Fated To Fall
Date: 2023-03-10T10:19:39.751000+00:00

Information

Table of Contents URL: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47923/fated-to-fall-a-transmigrator-litrpg-tale

Fated To Fall: A Transmigrator LitRPG Tale
by
Mystique

Original ONGOING Adventure
Drama
Fantasy
Historical
Female Lead
LitRPG
Magic
Portal Fantasy / Isekai
Reincarnation
School Life
Slice of Life

Warning
This fiction contains:

- Gore

- Profanity

She had welcomed Death with open arms, and was more than happy to spend her afterlife floating in the void. Until a Goddess decides she has better plans for her and offers her a choice any fantasy loving geek would die for. However after accepting the offer she learned the hard way that one should always read the fine print, especially when dealing with a God.

Now her new life has begun, only she's been dropped into the world of her favorite game. Except, instead of becoming a side character or even one of the heroes of the game she's inhabiting the body of the game's final boss, 8 years before she became the villainess. Now she has to navigate a hostile home where her own father sees her as nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard, and her stepmother wants her dead to free up succession for her son. She has to try to navigate the confusing relationship between herself and her stepbrother, who could be her greatest ally or her most dangerous foe. The original Liliana Rosengarde fell from grace and burned the queendom on her quest for revenge. Can she prevent that fate from happening and save the queendom, and her own life?

And maybe, she's not the only one who needs to be saved.

She'll need to gather allies, both human and beast, if she has any hope of subverting the destiny that was already written for her.

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

Tags that fit this story that aren't options:

Slow Burn, if you don't like slow stories that build to action very slowly this isn't the novel for you. If you like slow development, copious introspection and a story focused on a single character you will probably enjoy this!

Crunchy LitRPG, numbers, math, boxes galore adorn these pages.

Non-Villainous Lead

This story has been posted to Royal Road and Scribblehub. Anywhere else I have not authorised the posting of!

Chapter 1: The End Is Where It Begins

The day she died was a normal one for her. It was an expected day, one that had years of buildup for it. She’d been slowly dying for sixteen years, born cursed and living through nothing short of miracles and a stubborn will. But no matter how strong a will, sixteen years would wear anyone down, would erode the staunchest of wills and souls.

She had lived a cursed life from before she was born with a congenital heart defect. At the tender age of three days, she underwent her first surgery, where they repaired the hole. All seemed well and good. She lived the first few years of her life happily, like a normal child. Until she was rushed to the ER after she suddenly passed out at the park and had almost no pulse. The doctors found out that the initial heart surgery hadn’t been done properly and the hole had reopened, worse than before. There had also apparently been an issue with her valves that hadn’t been seen when she was a newborn, but had grown with age.

At five she was put on the transplant list while she was stuck for a while in a hospital bed, hooked up to more machines than her young mind could count. Several doing the work her damaged heart no longer could until a temporary solution was found. She barely remembered that time. It was all a blur of white coats and scrubs, being carried to and from the hospital. She was lucky, she got a transplant incredibly quickly; she only had a year to wait as opposed to the average of three to five years.

She suffered the normal symptoms of a new organ, her body adjusting to the foreign heart. After three months with no severe reactions, she was released to live her life again. She was six, almost seven, by then and expected to rejoin society and school for the first time. It was hard. She was weak in comparison to her peers and behind on the subjects they’d been learning. She couldn’t play at recess or gym, always made to sit to the side under the watchful eye of an adult while her peers got to frolic and enjoy being kids.

She had three years this time, where she slowly gained strength and began to live once more as a child. Making friends, going to sleepovers and parties, going on vacations to theme parks. Her parents spoiled her, their only child and one they’d almost lost twice now.

However, it all came crashing down when she was looking forward to her eleventh birthday. A big party had been planned at a local theme park, where she was determined to get herself sick on cake and rollercoasters. The pain that had been slowly plaguing her was finally too much to hide. The agony in her leg made her collapse in tears and her parents had her bundled up in the car and on the way to the hospital once more.

They found out she had bone cancer. It apparently had a high survival rate, provided the cancer didn’t metastasize. Which, with her luck, it had. It had already started to spread to her lungs. The shortness of breath she’d pushed aside as a result of her transplant had been the cancer growing, as had the pain in her legs.

Surgery was prepped and planned for them to try to remove the largest tumors. She was out of it for a while afterwards, though when she woke there were gifts from her friends and classmates around her bed. The gifts were dulled with the knowledge that she would need to undergo chemotherapy to try to manage the other tumors either too small or too precarious to remove. At eleven, she had more scars on her body than any of her peers, and by the time she was close to twelve, she had far less hair than them as well.

Not that she was too sure, as she’d been pulled from public schools with the start of her chemotherapy because of the hit it gave to her immune system. Combined with her transplanted heart, her body was simply far too delicate to be around others her age, in a place where germs grew and gathered en mass.

Every time they thought they’d cleared the cancer and the tumors, she’d go home with some level of hope in her heart. Until she went for a checkup only to find out the cancer had regrown once more. It was like a morbid game of whack a mole. And slowly her body wasted away until at fifteen she was in the hospital full time. She barely saw her parents by then. They were pulling so many overtime hours they hardly had time to sleep just to cover the cost of her medical bills. She knew her college fund had been drained to pay for the surgeries and chemotherapy by the time she was thirteen.

Yet they still managed to give her presents, small things to brighten up her days in the dreary hospital room. Gaming systems and new games for her to lose herself in. Books that would take her far from the world and failing body she inhabited. She had no friends to speak of, the ones from her younger days long gone. She was friendly with several other children in the ward she was in, other children with terminal illnesses and their futures stolen by failing bodies that refused to work as they should. Yet it was depressing to see them fading away, much as she was. Even more saddening was when they disappeared from their beds, gone forever. Their life cut short far too soon.

So she threw herself into games, where she could be strong and powerful. Where the things that would hurt her were nothing more than ‘villains’ she could defeat. All the evil in the world condensed into singular beings that, once defeated, returned the world to a perfect utopia. Where no teenage girl had to watch her body become nothing more than skin and bones because radiation made her puke up whatever small bits of food she could get down her throat.

So it was a few days after her sixteenth birthday, when she had just finished replaying her favorite game, Realm Of Hope, for the fifth time that she knew her time had finally come.

She had fought death so many times before, shoved his scythe from her neck with bared teeth. Cursed him until she was blue in the face with her chest heaving. Yet this time, when the familiar specter haunted her room, she couldn’t find the energy to put up a fight. She’d lived sixteen years cursed with a feeble body that was breaking down slowly. The girl knew she would never see her twentieth birthday, had heard doctors telling her parents that very thing when they thought she was asleep. She’d never get to travel the world, see other countries. She’d never get to go to prom, or learn to drive. She’d never go to college, or join a sorority. What was she fighting for? A miserable life filled with white hospital rooms and serenaded by the discordant beeping of machines?

So she smiled at Death like an old friend and when he reached out his hand this time, and she grasped it. As her world faded to black, she heard the shrill screaming of medical machines calling for aid. Heard the rushing of doctors and nurses as they tried to reignite the smothered fire of life in her chest. Yet this time they couldn’t bring her back from the calm void that called to her.

Where am I? Was death always so... soothing? This is amazing. I don't feel pain or nausea. I feel at peace. She mused in her mind as she floated in black nothingness. She reveled in how her body, or was it a soul now, didn’t ache. How her chest didn’t cry out at every breath, how her bones didn’t feel like cracked glass.

She didn’t know how long she floated in the peaceful void. She thought time passed, but her thoughts moved so slowly she couldn’t tell. She had thought death would be boring, with nothing to do for eternity, yet she didn’t feel bored. She felt good. For the first time in her memory, she felt good.

However, her peaceful existence in the void was interrupted suddenly, and she found herself tumbling down onto white marble floors, her hands and knees making contact. No pain erupted from the sudden fall, just the knowledge that she had hit hard ground.

It took several minutes for her thoughts to speed up from the glacial slowness they’d been at when she was in the void. When her mind finally caught up, she whipped her head up and looked around, taking in the scenery. She was in some kind of white marble... temple? She had never seen one in real life, but she’d seen pictures of ruins of temples, and they looked similar.

There were columns decorated with images of feminine and masculine shapes. Some were holding things like water or fire. Others wielded weapons, spears, swords, and bows. Some even held staffs or books, looking like mages from a fantasy game. She turned her head up, trying to see where the columns ended, only to see the ceiling obscured by white clouds.

Looking back down, she slowly stood, turning in circles as she took in the temple. It was massive, so large she couldn’t see the walls, unless the walls were white clouds that further obscured her view. It looked almost like the entire temple had been formed from clouds, and since she was dead, she was inclined to believe it was a possibility.

“Am I in heaven? Is that a place?” She mused aloud, for no purpose other than to hear her own voice. There was no one around her to hear, and she felt like it’d been a millennium since she’d heard her own voice. It rang through the space, clear and bright. Not ragged and breathy as it had been for the last months of her life.

“Depends on what you mean by Heaven, I suppose,” a voice responded and the girl jumped, spinning in place to confront the new presence.

There had been no one there a moment ago, but now a being stood there. Looking at them hurt a bit, and their form was distorted like how the air above hot sand would shimmer. She could make out an androgynous form, long golden hair falling to the ground behind the being. Their body, what she could see of it, was a dark tan the same color she knew girls her age had strived for. A loose white robe covered the being though towards their knees. The white seemed to fade to clouds, much like the temple she was in. She couldn’t discern the being’s face. The longer the girl looked, the more her head ached. All she could distinctly see were two golden eyes, fathomless and eternal.

“Who are you?” The girl asked as she took a step back from the being. They radiated pure power, in a way she couldn’t find a comparison to. If she had to be asked to describe a god she’d have pointed at the being before her, there was no other explanation.

“You can call me Vita, though I’ve gone by many names through many different worlds and eons.” The being, Vita, said. Their voice didn’t have a sound, per se. It both thundered around the girl and sang in her blood. She wasn’t sure if Vita actually spoke or if it was just a universal truth being made apparent to her.

“Come ᐯ̸͊̈̾̋.” Vita spoke, and the girl didn’t understand the word they said, yet it resonated with her in a way nothing had before. The word somehow encapsulated the very essence of her being. Everything she had been, was, and would ever be.

“I-I don’t understand,” She shook her head and Vita smiled, or the girl felt that they smiled since she couldn’t see their face, and held out a hand.

“I know, that's okay. You lived a hard life for one so young. Though it’s not the first difficult life you’ve lived, and it won’t be the last,” Vita’s words were calming, and she felt her confusion and panic fading. Without conscious thought she reached out and grabbed Vita’s hand and the world they were in shifted, all of it turning to clouds and reforming so fast the girl felt her mind spin, unable to fully keep up with it.

Wait, did they just confirm reincarnation? Her mind finally registered the earlier words, and she wondered why she didn’t remember her previous lives, why only the most recent?

“You have many questions, but I do not have much time to explain it all to you. We gods aren’t allowed to dally too long with the souls of mortals,” Vita’s words seemed to hold some minor regret and the girl opened her mouth, wanting to ask the questions burning in her mind anyway, yet no words came out.

“Sit,” Vita commanded, and she felt her body, or was it still a soul, move on its own as she collapsed into a chair made of clouds. Vita herself took a seat across from her, a pool appearing between them. The water was pitch black. It reminded her of the void she’d so recently left.

“Through your lives, you’ve gathered enough karma that I can intervene somewhat in the next life you take. You’ve suffered so much, for so long, that it’s enough for the System to allow this. However, do not be mistaken, this is not an unselfish thing I’m doing. There is a world that needs intervention. The fate it’s written for itself will prove to be catastrophic for it. However, this fate can be changed, with a little help,” Vita nodded at her. The girl was stuck in open-mouthed shock, questions and thoughts running through her mind at a breakneck pace.

“How are my parents?” She asked the most important question that burned in her mind. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had died, but she wanted to know if her parents had recovered.

“Hm,” Vita mused, and she sensed she had managed to actually surprise the deity before her.

“The souls you refer to lived full lives after your passing, each reaching well into their nineties. They grieved your passing for years, though the notebooks you’d left to them soothed the ache, and prevented them from splitting apart. They took your advice and adopted a young girl. The girl went on to develop an alternate treatment for cancer that was far less harsh on patients' bodies, inspired by tales of you and your own notebooks. She called the treatment ‘Valkyrie’s Promise’ and even opened a non-profit organisation to fund the foster system. She got married and had a daughter she named after you. While you were not the one who came up with the cure, if not for your notebooks, she would’ve never gone on to do her great deeds. So some of your karmic value is also a result of this,” Vita explained the facts, and while the girl was grateful for the information, it still felt far too little.

Still, she could feel tears dripping down her face. Her mother had always called her ‘My Little Valkyrie’. Her parents had never thought they’d have a child, and the pregnancy had been a hard one. They’d named her after the Valkyries, in the hope she would inherit a warrior's spirit. In a way she had, her deep stubbornness was one of the few reasons she’d lived for so long. Though the name she’d been given slipped through her mind like water slid through fingers. For some reason, she felt no panic over that, her mind easily skipping over that typically disturbing fact. Her sadness and grief over her parents was left untouched and filled her with its bittersweetness.

Vita let her process the emotions. While she was sad that she’d missed her parents’ lives, and never gotten to meet her sister, she was glad they’d had good lives. That her notebooks she’d labored over had done as she’d wanted. She knew that her parents would be devastated when she died. She’d seen how they were pulling apart even before her passing. The girl had wanted to let them at least keep that love they’d had even after she was gone. Rubbing at her eyes, the girl pushed the tumultuous emotions down and turned to Vita, her next question primed and ready.

“Why?” she asked, so simple, yet the question bore the burden of a hundred others. Vita seemed to understand exactly what she meant, though.

“While we gods can intervene somewhat in worlds, we cannot disrupt the fate of it ourselves too much, nor can we influence free will in any meaningful way. However, if this world is allowed to continue on its current path, its darkness will not only consume it, but hundreds of others. That is a big enough threat that we are allowed to take a more active role. Along with the karma you’ve accumulated, it has combined to this.” Vita waved around them.

“So the solution for this is that I ask you to take your next life in this world. I will give you boons, for this life will not be easy either. This world is familiar to you, though you’ve never been there. I will preserve all memories relating to it in perfect clarity, and you can never lose them. Some of your memories from your past life will be gone, for some of the knowledge would be detrimental to this one. You will also be given some manner of assistance in the new world to make your task easier. Far more than other mortals are privy to,” Vita continued to explain, and the girl’s mind frantically tried to keep up. Most of what the Deity was saying made little sense to her. Too little context was being provided.

Yet what she could gather was Vita was asking her to go to a world and save it, like a hero from a book. The mere thought made her want to agree. Years spent dreaming of exactly this kind of scenario flashed through her mind. So long she had wanted to be a hero, to be strong and capable. To defeat anything that hurt her with a blade or a spell. And it sounded like she would have her own types of cheats. Whatever knowledge it was that Vita was speaking of must be useful if it was mentioned. Though the boons she spoke of were rather vague, it could be anything from a better ability to cook cookies to the ability to turn herself into a dragon. That alone made her a bit wary of the offer before her. The god had already admitted to this being a selfish request.

“What are these boons?” She asked. She needed more information to make a choice here.

“Those I cannot tell you until you accept, as while I can give a gift the System will still take over and modify them,” Vita explained, and the girl huffed in annoyance, what was this System that seemed to tie the hands of a literal god?

“What is the System?” She asked instead, and she could feel Vita’s amusement at the question.

“It is what governs all worlds and universes. You could consider it the ultimate God, above all my brethren and I,” Vita responded, though the explanation was enough of a riddle that the girl felt she’d learned no more than she'd known a minute before.

“You’re not making this choice easy,” she grumbled, freezing when she realized she’d just sassed a god. Yet Vita seemed to be amused by it, and a feeling of laughter surrounded them.

“Yes, I suppose I am not. Yet this is all the information I can give you, and our time is running short. Accept this offer, or simply return to the void to be reincarnated at a later time in a different world, all memories of your life and this interaction gone, and leave your fate to utter chance.” Vita held out two hands. One held a glowing sphere of white light and she knew intrinsically that if she touched that sphere, she’d be accepting Vita’s first offer. The other hand held a black sphere, and the girl knew it would return her to the void, but strip her of her memories.

She stared at the options, then at Vita. Yet the godly being didn’t say anything else, and she could no longer detect any emotions from them. She looked back at the options and reached out a tentative hand, hovering in the middle of the two offers. She closed her eyes and reached out, hand grasping an orb that felt somehow more real than the chair she sat on.

“Thank you ᐯ̸͊̈̾̋. For your choice and aid, you will be bestowed boons. Please, change the fate of this world,” Vita spoke, and the girl’s eyes shot open, catching on the white orb in her hand. It began to melt, the liquid dripping into the black void under her hand. As the drops hit the surface, the color changed to a bright white, and she felt her soul being sucked into it. Her eyes looked up and right before her vision was overcome with white, she caught a glimpse of a wide grin.

Chapter 2: Always Read The Fine Print

Soft sunlight fell across the lightly tanned skin of a sleeping girl. The room she rested in was modest, the furniture and fabrics of high quality but used and threadbare. As the girl’s face scrunched up, irritated by the harsh sunlight, she reached up a hand to block it, slowly opening sapphire blue eyes.

“Wha-” the girl murmured, her voice strange to her ears, lower and husky, yet not unpleasant. It was foreign nonetheless, and the girl sat up suddenly, chest heaving as she looked around the room, eyes full of confusion and fear.

“Where am I?” she asked the air, gleaning no information from the empty room. Her hands patted down her face, then her long black hair that shimmered with a blue tint in the light. Pulling a lock up, the girl examined it in confusion before dropping it.

“They couldn’t have given me any more information? Where am I? Who’s body is this? I thought they’d have me be reborn as a baby, not a…. girl?” The girl murmured as her panic seemed to abate, memories of the meeting she had with Vita reemerging. She hesitantly climbed out of the large bed, wincing as her feet met the cold stone floor.

The girl wobbled, and almost fell as she stood, her balance unsteady. It had been at least a century, if Vita was to be believed, since she’d had a physical body and adjusting to a new one was odd. Though this one felt far more hale and healthy than her old one had been. Her bones didn’t feel like they were one tap from shattering, and the breaths she drew in were deep and full, not accompanied by wracking coughs.

Even her skin looked healthy, though her body felt a bit too skinny, even if it was robust compared to the living skeleton she’d been before. Slowly, with tentative steps that gained more confidence as the body's muscle memories re-awoke, the girl moved around the room. She explored her strange new environment, trying to figure out what world she’d been thrust into. A mirror in a corner of the room stopped her and the girl moved towards it, admiring the tarnished metal that still held some luster before she froze, seeing her reflection.

A young lady no more than fourteen stared back, sharp sapphire blue eyes framed with thick dark lashes that gave them a shadowed look. Sharp cheekbones and a pointed chin framed her tanned skin, a single beauty mark sat under her left eye. Long, thick blue-black hair cascaded in waves around her like a cloak. The girl in the mirror was beautiful, in a way she’d never been able to know in her previous life. But that wasn’t what caught her attention. No, it was the fact that she knew the girl staring back at her. Different, though she looked in real life compared to being rendered as a character in a game. Her features were simply too distinct to be anyone else.

Liliana Rosengarde.

A character she knew sometimes better than herself because she’d visited this world many times before. The world she was apparently in. Realm Of Hope. An RPG she had loved for years had played and sniffed out every last hidden secret the game held. Vita had been brought into a world that was either based on the game or that the game had been inspired by.

Yet she’d not come back as a baby, born anew, nor had she been brought back as one of the five heroes you could choose to play in the RPG. No, she’d been brought back as the villainess in the game, the final boss. And even then, she hadn’t been brought back when the villainess was at the peak of her power. Vita had brought her back four years before the villainess disappeared and eight years before she finally made her appearance in the game as the final boss.

“What the fuck?” The girl whispered, face twisting in anger and fear.

Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as she found her eyes trapped in the sapphire gaze that seemed to proclaim her deadly fate. She almost didn’t want to believe this was real, that maybe she was still in the peaceful void and having some kind of dream.

Yet the world around her was so unapologetically real, the ground hard and cold under her bare feet. A hand raised and delicate fingers pinched skin between them, sending a sharp lance of pain to her brain. A final nail in the coffin for her hope that this was fake. No, it was real. She was in her favorite game, taking on the mantle of this world's biggest known villain.

This wasn’t what she’d agreed upon with Vita! Was this what they meant by saying this life wouldn’t be easy? That was an understatement! Liliana’s life had been hell, ignored by her nobleman father, Frederick Rosengarde, because he’d been forced to marry her commoner mother after Frederick’s father found out about her mother’s pregnancy. Her mother had died when Liliana was five, and her father had thrust her rearing on a maid.

Then when Liliana was ten, her father had married another noble, a widow whose husband had died in a war, Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde. Liliana’s stepmother had made the girl's life hell, assisted by Liliana’s stepbrother, Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde, who was a playable character. He took every chance to belittle Liliana and played ‘pranks’ on her. Pranks that often ended with Liliana in tears. He’d been often accompanied by another playable character, Emyr Bealstal, who didn’t participate but treated Liliana as if she was a bug beneath his feet.

They’d all eventually gone to the Academy together, where Liliana was further ostracized by her noble peers for having commoner blood. Despite the fact that a playable character who was a prodigy commoner, Diana Baker, had also been admitted. Yet Diana had managed to catch the eyes of most of the male nobles with her frankly ridiculously cute appearance. Her sweet nature had ensnared the others. Liliana had been rude to her, yet while most didn’t look deeper, she’d always been able to see the villainess had been lashing out in envy. Seeing someone who should have suffered her same fate be accepted and adored had to hurt.

Diana had always been her least favorite character to play. She’d seemed almost too good to be true, in her opinion. A true Mary Sue, if you will. Despite the fact that she was probably the best character to start with for an easy play through, she’d only been able to stand the girl’s personality for a few hours before resetting the save.

Diana’s influence had managed to change Alistair towards the last year of their schooling, and the boy had apologized to Liliana. Yet at that point, the girl’s heart had been too hardened, and she left the Academy the night before the graduation ceremony. No one had even bothered to look for her and had forgotten she had even existed as they fought threats to the kingdom. Threats, it was later revealed, that were orchestrated by Liliana herself.

Liliana’s tale was a tragedy from start to end, a life of hardship and pain that ended in a bloody execution at a hero’s blade. One reason she’d always loved the game was because of how much she sympathized with the villain. Liliana seemed so real, like all she’d needed was just one person to reach out to her in kindness. A perfect example of heroes making their own villains, for Liliana hadn’t been born evil. She’d been forged into a villainess, made in the fires of strife and hate until she was a blade that tore the kingdom apart.

Yet she had never wanted to be Liliana! Her life was awful!

Can I fight a god? Get a refund? I don’t want this subscription! Vita, you tricked me!

“Come on, just think…. wait. My name! Why can’t I remember my name? Is this what Vita meant by forgetting memories? What else can’t I remember? I was sixteen, I died because of bone cancer, my mother was…. my father was…. I... I can’t... I can’t remember anyone’s name?” The girl gripped her face, falling to the floor as her legs gave out. The panic that hadn’t hit when she’d been with Vita slammed into her full force as the reality that Vita had stripped away an integral part of herself, her very name. Her nails dug into her skin, but the pain was muted, her mind so consumed by the panic and despair filling her.

Her mind ran in circles, trying to find the holes in her memory, desperate to remember her name. Yet the only thing that came up when she thought of her name was... Liliana Rosengarde. Her parents' names were instead Frederick Rosengarde and Violet Smith, later Violet Rosengarde. She couldn’t even remember what her parents from her past life looked like. She couldn’t remember who anyone looked like. Friends, teachers, nurses, doctors. Their faces were all blurred in her memory. Even her own face was gone. She couldn’t remember her hair color, eye color, or even her skin color from her previous life. The information was simply gone.

Vita dammit, give me my memories back! My name! Cursed gods and their monkey-paw deals! Liliana mentally raged against the god who had sentenced her to this life. She thought the god had said she had a substantial amount of karma! Shouldn’t that have earned her a better life? A better starting point? Was her previous life not awful enough as it was? Why was this the ‘reward’ she was offered after sixteen years of pain and hardship?

“Oh, Liliana dear! You’re finally up, but why are you out of bed? Oh, you poor thing, let’s get you back into bed, my flower,” a voice interrupted the existential crisis the girl was suffering through. She was too distraught to really process that the voice was speaking in a language she didn’t recognize, yet understood perfectly.

Her head whipped up, and red-rimmed blue eyes met warm grey ones. A woman in her mid-forties stood there, her maid. The woman who had become like a mother to Liliana when Violet had passed. She’d been friends with Liliana’s mother and had promised to look after Liliana when her mother passed. Astrid Tailor. Information rose unbidden in her mind as she cataloged the stranger. Despite the turmoil her mind was in, it somehow still managed to spit out facts from the game without issue.

A warmth rose in Liliana’s chest, and she felt her eyes water as more tears poured down her face. She didn’t understand why this woman made her feel loved and safe, but she did. Most likely the body’s reaction to her, since it was originally Liliana’s body, it seemed to remember the woman before her even if the girl who now inhabited it was a perfect stranger to her.

“Oh dear, it’s alright,” Astrid murmured, hurrying over to her and wrapping the girl in a hug. She smelled of freshly baked cookies and home. Liliana felt the sobs strengthen as the woman murmured softly into her hair and rubbed her back. Although she didn’t really know this woman, she found her sobs slowly dying off and her heart calming. Even her mind stopped running in frantic circles under the woman’s patient love.

“There we go,” Astrid said, giving her a smile that scrunched up the crow’s feet decorating her eyes, the smile lines deepening as she gently wiped the tears off Liliana’s face.

“Pretty as a painting you are, Lady Liliana,” Astrid complimented, and Liliana couldn’t resist looking over at the mirror, at her reflection. Despite crying her eyes out, her face remained unswollen, with just a bit of redness around her eyes and a pretty blush on her face. Even the remaining tears in her eyes made them sparkle like gemstones.

Well, at least there are some perks to being a villain, I suppose, Liliana mused wryly as she averted her gaze from the mirror. It was still odd to look at the mirror and to see a stranger staring back at her.

“Now let's get you to bed. You’ve been unconscious for three weeks. The doctors and priests were certain you wouldn’t make it. They thought it was some kind of soul sickness or curse!” Astrid gently helped her to her feet. Her legs were wobbly, and she leaned heavily on the woman as she guided her to the bed.

Ah. Then I arrived right after the first time, Liliana was poisoned by her stepmother. She’d always hated Liliana. She brought shame to their name for having commoner blood. Yet Liliana’s father wouldn't disown her, because of an oath he made to his own father. So instead Imogen began to try other methods. Her first was an expensive and rare poison that ate into a person's soul. The information was brought to the forefront of her mind, the memories of the story clear and crisp, as if she’d read about it a few minutes before. It caused an odd disconnect, the impartial way the information presented itself at odds with the fact that Liliana was now living through those very events.

Liliana was cured because a wandering priest stopped by and entreated the goddess of light and life to save her soul. The Goddess stepped in and cured her. I guess in this case; the Goddess put my soul in her body instead. Which is still fucking bullshit. What happened to Liliana’s soul, though? I hope the Goddess gave her a nicer life than this one. She deserves it. Wait. Is Vita the goddess of light? Fuck, that makes sense. The game never named the gods, makes sense I didn’t recognize her at first.

Liliana let Astrid put her in the bed and cover her in an abundance of blankets, her mind still mostly focusing on the memories she had of the game, which were as crystal clear as she’d been promised. At least Vita had been honest about that.

“Now I’m going to go get you some broth. It’s a shame that the priest vanished. I would’ve liked to give him something for bringing my flower back to me, but never mind that. You rest, Lady Liliana. I’ll bring you something to eat and then you can rest some more,” Astrid nodded, fussing over Liliana a moment more before she left the room.

“She’s nice,” Liliana mused as she picked at the blankets.

Her mind went back to the information she knew of the game, the game that was now her life, apparently. She tried to wrangle her thoughts into some semblance of order. The absurdity of it all was making everything take on an almost dream-like quality, and Liliana could feel herself flirting with panic. It was an effort of will to get her thoughts to quiet enough for her to review the pertinent information to her current situation; she didn’t care about the specific attack pattern of an end game boss monster. She needed to remember the information she had on Liliana’s early life before the Academy.

Well, her life sucked basically, Liliana thought as she reviewed the information she had.

It wasn’t a lot. Information on Liliana’s pre-academy life was sparse. She only knew that the three-week coma Liliana had been in was a result of soul-poison because if you played Alistair's story, he uncovered that when he was twenty and brought his fiancée to meet his mother. And even then, only if the fiancée was Diana or another commoner because Imogen would try to use the same poison on her for being a commoner. When his mother’s machinations were revealed, Alistair had another moment of regret when he realized the same poison was used on Liliana six years before.

Okay, so what we know about Liliana is that she has a father, Duke Frederick Rosengarde, a stepmother, Duchess Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde. Then there’s her stepbrother, Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde, and his best friend who is often with him, Emyr Bealstal, who is the son of a Marquess. She also has twin half-siblings, Blaine and Beatrice Rosengarde. Liliana groaned in her empty bedroom. It was pitifully little. She knew a good amount about Alistair and Emyr, as both were playable characters and they had their histories revealed in the game. But despite spending six years with Liliana before they went to the Academy, she was mentioned only in passing or when Alistair was regaling them with his ‘clever’ pranks.

Yeah, putting garden snakes in her shoes isn’t clever, Alistair, you dolt. But whatever, what does one expect from a child? Liliana ignored the fact that she herself was also a child. She had died at sixteen. Even if her body was two years younger, she still felt older than Alistair and Emyr in comparison.

She refocused on information, which she sorely needed and found it lacking. It itched her gamer spirit. She had almost religiously read guides for any game she played, to ensure she didn’t miss a single thing and had as close to a perfect run as she could. The best gear, the best skills, the best classes. She had known it all when she played, and yet despite the plethora of knowledge she had on Realm Of Hope, she found herself floundering for the first time.

She had no idea what the ideal way of progressing was for her. And now a bad run didn’t mean she lost a few hours or days of progress. It meant she lost her life. That thought reignited the panic in her heart. She really could die here, and so easily. Liliana was far from beloved. She’d have little to no aid in this world. And though she had greeted death like an old friend in her past life, this time, she wanted to live. She had spent so many years sitting at death's door, barely living. She didn’t want to let the first chance she had to have a life worth living slip through her fingers.

That meant she needed information, power. Power that surpassed the previous Liliana’s, because that hadn’t been enough in the end to save her. No, she needed power that would eclipse anyone who would think to stand against her and rip this precious second chance from her hands. No matter how cursed this second chance was. The seeds of determination took hold in her heart, weak though they were at the moment. She would survive this life. This twisted fate.

Don’t forget you agreed to Vita’s request. Liliana’s mind spoke up, and she groaned again. Right. She had agreed to ‘change this world's fate’. Whatever that meant. However, if a goddess was asking for aid, she’d need power to overcome whatever the goddess couldn’t.

So not only do I need to avoid being murdered by my stepmother, my stepbrother, and the other heroes, I also have to avoid becoming the villainess Liliana was supposed to be. And change this world's fate. Whatever the hell it’s supposed to be. Liliana buried her face in her hands, letting out a very unladylike whine. While her body protested such unbecoming behavior, habits ingrained into it from fourteen years of being raised as a noble lady, she felt it was an appropriate reaction to her circumstances.

Couldn’t Vita have at least told me what this big bad fate was? I’m walking around here blind! Liliana grumbled, and she directed an annoyed look towards the ceiling, hoping the Goddess would feel her ire from wherever she was at. She was probably watching Liliana have an existential panic whilst drinking some kind of god beverage and giggling at the mortal’s despair.

Her mind went over the plot of the story, trying to find out where this awful fate was supposed to start. She couldn’t find anything. After Liliana was killed, the storyline ended. There was still end-game content, high-level dungeons to run that Liliana blocked to play afterward. Even a few new countries were unlocked to visit with their own small-time quest lines and stronger dungeons and monsters. But there were no other big bad villains running around that could ruin an entire planet.

Maybe the sequel? Liliana mused. Realm Of Hope was supposed to have a sequel game where some new dark force was supposed to come in. It was even teased that more information about Liliana was going to be revealed, the story of whatever she’d done for the years she’d gone missing. Yet the sequel was trashed and the project was canceled despite a large amount of interest in it. If the sequel was supposed to hold the answer to the ‘darkness’ Liliana was supposed to fight, she really was flying blind. No one knew what the sequel's plot was because it was never finished.

Well, if it is the sequel that holds the big bad darkness that freaked out a goddess, I have time. I should focus on the now, rather than something that's not supposed to happen for another eight years. There's not even a guarantee I’ll make it that long. So let's set the goal of surviving the next eight years and getting strong enough that I can fight whatever the Big Bad Evil Guy is. And any heroes who might have a penchant for decapitation, Liliana decided, and she shoved the Goddess’s request to the recesses of her mind.

She had enough to stress about right now without adding that into the mix. And she was more than a little peeved about, said goddess, sticking her soul in the body of a villainess. Her request could gather dust until Liliana saw fit to address it, which would be whenever she stopped being pissed off at the goddess.

Her focus readjusted. She once again tried to find some more information on Liliana, anything that could help her with her situation. Maybe a secret amulet gifted by her mother that would give her some kind of protection, or an ancient weapon of some kind. Maybe a super special spell that only Liliana knew. Her mind kept turning up blanks as she scoured the memories. Other than some hidden rooms in the manor, she couldn’t think of anything specific to Liliana that would help her out, though she did mentally note the hidden areas she’d have to explore soon.

Ugh, I don’t even know what Liliana’s magic was, let alone what her stat... sheet...

“No, Liliana’s stat sheet was never released. She wasn’t a playable character. Could she have one?” Liliana mused, ignoring the fact that she was, in a way, speaking in third person. Her mind was caught on an important fact. Stat Sheets. Realm Of Hope was an RPG, where players could allocate stats gained by leveling however they pleased. It diversified the play styles on top of the possibility of being able to play five different characters with five completely different stories and choices.

Trembling in hope and fear, Liliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again.

Status.

Chapter 3: I met a Goddess and all I got for it were these Titles

Status

Liliana’s heart was in her throat as she thought the word. Yet minutes passed and nothing appeared. Her heart dropped, but her stubborn nature didn’t let the hope die off quite yet.

“Status,” she spoke and her voice rang out in the empty room, yet nothing popped up. Liliana’s eyes narrowed with annoyance until a sudden memory made her smack a hand against her forehead.

Status was a shortened term gamers used, but the actual page was called a status sheet. With more confidence, she thought the term.

Status Sheet.

Liliana beamed as a box appeared in her vision, filling it with numbers and words.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

100

H-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Mana

100

M-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Stamina

100

S-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Magic Power

100

Magic Control

100

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

10

Endurance

10

Strength

10

Dexterity

10

Wisdom

10

Intelligence

10

Speed

10

Charisma

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Of course, I couldn’t be lucky and already have levels. Liliana grumbled mentally. That would’ve been far too easy, start out at some high level and just blast her way through her problems. Though she was confused, Liliana was 14. How could she be level 1? Had her levels been reset with the soul-swap or had she simply never tried to level?

Her eyes went back over the sheet after she got over the level 1 status and found her eyes catching on two stats. Magic Control and Power. Those had not been in the games at all. She could glean what they did. It was a bit obvious, but as she focused on them, more information came up.

Magic Power: This determines the power your Spells and Skills have. Affected by Wisdom, other ways to increase this stat are currently unavailable.

Other ways to increase the stat? That gave her pause. In the game, the only way to increase a stat was by allocating your points, equipment, temporary potions, or some buffing spells and abilities. This implied that there were other ways to improve stats. She pushed that thought to the side for the moment as she focused on the other mystery stat.

Magic Control: This determines the control you have over your Spells and Skills, affected by your Intelligence, other ways to increase this stat are currently unavailable.

Both of the stats were what she expected them to be based on their names. Them being affected by Wisdom and Intelligence was unexpected, but the most important thing was that this implied there were other ways to increase your stats than the ways she knew. On a whim, Liliana focused on Vitality to see if it gave a hint of how to increase a stat without leveling or gearing up.

Vitality: Determines your Health and body’s ability to defend against physical attacks. Can be increased through repeated physical injury.

So to increase your health you have to lose health? Liliana mused. It sounded painful, and the information didn’t tell her how much she had to get hurt in order to increase the stat even by one point. Was it harder at higher levels? Though with a measly 100 Health, Liliana was loath to actively try to get hurt, she was liable to die from a level 2 Slime’s attack.

She could guess at the other stats’ ways to train, but she checked just to be sure. Endurance was increased by pushing yourself to your limit stamina-wise, Dexterity by performing tasks that required it, Strength by physical training, Speed by forcing yourself to be faster. The physical skills were expected, and she waved them away. She could figure out a more concrete way to handle those later. The non-physical stats interested her. Wisdom was increased by critical thinking, Intelligence by learning, and Charisma was increased by successful social interactions.

Liliana was a bit relieved that she could increase some of her stats pretty easily without putting herself in danger immediately. She wasn’t keen to die anytime soon and if she could raise her stats enough that she would be able to easily take care of level 1 threats, she’d prefer that. Liliana made a mental note to work out a regimen for herself soon. She’d have to figure out if there was paper or some writing implements somewhere. She needed to write down a lot of this information, if only to keep track of it. Keeping all of it in her mind just meant it was apt to get jumbled and confused.

You have met the Requirements for the Skill [Identify] Would you like to accept this Skill?

The pop-up dragged Liliana from her musings and she stared at the box for a moment. She focused on the Skill to see if she could get more information out of it. Pure curiosity drove her as she had an idea of what the Skill was, though it was not one that was in the game.

Identify: Lets you obtain information about the world around you by focusing on what you wish to know about.

Not really a lot of information about it, but that’ll be useful as hell with figuring this place out, Liliana mused, and mentally she accepted the skill.

A small warmth filled her with the acquisition of the skill. Her current status sheet didn’t change, but she sensed there were more sheets to check out. It was normal for the game as the player’s stats, equipment, Skills, Titles, and such were all on separate pages. She mentally pulled up the next sheet.

Titles

Beloved By the Goddess of Light and Life

Being beloved by the Goddess of Light has granted you five boons.

Reincarnated From Another World

You have been granted the ability to remember memories from your past life, certain memories will be forever preserved. These memories cannot be lost, nor can they be forcibly revealed.

Boons

Increased Growth: You have been bestowed a Boon that gives you 50% additional experience for any experience-generating actions.

Greater Advancement: You have been bestowed a Boon that allows you an additional two stat points per level.

Universal Language: You can understand any spoken or written language, and use it with no difficulties.

Advanced Affinity: You have been bestowed affinities for Light, Life, and Soul magic granted by the goddess. You do not need to have these affinities unlocked and you have been granted a boost to these magics. You also have increased resistances to these types of magics.

Memories of The Past: You can access the previous memories of the body you now inhabit.

“That’s broken as fuck,” Liliana muttered, staring at the page before her in shock.

In her mind, Vita gained a bit of forgiveness for the situation. She hadn’t expected the next page to be Titles, but she was glad it was. She had nearly forgotten Vita’s promise of boons. Five boons were insane, on top of two titles. Titles were rare at early levels, and usually gave some kind of buff when you got them. They typically had odd or obscure requirements. It had taken months for those more dedicated to the game to fully figure out every last title and requirement and post it online for the game. She had never seen a god-bestowed Title though, not even the most hardcore gamers had ever spoken about a Title like that.

There were Titles that gave a small boost to experience, nothing higher than 5% though. 50% was insane. She’d be able to level at a speed she didn’t think anyone in this world would be able to match. And additional stat points per level? That was never a recurring thing. There were rare, super rare, potions that could give you one or two additional stat points and that was it. She’d get two additional points every level. She would be a monster when she reached higher Ranks and levels. Those were the two most impactful boons, though the rest were useful, no doubt.

Liliana was a bit relieved she wouldn’t need to learn a whole new written language. It would speed up her aim to increase her Intelligence by sneaking into the manor’s library whenever she could. It also explained why she had no trouble understanding Astrid, who she fully realized now had not been speaking in English. Her mind had been a bit occupied originally, but now she could recognize that both she and the woman had been speaking in a language she did not know. Or well, hadn’t known before today.

The advanced affinity was nice; usually, you had to wait to level twenty before you could have an affinity unlocked at a temple. You also usually started at 1% for those and had to work up with them to get stronger spells. Though she wondered if affinity had more impacts in the world versus the game, would your spells be stronger with a higher affinity?

One of the listed magics was a mystery to her, Soul. It wasn’t one of the ones you could pick in the game. Those were Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, and Life. There were, of course, sub-types of the main elements, such as Earth giving Metal magic at high enough affinity. Or Wind and Water if raised to 50% together, giving Storm spells. There were a lot of ways to pair the affinities and a lot of branches off that had helped diversify the game. Yet Soul had never been an affinity she’d seen, let alone a magic, and Liliana wondered if there were other magic types in this world she didn’t know.

Focusing her attention on the magic type, she waited for the box to pop up and smiled when it did. It was incredibly useful to have this System, or whatever it was, explaining everything to her.

Soul: A type of magic dealing with the soul. Needs 50% affinity to learn Soul Boosting and Mending magics. Needs 70% affinity to learn Soul Rending and Destruction Magic. Needs 90% affinity to learn Soul Bonding magic.

Wait. Bonding? That wasn’t a type of magic in the game. What does it entail? Liliana stared at the strange words and focused on them, scowling when no new boxes popped up to give her knowledge. Apparently, she either needed to increase her [Identify] or she’d need to find out the old-fashioned way, with research.

Her mind scoured the information she had, trying to find any hint of Soul Bonding. The closest she could assume had been in the game had been the original Liliana's magic. Her actual magic was never told to the players, but she had several tamed monsters. Monsters the heroes had to fight over time as they plagued the country. Eventually, when fighting Liliana herself, the villainess had transformed into the monsters they’d fought previously. Her final form was some kind of chimera form where she was a mix of all of her monsters. The unholy amalgamation of magics and abilities had made it one of the most difficult fights she’d ever fought in a game. In fact, the battle was so difficult that it took a month for someone to beat Liliana after the game had been released.

Liliana felt a hunger inside of her, an almost overpowering need for that kind of power at her fingertips. While it hadn’t been enough to save Liliana in the end in the game, she knew the death flags to avoid, for the most part. Perhaps with her previous knowledge, she could become even stronger than the Liliana she remembered, so strong no one could take her new life from her.

Another part of her, the side that loved mythical creatures and had sunk hundreds of hours into various taming games, very much wanted some kind of companion. She felt lonely, in a strange world full of people who would never really understand her. A soul dragged from death and shoved into another body, complete with memories of her past life.

She might be sheltered from a lack of experience in person, but she’d read plenty of stories. Learned from the bloodstained history of the human race, people that were different were often eliminated. She held no illusions that if she told anyone in this manor, full of people who didn’t even like Liliana, who she was, she'd be thrown out at best. Probably thrown in a dungeon or burned at a stake as a heretic or a changeling at worst.

So the part of her that could already feel the familiar cold shiver of loneliness biting at her grabbed onto the possibility of perhaps being a bit less alone in this life.

She looked over the other magic affinities, pushing down the excitement that thrummed through her veins at the thought of having her very own little dragon or unicorn. Though the fact she was looking at her own affinity for magic filled her with elation. She had no idea how to use it, how she’d get spells to use, but the fact that the possibility of it was there filled her with excitement. The rush of happiness pushed down the more dour emotions lurking at the edges of her thoughts.

Light and Life magics were good, strong magics. Light could be used defensively and offensively and even for buffs. Though Light was best for defense and fell off in comparison to other magic as far as pure damage in later levels. Life was a healing class through and through, though it could boost other types of magic if combined. Liliana was going into this with the assumption she would only have herself to depend on. She knew how Liliana Rosengarde was seen by others. She couldn’t depend on getting the full party of five that you got by the time you finished the Academy quest line.

So being a tank or a healer was out of the question. Besides, she didn’t relish the idea of being a tank. Getting beat on by everything sounded distinctly not fun. If she was in a world with magic, she would be using it to avoid getting hurt where she could. She’d hurt and suffered enough in her past life. She’d like to not have to endure the same experience this time.

She had never enjoyed playing a tank or a healer in games. Tanks were too boring for her, and healing was far too stressful. Being a far ranged caster was out as well, it was almost as boring as being a tank! If she could, she’d like to be a front-line fighter of some type. This was a world of magic, after all. Anything was possible.

Liliana brought her attention to the last boon and the one that made her more than a little squeamish. She had access to the old Liliana’s memories. It felt...like an intrusion of privacy, seeing into a dead girl's memories. More so than simply taking her body like some kind of inter-dimensional body snatcher. She knew it would be integral to her survival in this familiar yet alien world. The last thing she needed was to be burned as some sort of changeling or something. Which she was technically, but she was also doing it because of a goddess's request for aid. Either way, while she felt awful, both for stealing the girl's body, life, and now memories, she didn’t feel so guilty she was okay with laying down and dying.

She consoled herself with the thought that Vita had likely given the girl a new life, one where she got loving parents and a normal life. And no memories of her past life. She hoped she did, at least. She wished she could directly ask the deity, but based on what Vita had told her, they couldn’t intervene too much into a world, and answering her questions likely fell under that.

Liliana pushed the guilty thoughts aside, placing them in the same box her panic and growing hysteria were currently sitting in. She would deal with those emotions later. Or never. Never would be good.

She had a lot of practice bottling and hiding her emotions. Years of cold and clinical doctors giving her bad news had shaped that skill as a matter of survival. If she’d allowed herself to break, she had known her life would’ve been over because she’d have never been able to pick the pieces back up. It would’ve destroyed her will to live, the only thing that had kept her alive years longer than the doctors had thought she’d last. And she couldn’t put the extra burden of her panicking and freaking out on her parents. They’d been so stressed and worn down by both her illness and the hospital bills she’d tried to avoid heaping any other issues on them. Even when they suggested therapy, she had declined, knowing the added bills would’ve meant they’d be even more stressed over money.

She pulled up the next sheet waiting, cutting her sad memories of a life long past short.

Affinity

Soul

92%

Light

90%

Life

85%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 1

General Skills

No Skills Available

Spells

No Spells Available

This sheet was much smaller than the others, though she knew over time it would grow to be rather large. Skills and spells hadn’t been capped in the game. Well, not hard-capped. Different skills and spells required different things, some required specific stats, some required specific affinities. Others required both, or specific levels or Ranks. Others could only be learned if you completed specific quest lines or found spell or skill scrolls. Some were even only dropped by monsters or bosses.

The pitiful lack of skills or spells hurt, though it added to her confusion. How was it possible that Liliana hadn’t gotten a single Skill after 14 years? She’d gotten [Identify] after a few minutes. It added credence to her theory that all of Liliana’s levels had been reset by the soul swap. Which was irritating, though, considering the boons she’d received, she couldn’t complain too much. Even if she’d have appreciated something for a skill. She was a bit curious at the lack of a [Poison Resistance] skill of some sort, but she quickly figured it out. The poison used had been a soul poison. Meaning it had only affected the original soul in the body, so her current soul had done nothing to earn the skill, as it hadn’t been poisoned. Yet.

She was really starting from the bottom here, except with her affinities. Which were high. Ridiculously so. She had high enough affinities to learn advanced magic for all three of the affinities she had. Though she could only learn any skills or spells that her stats, level, and Rank would allow.

The important thing, to her at least, was she had a high enough affinity to learn Bond magic. Now it was just a question of how to do that. Liliana found her mind fixating on that, a goal she could see herself working towards. The goal Vita had given her had been pushed to the back of her mind. Even brushing against it caused her panic to rise. How was she supposed to save the fate of an entire world? She couldn’t even form an idea of how to do that. No, it was easier to focus on something she could easily figure out.

Liliana focused on a checklist in her mind, concrete goals for her to work towards. First, she needed to get paper or a journal. She needed to write out the information she had jumbled in her mind. Then she would find out if the manor was still situated the way she remembered in her memories, if it was she’d get into the library. She’d find the books she needed to on Soul magic and Bonding, and raising skills.

For the first time in her memory, Liliana had a chance to be strong, to not be weak and frail. She was going to grab that chance with both her hands and never let go. She’d need every bit of strength she could scrounge up for the hell path she was being set on by taking up the life of Liliana Rosengarde. It wouldn’t be a tranquil life, not by a long shot, and the sooner she could defend herself from the inevitable fights she’d come up against, the better.

After she figured out what she needed to get Bonding skills, whatever they might be, and what she’d need to do for raising her stats, she’d focus on that. She knew the rest of Liliana’s family didn’t much care about her, and she could get away with sneaking out to train. Eventually, she would have to venture to areas she knew held low-level creatures to fight and get experience. Though she was loath to do that until she had a weapon and better stats.

Liliana mentally added getting a weapon to her to-do list. She wasn’t sure how she would, but even something as simple as a knife from the kitchen should work against low-level monsters. She knew there were crafting skills that existed that would let her make weapons, and she’d see if she could get information on them.

Were they actual skills you could learn or gain, or did one have to actually make items to gain the skill? Was it like [Identify] where she had identified several things before the skill was offered? If so, how did skills like that impact her making something? Did it give her the knowledge to make something or guide her hands, or did things get created with magic as they did in the game?

Liliana rubbed her head. She could feel a headache starting as the multitude of questions ran through her head. She was exhausted, and she’d only been awake for an hour or two. The emotional toll had drained this recovering body of energy and her mind running a marathon hadn’t helped at all.

Liliana jolted when the door to her room opened. She half expected to see Astrid entering, but instead, it was a different woman entirely. She was clothed in an enormous dress that barely fit through the door. The deep red of the dress paired well with her deep ochre skin, and somehow didn’t detract from the pure gold that shone in her eyes. Her hair was braided and gathered in an elaborate updo. Despite seeing her own reflection recently, Liliana was dumbstruck by the pure beauty and elegance the woman exuded. She looked like a piece of art come to life.

It was partially her tired mind, still reeling from being dropped into a new world and into the body of a future villainess, and partially the shock over seeing someone so beautiful in her room that she didn’t immediately register who it was. However, her body, or rather the body she had stolen, seemed to know the noble lady before her. It felt like ice had been injected into her veins as a sense of doom fell over her. Her heart sped up so fast she feared it would gallop out of her chest. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Terror. That was the feeling that suffused her entire being.

Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde. The Duchess, Liliana’s stepmother. The woman who just tried to kill her. Liliana’s mind supplied, finally catching up and providing her with vital information, and explaining her body’s visceral reaction to the woman moving towards her like a hunting cat approaching weakened prey. Her golden eyes gleamed with malice, even if her lips were twisted into a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Liliana, my dearest daughter. I heard that you had awoken, and I rushed over quick as I could to see if it was true. I cannot tell you how my heart rejoices over your unlikely recovery,” Imogen told her as she closed in on the girl trembling under her blankets, hands grasped tightly in the fabric as if it could shield her from the evil witch who had invaded her room.

A delicate hand dripping in golden jewelry reached out and caressed her cheek. Liliana flinched from the contact, but the hand grasped her face tightly before she could get away from the unwanted contact. Manicured nails dug into her skin hard enough, Liliana feared blood would be drawn. Her breathing sped up more, gasping breaths flying in and out of her lungs at a breakneck pace.

“Now, now. I know it must have been a terrifying experience for you, to come down with such a terrible sickness,” the Duchess put special emphasis on the word sickness, her fingers tightening ever more on Liliana’s skin and summoning a whimper that the woman ignored.

“Look at you, so pale and sickly looking. Though you did finally manage to drop some of that baby fat you’ve been carrying,” Imogen hummed as she turned Liliana’s head this way and that. Liliana shook like a frightened rabbit, tongue heavy and flat in her mouth. She was too scared to talk. This woman had just tried to kill her. What could she say? What if she’d come to finish the job? What if she figured out she wasn’t the real Liliana?

“I can see you’ve got a spark of… health in your eyes now. That’s good, it seems you’ll make a full recovery,” Imogen finally released her face and Liliana jerked back as the woman took a step away from the bed.

“You should take some time, rest, and regain your strength. We all know how pitiful commoners’ vitality is. Wouldn't want you to get sick again so soon,” Imogen continued as she walked off, shooting Liliana a look that was nothing but a mockery of motherly concern.

“Yes, I’ll tell your father you need more time to rest. We’ll deny any invitations that come for you, of course. Don’t argue this,” Imogen held up a hand as if to forestall any protests from Liliana, though she hadn’t uttered a word since the woman barged into her room.

“Mother knows best. Everything I do, my dear Liliana, is for the benefit of my children,” Imogen informed her as she returned to the door and shot one last cruel smile her way.

“Do try to not scare us all like this again Liliana, it was such an inconvenience for us all,” Imogen told her, and then the woman was gone, nothing but the overly sweet scent of her perfume and the stinging of Liliana’s skin to prove the woman had been there at all.

Liliana nearly jumped out of her bed when her door was opened again, her heart pounding in fear. The insane idea that someone had figured out she wasn’t the real Liliana and was coming to drag her out to a stake to get burned flashed in her mind. Or that Imogen had returned, this time to really finish her failed assassination attempt. Until her eyes locked on Astrid's form, carrying a tray with bowls and cups on it, and she relaxed for a moment.

Wait, if anyone is going to figure out I’m not Liliana, it’s going to be the woman who is basically her mother, she thought and icy fear crashed over her.

“Okay, Lady Liliana, I’ve got you some broth, a bit of bread, and some water, nothing heavy, since you’ve not eaten in weeks. It’s only through the efforts of the doctor that you didn’t waste away,” Astrid said as she made her way to Liliana in the bed. She set the tray on the nightstand and helped Liliana sit up more, fluffing pillows behind her to help keep her supported. Satisfied, the woman placed the tray on her lap and ran a hand through Liliana’s hair.

“Thank you, Auntie Asi,” Liliana said, pausing at the nickname that fell from her lips.

As she tried to understand where that nickname had come from, a faded memory came into her mind of her in the woman’s lap, trying to say her name. Her young tongue got stuck on the T and D, so she had settled on ‘Asi’ and it had stuck. The memory was odd. It didn’t feel like her own, but like she was watching a video. Yet she recognized it as being her body there, and she could remember the feelings young Liliana had felt then, warm and safe. Happy and loved. It was odd and if her body hadn’t informed her it was ravenously hungry, it would’ve disturbed her to a higher degree. Though her growing headache was warring with the hunger she felt for dominance, the hunger ultimately won out.

“Anything for you, my lady. You gave me quite a scare,” Astrid said, sitting on the bed as Liliana picked up a spoon. Her mind told her it was specifically a soup spoon, though she’d never known there were different types before that moment. At least this information didn’t come with an odd, not quite her own, memory.

Liliana felt a pang of familiar guilt in her chest at the words. She’d heard similar words from her parents more times than she could count. She had known, technically; it wasn’t her fault that she had been sick. Yet it was her body, and her that had been scaring her parents all the time with her failing health. Her failing body that had drained their bank accounts and forced her parents to take out loans and work constant overtime to barely keep up with her mountain of medical bills. Her fingers tightened around the metal of the spoon. She’d get strong enough that she wouldn’t worry someone else who cared about her like that again.

Liliana dipped the spoon into her soup and despite her urge to pick up the bowl and drain it dry, her hand moved with an elegance and poise she’d never had as she delicately sipped the soup. The flavor exploded on her tongue and she closed her eyes with a happy hum. It had been too long since she’d had food, and at that moment, this simple broth tasted like the finest dish she’d ever had.

She opened her eyes again and shot Astrid a grateful smile before she resumed tucking into her meal. In a few minutes, she’d cleared the broth and her stomach was feeling rather close to full. It was an odd experience to eat without having accompanying nausea, without feeling the food immediately crawling back up her throat. She couldn’t remember when the last time was that she’d been honestly full.

Liliana wiped the rest of the broth up with the bread and took two small bites out of it before she was entirely filled. She drained the cup of water and leaned back into her pillows, sated. Her body felt heavy and her eyelids were weights trying to drag her into slumber.

“You should get some more sleep. Your body is still recovering,” Astrid said as she stood and took the tray from her lap. Liliana held out a hand and grabbed the woman’s apron.

“Could you get me a journal and some writing implements, Auntie?” Liliana asked, her voice a bit slurred from exhaustion. Every second was a fight to stay awake at this point.

“Of course, my lady, it should be here when you awake. Now let's get you settled,” Astrid smiled at her, and the expression was so full of love that Liliana felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. It wasn’t her mother’s love, no it wasn’t even love really directed at her, but she let it wrap her in a warm feeling of comfort nonetheless. She let the woman gently maneuver her into a sleeping position and, before her door had even shut, Liliana was asleep.

Chapter 4: A Day In The Life Of A Noble Lady

Liliana woke up the next morning to sunlight burning the lids of her eyes once more. She grumbled and turned over, trying to hide herself from the cursed daylight. It felt early, and the doctors would be in later to run their tests. She wanted to get more sleep before then.

“Lady Liliana, it's time to get up,” a voice called out. At first, both unfamiliar and achingly loved all at once.

Come on, I just found out my soul was put into the body of a villainess destined to live a lonely, loveless life until she dies. Couldn’t you let me sleep for another hour or so?

The memories from the past...day? Hit her all at once and a flood of emotions hit her without mercy. Panic was strongest, filling her veins with it, speeding her heart up and constricting her lungs. She was in a strange world, in someone else's body. She couldn’t even remember her name. She was expected to save this world from something, a task granted to her by some Goddess who obviously didn’t care much for a mortal’s mental wellbeing. The little ‘family time’ she’d had with the Duchess the day before only heaped more panic on top of it all. It was too much. The shock from yesterday had held the panic at bay but now it had returned with a vengeance, unlocked from its constraints it rampaged through her.

“Liliana, can you follow my breathing?” A voice pierced through the panic clogging her throat like poisoned honey, filling her lungs until she couldn’t get air in. Her mind latched onto the voice, her body reacting to it instinctively. Her body knew this voice, trusted and loved it more than anything in this world. It gave her an anchor that she desperately needed in the storm of her own mind.

A hand tapped on her chest, a slow rhythm that she focused on. Slowly, Liliana could feel her lungs expanding more, deep breaths full of precious air filling her. As her breathing came under control, Liliana became aware of her surroundings. She was in the bed she’d woken up in yesterday, with its plush comforters made of a soft fabric that was obviously expensive yet seemed worn. She could see now as she looked at them places they’d been carefully patched, almost invisible yet her eyes locked onto the stitching.

“There you go, my flower,” a voice hummed, low and comforting.

A hand came up, rough and calloused from years of hard work yet so warm, and wiped at her face. She realized belatedly that her face was covered in tears and snot that Astrid cleaned without a complaint. Her body still shook occasionally with left over sobs and her hands were shaking weakly where they’d clenched into the woman's apron. She’d grabbed onto her as if she was the only thing keeping her head above water, and maybe she was.

“You haven’t had a fit of hysterics like that in a while, my lady, though under the circumstances it’s understandable,” Astrid’s warm voice soothed her more and Liliana nodded along.

She winced a bit at the term hysterics. It was an ancient and misogynistic way of referring to when a woman had a panic attack. She had panic attacks before, in the hospital. When it was dark and she was alone and she couldn’t always push the swirling emotions away entirely. Often a nurse would be drawn to her room by her heart monitor picking up, and they’d sit with her and help her calm down. She knew how to calm herself down, yet it had been so long and she hadn't dealt with emotions like that in equally as long that they’d taken control of her completely, her mind trapped in the vortex.

This is all too much. Couldn’t I have had a demo run or something instead? Or you know, been put into the body of some NPC or one of the heroes? Vita, I fucking hate you. No amount of broken OP buffs is going to make up for this, dammit. Liliana could feel the anger, still fresh and potent, directed at the Goddess that had stuck her in this twisted fate. It scratched uncomfortably through her. She felt shaky, weak, and rubbed raw by the unleashed emotions scraping every part of her with sharp claws. So even if a guilty part of her knew this wasn’t her comfort to seek, she curled deeper into Astrid's embrace, letting the warm love she felt for the woman soothe the ache inside her heart and soul. It might not be her love, but it helped nonetheless.

“There, there,” Astrid murmured, stroking her hair as she let Liliana come down from the panic. A few minutes later, when Liliana had stopped shaking, the woman carefully disentangled from her. Liliana shivered and pulled blankets around her, feeling so cold without the comforting presence of the other woman. Yet within moments she was back and sat behind Liliana, dragging a brush gently through the thick waves of her hair.

Liliana almost cried again. She hadn’t appreciated it the day before but she hadn’t had hair for so long. It had been one of the things she missed most on Earth. She had always loved her hair and having cancer strip it from her had hurt. Feeling a brush drag through the thick and long waves of her hair felt like a miracle, a gift from the gods. Which, in a way, it was.

Liliana melted under Astrid’s tender ministrations. The woman’s fingers were deft, and any tangles were handled without a single pinch of pain. When she was done, Liliana pulled the hair forward eagerly, her fingers slipping through the silk-like strands. She marveled at the luster of the locks in the sunlight, her hair was black, but in the light, she could see the vibrant blue tones that shimmered through the strands.

“Let's get you some breakfast and then we’ll get you bathed and dressed. After that, we can take a small walk to the garden and get you some fresh air,” Astrid decided.

When Liliana had been fed, washed to an inch of her life, and then coated in oils and lotions until she felt like a very seasoned thanksgiving turkey, she stood before Astrid in this world version of undergarments. Being manhandled in the bath had been familiar and foreign all at once. The nurses at the hospital had often bathed her once she got too weak to handle the task on her own. Yet they’d been rough and clinical in their ministrations, and they certainly had never taken the time to coat her in soft lotions and oils afterwards. Still, her time in the hospital had well prepared her for such invasive experiences. She’d rather go through being bathed a million times than have another catheter inserted.

Liliana was waiting in the middle of her room in the rather large, and strange, undergarments she’d been dressed in as Astrid rummaged through what she presumed to be her closet. The part of her that had always loved playing dress-up in princess costumes and her mother’s dressers was urging her to inch forward and examine the plethora of garments she saw and Liliana couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward to get a better look as Astrid compared different gowns. Some were far more extravagant than anything she had owned before. She had always been more partial to pants and t-shirts or simple dresses in her last life. Other dresses looked more simple, though all looked to have more fabric than anything she’d ever owned before.

Astrid emerged from the closet carrying one of the more ‘simple’ dresses, a light periwinkle blue. Liliana’s mind informed her it was a tea dress, something typically worn only around one's home as they didn’t need corsets, though recent fashion trends had them appearing in other settings as well, though it was very new. Liliana breathed a small sigh of relief. She had been afraid she’d be put into a corset or something. Liliana wasn't too sure what the clothes were like here. She knew what the two playable female characters wore, but those were given or bought as outfits. She had no idea what was under them! Also, once they got to the Academy, the clothing changed a bit on account of the uniforms.

Astrid quickly dressed her in the dress, Liliana needing to do nothing more than raise her arms a few times, thankfully. As simple as the dress might appear, it was certainly more complicated than anything from her previous life. If Liliana had to dress on her own, she’d undoubtedly get herself tangled beyond redemption.

Liliana looked down at the dress. It was ruffled and made her feel for a moment like some kind of fairy princess. Her hands trailed over the fabric, marveling at the lace that decorated it. She knew this was a simple dress, yet it was still far more ornate than any clothes she’d owned before. She had an almost overpowering urge to twirl around in the dress, though she contained it, if barely.

Dressed, she was directed to a seat in front of a vanity covered in pots and bottles that she assumed held cosmetics and perfumes. Liliana wanted to reach out and play with them, memories of how she’d sit in her mothers lap, her real mother not Liliana’s, and watch her do her makeup rising. Her mother would often let her play with makeup she no longer used and she could remember painting her face with a multitude of colors that only a parent would ever call artwork. She resisted the urge to reach out as she sat and met the sapphire blue eyes in the mirror.

It was still so odd to look into the mirror and see a stranger. Every feature was familiar and alien. She’d seen Liliana in the game many times, yet it was different in person. Different being her. No game could ever really catch the way her eyes glittered in the sunlight, just like the gemstones they so resembled. Or the way they darkened like storm clouds obscuring a blue sky as her mood took a dour turn. The game couldn’t properly show how her skin glowed lightly, despite her recent illness, as if Liliana had an inner fire that wouldn’t be contained. They had never fully shown how the blue in her hair was so vivid as it danced across the strands in the sunlight that bathed her.

Astrid grabbed combs and ribbons and set to work, turning the thick waterfall of hair into a ladylike style as Liliana was mesmerized by her own reflection. A slender hand tipped with delicate and long fingers, pianist fingers her mother would say, rose to press against the skin of her cheek lightly. They lightly grazed the prominent cheekbones that were just shy of being too sharp. They trailed down to her lips, a dark pink despite the fact that no cosmetics had been used yet.

Her skin was clear as well, something she noted with a tinge of jealousy. At fourteen in her past life, she’d had to deal with acne born not just of her age but the treatments she’d undergone. Liliana seemed to have been spared such unpleasantness, along with a face that held a cold kind of beauty, one that could so easily become a cruel beauty.

She dropped her hand from her face as Astrid finished her work. A more elaborate braid than Liliana ever had hoped to recreate now hung behind her, the hair on top piled a bit. Astrid pulled out a hat that Liliana hadn’t seen her grab. It was wide and matched her dress in color with feathers on top of it. This all seemed like quite a lot to just go walk in a garden, yet she knew that it was necessary. It would be improper for her to go out in anything less than this. She was just lucky that tea dresses were appropriate wear and she would not yet be submitted to being laced in a corset.

Still, it was odd to her modern sensibilities. Where, before the cancer, she’d been able to throw on a shirt, some pants and a pair of flip-flops to play out in the yard. Here it was a multi-hour affair just to get ready to leave her room. Already Liliana felt a bit peckish for lunch as Astrid slid on her small heels, which felt horribly impractical, but the intrusive thoughts informed her was typical of noble lady footwear. Apparently, even the men wore heels!

They were finally ready as Astrid grabbed a parasol and Liliana froze for a moment when she realized as a lady she would need to lead the way to the gardens. It would be the height of impropriety for Astrid to lead her anywhere as a servant and a lower class than her.

She hesitantly stepped towards the door and opened it, revealing a sitting room. It was like her bedroom, full of obviously expensive furniture that had been worn down and used. Probably meant to be thrown away before they were ‘gifted’ to her.

After taking in the new environment, Liliana slowly made her way to the next door. Opening it, she looked down the halls in confusion until she felt a tug towards the right. She assumed the body remembered the path to the gardens, and she sighed in relief. Her entire cover would have been blown if she needed to ask for directions. She knew some of the manor from the game, but not all of it had been explorable, and Liliana’s rooms fell under that.

As her feet moved on their own, she looked over the walls, seeing the artistic wallpaper that was just shy of being gaudy. Paintings hung on the walls, showing off the wealth of their family. Landscapes, even a few portraits as they traversed to a larger hall. Liliana saw staff through the halls, all of them avoiding her eyes and curtsying or bowing.

Some part of her knew some servants didn’t curtsy or bow the depth necessary for someone of her rank. That same alien part of her held her tongue from calling out a greeting and her hand from raising a wave. Noble ladies didn’t call out in greeting to servants, they didn’t wave their hands. It was odd; in her previous life, it was normal to greet others. Yet in this life, such a thing would be a huge misstep that would bring up uncomfortable questions.

Liliana felt a shiver skitter down her spine, fear leaking into her veins. She might be in a fortified house, might be a nobleman's daughter, but she was not safe here. She hadn’t realized it when in her room, but now it was obvious. Nobles had a complicated web of rules they had to follow. A web the original Liliana would have known well, yet she herself did not. She thanked the goddess in her mind for letting her keep the memories of Liliana. Otherwise, she’d have been found out in minutes.

I’ve only seen a few servants and yet I’m already sweating with nerves. I hope I don’t run into any of Liliana’s family today. I don’t think I could handle that after yesterday. She thought as she turned yet another corner into another hallway. They were becoming more familiar to her though as she moved, paintings and decorations she could remember from the game. They were close to the garden, though she was already half tempted to turn around and go back to her room. Back to the relative safety she could find there, far from the eyes of others. The walk through the frankly ridiculously large house and the fear that still swam in her veins had tired her.

When she finally reached the doors to the garden, Liliana let out a sigh, a small feeling of pride in her chest. It was such a simple thing to others. She’d walked through a house. Wow! But she’d managed to keep any of the servants who’d seen her from realizing she wasn’t the same Liliana Rosengarde who had walked these halls a month ago.

You have met the Requirements for the General Skill [Deception] Would you like to accept this skill?

Ah, the System blesses me, Liliana thought wryly as she waited at the doors. Astrid would need to open them for her. The boxes didn’t take up her entire field of vision. In fact, she found it was less that she saw them, as she simply knew they were there and what they said. It was odd and her mind hurt if she tried to understand the how and the mechanics of it, so she left it be.

As Astrid opened the door for her and Liliana stepped out, she focused on the skill to get more information.

Deception: You are more adept at telling lies with both your words and actions, aiding you in making others believe what you wish for them to believe. Effect improved by higher Charisma.

Liliana accepted the skill quickly. Something like that would be imperative to her survival here. Unlike [Identify], this skill seemed to make subtle changes to her that she focused on as she moved, her body on auto-pilot as she walked through the gardens. It wasn’t drastic, more her body just seemed to know how to better move to fulfill her purpose of making anyone who saw her believe she was a noble lady.

She found her walk smoothing a little, the frown she hadn’t noticed on her face vanishing under the skill's effects. She was sure the body she was in would’ve been able to tell her to do these things as well. Liliana was a noble, but she still wasn’t entirely sure how to consistently make her new body forthcoming with information. For now, [Deception] helped fill her gaps.

Liliana was satisfied and excited with the minuscule changes of the skill. This was the first skill she’d gotten that had made a noticeable change to her! It was incredible and made her think of what other skills she could get that might help her. Her first thought was combat abilities. Most of her experience with the game had been combat. She wondered how a skill like [Dagger Mastery] or some such skill would affect her ability to use it.

Would it be subtle, slowly improving her abilities over time? How would she improve it? What kind of effects did it have at higher levels? She knew in the game high levels of weapon mastery skills made the user deal higher damage, but in this world was it because it increased your knowledge or did the skill itself also improve damage on its own?

Her mind was running wild with questions again. She had so many and so little information. She felt a mourning for the Internet. The easy access to unlimited information would’ve been amazing right now. For now, she had to find the answers herself by examining the world she was in and perhaps finding some books that might shed more light on matters.

Maybe there's a ‘Manual for Souls Dragged From Another World’ in the library? Or a ‘Skills and the System for Dummies’? Liliana thought with an internal chuckle. She doubted it would be that easy.

Looking around the garden, Liliana spied a few gardeners working hard on the garden, keeping it beautiful through magic and hard labor. Even as she watched, one gardener touched a tree and flowers blossomed along its limbs. Her eyes trailed further and fear spiked through her. Far across the garden was Imogen, the Duchess, and walking with her was Alistair. They hadn’t spotted her yet and an overwhelming urge to flee like a rabbit before a fox filled her.

Liliana turned and darted away, cursing her new body as it forced her to keep her steps small and not to take the great strides her fear demanded. She heard Astrid call out behind her, but Liliana was certain the woman would have no trouble keeping up with her. Liliana kept throwing glances over her shoulder to check that the Duchess and her stepbrother hadn’t spotted her when her view was suddenly blocked by greenery. Liliana didn’t let this stop her and she let her body guide her steps further until she came to a stop, panting from the unexpected exertion.

Looking around, Liliana’s eyes widened as she realized she was deep in the gardens now. In fact, she was in the middle of the hedge maze she knew. It covered a good fourth of the garden in the game. She didn’t remember navigating it, so consumed by fear and the need to get away. In front of her was a large fountain, white marble carved in the form of a rearing unicorn, water spouting from the tip of its horn. The water itself had a light golden sheen to it not caused by the sun above them.

“My lady! Why did you make such haste? You should be taking better care of yourself!” Astrid had followed her and the woman’s face held a stern expression. Liliana ducked her head shyly, feeling shame welling up inside of her. For some reason, disappointing this woman made her feel almost sick. It was so odd to be around someone she both knew so very well, yet not at all.

“I got so excited to be in the garden, I apologize,” Liliana answered.

Some part of her urged her to keep quiet about her meeting the duchess the day before, and her running from the woman and her son just now. Had the original Liliana kept much of the abuse she suffered at the woman’s hands a secret from her maid? And the bullying from Alistair, too? A feeling, faint, seemed to push that it was somehow Liliana’s fault that the woman targeted her so, and it answered her question. Had the original Liliana thought she deserved such treatment? That wasn’t right. The duchess was an awful woman, and Liliana was a child. Liliana stamped the feeling out.

This world might change her, her new home might change her, the memories from the original Liliana might change her. But she would let nothing in this world or the last make her think for a moment she deserved to be mistreated. She hadn’t let such intrusive thoughts affect her in her past life, where thinking one had done something to deserve a terminal illness was common, and she wouldn’t start now. Fuck that.

“Well, I suppose I understand. But please, be careful with yourself, Lady Liliana. You’re still weak from your sickness, if you exhaust yourself it could take even longer to heal,” Astrid chastised her gently and Liliana nodded, still fighting with the feelings of fear, inadequacy, guilt and now shame from Astrid.

To distract herself, Liliana raised her head and took another look around the center of the maze she had gotten herself to.

Behind the fountain she’d seen sat a gazebo, made of delicate white metal that twined around elegant pillars in fanciful and beautifully intricate designs. The twisting metal converged at the top, the entire gazebo covered in panes of glass. Inside sat a table and chairs, all made of the same white metal with the same delicate designs. Liliana walked towards the gazebo, her legs informing her that they very much wanted to sit and she was certain if she didn’t heed them, she’d soon find herself on the ground. 100 Stamina truly was not much, it would seem. Astrid perhaps had a point about not exerting herself.

As she moved, she looked at the walls of greenery surrounding her. Roses bloomed on the walls, their floral scent filling the clearing. Liliana took a deep breath of the fragrance, tears popping into her eyes. Her mother’s favorite perfume was a rose scented one, and the smell reminded her of bittersweet memories from Earth.

The roses were white, matching the general theme of the clearing, and Liliana half expected to see card soldiers bursting in to paint them red. The inane thought was shoved aside even as a small smile graced her face at the image. It helped dry the tears that had tried to spill onto her face.

Liliana paused as she walked into the gazebo. The lighting was darker than outside, despite the glass walls and ceiling. It wasn’t dark enough to make it hard to see, but it gave a comfortable shade.

More magic. Its so common they use it for a gazebo and a fountain? Liliana marveled as she moved again, finally sitting down. She winced as her legs cried out in relief. Yes, Astrid certainly had a point. Weeks in a coma had led to a weakness in her muscles. Yet she welcomed the pain, because it was proof she had moved. She had walked all on her own. No one was there to help her, no wheelchair. More than the magic, that simple fact was by far the most marvelous to her. She had her agency back. No one would take that from her again.

Chapter 5: Books and Brothers

As Liliana stared idly at the fountain, wondering how it worked, she remembered her skill. She almost smacked her head at her stupidity. She had gotten [Identify] and barely used it. With a thought, she activated it, focusing on the fountain.

Unicorn Fountain: A fountain made of marble by a talented artificer who imbued it with runes for a multitude of effects.

Huh, I wonder what other kind of effects it has? Liliana kept focusing on the fountain, but after no further information was given, she focused on something else, the gazebo.

Glass Gazebo: A gazebo made of enchanted metal and glass by a talented artificer. It will lessen the effects of the sun and the elements.

Why did that one give me more information? Is it simpler or is it because I already saw the effect? Liliana mused over the information. She’d need more to make a hypothesis. Her eyes flicked to Astrid, who was standing to her side and with a small tilt of her head, Liliana tried the skill on her maid, wondering if it would work..

Astrid Tailor

Level 26

Huh, that’s not much, but useful. How is she level 26, though? Liliana almost pouted. She had figured a maid wouldn’t be so much stronger than her, and yet here she was 26 times stronger.

“Lady Liliana, was there something you needed?” Astrid asked, seeing Liliana staring at her intently. The girl blushed and looked away when she realized she’d been staring at the woman for several minutes in silence.

“I was just trying out my [Identify] skill,” Liliana murmured and Astrid's sharp intake of breath had her head whipping back to look at the woman. The maid was looking at her with wide, disbelieving eyes and Liliana felt panic leaking into her heart. What had she said wrong? Did she know that she was a fraud? Her breath started coming in shorter gasps as she felt metal bands tightening around her ribs.

“You got a skill? My Lady, did you Awaken?” Astrid asked and Liliana stared at her in confusion. She had no idea what she w-

A memory surfaced of another Liliana sitting with Astrid, struggling over an embroidery hoop, yelping when she pricked her finger and blood bloomed over the fabric. The noble girl flung the hoop down in annoyance, earning her a chastising from the maid. She had asked when she’d get a skill for it like Astrid had, a skill that would make the process far easier and lessen the amount of blood she shed when fighting the ever difficult thread and fabric.

Astrid had calmly reminded her that she wouldn’t be Awakened until she was sixteen, unless her father took her to a temple to have it done sooner. She told her she couldn’t get skills until then, which had Liliana asking why it even mattered if she knew how to do embroidery now. The question sounded well used, and the smile Astrid gave her showed it was a familiar argument. Astrid had reminded her that any work she did before she was Awakened would show in her new skills, enabling her to acquire them faster and even get them at a higher level when she first got them. It had mollified the noble girl, and she had once more picked up the detested embroidery hoop.

The memory faded, and Liliana was left reeling. That information had been entirely new, and the memory was clearer than the last one she had seen. She still knew it wasn’t her memory, but she felt the ghost pain of a needle puncturing flesh on her finger. Could remember the frustration from yet another failed attempt in her chest.

“Yes I have Awakened, I believe it happened when the priest healed me,” Liliana answered the question Astrid had asked, “I haven’t gotten any skills except [Identify] yet so I wanted to test it out,” Liliana further explained and Astrid nodded, a proud smile on her face and a touch of awe in her eyes.

“That is expected, my lady. To gain the skills you worked on, you’ll need to do them at least once,” Astrid informed her, the words giving her a sense of déjà vu from the recent memory she had been shown.

Liliana hummed quietly in agreement as she considered it. She had no idea what skills she already qualified for. She knew of Embroidery now thanks to the memory. What other skills would a noble lady have? Art? Etiquette? Politics? Backstabbing? She had frightfully little information, and that fact was beginning to irritate her. A good gamer never went into an encounter without information. That was a good way to wipe.

“Are there any books I could read about skills and awakening since I was blessed early by the Goddess?” Liliana inquired, meeting Astrid’s eyes again. She resisted the urge to wring her hands. The question was risky. What if the real Liliana had already read such books? She was betting that because she was both unfavored and too young to Awaken naturally, such materials wouldn’t have been provided for her before.

“That would be a question for your governess, but I believe there are likely some books like that in the library,” Astrid responded easily and Liliana let out an internal sigh. She hadn’t been suspicious about the question.

“I would like to visit the library in that case,” Liliana decided, and Astrid nodded at her request. Hopefully Imogen and Alistair had gone inside by now, and she wouldn’t have to dash across the gardens like an escaped prisoner again.

She wasn’t excited at the thought of more walking, more pretending, but she was excited at the prospect of getting some of the many questions she had answered. The clear goal and potential of gaining some sorely needed knowledge helped Liliana ignore the complaining in her legs and feet as she got back up and made her way through the maze.

This time she paid more attention to the scenery as she moved, taking in the beautiful construction of the maze and its decoration of flawless roses. More evidence of the magic that was so commonplace in this world. As she walked back through the garden, her body knowing the way even if her mind did not, she used [Identify] on everything she saw. She wasn’t sure if it would help the skill level, but she did it anyway, barely paying heed to the veritable flood of flora names that filled her mind. She carefully looked around as they walked and was grateful to see that Imogen and Alistair were not still out.

When they reached the doors again, Liliana waited for Astrid to open them, taking a deep breath to steel herself before she walked inside. Again, she felt the eyes of the servants on her and her back straightened from the barely perceptible slouch it had. She tried her best to portray a noble air as she walked, though she once more noticed when she wasn’t paid the proper amount of deference. Normally, she wouldn’t care. Having anyone curtsy or bow to her was a wild idea, yet now it irritated her. It was a slight an insult from the servants and she knew it was their way of mocking her.

Even the servants are rude to her. How did Liliana stay sane in a household where no one cared for her? She wondered as her irritation grew at every too short bow or curtsy. Some part of her knew she couldn’t speak out on it, a faint wisp of remembered scorn and punishment for her lashing out. That made the irritation worse, the knowledge she was being disrespected along with the inability to do anything about it.

When she finally got to the library, Liliana was ready to pick up one of the ornate vases next to the doors and throw it in a fit of anger. When Astrid opened the door, she practically rushed in, ready to cut off the judging gazes she could feel on her back.

Inside, Liliana paused as she looked around the room. It was exactly the same as the game. It wasn’t a huge room, perhaps a bit larger than her bedroom. Yet its walls were covered in books and there were several plush seats around, even a loveseat before a window that she knew would look out on the garden.

Liliana walked towards a bookcase, eyes scanning the covers. They were all in a language she had never seen, the letters odd to her mind. Yet she could perfectly understand every word. It was strange, though in the grand scheme of things, not the strangest by far. However, she was looking for something specific as she scanned the bookshelves until her eyes finally caught on a familiar tome. It looked old and a tad dusty, it was titled Mathematical Formula but that wasn’t what she cared about. She knew if she pulled the book, the bookshelf would slide open to reveal a short hallway to a hidden room filled with more books and a hidden spell scroll.

Or it had in the game at least. She had only found it because she enjoyed exploring every facet of a game and had been clicking randomly on the books until one had an effect. Liliana started to reach out for the book when a voice called out and her hand froze.

“Lady Liliana, I have found a few books regarding Awakening and skills,” Astrid informed her and Liliana turned to see the woman in question, holding three books in her hands. They were far newer volumes than the Mathematical book yet were clearly more used.

Liliana walked away from the shelf. She wanted to check out the hidden room, but she wanted to do it when she was alone. Astrid might be the only person in the entire manor who cared for Liliana, but she didn’t trust her. She would turn on her as fast as anyone else if she found out she wasn’t really Liliana.

Liliana walked to the window seat and Astrid set the books next to her before stepping back and taking a position against a wall. Liliana watched her for a moment. How uncomfortable must it be to just stand all day?

“You can sit, Astrid,” Liliana told the maid. The woman looked a bit surprised, but she shook her head.

“No, it wouldn’t be proper, my lady,” Astrid told her.

With a shake of her head, Liliana turned her head back to the books next to her, examining their covers. The Process of Awakening, A Compendium of Skills, and A Novice's Guide to Skills, Stats and Their Uses. Liliana picked up the book on Awakening first, wanting to get more clarity on her situation.

Hours passed as the world around her fell away, Liliana completely absorbed into her reading. The sun had begun its descent in the afternoon when she set down the first book. She blinked, her eyes heavy, and delicately stretched out muscles sore from sitting in one place for too long.

You’ve met the Requirements for the General Skill [Reading]. Would you like to accept the skill?

Liliana accepted the skill immediately, excited to see if the skill would aid her in reading faster or perhaps understanding the information better.

Because of previous experience with the General Skill [Reading] it has advanced to level 4!

Liliana grinned at the second notification; so it was true that previous experience contributed to increased Skill levels. Though it was obvious it was based on the original Liliana’s experience, as if it had been her own, it would be far higher. She’d spent hours reading in her last life and would’ve surely been at level 10 at the very least.

Dismissing the notifications, Liliana focused back on the information she’d just learned from the book. It was all very enlightening, and far different from what she’d learned in the game.

So Awakening is just when we become connected to our Mana. It naturally happens around sixteen, but it can be expedited by a Priest with a Divine blessing. Or I guess directly by a goddess in my case. Awakening any earlier than thirteen can permanently damage one’s Mana Core, which is how we generate our Mana. It grows slowly until one is Awakened and then it can grow faster through experience gain. Apparently, our Mana Core can improve all facets of our being, which is what the Stat Points do directly. It’s how we can get superhuman levels of Health, Strength, Speed and such. Our Mana Cores directly improve us. Basically, even a level 2 human is leagues stronger than an Unawakened human. And the power difference only increases. High-level humans are almost gods compared to unawakened or low levels because of how much their Mana Core has improved them.

Now that she was aware of what it was called, Liliana closed her eyes and tried to locate where her own Mana Core was, apparently once Awakened you could locate it. It took several minutes before she found the small, warm core floating in her abdomen. It was incredibly tiny, but it pulsed with power. With magic. She marveled over the magic, the unlimited potential resting inside of herself.

She reached out to it and as she came in contact with the pure magical essence she felt warmth from it. Enchanted by the warmth, she tugged at it slightly, wanting more of that warmth. As she pulled, she felt her body heating with the energy. The power inside of her dimmed quickly, but her body felt like it had been hooked up to a live wire. Her eyes opened and the world around her seemed brighter, more colorful. Her fingers twitched with the urge to move.

Liliana moved her hand and almost hit herself in the face when the limb moved faster than she had expected. Excited by the change, Liliana stood up and moved around the library, her body moving faster than it had before. Her aching muscles didn’t even complain. Her body felt better, stronger. She looked around to find something to lift. She felt energy in her muscles, crying for her to use it.

Liliana heard Astrid calling out to her, but paid little mind to the maid. The energy inside of her wouldn’t let her sit still. She grabbed a chair and hefted it with more ease than she would have earlier. It was still heavy, and she only lifted it a few scant inches before her magically enhanced muscles would raise it no further. She set the chair back down and went to find something else when the energy faded suddenly.

Liliana stumbled, collapsing into the very chair she had lifted. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were heaving. She felt like she’d run an entire marathon. Every muscle in her body screamed at her and ached. Apparently, whatever she’d done hadn’t been a good idea after she’d already tired herself out earlier.

Ow, what the fuck was that? Liliana wondered, though her mind was moving slower than before. As if even it had been worked out to its limits.

You have met the Requirements for the Skill [Enhancement] Would you like to accept this skill?

Liliana gave a small smile at the box, well that explained what she’d just done. Seemed she had found a Skill. If she wasn’t exhausted down to her bones, she’d have been excited to get her second non-general skill, one that could actually be used in combat. To get a skill that used actual magic. She was familiar with the skill from the game. It was a low level one almost every character got. But she still Identified it, both to possibly raise the level but also to see if the skill was different.

Enhancement: 5% Increase to Speed and Strength for 2 Minutes.

Cost:40 Mana

It looked the same as the game. Liliana accepted it with another small smile. It was Mana intensive for right now, but she knew at higher levels it would be worth it. It eventually evolved into a channeled skill if it wasn’t combined with another skill during a class evolution. [Enhancement] was outclassed by other skills late game skills, as did most early skills in the game. However, it was a solid skill that would see a lot of use until then.

“Lady Liliana?” A voice interrupted her thoughts, and she startled, suddenly remembering where she was.

For a moment she’d almost forgotten this wasn’t a game, lulled into a false sense of security by a familiar skill. Liliana felt her back straighten, her legs crossing delicately and her chin raising. Her posture had suffered during her mental musings and now that she was aware of it, she could feel a bit of fear associated with the bad posture that she couldn’t find a reason for. Most likely a reaction from her body, born of memories she didn’t have access to.

“I apologize, I acquired the [Enhancement] skill and was a tad overjoyed at the development,” Liliana explained to her maid, who was looking at her with concern.

“New skills can be very exciting my Lady, though I would remind you that practicing such things should not be done indoors, and not in your current health,” Astrid chastised her gently and Liliana felt warm blood rush to her face as she flushed in embarrassment. For some reason Astrid’s disapproving look held the same weight as her own mother’s and Liliana found her eyes dropping from the maid’s.

“I’ll be more reserved in the future with other skills,” Liliana said, gently playing with some of the lace on her dress with her fingers.

A rumbling sound from her stomach startled her, and she dropped the lace. She realized she felt famished, far more than she had felt even after awakening. Did using skills drain the body's natural resources on top of Mana? It made sense as it was her body doing the actions, and Liliana noted the information down in her mind. She’d have to be careful if skills drained her energy too. With a thought, she pulled up her Status sheet to see if her Stamina had dropped as well.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

100

H-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Mana

85/100

M-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Stamina

55/100

S-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Magic Power

100

Magic Control

100

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

10

Endurance

10

Strength

10

Dexterity

10

Wisdom

10

Intelligence

10

Speed

10

Charisma

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Liliana nodded to herself at the information. Some time had passed since she used the skill, so it seemed her regeneration had raised her Mana and Stamina back up. She didn’t remember the [Enhancement] skill using Stamina in the game, nor was it on the skill, but it most definitely did. Was it just such an obvious thing that it wasn’t put on the skill or was the information she was given determined by how high her [Identify] was when it came to skills? Or had she simply moved around so much it drained her Stamina?

Liliana wanted badly to grab the other two books and read through them. She had a feeling they might have some of the answers to her questions, but another growl from her stomach changed her priorities.

“Astrid, could you bring me lunch? All of this activity has left me rather peckish,” Liliana asked her maid, and she noticed the woman was giving her a small smile, probably because of Liliana’s rather vocal stomach.

“Of course, lady Liliana, I’ll return shortly,” Astrid curtsied, the correct curtsy Liliana’s mind noted, before she left the library. Liliana blinked at the door for a moment as her mind slowly registered that for the first time since her breakdown the day before, she was alone.

Her eyes were drawn back to the bookshelf, hiding a secret room, and Liliana worried her lip as she tried to figure out if she had enough time to get into the hidden room, look around it, and get back out before Astrid returned. It would depend on if the woman had to make a meal or if there was food available to bring to her. At worst, she had maybe ten minutes before she was back.

No, it would be best to come back later when I have more time to myself. No way to know for sure what’s in there, and I’d rather keep the room a secret if I can. Liliana decided the prospect of having a secret sanctuary in this strange world was too important to her to risk revealing it in a moment of impulse.

Liliana slowly stood back up, wincing at the way all of her muscles protested the action. The skill had certainly done a number on her on top of what she’d already done to her body earlier. Seemed her Health regeneration did nothing for sore muscles. She hoped it got easier to use over time. Otherwise, if she used it in some kind of altercation, she’d be useless after it ended. Perhaps when she had built up some muscles, the skill would be easier to use.

Making her way back to her original seat, far more slowly and carefully, Liliana sat back down with a sigh of relief before grabbing the next book she wanted to read. She looked over the cover of The Novice’s Guide, fingers trailing over the decorated titling and leather cover before she flipped it open. Almost immediately, she could feel the world falling away as the familiar lure of written words drew her back in.

When Astrid came back several minutes later, Liliana was still enthralled by the book and it took the woman calling her name several times before she jolted, blinking in confusion until she recognized the maid.

“Oh, thank you Astrid,” Liliana said as she noticed the tray of food.

There was sliced fruit and bread, and her stomach growled hungrily as the scent of fresh fruit reached her. As quickly as her new noble lady instincts would allow, her Liliana cleared the tray of food. She was pleasantly surprised at how much she had been able to eat compared to earlier the same day. It would seem Mana use did wonders for one's metabolism. She almost giggled at the thought. If using Mana burned calories, she’d have found the single best diet.

One fireball to burn off those holiday meals! Doctors hate her! Liliana mentally joked as she gently fingered the book still in her lap.

Even with only a few minutes to devote to it, she had learned a good amount. She had been right about her theory with [Identify] increasing the information given on skills. Without it, you were given the basics of what the skill did, but almost never the costs. With a low level of it, you could see some of the costs or effects. Higher levels would give you more information on what it cost, and even tell you how a skill would evolve.

That had been the basic information on skills, Liliana had seen a section devoted exclusively to the [Identify] skill that she hadn’t been able to look at yet and she wanted to. There was so much information in the book that she knew she needed and she wanted to get back to reading it.

“Is there anything else you need, my lady?” Astrid asked as she gathered the tray and dirty dishes.

“No, that will be all. I would like to continue reading,” Liliana answered, and Astrid nodded with a warm smile.

“Then I’ll get these to the kitchen. If you need anything, please ask my lady,” Astrid responded and Liliana nodded, but her attention was already locked on the book she was opening.

The door closed, and Liliana left the world behind. The door opening again barely registered until her book was ripped out of her hands. Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked up and saw someone she’d only seen from afar in this life. A boy who so closely resembled the woman who had terrorized Liliana the day before that she didn’t even need her game knowledge to identify the boy before her.

Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde. Her stepbrother, the current confirmed heir of the Rosengarde family, thanks to an agreement between his mother and the Duke. Her father had adopted him soon after he married Imogen and had named Alistair the heir not long afterwards. He’d even had a Blood ceremony performed to ensure Alistair had Rosengarde blood in his veins.

The Duchess had birthed Liliana’s half siblings, two twins, Blaine and Beatrice, not even a year after the wedding. They had more right to the duchy than Alistair, and Liliana had the most right as the eldest daughter with true Rosengarde blood in her veins, but Alistair stayed the heir. Liliana knew in the game he inherited the duchy, though it was plagued with monsters for a long time, destroying the towns, farms and cities in it.

It was later revealed to be the work of the original Liliana, seeking revenge on her family for her mistreatment, and it had nearly bankrupted the duchy. Alistair had been rewarded by the crown for his aid in defeating her, though, and lived ‘happily ever after’ with his blood money and stolen duchy.

Alistair looked at her with blatant disgust, as if he couldn’t stand to even be in the same room as her, despite him obviously seeking her out. He held the book between two fingers as he examined it. Liliana’s eyes caught the title, and the blood drained from her face. Her heart stopped as fear filled her once more. An emotion she was becoming intimately familiar with in this life. A Novice's Guide to Skills, Stats and Their Uses, it was incredibly suspicious for her to be reading such a book when she wasn’t even supposed to be Awakened.

Need to think of something, some reason for me to be reading a book like that. Light reading? Curiosity? Preparations? Yea, maybe that. Liliana’s mind worked overtime, scrambling to find a reason. She was lucky that out of all the heroes she had to handle first; it was Alistair, his character wasn’t known for his brains, more his brawn. He was a typical tank character, rather stereotypical as well. A jock type, but he was also a noble and well used to the games of intrigue the nobles played.

“Why are you reading something like this? You know mother has already denied every request you made to get Awakened early. Think you can scrape together some coins and get a Priest to do it?” Alistair mocked as he held the book out mockingly at her, his eyes glinting cruelly.

He had his mother’s eyes, not just in color but in the nasty hatred she saw sparkling in them, too. Hatred planted and nurtured by his viper of a mother. Hatred that didn’t get cured until it was far too late to save Liliana in the game.

“Granted, how could you? Father never even gave you an allowance, can’t trust commoners with money after all. They tend to use it on stupid things,” Alistair continued as he grinned at her, showing off too many teeth for it to be considered a friendly gesture.

A part of her, she assumed from the original body, wanted to shrink away from the boy while equally wanting to lean towards him. Liliana couldn’t tell if her body wanted to run away or simper and plead for his mercy. She wasn’t sure if the original Liliana even knew. Poor girl was stuck in a family that abused and neglected her whilst also craving love and affection just like any other child did.

She felt sympathy for the previous Liliana, but what she wanted to do, more than anything, was to tell Alistair to shove his classist opinions where the sun didn’t shine. She bit back on what she wanted to say, reining in her temper. It would do her no good here, and a lot of harm.

“I just wanted to do some research. I was sick for so long. I’m terribly behind in my studies and I wanted to engage in some light reading. I thought a book such as this could properly prepare me for when I Awaken on my sixteenth birthday,” Liliana spoke softly, though not purposefully. She’d meant to say the words confidently, but the body she was in had other ideas.

She railed against playing weak and defenseless in front of a bully like Alistair. It went against her entire personality from Earth. She was a fighter, always had been. Whether it was fighting her own body, other kids who had mocked her in school, or Death himself, she’d been willing to put her fists up and blacken the eyes of whoever stood against her. Even if it left her tired, spirit worn, or with a split lip. This girl who sat, avoiding her brother’s eyes with her shoulders pulled up to her ears and her voice weak as gossamer was not her.

Still, she admitted this was the best way to go about it. If she seemed too different, it could raise eyebrows, cause questions she couldn’t answer. Though it rankled her to act meek, she permitted it. Mentally, she imagined giving Alistair a broken nose to muss up his handsome face to soothe her temper.

“Whatever, enjoy your dumb reading. Useless as it’ll be for a commoner like you. Things like this are so obviously above your level it’s kind of adorable, really. Like seeing a puppy trying to figure out mathematics.” Alistair tossed the book at her with far more force than necessary. When it hit her, Liliana had to bite back a yelp of pain. Her chest stung terribly where it hit and she could feel a bruise forming. Something, guilt maybe, flashed through Alistair’s eyes when she flinched, but it was quickly hidden behind a cruel grin.

“I just wanted to see if the rumors were true, that you’d actually woken up and were wandering around like a lost little lamb. Seems you survived. I half expected you to die,” Alistair explained, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn’t care if she had died or not. The blatant cruelty in that statement hurt more than the book did. It felt like a rusty nail had been shoved into her heart and twisted. Liliana felt tears burning in her eyes. This was the family she had to deal with? How had the original Liliana survived so long? How had she not run off?

Run away and done what? Died in the forest? Get picked up by slave traders or something? Get eaten by a monster? What skills did the original Liliana even have to survive with? She wouldn’t be able to feed herself or survive. What survival skills do I have for that matter? Liliana winced at the reminder. It made sense, and the same chains that had tied the original Liliana down were now her own to bear. Trapped in a household filled with hate, and unable to leave.

As much as the original Liliana couldn’t survive on her own, neither could she. Sure, she was two years older than the original Liliana, but her life experience amounted to hospital rooms, video games and fantasy books. She’d give herself about the same odds of surviving on her own.

That was to assume her father, the Duke, didn’t send bounty hunters after her. How bad would it be for his reputation if his daughter ran away from home? And if she ran away from home, she probably wouldn’t be able to get into the Academy. In the game, the Academy was huge for class advancement, skills and spells and important quests. She didn’t think the actual world would have quests, but the amount of useful knowledge the school would have, not just on classes, skills and spells, but on this new world she found herself in, would be utterly vital for her survival. And in giving her what she needed to become independent and to separate herself from this poisonous family.

“I can see that you’re still alive, and as boring and utterly unremarkable as ever,” Alistair continued, and Liliana focused back on her stepbrother rather than her ideas of running away from this hellhole. For a moment she’d have sworn she saw relief on his face, yet it was gone too fast to be sure and Liliana discarded the idea. Alistair hated Liliana until late into the Academy, when he realized she wasn’t who he thought she was. When he’d broken out of the manipulation of his mother, and healed his own deep trauma. He wouldn't be relieved to see her healthy. Not yet.

“I’m leaving, before whatever commoner sickness you had rubs off on me,” and then he was gone, as quickly as he had barged into the room and upset her mental state. Liliana stared at the door for a long moment, rubbing her chest where a deep ache throbbed. She couldn’t tell if it was from the book or if it was from a broken heart.

Chapter 6: My Sleep Paralysis Demon is Actually Kind of Chill

It wasn’t until the sun had set and Astrid had brought her another meal that Liliana finally agreed to the maid’s increasing prodding to return to her room. She had been so absorbed in the books she’d been reading that she hadn’t wanted to stop.

She had so much information to gather and so little time to do it all. After Alistair had left, she’d dived back into the books. She wasn’t sure if she was desperate for knowledge, or an escape from the aching in her chest. She hadn’t told Astrid of the encounter, just as she hadn’t told her of Imogen visiting her room. Once more the very idea of telling Astrid filled her with fear, and Liliana had to wonder how many instances of abuse the original Liliana had kept hidden from everyone, suffering alone and in silence.

It had taken a little convincing, but Astrid had agreed to let Liliana take the books back to her room with her. And now the moons were hanging high in the sky, Astrid long since retired and Liliana dressed in her nightgown, sitting at her desk with one book open before her. She had pretended to go to sleep so that Astrid would leave her and as soon as she had estimated the other woman was far enough away; she had hastened to her desk.

In her palm, she held a brightly glowing sphere. It was golden and the light it let off was warm and gentle. She had seen Astrid activating lights like this both in the library as the light waned and in her own room. Another memory had come to her as she watched, a memory of another Liliana easily using the same magical device. Apparently, they were crafted to allow even the Unawakened to manipulate the Mana inside of them. It had taken a few failed tries before she had figured it out, aided by the memory and the body’s muscle memory, and now she held a magical night-light in her hand.

“So cool. They use magic for everything here,” Liliana marveled over it, reaching out to manipulate the Mana inside to brighten and dim at will. Settling on a brightness, she placed it in the holder for it on her desk and looked back at her notebook and the opened books around it. With a thought, she pulled up her Status Sheet.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

100

H-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Mana

100

M-Regen

+1.1/1.1sec

Stamina

100

S-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Magic Power

100

Magic Control

100

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

10

Endurance

10

Strength

10

Dexterity

10

Wisdom

40

Intelligence

11

Speed

10

Charisma

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

At some point during her reading, she had gained a point in Intelligence. She wasn’t sure when it had happened. The alerts from the system had waited until she was done reading to pop up. Something she was rather grateful for in retrospect. She couldn’t imagine how dangerous such pop-ups could be in the middle of a battle. She pulled up her Skill Sheet next to look over her accumulated skills.

Affinity

Soul

92%

Light

90%

Life

85%

Skills

[Enhancement] Lvl 1

[Identify] Lvl 1

General Skills

[Reading] Lvl 5

[Deception] Lvl 1

Spells

No Spells Available

Liliana hummed in pleasure. She had gotten three new skills today and leveled one of them. Sure it was [Reading], and a result of her spending hours engrossed in books, but it was a level up! She’d even gotten a combat capable skill just from playing with her Mana! It made her think what other skills she could get just by playing with her Mana. Could she figure out how to make a fireball just by understanding the basics and forcing her Mana to do that? She had a lot of theories and experiments she wanted to try out but couldn’t. If she messed up with a fireball, she’d probably set the house on fire, so it would be best to wait.

Though waiting was difficult, and her patience was running thin for it. There was only so long she could force herself to wait when there was magic right there for her to play with! Sure, she probably would not figure out how to use a spell like [Meteor Shower] anytime soon. Even so, that she could do magic now filled her with restless energy. It was only fear of having attention placed on her by Liliana’s family if she messed up and destroyed something in her eagerness that kept her from doing anything reckless.

You have gained a point in Wisdom!

Liliana blinked at the notification before a quiet laugh erupted from her. Well, it looked like the System agreed with her decision to wait. She pushed aside her curiosity about her Mana and the many experiments she wanted to run. She focused on what she needed to do right at this moment.

“Okay, so first we need a plan,” Liliana said out loud, taking comfort in the words. She hadn’t had the time to really come to grips with her situation. She had been under Astrid's and other servants’ gaze the entire time. Forced to push her panic and disbelief down in the name of putting on a calm face and surviving.

Now that she was alone in the half lit light of her own room, she could feel the panic again. She felt so alone, so unprepared for this. Why would a goddess choose her for something like saving the fate of a world? Why would she put her in the body of Liliana Rosengarde? Wouldn’t it have been better to put her in the body of the Crown Princess? Or to have picked a more heroic soul? Someone who didn’t feel like hiding in a corner of a closet as all the worries and fears bore down on her?

Liliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a familiar voice coming into her mind.

Okay, when the world gets to be too much and your mind is going all kinds of crazy, you can’t let yourself get swept into the storm, little Valkyrie. You can't fight everything, so focus on taking one step at a time. One battle at a time. You’re strong, and you inherited all of my stubbornness and some more. So use that to your advantage. When you’ve got a million problems, you can’t solve all of them at one time. So find a solution for one. Then another, and another. And before you know it, they’ll all be gone.

Her mother’s words resonated within her and helped her focus. She might not remember her name, or even her mother’s name, but at least Vita hadn’t ripped her nickname from her. Valkyrie. Warrior women of Norse mythology. Strong and unbending. Liliana tried to channel a sliver of that strength now as she felt herself cast adrift in a world she barely understood, alone and in danger.

She opened her eyes and looked at the empty pages before her. She might be weak right now, might be in danger, but freaking out about it wouldn’t help anything. Panicking wouldn’t lessen her problems. She needed to figure out a plan, a way to get strength so she could protect herself.

She picked up a fountain pen, which was also magical. It sucked up ink from the inkpot just by setting the tip to the liquid. And the ink dried instantly. Which seemed like nothing special, but it was more magic and Liliana was enchanted by it.

Pushing her amazement to the side, Liliana pressed the tip to the page and started writing out her plan.

- Increase my stats without leveling. Do strength training, endurance training, dexterity training.

- Try to find more skills and spells. Either hidden in the manor or by practicing with Mana.

- Avoid the Duchess, her son, my father.
- Try to unlock more of Liliana’s memories
- Figure out Bonding Magic
- Find a weapon
- Level with the low level mobs in the area
- Find something to bond with
- Level more to build power

Liliana looked at her plan with a nod. It was rough and not very expanded, but it set out her goals. She needed to get stronger and avoid Liliana’s family where she could. Especially her stepmother, who had already tried to kill her. She wasn’t ready to deal with assassination attempts right now.

Granted, the woman likely wouldn’t try again so soon after the last failure. She’d want to give time for the event to be mostly forgotten, so it wouldn’t become suspicious. So Liliana had some time before she tried to kill her again. She knew the stepmother tried to kill Liliana several times, by assassins or poison, but other than the coma, any of the pre-Academy assassination attempts were only mentioned in passing, without set dates. She knew when a few happened at the Academy, but before then she was flying blind. Liliana just knew her stepmother would try again, and she had to be prepared.

Still, it could be good to write the facts she knew down out about the assassination attempts at least. Liliana turned a page, and after a few false starts, she wrote out the small bit of details she had on the pre-Academy assassination attempts in English. She didn’t want anyone who came across her notebook to read it, and English differed from the language she had read so far. She just hoped it wasn’t a language at all in this world.

When she was done, she had pitifully little information, but it was gathered all together neatly. She knew Imogen had sent several assassins after Liliana in the game. How many, and how Liliana had fought them off, were unknown. Imogen had also tried to poison Liliana three more times. All failed. Probably thanks to the poison resistance she got after the first time that she didn’t have now. Liliana frowned at that thought.

Stupid Soul poison loopholes, stupid Vita for not gifting me [Poison Resistance]. I don’t want to have to get it the hard way via poisoning myself.This is some bullshit. Liliana pushed that idea to the back of her mind for now. Building poison immunity wouldn’t be easy in real life, and she didn’t want to do it by herself. She could easily kill herself.

Liliana lifted her head and noticed the moon had moved again. An enormous yawn surprised her, and she found her body was tired. She had been pushing through her exhaustion with pure stubbornness, but now her body was quite done with that. With a snort of amusement, she stretched out and grabbed the light, moving to her plush bed. She fell into the inviting covers and set the light on the side table, dimming it and plunging the room into shadows. She had barely crawled under the blankets and rested her head on the pillows when sleep rose up to grab her.

Liliana knew, somehow, that she was still asleep when she woke up in a sitting room. The edges of the room were misty, as if they weren’t quite there. Though she could feel the seat she was in, it was plush and comfortable. Her emotions were muted. Any panic or confusion over being in a strange place was absent. It was thanks to the way dreams smoothed over emotions and made you accept the bizarre that she didn’t freak out when someone else appeared in the seat across from her.

It took a moment for her to register that the person she saw was her. Well, she shared Liliana Rosengarde’s body and face at least. The doppelgänger gave her a soft, small smile as she sipped from a delicate porcelain cup that hadn’t been there before. Liliana looked down and noticed she too had a cup of tea in her own hands and she sipped it. Unlike tea, though, it tasted of strawberries and whipped cream and her mind simply accepted it as correct.

“So you’re the one who will take on this journey instead,” the other Liliana said as she set the cup down on a table before them. Her voice was as soft as her smile, and her movements were perfectly poised and elegant. In comparison, Liliana’s own were less sure and awkward as she set her own cup down.

“So you’re the real Liliana?” She asked with mild curiosity. She knew distantly she should freak out, but she didn’t. The dream felt similar to when she’d been floating in the void. Her emotions were distant and weak things that were easily brushed off.

“In a way,” the doppelgänger said with an amused smirk, “The ‘real’ Liliana isn’t here. I’m more of a ghost. The vestiges left over from her mind. You could say I’m the mind, rather than the soul,” Other Liliana said with a delicate shrug. Liliana nodded. In the realm of dreams, this logic seemed sound.

“So are you here to tell me to leave or die or something?” Liliana asked. It seemed logical. She was an interloper, a body snatcher. It would be sensible for the body itself to want her gone. Yet the doppelgänger giggled at the question, a sweet and tinkling sound.

“Oh no! In fact, I’m glad that she can live an easier life now. Our soul was weak. It could never survive the fate I’ve seen in your memories. She deserves a happier, easier life. No, you're strong enough to survive the storm that’s coming. So to ensure that we survive, I’m here to help you, as a guide of sorts.” The doppelgänger leaned forward, keeping her back completely straight as she did. A genuine smile lit up her face, wide and showing off perfect white teeth. Her blue eyes lit up with an inner fire that drew Liliana forward as if entranced.

“I’ve been giving you memories here and there, small things to help you along. But it won’t be enough by far. I can do more when you’re sleeping, begin integrating memories at a faster pace.” The doppelgänger paused for several minutes as Liliana waited for the ‘but’ she could feel. Yet the doppelgänger was silent as she watched her and Liliana realized she’d need to ask.

“What’s the catch?” She finally asked, and the doppelgänger's smile dropped a little as she pulled back.

“It won’t be pleasant. For the memories to fully integrate, you’ll need to live through it. Then... there’s the pain,” The doppelgänger paused again and a delicate lip was pulled between pearl colored teeth as she bit into it.

“You’ll wake up with headaches. I don’t know how bad. When I gave you memories before, they were small and didn’t last long, but I could feel the strain they had on you. These will be long memories, so the strain will increase exponentially,” the doppelgänger continued, and Liliana nodded. It made sense, she supposed, and while she knew she wouldn’t enjoy the pain, she didn’t feel fear for it. Perhaps it was because in her dreams fear was damped, or maybe it was because pain was a close friend of hers. Her previous life had been full of it, and in the end that pain got her nothing but scars and death. This pain would give her something she desperately needed: information.

“And,” the doppelgänger spoke up again and Liliana refocused on her, “I think once the memories are done integrating you won’t be... the same as you are now,” the doppelgänger finished, her voice quiet.

“I’ll lose myself?” Liliana asked, and for the first time since this odd dream began, she felt real fear. The edges of the dream darkened and shadows pressed closer to them, reacting to her fear.

“Please don’t do that, it makes it harder to keep this stable,” the other Liliana chided as she waved her hands and the shadows retreated, the warm light of the room banishing them as the dream landscape settled once more.

“And no, you won’t lose yourself. You’ll still be you, you’ll just also be me. This does mean that the vestiges of the original Liliana will always be there, and can affect you. You’ll be a melting pot of the old and the new Liliana.” The doppelgänger explained. Her voice was confident now, but her delicate fingers were fiddling with the fabric of her gown.

Liliana worried her own lips in a mimicry of what the doppelgänger had done. The information was vital to her survival; she knew that. But was she willing to change in the process? To become someone different? Oh, it was known that people changed over time as they grew and their personalities developed, but it was slowly. This would be fast, every night's sleep molding her into someone else. Neither who she had been before nor the original Liliana Rosengarde, but some kind of amalgamation of them both.

“If there was a way I could help you without hurting you, or changing you, I’d offer it. But I’m afraid this is the only way we can survive,” the doppelgänger interrupted her thoughts again, and her voice was sorrowful and sympathetic. It helped ease Liliana’s fears a bit. This wasn’t a forced choice, not done in malice. It was an offer made to help her. And perhaps it helped that she was talking to the only other person who would understand what she was going through. Even if she was technically talking to herself.

The doppelgänger spoke the truth as well. Liliana couldn’t see another viable option to ensure survival. If she kept fumbling around, going off of instincts, she didn’t understand she was going to mess up. If she messed up too badly, or raised suspicion well... it wouldn’t be a pretty ending, she was certain.

“Okay, let’s do it,” Liliana decided, meeting the doppelgänger’s eyes. This might be a mistake, but she was sick of the ever-present fear she carried with her as a result of not knowing what she needed to know.

“Really?” the doppelgänger asked, perking up and looking at her with hope-filled eyes. Liliana nodded to the question, her own eyes filled with steely determination.

“Very well, let us begin,” the doppelgänger declared. As her voice faded away, the room did too, leaving Liliana in the darkness.

Soon, the darkness was filled with light, people, voices, smells, and sensations. Liliana was dragged through a marathon of memories she didn’t recognize. It was so much, so overpowering, and she could feel the pain in her head blossoming, yet it didn’t wake her from the dream. She lived through someone else's memories, feeling as Liliana had, experiencing everything she had.

She was five, as Liliana, crying next to her mother’s grave as her casket was lowered into it. It was a beautiful spring day and the cherry tree she was buried under was flowering and filling the air with a floral fragrance. Yet for all the beauty in the scene, it was the darkest day of Liliana’s life as she watched the only person who had loved her disappear beneath the earth. Her father hadn’t even come to the funeral, but half the town had come. Liliana had collapsed next to the hole, the flowers in her hands crushed in a tiny but choking grip.

She was eight, and had finished her first bit of embroidery. Liliana had snuck away from Astrid and ran to her father’s study to show him. She wanted so badly to gain her father’s approval, his love. After losing her mother, there had been a hole in her heart, a need for love she couldn’t fill. When she got into his study, he’d taken one look at her and turned to his steward, ordering him to remove her from his presence. Her embroidery hoop was dropped and crushed under the steward’s feet as her father turned back to his work. Astrid was flogged that day for letting Liliana out of her sight, and Liliana vowed to never misbehave like that again. Watching Astrid take such a punishment broke her, and it took a long time for the guilt to fade. The heartbreak of knowing her father didn’t care for her at all, and had hurt the person Liliana loved most in the world, never faded.

She was ten, and being introduced to her new ‘Mother’, she had been excited to meet the woman until Imogen had kicked Liliana back with a beautifully crafted heel as soon as her father’s back had turned. She was too young to understand the pain and maliciousness as she complained of an aching chest, bruised by an unkind woman. Astrid dragged her away as her wails upset her father. Later that day, Alistair had come to see her, and Liliana had been hopeful that she might bond with her new brother. Except Alistair hadn’t come to bond with her. He’d dumped a pail of dirt on her head, telling her filthy commoners like her belonged in the dirt. Liliana had seen Imogen hand him a piece of candy as he left her room before tears and dirt clouded her vision.

She was eleven, and chasing after her brother and Emyr. Liliana wanted to play with them, but every time she got close, they’d dart off. She’d tripped so many times and her hands and knees were ripped up and bleeding. Despite the pain, and the sobs waiting in her throat, she’d kept chasing. She just wanted a friend. She didn’t care if Alistair was sometimes mean. If his mother wasn’t around, he didn’t hurt her. She thought if she caught up to him with his friend without Imogen around, maybe he’d finally be nice to her. If she finally had a friend, a brother, the pain would be worth it. Eventually, as the sky darkened, Liliana fell and had too little energy to get up. She thought she saw Alistair at one point, and she called out to him, but he turned away from her and vanished into the night. Several minutes later Astrid found her and held her as she cried, body and heart sore and tired.

She was twelve and sitting with her governess, desperately trying to figure out a math problem, when the woman sighed in annoyance and asked how her father could expect her to teach a dumb commoner whelp. Liliana had to keep her mouth shut as her eyes burned heavily with tears, but at twelve she was well used to biting back her pain. Long after the Governess had concluded the lesson, Liliana had sat in the study, practicing mathematical equations and reading up on the topics she was expected to learn, praying that she’d finally earn some praise.

She was thirteen and her parents and her brother were attending a ball; she had begged to go but her stepmother had said they simply hadn't been able to afford to get her a new dress and it would besmirch their family name for her to show up in out of fashion garments. Liliana had snapped back, saying that if they had enough to afford a new wardrobe for her stepmother every other month, they could afford a single dress for her. Her father had backhanded her for talking back, and she’d been imprisoned in her own room for two weeks afterwards. Liliana had cried herself sick several nights in a row, not upset over the bruise on her face but hurting from a shredded heart. All she had wanted was her father’s love, yet all she got was his disgust and negligence. After that, Liliana didn’t speak out of turn again, in the hopes maybe her father would finally notice her with kind eyes.

As each memory came and left, Liliana could feel something inside of her changing.

Chapter 7: The True Villain In This Story, Embroidery.

The next morning, Liliana was once again awoken by Astrid throwing open the curtains and calling out to her. She winced and held up a hand to shield her eyes from the cursed sharp daggers of light. Her head was pounding, like a hundred tiny dwarves had taken up residence in her cranium and were mining away for gold. Every beat of her heart was another pulse of agony for her, and she desperately pulled her covers over her head to gain some relief.

“Astrid, could you get me something for a headache?” Liliana asked, her voice soft to try to avoid further irritating her head. The doppelgänger hadn’t lied; she was certainly paying for the memories she gained right now. She’d have to tell the doppelgänger that the pain rated at least a 7 on the scale if she didn’t already know.

“Oh dear, perhaps we pushed you too hard yesterday. I’ll be back with something for your head, lady Liliana,” Astrid assured her, and Liliana could hear the woman's steps and the opening and closing of her door.

Liliana kept herself hidden under her blankets, the silence and the darkness a balm to her aching head. Left with little else to do, she reviewed Liliana’s memories, which, unlike the previous memories she’d been shown, felt like hers. She had lived through them, experienced the potent mix of emotions each one carried. They were now as much her memories as they were Liliana’s.

It seemed she’d been shown the memories that had the biggest impact on who Liliana was. She could now feel a low burning hatred for her stepmother, thanks to her own meeting with her, and the memories she’d experienced. It made the emotion all the more real, and it simmered in her chest at the mere thought of the awful woman. She felt a confusing mix of anger and desperation towards her father. She hated him for what he’d done to her, for never standing up for her or even loving her. Yet she also desperately wanted his love with every fiber of her being.

Alistair, she felt dislike towards, not quite hate yet, and still, Liliana wanted him to like her, too. Wanted a brother who would stand up for her and protect her. Liliana felt fear and respect for her governess, Justine Beckett. She wanted her praise, but the woman’s name would send fear rushing through her.

Liliana was a ball of tangled emotions and wishes, and she realized she’d need to be careful to not let these new emotions take over. She’d already seen what happened when she lashed out at her stepmother. No, if she wanted to stay safe, she’d need to keep these new emotions under lock and key. She’d have to keep her head down until she had the power to stand up for herself. It was the only way forward.

The sound of her door opening and closing drew Liliana from her introspection. She recognized the sound of Astrid’s footsteps and she relaxed. She had half worried Alistair would come in to pull some kind of mean-spirited prank on her. Or worse, her stepmother back again to torment her.

“Lady Liliana, I have a tincture for the pain,” Astrid spoke when she was next to the bed, her voice thankfully soft. Liliana pulled off her shielding blanket and hissed at the light that immediately assaulted her sore eyes.

Blast you, you cursed death star. Take your painful death rays far from me. Liliana grumbled in annoyance. She was sure her complaints towards the sun were as effective as her complaints towards Vita. Which is to say they did absolutely nothing.

Liliana focused on the small glass vial in Astrid’s hand. It was a light pink and out of habit now she focused on it to [Identify] the new item.

Common Pain Tincture: Made by a Novice Alchemist or Apothecary this tincture will reduce pain.

[Identify] Reached Level 2!

Liliana smiled at the two new notifications. She had wondered how long it would take [Identify] to level up. Last night before she’d left the library, she’d used the skill on everything she could see to try to level it up. She grabbed the vial and uncorked it, downing it quickly. A taste like raspberries filled her mouth, and she smacked her lips, earning her a disapproving look from Astrid at the unladylike behavior.

Liliana closed her eyes and waited for the tincture to work. In minutes, she could feel the pain in her head fading away, as did the pain in her muscles that she hadn’t noticed with her headache taking all of her attention.

“Wow, that works fast,” Liliana murmured as she opened her eyes and looked at the little glass vial still in her hand. Astrid plucked the empty vial from her and slipped it into a pocket on her apron before she grabbed the tray of food next to Liliana's bed and plopped it on her lap.

The scent of sausage, eggs, and fresh bread hit her and her stomach awoke from its own slumber, growling like a rabid beast. Liliana was quick to calm it, digging into the food with vigor.

“Auntie Asi, after I woke up, why didn’t a doctor come to check on me?” Liliana asked after she’d finished all she could eat. It had been a question that had bothered her last night when she’d had time to think about it. She’d been in a coma for three weeks. She should have been checked over by a doctor as soon as she woke up. And yet she hadn’t been. It didn’t make sense to her.

“Ah, the Duke decided it was unnecessary as you’d awoken and seemed in fine health,” Astrid said, careful with her words. Lilian’s face scrunched as she parsed over the words.

Translates to I’m not worth the cost of having a doctor check up on me. Of course not. I’m just a half-commoner child he doesn’t even want. Liliana felt anger rising inside of her for that. She knew part of it was emotion borne of her recent dreams, but a good portion of it was her own. Her parents in her past life wouldn’t have hesitated to have her checked on by no less than three doctors if she’d been in a coma. And her mother would’ve had the entire hospital dancing to her tune in five minutes flat. The cost wouldn’t have mattered to them, it never did. They would’ve gone to whatever lengths necessary to ensure she was healthy.

To know what that was like, that kind of love and care, and then be confronted with distant apathy by someone who should love her hurt. But more than that, it pissed her off.

Frederick Rosengarde, you're taking the number 1 spot on my shit list, Liliana decided. She wasn’t sure what she’d do to him if she got the power to. Killing him was out of the question. She was trying to avoid becoming a villainess, as that had ended terribly for Liliana in the game. Maybe she could disgrace him?

What if I get so powerful the Queen recognizes me and he has to come crawling to me on his hands and knees for my forgiveness? Liliana mused, a small smile on her face as she indulged the daydream.

“-on’t think you should return to lessons,” Liliana jolted slightly when she realized Astrid had been speaking while she’d been stuck in her imagination. She tried to focus back on what the woman was saying.

“So it would be best if you spend the day in your rooms, as you’ve obviously not fully recovered,” Astrid finished and Liliana nodded, lost but willing to stay in her rooms if it meant she could avoid seeing her family. And perhaps spend more time reading.

“I think that would be best, Auntie Asi,” Liliana agreed. “Could you perhaps get me some more books from the library?” Liliana asked hopefully.

“I can, but do you not want to try out your embroidery instead and see if you can get the skill?” Astrid positioned it as a question, but Liliana was under no illusions that she had a choice here.

Nooo! I’ll take whatever the other option was! Liliana pouted at the maid and Astrid adopted a faux, considering expression.

“Well, if you don’t want to do your embroidery, we can go to your lessons,” Astrid offered and Liliana’s eyes widened, remembering the memory of Miss Beckett belittling Liliana for struggling in mathematics.

“Ah,” Liliana coughed delicately, her eyes averted, “it has been some time since I tried embroidery. That would be a splendid idea,” Liliana ventured. Astrid beamed at her and Liliana returned the gesture, warmth blooming in her chest from picking the choice Astrid wanted.

“Well, let us get you dressed then and you can take your embroidery and books into the sitting room,” Astrid instructed and Liliana sighed as she resigned herself to another hour of getting manhandled.

An hour and a half later, Liliana was ready, her hair in a loose braid and clothed in a yet another tea gown. This one was a light lilac color that brought out the blue in her eyes and hair rather nicely. It was a shame it would be unseen, as Liliana had every intention of staying in her rooms, and far from any of her family or the other servants.

Liliana lowered herself into a chair and looked at the embroidery hoop and needle presented to her with distaste. She wasn’t sure if Liliana’s dislike of embroidery was so strong that it overpowered her own emotions or if she shared the girl's dislike for the task. Either way, Liliana took the hoop and stared at the pattern in mild confusion. Soon enough her body remembered the process and Liliana found her fingers moving the needle and thread through the fabric, slowly filling out the image. It was a simple design, a ring of flowers, and she found herself relaxing under the repetitive task.

Until she managed to stab her finger a few minutes into the process. Liliana yelped and examined the wounded digit, a small bead of ruby red blood balanced at the tip. She shot a glare at the culprit of her pain.

Now I get why she didn’t like this! Liliana thought as Astrid giggled and came to her, her own embroidery hoop placed on the table. Her design was far more intricate, a moon covered in roses with two swords in front of it. The Rosengarde family crest.

“Has the needle once more bested you, my lady?” Astrid asked as she pulled a small tin from her pocket. Liliana focused on the new object immediately.

Minor Wound Poultice:

Made by a Novice Alchemist or Apothecary. Will heal any small wounds or scrapes

As Astrid opened the tin, the aromatic scent of eucalyptus hit Liliana’s nose and made her scrunch it up as a small dollop was placed on her finger. Immediately the pain faded and when Astrid wiped it off, the wound was gone.

That’s so cool! I want to learn how to make that, rather than learning embroidery! Liliana lamented as Astrid put the tin away. She had always had an interest in medicine. She had once dreamed if she got better, she would find a better cure for cancer. Liliana had hoped to go to college for chemistry or something similar, but she’d never gotten a chance to learn anything past the high school classes she’d struggled to attend, even online.

Well, now I don’t need to worry about being too sick to learn! I could make my own potions… Liliana amused herself with thoughts of her concocting rare and powerful potions as she resumed her embroidery.

You have met the Requirements for the General Skill [Embroidery] Would you like to accept this skill?

A notification from the System dragged Liliana from her daydreams. She accepted the skill with a resigned sigh.

Because of previous experience [Embroidery] has advanced to level 6

Liliana blinked at the new notification before grinning. Now that was cool! While it was for a skill she’d be perfectly happy never using again in her life. It brought joy to her gamer heart to have a skill start out above level 1.

“Looks like you got the skill,” Astrid chimed in, her voice full of amusement. Liliana turned to her and nodded vigorously.

“It is even at level 6!” she declared, proud of her new skill. She looked back down at her embroidery hoop and hummed. How would the skill affect her now? As she went to start on it again, she found her body making minor adjustments to the way she held the needle, the hoop, and even the pressure she used.

Delighted by the new skill, Liliana let time fade as she progressed through her embroidery. Every time there was a slight change in the way she did it, she smiled, enjoying the way the skill aided her. By the time her stomach was informing her it was past time for lunch, she was finishing the project, only having pricked herself twice more. The embroidery wasn’t anything special and would insult any noblewoman who was offered to have it on their clothing or decorations, but it was certainly better than the embroidery she'd seen in Liliana’s memories.

[Embroidery] Reached Level 7!

You have gained a point in Dexterity!

The new notifications were welcome, especially the increase in her Dexterity. Though Liliana frowned a bit when she realized that perhaps the easiest way to increase her Dexterity would be through [Embroidery]. Reading would increase her Intelligence, and apparently having some restraint and common sense would help her Wisdom. It still left the rest of her stats though, and she wasn’t entirely sure how she could feasibly get away with Strength training.

Maybe I can increase it a bit by carrying heavy books around? Liliana wondered. And while it wasn’t ideal right now, it might be the best way. Her eyes trailed to Astrid, who was still focused on her own embroidery. For anything else, she’d need to get away from Astrid to train. Speed and Stamina would require actual physical activity that might not be befitting her station.

I could always ask her if she’d help, Liliana pondered. It was an option. Astrid had essentially been Liliana’s mother. She wouldn’t be pleased by Liliana’s treatment, but she could never speak out against it because of her station. However, if she asked for help and it was granted, Astrid would be putting her job, maybe her life, on the line. It wasn’t something Liliana was eager to ask of her. But what choice did she have? She had no other allies in this house.

Best start slowly, Liliana thought as she set the embroidery hoop down and got Astrid’s attention.

“Auntie Asi,” start with buttering her up, perfect, “I got a stat point for Intelligence and Wisdom yesterday and today I just got an additional point of Dexterity,” Liliana watched Astrid attentively, trying to see if the woman became closed off or against this idea.

“Raising three different stats in two days is a bit...fast,” Astrid answered, and Liliana mentally cursed. She hadn’t realized the accelerated growth affected stats too! She’d have to be more careful about telling others how many points she got.

“Well, I was wondering if there were some exercises I could do to increase my other stats? Like Speed, Stamina, and Strength?” Liliana asked hopefully. Astrid stared at her for a long moment, her eyes considering as they looked over at Liliana.

“There are some exercises I know you could do, but…” Astrid trailed off and Liliana leaned forward eagerly. She knew it wasn’t taboo for women to level, or to even become adventurers. The Queen was a Rank 2 Sovereign Blade after all, and she hadn’t gotten those levels sitting in her room. The Academy even accepted women. That was all information she’d gathered from the game. Liliana’s mind supplied extra information that told her it wasn’t exactly popular for young noble ladies to level or put themselves in danger. However, the Queen had made it a bit more fashionable to have higher levels.

“Well, if I’m to go to the Academy in two years, I’ll need to have better stats,” Liliana added in and Astrid’s eyes shone with gratitude. That would provide her with an ‘out’.

Saying she was helping Liliana train for the Academy would absolve her of many punishments. Despite how her family treated her, she knew they wouldn’t stand in the way of her getting into the Academy. It was the right of every Noble to be able to try for the Academy. The only issue, and one Liliana would need to rectify before she turned sixteen, was you had to be Rank 7 at the very least to be admitted. Rank 7 started at level 55. Thanks to her memories, she had the ranks and levels memorized. She wouldn’t unlock her Rank until Level 10, when she would become Rank 10.

She had two years to get from Level 1 to Level 55, and she knew she was starting behind her peers. Almost all Nobles were Awakened on their thirteenth birthday, Liliana hadn’t been. It didn’t help that, while Rank 7 was the minimum, many started at higher levels than that, and it affected their social standing within the Academy. If she wanted to be respected, she’d need to be Rank 6 when she went to Academy.

Well, at least I get the boons to help me, Liliana thought with a small smirk. She might be starting late, but she would be damned if she didn’t eke every drop of luck and power from the boons she’d been given.

“Then I’ll talk to the guard captain. He’s sweet on me and I’m sure we can keep this between the three of us,” Astrid offered a mischievous smile and wink at Liliana. The girl grinned back, excited by the possibility of becoming stronger.

You have met the Requirements for the General Skill [Persuasion] Would you like to accept this skill?

[Deception] has reached level 2!

Liliana blinked at the skill, not expecting to get another one so soon after her last. She smiled over the increase in her [Deception] skill, even if she felt a bit guilty for essentially lying to Astrid. But it was what was necessary. With a thought, she used [Identify] on her newest skill as Astrid gathered her Embroidery hoop from her.

Persuasion: Manipulate others with your words alone. Effect improved with higher Charisma. +2% increase in success for Persuasion attempts.

Alright, I’m going to need to increase my Charisma soon, I’ve gotten two skills that use it. And they’re skills that are directly useful for my survival here. Liliana looked over the skill and accepted happily. It was rather similar to [Deception] and she wondered if the two skills would stack. Could she make more persuading lies? Her hands itched for the skillbook so she could read it and get a better idea of how skills worked together.

As if hearing her prayers, Astrid deposited the three books Liliana had been reading the day before on the table before her.

“You finished your Embroidery,” Astrid explained with a smile and Liliana happily grabbed the very book she’d been wanting to examine.

“Do we also have any books on the different types of magic?” Liliana asked. She wanted to ask for books specific to Soul or Bonding magic, but she didn’t want to tip her hand anymore than she had. She had already messed up by letting Astrid know she’d Awakened early and gained stat points faster than normal.

“I’m sure we do. I can gather some while getting your lunch,” Astrid offered as Liliana’s stomach growled again, annoyed it hadn't yet been fed.

“Thank you, Auntie Asi,” Liliana bowed her head before opening the book in question and falling into it eagerly.

Chapter 8: Bruises, Bonds and Brand New Discoveries!

“Again!” a rough voice ordered.

Liliana groaned as she stood again. Her body ached in ways she didn’t think it could. She was dressed in scratchy clothes, though she appreciated being able to wear pants again. When she’d come the first day in a tea gown, Silas had laughed at her and thrown a man's tunic and trousers at her. They were a bit big, but Astrid had tailored them to fit her far better. She had promised to have proper outerwear made for her, but until then Liliana had to suffer in these clothes.

Suffered? Three and a half weeks in a new world and I’m already becoming a spoiled brat, Liliana mused as she dropped into a fighting stance. She had two wooden training daggers in her hand, the weapon of choice for the day. Silas wanted to try out a few different common weapons to figure out which one worked best for her. So far, she’d been most comfortable with the spear; the daggers were not uncomfortable, however.

Astrid had looked positively scandalized, and yet also a smidgen proud, when Liliana had told the Guard Captain that she didn’t just want to train her stats but also learn how to fight. The man, to his credit, hadn’t protested. In fact, Silas hadn’t treated her any differently from any other recruit, other than training her during the evenings and far from where anyone could see. That had surprised Liliana. While it was quite obvious the man was smitten with Astrid, she hadn’t expected him to agree to train her in secret. While what they were doing was neither illegal, frowned upon, nor outright forbidden, none of them were under any illusions about how the Duke or Duchess would respond if they found out.

Still, every day, Astrid bundled her out of the manor as the sun made its descent, and Silas was always waiting in their clearing with a wooden weapon in hand. Liliana would never be able to properly thank the man for his teaching. Instead, she tried to show her gratitude by taking every criticism and correction to heart and learning as fast as she could.

Once she was once again in the proper stance, Silas came at her, his speed so fast she could barely follow. And that was with him specifically going slower than normal! Liliana side-stepped, feeling the wind of his passage as she turned to slash his open back. The sound of wood hitting wood filled the clearing as their weapons clashed. Liliana tried to disengage, but Silas bore down with his considerable strength. Liliana struggled to push back, her own muscles screaming from the effort. Yet even if her stats had grown these past weeks, she had no hope of standing toe-to-toe with a Level 250 Guard. As her arms failed her, Liliana lost her balance and fell to the ground once more.

You have gained a point in Strength!

Liliana glared at the system notification even as she gratefully accepted the meager offering. It had been a few days since she got her last point for Strength. In the past weeks, her stats had been growing in leaps and bounds. They’d begun to slow though, and she’d read that ten additional points per stat was the cap per level.

She’d also read that the time taken to gain stat points at levels past level one increased tenfold, though the book hadn’t said why exactly. She’d already maxed out her Intelligence and Dexterity was right behind it. Wisdom was also nearly there. That was thanks to her resuming her daily class with her governess and being forced to complete problems or answer questions from memory.

Sadly, other than having experience with her own highschool classes, she had no magical fix to learning. Her Intelligence seemed to be increasing her ability to learn new information, but it certainly didn’t make the lessons any more fun. Somehow, in a world full of magic and a history of grand battles, Justine Beckett still managed to make it boring. Liliana was convinced it was some kind of skill.

“Next time, try to slide my blade off yours instead of attempting to overpower me. You’ll never win a straight Strength battle. So try to disengage or direct your opponent’s momentum and weight away from you,” Silas lectured her as he lowered his own weapons. Liliana huffed but didn’t argue. She knew he was right. He always told her to try to use her opponent’s weight and Strength against them, as she didn’t have much of either yet.

“That’s enough for today. You can barely stand,” Silas declared as Liliana pulled herself back up, her legs shaking in exhaustion.

“One... more,” Liliana gasped out. She was determined to increase her Speed and her [Dagger Mastery] and [Dual Wielding]. Their training session usually ended like this, Silas refusing to fight her anymore and Liliana stubbornly trying to push on.

“No, you’re too tired to learn anything from it. Do your cool down stretches,” Silas ordered, and Liliana glared half heartedly at the man as she started the stretches. Her body complained at the movements, muscles already tightening from her abuse to them today. By the time she was done, her muscles had relaxed, and she felt like she was made of jelly.

“Looks like the daggers are a good fit for you as a second weapon to the spear, but we’ll have you try out archery tomorrow,” Silas informed her when he saw she was done stretching. He had been talking to Astrid, and the maid’s face was flushed as she hid a smile behind her hand. Liliana smirked at that. They acted like kids on the school grounds with their flirting.

“Archery sounds like fun. It’ll keep people from getting close to me,” Liliana nodded. She was excited to try out yet another new weapon. While practicing new weapons guaranteed pain in her muscles, it also almost guaranteed a new skill every time. And she was becoming addicted to the rush of accomplishment she felt every time she got a new skill or skill level. Who knew seeing your abilities so neatly quantified was so rewarding?

“You’ll never be a close ranged fighter. Spear, to keep your distance and increase your range or ranged weapons would suit you best,” Silas agreed as he looked over her. Despite weeks of hearty meals and workouts, and five new points in Strength, she was still small. She could see some muscles under her skin now, but they were lithe. She would have to put aside any dreams of her becoming a buff Amazonian warrior woman. Her body and the System seemed to think that just wasn’t the path for her.

This wasn’t the first time they’d had this discussion. Liliana had originally wanted to use a sword like a hero from a tale. The first time she’d fought Silas with one showed her how hopeless it was, with a sword she had no reach. Silas could hit her without consequence while she couldn’t even get close enough to scratch his clothes. They were only practicing daggers as a close combat weapon, since if she tried hand to hand combat she would lose. Not that she hadn’t been trained in it a bit, but she would never be a master at it.

Spear had been Silas’ first suggestion for her, since it gave her reach she didn’t naturally have, was a quick moving and light weapon that would facilitate the fast moving fighting style she had to adopt. Being small and light meant she would never be a hard hitter, but she could become the kind of fighter who hit fast, and death by a million cuts was still a death. She knew being a straight mage was an option, but getting a mage class and the spells needed was difficult. It didn’t help that mages had low physical stats, since they needed to pump so much into Mana and Mana regen to remain useful in a fight.

“Well, if I can knock them all out before they know what hit them, it’s for the best. And it’ll be cleaner that way too,” Liliana declared primly before she sniffed her sweat-soaked shirt with a disgusted face. Apparently, they didn’t have the magic to stop that particular bodily function. Liliana looked over at Silas, who looked as fresh as if he’d simply been on a leisurely stroll.

Oh, to have the constitution of a level 250 guard, Liliana bemoaned mentally as Silas chuckled at her comment.

“Well, that’s one way to look at it, My Lady,” Silas conceded before holding out a hand for her to grasp. The man pulled her to her feet effortlessly and waited for her to steady before dropping her hand.

“It’s time for us to get you back to your room, My Lady,” Astrid informed her, the woman walked forward carrying her empty basket. Astrid always brought their dinner with them, and there was always enough to share with the Captain. Despite how recently she’d had her meal, Liliana’s stomach growled, and she flushed as the two adults looked at her with ill-hidden amusement. They wouldn’t laugh at her. She was still a Duke’s daughter after all, but their amusement was clear.

“Can you get me a late-night snack, Astrid?” Liliana entreated and Astrid pretended to think until Liliana’s stomach growled louder and broke the woman’s act.

“Yes, as soon as we have you back in your room, I’ll get you something to eat,” Astrid offered and Liliana nodded. She took the offered cape and threw it over her sweaty training clothes. She lifted the hood and when she was satisfied that all evidence of her activities was hidden, she followed Astrid out of the clearing, Silas behind them. There was nothing to worry about in the forest around the manor, but Silas still insisted on following behind Liliana, just in case.

Heading to and back from her training was the only time Liliana followed Astrid. Her maid kept a lookout for anyone who might notice Liliana coming back sweaty and in men’s clothing. That included most of the servants and her family. There were precious few servants who wouldn’t hesitate to report such unseemly behavior to her father or her stepmother.

They managed to make it all the way to her room without getting caught, and Liliana gratefully dropped her cloak in her bedroom. She’d have loved to rest in one of the chairs in her sitting room, but as she’d found out the hard way the previous week, Alistair would not hesitate to pop into that room uninvited. Just the other day, she’d found a garter snake in her parasol that had been left in the room. It was non-venomous thankfully, but both Liliana and the poor reptile had been scared shitless.

Good way to find out that I have an almost preternatural ability to calm and soothe animals, though, Liliana thought as she shrugged off her sweaty clothes, leaving them piled in the corner of her bathroom. She had managed to calm the snake down and by the time she had taken it outside to release the poor creature; it had wrapped around her wrist like a living bracelet and seemed reluctant to leave her.

The tub filled quickly with magically heated water and Liliana sank into the soapy water with a sigh of relief; the heat working on her tired muscles. They’d moved her daily bath to the evening, so she didn’t have to go to sleep covered in dirt and sweat.

Astrid’s magical fingers started working on her thick hair, and Liliana practically melted into the water. With a thought, she pulled her stat sheet to see her progress.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

120

H-Regen

+1.2/1.1sec

Mana

170

M-Regen

+2/1.1sec

Stamina

150

S-Regen

+1.5/1.1sec

Magic Power

170

Magic Control

205

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

12

Endurance

15

Strength

15

Dexterity

19

Wisdom

17

Intelligence

20

Speed

16

Charisma

13

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Not bad. Can’t believe getting whacked with a wooden weapon a million times would count towards Vitality but hey, if it works. Liliana rubbed at one such bruise on her thigh. One of many that covered her today. Astrid would use one of the plethora of poultices she kept with her at all times now to get rid of it before she went to bed. If it weren’t for that magical balm, someone would’ve caught on to her activities in a few days, she’d been covered in bruises after her first few training sessions. Her dresses might cover a lot, but it didn’t cover everything. Like her arms, neck and face, which were rarely spared bruises. Apparently, Health regen did nothing to help with bruises, or sore muscles for that matter.

Her Magic Control had even raised past where Intelligence should have put it. Liliana had found in her research that one could increase their Magic Control by, well... controlling their magic. Magic Power increased by dumping more power into a spell than it called for. Though from what she’d read, such things could cause a spell to destabilize and explode.

Depending on the spell and amount of Mana pushed into it, you could have a reaction to anything from burnt eyebrows to leveling a city at high enough levels. It was cautioned to only try to increase Magic Power while in an appropriately warded area or under the supervision of a teacher. Magic Control, however, was not dangerous to practice, and the skill Liliana had gotten, [Mana Manipulation], let her raise the stat slowly alongside the skill.

She looked over the rest of her raised stats with pride. Granted, the Dexterity increase was a result born more of her embroidery work than her physical training. Embroidery was still the best way to increase the stat throughout the day. No one found anything odd about a noble woman doing embroidery.

Her Speed and Stamina had increased quite a bit, mostly a result of her running away from Silas and his painful wooden weapons. She still couldn’t even come close to the man's Speed, but she was certainly faster than she had been. She was certain she was faster than a lot of level one mobs in the area even. Silas had confirmed her information that their area had a lot of low-level mobs, mostly because the Guard would cull anything that was too high. There were slimes in the forest, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, deer, even a wolf pack that just teetered on the line of being too high level. But they left people alone, so the Guard didn’t mind them.

Liliana had decided to go out to fight Slimes as soon as she could. Astrid had been resistant to the idea at first, but she was coming around to it now that Liliana had actually progressed. Silas had thought it was a good idea, the new Guard recruits were usually sent out to cull the low level mobs once a month or so. He didn’t think there was anything within several hours walk that could give Liliana any issues.

Liliana dismissed the Status Sheet and pulled up the next one.

Affinity

Soul

92%

Light

90%

Life

85%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 5

[Dodge] 4

[Mana Manipulation] lvl 3

[Enhancement] Lvl 3

General Skills

[Embroidery] Level 9

[Deception] Lvl 8

[Reading] Lvl 8

[Etiquette] Lvl 6

[Mathematics] lvl 6

[Writing] Lvl 5

[Persuasion] Lvl 4

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 4

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 3

[Sword Mastery] Lvl 2

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 2

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 1

Spells

[Light Burst] lvl 1

[Bonding Contract] lvl 1

A list of skills displayed themselves to her and Liliana let out a happy sigh, blowing bubbles away from her face. She had worked hard for her skills and she was proud of them. She had several combat skills, mostly from her trying out new weapons. Spears and polearms had been her favorite so far, and they’d use them the most. Daggers were a close second, though. She’d been upgraded from one to two to increase her damage potential.

Her eyes slid down to her Spells, and she tapped her fingers in excitement. She had managed to get into the hidden room in the library one night and had found the hidden spell [Light Burst]. It was technically a high level spell, as to have the Affinity it required usually meant you were at a much higher level, but Liliana had gotten blessed by a Goddess and her affinity far exceeded the requirement. That Spell was a secret. No one knew her affinities as she wasn’t even supposed to have them at level 1.

The other spell she had learned from a book in the same hidden room. There had been several books dedicated to different magic types, but the one dedicated to Bonding had drawn her. It had given her a lot of information on the magic type. She’d been right. It was meant to bond a person to a creature, though it could also bond people. Not that Liliana ever planned to use that specific branch of the magic. It let you share power between two people, but it also shared emotions and thoughts. And Liliana didn’t trust anyone enough to do that, so it was firmly in the ‘NOPE’ corner of her mind.

No, what interested her was the Bonding to creatures. It had gone into great detail about the process, and Liliana felt she’d learned enough to actually make a contract. Making the Contract was fairly easy. All ‘Tamers’ as they were labelled, could set up their own standard contract that would be used for taming, or even make several. A basic one, as outlined in the book, would bind the Soul of the Tamer and the Creature together, letting them share abilities.

The Tamer would give a portion of their Mana a day to the creature, which would empower them and enable them to evolve and progress. Like humans, magical creatures could Rank Up, but when they did, there were usually physical changes that would come about. To Rank Up they usually needed a surplus of Mana to fuel the change. Typically, they got it by living in Mana rich areas or consuming Mana from things they killed.

Humans apparently gave the most Mana, which was why many creatures attacked them. Forming a Bond let the creatures get the desirable human Mana with less risk. In exchange, the Creature pledged their life to the Tamer. Some Tamers pledged their life too, or added things like a certain amount of food to be provided a day. It varied based on the type of Bond, the Tamer themselves and sometimes the creatures.

Higher ranked creatures had a degree of intelligence, increasing with their levels and Ranks, and could even modify a contract to add in things they wanted. Liliana had found a basic contract in the book and several days of crumpled paper and ink-stained fingers saw her with her own Contract. As soon as it had been properly created, the page had disappeared and the Spell had been added to her abilities.

It was all incredibly interesting and the more she learned, the more Liliana loved the magic. She had read the books on Light and Life magic, and while both were interesting, neither held the same draw for her that Soul magic did. No, that one, no pun intended, called out to her soul. She couldn’t wait until she made her first contract.

Liliana was dragged out of her thoughts when Astrid pulled her to her feet, her bath done. Several minutes later, Liliana was in her nightgown and in her bed, waiting for Astrid to return with the promised late-night snack.

Liliana closed her eyes and, like every other night for the past week, she reached for her Mana. It was easier this time to find the small ball of light. It was a blue that matched her eyes, and she wasn’t sure if that was just the color of Mana or if it was impacted by her. Either way, it responded eagerly when she tugged on a bit of it to come into her hand.

Focusing on the warmth in her hand as the Mana gathered, Liliana tried to imagine a small flickering flame there. She hadn’t succeeded in any of her previous attempts. She was fairly certain it was a result of her having no Fire affinity. Yet her dreams of being a fireball wielding mage wouldn’t let her quit. When the Mana stayed in her hand and didn’t turn into anything new, Liliana opened her eyes with a huff of annoyance.

I know I’m stubborn, but a week with no results is ridiculous. Maybe I should try something else? Liliana thought in defeat. She closed her eyes with a forlorn sigh and focused instead on the Mana becoming a ball of bright light, like a miniature sun, in her palm. She could feel the Mana reacting to her wish, more was drawn into her hand until she felt like she had lost half her Mana when it seemed to condense tightly and push up from her skin.

Light leaked through her eyelids and Liliana opened them, only to shut them with a curse when the bright light blinded her. She frantically tried to dim the light like she would with the little lamp balls around the manor and the ball of light thankfully dimmed. Opening her eyes and blinking away the spots, Liliana looked at the floating light in her palm. It was no bigger than a marble and it was still pulling Mana from her at a slow rate, but it was there. She had just made her own spell!

You have discovered the spell [Shine]. Would you like to accept the spell?

[Mana Manipulation] Reached Level 4!

Liliana grinned at the level up on Mana Manipulation. It had been leveling at a steady pace since she had been trying to make fireballs for a week now. Instinctively, Liliana used [Identify] on the new skill.

Shine: Light. Using the power of Light, you can create a small ball of luminescence that can be dimmed or brightened. No Damage.

Mana cost: 30 Mana Initially, 5MPS to maintain.

Liliana accepted the new skill happily. It wasn’t a combat spell, but she would never be without light again! The actual skill used far less of her Mana than it had taken to learn the Spell. She checked her Mana and saw it was down to 100 and dropping as she channeled the skill. With a thought, she canceled it and the room returned to its normal brightness.

Looks like making new spells is Mana intensive, but they get streamlined when the system grants them to you, Liliana mused, grabbing the journal by her bed to note down the failed and then successful experiment and her findings. The journal was over half filled now, all of it in English. It was filled with information she had on her family, her experiments with mana, and her findings with her stats and skills, along with any notes or information she found pertinent to her researching. She found it easier to remember all the new information when it was written down neatly.

I should probably focus on trying to make new Light, Life or Soul skills. Since it’s probably impossible to make a spell for a magic, I have no affinity to. And I can’t go to a church to have a new affinity unlocked, it would cost money. That I don’t have. Liliana groaned at the reminder. Despite being a rich Duke’s daughter, she herself had no money. She could sell some of her clothes or jewelry, but she had no idea where to sell them, and if her stepmother found out, she’d probably get in trouble. Which led her back to the issue of having absolutely no money. Which she would need if she hoped to eventually escape the suffocating family she’d found herself a part of.

Silas said that the new recruits get to keep any monster parts they get from killing them, and that they can make a few coppers from it. Maybe I can do that? Or are there useful herbs or plants in the area I could collect and sell? Liliana pondered, and she added the options to her to-do list. ‘Make Money’ had been added recently when she’d figured out she herself was poor, even if her family was not. Money made the world go round after all, and if she had a hope of becoming powerful, she’d need money. Money for gear, money for travel, money for food. Money for everything. She couldn’t guarantee her father would give her an allowance, actually she could almost guarantee he wouldn’t.

Well, if I come home with a powerful Bond he’ll probably give me money, her mind whispered and Liliana frowned. That was true, and one of the plans she had. If she could find a strong enough creature within a few days' trip of her home, she could form a Bond with it and come back. Her father would certainly favor her if she showed herself to be powerful or a prodigy. He was always looking for ways to better their family’s social standing, and a prodigy would do that. The only issue was finding said creature, getting to it, and somehow surviving long enough to form a Bond with it. And if it was strong enough to impress her father, it would also be strong enough to kill her easily.

There was no level requirement to Bonding specific creatures, theoretically a level 1 could Bond a Rank 1 level 600 creature. But the creature would gain no benefit from such a Bond and would probably find it offensive. Normally you Bonded something within your Rank or maybe one above. Any further and the creature likely wouldn’t accept and you’d die when it turned on you.

But if Liliana wanted to gain favor, she’d need a creature no less than a Rank higher than her, preferably two or even three Ranks up. To do that, she’d need to level first, to have a hope of surviving such an encounter.

Liliana shut her notebook when she heard her door opening and as the smell of warm pork reached her, her stomach woke once more and declared for all to hear that it required its tithe post haste.

Chapter 9: A Horse Girl Is Born

I thought my head only hurt this bad after a memory dump, Liliana mentally complained as she left the room that had been devoted to her lessons. Secretly referred to as ‘The Torture Chamber’ by Liliana. She had been so excited to learn more about the world she’d found herself in, and she couldn’t deny that she had, but at a cost.

The cost was dealing with Justine Beckett for no less than six hours a day. She was grateful that she only had schooling for four days a week. If it were anymore Liliana wouldn’t be able to promise that both of them would walk out of that room alive.

That letter opener was looking rather promising, Liliana thought darkly as she rubbed a sore spot on her back from where Miss Beckett had hit her with a thin switch. Miss Beckett didn’t just teach History, Mathematics, Mana Theory, Languages, and Calligraphy. No, she also taught Etiquette. And Dancing.

[Dancing] Reached Level 8!

[Etiquette] Reached Level 9!

Liliana glared at the notifications. They didn’t pop up during her lessons, she had too much attention devoted to trying to please the ever unhappy Miss Beckett. Her first month in this new life she’d gotten out of dancing practice using her health as an excuse, even if her health was most definitely recovered. Now though she’d been pushed through an entire week of the lessons as Miss Beckett tried to make up for lost time by running her ragged. It was a mix of her sadistic lessons and Liliana’s previous experience with the skill that had gotten it to such a high level in a week.

At least my Dexterity capped out two days in. Getting hit by her damn switch even got me a point in Vitality. Though I think that was a pity point. And somehow dancing well increased my Charisma, or was it the etiquette? Liliana was lost in her thoughts and didn’t notice the figure entering the same hallway until she was feet away.

“Hello, dear sister,” A deceptively suave voice, deeper than any fourteen-year-old boy had a right to, interrupted her thoughts.

Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde

Level: 53

Rank: 8

“Alistair,” Liliana responded curtly, meeting the boy's golden eyes. His complexion was far darker than hers, a gift of genetics and frequent time spent under the harsh rays of the sun. The gold jewelry he wore, strapped around his wrists and forearm, circling his fingers, dangling from his neck, and even dripping off his ears contrasted beautifully with his warm tawny brown skin. If the color didn’t pair so wonderfully with his skin and eyes and symbolize his affinity for Light magic, Liliana would call it tacky. However, no matter how much she detested the boy before her she couldn’t fault his fashion choice. Or, more likely, his mother’s taste.

His golden eyes flashed with surprise, as it had the past three times they’d run into each other and Liliana hadn’t immediately followed him around like a lost puppy showering him in praise. Oh, the urge was there, the vestiges of the original Liliana pushing for that, but who she was now would never follow around a self-important prick like him. It might be dangerous for her cover but she was too prideful and too stubborn by half, to play the part of a simpering girl.

“Still failing your classes?” Alistair tried to cover his surprise as a haughty smirk dropped onto his face. Liliana wanted desperately to smack it off of him. He always liked to hold her struggling in classes over her head. Even if she was now entirely certain that she was ahead of where she should be, the Governess was simply trying to belittle her by presenting problems out of her depth to make her seem stupid.

What did I expect though? As a villainess, the entire world is pitted against me until I break, Liliana thought with no small amount of bitterness. She couldn’t let the darkness such treatment fostered take hold. If she did she’d fall into the same trap the original Liliana did. And she did not fancy an early death via beheading.

“I am doing fine, I appreciate your concern dear Brother,” Liliana responded cooly, her own mask of cold indifference in place. Her Mother's advice from a life passed ringing in her head.

Don’t give someone trying to bring you down any ground. They’ll latch onto the smallest bit of weakness and tug for all their worth until they unravel you. You’re an unbreakable wall for them to shatter themselves against. And then when they’re least expecting it, strike back ten times as hard.

It had been advice given to her when she’d suffered bullies before cancer had robbed her of even that childhood experience. Some had found it amusing to mock her for having someone else's heart, eager to attack the ‘sick girl’. An easy target. Her mother’s advice had worked then, and it would work now against a similarly immature adversary. She wouldn't give Alistair anything to dig his claws into, and eventually, he would become bored of trying to get a rise out of a dormant volcano.

“That’s not what I heard Miss Beckett telling Mother the other day,” Alistair taunted, trying to drag a reaction from her. Liliana merely stared at him for a few awkward moments before she shrugged delicately.

“I’m simply behind in my studies after my sickness, it is no matter and will be resolved soon enough,” Liliana assured her brother, acting as if there was no double meaning hidden behind his words.

And resolved it would be. As soon as Liliana could level and get her first Tame. Her best bet at making her life here easier was by becoming something of use to her Father. The only reason Miss Beckett could make Liliana’s life awful with impunity was because she had no favor from the Duke or Duchess. Getting the favor of the Duchess was a lost cause. The woman hated her through and through. Getting the favor of the Duke was an attainable goal. A difficult one that held its share of dangers, but one that was achievable nonetheless.

Until then she had to grit her teeth and not make waves. Had to suffer through hours of mentally and physically painful lessons, had to spend her afternoons sweating over her lesson books until the words swam in her eyes. Had to squeeze in her clandestine training in every evening. Had to spend late nights reading the ancient tomes she’d scrounged from the hidden room in the library. Had to train with her Mana Manipulation to try to learn new spells. Had to wake up before the sun rose every morning so she could do her practice sets and stretch out painful muscles.

Her days were long and arduous, yet there was never enough time in a day for her. Her sleep had suffered, and the memories she was still integrating were pushed in at increasing speeds to make up for it. Astrid left a vial of the pain tincture by her bed every night for her inevitable morning migraines.

It was by and far the worst month of her life, both of them. Yet it would all be worth it. She never forgot what she was working towards, the power to avoid her fated death. The power to defeat the likes of Alistair, a Hero destined to end her life with his blade. Every time she saw him it was another reminder that she was working on a deadline, the sand trickling down with each passing day. More than her boons or any aid from a fickle Goddess, she had the edge over her peers, because she wasn’t fighting to kill, she was fighting to live. And nothing called out to the most primal of human instincts than the grasping hands of the Reaper. Nothing could spur a human into feats unimaginable than fear for ones life.

“Oh, what? Are you going to become a genius overnight?” Alistair laughed as if she’d just told the most entertaining of jokes, his guffaws filling the hallway. Liliana’s fists clenched as anger roared to life in her chest and she clenched her teeth to avoid letting loose the stream of vitriol boiling on her tongue.

Can I stab him? Can I? Liliana asked in her mind, hand twitching as if to grab a nonexistent dagger. Liliana took a deep breath to corral her emotions, her control holding on by the barest of threads. She knew it wasn’t the smart thing to do, not the sensible thing by far, but she so badly wanted to fling a [Light Burst] in his face and watch him choke on his own laughter.

No one in her family knew she’d Awoken. Only two people knew other than Liliana herself, Astrid and Silas. They had both agreed to keep it a secret, with very little convincing needed. It was a bit sad that her treatment was such common knowledge that others wouldn’t hesitate to lie for her simply because they knew the information would just be used to hurt her. Didn’t mean that Liliana wasn’t prepared to use that very fact to her advantage. If she had to play the part of a poor, sad, and hurt little girl who was unloved by her entire family to get what she needed. Well. She would play that part, and it wasn’t even a lie.

“No, not a genius,” Liliana responded simply. And she wasn’t, that much was obvious. Her boons helped her, sure. She leveled up skills easier and gained Stat points at a rate that couldn’t be matched. But she was no genius or young prodigy. No, everything she had she worked for. She bled, sweated, and cried for.

“Don’t you have a sword lesson soon, dearest brother?” Liliana asked, her voice carrying a bit of sickly sweetness to it. Her face kept the same cold mask as Alistair calmed his laughter and fixed her with another confused look. She stared back, meeting his eyes until he blinked and looked away with a scowl.

“Yea, I do. I spent enough time messing with trash already.“ Alistair bit out before he stalked away, his irritation at his failure to get a rise from her obvious.

Liliana’s mask finally broke when his back was turned and a sharp smile fitted in place on her lips. As much as her anger had demanded she fight him, with her words or fists, she couldn’t deny that it felt good to win a fight without stooping to his level.

You have gained a point in Wisdom!

Oh, so the System agrees it was a good choice. That’ll put me at 20! Liliana’s smile morphed into one of actual happiness as she looked at the newest notification. She’d gotten a point of Wisdom several days ago after figuring a particularly difficult hypothetical question.

It meant she now had three capped-out stats, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity. Speed and Endurance were tied at 17, not surprising as she tended to train them both at the same time by running frantically from Silas. The man had found her ‘game’ so funny that he’d turned it into actual training for her. They now spent an hour each day with Liliana trying to flee the man in the forest. They’d keep going until the hour was up or Liliana managed to bring the man down, suffice to say she hadn’t been able to end the training before the hour mark yet.

Liliana started to walk again towards her room, her body on autopilot as she thought over her stats. Her Charisma was her lowest stat much to her irritation. She hadn’t cared about it originally, thinking it was a fairly useless stat other than the benefit it gave to two of her Skills. Until she’d found out that Bonding was affected by Charisma directly. The lower the stat the worse the chance of a successful Bond.

It was part of why she hadn’t been pushing as hard as she could to go after some level one creatures. The book she’d found the information on stats in had also stated that raising stat points through training after level one became far more difficult than simply leveling. It hadn’t stated the exact curve of difficulty but the book seemed to think that leveling was more profitable overall, and a better time investment after level one. However, it would be foolish of her to give up the free and easy stat points she got by training at level one, especially since it has alluded that stat training afterward was far more difficult. The book had said that the exception was combat, but Liliana wasn’t sure why. She theorized it was because you were fighting something to the death which increased the stakes. She couldn’t say for sure, however, as she hadn’t found any conclusive information. Sometimes when reading it felt like the books assumed she knew something she didn’t, but she wasn’t sure what she didn’t know to find out.

Liliana was under a time limit herself, she had less than two years now until she could get into the Academy where she’d have access to rare and valuable information not available anywhere else. She had less than eight years until she reached her destined death, and likely when the ‘great evil’ Vita had set her after appeared. She was willing to spend the necessary time to raise her stat points during level one, but it had been nearly two months and she hadn’t maxed them all. She knew from her time with the game that it took maybe a day to level to ten. Which would give her 63 stat points. In a single day.

The main reason she hadn’t set off already to stab a Slime and get the free level and points was she knew she wouldn’t be able to slip away from the manor so easily. She had also just begun to grasp her weapon by this point, and didn’t entirely trust herself yet against something truly trying to kill her. She would admit, she was scared. She didn’t want to die yet. So she was placing a delicate balancing game of becoming strong enough to kill low level mobs in the area, while also trying to become strong quickly enough that she could survive this world. After all her stepmother had already tried to kill her once. Liliana’s story wasn’t well known in the game in its entirety so there was no telling if her stepmother had tried again. Liliana somehow didn’t feel the woman was the type to quit after failing once.

Still, the allure of instant stat points was tempting. The ability to do weeks of work in a single day made all of her struggles seem almost pointless in comparison. Silas and Astrid had cautioned her against going out before she maxed her stats though, she was sure it was because they were concerned for her safety. She certainly couldn’t imagine someone like her stepbrother reserving so much patience in training, he’d undoubtedly leveled the very day he’d Awakened. The thought of him, and others her age, gaining levels daily while she grinded away for a measly stat point or two grated on her patience like nothing else.

But Liliana was stubborn, to a fault, and she was a bit of a completionist. She had never played a game without being no less than ten levels higher than whatever boss she went against. So going out with less than maxed stats tasted like failure to her. And Liliana Rosengarde did not fail.

But how can I increase my Charisma? And not for the first time Liliana pulled up her Stat sheet to [Identify] the stat.

Charisma: Determines one ability to charm other sentient beings with their words, actions, or presence.

This stat can be increased by charming other sentient creatures and compelling them to listen to you. Charming those who are antagonistic to you will provide better results.

Liliana sighed as she dismissed the notification. It was more information than the first time she’d used [Identify] on the Stat, a result of the skill leveling. When she’d had, it confirmed that [Identify] affected the information the system gave you about stats, skills, and spells. She’d started using the skill constantly. She didn’t even notice it anymore, she had it more or less active at all times, identifying everything in her vision.

That had also resulted in her developing a new skill, [Persistent Casting], which despite its name could be used on General skills too. It did mean she got to go completely on autopilot when she had to embroider. She’d grumpily told the System that [Autopilot] was a better name for it but she hadn’t gotten a response and the skill name stayed the same.

Liliana finally reached her room, which was as far from her schoolroom as was physically possible, most definitely not a coincidence. She gratefully entered, shutting the door on the judgmental eyes of the servants in the hall. She might have been caught up in her own head as she walked but she could never quite shake the pressure of others' gazes unless there was a physical barrier.

“Lady Liliana, how were your lessons?” Astrid asked, dipping into a deep curtsy. Liliana had become more comfortable with her, both because of the woman's unending well of love and acceptance and the memories she now held. As such, she’d tried to get the woman to stop curtsying to her every time she came into a room and to refer to her as just ‘Lily’. Yet the woman steadfastly refused, though she still permitted Liliana to call her ‘Auntie Asi’ provided they were in private or with Silas.

“Dreadful, absolutely dreadful Auntie Asi,” Liliana whined as she took a seat. Gone was the cool and collected young lady’s voice from before, now she sounded every bit a fourteen-year girl complaining about difficult schoolwork.

“What did she have you learning today?” Astrid asked as she sat and picked up her current project. She was making another set of training clothes for Liliana, she’d already made her two sets but the woman seemed dead set on making sure she had a different one for every day of the week. She’d found out that the ‘Tailor’ surname wasn’t simply a family name, it was because her parents were tailors. Most of Liliana’s dresses were made or altered by Astrid or Astrid's family. It was the only reason Liliana had so many despite being the unwanted daughter.

“We went over the Treaties of Anatilion, reviewed a new book of Poetry by some person known as ‘Lumin’, and went through the entire bloodline of the royal family again. The rest of the day was proper etiquette for accepting a Marquis into your home and dancing,” Liliana regaled Astrid with her list of daily tortures. She was actually interested in the history of this world but all the fun bits, the great battles, were skipped over or dumbed down into simple numbers. Numbers that were often turned into math problems for her to solve.

Two months ago did she know how many rations were needed to feed an army of fifteen thousand troops with a minimal loss of life from malnutrition or starvation? Or how much said rations would cost? No, but now she could rattle the numbers off.

Did she think she’d need to know that information? Probably not, as she doubted she’d be leading any armies to battles. And if she did she’d be sure to hire someone far more mathematically inclined to deal with the supply. She could admit understanding it would be useful for any noble looking to manage their own estate and militia. If one didn’t know the cost of things then they could easily be swindled by their own employees.

She’d never be caught dead telling Miss Beckett that she honestly enjoyed the feeling of figuring out difficult math problems. For once in her life, a problem could be solved simply and cleanly. Mathematics was difficult and made her brain hurt, but it was also beautifully simplistic in the fact that for every problem there was a definite answer.

“That does sound rather difficult My Lady,” Astrid admitted though the amusement in her eyes belied her tone. She found Liliana’s griping entertaining and Liliana pouted at her in response.

“Astrid, do you know how I could raise my Charisma? It’s my lowest stat,” Liliana decided a change in topic was necessary, she didn’t need Astrid laughing at her misery.

Astrid set her project down as she considered the question. Liliana always appreciated that no matter how dumb her questions might be Astrid always tried to answer them to the best of her ability.

“Well have you tried raising it by spending some time with the horses?” Astrid ventured, even if she knew what the answer was. Astrid was with Liliana most of the time, except during her lessons with Miss Beckett.

“What would horses do for Charisma?” Liliana asked, honestly confused. It had to be humans or intelligent monsters right?

Liliana reviewed the stat one last time and realization hit her like a lightning bolt. Sentient creatures. Anything that could think or feel could be affected by Charisma. That meant even normal animals could fall under its effects.

Liliana jumped up, her exhaustion from earlier gone as energy filled her, Astrid watched her with benevolent amusement already setting her sewing aside.

“To the stables!” Liliana declared and marched towards the door before stopping. Liliana had never been allowed to learn to ride, and as such had never had cause to visit the stables. In her other life, she’d visited the stables in the game but that was from other positions. She knew how in theory but it would be strange for her to know the way to a place she’d never been in this life.

“This way My Lady,” Astrid chuckled as she passed Liliana and led the way. Liliana gratefully followed the maid, once again struck by the complicated web of etiquette that governed her new life. Normally Astrid had to remain four steps behind her at all times, but if she was doing a task such as showing Liliana somewhere she was permitted to walk a pace ahead of her.

Liliana was practically vibrating with poorly concealed excitement. She was going to raise her Charisma and it wouldn’t even mean she had to get hurt doing it! And maybe she could get some kind of Animal husbandry skill or something, which would be useful when she eventually had her own magical creatures. She knew no one else on the estate had a Bond. From her research Bonding was a rare form of magic. Soul itself was no more rare than any other magic type. Anyone who was level 20 could get the affinity unlocked the normal way. Getting it to the necessary 90% affinity was nothing more than a matter of training the affinity up. Same as with any other.

No, Bonding specifically was rare because most people didn’t want to put themselves in danger by trying to tame something stronger than themselves that might decide they made a better snack than a partner. That and the fact that magical creatures usually required a good amount of resources, and some even had very specific dietary needs.

The varied, and sometimes bizarre, dietary requirements of creatures was something she’d discovered when reading a neglected bestiary in a dusty corner of the library. She suspected it was so unused because it was geared towards Bonding, rather than extermination. It didn’t so much tell the easiest way to kill a creature so much as going on and on about each creature’s natural habitat, behavior, diet, and such. Invaluable to a Tamer, useless to some idiot with a sword trying to indiscriminately murder every magical beast he or she came across.

“Here it is Lady Liliana, “Astrid spoke up, breaking Liliana out of her thoughts. Liliana looked and saw a large building before her, the sounds of horses filling the air, along with the underlying scent of manure. Her nose wrinkled a bit at the pungent aroma but she didn’t comment, she was well used to stink from her weeks of copious sweating during her training.

Liliana walked forward towards a small door next to the large grand ones probably meant for letting out multiple horses at once. She didn’t hesitate before throwing the door open but a single step inside had her looking around in confusion. She wasn’t sure where to even start!

“Lady Liliana?” A voice called out and she jumped, looking around to locate the source. Her eyes settled on a man in his forties, a sweat-soaked white shirt over stained brown pants. Simple wear but Liliana assumed anyone working with horses wouldn’t wear their Sunday best to muck out stalls.

Tom Marshall

[Stable Master]

Level 87

“Hello Mr. Marshall,“ Astrid greeted the man with a shallow curtsy. The man returned her greeting with a deep bow. When he stood again Liliana searched his face and relaxed infinitesimally when she found no malice or disdain lurking in his warm brown eyes.

“Is there anything I can help you with today Lady Liliana?” Mr. Marshall inquired and Liliana nodded with relief.

“Yes I wanted to,” don’t tell him about raising your stats! “spend some time with the horses. I’ll admit that I always fancied them but until now I was far too afraid to venture this close. Perhaps you have a gentle horse I can get to know?” Liliana sighed internally, congratulating herself on a well-worded request. That sounded believable, right? All girls loved horses, she herself had a horse phase when she was about ten.

[Deception] reached level 10!

Well, it was good enough for the System, Liliana mused as she awaited Mr. Marshall's response. He was looking at her with a considering air, pausing on her rather fancy dress. She repressed the urge to fiddle with her lacy fabric, she knew it was far too nice to be around a stable but she couldn’t exactly go gallivanting around in her training clothes in broad daylight!

“We do have an old mare, she’s getting too on in years to do any real riding but she’s still a good trainer horse. And if you give her some sugar cubes she’ll love you for the rest of your life,” Mr. Marshall finally said and Liliana rewarded him with a beaming smile. The expression seemed to catch the man off guard a little and he blinked a bit before returning it with a more reserved smile. .

“Could I trouble you for some of these magical treats?” Lilian inquired and Mr. Marshall nodded, digging in a pocket the man produced a good handful of them. His hands far eclipsed Liliana’s though and she had to cradle the sugar in both of her own.

“My Lady, I can carry those for you,” Astrid offered and Liliana shook her head.

“No, do you have a handkerchief? I can hold them that way. I wanted to come here so I’ll carry my own sugar,” Liliana explained and Astrid smiled as she produced the requested handkerchief. Between the two of them, they managed to transfer the treats and tie them up for Liliana to carry.

“If you would Lady Liliana,” Mr. Marshall bowed again and tilted his head. Liliana nodded and let the man lead the way. Her eyes scanned every bit of the stable as they walked, she saw many different kinds of horses. Ones that were so large Liliana was sure they could squish her like a bug and not even notice, smaller ones that looked sleek and fast. Others that danced in their stalls, all pent up energy, and ones that snapped out at them as they moved. The few that snapped caused Liliana to jump a bit, to the amusement of Mr. Marshall who was clearly trying, and failing, to hide it.

“The warhorses have a bit more spitfire in them,” He explained after the third such instance. Liliana nodded but didn’t take her eyes off a pitch-black stallion as they passed. He might scare her and she was certain that a horse like that would never deign to listen to her, but something in her called out to such untamed ferocity.

Wonder how much Charisma I would get by making a horse like that like me, Liliana mused, remembering the note about charming antagonistic beings giving better rewards.

“Here she is,” Mr. Marshall finally stopped by a stall, thankfully nowhere near the bad-tempered warhorses. Inside was a medium-sized mare, dun in color with a few white patches on her. Warm brown eyes met her own and Liliana was gone.

“I love you,” She murmured walking to the stall door, not noticing the way Mr. Marshall and Astrid shared a look and a grin at the young noblewoman's reaction.

“Her name?” Liliana asked though her eyes never left the mare’s, who had begun to amble towards the charmed girl.

“Star, because of the spot on her forehead,” Mr.Marshall informed her, “typically only the war horses or personal steeds get the more prestigious names. Star here was always a training horse for the guards,” he continued as Liliana seemed to soak in every bit of information.

“Hello, pretty Star,” Liliana cooed as she grabbed a few sugar cubes but Mr. Marshall stopped her before she could hold them out to Star.

“Ah don’t feed her like that, she’ll take your fingers. Do it like this,” Mr. Marshall instructed, digging out more sugar cubes and placing them on his own hand, keeping it flat like a plate and angled down a bit. Liliana eagerly copied him, not even noticing that he hadn’t been referring to her properly for a while now.

“It tickles!” Liliana cried excitedly as Star first took the offerings from her hands. Her fingers were wet with horse slobber but Liliana was staring at the horse like she was the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen.

As the noble girl set about spoiling the mare with sugar, the adults took a step back, both keeping an eye on her but letting her enjoy her moment.

“Never seen a noble act like that with a horse,” Mr. Marshall confessed as the stable filled with the bright sound of Liliana’s laugh when Star decided to nudge her chest with her nose.

“Lady Liliana has a soft spot for animals of all kinds,” Astrid informed him, her face full of love as she watched the young girl.

“And she’s not like most nobles,” Astrid added with a bittersweet smile.

“That’s true,” Mr. Marshall admitted.

The two stood back and watched the spectacle of a young noblewoman buying the fealty of a horse with treats.

“I’m out of sugar! Can she have more or should we give her something else?” Liliana asked as she looked over at the adults. Star seemed to think the girl had more treats hidden and nosed her, lipping at her dress in search of the elusive sugar. Carefully Liliana placed a careful hand on the mare’s nose, when she had no issue with it her hand delicately stroked the silky fur. The mares head was almost as big as her own torso, Liliana being small as it was. As her hand reached closer to the top of her head the mare pressed more into her chest and almost sent the girl sprawling.

“Star loves a good petting or brushing,” Mr. Marshall explained with a grin as Liliana obeyed the mare’s unspoke demands and devoted both her hands to petting and scratching the mare.

You have gained a point in Charisma!

Liliana smiled brightly at the alert, she had almost forgotten about her reason for coming to the stables in the first place. After meeting Star, she was certain she’d visit even if she didn’t get a stat boost. The mare showed her more love and affection in a few minutes than her family had in years.

Chapter 10: Vitality Training is Just Another Name For Torture

“Ow! Is this really necessary?” Liliana cried as she rubbed yet another developing bruise, shooting Silas a dirty look. The man didn’t even have the courtesy of looking remorseful, he grinned at her. The gall.

“You wanted to raise your Vitality the hard way My Lady,” Silas shrugged and Liliana mumbled curses under her breath. Astrid was too far to hear them but Silas wasn’t and his grin grew.

It was true, at this point, her Vitality was her last hold out. Despite her original reluctance to raise it now, it was a point of pride. Every other stat had been raised to 20, even her originally difficult Charisma. Astrid’s suggestion those weeks ago had turned out to be a true divine inspiration. Her Charisma had ended up hitting 20 before the rest of her stats she’d spent so much time at the stables. She’d taken to bringing her coursework and research with her. Tom, as he’d insisted she call him, had taken no issue with her doing the work out in the pasture when the more mellow horses were out there. She now had several horses who recognized her and eagerly awaited her inevitable treats.

She’d even learned how to properly brush a horse, and saddle them. Though she wasn’t ready to ride them just yet. Her determination had been rewarded by the system with stats. The work with the tack had even raised her strength, albeit slower than her direct training.

Her Vitality had taken a glacial pace when it came to increasing, mostly because she didn’t enjoy pain. And Silas had taken a long time to drop his reluctance to hurt a noble. Even Liliana’s brother wasn’t typically struck often in training. And because of Liliana’s lower Vitality, she bruised far easier. Which made any hit seem far worse than it objectively was.

However, Silas had respected Liliana’s steadfast determination and relented to her request. A request she currently regretted as every inch of her cried in pain. She was certain she and Astrid would spend an hour putting bruise balm on all the new bruises.

Just two more points. Two more points and I can go out and level, Liliana assured herself. She was beginning to understand why almost no one did the same method she had chosen, it had taken forever to reach this point. Yet she was now far stronger than any other level 1 human would be. And stronger than any level two, three, and most level 4’s. People only got 5 stat points a level. The only way someone would match even one of her stats would be by dumping two levels into it, and she’d still be better with every other stat. That kind of power was worth every last bruise she bore.

The system had even taken pity on her at one point and given her a [Pain Resistance] skill soon after they’d started this sadistic gambit. Liliana meant to use that skill to its fullest potential.

Liliana spun her wooden naginata around her to shake off the pain. To level her polearm-specific skill she switched between a wooden spar, glaive, naginata, and halberd. She preferred the glaive originally until she’d had her training weapon altered to more closely resemble a Japanese Naginata.

She had read once in her other life that naginata were primarily used by women. Apparently, they were balanced better for those who might not be able to match the strength of a male opponent. It meant her ‘blade’ was thinner and longer than a standard glaive but she found it a good bit easier to use than a glaive. The System had even recognized the difference and labeled it a ‘Wooden Naginata’ when it had been finished. Liliana was fairly certain it meant the weapon existed in the world though Silas hadn’t recognized the name.

She had become far more comfortable with the naginata as their training had continued. The weapon was slowly becoming an extension of herself. She still had nothing on Silas, who Liliana secretly thought had a hidden [Weapons Master] class. There was no other reason the man could beat her silly with absolutely any weapon handed to him. She’d even challenged him to fight her with a slingshot after a particularly brutal training. She’d lost.

“Again,” Liliana was the one to initiate this one. Silas’ smile widened as she stared at him with all the fire she could muster. She’d wipe that damn smile off his face one of these days.

Silas charged her, moving at a speed that she still struggled to follow entirely. Her pride had hurt at first, knowing he wasn’t even coming close to using his full potential in these fights. Now she was far too focused on not getting hit.

Her naginata rose and the sound of wood clashing filled the clearing again as Liliana tried to use the long reach granted to her by her weapon to keep Silas from getting too close. The naginata let her match most people’s reach. Something she sorely needed being much smaller than even boys her age.

Every hit shook her. Liliana brought the full force of her 20 points in strength to bear but even that was barely enough to keep her from being thrown back by each blocked hit. Her feet dug trenches into the hard-packed ground. She gritted her teeth as she tried to work her wooden blade under Silas’s guard. The man performed a rather impressive block and with a forceful shove, she was sent back, off-balance.

Liliana spun her weapon, digging the bottom in the ground to stabilize her as she used the additional momentum to avoid the slash Silas chased her with. From her new position, Liliana used her weapon to hold her weight as she kicked up. She was aiming to throw Silas off with the unexpected nature of the attack.

If the man was surprised he didn’t show it as he effortlessly blocked her attack. He grabbed her foot with his free hand and yanked her off balance. She couldn’t block the hit from his wooden blade that sent a wave of pain crashing into her side. Before she could blink a second hit undoubtedly painted her thigh black and blue before Silas released her and stepped back as she collapsed to the ground. Liliana winced at the throbbing pain in her side and thigh.

“Avoid kicks in a battle, you unbalance yourself and if your opponent is smart they’ll grab your leg and then you’re dead,” Silas chided Liliana from above her. The girl nodded, wincing at both the reprimand and the painful physical reminder of exactly why that move had been a terrible choice. She knew better but she’d gambled with a chance to throw him off and lost. As Silas waited for her to catch her breath a notification popped up, sensing she was out of combat.

You have gained a point in Vitality!

Oh geez, thanks System, Liliana thought, her inner voice soaked with sarcasm as she rubbed at the blooming bruises. She wasn’t really mad at the System, but the pain made her cranky.

[Pain Resistance] Reached Level 5!

Okay, I’m sorry System, thank you. Liliana amended at the new Skill level. She lifted her shirt a bit to see the bruise, Astrid making a token gasp at her impropriety. The woman didn’t object, she’d become more used to Liliana’s behavior in training over time. It was one of the few times Liliana felt like herself. Not the disgraced daughter of a Duke but the headstrong girl from Earth with dreams of magic and adventure. It also meant it was the only time she could behave in a manner any noble wouldn’t hesitate to call ‘coarse’. Only Astrid had seemed scandalized by it. Silas, well used to soldier’s behavior, male and female alike, hadn’t even blinked at her behavior. Or her sailor-worthy mouth.

Her skin looked like someone had spilled blue-black ink across it. The bruise painted a good half of her side. Liliana sighed, it certainly paired nicely with the rest of the array of new bruises.

I kind of wish I was a healer now. If only to stop hurting. Liliana mused regretfully before a thought hit her, leaving her dazed and ashamed.

I...could be. She realized. She had discovered a Skill and a Spell through just playing with her Mana. What was stopping her from learning to use her Mana to heal? She had a high enough Affinity with Life to do it. The urge to play with her Mana was overwhelming as her mind ran through the possibilities and Liliana barely remembered she wasn’t alone. Dropping her shirt she looked towards Silas who was absentmindedly examining his wooden sword.

“Can we take a ten-minute break?” Liliana inquired and Silas looked at her with an eyebrow raised before shrugging.

“That’s fine, you’ve been working hard today. Go ahead and take a breather,“ he allowed and Liliana gratefully nodded to him as she settled into a cross-legged position. Silas wandered over to Astrid to probably do more ridiculous flirting.

Liliana closed her eyes, blocking out the sounds of Astrid’s giggles, the chirping of birds, and the rustling of leaves in the wind. She settled her breathing as she dove into herself, searching for her Mana core. It was easier now than it had been before and the Mana practically jumped to her like an eager puppy when she located it. Focusing on her Mana she imagined it running through her body. Slowly smoothing away her aches and pains, clearing out her bruises, and leaving behind healthy skin. It took a bit for her Mana to understand and she had to visualize it moving through her entire body, even mentally imagining the way the Mana would slowly erase the bruises and leave behind unmarred skin.

Liliana wasn’t too sure how long she meditated there, she was so focused on herself and her Mana. She felt relief fill her as the Mana slowly started following her instructions. Every cleared bruise seemed to speed up the process as her Mana learned how to deal with the bruises. It became more efficient with the plethora of practice her Vitality training offered. She noticed her Mana draining rapidly at first as if someone had punched a hole in her core and let the Mana gush out. Yet the more the Mana worked through her instructions the less Mana that drained from her core. Though her Core was almost empty by the time she called a halt and over half of her bruises were still there. They felt more like several day old bruises however and Liliana counted it as a win.

When Liliana opened her eyes she saw Silas and Astrid sitting and night had almost fallen. She groaned as she stretched out her sore muscles. She had to of been sitting still for more than half an hour. Probably an hour. Her efforts weren’t for naught though as new notifications popped into her vision.

[Mana Manipulation] reached Level 10!

You have met the Requirements for the Skill [Regeneration]. Would you like to accept this skill?

Liliana grinned as she used [Identify] on the skill, excitement thrumming in her blood.

Regeneration: [Channel] For 20 Mana per second you can recover health at a rate of 3 per second.

Self Cast

Liliana enthusiastically accepted the skill, grinning like a fool the entire time. [Regeneration] had been a primarily Tank skill in the game. It was rare for any casters to use it, as it was Mana intensive. Casters were typically glass cannons who died from one or two hits, so [Regeneration] wouldn’t be able to save them. Liliana liked the idea of being a caster or mage in theory, but they were functionally useless solo. While she had plans to get Bonds to cover her weaknesses she wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t bring mystical beasts everywhere with her.

No, Liliana had a fighting style she was aiming for. Her weapons training made that obvious. There were classes that boiled down to being Spell Blades. Fighters that wove magic into their attacks to empower themselves or their weapons. They weren’t as strong as Mages in a flat-out magic duel but they were typically stronger physically, faster, and had better Vitality. Though they were weaker in comparison to a dedicated Warrior class. It was a delicate balance that Liliana was aiming for. It would enable her to be adaptable. Since she had no idea exactly what Bonds she’d ultimately end up with, even if she had specific hopes, adaptability was necessary. She’d never be a Health beast like a real Tank, but she wasn't about to die from a strong wind.

[Regeneration] would be a boon to her as a Spell Blade, she’d have the Mana pool to sustain it and enough health to make it viable. And a small part of her remembered reading books about being dropped or reincarnated into fantasy worlds. Stories where the main character got [Regeneration] early and became nigh on unkillable by the end of the story. For someone specifically trying to dodge a fatal fate [Regeneration] might be something that saved her down the line.

“Finally done?” Silas asked and Liliana was drawn from her internal musings. She craned her head back, looking up and up to the giant tree of a man’s face.

“Sorry, yea. I got a new Skill,” Liliana offered with an embarrassed chuckle. Silas nodded and held a hand out to her that she gratefully took. The man lifted her with an ease that always sparked envy in her chest.

“I figured, I could feel you manipulating your Mana,” Silas shrugged though his eyes sparkled with curiosity. Liliana flushed in embarrassment as she belatedly remembered that Silas could detect Mana use.

As Liliana hadn’t gotten an [Aura] skill yet anyone of a high enough level would be able to see her Mana and how it was being used like a neon sign on a moonless night. It was for that reason she generally didn’t do her Mana Manipulation around Silas, he’d be able to follow it too easily. And may have some uncomfortable questions about how she seemed to know exactly what to do to get Skills.

“I used my Mana to heal my bruises, and got [Regeneration],” Liliana simplified the process and Silas’s face showed a bit of respect, with a light tinge of disbelief. Internally Liliana cursed her impatient nature, [Regeneration] wasn’t a high level skill but it certainly wasn’t one typically picked up at level 1. She wasn’t sure but she would wager that it wasn’t one that people typically just figured out in an afternoon either.

Damn my meta-knowledge, Liliana mentally griped as Silas continued to regard her.

“Well, that means we can go a bit harder on you now. Since you’ll be able to heal it up halfway through our training and then again at the end,” Silas said, his lips morphing into a truly evil grin that sent shivers skittering down Liliana’s spine.

“You’re a cruel man, Silas,” Liliana pouted, crossing her arms. The Guard Captain chuckled at her comment.

“Tell me something I don’t know, My Lady,” Silas huffed, his eyes still dancing with mirth. Liliana sighed but felt her lips tugging into a half-smile. Silas might be a tough taskmaster, and she cursed him six ways to Sunday regularly. But she knew he pushed her because he knew she could take it. And because he wanted her to become stronger as much as she wanted the same thing. She knew she wouldn’t be even half as strong as she was now without his help, and certainly wouldn’t know much of anything about weapons.

“Looks like it’s getting to be time for you to head back now,“ Silas mentioned and Liliana nodded, handing off her wooden weapon to Silas to take back. Astrid came forward and offered her the cape she was holding. With practiced movements, Liliana shrouded herself in the cloth before the trio headed out.

“Are you still planning to go out next week, My Lady?” Astrid asked, her voice holding a bit of worry in it. Internally Liliana sighed, they’d had this discussion many times before. While Astrid wasn’t anywhere near as worried as she’d been originally she still quite obviously didn’t like the idea.

“Yes, The Duke and Duchess will be gone for a few days as they visit with the Duchess’s family, and Alistair will be with them,” Liliana explained calmly, working to keep her exasperation out of her tone.

Realistically Liliana should be irritated that she wasn’t joining her family on the trip. The Duchess’s family was holding a ball and every noble within a few days' trip would be in attendance. It was a major slight to her that she had been excluded. Especially because it was technically her own family even if just by marriage. Even her governess was going. Miss. Beckett was of noble blood, her father a Baron, so she had of course been invited. However, even with the very blatant slight Liliana was grateful. It meant she wouldn’t need to sneak around her own home trying to avoid her family members. She’d still need to be careful with the servants but she’d be able to openly walk around the manor, rather than trying to find roundabout paths to her destinations.

“I see,” Astrid let out a long sigh, “it is the most sensible time I suppose,” Astrid continued as they walked.

“Don’t worry, the Lady is quite strong. Better than any new recruit we’ve had, and more determination and spitfire in her than this entire year's lot combined,” Silas spoke up, trying to assure Astrid. Liliana flushed and ducked her head further into her hood at the unexpected praise.

Silas wasn't exactly sparse with praise, if one did well he would let you know. If you fucked up, oh he certainly let you know typically with his words and his weapon. However unprompted and long praise like this was a rare form for him and it made Liliana glow internally with pride. Silas was one of the few people she honestly respected in this new life, his praise meant a great deal to her.

“If you think she’ll be fine,” Astrid hesitantly conceded and Liliana nodded in agreement. She knew she’d be able to handle slimes easily, and with her naginata she wouldn’t even need to be within their attack range to take them out. It was as safe as leveling could be.

“She’ll be better than fine. I'm sure by the time The Duke returns she’ll be at least level 20 and unlocking her first Class,” Silas assured Astrid, the woman’s shoulder finally drooped and she nodded. The trio split at their typical point, Liliana stepping away to give the two adults their privacy as they said their goodbyes. As she waited she mentally wondered how much longer the courtship would last, the two obviously fancied each other quite a bit.

They remind me of Mom and Dad, Liliana mused as she sneaked a glance back. Seeing the two locked in a kiss she hastily averted her eyes feeling a scarlet blush coloring her skin.

Oh, look, a tree. How very interesting.

Chapter 11: Steel is a Girl's Best Friend

Memories of that night’s latest dreams played on Liliana’s mind, if she didn’t know for a fact her dreams were real memories she’d have thought they were nothing more than the result of a hopeful mind, attempting to find some goodness in someone she should see as an enemy.

Golden eyes looked at her, conflicted emotions playing in them. Dark hands shoved a small cloth bundle at her harshly. Liliana’s weak hands reached up on instinct to take the parcel from him, and as the fabric fell away, she saw bread and cheese hidden within.

“Stop giving her a reason to do this to you. Just behave,” the young boy, no older than eleven, growled at her as he ran a hand through his dark braids.

He looked over her one more time and this time Liliana could put a name to the expression on his face. Guilt. Before she could respond, he turned on his heel and stalked away and Liliana retreated into her room, looking at the gift. Her stepmother had punished her two days ago, locking her into her room and banning Astrid from visiting her and bringing her anything more than a heel of bread and water each night. This was the most food she’d seen since this started. Curled in the corner of her room, Liliana ate the food, tears rolling down her face. Pain in her stomach and heart burning through her and flavoring her food with the salt of her tears.

Her crime had been stealing a necklace from the Duchess. Except she hadn’t. A maid had slipped the necklace into her room but no one would listen to her and her father didn’t even bother to look up or protest when her stepmother announced her punishment with glee. Even Astrid couldn’t speak up, her social status restricting her as much as any physical restraints.

No one had been there to speak up for the little girl who had only ever asked for the love of a parent. Only one little boy had dared disobey the Duchess and sneak food to her. For the next week of her imprisonment, Alistair snuck in each night and handed off the parcel of food until the last day, when he didn’t come. Liliana’s sentence was finally over and she was freed, but she didn’t see Alistair for days after that, and when she did, his eyes were dark and hollow and he wouldn’t look at her.

Liliana resisted the urge to fidget as she stood in the main hall of the manor, dressed to the nines. She even had on a damn corset. Something she’d avoided having to deal with since she’d reincarnated in this life. Based on Liliana’s memories, and Astrid’s gossip, corsets were out of style in the capital. A result of the Crown Princess being unable to wear them because of a sickness that had ravaged her body until recently. Because of this, the Queen had done away with corsets herself. Making more elaborate versions of the Tea Gown fashionable, because royalty always set the trends.

However, the Duchess still preferred the corseted style. As a result, Liliana also had to wear it when she was expected to interact with the woman. Which was thankfully very rare. As much as Liliana detested the woman, so too did Imogen detest Liliana. They mutually avoided each other, and Liliana was quite happy with such an arrangement. But with most of the family leaving, Liliana had to be there to see them off, as was expected. It was something she couldn’t get out of. She’d tried.

Taking another restricted breath, Liliana cursed the contraption pressing in on her lungs. It wasn’t as awful as she’d expected, but she had gotten used to taking deeper breaths from her training. Taking such shallow breaths felt wrong to her now. She also couldn’t move easily with the corset. It limited a good deal of her movements. It left her feeling... vulnerable. Something Liliana didn’t enjoy being while in the midst of this viper’s nest she called a home.

Liliana was considering just slipping away as time ticked on. She’d been loitering in the main hall for close to an hour when the sound of footsteps announced the arrival of the Duke. Behind him trailed the Duchess and Alistair. Liliana dropped into a deep curtsy, head bowed. Weeks of etiquette training and years of muscle memory from her body ensured she performed the curtsy flawlessly. She held it for a long moment before she stood straight again.

“Your Graces,” Liliana greeted, she could feel when her father's gaze rested on her. His aura was contained, but it was still almost stifling this close. He was level 320, right in the upper levels of Rank 3. The difference of power between him and Silas, a Rank 4, was obvious this close. Liliana had no doubt this man could end her with less effort than she used to kill a mosquito.

Liliana followed protocol and greeted the Duchess next. Her gaze felt like thorns against Liliana’s skin, and it took a good amount of control to not flinch. The Duchess was Level 110, Rank 6, and weaker than her husband, though still far above Liliana. the Duchess did not favor physical feats and was part of the noble party who didn’t approve of nobles risking themselves for high levels.

“Oh dear, that dress just does not suit you,” the Duchess stated, and as Liliana raised her eyes, she saw the woman slip a razor-sharp smile behind a fan. Her eyes still held the cold hatred that Liliana recalled seeing in her memories.

You’re the one who bought this monstrosity, knowing it wouldn’t look good on me. If I hadn’t worn it, you would’ve had me punished for the slight against you, Liliana thought caustically, though the words stayed carefully locked behind tight lips. Her dress was a burnt orange, a beautiful color on its own, yet it clashed awfully with Liliana’s cool undertones.

It would look beautiful on the Duchess, who despite being a vile woman was gorgeous. Her skin was a dark and warm sienna that her son had inherited, if a bit darker than his mother as a result of his time spent under the sun. Her hair was a far warmer black, woven in hundreds of tiny braids gathered together in an elaborate style decorated with gold and rubies.

This world really does love to make the worst people the most beautiful. It’s just not fair! Liliana mentally lamented, a hint of jealousy coloring her thoughts. Even if her knowledge of the game meant she knew one day, she would eclipse the Duchess in terms of beauty.

“I do apologize, your Grace, I’ll try to be sure my appearance is more satisfactory in the future,” Lilian responded, keeping her voice quiet and demure, careful to not let the venom in her throat leak into her tone.

She knew the woman’s plan here. She was showing the Duke that his daughter was still hopeless, unable to even pick a suitable dress to wear. Everything the Duchess ever did to her was simply a way to further lower Liliana’s standing in this house, and to ensure she was buried so deep, she’d never climb out and threaten Alistair’s position as heir.

“Do that, we don’t need you to further tarnish our name with your pitiful fashion knowledge,” the Duchess responded, her tone haughty and victorious.

The woman obviously thought this battle was hers, though there was no way Liliana could have realistically won this fight. The Duchess had the dress delivered the week prior. If Liliana had worn anything else, the woman would’ve called it an insult. If Liliana said the Duchess had bought the dress for her, even if it was known, Liliana would’ve been insulting her taste. If she snapped back, she’d be painted as a feral commoner. There was nothing more she could do but bow her head and endure for now.

“We will be gone for a week, see that the house is maintained to standard,” her father was speaking, but not to her. He was addressing his steward, who would manage the household while the Duke was gone. Liliana didn’t deal with the man often. He was her father’s man, so he had little reason to interact with her. From the memories she had, she remembered he was a cold man, though good at his job and loyal to her father. Meaning he was no ally of hers.

“Yes, your Grace,” the man bowed to her father. Satisfied, her father looked towards her. He examined her much the way one would a dog, and one they did not particularly care for. His gaze left her, no words spoken as he led the way out of the manor. The Duchess followed behind him, one last glare sent to Liliana before she exited the doors.

“Do try to keep your commoner filth from getting all over the manor while we’re gone,” Alistair tossed a barb as he left, giving Liliana no chance to respond. She watched her stepbrother leave, a confusing mix of emotions playing inside of her as a result of the latest memories she’d seen.

“Alistair! Wait!” A small girl stumbled as she chased after the imposing figure of her stepbrother, already taller than her, even at eleven.

“Just leave me alone! You ruin everything you touch, don’t you understand that? Just go away!” Alistair snarled as he turned around, his face twisted in anger.

Liliana drew up short, stepping back as a whimper emerged from her lips. She’d wanted to thank Alistair for bringing her food, but hadn’t had a chance for over a month. As he turned and stalked away from her, Liliana gripped her dress over her heart, which beat painfully in her chest like a wounded animal.

