《Karmic Balance: New Game+》 Prologue: My life was a karma farm?! The sudden lack of pain was the first thing Jun noticed as she reflexively opened her eyes. She instinctively moved to feel herself before realizing with a blink that she didn''t have any hands. She also realized she didn''t seem to even have eyes, and yet could blink. All she saw around her was a void that seemed to go on for eternity, only marred by a single screen in the middle of her vision that she wasn''t sure how she missed earlier. The screen was... odd, like a popup from a video game.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DIED!
Your previous Karmic Balance was -664,193,212 You have gained +697,310,354,555 Karma! Your Karmic Balance is now +696,646,161,343 karma.
Respawn? Y/Y
After she died, she expected just about anything, from fluffy clouds and winged toddlers playing harps hovering over flaming pits of screaming souls, to nothingness. She definitely did not expect to be an incorporeal thing staring at a respawn menu. The fuck is this shit?! Is life just a game to the universe?! The screen pretty much confirmed she was dead, and for some reason she was pissed off. She wasn''t even sure how she died, just that it was... painful. It felt like the memory had been locked away, but if she pushed in just the right way, it would unlock. She wasn''t sure how long it took her pushing at the strange mental lock in her mind, but with a sudden *pop*, it vanished and a new screen popped up below the respawn screen.
Due to the traumatic nature of your death, the universe has deemed it unnecessary to review your death prior to respawn. Reviewing your death may result in unintended consequences. Proceed? Y/N
The screen gave her pause. Traumatic? It had to be bad if the universe itself was telling me not to, but she had to know. The curiosity ate at her,. With trepidation, she mentally selected "Y" and screamed as the screen popped, revealing another somehow darker void that seemed to suck her consciousness up.
The bullying at school, the abusive parents, the uncaring teachers. Constantly feeling like an alien in her own body, before suddenly realizing that despite being born a boy, she wasn''t one. Of course, that realization came too late. The society around her had never been welcoming, but it somehow grew worse and worse, especially for anyone who wasn''t considered "normal" like her. By the time she''d realized a simple truth about herself, what few options would have been available to her had gone up in smoke, sometimes literally. She''d ordered some medications online, discreetly packaged because they were considered illegal for what she was going to use them for, but that hadn''t been enough. Jun forgot she lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone, and there was no such thing as secrets. Private delivery companies didn''t deliver there because it was too unprofitable. Instead, everything went through a single public post office run by a postmaster that just so happened to also be the town gossip. If it was secret, you didn''t rely on the post there. She''d forgotten that fact when she''d filled out the delivery information. Forgotten that secrets didn''t stay secret if you let anyone else in on them. It proved to be a fatal mistake. Jun finally decided to come out to her best friend, Ash. Ashley, Ash for short, was that blonde cheerleader country girl in just about every country song. They''d grown up together as neighbors, Jun the half-Japanese boy, one of the only Asian people in town besides his mother, and Ash, the extroverted tomboy that was excited to see a new kid moving in next door. She''d introduced herself while Jun''s parents were still unpacking the truck and quickly volunteered to help when she found out Jun was eight years old just like her. They''d quickly grown close that summer and into the next school year. So close that everyone in the town thought they''d be getting married when they grew up. They''d even dated in high school for a while before realizing they were better as just friends. They''d shared everything with each other, so what was one more secret? One more secret, more taboo in their town than any other secret they''d shared before. One secret that was a simple truth, but buried so deeply that no one had ever suspected it until Jun dug it up. She met up with Ash at their secret spot, an old willow tree next to a small creek in the forest between their childhood homes where they played as children, where they''d sneak out to meet up as teenagers to drink and do all the taboo things teenagers do that were publicly discouraged but quietly tolerated. It was their place, the perfect place to share a secret. Jun told Ash that she was transgender, that she wanted to transition. She thought her friend would understand, but she didn''t. They argued, they fought. "You''ll never be accepted as one of those freaks!" Ash screamed, her face red and tears leaking. "Take it back! Don''t do it! People here will find out, and they''ll never let you stay here if you do! You''ll be forced to leave the town, leave me!" "I need to be true to myself Ash! I can''t live a lie, not when it eats at me every day! If this town can''t accept that then I''ll just leave!" Jun ran away from the woman she thought was her friend, thought would understand. Maybe, Jun thought, maybe she''ll come around, maybe she can leave with me, and we can start over together somewhere else. When the text from Ashley popped up, she thought her silent hope had been realized. It read "I''m sorry. Meet at the spot tonight?" Excited and relieved, Jun quickly texted back. "You''re forgiven! I''ll be there after work!" The rest of the day seemed to rush by. Jun couldn''t pay attention in any of her classes at the community college, and kept making simple mistakes while helping out the mechanics at her dad''s auto shop. She was just too excited that Ashley had a change of heart, too busy imagining their future lives when they left this backwards, small town. She''d stopped by the liquor store after work to pick up a bottle of whiskey. She and Ashley could celebrate their making up at the spot, she thought with a grin. "A bottle of Makers, Auntie May," she told the older woman who''d owned and ran the liquor store her whole life, as she fished her wallet and ID out of her pocket. "Makers, eh Jun? Ain''t you a bit young to be in here?" Auntie May shook her head as Jun pulled her ID out of her wallet and handed it to her. "No ma''am, just turned 23 a couple months ago!" Auntie May took a close look at Jun''s ID, glancing between the photo and Jun in front of her. "S''pose so, you been legal for a while then," she muttered. "You celebratin'' somethin''?" Auntie May handed Jun her ID back and pulled a bottle out from under the counter and ringing it up. "Yes ma''am. Meeting up with Ash tonight to discuss some stuff and celebrate!" Jun pulled a few bills out of her wallet and slid it over to the older woman as the cash register dinged and the drawer slid open. "That right? Well you two always made a cute couple." Auntie May flashed Jun a toothless grin as she swept the bills into the register and handed the change back along with the bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. "You be a good man to her you hear!" Jun mentally winced at being misgendered, but shrugged it off as she smiled back at the older woman. Auntie May didn''t know, and by the time she did, she and the townspeople would either accept Jun as she was, or Jun, and hopefully Ash as well, would be long gone. "It''s not like that Auntie May, Ash and I are just friends now!" Jun said as she quickly retreated to the door.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Me an'' Paul were ''just friends'' up until he got me pregnant with my first son too!" Auntie May cackled, watching Jun''s face turn bright red as she reached the door. "Be a good man, and cut your hair ''fore the wedding, you''re starting to look like a girl!" Jun nodded dumbly and pushed down the mixed anger and embarrassment from the older woman''s teasing. She doesn''t know, she doesn''t know, she doesn''t know. Jun thought to herself as she fingered her messy shoulder length hair and shouldered her way through the swinging glass doors. The drive home helped cool Jun''s anger and embarrassment. It sucked to be in the closet like this, but it wouldn''t be for that much longer. She''d been saving up for over a year now, stashing her cash in an old coffee can under the seat of her car every week. Her father controlled her paychecks and her bank account after all, and would notice if it got too high and start paying her less. He thought that as long as he controlled her money, he could control her. Luckily he didn''t know what school cost, and thought Jun was just taking classes as an excuse to meet "college girls." That was an acceptable use of the money he paid her after all. That and partying like a "normal guy." Instead, most of the cash from her paychecks she stashed away, and it was getting close enough for her to leave. She''d pack a bag, pick up Ash if she decided to come with her, and they''d just drive out of the county, maybe even to another state, anywhere other than the town that she''d been trapped in since she was a child. With those thoughts whirling in her head, Jun parked in the yard next to the house and grabbed the paper wrapped bottle before hiking to the spot. The shadows grew long as Jun got to the spot. She wasn''t too surprised to see she''d beaten Ash here. Ash worked on the other side of town at the beauty salon, while her father''s shop was just over the bridge from the neighborhood they grew up in. Sighing, Jun sat against the old willow tree while she waited for Ash, drumming her fingers on the paper wrapped glass bottle. The shadows grew longer and it wasn''t long before she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Excited, she jumped up and turned around, bottle in hand to greet her friend. "As-huh?" It wasn''t Ash. It was her older brother Bobby and his two buddies Ray and Charlie. They were a few years older than Jun and Ash, and had always been pretty decent guys. Bobby was a Sheriff''s Deputy and was always sending broken down tourists to Jun''s father''s shop for repairs. Ray and Charlie had joined up with the Army, just like Jun''s father, and just like her father, they''d come back to town after a couple tours to settle down. "Hey Bobby, Ray, Charlie." Jun nodded at the 3 men as they surrounded Jun on 3 sides, her back to the willow tree. "What''s going on?" Bobby sneered at her, his hands hooked in his duty belt. "What''s going on Jun, is that my baby sis told me you''re one of them tranny fags. That true?" A look of shock spread over her face as she flinched back, the hateful tone in Bobby''s voice hurting more than a gut punch. "Wha-what''re you talking about?" "We heard filled little Ash''s head with a bunch of evil poison and lies like the evil fag you are!" Ray snarled as he stepped closer, his fist clenched tight. Jun stepped back and bumped into the tree, her heart racing as the three men crowded in closer. Her eyes darted towards the gap between Charlie and the tree that was closing with every step he took towards her. "It ain''t like that!" She yelled, getting ready to bolt. "Nah, enough of your lies and bullshit you little twink. I should''ve done this before you ever laid hands on my baby sis!" Bobby yelled as he threw a quick punch at Jun''s gut. Jun jerked left, her back scraping against the rough park of the tree as she darted for the gap she''d eyed moments before. A high pitched yelp echoed through the woods as a hand grabbed the collar of her stained work shirt and pulled her back, followed by a brutal blow to her side that shoved the air from her lungs and choked her scream off. She flailed, her fist tightening around the bottle in her hand as she tried to ward off another blow. She felt more than saw the thud as she caught Ray in the temple with the edge of the bottle, the durable glass refusing to shatter. Ray''s grip on her collar grew slack as he fell back, landing awkwardly on the roots of the willow tree. Everyone froze for a few moments, staring at Ray''s unmoving body in the dimming light of dusk. The bottle spilled from Jun''s loose hand and thudded into the forest dirt. Bobby and Charles snapped their gazes back to her, eyes narrowed in anger. "The fag killed Ray!" Charles screamed, charging at her like a rhino. Jun leapt to the side again, barely avoiding Charlie''s grasping hands as he flew past her in a rage. She turned to the woods and ran towards home. Get to the truck, get out of town. Get to the- Her whole body suddenly locked up in pain, her nerves feeling like they were on fire. It was like the first time she''d worked on an electrical repair at her dad''s shop, and had forgotten to unhook the battery before touching a live wire, except a thousand times worse. She felt her nose crunch as she fell face first into a tree, her warm blood already starting to drip down her face. She started pushing herself back up to run again, when her raw nerves lit back up and she crashed back into the dirt. Jun opened her eyes and saw a dark figure stepping out of the shadow of the willow tree, a boxy object held in his hand. "Charlie, I got him, check Ray!" Bobby barked as he stepped closer to her. He crouched down in front of her and waved her department issued taser in her face. "You couldn''t just take it like a man, huh little fag?" He growled at her. "You messed with my sister, you tried to run from your responsibilities, you hurt Ray. You got nothing to say?!" She convulsed in the dirt, her body wracked in pain as lightning seared through her muscles and nerves. "Bobby, Ray''s dead." Charlie''s voice called out from behind the tree, full of anger and hurt. Jun struggled to breath, her breathes fast and shallow as she stared up at the man in front of her, her muscles refusing to listen to her. Bobby grimaced and looked at Jun with naked fury in his eyes. "You killed my friend. You''re gonna pay for that you tranny bitch!" A glob of spit hit her in the eye and dripped down as more lightning coarsed through her body. The lightning stopped, only for her to feel something shatter in her chest as a sharp and heavy blow pushed her through the dirt. She lost track of how long it lasted, the heavy blows alternating with lightning. She screamed until her throat grew raw, then whimpered, then could only lay there in silence as beating continued. The pain was all she could focus on, the only thing in her mind. The loud pop of a bottle shook her out of it, telling her there was more than the pain of the beating. She felt a new kind of stinging pain as something liquid was poured all over her. Through one swollen eye, she could barely make out Bobby as he took a swig from a bottle before handing it Charlie and lighting up a cigarette. "For what you did, you''ll burn in hell like the tranny sinner you are you little bitch." Bobby took a deep drag on his cigarette. "Funny thing is, over in England they call these things fags, well guess I''m going to light another fag tonight." Bobby dropped the lit cigarette on her chest as he leaned over and put the bottle in her unresponsive hand. He blew the smoke in her face as he grabbed a handful of her hair and lit it with his lighter. "Keep warm you little bitch." Bobby stood back up as Jun tried to thrash and put the fire out, but she was too hurt. Her body wouldn''t listen to her, everything was broken. She couldn''t move, but she could feel the heat as the fire spread, first along her hair, carefully grown out over the past year, to the thin layer of alcohol all over here. Her clothes ignited quickly after that, and then she was left to a different searing pain. The last thing she saw before everything went dark was Bobby and Charlie staring at her through flames as if she was just a piece of trash to be disposed of.
She blinked as the memories of her life and death on Earth stopped. She shuddered as imaginary flames seemed to lick at her noncorporeal self. The void containing her final memories was gone, leaving only the infinite void of this place and the respawn screen.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DIED!
Your previous Karmic Balance was -664,193,212 You have gained +697,310,354,555 Karma! Your Karmic Balance is now +696,646,161,343 karma.
Respawn? Y/Y
She read the screen again, her previous Karmic Balance pulling all of her attention. I had negative karma at the my life? Karma she remembered from one of her college classes. A balancing force, weighing good and evil, or something like that. The respawn screen seemed to say that she''d started with negative karma. It also seemed like karma didn''t change throughout her life. She''d been stuck with negative 664 MILLION karma her ENTIRE life?! Memories of her life and death flashed through her mind. Is that why I went through all of that?! Negative karma? She screamed her frustration into the void, remembering her life and death. "The fuck did I do to deserve that!" She lashed out in her anger at the universe, pushing harder and harder, demanding answers. "Tell me why I suffered! Tell me what I could have possibly done to deserve that! Show me!" She felt no strange locks hiding memories away. No screens offering answers no matter how bitter. Nothing. She wasn''t sure how long she lashed out. She never grew tired, never felt anything change, only the passing of her thoughts as she raged at the universe. She could have spent eons doing so, or simply the moment between moments. Time seemed meaningless here. An unknowable time passed before Jun calmed down. Her emotions spent, Jun looked at the respawn screen again. Her negative balance caused a flare of anger in her spirit, but it quickly burned out. The next two lines made her pause and reread them. And reread them again. And again.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DIED!
Your previous Karmic Balance was -664,193,212 You have gained +697,310,354,555 Karma! Your Karmic Balance is now +696,646,161,343 karma.
Respawn? Y/Y
She quickly did the math, then did it again. She counted the digits, and blinked her nonexistent eyes. 12 digits meant a number in the hundreds of billions in karma. 700 billion to be exact. "... Was my life a fucking karma farm?!" Chapter 1: Worlds of Potential
Respawn initiated. Proceeding to Life Generation. Please standby.
Jun¡¯s respawn screen flashed as it acknowledged her choice before collapsing in on itself like the graphics she¡¯d seen in her high school and college physics classes of a star imploding. The screen suddenly exploded, filling a huge portion of the void around her in a nebula of swirling iridescent gases. Clumps of the gas began to concentrate, crushing in at different points before suddenly igniting into brightly burning stars. Jun stared, transfixed as what seemed to be an infinite void only moments before rapidly filled with countless stars and clouds of swirling gas. It spoke to her of possibilities large and small, of lives once lived, and lives yet to be lived. An endless galaxy of choices and experiences that she could spend an eternity and more exploring. The galaxy swirled and rapidly engulfed her in its shining center. Here, she finally caught a glimpse of herself in this space, a reflection of all she was. She was no longer held the body she once had on Earth with its tall, slender, but muscular masculine build and Asian features. Instead, her body was a pale reflection of that life, giving off a feeling of malleability and potential. It said that she could be anyone she wanted to be, if only she were willing to pay the price. A yearning deep in her soul, one she¡¯d only grasped the surface of shortly before her death, gripped her. She was proud of the life she¡¯d lived before despite how it ended, but it was not one she would have chosen for herself. She had had options she just didn¡¯t think were possible at the time. Things she could have done differently, but also things that were out of her control. Life was where you started and what you made of it. As that thought crossed her mind, it resonated with something deep inside of her. She could choose her next life, but it would only be where she started. The choices of others, the infinite complexities of the universe, would shape her life as much as her own choices shaped her. A pulse ran through the swirling galaxy, the stars twinkling as they acknowledged her choice. A fresh start then. Her reflection smiled at her, tears in its eyes as it, she, nodded back at her. A small crack appeared in the middle of her old face and slowly spread across her reflection. Small bits fell away and shattered into a golden dust that swirled out from the galactic center. Her past self''s reflection crumbled as the golden dust it became swirled around a single point, collapsing into a new young star, joining the countless stars of her galaxy and leaving behind a nebula in the shape of a person that begged to be shaped and molded into a new life. Staring at the person-shaped nebula standing where her reflection just was, Jun jerked in surprise as a new screen popped up.
Life Generation Status:
Karmic Balance: 696,646,161,343 (+697,310,354,555)
World: Earth (Default)
Race: n/a
Gender: n/a
Stats: n/a
Traits: (3/5) [Karmic Debt] [Unlucky] [Magicless]
Skills: - (Skills do not transfer between lives)
Her past life, summarized in a screen. She grimaced at the gender section. So much grief and discomfort caused by a random choice. Her traits were even worse.
[Karmic Debt]
Whether it was due to the actions of a past life, the will of a powerful being, or simply bad luck, you have incurred a [Karmic Debt] that must be repaid. All beneficial traits removed to resolve existing debt. All positive karma earned in a life shall go to repaying this debt first. The die of fate is weighted against you until balance is restored. The greater the debt, the greater the balance is tipped. Remaining Balance: 0
[Unlucky]
The die of fate rarely rolls in your favor. Things will rarely go your way. The consequences of your actions and of those around you are weighed more heavily. Cost to remove: 5,000,000,000 karma.
[Magicless]
Almost everyone has some connection to the metaphysical planes of existence. Magic flows through everyone and everything, all throughout the universe. Everyone except you anyways. Your connection to the metaphysical is weak, your ability to use magic nonexistent. Not so big of an issue if you''re in a world without it, but crippled in a world with it. Cost to remove: 5,000,000,000 karma.
Jun quickly removed the first two traits with a thought, watching her Karmic Balance reduce as the traits vanished from her sheet. The third made her pause. [Magicless] implied that she would be able to use actual, real magic without the trait! But everyone on Earth knew magic didn''t exist... right? Her focus drifted to the World section. Earth had filled that section in and listed it as the default option. Was there... more worlds with life than Earth? Excitedly, Jun selected the World section on her respawn page and was shocked to see a massive table of numerous worlds to choose from. The table seemed to sense what she wanted to see, and quickly scrolled to show Earth''s listing.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
World Name World Tier Primary Sentient Mana Density Unlock Cost
Eanos 6 Insectoid 73% 17,000,000,000
Eaov 2 Plant 18% 15,000,000
Earpua 3 Humanoid 13% 23,750,000
Earth 0 Humanoid 01% Unlocked
Eavesh 1 Energy 92% 673,000
... ... ... ... ...
Tier 0? How was Earth so low? Jun thought of all the technology available on Earth, from weapons that could destroy cities to rockets that could take people to space. That doesn''t make any sense!
World Tiers
Tiers are calculated based on an overall average of the world''s Karmic Balance, societal advancement, technological prowess, and magical prowess. Higher tiered worlds have access to greater levels of individual power and individuals of such worlds hold greater potential to impact the Karmic Balance.
Jun focused on the entry for Earth and as she expected, another screen popped up with more information on her home planet.
Earth (Tier 0)
Earth is a Tier 0 planet orbiting a Type 1 medium sized star with a single moon. The resident sentient race of humanoids are moderately technologically advanced with notable achievements including the development of rudimentary spaceflight and a planet-wide information network. The planet is located within a mana desert. Societally, Earth is divided into hundreds of separate countries consisting of thousands of separate, smaller fractions. A majority of the planet''s resources are tightly controlled by a limited number of humans. Genetically compatible humanoids comprise the majority of advanced sentient life on the planet. Due to the low mana density, magical potential is limited on the planet and surrounding space and magical phenomena is exceedingly difficult to maintain. The planet has experienced significant environmental damage, reducing the long term viability of the planet to continue serving as an adequate supporting world within the Karmic Balance.
Jun shook her head. Definitely not Earth again. She wanted something different, something exciting and new! Her thoughts turned toward the [Magicless] trait she''d gotten rid of. Maybe she could start again somewhere that she could do magic? She hastily began scrolling through the massive table of worlds, trying to find one that would let her do magic. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of worlds she looked at and discarded. The high tier ones sounded increasingly scary and intimidating, while many of the lower tier worlds didn''t seem to talk about the magic Jun craved to experience. It felt like she''d be here for all eternity, simply trying to find a place for her fresh start! In desperation, Jun tried pushing everything she desired in a new world at the screen, hoping it would understand and give her an answer. She needed magic, craved it with a desire she''d never known she had. It needed to be low tier, somewhere she could learn and be safe in. She wanted to remain human, or close to it, and worried that some of the planets might force her to be something totally alien to her. The screen froze as Jun clumsily shoved her hopes and dreams at it. Jun tried scrolling with her mind again, but it remained frozen on an entry detailing an ice planet with sentient mole-like people. Did she break the afterlife? Would she be stuck here staring at this screen for all of eternity? The anxiousness she thought had ended with her death surged through her, conjuring fears of being trapped here, taunted with a fresh start that would never come because she screwed everything up. As her anxiousness threatened to break into total panic, the screen suddenly blurred through thousands and thousands of entries before coming to a stop on a single entry. "Merinthia..." Jun whispered the name as the anxiousness that nearly overwhelmed her slowly faded.
World Name World Tier Primary Sentient Mana Density Unlock Cost
Merinthia Tier 1 Humanoid 62% 1,000,000,000
... ... ... ... ...
Merinthia (Tier 1)
Merinthia is a Tier 1 planet downgraded from Tier 5 due to significant magical upheaval which severely damaged the Aetheric Field which maintains its mana density and magical potential. The planet has recovered slowly over thousands of local orbits around the system''s Type 1 medium sized star. Merinthia currently possesses 2 moons. A third moon was destroyed in the magical upheaval that resulted in the planet''s downgrading to a Tier 1 planet, the remains of which form a debris ring around the planet. The primary sentients are humanoid in nature with significant genetic variation including both common and rare variants of the sentient races known as humans, elves, trolls, and mixed variant species. Small populations of sentient celestials, demons, insectoids, and plant based organisms have been recorded on the planet. The recovering Aetheric Field and mana density of the planet and surrounding space allow for sustained magical phenomena. As the planet was formerly a Tier 5 planet within the Karmic Balance, magical potential and karmic weight on Merinthia is abnormally large for a Tier 1 planet within the system.
Jun was hooked. This planet seemed perfect! It was only Tier 1, so she hoped it wouldn''t be too different from Earth, but it had magic! The screen even mentioned other races! Elves! Trolls! Demons! Filled with excitement, Jun threw her intent at the screen and unlocked the world.
World: Merinthia (Tier 1) unlocked for Life Generation location. -1,000,000,000 karma.
World: Merinthia (Tier 1) selected for Life Generation location.
Life Generation Status:
Karmic Balance: 685,646,161,343 (-11,000,000,000)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Race: -
Gender: -
Stats: -
Traits: (1/5) [Magicless]
Skills: - (Skills do not transfer between lives)
Chapter 2: An Ocean of Possibilities With her new world chosen, one with magic, Jun rushed back out to her respawn screen and quickly paid the karma to remove the [Magicless] trait. She smiled to herself as the offensive trait vanished from her page, the section now totally bare and ready to be filled anew. Just like with the world slot before, Jun pushed her mind against the now empty trait section. She expected another table that she could search through, but as with everything about this afterlife, things weren''t what she expected. Jun couldn''t help but scream as some force suddenly dragged her down. The twinkling stars and nebulae of the galaxy rushed by noiselessly. As suddenly as the force had seized her, it vanished, flinging Jun through a cloud of golden gas to land feet first upon a pristine white sand beach with a loud thud. Her legs gave out beneath her as she stumbled, not ready for the abrupt landing. Her eyes wide, she looked around her, stunned at the beautiful scene. The beach bordered a shining, iridescent ocean that seemed to go on forever. A shimmering spiral galaxy that she instinctively knew was hers spun lazily in the sky dotted with pink-tinged gold clouds. She couldn''t help but feel at peace, the air charged with the promise of unspoken possibilities and a new dawn. She simply sat there for some time, quietly enjoying the peaceful beach. A yawn escaped her lips and she suddenly remembered what she was here to do. This was no time to relax, she had traits to choose! But... how exactly did she do that? Carefully standing, she looked around her for anything out of place. A screen, a strange reflection, anything obvious, but all she could see was the sand of the beach and the calm ocean beyond. Instinctively, Jun rubbed her eyes. Maybe she was missing something? A bolt of realization shot through her. She rubbed her eyes! She yawned earlier! She had legs! She had a body! Excitedly, she rushed to the water''s edge to look at her reflection. A strange sight greeted her. Her reflection constantly shifted as she looked on, her features changing with every small movement of the water. Crouching down, she poked at her reflection. Instead of feeling the cool touch of water, as her finger brushed the shimmering surface her mind rippled before a wave of information crashed down upon her! Traits to improve her health, improve her mind, to hurt and to heal, to give and to take. Traits for technology. Traits for magic. Advantages to have a better chance in society. Advantages to survive on her own. Curses big and small, magical and mundane. Endless potential, it seemed to whisper to her. She need only ask. It was too much! Jun struggled against the tide of information, her psyche tossed and rolled in the sea of information. Screens popped up in her vision. Hundreds, thousands, millions of screens assaulted her mind, each clamoring for her attention. Her lungs burned as she kicked and flailed against the tide. Her vision started to go dark, her head feeling like it was about to burst. No...not like this! A burst of energy filled her as she rallied her mental energy around that urge to fight, to resist, to endure, and she surged forward, pushing the tide of information back! With a gasp, Jun stumbled back from the water''s edge, collapsing to the sand as the last dregs of that tide of information drained away from her mind. She laid in the sand, gasping for breath, an immense weariness weighing her down. A screen appeared in front of her, its presence nearly overlooked in the aftermath of the flood.
Psyche fortified through karmic infusion. MIND stat has been unlocked. MIND stat has been permanently enhanced. Trait obtained: [Touched by Karma]! +1 to MIND. -4,000,000 karma.
She shivered as a breeze blew across the beach, chilling and pushing her. A warm spot in her chest flared suddenly, spreading throughout her body. It felt like she was being embraced in a warm hug that warded off the worst of the chill. Hugging herself, Jun looked down curiously at her chest and was shocked to find a strange golden symbol. Poking at it, she flinched as a new screen popped up in front of her.
[Touched by Karma]
The Great Cycle of Reincarnation is driven by sentient life and the karma it cycles. Just like life, karma is impermanent. It is to be cycled and used to drive one further through the Great Cycle. You have taken the first step, sensing the karma within you and using it to gird yourself against the tides of fate. Gain the [Karma Manipulation] skill. Affected by the balance of karma. This trait is hidden. This trait cannot be removed.
Was that how she got traits? She glanced at the peaceful looking sea in front of her and shuddered at the thought of going through that experience again. It couldn''t be that, could it? Why was this so different? She thought about how she''d started this respawn process, about how it seemed to be a strange mix of screens from a video game and dreams. The formation of a galaxy, watching her past self fade away, then a screen like a character status. The world selection had been simple and intuitive, a glorified spreadsheet that responded to her thoughts. Everything she''d interacted with seemed to respond to her thoughts before she was thrown onto this beach and into a body. Remembering what she''d done to find Merinthia, Jun paused. Could it be that simple? Jun pictured what she wanted from her next life. Images of her casting magic filled her mind. Flying through the air on a broom. Throwing fireballs. Making magic potions. She gathered all of these images together, wrapping them in a ribbon of her desire to use magic, and tentatively nudged it at the ocean in front of her. The reaction was immediate. A patch of the shimmering sea in front of her began to roil and froth as golden wisps of vapor escaped into the sky above. Ripples spread out to the rest of the ocean, becoming violent waves the farther across the shimmering water they traveled. The entire sea was soon churned as if a storm was about to hit, yet despite the violence of the water, the beach remained untouched, an island of calm in a sea of chaos. As suddenly as it began, the sea settled, the water that had boiled receding away from the shore to reveal several gems gleaming in the white sand. Hesitantly, Jun stood up and took a step towards the new portion of the beach, trying to get a closer look at the strange gems left behind. She cautiously approached one of the gems, a brightly glowing purple and gold stone the size of her fist. Nervously picking it up, she braced for an onslaught of information! It was a pleasant surprise to her that instead of a flood of information, a single screen hovered over the gem in her hand.
[Magic Incarnate]
You are magic made flesh. Reality bends to your will as easily as breathing. You have no need for spells, cantrips, or techniques. The most legendary of enchanted items are mundane before your eyes. Go forth and show the universe your arcane might! Requirements to unlock: 10,000,000,000,000 karma, birth world mana density 90% or greater, reduction in birth world mana density, increased negative karma generation.
As she read the description of the trait, her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the gem in her shock! 10 trillion karma?! She''d thought she''d had an insane amount before, but this trait cost more than 10 times the karma she had! It even had other requirements, ones that looked like it would limit where she could even start again. Shaking her head with a sigh, she set the stone back down and approached the next nearest gem, a multi-hued gem the size of a golf ball that reminded her of the opals she''d seen in a science text book in high school.
[Multiple Affinities]
Where others might have an affinity for a single area, you have more. You will gain affinities with multiple disciplines, at the cost of greater difficulty learning with elements opposing your affinities. Affinities are assigned at birth with as few as 2, and as many as 5 assigned. Minimum may be raised with additional contribution of karma. Requirements to unlock: 15,000,000,000 karma to unlock, 25,000,000,000 per increased minimum affinity, birth world mana density 15% or greater.
Jun was tempted, except she had no idea what affinities really meant. Earth hadn''t had any magic, and she''d never had much time to play many video games after high school. Besides which, as much as these screens reminded her of the older RPGs she played before school, work, and dealing with her own issues got in the way, there was no way real magic worked exactly like it did in some 15 year old video games, right? Setting the gem back down, she moved on to the next, another the size of her fist that seemed to alternate between white, black, yellow, green, blue, and red. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[One with the Elements]
Air. Earth. Water. Fire. Light. Dark. You are one with the primary elements of the universe. Your affinities are balanced and work in harmony with one another, building each to greater heights than would be possible for any single element alone. Requirements to unlock: 666,000,000,000 karma, birth world mana density 60% or greater.
Images of her practicing martial arts and flinging fire and balls of air filled her mind. She''d loved the Avatar series growing up, and she and Ash used to pretend to fight in the woods every weekend as kids. This trait sounded like exactly what she would want if she wanted to that. She pictured herself wielding all the elements and fighting to save the world. A grin came to her lips as she pictured Ash talking about how they could both be the Avatar and fight evil. Ash had such an animated look on her face that day as she proclaimed that they would both become the Avatar, fighting evil together forever as she struck a heroic pose under the willow tree where they''d argued the last time they spoke, when... Her grin vanished as something wet and warm dripped down her cheeks. Jun squeezed her eyes shut as she shoved her memories deep down and locked them away in a box. Unnoticed to her, one of the stars in the galaxy that was her soul grew dim and dark, drinking in the light around it. Shaking her head, Jun set the gem back down. She''d changed since she was a kid. Those childish dreams weren''t something she wanted anymore. Looking around, the next gem she spotted was smaller than the last, about the size of her thumb, and looked like a simple piece of clear quartz. She gingerly picked it up and read the screen that appeared above it.
[Fast Learner]
Everyone learns at their own speed. With this trait, your speed just happens to be faster than others! Your ability to learn and comprehend is improved, helping you to understand and retain knowledge just a bit better, but always faster. Requirements to unlock: 352,500,000 karma.
This would be perfect for her! It didn''t give her magic exactly, but she figured she would have to learn a bunch of new stuff in a new world, including magic. Nodding to herself, she carried the gem up to the beach and set it down before going back to look for more gems. She examined several more gems, each of them promising to be useful to her learning magic, but few of them felt right. Some were immensely powerful, but expensive, and the thought of having so much power while not knowing anything about magic scared her. Many sounded too weak, or too focused, or too niche. Several more she discarded for other reasons that she couldn''t articulate. The dim spot in the galaxy above seemed to dim slightly more each time she discarded a trait like this, and each time the spot went unnoticed. The ones she set aside were mostly similar to [Fast Learner], but seemed more powerful in exchange for being more focused. [Linguist] would help her learn languages better, while [Charismatic] seemed to make it easier for her to learn and apply social graces. As she returned to the gem area after setting the ruby red [Charismatic] gem down in her small pile with [Fast Learner] and [Linguist], a twinkling gold and white gem caught her eye. She must have stepped over it several times, as it lay half buried in the white sand. Picking it up and reading the screen on the small gem the size of her finger tip, she couldn''t help but gasp, happy she hadn''t missed it.
[Born of Karma]
Most life springs forth from their parents, growing and learning under their care before they mature and live lives of their own, eventually repeating the cycle of life and death. Your origins are more complicated. The Great Cycle has seen fit to bestow upon you this trait, and take karma and the universe itself as your parents. You are [Born of Karma]. You will be born into the world from karma itself, retaining the knowledge and skills of your previous life. The secrets of the Great Cycle are yours alone, and as a child of the universe it shall be your duty to maintain those secrets to preserve the balance. As a child of karma, your race will be chosen for you to ensure the balance of your chosen world, your appearance reflecting your soul. This trait is hidden. Cost: 10,000,000,000 karma.
It wouldn''t help her with magic immediately, but it would let her retain her knowledge. The lack of memories from a past life had gnawed at her, making her wonder why she had had such a large debt of karma and been saddled with only negative traits. She looked at the small pile of gems in front of her with mixed feelings. While each of the four were useful to her, none of them would make sure she could use magic. [Fast Learner] and [Linguist] even overlapped, with the former applying to everything while the latter only applied to language. She wasn''t sure if taking [Born of Karma] would teach her any languages. If it didn''t, [Linguist] would at least help her learn whatever language she had to learn quickly, while [Fast Learner] would help her learn everything faster. And she still hadn''t found something for magic! With a sigh, she turned back to the exposed seabed full of gems. She covered most of the exposed area already, having only skipped the edges closest to the walls of shimmering water that enclosed most of the area. Walking carefully around the perimeter, she saw several more gems laying in the sand, and even several just out of reach beyond the walls of water. As she reached the farthest point from the beach, she tripped over something buried beneath the sand, barely avoiding diving face first into the shimmering wall of water. With a sigh of relief, not wanting to relive the experience from the first time she''d touched the shimmering water, she glanced down to see a small black stone jutting out of the ground. Bending over to pick it up, she was surprised to find that the stone was bigger than she expected and quickly dug it out of the sand. What she''d thought was a stone was really a piece of obsidian the size of a baseball that looked like it had been sheared in half, the outside a dull stony grey, while the inside was a deep, reflective black that showed the strange ever shifting features of her face. Picking it up, she was shocked at how deceptively heavy the gem was, weighing far more than any other gem she''d looked at before. Reading the screen that had popped up as she picked it up, she knew that she''d found the perfect trait for her.
[Affinity Hoarder]
Where most would be satisfied with a single affinity, you want more. More than just multiple affinities, you want all of them, and you can get them... for a price. With hard work, just a bit of luck, and this trait, there is no limit to what you can eventually achieve. Affinities for magic may be learned through study, exposure, and experience. Practicing with magic will slowly improve affinities, slowly improving your power. Disguised trait. Overwrites other affinity based traits. Requirements to unlock: 525,000,000,000 karma
[Affinity Hoarder] would let her learn affinities! She wasn''t sure exactly what an affinity meant, but every single magical trait seemed to talk about having affinities. With this, it she would be able to have them all, she just had to study and practice! Clutching the deceptively heavy piece of obsidian to her chest, she rushed back up to the beach and added the stone to her pile. Looking over the 5 gems in front of her, she picked up the gem for [Affinity Hoarder] and focused on it, pushing her intent to take the trait. She felt something nudge at the warm energy in her chest before a wisp of it flowed into the obsidian gem. The gem slowly turned bright gold as it absorbed the energy, before suddenly shattering into dust that swirled up and into the sky!
Trait [Ability Hoarder] obtained. -525,000,000,000 karma. 2/5 traits filled.
She felt a cold energy settle in her stomach, suddenly feeling hungry for the first time since she arrived in this strange place. Instinctively, she knew this was the hunger for magic, and that there didn''t seem to be anything nearby that would ease it. Looking over the screen again, she frowned at the 4 gems remaining in her pile. She''d forgotten about the trait she''d gotten earlier that was taking up one of her slots, so she''d have to choose one to get rid of.With a sigh, she picked up the gem stone for [Linguist] and placed it back in the seabed. [Fast Learner] would be good enough, and she didn''t want to give up [Charismatic]. The last thing she needed was social awkwardness on top of living in a new world! She quickly absorbed the clear quartz of [Fast Learner] followed by the ruby for [Charismatic].
Trait [Fast Learner] gained -352,500,000 karma. 3/5 traits filled. Trait [Charismatic] gained. -75,000,000 karma. 4/5 traits filled.
[Charismatic]
There are just some people that naturally seem to know exactly what to say, and how to say it. That thrive in social situations as if they were born to do so. This trait will help you understand social cues, and how to maximize the effect of your presence! Cost: 75,000,000 karma.
The twinkling gold gem was the last one left. This is it, Jun thought to herself. Picking it up, she channeled the energy into it like she had the rest, sighing as the comforting sensation of a warm hug settled around her shoulders. As the trait settled in her, the familiar notice screen popped up, followed immediately by a second.
Trait [Born of Karma] gained. -10,000,000,000 karma. 5/5 traits filled.
Karmic Balance: 150,214,661,343 (-546,431,500,000)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Stats: MIND - 10 (15) CON - 10 STR - 10 AGI - 10 DEX - 10 CHA - 15 SPR - 10
Traits: (5/5) [Touched by Karma] (Hidden) [Born of Karma] (Hidden) [Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) [Fast Learner] [Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation]
Life Generation Completed. Hello World
Chapter 3: A Whole New World Jun groaned, her head throbbing in pain as a bright light stabbed at her eyes through her closed eyelids. The screen didn''t help. "Too bright..." she moaned, raising her hands over her eyes to shade her eyes. A bird trilled nearby, it''s whistling birdsong grating on her ears and making the migraine worse. She''d had some bad hangovers before, but this was by far the worst. Her head felt like it was splitting open, her mouth was dry, and the grass was making her back and legs itch like crazy! Did she get drunk and fall asleep in the woods again? Her father was going to kill her if she didn''t get to work. Groaning, Jun pushed herself upright, blades of grass sticking to her back as she did. As she shifted, she felt more long blades of grass ticking against her hips and thighs. Great, I''m not just hungover, I''m naked, she thought to herself. Jun sat in the grass, trying to recall what had happened the night before. She remembered buying a bottle of whiskey, she and Ash were going to make up after they fought. They were going to meet at the tree, just like old times. Jun remembered rushing to the tree with the bottle of whiskey, but that was when her memory got weird. She remembered running, flames, and then she was on a weird beach playing with rocks. She shook her head carefully, her loose hair tickling against her bare midback as she tried to remember more. She was standing in space, staring at a galaxy, reading a weird menu from an old video game. How much did I drink last night? A few minutes passed as she sat there, the migraine slowly passing to become a low, dull ache behind her eyes. She braved opening her eyes for the first time since she woke and looked around to get her bearings. She was in a meadow a few dozen feet across, the trees closing it in tall and ancient looking. Where was she? This didn''t look like any forest near town that she was familiar with. The trees were too old, and weren''t ones she recognized, not that she was any kind of expert on plants in the first place! She was a junior mechanic and country girl who grew up a country boy! A sudden gust of wind blew across the meadow, shaking the limbs of the trees, rippling across the knee high grass, and causing Jun to shiver, goosebumps appearing across her skin and reminding her she was naked. Of course I''m naked, she thought to herself. Drunk me is always taking my clothes off! "Damnit!" she cursed as she started looking around for her clothes. That was when she noticed her body was different. Her hands were slimmer, smaller, more feminine. The calluses she''d built up from years helping out in her father''s auto shop were gone, as were the permanent oil stains under her nails. Her skin was soft and pale, as if she hadn''t had a childhood with bare arms getting tanned dark. Jun squeaked as she stared at her hands. "What the fuck?!" Wait, what? That wasn''t her voice. It was higher, softer, cuter than her normal voice. It sounded like the voice she dreamed of having, like what she was aiming for in her secret voice training she did while driving to work! "What''s going on?!" She started patting herself as she looked down at her body, sure this had to be a weird dream, or some kind of weird joke, right? Her hands hit two soft mounds on her chest. She leaped to her feet in surprise, running her hands and eyes down her body. Her hips were wider, her waist and shoulders narrower. Her previously shoulder length hair was longer now, falling to the middle of her back and a deep, purplish black color instead of her old dark brown hair. Her legs were smooth and hairless. It was gone! A surge of panic shot through her. She wasn''t ready for this! What would people think?! She''d only just come out to Ash, her best friend! That was why she''d gotten that bottle of whisky, that was why... memories of searing pain, angry sneers, and flames reared up from the depths of her mind. She started to hyperventilate as it all came back to her in a flash. She''d died and went to a weird afterlife that talked about karma, and let her be born again in a new world! There were weird menus and screens about traits and abilities like in a video game! It felt like the world was crushing in on her, squeezing the air from her lungs. She felt like she was choking on her own tongue! Her stomach heaved, her abs cramping as she felt something hot coming up her throat. Gagging, she collapsed to her hands and knees and retched into the grass. A sharp, acrid taste coated the inside of her mouth as all that came up was stomach acid. She crouched there, alternating between spitting out the residue and gasping for breath. Concentrating on the memories flooding her brain, she imagined them as pieces of paper that she balled up before shoving them into a trash can in the dark corner of her mind. She kept imagining this every time the memories came back, until they no longer did. Her heart no longer raced and her breathing steadied as she pushed herself up and moved across the meadow, away from her puddle of vomit. As she walked, she carefully thought about those strange menus again and managed to only yelp a bit when a screen popped up in her vision.
Congratulations on your birth!The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Your System Status will unlock in 4,379 days, 23 hours, 59- [Born of Karma] activated... System lockout overridden. Welcome to Merinthia!
Her heart racing, she read each line of the screen with wide eyes. As soon as she''d finished reading it, it closed and was replaced with a new screen!
System Access granted. To access your System Status page, please say or think "System Status" with the intent to open your page.
"S-System Status," she whispered, her eyes widening as a new screen popped up next to the first.
Karmic Balance: 150,214,661,343
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: - (Assign or be Assigned name)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 100/100
Stats: MIND - 15 (+5 from karmic fortification)
CON - 10
STR - 10
AGI - 10
DEX - 10
CHA - 15
SPR - 10
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder])
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation]
It''s real! All of it really happened! Jun''s stomach tossed and her heart began to beat wildly as the memories started to come back from the corner she''d tossed them in. She dutifully willed them back, refusing to acknowledge them. Her heart slowly calmed again, settling on panicked rabbit instead of chugged 4 energy drinks and smelling colors. Staring at her System Status brought back memories of her choosing traits. She eyed her MIND stat, remembering the first time she touched that strange sea and the trait that was forced upon her. If this was anything like the video games she''d played in her past life, then higher stats had to be good right? "That''s an interesting page you have there." Jun started and instinctively raised her fists up to protect herself as she started looking around the meadow for the source of the voice. All she saw was knee high grass blowing softly in the wind. "Your stance sucks." Called the voice again, this time from behind. She whirled around, ready to punch, or scream, probably both, but there was no one there. "What do you want? Where are you?!" she yelled, trying her best to sound intimidating. She grimaced at her cute sounding voice. She sounded more like bratty teen than an intimidating adult. "You sound like a kitten." The voice came from behind again and Jun whirled around again, trying to catch whoever was tormenting her. The long grass wrapped tightly around her ankles as she turned and pulled her down. "Aahk!" Jun yelped as she landed on her butt with a soft thump. Wincing, she rubbed her back instinctively as she looked around for her tormentor. "Down here." The voice called out to her, this time from the tall grass in front of her. As she stared at the grass it began to rustle and part as a dark shape moved through it. Her heart began to race again as she braced for what was surely her first monster encounter in this new world! The dark shape emerged from the grass! Wide yellowish green eyes with slit pupils stared back at her. Twitching triangular ears moved above its eyes, its entire face covered in deep black fur that seemed to merge with the shadows, The monster slowly emerged from the grass, one paw in front of the other. It swished its tail lazily in the air, as if it had all the time in the world and Jun was completely at its mercy! "A... cat?" Jun tentatively reached out to the cat in front of her, her fingers clenched in a fist. The cat sniffed her outstretched hand for a moment and blinked at her, before closing its eyes and rubbing up against her hand! Slowly, she uncurled her fingers and lightly scratched at the cat''s furry neck, luxuriating in the soft fluffiness of it''s sleek black coat. The cat began to purr as it leaned in to the scratches, its tail curling into a question mark. The black cat moved closer, stepping onto her legs as she petted it, before sitting in her lap and looking up at her. Jun looked back down at the cute cat in her lap as she ran her fingers down its spine, lightly scratching as it continued to purr. "At least you know how show some respect." The cat said, flicking it''s tail back and forth. "What?!" Chapter 4: Jun Distribution System Jun''s hand went still as she stared numbly at the cat sitting in her lap. Did it just talk?! "Keep going. Behind the ears!" the cat demanded, rearing up on its hind legs and nudging against her still hand. Absentmindedly, she listened to the cat''s demands and scratched the cat at the base of its ears, eliciting a loud purr as her thoughts whirled. There was a cat on her lap! A talking cat! She was naked in another world with a talking cat sitting on her and demanding pets! She had to be going insane right? This had to be a dream? A sharp pain on her finger quicky disabused her of that idea as the cat bit her, pulling her out of her funk. "Don''t stick your finger in my ear! That tickles!" Carefully, Jun scratched the side of the cat''s head before moving to stroke it along its throat. She could feel the gentle rumbling of its purr like a miniature earthquake. They sat like this for an hour, the cat occasionally telling her to pet it in new places, biting or swiping her with its paws when she made a mistake. Eventually, the cat told her to stop as it laid down in her lap and took a nap. Jun sighed, remembering the internet rule that you''re not allowed to move if a cat sleeps on top of you. She wondered if that still applied in another world with a clearly magical, talking cat. At least, petting this cat had helped calm her down and given her time to process all the changes she was suddenly facing. Careful not to wake the sleeping cat, Jun laid back in the grass, her skin now long used to the scratching sensation of her impromptu bed. Closing her eyes, she slowly drifted off to sleep, the cat''s warm fur helping to keep her comfortable in the slightly chilly breeze.
She wasn''t sure how long she''d slept for, but it must have been awhile. The sky, bright blue when she''d first arrived, was painted the orange and pinks of sunset. Her lips were dry and her mouth still filled with the aftertaste of stomach acid as her hunger began to assert itself with a rumble. Her eyes snapped open as she felt something stepping up her body, followed by a pressure on her chest. Opening her eyes, she saw the same cat she''d been petting earlier sitting on chest and staring at her. "It''s time for food. Follow." The cat stood back on all fours and leapt off of her. Rubbing her chest in pain where the cat had pushed off of her, Jun shrugged to herself. It''s not like I have anywhere else to be, and it''s getting dark. Maybe the cat has an owner that will take me in for the night? With that optimistic thought in her head, she quickly started to follow the black cat as it trotted casually through the grass and into the forest. Walking barefoot through the forest proved to be a surprisingly slow endeavor as Jun stumbled and flinched every time her un-callused feet met a particularly rough root, pointy twig, or sharp rock. Luckily, the cat seemed to be patient, always stopping a short distance away and turning to watch her as she struggled to follow it. The sun had fully set by the time Jun, scratched, scraped, and battered from her surprise naked nature hike, followed the cat to the base of what seemed to be a large ridgeline. Thankfully, the cat stopped at small stream with hardpacked clay banks and a thin trickle of water and casually drank some water as Jun caught up. "Drink." The cat nudged Jun toward the thin trick of water. Half remembered biology lessons about the importance of sterile water and what kind of diseases could be found even in seemingly fresh flowing water sources were quickly banished by her extreme thirst. Gratefully nodding at the black cat, barely visible in the waning light of dusk, Jun quickly got on her hands and knees and cupped water to her mouth, her dry lips cracking slightly as she slurped the surprisingly refreshing and cold water up. Drinking her fill, Jun glanced back up to see the cat had started following the stream up the ridge. With a groan, she pushed herself back up and started hiking, hoping that following this strange talking cat wasn''t a huge mistake. A few minutes later, Jun crested the top of a small pile of rocks and entered a grassy clearing dotted with bushes surrounding a small spring that appeared to be the source of the stream she''d drank from earlier. The cat casually walked through the clearing and into a large cave in the side of the ridge. The cat''s owner must live in there! Mustering her strength, Jun quickly followed the cat into the cave. Placing a hand against the cave wall, she started following it only to stumble slightly as the cave made an immediate right turn and revealed a cheerfully burning campfire with a large piece of meat slowly roasting over it. The smell of roasting meat suddenly assaulted her, saliva pooling in her mouth at the thought of how delicious some barbecue would be after the day she''d had. Glancing around, she didn''t see where the cat had gone, nor could she see anyone else in the cave. "Hello? Is anyone here? Your talking cat led me here, is it alright if I come in?" Jun''s calls echoed throughout the cave, but went unanswered. She was just about to try calling out again when she felt something furry rub up against her leg and she shrieked, jumping back as the cat laughed at her. "Stop jumping at everything like a scared kitten and come eat. I could hear your stomach growling all day." The cat trotted up to the campfire and sat next to a wooden dish laying on the floor, throwing expectant looks between Jun and the large haunch of meat roasting over the fire.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Needing no further invitation, Jun rushed up to the fire and after a brief search, aided by the cat''s directions, she found a metal fork and knife next to a wooden bowl under a piece of cloth. She shaved off a few pieces of meat from the roast into the bowl as her stomach growled, before grabbing the cat''s dish from the ground and shaving more roasted meat into it. The cat nodded to her as she set its dish back down next to it and started eating. Her fuzzy savior and host fed, Jun sat on the ground next to it and dug in to her own food. The meat tasted like a gamy mix of chicken and pork, with a delicious smoky taste that reminded her of dry-rubbed ribs. She quickly devoured her portion then looked at the rest of the roast with a mix of embarrassment and greed. "Help yourself to more. Kittens need to eat. I''m going to take a nap." The cat stretched fluidly before jumping up onto a previously unnoticed ledge and curling up to sleep. "Thank you." Jun whispered as she carved another chunk of meat for herself. Several bowls later, Jun was stuffed. It wasn''t long before she started nodding off as the day''s adventure caught up with her and, mimicking the cat above her, curled up near the fire and fell asleep.
A loud thump woke Jun the next morning and she scrambled to her feet, her heart racing. A backpack that looked like something out of a medieval fantasy movie lay on the ground next to where she had slept, the cat from the day before sitting on top of it and looking at her curiously. "You stink. You should go clean yourself." The cat looked pointedly at her as it poked a paw at a case hanging on the outside of the pack by a strap. Opening the case, Jun found a misshapen lump of soap and a rough brush. She was being insulted by a talking cat in a fantasy world and told to go wash herself! Jun couldn''t help but smile at the absurdity of her life already. If anyone else said stuff like that to her, she knew she''d be pissed, but for some reason it coming from a talking cat was just the cutest! Remembering the spring outside the cave, Jun grabbed the entire backpack and took it outside to wash up. Looking around the clearing in the morning light, she was happy to find a wooden bucket next to the spring that she could use to splash water on herself instead of diving in and contaminating the clearing''s water source with her filth. After a quick but thorough scrubbing and rinse with freezing cold water, Jun felt like a new woman! Yawning, Jun stretched out on a flat stone at the edge of the clearing and soaked up the midmorning sun to warm up and dry. It didn''t compare to the hot showers she''d had access to on Earth, but she still felt lighter and cleaner than she could ever remember feeling. She imagined this was what it must feel like to have a spa day. Muscles she hadn''t even known she had slowly unwound as aches she hadn''t even noticed the day before slowly vanished. As she lay nodding off in the warm sun, she couldn''t help but think that while she didn''t have the easiest time of things in this world so far, the forest had been surprisingly peaceful. Maybe that''s why whoever owned the talking cat lived out here? With a start, she realized she hadn''t met the cat''s owner yet. Surely they must be around right? Who else would own all the stuff she''d used? Who else roasted the meat she''d eaten the night before? Besides the all of the stuff, she hadn''t seen a single sign of another person, just the talking cat. And she didn''t even know the cat''s name! As if summoned by her thoughts, she felt a weight on her chest as the cat jumped on top of her and lightly pawed her nose. "You human kittens don''t have enough fur. You''ll get sick if you don''t cover up. There''s some of your fake human furs in the bag over there you should put on." With a sniff, the cat jumped off of her and casually started walking out of the clearing and down the ridge. Jun sat up dumbfounded for a moment before her wits caught up to her. "Wait! I need to thank you! And ask some-" "We''ll talk when I get back. Take care of yourself Kitten." The cat gracefully slunk between a gap in the bushes around the clearing and vanished from her sight. Dismissed by a cat who thought she was just a kitten. Jun sighed. In a lot of ways it was right though, she felt completely out of her depth here, and if not for the cat leading her here, and the cat''s mysterious owner that she''d still not seen or heard a trace of, she would probably be starving and dying of thirst in the woods, if a random monster didn''t eat her first. With that depressing thought, Jun opened the pack that she''d left at the base of the rock and pulled out a shirt, skirt, and a pair of undergarments. Stuffed under the clothes was a worn pair of leather boots with socks stuffed in them. The underwear was weird, reminding her more of a cloth diaper like she''d seen some people online use over the more disposable ones. It seemed clean enough, simply smelling a bit old like it''d been washed and left for a few months. Figuring out the trick to putting it on took a bit, and in the end she felt less like a woman and more like an overgrown baby, but she did figure it out. The cloth wasn''t as soft as the tighty-whiteys she''d worn on Earth in her former body and felt rough against her more sensitive spots, but it was better than running around with her ass out! The shirt and skirt smelled like dust and old leather, so she shook them out. A surprising amount of dust came out of the clothes, but eventually she was satisfied they were clean enough and put them on. Luckily, the socks and boots didn''t need the same treatment and she slipped them on easily enough. The boots were a bit large for her feet, but seemed to fit well enough. Fully dressed, Jun looked herself over. Her clothes wouldn''t win her any beauty contests, but at least she had something to protect her dignity! Satisfied, she decided that once the owner of the cat who''s name she still didn''t know came back, she needed to make a good impression on them. She didn''t have anything to gift them, but the least she could do is clean up after herself! Refilling the bucket she''d used with water, she grabbed the brush from the washing case and went back into the cave. The fire was still going strong somehow, the leg of meat still sitting on the spit over it. Grabbing the knife and fork from the night before, she cut herself off a small chunk to chew for breakfast then set to work cleaning up the mess she''d left in the cave from the night before. It wasn''t long before she ran out things to clean. Straightening herself after she finished cleaning the last of the muddy hand and foot prints she''d left the night before, she started looking around for something else she could help with when she heard a loud crashing sound in the clearing outside! Chapter 5: Between a Rock and a Monster Jun rushed to the entrance of the cave and peeked out around the corner, freezing at what she saw. Besides the friendly talking cat and the occasional screen that popped up in her vision, she''d be able to forget that this was a world filled with magic, but that was no longer the case. A strange creature stood outside the cave looking around as if searching for something. It looked like a mix of a lizard, gorilla, and dog mixed together. It had a long canine snout for a face, it''s skin covered in an ugly mix of scales and fur. Its four limbs ended in 4 fingered clawed hands that looked wickedly sharp in the morning light. The only thing that came to Jun''s mind was "monster!" Stifling a scream, Jun hugged herself against the wall of the cave and peeked out around the corner, watching the dog-monkey-lizard as it moved around the clearing. She watched as it stopped and sniffed all over the rock she was just laying on earlier before it found the backpack she''d left on the ground next to it. The creature snarled, revealing sharp teeth as it snatched the bag up and violently shook it while shredding the bag with its claws! A shreds of the tough leather bag went flying as the monster tore through it, Jun gasped loudly before slapping a hand over her mouth as she realized her mistake, but it was too late! The monster dropped the remains of the bag and whipped its head toward the cave, eyes narrowing as it peered into the darkness. Jun ducked her head back around the corner and prayed, hoping the monster hadn''t seen her! She had no such luck. Claws scratched against stone as the monster entered the cave. Jun could hear it snuffling in the darkness as it drew closer to the blind corner behind which she hid. Could it smell her? A scaly snout burst out of the darkness around the corner, faintly illuminated by the light of the cooking fire deeper in. Jun stifled a squeak as she carefully stepped back to the camp and desperately looked for something to defend herself. Her eyes immediately locked onto the long knife she''d used to carve up the roast. It was about 6 inches long with a rounded tip like a chef''s knife and a simple wooden handle. It was a kitchen tool, but it was at least something sharp! As quietly as she could, Jun hurriedly picked up the knife and turned around holding the knife out in front of her with two shaking hands, fully expecting to see the monster emerging from the darkness. It wasn''t there. Still holding the knife in her shaking hands, Jun crept back towards the entrance of the cave ready to lash out with her knife at anything big and scaly. Her back against the cave wall, she cautiously peeked out at the entrance. It took all of her willpower to turn what would have been a gasp or a scream into a quiet, sharp inhale. The monster lay curled up on the cave floor, its bulk blocking most of the sunlight from the cave''s entrance. She was trapped! Retreating back to the campfire, Jun looked around, hoping she might find something to get her out of this situation. Her eyes fell upon the cheerily burning fire as half-remembered science lessons came back to her. Fires burned air! A fire burning in a cave like this should have used up all the oxygen, or at least filled the space with smoke, unless there was somewhere for the smoke to go, and somewhere for the air to replenish from! She wasn''t dead, and the fire still burned, so that had to mean there was a vent or exit of some kind that she could get through, right? She excitedly looked up, reasoning that since smoke went up, it was the most obvious place to check first. A dark stone ceiling, stained with ash and illuminated by the flickering light of the campfire below, sloped up and away into the darkness, no obvious cracks or holes in sight. Jun eyed the ledge above the campfire alcove the cat had slept upon the night before, tracing the stone with her eyes. She couldn''t see much beyond the edge the cat had laid upon, shrouded in shadow as it was. Maybe there was another way out up there? Eyeing the ledge twice her height from the cave floor made her uneasy. She''d never done any rock climbing, but there were a few rocks and cracks in the wall that she might be able to use to climb up? Walking over to the cave wall, she moved to climb up before realizing she still tightly gripped the kitchen knife in her right hand. She briefly considered holding it in her teeth like one of those heroes from action movies, but images of her slipping and falling, only for her to land on the knife filled her head. She couldn''t take it up with her! Besides, she reasoned, if there is another way out up there, I won''t need to defend myself from the monster, right? She set the knife down on the rock where she''d found the knife the night before then started climbing. The rocks were sharper than she expected and bit into her hands, reminding her once again of her lack of calluses. Her breasts seemed pretty average in size to her when she''d first discovered her new body, perhaps even a bit smaller than average, but they made themselves known as she clung to the side of the cave wall! They kept getting in the way slightly, her chest scraping and catching slightly on every protruding rock. Her shirt helped keep everything in place, but several times she felt and heard the fabric catch and tear as she climbed! Blushing in embarrassment and holding back tears from the latest scrape her girls had to endure, she heaved herself over the edge of the ledge and rolled onto the stone shelf. She laid there for a moment, catching her breath from the strenuous but short climb. The stone shelf proved to be just the end of a tunnel leading deeper into the earth. The ceiling was so low that Jun would hit her head on the ceiling if she tried to sit straight, and she was pretty certain she was a lot shorter than the 6 feet she''d been on Earth. Peering down the deep hole, she felt a whisper of air flowing deeper in. Excited at the prospect of another exit, Jun hurried down the dark passage, following the flow of air. The tunnel proved to be surprisingly straight and quickly opened up until it was wide enough that she couldn''t touch both walls with both of her hands outstretched and Jun could comfortably stand with her hand raised and still not touch the top of the tunnel. A few minutes of scrambling through the dark later was when Jun first noticed a faint glow ahead. Light meant the outside! The outside meant an exit! Happy that her guess had been the right one, Jun picked up her pace, shrugging off the stubbed toes and near falls that came with the increased speed. The glow brightened rapidly as she moved, soon giving enough light that she could barely make out the outline of her hand stretched out in front of her. The improved light helped her avoid obstacles on the uneven tunnel floor, which in turn drastically sped up her exploration.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The tunnel soon led out into a wide cavern filled with rocks and boulders, as if it had recently suffered a cave in. A large hole in the ceiling opened up the cavern to the blue sky above with tree roots questing down the sides of the hole. Jun''s hope waned as she eyed the skylight above. It was at least 50 feet above the cavern floor, and the roots barely came halfway down the side of the hole. There was no way she''d be able to climb out that way! Making a full circle around the well lit cavern, her hope died by inches and slivers. It was a dead end. There were no other tunnels besides the one she''d come through, or if there were, they were long buried by the rubble strewn about the place. She shivered at that thought, imagining the weight of the mountain above crushing down on her in a rain of stone and earth. She suddenly didn''t want to stay here for long, the previously sturdy walls of the cave suddenly feeling flimsy. Nervously, she moved back to the tunnel, her eyes darting between it and the ceiling above, ready to bolt at the slightest hint of a cave in. Keeping her eyes glued to the ceiling proved to be a mistake as her boot landed on something that crunched and slid, sending her tumbling to the floor! Pain lanced through head as she landed chin first on the ground, barely avoiding biting through her tongue as her teeth slammed shut! "Ow..." Jun lay sprawled out on the ground for a few seconds, cursing herself for not checking where she was stepping. Jun pushed herself into a seated position and gently poked her throbbing chin, wincing at the fresh bolt of pain that shot through her jaw. "Definitely bruised, fuck me!" Hissing curses at herself, she looked back at what she''d fallen over. A white stick of some sort stuck out from beneath a pile of rock. Blinking, Jun moved closer to examine the strange stick. It was had knobs on one end and splintered where she must have stepped on it. She moved to shift the pile of rocks trapping the other end when she froze, her eyes catching sight of another piece of the gleaming white material sticking haphazardly out of the pile of rocks. She recognized what it was immediately. How couldn''t she? She''d seen hundreds of them every Halloween, in videogames and cartoons, even in the tattoos on her father''s arms when he- Jun interrupted that last thought, forcibly shoving it down. Empty sockets stared at her from pile of stone, a tremble running through her as she returned its unblinking stare. The skull was human, broken with a large hole running through its temple. She shivered, her hand absentmindedly touching the same place on her head as she shivered. "S-sorry..." Jun scooted away from the pile, pebbles clattering as she pressed against another haphazard pile of stone. The skull continued to gaze at her, unblinking, her apology gone unacknowledged. Guilt at disturbing this person''s grave ate at her. She''d come here trying to escape from a monster, but she''d ended up disturbing a grave! She thought back to her attempts to clean up after herself, to do at least one small thing before the monster trapped her. There wasn''t much she could do to make up to this unknown person, but she could still try! Jun pushed herself up, wincing as her ankle flared with pain. With a muffled grunt, she limped over to the grave in front of her and carefully dug out the bones, soon revealing most of a skeleton. The bone she''d tripped over was the skeleton''s arm, it''s hand buried by the pile of rubble on the other side of the path from her. Turning to the other pile, she repeated her work, stones clattering as she moved them by hand, searching for the skeleton''s hand. She soon found the skeleton''s hand and quickly worked to free it, but its fingers were wrapped tight around something. Sighing, she continued her excavation, quickly revealing that the hand was clasped around the shaft of a weapon! Caked dirt compacted around the hand, holding it tight around the shaft of the weapon. Jun gently brushed the caked dirt away, layer by layer, before the skeletal hand released, allowing her to pull it free and bring it together with the rest of the now laid out skeleton. She gathered rocks and pebbles from the piles she''d dug through and painstakingly buried the skeleton.
The light in the cavern brightened and began to wane again before she was done with her task. Where before there had been a narrow path between two piles of rubble there was now a neatly arranged third pile greater than the two before and a much wider path between the two now much smaller piles. Jun wiped the sweat from her brow, leaving behind a muddy streak from her dirt encrusted hands, then clasped them together and bowed her head toward the new grave in prayer. "I''m sorry for disturbing your rest. May your next life be filled with happiness and joy, wherever it leads you." Memories of her own experience came back unbidden. She wasn''t sure if the person whose remains she''d buried would have a similar experience or not, and she wasn''t sure if anything she did mattered, but her spirit felt lighter for it anyways. Whether it mattered or not to the universe, it was important to her. She hadn''t known this person in life, but the least she could do is respect them in death. Shoulders drooping, she ended her silent contemplation and looked up at the skylight above. She''d run in here sometime in the middle of the morning, but the angle of the light had nearly reversed since she''d first come in here. It was getting late, and the monster might still be blocking the exit from the cave. She wondered idly if the cat would be back soon, expecting her to feed him. Wait... the monster! The cat! Fear shot through her for the cute black cat that''d helped her yesterday. It might not know about the monster that was bigger than her sleeping in the cave! Images of the cat coming back expecting dinner, only to be attacked by the monster filled head alongside a rising feeling of dread. She couldn''t let that happen! She wouldn''t! But what could she do? It wasn''t like she was a soldier. She''d never really fought before, just that one time back then... No. Can''t think about that now! The dark memories that had tried to sneak back out were brutally crushed back down. She thought about the monster, about how big it was. She needed a weapon. The knife she''d left by the campfire was sharp, but it was more tool than weapon. She wasn''t sure that would be enough. Jun glanced at the rocks around her before her gaze landed on the recently constructed cairn. If only she had a weapon like that person had...her eyes snapped back to where she''d freed the person''s hand. There was a weapon there! It might be old, but it might be better than nothing! Hobbling back to where she''d extracted the hand, she hurriedly swept away the remaining dirt and rocks and pulled the weapon free, shaking and brushing the worst of the caked on dirt away. Her eyes widened and a slight smile curved her lips as its form was revealed. This should work! Clutching her new weapon in her hands, she turned back to the grave of the unknown person and bowed in thanks. "I''m sorry again for disturbing your rest, and I''m sorry I''m taking your weapon, but I need it. May the universe bless you." She pushed all of her intent into her apology, not sure if it was just her imagination as she felt something warm flow out of her chest. Straightening her back, Jun turned back toward the tunnel that led back to camp and the monster. Squeezing the weapon tight, she felt warmth flood her limbs. "Let''s do this." Chapter 6: This cave aint big enough for the both of us, pal! Jun winced as she tore another long strip of cloth from the bottom of her skirt. She hadn''t even had her new clothes for a day and she''d already practically destroyed them! She vowed to herself that once she got to civilization, she''d get all the clothes! The scavenged weapon was a strange one. It looked like a large wand or baton with a sword blade stuck on the end. When she''d first dug it up, she thought it might be a spear that had been broken in half, especially since it had seemed unusually light. But after scraping off the worst of the caked dirt, it''s true form was revealed to be a long blade attached to a short staff, almost like a short sword with an unusually long hilt. The blade was about one and half feet long that vaguely reminded her of a machete mixed with a katana. The cutting edge extended the full length of one side of the blade and only a third of the reverse, with several small blue gems were embedded near the base along the blunt bottom two thirds of the blade. The gems were surprisingly beautiful, and she couldn''t help but wonder if the weapon she''d uncovered was more functional or more decoration. A circular hand guard separated the blade from the handle, which was short for a spear but long for a sword, only a few inches longer than her arm measured from finger tips to shoulder. The bottom of the handle had another circular hand guard which separated it from a heavy weight that looked like an elongated tear drop. The entire thing seemed to be made up of the same bluish silver metal, though she couldn''t be sure in the dim light of the cavern with dirt still stubbornly clinging to portions of it. When she''d rested the weapon from the tip of the blade touching the ground the silvery blue weapon came up to her chest. It was a bit of an awkwardly proportioned weapon, but its surprising lightness made it easy enough for her to carry. She''d done a few test swings and stabs with it that had felt awkward at first, but she quickly became accustomed to the strange weapon. It wasn''t until she got back to the ledge above the campfire though that she realized it was too awkward a thing to carry while climbing back down, leading to her current work. Working by the light of the campfire that she was surprised to see still burning below, she cut off strips of fabric from the bottom of her skirt and tied them into makeshift straps that she used to carefully secure the weapon at an angle across her back. Having the blade of weapon so close to her head made her nervous, especially with how sharp it seemed to be with how easily it''d cut through the sturdy fabric backed leather of her skirt. Her formerly ankle length skirt now came up to her knees to give her enough strips to tie the not-spear to her back in a mostly secure manner. The climb back down the ledge was much slower than the climb up had been as it required Jun to search out each foothold by touch. There were several close calls where her booted foot failed to catch on a foothold properly and she nearly fell, only her desperate grip on her handholds and slow going keeping her from falling. Each near fall frayed her nerves not only at getting hurt if she fell, but in fear that the monster could hear any noise she made and come to investigate. Jun was certain that if that happened, she would definitely be torn apart by the creature before she could climb back up or get her weapon out to be of any use. As her foot touched the smooth cavern floor next to the campfire, Jun let out a quiet sight of relief. Firmly planted on the ground with the monster nowhere in sight, Jun took a moment to catch her breath before tugging the not-spear loose. She gave it a few more experimental swings, the silver blade gleaming in the light of the campfire. She was surprised at first to see it still burning, but she didn''t have time to figure that out. The cat or its owner could come back any moment, and she had to take care of the monster before then so it didn''t hurt them!This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Jun inched closer to the edge of the cave wall that separated the camp site from the front of the cave, her hands nervously gripping the not-spear and straining her ears to hear anything beyond the soft scuffing of her footsteps and her heart hammering in her chest. Poking her head out around the corner, she felt a mix of terror and relief to see that the monster was still curled up, it''s previously unnoticed tail wrapped around it. Jun took a steadying breath and quietly stepped out around the corner, the not-spear extended out in front of her. This was it. She either chased off or killed the monster, or it killed her, and surprised the cat and it''s still-absent owner when they came back, probably killing them too! She couldn''t let that happen, not to the cat who''d helped her, even if it was a bit condescending, nor the cat''s owner who might be able to help her get her bearings in this new world. Taking a final deep breath, Jun let out a battle cry and charged at the sleeping monster, the not-spear extended out and pointed at its side! A loud roar violently shook the cave as the not-spear stabbed into the monster''s side, deflecting off a bone and leaving a short, shallow gash along its ribs. The monster leapt back on all fours as it bellowed in pain! The monster stood with its back to the cave wall opposite Jun, it''s body angled to block the cave''s exit. Jun shakily pointed the not-spear at the gorilla-lizard-dog''s chest, her heart beating wildly as adrenaline flooded her system. The beast snarled at her, baring its fangs as it suddenly swiped at her with its hubcap sized paws! Jun jerked to the side but she wasn''t fast enough to fully avoid the blow. Her scream pierced through the air as the creature''s claw ripped a jagged gash down her left arm and knocked her to the ground. The cave shook as the creature''s massive paw slammed into the ground, its claws piercing deep into the stone and getting stuck! Gritting her teeth, Jun rolled away from the monster and back up to her feet, clutching her weapon in her uninjured hand. She swung the not-spear in a one-handed backhand as if it were a baseball batt. The blade sunk deep into the creature''s pinned arm and ripped through it like butter, carving a gash from it''s wrist to it''s shoulder! The swing threw Jun off balance as the expected resistance never materialized. Instead of taking advantage of Jun''s vulnerability, the monster jerked away from her, managing to free it''s claw as it did. Dragging it''s injured limb, it backed away from her, its eyes darting between the gleaming weapon that hurt it, and the cave''s mouth to its back. Baring its fangs at her, it snarled and quickly turned, lashing out at her with it''s powerful tail! The scaly appendage knocked her into the wall, the impact driving the air from her lungs. Panicking, Jun flailed at the tail and scored a lucky hit that severed the last foot of the muscular tail. It was the monster''s turn to scream as it flicked the remains of its tail away from her and beat a hasty retreat into the clearing outside. The clamor of angry snarls, crashes, and branches snapping came from the clearing as Jun wheezed from having the air knocked out of her. Pushing herself off the cave wall, she followed after the monster into the clearing, intent on finishing the fight. Jun wobbled at the mouth of the cave, her weapon gripped tightly in her remaining good hand as she scanned the clearing for her wounded foe. It wasn''t there. A trail of dark red blood, crushed vegetation, and broken branches showed where it had passed through the clearing in a hurry as it rushed into the ring of trees that enclosed most of it. The adrenaline in pumping through her veins vanished, taking with it the well of energy that had fueled her desperate fight. Jun slumped to her knees, the not-spear clattering to ground beside her as a mixture of shock and relief came over her. She''d done it! She chased the monster off! Reflexively, she raised her arms up to cheer, but was surprised when only her right hand entered her vision. Turning her head, she looked down at her left hand, her eyes following the trail of blood up her arm to the large gash running from the top of her shoulder down to her elbow. As if seeing it with her own eyes reminded her body of the injury, a wave of pain radiated from her left arm! Her head swam as she suddenly grew lightheaded and nauseous. Bile rose up in her throat as she vomited down her front, adding to the blood and dirt covering her. "Oh. That''s not good." Everything went black. Chapter 7: Shut up and drink the soup! Jun was burning. The flames crackled as they seared her skin, the smell of roasting meat filling her nostrils. She tried to roll around to extinguish the flames, but she was tied up and couldn''t move. Evil laughter filled the air as she struggled against her bonds, failing to break free.
"Drink." A bowl pressed against Jun''s lips and a warm liquid that tasted of bitter herbs trickled in. She swallowed the liquid reflexively before lapsing back into unconsciousness.
The flames burned their way up her legs, leaving a charred mess behind them as they consumed her flesh. She tried to scream for help, for mercy, for someone to do something, anything, but her voice wouldn''t work. Shadowy figures stared at her with angry eyes, their smiles twisted with glee as they watched her burn.
Jun''s eyes fluttered open. A blurry dark figure stood above her as she felt a bowl touch her lips. "Drink." Jun opened her mouth as the bitter liquid poured in. She swallowed the small mouthful mechanically and closed her eyes again.
Strength left her. Voices whispered in her ear as the flames ate their way up her body. "Why struggle, why fight?" "You''re weak." "You''re nothing." "Just give in." "You deserve this." "Give up." She was exhausted. Maybe the voices were right. Maybe she should just give up.
Something soft brushed against her cheek as the bowl came back to her lips, demanding entry. "Drink." She drank mechanically, the warm liquid leaving a trail of warmth down her throat before darkness consumed her.
The fire seared her chest and melted her flesh. Her tears boiled. Dark hands rose up from the abyss and grabbed her blackened limbs. Jun screamed silently as they began to drag her down.
More liquid poured down her throat. She didn''t wake.
"Enough." Golden energy burst from her burnt body, filling the abyss with twinkling stars. Charred skin sloughed off her body to reveal pristine flesh beneath. The ruined and discarded flesh clumped together in a ball and fled from the light into the abyss.
Jun''s eyes cracked open to see the soot stained ceiling of the cavern above her. Dancing shadows played across it in the flickering light of the ever burning campfire. Her throat was dry, her tongue felt fuzzy and swollen. She tried to summon some saliva to moisten her tongue and wet her lips, but her mouth was a desert. She tried to recall what had happened, but the memories were slow to come back. The pounding in her head didn''t make things any easier. She remembered a cave and a fresh grave with an ancient body. A weird weapon. A fight. A hulking monster. Flashing claws. Blood. Memories of her adventure deeper into the cave and the harrowing fight with the monster flashed through her mind. The soft scratch of claws on stone reached her ears and set her heart pounding, adrenaline beginning to surge through her veins. The monster! Jun bolted up and whipped her head towards the sound, the sudden movement sending a thick blanket flying off of her as she wildly looked around for the monster through blurred vision. Seeing a dark blob moving towards her, she flinched, then moaned in pain as her tensed muscles began to spasm wildly. Her muscles locked up and she lost her balance as she fell on her side. Whimpering in pain, she struggled against her own rebelling body, not willing to go down without a fight! "Your bravery is commendable kitten, but you shouldn''t move so suddenly after injuries like that, your body hasn''t caught up to the healing yet." The blurry dark figure said to her in a feminine voice with an amused tone. She felt something brush lightly against her as a soothing warmth spread through her body, quickly soothing her spasming muscles. She felt a pair of hands grab her and gently pull her up. "Sit up, slowly.¡± The hands carefully guided her to a soft pile of furs before pushing her back to be propped up against what felt like a large pile of hay that smelled strongly of flowers. The smell was revitalizing, helping her to clear the cobwebs from her mind as she leaned against them and inhaled the refreshing scent.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. She opened her mouth to thank the kind stranger who helped her, only to feel a wooden bowl press against her lips. A strong herbal smell with an undercurrent of meat filled her nostrils. ¡°Drink the soup, it will help.¡± Her stomach rumbled in agreement. Jun slurped noisily at the broth, swallowing half a mouthful before the astringent, bitter, watery brew with an aftertaste of meat registered. She spluttered as she turned her head to the side and instinctively spit the nasty concoction out, coughing and retching as she tried to get the taste out of her mouth. ¡°None of that now!¡± The mysterious woman who¡¯d fed her the broth said, scolding Jun as she coughed and gagged. ¡°White Nettle and Mender¡¯s Root soup is good for you! I even helped with the taste by blending it with a broth made with my favorite meat!¡± Jun shook her head weakly, the overwhelming taste still coating her tongue. It was by far the worst thing she¡¯d ever tasted, far worse than the traditional medicinal soups she recalled her grandmother on her mother¡¯s side preparing for her as a child in her past life. Medicine in soup form was the worst! ¡°You won¡¯t be wasting all my hard work over a little bit of bitterness, will you?!¡± The woman half asked, half demanded, reminding her of her stern grandmother from her past life. Jun cringed and tensed, half expecting to feel the stinging slap of a bamboo rod against her legs, but no blow came. Instead, she felt the bowl move to her lips and push insistently against them. Resigned, she coated her tongue in as much saliva as she could muster to try and limit how much of the medicine she would taste, then took a much smaller sip. The trick didn¡¯t help. Turning her brain off as best she could, Jun decided to just empty the bowl as quickly as possible, gulping in as large mouthfuls as she could handle until the bowl was drained. Her stomach gurgled as she leaned back, partially full but deeply unhappy with the meal Jun had provided it. The strong floral scent of her cushion helped pull her focus from the bitter, meaty aftertaste in her mouth and prison riot in her stomach. Taking deep breaths in and out, Jun began to relax and soon drifted off to sleep. Her rest this time was dreamless and when she woke her body felt lighter, her muscles whole and relaxed. Rubbing the gunk of sleep from her eyes, she opened them to find her vision clear and her head no longer pounded when she moved it. Testing her shoulder, she was surprised to feel no pain and when she looked the only proof of where the monster had ripped through her flesh was a long jagged scar that ran from her shoulder to her elbow. She was in the camp the cat had shown her to before but some things had moved around and new things had shown up. Jun sat upon a thick pile of furs, and the floral smelling pile of vegetation she reclined against turned out to be some kind of dried flower with dark petals that looked black in the dimly lit cave camp. Looking down, she noted that she was naked again, none of the clothes but her boots in sight. The boots were set to the side of the furs, the supple leather flopped to one side. Testing her body, she slowly pushed herself up and took a few tentative steps around the camp as she looked at the changes more closely. She was left alone in the camp, no trace of the friendly cat or the strange woman that must be the cat''s owner save the few things she spotted laying about. The strange campfire still burned, but it had been moved from the center of the alcove to a previously unnoticed dip in the wall of the alcove. The fire was now enclosed by a half ring of flat rocks upon which rested several spoons and wooden bowls, and where there had been a roasting haunch of meat on a spit before, there was now a small pot hanging from the spit pushed off to one side. She could tell where it had been in the center of the alcove before, the spot still stained with ash though it appeared to have been swept recently. Investigating the small pot with a sniff, she grimaced at the bitter herbal smell emanating from it through the closed lid, her stomach roiling at the memory of the soup''s taste. A more pleasant find to her was the not-spear she found laying on the rock that previously been used as a shelf for utensils. A crude looking leather sheath now covered the blade and scraps of leather lay scattered around it. The shaft gleamed in the flickering firelight now where before it had been muted and smudged by caked on dirt, revealing a spiraling pattern that wrapped around the handle and ran along its entire length. Grabbing the not-spear to bring with her, she quickly slipped on her leather boots and exited the cave. Evidence of Jun''s fight with the monster were still present in the form of dried spots of blood on the stone floor leading out to the clearing. Her eyes briefly watered and flared with pain as she stepped into the sunlit clearing until she adjusted from the dimly lit cave. The monster''s path of destruction was still obvious in the form of crushed and trampled plants and a new gap in the small trees around the clearing''s edge where it had burst through. A line had been strung across that gap between two trees, and several pieces of clothes were hung to dry. Her eyes immediately snapped to the shirt with a dark stain running from the left shoulder down to the elbow length sleeve and the short skirt with a raggedy edge hanging next to it. "Nice to see you awake kitten." The woman''s voice called out from behind her. Turning, Jun instinctively bowed towards where she''d heard the voice come from and hurriedly spoke. "Thank you for taking care of me! I know we haven''t officially met yet, but I''m Jun. Your cat found me in the woods and brought me here. I hope that''s alright?" Jun heard as something move toward her and opened her eyes to see the black cat that had guided her here sitting and staring up at her with unblinking yellowish green eyes. "We''ve already met before Jun. I am Shiori and I am my own master." Shiori the black cat flicked her tail back and forth, her voice amused. "And also yours, my adopted kitten." Chapter 8: Oh no the boxes are back! ¡°But I¡¯m a human, not a kitten!¡± ¡±You look like a kitten to me.¡± ¡±I don¡¯t have ears on the top of my head!¡± ¡±I know. You need to work on your hearing little kitten.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not covered in fur!¡± ¡°The universe can¡¯t bless us all equally. You should put on a shirt before you get cold.¡± ¡±I don¡¯t have a tail!¡± ¡±And you¡¯re all the clumsier for that lack, but what is it but just another obstacle to overcome.¡± ¡±I don¡¯t run around showing off my butthole to everyone!¡± ¡±When we first met, you were showing off more than that. You¡¯re doing it again now.¡± ¡±Argh!¡± ¡±Lets go get you some soup, your voice sounds weird.¡± ¡±Wait, what is tha¡ª?! How are you¡ª?! Put me down!¡± ¡±Drink your soup kitten.¡± ¡±I am not a kitten!¡±
Jun silently fumed as she choked down another mouthful of the bitter soup. The cat¡ª Shiori, she mentally corrected herself, had done something strange. One moment she¡¯d been arguing with a cat, a talking cat! And the next she¡¯d felt herself get lifted up by some strange force and floated behind the cat as she led them back into the cavern and roughly dropped on the pile of furs. She¡¯d watched in mixed shock and fascination as the cover of the pot slid to the side and a stream of sludgy green liquid flew from the small pot on its own to land in a floating wooden bowl that then zipped over to press against her lips. So preoccupied was she with this casual display of what definitely had to be real magic, that she didn¡¯t realize the bowl had started tipping before the bitter liquid flooded into her mouth and down her chin! Doing her best not to retch, she forced the bitter brew down and snatched the bowl from the air before it could force feed her more of the vile liquid. Drops of the stuff dribbled down her chin as she shot a death glare at Shiori. "I can feed myself!" The cat turned her head to stare at a wall, ignoring Jun''s protest. Jun jerked as the invisible force holding the bowl aloft vanished, spilling some of the contents over herself. Shooting a death glare at the cat, Jun grumbled under her breath. "You were cuter when you were just a talking cat." Shiori''s ears twitched slightly and returned Jun''s glare with the indifferent stare of a predator contemplating if you''d make a better snack or toy. "Do you need help drinking your soup kitten?" Jun yelped as she felt an invisible force press down on her, freezing her in place as the cauldron rose into the air, orbited by several more wooden bowls. Cringing at the display, she shook her head back and forth as much as the force would let her. "No no no no! I can feed myself!" Jun strained against the force, trying to pull the bowl toward her mouth. The force suddenly vanished and Jun, no longer restrained, sent the bowl flying towards her own face with all her might! She reacted quickly enough to stop pulling on the bowl, but inertia was a cruel law of the universe, reminding Jun of it''s existence as the warm sludge splashed her in the face! Wiping the soup from her eyes, Jun turned to glare at the cat as she began cleaning herself. She did that on purpose! Shiori cracked an eye open to look at Jun as she licked her paw. Jun shook with impotent rage at the cat''s demeanor as the droplets of soup gathered in a ball in front of her, each droplet floating out from her hair and off of her skin until every drop of the spilled soup came together in an amorphous blob before dropping back into the empty wooden bowl in Jun''s hands. "Oh dear kitten, you''ve made a mess of yourself. You really should be more careful when you eat." Staring at the casual display of magic Jun hadn''t even thought was possible just a few days ago, she sighed in resignation and pulled the bowl to her lips. Each sip was as bad as the last so she hurriedly drank it in as large mouthfuls as she could handle, quickly draining the bowl. At least it was over now. "Good, you have your appetite back. Finish the pot." Jun''s tongue recoiled as the floating cauldron landed in front of her, steam curling from the top as the lid was removed to reveal unidentifiable chunks of meat floating in the green sludge amidst roughly chopped chunks of some root and half disintegrated shreds of a dark green leaf. The pot had seemed much smaller hanging by the fire. Grimacing, Jun dipped her bowl into the pot and began to eat, swallowing the chunks and broth while chewing as little as possible. Some time later, Jun felt like she was going to burst as she dropped the wooden bowl into the pot alongside a few bones and the dregs of the nasty soup. The only thing keeping her from hurling it all back up was willpower and the memory of what had happened the first time she''d spit some back up. She shivered at the memory of her spewing it out, only for the soup to float into ball and shoot back into her mouth. She hadn''t thought it could taste any worse, but she''d been wrong! Groaning, Jun leaned back against the pile of refreshing smelling flowers and took slow deep breaths. She imagined herself as an engine, her stomach the gas tank, and the soup as fuel. In her mental image, she pictured the engine revving, burning the soup to fuel her body, strengthening her muscles, southing the aches in her muscles, and powering her mind. Picturing the image again and again, she imagined the engine slowly using up the soup-fuel, consuming the excess. She wasn''t sure how long she sat there for, but slowly the painful fullness in her stomach subsided to a dull ache. Opening her eyes, she recoiled back as she saw Shiori''s furry face hovering just a few inches away and staring intently!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "Well that was surprising kitten. Where did you learn to cultivate?" "Cultivate? Like growing plants?" Jun absently rubbed her still sore stomach. What did that have to do with anything? "Refining yourself to be stronger with the energy of the universe. Cultivating the energy to enhance yourself. Touching the true magic. Enforcing your will on reality. Whatever fanciful way it was said." The cat''s voice dripped with derision as it stared more intently at Jun. The cat''s eyes moved, tracing a pattern from Jun''s head down to her chest, before coming to a rest at a spot just above Jun''s belly button. The cat lazily drifted back in the air while she stared at that spot, before suddenly snapping her gaze up to glare at her with widened pupils blazing with fury! "Open your status page! Now!" Jun stared back at her with a mix of fear and confusion at the cute but terrifying cat''s sudden ferocity. "Status page?" The words brought back Jun''s confusing first few moments in the new world, the boxes that had randomly popped up in the space between lives that had briefly followed her into this world. A screen that had summarized who she was, that could be summoned if she just thought the proper phrase with the right intent. System Status.
Karmic Balance: 150,210,661,343 (-4,000,000)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 100/100
Stats: MIND - 15 (+5 from karmic fortification)
CON - 11 (+1 from karmic fortification)
STR - 10
AGI - 10
DEX - 10
CHA - 15
SPR - 10
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder])
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation]
Jun jerked back as the screen suddenly appeared in her vision, blocking Shiori from sight! The hovering black cat''s eyes began to glow a golden yellow as she turned to look at where Jun''s screen hovered in her vision. "Interesting. Your system hasn''t synced to Merinthia''s yet." As Jun watched, Shiori floated over to the screen and pawed at it, manipulating the screen! Smaller boxes began to rapidly pop up and disappear with a swipe of the cat''s paw. Faster and faster she moved, until Shiori''s paws became a blur of movement that Jun couldn''t make any sense of! After what felt like minutes, but had only been a few seconds, Shiori''s paws stopped moving, leaving 3 screens floating in Jun''s vision.
System upgraded to Merinthia Ver. 6.2.06.107c! Leveling unlocked! You may now be empowered by the world! Unlocked balance subsystem! You may now receive quests!
NEW QUEST ADDED! Introduction to Magic 101! (MANDATORY)
Learn the basics of magic from Shiori, [TITLE REDACTED]. Drink the soup. Survive.
Rewards: Repaired foundation, varies. Penalty for Failure: Loss of [Touched by Karma] and [Born of Karma], increased risk of corruption.
