡± Senna quickly lists off her thoughts as she looks at the sky. She turns to Davor and smiles. ¡°If you can at the very least tell me where to go, I¡¯d be very grateful.¡± ¡°I have time. I¡¯ll take you to each one.¡± Davor replies quickly blushing again seeing Senna¡¯s smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± Senna¡¯s smile brightens even more. ¡°Then please lead the way.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Davor takes the lead as he explains the town to her. The north part of town is where the piers and major merchant organizations reside. The east part of town has all the nobles and upper class residents. In contrast, the west side of town has lower class homes, the slums, and the red light district. The slums are not terrible to go around, but some black market deals often causes various conflicts between groups. The center of town has the majority of the shops and the adventurers¡¯ guild. The south side of town holds most of the middle class homes. The two of them head to north side of town and enter a large building called . With Davor¡¯s connections, the two of them are escorted to a private room. They wait patiently in a private business room. A pudgy man dressed in fancy clothing enters the room. Davor stands up greeting the man. ¡°Claus! Looks like business is as good as ever.¡± ¡°Obviously!¡± The man, Claus, gives a nice potbellied laugh as he pats his belly. ¡°And I see you¡¯re still alive with no worse for the wear.¡± ¡°Of course! Our clan is the best.¡± Davor laughs shaking hands with him. ¡°And who¡¯s this beautiful young lady?¡± Claus glances at Senna. Senna bows before shaking his hand. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Senna.¡± ¡°Claus Windfield. The head of the Windfield Company. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± Claus shakes her hand and prompts the two of them to sit down. ¡°Now what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Senna wanted to sell some jewelry and I figured you would give the best price to her.¡± (Davor) ¡°Hoho. Well if she has some nice items, I don¡¯t mind giving a good price.¡± Claus rubs his beard. ¡°You must have a good friendship to be so generous. Even going as far as to privately meet us.¡± Senna comments from the side. ¡°Of course! The [Pact of Ambition] has helped our company numerous times. They¡¯re one of the best clans operating in the area.¡± Claus asserts their friendship. ¡°Especially Davor here. He¡¯s gotten us out of many tough situations and helped me personally many times.¡± ¡°In return, Claus has helped us acquire many useful materials that we¡¯ve needed.¡± (Davor) ¡°I see. That makes sense.¡± (Senna) ¡°Now that¡¯s enough about that. Show me what you want to sell.¡± (Claus) Senna nods. She discretely removes the necklace and bracelet from her [Storage] by pretending to remove it from her pocket. She lifts her hand from her side and places them delicately on the table in front of her. Claus stares in rapture at the pieces. ¡°I wanted to sell these two pieces. I heard¡­¡± Senna silently activates [Identify] and [Appraisal], but the description is far different from what she expects.
Necklace of the Angel A necklace fashioned out of pure gold and the highest quality gemstones to worship the divine. No special effects given, designed purely as a token as an effigy to the angel race. Selling Price: 420,000 Triton
Bracelet of the Angel A bracelet fashioned out of pure gold and the highest quality gemstones to worship the divine. No special effects given, designed purely as a token as an effigy to the angel race. Selling Price: 625,000 Triton
{Again!! How many times are they going to trick me?! How are these worth 3 gold?! } Senna screams in her mind seeing the extravagant prices for the items. ¡°Th-Th-These are AMAZING!!!¡± Claus takes out a loupe examining both pieces closer. ¡°The purity of the gold is extremely high. Even with normal gold, you can¡¯t get this kind of quality. The gems are enormous and without a speck of impurity. Amazing, amazing what a work of art!¡± Claus revels over the jewelry examining every detail. He doesn¡¯t break from his excitement until Senna intentionally coughs to break his attention. ¡°Ahem. Sorry, I lost myself for a moment there.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve had them stored away for so long that I forgot how beautiful they looked too.¡± Senna awkwardly smiles. ¡°Where did you get such fine pieces? Are there more?!¡± Claus stands up leaning close to Senna¡¯s face. Senna backs away inadvertently. ¡°A-ahh. I¡¯m sorry I have no idea. I got these as a gift from a stranger for helping them out. I don¡¯t know where they got it and doubt I could meet them again to ask.¡± Claus plops back into his seat sadly, but recovers his mood quickly. ¡°Ahem. Let¡¯s talk about the sales of these pieces then. I¡¯m willing to give you 400,000 for the necklace and 600,000 Triton for the bracelet.¡± ¡°Wow. That¡¯s an amazing amount.¡± Davor comments. Senna looks blankly at Claus and sighs. ¡°Is the price not satisfactory? Then I¡¯ll increase the price to 425,000 and 625,000 for them.¡± Claus offers an increase seeing Senna¡¯s reaction. He is secretly worried about losing the chance to obtain these exquisite accessories. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for that. I only just got into the city the other day, so Triton is still new to me.¡± Senna turns to Davor. ¡°As a beginner, how much would I spend buying equipment and supplies? How much would a normal person spend in a year?¡± ¡°That depends on what you¡¯re buying, but you will probably only use around 2,000 Triton or 20 Silver to purchase good equipment. An average person would use around 1 or 2 Gold coins in a year. So what you¡¯re selling will last you the rest of your life if used frugally.¡± ¡°Thank you. I understand things better now. I probably should just hold onto the bracelet. I think my sense of money might go weird if I have so much.¡± Senna reaches over and grabs the bracelet. As she pulls her hand back, Claus grabs her arm with a frenzied expression. ¡°Wait! Please sell both of them to me! I must have them!¡± ¡°Um¡­Well¡­¡± Senna hesitates looking at his expression while thinking about the money she¡¯d receive. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 1,150,000 Triton for both pieces!!¡± Claus offers with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say that all the extra money is making me reconsider? Why are you increasing the price?!¡± Senna cries out. ¡°Senna, can you accept his offer?¡± Davor interjects between the two of them. ¡°As a favor to me? I¡¯ve never seen Claus act so desperate.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Senna¡¯s gaze darts between the two of them. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about having too much money, just practice restraint.¡± Davor suggests. ¡°You make it sound so easy.¡± Senna grumbles. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll sell them.¡± ¡°Excellent! I¡¯ll go get your money.¡± Claus runs out of the room rushing to hasten the exchange before Senna changes her mind. Senna sighs leaning back on the chair. {I hope I¡¯m not making a mistake.} ¡°Thanks Senna.¡± (Davor) ¡°Mmm.¡± Senna blankly mutters waiting for Claus to return. After a short while, Claus returns with a bag gold coins as well as an employee to act as a witness. Senna exchanges the jewelry with the money after asking for some silver coins in the payment. Claus escorts them up after they conclude their business. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Boss, is it okay that you spent so much for those accessories?¡± The employee asks. ¡°Of course. These items are worth the cost. Once I show them to some nobles, I can earn triple what we paid in the auction.¡± Claus grins tightly gripping the box he set the accessories in. ¡°You¡¯re not worried that they are fake?¡± (Employee) ¡°I checked them and they definitely are not fake. I highly doubt the [Pact of Ambition] would try and cheat me after everything I¡¯ve done for them.¡± Claus replies. ¡°I wonder where they came from? The maker should be well known, but there is no insignia.¡± (Employee) ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish I could get my hands on the information, but it looked like she honestly doesn¡¯t know how to find them again.¡± Claus replies begrudgingly. The two of them return into their store shutting it behind them. *** ¡°Thank you for helping me earn so much money.¡± Senna bows to Davor shortly after leaving the store. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. You¡¯re quite rich to earn so much in under an hour.¡± (Davor) ¡°Hahahaha¡­.¡± Senna awkwardly laughs without any further retort. ¡°Where to now?¡± ¡°The weapon shop is first.¡± (Davor) ¡°Okay!¡± Senna happily assents as they head back to the center of town. They reach a shop with a sword and mace on its signboard and enter the shop. ¡°This place is higher end than a beginning shop, but the quality is assured here.¡± Davor explains. ¡°Welcome.¡± A gruff older man with gray hair greets them from behind the counter. Senna tilts her head looking at the man. ¡°You remind me of the appraiser in the guild?¡± ¡°Yep. That¡¯s my brother. You recognized me quite fast even though we look different.¡± (Shopkeeper) ¡°You give off the same atmosphere. Strong, but stern.¡± Senna comments. ¡°HAHAHA!! Impressive! I like your eye, Miss. What can I do for ya?¡± The man laughs heartily. ¡°I¡¯m a newbie adventurer and wanted to get something durable to use.¡± (Senna) ¡°All of my weapons are durable. You¡¯ll have to narrow it down more than that.¡± (Shopkeeper) ¡°A dagger and a katana, if you have it. Is it okay if I just look around though?¡± (Senna) ¡°No problem. That¡¯s what they¡¯re there for. Daggers are over there and I only have a few katanas nearby the two handed swords. Be careful of what you touch. Some are quite dangerous.¡± The shopkeeper points to the right further in the store. ¡°Of course.¡± Senna smiles and walks off looking around. Davor stays behind to chat with the shopkeeper. ¡°Nice job. Looks like you¡¯re earning a lot of points with her.¡± (Shopkeeper) ¡°It¡¯s not like that, old man.¡± Davor refutes him blushing. ¡°Hehe. Sure it isn¡¯t.¡± The shopkeeper sports a big grin. ¡°Damn old man¡­¡± Davor mutters. The two of them chat for a while. Senna returns with a simple steel dagger. ¡°I picked this out. Do you think they¡¯re good to start off with?¡±
NameSteel DaggerTypeDagger
GradeDAffinityNone
Description
+10 Attack, +2 Dexterity A dagger made from steel Value: 700 Triton
¡°It¡¯s good.¡± Davor comments. ¡°For a beginner, you picked out a nice weapon. It¡¯s simple to use and durable. The problem is that you don¡¯t have much range. You should consider getting a sword too.¡± The shopkeeper replies looking at the sword. ¡°Well it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t consider it.¡± Senna stares at a weapon further in the store. ¡°So there is one. Haha. Show me.¡± The shopkeeper laughs looking at Senna¡¯s distracted gaze. Senna leads the two of them over and points to a katana hung up high on the wall. ¡°I¡¯m sorely tempted to consider buying it.¡± The katana in question has a silver hilt wrapped in fine leather with a dark navy blue sheath.
NameSevering WindTypeKatana
GradeBAffinityWind
Description
+40 Attack, +15 Agility, +5 Dexterity A refined katana made from magically infused steel and enchanted with wind magic. Value: 40,000 Triton
¡°Ah. That¡¯s an expensive piece, 40,000 Triton. There are few buyers for it though, so I could give a small discount for it if you want it.¡± The shopkeeper replies stroking his chin. ¡°Why not buy it? You can afford it?¡± Davor questions Senna¡¯s hesitation. ¡°I know that.¡± Senna replies with a pout. ¡°But I have to still buy other stuff. Some armor and material to learn magic. If I buy something so expensive for my first purchase, what will stop me from buying other stuff later and wasting all my money? ¡­Even if I really want it¡­¡± ¡°Haha. You¡¯re quite level headed, Miss. How about this? I¡¯ll bring it down first, so you can try it. You can¡¯t just buy weapons without testing it yourself.¡± (Shopkeeper) ¡°That would be really helpful, but is it okay? That weapon is quite expensive.¡± (Senna) ¡°But of course! It¡¯s a shame for such an exquisite weapon to hang on a shelf only to rust away.¡± The shopkeeper insists grabbing a ladder and handing to Senna. ¡°There¡¯s a space over there with a target if you wish to try it out.¡± ¡°Unn¡­¡± Senna nods. Her gaze is fixated on the katana in her hand. She walks over to the open practice area ignoring the stuffed target and carefully unsheathes . Senna holds the katana straight up admiring the blade. ¡°Pretty¡­¡± She holds the blade up high and swings it straight down. Her movements are awkward at first, but gradually become more graceful. Davor stares blankly at her movements. Senna lowers to her hip and steps forward with all her weight. She makes a clean horizontal cut just short of reaching the stuffed target. Senna sheathes ¡¾Severing Wind¡¿and smiles happily. ¡°That was fun. Thank you very much.¡± Senna hands ¡¾Severing Wind¡¿back to the shopkeeper. ¡°Are you done? You can cut up the dummy all you want. You¡¯re a paying customer after all.¡± The Shopkeeper laughs. Senna shakes her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never cut anything before. I don¡¯t want to damage the blade.¡± ¡°Well, are you satisfied?¡± (Shopkeeper) ¡°Very!... Is it possible to have you hold onto this for a while? I want to come and buy it when I get settled into town.¡± (Senna) ¡°Sure, sure. There are no other buyers for this one anyways.¡± The Shopkeeper accepts from Senna and stores it behind the front desk. Senna pays for the steel dagger. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Senna gives a quick bow and leaves the shop. Davor stays behind for a talk with the shopkeeper. ¡°Haha. You should buy this sword for her since she wants it so badly.¡± ¡°Quiet old man.¡± Davor blushes. He glances the front door making sure it¡¯s completely shut. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll drop by tomorrow with the money for it.¡± ¡°HAHA! Nice answer!¡± The shopkeeper laughs giving Davor a strong pat on the back. Later that day, as the shopkeeper cleans up his shop, he notices a small, barely noticeable cut on the chest of the stuffed doll . ¡°Hmm? This is brand new. How did it get cut? The only one that used it was¡­no, no. I clearly saw she didn¡¯t reach the chest¡­ But if she really cut it¡­¡± Author''s Note Here''s chapter 5. I somehow got it out. As I was posting it, I realized I should have fixed the weapon table. As a result I fixed it 5 times before I was satisfied. :X A little annoyed at myself for not catching it when I read the first pass through. Chapter 6 - Shopping for Supplies Second Part Chapter 6 ¨C Shopping for Supplies Second Part After the weapon shop, they visit the armor shop. The store clerk keeps the small talk to a minimum as he helps fit Senna with the equipment of her choice. She ends up purchasing leather armor, boots, gloves, and a sturdy bag. All of the items are one step up from the cheapest armor made from normal animal hide.