“What did I do wrong?” the little girl asked the empty hallway, earning no answer for her query. Only silence, and the cold chill of loneliness.

The door shut behind the young Lord, and Liliana let out a silent sigh. At least she didn’t have to see Miss Beckett too. Despite being nobility, she was an employee of their house, meaning she would not be exiting the house with the family.

Liliana turned on her heel and left the main hall, eager to get back to her room and remove the gods-cursed monstrosity of fabric and bone. She needed to double-check the provisions Astrid had prepared for her trip tomorrow. She had finally hit 20 Vitality a few days ago, meaning she was cleared to start leveling. She’d spend today preparing for her day trip and tomorrow she’d be up early to sneak out of the manor and start on her first mini-adventure.

The thought of finally getting to fight creatures, to use the skills she’d been building over the couple of months she’d been here, filled her with excitement and hastened her steps. She’d finally get a chance to level and be one step closer to enacting her plans.

Liliana entered her rooms and saw that Astrid was waiting for her. She would have accompanied Liliana originally, but with so much of the staff focused on making sure the departure of the Duke and Duchess went well, it was the perfect chance for Astrid to gather the extra things Liliana needed without scrutiny.

“How was it, lady Liliana?” Astrid asked as Liliana marched to her bedroom, ready to rip the dress off herself.

“As expected,” Liliana responded neutrally. And it was. The lack of acknowledgment from her father, the Duchess’s machinations, and her step-brother’s barbs were all things she had expected from the day. Though it didn’t make them sting any less.

Perhaps, before she had integrated most of Liliana’s memories, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. But it did because a part of her now saw the Duke as her father, even if the man had done nothing to earn the title other than donating a portion of his genetics. The Duchess had once been the possibility of a mother that Liliana could remember, as the original memories of Liliana’s own mother were faded and weak. Yet that was continuously shot down.

At the heart of it, Liliana had been a child who desperately wanted love much the same as any child did. All children sought their parents' love and approval. It was almost hard-wired into them to wish for it. Yet Liliana had never really known that, not the original one. Now she had memories of a loving family, of doting parents. It made it sting so much more that she knew she’d likely never have such a thing again.

Liliana stood still while Astrid worked to free her from the restraint of the dress. Layer after layer was removed and carefully put away. It felt like it took hours before Liliana was once again dressed in a far more comfortable tea gown that flowed around her.

“Did you get everything?” Liliana asked as they retired to her parlor. Astrid had already set out the current books Liliana was reading and her latest notebook. She had already filled a couple. There was simply so much to know in this new world!

“Yes, I got you a pack, though it’s not spatial,” Liliana frowned at this but nodded. She’d expected that. Spatial bags were expensive, and she hadn’t realistically thought Astrid could acquire one for her.

“I also got a few Health and Mana tinctures, minor wound poultices, bandages, some hard bread, cheese as well as a couple of apples, two flasks of water, a compass, a map of the area, and two gathering bags,” Astrid recited all the things on Liliana’s ‘wish-list’.

She produced the pack in question that seemed to be filled to the brim with all the supplies. Liliana smiled gratefully at her maid as she took the pack from her. It was weighty, but with her increase in Strength, it wasn’t a burden.

“And,” Astrid continued, and Liliana perked up. She hadn’t requested Astrid pick up anything else. “I finished these.” Astrid finished and, from behind her chair, she produced a pile of leather clothes, carefully folded.

Liliana set down her new bag and took the clothes, eyes wide as she examined them. They were a bit different from her training clothes. There was a sturdy undershirt with leather reinforcing the arms, a thick leather vest that went over the top of it, and a pair of sturdy and form-fitting leather pants. It wasn’t armor, but the outfit would keep most of the low-level creatures from doing her any true damage.

Liliana carefully traced her fingers over the clothes, noticing that on the chest of the vest was a stylized water lily. Tears pricked her eyes as Liliana remembered a memory of a mother she’d never met in her new life telling her a tale of how she’d sat by a pond in the spring, singing. When her song had ended, a water lily had blossomed right at the edge of the water. It’s where her name came from.

It might not have been her memory, not originally, but the emotions she felt from it were real.

“Thank you, Auntie Asi,” Liliana got out, her voice thick with tears as she hugged the clothes to her chest. Astrid hadn’t wanted her to do this, to put herself in danger, but she’d supported her. It was obvious this was the woman's attempt to protect her however she could.

“Of course, my flower,” Astrid responded, and when Liliana looked up, she saw the woman’s eyes were misted too.

“Do you want to wear them to see Silas today?” Astrid asked after clearing her throat and wiping her eyes dry. Liliana nodded eagerly, gripping the clothes tighter as an excited smile fit on her mouth. It was hours yet before they could go to see Silas, but already Liliana was counting down the minutes.

“I feel like a real adventurer,” Liliana whispered as she looked at the girl in the mirror.

Her hair was braided tightly back, as it always was before practice, and she was decked out in the new clothes Astrid had made. They fit her perfectly and she found no issue moving in them. Her range of movements was perfect and the new clothes wouldn’t hinder her fighting style. There was even a belt with spots for her to hang her daggers, another stylized water lily on the buckle. Liliana had no idea where the buckle came from. As far as she knew Astrid had no metalworking skills.

Liliana slipped her well-worn leather boots on, completing the look. She could see the muscles under her shirt and pants. They were close-fitting enough that it was obvious that she had gained muscles over these few months. Her body was still lithe and small, but she no longer looked weak.

A breeze won’t knock me over now, though I do need to look out for strong ones perhaps, Liliana joked mentally as she spun, eyes still locked on her reflection. Her face was split with a huge grin and she had to resist dancing around in her excitement.

“It’s time to go, my lady,” Astrid informed her, though she wore a wide and proud smile as she watched Liliana examining herself. Liliana nodded, taking the offered cloak and followed Astrid out of the manor to their training location.

“Silas!” Liliana called out when she spotted the man. She bounded ahead of Astrid in her excitement to show the man her new clothes. She came to a skidding halt when she saw the man holding a naginata, a real naginata.

“Is that?” Liliana asked, her voice soft as she gazed at the beautiful weapon.

Well, it wasn’t one that bards would write ballads for, but to her; it was beautiful in the late day sun. Polished and gleaming dark wood made up its haft, ending where metal met wood. The metal was sparkling in the light and even from a distance, Liliana could see the sharp edge of the blade, ready to slice through her opponents.

“You need a weapon if you’re going to fight monsters, lady Liliana, or did you think I’d send you out with sticks?” Silas asked, his tone full of amusement.

Liliana flushed, because that was exactly what she thought the man would do. She had been content to wait for a real weapon, trusting Silas’s greater experience when it came to such things. Now that she was looking at a weapon, her weapon, she felt some nervousness in her heart. Was she ready to wield it? Such a dangerous thing? Out of habit, she immediately used [Identify] on the weapon.

Basic Naginata [enchanted]:

A unique polearm not native to the Costa Queendom. Made by a Master Smith out of Stonewood and steel. Enchanted with minor runes of durability and sharpness.

Uncommon.

It’s enchanted? And Uncommon? Is that because of the enchantments, the type of weapon, or the Smith who made it? Liliana wondered. The weapon was far better than anything she could’ve hoped for. Stonewood wasn’t rare, but it wasn’t common. From what she’d been told by Silas, most polearms were made with simple hardwood. Stonewood was usually reserved for more important people or weapons.

Well, I supposed as a noble I’m technically an ‘important’ person, but I doubt Silas told the smith who the weapon was for. Liliana suddenly felt the weapon was far too much for her. A gift too great. Her eyes traced the faint enchantments she could see etched on the wood and metal of the naginata, obviously done by skillful hands.

“Well? Are you just going to stare at it or are you going to take it?” Silas asked and his words prompted her to step forward and take it from his hands.

Silas and Astrid stepped back, out of her range, as she weighed the naginata in her hands. Its balance was perfect, better than her wooden weapons even. She performed a few practice moves. As she became more comfortable with the weapon, she moved into more elaborate sequences until she’d worked up a light sweat.

“How does it feel?” Silas asked as Liliana stood down, resting the naginata’s butt on the ground and holding it to her side.

“Like a dream,” Liliana said, flushing. She still felt the weapon was more than she deserved, but if Silas wanted it back, he’d need to take it out of her cold, dead hands. She loved it.

“Now, these are also yours,” Silas continued, and he pulled out two sheathed daggers. He helped Liliana sit the sheaths on her belt and took her naginata from her as she pulled out the daggers. They seemed to be made of the same metal as her naginata, steel. She used [Identify] on them too.

Twin Simple Daggers:

Daggers made by the experienced hands of a Master Smith, forged of steel. Minor enchantments for durability and sharpness.

Uncommon

She could [Identify] them individually or together, she noticed after playing with the skill a bit. She dismissed it and spun the daggers around as she adjusted. They too were perfectly balanced, and Uncommon like her naginata. She felt tears gathering in her eyes as she considered all the help she’d been given so far. More support than she had ever dared to hope for.

Sheathing her daggers, Liliana made an impulsive decision, flinging her arms around Silas. The man stiffened under her assault and she buried her face in his chest, tears leaking from her eyes.

“Thank you,” she murmured and squeezed him tightly. Eventually, the man gave in and patted her back. She sensed he had no idea what to do with a noble lady suddenly hugging him and was a bit uncomfortable, but he didn’t push her off.

Liliana pulled away and blushed as she wiped at her eyes, pulling out a handkerchief as she cleaned her face. Such behavior wasn’t appropriate for a young, unmarried noble lady, but she couldn’t help it. Silas had used his own funds to buy her these weapons and had trained her for months. Even if doing so was a risk to himself. He had not once asked for any kind of compensation and the true kindness he showed to her daily was precious to her, as it was such a rare thing.

“Thank you, Silas,” Liliana said after she’d cleaned up and composed herself. Silas nodded and saluted her, a guard referring to his lady.

“Of course, lady Liliana,” Silas said as if such a thing was nothing more than what was expected. Liliana promised silently that she’d see that Silas was repaid for his kindness, tenfold.

“Now let me show you how to properly take care of your new weapons,” Silas said, and his normal smile was back, with a bit of that sadistic gleam in his eyes. Liliana sighed, knowing that their training, while not focusing on any of her physical stats, would still be grueling.

Chapter 12: What's an Adventure Without Slimes?

Today was the day.

The most important day since Liliana had found herself in a strange body and strange world.

The day she finally leveled.

Liliana double-checked her gear, then triple-checked it. She knew Astrid had checked it for her already but her nerves demanded she re-check. Some niggling fear in her brain had her convinced she would forget a key item by the time she was already an hour from home, and be forced to turn around and head back. To return defeated because she had forgotten her naginata, or her daggers, or her water.

Okay, I have my food. My two canteens, the map, the compass, the Health and Mana tinctures, the poultice, bandages, food, and two gathering bags. Liliana replaced each item carefully, leaving the map and compass on top so she could easily reach them. She closed the bag and slid it onto her back, ensuring it was a snug fit and wouldn’t be so loose it would rub her shoulders raw. She double-checked that her daggers were on her hips before she let Astrid help her put on her cloak.

This cloak was the same one she wore to training. A plain, dark brown to blend easier into the forest and the shadows. It wasn’t too thick as they were getting close to summer now. Liliana had come to this world at the beginning of spring, she was grateful now that she had. Had she come in fall she’d have had to put off leveling until the end of winter. She’d heard of the harsh winters they suffered on the Northern side of the country by the mountains. According to Silas, it wasn’t a concern for anyone with over 100 Vitality as they could heal faster than the cold could hurt them. But for someone like her with a measly 20 Vitality, it would be deadly.

Liliana looked over herself in the mirror, catching sight of determined sapphire blue eyes set in a face that had lost the last of its baby fat. Her training had shed any lingering fat left on her body, she looked like a young adventurer going on her first Quest. Not a disgraced and unloved Nobleman’s daughter. Not a sick and cancer-ridden waif. She looked strong, stronger than she’d ever felt in this life or the last. The feeling drew a smile to her face as she turned to Astrid.

“I’m ready,” She said and Astrid frowned, looking over her. The woman brushed some non-existent wrinkles out of her clothes before taking a deep breath.

“You be safe, you hear me, Liliana?” Astrid’s voice was hard, her eyes steel. Liliana’s own eyes widened at the tone and the lack of title used. Astrid never dropped her title. She had never taken such a tone with her. While the woman had raised her, she had never forgotten the difference in their stations. Liliana nodded to the woman, to the first person who had loved her and cared for her in the world.

“I’ll be careful Auntie, I promise. And I’ll be back in our clearing right as the sun sets,” Liliana promised. They had agreed she should be back by sunset. It would be dangerous for her to be out in unfamiliar territory after dark. While there wasn’t too much in the area that could really give her trouble there was always the chance of a roaming monster. Most high-level creatures hunted at night as well. So to lessen the risk as much as possible Liliana was to avoid being out after dark.

“I wish you’d take someone with you,” Astrid sighed, though she knew why Liliana couldn’t.

The only person she could take was Silas, and he couldn’t be gone that long. It also raised the issue of experience share. Which she’d found described in a book and had verified by Silas. If there were others near you that you were with they would get a portion of the experience. If they were far over your level it could severely decrease the experience you received as a penalty. With Silas at level 190 and Liliana at level 1, it would mean she got no experience. Astrid couldn’t come because she’d be covering for Liliana while she was gone. Perhaps unnecessary as the servants, as much as they might not respect her, wouldn’t seek her out. The only people who would do such things were her family or her Governess, all of whom were gone now.

“I’ll be okay Auntie, I won’t take any stupid risks. I’ll stick to fighting level 1’s and 2’s until I level. I won’t aim for anything more than 3 levels over me and if absolutely anything feels off I’ll head home,” Liliana promised. It was true too, while she wanted power and wanted it fast she also wasn’t willing to die again. She had just got her new life, her first chance to really live. She wasn’t going to give that up. It was why, despite the urgency she felt to grow powerful quickly, she’d spent so long on raising her stats. She desperately didn’t want to give up this new life she’d found. As awful as it was at times, it was her first chance to really live. She’d do whatever it took to protect this new life. If it meant she had to spend longer than needed making sure she was over-prepared for something, she’d do it ten times over. She wasn’t willing to die young a second time.

Also, she didn’t want to know what Vita would do to her soul if she died before completing her Quest. Something told her the Goddess wouldn’t be as benevolent in the face of failure.

“I know, you’re a smart girl. And you’ve surprised me over these months with your dedication and skills, still, I worry,” Astrid sighed once more before she stepped back She wiped at her eyes which had gathered a few heavy tears. Liliana took a step forward and hugged the woman tightly. Astrid didn’t hesitate in returning the embrace and Liliana would swear she heard her ribs creaking under the woman's surprisingly strong arms. Warmth and love-filled her as she was held by a woman she had honestly come to see as a mother. She would never forget her mom from her past life, but it didn’t mean that Liliana didn’t have the room in her heart to fit a second.

“Okay, let's get you out before the manor gets too busy,” Astrid pulled back with a loving smile and Liliana giggled a bit as she followed along.

They made their way quickly through the manor. It was early morning, the sun barely rising, yet the servants woke before the sun and were already active. It was far more difficult to leave at this time and the risk of being seen was far higher than when they left in the evenings.

Astrid stopped before her and with a shooing motion alerted Liliana to an approaching servant. The girl ducked into a nearby linen closet, closing the door quietly and practically holding her breath as she heard the approaching footsteps.

Astrid must have some kind of Skill that let her hear before me. [Maid’s Intuition] perhaps? Liliana idly wondered as she tried to keep herself as small and quiet as she could.

“Oh, hello there Astrid.” A feminine voice leaked through the door and Liliana froze. The voice was very close.

“Hello Alice, are you on the way to the kitchens?” Astrid asked, her voice cheery. Liliana silently applauded her maid’s composure.

“Yes, I’m to get the Steward his morning tea,” The other woman responded, though her tone suggested she certainly did not want that job. Mentally Liliana noted it down. She had no idea what kind of politics were going on with the servants and it might be a good idea to find out. The only friends and allies she had were servants, after all, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to expand that circle. And perhaps get information on her family while she was at it.

“Oh, well, I best not hold you up. I know he can be very particular about punctuality,” Astrid held a bit of sympathy in her tone. The other maid sighed wearily before she said her goodbye and walked off. Liliana waited until Astrid knocked on the door to leave the closet.

“That was close!” Liliana said, her heart was still beating quickly at the almost disastrous encounter. Her face held a grin though, it was exhilarating.

“So it was, lets go before anyone else comes, “Astrid said, her face worried. Liliana obediently followed the maid and this time they managed to avoid any other servants.

When they got to the training meadow Silas was waiting, with Liliana’s naginata. She could hide her dagger easily, Astrid was the only maid allowed in her rooms. Or perhaps the only maid who wanted to be in her rooms. So she didn’t have to worry about someone finding them. But the naginata was simply too big and much harder to hide and move around the manor with unseen.

Until Liliana could get a spatial bag Silas would have to keep her naginata with him and give it to her anytime she wanted to go out. It irked her a bit, but there was nothing she could do about it yet.

“Look at you, you look like a warrior!” Silas greeted with a big grin that Liliana found herself matching eagerly. She practically snatched her naginata from his hands, running reverent hands up and down the haft to reassure herself it had not been damaged through the night.

“Hah! Did you think I’d hurt your weapon Lady?” Silas teased and Liliana stuck her tongue out at him as she stopped her examination. Her naginata was as perfect as it had been the night before. She felt better with it at her side, more whole.

“Now don’t forget these,” Silas cautioned her, handing over another small bag. Liliana rested her naginata in the crook of her elbow so she could use both hands to look inside. She saw a whetstone, cleaning cloths, vials of oils, and cleaning chemicals inside. Everything she’d need to care for her weapons while she was out, and more. She’d been shown how to use every last item the night before. With how many times Silas had made her repeat every action she was certain she could do it in her sleep. She tied the bag on her belt and grinned up at Silas.

“So am I ready, Captain?” She asked, giving him a salute she’d seen the other guards and cadets use when addressing him. Silas blinked at her before a deep laugh erupted from him.

“Never in my life did I think I’d see a noble saluting to me!” Silas got out when his laughter subsided.

“Well you’re my trainer, it felt appropriate,” Liliana responded primly. Silas smiled at her, a warm smile before he reached out and ruffled her hair. Liliana was frozen in shock. While she and Silas had good banter other than her hug the previous day they’d never exchanged any kind of physical contact outside of spars. It took a moment for her to overcome the shock before she pulled away pouting at the man for messing up her hair.

“You’ll ruin my braid!” Liliana whined as she frantically patted her hair. Silas blinked at his hand, seeming as shocked as she had been at the action. Recovering, he chuckled once more at her words.

“What’s a bit of mussed-up hair for a budding adventurer? “Silas asked and Liliana rolled her eyes at the man, huffing. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face though.

“You ready to head out?“ Silas asked and Liliana dropped her act She bit her lip nervously as she looked in the direction she’d be heading. She’d be going deeper into the forest that bordered the estate. Past the boundary wards that kept the monsters from getting close and then still further. It would take her a bit longer to get to the area she wanted since she couldn’t travel the roads. Too much of a chance of a servant who knew her seeing her.

“Yes,” Liliana finally said, looking at him with determined eyes, even if her hands shook a bit.

“Well then, may Venati bless you,” Silas’s voice was solemn now as he invoked the prayer. Venati was the God of hunting, both the hunting of normal creatures and for magical ones. Any adventurer sought his blessing before heading out to fight a monster or to delve into a dungeon, as it was said he could increase their odds of success.

Liliana didn’t expect attention from another God, she suspected that Vita’s Boon’s would be seen as more than enough for her in her endeavors. Her suspicions were proved right when no alert popped up. Venati hadn’t seen fit to give her his blessing today.

“Well, off I go!” Liliana said, smiling at Silas and Astrid before she turned and made her way into the forest.

“Okay according to the map I shouldn’t be far from the Slime grounds,” Liliana murmured. She was resting on a large boulder, her naginata next to her as she examined her map and compass. She carefully put them away, grabbing a small piece of cheese to eat. Washing it down with a drink from her canteen she put her bag and cloak back on and grabbed her naginata heading off in the direction for the Slime grounds.

She’d chosen to head for the Slime grounds first because Slimes were notoriously slow. They also had no ranged attacks so Liliana could use her naginata to stab at them from a distance without ever risking herself. She also didn’t want to head for one of the other known areas because the creatures there resembled earthen rabbits and squirrels a bit too much. Liliana wasn’t sure if she was prepared to kill a bunny rabbit just yet.

Liliana paused periodically as she moved to grab plants she recognized from reading herbology guides. She still found potion making and alchemy highly interesting. Though she’d had no time to devote to it other than the light reading she’d done on magical plants. She didn’t know a lot but she could recognize several common plants and fungi used in different tinctures and poultices. She hoped she could have Astrid sell them to whoever made the tinctures and poultices they used at the manor. It could get her a small bit of coin.

Liliana almost didn’t realize she’d arrived into Slime territory until she’d practically tripped over a dark brown Slime. With a yelp, she jumped back. The blob had reached out little tentacles of goop at her but hadn’t touched her. She used [Identify] on it to be sure it was within her range.

Mud Slime

Level 2

A Slime that has a slight Earth Affinity. Can regenerate health from absorbing mud and dirt.

Rank: Unranked

Liliana smiled at the information, [Identify] was at level 17 now and gave far more information to her than it did originally. She looked at her new opponent and leveled her naginata at it. If it could regenerate from dirt she’d just have to kill it before it could.

Using all of her 20 strength Liliana stabbed her naginata down into the Slime, aiming for the core that floated at its center. Typically one wanted to leave monster cores alone. While it was a quick way to kill a creature it meant you lost the material. Monster cores were useful and used in all manner of enchantments, potions, elixirs, spells, weapons, armor, and creations. But Slime cores were so easy to get and so plentiful that they sold for one copper to ten. You couldn’t even sell a single Slime core, no one would take it. So Liliana had decided when it came to the Slime’s she’d just destroy their cores rather than try to salvage them. It wouldn't be worth toting around a hundred cores to just get herself ten copper.

The first hit struck, her naginata barely finding resistance in the Slime’s body before it impacted the core. Liliana could see the core crack but not shatter and she pulled her weapon back for another stab. As she moved she saw the Slime desperately trying to gather dirt, the Slime growing and slowly shrinking as the crack in the core started to heal. Liliana didn’t give it time to heal, her second strike destroyed the damaged core. The Slime lost its shape and muddy goop splashed over the ground, topped by the broken pieces of the core.

White essence rose from the monster’s corpse and flew to Liliana, passed into her with no resistance. Liliana’s eyes widened as she felt new energy rush through her like she’d just taken a shot of espresso, as the creature’s essence filled her. A grin broke out over her face.

“Wow, I see why there are so many adventurers if killing monsters feels like that,” Lilian murmured.

You’ve killed a Level 2 Mud Slime

+1000 Experience

+500 Experience from Boon

You’ve reached Level 3.

+10 Stat points

+4 Stat Points from Boon.

An overwhelming feeling of euphoria hit her with the double level up. Liliana stared at the notifications and sat down suddenly in shock.

This is what it feels like to level? Makes sense why there are so many high leveled people then, that felt amazing. Liliana was still a bit thrown off, the high-like feeling of leveling combined with the utter insanity of getting two levels after one kill felt surreal. More surreal than her fighting a Slime with a weapon. Something she’d never thought possible in her last life. For a multitude of reasons.

She had expected leveling at first would be somewhat easy. In the game she’d usually hit Level 10 in a couple of hours of leveling at the start, it got harder the higher level you were of course. She also had a Boon that gave her a huge buff to experience gain. She hadn’t expected to go up two levels after one kill though! She had thought that unlike the game this part would be harder, it was real after all. Nothing in real life was ever easy.

Liliana grinned, excitement overcame her lingering shock as she realized that for once in her life something was easy. At least, for now. In the back of her mind, she knew it would get harder as she leveled. Liliana didn’t hesitate with opening her Status Sheet, wanting to see the numbers laid out there for her to see.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

3

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

200

H-Regen

+2/1.1sec

Mana

200

M-Regen

+2/1.1sec

Stamina

155/200

S-Regen

+2/1.1sec

Magic Power

200

Magic Control

250

Experience: 200/1,600

Vitality

20

Endurance

20

Strength

20

Dexterity

20

Wisdom

20

Intelligence

20

Speed

20

Charisma

20

Unallocated Stat Points: 14

Liliana let out a little happy squeal as she looked over the information. Her first levels! And new stat points she could allocate without weeks of training! No need to run away from Silas until she couldn’t breathe, no bruises littering her body! Just free stats, there for her to do whatever she wanted to with them! Liliana closed out her Sheet, wanting to save the stats until she had more and a better idea of where to properly put them. Her stats were already good enough to handle other Slimes around her level without issue. She jumped to her feet, eager to see exactly how far she could push her luck.

Liliana’s eyes scanned the forest around her, eager for her next victim. Seeing no Slimes she moved forward, steps light and naginata poised to destroy the next unfortunate Slime. She picked up on a Slime resting on a tree, almost blending into the leaves with its green coloring.

Sap Slime

Level 2

A Slime that has a slight Earth Affinity. Made of a stick sap that can trap prey in it.

Rank: Unranked

Liliana frowned at the stick sap comment, she’d probably have to clean her blade after this fight if she didn’t want all kinds of debris stuck to it. The allure of more experience called to her though and she barely hesitated before aiming for the Slime’s core. It was a bit harder to shove her blade through its body and to its core. Nothing her strength couldn’t handle but a noticeable difference from the Mud Slime. Pulling it out also used more of her strength and before she could free her blade the Slime seemed to grab hold of it. As she pulled back her blade the Slime came with it.

“Let go of my weapon!” Liliana growled at the Slime as she swung her naginata around to try and shake the pest loose. The Slime was unexpectedly tenacious and refused to let go of its prize. Liliana glared at it, looking for a way to remove the sticky creature. Her eyes focused back on the same tree and with a vicious smirk, she held her naginata like a bat and swung it against the tree. The Slime was caught between the blade and the tree, Liliana’s strength providing the pressure needed to destroy its core. As it died the some of the sap lost its grip and dripped off her weapon. As if in a last act of defiance a good amount of the viscous liquid stayed stuck to her blade. Liliana quickly forgot her irritation when the essence filled her and a stronger sense of power and euphoria filled her. Her bit of tiredness from her small fights and hike here were forgotten in the rush. She felt filled to the brim in energy for a few moments before it faded to a low hum in her blood.

You’ve killed a Level 2 Sap Slime

+1000 Experience

+500 Experience from Boon

You’ve reached Level 4.

+5 Stat points

+2 Stat Points from Boon.

Liliana pulled up her Status Sheet, succumbing to the urge to allocate her points when she felt something on her foot. Dismissing the Status Sheet she saw a new Slime on her foot, this one was just plain blue like the Slimes she remembered seeing in most games.

Slime

Level 1

A regular Slime with no affinity to call its own.

Rank: Unranked

Liliana frowned at it. She wasn’t sure what the creature was trying to do to her foot but she did not appreciate having any freeloading monsters using her as a taxi service. With a kick, she flung the Slime off. It hit the ground hard, several globs of goo falling from it. It was even smaller than before now, small enough Liliana could cup it in both hands. With no remorse, Liliana stabbed its core, the first strike shearing through it. Essence flowed from the creature into Liliana and she smiled happily. This time she looked around for a safe place to sit and found another boulder clear of Slimes. She climbed up and set her naginata across her lap. She frowned at the sticky sap stuck to the blade, some of the blue Slime had stuck to it and there was residual mud on it as well.

Five minutes later her blade was sparkling once more and Liliana was free to look at her stats without interruption. She pulled up her Status Sheet once more and looked over her points.

Charisma is the most important thing for Bonding, even if I won’t be using it for a while it would be good to get the Stat up before I need it. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck playing catch-up when I really do need it. So 4 points there. Liliana nodded at the decision. It hurt a bit to use stat points on a skill she wouldn’t see a lot of use for yet, but it would be worth it when she got her first Bond.

I should also add 3 points to Vitality and Strength. I know I haven’t gotten hit yet by the Slimes, and I don’t know if they’re strong enough to even have attacks. But I really hate training Vitality and the higher that Stat gets with levels the better. I’ll also add 4 points to Endurance, I’ll be using Stamina a lot today and the less time I need to spend resting the more levels I can get! Liliana double-checked her math and looked at where she’d spend the last 7 points she had.

I haven’t used [Light Burst] yet but I should, and [Enhancement] and [Regeneration] both use Mana too. I’ll up Intelligence and Wisdom by 2. I’ll add 2 to Speed, in case I run against something too strong and need to get the fuck out fast. And I suppose I’ll give a point to Dexterity. I don’t use it too much, and it gets points quickly with all of the Embroidery and Dancing but it looked kind of sad. Liliana sighed at her personification of a stat but still dropped her last point onto Dexterity. Looking over her new stats one last time she confirmed the changes. Heat surged through her as the essence stored from the Slimes was integrated into her body. It wasn’t unpleasant, three levels of essence gave her a comfortable feeling like napping in the sun. When it was done and her body reflected her changes Liliana felt like she’d just finished a warm-up.

Liliana pulled up her Status Sheet to see the changes, doing a small dance of happiness from her seated position at the noticeable difference three levels of stats made.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

4

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

230

H-Regen

+2.3/1.1sec

Mana

220

M-Regen

+2.2/1.1sec

Stamina

240

S-Regen

+2.4/1.1sec

Magic Power

220

Magic Control

270

Experience: 850/2,500

Vitality

23

Endurance

24

Strength

23

Dexterity

21

Wisdom

22

Intelligence

22

Speed

22

Charisma

24

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Her eyes caught on her Magic Control, her highest stat so far. Her frequent use of Mana Manipulation to try and find new spells had caused the stat to increase steadily. It and Magic Power were the only two stats that could increase without their connecting stats of Intelligence and Wisdom increasing with it. They could also grow past the level cap. She’d found in her research, Magic Power and Control had a direct impact on your Rank later on. Ranks apparently had to do with your level and your Power and Control. All three had to be at a specific point to advance to the next rank. It was because one’s power originated from their Mana Core, and Magic Power and Control directly impacted how that was controlled and how powerful one’s Mana was. The strength of one’s Mana Core was what allowed them to Rank up. It was all rather confusing to Liliana at first and had taken time to understand, partially because it was different from the game’s mechanics.

Now she felt she had a slight understanding of it, as long as she got to the right level and her Magic Power and Control were at the right point she could Rank up. She could increase the stats by bumping up Intelligence and Wisdom and by manipulating the Mana in her body and her spells. Thankfully she didn’t have to worry about it too much just yet, as it didn’t really become necessary to manually improve one’s Control and Power until Rank 5 and above.

Liliana closed out of the sheet and hopped down from the boulder. Done with her introspection she was ready to find more Slimes to continue her one-sided massacre. She saw another Sap Slime but decided against fighting it. She was about to walk away and find a Slime that wouldn’t force her to spend another five minutes cleaning when a thought filled her.

Holding out her hand she pointed it at the Slime and focused on the one combat spell she had.

[Light Burst], a ball of light gathered at her palm, heat-less it looked utterly harmless as it flew from her and into the Slime. Up until the moment it hit and burst into shards of light that impaled the Slime mercilessly. The Slime shuddered and globs of gooey sap fell off but it wasn’t dead yet. Liliana focused again on the spell. This time she tried to pump more Mana than it needed into it, filling it until she could feel the spell integrity about to break down. It was twice the size as before and when it impacted the Slime the explosion was larger, the bark on the tree getting sliced by it as well as the Slime.

You’ve killed a Level 2 Sap Slime

+1000 Experience

+500 Experience from Boon

[Light Burst] Has leveled up to Level 2.

Light Burst: For 35 Mana send out a ball of light that will explode on contact with target, inflicting Light damage to a target. Damage equal to 20% of Magic Power

For an additional 30 Mana empower your Light Burst to double its size, area of effect, and damage.

Liliana smiled at the new notifications, she paid special attention to the newest information on the spell. That hadn’t been there before and it seemed the System had decided to make her experiment official. A quick check of her Status showed that her original attack had cost her 90 Mana, so the System’s version was more economical. [Light Burst] was an expensive spell, but it wasn’t a surprise. The spell required 35% affinity for Light, meaning it was typically a higher-level spell. She remembered beginner attack spells being weaker, usually dealing 5 or 10 damage at level 1 but costing around 15-20 Mana. Her Light Burst did 44 damage based on her Magic Power, and that would increase as both the spell leveled and her Magic Power increased. With its empowered version it dealt 88 damage, which should take care of most things around her level. Though it would deplete her of Mana fast. As it was she was down to 120 Mana, slowly increasing with her regen. She could do one more empower Light Burst or 3 more regular ones.

Liliana nodded to herself, already satisfied with her results and she’d barely been fighting for thirty minutes. She set off once again to look for more globs of free experience.

Chapter 13: Slimes? You Mean Globs of Free EXP?

Liliana cut her naginata through the air, ridding the blade of the majority of the goo that had coated it. Around her were the remains of a group of Slimes she’d stumbled upon. Despite their greater numbers Liliana had managed to dispatch them, thanks to her higher Speed, Strength, and reach with her naginata.

The last of the essence entered her and the now familiar feeling of the power rushing through her hit. Liliana smiled once more at the feeling, still reveling in this new experience. Even if she’d spent the past several hours performing what could only be described as a one-woman genocide against Slime-kind, she still found the sensation of being slowly filled with essence invigorating.

A quick look at her Endurance showed Liliana that it would be best if she took a break to regenerate her Stamina and Mana. She’d been chasing Slimes almost non-stop with only small breaks to regenerate her stamina enough to chase after the next Slime and she was getting close to running out of Stamina. Finding a downed tree Liliana checked to be sure a hidden Mud or Sap Slime wasn’t lurking waiting to coat her in goop. Satisfied there were no Slimes nearby she perched on the wood in the circle of sunlight the tree's downfall had opened in the forest canopy.

Her fear of being too weak to handle Slimes had been shown to be unfounded the longer she spent massacring them. She was certain even if she hadn’t trained her stats she still wouldn’t have struggled too greatly. However, she didn’t regret the time she’d spent learning her naginata. She still flushed at the memories of her first few weeks learning the weapon. She had done more damage to herself with the polearm than Silas had done with his own weapons those first few days.

I can’t believe I waited so long to do this! This is amazing! I should come out to level more often. Liliana thought as she cleaned her naginata of its accumulated grime before leaning it against the tree at her side and pulling out the apple in her bag and a canteen of water. After a quick meal, she finally let her notifications pop up. She’d had them set aside during her rampage, wanting to wait until she had a real moment to rest to go over everything.

You’ve killed 8 Level 2 Mud Slimes, 4 Level 2 Sap Slimes, 10 Level 1 Slimes

+17,000 Experience

+8,500 Experience from boon

[Polearms Mastery] reached Level 17!

[Light Burst] reached Level 6!

[Identify] reached Level 18!

You’ve gained 1 point in Endurance, 1 point in Speed, 1 point in Strength.

You’ve reached Level 9.

+25 Stat points

+10 Stat Points from boon.

Liliana stared at the notifications for a few minutes, not fully believing the information she’d been given. She knew she’d killed a lot of Slimes, she’d been running around after them for hours after all. And they were rather prolific in the area, apparently, the Mana was rich enough for them to appear en masse in the area. Still, 8 levels in a day felt a bit ridiculous to someone who had been level 1 that morning.

Remembering how the guard trainees she’d used [Identify] on were all around level 40 sobered her a bit. Level 9 felt like a lot to her, who had been level 1 for months. But she was still pathetically behind most others.

Even her Skill levels weren’t too impressive. [Light Burst] had gained 4 levels, but that was after she regularly blasted Slimes with it until she ran out of Mana. [Polearms Mastery] had only gained 2 levels despite her using her naginata for most of her fights. It was also a higher level than [Light Burst] originally, however, and she had noticed the higher the level the slower the progression. [Identify] had only been raised by a single level!

Pouting a bit at her sad gains for hours of effort Liliana consoled herself with 3 stat points given for her efforts and 35 new free stat points to distribute. Liliana examined her stats, she wanted to be careful with how she distributed her stats. She had an idea of what she wanted to be. She was certain she would be a solo fighter, nothing so far had disproven what she’d expected of this life. She had been treated exactly as expected, and she held little hope that the events she’d played in the game would change too much. It meant she’d be alone through The Academy as well, and afterward too. So she’d need to build herself up to be someone who could take care of herself just fine.

Well, with the help of her Bonds that she hoped to make. Which would play an important role in her survival in the future. She wanted to be strong on her own though, and the longer she used her naginata the more she loved the weapon. She truly did think becoming a type of spellblade, or spellspear in her case would work well for her. She wouldn’t have the raw firepower of a mage or the brute strength of a dedicated warrior, but she’d be physically stronger than the mage and faster too. She’d have more firepower and long-range options than any warrior. It would be a good type for a solo adventurer, and it meant she could easily adapt to any type of creature she bonded.

It was important to think about this, especially now with level 20 and her first class options coming up. She’d been warned both by Silas and her research that usually the first class offers weren’t too good, as one didn’t have enough experience to get better ones. But classes were easy to change or evolve as more became available, and the initial choice helped dictate what options were presented later.

Keeping in mind her goals Liliana examined her stats. She knew she wanted to Bond to creatures, so Charisma was a given stat. She wanted the best chance possible to get a good Bond. But she had no idea when she’d be able to get one. The creatures in the area were weak so she’d need to go several days out to even get a chance to find something worth forming a Bond with. And she wouldn’t be able to bond to anything until she was at least Rank 9, maybe later. So at the very least, she had another 11 levels to go before Charisma became useful.

Right now she was mostly using her naginata to fight, with interspersed [Light Burst]. She had no other spells but she was becoming more comfortable with [Mana Manipulation] and she was sure she’d discover a new spell soon.

Maybe, 6 to Charisma, 3 to Wisdom, 3 to Intelligence, 5 to Endurance, 6 to Strength, 2 to Vitality, 7 to Speed, 3 to Dexterity? Liliana considered it would be skewed to her current fighting style with weapons, with Endurance, Speed, and Charisma being the highest stats. Even with raising Charisma so high, she’d be set fairly well with stats. She hadn’t been noticing too many difficulties fighting Slimes so far and she didn’t expect that to change too much. One last look over her sheet and Liliana confirmed the changes.

This time the larger stat change had a more noticeable effect, she could feel the essence in her surging and integrating with her body. Her body heated to an almost uncomfortable warmth focused on her physical body the most. She felt sweat break out as her muscles seemed to heat as if they’d just been through a rigorous workout, her skin warming more than the sun would warrant. She felt as if she’d just been dumped into a sauna. Even her brain seemed to heat as the changes worked over her. When the process was done Liliana panted a bit, wiping off the sweat that had coated her with a grimace.

Maybe I won’t wait long next time. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to do a big stat dump. How would 15, or 20 points in Strength have felt like? Liliana wondered nervously as she looked over her body.

There weren’t too many physical indicators of change it took a large amount of Strength for it to start building rippling muscles like Silas boasted. The stats apparently used your natural Mana to slightly reinforce your body if you increased it the hard way along with natural muscle growth. It did mean you didn’t build muscles quite as fast as your stat would suggest because of the assistance from Mana. However, the essence used when you increased a stat from leveling all went directly to where you chose, reinforcing at a faster rate than the slow Mana enhancement from training. Essence magically super-enhanced the body. Which enabled faster growth and also why most chose to level versus the slower gain from only training. And until they got to a higher amount the essence didn’t need more muscle to increase your Strength, Liliana compared it to a blacksmith folding metal on a sword to increase its strength without making an overly bulky creation.

That comparison felt far more true now after the essence had pretty much magically forged her body to match her wishes. It felt odd, to have such a noticeable change done comparably to such gains in her old life or even the stat growth she’d experienced through simple training.

Liliana shook off the odd feeling of being magically forged and pulled up her Status Sheet, eager to see all her changes printed out in gratifying numbers.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

9

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

250

H-Regen

+2.5/1.1sec

Mana

250

M-Regen

+2.5/1.1sec

Stamina

300

S-Regen

+3/1.1sec

Magic Power

250

Magic Control

300

Experience: 2,350/10,000

Vitality

25

Endurance

30

Strength

30

Dexterity

24

Wisdom

25

Intelligence

25

Speed

30

Charisma

30

Unallocated Stat Points: 14

Liliana smiled happily, she had come far from where she’d started today. And she wasn’t even done yet. Looking up, Liliana estimated it was nearing maybe two in the afternoon or second bell as they called it in this world. Meaning she had maybe another five hours before she needed to start heading back to the manor. The thought of the levels she could gain in those hours filled her with energy and Liliana closed her sheet. She pulled out her map and compass to see what else in the area she could test her new stats on. She had seen that the Level 2 Slimes gave her 1,500 Experience a piece, and with her necessary experience to level going up quite a bit as she leveled it would take more and more of the Slimes to get her returns. She’d need to kill over 5 just to get to level 10!

Liliana examined the map and looked for the areas that held Level 3 and 4 Slimes. She hadn’t headed for them first since they would be too hard for her at level 1 to deal with, but now she was confident she could mow them down without too much issue. She located the area she wanted, it was at least a thirty-minute walk from where she was at and seemed to be in a large clearing by some cave systems.

Checking the direction she needed to head with her compass she placed the two materials away and double-checked her Stamina. It had recovered while she’d been sitting around examining her notifications and allocating her stat points. With an eager grin, Liliana grabbed her naginata and struck out towards the next set of unfortunate Slimes.

Mud Slime

Level 4

A Slime that has a small Earth Affinity. Can regenerate health from absorbing mud and dirt. Can also send out mud shots to blind or bog down prey and predators.

Rank: Unranked

Liliana blinked away the information from [Identify] as she stared at the largest Mud Slime she’d seen yet. It was over twice the size of the others she’d fought, bringing it up to almost her knee in height. Its core was half again the size of the Level 2s she’d fought and would be worth a small bit more than them. Liliana was currently trying to decide if it would be worth saving the Core for the extra copper or destroying it. She also was a bit warier of getting coated in muck.

Liliana stared at her naginata considering if it would be better to cut it up or to just blast it with [Light Burst] when an idea came to her. With a grin she focused her [Light Burst] into her palm, holding the spell still as it floated above her hand. Pulling the blade of her naginata close she tried to transfer the spell to the tip of her blade and to coat her blade without exploding. The spell moved but as it tried to spread out the spell fluctuated wildly before dissipating with a pitiful hiss.

Liliana frowned at her naginata and stubbornness filled her. She had a clear idea of how this could work and it would be done dammit. This time Liliana tried to focus on her weapon like a wand, urging the [Light Burst] to appear on the blade. Bright light burst at the tip of the blade but after a moment it too dissipated. Liliana huffed in irritation and backed away from the clearing full of Slimes so she could sit and focus.

Sitting down she placed her naginata in her lap with both hands over it and closed her eyes. Focusing on her Mana she pulled some into her hands until it felt like enough to coat her blade. That part was easy, as she focused on pushing the Mana outside of her body and onto the blade she struggled. The Mana felt resistant to the idea and struggled against her. Liliana focused harder on it, forcing the Mana to conform to her will. She had a clear picture in her head of what she wanted, bright white light covering the tip of her blade to about halfway down. Light that would expand and explode once the blade impaled a creature. She forced the Mana in her to conform to her mental image, catching and molding it every time it tried to slip out of her hands. She could feel sweat dripping down her forehead and stinging her closed eyes as it felt like a war was waging inside of her between what she wanted to do and what her Mana wanted to do.

Finally, something in the Mana broke and it flowed like putty in her hands, following her instructions as if it had never fought her. When Liliana drew her awareness from her Mana and opened her eyes she found she needed to drag in deep breaths of air, her body sweat-slicked. Her head ached as well, though the pain was nothing compared to the migraines she had grown accustomed to after waking.

[Mana Manipulation] Reached Level 16!

You’ve met the requirements for the Spell [Light Burst Coat], would you like to accept the Spell?

Light Burst Coat: For 55 Mana coat your blade in light, when the blade impales an enemy the light will explode inside the enemy after a small delay, dealing 12% of your Magic Power as light damage.

30% More effective against Dark Affinity enemies.

Liliana accepted the spell immediately with a wide grin. She dug out a Mana tincture, noticing that her experiment had drained a good deal more of her Mana than usual, she barely had 50 Mana left from a full 250. Changing the very structure of a spell used more Mana. It was the first time she’d tried empowering something besides herself. She wasn’t very familiar with the skill. She hadn’t played Light classes often in her past life as she had never had an interest in Tank classes, which Light normally became. She did remember there being Elemental empowerment spells for weapons though and this one didn’t seem very different from others. Momentarily she bemoaned her lack of Fire affinity, their empowerments usually left Burning debuffs along with dealing a good amount of extra damage. Even if they were mana-hungry spells.

After a moment's rest, Liliana checked her Mana, and seeing it above half with the help of her tincture she stood with her glowing blade and locked onto the Mud Slime she’d seen before. With a burst of speed she crossed the distance and stabbed her weapon into its bulk, she avoided the core, wanting to see if she could kill the Slime easily and keep the core.

Soon after her blade sunk into the test Slime the light around it expanded like an exploding star. Globs of slimy mud shot off the creature, several landing on Liliana’s legs much to her displeasure. However the size of the creature had decreased by about a fourth and Liliana quickly pulled her naginata out, slicing through the creature and wounding it further.

Slowly the creature started to pull the dirt into itself, regenerating as it retaliated, shooting out balls of mud towards her face. Liliana yelped and dodged, not used to Slime’s attacking back. As she moved she cast [Light Burst Coat] again, when her blade was once more shining she stabbed into the Slime. Again the Slime exploded internally and was down to the size of a Level 2 Slime. Liliana didn’t relent, stabbing and slashing the creature while avoiding the shots to her face. She was thankful that her higher Speed meant that while the shots were annoying they weren’t impossible to avoid.

Several slashes and the Slime finally destabilized, leaving its core sitting on a pile of mud. Liliana grumbled as she wiped muddy goop off her chest and legs, grabbing the core and dropping it into her empty gathering bag.

“Level 4 cores are worth what 3 copper for 10? Don’t know if it’s worth being soaked in mud,” Liliana muttered as she glared at the dead Slime. She’d try using strictly [Light Burst] next and see if she ended up cleaner. [Light Burst] was iffy if it would destroy the core before it managed to destabilize the Slimes though. With a sigh of defeat, knowing she wouldn’t be getting out of this without more mud Liliana turned towards the next Slime. She was lucky they had no vision or hearing and only a weak Mana sense at this low of a level. It meant they could only tell if something was there if it was within a few feet of it. Otherwise, she’d have been mobbed by the tens of Slime she could see through the huge clearing in front of the caves.

Liliana focused on a new Slime, one she hoped wouldn’t coat her in muck.

Water Slime

Level 3

A Slime that has a slight water Affinity. Can regenerate health from absorbing water. Can attack with water shots fired at middling speed.

Rank: Unranked

Liliana smiled, finally a Slime that wouldn’t get her dirty! She held out a hand and directed a [Light Burst] at it. The attack hit and water splashed off the creature. Liliana didn’t let up shooting another [Light Burst] as she closed in, using up the last of her mana. The Slime was already close to being destabilized and Liliana only had to sidestep a few water shots before two slashes with her naginata finished the job. Grabbing the core she looked for the next Water Slime, her new favorite creature.

“Here little water Slimes,” She whispered as she scanned the gathered Slimes. Spotting her next victim, a Level 4 Water Slime, Liliana checked her Mana and frowned when it hadn’t regenerated enough for another [Light Burst]. She was at 25 Mana and slowly climbing. Liliana huffed and closed in on the Slime, slashing through it with her naginata. She danced around the Slime, avoiding its attacks as her blade shone in the light, unforgivingly slashing through the weak body of the Slime. Unlike the Mud or Sap Slimes, the Water Slimes offered little to no resistance.

Liliana figured out why the water Slimes were so much weaker when a water shot finally impacted her in the chest and knocked the air from her. It hit hard enough to leave a bruise and Liliana was shocked enough she almost failed to dodge the next shot. It was only through virtue of the [Dodge] skill that she had that she ducked it. Shaking off the pain, something she was used to after Silas’s hell training, she attacked the Slime with extreme prejudice. Incensed by the gall the Slime had to dare to hurt her!

“Die!” Liliana growled as she poured her Speed and Strength into her moves. Light on her feet as she flitted around the creature, slicing its body to pieces. In seconds the Slime was no more and Liliana was left panting and glaring at a puddle of water.

Snatching the core Liliana plopped down to regain her Mana, Stamina, and a bit of Health she’d lost fighting the Slime. That hit had chunked her for 25 health, which didn’t sound like a lot but it was 10% of her total Health! The jump from Level 2 to Level 4 for the Slimes was big, or so she felt. Though she had made it more difficult on herself by trying to preserve the cores.

“It took me what, twenty minutes to get 3 cores? Not worth it,” Liliana muttered, she set aside the idea to use the better cores to get coin. It simply wasn’t enough money to justify the extra effort she had to devote to killing the Slimes without hurting their cores.

Mentally bidding goodbye to her dreams of getting rich on Slime Cores, as fantastical as it may be, Liliana refocused on her real goal. Leveling as much as she could in a day. Power was more important than money for her in the present. She could get money when she had more power to fight beasts that actually gave valuable materials.

Decided in her course of action Liliana waited out her regeneration before standing again to resume her massacre.

Chapter 14: It's Too Cute To Kill!

Liliana walked back towards a familiar clearing, grinning at her success for the day. All told she had made out like a bandit, as far as levels were concerned. She was up to level 12 and had finally unlocked her Rank when she hit level 10. Her Rank was only 10 as well until she hit level 20 and hit Rank 9 and got her Class unlocked.

Her stats were still a bit unbalanced as a result of her putting the points where she thought they’d be the most useful for right now. Dexterity was at the lowest with 24 points, then Vitality at 27. With [Regeneration] it wasn’t as important to pump the stat too high. She was mindful to grow it so she could hopefully avoid future Vitality training rounds with Silas. Her highest stat was Charisma currently at 34, after that Speed, Endurance, and Strength were at 33. Then Intelligence at 31 and Wisdom at 30. Strength and Endurance were serving her well, letting her destroy the low-level monsters faster. Something that became more necessary as she leveled and needed more and more Slimes to get close to leveling. She had decided against going further into the forest in search of the higher-ranked Slimes today. She had run out of Health tinctures towards the last few hours and didn’t want to risk making her way home with a severe injury [Regeneration] couldn’t heal.

Sure no one had been severely hurt by a Slime, yet. Liliana didn’t trust her luck that she wouldn’t become the first. Probably earn some ridiculous title for it too. Like [Slime Fodder]. If it existed.

Endurance, Strength, Vitality, Speed, and Intelligence had gotten 1 extra point during her massacre. It was a considerable increase, it normally took her a day or more of training to get points in the physical stats but she also usually only had an hour or two a day to devote to training those. As opposed to the hours she had for reading, her lesson work, and other ‘noble lady’ skills. Which leveled her less physical stats. She’d been out today from dawn till dusk pushing herself, and the System had rewarded her efforts. She might only be level 12 but she’d estimate she was fairly strong for it. Anyone who had gotten their points purely by leveling wouldn’t be able to match her at the same level now, she was certain. The thought that she had finally started to gain power made her giddy and as she forced her tired body to practically skip into the clearing where she could hear Silas and Astrid waiting.

“Silas!” Liliana called out as she entered the training clearing. The man humored her by pretending to just notice her though they both knew he’d probably heard her plodding through the forest several minutes ago. She grinned brightly at him and watched both Silas and Astrid pause for a moment, blinking.

Ah, the sudden extra fourteen points into Charisma must be working, Liliana estimated. While Charisma didn’t make one more attractive it did slowly build your presence, almost like a weak Aura. The other two shook off the effect, Silas faster than Astrid.

“Looks like you were successful, level 12 huh?” Silas asked as he looked over her nodding.

Liliana smiled proudly, twirling in front of them though there was little in the way of physical changes. None of her stats had been increased enough to justify a forced physical change yet. The muscles she’d built training had provided ample material for the Strength and Endurance stats to enhance.

“11 levels are fairly impressive for one day, though gaining levels at low levels is easier since the creatures around your level aren’t too intelligent or strong yet,” Silas continued and Liliana wilted at having her accomplishments lessened.

“Considering you were a fumbling little flower several months ago and not a recruit who already had some experience and physical training it’s impressive still,” Silas comforted, quickly realizing that Liliana had taken the original comment badly. She immediately brightened under the praise, soaking it up.

“Are you injured?” Astrid asked, forcing herself between Silas and Liliana as she grabbed the girl and twisted her around to look for any cut or bruise. Liliana sighed and let herself be manhandled, she was fine now. She’d used [Regeneration] while she walked back and after she’d run out of Health tinctures a few times. So she had no injuries, but a few extra levels in the rather useful skill.

When Astrid was sure that Liliana wasn’t hiding any fatal wounds from her she was tugged into a tight hug. After a brief moment of surprise, Astrid didn’t usually initiate hugs, Liliana returned the embrace happily.

“I’m dirty Auntie,” Liliana warned and Astrid huffed a laugh.

“I can see that,” She said pulling back and Liliana enjoyed the moment. Right now Astrid wasn’t treating her as a Duke’s daughter, she was treating her as just Liliana.

“So same plan for tomorrow?“ Silas interjected from where he’d been pushed to the side.

“Yea, until the Duke is back,” Liliana confirmed, that had always been the plan. It meant she’d have a week of leveling ahead of her. She knew that it would slow down as time went by. She’d need to venture further and further out to find creatures who could give her meaningful experience as she advanced. Which would cut her time spent leveling as she had to be back before nightfall. But she hoped to be level 30 at the very least, her personal goal was level 35 since she’d be Rank 8 by then. It would mean she would be able to look for her first Bond finally since she could get a creature Rank 8 or higher. Preferably higher.

“Good,” Silas nodded in approval though Astrid still looked against the idea. However, she certainly seemed to have calmed, having Liliana come back uninjured today had done much to assuage her worries.

“I see you took care of your weapons,” Silas nodded at her naginata. Her daggers hadn’t seen any use, they simply hadn’t been necessary. She much preferred the range of the polearm, it kept her from getting dirtier than she already was.

“Yes! She took care of me, so I took care of her,” Liliana answered, a phrase that Silas himself had used. Compared to her the naginata practically shone. She had taken care to periodically stop and clean or sharpen it as necessary. Before she had headed back she’d even taken care to apply oil to the blade and haft, to be sure it would be in perfect condition.

“Good, I’d have taken her from you if you hadn’t cared for her,” Silas nodded with a proud smile and Liliana grinned once more. It was with reluctant movements that she handed the weapon back to him. Though he exchanged a larger bag of cleaning materials to her for it that she handed off to Astrid to carry. Since they’d be heading back she didn’t want to be caught carrying a parcel like that around, it would raise suspicion. She also took the chance to hand Astrid her bag full of herbs she’d gathered, and the pitiful bag of cores.

“I’m ready for a bath,” Liliana lamented as the trio made their way back, Silas chuckled behind her.

“Oh I bet, I’m surprised you stayed away all day My Lady,” he commented, switching back to using her title as they got closer to the manor. Liliana mourned the more familiar tone he used when they were in their training clearing but understood. If he didn’t switch now there was a chance he’d forget and if the wrong people heard Silas could be severely punished for such an infraction.

“I needed levels!” She answered easily, and it was true. She might not relish being coated in mud, goo, and sap but she would deal with it. If she didn’t get power she would die, and a bit of discomfort was worth keeping her head.

Silas chuckled behind her and Astrid sighed in defeat, two opposing reactions to her proclamation.

“You sound like a true adventurer, My Lady,” Silas informed her and Liliana glowed under the unintended praise.

“Unfortunately,” Astrid commented and Liliana gasped in mock indignation.

“Astrid! You wound me!” Liliana cried out, keeping herself quiet as she could to avoid drawing attention to them. Astrid shook her head and refused to look at Liliana, missing her rather excellent portrayal of being mortally wounded by Astrid’s cruel words.

They separated at their normal point and the journey back into the manor was far easier than the trek out of it this morning. Liliana practically dove into her tub, sinking deep into the divine waters. Astrid was a bit rougher with her than normal, a necessary evil to rid her of the accumulated grime of the day. By the time the bath was done Liliana hardly had the energy to eat before she collapsed into her bed, asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

“Okay, I can do this. I can do this,” Liliana hyped herself up as she stared at her newest adversary.

Horned Hare

Level 18

A Horned Hare that has an affinity for air. Speedy and hard to pin down thanks to their magic as well as adept at sending out blades of air from its horns. The horns are also sharpened with wind magic, making them deadly in close quarters.

Rank: 10

She’d finally out-leveled the Slimes in the area, which capped out at level 15. She was on the third day of her leveling quest and she finally had to move on to stronger opponents if she had hope of progressing further than level 16. The creature that sat before her innocently eating clover was her best chance at getting the necessary experience to further herself.

Her hesitation wasn’t born of fear over its level advantage or apparently considerable battle prowess.

No, her issue was it was so fucking cute.

How could she bring herself to kill something with fur so plush it looked like a living cloud? With elegant white horns twisting from its head like an organic crown? Was she truly so desperate that she could murder such a precious creature in cold blood?

No, I’ll find something else to kill. Liliana decided and she went to move away from her position when her foot stepped on a twig, snapping it with a loud crack. Liliana mentally cursed her low Dexterity and her new but low [Stealth] skill.

Should’ve put more points into Dexterity with that last level, Liliana mentally chided herself as the warm brown eyes of the Horned Hare locked on her.

“Hey there little buddy,” Liliana cooed, hoping the creature was intelligent enough for her Charisma to have an effect. She’d found that with Slimes at least Charisma had no impact, they simply weren’t smart enough to be affected by the stat. For a moment it looked like the Hare would fall to her charm until she saw Wind gathering at the points of its rather impressive 4 point rack.

“Fuck!” Liliana cursed as [Dodge] activated and she barely got out of the way of a barrage of [Wind Blades].

That’s a cool skill, can I do that with light? I wo-NO! Focus! Liliana dodged another attack, bringing her naginata into an attack stance she sliced out at the Hare. It sped away before her blade could gain purchase and a sharp spike of pain erupted across her thigh as the creature scored a glancing blow as it repositioned.

Liliana grit her teeth, eyes narrowing in anger as warm blood trickled down her leg. It didn’t feel severe, but her adrenaline was pumping through her veins, dampening her pain while enhancing her other senses.

With a thought, Liliana activated [Regeneration] and [Enhancement] at the same time. Mana flooded her system and she moved. Gone was her hesitance to attack the cute creature. It had dared to defile Astrid’s gift to her! For such a sin death was the only justice acceptable.

Her speed was far improved with the boost, enough that the Hare now seemed to be moving at a pitiful speed. Liliana had little trouble dodging its attacks and her blade whistled through the air too fast for the monster to avoid as it sliced through its neck cleanly.

Liliana stared at the corpse, [Enhancement] still running through her body for the next almost two minutes. She’d barely needed thirty seconds to kill the Hare.

“That was perhaps a bit overboard,” Liliana admitted to the air. Horned Hares were fast, and had strong magic but they had pitifully little Vitality or Strength as a trade-off. Monsters almost always min-maxed their stat points, giving them glaring weaknesses humans didn’t always share.

Suffice to say Liliana hadn’t really needed the boost [Enhancement] had given her speed. She’d been a bit surprised at how fast it had moved originally but as the adrenaline left her system Liliana realized the Hare had likely been the same speed as her, if perhaps a bit lower. Flushing at her reckless action Liliana looked around to be sure someone hadn’t miraculously seen her make such a fumble.

“We just...won’t tell Silas about this,” Liliana told herself and nodded. Yup, this mistake could go with her to her grave. As she shook out the energy in her body she knelt to look at the corpse.

“Well, it’s certainly easier to get Core’s from these than Slimes,” Liliana murmured. She hadn’t needed to destroy the Core to kill the Hare, its Vitality was so low cutting its head off had done just as well.

“Benefit of fighting monsters with actual bodies, I suppose,” Liliana mused out loud. She had grown accustomed to speaking out loud to herself, a habit carried over from her previous life. It helped at times like these when she was alone with no one else to speak to.

Liliana slumped slightly when [Enhancement] ran out, taking a chunk of her Stamina with it. The skill did have a second cost that [Identify] had shown when the skill had reached level 10. To activate [Enhancement] she had to give it Mana, but once it was over it took a tithe of Stamina. It took half again whatever Stamina used while the skill was active, which could be a sizable portion. It was partially due to her training the skill up while she leveled that had gotten her more points in Endurance, she was running her Stamina down constantly.

Shaking off the tiredness from a sudden drop in Stamina, Liliana took out one of her daggers and poked the corpse. Unlike the game, it didn’t vanish into a pile of loot. Not that she’d truly expected it to, but it would’ve saved her having to butcher it to get to the core.

Liliana stared at the corpse for a few minutes, building up her courage. Horned Hare’s pelts sold for a good bit. 10 coppers per pelt, if only because they were softer than velvet. Some nobles liked having their cloaks lined with their fur which meant demand for them was higher than other low-level monsters. It took a lot of pelts to line a single cloak after all. They also provided some natural defense against wind, meaning cloaks made with them were quite warm in the winter. Their horns were also used for some alchemical concoctions. Though those only sold for 3 copper to a pound.

It meant if Liliana wanted to gain money quickly she’d need to learn how to properly skin the Hare. With little faith in her likelihood of a salvageable first try, she sheathed her dagger and pulled out the smaller skinning knife Silas had given her the day before, expecting her to soon start hunting things that would warrant it.

With a silent prayer sent to the System for a skill, she started her work.

Twenty minutes later Liliana had blood up to her elbows and a bloodied, torn and ripped pelt that she doubted anyone would pay for. But she had a core in her palm and a new skill floating in her vision.

You have met the requirements for the General Skill [Skinning] Would you like to accept this skill?

Liliana accepted without examining the skill, it was clear what it was used for and she was just happy to have it. Tossing the ruined hide to the side Liliana put her core in her bag before looking at her hands in dismay. Blood had dried all over them and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last of the day. The scent of blood didn’t fill her with nausea by now, no she had gotten used to such smells in her previous life. An inevitable side effect of spending so much time in a hospital, people tended to bleed there. Despite her experience with blood, however, she did not enjoy the feeling of it soaking into her clothing or drying on her skin.

“Next time could I get a [Dismantle] or a [Loot] skill, please System?” Liliana asked the air, pausing for a moment in hope that the System would respond to her for once. She’d read about it in novels in her last life, Systems that reacted to character’s words.

However her System did nothing of the sort, and if it did Liliana wasn’t special enough to gift such things to. With a pout, she stood and grabbed her naginata once more.

“Guess I already have blood on my hands, time to find another bunny,” Liliana sighed as she moved forward. She dropped into [Stealth] as she went, hoping to level the skill into something useful. She was on the outskirts of the area marked for the Horned Hares and she was hoping to run into another one or two.

Her wish was granted as she spotted another Hare a few minutes into her search and Liliana approached quietly. Readying her naginata she burst into motion and this time when the Hare reacted Liliana could see its speed matched hers. Ready for its opening attack she wove to the side, getting steadily closer to the monster.

A game of cat and mouse ensued for a few minutes as Liliana tested out the Hare, learning their attacks and patterns. She dropped into a habit she’d had when playing the game. She’d take her time with the first monster of a type, learning everything she could about them before she finally killed it. The behavior carried over and Liliana teased out every possible attack and evasion maneuver she could from the beast.

Not the best Endurance either, Liliana noted as the Hare began to flag, sides heaving with tiredness. It made sense if they were pumping most of their stats into Speed, Wisdom, and Intelligence.

Satisfied with the information she had gathered Liliana shifted her attack. She went from light strikes meant to poke the creature into responding to real killing intent. The Hare couldn’t keep up any longer and soon it too sacrificed its life’s blood to her as her blade cut its life short.

Liliana knelt by the body and resigned herself to her task. This time Liliana had a slightly less mangled pelt and perhaps a bit less blood on her hands as she finished skinning the creature. She had leveled in the skill as well but she discarded her latest attempt. She might not know how to turn a hide into something that could be used to make clothing but even her untrained eye could see it would be useful for maybe being a rag.

“Need to get a Spatial bag so I can just toss the corpses into it, get Silas to skin them for me,” Liliana grumbled as she stood and tried to wipe what blood she could onto her pants. It only made more of her red-coated and she sighed. Soon the smell of blood would probably alert the Hares that she was around before they even saw her.

“Nothing for it I guess, need to get the pelts to get the money for a bag so I don’t have to get the pelts myself,” Liliana groaned and barely stopped herself from rubbing her eyes. The last thing she needed was blood on her face as well.

For a brief moment, Liliana considered heading back home if only to avoid getting more blood on her. She had to say she’d rather deal with mud over blood any day. The thought was quickly discarded, if she wanted to level she’d need to fight monsters. And most monsters had blood, it was something she’d need to grow used to.

Looking at her hands and wrinkling her nose at the cloying scent of iron Liliana sighed before heading off to find another rabbit to slaughter.

Chapter 15: Classes and a Furry new Friend!

“Annnd that’s a wrap,” Liliana sing-songed as she finished off her latest Horned Hare. She dropped next to the body and set to Skinning it, the progress she’d made in the skill obvious when the pelt came off without damage. She took the Core and horns and dropped them into her bulging bag. Once she’d started getting pelts good enough to sell her bag had filled much faster than before.

“Guess it’s time,” Liliana murmured as she wiped her hands off on her bloody pants. She sat down, back against a tree and naginata leaning next to her. She looked around and verified that she was alone before she finally let the notifications wash over her. She’d been sitting on her latest level-ups for an hour. She had expected to hit level 20 today and had discussed class opportunities with Silas the night before. He’d known she was heading out after the Horned Hares starting today and knew she’d be hitting level 20 most likely.

Liliana had a good idea of what classes she’d get, most everyone got the basic set at first with some special ones thrown in if you’d done something to trigger it. Silas had told her most likely she’d get Warrior, Ranger, Mage, and maybe Healer since she had [Regeneration], it was also a given she’d get some kind of Noble class. Which were functionally useless if you wanted to use them for combat as the bonuses they gave all had to do with estate management. Which was something Liliana would likely never do, but it was a class that was offered to anyone who had been raised as a noble.

There was also the possibility that her status as a reincarnated soul and her interactions with Vita would prompt some kind of obscure class options. Liliana knew what she wanted though, she remembered a specific class path from the game. It wasn’t often gone after in the game because it required grinding a useless skill there, [Dancing]. A skill she had gotten whether she wanted it or not. The class also required a certain amount of Charisma, a stat frowned upon by most meta-players as it had no damage bonuses. If Liliana was remembering right, and of course she was, she should trigger the starter class on the path. Unless the System was feeling nice and gave her some rare class. With a silent prayer to the System, Liliana opened her notifications.

You’ve reached Level 20.

+20 Stat points

+8 Stat Points from boon.

Your Class has been unlocked, 4 Common Classes are available. 1 Uncommon Class, 1 Rare Class.

Liliana grinned at the notification, she could guess the 4 common classes, and the Rare Class would be her Noble class. The uncommon one was what intrigued her though as it was not expected. Liliana focused on her Classes to get the list to come up for them.

Available Common Classes:

Warrior

Mage

Ranger

Healer

Available Uncommon Class:

Dancer

Available Rare Class:

Duchal Daughter

Liliana immediately denied Duchal Daughter, just the name stung her. She focused on Dancer, as it was the class she’d hoped for. She had played a Dancer class a few times in the past, they were typically a class that focused on speed rather than strength in fights.

Liliana focused on the class to get more information on it.

Dancer:(Warrior Subclass) Class Requirements: Level 25 in a weapon, level 15 in Dancing. 35 Endurance, 35 Speed, 35 Charisma, 25 Dexterity.

A Dancer uses the skills they’ve honed on the dance floor to the battlefield. Pirouetting around enemies and slipping past attacks. They are only ever in one place long enough to strike before twirling off in a dizzying swirl of flashing steel. Rather than a focus on brute strength, a Dancer focuses on hitting the weak points on an enemy to bring them down.

+3 to Speed Per Level, +2 to Endurance Per Level, +2 to Dexterity Per Level, +1 to Charisma Per Level.

Liliana blinked at the information. It was...a lot of information given, more than [Identify] usually offered her. In retrospect it made sense. Classes had a huge impact on how one fought so it made sense for you to be given enough information to decide on how your future would go. She hadn’t expected so many stat increases though. She had known that classes could increase the stat points gained. It wasn’t done in the game, classes just affected the skills you could learn, but she had read that here classes could impact your stats gained. The typical beginner classes didn’t offer much, rarer classes offered more stat gains. Some rare classes apparently could also remove stat points as well in a trade-off, though those were extremely rare.

Liliana checked the Warrior class just to be safe as it had originally been her first pick.

Warrior: Class Requirements: Level 20. Level 10 in any weapon. 20 Strength, 20 Endurance, 20 Vitality.

The Warrior is a fighter who runs first into fights, letting the strength of their blade decide the end of a battle. Warriors focus on strength to overcome any obstacle, unwilling to stand down until either they or their opponent is dead.

+2 to Strength Per Level, +1 to Vitality Per Level, +1 to Endurance Per Level

Liliana nodded, that was more expected. The Warrior class gave some stat improvements but not as many as Dancer. However, for her purposes, Dancer was a much better choice for her over Warrior. It gave her extra stats in three stats she regularly used, which would leave her more points to distribute to other stats that she’d need. It wasn’t the perfect class for her, not by far, but it was good enough for her right now. Liliana accepted Dancer as her class.

You’ve met the Requirements for the Skill [Dance of The Daystar], would you like to accept the skill?

You’ve met the Requirements for the Spell [Tempo], would you like to accept the Spell?

Liliana stared at the notifications for a moment, not expecting to gain a new skill and a spell so soon. She had known you generally got a skill or a spell with a new class but it was still startling. She focused on the first skill to see what it was, its name was far more flowery than her other skills and spells.

Dance Of The Daystar: (Light) Taking energy from the light of the Sun you empower your movements and blade in a dance of flashing steel and blinding light.

Speed increased by 35%

Weapon Damage increased by 20% of your Magic Power

150 Stamina per Minute

100 Mana Per Minute

Channel

Liliana pouted at yet another Light skill. She wasn’t escaping the affinity anytime soon. She was lucky that Life skills were usually focused on buffs and healing, otherwise, she’d probably be getting as many of those. She wanted Soul skills, but those seemed to be far rarer. She didn’t even have an idea of how to do Soul rending or mending spells, which she should be able to learn at her affinity. Yet since she had no idea about the how of those skills or spells she couldn’t even use her [Mana Manipulation] to try to force a skill.

Still, it was a good offensive skill. Her best one all told and if she was careful she might be able to layer it with [Enhancement] in a pinch. Though the Stamina cost could end up seeing her passed out if she wasn’t careful. The fact that it was a Channel was also useful, it meant it wouldn’t stop until she canceled it. Based on her current Stamina regeneration she could keep it going for a long while provided her other actions didn’t drain her Stamina past her regeneration rate.

Liliana focused on the new spell she’d gotten next.

Tempo: Set a beat to your battle with your movements, slowly disorientate your opponents through the mesmerizing movements of your body and weapon. The longer Tempo is active the more confused the opponent becomes, and the harder it is for them to break out. Effects increased based on Charisma.

Opponents with Higher Intelligence are less affected.

80 Mana Per Minute

Channel

Liliana grinned at the new spell. It wasn’t light for one thing, which immediately made her like it. It also wasn’t exactly an offensive spell as it didn’t do damage itself, but it would help her tremendously in battle. Being able to throw off her opponents and confuse them would always work in her favor, and could even let her fight higher leveled creatures with less risk. Though she’d need to be careful to avoid anything that might have a high Intelligence.

Liliana finally directed her attention to her Status Sheet and the waiting skill points. She hadn’t touched them since she hit level 16 and she had four levels of points to distribute. She’d managed to get an extra point in Speed, Strength, and Endurance over the four levels as well. She took her future levels with Dancer into account, she was going to avoid putting points into the stats that would get the bonus this time so that her other stats could balance out well enough. Except for Dexterity, which had fallen behind considerably over the last few days. She wanted to avoid any kind of min-maxing, that was fine in a game but this was her life. Min-maxing left too many weaknesses that were easily exploited in real life. Ignore your Vitality for Speed or Intelligence? One punch and you’d be down. Ignore Endurance for Strength and Vitality? You wouldn’t last any kind of battle. No, a balanced spread with focuses on a few stats would serve her well. Allocating her points to bring up Dexterity and balance the rest of her stats Liliana looked over her new sheet with a nod. It was nice to see so much progress from the past few days. She’d started this week at level 1, now she was at Rank 9, Level 20 with her own class! She felt positively giddy as she traced the new words and numbers on her stat sheet.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

20

Class

Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

9

Health

380

H-Regen

+3.8/1.1sec

Mana

400

M-Regen

+4/1.1sec

Stamina

410

S-Regen

+4.1/1.1sec

Magic Power

410

Magic Control

460

Experience: 13,500/44,100

Vitality

38

Endurance

41

Strength

47

Dexterity

30

Wisdom

40

Intelligence

40

Speed

41

Charisma

40

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

As Liliana closed out the sheet the heat from the essence integrating with her body hit and Liliana grit her teeth through the uncomfortable feeling. She’d gotten used to it but it didn’t mean it was enjoyable to dump four levels of stats on herself at one time. She was lucky she still wasn’t at a point where the essence needed to force physical alterations to her yet, though she was probably approaching that point with her Strength. She’d need to ask Silas when she needed to worry about that. He could probably give her a good estimate for it since he spent a good amount of time training guard recruits who dumped points into Strength regularly, though all of them boasted far more muscles than Liliana ever thought she’d have.

When the essence was done merging with her body Liliana dismissed her sheet and looked around, freezing when she met a pair of amber eyes staring at her from a few feet away. [Identify] immediately went to work and gave her information she hadn’t asked for.

Red Fox

Level 26

Red Foxes specialize in Light or Shadow magic, using them to cast illusions that trick and deceive prey and opponents. They slip masterfully through the shadows to strike where least expected.

Rank: 9

The creature met her stare and blinked slowly before it lowered its head to continue what it had been doing while Liliana was focused on her stats and class change. It had been eating the corpse of the Horned Hare that Liliana had killed. Liliana stared at it, waiting for it to do what every other wild creature she’d run into had done and attacked her. Yet the fox seemed content with finishing its free meal.

I need to be more careful about where I level, if the fox has wanted to hurt me it could’ve gotten off an attack before I even realized it was here. Liliana mentally chided herself for her negligence. She knew she should probably leave the clearing and get away from the fox. It was six levels higher than her and since it seemed to use magic often likely had high Intelligence so her new spell wouldn’t be that effective against it. Yet she couldn’t make herself leave. This was the first wild creature that hadn’t immediately wanted to attack her and she was curious.

The fox finished the last of the hare and stretched, looking once more at her. Blood coated its muzzle but Liliana was more intrigued by the spark of real intelligence in its amber eyes, and the way its coat looked criminally silky under the sun’s warm rays. The fox slowly started to pad over to her though it froze when Liliana instinctively grabbed her naginata. As her grip tightened the fox’s fur bristled and I showed its fangs.

Making perhaps the dumbest decision since she’d woke up in this world Liliana let go of her naginata. Immediately the fox calmed and it took a few more steps until it was barely a foot from her. The creature laid down, placing its head on its paws as it looked up at her with wide eyes, and Liliana got a distinct feeling that it was begging.

“Do you want more Hares?” Liliana asked, voice soft to not spook the fox. The fox’s head rose at the sound of her voice and then it tilted it adorably, much like a puppy. As if it was trying to decipher her words.

Would a binding contract work to let it understand me? But I don’t want to use it on a low leveled fox. There were different kinds of binding contracts though. The most common are the ones I want to use with high-leveled creatures where both parties share power. But there are also contracts where it was little more than a transaction and they were temporary. Perhaps that would work here? Just a temporary one where we can understand each other? It could be useful if the Fox knows areas where there are more Hares for me to kill, and it gets a meal out of it. Liliana considered the fox as it stared at her and made her decision. She was only partially swayed by how soft and tempting the fox’s fur was this close.

With slow and careful movements Liliana held out her hand to the fox. After a moment of staring at the hand, the fox crawled forward and pressed its cold nose against her palm. As soon as it made contact Liliana activated [Bonding Contract]. A light blue circle filled with runes and symbols appeared on Liliana’s hand where the fox’s nose touched and then a second appeared under the two of them, many times large. Mentally focusing on what she wanted from the contract, a guide through the forest and to new creatures for her to fight and a scout. She watched as new symbols and runes etched themselves on the circle. She added in what she would give the fox, the corpses of whatever she killed after she removed what she wanted from them. Runes and symbols filled in more of the blank space and the light of the circle grew, almost blinding as Liliana added in the final part. The contract could be canceled at any time by either of them.

The contract specifications done Liliana accepted it and the light became so bright she had to squint her eyes. The world seemed to pause as she waited for the fox to accept, panic filling her that maybe it wasn’t smart enough to understand a Bonding Contract and she’d end up with her hand bitten off because it thought this was an attack. The fear was assuaged when she felt the contract be accepted, the light reached a peak and then cut off.

In front of her sat the fox and for a moment a small blue circle floated over its forehead before it seemed to sink into its fur and disappear. Over the back of Liliana’s hand floated the same circle that sunk into her skin with a feeling like she’d had a mild electric shock before it too vanished.

Liliana looked at the fox, her first bond, and felt a faint sense of connection. It wasn’t as strong as she’d been told it would be with the more involved contacts but she could get a sense that the fox was pleased.

[Bonding Contract] has reached Level 2!

Liliana snorted at the notification before she waved it off and focused on her new...friend?

“So, can I pet you?” Liliana asked, her fingers twitching for the opportunity. The fox yipped a sound that seemed far too similar to laughter to be a coincidence before it stepped within petting range and Liliana finally got the sink her fingers into its fur. The fox sat down as she combed her fingers through its fur, marveling at how smooth and soft its fur was. Her fingers practically disappeared into it. She never wanted to let go and she had to restrain her urge to pick up the fox and cuddle it for hours. Bond or not she didn’t think it would like that.

Eventually, the fox seemed to get bored of her attention and it stood. It moved away and yipped, giving Liliana the feeling of it asking her if they could go now. It was odd, she could get a sense of what its noises and body language meant now. She had expected something like telepathy like she saw in fantasy books back on earth but it seemed she just became able to decipher the creature’s natural way of communicating, she wondered if it was the same for creatures that were bonded fully?

“We should give you a name, feels weird to refer to you as ‘the fox’” Liliana informed the fox, she sensed it was a he now that she focused. The fox tilted his head and yipped, he was confused as to what a name was.

“It helps identify who you are, rather than what you are,” Liliana explained to the fox as her mind considered an appropriate name for her newest friend. The fox seemed to somewhat understand her explanation, though how much translated she wasn’t certain.

“Well since Red Foxes use light and shadow magic and you’re going to be guiding me, how about Polaris?” Liliana asked the fox. He seemed to consider the name before he gave an accepting yip with his head raised high. Liliana giggled at the fox’s antics, he seemed like a mini nobleman with his head held like that.

“Alright Polaris, let’s go find us some Horned Hares,” Liliana instructed and with an excited yip, he jumped up and ran in a circle for a moment before dashing off into the forest, Liliana following behind him.

Chapter 16: The Fox is Trying To Kill Me.

“Polaris, what the hell?” Liliana frantically whispered to the red fox sitting next to her. The fox looked at her with more than a little bit of mischief in his gaze. He poked her with his muzzle before pointing back at the clearing.

“Yes I’m aware of what you’ve brought me to, it doesn’t make it any more terrifying! Are you trying to get me killed?” Liliana hissed back at the fox as her hand tightened its grip on her naginata. Her heart had been pounding ever since [Identify] had come back with the information for the creature before her.

“You wouldn’t even be able to fully eat that, Polaris,” Liliana muttered and the fox had the gall to snort, giving Liliana a pause.

She’d been using Polaris as a guide for the past couple of days and it had been a highly beneficial relationship for the both of them. Polaris found creatures and groups far faster than Liliana could. Meaning Liliana could keep a fast pace with her leveling, and increase her monetary gains from this endeavor. The little fox also got to feast regularly.

However, it seemed that the bond was also impacting his intelligence. He seemed to understand more and more of what she said and he had even taken to some very human-like behaviors. It gave Liliana a lot of information on how Bonds affected creatures, even relatively weak creatures.

The fox in question yipped softly and pointed his nose once more into the clearing and Liliana grumbled. She wasn’t even sure if she could fight the creature before them but Polaris seemed to have a bit too much faith in her. She used [Identify] once more in hope that it would magically be something different.

Zephryn

Great Horned Hare

Level 38

A Great Horned Hare that has absorbed enough Mana to generate a Name. It has a strong affinity for Wind and can summon gales and tornados with a flick of its horned head. A young master of Wind its movements rivals the very element for speed. It has forgone the very earthly tethers of gravity and can jump through the air as easily as the ground. Its horns are reinforced with wind magic and will easily shear through skin and muscle.

Rank: 8

“Need to talk to Silas about what constitutes as ‘not too strong’ because this thing is insane, it isn’t even in the original game,” Liliana grumbled, Polaris scraped a paw against the ground obviously getting impatient with her.

“That thing is 9 levels over me! And it has a name! It’s a fucking boss creature Polaris!” Liliana once again tried to reason with the fox to no avail. He seemed dead set on her taking on Zephryn and Liliana groaned quietly.

She could leave, she knew that, but she’d become a bit attached to the little fox and didn’t want to disappoint him. There was also a part of her that did very much want to fight the giant Horned Hare and see if she could come out victorious.

“Fine,” Liliana decided and with a thought, she started a new spell she’d discovered the day before.

[Will-O-Wisp] it was a spell made from her [Shine] spell, this one summoned ten floating lights. They didn’t do much other than move around lazily but she’d found out that they distracted creatures and drew their attention from her. If combined with [Tempo] it hastened their confusion and would usually cause the creatures to wildly attack the lights while Liliana cut them to shreds.

Liliana directed the lights into the clearing and almost immediately Zephryn focused on the lights, shooting off blades of wind longer than Liliana was tall. The wind did nothing to the floating lights, it simply made them dance more chaotically through the air.

Liliana let the familiar rush of adrenaline that accompanied the start of a fight fill her as she simultaneously activated [Tempo] and [Dance of The Daystar]. She felt the magic rush through her, filling her with energy even as her Mana and Stamina were drained.

As Zephryn attacked the lights again Liliana stepped out of her cover and onto the battlefield. Her increased speed brought her to the creature’s side in a flash and her naginata cut through the air, a glittering silver blur. As the blade cut through the pure white coat it left behind a thin cut leaking drops of ruby blood on the once pristine fur. Zephryn let out a roar that did not sound bunny-like in the least and jumped away from her, into the air.

Liliana adjusted to the expected evasion and as the creature sent blades of wind chasing after her Liliana moved with all the grace and speed her Dexterity and boosted Speed would allow. Following the ghost drums of [Tempo], Liliana wove a dance on the battlefield. The lights of [Will-O-Wisp] followed her like fairies accompanying her ballet, their light flashing off the blade of her naginata and throwing dizzying arrays of flashing brilliance through the clearing.

As she moved Liliana summoned [Light Burst] to follow her letting [Persistent Casting] take over the work of manually generating them. It was only when she went over her natural Mana regen that she stopped the process. She had four [Light Burst]s circling her like a deadly halo.

The Zephryn hadn’t been idle while sending off the flurry of wind blades, though as Liliana’s dance of dodges had continued its shots had become erratic, aimed equally at her and the floating [Will-o-Wisp]s. Wind kicked up around the clearing slowly growing in strength and Liliana grit her teeth. The creature was summoning a tornado, and AOE attack that would hit her and the [Will-O-Wisp]s equally, negating the benefit of disorientating the creature.

Pumping Mana into the [Light Burst]s she felt her Mana dip concerningly low. It would still be enough to handle her [Tempo] and [Dance of The Daystar] but she’d need to wait before she could pull off a move like this again. When the [Light Burst]s were as full of Mana as they could get she shot the four of them off in a tight cluster. Surrounding them like a guard were all of her [Will-O-Wisp]s, twisting in dizzying movements to distract Zephryn from the deadly attack speeding towards its chest.

Zephryn roared as the wind in the clearing reached its peak, blowing dust and debris into the air. Liliana squinted, trying to see as she kept her movements going, struggling against the force of the wind even as rocks and branches shot out of the tornado to drag against her clothes and skin. Lines of burning pain erupted against her skin, illustrated with warm blood trickling down her form. The blood was ripped away as fast as it flowed, drawn into the maelstrom of deadly wind that was building in intensity around her.

A bright burst of light like a star exploding flashed through the clearing and the tornado petered off suddenly as the sound of a large body hitting the ground reached her. Around her dirt, rocks and branches fell like rain as their support was removed. Ignoring the many stinging wounds covering her body from the damage she’d taken in the tornado Liliana shot towards where she’d heard Zephryn fall.

As she moved her blade brightened until it looked like she was wielding a blade-shaped Sun at the end of her naginata. She dodged falling debris as she closed upon the monstrous Horned Hare that was struggling to stand. Its once unmarred snow-white coat was painted scarlet with its lifeblood, the shrapnel effect of her empower [Light Burst] had torn great gouges out of its body.

Yet even as she watched its wounds were healing, the blood fading away to white as the creature activated some form of healing ability. Liliana swung her blade, unwilling to let the creature regain enough health to try another AOE attack like before. At the last moment, she activated [Enhancement], just enough to empower her final swing as the blade pierced its eye. The blade sunk deep, Zephryn letting out a piercing wail that sent spikes of pure agony shooting into Liliana’s brain.

Her grip loosened on her naginata as her hands instinctively went to her ears. The creature began to climb back to its feet, the antlers on its head gathering deadly wind bullets across all twenty points. Seconds before it let its attack off light leaked through cracks appearing on its head, its scream died off as its head exploded in a mix of brilliant light and bloody viscera. Thick white essence, far more than she’d ever gotten from a kill, flooded from the creature’s body and into Liliana making her feel like she was about to burst until it settled.

Liliana’s naginata dropped to the ground, mostly coated red as she dropped next to it, the headless body of the Zephryn falling before her with a loud thud that rocked the ground.

Pulling her hands from her ears Liliana winced when they came back bloody. She canceled all of her skills and spells, slumping further when [Enhancement] took its final tithe of Stamina. She winced when a sharp stabbing pain erupted from her side and she looked down to see a piece of wood thick as her forearm had impaled her.

Adrenaline numbing some of the pain that [Pain Resistance] hadn’t dealt with Liliana grabbed the piece of wood and ripped it from her side, blood gushing from the wound. Only a few inches had punctured her but she could almost feel her health draining with her blood.

What does it say about me that it’s so easy to rip that out? Perhaps that I’m a masochist? Liliana wondered, a slight sense of shock and hysteria tinting her thoughts.

Digging into her bag she grabbed a Mana and Health tincture at the same time and downed the potions. The sweet strawberry and elderberry flavored tinctures hit her tongue and she sighed as she felt some of the wounds on her body healing. The most noticeable was the one in her side, where the blood was already slowing. She checked her Health and felt the blood drain from her face. Even after the tincture, she was just barely over 20% of her health. She’d taken more damage than she’d realized, and the knowledge that she’d been flirting with death during that fight sent a wave of cold through her veins.

A yip to her right drew Liliana’s attention from her dark thoughts and she saw Polaris eagerly nudging the body of Zephryn, giving her a very pointed look. She shot the fox a glare as she grabbed her naginata and opened her cleaning bag. She winced when the movement elicited a sharp twinge of pain from the healing wound in her side.

“I’ll skin it when I’m healed and this is cleaned,” She informed the fox and with a huff Polaris flopped onto the ground, his tail flicking in annoyance behind him. Liliana rolled her eyes as she downed another two tinctures and activated [Regeneration], beginning the task of cleaning her weapon.

When her naginata was back to a respectable state Liliana took stock of herself. Her clothes had been shredded in several spots. Her pants were rags from the shin down, with several wide gashes on the thigh. Her top was a bit better but there were slashes all through it, thankfully her modesty was preserved by some miracle.

[Regeneration] was slowly closing the remaining wounds on her body but it did little for the blood that had dried across her skin and clothes. Liliana patted the braid crown of hair on her head and sighed in relief that none of it had been cut off.

“Astrid is going to be so upset that my clothes got ruined,” Liliana pouted as she mourned the loss of her first adventurer’s outfit. It hadn’t given her any stat boosts, but it had been hers. Made by someone who cared deeply for her. She glared at the corpse of Zephryn, if the creature hadn’t already been dead she’d have killed him just for ruining her clothes.

“I’m going to make you into a fur coat,” Liliana promised the body, however before she did that she could feel several notifications asking for her attention, and with a thought, she brought them into her sight.

You’ve killed Zephryn Great Horned Hare.

Additional experience awarded for defeating a named monster!

+152,000 Experience

+76,000 Experience from Boon

Additional experience awarded for defeating a foe 5+ levels above you!

+38,000 experience

+19,000 Experience from Boon.

Liliana almost choked at the amount of experience she’d just been given. She’d expected a lot from killing what was essentially a field boss but 285,000 was quite a lot. Since she’d grown in levels her experience gain had decreased, as expected. It was easy to get a lot of experience at very low levels but as you pushed past that the returns lessened, meaning as you get stronger you either had to fight higher-leveled creatures or kill a large number of creatures at the same level as you. It was why in most games people did Quests or Dungeons, they gave much better experience compared to grinding mobs.

Liliana wasn’t sure if this world had actual Quests though, as she hadn’t seen any. She did know Dungeons existed as Silas had told her it’s where they’d take the recruits once they hit level 80 as the experience gained in dungeons was typically boosted. The boosted amount depended on the dungeon but apparently, there were even rare dungeons that doubled the experience gain. Liliana waved the thoughts away, she wouldn’t be visiting a dungeon any time soon, and focused back on her notifications.

You’ve reached level 32.

+15 Stat Points

+6 Stat points from Boon.

+9 Stat Points to Speed from Class

+6 Stat points to Endurance from Class

+6 Stat Points to Dexterity from Class

+6 Stat Points to Charisma from Class

[Light Burst] reached Level 26

[Will-O-Wisp] Reached Level 8

[Tempo] Reached Level 9

[Dance Of The Daystar] Reached Level 10

[Light Burst Coat] reached Level 21

[Enhancement] Reached Level 22

[Regeneration] Reached Level 17

[Polearms Mastery] Reached Level 38

[Dancing] Reached Level 26

You’ve gained 2 points in Vitality

Liliana rubbed her head as she absorbed all the new information. Her fight had minorly power leveled a few of her skills, jumping some of them two or three levels. Fighting something named and almost ten levels stronger than you boosted skills and spells. Which she knew, but it was one thing to know that information from playing the game versus living the experience. In a way, it felt like not enough gain since she’d nearly died in that fight.

The system even seemed to agree, giving her two points in Vitality. As if as a consolation prize, ‘Hey I know you almost died so here’s some more health, be safe!’. It was nice since she hadn’t gotten a single stat point outside of combat, lending credence to what she’d read about the curve for difficulty gaining them increasing. Even all her hiking around the forest for the past several days hadn’t generated even a single measly Endurance stat. Typically she’d have gotten two points for so much exercise. She’d only seen stats given in combat now, where they came far easier than training ever had gifted her.

Need to be more careful with what I fight. And probably get some better gear that can block attacks, Liliana picked at her ruined leathers with a resigned sigh. She had no idea how she’d get the necessary equipment, even bringing back to cores, antlers, and pelts she was still poor.

Oh, she might have fifty dresses made of expensive fabric and more jewelry than she knew what to do with but she couldn’t sell it. The city close to the manor was large, yes, but a good amount of the staff at the manor had family there and it was too high a chance someone would recognize something she tried to pawn and it would get back to her step-mother. Besides the issue of getting to the city, which was nearly a week's walk away.

Liliana pushed the issue of gear to the side momentarily. She could talk to Silas and Astrid about it and come up with a plan. For now, she focused on allocating her points, her recent experience pushing her to dump more points than normal into Vitality.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

32

Class

Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

9

Health

345/540

H-Regen

+5.4/1.1sec

Mana

428/530

M-Regen

+5.3/1.1sec

Stamina

504/680

S-Regen

+6.8/1.1sec

Magic Power

555

Magic Control

605

Experience: 22,000/108,900

Vitality

54(7)

Endurance

68

Strength

62(4)

Dexterity

56

Wisdom

53(2)

Intelligence

53(2)

Speed

80(3)

Charisma

60(3)

Unallocated Stat Points: 0(21)

Double-checking the stats she finalized the changes, letting the warmth from the essence fill her. Her skin almost seemed to steam as sweat coated her from the change until slowly the heat faded and Liliana was left with residual warmth and a sweat-coated body. Wiping off the sweat Liliana directed her gaze towards Zephryn’s body and an expectant Polaris whose tail was wagging with excitement when he saw her attention finally move to where he wanted it.

Liliana stood and set her naginata aside to grab her skinning knife. She looked at the giant body, the creature was almost as big as Star, then down at her skinning knife and let out another groan. This was going to take forever.

Polaris jumped up and circled the body with bouncing steps, yipping excitedly as he saw Liliana approaching with her knife.

“Yea, yea, I know you’re excited you, damn mooch,” Liliana snarked at the fox, who paused his dancing to shoot her a haughty look. Shadows danced around his feet as he activated a skill before one snaked out and smacked Liliana on her side, right over the freshly healed wound.

“Hey! I’m about to give you a whole feast!” Liliana yelled at the fox, brandishing her skinning knife. The fox turned away from her and sat down and Liliana rolled her eyes.

“Getting bossed around by a fox, oh how the mighty do fall,“ Liliana muttered as she shook her head, turning to the body of Zephryn.

“Well better start I guess,” she murmured with a long sigh.

“Uh...Lady Liliana?” Silas asked as Liliana emerged in the clearing carrying a rolled-up pelt as tall as her naginata, which was on her other side. Behind her, a set of broken antlers was tied to her back with a length of rope. On her hip hung a bulging gathering pack.

Perhaps he was referring to the ragged state of her clothing, barely hidden beneath her cloak she’d pulled around herself to try to preserve as much of her modesty as she could. It could also be because of the red fox twining between her legs and dancing circles around her regularly. Polaris had never come out to meet Silas and Astrid before, he had always left before she got within earshot of the two.

“Yea,” Liliana sighed as she nudged Polaris away with a foot. Ever since he’d gorged himself with the meat from Zephryn he’d kept close to her. She had felt their bond increase a bit and she assumed they’d reached a new level of...friendship she’d call it.

“I’ve had a day,” Liliana explained as she dropped the rolled-up pelt on the ground of the clearing, dropping down next to it dramatically. Carrying the pelt hadn’t been any difficulty with her strength but she’d nearly died today, she could be a little theatrical.

Polaris flopped next to her, rolling onto his back and flopping his tail in her lap. Liliana immediately followed the fox’s unspoken command for belly rubs and carded her fingers through the plush fur of his stomach.

“Lady Liliana! What happened to you?!” Astrid recovered from her shock first and rushed to the girl, dropping to her knees next to her to check over her. She was crusted with dried blood, an annoying amount of it her own. She’d tried to clean up in a creek with middling success. The multitude of gashes and cuts in her clothes betrayed the many wounds she’d taken, despite the unmarred skin left behind after [Regeneration] and the health tinctures had healed her.

“Polaris wanted a named monster for lunch,” Liliana explained, shooting the fox a glare. The little shit didn’t even have the courtesy of looking ashamed, he just lolled his tongue out and wiggled on the ground as Liliana’s fingers found a particularly good area for a scritch.

“You bonded him?” Silas asked and Liliana waved her head side to side, shrugging her shoulders.

“Sort of? It’s a minor Bond. He leads me to monsters and guides me around the forest, I give him the bodies after I kill the monsters and skin them,” Liliana explained and Silas nodded.

“We have a few Ranger classes with Bonds like that. It’s a fairly typical first Bond,” Silas nodded as he approached and nudged the pelt. It was huge, Liliana could make a dress out of it and have enough left over for a half cloak.

“What named monster was it?” he asked conversationally as Astrid continued to fret over Liliana’s destroyed clothing and wounds. Both were used to the way the woman would mother hen over Liliana anytime she came back with damage to her clothing, obvious signs of previous injuries.

“Zephryn, level 38 Great Horned Hare,” Liliana answered and Silas paused, shooting her an impressed look that warmed her. Pride thrummed in her blood and she felt herself straightening, head held high. Silas was rarely impressed, he wasn’t frugal with encouragements or deserved compliments but impressing the man was far rarer a gift.

“That explains the state of your clothes, named monsters are stronger than their unnamed counterparts by several orders of magnitude. Most wouldn’t be able to come back after fighting one almost ten levels over them,” Silas praised her and Liliana beamed.

She had a few cheats that aided her in being able to walk away from that fight. Having 10 extra stat points for each stat to start with had been a welcome boost. Then the extra 2 stat points per level had put her far closer to the creature’s power than someone of the same level as her.

“Speaking of clothes, think we could make this into something for me?” Liliana asked, directing the question equally at Astrid and Silas. She knew she could make a good chunk of change selling the pelt, but she needed better gear. She was getting to the level where she’d be fighting more dangerous creatures, and she’d need gear that could protect her. She used [Identify] on the pelt once more, double-checking the information it gave.

Zephryn’s Pelt

A pelt from the named beast Zephryn, carved by someone with some skill in Skinning. The pelt is plush to the touch, reminiscent of clouds on a summer’s day. It holds the power of the wind in its folds. A journeyman or higher tanner and leather-worker will be able to draw out the hidden facets of this pelt to make something truly worthy of its namesake.

Additional bonuses applied for being skinned by someone with a Skinning skill over level 15.

Either her [Identify] wasn’t high enough of a level or because she didn’t have a skill like [Tanning] or [Leatherworking] but she couldn’t see what bonuses the pelt would give. Though the text alluded to something pretty nice. It even had a requirement of needing someone of a Journeyman or higher rank to work it, which was a good sign. The regular Horned Hare pelts didn’t have a required rank and didn’t allude to having any bonuses available.

“I know someone who could work this into a new set of gear for you,” Astrid said as she reached out and fingered the pelt, her hands lingering on the soft fur.

“We can sell the antlers and the core to help pay for it if necessary,” Liliana said as she pulled the antlers off her back and opened her gathering bag to display the fist-sized core in it, surrounded by other smaller orbs from regular Horned Hares that she’d killed before tackling Zephryn.

“If you can see if you can get the Core worked into the gear made with the pelt, it’ll give a better bonus,” Silas added on and Astrid nodded thoughtfully.

“Until then uh, do we have something else I can wear to go out?” Liliana asked hesitantly, ducking her head. She did feel awful that Astrid's clothes had been ruined. The woman huffed and Liliana shrunk a little under the woman’s gaze.

“I made a spare set,” Astrid finally spoke after several uncomfortable minutes. Liliana let out a loud sigh of relief as her shoulders sagged. Of course, Astrid had another set ready.

“No more attacking named monsters until you have better gear though!” Astrid ordered and Liliana meekly nodded her head.

“Yes ma’am,” Liliana answered, shooting Silas a glare when the man guffawed at her. Her glare switched targets when Polaris started yipping with his own foxy laughter. Liliana gave up and covered her face when Astrid’s giggles joined the chorus.

“Ughhh,” Liliana groaned as the chorus grew in strength at her obvious embarrassment.

Chapter 17: Fierce Fight and Forgotten Tales

Liliana opened her new class information once more, still a bit giddy at the class. She had a good idea of where her class was headed, as in the game this class path had a few offshoots but there was a specific class she hoped to get to from it. Based on her knowledge her next rank-up should give her a Blade Dancer class from her current one.

Battle Dancer: Class Requirements: Level 35 in a weapon, level 25 in Dancing. 50 Endurance, 50 Speed, 55 Charisma, 35 Dexterity.

A warrior who is as comfortable on the dance floor as on the battlefield. The way they move their body and weapons is an art form. Still a novice in many aspects the beauty of their movements is undeniable, even as they leave their partners in the dance of death bleeding and broken behind them. A Battle Dancer is a Dancer who has truly begun to turn to the art of war and battle, seeking to make the battlefield their stage.

+5 to Speed Per Level, +4 to Endurance Per Level, +4 to Dexterity Per Level, +3 to Charisma Per Level.

Battle Dancer was a good class, a bit over what the normal was based on what other classes she’d seen. She knew the entire Blade Dancer and Blade Singer class path was a difficult one. In the game, it required grinding out a pointless skill, [Dancing] to qualify for it at all. As well as pumping stats into Charisma, which many players didn’t believe in using. Even if a higher Charisma stat in the game got you better Quests, it didn’t help with the damage that went against most meta-builds. Liliana however had chased the Blade Singer class at one point, it was one of the few classes that could hold up to classes even a rank above it despite being one you could get as early as Rank 5. However, there were other classes equal to it that others preferred to go after as the requirements weren’t as tedious.

It was also an evolvable class, meaning the class itself could evolve into a more improved version of itself. Same as Blade Dancer. There was no telling though if in the world as opposed to the game if there was a third evolution for the class, but Liliana was excited to find out. At the very least this was a familiar class that would work well for her. And the fact that Blade Dancer offered buffs for party members would help her when she got bonds as well.

The other classes she had been offered hadn’t been nearly as impressive. She hadn’t filled out the requirements to get better ones, though she’d been disappointed at the lack of any Taming classes. She’d been offered the same original classes with the addition of a Ranger class, which was probably the closest she’d come to a Taming class. She’d denied it though as her skill with Archery was so bad she was a danger to herself and anyone around her. She’d been offered a Glaiveir class as an uncommon class, the same ranking as Battle Dancer. However it had replaced Charisma with Vitality, and Liliana wasn’t willing to lose the free points there.

Liliana closed her class screen and looked to the excited fox patiently waiting for her.

“Okay today’s going to be the last day we can do this,” Liliana seriously addressed her companion.

“After this, my family is going to be back, and I don’t know when I can sneak out like this,” Liliana continued her explanation, meeting the amber gaze that for once was somber rather than filled with mischief.

“If that means you want to cancel our contract I’ll understand, since I won’t be able to get you food as easily, I’ve appreciated your help the past four days,” Liliana bowed from where she was sitting to fully show her thanks, wiping at her eyes that were most certainly not filling with tears. She waited for a response from her silent companion. No, her friend.

A moment of silence later she felt a warm tongue licking her cheek, wiping away the salty tears that were beginning to fall. Liliana giggled at the tickling sensation and wrapped her arms around the sun-warmed coat. Polaris climbed into her lap and let her hug him like a stuffed animal as she hid her face in his plush fur. It might seem silly but he felt like the first real friend she’d made since falling into this twisted wonderland. She adored Silas and Astrid, but they would never really be her friends. Astrid was more like a mother, and Silas a mentor. Polaris felt like a friend, a mischievous friend who got her into more trouble than she often thought she could handle, but a friend nonetheless. Even if he was a fox and not a human.

“Thank you, Polaris,” She murmured into his coat and the fox yipped quietly in her ear, nosing her ear, eliciting a yelp from her when his cold wet nose made contact with her ear.

“Polaris!” She squealed pulling back from the fox. He bounced out of her lap and circled her twice, yipping excitedly before running a few feet from her, nose pointed in a direction.

“Okay! Okay! No more dreary emotions, if it’s our last day let’s go out with a bang right?” She asked and got a loud yip in answer that drew giggles from her as she leaped to her own feet, naginata gripped in her hand as she chased after the flashing fire orange fur.

She chased after the small flashes of fur in the forest, well used to following Polaris now as she weaved through trees and brush, leaping over grasping roots and deadfall. [Stealth] was active, muffling her footfalls and guiding her movements to avoid crunchy leaves and twigs. She was nowhere near as silent as Polaris, who moved like a ghost in the forest, but she was certainly a far cry from the bumbling novice she’d been at the beginning of the week. Constant use of the skill had enabled it to make swift growth, and using it in combat situations seemed to pump the experience even higher.

Liliana drew to a halt and ducked behind a bush when she spotted Polaris laying on the ground, eyes locked on something ahead. As she dropped down she saw what Polaris had targeted and she smiled. She hadn’t fought many of the Giant Toads, she’d just out-leveled Horned Hares when she reached level 35.

Giant Toad

Level 41

A toad of truly epic proportions. Its leaps can cross distances of 40ft at the least. Its tongue is fast as lightning and can stretch 20ft. Once it has prey wrapped in its tongue it’s nearly impossible to get free. Can also shoot balls of water from its mouth with a distinctly slimy texture that will slow and hamper prey and opponents.

Rank: 8

Since her Rank up she’d fought a small handful of Giant Toads but what made her smile was that they had the exact same attack patterns as the game. Unlike the Hares which hadn’t even been in the original game, these were welcome in their familiarity. Their predictability lowered their risk rate to Liliana even with their higher levels. They also had very low Intelligence, unlike the Hares which had high Intelligence to enable their multitude of magic attacks. Toads focused more on Vitality, Strength, and Endurance, making them harder to kill but easier for her to confuse with [Tempo]. Her greater speed also meant that it was only a matter of time before she whittled them down to nothing.

She’d been surprised that Polaris seemed to enjoy eating them as much as the Hares though she suspected that higher-leveled creature’s meat did something for the little fox. He’d increased in size since she’d met him, despite never participating in fights and the lack of experience share in their Bond. She didn’t know if the System awarded him experience for guiding her to monsters, so she had to assume he got something from eating the creatures. There was no other explanation for the fact that he seemed to have a black hole where his stomach was, enabling him to eat far more than his weight in food daily.

“Some fresh frog legs coming right up,” Liliana promised her furry friend as she summoned [Will-O-Wisp]. Eleven glowing orbs floated around her, spinning more chaotically and with more speed than they had at lower levels, showing off the benefit of leveling the skill. She’d found out that because the skill looked quite a bit like over-large fireflies the dumb toads tended to focus on them, thinking they were an easy meal. Which usually let her get off several hits as [Tempo] took effect and rendered the Toad utterly defenseless against her.

As the Toad focused on the floating lights and began shooting its muscled tongue out to try to capture the tantalizing morsels Liliana activated [Tempo] and [Dance of The Day Star]. The boost of speed had her at the Toad’s flank even as its tongue was darting out for another attack at the floating lights. Her blade practically sang as it cut through the air, slicing a gash into the toad’s hide. It wasn’t deep, the toad’s Vitality was too high for one attack to be much more than a superficial wound but Liliana was used to this and she danced away as the Toad turned at the attack.

Her naginata spun around her, a tornado of hardwood and deadly metal. Small wounds appeared on the Toad as if by magic as her feet traced a complicated pattern across the ground, always keeping her at its flank even as it tried to spin to face her. A major weakness of the Toads were their horrible close quarter's abilities, they were masters at long-ranged fight but take away their ability to use their tongue and they were clumsy and far too easy to hit.

As her [Will-O-Wisp]s spun around the pair, tracing dizzying designs in the air and the ghost drums of [Tempo] pounded in her ears the effect of the spell slowly started to take effect. She could see as the Toad became more and more disorientated, its tongue missing more shots and its steps fumbling and treacherous as it tried to face the annoying creature biting at its body.

The Toad slowed more and more with each passing second and its hide was soon far more red than green as her blade cut into already existing wounds, slicing deeper into muscles with each pass. Blood coated the ground beneath them making for dangerous footing but Liliana danced around the puddles, feet finding dry ground as she moved. The Toad slipped on its own life’s blood and tumbled, falling onto its back with an agonized croak, displaying its vulnerable underbelly to her blade.

Victory in sight Liliana activated a new skill she’d gained when she hit level 35 and got her new class. Based on the name she assumed she’d earned it in part from the Zephryn fight. [Dance of The Windsong]. She felt her Vitality drop drastically as her Speed rose in answer. Anyone watching would have a hard time following her movements now as she moved like the wind itself, her blade cutting through the Toad’s flesh so fast it looked like wounds appeared out of thin air. Faster and faster its flesh was torn until finally, she’d weakened it enough to stab her naginata into its failing heart, ending its weak struggles.

Liliana canceled her skills and spells and sighed as she felt her health start to slowly regenerate. [Dance of The Windsong] was a high-risk high-reward skill. At its current level, she could sacrifice 15% of her Vitality to have the same amount added onto her Speed. It was a channel with a fairly high Mana and Stamina cost, enough that she couldn’t keep it and her other Skills and Spells active for long. The other drawback was once she canceled it she got her Vitality back but her health had to naturally regen back up to full.

She’d been cautious about using the skill at the beginning of a battle, only using it when she knew victory was assured. It let the Skill level while she got used to it enough to eventually be comfortable alternating it with her other abilities.

Liliana yanked her naginata out of the toad and set it to the side, taking out her skinning knife to set to work on the toad. Its skin was fairly useful for its waterproof qualities, and its lungs, heart, and eyeballs were all alchemical ingredients. Liliana removed all the parts she needed to keep for herself before stepping aside to let Polaris at his latest meal. With great delight, she placed the newest materials in her very own spatial bag.

Fifteen gold, thirty silver, fifty-six copper. Every last penny she had earned the past week had gone into it. Including a portion of the pelt from Zephryn, the part not needed for the new gear she’d commissioned. His horns had given her the last bit she needed to afford a small spatial bag. She wouldn’t have been able to afford it at all if Silas hadn’t covered the cost of her new gear being commissioned, doing it sneakily when he and Astrid had taken the materials to the town to sell and use to commission her gear.

It had allegedly been his celebratory gift for her killing her first named beast and her progress for the past week. She also suspected either he or Astrid had chipped in partially for the cost of the spatial bag because she knew it wasn’t the smallest possible size which was what she’d assumed she’d get for what she had. It was twenty cubic feet and could fit about ten toad skins, their cores, and their alchemical organs. Though the skins were usually pretty shredded by the time she skinned them. Which had lost her more than a few coins. There was no other way to kill the things though at her power level. Unlike Horned Hares, these things didn’t die with a single slash at the neck.

Liliana perked up when she heard a yip from Polaris and turned to see the half-eaten corpse, he was done for now and seemed ready to head towards the next target. Liliana hastily wiped off her naginata before moving to follow her companion with a grin.

“Onwards! To battle!” She commanded with a giggle as the fox bounded off, Liliana following him.

“One more?” Liliana asked hopefully to the red fox. Polaris gave her a far too knowing look and laid down on the ground. Liliana slumped as she dropped next to him, her heart heavy.

“Yea, guess not enough time,” She murmured as she settled her hand in his warm fur. The sun was hanging low in the sky, soon enough it would reach the point that signaled it was time for her to head back home.

“You know for a week I got to forget all the bad stuff about this new life,” Liliana started conversationally, Polaris tilted his head, settling intelligent amber eyes on her. Eyes far more intelligent than they’d been when they’d met. Their shared time had changed them both, in some ways more noticeable than others.

“I didn’t have to spend pretty much any time awake at the manor. From dawn until dusk I was out here. Fighting monsters, leveling up, getting new Skills and Spells. Making a friend, living a life I never dreamed I’d ever be able to,” Liliana smiled wistfully as she shifted, laying down with her head resting on Polaris. The fox didn’t protest the position and his tail even curled around to rest on her throat as if he was comforting her.

“I didn’t have to see the judging looks of the servants or deal with their disrespect or snide whispers they think I can’t hear. Didn’t have to deal with my stepmother’s machinations or worry about poison in my tea. Didn’t have to worry that Alistair had snuck a snake into my shoes, or stolen something from my room. Nor did I have to deal with Miss. Beckett’s disparaging remarks about my intelligence or her constant attempts to force me to fail,” Liliana continued, her voice holding more than a little pain.

She had known this life wouldn’t be easy, and in some ways, her memories of her past life protected her from the pain. In her mind, these people weren’t her family. The titles of ‘father’ and ‘mother’ belonged to two people from another world with hearts of gold and never-ending love and kindness.

Yet she now shared the original Liliana’s memories, all of them. She had lived the horrid past of the girl, and had become someone different than she’d been when she arrived in this world. And the treatment affected her in ways it never would have without the memories. Truth be told she had a wound in her heart, a festering ever bleeding wound that was never allowed to heal because it was constantly agitated by the very people who had caused it. Like her heart was wrapped in barbed wire, with every cruel word and cold gaze the wire tightened a little more, digging harsh barbs into delicate flesh.

“For a week I could be me. Not Lady Liliana the unloved daughter of a Duke. Not Liliana the future Villainess. Just...me,” Liliana spoke softly now. Polaris seemed to react to the sadness hanging heavy on each word, a soft whine in his throat as he curled his body until he could rest his nose over her chest. It was like he was giving her his version of a hug.

“Tomorrow I have to go back to it. Trapped in a web spun of razored golden threads, dripping with poison at every turn,” Liliana continued as her hand reached up to softly pet Polaris’s head, fingers dancing along with his soft ears and finding his favorite scratching spot.

“I have to go back to pretending to be the meek noblewoman, who is ever so grateful to her cold bastard of a father, cruel wretch of a step-mother and immature stuck up step-brother,” Liliana sighed and her eyes traced a cloud in the sky, painted gold by the rays of the falling sun.

“I just hope...I won’t have to wait as long this time. I’m strong enough now that if I can find a powerful creature to Bond with maybe I can. And perhaps finally break some of these cursed chains dragging me down,” Liliana continued and Polaris huffed shooting her an indignant look. Liliana chuckled at his unspoken words. She had become rather proficient at translating his vulpine language.

“You know what I mean Polaris! A full Soul Bond, a life contract. I adore you, my foxy friend. But we both know this contract was never meant to be more than a mutually beneficial trade,” Liliana explained and Polaris snorted before laying his head down, reluctantly agreeing to her comment.

She wasn’t sure if the fox would even keep the contract active when she went back, after all, she didn’t know when she’d next be able to go out and get him a meal. Selfishly she hoped he’d let the contract remain, even if it no longer benefited either of them. But she’d never voice it, it would truly be too selfish. Tying him to her when he would do better on his own. Their contract might be weak but it did limit his ability to wander far from her. But their contract also wouldn’t do much for her either. A contract with a Red Fox, no matter how dearly she loved the creature, was nothing impressive. If anything it would get her laughed at by her family. No, if she wanted respect she needed to be bonded to something so strong no one could doubt her power. A mighty creature that inspired awe with its very presence.

“I’d have to go pretty far to find something Rank 7 or 6, which is my goal as I’m rank 8 now. I’d need my family to get invited to another ball. Which should happen again as it is summer and they’re fairly popular. Maybe it can happen in the next few weeks? They wouldn’t bring me that’s for sure,” Liliana continued to speak, filling their last bit of time together with words. Finding comfort in the hope for a better future.

“Do you know where I could find a Rank 6 creature by any chance?” Liliana teased the fox and got a snort in response. Polaris’s way of saying ‘Do I look stupid enough to mess around where there are Rank 6 creatures?’

“Yea, guess not. You’re a smart fox and I doubt you’d mess around anywhere near those kinds of areas. Though you’re level 32 now aren’t you? Getting close to Rank 8. I know that’s the limit for these areas, even the wolf pack is only low Rank 7 and they’re the cap for the area. Where will you go when you Rank out of this area?” Liliana asked conversationally. Polaris let out a small yip and flicked his tail back and forth. He lifted his head then and pointed northeast, towards the snowy mountains.

“Huh, do you have family there? Were you spawned or born?” Liliana asked next and got a high yip and a foxy grin before he laid his head back down on her with no other answer. Liliana rolled her eyes at the fox, his answer was basically ‘Figure it out’.

“I’m just trying to learn more about you, little shit,” Liliana grumbled and Polaris let out a yipping bark that was his laugh. It drew a few giggles from the girl in answer.

“Did I tell you I was from another world? That I met a Goddess?” Liliana asked when the laughter had died. Polaris froze and Liliana grinned at being able to throw the fox off.

“Yea, I lived in a world you wouldn’t believe. We didn’t have magic. Humans ruled the world in huge cities made of stone and metal. We flew giant metal boats in the air and drove metal carriages with no horses. We had technology that rivaled most magics, giant screens that portrayed fantasy shows and movies like illusion magic,” Liliana began to tell tales of her home to the intently listening fox. It felt good to finally talk about her home to someone, even if the someone was a fox who perhaps didn’t understand all her words. Still, the words gushed out of her like water from a burst dam. Lancing a festering pain inside her she hadn’t even noticed, the pain of never having someone to confide in.

As the sun slowly tracked a steady path down the sky, counting down the seconds for her freedom a young girl sat in a forest clearing, cuddled up to a large red fox regaling him with a tale of a sick girl in a world of wonder who met her death far too early and made a deal with a Goddess that she perhaps shouldn’t have.

Chapter 18: A New Hero Arrives

On the first day her family arrived home Liliana was sequestered in her room, an apologetic Astrid informing the Duke and Duchess that she had taken ill while they’d been gone. Liliana wasn’t actually ill, but she almost wished she was. A simple cold would be a much simpler thing to deal with than her current conundrum.

“My Lady, you’re still going too fast,” Astrid gently chided her as Liliana made another circuit around her room.

Liliana groaned and buried her face in her hands. They’d been doing this for hours. Liliana hadn’t expected a single week to begin ingraining habits in her that would create dangerous pitfalls for her to navigate in an already deadly environment. To top it off with the rapid increase in her stats she was noticeably different.

Faster with a base speed of 100 now, more graceful with her Dexterity at 70. Her skin practically glowed with health thanks to her 65 Vitality, high enough that if anyone knew about it her ruse of having a cold would never fly. Vitality over 50 ensured no normal illness wouldn’t affect someone, their immune system too magically enhanced for basic viruses and bacteria to compete with.

Even her enhanced Strength was a problem, while she was used to it it also meant she had a tendency to carry or grab things a normal Unawakened fourteen-year-old would never dare try.

Not to mention the issue she hadn’t even considered. If someone used [Identify] on her the entire ruse would be over. She couldn’t get out of an [Identify], oh sure if she’d bothered to level [Deception] she might be able to. But nooo, she’d focused on her combat skills which would do fuck all for her in the manor where words held more power than a blade.

“I’m so stupid,” Liliana whimpered as she sunk to the ground, her skirts flaring out around her.

“You’re not My Lady, you’re the smartest girl I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing,” Astrid soothed, coming to her side to rub a hand against her back in soothing circles that loosened tense muscles. Liliana leaned over onto the woman, laying her head on her shoulder, and soaked in the warm scent of home, and an underlying smell of cookies.

“Auntie, did you bake?” Liliana asked, voice perking up minutely.

“Yes, they should be ready soon if you’d like for me to go and fetch them,” Astrid offered and Liliana sat up, nodding eagerly, sapphire eyes sparkling with hunger. Astrid chuckled softly and patted her head before standing and making her way out of the room.

Alone Liliana slumped, her posture relaxing in the solitude of her room. At least she didn’t have to relearn that. Good posture had been so ingrained into Liliana that she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget. Even now it felt wrong to slump her shoulders and she found herself straightening.

“Fuck, what am I going to do?” Liliana asked the empty room, no response forthcoming from the air.

Her heart panged with a memory of a cheerful yip. Polaris would surely be dancing around her, if he were here, giving her a look that spoke of mischief guaranteed to bring a laugh to her lips. Even though the memory was tinged with the fresh goodbye a small smile bloomed on her face. The overbearing worry and panic that had been pressing onto her lifted a bit and her mind began to think a tad more logically.

“Realistically no one is likely to [Identify] me, why would they?” Liliana reasoned aloud to herself. The words calmed her more as they rang out in the empty room.

It was true, why would anyone [Identify] her? Little, weak, Unawakened Liliana. No one expected her to be anything more than that, and she had to play on that. People saw what they wanted to see, she just had to make sure she kept within those bounds.

“Alright so then I just have to make sure I can restrict my controllable stats. Speed is going to be hard but I just have to consciously be slower. Strength I can’t lift anything, which I shouldn’t be anyways since proper noble ladies do not lift things,“ Liliana calmed further as she spoke, her words gaining confidence as the plan formed. It was nothing more than what she and Astrid had been working towards for the past several hours but reiterating it helped soothe her nerves.

“Dexterity will mean consciously tripping or fumbling. I can’t help my natural grace but if I cover it up with fumbles people will remember that,” Liliana soldiered on with her plan, pausing as she considered her other stats.

Charisma she could do little for, not that she truly wanted to. It could help persuade others to perhaps treat her more favorably, and she selflessly wanted to have a slightly easier life in this house. Endurance wasn’t an issue, she typically wasn’t physically pushed to her limits in the manor regardless. Noble ladies shouldn’t sweat, after all, the horror!

Wisdom and Intelligence didn’t make her smarter or wiser, though being smart and wise did raise the stats early on. Or well learning and thinking critically raised the stats. Whether that made one wise or intelligent was a philosophical debate Liliana didn’t have the mental faculties at the moment to devote to.

“That leaves Vitality, but how can I make myself look less...healthy…” Liliana trailed off as her eyes latched onto the cosmetic products on her vanity, mostly untouched.

She had hardly needed them before she had leveled and after her Vitality had jumped she had never looked better. She had thought at first Charisma would affect her looks but had found out it was Vitality was that improved one’s appearance, simply by making one healthier. Her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled like cut gemstones. Even her hair practically shone, looking like a silky waterfall of midnight blue water.

However a bit of paler powder pressed to her skin, some yellow or purple powder under her eyes, even some powder into her hair could help disguise the effects of her improved Vitality.

Liliana grinned as she considered it, she’d seen makeup artists in her original world change themselves into fantastical creatures, even different people all with cleverly placed makeup. And she didn’t need to look like a different person, just a bit more...unhealthy. And if there was one thing Liliana knew and knew very well, it was what one looked like when they were weak and unwell.

“Illusion magic would be rather useful right now,” Liliana mused as she stood and moved to her vanity, sitting before it and beginning to examine the products she’d previously ignored. As she opened one jar she froze, an idea smacked into her with all the force of a galloping horse.

“Illusion magic is a subset of Light magic,” Liliana muttered before she dropped her head on the vanity, the drop no longer strong enough to even sting. It made her feel a little better though.

“I was so dead set on combat powers I forgot about the other branches,” Liliana murmured to herself, sighing loudly as she sat back up and looked at herself in the mirror.

She placed her chin in the palm of her hand as she considered the new possibility. She would need to learn Illusion magic in order to make them. Her [Mana Manipulation] was high enough that learning subset magic on her own in theory shouldn’t be impossible. Yet the only spells and skills she’d learned to make or modify were a result of her being able to properly imagine them. She could imagine what Illusions did, but not how they did it.

I’ll need to get my hands on an actual Illusion spell first to figure out how the magic works. Liliana answered her own question and she frowned at her reflection. It had felt like a truly genius idea at first, and it would be. If she had the slightest idea of how to make an illusion.

Liliana was drawn from her disappointment by the sound of her door opening and the enticing scent of freshly baked cookies.

“My Lady,” Astrid greeted as she set the food down on a small table in the room.

Liliana left the vanity to take one of the seats by the table remembering as she stood to drop her speed. Even if the scent of cookies was tantalizing and almost worth breaking her newly born vow to hide her abilities.

“That’s much better My Lady,” Astrid complimented as Liliana sat and grabbed a warm cookie in an eager hand. Liliana beamed as she bit into the heavenly treat, closing her eyes as the flavors hit her. These were just as good as the cookies her mother used to make, once upon a time.

Sorry, Mom, it’s true. Liliana mentally apologized as she finished off the first cookie.

“Astrid, do you know where one can acquire an Illusion spell?” Liliana asked as she grabbed her second cookie. Astrid paused, her eyes taking in Liliana for a moment before understanding sparked in her eyes.

“Not the town, the city has more shops. There’s a few that carry spell scrolls and the like, though Illusion is subset magic so it’s rarer and more expensive, “Astrid explained and Liliana frowned as she finished off her second treat. More expensive translated to ‘You can’t afford it’.

“The Duchess uses Illusion magic, she has a grimoire for her spells,” Astrid further explained and Liliana blanched, almost dropping her third cookie.

She hadn’t known that her step-mother used Illusion magic, that information hadn’t been in the game. Even as her mind frantically thumbed through all of her memories she couldn’t find any hint of it. Even Liliana’s memories had nothing on that, the Duchess was so against using her skills at all. Or perhaps the better term for it was she was secretive.

“Why didn’t I know that?” Liliana asked Astrid and the woman leveled her with a look.

“You never asked,” she explained and Liliana winced, stuffing the cookie in her mouth to avoid answering.

Of course, she hadn’t asked, Liliana had hated and feared The Duchess in equal measure. Liliana had never dreamed of standing up to the woman and had never truly been taught how to play the game of intrigue nobles participated in. She was sequestered to the manor, barely even able to exist there. The past four years had been her just trying to avoid the attention of her family and survive.

Sometimes it was hard to reconcile the memories she had of the game, where Liliana ended up becoming a dark puppet master. Making the entire kingdom dance to her tune for years before she was eventually defeated. With the quiet and downtrodden girl, she’d come to know through the gifted memories she now shared with her.

“Many of the ladies who The Duchess spends her time with use Illusion magic. It’s seen as a noble magic, “Astrid further lectured Liliana who was listening with rapt attention as a fourth cookie disappeared down her throat.

“So you’re suggesting I steal a spell from The Duchess?” Liliana asked with a smirk and Astrid shot her a chiding look, though if it was because of the coarseness of her speech or the contents of it Liliana wasn’t sure.

“I would never think to suggest you participate in dastardly behavior of that caliber,” Astrid informed her and Liliana nodded. It was the speech she’d used then.

She’d gotten into a bad habit of speaking as she had on Earth with Silas and Astrid. Something that would get her switched by Miss Beckett no doubt. The thought of the Governess switching her now almost sent her into a laughing fit. She doubted the woman had ever devoted enough points into Strength to put so much as a scratch on her now. No, it was obvious the woman had put her points into Dexterity, Charisma, Wisdom, and Intelligence.

“I must have misheard you, I do apologize,” Liliana responded, though her tone and expression belied her words as she bowed her head lightly. Astrid’s lips twitched as she tried to hide her smile.

“If The Duchess was to...misplace a spell for a few days,” Liliana tried now her speech slower as she tried to keep to the more refined way of speaking, “where do you suppose that would be?” Liliana finished and Astrid’s eyes flashed approvingly.

“The Duchess does have spells she no longer needs as she has learned them, they would not be much missed if they were to be absent from their typical homes for a day or two,” Astrid explained and Liliana nodded.

“I’ve heard that she has been invited to a tea party held by Marchioness Ambrose in four days,” Astrid finally gave Liliana the information she wanted and the girl grinned.

“I suppose there would be little reason for her servants to be loitering in her rooms during that entire time as well,” Liliana theorized and Astrid nodded. The girl’s grin widened as she swiped her sixth cookie and bit into it greedily.

“Now My Lady, perhaps we should continue practicing?” Astrid turned the conversation and Liliana sighed. Nothing for it, even with Illusion magic she’d still need to learn to hide her stats.

“I suppose,” She answered in defeat, standing as slowly as she could to begin another round of practicing being slow and clumsy.

“That was not...terrible,” Miss Beckett said as Liliana finished her dance. Internally she was crowing her victory, taunting the rude woman. Outwardly Liliana curtsied, lowering her head with a demure smile.

“Thank you, Miss Beckett, I have been practicing while you were away,” Liliana explained, keeping her tone soft and sweet.

She wouldn’t explain her practicing had been her dancing around monsters. Her class had raised her [Dancing] Skill considerably, it was the second-highest General Skill she had at level 34.

“Perhaps you won’t make a total fool of yourself if you find yourself invited to a ball,” Miss Beckett smiled, though there was no kindness behind it or her words. They stung with the hidden insult.

For who would invite Liliana Rosengarde to a ball? The unloved daughter of a Duke and a commoner? Currently, she offered no political, magical, or physical power as far as the nobility knew so they held no interest in her.

“I only seek to bring honor to the Rosengarde name, your praise fills me with happiness that I will avoid shaming my father,“ Liliana answered and Miss Beckett smirked but didn’t respond. Though her thoughts were clear as crystal on her face and Liliana had to clench her teeth to avoid lashing out verbally.

“I’ll move you up to more advanced dances tomorrow, we will also see if you truly did study any of the materials I left for you,” Miss Beckett waved Liliana off in a clear dismissal and the girl happily gave a last curtsy before she turned to leave.

Spending hours with the woman was a true test of her self-control, and every day she felt it getting a bit thinner. There were only so many hidden, and not so hidden, insults she could take.

Liliana left the room they used for her lessons with an almost silent sigh of relief. It was only mid-afternoon and she had a few hours before she and Astrid would need to meet Silas for her training.

Until then she had time to herself, she wanted to spend more time in the library and see if she could find a bestiary for the creatures in the area. Astrid followed a few steps behind her, she had been waiting outside the room as she knew when Liliana’s lessons ended.

“I’m telling you, father was told the guards in Ravencross are getting reports of a Tier 6 Cheshire in the area!” The familiar voice of her step-brother Alistair filled the hall and Liliana froze, looking around for somewhere to hide. For a moment she eyed a promising plant but before she could dive behind it a pair of boys her age turned a corner and stopped when they spotted her.

Liliana internally winced though she held all trace of it from her face. She gazed upon the two boys, one she was familiar with Alistair. The other she had yet to meet in this life, Emyr Bealstal. Instinctively she activated [Identify] on the newcomer.

Emyr Bealstal

Level: 50

Rank: 8

Class: Shadow Duelist

Why do the Heroes have to be so damned attractive? Sure everyone at a high level is gorgeous from Vitality growing but he’s not even that high of a level! This isn’t fair! Liliana mentally complained as she took in her newest adversary warily.

Emyr was beautiful, there was no other way to describe him. He had piercing dark silver eyes that seemed to peer directly into your soul, light blue hair, long and tied in a tail at the back of his neck. It complimented his bronzed skin, darkened from hours spent under the sun training. His training was made obvious in the way he filled out his clothing. His clothing was well made but simple for a noble and beside her step-brother, in his ostentatious clothing and overly accessorized style, Emyr almost faded into the background for all of his unfair beauty.

Liliana curtsied to the two young men as was expected, she did not miss the fact that neither boy bowed to her. Alistair was staring at her with maliciousness and Liliana mentally braced for the inevitable insults. Emyr was regarding her with cold silver eyes as if she was nothing.

“Hello dear brother, Lord Bealstal,” Liliana greeted as she straightened.

“Ah Liliana, seems you are feeling better from your illness. Truly you are such a weak, fragile thing. Must be the commoner blood, they do have a tendency to die so easily,” Alistair greeted, and Liliana bit down on her tongue to keep it still in her mouth.

“Thank you for your concern dear brother, I am feeling much improved from my illness the day prior. Perhaps I was so overcome from your return that my body simply couldn’t contain it,” Liliana answered, keeping her tone sweet.

Alistair looked at her for a moment, the disappointment that she had not reacted to his slight painted clearly on his face. She could see he did not parse the insult she’d snuck into her own words, though for a moment Liliana thought she saw something flash in Emyr’s eyes.

He’s smart, I’ll need to avoid him. Liliana mentally noted to herself. She didn’t have enough faith in her Deception skill to think she could trick someone who truly thought she was suspicious.

“Or perhaps you were playing in the mud while we were gone since it’s something you commoners enjoy so much and you caught some illness from that,” Alistair responded and Liliana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He truly was not good at subtle insults.

“I fear you may be mistaken dear Brother, I spent the week my beloved family was gone in my rooms. Completing the assignments Miss Beckett left for me and devoting myself to my Dancing and Embroidery practice,” Liliana answered easily, shyly averting her eyes as she added an earnest tone to her voice.

Her skin itched from this show of weakness. Every instinct Silas and her week of combat had beaten into her demanding she never take her eyes off of a threat.

The other bit of her instincts were screaming at her to fight. To take her naginata in hand and drive it into the pompous noble before her to finally shut him up.

“We have better things to do than to waste time here, Alistair. I don’t want to be late for training,” Emyr butted in, the clear disregard for Liliana in his tone stung, though in a way he was saving her from this horrid interaction.

The other boy hadn’t even bothered to greet her, an insult of major proportion in noble society. Refusing to greet someone, especially someone who was of higher rank than you, was the ultimate insult. He was refusing to even acknowledge that she was there. He was saying he truly saw her as less than a commoner, to Emyr Bealstal she was nothing.

“That is true, no point wasting our time with pointless things, “Alistair answered and he shot a cruel smirk at Liliana before the two passed her by.

Liliana stepped aside but somehow Alistair still managed to shoulder her. Liliana let herself stumble from the contact, falling into the wall with a fake whimper. Neither boy bothered to look back though she heard the sound of Alistair’s laughter trailing after the pair as they took another turn and left her sight.

“My Lady! Are you alright?” Astrid rushed to Liliana and the girl waved her off as she straightened out, brushing her dress.

“I’m alright, that wasn’t enough to hurt me,“ Liliana answered, a wide smile slowly bloomed on her face and Astrid looked at her warily.

“Astrid, do you suppose there’s information on Cheshire creatures in the library?” Liliana asked idly as she began to move once more, her mind racing with plans.

“I suppose there should be Lady Liliana,” Astrid answered slowly, suspicion clear in her tone.

“That’s good,” Liliana answered, her heart racing with excitement. Finally, something was truly going right for her.

Chapter 19: Isn't It So Cute?

“My Lady, I truly don’t think this is wise,” Astrid spoke up from where she sat before an array of books.

“It’s a wonderful idea, Astrid!” Liliana assured her as she compared one atlas to a map Silas had provided her with.

“There are many issues with this plan My Lady, first and least of them do you think your family would believe that you’re sick once again?” Astrid asked wearily as she rubbed her temples.

“It matters not if they believe or not, when I return it will be moot,” Liliana explained again, voice full of confidence. She wouldn’t fail her self-appointed Quest, she couldn’t. Who knew when she’d next have this kind of opportunity?

“You’ve never been further than the forest surrounding the manor, what if you get lost?” Astrid tried her next tacit and Liliana held up the map she was modifying, using the atlases available in the library to ensure accuracy.

“I have a map! And Polaris will come with me, he’s quite capable with navigation,” Liliana assured her maid with a cheeky grin. Astrid stared at her for a long moment before she let out a sigh.

“Well do you really think you can face off against a Rank 6 beast? You’re only Rank 8, My Lady! What if it doesn’t take the bond and attacks you?” Astrid’s voice was tense with worry and Liliana set down the book she was looking over, taking a deep breath and meeting Astrid’s eyes. She let all the determination and confidence she had in herself shine through her eyes.

“Astrid, I will not fail. My Charisma is high, very high. I have no doubt in a few days I’ll be walking back through these halls with my first Bond. I’ll make this family recognize me. I’ll watch them all see that my commoner blood doesn’t make me less than, it makes me strong.” Liliana explained, her voice was strong with the inner fire she had preserved and stoked during her time in this world. She couldn’t believe she’d fail, it would lead to despair. And in this new life despair was all too close a threat for her.

“And if anything goes wrong I’ll just activate [Dance Of The Daystar] and [Enhancement] and nyoom right out of there!” Liliana tacked on a bit of humor as she grinned at her maid.

“Nyoom?” Astrid asked with a confused tilt of her head.

“Yea! Nyoom! You know how when you go really fast it’s just like nyoom!” Liliana explained, moving her hands to illustrate her meaning. Astrid stared at her for another moment before giggles erupted from her and the woman shook her head, but she was smiling now and some of the worry had leaked from her tense shoulders.

“Alright, but if you have even the slightest feeling of being in danger I want you to turn tail and make your way back here. There will always be more beasts for you to Bond Lady Liliana, but there’s only one of you,” Astrid turned a serious face back to Liliana as her laughter died down. Liliana met the woman’s eyes and nodded, though guilt gnawed at her heart.

Liliana had no intention of turning around if it felt dangerous. She had no intention to die, but she was willing to put herself at risk if it meant her plans could come to fruition. Astrid was right, there would always be more beasts. But would there be any more in the area that fit her criteria in the future? And how much longer could she hold back from saying or doing something in this house that would end up with her punished?

“I’d feel better if Silas came with you,” Astrid spoke sadly and Liliana winced. When she’d come up with the plan to go after the Cheshire Beast Silas had immediately tried to offer to come with her. However it would be far too suspicious if right when Liliana got sick again Silas went on a ‘trip’, and if he came back with her afterward there may be hell to pay. Even if she came back with the creature Bonded there was no telling if the Duchess wouldn’t try to punish Silas for his involvement.

It was why Liliana had postponed the trip until she’d managed to sneak into her stepmother’s room and learn a few Illusion spells. She could make a serviceable illusion of herself laying in bed now. It wouldn’t live up to true scrutiny as it could only be programmed with so many phrases and movements, much like a looping video. But it would in theory be enough to ‘fool’ Astrid into believing Liliana was sick. The illusion couldn’t eat or move but it didn’t need to. It would sell her illness if she couldn’t eat or leave her bed. She also highly doubted any of her family would come to ‘check’ on her. And they were the only ones she’d be afraid of seeing through the illusion.

“You know why he can’t,” Liliana reminded her softly and Astrid nodded. The woman picked up the book she was looking at again and seemed to force herself to change her mood.

“So what type of Cheshire do you suppose it is?” Astrid asked Liliana and the girl brightened considerably. From the pile of books, she dug out a Bestiary. It wasn’t anything too impressive, it covered some of the creatures one could expect to run into in their region. Liliana very much dreamed of having a true Bestiary eventually, one that had all the known creatures and beasts.

“So I hope it’s an Umbra Panther or an Evanesce Tiger!” Liliana excitedly gushed as she turned to the section of the Bestiary that included the Cheshire genus and the species found in their region. There were other types of Cheshire beasts, of course, it wasn’t a huge genus but it had several types. Anything under the Felidae family that could vanish was included under the genus so it had a fair amount of branches. It was part of the Pantherinae family, which was a familiar term from her time on Earth. Though on Earth there were far fewer members of that family alive. In this world, there were quite a few creatures that fell under the Pantherinae family. It didn’t help that the Beasts could evolve which further expanded the family to include the possible evolutions of each creature.

The illustrations Liliana turned to show Astrid were beautiful, and Liliana couldn’t wait to see the real thing. She had a feeling the pictures didn’t do these noble beasts justice. The Evanesce Tiger shared some similarities to earthly Tigers in general body shape and pattern, though that’s where the comparison ended. The creature’s stripes were a rainbow prism that could adjust to camouflage with any environment, what made them part of the Cheshire genus though was that their coat could completely vanish. Meaning all that was left to see were their shifting stripes.

They were incredibly dangerous ambush hunters because it was nearly impossible to see them. They used their natural Light affinity to vanish and change the coloring of their stripes. They could be seen as one of the natural masters of Illusion and Light magics and their skills would match nicely with Liliana’s own. They also boasted high Vitality and Endurance stats, making them veritable tanks. Though they sacrificed Speed and Dexterity as a trade-off.

The Umbra Panther was the other one she was hoping for. They were beautiful as well but in a darker way, their bodies were sleek and pitch-black almost so dark they seemed to absorb light allegedly. Also called Shadow Cats they could turn into ephemeral shadows that were nigh on impossible to see at night and evening, which was when they were most active. They specialized in Shadow magic and were masters of Speed and Strength. They hit fast, they hit hard and they didn’t stay around long enough to get hit back. If the Evanesce Tiger was a dangerous ambush predator, the Umbra Panther was a master. Even among higher-ranked monsters, the Umbra Panther was nearly peerless. They were weaker to Light magic as a result, but it meant that they could cover Liliana’s weakness to the Shadow element. And their fighting style was a close match to the one Liliana was growing towards with a focus on Speed and Strength.

Either creature would work beautifully with her, just in different ways. The only sad thing was Liliana hadn’t been able to find any information out on exactly what type of Cheshire was in the area. Astrid hadn’t heard much from the other servants as the most excited about the development had been Alistair, and he’d only gotten the bare bones of the situation from overhearing the Duke. The Duke for his part seemed unconcerned with the Rank 6 creature, most likely because Cheshires didn’t regularly prey on humans. Not to say they weren’t a threat but generally, they didn’t go out of their way to hunt humans unless they came into their territory. And Cheshire creatures were difficult and dangerous to fight, even by people over their Rank because of their vanishing abilities. It wouldn’t be worth putting the cities Adventurers or Guards in danger for a creature that wasn’t a threat.

“Aren’t they so precious?” Liliana asked Astrid as she held the book out in the woman’s face, leaning forward with her sapphire eyes sparkling. Astrid winced as she looked at the creatures, her first thought quite obviously not ‘Aw how cute!’ as Liliana’s had been.

“They are very...impressive My Lady, “Astrid finally said her voice pitched a little high as Liliana drew the book back and turned it to herself, tracing a delicate fingertip over the images.

“They are! I wonder how soft their fur is? Do their tongues feel like regular housecats? Oh, I bet I could even ride one!” Liliana gushed dreamily as she imagined coming home atop a giant rainbow tiger. Astrid stared at her in quiet disbelief that Liliana didn’t notice, too caught up in her daydreams of a majestic feline companion. She’d fought both creatures in the game, and had always been saddened by the fact that she couldn’t have one as her very own pet. In the game they’d been terrifyingly beautiful, she knew in person they’d be even more breathtaking.

“What would I name one, do you have any ideas, Astrid?” Liliana turned to the woman, eyes wide and expectant. The maid gulped and sweat a little at the young lady’s eager expression.

“Ah, I’m sure I could never dream to come up with a name befitting such a...fierce beast,” Astrid tacitly responded and Liliana wilted a little before she brightened.

“We should brainstorm then! In case it needs a name!” Liliana nodded sagely as she opened one of her notebooks and tapped a pen against her lips.

“Maybe Prism for the Tiger? Or Iris? Iridesce? Or maybe Kalideso? And perhaps for the Panther Nyx, Erebus, Shade, Artume, or Stygian?” Liliana wrote out the names as she thought. She was drawing on a lot of her knowledge of mythology from Earth for her names. Sadly there were far more gods and goddesses of darkness than rainbows.

“Those names are very regal,” Astrid nodded, seeming to find some relief in the fact she did not have to add her own ideas to the mix. The woman was obviously still trying to come to terms with the idea of Liliana having a pet beast in the first place.

“I’ll come up with the perfect name for my new companion!” Liliana promised the woman and Astrid merely sighed once more as she picked up her book, it detailed the different kinds of plants in the area. She was compiling a list of useful herbs for Liliana to forage during her trip.

“I’m sure you will, My Lady,” Astrid allowed and Liliana happily hummed as she continued to add more names to the list.

“[Mirror Image]” Liliana said as she waved a hand over the bundle of pillows tucked under blankets on her bed. Slowly the light around them shimmered until there was an image of Liliana in the bed, eyes closed and face waxen.

Liliana spent an hour ‘programming’ the illusion with different phrases to use periodically, and what to respond with to common questions she could expect. She and Astrid practiced with it to be sure it could respond well enough. Most likely it would be unnecessary, from what Astrid had told her during her coma none of her family had visited. And when she’d been ‘sick’ after her family returned no one had come then either. She doubted they’d suddenly become so familial they’d bother to visit her. More than likely if they suspected her of duplicity they’d visit to prove if she was faking or not.

When both of them were satisfied that the illusion would pass muster Liliana moved to get dressed. Astrid had picked up her new adventuring gear the day before, the one made from the pelt and core of Zephryn. She hadn’t let Liliana see it and the curiosity was killing her.

“Keep your eyes closed while I dress you, my lady,” Astrid ordered and Liliana dutifully closed her eyes, though as she felt the cloud-soft fur and buttery leather slip over her skin it became a struggle of truly titanic proportions to resist opening her eyes. Her fingers trailed blindly over the material, delighting in the sensations she felt.

“Alright, open your eyes,” Astrid instructed and Liliana’s eyes flew open, immediately latching onto her reflection. She was dressed in a beautiful outfit made of pale leather and white fur. The fur was placed where one would typically put reinforcing armor, so it covered her chest and abdomen, her forearms, and upper arms. Over her thighs and shins. Between swatches of the silky fur peeked out the pale tan leather, contrasting beautifully. Behind her flowed a gorgeous cape made of white leather and fur, clasped at the front of her neck with a water lily pin. Liliana held her arms out, seeing the leather fingerless gloves covering them, the same water lily symbol on the backs of them. A white leather belt hung off her hips with another water lily clasp, her bags already hanging off of it. Liliana did a twirl in the mirror, giggling when her cloak swirled around her.

“I love it!” Liliana said, turning to Astrid with a wide smile.

“Have you checked the buffs?” Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow, her lips cocked into a smile.

“Buffs?” Liliana asked, she focused her top, using [Identify] on it.

Chest Piece of the Zephyr

Made from the pelt of the Named Beast Zephryn, it is imbued with the power of the wind, lightening your steps and speeding your movements.

+1 Dexterity

+2 Speed

Set Bonus: ⅘ Pieces Equipped. Need all 5 to acquire a set bonus.

Rare

Liliana quickly checked her bonuses on the other pieces, the pants gave +4 Speed, the gloves gave her +3 Dexterity, and the cloak gave her +3 Speed, +1 Dexterity. Liliana paused as she looked over herself, she only counted four parts of the outfit, where was the fifth?

“Here are the boot my lady,” Astrid answered her unspoken question and she held out a pair of knee-high boots made of the same pale leather and white fur as her pants and top. Liliana used [Identify] on them as she tugged them on.

Boots of the Zephyr

Made from the pelt of the Named Beast Zephryn, it is imbued with the power of the wind, lightening your steps and speeding your movements.

+2 Dexterity

+3 Speed

Set Bonus: While all pieces are equipped you have access to the equipment ability [Air Walk] for ten minutes you can walk on air, truly becoming one with the Wind. 2 hours cool down, or until Mana is replenished.

Rare

“An equipment ability?” Liliana asked as she examined the new information. She knew equipment abilities were a thing in the game but she hadn’t been sure they existed in the world, she hadn’t found any books on the matter. It was a bit comforting to see this too was the same.

“Yes, it’s a skill or spell specific to your equipment. It can’t be leveled up like your normal skills and spells, but if you can get the needed materials to upgrade your equipment a good enough craftsman can improve it and get you an upgraded ability,” Astrid explained patiently and Liliana beamed. That meant if she didn’t manage to ruin her outfit she could realistically keep it for a while, as long as she found new things to improve it with.

“Typically monster cores are used for cloth and leather armor, so if you can get a better grade than what it was made with it can be used,” Astrid further clarified and Liliana nodded. It might be a bit difficult to find a Rank 7 Named beast, which would be what she’d need. But at least it was a possibility.

“What about Mana replenishment?” Liliana asked, that bit was a little unclear and hadn’t been in the game.

“Gear that has abilities has its own Mana pool. Much like enchantments the equipment draws in ambient Mana. However, for equipment with abilities, you can usually also refill it with your own Mana. Though doing so is costly and degrades the durability,” Astrid had dropped into her lecture mode as she educated Liliana on the intricacies of higher grade gear.

“Huh so it could be good in a pinch but doing it often will ruin the longevity of the gear,“ Liliana murmured thoughtfully. She’d need to be careful about it then, she didn’t know what she’d need to repair her clothes, likely more material from another named Great Horned Hare. Those didn’t exactly grow on trees.

“Exactly,” Astrid nodded, the maid took a quick look outside and her face twisted with worry but with a resigned sigh, she turned to Liliana.

“It’s time, my lady, “Astrid informed her and Liliana turned to her, her face serious as she met the woman's eyes. She grabbed the bulging pack on the ground and shouldered it.

“So it is, let's be on our way,” Liliana nodded to Astrid and the woman began to lead them out of her rooms. As they made their way through the manor they managed to avoid running into anyone. Yet neither of them noticed when a shadow detached from a wall and began stalking their steps.

Chapter 20: No More Shadowy Stalkers Please!

“How far do you think we have?” Liliana asked the fox at her side. She was checking her map for the campsite Silas had suggested.

Her companion offered her a yip in answer and Liliana rolled her eyes affectionately as she glanced around the road. Since learning a few illusion spells she could actually walk down the road like a normal person, rather than play-acting a fugitive and fumbling through the woods. She’d still needed to leave the manor through the woods but once she was about an hour out the pair had made their way to the road. It was much easier to travel along a maintained road than the forest, that was for sure.

It had been nerve-wracking, the first few times she’d passed other travelers on her way. Yet despite recognizing several of the faces as servants of the manor none had given her more than a cursory glance. Liliana thanked Vita for giving her Light affinity and enabling her to learn Illusion magic. She could finally walk in the light of day without fear of being caught and dragged back to her father and stepmother.

Polaris paused and circles her, yipping as he glanced behind them before bounding off ahead of her and coming back. Liliana chuckled as she shook her head.

“I wonder when he’ll make himself known too,” Liliana answered the fox who snorted and danced around her, obviously full of energy that had a little outlet at the moment. They weren’t chasing after random monsters right now, they had a clear goal. They didn’t have time to detour to chase after other prey. Well not until they’d made camp.

Liliana was referring to the person who had been following the pair since the manor. Liliana hadn’t noticed him, she had no detection skills of her own. Something she now realized she was sorely in need of. No, Polaris had sniffed out their tail about an hour into their trip. It had nearly sent Liliana into a panic until she realized the tail hadn’t done anything, despite the many infractions she’d already committed. The naginata she carried across her back would be enough to get her dragged before her stepmother and severely punished. Yet their shadow hadn’t confronted her, or run back to the manor to grab the guards to drag her home. He had just followed her.

Liliana had her suspicions of who was following her. There was only one person in the manor who had any kind of shadow class that would be strong enough to give even Polaris pause in locating him. Her father had a water affinity, Alistair was a Light focused sword and shield fighter. Her step-mother wouldn’t be caught dead following Liliana, and her focus was Light and Illusion magic. Silas hadn’t mentioned any of the guards being far progressed in a Shadow or stealth-based class, it wasn’t something they needed and would be a bad choice considering their jobs.

It only left one person, her little stalker was Emyr Bealstal. The question that was burning in Liliana’s mind though was why. Why would he follow her? As well, how long had he been watching her? She and Astrid had been careful about sneaking out, they always were. Liliana’s rooms weren’t even in the same wing as the rest of the family’s and the guest rooms. So Emyr had to go out of his way to even happen to see her sneaking out.

Did he [Identify] me that first day? Liliana wondered, ice running through her veins at the thought that her act had been found out so quickly. It made sense, she hadn’t run into Emyr since then. Why else would he be following her, unless he’d seen she was not at all who she seemed to be. In the game, Liliana had enjoyed playing Emyr, though he wasn’t her favorite character he wasn’t her least favorite either. He had an interesting family history. The youngest son of a military family he was raised to become a knight. His family wasn’t awful, but because his father was a general and his mother was part of the royal guard he didn’t often see them. He had three older siblings, a brother, and two sisters. The youngest of them was four years older than Emyr, so she’d have just graduated from the Academy this year and was likely starting her journey.

Because of that Emyr’s father had called in a favor with his friend, Duke Rosengarde to take his son as a foster for two years before he went to the Academy. It was why Emyr was now haunting the halls of their manor. In the game, Emyr filled out the role of an awkward introvert almost perfectly, quiet and standoffish on the outside but rather kind to his friends, once you got past his exterior. He was frightfully awful at social interactions because of the little interaction he got growing up as a result of his family always being too busy for him. His only friend was Alistair and he was far from a good role model. He also seemed to fit his Shadow affinity well, always quiet and skulking around and ever curious about secrets.

Liliana should’ve known her act wouldn’t have held up against someone like Emyr who lived for secrets and mysteries. She’d slipped up, she’d forgotten her game knowledge of him in exchange for the knowledge of her new body. The memories of a cold and uncaring boy who would never give her a second look. She had assumed he wouldn’t bother to [Identify] her because he’d never seemed to place any value on her.

Now she was stuck with a stalking shadow who saw her as a curious mystery he didn’t have an answer for. Liliana could only hope she kept him intrigued enough that he didn’t get bored and turn around to return to the manor and inform her family of her actions before she’d completed her plan.

Liliana shaded her eyes and checked the sun, then the map in her hands. She hummed as they passed a mile marker and nodded.

“Should be about another four hours before we get to the camp,” Liliana informed Polaris, though she pitched her voice a bit to carry. She resisted the urge to throw a glance over her shoulder, she didn’t want to give Emyr the pleasure of knowing his stalking unnerved her.

“This was supposed to be a fun Quest,“ Liliana grumbled to Polaris as they continued on.

“You can come out now, Emyr. I know you’re there,“ Liliana spoke up as she settled down around her campfire. Silas had insisted she get the [Wilderness Survival] skill as soon as he’d learned she was going on this trip and wouldn’t let him come with her. As a result, she could make a fire with the firestone given to her, cook over the fire, and set up her tent. The sound of Silas yelling ‘Faster! What if it’s storming and you’re about to die of hypothermia! Faster!’ still haunted her nightmares.

Polaris yipped as if to punctuate her comment, starring intently at a patch of shadows that looked much the same to Liliana as the rest of the shadows. However, as she watched she caught the shadows moving slightly, despite no wind shaking the trees. For several minutes the pair stared down the shadows, but no one emerged. Polaris got bored and flopped down, staring at Liliana with wide eyes begging for food. Liliana sighed and dragged her own eyes away.

“Fine, be like that then,” She muttered as she pulled out a piece of jerky and tossed it to Polaris, who jumped to catch it. She pulled out an apple and chucked it into the shadows, quirking an eyebrow when the apple vanished as if consumed by the shadows.

“Doubt you brought your own food, however, I won’t be giving you anything else unless you come out,“ Liliana warned the silent boy. Still no response. With a frustrated growl, Liliana turned from the shadows and grabbed her weapon. Polaris jumped up, eyes eager.

“Polaris, hunt,” Liliana ordered, and the fox hopped up, dashing into the trees. Liliana followed eagerly, she didn’t need to hunt and with the light fading, it’s perhaps not the most advisable course of action. But if she doesn’t move the anger simmering in her at Emyr’s silence would make her do something truly stupid. Even though he’d been following her for the entire day, and who knew how long before that, he still didn’t deem her important enough to speak to.

I’m nothing more than a particularly interesting bug to him. Well, I’ll show him. Liliana thought bitterly as she dropped into [Stealth] following Polaris easily through the forest, her Speed was finally enough to match his.

Polaris froze and Liliana stopped beside him, eyes catching what had caught his attention. Her lips widened into a vicious grin as she saw her prey.

Silver Stag

Level 41

A majestic stag, its coat blessed by the moon itself. Its Earth Affinity has evolved to be Metal Affinity. Its coat is hard to cut, reinforced by the very metal it commands. Its antlers are sharp as knives, as are its deadly hooves.

Rank: 8

With a thought, Liliana activated [Will-O-Wisp] and sent the floating lights to surround the stag. Immediately the creature’s head shot up as it looked around and saw itself circled. Its eyes widened and it snorted, pawing the ground and lowering its head a bit as it regarded the new threat.She hadn’t had a chance to fight a Silver Deer yet, she’d never gone far enough to hit their territory. She had been curious about them as their coat and antlers sold fairly well because of their inherent durability. She remembered them from the game, they weren’t common spawns and she remembered farming them to raise funds early on. Excitement filled her as Liliana wondered if the stag’s attack pattern would match the game.

Liliana activated [Tempo] and [Dance Of The Daystar] at the same time, rushing out of cover as she came in behind the stag, her naginata cutting through the air and the sound of metal clashing filled the air. Her naginata barely bit into the creature’s hide as she spun away. The stag turned to face the newest threat, shaking its head and fixing her with a glare. Liliana grinned as she spun around, feet tracing a pattern across the ground as she moved. [Tempo] guided her as she set the silent melody to the battle. The Stag charged her and Liliana noted its speed was inferior to hers as she danced away from its deadly antlers. The stag reared, turning on its back hooves to try and lash out at her but Liliana easily circled the creature. She slashed out once more with her weapon and poured a bit more strength into her strike as she did. Her blade found a bit more purchase but still not enough to truly damage it.

So the ballet of their battle proceeded, Liliana, teased and taunted the creature with strikes barely enough to pain it. The stag would rush her and she would evade as if she was nothing more than a ghost on the wind. As it collided with brush and trees Liliana noted the strength behind its charges and attacks. Its antlers sheered through branches thick as her arms and its charges splintered trunks thick as she was. She couldn’t afford to take a single hit from the creature, but as [Tempo] worked on the stag its rushes and attacks became sloppier until it was stumbling as if drunk. The many small cuts Liliana had made had healed, the creature’s Vitality was too high for her attacks to have truly hurt it.

Fairly similar to the game. It’ll lock on, build up its charge for several seconds, charge, then rear. It’s got the same high as hell Vitality, Endurance, and Strength as the game. Liliana mentally noted, finding some small relief that the creatures in this world seemed similar to their game counterparts if a slight bit different. It gave her hope that the higher-level creatures would keep the same kind of attack patterns as the game as well.

It’s time. Liliana decided as the stag stumbled and almost lost its footing. Liliana moved, lethal intent behind each movement as she closed the distance. [Enhancement] activated and strength surged through Liliana’s veins as she drove the blade of her naginata into the eye of the stag. The one part of it that wasn’t protected with a coating of metal. As she pushed her entire enhanced strength behind the thrust there was a moment of resistance where Liliana feared it wouldn’t be enough before her blade sunk into the creature, piercing its brain and putting an end to its life. With a shudder, the stag collapsed and Liliana dropped her spells.

With the disappearance of her [Will-O-Wisp], Liliana realized night had fallen and she hastily called the spell back up as darkness tried to consume her. No longer blind Liliana summoned her notifications.

You’ve killed a Silver Stag.

+20,500 Experience

+10,250 Experience from Boon

[Polearms Master] reached level 39.

[Will-O-Wisp] reached level 9.

Breathing a sigh of relief Liliana looked at the stag. Normally she’d harvest them where they dropped but she had a camp today, and cooked venison sounded rather good. Ripping her naginata free, Liliana grabbed the stag by its antlers with her other hand and started to drag it through the forest and back to her camp. Polaris popped up as she walked, taking the role of guiding her back to the camp.

It was far slower to walk back as she had to stop several times to free the stag of grasping branches and bushes but finally, they made it back. The campfire was suspiciously roaring as if Liliana hadn’t left it alone for over an hour.

If he thinks I’m going to thank him, he’s got another thing coming. Liliana grumbled mentally as she sat down. She pulled out her skinning knife and set to work on the stag. It was difficult at first until she started from the kill wound, then she easily settled into the familiar rhythm. Working the antlers off took her activating [Enhancement] once more to saw them free but finally, Liliana had all the parts she wanted. The hide was rolled up and placed in her dimensional bag with the antlers and core. She had divided up the meat, giving herself enough to eat for the next few days and leaving the rest to Polaris, who was happily feasting on this rare treat.

“If you want any, you’ll have to come out,” Liliana called out as she started cooking the meat, working in spices Astrid had packed for her. She recognized the names of the spices labeled on them from her studying of local alchemical herbs but she wasn’t sure what they tasted like. She had to go off smell, matching scents to the flavors she’d enjoyed in Astrid’s cooking.

Emyr remained in his shadows as Liliana cooked and the girl shrugged as she fussed over the food. She had very little experience cooking, just what Silas thought was sufficient for [Wilderness Survival], and she was afraid she’d burn the meat. Checking the meat constantly she finally decided it was good enough when the aroma sent her stomach roaring like a trapped beast. She hoped her little bit of [Wilderness Survival] would be enough to keep herself from accidentally poisoning herself. What an embarrassing way to go, ‘Here lies Liliana Rosengarde, killed by her own bad cooking’.

She stored what she wouldn’t eat and then dug into the large steak she’d made for herself, closing her eyes in happiness as the flavors exploded over her mouth. It was a bit burnt along the edges, but she devoured it anyway. An entire day of traveling and a fight did much to work up an appetite, and hunger was the best spice. The food would never be called gourmet, and it couldn’t even compare to Astrid’s cooking. But it tasted divine to Liliana as she scarfed it down, not caring about proper etiquette. The only person to notice was Emyr, and Liliana cared not one bit about impressing her stalker. He’d already seen her running around in the woods like a wild child, she doubted this would shock him now.

When she finished her food Liliana walked over to the nearby creek to clean up and walked further off to relieve herself before she returned to the fire. Her eyes were heavy but she laid her naginata across her lap and began the tedious process of cleaning and maintaining the weapon. She fell into a trance-like state as she cleaned, sharpened, and oiled the weapon. When it was sparkling and like new she grabbed it and looked towards the shadows she thought Emyr was lurking in.

“Fine, if you’re just going to skulk there you can take first watch. Polaris will take second and he’ll wake me up for third,” Liliana called out as she stood up. She banked the fire and crawled to her tent, snuggling into her sleeping roll. Despite being outside in the wilderness with only a fox and a questionable noble to protect her she had little trouble falling asleep.

“We should be maybe a day away from where the sighting for it was,” Liliana told Polaris, excitement obvious in her tone and movements. They had been traveling for three days now, and her target was so close. She could almost feel the creature, just waiting to bond with her. She could be Bonded with it as soon as tomorrow and on her way home, victorious and strong.

Liliana hummed as she walked, spinning her naginata around her in dizzying patterns as she kept her muscles warm and her mind occupied. Words from a song she’d almost forgotten sprung to her lips and a smile quirked on her face as she found the title of the song rather fitting. Provided the creature she ran into was an Evanesce Tiger of course.

Polaris seemed to enjoy her song as he danced to the beat of it, yipping along as if he was harmonizing with her. The sound of sweet laughter surrounded them between the words of the song as the girl delighted in the silliness of her fox companion.

Polaris froze mid yip, his hackles rising and a deep growl erupting from his chest. Liliana felt fear fill her as she followed the direction of the fox’s growls. Polaris had never growled, not once in the time she’d been bonded to him. Not even when she’d fought Zephryn. Her heart thundered in her chest, blood pounded a staccato rhythm in her ears as she turned to see what had caused such a reaction in Polaris.

A blood-curdling howl filled the air as a wolf stepped out of the nearby tree cover. The wolf was far bigger than any Liliana had seen in zoos back on Earth. Its head came to her chin. Taking a step back Liliana felt herself pale as another wolf followed the first, then another, and another. Soon an entire pack of six stood down the girl and the fox.

“Fuck,” Liliana spoke as she faced down the wolves.

Alpha Shadow Wolf

Level: 60

The strongest wolf of her pack, the Alpha gains strength from her pack. A master of the shadows, this wolf can sink into the shadows and emerge from them to attack prey from all sides.

Rank: 7

Chapter 21: Surging Shadows, Bursting Lights and Piercing Screams

Liliana’s mind was running a mile a minute as she was locked in a staring contest with the Alpha of the pack. The creature’s pitch-black eyes were reminiscent of the void she had so recently lived in. At her back, she could almost feel Death’s cold hand resting on her shoulder once more.

I’ve fought you off a hundred times before, Death, I’ll do it again. Liliana promised her oldest foe as she tried to find a way out of her current predicament.

The wolves here aren’t supposed to be aggressive towards humans, so why? Were they pushed out of their hunting grounds by the Cheshire? Fuck, if they’re starving they’ll attack humans. Liliana didn’t take her eyes off the threat before her but a flicker of red fur in her peripheral reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

I can’t fight here, Polaris isn’t anywhere close to strong enough to fight these wolves, and he’s probably not as fast as them if they can use shadows to move. I need to get him out of here. Liliana felt fear, thick and viscous, curling in her chest. Not fear for herself, no the fear she felt clogging her throat and constricting her lungs was fear for Polaris. The little fox who had come up to her that day weeks ago to make a Bond with her. The little fox who cuddled her and drew laughter out of her whenever her mind started to take a dark turn. The little fox who had agreed to come with her on this trip, even if she was going after a monster far stronger than even this pack of wolves.

The wolves growled and Liliana was out of time to think, activating [Dance Of the Daystar], [Dance Of The Windsong], and [Enhancement] at the same time Liliana dived for Polaris. She could hear the snarls of the wolves as she wrapped her hands around his body and as she activated her equipment’s [Air Walk] ability she could feel the wind of their fangs passing her feet as she leaped into the air. Her feet found purchase in the empty sky and she leaped again, bringing herself and Polaris far out of the wolves’ range.

Dropping her skills for the moment to preserve her Mana and Stamina Liliana looked down, getting dizzy for a moment as she processed exactly how high she was. She was even with the trees of the forest and the wolves looked like hunting dogs now in size. Her heart fluttered frantically in her chest as she forced herself to calm and focus on her issues.

She could burn her Mana and Stamina and run away for the entire ten minutes that [Air Walk] would be active and then keep running. But wolves were stamina predators, they would chase their prey for miles until they ran out of energy and collapsed. When she ran out of Mana and Stamina she would be utterly helpless to the wolves, with no guarantee that she’d have gone far and fast enough to lose them.

Liliana looked at the trees surrounding her, considering hiding in them until the wolves left. She dismissed the option when she saw the plethora of shadows around them. She had no way to know their range with their shadow stepping abilities.

She could try to fight them, from the air she could unload [Light Burst]s on them like a deadly rain. She had the Affinity bonus too, with them being Dark Affinity creatures. However, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat them in ten minutes, not with the lowest level wolf being 47, ten levels above her.

In her arms, Polaris shook and Liliana looked at the fox clutched to her. His ears were pressed to his head and his eyes were wide with fear. Liliana ran one hand through his fur, trying her best to calm him. The fox whined and buried his snout in the fur of her cloak and Liliana found her resolve hardening. Turning anger-laden eyes to the wolves she made her choice.

Adjusting her hold on Polaris she freed one hand, holding it out to the wolves she began to summon a storm of [Light Burst]s. They danced around her like miniature suns as she emptied her Mana. Six of the orbs floated around her, each larger than her head and heavy with the additional Mana they’d been pumped full of.

With a thought, the balls of deadly light raced towards the wolves circling beneath her. Several of the wolves avoided the shots, dropping into the shadows or sidestepping. Yet two were direct hits and when the remaining [Light Burst]s exploded all but the Alpha took damage from the extended area of effect. Yelps filled the air as the wolves’ health was chunked. Liliana slipped a hand into her pack, grabbing a handful of Mana Tinctures she started downing the liquid, pumping her Mana back up. As soon as it was full she summoned [Will-O-Wisp] and shot it down to the wolves. The light wasn’t strong but it spooked the wolves, forcing them to dodge the spell.

Liliana grinned as her [Will-O-Wisp] chased away many of the shadows the wolves were using to dodge her attacks. Not giving the wolves, or her Mana, a chance to rest she summoned and shot off another three [Light Burst]s. Left less chance to doge all three found purchase on a wolf, exploding on contact and digging gashes into their midnight black fur. Still, the Alpha avoided every bit of damage, even as her pack’s blood soaked into the dirt beneath Liliana.

How much time has passed? Liliana wondered as she downed more tinctures. Her stomach rebelled at the quantity of Mana tinctures but Liliana pushed through it. As she focused on the time left for [Air Walk] the information appeared before her.

Time Left

7:33

Liliana grimaced as she watched the timer count down the seconds before she waved it off to sit in the periphery of her vision. More [Light Burst] appeared and descended to attack the wolves, the ones already injured still managed to show impressive Speed and only one of the wolves took a direct hit this time, only two others taking damage from the burst of Light magic.

This isn’t working. I’m hurting them but not enough! Liliana panicked as she downed more tinctures, her Mana regenerating as she stared down at the wolves. The Alpha was staring at her and in its pitch-black eyes, Liliana saw her death waiting in those fathomless black depths.

“I am not dying before I get a chance to finally live!” Liliana screamed at the wolf. Her hand plunged into her bag, pulling out a handful of tinctures she started to down them, summoning more [Light Burst]s every time her Mana let her. One eye on her timer Liliana summoned ball after ball of shining Light magic.

Beneath her, the wolves were circling, snarling, and growling as they looked on at the growing army of lights. Yet they weren’t swayed from their prey and as Liliana surrounded herself in a ring of light howls pierced the air.

Downing the last of her Mana tinctures Liliana summoned the last two [Light Burst] she could. Her mind was straining, holding all the lights in place. She checked the timer and closed her eyes, placing a prayer to Vita. She had a minute left. Opening her eyes she looked down at the wolves, it was hard to see them through the blinding light surrounding her but she still managed to lock eyes with the Alpha once more.

“Perish,” Liliana spat as she released her attack. Twenty-four [Light Burst]s flew to the ground, a veritable barrage of spells. The light they threw off combined with the [Will-O-Wisp] still floating banished any available shadows for the wolves to hide in. The volume of the attack was too much for them to easily dodge.

The blast from the twenty-four [Light Burst]s all going off at once blinded Liliana. For a moment it looked like the very sun itself had descended to seek vengeance upon the denizens of the world. Liliana had to duck her face into Polaris’ fur to block out the blinding effect, even still light leaked past. Yelps and whimpers filled the air as the wolves took the full force of her attack.

Blinking her eyes to get rid of the spots Liliana looked down and felt despair filling her. Two wolves were dead. The other three were heavily injured but still alive. The Alpha had managed to mostly withstand the attack, though she was favoring her right foreleg and blood dripped from her, staining the ground a vivid crimson.

Liliana felt the end to [Air Walk] approaching and with no other choice she turned and ran, hoping to put distance between herself and the remaining wolves. Enough to give Polaris a chance to run away while she held the wolves off, she had no illusions that she’d be able to take them down. Even injured the Alpha was 23 levels above her, it wouldn’t be a fight. It would be a massacre.

As [Air Walk] faded it lowered her to the ground until her feet made contact with hard dirt. Liliana looked behind her and saw the wolves closing the distance, thankfully slowed by their injuries enough to give her a precious few moments. Liliana gave Polaris a firm hug before she set the fox down.

“Run, I’ll hold them back,” Liliana promised the fox as she stood straight, pulling her naginata off her back and turning to face the approaching wolves. Behind her, she heard a pitiful whimper than a mournful yip. Seconds later the sound of light paws hitting the ground reached her as Polaris turned and ran.

Tears trailed down Liliana’s face as she gripped her naginata tightly. Her Mana had regenerated enough for her to activate [Dance of The Daystar] and she let the familiar rush of the Skill fill her.

“Sorry I couldn’t finish the Quest, Vita,” Liliana murmured as she spun her naginata before her, the wolves were almost within range now and she could feel their bloodlust on the air. Their snarls were a funeral dirge, the final ballad of her short second life. She activated [Tempo] when her Mana allowed and the ghostly drums of the Spell complimented the final beatings of her own heart.

“One last dance with death,” Liliana murmured as the wolves finally reached her, then her feet moved. She traced a beautiful design through the air with her blade as she lashed out at the Alpha. The blade found purchase in the wounds already scored across the beast’s body from her spell salvo. Liliana felt the snapping jaws of another wolf at her back and barely managed to dodge to the side to avoid certain death. As resigned as she was to her fate Liliana didn’t let her blade drop, didn’t let her feet falter.

She would die here, but she would die fighting. With her blade coated in the blood of those that had ended her life. As she twisted between the wolves for a few moments she felt the barest flicker of hope ignite in her chest as she dodged their attacks and her blade bit deep into their already wounded hides.

Until a pair of crushing jaws appeared out of a shadow and wrapped around her leg, severing skin and muscles and spilling her blood across the ground. Liliana screamed as the pain overwhelmed her senses, [Pain Resistance] barely dampening the pure agony.

Liliana fell to the ground as the wolf tightened its grip on her leg and as she looked up through tear-filled eyes she saw the void dark eyes of the Alpha above her. The beast opened its huge maw and lunged for her. Liliana refused to close her eyes as she watched her death closing in around her, each second feeling like years.

A flash of red and white fur rocketed into the side of the Alpha’s head, throwing the beast’s trajectory off and forcing her to miss Liliana with her deadly attack. Liliana stared on in shock as the red blur launched off the Alpha and collided with the wolf who still held her leg in a vice grip. Snarls and yips filled the air as Polaris ravaged the face of the wolf until it was forced to let go.

Polaris backed up until he stood before Liliana, guarding her body with his own. Looking at the fox, so very small and delicate in comparison to the behemoth wolves around them, Liliana felt her heart break. Now both of them would die.

“Polaris, you were supposed to run,” Liliana whispered, her voice filled with pain. The fox flicked his tail and yipped at her, never taking his eyes off the wolves. She understood perfectly and despite the hopelessness of the situation, a manic giggle forced itself past her lips.

‘Couldn’t let my meal ticket die.’ That was what he’d said with his body and yip. It was enough to force Liliana back to her feet, half leaning on her naginata to stand once more. Liliana dropped [Tempo] to activate [Regeneration]. The wolves were backing away from them, re-evaluating the new threat.

It wouldn’t be enough time for her leg to heal, not even close. Yet Liliana still dug a hand into her pack to grab Health Tinctures, downing an entire handful. Her leg wasn’t healed, but the skin was closing. It would be enough, it had to be.

The wolves growled and moved forward before Liliana could get another set of tinctures and she braced herself, raising her naginata and preparing herself for one last clash. Beside her, Polaris lowered himself as shadows whipped around him. A cry spilled from Liliana’s lips as she raised her weapon, prepared to ram it right into the first wolf to get in range.

Suddenly the entire battlefield erupted into a twisting mass of shadowy tendrils, chaos taking hold. Inky ropes made of shadow lashed out at the wolves, grabbing their legs and ripping them from under them, sending the wolves sprawling along the ground. Liliana froze as she watched the wolves being attacked by the very element they commanded.

“[Shadow Dominion],” a voice spoke behind her, cold and emotionless. Liliana whipped around to locate the new threat. Her eyes fell on Emyr Bealstal emerging from the shadows, a rapier held in one hand. The other hand was covered in shadows, reaching up to his shoulder. Silver eyes met blue for a beat, time-freezing as they regarded each other. Emyr broke the contact to focus back on the wolves and Liliana turned to look at the almost forgotten enemies.

Three of the wolves were being held down by shadows. But the Alpha was ripping through every rope that tried to hold her down. It wasn’t effortlessly however, the beast’s chest was heaving and her head was held low. Her eyes were filled with rage as she focused on the two humans who had so decimated her pack.

“I can’t hold her back, and her command of Shadow is better than mine. [Dominion] won’t keep her out for much longer,” Emyr spoke and Liliana was startled, so unused to being addressed by the boy. His voice was the same cold and emotionless tone she was familiar with, but she detected strain under it.

Testing her leg she found that the additional time with [Regeneration] had enabled the limb to hold more of her weight. It wouldn’t last long, her muscles were weak as paper. It would work long enough for what she needed to do though.

“Keep her down as long as you can,” Liliana ordered, not bothering to see if he would listen she dropped [Regeneration]. Moving forward Liliana activated [Enhancement] and [Light Burst Coat]. Coupled with the still channeling [Dance of The Daystar] she practically blurred through the distance between her and the Alpha. A wave of shadowy tendrils crashed on the Alpha, trying to hold her back. Liliana’s eyes scanned the wolf as she closed in, looking for the perfect spot. She would only get one chance at this, already she could feel the few muscles and newly healed skin that had healed in her leg ripping again. The pain burned like a hot knife in her leg but she couldn’t stumble now.

There! Liliana brought her naginata around, grabbing it with both hands she plunged the glowing blade into a deep gash on the Alpha’s side. Metal grated against bone as the blade slipped between ribs and the Alpha howled in pain. Thrashing against the remaining shadows the Alpha ripped the weapon from her hands. Thrown off balance Liliana stumbled and her bad leg gave out, sending her tumbling to the ground. The Alpha turned on her, jaws snapping out to take Liliana with her into the realm of death.

A flash of red.

A high-pitched scream.

Shadows surged

Light burst.

Struggling to understand what had happened Liliana watched, frozen, as the Alpha fell to the ground. Dead. In her jaws was a small, broken red body.

“No. No. NO!” Liliana screamed as understanding hit her. She scrambled to her feet, falling when her leg once again gave out. Crawling over the ground Liliana frantically reached for Polaris. Her hands sunk into plush red fur, stained a darker scarlet by blood. A pained yelp came from him and Liliana choked on a sob.

“Alive. You’re alive. I can fix you. I can save you. Just hold on. Okay? I’ll get you all better,” Liliana wasn’t even sure what she was saying, it was nonsense born of desperate hope as she pried at the jaws of the dead wolf. Finally, they opened enough from her to gently pull Polaris from them and into her lap. The fox whimpered in pain but didn’t move and Liliana looked over his broken body, tears blurring her vision. He had punctures in his stomach and flank. Two of his legs were broken and bloody, barely even hanging on by a sliver of flesh.

Digging into her pack Liliana pulled out every last Health tincture and started pouring them over the wounds, sobbing as she tried to cover all the wounds. The bleeding slowed and the flesh barely started to grow but it wasn’t enough. As she ran out of tinctures Liliana felt panic filling her as Polaris still laid on her lap, broken and dying.

“No! You won’t die on me Polaris! Not now, not today. I won’t let you!” Liliana screamed as she placed her hands on his blood-soaked fur. She grabbed her Mana, at some point she’d canceled her skills and spells though she had no recollection of it. Her Mana had regenerated somewhat in the interim and taking every last scrap of Mana she focused her will on what she wanted. It fought her, as it always did when she asked something new of it. But she didn’t let it win. Desperation and fear gave her strength as she wrestled the Mana.

“I have 85% fucking Life affinity. You. Will. Obey. Me.” Liliana growled at her Mana as she forced it into Polaris’ body. She imagined the Mana healing his wounds, knitting the muscles back together, rebuilding his veins, and regrowing his skin and fur. She imagined his bones forming, whole and healthy. Every time the Mana tried to rebel against her she forced the image in her mind on it, not willing to take no as an answer. Every bit of regenerated Mana was funneled into Polaris as she commanded her Mana to obey her. She scraped her core empty, pulling all it would give and more as her will bore down on it.

Slowly, achingly, tortuously, agonizingly slowly, Liliana felt the Mana following her orders. She could sense Polaris’ bones rebuilding, his muscles and tendons wrapping back around them as veins were regrown beneath slowly forming flesh. Every inch of progress felt like an hour-long battle between her and her Mana. Sweat soaked her and her head was pounding with a headache that blurred her focus of the world around her. Slowly her focus narrowed until all she saw was Polaris, all she felt was her Mana filling his body and repairing him.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed but finally, her Mana found nothing else to heal in the fox’s body. A small, tired yip filled the air and Liliana felt a warm tongue lick across her face.

“Told you…wouldn’t let you die,“ Liliana muttered as she smiled at the fox. Darkness covered her vision and the girl collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 22: Overdramatic Teenagers are Overdramatic

As Liliana woke slowly the first thing she noticed was pain. Her head felt like it was splitting open slowly, and her calf burned like embers had been stitched under her skin. With a whimper she opened blurry eyes, not fully understanding where she was.

She could see trees, and as she paid attention to her other senses under the pain she felt the familiar texture of her sleeping roll under her. She could hear a fire crackling nearby and the heat it gave off washed over her.

“Polaris!” Liliana shot up as she remembered the fight with the wolves, the small, broken body of her fox crushed in the jaws of the Alpha. She groaned and a hand flew to her head when the movement sent a sharp knife of pain lancing through her brain.

A furry body collided with her and Liliana fell back as a small tongue lavished her face with sloppy kisses. Yips and snuffs filled her ears, Liliana’s arms wrapped around the fox and held him close even as he squirmed around. Her fingers sunk into thick, warm fur. Liliana buried her face in that same fur, tears dampening it. Polaris was alive, they both were.

They’d survived.

It felt surreal. Liliana had been prepared to die that day. She’d felt the looming specter of Death behind her, and had resigned herself to once more taking his hand. Yet he had been turned away. She was alive, in pain yes, but alive.

Memories of why, exactly, she’d survived surfaced, the chaotic battle slowly recalling in her mind. Liliana slowly lifted her head and looked across the fire before her. She met a pair of dark silver eyes framed by light blue hair. Emyr regarded her silently, but he was looking at her. Liliana couldn’t remember a time the other noble had ever met her eyes. Nor a time when he had looked at her for so long.

Breaking off eye contact Liliana slowly sat back up. Polaris dropped into her lap before jumping off to circle her, still making yips and snuffling noises. Liliana looked around and saw her bag and naginata beside her. The weapon had been cleaned and it gleamed in the firelight. Her tent hadn’t been erected but he had to have set up her bedroll. Lifting her pants leg, what was left of it anyway after the wolf had savaged it. Liliana saw her leg had been bandaged, though blood had leaked through a bit. Her wound had opened back up then during the final fight.

Liliana checked her Mana and winced when she saw it hadn’t fully regenerated. Even as she watched it barely climbed, despite her Mana regeneration. Still, it was enough for her to activate [Regeneration]. While the Skill set to work healing her leg she checked out the debuffs she seemed to have gained.

Mana Overuse:

Debuff x4

Multiple instances of overusing Mana past your limits, and overuse of Mana regenerating potions, have resulted in the Mana Overuse debuff. For 12 hours your Mana regeneration has been reduced to .25 Mana per Second. Further overextending your Mana will increase the debuff time and reduce the Mana Regeneration.

9hrs 23mins left

Bleeding:

Debuff

-5 health per second.

Caused by severe damage to the right leg, the debuff will remove as soon as the bleeding is fully stopped

Liliana winced at the notification. It looked like she’d gotten it at some point in the fight, and had continued to overextend her Mana resulting in a severe penalty. Even now she was approaching the limit of her Mana pool with [Regeneration] and had to cut it off. Her leg felt a bit more healed but she could tell she wouldn’t be walking on it for a while. Not until her debuff was over and she could use [Regeneration] for longer. At least the bleeding debuff she’d gained had disappeared now, letting her Health regeneration begin to kick in.

Liliana could sense she had an entire slew of notifications waiting. She held off on going over them, her head hurt too much to handle the flood of information. Instead, she waved off the debuff box and looked towards Emyr, who had been sitting there silently, still watching her.

“You saved us,” Liliana spoke up. Emyr stared at her for a long moment before blinking slowly.

“Yes,” he answered and Liliana sighed, rubbing at her temples. She was tempted to just fall back onto her bedroll and go to sleep.

“Why?” Liliana asked. She caught his unwavering stare with her own. She couldn’t understand why he’d step in at all. She knew he didn’t care for her, and stepping in meant he put himself in danger. He hadn’t stepped in at the beginning of the fight either. He’d waited until the end when everything was almost lost to take a stand. Why? Why did he care if she died?

“You needed help,” Emyr answered simply as if that was enough. Liliana’s eyes narrowed and she nearly hissed at the boy in annoyance.

“Why would you care?” Liliana clarified her question, her tone sharp.

Emyr didn’t answer that question, instead, he continued to stare at her with his unreadable eyes. Liliana groaned in annoyance, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her headache was only growing the longer she had to deal with this boy.

Fumbling for her bag Liliana reached in and grabbed one of the pain tinctures she knew Astrid had packed for her. She downed it quickly and tossed the empty vial back inside the bag. A rumble from her stomach reminded her of her hunger, she’d burned a lot of Mana that day on top of the physical exertion. She realized she was starving as the pain faded, letting the hunger take over as the strongest feeling. Liliana pulled out the last of her cooked venison, some bread, cheese, and fruit. Looking at Emyr she sighed and tossed the boy some bread, meat, and cheese.

“Thanks, for stepping in. Without you, Polaris and I would’ve died,” Liliana bit out, the words tasting like ash on her tongue. Oh, how it stung to thank Emyr Bealstal for absolutely anything. He’d saved her life though. Even if she didn’t like it that deserved thanks.

“Don’t think I’ll need your help again,“ Liliana tacked on, shooting the boy a harsh glare. Emyr shrugged, biting into the meat he’d been provided, never taking his eyes off of her. Liliana huffed and turned away, digging into her food.

Polaris for once didn’t seem interested in the food. Liliana figured he must have gotten his fill from eating the wolves. Liliana paused as she remembered they’d killed six wolves, one an Alpha. What had happened to their Mana cores and pelts? Those would be valuable! Liliana froze as the image of all the money she may have just lost circled in her mind.

“What did you do to the wolves’ bodies?” Liliana demanded, turning back to Emyr. He slowly finished the piece of venison he was eating, taking a drink of his water skin. Liliana ground her teeth at how slowly he was moving as if purposefully doing it to irritate her. Finally, he gave her an answer, pointing behind him. Liliana leaned to the side and spotted a pile of pelts topped by Mana cores, one noticeably bigger than the rest.

“Thanks,“ Liliana bit out. She hated that she’d now thanked the boy twice in one night. She finished her food, sighing when she felt full. Giving a last suspicious look towards Emyr she finally let the notifications that had been buzzing at the edge of her perception come up.

You killed a level 47 Shadow Wolf. You killed a level 50 Shadow Wolf.

+48,500 Experience

+24,250 Experience from Boon

More experience awarded for killing a creature 10 or more levels higher than you!

+14,550 Experience

+7,275 Experience from Boon

You assisted in killing a level 49 Shadow Wolf. You assisted in killing a level 54 Shadow Wolf. You assisted in killing a level 56 Shadow Wolf.

+59,652 Experience

+29,813 Experience from Boon

Less experience was awarded for getting assistance with a kill.

More experience awarded for killing a creature over 10 levels higher than you!

+26,600 Experience

+13,300 Experience From Boon

You killed a level 60 Alpha Shadow Wolf.

+25,500 Experience

+12,750 Experience from Boon

Less experience was awarded for getting assistance with the kill.

More experience awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels higher than you!

+12,000 Experience

+6,000 Experience from Boon

You gained a point in Vitality!

You gained a point in Intelligence!

[Dance Of The Daystar] reached level 14

[Regeneration] reached level 20

[Dodge] reached level 29

[Polearms Mastery] reached level 43

[Pain Resistance] reached level 21

[Dancing] reached level 30

[Light Burst Coat] reached level 22

[Light Burst] reached level 30

[Will-O-Wisp] reached level 12

[Tempo] reached level 12

You have discovered the Spell [Light Barrage], would you like to learn this spell?

You have discovered the spell [Companion Heal], would you like to learn this spell?

You have met the requirements for the Skill [Final Stand], would you like to learn this skill?

You’ve reached level 39!

+10 Stat points

+4 Stat points from Boon.

+10 Stat Points to Speed from Class

+8 Stat points to Endurance from Class

+8 Stat Points to Dexterity from Class

+6 Stat Points to Charisma from Class

Liliana’s head was spinning from all of the notifications and boxes. One thing the System certainly rewarded was facing off against impossible odds and managing to not die. Her Boon shone through as well, with all the excess experience she’d gained from the endeavor. She’d lost some of her experience from Emyr jumping in at the end, though she wasn’t sure exactly how much was lost.

The amount lost would depend on several variables. The math behind it was a headache to memorize so she hadn’t trouble herself much with it. A bit of experience lost was worth keeping her life. Out of all the sacrifices she’d made that day, the experience was the least of it.

Liliana focused on the Spells she’d earned first, she had an idea of what they were and already knew she’d accept them.

Light Barrage: For 400 Mana summon a swarm of 15 condensed light to rain upon your enemies. Damage equal to 25% of your Magic Power per ball.

Cost: 400 Mana

For an additional 200 Mana, the damage can be increased to 30% of your Magic Power. Lights will explode causing 15% of their damage as an area of effect.

Companion Heal: (Life) For 60 Mana per second heal any creature Bonded to you for 10 Health per second. Does not work on diseases, poison, or necrotic damage.

Channel

Liliana nodded and accepted the new Spells. They’d be useful, especially the Healing one. It had been an egregious error on her part to neglect her Life affinity almost entirely. An error that had nearly cost Polaris his life. Liliana sunk her hand into the fox’s fur, stilling his wriggling movement beside her. She’d come so close to losing him, all because she’d been too stuck on progressing her combat skills. It was a mistake she swore to never repeat. She’d been given a major advantage, having a triple affinity and all of them being so high. She needed to take advantage of all of her boons. Not just the ones that let her fight better.

Liliana tightened her hold on Polaris, reveling in the steady heartbeat she could feel under her fingers. The warmth of his skin and fur, so full of life. Alive only because of her panicked stubbornness, her Life affinity, and her level in [Mana Manipulation]. Had she not had any one of those things, Polaris wouldn’t be sitting beside her at this moment. Even with all of that, it was nothing short of a miracle that she’d succeeded.

Liliana released her grip on Polaris, letting the fox wriggle around and back into her lap. She wrapped her arms loosely around him and smiled as he once more set to bathing her face. She pulled up the new Skill she had received ad she tried to avoid getting fox slobber on her mouth or eyes.

Last Stand: When Health, Mana, and Stamina are below 10% you can go beyond your limits for 1 minute. Mana and Stamina can go into a deficit of up to -10% with no penalty. Strength and Speed are increased by 35%.

Liliana winced a the new skills description. She accepted it but she fervently hoped she wouldn’t need to use it. Leveling it up would require her putting herself on death’s door. It would be best if the Skill never had a reason to progress past level 1.

Liliana closed out her notifications, she would deal with allocating her stat points after she’d rested. She didn’t trust her mind at the moment to place them appropriately. Already she could feel her mind gaining the fuzzy quality symbolic of exhaustion.

“You probably got a good amount of leveled skills,” Emyr spoke up, his words conversational even if his tone was anything but. Liliana froze as her eyes darted to his, once more getting trapped in the cold dark silver. Her face twisted in a grimace and she crossed her arms over her chest. Polaris for his part settled down in her lap, turning his gaze to the interloper.

“Yes,” Liliana answered curtly, not elaborating.

“You awakened,” Emyr stated and Liliana nodded warily, her eyes narrowing. What was his angle? Was he trying to figure out how she awakened when her family didn’t know?

“You’re only level 39 now, are you going to turn back?“ Emyr asked and Liliana hissed as anger flared. Did he think her so weak that one bad battle would send her running back to the manor? Did he think she was some pampered, simpering, wilting flower?

“I have something to finish,” Liliana bit out, her tone glacial as she glared at the boy. Emyr didn’t seem bothered by her obvious anger. If anything he seemed confused, the first bit of emotion showing on his impassive face.

“You’ve changed,” Emyr stated and Liliana groaned at this pointless conversation. She knew he had questions he wanted to ask, yet he wasn’t. He was still playing the stupid word games nobles so loved. Even out here, in the wilds, after facing down a pack of vicious wolves.

“I thought you were running away from home at first,” Emyr continued and Liliana huffed. The boy had spent 14 years never speaking to her, now she wished he’d shut up.

“I had theorized you’d somehow paid a Priest to awaken you, so you could level. And once you were high enough you planned to run away from the manor. I followed to be sure you didn’t do something stupid and die,” Emyr spoke, giving her an appraising eye as if he wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t somehow manage to do something stupid still.

Like fighting a pack of wolves far above her level didn’t already constitute as monumentally idiotic. However, his immediate assumption that she’d go out and die stung and her hand twitched for her naginata, to show him exactly how unlikely that was. Recent events notwithstanding.

“I thought you’d spend a night out in the wild, get attacked by a monster, and return home. Camping out on the rough ground isn’t anything a lady would be accustomed to,” Emyr continued with his frankly insulting monologue, and Liliana grit her teeth, fists balling at her side. Sure sleeping on the ground hadn’t ranked in her top ten favorite things to do, but she wouldn’t abandon her quest for something as trivial as that!

“You didn’t though. You managed to avoid most monsters unless you sought them out. Then the wolves appeared and I thought, certainly here you’d call out for my help and run away,” Emyr leaned forward and the curiosity on his face intensified.

He was looking at her as if she was a particularly puzzling math problem. One he couldn’t find an answer to. Liliana struggled to not drop his gaze, she was unused to anyone looking at her like that. Least of all any noble. Her pride demanded she not be the first to break this stare-off between them though.

“But you didn’t. You were willing to die, to protect your fox,” Emyr nodded at Polaris who huffed at him, “And even when you were about to die still, you didn’t ask for help. And now I wonder. What happened to the little girl who would trail after her brother and me? Who would cry for us whenever she fell or scraped her knee? Who would go pale at the sight of blood?” Emyr’s gaze was intense as if he was trying to scrape aside her walls and break into her soul. Liliana glared at him and finally broke eye contact, for all that it stung to admit a silent defeat. She couldn’t handle the way his gaze felt like he was seeing every secret she so carefully guarded.

“She died,“ Liliana answered curtly, “she starved to death, hungry for love she never received. Poisoned by cruel words and hateful remarks. Stabbed through the heart by the very people meant to protect it,” Liliana finished her voice full of long-repressed anger finally finding its outlet. She raised her eyes and met Emyr’s once more, her own burning with righteous anger. Everything she said was true as well. The original Liliana had died when she’d been poisoned by her stepmother. When her father had married that viper and refused to see the abuse suffered under his roof. Liliana had died because the people who should’ve loved her had hated her. Because the people meant to care for her had instead turned their backs on her.

“The Liliana you knew is gone. Dead in an unmarked grave, mourned by no one but me. And the new Liliana isn’t going to stand for the same bullshit. So stay out of my way, or find yourself suffering the same fate,” Liliana warned, her voice full of a threat she didn’t really mean. She wanted to see the people who had hurt her, had hurt the original Liliana, fall. Wanted to see them on their knees bruised, broken, and bleeding. But she didn’t want to see them dead. She wanted them to watch her rise to greatness while they suffered in her shadow.

And maybe, though she’d never admit it to herself, she wanted them to finally accept her. To finally love her, as they should’ve. And they couldn’t do that if they were dead.

Emyr matched her stare for several long moments before he broke it off. He turned his face until half of it was covered in shadows. Though his silver eyes still stood out amongst the darkness. Liliana thought she saw a smile flicker across his face. It was gone so fast she thought it might have been a trick of the firelight.

“So it seems,” Emyr spoke, his voice soft but for the first time some of the ice in his tone had melted.

“I’ll take first watch,” Emyr spoke as he stood up, his tone cold once more. Liliana watched him as he walked off into the shadows around the campsite. For a long moment, she watched the shadows he’d vanished into, trying to understand the enigma that was Emyr Bealstal. She’d expected him to be upset by her words. She’d threatened him after all. She’d acted not one bit the noble lady she was, rather she’d fallen into her old habits from Earth.

Yet he hadn’t seemed angered, or even upset. In fact, it felt almost like she had gained a bit of his respect. For the first time in her life.

Liliana turned from the shadows and laid back on her bedroll, grabbing her cloak and wrapping it around herself. Polaris laid next to her, offering what comfort he could in the dark of the night. Her mind was running in confusing circles, trying to understand Emyr and his motivations. His intent. He was an unexpected variable, and in this life, those could be fatal.

Sleep fell on her before she could find an answer to the questions that had tied her mind into a Gordian knot.

Chapter 23: Curiosity Killed The Cat But Satisfaction Brought It Back

Liliana was woken the next day by a face full of fox kisses. Groaning and rubbing her eyes she looked around the campsite. It was well past morning, the sun shone freely onto them. Liliana groaned as she sat up, gently pushing aside Polaris as she did. Her head wasn’t pounding as badly this morning, and her leg felt like it had healed during her sleep. Health regeneration was truly a miracle, if unstopped by a debuff like bleeding, infected, poisoned, or such it could take care of anything.

A check of her Mana showed it was full and her debuff had expired, meaning she’d slept over the 9 hours that had been left. Confusion filled her that she hadn’t been woken up for a watch by Polaris or Emyr. Remembering Emyr was like a shot of caffeine in her system. Her mind shook off the cobwebs clinging to it. Fear was the first emotion she felt. Fear that Emyr would leave and tell her father about what had happened. That he’d tell the Duchess of how she’d behaved and she’d find herself dragged back to the manor by a squad of Guards like a criminal. Fear that her freedom would be permanently stripped from her and she’d become nothing more than a living doll trapped in a gilded cage until her stepmother finally killed her.

The second emotion she felt was anger. Anger that Emyr could elicit such emotions in her. Anger at the thought that he’d run back to the manor and tell the Duke and Duchess and sentence her to a slow death. Anger that despite all she’d been through, the thought of the Duke and Duchess could still fill her with more fear than she’d felt facing down the wolves.

Looking around the campsite Liliana felt the fear and anger surge higher when she couldn’t find Emyr. The fire was banked, only a few weak embers were left alive. The pile of pelts and Mana cores was still there, unmoved from the night before. Her pack and weapons were left where they had rested. Yet the noble boy was nowhere to be seen.

“Did he leave?” Liliana whispered, voice filled with horror. Polaris yipped and twisted in a circle before freezing and pointing to a patch of shadows to her left. Relief slammed into her so hard she nearly fell over from it. A small laugh erupted from her lips and she shook her head. So he was back to stalking her from the shadows then.

“You gonna come out?” Liliana called, looking at the shadows Polaris had pointed to. Several moments passed with no response and Liliana sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Fine, just stay out of my way,” Liliana called out as she grabbed her pack and pulled out bread and fruit for breakfast. She needed to address her stat point allocation, then take stock of what she had left after that fight.

She looked over her stats for several minutes. Her biggest issue the day before had been her lack of Mana. She had run out too often. If she’d had more she would’ve been able to damage the Wolves far more before she ever had to fight them head-on. She may have even been able to kill more of them. Her magic was her best long-range advantage at the moment. She had performed so poorly with Archery that Silas had sworn to never let her near a bow ever again. So magic was the only way she could keep anything too far above her level away from her.

She dropped 8 points into Wisdom and 2 into Intelligence. The remaining 4 points she placed in Charisma. She would be facing the Cheshire beast soon and if yesterday had taught her anything it was she couldn’t fight it. Nothing she did to her stats today would have any effect physically on something so far beyond her level. Her only hope was that her Charisma would be high enough to let her form a Bond with the creature.