Karmic Balance: 150,210,661,343 (-4,000,000)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 0 (17/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 53/100
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Fractured, Integrity critical
Stats: MIND - 15 (+5 from karmic fortification)
CON - 11 (+1 from karmic fortification)
STR - 10
AGI - 10
DEX - 10
CHA - 15
SPR - 10
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder])
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation]
Quests: Introduction to Magic 101
Jun read the screens with growing horror. Losing traits? Risk of corruption? Fractured core? Adopted Kitten?! A small paw gently patted her on the cheek, drawing her attention back to the hovering cat. "We have work to do, and not much time to do it. It''s time for class kitten." Chapter 9: Emotional Support Shiori Jun yelped as she was roughly dropped in the clearing outside atop a smooth and flat rock. Wincing at her stinging bottom, she shot a glare at the cat that kept throwing her around using magical telekinetic powers. "Wha¡ª" Jun began, but she felt the cat''s magical force slap over her mouth, preventing her from talking. Shiori floated back and forth in front of Jun, her tail flicking back and forth as her back paws dangled as if she was mid jump. "Whoever taught you how to cultivate was an absolute idiot." The black cat whirled around in the air and jabbed a paw at Jun, freezing her into place as she tried to quietly slip off the rock and run away. "You managed to reinforce your mind and enhance your vitality, but you did too much, too fast, too sloppily. You not only wasted whatever universal energy you spent on it, but you hurt yourself in the process. You weakened your core even as you reinforced yourself, and the pressure of your own soul could finish the job!" The cat''s rage-filled words hung in air as her presence seemed to grow. No longer was she a cute magical cat that could float around and talk. She had the presence of a wrathful war god. Her very words felt like a thousand deadly weapons were being casually waved about, threatening imminent and extreme violence! As suddenly as the supernatural feeling of violence appeared, it vanished, Shiori gracefully dropping to the ground and landing on her paws. For a moment, she once again seemed like a mundane black cat, but Jun felt terrified at what she''d seen lay beyond that mask. Jun shivered as Shiori continued ranting about how bad whatever this cultivation thing was. She still wasn''t entirely sure what the cat was talking about though, the only thing coming to mind was a memory of a dreamlike place and a screen talking about her fortifying herself. Maybe that was it? "Um, hey!" "¡ªfind whatever negligent dumbass taught my kitten such shitty technique and show them¡ª" "Hey, uh... Shiori!" "¡ªwhat real magic is! I''ll rip out their spine and heal them and rip it out again then¡ª" "M-Master Shiori!" "¡ªso hard their ancestors will¡ª" Shiori paused and turned to look at Jun, her mouth fangs bared and claws extended from her front paws in mid-swipe at an invisible enemy. "Yes kitten?" "U-um... I don''t think what I did was this cultivating, and no one taught me, you see..." Jun quickly told the cat what she could remember about being in the space between lives, how she''d been given the opportunity to reincarnate, the dreamlike sea, and how she''d just done something that helped her deal with it. Shiori closed her mouth, her whiskers twitching as she stared at the wayward kitten in front of her. "You stupid, reckless kitten!" She hissed, her ears flattening against her head. "Of course that was cultivation! And clearly bad cultivation at that! Sit!" Her command boomed out, echoing across the clearing and bouncing off the ridge above! Jun flashed back to the summers she''d spent with her maternal grandmother before her family had moved to her father''s hometown. How the strict woman would force her to sit on her knees in the "proper Japanese way," hitting her with a thin bamboo switch for every mistake in her posture or position. She immediately tucked her legs under herself and sat up straight with her hands clasped together in her lap, back rigid and her body slightly trembling. Shiori sighed, her ears returning to their usual perked position as she gazed upon her trembling new kitten. "Not like that. Sit comfortably kitten." Jun felt the cat''s powers reach out and gently pull at her, coaxing her to shift until she sat cross legged upon the rock. She slouched slightly as her trembling faded, her muscles unclenching from the rigid posture. Shiori nodded in a distinctly human fashion at Jun. "Good, now stick your right hand out." Jun stuck her hand out toward the cat and watched as she floated down until her hind paws rested in the palm of her hand, then placed her front paws upon Jun''s forehead. "Close your eyes, breathe, and relax." Jun did as instructed, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths. "Clear your mind as best you can." Jun pictured all the thoughts in her head as pieces of paper. One by one, she filed them away in an imaginary filing cabinet identical to one she''d seen in her father''s shop in her past life. Idle thoughts and worries continued to pop into her head. What was going on? Why was she here? Is it dumb of her to just go along with everything this cat was saying? What if she just got up and left? Why''d she choose a world with magic? What did the people on Earth think of her death? Did anyone even care? Each thought she did her best to file away, some staying put away but others coming back again and again. Her thoughts pulled her attention so completely that she barely heard Shiori''s voice as she spoke again. "This will be uncomfortable, but it needs to be done kitten." Jun felt pinpricks of pain as Shiori''s claws dug into her skin and a cold energy trickled into her, radiating out from the claws in her forehead. At the same time, Shiori''s invisible energy wrapped around her body, firmly but gently holding her in place. The energy surged into her brain and she could feel it consuming something, her thoughts moving slower and slower, memories fading bit by bit. She couldn''t move, only feeling a muted sense of horror and wrongness as the cold energy multiplied as it gorged upon her mind, The energy then moved down through her body, filling her veins with an icy chill, where it began to feed again, but at a slower pace. Her body grew weaker, her muscles beginning to ache in places as the energy did its work. As suddenly as the vampiric energy had begun its feeding, it ceased, slowly withdrawing from her body until she felt it get sucked up into the cat''s claws. As soon as the vampiric energy was gone, a gentle warmth began to flow from the Shiori''s claws into Jun. The energy began to concentrate in her forehead, the heat slowly growing as the energy built and built. The warmth had crossed from pleasant to uncomfortable, and sweat started to bead out of Jun''s skin. "Kitten, you need to cycle the energy. Grab it with your will, guide it to your pathways, and will it to aid you!" Shiori''s shouted command filled her ears and she struggled to obey, but how? How did someone grab energy with their will? The energy began to sear and burn as it grew stronger and stronger. Jun''s body felt like it was on fire, just like when¡ª images of a sneering face staring at her through roaring flames filled her head. Jun mentally recoiled, fleeing as the thoughts hounded her. She felt an alien mind wake in the dark corners of her mind and flex it''s presence, shrouding everything in shadow. The crumpled balls of memories she''d shoved deep down flew out of the dark, their appearance wrinkled and black and surrounded Jun''s mental image of herself. The crumpled balls slowly unfolded, flattening out into wrinkled black papers upon which were shown her deepest fears and most painful memories. The papers began to swirl around her, slowly closing in as they increased in speed until they formed a tornado of black papers that trapped her in place! A gust of wind suddenly burst through the tornado and disrupted it, sending the wrinkled papers flying away from her to fall in haphazard piles around her mind. "So that''s what''s going on." Shiori''s calm voice reverberated through Jun''s mind as a second massive presence made itself known. A large panther emerged from the shadows of Jun''s mind, its fur black as void and marked with twinkling white lights, and wrapped its long tail protectively around her. As the panther''s tail touched her, Jun felt Shiori''s presence in the alien intelligence, it''s thoughts hard to follow and understand.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The piles of paper trembled and rushed into the air, shooting and writhing together, forming into the shape of a sinuous dragon with jagged black and red scales that seemed to drip blood. Obsidian black claws flexed and dripped an oily sludge that burst into flames as the black dragon bared its teeth and snarled at them. "You dare interfere! You do not belong here, cat! This is my territory! My lair! Mine!" The dragon roared and reared back, then suddenly breathed orange, red, and black flames at them! Jun trembled and curled into a ball as images of her flesh burning and melting assaulted her mind and froze her with fear. She felt the heat of the flames rushing at them and closed her eyes, preparing to feel the searing pain of burning alive all over again! The flames never arrived. Shaking, Jun opened her eyes to see a thin purple barrier surrounding them, the dragon''s flames wrapping around the shield as the dragon roared with rage! The dragon sent blast after blast against the purple barrier, but it held firm, the flames doing nothing but dissipating harmlessly against it! The panther flicked it''s tail in irritation and the purple barrier began to quickly expand outward, steadily pushing the blasts of flame back. The dragon raged, sending stronger and stronger blasts of fire that shook Jun''s mind with each explosion, but the barrier advanced unimpeded. Strands of purple energy shot out from the barrier and wrapped around the dragon, suddenly restraining it and tying it down. The dragon thrashed and struggled against its bindings, but the bands of purple energy were unyielding. The rest of the barrier closed in around the dragon, forming a perfect sphere around it that began to constrict and compact down! The ball of energy shrunk down to the size of a baseball, shaking as the dragon roared and fought, before it suddenly stilled and shot off into the darkness, dragging the shadows shrouding her mind with it. The panther turned to look at Jun, nodding once before padding behind her. Jun whirled around to follow it, but it was gone, along with the alien minds she''d felt. Jun''s mind space began to brighten, revealing a sheltered clearing with a dry spring nestled against bare stone ridges as she felt a warm energy flowing into her. Instinctively, she grabbed the energy and directed it at the dry spring in the clearing where it seeped into the cracks of the dry, dusty spring bed. Crystal clear water began to gush from between the cracks, quickly filling the spring bed until it overflowed. The crystal waters flowed across the clearing, filling organic lines that were hidden beneath the dust of the bare earth. The golden energy followed the water, pushing the dust along the channels until the energy infused waters reached the edge of the clearing, where they burst over the side in a waterfall, expelling the dust! The flow of warm energy slowly waned and vanished, but the spring continued to flow, gently pushing more and more dust and debris along the channels until fell over the side of the waterfalls at the edge. A mix of lightness and exhaustion filled her as she looked around the clearing, before spotting a small bench set against the bare stone wall of the ridge above. She sat upon the bench and leaned back, closing her eyes to the sound of the bubbling spring and roaring waterfalls, and let the exhaustion take her.
Jun opened her eyes as Shiori retracted her claws, leaving her skin unmarked as she did. Her entire body ached, but her mind felt light and clear. Her status screen was still open in her vision and several more screens had popped up beside it.
Your karmic fortification has been consumed! -5 MIND, -1 CON.
WARNING: Hostile entity detected! Soul under attack!
Trait [Affinity Hoarder] has been sealed and is no longer available!
You have assisted in the defeat of a [Soul Parasite]! Advancement proportional to your contribution granted!
Congratulations! You have gained a level! +1 to MIND, CON, STR, AGI, DEX, CHA, SPR!
Core stabilized. Beginning automatic repair... Repair successful. Inject karma to restart. Injection successful. -350,000,000 karma Standby for expulsion of karmic debris.
Your skills have advanced! You have developed new skills!
Congratulations! You have gained a level! +1 to MIND, CON, STR, AGI, DEX, CHA, SPR!
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,343 (-350,000,000)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 2 (49/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 07/110
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 13
CON - 13
STR - 13
AGI - 13
DEX - 13
CHA - 18
SPR - 13
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 1) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0)
Quests: Introduction to Magic 101
Jun read over the screens. That dragon was a [Soul Parasite]? She''d lost stats? One of her traits was sealed?! She''d gained levels and skills? What did "expulsion of karmic debris" mean? "Congratulations kitten. Now you''re ready to begin learning magic." Shiori sat on the grassy ground, no longer hovering. Jun opened her mouth to reply when her stomach gurgled, and she felt the beginnings of a cramp in her abdomen. A foul stench began to fill the air and Jun retched. The smell was worse than anything she''d ever smelled before! Looking around for the source of the stench, she saw thick black gunk beginning to bead on her pale skin and puddle upon the rock she sat cross legged upon. Her boots began to feel squishy as they filled with some kind of sludge. A wave of disgust and embarrassment came over her as she realized that that smell came from her! Panicked, she looked up at Shiori, only to see that the cat had retreated across the clearing, and a clear purple barrier of energy had sprung up around her, enclosing Jun, the rock, and all of the sludge that continued to pour out of her! "But first," Shiori''s voice whispered in her ears with a hint of a smile, "you need a bath, my unhygienic little kitten." Interlude: Forest Life Snapping branches and anger fueled snarls silenced the sounds of the forest. Forest creatures large and small skittered and fled and hid from the disturbance. The source of the racket was a hulking kobold that crashed through the trees in an awkward three-limbed lope. One of it''s claws was cradled close to his chest, a long gash running down it and lightly weeping blood. A smaller wound could be seen in it''s side, already scabbed over, and the tip of his tail had been severed. Draxar snarled as he crashed through another in a long line of bushes on his zigzagging run through the forest. He forged a new path through, randomly switching directions and traveling through difficult terrain, sometimes leaping from tree to tree and other times simply crashing through them as he fled the tiny human pest that had wounded him. Him! A kobold of the great Kou clan in the forest of Kresh! Memories of the fresh encounter flashed through his head. The cowardly human had ambushed him while he slept, exhausted from a long and fruitless hunt! He could already hear the calm, rational voice of his warrior mentor telling him it was his fault. He was too overconfident, too full of pride. Draxar snarled again, banishing the image of smirking, know-it-all Onyr''s face. The so called logical way was weak! Even now the humans forayed deeper into the forest, and the tribe in their cowardice had forbidden any fights! The council claimed the humans wouldn''t penetrate the deeper reaches of the forest, that the Forest King would deal with them if they did. But Draxar was no fool. He saw how the leaders whispered, how the sentries paid special attention to the forest core. The stronger creatures of the deep forest had begun to encroach on the tribe''s territory. Everyone at the den had known within hours when the first hunting party failed to return. The warriors who had been sent out to retrieve them had found only scraps. Then they''d been ambushed by the spiderlings. Those web obsessed freaks had hurled accusations that the Kou clan had taken their great ancestor, and demanded their return. Or so said the only warrior to make it back, before he''d succumbed to the poison in his veins. There were talks of war with the spiderlings, even as every day the humans drew closer and closer! Worse still was something that Onyr had let slip when Draxar had said he was ready to be tested. That the only reason the spiderling''s ancestor would be gone was if the deep territories were changing, and the stronger creatures and tribes must be expanding out. He said that it would be best to just hunt a mundane creature to bring back. Draxar had felt betrayed! How dare Onyr belittle his strength, tell him to hunt something any apprentice hunter could kill alone on his ascension test! Such weak prey would only prove enough for him to be a the lowest caste, a teatlan, a glorified assistant!The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Draxar had ignored his mentor''s advice and gone straight into the deep forest. He would hunt and kill a strong creature from the core with just his claws and prove his strength! He''d traveled for over a day to arrive at the edge of the deep parts of the forest dove straight in. He hadn''t bothered to rest, since it was the deeps surely a strong creature would challenge him as soon as he stepped foot into that foreboding part of the forest, but what he found was like nothing he''d expected. The forest teemed with life, but it was all mundane, simple creatures that could be found on the outer perimeter near the human settlement! He''d even spotted a human''s house cat frolicking in the trees! Did the humans dare sully this most sacred part of the forest?! Why hadn''t the Forest King slaughtered them yet?! Draxar had continued hunting for a full day, catching only old, nearly faded signs of worth prey all the while, when he found it. The scent of a human! The indignation at the human''s trespass ate at him, so he followed the scent, going deeper into the forest and following it up a ridge to an empty clearing with a spring of cool, fresh water. He''d drunk his fill, sating his thirst, then continued to follow the human''s filthy scent across the clearing into a cave. The cave was tiny, barely wide enough for two of him, and the human''s scent led here where it ended. No matter. The human would return to this shelter, he was sure of it, and he would kill it when it did! Draxar settled in, curling his tail around himself and pointing his head toward the cave entrance before resting to recuperate his strength. He would hear the clumsy human as it came in, and then he would attack, and rip it apart with his claws! A high pitched scream and sharp pain in his side woke him up! He instinctively leapt away from the pain and snarled. The human! It had snuck up on him with the dishonor common to its craven kind and attacked! How dare this lesser thing, alone, and weak, attack him! He''d snarled at the human and unleashed his body''s strength, refusing to use the skills gifted to him by the system, a final disgrace to heap on the human''s head before he ripped it from its puny shoulders! He made a mistake. The human''s weapon bit deep and sapped him of his strength. He could feel the icy chill as his very life force was drained! He''d whipped his tail at the human to gain some space and prepare for another exchange, but the human sliced the tip of his tail off! The shame! Draxar retreated then, vowing to return and slay the human who had wounded him. But it had proven it was not as weak as it seemed. He grinned at the thought, calling up his system skills list. The human had not shown any skills, simply the pitiful strength of its body flailing around a strong weapon. He would heal and he would return. The human''s head would be his proof of strength, and its weapon a trophy to his prowess. Returning to the present, Draxar snarled menacingly as he leapt over a small stream, his wounds itching as his [Regeneration] trait finally began to kick in. First he would find a place to rest while he healed and recovered his strength, then he would return and take the human''s head! Chapter 10: Introduction to Magic 101 Jun winced as she shifted in her seat, the rough fabric of her shirt scraping against her tender skin. The gunk that was expelled from her body had been truly vile stuff, and it''d taken several rounds of vigorous scrubbing with the harsh soap and brush from the bath case she''d been given to get rid of it all. The worst was that it didn''t all just come out of her skin. The body had established ways of expelling waste after all, and it''d certainly used them. She blushed deeply remembering the awkwardness of that moment, especially since it had been the first time she''d had to relieve herself since being reborn. She was used to toilet paper, not grabbing handfuls of leaves. And how was she supposed to know that that bush''s leaves made people itch fiercely if they touched it to their skin?! There''d been a second wave of the stuff after that incident too, but at least it got rid of the itching. Jun made sure to ask Shiori about the leaves she picked before touching them that time. Jun felt a phantom itch and she squirmed again. This new rock was less comfortable than the one they''d used before, but that one had been deemed unusable. She still remembered Shiori flicking her tail as she stared at the filth covered rock for a few seconds before sending the rock and all the earth around it flying off into the forest! She knew Shiori was stronger than she looked, but that casual display of power was intimidating! The cat''s evil laughter after she''d sent the rock on its express trip hadn''t been comforting either. She watched as Shiori circled around her yet again, the cat''s tail swaying lazily as she did so. The black cat had said Jun was ready to learn magic, but all Jun could think about, besides her tender skin, was the fight in her mind or soul or whatever that weird place was. Shiori had rebuffed every attempt she''d made to ask about it, simply insisting calling her an "unhygienic kitten that needed to bathe first and ask questions later." Well, now it was later! "Shiori, what was that place? What''s a [Soul Parasite]? How did I get one? What happened there? What was all that gross stuff? What happened to my trait?" Jun hurriedly asked the questions one after the other, not even pausing to breathe. Shiori stopped circling and sat, her tail wrapped around her legs as she regarded Jun with narrowed eyes. "Tell me kitten, what do you think magic is?" Jun froze with her mouth half open at the cat''s question. That''s too easy isn''t it? "Isn''t magic just the supernatural?" Shiori didn''t answer, continuing to simply stare at Jun as if expecting her to continue. "You know, like how you float and talk and whatever all that stuff in my mind was! Like those boxes that keep popping up!" A memory of a huge flood of black gunk flooding out of her body, more than should be physically possible for her size, brought a fresh wave of heat across her face as she blushed deeply. "L-Like..." she trailed off, mumbling quietly. "Like...?" "Like... with the cultivation thing... and the gunk... and stuff..." Jun mumbled as she looked down, her face hot. Her hair falling to cover her face. Shiori internally smirked. Such an amusing kitten! She flicked her tail back and forth, letting her stew for a few seconds. This would be fun! "Partially correct. You are correct in that those simple tricks of mine, those boxes as you put them, and cultivation.." Shiori quietly laughed to herself as her student ducked further behind her hair. "...each is an application of magic. But, magic is not supernatural. It''s a part of nature, a part of the universe. It is as much a part of nature as is fire." Jun gasped and looked up as she felt a wave of heat wash over her to see a massive ball of flames floating above the spring, its waters beginning to boil! "Ice." Pillars of ice shot out of the boiling pond, refusing to melt as they enclosed the fiery ball. "Earth." The clearing rumbled as a the ridges shook, boulders crashing down around the clearing but never touching it. "Gravity." Jun''s heart leapt into her throat as she felt gravity reverse and she began to fall into the sky! "Life." Tendrils of grass rapidly grew, shooting up to wrap around Jun and drag her back to the ground. "And Death." A strange silence descended upon the clearing as it was shrouded in darkness. "Magic is all of these things and more. The world is infinitely more complex than the eye can see, and magic is simply a part of the whole." Shiori''s words echoed out from the darkness as it began to fill with twinkling lights of many colors in an imitation of the cosmos above. The darkness lifted to reveal the ball of fire gone, the pillars of ice crumbling and rapidly melting, and the tendrils of grass that had bound Jun down dry, brittle, and dead. "But most importantly, magic is not just a part of the universe, but a reflection of the impact of your soul upon reality. In working magic, you are not simply willing something to happen with your mind. You are impressing your understanding of the universe, and the strength and understanding of your soul upon the universe, and willing it to act through magic." Jun stared at her teacher, eyes wide at the cat''s magical display as she processed her words. "So magic is part of the universe, but also part of myself, and also how I talk to the universe?" Jun thought about the boxes, instinctively calling up her status page, where her eyes fell upon the traits she had, and more specifically, the one that had been sealed.
[Affinity Hoarder] (SEALED)
Where most would be satisfied with a single affinity, you want more. More than just multiple affinities, you want all of them, and you can get them... for a price. With hard work, just a bit of luck, and this trait, there is no limit to what you can eventually achieve. Affinities for magic may be learned through study, exposure, and experience. Practicing with magic will slowly improve affinities, slowly improving your power. Disguised trait. Overwrites other affinity based traits. WARNING: CORRUPTION DETECTED.
The trait she''d been so excited to find. The one that seemed to promise her access to all the magic she could want. It was sealed, and somehow corrupted? "What are traits then? Are they magic too?" "To put it most simply, magic is an expression of the soul upon reality, and the universe''s response. It is much like a conversation, but we are getting ahead of ourselves." Shiori swished her tail and yawned, pausing for a moment before continuing her lecture. "To answer your other question requires a discussion of the soul." Jun watched as a ball of water floated up from the spring and scattered into mist, forming a small cloud that hovered above them. "Every being''s soul is like a cloud. Amorphous, ever moving, ever shifting, ever changing." The cloud began to drift lazily as it shifted and rolled on invisible winds. "Like a cloud, it can affect the world below in numerous ways. Some ways are gentle and nourishing, like rain." Large drops began to fall from the cloud. "Some ways are violent and destructive, like a storm." The cloud formed into a funnel and a small tornado touched down as lightning flashed and shot out from the cloud. "Each of these ways, and more, are aspects of a soul. If those aspects are strong enough, they can crystallize and become rigid points in the soul, losing the soul''s flexibility but gaining strength." The cloud split as two ice crystals formed and separated, one cloud producing a gentle rain while the other maintained the raging tornado.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Traits are those aspects of the soul that have crystallized. Aspects of your identity that are so powerful, so ingrained in who you are, that they become solid and difficult to change." Shiori flicked her tail, and the clouds calmed and merged back into one. "However, traits are not always positive things. Positive and negative experiences shape us and leave impressions upon our soul as surely as we might leave impressions with our souls through magic." A small figure made of earth floated into the air and began walking in place. It was of a young human woman that looked no older than 20, perhaps a bit younger. The woman was beautiful, with long hair, a narrow heart shaped face, and large, slightly slanted almond shaped eyes. Her features seemed familiar, like Jun knew her, but she couldn''t place where she''d seen the face before. "Life shapes us through our experiences." The cloud hovered over the earthen woman as she started to dance excitedly. A small ice crystal began to form in the cloud, slowly growing larger and larger as she danced, turning the cloud around it a fluffy white. "Positive ones tend to make us feel lighter and happier." The woman suddenly collapsed to her knees and covered her face with her hands as she mimed crying dramatically. Another ice crystal formed in the cloud above, turning the portion around it dark and stormy as it grew. "Negative experiences also shape us, and those ted to leave us feeling weighed down." "Traits like your [Affinity Hoarder]." Shiori paused to stare at Jun for a moment as Jun''s open box for the trait floated up and replaced the dark ice crystal in the cloud. "There is nothing inherently wrong with any trait, positive or negative, as they are simply a part of the soul, and by extension, a part of the universe. But, powerful concentrations of the soul such as traits attract attention, and not all of it is good." A small dragon made up of flames rose up from the ground, snakelike and sinuous as it wound around the crying woman''s head and gazed hungrily at the cloud above holding Jun''s ability screen. Suddenly, the dragon leapt up at the cloud and bit into Jun''s ability screen! The dragon sank a claw in and let out a silent roar of triumph before it hungrily ate a hole into the screen and clawed it''s way in. Jun stared at the display in growing horror as flames began to surround the screen, burning away the cloud around it even as it''s presence turned the cloud darker and darker, slowly infecting the cloud and eating away at the influence of the other ice crystal. "A [Soul Parasite]." Shiori hissed the creature''s name with disgust. "They latch on to powerful concentrations of the soul and feed. Infecting it even as the consume it to grow in strength." The cloud was fully dark now, the remaining ice crystal quickly melting, before it too vanished. The dark cloud slowly sucked into the box and vanished, leaving it floating alone. "Left unchecked, they will grow and consume until nothing is left." Jun''s box for [Affinity Hoarder] floated back to her, the hole where the dragon had disappeared still obvious. "Your trait is a powerful one, though weak for now. It promises you immense power if you work for it, feed it, grow it. And should you do so, you''ll certainly gain that power, but at a cost. It has been infected. Feeding the trait, growing it any further, will feed and empower the thing inside it as well." Jun stared at the box in front of her, horrified. That thing was eating her soul?! She felt sick. Unclean. Her skin crawled, goosebumps appearing across her flesh as she began to shake. Bile burned the back of her throat, threatening to come up at any second. A soft paw swatting across her cheek brought her out of her spiraling mood and she looked at Shiori floating in front of her, casually licking her paw. "It is unfortunate, but not something irreversible. For now, it has been sealed, which will prevent the situation from growing worse. But to clean up that little worm, the solution is both simple, and difficult. You will need to learn the magic to combat it yourself." Jun shook, remembering how powerless she''d felt in that mental space, and how overwhelming Shiori''s presence had been. "Myself?! But you''re powerful! You were throwing that thing around like it was nothing to you! Couldn''t you deal with it?" Shiori stared at her for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she bared her in a fierce cat''s smile. Her fangs were still those of an average house cat''s, but up close they seemed unusually sharp and terrifying! "Are you saying you want me to tear off a piece of your soul, kitten?" Her voice took on a deeper, more sinister tone that shook Jun to her core. Tear off a piece of her soul?! That sounded almost as bad as having a [Soul Parasite] in her soul to begin with! Jun violently shook her head at the thought of Shiori''s paws tearing off a piece of her, the mental image a touch amusing but far more horrifying. Shiori floated back, her smile morphing into a smirk. "I thought so, kitten. So, I will teach you what you need to know to defeat it. Do you accept me as your master, kitten?" Shiori''s tone suddenly shifted from her usual playful and teasing tone to something much more formal and serious. Jun felt the weight of the moment pressing down on her. A decision had to be made, one that would put pressure on her soul. She thought of everything she had experienced. Her past life, and how it ended. The memories still hurt to think about, but the pain and trauma felt muted for some reason, allowing her to process what had happened more fully. It had sucked. It was torture, and it had surely left a mark on her soul, all the worse that she could remember it thanks to [Born of Karma]. She thought of her time in the place between lives, her desire for magic and a new life filled with wonder, and the events of the last... day? Two days? She wasn''t sure how long she''d been in this new world. She could remember her first two days here, and it seemed as if now was the third, but she wasn''t sure how long she''d slept while she was injured. Her arm had healed from the fight, which would have taken weeks in her past life, but magic changed things. Thoughts of the fight in that mental place, her mind or maybe her soul she realized, and of her encounter with that monster. Images of Shiori''s demonstrations joined her thoughts to whirl around in a confusing mess of memories and experiences. So many things in just a small unknown number of days! The more she thought about everything that happened, the more she felt a growing feeling that she was drowning! She was here in a world of magic, where a cat could wield magic and mess with her soul, where giant hulking monsters seemed to randomly appear and try to eat her, and a parasite was eating her soul! She had nothing here, just what a powerful magical cat offered, seemingly just because that cat decided she was a kitten that needed adopting! Feelings of shame, embarrassment, and powerlessness warred with her pride. She felt like she should know more, have more power, been able to figure out magic by herself. She was human after all, and she''d chosen to come to this magical world, chosen traits that would help her learn and gain magic. But all she''d done is flail around and go with the flow. If not for Shiori, she''d be dead, her soul consumed by a parasite, and now the cat offered her a way forward, to grasping magic herself. Swallowing her pride, Jun nodded and looked up at the black cat, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Yes, Master. Please teach me!" Jun quickly bowed low to hide as a blush bloomed across her face as she said those words, those cringey, embarrassing sounding words! Shiori felt a mix of pride and amusement as she watched her new kitten and apprentice accept the inevitable. She would have taught her anyways, but sometimes the forms must be adhered to. The bright red blush on Jun''s face that she failed to hide from her master''s sharp eyes was just an extra treat! "Very well, my kitten apprentice. The first step towards harnessing magic for yourself is to cultivate your body and open your mana channels. Which you have done in a rather... messy fashion." Shiori couldn''t help adding the little dig, watching with amusement as Jun''s neck began to flush, her head still bowed low to hide her face. "The next is your first spell. Watch." Jun looked up at her Master''s command. A series of symbols began to form out of bright purple light, soon taking the form of a magic circle. The circle multiplied into four identical copies that then moved to form a three sided pyramid. Smaller symbols appeared at each corner where the circles met, and a core of energy seemed to form within, tendrils linking the core to each of the 4 circles that made up the sides. The 3D image floated in the air, gently rotating as Jun stared. She felt a strange feeling of comprehension flow into her mind, and soon the strange symbols began to make sense. A slashing line was the command to move quickly, to charge forward. A seven sided star denoted energy, or power. A series of squiggly lines, looking like the roots of a tree, carried the feeling of seeking or questing. The final symbol was a fine point going through a circle, to pierce. The name of the spell came to her mind unbidden. "[Piercing Missile]." She felt energy flow out of her chest and up to her mind, leaving her drained as her mental image of the spell seemed to pull it in until it pulsed violently with power. The filled spell seemed to build pressure in her mind, giving her a headache. She needed to release it! "Choose your target. Picture an arrow shooting forward and piercing it, and push that intent into the spell!" Shiori''s command rang in her ears, flooding out all other nosie. Jun frantically looked around the clearing before her eyes landed on a boulder that rested at the bottom of the ridge from where it had tumbled down. She pictured an arrow made of energy shooting into it and piercing through, pushing that thought into the painfully bright pulsing spell in her head, urging it to release the pressure! A light blue ball of light coalesced before Jun''s eyes and formed into a narrow, barbed arrow, hovering for a moment before it rushed off with a loud woosh and struck the boulder through the center, sending a loud crack of shattering stone echoing through the clearing! Jun sagged, her headache fading as the pressure vanished. She felt sore and drained, her muscles aching as if she''d just climbed a mountain. "Congratulations Jun. You have successfully learned your first spell." Chapter 11: Kittens First Hunt
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,343
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 2 (49/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 16/130
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 13
CON - 13
STR - 13
AGI - 13
DEX - 13
CHA - 18
SPR - 13
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 1) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 1)
Quests: Introduction to Magic 101
Jun stared at the new addition to the skills on her status page. The spell Shiori taught her had been added, and it was of a completely different rank as any of her other skills. When she''d asked her master about it, the cat had simply flicked her tail and said not to worry about it, and that it was still a "spell for beginners," and to "start practicing kitten." Then she''d walked across the clearing and crouched into a "loaf" on the ground to nap. It''d taken several minutes after that for Jun to figure out how to cast the spell again. Those minutes were frustrating as she fumbled at grasping the mana she could faintly feel humming in her body and shoving it into the spell form, only for the mana to leak back out. When she''d finally gotten the spell to work again, the result was... disappointing. The first cast had felt powerful, reminding her of the time her father in her past life had forced her to learn how to shoot because "all real men should know how to use a gun." Not that she was a man, even if she hadn''t realized it at the time. He''d forced her to try shooting a shotgun first. The kick of the thing felt like it''d dislocate her shoulder, and the blast had been so loud that she''d screamed and nearly dropped the thing! Her father had been disgusted at his "pussy of a son," and called him a girl the rest of the day. Her first cast of [Piercing Missile] had reminded her of shooting that shotgun, only without the recoil. The boulder she''d hit with the spell had shattered, and there''d been a hole the size of her palm in the side of the cliff behind it. The second cast was nowhere close to the power of the first. Less like a shotgun, and more like a paintball gun. The spell had still been fast, but the next boulder she''d targeted had barely been scratched! It''d taken several more minutes for her to finally cast the spell for a third time, and she''d gotten the same result. After several rounds, she''d finally remembered about her status page, and started poking around it until the blindingly obvious answer hit her in the face.
[Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 1)
Cast a concentrated blast of energy meant to pierce armor. Mana Cost: variable
She''d figured out that her spell form would only work if she evenly distributed the mana into the pyramid shape, making sure that each symbol was powered up. It''d been obvious in retrospect, and Jun couldn''t help feeling embarrassed that she hadn''t thought to do so sooner. At least her Master was fast asleep, saving her from what she was sure would be more teasing and calling her a kitten! Sitting in the shade under a tree, Jun looked at the result of her practice for the past couple hours. Several boulders were riddled with cracks as well as a couple of holes in the stone. Once she''d figured out how to power the spell form properly, she''d started playing with more and more mana, trying to see how much it would take to reproduce the power of her first cast. The more mana she dumped into the spell, the more it had hurt to hold the spell and the harder it had been to pump it full of mana. When she finally tried to dump her entire mana pool into a single cast, her spell had fired off with the same intensity as her first, shattering the boulder she''d been using to practice on! Unfortunately, Jun couldn''t celebrate the achievement, as the splitting headache that had followed had her nearly pass out from the pain. Wincing at the lingering dregs of that headache, she pulled up her mana to check its recovery. Another nifty trick she''d figured out after finally remembering to use her status page was getting detailed information on a number of things, and being able to pull up screens that only displayed whatever sections she wanted to see, like her mana recovery rate. It was especially useful now, as she wasn''t sure she wanted to read her entire status sheet while her head throbbed like she''d just woken after drinking an entire bottle of whiskey!
Mana: 74/130 [9.75/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
Jun sighed, watching as her mana ticked up another point. It seemed to take forever for her to recover her mana. Worse was that she only had a mana pool of 130. In her practice, she''d noticed that for her spell to leave any kind of mark, it required she put in at least 40 mana, so that meant she could only cast 3 times before she ran out, and it took almost 5 minutes for her to get a single cast! If she ran into that monster again, she''d only have 3 chances at best to chase it off before she had to rely upon the weapon she found, or hope that Shiori saved her. Thinking of her weapon, Jun looked around the clearing for it , spotting it leaning against the cliffside next to the entrance to the cave. While she waited for her mana to recover, she figured she should try to practice with it. Picking it up, Jun moved to the middle of the clearing and unsheathed it. The blue gems on the blade glittered beautifully in the mid afternoon sunlight. She stood there for a few moments, quietly admiring the sight. Taking a deep breath in and exhaling, she closed her eyes, imagining the hulking lizard was in front of her. She pictured herself moving like a dancer, swinging the weapon around gracefully to wound it, before finishing it off with her spell! Jun opened her eyes to try and copy her imagination, only to find the giant lizard standing right in front of her! Screaming, she leapt back, flailing the weapon at it as she hurriedly and clumsily shoved all the mana she could into her spell form. She pictured the spell shooting out and hitting the beast in its head and shoved that image into the spell, urging it to fire as quickly as possible. The light blue missile snapped into existence, briefly obscuring her vision as it fired off, drilling straight through the monster''s head! Jun stared at the fist sized hole in the monsters head, watching as it simply stood there and began bleeding... water? The monster suddenly popped, collapsing into a puddle that quickly began to absorb into the soil of the clearing. Jun could hear Shiori''s snickering laugh in her ears and she whirled around, only to find the cat awake from her nap, her ears twitching in amusement!The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "You should see the look on your face kitten! Aaaah!" Her master was snickering and teasing her again! Jun could barely hold the heat back from her voice as she snapped at the cat laughing at her expense. "What was that?! I thought I was about to be eaten! It''s not funny!" "You picked up your weapon, I thought you were ready to learn to fight." Shiori got up and stretched her paws out, then arched her back up and fully extending her tail in cat''s stretch. Jun glared at the stretching cat, her master, but the blooming headache she had from draining all of her mana distracted her even as it made her angrier. Her stomach growled, reminding Jun that she hadn''t eaten anything since the disgusting soup that morning. Her master looked up at her and twitched her tail, ears perked at Jun''s loudly growling stomach. "But first, we should go get some lunch!"
Jun''s anger had slowly been quenched by her growing need for hunger, and she''d silently followed Shiori as her master led her down the ridge, and back into the forest. The whole way down her master had made fun of her heavy footsteps that cracked dried leaves and fallen twigs. She offered advice to Jun on how to step quieter through the forest and walking stealthily as a cat would, but the technique didn''t translate well to her human feet and size. Jun did notice that she''d stopped making as much sound, and her feet didn''t get scraped as badly as they had on her first day, whether it was because of Shiori''s coaching or that except for her brief day and change with the now ruined boots, she had to run around the cave and clearing barefoot and started to develop calluses. Whatever the case, Jun was glad that her feet didn''t hurt as much as they had! About an hour after they''d first entered the forest, Shiori stopped and crouched low to the ground, telling Jun to be quiet. Shiori''s tail flicked back and forth low to the ground, her hind legs bunched with her whole body coiled tight and ready to pounce, the body language of a cat on the hunt. Jun looked at where her master was watching to see a small herd of deer unlike any she''d ever seen before. The deer had mottled green and brown fur, the bucks each having an impressive set of antlers that looked like gnarled tree branches. They were grazing in a meadow a couple hundred feet away from where Jun and Shiori had stopped, concealed by the low lying brush of the forest. Shiori nodded towards the grazing deer and quietly spoke in Jun''s ear without shifting her gaze. "Wood deer. One will do nicely for lunch. Go get us one kitten." Jun stared at her master. Her? Hunt what was clearly a magical deer? She''d only just learned her first spell! Panicked at the sudden assignment, Jun urgently whispered to the crouching black cat. "Master! I''ve never hunted before! How am I supposed to get one of those things?" Shiori flicked her ears, clear irritation in her voice. "Use your spell my stupid apprentice. Aim for the head and don''t miss. You''ll ruin the meat." Jun slumped in resignation. She could already tell if she didn''t do the task Shiori set for her, she wouldn''t like what happened next. Thoughts of the way the cat had easily force fed her that disgusting soup filled her head. The roast meat she''d had the first day was so much better. Maybe they could roast the deer? Her stomach rumbled in agreement. Roast deer sounded much better than that disgusting soup, and who knows what they''d eat if she didn''t do as Shiori said. It might even be worse than the soup! Gripping her not-spear in her hand, Jun crept forward, doing her best to remember Shiori''s lessons on stealthy movement as they''d hiked. She wasn''t confident that she could hit the deer with her spell from far away, even if it''d seemed easy enough to make it go where she wanted in the clearing. She''d only been a few dozen feet away at most, not over two hundred! As she got within one hundred feet, she made a mistake, accidentally breaking a twig as she stepped on it. The dry snap seemed to echo through the woods, and the green and brown deer suddenly looked up, alerted that something else was nearby! The deer quickly began to scatter, bounding into the forest in all directions. A large buck that looked like it weighed over a thousand pounds chose to bolt into the forest directly in front of Jun. As it saw her, it snorted and lowered its head, pointing its sharp branchlike antlers at her, and charged! Jun stood frozen for a moment in shock, before quickly shoving mana by the handful into her spell form. The antler tipped head of the deer was easy to keep in her head as she shoved the image of her target into the spell, willing it to hit and hoping it was enough. The light blue missile quickly formed in front of her eyes, obscuring her target from her eyes before it rushed out and connected with her target! The deer''s head exploded with a wet pop as the spell hit it, the antlers sent flying end over end as a fine mist of blood and brain matter coated the trees around them. One of the antlers flew off into the bushes, while the other struck the tree closest to Jun, stabbed deep into the trunk. The headless corpse tumbled end over end, flinging more blood about before it came to a leaking, gory halt at Jun''s feet. The taste of iron filled her mouth, and her entire front side felt warm and sticky from the deer''s blood. Alternating waves of shock, horror, and disgust filled her as she stared at the headless corpse of the deer, the not-spear falling from her hand as the wet pop of the deer''s head played over and over again in her ears. The corpse in front of her suddenly floated up and Jun shrieked, falling backward to land on her rear. she scrambled for her weapon and quickly grabbed the handle when she felt the cool etched metal handle. She whipped the weapon in front of her as she fumbled for her mana and began to layer it, ready to cast another spell with what remained in her pool. "Good work apprentice, if a bit messy. You seem to have picked up magic quick enough" Shiori said, slinking around the tree and casting a glance at the deer antler stabbed deep into the trunk. Looking at her apprentice liberally coated in blood and viscera down her front, she snorted with barely contained laughter. "Though it seems you still need lessons on hygiene, my messy kitten. Come along, lets go prepare lunch." Wordlessly, Jun got up and followed the deer''s floating corpse as it bobbed along in the air behind Shiori, her weapon gripped tightly in her hands. The trip back to the clearing was quick, and Jun had numbly helped as Shiori directed her on the best way to butcher and skin the deer. The guts and discarded bones she buried in a hole, while Shiori did something did something with magic that made much of the butchered meat vanish, leaving only a single large chunk of meat behind. Under Shiori''s direction, Jun dragged the heavy cut of meat into the cave and skewered it on the iron roasting spit before rubbing it in various dried herbs the cat seemed to produce out of nowhere. As the meat roasted, Jun took yet another bath and did her best to scrub the deer''s blood from her skirt and shirt. She hung them up to dry on the line, grimacing that the tough clothes seemed permanently stained a rusty brown color. The sun had begun to set by the time Shiori called for Jun to come eat, and she slipped her still damp clothes back on before rejoining her master in the cave. The roasted deer was surprisingly tasty, the herbs complimenting the meat well and the two of them quickly finished the entire roast, even though it should have been enough for ten people, rather than split between a single woman and a small magical house cat. Her stomach comfortably full, Jun curled up on the pile of furs in the cave, memories of the day''s events playing through her head. She shivered the wet pop of the deer''s head played in her mind again, and quietly swallowed the bile that had begun to rise in her throat. She thought of the monster from the other day, the parasite in her soul, and her need to get stronger. Life in this new world seemed surprisingly brutal, and she was stuck in the middle of a forest with a strange, powerful, magical cat she''d accepted as her master. As she drifted off to sleep, she resolved to herself that she would get stronger.
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,344 (+1)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Apprentice Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 3 (+1) (13/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 140/140
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 14 (+1)
CON - 14 (+1)
STR - 14 (+1)
AGI - 14 (+1)
DEX - 14 (+1)
CHA - 19 (+1)
SPR - 14 (+1)
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 1) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 2) (+1)
Quests: Introduction to Magic 101 (Completed)
Chapter 12: Training Montage The days that followed took on a pattern. Jun quickly improved as Shiori taught her more tricks for spell casting. The trick Jun had figured out for how to cast a spell turned out to be basic, and Shiori quickly taught her how to change aspects of the spell. It turned out that evenly distributing the mana in a spell form wasn''t required as long as the spell''s symbols were powered with mana. By changing the amounts of mana in each symbol, Jun could change the effect of the spell. From changing the speed it flew, to how much power the spell used to pierce through things, and where the spell manifested. As a result of these lessons, Jun realized that much of the mana she had been using on her spells was wasted.
"You put too much mana into making sure the spell pierces." Shiori had said one afternoon as Jun sat recovering her mana. "To pierce is to penetrate defenses, to challenge and overcome another''s protections. Once you penetrate your prey''s defenses, there is no need for further piercing. Watch." A light purple orb appeared above, quickly forming into the familiar shape of a [Piercing Missile], before it flew into and through a large boulder. A fist sized hole appeared through the middle of the boulder as the spell flew through it before boring a matching hole in the cliff behind it. "I used 20 mana on that spell, focusing only the minimal amount of mana on guidance and impact, and evenly split between piercing and speed. The spell cleanly and quickly pierced through the target, and if there were another enemy behind the first, it would be effective. However for a single enemy, much of the mana spent on piercing would be wasted." "But." A new spell appeared above Shiori''s head, coalescing into something that only partially looked like the spell Jun had been practicing. The spell had the pointed tip of the normal spell, however that was where the similarities ended. Instead of a small tail behind the sharply pointed tip, the spell widened and narrowed again, looking like a spear head. "With less mana to pierce, just enough to penetrate just deep enough, and far more focused upon speed and impact..." Shiori''s tail flicked and the spell launched, sending out a small shockwave of displaced air with its speed. The boulder suddenly exploded, raining shrapnel around the clearing, a purple barrier appearing to protect Shiori and an open mouthed Jun. "... you can have much more of an effect with the same amount of mana." The image of the boulder exploding with a such a small amount of mana stuck with Jun. She wasn''t sure how long she had simply sat and stared at the damage caused by a simple spell, only that it was long enough for Shiori to get impatient and force feed her more of that disgusting soup!
In the days that followed Shiori''s demonstration, Jun experimented with the spell, limiting herself to no more than 20 mana per cast in an attempt to recreate her master''s version of the basic spell. She thought that with just 4 variables to adjust and such a limited amount of mana, it would be easy to do. She was wrong. It had taken her dozens of tries just to get the spell to cast without an even distribution of mana, and changing even a single variable to have any noticeable effect had taken her days to figure out. Whenever she asked her Master for help, her Master would simply tell her to keep practicing until she figured it out, and that she would never learn if someone just gave her all the answers. Eventually, Jun figured it out. She had to power the spell in steps. She couldn''t just grab a handful of mana and shove it into the spell form then rearrange it once it was inside. The trick was to grab as little mana as she could to direct into the spell, but hold it from coalescing while she grabbed even more mana and directed it to empower different symbols. Each small handful of mana could only be directed to do one of two things, either evenly distribute throughout the spell symbols, or only go into one. Once inside the spell form, the mana couldn''t be directed to change without making the spell unstable. She learned what happened to unstable spells the hard way when on one of her attempts, the spell had coalesced and popped, knocking her down with a blinding flash that had her seeing spots for over an hour! After four days of practice, she began to get the hang of modifications to her spell, able to do up to three modifications before it grew unstable, though it took her some time to craft each modified spell. Unlike her Master who could manifest the spell in a blink. Five days of training passed in a blink before it was time for another hunting trip.
She wasn''t sure where Shiori had stored it, but they had had deer meat every morning and evening since the hunt. Her Master would summon her to the cave only to find another chunk of the raw meat sitting and waiting to be prepared, which she would do with the herbs that were also always provided. It always confused Jun where Shiori was storing these things as the meat always seemed freshly butchered, but she knew the cat wasn''t going out to hunt during the day, and she doubted she was going out at night. Jun was certain she would be forced to wake up and butcher the deer for her Master if that was the case. This morning however, there was no meat waiting to be cooked in the morning. Shiori instead woke her up with the disgusting smell of more of her mysterious soup that her Master seemed to have an unending supply of, though where it was stored Jun had no idea. As Jun had grumpily swallowed the vile, if filling, sludge, Shiori informed her that they''d eaten the last of the deer meat and would need to go hunting, unless Jun preferred the soup. She had a hard time believing that they ate several hundred pounds of meat in just a few days, but readily agreed to go hunting again, even if she was sure it would end with her needing another bath. Anything to avoid more of the soup.
Shiori guided Jun through the forest, her presence a ghost as her fur blended perfectly into the shadows under the trees. Jun''s presence was more like a drunk trying to sneak through the house at three in the morning. A loud crack echoed through the forest, causing Jun to wince as she felt yet another twig snap beneath her feet. At least the splinters didn''t hurt since she wasn''t barefooted this time, having fashioned a pair of crude foot wraps out of the deer hide from their first hunt in the evenings after training while waiting for their dinner to cook. She was glad to have taken the effort as the path Shiori took them on had crossed several rockfalls along the ridge line that seemed to border the forest. The rocks had been sharp enough through the thick wraps of hide. She wouldn''t want to try walking on them with her bare feet, no matter how thick her calluses. As the morning passed into midday, Shiori led them through the forest before finally stopping at a hidden gully full of thick vegetation with only a game trail leading the way through. "Wait here." Without waiting for a reply, Master Shiori quietly sped off into the brush without disturbing so much as a branch as Jun watched, nervously looking around and squeezing the not-spear in her hands at her sudden abandonment in the middle of the forest. Sighing, Jun set in to wait for Master Shiori to return. Her Master was... weird. It was already strange enough that she was a magical talking black cat, though Jun had gotten used to the talking and the magic quickly enough. It was just something else about her Master that was strange. Her sudden adoption at the hands of the cat didn''t surprise her, as that just seemed like something a cat would do, even a super powerful, talking cat. What was weird was how nonchalant her Master acted all the time despite always calling Jun her kitten, and how she seemed to bounce between the stereotypical ambivalence of a cat, an obviously capable and caring individual, and an expectation that Jun do tasks the cat was clearly far more capable of doing.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Jun couldn''t help but wonder if that was simply how cats on Merinthia were, or if there was something else going on. The thought of a planet ruled by super powered cats sent a shiver down her spine. Though, it seemed like Earth had been ruled by cats, at least based on what she would often see on her feeds, so maybe Merinthia wouldn''t be that different? A cool breeze gusted over the forest and sent the leaves rustling. A few hairs, escaped from Jun''s inexpertly secured ponytail, fluttered about Jun''s head and tickling against her face. Idly, she swiped a stray hair out of her eyes as she watched the spot where her Master had disappeared into the brush. What she wouldn''t give for a simple pack of elastic hair ties right now. It''d taken her several attempts to tie her hair up for this trip using a thin slice of the deer hide that she''d braided into a thin but strong cord. The thicket in the gully began to shake as a loud squeal pierced the forest air, shaking Jun from her thoughts. She saw a black blur streaking down the game trail that flashed past her as her Master''s voice tinged with amusement reached her ears. "Your turn kitten!" Jun instinctively turned to follow the black blur that was her master, only to see that the cat had climbed up a tall tree and already laid out on a branch, her tail swaying back and forth lazily as she stared down at her. The ground rumbled and Jun turned back around to see a demon charging at her! "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Jun screamed, barely diving out of the way of the monstrous boar''s charge. Her weapon went flying as she tumbled out of the way of the charge. It was so close that she had felt the brush of the boar''s wiry fur against her foot wraps and the wind of its passage carried the boar''s stench to her nose. Scrambling to her feet, Jun ran to put some distance between her and the boar whose charge had carried it far past her to crash through a stand of bushes. A squeal of rage and the sound of plants being violently ripped and torn apart was the only warning Jun received as the boar charged at her again, launching itself through the thick undergrowth of the forest! "Fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuck!" Jun dodged around a tree, only to keep running as the boar grazed the tree with its tusks, shaking the tree and sending splinters flying through the air! A hiss of pain escaped her lips as she felt a stab of pain in her side from a piece of the wooden shrapnel. Copying her Master, Jun rushed to a tall, thick tree and desperately jumped up, her fingers barely wrapping around the bottommost branch as the boar screamed again, announcing its attack. Her muscles strained as she pulled herself up onto the thick branch and hugged the trunk, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. A sudden impact accompanied by the sound of cracking wood shook the tree, nearly spilling Jun from her leafy perch! Jun dug her nails into the drunk, splinters biting deep into the tender flesh under her nails as she desperately held on. The boar circled around Jun''s tree below, shaking its head as it brushed off its headlong charge into the thick trunk! How tough was this thing?! It''s head must be harder than stone! Jun hurriedly began casting [Piercing Missile] and immediately launched it unmodified at the monstrous boar''s head. Her vision was briefly obscured as the spell coalesced, and in that moment the boar darted to the side, the missed spell drilling a hole into the forest floor below. The boar turned to glare up at her with hate filled eyes that promised death as it pawed the ground. With a snort, the boar rushed at the tree again, shaking it as the beast''s large tusks tore a new gash in the trunk below. The tree groaned and creaked and a feeling of dread gripped Jun''s heart. The boar was smart and angry. It was going to knock down the tree to get at her, and then she''d be dead. She lost her weapon at the very start, and all she had was a single spell that the boar dodged like it was nothing! Gritting her teeth, Jun cast the spell again, modifying it for speed. The glowing blue missile coalesced as a small dart that sped off, easily moving three times faster than the base spell as it closed in on the boar! Jun let out a cheer as the spell collided, but her celebration was quickly strangled as the boar merely grunted, the spell failing to even break through the boar''s thick skin! She needed to pierce the monster''s defenses and speed to hit it, and power to make sure her spell hurt! Biting back a scream as the tree shook again, she concentrated on moving her mana into her spell form. The first wave of mana was spread evenly, to create a stable spell. The second she concentrated into enhancing the spell''s piercing ability. A third, larger wave of mana was put into the spell''s impact, hoping it would be enough to put the boar down. Holding the spell began to hurt as each second passed by. Images of her numerous failed spells flashed through her head, each blowing up in her face when she tried to push her limits. Three was her max. Any more modifications to the spell and she feared she would lose control, coalescing another unstable spell that would blow up in her face, and then she would die to angry bacon! Another impact shook the tree accompanied by a squeal of rage and an ominous cracking and popping. "No choice but to do it." Jun growled to herself, gritting her teeth against the pain of holding and modifying the spell as she gathered a fourth wave of mana and brought it to the spell form. Her head pounded as the mental construct began to shudder, threatening to collapse. Willing the spell to remain stable, Jun pushed the the fourth wave into the spell''s symbol for speed, willing it to strike fast. A mental image of the spell as speeding bullet crashing into and shattering the boar''s head filled her mind, and she shoved that image into the spell, willing it to form and cast. The spell rapidly formed before her eyes, a blindingly bright blue orb that immediately fired off with a loud crack and woosh as it screamed towards the boar''s head, promising destruction! The spell missed it''s target. The boar darted forward at the last moment and the spell crashed through its neck, penetrating the thick fur before violently exploding! The scent of blood and burnt hair filled the air as the boar''s head was severed, its shoulders disintegrating from the force of the spell. Jun felt woozy as she clutched the trunk of the tree, her mana near empty from her last desperate spell. A black shape coming out from under the brush caught her attention as her Master padded into view. "Master, I did it! I used four waves in my spell!" Jun pumped a fist in the air and nearly fell, only her hasty hug against the trunk stopping her from falling. The sudden movement caused the tree to crack and groan as it threatened to fall. An invisible force plucked her from the tree and held her in the air like a kitten being held up by its mother. Her lost weapon floated up to hover near her, just out of reach. "Very good Jun, you did well." Jun felt a glow of pride in her chest and flushed at the compliment. "But you overdid it a bit and wasted some fine meat." The oversized head and back half of the boar floated up in the air next to Jun, leaking gore and smelling of blood, burnt hair, and the boar''s stench. "No matter, we''ll just hunt again sooner." Embarrassed, Jun meekly hung in the air without complaint as they headed back to the cave, her Master dragging her along like a naughty kitten. Jun couldn''t help but blush with embarrassment at the situation. She really was a kitten wasn''t she?!
The following weeks passed in much the same way as Jun explored her magic with Shiori guiding and teaching her new tricks and techniques. She learned how to manifest her spells in places other than in front of her eyes and was soon able to manifest spells anywhere within a few inches of her body, though the further away from her skin she tried, the harder it became. Jun began to learn how to fight, though her Master said she knew no "human martial arts," which at least confirmed to her that humans still existed in the world somewhere. Instead, she honed her instincts as her Master forced her to fight against golems made of water and stone. She never got seriously injured, though her pride was grievously wounded every time she was thrown into the water, buried up to her head in the dirt, or tossed over the side of a cliff, only to be snatched out of the air like a kitten and gently set back down on the ground. Shiori revealed that multiple thought processes working together was the trick to casting complex spells faster and began drilling her to split her focus and concentrate on multiple things at the same time. She was forced to carry on conversations, lift weights, run, spar against constructs, cook, and clean all while casting multi-aspect spells as quickly as she could. Her master would randomly distract her during these exercises, sometimes throwing something at her with her telekinesis, sometimes flashing bright lights or sounds in her ears. Every failed spelled was rewarded with a bowl of her Master''s bitter soup "to better motivate you and build your foundation kitten," her Master said when Jun questioned her about the soup. As to what was actually in the disgusting thing, her Master refused to say, only that it was nutritious and "good for a still growing kitten." So the days passed as Jun learned and grew under the tutelage of her Master.
Thirty-four days after she first appeared in this world, Jun woke with a pained gasp to a stabbing pain in her stomach and the floor of the cave covered in blood. Chapter 13: Fuck that punctuation in particular. Something was wrong. Jun woke with a gasp of pain as a stabbing pain shot across her stomach, deep inside of her. Panicking, she ran her hands along her stomach but felt nothing but smooth skin. A metallic smell filled her nose, and she felt like she could taste blood in the back of her throat. Her pile of furs had a growing patch of wetness, the sticky fur clinging to her thighs. She felt like she was dying. She let out a moan of pain as another stab of pain shot through her intestines, tears leaking from her eyes. A soft furry head rubbed up against her cheek, comforting her as Shiori''s voice whispered soothingly in her ears. "It''s okay kitten. You''re okay." Jun felt herself get pushed up slightly, the stabbing pain in her abdomen growing worse with the change in position. A wooden bowl pressed to her lips, the steam and light floral scent hinting at the contents being tea. "Drink the tea kitten, it will help with the pain." Jun took a sip, the hot liquid tracing a path of warming comfort down her throat. She took another sip, then another, the warmth of the tea slowly spreading out to provide a comforting balm against the pain. It wasn''t long before the bowl was empty. Jun was gently laid back down and she instantly curled into a ball. Her insides still throbbed with pain, but it was dulled now. Everything felt dull. Something hot pressed against her stomach and she hugged the furry thing close, the comforting warmth and light vibrations soothing the rapidly dulling pain. Slowly, Jun drifted off to sleep, clutching a purring Shiori to her stomach.
Jun groaned and shivered as the soft warm thing disappeared. She was freezing cold. The metallic smell was still there, but less intense. Her intestines felt like they were having a knife fight with butter knives. Her back ached as something propped her up and a wooden bowl pressed against her lips. The warm steam felt pleasant, the floral scent chasing away the metallic smell as she sipped. The liquid was warm and sweet, spreading a familiar warmth and comfort throughout her body as it worked its way down. The pain dulled again and she drifted off, barely noticing the weight of a cat laying down on her stomach and curling up to sleep.
Her eyelids felt like they were glued shut. Her stomach ached dully and her back protested as she slowly pushed herself upright. Her head felt fuzzy, like she was halfway through a hangover. Carefully, Jun rubbed the gunk from her eyes and blinked as the cave around her came into focus. A fur was draped over her naked body as she realized for the first time that her clothes were missing. Jun''s muscles protested as she pushed herself to stand, as if she hadn''t moved for several days. The cave smelled musty, dirty, and metallic, making her feel sick to her stomach. Holding back the rising bile in her throat, Jun rushed out of the cave, her only thoughts focused on escaping the disgusting smell. Alas, it followed her. Rushing to a nearby tree in the clearing outside, Jun could no longer hold it in and vomited, the contractions of abdomen sharpening the pain she felt in her guts. It was then that her bladder reminded her of its existence and she quickly relieved herself, suddenly feeling much clearer headed. Jun began to clean herself with one of the safe leaves, when she froze, noticing for the first time something encrusted on her thighs and sensitive parts. Mixed horror and realization rose alongside the bile in her throat as she looked down and confirmed both her fears and her stupidity. How could she forget about periods?! Jun stared at her thighs and the flakes of black blood clinging to her pale skin as memories of her life on Earth came to mind. Lessons in her community college human anatomy course that she''d barely paid attention to and only half remembered. Ash''s complaints about her periods when they had dated, and the few times she''d had to make runs to the big box store in the middle of the night for her. She''d been embarrassed and in over her head every time, still wrestling with her confusion about her gender and the irrational fear of being a man buying tampons. How that fear and her learned disgust of periods had led her to avoid any conversation about the topic when she''d still believed herself a man. How she wished she''d paid attention sooner, had retained some of the knowledge that she was sure her class had covered, sure the women in his past life had known.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. But instead like what she believed all men would do at the time, she''d avoided learning anything at all about women''s health, and that lack of knowledge was hitting her now as she squatted naked by a tree, stuck in the middle of a forest, in a completely different world! Her body was finally one she felt comfortable and happy in, and here she was with no idea what she was supposed to do! "Good, you''re up and about." Her Master''s words snapped her out of her rapidly spiraling thoughts as she directed all of her focus at Shiori, the cat calmly staring at her. Hope blossomed in her chest. Surely her Master could help her with this? Vague memories of her Master''s voice soothing her as she woke up in pain, feeding her a tea that seemed to dull the pain and let her sleep through the worst of it floated through her head. Her Master had cared for her when she was sick and injured, and always seemed to know what to do. Maybe she would know what to do here? "Master, I¡ª" Jun began, before Shiori cut her off. "You need a bath. You''re still covered in blood and smell funny. We''ll talk after." Without waiting for a response, her Master walked to the other side of the clearing, pointedly floating Jun''s bathing supplies over to her.
Jun''s cold baths had never been pleasant, but they were usually refreshing. This time however, she could only feel a bit of disgust as she rinsed off the last of the soap and bits of dried blood that had stubbornly clung to places her conservative upbringing screamed shouldn''t be on display for the whole world to see, even if the only person around wasn''t even human, but a cat. Walking around to try and warm up, Jun found her remaining clothes hanging on the line. Shiori must have washed them somehow, because they seemed much cleaner than before, except for the long strip of cloth that served as her underwear at least. The cloth was stained the rusty brown of dried blood, the sight of it sending a shiver of dread down Jun''s spine. The one bit of knowledge she knew was that this would happen again in a month, and she wasn''t ready for that.
Shiori lay in the plush grass watching a dragonfly buzz across the pond as Jun sat next to her fully dressed in her worn clothes, her arms wrapped around her legs as she rested her head against her knees. Jun heard a sizzle followed by a plop as her Master scoffed at the pond, her voice whispering in her ears. "Stupid things aren''t even close to dragons. A little bit of fire and they just die." Jun sat in silence for a while, quietly listening to the occasional sizzle and insults her Master muttered towards the poor dragonflies as she built up the courage to ask the questions she wanted to but felt too embarrassed to put into words. Jun''s voice was muffled and quiet as she finally built up the nerve to say something. "Thank you for taking care of me Master..." Shiori''s ears flicked at her apprentice''s quiet words. The urge to mess with the little kitten was strong, but she thought better of it for once. There''d be plenty of time for that later! "It was no trouble my apprentice." Jun nodded into her knees, her ears warm with embarrassment. She sat there and listened to the wind blowing through the trees around the clearing as her aching guts slowly calmed. It was peaceful, even punctuated by her Master''s casual violence towards the bugs that swarmed the pond undeterred. As her embarrassment finally faded she looked up to watch the show as Shiori casually manifested small balls of flame right in front of the darting bugs for them to fly into. "M-Master... can you teach me about... being a woman?" Her voice cracked as she spoke the words that admitted her embarrassing lack of knowledge. She braced for the cat to scold her for not taking enough care for cleanliness. The cat''s response was a surprise. "I know very little about being a human woman, kitten. I am a cat." It was succinct, to the point, and admitted a surprising gap in knowledge. "I know and can teach you many things, but that is not one of them. I know about how you human women have your monthly bleeds, and I know that it is unpleasant. It is why despite knowing ways of magic to change my shape and form, I have never felt the need to use them." Jun gasped as she felt her Master''s claws lightly digging into her clothes as the cat climbed up to sit on her shoulder. "Besides," she said, voice filled with pride, "why would I want to be different? I''m already perfect." With that declaration, Shiori laid down on her apprentice''s shoulders and closed her eyes to doze off. Jun turned her head and watched the sleeping black cat for a while, enjoying the heat of her body gently soaking into her shoulders. As Jun began to nod off herself, Shiori cracked one of her gold-green eyes open and made eye contact. "Anyways, we could simply go to the human town outside the forest so you can learn from other humans. It might be good to round out your education, kitten." Shiori''s statement hit Jun like a lightning bolt. Town?! Other humans?! Chapter 14: Moving Day A town outside the forest?! A human town?! Mixed feelings of excitement and fear tumbled chaotically through her at her Master''s statement. Jun sat up straight, jostling Shiori as she did. Her Master jumped off her shoulders to land on the grass beside her and turned to glare disapprovingly at the sudden movement. Jun ignored the glare, her mind filled with questions that overflowed through her mouth. "WhereisitHowfarawayisitWhencanwegothereWhat''sitcalledHowman¡ªmhmahfmmph?" Jun''s words blended together as she rushed to ask her questions, only to stop with a squeak as an invisible force slammed over her mouth and squeezed her lips shut. "One question at a time kitten." Her Master said, fixing her with a disapproving stare as the force keeping her quiet disappeared. Jun opened her mouth again, ready to spew out her questions, only to snap them shut again with an audible pop. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and painfully tamped down her excitement before carefully choosing the first of her many questions. "How far away is this town?" "A week''s walk from here for you kitten." "How big is it?" "A few dozen people the last time I traveled there." "What is it called?" "I do not believe it had a name." "When can we go?" Shiori cocked her head to the side in a thinking pose for a few seconds before answering. "Show me your status." Nodding, Jun did as her Master directed, opening her status screen up as her Master''s eyes began to glow gold.
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,344 (+1)
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Apprentice Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 9 (+6) (82/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 200/200
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 20 (+6)
CON - 20 (+6)
STR - 20 (+6)
AGI - 20 (+6)
DEX - 20 (+6)
CHA - 25 (+6)
SPR - 20 (+6)
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 7) (+6) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 19) (+17) [Multi Casting] (Apprentice 7) [Stealth] (Novice 8) [Tracking] (Novice 3) [Cleaning] (Initiate 1) [Cooking] (Novice 4) [Butchery] (Novice 9) [Foraging] (Novice 6) [Crafting] (Novice 2)Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. [Pain Resistance] (Novice 1)
Jun couldn''t help feeling a touch of pride at her status. She''d made a lot of progress in the last month. Things just seemed to click for her with some practice, which she assumed was the [Fast Learner] trait at work. All of the hunting had eventually gotten her [Stealth] and [Tracking] as well as [Cooking] and [Butchery] for processing the animals. She had picked up [Foraging] when Shiori started teaching her to harvest some of the herbs they used to cook with that grew wild in the forest, and tinkering around with the hides from the animals they hunted had gained her [Crafting]. That last skill had been especially useful as her clothes had grown increasingly tattered with every hunt, the hard training, and constant washing. What had originally been a sturdy shirt and skirt was now a tattered set of rags inexpertly patched with strips of poorly processed animal hides. Her first pair of foot wraps had begun to smell rancid and fall apart, forcing her to replace them. Through trial and error she figured out that by drying out the hides for a few days then soaking them in water and scraping the undersides, she could remove the remaining bits of fat and flesh which she guessed was what made her foot wraps rot. She was then able to harvest some tree sap and wood from a tree she''d accidentally hit with a missed spell while hunting, and with Shiori''s help cut the wood into a rough shape mimicking the soles of a shoe. The sap she used as glue to attach the wooden bottoms to a crude pair of booties she''d made out of the hides with the fur inside for padding. Making her crude boots had taken her most of the month, but she had finally finished them just a few days ago. The thought of her needing to walk through the forest for a week to reach civilization made her glad she''d started trying to figure out boots weeks ago, even if she hadn''t worn them much beyond making sure they fit and would stay together while running around the clearing. Jun was interrupted from her thoughts as her Master made a sound of approval. "Your skills have come along well apprentice, for a kitten." Shiori nodded her furry head, ears twitching as she thought for a moment. "Moving to a human town would be good for your development. Let''s go." Without waiting for a response, Shiori got up and walked into the cave as Jun smiled excitedly. A town in a magic world! She could only imagine the magic that must be used everywhere in a magical world, especially if everything had a system like in a video game. Images of people casually using magic to float things around, conjuring items out of nothing, and flying about filled her head. Idly, she wondered if there would be more talking cats or even dogs in the town. Maybe a talking hamster! Jun''s daydreams were interrupted as a heavy pack dropped to the ground next to her, her not-spear secured to the side with strips. Confused, Jun looked at it. It was the pack with the clothes Shiori had given her a month ago. She hadn''t seen it since, and for some reason hadn''t thought about it until just now. Jun looked up to see Shiori staring at her expectantly. "Well, what''s taking so long? I said ''let''s go.''" Her tail flicked back and forth as Jun stared at the pack. "Now? But don''t we need to prepare? Gather supplies? Pack?" Jun asked as she glanced around the clearing looking for the items normally scattered around, only to see that there was nothing beside the pack next to her. Getting up, she rushed into the cave and around the corner, expecting to see their camp still lit by the ever present campfire that she''d figured out was probably more of Shiori''s magic, only to see darkness. No fire lit the space, and she couldn''t make out anything in the dark. Casting her [Piercing Missile] spell, she used all of the tricks she''d learned to barely power anything. The brightness of the spell she learned was evidence of mana waste, where the amount of mana in a spell naturally had some waste that would convert into light. Taking advantage of this, she figured out that if she purposefully directed most of the mana to be wasted, she could make a slowly drifting bright light that would burst with all the force of a cough if it touched something. The cave revealed to her was empty. The place where their campfire had burned for the past month was cold, the only evidence it had existed were bits of ash and scorch marks in the stone. The space where her furs had been was bare, as was the flat topped rocks they''d used for shelves. A strange feeling of sadness mixed with excitement settled over her as she walked out of the cave and back to where her Master waited impatiently by the spring. They were really going. Right now. And it felt like it would be a permanent move. As strange as it seemed, to her this cave and clearing felt like home. She''d felt more relaxed, happy, and free living here in the forest with her Master over the past month of her new life than she could ever recall feeling on Earth in her old life. But now they were leaving. Glancing inside the pack, she saw the boots she''d made sitting on top of the neatly folded fur she used as a bed and her bath case. Pulling the boots on, she wiggled her toes, enjoying the soft feeling of the fur enveloping them. "Well? Are you ready?" Shiori asked, her tail flicking back and forth as Jun finished tying up her boots. Jun stood and shouldered the surprisingly light pack. Sparing one last look for the clearing and the entrance to the cave, she nodded at her Master, tears in her eyes as she smiled. "Yes, I am Master." Jun said, her voice cracking with emotion. Shiore jumped up to rest half on the pack and half on Jun''s shoulder, nudging her cheek with her head and purring. Her whiskers tickled. Shiore jabbed a paw forward, pointing toward the stream that left the clearing. "Then let''s go, time''s wasting!"
Draxar growled softly, watching from his hidden place in the trees as the human and her pet cat hiked out of the mountains. The human''s weapon was strapped to a pack. Not in reach. Defenseless. A cruel smile curled his reptilian lips, revealing sharp fangs. He had watched the human as it hunted over the past few weeks. It seemed to have learned a magic spell like the shamans of his tribe, but it didn''t know how to fight. Its weapon was sharp, but its skill with the cursed thing was pitiful. It depended on its magic to hunt, but that would be useless against him. It always returned to the hidden clearing at night. The few times it had returned late, it had stumbled through the dark, bleating nonsensical noises. He tightened his grip on the tree he hid behind, sharp claws punching deep into the hard wood as the human and its cat entered the woods. The shadows had already begun to lengthen. Glancing at the sun, he calculated the remaining light as excitement and anger filled him. It would be night in a few hours and the human would need to rest in the forest. The past month of surviving alone in the forest while he studied his prey had taught him patience. It''s head would be his soon. The cat''s too. Chapter 15: Eyes Watching in the Dark Jun sagged with relief once Shiori called a stop for the day. She had walked with the pack and her Master on her back for the entire afternoon, and the sky was starting to get dark. They had left the clearing after noon, which seemed like a late start to begin traveling, but her Master had made the decision for them both by packing everything up. She still didn''t know where Shiori put everything. Maybe an inventory? Some kind of space magic? When she''d asked, her Master had just pointed in a new direction for Jun to walk while saying that it was magic she wasn''t ready for. They stopped along the bank of a small stream that was reasonably clear of brush. A fallen log made for a convenient seat for Jun to rest upon as she dropped her pack. As she rested, her Master jumped down from her shoulders and stretched. Jun blinked, and between one moment and the next the familiar campfire from the cave had appeared, a chunk of meat already sitting on the iron spit and roasting! Definitely magic, Jun thought. Rubbing her aching shoulders, she couldn''t help but glance at her pack laying on the ground where she dropped it, her weapon still tied to the back of it. She had a feeling the only reason she was carrying the pack was so that Shiori had a comfortable place to nap while Jun walked, but she didn''t dare voice her complaint. Again. Jun had complained about the weight of the pack digging into her shoulders a couple hours after they''d left, and stopped for a break. While she was sitting on a somewhat comfortable root, a wooden bowl full of Shiori''s crime against cooking disguised as soup manifested pressed against her face, the pungent herbal smell making her tongue curl. Her Master urged her to drink the soup, insisting it was good for her and would help her stamina. Her Master was right, as Jun quickly found the energy to keep going when she started running away from the floating bowl of soup! She hadn''t stopped moving since, at least until Shiori called for them to stop for the night. Her thoughts were interrupted as her Master called her to attention. "Kitten, pay attention, it''s time to learn a new spell." Shiori sat staring at her as a light purple pyramid with 4 sides floated manifested above her ears, rotating in place as the purple glow lightly illuminated their camp as night approached. Each side held an unfamiliar symbol surrounded by geometric shapes she knew were sub-glyphs that helped direct her mana through the spell form. The spell form stopped to display its square base, the central symbol beginning to glow as the other shapes dimmed. A stylized mountain surrounded by sub glyphs lit up in the center, giving off a feeling of strength and balance. "The foundation. Stability. Longevity. Endurance." Jun quietly whispered, the beginnings of comprehension and understanding flowing into her. The symbol slowly took shape, glowing as it laid a foundation in her mind for the spell. The spell construct rotated to show a single side of the pyramid and the symbol etched within, that of a lone tree sitting upon a hill, bending with the wind. "Flexibility. Adaptation. Bending without breaking." The tree seemed to bend and move with the wind as it took shape in her mind and joined with the foundation. The spell rotated in place again, stopping between two faces as their symbols pulsed in time with each other. Linked aspects. A river flowed, parted by a rock in the middle of the current, enduring the ceaseless current. The river''s banks contained the water, controlling its movement, directing its flow. "Resistance and deflection. Containment and redirection." The sibling symbols joined their cousins in her mind, related but distinct. A final turn, a final face. The entire face except the central symbol glowed with light, dimmer at the edges and brightening closer in, until the light reached the symbol and vanished. A hole in reality, consuming all that approached. A single overwhelming word echoed through Jun''s mind. "Void." The symbol joined the others in her mind, sucking in her mana as sub-glyphs formed around the symbols, containing their aspects and joining them together. The spell form snapped into being, a four-sided pyramid glowing the bright blue of Jun''s mana. "[Barrier]!" Jun''s mana dropped precipitously as the spell manifested itself in front of her, filling the dimly lit camp with a pale blue light. A circular plate of energy floated in front of her, as wide as the length of her arm. Jun looked closer at the coalesced spell in front of her. She could barely make out the shape of a magic circle etched with glyphs through the glow of the shield. Looking closely, she began to recognize some of the markings as sub-glyphs from the spell forms in her mind. Her curiosity peaked, Jun yelped as she saw the rapid movement of something approaching her from the side and flinched back, instinctively closing the screen as she threw up her arms to protect herself. The glowing blue plate flew between her and the threat and blocking the projectile! An empty wooden bowl clattered to the forest floor as the shield dimmed slightly. "A defensive spell." Shiori nodded approvingly at Jun''s reaction. "As you just experienced, the spell reacts to perceived danger." Shiori leapt up into the air and kicked off of Jun''s shield to land on a purple version of her new spell. A small [Piercing Missile] manifested and shot forward, dissipating as it impacted the shield. She noticed that Shiori bouncing off the shield had barely dimmed it, while the magic spell had slightly increased it''s brightness. "It can stop things both magical and mundane, if you have the necessary power to sustain it. The shield can absorb magic to power itself further, but it can be overwhelmed. "Finally, while it is useful and can keep you alive..." Jun yelped as something hit her rear with a dull slap. Another another wooden bowl and clattered to the ground. "Do not rely upon it. The danger you don''t perceive could still harm you." Shiori released her spell and the construct broke into purple motes as she dropped to the ground and padded over to the roasting meat on the fire. "Meditate on your new spell and the meanings of its aspects as we eat."Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Jun rubbed her rear, wincing as the stinging faded. She was glad Shiori pointed out the weakness immediately instead of putting her at risk, but they didn''t leave her thinking charitable thoughts. Pulling up her new spell details, she groaned internally at the cost.
[Barrier] (Apprentice 1)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. Cost: 100 mana minimum, variable.
Her mana was better now, but it was nowhere near enough.
Mana: 97/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
As she watched her mana, it slowly ticked down as she held the spell, at a rate of about 1 or 2 seconds. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the flow of spell. Unlike with her [Piercing Missile] spell, the spell form for [Barrier] didn''t drain of mana after she cast the spell. Instead, she could feel a sort of tether between the active spell form and her construct. With a few experimental pushes on the spell, she found that she was able to move it around through the tether, sending it flying around the campsite with her mind.
Mana: 23/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
After about a minute of playing with the spell, she felt a headache starting to build. Instinctively, she tried pulling the mana pulling the mana out of the spell form and was surprised when the mana seamlessly returned, refilling some of her mana pool as the spell dissipated.
Mana: 36/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
About 10% of what she spent casting the spell had been returned that way. While it wasn''t a great return, she was happy that she could at least get some back. It would make practicing with the expensive spell a bit easier. Finished playing with her new spell, Jun moved over to the campfire where a steaming bowl of roasted meat sat waiting for her. Shiori was happily eating from her own bowl while her tail flicked back and forth happily. The appetizing smell reminded her stomach of its hunger and she quickly dug in as she contemplated the new spell''s aspects. Jun''s lessons on modifying her first spell emphasized manipulating the distribution of mana to emphasize or minimize aspects of the spell through their symbols. Her instincts told her she should be able to modify this spell in the same way, but she wasn''t sure what each symbol did. Most seemed straight forward, but the final symbol filed her with unease. Something about the symbol for Negation felt off, like there was far more beneath the surface. The dark void in the center of the symbol which seemed to consume mana itself sent shivers down her spine the longer she looked at it in her mind''s eye. She couldn''t help but feel like if she wasn''t careful with that symbol, that it would consume her as well. Shaking away those paranoid thoughts, Jun finished eating and washed her bowl out in the stream and left it by the fire to dry. Shiori had already climbed up a tree and settled in to sleep on a branch above. Holding her sleeping fur in her hands, Jun looked around the campsite. It was fully dark now, and the flickering light of the campfire made the forest seem far more ominous. She couldn''t help but picture the first monster she''d fought lurking in the dark, waiting to attack. "That''s ridiculous," Jun muttered to herself. The symbol for Negation must be making her more paranoid than she thought. A soft breeze whistled through the trees and sent another shiver down her spine. Looking around the campsite for a good place to lay her fur out, she couldn''t help but glance nervously at the darkness between the surrounding trees. Imagining eyes staring at her from the darkness, she shivered again then looked up at the tree Shiori was sleeping in and spotted a large nook where several branches split off from the trunk. It seemed like a ridiculous idea, but she felt certain she''d feel safer sleeping in the tree, even if it was far from the warm fire. Sighing at her ridiculousness and fighting down a blush, She shoved her fur back in her pack and shouldered it before she started climbing the tree. Her muscles ached from the activity, especially after such a draining day, but each foot between her and the ground brought a greater sense of security. Pushing down her embarrassment, Jun carefully laid out the large fur she used as a bed in the nook and squeezed herself in to sleep, her pack and weapon hanging from a branch within easy reach. As she drifted off, she couldn''t help but think that from up here, the sound of the wind rushing through the forest sounded a lot like the snarling of beasts.
Draxar snarled angrily as he watched the subject of his hunt climb up a tree with its pet to sleep. That pathetic creature was cautious at least. He flexed his claws, digging them deep into the oak tree that partially obscured his bulk. The firelight glinted off of his slitted eyes as slunk into the campsite, sniffing the meat the human had carelessly left over the fire as he considered his options. He could attack his prey now as it slept, though climbing the tree would slow and impede him, giving away his presence. It would have time to attack him with its magic before he could close the gap. A dishonorable and weak tactic to be sure, but one that would be effective. He had watched his prey use that very same tactic to hunt a young wood boar. There was no honor in its kill, but it had survived. No. Attacking now would cede the advantage to his prey. He was patient. Another day would not hurt. Eyeing the cooked meat on the fire, he snatched it in his claw, the heat barely felt through his [Heat Resistance]. Slipping back into the darkness of the forest, he took a large bite of the meat and chewed before swallowing with a chuckle as he searched for a place to rest. He would deprive his prey of its supplies while strengthening himself. An acceptable strategy, to take advantage of his prey''s failures. It would weaken with hunger, and then he would strike. Vengeance will be his! Chapter 16: Cliffside Confrontation Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline fueling her desperate flight. The woods were dark. Hostile. Working with that thing to slow her down. Trap her. Kill her. Branches lashed out to claw at her hair and her clothes. Roots rose from the earth to gab at her feet and trip her. An angry roar echoed through the darkness, punctuated by the crashing of something large charging through the forest. She was being hunted. Her weapon was gone, dropped as she fled the camp in her mad dash to escape. She was alone. Her magic was gone, used up in a desperate attempt to keep avoid the sharp claw of the thing that hunted her. It had bought her time, but not enough. The monster was closing in. She could hear its heavy breathing as it drew closer, the smell its rancid breath filling the air with the scent of death. All she could do was run, but she knew it wouldn''t be enough. She was too slow. Too clumsy. Too weak. A scream tore from her lips as she tripped and sprawled on the forest floor. Desperately she scrambled on her hands and knees, crawling to put any more distance between her and the monster that she could. A scaly claw grabbed her around the ankle and she desperately lunged against a tree, her nails sinking into the rough bark as she tried to pull herself free. The monster''s grip on her ankle was too strong. It ripped her away from the tree, her nails ripping out, left behind in the bark as it dragged her into its maw and crunched down.
Jun winced as she flexed her hand again. The knuckles were still sore from where she flailed against the tree as she woke from her nightmare in the post-dawn forest. It had made climbing down from the tree difficult and painful, but not impossible. The effort worked up an appetite, but she was horrified and disappointed to find that the remains of last night''s dinner were gone. When Shiori woke, she didn''t say anything about the missing meat and simply conjured some of her soup and lapped it up. A second bowl had appeared in front of Jun and she had to rush to catch it with her good hand, grimacing as she gulped down the soup, its broth like engine grease with chunks of swamp gunk. At this point she was starting to wonder if Shiori had a spell called [Conjure Soup of Despair] or something. It was better than starving she supposed, but only just. After choking down the soup and washing it down with some fresh stream water, Jun had shouldered her pack, cradling her not-spear in her good hand, and watched as Shiori simply made the campfire vanish before jumping up to perch on her shoulder and point the way. As she walked that day she could only half pay attention as Shiori shared what she knew of human culture in Merinthia. The other half of her poorly rested mind was occupied with memories of the nightmare. It had felt unnatural, more so than any other dream she could remember. The feeling of being hunted felt so visceral and real that even the bright light of day and a peaceful walk through the woods did nothing to distract her from the feeling that something was hunting her. In the midafternoon they reached a crystal clear lake where Shiori declared they would be stopping for the night. The lake was large, massive enough that Jun had mistaken it for the ocean as the other side of the shore was obscured over the horizon. Small windblown waves broke upon the white sand beach of the shoreline, and Jun could see a line of debris marking the high water mark. The lake''s water was crisp, cool, and fresh, without a hint of salt. From the shore, she could make out a colorful coral reef that wouldn''t have looked out of place in photos of a tropical paradise on Earth, but here it was in the middle of what Shiori assured her was a landlocked lake in the middle of the forest. Its existence didn''t make any sense to Jun''s limited understanding of natural sciences. As Jun walked along the shoreline, Shiori was unusually silent and spent some time simply staring out into the center of the lake. Jun tried to see what her Master was looking at, but all she could make out was a black speck on the horizon. After an hour of walking along the beach, Shiori directed Jun up into the forest for a few minutes then up to a weather worn stone path, the first real sign of civilization that Jun saw since being reborn. Shiori jumped down her shoulder then and led the way upon the time worn stone path. The road was wide enough for a modern vehicle from Earth to travel down with space to spare and sloped upwards, the stones eerily straight and undisturbed as not even stray leaves remaining to cover the road. Grass sprouted between the narrow gaps in the large paving stones, the only evidence that nature fought to reclaim the road. Jun followed Shiori down the road in silence for a few minutes, the shadows of the trees beginning to lengthen across the road as dusk approached. The pair reached the end of the path as the sky above was painted the pinks, oranges, and purples of sunset. A stone monument that reminded Jun of an obelisk with a hole bored through the center dominated the clearing at the end of the path, a scenic view of the lake and surrounding forest beyond. The crashing waves of the lake beat against the cliffside a hundred feet below. Through the hole in the monument, Jun could see the black speck that Shiori had stared at the entire afternoon magnified, revealing a small island covered in trees with a low rocky shoreline around it. Shiori stopped and sat, staring at the monument as the sun set. Jun kneeled down next to her Master, something in her telling her asking her to respect the peace of this place. Her knees began to ache as her stomach signaled its hunger, but still she sat with the silent black cat, simply watching the stone monument. The sky soon turned dark and the first twinkling stars of Merinthia''s night sky came out to shine before Shiori broke the silence of the moment. "Thank you, apprentice." Shiori''s voice was a whisper, a hint of sadness hidden in its tone. Shiori nodded once to the monument, then turned around to look over her shoulder down the now dark path, her tail flicking. A ball of night light manifested itself, illuminating the area as if a star had descended from the sky above. Shiori''s eyes narrowed as she stared down the path at something hidden in the shifting darkness.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. A low growl echoed from down the path alongside the scraping of claws against stone, and soon a hulking thing revealed itself in the bright light. Its scaley hide was blood red and would have appeared black in the dark. A long, jagged scar ran down the length of its left forelimb, devoid of scales. Its claws scraped the stone of the path as it moved forward, dragging each of its sharp talons against the stone with every step. A long reptilian head reminiscent of a crocodile sat upon its well-muscled shoulders, sharp teeth bared in a predatory smile as it growled, its slitted eyes locked upon Jun. A purple barrier snapped into being around the clearing, separating Shiori, Jun, and the hulking monster from the rest of the forest. A strange pressure shot out from the monster and pressed down upon them. Jun could feel alien emotions clawing at her psyche as she trembled. It demanded vengeance. It spoke of violence. It demanded her death. Jun struggled to breath, the aura pressing down on her suffocating her, making her body hard to move. She strained to move her hand to reach for the weapon tied to her pack on the ground as she struggled to move her mana into [Piercing Missile], the pressure making it near impossible for her to focus. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the monster''s muscles bunched up and it lunged forward, claws extended and pointed for her throat. Jun snapped her hand shut as she felt the cool metal of her weapon''s shaft and tugged it loose, placing it between herself and the charging monster! Everything froze. The monster hovered in mid lunge, its maw frozen in an fanged snarl. Jun was frozen in a half crouch, her weapon barely extended in front of her, her mana still and unmoving. Shiori casually padded forward between Jun and the monster! The monster blinked and worked its jaw, its head suddenly free. Jun could see its muscles bulge as it struggled to move, but only its head was free. It angrily snarled and hissed at Shiori, and she replied in the same, a growling, hissing language of monsters. The forest beyond the barrier went silent as an apex predator announced its presence to the world and demanded submission in the face of its overwhelming might. The monster''s face softened and grew meek, its head lifting to bare its throat and its tone submissive as it replied to Shiori. Shiori hissed and snarled again and the monster dropped to all fours, looking small as all its desire to fight vanished. Hissing one last time, the monster turned and fled back down the stone path, its tail tucked between its legs. Jun wheezed and struggled to catch her breath as the force holding her in place faded and the purple barrier vanished. "Wh-What was that...?" Jun wheezed her question at Shiori. The cat regarded her for a moment, her tail flicking back and forth as she considered her apprentice. "The foolishness of youth." Shiori finally replied after a long moment. "We will discuss more in the morning." Shiori''s campfire snapped into being at the edge of the path, a piece of meat appearing right after and spearing itself to the spit to begin roasting. Jun''s sleeping fur floated from her pack and laid itself out. "For now, rest, and recover." Too tired, confused, and stressed to argue, Jun numbly obeyed, moving over to sit on her fur. A wooden bowl piled with herb rubbed meat soon floated over to sit on the ground in front of her. She ate carefully with her left hand, her eyes flicking back and forth between the bowl in front of her, Shiori sitting across the fire from her, and the dark path the monster had fled down. Finishing her food, she laid down on the fur, the exhaustion and stress of the evening quickly dragging her to sleep, her right hand still tightly wrapped around her weapon.
Draxar fled into the night, fear gripping his soul. He made a mistake. Chose the wrong prey. He had dared to snarl at her, insult her, threaten to rip off her head. She responded with her own aura, and he had nearly drowned in it! His chest heaved as he remembered the soul crushing pressure of Her attention on him. He was less than nothing before Her. Less than a speck of dust. He felt the binding chains around his soul, reminding him of his oath to Her. The exchange was fresh in his mind, and he knew he would not forget it. The compulsion placed upon him urged him forward into the night. He had a year to complete Her assigned task. A year to prove himself worthy to Her or die.