NameLeather ArmorTypeChest Armor
GradeEAffinityNone
Description
+5 Endurance A simple breastplate made from tanned leather. Good equipment for users that dislike heavy armor. Value: 200 Triton
NameLeather BootsTypeLeg Armor
GradeEAffinityNone
Description
+3 Endurance, +1 Agility Simple boots made from tanned leather. Good equipment for users that dislike heavy armor. Value: 100 Triton
NameLeather GlovesTypeHand Armor
GradeEAffinityNone
Description
+2 Endurance, +1 Dexterity Simple gloves made from tanned leather. Good equipment for users that dislike heavy armor. Value: 80 Triton
NameCloth BagTypeBackpack
GradeFAffinityNone
Description
A cheap cloth bag. It can hold light and medium weight items. Value: 30 Triton
¡°The magic shop is our next stop. Do you want to go to a specialized elemental shop or a general one?¡± {Element? I have the [All Elemental Proficiency], so I guess all of them. But I don¡¯t know how to use magic even if I have it.} Senna stoically thinks of her situation. ¡°I¡¯ve never practiced magic before. They didn¡¯t teach it back home. I¡¯m really curious to learn.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­ No one practiced magic there? Your hometown must be really secluded to not have a single practitioner. Then the standard shop would be best. You can get an appraisal there.¡± Davor comments. To him, magic is fairly integrated into general life in . Many people in the city could use spells on a basic level to help in their daily lives. Though some people like Anahid don¡¯t have access to spells, they have access to magic tools that could substitute for the lack of ability. Davor leads the way to the general magic shop. ¡°Welcome. What can I do for you?¡± An old woman dressed in a black robe sits behind the shop counter. ¡°My friend needs a magic appraisal.¡± The old woman takes a look at Senna. ¡°Oiya. It¡¯s rare to have a customer your age that¡¯s never been appraised. Well no matter, appraising your magical talent costs 100 Triton.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Senna hands the woman a silver coin. ¡°Now then place your hand on this crystal ball and fill it with your magic.¡± The old woman places a crystal ball on the counter. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know anything about magic. I do not know how to pour magic into this crystal ball.¡± Senna awkwardly explains. ¡°You need to be taught from there? What on earth has your parents been teaching you?¡± The old woman complains seeing Senna unable to do something most children are taught to do at 3 years of age. ¡°Near your heart is a collection of power that we call the magic core. Focus on tapping into the power within your core and imagine it flowing from your core, down your arm and into this crystal ball.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Senna shuts her eyes and tries following the instructions. She feels the warm heat coming from the core, which she assumes is the magic core. She opens the core and attempts to manipulate the magical power, easily moving it in accordance to her desires. As the energy passes through her arm, the crystal ball lights up brilliantly. ¡°Ohhh!! This shine means you have an A ranked aptitude in magic. You have the potential to be a great magician with enough training. Next is the elemental examination. Place your hand here.¡± The old woman puts the crystal ball away and places a board on the table. The board has a hand print in the center with paths etched leading to the corners of the board. At the corners of the octagonal board, 8 different colored crystals rest. Senna nods and puts her hand on the board. She follows the same procedure pouring her magic into the board. The board begins to shine as Senna¡¯s magic moves through the grooves towards each of the crystals. All eight crystals light up completely revealing four etched black lines on each crystal. The old woman¡¯s eyes shine as she slams the table. ¡°Young lady, this is amazing you have the highest possible aptitude for every single element!!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Senna tilts her head. ¡°Yes! Of course!¡± the old woman stands up. ¡°You can learn any spell up to the fifth tier without limit. To have such affinity without a single weak point has never been heard of before.¡± ¡°Wow!!¡± Davor exclaims behind Senna. ¡°I see. But I don¡¯t think learning spells is that easy. It would probably be better to focus on mastering one or two elements instead of learn everything on a basic level?¡± Senna replies. {Best to try and be realistic. I¡¯ve already drawn too much attention that will make people from different groups swarm for me. Though I will still learn everything I can get my hands on.} The old woman frowns plopping back into her seat. ¡°That¡¯s very true. It is still an amazing rarity. You should still consider joining the mage¡¯s guild. They would love to have you contribute your skills for research.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll think about it. I haven¡¯t learned a single spell yet, so research is still a bit out of my reach right now.¡± Senna smiles wryly. ¡°Can you explain the ranks for magic?¡± Davor interjects. ¡°Yes, yes. No problem.¡± The old woman replies. For the first test, it shows the overall potential in magic. The rankings conform with the Adventurer¡¯s guild with F as the lowest and S rank as the highest. For the elemental test, she explains how most magic is split into eight categories, , , , , , , and . The branch is also known as . Every person is ranked by their affinity to an element. There are five rankings for your affinity based on the type of spells you are able to learn, Basic, Intermediate, Expert, Master, and God rank. God ranked individuals have a greater ease in learning and use spells of that element than a Master rank, but no actual, usable God ranked spell exists. Magicians have long since attempted to create spells that can be classified as God ranked, but was forced to seal the idea since it was determined to exceed the limits of the human body. The existing books containing God ranked spells were unusable for the same reason. ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible for multiple people to cooperate in casting a possible God rank spell? That would lessen their burden.¡± Senna asks. ¡°You are very sharp, young lady. But no... Long ago in the Krosal Empire, 20 God ranked magicians attempted to cast a self-created God rank spell, but it failed miserably. The spell destroyed the testing field and drained each of the magicians until they were empty husks simultaneously killing every one of them. The king was furious at the loss of so many talented magicians and banned all text and research associated with God rank magic. Rumor has it that the king has locked up every book with God rank magic in a secret library, sealing the entrance so that the knowledge would ever come to light.¡± The old lady explains. ¡°Ahh¡­ That is very depressing to hear.¡± Senna replies. ¡°Is that the side effect if your magical power hits zero? You dry up and die?¡± ¡°Heavens no. there would make magic a far more dangerous art to learn. When you get close to using up all the magic in your body, you start to feel fatigued. If you go reach zero, you pass out from the exertion. Those magicians died because the God rank spell used up all their magic and began tapping into their life to compensate for the lack of magical energy.¡± (Old Woman) ¡°Phew. That¡¯s good to know. Thank you.¡± Senna places her hand on her chest breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Do you fully understand the difference between Intelligence and Wisdom in your ?¡± The old woman asks. Senna shakes her head at the question. ¡°I believe your friend would be a better person to explain than me.¡± The old woman points at Davor. ¡°Me?¡± Davor points at himself. ¡°Of course, Mr. member.¡± The old woman replies. ¡°Uh, Ok. I¡¯ll cover everything then if that¡¯s ok?¡± Davor asks Senna, which she promptly agrees to. Davor explains the differences between each of the stats. HP and MP are indicators of a person¡¯s total health and magic respectively. When HP hits zero, their life ends as a result and needs to be preserved with the utmost caution. Strength represents your physical power and attacking strength. Endurance focuses on the body¡¯s resilience. Agility defines their movement speed, while Dexterity controls the ability to perform delicate movements. Intelligence defines their magical strength, while Wisdom affects the magical control of a person¡¯s spells and also the magic recovery speed. Luck is like its name affecting their general luck. ¡°Did you understand everything?¡± (Davor) ¡°Yep. Thank you for clarifying.¡± Senna smiles and nods. ¡°Now then, why don¡¯t you pick out a book to learn magic? I¡¯ll give you one for free. I won¡¯t let you leave until you take one.¡± (Old Woman) This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°That¡¯s very generous. Thank you!¡± Senna bows to the Old Woman. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get the basic book for each element? I can read each one and figure out which one I want to focus on.¡± She starts looking around the shop for things to buy. ¡°Senna, wait a second.¡± Davor stops her from looking around the store. ¡°Hmm?¡± Senna turns around to look at him. ¡°You still want to visit the library right?¡± (Davor) ¡°Yes, of course. Why do you ask?¡± (Senna) ¡°The library has the basic spell books for every element. It¡¯s better if you just borrow the books from there. Buy an intermediate spell book here instead.¡± (Davor) ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t interfere in my business.¡± The old woman angrily comments. ¡°I see! That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Senna nods intently, but the old woman obviously isn¡¯t as keen on the suggestion. ¡°Madam, I don¡¯t mind paying for all of it, if the free book turns out to be a problem.¡± ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t mock me, child. I promised you a free book and I¡¯m not going to go back on my word.¡± The old woman replies offended at Senna¡¯s offer. ¡°Okay. Then what should I do for intermediate books...¡± Senna starts thinking about her focus. {Keeping up my health would be best.} I should start with healing magic then. Madam, what do you recommend?¡± ¡°There are several elements that teach healing type spells. In terms of healing potential, from the weakest to the strongest they are , , . There is also the obscure . The functionality of the design has limits, but better than my own attempts at drawing. I haven''t plotted out more than a few points, so the map is subject to heavy changes. (Honestly, I was just playing with the map to see how it would come out. That''s why there''s lots of random landmarks I haven''t even thought up yet.) *Many thanks to my friend Shanks for providing me with the gifs. Chapter 9 – Goblin Village Chapter 9 ¨C Goblin Village The is one of two nearby forests in the area. The forest has existed for many years comprised of large, aged trees. The monsters living in the forest generally comprise of goblins and horned rabbits under level 10. This makes it an ideal place for many beginning adventurers to train under they become more competent. On foot, it takes an hour and a half to reach the forest. After leaving town, Senna decides to train running at top speed towards the forest. When she arrives, she takes out a basket and shovel humming a simple tune as she harvests some of the herbs nearby the forest. Half an hour later, a red presence appears from her [Danger Detection] approaching her from behind. She tosses the shovel and herbs into her [Storage] and takes out . ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She turns around and falters seeing the presence. ¡°GAARRRRR!!¡± A large 5 meter ogre roars at Senna. Her eyes waver and her breathe hastens seeing the ogre. The skin is gray and extremely porous. The ogre¡¯s face looks as if it had been carved from stone. Two large horns protrude from the top of its bald head. It carries a large axe reaching almost 3 meters in length. ¡°WOMANNN!!!¡±
Status
NameN/ALevel38
RaceStone OgreAge1 year old
HP3200MP12
Strength214Endurance432
Agility22Dexterity15
Intelligence7Wisdom5
Luck14
Skills
Axe Lv. 5 Pain Resistance Lv. 4 Enhanced Endurance Lv. 4 Stone Skin Lv. 4 Roar Lv. 5
Description
A subspecies of the Ogre race. By developing a layer of rock as its skin, it boasts an impregnable defense. Normal weapon and basic magic cannot breach its rock hard skin. Despite the stone ogre¡¯s powerful defense, its slow speed allows others to escape when encountering this moving weapon. As with most Ogres, it can release a piercing Roar that inflicts fear and paralysis onto its target.
