《Some Wounds Don't Heal》 Chapter 1 - Initiate [Congratulations, new user! You have been chosen to unlock the Spire System.] [Please enter your desired display name: _____] I flinched slightly in place, sitting nestled into the corner of one of two seats in my family¡¯s carriage. The translucent black box and stark white text was floating in the space before me, about a foot away, at eye level. I had been staring boredly out of the closest window, watching the forest scenery pass by as the carriage jostled along, when the notification had suddenly appeared. Thankfully my reaction likely wasn¡¯t all that noticeable. It would give me some time to try and figure out what the fuck was happening and what I should do about it. I glanced back toward the interior of the carriage. Mother, father and my brother seemed to be deeply invested in a conversation about our destination; Count en Mawynhest was hosting an annual gathering, and we were expected to attend. It was to be a typical gathering of nobility, to celebrate a cause no one cared about while they gossiped and schemed. At the present time, though, the games of etiquette and sleight that the nobility played felt small and insignificant. I ran my hands down the fabric of my dress to straighten any ruffles¡ªa nervous habit¡ªwhile I desperately tried to recall what I¡¯d been taught about the Spire System. My father had once hired a Silver ranked adventurer to educate me on the matter, and I desperately tried to remember what he had said. The day was a blur in my memory. My father had assured me that it was a required lesson for every child, despite the extremely low chance of it ever being relevant, but I had wanted to explore the forest surrounding our territory that day, so my attention had been elsewhere. The adventurer also seemed like he¡¯d had better things to do than lecture an inattentive little girl, electing instead to recite the lesson to me by rote while I thought about literally anything else. Sure, it would have been nice to be selected, but I wasn¡¯t delusional. I cursed my past self for her lack of foresight, but I was able to remember a few points¡ªmostly those that directly laid out my abysmal chance to become an Awakened, a user of the Spire System. How ironic, considering my current situation. Approximately one in ten thousand were selected. The prerequisites for being selected were still uncertain, but there are similarities observed in many of those chosen. Most who were selected were between eighteen and twenty, with rare outliers. Most had an adventurous spirit. What concerned me the most, though¡­ ¡°Father.¡± I spoke up, cutting into their conversation, ¡°I believe we are in danger.¡± ¡­ the system only appeared before those whose life was at risk. My father stopped speaking immediately, cutting himself off mid sentence. His brown eyes narrowed at me, hands frozen in the middle of whatever gesture he had been making to emphasise his point. His gaze flickered toward the window I had been staring out of, and then back to me. My father, Baron Marcus en Ryvaesen, was a stern, but rational man. He reasoned with logic, and I suspected he knew I would have preferred to stay quiet for the duration of the trip rather. For me to have said something, and interrupted their conversation to do it¡­ I hoped he would take me seriously. ¡°Did you see something, Fable?¡± he asked calmly, though his hand moved to rest at the sword leaning against his legs¡ªusually it was attached to his hip, but within the confines of the carriage, this was the most comfortable way to keep it close. It seemed he had decided my warning had creedence. I looked toward my other family members, first to my mother who sat by my father¡¯s side, across from me. Baroness Estella en Ryvaesen. Her sapphire eyes were concerned, framed by her wavy blond hair. She was beautiful in a way I could never hope to imitate. My mother was also a timid, kind woman. She rarely spoke up with her own desires, and instead worried about others. Finally, my brother. Derek en Ryvaesen. His expression was¡­ well, unsurprising, but a little disappointing. He had inherited our father¡¯s brown hair and eyes¡ªthough where my Father was a man of logic and reason, Derek was a boy of pettiness and spite. He was also currently staring at me with thinly veiled derision. ¡°Probably saw her own reflection and thought it was a monster.¡± He said with a dismissive flippancy, ¡°Best not to worry about it Father.¡± I couldn¡¯t help the sigh that slipped past my lips, frustrated and perhaps just a little bit hurt by his words. I turned back to the carriage window in an attempt to hide my face from my family, but my reflection in the glass tormented me in their stead. Violet eyes, sharp and intense, glared at me from a heart-shaped face. My hair was long and fell in waves, much like my mother¡¯s¡­ but that was where the similarity ended. I took a strand of it between my thumb and forefinger, twirling the dark wisp of hair pensively. This is why my brother teased me endlessly, why people kept their distance and whispered that I was cursed. My eyes were vivid, unnatural colours, and I looked nothing like my family. Unfortunately, I had the feeling that what I was about to say would only alienate me from them further. ¡°More or less¡­ I was selected¡ªfor the Spire System.¡± I said hesitantly. I refused to meet the gaze of my father. I wasn''t sure if I would find support or condemnation in his eyes, and I found myself not wanting to find out. However, I didn¡¯t need to be looking at him to hear the way he straightened at that. Silence filled the carriage, only interrupted by the sound of hooves and turning wheels as they carried us forward across the worn dirt path through the forest. ¡°You- ¡­ you were selected?¡± He finally managed, voice clearly conveying his disbelief. I shrugged in response, finally turning to look back at him. ¡°That does appear to be the case.¡± ¡°Liar!¡± Derek yelled suddenly. I grimaced at the unpleasant volume¡ªthis brother of mine never had been fond of the term ¡®inside voice¡¯, ¡°If there was danger, if one of us was going to be selected, it would be me, not you. You probably just want to get out of having to deal with suitors!¡± He scoffed, crossing his arms, ¡°I can save you the hassle. You won¡¯t get any.¡± I simply turned to Derek with a disbelieving frown. I mean, he was partially correct¡ªI was not looking forward to having to deal with potential suitors. Unfortunately, Father had made it very clear that I was to at least consider the young men who approached me, much to my vocal displeasure at the time. That being said, did my brother really think I would lie about something like this? Was jealousy that strong of a catalyst for delusion? Did he dislike me that much? Also¡­ was it acceptable to punch him in the mouth?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Derek¡­¡± My father sighed, ¡°Do quieten yourself¡ªand Fable, I¡¯m sure the guards can handle whatever it is.¡± He said, gesturing out the window in reference to the two guardsmen accompanying our carriage on horseback, one in front of the carriage and one behind. I relaxed back into my seat with a huff, deciding to trust my fathers words. They were well trained guards, that much was true. It was likely they could handle whatever had provoked the Spire System message. Speaking of which¡­ I moved my gaze to focus on the black, floating window before me. It seemed to increase in opacity now that my attention had returned. How did it know I was looking at the window? How did the system know I was in danger? Why did it choose me? I wish I had paid more attention in that lesson¡­ Could I ignore it? Hope to continue my life as it had been without ostracising myself further than my appearance already had? Probably not. I would always be wondering ¡®what if¡¯... and having this floating window follow me everywhere would quickly get annoying, I suspected. If I accepted this¡­ what would change? Most importantly, I would gain Skills. A Class. Stories of those chosen that I had read when I was younger filled my mind¡ªthey were all fanciful tales of magic and wonder and intrigue. I was obsessed with them for a period of time back then, deluded into thinking anyone could become Awakened if they hoped hard enough. The stories were always short on the details of the system, but my imagination had filled those in. Unfortunately, that obsession quickly turned to despair when I became old enough to realise I would likely never be chosen. Despair turned to loathing, until at some point I simply didn¡¯t want to be chosen anymore. But, thinking back on it, remembering how the stories made me feel, some of that childish wonder had come back to me. I would be able to attend the Awakened Academy in the royal capital. I could become an adventurer. I sat up a little straighter at that¡ªboth options would take me away from my family. I loved my parents¡ªmy mother was distant sometimes, in her own little world, but she was kind. My father was stoic, but I knew he loved me in his own way. I would miss them dearly, but at the same time, the life of nobility was not one I was suited to. Plus, I wouldn¡¯t have to see Derek again if I did not wish too, and truthfully, that alone was enough reason to accept the Spire System. I entered in my name¡­ or, at least, I tried to figure out how to do so. I didn¡¯t want to lift my hands and try to interact with the window physically¡ªI could already imagine the looks my family would give me and I could very much do without those. The window did seem to react when I looked at it, so I tried to work with that, looking at the blank space and thinking of my name. Fable. [Please enter your desired display name: Fable] [ERROR: Desired display name is already in use.] [Please enter your desired display name: _____] What the fuck? My name was already taken? There was an Awakened out there named Fable? Damnit¡­ well, at least I knew how to interact with the system now. I closed my eyes, trying to think of a name that represented me. Something that was likely to be unique¡­ I didn''t get very far on my thought process before the carriage came to a sudden stop. Distracted as I was, I nearly slipped forward from my seat and onto the floor, only managing to stop myself by bracing a foot against the wall. ¡°Halt! Who dares bar the way? Name yourself!¡± The masculine shout came, presumably from the guard in the front of their carriage. Their voice was muffled, both by the walls of the carriage and by whatever helmet they were wearing. There was no reply, or if there was, it was quiet enough that I heard nothing. Father stood quickly, looking at Mother, then Derek, and then me. ¡°Stay here.