Morning came quietly as Jun woke to the soft light of dawn. Her hand was stiff and sore from where she gripped the handle of her weapon the entire night. Slowly releasing the weapon, she began to stretch her hand, working her fingers into some semblance of usefulness as she looked around the camp in the golden light of dawn. The campfire still burned merrily and a pot had taken the place of the roasted meat from the night before to quietly simmer above the open flames. Of the night''s confrontation there was no evidence. No scratches in the stone at the end of the path, not a single blade of grass out of place. The view from the cliffside was spectacular, the rising sun peaking out from the horizon across the lake, its light shining upon the morning dew dotting the grass like precious diamonds. Shiori sat before the strange stone monument again, sitting and staring quietly at it. Her Master''s voice was quiet and reverent as she spoke, her voice whispering through the wind to reach Jun''s ears. "Sun Wind''s Fall is a peaceful place. No violence should occur here, and yet I didn''t stop what happened last night from occurring. Merinthia is a beautiful and brutal world, where strength is all that matters in the end. I could have prevented that monster from hunting you from the start, but I needed you to see the world for what it is kitten." "I spoke to the kobold. He sought your death for his own satisfaction and greed for power and prestige. I bound him and challenged him on your behalf to a duel in a year''s time, to give you an obstacle to overcome, to help you grow and learn enough to face the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. I am sorry to force this upon you, kitten." A mix of memories and emotions bubbled up inside her at her Master''s words. Memories of her first encounter with the monster in the cave, of the boar and other hunting trips that had her come so close to injury. The demonstration of Shiori''s powers, shaded in a new light after the night before. Fear. Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. Memories of Shiori finding her in the forest, taking her in, and caring for her when sick and injured. Shiori protecting her from the parasite and her guidance, often mocking or showing off, but filled with patience as she learned magic from the mysterious cat. Acceptance. Love. Trust. Jun kneeled next to the cat and idly stroked her fur, eliciting a soft purr from her Master. Memories of her last life, ended in tragedy, horror, and pain, floated through her mind as she acknowledge them, then set them aside. "Life can be ugly and full of pain, with obstacles and challenges. Everything you did helped me to learn. Thank you, Master Shiori." Jun smiled at the cat, so small and yet so incredibly powerful, as she continued to pet her. "The next year will be hard. You will need to train your body and your magic, and learn to fight beyond simply casting spells. But that is a problem for tomorrow, today, we rest." Shiori stepped into Jun''s lap and laid her head down on her paws, purring softly as Jun sat back, watching the sun rise over the lake. They sat like that for some time as the sun rose, until both of their rumbling stomachs broke the silence. Laughing, Shiori floated two bowls of her soup over to them, one laying down in the grass in front of the cat, the other in front of the young woman, waiting to be accepted. Jun stared at the steaming bowl of soup, the scent of the bitter herbs causing her tongue to recoil in fear. Giggling, she reached up and accepted the bowl in her hands and gladly drained it. Chapter 17: Raising a Kitten Shiori''s first memories were of being abandoned. She hadn''t yet had a name, only knowing herself as herself. Her mother that had raised disappeared one day. The mewing cries of herself and her littermates were ignored. One by one, they crawled out of their den, mewing, searching for mother. And one by one, her littermates vanished, leaving her alone. Her belly full of milk quickly disappeared and she grew hungry, and thirsty. She left the den, the last of her litter to do so, crawling out of the dark to search for mother, for her littermates. What she found instead was a giant girl with dark purple hair crouching down in front of her, hand extended in greeting. The girl smelled strange, new, dangerous. She''d hissed and swatted at the girl''s hand, her back arched and tail puffing out to increase her size, show that she was to be feared and respected. She had expected a scream or a yell of anger, prepared for a fight. She hadn''t expected to be given food. The girl held a something out to her. She sniffed the thing, feeling a wet dot on her nose as she got too close. The thing smelled delicious, not like her mother''s milk, but something her instincts told her would be almost as good. She licked the thing and tasted a delicious gob of something. She kept licking, until all the gobs were gone. She mewed at the giant in front of her, demanding more of the delicious gobs, and another soon appeared. She continued to lick gob after gob until her stomach was full and she felt tired, sleepy. She awoke again pressed against something warm. Mother? No, the warmth was different, the fur strange. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the giant from before carrying her somewhere. The world outside the den smelled different, sounded different. Too many different things. Things her instincts couldn''t tell her about. The giant girl brought her to a new den, a new home with other giants and full of warm wood and cold, humming metal. She was given a name. Shiori. A guide. And a title. Ship''s cat. The other giants were kind, offering food and toys and attention. She grew bigger, stronger. The giants were still giant to her, but less so. They gave her plenty of food and love, and she in turn protected them from the squeaking intruders that dared to invade their home. She protected her family. The purple haired girl was her sister, barely more than a kitten herself. They grew together, and her sister taught her. Words. Tricks. Magic. Shiori soon learned her sister''s name, Shari. Time passed and they grew, Shiori quicker than Shari. They played together, learned together, worked together. Until the day they didn''t. Things changed, and Shiori was alone again. Shiori continued to grow stronger and learn more, about magic, about herself, about the world and beyond.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Time passed. Too much time. Much of it alone. A small disturbance in the fabric of the world pulled Shiori out of her musing as she raised her head up from her ledge in the cave. Her den that she had claimed through might. The disturbance pulled at her so she left to investigate, to sate her curiosity. She could feel the pulsing of the fabric quickening then suddenly tear as a hole was ripped through it. A young human girl fell out of the rift and landed in the meadow as Shiori watched from a tree. She had purple hair. Shari?! Shiori prowled closer, focusing all of her attention on the girl. It had been so long. It couldn''t be her. She approached, her eyes glowing as she peered into the girl''s soul. It was strange. Different. Interesting. The girl stuck her hand out at Shiori, reminding her once more of Shari. She sniffed the girl''s hand, and it smelled familiar, comforting, but different. Memories of a time and place long in the past came up unbidden and Shiori purred for the first time in a long time. Memories of a girl with purple hair much like the one in front of her, delicious food, and a comforting hand. The girl''s name was Jun. She was grown for a kitten, but still young, weak, and naive. Shiori was no longer a kitten, but the girl in front of her was. She took the kitten to her den, prepared the things she knew the human girl would need, and fed her. She let the kitten experience her first taste of conflict, but Shiori had miscalculated. Her kitten was not ready and had gotten hurt, but she still managed to chase off the kobold. She trained the girl, and she learned quickly, far quicker than Shiori had as a kitten. Days turned into weeks as the kitten Jun learned and blossomed, until she fell ill. The illness was nothing new to Shiori, but she had forgotten about it. Shari had suffered the same illness many times, as did the other human women Shiori had known. But she''d never learned much about treating it. She knew the herbs to ease pain and speed recovery. Magics that could help with the symptoms, but little about the illness itself, nor how to be a human woman. Little Jun cannot live with just her alone in her den. She needed more. Memories of the human town outside of the forest came to mind. It was a young town. Certainly younger than Shiori. It would be perfect for Jun to enrich herself, learn more about being human from other humans. Decided, Shiori packed up her kitten''s things and they set off. The journey would be long for little Jun, but important to her growth. Shiori guided her through the forest, first to Sun Wind''s Fall, where she would introduce little Jun to her family. Shari and Jun would have gotten along well. The introduction was interrupted, though Shiori had a feeling it would be. She dealt with the obsessed reptile that stalked her kitten. He would serve to temper her little Jun, her kitten and apprentice. But she still needed time to grow and learn. A year should be enough time. The remaining trip through the forest was uneventful. Shiori guided Jun through the use of her magic, teaching her what she could about how to use magic in a fight and introducing her to combat beyond simple hunting. Much of what Shiori knew instinctively could not be taught or little Jun was not ready for, but she would be one day. It just required building a proper foundation. A day before they would reach the human town, Shiori sensed something. An opportunity for little Jun. She subtly altered their course, guiding little Jun forward. Towards a new opportunity. Chapter 18: Fateful Encounter "Die!" Gareth shouted as he kicked forward, knocking the goblin back to gain space. Growling, he charged after it, taking advantage of it being off balance to thrust his sword into its throat and ripping it out, spattering its black blood on the forest floor. The goblin clutched its ruined throat as it collapsed next to its kin while Gareth spun around, searching for his next target. As the party''s frontline tank, it was his job to press into enemy ranks and take their attention, but the cunning things baited him forward while the rest of his party was ambushed from behind. Several goblins lay unmoving with arrows sticking out of their bodies, but it wasn''t enough. Sara dodged the a swipe from a goblin''s sword, her bow shattered on the ground. She sent probing attacks at the goblin with her paired daggers, but for all her Agility she struggled to make up the difference in reach of their weapons, and this goblin wasn''t the only one seeking her blood. Several more pressed the attack, forcing her to give more ground and pushing her further out of position! Cecilia, the party''s other frontline fighter, held off another handful of the green skinned monsters with wide swings of her two-handed sword. The space around her was littered with corpses and her chainmail stained with blood, but not all of it was green, and she was still surrounded. Corin and Lane fought back to back, fending off a pair of goblins each with their staves. Corin chanted an invocation as he blocked and swung, his amulet glowing with white light as the party''s various wounds slowly knitted together. Lane''s face was haggard, evidence of mana overdraw. The charred undergrowth and smoldering corpses gave proof where his mana had gone. He must have spent it all on [Fireball], the Apprentice ranked spell far too expensive for more than a few casts at his level. "[Tremoring Charge]!" Gareth howled the skill''s name as he shoved his mana into it. His muscles bulged as his body blurred, his steps leaving deep footprints and shockwaves in his wake. He charged through the goblins crowding Cecilia to intercept the goblins pulling Sara out of position, the shockwaves from his skill throwing them off balance for a moment! Cecilia took advantage of Gareth''s charge, spinning her sword around to slash through a goblin''s throat while it was off balance before smoothly transitioning to thrust her blade through another''s chest. Gareth bashed a swung mace away with his shield then chopped into the offending goblin''s leg as it let out a piercing shriek and dropped its weapon. He blocked another goblin''s thrown axe with his shield and parried another''s spear out of the way before Sara was there, chopping into the spear wielder''s wrist with one dagger and stabbing it in the neck with the other. Space made, the five party members got back into position as the goblins regrouped, their numbers diminished but still vastly outnumbering them. Gareth could feel his bruises slowly healing as Corin''s healing magic did its work, but he feared it wouldn''t be enough. The howling of more goblins arriving changed his mind. It definitely wouldn''t be enough. The math simply didn''t add up. Lane was out of mana, his face drawn and his arcane focus dim as he took a spot in the frontline, his staff gripped in two hands. Sara''s bow lay split in two and trampled in the bloody mud, her remaining arrows used up or spilled from her quiver as she dodged around. Cecilia''s chest heaved and her face was covered in sweat, her helmet missing. Gareth was in the best shape of the five by far, his round wooden shield filled with knicks and gashes from blocked blows. A goblin''s thrown axe still hung from the face, wedged into the iron banding of the shield''s edge. The goblins hadn''t been able to find the gaps in his plate armor, but they had taken to bashing him about, leaving his body bruised and aching. "Gar, what''s the plan? I''m almost out of mana!" Corin gasped, his amulet beginning to flicker. Grim-faced, Gareth rotated his arms and squared his shoulders, tapping into his remaining mana and funneling it towards his skill. "I''ll use [Tremoring Charge] again, throw them off balance. The rest of you run for it when I do!" "Bullshit Gareth, no heroics!" Cecilia growled, readying her sword as the goblins began to spread out and approach. Lane nodded, his face resigned as he tightened the grip on his staff. "I''m not fast enough anyways. Exercise was never my thing. Sara and Corin can make it though." "I won''t abandon you all without any healing." Corin''s voice was firm, brooking no argument even as his amulet dimmed and he winced, the telltale sign that he was getting a low mana headache. "Yeah fuck that, we live or die together!" Sara screamed as she flung her daggers one after the other and pulled her last two from her belt sheathes. The daggers found their homes in two of the approaching goblins throats, startling the horde for a moment before they shrieked and charged!Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Shrieking war cries in the goblin tongue, the goblins closed in on the party, their weapons ready to kill the injured and depleted adventurers. The grim-faced adventurers tensed, ready to make a desperate last stand as they faced down certain death. Chaos erupted in the goblin''s ranks as a swarm of light blue projectiles shot through the grouped up goblins from the side, punching through and dropping a dozen of them! The goblin war band''s charge collapsed in on itself at the sudden attack and the goblins fell into a panicked frenzy, their beady eyes searching through the forest for their ambusher. A flare of hope rose in the chests of the beleaguered adventures at the sudden assistance and they straightened their backs, adjusting their grips on their weapons as the goblins hunkered down. A new projectile came from the forest to the party''s left and popped a goblin''s head, showering the disorganized mob in foul smelling brain matter. A second goblin''s chest exploded as another projectile launched into it, filling the air with a green mist of goblin blood. The goblins shrieked at the renewed assault, looking about for the unseen enemy killing them. One of the goblins shouted something in the goblin tongue and pointed at the exhausted adventurers, urging its kin forward to kill the enemy they could see. The rage-filled goblins resumed their aborted charge on the adventurers'' formation! The brief respite filled the five adventurers with renewed hope and determination. Bellowing a war cry, Gareth countercharged and crashed shield first into the remaining goblins, scattering their diminutive forms with the weight of a well trained, heavily armored adventurer. A rusty axe bounced off his chest plate and a bone spear shattered on his thigh armor, leaving bruises and dents behind but failing to pierce. His sword sunk into the axe holder''s chest and got stuck in its ribcage. Giving up the weapon, Gareth turned and caved in the spear wielder''s face with his shield as he yanked his dagger free from his belt. To his right, Cecilia danced among the goblins, her heavy blade chopping into arms and legs. Sara followed behind, her daggers finishing off the wounded goblins left in Cecilia''s wake. Lane fended off a lone goblin with his staff, a light blue shield spell blocking the goblin''s blows until Lane could push the goblin off balance and cave its temple in with a lucky strike. Corin''s amulet went dim as he sagged to the ground, panting with his robes soaked in sweat. The forest around them was destroyed, littered with corpses and painted in gore, but with no living goblins in sight. Despite the lack of visible enemies, the party remained tense and on guard. Those spells had been enormously powerful. Who or what helped them, and why? The answer was soon in coming as a fallen branch snapped from something stepping on it and the bushes to their left, where the spells had come from, started to rustle. Gareth sheathed his dagger and freed his sword from the goblin''s chest then turned with the rest of the party to point their weapons towards the shaking bushes. Muttered grunts and curses could be heard coming from vegetation as something tore a path through. A silvery blade thrust through the leaves, followed by a pale hand holding the weapon as a girl tumbled out from the bushes and landed on her rear. The adventurers froze as they took in the new arrival. Her clothing was tattered, and left little to the imagination. She was wearing rags that once might have been a shirt and skirt, but now covered her most important bits and little else. Gareth''s face grew warm as he eyed her, propriety demanding he avert his gaze but practicality and common sense telling him she could be a threat and not to take his eye off of her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw as Sara, Cecilia, and Lane tensed as well, their body language screaming that they were treating her as a potential threat. He heard the rustle of robes and a few quick steps behind him before Cecilia''s voice let out a hissed command that Gareth could barely hear. "Hold off, she might be a threat!" Though she hadn''t named him, Gareth was sure it was Corin. It was always Corin. Gareth regarded the scandalously dressed girl in front of him again as she wiped mud out of her eyes. She had a slender frame that almost looked underfed, with barely any fat on her bones but decently muscled. Her long hair was messy and filled with leaves and mud, as if she''d been living out in the forest for some time. A light traveler''s pack was held by a single strap across her back, the other seemingly ripped away somehow. The most interesting thing about her was her weapon still tightly clutched in her right hand, the blade gleaming in the dappled sunlight of the forest. A war wand. Gareth had heard descriptions of them, but rarely seen them, considering the expense and restricted nature of such weapons. She was the picture of an escaped captive of a goblin raid or fugitive slave, or perhaps a street orphan who had fled town to live in the woods instead of signing on with a guild or the kingdom. Except that the war wand changed things. Something like that should have been in the hands of only the most wealthy and powerful of nobles, high level adventurers, or the kingdom''s elite combat magi. Not in the hands of a lone girl seemingly lost in the outskirts of the Forest of Kresh with such revealing clothing that seasoned brothel workers would hesitate to wear them. That made him think her a thief that had gotten extremely lucky and thought to flee justice through the forest. She wouldn''t be the first. The swarm of spells that''d shattered the goblin horde out of nowhere had been powerful, likely the innate spell in the war wand. That made her a possible criminal and fugitive from justice, as well as a potential threat to himself and his party. As a knight of the realm, he had a duty to apprehend dangerous criminals, and this strange girl seemed to qualify, even if her intervention had saved their lives. A single good deed did not erase her wrongs, but he didn''t know for sure. He would be cautious and question her, and if he didn''t like her answers he would apprehend her. Dead or alive. Gareth stepped toward the girl, his sword pointed towards the ground though he could run her through in a blink if she proved an enemy. Mustering his most authoritative voice, he set his suspicions and doubts to the side as he questioned her. "Who are you?" Chapter 19: The Price of Life. Since leaving Sun Wind''s Fall, the journey through the forest had gotten more interesting. Shiori had stopped riding on Jun''s shoulder and began to tutor her in combat as a magic user, which made things both more interesting and more difficult. She was forced to randomly climb up trees and run through the forest, all while an elusive Shiori pelted her with sticks and leaves or tried to trip her into mud or rivers. She quickly learned to dodge and use her [Barrier] spell more efficiently, and the repeated practice had resulted in her leveling it up several times.
[Barrier] (Apprentice 4) (+3)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. Cost: 76 mana minimum, variable.
Each level had made the base spell more efficient as she grew familiar with it, especially as she learned to reduce the waste of the spell even more, which let her keep it up longer. As they moved Shiori taught her the basics of navigation by the sun and moon, as well as the stars. The sun rose to the East and set in the West, which made things easier for Jun to remember as it was the same as on Earth, however learning to navigate by the stars proved too difficult for her to do reliably. She learned that the forest, called the Forest of Kresh, was truly massive, measuring several hundred miles wide at its narrowest points, and thousands of miles wide at its worse, taking up a full third of the continent they were on and split it into quarters. Shiori couldn''t recall what the name of the continent was, only that it had changed several times in her lifetime and she wasn''t sure what it was now. Sun Wind''s Fall, the lake they had left, was near the middle of the forest, but through shortcuts Shiori refused to explain, they were able to shorten the trip by months, covering thousands of miles in a day. All Jun knew for sure was that one moment, she had been following Shiori down through a valley seemingly surrounded by endless forest, and when they ascended out of it, she could see plains on the edge of the horizon. When she had turned around expecting to see the valley they had traveled through she had been shocked to see only a small mountain range that they stood at the summit of, the valley nowhere to be found. After passing through Shiori''s shortcut, that was when the monster attacks had begun. Shiori told her that the forest grew increasingly dangerous towards the center, but that they were now in the outskirts where monsters were more numerous but far less powerful. The first evidence Jun had of this was later that day as they hiked out of the mountains, only to be ambushed by rancid smelling small humanoid things with green ears, large bulging eyes, and wielding weapons that Shiori called goblins. Shiori froze them into place and told Jun to fight them one at a time as the horde shrieked and yelled at her in a harsh, guttural language. Jun had objected, something about killing something that could speak and use weapons felt different and wrong. She couldn''t help but picture their families and loved ones, tiny goblin babies and goblin children playing in a village somewhere, going about their lives peacefully. Shiori then reminded her of how brutal a place Merinthia was. She described how the goblins were created in an old war as a biological weapon, one meant to target civilians and noncombatants. What the goblins ate. How they reproduced. How they acquired their weapons. What they did for fun and kept as trinkets. The truth of her Master''s words were hard to ignore, especially once she noticed the proof of the captured goblins predations. Shiori released the first goblin as she ordered Jun to defend herself. It rushed her with drool dripping out of its mouth as it waved a sword. Jun instinctively cast her [Barrier] and pushed it out to block the goblin, but she pushed harder than thought it could move and the spell collided with the goblin''s face, snapping its thin neck. She''d stared in shock as the goblin limply collapsed, its sword clanging to the ground. Poorly remembered first aid lessons from Earth kicked in and she''d ran to the goblin to look for a pulse, but that was when she''d found the bloodstained doll tucked in the goblin''s shirt. Confronted with the evidence of the goblin''s victims, Jun felt a naive innocence inside her shatter. She had seen red, and the next thing she knew she had coalesced a dozen [Piercing Missile]s as two goblins were released. They only had time to scream before her anger fueled spells shredded them. Her head felt like it was going to split open as she used up all of her mana, and she nearly collapsed from the strain. Seeing Jun reach her limit, Shiori had simply executed the rest, and they piled and burned the bodies, including their gory trinkets and weapons. They''d descended back into the forest after that. The oily black smoke from burning the bodies had been visible for hours as Jun often found herself looking over her shoulder to stare at the column of smoke, guilt at murdering sentient beings warring with her feeling justified in killing beings that could do such monstrous things for fun. Stolen story; please report. It was the middle of the next morning when she heard the screams. She''d immediately run off, Shiori silently following after her, as she followed the sound of people fighting. Jun had climbed a tree, and what she saw was horrifying. What looked like a knight with a sword and shield was fighting against a group of goblins, separated from four others who were being attacked by another group. The woman with the bow hadn''t noticed the goblins coming from her side until it was almost too late, and she''d had to block a swung axe with her bow, the weapon breaking as she dropped back. Without her arrows, the knight in front was quickly separated, and the warrior with the two handed sword struggled to hold the goblins off. She''d watched as a man wearing a red cloak and holding a staff formed several balls of fire that shot out and incinerated a group of goblins, but then he''d stopped casting spells. As Jun watched the fight, wondering what she should do, she saw the knight finish off the goblins surrounding him and turn back to help his friends. Just as she thought they would be fine and she wouldn''t have to get her hands and soul dirtier by killing more sentient beings, more goblins arrived. Jun couldn''t just stand by and watch people get killed. Even if she didn''t know who had started the fight, the memory of the goblins'' "trinkets" was fresh in her mind and sparked a new wave of anger that she barely controlled. Working quickly, she did her best to channel as many spells as she could, remembering what she''d done in anger. She began casting small [Piercing Missiles], as many as she could hold in place. She lost count of the small spells, and was soon surrounded with a small cloud of darts. Jun knew she was out of time as the goblins howled and charged. Visions of the five people being slaughtered and the decision she was about to make brought the taste of acrid bile to her throat as she mentally released the swarm of [Piercing Missile]s into the goblin horde. The results made her sick. A dozen goblins nearly exploded as her spells flew through them, murdering them where they stood. The acidic burn of bile rose in her throat at the lives she reaped so easily. Even from her hidden perch a hundred feet, she could see the fine details, know that these goblins were not innocent beings, but it didn''t help. The guilt ate at her even as she continued to cast, reaping more lives with a thought and a grimace. She sent off several more spells, hoping that the remaining goblins would simply flee and she could stop killing, but they didn''t. They charged. Jun, caught in the momentum of the battle, continued casting [Piercing Missile] to pick off the goblins as they continued their suicidal charge. In just a few seconds, the battle had rapidly changed as the two armored warriors and the archer with her daggers were putting up a good fight, but the man in the cloak and staff was struggling. A goblin pressed him with its spear, the man barely avoiding or parrying the goblins thrusts. Jun checked her mana and was surprised and horrified to see how little mana it took to kill so many.
Mana: 95/200 [15/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
Over a dozen lives for just over a hundred mana. She felt more bile rising in her throat at how cheap a life was as the cloaked man desperately parried another strike. She pulled her mana into her mind, preparing to cast another spell, take another life, when she froze. She could save him without taking another life! She had the mana. She knew the right spell. Desperately she redirected her mana, shoving it into her other spell form, willing it to coalesce in front of the man, to protect him. She didn''t think about the distance, or about her limits. The goblin''s spear dived for the man''s throat, his staff out of place for him to parry again. He desperately started to lean away from the blow, but he was too slow. The spear moved in slow motion to Jun''s eyes, moments away from tearing a hole in the man''s throat as her spell coalesced, stopping the blow at the last moment! The goblin snarled as thrust its weapon again, but Jun willed her spell to protect the man and stop the attack. Blow after frenzied blow was blocked as the goblin grew tired, and it over-extended in a desperate stab at the man! A well timed parry pushed the goblin off balance and he counterattacked, his staff cracking into the goblin''s temple as it crumpled to the ground! The glowing blue shield construct faded as Jun''s concentration lapsed. Shaking, Jun climbed down and slumped against the trunk of the tree, her stomach and mind roiling. Images of the gore and horror she inflicted on the goblins with her spells flashed through her mind as she emptied her stomach in the grass. Shiori appeared and rubbed up against her side as she wiped her mouth, shuddering as visions of gore and carnage refused to leave her be. Spitting out the last of the wretchedness from her mouth, she looked at Shiori, then at the bushes that led to the people she had saved. Shame and guilt at what she''d done warred with her desire to meet other people. Shiori was her Master and teacher, but something human inside of her yearned to meet other people. Plus, at least one of them was a woman who might be able to help with... that. Resolving to face her sins, Jun began pressing forward through the bushes, but the going was hard. Unsheathing her not-spear, she began to hack and slash at the stubborn vegetation, cutting a path forward as Shiori followed behind her. As she got near the edge of the bushes Jun tried to rush forward, only to trip on a low hanging branch and tumble head over heels out of the bushes and landing on her butt in the mud! Jun looked up as the jingle of armor and heavy footsteps pulled her attention to a large man covered in armor like a knight or paladin out of a medieval fantasy. It was the knight that had been fighting the goblins! His armor was dented and scratched from abuse, and covered in mud and dark green goblin''s blood. His sword was still stained with gore as he held it not quite pointed at her, but the message was clear. He would attack if provoked. Jun shook at the thought of being stabbed with his sword, and quietly hoped Shiori would appear by her side and ease everything over for her. His voice was deep and commanding as he spoke, nearly growling a question at her. "Who are you?" Jun opened her mouth to reply before her brain caught up to her mouth. Wait. English?! Chapter 20: Whys everyone speak English anyways?! Jun stared blankly at the knight standing in front of her holding a sword dripping with blood that asked her a question. In English. On a magical world that probably didn''t have an England. Unless they were a lot better at colonizing places than her high school history books said they were. But then they would have magic and America would never have won independence. Nope. Probably not the British. But English?! Why would the knight speak English?! Why would Shiori speak English?! Was any of this even real?! What''s going on?! Somewhere between Earth, the afterlife, Merinthia, and the magical talking cat, a wire or fifty got crossed, and now Jun''s brain was short circuiting. It had taken a while to catch up to her, but for some reason it was the knight asking her a question the first time they met that finally did it. How did she understand him?! A light nudge against her side brought her out of it, and she turned her head to see Shiori pressed up against her and staring curiously at the knight. The cat''s voice whispered into her ears. "Calm down. Just answer the armored idiot as simply as possible." "J-Jun... m-my name is Jun..." she stuttered, her eyes wide as she followed her Master''s lead. She trusted that Shiori wouldn''t steer her wrong. "A-and this is my Master Shiori!" she nearly shouted, gesturing nervously towards the black cat. Shiori stared at Jun for a moment then glanced at the knight in front of them and let out a loud meow. The knight stared at them for several long seconds, his sword twitching slightly. "Your... master...?" the knight replied, his voice tinged with confusion. He took a deep breath before rattling off several rapid-fire questions. "Why are you out here? Were you the one that cast those spells at the goblins? Where did you get that weapon?" Jun considered what to tell the man. Could he sense lies? Would he believe if she told him the whole truth? Maybe just a part of it, a sliver of truth? Shiori said to keep it simple. Simple was easy. She could do simple. Jun felt Shiori''s whiskers tickling against her arm as her Master nodded along as if the cat could read her mind and agreed with her thoughts. At this point, she wouldn''t be surprised if the cat could read her mind. "I was... born in the forest. I cast those spells. I found this weapon in the cave we lived in." Jun kept it short and simple, truthful, but not all of the truth. It was something she''d gotten good at in the last couple years of her past life. Keeping secrets, telling half truths instead of lying outright. The religion she''d grown up with had left its mark, abhorred lies, among other things. Even if her experience told her that her former religion was woefully wrong about what came after death, Jun still carried its teachings with her, for better or worse. Here, it taught her how to lie without lying.
Gareth felt his eye twitching as the strange girl answered him. Her appearance had already been surprising, but he hadn''t expected a black house cat of all things to appear next to her and meow after the girl introduced her pet to them as her master! Her next answers had been even more ridiculous, for as short her answers were. Born in the forest? There were no known settlements anywhere in the thousands of miles of untamed forest. Just dungeons, ancient ruins, and dangerous monsters. Finding the war spear in a cave was slightly more plausible, as powerful relics could sometimes be found in the forest. Confirmation that the girl casted those spells in front of her though made her dangerous, though less so now that she had confirmed her ability. The way she''d said ''we'' however... Gareth relaxed his grip on his sword slightly, letting the tip of the weapon drift towards the ground. As improbable as her minimal story was, her appearance gave off the story of a lone girl, perhaps the daughter of isolated hermits, who impossibly raised her in the forest. Expeditions had been known to survive for months at a time in the forest with some difficulty, so it wouldn''t be impossible. But none of this was anything he could verify out here. It might be best left to the kingdom officials in the city, or the academy staff, to deal with this girl. Gareth nodded to himself. That course of action would make the most sense. Bring her in and make figuring her out someone else''s problem! It should be safe enough anyways, she had helped them out.
Jun watched as the knight mulled over her answers for a minute. Her heart was still racing from having a sword drawn near her, but "Thank you for your help with the goblins, but I''ll need to ask you to come with us." The knight''s voice was firm as he stepped away from her. Shakily, Jun got to her feet and Shiori jumped on her shoulder to rest. Jun nervously looked at the rest of the humans as the knight moved over to them. A fierce argument broke out between the five of them in hushed whispers. The cloaked man made angry hand gestures and repeatedly threw suspicious looks at her through narrowed eyes. The warrior woman seemed to nod along as he gestured violently, while the knight held firm. The other man wearing clothing reminiscent of a preacher made pleading gestures and kept looking over at Jun with a mixture of kindness and embarrassment before quickly looking away. The final woman, the archer, had simply walked away as the party continued to argue and rushed over to Jun, a smile on her face. "Hi! I''m Sara!" she said brightly with a smile on her face as she stuck her hand out in greeting. Jun jumped at the warm greeting, only the second interaction she''d had with another human in nearly a month and a half. Nervously, she stuck her right hand out to shake Sara''s hand, only to realize she still gripped the not-spear in it. "I-I''m Jun," she squeaked, clumsily shifting the weapon to her left, she gripped the cheery woman''s hand in her own and shook, memories of her father''s lessons about giving a firm handshake coming to mind unbidden. She squeezed firmly, perhaps too firmly as Jun saw the woman wince at her grip. Sara grinned mischievously and returned the favor, nearly crushing Jun''s hand and making it her turn to wince. Once they let go, Jun couldn''t help but limply shake her hand to chase the pain of the handshake away as Sara continued to smile at her. "That was some impressive spell work you did! You really saved us!" As Sara said this, Jun couldn''t help but glance at the corpse-strewn battlefield, the fight fresh in her mind. Her stomach roiled a bit, but freshly empty nothing threatened to come back up. Seeing Jun go green at mentioning the fight, Sara moved closer, subtle redirecting the girl''s gaze to her as she did. Her eyes landed upon the black cat resting on Jun''s shoulder. The cat yawned wide, showing off its sharp teeth before laying it''s head back down, cracking an eye open to watch Sara. She couldn''t help the feeling of glee welling up inside of her. The cat was so cute! "What''s your cat''s name?" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "She''s no¡ª" Jun started to answer but Shiori''s voice interrupted her, making her jump and turn to look at her Master laying across her shoulders. "Tell them I''m your pet. And don''t worry, no one can hear me if I don''t want them to." "Her name''s Shiori..." Jun mumbled, her ears burning as she blushed awkwardly. ''So cute!'' Sara couldn''t help but enjoy the sight of the girl in front of her trying to keep down her blush. "Shiori''s a beautiful name for a beautiful cat. May I pet her?" She tried to keep the hope out of her voice, but she was pretty sure she failed. Sara couldn''t help it, she had a weakness for cute things! "She may." Shiori''s voice surprised Jun again, but at least she didn''t jump this time. Feeling too awkward to speak, Jun simply nodded slowly at the woman in front of her. Sara slowly presented her hand to Shiori, patiently waiting as the cat sniffed her a few times before nudging her head against Sara''s hand. Barely keeping down a high pitched squeal, Sara lightly scratched the cat''s chin, the vibrations of her purrs telling her she was doing a good job. Jun cautiously eyed the woman in front of her while she was distracted with Shiori''s pet cat act. Sara wasn''t much taller than her and had a slim, athletic figure. The woman''s clothes were battle worn leather and cloth, with fresh cuts revealing unblemished skin, though the cuts were stained red with blood. Two daggers were sheathed on her hips, and three leather straps wrapped around her chest that she assumed secured the empty quiver she''d seen strapped to the woman''s back. Her skin was lightly tanned, and her hair was silver. As Jun studied Sara''s face closer, she noticed the woman''s features were softer than she''d assumed, the bits of grime from the battle and her silver hair making her look older than she probably was. Her eyes were a deep purple color, and her ears... were pointed. Jun recalled with a start that this world had been described as having many humanoid races, and standing right in front of her was an elf! A real life elf! A light poke on the tip of her nose made her realize she''d been staring at the elf''s ears for quite a while. Blinking, she followed the finger on her nose to see a mildly annoyed Sara smiling back at her, Shiori laying across her shoulders like a traitor! "Done staring?" the elf woman asked, her tone strained. Shiori''s voice whispered into her ears again, tinged with amusement as the cat cracked an eye open at her from the elf''s shoulders. "Oh kitten, I forgot to mention, elves tend to be sensitive about their ears!" Her Master was a traitor! "S-Sorry!" Jun bowed her head down, her face bright red with embarrassment! Sara didn''t respond, the silence between them drawing on awkwardly as Jun fidgeted in place. Musical laughter broke the silence suddenly and Jun looked up to see Sara laughing as Shiori jumped to the ground, her latest perch disturbed. "It''s fine! I''m not that sensitive about my ears, but you''re lucky I''m your first!" Sara winked at her and she felt her ears grow hotter with embarrassment at the flirty elf''s teasing. After a few minutes more of the elf''s teasing, the rest of the party finally seemed to come to an agreement and split up. The man in the priest robes moved to sit under a tree and meditate, while the warrior woman and the cloaked man split up and began looting the goblin corpses. The knight who first questioned Jun came over to the two of them, his helmet tucked under his arm to reveal a serious but handsome face topped with sweaty sandy brown hair and piercing green eyes. His sword was sheathed this time, and as he approached he glanced at Sara and gave the elf a slight nod before facing Jun. "Jun, thank you for your assistance earlier. We appreciate your help, however we can''t in good conscience leave you out here alone. Would you be willing to come to the city with us?" Jun glanced from the knight and Sara to Shiori. The knight''s face was impassive as he waited for her to answer and Sara gave her a quick encouraging smile, while Shiori seemed to be ignoring everything and cleaning herself as a normal cat would, but her Master''s voice quietly tickled her ears. "We should go with them. Your current goal is to get to the human city and learn from other humans after all, and traveling with them will make it easier to join the city. Humans do tend to be tedious with all their rules after all." Her Master made a good point. Jun could remember how tedious life on Earth was, how much documentation was required to do anything. When she had first gotten her driver''s license, she''d had to provide proof that she had driven for a minimum number of hours, pass a written and practical test, and provide proof of her identity, including a copy of her birth certificate. Enrolling in the community college hadn''t been much easier, as she''d had to provide copies of her high school transcripts, diploma, identification, and loads of other documents just to gain the privilege to pay to take courses! It''s not like she''d come to this world with any for of identification beyond her status screen that simply said her first name, and her instincts were telling her that sharing all of her skills, traits, stats, and titles would be a mistake. She could only imagine what kind of identity theft scams might exist in a world with magic! "Okay. I''ll come with you," Jun answered. The knight gruffly nodded and left to help the party loot the goblins, while Sara smiled even wider and wrapped her arm around Jun''s shoulders and pulled her close! "Great! Well the sooner we get all this cleaned up, the sooner we can head back!" Guiding Jun around with her, Sara collected her arrows and showed Jun how to loot the goblins by slicing off their ears and putting them in a bag. The work was gruesome and needled Jun''s sensitive stomach, but the day''s events had already left her partially numb to the morbid task. As they worked, Jun found a quiet moment to go off into the bushes with the excuse of needing to relieve herself so that she could talk to Shiori and finally ask the questions that had been bothering her. "Master! What language are they speaking?! Why can I understand them? Why can I understand you?! It all sounds like English from my past life!" She quickly whispered the questions to the cat as she hid behind a tree. She hoped it wouldn''t be long, because that would just be embarrassing to the newly met people. "Merinthian Common?" Shiori''s voice answered as her Master stared at her, ears flicking. "I forgot that you''re not familiar with other worlds and quirks of the universe. No matter, the answer is both interesting and not. Though the knowledge may have been lost on this world. I''ll explain while you continue to help your new friends." Jun nodded and headed back to help, as Shiori''s voice filled her ears with another lesson. One, Jun realized with a frown, she wouldn''t be able to ask her Master questions about until much later without being overheard! "The questions you asked have been asked an uncountable number of times by an uncountable number of people. ''English'' as you called it is a strange language. Many sentients only realize what I''m about to tell you once they begin to travel the wider cosmos. Language, like all things, evolves over time to adapt to new circumstances. A strange quirk amongst the sentients of the universe is that there is a trade language called ''Universal Common'' that is widely used. It is used because remarkably, nearly every sentient planet in the universe inevitably develops a variant of this language naturally. This ''English'' as you call it is a variant of Universal Common. The language your new friends use is Merinthian Common." "Much like how nature seems to love making things with more than four legs, like spiders, bugs, and crabs, the universe seems to enjoy making remarkably similar languages. Each variant has its quirks and differences, but the similarities are nearly always greater than the differences." As Jun worked, Shiori''s lesson caused more questions to pop up in her head, ones she couldn''t ask until she had another private moment with her Master. Jun didn''t have another opportunity that day. Chapter 21: Last Night in the Forest The group of adventurers plus Jun and Shiori camped in a clearing beside a pond that evening on the way to the city. Sara scouted the way back through the forest to find a camp site for the night as the city was too far of a journey to make with what remained of the day''s light. Preparing the camp hadn''t taken very long especially as Jun stayed out of the way of the efficient adventurers while Shiori napped. Dry wood from the forest was quickly gathered for a fire that the cloaked man quickly set ablaze with a spell and began preparing food, while the rest of the party set up the camp. Sara and the gruff warrior woman hung a large tarp under the trees to catch any potential rain, which the party rolled out their sleeping rolls under, while the knight dug a small hole and the priest disappeared into the forest to gather more wood. The man soon came back carrying a dead rabbit, which Sara quickly skinned and prepared before handing it off to the cloaked man to cook. The party was fast and efficient, and soon transformed the clearing into a well laid out camp. Jun hadn''t been asked to help and simply did her best to stay out of the way, petting Shiori as they watched. Not long after the camp was set up, the cloaked man called everyone over to the fire and handed out metal plates filled with a rabbit stew poured over several large doughy balls the size of Jun''s palm, and a small dish of just meat for Shiori. Taking a bit of the offered food, Jun couldn''t help but moan with pleasure to discover the balls were something like the mochi she grew up eating. The doughy, slightly sweet balls had soaked up the sauce of the stew, and made for a delicious and filling meal, especially since it was the first meal Jun had had in over a month that had something starchy and was seasoned with salt! Jun rapidly cleaned her plate and looked up, only to see the five adventurers looking at her with amusement over their half eaten plates. Jun felt her face warm again as they looked at her. Was she ever going to stop blushing and embarrassing herself?! "Now that we''re settling in for the night, it''s time for some proper introductions," the gruff knight said, pulling everyone''s attention to himself. "I am Gareth Brightmane, a knight of the realm," Gareth motioned to himself, then pointed towards the man in the cloak. Gareth and the man shared a look for a moment before he looked at Jun. "Lane Firewalker, wizard." "I guess I''m next," the priestly man said, setting his plate down on his lap. "My name is Corin. I am an acolyte in service to Solace." Corin smiled kindly, making eye contact with Jun as he spoke, before nodding to the warrior woman across the fire from him. "Cecilia, would you like to go next?" Cecilia, the warrior woman, grunted and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before speaking. "Cecilia of Clan Broadtooth." The woman was blunt as she introduced herself before continuing to eat. "I guess I''m last!" Sara said from next to Jun with a smile on her face. "Oinarisan no Sara is my full name, though everyone just calls me Sara because that traditional name is a bit much. I''m a an archer, and an excellent lover." Groans and a thrown spoon erupted at the elf''s introduction and she laughed as she leaned to the side, catching the hurled spoon and flinging it back at Lane with a smile. Jun couldn''t help but blush even deeper. She was not prepared for the rampant flirting from a pretty elf! The party quickly settled back into eating and talking. The conversation quickly turned to Jun, and the not so subtle interrogation began. "So Jun, you said you grew up in the forest. How old are you?" Gareth asked, looking at her across from the fire. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It was an awkward question to answer. She had been 23 years old on Earth, but had only been on Merinthia for a month and a half by her counting, and technically she had been born here, not transported. But she also had the body and mind of an adult. In a lot of ways, it felt like she was newly 18 again. responsible for herself and learning about the real world, but young and naive. That age made the most sense to her, and she thought it wouldn''t raise any weird questions to give that as an answer. "18, I think." She finally said, mentally wincing at her unconscious add-on. That was not keeping it simple! "You think?" Gareth''s eyes narrowed in on her like a hawk, and she suppressed a shudder. In the firelight he could look downright menacing. "W-Well... I''m not really sure how long exactly it was. We didn''t really have much of a way to track the time except the passing of days..." Jun trailed off as Gareth continued to stare her down with a suspicious look on his face. "What does it matter Gar? She can just register at the Academy when we get back. They''ll be able to figure out her age," Sara said brightly. Jun started to panic, remembering this was a world of magic with weird rules! What if they said she was only a couple months old?! Would that make her weird? Would it cause problems?! "Hah, maybe!" Cecilia said with a laugh. "That little machine of theirs doesn''t do well with longer-lived races. Remember when you registered Sara? That orb said you were only 19, not 32!" "You know elves age slower!" "And mature slower!" The elf and the warrior woman quickly devolved into lighthearted bickering across the fire while Jun and the rest looked on laughing at the show. "Horny elf!" "Sword size queen!" As the two of them continued to hurl insults at each other, Gareth turned to address Jun with an inscrutable look on his face. "What about your parents? Where are they?" At the mention of her parents, Jun grimaced. She didn''t really have parents here. Not anymore. The thought had crossed her mind a few times, but the only thing she could think was that her parents on Earth probably wouldn''t accept her as their daughter. Her mother had always been far too submissive and subservient to her father, and he had always been overbearing, aggressive, and violent. Never quite abusive, but she''d grown up on tip toes around him and had always felt better when he wasn''t home. She didn''t really miss them. The closest thing to a family relationship she had was probably Shiori, who often times felt less like a teacher and more like the elder sister she''d never had. It took a few moments for Jun to realize that no one had said a word since Gareth asked his questions and every member of the party was watching her, waiting for her answer. Shiori pressed up against her arm, silently encouraging her as she finally spoke. "My parents... I don''t have any... Not anymore. It''s just been me and Shiori for a while." Admitting it hurt. She had a feeling her parents on Earth wouldn''t miss her. Especially after they found out her secret. She hadn''t been that careful about hiding things, sure she would be taking the evidence with her when she left, and anything she missed wouldn''t matter. In a way, none of it did matter, not anymore. But it still hurt to admit that she knew her parents would never accept her as their daughter. A cloth gently dabbing at her cheeks made her realize she''d been crying. Looking up, she saw that Sara had moved closer to her right and Cecilia on her left. The elf just smiled and pulled Jun in for a hug that she didn''t resist, while she felt a large hand patting and rubbing her back. The hug was warm, and the pats were rough, but they helped. She wasn''t sure how long she cried for, but eventually her tears stopped and she was overcome with exhaustion. She hadn''t expected crying into a stranger''s arms was what she needed, but she felt lighter like an invisible weight had been taken off of her shoulders. Jun didn''t remember going to sleep, but she woke in the morning wrapped up in a sleeping roll to the smell of frying bacon. The conversation that morning was light, with the adventurers telling Jun more about the city of Forest''s Edge where they were headed. No one brought up her behavior the night before which Jun couldn''t help being thankful for. She was already embarrassed that she''d broken down into tears like that, but them not bringing it up helped. After a hurried breakfast, the group broke camp, with Cecilia and Sara showing Jun how to pack and roll the bedrolls and douse the fire, then they were on the move again, It was about midday when they finally broke free from the forest to reveal grassy plains marred by dirt paths and hemmed in by the foothills of a mountain range. In the distance was a city in the foothills. Forest''s Edge. Chapter 22: Forests Edge The walk from the edge of the forest to the city was fast, only taking the group a bit under an hour. They walked parallel to the forest''s edge for a few minutes until the group found a hard-packed dirt road that led in a straight line to the city. The road was a blessed sight to Jun after days of walking along game trails and the uneven terrain of the forest. She had nearly started running down the path but Sara quickly grabbed her by the arm as she eyed the head high grass on either side of the road. "The plains are less dangerous than the forest, but there are still things in the grass to be wary of," the elf said, uncharacteristically serious as she swept her eyes across the foliage. Sara''s eyes had narrowed onto something in the long grass and she threw a dagger at something as the rest of the party drew their weapons. The thump of Sara''s dagger hitting something was followed by a loud hissing screech and the grass began to shake as something thrashed around, but nothing came out. After a couple of tense minutes passed before Gareth carefully stepped down the path and reached into the grass, only to drag out the body of a massive snake! The snake was several times Jun''s length with a body thicker than her own waist. it''s head was diamond shaped and massive, easily the size of her torso. It was clearly dead, Sara''s dagger sunk to the hilt through its eye! Sara retrieved her dagger and cleaned it before sheathing it. "Grass King Viper," she said, pointing at it for Jun''s benefit. "They''re uncommon. Stealthy ambush predators, but very strong with an especially potent poison. Decently valuable." Finishing her summary, Sara threw a glance at Gareth who nodded at her and the rest of the party. Without a word, Corin and Lane stowed their weapons and picked up the snake corpse between them. Sara led the way down the path with Gareth close behind The group passed several other groups of adventurers, some heading into the forest and others returning along other paths at different speeds. Jun wasn''t sure what attracted more attention from the passing well-armed adventurers, the massive snake being dragged along, or her tattered clothes, but she couldn''t help but notice the number of looks they got, especially from the men. A few of them even whistled at her, making her blush deeply and move to hide behind the snake corpse. Their attention shouldn''t have been surprising, but it was, and it left her feeling uneasy. As they drew close to the city, Sara dropped back from scouting the front and pulled a coat out of her pack which she handed to Jun. "Sorry I didn''t think of this earlier Jun, but your clothes might attract the wrong kind of attention. You should cover up until we can get you situated." "Y-yeah... Thank you Sara," Jun said, looking down at her tattered clothes and remembering the uneasiness she felt from the looks she''d gotten. Sliding her pack off, Jun handed it to Sara as they walked and shrugged the coat on. It was a simple and functional waxed leather coat with a hood and a couple pockets in the front and was meant to be calf length, though on her the bottom brushed against her ankles. The sleeves were slightly too long and a bit too loose, clearly sized for the lithe and athletic elf. Sara handed Jun her pack back and looked her up and down, nodding thoughtfully as they walked. "You''re a bit shorter and thinner than me, but it doesn''t look half bad! It should do until we can buy you some new clothes." "But I don''t have any money..." Jun said with a flush of embarrassment. Her family on Earth had never been wealthy, but she''d always had a bit of money from chores and then her paycheck working for her father. It was never much, but at least she had enough to afford things like clothes. Here though, she didn''t have any money, just a single tattered set of clothes, a weapon she didn''t know how to use properly, and a few things she had gotten from Shiori or cobbled together in the forest. "Don''t worry about it!" Sara said with a smile. "Besides, we''re here!" Jun followed where Sara was pointing to see imposing 50-foot high stone walls looming in front of them. Guards patrolled the top of the wall watching the surrounding area. A gatehouse built like a fortress towered over them, the large gates closed and only a smaller gate open to allow people through. A well armed squad of guards manned the gate with a short line of adventurers waiting to go in. Following Gareth''s lead, the party joined the queue, and it wasn''t long before they were at the gate. "Name and purpose for entering the city?" A middle-aged guard asked, eyeing Gareth as he slipped his helm off and cradled it in his arm. "Afternoon Sergeant," Gareth greeted the man with a nod. "Gareth Brightmane, adventurer with the academy, and my party returning from the forest to turn in a goblin bounty and sell a monster corpse." Gareth gestured at his party and Jun behind him. The sergeant took in the party in front of him, before zeroing in on Jun. "You," he said, pointing at Jun. "Come here." As he said this, the squad of guards around him tensed, watching the armed adventurers like a hawk. Jun walked to where the guard pointed in front of him, butterflies fluttering in her stomach and the spot between her shoulder blades itching. Attention from authorities never ended well. Jun suppressed a shiver as an image of Bobby''s sneering face peeked out from the dark corners of her mind. Walking forward, she stood next to Gareth and looked at the guard. The guard was tall, towering over her by a head and then some. He appeared to be middle aged, gruff, and muscular. A large scar as if something had taken a bite out of his cheek marred what would have been handsome features on a vaguely Mediterranean face. Gareth looked at her and nodded reassuringly. The comforting weight of Shiori on her shoulders and the light rumbling of her purrs pushed her forward. She wasn''t alone this time. Her Master was here with her, and she''d seen the magic she was capable of. She''d be fine. She hoped. "You don''t seem like you''re an adventurer with the academy. Name and place of origin?" the guard looked at her with a piercing gaze that made her feel like prey being stared down by a predator. "She''s with us sir," Gareth stated bluntly, staring down the sergeant. "I didn''t ask you boy, I asked her! Now back off!" The sergeant roared, making a shooing motion at Gareth. The squad of guards around the gate tensed their grips on their spears as they directed all of their attention at Gareth and the group. Taking in the scene, Gareth frowned and gestured at Jun, encouraging her to answer. The last thing anyone needed was to get into a conflict with the guard. Dismissing the armored adventurer, the sergeant turned back to Jun, his eyes narrowed as he stared her down. "Well? I asked you a question!" "J-Jun, sir. I''m rom a small t¡ªhomestead with no name." Jun cringed at the slip. She''d almost said the town she''d grown up in on Earth, but she was certain they wouldn''t have heard of it, and might even grow more suspicious of her if she gave an obviously fake answer. "I see," the guard said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Just Jun? What''s your family name?" the guard demanded. "No family name sir," Jun said quietly, shaking her head. She still used her first name from Earth since it was the only name she''d ever known, but she didn''t feel any remaining connection to her family there. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Purpose of travel?" "Uh... learning I guess?" "Learning what exactly?" the guard demanded, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You know, just stuff?" Jun kept things vague as she shifted awkwardly, too embarrassed to admit the real reason she came here. Memories of cramping pain and the awkwardness haunted her. Ever since she saw Sara and Cecilia in the group, she''d been wanting to ask them how to handle that, but she hadn''t found an opportunity where she could ask them privately! "Care to explain that weapon you''re carrying?" the sergeant said, eyeing the war wand lashed to Jun''s pack. "I found it," she said carefully. Jun had picked up from the others that her weapon was definitely uncommon as all they could tell her was it was called a war wand and the academy they were students of might be interested in taking a look at it. "You ''found it'', more like stole it I bet! You''re a thief aren''t you!" The guard shouted at her, angrily stepping forward and grabbing her by the arm. Jun yelped as she was dragged forward, the guard''s grip crushing her wrist. Shiori hissed at the guard, still playing the part of a simple cat, though Jun knew things would get ugly fast if Shiori started casting! "What do you think you''re doing!" Gareth yelled, his helmet clattering to the ground as he strode forward, though careful not to reach for his sheathed weapon. The guards were tensed and ready for violence as they shifted their gaze towards him, their hands tightening around their weapon grips. Out of corner of her eye Jun could see several archers with arrows nocked and pointed at them, ready to be drawn and fired immediately! A sharp whistle pierced the tense atmosphere as a large man stepped through the gate, calling everyone''s attention to himself. He seemed to tower over everyone, easily seven feet tall, and wore a guard''s uniform with a braided band hanging around his neck. His head was shaved clean and he sported well kept facial hair. "Sergeant Carper! What''s the hold up!" he demanded, staring down at Gareth, Jun, and the guard holding her arm. "Captain Reinholdt sir! This girl is a thief! I''m apprehending her and confiscating the stolen goods!" the guard holding Jun yelled. Jun felt a mix of rage and fear at the lies the guard was spewing! "That''s a lie! I di¡ª!" Jun started to protest, but the guard squeezed her wrist even harder, cutting her off with a yelp. "Shut it girl! You''re under arrest!" The guard screamed in Jun''s face as he pulled her forward and shoved her to the ground. "That''s enough Sergeant!" the giant of a man barked. "Release her. Now." The sergeant did as he was told, glaring angrily at Jun and the other adventurers. "Sir! Look at her! There''s no way she just found a war wand, it''s obviously stolen!" "Sergeant. I just reviewed the latest reports and there''s been no record of such a theft anywhere in the kingdom. Besides, their group just came from the Great Forest. Stranger and more valuable things have been pulled out of there before." The captain said calmly, defusing the situation. "Now take a break Sergeant." "Sir, there''s no need to¡ª" the sergeant cut his protest off as the giant of a man gave him a look, and he bowed his head to the ground. "That''s an order Sergeant." Captain Reinholdt''s tone brooked no argument, and the sergeant quickly bowed and ran through the open gate. The squad of guards manning the gate shuffled awkwardly, grips still tightened around their weapons. "Now that that''s taken care of, you, name and purpose of visit," the Captain said, pointing at Gareth. "Gareth sir, adventurer and student with the academy. My party and I are bringing in goblin bounties, a monster corpse, and a prospective student for the academy." "See Lieutenant Shan at the guard station for the bounty, and welcome to Forest''s Edge!" With a smile, the captain waved the group through and called the next group forward. Jun walked next to Sara, wincing as she moved her wrist. It didn''t feel broken, but she was certain she''d have a bruise there soon. She felt a strange heat build up in her wrist as Corin''s amulet lit up and the priest muttered a few words. The pain faded away, much to her relief, and the priest smiled at her while helping to drag the snake along. After the confrontation, the group faced no more obstacles getting in and were soon leaving the guard''s station just inside the walls. All told the group had taken down 67 goblins that they were able to recover proof of for 10 silver coins a piece. A merchant in a nearby shop offered to buy the snake corpse off the group, and after a few rounds of fast paced haggling between Cecilia and the merchant, they sold the snake for 2 gold and 65 silver while the merchant happily complained that they were stealing food from his childrens'' mouths. As the merchant counted out their coin, Sara quietly explained to Jun that there were 10 copper pieces to every silver and 100 silver to every gold. There were higher denominations, but it was unlikely she would ever see them. Freed of their burdens, the group led Jun to a small cafe further in, where they ordered a late lunch. As they waited for their food to arrive, Gareth pulled out the purse of coins and began divvying them up. "Right, now that we''ve got some time to talk, Jun, what are your plans? I told the captain at the gate that we were bringing you to the academy as a prospective student, but there''s no need to do that if you don''t want to." Gareth said as the rest of the group watched her expectantly. Jun had heard them mention an academy a couple of times, but she''d been too shy to ask until now. "What''s this academy you''re talking about?" "Forest''s Edge Academy is a training school for nobles, adventurers, and talented craftsmen to learn and develop their skills while also pushing back against the Forest of Kresh, where we met. You may have noticed the city''s walls were built like a fortress and there were no outlying farms, villages, or buildings out of the walls," Gareth motioned in the direction of the walls they had passed through. "The Forest is constantly pushing out monsters like the goblins you helped us with and the snake that tried to ambush us. The city is here as a first line of defense against such incursions, and the academy is here to use the incursions as an opportunity for students to learn and grow while serving the greater good." "Oh please!" Cecilia snorted. "''Greater good'' my ass. Save that for your fellow nobles" Cecilia clapped Jun on the back, shaking Shiori from her perch. Her Master jumped off of Jun''s shoulders to the floor, shooting a glare at the warrior woman as she did. "The Academy''s here to make money and throw people outside of the army at the Forest. Graduating from there looks good and helps you move up the ranks faster in any guild you join, but they aren''t teaching out of the goodness of their hearts. They''re in it for the money!" "It''s funded by the crown though!" Corin blurted out. "While it is funded by the crown, the Academy still charges tuition to most students. A few students with promise or something the Academy wants can get in on a scholarship, and many noble families often sponsor people in exchange for service after graduation, but outside of those exceptions, most students are the children of nobles or wealthy merchants." Gareth said, seizing back his explanation. "How much does it cost? I don''t really have any money..." Jun trailed off. This entire conversation seemed pointless! Of course she didn''t have any money, she''d lived in a forest her entire life on this world! "Jun, you don''t need to worry about that! You have a war wand. The Academy would love an opportunity to study it. They''ll definitely offer you a scholarship, if not outright offer to buy it from you!" Sara said, holding Shiori in her lap and petting her. Her Master was a traitor! Jun was saved from replying as their food arrived and everyone dug in. Gareth and Lane had gotten some kind of meat and vegetables with rice, while Corin was eating a salad and Cecilia a large piece of meat while Sara sipped at a bowl of soup and a plate of what looked like fried tofu in a sauce. Shiori was crouched on the table between Jun and Sara, casually chewing on a plate of meat. Jun''s dish was a noodle soup that reminded her of udon, with thick and chewy white noodles and a flavorful broth. The server had left her with a pair of chopsticks, surprising her as she''d expected forks or something similar. Eating gave her time to think about the idea of going to this Academy. As if reading her thoughts, her Master''s voice whispered in her ears. "You should go to the Academy. We came here so you could learn from humans, kitten. And if they''ll house and teach you just for a chance to look at a trinket, then it''s all the better." Her Master made a good point, and it was nice to be around other humans again. "Besides, this Sara is a student there, and she knows what she''s doing with her fingers!" Jun flushed at her Master''s words that only she could hear. Shiori for her part arched into Sara''s scratching fingers with a loud purr. "Are you okay Jun? You suddenly turned red!" Corin blurted out, his amulet already starting to glow as a wave of heat started to wash over her. Shaking her head rapidly, Jun waved the priest off. "I''m fine I''m fine! It''s just err, a bit too spicy!" She faked a cough and pointed at her half-eaten bowl in front of her. "Spicy? But you didn''t order anything spicy..." Chapter 23: Cleaning Up "I'' want to go to the school," Jun announced to the party after they had finished eating. Nodding, Gareth handed her a purse that clinked with coins. "I thought you might Jun, but even if you didn''t decide on that, we all agreed you deserve an equal share of the money we earned from the goblins and the snake." The rest of the party nodded their heads, with Sara and Corin smiling encouragingly at her to take the purse. Peeking inside, Jun saw a single gold coin and a handful of silver. They had explained as they walked that a couple silver was enough to pay for a room at an inn and food. Their lunch had only cost a couple copper pieces each. At 10 copper to a silver, and 100 silver to a gold, the amount of money they just handed here was easily enough for a couple of months! "This is too much!" she protested, trying to push the purse back over. Placing it firmly in her hands, Gareth shook his head. "No, your spells saved us. Between the bounty and the snake, we gained 9 gold and 35 silver, which just over 90 silver will be used to cover the party''s expenses. The rest we split 6 ways. Besides, even if you get a scholarship at the school, you''ll still need some money for yourself." As the party nodded along with Gareth''s words, Sara and Cecilia stood and dragged Jun up with them. "Now that that''s settled, we have some girl things to do! We''ll meet you at the Admin building later." Ignoring Jun''s protests, the two women dragged her out of the cafe and down the street. As they dragged Jun along, the two women began to teach Jun about the city and point out things of interest along the way. "This is the Expedition Quarter," Sara said casually, one arm hooked around Jun''s. "Anything you might need for trips into the forest, or if you need to sell something from there, you can do that right here!" Cecilia grunted in agreement. "Yeah, though the merchants here will take you for all you''re worth if you give them half a chance. Better deals to be had in the other quarters if you know where to look." The warrior woman gestured to a shop and they stopped so Jun could get a good look. The shop was filled with shiny weapons, each looking fancy and powerful to Jun''s untrained eyes, reminding her of the functional but beautiful design of her own weapon. A young man in fine clothing stood at the counter as the shop keeper gestured at a sword with gold veins running up its blade and a gem large glowing gem at the base of the hilt. "That kid over there is getting scammed good. At a glance the gold is just gilding over plain steel, and the gem is probably just a basic glow enchantment or low level fire enhancement." "You can also tell a lot about a shop by who goes in there. Look at the people going in and the ones walking past," Sara added, covertly gesturing at the people around them. Jun looked closer at the few customers in the store. They all wore bright clothes with lace, frills, and silver or gold colored threads. Not a one had even a speck of dust or grime anywhere, not even on their polished boots. Jun was sure if she shook any of their hands they would all lack calluses from hard work. "They all look rich... and soft," she finally said to Cecilia''s approving nod. "Exactly! They''re probably all freshly arrived noble kids who have only heard stories of heroes and done basic training with their family''s trainers, and they''re freshly off their leashes. A merchant''s child would have too good of an eye for low quality goods, and a scholarship kid wouldn''t be able to afford any of the weapons in this shop." The merchant glared at them as he overheard Cecilia''s critique. "How dare you impugn my reputation! I sell only the finest of recovered artifacts and master pieces from renowned artisans!" Shrugging, Cecilia and Sara guided Jun away from the shop as the the merchant shouted at them, demanding money for "unjust harm to his reputation." It was only after Shiori slunk out of an alley the next street over that Jun realized she''d lost track of her Master for a bit, but Shiori didn''t explain where she''d disappeared to, and with Cecilia and Sara there, Jun couldn''t think of a way to ask without coming off as crazy. Sara guided them deeper into the district where they came to a two story stone building that looked to be a restaurant or inn of some kind. The inside wasn''t what Jun expected. An grandmotherly looking woman sat behind a counter between two doors obscured curtains. As she saw Sara walk through the door, her face lit up in a warm smile. "Sara! It''s been so long! How have you been deary?" Sara walked over to the counter and took the woman''s hands in her own with a smile. "Grandma Deedee! You act like I wasn''t just in here last week! We just returned from the Forest, and brought a new friend with us!" "Honored Elder," Cecilia said, nodding at the woman as she joined Sara at the counter. "And Cecilia''s with you too! Now where''s this new friend of yours?" Grandma Deedee said, adjusting her glasses and peering around the small room. Jun felt Shiori''s fur brush against her as she slipped past and jumped up to the counter, letting out a loud meow as she did! "Oh what a beautiful black kitty! Is this your new friend Sara?" Grandma Deedee let out a giggle like she was a young maiden again as she let Shiori sniff her gnarled fingers. "Make that two new friends," Sara said, giggling with Grandma Deedee as she scratched Shiori under the chin. Jun just stared at her Master, a powerful magic user who could probably level the building they were in on a whim, sitting on a counter purring and demanding pets. She knew her Master was a cat, but the absolute shamelessness with which she demanded pets from random people just didn''t mesh with the image of a powerful mage Jun had in her mind! Jun was so busy being dumbfounded by the scene that she didn''t notice Sara beckoning her and only shook out of it when Cecilia dragged her to the counter. "Grandma Deedee, this is our other new friend Jun, Jun, this is Grandma Deedee" Sara said, introducing her. "It''s her first time in the city." "My my, well hello dear! As young Sara has pointed out, I am Deidre, though most everyone calls me Deedee, Grandma, or Grandma Deedee," Deidre said warmly, reminding her of a kindly grandmother. "You look like you''ve had a rough time of things deary, well you''ve come to the right place!" Without waiting for a reply, the elderly woman came out from behind the counter, revealing her to be about the same height as Jun, though stooped a bit with age. Grabbing her by the hand, Deidre led Jun through one of the curtains into a hallway with sliding wood and wax paper doors on one side. "Don''t worry about a thing, Grandma will take care of you deary," she said, patting Jun on the arm. Sara and Cecilia followed close behind, Sara with a smile and Cecilia with a smirk. The grandmotherly woman led them through one of the doors into a larger room that had benches and cubby holes on either side, and a sliding wood and waxed paper door on the other end. Deidre motioned Jun to the side as Sara and Cecilia followed them in, and started stripping! Jun couldn''t help but stare with a blush at the two women casually getting naked in front of her. What was happening?! Turning to look at the elderly woman with a question on her face, her blush deepened when she saw the woman''s knowing smile. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Well deary? You can''t bath in that heavy coat now can you?" she said lightly. "Strip kitten. You need a bath," Shiori''s voice filled her ears as she came in and nuzzled up against Deidre. Sighing and fighting down her blush, Jun slipped off her pack and shoved it into a cubby before stripping down and putting her borrowed coat and tattered clothes in the provided basket alongside her crude boots. Her weapon she leaned against the corner, copying what Cecilia and Sara did with their own weapons. Standing there before 3 other women naked as the day she was born was a new experience for her, and the heat traveling down her neck and shoulders just made her even more embarrassed! "There we go deary! Now off you pop to get cleaned up while we get those clothes of yours cleaned up!" Deidre made a shooing motion towards Jun before slipping back out of the room, Shiori following close behind. "Come on Jun!" Sara yelled as she slid the other door open to reveal a stone tiled room with backless chairs, a fountain, and a large pool of steaming water. Jun jumped as Cecilia''s callused hands gripped her shoulders and began steering her through the door.
Jun sighed as she soaked in the warm water, watching curls of steam rise up from the murky surface. The heat was doing wonders for her tense muscles and caused her thoroughly scrubbed skin to tingle slightly as it healed. The light cleansing enchantment on the pool ensured that the water remained clean, and helped to rejuvenate her even more. Her already warm cheeks flushed and her skin tingled even more as fresh memories played through her mind. She couldn''t help but glance at where the two women were casually chatting a short distance away in the steamy pool. Closing her eyes and leaning back, Jun couldn''t help but go over her memories again while luxuriating in the hot water. She was glad Sara and Cecilia brought her here, she never thought taking a bath could be so exhilarating and relaxing! A soft fingertip poking her in the cheek pulled Jun out of her daydreams to see Sara crouched next to her, wrapped in a towel. "As relaxing as it is here, we still have to get you situated at the school!" "Just five more minutes..." Jun mumbled, not wanting to move. "Nope! Hand!" Sara demanded, and Jun reluctantly gave her her hand. With a strength belying the woman''s small frame, she pulled Jun up, forcing Jun to get out of the pool or be dragged out. Sara handed Jun a second towel to go with the one Sara had helped her wrap her hair in and she toweled dry before wrapping her body in the luxuriously soft towel. Leaving the bathing area, Jun was surprised to see Cecilia already sliding her armor over her clothes, the armor now gleaming as if freshly cleaned. Sara also quickly dressed, her clothes now much cleaner than when they''d first arrived. Going to her cubby, Jun was shocked to find that her clothes were missing, and instead replaced with pair of soft sandals and a creamy white robe with a leaf pattern embroidered in green that reminded Jun of a kimono. The door to the room slid open to let a young woman through. Seeing Jun holding the kimono-like robe, she bowed to her. "Apologies Miss Jun, but the clothes you came in with were unfortunately too damaged to clean or repair and had to be disposed of. Grandma Deedee has gifted you a set of replacement clothes as an apology and welcome gift to the city." Without waiting for a response, the young woman straightened herself up and left the room again. Tucked into the basket underneath the robes, Jun saw a set of underwear, socks, and other ornaments tucked away. The underwear reminded her of the modern panties she''d seen on Earth and a matching bralette, similar to what she''d seen in commercials or when she had dated Ash back on Earth. Putting most of her new clothes on was intuitive, but when she got to the robes she was stumped. Jun was so busy struggling with it that she didn''t notice Sara until the elf woman approached Jun and admired the robe she held. "It seems Grandma Deedee likes you! That''s a nice set of robes she gave you. Do you need help with it?" "Y-Yeah... I''ve never worn anything like this before..." Jun said, looking down with embarrassment. Accepting the invitation, Sara quickly helped Jun wrap the robe up correctly, securing it with a wide belt that matched the embroidery of the robe. As Jun admired how comfortable the clothing was despite the complexity of putting it on, Sara quickly put her hair up and secured it with a white hair pin that matched the robe. Finishing her work, Sara stepped away from Jun gave an approving nod at her work. "Wow, that outfit matches you perfectly!" Cecilia turned from where she was securing her two-handed sword to her back and gave Jun an assessing look before nodding. "You look like a noble daughter from an old family," she said, before returning to gathering her things. Sara left Jun to finish gathering her things, and soon the three of them were walking back into the front lobby where Grandma Deed sat at the counter, a purring Shiori polishing off the last of a plate of meat. As Jun entered the lobby, Grandma Deedee got up and walked around her, casually adjusting Jun''s robes. "You''re such a pretty girl deary," she said with a smile. "I''m glad my old robes fit you so well." "Thank you Grandma Deedee!" Jun said with a smile, bowing to hide the tears that had started welling up. Her, a pretty girl? She''d never thought she''d hear that from another person, and the compliment brought up complicated feelings inside of her. Happiness. Satisfaction. Sadness. Fear. She couldn''t help feeling a bit like an impostor standing there. A soft, gnarled hand pushed her head up, and she saw Grandma Deedee in front of her with a warm smile on her face as she dabbed at the tears leaking from Jun''s eyes. "There there deary, Grandma''s got you," she said, pulling Jun into a hug. "Now, a little friend told me you''re due up at the Academy, so hurry along!" Grandma Deedee made a shooing motion at Jun, shoving her handkerchief into Jun''s hands as she motioned towards the door where Sara and Cecilia waited. "Wait! How much do I owe you?" Jun asked, fumbling for her coin purse with the handkerchief in one hand and her war wand in the other. Shaking her head, Grandma Deedee made another shooing motion towards the others by the door "Don''t worry about it, it''s already been taken care of!" Joining Sara and Cecilia, Jun turned back and bowed in thanks again towards the matronly proprietor as Shiori jumped off the counter, licking her chops as she padded over to the three women.
Chuckling to herself, Grandma Deedee watched as the four of them left her bath house before settling in at the counter and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "She and her companion are interesting ones alright." Penning a quick message and sealing it in an envelope, Grandma Deedee summoned one of her assistants and handed to her. "See that that gets to the headmaster at the Academy as quick as you can deary!" "Yes Grandma!" the girl said. The girl''s shadow seemed to grow and swallow her, and soon Grandma Deedee was alone again. "Interesting indeed," she murmured to herself with a smile.
Jun''s new friends guided her across the city until they arrived in what they called the Academic Quarter. Shops selling stationary and books replaced the shops for adventuring supplies, but there somehow seemed to be even more restaurants and taverns promising alcoholic treats lining the streets. The center of the district opened up into a large square, with one side dominated by a wall with a single gate manned by guards in uniforms different from those guards manning the city''s walls. Students dressed in a uniform freely moved through the gate. Rising above the wall, Jun could see several towers and the tops of several buildings, and an arch above the gate proudly proclaimed the place as "Forest''s Edge Academy." Cecilia led the way, creating a path through the sea of students followed closely behind by Sara. Jun couldn''t help but notice as most of the men, and a fair number of the women, seemed to be staring at her and eyeing her up and down. Blushing, Jun quickened her pace until she was following right behind Cecilia, with Sara bringing up the rear as they moved through the campus. It wasn''t long before the 3 of them approached a building helpfully labeled the "Administrative Building" by a plaque mounted to the side of the entrance. Gareth, Lane, and Corin stood idling in front of the building, perking up when they saw the 3 women. "Are you ready?" Gareth asked Jun, skipping all formalities. "Yes, I think so," Jun said, shoving down the butterflies in her stomach. Ready to move forward, she placed her foot on the steps leading to the imposing double doors of the building, Shiori at her side, and her new friends close behind. Chapter 24: Scholarship Student Jun had flashbacks of going to the Principal''s Office in high school as she walked through the Administration building. Despite being on a completely different world filled with magic and monsters, having learned magic from a talking cat, in a completely different body, with new friends that were heavily armed leading the way, the Administration building still felt almost exactly like the Principal''s Office at her high school on Earth. It even had benches lining the entry hallway where a few students sat, their body language indicating that they were in trouble. The entry hall led into a large room with a vaulted ceiling and a grand staircase that ascended up half a floor before splitting in opposite directions to wrap around the room, with large windows letting in the late afternoon light. Doors to offices lined the walls of both levels of the room. A round kiosk type desk sat in the center of the room before the staircase, manned by a well dressed man with a look on his face one of impatience for the workday to end. Gareth led the group up to the receptionist as he wrote something down, his pen quickly speeding across a ledger open in front of him, and waited for the man to acknowledge him. "It''s nearly the end of the day, What do you want?" the man demanded irritably. "Gareth Brightmane and party, turning in a bounty receipt," Gareth replied, handing the man a couple rolled documents from his pouch. Taking the documents, the receptionist unrolled and quickly read them, scowling the entire time. The man''s irritation rolled off of him in waves, breaking against the sturdy cliff face that was Gareth. After a short minute, the receptionist flipped open a book on his desk, wrote some notes, then signed and stamped one of the documents before handing it back to Gareth. "There, done. Bounty completion acknowledged. Anything else?" the man hissed with false sweetness, his eyes narrowed as if telling Gareth the answer better be "no." Undaunted by the prospect of antagonizing a bureaucrat eyeing the clock at the end of the workday, Gareth motioned for Jun to step forward. "Yes, we found someone who has an artifact the Academy may be interested in. Could you please inform the Headmaster?" The receptionist''s scowl deepened as he stared Gareth down. "I''m busy and it''s the end of the day. You''ll have to tell whoever you found that they need to come back tomorrow." "The Headmaster¡ª" the receptionist cut Gareth off with an angry shout. "Is busy and doesn''t have time to deal with some students who fell for some con artist selling Avarill''s Lost Grimoire!" "We did not fall for some scammer. We brought Jun and her artifact with us." "Does this look like a guard station? A jail? No? Then take this criminal of yours to the guards instead of wasting my time!" "Sean, what''s all this commotion about an artifact?" A woman''s voice came from behind the group. Turning to look over her shoulder, Jun saw a stern-faced woman wearing dark blue robes carrying several rolled up documents under her arm. Crows feet around her eyes and wrinkles on her brow betrayed her age on her otherwise youthful face. "Professor Nagai," Sean, the receptionist bowed in greeting. "I was just telling these students that the Headmaster doesn''t have time for every two-copper scam artist and their forged artifacts, especially when Academy students are foolish enough to fall for them," the receptionist said, shooting a glare at the adventurers and Jun. "I see," Professor Nagai said, turning her head to regard the students in front of her. "I doubt the son of a Duke would be foolish enough to fall for any common forgery or scam, right Sean?" she said, looking at the man and raising a questioning eyebrow. "Y-Yes, I''m sure you''re right Professor... b-but be that as i-it may, it is still my d-duty to safeguard the Headmaster''s time..." Sean said, trailing off under the withering gaze of the middle-aged woman. "Well then, since I am here, I may as well assist you in this endeavor as the head of the Artifact Research Department, unless this would be a waste of my time?" she said, turning her sharp eyed look to stare down at the students and Jun. Jun struggled to keep from shaking under the imposing woman''s gaze, but drew strength from the relaxed and confident poses of her new friends. Gareth nodded slowly. "Yes, Professor Nagai, I''m certain that it would be worth your time," he said confidently. "Well then, let''s see this artifact Mr. Brightmane," the Professor said, holding her hand out and looking at the students expectantly. Looking back at his party, Gareth jerked his head slightly and Sara nudged Jun, pushing her forward as Corin and Cecilia stepped out of the way. The Professor''s eyes narrowed as she looked at the metal shaft in Jun''s hands. "May I?" she said, holding her hand out. Nodding, Jun nervously handed her war wand over to the Professor as she looked closer at the engravings on the shaft. Absentmindedly, the Professor shoved her rolls of documents into Lane''s hands and pulled Jun''s crude sheath off, revealing the blade with it''s embedded gems. "A war wand..." she murmured, pulling a leather glove out from where it was tucked into her belt and running it across the blade. Her eyes widened as the finger of the glove was effortlessly parted from the rest. "Sharpness enchantment fully intact and powered, no visible damage to the blade or body..." Professor Nagai tensed, staring at Jun''s weapon as something seemed to fluctuate in the air. Jun felt the hair on the back of her head stand up as goosebumps prickled her skin, and the sound of a howling wind filled her ears though the air in the stuffy building was still. As she focused on the strange phenomena she felt a sense that the strange wind sound was coming from in front of her where the Professor stood holding her weapon. Nobody else around her seemed to react as they watched the Professor, and after a minute the phenomena ceased, leaving quiet in its wake. "Err...Professor?" the receptionist said, clearing his throat awkwardly to break the silence. Professor Nagai blinked a few times and handed the weapon back to Jun in a daze. "Professor?" Sean called out louder, his voice filled with barely restrained impatience. Shaking out of it, Professor Nagai looked at the foppish bureaucrat with a questioning look on her face. "The Headmaster is waiting for you Professor," he said firmly, giving the students and Jun a look of distaste. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Right," she said, blinking at the man before looking around for her missing documents before spotting Lane holding them. "Well then, come along you two," the woman said, absentmindedly gesturing at Lane and Jun to follow her as she started for the stairs behind the Reception Desk. Lane shared a look with Gareth, having a silent conversation before Gareth shrugged and motioned for the man to follow the Professor. Nodding, Lane trotted to catch up to the Professor, with Jun reluctantly following close behind the older student, Shiori at her heels. "W-Wait, Professor!" Sean the receptionist cried, hurrying to catch up to the woman as she ascended the stairs, Lane and Jun close behind. "What is it Sean, I''m late for my meeting with Allister?" she said, ascending the stairs without pausing. Sean scowled at Lane and Jun following them up the stairs. "This student isn''t on the books to be part of your meeting, and this girl isn''t even a student! They''re not authorized!" "Nonsense, they''re my assistants right now, of course they''re authorized," she said firmly "At the very least, I''ll need these two to sign in before they go in, it''s school policy," he all but begged, using his last resort. Professor Nagai stopped and stared down at the bureaucrat. "We are late. They will do that after," she said firmly, her eyes seemingly glowing with authority. "A-After it is..." he said, sagging with resignation. Professor Nagai nodded once before continuing up the stairs, leaving the receptionist behind. As Jun passed by him on the stairs, he shot her a venomous glare before returning to his post. Professor Nagai led the two of them around the balcony to another hallway opposite the stairs, where she stopped at the end and knocked three times on a pair of double doors made of a finely polished dark wood. "Enter!" a muffled voice called out through the doors. Without waiting another moment, the Professor quickly opened the doors and strode in, Lane, Jun, and Shiori close behind. "Ah Merin right on time!" A kindly looking old man called out from an arm chair next to a fireplace, a fire merrily burning. "Have a seat!" he said, gesturing towards a plush arm chair opposite a low table from him. As if noticing the two of them for the first time, the old man''s eyes focused in on Lane with his hands full of Professor Nagai''s documents and Jun carrying her war wand. "And who might these two be?" "My new assistants," the Professor said, casually motioning for Lane to hand her her documents. "It was fortuitous that I ran into them downstairs. The documents were getting rather heavy," she said, opening one of the document cases as Lane handed it to her. Pulling out a roll of papers, she slid them over the table to the old man, who picked them up and quickly skimmed them. Professor Nagai and the old man who Jun presumed was the Headmaster of the school quickly began to talk back and forth about research progress, budgets, and academic figures, the conversation quickly going over her head. Tuning them out, her eyes began to wander around the room. Bookshelves lined three of the walls, only broken up by the wide double doors and the fireplace that the Headmaster and the Professor sat in front of. Various knickknacks stood in display cases, small tables, and the large desk opposite the door, and the room was well lit by large bay windows with the curtains drawn open, showing the school''s front gate and courtyard beyond. A jolt of panic shot through her as she noticed that Shiori was no longer by her side, but casually exploring the room, sniffing and poking at artifacts. Jun''s heart pounded as her Master leapt onto the desk and seemed to begin leafing through the documents spread out on it. Jun''s eyes darted between her reckless Master and the Headmaster, certain he would notice and explode at her Master''s blatant disregard for his privacy. She knew her Master was powerful, but this old man was the Headmaster of an adventurer academy! He might be far more powerful than Shiori! A sharp pain in her side brought her back to attention as Lane elbowed her. The Headmaster and Professor were looking at her expectantly. "Headmaster Allister asked you to bring over your war wand," Lane whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Blushing, Jun hurried over to the table and gently laid the weapon down with a bow. "Sorry sir," she mumbled softly, her face red. "It''s perfectly alright my dear," the Headmaster said with a grandfatherly smile before turning his attention to the weapon in front of him. Carefully, he picked it up in his hands as Jun felt the same phenomena she had downstairs, only far stronger! After a couple minutes, the Headmaster set her war wand down on the table and nodded at Professor Nagai across from him. "I see what you mean Merin, it certainly is a fascinating find," he said, stroking his beard in thought. "I think we can find some room in the budget to authorize research on this find. You there, my dear," the Headmaster said, addressing Jun. "What is your name, year, and current majors?" "I-I..." Jun stammered, her mind racing. "I-I''m Jun and... I''m not a student... I was hoping this could help me get into the school?" she said timidly. Headmaster Allister and Professor Nagai shared a look, the Professor subtly nodding. "Well!" the Headmaster exclaimed with a laugh. "This is perhaps the most unique and enticing application for admission I''ve ever seen! Consider your application accepted immediately, with a scholarship on the condition that you allow Merin and her Artifact Research Department to study your artifact. Is that acceptable?" Adrenaline surged through Jun''s body in her excitement. It was exactly what she''d hoped for, what Gareth, Sara, and the others said she could get, and she didn''t even have to negotiate! Nodding her head rapidly, Jun couldn''t help but smile widely. "Y-yes! That''s definitely acceptable!" she all but shouted, struggling to reign in her excitement! She was going to be a student at a magic school! "Excuse me, sir," Lane said, addressing the Headmaster. "Jun is new to the city and doesn''t have lodgings yet. Will her scholarship include room and board?" Jun''s stomach dropped through a hole at Lane''s question. In her excitement she didn''t even think about where she and Shiori would live! How would they afford food? Gareth and the others were nice, and had fed her the last couple of days, but it''d be different if she asked them for help with this. New friends didn''t mooch off each other, and what pride she had wouldn''t let her do that if she could avoid it! "Of course, of course! As a school, it''s our responsibility to ensure all our students can study well," Allister said with a smile, dispelling Jun''s fears and wasting the energy she''d just poured into her anxiety attack. "Thank you for looking out for your fellow student, Mr. Firewalker." Standing up, Allister gestured at the doors, causing them to silently glide open. "Now, I''m afraid it''s getting late in the day, so take this down to Sean for me, would you students? He''ll see that Jun here gets situated." With a flick of his wrist, a sealed scroll popped into existence, landing in Lane''s hand as Professor Nagai''s remaining document cases floated into the air. Dismissed, Lane led Jun out of the Headmaster''s office. The doors silently slid shut, seeming to pause briefly as Shiori slipped out between them. Descending the stairs, Sean glared at Lane and Jun, while the others idled near the entry hall. "Well? Done wasting the Headmaster''s time?" Sean sneered at them. Nodding, Lane handed him the scroll from the Headmaster as the others met them at the bottom of the stairs. "Headmaster Allister instructed me to give this to you," he said simply. As the man broke the wax seal and began to read, Lane made eye contact with Gareth, giving him a slight smirk and a nod. The party watched with desperately suppressed laughter as Sean''s expression rapidly shifted from sneering confidence to anger and horror the further he read. "Immediate admission? Room and Board? Full scholarship? Take care of it immediately?! Which one of you is Jun?!" Chapter 25: Registration and Orientation When Jun registered for her community college on Earth, it had taken several weeks to get all of the documents she needed to provide. A copy of her birth certificate, high school transcripts, test scores, a government ID, and even some medical information were all required. Registering at Forest''s Edge Academy was different. Maybe it was because Jun was in a completely different world, one with magic but seemingly nowhere near the technological prowess of Earth, or maybe it was because Headmaster Allister personally told the Registrar to make sure Jun got everything she needed, but she hadn''t had to provide a single document to prove her identity. All she''d had to do was touch a few magical balls as she followed Sean around. Who turned out to actually be the Registrar, not a receptionist. And also did not like Jun or her friends. After Sean''s face had finished going through all the colors of the rainbow from reading Headmaster Allister''s note, he had dug a couple of forms out of the receptionist''s desk and disappeared into one of the side offices off the lobby. The building had apparently emptied out while Jun and Lane met with the Headmaster, leaving Sean as the only person still in the building capable of doing the work of getting Jun registered with the school. Lane and Sara stuck around to keep Jun company, while the others had gone off to take care of other things while she dealt with the grumpy Registrar. It took a couple of minutes, but Sean returned pushing a wheeled cart with a glowing blue orb mounted on top of it Stopping in front of the Reception desk, Sean motioned for Jun to approach him. "Place your hand on the scanner," Sean said through gritted teeth, motioning to a orb in front of them. "What is it?" Jun asked nervously. The glowing ball reminded her of the [Soul Parasite] and her sealed trait that she''d fished out of that strange sea just a few weeks ago, and she''d learned her lesson about groping strange glowing gems. "Just touch the damned thing," Sean growled. "The sooner I get you registered, the sooner I can make you someone else''s problem and go home." "It''s a system scanner," Lane said from the side of the room. "It will pull up your system menu and display it for us to see. They''re used for verifying identities and checking stats." "That sounds like an invasion of privacy..." Jun said nervously. She''d barely thought about or opened her system menu in the past weeks, only using it to check her mana when she cast a lot of spells, but she knew from some of her lessons with Shiori that some of the things in her menu should be kept private. Pulling her full menu open for the first time in weeks, she was surprised at the progress she''d made.
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,344
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Apprentice Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 17 (+8) (56/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 290/290
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 29 (+9)
CON - 29 (+9)
STR - 29 (+9)
AGI - 29 (+9)
DEX - 29 (+9)
CHA - 34 (+9)
SPR - 29 (+9)
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 8) (+1) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 24) (+5) [Barrier] (Apprentice 4) [Multi Casting] (Apprentice 12) (+5) [Stealth] (Novice 8) [Tracking] (Novice 3) [Cleaning] (Initiate 1) [Cooking] (Novice 4) [Butchery] (Novice 9) [Foraging] (Novice 6) [Crafting] (Novice 2) [Pain Resistance] (Novice 3) (+2)
"It''s required of every student," Sean said flatly. "If you refuse the scan, you will not be admitted." The Registrar''s tone made it clear what he would prefer Jun to do. Sighing, Jun raised her hand up and hovered it hover the scanner, hesitating to make contact. "Don''t worry kitten, their tool isn''t as powerful as they think it is. It will only pull up basic information that''s safe enough for them to know." Shiori said so that only Jun could hear. Trusting her Master''s reassurances, Reassured by her Master, Jun pressed her hand to the scanner. The glowing blue orb dimmed for a few seconds as she held her hand to the scanner then began to pulse with light. "Remove your hand," Sean hissed at Jun. Doing as she was told, Jun pulled away as the strange phenomena she''d noticed earlier started up again, though much milder than either time before. As the strange sensation faded, a screen popped up above the scanner. From the rustle of clothes as everyone leaned forward a bit, it seemed like everyone could easily see it!
Name: Jun (No Family Name)
Level: 17
Race: Human
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Mana: 290/290
Stats: MIND - Average
CON - Average
STR - Average
AGI - Average
DEX - Average
CHA - High
SPR - Average
Affinities: n/a
Spell forms detected.