Senna stops breathing when she reads the Stone Ogre¡¯s status. Cold sweat runs down her back as she stares at the ogre. The rumbling ground signals the Stone Ogre¡¯s approach. Senna is forced out of her stupor as it closes in, she slaps her face with all her might. A ringing runs through her ears as she focuses on the ogre again. ¡°I need to tell Sis and the guild.¡± Senna turns planning to run around the Stone Ogre, but freezes seeing another newcomer. ¡°WOMANN!!!¡± A second ogre appears from the edge of her detection range. It charges at her working in conjunction with the other ogre. It is visibly shorter than the Stone Ogre, reaching a little over 4 meters. With green skin and dark brown hair, it is fundamentally more normal than the Stone Ogre. The Ogre moves visibly faster staring at Senna with an ecstatic gaze. It wields a large spiked club high into the air.
Status
NameN/ALevel29
RaceOgreAge1 year old
HP2620MP11
Strength178Endurance82
Agility43Dexterity13
Intelligence4Wisdom3
Luck10
Skills
Mace Lv. 5 Pain Resistance Lv. 2 Enhanced Endurance Lv. 3 Roar Lv. 4
Description
A part of the Goblin family and the evolved form of a Hobgoblin. Ogres are known for their strength, vitality and persistence. Casting aside their ability to lead, they lean towards solving their own problems by using pure brute force. When enraged, adrenaline pumps through their bodies nullifying their ability to feel pain.
¡°This is¡­ really bad¡­¡± Senna¡¯s face pales seeing the Stone Ogre from the front and the Ogre from the right. She turns to the left and dashes to the left. On queue with her movements, a group of 10 figures emerge completely covered in mud.
Status
NameN/ALevel11
RaceGoblinAge3 months old
HP98MP4
Strength24Endurance12
Agility14Dexterity9
Intelligence3Wisdom1
Luck2
Skills
Archery Lv. 3 Disguise Lv. 4
Description
A green humanoid monster. Thrives in killing small animals. Likes to capture human women to use as a breeding pool. Fast growth from infancy.
¡°[Detection] missed them?! Why?!¡± She cries out as she keeps running circle around the goblins. Before she can run far, arrows pierce the ground in front of her path forcing her to retreat. Her face is extremely strained as she catches sight of some goblins farther behind the group. The rumble of the ogres close in on her forcing her to turn their way. She quickly glances at them closing in on her. The thought of running under them passes her mind, but is rejected. {Escaping through the forest would be better. If I mess up, I¡¯ll be crushed in an instant. If only I had more time, I could kill the goblins and escape that way.} She escapes into the forest occasionally glancing back at the pursuing ogres and goblins. Arrows pierce the ground behind her as she runs. Whenever she tries to move off the dirt path, an arrow lodges itself in her way several goblins appear suddenly appear wearing a dirt camouflage. Senna is forced to continue running. {The archers are too accurate. I¡¯m being led¡­} She quietly murmurs to herself. ¡°Spirits of the wind, I ask of your help. Please gather and protect me from the hail of arrows.¡± Senna thinks of the intermediate spell meant to protect the body from projectiles. But she has yet to touch on the intermediate rank support spells. She decides to pray to spirits and test a theory of hers. In Remia, all of the spell books teach magicians on how to utilize magic from their core and convert their magic into the element of their choice. They rely purely on their power to cast a spell. According to others, advanced magicians can amplify their spells by forcibly manipulating nearby elemental resources in conjunction with their own spell. However, the end result is still relying on their own power while forcibly controlling what¡¯s around them. There is a rumor that some elves have the ability to speak to elemental spirits that can assist and amplify their spells. However, few elves have ever been reported to have such a unique ability leaving the practice as a mere myth. Senna decides to gamble on the rumor even with the lack of sufficient evidence. {I¡¯m sure that an embodiment of an element exists. The ability to see and speak to them should exist too. That isn¡¯t the problem. It¡¯s whether they will have any interest in a random human like me¡­} Senna lets out a disgruntled sigh. {I have nothing to lose. The scale of this trap is too big and abnormal. I can probably survive for a bit. But I¡¯m doomed if I don¡¯t pull out a trump card.} Senna breaks into a clearing and her face drops. A village with homes created from straw and branches crudely tied together. Each and every home looked like it could topple with a gust of wind. Her [Danger Detection] goes wild as she sees the hordes of goblins in front of her. A base estimated 100 goblins gathered in front of her. Each and every one of them grins lasciviously at Senna approaching, weapons on hand ready and waiting. Arrows pierce the ground behind her forcing Senna into motion again. Senna tries to lunge at a few nearby goblins, but multiple arrows bar her path preventing her from getting any closer. Senna is forced to continue along the predetermined path as she moves. Herded along, she reaches a plaza where the goblins finally decide to surround her. Deeper in the village, Senna catches the sight of a goblin with a crown surrounded by more heavily armed goblins. The strongest goblins stand out over the 1 meter tall goblins reaching 2 meters in height. Using [Identification], she gauges the enemies in front of her.
Status
NameN/ALevel16
RaceHobgoblinAge1 year old
HP842MP3
Strength75Endurance29
Agility27Dexterity15
Intelligence3Wisdom2
Luck5
Skills
Archery Lv. 5 Rally Lv. 3
Description
The evolved form of a Goblin. They¡¯re general status has increased significantly from their Goblin days. As a result, groups of Hobgoblins are much more of a menace with their experience and intelligence. They hold the ability to command their weaker Goblin comrades.
Status
NameN/ALevel43
RaceHobgoblin KingAge1 year old
HP2176MP102
Strength120Endurance76
Agility57Dexterity32
Intelligence85Wisdom11
Luck17
Skills
Mace Lv. 4 Enhanced Endurance Lv. 5 Self-Recovery Lv. 2 Tactics Lv. 6 Rally Lv. 6 Survival Lv. 3
Description
A variant Hobgoblin with a special growth. With the training it received, its growth stood out among the other Hobgoblins allowing it to be recognized as the king of the . The ability to command and control every member of the Goblin family allows it to easily snatch any prey it wants.
{Why do things keep getting worse every second?} Senna watches as arrows fly aiming for her limbs. Before she can chant an incantation, she feels magic leaving her body after spell casting. A strong gale forms around Senna. It redirects the arrows pushing some to the ground, while others pierce nearby goblins. A voice in the wind reaches Senna. ¡°¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ ¨‹¨‹¨‹ ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ human.¡±
You have learned . You can now freely communicate with spirits of nature.
¡°Th-Thank you.¡± Senna replies. {I didn¡¯t think anyone would really respond to me. But it works in my favor.} The nearby goblins roar and start charging at her. Senna quickly changts a wind spell, but falters when she¡¯s forced to dodge a goblin¡¯s attack. ¡°!¡± In desperation, she skips the incantation for directly manifesting the around her. A sphere of wind surrounds Senna exploding outwards. The strong winds topple over the nearby goblins temporarily expanding the circle again. The results surprise her since the spell is normally much weaker forming a brief indeterminate gust, not forming a perfect sphere around her. ¡°Thank you!¡± Senna yells out. ¡°I am only blocking the arrows human. That was the agreement. It was not my doing.¡± The wind spirit¡¯s voice reaches her ears, its form remaining hidden. ¡°Is that so?¡± Senna questions. {I learned a new skill then? For skipping the chant?} She¡¯s forced to shelve the thought as the goblins start to stand up again. ¡°Then. How about this? !¡± Senna decides to gamble casting the spell while punching the ground. A small scale quake occurs as the earth briefly shakes. The strength of the quake doesn¡¯t affect the standing Goblins, but topples the ones attempting to stand. Normally, the spell forms a raised portion of dirt bringing up more questions than answers for Senna. A new flurry of arrows approaches Senna, but is deflected by the Wind Spirit once again. Some of the arrows strike the ground, while other diverted arrows attack nearby Goblins. One of the arrows directly pierces a nearby Goblin¡¯s eye and pierces deeply into the skull.
You have leveled up. Senna has now reached Level 5. You have leveled up. Senna has now reached Level 6. You have leveled up. Senna has now reached Level 7.
The level up window appears in Senna¡¯s vision. She quickly waves it away. ¡°Disable all level up messages until after the battle. Um¡­ Vocally recite newly acquired skill and status changes including ones in the last 5 minutes.¡± Senna changes the setting again to prevent any visual distractions during battle. She attempts to change the system for telling her about the new skills, but throws out the words on a random guess. ¡°Acknowledged. ? You have acquired [Retreat] Lv. 1. You can escape from enemies at a faster pace. ? You have temporarily acquired [Wind Elemental Blessing]. The Wind Elemental will protect you from all projectile weapons for the next 5 minutes. The Wind Elemental has agreed to defer the summoning payment until after the battle has completed. ? You have acquired [Incantation Omission] Lv. 1. By skipping the incantations, you have a chance to cast your basic level spells faster. Provided the spell doesn¡¯t falter and fail. Failure causes your spells to cost twice the amount of magic used. End Skill Acquisition Log.¡± As the voice recites the new skills, the description for [Incantation Omission] brings a smile to her lips. Senna charges her magic and randomly fires off spells. ¡°, , , , , , , .¡± Using the simple spherical form, the spells are released one after another. Senna continues moving in between the spells dodging the Goblin¡¯s attacks, briefly glancing at the unlucky Goblins that spell crashes into. A quick [Identification] gives her an idea of which spells are more effective in this battle. being the weakest of the batch. The light and dark versions blind the goblins, giving a nice plus, but lack enough of a group effect that she requires in her current situation. Fire and Lightning smite the Goblins instantly, but concerns of an out of control wildfire forces her to eliminate the idea. The branch of is helpful killing two Goblins at once, but is less cost effective than and magic. Left with two elements but no clear winner, she opts to just use either element based on the situation. Senna keeps dodging while trying to keep the surrounding goblins at bay with little success. The killed Goblins are quickly buried as the circle closes in. The two ogres forcing their way through the crowd only help to solidify her unease. She draws her katana performing a circular slash cutting the closest targets. {Now!} Tossing the katana back into the storage, she takes out two large bottles. Throwing both of them to the ground, the bottles crack and shatter mixing the contents together. Purple smoke forms as Senna holds her breathe. In a matter of seconds, the smoke envelops Senna and at least twenty Goblins nearby. The enveloped Goblins scream in pain causing the others to hesitate in approaching the smoke. The nearby goblins back away instinctively knowing the smoke can kill them.
Noxious Forget-Me-Not (Master Grade) Rank: E (D) A volatile poison created from the poison of the Forget-Me-Not berry and crushed powder from the Trifirer leaves. The poison damages the lungs weakening their function and inhibiting the ability to breathe. Through Senna¡¯s [Compounding] skill, the poison has a low potency, but high retention upon inhalation. Damages Health by 5 points every 2 seconds. Lasts for 5 minutes. Sales value: 1000 Triton
In the smoke, Senna tosses another bottle filled with a different poison in a high arc hoping to get a lucky hit on the goblin king. The affected Goblins in the smoke become sluggish as the poison spreads through their systems. ¡°You have acquired [Throwing] Lv. 1. Your [Throwing] skills are affected by your Strength and Dexterity. You have a high chance of hitting your target in a 5 meter range.¡± The poison flies towards the Hobgoblin King, but veers off course reaching the Hobgoblin archers. The bottle shatters on one Hobgoblin¡¯s head as the poison spreads onto ten nearby Hobgoblin archers. The affected Hobgoblins turn a dark purple as the poison spreads through their system.