Double-checking her allocation Liliana nodded and finalized it.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

39

Class

Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

8

Health

650

H-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Mana

700

M-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Stamina

900

S-Regen

+9/1.1sec

Magic Power

730

Magic Control

740

Experience: 17,440/160,000

Vitality

66

Endurance

90

Strength

70

Dexterity

78 (85)

Wisdom

70

Intelligence

65

Speed

112 (124)

Charisma

95

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Looking over her depleted items Liliana frowned. She wasn’t going to turn back, not after she’d nearly died for this. But she’d need to be careful going forward. She’d only have her [Regeneration] to recover her Health and nothing to recover Mana other than her natural regen rate. Liliana carefully packed up her items, rolling up her sleeping roll and placing it on top under her tent. Standing Liliana tested her leg, when it held her weight with no pain she smiled. She grabbed her naginata and checked that her daggers were still in place.That part finished Liliana dismissed the screen and grabbed her pack. She pulled out everything in it, counting out what she had left. She winced when she finished. She had another one meal of venison left, five more loaves of bread, six blocks of cheese, and six apples. Two filled water skins and three empty ones. Her map and compass were intact, thankfully. She had nine pain tinctures left and five wound poultices. She was completely out of Mana and Health tinctures. She’d used all of them the day before.

All of her items set Liliana looked to the next issue, the items from the wolves. Liliana set to putting the pelts and cores in her spacial bag. She barely managed to fit the pelts in there with the rest of her items, and she wouldn’t be adding anything extra to it during this trip unless she was willing to get rid of something else. Liliana shot a suspicious group of shadows a glare. She knew Emyr had to have a spatial item on him, he could’ve taken some of the pelts while she was asleep to make it easier on her. But of course, she couldn’t expect a noble to do such a thing.

Liliana double-checked her map and compass, she could see the road from the campsite which helped orientate her. With a last lingering glare at the shadows, Liliana set off, Polaris dancing at her heels. Happy and carefree, as if they hadn’t both nearly died the day before. Liliana smiled wanly at the fox’s antics, a specter of fear hadn’t left her entirely from the event. She still felt like Death was waiting around every corner, ready to take what had been stolen from him. Yet even the ghost of Death itself was a poor opponent to a fox’s happy yips and Liliana felt a brighter smile slip into place as she watched Polaris chasing butterflies.

We survived. It was barely, and mostly a result of luck and my stubbornness. But we’re still here. This doesn’t change my plans. If anything, I know now how pitifully weak I am, despite the progress I’ve made. I can barely handle myself out on my own only a few days from home. I need to become stronger. Quickly. I have to Bond that Cheshire, it’s the only option. Liliana thought, resolve strengthening in her chest as she mentally recounted the battle.

She kept some of her attention on the area around her, not wanting to be caught in a surprise attack, but the majority of her mind was devoted to going through the fight. Silas had taught her to always recount her fights, what you did right. What you learned about your opponent. And most importantly, what you did wrong.

I should’ve spaced out my Mana potions more. Given time for my Regen to help bolster it. Downing so many at once helped me get that debuff, and also meant I had less firepower than I could’ve. It was hard, to admit what you did wrong. It was even worse to replay the memories, so fresh and raw. Even knowing it was over Liliana could still feel her heartbeat quickening, her body still a victim to leftover fear.

I panicked, it clouded my thoughts through most of the fight. That Wolf got me because I wasn’t paying proper attention to my feet. I was fast enough to keep them from hurting me, but they did because of my mistake. Liliana’s gaze was drawn to her leg, where the ripped leather swung like tattered ribbons against her calf. A very visual reminder of her wound. A wound that left no other trace on her body, completely erased by her Health regeneration.

I should also learn first aid, if the wound was worse I could’ve died waiting to be able to use [Regeneration], Liliana winced at that. She hadn’t even considered first aid training, not in a world with magic. It was becoming increasingly obvious that all her problems couldn’t be solved with magic, however. She was lucky she learned that now, rather than when it could’ve been truly fatal.

Liliana spent the next few hours reviewing the fight as best she could. Giving herself points to improve, though she was sure when she told Silas of the fight he’d come up with another ten things she should’ve done differently. The only thing that interrupted her thorough introspection was when she crossed the mile marker that was closest to the Cheshire beast’s territory.

The afternoon had come and twilight was on its tail as Liliana paused at the marker, pulling out her map once more. She had drawn out where she estimated the creature's territory to be, based on the small bit of information they’d gleaned. She had added the information she’d found out about the most likely Cheshire types and their territory habits from the Bestiary, giving her a rough estimate of where the beast could be.

The only issue was that large creatures like this could have territories miles wide, far too much for her to canvas alone. Liliana’s eyes trailed to Polaris, who was currently trying to chase down a field mouse it would seem. Liliana’s lips twitched into a half-smile as she watched the fox pounce, finally catching his prey. Immediately Polaris looked up as if he had been making a show of it all just for her.

“Good job!” Liliana called out to him and the fox puffed up, grabbing his prey in his mouth and trotting around like a furry little king. Liliana chuckled as she shook her head. Looking around Liliana started to walk towards a clear area that seemed to have been used as a campsite previously, she had noticed it was more likely to find them close to the mile markers. With practiced efficiency from her training and the past few days, Liliana set up her camp.

Night had truly fallen by the time she had a fire going and food on her lap, the map out again as she looked over it. Polaris was beside her, eating his own meal of a rather fat squirrel he’d caught at some point.

“Think you can track it?” Liliana asked the fox, eyes meeting his amber ones. The fox gave her a look that could only be called affronted, as odd as it looked on his vulpine features.

“Okay, okay. I was just being careful,“ Liliana soothed but Polaris still seemed a bit insulted that she’d insinuated he couldn’t track the beast she sought. Liliana smiled as she looked back at the map. She had finally made it to the area, all that was left was to actually find the creature.

Well, and to Bond it and not die in the process. But that was an issue for tomorrow’s Liliana.

“Have you smelled it yet?” Liliana asked next and Polaris gave a quick yip, shaking his head. The motion was bizarre coming from a fox, but he’d learned it from her. It was still astounding to see the effects even a simple contract could have on a creature.

“Makes sense, we’re barely into where I’ve estimated it to be,” Liliana murmured as her finger trailed the outline she’d drawn.

“It?” A voice called out and Liliana’s eyes flicked up as Emyr appeared from the shadows, much to her irritation. She was glad he was still around, if only because it meant he wasn’t at the manor telling The Duke and Duchess about her adventure. However, she’d much prefer for him to stay in the shadows, where she didn’t have to deal with him.

Liliana didn’t answer him, instead meeting the curiosity in his eyes with a cold glare of her own. Emyr didn’t seem bothered by it as he sat down across from her, the fire between them.

“Are you looking for something?“ Emyr asked next and Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she rolled up her map and put it away. Far from his too-curious eyes.

“Does it matter to you?“ Liliana retorted. Emyr raised an eyebrow at her question, but still, he didn’t seem upset by her tone.

It was frustrating to no end, Liliana kept expecting him to act a certain way based on her memories. Yet he seemed dedicated to subverting her expectations at every turn. He was supposed to hate her, to not care about what she did. Yet he’d followed her from the manor. He’d saved her. She knew in the game Emyr was loyal to his friends and curious. There were some things you couldn’t find in the game without playing him because he could open up new side quests with his curious nature.

Yet that image clashed violently with her memories from the original Liliana. She remembered a cold boy, who had never been curious about her. Never been interested. He had sat back and watched as Alistair tormented her, never saying a word against his friend's actions. A bystander, one of the worst types. Seeing an injustice but never doing anything about it.

This is making my head hurt. He’s like the memories, but not. He’s like the game, but not. He’s just enough the same to one or the other to cause me to have expectations and assumptions. Then different enough to throw me off. I don’t like this, Liliana glared harder at the boy, who was at fault for her current mental state. She should be focusing on getting her Bond, not mentally trying to figure out some noble brat destined to kill her.

“Well since I’m coming with you, I should at least know what we’re doing,“ Emyr answered as if it was obvious. His answer was shocking enough that Lilian lost her glare.

He…thinks that he is owed an explanation? Liliana thought, anger beginning to fill her truly at the arrogance.

“I didn’t ask you to come! You made that choice all on your own! I don’t owe you shit,” Liliana hissed, eyes flashing. Still, Emyr didn’t seem bothered by her behavior, if anything he seemed to grow more curious.

“If I hadn’t come, you’d be dead,” Emyr stated, his words like a bucket of ice to Liliana. Immediately her anger died at the reminder. She did owe him for saving her life.

“I’m after the Cheshire,“ Liliana bit out, each word tasting like ash. Like defeat. Finally, though, something she said seemed to throw Emyr off. His eyes widened, blinking in surprise.

“To kill it?” He asked, tone disbelieving. Liliana smirked, she’d gotten his tone to break. Finally threw the ‘great’ Emyr Bealstal off. It was a sweet victory, even if it was born of loss.

“No,” Liliana answered, refusing further elaboration. He didn’t need to know. In her mind, her side of the deal was over as soon as she told him what she was after.

“Then…” Emyr trailed off, his eyes considering as his gaze fell on Polaris. Understanding brightened the dark gray of his eyes and an eyebrow rose once more.

“You want to Bond it,” he said, utterly certain in his answer. Liliana grimaced, she’d hoped he wouldn’t figure it out just so she could hold it over him.

“That’s still insane, it’s two ranks ahead of you. Do you have any idea how unlikely a bond like that is?” he asked, and his tone set something off in Liliana. That assumption that she was still weak. Still the same pitiful little girl who had followed him and her brother around begging for scraps of attention.

“95,” Liliana spit the words out at him as her hands tightened into fists. Emyr paused, confused at the seemingly random word. Liliana could see him trying to figure out the riddle.

“My Charisma is 95 right now. Tell me, is that enough for you, My Lord?” Liliana’s voice was doused in poison as the words dripped from her words. Emyr was once more surprised, and Liliana reveled in the expression. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing for him to have come out of hiding today. If only because it meant she got that emotionless mask of his to break.

“You have a chance then. Even so, this is reckless. You’re either insane or suicidal. Perhaps both,” Emyr seemed to recover from his shock, and if Liliana didn’t know better she’d say she detected concern in his tone. She knew better though, someone like Emyr wouldn’t be concerned about her. She was his newest puzzle to figure out, an enjoyable temporary distraction.

“Perhaps, “Liliana shrugged at his words. Suicidal wasn’t true, if nothing else she was not willing to throw this life away. As bad as it might be, it was hers. And she’d make the best of it she could. Insane was a possibility, she’d certainly gone through enough to make any normal person break.

“Do you think I’m insane?” Liliana asked Polaris with a smirk, as she turned to look at the fox she could see trace bits of frustration on Emyr’s face at her apparent disregard of his warnings. The fox looked at her for a long moment before he stood and walked to her, snuffling her face before giving it a lick and sitting back. The fox turned a look to Emyr and gave him what could be described as a vulpine smile.

“Well Polaris doesn’t think I’m insane, and I value his opinion far more than yours,“ Liliana shrugged her shoulders and stretched out. Tiredness hung heavy on her limbs and eyes and she was quite done with the conversation. She stood and moved towards her tent.

“You take first watch again,” She threw over her shoulder, not bothering to check if it was okay with him. She opened her tent and dropped her bag in, laying her naginata beside the bedroll.

“My name's Emyr,” a voice called out behind her and for a moment her movements stilled.

“I’m aware,” Liliana responded, her tone tired. She didn’t have any more energy for this.

“Then use it,” He responded. Liliana turned, tired irritation rising. He was gone though, vanished back into the shadows.

Grumbling about spoiled noble brats Liliana gave up and flopped into her bedroll.

Chapter 24: Here Kitty, Kitty, kitty

“I’m starting to think you have no idea where you’re going,“ Emyr stated, almost conversationally as he appeared from the shadows to Liliana’s left. Liliana bent over and grabbed a pinecone, chucking it at the boy’s head as soon as he became visible.

They’d been in the area for three days now. Three grueling, tiring, and difficult days. Liliana struggled through each one as she continued deeper in the forest. It wasn’t the hiking that bothered her. Her Endurance and Strength were too high for such a thing to bother her anymore. No, what made the days so difficult was that Emyr had apparently decided she’d permitted him to speak to her while she walked. Which he didn’t do often, but even once was more than enough for her.

Whatever God I need to pray to, to make this boy leave me be. Please. I’ll sacrifice at least twenty goats to you, Liliana mentally pleaded to the gods above them as Emyr dodged her thrown projectile. He didn’t speak again. Other than the few times his curiosity had overcome his naturally quiet nature he typically didn’t.

Except to occasionally say utterly unnecessary criticism about her choices. And to remind her that what she was doing was reckless and idiotic.

“Polaris do you have it?” Liliana asked the fox ahead of them, ignoring Emyr other than her initial piney assault.

The fox yipped at her and she smiled. They’d gotten the Cheshire’s scent halfway through the first day. The issue was even with its scent they still had to track it down through its territory, and based on the past days Liliana could confidently say it did use its territory to the fullest.

A sudden flurry of yips alerted Liliana to a new discovery. Surging ahead with a burst of speed fueled by excitement Liliana pushed to where Polaris was. She paused as she came upon what looked to be the remains of a large creature’s meal. Nudging the remains with her naginata Liliana examined the evidence. It seemed to be a Silver Stag, a large one too. There was very little left of it, mostly just bits of hide and bones. Liliana shooed off a crow trying to eat the remains she pushed at some of the bones. Many were broken or gnawed on. Whatever had used the bones as chew toys had massive fangs.

“This can’t be more than a day old,” Liliana said as she pulled her naginata back and stepped past the remains, leaving the gathered crows to their feast.

“So it’s nearby,” Emyr spoke up, Liliana shot him a glare. She hadn’t been talking to him. She’d fallen back into the habit of talking to herself while she’d been out. A bad habit when one wasn’t actually alone. Liliana started to push forward, following Polaris who seemed as excited as she was now that they were close.

“Liliana.” Emyr’s voice held something indiscernible in it. It was a mixture of the tone and hearing Emyr say her name for the first time that froze her. Emyr hadn’t said her name since they’d been introduced when they were both 11. Not once since then had Emyr ever said her name.

“This is dangerous,” he said, walking in front of her and forcing her to catch his eyes, “you could die.” Maybe there was the tiniest scrap of concern in his voice this time.

“I’ll die if I don’t do this,” her tongue moved without her brain's input. Liliana took a half step back, eyes widening. She hadn’t meant to say that, not at all. Everyone knew her life was awful, that was common knowledge. What wasn’t common knowledge was that her stepmother was actively trying to kill her. It was information she couldn’t do anything about, not yet. No one would believe her word over that of a full noble.

“What? Are you just trying to prove you’re strong? I’ve already seen that you have the proof in your bag with the wolves,” Emyr tried to convince her, his voice warming with the rising fire of frustration as his warning fell on deaf ears.

“Do you have any idea what my life is like?“ Liliana asked, her voice cold. Emyr paused, face twisting in confusion. She knew asking for something like empathy from a noble was a tall order. Putting oneself in someone else's shoes was difficult for people never taught such a lesson.

“Imagine, if you can. What it’s like to live hated by your entire family. To have a father who won’t even look at you. To have a stepmother who openly despises you. To have a brother who tries to hurt you, he hates you so much. Imagine living as a noble who even servants disrespect. Imagine living as a noble with no future. Ever tried to think what my future will be, Emyr?” Lilian’s voice grew louder as she spoke. The dam on her emotions had been broken and months, years, of repressed feelings were gushing free. Liliana couldn’t stop the tide, even if she wanted to.

“Do you think I’ll inherit the Duchy? No, of course, I won’t. Do you think that I can marry? What noble will marry someone with commoner blood? I can’t marry a commoner myself, it would only further shame my house. I can’t pick up most crafts because ‘it’s not suitable for a noble’. Don’t you see? I’m too noble to be a commoner, but I’m too much a commoner to be a noble!” Liliana practically screamed the last words. This time it was Emyr who took a step back, face blank with shock.

“So this is the only choice I have, Emyr. I have to gain my own power. So I can make my own life. Not strapped down by the titles of ‘noble’ or ‘commoner’. If one has enough power, no one can tell them how to live their life, “ Liliana regained some of her composure as she finished her speech. Running a hand over her braided hair she wrapped the shreds of her poise around herself. Liliana sidestepped Emyr and walked past him, head held high.

As the words she said cycled in her mind Liliana felt her face heating up in embarrassment. Most certainly this would be one of the memories that replayed in her mind right before she fell asleep for years to come.

Gods, that was awful. Did I really just trauma dump on Emyr of all people? What is wrong with me? Liliana wondered as she rubbed a hand over her flushed face. Probably a lot. I wonder if there are therapists in this world? Liliana wondered with a wry laugh. It only took her dying, a hundred years, a Goddess, and getting reincarnated to finally get her to consider therapy. In a world where it likely didn’t even exist.

Liliana shoved the thoughts to the side as she followed Polaris through the forest. She needed to focus, they were close to the Cheshire and there was no telling when they’d come on it. She could deal with her personal drama later. Behind her, Liliana could hear a second pair of footsteps. She knew Emyr could make himself utterly silent if he wanted to, his mastery of [Stealth] made her envious. He wanted her to know he was there with her, even if he kept blessedly silent.

Or I’m overthinking it and I traumatized him so badly he forgot to use [Stealth], Liliana considered with another embarrassed flush. That would certainly be an accomplishment. Using her own trauma to mess someone up so badly they forgot they had skills.

Ahead of her Polaris froze so suddenly Liliana nearly tripped over him as she came to a stop herself. Instinctively she knelt next to the fox, who had lowered himself to the ground. The fox didn’t make a noise, but Liliana could see his hackles rising and his fur standing on end. When she reached out a hand to touch him she could feel shivers coursing through his body. She didn’t need to ask. They’d found the Cheshire.

Liliana followed his gaze, at first she didn’t see anything out of place. They had stopped close to a large creek. There were no other animals around, in fact, Liliana couldn’t hear any either. It was as if the entire forest had been muted. The realization struck her, instinctive fear filling her. Forests never went silent, unless there was a predator around. A strong one. The more primal part of her brain begged her to leave the area, flee quickly from whatever had brought silence upon the forest. The bigger part of her brain was filled with anticipation. Adrenaline was leaking into her blood at the thought of finally achieving her goal.

With a closer look, Liliana looked over the area until a rippled at the creek drew her eye. The wind rustled through the trees, shaking their leaves and spilling light in new areas. For the barest seconds, Liliana saw a shimmer of light, illuminating a massive shape. Her eyes widened as she finally spotted the camouflaged stripes.

Evanesce Tiger. That was the Cheshire beast they’d found. All Liliana could see of it were the stripes, and even those were hard to see despite knowing where they were. They were camouflaged so well with the forest around them. A quiet gasp behind her let her know that Emyr had finally spotted it as well.

Stark terror filled Liliana, so sudden and overpowering it froze the blood in her veins, paralyzing her where she knelt. The only thing that was free was her eyes, but those too were trapped when they locked with a predatory gaze. Rainbow eyes, as beautiful as they were terrifying met her own. Slowly the image of a massive feline body became visible, first, a shimmer of light like sunlight caught in a prism heralded the shift. Slowly color filled the once invisible body, silver fur with a rainbow sheen between dark stripes became visible. All too soon a predator of a caliber Liliana had never faced was revealed, less than two hundred feet from her.

She’d thought the wolves were massive. In comparison to the beast before her, they were mere puppies. Taller than even the warhorses at the manor the Evanesce Tiger would meet the draft horses eye to eye.

I-I don’t know if I can Bond this, Liliana thought, finally coming face to face with the reality of a Rank 6 beast. Almost unbidden [Identify] happily let her know precisely how fucked she was.

Evanesce Tiger

Level 90

A beast that has such a high degree of Light Affinity that they’ve unlocked Illusion magic. Able to turn nearly entirely invisible an Evanesce Tiger prefers to ambush prey utterly unaware of its presence. They have been known to stalk prey for days before finishing them off. A creature with high Vitality and defensive capabilities from its Light magic an Evanesce Tiger is a truly formidable foe. Highly territorial the Evanesce Tiger will attack anything it deems a threat.

Rank: 6

Her weapons probably wouldn’t even tickle it. If it decided it wanted her dead, there wasn’t a single thing she could do to stop it. Liliana felt the air in her lung leave violently as her attention locked on ‘Level 90’. The creature had fifty-one levels on her. More than double her level. Nothing she had would even slow it down. Her spells were all Light-based as well, meaning with its natural Light resistance she might as well try throwing cotton balls at it. They’d have the same damage.

An eternity passed as the Tiger and the girl remained locked in a stare-down. Time moved as if caught in molasses, achingly slow. Liliana didn’t even dare to breathe, afraid even that minuscule movement would prompt the feline to pounce.

Lungs burning, Liliana could feel her head beginning to swim from her lack of oxygen. Unable to fight against her body's natural instincts she drew in a breath.

The moment shattered.

Time sped up at a breakneck pace, going from frozen to double-time in the span of a heartbeat as the beast launched itself forward.

Despite its higher level, its Speed was low enough that Liliana could easily follow its movements. It gave her the time to grab a frozen Polaris and toss the fox away before she dove away. Behind her, she could hear the crash of the Tiger connecting with trees instead of a fragile human girl. Fear coursed through her body, but right behind it flooded adrenaline.

The near addictive rush of a fight filled her as Liliana activated her abilities. [Dance of The Daystar], [Dance of The Windsong], [Tempo], [Enhancement], she activated them all. She didn’t need to care about how her Health dipped, even at full Health she wouldn’t survive even a glancing hit from the Tiger. The world slowed noticeably as her Speed very nearly doubled with the stacking of her Skills. The Tiger slowly turned to focus on her once more. Its movements were easy to follow now, though all it did was enable her to avoid dying for a bit longer and maybe run away.

Liliana met its iridescent gaze and despite the fear in her heart she refused to turn and run. Not when she was so close she could touch it. The Tiger readied another pounce when shadows surged around it, blade-like tendrils lashing out against the beast. Though the level disparity would usually mean even a scratch against such a creature would be impossible the use of an opposing element managed to actually harm the beast.

“Don’t kill it!” Liliana shouted to Emyr, who was standing back, both hands held out and coated in inky shadows. His face was scrunched in effort, sweat already visibly beading on his brow.

“Tell the Tiger to not kill me first!” Emyr bit back, gone was the suave coolness. In its place was a terror-colored tone.

“Just hold it long enough for me to get the Contract started!” Liliana barked out her order, focusing once more on the Tiger. Already it was breaking free of the shadows trying to cling to it. As much as Dark was a weakness to it, so too was Light a weakness to any Dark constructs. As quickly as Emyr could summon the shadows the Tiger ripped through them.

Liliana was forgotten by the beast as it focused on the threat that could actually do damage to it and Liliana cursed when the Tiger pounced at Emyr. The boy dodged but with the Tiger's full attention, he struggled to dodge and summon shadows.

Liliana flashed forward, crossing the distance in a blink. The Tiger barely paused its pursuit of Emyr to swat an absent paw in her direction, forcing Liliana to dodge or tank the hit. As Emyr dodged yet again, calling up shadows to trip the mighty beast Liliana flashed forward again.

Once more shadows were shredded and Liliana was forced to abort her rush to avoid death. Gritting her teeth as frustration filled her Liliana could feel the time on her [Enhancement] running low. Urgency filled her, speeding her heart in her chest until it felt like it would burst.

A shout of surprise filled the air as the Tiger finally grabbed purchase on Emyr. Its claws had snagged his cloak, yanking the boy down. Fabric ripped as the razorsharp claws sheared through the material. Emyr was sent tumbling, rolling across the ground until he came to a rough stop against a tree.

The Tiger, smelling the end to the fight, crouched down and prepared its final fatal pounce. Liliana’s own muscles coiled as she held herself ready.

Wait. She controlled her urge to lunge now, time seemed to slow once more as she watched the Tiger’s muscles tighten.

Now!

Liliana leaped the same moment the Tiger’s paws left the ground. Unable to block her this time the Tiger was forced to take the full brunt of her tackle. Liliana’s hands grabbed onto prismatic fur with a vice-like grip. Thrown off its momentum by Liliana the Tiger crashed into the ground, feet from Emyr, with Liliana clinging to it for dear life.

[Bonding Contract] activated with a flash of bright blue light. Around her hands circles appeared and under the pair, a giant circle filled with arcane symbols appeared. Liliana immediately presented the contract she’d worked on just for this. It was far more involved than the one she’d set up with Polaris. She put the full force of every drop of Charisma she had behind the mental and magical request.

I, Liliana Rosengarde, do swear to be your partner until either of our lives is ended. On the agreement that you too, shall be my partner until the end of either of our lives. No matter the events, we shall forever be Soul Tied. Our fates irrevocably intertwined. Bring sickness, bring misfortune we two shall forever more travel the same path side by side. Armies and kingdoms may come against us, but we two shall stand united against all. I, Liliana Rosengarde, shall provide you eternal companionship, a friend, confidant, and a safe place for you. On the agreement that you shall henceforth be my companion in body and heart. You shall fight beside me, and for me. You will become my sword and my shield. I, Liliana Rosengarde, shall provide you with ample food necessary for your health. I shall provide you with 1% of my Mana channeled at all times daily. Should you be injured, poisoned, or fall ill I shall provide you medical care until you are once more healthy. I shall provide you a place to call home, a safe sanctuary to rest your head. I shall never ask you to do something I would not, I shall never ask of you the ultimate sacrifice. I will never raise my hand to you, or intentionally cause you pain or harm. As you shall never raise a claw or fang against me. I shall treat you with kindness, patience, and love, every day that you are beside me. Your needs will come before mine, you shall eat first, you shall receive medical care first. In exchange for Bonding your Soul to mine permanently, and sharing your skills and magic with me I too shall share my own Skills and Magic with you. I, Liliana Rosengarde, do so swear to uphold this contract.

The Tiger was frozen as the Contract was presented to it. Liliana’s hands stayed gripped so tightly to it that she could no longer feel them. Her heart was pounding with fear and anticipation. What choice the Tiger made would determine if they all walked out of here alive. Or if the life’s blood of two humans would soak the ground before the sun set. Every second that passed built the terror in Liliana’s heart, certain that each new second would be her last.

Liliana felt a change to the Contract and hope filled her as it shifted. Additional requirements for specific food had been added. Other lines appeared in Liliana’s mind even as she read on. Specifics of care to be dedicated to the Tiger had been detailed. Translated from whatever way the Tiger communicated into a language Liliana would understand. A heavy moment hung in the air as Liliana read it over. Almost hesitantly a final item was added to the Contract that brought a smile to her face.

You shall provide me with a name.

Without hesitation, Liliana accepted the Contract.

Chapter 25: What's In A Name?

The light that encircled them built, blinding in its intensity. It surrounded the pair, surpassing blinding until it felt like it was seeping directly into them. Liliana realized, as what felt like electricity surged over her skin, that was exactly what was happening. The electricity quickly transformed into a feeling like fire as her skin seemed to burn. A scream worked itself out of her mouth as it felt like she was being burned alive. A roar echoed her scream shaking the very ground. The fire on her skin slowly sunk below until it felt like her entire being was burning. She’d never felt a soul being burnt before but there was no other way to describe the agony she suffered that surpassed the limits of her very body.

Millennium disguised as minutes passed as the heat burned through Liliana. Slowly the fire retreated from her body until it all seemed to concentrate on her forearm. With a final climax of pain so great Liliana was convinced her arm had been seared off the pain vanished.

Liliana collapsed into a heap on the ground. Her legs had been locked up from the pain, and with it gone she was like a puppet with its strings cut. Beside her the Tiger had similarly dropped, his sides heaving. Her head felt like it weighed a million pounds but Liliana slowly moved it to look at her arm, afraid that she’d see nothing but a burnt stump left.

Did I do it wrong? There was nothing about it hurting so bad in the books! It said it was a difficult experience, but I thought that was about getting the creature to not eat you! Liliana mentally cursed out the writers of every book on Bonding and Soul magic she’d seen. Relief filled her as she saw her arm still firmly attached to her body. With slow movements, she gingerly lifted her sleeve, convinced that the amount of pain she’d undergone couldn’t be without a mark. As colored lines were revealed Liliana’s movements sped, panic fluttering her exhausted heart.

As the fabric was lifted away an image, tattooed onto her skin, was uncovered. Delicate lines of artistry not able to be matched by a mortal hand were painted upon her forearm. A perfect rendition of the very Tiger she now rested half her body on.

“The fuck,” Liliana whispered as she turned her arm this way and that. Light glittered off the image on her arm, a copy of the prismatic quality of the Tiger itself. A light finger traced over the image. Liliana half-expected pain feedback from the contact but nothing came. Emboldened she pressed harder and felt nothing. The pain had truly left as fast as it had come. Running her fingers more confidentially across the image she marveled at how it felt no different from her skin. No raised line or scarring that could accompany traditional tattoos.

Well, I did always want a tattoo. Liliana mused wryly as she continued to ogle the newest addition to her body. She hadn’t expected this, not at all. There’d been mentions of Bond Marks in the books of course, but she’d assumed they’d be small things.

I need better fucking books. What else don’t I know? Liliana wondered, no small bit of fear attached to the thought. How much false information had she been working with, assuming it was right? How many times had she potentially flirted with Death and never known it?

A groan rudely interrupted Liliana’s mental musings and her head followed the noise. Emyr was slowly sitting up, rubbing his head and back.

“So you didn’t die,” Liliana called out, going so far as to add in faux disappointment. Maybe she appreciated his help with the Tiger, but he never needed to know that.

“You could at least pre-“ Emyr started before he cut off with a choking noise. His eyes had finally spotted Liliana, lying against the Evanesce Tiger as if it was a particularly large pillow. To be fair the Tiger was incredibly comfortable, though his fur was nothing compared to Polaris’. It was rough in comparison, but Liliana did not much mind as the Tiger radiated a comfortable heat that seemed to soak into her very muscles.

Liliana ran a hand through the rough fur, marveling at the way the light danced off of it and changed the colors. Almost as if someone had shrunk thousands of clear crystals and turned them into fur. A chuffing noise greeted her ears as she continued to pet her Bond as if he hadn’t been trying to eat her five minutes prior.

“Aww, do you like pets?” Liliana cooed and a giggle escaped her when the Tiger shifted his weight, putting more of it on Liliana. Her hands finally made it to the Tiger’s head and began scratching behind his ears, prompting a symphony of chuffs that resonated through Liliana.

“Are you…petting it?!” Emyr asked voice horrified. Liliana shot him a dark glare.

“He is not it,” She hissed, tone venomous. Sensing her shift in emotion the Tiger beside her turned his gaze to Emyr, a low growl rumbling through him. Emyr’s eyes widened. The boy scrambled back, doing some sort of backward crab walk until he tripped over a root and collapsed. Staring at him Liliana blinked for a moment before giggles erupted from her lips, gradually transforming into full-blown laughter tinged with hysteria.

Emyr stared at her for a long moment as tears gathered in her eyes, spilling down her face as the raucous laughter continued. Soon his own deeper laugh joined hers as her mirth fueled his own. Before long the two teens were both on the ground, cackling madly and falling back into fits of laughter every time they looked at one another.

The Tiger, calmed by the fact that Liliana no longer felt angry, was content to watch the two humans rolling around. A stark contrast to his behavior minutes before. Slowly the two teens calmed their laughter, letting the last spurts of giggles die down.

Panting on the ground Liliana rolled over. She stared up at the sky between the woven leaves above them as her hands gripped her sore stomach. Her breathing slowed as she continued to stare up at the sky.

“We didn’t die,” She stated it, almost conversationally. A silent offer.

“Somehow,” Emyr answered her, his voice still a bit breathless from where he laid.

“I thought for sure you were going to die when he grabbed your cloak,” Liliana continued, her hands balled into fists. She might not like Emyr but she hadn’t wanted him to die. Not when it would've been her fault for choosing to take an impossible quest.

“I saw my entire life flash before my eyes,” Emyr confirmed, “even things I’d rather forget,” he finished with a mutter and Liliana snickered.

“Oh what? You call the Queen ‘Mom’, or something? “She joked with a giggle. The silence that answer had her turning her head sharply to look towards the boy. An uncharacteristically pink blush had spilled across Emyr’s face before he turned it away from her.

“Oh my gods, you did!” Liliana whispered in a delighted voice.

“No! I didn’t!” Emyr protested, “it was Duchess Barrigton,” he finished petulantly. Liliana stared at him for a long moment before giggles spilled from her once again, though far more controlled than before.

“You can’t tell anyone!” Emyr said it more like a plea than an order and Liliana only cackled louder.

“Or?” She finally asked him as he turned to meet her eyes. Her own were dancing with mirth, happiness, and relief making them nearly glow in the sunlight.

“Ah,” Emyr seemed to trip over his tongue for a moment before a smirk crossed his face, “I’ll tell Alistair you snore,” he finished triumphantly.

“Really? My stepbrother? That's the best threat you have?” Liliana asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. She pointedly looked towards the giant Tiger lying next to her, sunbathing happily.

“I’ll give you my dessert for a week?” Emyr asked, his voice far more hesitant. Liliana’s eyes lit up at the offer and a greedy expression crossed her face.

“Deal!” She spoke so quickly Emyr jerked back in surprise.

Liliana sat back up, energy slowly refilling her. Out of curiosity she quickly checked her Stamina.

That explains it. Her Stamina had been drastically drained, as it was only now back at 700, still not full. She had to of drained it entirely or just about for it to still be regenerating. Her Mana was doing barely any better, sitting at 620. She supposed the [Bonding Contract] had drained a good deal of it to tie her to such a higher leveled creature, she knew the percentage taken was impacted by level disparity. 51 levels probably had a large percentage to go with it.

Liliana turned to the culprit of her diminished Stamina and Mana. Sensing her attention the Tiger lifted his head, turning it to meet her eyes. Once more caught under the spell of the shifting colors swirling in his eyes Liliana lost track of time for a long moment.

A foreign feeling in her mind drew her out of the spell. With dawning realization, Liliana became aware of something else in her mind. Or perhaps, attached to it would be a good way to put it. It felt as if her mind had been expanded, rather than invaded. She could easily feel what the Tiger was feeling as she focused. He felt…sleepy. A wash of emotions not her own flooded her as she further explored the new connection. He was curious, interested in this new being who he had tied himself to. He didn’t entirely understand the sounds she was making but his mind was startlingly intelligent. He had the barest foundation of comprehension already, based on the way her own mind had felt when she’d spoken.

A suggestion was pushed through. An image of the Tiger curled up in sunlight and sleeping away the day with her resting on him. As curious as he was he apparently felt now was the perfect time for a nap. Hesitantly trying out the new connection Liliana pushed a feeling of mild urgency to him. She needed to go home. She tried to keep the conflicting emotions she had tied to the word ‘home’ now out of the connection but some still leaked through. The Tiger’s ears flicked forward as his curiosity grew. He didn’t understand why the word ‘home’ felt like fear, but also love.

“That’s a conversation I don’t think I can have in a day, “Liliana murmured with a dark chuckle. The Tiger remained curious, pushing it towards Liliana. With a frown, Liliana grasped onto an idea to distract him.

“You need a name, I can’t keep calling you ‘Tiger’,” Liliana stated. The concept seemed to excite the Tiger, and immediately diverted him from his uncomfortable train of thought.

“You’re going to name i-him?” Emyr called out, hastily correcting himself. Liliana didn’t look towards the boy as she nodded.

“Obviously,” She responded tone heavy with derision. She stared at the Tiger for several long moments.

“Prism?” She asked.

“No,” Emyr called out and Liliana picked up a twig and tossed it over her shoulder towards the unwanted peanut gallery.

“Kalideo?” Liliana murmured but her nose wrinkled at the name, it didn’t fit. Emyr snorted behind her and a stone joined the twig in her list of aerial assault weapons.

“Opal?” She wondered next but when she presented the image of an opal to the Tiger he returned it with an almost insulted refusal.

“Why is naming so hard,” Liliana groaned as she rubbed her head. A warm nose pressed into the side of her face and she jumped, startled. Polaris stood beside her, eyes dancing with amusement. Liliana broke into a wide grin as she set a hand on the fox’s head, nails scratching him gently. The Tiger turned to the new visitor with interest. Liliana felt a thought of ‘prey’ come from him and immediately sent a harsh refusal that had the Tiger flinching.

“Polaris is a friend, not food,” Liliana sternly lectured the Tiger, who stared at her for a moment before turning away. He set to cleaning his paws as if he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Lelantos,” Liliana stated, tone final as the name rang out. It felt right. It meant ‘move unseen’. It was the name of a Titan in Greek mythology. While he was technically a God of air his main ability was moving unseen and stalking prey. What better name for a Tiger of titanic proportions, who moved unseen while he stalked prey? The Tiger stopped his cleaning and looked at her as a feeling of approval washed over her. Liliana stood and dipped a curtsy to Lelantos.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lelantos,” Liliana greeted solemnly. The tiger rose to his own feet and performed a clumsy bow of his own in response. Liliana giggled at the sight and reached out to rub behind his ear. His ear alone was the size of her hand, and he had to bend his head down for her to reach.

“I wonder, can I ride you?“ Liliana mused curiously, mentally sending him the idea. Lelantos didn’t seem opposed to the idea and he mentally responded with an image of how fragile he found her, feeling her being on his back would keep her safe. Liliana pouted at him.

“I’m not weak! You’re freakishly strong for this area!” Liliana argued, getting a sense of heavy disbelief from her new Bond.

“…You’re arguing with him now?“ Emyr asked, Liliana, turned a glare to the boy who had also found his feet.

“He said I was weak,“ Liliana explained, though her tone was verging on whining. Emyr cocked an eyebrow and pointed looked between the girl and the tiger, not saying a word.

Liliana huffed and turned on her heel. Walking to where her weapon had been discarded in the battle she scooped it up and turned back to Lelantos. The tiger crouched on the ground and after a few minutes of struggling and adjusting herself and her naginata she was finally seated.

As Lelantos stood back to his full height Liliana grasped tightly to his coat with one hand, the other gripping her weapon. Her lack of experience riding anything was coming back to bite her now as she almost toppled off. However, Lelantos seemed to adjust quickly to her weight and counterbalanced her, waiting until he felt she was steady before starting to walk.

“Polaris, lead us home,” Liliana called out and the fox yipped, running between the tiger's legs with zero fear before shooting off. Lelantos set off after him, a surge of competitiveness flooding the Bond. Liliana yelped as she gripped tightly with both her hand and legs to avoid being tossed off as Lelantos bounded after the more dexterous fox.

“Hey! What about me?” Emyr shouted after them, when Liliana spared a moment to look back at his shrinking figure she could see he was running to catch up.

“See you at camp!” She called back with a grin that quickly vanished as she had to duck a tree branch.

Chapter 26: This Isn't Goodbye, it's Simply See You Later

Liliana mentally waved off her status screens as the sounds of something moving through the woods around the campsite reached her. She’d gotten several skill level-ups, unsurprisingly. [Dance of the Daystar] had raised by 7 levels, [Enhancement] by 6, [Dance of the Windsong] by 8, [Tempo] by 6, the biggest jump was [Bonding Contract] which got 10 levels. It seemed all her gains were affected partially by how strong Lelantos was and how high her skills and spells were originally. The lower leveled ones saw a larger increase, which made sense. Lelantos was level 90 after all.

Liliana looked up when Polaris bounded out of the thick, packed brush around the small clearing. The fox immediately barreled into Liliana. With a smile, she combed her fingers through his coat, removing twigs and other debris he had gathered.

“Did…you…have…to…go…so…far?” Emyr panted as he half fell out of the forest and into the clearing. Liliana smirked, seeing that Polaris had dragged him through the more laborious way. Lelantos had cleared a path with his bulk that would’ve been easier for Emyr to follow, but Polaris seemed to want to make the human suffer.

“Maybe tomorrow I won’t ask Polaris to lead you to the campsite then,” Liliana threatened idly, examining a leaf she’d pulled from Polaris’ fur.

“….Thank you for your aid,” Emyr finally ground out as he collapsed on the ground by the fire. Liliana smirked at him and shoved her hand into her pack, producing a loaf of bread she tossed to the boy. Forgetting any pretense of etiquette, he set on the food like a ravenous beast.

“Consider it Endurance training,” Liliana offered as she bit into her last apple.

“Only masochists do stat training,” Emyr spoke up through a mouthful of bread. Liliana flushed brightly at the comment and looked away.

“You... You did stat training?” Emyr asked, his food half forgotten in his hand. Puffing her cheeks out in annoyance, Liliana took a bite of her apple. Still, Emyr stared at her as she chewed and with a grimace, she swallowed and answered.

“10 points,” she grumbled, voice so low Emyr had to strain to hear it.

“In Endurance?” He asked incredulously.

“In every stat,” Liliana bit back with a glare. Emyr stared at her for a long moment, utterly silent. Liliana couldn’t tell if he was looking at her like she was stupid, or inhuman.

“Do you hate yourself?” He asked finally, and Liliana’s eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms with a harrumph.

“No! I didn’t want to die!” She explained hotly. Wasn’t that obvious? Didn’t training stats make more sense? Sure, it took a long time, and would take anyone else double the time it had her. But it was a safe way to progress!

“From what?! A Slime?” Emyr’s voice was rising in pitch as he struggled to understand her logic.

“Yes! Slime deaths are a real risk!” She shouted back as her face flushed a deep red.

“No one has ever died to a Slime! An unawakened toddler could kill one!” Emyr’s voice rose to meet her own and Liliana blinked, jerking back at the noise. Seeing her reaction, Emyr grimaced and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Liliana watched with interest. She hadn’t thought that stat training of all things would be what fully ruined Emyr’s cold exterior.

“How much time did you waste on stat training?” Emyr asked, his voice far calmer once more as he opened his eyes.

“Two months… or so…” Liliana answered, looking down at the half eaten apple in her hand.

“You wast-. You raised all your stats by... what… Thats not-that shouldn’t be-how?” Emyr stammered out a response as he stared at her in stark confusion.

Fuck. I was supposed to keep that a secret. I’m going to get a title for ‘Worst Noble Ever’, at this rate. [Deception]! Help! Liliana mentally panicked at her verbal misstep and scrambled to rectify it.

“Determination, and stubbornness. And a sadistic trainer,” Liliana stated, her voice taking on a confidence she didn’t feel. Yet her words seemed to ring with utter truth as she tried to make Emyr believe it. She watched his face cloud for a moment as he took in her lackluster explanation. Resigned acceptance finally replaced his confusion and disbelief, and Liliana breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“I just saw you Tame something fifty levels higher than you. You raising all your stats by ten points in two months shouldn’t surprise me,” Emyr answered in defeat. As he started eating his bread again, Liliana could hear him muttering about how ‘it’s just not fair’.

[Deception] has reached level 24.

Liliana waved off the notification, but it looked like the skill was pulling its own weight here. Relieved and glad Emyr wasn’t insulting her life choices anymore, Liliana resumed eating her apple.

“Were you level 1?” Emyr spoke up, startling Liliana. She nodded to his question, assuming that was the end of it.

“Well, at least you’re not some kind of demigod or something. Stat training at level 1 is normal. I thought you’d been training past that,” Emyr said with a sigh. Liliana tilted her head, face scrunched in confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked. Emyr raised an eyebrow at her.

“You don’t know?” He asked, and there was a hint of smugness to his voice that pissed her off.

“Obviously,” Liliana drawled, her eyes narrowed. A ghost of a smirk crossed Emyr’s face as he waited in silence, enjoying her irritation.

“Years ago, thousands of years ago, there was a hero, or a villain depending on who you ask, called Invincible,” Emyr started, his voice taking on a pleasant lilt.

“Invincible? Seriously?” Liliana asked incredulously. Emyr shot her an irritated look, and she held up her hands in mock surrender. “Continue,” she said with a sarcastic sitting bow.

“He stat trained, raised his stats by 10 points per each level. It took him years upon years of training and carefully leveling to maximize his stats,” Emyr continued, and Liliana nodded. That sounded sensible to her, and a part of her mourned all the stat points she’d lost by leveling as quickly as she had.

“He reached level 700,” Liliana opened her mouth to ask how the heck he’d done that. Shouldn’t he have died before he got to that level with how long it took to level? Emyr shot her a harsh glare and her mouth clicked shut.

“His Vitality, combined with his Rank, had become so high he was immortal. For hundreds of years, he ruled the world with an iron fist until he became bored. He bid a challenge to the Gods themselves,” Emyr continued and Liliana felt a shiver go down her spine. Challenge the very gods themselves? No matter how strong a human got, they couldn’t fight a God. “He fought them, even gravely wounded Mors, the God of Death,” Liliana’s eyes widened until she felt they’d pop out of her head. How?

“So the Gods pooled their power together. They couldn’t kill Invincible, so they locked him deep away where no one would ever find him again.” Liliana shivered harder at the thought that such a person was still alive. Somewhere in their world, probably rendered insane from living trapped for thousands of years.

“The Gods decided they couldn’t risk another mortal challenging them like that. Already there were others gaining power like Invincible, hoping to become a God-Slayer.” The story completely enthralled Liliana. She leaned forward eagerly, “so the Gods combined their power. They couldn’t change the System. It’s above even the God’s themselves. But they could cast a permanent curse across all mortals. Any mortal can raise their stat points by 10 points each at level one. But after that, it becomes five times harder at level two, outside of combat. At level three, it’s ten times harder, and so on and so forth,” Emyr explained, and Liliana leaned back in shock.

That was why she hadn’t gotten another raised stat outside of combat? Even with her boon, five times harder would be ten months to raise all her stats! Then a hundred months. That was… crazy. Only someone truly masochistic would train for that long. Or someone who had already achieved immortality and had nothing but time on their hands. She suddenly understood why Emyr had looked at her like she wasn’t human when she said she’d raised her stats. Especially if he’d assumed she’d been talking about training past level one.

“So you see, everyone trains their stats at level one. It would be idiotic to just give up 80 free stat points,” Liliana flushed. She’d assumed everyone else didn’t do that, and that she’d found a really cool cheat. Apparently, she hadn’t been any smarter than anyone else.

“But past that? No, you’d have to be a masochist to do that. It’s simply so ridiculously not worth it, and well,” Emyr paused for dramatic effect and Liliana hated herself for leaning forward so eagerly, “it’s said that if someone does stat train despite the curse, there’s an even worse curse that will hit you. It’s said it’ll make it so every stat you gain causes you pain unimaginable,” Emyr continued in a whisper.

“But wait, if the Gods don’t want anyone to get that strong, why can we still get points for combat?” Liliana pointed out a hole in his logic. Emyr huffed and rolled his eyes as if she’d asked a truly idiotic question.

“The Gods had to use all their collective power to enact just that much of the curse. The System never likes to be changed by anyone. Even for Gods. They had to leave a loophole to the curse. As it is, it’s impossible to raise your stats so much through actual combat, since you have to kill your opponent to get stat points. Either you’re fighting something lower leveled than you to avoid getting too much experience, but then you won’t get the stat points since it’ll be too low leveled. Or you're fighting things your level or above, which will give you the experience you need to level, resetting the cycle.” Emyr explained, and Liliana nodded, satisfied by the answer.

“Haven’t you noticed that if you fight something ten levels below you, you don’t get experience?” Emyr asked and Liliana raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why would I fight something so low?” She asked him in answer.

“Well, if you had, you’d know they won’t give you experience, because you’re too high a level for the essence to even enter you,” Emyr explained and Liliana nodded again. The game had been like that as well. She hadn’t realized that was the same, but it made sense, if a bit more sense than in the game, which never explained why you didn’t get experience from lower leveled creatures.

“Even fighting against something five levels under you won’t get you a stat. You’d have to fight an entire horde of things five levels below you to raise a stat or two. By then you’d level,” Emyr clarified more.

“This wasn’t in any books I read,” Liliana grumbled as she picked at apiece of grass sullenly. Even Silas and Astrid hadn’t told her!

“That’s cause everyone knows the myth. You’re told it when you’re Awoken at the temple, it’s a tale of caution. To remind us that no matter how strong we might become, we all are but ants before the Gods,” Emyr answered slowly, suspicion dawning in his eyes. Liliana felt her heart pound in her chest furiously. She’d fucked up again.

“Ah yea, my Priest who Awakened me just did the ritual and told me to leave,” Liliana hastily said, frantically trying to avoid making Emyr any more curious in her than he already was.

“You should file a complaint. That’s truly gross negligence,” Emyr said, seeming to accept her answer.

[Deception] has reached level 25

“I’ll see it’s dealt with when we return,” Liliana promised, relieved to have dodged yet another bullet. Emyr hummed and looked around.

“So where is the ti-ah… Lelantos?” Emyr asked. Liliana looked around and reached for her Bond.

“He’s heading back. He just finished eating a Silver Stag,” a yip at her side brought a smile to her face, “he’s bringing back the remains for you, Polaris,” she told the fox. The little fox yipped again, jumping out of her lap to run around.

“Where does he get the energy from?” Emyr asked as the two watched the fox dance and twirl around the campsite.

“It’s all the mischief in his blood,” Liliana responded sagely. Emyr nodded, accepting the fact.

“You’re not going to ask the tig-Lelantos to eat me, right?” Emyr asked after a few peacefully silent minutes.

“Not today,” Liliana responded with a sharp smile. Emyr starred at her for a long moment, trying to determine if the threat was empty or not.

“Just don’t get in my way, and we’ll be fine,” Lilian elaborated with a roll of her eyes. Emyr snorted as he laid back on the ground, arm tucked under his head.

“I don’t want to die,” he answered.

“Neither do I,” Liliana echoed, her voice soft but heavy with sadness. Emyr turned to look at her, curious at two lifetimes of despair hidden in her words. Liliana didn’t meet his eyes this time, instead pulling out her whetstone to sharpen her naginata and ending the conversation.

Thankfully, Emyr retreated into his silent persona as the night continued. Liliana gave him her tent to use, with a careless shrug saying she’d prefer to sleep with Lelantos anyway. Despite her verbal insistences of her dislike of him, and her threats, it was obvious something had changed. The two were neither enemies nor mere acquaintances any longer. Though neither would go so far as to call themselves friends. But perhaps something in between.

“So your plan is to just walk through the gates. On a giant tiger?” Emyr asked, for not the first time that day. They would be back at the manor the next day, probably late afternoon based on the time they’d made. Liliana would have already been back if she hadn’t slowed down for the sake of getting more used to fighting with Lelantos.

Emyr had suggested she’d slowed down for him. She had hit him with her naginata and it was never mentioned again.

“Well, would you suggest I sneak the giant tiger into the estate? “"Liliana asked with a raised eyebrow. Emyr seemed to consider it for a moment as Liliana threw her arms up in frustration.

“That was rhetorical!” She said.

“Can’t you unsummon him?” Emyr asked instead, and Liliana patted herself down.

“Oh wow! I never thought of that! Let me just pull out my 300 gold summoning stone that I don’t have.” Her voice was drenched in sarcasm as she gave him a ‘are you stupid’ look.

“Why not?” Emyr asked and the innocence in his voice threw Liliana off. She stared hard at him for a moment. Trying to figure out if he was being a little shit or if he seriously didn’t understand exactly how unfavored she was.

“I don’t have that kind of money,” she finally answered slowly. Emyr’s face screwed up in confusion.

“Why not just as-oh,” Emyr trailed off quietly as he averted his gaze.

“Yea,” Liliana shrugged, though the reminder stung. For a bit, it had been easy to forget how unloved she was at home. Even with Emyr as a constant thorn in her side during this adventure, she had put the estate to the back of her mind. Forcefully.

“Besides, I want to make an entrance,” Liliana said, tone taking on some excited glee. Her mind ran over the inevitably shocked expressions of her father, her stepmother, Alistair, and the servants. When they were presented with the fact that little Liliana wasn’t so little and weak anymore. No, this kitten had claws now. Liliana laid down on Lelantos’s back and rubbed a hand over his head, prompting a happy chuff from the tiger.

Lelantos had pouted for hours the one time Liliana tried to walk instead of ride him. It had broken her heart so badly that she had sworn to never make the same mistake again. She still had to get off of him during combat. She had no skill with mounted fighting and she wasn’t a fan of falling some seven feet in the middle of a fight. Though her skill with pole-arms meant when she got the [Cavalry] or [Mounted Fighting] skill, she’d have an easier time. As it was, she’d gained a [Riding] skill and had already leveled it to 4 in the past few days.

“Still can’t believe you just… pet him. And ride him,” Emyr said, shooting the tiger as side eye. Lelantos found the human boy’s fear of him endlessly entertaining, and frankly, so did Liliana. Because of their Bond, it meant whenever Liliana tried to reprimand the creature for terrorizing the noble, he knew she didn’t mean it. Which meant he kept doing it.

“Of course I pet him! He’s too cute to not!” Liliana answered, tone suggesting it was obvious. She scratched behind one of Lelantos’s adorable ears, cooing at him.

“Aren’t you just the most handsome, cute Evanesce Tiger there ever was?” Liliana asked her Bond, getting more happy chuffs and a rush of affection from the tiger. He really enjoyed being praised, but what cat didn’t?

“Cute is not a word I’d ever use to describe him,” Emyr muttered, getting a face full of tiger tail for his impertinence.

“It’s fine, seeing a face like yours in the mirror every day would blind me too,” Liliana answered magnanimously.

“Did you just call me ugly?” Emyr asked as he shoved the thick tail out of his face.

“It’s okay, I’m sure you have a great persona-ah. Never-mind, you don’t have much going for you,” Liliana finished with an apologetic shrug and a shit-eating grin.

“I will not stand for this,” Emyr pouted.

“Then sit,” Liliana giggled. Emyr shot her a glare and stepped into the shadow of a tree, vanishing.

“Maybe one day you’ll learn how to properly banter,” Liliana called out to him with a chuckle. She leaned back down to Lelantos with an excited smile.

“Wanna make him raise his Endurance some more?” Liliana asked. She barely had the words out of her mouth before the tiger took off, the scenery passing them by in a blur.

Liliana gripped tightly to his fur as a whoop of joy slipped from her lips. After she’d gotten through the fear, she’d found riding something so overwhelmingly powerful exhilarating. She felt free.

They crossed the miles as the sun slowly set, slowing down periodically both for Lelantos to regenerate his Stamina and for Emyr to catch up. Polaris regularly disappeared to lead the other human to them whenever he fell too far behind.

When the time came to make camp, everyone was tired. Emyr had collapsed face first onto the ground and refused to move. Polaris was sitting by Liliana, tongue lolling out as he panted. Even Lelantos had fallen asleep soon after they’d found the campsite. Liliana grimaced as she rubbed her thighs. Riding was fun, but her legs didn’t agree with the sentiment. She had [Regeneration] running to repair the chaffed skin and sore muscles.

As she reheated some meat from a Horned Hare, Liliana felt an inquiry from Polaris. Pulling the food off the fire, she tossed a chunk at Emyr, who caught it with shadows rather than lifting himself from his position.

Need to learn how to do that with Light. Does he have a [Shadow Manipulation] or [Shadow Construct] skill? Liliana wondered idly as she bit into her own meat, rising to her feet with a pained wince. Polaris wanted them to walk away from the camp. He apparently wanted privacy.

Liliana had a feeling she knew what the little fox wanted, and the heaviness in her heart made the meat taste like ashes on her tongue.

When they were out of sight of the camp, Polaris stopped and turned to her, his vulpine face uncharacteristically serious. His intent carried over their Bond and tears flowed freely down Liliana’s face.

“Can’t it wait a little longer? Do you really have to?” She asked, choking on the words even as she pushed them past the lump in her throat. A sad refusal carried over their Bond, even as Polaris shook his head. Liliana dropped to the ground before him, knees hitting the dirt roughly. The pain was nothing compared to the way her heart was shattering in her chest.

“But… I need you still,” Liliana tried to bargain, her voice hoarse as more tears filled her eyes. She could barely see the little fox in the dark of the night. A warm tongue lapped at her face, licking away some of her tears, and a quiet yip filled the air. It was a hard concept for Polaris to communicate but Liliana got the feeling he was saying that she had Lelantos now, and she didn’t need him any longer.

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Liliana whispered. The truth of the matter finally coming out. She didn’t want to say goodbye to someone else she loved.

A feeling filled her, the strongest she’d ever gotten from Polaris. It hung between them for a long moment until suddenly their Bond was severed. A feeling like her heart being ripped to shreds filled her, stealing the air from her lungs. Yet that feeling remained, and even if it felt like she was bleeding from a wounded heart, it also felt like it was healing. Ever so slightly. A last affectionate lick, one more bright yip, and then Polaris was gone. Disappeared into the forest like a ghost. Liliana rubbed her eyes as the last feeling, last words, between them imprinted upon her mind.

‘This isn’t goodbye, it’s simply see you later,’

Chapter 27: Time To Make An Entrance

“Ready?” Emyr asked from where he stood next to Liliana. The girl tightened her grip on her naginata, the other hand was buried deep in Lelantos’ fur. Her heart still ached from losing Polaris the night before. She’d cried herself to sleep. The only thing that helped the ache was keeping close to Lelantos, which the large cat seemed to not mind overmuch.

Now, though, her bruised and battered heart was beating a furious rhythm in her chest. Anxiety, excitement and fear formed a potent poison in her blood, freezing her where she sat. A feeling of support, of Lelantos’ promising to eat anyone who dared to hurt her, broke the cycle in her mind. Liliana snickered as her grip on his fur loosened enough for her to pet him.

“Don’t go around eating people,” she chided affectionately at the tiger.

“I’m highly concerned that such a statement needs to be vocalized,” Emyr muttered, edging slowly away from the pair.

Without deigning the boy’s comment with a response, Liliana mentally gave Lelantos the order to move forward. The tiger ambled through the forest Liliana had been waiting in, most definitely not hiding. They emerged from the trees, quickly finding the road and making their way towards home. Liliana gulped as she felt sweat trickling down her back. If it was home, why did she feel like she was walking towards her execution? Her breath sped up as her lungs seemed to shrink. Her hands trembled as her vision tunneled, blackness filling the edges.

“-ana! Liliana!” Emyr’s voice broke through the haze on her mind and with wide panicked eyes she turned her gaze to meet his. When had he gotten on her level?

“Listen to my voice, okay?” Emyr asked, his hands tightening on her shoulders. The feeling grounded her, and some of the darkness receded.

“Breath, in. Out,” Emyr instructed, following his own instructions. He guided her through breathing until her own had slowed. As Liliana looked around, she realized Lelantos had stopped and laid on the road. Emyr had been permitted to climb on the tiger’s back and was sitting in front of Liliana.

Understanding hit Liliana. Emyr had just watched her break down into a panic attack over the thought of going home. How pathetic must she seem? Blood rushed to her face as she turned a bright scarlet. Emyr blinked, his own face flushing before he scrambled off Lelantos. The tiger felt on the verge of panic himself and with a quiet voice, Liliana calmed him, telling him she was fine. Just scared.

“Thank you,” Liliana spoke to Emyr as Lelantos stood once more. She turned away as she examined the trees across from the road.

“My brother sometimes got overwhelmed like that. So I learned to help him,” Emyr answered, trying to play it off as nothing.

“That’s kind of you,” Liliana turned to look at him, honest surprise on her face.

“Why is that a surprise?” Emyr asked, looking a bit hurt.

“Because you’ve never been kind to me before,” Liliana answered easily. Emyr opened his mouth, but no words came out. With a clack, his mouth shut, and he looked away, no answer forthcoming. Liliana left him alone with his thoughts, her own enough to keep her company.

The road was thankfully empty. Liliana didn’t know if she could handle seeing people yet. As they got closer to the manor, she gathered her poise. Her back straightened, and she placed the mask of a noble-lady back on her face. As they turned a curve in the road, the gate and wall surrounding the estate came into view. Even from a distance, Liliana could see the guards on the walls and by the gate. They noticed the trio quickly enough and, like a kicked anthill, they rushed around. Liliana could hear shouting and she sighed.

“Hold! The Lady Liliana and Lord Emyr Bealstal return!” Emyr shouted, his voice carrying over the distance and startling Liliana at its volume. She hadn’t realized Emyr could be that loud. The words reached the guards and, as if he had cast a spell over them, they froze. It took until they were close enough for Liliana to recognize the faces of some guards before one of them broke out of their stupor.

“Call the Capitan!” he shouted and someone else broke away from the wall, disappearing into the gate at a dead sprint. Lelantos stopped a few yards from the gate and Liliana could see the disbelief on the faces of the guards, and the fear. Several had their weapons out and pointed at them. She sighed.

“You would dare to point your weapons at a Lady?” Liliana asked, her voice carrying a haughty tone that made her internally wince. She didn’t enjoy this game, pretending she was better than others. Yet it was a role she had to play, or she’d never be respected as a noble.

“Put your weapons down! All of you will do latrine duty for a month for pointing your weapons at the Lady Liliana!” A booming voice shouted. Liliana couldn’t fully stop the smile from appearing on her face as a familiar hair of dirty blonde hair appeared.

“I apologize for my men’s actions, Lady Liliana.” Silas bowed, but she saw the pride sparkling in his eyes. Some of the fear in her heart faded.

“It is understandable. I fear I have quite surprised them today.” Liliana bowed her head ever so slightly.

“I also apologize to you Lord Bealstal,” Silas bowed to Emyr next, though less lowly than to Liliana. Emyr inclined his head as he stared at the man. His own icy mask was back in place and he didn’t seem to even see Silas, or the guards. As if they were nothing but NPCs to him. The irony was not lost on Liliana.

“I shall escort you inside, My Lady. Would it be presumptuous of me to assume you wish to speak to your father?” Silas inquired and Liliana nodded gratefully at the man.

“Yes, I seek an audience with my father, the Duke,” Liliana confirmed, and with a nod Silas turned around.

“Back to your positions!” he barked out at the guards who had been standing around, staring wide-eyed at the events.

Liliana hid a smile behind her hand as the guards watched her pass by.

“Is that an Evanesce Tiger?”

“It’s level fucking 90?”

“When did she get to level 39?”

“Did she really tame that thing?”

“It looks kind of cute,” one guard said, his comment drawing her eye. Liliana’s attention fell on a young guard, perhaps in his early twenties. He had shaggy blond hair and warm eyes paired with an open and kind face.

“Sam, what part of that giant killing monster says ‘cute’ to you?” Another guard asked in disbelief. Sam shrugged with a smile.

“I dunno, I think my sister would like it,” he said easily. The pair of guards finally noticed Liliana’s attention, and both straightened hastily. Liliana shot Sam a small smile before she turned forward as they passed through the gate.

It was odd to come through the gates to the estate. She had rarely left the estate at all, and the most recent experiences had her sneaking out through the forest. What made it even more surreal was the way the guards and servants they passed froze at the sight of her. She supposed she made quite a spectacle. Atop a Clydesdale sized magical tiger, gripping a weapon in her right hand and dressed in torn and dirtied leather armor. She wouldn’t think she was a noble either.

Liliana’s eyes shifted to Emyr, who was silent as he kept pace. Despite also spending the last week and a half in the woods, he still looked noble. His long bright blue hair was tied back and somehow free of the twigs and leaves Liliana was sure nested in her own hair. His black clothes hid the stains and dirt, a ragged cloak rested on his shoulders but it somehow it looked regal rather than tattered. The way the shredded ends fluttered as he moved gave it the illusion of being physical shadows draping his form.

The closer they came to the manor, the more people they saw. It was hard for Liliana to not shrink down as the weight of their gazes rested heavily upon her. She imagined her spine was a steel rod, unwilling to bend or break. She tried to channel the calm strength she felt in Lelantos. The cat oozed confidence as he moved, enjoying the way others stared and admired him. The more people they passed, the higher his head rose, and Liliana could almost physically feel his ego growing.

Without instruction from her, his coat shimmered as he channeled some of his magic, shifting the colors of his stripes. They faded through the colors of the rainbow, reminding Liliana of some of the fancier gaming PCs she’d once wished for in her past life. She had to say; the effect was far more impressive on a giant tiger. It seemed others felt the same as their eyes drifted from Liliana and focused on the tiger.

Thank you, Liliana silently sent to Lelantos. He may have been doing it partially to get more attention for himself, but he was also drawing attention from Liliana. She may have fantasized about making an entrance, but she hadn’t realized quite how terrifying it was to suffer that much attention.

The rest of the trip to the front of the manor was easier, with less attention solely on Liliana. Taking a deep breath, Liliana instructed Lelantos to kneel, and with slightly stilted movements, she slid off as gracefully as she could. She hid the wince she wanted to make as her legs reminded her they still disapproved of her activities. Head held high, Liliana walked in front of Lelantos and Emyr, waiting as Silas opened the doors to the manor and bowing for her to enter.

“My Lady,” a voice called out as her feet passed the threshold and Liliana’s eyes were drawn to her father’s Steward. Liliana struggled to keep the shock off her face. The man had never referred to her. She hadn’t even been sure he knew she existed, to be frank.

“Your father requests your presence,” The Steward continued, his face and voice impassive. As if Liliana getting called to see her father was a common occurrence. Liliana took the news in stride. It seemed her father had heard of Liliana returning. Undoubtedly, a guard or servant had run back to tell him. Or maybe he had some sort of magical communication device. There was no telling.

As Liliana walked forward, Lelantos followed and the Steward’s face finally showed some emotion as a hint of fear crossed it.

“Ah, perhaps it would be best if the Lady’s companion waited outside?” The Steward offered and Liliana froze, turning ice cold blue eyes to the man. Behind her, a low growl rang out. Lelantos did not want to be separated from her while fear ran rampant in her chest.

“Of course, my mistake,” the Steward hastily recovered and Liliana watched with no small amount of amusement as he tried to cover his fear. It was something she wasn’t used to seeing regarding herself. And it wasn’t really because of her, it was because of Lelantos looming behind her. Still, it tasted sweet on her tongue none the less.

I’m starting to understand why the original Liliana went to the dark side. It feels so good to watch people who thought nothing of you change their tune. Liliana considered with no small amount of fear attached to the thought. She did not want to follow the original Liliana’s path. She already knew how that story ended.

Her mind caught up in thoughts and fears of falling into the same traps Liliana almost didn’t notice that the Steward had stopped outside the door to her father’s study. A door she had never seen behind. Liliana turned and nodded at Lelantos.

The tiger flopped onto the ground, blocking the hallway from that direction entirely. The massive beast barely fit in the hallway as it was. There was maybe a foot or two of clearance to either side of him when he laid down and behind him, she could see Emyr stopping. She thought she saw a bit of exasperation on the boy’s emotionless face as he stared at the feline. Meeting her eyes, Emyr gave her a bow, a proper one befitting her rank. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked off, leaving a bemused Liliana behind.

Is he really that introverted? Liliana wondered as she turned back to the Steward, who was silently standing by the door. With a deep, fortifying breath, Liliana nodded at the man.

“Your weapon, My Lady,” The Steward nodded to her naginata and Liliana almost jolted in surprise. She’d nearly forgotten she’d been holding it. She stared at the Steward for a moment before she reluctantly handed it over.

Mentally, she pushed for Lelantos to watch the Steward and make sure he did not abscond with her weapon. The tiger raised his head and fixed the man with a predatory gaze. The Steward gulped before he raised his knuckles and knocked on the ornate doors.

“Sire, Lady Liliana has come at your request,” The Steward announced her.

“Enter,” a deep voice called out, and the Steward opened the door for her. Liliana hesitated for a second before she stepped past the man and into the room. The door shut behind her and she tried not to think the sound was reminiscent of a coffin being shut.

“Your Grace,” Liliana greeted, curtsying deeply to her father despite her lack of skirts. Even with her head ducked, she still greedily took in every detail of the room. Lavish rugs covered the floor, bookshelves bursting with tomes covered one wall. Another held glass cases full of a multitude of different, possibly magical, items. Behind the Duke was a large map of the Cista Kingdom, rendered in meticulous detail.

As Liliana rose from her curtsy, she saw her father seated in a high-backed chair behind a large and ornately carved wooden desk. She could see the Rosengarde family crest placed prominently on the front of the desk, and past that rose vines curled over it. So masterfully carved, they looked as if they were real, trapped forever in a casing of wood.

What held her attention, though, was her father’s deep azure eyes. Her eyes. He had her hair as well, though his was worked through with grey. As was the style, his hair was kept long and tied at the back of his neck. His skin was paler than hers, noticeably. She had gotten her mother’s complexion. There was no doubt she was his daughter, though. They truly looked far too alike.

As she examined him, so too did he seem to examine her. She couldn’t remember the last time he had looked at her for so long, and with such interest. Her heart thumped painfully as she detected a pleased light in his eyes as he stared at her. For once, she had done something that her father approved of. As much as she tried to hate the man, she couldn’t. And the mere thought of making her father proud made her traitorous heart flutter with hope and joy.

“My daughter,” The Duke greeted her and Liliana drew in a sharp breath.

“Come, sit,” He said, nodding at a chair before his desk. Liliana took a moment to understand what he was saying. It took his eyebrow raising ever so slightly to break her free of her stupor. Quickly, she tried to cover her mistake by hurrying to the chair. She dropped in with as much grace as she could while under her father’s undivided attention. This close, she could feel the pressure of his aura around them. Though she could feel that he was trying to restrain it.

“I see you’ve Awakened,” her father stated after a moment and Liliana nodded.

“How long?” He asked, and Liliana felt her face pale at the dangerous tone in his voice. She’d been afraid of this. She knew hiding this from her family would have negative consequences, no matter what. She’d simply chosen the path that would have the least awful possible result.

“Since I woke up from my sickness,” Liliana said, her voice steady. She was proud of the fact that her voice didn’t shake,she clasped her hands together tightly in her lap to hide the tremors running through them.

“So two and a half months now then,” her father said, this time the dangerous tone was gone. Liliana searched his face, trying to decipher how he felt about it. It was like trying to break through an adamantium wall, though. He gave her no information.

“And you’re level 39, with a level 90 Bond I hear,” He continued and Liliana nodded slowly.

“Yes, your grace,” Liliana responded. Her father gave her a small smile.

“Come now, I’m your father. Am I not?” he asked and there was an order laced in there, as nice as the statement may have been worded.

“Yes, father,” Liliana’s tongue nearly tripped over the unfamiliar word. She hadn’t called someone that out-loud in a long time. It still didn’t feel like the man deserved the title. She bit back her pride though and conceded this battle. It wasn’t worth it to fight.

“Much better,” he praised, and Liliana hated herself for the way the words made her perk up with pride.

“Now, I believe we should reward you for your actions. You have brought honor to the Rosengarde family. Bonding a creature so far above you is no small feat. I believe you likely need a Summoning stone for your companion, yes?” Her father inquired, his attention finally diverging from her as he pulled out some papers and placed them on his desk. He wrote something even as he seemed to wait for her response.

“Yes, Father,” she answered dutifully, and her father nodded.

“And I imagine you’ll need some new clothes, as well as some spatial items. Some new spell scrolls and skill books, and weapons,” her father continued, and Liliana’s eyes widened with each new item he added until she felt like her eyes would pop out of her head.

“I’ll inform your governess of some necessary changes to your lessons. You will also begin training with Silas every day between the third and sixth bell,” her father continued and Liliana felt her head swim. She wasn’t entirely sure how to take this, and her father was like a whirlwind. Spinning her around and changing everything about her life in moments.

“You will not be leaving the grounds alone again. Silas will have guards assigned to you at all times going forwards. If you leave, you will take no fewer than five with you,” he added on as he finished whatever he was writing.

He reached out for a bell and rang it. Immediately the Steward opened the door and almost rushed in, still carrying Liliana’s naginata. Her father stared at the naginata for a moment before he decided to ignore it and handed off several of the pieces of paper to the Steward.

“See that these are done,” he ordered, and the Steward bowed deeply and turned to leave.

“Leave the naginata with Astrid,” Liliana called to the man. He paused and nodded to her before exiting the room.

“This is for you,” her father drew her attention back to him and Liliana mechanically held out her hand for the paper. Taking it, she saw it was a cheque for 2000 gold. She nearly choked at the amount of money she held in her hands.

“Use that to get the discussed items. I will send someone to take you to the city tomorrow,” her father informed her, and Liliana nodded, dazed. “I imagine you are tired. That’s all I needed to discuss, unless you had any other questions?” Her father asked, and Liliana opened her mouth to say she needed nothing else when a thought struck her.

“Lelantos needs a specific diet of food, and I want him to stay with me in my room,” Liliana stated confidently, and her father lifted an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile tugging his lips.

“Tell your maid what he needs and have her inform the Steward. He will provide it. We can have you moved to a larger room as well to accommodate your Bond,” her father allowed and Liliana bowed her head in thanks.

“Thank you, Father,” she intoned as she stood up. Her father nodded at her.

“You did well, Liliana,” he said, and the feeling that filled her from head to toe as she turned on her heel and left the study was a maelstrom of pride and disgust.

Chapter 28: Moving Up In The Manor

Shutting the door behind her, Liliana took a deep breath. Looking around, she saw the Steward was gone, likely fulfilling the orders her father had given to him. Lelantos was still in the hallway, though he had risen when she stepped out. Liliana could see a few servants poking their heads into the hallway. A few braver souls had even ventured into it, pretending to clean the paintings or sweep the ground as they stared at the giant cat lounging in the hallway.

I guess I should go to my room? Liliana thought, still thrown off kilter by her father. She hadn’t expected the meeting to go like that… at all. It felt as if a changeling had replaced her father. For a moment, Liliana wondered if Vita had replaced his soul as well, before she disregarded it. Her father was being so kind to her because she’d just proven herself to be valuable. He wanted to capitalize on her sudden power, to bring more power to himself.

She had theorized that she would be seen more favorably after she grew in power, though she’d never imagined this much. Still, it was understandable. It just further proved that no noble was to be trusted. They were all masters at manipulating a situation for themselves. Liliana had to remember that she would find no staunch allies among the nobles.

Not even Emyr. Who had followed her because of his curiosity, and had stuck with her because she was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. She hardened her heart from the insidious hope that she had made a friend. He wasn’t her friend, if anything his kindness to her after she’d tamed Lelantos just proved he was only kind to her for the same reasons as her father. To use her power for his own gain.

With a nod, feeling like the world was once more understandable, Liliana walked down the hallway. She had a rough idea of how to return to her room from her father’s study. The way the servants bowed and curtsied deeper to her than ever before was not lost on her. Inside, Liliana grimaced, feeling anger flaring.

She had never been enough to garner respect as she had been. Not even enough to earn the bare minimum of human decency. Now? Now that she had power, many wouldn’t achieve? Now they bowed, now they scraped. Because of fear. Yet Liliana couldn’t find it in herself to hate the fact that fear earned her respect. If fear was what it took to keep herself safe, then she’d become a nightmare.

Lelantos padded after her, shoving his gigantic head into her back and nearly causing her to lose her balance and fall. With an unladylike squawk, she turned on the giant feline.

“Lelantos!” she chided, and the tiger pushed a feeling of concern through their bond. Liliana’s face softened, the icy mask she wore melting. She pushed a response of reassurance over the bond. She was fine, just readjusting to returning to the viper’s nest she called a home.

Lelantos didn’t seem to understand why she was here, somewhere she didn’t like or feel safe at. Liliana struggled to explain it in a way that was simple enough to understand to the tiger. She settled on showing him that being home let her more easily accumulate power. With her father’s favor, she could use his funds now to get whatever she needed. She also pushed through the feeling of having access to easy food, something the tiger easily understood.

Liliana rubbed the tiger’s head affectionately before turning and continuing to her room. After a few wrong turns, she was finally in front of the familiar door. Liliana looked at the door, then Lelantos and winced. The tiger wouldn’t fit.

“Wait here,” she ordered, and Lelantos sat, sniffing curiously at a vase that was placed proudly as decoration. Liliana could feel the cat’s intent and she smirked before opening the door. Seconds after the door shut, she heard shattering china.

“My Lady!” Astrid called out and Liliana barely had time to recognize the woman as a friend and not a threat before she was swept up into a rib cracking hug. Liliana returned the hug with the same amount of vigor, hiding her face in the woman’s shoulder. She breathed deeply in of the scent of flowers and pastries. Astrid smelled like home. The tension in her shoulder leeched away as Liliana finally felt safe.

“The Steward was just here. He told me a new room is being cleaned for you. I heard you got you Bond, is it true it’s thirty feet tall?” Astrid was talking a mile a minute as she pulled back and Liliana smiled warmly. She could feel that the woman had been incredibly worried for her.

“Yes, the Duke agreed to give me a larger room. Lelantos will not fit in these. He is not quite thirty feet tall, though he is large. Here, come meet him,” Liliana grabbed the maid’s hand and tugged her to the door. Liliana could feel a small bit of resistance from the maid, but she didn’t pull away.

Liliana opened the door to reveal a Lelantos who was on the opposite side of the hallway, specifically not looking at the scattered remains of the vase. When he spotted Liliana and Astrid coming out of the door, he perked up and a low chuff greeted them. He could feel Liliana’s love of Astrid through their bond, and he was curious about the woman. Liliana could feel when Astrid’s hand shook with fear, but Liliana pushed on, dragging the woman to stand before the tiger.

“Astrid, this is my Bond, Lelantos. Lelantos, this is my… maid, Astrid,” Liliana introduced the two, laying one hand on Lelantos’ head between his ears. Astrid was staring at the enormous cat as if she expected him to pounce on her at any moment. Lelantos mentally conveyed that she smelled like prey right before he usually killed them. Liliana had to hastily remind him that Astrid was not prey.

“He won’t attack you, Astrid. He knows I care for you,” Liliana soothed the woman. Astrid gulped and took in a deep breath before nodding.

“He’s very… fearsome, my Lady,” Astrid spoke, her voice uncharacteristically high.

“You can pet him, he loves it,” Liliana encouraged, but Astrid shook her head vigorously.

“That is unnecessary. I would never presume to pet such a magnificent creature,” Astrid hastily responded, taking a step back as Liliana released her grip. Lelantos wilted a little at the refusal for more pets and admiration.

“It’s okay Lelantos. She still thinks you’re gorgeous,” Liliana soothed, her voice taking on a sweet quality.

“He… He is upset?” Astrid asked, her voice breathy. Liliana looked over and saw the woman had lost the last of the blood in her face. She apparently was under the impression that Lelantos might eat someone who upset him.

“He just enjoys the attention. He’s a big baby,” Liliana explained, and she hid a smile at the relieved way Astrid slumped.

“I need a bath and a nap. By the time that’s done, the new room should be ready,” Liliana spoke up after a few minutes of lavishing Lelantos with attention. The big cat agreed with her nap plan. Liliana was fairly certain that if she hadn’t been pushing him to travel for most of each day, he’d sleep for the majority of it. He always wanted to sleep.

“Yes! That is a wonderful idea, my Lady,” Astrid jumped on the offer to get away from the large predator camping out in the hallway.

“This is… more than I expected,” Liliana confessed as she turned in a circle. The new rooms were such an improvement upon her old ones that it felt like she’d moved homes entirely. Her bedroom was three times the size of the last, her bathroom was the size of her previous bedroom with an inset tub that was essentially a miniature pool. The sitting room was large enough to host a party, and she’d even been given her own attached study as well.

Her rise from a disgraced and unloved daughter to a prized prodigy still made her head spin, even after her nap. Liliana walked to the enormous set of glass doors that connected to her room and threw them open, revealing an enclosed garden.

Lelantos immediately passed her and curled up in a sunbeam. Liliana smiled at him as she turned from the doors and back to her rooms. She was currently trying to stay out of the way of the small army of maids that were moving her things from her old room to this one, along with items she had never seen before in her life.

Astrid was in her element at least, comfortably ordering the other maids around to ensure they placed everything just so. Liliana did not mind. She much preferred to let Astrid take the reins here and save her from needing to deal with any more people than was strictly necessary. Liliana’s naginata had even been polished and was displayed in a weapons rack against the wall of her bedroom. Finally, out in the open, and within easy reach of Liliana, should she need it.

It felt weird though, after almost two weeks of being in her gear to go back to loose tea gowns that provided no defense. She felt vulnerable now as the wind whipped through the open doors and swirled the fabric of her skirt.

Need to get a storage ring, or some such item to store my weapons for easy access. Maybe get some thigh sheaths and daggers, Liliana considered. A simple hand held to a maid and request and a notebook, pen and inkpot were placed in her hands. Liliana wandered into the enclosed garden and dropped by Lelantos. Leaning her back against the creature’s great bulk, she opened her notebook.

Need a summoning stone. Need Life, Light and especially Soul skills and spells. Improved armor, and perhaps my weapons as well. I also need a storage ring, bracelet or necklace. Even an earring would do. Something small I can keep on me at all times. Liliana tapped the pen against her lips as she considered her list.

Need a proper Beastiary as well, one with a map of common areas to find creatures would be ideal. More books on skills, spells, classes and stat points. Perhaps some mythology books? Since I apparently have holes in my knowledge, I don’t even know exists. Liliana grimaced at the last item. The realization that she hadn’t had a rather vital piece of information was both grating and terrifying. What else didn’t she know? It was obvious that the books in the manor didn’t give her everything she needed, and her knowledge of the game was becoming less and less useful by the day.

This world was proving to be far more deep than the game had ever been able to properly portray. Her information on people seemed accurate though, thankfully, but her knowledge of creatures, dungeons and the ilk may be more harmful to her than helpful. It gave her dangerous assumptions that left weak points in her defenses at vital moments.

Her shopping list more or less done, Liliana turned the page. She needed a more conclusive to-do list set up now that she had more information to go off of.

First, I need to gain more power. So now that my father knows about my training, I may be able to ask for permission to go to a dungeon. The additional experience gained from a dungeon paired with my boon could aid me tremendously in building the power I need. Liliana leaned further back into Lelantos, earning a sleepy chuff from the tiger.

Her hand tightened around the pen. It always came back to power. She needed power to stay alive, to stay safe. But there was always someone stronger. Or richer. Or with more influence, who could rip everything from her. She hated the constant need to put herself in harm’s way to scrabble for a little more power, just so she could live to see another day. Yet if she stopped, she knew the fate that inevitably waited for her.

I also need to strengthen Lelantos. Right now, he’s where my power comes from. I have to capitalize on that. I also need to triple check to be sure the level disparity between us won’t affect the experience gain. My reading said Bonds don’t cause the experience to drop since being Bonded doesn’t count as getting power leveled, as whoever bonded the creature earned their power. It’s the normal experience split based on damage done, buffs given, killing hits and such. Liliana frowned more as the possibility of her working with incorrect information rubbed her. How could books betray her like this? She’d trusted them, and they’d failed her. Forcing herself back on the topic, she looked at her list.

Okay, so after leveling, I need to build capital. Right now I’m still depending on my father’s money to fund me. But as easily as it was given, it can be taken away. So I need to find a guaranteed income source. Selling monster parts is good and all, but it’s not always sustainable. Sometimes there’s no monsters around, or the market is too flooded. A craft would be a good thing to pick up, since there’s always a demand. While we’re shopping, I can see if there’s anything I can pick up. Liliana nodded at the idea, proud of herself a bit for coming up with the idea of self-sustainability.

I also need to keep training with my weapons. I’ve seen what Silas can do with just about any weapon. He’s only level 190. Not even halfway to the level cap of this world. How easy would it be for a level 250? 300? To kill me? Without even using skills, just purely weapon ability because of how high their weapon skill would be? Skill won’t make up for a level difference, but it will make some difference. Any small bit of help is precious for someone like me. Liliana felt her mood further darken. This list was beginning to just feel like a tool for self hatred as she examined herself and found she was severely wanting in every category.

What’s the point? Can I ever get strong enough to protect myself? Or am I just going to die to my stepmother’s next assassination attempt? Or will I still inevitably die to some hero’s blade as has already been written in my fate? Is all of this pointless? Should I just give up now? Save myself the pain? Liliana wondered despondently as the despair and fear set in.

A large, rough tongue licked her face and sent Liliana tumbling in shock and from the force of it. She blinked up from the ground, and wincing at the slight sting on her face even as her natural Health regeneration dealt with the abrasions from her bond’s tongue. The tiger in question was staring at her with the most disappointed face she’d ever seen on any feline, in this life or the last.

Images pushed through their bond. Of a smaller Lelantos fighting against a canine-arachnid hybrid far larger than him. She could feel the pain he was in. The battle had severely injured him. But he didn’t stand down, even as his Health ticked down. He knew he was going to die, but he still stood proud and roared in the face of death. It was only through luck, the other beast slipping on his spilled blood, that gave Lelantos the opportunity to end the fight with his jaws clamped around its throat.

The message was simple. No matter how hopeless something seemed, you couldn’t stop fighting. Because a battle was never lost until you were dead.

Liliana smiled warmly at the tiger and stood, dusting off her dress. She wrapped her arms around the tiger’s neck as she pushed a feeling of gratitude through their bond. She got a feeling of hunger in response that had her chuckling.

“Alright you bottomless pit, I’ll get some food brought to you,” Liliana promised her bond. She spared a look for her notebook on the ground. Her face hardened as she stared at it. Her entire plan boiled down to becoming powerful enough that the fear that haunted her every moment finally died away. With clenched fists, Liliana promised herself that one day, she could wake up without fearing that would be the day her life or freedom ended.

One day, she’d be truly free. Free to be happy, free to live. Until then, she’d fight.

Chapter 29: Monsters Are Terrifying and Nobles Are Dumb

Liliana wanted to cry at the numbers she was seeing before her. In comparison, her own sheet looked far too pitiful. She knew beasts got bonuses when they evolved their Species, much like humans did when they got a class. She also knew the bonuses were usually less for beasts, with few exceptions, because beasts could go past the level 700 cap that humans and other humanoid races had. It was all in the name of balance. It didn’t mean she had to enjoy looking at stats that eclipsed hers.

Well, some of them, Liliana amended her statement, seeing the basic Charisma and Dexterity. Which were both still at 10. Another bonus humanoid races had, they could stat train. Beasts couldn’t, neither at level 1 or at any other level in combat. They got their level stat points and whatever was given because of their Species.

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

4

Level:

90

Species:

Evanesce Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

6

Health:

3,170

H-Regen:

+31.7/1.1sec

Mana:

1,550

M-Regen:

+19/1.1sec

Stamina:

2,330

S-Regen:

+23.3/1.1sec

Magic Power:

2,200

Magic Control:

2,256

Experience: 132,600/828,100

Vitality:

317

Endurance:

233

Strength:

220

Dexterity:

10

Wisdom:

155

Intelligence:

190

Speed:

90

Charisma:

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Liliana rubbed her temples, focusing on the stats themselves rather than on how they measured up to her own. She was sure she’d bypass some of Lelantos’ stats by the time she got to his level because of combat stats, her boon and her class. She consoled herself with that fact as she examined her Bond’s stats. He was definitely allocated to be a tank. Either a result of his species or his species evolved because he had allocated his stats in such a way. His Intelligence and Wisdom were high for a tank, which meant he had strong magical abilities. Liliana closed the stat sheet and opened the ability sheet. It looked rather different from her own.

Affinity

Light

68%

Illusion

53%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 112

[Stealth] Lvl 110

[Tracking] Lvl 104

[Dodge] Lvl 102

[Predator] Lvl 95

[Consume] lvl 89

[Enhancement] Lvl 79

[Sentinel] Lvl 65

[Enrage] Lvl 48

[Bestial Roar] lvl 32

Spells

[Vanish] Lvl 101

[Entrance] Lvl 91

[Light Manipulation] Lvl 85

[Light Claws] lvl 82

[Morningstar] Lvl 72

[Reinforcement] Lvl 68

[Light Cloak] Lvl 63

[Duplicate] Lvl 52

[Reflect] Lvl 45

[Enlargement] Lvl 27

Another benefit humans and mortal races got over beasts were unlimited Skills, Spells and access to General Skills. Beasts were capped at 10 Skills and 10 Spells. As a general rule, there were exceptions and differences, but those had little to do with Lelantos or herself at the moment. Liliana looked over the abilities. She could figure most of them out based on name alone, but she double checked any that had unfamiliar names for her. [Sentinel] provided a bonus to Strength and Vitality at the cost of Stamina. It also added weight to Lelantos, making him harder to knock back.

[Bestial Roar] was an intimidation skill. [Enrage] boosted his Strength and Speed when his health was below 25%, a fairly normal skill for higher leveled beasts. [Predator] gave him a bonus when attacking anything with 50% or less Health. [Consume] let him absorb Mana Stones and essence from the corpses of monsters for additional bonuses. Another typical creature skill, Liliana assumed Polaris had something similar as he’d seemed to level after eating part of stronger monsters she’d killed. It would help him keep up with her leveling as he’d get little to no experience fighting the creatures she’d fight at her level.

[Vanish] was precisely what she expected. It was a skill granted to all Cheshire’s, though its effects varied on the type. Lelantos’ let his strips fade to match his surroundings and the rest of him disappear through light refraction barring his eyes, which couldn’t be effected, or he’d lose his sight. [Reinforcement] was a channel that boosted his Vitality. [Light Claws] was well… claws of light, so no surprises there.

[Light Manipulation] let him manipulate Mana aspected with Light and use it, a spell that Liliana was intensely jealous of herself. [Reflect] would reflect a certain amount of an attack on whoever attacked him, though he still took damage. [Light Cloak] coated him in light as a means of additional defense. [Morning Star] made his tail into essentially a morning star made of light. [Entrance] was a skill he’d used on Liliana. He could use the way light shifted over his coat or eyes to hypnotize prey. [Duplicate] let him make light clones of himself. And [Enlargement] let him boost his physical size, and his Vitality and Endurance, for a fixed Mana cost.

Liliana felt herself sweat, looking at all the abilities. He hadn’t used most of these skills or spells during their fight. He… hadn’t taken them seriously at all. That was why he hadn’t used them. They weren’t worth it. Liliana looked over to where Lelantos was playing with a giant leather ball in the courtyard. She’d asked to have one made the night before and a very fearful looking maid had delivered it this morning. He looked rather adorable as he rolled around with the ball and not like the vicious killer who had been doing nothing more than playing with his food before she’d Bonded him.

The only reason she could imagine that he’d accepted the Bond was a mixture of free food, a fairly cushy life in comparison, her not inconsiderable Charisma and plain old feline curiosity.

I need to be more careful. Had Lelantos really wanted us dead, we’d have died before we knew what was happening. Liliana shivered again at the reminder of her own reckless idiocy. That Astrid hadn’t stopped her was amazing, though likely born of the fact that ultimately she wouldn’t stand against Liliana.

If Emyr hadn’t been there, I’d be dead. Her traitorous mind whispered, and Liliana grimaced as she shoved the thought down. She had almost let herself forget who Emyr was. A noble, a hero fated to end her life. She couldn’t let her guard down. She couldn’t be that stupid.

This world might resemble a game, but it was not. She wouldn’t revive if she died. She’d be sent back to the void, if she was lucky. More than likely Vita would shred her soul for failing her Quest. Liliana could imagine a god, any god, doing that. Hell, the gods had cursed an entire world because someone fought against them. What would they do to someone who failed them? It was a terrifying thought.

“Are you ready, my Lady?” Astrid asked and Liliana looked away from the open doors.

“Yes,” Liliana stood and mentally sent a call to Lelantos. The tiger reluctantly left his ball behind as he padded into the room, Astrid taking a hasty step back when he stopped by Liliana.

“You be good, don’t eat any humans, don’t destroy my room entirely,” Liliana instructed the tiger seriously. She knew he was likely to spend the day napping, something common in big cats. Still, she wanted to warn him as she’d be away from him today. It was uncomfortable to leave her Bond behind for so long, but it wasn’t possible to bring him.

Lelantos looked at her for a few moments and Liliana could feel him, considering if it would be worth the inevitable consequences if he disobeyed.

“I’ll bring you home something tasty if you don’t cause trouble,” Liliana bargained, and that got his agreement. With a smile and kiss to his head, she sent him back to the garden, where he promptly fell asleep in the sunlight.

“Let us go,” Liliana said, and she led the way out of her new rooms. It was odd to come out into a new hallway, and it took a moment to get her bearings. A moment later, she was walking with more confidence and poise than she felt. Astrid had told her they’d be taking the carriage to the city. The nearby town wouldn’t have everything she needed, so it would be the city they’d need to travel to.

Following the road, and not taking a major detour through the surrounding forest, would have them there around two bells. Or so Astrid told her. Allegedly, the carriages were enchanted, and the horses used were leveled high enough to have a Wind affinity to aid their speed. Liliana had wanted to ride Lelantos, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. He also wouldn’t be able to get her to the city in as little time, perhaps in the middle of the night. That was simply the difference between creatures that were min-maxed for Speed and Endurance.

As odd as it had felt to enter through the main doors, it felt even stranger still to exit through them, with another servant opening them for her, no less. Liliana was grateful when the door shut behind her, when under that roof she could never shake the feeling of being watched.

Before her sat a rather nice carriage, though her experience with them was lacking. It was painted in white and blue, with the Rosengarde crest on the sides. Four white horses were at the front of it. Beside the carriage were four guards. Her new guards her father had assigned. Liliana looked over at them and noticed with a small smile that the guard, Sam, who had called Lelantos cute, was one of the guards.

A fifth guard stood by the carriage door, holding it open for her. Liliana accepted his helping hand to climb into it. Astrid followed and then the guard himself, much to Liliana’s surprise. She’d thought she’d have some privacy. Now the carriage felt far too small.

“The Duke ordered you to always have a guard near you outside the estate, Lady Liliana,” the guard explained, seeing her confusion. Liliana’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t speak, simply nodded. The guard called to the driver to set off and with a lurch, they were on their way. Liliana’s eyes were drawn immediately to the window where she could see the scenery slowly passing. She was disappointed at first. Lelantos was certainly faster than this, until they passed the gate.

At some sort of silent command, the horses moved. Scenery flashed by in a blur as Liliana was thrown back into the plush cushions of the carriage. Her eyes were blown wide as she watched. They were going nearly as fast as a car in her old world! Was this the power of magic? Could they make carriages that didn’t even need horses? Liliana wondered as she watched the guards around them keeping pace with the carriage. Likely also riding Speed and Endurance boosted mounts with enchanted gear. Perhaps the guards also had skills that sped their mounts up?

“How do they keep up with the carriage?” Liliana asked, looking to the guard who had intruded on her privacy.

“All the guards you see around you have a [Rider’s Boost] skill. It boosts their mounts Speed,” the guard answered easily and Liliana nodded, filing the information away.

“So fast,” Liliana murmured, and she heard a low chuckle from the guard.

“It’s always startling, the first time,” the guard explained, and Liliana once more turned to look at him. She took in his appearance. He was no supermodel, but he wasn’t ugly either. Fairly attractive, as most people in this world seemed to be. He had short cropped brown hair and hazel eyes over a ruddy complexion. His skin was covered in freckles that made him look younger, though the wrinkles by his eyes implied he was older than he seemed.

Jason Fletcher

Level: 95

Rank: 6

Class: Guard Lieutenant

Liliana blinked in a bit of surprise at that. She had known the Guards weren’t weak, but she hadn’t expected to have someone level 95 sent with her. Some would think it meant her father cared for her. More than likely, it was Silas who had assigned her guards. The thought of Silas looking out for her made her smile. She also had a feeling any guards sent by him wouldn’t be as antagonistic as some servants likely still were. Even if many now feared her.

“Be careful about that, Lady Liliana,” Jason wanted her and Liliana raised an eyebrow.

“Are you threatening me, Lieutenant?” Liliana asked with a small smirk. She didn’t think he was, but she needed to act a certain way because of her social rank.

“No ma’am,” Jason hastily tried to fix his faux pas, “my big mouth always gets me into so much trouble! I’m surprised the Captain set me to this duty at all,” Jason said with a self-deprecating laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. Liliana couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. It was refreshing to be around someone whose first instinct wasn’t duplicity, but blunt honesty.

“No, what I mean is using [Identify] on people,” Jason clarified and Liliana nodded for him to continue.

“It’s not common, but also not rare, for someone to have some kind of [Perception] skill to let them know if a skill like [Identify] was used on them. All Guard’s have this skill as it comes with the class,” Jason continued to explain as blood drained from Liliana’s face. She could only thank pure luck that her using [Identify] on everyone in the manor hadn’t alerted anyone to it.

“Most nobles don’t have a skill like that, my Lady,” Astrid rushed to calm Liliana, and it helped.

“Why didn’t you tell me that, Astrid?” Liliana asked with a raised brow and the maid flushed.

“I thought you knew, my Lady. You always seem to know so much, and you spend so much time reading. I didn’t want to insult you by implying I knew something you didn’t without you asking,” Astrid explained, and Liliana saw actual guilt in her eyes. She blew out a breath, letting go of her annoyance. It made sense, their disparity in social class once again causing issues.

“In the future, even if you have even the slightest doubt about whether or not I know something, please tell me,” Liliana urged, and Astrid nodded. Jason was pointedly looking out the window, not wanting to take in part in the conversation.

“Why don’t nobles have a skill like that?” Liliana turned the conversation, trying to figure out why they wouldn’t have it.

“Typically, you only get that skill with Guard or Thief type classes, or military classes,” Jason was the one to explain, excited by the prospect of talking. Liliana was beginning to think the man enjoyed the sound of his own voice. She didn’t mind, it meant she got valuable information.

“So it’s seen as beneath a noble,” Liliana surmised and Jason winced but nodded. Liliana pursed her lips in irritation. Stupid weird rules of nobles.

“It’s also because one’s level is a status symbol now, so nobles are happy to make it obvious. They want to be seen. If they had a [Perception] skill, it would go off constantly,” Astrid further explained and Liliana bit her lip, but nodded in understanding. Now that made sense. She knew nobles loved their parties, and showing off. She couldn’t imagine trying to navigate the trap filled social events nobles frequented while also getting constant alerts that someone had checked your information.

“Why is being a noble, so complicated?” Liliana grumbled, earning her a chuckle from Jason and an admonishing look from Astrid. Liliana turned her attention back to the window and watching the scenery pass them by.

Chapter 30: A Totally Normal Shopping Trip

“We’re almost there, my Lady,” Jason spoke up and Liliana opened her eyes. She’d been trying to use the ride as a chance to try out meditation. She’d read about it in so many books back on earth, characters getting amazing powers from mediating. Yet when she closed her eyes, she couldn’t stop her mind from thinking, no matter how much she tried.

Liliana looked out the window and had to resist the urge to plaster herself against it as she saw the rising walls of the city, Ravencross, rising before them. The city walls were made of a pale gray stone threaded with blue. They had some magic-resistant qualities and should have monster-repelling wards worked into them. The walls were expensive, and Ravencross was the jewel of the Rosengarde territory. Built by one of her ancestors long before she or her father had ever been born, it had weathered wars and monster hordes.

Liliana felt the game lore she still had bloating her mind rush forth as they approached the enormous gates to the city. Ravencross wasn’t a high level city, as the levels of creatures around simply weren’t high enough for it. But it was a key part of the game if you chose Emyr or Alistair’s path for your play through, as it was where they got some of their first ‘real’ quests. From fighting back encroaching monsters, clearing new dungeons, or even fighting off an enraged creature. The specific creature varied based on who you played. Emyr got a Heliobear, Alistair got Duskweaver.

I wonder if being Liliana will trigger a unique creature for me? Or will both appear? Liliana wondered when a thought hit her and her already saucer-wide eyes grew.

Was Lelantos my creature? Did I just… skip a quest line? Liliana felt herself sweat a little. If that was true, had she messed up other quests? What kind of repercussions would that have on future events?

Will the Goblin Dungeon that’s supposed to spawn in a few months still appear? There’s no way I messed with that. Liliana drew back into her seat as she considered the possibilities. Now that she was approaching the city, her mind ran over all the Quests she knew had been available. She knew, now at least, that Quests weren’t something given in the world. But it likely didn’t change the events themselves. There were just fewer boxes guiding her movements.

First, I should get the things I need. Then maybe see if I can stumble upon one of the lesser events and test it, Liliana decided with a small nod. She perked up when she heard the guards outside her carriage greeting the ones guarding the gate. They were waved through quickly. The perks of being a noble, she supposed.

Liliana resumed looking out the window as they passed by the buildings filling the city. Her mind supplied the names of the ones she recognized. Many had just been scenery and therefore not enterable in the game. Now though, her curiosity had her wondering about the mystery buildings. Soon they passed what she assumed to be a residential area and emerged in the part of the city dedicated to stores.

There’s the Silver Sword, the smithy, that focuses on weaponry. And his brother’s shop, the Adamantium Armor for heavy plate armor. There’s the Whispering Wind, the tavern that’s a front for the Thieve’s guild. The Broken Stem, the apothecary. There’s the Golden Spindle, for cloth armor. The Leather Dream, for leather armor. Liliana mentally listed off the places she saw with a growing sense of familiarity as she saw the city was laid out the same way as she remembered.

Oh! They have the bazaar too! They always had a rotating market so you could occasionally find superb stuff there, though if you didn’t buy it in a set amount of time, it was gone forever or you had to wait hours or days for it to appear again. Liliana mentally noted that spot as a place to explore today. She may find a hidden treasure.

The Written Word, a store where you could buy spell or skill scrolls. They even had a few grimoires, but they were so outrageously expensive they weren’t worth buying as you’d out level the skills before you got the money. Liliana was practically vibrating with excitement. She wanted to jump out of the carriage and run into all the stores and spend the gold burning a hole in her pocket. She’d never had so much gold to use in Ravencross before.

Oh! There’s Marty’s Magical Oddities. He sells mage gear like staffs, wands and focuses. And there’s An Adventurers One Stop Shop. It sells most of the basic gear for adventurers but doesn’t have any specialities. And Bags, Boxes and Baubles! They sold all the different types of storage devices. I need to stop by there first! Liliana was practically salivating at the option of getting a better storage device.

Huh, I don’t recognize that shop? Liliana stared at the store. It had a paw print sign, so she assumed it was either a pet store… or for tamers.

“What’s that shop?” Liliana asked as she pointed it out.

“That’s Macie’s Menagerie. It’s a shop for Tamers and taming supplies. I assume my lady would like to visit it?” Jason asked, and Liliana nodded. The guard thumped the top of the carriage, bringing them to a stop and Liliana blushed. She had thought they were going somewhere to park the carriage and then they’d walk around. It seemed instead they had been waiting for her to ask them to stop.

Jason got out first, checking the area for any threats. Rather unnecessary in Liliana’s mind, but she didn’t speak up. When the Lieutenant was satisfied that a cabal of assassins was not waiting to murder her, he extended a hand to help her down. Liliana took it gratefully as she climbed out of the carriage, mentally cursing her skirts. It was a nightmare to climb down anything when one’s own clothing tried to wrap around their ankles.

Jason and Astrid followed behind Liliana as she entered the store, a pleasant tinkling announcing their arrival.

“Hello, hello! Welcome to Macie’s Menagerie!” A cheery voice rang out seconds before a woman appeared between shelves of items. Her red hair was in a frizzy braid and she had some dirt smeared on her face, but her eyes shone with a happiness that set Liliana at ease.

“Oh! Lady Liliana! I apologise for my appearance,” the woman, Macie, she assumed, hastily dropped into a clumsy curtsy that brought a smile to Liliana’s face. She assumed the woman had used [Identify] on her and seen her name.

“It is no matter, Ms. Macie,” Liliana waved off the woman’s apology.

“Oh, well thank you, Lady Liliana!” Macie seemed to recover quickly, her bright personality hard to dim.

“How may I be of service to you today?” The woman asked as she walked up and Liliana gave her a kind smile.

“I recently found myself bonded to an Evanesce Tiger and need appropriate items for his care,” Liliana explained, enjoying how the woman’s eyes widened when told of Liliana’s bond.

“Congratulations Lady Liliana! A successful bond is reason for celebration! And such a gorgeous creature too!” Macie’s eyes were sparkling and Liliana sensed a kindred soul before her. Someone who could truly appreciate the many magical creatures this world offered.

“He is quite beautiful, and he knows it,” Liliana giggled a little as she remembered how much Lelantos adored praise and attention. He’d love Macie.

“Oh, I’m sure, all feline types are very noble, you could say,” Macie jested and, as if to punctuate her comment, a feline appeared on her shoulder. Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked at the small cat. It had bright purple fur, decorated with swirls of a dark magenta.

Cheshire Kit

Level 16

A feline adept at disguising its presence by manipulating the surrounding light with its small bit of Light affinity. Very particular about the people it chooses to be around. These creatures are usually not aggressive, and are occasionally sought after as pets.

Rank: 10

Did Lelantos look like this as a baby? I know any Cheshire can evolve into one of the other versions at a high enough rank. Oh, I wish I’d seen him as a baby! Liliana thought. Her eyes locked on the adorable creature. Large purple and black eyes met her own, however the kit seemed to be uninterested in her and looked away to clean its paw instead. Liliana pouted a bit at being so thoroughly snubbed by the tiny feline.

“Oh! I’m sorry Lady Liliana! Buttons here just isn’t much of a people person,” Macie hastily tried to cover up her cat’s insult, and Liliana shook her head with a smile. It seemed naming cats after inanimate objects was something that traversed time and space.

Should’ve named Lelantos Microwave, Liliana thought with an inner laugh. He’d probably have eaten her for that, Bond or not.

“Oh, I know, that’s simply how cats are. They care not for the titles and ranks of humans,” Liliana soothed the store keep.

“So, since you just bonded, I assume you’re looking for a Summoning Stone?” Macie seemed eager to change the topic and Liliana nodded.

“And if you have any bestiaries?” Liliana asked hopefully. She had been planning on trying The Written Word, but this store seemed more likely to keep the kind Liliana would want.

“We have those too! Are you looking for a specific type, or area?” Macie asked as she walked off to a shelf, Buttons jumping off and vanishing before he landed.

“If you have one that has every creature known, I’d like that. If not, one that is specific to the Cista queendom would do,” Liliana answered, eyes drawn by movement. She watched first one book get shoved off a shelf, then another few.

“Thank you Buttons,” Macie said as she wandered over and grabbed the books, placing a palm sized clear crystal on top.

“You likely need some Beast potions as well,” Macie commented as she grabbed a few bottles full of sparkling pink liquid, “And as it’s a feline some Valerian oil,” another bottle was added to the stack and Liliana’s eyes widened.

“Some Rank 6 cores as well, as he’s Light and Illusion aligned Light Sylph cores should do,” Macie seemed to be talking to herself at this point and Liliana turned a wide eyes stare to Astrid, who seemed even more lost than Liliana.

“Why the cores?” Jason was the one to speak up, bless him.

“Oh! Well, with Beasts, you can either feed them mana rich meat, or Mana Cores. Cores are easier to buy in bulk than meat and they’re easier to carry around too,” Macie answered, and Liliana simply nodded along.

“My Lady, your Father said he’d cover the cost of feeding your Tame, we can have a shipment of cores sent to the manor,” Astrid spoke up and Liliana sighed in relief. She had almost watched all of her newly gained wealth go down the drain.

“In that case, we can work out a deal for that. I get a discount from the Adventurers’ guild for cores, since I buy in bulk from them. I can get you a better deal than they’d offer,” Macie spoke up, drawing Liliana’s attention once more to her and her heart nearly stopped when she saw the pile of items had grown.

“This should be enough. If you want a saddle, you’ll need to stop by the Leather Dream. I can’t make those myself.” Macie settled the items on the counter and Liliana walked up mechanically. She could see all her new gold vanishing.

“We’ve got an extensive bestiary for the Rosengarde territory for creatures, and one for the whole of the Cista queendom. I sadly don’t have one that covers all the creatures in the world,” Macie seemed saddened by that, though Liliana had a feeling it was because the woman herself wanted such a tome.

“I’ve also added twenty Beast Recovery potions. They’ll recover 100 health a second. Normal human potions won’t work very well on them. There’s also twenty Beast Mana potions. They recover 100 mana a second,” Macie pointed out the bottles, and Liliana nodded thankfully. She hadn’t realized health potions worked less effectively on Beasts. It explained why her health tinctures hadn’t healed Polaris very well.

“This is a Summoning Stone. It’s rated to hold a creature up to Rank 4. As you know, you can only keep one creature per stone. So if you Bond any others you’ll need a new stone. If you want to have it worked into jewelry, as is popular, the Diadems Delight can help you,” Macie pointed out the palm sized stone and Liliana itched to grab it. She never wanted to leave Lelantos behind again.

“I’ve also included four bottles of Valerian oil. Felines love it and it's good to calm them down if they’re in a rage. Though keep it locked up, as they will go through all of it if you don’t. I’ve also included an expandable feather staff, and a magically inflatable nearly indestructible bell ball. There are also magically enchanted clippers for his claws, a brush for his teeth and a brush for his fur,” Macie finished rattling off the items, and Liliana nodded along. It seemed like a lot, but everything would make Lelantos’ life better, so she couldn’t find fault with it.

“This all totals out to 683 Gold, 62 Silver and 12 copper,” Macie read out the total and Liliana felt her soul leave her body for a moment. She’d never spent so much money at a single time!

“Here is a cheque for the total,” Astrid spoke up, pulling out a cheque and writing the total. Liliana was glad that in this world one wasn’t required to carry around all their gold, provided they had a bank account. Her father had allotted her 2,000 gold for her shopping trip and she’d just used over a fourth in one store.

“I’ll carry my Lady’s items,” Jason spoke up, producing a spatial bag and placing her purchases into it. Liliana itched a bit at having the two adults do everything for her, but it meant she didn’t have to carry everything around at least.

“Come back anytime! And bring your Bond next time!” Macie bid them a goodbye and Liliana had a feeling the woman would be celebrating her recent windfall. Liliana felt that she may have been swindled with her purchase, but she wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about the price of Bond items to say for sure.

“Where to next, my Lady?” Jason asked as they exited the store. Liliana noticed they had moved the carriage to the side, out of the way of the main road. The guards had also dismounted from their horses and were waiting outside the shop for them.

“B-“ Liliana stopped herself. The stores had signs with symbols on them, not names. If she started spouting off shop names she shouldn’t know, it would be odd.

“Could we go to a store that sells spatial items?” She corrected herself, and Jason nodded, looking around.

“Bags, Boxes and Baubles it is!” Jason declared and after pointing it out to Liliana, they set off. Luckily, most of the shops were all within a few blocks of each other. In the game, it had been to make it easy for players to get everything they needed without having to travel from one side of the city to the other. She wasn’t sure what prompted the city to be built in the same way in a real world, but she assumed for the same reasons.

Liliana entered the store and almost turned right back around when she saw the other customer in there. His telltale bright blue hair standing out even in the less than ideal lighting of the store.

“Hello, Lady Liliana,” a cool voice called out as Emyr set the bag he was looking at down and turned to look at her. She would swear she detected a bit of amusement in his cold eyes.

“Lord Bealstal,” Liliana responded, her voice so cold she could almost feel frost growing in the room. An eyebrow lifted slightly from the young Lord, but he didn’t remark on it.

“What brings you to this store today?” Liliana asked, the slightest bit of emphasis on her words as her patience wore thin. Today was supposed to be a good day, a shopping spree funded by her dick of a dad.

“I had need to acquire some new equipment,” Emyr answered and Liliana’s eyes narrowed.

“What fortuitous timing that I too am here in Ravencross to obtain new gear,” Liliana commented, though they both knew Emyr’s reason was bullshit. He’d followed her here like the sticky stalker he was. She should’ve known that his curiosity in her wouldn’t dim as soon as they got home.

“Yes, it is weird sometimes the way fate works,” Emyr answered noncommittally, but the way his eyes sparkled with mischief belied his words. He knew he was irritating her and knew right now she couldn’t speak her mind the same way she had when they’d been traveling.

Fuck you, Emyr, and your whole damn house, Liliana mentally groused as she took a deep breath, maintaining her poise.

“Then I wish you luck on your shopping endeavors,” Liliana tried to end the conversation, and salvage her day.

“Perhaps it would be good for us to peruse the stores together, to better save time,” Emyr said, his lip tugging into the lightest of smiles. Liliana wanted to scream. She couldn’t deny him without it being seen as an insult. One she couldn’t afford to give in public.

“Yes, that… would be… a fine idea,” Liliana grit out.

“Ah, Lady Liliana, may I help you find what you need?” A hesitant voice called out. The shopkeeper obviously hadn’t wanted to interrupt a conversation between nobles, but he seemed to detect the worsening atmosphere and was trying to get a sale before the two nobles possibly destroyed his store in a spat.

“Yes, Mr. Brown, I need a spatial bag cuff, I’d like for it to be 150 square feet,” Liliana turned to the man, her demeanor making a 180 as she greeted him with a beaming smile. The man seemed dazed for a moment before he recovered and hastened to get what she asked for.

“I’d like a 160 square foot ring,” Emyr cut in and Liliana closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She could feel he was doing this just to irritate her.

“Do these come in other color?” Emyr asked next and Liliana opened her eyes, a defeated sigh escaping her.

It’s going to be a long day.

Chapter 31: Lessons and Bullies

Liliana collapsed onto her bed with an annoyed groan. Shopping had been an ordeal. She’d gotten everything she’d wanted or needed, but she’d had to deal with Emyr every step of the way. The other noble seemed to take a specific level of delight in getting under her skin and he was far better at the game nobles played than she. It had been an effort to not shove her foot into her mouth, or to straight out toss a [Light Burst] into his face.

It made it worse that part of her enjoyed his company, even found his behavior at times amusing. But she couldn’t let herself let her guard down. She’d almost made a fatal mistake. During their time away from the manor, Liliana had forgotten she was talking to Emyr Bealstal, son of a Marquis and fated hero. She’d forgotten he was like any other noble in this world. Only out for himself, and willing to step on anyone it took to get where he wanted. Most especially someone like her.

He was also destined to either be her death, or to have a hand in it. She didn’t know if she could change the fate of this world so much that the Heroes weren’t a threat to her, and it was a gamble she didn’t want to take. A risk with an unknown reward was a foolish risk. She remembered her father in her first life telling her that, though his advice had been because she’d gotten addicted to gacha games and he was trying to get her to stop spending all her allowance on them. Back when they had the spare money to give her an allowance.

The other part of why she was irritated was because she hadn’t found a single chance to slip away from her contingent of guards or Emyr to investigate the city. She couldn’t hunt down the people who were NPCs in the game and see if they needed the same help they did in the game.

She did not know if the side quests or quest lines existed at all, and if they didn’t, she wasn’t sure how events themselves would change. In a game, many events didn’t happen until a player triggered them by accepting a quest. Here, there were no quests to accept. Meaning she didn’t know what events would or wouldn’t trigger.

Will that Orc attack in Newvale still happen in the winter? Or the potion shortage created from the incursion of Raindeers blocking the area the apothecary got her herbs from? That goblin dungeon, is it still going to spawn? Or will that poor family lose their daughter because a Dream Eater latched onto her? Liliana fretted over the events she’d played out in the game, biting into her lip as she thought. A sharp spike of pain and the copper taste of blood filled her mouth as she bit through her lip. With a wince, she sat up and rubbed at her lip, already healed from her regeneration. The pain had cleared her head, though.

Can’t worry about everything. I have enough to focus on as it is. Honestly, I shouldn’t care about others right now. I need to keep myself alive, Liliana decided, though the thought left a sour taste on her tongue.

“Lelantos,” Liliana called out for the tiger resting in the courtyard. He’d nearly bowled her over when she came into her room originally. He’d only calmed down when he was sure all her body parts were still attached.

The tiger perked up and padded into her room with a yawn before sitting before her. With a thought, Liliana reached her mana out to the cuff on her wrist. It was a pretty silver; the metal shaped to resemble a serpent with a blue gem held in its mouth. As Liliana’s mana connected to the cuff, a mental list of her items appeared in her mind, and odd though it was, she’d had hours of practice with the device in the carriage. She called out the summoning stone, and it appeared on her palm.

The stone was a deep sapphire blue, the same color as her eyes and Mana. She had attuned it to herself and now all she had to do was attune it to Lelantos and he could reside inside of it in a suspended state. He’d still have some idea of what was going on through his connection to her, but it was more of a dreamlike quality, from what she’d learned researching the stones.

“Channel some Mana into this,” Liliana instructed as she mentally sent the image of what she wanted done. She held the stone to Lelantos’ forehead and after a moment she could feel him channeling some of his mana into it. Withdrawing her hand, Liliana could see iridescent threads swirled with the deep blue.

“Lets see if it works,” Liliana murmured, and she focused on the stone, mentally trying to pull Lelantos into it. After a few moments of struggling to grasp it, something clicked and she could feel the stone pulling Lelantos’ very being into it. When she opened her eyes, the tiger was gone, though her Bond let her know he was safe in the stone.

It took another few minutes to push her Bond out of the crystal. Lelantos stretched when he emerged and didn’t seem to have anything against the stone. Liliana nodded happily as she draped the chain attached to the stone around her neck. The stone rested comfortably over her collarbone, and it was warm against her skin.

“Whenever I leave my room, I’ll take you with me,” Liliana informed Lelantos, getting an approval back from the large cat. He laid out on the floor by her bed and seemed to settle down for another nap. The lazy creature. Liliana shook her head as she laid back herself.

She opened her Skill and Spell sheet, looking at the new abilities she’d gained from her shopping. [Leap] was a repositioning skill that Liliana had gratefully bought. It’d also been one of the cheapest. [Pierce] was the other skill she’d bought, and it empowered any stabbing weapons, along with a temporary armor-piercing buff while active. It had been a bit more expensive, though nothing on her spells. [Barrier] was a Light skill and had cost twice the cost of the skills.

[Soul Strike] had been the only Soul spell in the shop and had been priced accordingly. [Encouragement] was a Life skill. It would let her buff someone else, and she planned to use it on Lelantos the next time they went out to level. It gave a small amount of a boost to Strength and Vitality, based on Charisma. She had looked for any healing skills, but there had been none, not too much a surprise. They were generally class skills, and those couldn’t be made into skill or spell scrolls. Still, it hadn’t been a bad haul. She’d gotten 5 new abilities to use. And had drained a good portion of her funds for them as well. She had thought of saving some of the gold she’d been given, but after the shopping trip she had barely fifty gold left.

She had considered picking up one of the grimoires in the store, but even one of them cost 3000 gold and they’d been for affinities she didn’t have. She could go to a church and get an affinity added at any time, but that also cost a good amount of gold, along with the time needed to either discover spells or buy them. Which came back to her issue of needing yet more gold.

Liliana sighed as she buried herself under the blankets on her bed. She came back to the age-old problem, money. And not having enough of it. She fell asleep to dreams of charming a dragon and being gifted his hoard.

“And now onto Ranks,” Miss Beckett droned on, and Liliana resisted the urge to slam her head into the desk. How could someone make something as interesting as leveling, classes, stats and ranks boring? Truly, the woman had to have a [Monotone] or [Boring] skill!

“What do you know about Ranks?” Miss Beckett asked, her tone implying she didn’t think Liliana knew much of anything. Liliana smiled sweetly at the woman.

Meta-Knowledge don’t fail me now!

“Ranks are useful for determining the evolution state of a Beast, and for humans they enable class Evolutions,” Liliana said proudly. In the game that had been their use, you couldn’t get a class evolution until you Ranked up. You could change your class at any time to another one that was unlocked for you at your last Rank up, though you’d lose any class specific skills or spells. But to get better classes and evolutions of your current one, you had to increase your Rank.

Ranking up was easy at low levels, but higher up you had to usually complete a specific story quest to progress your rank. Liliana knew here they were tied to Magic Power and Control, though the exact amount was vague and she wasn’t sure how that worked for physical classes.

“And?” Miss Beckett asked, unimpressed. Liliana’s brow furrowed at the question. What else was there to Ranks?

“First, do you know how to increase your Rank?” Miss Beckett asked and Liliana narrowed her eyes. It felt like a trick question.

“Leveling?” Liliana answered, though it was more of a question.

“Wrong,” Miss Beckett snapped out and Liliana tilted her head, unsure how that was wrong. It was how she’d raised her Rank so far.

“The first few Ranks, 10, 9, 8 and 7, are raised by leveling if you wish to simplify it. What they’re actually raised by is your Magic Power and Control level has nothing to do with it. However, at those levels, your Magic Power and Control usually raises naturally enough. Past that, the requirements to Rank Up are higher, and many find themselves stuck at a cusp level struggling to raise their Power and Control to pass the hurdle,” Ms. Beckett explained and Liliana’s eyes widened. The books hadn’t put it like that. She could get stuck at a level if her Magic Power and Control weren’t high enough?

“The necessary Power and Control to progress to Rank 6 is 2,000, for 5 it’s 5,000, 4 is 10,000, 3 is 18,000, 2 is 28,000 and finally rank 1 is 40,000,” Miss Beckett listed out the numbers and Liliana hastened to write them all down. When she was done, she stared at the numbers before her, trying to comprehend having forty thousand Magic Power and Control. Sure, classes could give you stats to help, but still. That was a number unattainable by stat points alone.

“So you see why one of the biggest walls in Ranking up is one’s Magic Power and Control,” Miss Beckett drew Liliana’s attention. A question was burning in her mind, something didn’t make sense.

“But not everyone is a magic user. What about physical classes?” Liliana asked. She couldn’t imagine Silas pumping a majority of his points into Intelligence or Wisdom. The man was simply too strong and hardy to not have a good deal of his points in Strength, Vitality and Endurance.

“Usually if someone has picked a physical class path such as Warrior, they are offered a class evolution at rank 7 or 6 for a class that combines their Mana and Stamina into Energy. It’s an evolution of the Mana core that focuses their Mana on directly empowering their body. However, once it’s done it cannot be undone, and they lose the ability to use any Spells or skills that require Mana,” Ms. Beckett explained, her droll tone holding a sense that she thought Liliana should know this.

“At any point someone who hasn’t picked such a path can also switch, though I’ve been told the change to an Energy core is painful, and worse, the more Mana one has. Those who chose to not pick this route and maintain a physical class are rare, but they can raise their Control and Power through exercises for such things, os it’s still possible,” Ms. Beckett further elaborated and Liliana’s face paled at the thought. She had her share of pain already, and would rather avoid any more.

“The benefits of Ranking up are many. Every Rank up extends one’s life separate from their Vitality stat. A rank 10 can expect to live to 100, a Rank 9 to 120, a Rank 8 to 140, Rank 7 to 160, Rank 6 to 200, Rank 5 to 250, Rank 4 to 320, Rank 3 to 400, Rank 2 to 500 and Rank 1’s can live to 700 years old even with nothing in Vitality,” Ms. Beckett droned on and Liliana’s head spun. 700 years? That was… how was that possible? Did Mana enhance someone’s body so much?

How old was her father? He was Rank 4, on the cusp of 3. His life expectancy was at a minimum of 320 years!

“On top of the Class evolutions, which are only obtainable by Ranking Up. There is also the skill and spell level cap. At ranks 10 to 8, they can only get to level 55. Your skills and spells will also not evolve unless you’ve reached the necessary rank,” Ms. Beckett explained, and Liliana mechanically wrote down the information. In the game, Ranks had meant little more than the opportunity for better classes, but in the actual world, they were so much more.

“The last reason Ranks are important are Rank skills and spells. You only get one of these skills or spells per level and they are only obtainable, starting at rank 7. They are skills or spells that are given from the System based on how you spent the previous Ranks. They are usually unique to the person, and cannot be copied. These skills and spells are called by the less… refined ‘Ultimate’ skills.” Miss Beckett’s nose scrunched as she used the term, as if she found it utterly distasteful.

“They can change the tide of a battle. There have been times that someone has used a Rank 2 or Rank 1 Skill and won a war in a single night.” Miss Beckett completed the lesson on Ranks, and Liliana looked at her notes. Ultimate skills and spells she was used to, but those were given by one’s class in the game. And not customized, it made her wonder what kind of Skill or spell she would get with her Rank 7 rank up coming.

With my luck, I’m going to get a Light Ultimate skill… fuck, Liliana thought with a small wince at that. She had only just gotten a Soul spell and hadn’t had any time to play with it the night before, and today she’d been rushed to Miss Beckett’s class. Which had been giving her actually useful information, as opposed to learning about how much money a city typically made in taxes per year.

“Now I expect you to have a thousand word essay prepared for tomorrow on Magic Control and Power exercises,” Miss Beckett finished their class and Liliana winced. The woman had provided her with a book on the matter, a book that was not in the manor’s library. She was half tempted to sneak into the woman’s room and abscond with any other pertinent books she may be hiding from Liliana.

Liliana gathered her notes and the book and happily left the room, her head aching with the information she had learned today. They’d also discussed the various stats and how they affected one outside of the obvious. Such a Vitality increasing one’s lifespan, though less than Ranking up.

Charisma could apparently improve one’s singing ability, since it apparently made one’s voice more entrancing, which Liliana wasn’t apt to try. She didn’t want to end up with a Bard class option at any point. With a mental shiver from memories of how many times she’d died playing the game trying out that class, she shoved the very idea away.

Dexterity improved fine motor control, meaning it was necessary for Crafters, artists and musicians. Those were just a few examples of how stats helped not just in battle, but in everyday life. Speed could even make someone think and process things at a higher rate, which Liliana hadn’t noticed at first, but when she compared herself now to who she was three, almost four, months ago she could see she learned at a faster pace. It also made sense, as one needed to be able to process information while moving at higher speeds as well.

“So it’s true,” a voice drew Liliana from her musings. She looked up to see Alistair staring at her, his face ashen. Without thinking, Liliana reached out for her summoning stone with her mana. In a second, it was primed and ready to release Lelantos if Alistair tried anything.

“You actually awakened, and you’re level 39. The tiger thing, that’s true too?” Alistair demanded and Liliana took a step back at the anger on her step brothers face.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice cold and hiding the tremble in her body. Alistair was stronger than her, sitting at level 54 now. Almost hitting the level necessary to get into the Academy.

“You thought you could mock me? By hiding it? How long have you been laughing at me behind my back?” Alistair demanded, crowding into her space. Liliana resisted the urge to step back again as she met his gaze, her own filled with a cold that eclipsed the fires of his anger.

“Brother, I never knew you cared so much,” Liliana responded with a sickly sweet tone, belying the ice in her gaze and face. Alistair’s own face clouded, and he stepped back, looking at her like he didn’t know who she was.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing. Awakening and running around like a feral beast, but you’re a shame on our family,” Alistair scoffed back off more as he saw Liliana reach for her summoning stone, the threat clear as she fiddled with the stone. For the first time, a bit of fear leaked into his gaze, and Liliana relished it.

“Whatever spell you’ve put on Emyr, too, you’re like a poisonous weed. Slowly ruining this family,” Alistair finished as he turned and walked off. Liliana watching him with a touch of amusement.

Oh Alistair, you haven’t seen what I’m capable of yet. This family will fall to ruins, of that I can assure you, Liliana promised as she waited for him to disappear from sight before moving to her own room.

Chapter 32: Just A Game

“My Lady, we can’t let you go alone,” Jason tried to reason with Liliana as she stood outside, arms crossed over her chest.

Lelantos was pacing beside her, showing off the new saddle he had been given. It was nice and had been a pretty penny. Grey leather to complement his fur. It was worked with durability and illusion enchantments so it would go invisible when he did. Liliana glared at the man before letting out a small sigh and loosening her arms. Dusting off her clothes, a mix of black and white leather now as she’d been able to have the Shadow Wolf pelts worked into the outfit to repair and enhance it. [Air Walk] had evolved into [Shadowind Walk]. She could jump into any shadow and appear out of another within one minute. The cool down was ten minutes for that one. At night or in low light, she could walk on air for up to fifteen minutes. The cool down had stayed two hours on that part of it.

“Fine,” she relented, and she turned to Lelantos, who knelt down for her to climb onto his saddle. It was odd to adjust to at first, for them both. But despite the awkwardness, Lelantos stood tall and walked with the regal bearing all cats shared. Behind her, she could hear the contingent of guards that had been ordered to follow her mounting up as well.

“Is the lady going out leveling?” A familiar voice called out, and Liliana cursed under her breath. Turning, she met the eyes of Emyr. Standing beside him was a sullen Alistair. Both were leading their own mounts.

“That is my intention,” Liliana ground out, and it took every shred of her self-control to not shout when both boys mounted up as well.

“I think the lady will be safe enough with us,” Emyr told the guards, and Liliana mentally begged for the guards to stay.

“I will accompany the lady,” Jason stated, but waved off the rest of the guards. Liliana wanted to scream in annoyance, instead she turned around and ordered Lelantos to take off.

Eagerly, the tiger bounded forwards, racing towards the opened gates. Liliana smirked when she saw several guards jump back as the tiger charged closer. She didn’t know if she’d ever tire of how people reacted to Lelantos.

As Lelantos ran down the road, Liliana mentally reviewed the map she had nearly memorized. She wanted an area that would let her level but would also give enough of a challenge to Lelantos. And would give enough exp that her unwanted hanger-ons wouldn’t completely ruin her gains. They traveled the road for a good hour before Liliana directed Lelantos to turn and soon they were cutting off the road and into the forest, following a fairly used path.

An arrow aimed at her head drew Liliana from her thoughts as she threw herself to the side, summoning [Barrier] as she did. A shield formed of light surrounded her, slowing the arrow. Her dodge hadn’t completely avoided the arrow, but as it punctured her shoulder, she knew it was far less fatal than it could’ve been. Ignoring the pain that was already fading because of [Pain Resistance] and adrenaline Liliana drew Lelantos up short.

“Ambush!” Jason yelled out as people materialized from the forest. Liliana’s [Identify] informed her all the men and women before them were level 40-50 Bandits. She growled as her mind worked overtime.

Bandits shouldn’t be this close to the manor. The guards should’ve found them. Sure, it was a quest in the game, but in real life it makes little sense. Why are they here? Liliana summoned her naginata from her storage cuff and activated [Barrier] once more, letting it drain part of her mana even as it protected her. [Light Burst] and [Persistent Casting] started working as well, summoning a vanguard of floating lights around her.

“Stand down! As the heir to the Rosengarde family, I can offer you mercy, if you persist in your attacks the punishment is death!” Alistair called out as he and Emyr closed in next to Liliana, Jason moving to be in front of the three nobles.

“Hah! Nobles? We can get a nice ransom for spoiled pups like you lot,” one Bandit spoke. He was larger than the rest. Someone who obviously pumped most of his stats into Strength and Vitality based on the muscles that strained the hodgepodge leather armor he wore. In his hands was a large war hammer, big enough to flatten Liliana like a bug if it hit.

“Boss, there wasn’t supposed to be a guard,” a Bandit whispered to the boss, yet he waved it off with a grin.

“It doesn’t much matter, we can take some spoiled brats and their nursemaid on,” The Boss assured his men.

“What makes you think you can win? I’ll remind you all that the punishment for banditry, and attacking a noble is death, no trial,” Emyr spoke up, his voice almost bored. Memories of the encounter in the game flooded her mind. You could try to talk to the bandits, but the game forced the fight no matter what you chose.

Falling back into her memories of the game, Liliana grasped the arrow in her shoulder and yanked it out, biting back a curse as she felt it scrape on bone and rip skin and muscle. Blood poured from the wound, but her attention was elsewhere. Sunlight shone off the head of another arrow, and Liliana’s eyes focused on the archer standing in the back. Not seeing another, Liliana directed her host of [Light Bursts] after the archer.

The attack hit, a blood-chilling scream filling the air as they exploded on the Archer, blood splattering the trees and ground around them. Their body fell, and both groups stood still for a moment.

Just a game, Liliana thought, ignoring the screams of the dying archer. The first time she’d played, the first time she’d seen why the game was rated M, she’d been startled at the amount of blood shown. She’d had to tell herself it was just a game, to get over the pure violence. Her parents had almost taken the game from her, but they had a hard time denying her once her prognosis became terminal.

The quiet moment hung heavy between the groups, a moment wasted for the Bandits as Liliana directed Lelantos forward. She activated [Enhancement], [Dance of the Daystar], [Tempo] and [Dance of The Windsong] Liliana’s naginata turned into a blurred silver figment, soon coated crimson. The Bandits recovered, but only as a second of their number fell, groaning on the ground from a slash wound to his stomach.

Several worked to surround the tiger and his rider as others rushed past to engage the rest of her party. Liliana paid no mind to them, knowing that none of the bandits would be strong enough to bother them. Liliana’s eyes raked across the bandits surrounding her, noting that none of their levels were too far above hers to make this impossible.

Liliana grinned a sharp toothed smile at the men and women surrounding her as Lelantos let out [Bestial Roar] causing them to freeze in place. Pulling her feet out of her stirrups, Liliana balanced on his saddle, excited to finally use a move the two had practiced for a few days in the privacy of her garden.

When he pounced at the group before them, she jumped off, turning in the air to drive her naginata down into a man behind them. She could hear screams behind her as she landed. Standing straight, she ripped her naginata out of the man and summoned [Light Barrage], directing the multitude of floating spheres at the enemies that surrounded her.

Yelps and screams wove a grim melody, backed by the ghost drums of [Tempo] as Liliana turned to her next opponent. A man wielding a short sword stood before her, bleeding from the barrage he’d already taken. He was only level 43, stronger than her in level, but it meant little when one took her boons into account. As the man charged at her, activating some skill that coated his blade in a sickly green, Liliana sidestepped, twisting and lashing a bloody gash along his back.

This is very similar to the fight in the game, similar weapons and attack types. Even in the game, this was a pretty easy fight. The only benefit they got was their ambush and their numbers, and we nullified that. Liliana thought with a smile.

A mace whistled towards her head and with little time to dodge, she activated [Shadowind Walk], vanishing into a shadow and avoiding the deadly hit. The two she’d been engaged with looked around in confusion before Liliana appeared behind a separate woman, who grasped two long daggers in her hand. Her naginata cut through the air but by some stroke of luck the woman avoided the hit, only taking a glancing blow to her arm.

Liliana grimaced. She was running low on Mana and Stamina and [Enhancement] would end its affect soon. She turned to block the hit coming at her from the man with the short sword. Breaking off, she sent a [Light Burst] into his face, blinding him and leaving her the opening to drive her blade into his unprotected stomach.

“I surrender!” The man called, one hand held up in defeat, the other clutching his stomach. Liliana looked at him, face impassive. In the game some of the bandit’s had tried to surrender, if you accepted they would attack you as soon as you turned your back.

Just a game, Liliana reminded herself, she could almost hear the sounds of beeping machines and the murmurs of nurses in the background.

Her blade whipped out and slashed through the man’s throat, sending him tumbling as he weakly scrabbled for his ruined skin. As the man fell, Liliana was given no time to rest as the mace-wielder charged at her to avenge his fallen comrade.

Liliana dodged the heavy swing, dragging her blade across his chest. The man stumbled and as Liliana brought her blade back, she swung the haft against his knees. Where she had expected the crack of bones, there was nothing more than a second stumble to punctuate her attack.

“Think my Vitality is that low, girl?” The man sneered as he turned to her. Liliana’s eyes narrowed before a sharp stabbing pain in her back heralded a successful attack. The dagger wielder had snuck behind her and driven a blade into her unprotected back.

With a gasp of pain, nearly turning into a scream as the blade was ripped back out, Liliana stumbled away from the source of the agony. Fear filled her as she felt her blood pouring down her back and soaking her clothes. The fight just became far more real for her than it had been before. When it still felt like she was playing Realm Of Hope and not actually fighting for her life, the similarities in the encounter had lulled her into a false sense of security.

Liliana dropped [Tempo] as she activated [Regeneration], letting the healing ability work on the deep wound. As she backed up, away from the pair now standing untied against her, a flash of light coated claws bit deep into the mace-wielder. Unlike her attacks, this one did enough damage to send the man to his knees. Startled by the sudden attack, the knife-wielder turned to look.

“M-Monsters…” The knife wielder spoke, her voice filled with dread and fear, “I sur-“ the woman turned towards Liliana, her hands already dropping.

Liliana took advantage of the sudden distraction and pushed forward. Her blade sank deep into the woman’s chest, forcing her to drop her daggers and grasp futilely at the weapon impaling her. Liliana ripped it back off, not pausing to watch her fall. Rushing to Lelantos, she grabbed his saddle. Jumping into the saddle, she bit back another scream as the wound in her back sent a wave of agony through her body. Hunched over, panting, she looked around at the forest turned slaughter ground. Where Lelantos had been, only corpses remained, savaged by the tiger's fangs and claws.

Was there some kind of mild poison on that dagger? Something to make it hurt more? Was it serrated? It shouldn’t hurt this much. Or did she tear through more than I thought? Liliana wondered.

Liliana turned to look at the rest of their party. Alistair had pulled a shield off his back along with a sword, and had some kind of Light ability activated that blocked most of the hits that were pummeling into his shield. Behind him, Emyr was conducting an orchestra of shadows, grabbing legs and arms and leaving them open for Alistair to cut through. The two worked like a pair well used to fighting together, never having to speak or pause as they moved like a well-oiled machine.

Another bandit dropped to her knees, raising her hands in surrender but Emyr’s shadows and Alistair’s blade paid no heed to her words as she too was cut down. Liliana averted her eyes, a sick feeling roiling in her stomach.

Just a game, the mantra repeated itself, and she could almost feel the uncomfortable scratching blankets from her hospital room. Behind the familiar beeping of machines monitoring her failing body she could hear the sounds of another bandit trying to surrender, and their dying screams and whimpers. She coudl hear the sounds of metal cutting through flesh and bone as the mantra repeated itself in her mind.

Jasper had a ring of defeated bandits around him and was facing off against the Bandit Leader with the inhumanly large hammer. The hammer was more of a hinderance in the forest, as trees and branches impeded larger swings. The man’s power was undeniable, however it couldn’t stand up to a level 95 guard lieutenant, and in quick order the man had fallen to join his dying group. As he fell, so too did the last of the bandits facing Emyr and Alistair. Seeing the battle was essentially over, Liliana dropped her abilities all except [Regeneration].

Alistair dropped his own ability with the last defeat, and he seemed to sag. Emyr’s shadows receded, and the group walked back towards each other. Liliana shot up straight as she saw a figure behind Emyr. A woman with a crazed look in her eyes rushed him, sword held high to attack the boy’s open back.

“YOU MONSTERS!” She screeched and too slowly, the others turned. Liliana leapt from her saddle, forcing herself to activate [Dance of the Daystar], [Enhancement] and [Dance of The Windsong]. Her foot landed on Alistair's half raised shield, only her Dexterity enabling the move. She activated [Leap] and flung herself blade first at the woman. It had taken only a few seconds to accomplish the move and Liliana drove her naginata deep into the woman’s chest, her own weight shoving the blade entirely through the bandit’s body.

The women fell to the ground and Liliana bit back a cry as a fresh wound was added to her collection; the woman managing to shove her blade into Liliana’s stomach even as she died beneath her.

Rolling off the woman, leaving her naginata in its new grisly sheath, Liliana placed a hand on her stomach. Her other skills turned off as she prayed [Regeneration] would heal the wound. Her health was barely above 2% now and the world was getting dark on the edges.

A roar pierced the cotton stuffing her ears, and Liliana felt Lelantos coming closer, despair and fear coloring their bond. Liliana reached up a blood coated hand and laid it across the tiger’s fur, trying to soothe him.

“Drink this, you idiotic girl,” a gruff voice spoke moment before something was shoved into her mouth. A taste of strawberries filled her mouth and instinctively, Liliana gulped down the liquid. A comforting warmth filled her, focusing on her wounds. It soon bordered on uncomfortable as she felt the wounds stitching themselves together at an unnatural speed. Organs repaired, made whole once more. Veins reconnected, muscles knit back together as skin closed over it all. It felt unnatural, to have her organs and muscles and skin all moving and squirming around inside of her as they repaired.

Liliana sat up slowly, wincing at the residual pain as her still healing wounds protested the movement. She blinked her eyes; the darkness receding. Before her was Alistair. In his hand was an empty potion bottle. Based on the effects, Liliana could tell it was a high tier healing potion. The one’s she’d bought wouldn’t have been able to close her wounds anywhere near as fast.

“Well, that was not a pleasant experience,” Liliana commented as she felt over her body. Even as she looked, the last of the wounds were healing up, scratches and cuts she didn’t remember getting vanishing before her eyes. Her poor clothes were not as lucky, and they stayed damaged.

I’m a curse to clothes, not even a day with this new outfit. Liliana mourned before she remembered Astrid has demanded she get a self-repair enchantment with her new outfit. With a thought, she channeled a small bit of mana into her outfit and watched as the fabric and leather knit back together, much as her wounds had.

“That’s an apt observation, my Lady,” Jason commented as he stood. Liliana noticed everyone had been gathered around her, even Emyr was kneeling to her right and she detected more than a small bit of panic in his eyes. And… perhaps a bit of guilt, too.

Worried? No, he couldn’t be. He’s just upset he hasn’t figured me out yet, Liliana surmised, ignoring the guilt she saw lurking in his eyes too, as she drew her attention to her stepbrother, who was putting the used bottle back into storage. He wouldn’t meet her eyes and silently got up to follow Jason.

Liliana reached out to Lelantos, and with the cat’s aid, she regained her feet. Her Stamina was still low, and she felt exhausted. The fight had taken a toll on all of her stats, and right now, she just wanted to sleep. As the adrenaline faded from the battle, Liliana felt nausea rolling in her gut. The cloying smell of copper was thick in the air, followed by the scent of many evacuated bowels. Liliana’s eyes met a pair of dim, empty ones and she turned and threw up her lunch. The cruel reality of what had just happened becoming clear.

Just a game, the mantra tried to repeat itself in her mind yet what she was seeing, what she was smelling, was too much and the facade she’d been hiding behind broke like delicate china dropped on concrete. There was blood everywhere, it pooled around her, soaking into her clothes. She could even taste the cursed liquid on her lips, coating them with the proof of her sins. She could hear the dying breaths of the bandits around her, sounding oh so loud to her as her own breaths took on a ragged pace.

Not a game. It was all real. I wasn’t in the hospital playing a game. I… I just… I killed. I killed them. Without hesitation… How? How could I do that? They were people. With families, friends, people who will mourn their deaths. Some even tried to surrender. I’m a murderer. Liliana collapsed back to her knees. Lelantos made a concerned crooning noise as he pushed his head into her chest. Liliana gripped it, hands digging into his fur and grabbing tight as she felt something inside her break. Tears poured down her face as sobs ripped themselves from her throat. The smell of death was cloying around her, pressing on her as the realization that she’d just killed people like a child playing a video game did. With as little care for their lives, their hopes, their dreams as she had for them when they were nothing but NPCs she was tasked to kill.

“The first time is always the worst,” a familiar voice spoke, and Liliana looked through bleary eyes to see Emyr standing next to her. In his eyes there was empathy, an understanding she didn’t want to see.

“As soon as they attacked us, when that first arrow was shot, their fates were sealed. The punishment for banditry is death by hanging, the punishment for attacking a noble is death by fire,” Emyr continued, obviously trying to offer her some form of comfort. She could read what he didn’t say, being killed quickly in combat was a far kinder fate than death by being burned. Yet it did nothing to ease her guilt, not with the feeling of the bandits’ blood cooling on her clothes and covering her in the damning liquid. Not when they were surrounded by the bodies of the people they’d ruthlessly massacred, because thats what it had been. The bandits’ had never stood a chance against them.

“They’d have killed you, if you didn’t kill them first. Ransoms only sometimes end with the taken being returned alive. More often they’re killed when the exchange happens, or sold to slavery,” Jason spoke up. Their words did little to ease the pain in her heart. The pain of killing someone, ending their life irrevocably.

I… It had felt so like the game. So much like when I fought other creatures. I just… I didn’t think. I just attacked. If we had just surrendered, all these people would still be alive. Liliana’s mind was stuck in a vicious cycle as she felt herself descend into despair. Ignoring the words of reason the others tried to tell her, unwilling to let them try to excuse her sins. Her crimes.

Comfort flooded her bond as Lelantos tried to understand her feelings. To him, it made no sense to mourn what tried to kill you. The world was simple to him, kill or be killed. Be strong and live, or be weak and die. It was a black and white thinking that offered no nuance and only served to further tangle Liliana’s emotions. She knew it had been the right action. Had they not fought, it would’ve been her group that was dead on the ground. At the very least, had they been taken for ransom Jason would’ve been killed, maybe even Lelantos too. After all a guard wasn’t worth any money, and Lelantos was worth more to them as parts.

Yet it didn’t make it hurt any less. Guilt and self hatred reigned supreme in her mind as Jason walked around the corpses, gathering anything that could be used for identification to report to Silas and the Duke. Alistair too was dragging the bodies into neat lines, a show of kindness that Liliana hadn’t thought she’d ever see from the noble. Emyr stayed by her, saying nothing as he stood a silent sentinel to her pain. Lelantos had curled around her, offering his considerable bulk for her comfort.

Liliana buried her face deep in his fur, crying until she was dry heaving, nothing but bile coming up. Her body shook as the sobs ripped through her and she felt the last of her strength leaving her.

She was so far stuck in her own depression and shock that she hardly noticed when someone guided her back atop Lelantos, or when they gently set her hands to grip his saddle. She didn’t remember the walk home, taken at a far slower clip than before.

She barely noticed when they returned home, responding robotically to any questions directed her way as the others took over explaining the event. The only thing that drew her from her stupor the slightest bit was when Silas rushed towards them, grabbing her to be sure she was fine. Yet even he couldn’t banish the demons who had sunk their claws deep into her soul.

She was guided to her room, a sad Lelantos plodding after them as he continuously chuffed at his mistress, attempting to get any kind of response. Yet through her bath and dinner, Liliana didn’t speak. And when she was laid to rest, her dreams were filled with blood and screams, thousands of voices calling her a murderer, a monster.

A Villainess.

Chapter 33: Facing Your Demons and Cat Therapy

Liliana let the warm sunlight soak into her as she took a deep breath. It had been a week since the bandit attack, and since then, she’d ignored all of her notifications. She’d been told that humans gave the same amount of experience as monsters. The information hadn’t been welcome and had caused more tangled thoughts in her mind. Yet she had recovered.

She knew not for sure why she had been able to overcome the despair that filled her so quickly. She could say it had been Lelantos, the bond affecting her as much as it did him. His mentality had soothed her after a while. The way he simply saw anyone who would try to harm him or her as enemies to be killed. Not to be mourned. Perhaps it had been Silas coming to see her and talking to her about his first fight, his first kill. Knowing she wasn’t alone, just one of many who had suffered these feelings.

At the end of the day, it had been them or her. And she had chosen herself, her own life. The lives of her bond, of those she knew, over the lives of the bandits who had tried to steal them.

According to what Silas had told her, killing other humans was not a foreign concept in this world. In fact, it was almost commonplace, expected in some way or another that most would have some close experience with it. She knew that from the game, but experiencing it in real life was another matter. Bandits, brigands, pirates, slavers, opposing nobles and other countries, all these things made for a distinctly more dangerous life than the one she had left. She hadn’t been told as much; she assumed, to preserve her emotional state, but the unsaid reality was this wouldn’t be the last time she took another human’s life.

Something had been bothering her, though. Bandits shouldn’t have been so close to the manor, not with the guard patrols and how active the road was. Even if it was an event in the game, it made little sense in the real world. It just didn’t add up. Liliana hadn’t been quiet about where she was going. She had to tell the guards as a precaution. So it wasn’t impossible for someone to know where she would be. Yet why send such low levels when the guards with her would be far higher?

Was the game more a foretelling than a game? The Bandit encounter had been in the game after all, though the area was a little off. The problem nagged at her, festering in her mind.

It couldn’t have been my stepmother, could it? Liliana wondered. It sounded outrageous. Yet the woman had tried to kill her already. Had she thought Liliana would head off on her own? Otherwise, it made little sense, as she’d have her guards with her. Had… Had she sent Alistair to specifically dismiss the guards and ensure Liliana was alone? She didn’t think Alistair was at the level of cruel and malicious such a thing would require, but his mother may have been using him as a pawn in her twisted game.

It could’ve been a warning. Meant to scare me off leveling, Liliana considered, and the words rang with a bit too much possibility. As Liliana became stronger, she would be an undeniable threat to the Duchess. As she gained her father’s favor, she could very well become the heir, though the possibility was slim. Which would knock Alistair out of being an heir, and she did not know how the succession went for the Thornebell side of his family. But if she was strong enough, gained enough recognition, it could happen. Liliana doubted it would, but she could see how the mere threat of it could drive the woman to attack her again.

A tail flicked her in the face, drawing her from her thoughts. Liliana pushed the limb out of her face and shot a glare at a supposedly sleeping Lelantos. He’d wanted her to check her notifications for a while, he didn’t understand her turning down power. With a sigh, Liliana focused back on the notifications, finally letting them stream into her vision.

You killed a level 39 Bandit Archer. You killed a level 40 Bandit. You Killed a level 41 Bandit. You killed a level 43 Bandit. You Killed a level 45 Bandit.

+84,500 Experience

+42,250 Experience from Boon

More experience awarded for killing a creature 5 or more levels higher than you!

+5625 Experience

+2812 Experience From Boon

You assisted in killing a level 46 Bandit.

+8,050 Experience

+4,025 Experience from Boon

Less experience was awarded for getting assistance with kill.

More experience awarded for killing a creature over 5 levels higher than you!

+2012 Experience

+1006 Experience From Boon

[Polearms Mastery] reached level 44

[Enhancement] reached level 30

[Regeneration] reached level 23

[Dodge] reached level 30

[Persistent Casting] reached level 22

[Dance Of the Daystar] reached level 23

[Dance of The Windsong] reached Level 15

[Leap] reached level 5

[Light Barrage] reached level 6

[Tempo] reached level 20

[Light Burst] reached level 32

[Barrier] reached level 9

[Riding] reached level 6

[Pain Resistance] reached level 25

You have met the requirements for the Skill [Dance of The Vanishing Blade], would you like to learn this skill?

You have met the requirements for the Spell [Shadows Sonata], would you like to learn this skill?

You’ve reached level 40!

+5 Stat points

+2 Stat points from Boon.

+5 Stat Points to Speed from Class

+4 Stat points to Endurance from Class

+4 Stat Points to Dexterity from Class

+3 Stat Points to Charisma from Class

Liliana stared at the notification for several long moments. Her eyes stuck on ‘killed’. The reality of what she had done once again hit her, though less hard than before. Gentle chuffs from Lelantos calmed her aching heart and as she looked over her notifications, she reached out a hand to the tiger, taking solace in his warm fur. His gentle chuffs drowned out the ghostly echoes of screams she still heard from time to time as her mind remembered that day.

She focused on the new skills, dismissing the rest of the notifications. She didn’t think she could look at them any longer.

Dance of The Vanishing Blade (Illusion)

Learning the art of illusion from an adept in the art, you have discovered how to implement it in your battle-style. Confuse and bewilder your opponents with this deadly illusory dance. Create an after image of your weapon that follows your strikes. As if a ghost of vengeance past this disappearing vestige will strike at your enemies moments after you. Damage equal to 25% of your Magic Power.

Active for 5 minutes

Cost:

250 Stamina

300 Mana

Shadows Sonata (Soul)

Instill fear into your opponent’s very souls. This spell will have your opponents feeling like darkness itself calls them to Hell. Drive them to terror and madness before your blade ends their suffering. Can effect 2 opponents. Effect lasts 1 minute 30 seconds. Damage equal to 15% Of your Magical Power. Effect increased with Charisma, 1% added every 10 points in Charisma. Current effect: 21%

Cost: 200 Mana

Liliana rubbed her eyes at the new abilities. She could guess that the skill had been gained because of Lelantos, being Illusion as it was. Shadows Sonata sounded like a Dark skill, yet it was Soul based, which just went to prove names of skills or spells didn’t have to mean much as to what they did. She wasn’t sure what had sparked it, unless it had been gained from fighting the wolves and the System had kept it back until she’d reached a necessary level. The description didn’t sit too well with her, considering recent events, yet she swallowed her unease and accepted the skill. It was an intimidation skill based on Charisma, perfect for her. And it was Soul aligned, which would hopefully mean she would gain more Soul skills and spells.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

40

Class

Battle Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

8

Health

660

H-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Mana

700

M-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Stamina

940

S-Regen

+9.4/1.1sec

Magic Power

790

Magic Control

810

Experience: 7,720/168,100

Vitality

66

Endurance

94

Strength

70

Dexterity

81 (88)

Wisdom

70(3)

Intelligence

65(2)

Speed

119 (129)

Charisma

98(2)

Unallocated Stat Points: 0 (7)

Her new allocation would help her Mana and Mana Regen keep up with her spells and skills. Endurance and subsequently Stamina were high enough on their own thanks to the bonuses from her Class. Her Vitality was her lowest stat, but for now she left it be. It may be the wrong choice, but she’d noticed in her last battles the only time she got hit was by surprise attacks, or when she flung herself at blade wielding maniacs. Being able to keep her skills and spells up longer would do more for her in battle, and every level upped her Speed, making her ever harder to hit.

Liliana closed out her status page and stretched out, enjoying the way Lelantos’ fur tickled the back of her arms and neck. The tiger had been wanting to go back out to level. He was getting antsy cooped up in the manor. Yet Liliana didn’t feel entirely ready to go back out. What if there were more bandits? She wasn’t scared of them killing her; she was scared she’d kill them. Some had run from the fight, though she hadn’t noticed at the time she’d faintly heard it in the debrief Jason gave when they arrived back at the manor.

Even if the guards had combed the area throughly, had even found the Bandits’ camp, with the remaining Bandits, and demolished it, and reassured the entire manor that there were none left. Liliana still worried that more would appear, drawn by her antagonist bad luck. What if more bandits had fled then, too? What if they were lurking in the forest still, just waiting to jump out and add more names to her tally of sins?

A knock at her bedroom door drew her attention as Astrid entered. The woman had been distraught, unable to improve Liliana’s mood, and forced to watch her trapped in her own depression. The last week was evidenced in her haggard face and the dark circles under her eyes, drawing guilt into Liliana’s chest.

“My Lady, Lord Bealstal has come to visit you,” Astrid informed her and Liliana sighed loudly.

“Could we tell him I died?” Liliana hazarded a dark joke. Astrid looked utterly appalled as she grasped her chest.

“Lady Liliana!” She admonished, and Liliana sighed again as she stood up, dusting off her dress.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go tell him hello,” Liliana relented as she passed her maid. She tried to give her a small smile, but her lips wouldn’t move. She passed Astrid silently, feeling the guilt build.

Gods, I’m pathetic. I can’t even put on a pleasant face, Liliana berated herself as she opened the door to her sitting room. Emyr was standing by one of the bookshelves, it was sparsely filled as she hadn’t been in her new room long enough to build up a respectable personal library yet. As she watched, he picked up a small core. One of the first she’d successfully brought home and worth pretty much nothing. Astrid had insisted she keep a momento of her first few outings, and Liliana had agreed. She enjoyed keeping objects that had sentimental value, a trait carried over from her time on earth.

“Lord Bealstal,” Liliana greeted and Emyr set the core down, turning to her. Liliana noticed in his other hand he held a package and her interested perked up.

“Lady Liliana, I see you have recovered some from the ordeal,” Emyr greeted as he moved forward. Liliana nodded her head at a seat as she took her own.

Her feelings towards both Emyr and Alistair had been as tangled as her thoughts. She’d nearly died to save Emyr. Why? Why had she done that? She couldn’t find a reason. She’d moved without thinking. Then there had been the fear and panic in his eyes, guilt too over the fact she’d almost died to save his life. Emotions she couldn’t entirely fool herself into thinking meant nothing. No matter how she tried.

Her brother used a high tier healing potion on her as well. He hadn’t needed to do that. Hadn’t needed to do anything at all. He could’ve said she died to the Bandits and been done with her entirely, yet he’d saved her. Perhaps it was that heroic spirit, buried deep, deep, down under his ego and selfish nature. Buried under the cruelty his mother had trained into him.

“I’m as well as can be expected,” Liliana brushed off the comment, and the curiosity in his gaze. She knew she looked like shit. If Astrid didn’t drag her into the bath each evening and into a new dress every morning, she’d still be in her bed, probably smelling awful and looking just as bad.

She knew her eyes sported their own dark circles, a present left by her nightmares. She had barely been eating and had noticed her dresses fitting a hair looser than before. Yet anything she tried to eat made her stomach roil and protest. It was almost nostalgic, similar to how she’d felt when the chemotherapy had ravaged her stomach and nearly forced hr into a feeding tube.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Emyr agreed, his own eyes sporting shadows. Liliana wondered if perhaps his dreams were haunted by specters of the damned, coming to wreak revenge on their killer.

“Here, I saw you were interested in this when we were shopping. Consider it a thank you for saving my life,” Emyr shoved the package at her, looking away as if embarrassed by his own gesture. Liliana raised an eyebrow as she took the package.

Delicately, she untied the wrappings, revealing a book on basic alchemy. She already had a book on herbology, well notated for when she went out. She had considered getting into Alchemy as well, to diversify her skills. Give her a craft that could bring in money, not beholden to her father. She’d decided against it, as the book had been too expensive alongside the rest of the items she wanted. She had enjoyed Alchemy in the game and had played with the idea of trying it for real and had been saddened that she hadn’t been able to take up the craft again in the real world.

“Thank you,” Liliana murmured as she opened the book, her voice carrying a hint of the emotion in her chest. She was touched, truly, by the gesture. Flipping through the pages, she saw the recipes for the Health and Mana tinctures she used so often. As well as the pain relief tincture, bruise balm and wound poultice. All were made with plants and materials she could easily gather herself.

“I don’t suppose you bought me a full Alchemy kit too?” Liliana jested, looking up from the book. Emyr’s eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, he looked crestfallen.

“Ah, no, I did not think…” He trailed off, looking down at his hands. For a moment, he looked every bit the fourteen-year-old child he was.

“It’s no matter. I’m sure I can get what I need, or Astrid can have it brought to me.” Liliana waved it off easily. The way Emyr’s shoulders slumped in relief brought the ghost of a smile to her lips.

“Would you like to see how Lelantos is doing?” Liliana offered when the silence fell on them. Emyr perked up, though he looked fearful at the thought of seeing the large cat again.

“He still won’t eat me, right?” Emyr asked as Liliana stood up.

“Are you going to attack me?” Liliana asked him in return, and the pure shock on his face eased her own nerves.

“Of course not, Lady Liliana!” He assured her, though a bit of mischief entered his gaze as he continued, “unless you attack first,” he finished and Liliana shook her head.

“Not today, unless you’re up for a duel,” Liliana answered as she opened the doors to the garden. Thankfully, there were two sets, so she didn’t need to lead someone through her bedroom.

Lelantos was currently chasing his enchanted ball around, trying his hardest to break its enchantment. He paused his antics when Liliana mentally called him and wandered to the pair. Rubbing against Liliana, he stopped before Emyr. The noble stood stock still as the large predator sniffed him, before chuffing and butting his head into him so hard it nearly sent Emyr sprawling.

“He likes you,” Liliana told the unbalanced noble as she ran a hand through the tiger’s fur, marveling at the way the light danced across it. Looking around, she spotted the feathered staff and moved to grab it, handing it off the Emyr.

“Play with him,” she instructed as she sat down in the sun, opening her book. The noble boy looked first at the staff in his hands, then at her, then at the eagerly waiting giant cat.

“I’m going to die,” she heard him mutter before the staff grew as the enchantment on it activated, growing to at least ten feet, long fluffy feathers at the end.

Emyr started to awkwardly swing it around, prompting Lelantos to chase it eagerly. Liliana pretended to read her book as she watched the pair out of her peripherals. She really wasn’t too good with people. She had precious little experience with social interactions, but she figured if she could just throw Lelantos at them, it would be beneficial. Either they’d run screaming and leave her alone or the tiger would get a playmate.

She fully looked up when a surprised laugh burst from the boy. Lelantos has tried to pounce on the feathers and missed, falling and flipping around rather ungracefully. Truly, his low Dexterity made him one of the clumsiest cats she’d ever met. The tiger seemed rather embarrassed at the movement and had sat up, turning his back to the humans to clean his paws.

Liliana rolled her eyes affectionately and summoned [Shine]. She had been using the spell for Magic Control and Power practice, as if she accidentally fed it too much power, she wasn’t at risk of blowing herself up. Now she could shift the color to red and as she did, she sent the little light zipping towards Lelantos, immediately grabbing his attention.

Emyr set down the staff. It shrank as soon as the enchantment was canceled and walked towards Liliana. He dropped to sit next to her as she directed the light around, Lelantos chasing after it like a kitten. At first she kept it easy, letting him catch the light and destroy it. Slowly she built up its speed and erratic movements as she continued, spurred on by the light chuckles of her audience. She could feel the strain of making the light to move faster than it should, but she forced it to obey.

Beside her she could see Emyr focusing on his own hands, shadows gathering until they formed a fist sized ball of darkness. He set the ball after her own, his moving far slower and clumsier. Lelantos seemed confused at first by the additional prey until he noticed the shadow ball was easier prey. Soon Emyr was groaning in defeat as every one of his balls fell to the tiger’s claws. Liliana’s ball danced across the garden as if it was laughing at the pair.

The afternoon faded to evening and close to time for family dinner. The two teens too distracted by their games with the tiger to notice. Liliana not even realizing when a smile fit itself on her face. Their games ended when Astrid stepped in and informed them it was time to prepare for dinner. On time, another maid followed after her, carrying a large platter of meats and cores piled atop it for Lelantos.

“Thanks for checking on me. And for the present,” Liliana curtsies to Emyr, who looked away as his skin flushed a bit in embarrassment.

“It’s nothing, thanks for making sure Lelantos didn’t eat me,” Emyr waved off her thanks and Liliana huffed as she looked at the tired cat. All the play had exhausted him, but she could feel how content he was over the bond as he dug into his meal of meat and cores.

“I told you, he likes you, he probably won’t eat you,” Liliana assured him and Emyr gave a relieved smile before he turned to leave.

“Wait, probably?” He asked but Liliana was already closing her bedroom door, the phantom of a laugh all the remained.

Chapter 34: A Side of Venom With Your Veal?

Liliana stared at the thick piece of paper, covered in gilded writing and long looping characters denoting a high level of skill with calligraphy. She stared at the paper for a long moment, as if waiting for it to turn into a snake and bite her. Yet the paper stayed utterly harmless, for all that the words on it filled her with dread.

Lady Liliana is cordially invited to the Mirador Palace by the Crown Princess Marianne Summerwarden, who requests your presence on the 29th of Syn.

The ball will be in celebration of the Crown Princess’ Debut into Society.

May Vita’s light shine upon you.

It perhaps shouldn’t be that surprising. Nobles had a habit of finding out information quickly, and for a Duke’s family many eyes rested upon them. The Rosengarde family controlled a considerable amount of land and had the largest militia of the kingdom. A necessity being on the border of the Frostfang mountains to the northeast, where there would be incursions from the neighboring country of Athana and from the roaming bands of tribesmen who lived in the mountains. And the border to the Gadria kingdom to the west. She knew part of her father’s responsibilities were maintaining the borders. It was why they didn’t live in the capital. He had to be within a few days’ ride of the borders in case something happened.

So it shouldn’t be of any surprise to her that the royal family had found out about her Awakening and the subsequent events. It had been over two weeks since that fateful day, ample time for someone to blab the information and get back to the royal family. What scared her, besides the attention, was that this would be her first ball. Never had Liliana been invited to a ball, and she couldn’t say she’d attended one on earth either.

This gives me about a three weeks before the ball, Liliana hummed and set the invite down. She couldn’t decline, not a royal invitation. That Astrid delivered it meant her father had likely seen it as well. It was a silent command.

“Astrid, I think we may need to go… dress shopping,” Liliana winced as the words left her lips.

“We could have someone come to the manor for that, if you’d wish,” Astrid offered and Liliana hummed. She had only just gotten back into training the past week and a half. It had been three weeks since the Bandit incident, and Liliana had finally begun to sleep without nightmares. She still had a deep dread that filled her anytime she thought to leave the manor. Instead, she’d been working to raise her skills to their cap and on her Magic Power and Control. She wanted to avoid getting stuck at a bottleneck come level 85, though it was difficult to raise those two stats.

Liliana summoned [Shine] and danced the light over her hand, shifting it between a rainbow of lights. She’d figured out how to change it into more colors than red, slowly, and now it looked like a floating ball of rainbows. She could expand it to be half the size of her head, or shrink it to be smaller than her clenched fist. The brightness she could also increase or decrease, and she’d been working to speed it up. She wanted to use it in battle to disorientate opponents, but for now it didn’t shift fast enough.

Flicking her eyes to where Lelantos was in a pounce pose, eyes focused on the light, she flung it out into the garden for him to chase. Using half her attention to direct the ball around the rest, she focused on the invitation.

Her father had undoubtedly gotten wind of her not leaving the manor to level. She didn’t imagine he wanted his miracle prodigy child to stop growing. It would look bad on him. This invite was both to get her out, and probably to spur her into leveling more so she could be suitably impressive for the ball. Liliana would admit, showing up to a gathering of nobles at level 40 when most her age would be higher irked her. Yet the fear was almost as strong.

“I need to clear my head,” Liliana murmured as she stood. She canceled [Shine], much to Lelantos’ disappointment, as she moved towards her closet. Grabbing her improved training clothes, far more fancy than her previous, she set to changing. Astrid hurried over to aid her in removing her gown and soon enough, she was dressed for a fake battle.

Liliana stalked out of the manor, mind full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Servants bowed and curtsied to her at the appropriate depth. Liliana wondered how long it would stick. Already the fear that had been in their gazes was fading. With it, the protection that fear offered.

Liliana arrived at the training grounds, having been followed by her bodyguards, who shadowed her steps at all times now. They had become more troublesome since the attack, although she hadn’t left the manor. Liliana turned to Jason, one of her most common bodyguards, and nodded towards an empty training ring.

“Fight me,” she ordered, and Jason sighed but didn’t argue. At first he had, but over the past week and a half, Liliana had gotten her guards more comfortable with training with her. They still wouldn’t go nearly as hard as Silas did during their practice, but it was something.

“I’ll fight you,” a voice called out, and Liliana turned to see Alistair and Emyr leaving their own ring. Emyr had been the one to offer, Alistair still refused to look at her since the attack. She had expected something from him, vitriol or an apology. Yet she got nothing. It was as if he did not know what to make of her anymore and had decided upon pretending she didn’t exist. A trait she desperately wished his mother would share. It would make dinner far easier on everyone if she did.

“Fine,” Liliana shrugged, summoning her wooden naginata. It too had suffered the hand of wealth and was far sturdier than before, and weighed the same as her new real naginata. It made the hits it dealt harder, if she could manage to land any. Emyr was above her in level and she had no illusion about how this fight would go.

“No skills or spells?” Emyr asked, and Liliana nodded. This wasn’t a real duel, so anything that could cause severe injury was banned.

“Jason, you’ll call start. It’s to three hits. Head, neck and groin shots aren’t allowed,” Liliana instructed, and the guard lieutenant nodded. The two combatants entered the ring. Waiting to start until Liliana had stretched her muscles out. She was frustrated, not dumb. She didn’t want to pull something and have to call a stop two minutes in.

When both of them were ready, Jason held up a hand and called a start to the fight. Liliana took off, her higher Speed her greatest advantage in this fight. Her naginata spun around her in a blur as she brought it down onto Emyr’s shoulder. The boy side stepped, just enough that her wooden weapon slid past him harmlessly. Liliana danced away from his retaliating strike with his wooden rapier.

“You should consider a whip sword, with your affinity,” Liliana’s voice was conversational as she moved around him. Circling with delicate steps, as if she was being guided by [Tempo] despite the skill being unactivated. Her weapon spun around her like a moving shield, blocking the hits that Emyr lashed out at her, not quite on par with the speed of her own attacks. The other boy just glared at her, not responding as he sent out a set of rapid strikes, aiming for her weak points. Liliana struggled to keep up, her weapon not made for close combat blocking.

A stinging hit bloomed on her chest and she hissed as she leapt back several feet.

“One point to Emyr!” Jason called out, a small cheer coming to life around them. Liliana noticed they had gathered a bit of a crowd as they fought. With an annoyed huff, Liliana charged back in, spinning around Emyr’s attack and lashing a foot out at his knee. Somehow, the other boy noticed the attack and jumped it, but it left him open long enough for Liliana to spin her naginata around and score a hit across his back.

“One point to Liliana!” Jason called out, and Liliana grinned at Emyr as he backed off.

“Getting tired?” She asked as she moved forward once more, going for an obvious jab. Emyr narrowed his eyes at her and sidestepped the attack, going for his own stab. Liliana grinned as she dropped her weapon, enjoying the way Emyr’s eyes widened as she stepped past his stab and into his guard. She grabbed his extended arm and flipped him over her hip. As he landed behind her, she scooped her weapon back up and tapped his chest with it.

“Another points to Liliana!” Jason called out, and she jumped back with a grin as Emyr got back to his feet. The surrounding crowd cheered for her and Liliana gave a small bow to her lovely admirers, almost getting stabbed by Emyr for it. Liliana barely brought her haft up in time to deflect. She pushed him off and lashed a hit out at his feet, eyes widening when he jumped and landed on her blade. Her weapon pinned and with her shocked, Emyr easily landed his second hit of the duel.

“Second point to Emyr!” Jason called out, and the crowd seemed to have grown based on the shouts and cheers. Emyr jumped off her weapon and Liliana yanked it back with a glare.

High Dexterity, definitely higher than mine. His Speed is impressive but lower than mine, and his Endurance is shit. He’s probably mostly Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity. With Speed his fourth highest. Liliana surmised, as the pair circled each other. Emyr was panting while Liliana still had enough Stamina to drag this on for another ten or twenty minutes. It was amazing how long her Stamina lasted when she wasn’t draining it with skills.

Emyr, though, didn’t have the time, and the charge he made was evidence of his Stamina running low. He needed this fight to end soon. His rapier struck out at her, Liliana worked to dance around the attacks, her Speed aiding her in avoiding his slowing attacks. Her eyes open for the first opening she could find. She finally spotted it. As his rapier raised for another hit, Liliana’s naginata flashed into his unguarded side, overextending her as she tasted victory.

Emyr twisted around the attack, and with her body overextended, Liliana couldn't reposition or dodge as his rapier came down across the back of her shoulders.

“Third point to Emyr!” Jason called out, getting a round of applause from the watchers. Liliana huffed as she activated [Regeneration] to take care of the minor bruises. Emyr had little strength behind his hits. She wasn’t sure if he was holding back or if his Strength was just that low.

Putting her training weapon back in storage, Liliana wiped off the bit of sweat that had gathered on her brow. Emyr was panting, sweat dripping down him. Had she not gotten so impatient, she could’ve outlasted him. Her frustration from the day had dulled her better sense. She supposed she shouldn’t be too upset at the loss. Emyr had been training far longer than her. Both with levels and with his weapon. Unlike her, he would’ve been trained from a younger age to wield a weapon of his choice. In comparison, she was nothing but a novice, bumbling around with her weapon like a baby. Her superior Speed and Endurance had helped her in the fight, more than her skill with her weapon.

“That was a good fight,” Emyr panted out after drinking water offered by a guard. Most of them had wandered off to continue their own training. Liliana shrugged as she took the water offered to her by Jason.

“I still lost,” she said, looking around. She noticed Alistair was standing back, and for a moment, she caught his golden gaze. She detected some small sliver of respect in the gaze, but there was anger and dislike in there too. Liliana sighed as she looked away. She couldn't do much about Alistair. As long as he stayed out of her way she was fine.

Her bigger concern was the hero who seemed to decide on his own that they were friends. He had been by another three times since he’d dropped off the alchemy book. Every time it had ended with them in the garden, playing with Lelantos and not really talking to each other. It was… comfortable. And she hated that she always seemed to feel lighter after Emyr visited. As if he helped rid her of some of the demons dogging her steps.

That first day, after he’d left, she hadn’t had a nightmare. She didn’t know what it meant, but she could see that it was getting pointless to deny the friendship that was building. She still didn’t trust him, but perhaps she could turn him away from his fate. Make him her hero, rather than fates.

Maybe it was her loneliness talking. She hadn’t had friends in her last life, not really. And this one was just as lonely. Lelantos helped, but he wasn’t a human and there were things he didn’t understand. Things someone like Emyr could. So perhaps she was being a dumb teenager, desperate for a friend. Someone she could trust, and who could understand her.

Either way, she’d stopped really fighting. Doing nothing more than putting up a token resistance. She hadn’t tempered her tongue, and Emyr was liable to suffer her sarcastic wit, yet it wasn’t something he seemed to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy returning it back to her.

“Barely, you barely lost,” Emyr corrected her as he regained his breath, walking towards her. His own practice weapon gone into his storage ring.

“My Lady, it’s almost time for dinner,” Astrid informed her and Liliana groaned as she turned.

“Fine, fine,” she told the maid before turning to Emyr and Alistair. “I’ll see you two at dinner,” she bid them farewell and trudged back to the manor. Her emotions had settled some, and she decided that she’d go out leveling tomorrow. She’d have ample anger to unleash on whatever beasts she ran into after tonight’s dinner, surely.

Liliana took a deep breath before the door to the dining room. She hated these meals, even if going to them meant she was beginning to be recognized as a member of the family rather than an unfortunate stain. She was usually too angry or stressed out to actually enjoy the meals served, and Astrid often had to bring her a second dinner to her room for her to actually eat.

“Ready, my Lady?” Astrid asked, hesitating over the door. Liliana nodded, her familiar mask secure as she watched the doors open. Her father was already there, and she was the second to arrive. Which meant she’d need to field a few questions from him, maybe. Sometimes he was so distracted by paperwork, even at dinner, that he paid no heed to his family.

Liliana crossed the unnecessarily long distance between the doors and the table before taking her spot two seats down from her father on the left. Her stepmother got the right-hand spot next to him. Alistair would get the spot to his left hand, while Emyr would take the spot on her own right. The twins were too young for family dinners, but when they came of age, Liliana assumed they'd take the spots next to the Duchess.

“Ah, Liliana. I hear you had a duel with young Bealstal today,” Frederick looked up from his paperwork and fixed her with his piercing dark blue gaze. Liliana unconsciously gulped at having the full force of her father’s attention.

“I did, though my own skills aren’t enough yet to match someone with so much experience,” Liliana admitted to her loss, the words feeling bitter on her tongue. Some part of her didn’t want to disappoint her father. For all that his approval shouldn’t mean anything to her.

“I hear it was close, impressive considering you haven’t been training for all that long,” her father responded, but his attention was already diverting back to his paperwork. His compliment filled Liliana with a confusing mix of emotions. His obvious lack of interest hurt, even if she tried her hardest to pretend it didn’t. The ache in her chest didn’t lie.

The sound of the doors opening announced the arrival of Alistair and Emyr, leaving only the Duchess to arrive before their dinner could begin. Alistair wouldn’t meet her eyes as he passed and sat beside her, turning to her father. The two quickly engaged in a conversation about the supply chain to the guard outposts in the north on the border. Emyr was silent at her side, though not out of maliciousness she knew now. His character in the game matched up that much, at least. He was painfully introverted and wasn’t comfortable speaking around others. His bit of conversation at the training grounds had been a bit out of character for him.

His shy personality matched well with Alistair’s more outgoing and charismatic persona. Alistair could talk for Emyr in most cases and handle any of the uncomfortable social interactions he didn’t want to. It meant that sometimes Alistair would steamroll over Emyr’s wishes, or at least in the game it had played out as such.

Liliana summoned a small rainbow [Shine] at the dimmest possible light and directed it to dance over Emyr’s hands. The boy startled before he shot a look at Liliana, a small smile on his face. The opening of the dining room doors cut off Liliana’s spell as she straightened, seeing the Duchess enter. Imogen was dressed beautifully, too elaborately for a mere family dinner. Yet the Duchess seemed to believe that if one was going to be seen, they would be seen. Liliana was certain the woman probably spent no less than 4 hours getting ready every day, with the amount of skirts, petticoats and hoops she needed to sustain her rather large and boisterous dresses. The jewelry she wore practically dripped off of her, an obscene show of wealth. Her face looked like a painting, though Liliana was sure now it resulted from her Illusion magic.

“Good Evening, my love,” she greeted the Duke, bending to give him a kiss on the cheek. The Duke nodded at her, still deep in discussion with Alistair. Liliana had to bite back the smile that was summoned as the Duchess’s face showed ire for the barest of seconds before she recovered. She settled down in her seat and looked around at the servants.

“Well? We're all here, bring out our dinner,” she ordered, and in a flurry the servants rushed to obey. The Duchess’ golden eyes landed on Liliana and a cruel smirk bloomed on her face.

“Make sure it’s nothing too rich. We know how Liliana’s constitution can’t handle anything too rich,” the Duchess called out. For all that it was pointless, the cook would’ve already made dinner. The comment was meant as nothing more than an insult.

“Fear not, stepmother, my constitution is well and good. Though I know I gave you quite a scare after recent events. Thank you for being so concerned over my well being,” Liliana bowed her head, biting her lip to keep her expression neutral.

“Of course I’d be concerned for my darling stepdaughter. After your own mother abandoned you to fates devices, someone had to step in,” the Duchess recovered easily and Liliana’s hands tightened into fists in her lap, so hard she could feel her nails biting into her skin.

“One should not speak ill of the dead,” the Duke stepped in, his eyes flashing a warning. The Duchess looked like she was choking on her own tongue for a moment before she recovered and laughed.

“Oh, I would never! I simply meant it is so tragic for a young girl to be without a motherly figure for so long, my dear,” the Duchess simpered, batting her lashes at the Duke in a sickening manner that had Liliana restraining a gag.

“I hear little Liliana challenged Emyr to a duel today. Is that right, Alistair?” The Duchess switched tactics and Alistair seemed a bit startled to be brought into the verbal war ongoing.

“Emyr offered to spar her today,” Alistair answered, and Liliana couldn’t help her eyes darting to look at him in surprise. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate to use any chance to mock her. Yet here he was, ignoring a clear offering from his own mother.

“And she lost, was the right?” Imogen prodded her son, and Alistair shifted in his seat, eyes downcast.

“Yes, but it was a close thing,” Alistair answered, and Liliana watched as an ugly expression flitted across the Duchess’ face before it was gone.

“Well, what could one expect of someone with such common blood?” Imogen tried, and Alistair shrugged noncommittally.

“She's only been training for a few months, allegedly.” There was a suspicious glare sent Liliana’s way at that, “she wasn’t utterly abysmal with her weapon.” He finished and seemed to perk up when the servants started coming out with the dishes. His attention was diverted, and he missed the venomous glare sent his way by his mother, but Liliana didn’t. It sent shivers down her spine.

He’s her son. She wouldn’t do anything to him. Would she?

Chapter 35: A-Hunting We Go!

“I can do this. It’ll be fine,” Liliana murmured to herself as she sat atop Lelantos. The tiger was eager to set off and actually level, and Liliana felt a bit of that urge herself. Yet the fear was stronger. The fear that as soon as she left the manor, another group of Bandits would descend, and she’d add more names to her roster of kills. More souls to haunt her in the night and call her a murderer.

“You’ll never catch up to Alistair if you don’t go,” a voice called out, and Liliana’s head whipped around, meeting dark silver. Emyr was astride his own horse, a midnight black gelding warhorse. The horse pranced with an anxious energy that Emyr handled well, no doubt a trait of his [Riding] skill.

“You also can’t get any herbs to practice Alchemy if you don’t leave,” Emyr added on and Liliana bit her lip.

“I could buy them,” she argued. Emyr raised an eyebrow before pushing his horse to pass Lelantos, the horse balking a bit at being so close to an apex predator that could kill it in a single bite.

“It would be a waste of money,” Liliana muttered in annoyance as she directed Lelantos to follow Emyr. Behind her, Jason, a second guard, and Alistair closed in. The nobles had offered to come again when they heard Liliana was finally heading out to level. Since the four of them had originally handled an entire Bandit group alone, Jason had only brought an additional guard.

She’d been reassured by Silas the previous day that they’d combed the area, finding no other Bandits in the area. They'd even culled a few creatures getting too high into Rank 7 for comfortability. So she would have very little to worry about during this trip. Yet as the gates drew closer, her heartbeat picked up its pace, as if it was trying to flee her chest. Her palms were so sweaty she struggled to maintain her grip on her weapon at her side, and her breathing was growing short.

“Stop that,” Alistair called out, his voice irritated as he pulled his mount up close to Lelantos. Liliana looked at her stepbrother in surprise.

“It’s shameful to the Rosengarde family name to have you terrified of leaving the manor, so calm down before the guards talk,” Alistair ordered, and somehow his harsh words did the trick. Her breathing slowed as she regained control of herself. Alistair huffed and passed her by, Liliana watching his back in confusion. Again, he’d helped her. Why?

Maybe… there was more to Alistair than the character she’d met in the games and the memories she had. In the games, he’d been a bit of an egotistical jerk who ended up having a heart of gold that got drawn out by the friends he’d made in the academy.

Or… perhaps it was because he was finally out of his toxic mother’s control.

You can’t judge a book on its cover. Her mother used to tell her that often on Earth. Especially after she’d spent time at the hospital and been scared of how some other looked because of the toll taken on them by their illnesses. Liliana was ashamed now of how she’d judged them because of how they looked. Those people had been some of the kindest she’d ever met. Not all of them, a terminal illness didn’t automatically make someone a good person. But perhaps there was some truth to the old saying ‘the good die young’, because many she’d met had been kind.

She didn’t think Alistair was secretly a loving, supportive, and charitable person. But perhaps he wasn’t just what she saw. People were complex, full of many facets and quirks, histories and traits that weren’t always shown well in 2-D like a game. Things that weren’t shown to an unwanted daughter that his mother had told him to hate.

Liliana was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t notice when they passed the gate. Her attention returned when Lelantos picked up his pace, matching that of the others around them. Liliana blinked and looked around and the scenery that was flashing by, an unconscious smile on her face as she reveled in the familiar freedom of riding Lelantos. The power she could feel under her, barely restrained violence just waiting for a target. Beholden to her.

For a bit, she let herself forget her worries and fears as she reveled in the feeling of the wind whipping past her, teasing her braided hair and dancing across her skin.

They turned off the road at a different point from the day before. Jason had suggested this area for her to level, saying with Lelantos the things she’d fight shouldn’t be too big of an issue. There was also an issue with these particular monsters were becoming a troublesome pest, and they were known to be aggressive to humans, an issue for the nearby town.

They stopped, and the men tied off their mounts, leaving the second guard they’d brought with them to guard the horses. Based on the bored look on his face, it hadn’t been the man’s first choice in jobs for the day. Liliana stayed atop Lelantos and guided him into the forest, down a hunting trail. She bent her head under branches as they moved, Lelantos’ footfalls far softer than her own as he dropped into [Stealth]. After a moment, he paused and bent to sniff at something before his body went rigid.

“He’s got the scent,” Liliana called out to the men following her. She bid Lelantos to follow it, getting information back. He estimated a pack of the creatures, 6 or so. It was a good sized pack and would give her and the others enough experience. She mentally bemoaned the fact that it could’ve been hers entirely had the others not tagged along, but she couldn’t change that now.

Lelantos paused at the top of a gully, dropping low as he crawled to the edge. Liliana peaked over and gulped at what she saw.

Hedgehog Boar

Level: 54

An adult male Hedgehog. Known for its affinity for earth, using it to armor its already strong hide against attacks. It can shoot its spines out of its back as a long ranged attack. The barbs expand where they hit, causing severe pain and difficulty with removal. Its long tusks can easily shear through metal and flesh alike. It enjoys armoring itself and charging at its prey, spearing them on its tusks.

Rank: 8

It had a group of five Hedgehog Sows with it, all ranging from level 45-53. She’d read that it was typical for Hedgehogs to gather in groups of females lead by a single male. Rather more like lions from her old world than the wild hogs she had heard of. Which were solitary in nature. Here they were not, which made them ever more dangerous.

“Jason, keep back unless one of us needs help,” Liliana ordered the guard, glancing to see him nod. He wouldn’t get in the way and ruin their experience gain then.

“Alistair, Lelantos will stay with you and handle the Boar, along with the level 50 and 53 Sows. I’ll take care of the 45, 48, and 49 Sows with Emyr providing backup for me,” Liliana set about giving the others their positions. Alistair glared at her, not enjoying being bossed around.

“Why should I listen to you? I can handle it on my own,” he argued and Lelantos turned his head towards the boy, letting out a growl.

“Oh, I think you misunderstand. We don’t need your help. Lelantos can take care of the entire group easily. I’m being nice and letting you two get some experience,” Liliana responded sweetly as she slid off of Lelantos. She cast [Encouragement] on him, seeing his Health and Strength raise a small amount.

“Follow the orders or don’t, but if you get in our way, don’t blame me if Lelantos mistakes you for a Hedgehog,” Liliana shrugged as Lelantos loped off to the entrance of the gully.

Liliana traced another path, ducking behind a bush at the lip of the gully and towards the back of the group of hedgehogs. As soon as Lelantos grabbed aggro, she’d drop down and draw the three she wanted to herself. Liliana watched as Emyr followed her, a silent shadow. Alistair stared at her, the Hedgehogs, then Lelantos before throwing his hand in the air and stalking after the enormous cat.

When everyone was in position, Liliana gave Lelantos permission to reveal himself. A shimmer of light and where there had been no tiger, there stood one now. With a deep [Bestial Roar] he shook the gully and froze the hogs. Next to him, Alistair stepped out of cover and let out his own shout, presumably an aggro generating one. Golden light shrouded the boy as he hit his sword against his large shield.

As the Hedgehogs shook off their intimidation, they turned towards the tiger and boy. The Boar let out a snort and with a squeal it charged the two. As the male charged Liliana [Leap]ed down, activating [Dance of The Daystar], [Dance of The Vanishing Blade], and [Shadows Sonata]. The two sows she’d targeted for the spell froze as it took effect. Liliana stabbed her blade into one as she landed, thanking her Vitality that she didn’t break her legs with her stunt.

Her blade barely sunk into the terrified sow, only a bit of blood showing she’d done any damage. With a growl she drew her blade back and activated [Dance of The Windsong] feeling her Vitality dip as her Speed increased and she danced around the two frozen sows, trying to do as much damage in the small window of time she had.

The sound of something falling behind her drew her attention over her shoulder. The third sow in the small group had charged at her, only to be brought down by grasping tendrils of darkness. Emyr’s shadows held it down as it struggled to fight them off. Liliana checked her Mana before tossing two [Light Burst]s at the sow, aiming for its eyes.

Liliana turned back to the two she was attacking, feeling the time ticking down. She heard the squeal behind her announcing that she’d hit the beast with her spell, but already she was dancing around the other two, blade carving thin red lines across their hides as fast as she could move.

With a shudder, the two sows regained control of themselves. Twin squeals of rage filled the air as they focused on Liliana. A third joining as their blinded sister followed behind. Liliana smirked at the three as she summoned [Will-O-Wisp] and [Tempo]. Her Mana dipped from where it had only just begun to regenerate as she pumped more of it into the channeled skills.

The three sows charged her in tandem and Liliana easily dodged their charge, almost laughing when the three plowed into the gully wall, dirt falling over them. Her amusement died when the dirt that rained on them stuck, slowly forming a shell over their bodies.

I hate things with armor, Liliana mentally groaned as she stepped close to one sow, blade stabbing at its armored body only to be stopped. Even with the secondary hit from her skill, it still did little to the beast. Liliana danced back as the sow turned, darting to the side as it made another charge. She twisted and aimed her spear for another sow’s side, activating [Pierce] and watching the precious little Mana she had drop, taking a tithe of Stamina with it as the blade sunk deep, this time bypassing the dirt armor and flesh.

As Liliana retracted her blade, another wound followed, equally deep as [Dance of The Vanishing Blade] took effect. The sow stumbled, blood pumping from its side like a crimson river. Liliana grinned as she danced back, but her grin faded when she remembered the [Pierce] skill had a two-minute cool-down.

Resigned, Liliana continued her dance around the sows, feeling like a matador as she teased them into charging, only to dart away, leaving them to ram into a wall. Slowly [Tempo] was affecting them, their charges getting more wild and off target. Emyr tripped them up with his shadows, taking special interest in the injured one. His shadows dug into the wound, ripping it wider and preventing healing. Liliana took every chance she could to drive her blade deeper into the wounded creature, though most of her time was spent keeping herself from being trampled.

As Liliana dodged yet another charge, she heard a body hitting the ground, and a pained squeal. Looking over, she saw that Emyr’s shadows had tripped up the wounded sow. [Leap]ing over yet another charging sow, Liliana activated [Light Burst Coat] and drove her naginata into the hog, the weight of her falling body behind it. The blade dug deep; the sow screaming as she sheared muscle and organs. A bright light that heralded the burst of her spell took over as it wreaked havoc on the sow’s innards. Unlike creatures with a weaker hide, the sow did not explode and Liliana withdrew her blade, dancing away from the next charging sow. The downed one took a pitiful last breath before lying still.

As soon as [Pierce] was up again, Liliana activated the skill. She added [Light Burst Coat] to it, driving her blade into the head of a charging sow even as she sidestepped the creature. The glowing blade cut deep into the creature as a wall of shadow drew its charge up short. The sow screamed, struggling against the pain before the last burst shredded its brain and ended its life.

Two sows down, Liliana turned to the last opponent. The beast was panting, its eyes full of rage and hate. Liliana prepared for another charge, only to desperately dive to the side when the sow turned and launched a barrage of spikes her way. She activated [Barrier] just in time to stop several of the spikes from impaling her, even as she rolled and kept running away from the waves of spikes. Adrenaline pushed her further, fear leaking into her blood for the first time since the fight had begun.

[Barrier] burst, leaving only her armor to deflect the spikes. Mentally, she thanked Astrid for getting her armor improved after the Bandit attack as the spikes dug into the leather but didn’t entirely penetrate. The further she ran from the attack, the less they bit into her clothes until they weren’t even hitting her at all. Liliana looked back and saw the sow panting, her back almost empty of spikes now. Earth was growing to cover her back and form new spikes, but Liliana didn’t want to give her a chance for a repeat performance.

Turning and activating [Enhancement] before she activated [Leap] Liliana propelled herself through the sky, flipping in the air until she landed on the side of the Hedgehog. Darting her blade forward, she slashed across its eyes and the beast screamed, backing away from the attack. Her [Will-O-Wisps] dancing in front of the beast’s eyes further drove it to confusion, already weakened by the time spent fighting Liliana with [Tempo] active.

Liliana hesitated before her next strike. Calling up [Soul Strike] she darted in and pressed a palm to the sow’s side, sending a burst of Soul magic straight at it. The sow squealed and shuddered, but didn’t fall as Liliana dropped back.

It doesn’t leave a mark. Though it is called Soul Strike, Liliana wondered as she darted around the sow, who was turning around hopelessly trying to fix itself on a target. Liliana aided her confusion by sending a pair of [Light Burst]s at the sow’s eyes, blinding it as she had its sister. Dismissing [Will-O-Wisp] Liliana activated [Pierce] and [Light Burst Coat] a final time, driving her blade into the beast’s blinded eyes, and ending its misery in a flash of light.

Liliana looked over at Lelantos and Alistair. The tiger was playing with the Boar, the two sows with it long dead. Alistair was standing back with his head in his hands and the tiger batted the Boar around, even as it squealed in impotent rage.

“Lelantos, kill it,” Liliana ordered and with a sullen look the tiger slashed at the creature’s side and batted it at a surprised Alistair, who barely had time to bring his sword and shield up to block the creature’s body and stab it.

“Don’t eat that!” Liliana called out as Lelantos opened his mouth to bite into one of the Hedgehog corpses. He sat back with a huff and Liliana got a distinct feeling that if he could talk, he’d tell her, ‘you’re no fun’.

“Let us get their spikes, livers, lungs, cores and hides first,” Liliana instructed as she wiped off her blade, ridding it of blood and dirt. When it was cleaned, Liliana stored her naginata and called out her skinning knife instead.

The scent of blood was becoming more pervasive as the adrenaline left her system, and Liliana shoved the memories she now had connected to that scent away. Her hand shook as it held the knife, but she refused to let the darkness drag her back down. Not now. She walked towards a sow, determination filling every step.

Alistair looked at her incredulously before pointing at Jason.

“I thought we brought him to skin the creatures!” he called out, and Liliana looked up at him with a crooked eyebrow from where she’d already stabbed into a sow.

“Do you not know how?” Liliana asked and tilted her head at Emyr, who had appeared nearby to her and was already working on another sow silently.

“Why would I? That’s commoner work!” Alistair insisted. He turned to Emyr with confusion, “since when did you know how to skin?” he asked and Emyr looked up with a shrug.

“My brother taught me. He used to take me out sometimes when he’d level and he’d show me how to skin the creatures he killed. He said it was sensible as in dungeons your guards don’t come with you, as they’d automatically get the experience share. So it’s best to know how to,” Emyr explained before turning back to his work.

“My Lord, you can borrow my skinning knife,” Jason spoke up, holding out the tool with his face straight. Liliana detected a good bit of amusement in his eyes, though. She hit her smile by dropping her head and focusing on the sow she was skinning. Her hands still shook, but it was easier now to push the reaching darkness to the back of her mind.

“Wouldn’t want me to be better at something that you, right Alistair?” Liliana teased and with a huff, the boy took the knife and stalked towards a sow.

“Jason, if you could take care of the boar and other sow. I doubt he’ll get done with that one anytime soon, and I’d like to make something off this trip,” Liliana asked the guard lieutenant when her brother was out of earshot. With a grin and a salute, the man marched off to do as she asked.

Chapter 36: No More Pigs Please

“I think I hate pork now,” Liliana groaned as she flopped down. She pulled her naginata into her lap and began to clean it, the habit deeply ingrained by now.

“Well, with the bodies we’re bringing back, expect to have pork for the next few meals,” Emyr responded as she set to cleaning his rapier. The last fight had been 10 Hedgehogs, lead by two Boars. One of which had crossed the threshold into Rank 7 and become a Metallic Hedgehog Boar. Its spikes had been coated with tips of metal, as had its tusks. It had given Lelantos a bit more of a challenge, but ultimately it couldn’t overcome such a level difference. Because of it, though, Alistair had been left alone against the other Boar and two other sows until Lelantos finished the biggest threat, leaving the bulk for Liliana and Emyr to clean up.

They’d worked out a good strategy where Liliana would goad the sows, Emyr would trip them at the apex of their charge and occasionally cause them to flip. With their spikes stuck in the ground, it left their less armored underbellies open for attacks. They’d taken care of three groups, or prickles as groups of Hedgehogs were called in this world, and by the last it had gone far smoother.

The second group had been the smallest, one boar and three sows. Alistair and Emyr had been kindly asked to sit out while Lelantos and Liliana took care of them. Liliana had been glad to get the experience for herself, as it had pushed her to level 41. She’d allocated 5 points into Strength and 2 into Wisdom. She needed more Strength to do damage against the Hedgehogs and the extra Mana helped with the multitude of skills and spells she rotated through in battle.

This latest battle had pushed her to Level 42, despite the experience share with Emyr. He’d taken two of the sows on almost by himself after Liliana had used [Shadows Sonata] on them and left him to take care of the frozen swine. Two levels in a day wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. She remembered when a single day of effort netted her 11 levels. Now the experience curve had slowly begun to hit. She knew at higher levels to combat it, many went into dungeons, as the experience gain was better with the bonus given in dungeons and there was a guaranteed boss monster there. However, there weren’t any dungeons within a day’s ride of the manor.

Well, not yet, Liliana mentally corrected herself. The goblin dungeon would spawn in another month or two. It would be a good way for her to level herself faster than what she could hunting down the creatures that inhabited the lands. Finishing her cleaning, Liliana pulled up her stat sheet. After a moment, she dropped 3 points into Intelligence to increase her Mana regen and 4 points into Wisdom. Running out of Mana was a big concern for her when fighting. Her Stamina was less of an issue, as her class gave her a free 4 points there on every level. Finishing her allocation, she welcomed the small rush of warmth, far more comfortable when doing it level by level than multiple at once. She nodded as she looked over the new sheet. Status Sheet

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

42

Class

Battle Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

9

Health

660

H-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Mana

750

M-Regen

+7/1.1sec

Stamina

1040

S-Regen

+10.4/1.1sec

Magic Power

850

Magic Control

870

Experience: 104,767/184,900

Vitality

66

Endurance

104

Strength

77

Dexterity

89 (96)

Wisdom

79

Intelligence

70

Speed

127 (139)

Charisma

106

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Closing it out, she summoned her notifications, immediately dismissing the experience alerts. She focused on the Skills she’d leveled today.

[Identify] reached level 41

[Enhancement] reached level 34

[Dodge] reached level 33

[Dance of the Daystar] reached level 28

[Regeneration] reached level 24

[Dance of The Windsong] reached level 21

[Pierce] reached level 14

[Leap] reached level 13

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] reached level 12

[Polearms Mastery] reached level 47

[Dancing] reached level 36

[Pain Resistance] reached level 26

[Light Burst] reached level 38

[Light Burst Coat] reached level 29

[Tempo] reached level 27

[Will-o-Wisps] reached level 18

[Barrier] reached level 15

[Light Barrage] reached level 11

[Shadow Sonata] reached level 11

[Soul Strike] reached level 6

[Encouragement] reached level 5

+1 Stat Points to Strength

+2 Stat Points To Endurance

Liliana groaned at the pure wall of text that assaulted her eyes. Having so many skills and spells was great until she had to see them all level up. It felt excessive and she couldn’t imagine how higher leveled people would have handled it if skills and spells weren’t known to merge upon ranking up and getting class evolutions. She looked over the new updates to her skills, wincing at the reminder that [Regeneration] and [Pain Resistance] had leveled because she’d gotten hit in the last fight. Not too badly, all considering. It had been a hit to her shoulder. Two of the sows had launched a barrage of spikes at her that her [Barrier] and clothes hadn’t been able to entirely block. Liliana looked down at the wound and saw her clothes had already repaired the damage.