Internally, Jun sighed with relief that Shiori was once again right. She found it interesting that instead of hard numbers, the scanner just gave a broad range, all of her stats were just considered "average" except for Charisma, but she figured that probably had something to do with her trait [Charismatic]. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "Tch, another low level commoner with average stats..." Sean muttered quietly as he wrote several notes down. As Sean finished writing notes, the scanner deactivated and automatically closed the screen displaying Jun''s results. Leaving Jun, Sara, and Lane in the room, Sean wheeled the scanner out, issuing a terse command for the three students "not to move, or you''ll be expelled no matter what the Headmaster says." A few minutes of waiting later, Sean returned with a large stack of documents. "Since the end of the summer term is coming up in just a week, it''s far too late for you to enroll in any classes. As amusing as it would be to watch you fail and be expelled immediately, your performance as a student here reflects upon your betters, so you will not take any classes until the Autumn term begins. You have been assigned a room and may take meals in the mean time, but you would do well to remember your place and not disturb your betters who got into the school through merit." Sean roughly shoved the stack of papers into Jun''s arms, ignoring her as several of them fell to the ground. "You and you," Sean said, pointing at Sara and Lane. "Since you brought her here, she''s your responsibility. Finish her orientation, or don''t, I don''t care, now get out, building''s closed." Sean glared as Lane and Sara bent down to help gather Jun''s papers. As they gathered up Jun''s papers, Shiori''s voice filled Jun''s ears again. "Go on ahead with your friends kitten, I''ll find you later," her Master said in a flat tone. Jun couldn''t help but look around for the black cat, but somehow she had vanished in the short time since she''d last seen her. Once they finished gathering Jun''s papers, Sean hurried them out of the building and slammed the door shut, the lock of the door clicking the second it closed. As the three of them combined Jun''s papers back into one pile, Sara started looking around their feet for something. "Where''s Shiori?" she asked, concern filling her voice. Jun just shrugged, used to her Master''s whims of doing her own thing one minute, and clinging to her the next. "She''s off doing her own thing I''m sure, and she always shows up whenever she feels like it." Sara seemed a bit uneasy at Jun''s casual response, but if there was one thing Jun was sure of, it was that Shiori could take care of herself. The front courtyard of the school still held a few students idling about in the light of dusk, though the place was largely deserted now. Despite the Registrar''s rudeness and clear distaste for her, Jun couldn''t help but feel a lightness and excitement for the future. She was a student at a magic academy! Just the thought made her feel giddy, like she was living a childhood dream, and despite everything she''d gone through she could only feel that it was worth it. "Well, he definitely didn''t like us, but at least you''re registered now Jun," Lane said as he flipped through some of her papers in the fading light. The reedy mage scowled at the papers in his hands, squinting to make out the words written across them. "Lane, we can look over Jun''s papers with her later, let''s go get some dinner first," Sara said as she grabbed Jun by the hand. "Come on, I bet you''re as starved as I am!" Giggling, Sara began pulling Jun along deeper into the Academy campus, forcing Lane to jog to catch up with them. As Sara led them deeper in, both she and Lane pointed out buildings or occasionally waved at people as they passed. "That''s the main Library," Lane pointed out to a building built more like a castle fortress than any library Jun had ever seen. The Library looked exactly like a stereotypical castle with four crenelated walls anchored by towers where each met. A large arched passageway topped by a gatehouse allowed access, and the tines of a metal portcullis could be seen jutting from the top of the stone archway. "Each of the four towers holds classrooms and study areas. It''s open all hours of the day and night, so it''s a good place to study." "The view from the walls is incredible in the morning," Sara added. Not far down the path from the library was a large building of arches and spires surrounded by walkways. The setting sun glinted off its numerous faces and cast shadows across the edifice, showing scenes of life from farmers working the field to soldiers doing battle. Jun knew a church when she saw one, even in a magical world, but Lane soon confirmed her suspicions. "The Cathedral of Stars," he said with a gesture to the magnificent building. "No one knows how old the building is as it predates the founding of the city. One of the original reasons the Academy was established here was to research the Cathedral. Not even the Grand Cathedral in the capital rivals it, but don''t tell Corin I said that," he said with a conspiratorial smile. "Yeah, also don''t mention that the last Cardinal ordered the Cathedral moved to the capital, only for the work crews to suffer one accident after another before they could do more than step foot in the city," Sara said with a smile. " After the tenth work crew simultaneously lost all of their left shoes and the eleventh crew''s underwear all spontaneously animated, the Mayor-General declared that he would arrest anyone else who attempted to remove the Cathedral, and the Crown publicly declared the Cathedral a national treasure. For a while after that, protesters would attend every mass led by the Cardinal only wearing shoes on their right feet and kept throwing used underwear at him during processions!" The woman couldn''t hold back her laughter any longer, and even the usually dour Lane cracked a smile. A few more mundane classroom buildings later the trio were walking through a crowded building filled with students and filled with the smell of food. A quick flash of asmall medallion, that had been tucked into Jun''s packet of documents allowed her in, though where her medallion was bronze, she saw that both Sara and Lane had ones in silver. Once she knew what to look for, she saw that every student around seemed to have medallions in various metals strung around their necks, another marker that they were students even if several like Jun, Sara, and Lane didn''t wear the school''s uniform. Several minutes later, the three of them each carried a tray of food as they weaved through the crowd until they spotted Gareth, Corin, and Cecilia sitting in a large booth at the same time Gareth spotted them and waved them over. Joining the rest of the group, Jun noticed that the three of them had changed into the school uniform with their medallions now clearly visible. Gareth''s was gold, while both Corin and Cecilia wore silver like Sara and Lane. Gareth eyed the bronze medallion on Jun''s neck and nodded at her. "Congratulations on your acceptance, Junior Jun," he said evenly. Corin and Cecilia were much less restrained, with the young man excitedly cheering and Cecilia heartily slapping her on the back. "Congratulations Jun!" "Thank you! Though registering was... hard. The Registrar didn''t seem to like me much..." she said, her excitement stained with the rude treatment she''d gotten from the bureaucrat. "Sean''s such an ass," Sara griped, angrily stabbing into her salad with a fork. "Commoner this and commoner that with his condescending attitude, the foppish shit stain!" Gareth nodded along with a grimace. "Regardless of his behavior Sara, Baron Sean Vorn is still a noble, and the Registrar of the Academy. You should be careful not to let anyone hear you disrespect him so openly," he muttered, pointedly glancing around at the crowded dining hall. Sara opened her mouth to speak but Gareth cut her off, continuing to speak while pointedly looking at Jun. "While the Academy''s rules state that rank doesn''t matter, only ability, the truth is that quite a few of the professors and staff are nobles in their own right and turn a blind eye to violations of that rule. It would be best not to attract the wrong attention if it can be avoided." The table descended into silence for a time as the group returned to eating, but Jun''s thoughts kept returning to the differences in medallions. Mustering up her courage, she voiced the question on her mind. "So... why are there so many different medallions?" The older students looked from one to another, before unanimously looking at Gareth expectantly. With a sigh, he placed his fork down and took a long drink before answering. "Originally, the different medallions were used to mark one''s abilities, with students receiving medallions corresponding to the ranks within the International Adventurer''s Guild. Much like the IAG, the school ranks students based on their overall level, stats for their level, chosen role or specialty, and assessed skill levels. The ranks in question are bronze at the lowest, followed by iron, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, and mythril. Bronze was meant to be for new students pending assessment and anyone below level 100 with all average stats for their level that hasn''t tested higher. Each other rank is similarly separated by another 100 levels unless assessed higher on their actual skill, up to level 700 or the requisite skill." Gareth paused in his explanation to take a drink from his cup before continuing. "At least, this was how the school used to do things when it was first established centuries ago. Now, the first 4 ranks of bronze, iron, silver, and gold are doled out based more on status and influence than merit. Platinum, diamond, and mythril are still only reserved for people with the requisite level and skill, but that is because no country antagonizes anyone platinum or above without consequences. In the entire millennia long history of the school, there''s only been a single student to ever receive a platinum medallion on merit." Gareth gestured at his medallion. "For the Academy medallions now, gold ranks are given to students from high noble families regardless of level or ability. Silver is reserved for the top 100 students in the school based on skill assessment and level, as well as for all nobles and members of the clergy. Iron is given to the top quarter of each year, and bronze is only given to commoners regardless of assessment," Gareth said with a look of distaste. "As asinine as this rank structure is, the Traditionalists have enough of a sway with the Kingdom that funds the Academy that they were able to force through this change a few decades ago since the Academy has failed to graduate a single student that managed to gain an IAG rank higher than gold rank, and even then that was exceedingly rare." Gareth slid another medallion out from under his shirt, one made of dark iron with an insignia of a monster''s skull pierced by a sword next to a treasure chest. Sara, Lane, Cecilia, and Corin did the same, each showing the same iron medallion. "As useful as the Academy''s training and classes are, many combat focused students join the guild and get IAG badges based on merit. It''s the only way to really assess your skill without regard to your parentage if you intend to become an adventurer, and the only badge anyone truly respects." As Gareth finished talking, a group of students with gold medallions swaggered past the table. As they passed by, the lead student, a young man that looked to be about 20, sneered at the group''s iron IAG badges and Jun''s bronze school medallion. "Look, a bunch of rusties and commoner trash," he said loudly, drawing raucous laughter from his entourage. Jun''s friends ignored the mocking nobles and returned to their food. Jun tried to do the same, but she could feel her face warming with embarrassment at the attention as Gareth''s warning about attracting the wrong attention echoed in her mind. Why did it have to be more nobles?! Chapter 26: Roomies! "Now now Bayle, that''s quite rude of you to say to our fellow students," the leader of the group of nobles said with a laugh. "Don''t you see that''s Gareth Brightmane!" Jun glanced at the man from the side of her eye, doing her best to remain unnoticed. He was tall, nearly as tall as Gareth, with blond hair trimmed to just below his ears, clean shaven, with bright blue eyes and an athletic build. On Earth, he probably wouldn''t have looked out of place in a boy band or as a model. "I apologize for my lack of manners, Lord Ignacius," the boy called Bayle said, bowing his head slightly. "It is unbecoming of a nobleman to behave in such an uncouth manner," Ignacius said, lightly reprimanding his friend before turning to Gareth with a smile. "Gareth, It''s been such a long time! Why don''t you come join us, we''re about to head out for a drink." Setting his utensils down again, Gareth looked up at Ignacius with a frown. "Unfortunately, I will have to decline your invitation Ignacius," he said politely. Ignacius looked around the table Gareth sat at, eyes flicking to each person''s school medallion. "Are you sure? We could offer you company more befitting your station," he pressed. "I''m quite sure Ignacius." "I see." Ignacius met Gareth''s eyes before glancing at the others at his table. His gaze lingered too long on the women at the table, and Jun couldn''t help but notice the flick of his eyes running up and down her body, planting a seed of unpleasant feelings in her mind. "Well, I will admit you have quite pleasant company this evening, so perhaps another time," he said with a smile as he looked away from Jun and back at Gareth. "Perhaps another time," Gareth said noncommittally. Murmuring his goodbyes, the blond nobleman and his friends left as students quickly made a path for them through the crowd. All students that Jun couldn''t help but notice wore bronze badges. Jun couldn''t help thinking over the nobleman''s words as he left, and the look he''d given her. The feelings left behind were complicated and confusing, and she wasn''t sure she liked them. Suddenly, she didn''t feel hungry any longer and quietly pushed her half-eaten tray of food away. Next to her, Sara did the same, though Cecilia just continued to eat as if nothing happened. The men and Cecilia quickly finished their food in silence before the older students each made eye contact with each other and with Gareth. Seeing the looks, Gareth glanced around the table and landed on Jun, before nodding to himself. "Why don''t we retire for a drink of our own and help Jun go through the rest of her papers?" Jun gave a start as her name was mentioned, and looked around to see the rest of the group nodding and nodded along as well. "That sounds good, your room?" Sara asked, moving to stand from the booth and let the others out. "My place," Gareth confirmed. The group took their trays back to the kitchen, all but Jun''s and Sara''s empty, and left the cafeteria with Gareth in the lead. It wasn''t long before they arrived at a building that Jun could only describe as a mansion, with multiple wings and a large pair of double doors manned by a pair of armed guards. The guards nodded at Gareth as he approached and opened the doors, letting the rest of them through. The interior was even more magnificent, the entry decorated with statues, tapestries, and fine paintings depicting scenes of battle and glory, while the halls and rugs even seemed to be accented with gold. It was a display of wealth bordering on obscene to Jun, who''s past life had been one of living in a small rural town. Gareth led them up a grand staircase and down several corridors before stopping at a set of doors and swiped his medallion across it, the lock clicking open as he did. His room turned out to be a suite of rooms still lavishly decorated, though noticeably less ostentatious than the rest of the building they had passed through. Gareth''s suit of armor sat on an armor stand, his chipped and broken shield on the side. The rest of the room held racks of shields and other weapons, most of them utilitarian in design, but some clearly ornamental. A seating area with two couches and a fine low table was off in the corner. After the group filed into his room, Gareth closed and locked the door, sighing as the lock clicked shut. "Well, running into Iggy was unpleasant," he said moving to a liquor cabinet where he pulled out several bottles and glasses. Opening a dark green bottle with a pop, he poured a measure of honey brown liquid into each glass, handing them out before pouring one for himself and throwing it back. "Much better!" he exclaimed pouring himself a refill and joining the others on the couches. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Jun absently sipped at the glass in her hand, barely noticing the taste of apples over the bite and burn of strong liquor. It took a few long seconds for her to notice everyone watching her carefully, before Gareth spoke again. "Jun, we realized perhaps too late that you probably aren''t familiar with nobles. Nobles are the backbone of the nation''s government, and while commoner families have risen to wealth and influence in recent times, noble families hold a lot of influence. Most are used to getting their way, and it''s best to avoid their attention if you can." "Some, like Gareth and Lane, aren''t bad though," Sara added. "Though in our first year when they were assigned to lead our party, they were pretty snooty," Cecilia snickered over her glass. "Remember the first trip into the Forest when Lane demanded we clean the mud up while it rained? He got so mad when he slipped face first into the mud and ran around cursing out the rain! Such a dispaly of ''noble etiquette'' he put on," Cecilia finished with a snort, breaking out into full on laughter as Lane blushed with a grimace. Everyone started laughing good naturedly at the memory, and Jun couldn''t help but giggle at the mental image of a mud soaked Lane cursing like a sailor. "I changed though," Lane said with an embarrassed laugh. "I was even worse, ordering everyone around like you all were my house''s guards," Gareth shook his head and took a sip from his glass. Sara saluted Gareth with her right arm, setting off a new round of snickers. "The point is," Gareth continued, chuckling but growing more serious, "that we brought Jun to the Academy and yet I didn''t prepare her for it." "We didn''t," Sara stressed. "Well, let''s start now then," Gareth said, leaning forward. "I mentioned this in the cafeteria, but the Academy now gives a lot of favor to nobles even if most of the students are not from noble families." Gareth motioned to the obviously fancy room they were sitting in and his own gold medallion. "Nobles and the wealthy are given extra luxuries, higher tiered medallions, and even get exempted from some of the course requirements. Iggy, or Lord Greygarten, is a good example. He is the son and heir of Duke Greygarten, a high noble and distant cousin to the royal family. He''s a student in the Governance and Arcane Studies Branches¡ª Yes?" Gareth asked as Jun meekly raised her hand. "Governance and Arcane Studies Branches?" "You forgot she''s literally only been a student here for a couple hours didn''t you?" Lane asked with a smug look on his face. "Oh." Gareth blushed a bit. "Right, well it should be enough to say that he''s a high noble, he''s entitled, and a lot of the other noble students behave like him or worse," he finished with a cough. "But the branches?" Jun asked, confused. "Most of this should be in the packet the Registrar gave you..." Lane said as he began rifling through the documents. "Right, here we are!" Lane handed Jun a sheet of paper with the Academy''s crest at the top and titled "Academic Branches." There were five branches of the school with several departments under each. Remembering the Professor that had helped get her in, she looked for the Artifact Research Department, finding it under the Arcane Studies Branch. "There''s five major branches of academics at the Academy. The first is the Governance Branch, which includes the Law, Economics, and Civil Service Departments. The second is the Military Branch focuses on training students for martial pursuits, whether as members of the nation''s military or as adventurers. The Arcane Studies Branch covers the teaching, research, and development of spells and all types of magical knowledge. The Production Branch covers all types of engineering and artisan pursuits from building fortifications and bridges to crafting paper and general goods. The final Branch is General Studies, which covers all the other disciplines. Not very many nobles are in that last branch as our family tutors are normally more than sufficient to give us that knowledge." Lane dug out another sheet and handed it over to Jun before continuing. "As a student, you''ll have to complete at minimum three of the branches of study to graduate, including the General Studies Branch," he said, tapping on the sheet he handed her. It was a blank course selection form with spaces to fill in which classes she wanted to take. "Since the Administrative Building is closed now, you''ll have to go back tomorrow to select classes," he finished. "T-Thank you Lane," Jun said, stifling a yawn. "So that Iggy guy is in the Governance and Arcane Studies Branches? What about everyone else?" "We''re all in the Combat Branch as a school sanctioned party," Gareth said, leaning forward. "I''m also in Governance." "Production and General Studies," Cecilia said with a nod. "Arcane and General Studies," Corin said quietly. "I''m in Arcane, Governance, and Production," Lane said brightly as the other three groaned. "Boo! Overachiever! Enough about the boring academics!" Sara shouted as Lane stuck his tongue out at her, drawing laughter from the group. "Me? You''re the one in all the branches Sara!" he retorted. "A-nyways, let''s get to the important bit! Where''s Jun''s room?" Sara said, snatching the pile of documents from Lane and digging through it rapidly. "Ah, here it is!" Waving the paper in the air, Sara handed it to Jun to with a smile on her face. Taking the document, Jun read it out loud as everyone leaned in. "Room assignment, Tilden Hall, Room 217, Roommates... Cecilia Broadtooth and Oinarsan no Sara...?" Exchanging a smile with each other Cecilia and Sara looked and Jun and shouted. "Hi roomie!" Chapter 27: Cheaters will be punished with Expulsion. Violent Expulsion. "Now just swipe your medallion from the bottom left of the lock to the top right." Jun did as Cecilia said and felt her medallion grow warm in her hand for a moment before the lock opened with a click. Turning the handle, she pushed the door open, revealing a small common area with two small couches pressed against the wall in an L shape. A single light in the middle of the ceiling lit the room with a warm glow. As Jun looked at the light in the ceiling, it suddenly struck her that it wasn''t an electric light. None of the lights she''d seen were electric, but had provided a steady glow just like the older bulbs most of the people in her home town had sworn by. Jun flinched as Cecilia slipped past her carrying a passed out Sara over her shoulder. The muscular woman casually carried the drunk elf through one of the open doors which Jun could see was a dark bedroom and casually threw the elf into the bed before quietly closing the door to a crack. Glancing between Jun and the light in the ceiling, the woman cracked a roguish grin, causing Jun to blush. "It''s a glow stone light. I thought you might have seen them before, but this is the reaction most people who''ve never seen them before have," she said, mimicking a blank stare at Jun. Embarrassment warmed Jun''s cheeks at the teasing, but it quickly faded. How did she explain that she was used to such lighting, but it was the nature of it that was completely unfamiliar? "I...I grew up with this kind of stuff, but it was different. It all just seemed so normal to me until I realized it wasn''t..." she finally said. "Is that so?" Cecilia peered at Jun with a calculating look on her face, thinking for a bit before shaking her head. "Anyways, we can discuss this later. Those rooms are empty," she said, pointing out two doors identical to Sara''s on the left side of the sitting room. "That''s Sara''s room, and that''s mine if you need anything," she said, pointing to another closed door next to the room she''d placed Sara. "Bathroom''s over there, we share it with the girls in the next unit over, so don''t make a mess." With that, the woman yawned and headed to her room. "G''night, see you in the morning>'' Cecilia''s door closed with a gentle click, leaving Jun alone in the common area as her own tiredness began to catch up to her. Checking both of the empty rooms Cecilia mentioned proved both to be identical in layout with one minor difference. Both had a single bed just wide enough for one person to be comfortable, or two to be uncomfortable, next to a small desk and chair that were pushed up against the windows that looked out into the rest of campus. From the third floor of the building they were in, the height was enough to provide a view over the campus wall into the city beyond. A standing wardrobe was in the corner next to the door, and shelves were mounted to the wall over the bed. A mirror hung from the inside of the door of each one. However, the window of the one further from the front door lay open, letting in the cool night air, and Shiori was curled up on the bed, napping. "It''s about time kitten," her Master said, getting up with a stretch. Closing the door to the room behind her, Jun nodded to the black cat and dropped her bag to the floor. She already knew she didn''t have much to unpack, just her sleeping furs, the purse of coins she''d earned, and the clothes on her back, her war wand having been left in the care of Professor Nagai. "It''s been a day Master," she said with a yawn. Shiori leapt from the bed, allowing Jun to quickly make it before stripping down and sliding into the cool sheets. The bed was lumpy and firm, feeling like it was stuffed with bundles of hay and a far cry from the spring filled mattress she''d grown up with, but after a month and a half of sleeping on cold stone, in trees, or in mud with only a tatty fur for warmth, it was heavenly. The sheets did little to add any padding, but the smooth cotton threads felt wonderful against her skin. The thick wool blanket was too warm for the late summer night, even as cool as it was, but made for an excellent pillow folded up. "Good night Master," Jun mumbled, her eyelids too heavy to keep open. As Jun drifted off, she thought she could hear the faint sound of wind blowing through trees. "Good night kitten," Shiori replied. Jun''s dreams that night were peaceful, filled with the sounds of wind rushing through trees and a soft purple light.
A series of sharp knocks on the door woke Jun from her slumber. The bright light of morning streamed in through the glass windows of her room, and the sounds of students moving through campus came in through her open window. Bleary-eyed, Jun sat up, blowing stray hairs from her mouth as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Half awake, Jun got out of bed and trudged bare-foot to the door, opening it up to see Sara in one of the Academy''s uniforms holding a large package with a smile. "Good morning Jun!" the elf said with a smile as Jun blinked at her. "Mor¡ªning..." Jun mumbled, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned widely. As Jun opened her eyes again, she could see Sara''s smile widen with amusement. "We really need to teach you some common sense Jun," she said with amusement. "You shouldn''t just open your door without getting ready!" Blinking as she processed the woman''s words, Jun started to blush as she noticed that she was fully exposed as she stood in front of the attractive elf woman. With a squeak, Jun quickly slammed the door shut in Sara''s face, the elf''s melodic giggling coming through the door. "Jun, this package is for you, it should help with getting ready!" Jun hid behind the door as she cracked it open just enough for Sara to slide the package in, which Jun grabbed with a single hand before closing the door. Her cheeks still warm, Jun cautiously drew the curtains in the corners of the room over her window then set the large paper wrapped parcel on her desk. A quick pull on the knot tying it shut revealed several sets of the Academy''s uniform neatly folded with a pair of dark leather boots. The uniform consisted of a black colored, long-sleeved blouse and skirt, a wide white belt, and a long light blue jacket with polished steel buttons and silver. Several pairs of black leggings, socks, and a pair of dark leather gloves were also included in the package. Quickly getting dressed in the uniform, Jun looked at herself in the mirror mounted to the back of her door. Her hair was messy despite doing her best to comb it with her fingers, but the uniform was nice and comfortable. She gave a spin in the mirror, watching as the knee-length skirt and blue coat twirled out slightly, She''d tucked the bottom of her blouse into the skirt and cinched the belt around her waist, accenting her figure. Everything about it felt a little bit off, especially compared to how the other students she''d seen last night looked in the same uniform, wearing it still made her feel like a real student at a magical school, and she couldn''t help but feel a bit of excitement fill her! "These clothes they gave you are mundane," Shiori said, yawning from where she lay curled up in the corner of Jun''s bed. "Mundane? They feel pretty high quality to me though..." Jun said, feeling the fabric. She''d never felt clothes as well made as the uniform felt. They were "Not enchanted. I looked around a bit while you were with your new friends, kitten. Most of the students'' clothes were mundane, but your friends'' clothes, and all of those that had gold medallions, were enchanted," Shiori said, staring at the pile of uniforms sitting on Jun''s desk. Heat and anger started to build in Jun''s chest as she remembered her friends'' explanations on how nobles got treated better than everyone else, the Registrar''s muttered comments, and how the few nobles she''d met besides Gareth and Lane acted like she was little better than trash. "Those assholes! Of course they would do something like that too," she groaned, looking at her uniforms again. The new clothes didn''t have the same charm they''d held a few seconds ago, and Jun had to fight down the impulse to throw them in a pile outside and burn them. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Her muttered plans of arson were interrupted by a bright purple flash from behind her as goosebumps broke out across her skin and the sound of a howling gale filled her ears. Whipping around to look, she stared as Shiori stood upright on her hind legs, her front paws held out in front of her. A strange glimmering gold sphere surrounded by glowing purple magical symbols hovered between her Master''s outstretched paws. With a soft cracking sound, the sphere shattered into a pile of dust that emitted gold and purple sparks. Jun suppressed a shriek as she started to float in the air, her extra sets of uniforms and the gifted clothes from Grandma Deedee floating in an orbit around her. The glowing dust split into streams and shot out, liberally coating every piece of clothing. Jun couldn''t help but stare at the jacket she wore as the powder seemed to be absorbed into the cloth, vanishing before her eyes. New magical circles surrounded Jun and each piece of clothing and shrunk down as Shiori slowly brought her paws together. As Shiori''s paws met, the magical circles pressed into the clothes and vanished, causing each piece to pulse with purple light for a few seconds, before the glow faded and everything fell to the floor, Jun landing on her feet. Her clothes felt different, more comfortable, and somehow even finer than they had just a few seconds ago. Looking at her Master, she watched as Shiori slumped as she put her paws down and gave a wide yawn that showed off her fangs. "What was that, Master?" Jun asked, eyes darting between the ring of clothes around her and the exhausted cat in front of her. "Enchanting. Not something I''m good at," Shiori said, her voice strained. "Your clothes should be good enough for a beginning magic user, until your body catches up anyways." Jun''s excitement was back and stronger than ever. Enchanted clothes?! She couldn''t help imagining her clothes glowing with magic and peered closer, trying to catch a spark of magic, but the cloth still looked and felt much as it first had, if a bit more comfortable. "Enchantments? What kind of enchantments?" she asked her Master as she rested her head on her paws. "Basic ones like your friends and the other students. Durability. Cleaning. Minor repairs. Some other stuff. It won''t replace real armor, but better than nothing. Now no more talking, Sara''s waiting out there for you and I need sleep." Emphasizing her point, Shiori got up and crawled into the folds of Jun''s blanket, leaving only her back paws and tail hanging out. "Thank you Master," Jun whispered, watching as Shiori''s tail swished in acknowledgment. Moving to the door, Jun opened it to see Sara and Cecilia look up at her from their seats on the couches. "Wow, the uniform looks good on you Jun!" Sara shouted exuberantly. Shiori''s voice filled her ears with muttered curses and threats of soup, sending a shiver of horror down her spine. Quickly shushing the elf, Jun pointed towards her bed. Peaking around Jun from her place on the couch, Sara could see Shiori''s paws and tail sticking out from the blanket and an understanding smile spread across her face. "That''s so cute!" Sara whispered, pointing at Shiori for Cecilia to see. Cecilia nodded with a smile at the sight and got up, waving around a few pieces of paper as she motioned for Jun to follow. As quietly as they could, the three women left their room, Cecilia in the lead. It was only after they were in the hallway that the woman spoke. "Sara and I got letters this morning instructing us to make sure you got registered for next term''s classes and completed all the pre-student evaluations," she said, handing Jun a sheet of paper. As Jun read, Sara produced a comb out of nowhere and started attacking Jun''s hair. She tuned out the sharp pricks of pain as she let Sara deal with her hair and read the schedule printed on the paper out loud. "Arcane Theory test, Arcane Skills test, Physical Fitness test¡ªow!¡ª Combat Skills test, and General Knowledge test?" Jun said. "Done!" Sara said, stepping away from Jun. The elf had braided her hair and pinned it up so her hair wouldn''t get in her eyes if she moved. "Great," Cecilia said, nodding. "Now we need to move, your first test starts in 15 minutes and it''s on the other side of campus!"
Gasping for breath, Jun ignored the whispering and glances from the crowd of students around her as she struggled to recover as she stood outside the classroom in the Arcana Building. Sweat dripped down her brow from the mad sprint her friends had led her on across the campus and they made it with just a couple minutes to spare. The other students were all wide-eyed and most were wearing bronze medallions, though several sported silver medallions and even a couple of gold ones. Finally catching her breath, Jun pushed herself up just in time as the door of the classroom opened, revealing a stern middle-aged man wearing a dark grey suit and tie. "Get in and find a seat, you have 1 minute," he barked as he turned around and marched to sit at a desk in the center of the room. Shuffling in with the rest of the students, Jun saw that the classroom was built in a stadium style, with stairs leading to rows of seats. She chose a seat in the middle of the room, far from any other students. A sheet of paper and several pencils were on the desk in front of her, but before she could do more than look at it, the man in the suit rapped on a chalk board at the front of the room and cleared his throat. "This is the entrance exam for Arcana Theory. Do your best. You have 2 hours. Cheat and you''ll be expelled. Violently. No questions. Begin." Jun hurriedly picked up a pencil and started going through the test papers in front of her, having flashbacks to her time in community college on Earth. The first half of the questions were multiple choice, but many of the questions she found strange. Shiori had coached her on the basics in the forest, but few of the answers provided made sense according to what she''d learned from Shiori. Shrugging, she just started selecting the answers closest to what she''d learned from Shiori, hoping she was right. The second half of the exam asked several short answer questions, and referenced concepts she''d never heard of, like "Lumere''s Principals of Mana Collision" and "Catalytic Entropy" that she was forced to skip, but she was able to answer a few that touched on topics Shiori had drilled into her. 2 hours later, Jun''s hand was cramping as the stern man rapped on the board again. "Pencils down," he yelled. Jun immediately finished writing her last sentence and put her pencil down, shaking her hand. A loud boom and screaming filled the classroom as Jun whipped her head around, looking for a place to hide from the sudden violence, only to see one of the students, a young man with mousy brown hair wearing a silver badge, struggling weakly against a series of glowing chains wrapped around him and dragging him from his seat, shards of wood from the desk in front of him littered across the front of the classroom. "I said pencils down!" "Don''t you know who I am! I''m Baron Ghislest''s heir! How dare¡ª" the young man''s rants were choked off as more chains wrapped around his mouth and throat. The exam proctor made a beckoning motion and the chain wrapped student was dragged in front of him. "I said cheaters would be expelled violently. You cheated anyways." Squeezing his hands, the chains began to constrict, the young man''s struggling growing frantic. The popping snap of bones breaking and the young man''s muffled, screaming sobs filled the room as his right arm bent the wrong way. Ignoring the sobbing man, the proctor turned to look at the rest of the students as they flinched in a wave, Jun included. "Bring your papers to the front and leave them on the desk. You have 2 minutes." Hurrying to comply, the remaining students quickly gathered their papers and dropped them in a haphazard pile on the teacher''s desk. Jun''s bad luck reared it''s head and she found herself at the back of the line, her spot in the middle of the room trapping her as the students near the ends of the rows rushed to comply and flee the room. Dropping her paper on top of the pile, Jun hurried from the room as the young man''s sobbing grew louder and he thumped to the floor, the chains vanishing. "Pathetic," the proctor spit on the floor next to the young man as 2 guards walked passed Jun and picked the cheater up. "He''s expelled, throw him and his stuff out the gate." As the guards hurried to comply, the proctor made eye contact with Jun as she realized she''d frozen to watch. "Hurry up or you''ll be late to the next test. You don''t want to be late." Her mouth dry, Jun could only nod as she hurried out the door to where her friends were waiting. "I know that look," Sara said quietly. "Professor Marcos caught a cheater, didn''t he?" she said as they lead the way to the next of Jun''s tests. Jun nodded slowly, her heart still pounding and mouth dry from the sudden violence. "I-it was a boy with a silver medallion..." she whispered, the boy''s screams fresh in her mind. Cecilia shook her head as Sara sighed. "Someone always tries it, and it never ends well. Not unless they''re a high noble anyways. Anyways, the next test, they''ll want to see any spells you might know. Just show them the spells you used in the forest and you''ll be fine!" Sara said brightly, trying to focus Jun on her next test. The trio soon entered a large room in the building that looked like a gym with target dummies at one end, with many of the students Jun recognized from her theory test waiting in a group with others. Saying their goodbyes, Sara and Cecilia moved off to the side as Jun joined the other new students, her stomach doing flips as she waited silently. She could hear quiet whispers recounting what had happened in her test room between some of the students she recognized and several she didn''t, but a hush quickly spread over the students as the door opened to admit four men and a woman that Jun recognized as Professor Nagai. "Students!" one of the men, another middle-aged man in a black suit stepped forward and called for attention. "This is the Arcana Practical exam. When your name is called, you will step forward and demonstrate your spells on the targets. Any attempt to disrupt another''s test will be met with violent expulsion from the Academy. This is your only warning." The man stepped back into line with the other proctors as another man wearing glasses and a light grey suit stepped forward holding a clipboard and cleared his throat. "Adam, son of Myron, you''re up!" Chapter 28: Practical Exams Adam walked forward with a confidence he didn''t truly feel. The only reason he''d been able to get into the school was through his father''s wealth. His father was a merchant in the city, buying and selling monster parts from adventurers going into the Great Forest, and he had spent that wealth on tutors and resources for his children to advance their skills and level up all in the hopes of elevating their family. His sisters had been groomed from a young age in the hopes that they would attract the interest of a noble, perhaps as second or third wives, or even as a first wife if they were lucky, while he and his brothers were groomed to take over the business and help it grow. Adam had shown the most aptitude in the use of magic according to the silver ranked adventurer his father retained to teaching his sons magic and combat, even managing to learn a Novice ranked spell and get it Novice 12, just a few levels from the first evolution! When he''d first stepped through the gates that morning, he was certain he would do well on his tests and attract attention from the professors at the school, but the first exam changed his mind. The theory test was far more advanced than anything his tutor had taught, and he was no longer confident in his performance. Regardless, his father''s favored saying pushed him to swagger as he approached the proctor. Never show weakness in any dealings, and when you don''t know something, bluff harder. "Here sir!" Adam said to the proctor. "Spells and levels?" the proctor asked, getting right to the point. "I know [Arcane Missile] at Novice level 12, sir!" Adam said loudly. He could hear several students murmuring his spell''s rank, bolstering his confidence. "Good, Cast your spell at that target as many times as you can until you''ve exhausted your mana," the proctor said, gesturing at one of the targets on the other side of the room. Nodding, Adam tapped into his mana as he envisioned his spell form for [Arcane Missile], carefully threading the mana from his core to fill the circle spell form. It took him a few seconds to fill it before the spell coalesced in his outstretched hand and shot off, rapidly flying towards the target and barely grazing it. Adjusting his aim, he cast again and again, finally scoring a direct hit to the center of the target on his 4th cast. Just over a minute and 12 casts later, he was out of mana, having barely squeezed out enough for two final spells with his regeneration. Sweat soaked his brow from the effort, but he couldn''t help feeling satisfied as he heard some of the other students talking about his casting!
Jun watched as the first student repeatedly cast his spell at the target until he was out and was dismissed as the proctor wrote notes on his clipboard. As he casted, each of the proctors called up another student each, quickly cycling through the students until they exhausted their mana and were dismissed. Other than the first student with a Novice 12 spell, the rest of the students hadn''t reported spells greater than Novice 10 which had come from a student with a gold medallion, while most of the silver students were around Novice 6 and the bronze students rarely exceeded Novice 3. It wasn''t long before Jun was called up by the man in the black suit. "I-I am Jun, sir," she said nervously, her stomach fluttering. "Right. What spells do you have and what are your skill levels in them?" he asked disinterestedly. Jun willed her spells up from her screen.
[Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 24)
Cast a concentrated blast of energy meant to pierce armor. Mana Cost: variable
[Barrier] (Apprentice 4)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. Cost: 76 mana minimum, variable.
"[Piercing Missile] at Apprentice 24 and [Barrier] at Apprentice 4, sir," she said nervously. She knew most of the students had only listed one spell, with some of the nobles listing two or three, but everyone was in the Novice ranks. She wasn''t sure if Apprentice would be good enough. The proctor stared at her as she spoke up, several of the students who had been in the middle turning to stare at Jun as they overheard her. Jun could hear as some of the other students began to whisper, making her feel self conscious. "Apprentice?" "Is she serious?" "She has to be lying right?" "I know, I bet the proctors kick her out right now!" Jun shuffled nervously, the student''s murmuring filling her ears. "Send me your spell names and levels to me, now," the proctor demand, his eyes narrowing at Jun. Rushing to comply, Jun willed her screens to be visible to him, only hiding the spell descriptions like Shiori had taught her to. The man in the black suit blinked for a few seconds as he read the screens visible only to him, and wrote several notes down on his clipboard, before looking up at the other students who had stopped casting and stared at Jun. "Did your proctors tell you to stop casting? Ger back to it or you''re all expelled!" he barked with a glare. Jumping, the students got back to casting, though Jun could feel the stares of the others boring holes into her back. "Right, well," her proctor said, clearing his throat, "use your [Piercing Missile] and cast at the target until you''re out of mana." Nodding, Jun turned to face the target, her eyes glancing left and right at the students who resumed casting. Everyone she saw cast a single spell at a time, and none of them seemed to be altering their spells, so she wasn''t sure if she should do the same or not. Deciding to play it safe, Jun decided to simply cast her spell without altering it, hoping that would be enough. Looking at the target in front of her, she fed the image of her spell striking the center of the target into the spell along with a tendril of mana, just enough to cast the first basic version Shiori had taught her. In less than a second, the spell coalesced and shot off, rocketing into the target and punching a small dent into the target. Even if her spell was lower ranked than everyone else''s, she was confident that she could at least cast quickly!
Mana: 289/290 [21.75/min (0.25*MIND + 0.5*SPR)/min]
Checking her mana, she was shocked to see that the spell had only cost a single mana! As she watched, her mana refilled itself back up, covering the cost of her spell. The proctor said she had to cast until she was empty, but if she cast one at a time she would be here forever with her basic spell! "Uh... sir?" she asked the proctor in the black suit. "Are you out of mana already student?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "No sir, uh... do I have to cast until I''m out of mana?" "No exceptions student. Refuse and I''ll expel you immediately." The proctor''s blunt threat sent a jolt of fear through her. She''d just gotten in, she couldn''t afford to be expelled during testing! If she had to drain her mana, she couldn''t afford to do such a basic spell one at a time, and who knows how the proctor would react if she took too long. She might get expelled for wasting too much time! Gathering her mana, Jun hardened herself, remembering the swarm of spells she''d cast at the goblins. Casting multiple spells at once had been a bit hard, but it was the only way she could drain her mana fast enough. Taking a deep breath, Jun fed the her targeting image into her [Piercing Missile] spell form, envisioning a steady stream of the basic spells firing in a swarm. Using the same trick she''d figured out in the forest, she split her mana into multiple threads, feeding each one individually into the spell form. First 2 threads, then 3, 5, 9, and finally 12 threads of mana were connected from her core to the spell form. She quickly pulsed her mana through each of the threads one after the other to form multiple spells, the mana threads preventing her mana from mixing and overcharging any of the spells. The spells quickly coalesced into bright blue shining stars all around Jun and began to thud into the target one after the other in rapid succession! If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. With her outsized stats, it took Jun a couple minutes to empty her mana using her basic spell, but she eventually managed it, her forehead beading with a small amount of sweat as the last point of mana left her pool. Sighing, she turned to see the proctor staring at her with a blank look on his face, before he nodded at her and wrote several notes on his clipboard. "Thank you Jun, please move to the side for the next student." With a frown, Jun moved off to the side, the other students keeping their distance from her. That told her everything she needed to know. Her spells were a joke. Jun had been towards the middle of the group being tested, and with five students being tested at a time, it didn''t take long for the students to be dismissed. Sara and Cecilia had been the only ones in the room to join her after her testing, but despite their encouragement that she did well, Jun couldn''t believe that was the case. None of the other students had approached her, but many like the first student to be tested had already been approached by some of the gold and silver students to be recruited to their families. But not Jun. After the last student finished their testing, the proctors had dismissed the students for lunch. Sara and Cecilia kept her company the whole time as they ate in the cafeteria, but Jun didn''t feel like talking. After lunch, her friends led her to the rest of her tests for Physical Fitness, Combat Skills, and General Knowledge. The next two tests the proctors had every student change into provided workout clothes before reporting to a field and obstacle course like something out of military training. The Physical Fitness test had been a brutal workout led by intense proctors that acted more like drill sergeants, one so intense that Jun got a notification saying her STR, CON, and AGI had each increased by 1. More than 1 student had vomited or passed out, and Jun had nearly been one of them. The past few weeks living in the Forest with Shiori had her feeling healthier and stronger than she ever had in her past life, but that was nothing compared to the intensity of the workout demanded. Once thoroughly exhausted, the same proctors had paired every student off with a 1st year student of the Academy to spar for their Combat Skills test. Her sparring partner was a muscular woman of average height. They sparred with wooden swords and shields, and Jun didn''t manage to land a single hit on the older student. Her sparring partner didn''t hold back at all, and seemed to have a personal grudge against her even though Jun had never met her before. The proctors didn''t stop the fight until Jun was left a bruised and bloody mess, barely avoiding any broken bones. A student healer with the Academy healed her while she watched Sara restrain Cecilia from chasing down the 1st year woman that had sparred with Jun. It took a few minutes, but eventually the healer cleared Jun to leave, and then it was time for her last test of the day, General Knowledge. It was another written test like her first on Arcana Theory, but covering Math, Science, History, Reading, and Writing skills. Thanks to the weird nature of language that Shiori had explained to her, Jun was at least confident her reading and writing skills were fine since she hadn''t had any trouble understanding anything she read, and the Math and Science sections felt like refresher tests from high school on Earth. It was History that she utterly failed at. She''d only been on Merinthia for just under 2 months, and most of that time had been spent with Shiori who focused on teaching her basic magic and how to hunt for food. The past 3 days since she''d met Sara, Cecilia, and the others had barely been enough time to get to know any of them, let alone learn anything about the history of a place she didn''t even know existed a few weeks ago. Sore, tired, and certain she''d failed far more than she succeeded, Sara and Cecilia had to carry her back to their dorm, where she collapsed on the bed
Leon groaned with exhaustion as he wrote a few more notes down next to a student''s profile. After the students completed their tests, they were quickly graded and assessed on their performance. The tight time frame between testing and issuing final decisions on placement always meant that the proctors would be working into the early morning hours to get through the list, and their group of proctors wouldn''t be the only such group doing this work in the coming days. Luckily, each group of proctors only had to do 2 such days of entrance placement examinations each year, and then they''d receive a full week off. Leon could already taste the cold beers he''d be guzzling after this. He could sleep it off all day tomorrow, or get a student healer to deal with the hangover. Perks of being a Professor. "Next student, Jun, no family name or parentage provided. Admitted as a scholarship student by order of Headmaster Allister and Professor Merin Nagai," John, the Head Proctor for their group read off. An image of a pale, beautiful girl with purple hair appeared on a crystal screen in the room, along with her intake scan. Leon did a double take as he read her stats and level. "Only level 17 with average stats but 290 mana? That can''t be right," another Proctor exclaimed. "I did the scan myself," Sean growled. "Are you sure the scanner was working properly? When was the last time it was checked?" the same disbelieving proctor, an older noble named Tano asked. Leon didn''t know much about the man, just that he was another mid-rank noble like Sean. "There was nothing wrong with the scanner. I checked," Sean said, his eyes flashing dangerously at the other nobleman. "R-Right, well, there must be something going on with her?" Tano said submissively. "She brought a war wand in with her and traded access to research it for admission and scholarship," Merin said, finally speaking up. "My preliminary research into such artifacts is that they bind with their owners and can enhance them to some degree. It''s possible that it enhanced her mana at the time of the scan, leading to an inflated reading." "That''s possible. How long was it between her last contact with the artifact and the scan?" another proctor Leon recognized from the Arcana Studies Branch asked. "I scanned her immediately after she returned from meeting with Allister and Merin," Sean said. "It couldn''t have been more than a couple minutes." "Then the artifact''s buffs would likely have still remained for some time, explaining her unusual mana reading." "That wouldn''t explain her performance in the Spellcasting practical," Leon said, speaking up for the first time. "I proctored the student myself. She cast over 300 Apprentice level variants of the [Arcane Missile] spell before she ran out of mana." "Over 300!" "Apprentice level?!" "Preposterous, were you drunk?!" "Enough," John said, his aura filled the room with the soul pressure of a high Platinum ranked being. It felt like a predator had its jaws wrapped around Leon''s throat as he unconsciously swallowed. As quickly as John''s aura flared, it retreated, leaving most of the Gold and Silver ranked Professors shaking. Only Merin and Sean seemed unphased by it, both being Platinum ranked themselves. "Leon, explain." "I ordered her to show me her spells directly. She sent the system screens over immediately, confirming that she had a variant of [Arcane Missile] called [Piercing Missile] at Apprentice 24, and a variant of the [Arcane Shield] spell called [Barrier] at Apprentice 4. She cast a single spell and stopped for a few seconds, I thought she was out of mana which would be understandable for someone at level 17 with average INT and SPR casting a high Apprentice spell, even if you assumed the standard mana efficiency decreases as you improve a spell. But she only stopped to ask for confirmation to drain all of her mana by casting. Once I confirmed the test parameters, she began to cast more of the same Apprentice level spell in rapid succession. I pulled the data from her test after the fact." Leon paused, opening one of his folders to pull out a report that he he held out to John. The papers levitated out of his hand and over to the Head Proctor, who silently flipped through the pages as he read. "The Initiate level target we used for testing confirmed 267 hits over 2 minutes and 12 seconds before it was locked down to begin self-repairs and stopped recording. Her time to drain her mana took approximately 3 minutes and her spell pace didn''t slow down once she started, it simply stopped as she began to display the common symptoms of mana depletion. From extrapolation, she cast well over 300 spells in 3 minutes, and if I hadn''t been there to see it I wouldn''t believe it either. It''s a feat that a veteran Silver ranked war mage would struggle to replicate, let alone a level 17 bronze student." Leon took a deep, steadying breath as he gazed into space. He''d felt the hair on the back of his standing up straight, but he hadn''t noticed a drop of mana leakage from the girl as she cast. It was as if she was perfectly efficient, spending the bare minimum to coalesce her spells without waste, a near impossible endeavor. No one would believe him if he said that though, but they would believe the data John was reviewing. "The target report confirms the accuracy of Leon''s account. Catastrophic damage after 267 confirmed spell impacts that forced the partial activation of the building''s defensive ward and self-repair enchantment. I propose we admit this Jun as a silver ranked student and recommend her to the Combat and Arcana Branches for development. All in favor?" "Wait," Sean said, interrupting. "Per Academy Graduation Policy, all students must complete at least 3 Branch majors, including General Studies, unless they otherwise test out of that requirement. How did she perform on her other tests?" Thomas spoke up from the back. "She was in my Arcana Theory group," he said, pulling out a marked test sheet. "She got a number of the multiple choice questions on basics completely wrong, but her short answers are different. Some referencing basic principles are left completely blank, but other answers seem to defy well known advanced principles, and yet they make sense. There even seems to be a partial answer referencing the equations in Takamori''s Lost Mana Paradox, something we don''t teach until the 5th year to only the most advanced students. Overall, she passed, barely." A muscle-bound professor Leon only knew in passing spoke up. "She was in my group for Physical Fitness and Combat Skills. Her fitness was on the low end of average, about what you''d expect from a commoner who''s healthy enough but never actively trained. Her Combat Skills were pathetic. No killer instinct, struggled against my worst 1st year student, and the student healer took 10 minutes healing her enough for her last test. Barely acceptable for Fitness. Failure for Combat Skills." "Her General Knowledge is all over the place. She did well in Math with few errors, though she used several methods I am unfamiliar with to solve problems. Science was passable, as was Reading and Writing. She left the entire History portion blank. Overall, a pass, barely." "Overall, a pass then," John nodded. "Wait, but she failed an entire test and left an entire section of General Knowledge blank," Sean said, interrupting the Head Proctor. The Head Proctor''s aura flared, Sean''s rising to conflict with it. Sparks seemed to fill the air as the two auras clashed, before two more Platinum ranked auras filled the room, lightening the pressure on the assembles proctors. "She can learn History easily enough," Merin said, standing to glare at the two men. "And Combat Skills can be trained," Thomas joined in, rising as well. Sean relented first, withdrawing his aura, "Fine," he said petulantly. John held his aura up for a couple seconds longer before pulling his back, followed by Merin and Thomas as the other proctors breathed a sigh of relief. "I will amend my proposal to recommend that this Jun be referred to the General Studies, Arcana Studies, and Combat Branches. All in favor?" Sounds of agreement filled the room as the proctors quickly agreed while the petulant Registrar sat with his arms crossed, refusing to vote. John made a note in his notebook next to Jun''s name, then moved on. "Right, next student..." It was going to be a long night. Chapter 29: The Path Forward Jun couldn''t help but groan as something pushed into a sitting position. Her entire body ached with the pain of a hard workout as the smell of something familiar assaulted her nose. A bowl pressed against her lips and she reflexively sipped at it''s contents, half swallowing as the bitter, savory taste of Shiori''s soup jolted her awake. Her stomach recoiled and she turned to vomit, only for her Master''s voice to fill her ears. "Drink the soup my stupid kitten." Swallowing the rest of her mouthful with a struggle, Jun pushed the insistent bowl away as she looked at her master staring at her from the floor of her room. "What? Why?" she grumbled, holding the persistent bowl off with both hands. The effort to do so was immense, her arms feeling like lead. "Because a stupid kitten didn''t eat last night after physical training." "I didn''t do any training, just the tests... that I failed by the way..." she groaned as she slumped back onto the bed, remembering her abysmal performances. Jun yelped as she was telekinetically hauled out of bed to float before her Master, the bowl of soup hovering menacingly in front of her face. "What do you mean, failed? Tell me everything that happened yesterday," Shiori demanded. Floating in her room in the predawn light, Jun slowly relayed everything that happened during the tests. The questions she could still remember about terms she''d never heard of before during the Arcana Theory test, how everyone else had Novice ranked spells but she only had the beginner spells Shiori had taught her, about her spellcasting and how the students seemed to mock her performance, her humiliation during the physical fitness and sparring, and how she felt totally unprepared for the general test. Shiori flicked her tail faster and faster with each new thing Jun relayed to her. When Jun described how she was just too drained after the day''s events to do anything but come back and sleep, Shiori''s tail froze. "Drink the soup kitten," she said, her voice filled with steel. "I''m sorry I failed you Master, but¡ª" Jun started to apologize, but was interrupted by the bowl smacking lightly against her lips. "Stop talking and listen," Shiori said firmly. "You did not fail." Her Master''s pronouncement stunned her. How couldn''t she have failed? She''d struggled to do even the most basic of things, and the one thing she was confident in, her magic, was openly mocked. Numbly, she obeyed her Master''s command and sipped the bitter soup as Shiori stared at her. "You do not know that you failed. You only think that you did. You are still a kitten learning about the world. You are here to learn, not to be perfect without effort. If these humans are so foolhardy as to deny you the opportunity to learn simply because you do not already know what they have to teach you, then they are not worth learning from. Now finish your soup and prepare yourself, it is time for a new lesson." Under Shiori''s watchful gaze Jun finished the soup in several swallows, barely managing not to gag. Once the bowl was empty, Shiori let her down and commanded her to sit on the floor. "Open your status screen kitten," Shiori commanded. Jun did as she was told, opening her screen and automatically willing it to be visible to Shiori in full. As she read through it, she was shocked to see that some of her stats had changed!
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,344
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Apprentice Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 17 (+8) (56/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 290/290
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 30 (+1)
CON - 30 (+1)
STR - 30 (+1)
AGI - 30 (+1)
DEX - 30 (+1)
CHA - 36 (+2)
SPR - 30 (+1)
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 8) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 25) (+1) [Evolve? Y/N] [Barrier] (Apprentice 4) [Multi Casting] (Apprentice 12) [Stealth] (Novice 8) [Tracking] (Novice 3) [Cleaning] (Initiate 1) [Cooking] (Novice 4) [Butchery] (Novice 9) [Foraging] (Novice 6) [Crafting] (Novice 2) [Pain Resistance] (Novice 3)
All of her stats had increased by 1, except for Charisma which had gone up by 2 for some reason, and it looked like she''d even gained a level in [Piercing Missile] and it was ready to evolve? "Master... how did I gain stats? I thought I only gained stats when I leveled? What does it mean that my [Piercing Missile] is ready to evolve?" "You gained stats through training. The universe rewards effort, and it has finally deemed you worthy of earning stats through your hard work. Your spellcasting and physical work yesterday sufficiently pushed you such that the universe recognized your efforts and assisted in empowering you further. It also means you are finally ready to begin studying the third pillar." Shiori said with a nod. "The third pillar? But what about my spell?" "The spell is unimportant for now. The third pillar is something you have already begun doing, but in an unfocused fashion." Shiori flicked her tail and moved to the side as a detailed copy of Jun appeared sitting in a cross-legged position, except this version was faintly glowing purple, see-through, and completely naked. Jun couldn''t help but blush as she saw her naked clone in front of her. She knew intellectually that this was her, but seeing herself sitting in such an open, relaxed position felt lewd and inappropriate. "Master!, why is she naked? I mean me! Why am I naked?!" "You humans are far too embarrassed by nudity, kitten." "You''re showing me off so lewdly! What if someone sees?!" "The curtains are closed." "Someone could walk in!" "your friends are asleep." "What if they hear something and wake up!" "I''m blocking sounds from escaping our room, and unlike a certain kitten, I know how to lock a door." "Why does my clone have to be naked?!" "Because what you''re about to learn is best done naked." "Why?!" "Because I don''t do laundry, now observe." Trying to ignore the awkwardness of sitting across from a naked clone of herself, Jun watched as a a spot in her chest between her breasts began to glow, growing brighter, before lines began to extend out from it, drawing a pattern that ran through her abdomen and down her legs to the tips of her toes before looping back around to meet the glowing ball in her chest. More lines extended up through her shoulders and down her arms to her finger tips, and up her neck into her head, touching her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before looping back around to the glowing ball. The drawn pattern was fascinating, reminding Jun of the pathways her mana traveled through when she casted spells. "This is your core and your mana network," Shiori said as Jun stared at the image. "It is basic, enough for casting spells." The network began to change and grow, new channels branching off the originals into smaller channels that slowly grew and split, again and again until every inch of Jun''s translucent body glowed with mana. "As you level and develop your strength, your mana network will grow and change to accommodate more mana. This development is the process of leveling, aided and guided by the Universal System. However, as you accumulate power and experience, you also accumulate negative karma through psychological burdens, trauma, and toxins. Collectively, this negative karma can be thought of as impurities that weigh you down and hold you back from developing your full power. Stick out your hand." Jun did as instructed, holding out her hand to her Master. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The black cat padded forward and put a paw in the center of her palm. A spark of warm seemed to leap from her Master''s paw into her palm and flow up her arm, into her chest, and around her body, tracing a pattern as it moved. "When you first unlocked your magic, you expelled an enormous amount of impurities. Despite your being born so recently, you were born still carrying burdens upon your soul that weighed you down and blocked your magic until you cleared those channels away. While you removed enough to begin harnessing magic, you did not remove them all, and have since accumulated more. Some of these impurities are naturally expelled by your body over time, but there is another way to deal with them. Watch closely" Her clone''s mana core began to change, slowly splitting into two identical cores on either side of her chest. A web of new mana channels wrapped around the twin cores and linked them together before joining the other mana channels of her network. Jun''s clone seemed to cycle mana through her channels, looping the mana back around to feed into the core on her right, then into the left, before feeding the mana back into the web of channels. As the mana cycled, the right core began to glow brighter while the left grew darker until the right was a brightly shining purple and the left a deep void. "This is the Path of Balance, one of creating a core of pure mana and a core of impurities. For mana and impurities are two faces of the same concept, and balance cannot be achieved without accepting both sides." As Shiori finished speaking, Jun felt her Master''s mana withdraw from her body. "I offer this path to you if you choose it, kitten, though be warned, it is a difficult path to walk." "What will happen to me if I do this?" Jun asked her Master as she watched the clone''s mana network expand. "Your mana network fuels your body, allowing it to grow in power. The System does a version of this, though the System''s methods are slow and general, represented by stat points and levels. Walking a Path in this way improves upon the System''s methods, though you will need to overcome the pressure of the System enforcing it''s pattern upon you. If done correctly, your mana network will grow with every step you take, augmenting the power granted by the System and growing stronger." Jun stared at her clone, watching as her mana network began to grow and spread rapidly. As the mana network expanded, her clone''s body seemed to grow stronger and more flexible, though visibly nothing changed. "What happens if I do it wrong?" Her clone''s eyes opened and met Jun''s eyes with a confident smile, winking at her before it dissipated, leaving an empty space in front of Jun that Shiori moved to sit in. "You die," Her Master said, taking the clone''s place in front of Jun. The light of dawn began to peak through the curtains as Jun stared at her Master, the benefits and consequences of what Shiori offered weighing on her. She thought of the hopelessness she felt against the [Soul Parasite], how she had nearly died to the kobold, and how both times it was her Master that saved her with overwhelming strength. But her Master''s strength was not enough. The [Soul Parasite] was sealed away, but the seal wouldn''t last forever, and her Master had accepted a duel between Jun and the kobold in a year''s time. Her Master couldn''t, or wouldn''t, fight all of her battles for her. Jun would have to fight her own battles eventually, and despite what her Master called her, she was not a kitten that could do nothing for herself. Anxious thoughts filled her mind at the consequences if she failed. Death scared her even though she''d experienced it once before. In the short time she had been in this new life, she''d gained a Master that felt like the older sister she''d never had, new friends that seemed to care for her, and magic. It was a life she never would have imagined was possible, and she was afraid to lose it, despite the horrors she had seen and the challenges she faced. But holding on to what she had required strength too. She faltered in the middle of the battle with the goblins, overwhelmed by what she had seen and done. She struggled with many of the tests she''d taken, and already seemed to have enemies despite only being at the Academy for a day. She had only gotten into the city through the intervention of a powerful man that stopped another guard from taking advantage of her. This world respected strength, and if she wanted to hold on to what she had, she would need the strength to do so. Strength that required her to risk losing what she wanted to hold on to. "I want to get stronger. I need to get stronger," she said, her tone serious as she looked at Shiori. "Is this the only way I can?" "You can do as those at this Academy do and simply level. Some, like the Headmaster and the Captain at the city gate, are powerful, but all depend upon the System to guide their path and are weaker for it. What was once common knowledge, such as I offer, seems rare today, perhaps forgotten by most. It is possible there are other ways that I do not know, and you would be able to find them. I cannot make the choice for you." The risk was high, but Jun trusted Shiori. Shiori was more than capable of surviving alone, but she had still taken Jun in when didn''t need to. Her Master called her a kitten and treated her as such, teaching and training her, helping her find her feet and a way to move forward. Jun''s resolve hardened as she made her decision, the dawn''s light illuminating her room through the thin curtains. "I want to learn," she said quietly. Something whispered to her that this was a momentous decision that required more than a desire to learn. Jun listened to her instincts, channeling the manners she had learned under a stern grandmother in another life, informed by a culture that had never fully been hers, and something of her new world nudging her forward. Jun shifted to sit on her knees, her muscles protesting at the uncomfortable position as she bowed low, touching her forehead to the floor in front of her Master. The proper words came to her from somewhere, knowledge without a source that Jun knew was right, telling her the words to speak. "Please guide me, that I may walk the Path!" Jun''s words echoed in her ears, drowning out the sounds of a waking world beyond the walls of her room. "I will guide you to your Path, young one, that you may walk forward to your destiny." Shiori''s words were different. Weightier. As if the world heard and acknowledged them. A light force pushed at Jun, urging her to raise her head. "Rise, young one, that you may receive guidance to walk your Path." Jun raised her head and felt Shiori''s paw press against her skin between her eyes as knowledge flowed into her. A flood of memories and insights not her own flashed through her mind and she struggled to capture them all. Hard won knowledge slipped through her fingertips as she tried and failed to capture a river with her bare hands, but drops of insight remained. The river flowed through her soul and condensed into a lake, untapped but for the few drops that clung to her spiritual hands. Guided by the knowledge shared with her, Jun sat in a lotus position and closed her eyes as she guided her mana through her channels, pushing them to grow and spread throughout her body. Her flesh burned as the mana carved new channels throughout her body, pushing her network to grow. Soon, her entire body hurt as thousands of new mana channels siphoned mana from her core and into her flesh. Her muscles grew firmer, her bones stronger and more flexible, and her skin more resistant as her body drank in the mana from her core. Soon, her core was empty, yet her body continued to drink, pulling at the very structure of her empty mana core, cannibalizing it for fuel. Her core shrank by a tenth, then a quarter, then a third, before her body''s thirst was slaked, leaving her core at half the size it had been. In a daze, Jun slumped to the floor with exhaustion as screens flashed before her eyes, putting to word what she already knew.
Merinthia welcomes another disciple upon the Path of Balance.
WARNING! CORE STRUCTURE DEGRADATION IN EFFECT CORE INTEGRITY 90%... 79%... 65%... 52%... 39%... 17%... CORE RESTRUCTURE DETECTED. CORE INTEGRITY 25%... 42%... 58%... 81%... 100%. CORE STATUS: STABLE
Karmic Balance: 149,864,661,344
World: Merinthia (Tier 1)
Name: Jun
Titles: Apprentice Disciple of the Path of Balance Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN)
Level: 19 (+2) (07/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 17/140 [59/min (.5 MIND + SPR/min)]
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 32 (+2)
CON - 38 (+8)
STR - 36 (+6)
AGI - 40 (+10)
DEX - 42 (+12)
CHA - 46 (+10)
SPR - 43 (+13)
Traits: (5/5)
[Touched by Karma] (Hidden)
[Born of Karma] (Hidden)
[Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) SEALED
[Fast Learner]
[Charismatic]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 2) [Body Cleansing] (Novice 13) (+5) [Mental Resistance] (Novice 1) [Soul Sealing] (Novice 0) [Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 25) (+1) [Evolve? Y/N] [Barrier] (Apprentice 4) [Multi Casting] (Apprentice 12) [Stealth] (Novice 8) [Tracking] (Novice 3) [Cleaning] (Initiate 1) [Cooking] (Novice 4) [Butchery] (Novice 9) [Foraging] (Novice 6) [Crafting] (Novice 2) [Pain Resistance] (Novice 5) (+2)
Smiling, Jun watched her smaller mana core refill. She''d chosen her path and sacrificed much to take the first step, but she gained much in return. As she lay on the floor covered in sweat, the aches in her body slowly eased as mana filled her core and overflowed into her network, soothing her tender and swollen muscles. "Well done kitten. Congratulations on taking the first step," her Master said. Jun felt her heart swell with pride at her Master''s words, but the feeling was soon crushed. "But you made a dangerous mistake." "W-What?" Jun asked, her heart beginning to race as she forced herself to sit up and look at her Master. "You didn''t take off your clothes, and now you''ve soiled yourself," Shiori said, pointedly moving to the windows and opening it. As the fresh air of morning flowed into the room, Jun noticed the smell, worse than the first time in the forest. Looking down at her hand, she saw that it was covered in black gunk that clung to her uniform. She could see the mana in the enchanted clothes struggling to purge the filth from itself as the impurities hardened into a crust. The sound of another door opening and a loud yawn told her that one of her roommates had woken up and was outside, blocking her way to the bathroom. Panicked, Jun frantically turned to Shiori as she stood in the open window, her tail swishing. "Master! Help me please!" "I told you, disciple, I don''t do laundry." Not waiting for a reply, Shiori jumped out of the window, leaving Jun to deal with the mess. Chapter 30: Getting Up to Speed Jun''s skirt fluttered in the breeze as she left the Academy gates, threatening to flip up as it did. She loved her uniform and the skirt that felt so freeing, but right now it was a problem and she desperately missed having pants. Shiori had abandoned her to clean up by herself. Luckily, she''d been able to convince Sara and Cecilia that she''d meet up with them at the cafeteria for lunch through the door, and once they left, she''d quickly sprinted to the bathroom with her clothes covered in the black filth that erupted from her. Her bar of rough soap was nearly gone, but it''d been enough to get her body clean and scrub the worst of the impurities away from her uniform and new boots. Shiori''s enchantments included a self-cleaning function that seemed to be working to push what remained out. Those had been a total loss and she''d stashed them back in her room until she could find a chance to dispose of them discretely. her soaking wet uniform she hung in her room to dry as the enchantments slowly pushed out drops of water, soap, and impurities to puddle on the floor. Jun wasn''t sure how she''d deal with the mess, but she''d had more pressing matters to attend to. Namely, her underwear, or lack thereof. Shiori''s enchantments didn''t extend to her underwear, and while the Academy had graciously provided several pairs of socks, they assumed their students would have their own underwear. Jun had only had a single set, and that was now so filthy it needed to be buried. Or burned. She''d dressed in one of her spare uniforms, glad that Shiori had bothered to enchant all of them the same way as the set currently dripping filth on her floor, but found that the leggings didn''t make up for her lack of underwear. They were annoyingly see-through, little better than pantyhose, and flimsy as she''d torn several holes in a pair with her nails as she pulled them on, though the enchantments quickly fixed those holes. Equally as tragic as the loss of her only pair of panties was the loss of her bra. Her breasts weren''t large, barely more than a couple handfuls, but the strip of fabric had kept them in place such that she didn''t jiggle when she ran, and protected her nipples from chafing on the rougher fabric of her uniform. It turned out that jiggling while running hurt. Jun couldn''t help feeling self-conscious as she power walked to the cafeteria and met up with her roommates for breakfast. It''d made things worse when it turned out that it wasn''t just the girls. Gareth and Lane were also there, though Corin was busy. Breakfast had been an awkward affair as Jun did her best not to attract anyone''s attention, though it seemed to backfire as she caught more than one young man staring and giving her an uncomfortable amount of attention. After breakfast Gareth and Lane left to take care of their own errands, leaving Cecilia and Sara to finish showing Jun around the campus. Jun awkwardly walked behind her roommates for some time as they showed her around, before finally she broke her silence and asked them for help. To her relief, they didn''t ask what happened to her underwear and just led her out of the Academy to a shop on a side street off the main square, one that specialized in feminine needs. With her roommates'' help, Jun was able to get several sets of underwear and other things she would need. The purchases were surprisingly expensive, costing several of her silver coins, but it was worth it. After a trip back to the dormitory so Jun could change and put away her new purchases, the three of them stopped for lunch at the cafeteria then headed to the Administrative Building to pick up Jun''s test results and class schedule for the coming term. Despite Jun''s worst fears, she hadn''t done terribly, somehow managing to score in the upper quarter for both Arcana Theory and Spellcasting, though she was below average for Physical Fitness and dead last in Combat Skills. Her General Knowledge scores simply said she was average, which her friends informed her wasn''t enough to test out of the branch. Her class schedule reflected this, showing that she''d been placed in the Arcana Studies Branch and the General Studies Branch, though the biggest surprise was that she''d also been placed in the Combat Branch. Things like dates and calendars hadn''t seemed important until now with Jun''s focus on survival and learning magic from Shiori, but now that she was among humans again, it was something Jun knew she would have to memorize quickly. At least her schedule had been provided along with a full calendar of the year. Merinthia''s years were divided into 12 months of 35 days each, It was the 24th day of Wind''s Warning, the 8th month of the year, and Jun''s classes would start in just 11 days on the 1st of Sun''s Fall. Her class schedule covered 4 months of 5 weeks each, with each week lasting 7 days, ending the 4th week of Void''s Rise, the last month of the year. The days of the week were just a number followed by day. It was just another little thing that reminded Jun she was no longer on Earth, but at least the simple names made it easier to remember. Her schedule though was brutal.
Class Schedule Beginning 1, Sun''s Fall through 28, Void''s End
First Day Morning: Period 1: Math 1 Period 2: Science 1 Period 3: History 1 Afternoon: Period 1-2 : Introductory Arcana Theory Period 3: Practical Spellcasting
Second Day Morning: Period 1: Math 1 Period 2: Science 1 Period 3: History 1 Afternoon: Period 1-2:Physical Conditioning Period 3: Combat Skills
Third Day Morning: Period 1: Math 1 Period 2: Science 1 Period 3: History 1 Afternoon: Period 1-2 : Introductory Arcana Theory Period 3: Practical Spellcasting
Fourth Day Morning: Period 1: Math 1 Period 2: Science 1 Period 3: History 1 Afternoon: Period 1 -2:Physical Conditioning Period 3: Combat Skills
Fifth Day Morning: Period 1: Math 1 Period 2: Science 1 Period 3: History 1 Afternoon: Period 1-2 : Introductory Arcana Theory Period 3: Practical Spellcasting
Sixth Day All day: Introductory Delving
Seventh Day Rest Day
It seemed Jun wouldn''t receive much time to rest as each period was an hour and a half long, with classes starting not long after dawn. Apparently Jun''s performance on the General Studies portion hadn''t been enough to get her out of the classes, though her roommates told her that she could test out of it and move up or satisfy that requirement at any time, but that she would only be allowed to attempt to test out of the same subject once each year. After getting her class schedule, her roommates took her back into the city where they were able to pick up the books she needed for Arcana Theory and History. The books were pricy, costing Jun 10 silver each and leaving her with just 7 silver and a handful of copper coins after she bought a few cheap pencils and pads of paper, She wouldn''t have had enough to get all of the books she needed, but Sara had held onto her copies of all the course books and promised to lend them to Jun. Arms full of her most recent purchases, the trio quickly returned to the dormitory before Sara and Cecilia had to leave for an afternoon test. While they were out, Jun took the opportunity to explore the dormitory and found an unlocked closet of cleaning supplies that she borrowed to clean up the puddles of filth that made her room smell like death. Having learned her lesson from the morning, she stripped naked to clean up the filth to protect her newly purchased clothes and avoid overtaxing the enchantments on her other uniform pieces. It took a couple hours of hard scrubbing and mopping, but eventually Jun had the mess cleaned up, and even gained several skill levels in her [Cleaning] skill to her chagrin. Her face was covered in sweat and her hair messy by the time she finished, but a quick bath remedied that. After dressing back in the clothes she had been wearing and returning the borrowed cleaning supplies to the closet, Jun left her door propped open to better let the room air out while she began to dig into her new books. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The Magical Theory books were confusing to her, some of the basics they outlined contradicting what she''d learned from Shiori and had been using. An Introduction to the Arcane had been written by a Platinum ranked Archmagus of some place called the Towers of Sevren, and said that spells were always imperfect things that wasted more mana to empower and that an empowered spell would always be less efficient than a higher ranked and more complex spell. However, Shiori had taught her on her first day how to limit the mana she wasted and how to empower spells without waste. The way this Archmagus described casting seemed to be about filling the spellform completely before adding more mana to empower it, while Shiori''s technique was to only fill the glyphs within the spellform and add new mana tendrils to empower specific glyphs to change the spell as needed. It seemed as if the Archmagus simply didn''t know this technique and said it was impossible. Sighing, Jun set the magic books aside, resolving to ask Shiori about them when her Master returned. With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, besides barely having any money after her shopping trips, Jun opened her books on History and started reading. The book was dry, describing what seemed more like myths and legends, before getting into the more recent ages. Jun stubbornly read through dry accounts of trade disputes, failed diplomacy, misunderstandings, famines, and wars as the afternoon passed by, each page as dry and boring as the last, but she knew nothing of Merinthia''s history, nor of the country she was in. Through her study, she learned that the country she was in was the Kingdom of Moros on the Southeastern corner of the continent of Kresh, a kingdom that was thousands of miles wide. A large mountain range called the Moros Mountain Range cut off the Kingdom from the rest of the continent and the Great Forest of Kresh. The Kingdom had been founded after a series of smaller city states went to war in a tangled web of alliances, betrayals, invasions, and retaliatory strikes that left only a few cities in Moros standing. Then a beast wave struck from the Great Forest of Kresh through the undefended passages, finishing off most of the cities. The few survivors had rallied at Aurum, a port city on the eastern edge of Moros and the only city that had managed to stay out of the conflicts, and it was there the beast wave had been broken. After several centuries of pushing back against the rampaging monsters, the survivors managed to push their way through the monster and undead filled ruins of the fallen cities and seal all but one of the passages leading through the mountains to the Forest. The only passage that remained unsealed was fortified to break future beast waves, and that fortress became the city of Forest''s Edge. Jun put her history book down as she heard the front door open to see Sara and Cecilia return. Blinking, she looked down at her text book, shocked to see that she''d already read through half of the thick tome, and even more shocked that she seemed able to remember much of what she''d just read. She''d never been the best student, just slightly above average, and certainly never had a great memory for history. "King Lanin the Reclaimer led the first expedition to seal the Northern passages in the year 507 of the Third Age..." she muttered, recalling a particularly dry passage about the expedition that detailed the logistical challenges of the expedition and the political maneuvering of the nobles that made it more difficult. "What was that?" Sara asked as she flopped on the couch next to Jun and glanced at her books open on the small table in front of it. Cecilia joined them at the couches, sprawling out on the other couch. "Nothing... just remembering something I read...." Jun muttered, half distracted as more history facts tumbled through her head. Why was it suddenly so easy for her to read and focus on something so boring? She knew it was boring, and the old her wouldn''t have had the patience to read through hundreds of pages of history, let alone do that in an afternoon, and yet she had. It was both useful and annoying that she had such an easy time reading through the book, yet she didn''t understand why. "What''re you reading?" Cecilia asked, glancing at the cover of the book in Jun''s hands. "The Kingdom of Moros: A Comprehensive History, Volume 1 of 7," she read, her face twisting with disgust. "I can''t believe you''re actually reading this, it''s so boring!" "You only say history is boring because you''d rather be haggling over coppers and calculating the cost of wheat next week than learning the stories of what came before," Sara said accusingly, sticking her tongue out at Cecilia. "A good merchant keeps up to date about the latest changes in the market so that she''s ready to take advantage. Only a nobles and scholars care about what happened a thousand years ago," Cecilia replied, sticking her tongue out at Sara with a smile. "I''m not a noble or a scholar and I like history," Sara said with a mock pout. "And crazy, horny elves then," Cecilia chuckled, amending her statement. "Hey! I''m not always horny!" Sara smiled, shuffling winking at Jun. Jun ignored her roommates'' back and forth, continuing to work at the strange new blessing and problem that ate at her. "Wow she''s really not paying attention. Normally she''d be blushing at that," Sara said, plucking Jun''s book out of her hands and flipping through a few pages. "Huh, hey Jun, Jun!" Sara called for her attention, shaking the girl out of her daze. "Wha-huh? What?" Jun said, freezing like a deer as she realized that Sara had moved to sit right next to her, their knees touching. She couldn''t help but blush at the skin to skin contact with Sara and her embarrassment at being so thoroughly distracted by history of all things. "I thought you said you didn''t know anything about history?" the elf asked, gesturing at Jun''s book. "You''re pretty deep into the first text book for just having it for a few hours." "O-Oh.... I just started reading it, and I guess I just ended up there when you two got back?" Jun offered, still trying to puzzle out how she''d managed it. "Really...?" Sara said, eyeing Jun suspiciously. "In what year did the city of Mentath fall?" Sara asked suddenly. "Year 507 of the Third Age after the ruler''s generals were murdered at a funeral." "What was the first settlement in Moros and where was it?" "Carox on the Southern shore next to the mouth of the River Xur by a monster hunting expedition company from the Free Cities." "What marked the end of the Second Age?" "The fall of the fortress city of Byzan followed by the Great Wave." Sara asked question after question, giving Jun less and less time to answer. "What marked the end of the Third Age?" Jun froze as her mind raced through the hundreds of dry pages of history that she''d read and seemed to have no problem recalling as Sara stared at her expectantly. "The... uh... I don''t know? I don''t think i read that..." Jun said with a frown. "Huh... well that''s because that''s in the next volume of the text book," Sara said with a strange look on her face. "You really did read all of that in an afternoon huh? You''re a pretty fast learner Jun." That was when it clicked. [Fast Learner], one of the traits she''d gotten! Suddenly, everything made sense. Her memory had never been bad, but it''d also never been good. But it seemed like [Fast Learner] helped her focus, even if it was on something she found boring, as long as she put in the effort. "I guess I am?" "Oh, that reminds me," Sara said, handing Jun her history book back and scurrying to her room. Several loud crashes and thumps came from Sara''s room before she came back out with a small pile of books that she handed to Jun. "These are the first year Math and Science books. If you start studying now, you might get ahead of your classmates. Anyways, I''m starved, put the books away and let''s go get some dinner!" With her roommates'' help, Jun quickly shelved her new and borrowed text books in her room before the three of them went to the cafeteria for dinner before coming back to rest for the evening. As Jun lay in bed that night she ran through all of the new knowledge in her head. The lake of knowledge Shiori had shared with her that morning still sat nestled in her soul refusing to give up its secrets, while the historical facts tumbled around in her head half understood. Her dreams that night acted out the history she''d read of long stretches of boredom broken by brief and exciting events. As she woke the next morning, she found that she could still recall much of what she''d read the night before, but it was jumbled, many of the finer details lost to her memory. As much as [Fast Learner] seemed to improve her reading speed and memory, it wasn''t perfect, which meant she''d still have to study. As she looked around the room, she was sad to see that Shiori still hadn''t returned since the morning before. Cecilia and Sara didn''t have classes that day and dragged Jun along with them to the same field Jun had done her Physical Fitness and Combat tests and encouraged her to work out with them. Where Jun had struggled under the watchful gaze of the drill sergeant of a proctor during her test, her roommates had a lighter and more encouraging touch. Whether it was her roommates'' encouraging and supportive attitude or her increased stats from the technique Shiori taught her, Jun didn''t struggle as much to work out with them and she began to enjoy the activity. Gareth and Lane showed up to the field an hour later, and hearing how Jun had performed during the Combat test, Gareth took it upon himself to teach Jun the basics in using a sword and shield. It turned out that while Lane was a couple years ahead of Jun at the Academy, he also knew next to nothing about using a sword and shield, and Gareth forced him to learn alongside Jun. After an intense morning of training, the group met up with Corin at the cafeteria for lunch, who then joined them in the afternoon for more training. Corin''s healing magic was light, but helped sooth everyone''s muscles, allowing them to train longer and harder, much to Jun''s chagrin. Despite her increased stats and desire to get stronger, Jun could barely keep up with her friends, their stats and experience with combat and weapons far exceeding hers. It was only Lane''s utter lack of skill with the sword and shield that allowed Jun to keep up with him under Gareth''s guidance. After a tiring afternoon of training and a rejuvenating dinner, Jun, Sara, and Cecilia would retire to the dormitory, where Sara would tutor Jun to get her ready for the start of classes. The remaining 10 days before the start of Jun''s first term fell into a pattern. Each morning she would wake, half remembering the things she had studied the night before, to find that Shiori was still absent. She would then get ready for the day, training and studying with her friends, or alone when they had exams. With their help, Jun made progress, struggling less and less with each passing day to keep up with the workouts and learning the basics of footwork and fighting with a sword and shield under the watchful eye of Gareth. Each evening she would go back to her room to look for Shiori, only to be disappointed at her absence, then pick a subject to study with her friends'' help. Sara tutored her in Science and History, while Cecilia was a genius at Math and under their tutelage Jun quickly improved in her basic subjects, confident that she''d be able to keep up in the coming term. With Shiori absent, Corin and Lane were able to tutor her in Arcana Theory, and she quickly learned the basics as the Academy taught them, though much of it seemed to conflict with what Shiori had taught her, so she she discarded the information. Jun awoke in the pre-dawn light on the first day of term as something alerted her. Turning to her desk, she saw Shiori casually sitting there, Jun''s notes spread out on the desk as Shiori stared at her, eyes glowing gold in the low light. "You''ve grown, kitten." Shiori was back. Chapter 31: An Old Friend Shiori raced through the dawn light of Forest''s Edge Academy, her black fur easily blending in with the long shadows cast by the buildings and landscape. Shiori didn''t need to worry about being seen, not that she would worry even in the middle of the day with the entire Academy out. Her kitten, disciple now, had taken her first true step on the Path. An exciting time for any new ascendant, and a sensitive time as well. Jun grasped the technique far quicker than Shiori expected. The invisible pressure of a newly realized Step 1 Ascendant''s aura was barely noticeable. Certainly not noticeable enough for the backwards brutes that called this place an Academy to feel it. Shiori slowed as she passed the Administrative building like a ghost, her steps silent. While the Academy was backwards, there were a few worthy of notice. The Headmaster was one of them, his tightly restrained Diamond aura still noticeable even while restrained. Passable control, still sloppy, but by far one of the most skilled practitioners she''d seen since her return. The first meeting had been surprising, the man''s aura perception sharp enough that he had noticed the void left by Shiori''s presence, if only barely. His aura had followed her around his office as she investigated, at least until the messenger appeared in his aura and shared the message from Deedee. It seemed the man knew enough to respect her messengers, and the quick retreat of his perception had earned him some respect from Shiori. Better late than never, but some kittens needed to make mistakes to learn. Her latest was proof of that. Shiori chuckled to herself as Jun struggled to clean the impurities from her uniform as she watched her kitten with her aura perception. She was lucky Shiori was a benevolent master and bothered to enchant all of her uniforms equally. Good armor was important for a growing kitten, though she''d left the underthings untouched. Shiori had never had a taste for them even the few times she''d used her human form. Too restrictive and clingy. What use did she have for modesty when she was magnificent regardless of form, and everyone knew it. Her kitten would learn to do without, or she would replace them by her own efforts. Shiori wouldn''t force her preferences in clothing onto her kitten, but she wouldn''t provide unnecessary things. To walk the Path is to overcome after all. Shiori may be her guide, but she couldn''t walk the Path for her. As a certain bug who thought itself a bird came into her aura perception''s range, Shiori smiled to herself. She could have some fun though. Shiori watched from beneath a bush, her tail silently swishing, as Sean walked up a secret path and through a hidden door into the Administrative Building. The Building''s wards reacted to the detection of an attuned aura and let him through. If he hadn''t been attuned, they would have burned him to ash on the spot. Shiori casually followed him through the ward, the ward ignoring her existence. "Good prey, you remembered," Shiori thought at the ward spirit, chuckling to herself as it sent back feelings of submission, obedience, and fear. It had tried to stop her when she first entered the building with Jun, but it quickly learned how shallow its understanding of power was. The only reason it lived was that replacing the building''s wards would have been expensive, and those resources were better spent on her kitten and her friends. Cecilia always snuck her the tastiest of morsels when she thought no one was looking, and Sara''s ability to know exactly where to scratch was rare. The boy Gareth was protective of Jun, and his servant Lane as well, while the other boy Corin was kindly if far too naive, much like her kitten. They would be good companions for her to grow up with, and so Shiori intended to make sure they received the proper resources from their school. If that meant cowing a few unruly ward spirits rather than consuming them, well Cecilia''s snacks were satisfying enough for her to let them live. Shiori quietly padded after Sean as he went to his true office. The fool thought himself powerful with a platinum rank, but his shrieks of terror every time he found a dead rat in his office revealed his weakness. Luckily for him, the privacy wards on his office were strong enough to keep even Shiori''s senses out, at least without her destroying the wards. It just meant she got to enjoy his shrieking first paw. Shiori chuckled as the last of the headless rats were incinerated. "Shame he didn''t find the heads yet," Shiori chuckled to herself. With a casual flex of her will, she phased several more headless rats into hiding places throughout the room, and even a few into the man''s inventory rings. Both the one on his finger and the one he must think well hidden between his legs. Shiori glanced up at the ceiling where the still phased rat heads lay suspended out of step with reality. Perhaps she''d wait until the rat of a bureaucrat had another dalliance with that pet Professor of his. The one that thought it wise to encourage a kitten just a year older than Jun to play far too rough during Jun''s test. The kitten was innocent at least, despite bad guidance from the uppity fools that thought themselves nobles. But if the so called nobles of this Academy thought themselves untouchable, Shiori would enjoy this little cat and mouse game for as long as Jun wanted to attend this Academy. While Shiori could teach Jun far better magic, the Academy at least served to ensure her kitten was properly socialized. Another flex of her will saw the hidden lockbox in Sean''s desk emptied of coin and replaced with an especially plump headless rat. As foolish as the man was, he at least had some thought for security, though it was nothing to Shiori. Wiping the tracking spells was as simple as overloading them with her aura, and then the coins scattered across the campus, finding their way into the purses of various malnourished kittens, though a few choice bits Shiori held onto. They would be useful to motivate her kitten to work harder. Her fun done for the morning, Shiori casually let herself out, the ward spirit sighing with relief as Shiori left its domain. Leaving the Academy Campus, Shiori strolled through the waking city, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and wandering as she pleased. Soon, she found herself in the Delving District where she and her kitten first entered the city, and Shiori stopped on a rooftop across the street from a certain store to watch yet more entertainment. The thieves were out in force already, the well trained and experienced pickpockets scurrying like mice as they plucked choice morsels. Several fell prey to traps and were hauled away in iron manacles by hidden guards, and some of the greedier little mice found their prey far more than they bargained for. Shiori watched as one such mouse, a tiny waif of a girl, was capture by a human with a silver aura. The girl squeaked in the man''s hands as she struggled to escape his grasp, but she was still young and weak, even weaker than Shiori''s kitten. The man''s aura control was terrible and displayed the man''s cruel and dark intentions. Amusement against worthy and deserving prey was fine, but the man''s intentions crossed a line. A flick of Shiori''s will was all it took as the man crumpled to the ground. "Pathetic," Shiori said, willing her voice into the man''s ears as he faded into unconsciousness. The opportunistic mouse seized her chance and fled, though not before swiping the man''s full to bursting purse. Shiori followed the girl for a time, watching as she weaved her way through back alleys and out of the district, not stopping until she crawled into a shack deep in the slums where a sick boy lay unconscious. The girl opened the purse, cheering quietly at the bounty of silver and gold within and whispered to the young boy that she could afford healing for him. "The mouse has a littermate to care for," Shiori said, willing her words into the girl''s ears. The girl leapt to her feet and looked around, but there was nothing for her to see. "One with potential no less. Serve well little mouse," Shiori said, gathering her mana, Shiori cast a spell and the two mice vanished from their run down shack.
Across the city, a girl and boy appeared in the lobby of a bathing house as a note fluttered to the desk in front of Grandma Deedee. Reading the short note, Grandma Deedee nodded and smiled at the young girl. "Welcome dear, you may call me Grandma Deedee," she said, approaching the girl and her brother. "I ain''t got nuthin''! Leave us alone!" the girl yelled, taking a fighting stance between Grandma Deedee and her brother. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Now now dear, that''s not a polite way to greet an old woman, now is it?" Grandma Deedee said, shuffling closer. "I said leave us alone! Stay ba¡ªaaah!" the girl screamed as one of Grandma Deedee''s attendants appeared behind the girl and put her in an arm lock. "Ah Sophia, right on time dear," Grandma Deedee said, approaching the struggling girl and her young brother. Crouching down in front of the sick boy, Grandma Deedee placed a hand on his forehead and injected some mana into his body, frowning at how warm he was to the touch. "Anton, dear," she said to the empty air, only for a young man to appear a moment later with a bow. "Yes Grandma Deedee, you called?" "Be a dear and look after this young man for me? I fear he has a fever and could do with some medicine," she said, standing back up. Nodding, Anton crouched down and pressed his hand to the boy''s forehead, muttering under his breath as his hand began to glow. The girl started to struggle and squirm even more as Anton cast his spell. "Leave me brother alone! Whaddya doin'' to Kai?!" she screamed, struggling to break free from Sophia''s iron grip. The boy''s breathing eased as Anton''s spell took hold, and he seemed to relax, though still remained unconscious. "Oh calm down dear, let little Anton take care of your brother, Kai was it? Yes, Kai will be in good hands, Anton is a certified healer after all. Graduated from that fancy school and everything!" Grandma Deedee said, bragging like a proud grandmother. The girl''s struggling stopped as she noticed the color returning to Kai''s cheeks, only to begin thrashing again as Anton picked the unconscious boy up in both hands and started walking away, deeper into the bath house. "Where are ya taking him?!" she screamed from the floor. "Calm yourself dear, Anton is just taking young Kai to rest in a bed. Let the girl up, Sophia." Sophia nodded, releasing the girl''s arm and moving to stand next to Grandma Deedee. The young girl pushed herself up, wincing at the pain in her arm, before turning to chase after Anton and her brother. Following close behind, Grandma Deedee kept pace with the young girl as she caught up with Anton and threw a punch at the young man, only to wince as her punch didn''t even cause the man to flinch. Ignoring the girl, Anton continued to walk deeper into the bath house, the girl in his footsteps and Grandma Deedee and Sophia close behind, until he stopped in a well lit infirmary and placed the young boy on a clean bed. As the girl moved to throw another punch at Anton, he turned and caught her hand, muttering another spell as his hand glowed, healing the girl and releasing her as she stumbled away from him in confusion. Hearing footsteps behind her, the young girl whirled around to see Grandma Deedee and Sophia entering the infirmary. Grandma Deedee smiled warmly at the girl, while Sophia stood next to the elderly woman and frowned at the girl. Whirling around to the door, the girl confronted Grandma Deedee. "Whaddya want wit us? Ain''t no way ya just treating Kai for free!" "My my dear, of course it''s free. Once little Kai is all better, you may take your brother and leave if you wish. Or..." Grandma Deedee paused and smiled at the girl. "You are welcome to join our little family," she said, gesturing at Sophia and Anton. Suspicion and hope warred on the young girl''s face as she glared at Grandma Deedee. "Why would ya take us in? We ain''t got nuthin'' for ya," she yelled. "Family doesn''t demand anything in exchange for caring for one another. Besides, a friend of the family sent you here. Now, you look hungry, why don''t we get you some nice stew while Anton cares for your brother. Wouldn''t that be nice deary?" Glaring at Grandma Deedee and Sophia, the girl sighed, her empty stomach growling at the thought of free food. "Fine... but I eat here where I can keep an eye on Kai, make sure there''s no funny business," she said firmly. "Of course, of course, it''s important to look after family when they''re not feeling well. Sophia, why don''t you bring young... What''s your name dear?" "...Kaya..." "Young Kaya here a bowl of stew while we make sure her brother is taken care of?"