Buxus Poison (Master Grade) Rank: C (B) A poison created from the Grave Buxus plant. The slightest drop of poison immediately seeks through the skin and into the blood system. It eats away at the blood vessels causing victims to internally bleed to death. Through Senna¡¯s [Compounding], both the damage and potency have greatly improved from its standard state. Damages health by 10 points every second. The poison lasts for 10 minutes. Sales Value: 15000 Triton
Senna quickly takes out her katana and slices the nearby goblins accelerating their deaths. The loud thuds from the ogres continue to shake the ground making her accelerate her plans. She takes out two more vials tossing one at each Ogre. {It¡¯s not poison, but it has to do.} Senna aims to strike their head, but her hasty throw directs the vials onto the ogre¡¯s abdomen. The stone ogre is hit with the vial directly in the center of its stomach, while the other vial breaks on the ogre¡¯s side. The vials shatter splashing their liquid on the ogre as well as a few unlucky goblins underneath them. Smoke emanates at the liquid quickly bubbles. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Lilac Cornel Extract Rank: E A special extract made from the Brier Lilac and Night Cornel Flower. It¡¯s damaging to touch, but does not function as a poison. Function unknown. Senna¡¯s Addendum: ¡°It¡¯s not a poison, but a strong acid with a pH of 1.2. The concentration is extremely high, so it can easily bore through skin and bone. It¡¯s too bad I have to collect so many flowers to get enough for just a couple of drops¡­Oops¡­ End description.¡± Sales Value: 1 Triton? (Price will adjust depending on the first time use of the extract.)
The extract eats into the Ogre¡¯s side causing it to roar in pain as blood squirts from its side. The extract has a far weaker effect on the Stone Ogre, only eating into the part of its stone skin before sliding off the Ogre. The liquid falls onto five or so Goblins underneath the Stone Ogre and four goblins near the Ogre. A few unlucky Goblins receive the acid directly on the head allowing the acid to drill into the skull causing direct damage to the brain. Others are splashed on the arms or legs allowing the extract to bore through their limb. Senna takes out her katana and a thick vial filled with a red hot bubbling liquid. Using the back of the blade, she strikes the bottle knocking it towards a group of goblins away from the Ogres. As she starts to run in the same direction, she infuses her katana with her magic. Cutting through the goblins, she sees the bottle break open on the ground. ¡°!¡± She releases a large sphere of wind at the bottle crouching to the ground after casting. The influx of air reaches the contents causing a reaction. An explosion rings out as several goblins are knocked into the air and many of the surrounding goblins are knocked off their feet.
Phial of Compressed Palmetto (Master Grade) Rank: C (B) *New Description* A solution with the sap from a Palmetto tree as the main ingredient. Combined with several other ingredients, the mixture was heavily heated in a sealed container. The compressed pressure and heat makes the solution extremely reactive when exposed to cool air. The end result creating a medium sized explosion. Sales Value: 10000 Triton
After the shockwave from the explosion passes, Senna jumps up clearing her way through the gap she created. As she runs and cuts down goblins, she randomly fires and blindly behind her. Stepping into the center of the upheaved soil and burnt grass, she takes out another . {The last one. I¡¯m almost out of this circle. Just a little more.} Right after the phial is knocked away, another flurry of arrows head her way. Much to her bad luck, one of the arrows is deflected away from Senna and directly pierces the phial. Senna pales as she turns to the source of the arrows. She sees the Hobgoblin King with a toothy grin after ordering the archers to attack her. The explosion rocks Senna off her feet. She is barely able to store her katana as she flies through the air. Her vision spins as her back crashes to the ground. Hazily, she pushes herself up. ¡°, .¡± She heals the damage from the explosion with and cleans the burns with . As she finishes recovering, a shadow looms overhead. Senna mechanically tilts her head up as she sees the green skinned Ogre standing over her. ¡°RAWWWRRRRRR!!!!¡± The angry Ogre uses its [Roar] sending Senna¡¯s mind spiraling in fear. Her body momentarily locks up as she holds herself. ¡°A¡­A¡­Ah¡­¡± Her voice leaks out as she tries to get a grip on herself. The Ogre wastes no time as he horizontally swings its spiked club. Her [Mind Resistance] and [Paralysis Resistance] terminates the effect of [Roar] on her, but the club has already reached her position. She weakly jumps back condensing her magic to activate [Magic Body]. The club directly hits Senna as she crosses her hands in front of her. Several spikes pierce her arm with one directly piercing into her abdomen. A distinct *crack* is heard as the bones in her right arm breaks and crushing it into a pile of flesh. Her left arm is pierced and the bones partially cracked, but still left intact. Her ribs groan as Senna¡¯s body is sent flying from the impact. Senna flies through the air catching a brief glance at an extremely angry Hobgoblin King. He yells something while pointing at the Ogre. Senna finishes forming [Magic Body] and condensing as much magic as possible. Her concentration was luckily not broken from the attack because of her colorful past with Rimmer. Slamming directly into a large tree, it breaks under the pressure toppling the tree. Everything in Senna¡¯s vision shakes and blackens. Her consciousness is barely able to maintain the magic as her body breaks through the tree and severely cracking the trunk of the next tree. The first tree falls after losing their support crushing any goblins nearby. Senna¡¯s body lifelessly crashes to the ground. The second tree creaks and groans from the damage, but the heavy shaking from the Stone Ogre tips the scale. The tree loses its support as it topples over crushing many simplistic goblins along the way. The damages from the battle continue to stack up on the Goblin¡¯s side. Senna¡¯s resistance and the three damaged trees have dwindled the numbers from 250 down to 100 of the remaining Goblin forces, comprising of 1 Hobgoblin King, 2 Ogres, 17 Hobgoblins, and 80 Goblins. After momentarily blacking out, Senna groggily opens her eyes. She condenses her magic casting , , and nonstop focusing on her left hand. When her left hand is in a state to move, she takes out takes out three potions drinking them one after the other.
Health Potion (Master Grade) Rank: D ? A second tier health potion. It has better healing effects than the weakest one, but is barely classified as an Intermediate tier Consumable. Through Senna¡¯s [Compounding] the effects are much stronger than usual allowing for a gradual healing over time effect. Specially crafted to taste like Mint ? Recovers 150 Health immediately on consumption. Additionally recovers 10 Health every 2 seconds for 3 minutes. Sales Value: 5000 Triton
Magic Potion (Master Grade) Rank: D ? A second tier Magic Potion. Rarer than a Health potion making it more valuable, especially to Magicians. Heals Magic allowing the user to cast more spells. Through Senna¡¯s [Compounding] the effects are much stronger than usual improving magic regeneration for a time. Specially crafted to taste like Berry ? Recovers 100 Magic Points on consumption. Additionally recovers an extra 10 Magic every 2 seconds for 2 minutes. Stacks with the body¡¯s innate Magic recovery. Sales Value: 8000 Triton
Bone Growth (Master Grade) Rank: C (B) A potion designed to stimulate the growth and repair of bone tissue restoring them to their original state. The contents have also been blended with Stamina Potion to ease the strain from quickly repairing the user¡¯s bones. Broken bones will quickly reattach itself in 5 minutes. Make sure to set the arm in the correct position to assist with the regrowth. Users will feel a decrease in energy as well as a gradual increase to compensate for the energy loss. Sales Value: 17000 Triton
Senna straightens her smashed right arm allowing it to recover. She lies motionless on the floor letting her arm heal as much as possible. The toppled tree is currently concealing her, and thankfully not crushing her since she¡¯s at the very base of the tree. She relaxes slightly knowing the Ogres are not approaching her position yet. {I really messed up. I got overconfident even though I¡¯m an amateur.} She sighs covering her face. {I need to keep going. What should I do?} Senna looks down at the pool of blood under her. {I¡¯m going to die if I keep being stubborn. [Blood Manipulation] it is then. I need to create as much chaos as possible and run.} Senna tries to sit up, but the sealed wound on her abdomen relents. {Scratch that. I guess running isn¡¯t possible. Potions heal the wounds, but still leave the soreness from the injury. Healing magic helps, but my spells are still too weak. I¡¯m stuck fighting¡­ I need to take out that Hobgoblin King. Avoid the Ogres, especially the stone one. Kill as many Goblins and Hobgoblins to increase my level.} ¡° has expired. You will no longer be protected from arrows. However, the still remains if you wish to reapply the blessing.¡± {¡­I probably can¡¯t get help again. I haven¡¯t repaid her for the first time. Plus, I don¡¯t know how much magic I¡¯ll need to take the rest of them on. My status is probably a mess right now.} She pauses when she remembers her status. {I¡¯ll look at it later. I¡¯m going to get overconfident again if I see it right now. My arm¡­ can move at least.} Senna sits herself up and pokes her head out from under the tree. The yelling of the Hobgoblin King still reaches her ears. {Good. They¡¯re not paying attention to me.} She activates her [Blood Manipulation] drawing up her spilt blood into her hand. ¡°Gah?!¡± A hoarse yell draws her attentions back to the goblins. A large deformed orb of blood hangs in the air. A goblin hangs in the air caught in the blood unable to break out. Senna stares wide-eyed at the accidental manipulation of the goblin¡¯s blood. {I knew I could move other types of blood, but I didn¡¯t think it would be this easy. Then¡­} She touches both of her ears with her bloody hands before condensing the floating blood in her hand into the shape of a spear. She aims and throws it at the green unsuspecting Ogre¡¯s neck. It starts to lose momentum tilting down towards the Ogre¡¯s side, but Senna forcefully manipulates and corrects its path. The spear strikes the Ogre directly on the neck damaging the carotid artery. With her thought, the blood spear explodes like a grenade releasing blood shrapnel in every direction. The Ogre falters taking the brunt of Senna¡¯s attack. The shards of blood are lodged deeply in its neck. Manipulating the blood into the giant pool of Goblin¡¯s blood, Senna¡¯s blood rips the Ogre¡¯s neck even further extracting the Ogre¡¯s own blood as it leaves the body. The Ogre weakens from the excessive blood loss collapsing onto a few Goblins. Moving her control onto the collected Goblin¡¯s blood, she crushes the caught Goblin squeezing its body until its organs are crushed. Adding to the collected blood, Senna forms a large spiked ceiling descending over the goblin group. She forms an opening around the Stone Ogre to make the most of her attack. Crushing the weakest Goblins, she raises the blood back into the air. An even larger pool of blood forms, she creates a large blood blade. The Hobgoblin yells at the Stone Ogre making it turns towards her. Senna quickly forms a large scythe blade and directs it towards the Hobgoblin King. The blood blade crashes into the Hobgoblin group, but the King escapes from the attack using another Hobgoblin as a shield. After crashing into the ground, the blood returns back into its liquid form. It forms a large wave of blood splashing over the Hobgoblin King. Senna feels a throbbing pain in her forehead as she directs the blood to collect around the Hobgoblin King sweeping it into the air. Tightening her grip, she breaks the arms, legs and neck. The Hobgoblin King screams in pain allowing Senna to release a blood spear piercing through the back of the King¡¯s throat. When she moves to finish the King, the Stone Ogre roars disturbing her concentration. The blood falls to the ground releasing the half dead Hobgoblin King. All of its limbs broken and immobile, while it weakly bleeds to death. Senna¡¯s body shakes exposed to the Stone Ogre¡¯s [Roar]. Even though she blocked both of her ear canals with blood, she is unable to stop the [Roar]. The roar rocks every bone in her body paralyzing her movements. She recovers from the effects a lot faster than anticipated. As the Stone Ogre approaches, she trips over a tree root while trying to run away. The Stone Ogre looms over her with its axe raised high. Senna rolls to the side as the axe cuts into the ground. Standing up, she regains control of the blood again as she attempts to widen the distance. Another painful headache forces her to stop moving, barely holding onto the control of blood. ¡°Why?¡± Senna mutters to herself. ¡°Magic Power has dropped below 5%. Magic Fatigue settling into the body.¡± The automated voice replies to her question. ¡°I forgot.¡± Senna glances back checking on the Stone Ogre. With just enough distance, she drinks another Magic potion. ¡°I should make sure I don¡¯t make a silly mistake like that again. Maybe, Create a permanent display for Health and Magic points.¡±
HP: 3220/3750 MP: 256/2805
{There¡¯s so many things I want to retort.} Senna stares at the display until the Ogre cuts down the tree near her. {But there¡¯s no time.} She mentally moves the display to the corner of her vision drinking another Magic potion. As she starts to run, a black tipped arrow pierces through her leg. She falters and glances at the source seeing one of the remaining Goblins with a bow and several arrows piercing nearby trees. {Why now?!} ¡°¡± Senna directs a spell at the ¡®lucky¡¯ Goblin archer. One of the six remaining Goblins that was still alive from Senna¡¯s previous onslaught. The Stone Ogre closes the distance looming over Senna again. She tries to back up and increase the distance, but her leg prevents her from moving too much. The Stone Ogre performs a horizontal cut slashing at Senna with its axe. Senna swings her arm bringing the collected blood in between them. The sudden defense prevents her from hardening the blood. She uses [Magic Body] at full power hoping to weaken the attack at least a little. The axe cuts through the blood with ease, barely slowing down. As it approaches, the blade seems to catch on fire becoming a bright flaming red. Senna pales as she releases as much magic as possible to defend against the attack. The axe slams into Senna¡¯s guarded side cutting through her arm and into her side. Her ribs break as her body is sent flying from the impact. She coughs up blood as she crashes through a Goblin home landing back in the clearing. Her vision spins as she struggles to focus on her current situation. She weakly stands up looking at her current health.