Liliana waved the notification away and looked around. Lelantos was laying next to her, looking a bit more pudgy than he had started the day as. He’d eaten well with the Hedgehogs they’d killed. What he couldn’t shove down his gullet they were taking back to the manor for food. Hedgehog meat was allegedly as good as farm grown pork, maybe a bit more so because of its Mana density. It wouldn’t improve someone’s Mana, but she’d been told eating Mana rich food could aid one’s Magic Power and Control growth. The better the monster, the better the results. There were cooks who even knew how to get buffs out of better quality meats and plants, sort of like kitchen alchemy.

Emyr was staring off into the shadows, an intense look on his face. Alistair was similarly staring off into space and Liliana assumed the two had either leveled up or been bombarded by skill and spell level up notifications. She knew Alistair was on the edge of Rank 7, and if today didn’t push him over, he’d be crossing the line soon. He’d be at the necessary level for the Academy, and from then on, he’d be raising his level for prestige there. Though with the lack of opponents close to or above his level in the area, his growth would probably plateau until the dungeon popped up, or he was sent off to grind at one of the dungeons within a week or so ride from them. They were under her father’s control, and therefore openly available to Alistair.

The thought of her stepbrother disappearing for weeks, maybe months, to level filled her with a confusing storm of emotions. During the day, he’d actually looked at her, even responded to things she said. While they weren’t really nice things, they lacked the venom he’d previously infused in his words. It felt like, maybe, just maybe, he was starting to see her as a person. Rather than as a worthless mongrel. She was jealous that he’d be able to level so easily with access to a dungeon. But she also thought… she might miss him. He hadn’t been a bad teammate, overall. Alistair was a good tank and held the aggro of the creatures that would be a bigger problem for her and Emyr nicely. He’d even grabbed aggro from her own monsters when they’d begun to overwhelm her in the last fight.

Then there was the fact that if he left, Emyr would too. And the emotions for that were a bit more clear. Liliana had begun to look at Emyr as a sort of friend. She knew if he left, the manor would be far more lonely for her. She’d gotten used to him coming to her rooms in the afternoon to play with Lelantos, or to show new tricks with his Dark Manipulation. He’d also paired wonderfully with her when it came to fighting.

Honestly, they all fit the group well. Alistair was a backup tank to Lelantos, who could weather the attacks of any Rank 8 or low Rank 7 monsters with little issues. Liliana provided the front line power needed while Emyr provided support for the entire battlefield by using his Shadows to manipulate it, and trip and trap opponents. She honestly thought that if they got more practice with each other, they might be a real te-

Stop that. You’re going solo. You’ll find Beasts to Tame that fill those gaps. There are several monsters you were looking at that could trip and trap opponents. The Arachneline, the Dandelion. Both of those have trapping and field control powers. You don’t need them. Thinking that way just leaves you open for a knife in the back. Or did you forget that they’re both fated to hate you? Did you really think a Bandit attack and a day of leveling was enough to undo years of conditioning from the Duchess for Alistair? Or that Emyr won’t drop you once you lose your mysterious shine? The voice in her mind almost didn’t even feel like her own, but it was true nonetheless. Still, a part of her didn’t really want to believe the words. The part of her that was just a lonely girl who wanted a friend.

She knew she couldn’t fully trust Emyr and Alistair. Perhaps she could become amicable with them, change that bit of her fate. But trusting them? With her life? That was far too much. Teams, real adventuring teams, had to be built on a firm foundation of trust. You were going into battle situations with them, sometimes situations that could end in death at the slightest slip up. You couldn’t go into something like that with people you didn’t trust, and Liliana didn’t fully trust Emyr, and certainly not Alistair. Not yet, anyway.

She wasn’t sure how to pin down where her suspicious nature had developed. Maybe back on Earth, when friends had slowly dropped off after she’d been hospitalized. Perhaps after she’d started pulling away from the other children who suffered terminal illnesses, since one day they too would leave her permanently. Or even it was when she was tricked by a goddess. Told her life would be difficult, but not that she’d have a deck stacked against her. Maybe it was when she’d fully assimilated the original Liliana’s memories and lived through them a life of tragedy and abuse. Oh, not the kind of abuse that left scars and bruises, not on the surface at least. But the kind that left scars and wounds on her heart, her soul. When she lived the life that had grown the original Liliana, the shy, soft-spoken but deeply suspicious and untrusting girl who had inhabited this body before her.

Whenever it had started, it was now as much a part of her as her stubbornness. Stubbornness might push her to her limits, to ram herself against an issue until she found a solution. But suspicion would keep her safe, keep her alive.

“All done?” Jason asked her, drawing her from her self-reflection. Liliana looked around and saw that Alistair and Emyr had both stood and looked ready to go. Even Lelantos was standing and watching her expectantly.

“Yes, I am ready to depart,” Liliana answered as she stood and stretched out her muscles. Grabbing her weapon, she walked to Lelantos and climbed into the saddle, far more comfortable now than she had been before. Taking the lead, she let Lelantos guide them back to the horses, his [Tracking] far better than her fumbling around with a map and compass.

I should learn mounted fighting styles. Lelantos is big enough to compensate for it, and it would keep me out of battle. Though most of my fighting style is ground, it would be good to diversify, Liliana considered as she looked at her weapon. It should be long enough to facilitate such a style. The memories were vague in her head, but she thought she recalled naginata were used for cavalry fighters as well.

They got back to the horses without any issues, most prey type beasts keeping away from Lelantos. While they had luck finding creatures, it wasn’t like the forest was teeming with beasts, ready to pop out from every shadow. A shame, really, as it would make leveling far easier.

Liliana resisted the urge to groan as the tailor flitted around her, going so fast Liliana was certain the man was wearing some kind of Speed enhancing gear. His hands moved so quickly they were blurs, pinning, pulling and adjusting the fabric. She didn’t voice her irritation at being poked and prodded, or twisted and turned like a doll. She knew he’d been paid for what was almost a rush order. Unlike Earth history, this world had skills and spells to speed up work. A high enough leveled Tailor could whip up a ball-gown in two days.

Liliana was curious about how crafters leveled. It hadn’t been something she’d looked into. With nothing else to focus on, she considered the question. Did they get power leveled? Go out with hired adventurers to Dungeons to gain levels? Or did they get experience from doing things related to their class? If it was specifically a non-combat class type. Were there other classes that could do that too? Were their scholar classes that got levels from learning?

She’d need to ask Astrid, or try to find a book on it. All the books in the manor she’d found had to do with combat related classes, no surprise really, as the Rosengarde family was a martial family. Sitting between two borders and holding the largest militia in the country caused such a thing.

“And we’re done, Lady Liliana,” the man told her, Alfred Tailor. Of no relation to Astrid, it was simply his name. Liliana had wanted to hire Astrid’s family for this gown, but Astrid had insisted they use Alfred, a family friend who had made ball-gowns for noble balls and galas before.

“Thank you, Sir Tailor,” Liliana inclined her head as she walked to the privacy screen, slipping behind it for Astrid to help remove the pinned garment carefully. The fabric slid like silk off of her, the dark blue catching in the light and throwing off a brighter shade. It was just the base of the gown. Apparently, there were details to be added. As it was, Liliana thought it was beautiful. She couldn’t imagine what else it might need. But she was no Tailor, and left such things for those who had more experience than she.

Astrid helped her dress back in her tea gown and Liliana came back from around the privacy screen. Astrid handed the pinned gown back to Alfred.

“It should be ready in three days,” Alfred informed them as he stored his tools in a storage ring. The privacy screen, various bits of fabric, pins, needles, even the stand Liliana had been posed on. Storage devices truly were a marvel. Liliana theorized one may be able to fit an entire house inside one if it was big enough.

“And it will come with the shoes as well?” Astrid asked, and Liliana watched with amusement as the two haggled about what else would be included with the dress delivery. In the end, Astrid got shoes and hair ornaments to be coupled with the dress for a small amount more. The jewelry they’d need to provide, though Liliana owned enough that she didn’t think it would be an issue.

Alfred bid them adieu, and Liliana collapsed into a loveseat with a groan.

“I hate dress fittings,” Liliana complained as Astrid poured tea for them both. Liliana took her cup, blowing on it delicately before taking a sip. A sweet, floral taste exploded on her tongue and she smiled as she leaned back.

“Well, if you do well at this ball, you may need to grow accustomed to them, my Lady,” Astrid warned her and Liliana pouted over her tea.

“Then I shall perform horribly,” Liliana answered with a smile. Astrid’s chiding glare had her smile slipping.

“I shall behave befitting my status of a Duke’s daughter,” Liliana conceded with another pout she hid in her cup.

“Have you been practicing your dancing, my Lady?” Astrid asked and Liliana resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she set her cup down.

“Seeing as my class is Battle Dancer, dancing is the least of my concerns. It’s the etiquette that’s murder on my mind,” Liliana rubbed her temples at the reminder of the last lesson with Miss. Beckett. Since the invitation, the woman had become savage in their lessons. Liliana could recite the entire royal family’s lineage in her sleep now, as well as half to nobles who would be in attendance.

She’d been drilled relentlessly on the correct way to address every noble, their children, their wives. Even how to react to their lovers, if any were brought to the ball. She’d been told which families were in favor with the crown, which weren’t, and who had such a bad reputation talking to them for more than a few minutes would ruin her own.

She’d been told which families had territory where, what their territories specialized in, what their main cash flow came from. It was dizzying, the amount of information she had to keep up with and she’d taken to writing it all out in a journal title ‘Noble Bullshit’, in English, of course. She was certain even Astrid would take offense to her use of a curse word in writing if she’d written it in the written language used in this world.

Then there were the influential players in the court who had no noble status but still mattered. The High Mage, the Academy Dean, the Prime Minister, the Knights and Generals who would be in attendance. Some noble, many simply extraordinary individuals who had stood out and been recruited by either the crown or other nobles.

Becoming a Knight was arguably the easiest, in theory, way to get a title for a commoner. Or rather, a very accomplished adventurer. Knight was a title granted only by the Queen, as their country was only ever ruled by Queens. The entire deal with them was kept tight-lipped. Liliana only knew that the Knights were actually bonded to the Queen because of the game and her own experience with Soul magic. In the game it had never been explained how, simply said that the Queen could send her power to the Knights or draw power from them to herself. Now she was certain it was a Soul Bond. A definite way to guarantee loyalty from her closest guardians.

The Knights could also be sent off to do the Queen’s bidding. A word from a Knight was to be taken as words from the Queen’s own lips. It wasn’t often it was needed, but if nobles tried to fight each other over whatever ridiculous thing they wanted to fight over a Knight would be dispatched to stop them. Sometimes they were even sent as emissaries to other countries. Liliana knew for sure there was a Knight in Gadria, the kingdom to the west of Cista. That was the only one she knew for sure. Even Miss Beckett hadn’t known for sure of any other countries where a Knight might be.

Besides the Knights, and other such influential players from their queendom, there were the foreign nobles and emissaries who would be attending. As it was a ball for the Crown Princess, there would be no shortage of foreign nobles trying to make an alliance. Either by charming the Princess or her mother. Liliana didn’t envy the girl. She’d probably be inundated with marriage proposals throughout the night. Even if their country didn’t believe in engagements before the age of 18. Her heart ached a little for the girl she hadn’t met yet in this life. Marianne Summerwarden had been one of her favorite characters to play in the game. Despite her having an inclination towards healing magic, and Liliana’s deep distaste for playing any kind of healer class.

No, what she had connected to had been the fact that until the age of 13 Marianne Summerwarden had suffered from a terminal illness that robbed her of her breath and filled her throat with bile and blood. Until she’d been Awakened, and given a Life Affinity by a priest and leveled with the help of her mother and her knights. Her Vitality had eventually progressed to be high enough to end her sickness.

The story of a sick girl, being healed of her deadly illness by magic, had called to Liliana’s soul in her last life. That had been what kept her playing Marianne play through after play through. Despite how hard it was to switch her to different classes, despite it being off meta to the extreme. Yet she hadn’t been able to help herself, watching this small girl who had once been just like her getting strong. Facing down dark beasts, even a dragon, and walking away with her head held high.

“I wonder, will she be the same?” Liliana murmured as she stared into her teacup, as if it had all the answers.

Chapter 37: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo A Noble Woman I Make Of You!

“I’m not ready,” Liliana said, feeling her heartbeat race as she stared at Astrid. Liliana’s eyes were blown wide, panic clear across her features.

She was dressed in her gown, the deep blue stood out beautifully against her tanned skin. Lighter blue fabric was gathered around her chest and arms, almost like a sash. In the same color was lace patterned with lilies, standing out gorgeously against the darker backdrop of the dress. Her heavy hair was gathered in a complicated updo pinned through with lily ornaments featuring sapphires. On her chest rested her summoning stone, Lelantos safely tucked inside. She wouldn’t be able to summon him once they got to the ball. She’d been told there were wards in place for such things. They blocked access to spatial items and things like summoning stones for anyone not authorized for it. They also blocked spell and skill usage, further reducing threats.

Liliana assumed someone had to of caused the rule to exist. Logically, it would be because of an assassination attempt on a monarch at some point. More than likely, some noble had a few too many drinks and tried to duel someone at a ball.

Liliana turned, staring at herself in the mirror, admiring the way the dress hugged her waist before flaring a bit. It was far less ostentatious than her stepmother’s gowns, far less restricting, too. The corset she wore under it wasn’t even tied tightly, just enough to smooth the lines. She had been afraid that Alfred would deliver some tulle and velvet monstrosity for her to drown in, instead she got a gown that wouldn't look too out of place on Earth.

Would I have had a dress like this for prom? Liliana wondered idly, ignoring the spike of pain the thought gave her.

She knew that the fashion of the Cista country favored gowns like this; the trend set by the Queen and Princess. Since the Princess hadn’t been able to wear corsets for a long time, the Queen had forsaken them in solidarity for her daughter, and had set a new trend among the nobles. Liliana had to say, even if the origins of the style were grim, the result was quite favorable.

“You’ll be the talk of the ball, my Lady,” Astrid commented from her side, the woman’s eyes bright with unshed tears. Liliana felt her own heart pang. The pride in Astrid’s eyes made her want to cry.

“No, I’m sure everyone will be talking about the Princess,” Liliana answered, rather hopefully. She did not want attention. If she could find a nice, quiet corner to hide in, she’d count it a win. She couldn’t imagine trying to navigate the treacherous waters of noble society.

“That is true, but I doubt you’ll find yourself bereft of attention,” Astrid informed her, and Liliana frowned. Many would say that being beautiful was a boon all its own. She wouldn’t know. She couldn’t say her life had been any easier because of her appearance. Now it would garner more attention she’d rather avoid.

It’s a chance to make allies, allies not tied to the heroes, Liliana reminded herself as her fingers danced down the front of her gown, tracing the lace patterns. Her arms were clothed in dark blue gloves, matching her dress. Still, despite the layers of clothing she was wearing, she felt naked. She had no armor on. The dress wouldn’t stop a toddler with a sharp butter knife.

Her fingers trailed lower, dipping into the folds of her dress and brushing against the daggers tied to her thighs, hidden by the skirt of her dress. The only weapons she’d realistically have access to while in the ball. Well, that and the pins holding her hair up. Astrid had told her they were rather sharp and sturdy. It wouldn’t be her naginata, but it may be enough to defend herself long enough to run off if she was attacked.

Perhaps it was her suspicious nature talking. Astrid had told her she hadn’t heard of anyone being attacked at a ball in years. But Liliana wouldn’t say she had the best luck, and she wouldn’t place a bet on her likelihood of getting out of the ball without something happening.

“It’s time to go, my Lady,” Astrid informed her and she placed the cloak on Liliana’s shoulders. It was a light thing, the weather warm even this far north. The cloak was as much a work of art as her dress, a light blue matching her lace fading to the same dark blue as her dress. It flowed down her body like a fabric waterfall.

“Let’s go,” Liliana said, taking a deep, fortifying breath she led the way out of her rooms. Walking down the halls felt like a march to her own execution. What if she made a fool of herself at the ball? What if her stepmother pulled something?

She made it to the entrance hall, every step feeling like it took years. A relieved breath left her mouth when she saw she was the first of her family to arrive.

“The color suits you,” a voice called out, and Liliana nearly leaped into the air as she whirled to face Emyr. He was dressed far more elaborately than she normally saw, even if the suit was shades of black, embellished with teal and silver ornaments. Liliana looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, surprised he had submitted to being dressed up, though she could not say he looked bad. As with any of the nobles she’d met so far, few may they be, beauty seemed a standard trait amongst them.

“I see you’ve chosen to wear black,” Liliana commented and Emyr looked down at his clothes before back at her.

“I like black,” he stated simply, and Liliana smirked. The minor exchange had released some of the nerves she had pent up. While at first Emyr had vexed her, and quite honestly freaked her out with the whole stalking thing. She could say now they could be called something like friends. Even if she didn’t think she trusted him, she could deny she found some enjoyment in his quiet companionship.

Eventually, he would leave or turn on her. She was sure, but for now, she allowed herself to enjoy this much.

“So you are capable of looking somewhat proper,” another familiar voice called out, and Liliana turned her head to see Alistair. Where Emyr was dressed in subtle grace, Alistair was dressed as if he expected a spotlight on him at all times. Gold and white fabric draped him, contrasting beautifully against his dark ocher skin and pairing well with the golden ornaments in his braided hair and sitting on his fingers and neck.

“I see you’ve emptied every gold mine in the province for your outfit today, brother,” Liliana returned with a small smile. They had developed an uneasy truce of sorts, and the banter they exchanged now held far less venom in it. Something to be said of bonds built in battles, Liliana supposed.

“And what a wonderful place for them to be displayed,” Alistair retorted, doing a small spin to show off the full outfit. Liliana would admit it was beautiful craftmanship. White with golden designs on the coat, dark gold with lighter gold highlights for the vest and a pure white undershirt.

“I think they may have preferred to stay in the ground,” Liliana teased, the words slipping from her mouth. Her eyes widened a little, even as Alistair responded with a raised brow. Emyr took a large step back, fading into the background and avoiding getting between the siblings.

“Careful, with a tongue like that you’ll ruin the facade you have of being a real noble girl,” Alistair warned, but his eyes held far less animosity than she remembered from even a month ago. Liliana’s shoulders relaxed. She hadn’t crossed a line and ruined the small bit of progress she’d made with him then.

“-nd I need you to double check the provisions being sent to the Athana border.” A voice preceded the arrival of the Duke and all three teens turned and either bowed or curtsied to the duke.

“Greeting, your grace,” rang out in almost perfect harmony from the three children. The Duke looked over and waved his steward off as he straightened his cuffs. His suit was a darker blue than Liliana’s, bordering on black. Silver accented it and rolling designs on the cloth looked like waves, a symbol of his preferred affinity. Many nobles of a high enough level enjoyed having their clothes designed with their preferred weapon or affinity. Liliana had forgone such things, as she had no true attachment to her affinities other than Soul, and she did not think it was a thing that would translate well to fabric.

Maybe next time I can get an image of Lelantos embroidered on a dress? Liliana wondered idly as she straightened from her curtsy.

“Good,” the Duke nodded at the three teens before he looked around, brow furrowing slightly.

“Where is Imogen?” he asked his steward, the man opening his mouth to answer right as a tittering laugh announced the woman’s arrival.

“Oh darling, you know how time can get away from me,” the Duchess entered the room and Liliana struggled to control her expression. The woman’s dress was the polar opposite of Liliana’s. Rather than a sleek elegance, her dress was loud. Both in size and color. A shifting white and gold fabric threw light off wherever it touched it, reflecting off the many gems woven into the fabric. Her corset was tied so tight Liliana was certain the Duke could fit his hands around her waist easily, and the dress must weigh half as much as the woman herself did.

As if sensing her thoughts, the Duchess’s eyes slid to Liliana, raking her up and down. The disapproval was apparent in her eyes and she opened her mouth, probably to shoot a venomous barb at Liliana.

“Now that we’re all here, we should be on our way. Mirador Palace is three hours away by carriage and I do not wish to be late,” the Duke spoke up, cutting off whatever vitriol was about to spill from the woman’s lips.

“The carriages are ready, sire,” the Steward spoke up, bowing as he opened the door. The Duke nodded and led the way out. Following in his wake was the Duchess, Alistair, then Liliana and finally Emyr tailing behind.

Liliana paused at the bottom of the stairs. Two carriages fit with the Rosengarde crest were waiting, one led by pure white horses, the other by pure black. The Duke was already in the front one; the Duchess climbing behind with a guard closing the door behind her.

Liliana followed behind Alistair silently as he opened the door to the second carriage, pausing and turning to her. She stared at him, suspicion rising until the boy held out a hand to her. Liliana looked at the hand, then at him for a moment, not comprehending the offer.

“It’s a hand, not a snake,” Alistair sighed, and Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she placed her own hand in his with more force than was necessary. In retaliation, he nearly threw her into the carriage as Alistair ‘helped’ her in. He followed her in, Emyr sliding in last and closing the door.

In moments, they were off; the carriages moving at a slow pace. Liliana, used to carriages by now, did not startle when the carriages sped up drastically as soon as they passed the gate, merely staring out the windows as the scenery blurred. Her hands played with the summoning stone on her neck, and she took comfort in the warm presence of Lelantos inside.

Liliana’s head whipped around when she heard something slam down. A small table had been pulled from the wall and Alistair was shuffling a deck of cards as he looked at Emyr with determination.

“Today, I’ll finally beat you,” he promised, and Liliana’s face twisted in confusion.

“That is unlikely,” Emyr responded evenly as he took the cards dealt to him.

“Would you wish to play?” Emyr turned to her, head tilted slightly.

“Play what, pray tell?” Liliana asked after she’d collected her thoughts.

“Tarocchi, everyone has played it,” Alistair said, tone heavily patronizing as he dealt her a hand. Liliana picked the cards up, eyes widening as she recognized the type of cards. She’d seen tarot decks in her last life, but hadn’t thought she’d see them in this life.

“It’ll be odd with three players, as it’s meant for four,” Emyr spoke up and Alistair turned to him with an aggrieved expression on his face.

“You offered to let her play,” Alistair accused, and Emyr shrugged, looking over his cards.

They took a brief amount of time to let her know the rules. She couldn’t say if they had a game like this on earth and if it differed at all from it. They were playing with more cards as well from what was typically done, as they were missing the fourth player. Liliana thought she had a grasp on it, it felt like an odd mix of go-fish and card against humanity in some ways. Whoever had the most points, dictated by the cards they had gathered from winning rounds, won the game.

Liliana mostly watched, not trying to win. Alistair slowly got more and more agitated as Emyr continued to win rounds, his pile of cards growing considerably larger than Liliana’s or Alistair’s. By the end of the first game, Emyr had won and Alistair was gathering the cards to deal again, glaring at the other noble.

“Do you understand better now?” Emyr asked, ignoring the murderous muttering of her stepbrother.

“Yes, I think I comprehend the game to some degree now,” Liliana nodded as she picked up her own cards, organizing them to make it easier for herself. Trumps went by ascending value, right to left. Suits went descending from left to right. Emyr set down his first card, a six of cups, and Liliana placed her own eight of cups down and the game began.

The hours passed quickly as the games progressed, Liliana managing to win more games than Alistair, much to his despair. Though neither came close to Emyr’s record, and Liliana was almost certain he let them win to keep their morale up.

“How? How does someone win eight times in a row? You have to be cheating,” Alistair accused as he recalled the deck into his storage ring. They’d arrived at the palace and were waiting in a line of carriages to enter. Liliana was paying more attention to her window than the boys as she tried to catch glimpses of her queendoms movers and shakers.

What women she saw mostly followed the style Liliana herself was wearing, though there were some who still held fast to the style her stepmother preferred. Liliana mentally made a note to avoid them. From the distance they were at, she couldn’t get a good look at their faces to place them with the images she’d been shown by Miss Beckett. Funny thing about magic, this world hadn’t discovered cameras yet, but it didn’t need them. Not when Illusion magic could capture an image of someone’s face in an enchanted crystal.

“Looks like Marquess Coppercolt was finally dragged out of his workshop,” Alistair remarked as he looked out the window, finally tiring of accusing Emyr of cheating.

“Runehold is here, too. I heard they were having some troubles with an incursion of Wraiths, it’s a surprise they made it,” Emyr joined in and Liliana resisted the urge to hiss like a cat as both boys leaned close to the window, unconscious or uncaring of her personal space.

“Well, their family is known for wards. Perhaps they have faith that their magic will hold their territory safe.” Alistair shrugged, and Liliana soaked in the information. She knew the names, knew their lineage as well.

Marquess Matthias Coppercolt was known to be a rather accomplished metal-crafter. His affinity, and his family’s general chosen affinity, being metal, was unsurprising given his name. Their territory was one of the biggest supplied of copper and iron ore in the kingdom, and the family itself almost rivaled some Duchy’s for money.

Baroness Blanche Runehold came from a family that specialized in enchantment and warding magic, said to have some of the strongest defenses in the southern portion of the Cista queendom. Many noble names could give someone an idea of their magic specialization, since families tended to follow after one another. Had Liliana been born normally, with a loving family, she’d likely have picked up her father’s water affinity.

Rosengarde didn’t sound like it had anything to do with water until one knew that the large river covering the portion of their border with Athana kingdom stretching up to the Frostfang mountains had been created by one of her ancestors. A woman named Rose. The river was named ‘Rosen’ after her and their family ennobled not long after, as the river creation had turned the tides of a war. Rosengarde was simply what they were originally, the guards of Rosen river. Eventually they became the guardians of a second bored, this one with Gadria Kingdom to the west. Also guarded by a river enhanced by another ancestor of hers.

Water ran through the veins of the Rosengarde family, same as Light ran through the Thornebell family, or Metal through the Coppercolts. Yet Liliana was one of the few to take a different path than the one set forth for her by her ancestors, though not of her own volition.

Liliana felt her heart pick up its pace once more as their carriage approached the point they’d need to leave it. Ahead of her, she watched her father exit his carriage and offer a hand to her stepmother. Then they were moving, Alistair not hesitating before he opened the door.

“Just imagine they’re all potatoes,” Emyr whispered to her, and Liliana was too distracted by his words to fully register that she’d taken Alistair’s hand and descended from the carriage. He released her hand as soon as her feet were firmly on the ground and she didn’t look at risk of falling on her face.

“Time to meet high society, don’t disappoint,” Alistair warned, though his words held no heat. Liliana gulped and nodded as they joined the Duke and Duchess, following them inside. Liliana’s hands gripped together tightly as she stared at the giant and ornate doors, the gateways into the high society Liliana Rosengarde been banned from for fourteen years.

Chapter 38: Dancing With The Vipers

“His Grace, Duke Frederick Edmund Quinn Rosengarde and Her Grace, Duchess Imogen Olivette Cassandra Thornebell-Rosengarde,” the man announced to the room as Liliana’s father and her stepmother entered the ballroom arm in arm. Liliana had her own hand resting on Alistair’s arm, as her brother he was her escort for the ball. Emyr followed behind them like a quiet shadow.

Liliana gulped in a deep breath as they stepped up next, her heart pounding a mile a minute as the man looked over them. His face carefully schooled to show no emotion as he took in the once disgraced daughter of the Duke.

“The Duke’s Daughter, Liliana Loretta Verity Rosengarde and his stepson, Alistair Theodore Leander Thornebell-Rosengarde,” he called out and his voice seemed to thunder across the room, so loud Liliana was convinced he either had a skill or Sound magic. It felt like every eye was on her as Alistair led her down the stairs, every step taking forever, it seemed, as the weight of high society’s gazes bore down on her. She was sure there were whispers cropping up, undoubtedly talking about how a ‘commoner’ like her shouldn’t be among such esteemed peerage. She didn’t know what was worse, the stifling feeling of too many auras, even contained as they were, from high leveled individuals or the heavy weight of their gazes.

“Take a deep breath. They don’t really care about you that much. They’re all looking at me, anyway,” Alistair whispered out of the side of his mouth. Somehow his twisted, backhanded comfort helped ease some of the panic blurring her vision and Liliana took a deep breath of air, her heart slowing ever so much.

“Good, if you passed out at the beginning of the ball, it would be horrid for the family name,” Alistair stated approvingly and Liliana tilted her chin up, not gracing him with a remark.

“Now get ready, we need to greet the Queen, King and Crown Princess,” Alistair warned, and Liliana’s eyes focused on the royals they were making a bee-line for. At the proper distance, she dropped into a curtsy, Alistair bowing deeply beside her. They held for the required time before rising again, and Liliana drank in the sight of the people leading their country.

Queen Gwendolyn Summerwarden was striking, a beauty that was undeniable but fearsome to the same degree. Sharp vermillion eyes seemed to peer into Liliana’s soul as the woman regarded her momentarily. There was no denying the woman was a sword master, even disregarding the great sword at her hip. She stood no less than six feet tall, and practically rippled with muscles that left Liliana envious. She looked like she could crush Liliana’s head with one hand. Even under her dress, which was a more form fitting than Liliana’s and topped with an ornate military coat, it was obvious the woman had muscles. Her pale white hair was gathered in a simple braid around her head, her white gold and ruby crown sitting on top.

Beside her, Algerone Summerwarden, her husband, looked like a stray breeze would spirit him away. The man was a head shorter than the queen, and far thinner. His outfit was made to match the queen’s, his own military coat looking far less fitting on a man who seemed more comfortable behind a desk than on a battlefield. Liliana even spied ink stains on his fingertips as he raised a hand to take his wife’s. The love that was shown in the gaze the two exchanged made Liliana’s heart hurt. She’d seen her own parents exchanging such glances many a time on earth.

The Crown Princess shared her mother’s coloring but her father’s stature. Pale skin so light it nearly glowed under the sparkling lights, long white hair tied in a far more elaborate updo than her mother’s, and deep ruby red eyes looked out on the assembled nobles. Briefly her eyes met Liliana’s own before they fled her gaze, reminding Liliana for a moment of a shy rabbit. The princess was dressed in a pure white gown, as befitting her debut, though red was decorating it and the jewelry ornamenting her. A delicate and small tiara to match her mother’s rested on her head. The princess was smaller than both her father and mother, and if a stray breeze would defeat her father, a breath would surely tumble the princess.

She’s even more delicate and ethereal in person, Liliana mentally noted as she and her brother stepped away after greeting the royals and were dismissed. Emyr went next and Liliana noted how the princess’ gaze lingered a moment longer on Emyr than it had on her. Liliana hid a smile behind her hand. No surprise that Emyr would catch even the eyes of royalty. As her eyes trailed across the room, she noted multiple nobles, both ones she’d been forced to memorize and ones she struggled to remember.

All the gathered nobles were gorgeous, in a way that felt unfair if Liliana didn’t acknowledge her own luck in the beauty department. She’d read in books about elves having an almost supernatural level of beauty. She was certain the nobles here would give an elf a run for their money. Not that any existed in this world, that she knew of. There was a multitude of races, yet not a single elf or dwarf existed in the game or the books she’d read in this world. It seemed all the beauty that fantasy worlds had saved up for Elven races got dumped on the nobles of her country.

Alistair led her to a set of seats by a table, and Liliana raised her eyebrows in surprise when Alistair not only pulled out a chair for her, but took one for himself. Emyr took another, slipping in silently as he set to watching the nobles with avid curiosity. Liliana noted Alistair had picked out a table close to a wall, and away from other nobles. Though if it was because he wanted her hidden, or did it for Emyr’s comfort, she wasn’t sure.

“I need to keep an eye on you so you don’t do something stupid and ruin our family name,” Alistair stated, crossing his arms at her silent question and looking away. Liliana rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged on her lips.

“So, I thought these things were all about dancing,” Liliana commented as she looked over at the other nobles, who seemed to be mostly just talking or eating. As if summoned by the thought, a servant appeared, a tray filled with hors d'oeuvres held in his hands.

“Something for the Lady and the Lords?” the servant asked, and Liliana gratefully took one. Emyr turned it down with a crinkle of his nose and Alistair took two. Liliana examined the small pastry.

“It’s made with ottodile meat and dancing ambrosia plants,” Alistair informed her as he practically inhaled the food.

Liliana tentatively took a bite and her eyes widened as flavors exploded in her mouth. It tasted savory, with a slight tang to it. She quickly finished the food and looked around for more. Another servant, surely they had skills to detect guest’s hunger or desires, or something, appeared and offered more treats for them. Before too long, Liliana had several plates of treats before her, a goblet of sweet berry wine as well. The thought of drinking alcohol at her age was still so bizarre, despite it being normal in both this world and noble society. She had a glass of wine every night at dinner at the manor, after all.

“The dancing happens, but balls mostly exist for nobles to talk. Mothers and fathers to match make, alliances to be made, trade agreements to be struck, secrets to be exchanged,” Alistair answered her original question after the three of them had stuffed themselves with treats. Liliana noticed several of the foods had given her minor buffs, one had increased her Stamina regeneration by 5%, another had given her a Dexterity buff. She assumed for the dancing that apparently didn’t happen that much. As she watched, though, she saw a few younger nobles, all within her age group, taking the floor to dance to the music filling the air.

“Alistair!” a feminine voice called out seconds before a figure draped in green silk descended upon their table.

Liliana recognized the girl, Lucienne Allencourt. She was their age, and daughter to Duke Gabriel Allencourt and Duchess Danielle Allencourt. Liliana remembered her as an NPC in the game, one of Alistair’s ‘clique’ in the school, but not a very important character in the game. She gave a few quests later on at higher levels when she inherited the duchy. She had earth brown hair and tanned skin, with green eyes that matched her dress. Rather fitting, Liliana thought as she identified her.

Lucienne Allencourt

Age: 14

Level: 36

Rank: 8

Class: Earth Mage

Hah, still such a low level and a basic class, Liliana thought with a hint of smugness as she considered the information. [identify] now told her the ages of those she used it on. Eventually it would tell her things like Health, Mana and Stamina at higher levels. Even their stats if she got it high enough. [Identify] was useful for anyone who fought, as it could give crucial information on opponents. For others it was more of a useless skill, she’d been told by Astrid most servants never tried to level it past the first level as it would give them names or noble titles and that was all they needed it for. In contrast, Silas had told her that the guards rigorously tried to train the skill, since they needed the information it could give. The man was rather proud of his level 190 [Identify].

“Hello Lucienne,” Alistair greeted with a smile, and the way he spoke without a hint of sarcasm, patronization, or venom nearly struck Liliana dumb. The way he practically beamed at Lucienne did strike her dumb for a moment. She’d never seen her stepbrother look so… heroic. For a moment, adorned in gold with lights shining on him and beaming like he had a heart made of the same material as his jewelry, Liliana could see how he would be perceived as a hero.

Heroes and villains are titles that are determined by the person telling the narrative, Liliana reminded herself. Words of wisdom left to her from her father on Earth when he discussed history, his favorite topic. He’d given her stories that she hadn’t found in her course textbooks, painting events in a different light than what she’d been taught. And giving her a precious lesson, often the victors wrote the history books, and they could paint events however it suited them.

Perhaps it was why, when she played the game, she’d sympathized with Liliana and seen her as much a victim as a villain. Had Realm of Hope been told from Liliana’s point of view, the heroes she’d played would’ve been labeled the villains. The Cista Queendom a country full of evil. Instead, it had been Liliana painted in shades of black, crucified as the villain when she was simply a product of her upraising. It didn’t excuse the atrocities she performed, or wash the blood from the woman’s hands. But then, did the label of hero absolve them of their sins?

Neither side would be completely true, Liliana admitted to herself as she considered her experiences. Her stepmother was a heartless bitch. That was true. But she’d seen the way the woman treated her youngest children, with a love Liliana had never felt from the woman. She was capable of kindness, of love. And somehow that made her treatment of Liliana all the worse. Knowing she wasn’t just some one dimensional villain, but a woman as human as she. As capable of love and kindness as anyone else. No, she chose to be cruel to Liliana, made that choice everyday and somehow that made it all so much worse for Liliana.

She’d thought her father a cold and unloving monster, yet now she simply felt he was an opportunistic man doing what he felt was in his best interests. Selfish, but not evil. Which only made her feelings for him all the more confused, because she wanted to hate him. The Liliana from Earth didn’t want to give him a second chance, to not spare him a thought for the way he’d treated her, for how he’d ignored her. But the Liliana from this world, the one whose emotions still sometimes haunted her heart, she wanted her father’s love. Knowing he wasn’t some black hearted brute just further gave that part of herself hope. A hope she couldn’t extinguish no matter how hard she stamped it down. Part of her, a strong part, still despised the man for his crimes against her. Yet, it was twisted with her love of him.

Even Alistair, he was a bully to her for years. Even so, he’d shown her kindness despite the way it was becoming obvious his mother pushed him to be cruel. He wasn’t the caricature she’d held in her mind of a rude bully, nor was he the pure-hearted hero he’d been portrayed as in the game. He was something in between, colored in shades of gray rather than black or white. Him, more than her stepmother and father, she was willing to forgive. Even if he hadn’t apologized for his actions yet. He’d saved her life, as had Emyr. That meant something. There were also her memories of him from Earth, from playing both as him and as his teammate in the game. She knew the kindness Alistair was capable of, the change he could embrace if given the chance to. Perhaps it was the fond memories she had of him, that made her more comfortable with forgiving him over his mother. Who she knew would never change her ways.

“Hello Emyr,” Lucienne spoke again and drew Liliana from her thoughts. The quiet noble nodded at the girl, but Liliana could see he wasn’t comfortable with the attention. He did not have to suffer long, for the girl’s eyes were drawn to Liliana. Even though she had no [Perception] skill, Liliana almost felt the girl using [Identify] on her, and she saw the way her eyes widened.

“So you’re the mysterious Liliana Rosengarde?” Lucienne asked as she leaned forward, eyes sparkling with interest.

“I do not think I am all that mysterious, but yes, I am she,” Liliana responded easily, though she regarded the girl with a guarded expression. She wasn’t sure if she would be an ally, bystander, or an enemy yet. How strong was fate? Would this girl hate her out of hand, or perhaps was it not something set in stone?

“Interesting. I’ve heard you bonded a Rank 6 Cheshire. Is that true?” She asked next, and Liliana lifted an eyebrow, shooting a glance at Alistair. Was that common knowledge now? The boy simply gave a small shrug, as if answering her unspoken question.

“Yes, I did,” Liliana answered, and the girl smiled, showing off her teeth.

“Did you really do it on your own? Or did you pay someone to help?” Lucienne asked, and Liliana felt her hackles raise. So that was the rumor going around, was it?

“She did it on her own,” Emyr answered for her, his voice startling the other lady and causing her to draw back.

“Well, Emyr provided a distraction for me,” Liliana added on, relaxing at the unexpected helping hand from the introverted noble.

“Bait. The word you’re looking for it bait,” Emyr responded quickly, though he clammed up immediately when he realized he’d spoken again. Liliana’s gaze softened a little as she watched him shift uncomfortably under the gaze of several nobles who had gradually shifted closer to listen in on their conversation.

“Is that rumor of Julius and Octavia having a falling out true?” Alistair jumped in, and Liliana leaned back a small amount, impressed, as Lucienne immediately set to telling a dramatic story of two nobles’ love life. Alistair had intervened. In response to Emyr’s uncomfortableness, Liliana was sure. However, it had benefitted her when he could’ve easily left her to Lady Lucienne’s interrogation.

Several other nobles of their age circled to their table, seats filling and emptying as other nobles made their rounds. Emyr seemed content to stay in his seat and Alistair either wanted badly to monitor Liliana or to keep his friend company, for he didn’t get up even when invited to dance by several young ladies.

“May I have a dance, Lady Liliana?” A voice asked, and Liliana looked up, eyes widening in shock at the offer. She hadn’t thought she’d be asked, though she’d felt the eyes of several young men, and a few women, on her for a while now. She had assumed it was because of the rumors circling her, but perhaps beauty could overcome even things like her background. Or maybe he wished to have her alone, to ask her even more personal questions than the ones she’d already fielded from the rotating nobles who had come to their table.

“Of course, Lord Coppercolt,” Liliana responded once her tongue had unfrozen in her mouth. She glanced back at her table companions and saw Alistair shoot a narrowed look at Edward Coppercolt and Emyr had his dark silver gazed fixed on the young man. Neither protested though as she left the table. She saw Alistair finally getting up, escorting Dianna Ravenswood from the table. Emyr had vanished from the table, though Liliana was certain he was somewhere in the shadows. The boy really hated being around people.

They joined the dance on the floor and Liliana found it easy enough to follow, having practiced this one more than a few times under Miss Beckett’s stern gaze. Her [Dancing] skill didn’t hurt her ability either as she spun and stepped gracefully.

“Level 44, and I heard you only awakened in spring,” Edward commented as they danced and Liliana blinked for a moment, amazed at the noble gossip tree.

“That is true,” Liliana confirmed, and Edward smirked before spinning her. The party swirled into a mix of jewel colors and flashing lights for a moment.

“I see you’re level 46 yourself,” Liliana commented next as they moved through the dance and Edward nodded. Unlike Lucienne, he actually had a more special class, as she was beginning to see wasn’t uncommon for nobles. Iron Ranger sounded like some kind of mix of metal and archery, though Liliana wasn’t too sure how well metal arrows worked.

“Yes, my father paid for me to spend a week at a Rank 7 dungeon for the month of Lyght. It helped me grow rather well,” Edward said proudly, puffing his chest up. The only thing Liliana could think of was that getting to level 46 with a week in a dungeon sounded rather pitiful, though if he’d started rather low, it made sense. Still, she was certain she could have gotten a higher level with an entire week in a dungeon, even without her boon.

“Did you get your Class there too?” Liliana asked conversationally, and the boy jumped on the chance to talk about himself, letting Liliana take a break in the conversation as she let him regale her with his heroic deeds and class specifics. Turned out he didn’t use a bow with his class, he created metal arrows with his magic and directed them like missiles. His class upped his accuracy and gave him improved Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom.

Using the tricks she’d learned from spending time with Jason, someone who also enjoyed the sound of his own voice, Liliana got through the dance. Overall, it hadn’t been awful. Edward didn’t seem like he was trying to put her down and it gave her hope that all of noble society wasn’t utterly awful.

As she moved off the dance floor, trying to avoid too much attention, she wondered how Liliana’s life in the game had been so awful at school. Sure some nobles that had visited had tried to ask questions that bordered on rude, or obviously attempting to discredit her. Others had paid her no mind at all, as if she wasn’t there. But there was none of the open animosity she’d seen in the game. What had caused that? Had it been something Liliana had done that was never spoken of in the game? Had the game simply needed a villain and so forced the cast into such actions?

How much of the game was truth? How much was pure fiction? The characters were fairly accurate that she’d met, yet also not. Things that had never been expanded on in the game she’d seen here. Had it been because exploring the characters’ personalities, backstories and motivations was simply not good gameplay? Liliana found herself wrapped up in her mental musing, trying to pick apart what of the game was true, and what wasn’t. She wandered the ballroom, finally finding a hidden balcony she retreated to for fresh air and room to think.

Leaning on the railing, Liliana took a deep breath of the warm summer night air, looking up at the cloudless sky dotted with stars. Constellations foreign to her traced patterns over the heavens. A rustle to her left brought Liliana back, and when she turned, she jolted in surprise at the figure hiding out on the dimly lit balcony.

“Greetings, Crown Princess,” Liliana curtsied, heart pounding a bit in fear and excitement as she was confronted with the future leader of her country, a hero fated to end her life, and her favorite character.

Chapter 39: I Made A Friend

“I apologize, Lady Liliana. If you wish for some time to yourself I can leave,” The crown princess didn’t meet her eyes and away from her parents she seemed far more unsure and delicate than before. With the dim light of the moon and stars shining on her, she looked ever more ethereal than before, delicate as a wisp of fog before the wind.

“Do not let me scare you off, Princess. I do not mind the company,” Liliana answered easily, even as her heart thumped in her chest. There were many things she’d love to ask her.

Was this how someone felt when they met an idol or a celebrity? In her last life, Liliana had never paid close attention to celebrities of any kind, too stuck in her games and books to care much for them. She supposed the characters she’d played and met in those fantasy worlds were her celebrities, people she admired and wished to be.

“I-Are you sure?” the princess asked, her hands fisted in her dress skirts and Liliana let her cool mask drop a bit in the safety of the shadows. A warm smile graced her face as she looked at the other girl.

“Yes, it is fine. I simply needed a break from the overbearing attention of the nobility.” Liliana inclined her head towards the doors, where light leaked through from the ball, and music and voices formed an almost physical wall.

“It is… a lot,” the princess responded, turning to look for a moment at the doorway, fear flashing across her face.

She really hasn’t been around nobility much, unlike me, though she hasn’t seemed to learn how to hide her emotions too well, Liliana noted as the girl turned from the door and back to the railing.

“Is it your first ball?” Liliana asked, and Marianne nodded hesitantly before fixing Liliana with her ruby red gaze.

“I heard it is yours as well,” Marianne stated. Liliana nodded, a wry smile quirking her lips.

“So the two beginners to balls have both fled from it,” Liliana jested lightly as she leaned further on the railing, one hand coming up to hold her summoning stone. The familiar feeling of Lelantos’ soul calmed her further.

“Your Bond?” Marianne asked, leaning forward with interest as she stared at the stone.

“Yes, Lelantos, he was a bit upset to not be able to properly enjoy the ball with me,” and to not be here to eat anyone who bothered me, Liliana thought with amusement. The tiger had been rather upset to find out he’d be going, but more or less trapped while she was within the wards.

“What is it like? To bond with a beast?” Marianne asked, and Liliana raised an eyebrow. Her curiosity would be odd if it wasn’t for the fact that one day she’d be Queen with her own bonded Knights.

“Painful, something they don’t warn you about. But… there’s nothing like it. The power you hold, it’s indescribable. Though I think the true benefit is knowing you have someone with you for the rest of your life. Someone that will never betray you, or turn on you. Someone that will always be an ally, no matter what happens,” Liliana commented, fingers trailing over the stone as she spoke. Truly, the best gift she had been given in this life was when Lelantos accepted her contract, binding himself to her for all their lives. Someone she could trust with her whole heart and soul, for they shared one soul now.

“That sounds… lovely,” Marianne spoke softly, her eyes holding a sadness inside of them that tugged at Liliana’s heartstrings.

“I imagine life as a crown princess is not an easy one,” Liliana spoke as softly as the princess, her own words filled with understanding. She might not understand what it was like to be in such a prominent position, always sought after by ladder climbers and foreign dignitaries seeking to use you for your position, or power, or money. But she could understand the pain Marianne had faced for a good deal of her life, being sick and weak. Feeling like a burden, like you were worthless.

“We all have our fates,” Marianne responded with a shrug, pulling back and looking away from the summoning stone.

“Would you like to see him someday?” Liliana asked after a few moments of silence. Marianne startled, eyes wide, and she reminded Liliana a bit of a rabbit.

“W-What?” Marianne asked and Liliana smirked, holding in a giggle.

“Lelantos, would you like to meet him? One day?” Liliana clarified, and Marianne flushed, looking aside, and Liliana wondered who Marianne had thought she meant.

“Yes, that would be nice, I suppose,” Marianne answered and Liliana hummed. Silence settled between the two of them as the princess shifted a bit nervously and Liliana turned her attention back to the stars.

“So Shines The Light Of The Heavens,

Bathing All Under The Light Of Truth

She Hears In The Night All Confessions

Her Silver Ears Open For Old and Youth,” Liliana recited, voice clear as she turned her gaze to the moon. Beside her, Marianne startled once more, eyes widening in shock and delight.

“Lucinda?” Marianne asked excitedly, and Liliana hid a smile. So Marianne’s interest in books was the same in this world as in the games.

“Yes, do you read her works?” Liliana asked curiously, tilting her head. Marianne nodded eagerly, and it was like Liliana had broken down a dam as the previously shy and reserved girl filled her ears with her favorite stories. Liliana responded where she could. She had read some of the books Marianne mentioned. Some forced by Miss Beckett, some for pleasure when she needed a break from the fever pace her life had been set to.

“But you simply must read the Baroness’s Fancy. I know it’s not a great work of literature but the romance in it is simply bea-” Marianne gushed, a cough at the entrance to the balcony cutting the princess off. A servant stood there and Liliana watched with interest as all the life and energy seemed to drain from the princess. She really did not enjoy balls at all, it would seem.

“Crown Princess Marianne, your mother wishes for you to return to the ball,” the servant informed the princess, bowing before turning and vanishing back into the ball himself.

“Well, I suppose duty calls,” Liliana commented and Marianne winced, exhaling.

“I can stay with you, if it would make it easier. If you have someone talking to you, others will be less likely to approach you,” Liliana offered, and the princess turned wide eyes to her, desperate hope in them. Liliana expected [Persuasion] would see at least one level up today, if not more.

If I had evil intentions for her, it would be far too easy to take advantage of her. She really is sheltered, Liliana thought with amusement, a protective urge rising in her heart that surprised her. She had never felt the urge to protect something, or someone, other than perhaps Polaris. Yet the way Marianne’s eyes sparkled with pure hope seemed to crack her stone heart. Or maybe it was that Liliana was already per-disposed to liking her, with the similarities they shared.

“Come, let’s survive this ball together,” Liliana offered her arm and Marianne slid a small arm into it. So close Liliana could see she stood a few inches taller than the other girl, a surmising feat as she herself was barely 5 feet 2 inches.

As they emerged back into the ball, it took a few moments for the other nobles to notice, but as they did, Liliana could almost feel a tidal wave of whispers following in their wake. Marianne’s hand tightened on her arm, though her face didn’t shift. Liliana looked over at the nobles, eyes stopping when she saw her father and stepmother.

Her father was smiling, pride clear in his eyes as he saw his daughter befriending the crown princess. Imogen’s face had blanched. Even under her makeup and illusions, she seemed pallid. Anger flared brightly in the woman’s eyes soon after, and Liliana turned her head to hide her smirk.

“Do you suppose The Brownness’s Fancy is based on any of the nobles here?” Liliana leaned close to whisper the question to the princess, smiling when the other girl couldn’t keep a small giggle from escaping, her own eyes raking over the assembled peerage.

“Maybe Baroness Musgrave? Look at the eyes she’s making at that serving man!” Marianne whispered back, voice sounding delighted and scandalized all at once. Liliana hummed as she tapped her lip, looking around.

“Perhaps Baroness Hargreave? She has been said to have a few… liasons” Liliana countered, and the princess laughed truly then, laughter that seemed to light up the room.

Liliana turned her head, instincts flaring. She spotted a girl coming towards them, looking half drunk as she carried a full goblet of wine in her hands, tilting dangerously under the heavy weights of her large dress. Liliana knew she could dodge but the girl on her arm could not. She could drag her aside, but she felt so delicate. Liliana feared she may hurt her if she did. Turning her body slightly, she blocked off the smaller girl moments before the other noble collided with her, spilling the dark red wine across her dress.

“O-Oh I-I’m so sorrry,” the girl slurred, stumbling a step before falling. Liliana looked down at the noble coldly before looking at her own dress with a sigh. Wine had stained a swathe of her skirt, dying lace a burgundy and darkening the silk of her dress.

“Lady Liliana!” Marianne pulled on her arm, and even if the girl’s Strength was pathetically weak, Liliana let Marianne turn her, the princess gasping over her ruined dress.

“C-Crown princess!” The girl on the floor stammered out, words still slurred from alcohol. A Knight appeared, from where exactly Liliana wasn’t too sure, to pick the girl up.

“I believe it’s time you return home, Lady Wilde,” the Knight told her, practically dragging the girl away. All eyes were on them as the princess fussed over Liliana’s dress. Liliana’s eyes were drawn back to her stepmother, and the smug smirk on her face said everything she needed to know. The vile woman had sent the girl her way, to embarrass her before the nobility. Before the crown princess. Undoubtedly with the intent to ‘put her in her place’.

I truly expected better of you stepmother, this is childish, Liliana thought as she turned to the princess with a kind smile, stilling her hands from where they were patting at her dress with a handkerchief.

“It’s okay, Princess. I’m just glad none of it got on you. I’m sure that was rather startling. Are you alright?” Liliana asked, layering her words with warmth that didn’t need to be faked a she looked over the princess’ dress.

“I’m alright, Lady Liliana. I wasn’t the one who was attacked!” Marianne looked on the verge of tears and Liliana’s lips quirked into a higher smile. Out of all the heroes in the story, she could believe Marianne was perhaps the only one who deserved such a title. The girl oozed goodness and kindness.

“It’s alright, it was an honest accident and it is just a dress. It can be replaced,” Liliana soothed, laying a hand on the princess’s shaking hand.

“Marianne, perhaps you and your friend should retire for a small time, I’m sure we can get Lady Liliana cleaned up,” a regal voice sent shivers down Liliana’s spine and she found herself straightening as the nobles cleared a path for the queen. The woman’s aura was overwhelming, even controlled as it was. Liliana had gotten used to her father’s aura from time spent with him at dinners, and even in a room full of high leveled nobles she had been mostly managing. Yet the Queen’s aura was almost smothering and Liliana had a feeling the woman was doing it on purpose, for it hadn’t been like this at first.

“Your Majesty,” Liliana dipped into a deep curtsy, barely avoiding grimacing she her hands gripped alcohol soaked skirts.

“I must apologize that such a thing has happened under my roof, let us take care of you Lady Liliana,” the queen said as Liliana rose, the woman’s gaze was assessing and Liliana felt her heart and breath stop as she stood under the woman’s full attention. It felt like she was prying her apart, layer by layer, and examining every piece of her.

She saw me with her daughter, and is seeing if I’m a threat to her, Liliana realized as the woman finally tore her eyes off of her and laid them on her daughter. The aura surrounding her receded and her expression melted to one full of love and adoration. If there was ever a doubt that the queen loved her daughter, it was banished, simply by seeing how the woman looked at Marianne, like she was the most precious thing in the world.

That’s a woman who would wage a war for her daughter, would challenge the gods for her. Liliana realized, and she thanked every deity she knew she had never planned on using Marianne, or meaning her harm. She didn’t want to know what the Queen would do to someone who tried.

“Thank you mama,” Marianne curtsied to her mother and Liliana let the other lead her from the ballroom, which was slowly filling once more with voices. Liliana was fairly certain she knew what was on their tongues as the two girls left.

“You know, at the very least we got permission from the Queen herself to leave the ball,” Liliana remarked as they entered a fairly empty hall. She noticed the two Knights trailing them, obviously meant as bodyguards for the princess.

“Well… you’re not wrong,” Marianne remarked, a small smile on her lips as they distanced themselves from the drama. Liliana looked around at the palace eagerly, taking in the ornate paintings and decorations. She had thought the Rosengarde manor was impressive. It felt almost poor in comparison to what she saw on display here, and this was simply the royal’s vacation house. What must the palace in the capital look like?

“Here, we can wait in here and a servant should come with something to help you get clean.” Marianne reached towards a door, a Knight materializing and opening it. Liliana looked behind them and saw only one, meaning that Knight had crossed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Out of curiosity, Liliana used [Identify] on the man, and almost immediately turned the skill off in fear.

Zacharias Shawcross

Rank: 2

Knight

It wasn’t just the fact that somehow, even if her [Identify] was up to Level 42 and could show a good amount of information yet she didn’t even get the man’s level; it was the fact she’d just used [Identify] on someone who was Rank 2. Who had apparently noticed if his brown-eyed gaze that rested on her for a moment was any sign.

Was Rank 2 the highest for the Knights, or did the Queen keep higher ones around her? Had she just been dancing around carefree while there were Rank 1’s in the crowd? People who held power as close to gods as any human could come?

“Liliana? Are you alright?” Marianne’s voice broke her out of her fear laden musing as the princess sat her down in a plush seat that felt like resting on a cloud.

“I-I’m” Liliana cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure, “I’m fine, just a bit overwhelmed,” Liliana finished as she looked down and at her dress.

“That’s understandable. We’ll get you cleaned up,” Marianne promised, and she waved a hand. Liliana didn’t know what she did to summon the maids, but in seconds there were several in the room, surrounding her and dragging her behind a screen. They removed her from her dress in seconds, a much more subdued replacement put on her as the maids carted her dress out to presumably clean it. Liliana tugged at the dress with a small frown. It was small on her and she could see her shoes and ankles now as she left the privacy screen to rejoin Marianne.

“Here, have some of this. It’ll help calm you,” the princess pushed a cup of tea at her that Liliana accepted easily.

“I apologize for making such a ruckus of your debut, and taking your time, Princess,” Liliana apologized, bowing her head as she sipped her tea. A tinkling laugh filled the room and Liliana looked up, bemused.

“I should thank you for giving me a proper excuse to leave. I really don’t enjoy being stared at by so many eyes.” Marianne shivered, rubbing a hand across her arm as she shuddered.

“Then you’ve picked the wrong career, I’m afraid,” Liliana answered with a smirk. Marianne laughed and shook her head before a small frown took over her face.

“Such is the working of fate,” Marianne sighed, a forlorn look on her face.

“If you could choose your fate, what would you choose?” Liliana asked, the question rising unbidden to her lips. She blinked in surprise, matching the princess’. Marianne’s face contorted in thought as she seemed to honestly consider the question.

“Travel. I’d love to see the violet sea. I want to know if it truly is such a rich deep purple that it looks like the gods spilled wine over the waters. I want to explore the Alfein Empire, see if the rumors of their metal and magic marvels are true. If they’ve conquered the skies themselves as the ambassador claims. I want to visit the Krelari continent, and meet the many cultures that inhabit its lands.” Marianne’s voice got more confident as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with desire as she spoke of the marvels of their world. Marvels Liliana had only read of herself, places the game had never explored.

“I want to have an adventure, something that Bards sing about for ages to come. I want to face off against monstrous opponents and fell them. I want to experience the rush of adrenaline flooding my body as I best Death again and again, as I taunt him the way he taunted me for thirteen years,” Marianne’s speech struck a cord with Liliana as the princess echoed some of the very things that Liliana herself wished for.

“I want to see a Leviathan, I want to meet a Dragon, and trade for one of its treasures with knowledge. I want to go to the Archives and comb their hidden secrets. I want to see the Crystal River and watch the nymphs in it frolicking. I want to taste a fruit from The World Tree, fresh from a branch,” Marianne trailed off, her eyes faraway now as she detailed adventures and goals fit for a legend. Liliana smiled, drawn in by the princess’ charisma as she spun a tale of wishes and wants and wonder. As she reminded Liliana of all the beauty this world offered her, and not just the dark and bloody side it had shown her so far.

“Perhaps you can,” Liliana commented when the princess trailed off. Marianne turned disbelieving eyes to her and Liliana held up a hand to forestall any objections.

“Not now, not yet. But in a few years you’ll be going to the Academy, right?” Liliana asked, though she knew the princess would go. If not because of the game, then because every royal had. Marianne nodded to the question and Liliana smiled.

“Well, they send students on tasks, projects. The longer you’re there, the more arduous the task set for you. Some include going to other countries. And if you don’t get to see all the sights you want then, there’s always after you graduate. Your mother is well, and still climbing in levels. You have hundreds of years before you’ll wear the crown, and many years to fill with marvels and wonders,” Liliana explained, and she smiled as the princess’ eyes filled with hope once more. Something in Liliana’s chest ached so hard it almost brought tears to her eyes. What would she herself have given in her last life to have such an opportunity before her?

You have it now, a voice reminded her, and Liliana smiled, the pain fading. Yes, she might not have had a chance to live in her last life. But in this one, perhaps she could.

“Where would you want to go first?” Marianne asked her, surprising Liliana. For the next hour, the girls discussed different places they’d want to visit, different races they’d like to meet. And in Liliana’s case, different beasts she dreamed of bonding to. Beasts she’d only heard vague mentions of, or in fictitious tales and legends, written in books discovered in the manor’s library.

Even after Liliana’s dress had been returned, cleaned and fresh, and she’d changed into it, the two girls stayed in their quiet sanctuary. Until a Knight informed them that the ball was ending and Liliana’s parents were looking for her.

“Will you come back?” Marianne asked, her face flushed a light pink as her hand gripped tight to Liliana’s own as they paused outside the door to the ballroom. Liliana smiled, a true and sweet one.

“Yes, if you send me an invitation, I’d delight in spending more time in your company,” Liliana informed her, and Marianne’s smile lit the room up. As Liliana rejoined her family, even her stepmother’s venomous glares didn’t put a dent in her mood, for once her father’s pride filled remarks didn’t send a poisonous mix of loathing and happiness through her.

I made a friend, Liliana thought, giddy as she joined the boys in the carriage.

Chapter 40: Explosive Potions and Equinoxes

“Why is it on fire?!” a voice cried out as Alistair entered Liliana’s sitting rooms and walked into the garden attached. The noble boy stopped upon seeing a frantic Liliana fluttering around a cauldron that was, in fact, spewing flames in the air.

“Lelantos! Don’t hunt Alistair. You can’t eat him. He’d give you indigestion!” Liliana’s voice called out, causing Alistair to turn around and see the shimmer form of a tiger appear behind him, cleaning a paw as if he’d done nothing inappropriate.

“The recipe said nothing about fire,” Liliana murmured as she stirred a cauldron hanging over a fire pit, ignoring the flames it was still producing, in the garden. It was a fairly recent addition, as was the table filled with different instruments needed for alchemy. Astrid had bought most of it for her, using the funds given by her father as an allowance, but had banished Liliana to the garden after her first attempt at making a potion had lit the rugs in her sitting room on fire.

The fire pit and alchemy materials had been something that Liliana had hesitated to request, so used to not getting anything she asked for. Yet somehow her father had heard about her interest in alchemy, and a fire pit was dug for her and even more alchemy materials delivered to her room.

“Was there something you needed, Alistair?” Liliana asked, blowing a stray hair out of her face as she looked over her shoulder. The boy’s back was facing her, keeping his eyes on Lelantos, who was sniffing at Liliana’s shoes currently.

“Don’t you dare eat another pair of my shoes, Lelantos!” Liliana chided absently, without taking her eyes off Alistair. The tiger let out a sulky sigh and flopped on the ground pitifully.

“Ah, I was just told today that a new dungeon had appeared. It’s a mid Rank 7 dungeon. With the guards, you and Lelantos, it should be fairly simple. It’s a danger to the towns and city if it’s not cleared out,” Alistair finally answered her and Liliana pulled her goggles up, revealing her eyes ringed in soot. Her entire body was covered in soot from failed experiments, but she didn’t even care, too used to it after weeks of trying her hand at alchemy.

So it’s time then? Liliana ran over her mental calendar she had in her mind. It was now the month of Lyghtfall, or September on earth, and on the edge of the fall equinox. In the game, you were given the quest and told to complete it by the fall equinox or, allegedly, the creatures inside the dungeon would grow too powerful.

In this world, equinox and solstices were powerful days, said to increase the power of creatures tied to the elements connected to them stronger power. She’d been lucky, in retrospect, that she hadn’t found Lelantos on the summer solstice, as it was tied to Light.

Fall would be Earth and Fire for alignments, as Goblins were Earth aligned creatures, they’d get a boost during the equinox. Liliana worried her lip as she considered the ramifications of that. Goblins weren’t stupid creatures, they had communities, some even had crafts. But they were still monsters, who could evolve at rank ups as opposed to the mortal races who got classes, ultimate skills, and power-ups. Unlike most games, goblins and their subsequent evolutions posed a genuine danger for mortal races, as they had the intelligence to be a threat. Along with the ability to prolifically procreate with Mana and through more natural methods. If a goblin dungeon or group wasn’t dealt within a few months, they would have the numbers to overthrow most cities or territories.

“When will we be heading out?” Liliana asked, fully turning from her smoking cauldron.

She was excited about her first dungeon, even if it would be a bit of a challenge for them. Even with the training she and the others had been doing, her growth had slowed. Making her soft debut into society, and befriending the crown princess, had meant her days had become full. She was invited to balls, galas and tea parties daily.

Which was amazing for her networking and getting social power for herself, but awful for her mental state and leveling abilities. She had at least been getting levels in [Deception] like crazy. The skill had sky rocketed from all the careful deceptions she had to lay when dealing with other nobles.

Emyr and Alistair hadn’t been spared the influx of noble invites, though Emyr dodged far more of them than the siblings. However, both hadn’t seen the amount of invites Liliana had, more a consequence of her being something new and shiny for the nobles to gawk over. It meant they both had more time to level than she, and both had passed the Rank 7 threshold. Alistair sitting at level 66, and Emyr at level 63. Both still outstripping her, even if she had just managed to hit level 53 a few days past.

“In two days’ time, to give us all time to get what we need. But the dungeon has to be culled before the equinox, so that there aren’t too many goblins when it hits,” Alistair informed her, his eyes trailing past her shoulder to her cauldron.

“Ah, Liliana, is it supposed to be doing that?” He asked, and Liliana turned, eyes widening as she saw the bubbling goop spilling over the side.

“No,” she answered. Lelantos reacted faster than the humans. Turning into ephemeral mist and disappearing into the summoning stone on Liliana’s neck seconds before the concoction exploded, sending thick globs of brown sludge everywhere.

Both teens were knocked down from the force of the sludge colliding with them at high velocity. When the sky had ceased raining hot goop, Liliana groaned and sat up. She rubbed at the brown liquid on her face and frowned, tongue snaking out and licking off a drop on her lips before her face twisted.

“Burnt marshmallow, so I added the Angel Tears too early,” Liliana murmured as she continued wiping goop off herself. Alistair was lying spread eagle on the ground, still dazed by the unexpected gooey explosion.

“What was that?” He asked finally.

“It was supposed to be a minor health potion,” Liliana pouted as she stood and moved towards her cauldron, frowning at the hardened goop coating the inside.

“More like an anti-health potion,” Alistair complained, as he sat up and looked over his ruined clothing. Liliana summoned a bottle of clear liquid from her storage and tossed it at the boy.

“Will this explode too?” he asked suspiciously, shifting the bottle around and holding it far from his body.

“No, it’s just a cleaning solution. Should get rid of the stains,” Liliana answered as she grabbed a second bottle of the liquid and dumped it in her cauldron to clean it out.

“That’s servants’ work,” Alistair told her, but Liliana was too busy cleaning her cauldron to pay him any attention. As Alistair went to leave, and avoid any new explosions, a shift of the light revealed Lelantos had fled his summoning stone once the danger was passed and Alistair glared at the cat.

“You could’ve blocked it,” Alistair informed the cat, who gave a rather sharp toothed grin to the noble. A shiver of fear skittered down the boy’s spine as he left his stepsister muttering about plants and the Cheshire beast stalking the garden.

“Is this many guards really necessary?” Liliana asked Jason as she motioned to the ten guards surrounding their party.

“Only five of them will go with you into the dungeon, all between Rank 6 and 7, to get experience as well. Dungeons are huge, and the high Mana density means creatures are always coming into existence. If we let just the four of you go into one, someone could die, even with Lelantos, my Lady,” Jason answered and Liliana pouted.

In the game, you had needed a party for most dungeons, but lower leveled ones could usually be solod if you had found no NPCs or other heroes to party with. She had run this specific dungeon several times on her own. That even this low level dungeon wasn’t soloable didn’t bode well for her god-given knowledge. The dungeon had been rather straightforward in the game as well. Only high-level ones weren’t. If all dungeons shared the maze like quality endgame dungeons had in the game, it meant she may have to take this more seriously than she’d planned.

“Fine, fine. What are all their specialties?” Liliana asked, defeated. Jason perked up and pointed towards Sam.

“Sam here is level 80 and his weapon focus is archery,” Liliana shot a smile at Sam, remembering him as a fairly common guard for her and had been the only guard to compliment Lelantos. Now most of the manor was more comfortable around the tiger, and the guards who regularly were her bodyguards had even taken to sneaking him snacks. Sam had figured out Lelantos’ favorite snack was freshly cooked bacon, and as a result, the tiger adored the man.

“This is Charles, level 68 and fire magic focused,” Jason pointed to the next boy, who had rather stereotypical red hair. Liliana wondered if it resulted from his magic, as many families with a long line of users with the same affinity eventually developed features reflecting it. Like Liliana’s family having dark blue black hair and sapphire eyes because of an affinity for Water.

“This is Sasha, level 60. Her focus is dual axes, and she’s a front-line fighter,” Jason pointed to a rather buff woman with dark, richly tanned skin. Her golden hair was tied up in braids and pulled into a ponytail away from her face. Liliana hadn’t seen her in her normal bodyguard rotation, but it made sense with such a low level. Normally Sam was the lowest level she had as a guard, and Liliana was certain it had something to do with how the young guard had reacted to her Bond.

“This is Eric, level 70 and a healer,” Jason pointed out the next guard and unlike the other guards who wore armor or some sort, he was dressed in cloth, with a light spattering of leather armor over vital spots. It made sense if he was a dedicated caster type, as they had such pitiful Endurance and Strength wearing heavy armor exhausted them. Healers weren’t overly common, and it made sense why they were sending one of the few the Guards had with them. He’d need to be more or less power leveled as leveling normally would be hard for someone with no offensive damage options.

“The last addition is Daniel, level 69. He’s a scout and best with daggers, but he can use a bow too,” Jason pointed to a small slip of a man. Daniel couldn’t be over five years older than her. He reminded her a bit of Emyr, the way he faded into the background. Even looking right at him, Liliana could feel an urge for her eyes to just slide off of him, some kind of passive skill, no doubt.

Liliana looked over at their new party and sighed. At least Jason hadn’t added any additional tanks. With Alistair and Lelantos, they already had that area covered. They needed a second front-line fighter like her, and the long ranged support would help. The healer was the most useful to them. It would mean they could have less down time between fights and save their potions for when they were really necessary.

However, it meant a new person for them to guard as healers were squishy, that they couldn’t heal themselves either made having a healer very tricky. It was why tanks getting [Regeneration] was so meta in the game, having a healer on your team was a choice some forwent in the game. They almost always got aggro, and they died fast.

“I’m going to lose so much experience,” Liliana grumbled with a sigh as she joined the riding formation they’d settled on. She’d been told in very simple terms that she was not to lead their parties when going out. While Lelantos could handle most threats, she herself was still fairly low leveled, and after a very irate Howling Hen had knocked her off Lelantos’ back while riding, Jason had put his foot down.

Jason took point, Liliana behind him and Alistair and Emyr beside her as the guards surrounded them. Liliana couldn’t keep the pout from her face as they set out.

“This is fairly normal for dungeons, nobles always head out with a party of either guards or hired adventurers,” Alistair informed her and Liliana crossed her arms, her [Riding] high enough now that she didn’t have to clutch Lelantos like a tick to stop herself from falling off.

“I know, but think of all the experience we’re going to lose!” Liliana whined, earning a snicker from Emyr.

“Better to lose some experience than your life,” Jason chided her up ahead and Liliana stuck her tongue out at the man. Alistair groaned next to her at the unladylike display while giggles and chuckles erupted from the guards.

“You’re more feral than your cat,” Alistair informed her, and Liliana shrugged.

It had been difficult to keep up her proper noble girl act all the time, especially with the people she fought beside. Slowly, over the time since she’d come home with Lelantos, she’d shown more of her true self around Emyr, Alistair and her normal guards. It had been freeing, breaking some of the chains of nobility that tethered her.

She had almost feared she’d lost those parts of herself, the parts from Earth. So much of her personality had been changed by the memories and events she’d undergone in them. Yet some of her original personality had stayed the same. Her stubbornness, her sharp tongue and rather crass behavior and sailor worthy mouth were all traits she knew didn’t come from the memories. The Liliana she remembered was a demure girl, so beaten and broken down by her life that she’d only had the barest of embers of strength left in her soul.

It made her wonder, more and more often now as the time for the Academy neared, how the broken girl in her memories had ever become the greatest villain this country had ever seen. How had she gotten the power to even meet the Academy requirements? The girl in her memories was so frightened of even her own shadow that the thought of her fighting anything was absurd.

Perhaps the change in her personality from the original was why her relationship with Alistair, Emyr, and the other nobles were far better than in the game. If being sweet and weak didn’t cut it, apparently being strong and stubborn would.

Or it was from the many fights they’d fought together that had helped their relationship. Liliana had noticed that Alistair seemed to spend more and more time out of the manor, away from his mother. She didn’t remember her brother being a socialite. He’d gone to balls, of course, but now he was gone almost as often as she. Sometimes accompanying her to events or on his own. Or he was out on the training grounds from dawn to dusk, sweating and pushing himself. Or dragging her and Emyr out to yet another area with creatures that needed culling.

At first, Liliana hadn’t thought much of it until her stepmother had made a comment that Alistair didn’t want to be around his ‘doting mother’ anymore. Liliana had paid closer attention after that, seeing the way he was gradually shrugging off the poisoned tendrils his mother had wrapped him in. He still wasn’t what she’d consider kind, but she couldn’t remember a recent time he’d really tried to hurt her. He still bantered and insulted her, but it was more in line with the way a brother was actually supposed to treat a sister.

Maybe I sped up that timeline? In the game, it took him meeting Diana to have a change of heart. But maybe because of my actions, he’s going through it sooner? Liliana wondered as she leaned forward on Lelantos, looking around the countryside they moved through.

Emyr had changed a bit too in the past months. He’d stopped stalking the shadows almost entirely after Lelantos had pounced on him hiding in the shadows in her garden. Liliana had told him he deserved it, as stalking people in the shadows was quite frankly creepy as fuck.

She knew he had done it because he was hopelessly awkward and introverted, even despite the friendship they had now. The only person she had seen him utterly comfortable around was Alistair. Despite how contrasting their personalities were. But he was more talkative with her now, and had accompanied her to a few balls and galas as well. Where he didn’t immediately flee to the shadows to hide. He usually waited a few hours before doing that, which was progress.

“Will we be camping outside the dungeon or inside it?” Liliana spoke up, and Jason turned his head slightly to respond to her.

“We’ll have two separate camps. Me and the other four guards not joining you will stay outside. The rest of you will camp inside the dungeon,” Jason informed her, and Liliana nodded. It was apparently normal to camp inside a dungeon in this world, as it usually took a few days to clear them. The deeper you went, the more unreasonable it became to have an outside camp. She hadn’t been sure if the new dungeon would be big enough to constitute camping inside, but apparently, someone had already run through it to know it did. Probably a high leveled guard as the dungeon was close to the manor.

They came to a stop in a familiar clearing. The Slime clearing that Liliana had leveled in not that long ago. The same slimes she’d fought and occasionally struggled against now fled from their group as soon as they got in range to sense them. Liliana smiled, feeling nostalgic as the others dismounted. Liliana stayed on Lelantos as she’d be fighting on top of him for a bit to level her [Mounted Combat] skill. If the dungeon permitted the space for it.

“That’s the dungeon,” Jason pointed at the cave systems on the other side of the clearing, and Liliana nodded. She couldn’t see any goblins outside of it, but knew that there would be a horde of them inside the caves.

“Here is an emergency beacon. If someone is hurt so badly Eric can’t heal them, the monsters are above the rating for the dungeon, or you get outnumbered, do not hesitate to use it. We’ll come in straight away and find you with the beacons,” Jason handed every member of their party a smooth crystal and Liliana put hers in her storage bracelet. Beacons were made of a very delicate crystal that was easily broken, so it would be a bad idea to put it in a pocket where it could get crushed and call down the high leveled guards. She was already losing experience with their party. She didn’t need any more stolen levels from the other guards charging in.

“Everyone ready?” Alistair asked the guards, and when they all nodded, Liliana grinned, her naginata forming in her hand. The weapon had been upgraded once more, and the metal had a blue hue to it now, with a black metal haft. Sunlight glittered dangerously on the razor-sharp blade.

“Let’s go!” Liliana called out, and Lelantos led the charge, eager to wet his claws with the blood of prey.

Chapter 41: Outside Looking In

“Hah!” Liliana shouted as her [Light Burst] successfully struck the goblin that Sasha had been fighting, killing the beast. The woman turned an unamused look at Liliana, who whistled innocently as she swung her naginata from atop Lelantos, stabbing into another goblin that had charged her.

Lelantos wasn’t really fighting, he mostly just stood there and ignored the attacks that didn’t even drop his Health as Liliana and the others mowed through the goblins. The cave system thankfully wasn’t cramped, the walls at least thirty feet high and twenty feet wide from what they’d seen so far. It left plenty of room for Liliana to swing her weapon from atop the large tiger, netting her levels in [Mounted Combat] while keeping her away from most dangers.

At this rate she’d be the healer’s favorite DPS, as she was the only one who hadn’t needed even a small heal yet. Anything that hit her was taken care of by her [Regeneration].

“That makes 8 for me,” Liliana taunted the other woman who gave her a droll look and swung her axe without looking, beheading a goblin that had been trying to jump on her back.

“9,” the woman informed her, and Liliana glared at Sasha, but there was little heat. They’d been in the dungeon for a few hours now and Liliana had gotten a better read on the guards’ personalities.

Sasha had challenged the entire group by claiming she’d have the highest kill count by the end of the dungeon. This had ignited Liliana’s competitive spirit, and she’d immediately informed the woman her kill count would be highest. The entire group had joined in, everyone claiming they’d walk out with the highest number.

“11!” Sam shouted out as an arrow buried itself in a goblin’s eye and ended its life.

“5,” Emyr droned on as his shadows finished off a goblin that Alistair had been fighting.

“4,” Alistair grumbled as another goblin charged him, attracted by his [Incensed Aura].

“7,” Daniel shouted back at them with a grin as his daggers sliced through the throat of a goblin.

“13!” Charles announced as a pyre of flames swallowed two goblins whole, a mad cackle accompanying the fire. Liliana shot a concerned look at the fire mage, who had been tossing out fireballs like they were going out of style the entire time. What was the limit to his Mana?

“1,” Eric called from the back and, almost as one, the group turned to look at him in disbelief.

“Eric, the cockroach doesn’t count,” Sam informed the healer slowly, earning him a glare.

“It had a level!” Eric informed him, tone insulted.

“Yea, it was level 1!” Charles shot off another fireball at a goblin that was trying to sneak attack their back-line, “that was very rude of you. We are having a civil discussion,” Charles told the goblin as it screeched, slowly burning to death. An arrow finished it before the flames could.

“12,” Sam counted out and hastily dodged a fireball thrown at his face.

“That was my kill, you thief!” Charles argued and Sam grinned cheekily at the other guard, dodging the next flaming projectile sent his way.

“Lelantos, please,” Liliana asked, and the tiger let out a roar that rang in the enclosed space, forcing both allies and foes to clasp hands to their ears.

“Guys, focus please, stop playing around,” Liliana ordered, when the echoing of the roar had subsided. The guards listened to her order, even if Charles did still look ready to flambe Sam at any given moment. Alistair simply huffed and pulled the next set of goblins on them, Emyr once more in the shadows and providing support.

The group had more or less figured out a fighting style that worked for them. Daniel would scout ahead, locating patrols or groups of goblins. He’d run back and Alistair would approach first. They’d found out if Lelantos approached first the goblins would run off screaming. Once Alistair had grabbed aggro the goblins would be less likely to run off when Lelantos came up and attracted the rest of the aggro. Goblins might be intelligent for their ranks, but they were about as smart as a five year old child. Once they had aggro grabbed the goblins usually wouldn’t retreat.

With both tanks doing their jobs, Liliana would begin attacking the goblins circling Lelantos, Sasha would move to killing the ones on Alistair. Emyr would provide his normal support, pulling down and trapping enemies or finishing them off. Sam and Charles would keep Eric safe and provide ranged support, and Daniel would cover any spots that needed help. Rinse and repeat.

While the monsters were higher leveled than Liliana, ranging from level 60-72 from what she’d seen so far, it didn’t feel overly dangerous. Their group was large, and she had a level 90 tiger to ride on far out of range of most of the goblins. If she had tried this dungeon alone, she wasn’t sure if she would’ve survived five minutes.

Goblins were swarm creatures. While individually weak when they got into groups, they could be vicious and ruthless. Their patrols usually had anywhere from 8 to 10 goblins in them. The small gatherings they’d seen usually had 15 or so goblins in them.

Which was a good number for their group to handle easily, while still being sure everyone got experience to some degree or another. Liliana had managed to level up to 54, and she hoped to see her Rank up today. However, the sharing of experience meant it was slow to level, even with the amount of goblins she had killed.

“Lelantos!” Liliana called out, seeing the tiger take an entire goblin into his mouth.

“Drop it!” She ordered, and the tiger growled, chewing on the goblin.

“Spit it out! That is not food!” Liliana jumped off the tiger, shoving her naginata into the chest of a goblin in her way as she tried to get to her bond’s head.

The tiger finally spat out the mangled corpse of the goblin and turned his head from her. Liliana placed a hand on her hip while raising the other at two goblins charging her. [Light Barrage] activated and kept the goblins at a distance as Liliana chased her bond’s head around, sensing he still had something in his mouth.

“What is in your mouth? Spit it out!” Liliana cried, earning laughter from the group as they finished the last of the goblins and watched the girl chasing the tiger around the cave. Liliana finally managed to catch up with him and grabbed his head. However, her lower strength meant she was left dangling off of him as he swung his head around, refusing to drop whatever was still in his mouth.

“I’ll give you a core if you drop it!” Liliana bargained as her head began to spin from the fast movements. Lelantos slowed but didn’t stop and she grit her teeth, “Three cores then!” she shouted and the tiger stopped suddenly, the lack of momentum making her lose her grip and throwing Liliana off. She fell on the ground on her back seconds before a saliva covered goblin head landed on her stomach.

“Oh, ew! Ew! Ew!” Liliana scrambled to throw the head off and began to frantically rub at her clothes covered in slobber and gore.

“What was it you said? Right, ‘focus guys!’” Alistair mocked from where he stood, leaning against the walls, sweat soaking his hair. Liliana stood and glared at her stepbrother. Sticking the end of her naginata into the decapitated head of the goblin, she flung it at him, forcing the tank to dodge the macabre projectile.

“Enough, children,” Sasha chided as she walked between the two, waving her axes around threateningly. Liliana huffed and folded her arms, sticking a tongue out at Alistair, who just huffed and turned from her.

“Theres a spot up ahead that will do for a rest,” Daniel informed the group, turning their attention from the siblings. Everyone was tired from the fighting and needed a rest. While they hadn’t been fighting nonstop, they hadn’t had a real rest yet. Anytime spent not fighting was spent getting further into the dungeon and mapping it out. Liliana was certain Silas or Jason had an actual map of the dungeon, but neither had offered such a thing to their group.

When she’d asked Sasha about it, she’d said it was fairly normal for groups on their first run through to not be provided with a map, as a sort of rite of initiation. They wouldn’t do it if they determined the dungeon to be too dangerous, but in this case, they’d thought the risk minimal. It taught a good lesson on making one’s own maps and learning how to navigate in new and dangerous environments. All vitally important lessons for the guards to know, and as for a few of them, this was their first time in a dungeon. It made the lesson ever more important.

Liliana had tried to draw her own map, but found her lack of any kind of drawing skills in her past or current life was rather hinder-some. Her map had ended up looking like some child's fever dream drawing and she had tossed the paper into one of Charles’ goblin pyres.

She wasn’t the only one without any kind of artistic ability. Emyr also had shown her his own attempts, which looked like some kind of abstract artwork made of ink and tears. Alistair, however, had surprised her by drawing up a rather impressive map. From the guards, Sam, Daniel and Eric all had varying skills in [Cartography] though all the guards could make at the very least a serviceable map, but if Liliana had to choose, she’d take one of Eric’s maps any day.

“Are we going in circles? That mushroom looks familiar,” Sam muttered as the group followed Daniel, Liliana back on Lelantos and playing vanguard. Liliana titled her head back and looked at the glowing purple mushroom in question. She pulled out her Herbology book and drew Lelantos to a stop.

“That is a Violet Hood,” Liliana murmured as she placed her book back into her spacial bracelet and withdrew a pair of hide gloves and a bag. The gloves were made of Giant Toad skin and enchanted to ward off poisons, something rather essential when gathering plants of all types. The bag was made of the same material, and she had several to keep all of her plants apart so they wouldn’t contaminate each other.

Taking a knife made for harvesting plants, Liliana carefully dug up the mushrooms and placed them in the bag, leaving two-thirds of them behind so they could be gathered again. Placing her gathering tools back in her spacial bracelet, she looked around to see the party giving her various expressions.

Alistair was edging away, as if he expected her to make the mushrooms explode. Emyr was already in the shadows. Sam was edging closer, a curious look on his face while Eric was rubbing his temples. Charles and Sasha both looked rather bored and ready to move on, unsurprising as this wasn’t the first time Liliana had stopped them all to gather some type of plant or another.

“It causes hallucinations, and no, we haven’t passed it before. The one you saw was a Weeping Azul, and it’s used to make sleeping droughts,” Liliana clarified as she got back on Lelantos and started off once more.

“Should we be concerned that she just grabbed enough magic mushrooms to send us all to crazy town?” Charles stage whispered to Sam.

“I’m not concerned, but you singed Lelantos tail during one fight, so maybe you shouldn’t eat anything tonight,” Sam responded. Liliana threw a glance over her shoulder to see the fire mage edging further from her. She decided to not tell him that the hallucinogenic effects of the mushroom were mild unless it wash dried or steeped properly.

Liliana looked up, seeing her [Will-O-Wisp] dancing above the group. Charles had offered to light the way, but Liliana didn’t fancy the idea of flying balls of fire floating around them during fights, just waiting to catch her hair on fire at any given chance. Her [Will-O-Wisp] didn’t cause damage and provided ample light for them, though their more ghostly coloring gave a creepy air to the dungeon.

“Are all dungeons this….” Liliana trailed off, trying to find the right word for it.

“Easy?” Sasha offered.

“Boring?” Charles drawled, juggling fireballs from the back.

“Repetitive?” Eric asked, not looking up from the book he had pulled out.

“I meant… underwhelming,” Liliana clarified with a droll look. She tapped her fingers against Lelantos’ saddle as she considered it. While the goblins were a higher level than her, she had remembered this dungeon, while solo-able, being the first sort of soft ‘wall’ in the game. There was always a wall in every game, something that was such a step up from other things of the same level that it gave players their first taste of loss.

Realm of Hope had many walls, many instances of humbling the players and forcing them to up their mechanical skills to progress. The Goblin Dungeon was one, the specialized creature battles the second. Once you learned the mechanics of the dungeon and fights, it became much easier, but until then, you got your ass handed to you repeatedly.

Yet in this dungeon, while it was at a higher level than she remembered, and with far more mobs than in the game, they were progressing fast. It set her nerves on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing in the game had ever been easy. It had always been a way to lure a player into a false sense of security. She had seen nothing to suggest the actual world itself was different.

Even her fight with Lelantos was proof of that. Had he really meant to fight her and Emyr, they’d have died with his stats and skills. He’d played with them, let them survive because it entertained him. What if the dungeon was similar? In the game, dungeons hadn’t been sentient, but the same couldn’t be said for reality. She’d heard stories from the guards of dungeons suddenly changing halfway through, or delve to delve, as if it was learning.

“Its normal for a first run in a dungeon to be fairly easy, as it’s only just materialized and hasn’t accumulated enough Mana,” Sam explained from the back and Liliana nodded. It made sense.

“That’s probably why the captain is letting us all take a shot at it first. Since it hasn’t settled fully on its difficulty yet and won’t have all the traps and tricks a more established dungeon would,” Sam continued and Liliana perked up, turning to look at the guard. She hadn’t known that part.

“Dungeons progress like mortals or beasts. Well, technically, they grow differently than us or beasts, but they grow too. It’s part of why we have to delve them. The increased essence we receive in dungeons is partially the dungeon’s own essence, so by farming it, we control the power of a dungeon. If they’re left too long to gather Mana, then they can become strong enough that they can become real threats to civilization. Towns, cities, even countries have been wiped out by rogue dungeons left unchecked,” Sam seemed to drop into a lecture mode and Lelantos slowed some so the archer could catch up and continue his lesson.

Liliana noticed Emyr had dropped out of the shadows and seemed to be listening as well. Even Alistair was walking closer. She thought the two would have already known this, but it seemed she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know everything.

“All known dungeons are carefully guarded and relegated by the governing Lords in the area they’re found in. Either to lower or increase them, depending on what is necessary for the nation. Each dungeon’s Rank is carefully decided based on necessity. We obviously don’t need a hundred Rank 1 Dungeons, and maintaining that Rank is difficult as it’s incredibly easy for a Rank 1 dungeon, more than any other, to become a Raid class dungeon,” Sam explained, hands gesticulating as if to illustrate his point.

Several gasps rang out at the term Raid class dungeon. A Raid class dungeon could become a cataclysmic event, when a Dungeon became so strong it couldn’t comfortably be considered its own Rank any longer, but it also couldn’t be considered its next Rank either. Liliana had heard of this at least. Her history lessons had featured the tales of the Five Raid Dungeon Disasters. The five times in known history where a Raid Class Dungeon had destroyed not just a city, or a nation, but reformed an entire continent itself. Or in one case, destroyed a, continent entirely.

“After a few delves in this dungeon, they’ll see where it falls, and likely send a communication to the capital to determine whether it’s Rank needs to be lowered or increased based on the other dungeons in the Rosengarde territory. Then it’ll fall to the guards or they will place a quest out for the adventurers in the territory, to run the dungeon a certain amount of times each month,” Sam finished with a shrug. Charles walked up and wrapped an arm around the archer’s shoulders and rubbed his hair roughly.

“Who knew our little Sam was so book smart?” Charles teased, and Sam flushed, scratching at his face with a nervous laugh.

“I wanted to be a schoolteacher originally, so I spent a lot of time studying the history of the land. Dungeons are a fairly prolific part of history and our legends,” Sam explained, and Liliana smiled a little at the thought of Sam teaching a bunch of children. He had the right kind of personality for it, she thought at least. Kind and patient. He had managed to put up with their eclectic group so far, at least, and Liliana figured a bunch of children couldn’t be any more difficult.

“Why did y-“ Charles started when Daniel appeared in front of them.

“Here’s the rest area,” he announced as they turned a corner, a large space unfolding. Glowing moss and different types of mushrooms covered the walls. Liliana spotted a small pool with a miniature waterfall against one wall, bioluminescent fish swimming inside of it. A natural camping site, provided by the dungeon. No one knew why, from what she’d heard, that dungeons provided periodic rest areas guaranteed to not have monsters inside of them. However, some rest areas were traps meant to lower one’s guard before some event in them wiped out an entire party.

But based on what Sam had just told their party, she didn’t think the dungeon was at the point it could play those kinds of tricks on them. Still, her guard was up as the group made a small camp. Someone swiftly freed Liliana of any task she tried to do, from starting a fire to setting up tents. With a sigh, she laid against Lelantos and set to caring for her weapons as she watched the guards setting up a camp, reluctantly admitting to herself that they were much better at it than she was.

Tiredness dragged at her limbs and Liliana reassessed how long she thought they’d been in the dungeon. Underground, it was harder to tell time, but her body felt like they’d been going for longer than a few hours. As Eric set up a pot to cook food in, Liliana’s stomach awakened and growled, informing her she was ravenous.

Watches, I’ve got to figure out how to make watches, Liliana decided as the group finally finished and everyone collapsed around the fire. The guards dropped into an easy familiarity and for the first time that day, Liliana felt like an outsider, watching them joke with each other. She gathered her knees to her chest and leaned further into Lelantos, letting his tail wrap around her in comfort.

The outside looking in was a feeling she was intimately familiar with, both in this life and in her last. Being sick, she’d watched from her room as other children were taken from the hospital, finally cured and free to live a life she would never get. Seeing friends and classmates visit their friends, taking pictures together, shaving their heads in solidarity.

In this life, she had memories of a smaller Liliana sneaking through the shadows to watch her family having dinners, the Duke and Duchess laughing and Alistair being lavished with praise and affection. When the twins were born, she got to see a love in her father’s eyes she’d never known.

Now the old feeling was back as the group of guards joked and conversed, telling tales of other guards she had never met or heard of. Inside jokes and nicknames gained through time spent together.

“Apple?” a voice asked moments before Emyr appeared out of the shadows on her right, startling Liliana so badly she almost fell over. The blue-haired boy held out the fruit in question, and Liliana flushed as she took it. He settled down next to her, leaning back against the big cat as if he hadn’t once been terrified of him. Now Lelantos chuffed a greeting and moved his tail to flick the teen in the face, earning a sputtered chuckle from Emyr.

Liliana smiled as she bit into the apple, feeling tears prickling in her eyes, though she couldn’t determine why she felt the sudden need to cry.

“Ugh, cleaning armor is the worst. I wish they’d let me bring a servant,” Alistair complained as he dropped in front of the pair, not willing to lean against the large cat like the other two. Emyr tossed the other boy an apple as well and Alistair caught it, biting into it.

“Hey! You three going to come get some chow or what?” Charles called out, prompting Alistair to groan once more as he stood and moved to the fire. Liliana stared at the circle of guards, unsure for a moment if she could take the step. A hand in her face startled her from her frozen state, blinking she looked up to see a pair of understanding silver eyes looking back at her.

With a smile and tears pricking at her eyes, Liliana took the hand and stood, moving to finally join the circle.

Chapter 42: Rank 7 Here We Go!

“You just needed one, right?” Sasha asked, and Liliana nodded with a smile as the woman tossed the poor goblin at her. Liliana slashed through the thing’s body as it was in the air, bisecting it. The essence flooded her but this time something felt different.

“She’s Ranking up! Defensive positions! Charles! Sam! Keep them off us! Daniel clear the back! My Lords keep to her! Eric, stay by her!” Sasha barked out orders as the others closed ranks around Liliana and Lelantos. Liliana had already dropped her weapon into her bracelet before the heat became too much to allow her to focus on anything else. A Rank Up had never felt like this before, like her body was overheating from the inside out. The guards, however, seemed familiar with these events and worked like a well-oiled machine around her.

It wasn’t as painful as a Soul bond, but it was definitely the second worst feeling she’d ever experienced in either life. It felt like she was being reformed, like she was being forged. The level ups seemed paltry in comparison. The heat they offered nothing compared to a breakthrough like this.

Suddenly, Liliana could understand why Rank 7 was the very minimum for acceptance into the Academy. The Ranks before it weren’t true Ranks. They were like comparing a child's strength to that of an adult. Her head tilted back as all her muscles constricted at once, tightening like steel cords barely constrained by her skin. She felt her Mana core fluctuating, expanding and shrinking wildly as her Mana ran rampant, fed by the essence in her body, rioting and reforming her. Time lost all meaning as heat overtook every sense.

Liliana fell forward, limp on Lelantos back as if she was a puppet with her string cut by some godly hand. Her chest rose and fell erratically as she struggled to take in precious air. Lifting a head that felt far too heavy, she looked around to see they had returned to their camp at some point. The others had settled down, some were even playing cards. Emyr was sitting by Lelantos, who growled when Sasha approached them.

“Hold beastie, your mistress is coherent, and I wanted to offer her something to drink,” the guards-woman held up a waterskin and shook it to show the tiger. Lelantos allowed her to approach, but the way his hackles raised showed he didn’t quite trust her. Through their connection, Liliana could detect his distress. He understood the pain of Rank ups, but it seemed sensing her in any form of substantial discomfort set him on edge. It was made worse by the fact he could not aid her through it.

“L-” Liliana tried to speak, but her throat protested immediately, too dry and raw to form words. Liliana winced as she realized her jaw was sore, too. She had been clenching her teeth so hard it was a miracle she hadn’t broken any of them. She took the waterskin in weak fingers and gulped the blessed liquid, nearly crying at the relief it offered her throat and mouth.

Handing the empty skin back to Sasha, Liliana gave her a thankful smile before she finally addressed the notifications flashing for her attention. Immediately she shooed away the experience ones, focusing on the ones relevant to her Rank Up and her next class selection.

You have reached level 55.

+5 to Speed From Class

+4 to Endurance From Class

+4 to Dexterity From Class

+3 to Charisma From Class

+5 Stat Points

+2 Stat Points from Boon.

You have reached Rank 7.

+15 Stat Points to each Stat.

1 Class Evolution Available, 6 Common Classes Available, 3 Uncommon Classes Available, 1 Rare Class Available.

Available Class Evolution:

Blade Dancer

Available Common Classes:

Warrior

Mage

Ranger

Healer

Actor

Thief

Available Uncommon Class:

Glaiveir

Tamer

Paladin

Available Rare Class:

Duchal Daughter

Liliana disregarded the classes she had already seen, though she gave the system a side eye for Thief and Actor being offered. Apparently her Illusion affinity, [Stealth], and [Deception] skills had affected her class offers. She looked at the two Uncommon classes even if she knew she wouldn’t take them. Starting at a base class would set her back compared to an offered evolution.

Tamer: Class Requirements: Level 10 in Bonding Contract. 90% affinity in Soul. 150 Charisma, 100 Wisdom, 100 Intelligence, at least one Soul Bond.

One who has found the true Bond formed between sharing their soul with another being. A Tamer depends on their Bonds to win a battle with overwhelming numbers and power. They focus on empowering their Bonds and standing on the sidelines, directing the battle like a master tactician. A Tamer is a force of nature with their Bonds, but alone they are weak.

50% Of Strength, Endurance, and Vitality stats are converted into Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma respectively.

+9 To Wisdom Per Level, +9 To Intelligence Per Level, +8 To Charisma Per Level.

Takes double the stat points to raise Strength, Endurance and Vitality.

Paladin: Class Requirements: Level 50 in a bladed weapon. 90% affinity in a base element. 100 Strength, 150 Endurance. Having conversed with a Deity at least once.

A Warrior whose strength comes from their faith. Guided by the words of their chosen Patron, they are the god’s own will in words and actions. Wherever they walk, the god’s will is done, be it their vengeance or kindness. They are the god’s sword to be used to cut down any who stand in the path of their god.

Mana and Stamina are converted into Energy, this change is unreversible.

+8 To Strength Per Level, +8 To Endurance Per Level, +8 To Vitality Per Level

Liliana winced at the two classes. Neither would fit her fighting style very well, and Tamer would directly cause her current fighting style to be unsustainable. Along with taking a tithe of her current stats to sustain it. It was obvious it was a Rank 7 class, the payoff for it was amazing and if Liliana was the kind to be happy standing in the back lines, she’d take it. But she loved the strength she found with a weapon in her hands and an enemy standing right before her. Standing in the back and expecting others to take care of everything for her felt too much like the very life she had been trying to escape on Earth. Being the weak and pitiful girl who couldn’t even stand on her own.

Paladin felt too much like Vita would control her, and Liliana wasn’t sure how she felt about the goddess. She appreciated the option for a second life, but she was beginning to think she’d taken a monkey’s paw deal. Her new life hadn’t been bad, but having fourteen years of memories of neglect and abuse shoved into her psyche wasn’t something she wanted to ever repeat.

Living a life where she was under constant threat of assassination, yet unable to leave because she did not know how to even begin to really support herself, wasn’t entirely worth all the magic and pretty dresses she had now. So being more or less turned into the marionette of the very goddess who had stuck her in such a fate didn’t sound like a good time to her. Liliana denied both the classes and looked at the one she really wanted.

Blade Dancer: Class Requirements: Battle Dancer Class. Level 50 in a bladed weapon. Level 50 in Dancing. 200 Speed, 150 Dexterity, 150 Charisma, 150 Endurance.

A deadly blade user who waltzes a dance of death upon all enemies who dare stand and face her. Able to mesmerize all who see her on the battlefield, her weapon flashing a dizzying design in the air around her even as blood rains a macabre painting in her wake. Her dances terrorize foes and empower her allies, offering ferocious strength and power for any who are brave enough to follow her steps in her deadly ballet.

+7 to Speed Per Level, +7 to Endurance Per Level, +7 to Dexterity Per Level, +6 To Charisma Per Level.

Liliana accepted the Blade Dancer class immediately and several new notifications popped up for her attention.

[Encouragement] and [Tempo] have combined into the spell [Dancer’s Domain]

[Will-O-Wisp], [Mirror Image], and [Obscure] have combined into the spell [Dancing Doubles].

[Enhancement] and [Dance of the Daystar] have combined into the skill [Solar Samba]

You have reached the requirements for the skill [War Maiden’s Waltz]. Would you like to accept the skill?

You have reached the requirement for the skill [Borrow] would you like to accept?

You have reached the requirement for the spell [Healing Harmony]. Would you like to accept?

You have reached the requirements for the quintessential skill [Radiant Revelry]. Would you like to accept?

Liliana rubbed her head at the influx of new information, frowning slightly at the amount of skills and spells she’d lost with them combining. She knew it was a possibility with her ranking up, but she hadn’t expected quite so many. Her eyes locked on her quintessential skill, or her ultimate skill. It sounded interesting, [Radiant Revelry].

Radiant Revelry: Light, Soul. Invite all who fall under the radiant illumination of your light into a truly soul calling revelry. Summoning the powers of Light and Soul, any who fall under the rays of your Light will have their Souls pierced. Anything with a lower Intelligence than your Charisma will fall to your sway and listen to your words as if you were their god. Effect lasts until they drop beneath 40% Health, or they leave the area of effect.

Effect on those with Dark alignments is increased, and they will suffer a 10% Health damage over time while under the effect.

Skill can only be used once per 24 hours.

Lasts 10 minutes.

Cost: 1000 Mana, 1000 Stamina

Liliana whistled quietly at the skill. It truly fit with the term ‘Ultimate Skill’. She would have control over anyone who fell under the skills light, which could be considerable. She itched to try out the skill just to see what would happen, but she was loath to waste it when not in battle. For now, she pushed it to the side, though a part of her mind was mentally cooing over the skill and lavishing it with praise. It was a rather nice skill that would certainly change the flow of a battle. It made her wonder what skills Alistair and Emyr had gotten when they hit Rank 7.

Turning her attention to the rest of her new spells and skills, she pulled them up to review them.

Dancer’s Domain: Life, Create a domain perfect for a deadly dance of blades. Extends one hundred feet around you. You and any allies within the effect will have their Vitality and Speed increased by 20%. It will lower enemy Intelligence within the domain and cause them to fall into a slow confusion, effect determined by Charisma. 5% per 50 points in Charisma. Current effect: 15%

Cost: 200 Mana Per Minute

Channel

Dancing Doubles: Illusion, Create three copies of yourself, made of Light. They can operate with minor amounts of independence or be made to mimic your movements. The illusions can inflict damage equal to 10% of your Magic Power. The illusions can take damage equal to 10% of your Vitality before they will destabilize and vanish.

Cost: 400 Mana

Solar Samba: Light, Sharing the power of the Sun to your allies, you enhance their Strength and Speed and empower their weapons with Light.

30% Increase to Strength, 45% Increase to Speed, damage increased by 20% of your Magic Power.

Effect lasts for as long as allies stay within one hundred and fifty feet of you. If they are outside of the area of effect, the effect will stay for four minutes.

Cost: 250 Mana Per Minute

Channel

War Maidens Waltz: Soul, Give power to the very souls of your allies while on the battlefield. Call to them with the song of war and fortify their very beings with your movements. 10% Increase to Wisdom and Intelligence, effect increased by Charisma. 1% Added per 20 points in Charisma. Current effect: 18%

Cost: 100 Mana Per Minute

Channel

Borrow: Soul, Call upon the strength and power of your Bond, even when they are not with you. Borrow a Skill or Spell from a Soul Bond. Skill or Spell Level divided by 2.

Cost: 200 Mana + Skill or Spell cost, 200 Stamina + Skill or Spell cost.

Cool Down: 2 Hours

Healing Harmony: Life, Soothe the aches and pains of your allies. Within twenty feet of you, cast a healing aura that will revitalize your friends and increase their regeneration. Healing effect will not work on you. +5 Health per Second.

Cost: 100 Mana Per Minute

Channel

Liliana groaned and waved off the notifications after reading over them a few times. The new abilities were good, but almost all of them were AOE utility skills, meant to be used with others. [Solar Samba] was the best, likely a result of coming from two of her higher leveled skills. It wasn’t as good as the skills had been when she’d activated them together. The increasing returns from the stacking percentages had made the combination rather strong.

Had it been purely a combination, she would’ve had closer to a 70% increase in Speed. So in a way she’d been nerfed, but she could now share the increase with allies. The skills and spells that had been combined hadn’t been reset to level one either, thankfully. They seemed to have been set at the average level of whatever skills they’d been created from, which meant that [Dancing Doubles] got hit pretty hard as [Mirror Image] and [Obscure] hadn’t been highly leveled. [Dancing Doubles] was level 12, [Solar Samba] was level 39 and [Dancer’s Domain] was level 33. Which explained why Samba and Domain were such expensive channels, and even why Doubles had a rather large cost, compared to level 1 spells, anyway.

Her new abilities were rather impressive as well, though she frowned at [Healing Harmony]. She knew healing skills and spells generally couldn’t be self cast, but she hadn’t expected to get such a spell nor had she expected to run into that particular drawback so soon. It really was a spell that only benefited her teammates and Bonds and did nothing for her but drain her Mana. At least it hadn’t cannibalized [Regeneration] to make it, though if it had, it might’ve healed her too.

An image of Polaris, bleeding out and dying in her arms as she struggled to force her Mana to obey her, came to mind, and she revised her first impression. The skill would be a good one, if only to keep Death far away from those she cared for. It would also be fairly easy to level up if she ran it after battles, or when they were resting. At such a low regeneration right now it wouldn’t heal much, but she hoped to get it up to the point her [Regeneration] was at, which could heal her 50 Health per second for 100 Mana and 100 Stamina per second. Group heals had a far worse Mana conversion rate than skills like [Regeneration] but it could go higher before it became a truly ridiculous Mana sink.

Liliana leaned back against Lelantos, who had calmed considerably as she examined all of her notifications. She pulled up her sheets to check over the new information and had to pull her notifications back up when her stats were far higher than she expected. Finally noticing the +15 for each stat point she’d been granted upon Ranking up. She looked over her stats and pulled up her skills and spells again before allocating her points. Her new class would help pump up her most used stats, but her Intelligence and Health were getting left behind.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

55

Class

Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

7

Health

850

H-Regen

+8.5/1.1sec

Mana

1150

M-Regen

+10.5/1.1sec

Stamina

1690

S-Regen

+16.9/1.1sec

Magic Power

1300

Magic Control

1445

Experience: 18,591/313,600

Vitality

85(2)

Endurance

171

Strength

116

Dexterity

163 (170)

Wisdom

115

Intelligence

105(5)

Speed

215 (225)

Charisma

161

Unallocated Stat Points: 0 (7)

Satisfied with her stat allocation, she confirmed the change. The minor warmth that filled her didn’t even compare to the bonfire it had felt like the Rank Up had stuck her in when it pumped all her stats up by 15. Liliana’s eyes caught on her Speed stat, which was by and far her highest. Even before the bonus added by her gear. She could cross a room in the time it took to take a breath. She was certain if she was on Earth she’d beat any professional Olympic racer for speed without breaking a sweat. If this kind of speed was what one could expect at a measly Rank 7, what could one expect at Rank 4? Or 3? Or even 1? What kind of god like stats did they have?

The thought made Liliana excited. She could one day hold that kind of power. The power that was only dreamed of in her previous life was a genuine possibility in this life. She could have the power to destroy cities, nations, reform continents. A tail flicked in her face and brought her back to the present, where she didn’t even yet have the power to survive on her own.

With a sigh, she stretched out sore muscles. Health regeneration was a wonderful thing, but it seemed to ignore smaller aches and pains, like bruises or sore muscles. Anything that didn’t actually lower her body’s overall Health seemed to be ignored by it. [Regeneration] would take care of such things as it was a healing specific skill, and had a wider range of capabilities than just standard regeneration. Liliana cracked her neck and garnered the attention of her companions.

“So you’re done?” Alistair asked, voice impatient. Liliana rolled her eyes, but nodded.

“Yes, I’m Rank 7 now, a Blade Dancer,” Liliana answered him as she stood and moved to the fire, taking a bowl of food from Eric, who activated some healing spell and banished the last of her aches. Liliana nodded at him in thanks as all the little pains that had been bothering her vanished.

“Finally, it took you forever,” Alistair teased and Liliana forsook responding to shove the food into her mouth, finding she was starving. How long had she been out of it?

“Should make getting through the rest of the dungeon easier,” Sasha commented, getting a round of agreement. Liliana flushed and looked down. She knew she hadn’t really been holding them back. If anything, bringing Lelantos sped everything up. But she still felt like a bit of a leech, being at the lowest level in the party.

“Do you think we’ll reach the boss chamber tomorrow?” Sam asked, and Daniel waved a hand in the air.

“The day after is more likely,” Daniel answered, and the group nodded. Liliana frowned again. Her Rank up had probably ruined their days leveling with the group waiting on her. They’d all known it would happen. Nevertheless, it was a day lost.

“Let’s all get a good night of rest so we can get as far as possible into the dungeon tomorrow,” Sasha ordered them, and Liliana finished her food quickly.

“You just want to say that so you can beat Sam for kills,” Liliana teased tentatively, and Sasha smirked, waving a hand around.

“That too,” Sasha admitted and Sam shouted out.

“You’re just jealous your cave woman tactics aren’t better than my bow!” Sam defended himself, summoning Charles.

“Like you’re one to talk! Half your kills are stolen from me!” Charles protested, throwing a fire ball between his hands threateningly.

“It’s called securing a kill!” Sam defended, and Liliana rolled her eyes as she quietly slipped away from the brewing argument. She didn’t want to get a stray fireball to the face. She settled on her bedroll by Lelantos, forgoing a tent in favor of staying close to her bond.

Body thrumming with newfound power and mind heavy with exhaustion, Liliana fell to sleep, eager for tomorrow and the chance to prove herself and try out the new skills and spells she’d gained.

Chapter 43: It's Just A Not Even Slightly Suspicious Chest

“You sure?” Sasha asked Liliana as she slid off Lelantos back. Daniel had just informed them there was a patrol of Goblins and higher leveled Hobgoblins coming their way. They’d finally gotten deep enough in the dungeon to warrant the Hobgoblins, which excited all of them. It meant they were getting close to the boss chamber. Liliana hadn’t had a chance to use her new ultimate skill yet, and she was itching to.

“Yea, just stand back so I can gage its power,” Liliana ordered, and everyone took a few steps back. Lelantos stayed behind her, a protective presence always close to her. The sounds of goblins chittering filled her ears and Liliana’s nose wrinkled. They weren’t using an actual language, but still her boon could pick out some words from them. Something she knew no one else could do, and she’d kept herself silent about her ability to understand the goblin language. If anything, she wished she didn’t hear what they were saying. It ruined any bit of empathy she had for the creatures.

“Smell human. Eat.” One voice spoke, eliciting chittering laughter from the other goblins.

“Good taste!” Another agreed.

“Screams pretty!” a third chime in and Liliana’s grip on her naginata tightened.

“Quiet,” a deeper voice ordered, and Liliana grinned. They were close now. Readying the skill in her mind, she waited until they saw her. A war cry erupted from the goblins and they charged, led by a sword wielding hobgoblin. Liliana held off on activating the skill until they were within range of her own weapon.

“[Radiant Revelry],” Liliana spoke as the skill activated. Light burst above her head, as if she had summoned a miniature sun to hover above her. Light flooded the tunnel, and it was as if the goblins had run into a wall. Their forward momentum entirely halted as soon as the light washed over them. Immediately, Liliana could feel a tenuous connection to the goblins under her sway, like her bond, but many times weaker. If her connection to Lelantos was a titanium chord, her connection to the goblins was like silk threads.

“Turn on your brethren and cut them down,” Liliana ordered, and immediately, the goblins turned on one another. Liliana motioned for the rest of the team to step up. The goblins would start breaking out before they died unless they were immediately killed. Her team watched with morbid fascination as the goblins slashed, clawed, and bit at one another. The hobgoblin was the uncontested strongest, slashing his underlings apart with his sword as easily as a farmer cut down wheat.

Slowly the goblins broke free of her skill, but they too turned on their fellows who still attacked them. By the time the majority had broken free, their numbers had severely decreased. Where there had been around ten goblins and a hobgoblin, there were now five goblins and a single hobgoblin, all of them injured to some degree. The remaining force turned hate-filled eyes on the group, focusing on Liliana who scrambled atop Lelantos.

“I’ve got aggro! Alistair, try to get the hobgoblin to redirect to you!” Liliana barked out orders as the team fell into their normal routine.

Alistair activated some threat generating skill as Liliana readied her own new skills and spells. She activated [Solar Samba] and [Dancer’s Domain] letting her effects wash over her allies. Immediately it was obvious it increased their Speed as weapons swung through the air so fast they practically sung, contrasted by the dying screams of the goblins. Liliana swung her naginata and sliced into the goblins who were surrounding a bored Lelantos. He was still banned from fighting, as he’d instantly kill anything at this level and steal all the experience if he did.

With the goblins already weakened from fighting their own kind, their team cleared out the rest of the patrol in short order. Liliana grinned widely at the others, getting a few impressed looks. It wasn’t often one got to see an ultimate skill used, as they typically had either astronomical costs or some ridiculous cooldown.

“That’s a damn good skill girlie, imagine what it could do in a proper war,” Sasha congratulated her and Liliana beamed happily. The skill was rather useful, and definitely deserving of the cost and title of ultimate skill. Being able to mass control an entire group of creatures, or people, at a time could turn the tides in any battle.

“Looked kind of like a crown,” Sam commented.

“Kind of. It had a big star at the front and smaller ones around her head,” Charles elaborated, and Liliana raised an eyebrow. She had assumed an enormous ball of light had just hovered over her head. She hadn’t realized it had an actual shape.

Could be worse, it could’ve given me something cliche like angel wings or something, Liliana thought with a shudder. She’d like to avoid getting a pair of fluffy white wings, thank you very much. Imagine the hassle of cleaning something like that.

After grabbing the cores from the goblins, their group set off again, wandering deeper into the dungeon. As exciting as the actual fights were, just walking was rather monotonous. They’d found some interesting things on their way. Liliana locating several underground plants that were of varying rarities. They'd even found a few small nodes of ores, packed with Mana. The only one of them with any mining skills was Sasha, though, so the group had to wait around while she freed the valuable nuggets from the rocky confines of the wall.

“Is that a chest?” Liliana asked as they entered a cave off the main path of the dungeon. They’d been exploring all routes, which was part of why it was taking them so much time. They needed a full map of the dungeon if they wanted to come back into it.

“It’s the only thing in the room,” Daniel responded, appearing near the front of their group as he returned from scouting out the room for traps.

“Should we open it?” Sam asked as the group circled the strange chest. Liliana identified it, and the description gave her pause.

Treasure Chest

A totally normal treasure chest that does not appear to be odd in any way. Who knows what mysteries are hidden inside of it?

The system was usually rather dry with its description of objects, giving the facts and little else. With skills, spells and classes it would sometimes be a bit more flowery, but usually it gave you facts. This description felt a bit odd, in that it had a bit of… snark in it.

What are those weird things that appear in that game… what was it called? Ah… something with lizards and… dungeons? Ah, whatever they were like… monsters? But not? Liliana wracked her memory for the information, because she’d never seen a monster like it in the game. But something about this chest rattled memories from Earth and raised her hackles.

“It’s a treasure chest! Of course we should open it!” Charles said, walking towards the chest confidently. A burst of light passed him, drawing him up short as it collided with the chest and burst.

“Why would y-“ Charles shouted, turning to her when a shriek drew them all up short. Charles scrambled back as the treasure chest shifted, becoming a monster that held some resemblance to the chest it had been pretending to be. Liliana used [Identify] on it and frowned at the different result.

Mimic

Level 75

Using its skill for Illusion a Mimic disguises itself as inanimate objects, commonly treasure chests, to lull its prey into a false sense of security before it strikes. Once a Mimic grabs onto prey, it does not let go, its jaws clamping like a vice grip. It also has tentacles it uses to draw prey into its waiting maw. Its tongue and tentacles are coated in a strong sticky substance that holds prey captive as the Mimic consumes its uselessly struggling prey.

Rank 7

Drool dripped from its fang filled mouth and tentacles writhed around it. Liliana blanched, mentally ordering Lelantos to draw back. She could find something endearing with most monsters, but this Mimic was beyond even her ability to find something cute about it. The unholy screeching it was still treating them all to as well lowered her opinion of the beast. A long tongue snaked out of its mouth and whipped towards Liliana and she shrieked back at it, throwing an entire [Light Barrage] at it.

“Kill it! Kill it with fire! Charles, light it up!” Liliana ordered, and Charles, snapping out of his shock, grinned, cackling madly as fireballs grew in his hands before flying at the Mimic.

“I can’t get close to this thing with its glue secretion!” Sasha informed them as she backed up, Alistair taking point as he activated several skills and spells at once. Shadows writhed around the Mimic as Emyr joined the fight. Arrows whizzed through the air, followed by fireballs and bursts of light as Liliana and Charles sent everything they had at the creature.

“Keep your fucking tentacles away from me!” Liliana hissed as she urged Lelantos to dodge another set of grasping tendrils sent by the Mimic. The thing had most of its attention on Alistair, who was somehow stopping its sticky secretion from ensnaring him with some skill or another. The rest of them had less luck, and Liliana’s [Barrier] would only hold off a few hits of the tentacles before breaking.

They couldn’t use physical weapons on the tentacles or they’d risk their weapons getting snatched and eaten. However, Daniel figured out a loophole when he popped up behind the Mimic and sank two daggers into the beast’s back. It screeched, and its tentacles rushed to ensnare the scout, but he was already gone, weapons still in hand.

Liliana channeled [War Maiden’s Waltz], pulling Charles onto Lelantos behind her and enabling the two of them to travel around the room and pick the tentacles off as they both poured all of their Mana into drowning the Mimic in a torrent of Light and Fire.

“Die already, you mother fu-“ Charles cut off his sentence with a jolt when he seemed to remember he was sitting behind a noble lady on her giant tiger. Liliana rolled her eyes as she released another [Light Barrage] on the Mimic. It was a costly spell and forced her to either wait out the regeneration or send out individual [Light Burst] to cover the empty time until she’d gotten enough Mana to send it out, but it was dealing damage.

The Mimic seemed to suddenly lose interest in Alistair, turning his attention, and all his tentacles, on the two circling ranged mages. Liliana yelped as a wave of slimy tentacles rushed towards them, only for the disgusting appendages to get tangled in a countering wave of shadows. Several tentacles burst through the blockade, and Liliana winced as she dismissed her weapon. She felt naked without the comforting weight in her hands, but it wouldn’t serve her any good right now.

The tentacles would be too close to use [Light Burst]. She’d hit Charles in the AOE, and his fire wasn’t useful in close combat. She activated [Borrow] and took Lelantos’ [Light Claws] spell. Claws of light appeared around her hands as she quickly activated the spell. As the tentacles approached, she slashed out, the long claws made of light passing through the tentacles and unable to get stuck.

“Alistair! Keep the aggro you dunce!” Liliana snapped as Lelantos turned and ran away from the rest of the tentacles, Liliana and Charles going back to tossing spells at the Mimic.

“You want to be a tank instead? Huh?” Alistair called back before he let out a bellow, redirecting the Mimic’s attention onto him.

“I’m good! I don’t enjoy getting beat on by monsters!” Liliana snarked in response.

“How much health does this infernal thing have?” Sam asked. His hand was a blur as it grabbed and shot arrows at incredible speeds. Every arrow found a home in either the Mimic or one of its tentacles.

“Probably has as much health as it has creepy tentacles,” Liliana muttered as she blasted it once more, giving special attention to the tentacles.

With another screech, the Mimic seemed to grow more enraged, its body increasing in size and more tentacles appearing. Liliana groaned as she realized the damn creature must be some kind of mini-boss, and had health activated skills. It had probably dropped below 50% or 25% Health and had some kind of [Berserk] skill.

“You got any major spells?” Liliana asked Charles, who tossed away an empty Mana potion he’d been downing.

“Got one, but it takes two minutes to set up,” Charles warned her and Liliana nodded. Pulling Lelantos back, she slid off the tiger’s back.

“Lelantos, keep him out of harm’s way. I’ll try to grab its attention with pure damage output,” Liliana informed the team. To their credit, they didn’t try to tell her it was stupid. Monsters under the effects of a [Berserk] or [Enrage] skill would regularly ignore aggro generating abilities and focus on whatever dealt the highest amount of damage. It’s part of what made bosses and mini-bosses so dangerous to face, since damage dealers usually had awful Health or defense.

“Hey ugly!” Liliana called out at the Mimic as she shot off another [Light Barrage], downing a Mana potion as she activated [Dance of The Windsong], [Solar Samba] and [Dancer’s Domain] simultaneously. She winced as she felt her Health, Stamina and Mana plunge as the three abilities took their due.

Her movements sped considerably as she dodged around the tentacles shooting her way, [Light Burst]s flying from her as she retaliated each attack. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she ducked and weaved through the attacks. She could tell her teammates were pitching in, could hear Alistair activating taunt after taunt to try and grab attention from her, could see the arrows that rained down between her and the Mimic like falling stars.

Yet she couldn’t pay them much heed, everything but the blood pounding in her ears, the faint ghostly tempo being set by her skills, and the writhing tentacles fell away for her. She could only focus on the next dodge, the next jump, the next strike of magic empower light. She traced a frantic ballet through the cave as she worked to keep the beast’s attention solely on her, to give Charles the time he needed to finish his spell and end this cursed fight. Her Stamina drained as she ducked and wove through the maze of flesh surrounding her.

Finally, after what felt like days of playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Mimic, heat burst before her, a violent conflagration forming with the Mimic at its epicenter. Liliana had to jump back, the heat stinging her skin even though she wasn’t the target of the attack. The Mimic screamed as its tentacles writhed around it, trying to rip the fire off, yet still the pillar of flames roared on, consuming the screeching Mimic in its unforgiving depths.

When the Mimic stopped screeching and finally died, the flames vanished, gone as fast as they had appeared. The team looked on at the burnt corpse of the Mimic in stunned silence.

“So who wants barbecue?” Charles asked from Lelantos back, panting and rubbing sweat off his brow.

Chapter 44: The Boss Battle Begins

“So?” Sasha asked as everyone surrounded Daniel, who had just returned from scouting out the boss’ chamber. They’d finally made their way there. Liliana wasn’t too sure of how many days it had taken, but she knew they’d slept three times since coming into the dungeon, so everyone’s best guess was four days so far.

Getting out of the dungeon would be just as troublesome as the creatures would’ve re-spawned by then. Faster than wild creatures, because of the dungeon boosting their spawn rate. A little over a week in a dungeon wasn’t far off their estimated time for it, though it would’ve been less had Liliana not Ranked up during it. She’d grounded her team during that time, however, she’d heard that they’d gone out in smaller groups to take on a few patrols of goblins during her Rank up, so it hadn’t been a total waste. She lost out on the experience during that time though, and it still itched her.

“The chamber is large, with a lot of smaller caves off of it like homes. There seems to be a rudimentary sort of town set up in there. I saw around thirty goblins running around. Half that in hobgoblins patrolling the area. The boss seems to be some kind of high level Hobgoblin chieftain of some sort. It’s level 80, not named thankfully. The other hobgoblins are between 65 and 75. Goblins are between 60 and 70.” Daniel briefed them all on the room, drawing out a map that showed them the layout of the chamber.

He noted down where he’d seen guards and the largest gathering of goblins, along with where the boss was. Which was predictably in the back behind the other mobs. Everyone started tossing around strategy ideas. This was the first time they’d really needed to think through a full strategy for an encounter. Their typical team format worked for the patrols and groups they met, but there were far too many mobs in the boss room for them to try that now.

“Archers?” Liliana asked, and Daniel nodded, pointing out a few hobgoblin positions and she frowned.

“Alistair, do you have a barrier or shielding skill that will extend to someone else?” Liliana asked, turning to her stepbrother.

“Yea, I’ve got two that would work, [Bulwark] and [All Eyes On Me]. [Bulwark] is a shield that will extend to five feet around me, [All Eyes On Me] forces projectiles to hit me,” Alistair explained and Liliana nodded. Everyone else was still talking about different strategies, while Liliana’s own mind was piecing together different ideas.

While the dungeon differed from her memories, the boss encounter so far was the same. The Hobgoblin boss would have AOE buffing skills it used to buff its minions. Combined with their overwhelming numbers, it made the entire encounter rather dangerous. Liliana had played the dungeon several ways in her play throughs. One had been stealth killing the chieftain, and then sneaking back out. It had gotten her the rewards for clearing the dungeon as only the boss was required in the game. However, that wouldn’t work here, where everyone wanted the experience. Not just the completion. It would be a good idea to get the boss out of the way as soon as possible, but she wasn’t sure Emyr or Daniel could one hit KO the boss. In that instance, she’d ran through side quests for a while to over-level herself for the dungeon.

A different way she’d cleared it had been just brute forcing it, but again not viable this time. When it was a game, she could afford to make stupid choices like that, because she could respawn. This life, as much as it resembled the game, did not give her the option to respawn when she died. Nor for any of her team to respawn.

Another memory hit her, and she smiled. That might work. She’d cleared the dungeon playing as Alistair, having grabbed Emyr for her party early that time. She’d grabbed the rooms aggro and had ordered Emyr to focus his attacks on the chieftain. With the chieftain distracted by keeping himself alive, he hadn’t been able to buff the mobs as much, and she’d been able to get through the miniature army and finish the boss after Emyr had whittled him down.

“Guys,” Liliana called out, frowning when no one but Emyr and Alistair seemed to notice she’d spoken.

“Lelantos,” Liliana called, and the tiger roared at her command, though not quite as loudly as he could’ve. It grabbed the group’s attention, several pain and irritation laden eyes turned to her.

“I have an idea,” Liliana stated primly. “Me and Alistair will ride Lelantos into the room. Alistair will keep the arrows and spells off of me and when we’ve got the aggro of the room, I’ll cast [Radiant Revelry]. I’ll command the mobs to attack each other like before. Once that’s done, Alistair will get off Lelantos and Charles, Sam, and Sasha will come in and begin killing any mobs not under my control, then focus on the ones under my control. While we’re doing that, Daniel and Emyr will sneak past and focus on the boss and keep him off the rest of us. We should be able to handle the mobs quickly enough to provide backup to Daniel and Emyr and finish the boss. Eric will stay back and provide healing for anyone who needs it,” Liliana finished. She waited while everyone processed her plan. She was rather proud of it, and that she’d communicated it without revealing that she had knowledge she shouldn’t.

“And what if Emyr and Daniel can’t handle the boss on their own? Bosses are typically pretty strong. They need entire teams to tackle them,” Alistair spoke up, concern clear on his face as his eyes flickered to his friend.

“From what I’ve read and heard about dungeons, the way boss encounters are set up is very telling about what kind of boss they are. This one seems like the kind that is physically weak, which is why there are so many defenders in there. More than likely, he’s a caster or some sort of support,” Liliana explained carefully. She had read a bit on dungeons, but most of this was coming from her time on earth and how she remembered the dungeons being set up in the game.

If one could pay attention to the setup of the dungeon, they could usually figure out the boss’s type and form a strategy without even facing the boss. If the boss was a physically strong boss, there would be maybe a handful of other hobgoblins in the room or none at all if they’d gotten the evolved form of a hobgoblin, a bugbear. Pure damage dealing mages typically had a few strong defenders or traps of some kind. There were, of course, exceptions such as physically powerful bosses with the ability to buff allies of theirs who would have more than the normal amount of additional mobs. Mage bosses that would then summon a large amount of defenders to attack while preparing a nuclear spell of some kind.

This boss could technically be considered one of those, but Liliana didn’t personally classify him as such. When he was left with no minions to buff, he would use his buffing spells on himself instead. Which would then turn it from a caster fight to a melee, but Liliana wasn’t too concerned. With their team, they should be able to clear the mobs out and provide backup before the boss got to that point.

“Liliana here isn’t wrong about that,” Sasha commented, getting nods from the other guards as they seriously considered her plan. Liliana shot the woman a grateful look for her support. She was also rather warmed by Sasha’s use of her real name, rather than her title. She, and the other guards, had begun using it after the mimic fight, saying she was ‘one of them’ for putting herself in so much direct danger. It felt nice to be included like that.

“What if Eric went with Daniel and Lord Emyr? His [Stealth] isn’t bad and it would keep him away from most of the mobs if they got past us,” Sam added in and Eric made a rather unpleased face at the idea.

Liliana could sympathize from what she’d seen: the man had almost no offensive abilities. She wasn’t sure if it was because of his class or a personal choice. Some classes could impose restrictions like that, though her memory of healing classes was nonexistent. She had despised playing a healer in any game and had never taken the class herself, nor had any interest in learning about it. However, she knew there were offensive classes that would restrict a player from having healing skills, for example, and she could imagine it was the same for some healer classes.

“Yea but if the boss has some way of calling his buddies back, then he just has Lord Emyr and Daniel to protect him,” Charles spoke up and the team hummed, everyone looking at the healer trying to figure out where to put their both incredibly useful and inconvenient party member.

“We could strap him to Alistair's back?” Liliana offered with a smirk and that got a round of laughter from the group, though the death glare she received from Eric made her hesitant to eat dinner that night.

“We could put him on Lelantos with Liliana again?” Sasha wondered and Liliana hummed. They’d done that a couple times when they got a larger than a normal group of goblins or a patrol. It had been useful to keep the healer out of danger while giving him the mobility to move around the battlefield with two defenders with him.

“He’d have to do it after we’re in the room, when I cast [Radiant Revelry],” Liliana informed them. With the archers in the room, he wouldn’t be safe before then.

“Alright, we’ll do it that way then,” Sasha decided with nods from the rest of the guards. Liliana turned to Emyr first. The other boy met her gaze and nodded silently, accepting the plan. Liliana turned to Alistair, who was scowling at his feet.

“I guess the plan isn’t completely awful,” Alistair allowed, and Liliana grinned. Everyone got up, checking over their equipment one last time and stretching out.

“Ready?” Liliana asked Lelantos, scratching behind his ears. The tiger chuffed, and she got a feeling of eagerness over the bond. He was excited to fight, he always was. Even if the things they fought rarely gave him any experience, the tiger still enjoyed the thrill of battle.

Liliana climbed into the saddle, Alistair reluctantly climbing behind her. He fiddled with his hands a moment before grabbing onto the back of the saddle, trying to avoid touching her. Liliana was thankful. While this was her plan and her relationship with her stepbrother had improved over the months, she was also rather uncomfortable. However, this was the best plan that would see them all out of this encounter alive.

Eric walked around, giving their team various buffs. Liliana shuddered as the feeling of someone else’s magic settled over her. At the same time she felt a new strength settle on her and, checking her stats, she saw that he’d buffed her Strength, Intelligence and Stamina. She summoned her weapon and held it at her side as she looked around.

“Ready?” she asked, her heart thudding in her chest, picking up as anticipation filled her. Adrenaline was already dripping into her blood and the siren’s call of battle was singing to her.

“Ready,” Sasha answered, prompting a round of ready calls from the others.

Liliana nodded and turned forward. With a grin, she pushed Lelantos forward, and the tiger took off into as fast a lope as he could manage in the twisting depths of the dungeon. While the dungeon was large, far larger than she thought any cave system had a right to be, because of the dungeon itself changing the surroundings. It had quite a lot of sharp turns and twisting paths that made dead on sprints dangerous.

Behind her, she could hear Alistair grumbling and cursing under his breath about the ride. From what Charles had told her after the mimic fight, riding on Lelantos differed from riding on a horse, and while a [Riding] skill ensured someone would stay on, it didn’t change the fact that it felt distinctly off to someone used to horses.

Lelantos picked up speed when they got to the long stretch right before the boss’ chamber. Liliana gripped her naginata tightly as she readied her skill. It was unnecessary since it had no cast time, but it felt better to hold the skill in her mind, ready to activate when she pulled the trigger.

The pair on the tiger burst into the boss chamber and Liliana looked around for a moment, taken off guard by how much it looked like the game. Almost stone for stone. The details were the same, and for a few seconds as Lelantos plowed towards the middle, Liliana felt herself return to her past life.

The feeling that this was all just a game tried to intrude upon her mind, but memories of bloody bodies piled around her, the scent of copper and human waste, tickled her nose as memories hit her. Memories of screams for mercy, and screams of hate filled her head. Memories from the last time she’d made the mistake of thinking this was a game. With a supreme force of will, Liliana banished her memories of playing this dungeon, of sitting in her slightly too cold hospital room as the machines around her sang a discordant song of her own dwindling health.

It’s not a game. This is my life now. I can’t make the mistake of pretending it’s just a game again, Liliana reminded herself as Lelantos came to a stop. Around them was a horde of goblins, all of them thrown off by the sudden appearance of a massive tiger in their midst. A light covered Liliana and she felt unfamiliar magic. She almost turned to look for the attacker when she realized it was Alistair casting his [Bulwark] skill.

As the goblins and hobgoblins shook themselves from their shock, they charged at the mounted pair, several hobgoblins pulling out bows and aiming arrows at them. Liliana waited until she felt the majority of the company of monsters was close enough before she activated her skill.

[Radiant Revelry] bathed the dimly lit chamber in blinding rays of magic enhanced light. Shadows were banished as the goblins fell prey to her skill, eyes going vacant, and their charge stopped in its tracks. The light didn’t quite reach all the hobgoblins standing on the edges of the chamber, and arrows still peppered the shield of light Alistair had thrown around them. Already the boy was sliding off Lelantos, summoning his weapons as he took up his spot next to the tiger.

“Attack your brethren,” Liliana ordered the goblins and hobgoblins under her thrall. She could feel a distinctive strain on her mind at the order. She had never controlled so many with the skill, she’d only used it once before. A headache was blossoming behind her eyes as the goblins let out screeches and screams, turning on their friends and family as they tore them apart at her order. Liliana slid off Lelantos and sent the tiger back to pick up Eric, signaling her teammates that it was time for them to enter the boss room.

Chapter 45: The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall

Her teammates burst into the room after them. Though Liliana couldn’t see Emyr or Daniel, she assumed they were sneaking past the chaos taking over the boss room. She could see the chieftain hobgoblin in the back, waving around a staff as he tried to cast some sort of spell. Liliana turned her attention off the boss when she saw shadows appear around his feet and yank him off balance.

Charles and Sam were focusing on the hobgoblins and few goblins she hadn’t caught in her skill, throwing fireballs and dueling with arrows. Sasha was waiting behind Alistair as the goblins attacked each other. It was easier than wading into the mayhem before them, and let them focus only on the goblins and hobgoblins that broke out of the control skill. The ones that broke out either turned on their brethren when the still controlled ones attacked or ran at Liliana, enabling Sasha and Alistair to focus on those. Liliana found most of her focus on her skill. Focusing on anything else caused the headache to increase. An irritating drawback to the skill.

As the mobs broke out of her control, Liliana felt her headache lessen, and she mentally noted that there was probably a limit to how many being she could control. Whether that limit stayed the same for all beings, or if it was affected by stats, she wasn’t sure and would need far more testing to determine. She could tell the skill only targeted those she meant it to, not simply whatever fell;l under her light, otherwise her teammates would be in danger of being controlled.

Turning her focus to the goblins that were dropping from her control, Liliana summoned [Light Burst]s around herself, shooting off the spells to dispatch the freed goblins. Any she didn’t immediately kill died to their still feral companions. Essence was rising in the room like storm clouds, rushing into various members of her team. Liliana could feel huge waves of it running into her, and she knew she’d be leveling at least once by the end of this encounter, if not more.

More and more of the goblins fell from her control and as the last of the archers were dispatched, Charles and Sam turned their attention onto the remains of the horde. Liliana estimated they’d taken down a third of the original forces in the room, almost entirely with her skill alone. The last of her control slipped as the remaining goblins slipped below the threshold of her skill. The freed goblins turned bloody fangs towards the group and screeched a primal war-cry.

Most of her Mana had regenerated, so Liliana activated her skills and spells, feeling the familiar rush they gave her as they settled over her and her nearby teammates. [Dancer’s Domain], [Solar Samba], [War Maiden’s Waltz], and [Dance Of The Windsong]. She cast [Dancing Doubles] and watched her Mana plummet with the last addition. She immediately sent the doubles off to do what damage they could to the horde.

It was as odd as ever to watch clones of herself made of shifting light run off to fight their own battles. The way they moved was fluid and seemed a harsh contrast to the bloody battle around them. Grabbing a Mana potion from her storage to combat the drain, she moved forward, dancing between her allies, who were already locked in battle with the goblins. Their movements were stronger and faster with her aid.

It gave her an odd feeling, almost happiness, seeing how her skills helped her allies become more fearsome opponents for the monsters they were attacking. She knew they’d have been fine without her, but with her, they were doing better. As was she, her blade sung a haunting, final lullaby as it slashed without hesitation through the smaller bodies of the goblins. The discordant melody of their dying cries simply further enhanced the sounds of whistling steel, hungry flames and whizzing arrows. Liliana ducked and dodged around both the attacks from the goblins and her own teammates.

A fireball blasted past her cheek as she spun, her blade sinking into yet another small green body. An arrow breezed over her head as she ducked down and swept the legs out from under a hobgoblin before her blade sunk deep into its chest. The thudding of an arrow and then the sound of flesh igniting forced her to spin, seeing another hobgoblin falling to the ground mere inches from her unprotected back it had been targeting.

She felt Mana regenerating at a faster rate inside of her and she looked to see Eric gripping tightly to Lelantos with one hand while another waved a staff around, a green light held at the end. The light had washed over her and boosted her Intelligence she had to assume and she grinned at the goblins around her as floating balls of light appeared around her. Letting loose a [Light Barrage] Liliana spun and twisted through the raining light, finishing off the screaming goblins wounded from her magical attack.

As their team waded their way through the mass of goblins, Liliana checked on Emyr and Daniel. The pair seemed to be keeping the Chieftain in hand. Every time the Chieftain started to cast a spell, one of them knocked him off his feet, or interrupted his cast. A major drawback of large-scale support magic, or any large-scale magic, was that it typically had a cast time. If the caster was interrupted during it, the spell failed. Liliana smiled as she downed another Mana potion to bring her Mana back up as she summoned another [Light Barrage], raining death upon the goblins circling her. Arrows and balls of fire accompanied the beautiful display of deadly falling lights, clearing the path for her.

“How do you move so damn fast?” Sasha called out as the woman carved her own gruesome way through the goblins, coming to stand near Liliana.

“Better Speed,” Liliana said simply as she dashed froward, activating [Leap] she took to the air. Landing on a goblin, she impaled him and turned a smirk back at the woman she’d left behind.

“Try to keep up!” She teased as she turned and cut her way through the last goblins and hobgoblins standing in her way. Past them was the boss, and her allies who were still stuck harrying him to keep the rest of them safe. Liliana would be damned if she’d let them get away with all the experience from a boss kill. Goblins screamed and screeched at her as her blade swung through the air, blood trailing the blade like a macabre ribbon.

Breaking through the last line of goblins, Liliana turned. There were only a few stragglers left. She turned back into the fray, a vicious whirlwind of steel and blood as she cut through the goblins holding her team back.

“Alistair! Get to the boss!” She ordered as she got closer to the tank. The boy nodded, shoving his shield into a hobgoblin. He finished it with a cut to its throat and took off.

“Sam! Charles! Watch his back! Sasha, finish these guys up! Lelantos, get Eric to the boss!” Liliana ordered as she turned and chased after her stepbrother, quickly catching up to him and finishing off any of the few remaining mobs who tried to get in their way. Alistair didn’t slow as they approached the boss, instead he held his shield up and rammed right into the high level hobgoblin. The spell the creature had been about to cast was once more interrupted as Alistair’s higher Strength sent the chieftain tumbling.

“Boost!” Liliana called out, and immediately Alistair knelt down, holding his shield above his head. Liliana jumped up, mentally praising her Dexterity for enabling such a combination move. As Alistair stood, he shoved the shield at the same time Liliana activated [Leap]. It flung her far into the air, and she twisted her body as she reached the crest of her jump and began to fall back to the earth. Black shadows held the Chieftain down as Liliana activated [Light Burst Coat] on her weapon moments before it, and she, plowed into the Chieftain.

The fall knocked the wind out of her and she felt her Health dip from the maneuver, but she paid it no mind as golden light exploded inside the chieftain. Yanking her weapon out of the hobgoblin’s body, she danced back, watching the Chieftain. Boss creatures usually had more Health than their similarly leveled counterparts, and she doubted even with her boosted stats that move had killed it.

“You really had to pull a flashy risky move like that in a boss fight?” Alistair asked her as she retreated behind him. She huffed, turning her face from him.

“When else should you perform flashy moves? I thought I looked rather heroic!” Liliana countered, and Alistair snorted.

“You looked like an idiot,” He informed her and Liliana pouted. However, before they could continue their trade, the Chieftain moved. Verdant green light surrounded his body, bulking it up. Muscles where there had been none before formed, ripping through the already ragged clothing the chieftain had worn.

“Shit, he’s got Earth, Life and Nature magic!” Alistair called out while Liliana kept quiet. She had known as much, but there had been no way to tell her teammates without giving away the fact she knew too much. Knowing the boss had Earth magic was obvious, as it was a racial trait. But the Life was rare for any goblinoid to have, and Nature was a subtype that only came if you had high enough Earth and Life affinity.

The hobgoblin continued to grow until he was brushing six feet tall, and rippling in muscles. While Alistair, and the rest of the team that had joined them, took an instinctive step back, Liliana grinned, tightening her grip on her naginata. This was exactly like the game, when this boss got below 50% health, he transformed into a buffed form. It only happened if all of his minions were dead as well, otherwise it would be the minions that got the buffed form and that was a hell of a lot harder to deal with.

Liliana took off, cries for her teammates following her. She paid them no heed, she was in her element. She knew this fight, knew the moves the boss would make. Confidence filled her movements as she dodged the slow strikes of the transformed hobgoblin.

Duck left, he swings right next, left, then a haymaker, Liliana recounted in her head, dodging each strike perfectly and lashing out with her own weapon at every opening the beast left her.

Ten, eleven, Liliana kept the count going in her head as she stepped, dodged and jumped around the boss. When she reached thirty, she darted back just as the boss brought both his hands to the ground, the floor of the cave shaking with tremors as the boss activated an earthquake skill.

“Use [Bulwark]!” Liliana ordered Alistair, as she darted forward again. Fighting on unstable ground was harder in real life than in the game, but her high Dexterity gave her an edge even if she stumbled a little in her stride. The boss, on the other hand, walked across the rolling ground as easily as he had on the steady stone.

Her teammates were struggling to stand, arrows and fireballs going wide and off their mark. Sam, at least, was recovering faster than Charles, and soon his arrows were once more peppering the boss. Sasha was struggling to stand straight, weaving drunkenly as the floor bucked and heaved under her. Alistair was also struggling, but Liliana could see him activate a shielding skill that extended past and behind him, protecting their teammates.

Daniel appeared as Liliana neared the boss again, he seemed to have as little trouble with the rioting ground as she. His daggers slashed across the boss’ Achilles tendon, forcing the beast to drop to a knee as it cried out in rage and pain. The scout sliced at the creature’s unprotected back, stabbing and slashing like a madman. Shadows were appearing around the boss, grabbing the hobgoblin and holding him down. Other shadows slashed out at him, eliciting more screams of rage and pain.

Liliana added her own blade to the fray, stabbing deep into the creature’s ribs. She pulled back and struck again, and again. Arrows and soon fireballs fell on the boss, their entire team taking the opportunity to rain hell down on the boss as he struggled to regain his feet.

Sixteen, seventeen, Liliana counted and with a last stab, she darted back as the boss let out a deep roar that shook the room. Dust rained down from the stone walls of the cave, a few pieces of stone coming free and crashing to the ground that was slowly returning to normal. The boss flexed his muscles, which seemed to have grown even more since the beginning of the fight.

Shadows ripped silently around him and, with a small blast of power that sent Daniel tumbling away from the boss, the enormous hobgoblin stood. His eyes shone a deep red, and Liliana almost felt she could see a blood red aura coating the beast. With another roar that sent a deep spike of fear into her heart, the boss charged at Alistair, who barely recovered from the intimidating shout in time to brace for the attack.

He’s entered a berserk state, then he’s down to 25% Health. Every attack will further buff his Strength, Liliana noted as she ran back in. Lelantos and Eric were close behind Alistair, the healer needing to keep the tank’s Health and Mana topped off as Alistair withstood an unending rain of crushing blows. The sound of screaming metal filled the room and Liliana attacked the boss with ferocious intensity. Alistair’s shield wouldn’t last for long. They needed to down the boss before it broke.

“It’s reached an enraged state! Give it everything you have. It’s almost dead!” Liliana ordered the team, and with a cry, they rallied to take down the hobgoblin. Fire, arrows, shadows, light and steel flashed in the room as the group rained everything they had on the boss. His attacks got stronger with each fresh wound they dealt him, but the floor was soaked in his red life’s blood and they could all sense that victory was at hand.

At 10% he’s going to turn and attack the DPS, aggro depending on who dealt the highest amount of damage in the last five seconds. Liliana watched the boss as she stabbed and sliced into its hide. With another deafening roar, it turned, its thick arms swinging out and finding nothing but air as Liliana darted out of the way.

“Keep him off the long ranged attackers!” Liliana barked out as the boss began to twist and turn, trying to attack the annoying creatures slowly carving him into mincemeat. Every time the boss tried to turn towards Sam or Charles, Alistair stepped forward to grab his attention, or Sasha buried an axe in him. Liliana played her part of infuriating nuisance well, flitting around the boss and leaving new wounds in her wake, forcing the boss to twist and turn in circles to try to keep up with her faster Speed.

The boss stepped forward, but his leg gave out and the creature went crashing to his hands and knees. With a cheer, the group poured all they had left into the struggling beast. A sword made of shadows finished him seconds before Liliana could shove her own weapon into the creature’s skull. Looking up, she met Emyr’s eyes as he walked out of the shadows, a pleased smirk on his face.

Lowering her weapon, she huffed and turned from him. Essence was rising off the boss, far more than from a normal creature. It split off and filled them. Liliana took a deep breath as she felt it hit her, sinking deep inside of her and empowering her body. She estimated she’d probably gotten at least another two levels today, but she’d need to wait to check.

Sasha and Daniel were already at the boss, skinning him and getting to his core. They’d need to get the cores of the rest of the goblins and hobgoblins in the room, and Liliana leaned heavily on her naginata as she released her skills and spells. Her Mana and Stamina were in the red, and slowly refilling. Eric was off of Lelantos now, moving around the group and casting healing and buffing spells as he did. Liliana vaguely wondered what his Mana pool and regen were like as he came to her and her own Mana, Health and Stamina shot up. With her Mana back up, she activated [Healing Harmony] hoping to get some levels into the spell.

“Rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to get out of skinning?” Liliana called out, and after a very intense miniature tournament, Charles was strutting around as the rest of them grumbled and got to their sections of the boss room to do the grisly part of clearing a dungeon. It had to be done quickly. In a dungeon, any bodies left around disappeared in an hour. Along with anything on or inside of them, which would mean precious money going down the drain when the cores disappeared.

Still, as Liliana dug her skinning knife into the mangled corpse of a goblin, she silently wished they could just ignore this entire part of it.

Chapter 46: Is It Still A Bug Or Is It A Feature?

“I need a bath,” Liliana whined as she sat down on the cold stone floor and fell back. She could feel the drying and cooling blood coating her arms and she hated it. She was used to skinning creatures, but it didn’t make the mess any more palatable, no matter how many times she had to deal with it.

“Here,” Eric said, coming forward and laying a glowing hand on her.

In seconds, the blood and gore had dissolved off her skin and Liliana gleefully looked at her cleaned arms. The healer had some kind of cleaning spell. He said it came from his class, so he didn’t know if she could get a scroll with the same spell on it. She’d peppered him with questions about it the first time he’d used it to clean the team of blood and gunk gained from fighting their first goblin patrol. Alistair,

“I need that spell,” Liliana murmured as she slowly sat up. She looked around and saw Daniel poking around the cave, looking for the loot undoubtedly. Liliana sighed and mentally instructed Lelantos to paw at the third mini cave from the left. It was where the treasure was hidden. It would be far less suspicious if Lelantos found it than her, as he had an actual tracking skill.

The tiger obeyed, pawing at the spot and uncovering the hidden loot. The entire team hurried over as soon as they figured out what the tiger had discovered, and Liliana picked herself off the ground. She was excited for the loot as well, but she knew what to expect. She knew the drop table for this dungeon backwards and forwards. If the world followed that, then she wouldn’t be surprised.

“Nothing too good this time,” Sasha commented as she picked up a pair of leather bracers.

“It’s a new dungeon. The first few drops are always bad until it gets enough Mana, or deaths, to form better,” Daniel explained as he held up two uncut gemstones.

“This is nice, at least,” Sam commented, holding up a rather elaborate pendant for a first dungeon drop. A dark, almost black, blue stone sat in a silver setting, the silver twisting and crossing over and around the stone in a dizzying pattern. A delicate silver chain held up the rather large pendant.

Liliana remembered a small side quest from the game featuring that necklace. It was a guaranteed drop the first time you ran this dungeon, no matter what. The side quest was phrased as a side quest but you couldn’t actually continue on the story quest without completing it, it irritated a lot of players because it hadn’t been made apparent the side quest was mandatory.

The quest was simple and offered no rewards. You had to deliver the pendant to Liliana Rosengarde, if you played Emyr or Alistair. It made other players think it was a bug because none of the other characters had to follow the quest line, just Emyr and Alistair, who met Liliana before the Academy. Some theorized it was meant to play into the second game’s storyline.

Of all the things Liliana thought she’d see, the pendant wasn’t one of them. It had been a pointless quest in the game. Many, Liliana included, thought it was a bug that was never patched out because it held no significance to the story. So why was it showing up here and now?

“I think it should go to Liliana. It matches her,” Sam said, getting immediate agreement from the rest of the group. Even Alistair didn’t argue or put up any kind of resistance to the suggestion. Sam walked to Liliana and handed her the pendant. For a moment, Liliana caught an odd expression on his face, an almost misty quality to his eyes that vanished before she could be sure she saw it.

Taking the odd pendant from the archer, Liliana examined it, holding it up. She could feel power radiating off the pendant, piquing her curiosity further. The game had always treated the pendant as nothing more than a piece of jewelry, yet her senses said there was something more to the pendant that dangled from her fingers, swaying gently before her eyes. Activating [Identify] Liliana tried to discover the secrets the pendant kept.

Ancient Pendant

A pendant of unknown age, it’s perhaps seen hundreds or thousands of years pass by it. The stone and metal are remarkably well kept despite its obvious age. The stone is of an unknown origin, resembling a sapphire but not quite matching such a gemstone. The metal, while resembling silver, is also not quite what it seems. A beautiful piece of jewelry with no obvious magical properties.

Liliana glared at the pendant, staring at the information [Identify] was showing her with disbelief. She canceled and reactivate the skill, trying to get a different answer. When the same box appeared, she tried again, and again, and again. The same words taunted her every time. Liliana glared at the pendant, shaking it as if that would force it to reveal what secrets it was hiding.

“Eric? Can you use [Appraisal] on this?” Liliana called out, not dropping her gaze from the pendant in her grasp, as if she was facing down a dangerous creature.

“It’s just an Ancient Pendant, its stone and metal are unknown to me but that happens sometimes with older items,” Eric answered, seeming to be completely fine with the fact that his [Appraisal] skill had offered no more information than her [Identify] had. [Appraisal] was a possible evolution of [Identify], but it focused more on items than living beings. Eric had apparently gotten the evolution by accident.

He sometimes had so little to do in fights that he’d taken to using [Identify] on found objects so often it forced the evolution. It made him useful for dungeon delving, as he could usually get better information about loot than [Identify] would give, but right now the skill was useless to Liliana if it couldn’t tell her what was going on with the pendant.

“It’s just a pretty bauble, don’t think too hard about it or you’ll hurt your little brain,” Alistair called out and Liliana finally broke her staring contest with the pendant to give a withering glare to her stepbrother.

“You’re telling me you can’t sense the magical power radiating from this thing?” Liliana asked incredulously, and Alistair turned to stare at her as if she was going insane.

“You’re probably just feeling the power from the dungeon core. It’s likely nearby. They usually hide around the boss room or somewhere nearby,” Sasha answered, stepping in to prevent the fight brewing between the two siblings.

“Yea, sure,” Liliana murmured, lowering the pendant.

Was she feeling the dungeon core? But she could swear she felt the power coming from the pendant itself. Far more power than she’d felt coming from any piece of equipment before. Even her new naginata that had several enchantments worked into it felt like a flickering candle beside the contained bonfire she could sense within the pendant. Yet no one else seemed to sense the same thing.

Liliana retreated away from the others. They were dividing out the loot. It was mostly Mana infused stones and ore with a small bit of equipment. Normally, even that would excite Liliana. The possible monetary gains she could make selling dungeon enhanced gear was not to be scoffed at, but her mind was too distracted by the pendant to care.

Lelantos followed her and Liliana held up the pendant for him to sniff, wondering if their Soul Bond would enable him to feel what she did. The tiger pressed his large snout to the pendant and withdrew with a snuffling noise. Liliana almost cried in relief when he communicated a sense of power from the pendant, so she wasn’t going insane. However, the next impression he sent her gave her pause. Something about the pendant screamed predator to Lelantos, and it left him wary of the pendant. He wasn’t averse to it, but whatever it was hiding felt dangerous to the cat. Liliana stared at the mystery pendant for several more long minutes, wondering what to do with it.

The thought of tossing it away didn’t even cross her mind, though she felt a small urge to wear the pendant. She squashed that quickly. She didn’t trust mysterious jewelry that might hold some kind of ancient curse. She’d watched enough horror movies on Earth to know how that went. Eventually, Liliana decided the best course of action was to just toss it into her storage. She could go to the city and look for a higher leveled appraiser to unveil the pendant’s true nature when they got back.

The sense of power, and of a dangerous predator lurking, vanished with the pendant. Validating to Liliana that the sense she’d gotten had been from the pendant and not the hidden dungeon core. As she looked back to the group, she saw that the loot had been finally divided evenly among all of them, one small pile of stones and ores signifying her own, she assumed. Liliana walked over and knelt, looking at the uncut gemstones and shining hunks of metal.

“Some amethyst, a moonstone and a sunstone. Nothing too fancy for this dungeon, but it can make some good equipment. The ore is all iron ore. Maybe you can get a new naginata or daggers commissioned?” Sam informed her, pointing out the different stones. Liliana nodded thankfully as she deposited it all in her storage bracelet. She’d already taken her portion of the cores for the goblins, which she got the majority of for taking care of most of the goblins herself. She could tell she’d been given a good fraction of the loot, if one counted the pendant she’d been given too.

“We decided since you came up with the strategy for the boss that you’d get the nicer stones,” Charles clarified, but he pouted over his own small stone she identified as a sunstone too. If she remembered correctly, sunstones could be used to improve fire affinity skills and spells. It made sense that it was what Charles wanted. Liliana cared more for the moonstones, which could improve Soul magic as Soul fell under the Goddess of the night’s purview.

“You got the mimic’s core, don’t complain,” Sasha chided the fire mage, who just crossed his arms and looked away from the taller woman. Sasha sighed and reached for her axe, to undoubtedly whack the mage with the flat of the blade as she’d done before. Charles scrambled away, forcing a bright smile onto his face.

“I love my rewards! They’re perfect for me!” Charles said as he edged closer to the exit, prompting the rest of the group to get a move on. The mobs wouldn’t respawn for some hours yet, but dungeons were known to be chaotic and unpredictable, Liliana had heard tales from the guards of other groups killing a boss, and ten minutes later as they were still splitting the loot having the entire boss room respawn on top of them. It didn’t happen often, and Charles had theorized it was because the groups had gotten too close to the actual dungeon core, forcing it to defend itself, but no one wanted to chance it.

Liliana pulled herself on to Lelantos, slumping over her saddle. Her Stamina was full, but she was exhausted. She still had a headache lurking around the edges of her mind from having too many creatures under [Radiant Revelry], and the fight hadn’t been easy. Predictable, yes, but not easy. It was one thing to do a boss fight in the comfort of your hospital bed, nothing but your fingers moving. It was a whole other thing to actually do the boss fight in person, forcing your body to dodge, twist and strike.

She could tell the others were tired. Charles wasn’t even playing with fireballs or trying to singe Sam’s hair. Sasha was trudging ahead, but her axes hung low in her hands. Daniel was still scouting, but Liliana assumed he was likely moving as slow as the rest of them. Emyr wasn’t even hiding in the shadows, instead walking beside Alistair, the two whispering together.

Liliana watched the two for a moment, her mind moving slowly as exhaustion pressed in on her. Alistair was smiling, a smile Liliana never saw directed at herself. It was open, free, and easy. The laugh he let out at whatever joke Emyr had just told him rang through the cavern, the proud smirk on Emyr’s face showing the boy’s feelings about making his friend laugh. The light of her [Shine] hovering above them all cast the two in a bright relief, fully illuminating the happiness etched on both their faces.

What would it be like to have a friend from such a young age? Emyr and Alistair have known each other since they were in diapers and have been best friends since. Is it easier? To have someone who understands you so easily? They even chose classes and affinities that complimented each other. Did the system grant those, or did they go out of their way to learn them? Liliana considered as she watched the two. Emyr caught her watching eyes, he lifted a silent brow at her gaze. She looked away hastily, having been caught in her spying.

And I chastised him about spying and eavesdropping. What a hypocrite I make. Liliana flushed in embarrassment, fingers reaching out to fiddle with Lelantos’ fur to hide her shame.

Will I ever have a friend like that? The question tugged at her mind, summoning a familiar ache in her chest. She could say now that she had friends. Something she couldn’t say often in her past life. Emyr, Marianne and even Alistair, when he wasn’t being a little shit, were all people she’d consider now to be her friends. But the kind of closeness Alistair and Emyr shared it differed from what she experienced in her own friendships, both in this life and the last. A part of her, the greedy part of her that always wanted more than she had, yearned for that kind of closeness.

Affection, love, poured through her bond from Lelantos, the tiger sensing her feelings and thoughts. Liliana smiled at the tiger, a warm feeling blossoming in her chest. Perhaps she wouldn’t ever get the close friendship Alistair and Emyr shared with another person, but she could say the love she felt for her Soul Bond was something nothing in this life or the last could ever compare to.

Her lives had been hard, and this one was shaping up to be more difficult than her last by a wide margin, but she wouldn’t trade her bond with Lelantos for an easier life.

Chapter 47: Self Reflection And The End To A Dungeon

“I definitely won!” Sasha proclaimed, twirling her axes around as they approached the end of the dungeon. They'd spent the last few days getting back out of the dungeon. Many of the goblins and hobgoblins had re-spawned, not as many as had been there to start with, but enough to give them all a respectable amount of experience.

“Is your head full of rocks? I won!” Charles insisted, flames popping up around him, his own version of Liliana’s lost [Will-O-Wisp] spell. He’d gotten the spell after a level up. Apparently, being around her spell for a time had enabled him to gain the fire version of it. It left Liliana curious about what else one could learn by examining other affinity’s spells or skills. She’d spent a long time staring at Emyr’s shadows to try to figure out how to transfer it into a Light based spell or skill.

“I told you, I killed 64 goblins, that wins!” Sasha said, waving an axe threateningly at the fire mage.

“And I told you I kill 70,” Charles informed her. Sam whistled quietly from the back as he examined an arrow.

“I got 74,” Sam told the group, ducking a fireball without looking up.

“Half of those were stolen kills!” Charles told the archer and Liliana urged Lelantos to get further ahead, away from the quarreling ranged fighters.

Emyr and Alistair were walking separately from the group, but Liliana was fairly certain it was because Alistair was pouting. From what she’d heard, he’d killed 42 mobs, which didn’t put him as the winner. It was expected that a tank wouldn’t get as many kills. It wasn’t his job to kill the mobs. He still got a good amount of experience since anytime someone killed something if the System determined he’d assisted by drawing aggro, or protecting them, he got experience from it.

Emyr was trying to console him with the fact that he’d gotten 8 levels from the dungeon. Alistair was sitting at level 74 now. Emyr was close behind him at level 71. Liliana herself was catching up to both of them, her boon pulling its weight. She was at level 64 now, having gained 11 levels in the dungeon, the most by far of the group. It was unsurprising as her level had also been the lowest, and she got an additional 50% experience on top of the 20% this dungeon gave as a bonus.

Liliana kept out of the argument for the most part. She’d only gotten 59 kills herself in the dungeon and wasn’t in the running. She’d gotten a majority of her kills in the boss room as well, thanks to her ultimate. But it still wasn’t that impressive, not when compared to the other’s accomplishments. She also didn’t want to draw anymore attention to her too-fast leveling.

She could get away with saying she simply got a good percentage from the kills. There were far too many for anyone to bother double checking the math. But it reminded her that she needed to be careful with the information she gave freely. If someone noticed her gains were far too fast for anyone to have, they may start asking uncomfortable questions. She’d rather avoid informing people that a goddess had blessed her, because they’d want to know why. And that wasn’t a question she had a suitable answer to.

She pulled up the description of [Deception] again; the skill had been leveling slowly in the dungeon as well, more so when she realized she needed to keep quiet about her gains and lying to the others when they talked about how many things they’d killed.

Deception: You are adept at telling lies with both your words and actions, aiding you in making others believe what you wish for them to believe. You’ve grown into your ability to deceive those who spend time with you, shrouding the truth in layers of misdirection and subtle lies. Your developing Charisma aids you in making others see the truth you want them to, bending them to your whims. You’ve become proficient enough that other traits of yourself can be hidden from those who look, even those with skills meant to lay bare information. Hide your Level from any [Identify] under the level of your [Deception]+ 10% of your Charisma

Currently hidden from those with [Identify] under level 66

It wasn’t too useful yet, only hiding her level for those who didn’t have an [Identify] over level 66. Which was likely just the servants, as she knew they didn’t try very hard to level their skills from what she’d heard of from Astrid. The skill was a boon and a curse in its own way. Hiding her level or information meant that anyone who used [Identify] on her wouldn’t see it, but that would make them curious as to why. She wasn’t sure how many skills hid levels, but with the fact that it was customary for Nobles to not hide their levels to show them off, it made her look suspicious.

What if the other nobles have a skill like [Deception] but use it to change their levels to something else? Liliana considered, worrying her lip between her teeth. She’d need to ask someone who wasn’t a servant to know the answer to that. She wasn’t sure if even Alistair or Emyr knew, since she hadn’t seen them hiding their levels. In fact, like most of the other young nobles she’d spent time with, they seemed to gladly display their levels. After all, their levels determined their admittance to the prestigious Academy, and would aid them in social status once admitted.

However, hiding levels wouldn’t be a completely impossible thing for established nobles, not when they played their vicious games with each other. Hiding one’s true power from a rival or enemy was a common and effective tactic. The more Liliana considered it, the more possible the idea seemed. A familiar fire of determination built in her. She could level her [Deception] more and eventually get it to a point where it could not just mask her information, but change it. Or, she hoped.

She’d need to do more research on the skill, as it wasn’t common enough to be in any of the books she’d found in the manor. She’d likely need a more specialized text. If what she was hoping was possible, though, she could change her level to more accurately reflect what she should be at. Hiding her true, higher level, from prying eyes.

It would be good not just for removing any suspicion from her, but also for giving her an advantage in any fight with another human. Or beast evolved enough to use a skill like [Identify]. Liliana wasn’t sure when beasts got such a skill, Lelantos had it, but she wasn’t sure if it was typical. Or if he got it because Cheshire’s were generally more intelligent beasts from the moment they came into existence.

A mental query to the tiger in question left her with the information that he’d had the skill [identify] from as early as he could remember. Which meant either beasts were all born with the skill or all Cheshire’s were born with the skill. Liliana mentally noted it down as something to research in her dwindling free time.

Liliana moved her mind back to the conundrum at hand. If she could [Deception] to a point it could change her level, she wouldn’t need to worry about leveling too fast. She could level to her heart’s content and raise no eyebrows about it. She’d need to be careful, though. Even in her own home, she was walking a tightrope. She had to be good enough to keep her prodigy status that got her father’s favor, but not so strong she became a genuine threat in the Duchess’s eyes.

Already she worried she was too close to that line. She felt the woman’s cruel eyes on her anytime they passed, and she knew the woman had servants watching her. She still lashed out with vicious words hidden behind a thin veneer of kindness and propriety when in the presence of others, not willing to strike too hard after Liliana’s father had already raised issue at such things. Little though his protection was, he obviously only cared about Liliana so long as she continued to be of use to him. A tool didn’t need to be happy, it simply had to work. Otherwise, he wouldn’t keep that viper in their home at all.

If the viper of a woman caught Liliana when no one else was around? That thin veneer of hers shattered, and the venom that poured from her mouth was a scalding poison that hurt far more than it should. Liliana had memories of a mother who was kind and loving. Yet the memories she carried from earth were becoming less corporeal everyday she spent in this new world.

Already the memories she’d been given from the original Liliana were far more fresh, and sometimes felt far more real, than the ones she’d carried over from her previous life. Perhaps it was simply the result of time. Vita had implied she’d been in the void for close to a hundred years. Perhaps it was the goddess’ doing. She’d already changed Liliana’s memories to erase her name, the names of everyone she knew and every identifying detail.

Whatever the cause was, Liliana could say that her memories of a loving mother were thin and weak in comparison to knowing far more recently a stepmother who had nothing in her heart but hate for her. No memory of a mother singing songs to her as she brushed her thinning hair could fully combat the pain that came with words full of cruelty. Memories of happy holidays, warm kisses and tight embraces fell apart when faced with the too real sharp claws of a woman who knew how to aim for one’s weak spots.

‘You’re just a commoner at the core, aren’t you? I’ve heard that you struggle in your lessons, despite the time Miss Beckett devotes to you, and the money your father wastes on your teaching. You can’t even do this one thing right, can you?’

‘You think you can pretend to be a noble? When you spend your time rolling around in the dirt like a wild thing. Disgraceful, you never deserved the Rosengarde name,’

‘Eventually your Father will see the truth, he’ll see you’re nothing but a burden,’

‘All the care your father shows you, all the time we’ve both spent giving you clothes, teachers, food and a roof over your head, yet you can still turn such hateful eyes towards me? What an ungrateful and ugly child you are,’

‘You might be a pretty thing on the outside, but what does that matter when your insides are ugly? You’re nothing but a leech on this family, full of hate where you should show gratitude.’

Liliana shivered despite the lack of chill in the air as the harsh words scraped in her mind, tearing at her heart. Her eyes trailed to Alistair and Emyr, who were still talking amongst themselves. She couldn’t tell anyone of what the Duchess said to her when no one was there to hear. Who would believe her? Surely not her father, who had married the shrew. Not her own son, who still obviously loved his mother. Even if he was obviously distancing himself from her, opening his eyes to her ways. But he still loved her. Not Emyr, who had been friends with Alistair and known his mother since long before either had even known Liliana existed.

She could tell Astrid, but what good would it do? The woman was a maid and had no standing. Her words would hold less weight than even Liliana’s. Same with any of the guards. Even Silas would have his hands tied by the difference in rank. That’s if anyone would truly believe her word against that of a full-blooded noble woman. That was what the issue came back to time and again. Imogen had power thanks to her rank and marriage that Liliana herself could not boast. Power Liliana could only hope to makeup in levels, but that was a slow and long-term solution to a pressing current problem.

There’s not much more I could do. Even if I tried to hold her accountable for poisoning me, there’s no proof. I can’t even say I saw her do it! There’s no telling if she even has the poison with her still. She’s too cunning by half for such a simple mistake. She’s likely destroyed any possible proof of her actions, and she’s far too sly with her words. No one is ever around to hear her, and if there is someone she switches faster than a blink, Liliana mentally worried over the problem, until the sound of chuffs from her bond drew her from her thoughts. Lelantos was pressing at the bond, not enjoying the dark turn her thoughts had been taking so frequently this day.

Liliana tried to send comfort back. She was fine. Truly, she was, as well as could be expected. It was simply because today they’d be returning to the manor and her short week of blessed freedom from the machinations of nobility was ending. While she enjoyed leaving the manor, and her stepmother, the tea parties and balls were as dangerous as the dungeon. There were none among the nobility she could really call friend, but many she could label enemies. Even those who invited her out she knew they did it because she was shiny and new. Not to make ties with, or to befriend. They were all too superficial and fake for that, and Liliana too much of a risk to tie themselves to in any meaningful way.

Even the guards, while they’d been friendly to her, Liliana wouldn’t fool herself into thinking they were friends. They were comrades while in the dungeon, and some level of trust was built by necessity. You had to trust the people watching your back, or you died. But that didn’t make them friends.

For friends, she really only had Emyr, Marianne, and Alistair. As surprising as the last one was, she could admit they were friends now. It had begun with the bandit attack when Liliana had thrown herself in front of Emyr to stop the crazed woman from skewering him. She’d known Emyr and Alistair were close, but she’d underestimated their bond. Because after that day, her brother had slowly become more and more amicable to her. Months of slowly getting to know each other, of fighting together, of even joking together, had slowly watered the seeds of friendship and now there was a tentative bond built between them. Built out of blood, sweat and tears they’d shared together.

She’d miss this time they’d shared in the dungeon, when most of their titles were stripped from them. No longer lords and ladies, they were tanks, or fighters, or casters. This dungeon really had been a sanctuary for her. It was so much easier when the only enemies she had were the ones she could cut down by blade or spell. No hidden meaning to ferret out behind pretty flowered words, no poison to look for in her tea. Simple, even if dangerous, times. She’d miss it, and she wasn’t sure when she’d have a chance to return.

She had advanced far faster, and far higher, than anyone would’ve expected of Liliana a year prior. She could see her stepmother putting further push behind restricting her leveling attempts. After all, she had met the requirements for the Academy. She’d undoubtedly try to further weaken Liliana where she could, and the easiest way to do that was to prevent her from acquiring any more power that could be a threat to the woman or her son.

Liliana would be worried the woman would try to marry her off in an unfavorable union just to see her off, but the Cista kingdom was more progressive than the countries of a similar time era from her memory of Earth. Here noble children couldn’t be engaged or wed until they were 18, and they had a say in their marriages. Many accepted the proposed engagement presented by their parents, for their parents normally sought unions that would be both beneficial to the family and not completely awful for the child as well.

She’d learned this rather recently in lessons with Miss Beckett, before it hadn’t been something that had been discussed with her because everyone had accepted that Liliana was too tainted by commoner blood to ever hope for an acceptable marriage. No matter how Imogen hated her, the woman would never dare dream of further sullying the Rosengarde name by marrying Liliana to someone of a lower status than a noble.

The most parents would do to their children was promise them to others before 18, but those were easily broken, unlike a formal betrothal, and held far fewer repercussions both socially and financially. From what she’d learned, more than a bit of money changed hands when a formal betrothal was worked out, truly more a business deal than an event born of love. However, Liliana did not judge too harshly, even if it differed from the life she remembered on Earth. She knew her own world held its share of arranged marriages, even in the era she had left it, and it was a common practice there in history.

Nobles simply had far too much to consider to marry for love, for many had the lives of all who lived in their territories to consider as well. The responsibility nobles held was something Liliana was slowly coming to realize. The more she saw, and was taught, the less she thought she even wanted to be the Rosengarde heir. Hundreds of thousands of lives would be on her head if she became the Duchess. Perhaps the entire country, considering the borders they guarded.

No, truly, she’d be happy to live a much simpler life. In a little cottage on her own, surrounded by animals she’d bonded. She doubted the Duchess would believe her if she told the woman that she had no machinations for the title of heir, she’d gladly give the burden such a title held to her stepbrother who had actually been trained from a young age to manage a territory even if his true father had only been an earl and not a duke, he was far better suited to handle such a thing.

Liliana sighed softly as the light at the end of the dungeon got brighter. She shielded her eyes as they walked out into blinding sunlight. For a moment, the entire group blinked. Emyr had erected a small sloppy umbrella of darkness he was huddling under as he sent scornful glares at the cursed light that was assaulting all their eyes.

“The victorious warriors return from their conquests!” A voice shouted merrily, a small cheer coming from the gathered guards who had waited for them outside the dungeon. The ones who would’ve run in after them, had they found themselves so far in above their heads they needed to call for aid.

“You best believe it! We gave those goblins a good thrashing!” Sasha shouted back, rousing more cheers from the guards. The returned guards mingled with their fellows, exchanging jokes and tales of their battles. Liliana looked on enviously for a moment. Now more than ever, the divide between her and them was obvious, as the group gave a respectable amount of distance to the three nobles.

“I see it was a successful delve,” Jason said, one of the few guards who broke from the group to move towards the nobles. He directed his attention to Liliana, and she smiled at him, though it was forced with the dark thoughts her mind had circling in it, bringing her mood down.

“Yes, it was a very fruitful endeavor. Though the rewards were a bit lacking,” Liliana said the last bit regretfully. While the cores from the goblins would sell well, considering the volume of them, it still wouldn’t be nearly as much gold gained as she wished. Had they gotten better rewards from the boss, like true dungeon made weapons, they’d be sitting on far more gold.

“Give it a month or two and the rewards will improve. I’m sure you’ll have more chances to delve it. With the knowledge you gained from this trip, it’ll be even easier,” Jason assured her, and Liliana shrugged and nodded. She didn’t tell the man that she was fairly certain it would be awhile yet before she was allowed to run the dungeon again.

“Let’s go. I’m ready to have a bath and sleep in a proper bed,” Alistair called out, and the group that had been with them in the dungeon readily agreed. Liliana stayed quiet as she trailed behind the rest, not even needing Jason to reprimand her this time to force her to keep from the front.

Yes, let’s go home, I suppose, Liliana thought with a last, longing look at the dungeon.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

64

Class

Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

7

Health

1000

H-Regen

+10/1.1sec

Mana

1300

M-Regen

+13/1.1sec

Stamina

2320

S-Regen

+23.2/1.1sec

Magic Power

1450

Magic Control

1695

Experience: 349,020/422,500

Vitality

100

Endurance

232

Strength

130

Dexterity

226 (233)

Wisdom

130

Intelligence

130

Speed

278(288)

Charisma

215

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Soul

92%

Light

90%

Life

85%

Illusion

22%

Quintessential Skills

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 4

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 50

[Mana Manipulation] lvl 43

[Dodge] 47

[Solar Samba] Lvl 43

[Dance of The Windsong] lvl 38

[Regeneration] Lvl 34

[Persistent Casting] lvl 31

[Leap] lvl 30

[Pierce] Lvl 29

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] Lvl 27

[Stealth] lvl 19

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 12

[Borrow] Lvl 5

[Last Stand] lvl 1

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 56

[Dancing] lvl 55

[Deception] Lvl 48

[Reading] Lvl 36

[Etiquette] Lvl 35

[Pain Resistance] lvl 33

[Embroidery] Level 31

[Writing] Lvl 31

[Persuasion] Lvl 29

[Skinning] Lvl 27

[Riding] lvl 27

[Mathematics] lvl 25

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 21

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 17

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 16

[Mounted Combat] lvl 15

[Herbalisim] lvl 14

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 12

[Alchemy] lvl 10

[Wilderness Survival] lvl 6

[Archery] lvl 3

[Sword Mastery] Lvl 2

Spells

[Light Burst] LVL 45

[Light Burst Coat] LVL 35

[Dancer’s Domain] lvl 33

[Light Barrage] lvl 27

[Barrier] Lvl 25

[Shadow Sonata] Lvl 24

[Shine] LVL 21

[Soul Strike] Lvl 17

[Adjust] lvl 16

[Bonding Contract] LVL 12

[Dancing Doubles] Lvl 12

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 4

[Companion Heal] Lvl 2

Chapter 48: A Banquet Of Death

The nightmare began as the others had this past week they’d troubled her.

“You’re nothing but a burdensome leech that has forced itself onto this family,” Imogen taunted her, but it wasn’t the Imogen Liliana knew in her waking time. Something had happened to her, distorted her. Long fangs poked out of her mouth, dripping with bright green venom. Her fingers were tipped by long black claws that bit into anything they brushed against, decaying it and turning it to dust. Her skin was taunt, stretched over bones, making her look more like one of the undead than a living human.

Liliana backed away from the reaching claws, scrambling to put distance between herself and the demon using her stepmother’s face. Fear pounded a heavy rhythm in her chest. She felt weak, so weak. As helpless as she’d been in her hospital bed on her last days, when she could barely move her limbs on her own. The power she’d slowly gained over the long months she’d been in this new world was gone, leaving her helpless before the creature hunting her.

“There’s only one solution for a parasite like you, it must be cleansed from the body it has infected. Once you’re gone, our family can finally be happy and healthy,” Monster-Imogen told her, her voice slowly losing its familiar tone as it became more distorted and rough, until it matched the visage it was coming from.

“Now die!” the monster shrieked, lunging at Liliana. The girl lost her footing, falling to the ground and raising her hands in defense as a scream of pure fear broke free of her. Her eyes were shut tight and waiting for the burning agony that would lead to the icy embrace of Death.

A sound of metal spearing through flesh met her ears, then the dripping of blood onto stone. She felt warm droplets land on her body, on her face, on her hands. Yet no pain greeted her and after a moment, Liliana opened her eyes and screamed once more. The body above her own was held up by her own naginata buried so deep within it she could see no trace of the blade. The body above her was not that of her stepmother’s, though. It was Alistair’s. His eyes were glassy, but his face was frozen in shock and betrayal. His blood was slowly dripping down the haft of the weapon, coating her hands in the crimson liquid.

Liliana shoved him and the weapon away from her, her strength once more returned to her. However, with the body no long blocking her eyes, Liliana could see she was now in the dining hall. A feast had been laid on the table, one fit for the Queen herself. Lights were dancing merrily in the air and it looked as if a party had been planned, some celebration or another. Yet it wasn’t the finery that bedecked the room that drew her eyes, it was the dead bodies sitting in the chairs.

Her father was at the head of the table, but someone had violently ripped his chest open until his organs spilled forth, coating his clothes and the chair he sat in a flood of crimson. To his side was Alistair, his body teleported from where Liliana had thrown it into his place. The naginata was gone from his body, but the hole had widened until it was a gaping thing that took up his entire chest. The look of shock and betrayal was still clear on his face. On the other side was Imogen, and Liliana had to avert her eyes as bile rose in her throat. The woman hadn’t been simply killed, she’d been utterly mutilated until the only thing left that distinguished her was the scraps left of her clothing and her accusatory golden eyes.

Her eyes were drawn involuntarily to the next body, that of Emyr. His mouth was open in a silent scream. Pain and betrayal were painted on his face as bright as the scarlet of his blood. Tears had tracked down his face, clearing some of the blood, before he’d died like the others. His heart sat before him on a plate, as if some kind of macabre meal.

The others heroes were here as well, though Liliana had not met Diana or Zir’elon, both of them had places at the table of death. Diana had her throat slit and her chest caved in, and her face held a look that bore deep into Liliana’s soul, asking a question of ‘why?’. Zir’elon had been mutilated in a way that hurt more for knowing what it meant to his people. His horns had been broken and driven into his eyes and his hands cut off before his throat. Though how Liliana knew it had been done before his death, she wasn’t sure. Her gaze did not linger over the bloodshed as her eyes finally caught the final member.

Marianne sat at a throne on the opposite end of the table, and Liliana fell to her knees as she looked at the girl who had become her friend. The princess’ face was still wet with tears, and a small smile on her face offered forgiveness to the person who had ruthlessly stabbed her chest time and time again, the holes numbering far more than Liliana wished to count. Her pure white dress that matched the snow white of her hair was dyed a gruesome red.

The screams finally escaped Liliana, along with tears that poured forth like a rushing river. The scent of blood was overpowering in the room, surrounding her, coating her and sinking deep under her skin until she thought she’d never rid herself of it.

“Who did this?” She asked the room, voice pitiful and broken.

“Why, you did. Of course,” a voice answered her. Liliana scrambled to her feet, spinning to confront the intruder. The person who must surely be the murderer of her family and friends.

What she saw nearly broke her. A large mirror stood behind her and in it was a reflection of herself. Wearing a dark gown the color of night, a familiar pendant resting on her chest, another Liliana stood there. Blood splattered across her skin, sparkling like spilled rubies. In her hands was a familiar naginata, its blade still dripping with blood. In her other hand was a heart. The reflection grinned, showing off far too sharp canines tipped with crimson blood. Her eyes held a dark, almost mad glee as she waved her hand about at the gruesome display around them. Blood swung in an arc from her hand, splattering more of the already ruined room.

“You killed them all, ripped them to shreds and laughed at their screams. You tasted their blood and begged for more! They were so shocked at your power, so cowed by it, that they couldn’t even fight back,” the reflection gloated as she moved to the throne Marianne sat on. She dropped the heart and stroked a bloodstained hand through the girl’s white tresses, dying it the cursed color of blood.

“This one didn’t even dare fight, just told you she forgave you with her last breath. What a weak and pitiful thing,” the reflection said before she twisted the girl’s head, a crack filling the room when bones broke. The reflection dropped the head, seeming suddenly bored.

“N-No. I-I would never do this,” Liliana stammered out, taking several steps back until she hit the table. Her reflection looked at her pityingly.

“But you did, just look at your hands,” the reflection told her, and Liliana looked down to see herself dressed in the same dress, the same pendant resting over her heart. In her hand she held the blood-soaked naginata and her other hand was so deeply coated in blood it looked as if she was wearing a scarlet glove. The naginata fell with a clatter as Liliana released it in horror. Tears traced down her face, dripping pink with the blood they mixed with onto her dark gown.

“Mommy?” a voice called as the door to the dining hall opened slowly, revealing the face of her younger half siblings, Blaine and Beatrice.

“Ah look, more for us to play with,” the reflection purred and something filled Liliana. A blood-lust so profound and deep, she struggled to resist it with all the effectiveness of holding back a tsunami with bare hands alone.

Power thrummed in her blood, so far more than she had ever felt. It nearly broke her mind. It was intoxicating in a way even the pain medications they had given her on Earth couldn’t compare to. The power was everything. She felt as if she could rip the world asunder with a thought, as if she could bring the very gods themselves to heel. It filled her and then leaked out when it was far too much to handle.

By the time Liliana had regained her mind and the power had begun to vanish back to wherever it had come, two more far too small bodies had been added to the seats at the banquet of blood. Liliana had more of the thick liquid coating her skin, and the taste of copper filled her mouth.

She shivered and shuttered, both horrified by what she’d done and yet some part of her reveled in it. There was a part of her that enjoyed the blood that was slowly cooling on hr skin, that pushed for more. A part that had slumbered in her before, but was now raising its head as it was awoken.

“I can give you this, the power you need to destroy any who would stand against you. You could become a being so powerful nothing in any world would stand in your way. You could even fight the gods who gave you such a cursed fate. I can give you the power to make everyone who ever hurt you weep and repent. Prostrate themselves before you. I can give you the power to own all,” a dark voice floated through the room.

Liliana’s eyes were drawn once more to the mirror, which no longer showed her reflection. Instead, a chilling darkness swirled within it, leaving only shining eyes that burned the blue only seen in the hottest of fires. Liliana felt a primal fear fill her, before her sat an apex predator. Something that could kill her without even trying. Even the Queen herself had not felt even a fraction as strong as this being.

“Simply agree and I shall provide you with everything you could ever wish for,” the voice crooned, and a part of Liliana yearned to agree to this monster’s deal. To take that power for herself.

But there was a stronger part that rejected him. The part of her that had begun to grow from the suspicious and hurting child she’d been. The part that had ventured friendship with those she should’ve feared and hated if for nothing more than the fate she’d known had been written for them. The part of her who could look at a boy who at one time had tormented her, and seen someone trapped in a thick web of manipulation with no idea of what was right or wrong anymore. Who had seen not an evil tormentor, but just another child like herself who needed help, not hate. Seen someone who was willing to change, and helped nurture the change.

That part of her beat down the part of her that wanted to accept the offer. It clawed itself to the forefront, and Liliana gripped her blood-soaked naginata in her hand, not knowing when it had returned there.

“Go fuck yourself,” Liliana hissed at the mirror as she threw her naginata at it with every scrap of strength she could summon. The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces and as they fell, her reflection was revealed again. Liliana watched her reflection shift. In some of her eyes shone a comforting bright blue, in others a dark and haunted sapphire flared with unholy power.

“I’ll be back,” the voice whispered to her.

Liliana woke with a shriek, hands scrambling at her covers and sheets as if searching for a weapon. Lelantos came running into her room, the tiger nearly demolishing several pieces of furniture in his haste to reach his distressed Bond. Liliana looked around, tossing an overpowered [Shine] into the air to chase away the shadows wreathing her room. Liliana’s fear widened eyes took in every detail, hunting for a threat or splash of blood. When she’d reassured herself that there was nothing lurking in the room, and the only wetness on her skin was the sweat that had been soaked into her covers and sheets, did she relax. Her tense muscles gave way, and she wrapped weak and shaking arms around Lelantos.

Her Bond was half in her bed, trying his best to smother her fears as his body was trying to smother her. Liliana didn’t begrudge him it. The feedback she was getting from him was panic. He hadn’t felt her emotions as she was dreaming, but as soon as she woke it had all slammed into him at once, nearly driving him mad with the terror she’d felt. As the two sat in her bed, they were comforting each other as much themselves.

“Just a dream, my heart, just a dream,” Liliana murmured to Lelantos, though her words felt hollow even to her own ears.

The nightmares had plagued her for the past week, since they’d come home from the dungeon. Liliana wasn’t sure where they’d come from. Other than the dreams of memories she’d had, she normally did not have such vivid dreams. More often than not, she didn’t even remember her dreams. Though the nightmares weren’t much of an exception to that, within hours of waking the nightmares would fade in her memory until all she could remember was blood, despair, terror and an almost all-consuming greed.

She would say some of it was likely a result of her stepmother. Since Liliana had come home, the woman had doubled down on her. Trying to find any reason to punish her, and restrict her from leaving the manor for any reason. It was obvious to Liliana what Imogen was doing, trying to cut off all ways she could gather power. If she couldn’t go out to socialize with the other nobles of her own age, she would lose social power. Many would even take offense to too many denials to their invitations, no matter her excuse. And the system cared not for why one couldn’t level. If you couldn’t go out to fight, you would not progress.

Her lessons with Miss Beckett had also become more difficult, undoubtedly from her stepmother’s desire to see her failing and to give her more ammunition. Yet fail Liliana did not, spite fueled her as much as her need to know more about this world she now called home. However, the stress she was under, to perform perfectly every test set before her, was wearing her thin.

The nightmares just made it worse, the small bit of sleep she had time for being so wrought with fear and turmoil, making it no rest at all. Liliana sighed and gently pushed Lelantos off of her as she herself slid out of her bed. She would not be returning to sleep anytime soon, so she set about getting ready for the day.

Chapter 49: A New Quest Appears

“I’m sorry, Lady Liliana. Magically speaking, this is an unremarkable piece. However, I’ve never seen this metal or type of stone. It’s probably just a dungeon made piece as unusual materials aren’t uncommon in such instances,” the appraiser returned the pendant to her and Liliana glared at the difficult piece of jewelry.

She’d managed to get out of the manor long enough to visit the city. Her father had allowed it. Even if her stepmother was looking for any small misstep to crucify her with, her father had become more willing to listen to her wishes. She had passed the mark for Academy entrance and leveled past even that all with one dungeon. She was well on her way to becoming the prodigy she knew he was hoping she would be, and he was willing to invest in that.

Liliana didn’t fool herself into thinking it meant her father loved her, no matter how much she wished he did. Stupid, it may be. She had memories of a father that loved her unconditionally. But like how the memories of her own mother were fading, and insubstantial when faced with the reality that was her stepmother, so too were her memories of her original father fading. Weak memories were no good shield against harsh reality.

No, she knew her father saw her as an investment. Same as he saw the horses he bought for breeding stock as an investment. Or how he saw his marriage to Imogen as an investment that returned him with a legitimate heir, one not tainted with the blood of a commoner, power, and money. Liliana was just another investment he could use to further consolidate his power.

Even if the Rosengarde duchy was arguably the most powerful noble family, there were always threats from both their own homeland and other countries. And as Liliana had been shown repeatedly, the only thing that would protect someone in this world was power so great, none would dare to raise a hand to you.

“Could you try again?” Liliana asked the appraiser, and the man shook his head.

“I checked twice myself, and then again with enchanted glasses meant to show the truth behind anything Rank 3 or lower, I’m sorry Lady Liliana, this is nothing more than a beautiful bauble,” the man told her and Liliana sighed.

She could still feel the power radiating from the trinket. It was almost suffocating in the small confines of the shop. She knew she wasn’t insane, as Lelantos could still feel the power from the pendant as well as she did. Yet they two seemed alone in that sense, as no other person she’d shown the pendant to had detected it as being anything more than a hunk of metal and stone.

“Well, thank you for your time,” Liliana told the man as she returned the pendant to her storage bracelet. When it was gone, she felt like she could breathe again. The power had begun to have a familiar taste that felt like more than a simple result of her time spent with it. She couldn’t pinpoint how it felt familiar, though, and it just made her even more wary of it than she was before. The other part that raised her hackles was that there was a growing part of her that wanted to wear the pendant. She couldn’t fathom where the urge came from. It was against every bit of sense she had. You never wore the obviously cursed jewelry. That’s how you got possessed.

Liliana hadn’t dared to wear the pendant, no matter the urges she felt. She barely even touched the thing, holding it by its chain when she dealt with it. She’d have blamed her recent nightmares on the damned thing if it hadn’t been sitting in her storage at night. Since storage devices used Spatial magic, they were both technically in stasis, frozen time, and in another plane of existence. Nothing inside of a spatial device could affect you outside of it. Liliana had looked it up as soon as the nightmares started. Her nightmares were nothing more than the product of increased stress. In her last life, she’d had vivid nightmares anytime the doctors came with their dour prognosis.

Could be a message from the gods, Liliana thought idly, before disregarding the thought. Vita had obviously wiped her hands of this affair as soon as she dumped Liliana in this world, otherwise her life would be far easier than it was.

She’d written down her dream one night when she still remembered it. She’d almost burnt the entire notebook when her mind fully processed what she’d dreamt up. If it was a warning, Liliana could only guess that it was a warning to not become the villainess the original Liliana had been. Not that she’d needed such a warning, from her own mind or a god.

Liliana pulled her cloak tighter around herself, almost snuggling into the comforting Horned Hare fur that lined it as she walked out of the appraiser’s shop. Outside waited Jason and two more guards she didn’t recognize. She’d requested that half the guards with her wait with the carriage that they’d parked at stables specifically made for the Rosengarde family. She’d told them she’d wanted to explore the city herself, though she couldn’t convince them to let her go alone. No matter how hotly she’d argued that she could take care of herself.

“My Lady, you may be strong for your age, but you are nothing but a whelp in comparison to many who have evil in their hearts and the power to see it done,” Jason had told her when she had argued, leaving Liliana with little to argue back with.

While this area was low ranked, she’d already seen three adventurers well into Rank 6, and one in Rank 5. She knew they didn’t get those ranks from fighting the monsters in the area, not the beast kind anyway. She might be sheltered, but she’d listened to the news that played in her hospital room often enough to know the cruelty and malice that lurked behind the faces of other humans, monsters in everything but looks.

She might not like the constant bodyguards, but she could admit, if only to herself, that if she found herself surrounded by others of Jason’s level or higher, even Lelantos would struggle to see her safe. Her life might not be ideal, but her overactive imagination could easily see how it could be so much worse. Her eyes trailed over beggar children, not much younger than herself, scrambling out of the way of the guards with her. Their faces were gaunt with hunger and eyes heavy with shadows and pain she couldn’t begin to fathom.

Yes, life could easily be more difficult, Liliana told herself as she looked away and forward.

“Astrid?” Liliana called and her maid came to her side.

Liliana gave her a smile, noticing the stress that lined the woman’s face. Her nightmares that had been plaguing her for weeks now had taken their toll on her beloved maid, too. The woman had begun to sleep in Liliana’s attached room, so she could be there as soon as Liliana woke to help console her from the panic and terror brought on the heels of the horrors she was forced to watch every night. Liliana had done much to stress her maid since she’d arrived in this world, yet not once had the woman spoken a complaint. Never had she shown any resentment for the work Liliana forced on her. She showed Liliana only a love so deep and unconditional that on many days it was the only thing that got Liliana out of bed.

“Yes, my lady?” Astrid inquired, and Liliana tilted her head back at the beggar children.

“Can you see they get some good food, maybe a bit of coin hidden in it? If you could do it discreetly, it would be best,” Liliana asked and Astrid worried her lip but nodded. The woman dropped back and turned away from their party, though Liliana knew she did not want to. However, it was better this way. If Liliana was seen giving out gold to the beggars at best, she herself would be mobbed. At worse, the other beggars would turn on those gifted coins. Liliana had nearly incited a riot when she’d tried to just that the second time she’d come to the city.

It hurt her to walk past those struggling and do nothing for them. Yet she couldn’t be seen handing out food or money to them, or it would end awfully for everyone. So Liliana had devised to have Astrid do it in her stead, usually by sneaking the food or coin around the beggars before they ever saw the maid. Stealth was apparently vitally important to a servant, and Astrid could sneak around as well as any thief. Liliana wished there was more she could do, but her own funds were paltry.

She had been given a small ‘allowance’ for her shopping trips, but that was the only time. Astrid had to keep a close calculation of what was spent. Anything left over that went above 50 gold was returned to the Steward. Anything uncounted was docked from whatever gold Liliana would have made with her hunting, or would be docked from Astrid’s own pay.

So Liliana did what she could when she had the money. Oddly enough, charitable donations were apparently an acceptable usage of her allowance. Provided they were not too expensive. Liliana looked around the city as they moved. It was full of noise and life. She could hear merchants shouting about their wares from stalls, and their patrons shouting back. The scent of the city was almost overpowering for her more sensitive country nose. People, beasts, sweat it all combined into one overwhelming miasma that was hard to palate.

Liliana directed them through the madness until they entered the bazaar proper and were utterly surrounded by colorful stalls and bombarded on all sides by merchants hawking their wares. They seemed to all notice she was some kind of highborn lady, smelling a substantial payday. It seemed every merchant in the area had focused in on them.

“A necklace for the lady? It will complement your eyes!”

“A bejeweled dagger to hold at your side for any overzealous suitors!”

“A companion pet that will match the lady’s beauty!”

“A book of medical treatments to keep your skin young and beautiful!”

Liliana passed by the stalls, pausing for a moment at any that held something that caught her gaze, but the overeager merchants made her shy and unwilling to spend too long at any of them. She felt awful walking away, their disappointed gazes following her. She knew the merchants here weren’t wealthy enough to afford a true storefront and likely had very little money of their own. Liliana’s patronage could mean the difference between food for their family for the next week or going to bed hungry. But she had little enough gold as it was. She could not afford to buy something from everyone.

“Scales from a Dark Dragon! Got them fresh from the beast myself!” A voice called and Liliana’s head perked up. She moved closer to the stall, following the tales of a ferocious scaled beast. She paused only when Astrid moved to rejoin them, somehow finding Liliana in the crowd with ease. The nod Astrid gave her said she had completed her task.

“Look at this pitch black scale, how it shifts its color in the light! It’ll repel anything you throw at it: fire, stone, even steel!” The man shouted at the crowd gathering around his stall. Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she focused in on the scale. Her [Identify] wouldn’t give her information on the item, meaning it was being blocked somehow, probably by the merchant. That was the first tell she had that the man was lying, the other was the shape and size of the scale.

Liliana had been overjoyed learning that dragons were a very real thing that existed in this world. Even if she’d known from the game, she had been cautious to think they truly did. However, unlike other games and books she’d read that featured the beasts, the dragons that existed in this world were rare and reclusive, and wanted about as much to do with sacrificed princesses as the princesses would want to do with them. Liliana couldn’t even find a record in the manor library of a dragon attacking a country or town. Sightings of them were rare, and often nothing more than fever dreams. Dragons were accepted as real, but so few people ever saw, let alone had dealings with them, they may as well have been legend.

However, while Liliana had found no true bestiary that held information on dragons, she had a couple of bestiaries now that detailed more than a few scaled monsters. Looking at the scale, Liliana could match it to at least three different creatures from a distance it would belong to. A dragon, most certainly not. Those were said to be so large they could flatten a city by laying on it. Their scales would be the size of houses, even the small ones. No, that scale belonged to either a wyrm, flowered serpent, or greater salamander. Based on the shape, she was inclined towards a flowered serpent since the scale was leaf shaped, which was characteristic of all flowered serpent types.

Liliana moved through the gathered crowd, her guards making it far easier than it would normally be. People complained but quieted as soon as they used [Identify] on the guards or herself. No one wanted to irritate a noble.

When she was at the front, Liliana could see a table covered in scales and claws laid before her and, though she looked, she could see no other pieces of the beast. An uncomfortable feeling rose in her chest as she approached the table. The merchant, sensing a customer, focused on her and his face widened into a smile when he inevitably saw who had come to his stall.

“Lady Liliana! Do you need dragon scales to accent your armor, or perhaps to wear as ornaments that none, even in the royal court, could compare to?” The man asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he looked at her.

“Where did you get these?” Liliana asked, and the man jolted a bit, surprised by the question.

“Why I took it off the fierce beast myself! I dodged flame and fang to acquire these rare goods!” The man told her, and Liliana’s eyes narrowed. The man twitched nervously under her heavy gaze.

“I asked you, merchant, where did you get these?” She asked, her voice deadly and low, yet heard perfectly clear even over the roar of the market.

“I ah, f-found them towards the southern end of the Rosengarde territory. You know dragons, they prefer the heat,” the man tried to appease her and Liliana grit her teeth. Lies, more lies. Dragons were believed to have as many types as there were affinities, if not more. They could be as comfortable in the frozen seas to the north as they’d be in the bubbling volcanoes on the southern continent. And had there been a dragon in Rosengarde territory Liliana would’ve known, her father would have been going insane over such a nation-scale threat in his domain.

“These aren’t dragon scales, they’re flowered serpent scales. Now, where exactly did you find them?” Liliana asked once more, leaning forward as her eyes flashed.