Shiori watched through her aura perception as Sophia grabbed several bowls of stew and brought it to the little mouse. The family of foxes would care for the little mouse and her brother if they wished it, or they could pursue their own path. Perhaps they would remain mice, or perhaps they would become foxes. It would be up to them. A presence to the West drew Shiori''s attention away from the foxes and mice in the bath house and she leapt across the rooftops of the city, arriving at the top of the wall between the city and the forest. A white fox with a tuft of black fur on its chest sat on the wall waiting for her and nodded as Shiori landed atop the wall. "Wind Blown Messenger Heralding the End greets She Who Paints the Sky Black," the white fox said, nodding her head at Shiori. The world seemed to still, as if Merinthia itself held its breath. "She Who Paints the Sky Black greets Wind Blown Messenger Heralding the End," Shiori said, completing the old greeting, as everything began to move again. "So, you''re back Shiori," a beautiful woman with silver hair and white robes said, lounging where the fox had been sitting on the crenelations of the wall, nine fox tails lazily swaying behind her. A pair of fox ears twitched in amusement as the woman smiled at Shiori. "As are you, Inari," another beautiful woman appeared in Shiori''s place, her hair black and robes black as night. A pair of cat ears on her head twitched as the woman watched the kitsune''s tails swish. Gracefully, Shiori hopped up to sit on the crenelations of the wall, her legs casually hanging over the edge as she stared out at the forest, a single ear turned to face the kitsune next to her. "How could I not return as soon I felt your presence again after so long?" Inari flexed her will, summoning a clay bottle and two small cups. Pouring a measure of clear liquor into each, she deftly floated a cup over to Shiori, who snatched it out of the air with her hand and downed it in a single motion before holding her cup out for more. Refilling Shiori''s cup, Inari slowly sipped her rice wine, savoring the smooth sweetness and harsh burn of strong alcohol. Wordlessly, Shiori summoned two bowls of soup and floated one over to Inari, steam curling up from the thick broth. Grasping the bowl in one hand, Shiori took a large gulp of the steaming broth, savoring the complex flavors of meat and various herbs. The kitsune set her bottle and cup down in the air and took the bowl in both her hands, inhaling the aroma before copying Shiori and taking a long drink of the soup. No one stopped to acknowledge or confront the two as they relaxed companionably upon the city''s fortifications, sharing food and drink in silence as the guards upon the wall patrolled, their eyes trained on the forest for signs of danger. The city gate slammed shut as darkness fell, sealing the city for the night. Across the wall, glow stones activated, illuminating the surrounding area as the guards changed shifts, the night watch taking up their duty of watching for danger. As the sun set, Shiori broke the silence as she raised her glass again, signaling for another refill. "Your wine making skills have improved," she said as Inari poured her another drink. "I found a new species of rice that makes an especially delicious wine," the kitsune said as she took another gulp of Shiori''s soup, chewing a piece of meat. "Your soup making skills are wonderful as always, though your choice of ingredients remains questionable." "There''s nothing questionable about my ingredients, it''s just an acquired taste." "The poor things would disagree with you on that." "If the uppity lizards don''t want to be soup, they shouldn''t break the rules," Shiori said with a vicious smile. "Fair, they have been pushing it lately," Inari said, finishing another bowl of Shiori''s soup. "Still, dragon meat has never been the most appetizing." "That''s the taste of bitter defeat," Shiori said, emptying her wine cup again. "They still haven''t given up their grudge." "What did this one do?" Inari said, gesturing to her empty bowl as she willed the wine bottle to refill Shiori''s cup. "Crowned himself the ''Forest King'' and tried to take control of the Core." "To the victor goes the spoils," Inari said, raising her cup in a toast. Mirroring Inari, Shiori toasted and drained her cup again before leaning back to stare at the night sky. The refreshments vanished as Inari joined Shiori in leaning back, her eyes glued to the side of Shiori''s face as the other woman watched the stars. "So, you''ve taken in a new kitten," Inari said, her tails flicking as she watched Shiori''s face for any emotion. Shiori was a blank slate, giving away nothing. "I have," she confirmed with a slight nod. "I''ve taken in a kit of my own," Inari said with a smile, savoring the small victory as Shiori turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "You? Raise a kit? That poor cub." "Yup, but the kit needed help. Lost her family to an uppity dragon." Shiori''s eyes narrowed at the mention of a dragon. "Oh? Where''s this dragon? I could use more soup ingredients," she said with a fang filled smile. "How do you think I fertilize my rice field?" Inari returned Shiori''s vicious smile with one of her own before letting out a full-throated laugh as Shiori joined in. After a minute, the laughter died down to snickers as Inari wiped a tear from her eye, then made a serious face at Shiori. "As fun as catching up has been, we have some business to attend to. Can you spare a few days?" Inari said, transforming back into a white fox. Shiori cast her aura perception back to Jun, watching as she talked with her new friends. "I can spare a few days, what''s going on?" Shiori said, returning to her true form and flicking her tail. "There''s been another incursion." "Lead the way." Chapter 32: Incursion at Theralo Blood and bodies filled the streets of the City of Theralo, a once bustling city of millions that did a brisk trade in all things magical and mundane. At least, it had until the Cult¡¯s plans came to fruition. Primus Araneus smiled as he sipped from a goblet of blood red wine on a balcony high in the Royal Palace that overlooked the city. Screams of terror and the sound of fighting echoed up from the city, a music so sweet to his ears that he¡¯d disabled the Palace¡¯s privacy wards to better hear them. The ward spirit had been ancient and powerful, tied to the blood of the royal family. Legends said that it was a gift of protection from the Zodiacs themselves. The powers the ward spirit had demonstrated supported the legend, as the first of his forces to enter the ward had been torn into bloody mist faster than any could cast a spell or raise their weapons. With the ward spirit guarding their flank, the Royal Guard and Royal Magi were able to push back Araneus¡¯ forces for a time, allowing the army to regroup and hold at the palace. Araneus¡¯ troops were little better than puppets taught to fight and follow orders to the letter, then stripped of all free will. Efficient and effective against army regulars, but against the Elite of the Royal Guard, Araneus¡¯ troops were little better than sacrificial lambs to the slaughter. Tens of thousands died in less than an hour as Araneus sent wave after wave of his soldiers to crash against the defenders, only for them to fail and die. All according to the cult¡¯s plans. Harnessing the power of so many souls dying violent deaths in the same place over a short period of time, his disciples completed the ritual to fuel his Ascension, allowing him to finally break through Diamond and into the realm of Mythril. Using his newfound power, Araneus ripped open the veil between realities with his magic and dragged the sacrificed souls back to Merinthia, using them as bait to pull the darker things that hid in the depths between dimensions into reality. They came by the hundreds of thousands, lured by the easy meal of karma and ascension energy, and each was bound by his magic and forced to serve him. Their otherworldly nature caused havoc with the System, shattering the defenders¡¯ ability to resist as his minions slaughtered them all. Araneus consumed the ward spirit whole, its ancient strength becoming his, and the Royal Family was slaughtered by his hand. The hereditary traits that made them powerful becoming his. Of course, he spared the Princess. She was a comely thing, and he needed someone to carry the heirs of his empire. The Royal Family dealt with, Araneus sent his minions and disciples out into the city to crush the last of the kingdom¡¯s forces and round up the populace. He would need more souls to expand his empire after all. Turning from the scenes of slaughter, Araneus smiled widely at the Princess Xin Long, bound and restrained against the wall and covered in the blood of her parents. She stared daggers at him. If looks could kill, he would be well into his next life in the Cycle from the venom in her eyes, but that just made it sweeter at her powerlessness before his magnificence. ¡°Come now Princess,¡± he said with a sinister smile. ¡°You¡¯re about to be an Empress. Quite a promotion.¡± Xin Long spat at Araneus, the glob of saliva disintegrating before it could get close to him. Araneus backhanded the Princess, his barely controlled strength shattering her jaw and knocking her out. ¡°Weak,¡± he said watching as the Princess¡¯s Platinum ranked vitality slowly repaired the damage. ¡°Primus!¡± A voice called out, interrupting Araneus¡¯ fun just as the Princess awoke again. A man wearing the gold and red robes of an elder of his Cult entered the room, carefully stepping over the mutilated bodies of the former King and his Generals to kneel before Araneus. ¡°You¡¯re interrupting me Linus. What is it?¡± he said quietly, pushing out his aura to press around the man¡¯s throat in a razor thin line, drawing a trace of blood through the man¡¯s Diamond ranked vitality. ¡°I-Intruders, Master! I-In the city!¡± Linus choked out. ¡°Then kill them you useless dolt!¡± Araneus roared, flexing his aura to smash a hole in the palace wall. ¡°W-We tried Master! The other elders and I sent a regiment of Voidlings to attack, but they were killed! All the elders who went to investigate were killed too!¡± Linus cried, feeling the razor sharp noose around his neck tighten. The screaming coming from the city grew louder and more bestial, the sound of conflict moving closer to the palace. A dark shape flew through the air, flying perfectly through the new hole in the Palace wall to collide with Araneus, glancing off his shield. Voidlings were ugly things, a mass of tentacles, claws, fangs, and eyes with too legs and not enough heads. The half of the Voidling that hadn¡¯t been disintegrated by Araneus¡¯ shield was far uglier, leaking organs and a black, acidic blood that ate through the enchanted and reinforced stone of the Palace floor. ¡°Who is attacking?!¡± Araneus demanded, tightening the noose around Linus¡¯ neck. ¡°A man and two women! I don¡¯t know anything else!¡± Linus desperately tried to force Araneus¡¯ aura back from his neck, but the Primus¡¯ Mythril aura shredded his low Diamond aura instantly. With a snarl, Araneus snapped his aura shut, beheading his useless disciple. ¡°Surrounded by weaklings!¡± he roared as he summoned his magic and ripped all of his disciples¡¯ souls to him, whether they lived or not. Disciples of the Cult of Araneus dropped dead throughout the city as their souls were ripped away and fed into the void, luring more Voidlings, Elementals, and even a Void Titan into reality. Consuming his disciples¡¯ souls to power his magic, Araneus bound the entities to his will and commanded them to hunt the intruders down.
A trio of auras blanketed the city and surrounding countryside, revealing every detail to their owners. To the Northwest, Hurricane force winds flowed through every street, alleyway, and building and ripped the Voidlings into the sky where they compacted into dense ball. A spell of Decay slowly liquified the compacted remains, turning the otherworldly entities into fertilizer. Tendrils of wind dragged pack after pack of Voidlings into the sky. Final bastions found their attackers ripped away as their defenses crumbled and hands tightened on last ditch weapons. In the Northeast part of the city the buildings moved out of the way, creating a single straight road that led to the Royal Palace. Buildings shattered into rubble reformed into thick fortress walls, guarding the citizens who huddled in hidden spaces. The very city turned against the Voidlings, ejecting them from every road, alley, and building save the new road. A lone man traveled down the road towards the horde of Voidlings. The man had dark skin with golden hair braided with beads and a grand beard, two rounded and furry ears sticking out of his head between the braids, and a wide smile on his face. His torso was covered in leather belts bearing all manner of tools and vials. An impractically large sword rested on the man¡¯s shoulder, the blade as long as he was tall and wider than him. It looked less like a sword than an oversized kitchen knife. The horde snarled as they spotted the lone man and charged with mindless rage. Casually, the man swung the oversized sword with one hand, bisecting every Voidling in reach as he let out a booming laugh. The earth raged beneath the horde as Voidlings were impaled by earthen spikes, swallowed up by holes, and crushed between walls of stone. Soon, all that remained of the horde was a lone Voidling that the man, still laughing infectiously, caught it with his off-hand and threw it at the tallest tower of the Royal Palace. Shiori watched as a Voidling tore through the air, the shockwaves of its passage echoing throughout the city before it flew through a hole in the tallest tower of the Royal Palace. Sighing, Shiori wrapped her twin tails around her human waist and unleashed her spell, teleporting every one of the Voidlings in her portion of the city into the same space in front of her. A cube shaped barrier flared purple as tens of thousands of Voidlings tried to occupy the same small space at the same time and exploded from the pressure. With a touch of her will, the remains vanished, and Shiori took another step, the heels of her shoes clicking on the bloodstained cobblestones. With every passing second, those trapped under rubble or near death appeared in the city streets and were swarmed by strangers that hid behind fox masks. The masked strangers only spoke to give instructions as they cast healing spells and administered medicine to the wounded before moving on, dragging many back from the cold embrace of death. Shiori stopped in the corpse-strewn square before the Royal Palace and was soon joined by Inari happily skipping down the road. The golden-haired man with the oversized sword joined them soon after. ¡°Joyful Warrior Bearing the Heart of Mountains greets She Who Paints the Sky Black and Wind-Blown Messenger Heralding the End,¡± he said with a short bow. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that Saladin,¡± Shiori snapped as she flicked her wrist and summoned every red-robed cultist that hid in the city to the square, binding them in place before the broken gates of the Royal Palace. Her eyes narrowed on one of the cultists, a cruel looking man wearing red robes edged with gold. ¡°You. What do you think you fools are doing?¡± Shiori said, pressing her aura down on the man¡¯s soul. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll never¡ªwait! What are you doing! Sto¡ª¡± Shiori ripped the knowledge from the man¡¯s soul, killing him in the process. ¡°They killed the Royal Family and thousands of Broken Souls to fuel their leader¡¯s ascension to Mythril. He planned to build an Empire.¡± ¡°Idiots,¡± Inari muttered, her tails twitching. ¡°Agreed,¡± Saladin said, fingering his sword. The three watched as the cultists¡¯ souls were ripped away and fed into the Veil tear, their bodies dropping dead on the spot. A fresh horde of Voidlings dotted with Void Elementals spilled through the breach and started charging for the trio. The Void Elementals were dark, ever shifting things from the depths of insanity, hurting the soul to even look at. As the horde grew, a massive hand gripped the side of the tear and tore it wider. A foot the size of a small ship stepped through the hole in reality, followed by the gigantic humanoid torso arm, and head of a Void Titan. As the other half of the Titan passed through, the hole shrunk slightly, but the gaping tear in reality still spewed forth hundreds of terrors from the Void every second. ¡°Massive idiots,¡± Shiori said, watching the otherworldly beings spill forth into reality. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the horde,¡± Inari said, her tails flicking as a tornado descended from the sky to tear at the Voidlings and Elementals ¡°The Titan¡¯s mine!¡± Saladin said with a laugh as he ran off, leaping for the massive being with his sword out. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the tear,¡± Shiori said, channeling her mana. Shiori tuned out the others¡¯ fights teleported to stand before the gash in reality. Saladin redirected a blow from the Titan, sending its fist careening for straight for Shiori as she cast out millions of mana tendrils, her mind fully occupied in stitching shut the gateway to the Void. The Titan¡¯s fist raced forward, but never seemed to reach Shiori, the Titan stumbling as its missed blow sent it off balance. Saladin¡¯s sword sliced through the Titan¡¯s elbow sending the Titan¡¯s arm tumbling to the ground where it crushed a dozen Voidlings beneath it. The Titan bellowed in rage and anger at the man that took its arm. A tendril of wind picked up the Titan¡¯s severed arm and sent it crashing through the rest of the horde, slaughtering the otherworldly creatures. Shiori clapped her hands together as millions of purple tendrils of magic stitched across the void tear and pulled the edges of reality together, repairing the fabric between dimensions. Pushing her mana threads out from the sealed tear, Shiori wove a spectral seal across the city, stabilizing the fabric of reality in the surrounding area. Her task complete, Shiori turned to watch as Saladin continued to toy with the Titan while Inari contained the rest of the horde. The Titan was on the backfoot, retreating in circles around the Palace grounds, a barrier of slicing winds preventing it from escaping into the City beyond. As it fled Saladin, the Titan threw ominous black spheres of energy at the man, though the barrage was ineffective as the man sliced through every orb of magic. Spectral claws of purple magic formed around Shiori¡¯s hands as she dropped down to the ground amongst the remaining horde and set to work shredding a path into the Palace proper. ¡°I¡¯m going for the lead idiot,¡± she sent out to her friends. The opposition Shiori faced thinned as she carved a bloody path through the horde, and soon she was alone amongst corpses in the Palace¡¯s grand entryway. A trail of corpses reeking of corrupt spirit magic led her deeper in and up into the main tower of the Palace. The shattered armor and shards of broken and bloodstained weapons amidst the corpses of humans and Voidlings alike told the tale of a fierce and bloody fight, one the defenders had clearly lost. The trail led to the top of the tower and into a private study, the fine wooden doors blasted into splinters. The former King and the leaders of his army lay in pieces around a strategy table, with the headless corpse of a cultist laying atop them. Shiori¡¯s eyes flicked up from the pile of bodies to a young woman restrained against the wall by foul magics, her Platinum aura flickering from exhaustion and abuse. A bald man wearing much finer robes than the dead cultist at her feet glared down at the battle outside. The young woman¡¯s eyes widened as she noticed Shiori, and she shook her head, her eyes pleading as she mouthed at her to run away. Shiori smiled at the woman as she unfurled her twin tails to lazily swish behind her, then turned to the living cultist. ¡°You must be the lead idiot,¡± she laughed mockingly, pulling the man¡¯s attention away from the battle and to her. ¡°You!¡± he snarled, his eyes glowing a sickly green. Shiori felt as a sharpened blade of aura streaked for her neck, carrying the overwhelming intent of destruction. ¡°Me,¡± Shiori said, her smile widening as she let the aura blade strike the soft skin of her neck and fail to leave a scratch. The crazed man recoiled from the backlash of his aura blade shattering, blood beginning to trail from his nostril. ¡°Do you know who I am?!¡± he screamed at her, his Mythril aura flooding to smother the area with his presence. ¡°I am Primus Araneus! An ascendant being! A god made flesh! How dare you disrupt my plans! For your crimes against my Empire, you will suffer until you break! You and your¡ª¡± ¡°Oh shut up,¡± Shiori said as she hooked her spectral claws into the man¡¯s aura and ripped it off of the man¡¯s soul. The man¡¯s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed unconscious to the ground, his head making a dull thump as it bounced off the carpet covered stone floor. Shiori took the man¡¯s severed aura her hands as she dismissed her claws and deftly compacted it into a small sphere before turning to look at the Platinum ranked woman chained against the wall. She was barely conscious, her armor shattered and body covered in wounds that still dripped blood. Her aura was in an even worse state, filled with spiritual wounds that it would never heal on its own. ¡°You¡­ What did you¡­¡± she wheezed, struggling to breathe. ¡°Shut up and eat this,¡± Shiori said, shoving the cultist¡¯s aura into the woman¡¯s mouth. The woman reflexively tried to spit the sphere out, but Shiori clapped her hand over the woman¡¯s lips and lightly pressed down on her aura. ¡°Chew,¡± she ordered. The woman chewed obediently, crunching through the pill until it dissolved into a tasteless liquid and poured down her throat. Shiori nodded as the woman¡¯s aura repaired and began to strengthen from high Platinum to low Diamond. Her body followed her aura and quickly regenerated, pushing shards of steel and clots of blood out. Her skin lost its healthy tan as it shed, revealing new pink skin and her deep brown hair lightened into a platinum blonde that faintly glowed with an iridescent quality. She stood straighter as she regained her strength and a flex of her newly strengthened aura was enough to snap the foul magics that had restrained her. ¡°What was that?¡± she gasped, staring at Shiori. Shiori ignored the woman and gestured at the unconscious cultist, floating him up with her telekinesis. Without another word, Shiori walked out of the corpse filled room. Through her aura, Shiori felt as the woman paused at the King¡¯s corpse to grieve for a moment before she picked up his bloodstained sword and charged out of the room, following Shiori. She finally caught up with her as Shiori stepped back out of the Palace to find the battle outside finished. Inari finished gathering the last of the Voidling remains into her airborne ball of decay while Saladin willed the Titan¡¯s corpse to vanish. ¡°Stop!¡± the woman yelled as she charged out from the Palace, the King¡¯s sword pointed at Shiori¡¯s back. ¡°That man is a criminal and a murderer responsible for the deaths of the King, the Royal Family, and my people! As Princess Xin Long of the Kingdom of Shu, I order you to return the criminal for execution!¡± Princess Xin¡¯s aura flared out to press down on the four of them. Inari and Saladin ignored her completely as if Xin Long¡¯s low Diamond aura was nothing more than a breeze. The unconscious cultist began to bleed from his ears under the Princess¡¯s aura, while Shiori turned to look at her, a single eyebrow raised. ¡°Sure,¡± she said, casually flinging the unconscious man to fall in a heap at Xin Long¡¯s feet. Turning back around, Shiori continued walking over to Inari. Staring at Shiori¡¯s back in shock and confusion, Xin Long retracted her aura and stared at the man Araneus, unconscious and bleeding at her feet. ¡°Araneus, we find you guilty of treason and regicide and sentence you to immediate execution.¡± Raising her father¡¯s sword, Xin Long swung for Araneus¡¯ neck, only for a scaly claw to erupt from his shadow and catch her blade! A dark and twisted version of Araneus rose from his shadow and ripped the sword from Xin Long¡¯s hand, a malevolent smile on its face. ¡°I am Ascendant!¡± the twisted copy screamed, throwing the sword away as a new, heavier aura blanketed the area. ¡°Bow before Araneus, for I am¡ª¡± ¡°Void souled,¡± Shiori said from behind, her arm stabbed deep into Araneus¡¯ back. ¡°And dead.¡± Shiori ripped Araneus¡¯ heart out, the purple veined black organ beating erratically as the Void soul disintegrated in a wisp of dark smoke. Casually tossing the organ up and down, Shiori moved to Join Inari and Saladin with the still beating heart as Princess Xin Long fell to her knees, staring at the three. Her mind couldn¡¯t process what she saw. The three of them were incomprehensibly powerful, a foe that should have spelled doom for the world no more than a plaything before them. ¡°A Void Heart!¡± Saladin said, looking at Shiori¡¯s prize. ¡°What a nice haul! What do you want for it?¡± The man¡¯s fingers twitched as he stared at the black and purple organ. ¡°Nothing, but I wish to commission something, so you may work with it, Saladin,¡± she said, casually tossing the organ to the man. ¡°I can do much with such a fine specimen! What do you want? A pill? A weapon? Perhaps a defensive artifact?¡± ¡°A bag.¡± ¡°A¡­bag?¡± Saladin stared at Shiori with a look of confusion. ¡°A bag would be a waste! I could make you a weapon strong enough to wipe out a city with this!¡± he cried. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re a Master of Dimensional Magic, why would you need a bag?!¡± ¡°A school bag,¡± Shiori said, flicking her tails. ¡°Besides,¡± she said, pressing the full weight of her aura down on Saladin. ¡°Why would I need a weapon?¡± ¡°O-Of course, Shiori,¡± he said, taking a step back with a gulp. ¡°But a school bag?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a present.¡± ¡°A present?¡± ¡°She has a new kitten,¡± Inari giggled. ¡°A very cute one.¡± ¡°A kitten?!¡± ¡°She¡¯s starting school soon.¡± ¡°When did this happen?!¡± Shiori¡¯s aura flared again. ¡°Stop asking questions and make the bag.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll need a few days.¡± ¡°Get to work.¡± Saladin sagged and vanished with the Void Heart, leaving Shiori and Inari in the destroyed courtyard. ¡°So what¡¯re you going to do with her?¡± Inari asked, gesturing to Xin Long, the Princess still on her knees and staring at them. Shiori shrugged. ¡°Mind if I take her?¡± ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m going to make sure Saladin makes my bag right.¡± With a flick of her tails, Shiori vanished, leaving Inari and the Princess alone. Inari smiled warmly at Xin Long as she approached, the kitsune¡¯s tails flicking playfully. ¡°Hello dear, my name is Inari. I¡¯m sorry about the loss of your family. Would you like to join mine?¡± Chapter 33: First Day Jitters "Shiori, you''re back!" Jun cried, leaping out of bed and rushing to hug her Master. Shiori let Jun do so, yawning as her kitten squeezed her. She let the hug continue for a minute as she looked closer at her kitten. Jun changed. Her kitten had put on a thin layer of fat and no longer looked gaunt and painfully thin, though she was still small for a human adult. The way she moved was more lithe, graceful, and confident than the nervous kitten she had left in the care of others while she had been hunting. Wiggling free of Jun''s embrace, Shiori launched from her shoulder to the unoccupied bed and settled in to the warm spot Jun left behind. Shiori summoned a bowl of soup into Jun''s hands, steam curling from the bowl as the smell of meat and herbs filled the room. "Drink the soup, kitten." Sighing, Jun stared at the bowl in her hands. Of course Shiori returns and the first thing she does it make me drink soup, she thought to herself. Bracing herself for the bitter flavor, she took a large mouthful only to be shocked at the lack of bitterness! The soup was a thin broth with chunks of unidentifiable meat, mushrooms, and vegetables that felt light and nourishing with a complex flavor. Grains of rice floated within that were still chewy with a subtle sweetness that paired well with the broth. Jun sat in her desk chair and slowly finished the soup, savoring each mouthful. A spoon appeared in front of her that Jun grabbed and used to finish the fillings left behind in the bowl, and soon it was empty. The bowl and spoon vanished as Jun sat back, a pleasant and invigorating warmth spreading through her body from the soup. Shiori seemed exhausted, more so than she usually seemed to be. "Master, what happened? Where were you these past 10 days?" Jun asked, her Master''s ears twitching to the question. "Catching up with an old friend," Shiori said vaguely. It was slight, but Jun caught a hint of tiredness in her Master''s voice. "That''s not what''s important right now. What is important is that your first class begins in an hour. You should get ready." Nodding, Jun hurried to her wardrobe and changed from the pajamas she had gotten and into one of her uniforms, now familiar with putting on the enchanted clothing. Turning to her desk to grab the books and supplies she might need for her first day of classes, she froze when she saw a bag on her desk that hadn''t been there before. The bag was a sling bag similar to ones that had been popular amongst the girls in her high school, but of a much finer quality than anything Jun had ever seen. The bag and strap were made of a shiny black leather with veins of purple and silver running through it, giving the leather a marble-like texture, with metal decorations of some sort of silvery metal that reminded her of the war wand she''d left in the Academy''s care. It was small, about the size of a small purse that only had room for a wallet and other essential items. "It''s a present for you," Shiori said from where she lay on the bed. "Thank you Master! I love it," Jun said happily as she slipped the bag on over her head. She felt as the strap subtly adjusted to fit her so that the bag was at a comfortable height. The weight was barely noticeable and didn''t flop around when Jun gave a few experimental jumps while wearing it, defying all logic. "It''s a Void Bag," Shiori said, nodding at the bag. "Channel some of your mana into it." Jun did as she was told, pulling a tendril of mana and threading it through her fingertips into the bag. "Good, now weave your mana into a net, covering every part of the bag that you can." Jun concentrated as she pulled several more tendrils of mana from her core and guided them into the bag. Pushing with her will, she encouraged her mana tendrils to weave together in a tight net. She felt her mana pool begin to empty as she pushed more of her mana into the effort, but the increased mana regeneration she gained at the cost of mana capacity made up the difference.
Mana: 72/180 (66/min)
Seeing her mana still falling, Jun slowed the flow of her mana until her pool settled and slowly began to tick back up. It took nearly 10 minutes of channeling mana into the bag but she could finally feel her weave covering it. "I''m done Master, now what?" Jun asked, the effort of holding her mana weave beginning to strain her mind. "Now," Shiori said, her voice laced with exhaustion, "will your mana to soak into the bag until the bag accepts it. You''ll know when it does." Jun sent her intent into her mana, urging it to soak into the bag and fill it. She could feel as her mana began to sink in and after a minute, her mana was fully absorbed and the sense that let her "feel" her mana tendrils now included the bag. She could feel the bag''s presence in her mind, and instinctively knew that it was empty. Grabbing a pen from her desk, Jun dropped it into the bag, watching as the pen fell in and seemed to vanish as it touched the void. The link she now shared with the bag fed her the impression that something small sat within the bag, and all she had to do was reach in and will the object to come to her. Sending her intent to her connection with the bag, she reached into the bag and pulled out the pen before putting it back in, repeating the process several times. Wondering if only she could add or remove things from the bag, Jun turned to ask Shiori but stopped when she saw the cat deep asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly as she slumbered. Her Master was exhausted, and Jun figured her question could wait. As quietly as she could, Jun started shoving her books, notes, and school supplies into the bag, surprised at how regardless of the size of the books, she was able to easily fit them through the small opening of the bag. She felt a sense of each new item added to her bag, but the bag never seemed to feel full. After putting all of her books and supplies into the bag, she decided to add her exercise clothes, a spare set of clothes including one of her uniforms, and a towel, just in case. Picking up her meager coin purse, Jun decided to add it to the bag as well, as tying the thing to her belt felt uncomfortable to her. Confident she was prepared for anything the first day of classes could throw at her, Jun left her room as quietly as she could and hurried to the lobby of her dormitory to check the time on the sole clock in the building. Merinthia''s days were split into 24 hours just as Earth''s were, and the system of tracking time was the same as well. The familiarity had been a relief to Jun, but she couldn''t help wondering why another planet would have exactly the same length of day as Earth. With Shiori gone for so many days, Jun hadn''t been able to ask her, and now that she was back, it seemed low on her list of priorities. According to the clock, she had just over half an hour to get to her first class of the day, Math. The class was held in the General Studies main building on the other side of campus from her dormitory, but her training with her friends made that distance trivial for her. After a short 10 minute jog, she walked into the classroom, another theater style classroom like the one she''d taken her Arcana Theory entrance exam in. Remembering the way she''d been stuck until every other student left, Jun made sure to grab a seat at the edge of the row and pulled her Math book and notes out from her bag, studying to pass the time. Students began filing in a few minutes after Jun arrived and the class quickly began to fill. The seat next to her was taken by a cute girl with her brown hair in twin pigtails. She was a bit on the chubby side, but in a cute way that spoke of baby fat that hadn''t yet been lost to adulthood. "Hi, I''m Jun," she said with a tentative smile. The girl looked at Jun and the notes spread out in front of her. "Lily," she said with a frown before taking her book out from her bag and staring at it. The message was clear, she didn''t want to talk. Disappointed that her neighbor didn''t seem interested in talking, Jun turned back to studying until the Professor walked in and began class. The class flew by quickly as Jun jotted down a few notes, but it all felt like review to her. Between the math classes she''d taken on Earth in her past life and Sara''s tutoring on the subject, everything discussed that first class felt like review. After her class was dismissed, Jun hurried to one of the Academy''s cafeterias for a quick breakfast between classes before rushing back to the General Studies building for her Science class. As sge walked into the half-full classroom, Jun noticed her neighbor from her first class in the room, though she was animatedly talking to a group of girls across the room from her. Shrugging, Jun grabbed another of the aisle seats and pulled out her notes to study until the class started. This class too passed by in a flash as Jun took notes on the Professor''s lecture, though much of it felt like a review of basic Physics and Chemistry with small differences from her lessons on Earth as well as her tutoring sessions. Her History class right after was no different, feeling like review after the intensive studying she''d done over the past 10 days, though Jun was far less confident in her knowledge on the subject. As Jun sat alone at lunch, she couldn''t help but notice several familiar faces from her morning classes. She recognized the girl that had sat next to her for the first class of the day was with the same group of girls for lunch. Jun thought she caught them looking at her, but when she glanced in their direction they turned away. It was probably just a coincidence. Finishing up her lunch, Jun left the cafeteria and headed for the Arcana Studies building where she''d taken her first exams. Despite being personally trained by Shiori for nearly 2 months, she couldn''t help being excited. It would be her first class in a magic school!
"Ugh, I can''t believe her," Melody grumbled to her friends as the brown-haired girl shot a dirty look at someone across the cafeteria. The other girls turned to look at the object of her ire, a beautiful girl with dark purple hair and a heart shaped face, her pale skin looked soft and almost iridescent, as if she''d never seen the sun or a hard day''s work in her life. She held herself with a confidence that evoked passion in some and jealousy in others, and if someone said she was a Princess, no one would doubt them. While Melody was considered pretty growing up, waving off suitors left and right, even the son of a baron once, her pretty features didn''t compare to that girl''s beauty, and it irked her. "Look at her sitting alone, as if she''s too good for everyone else when she''s just another commoner like the rest of us!" "I saw her in our classes this morning. She didn''t really talk to anyone and barely paid attention to the Professors," Gina said. The mousy blonde frowned at her memory of the girl. She''d stood out in the room full of bronze students because the purple-haired girl barely took any notes, while everyone else had frantically scribbled down everything the Professors said. The Academy didn''t believe in holding back, not even on the first day. "I hope she fails and gets kicked out, the stuck up bitch." "Her name is Jun. I sat next to her in Maths this morning," Emily said with a frown. "She had all these notes already in front of her for the entire class. She didn''t write anything down because she already had all the notes!" "Did you see the way Professor Liam kept glancing at her? I bet she used her body to get the answers before classes even started!" Melody said, her voice dripping with venom. "It might not be Professor Liam... I¡¯ve been seeing her around campus the past two weeks since entry testing. She¡¯s been hanging out with a gold student named Gareth Brightmane and a bunch of silver students,¡± Mara, a mousy brunette with a pixie cut and glasses said. ¡°That¡¯s her?!¡± Melody screamed, causing several students around them to whip their heads in her direction. Blushing with embarrassment, Melody looked down at her food until people turned away from her and spoke in a quiet tone. ¡°Gareth Brightmane is the son of a duke! I overheard some guys talking about how he took a commoner as his mistress and even used his influence to get her assigned to the same room as the rest of his harem!¡± Melody muttered This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°The term¡¯s only just started and she¡¯s already flying from noble to professor, just using her looks to get ahead! She¡¯s giving the rest of us bronze students a bad name, someone should teach her a lesson.¡± All of the girls nodded in agreement. ¡°But what can any of us even do about a high noble¡¯s mistress? She¡¯s already got the professors giving her the answers and nobles bending the school¡¯s rules for her, but we¡¯re just commoners...¡± Mara slumped back in her seat. She pushed her half-eaten lunch away, her appetite gone. Melody and Emily frowned at Mara¡¯s words as they watched the girl they¡¯d been talking about leave the cafeteria. ¡°We still have options,¡± Gina said with a smile. ¡°My father¡¯s a merchant that does business with Duke Brightmane¡¯s businesses. Maybe we could tell the Duke his son¡¯s being taken advantage of?¡± ¡°But why would a Duke even read any message we sent? You might be the daughter of a wealthy merchant Gina, but the rest of us aren¡¯t so lucky. My mother is just one of the cooks for the Academy. I only got in because the Academy lets the children of staff attend for free,¡± Melody said with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m just an apprentice healer, my master is paying for me to attend the Academy, but if I cross a noble, or even a noble¡¯s mistress, he won¡¯t hesitate to get rid of me,¡± Mara added with a frown. ¡°Sending a letter to a Duke would just be inviting the nobles to trample all over us, and we wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them.¡± ¡°And you know my family wouldn¡¯t be able to help much. My father¡¯s just a Sergeant in the City Guard, he won¡¯t be able to do much,¡± Emily added. Sighing, Gina slumped in her seat with a defeated look on her face. ¡°Well fuck, we¡¯re just going to have to put up with that bitch cheating her way through General Studies then. At least she¡¯s just some noble¡¯s toy so we won¡¯t have to deal with her in the Adventurer classes.¡±
Jun¡¯s Introductory Arcana Theory class was in the same room that she¡¯d taken the Arcana Theory placement test in. The room was exactly as it had been before the entrance exam, with no trace of the damage the Proctor had caused to the room. She¡¯d arrived to the room early again, but it wasn¡¯t empty. The same man who had proctored her exam was sitting at the teacher¡¯s desk at the front reading a book, several stacks of documents in front of him. As Jun entered the classroom the man gestured to the documents on his desk without looking up at her. ¡°Take a copy of the syllabus and sit quietly until class starts.¡± ¡°Yes, Pro¡ª¡± Jun started to reply, only for a single chain to manifest and slap against the chalkboard at the front of the class. The words ¡°NO TALKING¡± were written in large letters and underlined on the chalkboard. Jun couldn¡¯t help shaking as she remembered the violent way the man had expelled a student and snapped her mouth shut. As quiet and timid as a shy kitten, Jun walked as quietly as she could, subconsciously tapping into the [Stealth] skill she hadn¡¯t used since leaving the Forest. Grabbing one of the documents from the indicated pile, Jun retreated to the student desks, electing to go all the way to the back of the class in the hopes of escaping the Professor¡¯s attention. Settling into her seat, Jun pulled out her Arcana Theory text book and the notes from her study sessions with Lane and Corin. Where she¡¯d had no problems with the Math, Science, and History tutoring under Sara, her theory tutoring with Lane and Corin hadn¡¯t gone nearly as well. Both of the men stuck to the very basics of Arcana Theory according to the text book and had refused to even answer some of Jun¡¯s questions citing that she needed to master the basics first, regardless of the power of the spells she already knew. Reading through the syllabus she¡¯d retrieved, she saw that the Professor had set a rigorous pace of study for the class that included weekly tests on Arcana Theory. As she cross-referenced some of the topics she recognized on the syllabus with things in her notes, the class slowly filled. The Professor told every student as they entered to grab a syllabus and take a seat. The more aware ones saw the board in time and didn¡¯t say a word. The less aware ones received much the same treatment as Jun had. Everyone was wise enough not to push the issue after the Professor¡¯s chains came out. A ringing chime filled the room as the clock above the Professor¡¯s desk ticked 2 o¡¯clock and the Professor closed his book before standing and glaring at the students in the room. With a snap of his fingers, the door to the classroom slammed shut, the lock audibly clicking as it locked. The Professor¡¯s eyes wandered across the crowd of assembled students, making eye contact with each of them in turn. As his eyes landed on Jun his chains suddenly materialized, setting her heart to racing. Half panicked, Jun spun several mana tendrils from her core to her {Barrier] spellform, pumping mana into the spell as she tensed, ready to protect herself from his crushing chains! The Professor¡¯s chains reached out behind him and picked up several pieces of chalk as he subtly raised an eyebrow at her. Sheepishly, Jun siphoned the mana out of her spellform and wound the tendrils back into her core. Once her mana tendrils were reabsorbed by her core, the man nodded and started speaking. ¡°I am Professor Thomas Marcos,¡± he said, introducing himself as his chains wrote out his name on the board behind him. ¡°I am a Platinum ranked adventurer and Master Magi of the Towers of Sevrun. You will refer to me as Professor Marcos, Master Magi, or sir. You are in this class because you performed adequately enough in either the Arcana Theory or Practical Spellcasting tests that the Academy has deemed you worthy of learning to use magic.¡± Professor Marcos paused for a moment to stare around the room again before continuing. ¡°You will only stay in this class if I deem you worthy of learning magic. Let us begin.¡± The next hour was filled with an in-depth lecture on the basics of establishing a mana core, internalizing a spellform, and casting a spell. As interesting as Jun found magic, she was disappointed by the class so far. Shiori had already taught her everything they covered in that first class, though Jun had to remind herself it was still the first class. The theories within the assigned text book still didn¡¯t make much sense to her, but she knew from the syllabus that she would inevitably be tested on it. So confusing or not, Jun diligently took notes and vowed to ask Shiori about the subject when her Master had recovered from whatever she¡¯d been up to. Her final class of the day was the one she was most excited about: Practical Spellcasting. The class took place in the same room that Jun had done her spellcasting exam in, but with a much smaller group. Most of the students had already arrived by the time Jun got there and hung out in established groups. She spotted a couple of girls from her morning classes, but for some reason they both glared at her before turning away. Another boy she recognized from her practical exam, but he too ignored her. Jun didn''t understand why they seemed to dislike her since she''d never interacted with them before, but she didn''t want to cause a scene so just stayed on the side and waited for class to start. "Hi! I''m Aya!" A voice called out causing Jun to start. Looking up, Jun saw a girl standing in front of her with her hand extended out to Jun. She was taller than Jun, though that wasn''t saying much as Jun herself was on the shorter side. Her hair was a beautiful deep black color and she had features that on Earth would have been described as vaguely Asian, similar to Jun''s own. She looked like a princess, though the bronze medallion hanging from her neck said otherwise. Jun took the other girl''s hand and shook it. I''m Jun, it''s nice to meet you Aya," she said with a small smile. "Have you been here awhile? I was only in the last round of testing, so I''ve only been in the city for a few days." "I got here a couple weeks ago." "Neat! You must know your way around the city then right?" "Not really... I''ve been out to a few shops near the school for stuff, and I have some friends that showed me around a bit, but I haven''t really explored..." "I can''t imagine just staying on the campus all the time! What do you do to pass the time?" Jun got absorbed in the conversation as a small flame of hope built up that maybe she''d make a new friend in her classes. She didn''t notice that the Professor had arrived until Aya quickly shushed her and turned to face the door. The other students quieted as well as everyone turned to look at the newly arrived Professor. He was an easygoing looking man that looked to be in his mid 30swith messy brown hair and thick silver-rimmed glasses. Two older students with silver medallions, a man and a woman, stood at attention behind him. He had an easy going smile and a relaxing aura about him. Something about his presence just made Jun relax a bit, and the slight nervousness she''d felt about what her Practical Spellcasting Professor would be like vanished. "Good evening everyone, and welcome to your first Practical Spellcasting class for the fall term! My name is Sam Lorne," he said, gesturing to himself as a series glowing letters appeared in the air above him. "But you can just call me Sam. I''m a new Professor here at FEA and a Gold-Ranked adventurer with the International Adventurer''s Guild." He paused to gesture to the older students behind him. These are my teaching assistants Harold and Stephanie. They''re both 5th year students who have placed in the top 10% of their year." As he finished his introduction, whispers broke out among the gathered students. Jun could hear the words "gold adventurer" and "IAG" repeated several times. Professor Lorne¡ª Sam, Jun mentally corrected herself, seemed different from the other professors she''d met so far. He patiently waited with a smile as the students finished whispering and settled before continuing. "Now, all of you should have had your first Introduction to Arcana Theory class sometime today, but what I teach isn''t theory, it''s practical spellcasting, so let''s get right into it. Who here hasn''t yet formed a mana core?" He asked. No one moved. "Don''t be shy, it''s nothing to be ashamed of." Tentatively, a tall lanky boy raised his hand. Sam pointed at him and nodded. "Your name my good sir?" he asked with a smile. "Connor McBride, s-sir. I-I haven''t formed a mana core yet," he said, his face flushed. Sam smiled at the boy. "It''s alright Connor, just call me Sam. Go ahead and stand next to Harold," he said warmly, gesturing to the 5th year student behind him. "Anyone else have yet to form their mana cores?" Several other students raised their hands and Sam guided them to his assistants, the boys to Harold and the girls to Stephanie. "Alright," he said once the last of the students without mana cores had been split off. "Harold and Stephanie will be leading those of you who haven''t yet formed a mana core through the process. Once you''ve formed your core, please return to the classroom." The older students led a dozen students out of the classroom, leaving about 20 of them alone with Sam. "While your classmates establish their mana cores, the rest of us will be going through affinity testing. First, we''ll be using this," he said, moving to a cart that had been tucked in the corner of the room. A large, milky white sphere sat on a pedestal on top of the cart. Wheeling the cart to the middle of the room, Sam gestured to the sphere. "This is an affinity tester. It will detect if you have any affinities and give an approximate strength for it. All you have to do is place your hand on the sphere, and the device does the rest." Sam stuck his hand on the sphere in demonstration. After a few seconds, a large circle appeared, with 25 circles in 3 layers. The first layer held a single circle in the center, the next layer included 6 circles, and the outer layer had 18. The center circle was filled in with grey, while the layer of 6 held 4 half or more full circles of blue, red, white, and black, while there was only a small sliver of another white circle and a brown circle in the outer layer. Most of the outer 18 circles held only slivers, though two were nearly full and shined a light blue and a dark blue respectively. Sam let the students study the image for a few seconds before he removed his hand from the sphere and it winked out of existence. "As you saw, the device will display your affinities as a series of circles. The center circle just shows that I have an established mana core, while the middle layer displayed my basic affinities for Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark magics. The outer layer shows advanced affinities, which can occur when someone has at least half a circle full in 2 basic affinities, though not always. As you might have noticed, I have 2 of those," he said with a wink. Jun felt herself blush as Sam winked at her, and she could hear a few of the girls giggle as well, though Aya just frowned at their teacher slightly. Raising his hand for silence, Sam smiled and gestured at the sphere. "When I call you up, you''ll place your hand on the scanner while I take a few notes. First up..." Sam said, picking up a clipboard from the cart next to the device. "Aya?" Nodding, Jun''s new acquaintance walked up to the device and stuck her hand on the device without hesitation. The red circle was more than 3 quarters full, while each of her other basic affinities ranged from less than a quarter to just under half full. None of the outer circles lit up. Sam jotted a few notes down on his clipboard. "You have a strong fire affinity Aya," he said with a smile. Aya only frowned and nodded back at the man, causing his smile to crack a bit at her standoffish attitude. "Right, well next student..." Sam quickly moved through the list of students. When there were only 3 of them left to be tested, including Jun, the dozen students without mana cores returned. From the awkward looks some of them wore and the still wet hair, Jun guessed that they probably experienced the same thing she had when she established her core, though it seemed none of them had dirtied their clothes in the process. Sam quickly called up another girl, leaving only Jun remaining from the students who already had their mana cores. "Last student before our newly established mana core wielders take a turn. Jun?" Sam said, looking right at her with a smile. Jun couldn''t help feeling self-conscious as the man looked at her. Was there something on her uniform? Was her hair messy from running around all day? Did she have a weird look on her face? Butterflies tumbling around in her stomach, Jun stepped up to the device and placed her hand upon it like all the other students had. She held back a flinch as something snaked out of the device and into her mana channels, gently probing until it reached her mana core. She felt a series of strange feelings in her core, before the tendril from the device withdrew. It had barely lasted a few seconds. The now familiar series of circles appeared in the air, and Jun''s eyes widened as she took them in. She could hear the other students muttering as they watched, and even Sam seemed surprised as he started at Jun''s affinity results. Sam seemed to shake himself out of his daze as he blinked at Jun''s results, before hurriedly scribbling a few notes down on his clipboard. Only the center circle had filled in, showing the same grey of an established mana core. None of the other circles held even a hint of color. "It''s okay Jun," Sam said with a reassuring smile. Chapter 34: Affinity Layering Jun flushed as she pulled away from the sphere and rejoined the other students, doing her best to hold her head high despite her embarrassment. She didn¡¯t miss how the others pulled away from her, whispers of ¡°talentless¡± and ¡°no affinities¡± stabbing at her from the students she passed. She wasn''t that surprised at the result given her sealed trait, but none of the students who were tested had totally empty circles for the basic affinities. They''d always had at least a tiny sliver in every basic affinity. They were never empty, and it had given her some hope that she''d still have something even with her trait sealed. Reaching the back of the group, she closed her eyes for a moment as a cold emptiness ate at her stomach. Jun could feel the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. An old memory of her father on Earth came to mind. She was just 10 at the time and bullied in school. She''d come home with a black eye, and her father had been disappointed in his "pansy ass son." "You only get bullied because you show them you''re weak. You''re not allowed to cry, only pansies cry and I won''t allow my son to be a pansy!" Jun hadn''t been allowed to eat dinner that night because her father said she needed to "get tougher." Her mother had snuck her some food after her father had passed out drunk, but it didn''t erase the sting. Even on another world, in another life, her father''s "lectures" stuck with her. Jun could hear the testing continue as another student was called up and the whispering found a new topic. She flinched as she felt someone''s warm hand rubbing her back. Through teary eyes, she saw it was Aya rubbing her back and quietly offering her a handkerchief. Quietly nodding at Aya, she took the offered handkerchief and wiped her tears away. By the time most of the remaining students had been tested, Jun''s tears stopped. "Thank you," she whispered to Aya. "You''re welcome," she said with a small smile. "Don''t listen to the gossiping idiots, they don''t know anything." Jun laughed weakly at the girl''s advice. Her hands were warm. "It''s just the first day right..." she whispered. "Exactly! The professors have barely taught us anything yet. Like affinities don''t even¡ªnever mind. Look, don''t worry about idiots. You wouldn''t be here if you didn''t have talent. Besides, maybe the test was wrong?" Jun nodded silently, not sure how to respond to the girl''s kindness. She went to hand the girl her handkerchief back but stopped, realizing it was used. "I-I''ll wash this and return it to you," Jun said, "Hold onto it as long as you need, I have more," Aya said happily. Jun opened her mouth to respond, but Sam called everyone to attention. "Now that everyone''s been tested, let''s get to the heart of the lesson. Today, each of you will be learning a new spell." The students started to chatter but Sam talked over them as he continued. "Before you get too excited, this will be a beginner ranked spell. As such, it won''t even show up on your System status. It¡ª" "What do you mean it won''t show up? Everyone knows that the lowest level spells are Novice, and they always show up once you master the basics. My personal magic tutor is an archmagi. Are you saying he''s wrong? a student with a gold medallion around his neck said, his voice condescending. "Thank you, Lord Myron. You are not wrong, Novice ranks are the lowest ranks that are recognized by the System, but there are other spells too weak to be acknowledged by the System that are often used as learning tools. Some spells, such as [Arcane Missile] are evolutions of such beginner ranked skills." Sam held his hand out to the as-of-yet unused target dummies on the other end of the room. A small wisp of mana coalesced in his hand and lazily shot out, only traveling halfway down the range before it dissipated. "Many of you who already learned [Arcane Missile] may recognize this as a failed attempt at casting it. However, that wasn''t a failure. That was the beginner ranked spell Mana Wisp. It is not acknowledged by the System as a spell because it is near useless, only capable of teaching the basic steps to cast the novice ranked [Arcane Missile]. Once you''ve mastered a beginner rank spell, it appears on your System status at Novice 0." Sam turned back to face the students. "First, those of you that formed your mana cores today with Harold and Stephanie will be learning the beginner spell precursor to [Arcane Missile], Mana Wisp. This is the standard attack spell for all new mages, and is simple enough that you should be able to get it on your System status by the end of the week." Sam gestured to his assistants. "Harold and Stephanie will share the spellform with you and guide you through casting it for the first time. Please go with them to the other end of the range." With Harold and Stephanie leading the way, the dozen students who had just formed their mana cores split off from the class and moved to one side of the range. "For the rest of you, each of you should have [Arcane Missile] or a variant of it. Instead of [Arcane Missile], you will learn how to add your affinity to the spell to add the aspect of your affinity to it. Observe." Sam closed his eyes for a moment as Jun felt something tickle against the skin of her neck, like the ghost of a breeze. As goosebumps started to rise on her skin, 7 balls of colored mana appeared in front of Sam in red, brown, green, blue, white, black, and one in a silvery grey. As Sam opened his eyes, he smiled at the students and gestured at the colored balls. "Everyone¡ª" Sam paused as his eyes flicking to Jun, "¡ªhas at least a sliver of an affinity for each basic element. With practice, you can channel that mana through your affinity into any spell, altering it''s base behavior." "The [Arcane Missile] spell is an excellent way to start learning this technique. The base spell is useful, if a bit unimpressive," he said, sending the silvery ball shooting down the range. The silvery ball transformed into an arrow shape as it flew, and impacted a training dummy with a loud thud. "However, by channeling mana through your affinity then into the spell, you can begin converting your [Arcane Missile] into a variant such as {Fire Dart]," Sam''s red spell launched, transforming into a small dart of flames that sped into the target and burst, leaving behind a scorch mark. "Or {Water Blade]." The blue orb shot out, transforming into a crescent shape that into the training dummy, leaving a thin scratch across it. "[Wind Shot]." The green orb vanished as it shot off and the target shook as if being buffeted by wind. "{Earth Spike]." The brown orb formed into a spike of stone, impaling the target. "{Ray]." A beam of light shot out from the white orb and seared a small circle into the target. "Or {Curse]." The black orb shot off and seemed to sink into the target without a trace. Sam summoned a second basic {Arcane Missile] and sent it at the dummy, As the spell hit, black spikes erupted out of it, leaving behind small holes all over it. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "This technique is called [Affinity Layering]. Practicing this technique until it appears in your System status is necessary before you can imprint Affinity variants of any spells on your status. The first step in learning this technique is to feel your affinities within your core. Even if your affinities are weak, you should be able to feel them as different aspects of your mana sitting just below the surface of your core with your mana senses. Once you find your affinity, pull only mana of that affinity into your spellform and will it to manifest. Your assignment for the rest of class is to feel out your affinities and attempt to cast an affinity variant of [Arcane Missile]. Since we only have 10 targets on this half of the classroom, each of you find someone to share a target with. Also, comparing notes with your partner can help you find your affinity faster." As Sam finished speaking, Aya nudged Jun in the arm. "Want to pair up with me Jun?" she said with a smile. "Are you sure? The test said I don''t even have affinities... Is it even worth trying the exercise? Would I even be any help?" Before Aya could respond, Sam approached the two of them, his eyes locked on Jun. "Jun, I heard what you said. Before you worry too much about the affinity test, you should still do the exercise. The affinity scanner is good, but it''s not completely accurate. It can have trouble detecting very low affinities. Even if your affinities are too low to register, you should be able to find them with your mana sense eventually." An ember of hope ignited in Jun''s chest at Sam''s words. "Thanks Professor Lorne," Jun said respectfully, her spirit buoyed. "You''re welcome Jun, and just call me Sam," he said with a warm chuckle before moving on to speak to another group of students. Jun followed the man with her eyes until Aya nudged her side. With a start, Jun turned to look at Aya and blushed at the smirk on her face. Luckily, Aya had the good grace not to comment. "So, pair up with me Jun?" "S-Sure," Jun said with a jerky nod. Still smirking, Aya passed through the crowd of students and chose a practice lane, Jun following close behind. At their lane, the girls sat on the floor across from each other and closed their eyes, turning their senses inward. As she scanned her core with her mana sense, Jun tossed over Sam''s instructions in her head. [Affinity Layering] seemed simple enough, but she couldn''t feel anything in her core other than pure mana. Straining her mana sense to the limit, she felt something strange. A strong sense of heat close to her, as if she stood near a campfire. Excitedly, Jun chased after that heat, following it deeper into her core. Pushing deep into her core was a slow and difficult endeavor, like trying to swim against the current of a raging river as mana rushed out from the center into her mana channels. As she moved deeper, her progress slowed even as the sense of heat grew stronger. It was tantalizingly close. Jun pushed her mana sense onwards, following the heat deeper until she broke through the current and found herself in a new layer of her mana core that was calm and still. A flexible membrane of some kind stood in her way. Gathering her will, she pushed against the barrier with her mana sense, feeling it stretch like a piece of rubber before it rebuffed her efforts. Sharpening her will into a fine point, she rushed the membrane again. She made more progress, feeling the membrane stretch even more under her focused assault, but she couldn''t pierce it. Again and again Jun refined her probe, pushing against the membrane, but it wouldn''t budge. Her head ached from the constant backlash and Jun relented, slowly waking from her meditation as she withdrew from her core. Jun opened her eyes, her head throbbing, to see that Aya watching her carefully. Several other students stood or sat with their eyes closed in meditation, while others were already up with their hands extended towards the targets, their faces screwed up in concentration. "Are you okay? You look like you''re in pain," Aya said with concern. "I''m fine... did you feel any of your affinities?" "I think I felt my affinity. It was strange, like a burning heat overpowering everything else in my core. It was something I never noticed before, but as soon as I started feeling for it, it was everywhere. What about you?" "I''m not sure. My mana felt like it always did, so maybe the test was right and I don''t have any affinities?" "You didn''t feel anything?" "Well¡ª" Jun started to respond, but shut her mouth as she felt someone looking at her. Looking around, she saw Sam approaching with a smile on his face. "Hello Aya, Jun! How was your meditation? Were you able to sense anything?" Sam said, crouching next to them. "I... no," Jun said, not sure how to explain the strange heat and membrane in her core. "Well, keep trying. Affinities can be difficult to detect the first time," he said, before turning to Aya. "What about you Aya? If I recall, you had a rather strong affinity for Fire?" Aya frowned for a moment before nodding at Sam. "I felt something like a burning heat in my mana," she finally said. "I was just discussing it with Jun." "I see." Sam seemed off balanced for a moment before his usual smile returned. "Well I should let you two get back to the assignment while I check in with the rest of your classmates!" Standing up straight, Sam quickly moved to another pair of students, crouching next to the 2 boys to talk to them. "So, you said you didn''t feel anything?" Aya asked. "Not exactly. I felt something weird but I''m not sure how to explain it. There was a heat, but it was muted, not burning like you said." "Maybe you have a weak fire affinity?" "Maybe..." "Want to try casting with it?" Aya pushed herself back up off the ground and held her hand out for Jun. Taking the other girl''s hand, Jun pulled herself back up. Idly, she noted again that Aya''s hand was really warm. "You should go first," Jun said, looking at the target. Nodding, Aya took a wide stance as Jun moved to give her space. Aya held her right arm straight out, her palm facing the target. She closed her eyes for a few seconds as Jun felt goosebumps rise on her neck and heard a sound like the rush of flames. Instinctively, Jun knew that Aya was successful moments before a red sphere coalesced in her hand and burst into flames. The heat felt like Jun was standing next to a bonfire, and a moment later the spell shot off down the range. Where Sam''s [Fire Dart] was small and left a scorch mark on the target, Aya''s was massive, looking more like a javelin as it transformed. The massive spell collided with the target a moment later with a loud thump and the rush of flames. Several students screamed as a wave of heat washed over the room before fading, and everyone turned to stare at Jun and Aya. "Oops," Aya said with a shrug, before ignoring everyone''s looks and facing Jun. "Wow that was a rush!" she said breathlessly. Aya started to describe in detail the feeling she''d gotten from touching the burning heat in her mana and channeling it into her spell. As Aya talked her through it, Jun sat back on the ground and started meditating as her headache eased. Despite Aya''s help, Jun could only feel the heat locked up beyond the strange membrane she felt in her core. By the end of class, Aya had successfully connected with her fire and wind affinities, even earning a new spell she called [Fire Bolt], while Jun nursed a headache having failed to detect anything besides the strange heat that she was unable to connect with. She couldn''t help feeling jealous of Aya''s success, but the other girl''s friendly and supportive attitude quelled a lot of it. After their class finished, Aya invited Jun to dinner at the cafeteria, which she quickly accepted. By the time they split up for the night, Jun felt like Aya was a friend. When Jun got back to her room, she saw that Shiori was still deeply asleep. Settling in for the night next to her Master, Jun dove back into her mana core only to run into the strange membrane again. Several attempts later, Jun lay in bed, her head aching as she probed at the strange membrane in her core and the heat laying beyond it. Nothing that Sam or Aya had said during class sounded like this weird membrane. Sighing, she gave up on probing it for secrets for the night and ignored the strange heat. she could feel beneath her mana. She''d figure it out eventually. Chapter 35: Introductory Delving Jun woke the next morning feeling hungover. Shiori was still sleeping deeply by the time Jun had to leave for her classes. The morning flew by much as the day before, and Jun spent her free time alone, idly poking at the membrane in her core to no discernible effect. Time passed slowly, and Jun couldn''t help but wish Aya was in her morning classes with her. Despite only sharing a single class together, they''d gotten along well, and Jun tentatively thought of her as a friend. The afternoon brought her first Physical Conditioning class, and she was shocked to see a familiar face. Cecilia nodded at her with a serious look on her face from her position behind the teacher. Like the rest of the students, Cecilia and several older students wore training clothes that consisted of durable leather boots, breeches, and a sturdy cotton tunic. The Professor for the course was a gruff older man who looked like he ate bodybuilders as a snack and ordered the students to only refer to him as "Sergeant." Under the Sergeant''s barked commands, the older students led the younger in a series of punishing exercises that had everyone gasping for breath by the end of the 2 hour class, though Jun''s training with her friends and increased stats were enough that she was able to just about keep up. After a 15 minute break, the Combat Skills class started, with the Sergeant leading the class was in basic sword and shield drills for an hour before breaking the students up in groups to try different weapons. Jun quickly joined the spear group, thoughts of her war wand driving her to learn how to use such a weapon. After 15 minutes of rapid drilling in stances and basic blows, the Sergeant ordered the groups to switch weapons until each student had a chance to practice with a two-handed sword, spear, glaive, mace, staff, halberd, and daggers. It was only after every group had gone over the different weapons twice that the students were dismissed. Many of them collapsed where they stood. Jun was one of them. The crunching sound of boots on grass warned Jun that someone was coming in the dim light of dusk. Craning her head, she saw a muscular silhouette crouch down over her. A smile was plastered on Cecilia''s face. "So roomie, how''s your first week of classes going?" she said with a smirk. Jun groaned in response as she continued to cycle her mana through her body according to the technique she''d learned from Shiori. The mana circulating through her mana channels slowly repaired and reinforced her body, though it had nothing on a dedicated healing spell. Chuckling, Cecilia picked Jun up and threw her over her shoulder. "Come on roomie, let''s go get some food! You need to eat well to grow big and strong!" Ignoring Jun''s weak protests, Cecilia carried her across campus, ignoring the looks students shot at them. Jun flushed with embarrassment as the buff woman carried her across the campus but stopped struggling, enjoying the free ride on Cecilia''s shoulder even as the woman''s hard muscles dug into her stomach. It gave her more time to cycle her mana. Once she felt like she''d only ran half a marathon rather than a full one, Jun wiggled free and fell to the ground and shakily landed on her feet to Cecilia''s amused chuckling. "Took you long enough to recover Jun," she said as she started moving again. Jun rushed to catch up to Cecilia, her muscles protesting the movement as she did. "Those classes were insane! Why didn''t you warn me?! Or tell me you''d be one of the assistants for my class?!" Jun demanded once she caught up to the woman. "I just found out this morning. One of the girls dropped out all of a sudden. But you got lucky." "What? Why?" "Remember that girl that kicked your ass during your entrance exam?" Jun winced as she remembered the girl that beat her within an inch of her life. Even with the healer''s help, she''d been sore the next day. Luckily between Shiori''s soup and the strengthening technique she''d learned, she''d recovered pretty fast. "Was she supposed to be in that class too?" "Her name''s Clara. I got her spot." "Oh..." Jun shivered at the thought of that Clara girl in charge of training her to use weapons. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Yeah." The two walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria in silence where they met up with Sara and the others. It was the first time in 2 days that Jun got to see her friends for longer than a couple minutes. "I think you should try to test out of Math and Science," Sara said after hearing how Jun spent those classes. "Really? But I didn''t do that well on the entry tests..." "You''ve come a long way since I started tutoring you, and you''re forgetting how fast you pick things up. I think a couple weeks of focused study would have you far enough along to test out of both," Sara said confidently. Shaking her head, Jun opened her mouth to respond before Gareth cut her off. "Sara''s right," he said, fixing Jun with a look. "Those classes are a waste of time anyways, unless you''re planning to get into research." "I don''t think I want to do that?" Jun said, unsure of herself. She hadn''t truly thought about what she would do for money after her time at the school ended, but the thought of just doing math and reading books all day sounded boring. She wanted to explore! "Then you should test out of what you can and finish the general requirements as quickly as possible so you can focus on figuring out what you want to do." "Plus if you test out of the Math and Science classes you can sleep in," Lane said with a smile. "To sleeping in!" Sara cried with a giggle, raising her glass of juice high. Everyone clinked their glasses against hers. "To sleeping in!"
The rest of the week passed by as a repeat of the first two days. Her mornings were spent studying, a new goal in her mind to learn what she could as quickly as possible and test out of the basic classes. Her afternoons were a struggle, each class of Arcana Theory giving her more questions and fewer answers, while spellcasting practice was a constant reminder of her lack of affinities. Several other classmates had successfully cast using [Affinity Layering], and Aya had progressed even further, resulting in many of their classmates asking her to abandon Jun to pair up with them. Despite Jun''s own lack of affinities and progression, Aya refused their classmates'' offers and insisted on staying by Jun''s side. Her physical fitness and combat skills were a repeat of exercise and drills, and Cecilia carried her away on her shoulder again. Despite several days having passed since Shiori''s return, her Master still slept through the days. With her Master indisposed, Jun focused on studying, hoping to put her traits to use in testing out of the morning classes that felt increasingly hostile and a waste of time. On the morning of Sixth Day, Jun headed to her Introductory Delving class and grabbed an aisle seat in the theater-like classroom. As the classroom slowly filled, she recognized many of the students from her other classes, especially her Combat Skills and Practical Spellcasting courses. To her delight, Aya walked in and, after Jun waved at her, sat next to her. Excited to share another class with her new friend, the two girls chatted happily as the classroom filled. They speculated on what the class would be about. Aya was certain they would be split into teams and sent to delve in the Great Forest, while Jun thought the class would be more academic, teaching them about monsters and things to watch out for. It turned out, both were right. The room quieted as a large man in heavy armor marched into the room. The large man swept an eye across the room full of students sitting down. "Half of you in this room will die," he said bluntly. "Delving means diving head first into untamed wilds, newly discovered ruins, and dangerous territory to put down monstruous beasts, retrieve rare resources, and recover artifacts. You will have only yourself and your team to rely upon. You will fall into traps and ambushes, get injured, and watch your close friends die. 1 out of 5 new adventurers die within their first year. 1 out of 2 of those who survive die within the first 10. If that is not something you can accept, leave." The man stared down the students as an oppressive aura seemed to press down on them. The first student to leave was the gold student Myron from Jun''s Practical Spellcasting class. Quickly following him was a group of young men and women each with gold or silver medallions. As if their departure broke a dam, more and more students got up and filed out of the room until less than half of the students remained. Jun was heartened to see that her friend Aya still sat next to her, a determined look on her face. The armored man glared at each remaining student as they sat in the oppressive aura, but no one else budged. Nodding, the man marched to the door and closed it, the lock clicking shut as he did before returning to his position behind the armored man. "Good, those of you that remain, welcome to Introductory Delving. I am Professor Galimond. I am a Platinum ranked adventurer and Vice Commander of the Forest''s Edge Chapter of the International Adventurer''s Guild. For the next month, we will be meeting in this room to discuss common monsters and phenomena in the area, as well as basic small group tactics and party composition. After that month, you will be split into teams and conduct real bounty missions in the surrounding area. You have the rest of the month to prepare. Failing to do so properly could mean your death. Now, let''s begin." Chapter 36: Educational Property Damage Jun groaned as another headache struck, her mana probes unraveling as she massaged her temples. She''d been poking at the strange membrane in her core for over a week but nothing changed. The tantalizing heat still called to her. She was certain now that it was the seal containing the [Soul Parasite] that had created the strange membrane, but the membrane itself wasn''t the seal. It didn''t make sense to her, since the seal had been placed before her core had been fixed. The only thing that made sense to her was that it was a side effect of the sealing, and with Shiori still sleeping for most of the day she couldn''t ask her Master. That just left poking at it with the magical equivalent of a stick as she tried to figure things out herself. She prepared to dive back into her core as her headache finally ebbed when Shiori stirred with a wide yawn. "Good evening kitten," she said calmly as if she hadn''t just spent 10 days asleep. "Shiori! You''re awake!" "Of course kitten, it was a refreshing nap." "Nap? You''ve been asleep for 10 days!" "A long nap," Shiori said as she got up and stretched before falling into a loaf. "10 days is not a nap!" "You don''t know how to nap properly then." "It''s too long for a nap!" "You clearly don''t know how to nap properly kitten." "I don''t need to nap for over a week!" "Then you''re doing naps wrong." "Argh! Why did you have to sleep for so long?! I have so many questions about magic Master! Do you know anything about [Affinity Layering]? Why don''t I have any affinities on the tester? Why are my affinities locked behind some weird thing in my core? What am I supposed to do with this spell that''s ready to evolve?" Shiori stared at Jun for a moment. "What do you mean a ''weird thing'' in your core? Describe it," Shiori ordered, her tone serious as her aura started to press down on the room. Feeling her Master''s oppressive aura, Jun quickly described the strange membrane with the heat behind it and how resisted her efforts to try and break past it. Shiori stared at Jun for a moment before shaking her head in an all too human-like manner, her aura changing to that of a disapproving parent. "My stupid kitten," she said with a sigh. "You''ve been poking at the seal keeping the [Soul Parasite] contained. Stop doing that. You''ll just hurt yourself." Jun''s eyes widened in realization at how dangerous her poking around at things she didn''t understand had been. In hindsight it made sense, but she''d been caught up in how badly she was being left behind in her Practical Spellcasting class. After a week and a half, only a few of the students had failed to cast an affinity aspected spell, and Jun was the last remaining who''d started with their core already established. Deflated, Jun mentally reprimanded herself for trying to push ahead without her Master''s help. "We all make mistakes, and it is usually the role of the apprentice or disciple to rush ahead, experimenting with things they barely understand, hurting themselves in the process. It is the role of the Master to guide the disciple along the Path, but it is the disciple''s role to push forward. You simply did as many before you have done before. Your Path is just one with far steeper consequences for failure." Shiori''s aura lightened until it felt like a warm and comforting hug. "To your other questions, [Affinity Layering] is a mere parlor trick. Where did you hear about it and why do you want to know it?" Shiori demanded. Jun recapped the past week and a half of lessons, about how Sam tested their affinities, her lack of any, and the power of the spells her classmates were using through [Affinity Layering], especially her new friend Aya. She told Shiori about how the heat leaking from her core led her to the seal, and how she thought it might be an affinity that just slipped under the tester. "It seems I have been remiss as your Master in educating you properly. That changes now. Do you know what affinities are kitten?" Jun nodded as she pulled up what she could recall from her professors'' lectures and studying sessions on Arcana Theory. "Affinities are a measurement of the strength of one''s connection to different types of mana. An affinity for a type of mana makes it easier to touch and control that type of mana and enhances spells within its domain," she said, paraphrasing something that Sam had said. "Partially correct. It isn''t affinities directly, but aspected mana that can enhance spells that fall within their domains. A strong affinity for a particular aspect of mana will make it easier to control and influence mana with that aspect. It is this greater control over a particular property of mana that affects the performance of spells. Spells that take advantage of specific properties of mana are enhanced only in that less energy is wasted on conversion from one type of mana to another. Affinities allow magi to ''naturally'' convert mana without spending mana on doing so, making them more efficient and leaving more mana to use within a spell." Shiori''s tail started to flick back and forth as she started to lecture. "Mana in it''s neutral form is equally balanced, able to utilize all of its properties equally, yet excelling at no specific property. When affinities convert mana, they are destabilizing mana in a specific way that emphasizes certain properties while minimizing others. Fire mana as an example emphasizes energy transfer and combustion, among other things. Such mana is more efficient at converting mana into heat and flames than balanced mana, but far less efficient at neutralizing or blocking physical objects. Thus, a magi might rely upon a fire affinity to aspect their mana for attacks, which would provide an increase in power and efficiency. However, that same mana would be less effective in defenses, requiring far more mana to block an attack than an affinity such as Water or Earth." "But what do you mean that [Affinity Layering] is just a trick? I''ve seen Aya''s Novice ranked [Fire Bolt]. She''s incredibly powerful compared to me..." "[Affinity Layering] works by routing mana channeled into spells through the affinities of a magi''s core, allowing them to convert mana for free, limited only by the size of their affinities. While useful for low cost spells, the size of one''s affinities limits the speed and flexibility of their casting with [Affinity Layering]. Your friend Aya''s spells may be impressive now, but no matter how strong her affinity, eventually it will only hold her back unless she learns not to rely upon it." Jun was silent as she thought over the implications of what Shiori was saying. "So... what it means is that I''ll be able to catch up without affinities?" she said, hope blossoming in her chest. "What it means for you, kitten, is that your mana is stable and perfectly balanced, with all properties in alignment. Your lack of affinities is a blessing, not a curse. With the proper techniques and practice, you have the potential to reach the heights of true power." Shiori paused, fixing Jun with a stare. "Techniques you have already begun learning." "I have taught you how to manipulate the aspects of a spellform to alter a spell''s performance and how to alter the flow of mana into a spell to change its intensity. While you have done well in applying these techniques to [Piercing Missile], you have neglected your other spell. Tonight, you shall practice with [Barrier]. Apply these techniques to the spell and explore it," Shiori commanded. Bowing her head in acknowledgement, Jun pulled up the System description of her spell as she looked at the spellform sitting in her mind. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
[Barrier] (Apprentice 4)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. Cost: variable.
Somewhere along the way, it had somehow lost the minimum, even though Jun had rarely practiced it. Pulling a tendril of mana from her core, Jun moved it through the 4 sided pyramid shaped spellform, probing at different glyphs and subglyphs. As her mana tendril touched each symbol, understanding slowly trickled into her mind. Rigidity, stability, manifestation, absorption, reflection, and a hundred more sub aspects of the primary concepts. Carefully, she fed her mana into the spell, feeding each of the symbols the minimum of mana and willing the spell to coalesce. A small, round plate of her mana appeared, the lower amount of mana rendering it less substantial. Her instincts told her that it was weak, the mana evenly spread to try and do everything, and thus would shatter against anything. Holding onto the original spell, Jun pulled a new mana tendril and began to feed the symbols within the spellform, powering some to the bare minimum, while increasing the mana to others. Following her instincts, she willed the spell into existence and stared in shock at what appeared. The barrier spell drooped flacidly, reminding Jun of a melting clock rather than a plate. Her instincts told her it would deform around a strike, absorbing the energy of a blow, but a slash would carve straight through it. She pulled up another tendril of mana, changing the symbols she powered, adding and subtracting mana where she thought it would yield the results she wanted. Again and again she coalesced new versions of the barrier spell as she figured out what each of the symbols did. Those she deemed failures she discarded, pulling the mana out of the spell and letting it vanish, only to create a new version. When she stumbled upon the symbols that affected the spell''s shape, she changed things even more. Instead of plates, Jun manifested spells of thin layers built on top of each other, bowls, spikes, and even a tiny suit of armor though it was weak and purely for show. As her mana ran low, Jun slumped to the bed to rest, letting her core refill. "Well done kitten. As you have learned, spells are malleable things. You can control the amount of mana to feed into a specific symbol to alter its performance, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in much greater ways. This is just the beginning, as spellforms are not the only malleable things. Mana itself is malleable as well." A ball of mana appeared in the air, glowing the light purple of Shiori''s magic. As Jun watched, the ball changed, taking on a red glow as it burst into flames, sending off a wave of heat. The heat cut off as the ball changed again, solidifying into a rock, then freezing over as it became ice, before bursting into a swirling ball of air. "Mana can be manipulated and changed directly, without relying upon your affinities, to give you the effects you want. [Affinity Layering] is merely a trick relying upon the crutch of your core, limited by your affinities. Directly changing the face of your mana allows for¡ª" The ball changed again, splitting into dozens and dozens of smaller balls, each taking on a different face, a different aspect. The motes of mana squeezed together, forming an ever shifting ball of aspects and colors. "¡ªmore." Shiori finished, letting the ball wink out of existence. Jun stared at Shiori, all thoughts of the jealousy she felt as her classmates cast their spells forgotten. "Please teach me, Master." Shiori nodded and began to lecture Jun through the technique. Jun learned to summon a simple ball of mana without a spellform by weaving tendrils of mana together into a ball and pushing it from her channels, though it took all of Jun''s focus and several hours of practice to learn. That was the easy part. The hard part was in carefully shifting all of the mana to take on the properties of fire. As dawn rose the next morning, Jun still struggled to do more than maintain her ball of mana and she was forced to stop for her classes. Jun struggled to stay awake through the repetitive lessons on Math, Science, and History, firming her resolve to test out of the classes as soon as possible. After a light lunch that consisted mostly of tea, since coffee didn''t seem to exist, Jun had her afternoon physical and weapons training. Here the lack of sleep dragged her down, making every exercise feel 10 times harder than the week before. Her weapons training was even more of a disaster, fumbling to the point that she''d dropped her weapons multiple times and been berated by the Sergeant. She didn''t miss how some of the students smirked at her and seemed to delight in her being singled out, but was too tired to care. Immediately after class Cecilia all but carried her back to her bed, where Jun passed out and slept through the night. Her every free moment became consumed with practicing the mana shifting technique. After 2 weeks of relentless practice, Jun was finally able to shift some of her mana to fire. After Jun managed to shift her mana, it was time for her learn to cast while shifting her mana. On Fifth Day of third week of term, just a day after Jun managed to shift her mana for the first time, Jun was excited for her next Practical Spellcasting class. After working closely with Shiori to learn her new technique, she''d finally grasped the basics and was able to create a flaming [Barrier] using fire aspected mana, though Jun erred on the side of safety in not trying to work on her offensive spell in her flammable dorm room. She''d asked her Master about at least evolving it, but Shiori stated that Jun should only evolve it when inspiration struck, not just because the System offered her the option. As she stood with Aya in the spellcasting range, she closed her eyes, tuning out the sounds of her classmates casting spells and focused on her mana. Pulling a tendril from her core, she painstakingly shifted the mana according to Shiori''s lessons into a fire aspect. Inspired by an idea, she fed the whole of the tendril into a single glyph controlling the spell''s impact before spooling up new tendrils and shifted them into more fire. The spellform in her mind began to glow red hot with flames as she opened her eyes and smiled with a nod at Aya. Returning her smile, Aya motioned for her to go ahead, and Jun coalesced her spell. A red orb the size of her head appeared in front of her and compacted down to the size of her fist. Energy roiled inside the sphere as Jun targeted the dummy at the end of the range. With a thought, she unleashed her spell and it raced down the lane, leaving a trail of flames in its wake. "[Fireball]," Jun whispered happily as her spell struck the dummy and winked out of existence. Disappointed, Jun''s smile started to turn into a frown at her failed spell when the dummy exploded in a wave of heat and flames, parts of the dummy flying towards her classmates! As if time slowed to a crawl, Jun saw the shrapnel headed straight for them and rushed to channel as much mana as she could into her [Barrier] spell, but there wasn''t enough time. In the blink of an eye, her vision was filled with a cloud of flaming shrapnel headed straight for her and Aya, her friend still recoiling from the sudden explosion. Though mana could move quickly, Jun couldn''t form the tendril fast enough to feed it into her spell, and she was certain she''d just killed herself, her friend, and her classmates. A barrier across the entirety of the range lit up as the flaming shrapnel collided with it. The air filled with smoke as her classmates screamed, many in the process of ducking for cover as the shrapnel bounced off the barrier. As the smoke cleared, Jun and Aya stared at the dummy her spell hit, or what was left of it. The entire area around it was scorched black, and the two adjacent dummies were peppered with shards of metal and stone. "Wow Jun, nice spell!" her friend said with a giggle, patting Jun on the back. "Miss Jun, congratulations are in order!" Sam said as he briskly walked over to them. "It took you longer than normal to figure out how to [Affinity Shift], but you made up for it with a nice show," he said with a smile. "Though, perhaps tone it down for future classes, you shouldn''t scare your classmates like that," he said quietly, gesturing her classmates, some of whom were still picking themselves up from the ground. Stammering out an apology, Jun ducked her head as her cheeks started to warm. "S-Sorry Sam," she said quietly. Her professor nodded, before turning to the rest of the class with a smile. "Well, I think that''s enough excitement for the day. Let''s call it a bit early shall we?" As her classmates filed out from the room, more than a few shot glares at her, though a couple students gave her approving nods before they left. Jun and Aya were the last pair to leave. "So," Aya said with a smile. "That was awesome, you should blow up a dummy every class!"
Sam waited until the last of his students left before locking the door to the range behind them. Finally alone, he dropped his smile and massaged his aching cheeks as he looked at the damage to the room. The girl who''d cast that spell was Jun, he thought to himself. A bronze ranked student who always paired up with Aya, another bronze ranked student. He''d had his eye on them since he got the class roster, if for no other reason than their names were a bit strange for bronze ranks. Traditional names were usually reserved for old noble families. Or those who came from the Empire. But neither girl seemed the type, and their student profiles only noted that both were scholarship students. With Aya, she seemed to fit the mold. The girl had already demonstrated spells with all 6 basic affinities, while the next most advanced student was Lord Myron who''d only managed 4. On the other hand was Jun, who until today hadn''t managed a single affinity aspected spell. She was slow and Sam had dismissed her as useless, only interesting for her lack of recordable affinities. One girl who''d effortlessly mastered all of the basic affinities in 3 weeks. Another who struggled with the easiest one. Both far more powerful than their peers. Two opposing sides of a coin. Eyeing the slowly recovering room, Sam smirked and muttered to himself. "Looks like there''s 2 worth special attention..." Chapter 37: Progress After her first use of a mana shifted spell, the technique just seemed to click for her and shifting her mana to fire became easier, though using [Mana Shift] seemed slower than her classmates using [Affinity Layering]. Where it took her a couple seconds to shift her mana to fire, she knew that Aya could snap out an aspected spell near instantly just by running a mana tendril through her affinity Jun had to concentrate on manually changing her mana, and Shiori explained that it only worked when you had a concrete understanding of an aspect. For her, the only one she seemed able to grasp was fire. She had a visceral understanding of that element. She could still sometimes feel a phantom lick of flame on her body, especially when she shifted her mana to fire. Desperate for more time to practice her magic and learn from her Master, Jun decided to take Sara and Gareth''s advice and try to test out of her morning classes. The time spent on them was time that she could spend training and catching up, and between her studying with Sara and her enhanced memory, she barely learned anything in the classes. But being well prepared for a class was far different from learning months worth of lessons on 3 subjects in just a few days. It was a near impossible feat, one Jun wasn''t able to achieve. But where her attempt to learn the material failed, her Master found a different way. The night before she was scheduled to take the first of her exams, Shiori had disappeared for an hour before returning and dropping a stack of papers on her desk. They were the answer keys to each of the tests Jun scheduled to take. Jun had panicked at being handed the answer keys so easily, but Shiori had insisted, saying that even if Jun didn''t use them, she would pass her tests. "I''ll make sure of it," her Master had said. After her months of talking to Shiori, Jun had learned to read the cat''s body language, and what she saw scared her. Cheating on a few tests was better than a bunch of dead or mauled professors, Jun rationalized as she started memorizing the answer keys. Three days later, Sara and Cecilia dragged her and Shiori out to a restaurant in the Noble District to celebrate, where Gareth, Lane, Corin, and Aya were waiting to surprise her. Gareth rented out a private room at the restaurant, where they dined on a specially tailored menu that seemed to hit every one of Jun''s tastebuds perfectly. They even prepared special dishes for Shiori despite her friends thinking Shiori was Jun''s pet. After dinner Sara and Cecilia dragged Jun and Aya out dancing. It was a fun celebration even if it ended with a bar fight after a drunk man groped Jun''s rear. Cecilia had all but beaten the drunk man bloody, and Sara had casually relieved the man of his purse for the offense. What surprised her the most was Aya, whom Jun had to talk out of burning down the club after security escorted them out. She didn''t miss how Shiori disappeared after the girls were kicked out, but chose not to question her Master when she rejoined the girls a few minutes later. She definitely didn''t turn to watch the squad of heavily armed guards sprinting towards the club nor did she hear the screaming coming from the club''s direction. The end of the night found the four girls chatting in Jun, Sara, and Cecilia''s dormitory Luckily after she''d pulled off her fire spell, Practical Spellcasting had moved on to teaching defensive spells. Sam taught the class the [Shield] spell, though Jun was the only one unable to learn it as her [Barrier] spell was already an upgraded version of it. Their practice became each pair alternating between offense and defense, with the goal of protecting the training dummy from their partner''s spells or hitting the dummy through a shield. Sam and his assistants also stopped allowing the students to choose their partners and instead people rotated randomly. Aya quickly became the most feared on offense, her creative use of affinity empowered spells shattering shield after shield, though no one seemed surprised by her performance. What did surprise people was Jun''s own performance. Despite her [Piercing Missile] being known to be at Apprentice rank and Jun managing to utterly destroy a training dummy, something not even Aya had managed, Jun still carried a reputation amongst her classmates as being ''talentless." Many of her classmates said that her mana shifted spell was just a fluke or that the training dummy had been defective and weakened by weeks of Aya pumping powerful spells into it. Only Aya and Sam seemed to believe in her, but that was more than enough. Jun''s first partner in Practical Spellcasting after the switch was a silver medallion wearing boy named Masato. When they first met, Jun learned 3 things from the boy''s introduction. Masato was the son of a Viscount in the Duchy of Greygarten, also had Apprentice rank spells, and he was a pervert. "You''re a pretty thing, though your tits are pathetic," he said by way of greeting. "I am Masato, heir to Viscount Hitoshi of Greygarten Duchy, I will give you the honor of receiving my thrust, so go ahead and cast your [Shield] spell wench." The entitled prick of a noble''s words pissed Jun off. Perhaps it was because she''d been sheltered by her friends this whole time, but she hadn''t met anyone this bad in the city before. She''d certainly overheard some comments, but she''d shrugged it off as just bravado and pointless posturing. But this boy was just a pervert and a predator. Cheeks flaming with rage, Jun refused to respond and just channeled her mana into her [Barrier] spell, adding multiple modifications and devoting a full half of her mana pool to strengthening the shield. She''d also learned a new trick from Shiori''s guidance and shifted some mana into fire and fed it to the negation aspect of her spell. If she did it right, it would consume some of the mana from anything that struck it and use it to fuel itself, making her spell stronger. Jun''s spell materialized as a vaguely pink transparent oval with the rim tapering towards the dummy that it fully covered. Spell cast, she turned to the pervert she was partnered with and stared at him expectantly, her arms crossed across her chest. Masato seemed to misread her flushed cheeks and body language as he smiled disgustingly. "My, you got ready to receive me quickly. You''re quite eager aren''t you? Don''t worry, I''ll be gentle even with my Apprentice rank spells. [Fire Javelin]!" he shouted, as if announcing his spell would make it more impressive. As his spell coalesced Jun had to admit it was impressive. Where the Novice ranked [Fire Dart] was like a small arrow of flame, and Ava''s [Fire Bolt] was more like an arrow, Masato''s [Fire Javelin] was a massive spell near as long as she was tall and made up of fiery red and orange flames. Standing near it was like standing near a campfire as it radiated heat before lancing off to strike her [Barrier]. But like all boys more confident in their gifts than they should be, his skills were lacking. Even as the spell flew, Jun instinctively knew that much of the spell''s mana was tied up in flourishes that made it look impressive but didn''t do anything for performance. As it struck her spell, the spear of fire exploded, obscuring the target in flames as Masato turned with a triumphant look on his face. Jun could tell from her connection to her spell that her barrier still held. The spell''s impact had barely eaten into the mana she''d empowered her spell with, barely weakening her barrier by 10 of the 70 points of mana she''d devoted to her barrier''s stability alone. The heat of the flames ate away another 3 points of mana. But the flourishes to make the boy''s spell visually impressive had made up more than half of the mana in it, and that mana just fed Jun''s spell, making it even stronger. As the flames were slowly sucked into her shield, Jun absentmindedly muttered a single word as she analyzed her spell''s performance. "Weak," Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Jun didn''t realize she''d said it out loud until she noticed Masato''s perverted face twist with rage. "What did you say, you slut bitch?!" he screamed, drawing the attention of their classmates as Jun recoiled a bit. She''d been pissed and hated the pervert, but she hadn''t meant to speak her mind, wanting to just get through it as quickly as possible while still trying her best. But that ship had sailed. Steeling herself, Jun glared back as she took a steadying breath and spoke, her voice shaking with anger. "I said you''re weak," she hissed. Most of her classmates stared at Jun as they realized they''d rarely heard the girl talk, and certainly never defended herself before. Only Aya didn''t seem to be surprised, smiling encouragingly at Jun from the corner of her vision. "I''ll show you who''s weak whore! I''ll make you beg for mercy while you service me!" screaming with rage, Masato channeled an even larger [Fire Javelin] and sent it screaming at Jun''s barrier. Her classmates watched wide-eyed as the spell collided with Jun''s barrier, washing it in flames. They were certain Jun''s spell had been broken, only for gasps to break out around the range as the flames cleared to see her barrier still standing strong. Snarling, Masato manifested spell after spell, the lances of fire rhythmically thumping into Jun''s barrier every few seconds and washing the entire far end of the range in flames. Soon, the boy leaned against the low counter separating the students from the shooting lanes, his face covered in sweat as he gasped for breath. After a handful of seconds the flames subsided and Masato''s eyes widened to see Jun''s barrier glowing brightly, seemingly even stronger than when she''d first cast it. "What?" he said, stumbling as he pushed himself upright, disbelief on his face. "No one''s barrier could withstand that many [Fire Javelin]s! You cheated!" he screamed, pointing his finger accusingly at Jun. Jun stared hotly at the boy, her fist clenched as she fought the desire to punch him in his pampered face. As she tried to calm down, she missed the glint of savagery in his eyes before he brought his fist up, throwing a sucker punch right for Jun''s face! The slapping sound of flesh on flesh filled the room as the boy''s meaty fist slammed into Harold''s hand. The older student looked disdainfully down his nose at Masato as he moved to stand between him and Jun. "Enough. You''re a disgrace to your station, Masato," the older student growled. "Harold, release the poor boy," Sam said, moving to join his assistant. His eyebrow raised, he stared at Harold until the older student released Masato with a scowl. Nodding at his assistant, Sam turned to Masato and bowed slightly. "Please remember that this is a school and act in a respectful manner appropriate with your station, Lord Masato," Sam said neutrally. "She cheated! I want her expelled and handed over to me for punishment immediately!" Masato demanded with a wild look on his face. "I didn''t cheat, you vulgar brat," Jun spat, her anger finally overcoming her restraint. "You''re just mad that your spell sucks!" "Student Jun! I ask that you refrain from provoking your classmates," Sam said in the same neutral voice. Jun managed to get her anger in check before she lashed out at her Professor and gritted her teeth. Turning back to Masato, Sam continued speaking in a even tone with his head slightly bowed. "I''m afraid I can''t allow that, Lord Masato. No school rules were broken and Jun legitimately cast the spell herself." "I refuse to believe some commoner whore could cast a defensive spell that I can''t break! She must have used a spell stone!" "As your Professor and a Master Magi, I can feel the threads of mana binding Jun''s spell to her. She cast the spell herself without aid. Her [Barrier] is clearly the type of spell that can consume opposing mana to enhance itself. She used your own mana against you." Sam finally said with authority as his aura lightly pressed down on the surrounding students. Gulping as fear crossed his face, Masato relented. "Fine, but I still think she''s a cheater. I refuse to deal with her again." "Very well, Lord Masato. Please go and rest and recover your mana." Sam gestured to the doors to the range, where there was a study area immediately outside the doors. Nodding as if that was what he wanted all along, the proud boy stomped out the door with his head held high as the assembled students watched him go. As the doors closed behind him, Sam turned back to the remaining students. "Well? Get back to practice the rest of you," he said with a smile as if what had just happened was nothing to see. With a few uneasy glances at Sam, Harold, and Jun, most of the students went back to their positions. All except Aya, who lingered until Jun made eye contact with her and shook her head, and Stephanie who moved to join the three of them with an unreadable look on her face. "Don''t mind Masato," Sam said with a smile at Jun. Don''t mind the predatory asshole after the things he said? Jun raged at the Professor''s lukewarm response. That piece of shit said such vulgar things to her, and this man who''s supposed to be her Professor kissed his ass rather than reprimand him. Disgusted with her teacher, Jun was unphased at the man''s handsome smile. The only heat she felt in her cheeks was anger at him for kissing a noble''s ass. Before she could unleash her anger at the man that controlled her grades, Jun''s self-control caught up with her emotions as she swallowed her anger. "Fine." Jun said tersely, refusing the look her Professor in the eyes as she smoldered. Frowning, Sam turned to look at his assistants. "Harold, keep an eye on the students, Stephanie, partner with Jun while Masato recovers," Sam said before turning his back on Jun. Harold and Stephanie shared a quick look behind Sam''s back before Stephanie nodded. "Understood Professor," they chorused. Jun turned to stare at her [Barrier] still hanging in front of the dummy, ignoring Sam, Harold, and Stephanie as disgust at the whole class ate at her. Jun blinked as she felt the movement of crisp and cool mana coming from Stephanie as the older woman cast a spell. The sounds of her classmates talking and casting spells winked out, leaving the two of them in silence. "So, that was your first true experience with a nobleman, wasn''t it?" Silently nodding, Jun continued to stare at her barrier spell as it stood strong. "I figured," she said with a sigh. "Are you okay?" "Can they hear us?" Jun asked quietly, her voice shaking a bit. "No, I cast a privacy spell. You can speak freely if you want." "I just... he said such disgusting things and no one spoke up. No one stopped him until he tried to attack me. Why?" A tear leaked from her eye as she started to shake. A loud sigh escaped the older woman''s lips as she leaned against the counter, looking at Jun''s spell. Lazily, a light blue spell coalesced and shot forward, forming into a spike of ice that shot off and shattered against Jun''s barrier. Jun couldn''t help but notice that her barrier''s reserve of mana shrunk slightly without replenishing as the spell hit it. "Most nobles treat us commoners as little more than tools to be used," Stephanie said as another spike of ice hit her barrier and drained a bit more energy. "Men are used up and thrown away once they can no longer fight or labor, and women are treated worse. The pretty ones tend to attract the worst attention and are used until their beauty fades and are discarded." Every few seconds, a new spike of ice formed and struck Jun''s barrier as Stephanie spoke. "I don''t agree with what Sam did, kissing that boy''s ass, but Masato is a higher noble than Sam is. The only reason Harold got away with blocking that punch is because his father is the head of Duke Brightmane''s knights. And the only reason you didn''t get thrown to him for punishment is that you didn''t do anything wrong, though you didn''t win any friends amongst the nobles like Masato today for showing him up." Jun''s barrier had shrunk to half it''s original strength. "Be careful of that ''vulgar brat,''" she said as a spear of ice the size of her arm formed in front of her and lanced through Jun''s spell, shattering it as it impaled the target dummy. "Though that''s a good barrier you have there. Put a couple of those between the you and him and he''ll never touch you," she said with a warm smile. Chapter 38: Shields are Underrated Jun dodged back, her shield held forward to foul her opponent''s angles of attack. Her opponent''s sword bounced off the barrier and Jun reset her stance, eyes peeking over her shield to watch for the next attack. Her opponent, a girl named Melody, was a girl of above average height with long blonde hair and an athletic build. On Earth Jun would have called her a surfer or skater girl, but she wasn''t sure either of those things even existed on Merinthia. Melody shifted her feet and shoulders as she glared. Another attack was coming. The blonde swordswoman burst forward in a flurry of quick steps as she began her attack. Jun angled her shield up as she ducked down, deflecting the first thrust up and away. She sprung away and to the side to avoid the obvious follow up she wouldn''t see because of her block, and had just enough time to reposition her shield to take a backhanded slash on its face. Jun backed away from the other girl until her back bumped into the barrier of the ring. "Nowhere left to run," Melody growled as she stalked forward, her blade and shield held ready. "Quit running and hiding behind your shield like a coward!" Roaring, Melody shield charged at Jun, intending to crush her between the blonde''s greater strength and the barrier. Jun counter-charged shield first, using the barrier as a springboard to gain a little more momentum. The two combatants'' shields met in a crash of metal and wood that rang around the arena. Melody''s greater mass, strength, and leverage won as Jun bounced off her shield and went stumbling to the side, but now it was Melody who pressed against the arena barrier. Catching her balance, Jun moved forward, her shield and blade held ready. Her opponent sprung forward, her blade angled downward as it snaked for Jun''s legs. Instincts screaming, she kept her shield high and moved to parry with her blade, only to meet air. It was a feint. The blonde''s thrust transitioned into an upward slash, avoiding her blade entirely. Good thing she was better with a shield than a sword. Catching the slash with her shield, Jun angled the blow away, throwing Melody off balance for the briefest of moments. A moment that Jun capitalized on as she slashed with her sword. Melody turned with her sword, dodging Jun''s retaliatory blow and escaping the pin against the barrier wall. Frantically, Jun turned just in time to deflect a swipe at her kidneys, but her back was pressed against the edge of the arena again. The blonde pressed her advantage in a flurry of attacks that ended with Jun''s sword sent spinning across the sand filled arena. "It''s over now tramp," Melody chuckled darkly as she moved in for the kill. Melody threw a series of stabs at Jun that she desperately deflected as she tried to move along the barrier''s edge to her sword, but Melody kept cutting her off, preventing her from escaping the section of barrier. As good as she was with a shield, Melody was better with a sword. Jun wouldn''t beat her by playing to the other girl''s strengths. If she were permitted to use magic, things would be far different. "You talk a lot," Jun wheezed, her arm growing tired. The other girl was nearly as fast as she was and far stronger, her height also giving her the advantage of leverage. Dodging back along the barrier again, Jun eyed her sword laying in the sand beyond Melody. A desperate idea came to her mind. It was the only option she had left. Jun waited until Melody committed and blocked the girl''s overhead slash with her shield as she moved with the blow, reducing the force but also losing her balance as she fell to the ground. Rolling to the side immediately, she heard a loud thump as Melody''s sword slammed into the ground where Jun''s head had just been. Not wasting any time, Jun rolled to her feet, her agility and dexterity making the move smooth and graceful as she stood to Melody''s side. As the blonde tugged her sword out of the sand, Jun turned and sprinted for her sword. As she bent down to pick it up her instincts told her to dodge and she did, narrowly avoiding Melody''s thrown shield as her hand closed around sand instead of the grip of her sword. Weaponless, Jun spun around with her shield held up just in time to block a furious two-handed blow that sent her stumbling back. "Never turn your back on your enemy, you honorless bitch," Melody hissed. "Never trust your enemy to fight with honor," Jun retorted, flinging a handful of sand in the girl''s face. With a shriek of pain, Melody stepped back, her sword flailing one handed as she blinked and tried to rub the sand from her eyes. Charging in, Jun deflected a wild blow as she stepped into the the girl''s range. Before Melody could recover, Jun threw a brutal right hook that crashed into the girl''s jaw, knocking her back. Dazed and blinded, Melody didn''t react in time as Jun punched the rim of her shield into the girl''s sword wrist, disarming her and shattering her wrist with the heavy plate of steel rimmed wood. Jun followed up with a shield bash that knocked the girl onto her back, before she mounted Melody and tapped the rim of her shield to the other girl''s throat. "Break!" Cecilia cried as the barrier surrounding the arena fell. Chest heaving, Jun got off the other girl and stepped away, guilt at breaking her wrist starting to eat at her, though it was quickly smothered by the anger she felt at the casual insults hurled her way. A student healer rushed into the arena, the girl shooting Jun a dirty look before she knelt in the sand and grabbed Melody''s broken wrist, the amulet around her neck beginning to glow. "Well done student," the Sergeant said with a nod. "Rack your weapons and rejoin your classmates." "Yes Sergeant!" Jun saluted the man before glancing at Melody being tended by the healer. Sighing, she stooped over and grabbed the other girl''s sword, noticing the Sergeant raise an eyebrow at her but saying nothing. Taking it as permission to liberally interpret the man''s orders, Jun turned and retrieved her own sword and Melody''s shield before returning both sets of training weapons to the racks around the arena. Task completed, she moved to the set of bleachers, ignoring the glares and dirty looks she got from some of the other girls and the leers from some of the boys. After a minute, the healer helped Melody up and whispered something into her ears that the blonde swordswoman nodded along to. Grimacing, the girl left the arena while cradling her wrist against her chest and sat in the bleachers with the rest of the students, pointedly ignoring Jun as she did. As the student healer moved to rejoin the other healers and the student assistants, the Sergeant slowly spun in a circle as he eyed the first year combat skills students. "Can anyone explain why the fight turned out the way it did?" Several students coughed and raised their hands. "You," the Sergeant said, pointing at well-built boy. The student stood up with military precision and saluted the Sergeant, a silver medallion around his neck. "Sir, student Jun blinded student Melody with sand. Student Melody would have won after disarming student Jun if she hadn''t used a dishonorable tactic, sir!" Many of the students nodded and shot dirty looks at Jun or pitying looks at Melody. "Your name, student?" the Sergeant asked, a single eyebrow raised. "Carson Ironheart, sir!" "Related to the Ironheart Knight Order no doubt," the Sergeant said. Carson nodded. "My father is Order Master Leon Ironheart, sir." The Sergeant nodded. "I have no doubts that Sir Ironheart taught you about honorable combat and knightly conduct, but your answer is wrong. Among knights and nobles," the Sergeant sneered," ''honorable combat'' is just some vain attempt at civilizing the brutality of combat and violence. All of you are in this course to learn how to be soldiers, whether you go on to be a soldier, adventurer, or baker. It is every citizen''s duty to be ready to fight should the King demand it, and if we''re handing out swords to bakers, then we''re far past prettying up combat for noble sensibilities. Honor doesn''t matter on the battlefield, only survival. Student Jun did what she needed to do to survive and win. Sit down, student Ironheart." Frowning, the boy sat back down as the class exchanged glances. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Student Melody made 3 mistakes. First, she believed her opponent disarmed when student Jun''s sword was knocked from her hand, but her opponent was able to fend her off with just her shield. Second, she disarmed herself by throwing her shield away to prevent her opponent from getting her sword. Third, her opponent was still armed." The Sergeant eyed the students as he moved to the rack and picked up one of the shields. "The shield is often overlooked. It is considered armor for defense and protection, something to be used only to defend yourself and not as valuable as a sword. This was student Melody''s mistake, one many a warrior has made in the past, and one that student Jun did not make. A shield lacks a cutting edge. It lacks range, and it can be unwieldy and harder to maneuver. However as student Jun demonstrated, it can still be used as a weapon. What it lacks in range and a cutting edge, it makes up for with the ability to defend and crush. Student Jun shattered student Melody''s wrist, and had the fight been real, would have crushed her throat. Yes, student Jun blinded her opponent with sand, which is a valid tactic. She used what tools she had available to win. She used everything she had as a weapon and never stopped fighting, and that is why she beat her opponent." The Sergeant made eye contact with Jun and nodded approvingly. "Class dismissed."