HP: 11/3750 --> 33/11250 MP: 152/2805 --> 456/8415
¡°Body has reached critical condition. [Last Stand] skill activated. WARNING: Body is unable to deal with the strain of increasing all abilities by 10. Reducing ability activation down to 3 times normal abilities.¡± Senna looks away from the display focusing on the incoming Stone Ogre. The five remaining Goblins wait at a distance ready to help take down Senna. She weakly fits her amputated right arm over its original place hardening the blood to hold it in place. Senna manipulates her spilt blood. Attaching to Senna, it whips around in a circle picking up all five Goblins and throwing them into the Stone Ogre¡¯s path. Oddly, the Stone Ogre swings its axe at the approaching blood whip killing off the remaining Goblins. Senna forms a spear and mentally uses the blood to attack. Her blood attacks the Stone Ogre directly at its abdomen shattering into blood crystals. Senna¡¯s vision flickers with the failed attack. She is barely able to stand on her own two feet as her condition continues to worsen. {I don¡¯t want to lose like this¡­} The Stone Ogre opens its jaw preparing to roar again. Fear runs through Senna knowing what her fate would be with the next [Roar]. Unconsciously swinging her arm, the broken blood flies up runs directly into the Stone Ogre¡¯s mouth. It pierces the inside of the throat with little resistance. Before the Stone Ogre can scream in pain, the rest of Senna¡¯s blood forces its way down the Ogre¡¯s throat blocking all noise while shredding the throat as the blood flows down. Senna weakly feels the connection with her blood weakening inside the Ogre¡¯s body. Making her decision, her body glows a light blue as she releases the rest of her magic attempting to strengthen the connection. Her vision blackens as she loses strength in her body. As she falls, her lips weakly move saying two words. {Run wild.} Collapsing on the ground, she finally faints. The Stone Ogre suffers in agony at its first experience in pain. It stares hatefully at Senna sensing its impending death. Gripping its axe, it performs its last charge, swinging down with all its might. Senna''s blood receives her last command as it pierces out in every direction. Swirling like a vortex, it destroys the stomach drawing more blood increasing the strength of the attack. The attack spreads to the lungs and heart before spreading to every other organ in the Stone Ogre¡¯s chest. Pain wracks its body making it divert its axe away from Senna. The axe crashes into the ground a few centimeters away from Senna covering her in dirt. As the light fades from the Stone Ogre¡¯s eyes, it falls forward directly over Senna. And with a *Crash*, the battle in the Goblin¡¯s village comes to an end. Author''s Note So I apologies for the delay. (Especially to anyone that noticed my delayed comment on chapter 8, and I was still late another day past that.) I wrote this chapter. Hated it and completely rewrote it. So yep. Though I''m very glad I did. The original draft was 6 pages long. Rewrote it and expanded the details of the battle and it hit 14 pages. This is my longest ever attempt at writing a battle scene, so while it may not be the best thing in the world, I''ve satisfied with how I improved it. Lots of tables in this chapter. I had Senna make full use of her medicine crafting skills, so I overdid it a bit with the tables. XD And if it isn''t clear. Item''s Rank: ''Normal rank for the item'' (''Rank after Senna''s special recipe''). For the Health and Mana Potion, it should be a C in parenthesis, but weird formatting turned it into ?. Go figure~ Chapter 10 will probably be delayed to next week. The sheer length of this chapter made me spend a lot of time on it, so I''m a bit tired and not sure I can complete a new chapter at this point. Who knows, I might go into a deep writing mode, but its Tuesday already, so no promises I can''t keep. I know I wanted to say a bit more, but my brain overloaded so I''ll cut it here. Take care until the next chapter! Chapter 10 - Rescuing Senna Chapter 10 ¨C Rescuing Senna ¡°Shit. Shit. Shit!¡± I curse under my breath running alongside the others. Our clan, the , had just returned from a week long expedition to subjugate a large group of bandits functioning at a major highway. When we returned to the Adventurer¡¯s guild, we found everyone in an uproar. A Goblin Village has been discovered and there were sightings of Ogres moving around the . I found my parents and Arnost arguing with the Guild Master. They wanted a group to immediately leave to the forest, but the Guild Master refused because they needed to arrange the adventurers in town. My heart stopped when I heard Senna happened to go to the forest for harvesting herbs. They were equally worried about Senna and had already formed a group to scout ahead. I didn¡¯t even need to think about it and joined the group. Davor also joined to help find Senna. I felt a pang in my heart, but this isn¡¯t the time to worry about stupid things. We talked to the Clan leader, who decided to tag along. He¡¯s a blunt man, but extremely reliable. Rache, the best mage in the group, offered to tag along. Honestly, I¡¯m thankful for their help, with the four of us, we could easily handle the Goblin village, even if Ogres appeared. But our focus isn¡¯t the destruction of the village, we¡¯re going to rescue Senna and relay as much information as we can back to the guild. Arnost chose to stay behind and prepare to treat Senna when we found her. Please let her be safe. ¡°Anahid stop!¡± Bernard, our Clan leader, calls out to me. Without noticing, I had pulled away from the group and was moving on my own. ¡°Rest now.¡± Rest? I don¡¯t care about rest, my precious little sister is in danger. Bernard motions to Rache and mother. The two of them are breathing heavily because of the fast pace. It¡¯s obvious their pace is slower since they specialize in magic and less in physical strength. I was too caught up with Senna to notice their condition. Reluctantly, I sit down and wait. Bernard is discussing the strategy when we arrive. Honestly, everything he said went in one ear and out the other. I couldn¡¯t stop worrying about Senna. She caught my interest when I first saw her in the guild. I have never seen pure, snow white hair on such a young girl. Her appearance was like a beautiful doll that made many men swoon over her, not to mention me. Yet such a dainty girl was about to calmly subjugate Goblins unarmed? The idea boggled my mind. She carried herself with poise and was kind to everyone. However, when angered, her strength and skill could easily surpass me. When admirers were especially persistent, she used some unknown fighting technique to easily throw men several times her size. Who would have expected a girl like her to have such a dark past? I caught a glimpse of her scars when she showed it off to the guard captain. My breath caught when I saw the large red scar on her upper arm. Her skin was discolored to the point it turned purple. But she talked so calmly about the suffering she experienced. I couldn¡¯t wrap my mind around it. I didn¡¯t realize that was only the tip of the iceberg when I saw her upper body. I felt disgust and anger seeing the degree of damage on her body. Who would subject such a beautiful girl to such horrible treatment? What kind of monster was he? Later, I was unable to stop myself from prying into her past. ¡®How can you still smile like that?¡¯ It was a stupid question that I should have known the answer to. I wouldn¡¯t be able to act so cheerfully in such a condition. Senna gave a response, but her eyes said otherwise. It was just a front. She obviously had not gotten over it. The nights she spent screaming confirmed it. For three nights at the end of each month, she would scream in pain at the top of her lungs. She never asked for help though. Once she realized it was a regular thing, she started to gag and tie herself to the bed to stop disturbing us. We knew what she was doing, and we tried to help. But she always refused our help. Even when Mom and Dad persisted, Senna was adamant about dealing with it by herself. I tried stepping in when they backed down, but the look of fear in her eyes forced me to step back and watch. It was the same for training. Senna would constantly refuse our help. She would train by herself and refuse to ask for help. I stood back and watched her from afar. It was obvious that was a genius. Once she picked something up, she learned it in minutes. The three of us were very proud of her and her abilities. But it was the abnormal persistence to go past her limits that amazed me the most. ¡­But now, I¡¯m kicking myself for not stepping in to help her train. She refused to go out and hunt monsters. I knew the reason. I was scared too at first. Every adventurer is, but they are forced to get over it. We were¡­ I was trying to respect her wishes. Now... It might be too late¡­ I¡¯m holding back my tears hoping that she¡¯s still alive. It¡¯s easy to tell that Mom and Dad are the same. If she¡¯s alive, I¡¯m going to force her to train with me. It doesn¡¯t matter what she says, I want to make sure she stays safe. She hasn¡¯t been with us long, but she¡¯s my precious sister. Please Goddess Remilia. Please keep Senna safe. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Bernard ends the break and we immediately move. After another 20 minutes of running, we arrive at the . We split into two groups and start combing the area. Davor, Mom and I are in one group, while Bernard, Rache, and Dad are in the other group. We don¡¯t have to travel far until we discover a set of Ogre footprints. Bernard¡¯s group finds a different set of Ogre footprints that have a much deeper depression. The mood becomes somber seeing the strength of these two Ogres. ¡°Mud.¡± Rache points to a pool of mud nearby. She¡¯s a kind person, but never talks for long. In a sense, she really does fit well with Bernard. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± I take a closer look at the pool of mud. The size of the footprints points to Goblins and there are several of them from the looks of it. The prints were strange though. It looked like they laid down and rolled in the mud? It¡¯s not really normal Goblin behavior. I don¡¯t know what to think of it. ¡°Goblin Archers.¡± Davor presents a few arrows he found. ¡°We need to be careful. I have a bad feeling.¡± ¡°Senna was here. You can see where she was harvesting herbs.¡± Mother adds looking at the ground. Her voice is melancholic, fearing the worse for Senna. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Dad holds Mom when she stands. Both of them are holding back their tears, though I¡¯m the same. Please be safe. We head deeper into the forest. Bernard leads the way. Davor and I follow behind him. Rache and Mom stay in the center and Dad brings up the rear. Arrows litter the way. It¡¯s TOO weird. Goblins shouldn¡¯t be this organized. 5 arrows are stuck in a straight line, and then another 5 arrows are stuck further along the opposite side of the path. The pattern continues the farther we go. Expert archers can easily fire multiple arrows at once, but this is a bit different. There¡¯s too much distance between each set of arrows. An archer would eventually fall behind making their arrows stray. That means there has to be multiple Goblin archers working together. If it was really Senna they were chasing, she should be able to outrun them. That means there are a lot of Goblin archers working in coordination with each other. I refuse to think they could fire multiple arrows with such precision at such a distance AND on the run. With how somber the mood is, everyone else is probably thinking of the same thing. ¡°Rache.