¡± He said sternly, grabbing his sheathed sword and opening the door of the carriage. He paused to survey whatever was happening, then stepped down. His broad back prevented me from getting any kind of view of what he could see before he shut the carriage door behind him. Derek, of course, immediately disobeyed Father¡¯s single command, pulling a knife from his boot and moving to the carriage door. He paused to wait, listening, as I did, to Father¡¯s receding footsteps. ¡°Derek¡­¡± Mother pleaded, reaching for him, her eyes begging with him to stay here, to stay safe. ¡°Mother¡ªDon¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± He said proudly, and before she could stop him, opened the door just enough to slip through. I watched the woman that was my mother deflate, her husband and child both potentially heading out into danger. Her blue eyes turned to me, and a half-smile formed on her lips¡ªan attempt to be reassuring? ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, Fay. They¡¯ll come back.¡± She said softly. Oh dear, she was trying to reassure me. ¡°I know.¡± I said, returning the smile with a little difficulty. Father often travelled east to the border of our territory, where it met with the Wastes, to help cull the weaker magical beasts that constantly spilled over into the kingdom. He could handle himself. Derek¡­ Well, I¡¯d been in enough fights with him to know he wasn¡¯t a pushover¡ªjust an asshole. Suddenly, shouts came from all around us, at least four or five separate voices. My father¡¯s call pierced through them. ¡°Bandits! Defend the carriage!¡± My blood froze. I hadn¡¯t truly been taking everything seriously since the System window appeared. It had all been surreal, dreamlike. The knowledge that a very real, very present and very dangerous threat was just outside the carriage, that my father and brother were about to fight¡­ it shattered that hazy, distant state I was in and brought me back into the ice-cold reality. I had stalled too long. I wasn¡¯t ready. Name. Name. Fuck. I got to my feet while I thought, stumbling toward the carriage door, but my dress snagged on something and I could progress no further. I looked back to see what I had gotten caught on, but my mother¡¯s forlorn gaze was what met me, the dark fabric of my garment held between her fingers. ¡°Fay¡­ don¡¯t go.¡± She whispered, tears in the corner of her eyes. She must have felt like her world was balancing on a precipice. ¡°Mother¡­ I must.¡± I tried to reason, ¡°The System. I can help!¡± A sudden clack of steel against steel sounded from just outside the carriage, and I knew each second was a measure of lifetimes. My mother knew it too, and with a pained expression, she reluctantly retracted her hand, folding it in her lap with the other and resigning herself to whatever fate befell her family. I felt my heart ache with the need to reassure her, but there would be time for that after. I needed a name. I turned to the carriage door while I thought, setting my hand on the handle. The visage I had seen staring back from the window moved through my mind. Those purple eyes, uniquely mine. Eyes that held beauty and promised death. A flower came to mind, one that was equal parts elegant and lethal. One I had come across many times in my forays through the forest surrounding our family¡¯s home. One that I had been warned away from. [Please enter your desired display name: Belladonna] [Congratulations! Welcome to the Spire System.] [Beginning Tutorial¡­ Please await teleportation to the tutorial zone.] ¡°Wait, what?¡± Chapter 2 - Tutorial What did it mean by ¡®await teleportation¡¯? I couldn¡¯t leave, my family was here. ¡°Stop! Cease! Cancel!?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Please?¡± My confused protests died on my lips as everything went black and the air around me seemed to shift. [Teleportation complete.] [Tutorial commenced. Good luck, user Belladonna!] No longer was I standing in my family¡¯s carriage. I was in a field, emerald green grass brushing against my leg as it bent and swayed in a gentle breeze that originated from somewhere behind me. I was in the exact same pose as I had been in before the teleportation, my hand held awkwardly in the air, now curled around nothing where it had been wrapped around the handle of the door. I let it drop down by my side. The sun was just cresting over the horizon¡­ or was it sinking? Either way, it had been a little before noon before I had been teleported. I guessed¡ªhoped, really¡ªthat this place was not in the same time, nor place, as where I left. Just as I was wondering what I was supposed to do here, another notification appeared before me, though this one was a little larger than the previous ones and filled with text. [You will learn.] ¡°Ominous¡­¡± I said beneath my breath. [Tutorial Objectives:] [¡õ Manipulate System Windows] [¡õ Open Status Screen] [¡õ Assign Stat Point] [¡õ General Skill Selection] [¡õ Combat Appraisal] [Tutorial Rewards:] [1 ¡Á Mystery Box (Common)] [5 ¡Á Experience] [10 ¡Á Spire Coin] [Bonus Objectives:] [¡õ Complete Tutorial within 15 minutes] [¡õ Complete Tutorial unharmed] [Bonus Rewards:] [1 ¡Á Mystery Box (Uncommon)] [No time will have passed outside the Tutorial Area] ¡°No time will have passed? ...¡± I took in the text slowly, almost disbelievingly. What it promised seemed beyond the realms of possibility. This¡­ was what the Spire System was capable of? While a few points admittedly excited me¡ªnamely the stat points, general skills and perhaps the Mystery Boxes, that was overshadowed by two things. Firstly, if I was understanding the bonus objectives correctly, I could be harmed in this Tutorial, most likely during the Combat Appraisal task. Secondly, I only had fifteen minutes to complete every task if I wanted to return to my family in time to do anything. That realization, that the Spire System had at least a limited amount of control over time within this Tutorial area, sent a shiver down my spine. What was I compared to that? I shuffled nervously, adrenaline from the situation in the carriage eventually deciding that things weren¡¯t immediately life threatening. I didn¡¯t have time to waste, though. I needed to figure out these objectives. How much time had already passed¡­ was there a timer anywhere? As if on cue, another window appeared. [Time Remaining: 14:35] Simultaneously, one of the objectives seemed to check itself off as complete. [¡ö Manipulate System Windows] My eyes widened slightly at that, and I thought through what I had done. Then it clicked. Thought. Everything about the Spire System was controlled by thoughts and intent¡ªIt was more than just interacting with the blank spaces provided in the notifications, it was like I could call and dismiss the windows themselves. To test this theory, I looked at the main tutorial window, the one that listed all the objectives, and imagined it shrinking, moving it to the peripheral of my vision so it was constantly off to the side¡ªout of the way, but somewhere I could still look over it with a glance. The window obeyed, growing smaller and moving exactly as I imagined it. I smiled a little at this, despite the tense situation. It worked. It¡­ obeyed me. It felt natural, like a part of me. I moved the timer to fit and float just above the first window. One objective down, five to go¡ªwell, assuming you didn¡¯t count the bonus objectives. I chose not to, because they were more like imposed conditions than achievable steps. I exhaled slowly, refocusing on the next objective¡ªthe Status Screen. I now knew how to open it, but what would it tell me? I was both excited and apprehensive about the answer to that question, though I really didn¡¯t have time to hesitate. Thinking about time, I impulsively glanced at the window containing the timer. [Time Remaining: 14:05] ¡°Right¡­ focus, Fay.¡± I muttered to myself. I willed the Status Screen to open, and was met with another window filled with white text. I read it carefully. Everything that the Spire System believed mattered about me, condensed into a lump of text and numbers. [Status Screen] [Spire User: Belladonna] [Name: Fable en Ryvaesen] [Race: Human] [Gender: Female] [Age: 17] [Level: 1] [Experience: 0/5] [Class: None (Requirement: Level 10)] [General Skills: (Available Slots: 2)] [Stats: (Available Points: 3)] [Strength: 8] [Grace: 11] [Endurance: 9] [Resolve: 10] [Acuity: 10] [Intellect: 12] [Presence: 10] It was far from everything about me, but it was still a lot. My eyes and mind did their best to parse the meaning of the words and accompanying numbers. Belladonna was the display name I selected for myself. Fable was the name my parents gave me for my Nameday. It wasn¡¯t a rare name, but it was at least uncommon. The listed race gave me pause¡ªWere there other Spire Users aside from Humanity? Did animals get access to the System as well? Did the monsters or magical beasts count? Questions for another time¡ªI moved on. Gender and age were things I already knew about myself, but it was strange that the System knew. How did the System know? Why was it relevant enough to put in the Status Screen? I had the sinking feeling I was going to come away from this Tutorial with a lot more questions than answers. With a sigh, I continued. My level only one, but that was to be expected. I hadn¡¯t¡­ done anything. My current experience was zero out of five, and the rewards listed exactly five experience points. I guess passing the Tutorial was worth a guaranteed level. How thoughtful. I shifted my weight to my other foot as I continued reading. I was trying not to be impatient. I wanting to finish everything before the imposed time limit, but I also wanted to make sure I understood¡ªAt least as much as was possible. The prospect of a class at level ten¡­ My nails curled into my palms and I had to admit, it made my blood race. I was excited for it. The kinds of classes I had read about were about as varied as the people who wielded them, letting them perform feats of magical and martial prowess. Unfortunately, it seemed so far away from my current problems that I forced it from my mind and returned to the tasks at hand. I checked the timer and the list of objectives. [Remaining Time: 13:22] [Tutorial Objectives:] [¡ö Manipulate System Windows] [¡ö Open Status Screen] [¡õ Assign Stat Point] [¡õ General Skill Selection] [¡õ Combat Appraisal] Three left. Assign a Stat Point, General Skill Selection, and Combat Appraisal. I was quite wary of what form that last one would take. I definitely didn¡¯t feel like I could fight anything as I was currently, but at least I hadn¡¯t been attacked yet. It seemed more likely that nothing would threaten me until I completed all the previous objectives. It made sense, it seemed like all the previous steps were preparing me to fight.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So¡­ Assign a Stat Point.