Jun hurried back to her dormitory to wash up after her combat skills class. She''d been among the first to leave the bleachers, but hadn''t been fast enough to avoid hearing her classmates mutter about her fight with Melody. She''d won and the Sergeant had complimented her performance, but her classmates still insulted her. She heard the word "dishonorable" and "underhanded" several times before she managed to walk out of the training field. Still, her classmates'' criticisms didn''t bother her like they used to. A month had passed since the start of term, a full 35 days. Five weeks of training had changed her, hardened her. Her frame was still slim, but her muscles were toned and hard as steel. Her increased stats from leveling, training, and cultivation left her in better shape than she had ever been. The extra time she had to rest and train with her friends in the mornings combined with [Fast Learner] had seen her skills explode with progress. Holding a sword was uncomfortable for her, but she''d managed to gain some basic proficiency with it. It was when Gareth had started teaching her how to weave a shield into attacks that something clicked. Her skill with shields soon outpaced her skill with the sword, and she''d found herself thinking of her [Barrier] spell as another form of shield. Her status showed impressive growth from her first day at the Academy and had grown so unwieldy that she''d hidden many of the things she didn''t need to track, such as her karma and titles.
Name: Jun
Titles: [COLLAPSED]
Level: 26 (+7) (37/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 210/210
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 1)
Stats: MIND - 42 (+4)
CON - 46 (+5)
STR - 40 (+4)
AGI - 48 (+3)
DEX - 50 (+2)
CHA - 58 (+7)
SPR - 53 (+5)
Traits: (5/5) [COLLAPSED]
Skills: [Body Cleansing] (Novice 15) (+1)
[Mental Resistance] (Novice 4) (+3)
[Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 25) [Evolve? Y/N]
[Barrier] (Apprentice 18) (+14)
[Multi Casting] (Apprentice 15) (+3)
[Pain Resistance] (Novice 8) (+3)
[Unarmed Combat] (Novice 3) (+1)
[Basic Sword] (Novice 6) (+5)
[Basic Shield] (Novice 14) (+11)
[Mana Shift] (Novice 11) (+11)
After a quick bath and changing into a clean uniform from her training clothes, Jun met up with her friends in the cafeteria. Aya had joined the group regularly after their celebration, and her classmate had hit it off with Lane almost immediately. Jun wasn''t surprised to find out that Aya was fascinated with offensive magic, and it turned out that Lane had similar affinities as the first year. Aya soon joined Jun and Lane in their Arcana Theory lessons, and Gareth had even arranged for the 3 of them to use one of the Academy''s spell ranges on the last Seventh Day of the month. It shouldn''t have come as a surprise to find out that both Lane and Aya were pyromaniacs, but Jun hadn''t expected to walk into a range filled with flames as the two cackled maniacally. Somehow just based on Jun and Aya''s descriptions of Jun''s mana shifted spell, Lane had figured out his own version of the spell that was far more powerful. The sight of the room covered in flames as 2 of her friends laughed like demons had been disturbing, but the discomfort quickly passed as they did a version of the offense and defense drill. Since Jun''s [Barrier] had proven itself already, with only Stephanie having broken her shield spell in class, Jun volunteered to be on defense first. This proved to be a mistake. Jun''s barrier spells had become notorious in their Practical Spellcasting class, and when Lane had watched Aya''s mana layered spells break against Jun''s barrier, his competitive side came out. Aya and Lane had begun alternating increasingly powerful spells against Jun''s barrier Jun got in on the fun, experimenting with different types of barriers as she refined her use of the spell. Aya had been able to break a few of her weaker experiments, but Lane was the true threat as his extra years of training allowed him far more flexibility than Jun expected, even if the older student quickly learned that fire spells were especially bad against any barrier that glowed even slightly pink. As the game between the three progressed, Jun started adding barriers to the other dummies in the room, stretching her mana and attention to the limits while her friends competed to break her barriers using wider range attacks. The 3 only stopped their practice when Cecilia, Sara, and Shiori showed up with food and stayed to watch the mages continue their game. After a quick meal the game continued, with Jun making substantial progress as Shiori made quiet suggestions for improvement. Shiori even gave Jun''s friends some pointers using Jun as a medium, and both Lane and Aya improved as well, keeping the pressure on her. By the end of the day, Lane managed to shatter no less than 30 of Jun''s [Barrier]s, while Aya had managed a respectable 12, and Jun had managed to keep just under 50 of her barriers up.
[Barrier] (Apprentice 23) (+5)
An upgraded variant of the basic [Shield] spell. This spell is composed of the aspects for Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. May be further modified through application of additional aspects. Mana cost: varies
Chapter 39: Lets Form a Team! "Over the past 5 weeks, I have taught you about common enemies found in this region of the Forest of Kresh and the environments surrounding the city. We have discussed equipment, supplies, team composition, and small unit tactics. This has just been the basics. Many of your former classmates have dropped out of this class as the realities of serving as an adventurer and delving into dangerous places were made clear." Professor Galimund said seriously. The exodus of the first day had been the single largest one, but handfuls of students had simply stopped showing up over the last month and what had started as a class of well over 400 students dwindled until only a few dozen remained. "Those who have left this class voluntarily have done so without penalty and been allowed to register in other classes more fitting to their needs and interests, however today is the last opportunity to do so. In today''s class you will be making a team with your classmates and the remainder of the term shall be spent in the field. This is not to be taken lightly. Students have died in this portion of the course. If you are unwilling to take this risk, now is your last opportunity to leave this class without penalty. Should you remain, you will become part of a team that will depend on you to keep them alive just as you will depend upon them. If you leave after you have joined a team, you will be abandoning them to their deaths, and the penalties shall be severe." Professor Galimund''s aura descended upon the remaining students, feeling as if one of his gauntleted meaty hands rested upon each of their shoulders. "You have 10 minutes to make your final decision." The intimidating Vice Guild Leader sat down in his chair and began to work through several documents, seemingly ignoring the remaining students though his aura remained focused upon them. Murmured conversations broke out around the room, conversations that slowly grew louder as Professor Galimund continued to ignore them. Jun turned to Aya sitting next to her and nodded at her friend, who smiled back at her. "Are you planning to stay?" Jun asked quietly. "I am... I don''t mind a little bit of risk. It''s part of life and I''d rather face monsters head on rather than wait for them to come for me in my bed," Aya said as a far away look came over her. Aya stayed quiet for a few seconds before continuing as the look faded. "Besides, I can''t let all our spell practice go to waste, now can I?" she said with a tight smile. "You do have a talent for breaking things," Jun said with a quiet giggle. Her friend''s fiery personality seemed well suited to becoming an adventurer, and Aya''s skill with magic was in a league of her own among the first year students. Even Shiori had privately acknowledged to Jun that her friend was "skilled for a kitten." "What about you Jun?" Jun shrugged. She wasn''t a stranger to violence, but the thoughts of fighting dangerous monsters and sentient beings still gave her pause. As far as she''d come since leaving the Forest, she still had complicated feelings over the idea of killing. She''d talked it over with Shiori and her friends, but received contradictory answers. Shiori said that killing was part of life and inevitable. Jun had hunted for food to eat in the Forest and even though her Master was with her and had saved her several times, the cat made a point of saying that one day Jun would need to rely on her own skills and abilities. She wouldn''t be a kitten forever, and needed to be ready to kill to protect herself. Her friends had given different responses. Gareth and Lane had insisted that she could stay in a city and be protected by the guards and nobles who oversaw it if she wanted, and could live a life in peace. She could marry a man and raise a family, take up a trade, and stay safe behind high stone walls and powerful soldiers. Corin had suggested that she could take her talent in magic and learn to heal, even offering to tutor her in it. Despite the Academy having an entire course of study to train healers, the skill was rare and expensive. Several international churches provided healing to the masses, and there were even orders sponsored by the crown within Moros, but dedicated healers were uncommon. Training was expensive and mana was always in short supply. As a result, healers almost always wound up inducted into a church, order, service to a noble, or uncommonly the International Adventurers Guild. Independent healers didn''t remain independent for long. Cecilia suggested she could become an adventurer like her friends. She could protect others as an adventurer, pushing back the wild things from civilization and traveling where she wanted. She wouldn''t be restricted to a single role, dabbling in healing and all manner of combat, exploring lost ruins and distant places, and getting rich while doing it. Sara didn''t give a suggestion, only saying that life was long and whatever Jun chose to do, it should be something she enjoys doing. Both options offered by the men would see her safe, comfortable, and protected, possibly even happy. But they were gilded cages. Either option would leave Jun at the mercy of whoever she served, be it her husband, a church dedicated to a god she''d never heard of, a noble, the country, or an order dedicated to charity. As much as the idea of romance and safety intrigued her, she couldn''t see herself settling down with a man, not for long anyways; and while she loved the idea of caring for others, it wasn''t her either. If she were a healer, she would want to heal others, but she felt like she would grow exhausted and numb healing wounds and diseases until her mana drained. She would feel rooted to a single place, never able to leave in case of an emergency that required her. Even if she traveled around as a healer, it wouldn''t really change the fact that she''d be taking on the responsibility of healing others permanently. She would feel guilty taking time for herself if she dedicated her life to the path of a healer. How many people could she heal for the mana cost of continuing to cultivate her Path? How many would die because she took a day off, her mana regeneration going to waste while she rested? The path of a dedicated healer was a noble one, but not one for her. Shiori''s and Cecilia''s advice were similar. To be an adventurer was to survive, hunt, and kill. She would be placing herself in danger to protect others, but she would have freedom. She could pick her own tasks, beholden to her own choices and skills. Putting herself in danger scared her, but a part of her enjoyed the thrill. She enjoyed sparring with her friends even though she would never be a weapon master. She loved the idea of adventure, and while she didn''t like killing, she knew she was capable of it even if the act made her nauseous. But most importantly, she loved magic. Shiori''s lessons and her practices with Lane and Aya were the high points of her weeks. Whatever she did, she wanted to continue learning magic from her Master for as long as she could, but that would require freedom. They''d come to Forest''s Edge for her education, but she was sure Shiori would eventually want to leave, and when she did, Jun wanted to go with her. That would require the power to keep up and protect herself so she wouldn''t be a burden to her Master, and the freedom to do so. It felt like the right step to take on her Path. "I want to stay, but... I''m a bit scared," she confessed to Aya. Aya gently rubbed her back and smiled at her. "Do what makes you comfortable, but... if you stay behind a few of your barriers, I don''t think anything can hurt you. Especially with that new spell of yours that you still haven''t told me where you learned!" Aya said with a joking pout. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Feeling more secure in her decision, Jun and Aya quietly talked about what the teams might be like and who each of them might get grouped up with. As the minutes passed, a few students seemed to come to a decision and quietly left. Professor Galimund didn''t say a word as they did. After 10 minutes the Professor stood and slowly stretched, clearly dragging his feet as he walked to the door. None of the remaining students moved as he quietly stood by the door and eyed the remaining students. After a few seconds his oppressive aura lifted as Professor Galimund whistled into the hallway. Footsteps and the jingling of armor could be heard as more than a dozen adventurers filed into the room in a variety of armor and carrying all kinds of weapons, each of them proudly displaying a gold IAG medallion somewhere on their person. Most of them were human, though Jun noticed a couple elves and even a woman with animal ears and a fluffy tail, her face covered by a steel fox mask. As the last adventurer filed in, Professor Galimund shut the door and turned to address the remaining students. "These are all Gold ranked members of the IAG who have experience in training and leading new adventurers. They will be your advisors charged with keeping an eye on you in the field, As new adventurers, you will need to join an established team or form your own. The team you''re on is both responsible for your life and depending on you for theirs. As such, your assignment is to form a group of at least 4, but no more than 6, and choose a team leader. Once you have chosen a team, report to me and you will be assigned an advisor. Begin." Chatter broke up around the room as people turned to their friends first and started to break up into teams. Jun and Aya looked at each other at the same time and nodded. "Partner up?" they both asked at the same time. Jun giggled as Aya smiled widely. "Excellent! So if we''re going by the standard roles we have two mages and just need a front line fighter, a scout, and hopefully a supporter?" Aya said, pulling out a paper and pen and jotting down a quick list. Jun opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted as a trio of boys approached them. The lead boy put his hand on Jun''s shoulder as he leaned in, getting way too close. "Hello ladies," the lead said with a leering smile. Jun couldn''t help but notice his eyes flick down to her chest as he tried to look down her shirt, sending her skin crawling. "I''m Ivar, son of Alexi. I couldn''t help but overhear that you''re both mages, well you''re in luck! Me and my friends are all warriors, so we could protect a couple of pretty mages likes you girls," he said, licking the side of his mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Jun saw the two boys behind him casually smirk and flex their arms, showing off their muscles. It was a struggle for Jun to keep a straight face as her stomach roiled in revulsion. Ivar''s breath was bad, his close proximity filling her nose with the smell of poor hygiene and cheap cologne. "No thank you," Jun said, shrugging Ivar''s hand off her shoulder. The boy frowned at Jun''s rejection as he moved closer, pushing deeper into her personal space. "Are you sure? It can be dangerous out there. Wouldn''t you want a big strong man to protect you at night?" The boy flexed his impressive arm muscles at her, but Jun still leaned away in her seat. "She said no," Aya spoke up from behind her, iron in her voice, "so back off." "A couple girls like you will be dinner for goblins if you go out without men like us," Ivar said, his gaze hardening. "Yeah, you know what those green skinned bastards do to women they capture don''t you?" One of Ivar''s friends spoke up while the other snickered. "Or maybe you want to be captured?" Jun''s eyes hardened as she felt rage begin to boil over inside of her. That these idiots could so casually joke about that was disgusting. She could feel as Aya started to move her mana behind her, and she knew the fiery girl was angry. Things were about to get bad. As disgusting as the creeps were, they probably didn''t deserve to get burnt to a crisp. "Leave us alone," Jun said firmly as she started channeling mana into her spellforms. "Last warning," Aya hissed. "Women get riled up and emotional so easily don''t they?" the third boy said, elbowing the second. Ivar smirked. "This is exactly why you should join our team. You''re both too emotional to be let loose without a man leading you." Jun felt as Aya''s mana began to flow, but she was faster. A transparent pink barrier winked into existence between Jun and Ivar for a moment and shoved the boy away from her. As the boy went stumbling back into his friends, he let out a curse with a look of rage. "Why you¡ª" he started to snarl, but the boy was cut off as Jun''s second spell coalesced. Light blue glowing ropes of mana popped into existence and surrounded the 3 boys, tying them up and gagging them while they struggled. Holding the 3 of them took a surprising amount of effort as they struggled, the mana in her spell slowly depleting. As Jun''s anger faded, she remembered where she was and began to flush with embarrassment. Several of her classmates and the adventurer advisors watched her closely, but Professor Galimund was sitting at his desk reading a document as if he didn''t notice the short scuffle. Slowly, the students resumed their conversations as Professor Galimund ignored the 3 struggling boys, though she noticed a number of them casting furtive looks at her and Aya. Her friend started laughing as Jun felt her mana flow vanish. "Your casting speed always surprises me Jun," she said, snorting at the indignant looks on the 3 bound and gagged boys. "Anyways, let''s go find some team members!" Grabbing Jun by the hand, Aya dragged her away from the boys. As they got some distance from the 3 boys still bound by Jun''s spell, a tall, well muscled boy stepped into the aisle, blocking their way forward as he stared down at them. "Nice spell work," he said in a low voice, gesturing at the Ivar and his friends behind them with a nod. "T-Thanks," Jun said nervously. I just dealt with 3 creeps, I really don''t want to deal with another, she thought to herself. Aya squeezed Jun''s hand and took a step forward, putting herself between the boy and Jun. "What do you want?" Aya snapped, crossing her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. "My name is Michael," he said, introducing himself. "I wanted to ask if you two were looking for a team to join." "Why? Are you offering to ''protect'' us like those 3 did?" Aya snapped. Michael raised his hands up placatingly and shook his head. "Not in so many words. Besides," he said, quirking an eyebrow up at the still struggling boys, "it seems more like you''d be protecting me. I''m a healer and was about to search for a group myself." Jun took a closer look at Michael. The man was tall, well over 6 feet, and had the build of a heavyweight boxer. The way he held himself, Jun could imagine him immediately shifting into a fighting stance, and her instincts screamed that he knew his way around a brawl. "You''re a healer?" Aya asked sceptically. "I am." Michael slowly put his hand under the collar of his shirt, revealing faded scars on his neck as he fished a spell focus amulet out. It was a standard spell focus given to all the student healers who''d been approved to treat others, wrapped in bronze wire. "I just passed my bronze healing certification test," he said, gesturing to the amulet. "Fine," Aya nodded. "We could use a healer, but try anything and you''ll be dealing with me, not Jun" Bowing his head in thanks, Michael moved to the side as Aya started to march up the aisle and fell in next to Jun as they followed the fiery girl. "So, how long can you hold that spell on Ivar and his cronies?" Michael asked Jun in his rumbling voice. Jun pulled up the system screen for the latest spell Shiori taught her and smiled. Shiori had said it was the third basic spell Jun needed to learn for a solid foundation, though it was far weaker than the first two her Master had taught her. Despite it being only Novice ranked, it''d quickly become one of Jun''s favorite spells as she used the ropes to imitate a supervillain she''d seen in cartoons as a child on Earth.
[Arcane Snare] (Novice 13)
Conjures magical ropes to physically restrain a target. Ropes can be reinforced with extra mana Mana cost: varies
"Not too long, it''s only a Novice ranked spell," Jun said as she calculated the drain she felt from reinforcing it. "Still, it''s impressive you were able to restrain those 3 with just a Novice ranked spell. They''re in my Combat Skills section and among the strongest in our class," Michael said. "Let me know when the spell fails, I''ll try and distract them." "Will do," Jun said, finishing her mental math. "I can only maintain it for another hour or so." Michael could only turn and stare. Chapter 40: A Scout, A Warrior, and an Elf "My brother and I would be interested in joining your party," a girl''s voice said from behind them. Jun, Michael, and Aya whirled around, only to see that the aisle and desks around them were just as empty as they were before. "Wha¡ªeek!" Aya shrieked as Jun and Michael turned back around to see what was going on. Aya had jumped towards them, leaving a gap of several feet between herself and a tall, fair skinned girl with bright red hair cut short. "I am Keira," she said with a bow. "I apologize for scaring you, but I am a scout and thought it best to demonstrate my ability." Aya glared at the red-haired girl for a few seconds. "I wasn''t scared, just surprised," she sputtered. Jun could see her friend''s ears turning slightly pink, and she couldn''t help but laugh internally. She''d never seen Aya flustered before, and it was pretty nice not being the one blushing for once. Deciding she should support her friend, Jun stepped forward next to Aya and looked closer at the red-haired girl. She was tall and fair skinned with a sprinkle of freckles across her face and piercing green eyes. If she were wearing jeans and a flannel Jun would''ve thought her a farmer''s daughter, but the numerous sheathed daggers strapped to her uniform belt reminded her of Sara in her adventurer gear. Jun glanced at Aya and made contact with her with a small smile. "What do you mean, demonstrate your ability?" Aya asked. "Exactly as I said. I am a scout. Speed and stealth are my specialty." "I see. And you mentioned a brother?" "Yes. My brother is a warrior of great skill despite his youth and low level. He already has advanced his skill in several weapons to the Apprentice rank." "And where is this brother of yours?" Instead of answering, Keira motioned for the 3 of them to follow and turned to head to the very back of the classroom. Jun and Aya exchanged looks and Jun shrugged. Sighing, Aya followed the strange girl with Jun and Michael close behind. The back of the classroom was poorly lit since the first mass exodus of students, and Jun had thought no one sat in the back anymore, but she was surprised to see a small handful of students, their dark uniforms helping them blend into the background. The red-haired girl stopped at the top row and gestured at someone in the dim lighting. The sound of a chair scraping against the wood floor preceded a boy standing up and quietly moved to stand behind Keira. "This is my brother Cian. He is a warrior of great skill as I mentioned." Jun, Aya, and Michael glanced at each other. Michael said nothing and Jun just shrugged again. In her mind, Aya was already the leader of their team, and she would defer to her friend''s decision. "Does your brother speak, or do you do all the talking for him?" Aya asked pointedly, staring at the siblings. Cian seemed to cringe back in the dim lighting, shrinking in on himself and looking down. Keira turned to look at her brother and said something to him too quiet for the rest to hear. The boy nodded and mumbled something as several system screens appeared in front of Aya, Jun, and Michael.
[Boulders Crashing Form] (Apprentice 15)
An intermediate weapons form specializing in blunt weapons meant to shatter defenses. Mana may be focused to improve the impact of weapons. May also be used unarmed at a lessened effect.
[Executioner''s Blade] (Apprentice 07)
An intermediate form for heavy slashing weapons including heavy axes, halberds, and great swords. Mana may be used to sharpen edges, improving the edges of blades. May also be used with smaller slashing weapons at lessened effect.
[Howling Gale of the North] (Initiate 03)
An advanced weapons form specializing in thrusting forms for lance weapons, but may also be used with other weapons as lessened effect. Blows can be empowered with mana to increase the speed and range of thrusts, carrying the biting chill and fury of the Northern Winds.
Jun''s eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing. She knew it was possible for people to share their skills, but she learned it was rarely done as people preferred to keep their exact statuses private. Tools such as the school''s system scanners could provide basic information like general level, mana, and approximate stat ranges compared to the average person of that level, but not detailed information. She knew Shiori had some method to see others'' system information, but her Master had remained tight lipped about how she did it, and refused to teach her when she asked. So this was the first time she''d seen another''s skills, and they were impressive. [Boulders Crashing] and [Executioner''s Blade] both sounded like intimidating weapon skills at Apprentice rank, but the truly surprising one was [Howling Gale of the North]. At Initiate rank, it was already a full rank above the other skills, and beyond anything Jun had given that nothing had inspired her to evolve her [Piercing Missile] spell yet. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "An Initiate rank weapons skill," Aya muttered in an impressed tone. Jun could just about see the gears turning in her friend''s head as she thought things over. The subtle setting of her shoulders after close to 10 seconds signaled that she made a decision. "Welcome aboard, Keira and Cian," Aya said as she stuck her hand out. Keira looked at Aya''s hand curiously for a moment before gripping it and shaking it firmly. Cian merely bobbed his head and mumbled something quietly. "Cian says thank you for having us," Keira said, translating for her brother. Nodding, Aya turned around and gestured to the front of the classroom. "Let''s go see Professor Galimund." As Aya turned around, she looped her arm around Jun''s and started leading the way to the Professor''s class. Jun could see that several groups were already talking with advisors, and several advisors had already departed. One of the groups had Jun''s opponent in Combat Skills, Melody, along with 3 other girls and 2 guys following behind one a gruff looking man as he led them out of the classroom. "So, what do you think?" Aya whispered to Jun. "I went with my gut on the other 3, but I''m not sure." "I trust you Aya. Michael seems nice enough, but Keira and Cian seem a bit off. But if your gut is saying it might be worth grouping with them... well I don''t really know anyone else in class anyways," Jun said quietly. "Besides, you''re the leader." "I''m not the leader!" Jun didn''t respond as they got to Professor Galimund''s desk. The intimidating man looked up at the 5 of them with a pen in his hand. "Have a team?" he asked. "Aya, Jun, Michael, Keira, and Cian," Aya said, pointing to herself then each of them as she named everyone. Professor Galimund nodded and jotted down each of their names. "Your advisor is Arwen Swiftwind," he said, pointing at an elven man with blond hair and a mix of leather and chainmail. Arwen was tall, well over 6 feet with the lean, athletic build of a runner. His hair was braided in a series of small braids with beads at the end. Hearing his name, he turned and smiled at the group and walked over. "I''ll take care of my students well Vice Leader," he said with a smile. Professor Galimund just nodded and waved him away. Turning to the group of 5, Arwen motioned for them to follow him and turned to walk out of the room. "Wait, sir!" Aya called out, causing Arwen to freeze midstep and look at the girl. "Can you give us a minute to gather our stuff?" "Very well, be quick about it," he sniffed, waving her away. Not wanting to waste any time, Aya, Michael, Keira, and Cian ran back up to where they were sitting to gather their things, dodging out of the way of the still ensnared boys and leaving Jun alone with their advisor. "I saw your spellwork with those 3 buffoons," Arwen said to Jun all of a sudden, gesturing to the obstacle Jun left in the middle of the stairs. "Well done Miss...?" Jun blushed and nodded at the compliment. A worm of fear that she''d be in trouble for attacking other student had been gnawing at her for the past few minutes, but Professor Galimund hadn''t said anything, and their advisor was even complimenting her on it. "Jun," she said, answering his question. "And, thank you sir," she said quietly. "You''re welcome, though you can release them now Miss Jun. They won''t be causing any more trouble I''m sure," he said with a wink. Nodding, Jun waited until Aya and the rest of her new team members had made it past the 3 perverts before she pulled her mana tendrils away from the magical construct. After a few seconds the conjured ropes vanished, and the 3 boys collapsed in a groaning heap, fully blocking the aisle as people glared at them. Arwen eyed each of the students with a nod. "Right, got everything? We won''t be coming back to this classroom," he said, before turning around and walking out the door before anyone could answer. Exchanging a few looks, the 5 students hurried after their new advisor, catching up with him in the hallway. Aya and Keira attempted to engage the man in conversation while they walked, but he refused to respond and only moved faster and faster until none of them could spare the breath to talk. Several minutes after leaving the classroom behind, Arwen led them past the training fields to a small compound that Jun had never seen before. Here, Arwen slowed down as he led them through the compound''s winding paths until they reached a door that led into a secluded courtyard filled with training dummies and a sand covered floor. As the 5 students filed in behind them, all but Cian and Keira huffing to catch their breath, Arwen turned and gestured gracefully around the room. "Welcome to your new classroom for the rest of the term. While Introductory Delving is only a once a week class, you will meet with me every evening after your classes to train," Arwen smiled a predatory smile at the 5 of them. "If you fail to show up, I will hunt you down and drag you here. So please do remember not to be late." Jun shivered at the man''s smile. Something about it said that if she failed to show up on time, not even Shiori would be able to protect her. Shoving down her fear, she glanced at the rest of her new team. Aya stared at their professor like he just issued her a challenge that she wouldn''t back down from. Michael and Keira both seemed unphased by the threat, while Cian was shaking and seemed to be trying to edge behind his sister. Each of them nodded at Arwen, causing the elf to smile wider. "That''s the spirit! I do love students that are eager to learn. Now, for the most important bit. Who among you is the Team Leader?" Aya, Jun, Michael, and Keira exchanged glances while Cian just stared at the floor. "I think Aya should be the leader," Jun said. "Wait, what?! I''m no leader!" "I agree, Aya would make a fine leader," Michael said suddenly. "Cian and I agree." "Looks like it''s unanimous, Aya''s the leader," Arwen said brightly. "Now, the first thing any team must do is understand each other''s capabilities, so we''ll start that immediately." Arwen walked to the far side of the courtyard and turned back around, his arms wide open. "Aya, as the leader, you''re up first. Try to kill me." Chapter 41: Questionable Teaching Style "Try to kill me." Arwen said as he smiled at the students casually from across the room. "Are you nuts?!" Aya said in horror as the rest of them stared wide-eyed at their advisor. "You want us to kill you?!" "No, only you Aya, and try yes. You won''t succeed," he said with a smile. "I won''t do it, you''re insane," Aya said, turning towards the door. A harsh aura slammed down on Jun, Michael, Keira, and Cian, pressing the students to the ground. Jun gulped as she felt like something sharp was pressed against her throat and her heart started to pound in her chest. It hurt to breathe, like her lungs couldn''t get enough air. Half panicked Jun reached for her mana core but her thoughts were sluggish, her mana hard to grasp. "Do it or I''ll kill your friends, then you," their psychotic advisor''s smile widened. His eyes were bright and wide with excitement, like no matter what Aya chose, he would be happy. From where Jun lay pinned to the ground by some invisible force, she could see Aya grit her teeth and narrow her eyes with barely suppressed rage as she raised her right hand and pointed her palm at the deranged elf. Jun continued to claw at her mana, desperately trying to form a tendril. The sound of crackling flames and howling winds filled Jun''s ears as goosebumps spread across her skin, telling her that Aya was channeling an enormous amount of mana. Just a couple seconds after Jun first heard the sound of flames, an almost pure white sphere of appearing in front of her. Jun felt as a tendril finally formed from her core and she desperately threw her mind into forming more. Aya''s nose started to bleed as the sphere condensed from the size of Aya''s head down to the size of her finger. Several more tendrils of mana formed under Jun''s will and she threw them at her spellforms. A loud roar and intense heat filled the room as Aya unleashed her spell on their advisor''s smiling face. One moment, the elf stood smiling as Aya''s spell coalesced in front of her, the second the room turned white. The loud blast seemed to go on forever, and then there was perfect silence in the room. A second later the sound of a body falling to the sand covered floor filled the room and Jun slowly pushed herself up, the invisible force that had pressed her down gone. A wide, shining barrier blocked the students'' half of the room off. The half that Arwen had been in was scorched beyond recognition and filled with ash and smoke. Aya was crumpled to the sandy floor, her already pale skin colorless and her nose freely bleeding from the effort she had put into her spell. "Aya!" Jun yelled as she scrambled over to her friend. Half-remembered first aid lessons from her short time as a scout on Earth came to her mind as she pressed her fingertips to Aya''s neck to check for a pulse. It might''ve been the feeling of her own heart thumping in her chest, but she didn''t feel anything. A trick came to mind about holding a mirror up to someone''s nose, but she didn''t have one. Instead, Jun hovered her finger close to Aya''s nose and that was when she felt the faint brush of her friend''s breathing against her skin. Relieved, that was when she noticed the groaning coming from behind her. Her teammates were each carefully pushing themselves upright and looking around. Michael pressed a hand to his head as it began to glow, and he seemed to perk up a bit more. Wait. Healing magic! Michael was a healer! "Michael, come here! Aya''s hurt!" Jun yelled at the man. A serious look came across Michael''s face as he rushed to kneel next to Aya. The healer pressed a hand against Aya''s forehead and another on her chest as they began to glow a soft white. "Brain swelling, internal bleeding, mana channels strained," he muttered. As he worked, Aya''s breathing grew stronger and color returned to her cheeks. Jun sat back as she sighed with relief, confident Michael''s healing would get her friend back to her feet. "He''s not dead," Keira said as she unsheathed a pair of daggers and stared through Jun''s barrier into the charred ruins of the room beyond. Cian wordlessly moved to join her as he produced a long spear from somewhere. A hard look came across the shy boy''s face as he stepped in front of everyone, his spear pointed toward the barrier. The barrier shuddered as something slammed into the transparent pink shield, sending a crystalline ringing throughout the room. Jun flinched as she felt her barrier''s strength, massively reinforced by absorbing the blast from Aya''s spell, drop significantly from whatever it had stopped. What little mana Jun recovered she sent into her barrier, but it was just a bare trickle that barely reinforced it. A second blow to the barrier sent cracks spreading across the surface that the small amount of mana Jun was recovering did nothing to fix. Tying off the spell, Jun pulled her mana tendrils out of her spell. Even if her mana pool were full, she wouldn''t be able to reinforce the barrier enough to survive a third blow. On the third strike, Jun''s barrier shattered, consuming what mana remained in the shards of the spell to unleash a retaliatory blast of pure force at whatever broke it. The remaining smoke in the other side of the room was blasted away as a loud curse preceded the fleshy thump of a body hitting a wall. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a lightly singed Arwen pulling himself from a crater in the stone wall of the room with a laugh. As he landed in the burnt sand, Keira reappeared with her daggers thrusting for the crazy elf, one at his throat and the other at his side. Swirling winds surrounded Cian as he charged forward, his spear pointed at the elf''s heart! The siblings'' attack was well coordinated, ensuring that all 3 blows would land at the same time. It wasn''t enough. Arwen blurred as he disappeared and reappeared behind Keira, his hand grabbing the back of her uniform and swinging her around into her brother''s side. The two were sent tumbling into a heap to the side as Arwen turned to Jun, Michael, and Aya with a smile. Making a show of dusting off his hands and clothes, the crazed elf casually walked towards them. Jun channeled what little mana she had into a pair of small spells as a single rope and a barrier the size of a coin appeared in front of Arwen. With a flex of her will, Jun sent the barrier snapping straight up as she commanded her snare to wrap around the elf''s ankles. With downright casual ease, Arwen tilted his head back to avoid the barrier even as he took a quick step forward, stomping on the conjured rope and shattering the spell. Out of mana, Jun stood shaking between Arwen and Michael as he continued to work on healing Aya. She didn''t have any weapons or anything else she could pull out of her bag, nothing else to save herself or protect her friend and the people she just met, and Arwen was far more powerful than any of them. She wished Shiori was here. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Arwen vanished from Jun''s vision, only reappear in front of her with his fist less than an inch away from the tip of her nose. "Ahahahaha!" the elf laughed suddenly as he pulled his fist away from her face. "That was an excellent effort everyone," he said with a smile, looking at each of them. Jun stared at the crazy elf as he laughed. "What the fuck was that?" Aya cursed from behind, causing Jun to look over her shoulder. Michael was helping her friend to sit up, as Aya glared at their advisor. Keira and Cian were slowly untangling themselves, somehow managing not to stab each other with their weapons. "A test," Arwen said brightly, turning to look at Aya. "As adventurers, you never know what exactly you will face, whether it is an out of place monster, a criminal with a bounty on their head, or another adventurer stabbing you in the back. Out in the field, your information will be unreliable and your equipment insufficient. You will be ambushed, betrayed, and led astray. The only thing you can rely upon is yourself and your allies, however old or new they might be. Your team is newly formed. Most of you just met each other and didn''t take the time to discuss your capabilities in class. You, Aya," he said, pointing at the dark haired girl, "didn''t disclose that you were a battlemage and immediately used a spell combining 2 affinities so clumsily that you caused yourself severe mana backlash. Even more importantly, that spell was so powerful that it would have harmed the rest of your team in an enclosed environment if not for the barrier Jun created." "As for you Jun, despite your display in the classroom, your allies were not aware of the strength of your barriers, nor did you support Keira and Cian as they attacked, which allowed me to counter them easily, which brings us to the twins." He said, turning to look at Keira and Cian as they untangled themselves. "While the two of you coordinated well with each other, there was no communication with your team. Keira, you did tell them that there was still a threat, but that was where your communication ended. Instead, you rushed ahead first, pushing Cian to move to cover you. Cian, you abandoned the rest of your team to help your sister, leaving your healer, support, and an unconscious teammate exposed." Jun watched the elf warily. Despite his nonchalant attitude claiming this was a test, the pressure she''d felt was real. Her instincts screamed at her that she was about to die, and despite the fact that what Arwen said made sense in hindsight, it didn''t erase what they''d all just experienced. The way he''d casually told Aya to try to kill him, or he''d kill everyone, he seemed a bit too eager for her to refuse. She didn''t trust him, but he was their advisor and his overwhelming strength compared to theirs made it clear that they could only go along with his whims. After Arwen finished lecturing them he had them each come up and demonstrate their abilities. Jun and Aya paired up and went first, playing a game they had developed during their practices with Lane where Aya would randomly target different dummies with all kinds of spells, and Jun would do her best to intercept them with new barriers. While the 2 friends were already familiar with each other''s abilities, Michael, Keira, and Cian all had looks of shock when they saw how broad of a range Aya had and the speed at which Jun could cast small barriers. Even Arwen had been surprised for a moment before schooling his face, but Jun knew the look she saw flash across his face in that moment. Hunger. After Jun and Aya finished their game, Keira and Cian demonstrated their abilities by sparring with Arwen. Though it was clear Arwen took it easy on them, Keira''s duel moved at much higher speeds than any of them had expected and it was clear that Keira was far faster than the rest of them. Cian''s duel moved at nearly the same speed, but it was clear from the way Arwen treated Cian that his weapon skills were impressive and their advisor was breathing a bit heavier by the time they were done. The only member of their team who wasn''t tested was Michael as that would require one of them to be injured and Michael refused, even when Arwen offered to be the subject of demonstration. The rest of the day''s class was focused on basic team tactics and awareness drills before the students were dismissed for the day. As the 5 hurried out of the room, leaving Arwen behind in the scorched courtyard, Jun couldn''t help but glance over her shoulder and saw Arwen staring at their backs with a hungry look on his face again. Once the 5 reached the main part of campus again they split off, with Jun and Aya sticking together as they picked up food from the cafeteria and took it back to Jun''s room to eat. Aya flopped onto one of the couches while holding her box of food from the cafeteria and sighed deeply. "That was not what I expected from class today," she muttered. Jun dropped beside her and nodded in agreement as Shiori jumped up on the couch and sat in Jun''s lap. "Interesting day in class, kitten?" her Master asked privately. "Yeah..." Jun said in response to both Aya and Shiori. "I don''t trust our advisor." Jun opened her box of food as Shiori sniffed it and handed her Master a piece of meat. Wordlessly, Shiori started to eat it, looking for all the world like just a pet cat receiving a treat, even though Jun was certain Shiori could easily take their advisor in a fight. Aya nodded. "Everything about him seemed off. Do you think Professor Galimund will let us switch?" "Let you switch what?" Sara said, walking into the room. Jun and Aya exchanged glances as Sara moved to sit on the other couch, staring the two of them down. Sighing, Jun started explaining their experience with Arwen, his weird test, and the feelings she got from him. As Jun explained, Aya started eating her dinner, occasionally adding her own observations between bites. When Jun finished explaining, Sara sat back with an uneasy look on her face. "You got Arwen too?" she asked quietly with an uncomfortable look on her face. "He''s got a reputation. A strange teaching style, but most of his students make it to at least silver with the IAG by the time they graduate. Some even get gold... if they survive." "If who survives?" Cecilia said, stifling a yawn as she opened the door to her room and stretched. "They got Arwen." Sara gestured at Jun and Aya with a frown. The look on Cecilia''s face grew serious in an instant as she stared at them intensely. "They''re still letting that psychotic asshole teach after what he did?!" "What happened?" Aya asked with alarm. "A massacre," Cecilia muttered darkly. "Go ahead and tell them Sara. I''m going out for a bit." Cecilia went back into her room for a moment before stomping out while carrying a bag over her shoulder. "Tell us what?" "Where''s she going?" Jun and Aya asked Sara at the same time. Concern and confusion warred in Jun''s chest as the front door clicked shut. She''d never seen Cecilia so angry before. Sara sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "The team Cecilia and I are on isn''t any of our first teams. Gareth and Lane are both in their 4th years this year, while Cecilia and Corin are third years. I''m technically a fifth year, but I didn''t start in the Combat Branch until last year. The reason the 5 of us are on the same team is that we''re all outcasts to some degree. Gareth is a high noble but he and his family are strongly opposed to the class system that prioritizes nobility over everyone else. While his family is a Ducal house that oversees the Northern territories, they''re ostracized from high society. Their old teammates were all nobles that were pressured to quit his team. For me, I was assigned a team in my first year, but they kicked me out at the end for being an elf." Sara frowned, unconsciously moving her hand towards her pointed ears. "But Cecilia and Corin are different. They were on the same team in their first year, a team made up of close friends from their childhood, but the final exam their year was a week long expedition into the Forest led by each team''s advisors. As dangerous as the Forest is, the advisors are all high Gold ranked adventurers that should be able to handle anything that the Forest throws at them, and they have a duty to protect their students. Most advisors are careful and it''s rare for deaths to occur. But that year, most of Arwen''s students were killed during the final expedition. Cecilia and Corin were the only survivors." Chapter 42: The First Assignment As Jun lay in bed that night, the only thing she could think about was Sara''s story. Cecilia and Corin were in a team of 6. Arwen kept pushing them deeper into the forest, giving them barely any time to think, plan, or rest. Exhausted and deep into the forest, they''d finally set camp to rest, and that was when they were ambushed by a horde of goblins. The team had leveled immensely from Arwen''s pressure and training, but despite the stats, exhaustion killed. Their scout was the first to fall, then their knight, leaving Cecilia alone to hold the onslaught back from the others. An axe and shield were great for keeping herself alive, but not enough to protect her friends. She''d been surrounded and her battlemage friends had been swarmed and killed. Corin only survived by luck, the goblin''s spear that stuck in his chest, barely missing his heart. He had to play dead as he healed himself and Cecilia. It was only when Cecilia''s weapon broke that Arwen showed up and eliminated the horde in an instant and congratulated Cecilia on surviving. He didn''t say anything about their friends who had been killed. "What do you think of Sara''s story?" Jun asked quietly as she lay in bed petting Shiori. Shiori''s voice whispered in her ears even as the cat continued to lay on Jun''s side. "Growth and strength come under pressure. Without struggle and a willingness to overcome, any growth made is fragile, and strength subject to shattering when it is needed most. A good teacher knows this and allows their students to struggle. A great teacher knows how to push them to their limits without them tipping over." "Does that mean Arwen''s a good teacher? Is that why the school lets him continue to teach?" "I do not know the quality of this Arwen, but you can handle anything he throws at you. I am a great teacher after all.¡± "The greatest," Jun whispered, scratching Shiori behind the ear. Her Master''s purring soothed her stressed mind and she soon fell into a restless sleep. She dreamt of strange laughing shadows that chased her through a forest, their eyes filled with malice and hunger. Jun woke up the next morning feeling far from rested as half-remembered smiles and hungry eyes haunted her thoughts. After laying in bed for some time in the morning light, Jun finally got up and dressed for the day, disturbing Shiori in the process. Since it was Seventh Day, she wasn¡¯t required to wear her uniform but those were the only clothes she owned besides the robes Grandma Deedee had gifted to her, and those felt far too fine and fragile to be worn when she had serviceable and enchanted clothes to wear. Picking up her bag, Jun left her room to find Sara waiting for her. As she looked at her roommate, she couldn¡¯t help but glance at Cecilia''s door, noticing it was still left ajar. ¡°Arwen¡¯s existence is a sore spot for her,¡± Sara said as she noticed Jun glancing at their friend¡¯s door. ¡°Sorry we brought him up¡­¡± Jun spoke softly. Knowing Cecilia¡¯s story from Sara, she regretted dredging up such painful memories. She flinched lightly as Shiori chose that moment to wordlessly climb onto her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a sore spot but she probably figured you should know who you¡¯re dealing with. She just needs to work out her emotions for a bit. Don¡¯t blame yourself, you didn¡¯t know.¡± Nodding, Jun cast another glance at Cecilia¡¯s door and shuffled awkwardly. She wished she could do something to cheer her friend up, but she had no idea what might be best. "Thanks Sara. I should get going, I need to meet with my new team today." "Good luck with that," Sara said with a small smile. "Learning to work with new people can be uncomfortable, but it''s an important skill for every adventurer to have." "Thanks Sara." Sara nodded and waved in response as Jun hurried off with Shiori on her shoulder. After a hasty breakfast in the cafeteria, Jun ran to the courtyard by the front gate where she found Aya and Michael already waiting, though the twins were nowhere in sight. She spent a few minutes chatting with Aya and Michael and introducing them to Shiori before the twins showed up. One moment they were waiting for the others to arrive, the next Keira was standing next to them as if she''d always been there, while Cian silently jogged up to join them. Keira seemed entirely fixated on the black cat on Jun''s shoulder and already had her hand halfway out to pet Shiori before she started and looked at her teammates. Cian audibly sighed and shook his head, though he didn''t say anything as he watched his sister. "May I pet your cat?" Keira asked, her eyes locked onto Shiori. "She may," Shiori said so only Jun could hear. "Sure," Jun nodded awkwardly. While Keira eagerly, if awkwardly, pet Shiori, the other 4 eyed each other. "Are you all ready to go?" Aya asked, patting the staff she had strapped to her back. It looked similar to the one Jun sometimes saw Lane carrying around, with a large crystal embedded in a nest of wood. However where Lane''s staff glimmered all over with magic, only Aya''s crystal did. "I am as prepared as I can be," Michael said. Instead of the school uniform like both Aya and Jun wore, Michael instead wore a set of dark brown pants with a leather gambeson and padded cap. A pair of leather gloves and leather shin guards protected his limbs, and a pair of oversized brass knuckles hung from his belt. Cian just nodded. He wore the men''s workout clothes for the school, over which was a chainmail shirt that ran to his wrists. A beaten steel helm with a simple nose guard and worn leather gauntlets and boots completed his armor. His spear was nowhere to be seen, but given how he pulled it out of nowhere during their fight with Arwen, Jun assumed he had some sort of magical storage. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Keira didn''t answer, too absorbed with petting Shiori. Cian nudged his sister and leaned in to mumble in her ear. "What?" Keira said, looking up with a start. "Oh. Yes. I am prepared," she said before turning her attention back to Shiori. "Before we leave, we need to address one more thing," Aya said firmly as she fixed her gaze on Cian. The man shifted uncomfortably as Aya stared at him, his head bowed low. "Cian, we know you can talk. We''ve seen you whisper to Keira several times, but if you don''t communicate with us, you''re a liability." "He''s fine, he just doesn''t like to talk much," Keira said, waving Aya off dismissively. "It''s not fine Keira. If he doesn''t talk to us and we miss something, it puts all of us in danger!" "Aya''s right," Jun spoke up. She knew she didn''t like to talk up as much as she should, but as she''d been learning, life didn''t always allow for the luxuries of being shy and going with the flow. "I don''t like attention or being in front of people, but that''s not something we can always avoid. Being quiet and passive can help sometimes, but sometimes it just makes you a target." Aya nodded appreciatively. "Exactly what Jun said. We''re about to register with the IAG and perform a bounty. If we don''t communicate, if anyone notices something but holds it back from the rest of us, it puts us all at risk." Cian opened his mouth, but Keira put her hand on his shoulder and stepped forward. "Cian is not a liability. Don''t insult my brother like that!" "What Aya and Jun said is the truth," Michael said, stepping between Keira and Aya with his hands held out placatingly. He gestured at the thin scars on his neck. "Unexpected things can happened in the field. We can be caught unaware. As the healer, it''s my job to keep people alive if someone gets injured, but if someone holds something back and risks the rest of us getting injured or caught by surprise, it increases the risk to all of us. Cian has advanced weapon skills which proves he is capable in a fight, but if he can only communicate with one person, then cannot depend upon him." Keira narrowed her eyes angrily at the man, but stopped as Cian placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper something to her. Sighing, Keira took a step back as Cian took her place. The silent twin hesitantly looked first Michael then Aya in the eyes as he opened his mouth for a moment before closing it. Swallowing, he opened his mouth again. "...I-I do not like my voice... but I will try to communicate..." he said quietly. His voice was soft and musical, like that of a young boy. Not the kind of voice Jun expected to hear from the muscular warrior. Aya nodded as Michael gripped Cian by the shoulder reassuringly. "Trying your best will keep all of us safe," their healer said with a gentle smile. Cian squared his shoulders as he nodded seriously. "...will do my best..." "That''s all we can ask Cian. Now, we''re running behind schedule, let''s get to the guild house before our advisor decides to come find us," she said with a grimace. Gesturing towards the gate, Aya led the way as the rest moved to follow. Jun jogged forward with Shiori still on her shoulder until she was next to Aya and spoke quietly. "Do you think that''ll be enough?" Aya frowned but was disciplined enough not to move her head as she kept walking forward. "Not sure. Cian''s skills are impressive, especially with how much harder Arwen pressed him when they sparred, but his difficulty speaking is a problem. It would be best if he could get over it, but I''m not sure we can rely on him. Do you think you could protect us with your barriers?" Nervous energy filled Jun''s chest. Taking on that responsibility was nerve wracking, but she''d already done it the day before. "I think so." "Hopefully it won''t be necessary, but I trust you to keep us safe. After all, I''ve still never beaten your barriers!" Smiling reassuringly, Aya side hugged Jun as they walked. "Your skill with barriers and multicasting at your stage far exceeds many I''ve seen before, kitten." Shiori nudged the side of her head as she shifted to Jun''s other shoulder. Aya and Shiori''s confidence in her abilities bolstered her spirit. As the International Adventurers'' Guild Hall came into sight, Jun took a deep breath. They could do this. She could do this.
Registration with the IAG was nothing like Jun''s registration with the Academy. Professor Galimund and Arwen were already waiting for them as they arrived at the hall and handed each of them a bronze medallion with the IAG''s symbol stamped on it. After that, Arwen handed them a single copy of the IAG''s rules and policies, which Jun stored for the group in her bag, and they were led over to the bounty board by the guild staff. The bounty board was simple enough. A large map of the surrounding area was broken up into grids, and each grid had a corresponding column filled with bounty notices. Each notice had a colored stamp in the upper and right hand corners and detailed the rank, task details, and reward. As bronze adventurers, they were only allowed to take up to Iron ranked tasks, though it was strongly encouraged not to do so before they''d completed at least 10 bronze ranked bounties. Unfortunately for them, as a student group at Forest''s Edge Academy, they didn''t have a choice in what bounty they took. Arwen had already selected one for them, though he refused to tell them what it was. "Alright students! Let''s go!" Arwen said with a wide smile as he led the way out of the guild hall and to the gate. Much like the first day they had met him, he set a fast pace that they could barely keep up with, and by the time they caught up to him at the gate, Jun and Aya were out of breath and Michael was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Keira and Cian annoyingly looked fresh and ready. Exiting the city was nothing like entering, as Arwen directed to them to show their IAG badges to the guards. After a guard corporal jotted down some notes about the 6 of them, they were waved through the gates, and soon stood before the grassy field that separated the walls from the Forest. "Right, this is where I leave you. Complete the bounty and return to the city before sunset, or camp outside the walls. Good luck students!" Before any of them could respond, Arwen tossed a rolled up scroll to Aya and vanished. "He''s pretty fast," Shiori muttered. Aya fumbled and barely caught the scroll before it hit the ground and unrolled it with a frown. As her eyes darted across the scroll, her frown deepened more and more until she was fully scowling. "Well? What does it say?" Keira asked impatiently. Wordlessly, Aya handed it to Jun and started to recite it from memory as Jun read the text, her eyes widening as she realized what they''d been assigned to do.
Iron Rank Bounty: Goblin Scouting Party around Forest''s Edge A Goblin Scouting Party has been spotted in the deep grass around Forest''s Edge. Aura gauges indicate a group of at least 10 bronze ranked goblins led by a single low iron goblin. Threat to the City has been deemed low and task has contracted out for completion to the IAG. Task: Verify the location of the Goblin Scouting Party and eliminate all goblins. Reward: Standard bounty per confirmed goblin kill. Looting rights. Bonus for any intelligence of value retrieved.
Chapter 43: Iron Bounty
Iron Rank Bounty: Goblin Scouting Party around Forest''s Edge A Goblin Scouting Party has been spotted in the deep grass around Forest''s Edge. Aura gauges indicate a group of at least 10 bronze ranked goblins led by a single low iron goblin. Threat to the City has been deemed low and task has contracted out for completion to the IAG. Task: Verify the location of the Goblin Scouting Party and eliminate all goblins. Reward: Standard bounty per confirmed goblin kill. Looting rights. Bonus for any intelligence of value retrieved.
Keira scowled and crumpled up the bounty notice into a ball before tossing it into the knee height grass near the city gate. "Hey, we still need that!" Aya yelled as Jun manifested a bowl shaped barrier to scoop the ball of paper up and bring it back to her. It was a new trick she''d figured out with her barriers, though the only use she''d found for it so far is picking up things from a distance. Plucking the balled up paper out of her barrier, Jun smoothed it out while Aya lectured their scout about tossing important team documents. Keira had her arms crossed under her breasts as she scowled. "What do you mean ''we still need that''? We only formed a team yesterday, we''re bronze rank, and that''s an Iron rank bounty! I''m not letting my brother risk himself on a suicide mission!" "We''ve been assigned that bounty! We either do it, or we turn it down and Arwen and Professor Galimund fail us." Aya stared the taller girl down. "There''s no way this is alright! We should just go back to the Guild Hall and have them change our bounty. There''s no way the guild would let him assign a brand new bronze team an iron ranked bounty!" "Professor Galimund is the Vice Guild Leader and was there when we registered. There''s no way he doesn''t know what bounty Arwen assigned us. Bounty assignments are a core function of the guild hall, they wouldn''t play games with that process. If our Professor was going to stop it from happening, he would have stepped in before we even got there." "Still, this has to be another of the crazy elf''s tests. What if they''re just testing our judgment? Making sure we can judge when we''re taking something beyond our ability?" "If it''s a test, it''s a stupid one. This is a bounty assigned as our very first one as students and new members of the IAG, chosen by a veteran adventurer for us. Refusing this bounty is asking us to go directly against both the Academy and the Guild. If that''s a test, it''s a test to see how willing we are to disregard a decision made by veteran adventurers and guild officials sending us on a dangerous assignment. If we try to get an easier bounty, we might pass a test, or we might be failed out of the guild and the Academy program." Aya stared Keira down. "I''m not sure about the rest of you, but I can''t afford to fail out of the Academy," Michael said with a frown. "My family sacrificed much to send me here." "Same here," Aya said. "...failing would dishonor us and our clan..." Cian added quietly. Keira grimaced at her brother''s statement but nodded. "I''m a scholarship student... I don''t have any family...besides Shiori," Jun motioned her Master laying on her shoulder. "What are the chances this is a test?" "Like I said, assigning us an iron bounty as a test makes no sense. The job of an adventurer is dangerous and there''s always the risk of something stronger than us showing up. Testing us to see if we''ll take something on that we were explicitly assigned or ask for reassignment is stupid. If we ask for a new bounty closer to our level, it might come off as good judgment, or it might come off as cowardice. Doing the bounty either shows we''re lacking in judgment, or we''re willing to work hard. Any option that has us doing any kind of bounty is a risk to our lives, so this being a test makes no sense." "You should do the bounty, kitten. It will be good for your growth. Besides, goblins are only dangerous in large groups. A single iron ranked one is barely a threat." "I think we should do it," Jun said, surprising Aya and the others. "While it''s not recommended that new bronze rank teams take on iron rank bounties, the guild rules permit it. When they showed us the bounty board, the guild staff said that we shouldn''t take iron bounties, not that we couldn''t or wouldn''t be assigned them." "I agree with Jun," Michael said slowly. "Goblins are swarm type monsters. Even at higher levels, they are far weaker than other monsters. Their threat comes from numbers and intelligence. A single iron rank goblin should only be about equal to the average bronze rank adventurer unless it''s a mage." "...I will do it..." Cian said quietly. "Fine, since my brother is going, I''ll do it too." "Well then, lets start looking for this party. They had to have come from the Forest, so I think we should get to the Forest and move along the edge until we find a trail. Agreed?" Aya asked. The party nodded or made sounds of agreement at the plan. It was simple, but it made sense. Finally agreed upon a course of action, the 5 adventurers and Shiori started down the main path from the city, keeping their eyes open for any tracks or things out of the ordinary. Jun''s nascent [Tracking] skill kept alerting her to signs of other people that passed through and the occasional small monster or creature hiding in the tall grass along the road, but none of them attacked the group. The only fighting they saw was close to noon as they walked along the edge of the plains and the forest, when Keira stopped the party and threw a stone she''d grabbed from the roadside into the grass. With a loud roar, a large furred creature that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a bear lunged out of the grass towards them! Cian had immediately produced his spear and moved to stand between the party and the beast as Keira dodged back, a dagger already in each hand. While it was a dramatic improvement over the twins rushing ahead the day before, it proved unnecessary as Jun''s hastily cast snare dragged the creature to the ground and Aya beheaded it with a well placed blade of water. The creature turned out to be a bronze ranked Grass Bear that Michael said was reasonably valuable. At the healer''s insistence, the group stopped for lunch while he and Keira worked together to skin and butcher the creature. The meat was put into sacks that Keira had thought to bring and the hide was quickly rinsed with conjured water before all of the loot was shoved into Jun''s bag. After they had eaten, the party had moved on with Keira a few feet in the lead. Despite having Shiori on her shoulder, being so close to the Forest again filled Jun with anxiety. She''d only gotten out of there a month and a half ago and still remembered the goblin hordes, fighting for her life to hunt, and that hulking beast that had hunted her. Even though Shiori had saved her from the beast and the goblins, and she was sure her Master would have stepped in on their hunts, she knew that she wouldn''t always be able to depend upon Shiori for protection. Shiori had said as much, that one day she would have to stand on her own. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it So despite having her Master with her, Jun didn''t let down her guard, keeping her head on a swivel and watching for the slightest thing out of the ordinary. That''s what saved her life. A glint of afternoon sunlight on something metallic in the trees at the edge of the forest was the only warning she got before more than a dozen bow strings twanged in unison from less than 100 feet away as black shapes streaked for Jun and her group! Acting on instinct, Jun''s mana moved at the speed of thought, flooding into her [Barrier] spellform as a bright pink barrier formed between the group and the archers ambushing them. Arrows clattered against Jun''s snap cast barrier like rain on a tin roof as the archers launched volley after volley at them. Unlike with the spells she''d blocked before, her mana shifted barrier didn''t strengthen from the impacts and she had to reinforce it with mana from her pool. "Group upon on Jun!" Aya barked. Michael and Aya moved to either side of her as Keira stood slightly forward with Cian between the group and the forest. Instead of his spear that would be next to useless against archers, Cian now wore a large rectangular shield on his off hand and held a short spear. Shiori hopped down from Jun''s shoulders and hovered at the back, seemingly unconcerned. With the party grouped up, Jun pulled her barrier closer in, the magical energy growing denser as it covered less area. The drain on her mana lessened, but still outpaced her regeneration. Aya held her hand out as a ball of flame manifested and drifted out beneath the gap between the barrier and the ground. Once it was past the barrier, the spell bloomed into a fiery dart that raced for the tree top, igniting the canopy in flames as guttural voices screamed out in pain. Several wriggling, burning forms fell from the tree to crash amongst the roots with loud thumps. "That was only 3 of them!" Aya yelled out. It wasn''t all of the archers, but it was enough to end the rain of arrows slowly wearing down Jun''s mana. Instead of the constant volley of arrows, her barrier only had to block random shots that were just enough of a threat that the group was pinned in place without cover beyond the barrier. A guttural war cry echoed out from the brush and a dozen goblin warriors charged the adventurers. Their clothing was crude leather that wouldn''t protect them from much more than the elements, but their weapons were fine steel swords and axes. Snarling, the goblins quickly closed the distance. Jun split off 2 new tendrils of mana, feeding each of them into her spellform for [Arcane Snare] to conjure twin ropes. Under her mental command the ropes shot out and wrapped around the ankles of two of the charging goblins, pulling them to the ground. As they went down, Aya conjured several water blades to shoot off into the goblins, though most were parried, destroying the spells. One unlucky goblin misjudged his parry and Aya''s spell bisected him. That was all the time the group had to foil the charge before the warriors reached them. Cian sprinted forward, his shield held out as he charged and smashed into the lead goblins, trampling one into the ground and knocking four back. The other four charging goblins split around Cian, charging for the rest of the group with cruel looks of anticipation. Keira blurred forward as she launched herself at the two on the right and began to dance around their strikes, her daggers darting in and out to score superficial hits on the two goblins. Aya conjured a gust of wind that pushed one of the remaining goblins off balance, while Michael charged in. The healer backhanded the haft of a goblin''s axe as he darted to the side, then closed in on the diminutive figure with a brutal left jab that snapped the goblin''s neck. As it fell limply to the ground, Michael disarmed the other goblin that had been knocked off balance by Aya''s spell, and a brutal body blow caved in its chest. Keira''s opponents both fell as one of her daggers ripped through one''s throat and the other sunk deep into the other''s back. As Keira, Michael, and Aya dealt with the stragglers, Cian ripped through the remaining five. A well placed kick to the trampled goblin''s skull finished it off before it could get back up, and Cian''s shield brutally smashed another back into the ground where his sword punched through its chest. The warrior ducked behind his shield to avoid a hastily aimed arrow as he closed with the third, bisecting it with a backhand slash. The fourth got in a lucky slash that skittered across Cian''s chain covered thigh, and he returned the favor by stomping on the goblin''s knee and burying his short sword in the goblin''s throat. The fifth tried to tackle Cian to the ground but the weight and strength disparity were vast as the goblin comically bounced off the man''s arm. His massive hand seized the goblin by the throat and a loud pop rang out as he snapped the goblin''s neck. Retrieving his sword, Cian retreated back under the cover of Jun''s barrier as arrows continued to bounce off his shield. Everything was white and colorless, a loud ringing filling Jun''s ears. She couldn''t feel her body, but her head felt fuzzy like a bad hangover. Was she dead again? Jun idly waited for the screen confirming her death to pop up, but instead, someone''s voice echoed out of the blank whiteness. "Get up kitten, the fight''s not done." Jun groaned as she blinked, the blank white void fading as she did. As the ringing in her ears stopped, she could hear a guttural voice yelling, and then she felt her mana tendrils holding the two warriors snap. Pushing herself upright, she saw that her barrier still held, the pink spell construct covered in dancing yellow sparks. Her team was in rough shape. Aya and Keira were lightly dazed and getting to their feet, but Michael''s ears were leaking blood. Cian was the worst off, the cloth under his chainmail lightly smoking and scorch marks clearly visible on the bottoms of both of his feet. Jun felt a wave of relief come over her as Michael''s amulet started to glow, though as Jun''s aches and pains faded, Michael visibly sagged. "We can''t take another hit like that," Michael croaked. Jun glanced beyond the barriers to see the two snared warriors pushing themselves up as a larger goblin in finer clothes snarled at them. Three more goblins holding bows pointed at the adventurers surrounded the larger one. "I''ll handle the mage, Jun take the archers, Keira the warriors," Aya barked. Keira glanced between the rallying goblins and her brother down on the ground. "The only way he survives is if the goblins don''t," Michael said tiredly. Keira nodded as she pulled two new daggers from her sheathes. "Keep healing him." Keira turned to face the remaining goblins. "Jun, when I say so, snare the archers and drop the barrier." "Got it." Jun slowly pulled mana from her barrier, feeding it into new tendrils that she fed into her snare spellform. As if sensing the change in mana, the goblin mage turned and stared at the adventurers before he barked a command, the archers drawing their bows back. "Now!" Jun flooded her mana into her [Arcane Snare], manifesting several ropes around the goblin archers. Seizing them by their arms, Jun tugged their aims off as they released. A howl of pain filled the air as two of the arrows slammed into the dirt, and the third punched through the goblin mage''s ass as Jun dropped her barrier. Keira darted off in a blur as she engaged the two surviving warriors. Jun''s ropes pulled the three archers together brutally, their heads slamming into each other with hollow thumps as they were tied together by her spell. With the goblin mage distracted, Aya quickly cast a trio of spells. A blast of fire rocketed towards the goblin mage but dissipated as the mage angrily slashed with its arm. A shield shimmered into existence and shattered alongside Aya''s water blade. As the goblin raised his hand back up with a backhanded swing, a stone spike stabbed up between the mage''s legs, impaling it through the groin and head. As the goblin mage died, Keira sank one of her daggers into a warrior''s kidney, taking a brutal slash to her arm from the other warrior. Instead of flinching away, Keira savagely ripped her dagger out of the goblin and kicked his body into the warrior that wounded her, sending them sprawling in a tangle of arms and legs. Not wasting the opening, the scout slashed her dagger into the wounded goblin''s chest and darted away, her left arm dripping blood and barely hanging on to her weapon. As the last goblin pushed his comrade''s corpse off of him and stood, a sword came spinning end over end to sink impale it through the heart, knocking it back down. Keira looked at the impaled goblin as it sagged to the forest floor, then turned back to where the throw had come from to see Cian sitting with Michael propping him up. "Kill thief!" she screamed. Chapter 44: Loot Rules Jun was quickly learning that the aftermath of battle was never pretty. As the adrenaline rush from the sudden ambush faded, Jun couldn''t help feeling nauseous, but at least she managed not to vomit in front of her new team. Though that success was threatened with every pair of ears her team piled up in front of her as they cleared the battlefield. Including the 3 archers that Jun captured, a total of 18 bronze ranked goblins and the iron ranked goblin mage had made up the ambush party. The team had briefly debated interrogating the goblins themselves, but none of them spoke the monsters'' language. The debate on what to do with the live goblins had been fierce. "We should just kill them and take their ears for the bounty," Keira said, gesturing at the 3 archers with a bloody dagger. Aya nodded in agreement. "Since none of us speak their language, keeping them alive is just a threat." Killing prisoners left Jun ill at ease. She''d already done that once before, and the guilt had quietly gnawed at her even with the evidence of the goblins'' predations in front of her. "But I can keep them restrained, and besides, what if bringing them in alive counts as an intelligence bonus for the bounty?" she argued. "Even if it''s just 3 of them, they''re still a threat and we''re still a couple hours away from the city. Keeping them alive is a risk to all of us!" "Aya and Keira are right Jun," Michael joined in. "As distasteful as just killing prisoners is, these are goblins." The man gestured at the 3 short humanoids as they snarled and futilely struggled against Jun''s spell. "They don''t look like they''re ready to surrender." "I just don''t feel comfortable killing a sentient being..." Jun said. Aya looked at her with a complicated expression and came in closer to put her hand on Jun''s shoulder. "Goblins might be sentient, but they''re still monsters that harm the innocent. Unless we can ensure they will never harm another innocent person, we can''t let them live." "But... we could... I could keep the spell up? My mana recovers fast enough that I can maintain it until we get back to the city!" "And what if we''re attacked again? What if there''s more goblins or another ambush? Would you be able to keep them restrained while still using your barriers?" Jun did the math in her head. As much as she wanted to say that she could, the math didn''t lie. Her mana was less than a quarter full and slowly dropping while she recovered mana fast, maintaining the snare took slightly more mana than she recovered. If all she did was maintain the spell, she could last another 2 hours, but she would have nothing left to protect herself, Aya, or the team. She''d be betting their lives against the goblins'', and nothing she could think of could justify the risk. "Just... do it," she said quietly as a tear started to leak from her eye. Aya nodded at Cian and pulled Jun in for a hug, facing her away from the 3 prisoners. Even though Jun couldn''t see it, she heard and felt it happen. A goblin would snarl something in its guttural language followed by a wet thump, and the strain on her spell eased. It was only a matter of seconds before the only strain on her spell was that of keeping the ropes manifested. With a silent thought, Jun pulled her mana back and dismissed her spell constructs as she wiped her tears on her sleeve. Shiori meowed as she padded over and rubbed up against her legs, and Jun bent down to pick up her Master and hug her close. Shiori''s warm fur and the vibrations of her purrs helped take her mind off the execution she''d just been part of, but even though she hadn''t killed them, her hands still felt dirty. "Rest and recover Jun," Aya said, rubbing her on the back. "We''ll finish cleaning up and go find their camp after." Aya left Jun to her thoughts as she held Shiori. "Your friends are right," Shiori said with her magical voice. "You are a gentle soul kitten, one who would show mercy to those who would harm you, but the world is not kind. Mercy is a privilege of the strong, and you are not yet there." Jun sighed and set Shiori down before turning to help clear the battlefield. The gruesome task left her heart heavy, but even if she only defended against attacks and captured enemies, she still contributed to the deaths of their ambushers. Jun helped search the corpses for any valuables and used a borrowed knife to harvest the goblins'' ears with shaking hands. Her stomach remained unsettled and she couldn''t help feeling guilty at the casual mutilation of the goblins'' corpses, but the odd disturbing trinket she found helped her control her guilt and discomfort. After a few minutes of hard work, the battlefield had been cleared with the goblin corpses stripped of any valuables and items of importance in a few small piles. The largest pile was an assortment of iron and steel weapons, some finely forged, others crudem including 3 short bows and a handful of crude iron tipped arrows. By mutual agreement, the team had agreed ahead of time on the standard adventurer practice of each taking anything they needed first, and splitting the rest. Jun and Aya each grabbed a steel dagger even though they focused on magic as they''d had to borrow one from Keira to harvest ears. Keira claimed a bow and all of the arrows, claiming that while she didn''t know how to shoot well, she should learn for her role as a scout. Both Michael and Cian declined to take anything. The party had piled all of the goblins'' trinkets together, and agreed that they should be returned to the guild as part of the bounty alongside the ears. The last and smallest pile held a few thin purses of copper and silver coins and a few pieces of jewelry, most of which had been pulled from the goblin mage. Not able to identify anything, the group evenly divided the coins and agreed they would appraise the jewelry when they returned. With the loot settled, the party started to discuss how they would carry everything back before Jun volunteered to carry everything in her Void Bag. "I still have space in my bag," she said quietly. "You''re joking right?" Keira asked. "We shoved over 100 pounds of meat and a whole rolled hide into your bag earlier!" Jun could only nod in confusion. She''d obviously been there for that. Ambush or not, she wouldn''t forget shoving a giant sack of meat and a hide into a bag the size of a purse like it was nothing. "Yes?" "Then there''s no way you''d have more space!" "But... I do?" Jun grabbed one of the larger weapons, a longsword that one of the goblin warriors had wielded like a great sword, and put it in her bag, the weapon disappearing without a fuss before she pulled it back out and set it in the pile. The rest of the party stared at her. "Aren''t you a commoner and a scholarship student?" Michael asked pointedly, looking at Jun''s bronze school medallion. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "What''s that have to do with my bag?" "Jun..." Aya groaned as she pressed her palm against her forehead. She knew her friend was a bit clueless, but she didn''t think it''d be this dangerous. "Storage devices are expensive. It was already a bit weird that you have one, but no one said anything about it because they probably thought it was one of the cheaper storage bag that can only fit a bit more than a mundane travel pack. But even then, one of those costs at least 5 gold and would be full from the meat and hide." "Oh..." "Yeah." Aya turned to stare down the rest of the party. "Okay, so we''re all agreeing right now that we don''t know anything about Jun''s bag. Got it?" The twins nodded seriously while Michael just shrugged. "What bag?" he said pointedly, while turning around and ignoring the pile of weapons. Shaking her head, Aya helped Jun load the pile of weapons into her bag. The jewelry, ears, and trinkets were quickly placed in separate sacks that Michael tied to his belt. When Jun offered to carry them as well, the healer only stared pointedly at Jun and said "no you won''t. Your bag if full," as Aya groaned again. With the loot dealt with, the party reassembled with Keira in the lead, followed by Cian with Aya and Jun in the middle, and Michael bringing up the rear. Keira was able to find the goblin''s trail from the tree the archers had been in when they ambushed the party, and a few minutes later the trail led to a well hidden empty campsite. The adventurers split up to search the camp though beyond a few purses of coins and more trinkets, little of value was found. As Jun searched one of the tents, Shiori casually nudged the crude pile of furs that reminded Jun of what she''d slept on for over a month. "Check under the furs," Shiori suggested. Ignoring the rank smell coming off the greasy furs, Jun used her new dagger to flip them to the side, revealing a leather bag stuffed in a shallow hole. Pulling the bag out, she was shocked to see a crude map and scribbles in a strange language on pieces of hide done in charcoal, and another, smaller bag beneath it that jingled when she picked it up. "I found something!" Jun called out. Aya and the others soon joined her outside of the tent she''d been searching where she handed over the two bags she''d found, explaining that they''d been under the pile of sleeping furs. After pouring over the map and scribbles on the hide, the party agreed that this was probably notes the best they could hope for for the information bonus, and Aya slung the small satchel over her shoulder. The smaller bag was even more of a surprise. As they opened it, a soft glow came out of it and Aya reached in, pulling out a faintly glowing transparent crystal in the shape of a ball. "A beast core," she whispered. Looking inside the bag, the party could see that it was half full of the glowing things. Handing the bag of cores back to Jun, the party split up again, double checking under every pile of furs in the small tents, finding another 2 small bags of the cores. "Well, I''m not sure we''ll find anything else," Michael said, looking around the thoroughly ransacked campsite. The others chorused sounds of agreement.
The walk back to the city was uneventful, though the party had to jog once they got back to the road to make it back before the gates closed. After checking in with a grumpy guard corporal as the sun started to dip behind the mountains, the students were let back into the city. Tired and covered in grime from the day, the party stumbled into the guild hall as the street lighters started their rounds of igniting the street lamps to find a smiling Arwen waiting for them at a table . "Welcome back students!" he said with a smile, raising a half full mug at them. The adventurers just glared at their advisor. "We almost died." Aya said flatly. "But you didn''t!" "There was a goblin mage." "And you clearly killed it or escaped!" "We walked into an ambush!" "Then we''ll have to work on everyone''s awareness!" Arwen smiled wider as his eyes took on a manic gleam. Jun barely suppressed a shiver at the elf''s crazed expression. The man truly disturbed her, but she took comfort in the fact that Shiori seemed unbothered, simply jumping from Jun''s shoulder to land on Arwen''s table. The elf''s gaze turned to curiosity as he watched Shiori pad across the table and sniff his mug. "Well hello there," he cooed as he reached out to touch her. With every other person that Jun had seen try, her Master had simply let people pet her, but with Arwen something unexpected happened. As Arwen''s hand got close to her, Shiori hissed and arched her back before swiping at Arwen''s hand! The elf''s speed was too fast as his hand blurred out of the way, avoiding Shiori''s claws, but somehow her paw smacked perfectly into his mug and knocked it over, sending the contents spilling over the table and into Arwen''s lap. As if nothing strange had just happened, Shiori turned and jumped back onto Jun''s shoulder and started cleaning her paw like a regular cat, though a disembodied snicker filled Jun''s ears. The elf''s eyes narrowed in irritation as they flicked back and forth between his spilled drink and Shiori calmly licking her paws. Jun watched as Arwen closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling loudly. As he opened his eyes, his usual too friendly smile reappeared and he stood. "Well then, let''s go get your bounty turned in, shall we?" With his usual cheer, the man stood and started walking to the guild clerk''s desk, seemingly forgetting that his pants were dripping with beer. With barely hidden smiles of their own, the party followed behind their advisor to the clerk, but not before Aya and Keira both gave Shiori quick scratches behind her ears. Turning in the bounty was fast with the party handing over the sack of ears, trinkets, and the satchel with the map and notes they''d found. After confirming the bounty completion, the clerk disappeared for a few minutes, before she returned with a sack of coins. "Right, Arwen''s bronze academy team. Confirmed completion of the Iron Bounty to find and eliminate a goblin scouting party. A total of 19 pairs of ears submitted, 18 of which have been confirmed as bronze ranked goblins ranging from mid to high bronze, and a single low iron rank goblin mage. The standard bounty is 10 silver per bronze rank goblin and 1 gold for the iron ranked goblin mage. The map and notes captured have been confirmed to be goblin in origin, though the notes still require translation. A bonus of 1 gold 50 silver has been assessed for the captured intelligence. Among the trinkets returned included a bronze IAG badge for a missing adventurer now presumed dead or captured. A 25 silver recovery bonus has been approved for the return of this badge. After deducting 10 percent for Advisor Arwen, your total is 410 silver. Do you have established party split rules for bounty completion?" Jun and the others exchanged a look before Aya frowned. "Equal split," she told the clerk. Nodding in confirmation, the clerk quickly split the sack of coins into 5 equal stacks and shoved them into simple rough sacks before handing them over to the students. Nodding their thanks to the clerk, the students glanced their advisor. "See you for team training on Second Day!" he said with a cheery smile. "Dismissed!" Before any of them could say anything else, Arwen spun on his heels and marched back to his table, waving down a server as he went. Watching their advisor go, the students exchanged another look before turning as one to leave. The group walked in silence until they reached the safety of campus, where Keira finally broke the silence. "Can you believe that jerk took a tenth while doing nothing?!" Cian frowned and patted his sister''s shoulder awkwardly. "It is unfair," Michael agreed with a frown. "But he is our advisor. It is the way of things." Aya started snickering softly, nudging Jun in the side. Confused, she glanced at her friend before turning her attention back to her teammates'' complaining. "Still, he left us alone and we almost died!" "...he is a bad advisor..." "He took 45 silver out of our pockets while he sat in the city and drank!" A thought crossed Jun''s mind as Keira complained, and the reason Aya nudged her side became clear. "I was wondering when you''d figure it out kitten," Shiori privately whispered in her ears as her tail flicked in amusement. Unable to contain herself, Jun started snickering as well before she and Aya both broke down into giggles. The other 3 stared at them like they were crazy for a few seconds before Keira shouted at them. "What''s so funny about us getting robbed you two!" Aya looked around the area of the Academy campus and shook her head slightly, motioning around them. Jun nodded as she glanced around as well, noticing the students that were hanging around in small groups, not in earshot but easy enough to see. Holding her finger to her lips, Jun motioned for the other 3 to come closer. As they leaned in, Jun said a single word. "Bag." Keira stared at Jun with a dumbfounded look as understanding came over Michael and Cian''s faces. Cian looked at Keira''s face for a moment before letting out a high pitched squeak of a laugh. His merriment was contagious as Michael joined him with deep guffaws, and Aya and Jun soon devolved into another giggling fit. Finally, realization flashed across Keira''s eyes and she soon joined them with a tinkling, high pitched laugh. Chapter 45: Introductory Fencing Cecilia and Sara stared at Jun''s team members and the assorted pile of loot sitting on the table in their shared room. "So let me get this straight," Sara said, staring the younger students down with an unreadable look on her face. "Arwen forced you all to take on an iron ranked bounty as newbies that you barely survived, claimed 10 percent as an advisor''s fee, and you just so happen to have forgot to declare all of this extra loot to the guild?" The five of them shuffled awkwardly, while Jun looked at the floor in embarrassment. "H-He was drinking when we got back and I was just so tired and Aya told me not to tell anyone about my bag..." Her roommates glanced at the black bag on Jun''s shoulder as she mentioned it. While Aya had said not to tell anyone about it, she trusted Sara and Cecilia. They''d known about her war wand when they first met, and Jun had slowly realized how significant of an item that was given just being able to research it was enough for the Headmaster to give her a full scholarship. What was one more apparently extremely valuable magical artifact? Besides, other than a curious look after Jun started pulling stuff out of her bag, they hadn''t said anything about it. "And now you''re asking us to help sell all this off without your advisor finding out?" Cecilia finally said, pointedly refusing to say Arwen''s name. Jun nodded awkwardly. "Sorry to ask you... I know you have history with him..." Aya started to step in front of her. "Jun didn''t¡ª" "Of course we''ll help!" the two women said at the same time, cutting Aya off. "¡ªdo anything wrong..." Aya trailed off as Sara fell into Cecilia while giggling. Her laughter was infectious as Cecilia started to chuckle. When the warrior woman saw the dumbfounded looks on the younger student''s faces, she started laughing even harder. After a minute, their laughter stilled, though Sara''s face was flushed pink with good humor and Cecilia had a strange smile on her face. "That bastard of an advisor and I have history, but helping you with this screws him out of a share," Cecilia''s smile took on a hint of savage glee as she gestured at the pile of loot on the low table. "He probably knows you have at least some of this, but since your bounty included looting rights, you''re technically within your rights not declaring what you found to the guild. He''s probably waiting for you to come to him so he can try to offer you a low ball offer on all of your loot assuming none of you have any contacts to sell these things, since it''s not as simple as just dragging stuff into a shop and selling it to a merchant." Cecilia hefted an iron axe as an example. "This axe for example is decent but not in the best condition. The axe head is serviceable, but the haft is cracked and needs to be replaced. If you just took it to a blacksmith, they''d probably offer just a silver or two for the trouble of melting it down for materials since no blacksmith would want to sell something they haven''t made or repaired themselves, and bringing this axe back up to a like new standard would cost more than melting it down. But if you took it to a gear wholesaler, you could probably get 5 silver since they could easily replace the haft themselves and sell it for 10 silver. Plus, they''d be more willing to give you a decent price even on all the lower quality weapons because you have a decent amount of them. Altogether the right wholesaler would offer you a couple gold for all of these weapons." Cecilia set the axe back down on the pile of weapons then gestured to the small pile of jewelry. "A few of these pieces are enchanted, though you''ll want a professional to identify them before you try to use them or sell them. You can tell by reaching out with a tendril of mana. Enchanted objects will try to suck tendrils in, just resist the pull." Curious, Jun did what Cecilia said and spooled out a mana tendril to drift towards the jewelry. It was harder to move a mana tendril out of her body and the difficulty exponentially increased the farther her tendril moved from her body without a spellform. Before she could push her tendril farther than a couple feet, she lost control and it dissipated in the air. Frowning, she realized she''d stopped paying attention as her friend continued to talk. "¡ªjeweler should give a decent price for the lot. At least a couple gold, but depending on the enchantments it could be more or less." "As for the cores, hide, and meat," Sara said, taking over. "First, Grass Bears aren''t that rare, though the meat is fairly tasty and decently full of mana for a bronze rank beast and their hides make good cheap leather. You''ve all probably eaten some at least once in the cafeteria. The meat''s pretty cheap at a few copper a pound from any food merchant, so you''ll probably only get around a copper a pound selling it off. The Academy cafeteria usually buys meat from adventurer students at a better rate than you''ll get from food merchants though. The hide could easily be sold to the Crafting Branch for a handful of silver." "Second, and most importantly, your true prize is the cores. Even the smallest bronze core can be sold for at least 50 silver, and you have 23 of them. Just like with the hide, the Academy''s Crafting Branch. The only problem here is that the Crafting Branch will report their purchases to Administration and create an official record that you had these cores, and Arwen almost certainly doesn''t know you have them. They''re valuable enough that if he''s enforcing the advisor cut as a high Gold adventurer which most adventurers would waive, he would''ve made a point to call you out on holding back, even if you did it accidentally," Sara winked at Jun with a giggle, causing her to blush slightly. After a few seconds Sara sobered up again and continued. "If Arwen complains that you cut him out, the Academy would have easy access to the sale records and could enforce the advisor''s cut on the sale of the cores, meat, and hide." "Sara''s right about that. You''ll probably want to avoid leaving too many records, but leaving none would be weird. The best option would be to sell the hide and meat to the Academy since your advisor would only get a couple silver if he complained about those sales cutting him out, and 2 or 3 silver just isn''t worth the hit to his reputation to complain about. The weapons and jewelry would be best sold to merchants in the city who can also perform an identification on the enchanted pieces. The cores you could try to sell to an enchanter in the city, or sell direct to some of the enchanting students. What do you all want to do?" The younger students traded looks and turned to huddle and started whispering a discussion. "Other than screwing over Arwen, neither of them said what they''d get out of helping us. How much is your roommates'' help going to cost us Jun?" Keira asked. "I''m not sure, but I''d still rather give them a cut over giving it to him," Jun couldn''t help but look out of the corner of her eye at Sara and Cecilia. From the bemused looks Jun could see on her roommates'' faces, she had a feeling both of them could hear their conversation anyways. "...they are much nicer than Arwen..." Cian said with an awkward smile. Jun didn''t miss the way his eyes flickered toward her roommates and the way his ears turned a slight shade of red. Did the quiet man have a crush on her roommates?! A strange feeling of protectiveness came over her. She liked Cian well enough despite the man''s quiet nature, but the thought of him making a move on one of her roommates gave her a strange feeling. "I like Cecilia''s suggestion of selling some of the stuff to the school and some to merchants, but selling the best stuff direct to students. If Arwen really does know we have at least some of this stuff, he''s going to expect us to sell at least some of it off in the city. Besides, this will give us the chance to make connections with merchants we could sell more stuff to in the future." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "...that''s a good point Aya," Keira conceded. "So all agreed we get their help?" After a series of yeses from the party, they turned back out of their huddle to see Sara and Cecilia with serious looks on their faces, though Jun knew her friends and roommates well enough that she didn''t miss the slight crinkling at the corners of Sara''s eyes or the slight tightness in Cecilia''s face betraying their amusement. "We''d like your help selling everything without our advisor finding out," Aya said, puffing herself up as the party''s leader. After a short discussion with Jun''s roommates, the party agreed that Jun, Sara, and Cecilia would sell the loot the next morning while the rest of them were in classes for a share of 5 percent of the loot. With a rudimentary plan in place, their party split up to return to their rooms.