¡± Bernard pauses and looks at Rache. She makes use of her to detect any nearby presences. Rache shakes her head. ¡°Nothing.¡± Nothing, really? How can there be no Goblins wandering around. Unless¡­¡­ Oh God. Did they capture Senna? Mom¡¯s face goes pale and starts crying in Dad¡¯s arms. I want to cry too, but I have to stay strong and rescue Senna. We can help her recover afterwards. I¡¯ll take care of her in the future if I have to. ¡°Let¡¯s go. The faster we find her, the better.¡± Davor solemnly urges. The group starts walking carefully. The tension is high in the air. Davor likes Senna because of her looks, but if she¡¯s really been raped by the Goblins, what will he do? Will he continue to pursue her? A trace of joy wells up in my heart. I shake my head of those thoughts. That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now. We continue to head deeper into the forest, but have yet to see a single Goblin. The situation is really strange. Goblins are really stupid and wander around without a set path. We should have come across at least one of them considering how deep we¡¯ve progressed. We¡¯re increasingly more vigilant with each passing moment. We spot the Goblin village and immediately hide behind some trees. It¡¯s too quiet¡­ No matter how strange the Goblins are. There should be some activity and yelling, especially if they caught Senna. Did she escape and they chased after her? Bernard motions to Rache. She nods and chants her spell. She fires a weak and destroys the pile of sticks that a Goblin considers home. The ¡®house¡¯ falls apart and we wait¡­ An entire minute goes by and nothing. Are they really not here? Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Bernard motions to me. I return the nod. It''s my job as a thief to scout the area. Mom looks at me with concern, but I give her a reassuring smile. I have to stay strong. I scale the tree I¡¯m standing next to for a better view. As I look over the village, my breath stops. The sheer destruction seen in the village is tremendous. Only a few huts at the nearby edge are unscathed, but everything else is crushed beyond recognition. Blood is splattered over most of the clearing. Yet, there isn¡¯t a single dead Goblin around. I scan the clearing looking for any signs when something white catches my eyes. I focus my vision and unconsciously let go of the branch. I fall off the branch, but my arm catches the branch before I crash to the ground. ¡°You okay?¡± Dad calls out to me. I nod and climb back down. ¡°Found her. She¡¯s further in the clearing. Just past the center.¡± The group tenses up. We found her, but is she alive? ¡°How many?¡± Bernard asks me. I shake my head. ¡°Zero. Only Senna.¡± Everyone frowns. They¡¯re all thinking the same thing. Is it a trap? ¡°Lots of blood everywhere. Enough that I think the village was slaughtered. But I¡¯m not sure.¡± Bernard gives a weird look at my report. He probably thinks it¡¯s a joke. ¡°That strong?¡± My parents and I bitterly laugh. ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ is the only answer we can give. ¡°Check traps.¡± I reluctantly nod at his order. We¡¯re all worried, but it would be a dishonor to her if we were killed in the process. Not that it makes it any easier knowing that she might be bleeding to death. Dad volunteers to head around the opposite direction. If both of us go around checking for ambushes, we can finish that much faster. I quickly, but quietly explore the edge of the clearing. I force myself to remain hidden to avoid doing something stupid in haste. I don¡¯t find a single sign of an ambush. Goblins shouldn¡¯t be able to organize such an elaborate scheme, but I know nothing about this situation is normal. In one area, many of the trees are destroyed. The battle must have carried over here. Trees were cut down, the ground is heavily damaged. Just how intense was this battle? Finding no indication of a trap, I move on. I eventually finish circling around my side and see my father waiting for me. We should head back to regroup, but we can¡¯t wait any longer. The two of us head towards Senna. We move carefully, the blood staining our boots, searching for any traps. I can¡¯t use any magic, but with my experience, I can definitely detect it. The chances of encountering a Goblin Mage are extremely low, but with this weird village, we might just run into some. We notice the others approaching from the other side. Dad and I look at each other with a bitter smile. Mom must have gotten tired of waiting and forced them to come. We reach Senna without discovering a single trap. Did Senna really wipe the village out? It¡¯s a little hard to believe considering the Ogres in the area. Her experience in battle is too low for that. I check for any traps under Senna, but find none. Gently lifting her, I check her condition. She still feels warm and her heart is beating. Other than being covered in blood, I can¡¯t find any wounds. Mom reaches us and immediately starts healing Senna. I tell her she has no injuries, but she does it anyways. It¡¯s probably for the best. I might have missed something underneath all the caked blood on her. Casting the advanced spell is a bit overkill though. ¡°Goblins?¡± Bernard asks us. Dad and I shake our heads. ¡°Why?¡± He looks around at all the blood. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. This is supposed to be a Goblin village, but there isn¡¯t a single one around. The blood is still fresh, but there are no bodies. It¡¯s not like the bodies can just disappear.¡± Davor complains trying to figure things out. Ah. It can disappear. ¡°Senna killed and stored the bodies.¡± I answer. Thinking about it, it¡¯s obvious that she did. Her [Storage] is special. She doesn¡¯t seem to have a limit, and isn¡¯t affected by the weight of the items she stores. ¡°I agree.¡± Dad adds. ¡°That¡¯s true. She has [Storage], so she¡¯s probably holding onto them.¡± Mom decides to tell them about [Storage]. With anyone else, knowing about [Storage] would cause a commotion, but we can trust Davor and the others to keep quiet. The people in our Clan are all trustworthy people, we can tell them sensitive information like this. ¡°She wiped out the entire village?¡± Davor looks at us in shock. Bernard and Rache are the same. ¡°Is she crazy? If she messed up even a little, she would have been wiped out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she did it for fun, you know.¡± I reply in annoyance. He really gets too fixated on how pretty a girl is and doesn¡¯t think about their abilities. ¡°True?¡± Rache questions us. ¡°Chances are high. I¡¯m surprised as much as you are. She¡¯s only E rank and inexperienced in monster subjugation.¡± I answer. The more I talk, the more the idea solidifies that this really is Senna¡¯s work. Bernard strokes his chin. ¡°Make her join. Strong is welcomed.¡± He looks at Senna appraising her. (A.N. Appraised based on her stature, not by a skill.) ¡°I plan to.¡± I answer. Bernard nods. ¡°Target acquired. Withdraw.¡± Mom stops healing Senna and the group retreats from the village leaving things as is. I keep on guard for any ambushes, but nothing comes our way. The group returns at a relaxed pace with Dad carrying Senna on his back. We take a short break along the way. Senna remains unconscious the entire trip back. At the town gates, adventurers are gathered and prepared to set off. Many of the men cheer when they see Senna safe and sound. I click my tongue in irritation. Stupid perverts. The Guild Leader, Vermer, greets us as we pass through the gate. Despite being over 50, his strength hasn¡¯t declined at all emanating the strength of an S rank adventurer. ¡°Looks like you got her. Good work.¡± Vermer smiles at Bernard. Bernard gives him a simple nod. Vermer¡¯s smile drops. ¡°How does it look? Found any traces of Ogres?¡± ¡°Wiped out. Maybe a few strays. Found nothing else.¡± Bernard answers. ¡°I see. Wiped out. That¡¯s a lot better than expected¡­ Wait! Wiped out!!¡± Vermer yells out drawing the attention of everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Two-thirds explored. Nothing alive.¡± Bernard continues. ¡°Oi, oi. I know you went to rescue that girl, but you didn¡¯t need to risk injury with a small group like that.¡± Vermer points to the other adventurers. ¡°Not us.¡± Bernard points to the unconscious Senna. Vermer and the other adventurers stare wide-eyed. ¡°Her?¡± ¡°Maybe. Family says so. Sleeping. Can¡¯t ask.¡± Bernard adds on. The gathered adventurers start murmuring with disbelief. ¡°We will relay the report to the guild when she wakes up.¡± I declare as my parents and I pass through the crowd. We immediately head home. Mom and I clean all the blood off of Senna dressing her in her sleepwear. Placing her on the bed, we wait anxiously at her side waiting for her to wake up. Dad and I start pacing around the room. Mom eventually kicks us out of the room because we¡¯re making too much noise forcing us to wait downstairs. Davor and Arnost drops by later and informs us that Vermer has received the report from us, but will directly visit to get Senna¡¯s report. Apparently, to be safe, three small groups have been sent to investigate the Goblin village and check for any wandering Goblins. Arnost had been waiting anxiously at the guild the entire time. He didn¡¯t find out we returned until the other adventurers returned and debated whether Senna really took out the Goblins. With everything that happened, I completely forgot he was waiting for us. We reassure him that she¡¯s okay. He waits around for a while, but leaves after a couple of hours. Honestly, I want to leave the house too. The waiting is torturous. Is she really okay? Is there a major injury that we missed? On the other hand, I want to be around when she wakes up. Despite my restlessness, I continue to wait. My exhaustion starts to take a hold of me. I built up a lot of exhaustion from the expedition and was going to crash into my bed after the day was done. Going out to rescue Senna, I couldn¡¯t unwind at all. All of my tension remained bottled up and increased my exhaustion. I need to rest my head a bit. I lay my head down on the table and slip into a deep sleep.
Author''s Note No tables this chapter! I didn''t have to set up the tables up after I finished my editing for this chapter. It''s a rare 1st person PoV chapter this time around. It''s harder to cover all the information I want with 1st person PoV, so I normally don''t write with it. I have two more planned in future chapters. Okay. I''m off to bed. I''m too sleepy. Chapter 11 - Waking Up and Her Report Chapter 11 ¨C Waking Up and Her Report The bright sunlight shines on her eyes. Senna groans as she shifts her body away from the sun craving more sleep. She grips her pillow tightly. {Mmm¡­ How soft¡­¡­Soft? ¡­Why? I¡¯m supposed to be in a forest.} Senna reluctantly opens her eyes and sees her bedroom. ¡°I¡¯m home?¡± Senna sits up looking around the room. As she moves, a dull ache in her abdomen makes her flinch. {At least it is bearable.} The scent of soup and baked bread wafts into the room stimulating Senna¡¯s stomach. {Mom¡¯s cooking food. I guess I am home.} Senna falls back down onto bed with relief. {I made it.} She covers her face as tears well up in her eyes. {I didn¡¯t die¡­ I thought I wouldn¡¯t make it¡­} Senna silently cries to herself in her room. When she calms down, she reluctantly decides to open her [Status].