“Are you calling me a liar, Lady Liliana?” the merchant asked, outrage at the insult overriding his fear. A harsh clatter shut his mouth as Jason brought his fist down on the table, the cracking noise foretelling that the merchant would need to replace the table later.

“The lady will call you anything she pleases, merchant, and you will take it gladly. Now tell the lady what she wished to know,” Jason growled at the man. Liliana turned her head slightly, one surprised eyebrow raised.

For a man who stood on so little ceremony around her, he seemed to take grave offense to anyone else trying to do the same. She wouldn’t say the display was unwelcome, though, as the merchant seemed even more cowed by the hulking guard than by her.

“I-I got them from a townsman! He told me they were from a young flowered serpent they’d trapped in a cave nearby! They’d killed the garden of them and already taken the eggs, but hadn’t realized a juvenile had survived. They managed to take some of his scales before he flew out of their range! They probably sent in a request to the adventurers’ guild already for it! That’s all I know. I swear on my honor as a merchant.” The words spilled from the man’s lips freely and Liliana’s eyes narrowed further.

“Flowered serpents are seen as good omens, believed to bring luck in the area they live in. Beasts get fatter, crops grow better. Why would a village hunt them out? And why would they break the hunting rules of clearing out babies and eggs? Let alone the laws on killing rare endangered creatures such as flowered serpents?” Liliana asked the man, her hands shaking in anger. She might seem heartless when hunting, but she would never stoop so low as to kill a juvenile beast. Killing baby creatures, except in very specific circumstances, was seen as anathema in their queendom.

While full grown monsters could and did frequently spawn by Mana, those that were birthed differed. Believed by many to have a naturally higher intelligence and better chance of rising to higher ranks, many didn’t cull the young for that very reason. They could become a threat, but they could also become a boon to the area by handling over influxes of Mana spawned creatures. Even helping with dungeons that had overflowed.

There were more than a few legends of beasts believed to be naturally born, taking up a role of protector for an area or village. Flowered serpents were an almost famous example of such, even believed to be incapable of being born of Mana, which was why they had the excess protections. Known to protect and benefit whatever territory they lived in, they were one of the few creatures it was almost universally banned to hunt, unless one had gone mad and attacked a settlement.

Liliana knew there were legends of such born beasts in their own territory, and had heard a bard or two singing of them occasionally on her trips into the city. There was even the legend of how the Cista Queendom came to be. Aided by such natural beasts exceeding even the peak of Rank 1 who had aided their first queen in settling and protecting her people here. Said to have been the reasoning the laws for killing baby creatures were outlawed, the punishment death unless the venture had been approved by the royal family specifically. The law was almost as old as the Cista Queendom itself.

However, they could also cause problems, as they were smarter and could seek out human prey, as the Mana they gained from them was better. But they were rare. So rare, Liliana had yet to see a single baby or juvenile beast out in the wild, though she knew Lelantos had been one such creature. She suspected Polaris had been as well. The fox had simply been too smart to not be.

Flowered serpents enjoyed almost the exact same protections as any natural born baby beast. The punishment for killing one without approval from your area’s Lord or Lady at the very least, and they often needed approval from the crown, was death or imprisonment depending on circumstance. So why on earth would an entire village risk that kind of punishment? Her father was known to be a fair man to his people, but was also known to be one who followed the queendom’s law in both letter and spirit. He wouldn’t hesitate to put an entire village in irons if they had broken a law of the queendom, if only to save himself the disgrace of becoming known to harbor such criminals.

“I’m not sure my Lady! Truly! I heard they’d had a bad run of a plague soon after the arrival of the flowered serpents and had blamed them, but that is truly everything I know!” The man insisted, eyes flicking between Liliana and Jason who was still doing his utmost to intimidate the man. Though Liliana was inclined to believe Jason was doing it partially now to ferret out if this merchant himself had taken part in an illegal action. She wasn’t sure if simply knowing and not reporting such actions would land him in chains, but the way the man was sweating, she thought it might.

“What’s the town?” Liliana asked, and the man hastened to reply. All bit of resistance firmly fled him.

“Timberborn, Lady Liliana. It is the town Timberborn,”

Chapter 50: Duty, Justice, or Greed?

“You can’t just go off like this!” Alistair told her, following Liliana around her room as she grabbed items and tossed them onto a growing pile on her bed.

“Astrid, can you get me food from the kitchen? Food that’ll last the trip,” Liliana asked, ignoring her stepbrother as she swerved around his form in her quest.

“Of course, my Lady,” Astrid answered, though her eyes hesitated on Liliana, worry plain and clear on her face. She did not speak up, not in front of Alistair. It wouldn’t be proper for a servant to try to argue with her mistress. No, Liliana knew yet another conversation would come tonight, as had the past two days since Liliana had declared in the city she was going to Timberborn.

“It’s not proper! Leave it to me, Emyr, and the Duke’s men. We’ll see justice done!” Alistair insisted, twisting to keep Liliana in view as she moved.

Liliana grabbed her alchemy book, weighing it and deliberating over bringing it before she placed it back on her desk. She grabbed a few completed potions, placing them in her storage bracelet. She grabbed the bestiary she had that had the best information on flowered serpents in her storage ring, along with the notes she’d taken on them.

“Listen to me, damn it!” Alistair shouted, hands snaking out to grab Liliana. However, he had not invested even half the points she had in Speed and she avoided the attempt with lazy ease.

“Father has already approved this Alistair,” Liliana told him, voice curt as she started tossing the spare clothes she’d pulled out into her storage ring.

“Why do you need to go?” Alistair asked, ignoring the comment.

It had been a shock to all of them when her father had approved the trip. She had marched into his study prepared to argue her case, with no preparations but a chest filled with rage. Yet her father had accepted almost immediately. It wasn’t until he had followed his approval with a comment that Liliana had realized it was not charity or kindness that drove his answer, but stark practicality. And greed, always greed.

“It’s good to see you looking for more ways to increase your power. A flowered serpent would be a promising bond for you. I was becoming concerned when you showed no inclination to progress yourself any further in that category,” her father had said, voice pleased and touched with pride. Liliana had been sick, but she’d accepted his reasons without protest.

“I’m glad that you’re looking out for the duchy. It shows promise, and great loyalty as I would expect of a Rosengarde scion,” her father had told her before assigning two squads of guards to accompany her, both as protection and to handle the justice necessary for the broken laws committed by the town, if such was found to be true. Her father had shown anger then, a rare emotion for the Duke. Though Liliana thought his anger was less directed at the town for killing the serpents and their offspring and more for the act of defying laws in his lands.

The departure was set for three days after the decision, tomorrow now. They had needed time to get that many men ready for the trip. Liliana would not be expected to decide the justice for herself. A guard sergeant would be with her to do that. She, however, was expected to be there when justice was handled to ‘get a good idea for how such things are done’.

A teleportation gate would not be used for this, much to Liliana's irritation. Teleportation could be costly, and to expend such costs for a ‘minor’ reason wasn’t acceptable. Not because the actual spell process was expensive, but the people who knew such long distance teleportation spells were few and far between. The ones her fathers had in his employ were stationed on the borders or at the military forts in their territory. So they would go by horseback, or carriage for Liliana. She had to make sure she up kept the family image, and gallivanting off into the wilds on foot simply wasn’t something a young noble lady should do. Or so she had been told. Her father would forgive it once, but not a second time.

“Because, Alistair, it’s my duty,” Liliana spat the word out as she finished shoving the last of her clothes into her storage bracelet.

“Besides, you’ll be with me. To be sure, I don’t besmirch the Rosengarde family name,” Liliana added on, no small amount of resentment in her tone. Alistair drew back, as if struck at the venom in her voice. Almost instantly Liliana regretted the words, but the anger in her chest was a bitter seething thing that had grabbed hold of her tongue.

“That’s not,” Alistair started, but he was cut off before he could mount any defense.

“Because the disgraced child of the great Duke Rosengarde can’t be trusted to go out and save a single flowered serpent without a gods damned babysitter,” Liliana growled, hands fisting at her sides. Hadn’t she shown her father she was strong enough, proper enough to do this alone? She could stand the guards. They were there in an official capacity to see justice done. But Alistair? And Emyr? They didn’t need to go with her for any reason besides keeping her on a leash.

Logically, Liliana could understand that it was important for Alistair to see something like this. See what happened when laws were broken, see how investigations were done and how justice was handled. She knew that, yet she couldn’t help but feel like it was just another sign that for all the new privileges she’d been given, she was still nothing more than the despised child her father neither trusted nor cared for. She was bitter, for she knew if it had been Alistair who brought this to her father, she would never have been considered to join. He’d have been sent off on his own to handle it. But not her, no, never her.

The boundaries may have been extended, and the bars hidden, but I’m still trapped in a gilded cage, Liliana thought bitterly, the anger roiling in her chest like a rabid beast. A small part of her mind was trying to calm her down, telling her she’d have asked Alistair and Emyr to come with her anyway, and perhaps her father was only trying to ensure her safety. She had done little to build up trust after she’d run away from home for a week.

Yet the anger was stronger, and Liliana shook with it, turning narrowed eyes at her still silent stepbrother who was looking at her warily. She took a step forward, to do what she wasn’t sure, when a large furry head knocked into her hard enough to hurt. Liliana landed on her bed, the air knocked out of her and with it her anger fled just as quickly. Lelantos was pushing calm through their bond, not understanding her anger. Fearing it, even. He struggled to convey his feelings over their connection, despite the leaps he’d made in intelligence since bonding with her, but he gave her a very firm sense of wrong connected to her anger. The same kind of wrong he felt when looking at a diseased beast driven mad and beyond reason or sense.

That, more than anything, sent a frigid chill through Liliana, banishing the last dredges of the anger. With it gone, and her mind clear, she could recognize that the anger been irrational. It had felt like… the anger she remembered from her nightmares that still plagued her. The nightmares that were foggy in her memory, the only things left from them, an overpowering fear, disgust, rage and greed for a power so overwhelming it was incomprehensible. That, and ancient shining red eyes.

Fear took the place of the anger as Liliana slowly sat back up. Lelantos was sitting by her bed, looking at her with his shifting, multi-colored eyes. He let out a gentle chuff and nudged her with his head, far more gently this time. Liliana sank her fingers into his fur, taking solace in his solid presence, a steadfast protector by her side at all times.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that. I’m just… stressed out,” Liliana murmured. She couldn’t look up at her stepbrother. The words felt like ash on her tongue, and her pride railed against admitting fault in herself. But, fault there was.

She could see that her stepbrother truly hadn’t deserved to bear the brunt of her anger, not when he hadn’t been responsible for any of this. Not for the villagers killing to feather serpents, not for her father’s callous attitude, not for her father’s decision to foist him onto this quest of hers. He had come to her, honestly worried for her. She had seen it in his eyes, in his voice. He didn’t want her to go, not because he didn’t want her to get powerful, but because she was going into an unknown and dangerous situation. She’d be facing the worst kinds of monsters in any world, humans. Humans who possibly had gone mad and descended into some kind of mob mentality. She’d have guards, yes, but it didn’t make it safe.

Then again, this world was not a safe one. It wasn’t like earth, where the greatest threats most had to worry about were accidents. Maybe a violent attacker, but it was rare. In her last life, she’d never once experience violence beyond a screen. Here, it was a fact of life. It was worse for the nobles, even with their fancy houses, fancy clothes, and fancy parties. They also pushed their children the hardest, to gain levels, to gain prestige and to possibly perform one of the legendary acts that would see their noble territory expanded or their noble position increased. And with the centuries some nobles could live, what was it to them to lose a child or two? They had the time to make replacements, hell her and Alistair both had replacements already in the twins.

Rosengarde perhaps pushed their children the hardest. With the ancestors they had, it was inevitable. Their position as the military power in their country dictated that the children bearing the Rosengarde name could be nothing less than exceptionally talented on the battlefield. After all, who would follow a leader who was shown to be weak and low leveled? So while this expedition was not safe, it was as safe as it could be given the situation. It was an opportunity for the two oldest children of their family to get a valuable lesson they might not get a chance to see again, for how often did an entire town decide to break their country’s laws so flagrantly?

“It’s… alright, I… perhaps… shouldn’t have raised my voice at you,” Alistair said hesitantly, obviously struggling with the words. Liliana’s head swung up, eyes wide in shock. Her brother had just apologized?

“Its-“ Liliana began when the door to her rooms opened and a harried looking maid darted in, eyes locking on Alistair in relief.

“Lord Alistair! The Duchess has been searching for you everywhere. Please, she requests your presence, immediately,” the maid rushed to speak, and Alistair's face closed off as soon as his mother was mentioned. The awkward embarrassment that had colored his face, making him look like the fourteen-year-old he was, was washed off. Replacing it was the mask of a nobleman, calm and cold, a titanium armor that showed no cracks and made him look far older than he was.

“I’ll be on my way momentarily,” Alistair told the maid, but she didn’t leave, simply waited at the door nervously and Liliana had to wonder what kind of temper Imogen must be in, to have the servants in such a tizzy.

“I’ll see you in the morning, sister. Get some rest.” Alistair said, nodding at her and bowing slightly before he turned on his heel and marched out. The maid seemed to sag momentarily in relief before she disappeared. Alistair stopped at the door and seemed to hesitate.

“We’ll see justice done and be back here. Nothing will go wrong,” Alistair stated, but Liliana shivered for all she knew the words were meant to be reassuring. For some reason, they felt like an ill omen. Then he was gone, and Liliana was left alone in her room with just Lelantos. Sher looked at the door for a long moment before turning from it, trying to shove the fear and foreboding down.

Summoning her notes on the flowered serpents from her storage, she opened them to where she’d noted down something more journal entry than scientific study.

The flowered serpent is a rare creature, benign but highly shy. Seeing one isn’t a feat many can boast. Yet seeing a flock of them is read almost universally as a good omen. Not without reason either, flowered serpents as a whole are generally known to have a Life alignment, typically. Regionally speaking, there are variants, as seen with many beasts. However, a fascinating bit of information has been relayed to me from an old goat herd in this sleepy village that even named itself after a flock of flowered serpents that nested here for decades before moving on. Serpentshead, they named it to honor them.

He told me that when he was but a boy; he snuck to their beds and saw youngling flowered serpents using Earth alignment abilities. He told me their area benefited from the typical boosts recorded in other areas that hosted flowered serpents, increased crop production, healthier livestock, less violent wildlife, and a vibrant forest. This implies that the flowered serpents, or at least this regional variant of them, start with Earth then take Life to work up to a Nature affinity. Now Nature is one of the most commonly recorded affinities for flowered serpents, though like many researchers I have yet to even glimpse one.

One thing we do know is that the flowers that seem to make a mane for the flowered serpents seem to have some effect on what they do. One's focusing strongly on Life tend to have commonly used healing flowers, or even Lotuses for their mane. Roses tend to indicate protective flowered serpents. Marigolds and Nasturtium and other fast-growing flowers are seen with the ones that aid plant and crop growth. It seems that the flowers are endless, as every time I find more literature or a new area to investigate, I get yet more variations. It's truly fascinating. It does leave a question, can they develop flowers found on different continents? Or are they locked to the regions they were born in?

They are frightfully rare, and the people who coexist in the same territory as them are always highly protective and secretive about their hidden guardians. What information we have now is just what’s been pieced together from what we can gather from the areas they’ve long left. However, other affinities are almost as common, even pure Life affinity flowered serpents have been recorded in southern territories and Gadria’s king has said he himself was saved by a great white flowered serpent. Likewise, they’re also seen with Life and Light affinities, legends telling of them erecting great barriers or granting new undiscovered plants to lucky individuals using Creation affinity. This does imply that flowered serpents have a wider typing than we have guessed, though if it’s impacted by their environment or their specific flock, I haven’t determined. However, I have yet to see any tell of them deviating from anything connected to Life, and they don’t seem to choose any type of affinity that is strictly destructive in nature. More study will need to be done.

Liliana tapped her finger gently against the pages, humming as she let the excitement of a new creature take over her. For too long, she’d seen just the regular humdrum creatures of her area, and they were nothing truly interesting. Not anymore, at least. No one told tales of how someone had slain a Hedgehog, or a Horned Hare. No, they told tales of those who met reclusive and legendary creatures hidden in mystery and myth. The flowered serpent would help cover a hole in her abilities as well. Earth was in theory defensive, but unlike Light it offered more offensive power. Nature was both less defensive and less offensive as far as affinities went. However, it could be a formidable affinity, as with any of them. Fighting off a single being was fine. Fighting off the being and the entire forest it resided in was a far more daunting task. Nature generally lent itself to trapping, turning one’s own environment against their opponents. Coupled with the buffing and healing powers attached to it, a flowered serpent would make a good addition.

Liliana hoped that the flowered serpent wasn’t one of the ones who picked Life and Light, as it would become rather redundant for her. She needed to diversify her abilities, not double down on a single facet. At that thought, she brought up her screen, looking at the newest affinity she had gained: Wind. And what a pretty penny it had cost her, too. In the game, affinity unlocks hadn’t been near as expensive. She supposed it was simply the nobles’ way of keeping a good amount of power with themselves. For the cost of 200 gold to unlock a single new affinity, Liliana could imagine many commoners, even merchant families, likely didn’t have the money to spend on even a single affinity, let alone several. She’d only been able to pick up a single Wind spell with the money she’d had left over, much to her irritation. And it was a weak one, because her affinity was so low at a beginning level. [Gust], it was nothing but a push back and against anything on her own level, it likely wouldn’t do much of anything. But it would raise her affinity if she used it, and she had the time they’d spend on the road to try to figure out other skills and spells with [Mana Manipulation].

Liliana sighed and sent her notebook back into storage and dismissing her screen. Her mind was calmer after reviewing the information on the feather serpents. It left her hopeful that this tame would be far easier than Lelantos, if flowered serpents were already benign creatures. Since this one had lost its entire garden as well, it was likely to be more apt to agree to a bond, if only to feel a connection again. She’d read that bond were easiest with creatures inclined towards pack behavior, as they naturally wished for companionship.

As Liliana stood, her eyes caught on a flash of blue in the late afternoon sunlight and she walked to her desk, swiping up the pendant she’d left on it. Under and around it were notes on the pendant, theories and general frustrated rambling about the blasted thing. She’d been spending a good deal of her time since the dungeon trying to understand it, and to understand why only she and Lelantos could feel its power. She wasn’t entirely sure why she cared, but something in her was pushing her on to figure out why this believed to be a bug in the game was appearing now, in the real world. It spun lazily in the air, the metal and stone catching in the light and throwing off shimmers of silver and a deep, unfathomable blue.

For a moment, Liliana thought she could feel some kind of revelation at the edge of her mind, but as the pendant spun around once more, it vanished and with a sigh, she dropped the pendant into her storage.

Chapter 51: Off We Go With A Few Minor Bumps

“-don’t care! It’s too dangerous, he’s just a boy!” Liliana heard her stepmother’s voice and grimaced as she walked to the foyer. Entering, she saw Alistair and Emyr standing towards the side, Alistair looking frustrated and embarrassed. Emyr was doing his best to imitate the wallpaper and stay out of the battle raging between the Duke and Duchess. Liliana slid next to the boys, watching the fight and feeling a distinct craving for popcorn.

“How long has this been going on?” Liliana asked quietly, and Alistair sighed.

“Past five minutes,” he muttered, shooting an exasperated look at his mother, who now had tears streaming down her face. Liliana had to applaud the woman’s manipulation abilities. She’d summoned those tears in seconds.

“Just let the girl go! All three of them don’t need to be there for this! What if he gets hurt? Or killed? It’s an entire village of degenerates!” Imogen tried to argue with the Duke, who was staring at her with a frozen glare.

Liliana shivered, even though the look wasn’t directed at her. Her father’s aura was becoming overpowering the longer Imogen talked, the Duke releasing his control on it, but there was no other outward sign of his anger. Like a placid sea that hid deadly riptides, the Duke never showed his hand until it was too late for someone to escape.

“Risk the girl’s life all you want on this, you obviously don-” Imogen started again.

“Enough,” the Duke finally spoke, his voice quiet but holding all the power of a hurricane in it.

Liliana felt her own lungs lock up as his aura was fully released, pressing down on everyone in the room. Next to her, she could hear Alistair choking on air, and Emyr was gasping like he’d forgotten how to breathe. The aura was pulled back moments later and Liliana drank in the air like it was the last she’d get. Alistair had collapsed to the ground and was coughing and sputtering as if he’d just been dragged from drowning and Emyr was bent over, shaking.

Liliana looked up and saw that Imogen’s face was blanched, eyes wide with fear as she looked at her husband. The Duke, for his part, looked as if nothing had happened, as cool and calm as ever as he looked down at his wife. Liliana held back the urge to run far from her father.

He had always scared her a small bit, simply with the power he held over her life, but now she recognized him as the threat he was. She had a feeling it was the same for Imogen, who had also never had to face the brunt of the Duke’s anger, for all her conniving and manipulating ways he’d never struck out at her as far as Liliana had seen.

“I don’t want to hear any more of this. Return to your rooms. You’ll stay there until these… hysterics have left you,” the Duke informed Imogen, but the underlying threat was obvious.

Imogen was being imprisoned in her rooms until the Duke felt like letting her back out. Liliana shivered as her father’s eyes moved to the three of them, dismissing Imogen as clearly as possible as he walked past her shaken form. The Duchess was staring at the Duke as if she’d never seen him before. Shock, disbelief, and fear still clearly painted across her features.

“Now are you three ready?” the Duke asked, looking over at them. Alistair had returned to his feet and Emyr was standing up straight, but the fear was thick in the air. The show of power had shaken them all.

“I-Y-Yes, your grace,” Liliana stammered out, hiding her shaking hands by fisting them and shoving them behind her back. She didn’t want to show her father how badly he had affected her, didn’t need him to know how much power he held over her.

“Yes, your grace,” Emyr answered, his voice a whisper. Alistair nodded after trying and failing to speak.

“Good, then be on your way,” the Duke instructed them. The boys bowed and Liliana gave a curtsy despite her lack of skirts. She’d dressed in her leather armor for this trip.

“Don’t disappoint me,” the Duke told them, and Liliana gulped, then nodded. The Duke inclined his head, satisfied, and turned away, leaving them. The Duchess seemed to regain some of her composure with the absence of the Duke and, with shaking hands, she straightened her dress and hair. Scurrying to her son, Imogen gave Alistair a tight hug.

“Be safe, my heart,” Imogen told him before breaking away. A last glare was sent Liliana’s way before the woman retreated.

Is she blaming me for this? Really? Liliana wondered as she watched the woman leave. Shaking her head, Liliana followed the boys out of the house and to their carriage.

“Why can’t I just ride with everyone else?” Liliana asked, arms crossed over her chest as she sullenly looked out the window of the carriage. Her three companions immediately spoke up all at once.

“You would be a target, my lady,” Jason answered.

“It’s not proper,” Alistair spoke up.

“It’s dangerous,” Emyr said, humming quietly over the chess match.

Liliana shot all three of them glares before harrumphing and returning her attention to the passing scenery. They’d left the day before and Liliana was getting antsy being stuck in the carriage for so long. She hadn’t even had a chance to fight anything with so many guards. The only time she saw a beast was when it was being dressed for dinner.

Liliana looked back into the carriage, Alistair and Emyr were playing chess and Alistair was surprisingly not losing. Jason was watching, for lack of anything else to do with his time. Liliana watched on and raised a brow when Alistair won the game. He grinned victoriously at Emyr, who simply sighed over his loss and set the board back up.

I wonder how it would go if I showed them Monopoly? Liliana wondered, imagining how it would go. A mental image of Alistair attempting to kill Emyr for taking the last of his money flashed before her eyes.

Best make it a rule that you can’t have weapons on you when you play, Liliana noted mentally. The train of thought brought her to other games she might be able to bring to this world. Chess was the only board game she’d seen so far, but she’d seen a multitude of card games using several types of cards so far. It was how Emyr and Alistair amused themselves during the trip.

“Will we be going through any large towns or cities?” Liliana asked, wondering if she could get a woodworker to make her what she’d need for the games.

“We should be heading through several towns. Ariowood is the city we’ll be passing through at some point. It’s under the control of Earl Wilde,” Jason explained, and Liliana nodded. The way this world, or at least the Cista Queendom, did things was that higher ranked nobles were given large amounts of territory. Within that territory, lesser nobles would have their own territories. Overall, the territory was owned by the higher ranked noble, Dukes and Marquess, and the lesser nobles were more caretakers for the overall land owner. Just like how they all were caretakers of the country belonging to the royal family.

It was odd to Liliana, who had never experienced a feudal system, but she supposed it made sense. She’d seen the size of the Rosengarde territory and even with magic, there was no way for her father to manage all of it. The other nobles in his territory made everything flow smoother. However, she knew her father was going to have a severe discussion with the noble who was over Timberborn, Baroness Priscilla Burnington. An issue like this shouldn’t have made its way back to her father because of a merchant. In fact, it should’ve been handled before her father ever heard of it.

Thankfully, meting out justice to the noble over the village wasn’t Liliana’s task. She simply had to be around to see justice done to the villagers and to bond the flowered serpent. She wasn’t sure how high leveled the Baroness and Baron were, but she didn’t like her odds against an adult noble who likely had no less than three ranks on her.

“We’ll be staying with the Wilde’s then,” Alistair spoke up and Liliana tilted her head. She hadn’t realized she’d need to actually socialize with other nobles on this trip.

“It’s considered rude to not inform the noble over an area that you’ll be in their territory. It’s also considered rude for them to not invite us to stay, and it’s rude to not accept and seen as either a slight or like you’re hiding something,” Alistair explained to Liliana and she sighed, frowning at the information. Why were nobles so obsessed with what was rude? Socializing with the Wilde’s would mean more time taken away from their trip. And time was of the essence here. What if the villagers killed the last flowered serpent before they got there?

“Don’t scowl at me like that. You’re a noble. There are rules we have to abide by,” Alistair chastised her, and Liliana glared, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Feral beast,” Alistair responded, and Liliana rolled her eyes.

“Uppity dandy,” Liliana responded, earning a dramatic gasp from Alistair.

“No, no. She’s got a point,” Emyr joined in, his tone droll but his eyes sparkling with amusement.

“What is this? I’ve been betrayed! By my dearest friend! I shall never recover from this!” Alistair gripped his chest, falling over on the carriage bench as he acted out a painful death. Laughter filled the carriage as the antics continued, eventually devolving into a mess that had chess pieces flying through the air and the board being used as a shield from assault.

“Okay, enough of this, we’ve reached the campsite,” Jason eventually put a stop to the egregious misuse of game pieces.

“Finally! Freedom!” Liliana called out, dropping the ammo in her hands to dart out of the carriage, not waiting for the others.

The guards had already tied up their horses and she could see some of them forming a hunting party. They went out to be sure nothing of too high a level was around that could cause them issues, especially since they’d left the relatively safe area around the manor and entered areas that boasted beasts strong enough to be a true threat. Well, a threat to Liliana. She doubted anything dangerous to her would be a problem for many of the guards with them.

Jason was the only guard she’d recognized when they’d joined the group. The rest were far higher a level than was usually around Liliana. Their levels overall were between 140 and 230, more than high enough to handle the beasts they’d come across and deal with a village of lawbreakers.

“Can I come with you?” Liliana asked the group of hunters, vibrating with excitement. They’d denied her the day before, but it didn’t mean they’d deny her today!

“No, Lady Liliana, I apologize, but it simply wouldn’t be safe for you to accompany us,” one guard responded, and Liliana wilted. She trudged away from the guards and to the area her tent was being set up. She wasn’t even allowed to do that much.

“Can’t hunt, can’t fight, can’t even set up my tent. What am I supposed to do?” Liliana grumbled to herself as she summoned Lelantos. He wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the horses and carriage, so he was kept in the stone until they settled down for the night. The big cat emerged and stretched, yawning as he did. Liliana ran her hands through his fur as she pouted at the ground.

“You’re not a child. Stop acting like one,” Alistair ordered her, and she looked up, shooting her stepbrother a glare.

“I feel like one! They won’t let me do anything,” Liliana whined, and Alistair rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you have more research to do? Or some weird plants to find?” Alistair asked, and Liliana groaned. She was gathering plants when they stopped for her alchemy, but it wasn’t the same as being able to hunt and fight.

“Fine, I’ll go find some plants,” Liliana grumbled, jumping into Lelantos’ saddle. Immediately, three guards appeared at her side, and Liliana resisted the urge to scream.

“I’m just foraging! I don't need babysitters,” Liliana informed them.

“My Lady, we must stay with you to ensure your safety,” one guard, a woman, informed her and Liliana glared at the woman petulantly.

“We’ll go with her,” Emyr spoke up, Alistair and Jason with him. The other three guards exchanged unsure glances, but eventually nodded and stepped off. Liliana sighed and set Lelantos off into the woods without a backwards glance. She could hear the other three scrambling to keep up, and she grinned.

When the trio caught up, Liliana was kneeling next to a bright pink flower the size of her head, delicately pulling it from the ground.

Winter Poppy, fairly rare and only found during fall and winter. It gives off a natural heat, and its petals are used for Fire Blood potions, its roots for Exploding Bottles, and its leaves are used for the Dragons Breathe poison. I wonder if there’s more? If not, I’ll have to see if the gardener at the mansion can cultivate more for me. Liliana thought to herself as she put the plant into her bracelet. It would stay in stasis there and should still be almost as fresh as she’d found it when they returned home.

“Lady Liliana! You can’t just run off like that! We’re in Rank 6 territory now. It’s dangerous!” Jason chastised her, and Liliana turned a droll gaze his way.

“If I so much as scraped my knee, five guards would be here before I can say ‘ow’,” Liliana told him as she stood and dusted off her pants.

“Besides, I’d like a Rank 6 beast to attack me. Lelantos needs the levels,” Liliana continued as she got back in the saddle, patting the tiger in question.

“I think I saw some flying squirrels that way,” Emyr spoke up, pointing to the left. Liliana grinned at her friend and nudged Lelantos in that direction.

“Lord Emyr! We can’t fight those!” Jason turned to the noble, face distraught.

“Emyr, don’t encourage her,” Alistair groaned as he looked at his friend.

“Too late, already going!” Liliana called back as she instructed Lelantos to go faster. However, they were cut off when Jason appeared in front of them atop his horse. Liliana glared at the guard as Lelantos stopped short, jostling her harshly in the saddle.

“My lady, no. We can’t fight those. It’s too dangerous,” Jason informed her. Liliana glared and tried to get Lelantos to go around the horse and rider.

“If I have to bring you back to camp tied to my saddle I will,” Jason warned her and Liliana froze, turning wide eyes to the guard.

“I could have you flogged for that!” Liliana said, though there was no true heat in her words. She had seen a flogging, once, in the gifted memories and she never wanted to see one again.

“Your safety is more important to me than whatever punishment I might receive for doing it,” Jason further elaborated, and Liliana’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

“Fine, fine. Let’s just go back,” Liliana said, directing Lelantos to turn back around. The tiger was as disappointed as she at the stop put on their hunting. He hadn’t leveled since they bonded. Nothing in their area was high enough. Now that they finally had a chance to get him levels, they were being stopped to keep her safe. It wasn't fair.

Liliana followed Jason back to camp, being sure to take her time examining every last plant that looked even vaguely alchemical. Even ones she knew were simple weeds. She might have to go back to the camp, but she didn’t have to make it easy.

She could tell, after the fifth time she’d jumped off Lelantos to examine moss, that Jason was beginning to get annoyed at the constant stops, but he held his tongue. She assumed because it was easier if she was chasing plants than monsters. Still, the way his mare was dancing anxiously as the light slowly disappeared with the oncoming night, she knew she wouldn’t be able to continue. Grabbing a handful of the moss, she hopped onto Lelantos and finally let Jason lead them on without interrupting.

“At twelve bells, there’s a guard shift,” Emyr murmured as he brought his horse close to Lelantos. His voice was so soft, Liliana struggled to hear it, but she couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on hearing the words.

“Tonight?” She asked, and Emyr nodded. Liliana leaned forward and sent a mental image to Lelantos of sneaking out at night, garnering the tiger’s interest. Between Emyr’s shadow skills and Lelantos’ illusion abilities, she knew they’d be able to slip out at night without anyone the wiser.

Chapter 52: So Beautiful Yet So Deadly

Liliana tapped a finger against her thigh as she waited in her tent. Despite having snuck out for the past week since Emyr had informed her of the guard switch, she still felt nervous as the time ticked ever closer. Time keeping was odd in this world, when traveling tracking the bells that dictated the hours was far harder. However she’d been informed several guards had some variation of a timekeeping skill. Which let them keep their watch shifts fairly consistent.

Lelantos was laying outside her tent, and through their bond she could feel his excitement that mirrored her own. He was forced to pretend to be sleeping, much as she was. She could feel his need to hunt though, the levels he’d gained over the past several nights reigniting his desire to grow stronger and further fueling her own. She shifted in her bedroll, nearly jumping out of her skin, when she heard the midnight call out. It was quiet, to prevent waking anyone who wasn’t on shift and sleeping, but it rang out loudly to Liliana’s ears that had been straining to hear it.

Carefully, Liliana extracted herself from her bedroll and crept to the door of her tent. She couldn’t sneak out any other way as if she cut through the fabric of the tent one of the guards who set it up would notice. However, as her tent faced the fire, it made all of this even more treacherous. Liliana looked through the small sliver between the two edges of her tent and saw a few guards chatting by the fire, the shift switch Pulling back, Liliana activated [Borrow] and immediately afterwards she activated [Vanish]. Looking over her body, she marveled at how her skin seemed to disappear. Small stripes that mimicked the ones on Lelantos’ coat decorated her skin that wasn’t fully invisible. The stripes were dark green and gray, naturally camouflaged to match the surrounding forest.

She was dressed in as little clothes as she could manage, a dark cloak thrown over it all. [Vanish] didn’t work on her clothing, simply on her skin. She hadn’t thought to get a set of clothes that could channel the skill like Lelantos’ saddle did; the saddle had cost three times its normal rate with that small bit of enchantment added on and she wasn’t sure what they'd charge for a whole set of leathers like it.

It meant she was left sneaking around in ripped under clothes that would see her disowned by her father if anyone ever found out, but it got her out of camp and that was what Liliana cared about. Liliana ducked out of her tent, [Stealth] active to help hide the sounds of her passing, and further hide the image of her cloak floating in the darkness. She kept her steps slow, resisting the urge to bolt out of the camp. Every step, even muffled by her skill, sounded like thunder in the quiet night and she was certain a guard would hear the pounding of her heart over the subtle sounds of a forest at night. Yet as she slid past tents and sleeping guards, no one called out.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Liliana slid into the cover of the trees and her pace picked up. She held out a hand as Lelantos joined her, still mostly invisible himself, and she pulled herself into his saddle. Their speed picked up, as Lelantos could move faster under [Stealth] than Liliana could comfortably. Once the soft voices of the guards were gone and the light of the campfire disappeared, Liliana pulled Lelantos to a stop. She pulled out her clothes and, with the tiger acting sentry, she quickly dressed herself to proper standards. Dismissing [Vanish] and its drain on her Mana, Liliana drew herself back onto Lelantos and instructed him to find Emyr.

There was no way to guarantee a meeting point as they camped somewhere different every day, and in inns wherever possible, so instead, when they did this, Lelantos just tracked Emyr down wherever he’d snuck off to. Liliana grinned as she felt the cold night air rushing past her. In the dark of the night, she felt a freedom that was hard to match any other time. It felt like in the dark hours of the morning, when most of the world was asleep, that anything could happen. It was a magical time, with the darkness caressing her and the wind singing a soft lullaby that promised wonders.

Liliana felt the moment Lelantos had Emyr in his sights, even if she herself couldn’t find him in the gloom of the forest. She felt his plan to pounce on the boy and instead of reprimanding the tiger, she leaned down, gripping his fur as the tiger readied a pounce. She could feel the strength in the body under hers, the muscles that could so easily rip her to shreds carefully controlled as Lelantos crouched down. So much power, so much strength. And it was all power she could call to her aid, to her wishes. It was intoxicating, the reminder that Lelantos wasn’t simply a pet but a truly deadly creature that had chosen to bond his soul to hers for life.

Then they were sailing silently through the air and Liliana had to resist the urge to yell in excitement as, for a few moments, they hung in the dark air, cradled by the wind. Then they were landing, the jostle passing through her easily as Lelantos pinned Emyr between his paws, the boy not able to dodge this time.

“Why must he do t-“ Emyr was cut off as Lelantos licked his face. The noble boy struggled to shove the giant cat’s head away as Lelantos chuffed and tried to resume grooming the prey he had just caught. Liliana couldn’t help the quiet giggles that spilled from her lips, Lelantos mentally comparing Emyr to a kitten not helping her calm herself.

“Why? Why does he do this every time?” Emyr finally managed to get out as she wriggled out from under the big cat, glaring at the tiger who grinned in response. A normally reassuring gesture that looked far more terrifying when it revealed rows and rows of large, deadly fangs.

“He likes you,” Liliana responded, when her giggles had died out. Her voice was soft. She wanted to avoid making any more noise than they already had.

“Likes me the way I like cherry tarts, or likes me the way you like shiny objects?” Emyr asked as he edged away from the tiger who was standing and sniffing the air, already distracted by the other new scents of the forest.

“Yes,” Liliana responded.

“Wh-What?” Emyr asked, but Liliana titled her head, looking past him.

“Theres something weird around here. Lelantos says it smells like Light and Wind,” Liliana said, and Emyr immediately straightened up.

“What would that be?” Emyr asked, following easily as Lelantos began to move towards the scent.

“In this area? I’m not sure. Theres a few things that could have that description. Even an evolved Horned Hare,” Liliana explained, and Emyr gave her a droll look.

“I’m not some kind of monster encyclopedia!” Liliana huffed, looking away from Emyr’s raised brow.

“In this area it would be evolved Horned Hares, Spectral Wisps, Luxdaria, maybe as it’s a bit far north for them to migrate, or Lumelocera,” Liliana finally answered in a defeated tone. She had, of course, read up on the different types of beasts and monsters they may encounter on their trip. Some she had seen fought in the game, some she had only seen as background pieces or heard of in the game lore and others she’d never heard of entirely.

She wasn’t too surprised that she hadn’t heard of some of them. The game hadn’t been open world, and it tracked time based on when you finished certain story quests. So you could realistically get through the before Academy, and even the Academy itself, fairly quickly if you just ignored the side quests entirely. So it likely hadn’t been a good idea to include the vast amount of creatures she now knew inhabited this world in the game, if the game designers even knew they existed. At this point, Vita could tell her that the goddess herself had designed the game and Liliana would believe it. She couldn’t really think of any other way for it to match this world so well.

“Well, if they’re all Light based it should be fairly simple,“ Emyr shrugged and Liliana nodded. Emyr would have advantage over them and her and Lelantos wouldn’t be weak to any Light based attacks.

“It’s just the Wind affinity that’s a concern, or if they’ve developed Illusion, Sound or Spatial,” Liliana said, biting her lip as she considered the prospect. Illusion could be tricky in the shadows. Lelantos’ shifting form that was hard to track even for her was proof of that. Sound magic could be dangerous, as it was harder to defend against. [Barrier] should keep her safe, but if it was an overly strong level of Sound magic, it could be truly dangerous for them.

Spatial magic was more iffy, as its combat prowess wasn’t strictly offensive or defensive. Simply put, it was a distortion of space, as Miss Beckett had explained it. Or as Liliana had commonly seen it, used for teleportation. Of course, it was also used to make spatial objects, and large-scale teleportation had to utilize Spatial, Gravity and Astral magics to be effective. However, a regular Spatial user could do short range teleportations on themselves or items easily enough. If they were dealing with something like that, it would be a challenging battle, but not entirely impossible.

Liliana kept herself alert as Lelantos stalked the shadows. Emyr had slipped into the shadows as well and Liliana couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there. He was always there. Her eyes caught on a strange glow in the underbrush and, directing Lelantos to it, she slid off of him, kneeling down to examine the glowing moss.

“Liliana, this isn’t th-“ Emyr started and Liliana held up a hand to forestall him.

“This plant doesn’t grow here naturally,” Liliana murmured as she pulled gloves from her storage and picked up the moss.

It shone a light green in the light, an almost calming color that didn’t give fair enough warning of its caustic nature. Shimmer Moss, or more commonly known as Flesh Eating Moss. It was used in a number of poisons, the more brutal kinds. The ones meant to hurt, not to kill. It was also used in a few higher leveled healing potions, which Liliana was finding to be a common occurrence. Many plants and other ingredients that could be toxic or poisonous in certain dosages were used for healing purposes at lower dosages.

“Where does it normally grow?” Emyr asked, his voice still holding a bit of exasperation at this stop.

“South, typically we have to import this moss as it doesn’t really grow here,” Liliana explained as she placed the moss in a bag and put it in her storage with her gloves.

“And this matters why?” Emyr asked and Liliana turned to him, raising a brow.

“Something brought it here, the only creatures that migrate here from areas that grow that naturally are the Luxdaria. They probably collected the spores in their winds when they were traveling,” Liliana explained slowly. Emyr’s face washed with understanding and he looked at the spot that had once held the glowing moss.

“You got all of that from moss?” He asked and Liliana nodded, jumping back onto her saddle.

“Knowing the flora of an area is incredibly important, even if you’re not an alchemist. Knowing what is supposed to grow in an area, and why, can tell you a lot. And knowing when something doesn’t belong can tell you even more,” Liliana informed him, sitting straight in her saddle, proud she finally knew something even Emyr didn’t. She always felt like she was chasing after him and her brother, struggling to catch up, let alone stand on an even playing field. Being able to know something, something useful, finally made her feel like she wasn’t the worthless girl she had been not so long ago.

“Lelantos says they're close,” Liliana told him as they started off again. Emyr nodded silently and slipped back into the shadows, and Liliana summoned her naginata. Lelantos was getting antsy. She could tell the scent he was following was fresh through their bond, and the blood lust was taking him, infecting her with it, building the blood in her own veins and leaking adrenaline into her system.

As they crept through the forest, Liliana’s eyes caught on more light between the trees and leaves, this time not attached to a plant. Lelantos slowed further as they came closer, and Liliana got a good look at their quarry. Floating before them between the trees was a creature she’d only ever seen on Earth in an aquarium, its bioluminescent body floating delicately. Shaded in glowing pink, its tendrils trailing like a lady’s skirts, she was dumbstruck at the beauty of it. Better known on Earth as a jellyfish, the ones Liliana saw resembled the ones shed seen on Earth closely in design. But where the ones on Earth had been small things, these stood more than six feet tall and their trailing tendrils were as thick as her wrist.

Pink Lady

Level 87

Pink Ladies are part of the Luxdaria family. They use their proficiency in Sound and Illusion magic to be-spell and enchant their prey. Often they are not seen until it’s too late for their prey to escape their clutches. They use their tendrils to cocoon their prey and suck the Mana and energy from them. While they are not physically strong creatures, they drain Mana and Stamina incredibly quickly, leaving their prey unable to move seconds after being wrapped in their clutches.

Rank 6

The beauty of the creatures left her spellbound, and she almost regretted the need to fight them. Not just for levels, but also because of what these creatures would mean for the ecosystems and humans living in the area. Luxdaria were highly aggressive to everything. They could single-handedly ruin an entire ecosystem if left unchecked. They didn’t have stomachs, so they didn’t eat their prey, instead they wrapped them in their tendrils and absorbed the creatures Mana then when they were drained dry, they’d kill them for their essence and continue on. Luxdaria used their Illusion and Sound magic to disorientate their prey, leaving them open to being captured.

They also couldn’t reproduce naturally. They were solely Mana generated. Most commonly seen in dungeons because they were often culled anywhere they appeared. Liliana wasn’t sure why the guards hadn’t cleared them out, unless the Luxdaria had been out of the hunting parties range during the day and had moved back at night. Luckily for the three of them, while the Luxdaria were dangerous creatures, they were essentially glass cannons.

Liliana slid off of Lelantos. She’d need her Speed here and their reach was enough that being astride Lelantos would be more dangerous to her than being on her feet. Emyr stepped out of the shadows to her left and looked at the creatures floating through the trees ahead of them.

“So what’s the plan? Those are a bit high leveled for us, don’t you think?” He asked and Liliana cast [Solar Samba], [Dancer’s Domain], [Dance of the Windsong] and [Dance of The Vanishing Blade]. Her Mana and Stamina plummeted, but she could feel the power flooding her blood as everything around her seemed to slow. Emyr benefited from the skills and spells as well, and she could see his eyes widening at the rush.

“No, we can handle it if we play this smartly. Me and Lelantos will distract them. You’ll be the one doing the most damage, so stay out of their sight and take them down,” Liliana instructed.

“Thats it? That’s your whole plan? I think this is too dangerous for us alone,” Emyr stated nervously, and Liliana shot him a grin before she took off, ignoring his calls for her to come back. Lelantos was behind her, his Speed not enough to match hers even with the shared buffs.

Her weapon flashed through the air as she approached the first Luxdaria. It was already turning, as it did a humming came from it. Liliana winced as the humming reached a peak that burned her ears, but it didn’t stop her blade from slicing through the tendril that was snaking out to grab her. The glowing appendage spun through the air as a mouthless scream filled the air, almost forcing Liliana to her feet in pain. She darted away from the lashing tentacles as the Luxdaria sought to grab and rend what had injured it.

Already other Luxdaria were appearing, coming to the air of their hurt brethren. Lights flashed as they pulsed, and a haunting melody hung in the air. Liliana could feel a headache building behind her eyes as her vision swam. Before the Luxdaria could finish weaving their confusion spell, a roar broke their concentration and sent them bobbing wildly in the air. Lelantos crashed through the trees, claws bathed in light as he pounced on one of the Luxdaria. More piercing shrieks filled the air as the tiger dug his laws into the weak body of the Luxdaria, but at Liliana’s warning Lelantos jumped back, right before another of the floating creatures could wrap its tendrils around the tiger.

The Luxdaria circled around the pair, lights flashing and dancing across their bodies as they tried to weave a spell that would ensnare them even as the injured Luxdaria backed away. Liliana didn’t give the Luxdaria the time they needed to complete their spells, darting after yet another, her blade humming through the air as it sliced into yet another soft body. She could feel Lelantos charging and slashing behind her, the screeches of the monsters telling her every time he struck true.

Liliana slashed at another beast, only for her blade to cut air as the illusion dispersed. Spinning, she looked for the next, only to fall to her knees as a full choir of screams cut through the air. Looking up through blurring eyes, she could see shadows retreating from the Luxdaria Lelantos had injured, dropping its corpse. Already more shadows were grabbing another injured Luxdaria, pulling it down much as its own tentacles would grasp at prey, ripping it to shreds.

A mental order and Lelantos roared again, breaking the Luxdaria’s painful chorus and enabling Liliana to regain her feet. Casting [Barrier] with the bit of Mana she still had, she darted off after the next. The forest soon became a macabre ballet, backed by the music of piercing screams. Every time a Luxdaria would die, the remaining creatures would screech, breaking Liliana’s [Barrier], yet every time it took longer as their numbers dwindled. And every time Lelantos’ roar would cut short their mourning. Liliana danced around their grasping arms easily, their Speed too slow to hope to keep up with her. Her blade sang through the air, leaving gashes and shortened tendrils in its wake. Following in her footsteps came shadows that grabbed and rent the faltering beasts apart.

Soon the last of the floating creatures fell, its dying screams weak and exhausted in comparison to the soul shattering chorus it had once been. Liliana sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow as she dropped her skills and spells, slumping every so slightly as the power left her body. Looking over herself, she smiled tiredly when she saw she didn’t have anything more serious than bruises to mark her battle.

Fighting things well above my level and coming away none the worse for wear. I know with my boon my stats are on par with someone level 90 or above, but it’s still nice to see the progress I made. At one time I’d never get out of a battle without some concerning wound or another, Liliana thought proudly. She was becoming a better fighter, not just because of her stats. She knew stats alone didn’t determine skill. That could be easily seen with how often she had been injured when she first started leveling. Even up to the dungeon, she’d still get injured in the hunts she did with Alistair and Emyr, often coming away with more holes than she’d started the day with. Now she was finally learning how to use her Speed, how to predict where an enemy would strike, and how to not be there.

“Could you maybe give a warning before you charge headfirst into a fight, Lili?” Emyr asked, panting as he emerged from the shadows. He looked uninjured as well, but then again, he hadn’t been in the thick of the fighting either. Him getting hurt would’ve meant she or Lelantos hadn’t been doing their jobs properly.

“That was dangerous! They were twenty levels above you!” Emyr continued and Liliana tilted her head, not really paying attention to what he’d said, mind caught on something else.

“Really! If you keep this up, maybe I will tell the g-“ he continued, arms raised as he paced.

“Lili?” Liliana asked, cutting him off and stopping his pacing short. Emyr turned to her, eyes wide.

“I-Ah. Sorry it slipped out,” Emyr said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

“I’m sorry, it was improper for m-“ Emyr continued, not looking at her and his shoulders drooping.

“N-No! It’s fine!” Liliana hastened to explain. “I’ve just. No one’s given me a nickname before,” Liliana continued, voice subdued. Not in this life, and in her last life she couldn’t even remember her name let alone any nicknames the few short-lived friends she’d had might’ve bestowed upon her. Nothing except the term Valkyrie, which her mother had called her.

“Well, that’s what friends do. Don’t they?” Emyr asked, looking up at her.

“Yes, it is,” Liliana agreed, a smile painting her face, “Em.” When he smiled back at her, relieved, she felt her chest warm. A feeling of belonging settled over her. It was odd for all their awful start. From the way he’d followed her brother like a mindless puppy and partaken in the cruel games Alistair had once been partial to, to the way she herself had mistreated him. Gifting him cruel words, mistrust, and dislike. Now they were friends. At one time, Liliana would never have thought such a thing possible, had even hated the very thought of it.

Now, as they both set to skinning the Luxdaria and removing anything of value from them, Liliana couldn’t think of anyone in this life or her last, she could call more of a friend than him. Someone who had risked his life time and again with her, who had protected her back in fight after fight.

Maybe the family she’d gotten in this new life didn’t hold a candle to the one she’d had in her last, but no one had said she couldn’t make herself a better one.

Chapter 53: It's Not Too Late To Say I'm Sorry, Is It?

Liliana tossed a core to Lelantos as they meandered through the forest. He hadn’t picked any fresh scents up since the Luxdaria, which was unsurprising; the guards were generally good about clearing out monsters. They usually had to travel much further to find something to fight, but after the recent fight, they were making their way back. It was late, and they all needed to get some sleep before the next day. They’d made the mistake the first few times staying out too late and both Emyr and Liliana being exhausted had been suspicious.

Liliana was particularly pleased as she had managed to level up from the fight, putting her at level 68. Lelantos hadn’t leveled, but that was expected, he leveled far slower than she did even fighting things around his level. The bonus her boon granted was more obvious than ever when she saw the system alerts for both of them.

Liliana had gotten 311,287 experience from the fight even though she’d done less damage. She got the level difference bonus on top of the bonus from her boon. Lelantos had only gotten 175,675 experience. If they wanted to level him as fast as she leveled, they’d need a mid Rank 6 dungeon, but getting permission to delve a dungeon like that would be impossible. Liliana couldn’t explain that while her level said 68, she was on par with Lelantos now in raw stats. It would raise too many uncomfortable questions. Questions she knew Emyr likely had, but kept to himself.

Liliana looked over at the boy, her friend. He was staying out of the shadows while they walked, since Liliana wasn’t riding Lelantos. He was looking at the plants in the area curiously, evidently Liliana being able to identify their prey before they ever saw them using plants had left an impression. Liliana knew he was curious about more than plants. He’d been hunting with her for a week.

A week of fighting things far above her own level to ensure Lelantos could finally get badly needed experience. He’d watched her go toe to toe with things that should’ve been able to easily toss her aside, yet she’d been the one to end their life. Perhaps it was foolhardy to show her hand like this, but she could admit she did trust him now. Trusted him at least to keep his curiosity to himself, and he was proving her trust was well placed.

“That’s just regular moss,” Liliana spoke up as Emyr poked at a particularly plush spot of moss with a stick.

“Is it? Or is it some super rare, ‘Goddess Tears’ moss?” Emyr asked as he side eyed the moss.

“No, it’s just moss, I promise,” Liliana assured him with a smirk.

“Wait, so there is Goddess Tears moss?” Emyr asked and Liliana smiled, not answering his question.

Ahead of them, a rustling met their ears. Something large was coming through the forest, and fast. Almost immediately, the three of them were on guard. Liliana had her naginata in hand, activating skills and spells as Lelantos began to glow. Emyr was already fading into the shadows, even as the surrounding darkness writhed like an angry beast. A body pushed itself through the foliage and Liliana lifted her weapon, ready to fight and kill whatever was attacking them. Lelantos was readying a pounce, and shadows were twisting to grab the monster.

“I found you!” a voice cried out, a familiar voice. Everything seemed to freeze as the group of three looked at the person who had practically tumbled to their feet.

“Alistair?!” Liliana asked, voice incredulous as her brother picked twigs and leaves off of himself, leveling her and Emyr, who had stepped back out of the shadows, with a venomous glare.

“Weren’t expecting me, huh? I knew you two were up to something! You thought I couldn’t tell you were both exhausted every day? I know you better than that, Emyr. I’ve seen the secret looks, the whispering! You never keep secrets from me! So why were you sneaking out, huh? Are you having some kind of affair with my sister?!” Alistair’s voice steadily rose, and his glare transferred from Liliana to fixate solely on Emyr. He stalked forward, seeming to forget Liliana was even there.

Liliana stood there, mouth hanging open as she slowly lowered her weapon, watching her brother get steadily more angry as he approached his friend. Emyr, for his part, looked stunned and confused. He tried to open his mouth, but any words he’d get out were overwhelmed by her brother’s anger. However, something Alistair had said was so absurd that it broke Liliana from her own stunned stupor.

“Alistair! We-We’re not-We weren’t sneaking out for an affair!” Liliana told him, her voice catching on the word affair. She couldn’t imagine ever doing something like that with Emyr. He was her friend, yes, but she had never seen him romantically. She wasn’t even sure who she’d want to be with. Her mind was too caught up on everything else to even have time to think of romance. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she liked boys like that, or anyone! But she certainly knew she felt no attraction like that to Emyr.

“We were going out to level!” Liliana continued when Alistair turned to look at her. Relief and disbelief warred in his eyes, and Liliana wondered why he cared so much. Sure of late, they’d been more like siblings than bully and victim. But she didn’t think even with the battles and bonding they’d gone through that Alistair would care that much if she was having some kind of affair. The almost insane anger he was suffering from seemed too great to simply be a result of the little bit of sibling bond they had now.

“Is that true?” Alistair asked, turning to Emyr. His voice was softer now, and Liliana could hear an undertone of hurt in it. Emyr still looked flabbergasted, as if he’d just watched a tornado wreak havoc right before him and then vanish as quickly. He seemed to gather himself and walked towards Alistair, laying a hand on the other boy’s shoulder.

“Yes, it’s true. Lili wanted to level and the guards wouldn’t let her, so I’ve been going with her at night to make sure she’s safe,” Emyr explained. At his words, it was like all the anger left Alistair. His shoulders drooped and his body seemed to sway. A relieved smile flashed across his face, and Liliana relaxed with a sigh.

“Wait, Lili?” Alistair asked, and Liliana’s back straightened immediately.

“Em said that friends give each other nicknames,” Liliana hastened to explain, and Alistair turned a hurt look to her.

“But I’m your brother. Why does he get a nickname first?” Alistair asked, and Liliana rolled her eyes as the returned anxiety fled her. She’d been worried the nicknames would make him more certain they’d been having an affair.

“Cause you don’t deserve one.” Liliana stated bluntly, and Alistair winced, looking down.

“But if you want, I can call you Ali,” Liliana taunted as she dismissed her weapon and turned around.

“We better start heading back, before the guards miss all four of us,” Liliana continued, and she started back on the path to camp, satisfied that hurricane Alistair had been calmed.

“I’m sorry,” Alistair's voice froze her in place. Liliana’s heart thudded painfully in her chest and she could feel tears burning her eyes at the words, words she never thought she’d hear.

“W-What?” she whispered, turning to look at her brother.

“For everything I did to you. Everything I said. It wasn’t right how I treated you,” Alistair continued, and it was obvious he was struggling with the words. She could see remorse and pride fighting in his eyes. A lifetime of conditioning from his mother trying to keep its grip on his tongue, even as his heart fought to have itself heard.

“You didn’t deserve any of it. I’m sorry it took you nearly dying for me to really understand that you weren’t who I thought you were. And that it took me months after that to finally apologize,” Alistair continued, and Liliana stared at him, her heart feeling so full but so painful at the same time. Tears were coursing tracks down her face and words wouldn’t leave her mouth.

It didn’t matter that she’d heard these words before, because they were almost verbatim for the words Alistair had said to Liliana in the game. Part of a story quest when she’d been kidnapped at the Academy and the heroes had to save her. Alistair had apologized to her later on, after the quest had been completed, at Diana’s urgings. It had been a touching cutscene, made worse by the fact that it had been the last time anyone saw Liliana before the final battle. She’d vanished after that, but not before leaving her stepbrother with some parting words. ‘Your apology comes too little too late, oh brother mine. Karma will have her pound of flesh for the hell you put me through.’

But this apology didn’t come too late. It didn’t come to someone who had love and hope beaten and poisoned out of her. This apology wasn’t given to the original Liliana, who hadn’t known what genuine love was, who had never known the hero her brother could one day be. Who didn’t know her brother could change.

No, this apology came to someone who had seen the man Alistair could become. Who had fought with him, who had begun to rebuild the bonds broken by hate. For all she had disliked him at first, and had let the residual hate left over from the original Liliana taint her view of him. She might still fear the fate she’d seen in the games, but perhaps. Just maybe, she really could rewrite fate and make a happier ending for them all. One where a brother didn’t have to kill his sister because his apologies and remorse came years too late to undo the damage that had already been scarred into her heart.

“I’m sorry too. For being part of it. For standing by the sidelines and never speaking up,” Emyr spoke up, his voice so quiet yet Liliana could hear him easily over the sound of a forest gone silent. As if nature itself was holding its breath at the moment. As if it too could sense what a momentous occasion this was.

Both of the boy were looking at her, remorse in their eyes and Liliana could feel a choice before her. She could follow the role fate had written for her. Deny their apologies and hold the resentment and hate in her chest that still lingered. Hold on to the hate that was birthed by a weak girl who would later merrily laugh as the queendom burned. Let that hate fuel her rise to power. Or she could take a step down a new path, with an uncertain future. But a future she didn’t have to see alone.

“I forgive you,” Liliana finally got the words out, her choice made.

A part of her raged against the choice, a dark part of her. The part that wanted to see the both of them bruised and bloody on their knees below her as they begged for forgiveness that she’d never grant. The part that wanted them, and everyone who had ever done her wrong, to hurt.

But that part wasn’t her, it was leftovers from the original Liliana. Not the girl who had played Realm Of Hope in her hospital bed because the game gave her the only solace she got in her dwindling days. It wasn’t from the girl who had played as their characters for hours, who had lived lives through their eyes. It wasn’t the girl who had seen these characters as friends in her last life, even if they’d never known her, because they’d been the only ones to always be with her. Had been there for her every day she was struggling to find a reason to live. The girl who would’ve gladly accepted Vita’s offer if only to meet the very people who had already saved her life countless times over. And it was time that girl took the reins, instead of living a life ruled by the hateful ghost of a girl who was long gone.

“Thank you, both of you,” Liliana continued, her voice gaining strength. Tears still traced down her face, but her heart felt so big in her chest, for once the pain she’d held so close inside her was gone. This apology wouldn’t fix everything, wouldn’t erase the years of pain suffered or the life she still had to live in a home absent of parental love. But at least now it wasn’t completely devoid of happiness and love.

“So should we ah… Hug, or something?” Alistair asked and giggles erupted from Liliana. She reached up to her face and wiped off the tears staining her skin, more giggles still spilling from her lips.

“I don’t know?” Liliana said, but it was more of a question. She wasn’t sure what to do with a brother. She’d never had one in her last life. And this life didn’t exactly have a good framework for how a brother should act.

“Yes, hug your sister, you twit,” Emyr whispered harshly, shoving Alistair forward.

Alistair stumbled to Liliana and opened his arms awkwardly. Liliana looked up at him, still laughing, with a smile big enough to hurt. She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Seconds later, his own arms enclosed around her, and he held her so delicately. Seemingly both unsure of this new display of affection and also almost afraid he’d hurt her.

It was funny, considering how he’d hurt her before. Now he seemed scared she’d break a bone in a simple hug. It was awkward, and was nothing like the hugs she got from her parents on Earth, or from Astrid and Silas. But it made her feel content in the same way. It felt like home.

Liliana pulled back, and her laughter reignited by the look on Alistair’s face, both confused and awkward. It was the youngest she’d ever seen him look; like a fourteen-year-old boy just learning how to show affection.

“That… wasn’t awful,” Alistair said, and Emyr snorted from behind him, shooting his friend an affectionate but exasperated look. Lelantos nudged Alistair with his nose and chuffed at him before turning and heading back towards camp.

“Ah, what does that mean?” Alistair asked as Liliana shook her head and turned to follow the tiger, still giggling.

“He says you’re not too bad, now,” Liliana answered as the boys followed after her, “and that perhaps he won’t eat you.” Liliana added on, giggling harder when she heard her brother trip and nearly fall.

“He was going to eat me before?” Alistair asked, voice aghast.

“Don’t feel bad. He wanted to eat me too,” Emyr said offhandedly.

“That doesn’t make me feel better!” Alistair responded.

“I wouldn’t let him eat you anyway,” Liliana spoke up, and she heard a sigh of relief behind her. Turning her head to smirk at her brother, she finished, “you’d give him indigestion.”

“I’ll have you know I’d be quite delicious!” Alistair argued, and Liliana shook her head, giggling again as she walked forward. Emyr and Alistair began to argue quietly about whether Alistair should be declaring himself delicious to a beast that could very easily eat him or not. Liliana let the familiar sound of bickering fall over her as she tilted her head back and looked up at the bits of star-studded sky she could see.

I never thought I’d have this, not in this life. I thought I’d be cursed to live a hard life, one I could never hope to find happiness in. One where my life was always in danger and no one would stand by my side. And it has been all those things, dangerous and deadly. Yet, in some ways, I’d say this life is better than my last. I have friends now, even if they’re from unlikely places. I might not have the love of my father, and my stepmother still hates me. But it’s not all bad, not anymore, Liliana thought as she traced the constellations, a smile still painted on her face.

They walked on, getting closer to the camp. Emyr and Alistair dropped their conversation as they did to avoid alerting the sentries. Liliana was taking in the last of the quiet night air when a mental image from Lelantos brought her up short, stopping her heart for a moment.

“Liliana? Whats wrong?” Alistair asked, as he and Emyr caught up. Liliana’s face had gone pale and her hands were shaking.

“Lelantos, he went ahead. He says there’s someone in my tent,” Liliana started, and Emyr and Alistair’s eyes widened, thinking a guard had found her missing. “He doesn’t recognize their scent. He says they smell like Poison.”

Chapter 54: The Night Holds Dark Deeds, and Darker Truths

“Poison? How does he know what poison smells like?” Alistair asked frantically as he and Emyr crowded close to Liliana. She welcomed the crowding for once. She could feel panic on the edge of her mind and the other two teens were helping steady her.

“The element of Poison, not a specific type. I’m not sure how he can tell, but he’s always been able to differentiate the scent of someone’s main affinities. It’s probably a beast thing,” Liliana explained, her voice taking a high-pitched tone that bordered on hysteria. Someone was trying to kill her again.

This wasn’t like the poisoning, which had technically happened before she came into this world. Or the bandits who had attacked her and the others. Even the wolves, which had come closest to really ending her life here. The wolves had been driven by animalistic instincts, not twisted plots behind their actions. This was an assassin. What else could it be? Few took a Poison element, unless they had darker machinations. Poison wasn’t an element meant for face-to-face confrontations. Poison was meant to kill your prey when they couldn't see you, minutes, hours, days later when you were long gone. It felt far more personal to her than the other times she’d faced Death in this world.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Alistair muttered, and Liliana could feel him pacing behind her. Emyr was silent but so close to her she wouldn’t be able to move without brushing against the boy. Shadows around them writhed from his own anxiety and Liliana felt panic overtaking her, her breath coming faster and faster in her chest. She knew how to handle threats right in front of her. But an unknown assassin she had little idea of how to handle it. They didn’t even know the level. Lelantos couldn’t get a clear image of the assailant to [Identify] him. He could be anywhere from level 60 to level 400 for all she knew.

Should they run to the guards? But wouldn’t the assassin run then, if they roused the camp? Then the assassin would still be out there, waiting for the next chance to kill her. They couldn’t confront him, not without knowing his level. They could be running into their own death if they did.

“Emyr,” Alistair spoke up, his voice more certain and sure than Liliana had a hope of feeling. Both she and Emyr turned to him and Liliana took some solace in how assured he seemed.

“Go to Amelia, inform her of what’s happening. Help her rouse the other guards, quickly and quietly. We don’t need this scumbag to escape.” Alistair ordered, and Emyr nodded. With a last glance at Liliana, the boy vanished into the shadows. Alistair turned to Liliana next.

“Tell Lelantos to keep the assassin in sight, me and you will slip around the camp,” Alistair ordered her, and Liliana nodded. She sent the order to Lelantos, who mentally grumbled at her. Liliana could feel his rage simmering under his concern for her. He was angered that someone had come to kill her. That they had intruded upon his territory to attack his Bond. It was only his concern for her, and his need to protect her, that kept him from charging into her tent to rip the assassin apart.

“It’s done. He’ll watch the tent,” Liliana told Alistair, and he nodded, motioning for her to follow him.

She slipped into [Stealth] while activating [Borrow] and then [Vanish] hiding her form in the darkness, she quietly discarded as much of her clothing as she could while maintaining her modesty. Her leather jacket was removed, and her undershirt, leaving just a leather vest over her invisible torso. She couldn’t do much for her legs and just hoped her darker leathers would suffice. With her dark mottled cloak, a gift from Silas, it would hopefully be enough to fully hide her figure in the dark forest.

Ahead of her, she saw Alistair reach a hand back to her, and she hesitated before grasping it. As she did, he slipped from view as well, activating his own Illusion magic to hide his form. Unlike hers, his magic hid his clothes, but Liliana was too full of panic to feel jealous of his skill. Though it did answer how he had snuck out of camp. Together, they moved as quietly as they could through the forest. Liliana kept half her mind with Lelantos, where the tiger was watching the tent with the rapt attention.

The assassin seemed to have settled down, hiding in the darkness of the tent to wait for her return. Liliana wasn’t sure how long he would wait, but she hoped it was enough time for Amelia and Emyr to get the guards rallied. Liliana stumbled over deadfall in the forest and almost fell onto her face, too distracted by fear and the assassin to give proper care to where she placed her feet. It was only Alistair’s hand that kept her up, and the soft squeeze that he sent her that kept her moving. Fear was cold in her veins, trying to freeze her in place. Her mind was running in circles, terrified that the assassin wasn’t working alone and any moment now, an entire party of assassins would descend on them and end both her and her brother.

Liliana wasn’t sure when it happened, but they had gotten around the camp and Alistair was tugging her towards the posted sentry. Liliana followed him, still trying to keep tabs on the assassin that was lying in wait in her tent.

“Who go-” the sentry began, but Alistair dropped his illusion and held up a hand for the guard’s silence.

“There’s an assassin in the camp, after Lady Liliana,” Alistair informed the woman, tugging on Liliana’s hand. Liliana reluctantly let go of [Vanish] and the protection it offered her.

“Sergeant Amelia has already been informed. The other guards are being rallied to surround and capture the assassin. But we need to protect Lady Liliana until they are dealt with,” Alistair continued, and the guard straightened, offering a salute to them both.

“I’ll protect you and the lady with my life,” the woman promised, and Alistair nodded. He didn’t let go of Liliana’s hands as the guard stepped closer to them, and Liliana was grateful. She was certain if he let go she’d fall victim to the fear that was dogging her every step and clogging her throat.

The guard stomped on the ground and earth rose around them, forming hard walls and a defense against anyone trying to sneak up on them. Quickly, where there had been nothing but cleared space, a rudimentary hut stood around them.

“Earth affinity, this should at least keep us somewhat safe,” the guardswoman told them, and Liliana nodded along. It made sense, and with walls around her she felt more secure.

The guardswoman took up position at the entrance to the earth hut, her sword drawn and looking ready to do battle. Alistair gently extricated his hand from her grasp and pulled out his own armor and weapons from his storage ring. He hadn’t been wearing his clunky armor before, presumably to make it easier to sneak through the forest and find proof of her and Emyr’s ‘affair’.

How long ago that felt, though it couldn’t have been more than an hour or two past. So much had changed in such a short time. She’d gone from feeling happy for once, to being in fear for her life again. As if fate couldn’t stand to see her happy for any longer than a few precious moments, stolen under the cover of night.

With little else to do except entertain her darkening thoughts, Liliana helped Alistair put on his armor, having watched him put it on enough times during the dungeon to be of some use. Soon enough he was kitted out, his large shield before him. Liliana didn’t fail to notice that he was between her and the entrance, adding an extra wall between her and danger. She didn’t know if it was conscious, or simply in his nature as a tank, but it still warmed her, banishing some of the chill that had settled in her bones.

Liliana summoned her weapon as well, the comforting weight of steel in her hand grounding her further. Her skills and spells circled in her mind, ready to come at her call and aid her. Lelantos was still forefront in her mind, though. His eyes easily focused on the assassin in her tent. And tracked the guards slowly surrounding the tent, and the unsuspecting assassin inside of it.

“The guards are surrounding the tent,” Liliana informed Alistair and the sentry, garnering twin sighs of relief from them.

Liliana backed up until she felt the earth against her back and closed her eyes, focusing entirely on Lelantos through their bond. It wasn’t something she did often, but it was always something she’d been able to do. To let her own mind slip further down their bond until she could see through his eyes. Could sense things through him. It was overwhelming, the amount of scents and sounds he experienced every day. Her own senses were dull and pitiful in comparison. She could feel his blood lust clearer now, a burning heat in his body. He wanted to kill the assassin, and very badly, too. Liliana could feel it in his muscles that were coiled so tight they almost hurt.

Still, he held back, only keeping his baser instincts at bay because she had given him a task. A vital one. Make sure the assassin didn’t escape, and if he did, track him down so he would no longer be a threat to her. His loyalty to her, his love, was stronger than his need to rend the assassin limb from limb for threatening her.

So he sat in the shadows of the forest and watched as the guards closed their circle on the tent, Liliana spectating with him. She could see Jason and Sergeant Amelia at the forefront of the group, Jason’s face twisted in rage. She couldn’t see Emyr, but she wasn’t surprised. The teen had likely been ordered to stay back. At some signal from the sergeant, skills and spells activated.

A whirlwind surrounded the tent, closing the guards in with the assassin. Outside of the wind, vines grew, lashing out like snakes as an extra precaution if the assassin tried to flee. Inside the circle of wind and vines, Sergeant Amelia raised a sword crackling with electricity. There was a thunder crack that accompanied a lightning strike, piercing the tent and striking the hidden form of the assassin inside. A scream shattered the still night air before the guards descended on the tent, weapons held high as they rushed the stunned assassin. Liliana saw skills being activated, a rainbow of colors that denoted different abilities, but there were too many to track easily.

The fight wasn’t even a fight. In seconds, it was over, and the assassin was dragged out of the tent. Hands bound by ropes, bruised, burnt, and bloody. It was a man she saw finally as Lelantos finally got a good look at the man’s form. The assassin was clothed in dark cloth, a hood over his head that was ripped off by Jason, revealing a face that was startlingly young. Maybe seven years older than Liliana, if that. His hair was shaved so short Liliana couldn’t place the color, but it was his eyes that caught her attention. They looked… dead. As if she was looking at the eyes of a corpse.

Lelantos used [Identify] on the assassin, and the air caught in Liliana’s throat as her lungs locked up. Death flashed before her eyes as she realized this man could have very easily killed not only her, but Lelantos as well. Without anyone the wiser.

Cyrus

Age: 21

Level: 150

Rank: 4

Class: Toxic Nightstalker

“Who sent you?” Amelia asked the assassin. The trapped man grinned at Amelia, spitting a glob of blood at the sergeant’s shoes. Seconds later, the man dropped to the ground, all life gone from his body. The guards backed up almost as one, but Jason cursed, kicking at the dead body.“They caught him,” Liliana informed Alistair and the guardswoman, her voice sounding distant, with most of her mind still connected to Lelantos and watching the ongoing events.

“Fuck!” He yelled and Liliana separated herself from Lelantos, shaken by the event she’d just watched.

“Lili?” a voice asked, and she looked up through blurry eyes, not even aware that she’d been crying. Alistair was kneeling before her. When had she gotten on the ground?

“Lili? What happened?” Alistair asked, and Liliana opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words. Because she’d realized something, an answer to a question she had been too scared to ask herself. A question Amelia had voiced.

Who had sent the assassin? It was obvious, so obvious it hurt. The knowledge burned like the poison the assassin had meant to send into her own veins, and it hurt like the man had managed to rip her heart out of her chest. It shouldn’t, it really shouldn’t. A betrayal like this. Could it even be called one when she had never trusted the woman in the first place? When she’d already tried to kill her before? Yet, it still hurt.

Because there was only one person who would send an assassin after her. Imogen. Her stepmother.

Alistair’s mother.

How could she tell him that? He wouldn’t believe her. If he did, it would break him. She couldn’t tell anyone. No one would believe her. All the progress she’d made with her stepbrother, with Emyr, with society as a whole, with becoming something more than the half blood commoner mutt they all had seen her as. It would all be gone, dust in her hands if she accused Imogen of this.

Without proof, with nothing more than the knowledge she had from a past life. She’d be painted as either a mad girl, raving and not to be believed of anything. Or she’d be painted as some social climber, trying to discredit a noblewoman with a far better pedigree than her so she could become heir of the duchy.

Perhaps that was what hurt the most, knowing that she couldn’t trust the two people she had become close to. Who she had just listened to the apologies of and let go of a lifetime of resentment and hate for, she couldn’t trust. Perhaps the pain was because, with this one night, she’d gotten something she’d always wanted and had it ripped from her fingers just as quickly. She’d had somewhere she’d belonged for a few moments. Now she was once more on her own, with only her Bond that she could truly trust in this world.

She had been naïve to think it could be any other way, stupid and hopeful. How could she ever hope to belong with people who lived in an entirely different world than her? In a world where their parents loved them, in a world where their mothers didn’t try to kill them. Where goddesses didn’t rip them from death to fix the fate of a world that had never cared for them.

Alistair's hands were on his shoulders. His face panicked as he shook her, bringing her back to the present.

“Lili! What happened?!” He was practically yelling and Liliana stared at him numbly.

“The assassin is dead,” she finally spoke, the words tasteless on her numb tongue. Alistair relaxed, dropping his hands from her shoulders in relief.

“Good. Even if he wasn’t, I’d never let an assassin hurt you, Lili,” Alistair promised her, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Liliana stared at him, a dark thought wriggling in her mind. Had he known? Had he known his mother would send an assassin after her on this trip? She’d obviously been planning it for a while. Her reluctance to send Alistair on this trip revealed now as more than simple motherly concern for a dangerous quest. She’d been afraid he might get in the way of the assassin and get injured or killed as a result. So wouldn’t she have warned her own son? Was Alistair complicit, happy to see her die and his path to being the heir fully unimpeded?

Yet his actions didn’t make sense. If he’d known, why would he come find her and Emyr the same night as the assassin coming? If he hadn’t, Liliana might have been in her tent before the assassin came. Leaving her easy prey for him. And would he have worked so quickly to get her to safety and the assassin captured?

Or perhaps it was guilt that fueled his actions. Maybe he knew and felt guilty at the thought of blood on his hands. So he’d come to slow them, give enough time for Lelantos to find the assassin and begin his plan for redemption. This way, he got to be the hero of the day, saving his stepsister from an assassin and freeing him from a guilty conscience.

But he wasn’t like that in the game, Liliana thought. The Alistair from the games had been arrogant, and a bit of a jerk. But he’d also been kind and hadn’t been able to plan anything more duplicitous than a few pranks. A plan like this would require a kind of calculating nature she had never known him to have.

But this isn’t the game, another voice said in her mind and Liliana covered her face, still wet with tears. She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t want to believe Alistair had known anything about this. But she didn’t know anymore, didn’t know who she could trust. She knew she couldn’t trust him, not while his mother was still trying to kill her. But could she trust him to not kill her? Or to aid in her death? She thought so, but she didn’t know.

Liliana called to Lelantos, the one being she knew she could trust implicitly. The tiger came at her call, spurned on by her distress. He arrived at the same time Emyr did. Liliana ignored the other boy’s cries, ignored her brother’s grasping hands and darted past the protesting guard to throw herself onto Lelantos. She ordered him to run, to get away from the camp. The assassin was dealt with, and she needed to be away from this place. She had to get her thoughts in order, figure out who she could trust.

With eyes blurred by tears and a breaking heart in her chest, Liliana ignored the shouting voices trying to summon her back to the safety of the camp and let Lelantos run off into the promised relief of the still dark night.

Chapter 55: A Warm Welcome Home

“Lady Liliana, look at this,” a guard, Rebecka, called out over sounds of the common room of the inn they were staying in. Liliana looked up and saw the woman produce sparkling butterflies made of air and ice. They fluttered around the room, the flames of the hearth fire casting light through their icy bodies. It reflected prettily off the faces watching them, and a small smile tugged at Liliana’s mouth.

It had been some days now since the assassin's attack. Liliana had spent several hours out in the woods. Jason had found her eventually and brought her back. She’d slept in the carriage that night, surrounded by guards. She hadn’t seen Alistair or Emyr until the next morning, when she’d awoken from another horrible nightmare.

This one, she could remember. As she had remembered all the ones she’d had since the assassin. She was running through the halls of the manor, running to her brother or Emyr. Who it was changed. Yet what they did stayed the same. Whoever she ran to for help would raise a dagger to strike her.

She knew she had bags under her eyes, could feel them tugging her eyes down. Each morning, she woke up with less and less sleep. The guards had been gentle with her, assuming it was simply the stress of being targeted by an assassin that had her so unsettled. And it was, to a degree. It was also the knowledge of who had sent the assassin that was troubling her.

Emyr and Alistair seemed almost as stressed as she. Both of them sported their own dark circles, and she knew Alistair patrolled around her tent, or room, at night. Lelantos had told her Emyr did as well. They hadn’t been out to hunt since the assassin. Liliana simply hadn’t felt up to it. Hadn’t felt up to pretending everything was fine when it so very much was not. Hadn’t wanted to test herself and see if she truly did still trust Emyr or her brother still. She didn’t know what she’d do if all her trust in them had been demolished, or if it hadn’t.

Alistair had interrogated Jason and Amelia for the first couple of days after the assassin, before questioning every guard who had a hand in the assassin’s capture. The information they’d gathered from the man dead was more than they’d gotten from him alive, but it was still so little. A tattoo of a viper on his back apparently marked him as part of a known assassin syndicate. The Death Adders.

The poison on his person was expensive, far too expensive for most assassins to carry, and a poison of the degree that would have Liliana dead before she could take a breath. Strong enough to kill Lelantos, too. The man had come prepared, even disregarding his level. He’d been high level enough to take on any one of their guards, but not all of them at once. As was common for assassins, he’d killed himself rather than be captured and risk the name of his employer be found.

Not that it mattered, Liliana knew. Though no one else did. She knew Alistair was still trying to figure out who it was. She heard him whispering to Jason and Emyr. Though he never spoke of the assassin to her, which she didn’t know if she should be grateful for or not. His actions at least absolved him of the guilt she had held him to originally. She didn’t think he’d be driving himself so hard if he’d had a hand in it. Didn’t think he’d lose sleep over her if he had wanted her dead.

It mattered little though, because she knew she couldn’t trust him with the truth. No matter the pain she saw in his eyes whenever he looked at her, or whenever she scrambled out of the carriage each evening to surround herself with the guards, far from him and Emyr.

Her heart still ached in her chest, like an infected wound she refused to treat. She tried to ignore it, accept the pain as her new normal. But it was hard, hard when she woke up every night at the guard shift. Hard when she was stuck in a carriage with Emyr and Alistair every day and had to see them both getting as wan and exhausted as her. Had to deny every attempt they made to draw her out of her shell.

It hurt so much to pull away from them. But she didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t know how to trust them when the secrets she held would tear their newfound friendship apart at the seams. Didn’t want to see if Alistair would pick his mother or her. Didn’t want to see if Emyr would choose his oldest friend over her. She couldn’t ask him to. She didn’t want to face the heartbreak that would ensue, so instead she took the slow death of her heart over the full breaking of it.

The guards at least seemed to welcome her company. Many of them trying to draw out smiles or a laugh from her with various stories, jokes or antics. Her willingness to listen seemed to further fuel it, and every night now she could guarantee some story or new magic trick to experience. Yet it all felt so hollow.

“We should be in Ariowood tomorrow. We’ll be staying with Earl Wilde tomorrow night and likely the night afterwards,” Jason informed her as he handed her food.

He’d tested it, as he had every night since the attempt. Liliana didn’t know how to feel about the extra precautions. Didn’t know how she’d feel if her food was poisoned and Jason died for it. Her hand tightened on the spoon in her grip, hatred flaring to life in her chest. Imogen had done more than simply try to kill her. She’d ruined the first bit of peace Liliana had known since she’d come to this world. She was actively threatening people Liliana cared for.

Liliana’s other hand reached up to touch the pendant that hung from her neck.

She’d taken the pendant out of storage one night to examine it when the nightmares wouldn’t let her sleep. She’d ignored the odd pendant during their travels, her mind already too taken up with other matters to bother with a mysterious pendant. When she’d taken it out, it had seemed to call to her. Seemed to offer her comfort, protection. Power. Things she craved now more than ever, when her own weakness had been laid out to her.

Power to keep herself safe. She felt like it offered that. If only she knew how to unlock it. For now, she wore it for whatever protection it might give her. Lelantos still didn’t like the pendant, but hadn’t protested too much. He too was still shaken by the events, the knowledge that had they confronted the assassin, he wouldn’t have been able to protect her. He felt weak, and Liliana knew he hated it as much as she did.

At least the pendant offered her some feeling of comfort. Some minute bit of safety, and she hadn’t felt that in so long. Her own flimsy illusions of safety had been shredded before her eyes when an assassin snuck by their guards and into her tent. Where she would’ve died, had she not disobeyed the very guards meant to protect her and snuck out.

“I suppose I’ll have to dress properly then,” Liliana commented as she loosened the death grip she had on her spoon and took a sip of the stew.

“Well, we were talking,” Jason motioned at the other guards that were crowded around therm, “and thought maybe you’d enjoy a chance to explore the city a bit.” Jason offered her, sounding almost hopeful.

I wanted to get a monopoly game board, and pieces made. That feels like a lifetime ago, Liliana remembered as she looked down at her stew. She had wanted to get the game to play with Alistair and Emyr during their travels. Now she wasn’t sure if she should. She was trying to distance herself from them, distance the poisonous secret she held from them. Liliana looked back up, a refusal on her lips, but the hope in the eyes of the guards, Jason especially, changed the words on her tongue.

“That would be nice,” Liliana said, giving them a tired smile. Jason grinned back at her and several guards chatted excitedly about what they would do in the city. Liliana watched on, eating her food quietly as they talked.

I suppose I could see if they have any new bestiaries, or perhaps a better appraiser for this pendant, Liliana thought, letting a bit of the excitement floating around infect her. She couldn’t sell any of the monster parts she had. It would raise questions. But she perhaps could offload some of the alchemical plants she had found and couldn’t use.

“Look, Lady Liliana, you can see the city,” Jason pointed out, and Liliana looked up from the bestiary she was reading from. Ahead of them, above the trees, she could see the city. She leaned closer to the window in curiosity. Ariowood hadn’t been a city one could visit in the game, so she had never seen it before. She hadn’t entirely understood the name until now, but the city seemed to be made of mostly wood. From the walls to the buildings, she couldn’t see any stone other than the road they were on.

“Why is it all wood? Isn’t there a concern for fire?” Liliana asked, turning to Jason, her one man encyclopedia for this world. He knew an absurd amount of information, but perhaps it wasn’t too surprising as he was a lieutenant, even if sometimes it was easy to forget.

“It’s enchanted wood, courtesy of Earl Wilde’s Nature and Earth affinity. His family has long held those affinities and helped build Ariowood. The wood here is as strong as the stone used in Ravencross.” Jason explained, and Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked back at the city. It truly was amazing what magic could do in this world. It felt like the possibilities really were endless.

“Because of the Wilde family’s affinities this city also attracts many carpenters and woodworkers, most people here usually get at least an Earth affinity, if they can afford it,” Jason continued to explain and Liliana nodded, she knew that much at least. She knew the Wilde family’s biggest export was wood and wood crafts. She hadn’t truly realized what that meant for the area they controlled, though, and it made her wonder at what other areas looked like. Families that specialized in metal. Would they have cities or homes made of the material? She knew it wouldn’t be too fantastical. She didn’t live in a mansion made of water or ice. It would be impractical, even if rather beautiful.

Despite her original reservations regarding exploring the city, she found herself excited as they approached and entered the gates. Jason had told her someone had already been sent to the Wildes to inform them to expect their group in the evening. Which was anxiety inducing on its own, but she tried not to think on it. She had dresses, packed for just such events, at Astrid’s insistence. She was glad she’d listened to her maid, otherwise she’d be forced to confront her father’s vassals in combat gear that would see her laughed out of court.

Her heart ached at the reminder of her maid. She missed Astrid terribly. Now more than ever, when she felt so horrifically alone. At the very least Astrid could offer her a shoulder to cry on, or maybe someone to turn to for advice. Astrid had always had a way of looking at her problems and transforming the mountains of worries into molehills.

As they passed the gate, the carriage drove down roads Liliana saw were still stone, though it was the only stone she could see in the city. Eventually, the carriage stopped and Liliana nearly flung herself out. Alistair and Emyr had been quiet since the city came into view, Alistair glaring broodingly at it the entire time. Part of her wanted to ask what was on his mind, but she held her tongue.

“Lady Liliana, we will accompany you,” Jason informed her, following her out of the carriage. Five other guards were with him, all fairly high leveled. It was obvious that they were all still nervous after the assassination attempt. Liliana was thankful for them this time, though. She wasn’t sure if her stepmother had hired additional assassins or not, and it was best to be cautious than to be dead.

“We’ll be accompanying you Lord Alistair, Lord Emyr,” another guard informed the boys, and Liliana turned to see the boys had eight guards of their own with them. The rest of the guards were likely going to explore the city.

“Lady Liliana, I thought you might like to see one of the best wood crafters Ariowood has to offer,” Jason pulled her attention from the boys and she nodded along. She truly had little she wanted to do in the city and was happy to let Jason play tour-guide. Anything to distract her mind from what had been plaguing it.

Jason led them to a rather interesting shop front. Liliana looked at it, convinced it was some kind of joke. It looked as if someone had used an enlargement spell on an old cuckoo clock. There were intricately carved wooden sculptures all around it. They even moved and waved as if alive. Liliana stepped closer to one, a wooden unicorn, that seemed to huff and bow its head to her.

“I thought they had Nature and Earth affinities?” Liliana asked Jason, who stood beaming next to her, apparently proud of what he’d showed her.

“Well, there's no limit on what affinities one can unlock. Just a matter of money and time. The craft master here picked up a Soul affinity too, and then the Animation affinity,” Jason explained as Liliana’s eyes trailed over the other moving wooden beings. Animation, a subclass of Earth and Soul magic.

It meant the man had five affinities, three main ones. It would’ve been expensive to say the least to unlock that many, let alone to raise them to high enough levels to unlock the combined subclasses, and then to raise those high enough to be of use. Crafting classes got experience from doing their crafts, but not as much as martial classes got for killing things. To get the experience necessary, the man either had to be a monster who crafted every moment of every day, or have enough money to pay adventurers to run him through dungeons to raise his affinities and levels that way.

“How do you know so much?” Liliana asked Jason, who flushed and opened his mouth only for the door to burst open.

“Little Jay! You’ve come home!” A woman cried out, wrapping Jason in a tight hug. The man flushed a darker red and patted the woman on the back.

“Hello ma,” Jason said, his voice low and embarrassed as he looked at the watching guards and Liliana.

Well, that explains that, but then how did he go from here to the Rosengarde manor? I always assumed the guards at the manor were from Ravencross or the village near it, Pinemere. I suppose I never did spend much time getting to know the guards other than Silas and Jason. And… I don’t even know where Silas is from. Liliana thought, as Jason tried to regain some of his composure and extricate himself from his mother. Liliana felt guilty. These people who guarded her, who risked their lives for her, and she barely knew them. Was she truly that self absorbed?

“Oh, I’m sorry to embarrass you in front of your little friends,” Jason’s mother spoke up, seeming to finally notice the rest of them. The other guards were trying to hold back laughter, and Liliana felt bad for Jason. As one of the lower leveled guards with them, she knew he struggled to hold respect with the other guards, even with his status as a lieutenant. She knew he’d been sent with them because of his familiarity with her. She assumed Silas thought someone who knew her well would be more dedicated to her protection, level be damned.

Liliana remembered Jason’s face when they’d caught the assassin, the burning rage and hate twisting his features and thought it was accurate. She knew Jason would protect her with his life, and he had saved her before. Liliana did trust him, more so than she trusted the other guards whom she didn’t even know. She knew Alistair and Emyr did, too.

“Hello Mrs. Fletcher,” Liliana stepped up and gave a curtsy to the woman. She’d dressed in proper noblewoman’s attire today in anticipation of meeting the Wilde’s later on.

“Oh! Oh my! Lady Liliana! I apologise for my rudeness!” The woman hastily dipped a deep curtsy to Liliana. Liliana smiled kindly at her and held out a hand to her.

“It’s alright, who am I to begrudge a mother showing love for her son? And I must thank you. Your son is one of my most trusted guards, and I owe him my life several times over,” Liliana continued, smiling at the woman. She heard a few choked off laughs behind her from the other guards. Liliana had just raised Jason’s status among them with her statement. Being a favored guard of a noble was a high honor for a guard. It was an almost promised promotion, or so Silas had told her. It was how he’d been raised so much, even at his level. He’d been a favored guard of her father, though Liliana could hardly imagine the kindly Silas getting along with her cold snake of a father.

Liliana looked over and saw Jason looking at her with wide, wonder filled eyes. She even thought she detected a few tears in his eyes and she flushed, biting her lip. Had she truly been so cold to him, he didn’t realize how much she valued him? Silently, Liliana vowed to treat him better, and to perhaps get to know the other guards better as well. It wouldn’t do for her to know nothing about the people charged with protecting her, after all.

“Come in! Come in! All of you! I can’t have you all sitting out in the cold like this! I can get some tea ready for you all and me and my little Jay can catch up!” Mrs. Fletcher said, the woman suddenly a flurry of movement as she ushered them all into the store.

Chapter 56: Finding Families and Forgetting

Liliana walked quietly among the shelves of wooden items on display. It truly was incredible, everything in the store was made of wood. Even the home attached to it was entirely wooden, from the teapot to the utensils. Ariowood truly stuck to its theme well.

According to the Fletchers, of which there were many, their family had made everything from the store itself to the cups. Apparently, they started their children off with carving small things like spoons, plates and bowls and gradually worked them up to more complicated things. It certainly helped when they had such a large, and rambunctious, family.

They had introduced Liliana to what felt like an entire clan of Fletchers. She wasn’t entirely sure how they all fit in the attached house, but she was almost certain that one of them had Spatial magic of some type and had expanded the house. She’d seen what she was beginning to call the ‘Fletcher Eyes’, a telltale hazel, amongst all the blood family, from the little nieces and cousins to the patriarch himself, John Fletcher.

John owned and operated the store she was currently browsing. A few other guards were with her, but Jason was still stuck with his family, catching up with his eight siblings, their spouses, children and their children’s children. Jason was older than his outward appearance would imply, as he now had grand nieces. Granted, Jason was the youngest child among the original siblings, and some of his nieces and nephews were the same age as him.

His parents were old, by Earth standards. Here she thought they might be simply middle aged, considering their levels. Liliana hadn’t used [Identify] on Jason’s mom until she recovered from her shock of being introduced to more people than she could keep straight. But the woman was level 230, a Woodcarver. Her husband was level 312 and something called a Life Carver. Apparently, it had something to do with his Animation affinity, though Liliana had barely been able to remember his explanation amongst all the introductions.

Liliana was beginning to understand why Jason had left. As lovely as his family was, it was easy to see how one could lose their own sense of self amongst so many. He’d probably left to make his own name for himself, not attached to his family’s. Yet there seemed to be no bad blood with his family over it, it wasn’t like he’d been the only child to carry on the craft. In fact, it seemed most of the Fletchers were carrying on the craft, with six of the siblings working directly under their father.

Liliana picked up a small toy shaped like a cat. It didn’t make a sound, but it batted at her fingers just like a real one, and even rubbed against her affectionately. She smiled as she set it back down and migrated to the games she’d seen. There were several decks of wooden cards, with moving faces. Chessboards with pieces that moved themselves and attacked the opposite side. She saw several different types of boards, one with beasts instead of the conventional pieces.

Liliana paused at it and cooed quietly over the different beasts. She recognized an Evanescence Tiger as a rook, Horned Hares as pawns on one side, Giant Toads on another. There was a Fenrir as a bishop, a Dragon as a Queen and a Phoenix as the opposing Queen. A Thunderbird as a King and a Kitsune as another. She delighted over all the different beasts and didn’t notice someone coming up beside her.

“Little Jay told me I could probably find you around the beast carvings,” the warm voice of Mrs. Fletcher interrupted Liliana’s admiration and she almost jumped as she turned to the woman. It wasn’t a real surprise she could sneak up on Liliana. With a crafting class, the woman’s dexterity was probably outrageously high. She’d seen her balancing twenty plates and eight cups while serving everyone earlier.

“He did?” Liliana asked, amused. She supposed it was obvious, her love for the different creatures in this world.

She might hunt them, yes. But it didn’t mean she didn’t love them any less. The hunting she did wasn’t just for her own benefit, it was vital to the ecosystem they inhabited. Left unattended, Mana would continue to produce beasts until they overwhelmed everything and turned the continent into a wasteland. Some couldn’t be left alive at all, like the Luxdaria, who would kill everything indiscriminately. Or the Hedgehogs, if left to become too big a problem, would overwhelm villages and towns.

Even the Horned Hares, since they seemed to appear in mass, had to be culled or they would destroy the flora of an area entirely. Slimes were killed regularly as they were produced by Mana at an exorbitant rate, and while they didn’t seem to be a problem if left to level, they could become colossal things that could and would eat entire towns. It was all about balance. The humans killed the monsters for levels and to maintain the ecosystem; the beasts killed the humans if they pushed too far or to get stronger.

For that reason, Liliana didn’t feel too much guilt about killing creatures. Not when it was simply a necessary part of the cycle of life. But for that same reason, she despised people who desecrated that cycle, like the village of Timberborn. Killing creatures for no reason, in cold blood. It was disgusting to her. The flowered serpents had done no wrong, were no threat to them or the ecosystem. Yet they’d killed them, and Liliana reviled them for it.

“Here, we have a better version. We keep the things made by the apprentices on display. The good stuff is back here.” Mrs. Fletcher took her hand and directed her past a door. Liliana stared at the hand gripping her own, more than a little shocked.

Other than Astrid, Emyr, Alistair and Silas, no one had reached out to her like this. As if… she was just a normal girl. It would horrify most below her station to touch a noble so carelessly. Liliana couldn’t say she minded much. It felt nice to be treated as if she was just a normal girl. Not a god blessed, or cursed, girl meant to save the world. Not a noble woman, separate from others. Not a mutt child dirtied with commoner blood. Not Lady Liliana, the daughter of the Duke. Not Lady Liliana, the daughter of a commoner. Just… Liliana.

“Here, John made this himself. It’s what the apprentices based theirs off of,” Mrs. Fletcher told her, showing Liliana a new game board with pieces on it. Where before the board could be considered a unique and beautiful piece, this was obviously a work of art. Before, the pieces had obviously been made of wood, but these were made and painted so they looked exactly like the creatures themselves. Just in miniature. The game board even had a fencing around it, to keep all the creatures inside of it as they wandered around. Some were even engaged in small fights.

“Not to worry, anything short of being smashed to pieces and set alight with magical fire stronger than the enchantments won’t harm the pieces,” Mrs. Fletcher told Liliana when she rushed to try to separate a Fenrir and a Horned Hare. Liliana took her hand back, but at a nod from the woman she reached to the creatures and picked up the Evanesce Tiger and held it in her hands. It sniffed her fingers and seemed to decide her not prey and laid down in her palm, batting at her thumb.

“That’s your Bond, right?” Mrs. Fletcher asked, and Liliana looked at her in surprise. The woman smiled.

“Jason has been regaling us all with tales of your adventures,” Mrs. Fletcher explained, and Liliana flushed, looking back at the small tiger, gently petting it with a finger.

“How much for this?” Liliana asked as she put the tiger back down.

“For you? Free,” Mrs. Fletcher told her. Liliana turned to her, mouth open to protest.

“Hush, you’ve been good to my boy. Real good. We were all nervous about him running off to be a guard rather than taking a craft. But he’s doing well for himself. Being the personal bodyguard of a lady is no small thing. And he cares for you. Almost like you were his own daughter, or a little sister. And we don’t charge family,” Mrs. Fletcher explained as she waved her hand. The chessboard opened up, each square swinging down and the pieces falling into their designated spots. The squares closed up, and the chessboard folded in half, looking much like a wooden purse. It even had a carrying strap on it.

“Press here to open it, and here to open the squares. The pieces will arrange themselves,” Mrs. Fletcher explained to a stunned Liliana as she fit the strap over her head.

“I really ca-” Liliana started, and Mrs. Fletcher held up a hand.

“Family helps family. And in my eyes you are family, girl,” Mrs. Fletcher told her, her tone brooking no argument. Liliana opened her mouth again but words wouldn’t come, instead tears sprung from her eyes and Mrs. Fletcher’s eyes softened.

“Poor dear,” Mrs. Fletcher murmured as she brought Liliana in for a hug. The girl gratefully took it, grasping onto the woman’s clothes as she sobbed into her shoulder. The hug felt like Astrid’s, like her mothers. It felt safe and warm. And like everything Liliana had needed.

“Shh, poor thing. You’re carrying a lot on your own, aren’t you? I could see it. You walk like the world rests on your shoulders. It’s alright. You’ve got more people who can help you than you realize, me thinks.” Mrs Fletcher pulled back and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe at Liliana’s tears.

“And remember, family helps family. No matter what. It might not always be the family you originally thought, but you always have one,” Mrs. Fletcher told her, and Liliana nodded, hiccuping slightly as the tears slowed. The woman’s words hit her harder than she thought the woman understood.

“There was something I was wondering if you could make?” Liliana asked hesitantly, and Mrs. Fletcher’s eyes flashed, a smile perking her lips.

“If you can dream it, we Fletchers can make it,” Mrs. Fletcher told her, and Liliana smiled.

“So it’s a game…”

Liliana smiled happily as they left the Fletcher shop and residence. They still had a few hours left to explore the city, but they were leaving with far more items than they’d started. Every guard in her protection squad had spent some coin in the store. Either on utility or pleasure items. Liliana herself was leaving with two game cases and five moving figurines. She’d finally managed to negotiate a payment, though everyone knew it was far less than the items’ worth. But she’d been lucky to be able to negotiate it at all.

After giving them the idea for Monopoly, she’d sparked a fire in the Fletcher family, and when she left, four different Fletchers had been making more of the games. She’d decided to give them the idea for a couple of other games too, only agreeing to take payment in the form of having the games shipped to the Rosengarde manor. She didn’t think Clue, Battleship and Scrabble would change the world in any meaningful way, but it might make the Fletchers an even more prosperous crafter family. Monopoly, on the other hand, might tear some families apart.

Liliana had gotten a fox figurine. It had already been painted, and had so resembled Polaris when she’d seen it. She’d grabbed it on instinct, missing the little fox fiercely as she stared at its wooden eyes that somehow managed to be full of mischief and secrets. She’d gotten a Luna Moth figurine for Astrid. The creature didn’t resemble a Luna Moth from Earth except in its wings, but it had the body of a bunny with perhaps more fur than normal around its face and neck. It had the eyes and antenna of a moth, with the ears of a rabbit. Liliana had thought it was unbearably cute, and they’d even put real fur on it to further sell the effect. She’d gotten a Solion for Silas, the regal and powerful beast reminding her strongly of the man.

The last two she’d deliberated over a long time, but eventually been gifted them forcibly by the Fletchers after they’d seen how long she stared at them. An Umbra Panther, whose dark form and creeping nature reminded her of Emyr. And a Crystalline Charger. Which basically looked like a rhino made of crystals, with extra crystals protruding off of it. It was an incredible creature with some of the highest Vitality stats of any creature at its rank.

Liliana knew Alistair would take Earth as his next affinity, and subsequently get a Crystal sub-affinity as a result of his Light and Earth affinities. It was a good choice that played well into his tank nature, and with Earth he could get a Metal sub-affinity as well, further making him a menace on the battlefield when he became virtually unkillable. It was well into the future though, but still the figurine had reminded her of her brother. Even the way it had snubbed her, turning its back on her and struggling mightily in her hands, resembled her brother well.

Liliana hadn’t wanted to get the figurines. They hurt to look at. What they reminded her of, who they reminded her of. Yet she hadn’t been able to deny them when they’d been pushed into her hands. She didn’t know if she’d give them to the boys, or if they'd collect dust in her storage bracelet only to be brought out to remind her of what she could’ve had, if her stepmother wasn’t a venomous snake of a woman.

The Monopoly game, she could at least play that with the guards. She wanted to get to know them better, anyway. She most certainly hadn’t gotten it because she’d thought Emyr and Alistair would enjoy it. And she hadn’t gotten the chess set because of how much she enjoyed playing chess with Alistair. She’d be challenging Jason to chess games, to get to know her personal bodyguard better because it was obvious she knew very little about the man.

At least, that was the mantra she told herself as they left the Fletchers.

“So where to next?” Jason asked her and Liliana looked around. She’d wanted to get her alchemy herbs sold, and she wanted to visit a…

Strange, I can’t remember what it was I wanted to do. It felt fairly important. Liliana reached up to finger the pendant hanging off her throat, the gem flashing in the afternoon light and almost seeming to glow with an inner light as it caught the sunlight.

Must not have been too important. I’m sure I’ll remember if it’s that important. Liliana shrugged off the feeling that she was forgetting something vital and turned to Jason.

“I’d like to sell some of the herbs I gathered, and maybe see if there is a bookstore selling bestiaries or perhaps a skill and spell shop?” Liliana added the last part almost as a question, and Jason tapped his chin for a moment.

“Yes, I think we can do all of that,” Jason said with a grin, and Liliana smiled in return. Stopping in Ariowood had been a good choice. She was feeling better than she had since the assassination attempt. She dropped the pendant from her hand and followed Jason as he navigated the roads of Ariowood.

Chapter 57: Dining With Nobles Isn't Half As Much Fun As It Sounds

Liliana grit her teeth tightly behind her closed lip smile as she nodded at Fiona Wilde’s latest jibe disguised as common courtesy. Liliana felt like she was going insane. No one else seemed to detect the girl’s hidden venom in her words. Alistair was smiling and laughing, and Emyr was nodding along silently. Even the Earl and the Countess were smiling along.

Liliana could see now the vast difference between the home of a Duke and the home of an Earl. Their manor was perhaps a third of the size of the Rosengarde one. The wealth displayed was obviously lower, even if Liliana wasn’t too good at discerning the value of one painting or sculpture compared to another. The Countess was dressed in a fashion that mimicked the Duchess, though less overstated. It was obvious that the fabric was not of the same quality as Liliana's dress.

Fiona, the oldest and heir, was dressed far more ostentatiously, and her sense of fashion was the same as her mother’s, and the Duchess. Yet even with all the bright fabric adorning her, Liliana could see she wore less valuable fabric, and far fewer jewels than Liliana herself had dawned, and Liliana had thought she was being reserved with her choices. Charlotte, the middle child, was dressed less loudly than her sister or mother, and was far more demure than her sister. Bishop, the youngest Wilde child, was dressed rather plainly for a noble and seemed fairly bored with the entire affair. Liliana spied some dirt on the hem of his pants and privately thought the younger boy would perhaps be happier out on the training field than at a dinner.

Fiona and her mother had immediately set her on edge, Liliana mentally labeling them as enemies. Anyone who was part of her stepmother’s clique was no friend of hers, the few tea parties she’d attended of such company proving that true. This night did nothing to lessen her discrimination for the group either as Fiona shot barb after barb at her. Her mother at least had the sense to fake decorum.

“It must be so hard for someone like you, traveling such a long way. With no one but these boys and the guards for company. Such a hard thing for a young lady who has barely been out of her manor before this year,” Fiona said, portraying false sympathy in her voice and face.

Liliana could tell what she meant, how it must be so awful for a weak little commoner like herself to come along. How awful it must be for the guards and her brother and Emyr to have to put up with her. Not to mention the jab at her being kept cloistered in her home until this summer, when her father finally allowed her to join society. Though her lack of debut was still an obvious slight, as a noble she should’ve been granted one. Yet here she was, undebuted but part of society none the less. A glance to the side saw Alistair nodding along, not detecting any of the hidden duplicity in the girl’s words.

“I haven’t minded the company, and I do always have my Bond for companionship,” Liliana responded, trying not to grit her teeth. Couldn’t this girl focus on someone else? Why was she peppering Liliana with these questions? Couldn’t she be like the other vapid feather brains who only wanted to discuss her brother, or other young men their age?

“Oh yes, your Bond certainly helps, I’m sure. However, with everything that has happened, I’m sure it’s been hard on you, Lady Liliana. I mean, thank goodness you had such strong guards and companions around. I shudder at what could’ve come to pass had you been alone.” Fiona continued, fixing Liliana with a piercing green gaze. Liliana struggled to keep her own expression under control. Did Fiona think her some weak shrinking violet? Alluding to the assassination attempt at dinner? Did this girl have no shame? Liliana looked towards the girl’s parents and saw the countess quietly whispering to the earl. Neither seemed apt to shush their venomous spawn.

“Nothing we can’t handle has happened. I wasn’t alone, so it bears no need to consider the what if’s of a fantastical situation,” Liliana said, her voice strained as she looked down at her food, her hand gripping tightly to the fork. She wasn't sure if it was to hold herself back or to prepare herself to use it as a weapon. Her nerves were strung so tight it could be either option.

“Oh, of course! You have some very capable guards with you. Still, being on the road for so long, the powerful beasts that roam the lands, and the other threats, can make for a very stressful time. I’m sure it’s all been quite a trial for you, circumstances and your experience considered.” Fiona clarified, giving Liliana a kind smile. Or she tried. Liliana could read the mockery hidden in the girl’s verdant green eyes. This girl was trying to paint her as some poor damsel in distress that needed to be saved at every turn! As if she thought Liliana would fold at the first scary beast or torn dress she came across. Is this how the nobles saw her? Some idiotic and frail thing incapable of thinking and protecting herself?

“I’m sure for someone with as delicate a constitution as yourself, it would be difficult. However, I’ve found the trip to be rather invigorating. It’s exciting to see so much of the Rosengarde lands, and the beasts that populate its wild areas,” Liliana countered and she noticed the sharp glance Alistair sent her, as if she had said something wrong! How could he not see the way this girl was mocking her? Liliana fiddled with the pendant hanging from her neck with her spare hand as she felt irritation rising in her chest.

“It’s good to get a better idea of the Rosengarde territory. Maps are well and good, but nothing is better than actually seeing the territory with your own eyes. As Heir apparent, it has probably been an amazing learning opportunity for you, Alistair,” Earl Wilde chimed in with a nod, finally putting an end to Fiona’s blathering. Liliana resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sigh. Of course, the Earl was focused on Alistair, the heir. What good did it do for her to know the territory? So she knew how fucked she’d be if she ran away? That was obvious. On foot or on Lelantos, it would take her a month or more just to leave Rosengarde lands.

“Yes, Asher and I go over our lands at least twice a year, to be sure everyone is doing well. It’s helped us deal with many issues that would’ve grown out of control otherwise,” Countess Wilde chimed in, with a warm smile at the three visiting noble children. Alistair nodded along. He seemed to be soaking up the information as Liliana picked at her food.

“You have a viscountess and three baronesses in your area, right?” Alistair asked, and Liliana resisted the urge to pout. If they got started discussing all the nobles in the area, Liliana feared they’d never finish this dinner.

“Yes, as an Earl, I have a good amount of territory I oversee for your father,” Earl Wilde nodded along and Alistair leaned forward, interested.

“Then you’ve probably heard of the De-“ Alistair began, and Liliana kicked him, hard, in the shin. However, the way that Earl Wilde and the Countess’ faces closed off, Liliana thought her intervention came too late.

“Brother, don’t bring up such things at dinner,” Liliana reprimanded Alistair, her voice almost a hiss as her hands tightened around her fork. She needed him to drop this fruitless search for information on the assassins. At best, he’d get no information. At worst, he’d either get killed if the assassin syndicate took offense to it or he’d break his own heart finding out it was his mother who hired the assassin. Or, even worse, he’d find out and decide to side with his mother. Blood was stronger than water, right?

“I think I’ll be retiring to my study,” Earl Wilde said, and he stood up. He turned to the three teens and Liliana could see the strain at the sides of his eyes.

“Of course, Earl Wilde. I apologize for any impropriety,” Liliana was quick to apologize, shooting Alistair a glare. The boy didn’t look remorseful, his face was clouded in thought. The Earl’s eyes settled on her for a moment, and Liliana thought she detected a hint of disgust in his eyes. It immediately set her hackles up and anger simmering in her chest. The sooner they were out of this manor, the better.

“Yes, well, I know how excitable the youth can be. These old bones are simply tired. I hope you enjoyed your dinner, and sleep well. Be assured our security is heightened right now,” Earl Wilde informed them, his gaze resting on Liliana once more at the last line.

Liliana got a distinct feeling that he was implying the extra security was a hassle he didn’t want to entertain. However, his irritation could simply be directed at the way their dinner was ending, a soft voice in her head told her. The more reasonable side. Alistair had ruined the dinner with his remark and it was obvious the Earl was trying to recover somewhat. Alistair had insinuated that the Earl would have knowledge of an assassin group, which would imply dealings with them. It was an insult the Earl was likely only putting up with on account of their rank, ages and recent experiences.

Liliana stood, the boys following her, and she curtsied to the Earl. They could stay and continue eating, but it would be seen as another insult. The rest of the Earl’s family stood with them. The Earl bowed deeply and retreated.

“Fiona, could you show them to their rooms once more?” The Countess asked and her daughter nodded, smiling at the request. Liliana resisted the urge to groan. She was hoping to be done with the girl after dinner.

As everyone departed, Alistair and Emyr followed Fiona. Liliana kept several steps behind them to distance herself as much as possible from the girl. She looked around the halls and found herself mentally comparing it to the Rosengarde manor. It was easier to distract herself with that than the poisonous ramblings of the girl in front of her.

“I know our manor is a bit confusing. Whenever one of the Baronesses visits us, they always seem to get lost!” Fiona was saying and Liliana scoffed quietly, or so she thought. But as three heads turned to her, she realized she’d been louder than she meant.

“Is something the matter, Lady Liliana?” Fiona asked, her fake smile still in place. Alistair was glaring at her, and Emyr was looking at her oddly, as if he couldn’t quite figure her out. Liliana ignored both their looks. Alistair had ruined their dinner, so she didn’t want to hear anything from him about manners.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Lady Fiona. Your house is quite quaint in comparison to the Rosengarde manor. Why, I think it’s almost the size of our west wing,” Liliana responded, ducking her head slightly and trying to hide her own smirk.

“Of course! My mistake, we haven’t visited the Rosengarde manor often. It must be much larger than our own manor, I'm sure you’re all used to complicated architecture,” Fiona recovered but Liliana spied the bit of dislike flaring in her eyes, and how her smile seemed even more strained when Fiona looked at her.

“Well, Father is a busy man. He doesn’t have the time to entertain guests at the manor often. Not when he has so much else to occupy his time,” Liliana continued, and she was fairly certain Alistair was about to try to grab her and cover her mouth, but she couldn’t stop. Something about Fiona just bothered her, and something in her was begging for a fight.

“Yes, I suppose a Duke would be rather busy. It must be hard for you all. With him so focused on the Duchy and the borders. I couldn’t imagine if my father was so busy, I fear I’d never see him! With so much occupying him, do you need to have appointments set up? Oh, I’m sure Lord Alistair, as the heir, likely you can see him often. But my heart hurts for you, Lady Liliana. You must not see much of your father.” Fiona continued, the girl sending a look of fake sympathy to Liliana. Liliana’s hands flexed, and she felt the urge to leap forward and rip the girl’s false mask right off her too pretty face. Liliana opened her mouth again to retaliate against the obvious slight when Alistair stepped in between the two girls.

“It can be difficult at times, but it’s an honor to be part of the Rosengarde family.” Alistair answered Fiona. Liliana glared at the back of her brother’s head. Fiona latched onto Alistair’s answer, though, and they finally moved forward once more.

“I’m sure. It wasn’t much of a surprise to my father when you were adopted. In fact, from the moment your mother and the Duke were engaged, he was telling all of us he was sure you’d be adopted! He told me you’d be a perfect heir for Rosengarde.” Fiona continued and Liliana ground her teeth.

How could the others not see that was a slight to her? Alistair’s adoption obliterated her possibility of being the heir. Since adoption involved Blood magic, it meant that Alistair had as much Rosengarde blood in him as Thornebell. With his pedigree, he immediately became the more desirable heir. As long as Alistair was alive, Liliana had no hope of becoming the heir.

If he and his mother weren’t around, I could be the heir. Liliana thought darkly. Somewhere in her mind, a voice spoke up, telling her she wanted nothing to do with being an heir. Or any of the responsibilities that came with being an heir. She ignored it. Being an heir was supposed to be her birthright. If Imogen hadn’t tricked the Duke into marrying her, Liliana would’ve become the next Duchess of the Rosengarde duchy.

Now, what did she have to look forward to? Sure, she could go to the Academy when she was sixteen, but what about after she graduated? She couldn’t become the Duchess, because Alistair would take the duchy when her father retired or died. Her mother didn’t have her own noble line for Liliana to seek title or land from. She could marry another noble, but while she had some good interactions with other nobles of her own age, she doubted it would translate to marriage offers. Even if it did, who was to say their families would be okay with it?

She’d need to depend on the generosity of her brother once he became the Duke, always living under his thumb. Everything she owned would be a gift from him. Never free, just exchanging one golden cage for another. She could run away and become an adventurer, but that life was hard. The death rates were astronomical, even for high-ranking adventurers. Any money she made would be funneled into paying for healers to fix whatever she broke in the most recent dungeons. Or into fixing her gear, or getting new gear for new dungeons. There was a reason adventurers didn’t all live in giant mansions, they simply didn’t make enough money for it. The guild took a sizable tithe of any money they made, and then they had to pay for everything else themselves.

She could become a crafter, but as much as she enjoyed Alchemy, she couldn’t say she was really any better than a novice. Her potions exploded fairly often, and her focus was split amongst so many other things she barely had the time to devote to truly learning a craft. It wasn’t like the game where you could become a master of a craft in a week. Or where you just clicked the ingredients, and it automatically made the item.

“Here's your room, Lady Liliana,” Fiona’s voice broke her from her thoughts and Liliana looked at the familiar door. She could’ve easily found her way without the girl’s help. She wasn’t an idiot and had remembered the way.

“Thank you,” Liliana murmured, the words tasting vile on her tongue. “The way was just as I remembered,” Liliana finished, unable to resist slipping in one last jab at the infuriating noble girl. She opened the door and before she shut it, she saw Fiona smiling oh so sweetly at her.

“Sleep well, Lady Liliana,” Fiona called out before the door shut.

That felt like a threat, Liliana thought, and as she walked deeper into her rooms, she started to shove furniture around. The room they had given her was small, maybe smaller than her original room at Rosengarde manor. Probably another slight to her. She was certain Alistair’s room was probably twice as big. After all, he was the heir, the future duke. They couldn’t risk slighting him.

When the room was open enough, Liliana released Lelantos from his stone. She’d elected to not leave him alone in the room after getting to the Wilde manor. Partially because she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t scare a wayward servant to death, and partially because she felt safer when he was with her. And she certainly did not feel safe in this manor.

Lelantos stretched when he was released and looked around the room, growling in slight annoyance when he saw how small the room was. Liliana placed a hand on his head and he rubbed against her chest, though he gave a suspicious sniff of the pendant hanging from her neck. He still didn’t like the pendant, but he didn’t try to stop her from wearing it.

Liliana would be more suspicious of the pendant if he outright hated the piece, but he showed it the same wary respect she knew he would of a stronger predator. Not fear, as one would show to a predator meaning them harm, but the wariness attributed to a dozing predator watching one pass through its territory. Most of her misgivings with the pendant had faded. It had done no harm to her, and instead gave her a small manner of comfort as she wore it.

“I know it’s small buddy, but we’ll be back on the road tomorrow,” Liliana soothed Lelantos, who seemed to sigh. He circled the floor a few times before flopping down. She knew the inns hadn’t been much more pleasant for the tiger. He really only enjoyed it when they were camping and he was free to run around as much as he wanted. But they both put up with it, it was a necessary discomfort to get where they needed to be.

A knock at her door had Liliana turning, half summoning her naginata to attack the intruder when a voice called out.

“Lady Liliana? It’s Janine, the maid, to help you get undressed?” A shy voice called out and Liliana relaxed, dismissing her weapon.

“Come in,” Liliana called out, and the maid walked in, freezing when she saw the lounging tiger. Liliana watched with amusement as the girl’s eyes widened, and she stopped breathing for a few moments. Liliana felt like she could almost hear the poor girl’s racing heart.

“Well?” Liliana called out, and her smile widened a bit when the girl jumped nearly a foot in the air. It was always nice to see someone scared of her, especially compared to the irritating Fiona. It made her feel powerful, to know people feared her and Lelantos. And what they could do. She found their fear another source of power. Fear forced respect. Something she got very little of in this world.

I wouldn’t hurt them though, not really, Liliana thought. She wasn’t the type to hurt others just for a rush of power. She’d never wanted that. That would be too much like the original Liliana, the villainess.

Would being a villainess be that bad? She had power, and a place in this world. No one dared insult her, they feared her too much. A soft, dark voice whispered in her mind, but Liliana shoved it down, far down. No, she wouldn’t become that. It wasn’t worth the cost. The memories of what she’d written of her nightmares only further reinforced that. She would never turn down that path.

“Yes! Let me help you, Lady Liliana!” The maid recovered and scampered to Liliana’s side. She gave a wide berth to Lelantos, who hadn’t even been watching the girl. He was watching Liliana and she would swear he was thinking. Not to say he couldn’t think, but as a beast, his thought process was far more simple than a human’s. He was more reactionary in his thoughts, instinct driven. Yet Liliana could feel him thinking. She left him to it. It was good to see him changing because of the Soul bond, it would make him an even more powerful partner.

In record time, the girl had Liliana switched from her dress into her sleeping shift. Liliana supposed the girl wanted away from the tiger as soon as possible, based on the many looks she sent his way and with how her hands trembled and shook. With a promise to be back the next morning to help her bathe and dress once more, Janine left in a rush. Liliana almost warned her that fast movements like that only tended to make predators chase after you but held off, the girl was petrified enough. Anything more would be cruel, and a soft city-born maid likely wouldn’t encounter many predators in her life. Not of the animal kind, anyway.

Liliana snuggled down into the covers and felt her mind slipping away. The exhaustion from days of barely enough sleep finally coming to call on her. A beam of moonlight fell past the curtains and onto the pendant still resting on her chest, lighting it up in ghostly gray and blue as her eyes finally closed.

Chapter 58: Eavesdroppers Hear No Good Of Themselves.

Liliana looked around, confused. She couldn’t remember where she was, nor how she had gotten here. Surrounding her were walls made of dark mist. She reached out a hand and pressed it to the wall, surprised to find it solid beneath her palm. Torches dancing with ghostly grey flames hung from the wall, odd as Liliana hadn’t seen a torch often in this world. Normally mage lights were the choice for illumination, quartz crystals imbued with Light magic that could be controlled by anyone who was awakened to brighten or dim at will.

“Where am I?” Liliana wondered as she walked down the hallway, not having much else to do.

She couldn’t see further than five feet in front or behind her. It all just faded into a dark mist. Yet as she walked, stone appeared under her feet. Her voice had a flat quality in this odd place she’d found herself in, as if the mist was consuming the sound and preventing it from traveling. While all of this combined should’ve sent her into a panic, Liliana felt only a slight curiosity about it all.

Liliana wasn’t sure how long she walked down the misty corridor, but eventually she heard whispers of voices. A sigh of relief filled her. She’d finally found someone else. Perhaps they could tell her where she was. A door appeared on the mist walls, partially opened, and Liliana hastened to get to it. She stopped at it as warm yellow light leaked out and she looked into the room. She could see several familiar faces in the room. They were some of the guards who were accompanying her to Timberborn.

“H-“ Liliana started, but her words died off when she heard what they were saying.

“She’s really getting on my nerves,” one guard was saying as the others nodded.

“With the way the sergeant and lieutenant have increased our shifts, I’m hardly getting time to sleep. All because an assassin wanted to get rid of some dead weight,” another guard grumbled as she poured herself a cup of tea.

“And have we gotten a single thank you from her highness? You’d think she was the crown princess with the way she walks around with her nose in the air,” a third guard chimed in.

“She’s as much a commoner as us! She has no right to act so uppity. Honestly, who would pay for an assassin for her? I bet she paid the assassin to get herself some more attention,” the fourth guard spoke up darkly.

“I say if another assassin comes, we should let them kill her. Better than having to keep up with the whims of a mongrel playing at being a noble,” the second guard proposed, getting a round of agreement from the others.

“Yea, but then the sergeant would have our heads,” the third guard spoke up with a groan.

“Well, we could just say we didn’t hear her cries for help? Or maybe we thought we saw another assassin and went after him?” the first guard proposed.

Liliana backed away from the door, trying to keep her movements as quiet as possible. She didn’t know the guards had thought so poorly of her. Had she really been acting so terribly they wanted to see her dead? Her heart ached. She’d thought the guards, of all the factions in her father’s house, were the most amicable towards her. They always seemed to be separate from the servant’s games of gossip and politics. Were they just better at hiding it?

Was she truly utterly alone in this world? The servants at the manor didn’t like her, or outright hated her. Her stepmother wanted her dead and had tried to kill her twice, maybe three times, already. Her father only cared about her as long as she proved useful to him. That was obvious. He hadn’t cared when she’d been in a coma for weeks, and hadn’t once tried to see if there was something more malicious than an illness behind the event. Even now, when she was proving useful, he still let her stepmother treat her like garbage.

She couldn’t trust Alistair. His own mother was trying to kill her. She couldn’t trust he wouldn’t side with his mother. Emyr was his closest friend. The two were practically soul bound with how close they were. He would never side with her over Alistair. She couldn’t trust the other nobles, even with all the parties she’d gone to. She knew she was nothing more than an interesting distraction for most. For others, her very existence was an insult to therm. Now she couldn’t even trust the very guards who were supposed to protect her.

You could still change their minds, spend time with the guards. Get to know them, show them you don’t think yourself better than them. That you appreciate them. A voice whispered in Liliana’s mind, but it was so weak it was quickly blown away by a sudden anger that filled her. Why did she have to beg and grovel for respect? Why was it too much to ask for the guards to just do their damn jobs? She was a noble; they were oath bound to protect her. They should feel honored to protect her! They should be groveling before her!

Liliana whirled towards the door, ready to rip into the guards and teach them if they wouldn’t respect her, she would make them fear her. However, where there was once a door now stood misty walls once more. Liliana growled and slammed a fist into the wall, yet it did not give way before her anger. Her anger fled as quickly as it came and Liliana shook her head, trying to make sense of the sudden changes in her emotions. Yet something drew her to continue her walk down the corridor and she followed it.

Time passed. How much Liliana wasn’t sure. It felt like she was in some different world, where time didn’t matter. Another door appeared on the wall and Liliana approached it tentatively, almost nervous now as to what she’d find this time.

Looking through the crack, Liliana saw the Earl and the Countess in a study. The Countess was lounging in a chair and the Earl was behind a desk. Both seemed to be fairly deep in a bottle of whiskey.

“I can’t fathom why the Duke keeps that girl around. Her manners are atrocious. She’s not even that impressive as far as her levels go,” the Countess said, her pleasant facade gone in the privacy of the study. Her face was twisted in disgust as she discussed Liliana.

“She did get her levels in under six months. Her growth is impressive. And her taming a creature several Ranks above her was quite a feat. Still, I don’t think it justifies the freedom she’s been given. If she was my whelp I’d have her flogged for the lip she seems apt to give,” the Earl said with a harrumph, downing the rest of his glass of whiskey before filling another.

“It’s a good thing Alistair is the heir then, could you imagine that girl being the heir? The Rosengarde territory would fall to ruins!” the Countess pressed a hand to her forehead, as if the very thought sent her to the edge of fainting.

“Honestly, it would be best if the Duke shipped her off. She’s too much a liability,” the Earl continued, and Liliana backed off as the Countess chimed in once more. She had heard quite enough.

As before, the door vanished, but Liliana was too busy trying to rein in the anger that coursed through her. Alistair, a better heir than her? She could do anything he did and do it better! Soon enough, she’d outstrip him in levels, and he’d never catch up with her boon! She’d become a power house while he was still struggling in the mid-ranks.

Her a liability? She’d worked twice, three times as hard as her stepbrother. She had the manners of royalty, with the months, years, of training she’d undergone. She could recite most of the noble families’ lineages by heart. She even knew the lineage of the royal families of the other countries, knew their common exports. Could tell you what time of year what noble territories, and what countries, shipped out what goods.

She’d be twice the ruler of the Rosengarde territory Alistair could ever hope to be. Who were these nobles to say she didn’t deserve her birthright?

Liliana stalked further down the corridor, the anger staying with her this time. She nearly ripped open the next door she came across, ready to shred whoever was behind it, whispering their hateful thoughts about her. Yet as she opened it, the world twisted and swirled.

Liliana sat in an elaborate and ornate room. She looked around and, with dawning realization, saw she was seated on an intricate, gilded throne. She lifted her hand and felt a metal circlet around her head. On her body was a large dress made of fabric and gemstones so expensive it made her head spin.

“Your majesty? They’ve come,” a voice whispered in her ear and Liliana twisted around to see a knight standing beside her throne, someone she didn’t recognize. Yet his glowing blue eyes strummed some forgotten memory buried deep in her mind she couldn’t place. The knight nodded his head forward and Liliana tore her gaze away to look ahead of her.

The doors were huge; she was certain one could fit a dragon through them. Carved and painted in jewel-like tones was her likeness, standing above the old queen with her naginata buried deep in the woman’s chest. Before Liliana could further examine the doors, they opened and a line of chained people filed before her, surrounded by faceless guards. The guards forced the prisoners to their knees before her throne and Liliana looked down on the familiar faces, a smile tugging at her lips.

Her stepmother was first dressed in what was probably once an exquisite and expensive dress. Now it looked like muddy rags hanging off her thin frame. Her perfectly coiffed hair was tangled and hung around her face limply. Beside her was Liliana’s father, his own clothes of a similar state to the duchess’. Beside him were the Earl and Countess Wilde, both looking the worse for wear. Behind them were their children and the guards who had suggested leaving Liliana to die. All of them were looking up at her, but instead of disgust or hate, she saw only fear in their gazes. Fear of her.

Liliana felt almost giddy with the rush of power she felt. Seeing those she hated, those who had looked down on her and seen her as nothing, finally recognizing her worth, was a heady drug. She was better than them. Stronger, smarter, better. Everything they would never be. And they could see it clearly now as she sat on a throne, crown resting delicately on her brow. She held their lives, their fates, in her palm. Hers to crush, or to release as she saw fit.

“What is your decree, your majesty?” the knight beside her asked, his voice dark and smoky. Liliana thought she could detect unfathomable power beneath it, calling to her. Urging her towards a choice. One that would solidify her power and show to everyone what happened if they crossed her.

“Strip the nobles of their rank, seize their assets, lock their magic. I want them to know what it’s like to be a commoner, to be alone. To have to struggle every single day, with no one there to love you,” Liliana licked her lips as she watched the nobles blanch. Oh, she wanted them dead so badly. But this punishment was infinitely more painful to them than simply killing them. Nobles cared first and foremost about their own power, and Liliana was removing all of it in one fell swoop. They’d have to see the rest of their days, powerless, poor, and alone. As she’d had to suffer for so many years.

Liliana waved her hand, and more guards appeared, dragging the nobles from the room. Her stepmother was screaming and screeching, but one guard shut her up with a smack to the head that left her dazed. Her father tried to retain some essence of his nobility and walk out, but another guard tripped him and dragged him out. The Earl and Countess were sobbing as their children were ripped from their arms to be sent to different areas of the country, never to meet again if Liliana had any say about it.

The once guards drew her eye, and Liliana smiled down at them. It wasn’t a kind smile; she knew. But these guards deserved none. If it was up to them, she’d have been left to die, choking on an assassin’s poison. Kindness wasn’t for trash like this. They seemed to understand that mercy had fled this room long ago, and several among them shook. One was even crying quietly and Liliana hadn’t even passed her judgment yet.

“And the guards, your majesty?” The knight next to her asked, and Liliana’s smile widened into a grin as she rested her elbow on the throne, cupping her head.

“Oh, there was a favorite saying by a queen in a story book once. I think it’s rather fitting here. Off with their heads,” Liliana ordered, and the guards finally all started crying. Liliana liked her lips again. Their despair was delicious.

“I want their heads hung on pikes. Show everyone what it means to cross the Queen,” Liliana added on her order and the knight next to her grinned, his mouth full of too sharp teeth that reminded Liliana of a shark.

“A fitting punishment, my Queen,” the knight said and Liliana hummed happily as the guards were dragged to their deaths.

The scene swirled again, and Liliana stood on a balcony in a castle she didn’t know. Around it were marvels of architecture, magnificent buildings that showed the artistry humanity was capable of. It was beautiful and Liliana paused for a moment to breathe deeply, taking in the sights. Below her were masses of people, more than she’d ever seen in a single place. They were quiet, all staring up at her and waiting for her to speak. Respect and fear hung heavy in the air and Liliana drank it in. This was power, this was power so indisputable not even the gods themselves could wrest it from her grasp.

“My people! Your Queen comes to you today to tell you we’ve been successful! The last of the rebels have been stomped out! The Cista continent is now one unified front!” Liliana announced to the crowd. As her words died off, a cheer replaced it, shaking the very castle she stood in.

“All this power, it could all be yours,” a dark voice whispered in her ear and Liliana turned her head slightly to see the knight from before beside her.

“What do you mean? It’s already mine,” Liliana stretched out a hand and motioned to the cheering crowd beneath her. “This is all mine. I took with my own hands, with my own power. They wanted a villain, and I gave them one. Now they’ll choke to death on their own wishes,” Liliana informed her guard with a wide smile, a laugh on her tongue.

“You’ll understand soon, Liliana. For now, it’s time to wake up, you have an unwanted visitor,” the dark smoky voice wrapped around her, with it came shadowy mists. Liliana twisted and turned in confusion.

Liliana’s eyes shot open, and she looked up into an unfamiliar canopy. Her dream was still fresh in her mind, a confusing mix of events. Had it really all been a dream? It had felt so real. Towards the end, the dream got harder to remember; the events slipping through her mind like water between fingers. Yet she remembered with perfect clarity the words of the guards and the Earl and Countess.

A sense that something was very wrong drew Liliana from her thoughts. She went still in her bed, trying not to move. It felt like a predator was trapped in her room with her. She could feel eyes on her. She sent a mental command to Lelantos. The tiger woke but kept quiet, his eyes taking in the room much easier than Liliana’s. To her the room was a sea of black, night truly on them. To Lelantos it was all shades of gray, and as a shape moved, he honed in on it.

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Rank 4

Liliana felt her heart double its pace in her chest when Lelantos’ [Identify] came back. That many unknowns meant the intruder had a high level deception type skill. All she had to go off of was his Rank, which meant he was anywhere from level 185 to 265. Lelantos sent back that the man smelt of Death and Poison and it sealed Liliana’s impression. A second assassin. She should’ve expected as much. Her stepmother would’ve sent another as insurance in case the first was caught. She’d probably informed the assassin they’d be stopping at the Wilde’s, since the manor would be easier to corner and kill Liliana in than a camp.

In a manor she was boxed away from her guards, in camp she was kept constantly surrounded. Her guards would’ve lowered their guards too in a manor, assuming the Earl’s staff would be up to the task of guarding her.

None of it mattered at the moment, and Liliana shoved the thoughts to the side. She needed to figure out how to get out of her room. She had no hope of fighting, and winning, against a Rank 4 assassin. A plan formed in Liliana’s head and she materialized the necessary item in her hand as she communicated her plan to Lelantos. The tiger wasn’t happy but consented to the plan.

The assassin started to move towards Liliana’s bed, and their time was up. The few moments since Liliana had woken up all that was gifted to her to throw together a plan, panic and adrenaline making time move slower than it should. As the assassin stepped closer, Liliana sent the order to Lelantos.

Now!

Chapter 59: Breaking Free

Liliana activated [Shine] at the brightest level it could get to, closing her eyes as she did. The dark room was suddenly illuminated by painful rays. For extra assurance, she activated [Light Barrage] and sent it after the assassin, along with what she was holding in her hand. It was an explosive potion that produced mostly smoke. As the bottle flew through the air, Liliana activated [Dance of the Windsong], [Solar Samba], [Dancer’s Domain] and [Dancing Doubles].

Liliana jumped from her bed, [Leap] pushing her even further as the bottle finally crashed to the ground and filled the room with smoke. Lelantos had activated [Vanish] and was performing his part of the plan. [Bestial Roar] rang out, shaking the room moments before a loud crash announced him breaking down the door to her room and running off to find help. Her [Light Barrage] hit the assassin, and Liliana heard a small grunt to herald the attack’s successful hit. Little though it would do.

Liliana moved by memory, her eyes still closed tightly. Her spell would blind her as easily as the assassin at the brightness it was set to. Still, she hadn’t fully memorized the room, and she tripped over something, falling to the ground. She scrambled to get up when a heavy body hit her own, pushing her back into the ground.

“Clever trick there, girly, but yer ma told me all about those parlor tricks of yers. Got meself a skill to stop blinding,” a rough voice breathed into her ear. Liliana shuddered, fear almost freezing her solid. The assassin had caught her. Was she going to die here? Like this?

Panic filled her and Liliana struggled and twisted, activating every spell she could think of. [Radiant Revelry], [Light Burst], [Gust], [Soul Strike], she activated everything her Mana would allow until it dropped to a point even her channels cut off. Yet not a single of her attacks seemed to affect the man holding her down.

“Cute, real cute girly. Gotta give ya some credit for the moxie ya got. But didn’t anyone ever teach ya not to fight against someone so much stronger than ya?” the man asked with a chuckle as he flipped her over.

Liliana looked up at the man. [Shine] had turned off at some point, but light was pouring in from the hallway and illuminating the face of her killer. The man had shorn hair, but she thought she detected a hint of violet in the stubble. His eyes were a noxious green surrounded by black sclera. He was probably in his thirties, if Liliana had to guess. But with how Ranks affected age, he could be a hundred years old for all she knew. He was flipping a knife in his hand as he grinned down at her.

“Well, gotta get this taken care of. It’s nothin personal like, jus a job. Ya understand doncha? No hard feelings girly, hope for a better ma in yer next life,” the man told her as he gripped the knife and brought it down to her chest in a fluid motion.

Liliana watched the knife descend. It moved achingly slowly as her panic and adrenaline slowed time in her perception. It inched closer and closer to her heart.

Not like this. I don’t want to die like this! I WON’T!

Liliana reached for something, anything to save herself and something reached back, grasping onto her and her desperation. She was willing to offer anything, as long as she survived this night.

‘Anything? I can save you if you ask.’

Anything, please. Save me. I can’t die here.

‘As you wish.’

The pendant on her chest lit up. Dark blue light flooded from it, tinged with black as it wrapped around Liliana. A force shoved the assassin back and off Liliana as the light from pendant fully consumed her. Liliana felt her body lifting off the ground, but her mind was consumed with the power flooding into her veins. She’d thought her own Mana felt like a raging river when she used it, but it was nothing but a trickle in comparison to what was now rampaging through her. Sweet agony filled her, pain and pleasure twisting into one as more and more power surged into her body.

The power racing into her petered off as she met whatever limit her body had to contain it. It still felt like too much. A raging hurricane was wreaking havoc inside of her, tearing her apart and putting her back together all at once. She felt like a god with the power inside of her. Flattening the manor would be a simple task for her now. She knew with a flick of her hand she could release the power inside of her so easily. Yet she felt like she did not control the magic, instead it seemed the magic was holding the reins. As the magic seemed to grasp onto control, Liliana let it, her conciousness receding. Everything but the sweet pain of the magic itself faded, muted. As if nothing was quite real, as if she was in a dream.

The pendant was still glowing on her chest, and dark blue and black tendrils on magic floated around her like an ephemeral cape. Her hair was floating around her as if she was underwater, bits of blue and black magic curling through the tresses. Her feet hung a few inches above the floor as she floated. The most terrifying change, though, was her eyes. Though she couldn’t see them, they sent a shiver of fear down the back of the assassin, who had landed on his feet several yards from the girl. Her eyes were black, the barest hint of blue flashing like fire to be seen in their depths.

“I do not get paid enough for this shit,” the assassin muttered, and Liliana’s head sharply turned to look at him, her ghostly eyes piercing through the man.

“Cute trick girly, but yer still too weak to do more than tickle me,” the assassin said, though sweat was dripping down his face as he watched the floating girl.

“Die,” Liliana spoke, but it wasn’t her voice. It was twisted, as if someone had taken a male’s deep baritone and mixed it with her own voice. The effect was terrifying, and the assassin took a half step back as the girl raised her hand towards him, pointing a single slender finger at his chest.

Magic tore out of her body, as beautifully agonizing leaving as it had been entering her. It overcame the assassin even as he turned to flee. The dark magic filled his eyes, his nose, his mouth, even his ears. The knife he held dropped to the ground with a clatter as his hands scraped at the substance on his face. His fingers slipped through it as if it wasn’t even there, even as it stole the air from his lungs.

Liliana watched apathetically as the assassin fell to his knees, turning and crawling to her as the magic continued to slowly kill him. Her feet landed softly on the ground and she sidestepped his weakly grasping arms and walked to the dagger he had abandoned. Picking it up, she turned back to the man who had fallen to the ground. With one dainty foot, she kicked him over. His eyes were spinning wildly, no longer able to focus on anything, and Liliana knelt next to him. Taking the knife in both hands, she smiled sweetly at him.

“It’s nothing personal, no hard feelings. Hope for a better profession in your next life,” Liliana spoke, mimicking his words from before. Her distorted voice filled the air as she brought the knife down into his chest. She felt bones break under her strength until the knife was buried up to the hilt, pinning the man to the floor. Finally, the man died and the magic suffocating him broke off, sucked back into the pendant.

Liliana wiped her bloody hands off on her nightgown and stood, taking a few steps from the man when a force froze her. Her body was held taunt, as if she had been wrapped in bonds she couldn’t see. Her conciousness roused and panic floated, weak in her. The magic held her well, though, and did not release its grip on her body or mind.

The guards are coming. Best make this look realistic. A voice said in her head, sounding both like her and yet completely alien. Liliana hardly had time to understand it before the magic twisted painfully inside of her. She fell to the ground with a scream as the magic that had just saved her suddenly turned on her. Wounds and bruises appeared on her body and her screams reached a new pitch as bones broke. Then the magic was funneled out of her, disappearing back into the pendant. As fast as it had filled her, it was gone, the pendant dull once more. The only proof she had ever wielded such power was the dead assassin next to her and the wounds over her body.

‘You managed to get the assassin’s knife and used it to kill him. The poison on it was strong enough to kill someone a Rank higher than him. You were heavily injured in the fight.’ The same alien voice told her, somehow clear despite the pure agony filling her. As her vision slowly faded to black, it spoke up again.

‘The next time, I will need something in return for lending you my power, Liliana Rosengarde.’ With those last words, Liliana’s vision faded completely, and she knew nothing at all.

Liliana woke slowly. Her mind was a tangled mess, and as her heavy eyelids slowly raised, she winced. The light in the room was bright, like someone had opened every curtain and let the midday sunlight in.

Liliana raised an arm and winced at the ache in it as she rubbed at her eyes. How late was it? Weren’t they supposed to leave at noon? Why had no one come and woken her? As she looked around, wincing at how her neck twinged. How long had she been asleep? It felt like half her muscles had cramped.

“You’re finally awake,” a feminine voice spoke, and Liliana turned to locate the source. A woman in healer’s robes sat by her bed, closing a book. Her robes were pure white with a caduceus emblazoned in soft green on the front, announcing her profession as a healer for hire. Her platinum blond hair was tied in a tight bun atop her head, and her pure white eyes took in Liliana. The woman stood and began to hover her hands over her body. As she did, her hands and eyes lit up and the remaining aches and pains faded.

“You were torn to the abyss and back when I got to you. A broken tibia, two broken ulna’s, and a shattered sternum. A collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, and the copious amounts of internal bleeding. Not to mention the gashes and cuts all along your body. It’s a miracle you survived. Took me hours to heal you. Didn’t anyone tell you your natural regeneration does nothing for fatal wounds or broken bones? They cause status ailments that stop it from even working! Honestly,” the woman scolded Liliana as she finished her examination and pulled back.

“Wh-“ Liliana started, but she winced when she realized her throat was too dry to form words. The healer handed her a glass of water and Liliana gulped it down gratefully, the water the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted in her life.

“What happened?” Liliana asked, her voice still rough. The healer held a hand over her throat and the bit of soreness in it vanished under her hands.

“You were attacked by an assassin, and instead of running like a sensible person, you apparently fought back. Somehow you killed the cretin. A god must have been smiling on you that day,” the healer informed her brusquely as she stepped back. Liliana tilted her head, not understanding until the memories hit her.

First came the memories of the dream, and she felt her heart rip once again as she was reminded how little others thought of her. Then came the memories of the assassin. And the pendant. The possession as whatever was residing in the pendant, or using it as a medium, took control of her. The being had killed the assassin using Liliana’s body, then used the magic to wound her badly enough to make it believable that she’d fought and killed the assassin.

Liliana shuddered as the memory of being controlled, having her free will stripped from her and being used as a puppet fully hit her. Tears dripped down her face as her breath began to speed up. Panic was taking over her mind, and she felt an urge to throw the pendant far from her. She felt dirty, used, violated. Her free will had been stripped from her by some entity she didn’t know. Her life had been spared, but at what cost?

The being could’ve done anything to her. Liliana remembered how apathetic she’d felt, how she’d felt as if she was watching the events of a dream or a movie. Seeing it, but not registering it, not fully grasping what was happening to her. How all her emotions and feelings had been damped. So she couldn’t panic or fight off the being that had been using her. Everything but pain, and the euphoria of having so much power rushing through her, had been dulled. But the pain, oh the pain and the euphoria had not been. Those had been heightened, and stood out in her mind. The pain of having power, too much power shoved through her. Of having her body ravaged to better sell the story of her fighting off the assassin, even that had been enhanced.

The euphoria. It had been better than any pain-killing drug she’d been subjected to in her past life. Stronger than oxycodone, with a higher high than morphine had ever given her. It was addicting, and even with the feelings of revulsion swimming through her, Liliana craved that high again, with a ferocity she didn’t expect. A ferocity that scared her to her bones.

Her breath was coming in quick gasps and her heart was fluttering in her chest, trying to break free. Too many emotions were flooding her, as if trying to makeup for the time they’d been suppressed. Disgust was strong. She wanted to scrub every inch of herself to remove any trace of that magic from her. She felt like she could still feel it brushing against her, invading her body and mind. Revulsion at what she’d allowed to happen. At what she’d allowed to be done with her body. She’d killed someone again. Even if she hadn’t had control, it had been her hands that held the knife. Fear. What was stopping that being from taking control of her again? Of making her do whatever it pleased while it locked her in her own mind like a prisoner?

And hunger, a gnawing need for that power to come back. For it to fill her again with the indisputable strength it had offered. The power to defeat a Rank 4 as easy as breathing, the power to tear her stepmother down. To end the twisted game of cat and mouse they were playing. The power to right every wrong done to her. To bring her father to his knees and to finally force him to see her for who she was, not as a burden or as a tool, but as his daughter.

Those thoughts repulsed her as much as they enticed her. She wanted to be powerful, wanted her stepmother to be punished for her crimes, wanted her father’s acknowledgement, if not his love. But she didn’t want to sell her soul to get that. She didn’t want to give up her free will to some unknown entity to see her wishes come true. The price that was being demanded for power was one she would never be willing to pay.

Liliana gripped the pendant in her hand so tightly skin broke, and blood dripped down her arm. She was going to throw this cursed pendant away. Destroy it in fire, smash it to smithereens. No matter her need to experience the power again, she would not give up her free will, her agency. She wouldn’t become some addict itching for her next fix and ready to do anything it took to get her drug. As her arm started to move, to rip the pendant off her, but something stopped her arm from moving, stopped her from ripping the thing off her neck.

What if you need that power again? Her mind said. The price was too high though, losing her agency, her freewill. That was too much to ask for any power. She didn’t want to become a puppet for some unknown entity. Didn’t want to become an addict to a power not her known, beholden to someone else. Yet still her hand wouldn’t move and her breathing sped up further. She could feel darkness at the edges of her vision.

Is this how the original Liliana turned into a villain? Did she put this on and slowly fall to its sway until it twisted who she was into a monster? That thought just made her panic worse, ice cold fear freezing in her veins. Yet she still couldn’t get the pendant off, as if she no longer controlled her arm at all.

She heard a clatter, loud enough to break through her daze of panic and fear seconds before she felt a slash of pain, as if something had just cut her. A burning lance of agony shot through her mind and Liliana whimpered, clutching at her head. The agony receded quickly, though the pain from whatever had cut her didn’t. It took her a moment to realize that her hand was free, and no pendant rested in her grip.

“-aled her! You come in and injure her further? What kind of Bond are you?” the healer was berating Lelantos, who looked back impassively at the woman. Between his paws, on the floor, sat the pendant. It was covered in blood and its chain was broken, but it was finally off of her. Liliana sat up straight, unsure when she’d curled into a ball, and the healer directed her attention back towards her patient.

“Lay back down. You’re obviously not as healed as I thought. No thanks to your bond,” the healer directed, laying her hands on Liliana’s shoulders and pushed her down when the confused girl didn’t move fast enough. As she laid back and the healer set to healing the cuts on her hand and on her chest from where Lelantos had slashed the necklace off her. Liliana sent a feeling of gratitude towards Lelantos. She could sense him more clearly now. Her mind felt sharper.

Did the pendant muddy our bond? To further isolate me? Liliana wondered with a shudder. How much of her emotions, her thoughts, from the last several days had been her own? How much had been planted by the pendant? Thoughts of being the heir, of hurting Alistair to achieve it. The joy she’d taken in seeing the maid suffer. The thoughts brought bile into her throat. How had she not sensed the pendant twisting her? It had planted ideas in her she’d never wanted.

Liliana swore to herself to never use the pendant again. She’d find a way to destroy the thing. The thought of someone else getting it, it terrified her. The power she’d felt it was incredible. What could someone do with that kind of power? What if someone like her stepmother got a hold of it? If the pendant heightened dark emotions, it would positively feast on her stepmother. And a woman like that with that kind of power would be catastrophic.

“There, you’re fixed, again,” the healer shot another glare at a smug-looking Lelantos, “I am sorry for bringing up the events before you seemed ready to handle them.” The healer finished, sounding remorseful. Liliana shook her head and shot the woman a weak smile.

“It’s alright, thank you for your help. I think I’ll be alright now,” Liliana said, sending a wave of love towards Lelantos again. He had just saved more than her life. He’d saved her very being. Stopped her from losing who she was before she could see the danger lurking around her throat.

Chapter 60: Best Way To A Guards Heart Is Through Boardgames

Liliana sat in the carriage, body gently rocking along as it bumped down the road, staring at the notifications for not the first time that day. After the assassination attempt, she’d had to deal with the Earl and Countess apologizing profusely. Had to give her account so many times she could say it in her sleep. It had been unbelievable that a girl of her level could defeat an assassin in Rank 4, but her mutilated body had lent credibility to her story.

Doubt had been strong despite that, especially when it was revealed the assassin had an obscuration rune carved into his flesh. Something that apparently only the better assassins of the Death Adders had. It had been done by someone of a high rank as well, because no one in the manor had been able to [Identify] the man further than seeing his Rank. Eventually, as her cover story hadn’t deviated, others believed her despite the wild nature of the story.

The looks of fear and respect in the eyes of the nobles, the guards, and even Emyr and Alistair had stung. They were right to fear, but not her. They should fear the pendant that sat in her storage now. She hadn’t had a chance to try to destroy the damned thing, she’d been swept into answering questions as soon as the healer was done with her. The respect she’d gained from the event felt false. She hadn’t earned it. It felt dirty, and she’d be happy when the fear and respect faded so she could put the memory of that night, the violation she’d suffered, far behind her.

She was still struggling to piece together what emotions and thoughts she’d had that were her own and not influenced by the pendant. She’d thought her paranoia had been the effect of the pendant, trying to isolate her. But the notifications she saw now told a different story. Perhaps some of those emotions hadn’t been misplaced. The best lies were the ones that had a truth woven in them, after all.

You’ve unlocked the sub-affinity Astral.

You’ve reached the requirements for the spell [Astral Projection]. Would you like to accept the spell?

She accepted the spell, finally. It had been the last on her list after being flooded with notifications. Turned out the assassin was level 200, something revealed by the system. She’d gotten a good amount of experience from him. Somehow the System had detected that she’d done it with assistance and had penalized the experience she got as a result. However, it seemed because her body was what was used, she still got something for it. Her boon helped even out her experience from the penalty but she still got a level, and was almost at level 70 as a result. 431,400 experience was nothing to scoff at, considering it was what she got after the penalty. It seemed the assassin had registered like a normal monster, and Liliana wondered when a person became equivalent to a named monster to the system.

However, she left that train of thought quickly. If she could go through the rest of her life without killing another human, she’d be happy. She still felt queasy remembering the way it’d felt to shove the dagger through his body. The way she’d felt bones break, flesh split and the gush of almost too hot blood on her hands.

She’d also gotten three points into Vitality, and two into Strength after the fight. By far the most points she’d gotten in a single encounter, and surprising. She’d noticed she’d begun to get less and less stat points outside of leveling. Apparently, the trick was to fight things that should be able to kill you in a blink. Or be tortured by some kind of pendant lurking evil entity. Her skills and spells she’d used that night had also seen several level upgrades, which had been a nice bonus on top of the rest. [Pain Resistance] had seen the most growth, gaining ten whole levels. It made sense, considering the amount of pain she’d dealt with when the magic had turned on her to sell the story.

Liliana waved away the notification that [Astral Projection] had reached level 3 because of past experience. It was proof that what she’d seen in the dream was true. Her guards, or at least some of them, saw her as a burden. As someone they’d rather see discarded. The nobles in her father’s territory didn’t approve of her, and wanted her removed. Though the last part wasn’t a surprise of any sort. She’d known that the nobles didn’t think highly of her, no matter how pretty they acted to her face. They all held daggers, ready to stab into her back.

Liliana brought up more information on her new skill, curious as to how she could use it.

Astral Projection: Astral

Send your soul out as you sleep to collect information completely hidden from view. Spell can only be used when asleep, and must be activated before user falls asleep. User can only see other beings with souls, currently unable to see territory or environments. Can only view other souls within a 300ft radius of the user.

Channel

Cost: 200 Mana Per Second.

It would be useful, especially for gathering intel. Information was power, after all, and Liliana badly needed power. If the pendant had taught her anything, it was that there were things out there with enough power to flatten her without a thought. Things that had already turned their attention to her. If she had a hope of staying safe in this world, she needed every scrap of power she could piece together. That meant knowing who around her would have her back, and who would drive a dagger into it. It was obvious that the guards with her weren’t all on her side.

The thing is, what have I done to earn any of the guards’ loyalty? Liliana worried her lip as she looked out the window of the carriage. What hurt the most was the small grains of truth in the guards’ words. She had been keeping herself distant from the guards. Originally because she was so caught up with Alistair and Emyr, then because of the pendant pushing her away. Even before that, she’d been too busy to consider befriending many of the guards.

And then there was the more simple reason. The fear of rejection. After she’d seen how easily her dungeon group had just discarded her, she was hesitant to try to build relations with the guards. They obviously saw themselves as in a different world from her, separate. Would any of them even want to give her much time? They’d been kind after the first assassination attempt, but she knew now some at least had faked that kindness.

At the worst, they reject me and I can just keep an eye on them with [Astral Projection]. At best, I can build friendly relations with the people meant to keep me alive and breathing. Who knows if Imogen hired a third assassin, and if she did, I’d rather know that if I scream the guards will rush to my aid rather than pretending they didn’t hear. Liliana decided. She had bought those games with the purpose of building better relations with the guards. Now all she had to do was reach out. Liliana looked over at Jason, who seemed half asleep as he leaned against the wall of the carriage.

Summoning the chess set from her storage, she took a deep breath. Alistair and Emyr looked over curiously, but didn’t speak up. After she’d shrunk away from their efforts to check on her the day before, they had given her space, but she’d seen the hurt in their eyes. She still didn’t know what to do in regards to them. She missed them, the friendship they had. But she still wasn’t sure if Alistair would choose her over his own mother. And after recent events, Liliana didn’t think she could take the hit to her heart him abandoning her would be. So, for now, she focused on what she was sure of, pushing the other problems away to deal with at a later time.

“Jason, do you want to play chess?” Liliana asked. The lieutenant jerked, startled out of his half slumber. He blinked wearily before he focused on her, and his eyes cleared as he saw what she was holding.

“Is that a set from my family’s shop?” He asked as Liliana opened it, pressing the button on the side to open the squares to let the pieces out.

“It is,” Liliana smiled fondly as she looked at the lifelike pieces as they moved to their positions.

“Alright. Fair warning, I’ve been playing chess since I was old enough to move the pieces,” Jason smirked as he leaned forward.

“Well, I’m not too bad myself,” Liliana bantered back as she picked up a Horned Hare and moved it forward.

“It’s my turn to play! You got to play yesterday!” a guardswoman argued with another guard as Liliana set up her Monopoly board. Unsurprisingly, it was a favorite of the guards. Sergeant Amelia had already had to implement multiple new rules since Liliana had started playing the game with the guards. All weapons had to be left in storage rings or in tents. No skills were allowed to be used, and any fighting got you banned from gaming for three days, along with latrine duty. It didn’t stop all the fights, but at least Liliana didn’t have to dodge lightning bolts, flying rocks or shots of ice anymore.

Liliana had been playing with the guards for a week now, and the guards overall seemed more kind to her. She still knew some didn’t like her. She used [Astral Projection] every night. It hurt to hear the things people said about her, but not all of it was bad. And she was steadily leveling the skill thanks to the constant usage of it. More than that, though, Liliana used it to ensure another assassin wouldn’t sneak up on her in her sleep. Guards were posted around her tent every night, but still she didn’t feel safe until her own eyes were watching. Even Lelantos was patrolling the camp at night, unwilling to let the same thing happen again.

“Elen is right Tom, it is her turn,” Liliana called out and ended the argument. Tom pouted but sat down, glaring at the ground as Elen cheered and rushed to join the circle of people around the board. Liliana started handing out game pieces and wooden coins. Sergeant Amelia settled next to Liliana. The guards didn’t always listen to Liliana when it came to rules or arguments. So Amelia always supervised the games to be sure the rules Liliana had told them about were followed.

“We should be in Timberborn by tomorrow,” Amelia told Liliana. The girl paused for a moment as anxiety ignited in her chest. She quickly hid it as she handed the dice off for a guard to roll. Her attention wavered from the game as she considered what that meant. Tomorrow they’d finally see Timberborn. What would it look like? Would it be a ghost town? The residents fled from justice? Or would it be full of dead bodies from whatever plague had struck? Would it be full of ne'er-do-wells? Would a mob be waiting? Would there be the dead bodies of flowered serpents lying around?

What if they were too late to save the last flowered serpent? What if they’d already caught and killed it? Liliana hoped that wouldn’t be true, but she had to admit to herself that it was possible. The merchant would’ve taken weeks to get to Ravencross. Then there were the over two weeks they’d spent on the road. A month or more had passed since the flowered serpent had been seen alive. The people of Timberborn would know the area well, and would have an advantage.

“Will we be going in tomorrow?” Liliana asked Amelia as she tossed her dice. Her piece automatically moved the five spaces, and she picked up a chance card and advanced to Go, collecting her two gold.

“No, we’ll send in scouts to assess the area and head in at first light the following day if it doesn’t appear to be dire,” Amelia explained. Liliana nodded, biting down on her lip.

“Jackson if you don’t put that knife away I’ll skewer you with it,” Amelia barked out and Liliana looked up to see a guard, who had to pay Elen five gold because he landed on her property, grumble as he put the dagger he was raising back in his storage ring.

“She’s fleecing me, ma’am! Five gold is highway robbery!” Jackson tried to defend himself.

“Elen always wins when she plays,” a third guard spoke up as he looked at his own small pile of fake coins. Liliana was glad she’d thought to have fake money made. She didn’t want to imagine what the guards would do if the money was real.

“It’s not my fault you suck at the game,” Elen defended herself, grinning as she counted her own hoard of coins.

“Greedy bitch,” Jackson snarled.

“Don’t be dumb and poor Jackson, it’s not a good look,.” Elen taunted. Liliana picked up the game board and moved it aside as Jackson flung himself at Elen. Placing the game board back down, she picked up the dice and rolled again and bought the land she landed on and handed the dice off to the next guard.

Amelia’s hand crackled and Liliana leaned away as the woman sent a lightning bolt at the wrestling guards. Normally watching the fighting would give Liliana a bit of amusement. The other guards were laughing as the two broke apart, their hair frizzed out and looking slightly singed. However, her mind was still caught on Timberborn.

Would she need to see an entire village put to the sword in the name of justice? She was angry herself about what they’d done, but she didn’t know if death was the right answer. But she didn’t have another one to give. She just hoped if that was the decision that the guards came to, she wouldn’t have to be there to see it.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

69

Class

Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

7

Health

1,050

H-Regen

+10.5/1.1sec

Mana

1,400

M-Regen

+13.8/1.1sec

Stamina

2,670

S-Regen

+26.7/1.1sec

Magic Power

1,550

Magic Control

1,780

Experience: 472,987/490,000

Vitality

105

Endurance

267

Strength

147

Dexterity

261 (268)

Wisdom

140

Intelligence

138

Speed

313(323)

Charisma

245

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

90%

Soul

92%

Life

85%

Illusion

24%

Wind

4%

Astral

2%

Quintessential Skills

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 4

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 60

[Dodge] 50

[Solar Samba] Lvl 50

[Dance of The Windsong] lvl 47

[Mana Manipulation] lvl 43

[Regeneration] Lvl 37

[Persistent Casting] lvl 37

[Leap] lvl 37

[Pierce] Lvl 32

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] Lvl 30

[Stealth] lvl 25

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 15

[Borrow] Lvl 9

[Last Stand] lvl 2

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 60

[Dancing] lvl 58

[Deception] Lvl 56

[Pain Resistance] lvl 45

[Reading] Lvl 40

[Etiquette] Lvl 35

[Embroidery] Level 31

[Writing] Lvl 31

[Persuasion] Lvl 32

[Skinning] Lvl 30

[Riding] lvl 29

[Mathematics] lvl 25

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 25

[Herbalisim] lvl 20

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 17

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 16

[Mounted Combat] lvl 16

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 12

[Alchemy] lvl 10

[Wilderness Survival] lvl 6

[Archery] lvl 3

[Sword Mastery] Lvl 2

Spells

[Light Burst] LVL 47

[Light Burst Coat] LVL 37

[Dancer’s Domain] lvl 36

[Barrier] Lvl 28

[Light Barrage] lvl 28

[Shadow Sonata] Lvl 24

[Dancing Doubles] Lvl 22

[Shine] LVL 26

[Soul Strike] Lvl 17

[Adjust] lvl 16

[Bonding Contract] LVL 12

[Companion Heal] Lvl 5

[Gust] Lvl 3

[Astral Projection] Lvl 3

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 1

Chapter 61: Grief and Superstition are a Dangerous Combination

Liliana’s fingers tapped a fast tempo against her thigh as she stared out the window in the carriage, watching the scenery pass by in a blur. They were finally going to arrive in Timberborn today, and she wasn’t sure she was ready. She’d hardly slept the last two nights. She’d been far too keyed up. Thinking of every possibility and everything that could go wrong. It didn’t help that she was dressed like a noble lady once more, stripped of her armor, and instead dressed in silks and lace.

She had to give a proper impression to the people of Timberborn as a child of the Rosengarde duchy. At least she wasn’t alone in being forced into formal wear. Alistair and Emyr were both sitting stiffly in the carriage, dressed in finery. Alistair’s outfit followed his gold and white theme, and Emyr stuck to black and silver. Liliana envied his ability to merge with shadows now more than ever. The last thing she wanted was to be paraded in front of an entire village of people, people she may very well have to see killed for their crimes.

The carriage lurched to a stop and Liliana’s hand immediately flew up to her neck to grab at the pendant that wasn’t there anymore. She winced at the habit that had somehow become ingrained in her during such a short time. She didn’t like that the pendant had become something of a comfort item for her, something as dark and depraved as it was shouldn’t be something she sought comfort from. Her hand trailed a little lower and grabbed onto the summoning stone, holding Lelantos in stasis. It was warm, as it always was, and she could feel a bit of his magic on it. That comforted her a small bit.

Jason straightened and exited the carriage first, closing the door behind him. The three nobles waited for an all clear to exit. While the scouts had already checked the village and said it was safe, they still had to be cautious. This was a village that had killed an entire garden of flowered serpents. There was no telling what they might do when the consequences of their actions finally came.

“Clear,” Jason called back as he opened the door once more. Liliana started to get up to get out when a hand on her arm stalled her. She looked over and saw Emyr, who shook his head. Alistair stood and walked out first. Emyr released her arm and walked next. Liliana looked after them, bemused. Was that proper etiquette or were they being over protective?

Liliana slowly stepped out of the carriage, taking Jason’s offered hand as she did. Her Dexterity might be high, but wearing gowns always made her feel clumsy. So much fabric, so many chances to trip and fall. Looking around, she took in the village and was slightly surprised it didn’t look more ominous. There were no heads of killed serpents on stakes, no blood stained cobblestones, no ravens crowing along the eaves as a foretelling of darkness to come. It looked… normal. The houses were simple things, made mostly with wood and thatch. There were gardens behind and around the houses, the roads were stone, but they were the only thing. Unlike Ariowood, Liliana thought this might be a result of a lack of funds rather than a stylistic choice. Even the walls she could see were made of wood instead of stone.

She could see chickens wandering around, could hear pigs and goats, but couldn’t yet see them. What hit her as odd after a few moments was the lack of children she saw playing. In the cities, she’d seen children everywhere, but here there wasn’t a single one. No sound of laughter or childish screams of delight. It was as if this village had no children, or that they’d hidden them all from view.

Liliana looked over as she finished her perusing of the small village and thought it likely to be the second option as who she assumed to be the headman of this village was standing in the middle of the road, glaring at Amelia. Behind him were several sturdy villagers, all of them covered in muscles and standing tall as trees. They held gardening and farming implements easily, but the threat was clear. However, what they thought they could do with farming implements against trained guards, Liliana wasn’t sure. Checking their levels, she revised her statement.

Reed Brewer

Age: 46

Level: 197

Rank: 4

Class: Homegrown Poacher

William Browne

Age: 56

Level: 224

Rank: 4

Class: Rage Rioter

Richard Hill

Age: 43

Level: 183

Rank: 5

Class: Vicious Poacher

Henry Maddock

Age: 59

Level: 154

Rank: 5

Class: Righteous Headman

She didn’t need to wonder where they got such high levels from, though from what she’d been taught, those that lived in villages far from cities and adventuring guild posts tended to be higher leveled. Monsters and beasts didn’t care if you were just a farmer, they’d attack you. So they had to level high just to survive far from the protective walls of cities. Rank 5 and 4 were considered high for most non-noble or non-adventurers. Higher ranks than that would require active dungeon delving to get the necessary experience to level higher. Something most villagers wouldn’t have the time to devote to.

She was certain they’d all gotten a substantial boost to their levels from killing the flowered serpents, though if they had created a mob it would mean individually they wouldn’t have received too much experience. Thankfully, as Liliana didn’t know what they’d do if the villagers were on average the same or higher leveled than her guards. However, the ones they saw here meant if it came down to a fight, there would be casualties if everyone shared similar ranks and levels.

“It’s a ruse. These three will be the highest levels in the village. It’s a show of force. They’re hoping it’ll spook us and make us stand down,” Emyr whispered. Liliana jolted, startled by the sudden proximity and words. She’d have sworn she just saw Emyr closer to the front with Alistair. Alistair was just now going to stand next to Sergeant Amelia, and Liliana was trying to stay back. She wasn’t versed well in politics and knew she’d make a mess if she tried to interject in this.

“Don’t they know we’ll just call for reinforcements, if that was the case?” Liliana asked Emyr, her curiosity overriding her paranoid need to keep herself at arm’s length from her friend.

“They likely haven’t thought that far. Killing the serpents likely wasn’t planned, and now they’re scrambling to find a solution. They're probably only thinking of right now, rather than of tomorrow,” Emyr answered her, and Liliana mulled it over. The class on one of the villagers implied that the hunt for the flowered serpents had been in a fit of rage. Likely a result of the plague that the merchant had told them of. Many villagers must have lost someone dear to them, and in grief, had blamed it on the serpents and formed a mob.

“Why didn’t they leave? Run away?” Liliana asked Emyr, and the boy gave her an off look.

“Villagers never leave their villages, not by law, but because they become attached. Likely their roots here stretch back hundreds of years. Each of their families has probably lived on the same plot of land for as long as any of them can remember. It’s the same everywhere. We had a bad storm hit a few villages in my family’s territory years back. We knew it would come and tried to evacuate villagers, but many refused to leave even knowing the danger,” Emyr explained, and Liliana struggled to comprehend that.

Refusing to leave because of sentiment? That seemed ridiculous and foolhardy to her, but then again, she’d never grown particularly attached to a specific place before. Her family on earth could never say that the home they’d lived in had been in the family for generations. In this life she could say that about the manor, but truth be told, she’d be happy to never see it again.

Voices began to raise from where the villagers faced off against Sergeant Amelia and Alistair. Liliana and Emyr edged closer. Liliana could see several guards shifting into battle stances, hands tightening around hilts. As she and Emyr came to a stop behind Alistair, she could finally make out the words being thrown around.

“As soon as those damned serpents came here, the Withering Plague hit us!” Richard Hill shouted, his face red in anger.

Liliana bit back a gasp at the name of the plague. She had become far more informed of the different sicknesses in this world. It was surprisingly something she had to learn. Plagues and illnesses had a major impact on territories and knowing what afflicted a village, town or city could help the noble over the area respond quickly and efficiently. The Withering Plague was known as such because it fed on the persons Mana. It was especially dangerous for Unawakened children, as they could not regenerate Mana yet. If their Mana cores were depleted, it would try to regenerate by stealing from the rest of the body. As the plague continued to eat through their Mana, the core would continue to steal until the child withered away to nothing.

One would think simply Awakening the children would help, but if they were under thirteen, the damage to their Mana core from an early Awakening could kill the child as easily as the plague. Depending on the damage done to their core by the plague, Awakening a child after thirteen could also kill them, or severely disable their Mana core. That could mean something as simple as a smaller Mana core to something as awful as an inability to ever regenerate Mana or even use it.

The Withering Plague could be an issue as well for anyone with low Mana or low regeneration, so newly Awakened could also suffer from it. The plague lasted exactly seven days. No one knew why it had a strict timetable, but it did. It was theorized it was a man-made magical plague from days gone past, but it was unconfirmed. If someone managed to survive the seven days, their core could slowly heal. Healers would typically feed the afflicted extra Mana to rebuild their core or stores. There was no known cure for the plague as of yet. The only treatment was to feed the afflicted Mana and hope it was enough to keep the plague full.

If the plague had cost the village their children, then Liliana could understand why the villagers had become enraged. She didn’t forgive them their sin, but she could understand. Still, they should know no beast brought the plague. No one knew how exactly the plague transmitted as isolated areas could have an outbreak when they hadn’t seen a new soul in ages. It furthered the belief that it was a man-made construct working on the rules of magic rather than science.

“The Withering Plague is not transmitted through beasts. You should know this as the headman,” Alistair broke in, leveling a harsh look on the headman. The man glared right back, gathering himself up and towering over the younger noble. Alistair didn’t back off and held himself as easily as before, as if the man didn’t intimidate him. Liliana didn’t know how he could remain so calm. The man was almost a hundred levels above him.

“It came from those damned serpents. The same day they came here, young Emily came down with the Withering. You can’t tell me they didn’t cause it,” the headman replied stubbornly.

“Then you should’ve reached out to your lady about the issue. Someone would’ve been sent to investigate and healers would’ve been sent to your village,” Amelia answered the man this time, her voice cold and collected. Liliana could sense she had little sympathy for these people. Whatever their reasoning, they had broken the law.

“We sent four messengers to Baroness Burnington! She sent back that the flowered serpents couldn’t have caused it. The healers she sent were three days too late to save most of our children! She wouldn’t see justice done, so we had to!” The headman said, his face getting redder as he spoke. Liliana winced at the explanation. So the village had lost most of their children, the rest might well be disabled for life thanks to the plague.

“Then you specifically went against your lady’s word and attacked creatures that not only had nothing to do with the plague but also are a protected beast in this queendom?” Alistair asked, voice holding a bit of disbelief in it. Liliana shot her stepbrother a look. He still struggled to understand that commoners were people, too. With their own thoughts and free will. He still thought they would blindly follow the words of a noble without a second thought.

“The Baroness doesn’t give a rat’s ass about us. She just didn’t want to go through the effort of culling these cursed beasts. We took care of it. We protected our people as we should,” the headman responded, defiantly glaring at the gathered guards and nobles.

“So you freely admit to breaking the law. You disobeyed a noble, poached a protected species, killed young born monsters and destroyed eggs, along with inciting a riot. I’ll need a list of names, everyone who partook in the poaching.” Amelia spoke up, cutting off Alistair and whatever he’d been about to say. For the best, as Liliana could feel his anger from here.

“I won’t give you the names of my people so you can put them to death,” the headman practically snarled the words, spitting at the sergeant’s feet.

“Either you give me the names, or every resident of Timberborn over the age of sixteen will be put to the sword,” Amelia answered casually, as if threatening an entire village with death was an everyday thing for her. Liliana felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t support poaching, and she felt for the serpents that had been killed in cold blood. She agreed the village needed to be punished, but was killing all of them truly necessary?

“You have one week,” Amelia finished, and she turned sharply on her heel as the four men from the village stared at her, mouths open in shock. Amelia had called their bluff and upped the ante. Either they gave her names, or the entire village would be wiped off the map.

Chapter 62: The Scent of Flowers and Death

“Should you really be going out now?” Alistair asked as Liliana double checked her equipment. She looked up at him, then back down, still not sure how to respond to him. She’d discussed heading out to find the flowered serpent, or its remains, with Sergeant Amelia and Jason the day before. Alistair and Emyr had invited themselves into the command tent and the conversation.

The camp had been set up a bit differently from normal. Amelia wasn’t comfortable staying in the village with tempers hot as they were. So they had camped out two hours’ ride from the village, to give them space from the villagers but close enough to get to the village if they tried something. Trees had been cleared and moved within several hundred feet of the camp, and they had set the camp up on a hill.

Liliana was beginning to feel like she’d been pulled into a war camp, rather than a guard camp. There was an aura of readiness about the entire camp. Everyone was high strung. Ready to fight. Laughs were far fewer, and watch duty had been tripled. Every guard was on a watch now. What that implied, that Amelia thought there was a legitimate chance of the villagers trying to sneak up on them and attack them, was unsettling.

Liliana was already aware that Amelia had reached out to the Duke about the interaction, and reinforcements were being readied to head out if necessary. The village potentially had more high leveled people in it than originally expected, and if the entire village could match the levels of who they’d already seen, then their force would not be a match. They might win, but there would be casualties. It didn’t help that there were three nobles traveling with them who would need to be protected or evacuated if it came to blows. If they were evacuated, they’d have to take a force to guard them, which would further lower the force left here to face the villagers. What Liliana knew of the plan so far was if the villagers attacked and were shown to be too large of a threat, they were to retreat and a portalist would send reinforcements to their location.

But that also meant now was probably the only time Liliana could go out. If this potentially came to a full-blown battle, she wouldn’t have the time. She’d be evacuated for her own safety. It was unlikely, by Amelia’s own admission, for the villagers to mount an attack until closer to their deadline at the end of the week. Likely, they would be stuck arguing amongst each other until it drew close to time for a decision to be made. They might be high leveled, but they were still villagers. They had no experience facing off against a trained force of guards. Once their tempers faded a little, they may even see that their position was a hopeless one, as there was far more the Duke could throw at them if necessary to subdue them.

Liliana would go off the assumption that the worst-case scenario would come around. She had to, otherwise she may lose the only chance she had to save the flowered serpent. So she’d discussed it with Jason and Amelia and gotten their agreement. She’d have three days to find and bond with the serpent before she needed to be back in camp. She’d have a few guards with her for protection. A scout would go with them to help locate the beast sooner. Not that Liliana thought she’d need him, with Lelantos having his own tracking skill. Still, any aid would be welcome, as she didn’t know the area, nor did any of them know where the serpents had nested originally.

Liliana grabbed onto Lelantos’ saddle and swung herself up. Lelantos pawed at the ground, his claws digging deep gouges into the earth. He was ready to get out and finally do something after so long of being held back. Liliana could feel the thrill of the hunt humming in their bond, leaking into her blood

“This is the only time I can go, you know that,” Liliana finally responded to her stepbrother.

She didn’t look at him, but she could feel him staring holes into her back. He had argued against this very thing, but Liliana had won out with logic. It was dangerous, yes, but she had known that from the start. They’d all known that. Unlike other nobles, she didn’t get to have new beasts shipped to her from the adventuring guild, sedated and chained down for her to bond with. Both because she doubted her father would ever spend so much on her, and because such a thing felt dirty to her. Wrong. Her way was more dangerous, but at least she didn’t have to feel like she’d gotten her bonds through drugged coercion. She could say her bonds had agreed to work with her because they saw her as someone worthy of them.

“It’s dangerous,” Alistair spoke up and Liliana shrugged.

“Life here is dangerous. You don’t become strong without spilling a little blood,” Liliana retorted. She nudged Lelantos forward and the big cat nearly flew through the air as he was finally allowed to move. The guards she’d be traveling with were mounted up, Emyr among them. Alistair had tried to go with her, but had been shot down by Amelia.

The sergeant had said it was because he needed to be here, to see how something like this was handled first hand. What went unsaid was while this task wasn’t too dangerous for the non-heir to undertake, it was far too big a risk for the heir of the duchy. Losing Liliana would be a smirch on Amelia’s record, but ultimately wouldn’t cause her to lose her job. Losing Alistair would see the woman stripped of rank and possibly beheaded. It was a simple fact that Alistair was worth more than Liliana. She might hate that fact, but she could admit it was the truth.

Emyr going was harder to get permission for. Liliana hadn’t wanted him to come. She had wanted space from both of the boys to try to figure her feelings out. Yet they seemed determined to leave her no peace. They were clinger than a bur and twice as irritating.

Emyr had ultimately been allowed to come as he’d said it would be best to split up the nobles in case the villagers did attack. They’d be safer away from the camp and obvious target, and it would leave more guards to protect Alistair. Liliana thought it helped that he wasn’t the Rosengarde heir and wasn’t even the heir of his own family. He wasn’t even the spare, being the youngest child.

“Don’t die,” Alistair called out, and Liliana paused, finally looking over her shoulder. Her stepbrother looked back at her with worry clear in his eyes, even as the rest of his face tried to pull off being blasé.

“It would look bad on the family,” Alistair added on. Liliana sighed and ducked her head before he could see the small smile tugging on her lips. Her heart was tangled with uncertainty and warmth. Every day, he made it harder and harder to not trust him.

“Do you think this is it?” Emyr asked as they all dismounted.

The scout had traced the villagers’ rampage to here, and Lelantos had agreed. The entire area was coated in the scent of Nature even if it was old by his reckoning. They'd wasted a day tracking the original garden to here, the tracks marred and the trail almost a month old. But something could be said for the magic of System given skills. If they were high enough, even rain couldn’t obscure a trail from someone with a tracking skill.

“Unless there were two gardens of serpents, this is the place,” Liliana said, laying a hand against Lelantos’ head.

The tiger chuffed quietly, but she could feel the taunt energy in his muscles. He was in another creature’s territory, and based on the left over scent, some of the serpents had been well over his level. Lelantos was uncomfortable, his instincts telling him to run from this place. He stayed, though, keeping close to Liliana as she started to walk. Three guards and the scout ranged ahead of her. Emyr and Jason stayed by her side and four more guards trailed behind.

It was perhaps more than necessary, but Liliana didn’t complain, her own nerves frayed from her Bond. His anxiety was leaking through and her own instincts were telling her this place was not for her. It wasn’t for her to trespass here, and if she kept going, she’d regret it. She pushed past the sense of foreboding. She knew that whatever had left their scent around here was long dead, only a single serpent left from the garden. And it needed her help, if it lived.

“How did a bunch of villagers kill an entire garden of serpents? The levels of what lived here are high enough to spook Lelantos, even being a month old.” Liliana murmured as they ducked deeper into the thick copse of woods.

She’d expected to find the serpents’ home in a network of caves, as was common with snakes. But it seemed the information she’d read was correct, where possible flowered serpents preferred to nest deep in wooded areas. Their Nature affinity let them manipulate the area until they had a comfortable and defensible home.

She could see where trees had bent almost entirely sideways and thick branches woven together to make an almost wall, and where they’d been broken down. Cast all across the ground were splinters and fragments of wood from destroyed trees, as if a great explosion had happened in these quiet woods. The scout hardly needed to lead them deeper. Here it was harder for rain and a single month’s time to hide the evidence of what had happened. The scout stopped ahead of them and wiped something off a tree, feeling it with his fingers and sniffing it before he scoffed.

“Firepowder, they probably used their entire stock of it to blast their way through the woods and to injure the serpents,” the scout spoke aloud, projecting enough for them all to hear. Disgust was clear in his voice and the other guards murmured quietly.

Liliana rubbed her hand against her arm. She imagined how that would’ve felt to those poor serpents. Feeling safe in their home, not fearing the humans bearing down on them because humans had never come after them before. Only to be faced with powder that lit up their home grove and coated them in painful heat. Firepowder was something similar to gunpowder from Earth, but not quite the same. She knew guns didn’t exist in this world, though they did have magical cannons and fireworks. Firepowder was common, made from a plant that grew like weeds across their continent. It was kept in most houses because it lit incredibly easily if mixed with another compound. Powdered flint.

Kept separate Firepowder wouldn’t ignite unless you applied live flame to it. But it was favored because it easily started fires, and in villages it was even more useful. Mages and elemental affinities were very uncommon in villages, most could only get classes that usually matched their work. So having skills or spells that could generate fire were rare, as they wouldn’t be able to get the affinity to unlock such abilities. So they made ample use of Firepowder to keep their homes warm in the winter months, and she’d heard they used them to make fireworks for festivals and holidays.

Typically, Firepowder wouldn’t be useful against anyone of a high enough level to deflect it. She doubted unless an entire barrel was lobbed at her, it would hurt her. But if a village had used their entire stock on the flowered serpents and it had taken them by surprise, it likely would’ve injured, perhaps fatally injured, several before they could respond. Especially the young, low leveled ones. Liliana felt sick to her stomach, acid climbing her throat as she imagined it. As they proceeded further, she hardly needed to imagine it.

The guards ahead of them froze and Liliana approached slowly, stopping when the scent of rotting meat and flowers hit her nose. It was the most sickeningly sweet smell she’d ever experienced, and her nausea increased.

“Lady Liliana may-,” one guard started, turning to her, intending to move her away, but it was too late. She’d stepped past the guards and could see it clearly now.

It seemed the villagers hadn’t been able to move the gigantic serpents entirely. Their dead bodies lay rotting, their flowered manes wilted and dead, petals blackened and folded inward. Her eyes took in the scene of the massacre. The smaller serpents had been practically torn apart. She couldn’t tell if the missing parts from the serpents were from the villagers or scavengers, but not a single corpse was left whole.

Almost in a mockery of the horrifying massacre before them, flowers of all different types bloomed across the ground, all the more bizarre for the season they were blooming in. It was as if fall hadn’t touched this singular grove as bluebells, roses, marigolds, tulips, lilies and tens of other flower blossomed like a rainbow carpet under the decaying bodies of the serpents. The contrast of beautiful flowers to corpses shredded and left to rot was almost as shocking as the bodies alone.

Liliana summoned a handkerchief from her storage and tied it quickly around her face to try to block out the scent of death and heavy floral perfume that so thoroughly pervaded this clearing. She stepped forward again, almost drawn to the gore. Like watching a car wreck, she couldn’t stop looking, even as she felt bile leaking into her mouth. Every step caused a rise of sweet flower scents and decaying blood to rise into the air as her feet crushed tender blooms underfoot.

As she stepped further into what had once been a beautiful garden of flowers and serpents and was now a blood-soaked graveyard, she revised her earlier empathy for the villagers. They deserved chains, at the very least, for what they’d done. This wasn’t just the product of rage, it was blatant cruelty in the most vile of ways. As her eyes trailed across the body of a large serpent curled protectively around something, Liliana stepped closer. When she saw the bodies of tiny serpents, no bigger than six feet and shells of eggs, Liliana finally had to turn and let out the contents of her stomach.

As she coughed and choked on the bile, rage curled in her chest. There was a difference between hunting to maintain an ecosystem, being careful to not over-hunt a specific creature or area. And then there was this. These creatures had been left to rot after the villagers had finished letting their rage out on them. Not to protect their home, not to maintain the ecosystem, not because the serpents were a threat. Because they were stupid, idiotic, superstitious savages. Her empathy for their plight was firmly thrown away, no longer able to exist in the same reality as the corpses of younglings too small to even fight back. Empathy wilted before a mother serpent dying trying to protect her children from people she had done nothing but help.

“You don’t need to see this,” Emyr said. Liliana looked up and saw he’d gotten to her side. Lelantos was on her other side, and she could feel grief in him, too. Disgust as well. This went against the natural order to him. To kill for no reason. To kill not to protect oneself, to kill not for hunger, to kill not for survival. It made no sense. Despite the time he’d spent with Liliana, with humans, he still couldn’t fathom why they would do something like this. Liliana couldn’t fault him. She couldn’t truly understand it herself. Not this level of viciousness.

“Someone should mourn them,” Liliana answered, surprising even herself with the words. It was true, though. Who else would remember them? Someone should. They deserved to be remembered, to be mourned.

She wiped her mouth and stood up straight, determination filling her. As she walked through the grove, she imprinted each gruesome image in her mind. She should remember what people, humans, were capable of. This was why she needed power. So she didn’t become yet another casualty to someone’s misplaced rage or fear. By the time she’d circled the entire grove, she’d seen more death than she wanted to, and witnessed the bodies of more juvenile and fledging serpents than should ever exist. More smashed eggs than was right. Behind her, the guards trailed a silent parade of death. All of them taking in what happened here, the severity of the crimes.

The rage, the lack of logic behind it, it reminded her of Earth. Of the inquisitions and witch hunts that painted human history in the blood of innocents. Humanity was easily capable of atrocities, especially in a mob. Easily swayed to do things that defied logical thought or reasoning if someone fed their fear or anger.

As Liliana finished her circuit, she turned to the grove, the graveyard, and bowed low. Tears leaked down her face and wet the grass as they finally spilled forth. She held as much of her composure as she could.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what our people did to you. I promise justice will be done, and the last of your children will be cared for,” Liliana spoke to the ghosts of the serpents who had once lived here, hoping her words would reach them in the void of death and give them some bit of hope. She took several minutes, just bent over as she silently offered her apologies to the dead before standing and turning to the scout, wiping her eyes of tears and settling her face into a cold mask.

“Can you find the trail?” she asked, and the man startled before looking around.

“Maybe. It’ll be harder with this, but I may be able to find it.” He informed her and Liliana nodded before pausing, her eyes widening as Lelantos pushed a feeling towards her.

Poison? How can there be Poison here? Is it another assassin? Liliana felt fear course through her as Lelantos communicated a scent of Poison on the air. It was hard to scent through everything else, but he could tell it was recent, maybe a few days old at most.

No, not an assassin. Earth and Dark create Poison affinity. Liliana realized with dawning horror. A young beast, seeing their entire family killed by humans, would want to fight back. Liliana knew well how a beast’s mind worked. They would pick the option that guaranteed survival. Life wouldn’t do a beast being hunted by the people who had killed its entire garden any good. But Dark would. The ability to hide, to fight back, to escape unnoticed. And eventually, the power to kill, slowly, painfully. To get revenge for atrocities done. Natural born beasts were more intelligent, more humanlike than Mana born. They could feel love, they could feel hate.

They weren’t searching for a Nature affinity beast; they were searching for a Poison one. A Poison beast with a hatred towards humans. Their hunt had just gotten far more dangerous.

Chapter 63: Fruitless Searching and Watching Eyes

Tracking a Poison flowered serpent was both easy and difficult, Liliana came to find out. Now that they knew what they were looking for, signs of it being active in the area were more obvious. Dead animals, foam or blood coming out of their mouths, were far more obvious to be poisoned. Originally, they’d assumed another creature had been responsible, a predator moving into the area after the flowered serpents had been eliminated.

The diet of flowered serpents was unknown. Some thought they were herbivores, on account of their Nature affinity. Others argued that as they were serpents they must be carnivores. The dead creatures implied they were at least omnivorous, or that their affinity impacted what they ate heavily. Granted, this was speculation as if a snake ate something it would be hard to tell, as they ate it whole and they found corpses. It implied it was learning to hunt, or was highly territorial and aggressive.

There were a few times the trail had been fresh, and yet they hadn’t found anything even after hours, the trail disappearing quickly. She’d felt eyes on them more than once, Lelantos getting anxious during those times. Something knew they were here and was following their progress. Liliana’s nerves were high-strung as a result, jumping at every rustle in the bushes, a spell or skill primed and ready. The guards weren’t doing much better, and Liliana knew they could feel the presence, too. They all wished whatever it was would just attack them already so they could stop jumping at shadows and wind.

Setting up camp was worse, the feeling of eyes on them strengthening. Whatever was watching them did not want them there. The surrounding energy was hostile, to say the least. Their tents were clustered close together and Liliana doubted anyone slept well that night. She knew she didn’t. Lelantos stayed up the entire night patrolling the camp and even when asleep, Liliana had [Astral Projection] active as she did her own patrolling. She could always see whatever was following them right at the edge of her range before it vanished.

Their third, and last, day came and Liliana felt the stress wearing on her more than ever. They had to find the flowered serpent today, or they’d never get a chance. She knew the villagers hadn’t attacked yet. All the guards carried emergency beacons on them. If the camp was attacked, their beacons would light up with a specific color and code that would tell them who had lit it. In the event that their beacons lit up, they were to take her and Emyr back through the woods to Ariowood, circling far from Timberborn and the camp. If they encountered a problem and needed aid, they were to light up their beacons to let the camp know their situation.

However, even if the village hadn’t attacked yet, it was still an obvious chance. Liliana didn’t want to place any bets that they wouldn’t. So this was her last day. She had to find the serpent, bond it, and get it away from this area. Yet as they followed trail after trail with no quarry to be found at the end of it, her fear she’d be going back empty-handed rose.

Still, that presence mocked them, the eyes lingering on them remained. Liliana knew it had to be the flowered serpent they were looking for. It knew they were here, and had little interest in letting more humans find it. Trying to follow the feeling of the beast gave as a little reward as tracking it, the sense of eyes vanished and they were left stumbling through the woods. Only for the sense of being watched to return an hour later from a new direction.

You’ve reached the requirements for the general skill [Perception]. Would you like to accept the skill?

Liliana had opened her notifications while they took a small break. Her shoulder blades were itching with the weight of the gaze on them, but she ignored it. She was used to hostile looks by this point, and while unlike the gazes of the servants at home, the being behind this look could kill her easily, her old experience still made it easy to ignore.

Looking at the skill, Liliana accepted it. She’d been wondering when she’d get this skill. It was one of the harder ones to get naturally, according to her research into skills, anyway. Typically, most only got it as a result of a class. Getting it naturally meant one had to be able to detect hidden beings or disguised attention, which wasn’t exactly easy. And one had to be able to do it regularly, meaning one basically had to already have the skill before it was granted by the System.

Perception

You’ve shown an inborn ability to detect the unseen, to sense that which should be hidden from the senses. Increase your natural ability to sense others around you, their attention on you, and their intent. Ability to detect in a wider range, more concrete ideas of direction, intent and levels of those hidden will be unlocked at higher levels.

Liliana closed out her system and activated the skill. Like most of her general skills, it was more subtle than a skill or spell. As a result, it didn’t drain her Mana or Stamina but the gains from it were less obvious. It made the sense of eyes on her stronger; she thought. It also made the sense that what was watching them wanted them gone more noticeable. Liliana rolled her shoulders back, trying to shake off the malice she could feel in the air.

She looked over as the guards straightened up and waved that they were ready to head out again. Liliana climbed onto Lelantos, her weapon held in her hand. Time to try to track down a creature that didn’t want to be found. It felt like a joke, tracking down the very thing that was tracking them. Yet what else could they do except hope that it slipped up and let them find it?

As the sun made its journey through the sky, time ticked down for them to find it, and everyone was getting irritable. Emyr had entirely taken to the shadows, and the guards were snapping at one another more often than not. Liliana was holding her own temper with fraying reins. Every time one of the guards stepped too loudly, or raised their voice over a whisper, she wanted to shout at them. They were supposed to be tracking a creature, not alerting the entire forest to their presence.

She held her tongue, though, not willing to let go of it and suffer the consequences. Her anger had been one of the things the pendant had latched onto. Her hot blooded temper had given an open invitation to a darker being, and that scared her. What if, even in her spatial storage, it somehow latched onto her anger again if she let it free? Did it mean her anger was inherently wrong? If some malicious, arguably evil, being tried to nurture it? Liliana wasn’t sure, wasn’t sure if she should be ashamed of her anger or embrace it. So instead she struggled to control it, to not let it overtake her for fear of what it would mean.

As twilight set in, the guards finally called a halt, and they all backtracked to a clearing that was suitable for camp. As they set up camp, Liliana watched on, anger and disappointment heavy in her gut. They had failed. She had failed. Tomorrow they’d make haste back to camp, and she’d go home empty-handed.

“Lady Liliana, come eat,” a guard called out, and Liliana turned in her saddle.

She and Lelantos had been staring at the darkened forest where she could feel the eyes watching them. Reluctantly, Liliana slid off Lelantos and dismissed her weapon to join the guards in their dinner. Lelantos stayed where he was, in a staring contest with what lurked in the woods. Liliana picked at her dinner, her appetite gone.

As she settled down to sleep, shame rolled around her. Her father would be disappointed in her when she returned home without a second bond. Perhaps so disappointed that he’d remove his favor from her, returning her to the life she’d lived in before. Giving her stepmother free rein to torment her, to finally finish the job her assassins hadn’t. Her comfort and survival at home depended on her father seeing her as an asset. If she stopped being an asset, he’d discard her as useless.

Liliana twisted and turned on her bedroll, unable to sleep as her mind played every eventuality from this trip. All of them ending with her dead.

“Lili,” a voice whispered close to her ear. Her mouth opened to scream when a hand clamped over it tightly. Liliana felt fear, panic, and adrenaline rushing through her. Her naginata appeared in her hand and she fumbled through which spell to use, memories of the last time an assassin had come for her playing in her mind. The pendant couldn’t take over her again, right?

“It’s me,” the voice said, and Liliana finally recognized the voice. It was Emyr. The hand slowly retreated and Liliana took a deep breath, calming her racing heart.

I need to work on my reaction to people in my tent at night. Had he been an assassin, I’d be dead. I can’t let what that thing did to me affect me so much it results in my death. Liliana thought as she sat up, clutching her blanket to her chest. She was in her sleepwear, which, while covering her from neck to ankles, was still inappropriate wear in this world for a young man to see her in. In fact, if anyone saw Emyr in her tent in the middle of the night, her reputation would be ruined.

“Why are you in my tent?” Liliana hissed at Emyr, who dispelled the surrounding shadows, enabling Liliana to glare at him properly.

“Because you wouldn’t talk to me. I had no other choice but to do this,” Emyr snapped back, his voice frustrated.

Liliana bit down on her tongue, holding back her response. She had been ignoring Emyr during this trip as much as possible. Anytime he’d tried to get close enough to talk to her, she’d spurred Lelantos on, or dropped back to talk to a guard. At camp, she’d been sure to be in a conversation with the guards to dissuade Emyr from trying to approach her. She’d even gone to bed early at night to further prevent opportunities for him to talk to her. It had been hard to find a reason to never be available for someone who was always within a few feet of her.

“Well, what’s so important you’d risk my reputation on it?” Liliana asked. Despite her words, her tone was subdued.

She knew Emyr wouldn’t understand why she was distancing herself, and it wasn’t fair to him. But she was scared to give her trust to anyone. She’d trusted the pendant, only to get used and violated. And Emyr held as much risk, if not more. He could tell Alistair what she knew and turn against her. Break her heart that she’d only just started lowering the walls around. She truly didn’t want to lose some of the first friends she’d ever made. It hurt less, she told herself, if she was the one to pull away.

“I-,” Emyr cleared his throat and looked away, his anger dying enough for him to realize the position he’d put her in, “I’m sorry. But I came to tell you I think we might be able to find the flowered serpent if we go out on our own,” Emyr finished and Liliana almost dropped her blanket in surprise. Scrambling to keep it up, she looked at him, waiting for a further explanation.

“The serpent hasn’t attacked us yet because there’s too many of us, and the guards are too highly leveled,” Emyr spoke up when she didn’t respond. And Liliana tilted her head, considering it.

She could assume the flowered serpent had been a juvenile during the attack, and not one with a Poison affinity. It would’ve taken a Shadow affinity soon after the massacre, and while beasts could get an affinity at any time, they most commonly got new ones at Rank evolutions. For it to get a Poison affinity and another evolution, it would’ve been out fighting everything it could to get the levels. So it had two Rank Evolutions since the attack. Guessing what Rank it had been earlier was difficult, but to go through such a large change to what it was, Liliana would guess it was Rank 5 at least. Which would put it even to under the levels of the guards around them.

It would explain why it hadn’t attacked them despite the level of aggression she’d detected from it. If it did hate humans, it would love a chance to attack them. Which would mean if she and Emyr split off enough to be out of shouting range of the guards, they’d be the perfect bait. Liliana grinned, warming up easily to the reckless and, some might say, stupid plan.

“Ready to play bait again?” Liliana asked, and Emyr looked at her, catching her gaze. For a moment, as he grinned back at her, eyes lighting up in excitement, Liliana could forget her reservations about trusting him. For a moment they were friends once more, with none of her baggage weighing them down.

Chapter 64: Trapped Between a Rock and a Flower

“Why won’t it attack us yet?” Emyr asked as they walked.

Both of them were uncomfortable, eyes scanning the dark woods and heads swiveling around. They could feel the serpent watching them, its presence overwhelming. Liliana rubbed at the back of her neck, not surprised to feel the short hair at her nape standing on end. Lelantos’ hackles had been raised since they left the camp and she felt if she had them, hers would be too.

Her instincts were screaming to turn and fight or to run. She was beginning to feel like an animal trapped in a corner, with no option left but to claw and bite her way out. Yet she had nothing in front of her to fight and she knew if she ran, she’d just make herself more of a target. Predators couldn’t help but strike at running prey. Her grip on her weapon tightened and relaxed periodically as she resisted the urge to fidget further.

“It’s waiting for the right moment,” Liliana answered as she turned her head sharply at a shaking bush. Nothing emerged, and she looked away, eyes trying to pierce the darkness. She didn’t have [Shine] out, it would ruin their dark vision and make anything not illuminated by the light a wall of impenetrable darkness.

You’ve reached the requirements for the general skill [Night Vision]. Would you like to accept the skill?

Geeze, thanks system. Now you give me that skill? Liliana thought sarcastically as she accepted the skill.

Almost immediately she could see better in the dim lighting of the night, nothing but the moon and stars thin light filtering through the leafy canopy to illuminate their way. She noticed even with her new skill active that the world stayed in the monochrome colors of night. She knew Lelantos saw in much the same way at night from the times she’d looked through his eyes in areas with little light sources, but she had assumed it was an animal thing. In the daylight, his vision was like a highly desaturated version of her own, with a total lack of red and mainly greens. Though she had seen his field of vision was much wider than her own. She saw now something about dark vision must translate to humans as well, though she wasn’t sure what it was. Or if it was just what the system based night vision off of.