¡± The problem with that was that I could only guess what the stats actually did. The names were mostly self explanatory, but it was still just that: a guess. If only there was a way too¡­ ¡°Wait-¡± I focused on the Strength stat, and imagined an explanation window opening. [Strength: Physical Prowess and Power. How hard you hit, how high you jump.] I almost laughed out loud at it being that simple. Almost. The situation was still quite tense, with the looming deadline and what was awaiting me when I returned. Still, I was a little thrilled that I was working this out myself¡ªthe Tutorial was telling what to do, but not how to do it. I thought about it a little more while opening the explanations for the rest of the stats. [Grace: Dexterity and Flexibility. How coordinated you are, how easily you move.] [Endurance: Constitution and Hardiness. How much stamina and health you have. How much damage your body can take.] [Resolve: Courage and Force of Will. How much control you have over your thoughts in extreme conditions or resistance to outside mental influence.] [Acuity: Perception and Intuition. How fast you can think and how sensitive your senses are.] [Intellect: Memory and Reasoning. How well you remember events and how easily you understand new or abstract topics.] [Presence: Charisma and Aura Control. How well you''re able to align the thinking of others with your own using words and actions, and how much control you have of your Aura, if you have one.] I finished reading through them, then frowned and read through them a second time. My Status Page had shown that my two highest stats were Intellect and Grace. Grace, I could at least partially understand. There was a certain poise trained into me as a noble, and a fleetness I had acquired from my regular expeditions into the forest. Intellect however? That felt wrong. I didn¡¯t consider myself especially smart, and I felt like I could never remember anything important¡­ Though, thinking about it, that was mostly for important things that, while important, I wasn¡¯t particularly interested in. On the other hand, I remembered most of the stories I read almost perfectly. So it was a selective memory? Or was it only things I actually paid attention to that I remembered? I guess that made sense. Still, the highest? It felt like my Status Screen was calling out my wasted potential. Conversely, I could easily understand my two lowest stats. I had never been very strong, and while when I was younger, I was often quite sick. It was one of the reasons I read so often. A frail, weak little girl who dreamed of being a hero. How ironic. My condition had improved as I had grown older, especially thanks to my regular explorations. Evidently, though, it was not a strong suit. I wondered the significance of every other stat being ten. Was that the average score? Average for a human? A female? I had no way of knowing. ¡°So¡­ what to actually increase?¡± I mused aloud, setting my chin in my hand as I looked over the explanations for each stat for a third time. Assuming I survived the Tutorial, I would get more skill points soon. With that in mind, I reasoned that the three I had were probably best spent focusing on what would help me immediately. Without a weapon or a plan, Endurance, Strength and Grace seemed like good choices for physical combat. The safest option was most likely Endurance, to make sure I survived the ordeal¡ªbut that was basically conceding that I was going to get hit. That was an outcome I was trying to avoid, so Endurance was out. Instead, I decided to put two points in Grace and the third in Resolve. My reasoning was that I wanted to be able to avoid being hit, and I didn¡¯t want to be afraid of whatever I would have to face. That seemed like it would lead to mistakes. The actual act of assigning the points was easy enough. I looked at the Available Points, where it stated the total, and imagined moving one of them into one of my Stats, which worked. I also tested if I could move them from my Stats back to my Available Points, but there was a strange sensation, like trying to push water uphill. It didn¡¯t want to move that way, and I could feel a dull mental pain, slowly increasing the longer I tried, so I gave up. I looked over my stats, nodding to myself. [Stats: (Available Points: 0)] [Strength: 8] [Grace: 13] [Endurance: 9] [Resolve: 11] [Acuity: 10] [Intellect: 12] [Presence: 10] It would have to do. Next, the objectives, and more importantly, the time. [Remaining Time: 11:13] [Tutorial Objectives:] [¡ö Manipulate System Windows] [¡ö Open Status Screen] [¡ö Assign Stat Point] [¡õ General Skill Selection] [¡õ Combat Appraisal] Just one more step before I believed I had to fight. At least I seemed to be doing alright on time. Okay. General Skills. I had two available slots, and if I could, I planned to use both of them. Everything that could help me right now, even though I only had to pick one for the objective. I really didn¡¯t think I was in a position to be stingy with what I had available. First, though, I had to figure out what I had available. I looked at the part that said Available Slots, and tried to imagine a window opening up that showed my options. That seemed to work well enough. I didn¡¯t know if there was another way, or if I was overcomplicating things, but if it worked, it worked. A list of General Skills popped up in a window, bereft of any explanation. I figured I could focus on any that interested me to learn what it did, but for now, I just looked through them. [General Skills Available: 7] [History] [Silver Tongue] [Navigation] [Noble Elegance] [Storytelling] [Danger Sense] [Herbalism] I could feel my eyebrows rise a little. Seven? That was¡­ more than I expected. I looked down the list carefully, mentally discarding the ones that didn¡¯t seem like they could help in a fight. [Silver Tongue] was a difficult case in that regard, but I didn¡¯t think that a tutorial for appraising my ability in combat would let me talk my way out of it. I also thought that the bandits that awaited me when I returned were beyond the point of words.. That narrowed the list down to [Noble Elegance], [Danger Sense], and ¡­ [Herbalism]. I pulled up an in depth explanation of each of them. [Noble Elegance] [Prerequisite: 10 Grace, Noble Upbringing] [As a noble, you have been taught how to walk, how to dance and how to move, even in cumbersome clothing. You have relatively good control of your body. This skill will enhance that ability to another level.] [Danger Sense] [Prerequisite: 10 Acuity, Regular Exposure to Danger] [You¡¯ve been exposed to danger throughout your life, both literal, in the forests you¡¯ve explored since you were young, and political, having to guard yourself around other nobility. This skill will help you sense when something is amiss, and you should be wary.] [Herbalism] [Prerequisite: 10 Intellect, Knowledge of Herbs] [You have come across a multitude of flora in the books you have read and the paths you have tread. You can generally tell when something is poisonous or not. This skill will help you use that knowledge to create medicines and poisons from those plants.] ¡°...¡± The choice was harder than I expected it to be. I looked up from the window, at the field of grass I was standing in, endless and uniform in every direction. I didn¡¯t think [Herbalism] would be helpful here, but I¡¯d be lying if I said it didn¡¯t appeal to me. [Noble Elegance] seemed to be a skill capable of many things, but not specialised for anything. It would likely serve as a decent stealth ability, would help me move faster, and was probably the best option I had for defending myself in the fight I was fast approaching. I had watched some of my brother¡¯s combat lessons, and footwork was always something the instructor had yelled at Derek for. I didn¡¯t think it would be all that helpful without the knowledge of how to fight, but it was something. [Danger Sense] was definitely a good ability. A sixth-sense for when something wasn¡¯t right¡ªand again, it was probably the safer thing to pick up, but if I really thought about it, I knew I was going to have to fight something. And I knew I was going to return into a dangerous situation once this Tutorial was over. It didn¡¯t seem like this skill could help me for either of those two fights. On the contrary, knowledge on how to make salves would be invaluable if the bandits managed to injure my father or brother. [Herbalism] could give me that. After going over my reasoning a second time, I reluctantly selected [Noble Elegance], and [Herbalism] as my two general skills. As soon as I did, several things happened at once. My [Status Screen] updated to show my new general skills. [General Skills: (Available Slots: 0)] [Noble Elegance - Lv. 1] [Herbalism - Lv. 1] Additionally, the Objectives list updated to mark the completion of another task. [Tutorial Objectives:] [¡ö Manipulate System Windows] [¡ö Open Status Screen] [¡ö Assign Stat Point] [¡ö General Skill Selection] [¡õ Combat Appraisal] But I was barely able to acknowledge those two things due to the final occurrence¡ªA flash of iridescent light a dozen feet away from me, bright enough that I needed to shield my eyes with my forearm. Only when the light faded again was I able to lower my arm to look at where the light had originated. There, undoubtedly, was my opponent for the final objective. Glaring at me with abyss-filled eyes, was a goblin. The short stature, black sclera, wrinkly green skin and numerous sharp teeth perfectly matched the descriptions I¡¯d read in books. It was wielding some kind of rusted short-sword and wearing¡­ much less than I¡¯d have liked. Its hideous body was covered in scraps of animal furs, loosely tied together and which did absolutely nothing for modesty. ¡°You are ugly as sin.¡± I said truthfully to the sneering creature, a comment that did not seem to endear me to it at all. Unfortunate. It promptly lunged forward, rapidly closing the distance between us. I glanced at the clock for what was likely last time I¡¯d get the chance to do so. [Time Remaining: 9:02] I had absolutely no idea how I was going to do this. Chapter 3 - Combat Appraisal Beautiful. That was the word for the endless green field lit by a starless twilight sky. A gentle breeze blew pleasantly from¡­ I had no concept of cardinal directions here, but that wasn¡¯t a problem. But there was a problem. A very angry, small, green problem that was presently rushing toward me with a brandished weapon. A goblin. In the stories, they always showed up in groups that ranged anywhere from half a dozen to several hundred, and the group size largely determined their threat level. They seemed like pushovers the way they were written, small and weak, cannon fodder to make the hero seem all the more powerful. But those heroes had weapons, were armoured, and were experienced. Standing here, facing the rows of sharp, needle-like teeth and the soulless pits of darkness that were the creature¡¯s eyes with no weapon and no armour, it was much easier to believe that goblins weren¡¯t weak. To remember the whispered accounts I had heard that spoke of the malicious cruelty goblins were capable of. The cautionary tales that detailed the massacres and atrocities goblins had committed¡ªand I had around nine minutes to¡­ win? Kill this creature? The main objective wasn¡¯t actually all that clear, but what was clear was that if I wanted to return in time to help my family, I couldn¡¯t let it harm me. The creature snarled, raising the weapon high above its head, wobbling a little as the weight of the weapon raised its centre of gravity, putting it off balance. As it got within a few feet, its little legs still carrying it toward me, it started to bring the weapon down. I couldn¡¯t let that weapon get close to me, but at the same time I had no weapon of my own to fight back with. Not getting hit was more important than worrying about that for now. I stepped to the left, barely avoiding the strike. The ease and grace of the movement seemed to surprise the goblin and I both. It felt like my body moved exactly as I had imagined it, with what felt no inefficiency or delay. Was this [Noble Elegance]? Skills¡­ they really made this much of a difference? No, I couldn¡¯t let myself be distracted by the euphoria of that movement right now. The goblin was carried forward by its momentum, stumbling a little as it awkwardly turned around, but before long it was once again levelling its weapon and unsettling glare on me once more. I was beginning to understand why they were so threatening in number¡ªa dozen creatures with complete disregard for anything but stabbing you with the pointy end of whatever they were holding? The thought was terrifying. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. I still didn¡¯t know how I was going to fight back. I needed a weapon, and preferably to keep some distance from that sword. Maybe I could throw something at it? There were no rocks or pebbles scattered amongst the grass that could serve as a weapon, I didn''t even need to look to know¡ªI had checked the grass earlier when I was considering the [Herbalism] skill. The only thing I could use to throw were things I had brought with me. After a moment of thought, I came to the conclusion that my shoes were about all I had on hand to throw. Honestly, the shoes I was wearing weren¡¯t ideal for fighting in any case. I usually preferred to wear more practical ones, but Mother had insisted I wore some ostentatious black shoes with raised heels since we were to be guests for another noble, and appearances were everything. I scoffed at the thought, gladly slipping the shoes off my feet one at a time, all the while keeping my eyes on the goblin. The creature in question seemed to be doing the exact same thing to me¡ªI wasn¡¯t sure what it was waiting for, but one of us was on a time limit. I paused for a moment to take a deep breath, before crouching down to pick up the shoes. The moment my motion started, the goblin charged, apparently seeing whatever opening it had been looking for. I had been expecting as much. Seeing your foe suddenly lean down to pick something up practically screamed ¡®please smack me¡¯. The goblin crossed the distance surprisingly fast, opening up with a horizontal slash just as I¡¯d grabbed the shoes. From my crouched position, I was able to hop backward and avoid it, mostly. The rusted blade cut through my dress where the fabric had lagged behind due to inertia, but I was unscathed. I immediately retaliated by pulling my arm back and throwing one of my shoes at it. My form was perfect¡ªor at least, what I envisioned was perfect. My practical knowledge of shoe-throwing forms wasn¡¯t comprehensive in the slightest. Nevertheless, the shoe spun through the air like the world¡¯s least aerodynamic throwing axe and collided with the goblin¡¯s face. Unfortunately, another weakness of mine became glaringly obvious at that moment, though it wasn¡¯t as if I wasn¡¯t already aware of it. Eight¡ªthat was the numerical measurement of my strength by the Spire System. A simple number that represented a number of things which included my ability to throw things with any amount of force behind them. Apparently, eight was not a sufficient level for ¡®goblin murder via airborne footwear¡¯ and was more on the level of ¡®piss it off extra-good¡¯. The creature snarled at me, the sound coming out just slightly off. Higher pitched, almost nasally. The cause soon made itself apparent¡ªthe trail of blood leaking from the creature¡¯s nostrils suggested my shoe had done a little more damage than I¡¯d thought. The collision had utterly wrecked the goblin¡¯s nose. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s an improvement¡­¡± I said with a wink. I don¡¯t know why I was taunting it, or if the goblin even understood me, but it certainly seemed livid, and that was a good enough reason for me. It took a step toward me, and I mirrored the movement, taking an equivalent step back. I had my other shoe in my hand, though the ratio of shoes thrown to damage sustained didn¡¯t paint the fight in my favour. I needed a better weapon¡ªand there was only one of those between us.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The goblin stepped toward me again, this time levelling the blade toward my abdomen and thrusting it forward. I was left with no time to think, this attack was much faster than the overhead swing. In a moment of panic, I turned my body to the side, pivoting on my left foot. The blade missed by an inch, but even though the attack didn¡¯t pierce my stomach, the goblin was still moving toward me, once more carried forward by its momentum. I was close enough to count each of its needle-like teeth individually, if I had the time and inclination. I had neither, but what I did have was a single shoe, an overextended goblin, and a moment of inspiration. I finally saw a path forward, a way to win this fight. I grabbed the creature¡¯s wrist, just as it began to recover. The wrinkly green skin felt rough beneath my fingers, like leather. It was also damp with sweat. I had to quell the instinct to yank my hand away from the uncanny sensation, instead forcing myself to grip the goblin¡¯s wrist harder¡ªthe one holding the short-sword. With my other arm, sole remaining shoe in hand, I swung down toward the base of the sword, clubbing the goblin¡¯s fingers. The goblin wasn¡¯t idle while I was doing this, trying to turn its body so it could try and slash me with sharp, disgusting nails, all the while refusing to drop the weapon. I leant away from its claws, yanking its wrist to try and keep most of the goblin¡¯s body between myself and those nails. Then I smacked its fingers again, this time resulting in the sickening, audible crack of bone. The goblin howled, yanking its hand away from mine with newfound strength, but not before dropping the blade down into the grass. I snatched it up, dropping the shoe and putting some distance between myself and the irate goblin once more. By this point, I was breathing rather heavily. The intense focus required while fighting for my life, the need to explode with movement at a moment''s notice to avoid being run through¡ªI felt like I had been running the whole time. I adjusted my grip on my newfound weapon. The blade felt smaller in my hands than it had seemed in the goblin¡¯s, more like a dagger than a short-sword, though it was heavier than I thought it would be. Noble girls weren¡¯t exactly allowed to train with weapons, so I¡¯d had to settle for watching Derek and Father spar, and trying to recreate what I¡¯d seen with sticks in the forest. Now, holding a real weapon, I could see how foolish that was. They were nothing alike. Still¡ªI actually had a weapon now, which was more than could be said for my foe. The goblin looked worse for wear, a trail of dried blood from its nostrils to its chin, clutching its broken finger to its chest. It let out a low, threatening rumble, flexing its hand slowly. I took a step forward, getting used to the feel of my new weapon. The goblin matched me, stepping closer as well. It was just a few paces away now. We both paused, waiting on the other to act, but I didn¡¯t have the luxury of time. I took a lunging step forward, moving into an attack, swinging the blade in a wide horizontal arc. The goblin jumped backwards to avoid it in a move reminiscent of my own, and I felt a smile curl my lips. How the tables had turned. Unlike me, though, the goblin did not escape unscathed. A thin line of red opened up on each of its thighs and started oozing crimson. The goblin landed a few paces back, and either due to the pain or the surprise, lost its balance and fell backward- a mistake. I didn¡¯t miss the opportunity. I ran forward and leapt on top of it, pinning the ugly creature to the ground while pressing the edge of the blade to its neck. The fight was over, the win was mine. I just had to end it¡ªI just had to¡­ but the creature looked¡­ afraid? Like a scared child. A very ugly scared child. I hesitated¡ªa mistake. The goblin didn¡¯t miss the opportunity. A stinging pain exploded from my cheek as sharp claws raked their way down my face. I hissed between clenched teeth, all semblance or hesitation and mercy gone. I drew the blade through the flesh of its neck, the dull weapon tearing a jagged hole in the goblin¡¯s throat. Red flooded from the wound and pooled in the grass beneath us. The goblin gargled desperately in its death throes, but it was over. For both of us. ¡°You fucker!¡± I shouted at the dying goblin. The bastard grinned at me, even as its lifeblood spilled from its neck and its movements became more and more lethargic. Eventually, it lost consciousness. [¡õ Complete Tutorial unharmed] [Bonus Objectives: FAILED] I knew it was coming, but it still felt like a knife to the gut. Everything was slipping away from me. I had failed. My family needed me, and my hesitation¡­ It had cost me the chance to be there for them in time. Now all I could do was hope that they would manage without me¡ªa terrible feeling of uselessness settled on my shoulders. The goblin finally lay still beneath me, and in response, several System notifications opened before me. [You have slain: Goblin x 1] [Awarded 2 Experience] [Tutorial Objectives:] [¡ö Manipulate System Windows] [¡ö Open Status Screen] [¡ö Assign Stat Point] [¡ö General Skill Selection] [¡ö Combat Appraisal] [Tutorial: COMPLETE] [Distributing Rewards¡­] [Awarded 5 Experience] [Level up! You have reached Level 2] A small leather pouch, closed with a drawstring, appeared in the air beside me and fell to the grass. The sound of the clinking coins within drew me from my state of despondency, and I slowly got to my feet. I lifted a hand to my wounded cheek, and it came away wet with my blood. My fingers trembled as I looked at them, a mix of rage and despair flooding through me. One mistake, a single moment. That was all it had taken. If it had still been armed, I could have died. The metallic scent of blood hung heavily in the area, both mine and, to a much larger extent, the goblin¡¯s. I let out an exhausted sigh, and picked up the pouch. [Rewards received.] [Leaving Tutorial Area¡­ Please await teleportation.] This was it. I was about to find out what had happened to my family¡ªto the bandits¡ªin my absence. Only a dozen minutes or so had elapsed while I had been here, but that was may as have been a lifetime. I took a