The next morning Jun was woken up while it was still dark by Shiori using her chest to launch herself from the bed to Jun''s desk just before Sara barged in and ripped her blanket off her. "Time to wake up Jun!" Sara sang as Jun squeaked with surprise. "Oh!" "Sara! What are you doing?!" Jun squeaked as the cold pre-dawn air chilled her skin. As she blinked the sleep from her eyes, she realized that Sara was sheepishly holding her blanket out for her and had her head turned away, her pointed ears turning slightly pink, That was when she remembered that she''d taken to sleeping in just her panties, lacking any pajamas. Her bras were comfortable enough to wear during the day, but at night they had just felt constricting. Squeaking, she took her blanket back as her roommate quietly left the room, closing Jun''s door behind her. While they''d seen each other naked several times on trips to Grandma Deedee''s bathhouse, something about Sara seeing her topless in her room was different, more intimate. Her heart racing and her face warm, Jun quietly slipped out of bed and started dressing. "Kitten, I''ve been watching the two of you making eyes at each other when the other''s not looking for over a month. Just mate with her already!" Shiori said in an exasperated tone. Jun ripped a button off of her shirt as she whipped her head around to glare at her Master. The button strained in her grip as the shirt''s enchantment fought against her physical stats to repair itself. "What? The two of you are constantly leaking pheromones around each other. Why, every time you go to the bathhouse, it smells like the two of you are in heat." The button fell from Jun''s fingers as she stared at her Master in shock, her mouth dry as her face grew even warmer. Jun barely noticed as the button snapped back into place on her shirt as the threads wove themselves around it, locking it back into place. "You¡ª" Shiori started to say something else, but Jun rushed at the cat and put her hands around her small mouth, keeping it shut. A sigh filled her ears. "You realize that does nothing because I use mana and aura to talk, not my mouth right? Looks like we need to go back to basic mana manipulation lessons and soup." Jun groaned quietly as she removed her hands from Shiori''s mouth. Her Master yawned slow and wide as her ears and tails twitched in a cat''s version of an amused laugh. A wooden bowl of soup manifested and shoved itself in front of Jun''s mouth, the meaty herbal smell of weeks ago coming back. It was the same bitter soup she''d had so many times before. She''d thought that soup was done with as Shiori had only given her a bowl once a week of the better tasting soup, but it seemed she was wrong. Giving up on fighting the inevitable, Jun just gulped the persistent bowl of soup down with a grimace while Shiori continued to gently tease her.
After a couple minutes, Jun left her room with her bag on one shoulder and Shiori on the other to find Sara and Cecilia waiting for her. "Ready to go?" Sara asked, fidgeting awkwardly as a light hint of pink graced the tips of her ears. "Pheromones..." Shiori whispered as the cat flicked her tail against Jun''s neck, sending her heart racing. "Yes," Jun gasped out as gestured awkwardly at her bag that she''d refilled the night before. Cecilia glanced between the two of them and smirked, though she had the good sense not to say anything as she led the way out into the still dark campus of the Academy. To Jun''s surprise there were a surprising number of people out in the early morning, though few wore the uniforms of a student as the three of them did. Most wore work clothes and carried sacks and boxes or pushed along carts of materials, while a few wore various kinds of armor and carried weapons as they headed for the front gate of the school. The number of people wearing work clothes steadily increased as Cecilia led them to the cafeteria and around to the back where a gruff man in a stereotypical chef''s hat was directing workers moving sacks and boxes around. "You students! Cafeteria''s not open yet, come back in an hour!" a worker yelled at them, stepping in front of Cecilia and barring her way to the man in the chef''s hat. "We''re looking for Conrad," Cecilia said. "What do you students want with Conrad? Come to complain about the quality of the food?" the man sneered, crossing his arms as two more men dropped what they were doing and joined him. Jun shivered as the men seemed to flex their muscles. They were all large men, and while Jun had seen Sara and Cecilia fight before, both were unarmed and there were a lot of men turning to look at them. "No, we''re suppliers," Sara said from behind Cecilia as she made a covert hand signal at Jun. Seeing the signal her roommates had coached her about on the way over, Jun reached into her bag and pulled a package wrapped in paper and passed it to Sara silently. The man who stood in front of Cecilia held his hand out as Sara approached and handed him the package. Opening it to reveal a small cut of meat, he gave it a sniff. "Freshly slaughtered Grass Bear," he said, handing it off to one of the men that had joined him. The man stared at the piece for a moment as Jun felt the faintest hint of mana moving in a cast spell. After a few seconds, the second man spoke. "Level 57 young adult Grass Bear from the plains outside the city, D grade mana density. Killed quickly and properly drained," he said, wrapping the meat back up and handing it back to the first man. Nodding, the first man took the package and gave Sara a look. "How much you got?" "Enough that Conrad will want it," Sara said confidently. The first man gave her a long look before glancing at the package of meat in his hands. Turning around, he took the package and walked over to the back door of the kitchen and spoke to someone inside, handing over the package. After a couple minutes, the man returned and clapped the other men on the shoulder. "Conrad will see you, follow me, but the cat stays out of the kitchen." Nodding, Jun picked up Shiori and set her down on the ground, already having been warned that her Master wouldn''t be allowed in the kitchen. The three students followed behind the man as the others returned to their work and he led them into the kitchen. Men and women in aprons and wearing hats or bandanas rushed about the busy kitchen, preparing various dishes in massive quantities. Their guide led them to a man who stood before a wooden butcher''s block, the open package of meat in front of him with a small plate of thinly sliced grilled meat. "Thanks Von, you can return to your duties" the man said with a nod at their guide, before turning to look at Sara. "Sara! Cecilia! It''s been a while! How''s my favorite team of suppliers?" he said with a smile before glancing at Jun. "I see you have a new party member!" "We''re doing good Con," Sara said with a smile. "Though Jun here isn''t a party member, she''s a friend of ours. The meat you sampled was a kill from her team, we''re just showing her the ropes." "Showing her the ropes eh?" he said with an appraising look at Jun. After a second, he glanced at the dish of cooked meat and nodded. "Meat''s good," he said, gesturing at the plate of grilled meat. "How much you got?" he asked impatiently. Jun waited until Sara gave her another hand signal and started pulling out packages of the meat from her bag, forming a steadily growing pile on the metal table beside her. Conrad watched her impassively until she finished removing packages, and Jun felt another feeling of mana moving as Conrad cast a spell. After a few seconds, he let out a low whistle. "117 pounds, plus the 1 pound sample. Must''ve been a decent size beasty. Shame you didn''t bring the bones too." Conrad rubbed his bare chin in thought for a few seconds before looking at Jun. "Sara''s right I want it. A C a pound and we say it came from the usual suppliers, or 2 C a pound and we fill out some paperwork." Jun glanced at Sara, who gave her a nod and gestured her forward. It was close to the price Sara said she''d get, and the plan was to leave a record of this sale. "We''ll do the paperwork," Jun squeaked. "Right, step into my office then," Conrad said, leading the students through the kitchen to a small side office. As they moved through, Conrad barked orders at a few of the cooks to deal with the meat. After a few minutes of paperwork that included Jun signing a pair of documents and holding her medallion against an orb mounted in the wall of Conrad''s office, the man handed her 23 silver coins and 4 copper ones alongside a handwritten receipt. "Pleasure doing business with you. You get any more quality ingredients, you bring them to me first you hear?" Jun nodded. "I will." "Great! Pleasure doing business with you Jun," he said with a smile. "And you two," he said turning to Sara and Cecilia. "Do let me know if you get your hands on any more Sprite Sage, the damned Central Duke upped the price and the Count''s increased import taxes again." "Of course Conrad, the Forest is bountiful after all," Sara said with a smile. Chapter 46: Arms Dealing and Anti-PKing Jun followed Sara and Cecilia off campus in the darkness of early morning, sticking close to her roommates as she kept one hand on the new dagger strapped to her belt and the other holding onto her bag. Shiori''s black fur let her fade easily into any shadow, and though she knew her Master was easily keeping pace at their feet, it was easy to miss that she was there with them. She kept several mana tendrils poised and ready to throw into her [Arcane Snare] and [Barrier] spells. Forest''s Edge was normally a lively city even late into the night as adventurers, students, soldiers, craftspeople, and merchants celebrated or commiserated. The Academic Quarter around the Academy was especially lively, filled with bars, taverns, restaurants, clubs, and dance halls, but most everything closed by the Void hour signaling the end of the day and the start of the next. An hour after that, and the only people that moved were stragglers returning to campus, guards, and criminals. The streets at least were well lit by mana lights, though the lighting rarely extended far into the alleyways between buildings. What had seemed like a charming fantasy district of winding alleyways and hidden gems of shops took on a more ominous tone in the dark while most of the city slept. Crossing over into the Expedition Quarter required a quick trip through the City Square where Jun was surprised to find that even early in the morning it was heavily trafficked. A few restaurants and taverns never closed, and even some seedier places marked only by a glowing red lantern outside the door could be seen down the side streets and poorly lit alleyways. Men and a rare few women in work clothes moved through the area with most going towards the Crafting Quarter, though a few headed to the Noble Quarter to the North. As Jun and her friends crossed into the Expedition Quarter, that was when things changed again. Unlike the other Quarters, the Expedition Quarter never truly slept as adventurers and soldiers caroused through the night and day, spending coin like it was their last day on Merinthia. For some of them, it would be. More of the red lanterns could be seen throughout the district, with more than a few on the well lit main roads, and they passed dozens of beautiful women and even a few handsome men carrying lanterns with them, their clothes cut to clearly advertise their services. Jun couldn''t help but blush at the blatant behavior that she''d never noticed on her previous trips through the area. Several times drunken men and women propositioned the students to join them though they moved on when the group ignored them and kept moving forward. Jun was nervous every time someone approached them like this but her friends had stressed that it was important that Jun keep moving with purpose and confidence, especially if she didn''t feel confident, and if it came down to a fight, to fight hard. After several minutes of chasing off would be suitors, Sara led them down several less heavily trafficked side streets to a series of warehouses with teams of workers moving crates about, loading and unloading horse drawn carts. Several armed and armored men stood in front of a warehouse with a sign that said "Arnold Arms & Armor," with an insignia of three interlocked As over crossed swords. As the guards spotted Sara and Cecilia they nodded respectfully and them through to a busy warehouse filled with rows of wooden crates. Arnold turned out to be a mountain of a man that looked like he could break the Sergeant in half. After a quick round of introductions, Arnold called an assistant over to handle the sale while he oversaw the work. Arnold''s assistant was a tall and reedy man with sandy brown hair and glasses. He looked young, perhaps in his mid to late 20s, though because of mana, stats, and levels, that could mean he was anywhere from his 20s to pushing 100. The man seemed familiar with her friends and introduced himself to Jun as Clyde before bringing the group to a table on the side for Jun to pull out the weapons her party gained. As she set them out, Clyde inspected each one and wrote a few notes down on a pad of paper. After he finished writing down notes, that was when the negotiating began, with Cecilia taking the lead while Jun watched and learned. "Right, 2 basic short bows, 3 iron axes of poor quality, 4 iron daggers of moderate quality, 2 iron maces of moderate quality,1 iron short sword of fine quality. I can offer you 2 gold for these," Clyde said, gesturing at the short bows and iron weapons. "That''s highway robbery Clyde," Cecilia said with a derisive snort. "The axe heads are at least fine quality, they just need new handles and some polishing and they''d be worth at least 30 silver each. The rest of the iron weapons are all in good condition with no chips, cracks, or rust, and every one is clearly mana infused. They''re easily worth 3 and a half gold." Clyde shook his head. "I won''t deny the metalwork is solid, but besides the hafts of the axes, most of the weapon grips need to be rewrapped and are lacking sheathes. 2 gold 35 silver." "That work is superficial and fast, you could have the work done and the pieces ready for sale by the afternoon. 3 gold." "Finding buyers will take time and these will take up space. 2 and 50." "You know the Academy first years just formed their first teams. They''ll be looking for starter gear all week and these pieces are ready to go. 2 and 80." "Your party''s been a reliable supplier. 2 and 70 because of our history," Clyde said, holding his hand out. "Deal," Cecilia said, clasping the man''s hand and shaking it. "2 and 70 for the bows and iron weapons. As for the steel weapons?" she said, pointing at the second group of 6 weapons. "2 steel maces, a longsword, an axe, and 2 short swords, all mana infused steel of moderate quality. I can offer 3 and 50." "We both know that longsword alone could go for 1 and 50 as is, and the short swords wouldn''t be that far behind. 5 and 30." "4. Same issues as the other weapons. Missing sheathes, rewrapping, and these are out of reach of most beginners so they''ll take time to sell." "Plenty of nobles will be recruiting and equipping new servants and vassals recruited from the commoners at the school. They''ll want better gear without wasting too much. These are perfect for them. 4 and 90." "4 and 50. I cut you a good deal with the iron weapons and you need to leave me some room to profit." "4 and 75." "4 and 65." Clyde stared Cecilia down over his clipboard with an eyebrow quirked. Cecilia returned his stare without blinking for a moment. "4 and 65 is fair," she finally said after a few long seconds, holding her hand out as they repeated their handshake from earlier. With negotiations completed, Clyde jotted down a few more notes and pulled out several coins from the pouch on his belt to place in Cecilia''s hand. Jun counted as the man handed her friend 7 gold coins, 3 larger than normal silver coins, and 5 of the silver coins she was familiar with. After handing over the money, Clyde signaled some workers to come over and pack up the weapons before walking off to another task. Turning to Jun, Cecilia passed her the coins Clyde paid with a smile. "Your payment, milady," she said with a grin and a mock bow. "That was amazing!" Jun said, feeling the weight of the coins in her hands. If Jun had been alone, she would have just taken the first offer Clyde had given, losing out on almost 3 gold in the process. Fingering the larger silver coins, she had a feeling she knew what they were but it never hurt to ask. "What are these larger silver coins?" she said, holding one up. Cecilia waved her off. "The larger ones are tensils, they''re worth 10 silver each. Put those coins away and let''s get out of here," she said Jun slid the coins into her Void Bag, mentally making a note that the total party split was 7 gold, 58 silver, and 4 copper. She''d noticed over the past weeks that it was easier to make mental notes now and actually remember them, probably due to her greatly improved stats. With the weapons sold, Jun and her roommates started to head back to campus, quickly retracing their route through the Expedition Quarter and the City Square. Somewhere in the Central District as they left behind the steadily increasing traffic, Jun caught sight of a group of men in work clothes some distance behind them. She thought nothing of it at first but soon noticed that with every passing minute they seemed to get slightly closer. Nervousness started to fill her and she sped up a bit, closing the slight distance between herself and her roommates. "Stay calm. We''re being followed," Sara said quietly. "It might be a coincidence, but just to be safe we''ll take a different route back." Sara subtly increased her pace as she turned at the next intersection, following a well lit road that headed North towards the Noble Quarter. As the shops grew nicer, Sara stopped in front of several closed stores for a few seconds as if admiring a displayed ware before moving on. "They''re definitely following us. Several men in work clothes. Cudgels, short swords, and daggers," Sara said quietly as she moved away from another shop. As they reached another intersection, Jun noticed that the pair of guards standing there seemed to eye the group of women for a few seconds before looking away behind them. Relief started to fill her chest knowing that the guards were nearby. They should be safe, she thought. As they made another turn using the cover of buildings to hide their direction, Sara''s next words ruined that. "Those guards are in on it. They''re ignoring the men." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. As soon as they were out of sight of the guards, Sara and Cecilia started to lightly jog. As Jun caught on and jogged to keep up, they increased the pace until they were sprinting as fast as Jun could maintain. All of the training Jun had done over the past few weeks came in helpful now as she barely kept up with the punishing pace, leaving her chest aching as she struggled to get enough air into her lungs, but still she kept up. As they ran, Sara changed directions several times until they were headed roughly back towards the Academic Quarter, though by a route Jun had never taken before. A canal marked the border between the Central District and the Academic Quarter, and the group was soon running along it, looking for one of the few bridges across. Just as they spotted a bridge in the distance, Sara stopped in a section of the canal road where the mana light had burned out and dragged her into a dark alleyway, Cecilia following close behind. Gasping, Jun sucked in several deep breaths as she rested with her hands on her knees. "Why¡ª" she started to ask a question, but Sara placed a hand over her mouth. "They split and cut us off. We''re surrounded," Sara said in a quick whisper as Cecilia unsheathed her short sword. "Be ready to fight." Sara pulled her hand away from her lips and pulled a dagger with her right hand and held her left as if she was ready to throw something. Despite the darkness, Jun knew that Sara probably held several throwing knives in that hand. Apprehension filled her chest as Jun pulled her dagger with shaking hands. She wished she had a nice shield to hide behind. She hoped she wouldn''t have to fight other humans. The guilt from the goblins was bad enough even with their monstruous behavior making it easier. Other humans though... a carefully suppressed memory of her desperate fight beneath a tree in another life, of the thud of a bottle against a man''s head and the way he fell to the ground, his neck at a strange angle fluttered through her head, followed by the phantom lick of flames. Shaking the memory away, Jun steeled herself. That was a different world, and a different her. She was trying to change. She was stronger than she was before. She had magic. Jun flooded her spellforms with mana, carefully enhancing her spell as she strained her ears to listen for the men who hunted them. The scuff of leather boots on cobblestone, heavy breathing, and muttered cursing came to her ears back from the way they came. She couldn''t tell how many people there were by sound alone, but she guessed at least five. The sounds of their pursuers grew closer until one of the men that Jun had spotted following them came into view. The man was little more than a shadow in the dim starlight and slowly lightening sky of dawn. "What''s the hold up Nose?" a man asked in a rough voice from just out of sight. "Scent ends here," the man said, looking around in confusion. Jun caught her breath as he looked down their alley, but his eyes seemed to flow right over them hidden in the darkness. Her friends were as still as statues until the man turned his head to look into the opposite alley. "We were right behind them, they can''t have gotten far," the second man said as another shadow stepped into view. "Can''t see nothing in the shadows. Get the stones out boys, check the alleys!" Three more men stepped into view as they fumbled for something at their waists. One of the men with a shaved head pulled something out and the sound of stones clapping together split the morning air, a few sparks shooting and briefly illuminating the man. The other two men mimicked the man, filling the air with more brief flashes of light. "Got it!" the first man yelled with a flare of light as his pair of stones started glowing with a warm yellow light that seemed to banish the shadows in a circle around him. The light just barely touched the edge of Cecilia''s boot as he stared at the alley they hid within. Two more flashes of light cast the men''s shadows against the dark storefronts of the street. As the first man started to step into the alleyway, Shiori hissed and leapt onto the man''s face, her claws out as she raked him across the eyes. As the man let out a panicked scream, Shiori jumped off of his head and into another man''s face, her claws tearing across his hands as he struggled to protect his eyes. With Shiori distracting them, Cecilia snaked forward, her short sword extended in a thrust to catch the first man in the throat. The man let out a strangled gurgle as his light stones clattered to the ground, illuminating the three women. As the men shouted in the chaos Shiori created, Cecilia charged another man, her sword flickering in the light of the mana stones only for her thrust to be parried by one of the men with a cudgel. "Ambush!" the man cried as he dropped back in a fighting stance. Cecilia gave him little time to recover as she followed up with a series of blindingly fast and confusing strikes, but the man managed to parry or dodge each of them. Several more men arrived in a rush and Shiori jumped into them, her claws flashing as she fouled their charge and distracted them. Jun stepped just out of the alleyway as she flooded her mana into her [Arcane Snare], conjuring a dozen ropes. The glow of the spells added to the confusing light of the street as they sped for the men''s limbs. Between Shiori''s distraction and the chaotic lighting, Jun managed to tangle up several of the men''s legs, adding to their confusion. As the men from the first group turned to support the man Cecilia dueled, Sara'' threw her knives at them, sending two of them down screaming as knives slammed into their chests. Down to just two men among the first group, Sara snarled as she charged forward, scooping up a short sword as she ducked the other man''s wild swing and slashed with her dagger, opening up a long and bloody wound across his thigh. As the man hobbled back, Sara moved into a left handed stance leading with her scavenged sword. The woman blurred as she sent testing strikes at the man, however despite his injury from being caught off guard, the man was more than able to keep up with Sara, fending off her assault and counter attacking, putting her on the defensive. Cecilia''s fight was close as Jun could see her roommate bleeding from several slashes along her arms, though her opponent also bled from traded blows. Channeling more of her dwindling mana, Jun manifested a snaking coil and whipped the spell at Cecilia''s opponent, though he neatly hopped back over it. Wielding it less like the bind it was meant to be and more like a whip, Jun sent the spell chasing after the man''s legs, giving Cecilia some breathing room as he danced back. That was when the man spotted her still in the alleyway, standing still with her vision fixed on him. Jun barely had time to blink as his hand shot out at her and a metal dart fell to the ground, bouncing off the transparent barrier Jun had cast in front of her. Suppressing the mana glow to the point it was invisible in the dark had been difficult, but Jun was glad she''d thought to try rather than depend upon the darkness to keep her safe. Judging from how weakened a single dart from the man had left her barrier and the way he pushed Cecilia, he was far beyond her own level, and probably beyond that of her roommates that she knew to be somewhere close to level 200. Pressing more of her mana into another spell, Jun retaliated by conjuring a small barrier behind the man and pulling it towards her. Her barrier spell was small, barely the size of a brick as she condensed the mana down for resilience and speed rather than size, but using her new trick she was able to make it all but invisible, taking the man by surprise as he was struck from behind by a magical speeding transparent brick! As the man stumbled forward, more surprised than injured, Cecilia found her second wind and plunged her sword deep into his chest. As the man died, Jun felt a massive surge of mana as her dwindling reserves started filling even faster. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, Jun shoved feelings of guilt aside as she turned to Sara''s fight just in time to see Shiori bite into his wrist, sending the man''s weapon tumbling to the ground as he shrieked with pain. Sara darted forward, her right shoulder stained with blood as she stabbed her sword into the man''s gut and savagely eviscerated him. Clearly pained, Sara struggled to reach into her coat with her right hand as she turned to face the other group of men as they strained against Jun''s binds. Cecilia dropped back and joined Sara while chewing on something with a grimace. Jun ran over to join them, her hand already reaching into her bag as she tried to think of something she could use to stop her bleeding. As Jun pulled a sock out, Sara shook her head. "Left breast pocket,¡± she said. Dropping her sock back into her bag, Jun reached into Sara¡¯s jacket, doing her best to ignore the smell of her friend mixed with the iron tang of blood. Jun grabbed the sole object in Sara¡¯s pocket, a small but surprisingly heavy flat tab that reminded her of a large multivitamin. Sara opened her mouth and Jun followed the unspoken command, feeding Sara the tablet. A strong herbal scent came out of her mouth as Sara quickly chewed with a grimace. Before Jun could ask what the pill was, she felt one of her spells break and whirled around just in time to see Cecilia to intercept a blow aimed at Jun¡¯s head. Another of her spells broke and Sara darted forward again, her right arm seemingly healed as she wielded the short sword with two hands to exchange blows with another man. Using the new flood of mana refilling her core, Jun reinforced the spells tying the remaining four men in place when a new idea came to mind. Choosing the one whose bindings had required the least reinforcement, she flooded even more mana into the spell as she fed it a new intent. The conjured ropes started to grow up his body as the man bashed away at the spell with an iron-banded cudgel, snaking up his legs and torso. Following Jun¡¯s intent, her magical snare drank in her mana as it wrapped around the man¡¯s throat and covered his nose and mouth. His eyes started to bulge as he let out a muffled scream of rage and started ripping at the spell, but Jun fed it even more mana, reinforcing the supernatural ropes as the man struggled. His struggles slowly weakened as he was choked of air, and all too soon he passed out into unconsciousness. Jun hurried pulled her mana from the spell and the man fell limp to the ground. Flooding the recovered mana into the other three bindings, she sighed with relief as she saw the thug she¡¯d strangled still breathing. Repeating the action, Jun moved through the remaining men, choking them of air until they passed out. When the last of the four fell unconscious, she turned to see Cecilia¡¯s opponent laying on the ground bleeding out while Cecilia herself eyed Jun¡¯s victims, her sword tensed to pounce upon them. Sara¡¯s opponent had surrendered, his sword hand missing and Sara pressing her blade to the man¡¯s throat. As Jun realized the fight was over, a wave of exhaustion, guilt, and nausea started to come over her. Shaking her head, she forced her thoughts and feelings down and recast her snare spell, binding four unconscious men to the cobblestone of the road. "Your friends are dead or at our mercy," Sara growled in an angry voice Jun had never heard before that sent a thrill of danger down her spine totally unlike the normally upbeat and energetic scout. "Why did you follow and try to catch us?" The man glared at Sara, his remaining hand trying to staunch the blood flowing from the stump of his right arm. "I ain''t a rat," he spat. As Sara tensed, Shiori rubbed up against her legs and took a step toward the one handed man, letting out a loud meow as she stared at him. A look of terror suddenly flashed across his face as he started to foam at the mouth and collapsed to the ground. Shiori stared at the man at the moment and turned to nudge her legs again. Sara glanced from the unconscious man to Shiori rubbing against her legs. Stooping down, the elf scratched the cat behind her ears while turning to glance from the unconscious man in front of her to the pile of unconscious men with faces and hands covered in cat scratches. "Jun, I don''t think your cat is normal." "Meow?" Chapter 47: To the Victors go the Spoils. Jun wasn''t sure if it was progress or something to be concerned about that she managed to keep from vomiting after the adrenaline wore off. As the sky started to lighten with the rising sun Jun, Sara, and Cecilia had hurriedly searched the men both alive and dead, throwing every weapon or item of value into Jun''s bag as they went. Jun felt guilty about it at first, at least until Cecilia found several bags large enough for a body, and several lengths of rope, while Sara found an illegal powder would knock someone out and erase the past few hours of the victims'' memory. That the men had been carrying such things while following them spoke to a dark intent behind their stalking the girls. Weirdly, taking items off their dead or unconscious bodies didn''t bother her so much after. After the dead were stripped of anything valuable, Sara and Cecilia bagged the corpses in the men''s own bags and threw them in the river. In the shaded and murky water of the canal, the bagged bodies simply looked like six pieces of discarded trash. Of the five survivors, most of them were only lightly scratched by Shiori''s claws, but Jun had been worried that the man Sara disarmed would die from blood loss. However, her concern for the injured prisoner was wasted as his bleeding seemed to stop on its own as the stub rapidly scabbed over, to her surprise. It was just another reminder that stats and magic made things radically different in this world from her previous one. Once the corpses were dealt with, the three of them dragged the unconscious men deeper into the alleyway where Sara fed the five men some of their drug. Once they were dosed, Jun dropped her spells and helped Sara loot them then tie them up, learning a substantial amount about tying knots in the process. While the two of them rapidly worked to take anything of value from the men, Cecilia used one of the men''s shirts as a rag to wipe away as much of the blood on the ground as possible, disguising the scene of the fight. Once they were done looting her friends disguised the pile of bound and unconscious thugs with a scattering of trash and they left, the sky now bright but the sun still hidden behind the mountains. The rest of their trip back to the Academy was uneventful but Jun kept her head on a swivel, watching for trouble that never materialized. It was only after they passed through the front gate manned by a squad of the school''s guards that she felt some tension leave. Despite the bloodstains covering their uniforms, they easily blended in with the other uniformed students rushing to various morning classes and except for a few concerned or disbelieving looks, went unnoticed as they headed back to their dormitory. Jun''s focus on spellcasting had let her get away from the fight untouched, and except for a small amount of grime and blood on her hands from looting and moving bodies, the only sign she''d been in a fight was her messy hair. Once back in their unit, she''d quickly washed her hands before Sara and Cecilia started to clean themselves up, taking turns in the shared bathroom while Jun sagged to the couch with exhaustion. She''d only been up for a few hours, but so much happened. Selling the meat, the weapons, and especially the fight. Without that strange burst of strength, she wasn''t sure how things would have gone. Curious about what that burst of strength was, she opened her status and stared with shock at the changes displayed.
Name: Jun
Titles: [COLLAPSED]
Level: 51 (+25) (87/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 340/340
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 1)
Stats: MIND - 68 (+26)
CON - 71 (+25)
STR - 65 (+25)
AGI - 75 (+27)
DEX - 75 (+25)
CHA - 83 (+25)
SPR - 86 (+33)
Traits: (5/5) [COLLAPSED]
Skills: [Body Cleansing] (Novice 15) [Pending Breakthrough]
[Mental Resistance] (Novice 6) (+2)
[Piercing Missile] (Apprentice 25) [Evolve? Y/N]
[Barrier] (Apprentice 25) (+7) [Evolve? Y/N]
[Multi Casting] (Apprentice 16) (+1)
[Mana Shift] (Novice 12) (+1)
[Arcane Snare] (Novice 15) [Evolve? Y/N]
[Stealth] (Novice 10) (+2)
The last time she''d checked her status had been only a few days ago and she''d only been level 26, but somehow she''d nearly doubled her level in just 3 days? How?! Jun looked at her Master casually sitting and licking herself clean on the couch, then to the bathroom door where she knew Sara was showering and Cecilia''s half open door as she waited for the bathroom to free up. She really wanted to ask Shiori questions, but the words Sara said earlier were stuck in her head. "Jun, I don''t think your cat is normal." Shiori had never insisted on Jun keeping her Master''s identity quiet, but her instincts had insisted she do so and she was the only one Shiori seemed to talk to. It made things complicated when she wanted to ask Shiori questions while others were around, but at least for now, there was a simple solution. Standing up, Jun scooped Shiori and walked into her room, gently pushing the door shut with her hip. Shiori for her part hadn''t resisted, and simply leapt from Jun''s arms to the bed where she resumed cleaning herself. "Something you want to talk about privately, kitten?" "Something weird happened during that fight!" she said hurriedly. "Weird how?" "There was a strange rush of power in the middle of the fight that helped me empower my spells more, like nothing I''ve ever felt before!" "Oh, you leveled because of the relative danger. All of those thugs were between low and high iron, and two of them was even low silver," Shiori said nonchalantly. "I leveled? But how come I didn''t feel anything like that with the goblin mage? We almost died to it!" Shiori scoffed. "Because those goblins were all in the mid to high bronze, even the mage was only at the peak of bronze, not yet iron like the bounty said. Whoever judged it to be iron rank was lacking. The only reason it was a threat was because your team was ambushed and gave the mage time to cast a ritual spell. They hit you at your weakest while they were at their strongest," Shiori said, pausing in her cleaning to give Jun a pointed look. "They were only a threat because they escaped your team''s notice, and that is why if you had checked your status before, you would have only seen a single level of improvement. We''ll need to work on your mana sense and aura perception." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Shiori flicked her tail for a moment and looked at the door before continuing. "Those thugs, weak as they seemed to be, were far more dangerous. All of them were physically focused with skills focused on intimidation, ambush, and capture. They were not prepared to be counter ambushed, nor to deal with magic. The one the kitten Cecilia killed before you leveled up was level 232 and the one Sara disarmed was level 241. The rest were between level 134 and level 199. The large boost you felt was because you helped in the defeat of a dangerous enemy more than 200 levels above yourself, including blocking an attack from him. The rest of your levels mostly came from subduing several low irons." Jun didn''t know how to feel about all of this. She''d thought the mage was dangerous, by far the scariest opponent she''d ever faced even including the hulking kobold that Shiori had saved her from, but she''d been wrong. Thinking back to how Shiori had joined the fight against the thugs, even if it was clear she just played with them, made her realize how wrong she''d been. Shiori only helped when it was an enemy she wouldn''t be able to handle, and Shiori hadn''t helped at all with the goblins. But if Shiori hadn''t been with them for the thugs... Jun''s hands started to shake as dark thoughts crossed her mind about what could have happened to her and her friends. Sara and Cecilia were far stronger than her, but they and the rest of their party had needed her help to survive when they first met, and Shiori had stepped in and saved all three of them at key moments. Jun hadn''t been able to snare all of the men at once, and while her barrier had stopped an attack over 200 levels above her, she''d only been able to cast a single barrier that strong. The spells she''d learned from Shiori were good, but they weren''t enough. Looking at her status again, she froze as she saw it. All of her spells were maxed out and ready to evolve. She''d been holding off on her [Piercing Missile] evolution for weeks, not feeling any true affinity for it nor any inspiration on what she''d like to see it turn into. However, both her [Barrier] and her [Arcane Snare] were ready to evolve, and she''d had an inkling of an idea. "My [Barrier] and [Arcane Snare]... I think I''m ready to evolve them." "Tell me your inspiration, kitten." Jun started to talk about her spells, about the challenges she''d faced with them, how she struggled to get them to do what she wanted sometimes. What she wanted to do with her magic, what she wanted her magic to be. How she was hesitant to kill but wanted to protect herself and her friends while stopping people who meant them harm. As Jun spoke, Shiori nodded along, asking the occasional probing question or challenging an idea, forcing her to think deeper about what she wanted. Ideas and thoughts were explored, altered, and pruned as the idea of what Jun''s spells should look like formed. Many of the things Jun wanted were beyond her reach, especially for her [Arcane Snare] as the jump from Novice to Apprentice was significant but still small. For her [Barrier], the jump from Apprentice to Initiate was larger, allowing for more. With her inspiration crystalized, it was time. Skill evolution was both simple and complicated. Without inspiration, it was as straightforward as telling the system yes, and the spell would evolve into a stronger version of itself, only lightly shaped by one''s previous actions. But Shiori''s method treated evolution like a spell, feeding her intent and desire for growth into the evolution, helping to guide and shape the spell to better fit her. Jun started with [Arcane Snare], feeding her desire to stop others from causing harm and render them less of a threat into the evolution. With an inaudible click, she felt her inspiration fall into place within the spellform as it grew and warped to her desires. In what felt like minutes, but was less than a second, her spellform grew and expanded as a screen popped up in her vision, detailing her new spell.
[Sapping Snare] (Apprentice 1)
Conjures magical ropes to physically restrain a target. Ropes can be reinforced with extra mana. Uses the aspect of Negation to drain a small amount of mana from victims to maintain and strengthen itself. Mana cost: varies
Jun cast the spell on herself, allowing it to drain her core to maintain itself. The drain was small and slow, barely noticeable against her mana recovery, but she knew greater contact with the spell would improve the drain exponentially, and if someone were exposed long enough to be fully drained, the spell would start to leech away their energy, making it harder for them to fight. The rope''s strength hadn''t changed at all from the Novice rank either to accommodate the new draining effect, but the drain and Shiori''s techniques would allow her to make up for that lack. Satisfied with her evolved spell, Jun dismissed it and turned to her [Barrier]. The spell was one that Shiori had already designed and fed, making it more powerful than normal when combined with her techniques, but it was her Master''s spell, not hers. Where the spell was meant to serve as a single unyielding defense, Jun found herself using it in tandem with other things to protect herself and others. She''d pushed away the boys who''d harassed her and Aya in the classroom with a small barrier and knocked the low silver thug off balance with a barrier to the back of the head. She''d used many smaller barriers to intercept spells in her game with Lane and Aya, and had even changed the shapes of them to pick things up from a distance. Instead of a single large barrier that would shatter, she envisioned smaller ones linked together and overlapping like individual hairs or scales did. The spell seemed to accept her inspiration as it started to warp and change, adding a new dimension in her mind as it grew, and a new screen appeared.
[Swarming Barrier] (Initiate 1)
A gift from a Master to her Disciple. The lone reed is weak and frail, but many together are strong and enduring. This spell is composed of the aspects for Unity, Control, Endurance, Adaptation, Redirection, and Negation. Blocks, absorbs, and redirects force. Multiple barriers may share and distribute force. Cost: varies
Jun cast her new spell without alteration, her eyes widening as the spell coalesced into a barrier the size of her head that had seams separating it into 4 sections. instinctively, she pulled just a single section away, marveling as the first barrier thinned and adjusted to maintain it''s shape while one of the seams disappeared and a second plate far thinner than the others. Flexing her will, she sent the thinner plate darting around the room while willing the combined barrier to float around her lazily. It was no trouble for her to control both at once, and she soon split the barrier into four separate plates that she sent darting around to do different things. One she kept spinning lazily around herself, while another spun like a frisbee and flew around the room. A third she spun like a flipping coin, while the fourth she slid beneath a book she''d left lying on the desk and picked it up. Controlling the four barriers independently took as much effort as it had to control a single barrier before, though each of the plates felt weaker than her unevolved spell. As she willed them to combine one at a time, she noticed that the combined barriers grew in strength greater than the sum of their parts. A single barrier felt like it was only a tenth of the strength of her [Barrier] spell, but two combined felt a third as strong. Adding a third plate felt like it was three quarters the strength, and the fourth made it feel far stronger than her old barrier had. Struck by an idea, Jun started to cast a second copy of the spell as someone knocked on her door. With a start, Jun dismissed her spells and opened it to find Sara and Cecilia freshly cleaned up and changed. It was time to finish what they''d started, selling the loot. Chapter 48: MMM (Money, Murder, and Magic) Pretending as if they hadn''t just fought a gang of thugs and stolen all kinds of valuables from them, Jun, Sara, Cecilia, and Shiori headed over to the Crafting Branch where Cecilia walked her through selling the Grass Bear hide. Compared to the weapons they''d sold earlier in the morning, the hide was sold for just 20 silver and it took another few minutes of filling out paperwork and registering her medallion for the sale, but Jun knew that the hide had never been that valuable and really only served as cover for their being in the Crafting Branch compound. The true prize was the cores. Here Sara took the lead again, introducing Jun to a third year student who introduced himself as Rusty, though from the way Sara covertly rolled her eyes she knew it wasn''t his true name. The older student apparently bought and sold crafting items no questions asked, though at a lower rate than the school would. The cores Jun showed him would be worth 20 gold if sold to the school, but Rusty would only pay 16. Still, it was a far better deal than Jun had expected, and let her avoid the Kingdom''s tax and any official record of the sale. Sealing the deal with a handshake, Jun stashed the coins in her bag and they met up with the rest of her team for lunch. After the morning''s sales, the party had made 25 gold, 78 silver, and 4 copper off their loot. Carrying that much money made her uncomfortable, so despite still needing to find someone to examine and price the jewelry, the party split what they''d made so far in a private corner of the cafeteria. Sara and Cecilia had tried to turn down a share, insisting that their help was minimal, but Jun knew better. The fight with the thugs had been dangerous, and both Sara and Cecilia had introduced her to contacts and negotiate prices. They''d earned a share of the loot for their help. Despite keeping the true extent of her roommates'' help a secret, such as the fight with the thugs, Jun''s teammates joined her in pushing them to take a share for themselves.. However despite their insistence, the older students refused to take a single coin, and eventually Jun and her teammates relented, though not before Jun made a promise to herself that she''d pay them back when they finally went through the items from the thugs. With the discussions of loot and money done, the students enjoyed a celebratory lunch before splitting up for afternoon classes.
Arcana Theory was dry and boring despite the conveniently timed discussion on spell evolution that was the topic of that day''s lecture. Spell evolution according to Professor Marcos was somewhat random, but could be influenced by the way one used their spells and the affinities they naturally possessed. Shiori''s quiet scoffing and complaints over the lacking quality of magical education though told her that Professor Marcos was missing or leaving out a lot of information. Her own experience evolving her spells with Shiori''s guidance alone proved that evolutions weren''t random and could be guided. Regardless, Jun kept quiet as Professor Marcos lectured, and soon enough it was time for Practical Spellcasting. A thrill of excitement and anxiety left Jun''s stomach filled with butterflies as she and Aya walked to their usual spell range, Shiori still on Jun''s shoulders muttering about "the inadequacies of today''s mages." Her last few classes in Practical Spellcasting had just been more of the same attack and defense, though Jun had been permitted to use her [Arcane Snare] instead of [Piercing Missile]. When she''d first revealed her new spell and asked permission to practice it instead, Sam had given her a strange look before giving his permission. But ever since, she''d noticed strange looks from Sam and many of her classmates, and sometimes caught snippets of derisive comments aimed at her. As she and Aya entered the range and joined the other students, Jun pretended not to hear the scattered conversation, though it provided an interesting view into what her classmates did while she was fighting for her life. "...and then the club''s security just threw us out!" "Did you see those royal guards in Central? So handsome!" "...said our team would be doing our first bounty soon!" "Can''t believe I''m stuck on a team with Ivar. I wish there was at least 1 girl with us!" "...went missing last week..." Jun froze as she heard someone talking about something going missing. Doing her best to tune out the chatter around her, she started to eavesdrop on the girls having a hushed conversation. "That''s so scary!" a girl said, her voice familiar though Jun couldn''t place a face or name to the voice. "Her roommate told me she went out to the early morning market before classes on Fourth Day and just never returned," the first girl said. "What are the guards even doing? A student goes missing and nothing happens, probably because she''s not a noble," a third girl with a familiar voice scoffed. "Emily''s dad said the guard is looking for her, but Cora''s not the only one that''s gone missing recently," the first familiar voice said. The name Emily was familiar. One of Melody''s friends and a girl she avoided since Melody and her friends seemed to hold a grudge from when Jun broke Melody''s wrist while sparring. That was enough for her to finally recognize the first voice as belonging to Mara, the apprentice healer who''d glared at her after that incident. "I wonder if it has anything to do with what my dad said," the second familiar voice responded, and that was when she realized it was Gina, another of Melody''s friends and teammates. "He said the guards pulled a few bodies out of the East Canal this morning and that I shouldn''t move around the city alone anymore. Crime has always been a bit high in the city with all the adventurers, but murder that close to the Academy is new," Gina said, the frown obvious in her voice. A fear shot through her as Gina, Mara, and their other friend talked about the murders. She''d hoped that the thugs'' bodies wouldn''t be discovered for some a while, but they''d been found in only a few hours. From her eavesdropping Jun learned that Gina''s dad had heard about it from friends in the city guard. Apparently a group of street kids had noticed the sacks floating in the canal and fished one out but were scared off by the city guards before they could do more than open it, finding a dead man. The guards had apparently noticed the rest of the sacks and fished them out, finding another five dead bodies. The number of dead men couldn''t have been a coincidence and had to be the thugs they''d fought that morning! You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Jun suppressed a shiver at the thought that the city guard were investigating the men as murder victims. Though they''d chased down her and her friends, Jun, Sara, and Cecilia had been the ones who''d ambushed them. Even though her friends had done the killing, Jun had helped them do it and hide the bodies. They''d even taken all of the men''s stuff! Jun started to shake, her bag feeling uncomfortably heavy as she thought about the dead men''s belongings sitting inside of it. Her heart pounded in her ears like a damning drum. She was a criminal. A thief. A mur¡ª "Is everything alright Jun?" Aya whispered as she placed a hand on her shoulder. Jun jumped lightly at the unexpected contact and started to flush as she saw a couple of her classmates looking at her strangely. Clenching her shaking hands, Jun took in a deep breath and nodded as she exhaled. "I-I''m fine, just a bit nervous," she said. "Why''re you nervous? Is it the spell practice?" Jun shook her head as she took in another steadying breath before answering. She couldn''t tell Aya about the thugs and drag her into this mess, especially if any of their classmates were eavesdropping like she''d been doing, but she didn''t want to lie to her friend and teammate. A partial truth then. "I... evolved my spells," she admitted in a quiet whisper. Part of her motivation in evolving her spells was the fight with the thugs and she worried that somehow her evolved spells would make it more obvious that she''d been involved in their deaths. Aya smiled at her beautifully. "Wow, congratulations Jun!" she said with an excited whisper. "I''m sure you got some good evolutions though, so don''t worry about them so much. Besides, if anyone teases them, I''ll beat them up for you!" Jun giggled as Aya shook her fist threateningly at an invisible enemy, some of the guilt and anxiety that ate at her fading. Aya''s support and friendship were nice, but as she shoved the rest of her anxieties into a small box in the corner of her mind, an intrusive thought managed to escape. Would Aya feel the same if she knew what Jun had done? Before that thought could go any further, Sam walked into the room, his assistants Stephanie and Gregory trailing in behind him as he set up another class of rotating offense and defense spell practice. Jun got lucky in that her first partner that day was Aya, and she was able to show her friend her new spells. Jun was on offense first as Aya cast a Novice [Arcane Shield] without any affinities layered in. Taking a deep breath, Jun fed her mana into [Sapping Snare], feeling a bit of surprise as the spell took almost double the amount of mana the Novice version had before the unaltered version coalesced. Where [Arcane Snare] had conjured 3 shining ropes that Jun could control by sending mental orders through her mana tendrils to the spells, [Sapping Snare] conjured 5 slightly muted ropes that she felt a closer connection to. Jun experimented by willing one of the conjured ropes to wiggle and shake, marveling at how the slight delay she''d adapted to with the unevolved form was almost gone. Jun commanded her spell to attack Aya''s barrier and the dummy she protected, spreading her snare out to take on 5 different lines of attack. Aya for her part had learned some of Jun''s own tricks with barriers as hers ballooned in size all of a sudden and wrapped around the dummy like an egg to provide a thin shell of protection from all angles. As Jun''s spell wrapped around Aya''s barrier she ordered it to squeeze. As the spells touched Jun felt her spell''s drain kick in, each tendril draining slightly more mana than the last. With every passing second, Jun felt her spell grow in power while Aya''s barrier weakened, the physical pressure her spell applied growing more and more as it reinforced itself with mana. It took nearly 20 seconds, but between her spell''s draining ability and the pressure she applied through it, Aya''s barrier finally popped and Jun''s spell slammed into the dummy with an audible thud where it continued to squeeze, sucking mana out of the enchanted target. Before she caused more damage to school property that she''d be scolded for, Jun dismissed her spell and turned to look at her friend, who stared at her with wide eyes. Jun shrugged nervously. "So... that was my evolved [Arcane Snare]?" "That was awesome! I told you your spell evolution would be good!" Aya said excitedly. "I thought I''d surprise you with that shell trick, but I didn''t expect your snare to somehow steal the mana from my spell!" Jun shushed her excited friend as their neighbors looked at them curiously. "Not so loud!" she hissed with a touch of embarrassment at the attention. She knew her evolved spells wouldn''t stay secret for long, and she wasn''t even the first student in the class to evolve their spells, that honor having gone to Aya weeks ago, but she already attracted attention being the only student who used snare spells instead of missile spells. The longer she could put off the fresh wave of attention for her already strange use of a spell that Sam hadn''t taught them, the better. "Sorry," Aya said, bowing her head in apology, though her happy grin didn''t fade. "I''m just excited for your progress! Anyways, switch?" With a nod, Jun cast her new [Swarming Barrier], coalescing the spell right in front of the dummy in it''s combined form. Copying Aya''s trick, she ordered the 4 parts to split before wrapping around the dummy in layers, fiddling with the shape so that all 4 layers touched the others in a tiny, complicated knot of spell energy centered just above the dummy''s head. If things worked as she thought they would, each of her layers should be stronger than her old barrier had been, but each layer would need to be overcome individually, weakening as each layer was overcome. "Ready." Aya sent an excited look over at Jun before a serious look came over her face. Normally they held back in class to focus more on practice and technique than raw strength, but Jun had seen and felt when Aya got serious. Her mana sense started to go wild as she felt Aya channeling far more than usual, reminding her of the fight with the goblin mage yesterday as she felt Aya pull together a spell with multiple affinities. Earth mana formed the outer layer, while her favorite fire mana formed most of the inner layer. A core of wind mana made up the center, fueling the fire to burn hotter. As the spell coalesced, a thought immediately came to mind of news stories she''d seen growing up about airstrikes on Earth that targeted underground bunkers. Aya had formed a bunker buster spell. Excitement and a touch of fear bolted through her as Aya''s spell manifested and immediately shot for Jun''s barrier. The earthen layer of the spell formed a sharp shell protecting the fire and wind within that drove the spell forward. As their spells collided, the earthen layer punched through the first layer of Jun''s spell and shattered before Aya''s fireball exploded. While the outer layer failed to stop Aya''s spell from penetrating, it still siphoned away energy from the blast that followed, taking as much of the strain as it could handle before shattering, weakening the other 3 layers, though it''d taken more than half of the spell''s energy before it did. The next layer absorbed more of the blast, consuming more of the blast before it too shattered. The third layer started to crack, it''s capacity far below that of the previous layers, but held as Aya''s spell finally ran out of energy, leaving behind an untouched inner layer and cracked second layer of shimmering barrier around the dummy. Despite her spell''s failure to destroy Jun''s barrier, Jun was in awe of her friend. Against her old barriers, that spell would have broken straight through, highlighting both how much more skilled her friend had become, and how much of an improvement her evolved [Swarming Barrier] was over the original. Turning to look at Aya, she saw a shit-eating grin plastered across the girl''s face. "I evolved a spell too," she said with a giggle. Chapter 49: Innocence lost, Naivete broken. "Don''t worry about the guards," Sara said lightly as she finished checking another steel dagger and added it to the growing pile. Their small coffee table hadn''t been enough to display all the loot, so several piles of items were scattered around the common area of their shared unit while Jun, Sara, and Cecilia sorted through things while Shiori loafed on the back of one of the couches. "Forest''s Edge might be a decent sized city in the kingdom, but it¡¯s still a frontier town full of adventurers with more coin and muscle than sense.¡± Cecilia paused as she held up a dirty necklace from the pile of unsorted loot. As Jun looked closer, her eyes widened as she recognized it as an iron IAG amulet like the ones Sara and Cecilia wore. ¡°A couple of those thugs weren¡¯t just criminals and gang members, but IAG members as well,¡± she said with a scowl, tossing the medallion into a pile reserved for junk. ¡±Shouldn¡¯t we return that to the guild?¡± Jun asked, eyeing the medallion. ¡°Only if you want to get thrown out of the guild and enslaved,¡± Sara said, shaking her head as she examined a sheathe of throwing knives. ¡°Hmm¡­ well balanced.¡± The elf set the set of knives on the side before looking at Jun. ¡°IAG medallions are all enchanted to record the moment of an adventurer¡¯s death like a painting. When you turn in an amulet, they check the record. And if the record shows you had a hand in killing the owner, they¡¯ll just capture you and hand you over to the guard or issue their own Justice.¡± Jun stared at her roommates. Even though she¡¯d just joined the IAG, she¡¯d already read through the rule book they gave her several times, and their medallions being enchanted was news to her. ¡°But the guide didn¡¯t say anything about that kind of enchantment!¡± Cecilia laughed. ¡°I said the same thing when Sara told me. The medallions don¡¯t feel enchanted at all, even if you run mana through them like other enchanted items, they just feel mundane, but they are.¡± ¡±Your friends are right kitten, the enchantment is very well hidden, but all of your medallions and the ones you took off the thugs that were killed have one,¡± Shiori said privately as she jumped off the couch and padded over to the junk pile. As if she were just playing with something that caught her attention, Shiori batted at the iron medallion with her paw, hitting it in the center of the front design. "Hidden in the middle of the medallion is an engraved formation that''s been lined with powdered monster core. It''s a relatively weak enchantment that simply monitors the life of the owner and sends out a minute pulse of mana if it detects the loss of brain function. It won''t work if the medallion is removed before the owner''s death or if the medallion''s center is destroyed." Jun stared at the medallion Shiori was playing with as a complicated range of emotions ran through her. Part of her was bothered that the IAG didn''t tell them about the hidden enchantments when they joined, feeling like hiding a magical recording device in the medallion was a violation of her privacy, though from what Shiori had said it sounded really limited. It wasn''t nearly as intrusive as the smart phone she''d carried around on Earth, but the realization that magical recording devices could exist was unpleasant. Another part of her had felt uneasy since she took all of the loot out of her bag so they could sort through it, each item evidence of the fight that ended with the deaths of six men and how they''d just dumped the bodies into the river. Guilt that they''d killed them ate at her, and finding out that three of them had been adventurers like herself and her friends made her feel like she''d betrayed the guild right after joining it. She didn''t realize she was crying until Sara wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Jun squeezed her eyes shut as tears leaked from them, burying her face against Sara''s chest as her emotions flooded out. The fear of fighting, the danger, the death. Her relief that she and her friends had escaped their fights with their lives. The feelings of accomplishment as each fight had pushed her skills and strength further, helping her grow. Her greed at looting their enemies and selling those valuable items for gold. All of it tinged by an overwhelming sense of guilt. She''d helped her friends kill humans, her spells helping to turn the tide of battle. Even if she only wanted to save her friends, to protect them, her actions had led to the deaths of six men. Six men who had family and friends. Hopes and dreams. Lives. Though she knew that the men had followed them, planning something dark and twisted, Even though they''d been protecting themselves, it didn''t erase the guilt she felt over their deaths. Images of a man floated through her mind, crumpled among the roots of a willow tree, his neck twisted and blood trickling down his once familiar face twisted in accusation. "You did this to me! You''re a murderer!" the face seemed to scream at her. "I... I''m a murderer..." she confessed quietly. Sara rubbed her back gently as a larger hand firmly gripped her shoulder. "You''re not," Cecilia said with confidence, squeezing her shoulder in reassurance. "You didn''t do any killing, and while your spells helped, Sara and I are the ones that struck the killing blows, not you." Two lightly callused fingers pressed on the underside of Jun''s chin, lifting her face up from Sara''s chest. Jun opened her eyes to see Sara giving her a small, soft smile. "Sometimes I forget how innocent you are Jun," she said softly. "When we found you in the forest, you looked lost and scared, but your spells saved us, and you were carrying a weapon most only hear about in legend. When you went along with our suggestion of coming to the Academy, of being an adventurer and learning how to fight, I¡ª" Sara paused as her eyes flickered towards Cecilia for a moment and back to Jun. "¡ªwe," she corrected herself, "thought that whatever you went through in the Forest had hardened you, made you ready to handle this. Before you even started here, you had real battle experience and grew up in one of the most hostile places on the continent, even survived it with just you and your cute but admittedly abnormal cat. But despite all of that, you''re still pure and innocent, almost like a tiger cub that''s innocent, not realizing how fierce she might one day be. As wonderful and precious as your innocence is, in this moment, it''s hurting you." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Sara turned to hug Jun from the side as Cecilia pressed in, sandwiching her between her roommates. The elven woman pointed at a small bag that had been tied shut and pushed off to the side. "That powder the men carried, the one we dosed the survivors with to knock them out. It''s a drug called Blackout. It not only renders victims unconscious but also erases hours of memory. It''s only used by spies, thieves, and slavers. Each man carried enough to knock out five Bronze ranked people, or one Silver ranked person." Cecilia pointed out a pair of short swords that had been set aside from the rest. "Those swords were the ones used by the two silver rankers we killed. They''re both enchanted so that wounds hurt more and the pain lingers for days even with healing. Both Sara and I had to use emergency healing pills with a painkilling effect to keep going after getting cut by them. While you were in class Corin had to heal us both for almost an hour to get rid of the curse. He gained several personal and skill levels from it and he''s a high iron healer." Sara pointed to the set of throwing knives she''d been looking over. "Those throwing knives are made out of a metal that has a weak paralytic effect when it reacts with blood. They''re a single use item meant to paralyze lower-level people." "Those boots have a sound dampening enchantment." "Some of the coins in those purses are from the Empire of Flesh." "The cudgels are a design commonly used by slave lords of the Empire." "Those daggers are made with Crecian steel. Crecia used to be a slave city before the Republic of Mercy took it two years ago." Rubbing away the itchiness in her eyes from her tears, Jun looked with new eyes at all of the loot they''d been sorting through. Knowing a bit more about what she was looking at, her eyes moved from the cruel iron banded cudgels to the enchanted short swords. Weapons designed for pain and torture. The IAG medallions took on a different meaning. She hadn''t betrayed the guild by helping her friends kill them. Instead, the guild had criminals amongst its members that she needed to be wary of. "These men were slavers. If we hadn''t fought, we''d probably be fitted with control collars and already moved out of the city. Those men are not deserving of your tears Jun." Jun sniffled and nodded, feeling her guilt ease a bit, but replaced by embarrassment at her childish behavior. The violence and the killing still ate at her, but things weren''t as simple as they''d been on Earth... or perhaps... things had never been that simple, she''d just been naive. One thing she knew for certain though was that she needed to be stronger. Her eyes lingered on the dangerous sack of drugs filled with smaller leather pouches of the powder. Each of the men had carried enough Blackout to knock her out five times, or Sara and Cecilia each once. If they''d managed to use it when the girls ambushed them, things would have gone far differently, and she wasn''t sure if Shiori would''ve been strong enough to resist either. As her tears dried, the girls resumed sorting through everything, with Sara and Cecilia adding more context with every new, horrifying item. A bracelet meant to link with and control slave collars. Amulets with a foreign script Sara said came from the Empire of Flesh. More coins with images of chains and the same foreign script in silver and gold. More evidence that, despite Jun''s feelings of guilt at ambushing them, these men had been monsters that her baser instincts said got what they deserved and regretted leaving some of them alive.
Sorting through the loot from the thugs had taken a couple hours, but they''d come up with a plan to dispose of them. Sara and Cecilia would go with Gareth and the others to sell off most of the items, especially since it would be too suspicious if Jun was somehow linked to selling weapons suited for Iron and Silver ranks despite only being in bronze. The coins they would take to a money changer to be melted down and recast, taking a slight hit to the value of the coins but coming away with coins not linked to a gang slavers. While the other odds and ends and most of the jewelry Jun held onto for identification and later sale, but the IAG amulets Sara took to be destroyed. The next morning, Jun woke with a headache, the aftermath of her crying the night before. Chugging a canteen of water from her Void Bag helped chase the worst of it away, but most of the morning was spent feeling groggy. At least with her having tested out of the General Education courses for the year she could sleep in, and after a late breakfast she was feeling mostly normal. With some time to kill and feeling the new wealth in her bag from the weekend''s events, Jun took the opportunity to finally check out the Academy''s student store and finally bought her first real piece of gear. It wasn''t anything special, just being a slight upgrade of a shield over what she used in training classes, but she finally had something she could use if she ever ran out of mana, and it had only cost her a handful of silver. Even better, the thick kite shaped shield, though it had straps for a harness so she could wear it on her back, fit into her Void Bag, the item magically shrinking as she experimentally pushed it in. As she moved through the exercises in her afternoon fitness and combat training courses, she noticed her increased stats, moving faster, with more stamina, and better able to track the movements of her sparring partners. Her substantial increase in strength didn''t go unnoticed, with several of her classmates muttering about her sudden changes, including Melody and her friends who kept shooting dirty looks towards her when they thought she wasn''t looking. Once class was over, Jun put them out of her mind as she rushed to the cafeteria, her new levels and stats allowing her to finally move with only a small amount of tiredness after the Sergeant''s punishing training. Hurriedly eating a quick dinner, Jun met up with the rest of her team near the dormitories before they headed as a group back to the room Arwen had taken them to, but not before Jun swung back by her dormitory and picked up Shiori to come along. If their advisor tried anything strange this time around, she''d feel better knowing her Master was there. Chapter 50: Familiar Fight. Arwen''s eyes narrowed as Jun stepped through the door to the training courtyard with Shiori on her shoulder. "Jun, explain yourself," he said with a strained smile. Jun froze mid-step as she felt Arwen''s gaze land upon her, the strange pressure she''d felt from him seemingly pressing down on her. Her heart started to race as it felt like a predator stalked her through the forest. Something pressed down on her, urging her to start spilling all of her secrets to answer Arwen''s question. Did he know about the rest of the loot they cut him out on? The fight with the thugs? Her traits? The [Soul Parasite]? That she wasn''t really from this world? All of her secrets passed through her mind, some minor, some that felt dangerous to even acknowledge. Jun rallied herself against the foreign urge to confess everything and focused on her breathing. In one. Out two. A breath to steady herself. In one. Out two. A breath to center her thoughts and emotions. In one. Out two. A breath to process calmly. They''d been careful, hiding the loot in her Void Bag and only going around to sell it early in the morning with her friends. They''d avoided going past the guild hall just in case some adventurers recognized Jun, and besides the people they''d sold to, no one else should know what they were up to. It seemed unlikely Arwen would know anything about the loot they''d cut him out on, or any of Jun''s other secrets for that matter. As her heart rate settled into some semblance of calm, Jun cycled her mana through her channels, focusing on the movement of power through her to push off whatever the foreign feeling pressing down on her was. "Explain what?" she finally said in a steady voice, if slightly higher pitched than normal as she looked Arwen in the eyes. Arwen met her gaze and stared silently for some time. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. The prolonged eye contact increased her discomfort and she felt her lips loosening, but focusing on her mana helped distract from the awkward silence. Shiori shifted on her shoulder, her whiskers poking into Jun''s cheek as her Master turned to stare at Arwen. The cat''s movement seemed to catch the elf''s attention as his eyes flicked towards her and the strange pressure on Jun faded away. Sighing, their team advisor squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he spoke again. "Explain why you brought that thing with you to class. Pets have no place in the field and no place in training. It''s just a liability weakening your team. Unless you want them to die, leave it home," he said, fixing her with a disapproving look. Her teammates exchanged some glances and looked at Jun and Shiori. Aya had a conflicted look on her face, and Jun could imagine what they were thinking, because she would probably be thinking the same thing if she didn''t know a bit about Shiori. They were probably thinking about the fight with the goblin mage where they''d nearly died what felt like over a week ago, though it''d only been a couple days. Shiori hadn''t stepped in to help then which had been all the clues Jun needed to know that they could handle it. That Shiori had joined in during the fight with the thugs had just been further proof that if things got too dangerous her Master would help. She wasn''t sure how powerful Shiori was, but she suspected stronger than Arwen who was at high Gold. After all, she''d felt Shiori''s presence silence an entire forest as she stopped that monster who''d hunted her and forced it to accept a duel a year later. If anything, they were safer with Shiori around. But her teammates didn''t know that, and Jun wasn''t sure she wanted Arwen to know either. She didn''t trust him. As she tried to think of a way to push back against Arwen''s demand, Shiori''s voice whispered in her ear. "Say I''m your familiar." Shiori''s suggestion provoked a flood of information that Jun read in the IAG handbook to come flooding back and she spotted the path forward that Shiori guided her towards. Steeling herself, she lightly puffed out her chest and took in a deep breath. "Per IAG policy chapter 5, subsection 12(e), familiars are considered an extension of the adventurer''s person and any action taken against a familiar is considered an action against the adventurer''s person. Shiori is not an ''it'' nor a ''pet,'' she is my familiar. Barring her from any activities is the same as barring me." Her words had come out rushed and she''d stumbled over herself as she regurgitated the guild''s rule and drew a metaphorical line in the sand, but as the adrenaline coursed through her veins at the confrontation she couldn''t help but feel a bit excited. Talking back to an authority figure wasn''t something she was used to, and by the way her teammates were staring wide-eyed at her, it wasn''t something they''d expected from her either. Arwen stared her down for a moment and Jun could almost see the gears moving in his head. After a few seconds, Arwen smiled wide at her. It didn''t look friendly, and Jun had to fight the urge to shiver as she caught sight of his too-white teeth. "I see," he said lightly as he let go of the bridge of his nose and pointed at her. "Well if she''s your familiar, she must be able to in a fight." As Arwen spoke, he snapped his fingers and a line appeared in the sand of the courtyard, marking a large circle that took up nearly the whole of the room. "Jun, you and your familiar into the ring," he said with a nasty smile. Returning Arwen''s smirk with a glare, Jun walked into the circle. Having a feeling what would happen next, Jun started to plan out the spells she''d use against Arwen. She was confident Shiori could beat him, but wasn''t sure how much help her Master would provide, and wasn''t sure if it''d be better for them to put up a good fight and lose, or to win. Being more than 300 levels under her advisor, it might draw uncomfortable questions if she beat him even if he held back, and far more attention if a cat everyone seemed to think was just a pet beat him. Hoping Shiori would hold back enough that they wouldn''t attract more attention, Jun started to design modifications to her new snare and shield spells, hoping they''d be enough, but her plans were interrupted by Arwen''s next command. "Everyone else into the ring opposite Jun." Reluctantly, her four teammates filed into the ring while Arwen remained outside. As Michael finished crossing over the line it began to glow, and a massive barrier shot up in a large dome, trapping the five students and Shiori together. "Since Jun is so insistent that this cat is her familiar, she will prove it. And since her bringing that cat along affects your entire team, you all will do your best to beat her." Aya and the others looked at Jun and Shiori and back to Arwen in horror. As they started to protest, the same strange pressure Arwen had used on them the day they met came crashing down. Aya, Keira, Michael, and Cian fell to their knees, though for some reason Jun managed to remain standing. She wasn''t sure if it was having Shiori with her, her new levels, or something else, but the pressure didn''t feel anywhere near as suffocating as it had just a few days ago. Arwen looked at Jun and raised his eyebrow before the pressure came back even harder, slamming Jun down to one knee as Shiori hopped off her shoulder, her fur starting to puff up as she arched her back and hissed. "This bug pushes his luck," her Master''s voice said in her ears, seemingly unaffected by whatever strange force Arwen used. "Don''t..." Jun whispered. "Disobey me and you all fail," Arwen said lightly as the pressure vanished. "Begin." The students groaned as they pushed themselves back into a standing position. Cian, Keira, and Michael looked across the arena at Jun with hesitation and concern, but as soon as Aya got up she started walking over to Jun, her hands held loosely to the side. "What do you want to do Jun?" her friend asked, concern all over her face. Jun glanced between her friend, her teammates, Shiori, and their advisor. With her Master''s help they could easily stop their psychotic advisor''s power trip, but Jun wasn''t sure what that would mean for her time at the Academy, nor what it would mean for Aya and her teammates. In the weeks since she''d gotten to know Aya, she''d grown close to fiery girl and they''d become good friends though neither had shared much of their pasts or dreams for the future with the other. The only time they''d spoken about it, Aya had just said she needed to get stronger to do something, and studying at the Academy was just a step towards her goal. She hadn''t had much time to get to know Michael, Keira, and Cian, but she didn''t want to blow up anyone''s future by refusing to play their power-tripping advisor''s game. "We should just go along with it," Jun said, looking her friend in the eyes. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "But what if you get hurt?" Aya said quietly. They both knew that Jun''s barriers were powerful, but Aya had demonstrated that she could break through Jun''s barriers with some effort, and the rest of her teammates weren''t weak either. Jun looked at Aya, then at Shiori, then back to her friend. "I''ll be fine, I have Shiori with me. Do what you need to so none of you get into trouble too." Even as Jun tried to project confidence, anxiety ate at her inside. She didn''t want to fight her friend and her teammates. She didn''t want Shiori to hurt them, but she also didn''t want to lose. Aya stared at Jun for several seconds with a frown. "If you don''t hurry up and start, I''ll notify Galimund that you all refused to participate in training and failed. You won''t just be kicked out of the Academy program, but kicked out of the IAG too," he said in a cheerful voice. "Let''s just do it... I trust you Aya." Giving Jun one last look, Aya nodded and walked back to the rest of their team. Once she got there, the four of them huddled up and started to talk while Arwen stared at Jun with a smirk on his face. Ignoring their advisor, Jun crouched down as Shiori padded over and she started to pet her Master as cover while they had a quick conversation. "What would you like to do, kitten?" her Master asked, yawning wide. "Your advisor irritates me and I could use a snack." "Please don''t kill him Master," Jun whispered quietly. "Can you hold back and we make it a close fight, like you did with the thugs?" Shiori flicked her tail as if offended by the question. "Play fight with you kittens? Easily," she snorted. "Just don''t hold back. They''re your friends, but holding back will just ensure they get nothing out of that bug''s game. Your wonderful Master will give your friends a free lesson. You will assist." As Shiori outlined their plan, Arwen''s irritated voice filled the room again. "If this were a real battle, all of you would be dead. Jun''s busy playing with her familiar and you lot are trying to plan out a way to hold back. If I detect anyone holding back, they fail immediately. Get to it or get out." Sighing, Jun straightened herself out as she reached into her bag and pulled out her new shield. Channeling her mana, she reviewed the plan her Master gave her as she shifted into a defensive position.
"This isn''t fair to her," Keira grumbled as Cian nodded along with his sister. "Let''s just tell Arwen to shove it!" Aya shook her head. "Jun said we should just do it. I know none of you want to hurt her, but she''s willing to fight, so let''s not insult her by holding back. Besides, I have the most experience with her barriers. She''s a lot stronger than she seems." "Her barrier stopped that goblin mage''s spell and her snares were enough to capture three of the warriors," Michael said, reminding them of the fight just two days prior. "Just don''t hurt Shiori, she''s a wonderful cat and Jun loves her. If you hurt her, I''ll hurt you," Aya threatened, her eyes narrowed. "And I''ll help, even if you''re my brother Cian," Keira said, though Aya wasn''t surprised. The way Keira had been enamored when Jun showed up with Shiori on her shoulder, she had a feeling Keira had a soft spot for cats. "If this were a real battle, all of you would be dead. Jun''s busy playing with her familiar and you lot are trying to plan out a way to hold back. If I detect anyone holding back, they fail immediately. Get to it or get out," their asshole of an advisor said, sending a jolt of irritation through Aya''s core. She felt her fiery mana start to twist towards her spells as her anger rose, but she managed to hold back. Arwen''s an ass, but he''s a strong ass. Even though the fight with the goblin mage had been enough to push her to the peak of bronze rank, their advisor was still high Gold. Mentally, she made a note of her anger and ran through her focus exercises. One day she''d collect her due from him when she was ready. "Let''s just do this," Aya said, channeling her mana into several spells. She wouldn''t use [Piercer] on Jun, not like this, but she knew Jun could handle her other Apprentice ranked single affinity spells, and she didn''t think Arwen had found out about it yet. He couldn''t accuse her of holding back if she used the same level of spells she''d used against that goblin mage. Creating three tendrils of mana, Aya fed one each through her Fire, Wind, and Earth affinities, then into her Apprentice spells. A [Firebolt], [Wind Burst], and [Boulder] started to coalesce around her as she eyed her teammates, making sure they readied themselves. Cian had pulled out a shield and mace and stood in a ready position, his shield held out in front of him. Keira was to the side, holding a pair of unfortunately sharp daggers since none of them had been given a chance to grab training weapons. Michael stood with his fists up, his knuckle weapons conspicuously absent in a small act of rebellion. On the opposite side of the ring, Jun stood in a stance mirroring Cian''s, the new shield she''d mentioned buying to Aya strapped to her arm and held out in front of her. To Aya''s surprise, Shiori stood in front of Jun, her ears pressed back as she flicked her tail back and forth. Maybe Jun was telling the truth and Shiori was her familiar, an animal companion leveled and trained to help a mage. But still, Aya didn''t want to hurt such a cute kitty. As the four stood across the ring from their teammate trying to work up the nerve to make the first move against their only member who hated violence, five snake-like spells shot out of the sand and moved to snare them all around their ankles. Keira danced out of the way as two of the five magical ropes chased after her, whipping around in sweeping strikes. Cian slammed his rectangular shield down on the snare going after his feet, while Michael let the snare wrap around his wrist and grabbed it, his immense grip strength crushing Jun''s spell. Aya used her [Wind Burst] to blast the spell targeting her away and send her [Boulder] to crush the snare even as she instinctively directed her [Firebolt] to retaliate against Jun, in her haste not processing that even if Jun blocked her explosive spell, it might harm Shiori. As Aya drifted up in the air and processed what she''d done, she looked at Jun in a panic, worried she might harm her friend and her pet, but her concern was unneeded as Shiori had simply vanished from Jun''s side of the field while her friend''s four-part barrier coalesced in front of her fire spell, the pink tinged energy sucking in the mana and force of her spell as it harmlessly exploded halfway between them. Before Aya could decide what to do next, she found Shiori. Or rather, Shiori found her. One moment, Aya was watching as her friend''s barrier absorbed her spell, the next her vision was filled with two black cat paws as Shiori landed on Aya''s face with her hind legs and kicked off, launching herself down on her teammates while Aya was sent back into the barrier of the arena with surprising force! As Aya slammed into the barrier and fell to the ground, she watched as Keira sliced through one of Jun''s snares, shattering it while she moved to parry the other with her off hand. Just before the scout''s dagger would have struck Jun''s spell, Shiori landed on Keira''s shoulder, throwing her blow off. Missing her blow, Keira flinched as Shiori ran down her arm and batted the dagger from her grip as Jun''s spell wrapped around her other wrist and squeezed, causing the girl to drop her other weapon. "Keira''s snared!" Aya yelled out as Michael whirled around, charging to help her. Cian charged for Jun, his shield held out in a shield bash with his mace held ready, only to recoil as he struck something invisible and bounced off. His charge disrupted, Cian didn''t notice as Jun''s barrier empowered by Aya''s spell slammed down in a dome around him and quickly thickened as it closed in, trapping him like a bug under a glass. Wind swirled around his mace as he swung his weapon into Jun''s barrier, filling the arena with the sound of metal ringing against glass, but her barrier held. As Cian continued swinging, Aya frowned and instinctively started to cast [Piercer], only holding back at the last second and instead funneling the mana into an [Earthen Spike], [Wind Burst], and [Firebolt]. Sending the [Firebolt] into the sand between Jun and Cian caused a cloud of dust to erupt, hiding the barrier from Jun''s position while her [Wind Burst] slammed into the back of her [Earthen Spike], propelling it even faster to strike into Jun''s barrier at an angle away from Cian. While the combination lacked the raw power of [Piercer], the two Apprentice level spells combined to have a greater piercing effect as the earth spell tore a hole through Jun''s barrier and slamming into the sand. Taking advantage of the hole in Jun''s barrier, Cian slammed his mace into the energy next to the slowly closing hole, shattering the innermost layer. Unfortunately, it wasn''t enough. "Her snares drain mana!" Michael called out, just in time for Aya to notice no less than three new snares moments before they wrapped around her, gently tying her arms and legs together. As Aya started channeling mana into a [Water Blade] to sever the spells, she felt her mana grow sluggish, only a fraction of the mana she''d meant to use making it to her spellform. Despite not meeting the minimum amount, the spell still coalesced, though the [Water Blade] was anemic and only managed to nick one of the snares before it ran out of energy and vanished. As Aya struggled to pull even more mana from her dwindling supply into a stronger spell, she spied Keira struggling through a snare around her wrist as she desperately tried to avoid being caught by three more. Michael was a short distance away, his amulet glowing as he healed himself while bleeding from numerous cat scratches all over his face and arms. Shiori bounced around him, casually biting and scratching at the healer as if she were playing with a toy. Growling, the healer instinctively punched at Shiori only for the cat to twist away even as a small barrier manifested in front of his fist, blocking the strike. In retaliation, Shiori launched herself into the air and redirected herself by landing and kicking off another small barrier that suddenly appeared behind her to land on Michael''s shoulder, where she casually grabbed the boy''s necklace in her mouth and jumped away, stealing his equipment! If not for all the blood, Arwen''s presence, and the distressing feeling of her mana getting snatched away, Aya would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the scene. They''d been worried about hurting Jun and her cat, but her friend was winning! Chapter 51: Scuttling About. A thrill shot through Jun as more of her [Sapping Snare] tendrils wormed their way through the sand of the courtyard. Managing so many spells at once had become second nature to her, but without Shiori distracting Keira, Michael, and Aya she would''ve been hard pressed to do anything more than hide behind her barriers. Cian was trapped in the middle of the ring by a dome of barrier layers, but her teammate''s blows were quickly shredding through the invested mana. The damage from Aya''s spell did something to disrupt the force distribution aspect of her [Swarming Barrier], but an infusion of mana started healing the damage to the remaining layers. Cian continued to bash away she felt the infused mana in her barrier drop below half, the reinforcement from Aya''s fire spell long spent. As she moved to push more of her dwindling mana into her barrier she paused, quickly doing the math. Without the fourth layer to share the burden of the blows, her remaining layers took far too much damage at once, ruining the stability of the entire spell with every strike. Even with mana reinforcement, the third layer would soon shatter and then she''d have to deal with Cian and his mastery of weapons with just her shield which would take all of her concentration. No, letting Cian out would mean defeat since she would no longer be able to support Shiori against Michael, and she didn''t want to just be carried by her Master.
Mana 148/315 (112.5/min [.5 MIND + SPR])
Pulling half of her remaining mana out of her core, Jun cast another [Swarming Barrier] modified to flex and bend to be less rigid in the hopes that it would better resist the blunt force of Cian''s blows. As she layered the spell over her existing cocoon, something she hadn''t expected happened and her eyes to widened as the two spells touched. The mana tendrils linking her to the spells merged together as her spell coalesced, healing the damage done by Aya''s spell and Cian''s blows! The impact of her teammate''s blows now spread across all seven layers of her spell, and the inner three layers had taken on the flexibility of her newly casted spell and felt almost like it had the consistency of hard rubber like an air-filled tire instead of the rigid crystalline structure her barriers usually had, drastically reducing the damage Cian was doing. With Cian locked down for a while longer, Jun turned her attention back to the others. Aya had given up on trying to cast a spell, her mana fully drained from her snares though one had been fully destroyed while she focused on Cian. Keira was still struggling against her spell, having somehow grabbed another dagger and was viciously sawing at the spell. Shiori seemed to be having fun with Michael, the healer chasing after her as Shiori ran with his amulet in her mouth.
Mana 79/315 (112.5/min [.5 MIND + SPR])
Pulling more mana, Jun fought off a slight dizzy spell as she dropped below ten percent as she cast another [Sapping Snare], sending the conjured ropes after Michael, this time not bothering to hide the spell''s approach under the sand. The pugilistic healer stopped chasing after Shiori as Jun''s snares approached and swayed around the swiping ropes, catching and crushing them one by one. In just a matter of seconds Jun was down to two tendrils as Michael shifted tactics, dodging a horizontal strike as he sprinted towards Keira at surprising speed! The man didn''t blur like Keira did, but he was fast and agile, randomly changing directions faster than her snares could as he closed the distance between them. Jun sent both of her remaining snares in to pincer Michael, launching horizontal strikes from opposite directions to cut off his avenues of escape. With no other option Michael dove forward, narrowly avoiding both of Jun''s strikes as he reached out with his hand to grab one of Keira''s restraints! And fell right into Jun''s trap. Moments before he could grab one of Jun''s snares, the near invisible barriers Jun had been using to help Shiori move appeared in his path, the weak spells stacking together to reinforce each other and form a thin wall that Michael''s hand smacked into. The weak barrier wasn''t near strong enough to hold back the weight and force behind Michael''s dive, but it was enough to slow him long enough for Jun''s snares to recover and wrap around his wrists. The mana siphoning effect was just strong enough to repair the snares as Michael struggled and Jun sighed with relief. Managing that many spells at once had been difficult, but with Shiori''s help she''d managed to capture everyone and was regenerating her mana fast enough to at keep holding Cian in the barrier cage. As she started to relax, Shiori''s voice whispered in her ears. "Never relax in the middle of a fight kitten," she said with a lecturing tone as Jun felt one of her spells snap. As Jun''s eyes darted back to her teammates, she realized that the magical ropes holding Keira were empty as Keirah somehow slipped out and landed on her feet. With a vicious grin, Keira charged at her, her feet a blur. Jun tensed up as she set her stance and shoulder and instinctively threw out a shield bash. Despite Jun being much shorter than Keira, the scout ducked Jun''s blow and came up inside her guard, tackling her to the ground! Jun gasped as Keira landed on top of her and put her into a grapple, sitting on Jun''s stomach and holding both of her wrists in her hands. Jun tried to struggle as Keira held her down, but despite her increased stats, the red-haired girl was stronger. Keira looked down at her, her chest heaving and her face flushed with exertion as she smiled. "Good fight," she said before releasing Jun''s wrists and standing up, holding her hand out. Blushing, Jun took the other girl''s hand as Keira hauled her up to her feet. As Shiori padded over, still carrying Michael''s amulet in her mouth, Jun released the rest of her spells, sighing with relief as the strain of spellcasting vanished from her mana channels. As Jun, Keira, and Shiori moved to rejoin their teammates, the barrier holding them inside the ring dropped and Arwen stepped in, shaking his head with a frown. "Fine, the cat''s your familiar," he said begrudgingly, his eyes narrowing as Shiori padded up to rub against Jun''s leg, Michael''s amulet still clutched in her mouth like a prize. As if pretending Jun no longer existed, Arwen turned his attention to her teammates, the frown on his face growing. "As for the rest of you, that was pathetic," he said, gesturing towards them. "Cian, you let yourself get captured too easily. Keira, despite claiming to be a scout, you didn''t notice the snares until it was too late. Aya, you held back because Jun''s your friend, putting your team at risk. Michael, you held back too much, letting a cat toy with you!" Arwen pointed at each of Jun''s teammates one by one, highlighting each of their faults and mistakes during the spar. Jun couldn''t help but frown with distaste for their advisor, his rude words towards her friend and teammates grating to her ears. Stolen story; please report. "You did well kitten," Shiori said, jumping up on her shoulder and dropping Michael''s amulet into her outstretched hand. Jun silently passed it over to Michael as Arwen continued to dissect how each of them were lacking and the healer nodded at her in thanks even as it started to glow, casting a warming aura over the team. As the aura passed over her, soothing her muscles that had already been sore from the Sergeant''s classes in the afternoon, she tuned Arwen out and idly thought about how she''d love to learn how to heal, if only just to use to deal with everyday pains. After a few minutes, Arwen''s insults to their skills slowly transitioned into a more helpful lecture on common group and solo tactics for dealing with a variety of enemies, but Jun still only paid half attention, the man''s attitude destroying what respect Jun had had for him as an advisor. After half an hour Arwen dismissed them, ordering them to meet him at the guild hall on Sixth Day before kicking them out of the courtyard. Tired and demoralized, the party walked in silence through campus in the early evening until they were back amongst other students moving about after late classes. Surrounded by peers and with no professors or crazy advisors in sight, the party grumbled about Arwen''s attitude while they grabbed a late dinner. Despite having eaten before their session with Arwen, Jun was starved and she and Shiori joined the party for another meal that helped to buoy their spirits. After dinner they split up for the night. "Despite what the bug said, you and your friends did well," Shiori said as they passed between groups of students on the cobblestone paths between buildings. Jun nodded in response, the conservative praise making her feel warm even as a cool night''s breeze blew over her. "Thank you Master," she whispered, certain Shiori would hear her. Shiori only purred in response, settling in on Jun''s shoulder as she walked and tossed over the fight in her head. Shiori''s strategy to tie down her teammates had worked really well even though Jun lost in the end. The only person she could fault for the loss was herself, having relaxed too soon and losing focus on her spells. According to Shiori, when she''d relaxed she''d unconsciously loosened her snares'' grip on her teammates and Keira had been able to take advantage, slipping out of her binds even though she''d been mostly drained of mana. Though her speed had been much lower at the end then normal due to Jun''s spell draining her mana so that Keira couldn''t use the enhancement skill she used to move rapidly, it''d still been enough for her to reverse Jun''s fortunes. Still, she couldn''t help but feel some pride at her accomplishment. Even though her Master had helped a lot, Jun had gained a lot of practice using her new spells in a fight and had several more ideas for what she could do with them. Once they got back to the privacy of Jun''s room, Jun immediately started to ask Shiori about some of her ideas but her Master had quietly silenced her, telling her it would be better for her to meditate on her thoughts first. Sighing, she started to get into a meditation pose as Shiori hopped to her desk, Jun''s window opening on it''s own. As Jun opened her mouth to ask what was going on, Shiori silenced her again. "Focus on your meditation kitten, I have a task to take care of." Before Jun could come up with a response, Shiori had leapt out the window into the night.