“Did you just get a night vision skill?” Liliana asked Emyr conversationally, more to keep up some sound and distract herself from the fear in her chest. Being hunted by the thing she was supposed to be hunting was disconcerting and terrifying, far from the safety of the guards.

She was still amazed they’d snuck away from them. In normal camps she’d almost assumed the guards were letting them get away, she knew they all had perception abilities. Now she wondered if perhaps they were simply inept, though she wanted to disbelieve Silas could train such guards that were bad at the definition of their job. Or perhaps it was Emyr. In the camp, he’d been the one to plan out their leavings. He had apparently spent hours watching the guards on their shifts, learning their patterns. Learning where their blind spots were, and he had years of practice sneaking around.

She knew from the game he liked to sneak around, his character got a bonus for all sneaking skills, and she knew he had a history of sneaking out of his family’s home to watch his brothers’ train or fight. She’d actually be willing to bet he’d been watching the guards at the Rosengarde manor for months, lurking around and sneaking until he figured out how to escape their notice. After all, he’d snuck out with her, avoiding detection by Silas and Astrid when she was escorted out of the manor grounds to find Lelantos.

In the game, one of his class options early on was an assassin class, and she’d already seen how assassins could sneak past their guards. Twice. If Emyr was of a skill level that could compare to an assassin of his Rank it made more sense, and led credence to the fact he could instruct her on how to avoid detection. She knew as well that when invisible, Lelantos could avoid detection by the guards for the most part. He’d had fun early on spooking many guards by sneaking onto the training grounds and knocking things over. Some of the guards still thought the training grounds were haunted.

“I’ve had that Skill since I was thirteen,” Emyr answered, shooting her a smug look. Liliana returned it with an unamused glare. Of course, stealth master Emyr had a night vision skill. He’d need it for all his skulking about.

“Oh, is that how you spied on the guards and figured out their routines?” Liliana shot back, mirroring her thoughts. She really just wanted a confirmation if she was right.

“Yea, somewhat. Guards get predictable. It’s the military training. They move in patterns,” Emyr shrugged as if it was obvious, and Liliana decided to not tell him it was actually impressive. He had figured out their patterns, and then how to circumvent them. Rosengarde guards weren’t exactly slouches on their training. But Emyr didn’t need his ego stroked.

“We’ve been out here for three hours. We’ve got to be a few miles from the guards. The thing is still following us. Why hasn’t it struck yet?” Emyr asked, turning the conversation back to the issue at hand.

Liliana rolled her shoulders to banish the shivers that had erupted at the reminder of what was following them. She thought she might have an answer, though she was hesitant to give it, as she wasn’t sure if her mind was playing tricks on her or not. Recent events accounted for. She didn’t entirely trust her own thoughts anymore. Not when she had so recently had them poisoned. How could she tell if her thoughts were her own, or planted by some evil being intent on seeing her go mad? But she thought she’d detected a bit of curiosity in the presence following them, coupled with the hate.

“I don’t know, maybe meat flavored with fear tastes better?” Liliana said instead.

Lelantos grumbled at her and she got a sense back that fear did not in fact make food taste better, in fact as bowels could be released when prey was suitably frightened, it could make the meat taste worse. Liliana snorted at his response. The tiger had become a bit of a picky eater since she’d bonded him. He’d gotten used to cooked meat, and the best cuts of raw meat and cores.

They emerged from the trees of the forest suddenly, and a cliff face they hadn’t been able to easily see in the dark rose before them several yards away. It spanned as far as Liliana could see with her measly bit of [Night Vision]. Behind them, they heard a crash, like something large had hit a tree. Spinning around, the three of them turned in time to watch a great oak groan and shudder before tilting to its side. It seemed to fall so slowly, a great giant plummeting through the air as softly as a feather until it began cracking and snapping the branches of its brethren. As it finally crashed into the ground, a deafening boom filled the forest, a thunderclap at close range that shook the very earth. Behind them, Liliana could hear rocks tumbling to the ground, shaken loose by the old giant’s demise.

“Or it was waiting to corner us,” Liliana bit out as she started to activate skills.

[Shine] was first, shooting up far into the sky, expanding and throwing off light like a mini sun, illuminating their battlefield. [Solar Samba], [Dancer’s Domain], [Dance of the Windsong], [War Maiden’s Waltz] all activated, their power coursing through her and her allies. Lelantos roared as he crouched a bit, tail lashing. He was ready to fight. Emyr shook his shoulders, his rapier held before him and a cold look in his eyes as he stared out at the dark forest. Shadows lashed around him, crawling up his body until he looked like he was clothed in the void.

“[Shadow Armor], doesn't do much for defense but it boosts my stealth skills and speed,” Emyr answered the question in her eyes as the shadows climbed his face, covering his nose and mouth, surrounding his eyes and leaving only the dark silver of them to peer out.

Couldn’t I get a Light or Soul armor? Seriously, what the fuck system? Liliana asked mentally, but her attention was once more directed to the battlefield as something emerged.

For a moment, as the creature emerged, she thought she was looking at a giant flower. She had never seen a living flowered serpent, and the dead ones couldn’t hold a candle to the majesty of what she was seeing. Her mind identified the flower around its head, supplying the answer without prompting. Lamprocapnos spectabilis, better known as bleeding heart. As the light of [Shine] spilled over the beast, Liliana could see the flower was a deep purple near the serpent’s head, fading to a vivid red the color of blood towards the back and its mane made of the petals. Made all the more vibrant by the pale white scales that covered the serpent’s head, trailing down until they mixed with the green highlighted brown scales of its body.

As the serpent rose above them, its body resembling that of a dark green vine, two petals dropped around the serpent’s head, twisted with flowering vines. As its tail flicked out, Liliana noted it was covered in thick leaves. Liliana could admit that the bleeding heart was a poetic flower for the beast before her. For a creature that had seen its entire family brutally murdered and butchered by those they had been there to protect. It matched its Poison affinity, an affinity Lelantos could smell clearly on the wind now that the creature was before him.

The bleeding heart flower was toxic, every last bit of it. Inducing vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and breathing difficulty, if consumed in high enough quantities. Liliana didn’t doubt the beast’s affinity would increase the poisonous nature of the plant, and reduce the amount of distilled essence of the flower necessary to cause side-effects. Almost hesitantly, Liliana used [Identify] on the beast. It was far larger than she expected it to be and she felt a bone deep fear that she’d finally bitten off more than she could chew.

Nemesis

Dicentra Serpent

Level 141

A flowered serpent that has forsaken the path of her fore-bearers. With a heart poisoned by man’s greed and fear, she has fully accepted the allure of the Dark, letting the poison in her heart coat her fangs and body. Her hatred and need for revenge has driven her to acquire great power in the name of vengeance, earning her the name Nemesis as she seeks justice for wrong doings left unpunished by the gods. Her great body is as sturdy as an oak, and her very touch is poisonous to any unlucky enough to meet her scales. Her fangs will quickly cause seizures and lock up her prey’s lungs until she finishes them off. Her mastery of the Earth and Dark elements will ensure any prey finds their avenues for escape quickly cut off.

Rank: 5

Affinities: Earth, Dark, Poison

Shit, shit, shit. Fuck, this isn’t good, Liliana thought as Lelantos backed up reluctantly. She could feel fear coursing through him. This serpent was well above any of them. It could easily kill all of them and leave no remains. It was named. She had not accounted for that to be a possibility. Named beasts were rare. She’d only fought one! Was that why they’d found so many dead creatures as they tried to track her down? Nemesis was killing them for their Mana, training like a human to boost her level?

“We need to run,” Emyr said, his voice shaking a bit.

Liliana looked around as they continued to slowly back away from the approaching serpent. There was no way out. The serpent was huge, at least twice Lelantos height, and she still had body trailing after her. She had to be thirty feet long, five feet or more across. They couldn’t get around her and behind them was only cliff face.

“We can’t. We have to go through her to get out,” Liliana said, fear thrumming in her veins, twisting with adrenaline. Flight was no longer an option, and Liliana could feel her body deciding on fight. Taming the beast wasn’t on her mind now, only survival.

“Fuck,” Emyr muttered, but he stopped back up and spread his legs, dropping into a fighting stance with his rapier held out to point at the serpent.

Liliana slipped off Lelantos, the serpent’s head swinging to stare at her. Liliana almost felt trapped in her purple red gaze. She could see pain in there, so great it almost took her breath away. She could see keen intelligence in there too, as if the beast was calculating, planning out a strategy to fight them.

“You always take me to the nicest places,“ Emyr shot at Liliana.

“You better survive this so I can do it again,” Liliana warned him as she spun her naginata.

“Lelantos, attack,” Liliana ordered. An ear-shattering roar split the dead silence of the forest as the tiger bathed himself in light and sprung.

Chapter 65: I See You

The serpent opened her wide maw, revealing fangs as long as Liliana’s forearms as she hissed at Lelantos. She swung her body to block the tiger’s attack and as Lelantos’ claws struggled to find a grip on the tougher scales of the serpent, Liliana could see her coiling around the tiger, head rearing back to strike.

Liliana sent a warning down the bond as she sprang into action herself. A [Light Barrage] harassed the beast’s face, causing Nemesis to toss her head back and hiss as she was temporarily blinded by the exploding light. Liliana could see already that it did no damage to the beast, though it blinded her for precious seconds as her allies moved.

Emyr was melting into the shadows even as Liliana prepared [Leap] to take to the skies. As she rose into the air, she threw a [Gust] under her feet, using the spell unconventionally to aid her movement. She activated [Light Burst Coat] on her weapon, disregarding her Mana as she did so. This battle likely wouldn’t last long enough for her Mana use to be a concern, one way or another.

As Liliana approached the head of the serpent at a magically boosted speed, she swung her naginata to aim for Nemesis’ eyes. The serpent saw her just in time to turn her great head, so Liliana’s weapon scraped ineffectively against hardened scales. Liliana cursed as the serpent opened her mouth to consume Liliana and the girl felt panic at her unwise choice to throw herself right at the face of a giant serpent. A shadow snaked out and yanked Liliana out of the air, tossing her away from the serpent. [Gust] saved her from a painful landing as Liliana hit the ground, rolling to her feet and moving without looking for the serpent. A sound of something colliding with the ground where she had just been justified her choice as she reorientated herself.

“Thanks!” Liliana shouted into the night, knowing Emyr would hear her.

“Stop jumping in the damn air like this is a bard’s tale! It’s too easy to hit you there!” Emyr shouted back and Liliana pushed aside the feeling of shame. It had always looked so cool in the shows and movies when heroes did that! Why couldn’t she? Normal fighting just didn’t look as cool!

“Fuck you! I hope my next skill gives me wings!” Liliana shouted back, coming to an abrupt halt and spinning around as the serpent cut off her movement with her body. Her weapon dug into the ground as Liliana used it to aid her vault over the serpent’s body.

“See? Jumping is great!” Liliana shot at the shadows.

“To escape! Not to attack, you nitwit!” Emyr responded, his voice coming from her left.

If Liliana wasn’t half out of her mind with fear and adrenaline, she would be impressed at how outspoken Emyr was, but coming face to face with death could make people do crazy things. The serpent turned its body, seeming to track Emyr despite him being in the shadows. Earth spikes erupted from the ground in front of the serpent, quickly growing in the direction Liliana had heard Emyr’s voice from. Liliana heard panicked cursing seconds before Emyr appeared from the shadows, throwing his body out of the way of the deadly spike attack.

“Lel!” Liliana shouted, sending an impression over their bond for him to keep the serpent’s attention. If he could keep her distracted, Liliana and Emyr could escape, and Liliana could recall Lelantos to his summoning stone.

The tiger responded by activating [Bestial Roar] and [Enlargement]. Liliana knew he had most of his other skills and spells active, and his body looked like it held the sun itself inside of it as his stripes glowed with blazing light. He grew until he was twice his original size and seemed more on even footing with the serpent than before. The serpent directed her attention to the giant tiger before her and hissed. Liliana could see poison dripping from the serpent’s fangs as she regarded her opponent. Lelantos growled, a rumbling thing that sent fear zinging through Liliana, even though she was his Bond.

The serpent struck, Lelantos barely dodging her lightning quick movement to snap his jaws around the serpent’s neck. Liliana could see petals getting crushed under his jaws, yet no blood poured forth from the impenetrable scales. The serpent was simply too far above him in levels. Being a Rank up meant it had gone through one more evolution than Lelantos, an evolution that had undoubtedly strengthened the beast’s body.

Liliana could feel Lelantos’ health taking damage, even simple contact with the serpent’s body poisoning him, though it wasn’t more than his regeneration could handle. The serpent writhed, its body wrapping around Lelantos as it tried to remove the attacker on it. It no longer could focus on the humans.

“Run!” Liliana shouted at Emyr, who had regained his footing from his dodge of the earthen spikes.

The boy nodded and vanished into the shadows again as Liliana turned on her heel and ran. Her hand gripped the summoning stone in her hand, air rushing in and out of her lungs as she pushed herself to run faster than she ever had to escape the serpent. She stumbled to a halt as an agonized roar filled the air. Pain radiated through their bond, knocking the breath from Liliana’s lungs as she felt huge fangs sink deep into Lelantos. Liliana sent magic through the summoning stone, but Lelantos didn’t return to it. She tried again, panic filling her veins.

You cannot return a bond to a summoning stone when they are currently in contact with a non-bonded being.

The alert filled her vision, and Liliana felt her heart stop, blood rushing in her ears. She spun and pushed the fear she felt in her blood into her feet, praying she could get there in time. No other thought in her mind except saving Lelantos. She could feel the coils of the serpent tightening around him, bones creaking and giving way as poison coursed through him.

“Where are you going?!” Emyr shouted at her.

“I can’t recall Lelantos while he’s touching that serpent!” Liliana shouted, panic edging her voice as she reemerged from the trees. She saw Nemesis coiled around Lelantos, her entire body wrapped around him in a deadly embrace, her fangs still sunk deeply into his flesh. Blood pooled under the tightly bound pair, vivid red against the dull brown dirt. The tiger was struggling, trying to bite what he could, but his teeth just scraped against the serpent’s body ineffectually.

“Hey you ugly ass worm!” Liliana shouted, throwing a [Light Barrage] at the serpent as she did. The small orbs exploded in the beast’s eyes and she hissed, dragging her head back to look at what had interrupted her. Another wave of agony flowed down the bond as the fangs were viciously ripped from Lelantos’ body. Liliana glared at Nemesis as the serpent stared back at her, head tilting ever so much as she looked at the small human challenging her.

“Let. Him. Go,” Liliana snarled as she swung her weapon around. She downed a Mana potion as she summoned another [Light Barrage] to harass the serpent. Nemesis hissed, her coils loosening as she shook her head. Finally, Liliana seemed to be doing some small amount of damage.

Liliana burst forward, her Speed making closing the distance take no more than a blink. She held her naginata like a lance as she ran, activating [Pierce], [Light Burst Coat] and [Light Burst] at the same time. [Light Burst] hit the serpent’s scales first, splashing against the scales with little effect. A heartbeat later, her blade hit the scales and this time she felt them give a bit. Pushing with every scrap of Strength she had, Liliana shoved the blade through the scales. It didn’t go deep, but it was more than before. Light exploded under the serpent’s skin and Nemesis hissed in pain as Liliana yanked her blade back, almost losing the weapon when the serpent writhed.

The serpent released her hold on Lelantos; the tiger fell from her coils with a painful whimper. Liliana danced back from Nemesis as the serpent turned her fury on her. Liliana could feel Lelantos’ pain through their Bond, and his determination. He’d continue fighting this serpent to the death if Liliana didn’t stop him.

Liliana barely dodged a strike from the serpent, the wind of the attack blowing past her. Her augmented Speed was just enough to keep up with this creature. Speed had to be her highest stat, and based on her being a venomous serpent rather than a natural constrictor, she’d put Strength lower on the beast’s stats. Endurance she couldn’t place, as the beast wasn’t lagging, and it didn’t seem to use too many magical attacks.

Liliana revised her assumption as a wave of darkness tried to overtake her and she had to use [Leap] and [Gust] to get out of range, and just twisted away from a deadly fang filled strike. As soon as she landed, spikes erupted from the ground again and Liliana threw herself out of the way. Her body had to keep moving, pressing the limit of her physical abilities to avoid the fangs and coils of the angered serpent bent on her death. Liliana could see the serpent was trying to back her up to the cliff face, cutting off her avenues for escape since she was too fast for it to take out easily in one strike.

Liliana almost lost her footing as the ground beneath her shook. She heard more stones crumble and fall from the cliff-face. Her Dexterity and Speed kept her moving though as the very world shifted and groaned. She could see the ground moving like waves on the sea, but she maintained her distance from the serpent’s strikes and soon the shifting ground stilled.

Liliana sensed Lelantos readying another pounce, but she could also sense his ribs were broken and barely healing, the two holes in his side still freely weeping blood and poison. She could see his health under hers in her peripheral, something she’d added once they’d started fighting together. He had a bleeding and a poison debuff and was losing Health at a steady rate. Liliana sent back a refusal, ordering him to stand down and back out of the fight. She’d slip away from the serpent, but she couldn’t lose him in this fight. She wouldn’t.

Lelantos refused, and Liliana knew he’d attack no matter what she said. As long as she was in danger, he wouldn’t leave her. He’d die here. Liliana refused to let that happen. Determination and fear filled her as she grabbed her summoning stone. She knew he could escape the stone if he wanted to, though it would take him a few minutes to be able to. In stasis, he went into a sleeplike state and thought far slower. He’d take longer to remember to get out.

As Lelantos charged the serpent, Liliana recalled him, and his body disappeared into essence. Shock and hurt flowed through their bond before his thoughts slowed under stasis. As his essence warped into the stone, Liliana ripped it from her neck and threw it with all the Strength she could hoping it would land far enough away that when Lelantos returned, the fight would be over, or he’d be too far away to risk his life.

However, the second it took her to toss the stone away cost her dearly, and she saw spikes on her right, the cliff on her left and the serpent at her front as it struck at her in her moment of distraction. Liliana didn’t have time to move, and she watched death speeding at her.

Shadows surged, breaking through the spikes. A shadow cloaked figure darted in front of her, throwing itself between her and danger. Yet too slowly to grant them both escape as the serpent’s fangs sank into the body of her saviour. Emyr’s pained scream sliced through the night and Liliana’s heart as fangs pierced his arm and stomach. Quick as she had struck, the serpent pulled back, blood and venom dripping from her fangs. Emyr collapsed as the fangs were removed, another scream tearing from him. Despite his pain, shadows surged around him, shoving the great serpent away from them.

“Emyr!” Liliana shouted, throwing herself at the boy, activating [Healing Harmony] as she did. Already his body was shaking, and he was struggling to breathe. Liliana fumbled with a healing potion as she opened it, pouring the liquid over his wounds.

“Run,” Emyr gasped out as his skin turned ashen, his eyes filled with tears of pain. Liliana could feel his hot blood covering her from his injuries and she shook her head, not paying attention to the serpent that had paused. Nemesis drew back from the humans and watched, eyes swirling as she considered the scene.

“Run… idiot,” Emyr gasped out and lifted a hand. Shadows grabbed Liliana and dragged her away from Emyr, even as she fought against them. They pulled her towards the forest, towards escape.

“No! No! Emyr! I won’t go! I won’t leave you! I won’t lose you too!” Liliana screamed, her throat going ragged as she fought the shadows, grasping at her and yanking her away. As she turned her head, she saw the serpent looking at them.

“You,” Liliana snarled, anger filling her veins and burning the fear that lingered there.

“You don’t get to take him!” Liliana screeched as she activated [Light Burst Coat] and cut her way out of the shadows. She stalked towards the serpent, who was looking at her oddly, head turning to the side as if she was confused.

“You don’t get to rob me of one of the few people I care about!” Liliana growled at the serpent as she activated [Borrow] and took [Reinforcement]. She downed another Mana potion as her body filled with Strength and her Health shot up. She activated [Dancing Doubles] and shot off. Her blade sang as it swung through the air and she located the spot she’d hit before, [Pierce] forced her blade deeper than before and when she pulled her blade out, blood followed. Her clones followed her lead, their illusory blades barely scratching the beast.

Nemesis hissed and pulled back, head swinging as she tried to focus on the real version of the human who had charged her. Liliana cared not to give her the time to figure it out. She struck again, waiting out the cool down of her skill. She had a weak spot now to attack and she would saw this serpent in half if she had to. The serpent hissed and writhed, her coils trying to wrap around the girl.

Liliana vaulted over the beast once more and shot a [Light Barrage] at her eyes. Dancing around Nemesis’ shaking head and violently moving body, Liliana struck out, letting her anger fuel her hits. With [Light Burst Coat] and her enhanced Strength, she was finally beginning to see scratches. As she [Leap]ed away from another strike, Liliana saw indents around the serpent’s neck. Places where Lelantos had bitten into her scales. Not enough to break through, but enough to weaken the scales.

As [Pierce] came off cool down, Liliana propelled herself into the air again and shoved her weapon into the serpent’s neck. Her blade severed petals and flowers, bleeding hearts falling to the ground with blood as her blade tore through weakened scales.

Liliana held onto Nemesis with her thighs, digging her weapon deeper into the back of her thick neck, activating [Light Burst Coat] again and again. Every burst pushed her blade a little deeper. The serpent swung her head wildly, trying to dislodge the painful human digging into her neck, but Liliana held on through pure force of will and anger. Yet even that was not enough, and Nemesis finally threw Liliana free as the serpent bucked. Her naginata was ripped from her grasp as she was tossed through the air. She tried to use [Gust] to ease her fall, but her momentum was too great and her back connected painfully with the cliff face. Something cracked, shooting pain through her that was quickly dulled by adrenaline.

Liliana scrambled to her feet, ripping her daggers free from their sheaths. Nemesis stood before her, but she seemed far more tired now. She was panting, her head lowered until it was at eye level with Liliana. The naginata remained in her neck, like a flag left by a conqueror. Liliana glared at the beast even as blood dripped down her face and tinted her vision red. The serpent’s eyes met her own and Liliana felt like she’d been kicked in the chest.

She saw a mirror of her own emotions in those depths. No longer simple hate. Now she saw pain. Pain so stark and great, Liliana felt her own heart crack and bleed in response. She saw fear there too, fear of death, fear of being alone. The hate was still there, but so was confusion, the confusion of a child that didn’t understand the harsh world she had found herself in. But both were overshadowed by the pain.

Liliana remembered a grove full of death. Majestic, gentle giants butchered in their homes because of superstition. She remembered how alone she herself had felt coming into this world. She remembered the crushing loneliness, the anger, the hatred that had filled her the night of the first assassin attack.

Liliana dropped her daggers on the ground. She couldn’t kill this serpent. She couldn’t kill something that reflected herself so clearly. Couldn’t kill a scared child just trying to survive in a world far too cruel. She wouldn’t.

“I see you,” Liliana said softly, raising a hand at the serpent. She didn’t know what she hoped for, perhaps some empathy from the best. Perhaps she would let her leave with Emyr.

Nemesis watched her with her too sad eyes as Liliana shuffled to the side. It seemed it would let her free and Liliana took a deep breath of relief when a shimmer in her peripheral startled her and the serpent. Lelantos reformed from her summoning stone and roared.

The tentative moment of peace shattered. The serpent struck, startled by the intrusion, too fast for Liliana to dodge. She’d thought she’d felt pain before, but as the serpent’s fangs pierced her side and injected poison into her, she realized she didn’t know pain as well as she thought. Only a bonding could compare to this agony.

Somehow, the venom felt more than physical; it felt emotional. Pain ripped through her body and heart as one. Pain too great to bear alone broke her heart into a million pieces as she lost everyone who had ever mattered to her as she stood by, unable to do anything but run like a coward. She screamed, but her hands reached out and wrapped around the serpent’s head, holding it close to her. She fought through her pain and ordered Lelantos to stand down with every last shred of willpower she had.

“I understand. You're scared. You’re hurt. You’re lonely. I can promise you an end to your loneliness. I can promise you the vengeance you seek, but more than that I can promise you love and a place to belong once more,” Liliana gasped out around the pain, even as she tasted copper on her tongue. Somehow, she could feel feedback of Nemesis’ emotions through the connection. Liliana leveraged it as much as she could, trying to send back that she spoke the truth. As soon as she felt a bone deep need for what she promised, she activated [Bonding Contract].

Blue light flared to life around the interlocked pair, bathing the bloodied battle field in its ghostly illumination. She left it the same as her last, and her vision dimmed around the edges. She could feel her lungs constricting and her limbs shook as the poison coursed through her blood. Her fingers were going numb, and she felt cold. With what little of thought she had around the pain and focus necessary for [Bonding Contract], she activated [Regeneration].

Warmth filled her from where the fangs were still buried in her and Liliana felt the bands around her lungs loosen and the shaking cease. Her regeneration was working hard to counteract the active wounds on her body and her broken bones, but the darkness in her vision still hovered at the edge of her vision. Liliana held onto her consciousness with her fading strength as the serpent considered the contract. She sensed it quickly changing the food requirements, and adding one last condition.

You will aid me in seeing my vengeance fulfilled for those who murdered my garden.

Liliana accepted the changes hastily, the serpent doing so as well. The light surged and lit the area up like the midday sun. The serpent drew back, her fangs sliding out of Liliana’s body and leaving her to fall to the ground. A thick, scaled tail stopped her fall. Liliana barely had time to prepare herself for more agony when the light of the bonding circle grew until it reached the brightness of a supernova. Then it retreated, coating the two beings inside of it and pushing itself into their skin.

Liliana screamed herself hoarse as her body and soul burned.

Chapter 66: I Just Want To Sleep

Soul bonding definitely doesn’t get easier the more you do it. At least this time, I knew what to expect. Liliana thought as she opened her eyes. Her body groaned its complaints at her as she shifted. For a ritual that supposedly only affected her soul, it sure did hurt the rest of her body. Or it could be the many wounds that were causing her Health bar to flash red in her peripheral that was the origin of her agony. Her mind was slow to work after the absence of all encompassing pain, but a feeling of urgency filled her until her mind finally connected the dots.

Emyr! Liliana shot up and climbed to her feet. As soon as she stood, her legs went out from under her and she fell to the ground, only to be stopped by a thick tail. Looking up, Liliana saw the eyes of her newest Bond, Nemesis.

Hatred was long gone from the serpent’s gaze now, for how could she hate the person sharing her soul? Concern, pain and exhaustion replaced the hate and Liliana could sense the serpent was ready to collapse. A spike of pain sent through their bond had Liliana grabbing her own neck in empathy. Her eyes trailed up, and she saw her naginata still planted in the serpent’s neck. Now the thought of hurting Nemesis made her feel ill, or perhaps it was the puncture in her side that was causing it.

“Lay your head down, I’ll get that out,” Liliana ordered as she forced herself back to standing. Her body screeched this time as her wounds once more made themselves known. Broken bones in her chest grated together and nearly robbed her of breath. She didn’t have to check her Health bar to know that she had bleeding and broken debuffs going, stopping her natural regeneration from working. Thankfully [Regeneration] had been working even through the ritual and she knew she was better off than before. Though her health was still in the red, she probably wouldn’t die in the next few minutes.

Nemesis did as she was bid and laid her head on the ground, letting out a painful sigh as she did. The very end of her tail right before the leaves, as thick around as Liliana’s forearm, lifted up for the girl to grab onto as she moved. Hobbling to Nemesis’ head, Liliana pitched forward and leaned against the serpent’s petals for a moment to regain her breath.

Every step had been pure agony, ripping things open that had barely started to heal. Taking in a steadying breath, she scrambled onto Nemesis’ neck and grabbed onto the weapon impaling her. As gently as she could, Liliana wriggled the blade free, wincing and gasping at the pain that shot through her as she did. Not just the pain from agitating her own wounds, but the pain that Nemesis felt as well.

Liliana was sure going through her notifications would explain her heightened sensitivity to her Bond, but she had never felt this close to Lelantos. She’d known when he was in pain, or known when he felt a certain thing. But never before had what one of them felt leaked into the other until it was impossible to tell whose emotions were whose. As she finally freed her weapon from her Bond, Liliana would’ve been certain she too had a gaping wound on her neck, had she not already checked for one.

A chuffing sound from her right drew Liliana’s attention, and she saw a rather sorrowful Lelantos laying on the ground, his head in his paws. His ears were pinned to his head and his tail lashed out behind him. He was obviously agitated, sensing his Bond was hurt and upset but no longer able to do what he was good at, fighting and protecting. For how could he attack Nemesis when she now too shared his Bond’s soul? Liliana slid off Nemesis’ neck, stumbling and nearly falling again as she did. She knew Lelantos was still hurting, even if she without checking his Health in her peripherals.

Lelantos surged to his feet despite the pain that put him in and rushed to her side. Liliana gratefully rested against his flank, where she knew he had no broken bones, but almost immediately gasped in pain. As before, with Nemesis, she struggled to separate their feelings. She could feel worry, fear, and resentment, with a never ending undercurrent of pain. Liliana groaned as she activated [Companion Heal] and [Healing Harmony]. Most of her active skills and spells she’d shut off during the bonding ritual, no longer needing them taking her Mana and Stamina.

Lelantos chuffed an almost purr, as close as he could get to one, as his injuries healed slowly. Liliana lifted her head as soon as the pain abated enough for her to have another coherent thought and turned to Nemesis.

“Give Emyr the antidote, please, and be gentle,” Liliana implored the serpent.

Nemesis looked at her, licking the air around her face before turning and slowly winding her way to where Emyr laid. Liliana knew the serpent had an antidote, or would it be an antivenom, as she’d felt it working during the contract. It was why Liliana was still alive and not dead on the ground, Nemesis had injected her with the antidote. And either the antidote or her Bond had made her immune to the poison on the serpent’s scales, for she didn’t have a poisoned icon despite the contact.

She sensed that the serpent had given Emyr the antidote and Liliana just hoped he could hang on for a minute more as she healed Lelantos as best she could. As she healed the tiger, she leaned heavily into him, exhaustion pulling at her limbs. She just wanted to lie down for a few minutes. A rough, almost painful tongue rubbed against her face and woke her some. Liliana shook her head as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind. Her Stamina was struggling to regenerate and her Health was still stalled. She knew she was still bleeding out and for the first time she wondered if [Regeneration] did anything for blood loss.

Lelantos nudged her, laying down with a clear intent. Liliana dragged her body into his saddle, and he rose. His steps were smooth as he tried to jostle her as little as possible, yet she still bit down on groans and whimpers of pain. Without adrenaline, her pain was becoming overpowering. Summoning a high tier health potion, Liliana downed it quickly, then a mid-tier potion quickly followed by a second.

Her Health finally started to tick up and she could feel the river of blood rushing from her arm and side slowing to a trickle as her body knit itself back together. A crack in her chest nearly sent her out of the saddle as a wave of sharp pain shot through her. She hadn’t had to sit through a bone setting awake and as another bone grated and shifted under her skin, she hoped to never do it again.

Lelantos stopped by Emyr’s prone form and lowered himself to the boy’s side. Liliana groaned and half fell, half slid from her saddle. Next to the still body of her friend, fear washed through her until she saw his chest rising and falling. A shaking, blood coated hand reached out and pressed to the side of his neck, confirming his pulse.

Nemesis rested nearby, her eyes watching the two humans intently. Liliana could feel through their bond that the flowered serpent was comparing how Liliana acted to her own actions the day her garden was murdered. Liliana had to forcibly rip her own focus from her Bond, or risk falling into despair. The memories she got a glimpse of, the emotions tied to them; they broke her heart.

Liliana double checked that [Healing Harmony] was still going and then she pulled out more health potions. She’d gotten several high tier potions at Astrid’s urgings before they’d left for this trip, and now Liliana was grateful for the woman’s advice. It very well might have saved not only her life, but Emyr’s. She’d only had five to use, and she’d already used two. One on Emyr initially, which may very well have saved him, and one to repair herself.

She dumped one into his still open and bleeding wounds. Without poison taking up the Health potion’s magic, she saw it quickly regenerating his body. Liliana looked away, her stomach too weak at the moment to be able to watch. Taking a deep breath, she shuffled towards Emyr’s head, resting it on her thigh. She opened another potion and gently opened his mouth. Tilting the potion into his mouth, she almost panicked when some leaked out, but sighed in relief when Emyr swallowed the life giving liquid.

Emyr still stayed asleep, but Liliana wasn’t too concerned. She remembered she’d slept for hours after the wolves had attacked her and knew from her time in the hospital that sleeping was common when one was severely injured or ill. She’d probably sleep for an entire day once they got back somewhere safe. Liliana looked down at her side and arm and saw the wounds were almost healed, and her bones seemed to be set, if sore. She placed her last high tier potion in storage and grabbed the healing potions meant for beasts.

“Come here, both of you,” Liliana ordered, her voice soft from strain.

Lelantos crawled towards her and Nemesis slithered until she was nearly on top of them. Liliana held out the potion and Lelantos opened his mouth for her to pour first it, then another into his mouth. She got a feeling of dislike for the flavor, but the tiger swallowed the medicine. More bone cracking sounds filled the air and Liliana winced. She must not have completely healed him then. Nemesis mimicked Lelantos’ movement, and it was bizarre for Liliana to feel no fear now as she looked down the maw of a serpent that could eat her in one bite. But at the moment she was too exhausted to bother thinking too much on it as she fed Nemesis her own potion.

Finally, certain that everyone who had walked into this fight would be walking back out in one piece, Liliana leaned back against Lelantos. He quietly growled, a comforting noise that sent vibrations through his body and Liliana. Nemesis watched them both with her unfathomable eyes, tongue snaking out to taste the air. Liliana could feel the serpent thinking, but she didn’t have the mental capacity to investigate. Just like she didn’t have the mental capacity to investigate why she could feel both her Bond’s emotions so clearly when she touched them.

Even now she was struggling to stay awake as she fought both her own exhaustion and Lelantos’. However, she lifted her head some when she sensed Nemesis come to some sort of decision. The absurdly large serpent shook herself, her petals swaying and the remaining bleeding heart flowers that grew on her fell like a beautiful magenta and red rain. The flowers swirled faster as if caught in a tornado until Liliana could barely see her Bond, when suddenly it stopped and flowers fell to the ground, Nemesis gone.

Liliana almost panicked until she felt something sliding up her arm. Looking over, Liliana saw a miniature Nemesis, probably no longer than her arm, curling around her bicep and resting her flowered head on her shoulder. Her vine like body now sported only small, delicate leaves and the flower petals around her arrow shaped head almost seemed too big. Looking at her, Liliana couldn’t resist the urge to coo softly, raising a finger to gently stroke the snake’s head.

“Is this why we could never find you? You kept shrinking? What about the flowers? We never saw those,” Liliana wondered, looking over where her serpent had been in her large form she got her answer.

The flowers had dried and decayed to dust in the short amount of time since she’d looked at them. Yet the ground had a green patch of grass now where the flowers had fallen. Liliana hummed quietly as she considered it. It must be a racial trait or some evolutionary mechanism specific to all flowered serpent types, so they could hide their tracks.

“I’ll think about this, everything else, and the consequences for my own actions tomorrow after I sleep some,” Liliana mumbled to her Bonds, getting two mental agreements back. Both seemed quite happy to sleep for now after such a tiring and deadly battle.

As Liliana curled up to Lelantos with Emyr at her side, she smiled. She’d almost died again, but she’d gotten a new Bond. A new friend and companion to see this life through with. And perhaps she’d let go of some of the baggage that had been holding her back from trusting Emyr fully. She didn’t think she could convince herself any longer he wasn’t to be trusted, not when he’d sacrificed himself for her, fully expecting to die doing it.

Her heart still ached and thumped painfully as she recalled him throwing himself in front of her, taking the fatal hit that had been meant for her. She couldn’t forget the utter despair, the feeling of her heart being ripped out of her chest, as he commanded his shadows to drag her to safety even as his own body slowly died around him. He had to of been half mad with pain, venom coursing through him, yet his first thought had been keeping her safe.

How could she reward a selflessness like that by continuing to distance herself from him? How could she look at someone like that and think for even a second he wouldn’t stand by her if she revealed her secret? Not that she would. She’d keep that close to her chest. Best if she was the only person who knew Imogen’s evil ways for now. She’d spare Emyr and Alistair that pain for as long as she could, but she wouldn’t be the one to cause them anymore. She wasn’t going to heal the pain Imogen wrought by making more of it.

Chapter 67: Violence Isn't Always The Answer

“You just ran out of camp?” Alistair asked, for not the first time that day, and Liliana was afraid it wouldn’t be the last.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it running, more we snuck out,” Emyr piped up from where he was sitting, leaning against Lelantos in Alistair’s tent. Liliana wasn’t sure what happened in the four days they were gone, but somehow her brother had managed to get a tent that was at least half the size of her home back on Earth.

“You just snuck out of camp, chased down a dangerous creature we had very little intel on. Then, when you found said creature, you saw it was two Ranks above you and still thought it was a good idea to fight it?” Alistair revised his earlier question, his voice rising more and more. Liliana stared at him and popped a grape into her mouth.

“To be fair, at that point we tried to run away,” Liliana answered him with a shrug as she grabbed another grape to eat.

“So why didn’t you run away?!” Alistair was nearly yelling now and Lelantos growled, pawing at his ears and shooting the boy a glare.

Alistair cleared his throat bashfully, but his worry was still clear on his face. That same worry had been what finally tipped Liliana over the cliff she’d been standing on, and made her let him back in. She still held that poisonous secret close to her chest, but the worry that had been on Alistair’s face when they came back a day late was too much. She couldn't keep hurting all of them like this.

“I couldn’t recall Lelantos,” Liliana answered his question and Alistair groaned, rubbing his eyes roughly with his hands.

“How does that translate to both of you getting impaled by a giant, enraged, venomous snake?” Alistair questioned, not looking at either of them as he ran his hands through his hair, mussing up what was already becoming a tangled mess of braids.

“I had to save her life,” Emyr answered plainly.

Liliana shot him a thankful look. Not the first. She’d cried when he’d finally woken up, hugging him and further sullying his muddied and bloodied clothing. No one had ever risked their life to save hers before, and it meant more to her than words could ever do justice. She could now understand why Alistair’s view on her had shifted so much after the bandits when she’d thrown herself in front of Emyr to save him. She supposed they were even now, in a sense, but she didn’t think she could ever really repay him. And maybe that was why Emyr had pushed so hard to be friends, and why he and Alistair had been so hurt when she pulled away.

The selfless act of willingly throwing yourself between someone and certain death was something that would bond people together more so than anything else. Liliana had never really thought of what it had felt like to be on the receiving end of that, but she felt she could understand the increased goodwill of her brother afterwards. If she had a friend as precious to her as Emyr was to Alistair, and someone risked their life to save them, she’d be indebted to them as well, no matter her feelings for them previously.

“The serpent looked sad,” Liliana answered as she turned to look at her brother again, a small smirk on her lips. Alistair looked at her as if he thought she’d fully gone mad, and Liliana had some concern that he’d begin pulling his hair out at the root.

“I’m sorry, the deadly, murderous two ton snake looked sad?!” Alistair asked, his voice shrill. Lelantos growled again and Nemesis, who had been resting around Liliana’s neck, lifted her head to hiss at the distressed noble.

Liliana only had her out in the comfort of the tent, already finding out the hard way that the snake didn’t take well to being around too many humans. Nemesis didn’t mind her Bond, and she seemed to favor Emyr, but one other human was her limit. When the guards had found the four of them, Liliana had been violently awoken from her healing sleep by Nemesis panicking and about to attack the guards. Liliana had to order the guards back to the point they weren’t visible before she could calm Nemesis enough to get her to align herself with a summoning stone, so Liliana could send her into stasis.

Liliana knew they’d have to work on that, but she also knew that being so close to her garden’s home and grave was making the serpent agitated. Being close to the humans who had killed the serpent’s family was only making her more upset. Liliana lifted a hand and gently stroked the serpent’s scales until she calmed and resettled around her neck.

“She lost her entire family, Alistair. She was, is, a hurting child,” Liliana chastised her brother with a sharp glance. Alistair opened his mouth before closing it and mumbling quietly.

“Besides, Amelia put us on house arrest, or is it camp arrest? Tent arrest?” Liliana tilted her head, tapping her chin as she considered the correct vernacular to describe their punishment.

She and Emyr weren’t allowed to leave the camp unless it was with Amelia or Jason. They even had two guards, each dedicated solely to shadowing their steps. Liliana wasn’t too concerned. She didn’t want to sneak out again right now. Not with the villagers so close, and her own Bond still volatile. She knew the restrictions would itch more on the way home, but if they had the villagers as prisoners, it might be a good thing. Nemesis might very well decide justice was taking too long and try to settle the debt on her own.

Liliana was more concerned about the punishment for the guards who had been with them, and who had ultimately allowed them to escape. Even Jason hadn’t escaped a month’s worth of latrine duty, increased training and watch shifts. Liliana had only just stopped Amelia from ordering a flogging of the guards involved. She couldn’t stand the thought of the guards being so viciously punished for something that was her own fault. She and Emyr should’ve been punished far harsher than they were, but at the end of the day there was only so much Amelia could do to nobles. Guards, however, didn’t share the same protection granted to her by her noble status.

Liliana knew she wouldn’t be punished when she got home. Her father would be too happy about her not only bonding with a rare creature, but an unheard of variant of said creature. Liliana already had a headache thinking of the amount of balls, galas and tea parties she’d be going to at her father’s behest to show off his ‘prodigy’. But it would make it harder for Imogen to move when Liliana was home and under her father’s eye and favor. Liliana just hoped she’d have the time when she got home to finally find proof of Imogen’s crimes. Deals with not one, but two assassins, had to leave some sort of trail. Someone had to have seen Imogen contacting the assassins. If not a witness, a paper trail or some proof of the deal had to exist.

With her decision to let both Emyr and Alistair back into her life, even if she kept her secrets, the idea of staying in the camp wasn’t awful. It may give her time to figure out how to destroy the cursed pendant she had as well. Perhaps she could even use it as a bonding exercise. What brought people together better than destroying ancient, cursed artifacts?

“Has there been an update on the village?” Emyr asked, distracting Alistair from his mumblings. For the best, as Liliana thought she’d heard him considering shipping the two of them to an asylum. She hadn’t even known this world had those.

“It’s… not good,” Alistair answered, his hands dropping and his face serious. Liliana sat up straight on her pillow and faced her brother. Amelia and Jason had both been too angry at her, Emyr, and the guards who had lost them to update them on the village situation. Nemesis raised her own head, hissing lightly at the mention of the village. Liliana raised a hand to stroke the snake.

“Have they tried running?” Liliana asked, worried. Alistair shook his head, and his eyes darted to Emyr.

“They won’t. This is their home, for generations. For the same reason, they didn’t leave when they knew we were coming. They won’t run now. Commoners are stubborn,” Alistair scowled at that, and Liliana shifted uncomfortably. Her brother looked at her and Liliana read shame on his features. He was obviously still struggling with the classicist discrimination his mother had taught him.

“It’s the same reason a noble won’t abandon their territory,“ Emyr jumped in and Alistair gave him a grateful look.

“To these people, the land they live on is as much a part of them as their family name, besides what would they do if they ran? We have their recorded names, classes, levels and even appearance because of the bi-yearly census,” Alistair continued, and Liliana nodded, gnawing her bottom lip as she thought.

The bi-yearly census was something she’d learned of only recently. As a noble, she had to partake in it and had once already in this life. But it hadn’t been in the game, likely because it was irrelevant to the gameplay. Realm of Hope had been an RPG, not a kingdom building game. The census was done twice yearly because of how much people’s levels could change. And certain things were allocated based on the levels of the people in the area. Dungeons were the easiest example. If the dungeon was too low or too high for the average levels of the surrounding area, it needed to be handled. But the census also meant it was easier to track down criminals as they usually had fairly updated information on all citizens in the territory.

“So, are they going to give themselves up?” Liliana asked, though she wasn’t hopeful for the answer.

“Maybe. We have some scouts that can sneak into the village and have been gathering information. Seems the population is almost evenly split between those who want to give the list of names, and those who want to fight,” Alistair answered, and Liliana frowned.

“From what we gathered, it looks like it wasn’t the entire village who was part of the mob, though we can’t tell if any of them tried to stop it,” Alistair elaborated further, and Liliana looked up.

“Will they be punished too?” Liliana asked, and Alistair grimaced.

“If they give over the ones who took part? Likely nothing more than increased taxes. If the village attacks us, though, all of them will be branded as criminals. With the least of their crimes being insurrection,” Alistair said quietly.

His face was taunt and Liliana could see the stress weighing on him. He might not yet see commoners as equal, but he understood these would one day be his people, the people he was meant to govern and protect. Now he was seeing the dark side of nobility, the bloody part that held hands with the glamorous one. As much as being a Duke was lavish mansions, beautiful balls and lovely ladies throwing themselves at you, so too was it wiping out a village when they rebelled to stop the infection before it spread too deep.

Liliana could objectively understand the why behind the decisions being made. She was just glad she wasn’t the one who had to make those choices, not today, not ever. She couldn’t believe the pendant had tried to manipulate her into believing she wanted the duchy. Liliana wanted no part of having that much power over the lives of others. With a single word, her father could sentence hundreds to die. Eventually, Alistair would have that power. As she looked at her brother, Liliana thought to herself that he would be far better suited to it.

“So it’s death for a fraction of them to save the whole, or death for all of them,” Liliana surmised, and Alistair nodded, his eyes shadowed.

Insurrection was a death penalty, no trial, just death. Sometimes trials would be held but usually insurrectionist fought to the death and it was thought better to preserve the lives of the guards or military men and women fighting them than risk them trying to capture rebels. It was far more dangerous for their people to try to capture those attempting to kill them.

“Logically, the best choice is to give us the list, and save the village as whole,” Alistair trailed off, looking down at his hands.

“But logic rarely plays a part where emotions are concerned,” Emyr finished for him softly. Alistair nodded and didn’t lift his head.

Liliana drew her knees to her chest. She didn’t know what to say or do in this situation. She knew in books or shows the main character always had some brilliant idea to get everyone what they wanted. But this wasn’t a show or a book. It was real, and there were no pretty answers that would solve all their problems. She still felt hatred for the villagers, both from what she’d seen and from Nemesis. It was even worse now because the villagers hadn’t only killed an entire garden of rare, harmless, and helpful magical beasts. They’d slaughtered her Bond’s entire family. Nemesis’ mother, her father, her clutch mates. And Nemesis hadn’t been able to do anything but watch.

Liliana’s nightmares were now a replaying of that night from her Bond’s view. She had to relive what Nemesis had gone through. She got to feel as the young serpent snuck out of her mother’s nest to chase after some night bird. Liliana had felt the childish joy and excitement and then the serpent’s fear when she tasted smoke and blood on the wind. Nemesis’ despair, confusion, and fear as she saw her family being murdered. As she watched her father, her great hundred foot long father, the patriarch of their garden, trying to shield his clan with his bulky body. She got to watch as the serpent’s mother burned to death, wrapped around her unborn eggs. Nemesis watched her aunts, her uncles, her grandparents, cousins and siblings dying. Torn apart, some still alive, by crazed humans. She’d seen everything she loved and knew burnt to ashes.

So Liliana knew she was no impartial party on this matter. She held her tongue because the only suggestion on it was to set the entire village aflame. To let them know the pain her Bond had suffered. But that wasn’t justice, that was cruelty, and she could understand that. She wouldn’t let herself, or her Bond, become the very thing that had started this whole mess. Justice needed to be done properly. And the only way to see it done was to take those who had a hand in the massacre and put them on trial to see their earned fate.

“Are there truth spells? Or potions? We could use?” Liliana asked hesitantly, and Alistair shook his head with a dry laugh.

“If there was, we would have no crime at all, but no. Truth spells don’t exist and truth potions are rare and expensive for even a few drops,” Alistair answered her and Liliana lowered her head. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest as her fingers pulled at the seams of her pants.

Nemesis rubbed her petaled head against Liliana’s cheek. The serpent knew she was upset, and she didn’t like it very much. Nemesis had grown frighteningly attached in very little time, and Liliana attributed it to both the serpent’s age and her nature of being a creature used to a group. She disliked being in stasis and would only put up with it for a few hours, and when she was out, she was glued to Liliana. Only releasing her hold to sit on Lelantos’ head. Or once, Emyr.

Liliana looked at Nemesis as an idea formed in her head. She tilted her head to the side, and the serpent pulled back to mimic the motion. Liliana stared at the serpent for a long few moments before she patted her head and turned back to her brother.

“What if we knocked them all out?”

Chapter 68: New System Unlocked!

Liliana swung her legs from the tree she was sitting in, ignoring the guard who was ‘hiding’ in the tree across from her. From here she could just see the village roofs and was about as close as she could be to the action. Emyr and Alistair were on other limbs of the tree, watching with her. Lelantos was below, resting discontentedly at the base of the large oak they’d taken roost in. Nemesis was high on the top of the tree, getting a view of the village that had caused her so much strife. Not that it did much good. Serpent eyesight was worse than a human’s, but Liliana didn’t try to convince Nemesis to come down.

Liliana could send either of her Bond’s to the village, both were suited to a stealth mission, but she didn’t think it was a smart idea. Lelantos was out-leveled by the villagers and if everything went to hell in a handbasket, he’d be in danger. Nemesis was a risk. Liliana didn’t know if their bond was strong enough yet to override the serpent’s thirst for revenge. However, it meant they were left with little to do and far too much nervous energy to sit still. So they’d compromised and found a lookout spot. After supplying the idea that might very well end this entire fiasco with minimal bloodshed, Amelia was a bit more lenient. That, and the camp was down to bare bones right now.

Liliana flicked open her Skill Sheet once more, just for something to do with her time. She hadn’t thought to check her notifications until they’d gotten back to camp originally and had found a slew of notifications awaiting her attention. She’d unlocked yet another sub-affinity, Psyche. One she hadn’t really considered before now, as she had never been comfortable with the information given on it. It was a magical affinity to do with the mind, to put it simply. The abilities described sounded sometimes too much like mind control to make Liliana entirely comfortable with the affinity. However, since getting her ultimate skill, she found herself more receptive to the affinity, though she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to expand upon it.

Already her Skill Sheet was starting to get long to go through and remembering the multitude of abilities she had mid-battle was not an easy task. She found herself often relying on the same skills and reaching for them instinctively rather than bringing her full arsenal to bear.

In hindsight, she could see where under utilized or entirely unused skills could’ve been useful in a fight. But remembering that when her blood was hot, and she was dancing with death, was another thing all together. Liliana considered her sheet with a hum, checking over the multitude of abilities that had grown in her fight with Nemesis, and the new ones. [Poison Resistance], [Empathy], [Featherfall], [Updraft], and [Acrobatics] had all been gifts from her fight with Nemesis.

Affinity

Light

90%

Soul

92%

Life

85%

Illusion

28%

Astral

8%

Wind

5%

Psyche

3%

Quintessential Skills

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 4

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 67

[Dodge] 56

[Solar Samba] Lvl 55

[Dance of The Windsong] lvl 51

[Regeneration] Lvl 44

[Mana Manipulation] lvl 43

[Leap] lvl 40

[Pierce] Lvl 38

[Persistent Casting] lvl 37

[Stealth] lvl 32

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] Lvl 30

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 22

[Borrow] Lvl 9

[Last Stand] lvl 5

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 65

[Dancing] lvl 61

[Deception] Lvl 60

[Pain Resistance] lvl 53

[Reading] Lvl 40

[Etiquette] Lvl 35

[Embroidery] Level 31

[Writing] Lvl 31

[Persuasion] Lvl 32

[Herbalisim] lvl 31

[Skinning] Lvl 30

[Riding] lvl 29

[Mathematics] lvl 25

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 29

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 17

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 16

[Mounted Combat] lvl 16

[Acrobatics] Lvl 16

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 12

[Alchemy] lvl 10

[Wilderness Survival] lvl 10

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 9

[Archery] lvl 3

[Sword Mastery] Lvl 2

Spells

[Light Burst] LVL 53

[Light Burst Coat] LVL 46

[Dancer’s Domain] lvl 40

[Shine] LVL 35

[Light Barrage] lvl 33

[Dancing Doubles] Lvl 29

[Barrier] Lvl 28

[Shadow Sonata] Lvl 24

[Bonding Contract] LVL 22

[Soul Strike] Lvl 17

[Adjust] lvl 16

[Astral Projection] Lvl 15

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 13

[Companion Heal] Lvl 11

[Gust] Lvl 10

[Empathy] Lvl 6

[Updraft] Lvl 3

[Featherfall] lvl 3

She’d also gotten 2 points to Vitality, 1 to Dexterity and 2 to Charisma from the fight. Fighting things far above one’s level truly rewarded you if you didn’t die first. Liliana did wonder why she got no stat points from the assassination, but assumed it was some sort of System penalty for being possessed and technically not the one doing the killing.

She didn’t wish to dwell too long on that night in any case, so she dismissed it from her thoughts. Though, the feeling of being violated remained in her mind at the reminder and her arms wrapped around her chest as if to shield her from the feeling. Her nails bit down into the leather of her jerkin as she tried to focus on another matter.

It would be nice if I could chain skills together, like combos in the game, Liliana thought to herself as she looked at her abilities. There were several skills she used together anytime she fought, and individually activating them took precious seconds. Liliana looked over towards Emyr and Alistair, who were chatting in subdued voices. She considered asking them if they knew of some way to do that, but hesitated. Would asking be too meta for this world? Was chaining abilities even something possible?

Liliana looked back to her Skill Sheet and considered it. Perhaps she could try something that was a mixture between [Persistent Casting] and [Mana Manipulation]? An if this, then that situation. Liliana focused on two abilities she used often in battle, and that would not paint a flashing target on the tree she was currently resting in.

[Solar Samba] and [Dance of The Windsong] would be good for her experiment. Focusing on the first skill, she pulled it to the front of her mind. She let it fill her, trying to activate it as slowly as possible so she could examine the skill. She felt strength flood her muscles, empowering them. Her limbs felt lighter, as if gravity itself had loosened some of its hold on her.

She heard some rustling in the tree beside her and felt eyes on her, but she closed her own eyes, focusing her attention inwards. She released the skill and activated it again, once more trying to slowly activate it to better understand the skill. It took several tries and the rustling in the trees got more pronounced the more she turned the skill off and on, but no one spoke up to bother her. When she felt she had a suitable feel for [Solar Samba] she turned to [Dance of the Windsong]. She repeated her action, feeling the skill wash through her. Feeling how her limbs became light, as if she’d become part of the wind itself.

She had to spend less time activating and deactivating the second skill as she learned from her first experiment. Having a good feel for both skills in her mind, she focused on the feel of them both, trying to not tie them together into one but to connect them. It was difficult. The skills kept wanting to slip away from her focus or overtake it entirely. Trying to get them to connect was like trying to connect two south poles of a magnet. They bounced off of each other anytime she got them close.

Liliana could feel sweat beading down her face as her focus dived further inward and all feeling of the world outside of her mind faded. She was growing frustrated, but her stubbornness was a stronger beast by half.

She tried to imagine the feeling of each skill happening rapid pace one after another, but that did little more than actually activate the skills manually, which was not what she wanted to do. Canceling the skills, Liliana turned them over in her mind, trying to find some string to tie them together with.

A glimmer of an idea flickered in her mind, and Liliana grabbed hold of it. Calling her Mana to mind, she pulled a tendril into her focus. It was thin as spider silk and she pulled another, then another and began to mentally weave the strands together, trying to impress upon the Mana her intent. She wanted it to work like a relay. As soon as the first skill it was attached to activated, she wanted it to channel a pulse of Mana to the other end and activate the second skill in the line. Eventually she hoped to daisy-chain her skills and spells together like this, where she needed to only activate one to kick-start them all.

When she felt her cable of Mana was stable and would, hopefully, do what she wanted, she pulled [Solar Samba] back into her mind. The skill was still slippery, but it didn’t bounce away from the Mana like it did another skill. However, getting it to connect was another matter entirely. Just sticking the Mana cable onto the skill resulted in it sliding off like water off a duck’s feathers. Multiple failed attempts, and a dose of more frustration later, Liliana was still sitting with a cable of Mana attached to nothing and a skill she got a feeling was mocking her.

If only I could super glue it on, or plug it in. Liliana thought as she mentally glared at the skill. The idea of a plug made her pull the skill close again, this time examining the way it was made up. Twisting lines of channels made up the skill, not half so confusing as spells, but still a Gordian knot none the less. These woven lines of channels were what was illustrated on spell and skill scrolls, they were what made up the skills and spells used in this world. The channels told the Mana where to go, what to do, and how to do it. Far more elegantly than Liliana’s typical brute force method when she tried to force her Mana to do something new.

Looking over the channels, Liliana tried to find an opening she could slip the end of her cable into. The only issue was she wasn’t sure what channels did what and was half afraid of messing with them for fear of changing her skill into something else entirely. If that was even possible, if it was, though, Liliana was sure she’d be the one to fuck up and find out.

Liliana tried to focus on where the channels started, where the Mana first entered to activate the skill. She’d want her own cable close to that, so it could siphon some of the Mana off into the next skill. Focusing on what she wanted to find, the skill seemed to shift until she was looking at an opening in the skill matrix. It seemed to her understanding, much like the opening to a pipe. Liliana twisted and turned it as she thought of how to connect that to her cable.

I need an adapter for the cable, Liliana realized, and excitedly she summoned more Mana to create what she needed. Her excitement caused her to slip a few times in the creation until she slowed down and methodically formed the Mana into what she needed. She ended up with a Mana construct that looked like a funnel with two spouts, one thinner than the other. She fit the adapter into the skill and, holding her breath, she fit the cable into the other end.

Releasing her hold on the adapter and skill, she kept her grip on the cable. [Solar Samba] stayed tethered to the cable and even as she looked, the skill seemed to integrate into the new addition easily until the lines where they were connected blurred. She couldn’t even tell the skill hadn’t always been like this.

Encouraged by her success, Liliana pulled [Dance Of The Windsong] to her and set to doing the same for the other skill. She only had a small hiccup when she saw the other skill had two entrance pipes, she assumed, because the skill took Health as well as Mana. She left the pipe she sensed was for Health alone and stuck to the Mana as she connected the skill to the first.

Liliana pulled back from the skills that were now tethered together by her Mana. Focusing on [Solar Samba] she activated the skill, feeling it fill her with Strength and Speed. She watched the connection of the skills and frowned when [Dance of the Windsong] did not activate. Deactivating [Solar Samba] she looked over the two skills again and saw they were still connected correctly.

Maybe I need to give the intent to also activate the chain? Liliana wondered. Mana was very intent based, especially when doing something new with it. Hesitantly, Liliana activated [Solar Samba], impressing on her Mana that she wanted to activate the chain as well. This time when Strength and Speed flooded into her, it was quickly followed by a second wave of Speed and a distinct feeling of Health drain.

Liliana’s eyes flew open, and she jumped up on her branch and punched the air in excitement. She barely kept herself from whooping in joy though she did do a small dance on the branch, her Dexterity making it no issue to keep her balance even on the swaying surface.

Notifications! I bet I got a new skill from that! Liliana thought excitedly as she stopped her victory dance. Her body felt exhausted, and she flopped back onto the branch, strangely out of breath for so little physical effort. A gnawing hunger was slowly making itself known to her and her body felt cold and wet from sweat coating her.

“What has gotten into you?” Alistair hissed, and Liliana waved a hand at her stepbrother as she summoned her notifications.

You’ve discovered the Skill [Chain Combo], would you like to accept it?

[Mana Manipulation] has reached level 46!

[Persistent Casting] has reached level 40!

[Solar Samba] has reached level 56!

[Dance of the Windsong] has reached level 52!

Liliana quickly accepted the new skill and pulled it up, barely daring to breathe as she looked it over.

Chain Combo

You can now connect skills and spells together in a chain to activate in quick succession without need to manually activate each ability. Chain Combos must be activated by including the Chain Combo name. Otherwise, the skills must be activated manually.

Can currently Chain 3 skills or spells together with a maximum of 2 Chain Combos.

Cost to Chain skills and spells together: 200 Mana per added Skill or Spell

Additional Mana cost for Chained skills or spells:

150 Mana

You have unlocked the Chain Combo screen!

Liliana had never opened a screen so fast in her life when she saw the notification for the new screen. She saw her original Chain was already there. She quickly set to changing the name of the Chain and setting up her second chain, ignoring the Mana drain and growing hunger in favor of her new discovery.

Chain Combo

1st Chain

[Solar Samba]

[Dance of the Windsong]

[Dancer’s Domain]

UP Chain

[Updraft]

[Leap]

[Featherfall]

Liliana wanted to chain so many more things together, but for now she had to settle for having her set up chain and her ‘oh fuck get away, get away’ chains ready. She’d found in this world more than in the game mobility was a massive need for her. She might have more Health than a caster, but she was no tank, and frankly she was growing sick of getting wounded. Liliana had specifically chosen to not be a tank to avoid this problem.

The two new Wind spells would help, as they were mobility spells. [Updraft] gave her a boost into the air of about three feet currently. [Featherfall] slowed her descent and cushioned her fall. So far, it would only protect her from 75 points of damage with her fall, but she hoped it would either eventually combined with [Leap] and [Updraft] into a flight skill or completely nullify fall damage.

Satisfied with her Chains Liliana closed her screens and blinked owlishly around. Alistair and Emyr had gotten as close to her branch as they could and were staring intently at her, a weight on her head let her know Nemesis had abandoned her roost to investigate her bonds strange antics and a whining noise from below told her Lelantos was curious as well.

“So you going to tell us why you’ve activated and deactivated your skills about a hundred times and went damn near comatose for three hours?!” Alistair hissed at her, his voice flirting the line between whispering and straight up shouting at her.

“Three hours? Wow,” Liliana hummed as she summoned bread from her storage and bit into it.

A quick check of her Mana and Stamina showed why she was so hungry. Her Mana was down to a third and her Stamina was at a fifth. She’d probably been burning her Mana and Stamina like crazy, playing with her skills and forcing a new ability. Interesting thing to know intense mental focus could burn Stamina as well, but it made sense. Liliana wolfed down an entire loaf of bread and what probably amounted to at least half her weight in jerky and bread before she felt sated enough to answer her brother’s question. She may also have been getting some manner of joy from his progressively more frustrated expression.

“I discovered Chain Combos,” Liliana said quickly, watching Alistair and Emyr intently.

Silas had never talked about Chain Combos in their practices, and Miss. Beckett had never mentioned it either. She wasn’t sure if it was so commonplace, like the Invincible myth, that it was expected she’d already know. Or if it was advanced information she wasn’t supposed to know yet, or worst of all, completely unheard of.

“Yo-You. How? Wha-? Chain Combos?!” Alistair’s voice raised in pitch progressively until he was practically squeaking and Liliana tilted her head curiously. Alistair had a rather expansive vocal range, color her impressed.

“Yes.” Liliana nodded as she relayed a more detailed explanation of events to her Bonds. She sent a record of her memories to them as well, as plain words still tripped both her Bonds up. She could feel them examining the information as new and almost instantly the two went into a meditative state to attempt it themselves.

“That’s supposed to be something we don’t learn until Academy,” Emyr remarked, his voice holding a bit of astonishment, and bemusement, in it. For him, it was the equivalent of shouting in surprise.

“Whoops?“ Liliana said, shrugging, though internally she breathed in relief.

So she didn’t come off as dumb beyond saving, nor as some kind of prodigy inventor. Chain Combos existed and were known, just an advanced ability. Liliana could understand why others didn’t come upon it naturally. She’d had to pull a lot of knowledge from the game and Earth to make it function. And even then, it had taken her hours to achieve. She couldn’t imagine those without her knowledge coming upon it easily.

“‘Whoops’, she says. Whoops, like she’d just accidentally tipped over a glass. Not achieving an ability, that’s one of the hidden secrets of the Academy,” Alistair grumbled as he rubbed his face roughly.

“Wait, it’s only known in the Academy?” Liliana asked, fear replacing relief. Oh, that could be bad.

“No, it’s just a selling point. Typically, it’s taught to higher ranked officers in the military as well. Other lands have it too, but none make it common knowledge. Though I suppose technically anyone could stumble upon it, and some classes seem to unlock it easier than others,” Emyr explained and Liliana deflated a bit, though she still felt wary. She hadn’t meant to uncover a state secret, she just wanted to clean up her skill sheet!

“It’s starting,” a voice called out to them and the teens froze. Almost immediately, Liliana’s discovery was forgotten as they turned their heads towards the sleeping village. It was time to see if Liliana’s idea would save the lives she hoped it would.

Nemesis Stat Sheets:

Status Sheet

Name:

Nemesis

Age:

2

Level:

141

Species:

Dicentra Serpent

Genus:

Flowered Serpent

Rank:

5

Health:

2,000

H-Regen:

+20/1.1sec

Mana:

6,940

M-Regen:

+94.2/1.1sec

Stamina:

1,000

S-Regen:

+10/1.1sec

Magic Power:

7,421

Magic Control:

10,345

Experience: 986,754 /2,016,400

Vitality:

200

Endurance:

100

Strength:

105

Dexterity:

377

Wisdom:

694

Intelligence:

942

Speed:

701

Charisma:

60

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Earth

70%

Dark

57%

Poison

32%

Quintessential Skill

[Vengeance] Lvl 1

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 185

[Garden Song] lvl 175

[Consume] lvl 150

[Tracking] Lvl 145

[Stealth] Lvl 141

[Dodge] Lvl 136

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 134

[Enrage] Lvl 130

[Venom] Lvl 102

[Antidote] Lvl 23

Spells

[Minimize] Lvl 182

[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 173

[Earth Spike] Lvl 157

[Earth Scale] Lvl 156

[Earthquake] Lvl 145

[Shadow Cloak] Lvl 138

[Shadow Wave] lvl 122

[Poison Coat] Lvl 101

[Poison Brand] Lvl 92

[Poison Cloud] Lvl 54

Chapter 69: Named for Death

“I honestly wasn’t sure the plan would work that well,” Alistair said as they stood before row after row of tied up villagers. The sleeping potion was just beginning to wear off of them and some were awakening. Confused mutters and shouts of anger slowly filled the air as more woke up.

“Your faith in me is heartening,” Liliana muttered.

One of her hands was gripped tightly over Nemesis’ summoning stone, where the serpent rested. She’d had to put the serpent in stasis as soon as they got the signal flare that the plan had been completed. She didn’t yet trust the serpent to not go mad when confronted with the murderers who had killed her garden. As it was, Liliana had a tenuous hold on her own anger, fed by memories shared through her bond with Nemesis, and [Empathy] showing her exactly how deep the hurt reached in Nemesis’ heart.

It was only Lelantos’ steadfast bulk at her side that kept her grounded. The tiger wasn’t pleased with the humans either, but he didn’t have the same level of connection to Nemesis that Liliana did. It meant at least one of them was keeping a calm head.

“Considering the last time I saw you make a potion, it blew up. My caution is understandable,” Alistair defended himself. Liliana gave him a droll look. Did he not know failure was the mother of progress?

“I wonder, can you mix potions like that with other abilities?” Emyr asked from the tree branch he was resting on. He was cloaked in shadows, but still visible to those who knew where to look.

“Some, I assume. Wind would be good. Fire for potions meant to explode. Water, of course, is good for it,” Liliana listed off the affinities she could see being immediately useful to mixing with potions.

This entire plan had come from her idea of mixing a Gas affinity with sleeping potions. Gas had been used throughout her world history in wars and riots to subdue opponents. Liliana had simply taken that and mixed it with this world’s magic. Crafting the necessary amount of sleeping potions had been the hard part, but once she got Amelia’s approval for the plan, she’d had more helping hands than she knew what to do with.

When the potions were done, a guard with a Gas affinity had been tasked with spreading the sleeping potion through the air, leaving the village undefended. They’d been lucky a guard with a Gas affinity had been in the group, otherwise they would have poisoned the well, and the chance for an overdose rose in such a scenario. It still would’ve been less loss of life than an actual battle would have been. Still, this way had been the most ideal, and from what Liliana had heard had resulted in no loss of life. A few minor injuries among the villagers from where they’d fallen asleep, but nothing life threatening.

Maybe I should be concerned about introducing a potentially new method of warfare. Though I’m sure there’s some Gas skills that work the same, Liliana mused. At least she hadn’t shown them how to make mustard gas, or something of that nature. Not that she knew how to make it, but she was sure she could make an approximation of it using some potions she did know how to make. Or it could even be done if one mixed Acid and Gas skills together. Liliana shook her head to dismiss the mental images that thought conjured. Best to not encourage anyone towards that, if it hadn’t been yet discovered. This world didn’t have a Geneva Convention as far as she was aware, and she didn’t want to be the reason it needed one.

Liliana, Alistair, and Emyr were close enough to see and hear the villagers, but as out of sight as they could manage. Amelia stood before the captured villagers, Jason beside her and more guards behind her. The rest of the guards surrounded the villagers, hands on weapons and ready to act if any of the villagers seemed apt to break out.

From what Liliana knew, all the villagers had been dosed with an additional potion, one meant to lock them from their System abilities. It would last for a week, unless they were given an antidote beforehand. The ropes binding the villagers were also reinforced, so it would take someone of Rank 4 or higher to break them. The guards had come prepared, far more prepared than Liliana had originally expected. Though she should have, the guards would’ve known how many villagers were here and had likely been provisioned with enough to handle them all.

“I ask you again, name the ones among you who have broken the laws of this land,” Amelia called out when it seemed the majority of the villagers had awoken. Her voice rose above the shouts of anger and confusion and quieted the crowd of prisoners.

“You said we had a week!” a voice called out. Liliana’s eyes traced over the faces until she found the one to have spoken. Henry Maddock, the headman of the village.

“So I did, and you had your week.” Amelia responded, her voice even and emotionless.

Liliana’s fingers tightened over the summoning stone in her hand. That had been part of their plan as well. Amelia had been steadfast in sticking to her word. So they hadn’t started the plan until after midnight of the day the villagers were to hand over the list of names. Based on what the scouts had told them, the villagers were not planning on handing over the list. It wasn’t a unanimous decision, but it was a majority one.

“Now you can give us the names, and those not part of the crime will be released to continue their lives as normal. Taxes will be increased for the village for five years and after that the crimes of those who sat by and did not stop their fellows from desecrating this land, and who did not immediately report this lawbreaking to their liege lady, will be cleared. Or if no names are given, all over the age of 16 will be brought to the city to face trial and execution. It is for you to decide,” Amelia informed the villagers. Voices immediately began to rise amongst the prisoners, shouts and yells and curses overlapping until it was nothing but a wave of discordant noise.

Liliana watched, shifting her weight as she struggled to control her tongue and temper. Her need for justice, for vengeance, warred with her abhorrence of taking human life. She knew the people here had done wrong, evil things. Fueled by grief and fear, they’d murdered innocent creatures. Yet some part of Liliana still feared being responsible for more deaths.

Her modern sensibilities were fighting with what was seen as right in this world. In her previous world, she’d never seen someone killed, not for justice or any other reason. Oh, she’d seen people die, their life drained from them by illnesses that obeyed no man nor god. But that was different. In her world, even killing those who had done awful, horrendous things was seen as unacceptable in some places. Here, it was more common. Keeping people imprisoned who had the power of the System behind them was costly and dangerous.

She understood why it had to happen, why they had to die. But she didn’t like it. Even while part of her cried for the blood of those who had murdered her bond’s family. Liliana was no longer entirely certain which choice was the right one. Was it following through with what her heart demanded? Seeing those who had so greatly sinned die by an executioner’s axe? Or was it to pardon them, leave their lives intact while they rotted away in a dungeon, their lives funded by law-abiding citizens’ taxes? Why should they be granted life when they had denied that to others?

Liliana’s eyes slid to Alistair, who was watching on with a grim face. His hands were fisted at his sides and Liliana could see the dark circles under his eyes. She could consider the morality of this situation for days, but she’d never be the one who held the final decision in her hands. She’d never shoulder that burden, never would she bear the weight of deaths meted out by justice. But Alistair would. One day this would be his choice to make, his cross to bear. The blood would never rest on her hands, but it would stain his.

He’s only fourteen, and he has to already face this. Fuck, I’m only sixteen and I’ve already had to kill grown men. In my world, the worst thing normal kids our age have to care about is if they have a pop quiz in algebra. Here we have to face the fact that one day we may hold lives in our hands. We have to worry if tomorrow will bring a monster too strong to fight, or a group of brigands more cunning than we. Liliana shivered at the thoughts and leaned further into Lelantos, seeking the comfort the tiger offered her. In many ways, her last life, while darkened with death’s inevitable specter, was far easier than this one.

“I won’t die and leave my boys without a mother, Henry! I’m sorry you lost your boys but I won’t make mine lose their ma!” a voice shouted out over the sounds of villagers arguing and shouting abuse at the guards. Amelia motioned with a hand and the woman who had shouted was led from the group by a guard.

“I’ll tell you who had a hand in that night, just please. Let me live. My boys need their ma. They’re only 14 and 15, too young to be left alone,” the woman begged Amelia as she dropped to her knees. Amelia nodded at her and tilted her head. The same guard helped the woman to her feet and led her to Amelia’s tent.

“Congratulations, it looks like today we won’t be removing Timberborn from the maps,” Amelia informed the assembled villagers before turning on her heels and stalking to the tent. She paused by Alistair and motioned for him to follow. Alistair took a deep breath and followed her, though Liliana saw how his hands shook.

Liliana looked towards Emyr, and as one, they moved to follow the group to Amelia’s tent. No one tried to stop them and Lelantos curled up outside as Liliana and Emyr slipped into the tent. They settled towards the back of the tent, mostly out of sight in the hopes if they were quiet enough, Amelia wouldn’t shoo them off.

“What’s your name, for the record?” Amelia asked the woman once everyone was settled. Another guard had several pieces of parchment spread on a desk, quill held up and ready to begin recording what the woman said.

“Agatha Reed, ma’am,” the woman responded. The sound of a quill scratching parchment filled the air.

“You said you would give us a list of names of those who participated in the murder of,” Amelia checked a piece of paper, “28 full grown Flowered Serpents, 8 juveniles, 10 serpentlings and 12 eggs?” Liliana sucked in air at the numbers being listed. One of the guards who had gone with her to find Nemesis must have recorded the remains. The numbers somehow both felt like far too many, and far too little to fully describe the horrors she’d seen.

“I-yes,” Agatha said, her voice more subdued after hearing the full extend of what had been done.

“Then please begin,” Amelia nodded at her and Agatha took a deep breath before names started to fall off her lips. At first it was slow, as if she was forcing them out of her mouth. But slowly she picked up speed as if she was trying to get this over with. Tears ran down the woman’s face, but she didn’t pause or stop her stream of names.

Liliana pulled her knees to her chest as the list of names grew and grew. Would there be a Timberborn left after all of these people were taken? It felt like Agatha would never stop until silence filled the air after the last name. Only the scratching of a quill and quiet sobs filled the tent as Agatha wept for the men and women she’d just condemned to death.

“Thank you. I’ll need you to read over the list and confirm the names and that none were missed,” Amelia informed the woman, and Agatha nodded miserably.

“I’d like to have one more person to verify the names are correct and to add any you may have missed, do you know someone from the village who would be inclined to confirm your list?” Amelia asked and Agatha sucked in a shuddering breath.

“Sarah, her girl is seventeen. She won’t want to lose her and she’ll talk,” Agatha whispered, and Amelia motioned to a guard to find the woman in question.

“Thank you for what you’ve done, Agatha. It was very brave.” Amelia’s tone was softer now as she looked at the woman.

“Don’t want your thanks. I hate you as much as the rest of them. But I know better than to try to fight the duke’s men. I want to see my boys grow up, marry and have little ones of their own. Don’t think I’m doing this for some sense of ‘justice’ or loyalty. The plague may have taken our children, but you’re going to take the last bit of life we had left. You’ve made a murderer of me, but I’m doing it for my boys. What’s your excuse?” Agatha spat, words full of venom and hate.

“You may not see it, but I’m doing it for the good of the Rosengarde territory. Without order, we would descend into chaos. Laws must be obeyed, and when they are broken, punishments must be handed out,” Amelia explained, though it was clear Agatha heard none of it, but Liliana didn’t think the words were meant for her. The words were meant for Alistair, who had gone pale at Agatha’s words. Amelia was trying to remove some of his guilt, guilt Liliana couldn’t help but share. For once, she thought she could easily understand what her stepbrother was thinking.

If they were doing the right thing, why did it feel so awful?

Chapter 70: Just Because It Looks Edible Doesn't Mean It Is

Liliana swung her bare feet in the water, watching with a detached sort of interest as ripples exploded on the still surface of the lake and flooded out. One hand stroked sun warmed scales as she considered the screens before her. It wasn’t the first time she’d looked at Nemesis’ stats and skills, but they never stopped being shocking. She’d thought Lelantos was strong, but he didn’t hold a candle to a creature fifty levels ahead and named to boot. She knew Lelantos would eventually have similarly daunting stats when he got his next Rank up. Bonded creatures got the same benefits as named wild beasts on their Rank ups. It was an additional benefit of bonding with a human.

Status Sheet

Name:

Nemesis

Age:

2

Level:

141

Species:

Dicentra Serpent

Genus:

Flowered Serpent

Rank:

5

Health:

2,000

H-Regen:

+20/1.1sec

Mana:

6,940

M-Regen:

+94.2/1.1sec

Stamina:

1,000

S-Regen:

+10/1.1sec

Magic Power:

7,421

Magic Control:

10,345

Experience: 986,754 /2,016,400

Vitality:

200

Endurance:

100

Strength:

105

Dexterity:

377

Wisdom:

694

Intelligence:

942

Speed:

701

Charisma:

60

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Earth

70%

Dark

57%

Poison

32%

Quintessential Skill

[Vengeance] Lvl 1

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 185

[Garden Song] lvl 175

[Consume] lvl 150

[Tracking] Lvl 145

[Stealth] Lvl 141

[Dodge] Lvl 136

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 134

[Enrage] Lvl 130

[Venom] Lvl 102

[Antidote] Lvl 23

Spells

[Minimize] Lvl 182

[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 173

[Earth Spike] Lvl 157

[Earth Scale] Lvl 156

[Earthquake] Lvl 145

[Shadow Cloak] Lvl 138

[Shadow Wave] lvl 122

[Poison Coat] Lvl 101

[Poison Brand] Lvl 92

[Poison Cloud] Lvl 54

Liliana had combed over Nemesis’ skills, especially interested by [Vengeance]. She brought it up again just to re-familiarize herself with the words.

Vengeance: Dark, Poison.

The hate in you floods your veins like the poison in your fangs. It coats your body and surrounds you in a deadly miasma within a thirty-foot radius. Your poison seeks out those who have hurt you, clinging to them like their sins. Any touched by your poison will take damage equal to 70% of your Magical Power every 5 seconds.

Mana: 5,500 Duration: 1 Minute

Cool Down: 28 Hours

As with many Poison skills and spells, it was a damage over time. Though Liliana couldn’t imagine many beings that could survive that level of damage for the minute, it took the skill to run its course. It was a strong, and expensive, ability. For good reason, it was a fight ending ability. Much as any ultimate skill was supposed to be.

Looking over it, Liliana found herself thinking how she would’ve handled such a skill in a boss in the game. She’d probably have a tank testing the boundaries of the skill. All skills had a radius they operated within. She’d have a healer focused on healing the tank while the tank tested out and found the boundaries, then they’d wait out the time limit to find its parameters. Then she’d restart the game and try the fight again.

A skill like this was deadly as a surprise attack, and in any kind of close range situation. But once you knew its radius and time limit, it became easy enough to use the tank and healer combo to hold attention while your ranged members sat at a safe distance and whittled the boss down.

Looking over the rest of Nemesis’ skills, Liliana got a feeling such a maneuver wouldn’t be entirely successful, though. Nemesis had two different reinforcement abilities. Which would make many ranged attackers ineffective against her, at least long enough for the aggro to swap. Then the focus would turn to the ranged members and with the serpent’s Speed, Liliana could see a full party wipe happening easily enough.

“You’re a mage killer,” Liliana murmured thoughtfully.

She doubted that had been the serpent’s intent, it was obvious that her intent was to give herself enough staying power to survive against the many high-level villagers while her poison drained their lives. But in a party situation, Nemesis would be a good fit for a ranged and mage killer. With a stat distribution that would imply a magical rogue, and skills and spells that would cover her if the ranged or mages turned on her. She also had the raw damage to end them before they could get through her defenses and do damage to her rather low Vitality.

“You’ll be weak to anyone faster than you, or who has more Endurance than you have Mana. But in a good party, you shouldn’t have to deal with either of those scenarios. Using your [Stealth] and [Minimize] you can sneak behind their front line and then wreak havoc on their back-line before the tank can switch his focus.” Liliana continued on. Nemesis raised her head, turning magenta eyes to her Bond. A forked tongue stuck out and tickled across Liliana’s palm.

“Lelantos is flashy, and strong enough to hold another tank’s focus for a while. And I have the Speed and Stamina to provide backup to either of you in most scenarios. I do best if I’m moving fast, striking and darting off to hit another target. With you two, it should make it far easier to accomplish it,” Liliana tapped her free hand against her lip. The three of them would be a good team. They still had some gaps that needed to be filled, but Liliana was becoming more optimistic. They needed a ranged fighter, and a healer for sure. Another adaptable fighter like her, a rogue or some such, would probably work well.

Liliana knew right now Emyr took the role of a fill in damage dealer, having crowd control and rogue like abilities. But she didn’t want to depend on him or Alistair all the time. Once they got to Academy if it followed the game there would be individual quests, or she supposed they’d call them assignments, they’d need to complete.

Anything from helping build a new village to clearing a mine of monsters. Later in the Academy, she’d even gotten quests for spying and infiltration in other countries. Some quests let you use a party, others had restrictions where you couldn’t bring anyone with you or you could only bring one or two others with you. It was only the later, and far more dangerous and story connected quests that let you bring a full party. Or dungeons.

However, Liliana felt being bonded would be a pretty loophole for her. Her Bonds were considered a part of her, as much as her weapons or equipment in the eyes of the queendom. They could as much restrict her Bonds as they could require her to leave her clothes behind. It excited it her, the competitive part of her. It would mean she could easily blitz her way through quests given as she’d always have at least two others with her.

Could mean they give me more difficult quests too, for balance, Liliana considered with a frown. She wouldn’t mind it, but she’d also like if something in her life was easy for once. Liliana shook her head. The Academy was over a year and a half away and she had more important problems to focus on right now. Liliana held out her wrist to Nemesis with a grimace. She really hated doing this, but she didn’t have many other choices.

“Let’s go again,” Liliana said.

Nemesis looked at her, concern clear in her reptilian eyes. Liliana sent a wave of assurance through their bond. Nemesis didn’t enjoy doing this, but she understood why. It was far easier to explain more abstract concepts to Nemesis than it was Lelantos, whether that was because of her higher level, extra evolution, or her higher Intelligence stat, Liliana wasn’t sure. But Nemesis could understand that Liliana was at risk of being poisoned at home, and needed to be able to protect herself from it. Nemesis opened her mouth, fangs descending. Quick as lightning, the serpent struck out, fangs sinking deep into Liliana’s wrists.

Fire burned up Liliana’s arm, and she hissed in pain. She could feel the poison racing through her system, and her body shook. Air became more difficult to take into her lungs and a poisoned indicator popped up next to her Health, which was ticking down slowly even with her regeneration. Liliana watched her health carefully, even as her body began to shake harder and she began to pant in short, gasping breaths. When she deemed her Health had dropped far enough, Liliana activated [Regeneration] and nodded at Nemesis. The snake bit her again, this time filling her with the antidote.

[Poison Resistance] has reached level 30!

[Pain Resistance] has reached level 55!

Liliana smiled at the notification. They’d been doing this for the past few days, typically only once a day or so. It had taken a bit to convince Nemesis to purposely hurt her, and in the beginning the gains had been slow because Nemesis would use such a weak poison it barely even registered. She’d gotten better about gauging how strong her poison needed to be to actually help Liliana. It was part of why Liliana wanted to do this with Nemesis as opposed to making her own poisons.

She wasn’t familiar with making poisons, and there was a chance she’d accidentally poison herself past the point of being able to heal. Nemesis also had an antidote to her own venom, which lowered the risk even more. She was told to use it when Liliana gave the signal, or if Liliana fell into a seizure, an occasional side effect of Nemesis’ poison.

Still, Liliana didn’t think she’d be able to overcome any truly dangerous venoms or poisons yet. But she’d get there. She just hoped she got there before the system slowed down levels for [Poison Resistance] from the continuous use of a single poison, or her stepmother tried her original trick again.

Liliana shook off the last few tremors in her fingers as her Health climbed back to full. She gave Nemesis a scratch under her chin, sending a wave of approval over their bond to reassure the serpent. A rustling behind them announced Lelantos’ arrival, and the pair turned to look. Lelantos was dragging a large, dead reptile in his jaw, tail raised proudly behind him. Liliana gave him a smile as he dropped the corpse at the bottom of the rock she was currently sitting on.

“Another Razortooth?” Liliana asked, though she didn’t need to. It was the third he’d brought to her today, the lake they were at was apparently a spawning ground for them.

She’d spotted a few, her [Identify] letting her know they ranged between level 90 and 110. They kept their distance, seeing or sensing Nemesis beside her. Liliana might be a tempting snack for them, but not when there was a guaranteed chance of pissing off something that could make a meal of them. However, they made for good training for Lelantos, who seemed to be more focused than ever on leveling. In the week since they’d left Timberborn, he set off almost as soon as Liliana released him from his summoning stone to hunt and level.

Liliana let him level, knowing he was measuring himself against Nemesis and saw himself as lacking. She made sure to show him she loved and was proud of him, no matter his level. But she approved of his leveling. The stronger he was, the stronger she was in turn. He was more comfortable leaving her side now too, with Nemesis always wrapped around her arm or neck, or tangled in her hair like a living ornament.

Liliana stretched, resembling her feline Bond a bit, as she relished the warm sunlight on her skin. She wasn’t sure how much being bonded changed the person, but she had noticed she had more energy towards the night, and enjoyed napping in the sunlight. It was something to keep in mind, but nothing that concerned her. Liliana removed her feet from the water and slid down the rock, coming to a crouch next to the body of the Razortooth. Summoning her skinning knife, she got to work. Soon enough the Razortooth was skinned, its important organs and skin in her storage bracelet. She held the core in her hand and turned it over, an idea forming in her mind.

“You two use [Consume] to eat the cores of other monsters, and you get some experience from that, right?” Liliana asked her Bonds, sending her question through their bond as well. She got mixed affirmatives from them, more a feeling of how the skill worked when the two of them used it.

Activating [Borrow] Liliana grabbed [Consume] from Nemesis, as the serpent had a higher level in the skill. Activating the skill, Liliana looked at the core and focused on absorbing it. When that didn’t work, she frowned.

“I’m going to have to try and eat this, aren’t I?” Liliana asked no one in particular. The core was the size of two of her fists together. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but she brought the core to her mouth with [Consume] still active. As the core touched her lips, it seemed to condense until she could get it into her mouth, where it felt like it melted. Her mouth filled with a taste of water and mud. She quickly swallowed the less than delectable liquid in her mouth. Gagging quietly, Liliana focused on the feeling that filled her. It was as if she’d just absorbed essence from a defeated creature, but it came from inside her.

You’ve gained 5,000 experience from consuming a level 100 Razortooth core!

+7,500 experience for consuming a core from a creature more than 30 levels above you!

+6,250 experience from Boon.

You’ve leveled up to level 70!

Liliana perked up at the notifications. The experience hadn’t been very much, but it had pushed her over the edge to level 70. Liliana felt excitement as she thought of the ways she could use this to further supplement her leveling. Her thoughts stopped as pain rammed into her, forcing her to double over as her stomach tied itself into knots. It felt like her stomach was dissolving, leaking caustic liquid into her body and slowly liquifying her from the inside out.

Warning! You’ve just consumed a Mana Core. Your body currently can not digest such an object. You’ve been poisoned.

Liliana hissed at the new notification flashing before her eyes. She dropped to her knees and hunched over her stomach. She’d had food poisoning before in her last life and she’d say this felt at least four times worse than that.

“Fuck you System, fuck you Vita. Fuck everything that is a part of this,” Liliana grit out between clenched teeth as her stomach rolled. She barely had time to uncurl and get her head pointed in another direction before the remains of the Mana core and her lunch came back up. Liliana coughed and retched until she was certain she had vomited up her stomach itself at some point.

Liliana fell onto her back as the last of the dry heaves stopped. The cool grass felt like heaven against her fevered skin. She could see her Health was dropping down, a poisoned indicator mocking her. She activated [Regeneration] for the second time that day.

A concerned whine from her side drew her tired eyes, and she saw Lelantos laying next to her, his tail lashing behind him. He nosed her and Liliana sent a small wave of comfort over their bond. A hiss in her ear told her that Nemesis had joined her at some point, but she wasn’t sure when. She noted her hair was out of her face, and had been for some time. The serpent must have used her body to pull the locks out of Liliana’s face as she suffered the consequences of her own actions.

Summoning a healing potion, a mid-tier one, Liliana raised it to her lips with shaking hands and managed to get it down. Her stomach almost rebelled against the potion, but she thankfully kept it down. Her Health began to regenerate faster than the poison ticked it down, but the poison still stayed active.

“Nemesis, bite,” Liliana croaked out past acid dried lips. Nemesis immediately complied, and it was evidence of how much pain she was still in that having two fangs buried in her neck didn’t even register to her. Liliana wasn’t sure if Nemesis’ antidote would do much to help her, but it couldn’t make things worse.

Liliana wasn’t sure how long they laid there, her groaning and curling up as waves of cramps passed through her. She knew she was fevered, and her mind was blurry from pain or poison, she wasn’t sure. It was all she could do to remember to drink a health potion every now and again when her Health dipped too low. Nemesis’ antidote either did nothing, or did so little it was negligible.

Eventually, when the sun was brushing the tops of the trees, the poisoned debuff faded and Liliana’s Health finally ticked up to full. Liliana groaned. Her body felt sore in ways she didn’t think were possible and she knew she was coated in a thick layer of sweat. Slowly sitting up, Liliana leaned heavily on Lelantos, letting the tiger pull her to her feet. Her Stamina was completely drained, and she pulled herself onto Lelantos’ back with the last bit of energy she had.

At least they were close to the camp, no further than a screams distance. Amelia had just removed her shadow bodyguard, but Liliana had a feeling after this the woman may very well chain her to the carriage to watch her.

At least I probably got more levels in [Poison Resistance]. Liliana thought wryly, though she didn’t have the energy to check as Lelantos began slowly padding to the camp.

Chapter 71: I Hate Horde Monsters

Liliana looked at herself in the mirror, fingering the tattoo on her collarbones. The ink for this one was glimmering white and pink, with occasional green and brown mixing in with it. Around her collarbones, circling her neck and then dropping down towards her sternum, sat a serpent, its elegant coils and inked scales standing out against golden skin.

Liliana did not often stare at herself in a mirror, less so while out on this trip, but when she hadn’t been able to locate the new tattoo easily, she’d used a mirror to find it. It seemed almost poetic that the place where the pendant had sat now sported the tattoo of her Bond, as if protecting her from such things.

Liliana straightened her clothes, hiding part of the tattoo under hardened leather. Her hair was tied up in as tight a braid as she could manage on her own. Nemesis sat in her hair, the snake’s favorite place to rest now. When she was particularly still, the snake appeared to be nothing more than a vine with a flower resting on it. Liliana suspected that this was how many flowered serpents avoided notice, disguising themselves among flowers and undergrowth from searching eyes.

Liliana turned and exited her tent, stretching a bit under the light of the sun. A bored guard was sitting by the entrance to her tent, though Liliana had a feeling the boredom was a ruse. She had yet to escape from the man’s ‘protection’ even when she’d borrowed [Vanish] from Lelantos. She’d been right. After her misguided attempt to eat a Mana core left her sick for two days, Amelia had placed a guard back on her.

Liliana was just glad the woman still allowed her to leave the camp to level. Liliana wasn’t sure if it was because the sergeant was sure that Liliana would be safe with a guard and Nemesis looking after her, or if she wanted to avoid the chance of Nemesis eating one of the prisoners.

Thinking of the prisoners, Liliana’s eyes darted to look in the direction of them. They were kept chained up, and she knew what little food they were given included the same potion that restricted their access to skills and spells. Their going was far slower now, with the prisoners being tugged along after them. Many had high levels, but it didn’t mean all, or even many, of them had put points into Speed. Thankfully, they only had to see them to the closest city, Ariowood, then they could go back to the same clip as before. But it would take probably three weeks total to get to Ariowood at their speed. Liliana didn’t know if she was grateful or not.

The longer they were away, the longer before she had to deal with her stepmother. But traveling with the prisoners kept bringing up a confusing mix of emotions in her. Hatred, she hated every last one of them for what they’d done. Pity, sadness, those two were harder to handle for her. She felt wrong for pitying them, but wrong too for hating them. It felt wrong to so strongly wish for the death of so many when she couldn‘t even level the same amount of hate for her own stepmother. And the wish for someone else’s’ death felt villianous, and with her most recent experiences, Liliana was scared more than ever of straying down that path.

But did people who had murdered innocent, intelligent creatures deserve clemency? Did people like that deserve her pity? Liliana couldn’t say, and she did what she usually did when she had to confront the endless questions she couldn’t answer regarding morality. She shoved them to the back of her mind, locking them in a box.

Liliana turned her body, so she didn’t see the prisoners at all, even if she could still hear their voices on the cold autumn wind. She strode towards the thick forest that she was becoming more and more familiar with. It seemed other than the farmland and settled areas, most of the Rosengarde territory was forested. It was one thing though to see that on a map, another thing altogether to see it herself. To see endless armies of trees huddled together like soldiers on a battlefield. Towering far above her as they disguised untold monsters beneath their boughs.

“No Lelantos again?” Alistair asked as he joined her from his own tent, Emyr his ever present shadow.

“No, he’s hunting stronger prey, and doesn't want to share the experience with us,” Liliana responded with a smirk.

“Like mistress like beast,” Alistair teased, and Liliana rolled her eyes. It was well known Liliana disliked sharing her experience with anyone, even if she understood the value of having others with her.

Liliana waved at a few guards who called out to her as they passed the tent line. Overall, the guards seemed far more comfortable with her. The regular game nights had done much to build a relationship between noble and guards. The nights were a bit more subdued now as the guards were tired, though. More of them than ever had to be on watch because of the amount of prisoners they were transporting.

“Lelantos found some Flying Squirrels when he was hunting. They were too low for him to be interested but should be in our range,” Liliana told the boys as they slipped into the forest. Liliana couldn’t hear her babysitter behind them, but she knew he was around. He always was.

“Horde monsters? I hate horde monsters,” Alistair grumbled, though he could’ve also been upset by having to navigate the forest in plate armor. Stealth was out of the question, with him clanking and cursing every other step.

“It’s good experience, and they’re usually individually weak,” Liliana shrugged. Flying Squirrels weren’t very frightening creatures on their own. They weren’t smart and had trash Vitality as an almost rule. But in a group, they could tear someone apart. With three people fighting them, some of their benefit of being in a horde decreased, though.

“Well, there are also some living trees…” Liliana trailed off.

“Flying Squirrels it is,” Alistair hastened to cut off that idea.

Liliana snorted and shook her head. That was not a surprise. Living trees were troublesome to fight. Their bark was usually reinforced by Earth if you were lucky. Metal if you weren’t. They also had Nature affinities one and all, and Life as well. Meaning they could have you trussed up in seconds. If you managed to avoid getting trapped, good luck doing any damage, and if you did, it would probably be healed before you got a second hit in.

Fire or Poison was the best way to deal with them, with Poison being far less effective. For Poison to work, you had to get it into the tree, which meant being able to damage it enough to pass the bark or getting its roots to drink it. Fire was far superior for handling them, as you could keep the fire on the tree until it burnt past its defenses and continued to burn the tree, hopefully doing more damage than it healed. With none of them having a Fire affinity, it was a pointless endeavor. They’d waste hours trying to kill one when they could’ve gotten more experience fighting easier prey.

“What affinities does this flock have?” Emyr asked.

“Wind and Dark,” Liliana answered, summoning her naginata. She sliced through branches and brush blocking their way.

Maybe I should get Fire for my next affinity. It’s a fairly powerful element, and it could make getting through woods like this less of a hassle, Liliana thought as she sliced through more branches. Fire and Wind went well together as elements, and Fire had a few combinations with her current affinities she wouldn’t mind having. Combustion and Lightning were powerful offensive affinities.

Wind overall worked best with her current affinities, and Liliana knew she’d have to settle on which affinities she wanted to focus on for combat, eventually. Wind, and its sub affinity Sound, were almost too perfect for a Dancer class like hers. Light had been working for her but it would fall off before long as far as offensive capabilities went, and she’d need someone to take its place. Fire would be a good replacement.

Or Death, Liliana thought. A subset of Life magic Death magic was meant for little more than what it stated. The ending of life. It would require more focus on Life magic, and trying to twist Life magic to do harm, rather than to heal it, to get a Death affinity. From what Liliana had read, Death was a hard affinity to get, and an even more difficult one to raise.

Apparently the System gave Death spells and skills very rarely. From her memory of the game, it had been the affinity with the least amount of classes or abilities attached to it. It was strong, but many saw it as pointless when there were other affinities with more abilities connected to them that could do as much damage. Then there was the social opinion of a Death affinity. Liliana couldn’t even name a single person she’d seen who had such an affinity. Or at least not one who had a class affected by the affinity.

“How much further? I’m getting tired of walking in brambles,” Alistair asked, and Liliana looked around, trying to match it up to the mind pictures Lelantos had sent.

“Shouldn’t be much further,” she said. For a bit longer, they walked in quiet, only the sounds of fall leaves crunching underfoot and the clanking of Alistair’s armor surrounding them. Birds called abuse at them as they walked, upset at the presence of strange threats in their woods.

A rush of wind and a hiss from Nemesis were the only warning Liliana got before a furred body launched itself at them.

1st Combo. Liliana thought. Power filled her as three abilities activated rapid fire. Liliana’s arm and weapon blurred as it swung through the air, the blade sinking into flesh and carving through the Flying Squirrel with little effort.

“Found them,” Emyr called out, his voice sarcastic. Alistair rushed ahead of Liliana, summoning his shield and sword as he did. Golden light surrounded him, illuminating the delicate gold runes etched into his silver armor.

“Nemesis, if you’d be so kind?” Liliana asked, holding her blade close to her head.

The serpent detangled herself partially from Liliana’s hair and leaned towards the blade, her fangs descending. Venom poured out of them, coating Liliana’s blade in the deadly clear liquid. Her job done, Nemesis burrowed back into Liliana’s hair. She’d stay there unless they got overwhelmed. From previous experiments, Liliana knew Nemesis coating her weapon in poison wouldn’t result in any essence being transmitted to the snake. She had to actually actively participate in the fight to gain anything.

A gust of wind buffeted the trio and Liliana squinted her eyes, activating [War Maiden’s Waltz] and [Dancing Doubles]. Illusions of her popped up and Liliana sent them to range around them, hopefully drawing some of the Flying Squirrels to them.

Chittering cries filled the air, and the wind got stronger. Liliana dug her feet in as she looked around them, seeing leaves and branches twisting and turning around silver furry bodies. She identified the ones she could, getting back a range of levels between 72 and 84 from what few she could focus on long enough to get the information. Their small bodies moved too fast for her to successfully identify them all, but she disregarded it. Their levels were as Lelantos had relayed, and all within a good range for her to fight.

“Alistair!” Liliana shouted. Light flashed as her brother yelled a challenge to the nuisances. The wind faltered as some of the Flying Squirrels fell under the taunt and turned to attack her brother.

Liliana missed Lelantos’ [Bestial Roar] at that moment. The wind was still buffeting them and Liliana knew other skills were mixed in with it, invisible blades made of air slicing into her clothes and bits of skin they could reach. Liliana felt a bit of nostalgia, remembering a similar fight with an oversize Horned Hare that had a fairly similar fighting style.

Enough of this, Liliana thought. She darted off towards the edge of the tornado they were trapped in. Her blade swung through the air, little more than a blur trailing blood as it connected and sheared through a body. There were still so many of them flitting around them, buffetings them with wind and shadows.

Wish I had more arms and blades right about now, Liliana thought as she struck again, felling another Flying Squirrel, but the wind did not die down. There were too many Flying Squirrels left to pour their Mana into the spell.

“Emyr, can you do anything about this?” Liliana shouted out over the rushing wind. She got no verbal answer, but shadows popped up all around them, grasping and twisting. Other shadows appeared, fighting the ones trying to hold down the fast moving fliers. The wind faltered though as more Flying Squirrels were distracted by the new threat.

Lights popped up around Liliana as she swung her naginata at the wind wall trapping them. Another body hit the ground as [Light Barrage] darted off. Some balls of light found bodies to hit, others struck trees or brush and fizzled out. Screeching cries filled the air as the Light skill injured but didn’t quite kill. The wind died down more.

“Some help over here!” Alistair called out and Liliana whirled, [Leap] already active and sending her across the fight to her brother’s side before she fully formed a thought. He was practically covered in a coat of Flying Squirrels, all of them trying to rip the tank apart. Liliana landed and moved, dancing around her brother in a blur of blood and death as her naginata sang in the air. Bodies dropped off of her brother like rain.

Alistair finished the last of the ones on him off with a pulse of light. Liliana nodded at her brother before darting off, more lights trailing her in a morbid procession of death. Lights shot out and hit more bodies, enraged chitters and screeches announcing that the Flying Squirrels were just about done with her light shows. The surrounding wind died off completely as the horde gathered together, furry bodies a shifting sea of silver.

“Alistair!” Liliana barked out, her brother responded with another aggro generating skill, an aura of Light surrounding him.

Most of the remaining flock of Flying Squirrels called out their war-cries and shot at her brother. The few who had not fallen under her brother’s skill turned to her. Liliana braced herself, spinning her naginata before her as they screeched and charged at her. Bodies flying or jumping from branch to branch in the surrounding trees.

A dark blur appeared from the shadows, tendrils of darkness coming off of him like tentacles as they grabbed and ripped into Flying Squirrels, a thin blade appearing only long enough to vanish in a blur of darkness and steel as it plunged into furred bodies. Liliana rolled her eyes at the unnecessary assist before she engaged the Flying Squirrels herself. She danced through the enraged creatures, spinning and twisting in a dance of death. Her blade was ever moving, blocking one body flinging itself at her with her shaft before turning to decapitate another opponent.

Her feet danced over dropped bodies and blood slicked leaves, finding purchase wherever she stepped. Flying Squirrels were only dangerous if they could bog her down and overwhelm her, so she kept herself moving, pushing the limits of her Speed to avoid their attacks and attempts to pull her down. She bent and twisted her body, ducking to dodge a skill, jumping over a charging grounded squirrel, twirling around a flurry of spells, ignoring the few hits that got through her evasive fighting style. Flying Squirrels dropped from the air around her as she twirled and swung, her blade a deadly partner that wrought death wherever it moved.

Liliana’s carefully choreographed battle ballet brought her to her stepbrother’s side as she finished off the Flying Squirrels that had targeted her. With the three of them focusing on the remaining horde, it took them no time at all to finish off the last of the Flying Squirrels.

When the last of the creatures dropped to the ground, dead, Liliana swung her weapon with force, shaking off most of the blood that had coated it. Liliana turned off her active abilities as she looked around them. There had to be thirty dead bodies lying around them, and she almost instantly regretted the choice to fight a horde. There would be so many bodies to skin.

Liliana sighed deeply as she looked over herself. She was coated in blood, and she’d been hit with Wind abilities so much her clothes were still in the process of repairing holes and slashes across her. Her Health was climbing back up and as the adrenaline faded, Liliana felt like she’d suffered a thousand paper cuts across her body, all of them stinging and smarting as they healed.

“I hate horde creatures,” Alistair complained as he put away his weapons. His own armor was soaked in blood and what little bit of skin not covered by armor was also covered in cuts.

“Same,” Liliana responded as she activated [Healing Harmony] and [Regeneration]. Hoping to eke out some more levels for the healing skills. Sighs of relief filled the air as cuts healed faster and soon they were all healed up, if still covered in blood. Liliana looked at the bodies and her sigh turned to one of resignation.

“Best start skinning these things,” she said, earning grumbles from Alistair and a muttered curse from Emyr.

Chapter 72: A Contingency Plan

Liliana finished tying her hair up, Nemesis slithering up her neck and into the nest made of braids and thick hair to take her typical place. Despite the slowly lowering temperatures outside, the serpent still preferred to be out of her summoning stone and close to Liliana at all times. Liliana was beginning to suspect that Lelantos had been regaling the serpent with tales of assassin attempts in the dark of the night. However, it could also be a result of Nemesis’ own experiences with losing her family, and her wish to not lose her new family in the same way. Whatever the cause, the serpent insisted she be close to Liliana, even if she disliked the cold.

Running her hands over her clothes, Liliana straightened a few pieces. She was in her leathers, a few extra layers added to ward against the growing cold. Her newest tattoo was hidden beneath a furred scarf. For a moment, Liliana met her own eyes in the mirror, eyes that looked far too old to belong in such a young-looking face gazed back at her. Sadness and darkness lurked in the shining blue depths and Liliana dragged her gaze away and stood.

Liliana turned and exited her room in the inn they were staying in. It had taken them three weeks to get to Ariowood, where they had offloaded the prisoners to the city’s jail. Liliana was sure more had been done, but she had neither been invited to listen in nor had she wanted to. Her feelings regarding the prisoners were a confusing mix she didn’t enjoy thinking of. Hate, pity and guilt had twisted together whenever she thought of the residents of Timberborn. Hate, strong and bloodthirsty for what they’d done to innocent, intelligent beings, for the pain they’d caused her precious Bond. Pity for their inevitable deaths, the law was clear what their sentence would be. Guilt for feeling hatred for them, for wishing for their deaths. Guilt for feeling pity for those who had shown no mercy to others, who had let their grief and superstition rule them.

Liliana was glad they weren’t staying at the Wilde’s estate again. After the last assassination attempt had happened under the Wilde’s roof, their party had decided it was a lesser evil to slight the Wilde’s. They’d suffer disgrace as it was for permitting an assassin access to their manor through their unsatisfactory security. Liliana had been assured by Alistair that the minor slight the Rosengardes would suffer for not visiting would be overshadowed by the Count’s ineptitude.

As she hurried down the stairs, hand holding onto the wooden railing even though she had no need for it, Liliana took in the relatively simple nature of the inn. It was made of wood, to no one’s surprise. It had beautiful scenes carved into it. Her own room’s walls were carved to look like a peaceful meadow. The bedframe looked like tree branches and vines, and the lamps had been made to resemble trees with lights hanging off the branches like fruit.

The entire inn was a beautiful work of art, but it still fell short of the majesty she saw daily in her father’s manor. She had a moment of realization as she paused at the foot of the stairs. This inn would’ve filled her with wonder and awe in her past life. It could be compared to the high priced hotels she’d only ever seen on a tv screen or in the pages of a book. But now it seemed pitiful when compared to the luxury she had become accustomed to.

Spoiled, I’ve become spoiled, Liliana thought wryly. She shook her head at herself and continued to the common room of the inn. Several guards were spread around the room, both in plainclothes and in uniform. Alistair and Emyr were sitting at a table towards the back, eating breakfast. Liliana smiled and waved at the guards as she passed, pausing a few times to speak greetings to the ones who called out to her. Eventually, she made her way to the table and slid into the chair next to Alistair, who grumbled but made room for her.

“The guards like you,” Emyr stated.

“Some, yes. They like the game I brought,” Liliana answered, hiding a frown behind a piece of bread she snatched from her brother’s plate. Alistair cried out in protest, but didn’t try to snatch it back. She didn’t tell Emyr that despite the increased amount of time she spent with the guards, some of them still didn’t like her. She was certain the boy knew, with his tendency to lurk around listening in on everyone.

“Get your own food, you glutton!” Alistair tried to beat her thieving hand back as she grabbed another slice of bread from his plate. He was unsuccessful, her Speed far higher than his. Liliana happily munched on her stolen prize as she waved to a server and asked for her own breakfast.

“So, how long will we be staying here?” Liliana asked.

Alistair had been with Amelia when she dropped off the prisoners and talked to the city’s guards and officials. Liliana assumed Emyr had been with him as well. She hadn’t seen him in the group that came to the inn the previous night with her.

“We’ll be here for four days. Amelia and I have a few meetings with the justices to go over evidence and sentencing,” Alistair responded, his voice more subdued at the subject's change.

Liliana could see the dark circles under his eyes hadn’t lifted. He still wasn’t taking any of this well. The weeks they’d traveled with the prisoners couldn’t have made it easier. None of them had interacted with them, but it was impossible to ignore the 67 people they had led to their deaths. Hard to ignore the shouted abuse and insults the prisoners flung at anyone and everyone. Eventually, they had learned who exactly the three teens were and had cursed their names, Alistair more than Liliana or Emyr. Blaming everyone else under the sun except for themselves for the consequences of their own actions.

“Jason told me last time that there is an entertainers’ district here. Performers do shows on the streets daily. Maybe we can take a look?” Liliana offered tentatively.

The serving girl laid a plate and glass before her and Liliana gave her a thankful smile before digging into her own breakfast. Some kind of egg dish with buttered bread and fresh fruit to the side. A test of her drink let her know it was a fruit drink, sweet and refreshing.

“Aren’t the guards supposed to test your food?!” Alistair asked, as she took another bite of her food. Liliana swallowed and waved off his concern.

“Nemesis can smell poisons, and Jason talked to the owner last night. They placed a guard in the kitchen to watch preparations and spot test the foods. I hear it is a rather popular post,” Liliana explained before she filled her mouth with another bite of delicious food. It was almost as good as the food at home, and a hundred times better than camp fare. The eggs had a coating of rich cheese and bits of succulent meat in them, the flavors exploding against her tongue. Liliana hummed happily as she savored the breakfast.

“Watching performers would be enjoyable. Maybe you can even hire some for your birthday.” Emyr turned the conversation away from poisons to lighter topics.

The reminder of Alistair’s upcoming birthday had Liliana almost choking on her food. She had entirely forgotten about his birthday, about any birthday, for that matter. Her memories supplied answers before she could fully reveal her stumble. Alistair was born on the first day of the new year, so his birthday was about a month and a half away. They were well into Ycefall now. Liliana looked at Emyr curiously. His birthday was on the winter solstice, sooner than Alistair’s. Her own birthday was on the 16th of Tyrnings, making her the youngest of the three.

“What about for your birthday, Emyr?” Liliana asked, and Emyr’s eyes widened with something akin to panic.

“I don’t wish for any party on my birthday,” Emyr hastened to reply, as if afraid she’d plan some grand party for him if he didn’t shut down the thought as fast as possible.

Liliana tilted her head and looked to Alistair, who gave her a tired look in response. It seemed she’d accidentally stepped into an old argument. She wasn’t too surprised. Emyr never enjoyed the spotlight, and a birthday party or ball would force him into one. In the game, birthdays usually had some sort of special quest or cut-scenes involved. Though Emyr seemed to always have quests that took him away from his friends on his birthday for some reason or another. Was it because he disliked attention that much?

Was his distaste so strong it changed the formula of the game? Or had that been a hint in the game about Emyr’s personality? The longer Liliana spent in this world, the more she was impressed with the subtle way the game showed off their character’s personalities, even if the real thing wasn’t always entirely accurate to the game representation. But game characters couldn’t grow the same way real people could. They had fixed fates in a game, not like the unlimited potential of real people.

“Alright…” Liliana trailed off, taking another slow bite of her food as Emyr sagged with relief, the feared party idea dead before it could even live.

“So, should we go and see the performers?” Liliana asked before the silence could verge into awkward territory. The boys nodded, but Liliana could tell neither was too excited, each having their mood brought down by one thing or another. Liliana frowned as she finished her food off.

As they stood and got ready to leave, several guards stood and gravitated towards them. Liliana smiled at them. She wasn’t surprised they weren’t allowed to travel the city alone. The assassination attempts were still too fresh, and there was always a chance the prisoners had family in the city who would seek revenge for their relatives. Jason was absent, either to visit his family again or to be with Amelia. Liliana wasn’t sure. As they stepped out into the brisk late fall cold, Liliana tugged her cloak tighter around her.

“Looks like snow,” a guard murmured, looking up at thick cloud covered sky. Liliana blinked in surprise.

Snow? She hadn’t seen snow in a long time. Her family had lived pretty far south, where it snowed maybe one day a year in the late winter if they were lucky. Not that it had mattered. Liliana was trapped in a hospital bed and barred from leaving to play in what little snow would fall. The cold was too much of a risk to her immune system.

She’d known that the Rosengarde territory was northern, though Timberborn had been pretty far south in the territory. As they got closer to the manor and the days ticked closer and closer to true winter, the temperature had dropped steadily until all of their party had needed to dress in thick layers with furred cloaks. None of them had Vitality low enough to be negatively affected by the cold, but it had been noticeable. Liliana just hadn’t realized it was both cold enough, and they were far north enough, that snow was a true possibility. It excited her. She’d get to play in the snow for the first time in so long.

As they set out, Liliana’s curious eyes took in the people of Timberborn and the surrounding buildings eagerly. The people were dressed much the same as them, some bundled tightly against the cold belying a lower Vitality. Children were the most tightly wrapped, their system access still locked because of their ages. But they seemed to feel the cold even less than the adults, their happy laughs and cries filling the air between the sounds of horses and carriages rolling down the street and the shouts of adults. How different this city felt to Timberborn, not just because of the size. It felt far more lively, with children happily cavorting around the streets. How much children could change a place, simply by their presence or lack of.

Liliana pulled her hood up, covering her hair and Nemesis as they walked along. She could feel the serpent’s dislike of the cold, but she seemed to enjoy the heat coming from Liliana’s head well enough. As they walked through the city, Liliana saw general stores, blacksmiths, spell stores, crafts stores. There were far more carpenter and woodworking shops here than in any other city, to no surprise. Liliana paused at a store selling spacial devices, an idea forming in her mind.

“I need to grab a spacial ring. I’ll be done in a moment,” she informed the small party. Alistair shrugged and leaned against the storefront, rubbing his gloved hands together. Emyr nodded and stayed by Alistair. One of the guards followed her in and they both let out light sighs at the warmth of the shop.

“Can I help you, m-my lady Liliana Rosengarde?” a voice called out. Liliana turned, a small smile on her face. It was always obvious the second someone identified her, the almost instant switch to deference.

“I need a storage ring, something simple. It needs to be no bigger than one cubic foot. But I need it to be soul bound,” Liliana told the young shopkeeper.

The young man nodded and motioned for her to come to the glass counter further inside the shop. Liliana waited as he set out a selection of rings for her to look at. Her needing it to be soulbound would make it more expensive, but it was worth it. Spatial items could either be bound to a single user or locked with a code of some sort. Since soul binding a spatial device required the craftsman to either hire someone with a Soul affinity or for the craftsman to get and raise the affinity themselves, they were more expensive. But what Liliana needed the ring for couldn’t be left to a simple code for a lock, something a determined and intelligent thief could eventually break.

“This one,” Liliana pointed out a simple, thin black band with a small sapphire embedded in it.

The shopkeeper verified her choice several times before making sure it would size to her finger correctly. It was obvious the boy thought a noble lady like her would wish for a far more ornate ring. But she didn’t care if the ring looked good, if she had her way, it wouldn’t see the light of day. It was a final precaution: if destroying the pendant failed, she’d lock the cursed item in the ring and have it hidden where no one would ever find it.

“All done?” Alistair asked as she stepped back out. Liliana nodded, smiling brightly.

“Yes, I got everything I need. Shall we go to see the performers?” she asked, feeling markedly lighter than she had in some time.

Chapter 73: Dazzling Flames And Dancing Blades

“These performers must be popular,” Liliana murmured as she stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over the heads of the surrounding crowd. She could hear oohs and ahs from those ahead of them, but she could see nothing over the crowds.

“Stop straining yourself. It’s as if you forget you’re a noble,” Alistair chided her, and Liliana turned her head to look at her brother. He raised a hand and two of the guards with them stepped forward.

“Make way!” One guard shouted out.

The surrounding people complained until they saw the guards, and the three nobles following them. As a ripple passed through the crowd, it split, giving a clear path for them to move to the front. Liliana felt a little bad for forcing them to move in such a way, but she did very much want to see the performers.

With everything that had happened on this trip, she wanted a chance to feel like a normal girl for a day. To see something amazing, and beautiful and entertaining. As they got to the front of the crowd, Liliana saw there was a troupe of performers who had paused whatever act they had been doing before.

“What a wonderful day for the Silver Star Troupe! We have distinguished guests amongst our fans!” One man seemed to recover more quickly than the others.

Liliana took in the outfits of the troupe. They were very different from what she’d seen normally, downright scandalous by this world’s standards. The fabrics were of a lesser quality than her own, but they were dyed in vibrant colors that hid that fact well. The man who spoke up had a patchwork coat on, as if he’d taken a rainbow down from the sky and turned it into a coat. He wore a vivid red top hat that seemed almost too tall for him. That was not the most impressive part of him, however, nor was his considerable height and respectably sized midsection. It was the long dark purple trunk that formed from his face and the large ears that flapped next to his head, undeniable markers of a Beastman.

As Liliana’s eyes moved from him to the other performers, she saw a few others with markers of being Beastmen. From furred skin and animalistic ears to long tails. Not all of them were Beastmen, but it seemed as if half to troupe was. There was a good amount of women in the troupe, and their clothes were as vivid as the lead man’s, if a bit less riotous. Most of them had on singular colors. Tight vests with no sleeves, and loose pants with a chiffon like fabric fluttering around them like skirts. The other men wore similar outfits, though their vests were unbuttoned, and they did not have the chiffon skirts.

They must be terribly cold in those, Liliana thought, with a bit of a worry for the performers. They must be of high enough level to not worry about it, but before she could [Identify] any of them, the lead man drew her attention. He flipped through the air as gracefully as any acrobat and landed before her on bent knee. Liliana was as startled by the sudden approach as she was at the manner he arrived. She hadn’t thought a man of such large stature would be as nimble as one of his performers.

“My lady, my lords, may I present to you the dangerous yet beautiful stars of my troupe?” the man asked, looking up with a grin.

Liliana opened her mouth to respond when the lead man went up in a puff of red smoke. The smoke blew away quickly, but the lead man had disappeared; the troupe rearranged in the short time it had taken. Men were lined in the back, the women in the front. Somewhere to the side, men began beating drums to a tempo that seemed to signal the beginning of the act. In sync, the women produced odd fan like objects, swinging them over their heads in practiced motions.

“Oh!” Liliana breathed as the ends of the fans went up in flames. On cue, the men behind them let out great gouts of fire from their mouths.

“Is my lady a fan of the fire?” a voice asked beside her and Liliana jolted, seeing the lead man leaning against a staff as if he’d been there the entire time. He twirled a hand and from it flew a dove made of flames. Liliana’s eyes widened in delight. It may all be skills, but she so rarely saw skills and magic being used for anything other than fighting.

“Keep your eyes on Natalia my lady, I believe you may be wonder struck by her performance,” the lead man stage whispered, pointing out one female performer dressed in gold. He gave her a wink and vanished in a plume of flames.

Liliana turned her attention back to the performers, a grin on her face. One of her hands reached out without a thought to grab onto Alistair’s arm in her excitement.

“Alistair! Isn’t it amazing?” She asked, her eyes glued to the performers.

The men were boosting the women into the air and their fiery fans were held in such a way that as they ascended they looked like wings made of flames. Soon all the women were in the air, yet they did not fall, instead they continued their dance in the air, twisting and turning as if the air was solid ground. The tempo of the drums changed from something whimsical to something more akin to a battle song. Below them, the men sent up flames that took on forms. Great fiery dragons circled the women and were beaten back by their flaming fans. More and more monsters were sent up as the women danced a battle in the skies.

“It is nice,” Alastair responded, and Liliana tore her eyes away to give him a beaming grin before she looked back up at the dancers.

This is what I want to look like, Liliana thought. The way their every move was graceful, fluid, yet seemingly deadly to the faux monsters. It made her own fighting look like a child's clumsy blunders. Liliana let out a gasp of surprise when one woman was overtaken by a flaming bear like creature. She fell to the ground, her fans fluttering once more behind her like wings. She delicately landed and seemed to collapse elegantly in her ‘death’. Soon more and more of the dancers fell from the heavens like falling stars alighting onto the earth. Until only one remained, the performer Natalia.

The gold clad dancer was beset on all sides by monsters, the men under her not slowing their fiery creations despite the decrease in dancers. Liliana felt her heart beat quickly in fear for the woman, though she knew it was all an act. The tempo of the drums picked up and Natalia spun and whirled with increasing speed, but she could not take out all the monsters. As one, they pounced on her, hiding her form behind a wall of shifting flames. The drums reached a thundering crescendo, stopping.

“Oh, no!” Liliana called out, her hands to her mouth as she watched, eyes wide with worry. The crowd all seemed to be on the edge of anticipation too as they all waited.

One heartbeat. Two.

A drum pounded.

The fiery monsters exploded into sparks like a great firework. Flames scattered before the kneeling form of Natalia, her hands empty of her fans. Instead, Liliana saw with growing amazement that some of what she’d mistaken for flames were in fact golden blades that returned and whirled around Natalia.

The performer rose once more and the fiery monsters came at her again, more than before. The men under her seeming to push themselves to their limits to raise a veritable army of flame-clad creatures. Yet they couldn't touch Natalia as she shot her blades out. There were too many, moving too fast, for Liliana to count. They seemed as endless as the monsters. With graceful movements, Natalia sent the blades out and controlled their movements with the smallest twitches of her fingers and hands. Perfect, synchronised partners to her deadly dance in the heavens.

As she danced in the air, the monsters fell one after another, shredded to nothing by her golden blades. The sound of the drums sounded like a victory march as Natalia and her blades moved as one to the beat.

Finally, the last of the monsters fell, the men beneath her collapsing like the girls before, and only Natalia was left to sole survivor. Victorious above them all. The drums reached a crescendo as Natalia froze in a beautiful pose, her arms spread wide. Behind her like the feathers of wings were her blades, flexing back and forth as if they were truly wings connected to the performer. Liliana’s mouth was wide open, and she felt her eyes would pop out of her head.

Applause and cheers sounded from the surrounding crowd, and Liliana was broken out of her enchantment. Her hands clapped together so hard she felt pain, but she ignored it as her eyes stayed glued to Natalia as the performer slowly descended.

Her. I want to be like her. Liliana thought with fervent admiration. She’d thought she knew what it was to be a blade dancer, but now she saw she knew so little. She was nothing but a stumbling child in comparison to Natalia. Liliana finally thought to [Identify] the woman as the troupe took their bows. Coins showered the air as the audience cheered them on.

Natalia Wells

Age: 76

Level: 203

Rank: 4

Class: Dancing Blade Mistress

Such a high level! Liliana thought in shock. She’d have thought the woman an adventurer with a level like that. A quick check of the other performers showed that they ranged from Rank 6 to Rank 4, like Natalia. As the lead man appeared once more, Liliana leveled him with her [Identify] and could barely restrain a gasp.

Bertran Elephante

Age: 68

Level: 277

Rank: 3

Class: Marvelous Ringmaster

Bertran must have noticed her attention. He sent her a wink as his trunk removed his top hat, seeming to direct the motion at her specifically. Liliana flushed at having been caught so easily in her curiosity, and by someone of a level and Rank to be in the upper echelon of adventurers.

He has incredible control over his aura if I can’t feel it, Liliana thought. She could always feel her fathers, even when it was under control. But this man’s she could not. Had she not identified him, she wouldn’t have known he was a Rank 3.

Maybe it’s a deception skill like mine? Could it be his level and rank are different? Nobles are the only ones I’ve heard of flaunting their levels around. It is possible commoners don’t share such a sentiment, Liliana thought. It would be a good idea for performers to show whatever levels they thought would most impress their audience. Was that what was happening? Had Bertran changed his levels to appeal to nobles who valued levels and rank?

“If you enjoyed our show, please join the Silver Stars troupe outside the city walls at our circus! We will have many more delightful shows for you. Daring acts and wondrous sights that the mind can’t even imagine!” Bertran projected his voice well, carrying over the crowd. People began to murmur as some of the performers handed out flyers to the watchers.

“Alistair! We must hire them for your birthday!” Liliana turned to her stepbrother, her eyes determined.

She had to talk to Natalia, learn how she made those blades move around her so effortlessly. How she danced with such grace and power. If she could convince the woman to teach her how she’d done it, or to train her as a mentor, Liliana could become more powerful. Silas was an amazing teacher, but guards didn’t fight like she did and he could do little more than be a sparring partner who could point out her mistakes now. She needed someone who fought like she did to teach her how to improve herself. Someone like Natalia.

“Do I not get a choice in this? It is my birthday,” Alistair asked with a raised brow. Liliana bit her lip, looking down. He was right. It wasn’t her place to make such demands of her stepbrother.

“But, I did like the performance.” Alistair continued, and Liliana’s head shot up, looking at her brother with wide eyes.

“It would be quite a party if you had an act like that there. You’d be the talk of society for months,” Emyr said, though he sounded far less excited by that prospect that his words implied. Her brother, however, brightened immediately at the idea of the popularity he could gain.

“I’m sure everyone would try to emulate your party afterwards too!” Liliana jumped in, grabbing onto her brother’s weakness for enjoying the spotlight with both hands. Her brother took on a thoughtful look that slowly turned devious.

“Yes, I could set a trend among the nobles. It’ll be the talk of society for years if I do,” Alistair said, and Liliana beamed. She didn’t much care for noble society. For the way their words always had multiple hidden meanings, how they all seemed ready to stab each other in the back for the slightest bit of a rise in station. However, she could understand some of it, and setting a trend could raise someone in the eyes of other nobles. Doing it multiple times could raise you to the top of noble society, with others flocking to you to stay in style.

“Then let’s go!” Liliana said, grabbing her brother’s arm and dragging him towards the performers. Her brother might be looking for political power here, but she was looking for martial power. Power that couldn’t be robbed from her with a cruel rumor or passing noble fancies.

“Liliana!” Alistair dragged her to a stop, and Liliana almost tripped over her feet at the sudden resistance. She looked over at her brother, confused.

“This is not how we do things. I’ll send a guard to discuss the terms with the ringmaster. It’s not proper for me to do it in person,” Alistair told her sternly. Liliana wilted, frowning at her shoes. Why were there always so many stupid rules she had to follow? Why could she never do as she wanted?

“We should see the full circus before we leave, to be sure their act is acceptable,” Emyr spoke up as Alistair sighed. Liliana looked up, eyes hopeful. Emyr shot her a small smile and Liliana mirrored him.

“Fine, fine. We can see the circus before we leave. I’ll send a guard afterwards to discuss a contract for my birthday,” Alistair conceded, and Liliana beamed at both boys.

A flyer appeared in front of her face, as if it had materialized from thin air. Liliana grabbed it on instinct and looked around. Her eyes caught Bertran’s black ones. The man tipped his hat with his trunk once more before turning to his performers.

“They’re performing tomorrow night,” Emyr read off the flyer. Liliana jolted and looked back at the flyer and saw that Emyr was, in fact, correct. They were performing the next night. And every night this week.

“Did you just read that through the paper?” Liliana asked suspiciously. Emyr nodded.

“It was backwards!” She said as her brother herded her and Emyr back the way they’d come and she didn’t resist. Though she threw one last longing look over her shoulder at the performers.

“Don’t try to figure out how he does things. He’s a weird one,” Alistair sighed.

Emyr didn’t seem insulted by that, rather he seemed proud, his chest puffing out a bit and a smile on his face. Perhaps it was because of the affectionate way Alistair had said the words, less of an insult, more like it was an endearment.

Liliana clutched the flyer close to her chest, feeling excited and truly hopeful. The dour energy that had been hanging over all of them seemed to have lifted, and Liliana hoped that tomorrow night’s performance and deal would completely banish it for them.

Chapter 74: Welcome To The Show!

“Do I look alright?” Liliana asked as she spun before Jason, Emyr and Alistair. All three of whom she’d sat down and made to judge the different dresses she’d packed before settling on this one.

“You look fine to me, my lady,” Jason said, his voice strained. Liliana could tell the man was tired of this, but she didn’t have Astrid with her to help her pick, and Lelantos and Nemesis were awful at helping her. Neither could properly see the colors of her dresses.

“It’s just a circus. Why are you so worried about it? You had no problem walking around in those leather abominations of yours for weeks,” Alistair groaned from where he’d buried his face in his arms on the table. He had been rather helpful at first, but after the sixth dress, he’d wilted.

“It looks very nice on you Lili, it brings out the blue in your hair,” Emyr stated quietly.

He’d, surprisingly, been the most help with picking out her outfit for the night. She’d thought her brother would be more knowledgeable, but it seemed if he wasn’t the one dressing up, he had little patience. She hadn’t thought Emyr paid any attention to fashion, but he seemed to have a good eye for dress cuts, fabric, colors, and how they paired with a person. Liliana was beginning to suspect that some of her stepbrother’s wardrobe had Emyr’s influence.

Liliana had dressed in a dark red dress, a rather bold color for her. But it did make her blue eyes and the blue in her hair pop from the contrast. Her skin was also dark enough that such a bold color didn’t wash her out, but rather accentuated the deep golden tone of her skin. She had a black fur shawl, courtesy of the Shadow Wolves she’d run into so long ago now. Black boots, unseen under the thick red velvet, fit her comfortably and shielded her feet from the harsh cold of the late fall nights. She’d be wearing a black fur cloak with the whole thing, and black gloves.

Liliana had rubies around her neck and she’d worked with her hair for hours until she wanted to cry, but it sat prettily atop her head, hiding a nesting Nemesis in her locks. She’d even taken out some of the cosmetics Astrid had packed and shadowed her eyes and rouged her cheeks and lips. Liliana looked good; she knew that. But she wanted to look perfect. She had to impress Natalia.

Natalia was an incredible performer in what seemed to be a rather successful troupe. She’d have very little reason to divulge her secrets to some noble girl. So Liliana had to make a good impression, and first impressions were the most important thing. Liliana had to look composed, refined, and someone worth teaching. She knew Alistair didn’t understand. She suspected Emyr did, but she suspected he knew everything, so that didn’t much matter. He could tell her tomorrow he could read minds and it would be as surprising as Lelantos telling her he’d eaten one of her shoes. Irritating, but expected.

“Why couldn’t you care this much about social events?” Alistair asked her, his voice whiny as he tilted his head to look over at her.

“If you showed up looking like that, maybe it would shut up some of the rumors about you,” Alistair continued.

Liliana frowned at him and looked down at her tightly clasped, black-gloved hands. She knew she didn’t try her hardest at social events. She just didn’t understand what the point was trying to make the nobles accept her. They would always see her as an outsider. The best she could hope for was neutrality, with a few maybe seeing beyond her station. Like Marianne.

The reminder of the princess brought up a sad feeling in Liliana’s chest. It had been a long time now since she’d last visited Marianne. They’d had a single tea party after the ball, but after that, both of their schedules had been too full for another. And with this trip, it had been even longer. Liliana missed the ease she felt around the princess, the one noble who had never made her feel lesser for her blood.

Marianne didn’t care that Liliana’s mother was a commoner, she only cared that Liliana enjoyed the same stories she did. That Liliana wanted to see the world as much as Marianne did, and would discuss the different places they both wanted to see. Marianne because she wanted to see the sights, Liliana because of the creatures that could only be found in specific areas.

“Let’s go,” Liliana said, her voice lacking the enthusiasm it had just a few minutes earlier.

She looked up in time to see the withering glare Emyr shot Alistair, who looked back in helpless confusion. Jason was massaging his temples, muttering something about ‘fucking teenagers’. Liliana swept past the three men towards the entrance of the inn. Several guards stood, all of them dressed up. Far more than had come with them the day before. Apparently, talk of the circus had spread among the guards.

“Ow!” She heard Alistair mutter as he jogged to catch up as Liliana stepped out of the inn, flicking up the hood of her cloak to block out the chill wind of twilight. They climbed into the waiting carriage, the guards mounting up around them. In seconds, they were off.

“So-ah, are you excited to see the other acts?” Alistair asked, rubbing his side. Liliana gave him, then Emyr, a suspicious look, but didn’t bother trying to figure out what had happened. Sometimes the two of them seemed to speak their own language.

“I hope we get to see more like yesterday. I enjoyed the blades,” Liliana said quietly.

She did hope she saw more blade acts. If Natalia refused to teach her, maybe she could glean a new skill or spell from watching. What she wanted to know was how the woman controlled so many blades at once. How she controlled the blades, without touching them at all. Liliana suspected a Metal affinity, as one could sometimes get a manipulation skill for an affinity. Liliana still hadn’t gotten one for any of her affinities, but she was hopeful she’d get one for Wind at least. She might be able to do the same thing with Wind, but she wasn’t sure unless she talked to Natalia to know how the woman had done it.

If she could manipulate blades like that, it would heavily expand her reach in battle. Liliana could use blades to fight long, mid, and close range. She could even use them to block attacks, while fighting others further away. She could become a one woman army with a skill like that. Liliana loved her naginata, but Silas had taught her a long time ago to never become dependent on a single weapon. She’d somewhat failed at that, barely training her dagger skills at all. But she had never felt a pull to learn another weapon, not until now.

Maybe I could do the same thing with light constructed blades? But would they be as strong? Metal would probably be best for durability’s sake, right? And if I run out of Mana I’ll still have a physical weapon. Liliana theorized, hand itching to pull out a notebook and start writing down her theories, and all her ideas for how to replicate the performer’s actions with different affinities.

“I enjoyed the fire. I didn’t know it could be so… pretty,” Emyr murmured thoughtfully, summoning a small ball of shadow and trying to get it to move like a flame. Liliana withdrew herself from her thoughts and watched with some amusement. Emyr was the type to keep trying to accomplish something until he did. He had a startling intelligence behind his quiet exterior.

“You should get a Fire affinity,” Liliana mentioned, offhandedly.

Celestial had been her third favorite things to run on Emyr when she played, when she wasn’t in the mood for sneaky Poison assassin shenanigans. Celestial transformed him from a relatively weak CC rogue to a catastrophic AOE nightmare. With spells like [Meteor-shower], [Heaven’s Last Fall] and [Seven Star Blade] he became a very strong DPS. Celestial was a fun damage focused affinity. It sounded like it would be a beautiful, weak affinity. But no, it was made for rampant destruction, perhaps only rivaled by Chaos for pure damage output. It was just a good thing friendly fire wasn’t a thing in the game, or she’d have murdered her own team multiple times with the massive AOEs.

Celestial, however, suffered from one big flaw. Every spell or skill had a cast time. Meaning you had to channel said skill or spell before it could be of use, sometimes for minutes. And the spells had been massive Mana sinks. So it left you as a glass cannon stuck waiting for five minutes for your apocalyptic spell to go off while the enemy could feel free to kill you with a glare.

Liliana enjoyed a bit more of a ‘run and hit the baddie with a stick until it submits’ play-style herself. Chaos had an almost opposite problem. It wasn’t a Mana intensive affinity, in comparison. But every skill and spell was single target with cool downs that would make you cry. It made sense for balance's sake, but Liliana was impatient and didn’t enjoy waiting for spells to cast or to come off cooldown.

However, cast times wouldn’t be too much of a drawback for Emyr, who excelled at hiding and waiting for the perfect moment to kill stea-er, attack. His synergy with Alistair as well, and their almost guaranteed partnership meant Emyr would always have a tank there to grab aggro off of him while he set up. It was also good for Alistair, who would sacrifice even more damage as he went deeper into the tank tree. Emyr, unlike Alistair, didn’t have a guaranteed second or even third affinity. He had several his AI could pick if you didn’t play him and just had him as a companion in the game, usually influenced by whatever Alistair picked.

It was a bit odd in the game, but in real life I understand it now. Those two are as tightly bound together as any soul bond. I can’t even imagine them apart anymore. Liliana mused.

“Aim for Celestial?” Emyr asked, his voice considerate as he stared at the shadows writhing in his palm.

“That wouldn’t be an awful idea, Celestial is strong,” Alistair chimed in. Liliana stuck her tongue out at him for the slight he’d slipped in at her. He smirked in response.

“Yea, but they’re physically weak,” Emyr muttered quietly.

“So? You don’t need to be physically strong. I’ll be strong for you. You can just focus on killing everything while I protect you,” Alistair said easily.

“I-I,” Emyr stuttered, the shadows in his hands lashing about chaotically.

“Look! I can see the tent!” Liliana exclaimed excitedly, leaning into the window as she looked at the large circus tent. It looked exactly like how she imagined it, stripes and all.

She practically tumbled out of the carriage. She was so excited to get into the circus. Not just to see Natalia, but because as a child she’d dreamed of seeing a circus. She’d never been to one, but she’d wanted to. She’d had to always assuage her desire by watching clips of a world renowned circus on the Internet.

“Whoa!” Jason said as Liliana tripped on her dress and tumbled into the guard. She flushed in embarrassment as she straightened herself, her blush darkening at her brother’s guffaws from behind her.

“Well, there goes the illusion of being a noble lady, Lili,” Alistair said, snickering as he stepped out behind her. Liliana shot him a glare, the effect lessened by her red face.

“It’s alright, I don’t think anyone else saw it. And I doubt any guards here still think you’re a proper lady,” Alistair consoled her. Liliana glared harder at him, pulling back her fist and punching her brother squarely in the upper arm. He didn’t even have the decency to wince.

“Odd for bugs to be active this late in the fall. I swear a mosquito just bit my arm,” Alistair said, looking around as if trying to find the ‘bug’.

Liliana let out a huff of air and turned on her heel, swearing to ignore her brother for the rest of the night. She stormed towards the circus tent, her brother snickering behind her. Liliana was ready to enter the line before the tent, which was fairly long, when a brightly dressed performer, one of the men from the day before, appeared out of thin air.

“Lady Rosengarde, Lord Thornebell-Rosengarde, Lord Bealstal. Welcome to our circus. We have seats ready for you and your party,” the performer greeted them, bowing low. Liliana noted the man had stark white wolf ears, and a tail swishing behind him.

It would be utterly inappropriate to ask to pet his ears, wouldn’t it? But they look so soft, Liliana thought wistfully as the man stood and motioned for them to follow behind him.

“Did you already reach out to the ringleader?” Liliana asked her brother, immediately forgetting her oath to ignore him in favor of figuring out how it was known they’d be here tonight.

“No, I didn’t,” Alistair said, though he seemed to find no fault in the treatment.

Liliana pushed it to the side of her mind. She doubted her stepmother had hired so many assassins they could pretend to be an entire circus just to kill her. Imogen might have her own fortune separate from the duke’s, but she did not have this much money on hand. It was more likely a guard had gossiped, and the information had found its way here.

As they entered the tent through what seemed to be a side entrance, Liliana saw different performers greeting and guiding the guests, performing small tricks for their amusement. Delighted laughter filled the circus tent, and Liliana felt her stress subside. They were led to a roped off set of seats right by the ring, where they’d have a perfect view of everything.

“If you need anything, simply raise your hand and someone will be here to assist you. Thank you for gracing our circus with your patronage,” the performer told them, bowing low once more. Liliana couldn’t stop her lips from forming a pout. The other guests got to see tricks. Why didn’t they?

The man looked up and caught her gaze. Liliana could swear she saw a smile on his face seconds before he disappeared in a swirl of flames. Liliana’s eyes widened in delight, her hands clapping together in excitement.

“Emyr, you have to get a Fire affinity and learn to do that!” Liliana turned to look at her friend, who jolted back in surprise at the determination in her eyes.

“Think of how easily you could get out of uncomfortable situations if you could just disappear in a plume of flames!” Liliana gushed eagerly, and Emyr’s wary expression turned to one of thoughtfulness as he considered the proposal. Before he could reply, the lights in the tent went dim, and a hush fell over the audience. Liliana turned to look at the center of the ring, bouncing excitedly in her seat.

“Welcome ladies, gentlemen and all to the Silver Star troupe’s circus of mystery and wonder!”

Chapter 75: Wonderous Sights and Marvelous Memories

As light filled the tent, a stunning image was revealed to the audience. Liliana leaned forward, her mouth hanging open as her eyes took in the sight. Somehow, in the few moments of the lights going out, the ring had been filled with giant, crystalline elephants. They stood in poses, looking for all the world like carved statues of pink tinted crystal. Two in the center were reared on their back legs, front legs against each other, and trunks twisted together, rising high above their heads. Resting on the top of the trunks was a reverse pyramid of performers, their clothes sparkling under the light like trapped stars.

The audience gasped as the elephants at the edges of the circle surrounding the impressive centerpiece moved. They approached the still center elephants and performers. As they got within range, the performers at the very top of the pyramid jumped off, flipping and falling through the air with no hint of fear, landing perfectly on the held out trunks of the elephants. Slowly, the pyramid shrunk as more and more elephants claimed their riders until only two were left. They held hands for a moment, mirroring their elephants before they were parted as the center elephants finally stood down, hitting the ground with a surprising softness for how heavy such beasts must be.

It seemed that was a signal because the elephants and riders circled the ring; the riders performing daring feats of acrobatics in time to music that rose from all around them. Not just drum beats this time, instead it seemed an entire orchestra must have been hidden in the tent. Liliana clapped and marveled with the rest of the audience as the performers flipped and tumbled through the air, as if the threat of falling was nonexistent to them.

The music took a sudden turn, from joyous to expectant, rising slowly towards a crescendo. The elephants, as one, turned to the center of the ring and bowed, their performers mirroring them from the tips of their trunks. As the crescendo of the music hit, a cloud of feathers erupted in the center of the ring, and as the music trailed back down, rearing pegasi were revealed as the rainbow of feathers fluttered to the ground. A pegasus in every color stood there, a beautiful woman dressed in gauzy fabric matching each steed’s colors on every back. The elephants stood, their own performers still on their trunks, and a trumpeting call erupted from them. As their herald’s call finished, the elephants and their riders vanished, nothing but glittering rain left of them.

The pegasi took off, their great wings heaving in the air as they took to the skies of the tent. They wheeled and flew through the air, performing aerial feats that brought gasps and laughs to the audience even as their riders danced and flipped on their backs. Feathers would fall from the pegasi and there were shouts of delight from anyone lucky enough to catch one.

Liliana stood on her own chair and jumped into the air to snatch a blue feather fluttering above her. As she sat down, a wide grin was stretched across her face as she nestled the feather into her hair, Nemesis grabbing hold of it with the end of her tail to hold it in place. Though the serpent couldn’t see much of the circus from her own eyes, Liliana was communicating the sights to her through their bond and the young serpent seemed to be enjoying the revelry.

The lead pegasus, a truly large and royal specimen with a pure white coat, suddenly wheeled in the air. Pulling his wings tighter to his side, he dove towards the floor, his rider clutching his mane and back. Gasps and shouts of fear filled the air as the pegasus gained speed and closed in on the ground.

Liliana was not alone when she jumped to her feet, shocked and scared when the pegasus hit the ground. But instead of screams of pain or blood, another eruption of feathers appeared. One after another the pegasi followed their leader and now instead of gasps of fear there were calls of delight as each new eruption of colored feathers appeared until the final pegasus, with feathers dark as a moonless night, dove to the ground.

The lights in the circus dimmed slightly, not going to the full dark they’d been originally but enough to build anticipation. The music took a darker turn, building the tension in the tent.

Liliana felt her own heart speed up, the feeling invoked in her reminiscent of what she felt moments before engaging in battle. Something flickered in the dark shadows on the edge of the ring and Liliana held her breath as the music built. From the darkness on the edges of the ring jumped a Solion with a flaming mane, the sudden light of his flames banishing the creeping shadows. His fur was the orange of the setting sun, and his eyes sparked like the embers of a fire. He took his spot in the center of the ring with a great roar that shook the tent and elicited whimpers and shouts of surprise from the audience.

A spotlight appeared and focused on a rope strung high in the air. Atop it was a lion beastman, a mane of orange fur around his head, dressed in red and oranges, as if mimicking the Solion below him. As the Solion let out another roar, the man above tilted his head back as if roaring with him.

An answering roar filled the air and a second spotlight appeared, highlighting a second lion beastman on the other end of the rope as a second Solion appeared, jumping over the audience stands to land before the first. This Solion was darker, its coat the black of a dead ember and its flames a dark, blood red that flickered with a darker, midnight black fire at the tips. The second beastman’s mane was a dark black, and his clothes matched the dark red and black nature of his partner Solion. The two lions circled one another as the men stepped onto the rope, summoning blades in both hands. Both dual wielded scimitars, and in perfect choreography they clanged the two blades together as a challenge at the other.

As the Solions continued to circle one another, the men approached each other, their steps sure even on the thin rope that bounced and swayed with every movement. As the men got within striking range, the darker Solion stopped circling and lunged at its opponent, his partner above thrusting his sword at his opponent. Liliana’s eyes were wide, her heart pounding as she watched the fight. Music rose around them, a dark, vicious melody that got the blood pounding. Every attack of the Solions was mirrored by the men above them, every parry, every swipe and dodge. Somehow the men kept their footing sure despite the treacherous rope.

The music took a turn, a violent clash of instruments as the original Solion charged his opponent and closed his jaws on his neck, ignoring the heat of the flames from the darker Solion’s mane. Gasps rang out as the men above seemed to reach a deciding moment in their own fight, the darker man falling from the rope, only catching hold of it with a single hand. The original man raised his sword and struck down, vivid red filling the air from the darker man’s neck as he tumbled through the air.

The original Solion finished his fight with a victorious growl, stepping back from the unmoving body of the darker Solion. The music was now a victory march as man and beast both roared out their victory to the crowds. Liliana breathed when she saw the vivid red she’d seen from the other man’s throat had been a red scarf, fluttering behind the man as he fell. He landed lightly on the body of his Solion.

Fire filled the ring, a great conflagration that first took over the felled Solion and his partner, and then covered the victorious pair. There was no heat from the flames, even as they rose perilously close to the top of the tent and licked the edges of the ring. The fire gathered into a tornado, spinning and twisting wildly before it exploded into millions of beautiful sparks, revealing the fire dancers Liliana had seen the previous day. She leaned forward eagerly, her eyes glued to Natalia.

The dance was just as beautiful the second time around, if even more elaborate, with the room the tent provided. The monsters made of fire were larger, the way the dancers cavorted in the air grander and more expansive as they each fought their own monsters, and inevitably fell from the skies to land crumpled on the ground. Monsters of fire swooped and dove over the heads of the audience, dancers chasing and vanquishing them as their numbers slowly dwindled, even as the ranks of beasts swelled.

Eventually, only Natalia was left, the lone dancer against the forces of fire that stood against her. She succumbed to the wave of beasts and Liliana barely noticed herself standing, breath held as she waited for the moment the woman would erupt in a flurry of frenzied blades and flames.

Natalia did not disappoint. Her blades rushed out, more than they’d seen before. Some circled the air around her while others fell away from the dancer as she emerged from them like the petals of a flower. As more beasts of flames were summoned to fight her, the uncountable blades flashed and sliced through the air, shredding the fiery monsters to nothing more than trailing sparks.

Natalia danced through the air, her steps bringing her over the heads of the watching audience and Liliana could see more clearly the woman, the slight smile on her face and the glittering sharpness of the blades she commanded with her body. She looked ethereal; the flames playing off her golden clothes only added to her majesty as she stood above them all, strong and undefeated, glorious in her indisputable power.

Soon the men of the fire dancers fell to Natalia’s power until the woman was all that was left. Her dancing battle had brought her back to the center of the tent and once more her blades took on the form of wings, so wide Liliana feared they’d touch the tent walls and slice the fragile seeming fabric. Natalia slowly drifted to the ground as her bladed wings beat slowly behind her. As her feet touched the ground, her wings came and wrapped around Natalia and the fallen dancers. In a flutter of sparkles, they all vanished.

Liliana clapped and cheered so loudly she was certain she’d lose her voice. But what she’d seen was one of the most beautiful displays of skill she’d seen, in this life or her last. Even Nemesis hissed her approval from her perch in Liliana’s hair. Alistair and Emyr were more reserved, though the guards were not.

“Look over there,” Emyr called out, pointing.

Liliana followed his direction and saw the crystal elephants from the first show entering the tent from the side. They circled the tent; the riders smiling and waving to the audience as they performed acrobatics for the enjoyment of the watchers. The elephants left, and the pegasus followed, flying through the air once more and delighting the audience. More feathers fell and more audience members snatched at them, holding tight to the trinkets of a magical night.

Liliana saw a rope of darkness snag two feathers, one black, one white, from the air. Liliana looked to the side for a moment and saw Alistair trying to hide a smile as he fit the black feather into a lapel, Emyr wearing the white feather tied into his hair like her.

After the pegasus came the Solions, both of them fine and healthy. Atop their back rode their partners, who waved and greeted the audience. The Solion’s let out a duet of roars before they too left. The final performers for the night, the fire dancers, tumbled and flipped into the ring. They waved and cavorted around the ring before they too made their leave.

“Thank you all for coming to see the Silver Stars circus!” Bertran called from the center, shocking the audience as no one had seen him appear.

“Please, give the performers one last round of applause,” Bertran asked, and with a snap of his fingers, all the performers reappeared. The animals were arranged at the back, the great crystal elephants a magnificent rearguard to the pegasus, standing with their cold beauty and finishing with the regal Solions. In front of them, the human and beastmen performers bowed and curtsied to the audience as roaring applause and shouts filled the air. With another snap, all but Bertran vanished from view.

“Please, tell your friends and family of the marvelous mysteries you saw today! I can promise no two acts are the same, so visit us again to witness things beyond even your wildest dreams!” Bertran called out, bowing low to the audience.

“So, will you have them for your birthday?” Liliana asked Alistair as the applause died down and they could speak without yelling at one another.

“They seem to be of a skill that would befit my birthday,” Alistair said, his careful words belying the excitement in his eyes. He had enjoyed the show, too.

“Send a guard to talk to him, then!” Liliana said, leaning towards her brother eagerly.

“Alright! I will. I’ll send someone in the morning to discuss the terms.” Alistair held up his hands as if in defense from his overzealous sister.

They were escorted out of the tent by the same performer, who had shown them to their seats. As they exited, Liliana saw several performers selling souvenirs of the circus. The creatures from the performances were around too, and children flocked to them. Under careful supervision of the performers, children were allowed onto the elephants or pegasi and walked around atop them. Childish screams of delight filled the air.

While their children were occupied, parents looked around at the gifts available to purchase. Liliana saw pegasus feathers attached to jewelry or hair ornaments being sold. Small crystal statues of the elephants, and even what appeared to be Solion plushes. There were even small ‘fire’ fans, fans with flames painted onto them. She saw some fake golden blades for sale as well.

Liliana couldn’t banish her wide smile as they walked through the gathered crowd towards their carriage, the happy mood that filled the air infectious.

Chapter 76: A Bloody Verdict

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Alistair asked, his voice concerned.

“I must,” Liliana replied, her own voice firm in her conviction. Alistair stared at her for a long moment, searching her eyes for the slightest hint of hesitancy before he sighed.

“Alright, if you insist,” he conceded, and Liliana gifted him a weak smile. She ran her hands over her black dress, a rather proper color choice considering what she had requested to see.

It was their final day in Ariowood. The prisoners they’d brought had been tried and sentenced surprisingly fast, but the evidence was too much to argue against. Liliana suspected there was another reason the proceedings had gone so quickly. Her father wouldn’t want those who had broken laws so egregiously and considered rebellion to be allowed to live for long. Fast and harsh judgment was the best way to deal with such things, before ideas could leak out and poison the minds of the populace.

Alistair was going to see the executions. Liliana didn’t imagine he had much of a choice. It was obvious Emyr would accompany his closest friend, to support him in this trying time. But Liliana had no obligations to go, not any others knew. She didn’t need to be so close to the justice system, as she’d never have power in it like her stepbrother. But she had a promise to keep, a promise of vengeance.

Liliana’s hand rose, and she stroked a finger over Nemesis’ head where she hid in her hair. The serpent had asked for vengeance, and while it could be considered done, there was a final piece of closure owed to the serpent. She deserved to see that those who had killed her family in cold blood were dead. The serpent was practically vibrating in anticipation, blood lust clear in her thoughts. Liliana couldn’t allow her to kill the villagers, but she could grant her this at least.

“Are you ready, sister?” Alistair asked, and Liliana drew her hand back down. She nodded, taking a fortifying breath.

Alistair offered his arm. They’d be going in an official capacity as the son and daughter of the duke. Alistair would be there as the heir, as the duke’s proxy. Liliana couldn’t claim such a thing, but she was still her father’s daughter. Emyr followed behind them as they made their way to the carriage. The ride to the execution site was a quiet one, no one ready to speak up considering what they were about to watch.

There was a crowd gathered around the square where the execution was to take place, packed so tightly Liliana glimpsed people sitting on roofs before she looked away. Their path forward slowed as they waited for the crowd to split enough to get through, and Liliana clasped her hands tightly together in her lap. She couldn’t bring herself to look out the window of the carriage, to see the long line of faces waiting to die. Instead, she stared at her hands, which were held so tightly together the skin was practically white. A dark hand laid itself over her own, the contrast striking.

“You can stay in the carriage if you wish,” Alistair offered, his voice oddly soft.

“No, I can do this. It’s my bond they wronged. It’s my plan that got them captured. I need to do this,” Liliana said, shaking her head. More than even her brother, she needed to be here. She was the closest thing Nemesis had to family. She had to see this blood feud end with her own eyes and accept the consequences of her choices.

“Justice must be done,” Alistair said quietly. Liliana looked up at him and wondered which of them he was talking to in that moment.

“I know,” Liliana answered him, her voice soft. And she did. She knew what was necessary. But even as she accepted that, it felt like she lost something of herself. Some part of her innocence was being left behind on the street as the carriage trundled its way forward.

She knew justice must be done. Crimes must be punished. It was the same way in her original world. But the justice in this world was a far more bloody and brutal thing. Liliana might not be comfortable with death, or even being responsible for it. But she was beginning to see this was how this world worked. The longer she spent in this world, the more the bright, sparkly veneer she’d originally been greeted with when she played the game cracked.

It wasn’t the game she had played for hundreds of hours, where at the end of the day, the heroes always succeeded and evil was dealt with and everyone lived happily ever after. This world wasn’t the clean, gilded illusion the nobility tried to immerse themselves in. It was a world where anyone could get powers that could level cities, where beasts that could wipe a village off the map existed.

It was a dark world, full of blood and danger at every turn. One where people could, and would, use their power to do great evil in the name of what they thought was right, or for their own selfish gains. The only thing stopping them was that there were people with more power than they holding society together. The reason so many nobles now strove for physical power as much as political made sense. If they were not strong, then one day their own people would tear them apart.

The door to the carriage opened, and Alistair retracted his hand. Straightening his jacket, he stepped out. Emyr followed, a silent shadow. Liliana took a deep breath, steadying her nerves as she followed. A hand was thrust into her face and she took it gratefully, letting her brother aid her descent from the carriage and letting his own grasp hide the trembling in her hand.

People around them inclined their heads and Liliana did not need [Empathy] to know that fear and excitement was thick in the air. The surrounding people knew they were here to see people put to death, and they knew who had led them here. As Liliana looked around, taking in the averted eyes and careful demeanor of the gathered commoners, she understood too why Alistair had to see this. Why, he had to be seen here. Fear was a tool in a noble’s repertoire.

The people had to respect their governing lords, but they should also fear them. Fear what would happen if they dared to break the laws the nobles were sworn to uphold. They should not be so terrorized they lashed out like a cornered beast, but they should fear the consequences of breaking the laws laid in place.

Liliana’s eyes finally settled on her brother as they moved towards a makeshift dais built for them. His jaw was clenched, and she could feel the tension in the muscles of the arm under her hand. His head was held high and his eyes kept straight on ahead, not straying as her own did. He looked regal, like a true heir coming into his own power. But he also looked so starkly young.

He’s only fourteen. I never thought about their ages too much when I played the game. But the things they had to see and experience in the game before they were even eighteen… It had seemed fine. It had just been a game then. So who cared if a fourteen-year-old had to kill an entire camp of bandits? Who cared if a sixteen-year-old had to investigate a sex trafficking ring by examining the dead bodies of the victims for clues? Who cared if a seventeen-year-old was asked to risk his life fighting off coastal invaders? But now, it feels too real. When was he ever allowed to be a child? When were any of us? Liliana pulled her hand away as they sat in their seats.

Emyr had one a step below the two of them. Liliana’s seat was smaller than her brother’s, but she was not the heir. Her heavy thoughts weighed on her soul as she looked over the gathered crowd. They couldn’t see the prisoners yet, at least. Liliana was almost grateful when another carriage approached, for it distracted her from thoughts of stolen childhoods and lost innocence.

“Tch, I thought they would have the decency to not show their faces today,” Alistair hissed under his breath. Liliana could see his hands gripping tightly to the wood of the chair he sat in, the small sounds of splintering wood so loud to her at such a proximity. It seemed her brother had yet to forgive the Wilde’s for their sin of allowing an assassin to attack her in their own home.

Liliana kept her face impassive as the Earl and Countess exited their carriage. They approached the dais, bowing and curtsying low to Alistair before taking their own seats on the lowest rung of the dais. At least they hadn’t brought their troublesome daughter. Liliana didn’t know if she could control Nemesis if the serpent felt her lingering emotions towards the girl with everything else that was coming today.

I might dislike the Wilde’s, but at the very least they’re trying to shield their children from this. Perhaps they’re trying to let them have some illusion of childhood innocence before this world violently rips it from them, Liliana thought cynically.

“It is their territory the executions are being held in,” Liliana responded to her brother after the Wilde’s had settled down.

“Then where were their guards when we left to go to Timberborn? Where were they when the trials were being held? They’re closer to Timberborn than we are, so why did they not alert the Duke to what had happened?” Alistair asked, his voice a harsh hiss.

“Calm, brother. Do not make enemies today. They are father’s to deal with, for now,” Liliana cautioned, laying a hand on his own in a mimic of what he’d done not so long ago in the carriage. Some of the stress left his frame, but the anger in his eyes didn’t diminish as he glared at the Wildes.

“The honorable Justice Weston has arrived!” a man servant cried out moments before a man dressed in somber robes took to the stage in the center of the courtyard, following him was another figure in pure black, his face hidden by a mask and his information disguised from [Identify]. Death, the silent companion of Justice.

The executioner took his stance next to the guillotine behind the justice. Further back, the prisoners were being led out of the jail, hands and feet shackled and chained together as guards kept them in line. Liliana could tell they hadn’t been well taken care of in the prison. Their skin and clothes were dirty and their eyes held dark circles under them. It was a stark contrast to the prideful people they’d met that first day in Timberborn. The loss of their children had broken something in their hearts, but their impending deaths had finished off their spirits.

The justice pulled out a scroll and opened it. As he called out the first name, two guards removed a man from the prisoners and led, practically dragged, him to the guillotine. As he was forced to kneel in front of the device, the justice read out his crimes to the gathered crowd. When he finished, the prisoner was forced into the guillotine, finally struggling against the guards as his death loomed before him. It was futile, however, and he was locked into the stock. The executioner looked towards their dais and Liliana realized with horror that he was waiting for Alistair’s permission. Her head whipped to the side, and she saw her brother lift his free hand. The gathered crowds cheered.

The beheading happened so quickly that Liliana didn’t see it by the time she looked back, but she heard it. The sound of metal parting flesh and bone, the wed thud of the head hitting the bucket under it. When she looked back, all she could see was crimson blood flooding the wood around the guillotine. Her free hand came up and covered her mouth as nausea rolled in her gut. It had been so fast, so effortless to end a life. The only thing keeping her in her seat was the dark joy that thrummed through her. Nemesis’ emotions and perhaps some of her own at seeing justice done, a blood debt being paid. She could sense that Nemesis was viewing the event through her eyes, reveling in the blood spilled.

The executions went by in a blur from there, name after name being called. Head after head dropping into the bucket. Wagons filled with headless corpses being driven off to dump them in a mass grave. Blood slowly painting the wood of the stage in a crimson that would never wash out. Liliana couldn’t move her eyes from the guillotine, no matter how much her stomach rebelled as the scent of iron got so strong she could smell it on the dais. Still, the gathered crowds cheered louder and louder, people went around selling trinkets and snacks.

Liliana couldn’t help but feel distant, as if she had activated [Astral Projection] and was seeing this from above her own body. She might understand this justice was necessary in this world, but she couldn’t comprehend the people cheering on the deaths. Couldn’t understand the ones who tossed rotten fruit at the prisoners before the blade dropped once more. Couldn’t understand the people cheering on the executioner as if he were a hero and not a bloody butcher. They were dressed and acted as if this were some type of festival, not an execution. More than anything else that showed her that this world was nothing like the one she had left.

Finally, after what felt like days of watching death after bloody death, the last name was called, the last head dropped, and the last body was removed. There was still fear in the air, but excitement was almost as strong. Liliana had to avert her eyes from the cheering people. She looked to Alistair, whose hand she still had her own on. He hadn’t shrugged her off the entire time, and she’d almost forgotten what she’d done.

Her hand squeezed his when she saw how drawn his face was, how tired his eyes were. The gathered crowds might view this as a celebration, but her brother was the one who had just written 67 names down on his conscience to carry for the rest of his life. 67 live he’d sentenced to death.

Would he have been like the others if we had not become close? If he had not begun to see commoners as more than just people he owned, but as people in their own rights with dreams and hopes? Liliana didn’t know if she felt proud or guilty. It was clear the event was weighing heavily on her brother, a weight he might not have had to bear if she had never interrupted his life.

Chapter 77: Today, Let The Kids Be Kids

Liliana shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. Snow had finally come after threatening them for days with heavy clouds. She had been so excited seeing the thick blanket of snow on the ground that she’d burst out of her tent with little more than her nightdress and cloak, and now she regretted it as she curled up close to Lelantos. She was grateful the tent had a heating enchantment worked into it, otherwise she doubted even her high vitality would save her from her own stupidity.

Nemesis was curled up on Lelantos’ head, having jumped off of Liliana before the girl had charged out of the tent. The serpent sent back smug feelings, as close to an ‘I told you so’ as she could get without words. Though Liliana suspected the serpent was close to figuring out how to use human words, she was rather intelligent and seemed to have a drive to communicate.

Liliana pulled away from Lelantos as her shivers died down and she finally started getting properly dressed, layering herself thickly in leathers and fur. Even her hands got shoved into thick gloves for all that she hated them because they made it harder to use a weapon properly. When she was dressed well enough to avoid giving herself hypothermia from playing outside, she turned to her drowsy Bonds.

She offered to have both of them come with her out into the winter wonderland, but was forcefully shut down by Nemesis. Lelantos also preferred the warm comfort of the tent and simply laid his head down, wrapping his tail around his body. Liliana rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, leaving the tent and her Bonds behind.

I’ll just make a snowman on my own, Liliana decided as her booted feet crunched through the soft snow. It was halfway up her calf, and she was a bit curious if they’d be able to take the carriage and horses through it. She knew the horses had skills to deal with the snow. It would be idiotic to not as they were a northern territory, but she didn’t know what enchantments the carriage had other than speed and stability.

The camp was quiet. It was the early morning and most wouldn't be up yet. Liliana had struggled to sleep. Nightmares birthed by the executions haunted her nights. Sometimes they twisted to where she saw Nemesis on the chopping block, or Lelantos. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept without some form of nightmare, either brought on by the horrors she’d seen in this world, the stress she was under, or the pendant she’d foolishly worn.

Liliana waved at the guards on watch who were close to a small fire. They didn’t try to stop her as she moved towards the treeline. She had neither of her bonds with her, so they knew she wasn’t planning on leaving the camp, having gotten used to her tells these long weeks they’d been together. Liliana knelt when she felt she’d found a clear enough area and began to gather soft snow, packing it carefully into a ball.

When it was packed, she began to roll it across the snow, building it bigger and bigger until she was chasing around a ball of snow that came up to her hip. Settling it down, she repeated the process twice more until she had a pile of three snowballs that came up to her head. A bit more searching and she found rocks and branches to finish off the snowman. As she stepped back to admire her artwork, she grinned. She’d always watched movies of children doing this, building snowmen with their parents, but she’d never had the chance.

I wish they were here, Liliana thought, the smile melting from her face as her arms came up to wrap around herself. Her heart ached with a longing for a home she’d never get to return to. For parents she’d never get to be held by again. Freezing tear drops dripped down her face as she mourned the family she’d lost.

“What is that?” an imperious voice asked, and Liliana hastened to wipe away the evidence of her melancholy and homesickness as she turned. Alistair stood behind her, dressed in furs and glaring at her snowman as if it had personally insulted him.

“It’s a snowman,” Liliana said, crossing her arms defensively. It might not be the best, but it was her first snowman.

“And his name is Henry!” she added on, her brother’s face morphing from a glare to disbelief.

“You named it? Henry?” he asked, and Liliana nodded proudly.

“And why on earth would you make something like that?” Alistair asked her slowly, as if she was dumb. Liliana glared and knelt down in the snow, methodically packing snow together.

“Because it’s fun. Didn’t you ever make a snowman with your parents before? It’s what you do when it snows,” Liliana stated obviously, rolling her eyes at her brother as she set to making her next snowball.

“No, I haven't. Nobles don’t frolic around in the snow like chimpanzees,” Alistair huffed. Liliana’s eyes flicked upward in time to catch a shadow of sadness on her brother’s features before it disappeared.

Was he ever allowed to be a child? She wondered, hands pausing over her third snowball. The original Liliana used to be jealous of his life, but I wonder if he’s lived in his own gilded cage this entire time, too.

Liliana stood up, holding four snowballs in the crook of her arm. Grabbing one, she threw it up and caught it, testing its weight. Her brother watched her, curiosity and exasperation on his features.

“What are you doing now? Going to make Henry a wife?” Alistair teased, and Liliana smirked, shaking her head.

“No, I’m going to teach you how to have some fun,” Liliana responded.

“Wh-“ Alistair’s sentence was cut off as a ball of snow exploded in his face. Liliana couldn’t stop her giggles at his face, full of shock and indignation as the snow slowly dripped off his face. He raised a hand and wiped off his face. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

“Lili, put th-“ he started, but was once more cut off with another snowball to the face.

“Would you please st-“ and another bullseye. Liliana was laughing so hard she could hardly see now and her final snowball missed its mark, hitting his shoulder.

“That’s it.” Alistair growled, and Liliana looked up, only to get a face full of cold snow.

As the melting snow dripped into her clothes she blinked at her brother as he smirked smugly at her. For a moment, they both just stood there, staring at each other as their breath made white clouds between them in the freezing winter air. With a grin and a giggle, Liliana dove to the side. Tumbling across the ground, she put her Speed and Dexterity to work as she made snowballs at a breakneck pace.

Liliana stood, clutching as many snowballs as she could before she began to run, pelting her brother with them, her bright laughter ringing out over the camp. Alistair ducked and dodged the snowballs as best he could, blocking what shots he couldn’t dodge with his arms.

“Get back here, you little witch!” Alistair called out, trying to sound angry, but the smile on his face betrayed him. Liliana kept pelting him until she saw him rolling a behemoth snowball together.

“Ah, brother, don’t be so hasty,” Liliana said, backing up as he hefted the large boulder of snow above his head.

“I’m just having fun, Lili,” Alistair taunted, before chucking the snowball at her with all his strength.

Liliana couldn’t dodge the snowball heading at her at mach 5 speed and she toppled to the ground as it exploded over her, snow coating her and slipping under her clothes to chill her skin. Staring up at the sky, Liliana blinked dazedly. She was almost certain she could see little stars dancing above her head, silhouetted against the light blue sky.

“Hah! That’ll show you,” Alistair crowed, and Liliana tilted her head to look at her brother, who was grinning down at her.

Liliana smirked, giggles leaking from her mouth. Soon her brother was chuckling with her. Alistair held out a hand, laughter still spilling from him. Liliana grasped his arm and let him pull her to her feet easily. As she brushed off the snow on her, she smiled at Alistair again. Opening her mouth, she started to tease him when both of them got a snowball to the face. Turning in sync, they looked to see Emyr crouched in a tree, shadows waving around him, each holding a snowball, an impish smile on the boy’s face.

“Run,” Alistair said and Liliana didn’t hesitate to follow that order, activating [Solar Samba] and [Dancer’s Domain] she burst into a flurry of movement, zigzagging to avoid the rain of snowballs Emyr sent at them.

Seeing a long branch on the ground, Liliana dove for it. Rolling to her feet, she turned to face Emyr’s barrage. Alistair had picked up a log of wood and was using it as a makeshift shield. Liliana spun her branch around, exploding the snowballs before they could hit her.

“How much Mana does he have?” Liliana asked as she ducked and dodged around a flurry of snowballs. His shadows were working to make the snowballs and throw them, like an army of snow wielding shadow soldiers.

“Too damn much,” Alistair grumbled, but that smile was still on his face. Liliana smirked as she ducked behind him. Grabbing as much snow as she could, she made the biggest snowball she could hold comfortably before popping out from behind her brother.

“Cover me,” she said seconds before she activated her chain combo UP. She flew through the air, rocketing towards Emyr, the snowball held out before her. Emyr’s eyes widened, but before he could throw himself from the tree, the snowball and Liliana collided with him. They both fell from the tree in a tangle of limbs and cold snow.

“Gotcha, you little shit,” Liliana panted, rolling off of Emyr.

She grinned in victory as she jumped to her feet, tugging Emyr up behind her. The boy shook himself like a dog getting the snow off his clothes. He smiled at her before the look on his face turned to horror. Liliana just sighed in resigned defeat, not even bothering to turn around. Another boulder snowball, courtesy of Alistair, knocked both of them off their feet.

Liliana climbed to her feet again and the three of them continued their snow war. Alliances were quickly made and just as quickly discarded as they continuously turned on each other. Their laughter and shrieks at the cold snow woke the camp and before too long, the guards were stumbling out into the snow to see the three nobles chasing each other around, snowballs whizzing through the air at speeds hard to follow. The teens didn’t see it but coin quickly changed hands as bets were made and lost on the outcome of the small skirmishes between the three nobles.

Liliana panted, weakly tossing a snowball at her brother that hit his stomach before she flopped to the ground, worn out. Her Stamina had taken a beating with how much chasing and dodging they’d done, and the sun was high in the sky now. Emyr had given up before her. He was still a black lump in the snow, barely moving except to groan or laugh periodically. Alistair seemed to have a truly monstrous amount of Stamina as he stood above them, hands on his hips, grinning, barely even sweating, or breathing hard.

He finally looked like a kid, a fourteen-year-old kid enjoying his childhood. They both did, Liliana thought as she rolled over, staring up at the cloudless azure sky above her, a smile etched deep into her face.

She’d dreamed of the day she’d be healthy enough to go home. Her parents had promised they’d take her up north one day, to see the snow she’d never gotten a chance to enjoy. They’d promised her carefree winters filled with hot chocolate and warm memories. She might not have her first family with her now, but she knew she’d treasure the memory of this day none the less. Because it had been fun, it had been carefree. And she’d finally managed to banish the shadows from Alistair’s eyes for these precious hours. She’d given the three of them a small slice of the childhood that was slowly being ripped from them.

The heir to the most powerful Duchy in the Queendom, the boy who has already pledged his life to that heir, even if he hasn’t stated it, and a girl given a quest by a Goddess to stop the destruction of this world. We never had a hope of having a normal, carefree childhood. The only way we’ll ever get that is if we snatch these small, fleeting moments when we can. Something to hold close to us when the world tries to beat us down with its depravity. Liliana thought as her heartbeat slowly calmed down and her breathing deepened. Alistair sat down next to her, picking up a stick to poke at Emyr, who groaned and whined like he was dying.

“Stop! My body is done for, go on without me,” Emyr whined pitifully and Alistair snorted, shocking Liliana.

“He’s always been melodramatic. It’s the worst when he’s tired,” Alistair said conversationally as his spare hand cupped his chin, the other one resuming its poking of their fallen friend. Liliana slowly sat up, wincing at her sore muscles.

“I guess running around without a thought to decorum or propriety can be fun, sometimes,” Alistair said, his face still averted from Liliana as he looked at his friend, though she could see the smile that still lingered from his profile.

“Keep it up and I’ll make a commoner of you yet, Ali,” Liliana teased, leaning over to bump him with her shoulder. Alistair snorted again, a dry chuckle emerging from him.

“Wouldn’t that be the day?” he asked, a touch of melancholy leaking into his tone.

It was odd, and something Liliana never would have thought she’d feel, but for a moment, looking at her brother as he sat there, his eyes still haunted by darkness, Liliana felt almost protective of him. A want filled her to banish those shadows and hide him from all that would dampen those golden eyes. It was foolish. She could hardly protect herself and out of all of them, Alistair needed protection the least. But she couldn’t deny the urge was there.

Chapter 78: Memories So Dark

Liliana thumbed the new clothes she wore. A present from her stepbrother and Emyr. Her brother had claimed it was because he couldn’t stand to see her in the rags she’d been wearing, though Liliana was well aware that her previous clothes had been just fine. The repair enchantment on them meant they were still in good condition, but she had been thinking of getting a new set. Her brother had beaten her to the punch after seeing her looking in an adventurer’s shop in Ariowood. What she was a bit more concerned about was that the clothes fit perfectly, despite not being measured for them. Liliana had a feeling Emyr had somehow snuck her measurements to Alistair at some point, how he’d done so without her knowledge she wasn’t sure.

Reinforced Scaled Leather Set

Made from the reinforced scales of a Razortooth and hardened leather from Steelhorned Stags by a Master leatherworker this set offers protection and durability. Enchantments for durability and repair have been woven into this set.

+15 Vitality

+15 Endurance

+15 Dexterity

Set Bonus: While all pieces are equipped, you have access to the equipment ability [Steel Skin], for five minutes you will be protected from up to 2,000 points of damage. 5 hour cool down or until Mana is replenished.

Rare.

The set offered far more benefits than her current, but Liliana kept her old just in case as it could be upgraded further. This new set didn’t offer a Speed boost like her old, though it had a Vitality and Endurance buff. She shouldn’t be surprised, considering a tank had been the one to buy it. Alistair had likely been looking for something that would supply her defensive bonuses.

She was more surprised it wasn’t actual plate mail. But she supposed she had Emyr to thank for that, as he seemed to be the more reasonable of the pair. It would at least help cover the glaring weakness that was her Vitality a little bit. Liliana had expected her stats to get slowly more and more unbalanced, especially with her class focusing on Endurance, Speed, Dexterity and Charisma. Still, her low Vitality sometimes worried her, especially since the fight with Nemesis was so recent in her memory. However, she had so little to devote to it, as it was she had to pick between increasing her magical power or her strength every level up.

I knew it would be difficult to become a spellblade type DPS, but I never imagined it would be this much of a headache, Liliana thought as she sat down on her bedroll in her tent, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She knew with her Speed being her highest stat her best tactic in a fight was to hit continuously until her opponent was down. She had the Endurance to back up such a fighting style too now.

If I could just figure out how to mimic Natalia, it would make everything a lot easier. I won’t need as much Strength then, as I could focus on Wisdom and Intelligence to control more blades and increase their damage. Liliana considered biting on a nail as she thought. Right now, her purely magic attacks weren’t the strongest and were easily outclassed by her physical strength. Light just wasn’t a good combat affinity, and it was becoming increasingly evident to her.

Liliana thumbed the daggers sitting on her hip thoughtfully. She had truly been neglecting her dagger skills. The weapons weren’t her preference, forcing her into close combat with opponents was unwise when her Vitality was as low as it was. However, after seeing Natalia’s performance, she was rethinking her choice. Alistair had succeeded in having a contract set up with the circus to perform for his birthday, so Liliana would get a chance then to ask the woman about teaching her. She had wanted to ask her while they were still in Ariowood, but she had never found the time to.

“Lili? Are you ready?” a quiet voice called out to her and Liliana sighed, standing up. Lelantos had found some Creeping Brambles earlier that day, and she’d been the one to suggest fighting them to Alistair and Emyr. It wouldn’t do for her to delay them.

“Yea,” Liliana said as she walked out, seeing Emyr standing outside her tent.

“Where’s Alistair?” Liliana asked, looking around for her stepbrother. She was sure he’d have been waiting for a chance to complain about the time it took her to get ready.

“Still putting on his armor,” Emyr explained, Liliana fell into step with him as he walked towards her brother’s tent.

“And he complains that I take too long,” Liliana grumbled.

“It’s because you do. Gods know why you take so long. It’s not like you’ve got anyone around here to impress,” Alistair answered, exiting his own tent just in time to catch her snide remark.

“Maybe I’m trying to impress Emyr,” Liliana teased and Alistair snorted, crossing armored arms and leveling her with a look that showed exactly how likely he thought of that possibility. Emyr was regarding her with ill-hidden horror.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re the one who followed us in the middle of the night because you thought we were having an affair,” Liliana smirked as Alistair’s face darkened quickly and he struggled to find words.

“Liliana, I appreciate the interest. However, I have standards,” Emyr said, interrupting the siblings’ inevitable quarrel. Liliana turned to Emyr and frowned.

“It was a joke, Em,” Liliana told him slowly.

“It wasn’t a very good one,” he answered, his voice monotone. Liliana sighed and shook her head.

“Wait, what do you mean by standards?” Liliana asked, her voice low as her eyes narrowed at the other boy. Emyr took a step back and, with a smirk, vanished into shadows.

“You can’t just disappear after you say bullshit like that Emyr! Get back out here!” Liliana shouted, however Emyr didn’t reappear, and she sighed, running a hand over her face.

“It’s okay Lili. I’m sure someone will be able to overlook your face and personality and love you,” Alistair said, his voice full of false sympathy as he laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s go. I feel a sudden urge to stab something. A lot.” Liliana growled, shrugging off her brother’s hand and stomping her way towards the forest. She noted several guards splitting away from the camp, but she quickly lost track of them as they entered the more densely crowded forest.

“Lili,” Alistair spoke up after a few moments, and his voice was serious enough that Liliana slowed her step to walk next to her brother as they followed the game trail deeper into the woods. Snow crunched underfoot and Liliana was grateful for the thick overhead canopy that kept the snowfall light inside the forest.

“I think being around the guards so long has resulted in some… bad habits,” Alistair said, his voice hesitant, as if he was struggling to find a way to voice his thoughts. Liliana paused, looking over at Alistair in confusion.

“Me and Emyr, we’ve gotten used to the way you talk when we’re not at the manor, but cursing and stomping around. It’s not proper for a noblewoman,” Alistair continued slowly, and Liliana hissed a breath out between clenched teeth.

“We’ll be home soon enough, I just. I don’t want you to do something and… and make Mother mad again,” Alistair finished, his voice soft and full of concern as he looked down.

Liliana regarded her stepbrother, keeping her first instinct to lash out at the criticism quiet. She could tell where he was coming from, and it was surprising he was actually warning her when it came to his mother. It wasn’t a secret that Imogen didn’t like her, but this entire trip Alistair hadn’t mentioned his mother around her. A memory, not one of her own, swam to the surface of her mind.

“Why do you keep doing things like this? Are you just this stupid or do you want her to hate you?” a young voice called out. Liliana looked up, wiping tears off her face hastily. She had hidden herself deep in the garden maze hoping to escape Imogen’s notice, but apparently her hiding spot had had been discovered. The scent of fresh blooming roses could no longer penetrate her stuffed nose, but the beautiful flowers still swung in the breeze, without a care in the world. Not noticing the sobbing girl beneath them.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, her voice wavering as more tears threatened to spill over. She did nothing, yet Imogen always found fault with everything about her.

“You failed your classes. Then when the Duke summoned you to talk about them, you tried to tell the Duke that it was mother’s fault,” Alistair told her and Liliana’s face contorted into a grimace. It had been true, though!

Since Imogen had come, Miss Beckett has been so much worse, giving her harder lessons than before and forcing her to get her work done in even less time than was possible. She knew the Duchess had ordered it! Her father had never taken so much interest in her schooling before. Imogen just wanted to see her fail, to show her father she was useless.

“But-“ Liliana started.

“Stop. It’s your own fault you failed. Haven’t you figured out that no one here cares what excuses you give? Just stop giving mother reasons to be mad at you. Be quiet like a good mutt and maybe she’ll leave you alone.” Alistair’s voice was slow, as if he was explaining something so obvious to an idiot. But Liliana didn’t understand.

She knew what it was like to live in a manor where her father wanted nothing to do with her and the servants ignored her existence. But dealing with someone who not only acknowledged her, but actively took offense to her very presence and tried to find any fault she could was new. She just wished her stepmother would leave. She’d rather live alone and ignored than to be constantly punished like this. The cold ache of loneliness was much preferable to the burning pain of open hatred.

“Why do you care?” Liliana asked, voice petulant as she glared at her stepbrother through tear-blurred eyes.

“Because I’m sick of hearing your name from mother and the servants. Every-time you mess up and antagonize mother, it’s all that the manor talks about for days.” Alistair hissed, his own eyes full of an anger that made Liliana whimper and curl away from him.

“Just be quiet. Stop making her mad,” Alistair finished. Turning on his heel, he stalked off, leaving Liliana in her quiet corner of the garden with only the flowers to hear her sobs.

Liliana shook off the memory as she averted her gaze from her stepbrother. Why am I remembering that now? Liliana wondered before she considered more closely the events from the memory. It wasn’t the only memory she had from the original Liliana of Alistair doing things that appeared to be for his own selfish interest, but seemed to have some bit of aid or advice for her. Perhaps, in his own way, he’d been trying to help her. Before he had the strength to step away from his mother’s strangling webs.

He was just a child, with his entire life upended. Forced to move into a new home, to have a new father. Perhaps I was too harsh in my judgments about him. He was only doing what his mother told him to, and even then, he still tried to help in his own way. Liliana thought. She took a deep breath, steadying the confusing mixture of emotions in her chest. Her hatred of Imogen had been there since she’d lived through Liliana’s memories, but now it felt more potent than before.

“Do you remember, when I was punished and locked in my room with nothing but a little bread and water every day to eat?” Liliana asked, turning from her stepbrother as she asked the question.

That memory had been a rough one to live through. The original Liliana hadn’t been older than maybe eleven at the time. In her last life, she was no stranger to an empty stomach, when the treatments got so bad she couldn’t hold food down without throwing it back up. But the original Liliana hadn’t been sick,. She’d been a small child who had done nothing wrong, yet she’d been starved for the duchess’ own sick pleasure. Framed for a crime she didn’t commit just to give the duchess a reason to torment her.

“Yes,” Alistair said, his voice low, almost too quiet to hear.

Liliana was a little surprised he had remembered, more than many of the memories that one had stuck with her. Not just because of the pain attached to it, emotional and physical, but because it was the clearest memory she had of Alistair directly defying his mother. He’d brought her food every day, up until that last day when he’d stopped coming and she hadn’t seen him for days afterwards.

“Why didn’t you come on the last day?” Liliana asked, her hand tightening around the haft of her weapon. She knew the answer. It was so clear to her now. Something she had never realized before, because she’d been so busy being jealous and suspicious of Alistair that she hadn’t bothered to realize his life might not have been the fairytale she’d believed it to be. Because Alistair had always done such a good job of hiding his own pain behind his carefully constructed mask.

“I disobeyed, and I was shown the error of my ways,” Alistair responded, the lines sounding rehearsed. As if they’d been engraved in his mind, spoken with no emotion at all. But so much lurked between the lines of what he’d said.

Liliana stamped down on her first instinct. To rant and rave and curse Imogen to hell and back. She knew right now it wasn’t something Alistair would hear. He was still too much his mother’s son. He loved his mother. Liliana knew that. He feared her too; she was certain. Liliana took a breath, calming her raging temper.

“Thank you, I never got the chance to tell you, but what you did meant so much to me,” Liliana said, turning to her brother and giving him a soft smile. His eyes were conflicted, guilt, confusion and uncertainty swirling deep in the golden depths.

“Come on, let’s go before Emyr kills all the Creeping Brambles without us,” Liliana said, giving her brother an out to a conversation that was obviously uncomfortable for him.

She’d said what she needed to anyway, the thank you that the original Liliana had never had a chance to utter. Gratitude from a little girl who had only ever known love from a mother gone far too soon. It was no wonder she had clung so tightly to Alistair, even as he grew and became more harsh and distant. He had been the first person in her family since her mother to show her any kindness.

Something like that seemed such a small gesture to her originally, but with having lived in this world for over half a year now, Liliana could understand more clearly how much that had truly meant to the forgotten daughter of the duchy. She saw as well how much courage it had taken for Alistair to actively defy his own mother, even knowing the punishment he would suffer if he was caught.

It had been so easy for her to judge him through the lens of someone who had never lived with a mother who would turn on her own so easily just to keep them in line. To judge a child who could be easily discarded from his new family for the first-born daughter of the duke, or even now for his own siblings. Alistair had never been safe, never been secure in his position. The only person keeping him safe was his mother. If he had displeased her enough, he too could be cast aside. Yet despite that, he’d done what little he could to help her.

Even now, he was actively becoming closer to her, even knowing how his mother would take it. Even knowing he had two siblings who could easily usurp his position as heir. Yet still he remained by her side despite that, despite the way she’d pushed him away. It didn’t absolve him of the sins he’d committed, but Liliana had forgiven him those the day he’d apologized to her. She would not hold a grudge against a child who had been trying to survive and who had only done what he’d been taught. He was changing, and that more than anything else showed her he meant every word of his apology.

“Yes, let’s go,” Alistair answered, and Liliana shoved her thoughts down, giving Alistair a brighter smile. She turned and, with perhaps more force than was necessary, cleared a branch out of the way with her weapon. Anger thrummed hot and heavy in her blood and she needed to get rid of the excess energy.

Chapter 79: Board Games and Word Play

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

4

Level:

115

Species:

Evanesce Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

6

Health:

4,880

H-Regen:

+48.8/1.1sec

Mana:

2,050

M-Regen:

+26.5/1.1sec

Stamina:

3,700

S-Regen:

+30.7/1.1sec

Magic Power:

3,754

Magic Control:

4,102

Experience: 765,817/1,081,600

Vitality:

488

Endurance:

370

Strength:

350

Dexterity:

40

Wisdom:

205

Intelligence:

265

Speed:

110

Charisma:

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

71%

Illusion

57%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 122

[Stealth] Lvl 121

[Tracking] Lvl 119

[Dodge] Lvl 115

[Predator] Lvl 113

[Consume] lvl 110

[Enhancement] Lvl 108

[Sentinel] Lvl 103

[Bestial Roar] lvl 97

[Enrage] Lvl 89

Spells

[Vanish] Lvl 124

[Light Claws] lvl 103

[Entrance] Lvl 101

[Light Manipulation] Lvl 99

[Morningstar] Lvl 93

[Reinforcement] Lvl 91

[Light Cloak] Lvl 85

[Duplicate] Lvl 73

[Reflect] Lvl 68

[Enlargement] Lvl 47

Liliana closed the screens in front of her eyes with a thoughtful hum. Lelantos had been pushing himself hard, far harder than she’d anticipated. His leveling had slowed now that they were approaching lands with far less level appropriate adversaries available to him, but she knew he’d been working on raising his Magic Power and Control when he couldn’t hunt.

The fight with Nemesis had left a deep impact on the tiger. He’d been confronted with something he couldn’t fight off, something that had almost ripped his Bond from him. Liliana was under no illusions as to how much her first Bond loved her. There were no secrets kept in a soul bond. She hadn’t imagined it was possible for a beast to feel insecure, but there was no other word to describe the emotions she’d felt from him. First the assassins, then Nemesis had shaken the foundation of his confidence.

Liliana was proud of his progress, but secretly she was glad he’d be forced to take a break too. No matter how much she tried to communicate that it wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t been strong enough to fight off the assassins or Nemesis, the tiger seemed bent on becoming stronger. Liliana had given up, instead keeping a close eye on his health to be sure he didn’t push himself too far.

At this rate, though, he’ll be Rank 5 before I get into the Academy. I’m sure Father will be glad. I won’t mind the extra power that affords me either, nor the protection that comes with having two Rank 5 Bonds. But I don’t want him to push himself to exhaustion. Liliana thought. She hadn’t been exactly idle either on their trip back home. While the guards were more perceptive than ever, especially now that they didn’t have prisoners to watch over, she had been allowed to go out hunting more often. Liliana was certain guards had been hiding and watching every time, but now that she had Nemesis with her at all times they had loosened her leash a bit.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

81

Class

Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

7

Health

1,220

H-Regen

+12.2/1.1sec

Mana

1,600

M-Regen

+15.4/1.1sec

Stamina

3,660

S-Regen

+36.6/1.1sec

Magic Power

1,773

Magic Control

1,910

Experience: 588,532/672,400

Vitality

107(122)

Endurance

351(366)

Strength

195

Dexterity

346(361)

Wisdom

160

Intelligence

154

Speed

397

Charisma

319

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

She hadn’t leveled nearly as much, but the creatures she could fight had been far less available. She was still trying to keep her increased stats a secret from others, which meant she couldn’t fight everything she knew was within her abilities, especially not with the extra eyes on her. While the guards seemed to be far warmer to her now, there were still some she hadn’t won over. Some who could be acting as her stepmother’s eyes and ears on this trip. It would be idiotic to assume the woman hadn’t planted spies on this trip, if only to keep an eye on her son.

I’ll be hitting Rank 6 soon, just 4 more levels, Liliana thought as she shooed away her notifications. Alistair and Emyr had both already hit Rank 6, Alistair was at level 90, Emyr was at level 86. This trip had been good for all of them as far as levels went. Liliana was still hiding her level with [Deception]. Her [Deception] skill was still leveling regularly with so much active use for it. Liliana just hoped it would soon level to the point that it could disguise her level from her father.

Imogen wouldn’t be too much of a concern. Liliana doubted the woman had leveled in her absence. Her father was the strongest person at the manor. If Liliana could keep her abnormal growth hidden from him, she’d be good. She feared what her father would do if he figured out that Liliana’s level growth was too fast for anyone to reasonably achieve. She’d likely become even more valuable to him. A pawn he couldn’t possibly discard. It might sound like a favorable outcome, but Liliana knew it would mean her gilded cage would only shrink and grow more constraining if that happened. She’d become his golden goose, and he’d never let her go then.

Or worse, she’d become his weapon. Something to be used to further cement his power. Something to be used to frighten his enemies and subject those under him. Liliana didn’t know enough about her father to say if he would use her in such a way. But she knew enough to be wary of the possibility.

“Are you going to make a move or are you just going to stare at the board for another ten minutes?” Alistair asked, his voice impatient. Liliana shook her head to discard her thoughts as she focused on the board in front of her. Emyr was napping in the corner of the carriage and Jason looked close to joining him. She and Alistair had started playing chess right after Emyr had fallen asleep, and Liliana could already tell she wouldn’t be winning this game.

“Knight to E5,” Liliana instructed, watching in amusement as the Knightmare moved to the designated spot. She’d never tire of watching the pieces move on their own, perfectly mimicking their living counterparts. Despite the magic she herself had access to, it was something like this that filled her with true wonder.

“Bishop to E5,” Alistair responded drolly. An Archneline scuttled across the board and quickly finished off her poor knight.

Liliana frowned at the board. Matches with Alistair ended one of two ways. A sound defeat or a prolonged defeat. She’d yet to beat him even once playing chess. Strategy had never been her strong suit, she’d always done abysmally at such game in her past life. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t had Risk made when she’d talked to the Fletchers. She was certain now if she had, Alistair would’ve reigned supreme over that game as well.

Ah, maybe I can have it made as a birthday gift for him? He’d love it, Liliana thought as she ordered a rook to move. It only took another three moves for Alistair to get her into check. Liliana mentally apologized to her pieces for having such a bad tactician behind them. She was certain they were as done with being killed as she was with losing.

“We should be home soon,” Alistair said as Liliana reset up the board. She didn’t really want to keep playing chess, but this world lacked a smartphone for her to distract herself with, and she’d found out the hard way that reading in the carriage gave her motion sickness. It’d been bad enough that Alistair had threatened her with death if she dared to read in the carriage again. He claimed he’d never get the smell of vomit out of his fifth favorite shoes.

“So we will,” Liliana responded lightly. She’d been counting the days, watching the time tick down until she was locked back in that awful manor. She’d considered sabotaging the wheels of the carriage just to prolong their trip. Liliana had discarded the idea, however, knowing there was no way she’d get away with it. The guards watched her more closely than ever after the incident with Nemesis. She suspected none of them wanted to see what Amelia would do if the guards lost her again.

“Are you going to see the crown princess again?” Alistair asked, as he moved a pawn forward.

“I hope so. I’m sure you have many invites awaiting you at the manor,” Liliana answered him as she moved her own pawn forward.

She was certain with this latest excursion Alistair’s position as heir would’ve been solidified even more. Her father had trusted him with a task typically overseen by the duke himself. Nobles wanting to get close to the next Duke Rosengarde would be lining up to curry favor. After all, Rosengarde was the largest and strongest duchy in the queendom. Behind the royal family, no other noble family could claim the level of power the Rosengardes enjoyed, and any social climber would be attracted to that.

“Yes, I’m sure I’ll have many invitations. If you have the time, perhaps would you accompany me to a few?” Alistair asked as he moved his next piece. Liliana sucked on her teeth when he took out one of her pawns in the move. She considered his words as she thought about her next move. Was he perhaps offering her a way out of the manor, knowing how unhappy she was there?

“Would it be a good idea to have me with you?” Liliana asked as she made her move, smirking when she took one of his knights. Her smile faded when Alistair immediately retaliated by taking one of her bishops.

“You’re my sister. Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?” Alistair asked, feigning ignorance. Liliana might have been more or less accepted into society, but she was still the half-blood daughter of the duke and a commoner. She’d only been given a bit of attention because of her remarkable leveling speed and Bond, coupled with her father’s newfound attention. Those who had failed to get the Duke’s favor through the normal channels had thought her a pathway to her father. Their attention had fallen as soon as they realized that while she had some of her father’s favor, she still had no true power where he was concerned.

However, she still wasn’t someone that would be beneficial to be seen around for Alistair. Technically, they were rivals for the duchy, even though Liliana had no intention of trying to take the spot as heir. She also had no political power of her own. Being seen with her could lower Alistair’s own political power, or make him seem weak.

“Besides, it’s good to get out of the manor. The fresh air on the trip seems to have done wonders for you,” Alistair finished as Liliana made her next move.

Liliana shot him an accessing look, trying to decode his words. He was being very careful about what he said, but she thought she had an idea of what he was trying to communicate. Her eyes shifted to Jason, who was looking out the window. Alistair must not trust the guard enough to speak freely about his mother around him. It was a reminder to Liliana that she had no real way of knowing who around them was in her stepmother’s pocket.

‘I know being around mother is going to be hard for you. Let me help you get out of the house and away from her,’ was what went unspoken between his words. He knew when they returned, the duke would be paying more attention to her. Which meant she’d be getting more attention from the duchess, who would undoubtedly be threatened by the increased attention from the duke towards Liliana.

Having her father’s favor afforded her some protection, but it didn’t come without its dangers. The more of a threat Liliana became, the more the duchess would feel like she was being backed into a corner. Already she’d sent two assassins after Liliana and that was before Liliana had tamed a Rank 5 flowered serpent. Liliana doubted the woman would strike again so soon after her last failed attempts, but she knew Imogen would strike again. It was no longer a matter of if; it was a matter of when.

“Fresh air is good for one’s constitution. If I have the time, perhaps I shall accompany you, if it won’t trouble you,” Liliana answered before sighing when Alistair trapped her king.

“Welcome home, young master,” a voice called out as Alistair exited the carriage. Emyr followed after him and Liliana grabbed the offered hand without a thought as Alistair helped her down from the carriage. It had once been so odd to accept such gestures from him, but now it was natural for her.

Liliana looked at the waiting staff as she pulled her cloak around herself more tightly. It wasn’t the entire staff, but far more than she thought would show up had she been alone. Servants were already removing the luggage from the carriage, and the knights were stretching after dismounting their horses. Snow had been cleared from the walkways of the grounds, thankfully, and Liliana thought wistfully of her warm room. The novelty of snow had worn off after a few days. Now she just wanted to be inside and away from the insidious chill of winter.

“The Duke requests your presence, and Lady Liliana’s presence afterwards,” the servant relayed to them, and Liliana struggled to compose her expression. She wanted to whine and complain. They’d been traveling since early morning to get home before dark and now they had to talk to her father? Couldn’t he just let them rest?

“Very well, we will go to him,” Alistair responded, his voice calm.

Liliana snuck a look at him and saw his mask was back in place. The same mask he wore at all times in this house, a similar mask to what she herself donned around this too cold home. Silently, the three nobles entered the manor. Liliana watched with some amusement the way the servants bowed deeply to Alistair as they passed. His position as heir had more or less been officially cemented with this trip, since he had acted as her father’s proxy. The reverence with which they treated him was such a stark contrast to the way they normally treated her. Even after she’d come back with Lelantos, they hadn’t treated her with even a fraction of this respect. At the end of the day, their fear of her father, who had afforded Alistair a portion of his power as heir apparent, was far stronger than their fear of her tame.