deep, steadying breath and tried to prepare myself. Would I be teleporting back to the middle of another battle? Would the fight already be over? I held the rusted blade tightly in one hand and the pouch in the other¡ªthe rewards from the Tutorial would have to wait. The world went dark once more, as it had when I was first transported to this strange place. ¡°Please be safe¡­¡± Chapter 4 - Return [Teleportation complete.] The air shifted around me once more. I could no longer feel the subtle breeze of the twilight field¡ªI was back in the carriage, but¡­ every single one of my senses were telling me something was wrong. I didn¡¯t need [Danger Sense] to confirm it¡ªthe door to the carriage was open, but there was no one visible outside. Everything was completely silent, devoid of the sound of clashing swords, or shouting combatants. There wasn¡¯t even the din of conversation. Worst of all¡­ the scent of the goblin¡¯s blood that was thick in the air back in the twilight field¡ªI could still smell it, just as acutely as before, but I doubted a goblin was the source. Dread ran thick through my veins as I ran through all the potential explanations. Maybe Father, Derek and the guards had chased the bandits off, and the carriage door was open because¡­ because Mother went to get some air? Or maybe the bandits were dead and Father had gotten help digging graves for them? He was honourable like that. I came up with any excuse I could think of that would help me avoid the truth. The truth that I knew was waiting for me if I just turned around. I could feel myself shaking even as I stood frozen in denial. My mind was clouded, ignoring the small signs I could see that pointed to what had happened. Blood in the dirt outside. The wood of the carriage was splintered inward where the door had likely been kicked open. The eerie completeness of the silence, absent of even the nervous shuffling of horses. My hands would no longer obey me, the rusted blade and leather bag shattering the silence as they clattered to the floor. I had to face this. Turn around, Fable. Look. My body finally obeyed, and I turned around, my shuffling steps sounding all too loud. Then I saw her. Tears sprung to my eyes in an instant. I knew what I¡¯d see. I knew, but foolishly I had hoped I was wrong. I took a faltering step towards my mother, falling to my knees at her side. My chest felt hollow as I grasped one of the hands that were folded in her lap, just as they were when I had last seen her. Still warm, like she would take another breath any second¡ªlike she would give me one of her kind smiles and ask me why I was crying. I would never see that smile again. Never hear her voice, nor feel the warmth of her arms around me again. She was gone. There was no life behind those usually caring eyes of hers. ¡°Mother¡­¡± I whispered, then fell silent, because there was nothing I could say that would make this right. The bandits had slit her throat cleanly. The way her posture was unchanged indicated that she had not fought back. My heart was flooded with feelings of inadequacy. If I had been better¡ªif I had been back sooner¡ªI could have prevented this. If I hadn¡¯t hesitated, if I hadn¡¯t momentarily been more concerned about the life of a single fucking goblin than that of my entire family. Despicable, a sorry excuse for a daughter. I remained kneeling by her side for what felt like hours, though in reality I knew it was just a few minutes. My tumultuous thoughts had a way of stretching a moment into eternity. ¡°Rest well, Mama.¡± I eventually whispered once I had found my voice again, using the childish word for ¡®mother¡¯ that I hadn¡¯t called her in years. It felt¡­ right. I would always be her child. I got to my feet, albeit shakily, and reached a hand out to my mothers face. I carefully closed her blue eyes for the last time, then watched the almost peaceful expression she held for a moment longer. Finally, I headed for the door. My heart still foolishly hoped that Father was alive, while my mind knew that he would give his life before he ever let anything harm Mother. My internal battle between hope and reality raged within me while I stepped out of the carriage. Immediately, I was made aware of two things. Firstly, stepping barefoot onto a path riddled with sharp pebbles was a poor experience. Secondly, I should never hope for anything. My father was slumped against the front wheel of the carriage, body covered in wounds. He was stabbed from multiple angles, overwhelmed. Bittersweet pride filled my chest¡ªmy Father never would have gone down easily, and where he had died¡ªit proved he was protecting the carriage until his final breath. His hands were empty, meaning the bandits must have stolen his sword. It made sense. It was a finely crafted steel blade he had commissioned from a renowned blacksmith in the region. It was one of his prized possessions, and it was never more than a few feet from his person. ¡°Thank you, Father.¡± I said, ¡°For trying to protect us.¡± He was different from my mother. While she wanted me to remain her child forever, he would have wanted to see his daughter grow into a woman¡ªwould have wanted to be proud of me. He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to be called ¡®Papa¡¯. I reached forward and closed his eyes as well, letting him have the rest he deserved. Silently, I asked the goddess of death to see their souls safely to the afterlife. I wasn¡¯t a very pious person normally, but¡­ suddenly such things seemed unimportant. Asking cost me nothing and the peace of mind it gave me wasn¡¯t insignificant. I continued walking around the carriage, observing the aftermath of the slaughter¡ªand that''s what it was. A one-sided massacre of my family. Not a single bandit body lay among them, which for some reason struck me as wrong. How could someone like Father not take one of them down with him? The feeling of wrongness remained, even as I felt numb to everything else. Both guards lay dead at the front of the carriage, one face down in the dirt and the other on their side. They both still had their weapons¡ªspears longer than I was tall. All of their armour also remained. The bandits hadn¡¯t taken any of it¡­ why? I continued around the back of the carriage, and finally found the last member of my little family. Derek lay face down, an arrow protruding from the back of his head. I crouched down beside him, almost at a loss for words. Almost. ¡°Why¡¯d you have to go and die, idiot?¡± I asked with a sigh. I rolled him over and frowned. My brother had been the type to flaunt his wealth, and took pride in his status. He always decorated himself in expensive clothing and ostentatious jewellery. Not a single piece had been taken. Rings worth more than a farmer made in a lifetime, and they remained untouched. My hands balled into fists¡ªit was at that point I understood. They weren''t bandits. Their goal wasn¡¯t our wealth. Their objective¡ªtheir purpose¡ªhad been to kill us from the start. Mercenaries. That¡¯s why they had been able to kill Father without a single casualty, why they didn¡¯t take anything¡­ except Father¡¯s sword. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Why only the sword? Proof of a job complete, perhaps? But that left the question of ¡®who?¡¯. Who wanted my family dead? Mercenaries of this calibre wouldn¡¯t have been cheap, right? Was the culprit another noble? Count en Mawynhest? He had invited us to his gathering. He knew that we''d have to take this road through the forest, and approximately when we''d have to pass through to make it on time. It might not be him, I didn¡¯t have any evidence, but it was a good starting point. This hadn''t been an accident. It wasn''t some random attack we had happened to get caught in. It was intentional. We were a target. Suddenly, I wondered if my presence would have changed anything. I could barely beat a goblin. Would I have made a difference, or would I have just died as well? At least if I had died, there would have been some honour in that¡ªand maybe I wouldn¡¯t be feeling as utterly alone as I do right now. I closed Derek¡¯s eyes as well, willing him to take care of Mother and Father, all the while I tried to sort out all these chaotic feelings warring within me. ¡°Farewell, Brother.¡± It was probably the kindest thing I could have said, acknowledging the connection between us. I still hated him for how he treated me, and he hated me for¡­ well, I never actually found out the reason¡ªand now I never would. None of it mattered anymore, anyway. He was gone, just like the rest. I walked around to the carriage and sat down in the doorway¡ªwhat a sight I must have been. My dress was almost in tatters at this point. My feet were sore, I was covered in blood and my cheek was probably going to get infected. I had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. I¡¯d considered what to do with my life once I accepted the System, but those ideas had since burned to cinders. I reached down beside me and grabbed the rusted blade from where it had fallen, tracing a nail along the flat of the blade as I thought. There was no one left to miss me. Who could ever blame me if I wanted to join my family in the afterlife? For choosing death willingly here by my own hand rather than dying of thirst, starvation, infection or magical beast? The nearest town was days away on foot. I lifted the blade to my neck, the edge of it pressing against my skin, caressing it. What would I even do with my life? Remain here until someone finds me? Try and make my way back and live in my family¡¯s home alone? Become a hermit? Desperately chase after the mercenaries to¡ª? I froze. A smile curled my lips and I lowered the dagger from my neck. Revenge. That was something that actually sounded appealing. The mercenaries had left only minutes before I returned from the Tutorial Area. Sure, they probably had horses, but they would also likely camp for the night. I could do it. I could catch them. To my surprise, a couple of notifications appeared. [Generating bounty for user Belladonna.] [Killer Killer] [Turnabout is fair play.] [Bounty Objectives:] [¡õ Kill Mercenaries 0/5] [Bounty Rewards:] [1 ¡Á Mystery Box (Common)] [10 ¡Á Experience] [15 ¡Á Spire Coin] [Bonus Objectives:] [¡õ HIDDEN] [Bonus Rewards:] [Storage Artifact (Lesser)] I let out a long, exhausted breath as a twisted sense of purpose returned to me. Well, that was that. I had a goal. I couldn¡¯t give up¡ªI couldn¡¯t waste this life Father had tried to protect. Even if I inevitably ended up dying whilst trying to avenge his death, it would be better than throwing what little I had left away. I looked through the bounty notification, and while it was mostly reminiscent of the Tutorial quest¡ªeven down to the rewards being similar¡ªthere were a few differences. The bonus objective simply said ¡®hidden¡¯, which was¡­ quite unhelpful. There was also the fact it told me exactly how many mercenaries there were, which again showcased how the Spire System knew a suspicious