Shiori cycled her mana as fell through the air, twisting the world around her as she landed atop the roof of the Academy''s Administrative Building. She briefly toyed with the idea of stopping by the Registrar''s office again this evening, but she was running surprisingly low on rat heads. Besides, Sean had been increasing his defenses as he hunted for whoever was stealing his valuables and replacing with dead mouse parts. Though messing with the odious man was fun, Shiori had started to grow bored after several weeks. She''d give him some time to cool off and think the danger passed. Perhaps she''d forget about her toy and he could go back to his insignificant life only minorly inconvenienced, or perhaps she''d grow interested in messing with the man again. For now however, she had a new target. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the elven bug casually walk through the Academy gate. With a flex of her will, Shiori erased her presence completely as she leapt from the Administrative Building over the Academy''s wall and through the barrier that covertly protected the campus. It was a quaint enchantment. Powerful enough to stop anyone short of the Diamond ranks and at the very least notify the School''s hidden guardians of any greater threats. Shiori passed through it like a ghost, not a single mote of mana disturbed by her passage. For some time, she simply followed Arwen as he walked through the city. Though she could have simply monitored him with her aura senses, there was something more satisfying about using her own eyes, ears, nose, and whiskers to follow him. As the man entered the IAG guild hall, Shiori followed at his heels, casting a personal spell that phased her presence out of step with the normal plane of existence, leaving her halfway between the real and the void. It was a fantastic upgrade compared to mundane invisibility since she only interacted with whatever she chose to. Even Master ranked versions of invisibility could be detected through mundane means such as bumping into a cloaked entity, but Shiori''s own spell erased such weaknesses. The only downside was the tears her passage left in the fabric of reality, but that was a simple enough matter of repairing the fabric as she moved. Shiori followed Arwen through the guild house until he entered a set of rooms covered in enchantments of a surprisingly advanced nature. As Shiori followed the man in, she couldn''t help but smile as she looked at the man''s belongings scattered throughout the richly appointed room. As the bug shed his clothes and started to clean himself, Shiori snickered as she started selectively removing threads from the man''s clothes and altered the self-repair enchantments woven into them so that they would only do the bare minimum of repair to certain sections when activated, a trick she''d learned from Saladin after a particularly brutal prank war. Shiori patiently waited as Arwen relaxed for the evening and eventually turned in to sleep for the night. As the bug activated a series of alarm and protective enchantments, she had to give it to him. He was surprisingly well prepared and competent, for a bug. Many of the man''s enchantments and measures rivaled or exceeded those at the Academy her kitten chose to study at, but it still wasn''t enough. A mouse head here, a severed tail there. Shiori casually moved through the elf''s chambers as she started to take any items that caught her attention. Several books found their way into her personal storage, including what appeared to be warded personal journals and research notes. She was curious what the bug might be researching that required such defenses. Besides, the wards seemed simple enough that they would make a good beginner''s challenge for her kitten to learn [Ward Breaking]. Momentarily satisfied that she had claimed enough compensation from Arwen for his poor treatment of her kitten and her kitten''s friends, Shiori returned to the fun part of the evening. Centipedes, beetles, roaches, and other creatures the two-legged peoples seemed to have problems with magically teleported into small barrier containers that Shiori kept floating above the elf''s body. A particularly large live spider she placed just above the man''s sleeping face. Once she was satisfied, Shiori willed her phased self up until she passed through Arwen''s ceiling and stuck her head back down through it. Content with her perfect view, Shiori erased all trace of the mass teleportations from the local fabric as she banished her barriers, sending her drafted allies to scuttling all over the sleeping elf. Arwen awoke as the large iron ranked spider landed on his face, it''s clawed feet lightly digging into his Gold ranked skin. The other Bronze ranked creatures scuttled across his body as he slowly woke, his eyes widening as the spider bit him on the nose and he erupted into chaotic motion, slapping himself all over as he swore and flung the creatures all over his room, setting off his alarm enchantments as he cursed. Shiori snickered as her ears twitched with amusement. His screams were delicious. Chapter 52: The Changing of Seasons. As the weeks passed, Jun and her friends grew and learned. After introducing Shiori as her familiar, Arwen''s training sessions began to focus more coordinated teamwork between Jun and the others, though it was clear that he still prioritized individual strength. Every weekend Arwen assigned new bounties with the expectation that they be completed before the start of the next week. Just like with their first bounty, many were iron ranked bounties that nearly killed them, though the levels from such experiences saw each of them rapidly grow in strength. Aya was the first to break through to Iron rank, having already been at the peak of Bronze after the goblin mage. Cian and Keira followed close behind, while Michael broke through a week later. All except for Jun who lagged behind the others, having only gained a handful of levels across weeks of training and iron ranked bounties with her team. As the nights grew longer and the days colder, their training changed with Arwen assigning them individual Iron ranked bounties to be completed alone, claiming that such work would assist all of them in growing stronger and preparing for the final exam of the term. Indeed, taking on Iron bounties solo was far harder for Jun even with Shiori accompanying her, since without anyone else around Shiori took to making Jun do the majority of the work. However, despite taking on Iron ranked bounties solo, it seemed every one of Jun''s assigned bounties was another deeply unpleasant and poorly compensated task that did little to advance her level. A solo hunt to clean out a pack of sewer rats of unusual size was Iron ranked in difficulty not for the size of the reward nor the threat of the sewer rats, but due to the dangers of a series of enclosed winding tunnels filled with decomposing waste and trash, made worse by no adventurers taking on the task for over a year. The job had been frustrating and the reward lackluster, though the experience had given her several levels and more creative ways to use her spells in tight spaces. Her snares proved especially useful as she used them like snakes to fit through tight spaces she couldn''t fit into herself and Shiori refused to go into out of principle, and allowed her to thoroughly clean out the hidden rat nests before the city''s waste system became a constant source of monsters. The small handful of silvers from the bounty had been spent before Jun ever got home as she went to Grandma Deedee''s bathhouse and didn''t leave until she''d gotten the smell out of her hair and thoroughly scrubbed every inch of her body. Gathering herbs from the mountains had come with pay linked only to the amount of herbs recovered, but a late fall frost killed most of the bounty plants. Luckily the mountains around the city had few monsters or threats so it had been more of an extended hike with her Master as she searched for plants, which was relaxing and refreshing, though the alchemist who''d commissioned the bounty had been displeased that she''d only barely met the minimum bounty amount and had docked her reward due to "substandard quality." Another bounty to provide emergency support and cleanup after a warehouse fire had been specifically set aside for her, her focus on barriers proving useful to contain and defend against a series of malfunctioning defensive wards and alchemical reagents that had grown unstable from the fire. The reward for that work had been substantial, though Arwen accompanied her directly as an escort and to help disarm the wards, thus entitling him to a full half of the reward even though she''d ultimately done most of the work. Hours spent in the burned wreck of a warehouse had been valuable training for using her barriers to counter environmental dangers including a freezing late autumn rain but losing half her pay to her advisor had been frustrating. To make matters worse, another handful of silver had been spent at Grandma Deedee''s bathhouse getting the smell of smoke and alchemical reagents out of her hair and relaxing after having to spend several hours listening to her frustrating advisor. Her last solo Iron bounty though was the most frustrating, where she was to provide private training support for the scion of a noble house. The offered reward had been a substantial ten gold for a single day''s training, and best of all Arwen had been indisposed that day so he wouldn''t be able to claim the advisor''s cut. The bounty asked for a defense focused sparring partner. Jun''s barriers and snares combined with her moderate physical stats made her the perfect choice according to Arwen, and even Shiori had begrudgingly agreed that sparring with someone new in a controlled environment would be good training for her, Jun had practically skipped on her way to the estate in the Noble''s Quarter with Shiori by her side and introduced herself to the estate''s guards. She''d been quickly hurried along to meet with a servant to the family then directed to a private training courtyard where the noble scion, an 17 year old named Chanter, was already training under the watchful eye of another Gold ranked IAG member. The training and sparring went well enough, and she''d even learned a few new tricks from the veteran adventurer even though her purpose was mainly to serve as a training partner for the nobleman. Unfortunately, that was where the positives ended. After their training was complete, Chanter invited Jun to join the nobleman for a late lunch after the trainer left, and she''d agreed without thinking. The servants brought them to a private room to serve lunch and drinks, but things took a turn when they left and locked the doors, leaving her and Shiori alone with Chanter. That was when he made his move, using a movement and grapple technique that they''d just learned to pin her against the wall and go in for a kiss. After months of bounties, practice fighting, and lessons from Shiori and her friends, Jun''s instincts and reflexes were well honed. Even as she saw Shiori starting to float up in the area behind him, an ominous black ball manifesting, Jun cast a barrier between her face and his and lashed out, sending the disgusting boy flying across the room to slam against the wall. Chanter survived, barely, and Jun talked Shiori out of finishing him off, thinking that servants would soon come running at her scream and the sound of crashing furniture, but it turned out that the room had been protected by a low grade privacy and sound canceling enchantment. Jun had been forced to break down the locked door to summon help for the nobleman. Luckily for him the family had a healer on staff that was able to save his life, but once he''d wakened the nobleman claimed that Jun attacked him unprovoked, and the family''s guards attempted to arrest her. Jun was able to get them to let her go after she showed them the bruises on her wrists and how the door had been locked from the outside, but that wasn''t the end of it. By the time she''d gotten back to the guild to turn in the bounty, an attorney for the family had already shown up and rescinded the bounty while filing a complaint claiming that Jun assaulted Chanter causing grievous injury. Since the other IAG member had left before and Arwen hadn''t been in attendance to witness the incident, it was considered Jun''s word against that of a noble family, and Jun was suspended from the guild pending an investigation. Things grew worse by the time she got back to the Academy campus, as she returned to her room to find an official notice of inquiry informing her that she was suspended from the Academy pending investigation of a complaint filed by Chanter''s family against her. After a week of suspension, Jun received another letter from the Registrar informing her of a an official disciplinary hearing about the investigation. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. She''d attended the hearing with Sara, Cecilia, Aya, Corin, Gareth, Lane, and Lane''s father Lord Firewalker, who was in the city on a vacation to visit his son. It had just seemed like a friendly show of support at first, but when Sean announced that the Academy''s investigators had found Jun guilty and she was being expelled, Lord Firewalker spoke up. The Firewalkers turned out not just to be a mage family, but court mages in service to Gareth''s Father, the Northern Duke, and Lord Firewalker himself was the Duke''s primary advisor and attorney. Lord Firewalker immediately stood to represent Jun and protested the investigation, providing a letter signed by Duke Ursus of the Western Duchy that impartial investigators would arrive to conduct an independent investigation, and that a magistrate of the Duchy would be taking over the matter. Just a day later an airship flying the flag of the Northern Duchy arrived in the city and a squad of investigators made up of personal guards from both Duke Brightmane of the North and Duke Ursus of the West showed up with a writ of authority and forced Sean to pause the hearing until their investigation was complete. The Platinum ranked guards soon sent the city into chaos as they investigated everything about Chanter''s family and Jun herself. Jun had been worried that their investigation would find that the kingdom had no record of her, but Gareth, Lane, and Lord Firewalker put her mind at ease there, assuring her that she''d officially been registered as a citizen and subject of the Northern Duchy, just in case. Their investigations soon proved to be more fruitful than anyone could imagine when Lord Firewalker submitted a pile of documents and evidence that not only cleared Jun of the supposed assault but revealed the depths of the complaining family''s corruption, including that they''d taken advantage of other low level IAG members and Academy students. Their downfall was swift, as the Mayor General of the city himself led in a platoon of guards to arrest them, and they were imprisoned and stripped of their titles. Despite trying to assault and take advantage of her, Chanter was cleared of the corruption charges, though the investigators found him guilty of several counts of harassment, assault, and blackmail. Given that he was relatively young however, Chanter avoided imprisonment by agreeing to serve in the Duchy''s army for a period of 100 years, while his parents and extended family guilty of corruption were executed, their former holdings and possessions seized by Duke Ursus. As for Jun, the IAG and the Academy both lifted her suspensions, with the IAG belatedly issuing the bounty reward as an apology. Sean closed the Academy complaint gainst Jun and apologized as well, though she could tell he only did it begrudgingly. Even though Sean seemed to get away from putting her through hell on behalf of the corrupt nobles, karma seemed to strike when the ceiling above Sean''s desk gave way and a stinking pile of rotting dead rats fell on top of him in the middle of his apology. Jun, Shiori, and Lane''s father avoided the filth with a reflexively cast defensive barrier, though Jun''s spell hadn''t done anything for the smell and they''d quickly been dismissed. Somehow, knowledge of the incident quickly spread around campus and graffiti of Sean with a rat''s tail began to appear all over, with flyers of the caricature even spreading throughout the city. Someone had even somehow broken into Sean''s office and affixed an enchanted banner of the caricature to his wall, and the Administrative building had to be closed for repairs and cleaning. Jun never found out how that all came about, just that her roommates, Gareth, Lane, and Corin had disappeared for a few days in the middle of the hearing. While her friends were gone the city guard had gotten anonymous tips that led to several warehouses full of illicit goods being seized, a popular gambling den in the Noble Quarter burned to the ground, and Gareth''s older brother and his family''s knights captured a gang of slavers that worked for one of the slave lords of the Empire of Flesh. After being acquitted Jun was able to return to her classes and resume taking bounties from the IAG. Though she was glad to rejoin her team, it also meant being back under Arwen''s thumb and he seemed to enjoy referring to her as a "sneaky little mouse." The two weeks that she''d been suspended Jun had spent her free time with Shiori learning more magic and pursuing her cultivation path, and rejoined feeling stronger and better than ever, but for some reason those same weeks hadn''t been kind to their advisor. She was shocked and secretly enjoyed seeing that the elf had grown noticeably more haggard since she''d last seen him, his clothes seemingly struggling to stay together and dark bags under his eyes. His pointed ears even seemed to droop a bit, and his hair that had seemed glossy and thick when they''d first met was limp and thinning. As the first snow of winter fell, Jun, Shiori, and Aya trudged their way to the usual courtyard to meet with Arwen and the rest of their team. Jun had finally reached level 99, the peak of Bronze rank, narrowing the gap between herself and her teammates whose leveling had all slowed rapidly. "Welcome back little mouse, congratulations on escaping the trap," Arwen said with a humorless smile as Jun, Shiori, and Aya walked into the training courtyard together, his eyes bloodshot with heavy bags under them. Jun simply frowned and nodded before going off to the side to catch up with Aya while waiting for the rest of their team to arrive. A short few minutes later Michael was the last to arrive, nodding at Jun in welcome as he moved to join the rest of them as Arwen closed the door and moved to address the students. "Today, we will be discussing the final exam for this term, While most of you have reached Iron rank, some have slacked off" he said, his eyes landing on Jun and Shiori. "Regardless, if you have failed to prepare yourself properly, that is your problem, both individually, and as a team, for in two weeks you will be going on a multi day expedition into the Forest to cull goblins."
Name: Jun
Titles: [COLLAPSED]
Level: 99 (+48) (19/100%)
Race: Human (Balance)
Gender: Female
Mana: 590/590
Core Status: (HIDDEN) Stable (Tier 0)
Stats: MIND - 118 (+55)
CON - 118 (+48)
STR - 108 (+48)
AGI - 127 (+57)
DEX - 123 (+48)
CHA - 126 (+48)
SPR - 141 (+60)
Traits: (5/5) [COLLAPSED]
Skills: [Karma Manipulation] (Novice 3) +1
[Mental Resistance] (Novice 10) (+4)
[Swarming Barrier] (Initiate 12) (+11)
[Multi Casting] (Initiate 3) (+13)
[Unarmed Combat] (Novice 8) (+5)
[Basic Sword] (Novice 10) (+4)
[Basic Shield] (Novice 15) (+4) [Evolve? Y/N]
Chapter 53: Hell Weeks. "In two weeks, the Academy''s adventuring students will be sent out on a subjugation expedition into the Forest lasting 7 days," Arwen said, for once looking at them seriously. "From now until the expedition, all of you have been excused from all non-practical classes and we will be focused on training to prepare."
Jun groaned as she lay in bed that evening, too sore to move. It''d been strange, like Arwen had been replaced by the Sergeant as she pushed all of them into intensive physical training far beyond what they''d been doing the past 3 months. They''d alternated between conditioning and sparring with Arwen individually and as a team, with few opportunities to rest and recover. Michael''s mana had been kept practically drained the entire time as he was forced to provide constant low-level healing so that Arwen could push them even harder. Only Shiori escaped training as Arwen seemed to do his best to ignore her outside of when they sparred, and even then he did his best to ignore her. Shiori for her part seemed to delight in simply tripping him and tearing his clothes, and by the end of class Arwen''s clothes were dirty and ripped, the enchantments on them clearly struggling to repair the damage. It had the feeling of last minute cramming for a surprise exam. Intellectually Jun knew that the end of the term was coming up, but she''d lost track of time during the two weeks she''d spent suspended and training just with Shiori. Other than her Master, the only people she''d regularly seen in that time had been her friends and Lane''s father, though rarely. Sara, Cecilia, Lane, Gareth, and Corin kept disappearing for days at a time during the trial, with her roommates usually coming home late at night and leaving early in the morning. The few times she''d managed to catch them, Sara and Cecilia remained tightlipped about what they''d been up to, only saying that she shouldn''t worry, though it''d been hard to do so as they always left wearing their full combat kits and often returned dirty and covered in blood. During one of the hearing days where they showed up to support her, Shiori noted that they''d gotten substantially stronger, all five now firmly in the Silver ranks. Her teammates were all kept too busy to visit, and even her spell trainings with Aya had to be canceled as Jun was banned from the Academy''s spell ranges during her suspension. Instead, Aya and her teammates had extra training and bounties that ate up all of their free time, leaving Jun largely isolated. Thanks to Shiori''s training though, she was still able to keep up.
As if Arwen''s sudden focus on intense training was a switch being flipped, every single one of Jun''s classes changed. The Sergeant''s fitness class remained, but if anything he pushed them even harder, as if Arwen''s training was a walk in the park in comparison. Jun finally learned what the strange pressure she kept feeling from Arwen was. Aura, the pressure of the soul and mana. Each general level gained, each extra stat point slightly bolstered one''s soul, and at a certain point it became strong enough to consciously use as a tool. The Sergeant''s workouts were intense as he pressed down on them with his aura, pushing them until they broke, then the healers would come in and get them moving again and they would repeat. Jun saw Michael amongst the healers and learned that they endured their own form of hellish training as they were forced to heal the other students while constantly under the aura pressure of their professors. The most surprising thing about this was that even the non-adventurer students were forced through this training, the complaints of young nobles ignored as they struggled through the same treatment. For once, the commoners and adventuring students had it easier simply because they''d already learned to endure harsh training. Combat Skills was worse, replacing all of their morning classes and Jun''s hard earned free time. The Sergeant forced the students to fight in different situations, sometimes a team of students against an instructor, other times teams against teams or even a single student against a full team. Each time a student lost they were forced to go on a run around the Academy campus where professors would randomly ambush them with aura pressure, spells, or physical attacks. Other students were encouraged to get involved, tripping them, throwing things, even chasing after the students. A healer would always appear if someone got injured to the point they couldn''t move, but the healing provided was minimal, just enough to get them moving again. Jun soon learned to keep faintly visible barriers active over her vital spots, especially her face after a group of smirking non-combat students threw steaming cups of tea in her face as she ran past the cafeteria. Her stats had kept her from getting too burned, but a healing professor had to arrive and fix her eyes before she could continue. Once her vision returned Jun gritted her teeth as the group of girls stood watching her with predatory smiles and continued running, though not before she surrounded herself with several weak barriers to the approving nod of the healing professor. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The idea proved it''s worth just a minute later when a professor cast a water spell at her and she was able to move a barrier to block it, turning a firehouse of water into a hard rain that she kept out of her eyes with another plate of defensive magic. After just a single run, Jun learned to keep her head on a swivel and she started to take alternate routes to avoid as many ambushes as she could or block attacks with her magic when she couldn''t. Arcana Theory was replaced with more Practical Spellcasting with Sam doing special sessions for the few adventurer students in his session. Instead of the sedate practice games and casting spells against target dummies that they''d done for the past few months, instead Sam taught them spellcasting tactics under pressure. Moving while casting, casting while in pain, how to read incoming spells and counter them with opposing mana types. By the end of her first day of the new training regimen, Jun and the rest of her classmates were jumpy, their eyes constantly scanning for threats, and she wasn''t the only one who kept magic active. A few even moved around with weapons and shields held ready to protect themselves, inspiring Jun to pull out her shield and do the same. It turned out the random ambushes weren''t limited to the Combat Skills class hours as Jun learned after her Practical Spellcasting class with Sam on First Day. She and Aya had both started to relax as they left the spell range for the cafeteria as Jun debated letting her barriers drop so that her mana could recover faster when she flinched and her spells moved, intercepting a series of padded arrows as the two walked past a stand of trees outside one of the buildings. Aya immediately conjured a ball of fire and moved to retaliate when several students screamed, dropping their bows as they sprinted out of cover and into the nearest building. Before Jun or Aya could do anything more than exchange concerned glances a massive gust of wind buffeted them from behind, sending them sprawling into the snow covering the ground. "Be more aware of your surroundings girls," a female professor chided them as she strolled past with a smile on her face. "There could always be ambushes within ambushes." Brushing the wet mud and bits of snow from their clothes, Jun and Aya were far more cautious after that, looking at every person that came near them suspiciously. The cafeteria was a chaotic mess of students tripping each other and throwing food, although conspicuously there were clear areas of peace around students who wore gold medallions. Getting food turned out to be easy enough for the two girls though as they slipped through the half riot of students, Jun using her barriers to push a path through the crowd as more than a few students yelped and pulled their legs out of the way, hurriedly patting at the small flames Aya threw at their feet until they reached one of the booths and got some food. Sustenance secured, they beat a hasty retreat and ate in Jun''s room before splitting up for the night. Second Day was much the same, with intense exercises, fights, and random ambushes throughout the day, but made worse as the students'' advisors joined in on the fun. Jun had thought the random ambushes and surprise attacks from professors, staff, and other students were bad enough, but Arwen took things to another level, laughing hysterically as he appeared and flung small Bronze ranked bugs and mice at her while pressuring her with his aura. She soon started keeping a set of snares active to swat away the pests since Arwen always seemed to get them through the gaps in her barriers, further straining her mind and mana channels. She''d heard from the rest of her team that Arwen had even taken to sneaking bugs and mice into everyone else''s rooms, though luckily her sleep remained undisturbed. Still, she would snap awake at the slightest noises while she slept, already pumping mana into her spells as she scanned her room for threats. Shiori seemed to find the whole thing hilarious, and Jun started to hear rumors of a black streak that would appear around campus and randomly harass people before vanishing. On Sixth Day of Jun''s first week back, Arwen gave their team the day off to relax, though they didn''t do so. Jun and her team took the opportunity to buy more supplies and gear, each of her team members now owning some sort of expanded storage device that they stuffed anything they could think of needing for the upcoming expedition from tents and climbing gear to spare weapons and trail rations. They''d even each gotten a couple of the healing pills Sara and Cecilia carried, though the alchemical items were extremely expensive, rivalling the cost of a cheap storage device. Still, if for some reason Michael was unable to heal them, the pills would save their lives, well worth the cost. By the end of the weekend, much of the tension that had built up over the chaotic week had left and Jun had started to relax again. That proved to be a mistake. The next week was somehow worse than the first as Arwen and the other advisors escalated their pranks against their teams. Arwen in particular seemed to delight in trying to steal the team''s food when they went to the cafeteria, though they managed to eat by smuggling food out in their storage bags. Finally, it was Sixth Day again and the campus settled down into peace. In one of the rare moments of peace the night before, Arwen had left each of Jun''s team members a note telling them to meet at the main gate between the city and the Forest. It was time for the expedition to begin. Chapter 54: Winter Expedition Jun checked over her supplies and equipment one last time. Nearly everything she needed was stowed in her Void Bag except for the things she''d be wearing. She still wore her black school uniform, the enchantments Shiori had placed on them at the start of term far exceeding any other clothing she could have afforded, though she''d augmented her protection with a coat meant for the cold winter snows. Unlike the sets of uniform clothes she''d received as a scholarship student, the coat was something she''d purchased herself. Though it wasn''t enchanted, it was a high-quality piece of clothing, made from specially treated monster leather and padded with wool for warmth and protection from the cold winter snows. With the attached leather hood up, the coat kept her positively toasty, and she was certain that it''d be invaluable out in the Forest, especially as the expedition would be keeping them out for a week. Over her new coat, she wore a leather belt with the sheathes for her dagger and a short sword she''d claimed from the thugs. She still wasn''t great with a blade, but for what they were about to do she would rather have a weapon and not need it than need it and not have it. Though, if things got bad enough that she was forced to use her sword, she was probably dead. Her main weapon was still her spells, and the majority of her earnings had gone towards bolstering that strength. An engraved steel wrist guard was strapped to her right arm with a series of three Bronze ranked monster cores set into slots along it. The piece was enchanted to enhance the stability and resilience of mana constructs, allowing spells to travel farther and take more punishment before unraveling, perfect for a mage that focused on barriers and snare spells like she did. With the piece of gear, it made her spells about half again stronger than normal, a significant boost, but it came at a cost. Buying it took most of her savings from the past few months after selling all of the loot she''d split with her party and her roommates, but Sara and Cecilia had made a compelling argument. It was better to have a single useful piece of gear that she could rely upon in an emergency than a dozen mediocre items that would barely last the expedition. The enchantments that let it function took in far more mana than could be sustained from the environment, each use draining a full half of a Bronze monster core. For some reason she couldn''t feed her own mana into the cores to recharge them either and had to depend upon other monster cores or waiting a week for it to recharge if she fully drained it. Shiori''s explanation was confusing as she started talking about the differences in mana wavelengths between harvested mana cores and mana cores in living beings causing conflicts with each other. Clyde''s explanation was clearer: if she fed too much of her mana into a harvest mana core it would explode. Having three potential bombs strapped to her wrist made her nervous, but six chances to make a spell far more powerful was hard to pass up, and as long as she was careful to just pull the energy from it into her spell rather than push her mana through the armament, it''d be fine. Probably. Checking through her Void Bag one last time to make sure she wasn''t forgetting anything, she slung the strap of the magical bag across her body and strapped her shield to her arm before checking herself in the mirror. A blush colored her cheeks as she looked herself over. She looked... intimidating. The training with the Sergeant, her friends, and even Arwen had taught her to hold herself with confidence, her back straight, shoulders back, and chest pushed out. With the weapons strapped to her body over her long coat and the hood up, she couldn''t help but feel like she dressed as an assassin out of a story. Cringing internally at that thought, she still couldn''t help feeling a little bit cool, especially as Shiori jumped onto her shoulder, completing the look. "Stop staring at yourself in the mirror kitten, you''re going to be late," she said, pushing herself into Jun''s hood and wrapping around her exposed neck. Shiori''s fur was warm against her skin, perfectly protecting her against the winter chill. Who needed a scarf when you had a cat? Jun took one last look around her room to make sure she didn''t miss anything and headed out the door, quickly making her way through the building and campus to meet up with her teammates. The chaos that had plagued the campus for the last two weeks was missing and few students were out and about, with most holed up in the magically heated buildings. Every student she saw was carrying weapons and wearing armor and bags. While most had small bags that Jun suspected were storage bags of some sort, a few had large traveler packs, likely those who couldn''t afford the enchanted containers on top of everything else they needed. As the front gate came into sight, she saw her teammates huddled in a group and Jun sped up, the last to arrive. Like the rest of the students who''d gone through the past two weeks of training, each of her teammates looked tense, the tiny shifts in their posture making it clear they were scanning the area for ambushes. She wasn''t sure how she felt about the last two weeks of training. She hadn''t particularly trusted most of her fellow students in the first place, especially with the nobles who constantly acted like they were better than everyone else, but the constant random ambushes just made her more suspicious of everyone. Though, Shiori pointed out that it was good training for her to stay aware of ambushes and look for hidden threats, even if it left her feeling little trust for just about everyone except her friends and teammates. "It''s about time Jun! It''s freezing!" Aya greeted her, bundled up in a coat similar to Jun''s with a thick wool scarf wrapped around her neck and face and her staff hanging from her shoulder on a strap. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted," she replied. "Why don''t you just use fire magic to warm up?" Keira asked Aya with a frown. Unlike Jun and Aya, the scout wore a hip length coat reminiscent of the snow camouflage Jun used to some hunters wear during the winter months on Earth in her small town. She supposed it made sense as Keira''s role made it important that she be able to move around without being seen, and camouflage didn''t need mana, but it was still surprising to see something so seemingly modern next to medieval weapons. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Never mind that, we''re all here, we should get moving." Michael gestured towards the gate as several students walked through wrapped in winter clothes and carrying weapons. Where Jun and Aya wore long coats and Keira a shorter camouflaged one, the healer wore a flowing set of robes with wide sleeves, his hands tucked inside of them. Jun couldn''t imagine the robes were very warm with how form fitting they were, but Michael seemed comfortable anyways. Cian didn''t say anything, simply nodding as he turned around and walking towards the Academy Gate. Jun and the rest of her party fell in behind the quiet warrior, following behind him as they headed for the meeting point Arwen gave them. Out of all of them, Cian looked the most like he belonged in a fantasy world. He was dressed in his usual chainmail armor, though over the past months he''d augmented the protection with more pieces of steel plate armor that protected his shoulders, forearms, and thighs. A fur cloak and fur lined gloves and boots protected him from the winter chill, and instead of solely relying on whatever storage artifact he used to keep his weapons, a scabbarded longsword and dagger sat strapped to his belt. Like Jun he also wore a shield strapped to his arm, though where Jun''s was a smaller and lighter shield that barely covered her torso, Cian''s looked like a manhole cover strapped to his arm. Despite the weather, the city outside the campus was busy with more than heavily armed students walking the streets. Shoppers, guards, merchants, and workers hurried about the Academic Quarter, and things were even busier in the Central District. As they walked, Jun couldn''t help but notice that some of the buildings had decorations going up that reminded her of Christmas on Earth. Still green boughs of pine trees, festively colored ribbons, and shiny ornaments of metal and painted clay already hung in some store windows and upon some of the larger buildings, yet those mundane decorations were far outdone by the mana lights twinkling in dozens of colors, with some of the fancier buildings even showing what could only be illusions of animals and people frolicking and playing. In a surprisingly short amount of time the students passed through the gate out of the city to find a group of hundreds of well-armed adventurers milling about as dozens already streamed for the Forest. "FEA Students over here!" a voice called out. Jun and her teammates turned towards the voice to see it belonging to a serious faced woman with a prominently displayed Academy medallion marking her as a professor. Aya took charge, leading the way to the Professor who consulted a clipboard and wrote a few notes down before directing them to larger milling group of students. It wasn''t long before Arwen joined them with a smirk, the elf for once fully armed and armored. His leather armor looked well maintained and seemed to practically glow with mana. Jun had sometimes felt mana from stronger workings from her professors and expensive enchanted items in some of the stores she''d been in. His gear seemed to scream power. The bags under his eyes had reduced a bit, like he''d finally gotten a good night''s sleep after weeks without, but the energy he gave off was still dangerous and unstable. Jun couldn''t help but shiver a bit as her instincts screamed at her to get far away from their advisor, though it didn''t seem anyone in her team noticed. Why would they when they stood about in a dirty slush of trampled snow and mud, ice white flakes slowly accumulating on the heads and shoulders of anyone who stood still too long? Trying to distract herself, Jun looked around the group they were in, spotting another four well-armed adventurers that gave off the confident and dangerous pressure of an experienced Gold ranked advisor just like Arwen. Each of the four led teams of students, some of whom Jun recognized from her classes. Melody, Mara, Emily, and Gina stood in a group with two boys, the group of six led by a stern-faced man wearing well-polished steel plate and fanciest healer''s amulet Jun had ever seen. According to Michael, the amulets were a mix of spell focus and rank insignia indicating a healer''s power and capability, the more ornate, the stronger the healer. Given how ornate the man''s amulet seemed to be, far more so than any of the professors she''d seen during training classes, the man had to be a powerful one. As if sensing her gaze, Mara turned and made eye contact with her, the apprentice healer''s eyes narrowing as she frowned and said something to her teammates. The other five turned to glance at Jun, the girls glaring as one of the boys smiled and winked at her. Jun ignored the boy''s flirting as she held the girls'' glares for a moment, read to pump mana into her spells at a moment''s notice. She still hadn''t found out why the other girls seemed to hate her so much, but after the past few weeks she found she didn''t really care about the why. All she cared about was . The trial, the accusations, and the rough training had been bad enough that she just didn''t have the energy to deal with whatever childish grievances they held against her. Besides, they were about to go into the wilderness. She doubted they''d have to deal with each other for long. After a few more students were directed to their group, Professor Galimund walked over and signaled for the group to join him. "Welcome first year students to the Winter Expedition. This will serve as your final assessment for the term for all adventurer track classes. The goal of the Winter Expedition is to assess your performance as an adventurer while addressing appropriately leveled local threats. Each of your advisors have been provided with a map of the surrounding area and each team has been assigned a general location to investigate and clear of as many priority threats as possible." "This year''s priority target is goblins. While there has been a standing bounty on goblins, their numbers have steadily increased in the area over the past few months. The current threat level has been identified as being high Iron to low Silver in the general area with several full hordes and roving warbands occupying the outskirts of the Forest within a week''s walk of the city. Higher level students and members of the IAG have been assigned to address those threats. As first years in the Bronze to low Iron levels, your assignment is to find and eliminate scouting groups and small raid groups." "Your performance during the Expedition will impact your grade. While your advisors will be accompanying you," Professor Galimund pointed at each advisor in the group. "...they have been instructed not to interfere unless necessary." The Vice Leader paused as he looked each of them in the eye, his gaze hardening as he lingered on Arwen and Jun''s team for a moment before moving on. "Students, you will be responsible for every decision made while out in the field. You are to return to the city in one week." The man turned away as he finished speaking, only to stop and look over his shoulder at the assembled students. "As serious as judging your performance during this test might be for your stay at the Academy, remember that this Expedition is dangerous. Students have died even with a Gold ranked advisor watching over them. If you find yourself choosing between a better grade and your life, I advise you to choose your life." Chapter 55: Silent Snow With the advisors in the lead, the student teams in Jun''s group headed for the forest along one of the icy, muddy roads. Whether it was the weather or the hundreds of students and adventurers that had already headed into the Forest after their briefings, the walk was fast and uneventful. The plains around the city had been thoroughly coated in white snow broken only by the black lines of cleared roads, with the hills and mountains behind them and the snow-covered treetops of the Forest ahead of them. A misleadingly idyllic and peaceful scene. As they walked, Arwen handed Aya a binder of documents showing the region and threat assessments. After studying it for a bit, Aya passed the map around for each of them to study. Jun nearly dropped the heavy sheaf of bound papers, surprised at the size and weight of it when Aya handed it to her. A series of maps at the front showed the entire region of the Forest along the Moros Mountain Range measuring thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles wide. Several fortresses and passageways through the mountains were marked on the map as well as general threat levels for each of the regions. Forest''s Edge was the largest city in the Moros Mountain Range guarding the single largest passage through the brutal terrain. However surprisingly, Forest''s Edge seemed to be the safest region in the area, the general threat level labeled as only in the low Silver range, while to the North and South there were places labeled up to high Platinum. Each of the regions were further detailed in other maps. Flipping to the map for Forest''s Edge, Jun frowned as she took in the area and more detailed information. Despite the entire region being listed as only low Silver, huge swaths of the Forest were labeled with low Iron to mid Silver threat ratings, with the plains around the city only carrying a low to high Bronze rating. Even more concerning, the mountains that Jun recalled passing through on her way to Forest''s Edge for the first time were labeled on the map as a high Gold area, and she felt lucky that she and Shiori had managed to cross through only dealing with goblins. The map made it clear how dangerous the Forest truly was. Skimming through the briefing documents gave an even clearer picture of what they were walking into, and after Jun went through it all she passed the documents to Michael while processing what she''d just read. The Gold area was hypothesized to contain a full Goblin stronghold with multiple Gold ranked goblins and a veritable army of Silvers and Irons estimated to be well over 10,000 with even more Bronze ranked goblins. Even if most goblin warbands were mostly Bronze ranked creatures, those numbers were more than enough to threaten a Gold ranked adventurer. After all, quantity was a quality itself. However, none of the information on the stronghold was certain. The stronghold''s defenses were enough that none of the IAG or Kingdom''s scouts could get close enough without being detected to find out the truth of the matter, and it was feared that getting too close might spark an all-out assault on the nearby cities. It was explicitly labeled off limits, not that Jun had any intention of getting anywhere near there, even with Shiori accompanying her. Luckily it was far enough away that she and her teammates would actually need to intend to get there to even get close. Of greater danger were the Silver areas in a ragged ring around the goblin stronghold which moved a bit, some coming as close as a hundred miles to the city. With the speed that even Bronze ranked things could move on Merinthia, that was just a couple days running. The Silver areas each held outlying war camps or hordes numbering in the thousands, and if Jun were to guess, she assumed many of the non-student adventurers had been sent to push the goblins back. The Iron and Bronze areas were more reasonable locations where scouting parties like the one Jun and her team fought on their first bounty or smaller raiding groups like the one Sara, Cecilia, and the others were fighting when Jun first met them. As long as they stayed within those areas, they should be able relatively safe, though that was never a guarantee in the Forest. Reading through the document and processing the information made for a remarkable way to pass the time, and by the time everyone in Jun''s team had read through the documents and passed them back to Aya, they''d arrived at the edge of the Forest. The advisors milled about as the students huddled up in their respective teams, some of the other groups only now passing around the packet of documents for others to read while others discussed their plans in hushed whispers, worried about the others overhearing them. Jun''s team was no different as they chose a spot far enough from the other groups for some privacy without putting them to close to any potential ambushers. Arwen followed along, hovering back just enough to give the illusion of privacy, though from how Sara had once told her how sensitive elven hearing could be, especially when amplified by high stats, she was certain the man could hear everything the students discussed. "Keira, scout the area for threats," Aya ordered, her eyes scanning the snow-covered plains and Forest for threats. Nodding, Keira darted into the Forest as the rest of the team watched their surroundings, eyes moving to look for anything out of the ordinary. As she left to scout the area, Jun noticed the other teams turn to watch Keira until she disappeared into the Forest, provoking a round of hushed whispers from all the groups before several more students followed in her footsteps. Part of her was concerned that they would try to ambush Keira as she scouted and Jun even started to pump mana into her snare spells before the rational side of her brain caught up, telling her that they wouldn''t do that kind of thing with all of the advisors watching. Even if Jun''s team knew Arwen wouldn''t lift a finger to help them unless forced to, Jun was certain the other teams didn''t know that. Calming down a bit, Jun settled in to wait with the rest of the team until Keira returned a few minutes later, soon followed by the other students who''d gone after her. When the stealthy scout returned, they huddled up in a group and Jun cast a modified barrier spell in a cocoon surrounding them, muffling noise from outside. The barrier wouldn''t stop all sound, only muffling their conversations enough that even Arwen shouldn''t be able to understand them so long as they talked softly, but it was better than nothing. Once the barrier manifested, Jun nodded, and they began to discuss their plans in earnest. "Keira, what did you find?" Aya asked quietly, her attention focused on the scout. "There were two battle sites nearby, the first just 100 feet due West of us, the other about 500 feet to the Northwest. Goblin corpses at both sites, basically frozen over and missing ears. The fights were fast and one-sided. There weren''t many signs of struggle, like the goblins were eliminated quickly and efficiently before they could really respond. Probably killed by some of the earlier groups that passed through. Tracks from previous groups split off around the first battle site to the West with a large number headed to the Northwest, about half I would guess while most of the rest went Southwest. Fewer tracks headed due West." Aya pulled out the map they''d gotten from Arwen and held it open for all of them to look at. Just as Jun remembered, the closest Silver area with a suspected war camp was only 100 miles away from the city, located to the Northwest of their position, while the regions around it were mostly listed as Iron ranked threat levels. "Sounds like most of the older students and guild adventurers headed Northwest to deal with the war camp," she said, pointing at the dangerous region. "The surrounding areas are all Iron ranked, and while I''m sure we can handle it, the number of people in the area will probably make it safer." "More allies in the area means if something goes wrong, we''ll be that much closer to help, especially since you know..." Michael said quietly, his eyes flicking towards Arwen, distrust in his eyes. "Yeah..." Jun knew exactly what he meant. "But we''d also have to worry about other teams messing with us." Jun glanced at the other teams. She had a feeling being anywhere near Melody and her friends would cause complications, but they weren''t her biggest concern. That belonged to a team of 6 boys all wearing heavier armor and large two-handed weapons. Among their number was Ivar and his two friends, the boys that had tried to force Jun and Aya to join their party. Their advisor, an orcish man wearing heavy plate with an impractically large sword, seemed to be glaring at Arwen as the elf grinned smugly. They were the only team that hadn''t sent out a scout after Keira left. The way the boys in that group openly eyed up the girls disgusted her, and the way they looked at other boys in mixed groups with open anger and jealousy made it worse. She didn''t want to be anywhere near them in the wilderness, even with her Master accompanying her. "But it''d also mean more competition for kills and loot," Aya replied with a frown. "We''re still being graded on our performance, and I don''t think we''ll do too well if we spend the entire expedition hiding behind other teams and relying on help from older students." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "We could go to the Bronze ranked areas to the South," Keira said. "Even if a lot of our classmates head that way, I overheard some professors talking about how we''re one of the strongest first year teams this year. As frustrating as someone has been with out training, apparently only one other first year team has done even one Iron ranked bounty, and that was only a couple weeks ago. We''ve been doing them from the start. If we go South, none of the other teams should be able to keep up with us." "That''d be unfair to the other teams though," Jun said with a frown. "Besides... I''m not sure I want to risk going where most of the other teams end up going," she said, covertly motioning at the group of armored boys eyeing them up. Cian pointed at the map, tapping an Iron ranked area to the West. "We should go there." Everyone looked at where the quiet warrior tapped. It was an isolated Iron ranked region surrounded by Bronze areas. While it was farther into the Forest, practically in the foothills of the mountains Jun had crossed through with Shiori, it was far South of the Gold ranked area. "I think Cian''s right," Jun said slowly. "The goblins'' biggest advantage is numbers. The rough terrain would make it harder for them to use those numbers, and it would be easier to find good camp sites." "There should also be fewer trees in the area, so we should be able to see any threats from further away, and I could use my bigger spells without worrying about setting the whole Forest on fire." "Plus it''s still close enough to the city that if things go bad, we could get back in a day or two." Their objective decided upon, Aya slipped the team''s documents back in her bag and they quickly agreed upon a quick marching order with Keira scouting ahead, Cian in front with Michael and Aya in the middle and Jun bringing up the rear. Michael had protested at first, insisting he take the rearguard position, but Jun insisted she could handle it even if she was the lowest level among them, especially since she''d managed to hold out against the rest of them with Shiori''s help. Besides, Jun was less worried about the goblins and more worried about their advisor. Taking the rearguard would let her and Shiori keep a closer eye on the man. With everything settled, Jun dropped the privacy barrier as Keira took the lead, setting a quick pace into the Forest while the other teams still argued over a plan. Silently, Arwen ghosted along at the rear of the group next to Jun, shooting one last smug look at the orcish man before slipping into the trees. Jun couldn''t help but turn back as well and frowned as she saw Ivar and his friends watching her and whispering before the trees blocked them from view.
With Keira in the lead, they set a ground eating pace through the snowy forest, following the well trampled trail through the snow to the first battle site Keira told them about. From there, Keira continued on to the West, following a much less traveled trail, the footprints half filled with snow. Over the next hour the trail thinned as sets of footprints split off in other directions while they continued heading West, and an hour later they broke a new trail through the snow. As they traveled deeper into the Forest, the snow on the ground thinned, going from ankle deep where they''d first entered to barely more than a light dusting on the ground. The Forest of Kresh reminded Jun that this forest was nothing like what she was used to on Earth as the trees retained their leaves and the canopy caught the majority of the snow, holding it in place until it froze into a solid layer above. While the lack of snow and hard soil of the Forest floor made travel easy, it also made things eerie. Instead of the hike through a winter forest that Jun had expected, instead it felt more like a hike through a frigid cave. The snowcap above the trees made things even darker than Jun expected, and by the time they paused for a break it felt like it was dusk even though her teammates assured her it couldn''t be later than midday. Worse still were the sound, or rather the lack of it. Growing up in a small town on Earth, one of the things she''d learned as a child was how loud nature truly is, even in the depths of winter. Birds still sang and animals large and small still moved about. Nature was rarely truly quiet except when something strange was going on. The Forest around them was dead quiet as nothing moved. Not even the air. The only sounds were those Jun''s party made. Creaking leather. Tinkling chainmail. The crunch of footsteps on the rare layer of snow, frozen soil, and the detritus of a forest floor. Aya''s teeth clicking together as she shivered. Jun''s heart pounding in her chest. Every step took them deeper into the Forest, the oppressive atmosphere growing as the shadows lengthened, seemingly reaching out to claw at them. Even Arwen seemed unusually serious, his eyes darting about as they moved, betraying the relaxed posture he affected. Jun kept her spells primed and her body tensed and ready for action the entire day as she strained her senses to watch for an impending attack. It never materialized. Once the Forest grew dark enough that they would start to need light to move by, Jun and her party stopped at the first site Keira determined would make a good camp site to settle in for the night. The chosen location was in a stand of young trees and bushes that would shield them from casual viewing in a rare spot where the canopy was weak, the snow covering the ground in a deep layer. Except Arwen and Shiori, all of them immediately set to work setting camp. The party pulled shovels out and cleared the ground, piling the shoveled snow around the edges of the small clearing to form a chest high wall of ice around it with only a single gap marking the winding path they took to get inside. Using magic, Aya melted and froze the snow wall until it was as hard as stone, while Cian and Michael dug out a small latrine in the far corner between the wall and a bush they left inside, the rest of the stray vegetation quickly hacked away and piled up in the corner. With everything cleared out, the group quickly set up a pair of tents big enough for three people each that took up half the space in the clearing. They left enough room for Arwen to set up a tent if he wanted, though the space left for him was suspiciously close to the dug out latrine. As evening fell, the students settled in, eating dried travel rations in a cold and fireless camp before splitting up to watch. As the group''s rearguard, Jun got the first watch of the night alongside Shiori as the rest of her team and Arwen settled in. After the long and tense hike through the woods, her teammates fell asleep quickly, and surprisingly, so did Arwen. Jun had expected their advisor to be awake for a while with his high stats and the inherent danger of being so far out from the city and potentially surrounded by aggressive monsters, but as soon as he finished his meal, he''d ducked into a small one-man tent and quickly fell asleep while her teammates chattered for a bit before drifting off. Sitting on a camp chair she''d pulled from her bag, eyes straining in the dim starlight to pick up any movement, Jun learned a few things. Aya snored. Loudly. Like a monster crashing through trees. When she''d first heard the sound, Jun leapt to her feet as she fed her mana into one of her spells, conjuring a faintly glowing barrier in a low dome around the camp while she rushed to the tents to wake her teammates. As she opened the girls'' tent, she found the source of the noise. Aya snoring as she sprawled out in her sleep. Impressively, Keira didn''t seem bothered by it at all, the scout peacefully sleeping through the sound of a team of lumberjacks clear cutting a forest. Carefully, Jun crept over to Aya and gently rolled her on her side and her snoring cut out. For once, she was glad to have heard her mother on Earth complain about her father''s snoring and how he wouldn''t do simple things to address it. The complaining a lifetime ago had come in handy now. Threat located and taken care of, Jun silently withdrew to her chair to wait out the rest of her watch, quietly chatting with Shiori about what they could expect. "Most of the Forest''s denizens hibernate or move deeper in during the Winter months kitten. The only things that stay in the Outskirts are the weaker creatures that cannot handle the inner layers or those too territorial to leave such as Dark Claws and Crag Crawlers." Shiori looked up into the starry night sky as she sat on another camp chair next to Jun. "What''s a Dark Claw?" "Large birds with nearly silent flight that like to hunt in the dark." Whether it was the way Shiori answered or something she subconsciously noticed Jun wasn''t sure, but instinctively she cast her dome barrier again, the spell coalescing moments before something large slammed into it with a bone crunching thud! "Attack!" Jun yelled, waking her teammates as she looked up at the large shape pressing against her barrier. The force of the impact was massive, nearly expending all of the mana she fed into her barrier, though thankfully none of the layers shattered. Pulling more of her mana, Jun cast another copy of the barrier to reinforce it while her teammates woke and grabbed their weapons, rushing out of the tents within seconds of her shout. Cian rushed out of the tent, sword in hand at the same time that Keira did with an arrow already nocked on her bow. Aya and Michael streamed out moments later, the healer smashing together a pair of light stones as Aya conjured a burning lance of flame. "Above!" Jun called out, pointing up at the dark shape pressing against her barrier as she fed more of her mana into a snare spell, conjuring the magical ropes just outside of her barrier and lashing out at the dark shape. In the combined light of Michael''s light stones and Aya''s flame spell, a horrifying visage stared down at them. Large, unblinking eyes stood above a wickedly curved and razor sharp beak. Massive wings, each wider than a grown man was tall, were spread out, covering more than half of Jun''s barrier. The bird''s feathers were the color and pattern of wood, dark in color and perfect camouflage amongst the trees. Jun''s snares lashed out at the bird, wrapping around its body and wings as she pulled her barrier back, shrinking it down so that her teammates could attack. She needn''t have bothered. As her barrier pulled away, the massive bird''s body slumped down, its head hanging limply from a broken neck as Jun and her party stared. Arwen poked his head out of his tent, looking up at the dead bird for a moment before glaring at the students. "It''s dead," he said testily, before ducking back into his tent. "That''s a Dark Claw," Shiori said in Jun''s ears, calmly licking her paw from her seat on Keira''s chair. Jun glanced from her teammates, to Shiori, and back to the dead Dark Claw. "Oh." Chapter 56: Movements Dark Claws turned out to be a species of massive owl with two cruel looking black claws. The monster''s feathers were also massive, the large tail feathers nearly as long as Jun was tall. Keira''s cursory examination of the monster found that the bird had died slamming headfirst into Jun''s barrier, shattering its skull and half the bones in its body. Luckily with the rest of her team awake, taking care of the creature was fast with Keira taking the lead. With a liberal application of mana, Jun was able to use her snare spells to haul the corpse over the wall and out of their camp. Following Keira, Jun and her teammates moved a few hundred feet from camp deeper into the forest where the scout had Jun set the corpse down. After that, she and Cian set to work cleaning and butchering the beast until all that was left was a bloody pile of bones and offal, the claws, feathers, meat, organs, and core all wrapped up and spread between their storage devices. While the twins took care of the butchering, the rest had kept busy digging a large hole with Jun punching holes into the ground with her rarely used [Piercing Missile], Aya thawing the soil with flame spells, and Michael shoveling the loosened dirt away to form a large pit. Once the choice loot had been stored away, the group shoved the remains into the pit and quickly buried it. The grave was shallow and wouldn''t hide the remains for long but would be enough to keep any other predators from sniffing out the blood while they slept. Dirty work done, the group moved back to the camp, switching off watches with Cian and Keira taking over. Exhausted, dirty, and freezing, Jun gratefully sank into her thick bedroll next to Aya, barely noticing her friend''s snoring as sleep quickly took her.
Useless Dark Claw, Arwen thought to himself as he laid back down in his tent. At the very least a stealth and speed focused monster should''ve been able to land a single blow on a Bronzer. He hadn''t expected much from it, but it hadn''t even drawn any blood. It just flew headfirst into a student''s barrier like a stupid bird and brained itself. How had the lowbie even noticed it in the first place? She definitely didn''t have an aura sense yet. Her aura wasn''t anywhere near strong enough, still thin and barely reaching more than a few feet away. All of the other students were much stronger before they even touched Iron. Aya''s aura had been surprisingly strong when she was at peak Bronze, and it''d only gotten stronger once she broke into the Iron ranks. Cian, Keira, and Michael each had surprisingly strong auras as well, to the point that he''d been suspicious of all of their backgrounds. When he dug into his students, he was surprised by all of them. Aya was just a commoner girl, apparently the daughter of some merchant from one of the Southern port cities. No prior training listed, no records that she attended any of the schools in the South, just the pampered daughter of a merchant who was apparently a prodigy. The twins had a much more surprising background as children of a known Diamond ranked chief from one of the Northern clans beyond the mountains. That at least explained Cian''s weapons skills and Keira''s speed. The Northern Clan Holds were constantly at war with monsters and each other. The children of a powerful chief would be perfect targets, so they must have been trained from a young age and sent away for their protection. Michael''s background was just as surprising. Even if Moros outlawed slavery, he hadn''t expected one of the kingdom''s elite academies to accept any students from the Republic of Mercy. Many of the nobles still had secret dealings with the Empire of Flesh after all, though they hid it better than those idiot nobles that lost their heads not long ago. Although it was possible that that stupid Plat prat Sean didn''t notice, too wrapped up in some political game of ass kissing. The man only cared about social status and his meddling had turned away and held back more than a few promising students. Arwen fought down a spike of rage at the thought of all the potential prodigies that the man wasted with his games. Every year he considered removing the Registrar, but doing so would attract too much attention. He needed to keep his efforts to his goals, not indulge in petty disputes. Tamping down his irritation, Arwen refocused as he tracked the students with his aura. In comparison to her teammates, Jun was lacking. Sure she put on a good fight against them when she showed up with a cat of all things and claimed it as her familiar, nearly fighting the rest of her teammates to a standstill until Keira got out of her snares due to Jun''s inattention. The way she''d captured Cian in a cage of barriers had also been surprising, keeping the far more powerful man caged up and pitting his weakness against her strength. She''d also shown a surprising grasp of tactics with how she''d used small barriers to help her familiar maneuver and hid her snares under the sand. She''d also performed adequately on the warehouse bounty, her barriers saving him some effort in disarming the arrays. Still, impressive as she was with her barriers and snares, everything else about her was lacking. She almost won because her teammates held back too much. Her file said she had an offensive spell that was leagues ahead of the common trash nobles called basic battle magic, but she didn''t use it. If the file was to be believed, she could cast hundreds of Apprentice ranked offensive spells before she ran out of mana, spells with enough power that they might even scratch him if they hit. Even if all they did was scratch him, dealing with hundreds of them would still be a threat to him, and that kind of power at Bronze rank was rare. And that was her biggest problem, and why she was a failure. She held herself back and refused to use her power. She''s too timid, too cowardly, too weak, he thought with a snarl. No killer instinct. When the Dark Claw started circling over their camp, he''d watched closely through his aura, knowing the monster wouldn''t be able to resist attacking the girl and her pet while they stood watch. Part of him hoped she would notice it unveil some killer instinct for once, while another part of him hoped the Dark Claw would take care of her stupid pet. Instead, every possible disappointment struck. The girl was too busy talking to her little cat about some nonsense, not that he cared enough to focus his aura to find out what. It took too much effort, and why would he bother listening to some empty-headed little girl talking to an equally stupid cat? She paid so much attention to a one-sided conversation with the creature that she didn''t notice the threat as it started it''s attack. He''d actually been excited at the possibility of her death. It''d make for good motivation for the students with actual potential. But instead of that happening, of course the girl got lucky and decided to use her ridiculous barrier spell at the last possible moment, causing the Dark Claw to fly headfirst into a barrier and brain itself, dying instantly. Then to make matters worse, she roused the entire camp screaming about an attack even though the creature was already dead. The girl''s luck infuriated him. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Still, the expedition lasts a full week, and he''d already figured out where they were headed. A lot could happen in an Iron ranked area.
Jun woke the next morning to her body aching all over and her head feeling stuffed with cotton from lack of sleep. The lumps of earth and stone under her bedroll didn''t make for the best sleeping surface even with the extra thick padding it had. Still, she got up and exited the tent past Keira''s sleeping form to be greeted by the smell of cooking bacon in the light of morning. Michael looked up at her as he tended to a sizzling pan and handed her a warm plate of food and a steaming mug. Gratefully accepting the meal, Jun took a seat next to Aya and started eating, the stuffiness in her head slowly fading as she crunched on crisp bacon and sipped a warm cup of tea. It wasn''t long before the rest of her team woke and joined them, even Arwen joining them and looking well rested, if more taciturn than usual. After eating, they broke down their camp and set out in the same order as the day before, pushing deeper into the Forest. The walk was more of the same as the day before, trudging through the dark and eerily quiet forest, though Jun couldn''t help but keep looking up and staring at the treetops and rare gaps in the snowcapped canopy, looking for threats from above. Despite her vigilance though, the threat came at them from below. Keira stopped and motioned for everyone to freeze. As Jun came to a halt, Shiori smoothly jumped out of her hood and silently landed at her feet. Jun pulsed her mana, already planning where she''d place her barriers to protect her team as she waited. A shallow dome over top would stop anything from above, while four walls would protect their front, sides, and behind. Pouring a tenth of her mana into each would leave her at half, enough to reinforce wherever the pressure was worst or maybe even capturing attackers with snares if she had mana to spare. With a plan in place, Jun concentrated on their surroundings, ears open for any hint of the threat Keira noticed. A harsh, guttural word barked out from the darkness around them and Jun cast, her barriers coalescing as a squad of spear wielding goblins charged at them out of the darkness! In no time at all, the goblins closed the distance between the bush they''d emerged from and Jun''s barrier, their spear tips thrusting into it with the combined weight of the diminutive monsters and their impressive speed. Jun surged mana into the barrier, reinforcing it as the spears struck! Five muted clinks like utensils tapping against glass rang out as the goblins struck her barrier and stopped, the attack barely taking any mana as Jun stood there, a blush starting to creep across her cheeks as she felt more than half of her mana devoted to the magical barriers surrounding them. She might have overprepared. The goblins snarled at the students after their failed attack and started to viciously stab at the magical barrier, filling the air with the sound of muted taps and clinks. Jun blinked as the vicious assault by five goblins only barely ate into the mana devoted to her front barrier. If she did nothing else to reinforce it, it would take the goblins several minutes to break it. "Well... that''s underwhelming," Keira deadpanned, watching the squad of goblins separated from her by a few feet and an opaque barrier. "Yup," Aya said, pointing at the soil in front of them as a large brown blob coalesced and shot into the ground. Moments later, the assault stopped as a series of spikes erupted from the ground beneath the goblins, impaling them. Cleaning up the kills took longer than the actual fight did, and minutes later the party was on the move again, having shoved the goblins'' weapons and ears into their bags and thrown the corpses into the bushes. The spears hadn''t been very valuable, little more than sharpened spikes of iron bolted to a wooden handle, but loot was loot. The goblins hadn''t had anything else of interest on them, no food or other trinkets, which meant that their camp was probably close by, and Keira quickly found the goblins'' tracks and started retracing them. It only took an hour to find the goblin camp, and it was deserted. The squad they''d already taken care of seemed to be the only ones that used the camp, and a quick search turned up a rolled scroll in the goblin language and a couple bags of some kind of unidentifiable jerky. Having learned more about goblin eating habits, the students reignited the cold fire in the camp and burned the food alongside anything else the goblins might find useful before leaving, the scroll tucked into Aya''s bag. After the fight and burning the camp, the rest of the day was uneventful, and they settled down for the night in another camp under an overhang of rock. Dinner that night was more cold rations as Aya and Keira poured over their maps. Even with the detour, they were making surprising progress through the Forest and would soon be in the targeted Iron region. Unlike the night before, Jun''s watch was peaceful and the night passed quietly before they set out again in the morning, headed into the foothills.
Garug narrowed his eyes as he looked upon the corpses of the missing squad. When the five scouts failed to report in the night before, he''d sent a scout to their camp to bring them back to the warband. But instead of warriors drunk off contraband booze sleeping it off, the scout had found the camp ransacked, the supplies burned and warriors missing. The scout, a youth named Torshek, showed her intelligence and immediately returned to the warband for reinforcements rather than search for the missing squad herself. It was no surprise the girl was well on her way to the peak of the First Step despite her youth. Garug decided to go out personally, taking the strongest of his warband, 100 warriors all at the peak of the First Step led by himself and his Second Step shamans, including his youngest son. The warband scoured the woods for hours until they found what was left of them. They''d been impaled numerous times, their weapons and valuable stolen and their corpses mutilated and cruelly thrown into the bushes. "Humans," he growled with hate. With a barked order, a dozen of his warriors gathered fallen branches, quickly forming a large pile of wood that they carefully arranged the dead squad on. Without saying a word, each of them chose one of the trinkets they carried for fortune and honor and placed it amongst the bodies. Garug chose a brush covered in dried blood. A moderate honor, recording his attack on the hated enemy''s supplies and future soldiers. Each threat eliminated when young was one less horror that would come to slaughter the People and mutilate their corpses, defiling them and stealing their glory from the afterlife. A small pile of trinkets covered the five lost warriors, hopefully enough honor to restore their ears in the after and give them food to eat. With another barked order, Garug''s warriors stood in circles around the bonfire as their oldest shaman walked forward, a ball of flame hovering between her hands. As she knelt down before the pyre, the ball of flame drifted forward and touched against the pile of kindling at the base of the pyre. The shaman continued kneeling as the kindling went up in flames, feeding her mana to it to spread the flames unnaturally fast and to burn unnaturally hot. A wave of heat washed over the assembled warriors as they watched the pyre burn. Soon, the shaman slumped forward, her hair starting to smoke before a pair of warriors rushed forward and pulled her to safety. The youngest shaman, his son, began to treat her with the glow of healing magic as the next oldest took her place, kneeling and channeling his mana into the pyre until he too slumped over and was replaced. One by one, the clan''s shamans fed their mana to the pyre until all six of the eldest were spent and left under the ministrations of the youngest. As the bodies burned, Garug started to chant, soon joined by the voices of his warriors. "Blessed warriors of the people. Struck down in defense of the defenseless. Honor stolen by villains in death. Your brethren surrender their honor unto you, that you may ride upon wind and flame among your blessed ancestors. Spirits of wind and flame, called to witness your sacrifice, carry your burdens away. A vow of vengeance is made, that your enemies that dishonor you shall be dishonored themselves, their stolen glory restored to their victims." Chapter 57: Intelligence Failures Forest of Kresh, approximately 200 miles Northwest of Forest''s Edge "Attack back withdraw," Sara signaled with a series of hand signs. Several trees away, her fellow scout Dane nodded and repeated the series of hand signals. While they were well hidden in the snowcapped trees on the shore of a frozen lake, Sara knew through her new aura sense that the other four scouts got the message as each of them prepared to attack. Further back, she knew Gareth and the other four parties they were working with laid in wait for the scouts to finish. Though she could still sense the mix of Iron auras that made up the rest of her raid group, missing were the four Silver ranked auras of her own team, though she wasn''t surprised. Each of them learned their own form of aura suppression once they hit Silver, while the scouts with her had to rely on expensive enchanted items to hide their auras. Several hundred feet away, a horde of well-armed goblins crossed the ice, their banners proclaiming them a part of the Long Knives tribe. From the intel the guild shared and the scouts'' own investigations, this horde was moving out to secure a new area for a war camp ahead of their tribe''s full might. The documents they''d taken from the horde''s advanced scouting parties had of course been written in the goblin''s own script, and coded beyond that, but Sara and the other scouts made quick work of breaking the cipher and translating the scouts'' orders. From it they knew one of the Long Knives'' chief''s sons, a "third step war leader" named Kranok led the force. As the last of the horde stepped onto the ice, Sara finally felt the unrestrained auras of the goblins wash over her. Over a thousand Bronze ranked auras, weak and thin, overshadowed by hundreds of Iron ranked auras, firm and solid. But overwhelming all of them was a trio of Silver auras, strong and steady, coating every other aura around and pressing down hard, with one far stronger than the others. The pressure was immense, far stronger than Sara''s own, or anyone else on her team. That had to be Kranok, and their intel was wrong. He wasn''t just a Sil, he was peak Sil, probably on the verge of breaking through to Gold. A simple attack wouldn''t be enough. "Wait me attack you attack withdraw," she signaled to Dane again, seeing the man nod and repeat her hand signals to the others. Orders sent, Sara focused on the horde in front of her, all of her senses turned to scanning over the horde as she searched for her target. While she searched, Sara pulled out an arrow and ran mana through her spellforms. [Piercing Arrow]. [Explosive Shot]. [Silent Strike]. [Viper Bite]. Thousands of mana funneled into a series of augment spells, each of them mixing with and reinforcing the others. A wave of exhaustion flooded through her as she dumped most of her mana pool into a single attack, but training and experience kept her steady and unmoving on her hidden perch halfway up the tree. Nocking the enchanted arrow to her bow, Sara finally spotted her target. A group of three marching together towards the back, surrounded by over a dozen well-armed warriors. A hulking brute of a goblin, easily half again as tall as the others and probably taller than her as well, walked with confidence next to an old goblin with saggy, yellowing skin and a middle-aged goblin woman. The brute was covered in fine steel and leather armor, and would probably have been able to pass as a human adventurer or knight if he wore a helmet. That had to be Kranok. The intel said he was a melee fighter. The old goblin man carried a staff, and Sara''s guess was that he was a shaman, definitely a powerful one. The goblin woman wore leathers and carried a bow and arrows, probably a scout or hunter of some sort. The three of them alone would be a threat to their group. Well, they would be a threat if they were paying attention. Sara pulled back into a full draw and released in one smooth motion, her arrow snapping forward in the blink of an eye, silently speeding towards the unsuspecting goblins. A bright flash and the sound of glass shattering echoed out over the lake as Sara''s arrow pierced through an invisible barrier, Kranok and his two companions looking up in alarm at the sound. Using the immense stats of a Silver ranker, the old shaman started to move his hands and lips as mana flooded into one of the Silver auras. Too late, Sara viciously thought. Before the shaman could finish casting, Sara''s arrow smashed into, and through Kranok''s breastplate before an explosion of noxious green flames engulfed the goblin leaders, obscuring them from view for a few seconds. The horde stopped in place as the barrier shattered, moments later falling into chaos as goblins wearing marks of command found arrows sprouting from their chests and toppled to the ice. Despite the chaos of the sudden attack, the horde regained discipline quickly as warriors raised shields to intercept arrows and shamans began to chant, balls of flame appearing before the horde and blasting out into the forest in retaliation! As the spells manifested, Sara leapt from branch to branch in the treetops, quickly putting distance between herself and her hidden perch just before a series of fireballs landed in the area, putting parts of the Forest up in flame. As the goblin shamans continued their bombardment, the front elements of the horde charged onto the shores of the frozen lake, the goblins'' faces twisted with rage as they hunted for whoever attacked their leader. At least, until one of the goblins'' Silver auras vanished, followed quickly by another. Kranok had definitely been peak Silver, Sara thought to herself as she felt a flood of strength fill her as his aura vanished, signaling his death. It was a good thing she dumped all of her mana into that shot, otherwise he would''ve been a nightmare for their raid group. Whether it was stats, protective spells, or a mixture of things, the goblin leader had managed to survive an exploding arrow to the chest, long enough that the shaman had probably been able to heal him, keeping the leader up until the shaman succumbed to the burns and poison. With his healer dead, Kranok soon followed. The quick-thinking warriors stumbled as the reassuring pressure of their war leader''s aura vanished, leaving them feeling weak and exposed. Sara saw panic and fear come over their faces and they milled about in a confused clump on the shore, separated from the rest of their horde. Bellowing a war cry, Gareth charged out of the forest, the other frontliners just a step behind him as they crashed into the confused group, trampling the first ranks and cutting down over a dozen before they could react. As the fight on the shore devolved into a melee, the green flames vanished, revealing the singed but still alive form of the goblin woman as she chugged a flask of something and bellowed orders. Order started to take form again as the horde surged forward to engage in the melee on the shore. One of the adventurers, a man named Henry, was engaged in a fight with a dozen goblins at once. Blood flowed freely from several wounds to his arms and legs as the goblins used their numbers to their advantage, scoring small hits while he was busy defending. It was death by a thousand cuts, and despite the healing he was getting from their healers, he wasn''t the only one of them taking hits. As he defended from another set of blows, taking several on his shield as he parried another and accepted yet another blow to his calf, one of the goblins got to his side and sent a thrust with it''s spear at his side. Even with five healers healing him, it would be a fatal blow. Before the goblin could finish its blow, an arrow pierced through its heart and spine, sending it crumpling to the ground as a corpse. From her hidden perch, Sara scanned for more threats to the frontliners, supporting anyone who was about to be overwhelmed. As the rest of the horde advanced, the other scouts let loose with skill-backed arrows, slowing their advance as the goblins moved to reinforce their forward element and kill the adventurers. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. For many of the goblins, that was their last mistake. A series of magical spells crashed into the ice of the lake in a circle around most of the horde while a massive fireball manifested and crashed down in the center, incinerating a score of unsuspecting goblins and shattering the ice and sending hundreds into the bone-chilling waters below. It wasn''t long after that the final Silver aura vanished.
Forest of Kresh, approximately 100 miles West of Forest''s Edge Moving from the Forest to the foothills proved to be an interesting experience. The strange snowcap that blocked most of the light from the Forest floor meant that when they finally got close to the foothills, the bright midmorning light reflecting off fallen snow nearly blinded them. It also marked the edge of the Iron region they were aiming for. Somewhere in the foothills lay enough goblins that the entire region had been deemed an Iron ranked area. A couple hours after leaving the snowcapped forest behind, Jun''s party made camp in a small valley amongst a grove of trees, laying out their tents as they shoveled snow and cut still green branches from the interior trees to create a hidden camp. It wasn''t perfect, but it should be good enough to give them a safe spot while they hunted for the horde in the area. With a base camp secured, Keira set out to scout the area while the rest of the party secured the camp. "We have a problem," Keira said as she ghosted into the camp in the early afternoon. "Before that, eat." Michael stood up from the small fire in the center of camp with a plate of food he''d kept warm for the scout. Nodding her thanks, Keira took the plate and set it down on a fallen tree in the clearing they camped in, spreading her map out next to it. As the rest of the party joined her around the tree, even Arwen silently trailing along, she started setting markers down on the map. A small pebble, a larger stone, and a small handful of red beads marking different things before she picked up her plate and started shoveling food into her mouth. "The smaller stone is where we are right now, our camp," Keira said between bites, before pointing to the red beads one by one. "These are goblin patrols in the area." Jun counted a half dozen red beads on the map close to them, and a dozen more within half a day''s walk of their camp. As she looked at the positions of the patrols, her eyes widened. That was a lot of patrols, far more than made sense for a single raiding group. Jun wasn''t the only one to notice as she shared a concerned look with Aya and Cian, while Michael stared intensely at the map. Seeing the looks, Keira nodded as she hurriedly chewed and swallowed a mouthful of food. "Way more patrols than a single raiding group should have. Each of the patrols had at least five warriors. That''s at least half a raiding party just out patrolling the area. But it''s worse than that," the scout said, tapping at the larger rock just a couple dozen miles to the North. "I dodged a few patrols and was able to get a good view of the area from one of the ridges to the North. There''s a lot of smoke coming from one of the valleys, way more than makes sense for a single raiding party. I think our information was wrong. This isn''t an Iron ranked area; it''s Silver."
Galimund frowned as he looked at the latest movements in the Expedition headquarters. He had a few low Gold scouts with flying spells bringing him daily reports, but what he saw concerned him. To the North, a scout reported that a group of Iron ranked students led by one of the few Academy Silver ranked teams had taken down a full war horde led by a peak Silver and two mid Silvers. Several more peak Silvers had been detected in the area leading hordes, and the scout said she''d briefly felt an unknown mid Gold near the known war camp, though the aura disappeared before she could learn much more. The scouts and advisors to the South reported far denser goblin patrols than there should have been for a Bronze ranked area, and several Bronze and Iron IAG teams failed to report in to their expedition leader for the Southern area. However the IAG Advisors for the Academy teams to the South didn''t report anything too strange, though one party had to be bailed out and was already returning to the city after they tried to take on an Iron ranked area. More concerning was that three Academy teams had traveled West and their advisors failed to report in to the scouts. The scout for the area hadn''t been able to see much from above, the snowcap phenomena prevented anyone without an esoteric scouting skill from knowing much of what happened under the unnatural ice cap. As Galimund read over the profiles for the missing teams to the West, he frowned. Paladin Brava''s group, Ghorro''s group, and Arwen''s group. Brava was a serious man who knew better than to play games with the safety of younglings, especially after his group got caught up in that mess alongside Ghorro and Arwen. That the Paladin hadn''t reported in yet was concerning. Then there were his chapter''s troublemakers Ghorro and Arwen. He wasn''t surprised that the two''s groups were in the same area since they''d had a rivalry going ever since Arwen came to the region a decade ago. They''d often competed against each other in everything, but the incident last year made things worse. Galimund hadn''t been able to prove anything, but he suspected that Arwen something to do with multiple teams getting attacked by threats a full rank beyond their capabilities, including Ghorro''s. The orc had had to bail out his entire team against a full raiding group that was well beyond the mid Bronze team''s capabilities. That Arwen''s team had to deal with the same, and yet the elf didn''t step in until after several students died, was suspicious. Paladin Brava showing up to heal the survivors after had been fortuitous. Still, that all three advisors who got caught up in last year''s debacle were in the same area again was a matter of concern, especially since they''d all missed their check-ins with the scouts and multiple areas were reporting threats beyond their assessments from just a week ago. As Galimund looked over the list of students under the three advisors, his frown deepened. As a policy, he tried to ignore much of the rumors that spread about the campus. He was an IAG officer first, professor second, and the social lives of young nobles normally was irrelevant to him. Still, this year had tested his policy immensely. Sergeant Wade and Professor Lorne had already reported to him that several of his students seemed to have issues with each other, specifically Brava''s student Melody and Arwen''s student Jun. The girls'' spars in Wade''s courses had been especially brutal, and Lorne mentioned something about the girl Aya on Arwen''s team nearly burning Mara and Gina on Brava''s team several times during practice. Then there was Ivar, Boris, and Grekar on Ghorro''s team. He watched the three boys try to force Jun and Aya onto their team and considered stepping in before the girls handled it. The girl Jun''s bind had been so powerful that they hadn''t been able to join a team and he''d been forced to assign them with the remaining students who hadn''t paired off. Unfortunate for them that they lacked a healer, any mages, or scouts, but that had made Ghorro the perfect choice of advisor for them. But knowing Ghorro and Arwen had issues, and half of their teams had issues with each other as well, having both of them in the same region while multiple irregularities in the threat assessments were revealing themselves was dangerous. Too dangerous. "Lana," he said finally, talking to no one in particular. "Yes Vice Leader?" a woman''s voice replied as the Platinum scout appeared. Galimund handed her the three team dossiers and pointed at the area to the West of Forest''s Edge. "Brava, Ghorro, and Arwen failed to check in after heading towards the foothills to the West." The woman skimmed through the dossiers, frowning the further she read. "That''s a problem, especially with those three and their students. I doubt any of them would work together if the situation demanded it," she finally said. Galimund sighed and nodded in agreement. "Especially since the threat assessments this year are off. Half the Bronze zones are bordering on Iron if not already there, while a couple of the Iron zones have reports of Silver goblin commanders. A group of Academy teams took down a war band led by a peak Silver to the Northwest, and there''s been unconfirmed reports of a Gold ranked threat in area. Something strange is going on." Lana''s eyes narrowed as she looked down at the map spread out on the table in front of the Vice Leader. "What do you want to do sir?" "New threat assessments based on the latest are being drafted up as we speak. Send teams to the South and the Northwest and have the IAG and Academy regroup. I don''t like having all these teams spread out and isolated. As for the West, send a team out to track down Brava, Ghorro, and Arwen. They''re the only teams operating that far out, recall and direct them South." Chapter 58: One Step at a Time After a tense but uneventful night''s sleep, Jun, her teammates, and Shiori left Arwen and their camp behind to scout in force. The shitty advisor had outright refused to leave his tent as they set out on what could be a dangerous outing to figure out what was going on in the area, so they left him to watch the camp, not that they left much besides their tents and bedrolls behind. The beauty of storage devices was that they made it easy to keep supplies with them, even traveling light. Guided by Keira, the team slowly made their way across the landscape, the smoke of their target becoming more obvious the closer they got. What had been a couple dozen miles on the map proved to be much farther as they were forced to trek up and down ridges, adding significantly to the distance. If only they could fly across the gaps instead of hiking up and down. Blinking, Jun paused as an idea came to her. Stopping the rest of her party as they finished hiking up the next ridge, she explained her idea to them, convincing them to let her try it. As the others looked Casting a barrier in the shape of a bowl, Jun stepped into the spell, slipping and falling into the center of the magical force as she did. Flustered, Jun brushed a few stray locks of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ears before she concentrated, slowly lifting the barrier up with herself inside of it. Glancing down through the shimmering force, she was excited to see her hovering in the bowl a few feet off the ground, but when she checked her mana, she couldn''t help but frown. Normally, moving her barriers around didn''t take much mana, barely a point of mana every 5 seconds, well below what she regenerated. But with her inside, it was different. The constant strain of holding her weight was enough to slowly weaken her barrier, forcing her to feed extra mana into it to keep it stable, and moving it while carrying her had drained as much mana in a couple seconds as it cost her to cast the barrier. Riding her barriers for flight was beyond her. Defeated, Jun set herself back down on the ground her experiment in flight both a success and a failure. If she were stronger, it''d be possible, but as it stood, she could at best move herself a hundred feet before her mana bottomed out. As they descended the ridge, gingerly stepping down from one ledge to another, disaster struck as Aya slipped on a hidden patch of ice! With a short scream, Aya pitched forward, desperate hands reaching out to grab at a thin plant clinging to the frigid slope. The girl managed to grab a handful of the plant''s limbs, arresting her fall. As Keira hurried pulled a rope out of her bag, tossing one end to Michael and Cian to secure it, the shrub Aya held onto started to rip free, snow and soil tumbling down the ridge as Aya struggled to find a footing. Instinctively, Jun reached out to her friend with her hand as she cast [Sapping Snare], the magical binds anchoring to her shoulder as they shot down and grabbed Aya just after the shrub ripped free, cutting off Aya''s cry as she started to fall again. With a mental tug, the spell pulled Aya back up, setting the battle mage down on one of the few flat surfaces. "Thanks Jun!" Aya gasped as she sat back against the slope, catching her breath. "N-no problem. I just acted on instinct..." As Michael rushed over to check Aya out, she replayed what she''d just done. The magic had come instinctively. She didn''t know she could anchor the spell to her own body, and she''d barely felt Aya''s weight as the spell grabbed her, which in retrospect was lucky. If her spell hadn''t taken the brunt of Aya''s weight, she would''ve been pulled over too. While the rest of her team checked over Aya and discussed a safer way to get down the slope, Jun followed a ghost of an idea that carried her back to her life on Earth. Checking her mana, she was surprised to see that her spell had barely cost her anything, her pool already nearly full again despite its draining nature. Or rather, she wasn''t being drained at all even though the spell was still anchored to her shoulder. Still, her mana was higher than it should be even without the drain and her own regeneration. "Cian," she called out, beckoning the warrior over. The boy carefully stepped over to her, looking at her questioningly with a tilt of his head. "Can you try grabbing one of these?" she asked, pointing to the tendrils streaming from her shoulder. "...Okay..." As Cian grabbed one of her snares in his hand, Jun gasped, feeling a slight trickle of mana add to her regeneration. It wasn''t much, barely a point every few seconds, but it revealed a whole new realm of possibilities for her spell! "Thanks, that''s enough," she said, Cian simply nodding as he released the tendril. The ghost of an idea tickled at Jun''s brain, luring her through her memories back to her life on Earth. The few good memories she of spending time with her father as a child, reading comic books and going to the next town over to watch movies, before things changed. Dates to the movies with Ash as an excuse to get away from her family for a night. Jun blinked as she felt something brush against her cheek, bringing her back to the present as Cian wiped a tear from her face. Blushing, Jun recoiled slightly. "...Are you okay?" Cian asked, his voice soft and gentle. Wiping her face before her tears could freeze against her skin, Jun nodded and pulled her hood back up. "I''m fine, just had an idea," she said, shoving her emotions back down. "Do you mind if I try something else?" Before she could explain what she had in mind, Cian nodded. Though as she explained her idea, his mask cracked as doubt and regret crept across his face. Her first tests of her idea were shaky, but after a few false starts Jun quickly improved with Shiori and her teammates offering their opinions to refine her idea further. Her Master with great amusement, and her teammates with the reluctance of the condemned. As they traversed the next valley, Jun proved that her idea would work, and finally, reluctantly, her party agreed. Unseen by Jun, her friends looked at each other with regret as she cast her spells and Shiori''s laughter filled her ears.
"Aaaaghhh¡ª" Aya screamed as they sped down yet another slope only to be cut off as another clod of snow flew up and hit her in the face. Spluttering, she spit out chunks of ice and dead leaves as she turned around, watching as another clod of snow exploded against Cian''s shield next to her. A wave of warmth filled her as Michael cast another healing spell that pushed her creeping nausea back down. As the roiling sea in her gut receded again, yet another slope loomed up in front of them. "Just two more valleys!" Keira called out, a grimace on her green-tinged face.
Jun blushed as her teammates vomited behind separate trees, their retching noises making her feel nauseous too. Beside her, Shiori''s ears twitched with amusement. "Good idea kitten," her Master said smugly, flicking her tail back and forth. "You should use that more. It''s much faster than the walking you humans do." As if Aya could hear Shiori, she looked up at Jun and her Master, glaring as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Never again," she said firmly. Still green, Keira finished consulting her map and the surrounding area, one hand clutching her stomach. "Well Jun was right, that was a lot faster." "It was also sickening. I have a headache," Michael muttered. Cian silently nodded in agreement. "S-Sorry, I couldn''t turn the siphon off all the way. I''ll get better with practice..." "Never. Again." Aya pulled a stray pine needle out of her messy hair. "It saved us hours of travel." "I''d rather walk." "It''ll take a day going up and down all the ridges normally." "Still better than doing that again." "We''d have to camp the night without our tents and bedrolls. It''ll be freezing." "...Jun... learn to fly next time." A few minutes after another healing spell washed over the party, they were ready to move, Keira taking the lead again as they crept their way across the last valley separating them from their target, the large source of smoke Keira spotted. The going much slower on their feet, though her teammates seemed relieved to be on foot even as they slipped their way across the next valley, hiding from the goblin patrols in the area. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. As they darted across the frozen landscape on foot, Jun processed her experience as she thought of ways to improve on her idea. She''d been inspired by a movie and comic book character who used arms mounted to his back to move around, With the revelation that she could anchor her snare spells to her own body without them siphoning her own mana, she''d cast a pair of the spells anchored to her back, using the ten magical tendrils to lift herself off the ground and haul herself up and down the rough terrain. Controlling each of the tendrils had taken most of her concentration, pushing the limits of her practice with [Multicasting] as she used her [Sapping Snare] in a way it definitely wasn''t intended. Still, as strange as the idea was, it worked surprisingly well and her friends had finally agreed to let her carry them along. The spells had sapped her teammates mana, easing the burden on her mana pool to maintain the spells and augmenting her own regeneration, though she''d done her best to tone down the drain until it just barely covered the mana cost to carry the five of them and Shiori. And even with the weaker siphon, apparently a steady drain on someone''s mana made them nauseous. Another thing she learned was that skirts were not great for that method of travel. More than once the rapid descent had blown her skirt up, though thankfully the leggings she wore beneath it kept her modesty. Unfortunately, the thin fabric was terrible for actually keeping her warm. And once they started moving stealthily, dodging around goblin patrols in the last valley between them and their target, more problems with her outfit revealed themselves. Jun suppressed a shiver as she lay in the deep snow, waiting for the goblin patrol to pass by. Every time she had to crouch behind a boulder, duck behind a tree, or flatten herself out behind a bank of snow, her skirt got in the way. The flowing fabric would flutter in the wind, snag on plants and rocks, and let snow into sensitive places. She had to hold the loose fabric tight as she hid behind trees, move carefully to avoid snagging it on any stray branches or brush, and more than once suppressed a shiver as snow got inside and started to melt, making the thin fabric of her leggings damp. It was a miserable experience and more than once she found herself staring at Keira''s ass with jealousy as she followed behind the girl as they worked their way past a series of goblin patrols. The scout''s formfitting pants never snagged or got in the way. Once they returned to the city, she vowed, she was buying pants, even if they cost her all of her savings. Several hours after they descended into the final valley, they made their way up to the top of the ridge and crossed it while avoiding an outpost of lookouts at the top. The three goblins seemed weak and isolated, easy enough for them to take care of quickly and quietly, but if nothing else, the goblins had demonstrating surprising organization. They needed to be careful. There was some debate on if they should just kill the lookouts first or not, with Jun hesitantly feeling that they should, but it was Keira that made the best case against it, pointing out that they needed to figure out what they were actually dealing with before they alerted anything they were in the area. With that settled, Keira led them on an hour-long crawl across the top of the ridge in the late afternoon, the lengthening shadows helping to disguise their movements until they were past the small tower and made it to a growth of pine trees at the edge of the ridge where they could see down into the next valley. What they saw chilled them to the bone. It wasn''t just a raiding group. It was a full horde.
Garug schooled his face as the meal finally concluded, his fellow raid leaders boasting of honor and impending glory as they sat in a circle with their Seconds and the horde leader Kranesh. The hulking man was massive for a goblin, nearly as tall as many humans and with muscles as big as the average goblin''s torso. As a Second Step warrior, Garug was large himself, nearing five feet tall with a muscular but lithe build, but Kranesh was enormous, a full head taller than him and three times as wide, all of it the hard muscle of a Third Step warrior. As the raid leaders stroked their egos in front of Kranesh, each of them trying to outdo the previous with greater and greater claims of prowess and valor as they drew closere to human lands, Garug schooled his expression, reminding himself why he sat here amongst braggarts, waiting for a chance to report to the horde commander. The pyre. His vow of vengeance. His raiding group''s sacrifice of honor. His scouts had followed the trail of the humans for a day through the woods, finding where they''d made camp after slaughtering and mutilating his men. The cunning humans left few clues behind, only a few hairs and a pile of ash that marked where they made a small fire. Still, it was enough to tell them they hunted at least five of the barbaric savages, one of them well beyond the others. Long hairs in three different colors told them at least three of the murderers were human women, while the shorter hairs they recovered probably belonged to human men. His shamans said that three of the different hairs reeked of mana, probably belonging to mages. Second Step mages. An unknown number of warriors and scouts, but at least two more. Plus, a single small paw print. Either one of the humans kept one of the noble forest creatures as a slave, or it hunted the humans too. Even if it was only five and an enslaved forest creature, the number of shamans was cause for concern. The level of mana had been enough for shamans of the Second Step. If they traveled with only two guards, then the shamans were powerful, and their guards even more so. Or there were far more of the humans than the traces left behind indicated. Either way, it meant they were a great threat to the People. After they found the humans'' abandoned camp, his scouts were able to trace their path to the foothills of the Great Shield, where the harsh winds and drifting snows erased their passage. Sending runners to recall the rest of his raiders, he and his scouts had fruitlessly scoured the foothills for any hint of the humans with no luck. As much as his honor burned him to seek vengeance for his men, his cooler side prevailed and he took his raiders back to the horde. Their arrival in the horde''s valley war camp hadn''t gone unnoticed, and before his raiders did more than secure an area to set up camp, a runner had come from the horde commander demanding Garug and his second Drecu attend to him. What followed had been a drawn out dinner with the horde''s commanders, each of the raid leaders boasting of their accomplishments and reporting their successes. The monster cores seized, trinkets of honor shown from past raids, and more. While none acknowledged Garug and Drecu''s missing trinkets, he knew the raid leaders had noticed them and sensed blood. Their attacks hadn''t been subtle, the digs at incompetent raid leaders that led their men to death had carried on throughout the meal. After an hour however, the meal concluded, Garug grunting as a servant quickly cleared bowls and trays away and quickly withdrew from the tent. As she left, another goblin woman slipped into the commander''s tent. The woman was tall for a gobliness, as tall as Garug himself, with thick braids of black hair marked with trinkets of honor that contrasted with her pale green skin. She wore a finely woven loose robe that draped the curves of her body well. A true beauty. As the woman stepped fully into view, she drew the attention of more than one of the men in the room. "My daughter Prin," Kranesh said with a smile from his seat of prominence in the circle facing the only entrance to the tent. Prin bowed her head as she moved to a table behind her father and started preparing a pot of kaba. As the strong earthy and sweet smell of the fermented root drink filled the tent, Kranesh motioned for silence and regarded each of the assembled leaders and their seconds. "Garug," the titan of a goblin said, turning his attention and the pressure of his Third Step aura onto him. "You returned missing warriors and missing honor. Explain." The raid leader expected the pressure and had already been cycling his mana, bolstering his body and defenses against Kranesh''s aura. As Garug pushed back against the horde commander''s aura with his mana, Kranesh smirked with amusement and the pressure on Garug doubled. A grunt escaped Garug''s lips as he cycled all of his mana into reinforcing himself against the pressure. Kranesh wasn''t just Third Step, he was peak, ready for the Fourth, Garug thought to himself as he nervously swallowed. Despite the immense pressure on him, Garug spoke plainly, not too fast and not too slow as he told the story of his missing scouts, of the human party they tracked back into the region, and of the lost trail that led into the Great Shield. "I see," Kranesh said, leaning back as his daughter handed him a steaming cup of kaba. The horde commander downed the beverage in a single smooth movement, the scalding hot liquid making a sizzling sound as it touched his tongue. "The humans have come as the shamans predicted. You did well to inform me instead of pursuing honor for yourself. The horde shall find the intruders and deal with them together. That is the way of the People." Garug fought the urge to sigh with relief as the pressure of Kranesh''s aura dropped by half, but the other raid leaders were caught off guard as the horde leader spread his aura out to pressure everyone in the tent. Several of the weaker raid leaders grunted as the pressure came down on them and Garug could see them struggling to cycle their mana against the horde commander''s attention. Despite the sudden aura pressure, the sound of grating went uninterrupted as Prin continued to prepare the sacred kaba. As Kranesh continued to pressure them, Prin started to move around the circle, bowing to each raid leader and second, offering them both a steaming cup of kaba and a clear view down her robe. Many of the raid leaders struggled to accept the drink, the gobliness''s beauty adding to the pressure of her father''s aura. More than one of the raid leaders and seconds dropped the cup as she handed it to them, the precious drink spilling and scalding them. As the woman handed Drecu a coup, she smiled at his Second. A small amount of pride filled him as the man only glanced down for a moment as he accepted the drink, only a single drop spilling over to burn his hand as he held it. As Prin moved next to him, she bowed low, providing Garug an unobstructed view down her robe as she handed him a too full cup of kaba. "You''re strong," she whispered in a sultry voice. Garug ignored the tantalizing view offered to him and met Prin''s eyes with a smile, accepting the offered cup with steady hands. Holding the drink with two hands, he pulled the steaming cup to his lips, careful not to spill a drop of the sacred drink as he took a long drink. He kept his face straight as the scalding liquid sizzled like acid, burning his tongue and throat as he swallowed it. As the liquid hit his stomach, he felt a surge of strength spread through his body, the wounds from the sacred drink already vanishing in a wave of restorative power. "Delicious," he said as he drained the cup, repeating the experience. "Thank you." Prin pouted as she took the empty cup back and moved on to her next victim while Garug cycled his mana, feeling strength begin to surge through him, opening up a new sense as he took the Third Step. The kaba made them strong, and once they found the dishonorable humans, he would have vengeance.