When they arrived at the door to her father’s study, Alistair knocked and was almost immediately allowed entrance, the door shutting behind him with a thud. Liliana stared at the door, struggling to hold in her irritation. She was expected to simply wait outside of it, for however long her father wished to make her wait. She, who was his own child by blood and birth. It was a slight, an obvious one. She was certain her father knew she had tamed Nemesis, and it was likely he’d been informed of her own influence in capturing the villagers. Yet her father was still showing her that no matter how much power she gained, no matter how much she accomplished, she was still beneath him.

“You don’t have to wait here,” Liliana said to Emyr, who leaned against the wall as if he had nothing better to do with his time.

“I don’t mind,” Emyr answered with a shrug, and Liliana let a small smile slip through the cold mask she wore. This home might be cold and loveless, but it seemed far less daunting when she had a friend at her side.

Chapter 80: A House Not A Home

“Enter,” the voice rang out, full of confidence and authority that his orders would be followed.

Liliana bit back on the hot remark waiting on the tip of her tongue as she opened the door and entered her father’s study. As with Alistair before her, the heavy door swung shut behind her, locking her in this room with a threat far greater than any she’d fought yet. Liliana approached the desk separating her father from her and dipped a low curtsy, holding it for a moment before rising.

“Hello, father,” Liliana spoke up, keeping her eyes averted from him and her voice demure.

“I’m told you were able to bond with a flowered serpent?” Her father asked with no preamble. Liliana bit the inside of her mouth until she tasted blood as fury raged in her.

Not a single word on the assassination attempts. Not a single pretense of care. He couldn’t even bother to ask if I’m alright, just if I managed to perform the task he set for me? How could I have ever deluded myself into believing this man was capable of love, or that I would ever be able to achieve it? This man loves nothing other than his own power, Liliana thought darkly. Taking in a deep breath, she nodded her head.

“Yes, father,” Liliana answered, holding out an arm she mentally bid Nemesis to circle her forearm. The serpent was agitated, undoubtedly affected by Liliana’s own emotions, but she did as she was directed.

“So small,” her father mused.

“She has a larger form, but it’s too big to fit into the manor,” Liliana explained defensively.

“That’s useful then. Is that a Poison affinity I see? That’s quite rare. You did good by taming her,” her father nodded, and Liliana hated herself a bit for the way his words of praise filled her with happiness. How much had the original Liliana craved her father’s affection that such weak words still made this body light up?

“Thank you, father,” Liliana bowed her head and lowered her arm as Nemesis slithered back up until she rested around Liliana’s neck.

“I’ve heard of the trouble you faced while on your trip. The parties responsible will be dealt with. Whoever hired the assassins will be found, and made an example of. For someone to be so blatant about attacking someone from the Rosengarde house, it’s absurd,” her father continued, and Liliana looked up in surprise. Did her father actually care that she’d nearly died?

“The guards responsible for your care who failed will be punished, the Wilde’s will also need to be handled. To allow an assassin so close to you is inexcusable, and it seems they’ve grown complacent with me keeping such a close eye on the borders. This must be rectified,” her father wrote something down on a piece of paper before him, not even looking at Liliana.

“The guards stopped the first assassin,” Liliana spoke up, but her voice trembled. She had never really spoken up against her father. As his cold blue eyes, the same color as her own, settled on her, she struggled to breathe. It wasn’t even the force of his aura pressing on her that made her struggle for breath, it was the coldness held deep in those gemstone blue eyes that robbed her of air.

“After he’d already gotten into your tent. They were only alerted because children had snuck out and seen the assassin before returning. The second time you killed the assassin before the guards ever got to you. The guards are lucky that they’re only being punished and not executed for such egregious negligence. They must believe I’ve grown soft if they think such acts will be excused,” her father spoke softly, but the threat in his words was clear. Liliana ducked her head, no longer able to hold her father’s piercing, emotionless gaze. How was it possible for someone to speak of killing others and not show an ounce of hesitation in their eyes?

Her father wasn’t worried about her. She’d seen that in his eyes that held not a single ounce of warmth or care. He saw this as a slight against him. Her father had tasked the guards with keeping her safe, and several times they’d failed. Their failure was the same to him as if they’d directly disobeyed one of his orders.

“These attempts on your life also show that our enemies have noticed you and taken an interest. I will be increasing the guards on you. You’re not to leave the manor with less than ten guards,” her father ordered, and Liliana nodded submissively.

The only enemy who has taken notice of me is your wife, father. Why don’t you focus more on her? Liliana thought bitterly.

“What about leveling further, father?” Liliana asked, and her father tapped a piece of paper on his desk. Liliana hesitantly took it and looked over it. It was a dungeon form, already filled out with her information and accepted.

“You’ll train at this dungeon come spring, when traveling will be easier. Until then, focus on replying to the invitations you’ve been sent. Many will be interested in you once they hear of your newest Bond,” her father informed her, waving a hand as if to dismiss her. Liliana looked up and opened her mouth. Now was her chance to talk to her father about Imogen and her attempts. She’d gained some of his favor. Perhaps now he would listen to her.

“Father, about the duches-“ Liliana started, but her words were choked off at the glacial glare sent her way.

“I’ve told you before, I don’t care about whatever feud you have with my wife. She is the duchess of this duchy, and you will respect her as such. Do not come to me with your petty nonsense.” her father’s voice was colder than the winter wind rattling the windows. It reminded her of other memories, memories of the last time Liliana had tried to seek her father’s protection from her stepmother.

“Father, father, please! She’s cruel, please,” Liliana cried, gripping tightly to her father’s pants leg.

She’d been haunting the hallway in front of his study for days, waiting for him to come out so she could speak to him. Bruises under her dress pulled and stung with each movement after the beating Imogen had ordered the maid’s to carry out for some perceived slight. She’d become bold after seeing there was no punishment for the way she treated Liliana. The duke didn’t care what the duchess did to his firstborn, so long as he didn’t have to see her. As long as she remained alive, her father saw his duty as a parent fulfilled.

“Sh-She had me beaten because she said I disrespected her. Please, father, make her stop!” Liliana begged, tears coursing down her face. The breath in her lungs strangled her when an overpowering aura surrounded her. Fear thrummed frigid in her blood as her father turned his uncaring eyes onto her.

“It is her right to discipline you as she sees fit, and apparently it’s not enough if you are making a scene such as this. Do not bother me again with such trivial things,” her father’s voice was uncaring, devoid of any form of warmth. Liliana’s hands dropped from his pant’s leg as she stumbled back, barely able to think through the fear. Her father didn’t look back as he stalked off, leaving her alone and with the knowledge that she would find no allies in this house she could no longer call home.

“Of course, father. I apologize for overstepping,” Liliana’s voice was hollow as she curtsied to her father before turning to leave. She had been an idiot to think for even a moment that her father would ever help her. If she wanted to get rid of Imogen, she needed to do it herself, and in a way that was undeniable. She couldn’t give that awful woman even the barest glimmer of a chance to weasel her way out of the consequences.

“I’ve had some things delivered to your room as well, as a reward for what you’ve accomplished for our house,” her father informed her as she reached the door. Liliana’s hand tightened over the handle until the skin went white.

“Thank you, father,” Liliana responded before opening the door and escaping the suffocating room. As the door shut behind her, Liliana looked around the hallway and seeing it empty, she leaned against the wall next to the door, her face in her hands as she took several shuddering breaths. She could taste copper blood on her tongue and salty tears burned her eyes.

Stupid. I’m so stupid for thinking I mean more to that man than a useful pawn. So stupid to think that my father would want to protect, to help me. As long as I gain power and remain alive, he doesn’t care about anything else. He’ll never chose me over her. Not when she’s a full-blooded noble. Not as long as she holds more power than I do. Liliana let out a wet chuckle as she tilted her head back, looking towards the ceiling. Her hands fell to her side, fisted so tightly she could feel her nails biting into her skin, but she welcomed the pain. It distracted her from the gaping wound in her chest where the shattered scraps of her heart sat.

He’s not my real father, so why does his lack of love hurt me so badly? Liliana wondered, as she took in a shuddering breath. Slowly, she stood and wiped at the tears on her face. When she was certain she wouldn’t show weakness to the scurrying servants to whisper to the duchess about, Liliana strode out of the hallways towards her room.

How much of the real me is left? I can barely even differentiate between myself and the original Liliana anymore. I have so many of her memories, her emotions. Things that shouldn’t hurt me, do, because of this. Sometimes I regret accepting these cursed memories that only ever gifted me with pain, Liliana thought bitterly as she walked. Nemesis rubbed her petaled head against Liliana’s cheek and the girl lifted a hand to pet the serpent’s delicate head. Warmth filled the hole in her chest, not enough to erase the pain but enough to alleviate some of the ache. Her father might not love her, but it didn’t mean she was without love.

For a moment, faces flashed in her mind’s eyes. Lelantos, Nemesis, Astrid, Silas, Emyr, Alistair, Marianne. Those who had shown her kindness and care, love and affection. So very few, and yet so many more than she’d had in her last life. Loneliness was a familiar friend of hers from her past life. And while she might lack the loving and doting parents she’d adored in her previous life, she was so far from being alone in this life. She had friends, people who cared for her happiness and who refused to let her push them away. Her heart might ache for the love of a father that she’d never again know in this life, and she doubted that pain would truly ever fade. But her heart filled with a steady warmth as memories of laughter and smiles, of hugs and loving chuffs filled her mind.

“Lady Liliana!” A voice cried out as Liliana opened the door to her room and tears sprung to her eyes at the warm voice that filled the air. Liliana crossed the room in a blink, barely remembering to be careful of her strength as she wrapped her arms around Astrid. As the woman’s arms came up and crushed Liliana to her, tears trailed down her face. That ache that had been gnawing in her chest faded in the woman’s warm embrace.

Home, I’m finally home, Liliana thought. The scent of vanilla filled her nose as Liliana burrowed herself deeper into Astrid, seeking the warmth and love that her father denied her.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you home, my flower. Let me look at you,” Astrid instructed, and Liliana reluctantly pulled away. Astrid smiled at her and gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks, her touch gentle despite the rough callouses on her hands. Liliana let Astrid guide her to a chair to sit and took the warm tea she was offered gladly.

“You’ve grown, and who is this?” Astrid asked as Nemesis unwound herself from Liliana’s neck with a grumpy mental projection at being squished in the recent embrace.

“This is Nemesis, my latest Bond,” Liliana introduced the two, and she was glad to see that Astrid was not as frightened of Nemesis as she had been of Lelantos. Then again, in her small form, Nemesis was rather adorable. With her delicate petaled head, she looked more like an ornament than a deadly beast.

“And where is Lelantos?” Astrid asked, looking around as if Liliana was hiding the tiger under her skirts. Liliana smiled and tapped the summoning stone, releasing the tiger from stasis. As he materialized beside her, Liliana sipped her tea, letting the warmth of it chase the last of the cold chill from her bones and body.

“Oh, he’s grown too! Look at you, you’ve gotten so big, haven’t you?” Astrid’s voice slowly slipped into the cooing cadence most used around small children or animals. Lelantos didn’t seem to mind and in fact he rolled over onto his back before the maid, allowing the older woman access to the softer fur along his belly. Liliana couldn’t banish the smile on her face as she watched Astrid pet the giant tiger without a hint of fear. It had taken a while for Astrid to lose her fear of the tiger, and Liliana was glad to see that in the months she’d been gone it hadn’t reappeared.

“Oh, hello,” Astrid perked up when Nemesis slithered off of Liliana and climbed onto Astrid’s chair. Liliana tilted her head in curiosity. The serpent almost never left her and she didn’t seem to like other humans too much. She sent a mental query to the serpent even as Nemesis slithered into Astrid’s lap, much to the maid’s delight. The serpent sent back a feeling of love, the love Liliana felt for Astrid.

“She says she likes you, because you remind her of her own mother,” Liliana explained as she pieced together the serpent’s meaning from the impressions she was given. Astrid seemed saddened by the comment, but she gently stroked Nemesis’ head. Liliana curled into her chair, watching her maid, the closest thing she had to a mother in this second life of hers, lavishing her Bonds with love. This manor might be a cold and unforgiving place, but there was still warmth in it.

Chapter 81: Break Me Down And Build Me Back Up

“Astrid, could you arrange food for Nemesis, Lelantos, and for myself as well? I’m feeling a bit peckish,” Liliana said, struggling to keep herself calm.

“Of course, my lady. You must be tired. Please feel free to take a nap if you wish,” Astrid told her, giving Liliana a warm hug before she broke off and left the room. Liliana let out a long sigh as her eyes traced over her room. And the newest additions to it. There were parcels and packages piled up in her room, undoubtedly the presents her father had mentioned.

Does he think petty trinkets will endear me to him? After he refused to look at me for fourteen years, and still refuses to remove that poisonous witch from the manor? Does he really think he can buy my love like this? Liliana wondered as she walked towards the pile of presents. Picking one up, she ripped through the covering to reveal a velvet jewelry case. Opening it, she saw sapphires arranged on a necklace, surrounded by diamonds. Anger coursed through her, beating in time with the ache in her heart.

All Liliana ever wanted was your love, not your money, she thought, disgust thick in her throat. Her hand tightened around the case until it crumpled under her strength. Crushed metal and broken shards of jewels rained down from her hand, tinkling delicately as they hit the floor. Liliana threw the ruined box and necklace away from her, taking some solace in the sound of it crashing into the wall. Her hand snaked out and grabbed another package, shredding the covering she looked at the sparking rubies on her hand. A harsh, barking laugh emerged from her throat as she stared at the jewels, almost in disbelief.

If you destroy all these gifts, he’ll be mad. The voice of her conscience informed her. Liliana let out another bitter laugh as her hand fisted, crushing the jewels in her palm.

“Let him be mad. Let him see all his money go to waste. Did he really think some sparkly baubles would buy my loyalty? Does he know so little of his own daughter that he must buy her?” Liliana asked the air, not hoping for an answer. It was obvious what the answer was. Her father thought so little of her that he believed he would earn her loyalty by bestowing lavish gifts on her. As if diamonds and gold would erase all the years of memories that rested heavily in her mind. As if it would erase the years of neglect, as if it would warm a body and soul denied love.

The ache in her heart that had dulled under the loving hug of Astrid roared to life once more. Liliana choked on a sob, one hand fisting above her chest as she curled herself around the hurt, as if it would do anything to protect her already broken heart. Such an obvious lack of care from her father shouldn’t hurt her so badly, shouldn’t make her feel as if she was being torn apart. He wasn’t her real father, and she had far fonder memories of a father who would read stories to her until she fell asleep, and who would hug and hold her as if she was the most precious thing in his life. So the duke’s callous disregard for her shouldn’t make her feel so wretched.

But I had to live through those memories too, and as opposed to going through years of growing accustomed to this, I had months. I went through fourteen years of abuse and neglect in months. It’s idiotic to think there wouldn’t be side effects to that. Those memories are so much more fresh for me than even the memories of my past life, because to me they happened months ago, not years. Liliana thought as tears streamed down her face.

So that was one of the prices she’d paid for the memories, this pain in her chest. This raw, aching wound that felt like it would kill her it was a price she paid to take on the memories of the original Liliana. To share the burden of years of loneliness and lack of love. She could understand clearly why the original Liliana had turned to villainy. Why she had wanted to watch the world burn. When the pain inside of you was so great, sometimes all you wanted was to make the world feel the same pain you’d been subjected to.

Liliana fell to her knees, her free hand blindly reaching until it grasped another present. She didn’t even bother to see what it was before she ripped the entire parcel apart. Pearls scattered across the floor and for the barest moment the joy she felt at destroying what the duke had sent her was stronger than the pain in her chest.

She couldn’t hurt the duke, not in the way he’d hurt her. Not in the way he was still hurting her. But perhaps she could make him feel something in revenge for the pain he caused. Liliana reached and grabbed blindly, ruining the surrounding gifts without a thought until she was surrounded by ruined jewelry and fabric, sitting int he middle of the destruction with her knees held tightly to her chest. Tears refused to stop falling and sobs came out of her in a broken cadence. She tried to stop them, but every time she did, the pain in her chest would stir and tears would reemerge.

I’m pathetic, this is pathetic. Sobbing on the floor because of that man. Why do I give him so much power over me? Liliana wondered, but the thought only made her sob harder. She hated herself a bit for letting her father affect her so, when she knew she shouldn’t care for the man at all. When she knew she had a million reasons to not spare him a moment of her thoughts. Yet logic didn’t seem to make much of a difference to her heart, which wouldn’t stop crying for her father’s love. No matter how futile she knew such a wish was.

Lelantos whined pitifully from outside the circle of destruction and Nemesis was trying to lick the tears off her cheeks, but it just made Liliana feel all the more wretched for knowing she was causing her Bonds distress.

“What a mess,” a voice spoke up.

Liliana looked up through tear-swollen eyes to see Emyr crouching just outside of the destruction she’d wrought. His words might have been callous, but his eyes held concern for her, and the sight brought fresh sobs. She turned away, hiding her face in her hands. She always tried to look so stalwart around Emyr and Alistair, to prove she was someone worth being around. To prove she, too, could be strong. Yet here was Emyr, seeing her breaking down and sobbing because of some gifts.

Liliana heard someone stepping through the mess of ruined gifts, but she didn’t look up, only curling further into herself as if to hide her weakness. Strong arms slipped under her body and picked her up. Whoever it was, they held her gently, as if afraid she’d shatter at the lightest jostle. Liliana tentatively pulled her hands from her eyes and saw Alistair’s face above her. His jaw was clenched tight and his eyes stared straight ahead as he carefully moved around the mess to her bed, where he set her down.

“Emyr, get some servants in here to clean this up,” Alistair ordered, as he sat down next to Liliana on the bed. Liliana wrapped her arms around her legs, hiccuping softly as her tears slowed.

“So, do you have a vendetta against jewelry or is it a specific type of gemstone that has earned your hatred?” Alistair asked, his voice and words deceptively light. Liliana’s eyes darted to his hands, which were fisted in his lap.

“H-He never cared about m-me. No-Not once. Yet now he th-thinks he can buy back my love with thes-these bribes,” Liliana spat, her voice trembling and shaking. She drew in a shaky breath as hot tears filled and overflowed from her eyes at the reminder.

“Then let him,” Alistair stated it simply. Liliana’s head jerked back as she stared at him in amazement.

“Take his money if he wants to buy your love. Let him spend thousands of gold on you. If he wants to use you, use him first,” Alistair spoke, his voice harsh and rough.

Liliana blinked at him. Her mind, exhausted from travel and emotions, was slow to grasp what he was saying. It didn’t help that it was Alistair, the perfect golden child, telling her this. Telling her to use her own father for his money.

“Sometimes you seem so strong, Lili. But other times I fear you’re too kind and naïve for our world,” Alistair spoke up again, reaching a hand out to brush tear soaked hair from her face. Liliana ducked her head, but didn’t push his hand off. It felt so warm and she realized she was freezing, as if she’d taken the winter’s chill into her body.

She considered his words and knew them to not be untrue. She was being naïve, to think her father would love her just because she gained some power. Just because she’d become useful. If he hadn’t loved her these fourteen years, nothing was going to change that. She truly was too naïve and kind for this world, not just with her father. With every new experience she was met with in this world, she saw it to be a vicious place, where kindness was oftentimes rewarded with pain. Where weaknesses were ruthlessly exploited.

“You’re kind too,” Liliana mumbled. And it was true. Even before she had come to this world, he’d shown kindness to the original Liliana.

Hidden kindness oftentimes disguised as other things, but it was kindness. And now he was putting himself at risk of his mother’s wrath more and more often for her. Even now, he was sitting on her bed and comforting her when his mother could come by at any moment and see this.

“No, I’m not. I’ve been a coward. I didn’t realize it until recently, but I’ve been nothing but a selfish coward. And that’s not who I want to be,” Alistair said, his voice tinged with bitter self deprecation.

“You’ll be a good man, Alistair,” Liliana told him, her voice holding the surety of someone who knew how the future of this world would play out. She may have changed things, and events might deviate in ways she wouldn’t expect. But there was one thing Liliana was sure of now more than ever. Alistair would become a hero. He had the soul of one, and that wouldn’t be changed by anything she did.

“I hope so,” Alistair said, his voice bittersweet. Liliana gave him a watery smile. Without thinking too much on it she unfolded herself and leaned over, wrapping her stepbrother in a hug.

“Thank you,” Liliana whispered into his shoulder, as he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to his chest. As if he needed the comfort offered by this hug as much as she did.

“For what?” Alistair asked, his voice muffled by her hair.

“For being my brother,” Liliana told him, though what she really meant was, ‘thank you for loving me’. She didn’t quite have the courage to say that, though. It was true though. It was thanks to his care that the ache in her chest was dulling once more. As he reminded her with his very presence that she was no longer alone in this world. That she had people who cared for her.

“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice in that,” Alistair teased lightly as he pulled away. Liliana shook her head as she wiped at her face, taking the handkerchief he offered gladly to mop up the tears and snot on her face.

“No, but you had a choice in treating me like your sister,” Liliana reminded him with a weak smile.

“I should’ve done that sooner,” Alistair said, his face darkening. Liliana shook her head and grabbed his clenched fists in her much smaller hands.

“You had your reasons. You were a child. You did what you could,” Liliana told him, putting emphasis on her words.

Just as she refused to blame a child for doing what they could to survive, she wouldn’t let Alistair blame his younger self for those choices. She wanted him to learn from them, to be better than he was, but she wouldn’t let him blame himself for what he’d done to survive in this home.

“So were you,” Alistair said, his voice breaking a little.

Liliana wondered if he wanted her to be mad at him, to hate him. To punish him for what he'd done. If he thought it would ease the guilt he undoubtedly felt for his previous actions now that they’d become closer. She knew in the game after the original Liliana disappeared Alistair blamed himself for it, it didn’t help that he was the last person to talk to her.

The guilt he’d felt had been a driving factor behind his character growth in the game, and was part of what made the final scene in the game so heartbreaking. He was the one who killed Liliana, to atone for both their sins. There had even been a small side-quest if you played him after the end of the game where he brought flowers to her grave, and where he cried and apologized for everything once more.

“And I survived, so please don’t be so hard on yourself. Just strive to be a better person than you were before. That’s all you should worry about,” Liliana told him, her voice weighed down by the memories of the game.

It was hard in a game to properly show the pain the characters felt, but in real life, it was overwhelmingly obvious. Her heart broke for an Alistair that never earned the forgiveness of his sister, who had never managed to save her. He’d saved hundreds of thousands of lives. But he could never save the one person he wanted to rescue the most. Liliana was the first and last person he failed.

“A year and a half and then we’ll be in the Academy and out of here,” Liliana sighed, leaning onto her brother’s shoulder. Their hands stayed tied together, his wrapped tightly around hers as if she was his only anchor in this tumultuous storm.

“You better get more levels before then, otherwise I won’t acknowledge you as my sister,” Alistair warned her, but his words held no true threat.

“Have you not seen my growth? You should be more worried about your own levels. I’ll be leaving you behind before long. If I’m feeling gracious, I might permit you to be in my presence in the Academy,” Liliana put a lofty lilt to her words, and she grinned at her brother.

“Oh, of course, your majesty,” Alistair sketched a makeshift bow, which sent Liliana off his shoulder, but a small laugh emerged from her.

“There, it’s much better when you’re laughing. You look like a soggy tomato when you cry,” Alistair smirked at her, and Liliana stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’ll have you know I’m beautiful when I cry,” Liliana informed him with a huff. Alistair snorted and shook his head, but he was smiling again, and Liliana returned it.

“Lady Liliana!” a harsh voice called out, freezing the two teens in place. Hesitantly, Liliana looked around Alistair to see Astrid standing in the door, looking on in horror at the mess in the room.

Shit.

Chapter 82: Planning And Plotting

“Are you sure I look alright?” Liliana asked, twisting and turning to see herself better in the mirror. Astrid was waiting next to her, her face strained. It might be a result of Liliana changing her dress three times already and Astrid having to assist her and deal with her dithering over different outfits and accessories for hours, something the young noblewoman wasn’t usually prone to. She had finally settled on a dark blue velvet dress that was warm enough to protect her from the frigid chill of winter but not so heavy it would be suffocating while indoors.

“If I didn't know any better, lady Liliana, I’d say you were about to go out to meet a suitor,” Astrid teased, smiling benignly as Liliana’s face turned a dark shade of red.

“It’s not like that! I just don’t have any friends that are women. And she's the crown princess. I’m worried that I won’t look appropriate,” Liliana defended herself hastily. It was true.

She didn’t see Marianne in a romantic light, not because she didn’t think the princess was beautiful, but because she had no thoughts of romance at the moment. Liliana couldn’t imagine juggling romantic feelings with everything else in her life at the moment. She’d probably die from the stress of all the emotions. However, she wanted to make a good impression on her friend, one of the rare few she had and the only girl around her age who was willing to spend time with her for no ulterior motives.

“Well, these are some of the new presents your father purchased for you. They’re the latest styles and no expense was spared,” Astrid told her, the unsaid ‘what presents you didn’t destroy’ hung between them. Liliana looked away, not willing to face Astrid’s disappointment again.

She didn’t feel guilty for her actions, though she could admit they were childish and pointless. Destroying her father’s presents ultimately did nothing but make him potentially hostile towards her. She was lucky they were able to get rid of the destroyed presents without anyone finding out about her ‘tantrum’. Otherwise, she was certain she’d be under house arrest. It was also a boon that she saw her father so rarely, and that he paid so little attention to her when they did cross paths. She didn’t know what she’d do if he requested her wear a specific present she’d already destroyed in her fit of rage.

Liliana raised a hand to the summoning stone on her neck, taking comfort in Lelantos’ warm presence held within. Nemesis was tucked safely in her own summoning stone, set into a cuff around her left bicep. She wasn’t sure if she’d be allowed to have her Bonds out in the royal palace, so she had put them both into stasis for the time being. Nemesis hadn’t been excited by that, but she’d gone into the stone after Liliana promised her a heap of cores as compensation.

“Now it’s best you head out. It wouldn’t do to be late when the princess is having you teleported to the palace,” Astrid informed her, laying a thick cloak over Liliana’s shoulders. Liliana nodded, reluctantly leaving her spot in front of the mirror. There was an advantage to befriending the crown princess, one of them being that Marianne could have Liliana teleported to the palace instead of having her travel by carriage through the steadily worsening winter weather. Snow had fallen steadily after they’d returned home several weeks ago. It was constantly cleared off the roads and the grounds, but every morning they woke up with more of the stuff coating every available surface.

It was also good that Marianne was having her teleported as the princess was back in the capital. The trip would take weeks, even with good weather, normally. Rosengarde territory was the furthest north int he queendom and as such was a far distance from the capital city. It was one of the reason her father didn’t spend much time there and instead had a representative he trusted in the court to manage his affairs there.

Liliana paid little attention to the servants as she made her way through the manor, well used to their behavior by now. The whispers, the sly looks and the mocking attempts at deference they performed. She might have gained some favor with her father, which was why the servants at least tried to pretend to respect her, but it was obvious this was still her stepmother’s domain. Liliana paid little heed to it however, knowing already it was a lost battle. The only way she’d get the respect of the servants was through fear or the removal of what made them so bold. She had her plans to ensure both happened.

This is the first step in my plan. I need Marianne’s help if I’m going to get my stepmother removed. The only authority high enough to make a Duke listen is the royal family. If he won’t hear me out, I’ll just go over his head. Liliana smiled to herself at the thought of her father finally having to listen to her, with the power of the crown behind her. She didn’t think it would be as simple as asking Marianne for help, though. While the crown was powerful, they were not absolute. The nobles held the royal family in check, so making a move against a noble would be risky, even for a royal. But she needed to at least talk to Marianne about it, to see what the crown princess could and couldn’t do. And to see how much hard evidence Liliana needed to have before Marianne could step in.

If only I had a truth potion, that would make this all so much easier. But Alistair is right. They’re incredibly rare. I even checked in Ariowood and not a single alchemist had one for sale, let alone the ingredients for them. Nor did any know for sure where one could find them, except telling me of rumors that there are some in the Frost Fang mountains. An area with monsters from Rank 4 to 1 reportedly. Liliana grimaced at the thought of trying to get the ingredients herself, or even commissioning an adventuring team to. Rank 1 adventurers were rare, most didn’t survive long enough to reach that Rank, and those that did were usually recruited by the royal family.

She wasn’t even sure her father could easily afford to commission one, and if he could afford it, it would probably put the duchy in debt. So truth potions of any kind were out of the question, that left finding hard evidence of Imogen’s deals with the assassins or of her poisoning attempt. But the more time went on, the more likely it was that Imogen had gotten rid of any evidence. Liliana hadn’t found a single chance to sneak into Imogen’s room and look since she’d come home. The duchess hadn’t left the duchy since she’d come back and she seemed to always have eyes on Liliana, servants trailing after her wherever she went.

Liliana almost stumbled as she came to the entrance of the duchy, seeing Imogen waiting for her. The woman was dressed lavishly despite the fact that no one but those in the manor would see her. The duchess gave her a sickly sweet smile and moved to Liliana.

“Your grace.” Liliana greeted, curtsying to the woman, locking her distaste behind the perfected cold mask she wore in this manor at all times like armor.

“Hm, well, your manners aren’t as atrocious as they once were,” Imogen greeted, her voice still sweet despite the backhanded compliment. Liliana inclined her head to the woman.

“Thank you duchess, it warms my heart to hear such words of praise from you,” Liliana responded, taking joy in the flash of annoyance she saw in the woman’s eyes.

“And I see you’re not dressed like a beggar, as you normally are. Though no matter how comely the dress, it can’t do much for a homely appearance,” Imogen giggled lightly as she circled Liliana as if appraising a mare for sale. Liliana hid her clenched fists in the folds of her cloak.

“Thank you, your grace. Father purchased this dress for me as a reward for my recent achievements. I’ll be sure to communicate your approval to him when I next see him,” Liliana responded, her tone calm and collected. One of the largest boons the original Liliana had gifted her was the ability to keep her expression and voice collected and poised despite whatever emotions rampaged beneath her exterior. It hurt her heart to know what had prompted the original Liliana learning such skills, but they came in handy often in this house.

“Tsk, make sure you don’t bring disgrace upon our house with your boorish attitude and clumsy etiquette before the Queen and Crown Princess, though I can’t fathom why you’re being requested,” Imogen practically hissed, grabbing onto Liliana’s chin with her clawed fingers. Liliana let herself be grabbed like a doll, not breaking eye contact with her stepmother’s poisonous golden gaze. It was odd, Alistair had the same golden eyes, yet his didn’t fill her with such visceral revulsion like his mother’s did. His were warm, like molten gold in the forge and his mother’s were hard, and brittle like gold left out in the freezing cold.

“Crown Princess Marianne enjoys my company. I’ll be sure to bring only honor and praise for our noble house while I’m in the royal palace, your grace. I have never done anything that could bring unwanted attention to the Rosengarde name,” unlike you, who has hired assassins and poisoned your own stepdaughter in your paranoia and thirst for power, Liliana thought. But she kept the last part to herself, simply giving Imogen a sweet smile that would match the duchess’ own.

She couldn’t entirely resist the urge to sneak in a small slight at her stepmother, but with the servants int he room she knew her stepmother wouldn’t comment on it. She’d want to keep even the suspicion that she’d done something so awful, and illegal, away from herself. Liliana watched as the woman’s eyes widened infinitesimally, saw the anger and hatred that flashed in her eyes, felt it in the way the woman’s fingers tightened on her chin, dangerously close to digging into Liliana’s skin. Though Liliana was no longer concerned that her stepmother would be able to really hurt her. The woman might be a higher level, but Liliana doubted she had ever put a single point into Strength, not such an unladylike stat.

“I must go, your grace. The mage sent to take me to the palace will be here shortly and it would be boorish to make a royal mage wait,” Liliana informed her stepmother, barely resiting the urge to smirk as her stepmother’s fingers froze on her face. She wouldn’t even risk hurting Liliana somewhere that the crown princess or queen would see, and she wouldn’t dare make her late. If it came back to the duchy that the royal family was insulted by Liliana’s tardiness, it wouldn’t take long for the duke to find out who exactly was responsible. Her stepmother might lord over the servants, but her father did sign their checks. Ultimately, if forced to pick between the duchess and the duke, they’d chose the one who paid their bills.

“Go, and don't you dare come back with any tales of you making a fool of yourself,” her stepmother shoved Liliana away, though it did nothing. Liliana simply stood there, utterly resistant to the duchess’ weak strength. With a huff, the duchess turned on her heel and walked away from Liliana before pausing and turning to look over her shoulder, a coy smile on her face.

“Oh, and don’t forget to lock your windows tonight. I hear a bad blizzard is coming. You wouldn’t want to have any unwanted wildlife scurrying into your room,” the duchess taunted.

“It’s been a bit since my Bond’s had a chance to hunt something, maybe I’ll leave them open and given them something to play with,” Liliana answered with a small smile, reaching up to stroke the summoning stone around her neck.

“Be careful, there are many things that come down from the mountains in the winter far stronger than your pets,” Imogen responded with a concerned voice. “We wouldn’t want you to lose your precious mongrels and be left defenseless.” The duchess finished, the concern in her voice not matching the venom in her eyes. Liliana didn't respond, watching with impassive eyes as the duchess smirked before walking out, obviously happy to have the last word.

Please send another assassin. Dig that hole of yours deeper. Give me more chances to get evidence on you, Liliana thought, not feeling the fear she knew the duchess wanted. She suspected that the duchess would hire an assassin even stronger than the last, but such an assassin would be costly. That much money changing hands had to leave a trail of some kind. She also knew she only had to send a message to Silas that she suspected another assassin would come and she’d have every last available guard stationed in and around her room. She suspected the duchess didn’t know her close relation to Silas, something they’d been careful about showing around others. Other than their trainings, sanctioned by her father, she didn’t see the guard captain much. It had been Liliana’s choice. She wanted to keep her allies a secret from her stepmother. The more hidden aces she had up her sleeve, the better.

Even if she doesn't send an assassin, she just tipped me off that she’ll be trying for my life again, and soon. She’s probably getting nervous that I’ll tell someone what she’s done. The more valuable I become to my father, the more likely it is that he’ll listen to me, or at least that what she’s likely thinking. And the longer she allows me to live, the stronger I’ll become, and the more valuable I’ll be to him. She’s going to feel like she’ll need to remove me sooner rather than later, to remove me as a threat to her position and life. She’ll likely do something she feels will be inescapable, which also means it’ll be big. And therefore, it will leave an even bigger chance of her slipping up and leaving some kind of proof. I don’t like making my life bait, but if that’s what it takes, Liliana thought, smiling as she flicked her hood up and exited the manor.

She had barely left the manor and exposed herself to the elements when a man popped into existence before her. He was wearing robes embroidered with the crest of the royal family, heralding him as the promised teleporter.

“Hello,” Liliana greeted the man, who looked a bit frazzled and cold. Liliana assumed the capital’s weather was far more calm than what they were dealing with in the north based on the way the man was shivering already. He nodded his head at her greeting and motioned her forward.

“Come, come, I want to get out of this frozen hell quickly,” the man informed her, and Liliana couldn’t help the giggle. She wasn’t used to people being so blunt towards her unless they were close to her. It was refreshing.

“I’m in your care,” she told the man as she walked to him. He laid a hand on her and she could hear him muttering curses against the cold. With no warning, the world twisted and skewed roughly, the scenery fading into a swirl of clashing colors and sensations. The next breath and the world suddenly righted itself. Liliana blinked, stumbling slightly as she took a deep breath, wincing as a sudden feeling of overwhelming nausea took over her and she bent over, trying to control the urge to vomit.

“Ah yea, that happens the first few times your teleport. Take deep breaths, it’ll fade in moments.” the man beside her said, his tone guilty as Liliana sucked in deep breaths between clenched teeth. Liliana looked up and straightened as the nausea faded, noticing they were in a stone room covered in runes.

“Welcome to the capital.”

Chapter 83: Plotting With Friends

“Lady Liliana!” a voice called out as soon as the door to the teleportation room opened. Liliana barely had time to brace herself before a smaller body flung itself at her. A warm, genuine smile stole across her face as her arms wrapped around the princess’ body.

“Crown princess Marianne, it’s good to see you,” Liliana greeted, her voice sweet as she hugged the princess back gently. She could tell the girl was using all her strength for the hug, but Liliana could barely feel it. The princess felt so small in her arms, even with the many layers of clothes the princess wore. She felt light, enough that Liliana was almost afraid an errant breeze would whisk the princess away.

“How was the trip? Was it your first time? Is the weather getting worse in the north? Have you been keeping yourself warm enough?” Marianne began to pepper Liliana with questions at a rapid pace as she pulled away from the hug, her face flushed in happiness and her face split with a beaming grin.

Liliana looked on at the princess as she asked question after question without pausing for a breath with a smile. The girl before her was so different from the shy princess she’d met on the balcony at her débutante ball months ago. Marianne seemed quiet and shy, but once one got to know her well, she became a never ending fountain of words and emotions.

“It was alright, a little uncomfortable afterwards, but it was my first time. It’s been snowing fairly regularly but nothing out of the ordinary, and yes, I’ve been keeping myself warm. How have you been, your highness?” Liliana responded to Marianne as soon as the girl finally took a breath.

“I told you to just call me Marianne!” the princess informed her, pouting a little. Liliana raised a hand to hide her laugh and smile.

“Yes, Princess Marianne,” Liliana responded, smirking a little at the way the princess huffed.

“No, just Marianne,” the princess grabbed Liliana’s hands and looked at her sternly, though the effect was a little ruined by the pout on her lips.

“Say it with me now, Mar-i-anne,” the princess slowly enunciated every syllable of her name and Liliana shook her head helplessly.

“I’m sorry your highness, but how could one as humble as me dare to speak to the star of our queendom so informally?” Liliana asked the princess, taking delight in the way the princess looked seconds away from stomping her feet like a child. She was so easy to rile up, Liliana could never resist the urge to tease her.

“It’s a royal order! You must call me Marianne.” the princess brightened as if she had come across a truly genius idea. Liliana sighed, but her lips twitched in betrayal as a smile fought her effort to hide it.

“Abusing your power like that? Whatever would the people think?” Liliana teased her friend.

“Shush, no one will know. Now do it. Call me by my name,” Marianne ordered and Liliana sighed once more, this time in defeat.

“As you wish, Marianne,” she responded, getting a squeal and another hug in reward.

“Now come, come, I have a room set up for us! I have the books I wrote to you about ready, and I want to hear your opinion on The Devious Duchess!” Marianne pulled away, grabbing hold of one of Liliana’s hands as she started to drag her friend down the hall.

Liliana let herself be led, marveling at the odd picture they made. The crown princess grasping her hand tightly, the shame of the Rosengarde duchy. She was certain rumors would fly freely and on wings borne of jealousy if any nobles saw them at the moment. Liliana knew that Marianne did not have many friends, nor did she often attend balls or tea parties despite the many invitations she must receive from social climbers looking to befriend the future queen. In fact, Liliana herself may be the only friend Marianne really had. She knew how shy the girl was in social situations.

Liliana took the chance, as Marianne gushed about the latest books she had found and read, to examine the royal palace. It was obvious their country was wealthy by the architecture and decorations of the palace, gold painted the walls and decorations they passed. Priceless jewels were embedded in mosaics on the ceiling and walls, and even on the statues standing sentry along the walls. If one was to cut out a five-foot section of the wall in the palace, they’d have enough gold to feed any commoner family for generations.

If they absconded with one of the huge, golden statues decorated with sparkling jewels, they’d be able to fund a barony for a year or two at the very least, perhaps longer if they were frugal. Lavish was an understatement to describe the palace, even the small section of it Liliana was granted permission to gaze upon.

Liliana also noticed the knights shadowing their steps. Liliana spotted two, but she would bet there were thrice as many hidden from her view. Having learned her lesson previously, she didn’t even dare to [Identify] them. The bit of aura they purposely let loose was enough to keep her curiosity in check. And she knew they let that much information out freely for a reason, for the same reason two of them were obvious in their guarding of the princess.

They were a very visual deterrent to anyone thinking of harming the princess. Liliana couldn’t fault the queen for making sure her daughter was well protected. She was the only heir to the queendom and had been terminally ill for much of her life. It was a miracle the queen even let anyone around the princess at all.

“Here we are,” Marianne declared, and Liliana focused on the door before them.

A servant opened it and revealed a room that could be called subdued compared to the rest of the palace. A cheery fire danced in a hearth, warming the room to a comfortable level. As Liliana entered the room, she handed her cloak to a servant, no longer needing it in the heated room. She looked around as she made her way to a chaise lounge. The walls were a rich brown, bookshelves decorated two of the walls, crammed full of tomes and books. On the other walls hung scenic paintings of fantastical vistas that gave color to the room. The room was furnished with dark brown furniture; the chairs and chaise were upholstered in a beautiful mahogany silk that showed off that as cozy as this room was, it was still dripping in wealth.

As the two girls took their seats across from each other, tea was served by a servant, the delicious floral scent filling the room, the scent of burning firewood undetectable, likely as the result of some enchantment. A pile of books sat on the table in front of them, next to a generous supply of sweets and finger foods. Marianne leaned close to Liliana on the lounge, picking up a book excitedly and ignoring the waiting tea. Liliana picked up her own teacup, noticing the gilded edges and rose design on the delicate white china before she took a tentative sip, a floral, almost fruity, taste danced across her tongue.

“Ah, do you like the golden blossom tea?” Marianne asked and Liliana nodded as she took another sip. She almost choked as the words registered. Golden blossom tea was incredibly expensive, as it was made in small batches in the Alfein Empire and had to be shipped to them. It was said to only be grown in one location, and could only be harvested once a year under the light of a full moon and by priests blessed by the goddess of the moon.

“I’ll have the servants send you some when you go back,” Marianne said offhandedly.

“Yo-Marianne, that would be too much for one as lowly as me,” Liliana hastened to try to stop her friend from sending her home with a gift worth more money than she’d probably see in her entire life, cumulatively.

“It’s no trouble, we have so much of it. It has strong medicinal qualities so everyone sends it as a gift for me, for any reason,“ Marianne waved off Liliana’s concern as if it was nothing. Liliana conceded defeat, knowing that it was pointless to argue with Marianne and not wanting to see the princess look at her with her big puppy dog eyes. Ruby red eyes had no right to be as heartbreakingly adorable as they were on Marianne.

Liliana settled in as Marianne began to give her reviews and thoughts on the novels she’d brought. Some were ones Liliana had read at the princess’ urging and they traded opinions, sometimes needing to refer back to the book in question to settle disagreements. It was an easy time, carefree in a way Liliana so rarely got to enjoy. She treasured the hours they spent talking about nothing more important than their opinions on the romance of fictitious characters, or mourning the death of favored characters. Liliana was almost loathe to direct their conversation to more real issues, but as Marianne set down the last book she had brought, Liliana set her own tea and cake down and turned to her friend, a serious expression on her face.

“Princess Marianne,” Liliana started, holding up her hand when Marianne opened her mouth to scold her for using her title.

“I’m being proper, because I’m making a request from a vassal to her liege,” Liliana told her. Marianne closed her mouth, her face settling into seriousness with a speed that was impressive. Gone was the excitable and sweet young girl Liliana had been rating the attractiveness of male leads with ten minutes prior. Now the Crown Princess sat beside her.

“If I had reason to believe I know the identity of someone behind three assassination attempts against me, what would I need to get the royal family to instigate an investigation?” Liliana asked, her voice grave.

Marianne’s eyes widened, and Liliana did not have to wonder if the royal family had been made aware of the attempts on her life. She was unsurprised to have her assumptions that there were spies in the manor confirmed. Rosengarde was the strongest duchy in the queendom. It would be foolish for the royal family to not keep an eye on them at all times.

“The royal family rarely gets itself involved in the nobles’ territories. Typically, you would take this to the lord or lady over the perpetrators’ lands,” Marianne informed her, her eyes sharp. Liliana’s eyes stung at the fact that Marianne hadn’t simply dismissed her concerns, and instead was treating this seriously and with care.

“This person does not have anyone higher than them, other than the royal family,” Liliana stated calmly. It was obvious who she was talking about. She could see the realization in Marianne’s eyes, but neither would state the name. It could be misconstrued if the wrong person heard Liliana openly saying she suspected her stepmother of trying to kill her, and of Marianne entertaining the idea. It could be seen as the royal family antagonizing the Rosengarde duchy.

“In such an instance, we would need evidence or enough reasonable suspicion to launch an investigation. Other than that, only a Duke or Duchess can request a visit from the Inquisitors in such a case,” Marianne said slowly.

Liliana nodded. It had been as she suspected, but she’d needed the confirmation. Instances of the royal family launching investigations into noble families or on individual nobles was rare, typically whichever noble was above the noble family under suspicion took care of any misconduct and handled the proceedings themselves. The royal family really was only needed in cases where a duke or duchess was the one at fault. However, the royal family always kept a force of Inquisitors on hand. Men and women trained in information gathering and, while not spoken about, torture. If the Inquisitors were called, noble blood would be spilled and heads would roll. Their name was synonymous with death to a noble.

“What evidence or reasonable suspicion would be necessary for the Inquisitors to be sent?” Liliana asked.

“Paper proof of the deals. Invoices or financial records of poison or assassins being hired. If the suspected is of noble blood, two or more of noble blood willing to make a statement of seeing the perpetrator using the poison or giving the kill orders. A magical recording of it would suit as well. A full confession, of course. For reasonable suspicion, if the suspected is seen with an assassin, eyewitnesses who are not of noble blood, the person being confirmed to have possession of the poison. However, this only gives us reasonable suspicion, and an investigation would be launched.” Marianne listed out the reasons, giving Liliana a very condensed version. For the royal family to truly step in, it would have to be for a fully confirmed crime. An investigation also called for enough evidence to basically convict, and Liliana frowned at the need to have those of noble blood to work as witnesses for an immediate arrest. The classicism of this world was sometimes jarring.

“However, a Duke or Duchess can request a visit from the Inquisitors for any reason, though it is rarely done,” Marianne finished and Liliana nodded. She doubted that last option would happen unless her father was truly incensed.

“Thank you, that was helpful information,” Liliana bowed her head to the princess.

“If you can get me enough proof, I can send the Inquisitors as soon as you send word.” Marianne leaned close to her to whisper it and Liliana lifted her head, smiling slightly at the princess.

“Mother is ready to put a leash on the duchy. She’ll send the Inquisitors in a heartbeat if we have the proof. Do that for us and I promise you’ll be seen as a friend of the royal family for life,” Marianne breathed, her words so soft and light Liliana struggled to hear them, even with the princess practically pressed against her. Liliana blinked, pulling back a bit in surprise.

Politics had never been an interest of hers, nor a strength. But it seemed she’d missed important details with her negligence. She hadn’t suspected that the royal family had been so wary of the Rosengarde duchy that they wanted blackmail over them. It made sense in hindsight. The Rosengarde duchy was essential to the Queendom, it protected two borders and was the largest territory in the Cista Queendom, with the largest militia to match. Her stepmother was also part of the faction that was against the royal family, even if her father was more neutral. Removing both her stepmother, someone against the royal family, and getting more control over the Rosengarde duchy in one fell swoop would only further solidify the royal family’s power, and make an easier time for Marianne’s eventual ascension to the throne.

Liliana hadn’t expected Marianne, the shy wallflower, to be more well versed in politics than she. However, it was not a surprise once she thought about it. A politically inept princess would be a disaster for their queendom, and the princess has likely been schooled on politics as soon as she could talk. Liliana looked at her friend with newfound respect and awe, seeing her not just as the weak and fragile flower she appeared to be, but as the future queen of their queendom. For a moment Liliana saw a second image superimposed over Marianne, of her much older, more regal with a heavy crown on her head and scepter in hand. A confident aura around her that radiated surety and pure power. The image vanished in a blink, but the feeling didn’t, and Liliana resisted the urge to take a knee and make a vow of fealty to the princess.

“Now,” Marianne clapped her hands and the cloak of royalty fell from her in a second, the mood of the room lightening with a simple grin from the girl. “I’ve been wanting to see your Bonds for so long. Shall we go to the courtyard so you can bring them out?” Marianne asked excitedly, once more looking like a girl of fourteen with eyes sparkling in anticipation. Liliana took a moment to readjust as she mentally filed away the information she’d been given, plans already forming in her mind.

“Yes, let us go, Marianne,” Liliana smiled softly to the princess, her nerves and stress fading under the comfort of knowing she finally had an ally. That she finally had someone who knew what her stepmother had done and believed her.

Chapter 84: Fairytale Moments and Embarrassing Mothers

“Are you sure this is alright, Marianne?” Liliana asked as she looked around the courtyard.

Some spell or enchantment must have been placed on it, because despite being open to the cold winter weather, it was as comfortably warm as a late spring day. Flowers sprawled across the courtyard, carefully curated to be pleasing to the eye and with golden stones paving the paths. Statues made of precious metals and priceless gems decorated the courtyard, their beauty only rivaled by the flawless blooms surrounding them. Marianne had led them to the center, where a fountain depicting the first queen of the Cista Queendom resided, water pouring from her raised blade. It was the only area nearby large enough to fit Liliana’s tames.

“Yes, it’s fine! I can lift the restriction on your summoning stones. So please show me your Bonds!” Marianne gushed excitedly. Liliana snuck a glance towards the left, where a knight was standing sentry. His eyes were locked on her and she didn’t need to hear him speak to read the warning in his eyes. Liliana sighed, feeling sweat bead on her back.

Really, do they think I’d be dumb enough to attack Marianne here? I get they’re overprotective of her because she’s the only heir, and she was sickly for so long but please, have some faith that I wouldn’t be this stupid, Liliana thought as her shoulders sagged for a moment. Being with Marianne was an enjoyable experience, but her bodyguards caused Liliana never-ending stress. Tasking a deep breath, Liliana laid her hands across each stone and willed Nemesis and Lelantos to appear.

Marianne squealed excitedly, gripping Liliana’s arm tightly as the forms of a giant tiger and serpent shimmered into existence. Liliana was relieved that Nemesis chose to stay in her smaller form, as she wasn’t sure even this courtyard was large enough to house both the tames at their full sizes without ruining something worth more money than Liliana would see in her life.

Lelantos yawned as he finished materializing, displaying his large canines before he stretched out languidly. Nemesis shook herself and quickly regained her bearings before slithering to Liliana. The girl knelt down instinctively, belatedly remembering the princess clutching her arm. But Marianne eagerly followed Liliana’s lead, cooing softly when Nemesis got close enough for her to see properly. Liliana mentally sent messages to both her tames to treat Marianne as if she was a delicate youngling, and to be on their best behavior. It took no time for both her tames to sense the overwhelming strength of the surrounding knights, which set them both a bit on edge, but it would ensure they behaved. Liliana reached out a hand for Nemesis to climb onto and she rose to her feet, Marianne still attached to her.

“Nemesis is still a bit wary of people. Would you like to meet Lelantos first?” Liliana asked as Nemesis climbed up her arm and into her hair. Marianne was staring at Liliana and the serpent resting in her hair with wide, sparkling eyes.

“Yes!” Marianne breathed and Liliana smiled, leading Marianne to Lelantos, who was sitting, his tail flicking about in wariness. Liliana rubbed a hand against his face, sending a sense of calm to him. The knights watching them wouldn’t attack as long as they treated Marianne with respect and gentleness. Lelantos chuffed quietly, lowering his head some to make it easier to pet him.

“You can pet him. He likes the attention,” Liliana told Marianne.

The princess looked at her in disbelief before turning to Lelantos, audibly gulping as she held out a trembling hand. Lelantos lowered his head further, sniffing the small hand shaking before him. He nudged it gently with his nose, eliciting a surprised squeak from the princess. As Lelantos turned his head to encourage Marianne to pet him, she grew more bold, moving her hand against his iridescent silver fur, her face full of awe and wonder.

“I thought he’d be soft, but his fur is rough!” Marianne said, giggling slightly when Lelantos chuffed when Marianne’s hands found one of his favorite spots to be scratched.

“It’s more common for wild beasts to have rough fur than soft,” Liliana commented.

Mentally she inquired if Nemesis would be alright with greeting the princess. She expressed how dear Marianne was and how kind the girl was. Nemesis reluctantly agreed, her natural curiosity overriding her inherent distaste for humans in general. Liliana knew as well that any individuals she personally felt strongly for in a good way, Nemesis was more inclined to accept. The serpent slithered down her head and settled on her shoulder, her tail wrapping around Liliana’s neck, the leaves at the end tickling the skin there.

“Nemesis says you can greet her as well,” Liliana told Marianne. The princess froze before turning excitedly to the serpent resting on Liliana’s shoulder.

“Oh wow, she looks just like a little flower. How beautiful,” Marianne said, holding out a single finger to the serpent. Nemesis flicked her tongue out, causing Marianne to giggle nervously as her tongue tickled the girl’s finger. Satisfied with whatever she tasted on the girl, the serpent nudged her head forward, letting the princess rest one delicate finger against her head. Marianne was exceedingly careful as she stroked Nemesis’ scales, barely touching her petals as her fingers ghosted over them. Liliana watched on, a serene smile on her face as she watched the scene. The sweet princess charming animals, like something right out of a storybook.

“Oh!” Marianne said, startled when Lelantos gently nosed her, chuffing quietly at the lack of attention he was receiving. Nemesis took the moment of distraction to make her way back into Liliana’s hair, her social battery run quite dry. Marianne looked a little crestfallen at the serpent’s departure, but she quickly smiled, laughing when Lelantos nosed her once more. The tiger flopped to the ground, rolling onto his back to display his belly to the princess, his rainbow eyes big and pitiful.

“Oh, how adorable!” Marianne cooed.

Forgoing any sense of decorum, the princess knelt to the ground and started to rub his belly, giggling when he chuffed in response. Liliana looked at the princess for a moment, happily kneeling on the ground before a beast that by all rights should terrify her, petting his belly and telling him what a handsome boy he was. Liliana quickly covered her mouth to hide the laugh that wanted to emerge.

It was such an absurd sight she doubted anyone would ever believe her if she spoke of it. Shaking her head, a mirthful smile on her face, Liliana knelt next to Marianne, shifting until she was sitting on the ground entirely. Setting her chin in her hand, Liliana watched on as Marianne seemed to fall into her own world, not a care for who might see her.

She was always my favorite in the game, but I never imagined meeting her in real life would make me like her even more. She really is an amazing person. Many noble ladies would be terrified of Lelantos and Nemesis, bonded or not. Yet she doesn’t hesitate to pet them, and she respects their boundaries as well, without me ever having to tell her. I didn’t ever think that the word Princess could describe more than just a title, but Marianne really is the perfect embodiment of that word, Liliana thought as she watched on.

With the scent of blooming flowers around her, the warmth of the enchanted courtyard sinking into her bones, and the relaxing tableau of her friend lavishing her Bond in affection, Liliana felt like she was in a dream. One she’d rather never wake from.

“Mari!” a voice called out, singsong and sweet but familiar. Liliana jolted, breaking from her half-daydreaming state. She was on her feet before her brain could catch up, reaching for a weapon she couldn’t summon on instinct. Lelantos had sprung to his feet, his body between Marianne’s and the intruder.

“Oh, I seem to have startled your friends Mari,” a woman’s voice spoke up, full of amusement. As if she had just seen a child do a particularly ridiculous act. Liliana’s eyes finally settled on the intruder, and she immediately knelt down, bowing her head. She sent a harsh order to Lelantos to bow as well.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for my rudeness,” Liliana said, her heart pounding in her chest.

She had been ready to attack the queen because she’d startled her so badly. She hadn’t even heard the woman approach, nor felt her presence or aura until she called out. It had reminded her uncomfortably of the assassin that had snuck into her room, and she’d panicked. But it didn’t excuse her for acting in such a way toward their country’s queen.

“Please, rise. It’s good to see that my Mari has a friend so willing to protect her,” the queen said, her voice still full of amusement, not the slightest bit of anger in her tone.

Liliana looked up hesitantly as saw the queen’s imposing face softened by a warm smile. She was dressed far more simply than when Liliana had seen her at the ball. Her long white hair was tied up in a simple high ponytail, and she wore breeches and a billowing top with a vest over it. The clothes were obviously expensive, perhaps even more than Liliana’s own dress, but it was evident they were the queen’s training or comfortable wear. She even had a sword strapped to her side, a less ornate sword than the one she wore to balls.

“Mom! I told you I was meeting my friend today, and you weren’t to barge in! Now look, you’ve gone and frightened Lady Liliana!” Marianne stepped past Liliana and Lelantos, who were both still kneeling, to confront her mother.

Seeing the small and slight Marianne nagging her much taller and sturdier mother was an odd sight. Liliana slowly stood back up as Marianne berated her mother for interrupting them. Lelantos rose with her, and the two shared a confused look. The queen raised her hands, looking away from her daughter in a way that Liliana would call bashful if she was describing anyone but the queen.

“I just wanted to meet your friend Mari, and offer you two some refreshments and snacks,” the queen spoke in soothing tones, trying to calm her angered daughter.

“You were being nosy! We talked about this mom! You’ve got to give me some space. I’m not the sickly girl I was before!” Marianne scolded her mother and the queen’s shoulders drooped.

Liliana couldn’t decide where to direct her eyes. She felt like she was seeing a scene no one should be privy to. The crown princess scolding the queen? It was unthinkable. Yet Liliana felt a painful ache in her heart, because the scene reminded her so much of how she used to talk to her own mother before she got sick again. Before the cancer ruined her life, she used to nag her own parents for being too overbearing because of her health.

“I know, but I’m your mother. It’s my job to worry, my sweet,” the queen said gently. Marianne sighed loudly and opened her mouth to start in when the queen swooped in, picking Marianne in a hug.

“Besides, how else would I see my precious Mari in such an adorable scene?” The queen cooed as she spun the princess around effortlessly.

This family is crazy, but in a good way, Liliana thought, raising her hand to her face and covering her eyes in second hand shame. Marianne was shouting at her mother again to let her down. Eventually the queen did, but not before Marianne’s face was flushed bright red in anger and embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Lady Liliana. We showed you something so unbecoming,” Marianne said, turning her back on her mother and walking to Liliana and gripping her hands.

“It’s alright. Be glad your mother cares so much for you to do things like this. One day you’ll miss this,” Liliana told her, a sad smile on her own face. What she wouldn’t give for one more embarrassing moment with her parents. One last teasing remark from her father, one last affectionate hug from her mother. One last memory. Marianne’s face fell, and she looked down at their clasped hands.

“Right, I shouldn’t seem so ungrateful before you,” Marianne mumbled, and Liliana blinked. That hadn’t been what she meant, but Marianne wasn’t entirely wrong either. Liliana had lost her mother, just not the one Marianne was referencing with her comment.

“It’s alright, I have happy memories like these to cherish. It’s why I say to not be so hard on your mother, and to appreciate the love she gives, and the memories you make together,” Liliana comforted, giving Marianne a happier smile when the princess looked up at her. Liliana’s heart tugged when she saw the wetness in the princess’ eyes.

What a sweet heart she has, crying because of someone else’s pain, Liliana thought.

“It’s so sweet, my little Mari has such a smart friend,” the queen said from behind them, ending the moment as Marianne’s face flushed dark red and she whirled to fix her mother with a baleful glare.

“Mother, could you please cease harassing my friend in such a manner? You’ve already tarnished our family’s reputation beyond repair with your actions,” Marianne said slowly, her voice irritated.

“I don’t think Lady Liliana would speak of this,” the queen said, meeting Liliana’s gaze with her own. Her face remained warm, but her eyes held a silent threat. The queen trusted Marianne’s judgment enough to show this sort of scene to Liliana, but it didn’t mean the queen trusted her yet.

“I would never speak of such a private moment, your majesty. I wish only to be Crown Princess Marianne’s friend, and I would be a truly horrid person if I went around saying things about my dearest friend that would sully her reputation,” Liliana said, bowing her head to the queen.

“A smart young lady, Mari, you’ve made a good friend,” the queen told her daughter as Liliana rose again. The queen’s eyes met her own again, and there was approval in the depths. Liliana felt a warmth in her chest, but unlike the warmth she felt when her father expressed pride in her, this feeling wasn’t followed by self hatred. It was pure, untainted.

It was a silly, improbable, and impossible wish. But for a moment, as Liliana basked under the queen’s approval, she hoped that perhaps the queen would come to see her as a type of daughter. Or at least maybe treat her with even a fraction of the care and affection she showed Marianne. It was greedy though, and Liliana shoved the wish down deep where it would never reemerge.

I should be happy with what I have. The people I have now are enough for me. More than enough, more than I ever dreamed of having, and more than I deserve. Liliana thought as she banished the wish from her mind.

“I’ll be on my way then, since you don’t seem to want my company, Mari. But please, bring your friend to tea with me next time she visits,” the queen instructed her daughter. Marianne huffed and glared at her mother as the queen waved and departed. Liliana curtsied, Lelantos following her lead beside her.

I hope I passed that test of hers, Liliana thought as she rose again, finally taking a deep breath as the queen vanished from view.

Chapter 85: Invisibility and Espionage

Liliana tapped the end of her fountain pen against her mouth as she looked at her notebook. Memories of Marianne’s promise ran through her mind. She had the support of the royal family, if she could just find the proof she needed. The only trouble was attaining that proof herself. She knew it was unlikely she could bribe one of her stepmother’s servants into confessing. She had nothing to bribe them with, really. If any of them were even aware of their mistress’ machinations. She doubted her stepmother had told anyone of noble blood of what she’d done, and if she had, they would be her allies, not Liliana’s.

That left finding hard proof of the transactions. A bill of sale, a receipt. Something that had the Death Adders’ mark on it in her possession. Even financial records that she could trace from Imogen to the assassin group would work. The only trouble was finding the paper proof. If it was going to be anywhere in the manor, it would be in the woman’s room, a place Liliana had never ventured.

A confession from the witch herself would be best, Liliana thought. Her eyes strayed from her notebook to the opened alchemy book on her desk. It had been opened to a page titled ‘Veritas’. It was the recipe for a truth potion. Liliana had asked Astrid to find her an alchemy book with the recipe in it, as she had not owned one. It hadn’t been particularly difficult to find the recipe itself, it wasn’t hidden information. It was so hard to attain the rare ingredients that the recipe itself was seen as almost a joke. The ingredients were still far out of her reach to acquire. Same as it had been in Ariowood, no one in Ravencross sold any of them, despite being closer to the Frostfang mountains.

“Astrid, will the duchess be leaving the manor anytime soon?” Liliana asked, turning slightly to look at the woman. The maid was sitting in a chair nearby the fire, working on some embroidery.

“I believe her grace is going to visit her friend Countess Lovett next week on Venaday,” Astrid told her.

“Thank you, Astrid,” Liliana responded. Turning back to her notebook, she marked down the date. That would be her best chance to get into the woman’s room and try to find proof. Liliana stood from her desk and summoned a cloak from her storage, placing it over her shoulders.

“Where are you going, my lady?” Astrid called out, moving to stand.

“Into my courtyard. I have to practice some skills,” Liliana told her, motioning to Lelantos to follow her. The tiger groaned but rose from his comfortable spot in front of the fire to accompany her.

If Liliana wanted to be able to reduce her risk, she needed to take advantage of the time she had and the resources she had at her disposal. It was time to learn how to use Light magic for something other than fighting.

Liliana opened the door to her courtyard and hissed as a wave of cold washed over her. Steeling herself against the cold, she stepped outside, Lelantos following her. She shut the door quickly to spare Astrid and Nemesis, who had been napping in the maid’s lap, the chill. Liliana’s boots crunched against the snow and she thanked the fact she’d chosen to wear pants when she was spending time in her own room. A dress would’ve gotten soaked through in seconds out here and tangled around her legs. The servants were good about clearing the snow from the paths around the Rosengarde manor and the roads, but her personal courtyard was ignored. Liliana was certain if she asked her father to have it cleared, it would be done, but she preferred to speak to that man as little as possible. So she dealt with the disrespect silently.

She could’ve practiced this in the comfort and warmth of her room, but when learning new skills, even if they weren’t meant to be offensive, there was always the chance of something going wrong. Astrid was far under her in levels now, and would be at risk if Liliana made a mistake. The cold also helped her focus, and the fresh air reinvigorated her. More importantly, as Liliana bid Lelantos to dig out a place for them to practice and walls of snow rose around them, this completely hid her from view. She, or Lelantos, would hear someone long before they could see her. In this house, every secret she held was another ace up her sleeve.

Liliana sat on the cold, hard ground and crossed her legs as Lelantos finished his task. He mentally grumbled at the manual labor and shook off the snow on his coat, getting an ample amount of melting snow on Liliana. With a sigh, Liliana wiped away what she could as she sent an annoyed glare at her Bond. The tiger laid down next to her, pretending to not feel her ire.

“Use [Vanish] for me,” Liliana instructed as she closed her eyes, shifting her mental focus into Lelantos’ mind so she could feel him use the spell. She could [Borrow] the spell, but she could only use it for a set amount of time then. Lelantos could use it until his Mana ran dry and it would give Liliana more time to feel out the spell.

Lelantos complied, and as the spell took over, Liliana tried to feel how it activated, how it made the light redirect around him to give him invisibility. Much as she had before when learning Chain Combos, she had him repeat the spell, again and again. As the winter sun quickly made its way through the heavens, Liliana focused all her attention on Lelantos and his spell. By the time she thought she had a good idea of how the spell worked, her body was aching from its time spent still in one spot in the cold.

As Liliana opened her eyes, she winced, her body feeling like it was a frozen statue. Standing, Liliana moved around, trying to bring life back into chilled limbs. She rubbed her hands together and rolled her shoulders as she thought about the spell. When she sat down, her body was still cold, but she felt less like an ice sculpture and more like a human being again.

Using [Mana Manipulation] Liliana began the arduous process of acquiring a new spell through force. She focused on using Light to force light waves to bend around herself, making her invisible. She knew some things from her classes on Earth, that the reason she could see anything was because light bounced off of it and her eyes took in that light to show the object. So by stopping the light from ever hitting her, and instead having it bend around her form should make her invisible to human sight. The hard part was the technique to do that, which was why she’d had Lelantos show her his spell that achieved such an effect. The second hardest part was focusing so much Mana around her body to achieve the result.

Liliana could feel frustration mounting in her as the sun traced its way to the horizon, the light darkening as her Mana struggled to achieve the results she wanted. Her body shifted and shimmered in intervals. Some parts of her going completely invisible and others staying frustratingly visible. At one point she blinded herself, having forgotten to leave her eyes out of the Mana’s covering. With no light going into her eyes, she could no longer see and she had to quickly adjust her commands for her Mana to ensure she could still see. As twilight began to cast dusky shadows over the courtyard, Liliana’s form finally flickered completely from view, leaving only her eyes.

Congratulations, you’ve discovered the spell Invisibility. Would you like to accept the spell?

Invisibility: Light

Using your mastery of the Light affinity, you have discovered how to bend light around your very form, making you invisible to any creatures that use light to see. The cloak of invisibility will extend two inches from your skin, hiding anything within that distance from view.

Cost: 300 Mana

Duration: 5 minutes

Cool down: 15 Minutes

Liliana sighed in relief as she released her Mana and accepted the spell. It was never easy to force a new skill or spell like this, but it was cheaper compared to buying a skill or spell scroll to learn it automatically at least. And this way, there would be no record of her having the spell. Now she just needed to level the spell some before Imogen went out.

“Lets go in,” Liliana said to Lelantos as she stood. The tiger drowsily stood from where he’d been napping and the two of them trudged inside, where they could hopefully warm their cold bones.

Liliana crept through the halls towards her stepmother’s room, cloaked in invisibility. Only her eyes were visible and she hoped her [Stealth] would help hide them. Imogen had left an hour ago for her meeting with her friend, and Liliana had sent Nemesis out to hide in a nearby potted plant and watch the duchess’ rooms to let Liliana know when the maids left. Nemesis had just sent her the alert that the maids had vacated the room minutes ago and it was finally time for Liliana to go and see if she could find anything.

As she reached the door to Imogen’s rooms, she gently tested the handle. When it opened easily, she let out a breath of relief. She hadn’t thought the maids would lock the door. It was uncommon to do in their manor. Opening the door quietly, Liliana slipped in, telling Nemesis to alert her if anyone came towards the room.

Liliana paused for a moment as the door clicked quietly shut behind her, taking in the grandeur of the sitting room she had entered from. Wealth dripped from the walls to the floor, expensive paintings and decor adorned the walls and rugs worth more than Liliana’s entire closet carpeted the stone floors underneath. It was quite obvious where a good chunk of the duchy’s wealth went to. Reds and gold seemed to be her preferred colors for decoration, though the gold that coated so much of what she could see seemed to be real gold, a useless waste of money in Liliana’s opinion. Liliana roused herself from her stunned stupor and began to move through the room, her feet whispering over the ground with little sound thanks to [Stealth]

Liliana passed swiftly through the duchess’ rooms, checking to be sure there were no maids left, her heart pounding as the timer for her invisibility ran down. As she checked the last room, she confirmed she was alone, seconds before her invisibility ran out.

Fifteen minutes before I can use that again, Liliana thought. If it was an emergency, she would strip and use [Vanish]. But she’d rather avoid that if possible. Liliana took in the room she was in, taking in the obnoxious decor. The duchess had six rooms to herself, three times the amount Liliana did. And all of them were far larger than Liliana’s, and more grandly decorated. Liliana frowned as she looked over the splendor in the duchess’ rooms. It had only gotten more ostentatious as she’d delved deeper into the duchess’ domain, the wealth obvious from the curtains to the furniture as if the woman didn’t know the meaning of restraint when it came to showing off her wealth. Shaking her head to clear the envious thoughts of how obvious the gap in favor between her and her stepmother was, Liliana refocused. She needed to find some kind of proof. She could focus on the unfairness of her situation at a later date.

Back tracking, Liliana looked for the woman’s study, or her desk. Looking through the rooms, Liliana saw that Imogen did not have a proper study. Instead, she had a desk in her bedroom. The woman had a room full of dresses, shoes, jewelry, and other such things. Apparently she so dearly needed closet space she’d used a room probably originally intended to be a bedroom or study to house her clothes and accessories, and even then the room was nearly bursting at the seams.

Despite the overwhelming amount of wearables the woman owned, and her quantity of rooms, there was not a single bookshelf across all six of her rooms. Liliana shook her head as she made her way to the ornate desk. It wasn’t as large as her father’s, but it was more richly made. It was more a piece of art than something meant to be seriously used. Liliana looked over the papers on it, seeing invitations and half written responses to letters on it.

She’s an awful person, but her calligraphy is beautiful at least, Liliana noted, as she shuffled carefully through the papers. They were full of flowery language common between nobles, but nothing incriminating unless tea parties and gossiping had become illegal overnight. She set them back down exactly how she’d found them Liliana moved on to the drawers. Rifling through them, she found stationary, many colored inks, ornate pens and other miscellaneous items useful for writing. Liliana felt frustration growing when the last drawer she pulled at refused to open.

Oh, that’s interesting, Liliana thought as she tried the drawer once more. Looking around the desk, Liliana couldn’t see a key readily available.

I should’ve picked up a lock picking skill, Liliana thought with irritation. Emyr popped into her thoughts. He would surely have such a skill. But he would also have questions if she suddenly wanted to learn lock picking. Liliana pushed the thought away. It was pointless to think on right now. She looked around. Perhaps Imogen had left the key in her bedroom. Moving on silent feet, Liliana checked the woman’s bedside nightstands. When she found no key, she moved to the next room, trying to think where Imogen might hide a key like that.

Liliana went to Imogen’s jewelry boxes. Opening the first, she felt the need to blink to shield her eyes from being blinded. The box was filled almost to overflowing with sparkling gemstones and precious metals. A dragon’s horde couldn’t compare to what her stepmother had in her room, and it was only the first jewelry box. Liliana frowned. She herself only had a single small jewelry box, not even full despite the presents her father had sent her. Yet her stepmother had more jewelry than she could possibly wear in a lifetime.

Liliana tried to stamp down her anger as she shifted through the jewelry boxes, but the more she saw, the worse her anger became. Coupled with her frustration over not finding a key, Liliana was struggling to keep herself from going on another tantrum and destroying everything in front of her.

Nemesis alerting her to a maid heading towards the door cooled Liliana’s anger, replacing it with fear. She quickly placed the jewelery back into the box she’d been shifting through, closing it swiftly. Liliana checked her spell cool downs and saw that thankfully [Invisibility] was off cool down. Activating the spell, she watched as her body shimmered, going invisible just as Nemesis told her the maid opened the doors to Imogen’s rooms.

Liliana waited for the maid to pass by the room she was in before she made a hasty retreat out of the rooms. Her heart was in her throat at how close she’d come to being caught, and yet she’d gotten away with it. She might have failed to find anything incriminating, but confidence filled her. She had succeeded in getting in once. Liliana could do it a second time. And that time she would come better prepared.

I’ll need to learn lock picking. There is something important in that drawer. Perhaps the proof I need, Liliana thought. She was upset she hadn’t found the proof today, but she felt like she was finally close to catching Imogen in a web of her own design and choking her on the threads of poison she’d tried to trap Liliana in. Frustration still ate at her, but hope was blossoming and growing roots in her heart. The end to this deadly dance the two of them were locked in was in sight.

Chapter 86: Let's Play A Game

“Is it truly a good idea for us all to go present shopping together?” Alistair asked as the carriage trundled along the cleared road towards Ravencross.

“It’s the first day it hasn’t been snowing in weeks, Alistair. If we don’t go now, who knows if we’ll be able to get gifts?” Liliana asked her brother, her fingers tapping a discordant tune against her thigh.

Truly shopping for presents had been Astrid’s idea, and Liliana was fairly certain it was because the woman’s patience had worn thin. Since Liliana’s failed attempt to find evidence in Imogen’s room, she’d been anxious, feeling as if an unknown deadline was fast approaching. She had not had another chance to make her way into Imogen’s room, however; the weather had grounded most travel in their manor, except for emergencies or teleportation. It had only just lightened up enough in the last couple of days, enabling this very shopping trip.

Liliana was almost desperate enough to attempt an expedition into the Frostfang mountains to find the ingredients for a truth potion herself at this point, if only to finally get the proof she needed. It was either that or hope she could find a way to bribe one of Imogen’s trusted maids enough to get the information she needed. Surely one of them knew where Imogen kept her financial records, or where she kept the key for that locked drawer in her desk. She’d even considered kidnapping a maid in her more desperate moments.

Maybe this trip will help me get my head on straight. The plans I’m coming up with get more and more ridiculous as the days go by. At the very least, I might be able to buy a lock-picking set from the adventurers’ shop. Liliana thought as she looked out the window to a view of a white-coated winter wonderland. Astrid hadn’t been wrong about her needing to pick up presents either.

She already had Alistair's birthday and solstice presents ready. She had sent a letter to the Fletcher’s through Jason, describing the game of Risk for them to make. It had already been delivered, and she had the Crystalline Charger for his birthday present. However, she did still need a solstice present for Emyr, even if his birthday fell on the same day. He at least deserved separate presents for the holiday and his birthday. She also needed to pickup some bauble or another for the duke and duchess. It would be a slight if she did not present them with something, no matter her souring feelings towards her father or her growing hatred for her stepmother.

Then there were presents for Astrid, Silas, and Jason. All three had stood by her, protecting, teaching and guiding her since she’d come into this world. They deserved some symbol of gratitude on her part, at the very least for all they’d done for her.

“Then won’t we all know what our presents will be?” Alistair asked and Liliana startled, drawn from her thoughts. She looked at her brother, giving a sly smile.

“Then we’ll all have to try harder to mask what we’re buying for one another,” Liliana informed him. “We can make a challenge of it.” She finished. Alistair straightened, his eyes glinting. He was never one to turn down a challenge.

“If we’re going to make a challenge of it, we’ll need rules,” Alistair said.

“What if at the end of the day we all write down what we think the others bought for us? And it has to be something we buy today while we’re out,” Emyr chimed in, and even he looked excited by the prospect of a challenge. Then again, this would be his specialty, information gathering. The reminder of Emyr’s particular talents made Liliana assess him again. She considered, briefly, confessing the truth to him and recruiting him to aid her in finding proof of the duchess’ transgressions.

No, there’s still no guarantee he would believe me without proof. Or that he wouldn’t feel honor bound to tell Alistair. Even if he did believe me, what right do I have to force the guilt on him of hiding such a secret from his closest friend? That would be cruel. Even for a villainess. Liliana banished the idea from her mind. Much like the truth potion, it was such a desperate idea and she would rather never find herself in a position where she had to choose it. She’d walk this path on her own, where only she needed to bear the guilt of smiling and growing closer to Alistair whilst hiding a truth that would destroy his world close to her chest.

“How could we be sure one of the others wouldn’t cheat and change their answer later?” Alistair asked, casting a suspicious gaze at Emyr.

“Jason could hold the guesses,” Liliana offered. The guard in question jolted from his half doze at being addressed so suddenly.

“Jason, can what now? What nefarious plot are you trying to include me in today?” Jason asked, turning wary eyes to the three young nobles.

“We’ve made a game of finding presents. We’ll all try to hide who we’re buying what for. At the end of the day, we will write down our guesses of who bought what for us and you’ll hold on to the papers until the day of the solstice. Then, when we each get our presents, you’ll reveal the winner!” Liliana explained quickly to the guard, who looked relieved and simultaneously exasperated at the prospect.

“You’ll need to be sure to keep the guesses well hidden as well, in case any of us has a mind to try to switch out our answers,” Alistair informed Jason, his tone grave as if he was speaking of a matter of extreme importance rather than a spur-of-the-moment game.

“Do I have a choice?” Jason asked wearily.

“No,” three voices chorused immediately. Jason sighed and shook his head.

“Fine, fine. I’ll protect your pieces of paper,” Jason said, grumbling quietly about not being paid enough for this.

“Will there be a prize for the winner?” Emyr asked.

“Well, what would be something we would all want?” Liliana asked. Gold wouldn't work. Emyr and Alistair had far larger allowances than she. Weapons wouldn’t work either, as all three of them used different ones. Same with armor of any type.

“The losers have to perform one wish each for the winner?” Alistair asked with a smirk. Liliana grimaced at the thought of having to fulfill one of her brother’s wishes. He’d probably request that she clean his armor or bark like a dog. Emyr, she couldn’t even guess. He’d likely use his wish to get out of an uncomfortable social situation.

“As long as it’s nothing out of the realm of possibility for the loser to accomplish,” Emyr added in. Alistair rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement. Liliana reluctantly also agreed to the prize, as she couldn’t think of anything else all three of them would want.

She’d have to wait to gift Alistair Risk then. It was disqualified via the rules they’d agreed upon today. Or she could simply give her brother two presents on his birthday. Their agreement came at fortuitous timing, for they entered the gates of Ravencross shortly afterwards. The three nobles eagerly jumped out of the warmed carriage and into the cold, winter chill of Ravencross, all eagerly ready to start shopping and win their competition.

The roads of Ravencross were bustling, despite the cold. It reminded Liliana a bit of shopping malls in December on Earth. Everyone running around trying to get last-minute presents. The scent of wood-smoke and pine was heavy in the air. Liliana even smelled the familiar scent of cinnamon, a scent that seemed to transcend universes as a staple of the winter season. Ravencross had always looked like a traditional medieval city, something almost out of a renaissance faire, only truly authentic rather than a recreation. However, with the snow and scent of holidays heavy in the air, Liliana couldn’t help but think it looked like a scene from a snow globe.

“Should we split up or stay together?” Liliana asked, as they waited for the guards to dismount.

“We should split up, give us all the best chances to win,“ Alistair said immediately. Liliana nodded, matching her brother’s grin.

“Then may the best man or woman win,” Liliana said with a mock bow. She motioned for Jason to follow her and three more guards trailed after them as she split from their group.

“Where are we going first, my lady?” Jason asked when they were out of earshot of the boys.

“I’d like to go to the Adventurers’ shop first,” Liliana said with a smile. Already she could feel the stress of recent weeks leaking from her. The atmosphere of holiday cheer lifted her spirits and the friendly competition made her feel like she was a child again.

Again? I’m still a child. Not some old lady reminiscing about my glory days, Liliana chastised herself. Though she truly did feel less and less like a fourteen-year-old child, what she was supposed to be. She rarely even felt like a sixteen-year-old, the age she’d departed her last world. The longer she stayed in this world, the faster she felt like she aged mentally. As if she was speed running her childhood and barreling towards adulthood at a breakneck pace, complete with problems that would give anyone a headful of gray hair.

“And after that?” Jason asked as they walked through the streets, ambling towards the store. The day was still young and Liliana didn’t feel too much urgency to rush through the shopping. Her problems would still be waiting for her, no matter what time she returned home today. However, the moments she got to relax and escape the shadow of death that seemed to be hovering over her shoulder daily now were few and far between.

“Marty’s Magical Oddities,” Liliana said immediately. She wanted to see if there were any staffs, wands or focuses she could get Emyr to help with his Fire magic. He’d picked up the affinity in Ariowood after her and Alistair’s urgings, but raising an affinity was slow work. Liliana hoped a focus would aid him in raising it faster. At the least, it would be useful in the future as he shifted more into a spell caster roll rather than a rogue.

“Is it possible to buy like a gift certificate for an affinity unlocking at the temple?” Liliana asked Jason as they walked. She was considering buying Alistair one to unlock an Earth affinity. She thought he might start to feel left behind if she and Emyr both had multiple affinities and he had only Light.

“I’m not sure, we can ask,” Jason said and Liliana frowned, disappointed that her walking help guide didn’t know something. Then again, she doubted most commoners had the money to get multiple affinities unlocked, let alone buying a certificate for someone else to unlock an affinity.

Liliana stepped into the Adventurers’ shop, sighing happily at the warm air, much welcome after walking in the winter’s cold. As she shook off the cold, she looked around at the mismatched assortment of goods. There was some rough categorization going on, though Liliana wasn’t entirely sure what it was.

“Welcome brave travelers!” a boisterous and deep voice called out moments before a truly ginormous man walked out from behind some overfilled shelves.

Liliana had to tilt her head back to meet his deep brown eyes, set into even richer skin. He had a brilliant, welcoming smile that set her at ease almost immediately. Liliana examined him for a moment, immediately placing him as a retired adventurer turned businessman. It had likely been some years since he saw a dungeon, based on the gray hair peppering his close cropped hair and short beard, but his muscular frame betrayed his previous profession. As did his many scars, and missing leg replaced with a wooden replica.

Gordon Warden

Age: 176

Level: 168

Rank: 5

Class: Iron Bulwark

He’s one of the oldest people I’ve met in this world. It’s still wild to me that people, humans, can live for so long just because of the System. Liliana thought as she took in the information before her. Seemed the man had been a tank class before he switched his career, a fitting roll given his size.

“What can I do to help your ladyship?” Gordon asked her and Liliana blinked away the identification box before her. Gordon had obviously also identified her, but he treated her with less deference than she was used to from those of a lower class. Perhaps that was what all adventurers were like in this world? She’d heard they were a rough bunch.

“Do you have any lock-picking sets?” Liliana asked bluntly. Such things weren’t odd to ask for in this world, as many times they were used in dungeons to get into chests or through obstacles placed there by the dungeon.

“We have several sets, right this way, you ladyship,” Gordon motioned with a hand and turned his considerable bulk to lead them to the section he indicated. Despite the almost overcrowded state of the store, the large man before her navigated it effortlessly and finally stopped before a wall holding shelves full of cloaks, daggers, small bulging bags and finally cases of lock picks.

“Do you know which set you need?” Gordon asked her and Liliana nodded.

She personally had little experience with such things, but she’d played thief classes in Realm of Hope before, and could use that experience to pick out a suitable set for her experience. She didn’t want to say she was looking for a beginner’s set, in case Emyr or Alistair bribed the guards at some point. It would be best if they thought this was a gift for Emyr.

Gordon nodded and retreated to let her shop in peace, and Liliana began picking up different sets, ignoring the ones in cases covered in intricate designs or expensive materials. One set seemed to be made of gold, which made even her sneer. Gold was a soft metal, and utterly useless for picking locks. She finally settled on a set of lock picks in an unassuming brown case containing a plethora of necessary tools. As someone who had no previous lock picking tools, she needed to start from scratch, rather than simply getting a specialized kit. She had no idea what specific tools she’d need for getting into Imogen’s desk, so she was better off being over prepared rather than under prepared.

Her selection done, Liliana made her way to the counter to pay. She hadn’t seen anything else in the store that she thought would make a good present for anyone, and she had several more stops to make today.

Chapter 87: Shopping With A Side Of Subterfuge

Liliana thought over her gifts as her group made their way back to the carriage. The guards with her seemed far more exhausted than they’d been hours before. But then again, Liliana had dragged them nearly across the entire city on her hunt for the perfect gifts. She’d been lucky that her father had given her additional funds for her allowance today, but she assumed it was partially selfish desires that drove that. Her father wouldn’t want her to shame their family by providing him and her stepmother with cheap trinkets, and Liliana had unabashedly made ample use of the funds he’d provided.

Instead of a simple focus, Liliana had purchased an entire grimoire that had a gem on the cover that could be removed and used as a focus to enhance Fire magic for Emyr. It had a comprehensive list of different fire spells that Emyr could slowly learn as his Fire affinity grew. For Alistair she had bought Alistair an affinity unlocking token from the temple. He simply had to present it to any temple, and they would unlock his chosen affinity. Liliana was a little surprised they offered it, but it seemed there was nothing money couldn’t do as long as one had enough of it. For Silas she’d purchased a limited edition cookbook, after being tipped off by Astrid that the formidable guard captain secretly enjoyed cooking in his spare time.

For her precious maid, she’d purchased a beautiful fur coat made with a thick, forest green fabric and lined with a lighter green fur that felt like silk. She’d also bought a matching pair of gloves. Astrid rarely bought anything beautiful for herself, and was more apt to patch her clothes than to replace them. Liliana knew the woman would immediately turn down any jewelry, from memories of a younger Liliana trying to gift the maid some of her own few jewels. However, she doubted Astrid would as readily decline items that had actual use, even if they were luxurious enough to be worn by the highest nobles.

Jason, she’d purchased a penannular brooch for his cloak. It was made of delicate looking silver metal twined together, with two sapphires nestled into the twisted metal. Liliana thought it would be a good way to both show her gratitude for the guard, whilst subtly declaring him her personal guard.

She’d even purchased something for Marianne, though when she’d be able to gift it to the princess, she wasn’t sure. She’d purchased a traveler’s diary that had been published. From what she’d flipped through, it seemed the author of the journal had been a rather impressive artist, rendering the sights he’d seen in beautiful detail. There were even maps folded into the book that carefully marked out the different places he’d been. Many she had not heard Marianne mention in their talks or letters. She hoped it meant the princess had not yet acquired this book for herself, and in case she had, Liliana had also purchased a few fiction novels she knew for certain the princess hadn’t read yet.

For her father she’d bought the most expensive looking white gold and sapphire brooch in the jewelry store, not much caring if it was particularly tasteful. For her stepmother, she’d reluctantly purchased a gold and ruby ring for the woman. She’d been sure to pick the one that looked the most tacky amongst the available selection, almost asking to have a larger stone embedded in it just to make it nigh on impossible for the woman to wear comfortably. She put the least amount of thought into their gifts, seeing them as nothing more than an undesirable expectation she must fulfill. At the very least, neither could say she had scrimped on cost for their gifts.

As they came within view of the carriage, Liliana could see several guards gathered around, conversing with each other in the afternoon light. It seemed Emyr and Alistair had already finished their shopping, though Liliana could see neither boy nearby. As Liliana’s party got to the carriage, the guards carrying her gifts split off to load them into the carriage, Liliana approached the idling guards.

“Where have Emyr and Alistair gone off to?” Liliana asked the first guard she approached.

“The young lords have been waiting for you in the cafe for you,” the guard answered promptly with a smirk as Liliana flushed. How long had they been waiting for her?

“Thank you,” Liliana answered quickly, turning on her heel and nearly fleeing from the good natured chuckles of the guards. As Liliana entered the cafe, she did not have to wonder for long where Alistair and Emyr had seated themselves, for it seemed every eye in the cafe was either fixated on their table, or sneaking not so subtle glances their way.

“Ah, her ladyship, the grand lady Liliana, has finally graced us with her noble presence!” Alistair declared, standing from his chair and sketching a deep, mocking bow as Liliana came to their table. Emyr simply looked up and inclined his head before hiding his face behind a mug of steaming liquid.

“Hush you, I had more than just you two to shop for,” Liliana huffed as she sat down. She quickly placed an order for a hot chocolate drink when a frightened looking serving girl came their way. She seemed young and terrified of having to wait on three nobles.

“Enough that you took two hours longer than us to do it?” Alistair asked as he, too, sat down. Liliana flushed, but she crossed her arms, looking away from her brother.

“Just because you might not enjoy putting thought into your presents doesn’t mean I don’t,” Liliana informed him before her head tilted down and her shoulders hunched defensively.

“It’s the first time I’ve done something like this, really,” Liliana said more quietly.

She’d impulsively picked up presents before for others in Ariowood. But specifically going out to buy presents for someone had never been something she’d had the privilege to do. A lack of experience she shared with the original owner of this body. On Earth, she’d always been too young to have money to spend on others, instead giving her parent’s hand made items for holidays or birthdays. Then, by the time she’d been of age to be able to work, she’d been too sick. The original Liliana had never been permitted the funds to even buy herself the smallest of baubles, let alone buying something for another.

This was the first time in her life she could go shopping with the intent to gift presents to those who mattered the most to her. She’d spent a long time agonizing over her decisions in the stores, guided by the knowledgeable shopkeepers and even her own guards when she could not entirely decide between her options. Liliana wanted every gift to be perfect for the person receiving it, for them to get the gift she’d chosen and see a representation of how much she cared for them. She was more excited to see the reactions of those getting her gifts than to receive any herself, if truth be told.

“I-I’m sorry, Lili, I should’ve, I should’ve thought before I spoke,” Alistair spoke up, drawing Liliana’s gaze from her tightly clasped hands to his face. He did look sorry, guilt clear on his features. Guilt that was becoming more and more commonplace on his face as the days went by. Liliana wondered how long he would blame himself for her childhood, when she herself held no more animosity towards him for the actions of his younger days.

“I’m sure Liliana’s well used to your truly remarkable ability to consistently insert your foot ankle deep into your mouth every time you open it. With that level of flexibility, perhaps it should be you who is the opening act for the circus performing on your birthday,” Emyr spoke up, the flood of elegant yet taunting words making it clear his attempt to lighten the quickly darkening mood.

“I’m sure I’ll love the lock picks you selected,” Emyr said as Alistair struggled to reply to the jab his best friend had made at him, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Emyr. Liliana snorted, covering her mouth quickly to stifle further giggles, both at the rather beautifully said insult and the incorrect guess from the self-proclaimed information expert.

“So you followed me, hm?” Liliana asked as she controlled her expression, though she could feel her eyes dancing with mirth. The sadness that had so recently tried to dig its claws into her heart was banished as quickly as it had appeared.

“Mayhap,” Emyr said ambiguously, shrugging his shoulders and sipping on his drink, though a small smirk tilted up the corners of his lips.

“And did you also tail me, Alistair?” Liliana asked, turning to her brother, pausing as she accepted a drink from the trembling waitress, who immediately scurried off. Liliana summoned Nemesis from stasis before touching her drink, the serpent wrapping herself around Liliana’s neck as soon as she appeared. It was second nature at this point to ask the serpent to sniff for poisons lurking in her food or drink. She found herself even doing it at home. But then again, with a poisoner sitting across from her at the dinner table every night, it was a good habit to be in.

“Ah, what if I did?” Alistair asked, recovering finally from the insult he’d been dealt and crossing his arms, raising his nose as if daring her to deride such an action.

“Oh, I was just wondering if a clumsy attempt at following me around actually gave you any worthwhile information,” Liliana spoke, sipping her hot drink carefully when Nemesis told her it was safe to drink. The serpent immediately retreated back into her summoning stone, disliking the amount of attention they were under by the humans in the cafe. She still did not like overly crowded places, especially if the humans in them spent too long looking her way.

“Guess you’ll just have to find out when I win,” Alistair told her, smiling victoriously as if the game was already won.

Liliana smiled softly to herself as she sipped her drink. She had expected as much from both of them, which was why she’d bought the lock picks first, then the brooch for Jason. She’d bought the affinity unlocking token third, having Jason take her through the most roundabout way possible to the temple before going to buy Astrid’s cloak, then the grimoire. Liliana had also picked up a skill scroll for lock picking, both for herself and to throw Emyr or Alistair off if they were still watching after hours of shopping. She’d bought her father’s brooch after that, then stopped by the bookstore and picked up Silas’ and Marianne’s gifts as well as a few books on lock picking, maps of the Rosengarde territory, and a list of dungeons in their territory with descriptions of what their typical layout and monsters were. She’d finished up by buying the ring for her stepmother.

Unlike the boys, she’d employed a more subtle method to gather informations, suspecting they had not told their guards about their game. Nor would they likely think to divulge such information to the shopkeepers. They might be coming to see the commoners around them as something more than NPCs, but she expected some habits were subconscious. She currently had her own guards updated on the game, having slipped each one a gold coin and a promise of a second if they could gain information from the boy’s guards as to what they’d purchased. That failing, she’d also talked to each shopkeeper they’d seen that day.

Emyr, she knew, had purchased a poison detecting ring for her, one that could detect poisons up to Rank 2, something beyond Nemesis’ own abilities. It would even nullify a poison if it was under Rank 4. Anything higher, it would help dilute its effects, but it would destroy the ring. She knew it was meant for her. She had no idea who else he would give such a gift. She thought he’d tried to cover his tracks because he’d also purchased a bracelet made of sapphires and diamonds from the same shop, and picked up some miscellaneous skill scrolls before she’d been to the same shop later that day. But she knew those were red herrings. The poison ring was his present for her. She would bet on it. In fact, she was.

She, however, did not know what Alistair had purchased for her. She apparently hadn’t hit any of the same shops her brother had, so the shopkeepers hadn’t given her any relevant information regarding his gifts. Which was why she’d recruited the aid of her guards. If they had any luck, Jason would let her know.

“We shall see, brother, we shall see,” Liliana said lightly as she finished her drink.

“Shall we make our way out, then?” Emyr asked, almost excitedly, as Liliana set down her empty cup. With a smile, she nodded. They stood, leaving a healthy sum for the poor waitress behind as they vacated the quaint cafe.

Chapter 88: Thieves, Beggars and Bread

Exiting the cafe, they were greeted with a blast of cold air and Liliana almost stumbled at the drastic change from the cheery warmth of the cafe. She almost stumbled again when two small children, dressed in layers of fabric that could barely even be called rags, darted in front of her. One collided with her and was trying to dart away when a hand flashed out and caught the child’s arm. The child held in its grasp a small pouch of coins Liliana kept on her hip specifically to fool such pickpockets. It prevented them from trying to grab other things from her person if she gave them an obvious target.

“The punishment for stealing from a noble is the removal of the offending hand,” Alistair’s voice carried on the chill air, dark and threatening.

The child in question, covered in too much dirt to even discern a proper skin or hair color, trembled in her brother’s iron grasp. The child’s partner had tried to run off, abandoning their friend, but a guard had stepped up, holding onto the squirming second child. Liliana felt her heart break for the children. Despite the rags they’d tried to bundle themselves in, she could tell they were little more than skin and bones, their stomachs distended from hunger.

“Alistair,” Liliana’s voice bit out a warning, as sharp as the winter wind.

Her own hands gently grasped the child’s shoulders, which trembled from fear or cold, she wasn’t sure. Her brother hissed, but released his hold. The child tried to break her hold, but his Unawakened body was no match for hers, even when she wasn’t trying to exert her Strength. Liliana knelt down until she was on eye level with the child, and she saw a pair of mismatched blue and green eyes looking back at her between strands of greasy hair, full of terror. The eyes of weak prey confronted with a predator so strong and overpowering it knew only death awaited it. Two furry ears atop the child’s head were pressed closely against their greasy locks. Combined with their wide eyes, it made them look like a feral alley cat.

“What’s your name, little one?” Liliana asked, her voice far more gentle than what she’d used on her brother.

“F-F-Fl-Flint,” the child stuttered out, tripping over their own tongue. Liliana smiled at them kindly, releasing one shoulder to carefully move the hair out of the child’s eyes.

“Do you have parents, Flint?” Liliana asked softly, getting a head shake in response. Her heart clenched and her eyes stung, but she kept her empathy off her face.

“Do you have a home, Flint?” Liliana asked and once more she got a shaking head. Liliana sighed. She had expected as much.

The orphanages in Ravencross were full, children sleeping two to a bed at times just to make room for more. And yet there were always more orphans, children left alone. They might not be in a war right now, but this world was dangerous for all that it tried to pretend it wasn’t. Commoners died traveling from towns to cities, lives lost to deadly beasts or bandits, for all the nobles tried to keep order where they could.

“Well, future lord Rosengarde. What would you propose we do with two children that our family has failed?” Liliana asked, turning her head to look up at her brother.

Alistair was staring at the children, eyes wide. She could see he’d never really looked at the homeless, the poor of his domain. Like most, his eyes had simply passed over the beggars and urchins playing in the gutters as if they did not exist. Easy to ignore. If one had done it so long, it had become a habit.

“We should give them money?” Alistair said, but it was a question, and Liliana shook her head.

“They're likely to get attacked as soon as they dart into an alleyway if we give them money, besides that would only keep them warm and fed for a short time if they managed to avoid falling prey to their own comrades,” Liliana informed him, having been told herself such things months ago when she’d thought of the same solution.

“We should take them to an orphanage,” Emyr said quietly, and Liliana shook her head again.

“All the orphanages in Ravencross are full to bursting,” Liliana informed him, her voice betraying the heartache she felt, knowing the problem and being unable to do a single thing about it.

“Then what, Liliana?” Alistair asked, frustration clear in his voice and body language.

“Well, I think it’s about time I got some new servants,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders, looking back towards the child she still held in her grasp.

“Would you like to come with us? You’d have to work from dawn to dusk, but you’d be fed three times a day, have clean clothes to wear and a warm place to sleep,” Liliana informed the children, the trembling in the small body she held had lessened, but did not subside entirely.

“W-W-Work fe-fer a n-noble?” Flint asked her, and Liliana nodded.

“You’re fast and nimble. It’s good traits to have for a servant, and when you’re old enough, you could even train to be a guard instead,” Liliana offered. Flint nodded and Liliana looked towards the other child, who had shrunk almost into the guard who was holding them. They too nodded their head eagerly and Liliana gave the both of them a smile, finally releasing her grasp on Flint.

“H-Here ye a-are, m’l-lady,” Flint said, thrusting his stolen goods back at her, Liliana shook her head and gently pushed his hand back, ever so careful about her own strength, far too aware of how delicate the child was.

“Think of that as your sign-on bonus, for the both of you,” Liliana said as she stood, dusting off the knees of her dress.

“Are you sure about this, Lili?” Alistair asked, looking at the children with guilt, pity, and suspicion. Liliana knew he was thinking the two of them would likely run away with as many valuable bits they could find as soon as possible. Liliana, however, had a good idea that the idea of stable money, and, more importantly, a place to call home, would be far more enticing to two orphans.

“As sure as I am about any decision I make, I don’t like to have regrets, Alistair. And helping someone else will never be one, whatever the consequence might be for me,” Liliana told her brother. Looking towards the guards, she motioned to the two children. “Take them to an inn and get them cleaned up. You, pick up some clothes that will fit them. At least three shirts and trousers, under clothes, cloaks, good boots, gloves, scarves and hats. We can’t have them coming into the manor looking like this. Also, after that, take them to see a healer, then meet us back here,” she ordered, her voice taking on a commanding tone.

Immediately, the guards split up. Two, a man and woman as they did not know the genders of the children, took the two bewildered children in hand and marched them towards an inn. Another guard darted off after taking gold from her in the direction of a clothing store.

“So,” Liliana said as she turned back to her brother, tiredness leaking into her face and tone, “what will we do about the hundred other homeless orphans hiding in the back alleyways of this city?” she asked her brother. While her tone was heart weary, it held an undertone of steel.

She had wanted to eventually show this side of the world to Alistair, to force him to face the people he should see as his responsibility as much as any working man. It had only happened sooner than anticipated.

“We need more orphanages,” Alistair said immediately. “I’ll have to speak to father about beginning the process. I’m sure I can spin it as me taking care of city planning and management, while also building a charitable image of the Rosengardes. Mother will probably support it as it can be spun to show me as the official heir, and will also gain the people's approval. Which, while not necessary, is a good thing to have.” Alistair continued on, getting into a comfortable stride as he spoke.

“And what about the source of the orphans?” Liliana prodded, trying to gently direct her brother towards attacking the problem at the root, rather than simply treating the symptoms.

“We can increase the funding for the guards, encourage more recruitment for them, and that would increase patrols for the roads,” Alistair said, easily following her hint.

“Perhaps we can try to create areas along the road that are safe zones? For those who cannot travel from a village to a city in one day?” Emyr spoke up, seeming to be deep in thought himself. Alistair brightened before immediately dimming.

“Such a thing would be expensive, and how would we make a safe zone? An area with permanent guards? A way stop? Enchanted or runed? Such things are expensive, especially if multiple must be made. Opening even ten orphanages would be cheaper than setting up such things across all the territory,” Alistair said, obviously disheartened.

“We couldn’t ban travel that takes longer than a day, even if we stipulated you could still travel with guards. We’d have riots,” Liliana spoke up considering the issue.

She wasn’t sure how much enchanting an area, or using runes for it, would cost. She knew the manor had enchantments and runes to protect it, but nobles were known to splurge money freely for themselves. Using money for commoners was a harder thing to convince them of, even if the money they enjoyed was thanks to the taxes from said commoners.

“I’ll talk to father about the orphanages, and the increase of funds for the guards. That’s as much as I’ll be able to do for now. I’ll consider the way stations but unless we can find a way to easily fund them, or a way to make a profit off of them, such an endeavor may need to wait until I have enough power to make such a choice on my own,” Alistair said decisively. Liliana nodded slowly, not entirely happy with the answer but understanding there wasn’t much more to be done yet.

A royal proclamation for such a thing would force Father to fund them. But I don’t entirely feel comfortable stealing Alistair and Emyr’s ideas to present to Marianne or the Queen. That is assuming they’d even agree to it. Such a thing could be seen as the royal family overstepping their authority and make the noble faction hostile towards them. Liliana thought. Looking at Alistair and Emyr, she could see they were unsatisfied by the solution they had arrived at, much as she was. Looking around, Liliana spotted a bakery, and an idea struck her. It wouldn’t be much, but perhaps it would give them some comfort.

“Come with me,” Liliana instructed, grabbing Emyr and Alistair’s hands she tugged them forward.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Alistair asked, but he didn’t resist her as she led the boys to the bakery.

“Doing what we can right now,” Liliana told him as she released their hands to open the door. The smell of freshly baked bread filled her nose and Liliana sighed happily as she approached the counter. It might be the late afternoon, but the bakery still had a good amount of stock available and displayed for purchase, which was good. Liliana mentally bid farewell to the last of the money she’d been allotted for today.

“Give me all the bread from here to here,” Liliana instructed the shopkeeper pointing to the side wall full of displayed bread, “as well as anything you have left from yesterday that you couldn’t sell, and anything good enough to eat that you would throw out,” Liliana finished. The shopkeeper blinked at her in shock before bursting into a flurry of movement. Several workers helped the shopkeeper get what she wanted and Liliana just stood back and watched the chaos she’d caused.

“Why are you buying so much bread? You don’t need to put on anymore weight,” Alistair asked, his small taunt as weak as the smile on his face.

“We might not be able to do anything for them tomorrow, but we can stop a good number of people from going to sleep tonight with empty bellies,” Liliana told him, a sad smile on her face. Alistair blinked at her, his eyes filled with understanding and wonder before they hardened.

“Make it the entire store. Anything edible in here, we’ll buy it all,” Alistair called out to the shopkeeper, summoning a blank check from his storage, slamming it on the counter. Liliana had never seen a shopkeeper look so frantic and excited at the same time.

Chapter 89: Introducing Your New Kitten To Your Cat

Liliana sat in the carriage, a warm feeling suffused through her. To her side were two sleeping children. Flint and Clover, as she’d learned the second child’s name was, had been cleaned until she could hardly recognize either one of them. Their dirty rags had been discarded and replaced with clean clothes. Nothing as ornate or expensive as what she’d wear, but far better than what the children had been wearing.

The children had been asleep in the carriage by the time Liliana, Alistair and Emyr had returned from handing out food to the poor. And now Alistair and Emyr had joined the children in sleep, the day having taken a lot out of everyone. Liliana was proud of the two nobles, though. It was not easy for them to put their own prejudices aside and walk through the dirtiest areas of their city to hand out food. It was a small step; she knew that. But it was an important one. She doubted either of them would be able to so easily ignore the dirty secrets held in alleyways and gutters now.

Liliana herself was exhausted, physically and mentally. She might constantly say how sheltered Emyr and Alistair were, but she wasn’t much better. In her past life, she’d never had much to do with the poor. She hadn’t been allowed far from her parents even before she was hospitalized, so her life experience was mostly what she’d gathered through the stories others told. She only even thought of the poor in Ravencross because of the quests she’d gained in the game from talking to NPCs. It was what had originally instigated her aiding them. From their human empathy had stepped in. Once seen she could no longer ignore the pain of those she saw dying in the dark corners of the city.

But does that really give me any moral high ground to stand on? I saw them originally as a means to an end, in the hopes of triggering events from the game. At least Emyr and Alistair had no ulterior motive in their kindness. Once they saw the problem, they wanted to help for no other reason than because someone needed aid. Is this the difference between someone fated to be a hero and someone who isn’t? Liliana wondered as her hands played through the hair of Flint, who had laid his head in her lap. Clover was curled up and using Flint’s stomach as a pillow, and in this lighting, Liliana could see small stubby horns poking out of the young girl’s hair.

Flint had lighter hair, white fading into a toasted brown. His ears, and fur she saw now on his small hands and tail, curled around his leg, with the same coloring. He reminded Liliana strongly of a Siamese cat from Earth. She wasn’t sure if they had the same creatures in this world, or if his heritage was some obscure magical beast. She’d have to wait until he woke up again to ask him if he knew what beast clan he came from, if he did. If not, she’d have to wait until he unlocked his system access to sate her curiosity.

Liliana’s eyes were drawn from the children to Alistair, who was leaning against the wall of the carriage in his sleep. Emyr’s head was pillowed on his shoulder. Both had dirt and grime on their sleeves and hems. Their clothes would need to be thoroughly cleaned or burned, their pants were coated in filth from how often they’d knelt down to hand out food. It had surprised Liliana that Alistair hadn’t given a single thought to the state of his clothes once he began handing out food. It didn’t matter if he had to sit on the dirty ground and wait to coax out scared children in order for them to take the food in his hands. He’d done it without complaint. In fact, Liliana was certain they’d still be out there handing out food if they hadn’t run out, and nearly been dragged back by the guards after night had fully fallen.

It’s like all he needed was one person to lead him to the right path. From there, he didn’t walk. He ran down it full tilt without a backwards glance, Liliana thought with a small, proud smile. When she’d first come to this world, she’d seen him as an enemy at worst, a bully at best. She’d thought the game had lied to her, painting him as the hero he so clearly wasn’t. He wasn’t the hero the game portrayed him as yet, but she could clearly see how he would one day grow into that title.

And what about me? Will I grow into a title of hero, or the villain? Liliana wondered as her eyes drifted from Alistair to the window, where the starry night was on display. Millions of little lights hung above them in the sky, looking on like innumerable emotionless watchers. Gazing on as the mortals in this world struggled and eventually died while they simply continued on for eons. It had been some time since Liliana thought of the original, Liliana’s fate of becoming a villain. She’d been so distracted by the right now to even contemplate things so far away in the future. She was certain now that she had the ability to shift the original future of this world, but the question was, how much could one person do?

She’d faltered with the pendant. What was to say the next time she wouldn’t be able to claw her way back up? Was the original temperament of this body too strong for her to resist entirely? Or was it her soul that was weak? Had Vita made the wrong choice in pulling her from the void if, even with her knowledge of the game, she almost succumbed to something like that?

Or was it the memories that tainted her? Memories that felt as real to her as her own, more real at times. Far more recent to her than the memories of a life from Earth so many years ago. People were nothing more than their memories, their life experiences, the foundation and bricks with which they were built. Had she become too much like the original Liliana by accepting those memories? Had she irreparably damaged her fate by accepting that deal in a moment of desperation? Had she dealt herself the wrong hand with one choice?

But I don’t feel evil. I don’t want to kill people. The sight of human death still makes me nauseous. But at the execution, I didn’t cry and vomit like the bandits. Am I becoming desensitized? Is this how it happens? Will I one day be able to kill someone else and not feel a thing? Liliana wondered, shivering from cold and fear of the thought. It felt like if that happened, she would truly lose her humanity. She knew this world required her to compromise her morals, to become harsher, stronger. But she didn’t want to part with her humanity in exchange for that. She’d rather die and face the gods’ wrath than sacrifice who she was.

The carriage slowed and Liliana woke herself from her introspection, seeing the lights of the manor illuminated outside the carriage. Alistair and Emyr slowly woke up, blinking sleepily in the dim light of the carriage. As they stretched, the carriage came to a stop and the children jolted awake, going from deep slumber to fearful wakefulness in the blink of an eye.

“We’re home, it’s alright,” Liliana said softly to the children. Flint and Clover remained close, watching the three nobles with wary gazes. Liliana sighed but didn’t say anything about their behavior. Clothes, food, and a bath did not trust make. It would likely take a while before the two street children looked at her without fear.

“Follow me, little ones. We’ll get you settled in. Stay close,” Liliana advised them as the carriage door opened. The boys left first, eyes still clouded with sleep and steps clumsy in their tiredness. Liliana followed, taking Jason’s offered hand down. Her body felt heavy, and all she wanted was to fall into her comfortable bed. The children jumped down behind her and as she walked into the manor, she noticed they kept close to her, almost crowding her as they shrank away from the curious gazes of the servants and guards they passed by.

Liliana waved goodnight to Emyr and Alistair as they split off to their respective wings of the manor. She was thankful that this late at night there were only a few servants out and about. It let her escape the judgmental stares and venomous whispers that usually followed her like an echo in this house. While she wanted nothing more than to rush to her room, she kept her pace slow, mindful of both the children’s weaker physical state and curiosity. She could practically feel their wonder and amazement without even looking at them as they passed by countless displays of wealth hung and displayed through the halls and rooms of the manor.

It was with a sigh of relief that Liliana finally reached the doors to her rooms. She ushered the children in and shut the doors behind her, dropping her mask and beelining for a chair where she flopped down without a thought towards propriety.

“Lady Liliana!” a familiar voice called out, and Liliana raised her head to see Astrid rising from her chair by the fire to approach. The woman froze when she spotted the two children huddling behind Liliana’s chair, their eyes wide as they assessed the new adult before them.

“Astrid, this is Flint and Clover. Flint, Clover, this is Astrid. Astrid, these two are my new servants. I think I’ll have them assigned to care for Lelantos and Nemesis. Please teach them well. Kids, treat Astrid with the same respect you would me. She’ll take care of you and keep you safe.” Liliana quickly went through the introductions, wanting to get them done before she passed out from exhaustion.

“Oh, and I should introduce you to my Bonds, since you’ll be taking care of them. Please don’t scream, they won’t hurt you,” Liliana ordered as she tapped her summoning stones, materializing Lelantos and Nemesis.

Lelantos almost immediately scented the two new additions to his territory but was drawn up short by a mental command from Liliana. She didn’t need her Bond’s stronger senses to tell the children were frightened, and she didn’t need Lelantos scaring them to death. Nemesis merely flicked her tongue in their direction before retreating to Liliana’s hair, though Liliana could tell the serpent didn’t feel as hostile towards the children as she usually did towards new humans. Liliana had to wonder if the serpent could differentiate between different races, and because the villagers who had killed her family had been human, she naturally felt mostly only animosity for other humans. It was a question for the morning, when she felt like she had more than two working brain cells to devote to the conundrum.

“He’s like me,” Liliana heard Flint whisper quietly. She was sure he hadn’t meant to say it out loud, and certainly if he did, he didn’t mean for her to hear. But her hearing had become sharper than ever sense she had bonded with Lelantos, or perhaps because of the system she wasn’t sure. There was nothing in the books she’d read about stats increasing one’s hearing or sight. Though she had not seen anyone with glasses since she’d come to this world.

“You can pet him, if you like,” Liliana told the children with a lazy wave of her hand.

“Lady Liliana, is that alright?” Astrid asked, shooting a look towards Lelantos, who was sitting now and staring at the children. Which wasn’t much better than approaching them, in Liliana’s opinion.

“He doesn’t eat cubs,” Liliana reiterated the mental communication Lelantos had relayed at Astrid’s unspoken insinuation.

He was merely curious about the small cubs Liliana had brought home, especially Flint, who smelled similar to him. Nemesis sent back a similar communication, as if she thought it was something Liliana had thought her capable of. Granted, Liliana had thought Nemesis capable of eating children, but she had never told the serpent that. Liliana tilted her head to look at the children and had to hold back a giggle. Flint was standing in front of Clover, the fur on his tail, hands and along the edges of his face puffed out, making him look rather like a fluffy, toasted marshmallow. Liliana almost expected him to start hissing.

Oh, there it is, Liliana thought with a snort, when a small hiss emerged from the boy.

“Pfft, I don’t know what you think you can do against him, little one. But there’s no reason to be so angry. He won’t hurt you,” Liliana told Flint, startling the child enough to cause him to jump in the air. Liliana was barely restraining her laughter now, only the thinnest bit of willpower holding it back.

“He’s staring,” Flint hissed out, pointing an accusatory finger in Lelantos’ direction.

“He’s curious. Forgive his manners,” Liliana informed the boy. Flint glowered at the big cat and Liliana had to avert her face to cough into her shoulder, covering a laugh. She couldn’t help but see Flint as a small kitten, puffing up and spitting at a bigger cat.

“Lelantos, no,” Liliana groaned out as she felt an intent from the evanesce tiger, but this time he didn’t listen. Instead, he padded up to the children, who tried to hastily back up only to come up to wall. Stopping in front of a hissing Flint, Lelantos stopped. Bending his head down, he looked into the smaller boy’s eyes. For a long moment, the two just locked stares until Flint seemed to involuntarily avert his eyes. As soon as the eye contact was broken, Lelantos licked the boy, his tongue so big it nearly covered the entire child. With that done, Lelantos turned and padded toward the fire, flopping down before the flames. Poor Flint was left behind, covered in tiger slobber and looking confused and angry.

“Well, that went well,” Liliana remarked into the silent room.

“My lady…” Astrid looked exasperated and unsure of what to do.

“What? No one died,” Liliana shrugged as she closed her eyes, laying her head against the back of the chair.

“That shouldn’t be the baseline,” Astrid muttered.

Chapter 90: Challenges Lost And Won

“Is everyone ready?” Liliana asked, her voice solemn. Gazes sharing her seriousness stared back at her, the dancing light and shadows of flames playing off the planes of their faces, adding a mystique to the event.

“We all upheld our oaths?” a masculine voice inquired. Two more nods accompanied the question.

“Then, let’s begin,” a third voice intoned.

In almost perfect sync, three pairs of hands reached out and grabbed the objects before them. A heavy moment hung in the air, no one in the room daring to breathe as eyes read the script laid out before each of them. The sound of ripping paper filled the air, breaking the silence. Heartbeats later, various sounds of defeat or excitement filled the air.

“I knew it!” Liliana grinned as she fit the ring onto her finger. It was the poison detecting ring she’d been told Emyr had bought from the shopkeeper.

“I thought you’d bought me a brooch!” Alistair cried out as he waved the affinity unlocking token in Liliana’s face. Emyr was still staring at the gift in his hands, a small smile on his face as he cradled it in his palms. It looked like a black rose made of metal, but Liliana suspected any gift from Alistair wouldn’t be purely ornamental. The tank was ever concerned for his friends’ safety. The gift she’d been told he’d bought her thanks to her own guard’s information gathering was proof of that.

“Me and Emyr have multiple affinities. I didn’t want you to be left out,” Liliana explained her choice to Alistair. It paused his ranting, and he looked at the token, a new expression of subdued gratitude on his face.

“Thank you,” Alistair said, a smile on his face. Warmth suffused Liliana’s chest at seeing someone made happy over the gift she’d given them, something well suited to the receiver. Seeing the smile on Alistair's face gave her more happiness than opening her own gifts.

“That is a transforming gauntlet. It’s fireproof and you can place a focus in the center. It also provides a bonus for Fire and Dark magic. I know your current armor doesn’t have Fire resistance, so I thought I’d get you started,” Alistair said as he nodded at Emyr’s gift.

Emyr nodded, flushing at the not-so-subtle reference towards how the first time he’d used a Fire spell he’d lit his cloak on fire. Liliana raised a brow at the fact that Alistair’s gift would synergize well with her own gift. Then again, Emyr using a focus was almost a given. He wasn’t really a wand or staff wielding type of person.

“That’s a poison detecting ring. It’ll detect any poisons rated at Rank 2 or lower, and neutralize anything below a Rank 4. It’ll dilute anything Rank 3 to a point where you’ll survive long enough for treatment, but it’ll damage the ring. Rank 2 or 1 it’ll help dilute but it’ll fully destroy the ring and might not save you. But Rank 2 or 1 poisons are rare. Try not to consume them,” Emyr told her. Liliana nodded as she twisted the delicate band on her finger. Green tinted metal surrounded a tanzanite stone centered on it.

“Ready to open the second gifts?” Liliana asked, and Alistair groaned but nodded. Emyr carefully set his gift down and grabbed Liliana’s gift to him, a smug smile on his face as if knowing already what it was. Once more, the sound of ripping paper filled the air as the teenagers opened their gifts.

Liliana giggled almost maniacally as she uncovered the pendant Alistair had gifted her. It was made of dark silver metal and Labradorite, and was far more tastefully designed than the previous pendant she’d worn. What made the pendant both rare and expensive was that it provided a shield against unseen damage types. Mental manipulation, charms, anything that didn’t affect her physically but instead targeted her mental or emotional state, would be blocked up to Rank 4 or lower.

Anything higher, it would lower the effectiveness of at a depreciating rate. Liliana giggled over both how she knew she’d won this game, but also how inadvertently targeted the pendant was. Alistair had no way of knowing what her previous pendant had done, yet somehow he’d picked a foil for it to take its place. Liliana hastened to put it on as she watched the boys look at their gifts.

Emyr was staring at his grimoire in disbelief, and a bit of wonder. Alistair was looking at a miniature, perfectly rendered crystal shield in curiosity and defeat. It seemed he’d missed the mark with guesses for both gifts, and Emyr was one for two.

“Huh, same wavelength,” Liliana murmured as she looked at the shield. She hadn’t told Emyr that she ‘suspected’ Alistair would get Earth for his next affinity, or that he’d develop a Crystal sub-affinity. Yet Emyr seemed to know Alistair well enough to pick out a gift that would transition well into his future choices.

“It’s an expanding crystal shield. It boosts Light abilities. You can store two skills or spells in it to use at a later time instantly.” Emyr nodded at the crystal shield in Alistair’s hands. Liliana nodded at the gift. It was a good gift for Alistair, and truly rare gear. Undoubtedly it was crafted by a master, or dungeon dropped loot.

“That’s a Fire grimoire. I’ve been told it’s a growth item, so if you can fulfill the requirements, it can even show new skills or spells as you level with it. The stone on the front is a focus for the Fire affinity. It should work with your new gauntlet,” Liliana told Emyr. The boy almost immediately removed the stone and fit it into the black metal rose. Liliana watched with interest as the rose petals seemed to bloom, separating and then closing around the focus to keep it snugly fit to the piece.

“I noticed you lost your other pendant,” Alistair spoke up, drawing Liliana’s attention to him. He wouldn’t look her in the eye as he stared down at the token and shield in his lap. “This one looks better on you anyway, and from the smug look on your face, I guess you already know what it does. Now you don’t have an excuse if someone tries to trick you with a Charm skill or something, it would be your own stupidity,” Alistair muttered.

Liliana fingered the pendant resting around her neck, this one offering a far warmer and kinder protection than its predecessor ever could. This one was gifted with the intent of keeping her safe, not to use her. Even if Alistair still struggled with expressing his concern and care without working in some sort of insult still.

“Jason, if you would please tell us who has won?” Liliana said, turning to the guard who was watching the revelry from a chair.

They had decided to do this the night before the holiday, in Liliana’s room. Lelantos was laid out behind them, Flint and Clover curled up with the tiger as if weeks ago the three hadn’t been at odds. Now it seemed as if the tiger had adopted the children, and they in turn him. Liliana thought it was good for all three. Lelantos was young for his level, as was Nemesis. Very much children themselves in many ways. Being around other beings at a similar maturity had done much to liven up Liliana’s Bonds, to provide a type of socialization she couldn’t entirely provide herself. It was partially for this reason, and her own soft spot for the children she’d saved, that she never remarked on the fact that Flint and Clover were more apt to spend their nights sleeping curled up with the tiger than in the servants’ quarters.

“You know I had better things to do tonight than to play referee for this,” Jason grumbled as he pulled out the three slips of paper.

“No, you didn’t,” Emyr spoke up, his voice dry as he looked at the guard.

“Stop spying on your elders,” Jason hissed at Emyr, and Liliana snorted. Asking Emyr to not spy was a pointless endeavor.

“Liliana won,” Jason announced, with no ceremony. Alistair groaned, and Emyr frowned, but didn’t show any other reaction to the news.

“How?” Alistair asked, and Liliana grinned at the boys as she pulled her knees to her chest.

“Guess I’m better at information gathering and subterfuge,” Liliana taunted.

“But you were shopping the longest! How would you possibly have found out?” Alistair demanded, and Liliana winked, tapping a finger against her lips.

“A good spy never reveals her secrets,” Liliana told him. “Now accept the fact that I have a wish you’ll have to grant one day. Fear my power, mortals!” Liliana crowed.

Alistair buried his face in his hands, groaning as he imagined what terrible wish she’d force him to fulfill. Liliana herself had an entire list of ideas of what she could ask her brother to do, but she wanted to save her wish. As soon as he let his guard down, that’s when she’d make her wish.

“Thank you for the gifts,” Emyr spoke up, putting an end to Liliana’s well earned dramatics. She settled down at the change in atmosphere and she leaned over, bumping Emyr’s shoulder with her own.

“Thank you, both,” Liliana said as she leaned to throw a quick arm around her brother and give him a half hug. As Astrid brought out snacks and drinks for the teens to enjoy, Liliana let the warm, comfortable feeling surrounding her fill her and reinforce her for the coming days.

“Is it really a circus, Lady Liliana?” Flint asked her as the four of them watched from a distance while the circus settled their animals and wagons on the Rosengarde estate. Liliana had nearly run full tilt out of her room when she’d been informed of the circus’ arrival, only Astrid’s chiding voice holding her back. Now she, Flint, Clover and Lelantos stood far back enough to not even be really noticeable to the circus workers, all of them bundled up against the cold. Lelantos had come less out of curiosity and more of a result of scenting so many new beasts intruding upon his territory, and as a guard for the two children who had trailed after Liliana.

“Yes it is,” Liliana answered as her eyes jumped from worker to worker, looking for one in particular. She was practically vibrating with excitement. Her chance to talk to Natalia was finally here.

“They look like us!” Clover said excitedly, tugging on Flint’s sleeve as she pointed at a beastman with a tall rack of horns above his head. Liliana jolted, looking down at the children. She hadn’t even thought of how the children would react to seeing other beastmen, and so many of them. Rosengarde territory had perhaps the most beastmen in it of any territory in the queendom, a result of living on the border of Athana Kingdom, where the beast clans originated from. That wasn’t to say they had a lot of them, it was just that they were more likely to have them. Perhaps you would see a few in a city, but it was uncommon to see this many in one place in the Cista Queendom.

“Would you two wish to… go with the circus?” Liliana asked hesitantly. She hadn’t considered the possibility that the children might prefer to be around others who could more easily empathize with them.

“No!” Flint said almost immediately, running to hide under Lelantos’ legs. Clover was close on his heels. The two children gripped the tiger’s legs tightly, as if afraid they’d be ripped away at any moment.

“Don’t throw us away!” Clover cried out softly and Liliana’s heart broke.

“No, no, that wasn’t what I was saying. I don’t want you two to go. I was just wondering if you wanted to leave, or be around other beastmen,” Liliana quickly tried to explain to the children, who looked on the verge of tears. Liliana mentally groaned. She really wasn’t that great with small children. She had no idea how she’d ended up pseudo-adopting two of them.

“We don’t want to go!” Flint said, and Clover nodded so hard behind him, Liliana was afraid the girl would break her neck.

“Okay, then you won’t,” Liliana promised. She held out her hands, pinkies extended to the children. After a long moment where the two children seemed to discuss with their eyes, they hesitantly stepped forward, each locking a pinky with hers. “I swear.” Liliana told them as they shook their pinkies together. It seemed to quell the fear in the children’s eyes, and Liliana breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come on, let’s go inside and have some hot cocoa,” Liliana said, feeling exhausted already. She threw one last look over her shoulder at the circus, mentally promising she’d be visiting again that night, under the cover of darkness and [Invisibility] where her stepmother couldn’t see her or get a whiff of her plans. Liliana froze mid-step when her gaze locked onto a set of very familiar eyes. Bertran bowed to her, his hat held in his trunk, and despite the distance, Liliana would swear she saw the man wink at her before she turned to usher the children back into the manor.

Chapter 91: Who Are You?

“No,” the word rang out in the quiet of the night and Liliana stared at the woman before her in shock.

She’d admit, she had never really expected a negative answer to her request. She’d become accustomed to being told ‘yes’ by anyone who wasn’t her father or stepmother in this world. No one ever told a noble no, unless they were above them politically or socially and few could boast a position of power above that of a Duke’s daughter. Even an unwanted one.

“What?” Liliana asked the woman before her.

“I said no,” Natalia said, leaning back on her mountain of pillows and taking a deep breath of the pipe hanging from her delicate fingers. She was dressed in far more fabric than Liliana had ever seen her, though it was made at a far higher grade than her show outfits. Even the pillows she lounged upon were expensive to Liliana’s eyes, made of delicate silks and plush satins. Natalia was obviously a fan of luxury with how she surrounded herself in soft fabrics and rich tapestries hanging from every available spot in the tent.

“Why?” Liliana asked, struck too dumb to ask any question requiring over one syllable.

“I just don’t see why I should,” Natalia said with a shrug of her muscled shoulders. This close, Liliana could see the muscles rippling down her shoulders and arms, the only skin revealed by her draping outfit that looked like a mix of a dress and pants suit. It was obvious the woman devoted as much time to strengthening her body as her skills.

“I could pay you!” Liliana said quickly. Natalia laughed, the sound deep and rolling.

“Love, I have all the money I want. Why would I go out and seek more than I need?” Natalia asked and Liliana’s mouth opened and shut several times like a fish gasping for breath. She didn’t want money? Everyone wanted money.

“The prestige of teaching the daughter of the largest dukedom in the Cista queendom?” Liliana tried the next tactic. Money and fame. Everyone sought one of those two. Natalia’s low laugh filled the tent again and Liliana stared at her, stunned as the woman shook her head, dark curls bouncing.

“The only fame I seek is the fame I already have. Now what more could you possibly offer me, little noble?” Natalia offered, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

“What do you want?” Liliana asked, voice tinged in desperation. Natalia hummed and took another long breath with her pipe. She tapped her finger against it as she tilted her head back and breathed out smoke rings.

“That’s better. You shouldn’t be so quick to assume you know what everyone wants, little noble.” Natalia finally spoke and Liliana drooped at the obvious rejection in her tone. Natalia tilted her head a little and gave her a half smirk.

“Aw, don’t pout so much dear, it breaks my cold heart.” Natalia’s words were comforting, but her tone was mocking and Liliana felt anger filling her. She wasn’t used to be treated with disrespect like this from people not in the manor, or nobles she couldn’t fight against. But Natalia was just a street performer! What right did she have to look down on her?

You came to her for help. Swallow your damn pride before you become the very thing you used to sneer at, Liliana chided herself, and the anger drained from her as quickly as it came.

“What do I need to do to convince you to train me?” Liliana tried a new tactic. She had come here tonight, snuck out of her room and through the camp to meet with Natalia. She wouldn’t let that all be for naught.

“Impress me, little noble girl full of anger and pain,” Natalia spoke up, her tone challenging now. Liliana’s head whipped up to meet the eyes of the woman lounging before her.

“I don’t care about your father’s money and power. I don’t need borrowed wealth and fame. I don’t care about what others have given you. I want to see what you have to give. Show me why I should teach you. Not the daughter of a duke, not the spoiled rich girl. Show me why I should waste my time and effort on you, Liliana,” Natalia spoke, her husky voice filling the tent and heavy with challenge and derision.

It was obvious what the woman thought of the girl trying to use her family name to get her way. Liliana felt shame at that. When had she begun to use the Rosengarde name like a weapon? The very name she had told herself she wanted nothing to do with? The second she was given a bit of power with it, she’d used it without hesitation.

“Why would I waste my time training someone who will never use what I teach them to the fullest? I only take apprentices rarely. Those who will stand on their own two feet, with their own strength. I won’t take weaklings too scared of their own shadow and too full of hate and pain to be trusted with power. When you can show me you can stand on your own merit, you stop using your pain as an excuse, and become something more than just a victim. I’ll think about it.” Natalia finished, and Liliana flinched at every truthful word, each fired with pinpoint accuracy as they speared her through. She looked at the woman, confusion and suspicion clear on her face. How had she known so much? Liliana had never met her before today.

“Don’t underestimate how much servants hear, or how far their gossip can reach. And don’t forget you’re not the only one who has sub-affinities,” Natalia seemed to take some pity on Liliana’s confusion, though her words birthed more questions than answers.

The servants were probably gossiping about my breakdowns and my history. They love to smear my name at any given opportunity. Unless… she can Astral Project and she’s been spying around the manor? Or she has the Psyche sub-affinity and can use Empathy or read minds or something? Liliana’s mind was whirling with different possibilities of what could have given Natalia the insight she had.

“Now, I believe you should get back to your room before you’re missed. Don’t be too discouraged, this isn’t the last time our paths will cross, little lost noble girl,” Natalia was dismissing her and despite her words, Liliana couldn’t help the hurt the rejection inspired.

She couldn’t really think of a time she’d been rejected like this, not as herself. Not when it wasn’t expected. In her past life, her parents hadn’t denied her anything, not really. In this one since becoming Liliana, Astrid and Silas had acquiesced to every request. Even the ones they didn’t like entirely or weren’t comfortable with. Rejection this utterly complete wasn’t something she was used to, and it tasted bitter on her tongue, twisting her heart.

“Remember, next time we meet, I want to meet the real Liliana. I hope she finally shows her face,” Natalia called out with another low chuckle as Liliana practically fled from the tent. Her throat was too clogged and her tongue too heavy to give any kind of proper reply, let alone goodbye. She barely remembered to activate [Invisibility] as she rushed to her room. The further she got, the more the rejection turned from pain to anger until it developed into rage.

As Liliana got into her room, she ripped off her dark cloak and clothes, tossing them on the ground without a care as she tugged on her nightgown with rough movements. The sound of ripping fabric let her know she’d damaged it and she growled, an animalistic sound that was more appropriate coming from Lelantos than her. She grabbed another nightgown and pulled it on, discarding the tattered remains of the first. She didn’t sit down, though.

She paced in her room before her bed, for once glad Lelantos wasn’t in here. He was sleeping in the other room, probably curled up with Flint and Clover. She was glad none of them had to see her right now. She barely had a handle on her own anger and didn’t want them to have to see or possibly experience it.

Who does she think she is? Saying that to me! Liliana thought as she paced, another low growl erupting from her throat. Her hands were curled into claws and she didn’t realize it, but she looked like a tiger pacing its cage at that moment as her rage rolled off her in waves.

I don’t use my pain as an excuse! How dare she! Liliana thought, causing another growl at the thought. And so what if she did? She deserved some clemency considering the shit she went through! Since getting into this world, she’d been in mortal danger! If not from her psychopath of a stepmother, then from the things she had to fight to get stronger! Or from cursed pendants and gods who wanted her to save a whole damn world! Her life was nothing but danger! And she was just sixteen in a fourteen-year-old’s body! So what if she was hurting and angry? Didn’t she deserve to feel these things?

More than a victim?! I am more than a victim! I’ve fought against the odds, clawed my way up from nothing to become someone stronger than anyone thought I’d ever be! Everyday I’m fighting against expectations of failure and threats to my life, Liliana thought but her rage was wearing off and her pacing was slowing, exhaustion seeping into her bones. She slumped to the ground, arms wrapping around her knees in search of comfort.

“I’m more than a victim, right? I’m more than just Liliana Rosengarde, I’m…” Liliana trailed off as she tried to figure out who she saw herself as.

She hadn’t really had much of a chance to think of who she was. As her mind ran through the problem, she really looked at herself. She’d been someone else once, a girl who was destined to die before she ever lived, cancer robbing her of her youth and future. She knew she still held bitterness about the life she felt she was supposed to have, and was never given a chance to experience. Liliana didn’t realize how much she resented her original fate until she was forced to look at it. She hated she had never gotten to be a normal girl in her last life, and now in this one, in her second life, she was once again being robbed of any hope of normalcy or respite.

Liliana was angry, and full of a deep hate that festered in her heart like an infected cut. She was angry at the gods, for they obviously did exist, for letting a young girl get an incurable cancer that drained the life from her slowly and took any chance for happiness from her and her family. Liliana was angry that instead of letting her have a normal next life, they’d put a responsibility on her shoulders that most adults would break under.

She was fucking pissed that Vita had put her in the body of the girl destined to be a villain, putting her at a disadvantage from day one. Instead of making anything easy for her, the goddess had specifically made everything harder for her. She was angry that she had to work so hard just to be accepted, to be loved.

It hurt, it broke her heart, that she couldn’t have a normal childhood. Something she’d hoped and prayed for everyday in her last life. She knew that was something she would never experience. Not in her past life, and certainly not in this one. All the pain, all the suffering she’d gone through, and she still couldn’t be graced with at least a normal childhood. Her heart was shattered that her own father in this life didn’t love her, and that she knew she’d never get his love. It hurt that her own stepmother was trying to kill her and no one in this house would believe her about it. That they’d let her die because they couldn’t see it. It hurt that she had to live through fourteen years of abuse in months through memories. Never given the time to process what she’d experienced, jumping from one fight and life-threatening situation to the next without a chance to breathe.

Natalia was right. She was hurt, and she was angry, and it filled her more than she’d ever realized. It influenced her choices and decisions more than she’d believed. That hurt and anger that festered so deeply in her was what had called to the pendant in the first place, she realized. It had been a siren’s song to that entity, marking her as an easy target. Even after going through that, she still hadn’t done the soul searching she needed to, to find out what had made the pendant chose her.

It hadn’t been because that was what was written by fate. It was because she was so broken and twisted inside that the pendant had seen it as a chance. The pendant chose her and not her stepmother because of the mess she carried inside her like a rotting wound. She was an easier mark, easier to lead to the darkness that promised a reprieve from her pain and a focus for her anger.

As Liliana was hit with realization after realization, she knew she’d been thinking of herself as a victim since she’d come into this world. She’d been holding this anger, pain and self pity in her and making it who she was. And it wasn’t who she wanted to be. She didn’t want to be a victim, didn’t want to live her life making decisions born of hate and pain. That was what lead the original Liliana down the path to destruction, and she wouldn’t let that happen to her.

Not just because of fear for her own death, she realized, but fear for the demise of those she now loved in this world. Fear of the pain she would inflict on her own brother and friends if they were forced to kill her like in the game. How could she let Alistair kill his own sister if she succumbed to this darkness writhing inside of her? It would kill him as much as her. And only one of them would have to live with it.

Who am I without being a victim, though? Without being Liliana Rosengarde, the unwanted, unloved daughter of the duke? Without being the sick girl who never lived before she died, and was then forced into a life she didn’t ask for? Liliana thought, shivering in fear as she realized she did not know who she was without all the self-inflicted titles she’d given herself, but there was hope too. She wanted to know who she’d be, without the mantle of anger and pain hanging heavy on her shoulders. She wanted to meet this girl, the woman she could become.

Liliana stood, wincing at her cramped muscles, realizing she’d been sitting for a long time when she saw dawn lighting the sky outside. She’d spent most of the night trapped in her mind, breaking herself down into all her parts so she could discover who she really was. She plodded to her bed and fell down, rolling over and wrapping herself in the blankets like a burrito as she closed her eyes, feeling somewhat content. Liliana had made a decision today, one she knew would be hard to follow through. It wouldn’t be easy to let go of the pain and anger living in her, but she felt like deciding to was the hardest step.

For the first time since coming into this world, Liliana felt optimistic for the future, as she was lulled into a deep sleep.

Chapter 92: Pointless Parties And Crimes Against Cupkind

Liliana sat idly as her eyes wandered, taking in the sights of nobles decked out in their best. Elegant music filled the well-decorated ballroom, no expense had been spared. Magic crystals floated in the air, lighting up the marble and gold inlaid ballroom. She didn’t realize how much she missed having watches, or a smart phone, until she was stuck counting down the seconds until it was acceptable for her to make her departure from this event.

It’s my brother’s birthday, I should stay for a while, for his sake. Liliana told herself for the ninth time that night as she overheard some nobles.

“Can’t believe she was invited to this,” a feminine voice whispered, not quiet enough for Liliana’s ears easily picked it up. But she thought that might be the intent.

“Well, it is her stepbrother’s birthday,” a masculine voice responded and Liliana only kept from looking over out of sheer willpower.

“Still, you’d think she wouldn’t show her face. After all, aren’t they rivals for the title of heir? Not that it’s a real contest,” a second woman’s voice spoke up and Liliana barely resisted the urge to crush the fork in her hand.

You don’t want to be someone who just acts out in anger. Remember who you’re trying to be, who you’re trying not to be, Liliana told herself. When she’d made that decision days ago, she’d never thought it would be this hard. This party made her new decision so much more difficult than it would’ve been. There were hundreds of people crawling about the mansion, and the majority of them didn’t have favorable opinions of her. It was enough to test a saint’s patience, let alone her own.

Liliana focused on the half empty glass on the table she’d commandeered, something to take her focus from the hurtful mutterings of bored nobles. She was fairly certain she knew how to replicate Natalia’s skills, something she was more sure of after seeing the woman’s performance again earlier in the night. She’d settled on this as the most probable source because it made sense, and it didn’t require her to get and learn a whole new affinity. Telepathy was the most sensible sub-affinity that would allow her to use multiple weapons at a time without touching them.

So to give herself something to do while she counted down the seconds to her escape and to distract herself from the other noble’s she’d been trying to force the sub-affinity of Soul and Wind to unlock. So far all she’d done was managed to convince no less than eight nobles she was constipated. She knew because she’d hear them whispering about it as they passed her.

She tried to tell herself she didn’t care what they thought. Tried to convince herself that the machinations of the nobles were of no concern to her, but it was hard. But she’d never be the perfect noble daughter. Her bloodline alone guaranteed that fact. She knew she would never measure up to what they wanted her to be, no matter how prettily she dressed or how perfect her manners. Despite the new rumors about her, about her newest Bond, she still wasn’t seen as an equal to them.

She couldn’t hope to be seen as their equal. She could see it now so clearly. Not where she was at. Perhaps, one day, if she had the power to make armies quake in fear, she could claim a place amongst them. But would she even want to? Or was that just her anger and pain speaking, demanding justice for wrongs done to her? When she bothered to really ask herself if she wanted to be a part of the nobles, to be accepted as one of their own, she found the answer to be no. She did not. She wanted little to do with their petty politics and backstabbing.

It gave her some perspective on her life, on her future. If she was destined to have one after she faced whatever great evil it was that she’d been dragged into this world to vanquish. When she’d done her part, settled her debts, she didn’t want to return to this life full of facades and faux friendships. She wanted a life where she got to live, for once. Where she could be happy. A nice cottage in the country, with enough land for her Bonds to exist. Maybe traveling the world and seeing the beautiful sights and mystical monsters that inhabited it.

Liliana’s eyes rose from the unmoving glass to look around the ballroom, and a small smile flitted across her face.

Maybe a little bit of revenge, too. Liliana thought. Not petty revenge for spoken slights or gossip. No, she wanted her pound of flesh for what she’d gone through. That part of her hurt and anger demanded it, required it to be allowed to be laid to rest. She knew she’d never really have peace until her father and stepmother suffered for their crimes against her. Until she was finally given the closure she deserved.

Soon, soon. Liliana told herself. She had her plan with Marianne. If she got the proof she needed, Marianne could get her stepmother imprisoned, and could put a leash on her father. Liliana didn’t much care if it would be a huge hit to the Rosengarde power. She was planning on doing away with that name as soon as she could. The only person it would hurt really was Alistair, and she knew he would recover. He had never been one for power grabbing or social climbing, anyway. She wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be a Duke or if he simply accepted it as what he was supposed to do.

Even if it did hurt him, how could it not? He’d find out soon enough that his mother had been trying to kill his sister. He’d end up in between the two of them, forced to pick a side. It hurt her to know she would be doing this to him, but no. It wasn’t her who was doing this. It was his mother. Imogen had done this, had set in motion the events that would end with her and Alistair on separate sides. If he chose his mother over her. And as much as her heart said he'd pick her over his mother, that all the experiences they'd shared, the words passed between them, had to mean something, her head still urged caution.

Liliana focused back on the glass on her table. She pushed thoughts of the future to the side. Imogen would make her move soon, she was sure. The woman wanted her dead and was getting desperate. She’d slip up soon, and that was when Liliana would get what she needed. She just needed patience. Until then, she’d focus on getting stronger, physically and mentally.

“Did the glass insult your dress?” a voice asked, and Liliana turned her head slightly to look at her newest guest. Emyr had emerged from whatever hole he’d hidden himself in. Liliana envied his ability to just disappear from social situations.

“Yes it did. It said it made me look fat,” Liliana responded as she refocused on the glass. How did one move something with the power of their Soul and Wind?

“Do I need to defend your honor?” Emyr said as he slipped into a chair. Liliana snorted and shook her head.

“If you wanted to do that, you’d need to challenge half this room to duels,” Liliana told him, her joking tone not entirely hiding the hurt under it.

“I could. I might not win all of them, but I could,” Emyr told her. Liliana sighed, leaning back in her chair and giving the glass a break. She mentally called it a draw, even if she knew it was a defeat.

“There’s no point. They’ll chatter until their teeth fall out. Nothing I can do to stop it. I’ll just have to get over it,” Liliana said with a shrug, trying to end the conversation. She didn’t really want Emyr to know how much the words stung, not when she was so desperately trying to become stronger. To distance herself from that hurt.

“Well, if you need help hiding a body, I’m here,” Emyr told her and his tone was so serious, Liliana had to level him with an accessing gaze. His steel-gray eyes betrayed no secrets as he held her gaze easily. Well, if anyone knew how to make a body disappear, it would be Emyr.

“I’ll be sure to go to you first, next time I murder someone,” Liliana said with a smirk as she looked back at her glass. Now back to the problem of how to move an object with the power of her Soul and Wind.

Wind is essentially force, and Soul is who I am? The power of my being? So forcing something with the power of my being? I guess? Liliana thought with a small groan. This would all be so much easier if she was at the Academy, with teachers who could walk her through this. She knew they had classes in the Academy for each Affinity. With masters of each there. Most people didn’t have very high affinity percentages when they joined. She was the outliers thanks to her godly intervention. Not that Vita had bothered to give her an instruction manual with the high affinity percentages. Most wouldn’t have more than one sub-affinity unlocked when they got to the Academy!

It could be said she was overachieving, trying to get yet another sub-affinity. But she wanted to get this one, to start training it to show Natalia the next time she saw her that she was worth teaching. She didn’t know why the woman’s approval was so important to her. She barely knew her. But it felt like something she desperately needed. She supposed it could be some mixture of Natalia being a type of role model or idol of hers and being the first person to deny her something she wanted. Maybe Liliana just wanted to prove her wrong.

Move dammit, Liliana thought at the glass, but still it sat there on the table, utterly still.

“I’m getting a bit scared for that cup. Are you trying to will it to die?” Emyr asked from beside her and Liliana groaned, laying her head down on the table without a care for how it would appear to others. Let them talk, they would anyway. Maybe she should give them a real show.

No, it’s Alastair’s birthday. He’d never forgive me if I made a scene here. Liliana reminded herself, and she groaned again. She hated this. Being at this party, pretending to be a good Rosengarde daughter, pretending she didn’t hear the whispered insults.

“I’m trying to learn Telekinesis,” Liliana told Emyr as she looked up at him from the table. His face was quirked up into an amused smirk as he watched her have a mild existential crisis over a cup.

“Why not just get a spell scroll from the city?“ Emyr asked her and Liliana’s face twisted into disgust.

“That’s cheating. I have the pre-requisite affinities. I’ve unlocked other sub-affinities naturally. I can do this too,” Liliana told him as she sat back up. Her eyes darted around the room and saw her little moment hadn’t gone unnoticed. She rolled her eyes. Of course it hadn’t. Whatever, they could spend the next few days talking about the savage commoner for all she cared.

“You know that not how i-“ Emyr started

“How it’s typically done. I know. I know. I know I’m weird, I know I’m a freak.” Liliana cut him off, her frustration rising.

She didn’t need another reminder that nothing about her experience in this world was normal, even by its skewed standards. Thanks to her previous life, her experience with the game, and Vita’s meddling, she would never be normal. Anger rose higher in her and she glared at the cup, using it as the focus for her anger. She hated that damn crystalline cup in that moment and she wanted nothing more than to chuck it into the face of one of the tittering noble ladies around them. She glared at it and gathered her Mana, anger fueling her. Using it, she pushed and was finally gratified as the cup shot off the table and broke on the ground before the table.

Liliana blinked in surprise, feeling both exhilarated by her development and disappointed. She’d fallen back on her anger as fuel for the action, let it control her again. It had gotten her what she wanted, but only because she submitted to it.

Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the Sub-Affinity Telekinesis!

Liliana shoved the notification out of her eyesight with a sigh. This latest achievement tasted bittersweet on her tongue, and she drooped.

“Well, looks like you did it,” Emyr spoke up, his tone chipper. Liliana turned to him and gave him a sad smile.

“But at what cost?” She asked softly, looking back at the shattered remains of the cup that was already being cleaned by servants. Was it okay if her anger helped her? Or was she still using it as a crutch? A defense? What would she do when she no longer had that anger to support her? Would she falter?

Chapter 93: It All Comes Crashing Down

Liliana rubbed a hand across her face, spreading soot and other smudged remnants of various liquids across her face as she groaned. Her father had her courtyard enchanted to keep the snow off of it so she could use it again without soaking her clothes from the deep snowfall as her winter solstice gift. She’d taken to staying in it from dawn to dusk, practicing her alchemy, Telekineses and Wind affinities as she tried to prepare for the upcoming dungeon trip. She was also trying to teach herself valuable, marketable skills she could use to fund herself once she fully separated herself from her family.

She had accepted now that the path her future would lead to wouldn’t be one that held the Rosengarde name. Liliana didn’t know when she’d be able to make the split official. She wanted to be sure there was no way to have her dragged back first. But she was hopeful of being able to make her own way in the world after she graduated from the Academy at 20.

So far, though, her only skills were combat orientated, and she didn’t really want to live her life as an adventurer. No matter the boons she had, such a life was dangerous. Constantly needing to delve dungeons, sometimes for months at a time for the higher ranked ones, meant she would never be able to guarantee a retirement. So she had dived into alchemy, a craft she could learn and master to fund herself.

“Liliana? It looks like another maid came and left some lunch for you. Do you want to eat it?” Astrid’s voice pulled Liliana out of her musings from her latest failed project. She’d been trying to make a weightless potion, but it seemed she was just making some sort of biohazard. Liliana looked over at her maid and gave her a smile, her white teeth standing out starkly against her dirty skin.

“No, I’m fine for now Astrid. Why don’t you eat it? I don’t think you took a lunch,” Liliana told her maid and Astrid sighed but nodded. Liliana knew Astrid wouldn’t normally eat until after she did, but unless she was actively doing something that drained her Stamina Liliana didn’t need to eat as often as she used to, a product of her higher Vitality she hadn’t expected.

Liliana noted down the thought on one of the several opened notebooks on a table by her side. She had notebooks for her recipes, failed and successful, for her random thoughts and for her more pointed thoughts so she could keep track of them all. Her mind worked fast, constantly coming up with thoughts and ideas even when she wasn’t doing anything and she found unless she noted down some of the stray thoughts she had, she’d forget them. She had been marking down the noticeable differences her higher stats were causing, wanting to get a good judge for how much this world had changed her. If only for her own peace of mind.

Vitality seemed to do much for her. On top of the increase in her basic senses, it also seemed to improve her metabolism. Liliana noted down that it could also be her Stamina that had to do with her metabolism as a possibility to research into more. Oh, how she missed the Internet with its search engines and instant answers. Now, to sate her curiosity, she had to spend hours each day in a library and not even that could guarantee an answer to whatever query she had.

“Will you be having dinner tonight?” Astrid asked, but her tone held enough of a warning in it to let Liliana know it wasn’t really a question. She looked up, blinking a bit in confusion. She’d forgotten Astrid had been there while she was wrapped up in noting down her thoughts and theories.

“Oh yes, of course. And be sure there’s enough for Flint and Clover. They’ve been eating more, we probably need to get them new clothes soon as I think they’re in the middle of a growth spurt,” Liliana told her maid, another smile flitting across her face when the very children she’d mentioned laughed across the courtyard as they played with Lelantos.

They were playing under the guise of ‘exercising’ him, or at least that’s what they’d told Liliana they were doing. She let them have their fun. Seeing them enjoying their childhood did as much for her as for them. She might not be able to enjoy a normal childhood, something she was beginning to accept more each day, but she could be sure they had one.

She had never expected that the two starved street urchins she’d saved on a whim that day would, in turn, save her in their own way. Healing the hurt and anger in her through their wonder and childish innocence, something miraculously not stolen by their rough life. If they could overcome the horrors and trauma they’d been through to see the beauty in life, surely she could, too.

“Of course, Liliana,” Astrid spoke, her voice full of warmth and affection. Liliana smiled back at her once more at hearing her drop her title. Something only done when they were certain of their privacy.

Maybe I need to add more Lightfoot root to the potion, Liliana thought, her eyes widening as she turned around and began picking up ingredients again to try her potion once more, the rest of the world once more forgotten. Astrid shook her head and returned to Liliana’s rooms, taking the tray of untouched, slightly chilled food to eat.

“I wonder what would happen if we included some of your venom in the potion, Nemesis?” Liliana asked the serpent snuggled into her hair.

Nemesis was more comfortable coming into the courtyard now that it was heated by enchantments. Liliana had tried using Nemesis’ venom in a variety of concoctions, trying to make it more toxic, or even remove its toxic qualities entirely, then trying to see if it could improve upon other potions. Or just experimenting to see what would happen. The serpent didn’t mind much. In fact, she was more interested in Liliana’s alchemy than Lelantos. Liliana attributed it to her Poison element, making her more inclined towards the creation of potions and poisons.

‘Bad. Boom.’ Nemesis informed her, the words backed by an image of the cauldron exploding in a mess of goo and thick black smoke. Nemesis had figured out how to use some human language, or at least Cista Common tongue. It was very rudimentary, but it was progress that showed exactly how intelligent and driven her Bond was and Liliana never hesitated to praise her each time she used her words to communicate.

“Maybe, maybe it’ll make something new.” Liliana countered, and Nemesis sent a sense of heavy doubt back to her, making the girl chuckle.

A shattering noise, the sound of breaking china and crystal froze Liliana in place as she dropped a new ingredient into her cauldron and her head whipped to the side to look to her rooms where the noise had originated from. The sound was so wrong. So utterly out of place that a sense of heavy foreboding flooded her body as she stared. Astrid had never once dropped anything in her presence. It was always Liliana dropping or breaking things, accidentally or on purpose. And the children were outside, the only other probable culprits to such a ruckus.

“Astrid?” Liliana called out, dread clogging her throat and making her voice high, almost shrill. No response came and fear finally began to make its icy path through her bloodstream, adrenaline hot on its heels.

She finally sent an assassin! I need to get Astrid out of there before she gets caught in the crossfire!

“Lelantos! Get Clover and Flint out of here! Find Silas!” Liliana ordered as she summoned her glaive from storage, already activating her first Chain Combo and then [War Maiden’s Waltz], and [Light Burst Coat] as her blade began to glow with radiant light she blurred into her room. She flung Nemesis from her hair to grow to her full size in the confines of the room, her fangs bared and dripping venom as they sought out the assassin that must have invaded her room.

Liliana’s eyes cataloged the bedroom, seeing no threat as she proceeded to the connected sitting room. Her eyes scanned it and she didn’t see any strange figures lurking in it, waiting to slit her throat. Her eyes froze as they finally locked on the source of the noise she’d heard and her weapon fell from numb hands, clattering against the ground as her heart stopped in her chest and the breath stilled in her lungs.

“No, no, no,” Liliana murmured, not even aware she was speaking as she stared.

She rushed forward once more, crashing to her knees next to the still form lying on the floor surrounded by the remains of broken china, crystal, and scattered food. Dark red liquid spilled out around the still form laying on the ground, looking so much like blood that Liliana’s heart clenched before her mind registered it as a fruit drink. Her eyes took it all in before focusing on the frozen face before her. Astrid looked so peaceful. Her eyes shut as if she was sleeping, even if her lips were an unnatural shade of blue and her face a deathly pallor. She looked as if she would wake up at any moment and begin chiding Liliana for making such a mess.

Yes, she’s just sleeping. She’s sick. I can fix her. Liliana's thoughts were a jumbled tangle, making little sense, but she grasped onto this one thing, disregarding what her eyes were seeing for the reality she wanted. The reality she needed.

Liliana crawled forward as she activated [Healing Harmony] and her hands finally made contact with a familiar smock, her hands tangling in the fabric. Her hands pressed against Astrid’s chest, praying to feel lungs filling with air or the steady pounding of a heartbeat. She didn’t even realize she was holding her own breath as she tried to feel the signs of life she desperately needed to locate. But no breath filled lungs, no heartbeat fluttered besides her own. Liliana let out a gasping breath as her own lungs screamed for air.

“No. NO!” Liliana screamed as her hands pressed hard into the still chest below them and she closed her eyes, desperately trying to focus her mind. She had done this before, forced her Mana to do something it never had before to save a life. She could do it again. She would. She had to.

Liliana ended all other abilities other than [Healing Harmony] as she roughly grabbed every last bit of her Mana in an iron grip. She would not take it misbehaving and disobeying her today. Not now. She forced it through her channels, down her arms and into her hands and then out of her and into the still, cooling body she was pressed against. Liliana poured the Mana out of her, forcing it to flow like a raging river flooding from her and into the body beneath her. She imbued it with her intent, to heal, to save, to repair what was broken.

“Please, please, please, I’ll do anything. Please don’t take her. Not her. I can’t survive without her, please,” Liliana was begging. She didn’t know to who. Her Mana, the gods, Vita. Whoever would listen, whoever would save Astrid. She’d pay whatever price they demanded, her soul, her life, whatever was asked she’d pay it gladly as long as they saved her.

Mana poured out of her a never ending tsunami. As soon as she regenerated Mana, she sent it through her and into the body before her. Liliana drew more than she had to give, scraping every last dredge of Mana her body could produce. She knew, distantly, that she was surpassing her limits, could feel the pain beginning to lick at the edge of her awareness, but she didn’t care. Liliana would take any pain, permanent Mana crippling, whatever punishment the System saw fit to give her. She’d take it all. All of it was paltry when weighed against the worth of Astrid, of her life. She’d rip her own heart out of her chest and place it in Astrid’s chest, if she believed it would mean the woman would open her eyes again. If it meant she could hear her say she loved Liliana again.

Liliana heard a door crashing open, heard shouting, panicked voices, and hissing. Furniture being destroyed as chaos reigned around her, but she couldn’t focus on it, couldn’t even acknowledge it. All of her concentration was on this one task, this one thing. Saving Astrid. She had to live. Liliana could feel her Bonds panicking, feel their distress and agitation, but it was as if there was a wall between her and them as she retreated deeper into herself. She let the world fade around her, only registering the Mana leaving her body, all of her thoughts, her willpower, focused on imbuing it with the intent to heal and repair.

A hand on her shoulder didn’t draw her from her task, but arms wrapping around her and pulling her away from Astrid did. Her eyes flew open, and she struggled, hands clawing and feet kicking as she was taken from Astrid. She had to get back to her, just a bit more Mana, and she could do it. She could save her. Didn’t they see that?

“No! I can save her! You’ll kill her if you take me away! No!” Liliana screeched at the person drawing her back as she fought against arms like steel bands to get back to Astrid. She had to save her. She had to.

“She’s gone, Liliana. She’s gone. You can’t save her. She’s dead.” A deep voice told her, heartbreak and anguish thick in each word, and Liliana wanted to scream when she recognized the voice. Silas. Silas wouldn’t lie to her, and the truth of what he said slammed into her as her body went limp. The horrific realization that she’d refused to acknowledge finally made itself known.

“No, no, no. She can’t be dead. She can’t! ASTRID!” Liliana cried, her voice rising in pitch until it reached a scream, a scream that went on for too long, full of utter despair. It was the sound of a heart dying, of hope being lost and though she couldn’t see it behind eyes thick with tears, guards flinched and stepped back at the force of that scream. The scream of a child losing her mother.

A heart-rending roar rocked the house and a crooning wail harmonized with their mistress as Liliana’s despair was unleashed and rampaged through her Bonds. The entire manor shook with the power of their combined grief.

Liliana screamed until her throat was raw and her voice became nothing more than a whimper. Silas slid to the ground, holding her tight to his chest as she sobbed, the force of them shaking her entire body. His own eyes were full of tears falling like rain down his weathered cheeks. The two of them fell apart, grasping desperately onto each other as they broke into pieces next to the body of the woman who had meant so much to them both.

Chapter 94: Broken Hearts and Bittersweet Memories

The world passed by in a haze of faces, frantic words and concerned voices. Liliana could understand people were asking things, asking for clarification of the events of a day that her world had shattered apart. Asking for her to put to words her version of the day her heart had died in her chest but cruelly left her alive to suffer through the pain alone.

She couldn’t speak, though, her tongue as dead in her mouth as her heart in her chest. It felt like her entire body was dying around her, or perhaps it was her soul that died that afternoon. Her lungs still pulled in air, her eyes still blinked, and she knew blood still rushed through her veins, but it felt wrong now. Like all these facts shouldn’t be true. Her blood shouldn’t still be warm, shouldn’t still be filling her body with the surety of life. Not when the blood of the woman she’d known as a mother congealed and laid still in her body. Not when Astrid’s body was cold as ice and already succumbing to the slow rot of death and decay. She shouldn’t feel her lungs filling with air when Astrid would never again take in another breath. Not when Astrid’s eyes would never again fill with love. Instead they would forever more stare into the distance, dull and lifeless.

She knew, distantly, that she was eventually left alone. Knew her Bonds were stalking her rooms, full of rage and despair she couldn’t help them with. She couldn’t hope to save anyone else from this sea of uncertainty when she herself was so far beneath the waves, she could no longer see the light. Not when she felt despair and hopelessness clogging her throat and filling her chest alongside the blood and air that kept her body alive even when she felt dead.

Visitors became rarer, whether it was because they were unable to summon a response from her almost catatonic state or because her Bonds were nearly feral at the moment she neither knew nor cared. She’d happily let herself fade from existence in this room turned grave. Perhaps then this awful, empty and aching feeling in her chest would fade. Perhaps the jagged wound that she’d been left with would stop bleeding and seeping through her being. Maybe the void she still so vividly remembered would soothe the pain and ache that had become who she was as she stared up at the ceiling of her room, laid out on a bed, unmoving except for the weak breaths of air she drew in periodically.

Pain radiated from her arm, sharp and clear in the haze of heartbreak she was floating in. In a moment it was as if her body and soul realigned and she took in a deep breath, eyes blinking as if she’d just come out of a long sleep. Looking over, movements still so slow and hesitant as if she no longer was used to her body, she saw a small Nemesis sitting by her arm where two small holes lazily leaked red blood down her arm and stained her sheets.

Astrid will be mad about the stains. Liliana thought, an instinctive thought that brought back to horrifying clarity the events that had left her in this state.

Astrid wouldn’t be mad, wouldn’t care. She was dead, she couldn't care. She’d never again chastise Liliana for something again. Her sharp but loving voice would never again fill her ears and suffuse her with love and shame in equal measures when she did something reckless or childish. She’d never again fall apart in Astrid’s arms, crying out in the safety of a mother’s embrace. A sob choked her throat and Liliana curled up on her side, hands clutching ineffectually at her chest as if she could squeeze the broken shards of her heart back together as her sobs gained strength and shook her body. Tears ran freely down her face, a torrent of pain that did nothing to staunch the agony that wracked her very being.

Her mind was gaining lucidity even as she broke apart again in her bed, and with it the power of her Bonds flooded her mind, the instinctive wall she’d placed between them crumbling to dust in the face of their love and concern. She felt her bed dip concerningly and groan as it was forced to bear the weight of a huge tiger, but Liliana didn’t care if it broke beneath them as she turned and curled into Lelantos’ side, hands clutching desperately into his fur, seeking comfort for a pain too great for one body to hold on its own.

With their Bond now clear of any blockades, she felt Nemesis and Lelantos in startling clarity, and heard their whines and hisses as the full brunt of her pain was truly unleashed to run rampant through the three of them. But somehow, the sharing of pain across three bodies and minds made the load easier for all to bear. Each breath Liliana took as her pain bled into the minds of her Bonds was easier, a little less shattered glass digging into her chest with each beat of her broken heart. Eventually an equilibrium was reached, where the pain still dug and stabbed and wounded them all, but it was no longer this unconquerable beast that would drown Liliana in its cold depths. Now it was something manageable, something they could bear the burden of until the pain became less savage one day, until its claws dulled and its ragged edges smoothed to scars.

“I’m sorry,” Liliana croaked out, her voice hoarse and nothing more than a breath, as weak and effervescent as spider silk fluttering on the breeze. She wasn’t sure who she was apologizing to, Astrid for not being the one to drink the poisoned wine, Lelantos and Nemesis, for forcing them to endure this devastating agony. Maybe even Silas, who was no longer here, who had gone to handle his own grief in solitude. The only other person who could perhaps understand the pain she was undergoing with any true empathy. But his loss was different too, that of a man who lost the love of his life. She’d lost a mother, he’d lost his heart. Their pains weren’t the same, but they were both too great for anyone to handle alone.

It was with a single-minded determination that Liliana got to her feet, unsteady and dizzy. She hadn’t eaten since that day, and she didn’t know how much time had passed since. The unfaltering march of time had passed her by without notice while she’d been trapped in a coma of pain and loss. Her feet stumbled, but there was a large body there to catch her before she fell. A warm, sure form that laid down so she could pull herself onto his back. Nemesis wrapped around her throat, almost too tight in her need for closeness, the comfort of skin on scales essential for their survival as they all rode out, the waves of grief washing through their bond unfettered.

“Find him,” Liliana ordered, her voice still a weak whisper, but Lelantos understood as he stood and bounded out to the courtyard, clearing the wall with ease.

Liliana gripped his fur with all the strength she had in her abused body, legs shaking even as they clamped to his side. She could hear people shouting her name, knew they were watching her in confusion and concern. She hadn’t cared to change into anything appropriate, and at some point a maid had put her in a nightgown. She didn’t care if she looked wholly inappropriate, riding a tiger in her nightwear. Such things were so pointless to her now. What did propriety matter in the face of choking grief?

Eventually the amount of people they passed died down until they were alone as Lelantos loped across snow covered ground and through barren trees. She had never been to Silas’ house, but she knew Lelantos would find him. By the time they stopped before a small, humble cottage deep in the Rosengarde estate, Liliana had begun to shiver from the cold, but the ache of numbing extremities was barely a thought to her. Her mind had so little space with grief and determination, filling it to its entirety. Liliana slid off Lelantos’ back and, with one hand kept on him for balance, she made her way to the door of the cottage. Her bare feet crunched through the snow and her steps were stumbling, but she pushed through the numbness and clumsiness with a single-minded determination to get to the door.

When they stopped before the wooden door, Liliana paused, uncertainty filling her for a moment. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Liliana raised a hand and pounded on the door, the sound ringing out through the silent snowy vista around them. She heard steps in the house, heard them pause at the door and someone take in a deep breath of their own before opening the door.

Silas stood before her, looking haggard and far older than she had ever seen him. His clothes were loose around him, stained and messy. His beard was unkempt, bursting off his face like a wild bush, eyes swollen and bloodshot, likely a mirror of her own. He looked like a man who had nothing left to live for, wracked by grief. He couldn’t even summon the energy to look surprised at her appearance on his doorstep looking like a ghost of a girl, a snow spirit come to drag him to an icy death. Liliana stared at him, her mind working slowly to find the words she needed to explain her presence, but it was unnecessary. Silas stepped aside, giving her unspoken permission to enter his home.

Liliana stepped inside, Lelantos laying before the door as she did, blocking anyone else from following her. A sentinel standing guard before this house that stank of sadness and heartbreak. Silas closed the door and walked off, Liliana following behind him, her steps clumsy as her numbed feet pricked and stung when confronted with the warmth in the house. He’d lit a fire at some point. How he’d managed it in the grip of his grief, Liliana couldn’t imagine.

Silas led her to a couch, and she sat down gratefully, nearly collapsing as her tired and frozen limbs cried out in relief. She curled up on the seat, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around them, her long nightgown covering her until she looked like a mound of snow left on his old brown furniture. Silas took a seat next to her and Liliana leaned towards him until her head rested on his shoulder, offering silent comfort and soaking in his warmth. The cold that filled her went further than snow chilled skin. It was as if her very bones were made of ice and she wanted to see if she would melt away when enough heat was applied.

She didn‘t know how long they sat there, saying nothing, but she felt the pain in her lessen ever so much as they both took in the comfort of another person who would understand their pain. Her Bonds had helped bring her back to life, and had made it possible for her to exist with the pain inside of her, but they would never know Astrid the way she did, never understand the depth of love she felt for the woman. But Silas did. Silas knew, and had felt a love for Astrid as deep as her own. That knowledge did something to ease a bit of the ache in her chest, was a medicine she needed with all her being.

“We were going to get married this summer,” Silas spoke after what felt like hours of silence. Shattered the calm between them with words filled with longing and pain. A future imagined that would forever stay a dream. Hopes stolen by the cold hands of death. But it was necessary. It was allowing a festering wound to be aired and cleaned. These things inside of them couldn’t stay there, or it would rot them from the inside out. So Liliana took a breath and opened her mouth, her tongue less numb than it had been. More alive with each beat of her heart and intention filling her.

“I was hoping to buy her a house when I graduated from the Academy. Somewhere nice, sunny, where she could have her own garden and never again have to serve someone,” Liliana confessed her own hopes of a future that would never come to pass. A small bit of the pain in her heart eased with each word that passed her lips.

“When I asked her to marry me, I’d brought her a bouquet of her favorite flowers, lilies you know, and I was so nervous I dropped the ring. She cried and laughed and told me yes between her tears and giggles,” Silas told her, his voice breaking a bit with the words. Liliana felt the faint urge to smile, but it wasn’t yet strong enough to change her frozen features.

“Astrid caught me sneaking cookies from the kitchen a week ago. She was so angry, but her eyes were full of amusement. She took half of them as a tax, telling me if I wanted to sneak out cookies I should try to wipe my mouth of the chocolate before she came in,” Liliana blurted out, the memory bringing tears to her eyes but they felt warm now, instead of cold like they had before as they poured down her face. Thawing her heart and skin.

They spent hours, the light of the day fading to night as they shared their memories of the woman who had kept both their hearts in her hands and stolen them with her when she died. Each sentence birthed more tears, but each word also eased something deep inside of them. It didn’t fix what was broken, but the pieces were being arranged so they could heal one day. There would always be scars, they would ache and sting and itch, but one day they would heal. It was something both of them realized as they comforted each other through reminiscence, as they both bore their wounds for the other to see and allowed themselves to remember not just the pain, but the love and happiness that Astrid had brought them.

Eventually, Liliana fell asleep to a lullaby of Silas recounting a beautiful memory of him and Astrid by a lake filled with summer flowers. Silas stood from her side and pulled blankets over the fragile-looking girl who had sought him out for comfort and safety, but to also draw him out of the darkness that had been consuming him. As he stared down at her, he saw tears still slowly leaked down her face, even in her sleep, and he made a silent vow. This girl who Astrid had loved as her own, he would see her safe. He couldn’t live for himself right now. It was too much to ask him when he felt like his heart had died with Astrid, but he could live for the girl she’d loved more than life itself. It went beyond the call of duty. It was an oath he alone would know, as his loyalties irrevocably shifted that night.

Chapter 95: White Lilies On Dark Wood

Liliana stood there in a graveyard cleared of snow as she watched a wooden box descend into the embrace of the earth. The last time she’d ever see Astrid’s face had come and passed, when she’d looked upon the woman she’d known as a mother lying in her casket, her skin pale as the snow that edged the graveyard.

Someone had arranged her hair beautifully, had artistically applied cosmetics to her skin to give the illusion of life. It was cruel, in a way, how that illusion had given Liliana the momentary hope that Astrid was just sleeping, that she’d awaken from her deathlike sleep to smile at her just one more time. That illusion had been quickly destroyed when no breath stirred Astrid’s chest, irrevocable proof of the fact that her soul had departed its vessel already. There was no bringing her back, no new memories to make.

Liliana wished with her entire being that she’d been given the chance to tell Astrid she loved her, just once more. Her last words to Astrid had been about the children’s growth. She hadn’t even told her she loved her. Had naively assumed she had all the time in the world to assure Astrid of her love, that she’d have thousands more ‘I love you’s before the final one. But those thousands had run out already, the sand in the hourglass had depleted and there were no more second chances. Now her ‘I love you’ fell on deaf ears when she’d knelt before the casket, tears pouring from her eyes again as if she was a faucet for her grief to flow from.

The tears were gone now as she watched the casket lower into the hard earth. Even her grief was muted, having run its course in the week since Astrid’s death. It was still a vicious thing, lurking in her and waiting for any chance to rip into her once more, reopening barely healing wounds. But it was not the untamed, wild and overpowering thing it had been. It was slowly being shackled, becoming a burden she could bear and think around. As her mind cleared more and more of the pain of her loss, it left a hole for other things to fill in its stead. Grief had invited a friend to sit in her mind and take residence in her chest. Rage had slithered in, slowly at first, insidious in its arrival. It had crept its choking vines through her veins until every breath she took in filled her with the fires of it.

She had barely been cognizant in those first days to really think on the why behind the events of that horrible day. But she’d known Astrid was poisoned, and deep in the recesses of her mind she’d known from the second Astrid had fallen who had been responsible. Oh, she’d been told the maid who delivered the food had been questioned and prosecuted. The details were hazy to her, having been told at some point when she was still lost in her sea of anguish. But she knew the person who had poured the poison was rotting in some unmarked grave now. But the real murderer, the true villain in this tale of tragedy, she still walked free.

Guilt ate at her, despite knowing the real culprit. Had Liliana not declined the food, she’d have been the one being laid to rest in a grave today, and at times she almost wished it was true. No, not at times. Always. Her life was not worth Astrid’s, not by half. Astrid had been good, kind, a person worth ten of her. The poison had been meant for her. It should’ve been her to drink it. If she’d taken the food, her ring, or Nemesis, would’ve detected the poison most likely. There could’ve been no death at all, if she’d just taken her lunch. Or even if nothing had detected the poison, at least the world wouldn’t have lost someone who was truly good. Instead, it was left with a girl who barely knew who she was, who was so consumed with rage, grief and hate that she would gladly burn the entire manor down around them all if she thought it would bring Imogen down with her.

She’d had a hard time, once, truly understanding how the original Liliana had turned from an abused and weak girl into someone who was capable or murdering with glee. Now. Now she could understand, because that path called to her with a dark siren’s song she no longer was sure she wanted to resist. What did it matter if she saved this cursed world from being consumed in darkness? What had this world done for her other than hurt her?

No, there’s still reasons to live. To take a better path. Liliana reminded herself, as she had hundreds of times since Astrid had died and her mind had cleared enough to understand, to begin to hate. She still had ties to this world, ties built of love she didn’t want to break.

Liliana’s eyes trailed over the humble gathering circling the grave. Astrid’s aging parents stood together, arms holding tightly to one another. Parents burying their child, a grave offense to the very laws of nature. Parents should never have to bury their child, yet they were. Because of one selfish woman’s machinations. Beside them were Astrid’s sisters with their husbands and children. Children who didn’t entirely understand the concept of death were held tightly in parents’ arms. Liliana was sure they were filled with grief and fear, seeing themselves burying their own children as a real possibility now.

A few servants had come, the cook, the head maid, the steward, the stable master. A few maids Liliana didn’t recognize, but no others. They stayed together in their own cluster, some shedding tears, some watching on with dry eyes. Liliana paid little mind to them. They had never approached her, so she treated them much the same, though she had a bit of gratitude that they showed up for this at least. Better than their coworkers who were absent.

To her left was Silas, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. Offering comfort and seeking strength in equal measures. Since Liliana had come to his cottage, they’d spent a good amount of time together, helping each other heal the pain however they could. Sharing stories, or sitting in silence, whichever was necessary at the time. She’d once thought she could see Silas as a father, eventually. Now she knew, in her heart, she did. Those days of pain in his cottage had forged a bond through their shared grief and hurt, something far stronger than the bond she shared with her own father in this life. Perhaps even as strong as the bond she’d had with her father in her past life.

To her right stood Emyr and Alistair. Both quiet and subdued. Their grief couldn’t possibly match the rest of theirs. They hadn’t known Astrid well enough, though Emyr was more familiar with her than Alistair. She’d cared for both boys like her own sons when they’d begun to spend more time with Liliana, and she thought they were mourning the relationship they could’ve had with her. Alistair, perhaps more so than Emyr, who had a loving mother of his own. Alistair had seen a chance, for a mother figure who would love him no matter what, and would never use him. And he’d had that ripped away before he could truly begin to appreciate it.

Their grief and pain was real, but it couldn’t match the monster that had ripped into the rest of them. Those of them who had held Astrid deeply in their hearts, who had happily given the woman parts of themselves and had lost those parts when she died. They would heal, all of them, one day. But those parts they’d given her so willingly would never come back. The holes left behind would fill with scar tissue, but they would never really be whole again. The empty spot would always exist, even if one day the pain became easy to bear. Even if there would come a time where they could forget the pain for days, weeks at a time, it would always be there.

Liliana’s eyes traced once more over the assembly. Her Bonds were the last of the guests. Nemesis was at full size and her soft keening in the background sounded like a funeral dirge, disturbingly appropriate. Liliana had hoped to one day hear the singing she’d witnessed in Nemesis’ memories in person, but not like this. Never like this. Lelantos was a quiet sentinel behind them, but she felt his grief in their bond. He’d loved Astrid, as Liliana had. Thanks to his experiences with her, and the feelings Liliana had for the woman. But his grief was different from hers. There was a level of acceptance, inevitability, in his grief. To a beast, death was normal, expected. The weak die, the strong live and sometimes even the strong die. That was all there was to it. Death was an accepted and expected part of a beast’s life. They saw it so often.

The humanoid races, on the other hand, experienced death and grief more strongly than beasts did. Death was something they all knew about, but mortal minds always struggled to really comprehend it. Even Liliana who had died once, and experienced what came afterwards, still struggled with coming to terms with it. Perhaps it was because of how strongly they fought against it, the defenses they built to thwart it. Walls raised to protect them from it, medicines made to stave it off. Mortals spent so much of their lives fighting against death that they never really gave themselves a chance to accept it as what it was, an inevitable part of the cycle of life.

Liliana’s hands clenched to fists at her sides, even as her eyes focused on the priest, one belonging to the Death god Mors. She didn’t hear whatever funeral rites he was waxing on about. Some blessing for a good next life. Apparently reincarnation was known here, and the accepted afterlife. Her mind was too wrapped up in the rage that had been filling her for the past several days, spurred on by the gathering here to really pay attention.

Her father and stepmother were notably absent. It reminded her of another humble funeral from her borrowed memories. Smaller even than this one. When a small child had buried her birth mother, and her father hadn’t even bothered to show his face. For a second time he had failed her in the same way, and Liliana was not inclined to forgive him his sins. Her ability to forgive had died with Astrid, was buried in the earth with her.

Her father might be finally taking the threat to her life seriously. Or perhaps he was incensed that the assassin had the gall to do something like that in his own home, under his nose. She’d heard just yesterday that he was planning on calling in the Inquisitors to launch an investigation into this, since his own had fallen short, too little too late in Liliana’s opinion.

His investigations failed because he’s unwilling to look into the true culprit. She’s his damn blind spot. He won’t even consider the possibility that Imogen is behind this. Liliana thought bitterly. She found she was bitter about a lot lately. Bitter that her father still wouldn’t look at the venomous snake lying in their midst. Bitter that he could so easily call in the Inquisitors himself, when she’d had to scheme and struggle to even have the possibility of doing it herself. Bitter that he was doing it, not because Astrid died, but because he’d been insulted by the assassin coming into his home. Bitter that her father was relieved, it was ‘just a servant’ who died and not his golden goose. No, that last one enraged her. It was bitterness turned rancid and choking in her throat.

She had so much to be angry about, but she was silently honing that anger and hate to a point. Sharpening it like a weapon, so it would cut those responsible. Some weak sense of morality remained in her, or perhaps it was love. She still loved Alistair and Emyr, even as she’d pulled away from them in her grief. Liliana knew her rage, as untamed as her grief had been, could easily become an inferno that would consume them all if she wasn’t careful.

She still had things she could lose, things she wasn’t willing to lose after experiencing firsthand what it was like. Recent events had only strengthened her protective instincts for those she cared for. She’d sacrifice her own life before she let anyone else she cared for leave her for death’s embrace. But because those very people who she held dear to her, the people who held the other parts of her heart and soul, were caught in the middle of the eventual conflict, Liliana knew she had to be careful.

It was hard to tame that rage, to pull it back from consuming her entirely. It filled her lungs with every breath, burned hot in her heart with every beat, and filled her veins together with her blood until she felt like she was burning from the inside out from it. If the rage couldn’t consume what caused it, it would consume her. But she’d made herself a promise, what felt like years ago now, to become more than her rage and pain. And she held onto that promise with an iron grip, using it as a guiding point in this sea of pain and hate that she’d found herself in the middle of. It was a ridiculous thing to latch onto, but it was all she had to hold her steady. She knew, with a bone deep certainty, if she lost that north star, she’d lose herself.

She wondered, for a moment, if perhaps Natalia had somehow seen this coming and had told her what she did to ensure she would walk out the other side of this mess with some parts of herself left intact.

She wouldn’t get rid of the rage, didn’t think it was possible. But she wouldn’t become clumsy in her hate. Wouldn’t make a mistake that would result in more agony, that could lose her the other pieces of her heart. No, she needed to temper the rage, needed to cool it until it was a blade of the strongest steel, with an edge that could sever what she needed it to.

Her rage had two targets, two people she hated now with every fiber of her being. She’d see them fall, see them brought low. And she already had a plan to begin the process. Her father had inadvertently aided her in this, had signed his name on his own destruction the moment he’d called for the Inquisitors, and Liliana was more than happy to let him tie his own noose. But his end could wait. She had learned some patience in her time in the void. Besides, the dark part of her purred, his revenge would taste all the more sweet if he had lowered his guard and didn’t see it coming.

But Imogen, her time had run out. Liliana’s patience for her had burnt away the second Astrid’s heart stopped beating. She was done doing this the easy way, the simple way. Imogen had thrown down the gauntlet and Liliana was more than glad to bring her the war she asked for.

Liliana tossed her handful of white lilies into the grave. They rested atop the dark wood. She took a moment to appreciate the meaning behind them. A final message to Astrid. Lilies symbolized rebirth, the irony of the flower, and her name now was not lost on her. She hoped that Astrid’s next life was far nicer than this one, far better than Liliana’s second life. She hoped that maybe, someday, their souls would find each other again across the divide of time and worlds. Perhaps then that day, she could tell Astrid once more that she loved her, even if the memories did not remain, she believed the love would.

Flowers covered the casket until the wood was barely visible, then earth flooded the ground. She noted idly that the Priest had an Earth affinity, a useful one in his profession she was sure. As the last of the dirt was packed in and smoothed over, Liliana’s spine straightened. Her resolved hardened. Her tears were done being shed, she would no longer indulge the grief that still lurked in her. Her rage strengthened as it felt its time had finally arrived to sit in the driver’s seat of her emotions. The flames licking her from the inside out cooled until they felt like ice inside her, filling her with clarity and frigid determination.

The time for mourning was over. Now it was time for action.

Chapter 96: Plots, Plans and Machinations

Liliana stood tall before her father, her sapphire eyes hard as the gemstone they resembled, as she met his gaze without blinking. So much had changed in so little time. It felt like she had been an unfinished metal ingot, thrown into the fires of grief and pulled out, transformed into something entirely different. Some of the last vestiges of the original Liliana, the shrinking violet who only thought of herself as a victim who could never stand up for herself or see beyond her own pain, had died with Astrid.

That change made it harder to rein in her darker impulses, the insidious whispers that haunted her nights, and the shadows of her mind. The time for playing victim was over and done, the thin veneer of protection it had offered her had been ripped away. There was a part of her, a not insignificant part, that she was coming to understand came from her not the original host of this body, that wanted to burn her bridges in a storm of hellfire without a care for who was caught in the crossfire.

She’d even found herself considering pulling out the pendant that still rested in its soul bound storage ring. The power it offered her was tempting. It could grant her the power to exact her revenge in a heartbeat. All it asked from her was a price she wasn’t sure she could pay. It had never told her the price it would exact the next time she used it, but she’d seen and read enough about dealing with demons to make a guess. Her soul, her body. She knew whether it actually asked for her soul or not, if she accepted its aid, she would lose a part of her soul she’d never get back.

The dangerous thing was that the price became less daunting every hour that passed that Imogen was left to walk around with no punishment. Liliana knew her time was up, not just because the danger she was under had become too great to ignore, but because she knew if she didn’t take matters into her own hands she’d give in and accept the pendant’s aid, damn the consequences and the blackening of her own soul.

She knew why the pendant had selected her, as it had with the original Liliana. It hadn’t been because of some superfluous concept, like fate. It was because of the darkness she held inside herself. The potential she herself carried to turn dark if the right pressure was applied. It was her, her soul, her darkness, that had called to the pendant and the entity behind it. In the depths of her soul, it had seen its kin.

The only things holding her back were her bonds to those who she still loved. They were the shining lights that led her from the darkness, that tugged her along the path of better choices. Her guiding stars. They were all that chained her impulses back and kept her from pulling the pendant out and accepting its offer. She didn’t want to know what would happen if those stars ever faded or were snuffed out entirely. She feared there would be no redeeming her at that point. The gods themselves wouldn’t be able to stop her if that was ever to happen.

The person she had been confronted with when grief and rage had stripped all of her bare and forced her to stare into the eyes of her own reflection was frightening. To see who it was that hid under her mask of civility was humbling. She now understood how far she was comfortable going when push came to shove, and it was to a depth she’d have never thought herself capable of a year ago. Sometimes you’d never know who you really were until you were dragged through hell and saw what pieces remained when it was over.

“This is far too dangerous,” her father said, but Liliana could almost taste his interest. She knew how to play her father, and as much as it stung to continue pretending to have some form of familial respect for him, she would bite her tongue if it got her what she needed.

“It’s as safe as staying here. The assassins are getting more bold. They haven’t ceased their attacks, and we can assume the next attack will be worse. As well, we need to show the other nobles we are undaunted. That house Rosengarde isn’t shaken by this and instead we’re coming out stronger than ever before. The fastest way for me to gain power is to get a third Bond, and the Frostfang Mountains have the largest concentration of high-level beasts in our territory. It’s the best place for me to go.” Liliana took a deep breath and pulled out a map from storage. Striding forward and placing it on her father’s desk, she leaned forward and pointed out the path she’d already chosen.

“I’ve already mapped out the best area for me to go, with the lowest chance of risk. This area has Rank 5 to 4 beasts. It’s the natural place for me to go. If I can tame a Rank 4, it’ll silence any rumors that Rosengarde has become weak,” she told her father, still holding his gaze. She saw his jaw tighten and his eyes narrow at the mention of rumors of Rosengarde getting weak and internally she smiled.

Good, his pride won’t permit a slight like that. Liliana thought as she stood straight up once more. She didn’t want to make her father think she was challenging him. He’d take it as an insult and deny her on principle if she did so. It was almost funny, in a way, how simple people became when the rose-colored glasses were removed.

Misplaced love for her so-called father had blinded her for too long, too afraid of his dismissal to ever consider standing up to him or manipulating him in any way. Now she held nothing but cold hate in her heart for this man who was as much at fault for Astrid’s death as Imogen. She didn’t need his love or acknowledgment anymore. That part of her had died. Buried in the cold ground with the woman who had raised her. She’d gladly twist and push every button and pain point of his if it got her the results she wanted, and she loved the dark irony of his aid eventually having a hand in his own downfall.

“You’d need to bring a large guard unit with you for this, and removing guards from the manor right now is dangerous. We also have the Inquisitors coming in three weeks. If you’re away, it would look far too suspicious.” Her father raised valid arguments, all things she’d already come up with counterpoints and solutions to. These and hundreds of others. She’d prepared for this meeting like a general prepared for war, covering every variable and building multiple contingencies.

“I need only one guard with me. A large unit of guards would not only leave the manor with less protection, it would make me an obvious target. I’ve already been attacked while outside of the manor with enough guards to take out a village. For something like this, we need secrecy, as few people need to be made aware of this as possible. Preferably kept between me, you, and the guard who comes with me. And I can be back in time to see the Inquisitors provided I leave tonight,” Liliana fired off her rebuttals with confident ease, her voice firm and her posture remaining perfect. Her eyes never left the stare-down she was in with her father. She’d swear she saw a small smile ghost across his features, almost too fast to notice.

“A single guard means you’ll have very little protection if another assassin, or multiple, come for you. Not to mention the possibility of running into high rank beasts in the mountains.” Her father leaned back, and she almost felt like this was becoming a game to him as he tried to poke holes in her plans.

“Not if the guard is high-level enough and has any kind of stealth based skills. If no one knows we’ve left and no one knows where we went, they won’t be able to trace us unless you tell someone,” Liliana responded.

Two can play games, father mine. Liliana thought as she watched irritation spark in her father’s eyes.

“Who would be high enough of a level to handle the possible high rank monsters and assassins?” Her father asked, but Liliana had a feeling he already knew her answer.

“Silas. He’s the guard captain, so he has stealth skills, if only to be able to train the scouts. He’s the second highest leveled person in the manor after you, and he has a good second in command who can take over for him while he’s gone.” Liliana bit back a smile. Her father had so easily fallen into her ‘trap.’ This conversation was going as she’d predicted. “There is a reason to be gone. Considering Astrid was his fiancée, it would be expected for him to take leave. No one would suspect anything.” Liliana could barely keep her smile off her face. Checkmate, she thought as she watched her father.

“You’d leave our manor without its guard captain in this time?” her father asked, one eyebrow raised.

“You can manage without him. The assassins are after me, not anyone else. Otherwise, we’d have seen attempts on Alistair or the twins. Or even you.” Liliana raised a brow and only the small inclination of her father’s head, reluctant as it was, showed she was right. He’d had no threats against his life recently.

“Whoever is trying to do this, they’re not trying to cripple the duchy, they’re trying to kill me. Maybe to send a message to you, maybe because I insulted someone who holds a grudge, perhaps because of my relationship with the crown princess. Who can tell? But with me gone, it is unlikely anything will happen. You can even say I’ve been sent to a temple for my grief, enough servants have seen me refusing to exit my rooms or take my meals that they’ll believe I’m mentally damaged at this point,” Liliana handed her father the cover stories on a silver platter. She didn’t even really need his approval for this. It would just make things easier if her father was pulling strings for her.

“Silas is the only guard we have that makes sense. His disappearance won’t be questioned. He’s versatile and strong enough to either prevent the assassins from finding us in the first place, or kill them if they find us. He’s also the only one who could take on any of the beasts in the Frostfang Mountains if they travel out of their known areas while I’m there,” Liliana finished her argument and watched her father closely, taking in the way his eyes clouded as he considered her proposal.

She knew his pride and greed would win out. The man craved power, and she was offering him a chance to redeem his house’s tarnished honor and to consolidate his power further. She’d be marking herself as a prodigy without a doubt if she came home with a Rank 4 beast so shortly after getting a rare Rank 5. She didn’t care anymore if others thought she was a prodigy, hiding hadn’t protected her or those she loved. She’d use her god given boons and cheats to their full extent now, whatever it took.

For her plan, she needed to go to the Frostfang Mountains, and the path she'd take wouldn't be the same one she'd told her father of. Call it another contingency, yet another cover story to hide her true machinations. She'd come home with a third Bond, if only to keep her father fooled. But her real reason for going to the Frostfang mountains was because it was the only place she could get what she needed to see her plan through. She needed to be back by the time the Inquisitors were here as well.

After all, what was more damning than a confession straight from the lips of the murderess herself?

“Fine, but if you’re not back at least a day before the Inquisitors, I’ll send out half the guards to drag you back, dead or alive. And if you don’t come back with a new tame, we’ll need to discuss making your little vacation a bit more lengthy,” her father’s voice held a threat. She’d cornered him with this, and he was asserting his dominance now. She’d get what she wanted, but if she didn't hold up her end of the bargain, he’d come to collect his payment in another way.

Bring him power or lose her own, and her freedom. Liliana finally smiled as she held her hand out for her father to shake. His eyebrow raised again, but this time she saw an actual smile tugging at the sides of his lips as he took her hand and shook on their deal.

“Perhaps you got more from me than just your looks, daughter,” her father said as he leaned back and Liliana barely snapped her mask back in place before revulsion flooded her.

“That is praise I do not deserve,” Liliana responded, deflecting the compliment. It was no compliment in her mind, and she didn’t believe she deserved to be compared to this cruel man who she shared nothing more than DNA with.

“Maybe, maybe not. But it certainly wasn’t Violet’s daughter who walked in here today,” Frederick Rosengarde said, his smile still lurking on his lips. Liliana was almost stunned. That was the first time she had ever heard her father say her mother’s name in any memory she had. Rage followed the shock, frigid flames licking her chest. This bastard dared to utter her mother’s name? He didn’t deserve to lick the dirt on her grave, let alone to speak her name.

Liliana held her rage in check, reminding herself of that she needed to stay on his good side if she was to see Imogen finally punished for her crimes. But it was hard as she curtsied to him and turned on her heel. Her head stayed high and her back straight, but her fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into flesh. [Invisibility] stole over her form, hiding her from sight as she opened the study door. She’d come into this room cloaked in it and she would leave the same way, ensuring no one would know of their discussion. She’d slipped her father the note four days ago, telling him she’d be visiting him today to discuss something that had to be kept secret. It was amazing how predictable the servants were when she bothered to pay attention.

He’s right about one thing. It wasn’t Violet’s daughter who stood here today. It was Astrid’s. Liliana thought as the heavy wood door slammed behind her.

Chapter 97: Temporary Goodbyes and Collateral.

Liliana sat in the middle of her bedroom, ignoring the mess around her. She hadn’t allowed another maid in here since that day, and it showed. Broken furniture had been shoved against the walls, out of her way. She wasn’t sure when all of it had been broken, or even how. She assumed it was from when her tames went feral, or perhaps from when the guards had burst in here. Either way, she had allowed no one in to clean it up. Clothes were discarded around, she would leave used clothes where she disrobed, not caring enough to pick up after herself.

However, it meant her room looked as far from the residence of a noble lady as possible in this manor. She knew when she came back it would be cleaned. The maids finally cleared to enter and clean when she was gone. They wouldn’t want to, but they would at her father’s order. She knew he’d give it. Her having a room in such disarray was not appropriate. She snorted as she thought about that. What did she care anymore about such things?

Liliana’s eyes settled on the two children before her, and her face softened. They’d apparently been in her rooms since that day, having snuck in when Astrid’s body was being removed. She didn‘t know when they’d been eating. Perhaps they’d stolen some of the food the maids left outside the doors that she didn’t eat. Those first few days she was so out of it she wouldn’t have noticed or cared. Now they ate the food that she’d ordered a maid to leave for them daily. She owed them that, at least. Guilt twanged in her chest at those days she’d failed her task as their guardian, but she shoved it aside. She couldn’t go back in time and fix those days.

Liliana had called them in here after she’d finished packing. She’d packed everything she didn’t want strange maids touching into her storage. Astrid had kept them out of her room when she was gone before, but now there was no one to guard her secrets. So she’d emptied her rooms of anything she didn’t want others to see, or steal. She’d grabbed several dresses, useless as they'd be to her. It would keep up her cover story that she was going to a temple. She’d left most of her jewelry. Liliana didn’t care if it was stolen, if it was she knew she could simply tell her father and the offending servant would be found and expelled from the manor, perhaps minus a hand. It was a good test to see how stupid the maids were. If they were dumb enough to steal from her, best she know when they stole something she didn’t care for, and they should count themselves lucky that the only thing they lost from it was a hand and their job.

Maybe that thought should scare me, but I just can’t find it in myself to care about it, Liliana thought idly. Her empathy, not the skill of the human trait itself, seemed to have dissolved in the past week. She cared for those few souls who she deemed worth it, but for anyone else, she had little care to spare. And for the servants of this manor who had so long looked down on her and degraded her, she had even less compassion for. So what was it to her if one of them was punished for crossing her? Liliana shook her head, dismissing such pointless musings as she focused on the task at hand.

“I’ll be gone for a few weeks, about three weeks,” Liliana started, and immediately Flint cried out as Clover clung to his body. Flint looked spitting mad. Clover just looked heartbroken, her doe eyes filling with tears.

“You’re leaving us! I knew it!” Flint hissed at her, his tail standing out straight behind him, the fur puffed out. Actually, all the fur on his body was standing up and Liliana had to remind herself to hold her composure. He would only get more angry and confused if she laughed, even if he looked like a very angry toasted marshmallow.

“No, I’m not leaving. I’m going on a trip. A very important trip. I’ll be back in three weeks, I promise,” Liliana told Flint, leaning forward to take his hands, which were curled into claws. He hissed at her and swiped at her hand. Liliana didn’t flinch. There was nothing he could do to her that would hurt her physically and if it helped him work out his anger, she’d let him swipe at her for hours.

“Why can’t we go? You’re not taking us because you’re going to leave!” Flint spit at her, his sharp teeth barred.

Don’t coo at him, don’t do it, Liliana ordered herself as she fought down a smile. He really was so cute when he was angry.

“It’s not safe where I’m going. I can’t lose anyone else. Not now, not ever. If I took you two with me, you would die. There would be nothing I could do to protect you. And that would kill me too,” Liliana explained. She didn’t believe in lying to children, or sugar coating things. Especially not with Flint and Clover. They’d seen so much cruelty already. Lying to them to spare them would only destroy the tentative trust they‘d built. They were too smart for that. She’d shield them from the depravity of the world as much as she could. She’d make sure they got to have the childhood she’d never get, but she would never lie to them about the darkness of the world or the dangers.

“But… then who will protect you? Everyone’s left us! Even Astrid! And you promised she wouldn’t! Now you’re going somewhere we can’t go a-a-and y-you w-won’t come back,” Flint’s anger was quickly draining, replaced with grief that broke Liliana’s already shredded heart. Tears were sliding down his face, even as he wiped angrily at them, his tail drooping and his ears falling limply on his head.

Liliana couldn’t take it anymore. She lunged forward and grabbed both children in her arms and pulled them into her lap, hugging them as tightly as she could without hurting them. They still felt so small to her, so delicate and weak. Of everyone who held a piece of her heart, they were the ones who needed the most protection. It only solidified her plan for them while she was gone.

“Shh, I’ll come back. I have someone who is coming with me who will keep me safe. But that’s a secret, okay? I promise, I’ll come back to you. I’ll never leave you permanently. I may have to go on trips, sometimes for a long time, but I’ll always come back to you two for as long as you need me,” Liliana murmured to Flint and Clover as she rocked them, both children were gripping her shirt tightly, their tears soaking through it as they tried to press themselves into her.

She did not know when she’d begun to see the two kids as some mixture of her own and siblings, but she did. They were hers. They held a piece of her heart in their little hands that she knew she’d never get back and she never wanted to. Let them hold on to her heart, let them be some of her guiding lights. As long as they held on, she knew she’d always find her way back home. Back to the right path.

Liliana pulled back a little when the tears slowed, morphing into sniffles. The children whimpered when her hands left them but her gentle shushing calmed them long enough for her to lift a chain from her neck .On it was a beautiful, silver waterlily with a small sapphire in the center of the bloom. It had been Astrid’s gift to her for the winter solstice. She’d worn it every day since, it had been the last thing Astrid had given her. The last token of her love that Liliana would ever receive, and perhaps her most prized possession now. It physically hurt her to remove it, but she knew she had to do this, to cement the trust. Liliana dropped the chain over Flint’s head, and he jolted back a bit in surprise as his hands automatically went to grab what she’d placed on his neck. His eyes widened in surprise and then confusion as he looked from the necklace to her.

“But this is…” He trailed off, as if not willing to put to words what it was, not willing to admit it was the last thing Liliana had ever received from her mother.