amount of information. Or perhaps there were at least five, and I only had to kill five to complete the bounty? That was something to consider. I didn¡¯t want to underestimate their numbers. I set the blade down for now and grabbed the small leather bag. I had completely ignored the rewards from the Tutorial, including levelling up, but now was probably time to make sure I was as prepared as I could be for the bounty I was about to undertake. I opened the bag and poured out the contents into my lap. Ten coins fell out, as well as a thin white rod. The coins were mostly black, with silver writing and a picture embossed on the coin. The words said ¡®Spire Coin¡¯ and the picture was of a tower rising up from an island in the middle of an ocean. I gingerly picked one up, examining it. I had absolutely no idea what these would be for, and I had never seen this kind of coin before¡ªthough presumably other Awakened possessed them. Helpfully, as I held a coin, a notification appeared. [Would you like to transfer this Spire Coin to your balance? Y/N] After thinking about it for just a moment, I opted for ¡®yes¡¯. The coin immediately vanished from my hand and a new window appeared. [Spire Coin Balance: 1] Well¡­ that was certainly more convenient than carrying them around. Curiously, I tried to open an explanation for Spire Coins now that I had something that referenced them. An explanation notification appeared. Wait¡ªfuck. I definitely should have tried to check when it was listed in the rewards for the Tutorial, but since the list of rewards had appeared before I figured out how to manipulate windows, it had slipped my mind under the pressure of a time limit. Idiot. Well, just one more mistake to add to the list. I focused on the explanation. [Spire Coin] [Currency used by the Spire System. Can be freely deposited. Daily spending and withdrawal limit is equivalent to the user''s level. Gain access to the Social Store at Lv. 5. Gain access to the Item Store at Lv. 20.] So¡­ the important take-away was that it wasn¡¯t something that I needed to worry about yet, though the concept of a ¡®social store¡¯ was an intriguing one. What could it possibly sell? I suppose I¡¯d find out if I survived long enough¡ªfor now, I just deposited the rest of the coins. [Spire Coin Balance: 10] I nodded with satisfaction at that, and then turned my attention to the remaining object in my lap. The thin white rod. It felt like it was made of some kind of chalky rock. The only thing unaccounted for from my previous rewards was the mystery box, so that must be what this was, but how did it work? I looked toward my current quest rewards and opened an explanation window. [Mystery Box (Common)] [Mystery Boxes come in one of one of seven colours, representing their rarity. This one is of the lowest rarity, Common, denoted by its white colour. To use a Mystery Box, simply snap it in half and a random piece of equipment suitable for your build will appear before you. The drop chances of the Mystery Box (Common) are as follows: 80% Common, 15% Uncommon, 4% Rare, 1% Very Rare.] ¡°Oh? Pure luck. How fun.¡± I said with a roll of my eyes, before looking back at the object in my hand. I adjusted it so that I was holding it with an end in each hand. Then I promptly snapped it in half. Chapter 5 - Mystery The moment I snapped the Mystery Box in two, the stick vanished in a puff of white smoke that quickly dissipated into the air. [Opening Mystery Box (Common)] [Generating percentile: 72 - Common] [Result:] [Fine Cloak] [A non-magical cloak made of fine fabrics. It is lightweight, comfortable and robust. There are pockets in the inner lining and a hood. This one comes in black with a purple trim.] I raised an eyebrow at the process. It really was pure luck¡ªwell, I wasn¡¯t about to complain. While a pair of shoes or a shiny new weapon might have been better, this was undoubtedly useful. There was also the phrase ¡®non-magical¡¯ in the description to think about. Did that suggest that there was magical equipment? Maybe at the higher rarities? My thoughts were interrupted as the cloak appeared out of thin air, neatly folded, and fell to my side. I¡¯m not too proud to admit I flinched. ¡°I don¡¯t see myself ever getting used to that¡­¡± I muttered, and reached down to take the item into my hands. It was¡­ soft. The inner lining was sort of fluffy, while the outside fabric was sleek and smooth. Even as a noble, I had never owned a cloak this nice. I stood up and pulled it on. The size was perfect, and I secured the clasp at the front to hold it closed. The cloak was snug on my shoulders, but not constricting, as if it were tailored just for me. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how I felt about that¡ªthough I supposed it was just another instance of the System knowing things it shouldn¡¯t. Adorned in my new cloak, I was more or less ready. The rest of the things I needed to do could be done while I moved, so I grabbed my rusted knife and wiped it clean on my dress¡ªsure, I could have taken one of my family¡¯s weapons, or a pair of their shoes, or armour from father or the guards, but it felt¡­ wrong. I didn¡¯t even have time to bury them, the least I could do is leave them their belongings. I took a deep breath to centre myself at that thought. Leaving¡­ it was harder than I thought it was going to be¡ªto accept that the life I had known until now was well and truly over. A part of me was still desperately clinging to that past, still hoping I¡¯d wake up in my bed as if nothing had happened. I didn''t need to pinch myself¡ªthe stinging sensation on my cheek was a constant reminder that this wasn''t a dream. The pain also served as both catalyst and reminder for my newfound hatred of goblins. It wasn¡¯t difficult to figure out where the mercenaries had gone. This was the only path for miles¡ªthey wouldn''t abandon it, which gave them a total of two directions to choose from. They also took the two horses that were drawing the carriage, adding to the clarity of their chosen path. That path was the one that went back in the direction we had been heading¡ªthe direction of the City of Mooncrest. I willed myself not to look back at the carriage as I left. Part of me wondered if I should have pulled Derek and Father inside and set the whole thing alight, but I decided that leaving them as they were would paint their legacy more than anything else I could do for them. Mother¡¯s readiness to face her fate unflinching. Father¡¯s honour and protective spirit. Derek¡¯s reckless bravery. I would remember them, and they would live on in me, but if anyone else found them, I hoped at least a fraction of who they would be could be conveyed through how they died. I tightened my grip on my dagger, and opened my Status Screen as a distraction. I needed to level up anyway. [Status Screen] [Spire User: Belladonna] [Name: Fable en Ryvaesen] [Race: Human] [Gender: Female] [Age: 17] [Level: 2] [Experience: 2/10] [Class: None (Requirement: Level 10)] [General Skills: (Available Slots: 0)] [Noble Elegance - Lv. 1] [Herbalism - Lv. 1] [Stats: (Available Points: 3)] [Strength: 8] [Grace: 13] [Endurance: 9] [Resolve: 11] [Acuity: 10] [Intellect: 12] [Presence: 10] ¡°Three points every level?¡± I asked, slightly incredulously¡ªat that rate it wouldn¡¯t take long at all to quickly surpass what was humanly possible, though that was assuming someone with twenty strength punched twice as hard as someone with ten. Did stat points represent your body¡¯s capability, or were they a multiplier of what you already had? Fuck¡­ every time I learnt something about the system, another question was waiting to reveal itself. I focused my energy on considering what would be best to put my points into. My first instinct was to put more points into Grace, as that was what had kept me alive in my fight with the goblin. Being quick was really all I had going for me in a confrontation¡ªbut that was assuming that whatever I was fighting knew I was there. Grace could also help me be quiet and avoid detection, though all of that was skipping a vital step. I had to catch the mercenaries before I would be at any risk of a fight, and they had horses. I wasn¡¯t going to beat them with speed, so I would have to beat them with Endurance. I put all three points into it. [Stats: (Available Points: 0)] [Strength: 8] [Grace: 13] [Endurance: 12] [Resolve: 11] [Acuity: 10] [Intellect: 12] [Presence: 10] The difference was immediate. I could feel the moment it changed. The fatigue of my earlier fight was still there, but muted. The stinging on my cheek was no less noticeable, but it was more tolerable. This was the effect of effectively boosting Endurance by three points? I guess it did bring the stat from one of my weakest to one of my strongest, but it was starting to dawn on me just how extreme the difference between myself and a non-awakened person could potentially become. But I was far from worrying about that yet¡ªthe thought sobered my high just a little. I was still very much inferior in combat to someone who had any kind of practice or experience, which meant I had to win before it ever got to a real fight.Stolen novel; please report. I diverged slightly from the path, walking parallel to it just inside the treeline while I scanned the grass. [Noble Elegance] thankfully helped to ease the burden of navigating the wilds without footwear, letting me tread with a feather-light step. It didn¡¯t take long until I found what I was looking for¡ªherbs. Specifically, medicinal herbs. The first plant I found that I recognised from my books was one whose leaves had the ability to help with swelling. As I leant down to pick a couple of the leaves, though, I felt a subtle¡­ nudge was probably the best word for it, slightly altering where I was going to break the stem of the leaf. Was that [Herbalism]? I decided to trust it for now, putting the leaves away in one of the pockets of my cloak. I continued in this way for a while, slowly collecting herbs with various properties. Roots to help with stomach problems. Another bunch of leaves that could be used to treat open wounds in order to make infection less likely. Some flowers that, when brewed into a tea, helped soothe sore throats. Half a dozen others with small effects that would help me survive the trip back to civilization. I admit, I didn¡¯t remember the names of most of them, just their pictures and uses. I think one of them was called wood sorrel? They were all useful¡ªI even made use of some of them to treat the gouged lines on my face. First, I found a large, flat rock. Then I found a smaller one that would fit in my hand. Between the two, I ground the leaves meant to reduce infection risk, as well as the ones to help with swelling. I added some oily grass that helped get it to a better consistency, almost like a paste. Applying it made me wince a little, as the wound was still quite tender, but it was a necessary pain. That said, all of that paled when compared to the greatest finds of my detour. First, a