Status
NameSennaLevel28 (+24)
RaceHumanAge14 years old
HP3610 (+3000)MP2875 (+2500)
Strength350 (+275)Endurance445 (+370)
Agility344 (+272)Dexterity360 (+285)
Intelligence480 (+405)Wisdom467 (+385)
Luck320 (+240)
Skills
Spoiler : Katana Lv. 4 (+3) Dagger Lv. 2 (+1) Martial Arts Lv. 4 Throwing Lv. 1 (New) All Elemental Proficiency Lv. 3 (+2) - Fire Lv. 3 (+2) - Water Lv. 3 (+2) - Wind Lv. 4 (+3) - Earth Lv. 4 (+3) - Lightning Lv. 3 (+2) - Light Lv. 3 (+2) - Dark Lv. 3 (+2) - Null Lv. 3 (+2) Magic Spell Proficiency Lv. 4 (+3) Magic Power Lv. 4 (+2) Magic Manipulation Lv. 4 (+2) Magic Body Lv. 2 (New) Magic Attunement Lv. 3 (New) Detection Skills Lv. 4 (+3) -Presence Lv. 6 (+2) -Magic Lv. 3 (+1) -Enemy Lv. 4 (+1) -Danger Lv. 4 (+1) Tactics Lv. 4 (+1) Retreat Lv. 1 (New) 3 Dimensional Movement Lv. 2 (+1) Parry Lv. 1 Identification Lv. 6 (+1) Self-Recovery Lv. 4 (+1) Disguise Lv. 1 Keen Sight Lv. 5 (+1) Hawk Eyes Lv. 5 (+1) Poison Resistance Lv. 7 Mind Resistance Lv. 7 Disease Resistance Lv. 5 (+2) Paralysis Resistance Lv. 4 (+1) Petrification Resistance Lv. 4 Storage Lv. Max Reading Lv. 8 (+3) Improved Memory Lv. 6 (+1) Persuasion Lv. 5 (+2) Bartering Lv. 5 (+2) Appraisal Lv. Max Arithmetic Lv. Max Experimentation Lv. Max Language Comprehension Lv. Max Poker Face Lv. 6 (+1) Etiquette Lv. Max Survival Lv. 6 (+1) Cooking Lv. 4 (+3) Apothecary Lv. 4 (New) Specialized Growth Lv. 6 (+1) Blood Manipulation Lv. Max Last Stand Lv. Max Soul Engraving Lv. Max Concealed Status Lv. 6 (+1) Skill Development Lv. 6 (+1)
¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The ridiculous boost to her stats leaves her completely stunned. {¡­¡­I almost died, so I shouldn¡¯t complain. This will help me survive¡­} She looks through her skills and notices the increase across the board. {Even though I only used some elements once, it increased as much as my month long magic training.} She sighs at the weird disparity in growth. Looking at her bed, she remembers her nightmares. {I¡¯ve gotten used to the bed, but I still make a commotion every month. I have to research physical sealing techniques now.} Senna sighs remembering when she destroyed the bed in one of her nightmares. Her Strength back then was high enough that the constant thrashing destroyed the bed frame. When Senna learned magic, her nighttime thrashing also included an unconscious release of magic nearly destroying the house. Luckily, she woke up in time to disperse the flames and temporarily patch her room. After that Senna found out how to temporarily disable her skills and magic temporarily. She also acquired some cursed accessories to reduce her Intelligence and Wisdom stats and magically woven ropes to prevent her from moving around in the night. As Senna starts to sit up, a mail symbol appears in the corner of her vision. {It¡¯s a little early to get mail from Ariel. I still don¡¯t understand why she would want to maintain contact with a lowly human like me through these monthly messages?} She opens the Mail feature that was pushed onto her by Ariel. Hello Senna, Are you okay? That battle with the Goblins had me really worried. I was clinging to the edge of my cloud the entire battle. I wanted to jump in earlier, but was forbidden from interfering. You did an amazing job surviving that battle. I''m very impressed. After you killed the last Ogre, I stepped in to help. Everything you killed was placed in your [Storage] including the Stone Ogre that was about to crush you. I was a bit worried if I would make it in time to save you. Thankfully the axe didn''t fall in your direction, so I had enough time to open your [Storage] forcefully. I expect this will help you with expenses for some time. You should consider getting more experience, so that you don''t suffer as much in the future. I also fully healed your body. You were lucky you to survive with all the internal injuries you had. Your stomach and lungs were completely ripped open!! Please be more careful in the future. I don''t want anything to happen to you. Take care of yourself, Ariel {I owe her again for saving my life.} Senna reads the message with a wry smile. "Thank you very much." She murmurs to herself. As Senna moves her hand, she realizes there''s another line she missed. P.S. Why didn''t you just dig a tunnel to escape? Senna stares at the postscript as her mind completely blanks out. After staring at it for several minutes, she covers her face and starts rolling back and forth on the bed. {Why didn''t I think of that?! I''m so embarrassed!! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Embarrassed?} Senna touches her face. "To think she really did it?" She remembers the previous message. Ariel asserted that she would get Remilia to fix her distorted emotions as soon as possible. {Even if it¡¯s been changed. I don¡¯t want to change myself that much.} Senna sits up and decides to get dressed. As she slides to the edge of the bed, Leah opens the door. The two of them freeze when they see one another. An awkward silence forms as they look at one another. Senna decides to break the silence. ¡°Hi Mom.¡± Tears form in Leah¡¯s eyes when she sees Senna fully conscious. She rushes at Senna with amazing speed. ¡°SENNA!!! You¡¯re awake!!¡± Leah wraps her arms around Senna burying Senna¡¯s face in her chest as she gives Senna a large bear hug. Senna tries to struggle from her grip, but is unable to break from her abnormally powerful hug. Leah swings her body left and right pulling Senna along with her. The sound of stomping echoes into the room as Anahid and Russell rush into the room. ¡°¡°Senna!!!¡±¡± They rush into the room, but stop when they see the spectacle. Senna¡¯s limbs weakly hang at her sides as she¡¯s swung around. ¡°¡°Ah¡­¡±¡± Leah continues to hug Senna oblivious to the situation. Anahid shakes Leah. ¡°Mom! Let her go she can¡¯t breathe!¡± Leah snaps out of her excitement and looks at Senna. She hurriedly lets her go. ¡°I¡¯m sorry dear. I got overexcited.¡± Senna chokes as she tries to catch her breath. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± {Just barely. I thought I was going to die.} Senna stands up somewhat weakly. ¡°I know I worried you, but let me get dressed first.¡± They reluctantly leave the room as Senna gets dressed. When Senna heads downstairs, she sees several others waiting beside her family. Davor and Arnost sit at the kitchen table besides three others that she has never met before. ¡°Hello. My name is Senna. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± She introduces herself on reflex. She activates [Identification] while attempting to adjust the information that appears.
Vermer Truelsen
{That¡¯s¡­ too little information. I don¡¯t need the Skills and Stats right now.} Senna tries to alter her [Identification] again.
Status
NameVermer TruelsenLevel62
RaceHumanAge50
Description
A former S ranked adventurer and Guildmaster for the Timberharbor Adventuerer¡¯s Guild branch. He specializes in protecting the town from disaster, whether it is from stormy weather or giant aquatic monsters. Despite the extensive
¡°Oh. You¡¯re a polite young lady. Vermer Truelsen. Head of the Timberharbor Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± The middle-aged man with graying brown hair waves to Senna. Senna quietly thinks to herself seeing some of his [Status]. {There we go. That should be enough information for general interaction. It looks like he has the highest level in the town.}
Status
NameBernard TruelsenLevel51
RaceHumanAge29
Description
The leader of the . He is normally calm, but in battle, he charges to the front leading his companions to victory. His Berserker-like charges create many injuries that constantly cause Rache to worry about his well-being.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Bernard Truelsen. Clan leader.¡± The unknown younger man greets Senna. ¡°I can see the resemblance.¡± Senna replies looking at their hair color, eye color, and faces. Bernard grunts in affirmation.
Status
NameRache TruelsenLevel41
RaceHumanAge22
Description
Wife and childhood friend of Bernard. She¡¯s the strongest mage in the clan and specializes in . Shy and a bit taciturn, but becomes extremely talkative in aspects of magic.
¡°Rache. Wife. Husband.¡± The girl with dirty blonde hair introduces herself. She points at herself and then at Bernard to emphasize their relationship. Senna gives a quick nod. ¡°Understood. Nice to meet you.¡± Inwardly, she giggles to herself seeing Rache act protective despite the lack of expression on his face. ¡°Same.¡± Rache nods. ¡°Senna, are you okay?¡± Davor speaks up. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m perfectly fine as you can see.¡± Senna waves her arms slightly. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°There was a reported Goblin Village yesterday. We went to rescue you, but found you drenched in a lake of blood in that village.¡± (Davor) ¡°A-ahh¡­¡± Senna averts her gaze away from Davor. {I forgot to check my [Storage], but I guess Ariel only collected the bodies, but not the blood.} Senna bows to everyone. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry for worrying everyone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good. You¡¯re okay. You had us really worried.¡± Arnost replies. ¡°Is everyone here gathered here just to check my condition?¡± Senna replies glancing at Vermer and Bernard. ¡°They want to know about what happened. Everyone here is waiting.¡± Anahid explains pulling out a chair for Senna to sit on. ¡°Okay.¡± Senna obediently sits down and starts recounting what happened. She describes the initial appearance of the Ogres. The oddly coordinated Archery skills of the Goblins forced her to run towards their village. The panic she felt when she was surrounded on all sides due to the Hobgoblin King¡¯s plan. Senna narrates the details truthfully at first, but starts to alter the details. She avoids talking about the Wind elemental that helped her, emphasizing that it was based on luck that she avoided the arrows. The details about her [Blood Manipulation] skill are altered to be attributed to her potion and poison crafting skills. Senna¡¯s use of and magic are also added to make the story more believable. Leah clutches Senna¡¯s hand tightly when she hears about the Ogres. An awkward atmosphere forms confirming the unnatural coordination of the Goblin Archers. Senna is met with disbelief when she talks about the poisons and explosives she used. Arnost confirms her ability as an Apothecary creating nothing but poisons and potions. A glint appears in Bernard¡¯s eyes hearing that bit of information. A wave of awe goes through the room when Senna talks about force feeding the Stone Ogre an explosive. After Senna finishes talking, she gets herself a drink of water. ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± Senna waits for their response. ¡°Where did all the Goblins go? The report said only blood was found and no bodies.¡± Vermer asks unsure if he should believe her story. Senna takes a quick glance through her [Storage] and closes it when she sees all the Goblin and Ogre corpses. ¡°I¡¯m carrying it now. I have an item carrying skill to temporarily hold onto to things. The blood rushed to my head after the battle and I unconsciously put everything away." "Let''s see it then." Vermer replies. "Here?" Senna tilts her head looking at Leah. "Ah!" She pulls out a metal wash basin placing in on the ground. The corpse of the Hobgoblin King drops into the basin after that. Everyone cautiously gathers around the Hobgoblin King examining it. When they confirm its dead, they take a closer look. "Dear, how did you kill this? Its arms and legs are completely broken." Leah examines the arms and legs of the Hobgoblin. Senna laughs awkwardly. "I blinded the Stone Ogre and tricked it. I drew its attention towards the King taunting the Ogre. It didn''t go exactly as planned, but the Ogre ended up grabbing the King and crushed it to death." "That shouldn''t happen. Once it yelled, it would be exposed that it missed." Anahid retorts to Senna''s claim. "Normally, yes. But if I used to block any noise from coming out of its mouth. I pretended to scream too, so it fell for it." Senna shrugged giving her reasons. "Difficult." Rache answers. "Blocking out the sound?" Senna receives a nod to her question. "Mmm. I know, but i was desperate. The Hobgoblin King was the highest level one there. It directed the archers making the battle that much harder. I had to make sure it died or else I would be killed." Senna shivers with the end of her thought. Her family hugs her emotionally. Senna flinches at first, but relaxes in the hug. Uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Vermer gives another demand. "Bring out the Ogre too." "You still don''t believe Senna?" Anahid asks with some irritation. "Hobgobling and Ogres are two different things." Vermer replies bluntly. Anahid glares at him in response. "It would be a problem to take it out here. We need to move to a different place." Senna replies separating from the group hug. "Fine." Vermer nods. Everyone stands up preparing to follow along. "Ah." Senna pauses and looks back to the group. "Before that, can we have the official story be that Sis'' clan destroyed the Goblin Village? I''d rather not have the attention." A wry smile forms on everyone''s face. Anahid places consoling hand on Senna''s shoulder. "Give up." "Heh?" Senna directs an inquisitive look at Anahid. "Bernard''s already told everyone in town." Anahid explains in a calm tone. Senna''s face goes blank at she looks Bernard. Bernard and Rache avert their eyes from Senna. Senna turns to the others praying that it''s just a joke. Her hopes are shot when she sees Arnost and Davor nodding. "Bernard talked about it greatly when he was drinking. He declared that you were the newest member of the clan in front of everybody." Davor talks about the loud commotion in the town¡¯s largest Tavern situated next to the Guild. Senna''s face pales listening to the talk. Her legs give out when she hears the rumors about how her strength. She slumps on all fours, but descends even further. Her head touches the ground as her arms wrap over her head making her looks like a pill as she pulls her body closer together. Everyone gives her an incredulous look. Instead of flaunting her strength and fame, Senna goes into complete despair. Her reaction confused every single one of them. Anahid crouches down and pats Senna''s back. "Why are you unhappy? You will get a lot of respect from other adventurers this way. It''s better than the ''White Cleaning Maid'' title they use now." "¡­on''t want¡­" Senna''s muffled voice comes out as she remains in her position. "I already get too much attention because of how I look. I would rather keep my strength a secret." They look at each other unsure of what to say. Senna''s thinking is the complete opposite of theirs. If they have an incredible skill, they would brag and flaunt it in front of their peers. As the family thinks about what to say, Bernard speaks up first. He gives her a strong smack on the back while laughing. "Too late." Senna groans unable to retort. Anahid has conflicted look. Unable to console Senna, she decides to be honest with Senna. "He''s right. You can''t really hide it at this point. You will have to make the most of it." "You draw attention regardless. It just changes from a mocking one to a more respectful one." Davor adds. Anahid glares at his lack of tact. ¡°Uuuu¡­¡± Senna moans at their talk. She stays curled up for several minutes despite the others cajoling her. Reluctantly standing up, she cleans herself off as everyone leaves the house.