Mandragora. The root of this plant was a pale, carrot-like thing that forked about half way down and twisted around itself. It was also exceedingly poisonous. I had dug it up with my knife, and cut a strip of cloth from the hem of my dress to wrap it in so I didn¡¯t need to touch it. My other find was just as poisonous, if not more so, but was all the more auspicious for being the plant I had named myself after¡ªBelladonna. Children were oft told not to eat the purple-black berries, but they weren''t the most deadly part of the plant. The leaves and roots were much more lethal. I dug this one up with the dagger as well, albeit with a great deal of caution. I think [Herbalism] helped me extract the roots without poisoning myself, which was definitely a function I appreciated in my skills. I separated the roots from the rest of the plant, and wrapped them up next to my Mandragora root. Satisfied with my expanded list options to deal with problems, I focused more on covering distance. The sun was slowly getting lower in the sky, the pencils of light that pierced the canopy becoming more angular. It was like an hourglass, counting away the minutes until the mercenaries were no longer increasing the distance between us, and instead it would be me closing in on them. Fate, as it so often did, had other plans for me, though. Whilst watching the sunlight dance as it filtered through the leaves, I heard a rustle of grass behind me, and turned just in time to see a large black blur of fangs and claws flying through the air toward me. The sound I heard must have been the creature launching itself at me. No time to think, I dropped myself to the ground. I could feel [Noble Elegance] heightening the fluidity of my movement beyond what was normally possible for me, allowing me to bend myself out of the way, but it wasn¡¯t enough to escape harm entirely. Razor-sharp fangs tore into my left shoulder as the creature, almost as big as I was, passed overhead. ¡°Fuck!¡± I hissed aloud, watching the creature land and pivot in the same smooth motion while I scrambled to get back to my feet, ¡°This cloak is new, asshole!¡± The taunting helped distract me from the acute pain singing through my body, from the warmth of my blood dripping down my arm. I think the cloak had managed to stop its teeth from penetrating too deeply, leaving me with gouges in my shoulder instead of missing a chunk of my flesh. I finally got a good look at the creature. I had expected a wolf to be staring back at me, but this creature looked like someone had decided a wolf wasn¡¯t big enough, and needed more teeth. Honestly, I would have preferred a wolf. I hadn¡¯t heard it approach me at all, and for the first time, regretted not taking [Danger Sense]. I shivered at the thought of how close I had been to death. The creature standing before me was all sharp edges and muscle coated in fur. A sleek death machine that had eyes only for me¡ªa warg. It was strange to see one alone. In all the stories they''d been in, they were kept and bred by goblins to be war-beasts and mounts. Never had I read about someone facing a solitary warg¡ªwhy? Was it not a feat worth mentioning? [Generating time-sensitive mission for user Belladonna.] [Teeth and Trouble] [Avoid the pointy end.] [Mission Objective:] [¡õ Survive] [Time Remaining: 5:00] [Mission Rewards:] [5 x Experience] [Mystery Box (Common)] [Mission Bonus Objective:] [¡õ Kill Warg 0/1] [Bonus Rewards:] [10 x Experience] [Mystery Box (Uncommon)] ¡°Great, the System has a fucking sense of humour.¡± I sighed. My foe didn¡¯t give me time to consider much more, already moving on me with a snarl on its lips. It didn¡¯t lunge as it had the first time, this time instead closing the distance first. Its whole body rippled with coiled power, threatening to burst forth like a snapped bowstring if I made a single misstep. I moved as quickly as my body would allow, [Noble Elegance] working overtime to keep me on my feet despite the fact I wasn¡¯t looking where I was going. My eyes were locked onto the warg¡¯s, even as I maneuvered to put trees between us wherever I could. All the while it stalked after me unerringly. I desperately tried to think of a plan, something that could upset the balance. I didn¡¯t know if my poisons would work on a non-humanoid, so I ruled those out. A warg was built to kill¡ªI was very much not built for anything impressive, except, perhaps, disappointing people. It was a disparity in purpose I would have to remedy. Then it hit me¡ªwhat I currently had going for me was that I looked weak. My foot got caught on a root and I stumbled, starting to fall backwards¡ªthe warg leapt to punish my mistake. But it wasn''t a mistake. It was a trap, and the warg had been lured successfully. Once it had leapt for me, it was locked in its trajectory. Now I could punish its mistake. I set my foot behind me and launched myself forward underneath the warg, the blade in my hand flashing out to cut into the flesh of the beast¡¯s hindleg. I heard it howl in pain as I rolled, using my good shoulder to pop up into a kneeling position facing the warg, thinking I was ready. I wasn¡¯t. The creature had shown me once before that it could turn around at a speed that I couldn¡¯t hope to match, and it had done so again. The moment I set my eyes on it again, I was already facing a wall of teeth. I barely had enough time to get my left arm up between me and it. The warg hit me hard, knocking me flat on my back hard enough that the air left my lungs and my vision blurred for a moment. My arm was stuck in its jaw, canines tearing through skin and muscle. The pain was unlike anything I¡¯d ever experienced. I screamed in agony, but even through the haze of pain, I wasn¡¯t resigned to being a warg¡¯s chew-toy. My free arm drove the knife up into the beast over and over, sinking down to the hilt each time. I didn¡¯t care what I hit¡ªlungs, heart, throat, anything to get it off me, to make this pain end. Honestly? I hadn¡¯t expected that to work. I wasn¡¯t thinking at all, acting on pure instinct to survive. To kill instead of be killed, but with every thrust of my knife into the creature, the malicious light in its eyes dimmed just a little more. I couldn''t fathom why it didn''t just let go. Did it not see me as a threat until it was too late? Could it feel pain? Or was it a being of such cruelty that another creature¡¯s pain and suffering was more important than its own wellbeing. Whatever the reason, the creature¡¯s grip on my arm loosened and it slumped down on top of me, dead. [You have slain: Warg x 1] [Awarded 4 Experience] [¡ö Kill Warg 1/1] [Bonus Objective: COMPLETE] Fantastic. Now the only problem was that it weighed¡­ way too fucking much, and I was stuck beneath it. Well, to say that was the only problem was a lie. My left forearm was utterly shredded, and my shoulder wasn¡¯t faring much better. At least my injured arm wasn¡¯t stuck under an assload of warg. I held it gingerly above my head as I tried to wriggle free, to little avail. In the meantime, the timer slowly ticked down to zero. The System feigned ignorance of my plight, even though I suspected it very much knew better. [Mission Objective:] [¡ö Survive] [Mission: COMPLETE] [Distributing Rewards¡­] [Awarded 15 Experience] [Level up! You have reached Level 3] [Skill up! [Noble Elegance] has reached Level 2] That was¡­ a lot of windows. To top it all off, a pair of Mystery Box sticks fell to the forest floor next to my head, one white and one green. I had some stat points from my level, presumably a more powerful [Noble Elegance]¡ªthough I knew absolutely nothing about what levelling a skill did, so I wasn''t certain¡ªand two mystery boxes of varying rarity. Hopefully, that was enough tools to bail me out of warg jail. Chapter 6 - Chance I had never really understood the true meaning of the expression ¡®dead weight¡¯¡ªuntil now. The warg pinning me to the forest floor beneath it was very much dead, and weighed somewhere between ¡®too much for me to move¡¯ and ¡®what have you been eating?¡¯. My futile struggle to wriggle my way free from beneath it was simply wasting time. I knew I¡¯d have to expend some resources in the hopes of once more obtaining my freedom. I decided to start with things I knew I¡¯d be using either way¡ªthe two mystery boxes I had earned for killing the warg and, perhaps more importantly, not dying in the process. I couldn¡¯t see where the two sticks had fallen, so I was forced to use my non-injured arm and grope around in the grass near my head for them. It took a few seconds, but I was able to retrieve them both easily enough. I brought them into my vision, rolling them in my fingers as I tried to decide which one I would open first. What were the drop chances for¡ª?¡­ fuck. I hadn''t checked the drop rate for the uncommon mystery box while it was in my mission rewards. In defence of my actions, I had been fighting for my life. I could forgive myself for this mistake, right? As it turns out, I could. It was a pretty simple mistake, and I was still mad at myself for the biggest mistake I had made that day¡ªhesitating, and allowing that goblin a chance to strike me. Perhaps I would have changed nothing, and would have simply met my family¡¯s fate, but there was also the chance I could have done something. The self-loathing came from never knowing what if. I suspected this would be a pain I¡¯d carry for a long time. I moved the two sticks in my hand until I could drop the green one on my chest, and only the white one remained in my fingers. I balanced the stick between my pinkie finger and index finger, then pressed my thumb against the middle of it. It didn¡¯t take much pressure to snap. [Opening Mystery Box (Common)] [Generating percentile: 29 - Common] [Result:] [Dark-leather Boots] [A well-made pair of boots made with monster-hide. The hide has been soaked in black dye after tanning to give it the dark colour. Comfortable, sleek and practical.] ¡°Now it gives me the shoes.¡± I groaned as the footwear in question appeared out of thin-air and fell uselessly to my side. I could have sworn the system was doing this intentionally. Don¡¯t get me wrong, they were useful, but only if I was able to avoid my current fate¡ªbleeding out whilst stuck under a mountain of warg. At least the shoes were pretty. Sleek, dark and intimidating. Long, too. I predicted they would come up to my upper calf, with laces along the entire length of them. Knowing the System, they were likely also the perfect size for me. I hated that I liked that. Alright. One option down, two more to go. I grabbed the next mystery box stick from where I had dropped it. The green material it was made from was honestly quite nice to look at, but I didn''t let that distract me¡­ much. Before too long, I snapped that one as well. [Opening Mystery Box (Uncommon)] [Generating percentile: 88 - Rare] Wait¡ªrare? Wasn¡¯t that¡­ really lucky? [Result:] [Rune of Awakening (Light)] [A pure Mana-stone that has been carefully engraved with a Rune of Awakening, attuned to the Light element. Holding this stone and speaking the command word ¡°Y¡¯llu¡± will activate the stone, awakening the ability to use Light element magic in the holder of the speaker. The stone will become inert after use.] I blinked uncomprehendingly as the description of the item sunk in, letting my head fall back onto the grass. Even as the stone appeared and fell down next to me, I lay frozen in thought. I barked out a bitter, disbelieving laugh despite the situation I was in. Magic? Magic existed. Magic I could learn without a class? Because of¡­ luck? It felt like a cosmic joke that things had to go so wrong before they went right. I reached down slowly to collect the item that had fallen. The Mana-stone. It was a perfectly smooth blue stone with swirls of black within that seemed¡­ almost alive. A rune was carved onto the surface of one side of the stone, somehow emitting a faint golden light. There was no doubt in my mind that the item in my hands was magical, a belief only reinforced by the fact that It hurt to look at the rune for too long. I held the stone aloft in two hands for a moment, just staring at it and wondering if it was truly okay for someone like me to have this. While my arms were lifted, my eyes drifted towards the ugly state of my arm, the skin and muscle torn and shredded. Blood flowed freely down from the wound, dyeing the whole arm red until it looked more like something that belonged in a butcher shop than a mostly-functioning limb. Perhaps it was the blood-loss, but I found the whole thing rather¡­ amusing. Maybe I just wasn¡¯t thinking clearly. My cloak was pinned under the warg, so I couldn¡¯t reach in to get at any of my herbs currently¡ªI was thankful I had found a decent amount of Yarrow. I would likely need it if I managed to get free. My options for escape were dwindling. I was down to taking a chance on magic that could somehow provide a solution to get me out, or having to put my stat points into Strength and hope that was enough. I took a deep breath, before speaking the command word. ¡°Y¡¯llu.¡± I had no way of knowing if my pronunciation was correct, and for a moment I was left feeling a little ridiculous while I waited for something to happen¡ªbut then the mana-stone began to glow. Brighter and brighter it grew within my hands, until I had to squint my eyes shut to avoid being blinded entirely. Even still, all I could see from behind my eyelids was uniform white. Then, I felt it. A pulse went through my body, and I screamed¡ªnot because the pulse itself was painful, at least not directly, but because it made everything so sensitive. A bizarre experience. I could feel each strand of my hair as it swayed in the wind. I swore I could feel my blood as it flowed through my veins. It was a state of being hyper-aware of every part of myself¡ªwhich meant I could feel each torn muscle and every damaged nerve more intimately and accurately than I ever had before. It was torturous, and every second that ticked by seemed to stretch on for eternity while I writhed in agony. When the sensation finally subsided, it felt as if days had passed, though I reasoned it must have only been minutes. Not that I was certain¡ªI mostly judged by the fact I hadn''t bled out yet, and the sun was right where I had left it. I was breathing heavily, and sweating profusely. The only positive I had to hold on to in that moment was the numbness. That after experiencing that heightened level of pain, my injuries almost felt like a memory now by comparison. I slowly opened my eyes, hoping there would be notifications waiting for me that could justify the experience I had just gone through.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. [Congratulations, user Belladonna! You have awakened Light Magic.] [Your Status Screen has been upgraded to display information regarding your Magic.] Somewhat weakly, I willed my Status Screen open. [Status Screen] [Spire User: Belladonna] [Name: Fable en Ryvaesen] [Race: Human] [Gender: Female] [Age: 17] [Level: 3] [Experience: 11/15] [Class: None (Requirement: Level 10)] [General Skills: (Available Slots: 0)] [Noble Elegance - Lv. 2] [Herbalism - Lv. 1] [Stats: (Available Points: 3)] [Strength: 8] [Grace: 13] [Endurance: 12] [Resolve: 11] [Acuity: 10] [Intellect: 12] [Presence: 10] [Magical Ability] [Mana: 45/45] [Element: Light - Level 1] [Level 0 Magic: (Available Slots: 1)] [Level 1 Magic: (Available Slots: 1)] ¡°Haaah¡­¡± There it was. Magic. Like most things to do with the System, however, I had absolutely no idea how to use it, or what any of this meant. At least I had a method to see what information was available to me. For each new section related to magic in my Status Screen, I tried to open an explanation. Approximately half a dozen windows flashed open in an instant, white text contrasting strongly against the opaque black of the floating panes. There was¡­ a lot of information. All that remained was to try and learn. [Mana] [A numerical measure of your current Mana levels, as well as your body¡¯s maximum capacity for Mana. Mana is consumed to fuel the magic of spells. Mana regenerates slowly, created from energy within your body. It is an aspect of your life-force, and as such, you will be rendered unconscious should your Mana ever reach zero.] Mana. I¡­ had Mana within my body, and it was an aspect of my life-force? Did that mean everyone had Mana? It was used to fuel magic¡ªthat was something to be mindful of. I opened a separate window that only showed my Mana levels, moving it to the periphery, above my current bounty objective. [Mana] [45/45] With that sorted, I continued to read. [Light] [An element of magic that represents the manipulation of light. It also includes a small selection of purification and healing magic.] I was suddenly a lot more alert at the mention of healing magic. I had never heard of such a thing existing. Most of the healers in stories achieved results through herbalism or alchemy. Being able to heal my injuries wouldn¡¯t solve my being stuck, but it would greatly extend the amount of time I had left to figure something out from minutes to days. [Magic Level] [Your level of Light Magic is currently Level 1. It is increased through improved understanding of the light element, and the use of Light Magic.] [Your maximum level for Light Magic is currently Level 2. It is the sum of your Resolve and Intellect stats, divided by 10 and rounded down.] I groaned internally at the mention of math. My tutor had thought me quite talented, but I found the subject tedious. Why were we adding all those things together? To what end? Now, though, I had to begrudgingly thank them for my education. It made understanding a little easier. My current level of Light Magic was one. I could level it up to two with use, but if I wanted to get it to level three, I needed to increase my Resolve or Intellect stats by another seven points between them. [Level 0 Magic: Light] [The lowest level of magic. Spells of this level do not require Mana to cast.] [An additional Level 0 Magic Slot is unlocked every ten levels of Light Magic.] So these spells took no Mana to cast. I took that to mean I could potentially use them a considerable number of times each day. I was a little concerned about not receiving a new slot until I had achieved level ten in Light Magic, though. That required a hundred total points split between my Resolve and Intellect. I wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve that for another twenty-six levels, and that was assuming I dedicated every single point to those two stats. Magic was starting to seem really quite limited in its growth. [Level 0 Magic available:] [Mote of Light] [Minor Cleanse] [Handheld Illusion] [Colour Shift] [Purify Liquid] [Minor Light Beam] A smaller selection of spells than I had imagined. Was there criteria to unlock more? There was no healing on offer here¡ªsome of them sounded quite interesting, though none of them seemed like they could help me with my immediate problem. I reasoned that I could hold off on selecting until I needed a particular effect. [Level 1 Magic: Light] [Simple spells that consume Mana to cast.] [An additional Level 1 Magic Slot is unlocked every five levels of Light Magic.] Simple and used Mana. Additionally, it seemed that I would receive a new slot at twice the frequency of the Level 0 spells. Was this to limit the amount of resourceless magic someone had access to? [Level 1 Magic available:] [Camouflage] [Lesser Heal] [Static Illusion] [Flash-spark] [Cleanse] [Light Beam] I knew the smart thing to do would''ve been to read the description of each spell and select the strongest one¡ªbut I''m ashamed to admit, that is not what I did. Not even a little bit. Instead, I immediately selected the [Lesser Heal] spell. [Lesser Heal - Lv. 1] [Cost - 10 Mana] [Heals wounds with a touch. Does not cure infection. Does not restore missing limbs. Does not restore lost life. Does not cure sickness or disease. Does not remove curses.] That was¡­ quite the description of what the spell didn¡¯t do, but I guess it disclosed the limitations of the spell clearly enough. It was a spell, and its purpose was to heal wounds at a touch. The Lv. 1 listed next to it threw me a little, however. Was that simply showing that the spell was Level 1 magic? Or would it level it up independently? I sighed. There was only one way to find out. [Magical Ability] [Mana: 45/45] [Element: Light - Level 1] [Level 0 Magic: (Available Slots: 1)] [Level 1 Magic: (Available Slots: 0)] [Lesser Heal - Lv. 1] I felt a tickling sensation in my mind, like the solution to a grand puzzle was at the tip of my tongue. I realised that I now knew how to perform this magic. It was a little unsettling the way the knowledge just suddenly¡­ was, but I was getting used to the eccentricities of the System. I turned my attention to my ruined forearm, gently laying the palm of my uninjured arm across the sundered skin. An involuntary hiss of pain slipped between grit teeth, but I didn¡¯t pull away. Instead, I attempted to focus on the desired effect of the spell¨Cskin and muscles beneath my hand knitting back together as they should be¡ªwhile pushing a little Mana into the spell. I felt the connection between Mana and magic at once. ¡°Olms Seffer.¡± I spoke, heaving a subtle reverberation of power in my voice. I almost expected a flash of golden light, something like what I had seen in depictions of the gods when they used their divine power. Instead, my Mana depleted by ten points, and a soft purple glow emanated from my hand. Immediately, I felt warmth. Warmth and a distinct lack of pain. I kept my eyes on my injured arm, amazed to see it heal in real time. First, the muscle slipped back beneath the skin where it belonged, and knitted together seamlessly. Then, the lacerations in the skin fused shut, leaving my arm soft and unblemished by any sign of injury. I had been watching closely, but it still felt like it happened in an instant. ¡°Well¡­ that''s convenient.¡±