Author''s Note Originally, I had planned on Chapter 11 being the last chapter for the Goblin Incident, buttt I got a little too into Senna acting silly. XD As requested by one reader, I put Senna''s skill list under a Spoiler box, so people that wish to skip it can do so. If I''m lucky, I can finish writing Chapter 12 quickly and finish up this event. I can''t personally call it an arc since it seems way too short for that. Unrelated topic, looks like Tree of Savior Open Beta (English) has been announced and registration is currently open. The beta launches October 27th, 3a.m. Eastern Standard Time for anyone that''s interested. I plan to try it out. I''ve never been much of a MMORPG player though, so I plan to be casual and play for brief periods of time here and there. I will make sure to avoid causing interruptions to my writing while I play. New games, mostly Mobile ones, have been the #1 reason why my writing motivation dies. This is an MMO, so probably different. Either way, I think it will be a nice change of pace. (I''m so glad I stopped playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper. That game became more of a job than a game. X_X) Take care~ Chapter 12 - Pressure Chapter 12 - Pressure The group relocates to a training area owned by the Guild, located just outside of town. Senna extracts the Ogre and Stone Ogre corpses from her [Storage]. Taking a step back, she lets the others examine the corpses. They look around the Ogre and notice the wounds Senna gave it. The Stone Ogre completely amazes them though. ¡°Senna, you didn¡¯t damage the Stone Ogre skin at all.¡± Arnost asks with bright eyes. ¡°No, I did.¡± Senna pats her stomach. ¡°I burned a bit of the stomach area here. It didn¡¯t have much effect, so I had to damage the inside instead.¡± Arnost climbs up the Stone Ogre and takes a closer look. ¡°That isn¡¯t much. You could say its undamaged even at that level.¡± ¡°Is it important? I can imagine breaking down some of the skin to concoct a or potion, but bringing the whole Ogre wouldn¡¯t help much.¡± Senna tilts her head. ¡°If it¡¯s undamaged, there is no need to worry about blood in the mixture.¡± Arnost explains. ¡°Hang on old man. It¡¯s more useful as armor. That much skin will be material to craft high quality armor.¡± Davor retorts. ¡°What?! That¡¯s blasphemy?! It¡¯s more important to craft a potion that could save your life!¡± Arnost argues. The two of them start bickering over what to use the Stone Ogre for. Arnost turns to Senna. ¡°Senna! You¡¯ll give this to your Master right!?¡± ¡°Senna, our clan would benefit from this Ogre¡¯s skin. It would help Anahid stay safe. That¡¯s more important right!?¡± Davor argues. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t drag me into this!!¡± Anahid retorts. Arnost and Davor¡¯s gazes lock on Senna. Senna turns to Vermer. ¡°Isn¡¯t a Stone Ogre in the abnormal?¡± ¡°Of course. Only Goblins and Horned Rabbits are supposed to be in the . That¡¯s why it is treated as a beginner area. A rare Hobgoblin may be seen, but never an Ogre.¡± Vermer answers. ¡°Then before worrying about how to profit from these corpses, we should prioritize what¡¯s important. It should be given to the Guild to examine why this strong monster appeared, so other adventurers don¡¯t get hurt.¡± Senna responds with a logical argument. The two of them freeze from Senna¡¯s argument slumping over when they realize they can¡¯t take advantage of the material in front of them. ¡°If that¡¯s enough, I¡¯ll drop off the bodies at the Guild later?¡± ¡°Good.¡± Vermer nods. ¡°Is there anything else you need from me?¡± Senna asks. ¡°Join clan.¡± Bernard points to himself. Senna bows. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to travel soon and don¡¯t want to be tied down.¡± ¡°You have no say in the matter.¡± Anahid sternly declares. ¡°Heh?¡± Senna tilts her head. ¡°I¡¯m making you join no matter what. You almost died yesterday. I¡¯m not allowing this to happen again. You¡¯re going to stay nearby and I¡¯m going to train you. I won¡¯t accept ¡®No¡¯ for an answer.¡± Anahid¡¯s adamant tone leaves no room for debate. Senna¡¯s jaw drops listening to Anahid. Senna looks at Leah and Russell, but they shake their head. Unable to receive any help from her parents, she turns to Arnost. ¡°Nope. Can¡¯t help. You¡¯ve surpassed me as an Apothecary. I have nothing left to teach you, so there¡¯s no point continuing to work for me. I was going to help you find some other work to do, but this works just as well.¡± Senna slouches at the unreasonable demand. Bernard puts his hand on Senna¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Give up. Welcome to your new home.¡± Senna shivers feeling Bernard¡¯s touch. She looks at Bernard¡¯s hand. Her vision flashes. Instead of a hand encased in steel armor, it¡¯s replaced with a pudgy, bare hand with a thick gold ring on all 5 fingers. Her head awkwardly moves upwards looking at Bernard. The brown haired Bernard is replaced with the bald headed, greasy skinned Rimmer. *CRACK* In one fluid motion, Senna swings her hand up knocking away Bernard¡¯s hand. She jumps back several meters crashing into a large earthen wall. She panics as she sees Rimmer¡¯s large face distort in anger. The unexpected attack confuses everyone as they see Senna slouch down to the ground shivering like a newborn fawn. ¡°ARGHHH!!!¡± Bernard yells out as the pain begins to register. His arm hangs limply at his side. ¡°THE HELL?!¡± Brought out of their shock, everyone starts moving. Rache and Arnost run up to Bernard and look at the state of his arm. The armor around the arm is bent inwards marking Senna¡¯s attack. They carefully remove the armor and see a large, dark bruise. Arnost examines the bruise closer making Bernard wince in pain. ¡°It¡¯s broken.¡± ¡°Senna?¡± Rache asks as her eyes widen. ¡°Probably. The bruise matches where she hit him.¡± Arnost opens his bag and starts taking out bandages. ¡°Wow.¡± Rache turns to look at Senna. While the two of them are treating Bernard, the others run over to Senna. She curls up into a ball when she sees them approach. ¡°I¡¯M SORRY!! I¡¯M SORRY!! I¡¯M SORRY, MASTER!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!¡± Seeing her reaction, they stop approaching and look at one another. ¡°She¡¯s hallucinating? About her old life?¡± Anahid asks looking at her parents. ¡°She¡¯s never talked about it much, but it definitely looks like it.¡± (Leah) ¡°No different from her nightmares. We¡¯ll just have to snap her out of it.¡± (Russell) ¡°Someone mind telling me what¡¯s going on?¡± Davor questions unable to keep up with the situation. ¡°¡°¡°Not now.¡±¡±¡± The three of them reply in sync. ¡°AHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Senna screams as magic leaks from her body making her entire body glow a pale blue. Wind collects above Senna forming a whip. With a loud *Snap*, the whip descends cutting through her clothes and digging into her flesh. Blood sprays through her clothes as the whip separates from her skin. Wind condenses again as two more whips form. The three whips swing down again cutting into Senna¡¯s skin. Anahid and the others watch the involuntary display of magic and cringe when they see it injure Senna. As the wind whips descend again, they move to interrupt the act of torture. As they approach, they enter a magic field and feel a stifling amount of pressure making it difficult to breathe. Their armor begins to creak and groan as they persist in approaching Senna. ¡°¡± Leah casts a protective barrier around the four of them. ¡°¡± Davor also strengthens his defense with his magic. forms a layer of light around their group reducing the power of any magic based attacks, while Davor¡¯s is a type self-protection spell against magical attacks. Their bodies glow with their magic¡¯s influence pushing away at the condensed magic in the air. They feel the pressure alleviate, but quickly increase bearing them with even more force than before. The field of magic acts as if it is annoyed at the resistance by constantly increasing the pressure on the four of them. Their armor begins to creak and groan as the pressure starts to constrict them. Davor suffers the most with the dual effect of the two support spells. The four of them are forced to retreat when Davor¡¯s armor starts to cave inwards. They hurriedly escape as Davor strips off his bent armor. ¡°What the hell!?¡± Davor looks back on the invisible mass of magic before him. ¡°You okay?¡± Russell asks patting Davor. ¡°Barely. More importantly, what do we do?¡± Davor asks. The wind whips strike down for the fourth time injuring Senna. Russell and Anahid frantically try to cut into the condensed field of magic to disperse it. ¡°¡± Leah casts an intermediate light spell directly to forcibly wake Senna. A beam of light is released aiming at Senna, but the spell starts to distort as it passes through the condensed magic. It pressures the light beam weakening it as the spell begins to fade. Halfway to Senna, the light beam begins as thin as a thread before fading out of existence. Leah tries casting the spell again, but it fades just as quickly as the first attempt. ¡°No good. It¡¯s not working. Rache! Can you do something with your magic?¡± Rache looks at them with a conflicted look. ¡°Rache, Senna can give better treatment than I can. Snap her out of it and she can help spend up Bernard¡¯s treatment.¡± Arnost motivates her to help. ¡°Try.¡± Rache approaches the barrier. ¡°Sorry. Will hurt.¡± She mutters quietly to Senna. She gathers her magic in front of her. Wind starts to condense in front of her as more wind is drawn from her surroundings. A large gust of wind suddenly feeds into her spell as she finishes her chant. ¡°¡± A concentrated ball of wind is released towards Senna. The spell moves through the field with minor resistance. Peeling off layers of wind as it moves, the mass of wind continues to move at the same speed. Passing through the raised wind whips, Rache¡¯s spell strikes Senna on the side of her head. Senna is knocked off the ground crashing again into the wall again. She limply lies on the ground for a short while. After several minutes, Senna stirs and tries to push herself up falling back down several times. Shaking her head, she sits up and looks at her ripped clothing drenched in free flowing blood. She looks around blankly spotting the others. Her eyes refocus as she awkwardly stands up weakly walking over to them. ¡°Hi. What happened?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°¡­¡­You don¡¯t remember?¡± Anahid speaks up. ¡°Um¡­ I remember my old master surprising me from behind¡­I unconsciously knocked his hand away, so he kicked me and brought out the spiked whip to punish me¡­¡­and¡­then I was here.¡± Senna answers blankly looking at them. She looks around again seeing the dirt filled training ground. ¡°Ah, now that I think about it that doesn¡¯t make sense. He can¡¯t be anywhere on Remia. I guess I made a mistake.¡± ¡°Senna, you¡­¡± Leah recounts what just happened. Senna nods calmly listening to her. ¡°¡­We need to heal those wounds.¡± ¡°A-ahhh¡­ , .¡± Senna raises her hand into the air quickly casting one spell after another. The water healing spell cleans her wounds as it repairs her skin. The light healing spell closes the wounds leaving fresh red scars across her body. She drinks a health potion when she notices her exposed scar ridden body. The men cringe looking at Senna¡¯s mangled body. ¡°Sorry. I know it¡¯s ugly.¡± She takes out a new dress as she covers herself. Senna notices Leah chanting a healing spell. She grabs onto Leah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But, you¡­¡± Leah grimaces thinking about the new scars on her body. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it if you make it worse.¡± Senna seriously replies. Her eyes plead with Leah to hold back. ¡°¡­Fine. But I¡¯ll get you treated later.¡± Leah sighs at her oddly persistent daughter. ¡°Thank you.¡± Senna hangs her head. Rache walks up to Senna tugging on her clothes. ¡°No incantation?¡± Senna looks at Rache. ¡°Un. Because it¡¯s faster.¡± ¡°Teach.¡± Rache points at herself. ¡°Um¡­I can try. Not today though.¡± Senna answers. Rache nods. ¡°Promise?¡± Rache extends her hand. Senna shakes her hand. ¡°Promise.¡± ¡°Senna, are you really okay now?¡± Anahid walks up to Senna. Senna nods. ¡°I¡¯m not at my best, but I can manage.¡± ¡°Oi! If you¡¯re better, hurry up and help out!¡± Arnost calls out. ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m coming now.¡± Senna replies. Rache runs ahead to Bernard¡¯s side. They hurry over to Bernard where Arnost is bandaging his arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I hit you.¡± Senna deeply bows. ¡°Why?¡± Bernard looks at her with some resentment. ¡°¡­You said the exact words from my former master before I was locked and tortured for 8 years. Your hand touched me in the same place too. So I had a relapse to that time and acted out in the same way. I apologize for that.¡± Senna bows again after her explanation. ¡°Fine. My Fault.¡± Bernard relents hearing her answer. ¡°Thank you.¡± Senna takes out a bottle of . ¡°This will fix your broken bones.¡± Rache takes the potion from her and feeds it to Bernard. ¡°, ¡± She performs some healing magic to help him recover faster. With both Senna and Leah casting healing magic as Arnost treats him, Bernard is back to normal in a few minutes. Davor picks up the heavily bent arm armor and grimaces. ¡°I think you¡¯ll have to scrap this.¡± Senna twitches hearing the damage. {It¡¯s probably really expensive. If only I could heal¡­ Ah¡­ I haven¡¯t tried it, but maybe I can.} Senna takes out two and drinks them. She walks over to Davor and places her hand on Bernard¡¯s bent armor. Releasing her magic into the air, she concentrates on the armor. ¡°Senna, what are you doing?¡± Anahid asks. Senna doesn¡¯t respond focusing on the armor. ¡°