“It’s the most precious thing I own. The last gift Astrid gave me. I’m giving it to you for safekeeping. it could get damaged where I’m going, so like the secret I gave you two I need you both to keep that safe for me, okay?” Liliana told the children as her arms wrapped back around them, her voice solemn. She knew this would assure the children she would come back. In a language they could easily understand. They would hold it as collateral for her promise. She watched their eyes widen before they hardened with determination, Flint’s hand wrapped around the pendant, some petals poking through his small fingers. He nodded his head, and Clover reached out and covered his fist with her own.

“We’ll keep it safe, lady Liliana,” Clover spoke this time, her soft voice carrying a steadiness Liliana hadn’t expected from the small girl.

“Good, and I’ll keep myself safe so I can take that back in three weeks, alright?” Liliana told them and she held her hands out, pinkies extended. The kids giggled a little as her offer broke the heavy tension. Their pinkies locked together as they all muttered ‘I promise’ before pulling their hands apart.

A knock at the door startled the children, and Liliana’s shattered heart warmed a little that they immediately clung to her in their surprise and fear. That promise had done more than she expected. It seemed to solidify their trust in her that they sought her for safety. Perhaps it was just her proximity, but she liked to think she made them feel safe.

“Come in, Jason,” Liliana called out as she looked over her shoulder. Jason opened the door, stopping when his eyes took in the disarray of her room. It was a credit to his training and character that he only paused for a heartbeat before striding towards her, the door shutting behind him.

“You called?” Jason asked, standing at parade rest a few feet in front of her. His eyebrow raised a bit when he saw that she still held both children in her lap, but he didn’t mention it.

“I’ll be gone for three weeks. I leave tonight. I’ll be going to a temple for my grief. I need you to watch over Flint and Clover while I’m gone. There’s no one else in this manor I trust with this task,” Liliana informed the guard. She’d chosen him carefully. She had considered several variables that had resulted in her choice.

Jason was loyal to her. She knew that. If she ever left the manor, he would follow her, she was certain. She knew he saw her as family more than just a charge, and she saw him similarly. For those same reasons, she knew if she left, he’d try to follow. He wouldn’t accept her cover story, and wouldn’t understand why she wasn’t taking him with her to a temple. So she had to give him a task to do, something to ensure he didn’t have the time to follow her and get himself killed.

She could’ve asked Alistair to look after Flint and Clover, but Alistair was still a risk to trust. His mother had already killed Astrid, even if accidentally Liliana knew she’d do it again. Imogen had seen what Astrid’s death did to her. If the woman was clever enough, she’d figure out all she needed to do to break Liliana’s spirit was kill everyone she cared about. An easier task than killing Liliana herself. And Flint and Clover were weak, defenseless and easy targets for such a scheme. For that very reason she needed them somewhere safe, somewhere Imogen wouldn’t be able to get to them easily. Alistair was too close. Emyr could do it, but Liliana wasn’t sure he’d do well with children. He’d barely interacted with them since they’d come to the manor.

“Perhaps you should take some leave, show the children Ariowood while I’m gone. I’m sure your family misses you,” Liliana continued, a subtle hint for him. If Jason could be away from the manor while Liliana was gone, it would remove three people she cared about from Imogen’s direct influence. Liliana watched emotions flash over Jason’s face, saw as his mind worked through her words and tried to uncover what she wasn’t saying, what she couldn’t say. She couldn’t take any risks with this. She trusted Jason with her life, but it didn’t mean she had to give him all the details he didn’t need.

“Why can’t we come with you?” Jason finally asked, though his face showed he already expected the answer she would give.

“You cannot,” Liliana told him with ease.

“It won’t be safe, you’ve already been attacked three times,” Jason told her and she could see anger flaring.

“No, it’s not safe. But I’ll come back in three weeks, that I can promise you,” Liliana told him with certainty. She had no intention of dying. If she had to drag her barely alive body back here by her fingernails, she would. She would not die until she’d seen her stepmother and father pay for their crimes.

“Fine.” Jason spat out after several minutes of glaring at her. Liliana nodded her head with a small smile. She knew Jason would listen. She knew she could trust him for this. Liliana slowly got up, letting the children slide off her lap before striding to Jason and throwing her arms around him, hugging him with all her Strength, knowing his body could handle it.

“Keep them safe, keep yourself safe. I can’t lose anyone else, Jason. I can’t.” Liliana whispered into his chest. Jason’s arms wrapped around her as his shock over her uncharacteristic display of affection wore off, and he hugged her just as tightly.

“Same to you, little one. You come back in one piece or I’ll beat your ass,” Jason whispered to her as he gave her one last squeeze and pulled back. Liliana stepped away and gave him a sad smile.

“Threatening your lady, Jason? The audacity,” she chided, but her voice held a trace of amusement. She wasn’t ready to laugh yet, or even truly smile as she had before, but there was some shadow of the emotion in her.

“A lady? All I see is a brat,” Jason teased her with his own sad smile and Liliana shook her head.

She turned to the children, drawing them into one last hug. She pressed a kiss to the tops of their heads before gently pushing them towards Jason. The guard reached out two hands instinctively, and the children grabbed onto them. Liliana smiled to herself. Jason was a good choice. He had experience with younger children, and he was strong. He’d keep them happy and safe while she was gone.

“Go now, leave tomorrow or the day afterwards. Don’t stay here too long if you can avoid it but give at least a day after I leave to make your own departure,” Liliana advised them, her smile fading and being replaced with a cool mask as she uttered the commands. Jason nodded, bowing to her, their previous camaraderie gone as he took an order from his lady. When it came to it, Jason knew how to behave like a proper guard. With that final order, he guided the children from her room and Liliana gave them a last wave before the door closed and cut off their sad faces.

“You can come out now,” Liliana said as she turned to stare at the shadows in the corner of her room, her arms crossed as she watched them shift unnaturally. Her expression didn’t change from her cool mask as a familiar figure walked out, his eyes filled with anger.

“Emyr,”

Chapter 98: An Overdue Confession

Liliana looked at the young man standing before her. Emyr looked as angry as she’d ever seen him, but she had expected it, truth be told. She was impressed it had taken him this long to sneak his way into her room.

He was probably trying to give me space to grieve. It’s what I always do when something happens in my life that scares or hurts me. I run away from him and Alistair as fast as I can and seclude myself. Liliana frowned a little at that thought.

It was true. Flight was her response to bad things, but specifically, she ran from Emyr and Alistair. As if she was always afraid of depending on them when she was hurting, like she was scared they’d abandon her the second she really depended on them. She kept them at arm’s length, and she knew it was unsustainable. Soon enough, she’d need to make the choice to actually let them in, or to finally cut them off. And she knew the choice she’d pick now.

“What insane, dangerous plan have you cooked up now?” Emyr hissed at her, grabbing her arm in a tight, but not painful, hold.

Liliana activated [Empathy] with a thought as felt the emotions he kept under his mask of indifference crash into her strongly enough to take her breath away. Anger was the first, hot and flaring in her chest and throat. Then there was worry, fear so strong she shivered from it. Sadness floated beneath it all and a sense of loss mixed with the potent cocktail and at the very edges of it all, a deep suspicion, but it wasn’t directed at her. Liliana turned off the skill quickly, needing her own mind clear. It took her a second to refocus herself. She hadn’t expected such potent emotions from Emyr, and it had thrown her off. It seemed despite how little he showed his emotions; he did feel them and so powerfully she wondered how he hid them from everyone else so well.

“I can’t tell you that,” Liliana responded, gently trying to pull his hand off her arm.

Emyr didn’t want to let go but her Strength was higher than his and she pried his fingers off before grabbing his hand with hers. She could tell he needed the contact, some kind of comfort for the information he was about to receive. Emyr had been with her for so long now, with her through every insane plan she’d concocted. He’d been at her side. Helping her, guarding her, making sure she came out the other side alive. She owed him her life several times over now, and he would struggle to understand why this was a plan he couldn’t be a part of.

“Why the in the hells not? Liliana, I know you’re hurting, but you can’t go off on some harebrained scheme and get yourself killed because of it!” Emyr’s voice was rising, reaching a pitch Liliana had never heard from him. It was that, mixed with his words, that stunned her. Anger quickly replaced the shock. The cold flames that were always simmering in her veins now raged high. Dropping his hand, Liliana took a step back, her eyes narrowed at him.

“Is that what you think of me? Some impulsive child who goes to get herself killed in some blaze of glory the second something bad enough happens? I might be broken, Emyr, but I’m not a suicidal idiot!” Liliana’s own voice was rising and she barely reined it in enough to prevent her voice from leaking past her bedroom and alerting the entire manor to their spat.

“What else should I be thinking, Lili? You barricade yourself in your room for days, refuse to eat. Then the first time anyone sees you, it’s you in your night clothes riding Lelantos across the estate like a madwoman! Now I hear you’re leaving? And don’t give me that temple bullshit. I heard everything! You’re going somewhere dangerous, really dangerous. What are you planning and why can’t I come with you to make sure you don’t get yourself fucking killed?” Emyr demanded, following her retreating steps until he stood inches before her. Her head tilted back to keep her hard glare on him, holding his own enraged gaze easily. She would not back down from this.

“Because you can’t Emyr! There are things going on you don’t know about, that you can’t know about! I won’t drag you in any deeper than you already are!” Liliana hissed at him, annoyed to feel tears in her eyes.

Why couldn’t he just understand she was doing everything she could to keep him safe? If he knew about Imogen, he’d be in danger. If Imogen saw him as a target, Liliana couldn’t protect him. Right now he was Alastair’s friend and that kept him out of Imogen’s warpath. But if she told him everything he’d have to choose between Alistair and her, it would destroy him. She knew that. She couldn’t guarantee any longer which side he’d pick, and deep down, she knew he’d pick her. Over his best friend, because his sense of justice was that strong.

Emyr followed her and saved her life before he ever really knew her, when he still had assumptions and prejudices tainting his view of her. That’s just the person he was, the hero he was. He’d try to help her, and it would get him killed. He’d try to find any other way to prove Imogen’s crimes, and then he’d be at risk of being caught by Imogen, when there was no more proof to find. Imogen had undoubtedly destroyed any possible evidence as soon as it was announced the Inquisitors would be coming.

Liliana didn’t have the time to wait for him to exhaust every other avenue to finding proof. She barely had the time she needed if she left tonight to get what she needed. If he realized that, he’d demand to come with her, follow her if she told him not to. Silas couldn’t possibly protect them both. It was already dangerous with just her to protect. If Emyr came with them, they’d likely all die. Imogen would get what she wanted, and no one would ever know of her sins. Liliana would not risk her plan for this, she couldn’t. And she couldn’t put Emyr in danger.

“Why can’t you just trust me, Liliana? What have I done to make you believe I’m your enemy? You keep me at arm’s length, no matter what I do! Why won’t you just let me in?” Emyr’s anger was fading, sadness taking over his features and tone, and it sent an ache through Liliana’s already damaged heart.

“I do trust you,” Liliana muttered, looking away. She heard Emyr bark out a dry laugh above her.

“Bullshit. You only trust your Bonds. You don’t trust anyone else. Not really. Not me, not Alistair, not Silas, not Jason, not even Astrid,” Emyr whispered the last name and Liliana stumbled back, hand grasping at her chest. Emyr didn’t let her get far. His hand reached out and grabbed her hand, the other taking her chin and forcing her to meet his eyes. Holding his gaze was hard now, so much pain and sincerity held in steel-gray eyes.

“You can trust me, Lili. I’ve shown you with my actions, but I think you need to hear the words too. No matter what you tell me, I won’t hurt you. I’m not going to leave,” Emyr told her and Liliana felt the walls she’d built around herself crumbling. Those last words were her undoing, and tears flowed down her face.

“I’m using my wish,” Liliana said, her voice rough from the pain in her chest. She was scared, terrified. It almost stopped her from speaking, trying to lock her tongue up.

She’d thought if she kept herself distant from everyone, keeping some of herself locked up tight, no one could really hurt her.

But that hadn’t worked, had it?

She had never fully trusted Astrid, only ever told her strictly what she needed to know. But losing her had destroyed Liliana, mixed up her pieces so badly that she could tell when they healed she would never again be the same girl she was before.

All her walls did was make her more lonely, keeping even those closest to her far away. And she was so tired of being lonely, so tired of keeping all these secrets held tight to her chest where she was the only person they could claw into and poison. Sharing her pain and grief with Nemesis and Lelantos had eased the burden, made it bearable. Maybe if she did the same with these secrets, some of them, it could be easier for her to bear those, too.

“After I tell you everything, my wish is that you stay here. You will not follow me. No matter what. If you don’t agree with this, I’ll tie you up and leave you in my closet. By the time you get out I’ll be long gone and I will never trust you, Emyr,” Liliana’s voice gained a bit of strength, but the fear was clear in her voice, the desperation.

She’d let him in, but it had to be on her terms. She had to stay in control of this situation or she didn’t know if she could handle it. Emyr dropped his hands and stepped back a little. He looked conflicted, but he nodded his head in agreement and Liliana let out a relieved sigh.

“Let’s sit. I can’t do this standing,” Liliana said as she led the way to her bed. She didn’t want to go to her sitting room. Too many memories haunted that room for her to enter it just yet. Emyr took a seat a foot away from her and Liliana stared at her clasped hands in her lap, trying to figure out where to start.

“Imogen’s the one trying to kill me,” Liliana blurted it out. She took another breath and continued on, not giving Emyr time to respond.

“The first time I know of was when I was comatose for weeks back in spring. She poisoned me with a Soul poison. The priest who stopped by was able to reverse the effects, or well, I should say, Vita reversed them. That’s when I Awakened. I guess it was necessary to save me or something, so the goddess unlocked my System access. I got my affinities then, though I don’t know how I got the Soul one, it’s not Vita’s domain. Maybe another goddess helped her, though I was never told.” Liliana could feel herself getting off topic, but now that she had someone to tell her story to, even if she kept some small facts obscured, the words poured out of her in a torrent.

“Imogen wasn’t sure if I knew it was her or not. She visited me after I woke up. She didn’t outright say she did it, but it was clear she had. I knew I had to gain power then. Imogen had tried once, and she suspected I might know. It made me even more of a risk to her. It’s why I went after Lelantos despite it being so dangerous. I needed power, and I needed it fast.” Liliana’s hand played with Lelantos’ soul stone as she mentioned him. She took another breath and continued on with her story, still avoiding looking at Emyr. If she looked at him, she didn’t know if she’d be able to continue.

“But getting that power, it was a double-edged sword. I don’t know if Imogen was planning on threatening me so soon, but with me gaining the duke’s favor, I became even more of a risk. She arranged those bandits to attack me, though I don’t think she was accounting for you and Alistair being there. It was sloppy for her, but I think she was panicking a bit at that point.” Liliana snorted, though it was a humorless thing as she looked down and away.

“She wants her son to take the duchy, wants to ensure her power remains. If I become the heir, she knows she’ll be kicked out, and she is afraid of that. It doesn’t matter to her that I don’t want to be the Duchess. Never wanted it. I don’t even want to be a noble. But I knew with Lelantos, and the crown princess showing interest in me, that my time was running out. So as soon as I heard of another creature, a strong one, I jumped on it. But that tipped Imogen over. She couldn’t let me get another strong creature, a rare one. That would give me too much prestige and power, and I’d be a true threat to her.” Liliana hunched her shoulders. Retelling her story felt liberating, but it also made her feel so tired. She’d been through so much in less than a year. So many brushes with death, and it wasn’t even close to over yet.

“She got more clever. She hired real assassins this time. I think she underestimated my strength, and the strength of those around me originally. She wasn’t taking chances with her third and fourth tries. There was no way I’d be able to fight off those assassins on my own. It was only luck that we weren’t where we were supposed to be that first time.” Liliana tilted her head back, trying to stop more tears from falling, not until she finished her story.

“It made it so much worse, you know? It was right after Alistair’s apology when I’d finally, finally, decided I could really see him as my brother. Then we come back to see the assassin and I was reminded of exactly why I couldn’t see him as my brother. His mother wants me dead, and I could never tell him that. He’ll find out soon enough, but I wanted to postpone the pain of seeing him hate me for a bit longer.” Liliana shook her head, brushing off the traitorous few tears that escaped her watering eyes.

“The second attempt, well, it would’ve succeeded, if it wasn’t for one variable. Imogen hadn’t accounted for me having a demonic amulet with a body stealing entity hiding in it. No one accounts for that in their murder plans. I’d taken to wearing it after the first attempt. It offered me comfort, safety that I couldn’t find from anyone else.” Liliana's voice broke, a sob choking her that she pushed through determinedly. If she stopped, she would never finish.

“I couldn’t trust Alistair, not after his mother just tried to kill me. You were his best friend and I couldn't trust you. I didn’t know if you’d believe me, or abandon me to stand by Alistair. And I couldn’t risk the pain of that betrayal. I couldn’t trust the guards, I know some of them are in Imogen’s pocket. So I turned to the amulet. It saw the darkness, the pain, the hate festering inside of my soul and called to it.” Her hands fisted in the front of her shirt as she curled over them, spitting the words out. This was the hardest part, admitting how wrong, how dark she was. How she was so twisted a being of pure evil had felt safe to her.

“And I willingly grasped onto its promise of safety with both hands. It started to whisper into my mind, feeding that hate and pain. It was subtle at first, and I think if I’d had it for much longer, I never would’ve been able to take it off. It would’ve darkened my soul beyond repair.” Liliana curled into herself a little more, feeling that fear again. Fear of who she had almost become.

The nightmares she’d had were almost prophetic, what she’d seen when she’d written them down. She still didn’t think the amulet had sent that first nightmare. She suspected it was a warning from a higher power. Vita perhaps, seeing that her tool was swaying off the path she’d set her down. She’d sent the dream to instill a fear in her subconscious, to try to scare her off of the amulet. As much as she could do without breaking the System’s rules of meddling.

“When the second assassin came, I was about to die when I reached for anything to save me as I watched the knife inch towards my heart. And something answered. The amulet worked as a conduit and let the entity possess me. It filled with me so much power I could barely hold it, it burned through me. While that thing used my body to kill the assassin, I had to sit back and watch. I felt how easy it was to kill him. I had the power to destroy the Wilde’s manor with a flick of my hand. And there was a part of me that wanted to, that reveled in the pain I’d caused, in the blood that stained my hands. I didn’t know if it’d give me control of my body back, wasn’t even sure I wanted it after what I’d done, what I’d felt. But it did. Not before breaking me enough to make the story believable, though.” Liliana buried her face in her hands, terrified now that if she looked at Emyr, she’d see disgust painting his features.

She couldn’t take that, not combined with her own self hatred she felt. Didn't need to see the disgust she still felt for herself reflected in his eyes. It would break her and she was barely holding herself together as it was.

“When I woke up, I knew what had happened. I felt violated, in a way I had never had before. It had taken my free will from me. My body had been used as someone else’s puppet while I could only watch on. And the worst part was that I had asked for it! Begged for it. I’d enjoyed the power I held for those minutes, enjoyed seeing the assassin fear me and beg for his life. And I hated myself for it all. It’s only thanks to Lelantos that the amulet is off of me. I’d tried to rip it off, but I couldn’t. Its hold on me was too strong despite all it had done. I was too weak.” Liliana sobbed the last words, hating herself for the sobs, for the events of that day, for her dependence on the amulet.

She hated herself for asking for that entity to save her, hated the price she’d paid for her life. Liliana hated that at the end of the day; she was so weak for all she tried to not be. When push came to shove, she’d grabbed onto the dark side with both hands, willingly. It took a few minutes for the sobs to fade enough for her to continue her story.

“I felt even more alone at that point. Four times now Imogen had tried to kill me, and trusting Alistair was so hard. But I wanted, no needed, comfort. And I was selfish. I let you both back in, because I needed someone to lean on. I needed friends. I needed someone around me who didn’t know how fucked up I was, didn’t know what I’d let into my body willingly. So I let you both back in. You were both so eager to stay with me. So determined.” Liliana smiled a watery, sad smile and shook her head.

“Imogen gave me a break from there. I knew it wouldn’t last as long as the last reprieve. She’d dug herself too deep, and she knew I knew who was behind the attempts. She was cornered now. Imogen thinks the duke will eventually listen to me. He won’t. He’s blinded where she’s concerned, but she’s a traitorous viper and can’t imagine anyone else not being the same. Or she’s scared because I’m close to the crown princess. I think my visit to see her was the final straw. She probably thinks we’re plotting against her. She’s not wrong about that, mind you. I expected assassins, I could handle those. I didn’t think she’d really resort to poison. And certainly not in my lunch. I don’t know how she convinced that maid to do it. That was my mistake. I should’ve expected anything and everything from her.” Liliana’s hands fell from her face, fisting as anger overtook the sadness and self hatred.

“She killed Astrid. Astrid died drinking poison meant for me. Because I wasn’t fast enough in finding proof against Imogen, Astrid now lies dead in the ground while she gets to walk around as if her hands aren’t stained red with blood. And I’m done. I’m done doing this the proper way, the safe way. She’s going to strike again, but now I don’t know if she’ll target just me or those I care about. But I will not give her the chance. This ends now. I’ll make sure these next three weeks are the last she gets to enjoy free. When the Inquisitors come, she’s going to be charged and shackled. Astrid’s death will be repaid.” Liliana finally turned her head to look at Emyr, and the stricken, heartbroken look on his face melted her anger. His face was ashy, the blood drained from his skin, his fists tight to his side, and as Liliana watched, tears fell from his eyes. That was enough to stun her. She’d never seen Emyr cry.

“Lili, I’m so sorry. You’ve been going through all of this alone, and I never saw it. You were so strong, so alone, for so long. I’m sorry I ever made you think you couldn’t trust me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Emyr began chanting ‘I’m sorry’ like a prayer as his form crumpled, his face resting in his hands. Liliana’s heart softened, and she slid closer, pulling him so his head rested on her shoulder and his tears soaked her shirt. Her own tears soon joined his as all her fears flooded from her. He believed her. He wasn’t going to leave her.

“What do you need from me?” Emyr asked some time later, when both their tears had dried and their breathing had calmed.

He barely pulled back, and his emotions were still painted across his face for all to see. Anguish and determination, desperation to fix what he saw as his failings as a friend. It was Liliana’s turn to collapse into him, her head resting against his chest as she breathed in deep, shuddering gasps of air. She felt the weight of the secrets she’d carried lifting off of her; the burden now shared between two backs and, for the first time in almost a year, Liliana felt like she could really breathe. She wasn’t alone now.

“This is what I need you to do while I’m gone, and when I’m back,” Liliana started, pulling away as strength filled her. She could do this. She was no longer doing this alone.

Chapter 99: The Death of A Dream

“Hey, Silas, do I still have a a nose?” Liliana asked, her voice heavily muffled by the scarf before she pulled it off just enough to show her face.

The guard in front of her tossed a look over his shoulder and his eyes took in her slight form sitting atop a horse so large it made her look like a child in comparison. Liliana had been able to tell he was keyed up, even if they hadn’t reached the mountains yet. It should be soon though, and she knew the proximity to such a dangerous area and her being with him had his instincts set on a hair trigger.

“It appears to still be attached. Why?” Silas asked and Liliana pulled her scarf back over her face as she huddled down in her saddle. It had taken her time to get used to the speed they traveled on the horses, huge monstrously sized beasts that could traverse the winter terrain with ease, their huge hooves plowing through the snow with little effort. Her thighs had complained greatly the first two days as well, and she still feared she’d never walk right again. At least [Riding] was getting levels.

“I haven’t been able to feel it and I was afraid I’d lost it a few miles back,” Liliana quipped, but her voice was a bit grumpy. It was cold, actually cold was a vast under explanation for the temperature she experience as they traveled northeast. It felt as if the blood in her veins was trying to freeze over, and she knew it was only thanks to her Vitality that she wasn’t dying of exposure or losing toes and fingers to frostbite. That and the [Cold Resistance] she’d picked up the day before, though it was so low level she doubted it was doing much.

This land was utterly inhospitable unless one had a Vitality of 100 or more. And that still didn’t make it comfortable, merely survivable. She understood now why Athana, the northernmost country of the Ileas continent, was inhabited almost entirely by the Beast Clans. They Awakened at birth and could quickly gain the necessary Vitality to survive, even as babies.

“Well, rest assured, all your bits and bobs are still attached, Liliana,” Silas told her, his voice holding the barest traces of amusement, and Liliana felt a bit of warmth fill her. The both of them were still filled with hurt and grief, they had so little time to work through it. Their travels were quiet, as were their nights, except for the stories they still traded.

Silas had readily accepted her request to accompany her on her trip to the Frostfang Mountains. She hadn’t even needed to really explain it or convince him. She had told him she needed to go there, and he’d accepted her plan. The ready support, lacking any questions, had thrown her off. She’d been ready to reveal as much of her plans as she could to him, but he had never asked, even after they’d left the manor in the middle of the night.

She wasn’t sure if he’d just wanted to run away from the manor, to put distance between it and the ghosts of memories that haunted every inch of it, or if he perhaps suspected her machinations. If he had an inkling of what she was doing, of why she was doing it, she had to commend his restraint. Silas was far more powerful than her, than Imogen. He could kill the woman easily. He’d die for it, of course. But Liliana knew from experience the threat of death held little sway when someone had nothing to lose. She’d flirted with such thoughts herself.

Her plans would’ve been far more rudimentary without his aid. After she’d told him of where she’d wanted to go, and that it needed to be kept a secret from all but her father, Silas had taken care of the logistics. He’d gotten them the mounts they needed, the supplies, and had set up for them to switch to different mounts before they entered the mountains proper.

Liliana would’ve never known that she needed specialized mounts for traversing the territory in winter, nor that different mounts were needed for the mountains themselves. Likewise, she hadn’t realized the multitude of specific supplies they’d need to purchase and have ready for the trip. It wasn’t just rations and a tent. They’d needed heated, reinforced tents, snow shoes, special clothes to protect even their reinforced bodies from the weather, along with a hundred other items that made Liliana’s head spin. Even the rations were different, less palatable in Liliana’s opinion, but according to Silas they were full of fats and nutrients their bodies would greatly need. She had no doubt that without Silas’ experience, she’d have died already on this trip.

It was another reminder of how sheltered she was, how helpless she was despite the levels and power she held. She’d been living a charmed life, no matter the difficulty of it. She’d never had to learn how to survive in the wilds, not really. The closest she’d come to roughing it was the trip to get Lelantos, and that was during the summer. Their trip in the fall had been organized and taken care of by the guards, more like a vacation if one ignored the assassins and rebellious village. Neither had prepared her for something like this.

Their progress was slower than Liliana would’ve liked, slowed by the shortness of the days. Silas refused to travel at night, and Liliana bowed to his greater experience. If he said there were dangerous creatures that stalked the shadows of this barren, frozen territory, she trusted him. She’d brought him with her to keep her safe from just such threats and she wouldn’t get herself killed trying to rebel against his orders. Socially, she was higher than him, but out here she held no such illusions that she was in charge.

At night when the winter wind screamed around her tent and the cold crept even past the enchantments for heat, Liliana kept herself warm with thoughts or revenge and anger, slowly refining that hate that nestled in her chest into something deadly.

It was four days after they’d left that Liliana could finally see the mountains rising on the horizon, their jagged peaks looking like some great beast’s fangs, opened to bite into the sky itself. She could understand the name for the mountains now. Just their visage sent shivers down her spines. Danger lurked there, death stalked its valleys and cliffs. The mountains needed no warning signs. They screamed menace all on their own.

It was two days after they’d first caught sight of the mountains that they were finally close enough to be considered in their territory, and when they switched their huge mounts for smaller mountain ponies. The smaller mounts made Liliana feel more exposed, vulnerable, but their larger mounts wouldn’t be able to traverse the rocky terrain as easily, and a broken leg was a death sentence for them all.

Every day that passed was a countdown to Liliana. She knew her time here was short, and she had to get what she needed in a week to give them time to get back before the Inquisitors did. Silas understood her urgency, and while they did not travel at night, the second dawn broke, they were moving. Not resting during the short hours of daylight they were given.

It was day seven, a week after they’d left, that Liliana finally had to give voice to a question that had been rattling in her head, becoming more insistent the further they delved into the territory of the Frostfang Mountains, in the area the maps marked as holding Rank 5 creatures. The ‘safest’ zone they’d see for some time yet.

“Why haven’t we seen any beasts?” Liliana finally asked from behind Silas.

Her pony was almost nose to rear with his. The smaller mounts made Liliana want to stay close to Silas, seeking the comfort of his protection in this deadly environment. The thick forest around them loomed above them, dark shadows cast despite the noonday sun above them. Branches looked like twisted fingers reaching to rip them from their mounts at a moment’s inattention, a real possibility as some plants had the ability to progress in Ranks, or at least beasts who masqueraded as plants.

“We won’t see anything until we hit an area with high Rank 4s and Rank 3s. Anything below my level will stay back,” Silas explained and Liliana nodded.

She had felt his aura around them from the first day. It had been overwhelming at first. It wasn’t as strong as her father’s, or the queen’s, but it wasn’t something she was used to feeling regularly. She’d become accustomed to it over time, exposure therapy in a way. She had rationalized he’d been using it to keep lower leveled creatures away from them, but she hadn’t realized it would work on beasts as high as Rank 5 or even 4.

“Will I get an aura when I hit Rank 4?” Liliana asked, and it was a revelation to realize she was hungry for conversation. Or maybe she was trying to fill the unearthly silence around them with something.

“You’ll unlock the ability, but it’s not typical to be able to control it until around the middle or end of Rank 4,” Silas told her, his voice was rough but not short and Liliana took it as permission to continue talking.

“Could you control it early on?” she asked him, eager for more information on the man she saw as more of a father than her own flesh and blood one. Despite the time they’d spent together, she knew precious little about him. Their conversations were usually about their trip, or about Astrid. Never about the man she’d dragged with her on this deadly quest.

“I got a grasp on the ability sooner than most, yes. I’m held to a different standard with my position,” Silas explained, and Liliana leaned forward, soaking in every detail she was gifted.

“When were you promoted to captain? Was it when you got Rank 4?” Liliana pressed and Silas shook his head, but Liliana got the impression it was from amusement, not annoyance.

The time spent together, while not profitable in information about Silas’ history or private life, had given her a wealth of information on the man’s personality. She could read his micro expressions far easier now, understanding what he didn’t say just by how he held himself. She knew he didn’t find her questions prying or intrusive, and that he was indulging her with his answers. If he didn’t want to answer, he simply would not.

“It was soon after that. My predecessor had picked me out when I was a cadet. I was always driven, and would put in more hours’ training than the rest of my year mates. I was put on what could be considered a fast track when I hit Rank 6, elevated to lieutenant soon after that. It wasn’t easy. I had more tasks, more responsibilities than any of my peers, but I loved it. When I hit Rank 4, the previous captain told the Duke that he would have me slated as his successor for Captain of the Guard in the manor, and soon afterwards the Duke tested me himself. When I passed that, the previous captain was promoted to Major and moved to the border of Athana. Last I heard, he’s still in that position, but it’s slow to move up as an officer.” Silas explained. His rough voice filled the silence, mixing with the harsh winter wind that whistled through the needled branches of the trees that surrounded them. He seemed to sense Liliana’s hunger for information and spoke more in those minutes than she’d heard in weeks from him, excluding the stories he told of Astrid.

Liliana was silent for some time afterwards, as she mulled over what he’d told her. Trying to imagine a young Silas, perhaps a few years older than her, eager to please. She had an image of a gangly limbed youth slowly putting on muscles as he trained late into the night, then pouring over books on military strategy and logistics until the early hours of the morning.

It was almost hard to visualize. She had so long had the image of Silas as this strong protector, infallible and large, that imagining him as a bright eyed and bushy tailed youth was disconcerting. Another question wiggled in her mind, and emboldened by his freely given information, Liliana voiced it.

“Is it normal for guards at the manor to become officers that are moved into the militia?” Liliana asked with honest curiosity in her voice.

She had never seen such a thing, but she knew precious little about the military her father commanded, either because she’d had little interest or on purpose she didn’t know. There was little need for someone who would never be the heir to know the ins and outs of the Rosengarde militia, after all.

“All the duke’s generals were at one time guards of the Rosengarde manor. We only accept the best and brightest youths to protect the manor, and so we often get those who have promise of being exceptional officers in our ranks,” Silas confirmed her suspicions and Liliana nodded.

It made sense. If her father could keep an eye on the newest recruits for the manor, he could build bonds of loyalty to him, rather than the generals or the soldiers on the borders. They’d spend their early years with the one responsibility of protecting him and his family, so when they were transferred to the militia, if they showed enough intelligence and ability to become officers, they still held that ingrained loyalty. It meant he didn’t have to micromanage his militia if he could guarantee they were loyal in such a way.

“Sometimes the officers on the borders will send promising soldiers to the manor to enroll to be guards, though we accept applications from anyone in the territory. Amelia was one such recruit herself, and she likely will replace me as Captain eventually,” Silas elaborated and Liliana blinked, shocked.

Not over Amelia’s history, though she’d never known that, nor over hearing that the woman was tapped for advancement. It was a shock that Silas may one day no longer be at the manor. That he would eventually go to join the soldiers on the borders. Pain rang in her chest, sharp and cutting at the thought of losing him. She’d foolishly, childishly, imagined he’d always be there. A constant pillar of strength in her life.

“You’re planning on leaving the manor? To join the militia?” Liliana asked, and she hated how small and sad her voice sounded. Like a child being told her father was leaving for business and she didn’t know when he’d be coming back.

“I was,” Silas confirmed. Though his voice was still rough, it held a softer edge to it, as if he could detect the abandonment Liliana could feel snapping inside of her. Liliana grasped onto his words tightly, the small glimmer of hope too tantalizing to ignore.

“Was?” she asked, her voice pitched high in desperate hope.

“At one time, that was my dream. To become a general in the militia, to become one of the duke’s most trusted men. To help him protect the queendom from invaders,” Silas nodded, and Liliana shrunk in on herself. That was his dream? How could she stand between him and his dream? It would be horrendously selfish to try to stop him from achieving something he’d dreamed of since he was around her own age.

“Now, I’m not sure that’s what I want anymore,” Silas continued before Liliana could sink into her own dark thoughts and she startled, looking at the back of his head with wide eyes.

“What do you mean?” she asked, almost afraid to find out. Had his dream changed? But what if his dream still took him away? What if he left her too?

“When I met Astrid, my dream changed. I couldn’t put myself on the border if I had a wife at home. She couldn’t come with me, and I’d see her only on leave. My dream became retiring early, so I could stay with her. Then…” Silas trailed off and Liliana felt a pang in her chest at the reminder of what was lost.

Silas had built a new dream for himself, a dream of Astrid and the future they were supposed to share. Silence broken only by the sounds of hooves crunching through ice and snow and the screeching of wind through branches hung between them for several long minutes before Silas broke it again.

“Afterwards, my old dreams no longer held any pull to them. I’d already laid them to rest, and I couldn’t dig them back up. I’m not sure what my dream will become, but I know it doesn’t lie on the borders. And soon I don’t know if it’ll lie at the manor either,” Silas confessed, the words heavy as they filled the air with honesty and vulnerability.

Liliana hesitated to respond, understanding Silas had just told her something private. Her mind was already working on possibilities, plans, and plots. Anything to ensure that whatever dream Silas had next, it would keep him near her. It was selfish, unbelievably so, but Liliana didn’t think she could deal with any type of loss so soon after losing Astrid.

But could she ask him to abandon his position as captain when she left the manor? Knowing that once she left for the Academy, she had no plans of returning to the manor again? Could she subject him to an uncertain future filled with dangers that would only grow the closer she got to the future Vita had tasked her with changing? She could offer him neither the guarantee of money nor stability.

Yes, she decided. She could. She could be that selfish.

Chapter 100: The Guardian of The Frostfang Mountains

Liliana gripped tightly onto the reins of two ponies who wanted nothing more than to bolt in any direction other than where they were at. The whites of their eyes showed as they strained against the reins and Liliana’s iron grip. She was lucky they were lower leveled than her, lucky they didn’t have as much Strength as her, otherwise she’d have lost their mounts and there would be no hope of returning home on time. As it was, she barely kept herself from bolting. Fear and adrenaline were pumping through her in a heady rush that demanded action, not stillness. But stay still, she did, as she had been ordered.

Lelantos was crouched before her, his bulk a barricade between her and danger, little though it would do against the Hoarfrost Bears that Silas was facing off against now. High Rank 4, they were teetering on the edge of Rank 3 at level 259, 260 and 263. Nothing outside of Silas’ capabilities, but he had to spend time protecting her as well, making sure to never maneuver the fight in a way that would leave her open to danger. He kept his back to her the entire time, never letting one of the beasts pass his defense.

Liliana had thought she’d seen battle. Had thought she’d fought. But her experiences felt paltry, akin to a child playing with sticks in mock fights, compared to what she saw now. The power she felt thrumming through the air, shaking the ground and splitting the air itself as the four Rank 4s fought against each other. Each attack, each skill and spell used, was fatal to her, as sure to end her life as any assassin’s blade. The worst part was, there was nothing she could do. If Silas fell and those bears turned their attention to her, there wasn’t a single thing in her repertoire that would do more than tickle these beings so far above her, they may as well be gods. The gap of two Ranks and over a hundred levels was simply that severe.

She could only stand here as Silas’ axe rose and fell, as it spun through the air with enough force to cleave a hundred year oak in twain. Liliana could just hold tight to the reins of their two ponies and wrestle her own fear and instincts down, making herself as little of a liability as possible as Silas fought on with a yell and blast of some skill or another. She could simply act the part of frozen statue as first one, then two, then finally three bears’ bodies thudded to the ground. When the final foe was felled, the silence that descended was heavy, suffocating. As if the very mountains themselves were holding their breaths and waiting. When Silas stood straight and returned his weapon to storage, Liliana could finally take in a breath of chilled air, tasting the copper tang of blood on the wind. Still, Liliana did not move, her mind still filled with fear that was far slower to leave than it had been to crash into her.

“It’s safe,” Silas called out after several more minutes of silence and Liliana went to take a step forward only to discover her knees were locked, subconsciously she must've done that to keep herself from bolting in mindless fear. Her foot stumbled, and only the locked grip she still held to the reins with kept her from falling face first into the snow despite her Dexterity.

“Are you alright?” Silas asked and Liliana looked up, noticing he had moved closer to her.

“No,” she said honestly, her voice strained as it tried to get past the fear still clogging her throat.

“Good. Fear is good. It keeps you from being stupid,” Silas nodded, but he took the reins from her hands, gently uncurling her fingers from their frozen grip with a tenderness that belied his rather crass words.

He didn’t hesitate to wrap two large hands under her arms and lift her onto her pony, while he still held the reins. The ponies had calmed greatly with the removal of the immediate threat and the return of the human who offered them protection. As with most beasts in this world, the ponies held more intelligence than their earthen counterparts. They understood Silas was strong, and staying with him guaranteed a better chance of survival.

Lelantos padded to her, nosing her gently before his form turned ephemeral and dissolved into the summoning stone at her neck. He was too slow to keep up with the ponies and too low leveled to keep out safely in this area; she had only brought him out half in panic and half because she knew if she was to even have a chance of survival if Silas fell she’d need him. Nemesis couldn’t survive this cold. She stayed in her stone. In this dangerous territory she had chosen to venture to, the only other living being she had to depend on other than Silas would be Lelantos.

“We’re going to be seeing more fights like that. We’ve passed into the area where Rank 3s begin to appear regularly. Whatever you're looking for, it better be close or neither of us might make it back out of here,” Silas warned her as he got onto his own pony and they started forward. Liliana didn’t need to check a map to verify what Silas said. She had memorized it already. She knew where they were, knew the danger they were in. So did Silas. She’d shown him the path they had to take. But this was the only way, the only way to end this deadly game she had been playing with the duchess once and for all.

“We're almost there,” Liliana said, but the assurance sounded more like a prayer made to deaf gods who cared not for the trials and tribulations of mortals.

“Did you get their cores? And their livers?” Liliana asked, and Silas nodded, tapping his jeweled gauntlet that was his storage device.

“I got everything.” He assured her, and Liliana sighed in relief. Good. They needed those. Arguably, it was the easiest for them to acquire, if one discounted the fact that Hoarfrost Bears traveled in packs, quite unlike what one would expect from ursine creatures. If one ignored that their teeth and claws carried the ability to inflict immediate frostbite on any skin they touched. Or that their breath could slow one as the cold leeched into your very bones.

“Whats next?” Silas asked, and Liliana took a steadying breath, steeling her courage. She had to do this. The familiar rage and hate burned away the last traces of fear, cutting through the hesitation and doubt with a honed edge.

“Water from the Seeker’s Spring,” Liliana told him and Silas, for his credit, didn’t balk. Then again, she had told him already what they needed to accomplish on this trip, had been bluntly honest about the dangers they’d face on this task. She suspected this was his way of silently checking that she was still prepared to go through with this, offering her a chance of turning back before they were too far in, without doing her the dishonor of saying it outright.

“Basilisk?” Silas asked, another silent offer.

“Yup,” Liliana said, silently declining his offer again. She would see this through. This game ended in only one of two ways. With her death or with her stepmother in chains. And she was not ready to die yet, not until she’d gotten her revenge.

Liliana sat in front of the campfire, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them as she stared at the dagger sitting a foot away from her on the ground. They’d cleared the snow out of their campsite, revealing the cold, hardened earth beneath it. It was that same frozen dirt that her dagger had been laying on for the past hour as Liliana tried to get her Mana to do as she wanted. Out of any affinity, Telekineses was the hardest one she’d tried to use yet. It required her to carefully mold her Mana into her intent before sending it out from her body, and while it was out of her body, she still had to maintain control over it.

Unlike elemental affinities, this one required precise control and utter concentration to get even the smallest bit of progress. She’d barely nudged the affinity percentage up to 3% despite the time she’d spent on it since acquiring it. As it was, she’d only gotten one, arguably useless, spell from it. [Shove]. By forcing her Mana out in a wave, she could push something, but it was weak and the Mana cost for it was ridiculous for such a weak spell.

Right now she was attempting to forge her Mana into the shape of a hand, grasp onto her dagger and lift it from the ground. She had no way to be sure, but she imagined that Natalia used something similar to move her many blades. Hundreds of Mana-made, invisible hands that wielded the blades around her form. The problem Liliana was coming up against was that the further from her the Mana got, the more its form destabilized. A foot was as far as she could keep some semblance of shape to it, and even with that, the Mana could barely nudge the dagger, if it did anything at all.

“How far are we from the last item?” Silas asked, interrupting her concentration. The Mana hand she could sense but not really see with her eyes dissipated like mist on the wind.

“We’ll be there tomorrow,” Liliana responded, her voice tired.

She was exhausted. One week, five days. That was how long they’d been gone from the manor. A week of hard travel in harsh winter weather, then days of traversing through the Frostfang Mountains. Day seven of their trip, their first day in the mountain’s territory, had been easy. The first few hours of the second day in this hellscape had been the same. But as if the Hoarfrost Bears had been the starting signal, their travels had become increasingly more fraught with danger. Despite the cleaning skill Silas had, the both of them were in bad need of a long bath. Even with the impressive needlework Silas had shown in the camps after his fights, his clothes were obviously worn down, metal dented and gouged, leather sporting holes where it couldn’t be patched and cloth thin or tattered at the ends. Bloodstains that had refused to be removed decorated his once pristine clothing.

Despite her lack of participation in fights, Liliana’s own clothes hadn’t fared much better. A particularly close call with a level 296 Cockatrice had shorn off half her cloak. Her aid with skinning and butchering the creatures Silas felled had left her with her own permanent bloodstains in her hems and sleeves. She could feel the road grit and dirt etched into her skin and hair, hair that she hadn’t dared to release from its braid since they'd started for fear she’d never get it back under control.

She had a near constant chill that had seeped deep below her skin, latching onto her like a leech that refused to leave no matter how close she got to a fire. A bone deep weariness had sapped at her energy day by day as she came face to face with beasts that could kill her with a lazy flick of a tail or paw. Fear had eaten at her with each new encounter, so much so that she could hardly summon adrenaline with the latest creatures they’d run into.

She was exhausted, dirty, cold, and so sore she felt she’d never know a day without pain again. She wanted to go home, where the threats weren’t so obvious and constant. Where she could rest in a soft bed and soak in a hot tub, where she could slowly thaw her body.

But she was so close now. One more day and they’d have what they needed. They could go home then, escape this frozen hell called the Frostfang Mountains and never again step foot in its direction. One more day and Liliana would have everything she needed to get hr revenge, and she could finally avenge Astrid.

“Do you know what we’ll be facing?” Silas asked and Liliana shook her head, troubled by this. She had researched, scoured every book in the manor. There was nothing about what they’d face, because anyone who went there simply didn’t return to let anyone know what they’d found.

“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow then,” Silas said, and Liliana envied the easy way he accepted this uncertainty, or at least he appeared to do so. Liliana dragged her eyes from his face to stare once more at her dagger. She’d try it one more time, then she’d go and pray she could sleep enough tonight to regenerate some of her energy. Maybe tonight she’d be free of nightmares.

Liliana focused on the dagger in front of her, letting her ever present anger and hate fade into the background until it became nothing more than white noise, mixing with the screeching wind and crackling fire. Anger had unlocked Telekinesis, but she’d found it was useless for trying to force any skills or spells from it. It destabilized her Mana faster, made her careless and rough with it.

She needed the precision of a clear mind, not the untamed power of rage. She understood now why Natalia had chastised her so much for letting emotions like that control her. Liliana would never have been able to master Telekinesis as a slave to her anger. She’d have failed again and again, no matter what the woman taught her. Like trying to forge a sword with a flawed ingot, she had a fault that would crack and shatter when pressure was applied. The woman’s words had been harsh, and perhaps a touch untrue, but they had been necessary for her to be able to learn Telekinesis and eventually learn what Natalia would hopefully deign to teach her when they met again.

Liliana let her mind fade of such thoughts until it was empty, still as a pond on a windless day. She slowly pulled Mana out of her core, carefully and methodically forming it into the shape of a hand. She built the shape thread by thread, not willing to rush this and risk the entire construction unraveling. When her hand was formed, she directed it out, keeping a thread of Mana tied to herself so she could direct it even with it separated from her.

It crept through the air at a snail’s pace so Liliana could pull it back the second she felt it unravel. It reached the dagger without destabilization, though the further it got, the harder Liliana had to concentrate to continue keeping it under her control. With a glacial slowness, the fingers of her construct wrapped around the hilt of the dagger and began to lift it. Liliana held her breath as the dagger shuddered. She felt the hand falter, going misty at the edges. She drip fed it more Mana, careful to not overload it and undo her work. Gradually it regained structure and as it did, the dagger lifted from the ground. A centimeter, two, three. It hovered an inch above the ground, rising another until it was clearly floating above the ground, wavering but stable.

Liliana tried to raise it higher, but the entire structure destabilized faster than she could react and the dagger clattered to the ground as the Mana faded away into the air. Liliana let out a deep breath. Despite the lackluster results, she was smiling for the first time in weeks. It was a weak thing, fragile and easily broken, but there. Because she had finally succeeded.

You’ve discovered the spell [Grasp]. Would you like to accept?

Liliana could come up with a thousand excuses for why she didn’t notice the danger. The notification that had popped up on her screen. Her weariness, her exhaustion. The growing wind that disguised any noise in its gales. It was Silas’ shout of fear, true heartrending panic that alerted her to the danger that had strolled into their camp. That had escaped both their notices until it was right upon them.

Liliana’s eyes looked up, and she was caught in a blue stare. Eyes so different from her own, these were the blue of a fire at its hottest, swirling with secrets and knowledge she would never know. Decades, centuries of knowledge, danced in those fathomless eyes. Liliana knew, even before [Identify] popped up to tell her exactly what had stopped a yard from her and now held her in its endless gaze, that they had just come face to face with why no one had returned from the exact quest she had put herself on.

Minori

Guardian of The Frostfang Mountains

Inari Kitsune

Level 526

Rumors exist of a divine being that lurks deep within the reaches of the Frostfang Mountains, a white ghost that none have seen or lived to tell the tale of. Believed to be a guardian spirit of the mountains, none are willing to tread within her domain for fear of her wrath if she feels her territory and the denizens she protects are threatened. The Guardian of the Frostfang Mountains is believed to be the daughter of Mors and Luna, the God of Death and the Goddess of the Night and Souls, with dominion over Death, Darkness and Souls themselves.

Rank: 1

Chapter 101: Facing An Endgame Boss

Minori is a post-game boss. I shouldn’t be seeing her yet. Preferably, I should never see her. A Kitsune with dominion over Death, Soul, Dark and Chaos, she’s arguably as difficult a fight as Liliana. When she was added in a free expansion, it took three weeks for anyone to finally beat her with proof. Liliana’s thoughts had finally unfrozen from their fear induced frozen state, and yet the information they gave was utterly useless to her.

Battle strategies, meta builds, best team comps were all useless to her when she had made a mistake that only the most idiotic of noobs would. She’d gained the aggro of something she could neither fight nor run from. She had known, objectively, that Minori resided in the Frostfang Mountains, but she was supposed to be deeper in the mountains. In a cave that opened out into a meadow trapped in an eternal spring. She had been so careful to make sure they wouldn’t pass that area, arranging their path so that they would skirt it entirely.

So why, in the name of all that was good and evil in this world, was Minori staring at her in the middle of their camp?

Why wasn’t she attacking? Why was she just staring? It made no sense. Beasts attacked anything in their territory, even the higher ranked ones, even the ones with humanlike intelligence. They attacked, with precious few exceptions. That was all Liliana had ever seen, both in game and in reality. Beasts not attacking was a thing of myth and legend. And Minori had never been a part of any legend of kindness towards humans.

But despite logic and reason, as if the beast before her had set out with the sole mission of defying the rules of the world, Minori continued to stare at her with her unfathomable, white-less, pupil-less eyes. Nothing but swirling blue, flickering with streaks of white like flames trapped in orbs placed on her face. Seconds ticked by, shuddering breaths the only thing filling the silence that had fallen. Even the winter wind had stilled. As if the very world itself was holding its breath, like the very forces of nature deferred to the being before Liliana.

“You have come,” minutes, hours, eons passed before a voice filled the campsite. It came from everywhere, heard both by Liliana’s ears and somehow by her soul itself.

Even though she didn’t see Minori’s mouth, muzzle, move, Liliana knew instinctively that the voice she heard was Minori’s. A voice that rang with a power that would’ve dropped Liliana to her knees if she hadn’t already been on the ground. It held the power of a blizzard, of a raging firestorm, of a typhoon of unimaginable magnitude. It was almost reminiscent of Vita’s voice, the way it felt as if every word spoken could alter the very fate of the world itself. This was the power of a Rank 1 being, something that could be compared to a demigod, brushing the very edges of godhood. As close as any mortal being would ever be to becoming one of the immortal beings that could create and destroy universes with the flick of a finger.

The power of Minori’s aura was enough to press down on Liliana’s body, making her bones creak and her breath flutter out of her in halting gasps. And she knew this wasn’t even her unleashed aura. It was enough to render her paralyzed at its controlled, reined in state.

Her voice could drop her, her aura could crush her. Minori could kill her with a few words and her very presence without ever even moving a paw. A sense of hopelessness filled Liliana, the knowledge that this was where she would die. A calm certainty twisted with acceptance followed the hopelessness. The knowledge that she would not walk out of these mountains alive, her body would remain here, to be frozen by the deadly cold, buried deep in the snowfall, never to be seen again.

There was nothing she could do. She could not even force her lungs to take in a full breath under the pressure of Minori’s very presence before her. She could never hope to get to her feet before her life was ended. Fighting was futile, running impossible.

“I see. I have forgotten how fragile such low leveled beings are. I have become used to being around my children, who have a measure of invulnerability against me.” Again that voice filled the clearing, thundering through Liliana’s soul with every syllable, if she had the breath she would scream from the sensation, not quite pain but something that felt like far too much for someone as mortal as her to experience and survive.

The words echoed around them, fading slowly, as if the very essence of the world could not bear to part with them. Gradually, Liliana felt the oppressive aura that had been holding her still and frozen lift. Slowly, so slowly, it retreated. Seconds felt like years, yet with every heartbeat, Liliana could feel her lungs filling more, her breathing evening out. As it finally released her fully, she collapsed, as if someone had cut her strings. The aura had been the only thing holding her body upright and without its support she fell face first to the ground, gasping in air like a drowning man.

She could hear Silas gasping for air as she had been, so close to her but so far at the same time. Even a distance of inches would be too far. In the time it took her to even look at him, Minori could have them both dead, she knew that. Yet still the Kitsune did not move from where she was. Liliana did not have to look to know that. Her aura might have been withdrawn, but her presence was undeniable. She couldn’t understand how such a being had managed to sneak up on them.

Liliana closed her eyes, drawing in more air as she reveled in what she was sure to be her final breaths. She filled her lungs with the sweet, cold air, using it to reinforce her resolve. She would die here, but she would die facing the one who took her life. Liliana had met Death once with eyes wide open, and she’d do it again. She wouldn’t let him catch her from behind, she’d never give him the pleasure. Liliana sat up, her body screaming out its protest with every minuscule movement as she dragged it upright once more. She had never felt so sore, so tired, in either of her lives. Even at her sickest, even on the day Death finally came to guide her to the void, she had not felt this soul deep weariness. But still she drew her body up, lifted her heavy head, and met Minori’s eyes once more.

“So, my child was right. You have strength inside of you that defies all. A resolve even in the face of death that few could ever boast.” Minori’s voice rocked the campsite once more, but without her aura behind her, it was bearable. Still, Liliana winced as if hit with a physical blow and her body groaned under the weight of the words spoken. Liliana had never thought it possible to be killed with words alone, but she knew now it could happen. A speech from Minori would surely unravel her very being.

“Will you kill us?” Liliana asked when the echoes of Minori’s words finally faded. Her own voice felt so small, so flat, unfinished compared to the Kitsune’s. It was a ridiculous question to ask, but Minori’s words, her actions, were not those of something that sought death tonight. It had taken a while for Liliana’s mind to comprehend them, so overcome by first her aura and then the power of her words, she’d had little ability left to focus on what was said. But without the aura suffocating her, she could spare some thought to the actions and words spoken. Hope blossomed, weak and tentative, in her chest.

“Though you have trespassed upon my land and have killed my denizens, no. There is a debt owed that must be repaid, and I was forewarned of your coming many moons passed. So you will not find your death tonight at my fangs, though I see he is a close companion of yours,” Minori spoke and somehow, it felt like she was reining in the power of her words as well, their impact was muffled, but still felt. It took less time for Liliana to recover from her words, her mind recovering from the scattered and frazzled state in a handful of heartbeats as opposed to minutes.

“So what…?” Liliana trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the question. What was Minori doing? Why was she here? What was she going to do with them?

“As I said, a debt must be paid. I am here to guide you to where you shall go, and when we arrive, my debt to you will be repaid,” Minori told them, standing from her sitting state. She towered over them, but her size was hard to estimate. She almost seemed to shift sizes each time Liliana blinked. One blink she was taller than the trees, another she was no larger than a pony, then another and she would come to just taller than Lelantos. It was dizzying, and it made Liliana’s head ache trying to understand it.

“Come, there is someone waiting for you,” Minori spoke, an explicit order.

Liliana tried to struggle to her feet but before she could force her exhausted and battered body up she was engulfed in darkness so complete and all-consuming she thought Minori had lied, and she’d been returned to the void. Death had come so swiftly she had not even realized her heart had stopped. Liliana had just accepted her fate to spend another eternity floating in the void until her soul was called for yet another life, when the darkness retreated.

Brightness assaulted her eyes and Liliana whimpered, closing her eyes tight against the sudden light. Such a contrast to the complete and utter darkness she had just been in. She thought, for a moment, that Vita had summoned her again from the void. This time to punish her for failing her task, rather than to offer her another life. But her senses cataloged information that had not existed in the odd dimension Vita had approached her in.

She could feel grass under her hands, so soft and lush it felt more akin to silk than grass. But the distinct feeling of blades told her it was grass. The scent of wildflowers filled her nose and coated her throat, so rich she could taste them on her tongue. She could hear the happy singing of birds, the cheerful babbling of a brook, and beyond that a sound so achingly familiar it almost summoned tears to her eyes. The yips, chirps and barks that could only ever come from foxes. She heard several distinct voices, seemingly communicating with one another, playing.

Liliana hesitantly opened her eyes, blinking furiously as she was again hit with the bright light of a noonday, late spring sun. As her eyes cleared of light induced tears, she looked around, drinking in the beauty she was surrounded by. The grass under her was the most verdant green she’d ever seen, almost too much for her eyes to even comprehend. It felt as if someone had turned up the saturation to its max settings, then past it. Flowers bloomed in a riot of colors that would make any rainbow seem dull in comparison. Just beyond, she could see the brook she had heard, its water so crystal clear you could count the stones on its bed even from a distance. Each stone was some kind of precious gemstone, creating their own saturated rainbow under the water.

If Liliana had ever believed in heaven, she thought this is what it would look like. She could almost feel her worries, her fear, her anger and hate leeching from her. Soothed away by the playful breeze that carried an intoxicating floral scent upon it, stealing her dark feelings away from her as it flowed past. She felt an almost all-encompassing need to lie back on this grass that was softer than any bed she’d ever rested upon and just lie here for eternity.

“What you seek, and what seeks you, is at the end of the brook,” Minori’s voice woke her up from the trance Liliana had fallen into. It was as if the Kitsune’s very words had broken whatever spell this place had laid upon her and her mind became clear once more. Her darker emotions still felt dulled, distant, but they were there again now. The relief from them was addicting, and Liliana almost wished Minori had never woken her up. Had let her just lie here and forget her worries and fears, let her finally know true peace.

But she hadn’t, and Liliana remembered why she was here once again. Her purpose for this endeavor. It could no longer be forgotten once remembered. Liliana climbed to her feet, finding her body less sore than it had been not ten minutes ago. Wherever they were, it seemed to heal the soul and the body. Liliana looked for the Kitsune, finding her easily, though her presence felt weaker here, more disguised. As if this entire place had been designed to camouflage her.

Liliana belatedly realized she knew where they were. This was the arena for Minori’s fight, her ever-spring meadow. It was here she was strongest, the very place feeding her power and crawling with her children who would attack players in waves when called by Minori. Yet despite knowing where she was, Liliana couldn’t summon the fear that should go with it. This place seemed to repel such a feeling, almost forcing a feeling of safety onto whoever stepped foot into it. Perhaps that was why it was so dangerous. You could never even suspect the danger you were in until it was too late. Maybe not even then.

“Go, now. You and your companion will be safe here. I shall watch over him. Nothing here will harm you while you are under my protection,” Minori told her, and Liliana read no lies in her shifting eyes. Liliana’s eyes strayed to Silas, who seemed to still be in the same trance the Kitsune had woken her from, and Liliana knew he needed the peace this place offered him. If only for a little longer. She could give him that.

Minori laid her body upon the ground, setting her majestic head upon her paws, yet her eyes never left Liliana, and as the girl turned her back on the Kitsune, she could still feel the weight of Minori’s gaze on her.

Her feet grew more steady as she walked, keeping close to the brook as she did. The further she went from Minori the stronger she felt, though no matter the distance traveled she could still feel the Kitsune’s gaze. Even when she threw a look over her shoulder and could no longer see Minori, she could still feel her eyes. As Liliana walked, she could still hear the sounds of foxes playing, of birds singing. Trees in full bloom lined the brook occasionally, patches of forested areas that looked like works of living art hid many watching eyes. Yet no matter how long she traveled, she never once spotted another living being, even though she knew they were there and fully aware of her.

Liliana wasn’t sure how long she had walked. The light never changed, though hours must have passed. Or perhaps it was minutes, with no way to judge the time Liliana’s sense of time passing was weak. She thought perhaps she’d be following this brook forever, sent on a task that could never be completed. Kitsunes were tricksters. It would be just like one to set her to walk for a millennium before freeing her.

The brook ended suddenly, with no warning. It just ended in a small pool that drained away into some underground river or reservoir. Liliana paused, shocked that the brook had actually ended. She looked around, realizing it had led her into a circle of trees blooming with cherry blossoms. Their heavy, pink laden boughs made thick curtains that obscured anything beyond them. In the center of the circle, just past the pond covered with waterlilies, sat a small orchid like flower. Its petals were a rich purple ending in red so vibrant it looked like someone had dipped it in fresh blood, and Liliana knew what it was, having memorized the final and most important ingredient for what she needed already.

The Verity Bloom. Rare beyond measure, it was said to only be found deep in the Frostfang Mountains, the exact location unknown and only theorized at. The very thing Liliana had been looking for.

Liliana walked towards it hesitantly, almost expecting Minori to rush through the cherry blossoms to stop her. But nothing came out as she stopped at the flower, nor as she knelt before it. Nothing attacked her as she drew out her gloves and gathering knife. No creature appeared as she sliced off the head with a sure stroke of her knife and slid it into an enchanted pouch before returning gloves, knife, and pouch to her storage. She’d leave the stalk and roots, she didn’t need them and the flower would live to bloom again if she took only the head itself. Liliana couldn’t in good conscious destroy such a rare plant when it was unnecessary, and it felt like it would be a gross insult to Minori to do so, spitting upon her unexpected kindness.

It wasn’t until she stood that the cherry blossoms directly in front of her stirred. Liliana froze, fear still absent though it should be present and consuming, as the blossoms parted, some falling like delicate floral rain, revealing a dark, winged, vulpine form.

If Liliana had felt any fear, it would’ve been banished the moment her eyes met the creature who approached her with slow, cautious steps. His form had changed greatly, but a soul never forgot another it had been tied to. A bond once formed was never truly broken, no matter how fleeting it might have been.

“Polaris.”

Chapter 102: A Much Needed Reunion

Liliana stared at the form before her, her eyes and mind struggling to come to terms with something her soul and heart had already accepted as a fact. Time held still, sounds falling away until it felt like there was only the two of them, held suspended in a bubble of timeless eternity. Neither moved. Liliana wasn’t certain they breathed, as if they both wanted to preserve this moment for as long as they could.

Warm red and orange fur, colors of fall leaves floating on chilled winds, had faded to the dark black of a moonless winter night. Silver traced designs like constellations across his form, delicate and beautiful. Wings were held loosely to his side, ready to snap out at any moment and provide him a swift retreat. Five graceful tails swayed behind him, coated in the same inky dark fur as the rest of him and tipped with the starlight tinted silver. Time had changed them both, forcing a metamorphosis on them that showed both physically and mentally. And yet. Their souls still called to one another, no matter how much they had both changed.

“Polaris,” Liliana spoke the word again. A prayer, a request, a cry, a million emotions suffusing three syllables, one word. It held heartbreak, hope and so much love it almost seemed impossible for a human to fit so much in a single word breathed so softly it faded into the air almost as soon as it was spoken. With that one word, the fragile glass capsule of time they’d been encased in shattered around them. The wind stirred, tugging at the petals of the cherry blossoms around them and shaking them loose to fall like rain once more, filling the meadow with their sweet scent.

Liliana’s knees gave out, and she fell to the plush grass, tears wetting her cheeks, falling carelessly to water the ground beneath her. She almost didn’t want to believe this specter standing before her. Vehemently she refused [Identify]’s clarity. She wouldn’t be able to take it if it revealed that her soul was wrong, that this was not Polaris. Wasn't her Polaris. She’d lost him once, she couldn’t do it again. Couldn’t maintain her thin grasp on her composure if it was revealed to her this was nothing more than a Kitsune’s malicious trickery.

As if her tears were the last permission Polaris needed, he bound to her, forgoing hesitancy and carefulness when confronted with the pain swimming so clearly in Liliana’s eyes. He had grown in his time away, gaining size along with a new body. On her knees she was smaller than him, standing he’d perhaps come up to her shoulders. He bent his head and pressed a cold, wet nose to her face, replacing her tears with his slobber as his tongue licked them away. A low whine grew from his throat and something finally clicked in Liliana’s mind, acceptance that what her soul was screaming was true filled her entirely. Her arms shot out and wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in the plush fur of his neck and she sobbed. Tears of happiness, relief, and sadness poured out of her. Sob wracked her body as she held tightly to Polaris. She barely even registered that he’d sat down, or that his wings had extended to wrap around her, enveloping her in the safety he freely offered to her.

Liliana cried, because a piece of her soul and heart had been returned to her. Polaris had finally come home. This meadow, Minori’s domain, may have once been his home, but they both knew his home had become wherever she was many months ago. She cried because he had grown so much, and she’d missed all of it. She cried because as soon as she had lost someone precious to her, another was returned to her, and it felt so bittersweet she could scream. Liliana cried for the girl she had been when Polaris had last seen her, so full of anger and pain but still holding onto her innocence and naivety. And she cried for the loss of that innocence and naivety, things she hadn’t fully registered as gone until she was confronted with someone from a time when she still held those things inside of her, only to find them achingly absent upon his return.

Liliana wasn’t the girl she’d been when Polaris left. She was hardened, darker, colder. She’d seen too much death, had a hand in too many deaths to retain any of that softness she’d once had. But he had changed too. She could feel it. The intelligence in his eyes was more pronounced, and she’d be hard pressed to differentiate it with a human’s. His power was evident, rolling through his body, leaking into his fur that she had buried her face in. Power like that didn’t come without sacrifices made. Liliana knew that fact well.

When her tears finally dried out and her sobs petered out into hiccuping gasps for air, Liliana pulled back .She wiped at swollen eyes and looked up into Polaris’ eyes, seeing they too had changed colors. Blue, a distant echo of Minori’s, but darker, darker than even her own. The dark navy of an early night’s sky, speckled with silver like stars. They swirled with emotions and unspoken words, sadness and happiness, contentedness and love, and under it all, regret. Liliana could read the words he didn’t say, or couldn’t say.

I missed you. I’m sorry I had to leave. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me to be. I’m so happy to see you again, and I love you. I won’t leave again.

And it was the simplest thing to press her hand to his head, which he dipped low for her to reach. It was instinctual, the most natural thing she’d ever done, to initiate the Bonding Contract. And for the first time, it was written entirely by both parties, an effortless, silent communication written out between their souls.

I swear to walk this road of life together. Neither greater than the other, equal partners tied together by our souls and bond built on trust and respect. Should one fall, both shall fall. Tied together eternally, stronger together than apart. Where one may be weak, the other will be strong. Should one falter and fall, the other shall stand tall and lend their aid and strength for both to rise again. Support is freely offered. Pain for one is pain for both. Never can one turn on the other. Never can one abandon the other, or leave them to suffer. I freely offer to you my soul, my power, and my strength. As you too offer me yours. Your enemies will be mine and mine yours. Your troubles, your pain, your struggles will be as mine, as too shall mine be yours. So too will be your happiness, victories and triumphs be mine as mine will be yours. We shall share one fate, one future. Where one goes, the other shall be beside them. Never following, never leading, always standing side by side. This bond is formed not of subservience or dominance, but built of a bond naturally formed and preserved. Two pieces of a single soul, connected and combined forevermore.

It wasn’t as strict as her original contract, but somehow it seemed to be far more binding than any other contract. As if instead of simply binding them together, it would transform them both. Meld them more firmly than any bond had previously. Once accepted, Liliana knew this bond would never break, and something told her it was the kind of bond that could transcend lifetimes. As the final word was added, and both parties accepted it, something inside of her felt like it shifted. A puzzle piece settling where it was always meant to be. A part of her soul finally coming back to her and stitching itself back in place, melding seamlessly back into her as if it had never left. As it had been when she first laid eyes on Polaris, it felt like time paused and they floated in a bubble of eternity as the world shifted ever so slightly and Liliana felt like she was finally right.

Then came the pain, breaking through their bubble and shattering it for the second time. But this pain was different. As the flames of the bond consumed her from the inside out, there was something other than pain mixed in with the flames. There was a sense of borderline euphoria twisted throughout, and it made the pain bearable, made the pain seem justified. For the first time Liliana could remember she knew she’d made a choice that was undoubtedly correct, that was just as it should have been. She’d begun to discredit fate as a false idea, but this made her believe in some form of it again. Because as she burned, she felt like every step she’d walked since coming into this world had inevitably led her to this moment. Like this was always supposed to be, like Polaris was always meant to find her, to guide her, and then to come to her when she was at her worst moments, when she was at the most risk of truly losing who she was. As if Polaris had always been a part of her, just waiting for this moment to finally come home.

When the fire left her, a sense of rightness, of completeness filled her, banishing the exhaustion and residual pain that bonding usually caused. Liliana’s eyes blinked slowly, and she realized that she had been curled into a small ball, Polaris wrapped around her, one wing laid over her. Even in the middle of his own pain, he’d shielded her. Even if this was his place of birth, knowing it was safe, he’d instinctively moved to protect her when she was at her most vulnerable.

‘Always,’

“Polaris?” Liliana asked, her voice shocked and far less tired than she expected it to be. The voice had felt like it was spoken, yet also felt in her mind. Heard, but not. Yet somehow understood. It was so very different from how she heard Nemesis, and how Minori had communicated. Yet it held some similarities to the Kitsune’s.

‘At your service,’ the amused voice floated through her, holding a hint of mischief she had always associated with Polaris. The voice was masculine, not surprising as she knew Polaris was male, but it sounded older than she expected. Nemesis’ voice had always a bit young to her, like a child trying to mimic how their parents talked. But Polaris sounded like a youth similar to her in age, perhaps a few years older.

“This is… weird,” Liliana murmured as she sat up. Polaris retracted his wing and shifted his own body until he was sitting facing her. Unlike with Nemesis or Lelantos, she did not have to focus to sense Polaris. It was as if he was just there in her mind, like an extension of her mind rather than a separate building connected by a hallway, as her other bonds felt. Yet she could still differentiate between the two of them, and actually locating his thoughts did take effort. It reassured her of her privacy whilst letting her know she would likely never be able to put up a wall between their bond as she had with her others. That provided her more comfort than it should have. Any time she had blocked out her other Bonds, it had never been good for her. She didn’t know if she’d have been able to handle a bond like this before now, however, and it truly made her believe hesitantly in some form of fate.

‘You will adjust. It was time,’ Polaris said, with a certainty that Liliana shared as soon as the words were spoken. There was little to justify the feeling, but it felt like the words were as much a fact as gravity.

‘We should go back. Mother wishes to talk, and despite her many years, she never really learned patience. It’s better to walk back than to have her yank you to wherever she wants you to be,’ Polaris spoke, before Liliana could compose her thoughts into enough of a semblance of order to ask the questions that had started to populate her mind. Polaris nudged her with his nose, forcing her to her feet and any fear Liliana had that all of his antics had been washed away by his changes were dashed when he circled her, bouncing on his feet and yipping like the fox he was. A genuine smile fluttered over her lips as she watched him, thinking back to warm spring days spent running around fighting nothing more dangerous than magical rabbits.

“So is this where you went?” Liliana asked as they began to follow the brook back, her attention was mostly focused on Polaris. Partially because she was still trying to catalog all his changes and enjoying his antics, but also partially out of self preservation. She saw how the scenery passed by far too fast in her peripherals for the meandering walk she was using. It seemed Polaris had not lied about Minori’s impatience, for Liliana had a niggling feeling that the Kitsune had more than a slight hand in the speed they were traveling at.

‘Yes, this was home. Mother will tell you more. She might act like she doesn’t enjoy it, but she loves telling stories and she rarely gets to tell her stories to those who have not yet heard them. We think part of the reason she sends us out is in the hope we’ll forget some of them so we won’t whine so much when she tries to tell them to us again,’ Polaris let out a yipping bark laugh that almost summoned a responding giggle from Liliana. But despite the happiness she felt, grief was still lurking inside of her. She could summon a rare smile, but laughter was beyond her yet.

“Will she be upset? About this?” Liliana asked, motioning between them to allude to their bond. She hadn’t considered the repercussions when she’d initiated the contract. It had felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. But now fear nipped at her. If Minori took offense to this, there was nothing Liliana could do to stop her.

‘No, she knew it was coming. When mother sends us out, she expects some of us to not even come home. It’s a risk she takes. This is easier than if I had never come home. She will be grateful, even if she perhaps will not say it herself,’ Polaris assured her, and the fear evaporated. Liliana was going to pose another question to her rather talkative bond when their walk came to an end. The feeling of Minori’s subdued aura hit her first, stuttering her breath for a moment even in its damped state. Liliana’s eyes were inevitably drawn back to the hypnotizing depths of Minori’s swirling blue and white gaze. She was sitting up, her eight tails flicking behind her in a twisting dance.

“So you found what you sought,” Minori spoke, and Liliana felt her knees lock in an effort to keep her upright. Her reprieve from the Kitsune had robbed her of whatever small resistance she’d built to Minori’s voice, even weakened. Her thoughts had scattered like ashes on the wind and it took several breaths for her to collect them again. Polaris pressed against her side and somehow, his proximity seemed to shield her from Minori’s presence, enough for her to at least process what the Kitsune was saying without needing to gather herself after every word.

“Yes, thank you,” Liliana spoke up, bowing her head to the Kitsune. Thanking her not just for the flower, but for allowing her to meet Polaris once more, and to form the bond they now held between them.

‘Just tell her already, Mother,’ Polaris spoke up and Liliana knew these words weren’t shared just between them. Minori’s tails flicked sharply, betraying trace annoyance at her offspring's impenitence. Liliana would’ve shrunk from such a display if Polaris hadn’t extended his wing behind her just enough to prevent such a retreat.

“You would rob me of all joy, child of mine. Fine, I shall tell her what you wish for her to know,” Minori spoke and Liliana would swear there was a pout underlying her words as the Kitsune’s tails calmed and lay still, she nodded her head towards Silas, who was still lying on the ground, a peaceful expression on his face for the first time in far too long.

“I shall tell you, but only because of the bond you share with my kin. This does not make you kin, but it provides you with some privileges. Your companion does not share these privileges, and shall remember none of what has transpired since we arrived here,” Minori told her and Liliana nodded, not willing to argue with a Rank 1 Kitsune who could smite her with a thought. If Minori had asked her to hop on one leg while mooing like a cow, she’d have done it. Keeping one more secret among the many she already did was no hard task. It was made easier knowing Polaris would share it with her.

Liliana and Polaris settled on the ground, Polaris extending a wing around Liliana as if he was still trying to protect her, though she did not mind it. One of her hands buried itself deep in his silky dark fur, his warmth doing as much to ease her fears and worries as the strange aura permeating this odd ever-spring domain. When they were both settled, Minori nodded and began her story.

Chapter 103: Conversations With A Kitsune

“You are the first human to hear this, and live,” Minori began, and Liliana would’ve taken that statement as a threat if it wasn’t for Polaris’ snide remark.

‘She likes to play with her food, and she loves the sound of her own voice,’ his voice sounded almost whispered, but Minori’s chiding snarl and Polaris’ yipping laugh showed it wasn’t quiet enough.

“I doubt you humans have figured this out, but it’s well known among beasts. When we reach Rank 1 and higher, we begin to emit Mana. It’s why many of us have our own territories that are particularly Mana rich. I know humans theorize we chose such areas to live, but that is incorrect. We are the ones who generate the Mana. This is not something shared by humans or other mortal races, with the exceptions of Beastmen, because of their beast blood. As a result of the Mana we emit, creatures are born of that Mana, usually something relating to us,” Minori began her story and Liliana found herself almost lulled by the sound of her voice. It had taken a softer, more smooth lilt. It still moved through her, but it was a soothing sensation, like being rocked to sleep in a mother’s arms.

“Some of the others take great delight in twisting their Mana to create new children. Some have cloistered themselves for hundreds of years to perfect it. When you’ve lived as long as some of us, it is easy to grow bored. There are few threats that can cause us concern, other than each other, and many of us abstain from combat. Some still revel in testing their mettle, but many wish nothing more than to be left be.” Minori continued and Liliana perked up a little.

Beasts Rank 1 or above were rare creatures of myth and legend. Several were end-game bosses in Realm of Hope, but Liliana had heard or read myths of some she’d never fought in the game. She hadn’t realized that they knew of each other, or communicated. She’d assumed, perhaps foolishly, that they were still animalistic and prone towards violence. It seemed they were far more civilized than she’d considered. Enough to be able to pursue hobbies, if you could call creating beings a hobby, and had a form of community or at least communication they employed to keep up with each other.

This was perhaps the greatest deviation from the game she’d seen. The high rank beasts in the game had been harder fights, but it had never been even implied they had intelligence matching or even exceeding humans.

“Some pursue knowledge, though that hasn’t been my preference. I was born here, and when I first lived, it was a common place for adventurers to bloody their blade. I saw my family murdered by a group of adventurers after our coats. Blizzard Fox fur is sought after for its beauty and insulation. You can go to the ice seas to the north and stay warm if you’re dressed in it.” Minori sounded equal parts, disgusted and proud as she spoke.

“Luck, cunning, and cold calculation saved my own hide. I grew in power, feasting on the bodies of dumb men waving around swords and beasts with even less intelligence. My one goal was to turn my homeland into an area where humans would fear stepping foot. To teach them the terror they’d ingrained in the beasts who sheltered in these mountains,” Minori’s voice took a sharper tone and Liliana shrank into Polaris’ side as Minori talked, it was obvious there was no love lost between the Kitsune and humanity. Liliana wondered if Nemesis would have turned out like the Kitsune, had Liliana not bonded to her. Would Timberborn have turned into some dangerous territory fueled by the Mana of a serpent full of hatred for humanity in a hundred years?

“When I had the power, I built this domain, a safe place where no human has stepped before. Vengeance and anger had sustained me, but I grew lonely. I’d been taught by other higher ranked beasts how to create a domain protected from others and how to force the Mana to birth creatures. I decided to try it, to make a companion to make my days less lonesome. At first I made nothing but small, simple foxes with little intelligence. It took decades before I found out how to ensure they came into existence with the same level of intelligence as a born beast.” Minori’s voice had grown soft again, though Liliana could almost feel the loneliness the Kitsune had suffered from, it had soaked through her words.

“That was two hundred years ago. Since then I’ve had many children. When they reach their first decade, I chase them from the domain. I found that if they stayed here, never seeing the world, they grew up wrong. Twisted in a way I could not fix, those had to be destroyed, for they eventually tried to turn on me.” Minori’s voice had taken on an almost pained sadness, the voice of a mother speaking of culling her own children. Something a human could never empathize with, yet something common in the animal and beast kingdoms. Minori had not wanted to kill her children. Her tone made it obvious.

“I’m not sure if the overabundance of Mana twisted them, or if the lack of perspective did. But now all my children leave me, some come back, some do not. It hurt at first, sending my children out and never knowing if I’d see them again. I love all of my children, but the life of a beast is harsh and I can not shelter them from that. It has grown easier, and the ones who return bring me stories and knowledge from the world that I could not gather myself. Some die out in the world, and some find their own homes.” Minori’s voice had lost some of the sadness tinting it as she titled her head at Liliana in a nod.

“You are not the first human to bond with one of my children, though you are the first I’ve met. My children fear bringing their bonds to me, knowing my views on humans.” Minori did not confirm if her children’s fears were justified or not, and Liliana felt a shiver down her spine. She knew her safety was tenuous at best here, depending only on the Kitsune’s whims.

“You are the first that let one of my children break a bond and return to me. I have heard of your story as well, and what you did to save the life of a fox you had a weak bond with. I have heard of the deal you struck with a goddess, child from another world,” Minori let Liliana absorb that. Horror and fear slammed into her, robbing her of breath. Sharp fangs flashed as Minori grinned a slow, vulpine smile at her.

“Oh, I will not impede you. I pity you, tied so strongly to a god’s whims. I do ask that if you survive the impossible quest, that you agree to that you come back and tell me the story. You are not the first god touched human I’ve come across, though they died much as any other mortal two-legged would. I find the gods intriguing, for they do not often commune with beasts.” Minori tilted her head as if pondering a curious puzzle.

“Perhaps because many of us do not have the intelligence to worship them, and by the time we do, we have no need of their ‘aid’. Beasts live and die by their own fang and claw. We need no god or goddess to beseech. What we have, we made ourselves,” Minori seemed proud of her lack of need of the gods, and almost derogatory in regards to them.

Liliana relaxed slightly. She would never have chosen for the Kitsune to know her story, but she was glad it would not negatively affect her. In fact, it seemed to be partially why she was still alive. She was a curiosity to the Kitsune, and that was better than being dinner.

“Polaris is the youngest of my current progeny, and he perhaps got a bit too much intelligence when I made him. For few others of my making have vexed me as mightily as he. I was glad to see him back, and to hear the stories he told me. Though I shall not cry when he leaves, and perhaps I shall finally have a full night’s sleep without him lurking around waiting to pull one of my tails,” Minori flicked her tails at her last comment and Polaris yipped out a quiet snicker, standing tall as if proud of how he had harassed his mother.

“Shouldn’t there be nine?” The words slipped out before Liliana could think, and her eyes widened as her hands slapped to her face, covering her mouth as if it would retract the words.

“We gain our ninth tail when we pass level 700,” Minori answered the question easily, though there was amusement in her tone. As if she found Liliana’s question cute, the way Liliana would find Flint asking her why she had blue eyes cute.

“Are all foxes Kitsunes?” Liliana asked her the next question, emboldened by Minori’s apparent willingness to answer.

“They are. They gain their second tail at Rank 8, and gain a Kitsune Species at that time,” Minori answered this question as easily as she had the first, and Liliana filed the information away.

It wasn’t groundbreaking, and was information Polaris could’ve just as easily provided to her, but there was something about asking a question of a being that by all right should’ve killed her hours ago and getting an answer from her that was almost… empowering. How many others could boast a similar experience? Then again, Liliana’s life since she’d died had been nothing but one of a kind experiences others could not imagine, in their dreams or their nightmares.

“The Verity Bloom,” Liliana asked next, though her question was more of a statement. Minori seemed to understand it nonetheless, and Liliana almost had to wonder if somewhere in the Kitsune’s bag of tricks was a mind reading skill. They existed, she assumed, though she had not read of or seen one in use. But she was talking to a giant fox that couldn’t seem to settle on a single size or appearance, so the word ‘impossible’ had long since fled her vocabulary.

“A side effect of the Mana concentration here, though not my creation. You’ll find similar things sprout up around any beasts of a similar power level,” Minori answered, though this time Liliana could almost taste that there was so much left unsaid. Information that Liliana was apparently not worthy of. Secrets held by beings who had seen centuries, who played with power Liliana could only imagine. Liliana searched for another question.

Some part of her didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want this peaceful feeling that surrounded her like a comforting blanket to retreat from her. Didn’t want to wake up from this almost dreamlike state where the pain and anger had become muted. Despite the fact she was in the most danger she’d been in, in either life, she felt more peaceful than she had been in so very long.

“It’s time,” Minori stated and Liliana wanted to protest, wanted to beg for a few more minutes, but she knew it was the truth. She couldn’t avoid her problems. Even now, as she sat there in grass that didn’t even feel like grass, Imogen was out there. Plotting, scheming. Free. Her father remained in his home, tugging at uncountable strings as he shifted events to fit his desires.

Alistair remained ignorant of the viper that had wrapped around his neck, poison leeching slowly into his bloodstream. Emyr sat in the dark, weighed down by secrets and truths he couldn’t reveal to the person closest to him. Letting them eat away at his heart and soul as they had Liliana. And it was time, not just to leave this peaceful territory, but to finally face the demon that terrorized her for almost a year now. To bring to an end the pain, death and blood that Imogen left in the wake of her every step.

She had everything she needed now. Almost more than she’d hoped to achieve when she set out on this suicidal quest. It was time to move the last piece into check, to end this twisted game she’d been playing. First as a pawn, pushed around by stronger forces, and now finally as a true player, moving the pieces around until she had the enemy queen trapped and the king in check. Liliana nodded and stood. Even as it felt like the grass was calling her, like the aura of this place was gripping tighter to her. As unwilling to let her leave as she was to go, but she took a step forward, regardless. Because even if her hate, her anger, was damped, her determination was not. And it burned through the invisible ropes holding her down.

Soft fur met her fingers as Polaris pressed to her side, matching her steps, and she felt through their irrevocable connection that he understood, and his determination fueled hers, building between them until it became something ferocious and undefeatable. Two halves of a single whole, united in a goal that didn’t need to be spoken, it was simply understood through a bond that goes deeper than blood and bone.

“Don’t let humans find this place,” Liliana told Minori, perhaps the last thing she’d ever say to the Kitsune.

It’s important, though, a burning truth, a pleading request. This place, it was pure. Untainted by the darkness that seems to lurk inside every human Liliana has met. This place is a sanctuary, and one that humans and other mortal beings would quickly taint and degrade, rotting it with their touches and wants and dark desires. Liliana had seen what humanity can do in this world and her last. The way they’ll take and take and take until there’s nothing but ash and dust left in their wake. And she knew humans can find this place, if the game spoke any truth.

“Never,” Minori told her, and her voice was once again world shattering, soul shredding as it raged through Liliana seconds before everything turned black.

Chapter 104: Shock Is One Hell Of A Drug

Liliana blinked, stumbling before falling to the ground as she looked around in mild confusion. Teleportation, of any kind, was quickly becoming her least favorite mode of transport. It was incredibly disorientating to be somewhere one second and the next to be somewhere else. It left her frighteningly vulnerable during the few seconds it took her brain to catch up and understand the shift in reality. Teleportation more than most forms of magic was inherently unnatural and the human brain wasn’t built to understand such swift changes easily.

It didn’t help that Minori had dropped them off, not where she’d found them, but at the very edge of the Frost Fang Mountains territory. A neigh alerted her to the fact that their ponies were there, though where they’d been this entire time Liliana hadn’t the slightest clue. Looking over at them she saw they were piled high with their equipment, and how that had happened was a conundrum Liliana wasn’t going to waste her brain power deducing. Powerful beasts were gods filled with black magic and chaos. Packing equipment simply fell under that chaotic black magic fuckery.

“Wha-?” a groan drew Liliana’s attention to Silas, who was sitting up, rubbing at his head and looking around in confusion.

“We got kidnapped by a Kitsune. I got the last ingredient, a new Bond, and she gave us a taxi ride to the edge of the mountains,” Liliana rattled off the facts as Silas blinked owlishly at her, obviously trying to comprehend just what in the ever loving hell had happened.

“Taxi?” Silas seemed to fixate on a single word out of everything she’d said and Liliana sighed.

“Teenager slang. She portaled us here with her nightmare inducing shadow movement skill bullshit,” Liliana clarified, and she paused. She was cursing a lot, even in her mind. Was this what it felt like to go into shock? Was she in shock? Yea. Maybe. That felt like a realistic thing to go through after meeting a Rank 1 beast.

“What happened to your hair?” Silas asked next, and Liliana wanted to huff. In fact, she indulged that wish. There were far more important questions to be asking right now. Was Silas going through shock too? Yea. Probably. Fuck, they were both going to need so much therapy after this trip. Did that exist in this world? Hadn’t she wondered that before? Why hadn’t she looked into th-Wait. Her hair?

Liliana grabbed her braid and yanked it over her shoulder, nearly dropping it in shock. Well, more shock than she was apparently experiencing right now. Twined through the dark black-blue locks were silvery streaks that shimmered like trapped moon beams under the rising dawn sunlight. Liliana blinked at it, mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to connect whatever dots were necessary to explain how she had gained a new hairstyle in the past twenty-four hours. Actually, the silver looked suspiciously similar to the silver markings on Polaris…

‘Took you awhile to notice that,’ Polaris’ voice rang out, full of amusement and a twinge of… pride. Yes, that was accurate, she decided as she felt out their connection. He was proud that their Bond left such an obvious marker on her. Liliana didn’t even have to wonder why it had made such a distinct change, and she suspected it wasn’t the only one. Their Bond was different from her other two, closer, stronger, deeper. They were two halves of one whole now, as if they’d ripped their souls in half and traded the pieces.

“You know what? It’s fine. This is fine. As long as I don’t grow tails and fluffy ears, it fine.” Liliana breathed, feeling manic laughter bubbling up in her chest.

It was so absurd. All of this, everything. She’d met a Rank 1 beast and been sort of adopted into Minori’s family, like a cousin-in-law that the matriarch didn’t really like, but dealt with because she loved her kid. She’d gotten the last thing she needed for her plan. Which meant everything from this point on was going to be laughably easy and in a week’s time she could sip tea while watching Imogen being taken out in chains. In light of all these facts, getting some new physical changes wasn’t that big of a deal.

She could consider it magical puberty. Growing pains. Some kids got body hair and pimples, she got silver hair and… fangs? Her tongue traced her teeth again as her Vitality quickly healed the cut on her lip she’d caused biting into it, not expecting her canines to be bigger and sharper than they’d been six hours ago. Two canines on the top, two on the bottom, were much larger than they’d been before, and razor sharp. Well, that would be useful if she ever needed to bite someone in a fight. Probably good for intimidation, and dammit, she was getting distracted again.

“We need to get home. I have no idea what day it is,” Liliana stated, standing, finally, as she realized that fact. She did not know how long they’d been in that odd ever spring space.

“We were there for two days,” Silas said immediately and Liliana paused, tilting her head in confusion as she looked at him.

“Time keeper skill, I’ll get you a scroll,” Silas said with a wave of his hand and Liliana sighed, tilting her head back.

“Fucking thank you.” She kept telling herself she’d get a time skill and continuously forgetting to do exactly that.

“Can we get back in less time than it took to get here?” she asked next and Silas brushed off his pants as he stood, he seemed to find his balance, physically and mentally, and he was settling back into the man she knew. Coldly, frighteningly, comfortingly efficient and competent. She needed one of them to have their head on straight, and it wasn’t her. That manic laughter was still bubbling in her throat and she was vaguely worried she might be going insane. Just a bit.

“How long can you go without sleep?” Silas asked her, serious, and Liliana didn’t think.

“However long it takes,” she told him, meaning it. She’d tie herself to the saddle if she needed to.

“Then let’s get our horses back. We’ll probably need to swap them out half-way but I know somewhere we can stop,” Silas told her and he swung himself onto his pony, Liliana mirroring his movements.

Polaris had stayed remarkably silent, but she had sensed him rummaging through her memories, getting himself up-to-date with what was going on. He’d gotten the abridged version earlier, but he was looking for the detailed version now and she let him. She knew instinctively if she didn’t want him to see something, he wouldn’t. She also knew he could keep up with them easily. Liliana hadn’t even checked his sheet yet, but she didn’t entirely feel a pressing need to. She had an understanding through their Bond of his power and limits. Which was scary, if she was being honest.

He was now her strongest Bond, far stronger than her. It was a power imbalance that would unsettle any other tamer. There was a reason many didn’t tame more than a Rank above themselves besides the fact many such beasts wouldn’t give a tamer so far beneath them the time of day. It was because of the blatant power imbalance. Bonding too powerful a beast could twist the tamer into the servant if they weren’t careful. But Liliana knew Polaris wouldn’t take advantage of his greater position, didn’t think he could. It would be like hurting himself. Their contract notwithstanding. They were so tightly bound anything he did to her would be like he was doing it to himself.

As they set off, Polaris took to the sky and Liliana let the sight take her breath away for a moment, enjoying the beauty of it. His wings were huge, a necessity to carry his weight, though Liliana didn’t doubt there was some magic helping keep him airborne. His tails worked like the tail feathers on a bird, helping to steer him in the sky. She sensed him using a Wind skill of some kind to aid his speed and she marked it down mentally. Wind, Dark, Light, Chaos. He had four affinities she knew. She also knew he focused mostly on Chaos and Wind, and she noted down to check out his sheets eventually during this ride back to the manor. Or when they got there.

For now, Liliana was trying to get her scattered thoughts in some sort of order. As it was, she was struggling to keep one train of thought going. Her thoughts felt flimsy, as if a single sigh would scatter them to the four winds.

It took an embarrassing long time for her shock to fade; they had changed back to their original horses, and the sun had shifted to late afternoon by the time she felt her thoughts solidly enough for her to grasp onto and for the manic laughter to stop bubbling. It had slipped out several times, causing Silas to look at her with growing concern. Which was fair. If she thought to the person who she’d thrown her chips in with suddenly went off her rocker, she’d be a smidgen worried as well. But it was fine. She was fine.

When her mind felt like it could actually handle higher thought processes, Liliana began to plot. She already had plans in place, of course. But she needed to be sure, and Polaris was a new variable she needed to account for. He would be an asset, though thinking of him in such a clinical way made her feel ill.

He wasn’t just an asset; he was Polaris. Still, he meant that her father would be proud again, probably as close to glee as the man could get. Liliana wasn’t entirely sure her father was actually capable of emotions, not in the way normal people were. She wondered if he’d been born that way, or if it was a skill. He had an Ice affinity, so perhaps he’d found a way to actually freeze his heart?

Regardless of her father’s heart’s frozen or otherwise status, he would be proud and gleeful. Polaris was a good addition to her repertoire of beasts. That’s what he’d see, and Polaris wasn’t strong enough to be a threat to her father. Which meant Liliana would still be something her father thought he could use, which was another good thing.

The player never thought the pawn could turn against them. Never thought the pawn might be the one slowly manipulating their moves, rather than the other way around. And once her step-mother was taken care of, her father would be probably as close to desperate as Liliana would ever see. Their family’s reputation would take a hit, and he’d need every scrap of power he could amass. But Liliana’s power would be at an all-time high.

She’d have physical power, far more than she really had a right to, not at her level and age. Which meant others would be paying attention. She’d revealed enough of her hand now that no one would doubt her status as a child prodigy and that meant no matter her blood status, she was going to be an asset. Someone others would want on their side, not against them.

Nobles in this world didn’t survive if they couldn’t play the long game, and anyone with a brain could see that if Liliana had this much power at the age of fourteen, she’d be all the more powerful when she became an adult. They’d understand she’d be a major player in this queendom.

Then there was the power she’d gain by having the royal families favor. Which would be guaranteed after what she did. Getting rid of Imogen was fully selfish. Revenge thinly veiled in justice. Justice she was only employing because it was more logical to let the law take care of this than to risk her safety taking matters into her own hands more than she already was. She could kill Imogen easily if she was being bluntly honest. She was stronger than her stepmother now. Imogen might be at a higher level, barely. But she wasn’t a higher level than Liliana’s Bonds.

Killing her would be so easy. Liliana had considered it daily, multiple times. She had planned out Imogen’s murder 135 times, envisioned it so clearly she could feel the woman’s blood soaking into her clothes, the coppery flavor of it on her tongue.

But if she killed Imogen, she’d be the criminal then. No one would bother to look deeply into Imogen’s crimes once she was dead. They’d just care that Liliana had killed her, and Liliana would be alive and therefore available to be prosecuted for a crime. And all those people interested in her for her power would see it as the perfect excuse to rid themselves of a future threat. Because they’d know, as much as she could eventually become an asset for them, so too could she become a threat.

So no, this plan, while being less viscerally pleasing, was the best for her future. She’d tie her father tightly to her, flipping the power dynamic in one smooth move he wouldn’t even see happening until it was too late. She’d gain the royal family’s favor. Providing them with a leash with which to hang the Rosengarde duchy by whenever they so chose.

She was certain while searching for evidence on the assassination attempts they’d find something on her father. And it would be so much better to hold that information for future blackmail rather than to completely remove the Rosengarde duchy. That would cause too much instability in their queendom, chaos that would need time and energy to fix and balance again. Time during which they could easily be invaded and, with their biggest military duchy down and in shambles, they’d fall. No, it would be better to turn the duchy into the Queen’s dog.

Watching all the power her father had worked so hard to gain slip through his fingers like water would be utterly delicious. Nothing would hurt him more than that. Power was the only language that man understood, the only thing he cared about. And Liliana would tear it away from him piece by piece, slowly, so he felt every cut with agonizing clarity. She’d ruin him and everything he’d ever worked towards. And when he was at his lowest, she’d take the last thing from him. She’d have him removed as the duke.

She didn't much care who took the place after him, as long as it wasn’t her. Liliana would like Alistair to take it, but it depended on how he swung after his mother was arrested. She could predict a lot, to an extent. But not emotional reactions, those were hard even with [Empathy]. Emotions like love made people do reckless, stupid things. She knew that well.

If Alistair was unfit for whatever reason, Silas would be a good replacement. She thought having him ennobled wouldn’t be too big a favor to ask of the Queen, and they’d have a good excuse. They could claim they didn’t want the blood of traitors sitting in the seat of such power. It would be a beautiful power move on the Queen’s part, asserting to the nobles that whatever power they had was simply a gift from the royal family that could be given to someone else at her discretion and whims.

And Liliana thought it would have a poetic justice to it. Her father wanted Rosengarde blood to remain in control of the duchy so badly he’d married a woman and had a blood ritual initiated to ensure that Alistair’s very DNA was changed to hold Rosengarde blood. To have all of that end in naught and to have someone of pure commoner blood controlling the duchy. Oh, he’d hate it.

As they rode, Liliana resisted the urge to tilt her head back and cackle like the villain she was trying not to be. Though she had to admit to herself, she didn’t think she could ever be considered a hero. But she found that thought didn’t sting as much as it might have once upon a time. Her innocent naivety that had believed there was very clearly right and wrong, that had made her see the world in black and white, had faded entirely. Slowly washed away by this world where good and evil didn’t exist. There was only the powerful, and the powerless, and it was the powerful that dictated the rules. That gave out the labels of ‘hero’ and ‘villain’.

Liliana’s moral code was shifting. She could almost feel her moral compass’ needle spinning wildly in her chest as it tried to find her new north. She knew soon it would settle, and she thought perhaps her new north would be something that would’ve terrified a younger her. A girl who hadn’t seen dull brown eyes staring at her as she tried to shove Mana into a lifeless body that had died drinking poison meant for her. A version of her who hadn’t seen a grove of serpents rotting away because of stupid superstition. A girl who hadn’t reached willingly for a dark entity when the assassin sent by her stepmother had snuck into her room and plunged a dagger towards her heart she couldn't stop.

That girl was gone, dead and buried under the cold cruelty of this world. Perhaps that girl had died back in the void and Liliana had simply been clinging to a ghost. A ghost that had lived in a world that afforded the luxury of clean morals and a black and white viewpoint. A world that shielded people from the atrocities humanity was capable of, no matter what the news showed daily.

Yes, her morals were shifting as the world merged into shades of gray.

Chapter 105: Divine Intervention

Returning to the manor was filled with far less fanfare than Liliana thought it deserved. Silas and she arrived through the front, rather than sneaking back in. She had a cover she needed to follow, however little it would matter for much longer.

She knew her plans meant no one knew truly what she had done, knew what she was going to do. But such a momentous event should deserve something more than servants glancing away from her and guards nodding their heads, bored. No one knew that within her storage sat the smoking gun she needed to end this cursed game. No one here even knew the game that they were all playing in.

Liliana wondered if they’d know when it was all over. Would they all realize what had happened, truly? Would they pick at the strands of the web that had been wrapped around all of them? Following them to the tangled and twisted center where Imogen sat like a spider. Or would they all remain ignorant, willfully or otherwise?

Liliana frowned down in annoyance at the skirts of her dress as she dismounted. She’d had to put it on before they came back, Liliana slipping into the part of a proper noble daughter. It itched now, more than ever before. This mask was one she’d happily throw away when everything was said and done. As much as the corset restricted her movements and breath, so too did this mask seem to restrict her. Forcing her to follow rules that felt like they were slowly choking her.

Liliana waved a hand at the guards before she entered the manor, her eyes drawn to the sparkling decoration on her wrist. A soul stone that was tinted black and silver with streaks of blue shot through like highlights. She knew the observant among the guards and servants would see it, notice the silver in her hair. Would wonder, question, and gossip.

Liliana didn’t want to reveal her hand yet, though. So she let them ponder without answering the unasked questions as she followed familiar paths to her room. It was late, night having fallen. It meant Liliana was unlikely to run across anyone, which was best. She had precious little time left before the Inquisitors came and she’d need every last second to get the final pieces in play. Not stopping to even sleep meant they had come back in four and a half days, leaving her just over two to get everything ready.

Liliana was exhausted. She’d had to resort to tying herself to the saddle so she wouldn’t fall off and so she could steal a few hours of sleep here or there, but it was never enough. Her body begged for sleep, but she denied it as she opened the door to her room. She didn’t have time to sleep. She’d sleep when it was all over. Liliana froze for a moment as she stood on the threshold of her room. It was dark inside, no fire lit and bone-chillingly cold. Memories crashed into her, of the hundreds of times she’d opened these doors before, to see a roaring fire in the hearth and Astrid sitting in her favorite chair, sewing, knitting, or working on some project or another. She’d turn every time Liliana opened the door and smile at her. Wide and relieved and so full of love it would make Liliana’s heart ache in the best kind of way.

Now the room sat empty and dark. Astrid’s favorite chair was barren. It was cleaner than before, when half the furniture had been demolished by either the guards or her tames. Somehow Astrid’s chair had survived and now it sat alone, in the same place it had always been. Liliana felt her breath catch in her throat and a sound, half whine, half sob, choked out of her mouth.

Astrid would never again greet Liliana after a trip. Never again would Astrid wait and worry for her to return home. Never again would she see Astrid’s warm, love filled smile. She would never fall into Astrid’s arms when the world got to be too much for Liliana to handle on her own.

A warm, heavy hand dropped onto Liliana’s shoulder, and she didn’t have to look to know who it was. Her eyes closed, and she felt her body shake, from exhaustion or from despair she wasn’t sure. Both emotions had mixed so fully in her she could no longer tell where one began and the other ended.

“She’s gone,” Liliana whispered, words full of far too much pain for how quiet they were.

“Yes,” Silas confirmed, and his own voice was filled with that same pain.

Liliana turned and threw herself into Silas’ body. The man’s arms wrapped around her, far less hesitant that they’d been the first time. His hug wasn’t the same as Astrid’s, didn’t heal all the pain digging in her chest like acid coated barbed wire. But it was warm, it held love, and it made her feel safe. It wasn’t what she wanted, what she needed, but it was enough.

Silas held her tightly as time passed around them. Both standing in the threshold of her rooms, as if there was a barrier blocking them from entering. Liliana could feel tears falling, hear her pitiful sobs as she buried her face deep into Silas’ chest, but Silas didn’t complain. Even when she knew she was ruining his shirt with her tears and snot, he didn’t push her off, just kept his arms tight around her, offering her the comfort she needed and the safety she desperately craved.

Liliana pulled back when the sobs faded and her tears ran dry. She rubbed at her face, sniffling weakly as she tried to clear her tear swollen and exhaustion heavy eyes. She looked up at Silas and saw pain carved deep into his skin, adding lines to a face that had once seemed timeless to her. But she could see care warming his eyes, even as grief still swirled in them.

“She’s gone, but we’re not,” Silas told her, his gruff voice holding a hidden message as it so often did.

Liliana nodded, feeling that hate and rage that had been forged into a weapon inside of her, filling her body with determination. He was right. Astrid was gone, and nothing she did would ever change that. But Liliana was still here. She was still alive, and able to make a change. Able to get the revenge that was long overdue.

“Okay,” Liliana said, her voice hoarse but stronger than it had been.

She nodded her head again decisively before turning and taking a deep breath. First one foot, then another, and she crossed the threshold into her room. Liliana tried to not look at the floor, tried not to see Astrid’s cold body lying there, tried not to let memories of that day take over her mind. It was hard, nearly impossible, and Liliana ran more than walked to her bedroom, fleeing memories and ghosts that haunted her sitting room.

When Liliana entered her bedroom, she breathed a sigh of relief, glad she hadn’t been dragged back to that day. She could feel it hovering at the edges of her mind, the grief and flashbacks. Ready to grab her and pull her back under crashing black waves until she hit the bottom and drowned in her depression and guilt. But she couldn’t let it. Not now. She had revenge to get, lives to ruin.

Maybe when it was all over, she would finally let herself grieve, truly grieve and surrender to the pain. For now, though, she shoved those painful feelings down deep, locking them in a weak box so she could focus on what had to be done.

“What can I do?” Silas asked from behind her and Liliana wasn’t surprised. She thought perhaps besides his care, there was the fear of returning to his empty home. Where he’d be left alone, surrounded by the pain and memories that always seemed to lurk in the dark.

“Guard my room. I don’t want anyone coming in unless it’s Emyr. And I need you to deliver something to my father. No one else can see it,” Liliana stated, slipping into the cold, calculated mindset that had steered her so well these past weeks.

She walked to her desk, noting that her bedroom had been cleaned as well. Her bedframe had been repaired from when Lelantos had broken it by lying on it. As she sat down, she wrote out a simple note. She couldn’t have her father summoning her right now. Once she started, she couldn’t afford to be taken away from her plans. Even a single second lost could be catastrophic.

Rank 4.

Liliana was ready to send it off when she paused and stood. She moved to her vanity and rifled through her jewelry box. She snorted when she saw that some things had been stolen. Small trinkets, earrings, rings. Worth more than some of the servants probably made in six months. She moved back to her desk and wrote a second line.

There are thieves among the servants you sent me.

Liliana handed the note to Silas and stood once more as he left. She shook her head when she wondered who had been so dumb as to steal from her. Perhaps they thought her father did not favor her enough to care if her things were taken, or perhaps they thought her too weak and shy to bring up such things. They’d be wrong on both counts, especially now. Her father would want to please her, now that she’d secured herself as his golden goose. A Rank 7 having a Rank 4 Bond? Unheard of. Unfathomable. Impossible.

Sometimes Liliana forgot her own level, her strength was beyond that of others on the same level and her Bonds sometimes gave her a skewed idea of her own strength. It’d been so long since she’d had a chance to level, too. She knew that was normal, but she’d felt like she’d spent most of her time fighting something. To have gone so long without a fight left her feeling jumpy.

Perhaps once this was done, she could go out. Her father had her signed up for that dungeon, she could level there. She still had another Rank to jump up to. She wanted to get to Rank 6 by the time she got to the Academy. Though whatever she wanted to prove via strength was unnecessary, considering her Bonds. But what if she was without them for some reason? Liliana didn’t relish being weak, being protected. All the protection in the manor hadn’t saved Astrid. It wouldn’t save her either.

She loved her Bonds, trusted them with her life, her innermost thoughts, her soul. But she knew at the end of the day the only person who she could really depend on when it came down to it was herself. Having Bonds hadn’t stopped an assassin from nearly killing her. No, only the power offered by a dark entity had done that. And she wouldn't have that fall back ever again. No matter how tempting it was.

I could kill Imogen tonight. Right this second. And my father, all in one fell swoop. A dark voice whispered to Liliana. and a part of her wanted to accept that offer. Wanted to end this entire thing right now. No more plots, no more plans, no more pain. Just blood on her hands and vengeance achieved.

An image filled her mind. So realistic it felt more like a fresh memory rather than the product of an overactive imagination, it played out before her mind’s eye.

Liliana summoned the pendant from the ring it had been stored in and placed it around her neck.

‘I’m ready to make a deal,’ she spoke out, her voice so cold, so empty of anything but hate and rage.

‘I knew you’d call to me. You’re so dark and twisted inside. This was inevitable. You finally stopped denying who you really are.’ The voice slithered through her ears and into her mind. Liliana shuddered as she felt the being all around her, seeing the dark power pouring out of the pendant and surrounding her.

‘What do you ask of me?’ the voice asked her.

‘Vengeance. Kill my stepmother and father,’ she said, her voice almost cracking under the weight of the hate she placed on every single word.

‘My price is access and a favor. After you achieve your revenge, you will let me have control of your body for twenty-four hours. After that I will ask you for a favor one day, no matter the request you will fulfil it whatever is asked of you.’ the voice told her and Liliana nodded without hesitation.

‘I agree,’ she spoke and as the last syllable left her lips, power flooded in, filling her until she thought she’d explode.

That familiar feeling of pain and ecstasy turned her mind white, no thoughts available as her body vibrated with the power it barely could contain. Liliana wasn’t sure if she screamed or not. The sensation leveled out as the power stopped flooding her body and she blinked, able to see once more now that her sense weren’t scrambled. The entity had left her in control of her body this time, and she grinned as she held out a hand, flexing her fist. She could almost see the power surging under her skin.

‘Liliana?’ a voice called out, hesitant and with a tinge of fear. Her head whipped around, and her eyes pinned Emyr to the spot as he looked at her. Liliana knew the power of filling her must have some kind of effect on her appearance because Emyr’s eyes were filling with fear the longer he looked at her.

‘W-Wh-What are you doing?” Emyr asked, his voice weak. Liliana had never seen him so scared before. Even when they faced Nemesis, he hadn’t been this terrified. And Liliana found she… liked his fear. Enjoyed how it tasted on her tongue.

‘I’m ending this right now. They thought me weak, thought they could hurt me again and again with no repercussions. I’ll show them what happens when you push someone too far.’ Liliana’s voice was awful to hear, both male and female at once, high and low and twisted. It hurt the ears and Emyr winced. Fear was rolling off him in waves now, but Liliana watched his spine straighten.

‘I won’t let you do this,’ Emyr told her, determination mixing with the fear in his voice.

‘You can’t stop me,’ Liliana informed him, voice holding no emotion. She was stating a simple fact.

Emyr didn’t respond, just rushed at her, summoning shadows and fire as he went. Liliana held up a hand, and his body was thrown back into a wall. She heard bones breaking as he cried out in pain. Liliana walked to him slowly, like a hunter stalking its prey. She stopped when her outstretched hand wrapped around his throat. Fire and shadows lashed out at her ineffectually. Her hand flexed slightly around his throat and she noted how weak his flesh felt.

It would be so easy. So easy to kill him.

She could….

Liliana shook herself out of the too vivid day dream, stumbling as horror filled her. Her stomach rolled, and she barely grabbed the rubbish bin in time to catch the vomit that came out of her as she tried to expel the feelings within her. She heaved until there was nothing left in her stomach and still her body tried to rid itself of the horror that had turned her blood to acid in her veins, burning her with the possibility of what she could’ve become. When her heaving stopped, Liliana wiped her mouth and sat back.

She ripped the ring off her finger and summoned Polaris. Liliana tossed the ring to the fox, and he caught it easily in his mouth. She didn’t need to speak. He saw the daydream in her mind, knew what she wanted. It was for the best, as she didn’t think she could talk right now, anyway. Her throat burned painfully, and she doubted she’d get anything past it. He knew she wanted that ring far from her, hidden somewhere no one would ever find it. And he knew she wanted him to hide the location from her, so she could never be tempted by it again. The risk was too great and truthfully; she didn’t trust herself.

‘I’ll return in time for the plan,’ Polaris promised her as he walked to the doors to the courtyard and, with help from some wind, he opened them, jumping into the night sky where his form quickly disappeared.

Vita, or whichever god sent that. And the dreams. Thank you. Liliana let off a mental prayer. The daydream had been a bit too vivid, a bit too real, to have simply been something birthed by her mind. It held the same feeling as her dreams from when she wore the pendant, though she couldn’t remember those too well. She remembered how they made her feel. And already she could feel the specifics of the daydream fading. It was obvious meddling, and Liliana would be more angry if she wasn’t so grateful that whoever had sent them had stopped her from becoming that.

Liliana stood, shaking off the vestiges of the daydream, though the horror lingered. She’d never become that, not now that the pendant was gone. And she didn’t have time to let the horror take over her again.

She had to begin the last phase of her plans.

Chapter 106: Exhausted Confessions

Liliana took a step back and wiped the sweat dripping down her face off. Before her was a bubbling cauldron and a multitude of glass and metal contraptions that made alchemy and potion making possible. Every last item was in use, distilling, boiling, drying, or containing processed ingredients. Everything was almost ready. She just had to begin the process of combining it all.

“We get one shot at this,” Liliana said softly.

Nemesis hissed softly from her perch on Liliana’s shoulder and not for the first time she wished her Bond had hands. It would’ve made this process far easier, as it was. She had barely twenty-four hours left before the Inquisitors came, and the potion needed twelve to make. She was lucky, so lucky, that this wasn’t a potion that took longer to make. Some took a month or more to make. For how rare this one it was comparatively easy to brew, it was just acquiring the ingredients that were the hard part.

“Do you need some help?” a voice called out and Liliana startled, turning around and turning to face the intruder.

Her naginata was in her hand before she finished the movement, her recent experiences and lack of sleep making her both jumpy and trigger-happy. She blinked in surprise when she registered who it was that she’d pressed the blade of her weapon to. Slowly lowering the weapon from Emyr’s neck, Liliana took a deep, calming breath.

“I’m going to sew bells into your clothes so you stop sneaking up on me,” Liliana threatened, as she shoved her weapon back in her storage.

“Normally I can’t,” Emyr shrugged as he stepped closer, his expression conflicted. Liliana couldn’t hold his gaze for long. The sympathy and pain that were so clear in his steel eyes threatened to unlock the box she’d exiled her painful emotions to.

“You didn’t even come say hello, I was worried,” Emyr’s voice sounded hurt and Liliana turned from him, her shoulders raising protectively.

“I didn’t have the time,” Liliana said, voice sharp and defensive.

“I know, just. It would’ve been nice to know you were alive,” Emyr said softly and Liliana shook her head, trying to shove the guilt his words summoned away.

“Has she made any moves?” Liliana asked, diverting the conversation.

“None that I could see. She’s lying low. Probably didn’t want to chance making a move and not having time to destroy the evidence.” Emyr said, stepping back and giving Liliana the space she needed to breathe. Liliana sucked against her teeth in annoyance. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, but it would’ve been easier if Imogen made a mistake this close to the Inquisitors coming.

“Did you find anything?” Liliana asked next, knowing that Emyr wouldn’t have been able to resist snooping, and unlike her, he wouldn’t be defeated by a locked drawer.

“No, she’s done a good job of covering her tracks. There was nothing in her room that would tie her to anything she’s done.” Emyr sounded angry at that, and Liliana knew he felt guilty.

Spying was his skill set, getting information others didn’t want him to have. But he was still a child and Imogen had been playing this game longer than either of them had been alive.

“That’s fine, it doesn’t change the plan,” Liliana said, and she stepped towards her setup, grabbing the first thing she’d need. Water from the Seeker’s Spring.

“Let’s get this started. We only have twenty-four hours to get everything in place. You remember what I told you to do?” Liliana asked as she dumped the water into the cauldron.

“Yes,” Emyr said and Liliana sighed in relief. Without another word, they began to work, Emyr handing her what she needed, using hands and shadows to aid her.

Liliana slumped to the ground before falling onto her back with a heave of air tinged with relief, anticipation, and exhaustion. It was done. They just had to let the potion simmer for the next eight hours, then they could bottle it and it’d be ready. Liliana let out a little, mania tinged, giggle. She couldn’t believe it. Weeks of struggle, months of pain and suffering, it was about to be over. As soon as this time tomorrow, Imogen could be in chains and being dragged out of the manor to face punishment for her crimes. It was almost over.

Emyr sat next to her and Liliana tilted her head, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his eyes. She wondered if he’d been sleeping since she’d left, or if the weight of the many secrets she’d revealed to him had kept him up at night. Had he begun suffering from his own nightmares, as she did? Were his nights filled with monsters wearing Imogen’s face, their clawed hands stained a sickening crimson?

“Have you talked to Alistair?” Liliana asked as she picked at her nails. They were torn and ugly, filled with dirt and the edges ragged. Astrid would’ve scolded her for them, but she wasn’t here now to do so.

“No… I… I haven’t been able to face him. He knows something is wrong, but how can I look him in the face and pretend everything is alright when it isn’t?” Emyr looked down at his own hands and his shoulders were slumped, his voice sounding so heartbroken and desperate. Liliana wished she had an answer for his question, but she didn’t. There was no guidebook for how to tell your brother or your best friend that their mother was a murderous psychotic bitch.

“Is it really best? To not tell him? It’s going to hurt him so much when he finds out,” Emyr sounded so small as he asked, looking at Liliana with tortured eyes.

“Can you guarantee he won’t confront his mother? Ruin the plans? Can you look me in the eye and promise me that Imogen won’t turn on her son if he confronts her? That she won’t kill him? Or worse, that he won’t take her side?” Liliana asked him. Her words were harsh, but her tone was tired and sad. These were things she’d thought too, spent hours considering the possibility. Because she didn’t want to lie to Alistair, didn’t want to hurt him.

“She’s been manipulating him his entire life. He might not have come out of it with as many bruises and scars as I did, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t abuse him as well. She twisted his mind and emotions to suit her whims, to make him dependent on her. She spent years molding him so that when he gained the dukedom, he’d be her puppet. You don’t just break away from something like that in a night, or even in months. It takes years to undo that kind of conditioning and damage,” Liliana sat up and sighed heavily, feeling an uncomfortable weight on her shoulders. The weight of choices and knowledge that no fourteen-year-old should have to bear. Yet she did.

“I just…” Emyr trailed off, sounding so anguished Liliana could feel her heart breaking for him.

“You love him, and you want to protect him,” Liliana finished for him. A small ghost of a smile flitted across her face as Emyr turned to her in surprise, his eyes almost comically large.

“How did you know?” Emyr asked, and Liliana snorted, shaking her head.

“You two aren’t half as subtle as you think you are. He followed us in the middle of the night because he thought we were having a tryst, and I know sure as hell it wasn’t because he was worried about me.” Liliana teased lightly as she propped and arm on her knee and her chin in her palm.

To be fair to Emyr and Alistair, it had taken her a while to put the pieces together. Romance had never been an interest of hers, and she had never experienced it personally. Never had a chance to. To be fair to her, while the game had allowed romance options between the playable characters, it had only been straight relationships. It had been a constant request by the community to allow same-sex relationships, but the developers had never added the option. She couldn’t say why they made that choice, when it was obvious now to her in hindsight that Emyr had always been hopelessly in love with Alistair, even in the game.

At least for all the bad things she could say about this world, they didn’t frown upon same-sex relationships. It was a rather progressive society, if you discounted the whole class system.

“So have you two made it official or…?” Liliana trailed off. She wasn’t sure why she was trying to dig into Emyr and Alistair’s relationship. If they even had one after what they were about to do. But it was easier to ask about this kind of thing than to focus on what was about to happen. It made her feel like a normal teenager talking to her friend about romance and crushes and boyfriends. She had never gotten that before, and perhaps she just craved an experience she’d missed out on.

“What?! No! Of course not! He would never…” Emyr was flustered, probably for the first time Liliana had ever seen him as he waved his arms around, his face darkened by his blush.

“Oh please, he’s in love with you too.” Liliana waved her free hand in the air, as if shooing away Emyr’s protests.

“How could I ever compare to someone like him? He’s like… like the sun. And I’m just the shadow that follows after his light,” Emyr said, ducking his head and hiding behind his teal hair as if it would shield him from this conversation.

“Did you just compare my brother to the sun? Ugh, I feel sick,” Liliana made an exaggerated, disgusted face that earned her a shove from Emyr that sent her toppling over.

“I’m sure he’s got some sappy disgusting description for you as well. Just kiss and figure it out or whatever,” Liliana said as she righted herself.

“Anyone ever tell you, you’re awful at romance advice?” Emyr asked her, and Liliana shrugged.

“It’s not like I have a list of suitors to figure it out with myself. I’ve never done anything like this either. If you want romantic advice, maybe you should ask Silas. Or your siblings. I’m sure they have experience,” Liliana told him. A shadow fell over them both, stalling anymore conversation as Liliana tilted her head up to look. She hadn’t even really noticed it was day, but now dark wings obscured the sun and Liliana waved lazily as Emyr jumped to his feet, shadows whipping around him as he got ready to fight the threat.

“Sit down. It’s just Polaris,” Liliana chided as the Kitsune circled above them, slowly descending until he landed lightly before Liliana.

‘It’s done,’ Polaris told her, and Liliana slumped in relief, feeling tears prickling in her eyes. Good. Good. The amulet was gone now, forever. She’d never have a chance to falter like that again. She’d never become a person who could kill her friends.

“Polaris?!” Emyr asked and Liliana nodded as Polaris padded to her, sitting in front of her and fixing Emyr with his unblinking gaze.

Nemesis hissed from her shoulder and Liliana realized this was the first time the serpent had met her newest Bond, though she knew of Polaris through their connection. With a tap, Liliana summoned Lelantos, and the tiger yawned before freezing, staring at Polaris.

‘Still weak,’ Polaris told Emyr, causing the boy to jump when he heard the Kitsune talk for the first time, but Polaris had already turned his attention to Lelantos. The two approached each other, their noses touching lightly as they sniffed at one another.

‘I’m stronger now!’ Polaris said with a happy yip. The two were off, chasing each other around the courtyard, carefully avoiding the section set aside for alchemy.

“He can talk?” Emyr asked, dropping to the ground in a heap of shocked limbs.

“You should meet his mom,” Liliana muttered as she watched her Bond for a moment. She felt Nemesis slithering off her and watched as she shifted as she moved, growing to her full size to join the games. Liliana watched for a few more minutes before laying back against the hard ground, closing her eyes as she felt the sun wash over her. She was so tired.

“I don’t want to know. You’re a fucking magnet for trouble and powerful creatures. Is it a talent? A boon?” Emyr muttered beside her and Liliana snorted in amusement. Oh, how she wished, she was just born unlucky, apparently.

“Wake me up in like seven hours,” Liliana told Emyr, mentally repeating the order to Polaris. With how tired Emyr was, she wasn’t confident he wasn’t about to pass out too.

“You can’t just leave me alone with them! They’ll use me as a chew toy!” Emyr hissed at her and Liliana waved a hand in the air.

“Shhh,” she mumbled. Emyr let out a mixture of a frustrated growl and shriek, but it went unheard as Liliana had already fallen asleep.

An hour later saw both children lying on the ground, a large tiger curled around them, surrounded by serpentine coils and vulpine eyes watching closely as the beasts guarded the children during their desperately needed slumber. It would be time soon enough for them to awaken and face the horrors and pain of the world, but for now they could rest safely, protected and guarded while at their most vulnerable.

Chapter 107: The Final Play

Liliana tapped her fingers against her side, nervous energy seeking an outlet. Her other hand was buried deep in silky, dark fur. She went over the plan in her head again, then went over the contingencies she’d made.

“You remember your part?” Liliana asked Emyr, who nodded. In his hands he held a small glass bottle holding clear liquid. They’d been able to make five potions from the materials Liliana had gathered. They’d only need one for this, but the extras would be good for the future.

“Can you do it?” Liliana asked, not for the first time today.

“I slip it into the tea. Easy enough,” Emyr said softly and Liliana shook her head. That wasn’t what she meant, not this time.

“No, can you do this, Emyr? There’s no turning back,” Liliana told him, voice solemn. If he pulled out of this, Liliana wouldn’t judge him.

His actions would mean that Alistair would lose his mother forever. Liliana would never hold it against Emyr if he couldn’t do this. He’d be betraying his best friend. It was selfish that Liliana was even asking this much of him. But this was the best plan, with the fewest chances of failure. If she had to do it herself, the chances of it failing raised.

“Lili, I told you. You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to do this alone, don’t have to fight your battles by yourself. I can do this,” Emyr told her, meeting her worried sapphire eyes with his steel toned ones. And while Liliana could see the sadness darkening them, she could see too the determination making his eyes truly look like they were made of the steel they so resembled.

“Okay, Em. Okay. Then let’s start.” Liliana took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she steadied herself. She made sure the emotions she’d locked up had no chance of escaping, not today. Fear and nervous anticipation filled her, lashing against her mental walls and filling her blood with adrenaline that begged her to fight or run.

Today. It all ended today. This twisted civil war waged in the dark of night and in the shadowed halls of this manor would finally end today.

Liliana opened her eyes, her back straightening and shoulders pushed back as her head raised. She reached out her free hand and pushed her door open. Emyr slipped out, vanishing into the shadows. Liliana followed after a heartbeat, feet knowing the familiar path she needed them to tread. Polaris walked at her side, steadying her nerves and keeping the servants from approaching too closely as they passed them by.

‘So, this is your home? Where are the flowers? The grass? The sunlight?’ Polaris asked, as his head swung around, taking in everything.

“Humans generally live in houses. Most aren’t this large, and most don’t have many plants inside,” Liliana explained distractedly. She knew Polaris was trying to ease her worries by giving her something else to focus on, but she just couldn’t keep her mind from running through her plans again and again. Liliana paused, her feet frozen before the door to the entrance of the manor, where they’d be greeting the Inquisitors.

‘It’ll work. And if something goes wrong, I can just eat her instead,’ Polaris murmured into her mind, and it was almost enough to bring a smile to Liliana’s face. With Polaris, his comment could be a joke or an earnest offer. He truly could eat Imogen if he felt like it. She wasn’t strong enough to fight him. It would create its own host of problems if he did, but it would technically solve Imogen trying to kill her. Except, afterwards, there would be more people trying to kill her.

Liliana opened the door and went to stand in the foyer. She was early, but that was fine. The more she was seen out and about, and not messing with Imogen’s tea, the better. No one would suspect Emyr, though they should. But many forgot he was even around, and even less would ever think he’d have a reason to slip something into Imogen’s tea. The legality of what they were going to do was a gray area, and therefore, the fewer people who knew what they were doing, the better.

“Lili!” a voice called in greeting, and Liliana turned to see her brother enter. He looked good, far better than she. Sleep seemed to come easy to him, something Liliana was jealous of. Despite her nap, she knew she still had dark circles and bags under her eyes.

“You didn’t come greet me when you came home,” Alistair said, his voice holding a tinge of hurt that Liliana tried not to feel guilty over. She’d have enough to feel guilty over soon. She struggled to keep her face clear of the emotions rising inside of her, but based on how Alistair offered her a hug, she wasn’t sure she succeeded.

“I missed you,” Alistair whispered into her hair, and Liliana had to close her eyes to restrain the tears that were trying to fill her eyes.

She didn’t know if she wanted to push him away or pull him closer, to absorb what was likely the last bit of affection she’d get from him. Would she ever get a hug from him again? Ever hear him call her ‘Lili’ again? Was she being selfish for taking this hug with what she was planning? With what she’d already set into motion?

Liliana’s arms wrapped tightly around Alistair, holding him to her, as she decided she could be selfish for a few minutes.

“You look like shit,” Alistair told her as he pulled back, grabbing her face between two warm hands and shifting it around as he examined her. Liliana’s nose scrunched, something that brought a small smile to Alistair’s face, even worry practically oozed from his eyes as he looked her over. She knew she didn’t look good, even with how she’d been avoiding looking in mirrors. She didn’t need to see the pain she felt inside of her reflected in her mirror image.

She knew she had lost weight, her clothes hanging off of her more each day. Her body needed more calories. Energy had to come from somewhere, and the easiest place to get it was food. If she didn’t use her Stamina she didn’t need as much food, but when she used it up she needed more food than a normal Unawakened person did, and she’d been using her Stamina often for the past several weeks. But despite that, her appetite hadn’t recovered to where it’d been before the incident.

Her face was pale, her cheekbones looking too sharp without the fat on her face to balance. Her eyes were surrounded in bruise like dark circles and heavy bags. Even her hair had lost its luster. But Liliana didn’t have the time to treat it in the oils and other things Astrid used, nor to brush it as much as the woman had. And her father had not yet sent her a new lady’s maid to replace Astrid, not that she wanted one. She didn’t want to feel like Astrid could be so easily replaced.

So yes, she knew she looked awful. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when she had so many other things to focus on. And Alistair seemed to pick that up, based on how his face fell when she didn’t respond to his jibe, the way his golden eyes darkened with a deep sorrow that made her want to cry. She didn’t deserve her brother’s sadness, his empathy, his care. Not when she would be the reason he lost his mother today.

“You got a new Bond,” Alistair said as his hands fell from her face and he took a step back.

“Polaris,” Liliana offered, hardly trusting her voice to say much more. Not trusting herself to keep her plans secret. If she spoke too much, she was afraid Alistair would hear the betrayal in her tone, or worse. She’d confess every plan and sin she had underneath her brother’s searching golden gaze.

“The fox from before? Didn’t Emyr say he was red? And like level 20?” Alistair asked, surprise coloring his tone and face as he looked over the Kitsune sitting and Liliana’s side, his wings held tightly to his back to avoid accidentally knocking a vase or statue over.

‘I drank a lot of milk,’ Polaris’ snarky response came out and Alistair’s mouth dropped open as he started at the talking Kitsune.

“He can talk?!” Alistair asked.

‘I even do tricks! Wanna see?’ Polaris asked, standing and grinning at Alistair, his long, sharp teeth barred in a mimicry of a human smile.

“Polaris, he’s my brother,” Liliana chided softly.

‘He was mean to you, before,’ Polaris huffed, sitting back down, though his tails flicked behind him, showing his irritation. He was likely feeding off her emotions, which were a confusing tangle for even her to sort through.

“Yes, well, he apologized, and I love him. So don’t bite him, please,” Liliana asked. ‘Not even if he hates me and turns against me after today,’ was left unspoken, but she knew Polaris heard it through their connection.

Thankfully, Liliana was spared from having to continue to convince her newest Bond to not attack her brother by Emyr’s arrival. Alistair didn’t have time to greet his friend because her father arrived seconds after. Liliana could easily see the hurt and furtive glances Alistair shot at Emyr as the boy stood at her side. All three of them greeted her father, whose attention had been grabbed by Polaris.

“Your new Bond?” Frederick Rosengarde asked his daughter, and Liliana inclined her head.

“Yes, father,” Liliana murmured, mentally ordering Polaris to be on his best behavior. She could feel the hate roiling through Polaris as he looked at her father and she really didn’t need him attacking her father today.

“Once we greet the Inquisitors and I talk to them, meet me in my office,” her father ordered and Liliana dipped a deep curtsy, ducking her head to hide the smile that stole over her lips. Perfect. It was all going according to her plan. She had suspected her father wouldn’t be able to resist talking to her if he saw Polaris, so she’d waited until today to reveal him to her father.

Imogen entered and oh, if she thought it was hard to keep Polaris restrained with her father in the room, it was neigh on impossible with Imogen there. The hate Polaris felt was only eclipsed by her own. It was the first time she’d seen Imogen after that day and she hadn’t been prepared for the way the hate would crash into her looking at the woman’s smug face. Wasn’t prepared for the way her hands shook with the need to grab a weapon and drive it right into those cold, cruel eyes. With both hers and Polaris’ emotions rolling through her, it was too much to handle and she could feel an animalistic growl trying to break free of her clenched teeth as the rage stripped away her thoughts, reducing her to her most primal instincts.

A strong hand grabbed her own, their fingers tangling. A sharp, painful squeeze shook Liliana from her blood-thirst enough for her to look over and meet Emyr’s eyes. His own held anger in them, fiery and consuming, but he shook his head slightly. The unspoken ‘not yet’ clear to her. Liliana closed her eyes and tamped down on her anger, shoving it into its own box. She then focused on Polaris, mentally holding him back even as her hand went from resting in his fur to wrapping around his neck. She wasn’t sure how long she and Polaris could hold themselves back.

Thankfully, for Imogen anyway, the Inquisitors did not keep them waiting for long. The door was opened for the elusive and secretive royal investigators, and Liliana got her first look at them. A quick [Identify] revealed nothing. Liliana’s breath caught, thinking her skill had broken somehow, but checking her father showed the skill was still functional. Turning her eyes back to the black and red-robed men and woman who were being greeted by her father, she tried once more. Yet still [Identify] revealed no information at all. No pop ups. As if it was being blocked entirely. Liliana stopped trying after her third failed attempt. She was certain the Inquisitors had [Perception] skills and didn’t want to attract their attention.

Liliana satisfied her curiosity by taking in what she could visually. There were three Inquisitors, two men one woman. All three were dressed in black robes lined in blood red, the royal crest embroidered in the same red on the back. The scales of justice were stitched above the crest on the back, and on the wide sleeves of the robes. Liliana thought she saw a soul stone placed into a choker on one of the men’s necks. It piqued her curiosity, but she doubted she’d get a chance to talk to the man and discuss his Bond.

Liliana followed her role as duke’s daughter as she curtsied and greeted the Inquisitors. She knew she held their attention for longer than Alistair or Emyr did, not that she was surprised. They were called here because of her, after all. She wasn’t sure what Marianne had told them, if she told them anything. But they’d know the facts her father did, that she’d been targeted by three assassins so far. That her father hadn’t found the culprit, and that he had requested their aid to track the perpetrator down. That she was at the center of all of this. Their interest was understandable.

Liliana left the foyer after her father led the Inquisitors out, followed by her stepmother. Emyr kept to her side, and Alistair trailed after them.

“Go,” Liliana murmured quietly to Emyr. He’d need to get in place to do his part of the plan. After a searching look and a glance to Alistair, full of unspoken emotions that couldn’t be voiced, Emyr stepped back and melded with the shadows.

“Emyr!” Alistair called after his friend, too late to stop him. Liliana turned her head sharply away, blinking away the tears that had been summoned at the pain in her brother’s voice.

“You should go. Get prepared. The Inquisitors will want to speak with all of us,” Liliana told Alistair, still not able to look at him. Her voice was harsh, cold and she could almost feel his confusion and hurt at her curt words and cruel tone.

“Lili?” his voice sounded so small and Liliana hated herself a bit more with that.

“Go, Alistair,” Liliana hissed between his teeth clenched in pain. A wall between him and everything she wanted to say to him but could not.

Liliana didn’t wait to see if he listened. Her steps picked back up, and she strode towards her father’s study, where she would wait outside. She heard no steps following her and when she arrived in the empty corridor, Liliana pressed her back to the wall, head tilting back to look at the ceiling. A single tear trickled down her face as she took in a shuddering breath.

She was doing the right thing. She knew she was. But it hurt so much.

By the time the door to her father’s study opened, Liliana had regained her composure, her cold mask back in place, and all evidence of her inner turmoil wiped off her face. Liliana bowed her head and curtsied, greeting the Inquisitors again. As they left, Liliana entered her father’s study, the door shutting behind her and Polaris. She greeted her father before taking a seat he motioned to.

“You’ll have your interview after they talk to the duchess,” her father informed her with no preamble and Liliana nodded. She knew that.

The Inquisitors had told them before they arrived when they’d want to interview everyone, so no one could claim they were ‘too busy’ or conveniently avoid questioning. They interviewed her father first, then Imogen, then her, then Alistair, and then Emyr. After that, they’d interview the servants one at a time. It might seem odd to only interview one at a time, when there were three Inquisitors, but it also made sense why they did not. If someone attacked, it was best they had three fighters at the ready.

“Now, I see you have a new Bond. Your trip was a success,” her father started and Liliana nodded, though she was barely paying attention. It was almost time. Almost over.

Her fathers continued to speak, and Liliana paid him only enough attention to be sure she responded appropriately at the correct times. As the minutes ticked on, her heartbeat sped and she could hardly keep still.

A scream ripped through the manor.

Finally.

Chapter 108: A Bittersweet Victory

The relief that slammed into Liliana was staggering, robbing her of breath even as it stole the strength that had held her up. She’d been running so long on hate and spite that knowing it was finally over sapped the bit of energy she had. Her head hung low, her thick hair hiding her face in silver and black curtains, thankfully, as the crazed grin that spread across her face was not an appropriate reaction to have right now.

Not that it really mattered. Her father had already burst out of the room mere seconds after the scream had reached them. His speed would’ve been terrifying and humbling if Liliana could feel anything other than intoxicating relief. Liliana’s hands came up and wiped at her face, coming away wet with tears she hadn’t realized she’d been shedding.

‘Come on! We’re going to miss the best part!’ Polaris called from his position by the door, his wings half spread and his tails flailing wildly in his excitement. A small giggle escaped Liliana as she shook her head. She rubbed roughly at her face, scrubbing the tears and the grin from it. She adopted as worried an expression as she could, but it was difficult to fit a mask in place when she wanted to scream in excitement and simultaneously collapse to sleep for a week straight.

But nothing in this world was going to stop her from seeing Imogen in chains. She needed to have that mental image, something to keep her warm on winter nights. So Liliana stood, tossing her hair back and forcing her face to obey, widening her eyes and letting her mouth open slightly as she rushed out of the room. If she was rushing in excitement and not fear, well, no one had to know that but her and Polaris.

It was a wild, reckless sprint through the manor, the both of them skidding on the ground and hitting walls as they tried to get to Imogen’s room in time to see her. Servants were either running away from the screaming which grew in volume the closer they got, or running towards the sound in curiosity. Liliana had no qualms with shoving servants out of her way, and based on the yelps and shouts, she knew Polaris was using his teeth to get them out of his way.

Their movement slowed to a halt as they reached the corridor that Imogen’s room was in, the crowd of guards and servants too thick to shove aside easily. It didn’t stop Liliana as she started shouldering away those who did not move out of her way quickly enough. Their cries of indignation died away when they caught sight of Polaris following behind her, teeth bared in threat to anyone who even looked at Liliana.

Liliana cleared most of the gathering crowd just in time to see the first Inquisitor emerge from Imogen’s room, the man’s clothing ruffled and the new scratches on his face already healing. Liliana’s father followed afterwards and for the first time in her memory, she saw him looking confused and uncertain.

“What do you mean, you found the culprit? There’s a mistake, surely,” the duke said and Liliana coughed as the air became thicker. Her father was losing control of his aura. The Inquisitor whirled around, his eyes flashing, and Liliana felt her knees weaken, her arm whipping out to wrap around Polaris’ neck to hold herself upright. One aura was hard enough to handle, two at a time was too much.

“Control yourself, Duke Rosengarde before I do it for you,” the Inquisitor hissed out a warning, and the feeling of his aura increased but it felt more focused than her father’s, Liliana’s knees strengthened even as her father’s seemed to buckle. Liliana watched in wide-eyed delight as the Inquisitor used his own aura to control her father’s. She hadn’t even realized you could do that with an aura.

“Yes, of course. I apologize for my slip in control,” the duke said through clenched teeth. The Inquisitor glared at him for a moment longer before retracting his aura. The entire corridor breathed in relief and Liliana realized belatedly that many of the servants had fallen to the ground, unable to stand with two auras competing.

“But surely there must be a mistake of some kind. My wife cannot possibly be the culprit. Why is she in chains?” Frederick seemed to regain his tongue at the same time as he regained control of his aura.

“A confession of guilt is enough to convict. You know the laws, Duke Rosengarde,” the Inquisitor spoke and Liliana had to cover her mouth to hide the grin. It had worked! It really worked!

“Confession? What are you talking about?” Frederick Rosengarde asked, eyes wide in shock. Liliana soaked up the expression. Seeing her normally unflappable and emotionless father lose his composure was almost as satisfying as seeing Imogen in chains.

“Ask her yourself, she was very forthcoming and detailed in her admissions of guilt,” the Inquisitor said as he motioned with a hand. Seconds later the last two Inquisitors emerged. Imogen was held tightly between them despite the manacles wrapped around her wrists.

Liliana had to clap another hand to her face to muffle the wild laughter that wanted to break free. The tears on her face were from joy, but anyone looking would hopefully think it was despair. Imogen’s normally perfect visage was ruined, her hair wild and half undone. Her priceless dress was ripped and singed, her skin held welts and cuts that were slower to heal than the Inquisitor’s own wounds. She still fought, struggling ineffectively against the man and woman holding onto her, screams emerging from her as if she was some wild beast caught in a hunter’s trap.

“You can’t do this! I’m the Duchess! Unhand me! I’ll have your heads, all of you!” Imogen screeched, teeth barring in what was probably meant to be a ferocious way, but only served to make her look unhinged.

“Imogen, what is the meaning of this?” Frederick asked, approaching his wife. The Inquisitors stopped, barely seeming to notice the struggles of the noblewoman in they held.

“Frederick! Frederick help me! Kill them!” Imogen turned wide, panicked, golden eyes to her husband.

“Is it true? Did you try to kill Liliana?” Frederick asked, his tone slowly growing more icy as he spoke, though the thread of disbelief was still there. Liliana held her breath, awaiting the answer.

“Yes!” the word sounded like it was being dragged out of her mouth, but it unlocked the floodgates and more words tumbled out after it.

“That disgusting little bitch was a threat to my position! My power! She deserved to die, but she couldn’t even do that right! I poisoned her, hired bandits, assassins and still she couldn’t just roll over and die like the animal she is. I poisoned her food, but the stupid servant couldn’t guarantee that the filthy bitch drank it, so instead her useless whore of a maid died.” Imogen spat the words and Liliana felt familiar rage filling her, tinged with sadness.

It was stupid, but some small, minuscule part of her had hoped she was wrong. That it wasn’t her stepmother trying to kill her. It was an irrational hope, when she knew Imogen was trying to kill her. But she had never been able to kill that small bit of hope that her stepmother didn’t hate her enough to kill her.

But stronger than the sadness was the rage. It filled her, boiling her blood and burning her from the inside out. Fueled to higher heights by Polaris’ own hate and rage rampaging through their bond. The admission of how Imogen really felt about her, the easy way she spoke of how she’d made Liliana’s last year a living hell, incensed her. The words she’d used to describe Astrid tipped Liliana over the edge.

Imogen opened her mouth to continue spilling her vitriol into the air when a loud crack sounded out. Liliana started the sudden, unexpected movement, having shocked her enough to keep her from launching herself at her stepmother. The duke’s hand was still raised and Imogen’s head was tilted sharply to the side, blood dribbling out of her mouth.

“Take her away,” Frederick said, his voice frigid. He stepped back, summoning a handkerchief to clean his hand as he looked at his wife in disgust.

Imogen did not rouse from her shock, head still hanging to the side as she was slowly dragged towards the crowd. Liliana stepped aside with the rest of them, but as her eyes met Imogen’s, the woman went from docile to rabid in seconds.

“You! You little bitch! This is all your fault!” Imogen snarled and spat, struggling against the hands holding her as she tried to lunge at Liliana.

“I spent years trying to crush that spark of light in your eyes, yet still you refused to end your life! If you’d just killed yourself like I wanted, this wouldn’t be happening! Why won’t you just die?!” Imogen hissed, and Liliana took a step back, not entirely prepared for the hate in Imogen’s eyes and voice. She’d never in her life had someone look at her like they wanted her dead. No. Not dead. Imogen wanted her to suffer, to beg and plead for death. She could read it in her molten gold eyes.

“M-Mother?” a voice called out, broken and confused, and Liliana’s head whipped to the side, her hands falling from her face.

“No,” Liliana breathed as her eyes found Alistair, standing at the end of the corridor, the path now clear, with the servants and guards pushed against the walls. She’d hoped he wouldn’t see this, hoped against logic and reason that somehow he’d be spared this pain.

“Alistair! My darling boy! Help your mother, like I raised you to,” Imogen’s head whipped to stare at her son, an almost insane light to her eyes as she crooned her words to Alistair. The boy took a stumbling step back, head shaking, and Liliana could see his heart breaking in his tear-filled eyes.

“I don’t. Is it true? Is what you said about trying to kill Liliana true?” Alistair asked and Liliana watched as his he began to shake, tears spilling out of his eyes as he spoke.

“Did you try to kill my sister?!” Alistair demanded.

“Why does it matter if I did? She’s not your sister, Alistair. She’s a dirty half blood, a threat. Don’t you understand Alistair? I did all of this for you. For us. So we could be here, be happy together. So I would have power. She was a threat to your power, to my power. So I was getting rid of her for us!” Imogen tried to convince her son of her logic. With every word, Liliana could almost hear the sound of Alistair’s heart shattering, disbelief etched into his face even as tears streamed down it.

“No.” Alistair said, shaking his head, hands raising to his ears as if he could block out the words his mother spoke.

“Alistair! You will obey your mother! I raised you to listen to me, so obey me and get these degenerates off of me!” Imogen’s voice was raising into a screech again, and Alistair stepped back, face torn between fear and despair as he stared at his mother.

“Silence,” a voice called out and with that Imogen’s screeches were cut off abruptly, though her mouth was still open. Her mouth moved, taking a moment to understand her ability to speak had been removed. Her struggles increased when she realized what had happened, but it was like the woman was fighting against brick walls.

“We need to leave now. If anyone wishes to speak to Duchess Imogen Rosengarde, they may set up an appointment with the royal family,” the female Inquisitor, the one who had silenced Imogen, spoke up to the crowd. With that, the two Inquisitors moved forward once more.

“Mommy?” a small voice called out and Liliana turned her head, heart breaking even as she did. Her eyes finally fell to two small children holding onto the skirts of an older woman, a nanny. Beatrice and Blaine Rosengarde, her two half siblings. Liliana had never met them in person, had never been allowed to or seen a reason to seek them out. But now they stood there before her for the first time, and they looked frightfully young. Too young to understand anything that was happening, too young to see their mother being dragged out in chains.

“Get them out of here.” the duke ordered, turning to the nanny, anger clear on his face and in his voice.

“Mommy!” Beatrice cried, trying to run after her mother, who was being dragged out, the Inquisitors not caring enough to stop for any more dramatics. The little girl tripped in front of Liliana and, without thinking, she swooped down and plucked up the toddler before she could hit the ground.

“Let go! Mommy! I want my mommy!” the little girl beat her small fists against Liliana as she struggled to follow her mother, Blaine was held in the nanny’s arms as he wailed his own confused tears into her embrace. Liliana only tightened her grip and held onto her younger sibling, her heart breaking.

She’d done the right thing. The only thing she could do. But she hadn’t been prepared to see the fallout. For seeing a child crying for her mother. For knowing she had ripped a mother away from her children, the way her own mothers had been taken from her. Because Imogen might have been the villain in Liliana’s story, but to Blaine and Beatrice she had just been their mother. The person who gave them warm hugs and wiped up their tears.

“I’m sorry,” Liliana whispered to Beatrice, knowing the girl wouldn’t understand. Not today. One day, perhaps soon, she would. She’d understand that Liliana was the reason she and her twin grew up without a mother. Liliana was certain the servants would ensure the twins knew the story, and with how disliked she was by the manor servants, she was certain the tale wouldn’t paint her in a favourable light. Maybe they’d hate her. She’d expect nothing less. She wouldn’t fault them for it, either.

She’d made the right choice. But it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences, and as Beatrice stopped struggling and began to cry, Liliana finally understood. Sometimes doing the right thing didn’t mean no one got hurt. When the villain was captured, someone would hurt. Because everyone was something to someone. And sometimes, the hero in one person’s tale was the villain in someone else’s. There wasn’t always a ‘good’ choice to make, just one that would mean the least amount of hurt.

Liliana held onto her half sister, stroking her back even as the girl’s tears soaked her dress. Her eyes inevitably traveled to her father, who was watching her with an unreadable expression, and Liliana knew this wouldn’t be the last time she made her half siblings cry. By the time she was done, she’d have them left without any parents.

Would it be better for them? She thought it would. Not having to grow up with a narcissistic mother like Imogen, who only saw her children as pawns to use for her own power, unafraid of scarring them if it guaranteed their loyalty to her. It would be better if they didn’t have to learn of their father’s cold negligence and lack of care towards his own children, unless those children became something that could grant him more power. But would they ever realize their life without their parents would be far better than the life they’d have with them?

Liliana doubted it. Doubted they’d ever really understand. She knew with a certainty bordering on precognition that her half siblings would never forgive her once they learned what she’d done, what she was going to do. She would be stealing their parents from them, perhaps not killing them, but ensuring they wouldn’t be around for them all the same.

As her heart ached with this knowledge of the pain she would be responsible for, she handed Beatrice back to her nanny. Liliana stepped back and slumped against a wall, hand raised to rub at her chest as if she could massage away the pain. She knew she wouldn’t change her course. Couldn’t change it. For all the pain she knew she would cause, for all she knew how it would break her own heart to see Blaine and Beatrice cry for parents she’d rob them of, she couldn’t stop.

Her anger, her satisfaction and glee, it was gone. Washed away by the tears of two small children who were losing her mother. All that was left was a bone deep exhaustion that wanted to drag her down.

Chapter 109: Look At Me

The ruckus caused by the servants after Imogen was dragged out of the manor was the perfect cover for Liliana to slip away. As the servants clumped together, and their voices raised in discussion of what had happened, Liliana slipped unnoticed down the hall, letting her feet move without thought.

She just needed to get away. Away from her father’s eyes, which had seen too much for her comfort as they rested on her. Get away from the cries of her half siblings as their nanny fruitlessly attempted to soothe them. Away from the image of her brother standing alone in the hallway, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach as his world shattered around him. Away from the whispers she could still hear floating on the air.

‘I always knew that brat would bring nothing but misfortune.’

‘Can you believe they arrested the Duchess? Because she tried to kill that girl?’

‘What’s going to happen to Lord Alistair now? Will he lose his status because of her?’

‘Hush! We shouldn’t speak like that where she can hear us. Without Lady Imogen she is now the highest ranked lady in the house,’

‘What’s going to happen to our jobs, then? I don’t want to have to listen to some spoiled, ungrateful child like her!’

Liliana shook her head, shivering even though there was no chill except the cold ice creeping through her blood. She’d imagined this moment so many times, dreamed and fantasized of when she’d finally, finally best Imogen. Thought of a million things she’d say to the woman. Yet all those fantasies crumbled to dust when confronted with reality, the reality that even when she did the right thing, she still hurt others. That even when Imogen was shown to be the villain, it didn’t magically fix everyone’s impression of her.

Liliana stumbled, hands flying out blindly to catch herself against a wall. Her head turned slightly, seeing writhing shadows in a corner.

“Emyr,” Liliana whispered, and the boy stepped out, his eyes holding understanding. Too much empathy was held in those steel colored depths and Liliana shivered again.

“Tell me we did the right thing,” Liliana whispered, a plea born of desperation.

She knew she’d done the right thing, the only thing she could do. It was the best possible plan. It was merciful, it was heroic. Imogen would live, she’d be imprisoned, but she would live. A far better fate than what the woman had planned for her. But that still felt like the wrong choice when she saw the pain she’d caused, but what else could she have done?

“We did the right thing. If we hadn’t done this, she’d have killed you eventually, Lili. And you deserve to live too. She is simply paying for her own crimes, this is the consequences of her own choices. This isn’t your fault, none of it. It’s hers. Don’t borrow her guilt,” Emyr told her, his voice sure and kind as he stepped forward and drew her into a hug. Liliana resisted at first, but she desperately needed the comfort he offered.

She’d never have imagined a year ago that she’d be here, crying silently into Emyr’s shoulder after he helped her ensure Imogen’s imprisonment. Had never imagined that the quiet boy who had simply stood by and watched in so many of her memories would eventually become someone who was so important to her, a brother of her soul if not her blood.

Since coming to this world, and making so many Soul bonds, Liliana had come to build a belief she held in her heart. A belief that there were simply people, beings, who matched your soul, completed it like pieces of a puzzle. Not necessarily just two halves of a single whole, but many bits and pieces that eventually came together to form a beautiful, intricate mosaic.

Not all of them romantic, not even most or any of them, but important nonetheless, almost feeling essential to survival in the same way air or water was. And she knew as she cried into Emyr’s shoulder and his arms held her tightly to him, as if he could hold all her broken pieces together, that he was as much a piece of her soul as Polaris, Lelantos, or Nemesis were.

“Liliana?” A voice, so achingly familiar it threatened to shatter her damaged heart, called out. Liliana shook her head, hands gripping tightly at the fabric of Emyr’s shirt as a sob broke out.

“No, please, no,” she whispered, wishing she could disappear, teleport away from all the pain she knew her brother would bring her when she finally looked up. Knowing she’d see hate, condemnation, and so very much pain in those golden eyes.

“Liliana, please, look at me,” the voice pleaded and Liliana shook her head again, but her shield was pulling back from her, Emyr stepping away and leaving her defenseless and alone. Her head hung low, hair blocking the sight of her brother, flimsy as the defense was. She wanted to postpone this heartbreak for as long as she could. Because she knew once she saw hate burning in those eyes, she’d never be able to remember the love that had once shone in them again.

‘Liliana, it’s okay,’ Polaris spoke up, his body pressing into hers. It was his certainty that it would all be alright that finally gave her the strength to look up and meet the eyes of the boy, her brother, who had chased after her when she’d run from her sins.

‘No more running,’ Polaris told her as Liliana looked at Alistair, breath leaving her lungs as she searched his face.

Pain was etched deep into his face, heartbreak bleeding through his eyes and down his face in the form of tears. But there was no hate, no disgust, no revulsion to be found. Just a deep sadness and guilt that Liliana wished with her whole heart she could wipe away.

“I’m sorry, Liliana. So sorry.” Alistair spoke, his voice weak and almost ethereal, as if a simple breath would shatter the words spoken into dust on the wind.

Liliana’s breath caught in her throat, confusion overpowering her fear and self-hate. She had imagined what Alistair would say to her more times than she’d imagined Imogen being arrested, tormented herself with the various ways her brother could turn against her. But not once, in any of her torturous imaginings, had she seen him apologizing to her.

Though, perhaps, if she had been able to see past her own deeply ingrained self-hate and fear, she would have seen there was no other option for the boy before her. For the boy who had shown her kindness in the only ways he knew how, before he was old or strong enough to stand up to his mother. When he knew that the consequences of such kindness would be dire. She’d have known that there was no other option for someone who was so naturally good that even years of manipulation and emotional abuse couldn’t erase his soft heart and protective nature.

“I should have known. She was my mother. I should have stopped her before she could ever hurt you. I should have seen, and I didn’t. I failed you, my sister, because I was too scared of my own mother. And I’m sorry that my weakness almost got you killed.” Alistair’s eyes were flooded with tears, and he could barely speak between the sobs coming out. Distantly, Liliana noted she couldn't remember a time she’d ever seen her brother, her strong, stalwart brother, break down like this.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t smart enough, strong enough, brave enough to protect you. I’m sorry you dealt with this for so long and I had no idea. I understand that you hate me now because of what she did. Because I wasn’t there when you needed me the most. But please, if you never speak to me again just know I’m sorry, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, even if you hate me for every day of that life.” Alistair’s voice was a plea, a prayer, full of self-flagellation and desperate guilt. His hands were fisted in his shirt as he bent slightly forward, voice breaking over his words as sobs ripped out of his throat. Liliana was moving before she could think, her heart breaking for her brother.

How could he think she’d hate him? How could he ever think that? He should be the one hating her, for being the reason there was a wedge between him and his mother. For keeping so many secrets from him for so long. For letting him get close to her, even while knowing she’d ruin his life one day.

Liliana crashed into Alistair, both of them tumbling to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him, desperate to just make his pain stop. He’d been there for her, when she was hurting, when she was scared and thought she was alone. He’d always been there, and now it was her turn. Her turn to hold him tightly as he broke to pieces in her arms, his tears soaking through her dress as her hands stroked his hair and she whispered soothing words to him. This time, it was her turn to be the strong one.

“I could never hate you, Ali. You’re my brother. I love you, and I’m so sorry,” Liliana murmured into his hair as he clung to her like she was the only thing keeping his head above water.

“Your mother is not your responsibility, nor are her sins yours to bear. Don’t place her crimes on your shoulders. I never once blamed you for her actions. You’re my brother, and you’ll always be my brother,” Liliana promised him, her words so softly spoken but exactly what the boy in her arms needed to hear. Her own tears joined his, but hers were a mix of sadness and relief.

Because for all Imogen had schemed, manipulated and attempted to shatter their bonds before they could ever form, she had failed. She had tried to sculpt Alistair into her puppet, but he had broken out of her mold. They may both have deep scars from the woman, physical and emotional, but they had begun to heal despite the pain. And Liliana knew that the bond she and Alistair had built despite the odds was now too strong for anything to break. Not even his mother.

Imogen had tried to isolate Liliana, to remove any reason for her to hope. But she had failed, and Liliana knew as she held her brother in her arms that she’d never have to be alone again. Her time of running, of facing her fears and demons on her own, was over. She could feel those carefully built walls she’d placed between herself and others dissembling and she couldn’t bring herself to mourn their passing, because the warm feeling that filled her was so worth the loss.

“Emyr,” Liliana called out, one hand freeing itself to grasp blindly until it met a warm hand and she tugged the boy down.

She wrapped her free arm around him and pulled him in close until the three of them were pressed tightly together. In the middle of that empty hallway, sitting on a plush rug and tangled together, the three of them sought and gave comfort they’d all desperately been needing. A comfort that could only be given by someone who truly understood, by someone who had seen, who had experienced all the horrors and pain the three of them had gone through.

Time passed, and Liliana was only aware that servants had tried to pass by Polaris’ occasional warning growls, protecting their privacy. The three of them had shifted as the tears had dried up, though none of them were willing to give up the comfort physical closeness offered. Liliana sat on Alistair's left side, her hand clasping his as her head rested on his shoulder. Emyr sat on his other side, one arm wrapped around Alastair’s middle, the other hand tangled together with Alastair’s own.

“I thought you’d hate me,” Liliana murmured into the surrounding silence, the words hanging heavy despite the quiet voice used.

“You’re my sister. I could never hate you, Lili.” Alistair told her, leaning his head against her own as his hand squeezed hers.

“But because of me, Imogen is-“ Liliana started, only to be cut off.

“Imogen,” Alistair said her name like a curse word, spitting it out like poison, “deserved what she got. You didn’t make her poison you, or hire those assassins. She did that. You’ve done nothing wrong, Liliana. Not today, not yesterday, not last year or the year before that.” Alistair’s voice, tired as it was, was still filled with a bone deep conviction that warmed Liliana.

“If I hate anyone, it’s her.” Alistair finished off with a harsh whisper.

“But she’s your mother,” Liliana said, though her voice was weak.

“By blood alone, but I refuse to call her my mother any longer. Not after she tried to kill my sister. She’s no mother of mine,” Alistair told her, and the anger, the hate that filled his words concerned Liliana, though she did not speak on it. It was too soon, and she herself knew how hard hate like that was to put to rest.

She wouldn’t try to convince her brother to love his mother. Didn’t think Imogen deserved that. But she didn’t want that hate to rot Alistair from the inside out. It would simply be one more way that Imogen controlled him. One more way she ruined their lives, even after she was imprisoned. She didn’t deserve to have that kind of power over any of them any longer.

“As far as I’m concerned, you are my family, Lili. You and Emyr, you’re the only family I need.” Alistair told them and Liliana pressed tighter to Alistair at the words, though a part of her wondered at them. He hadn’t mentioned their father, and Liliana had to ponder if perhaps he had seen more than she or Emyr had given him credit for.

But like his hate, Liliana wouldn’t press. Not today. For today, she’d let herself enjoy the fact that she did have a family, even if it wasn’t a conventional one. Even if it wasn’t entirely made of blood, it felt as strong as her ties to her mother and father in her past life. No. Stronger, she admitted to herself. This was a family that had been built on the battlefield, in the dark of the night, through pain and suffering and beautiful moments stolen in-between.

“What about Jason?” Liliana asked, her tone taking on a slightly teasing note and her words lightened the heavy atmosphere between them.

“He can be the uncle, I guess.” Alistair decided after a moment, and there was weak humor lacing his voice. Liliana knew it would take a long time before she’d see Alistair smile freely again, or even laugh. But she knew, as long as they were all together, they’d get there again.

“Flint and Clover?” Emyr was next to pose a question and Liliana felt herself relax into the familiar comfort of their bantering. Something she had thought she’d never experienced again.

“Our little siblings,” Alistair reluctantly added.

“Silas?” Liliana asked next, and Alistair sighed loudly.

“Fine, he can be the father figure. I guess we have a big family,” Alistair grumbled, “but you two are still the most important people to me.” Alistair added the last part in a near whisper, his hands tightening their grip on theirs.

“I like it,” Liliana murmured, closing her eyes. “We’re not alone anymore,” she finished, just as softly as Alistair had.

“No, we’ll never be alone again.” Alistair declared.

“Forever?” Liliana asked, sounding just like the child she really was, scared and hopeful all at once.

“Forever,” Emyr promised.

“Forever.” Alistair confirmed.

Polaris’ soft yip alerted Liliana before the new voice spoke up, but she didn’t startle or even mind the intrusion. If anyone had to find them, it was best it was him.

“Are you three alright?” Silas’ rough voice called out.

Liliana felt Alistair startle, though she suspected Emyr probably knew of Silas’ approach. Liliana opened her eyes and sat up straight, looking over at Alistair and Emyr. Looking at their tired, pain-filled eyes surrounded by puffy skin, their reddened cheeks sore from tears. She looked at their tightly gripped hands, and heard their rough breaths pushed through throats scraped raw by sobs before she looked to Silas with a small, weak smile.

“No, we’re not. But I think we will be,” Liliana told the man. Silas nodded, his normally hard eyes softening as he looked down at the three teens, so small, so young but already having gone through far too much. Yet not a one of them was broken beyond repair, a steely core of strength peeking through the pain in all their eyes.

Chapter 110: The Calm Before The Confrontation

Closure.

Such a strange word. One that Liliana had never considered before. Her life had been nothing but trailing threads fading off to tattered ends, never tied off. Closure was a luxury, something so beyond her she’d never considered it. Her last life had ended with a sigh, not a shout, cut off far too soon. She’d been told how her parents had survived after her, but it wasn’t true closure. It was just more tattered threads added to the ragged tapestry that was her existence.

Now, though, that word had been popping up in her mind more often. An elusive concept that felt more real as Liliana stared at her reflection. A maid, her name long since forgotten after her introduction, was flitting around Liliana and pinning her hair up. The maid tugged too hard, but the girl didn’t hold enough Strength to really hurt Liliana so she kept quiet.

Closure. Something she would be seeking today. Though if she’d finally get it, she wasn’t sure. Would seeing Imogen brought so low finally quench the fires of hate that still burned in Liliana’s chest? Would asking the woman the questions that choked her throat finally settle the pain she was nursing?

Closure. The ending, the final act. The end of one path. A resolution.

She didn’t need to do this. Everyone had told her this. Silas had reassured her that if she didn’t want to she never had to see Imogen again. She could talk to the queen, give her side of events, and be done with it all. Emyr had told her in the quiet hours of the night that she had already done enough. She didn’t need to face Imogen again. Alistair had struggled to understand her decision, for he refused to visit Imogen himself.

But while others thought Liliana didn’t need to do this, she knew she did. She had to see Imogen behind bars, to finally lay the monster that haunted her dreams to rest. She needed this, or the ghosts of the woman who had been the villain in her story would always torment her. Her mind and emotions had already transformed the woman into something hardly resembling a human any longer, and she needed to end that. Needed to prove to herself that Imogen, cruel and wicked as she was, was nothing more than a mortal woman.

Liliana shooed off the maid as she finished, not bothering to thank the girl. She’d seen the distaste in her eyes. The maid didn’t want this post. Liliana was just glad she was actually doing her job instead of actively sabotaging her. At least she was intelligent to a degree, or smart enough to fear the vulpine protector who shadowed Liliana’s every step.

Liliana stood, and Polaris rose from his position laying at her feet to follow her. She had special permission from the queen, well, Marianne really, to have Polaris with her in the dungeons. A small show of their favoritism for Liliana’s part in Imogen’s capture. Liliana hadn’t told the Inquisitors of what had been snuck into Imogen’s drink, but she’d sent a letter to Marianne the day after Imogen’s arrest to allude to it. She had a deal to capitalize on, after all. And she knew the queen would look the other way in such a legal gray area in favor of the leash she had gained for the Rosengarde duchy.

As Liliana walked through the manor, it was quiet, the servants she passed glancing furtively at her before resuming whatever task they’d been doing. Their opinion of her had not improved in the days following Imogen’s arrest, and the maid who had been dismissed with one less hand than she’d woken up with that day hadn’t helped. But her father was eager to keep her content. His power had taken a hit with his wife’s arrest, and he desperately needed her now. Her current power and potential for becoming even stronger was essential to him. She was no longer a mere pawn on his chessboard; she was far more valuable than that.

His military power had not diminished, but with Imogen’s actions there was now an investigation ongoing into the Rosengarde duchy. Under the guise of sniffing out any of Imogen’s contacts and anyone involved in her actions. But it was sure to dig up anything her father didn’t want seen, putting his position at risk. Liliana was sure that the queen would offer him something soon when she got her hands on whatever additional blackmail she needed. Perhaps leaving him his military power and lands but forcing him to support her against the noble faction. Or maybe forcing him to hand over control of his militia to the crown. Liliana wasn’t sure. Such political machinations were above her pay grade, she was satisfied knowing that the foundation of her father’s little kingdom was crumbling under his feet.

She’d be the one to finish toppling it over. Once it had eroded to the point it would take nothing more than a gentle shove to send it all tumbling down. The harder her father grasped onto her and her power to bolster his own, the worse the hit would be when she officially cut her ties with him. The stronger she became, the worse the wound would be.

Unlike Imogen, her plans for her father weren’t going to be finalized anytime soon. One day, when her father trusted her and depended on her, she’d finish him off. She had the time; she had the patience.

Liliana flicked the hood of her cloak over her hair, the soft fur tickling her cheeks as she stepped out of the manor. It was still winter, the landscape cold and barren and coated in a thick layer of snow. It felt wrong, in a way. So much had happened. Liliana felt like years had passed, not weeks. It felt like the seasons should've changed, and yet it was as cold today as the day she'd laid Astrid's body to rest.

“There you are,” a voice called out, and Liliana’s eyes shifted to look at the man standing before her bundled in layer after layer of fur.

It looked like the same portalist who had picked her up the last time, and idly Liliana wondered how low his Vitality stat had to be for him to be so miserable. He’d probably dumped most of his stats into Intelligence and Wisdom, if his whining about the cold was any indicator. She could hardly judge his physical stature through his layers of bulky clothing, but she felt it safe to assume he was probably thin, unmuscled. Min-maxing was unfortunately a common thing, especially for non-combat focused classes like his.

“I apologize for the delay,” Liliana said as she stepped up to the man. He grumbled, but reached out and touched one hand to her and his other to Polaris. A feeling like the world was shifting around her hit Liliana as they traveled through space in a way that human bodies were not meant to. When they arrived in a barren stone room Liliana stumbled, hand going to her mouth to stop any bile from escaping. Teleporting was no more pleasant the more times she did it. Taking deep breaths, Liliana settled her stomach as the man began to strip down his clothing, most of it disappearing into a storage device.

He is rather skinny, Liliana noted with a bit of amusement as the man’s uniform was finally revealed.

“There’s a guard outside to escort you to the dungeons,” the portalist told her and Liliana nodded, shaking her head a little to settle her thoughts. Teleporting always left her more scatterbrained than normal.

‘Let’s go. You think they’ll let me bite her? Maybe take a finger or two? She won’t be needing them,’ Polaris’ voice range in Liliana’s mind and she had to stifle a humorless giggle at his commentary.

‘As much as I’d enjoy it let’s not give them a reason to revoke your permission to be here,’ Liliana thought back to him as she opened the door. She’d gotten better at mentally talking to Polaris rather than responding verbally, a useful skill to have. If she could commune with him mentally, it would make them truly terrifying in battles, but getting her thoughts to be both structured and clear enough to converse still took a good deal of focus. She was more used to communicating with images and emotions, the same way Lelantos and Nemesis commonly communicated.

“Lady Liliana,” the guard stationed outside bowed to her. Liliana inclined her head as she activated [Identify] curious as to who had been sent to escort her.

Alek Brownwind

Age: 48

Level: 253

Rank: 4

Class: Royal Guard

Liliana nodded to herself. He was strong enough to be able to neutralize her and Polaris, but not so high leveled he could be seen as a silent threat from the queen. Just enough to let her know she needed to behave. This gesture, more than the queen’s allowance of this visit, relaxed Liliana. She had wondered if the queen would truly see Liliana as a type of ally once she had gotten what she wanted, it seemed that the woman still saw a use for her. Or at least, was willing to give her clemency because of Liliana’s friendship with her daughter.

That was good. It made her future plans easier if she had the favor of the royal family.

“Lead the way, Sir Brownwind,” Liliana spoke, and the man saluted her before turning on his heel and marching off.

Liliana followed him, appreciating his slower pace that gave her the chance to look around. The dungeons weren’t actually connected to the royal palace. It was more apt to call it a prison. It was in a hidden location, only accessible by portal with permission from the royal family, for good reason. They kept the most dangerous criminals here, either because of their level or political power. Arrested nobles always ended up here because of the chance of them being broken free.

There were no windows to give Liliana a clue to where they were, and every few yards there were guards stationed, each alert, their eyes following the trio until they passed out of view. The levels of the guards she saw here reflected her guide, all Rank 4. She assumed there were likely higher leveled guards further into, or down, the dungeons. Or wherever they kept the more dangerous prisoners.

Her guard stopped at a door. It looked the exact same as the tens they’d already passed, and opened it.

“You can go in. She won’t be able to reach you. Her shackles are made of nullstone,” the guard explained as Liliana stepped up. Her eyebrows raised. Nullstone was rare, exclusively found in Rank 2 or 1 dungeons. Small pieces would weaken someone, but if there was enough touching your body, it would not only lock your system access, but revert your stats to Unawakened levels. The royal family was taking no chances with their prisoners.

“Yell if you need something,” the guard told her, and Liliana nodded, stepping past the man and into the room. As the door shut behind her and Polaris, Liliana took a moment to take in the room. Half of it seemed to be an open area with a chair and a table facing bars that went from floor to ceiling. Mage lights were embedded in the roof, illuminating the area.

Past the bars was a fairly stereotypical prison cell, though the bed was of a finer quality than Liliana expected. There was even a small connected room that Liliana assumed was a washroom. The cell also held a chair, desk, and a small bookshelf. But what drew Liliana’s attention was the woman who sat in the chair, thick shackles wrapping around her wrists and ankles.

Imogen looked awful, to put it bluntly. She was dressed in a plain, shapeless gray dress. Her long hair, normally always done up in a complicated updo, hung instead down her back in hundreds of braids. Her face, once flawless thanks to her Illusion magic and cosmetics, was haggard, and Liliana could see wrinkles marring her skin.

Liliana would not deny the pleasure that filled her, seeing her once glamorous stepmother brought to such a state. A small smile fluttered around the edge of her lips as Liliana sat down in the empty chair on her side of the room.

“Imogen,” Liliana started, her voice hard and empty.

Chapter 111: The Villain She Almost Made

“Finally came to see me, hm?” the woman said as she turned to look at her visitor. Hate lurked in molten gold eyes, but Liliana didn’t flinch. The woman sitting before her was not the monster that lurked in her mind. The nightmares she’d suffered from were fading away when confronted with the reality.

Imogen was a mortal woman, one who had finally been brought low, her weakness displayed for anyone to see.

“I wanted to have a real conversation,” Liliana stated honestly. Imogen snorted and shook her head.

“So you can lord it over me that you ruined my life? I always knew you would,” Imogen hissed.

“It didn’t have to end like this. You made your choices. These are simply the consequences of those choices,” Liliana’s voice was cutting, but if Imogen cared she couldn’t tell.

“Where’s my son?” Imogen asked instead of responding and Liliana finally let the smile she’d been fighting through, though it was a cold smile, not one born of innocent humor.

“You have no son. He’s forsaken you. He said you’re dead to him,” Liliana told the woman, leaning forward as she watched the words hit the woman. She wanted to see the moment Imogen finally realized she was utterly alone, abandoned. Liliana wanted to see the woman experience the very thing she’d forced Liliana through for so many years, heart crushing loneliness and the understanding that no one would ever be coming to help her. There were no knights in shining armor seeking damsels to save, not for women like her and Imogen.

“You’re lying,” Imogen spat, her eyes wide, panic finally edging into her eyes. Liliana huffed out a dry laugh.

“No, that’s your thing Imogen. I speak the truth, but I’m sure you’ll come to believe it over time. When years pass by, while you remain forgotten in this tomb and Alistair lives his life far from your influence,” Liliana told her, voice dripping with dark delight.

“You bitch. You turned him against me,” Imogen lunged forward, hands grasping at the bars of her cell. Liliana watched her for a moment, an unamused eyebrow raised.

“No, you miscalculated Imogen. You never did account for familial bonds, or love in your plans. At the end of the day his fear of you was weaker than the love my brother has for me,” Liliana told her stepmother before waving her hand, “As much as I’d enjoy telling you how much your oldest son hates you that’s not why I’m here. I came here to get an answer to a question a little girl wondered for years while you made her life hell. Why?” Liliana’s eyes sharpened to sapphire shards as she glared at the woman who had made her life pure misery for so long.

“Why? You want to know why?” Imogen asked, a harsh laugh busting out of her mouth. Liliana leaned back as she watched the once noble lady throw back her head and laugh. Had Imogen really gone insane? Had the arrest caused a psychotic break, or had she always been on the edge of insanity?

“I thought you’d figure it out. For power, you idiotic little chit. You were in my way. I was simply trying to remove you.” Imogen began to talk, words tumbling out following her mad laughter.

“No. What I wanted to know was this. You’re capable of love. You love the twins. You might’ve been an abusive bitch to Alistair, but I know you loved him. So why? Why couldn’t you love me?” Liliana’s voice broke a little at the end, and that’s the crux of her problems. The question a little girl had asked herself a hundred times to an empty room echoing with the sounds of her sobs. What was so wrong with her that she didn’t deserve love?

She had long ago given up hope of Imogen’s love. And truly, she hated the woman. If the woman repented today and began to love Liliana, it would change nothing. She’d still want her to rot away for the rest of her life behind these bars. But it was a question that needed an answer, for that little girl that still sat curled up in the recesses of her mind, praying for parents who would really love her.

Imogen stared at her for a long moment, eyes assessing, digging deep into the cracks the question had put into the girl’s mask. A familiar sneer of disgust curled her lip as Imogen shook her head, grabbing her chair and sitting herself down to face Liliana.

“Greedy. You’ve always been a greedy little bitch. I could see it in your eyes the first time I looked at you. You want more than you’re owed, more than you deserve. You should’ve been grateful to exist in a duke’s manor, but you just kept demanding more from everyone.” Imogen’s voice was harsh, degrading, but Liliana had repaired her mask and the words did little more than splash against her defenses, the venom in them dripping off her skin.

“I knew, looking at you, that one day you’d demand the duchy. I couldn’t have that. Alistair was too young when his father died, and by now his father’s holdings have already been portioned out to that side of his family. The duchy was his only hope for a future. My only hope for a comfortable life. But as long as you existed, asking, reaching, begging for anything you could wrap your dirty hands on, our future was unsecured.” the glare leveled at Liliana was one full of an old hate. A person looking at their nemesis, the cause of all their problems. Liliana knew, without a doubt, as Imogen’s eyes burned into her own, that the woman saw her as the villain she had once been fated to be.

“Then there was your father. He always indulged you, let you run around the manor. Spent the duchy’s funds on you, though you never showed a shred of gratitude for it. The food, the clothes he gave you. You didn’t care. Always wanting more. I knew he’d crumble to you, give you the duchy one day. You think I didn’t account for love? But I did. I was accounting for your father’s love of you putting you as the heir of the duchy,” Imogen kept talking, but Liliana’s mind caught on the woman’s words. This entire time, Imogen thought her father loved her?

Liliana couldn’t help it. Her laugh burst out, cutting off the woman’s words as she tilted her head back and laughed, and laughed. All these years, all this pain, all of it because the woman’s view of the world was irreparably twisted. Because the woman didn’t really understand love.

Liliana had been wrong. Imogen had never been capable of love. Anyone capable of love would have seen that Liliana’s father held no such feelings towards her.

“You think my father loves me? You’re truly deluded. My father might see me as an asset now, but when I was a child, I was nothing more than a responsibility.” Liliana finally spoke up, words punctuated by rampant laughter she couldn’t keep contained. Mania laced her laughter, but it was truly the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard. Her father, loving anyone but his own power.

“He left me to be raised by a maid my entire life. He knew what you were doing the entire time! I cried to him, begging him to stop you, and he didn’t care. He never loved me. If he loved anyone, it was you. He was willing to overlook so much of what you did.” Liliana leaned back, wiping tears out of her eyes as the laughter finally faded.

“No. He had to love you. Why else did he refuse to send you to the convent when I demanded it? He kept you from other nobles to protect you!” Imogen was truly deep in her delusions and Liliana just shook her head, lips tugging in a wide grin as she talked.

“I think you misunderstand a core part of my father’s personality. He’s resourceful. Anything that could potentially become a useful tool, he keeps close to him. That’s all I was. A fall back heir if Alistair failed or died, a trump card if he had no other choice. I assume at best if I hadn’t been a prodigy he’d use me for his militia, or try to marry me off when I came of age to build ties. I was always just another tool for him. He just hadn’t fully decided how to use me. He didn’t show me around other nobles because it would’ve lowered his standing, not until I had proven myself to be exceptional enough for the matter of my heritage to be inconsequential.” Liliana couldn’t believe she was the one explaining her father to her stepmother.

How had the woman been so blind she hadn’t seen this? Or had her father only ever been a mark for her? A rich, powerful man she could marry to cement her social position and guarantee a good life for her son?

“You targeted me, tried to kill me. Killed the only mother I ever knew, because you thought my father loved me? All of this pain, all this suffering, all the death, all of it because you made a mistake?” Liliana’s voice was rising in pitch, cracking as she struggled to come to terms with the revelation. Familiar rage was burning her veins and for a moment she wished the bars between them were gone. So she could burn Imogen the way her rage was burning her.

“Your father loving you or not, you were always a threat to me and mine. The second I walked into the manor, your fate was sealed. If what you say of your father is true, you are still a threat. Maybe he wouldn’t have given you the duchy out of love, but don’t for a second try to lie to me and say you’re not still in the running for heir,” Imogen had managed to distort the words Liliana had said to keep her twisted narrative whole in her head. Liliana would be impressed at the mental gymnastics the woman was performing if disgust and hate weren’t roaring in her ears.

“Don’t you get it, Imogen? I never wanted to be a duchess! I didn’t then, and I don’t now! I was never your enemy until you made me into one!” Liliana shoved herself to her feet as her voice raised, anger finally breaking free, the cold flames of hate licking through her words. Imogen finally seemed to show some fear, pulling back, eyes wide as she stared at Liliana standing before her, incandescent in her rage.

“Because of you, four childhoods are ruined! Don’t you get it? Don’t you realize the lives you’ve ruined because of your power grabbing? You made my childhood hell. You killed my mother! Alistair is struggling to come to terms with the fact that his mother is a murderer, a woman who tried to kill his sister. Not to mention the many ways you fucked him up with your manipulations. Because of what you’ve done Blaine and Beatrice will grow up with a criminal for a mother!” Liliana stalked forward until she was inches from the bars, her words half growled out as her hands curled into claws, her fanged teeth bared at the woman before her.

“N-No,” Imogen stumbled over her words at first before she seemed to find some inner strength, standing and facing Liliana. Both of them glared at each other, though Imogen’s hate seemed paltry in comparison to the all-consuming inferno that danced in Liliana’s eyes.

“You did this. You ruined my plans. You turned my son against me. It’s your fault I’m in here. You robbed my children of a mother! If you’d just died, we’d be happy. Tell me Liliana, is anyone happy with me gone? Or is it just you? You always were greedy, and your greed robbed them of their happiness. It’s your fault your maid died, Astrid, was it? The poison was meant for you.” Imogen hissed at Liliana. And these words, finally, snuck past her defenses, digging their claws into her bleeding heart, echoes of the very things she’d told herself. But rage roared louder than her guilt and grief did.

“Don’t you dare say her name!” Liliana roared. She could hear Polaris growling behind her. Imogen took a step back from the hate and rage that soaked Liliana’s words, but her lips twisted into a smirk. She knew she had something now, power over Liliana. Knew how to hurt her, even with the bars between them.

“When will you be happy? When will your greed be satiated? How many people have to suffer for your happiness? How many have to die for you? You have the favor of the crown, of your father, you got rid of me. You have power now. But when will it be enough for you? Or are you going to only be fulfilled when you’ve destroyed everything?” Imogen demanded, stepping forward until she was pressed to the bars, her spit spraying on Liliana’s face as she fired accusation after accusation at her.

Uncertainty almost forced Liliana to take a step back, until anger thundered in her ears, crashing over her and robbing her of any fear. She trembled as hate and rage burned her veins, scorched her tongue, and set her entire body alight.

Imogen wanted Liliana to be the villain? Fine. She’d be the villain in the woman’s tale.

“I want everything, Imogen. I’ll be satisfied when the Rosengarde duchy is nothing but a name in a history book, rubble forgotten in an overgrown forest. When your name is said for the last time, and your very family erases you from their memories. I’ll be happy when Alistair finds his own happiness, without your shadow looming over him. I’ll be happy when Blaine and Beatrice can’t even remember the bitch that birthed them. I’ll be happy when you have nothing, when you rot away, forgotten and alone in this prison cell turned tomb.” Liliana let a cruel smile onto her face, let herself finally indulge that dark part of herself she always kept locked up. When she stepped out of this room, she’d close the door on this part of herself the same way she would do to Imogen. But just this once, she could let the woman look into the eyes of the villain she’d almost made.

Chapter 112: Alliances Made And Promises Kept

Liliana took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. She resisted the urge to pick at her dress. It was perhaps the most ornate garment she’d ever worn, only rivaled by the jewels that dripped from her. It was full of draping dark blue silk patterned with lace and small sparkling crystals that depicted a fox, tiger and serpent like constellations in the night sky. Her jewelry was all sapphires and silver, matching her dress and dark blue and silver furred cloak perfectly.

Her father was as close to panicking as she’d ever seen him since Imogen’s arrest. She knew the Rosengarde family status was dropping socially and politically, but hers had not. While the servants in their manor still did not look at her kindly, nobles were far more quick to shift their allegiances. It was necessary for their survival, as the political playing field could shift drastically overnight. Liliana also thought they did not want to give the Queen reason to send her Inquisitors after them.

Liliana, even being tied to the house Rosengarde, got more kind attention as the victim. Building ties with her would not implicate others in Imogen’s mess. Liliana had a feeling other also assumed she was soon to be named as heir of the duchy, and were looking to build ties because of it. Alistair, though he had nothing to do with his mother’s schemes, was guilty to many by the simple fact of his heritage. Before, he’d been the perfect heir because of his pedigree, but now his very pedigree was what made others think him unsuitable.

Word had also gotten around that Liliana had a third tame, a Rank 4 tame at Rank 7. That on its own would’ve been enough to garner attention but combined with current events she’d quickly become someone the nobles had great interest in. Her meeting with Queen Gwendolyn today would only drive further interest in her, not that Liliana minded. The interest gave her power, made her more valuable to her father.

Her perceived value to him was already being shown in more material aspects. He’d tried to have her room moved, but at Liliana’s refusal he’d instead had the area she was in remodeled, adding three more rooms to it with the frightening speed and efficiency that was thanks to both magic and the power of money. It had taken a week for the three rooms to be remodeled and added to her own. Even her courtyard had been extended.

Her closet had also been expanded, physically and with the amount of garments held in it. Liliana could no longer easily recall every item of clothing she owned. There were far too many of them. Jewels had been showered on her, and she had more cosmetics than she could ever use. None of that concerned her much. She had grown up without such pretty trinkets for both of her lives so now they held little draw to her, not unless they had traits she’d find useful in battle.

Her father hadn’t ignored that part of her, showing he paid some type of attention to her. She had several new battle outfits delivered, all with specialty skills and stats that would make them useful for different scenarios. She had several new naginatas to play with and an assortment of daggers. Liliana would admit she was happy with those presents, no matter who was behind them. Alistair’s words still rung in her head. She could use her father, even if she hated him. She wouldn’t cut her nose off to spite her face.

“Are you ready, Lady Liliana?” a voice woke Liliana from her mental musings. She turned to look at the guard standing before two large, ornate doors coated in gold that showed off a scene of Queen Gwendolyn standing victorious on a battlefield, both resplendent in her crafter armor, but also terrifying. Respect, admiration and fear. It was clear what the queen wanted to inspire in her vassals. Liliana nodded, not speaking as she took another deep breath, straightening her spine and raising her head.

The guard knocked once on the doors and they opened, revealing a throne room as ornate as the door. A thick red carpet marked the path from the doors to the bottom of the dais that held a large throne upon which the queen sat. Pillars carved with various mythical beasts and gods sat on either side of the carpet, further marking the path forward. Liliana could see guards and Knights scattered through the room, no other nobles though. This was an official meeting, but it was private, too.

“Lady Liliana Loretta Verity Rosengarde,” a voice announced her and with that, Liliana moved forward. Her heart was beating a frantic tempo in her chest as she walked beneath the watching eyes of the queen and her knights, knowing that it would be so easy for the woman to end her life. Liliana didn’t bother to [Identify] anyone here, knowing at best it was futile. At worst, it would be seen as an insult.

The quiet swish of Liliana’s silken heels and dress on the rug was the only noise in the room as she walked ever closer to the queen. It felt like she was walking for ages before she came to the bottom of the dais, where she immediately dropped into a low curtsy, her head bowed. Though she didn’t miss the three knights standing behind the queen’s throne before her head was lowered.

“Greetings to Queen Gwendolyn Genevieve Summerwarden, the Sun of our queendom,” Liliana greeted the queen from where she held herself.

“Liliana Rosengarde, you may rise.” The queen greeted after a few seconds, and Liliana rose slowly, keeping her head slightly bowed to avoid eye contact.

“You have recently been the victim of numerous crimes, perpetrated by the woman known as Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde,” the queen began and Liliana nodded unnecessarily, as they both knew it to be the truth. Liliana had ensured that.

“The perpetrator has already confessed her guilt before three Inquisitors, which is enough for a conviction. However, further investigation has also revealed evidence that proves her crimes. In instances like this, where the victim and the perpetrator are both nobles, we allow for the victim to have a say in the punishment of the guilty. Barring full pardons for their crimes,” the queen continued, her voice kept emotionless as she went over the facts and her offer to Liliana.

Liliana sucked in a quiet breath. She’d heard of such things happening, but she’d assumed she would not be granted such a thing. It didn’t mean she had no idea of what she wanted, what punishments she felt Imogen deserved for her crimes.

“I want her to be kept imprisoned for the rest of her life, and I want her status as a noble revoked,” Liliana spoke up when she’d overcome her shock, finally raising her head enough to meet the queen’s eyes.

Sapphire met ruby and Liliana thought she saw a measure of understanding lurking in the crimson depths. Liliana didn’t say it, but she wanted Imogen to live out her days in suffering, alone, the way she’d forced Liliana to live for so long. Make her slowly realize no one loved her, or would come to save her. The only difference would be that Imogen would never get the chance to save herself. She’d forfeited that right the second she slipped that first poison into Liliana’s tea.

Revoking her status as a noble was small in comparison. Imogen’s status wouldn’t mean anything in prison, but it would mean something to the woman who had spent most of her life scheming for power. Her noble status would’ve been one of the few bits of power she could cling to, even in a cell, but now that too would be ripped from her.

“Then so it shall be. Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde will be imprisoned for life, her noble status revoked. Her holdings will also be transferred to you as compensation for her crimes,” the queen declared, and before Liliana could think, her mouth moved.

“Half to Alistair,” Liliana spoke up, and the queen paused, glancing at Liliana with something suspiciously close to amusement on her face.

“You would give half of your due to the son of the woman who tried to kill you?” the queen asked and Liliana nodded, her eyes sure.

“I don’t blame my brother for his mother’s crimes. He had no part in them, and by rights his mother’s holdings are his.” Liliana informed the queen.

She was selfless enough to make sure her brother got something, with his future so uncertain now. But still selfish enough to want something for herself as well. She knew if Alistair was here, he’d demand she take it all, but she wouldn’t leave her brother penniless if her father decided to forsake the boy.

“I believe we can accommodate that request. Then half of her holdings shall be yours, half his.” The queen waved a hand, and Liliana noticed the sound of quill on parchment. A man standing to the side was writing down what the queen was saying. Likely by the end of the month, Liliana would get deeds sent to her, and an account of her own at the bank for the money she’d be transferred.

“Now that we have concluded the official portion of this meeting, I wish to thank you,” the queen spoke up and Liliana watched as the woman seemed to shift.

The mask of a queen was removed and Liliana knew she was looking at the woman she’d met in the courtyard, Gwendolyn, her friend’s mother, and her tentative ally. Liliana felt herself relax marginally, the nerves fluttering in her stomach still twisted and rebelled, but they were more calm. It was easier to talk to a friend’s mother, no matter how formidable, than the queen of her country.

“The thanks should be mine to give, your majesty. You and your Inquisitors have ensured my attempted murderess can no longer do me and mine harm,” Liliana was quick to thank the queen, not wanting the woman to assume she was ungrateful. Without the queen and her Inquisitors, Liliana knew what her only option would’ve been, and it would be a far less clean one than this.

“Yes, but you requested aid before, and we could not lend it to you. You lost someone before justice could be seen to.” The queen didn’t say the apology that hung in the air, she couldn’t.

A queen could never apologize, could never admit to fault. Liliana understood it. She understood the way things had to be done because of the delicate balance of power that the queen had to maintain. One shove too hard and everything could tumble down, embroiling their country in a civil war it didn’t need, wouldn’t survive. So she didn’t blame the queen for not sending her Inquisitors sooner, not until her father had called them or until Liliana would’ve found enough evidence to warrant it.

Liliana blamed herself, more than anyone else, barring Imogen for Astrid’s death. Had Liliana found evidence the day she’d snuck into Imogen’s room, it could’ve been avoided. Had she taken her lunch that day, she’d have found the poison, or been the one to die. So many things could’ve been done to prevent the worst outcome, but Liliana had failed at those paths. Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. All things that meant nothing now, because they couldn't change the reality or the past. She could only remember it for the future, hold on to her guilt, and use it as a lesson. The last lesson Astrid would ever teach her.

“Still, this has been an opportunity for us all. One I have you to thank for. Your part in all of this will not be soon forgotten,” the queen leaned forward, and a bit of mischief stained her smile and eyes, “a truth potion? I’d love to know how you got it, but I’ll let you keep that secret to yourself.” The queen whispered conspiratorially, though Liliana was not fooled. Any Knight in this room would hear the words clearly. But they were tied to the queen in a way that would guarantee undying loyalty. Nothing would escape this room except what the queen wanted.

The queen also confirmed something Liliana had suspected when she was given this order, masquerading as an invitation. The queen had found something to hold over her father, something big enough to leash him to her side for however long the queen wanted. That was more than thanks enough, in Liliana’s mind.

“Will your majesty allow me access to my storage for a moment?” Liliana asked in lieu of an answer.

The queen was interested, or trusted her enough, to nod. Liliana summoned a small glass vial and held it out to the queen. One of the Knights behind her stepped forward and took it, examining it for a moment before handing it to the queen. Liliana might be trusted, but not to the point that she could hand something to the queen without it being checked for traps. Liliana did not mind, she expected nothing less.

“Oh, you had another? What do you ask for this?” the queen inquired as she tilted the vial to look at the contents. Liliana would not correct the woman to inform her that she still had three more vials left. That would be an ace she’d keep to herself.

“Nothing more than your favor, your majesty. And permission to continue being Marianne’s friend,” Liliana said easily.

She could ask for many things as payment for such a rare potion, but she wouldn’t. Having the favor of the crown was more valuable than gold or jewels. From her more spiteful side, also came that Liliana wanted to be on the crown’s side. The queen might be looking at her for ways to use her, but Marianne had been kind to her, a good friend. The nobles had looked down on her from the moment she was born. Even when she gained power, there were still those that thought less of her. But the queen and Marianne had never shown her the same discrimination she’d suffered under the nobles. So it was a simple thing for her to want to spite the nobles by throwing her lot in with the royal faction rather than the nobles.

“That’s your wish? I can grant that. Consider yourself favoured by the crown, Liliana Rosengarde. And I was never planning on coming between you and my daughter. She is far too taken with you,” the queen smiled, but there was a small flash of fear in her eyes and Liliana had to wonder what Marianne had done, or said, to make the queen fear trying to sever their friendship. Liliana hoped she never had to have to see the side of her friend that could even make her mother fearful.

“Thank you, your majesty. If there’s ever anything I can do to aid the crown, you must only ask.” Liliana curtsied deeply again. She was glad this meeting had gone so well, and she’d be walking out considerably richer in both money and political power than she’d walked in.

“I only ask for your loyalty, for now,” the queen told her as Liliana rose. Liliana raised an eyebrow.

“Do you require an oath?” Liliana had seen those in the game, but they seemed fairly restrictive in real life. She didn’t want to tie herself down with an oath of loyalty, but she had no plans to oppose the crown, so it wouldn’t be a completely terrible thing. However, her suggestion seemed to amuse the queen, based on the laugh that burst out of the woman.

“Oh, you are far too young to make such oaths. The System doesn’t permit oaths of loyalty or any other kind before you turn 18. Barring soul contracts, as you know. Though if you tried a soul contract on another humanoid race, you would encounter problems,” the queen explained, and Liliana’s eyes widened with this new knowledge.

Perhaps that’s why she had found so little about oaths. Then again, she hadn’t really researched them either. She hadn’t known the part about her not being able to enter a soul contract with another human, or one of the other humanoid races. However, she had never been interested in that part of the Soul affinity, so she had never looked into the age restrictions. Perhaps this was why they couldn’t arrange marriages before someone came of age, because those usually involved oaths of some type, as did marriage?

“Sometimes I forget you are a child, and not as knowledgeable about the world as those older.“ The queen said as she wiped a small tear of mirth from her eye. Liliana bristled slightly at the slightly patronizing tone of the queen, but she didn’t let it show. It was true, she was still a child and there was far too much about this world she simply didn’t know.

“So no, I require no oath from you. If you still wish to make one when you come of age, we can discuss it then. But for now, I just want your loyalty to me and Marianne, though I doubt I have to ask for that,” the queen had composed herself once more. Liliana nodded to her. Her loyalty to Marianne should never be questioned. The girl was one of her closest friends, despite how rarely they could see each other. Something that may be remedied now with Imogen out of the picture.

“Then we have concluded our business for the day. I believe there is someone who wishes to see you.” The queen motioned her head and Liliana noticed for the first time a small door behind the throne that had opened, revealing a familiar head of white hair and wide, excited ruby eyes.

“Go.” It was as much permission as a command, and with a final curtsy to the queen, Liliana hurried to her friend’s side. As Marianne wrapped her in a tight hug, Liliana let herself smile. A small thing, but a real one.

She still wasn’t alright, but she knew as she listened to Marianne gushing about a new book, carefully avoiding painful topics, she would be.

Chapter 113: The End Of One Path And Beginning Of Another

Liliana tugged her hair up into a high ponytail, the heavy weight of it swinging behind her in a controlled fall of black, blue and silver. Like moonlight sparkling on a midnight ocean. She was dressed in one of the leather sets her father had delivered, made for durability and beauty. The advantages of wealth, and Liliana assumed contacts with master craftsmen. Black leather soft as butter built the base, with blue scales overlapping to add protection but without restricting her movements or slowing her down.

Scaled Leathers of the Nightwind Salamander, they gave a +30 to her Speed, +25 bonus to her Dexterity, +15 to Intelligence, +15 to Wisdom and +10 to Endurance. It had a set skill, [Winds Of Midnight], which would surround her with an AOE Dark and Wind skill that would push back and damage any enemies within a twenty-foot radius of her. A rather useful gift, one Liliana only felt a slight bit of annoyance at using.

Her weapons were similarly upgraded, her new naginata, Blade Of Shining Winds, gave her a 20% bonus to Wind and 15% to Light attacks, along with a +20 to Strength bonus. It didn’t have a weapon skill, which was fine. Those were rarer, and she’d be more likely to find an evolvable weapon or a weapon holding its own skill in a dungeon. Her daggers she’d picked out were just as expensive and impressive as the rest of her gear. Shatter Lights they were named. They gave her a 15% bonus to light, and +10 to Dexterity when she used them. She’d have preferred Soul or even Telekinesis aspected weapons, but Soul aspected weapons were usually staffs or focuses, as most who used the Soul affinity were long range. Either tamers who stood back while their tames fought or casters. And secondary affinities were far rarer to find aspected to any weapons. Those were typically Epic, Unique or Legendary items. Which were almost always dungeon drops, or made by Rank 3 or higher craftsmen, which meant they held a Rank 3 price tag and level requirements to even use.

Liliana nodded her head after checking her equipment and began to remove it, switching to a set of simple leather pants, cotton top and leather vest. There was no one in the manor now who would dare chastise her for her ‘improper’ attire. Even Miss Beckett, her tutor, kept her opinions to herself. Liliana could’ve had the woman fired. They both knew it, but she didn’t. A petty part of her enjoyed seeing the disgust and fear in the woman’s eyes every time they met for her lessons. The woman knowing that the person she looked down on was also the one who held her employment in her hands. The duke’s daughter was no longer the unwanted child, shoved into dusty rooms and left forgotten. She had tried to distance herself from the Rosengarde name, avoiding using it for her own gain, but in this one thing she felt an exception could be made.

Liliana set her gear carefully to the side, making sure it would be ready for the morning. They’d be leaving early and it would be best if she could get ready quickly. When she was satisfied, she turned from her task and moved to the doors fit into the wall of the room. The added rooms that had been remodeled for her all held doors to the courtyard that ran alongside her rooms, making access to it easy for Liliana. She threw open the doors with a small smile on her face as a warm wind flowed over her. It was late winter now, spring finally in sight, but her courtyard was still magically heated and felt like an early summer day as she stepped out onto a cobblestone path that now circled the courtyard.

Laughter washed over her and Liliana turned her head, a hand coming up to shade her eyes from the harsh light of the late afternoon sun. Flint and Clover were chasing Lelantos around the courtyard, a yipping Polaris hot on their heels. Nemesis was coiled in the middle of the courtyard in her large form, eyes closed as she soaked in the warm sunlight, the light bringing out the green in her brown scales.

“Miss Liliana!” a high-pitched voice called out and Liliana turned from her survey just in time to see Flint and Clover sprinting at her, in seconds two small bodies collided with her and for their benefit she fell backwards, careful to make sure the children weren’t hurt in the fall. Flint and Clover giggled as Liliana let out an overdramatic groan at the collision and subsequent fall.

“Oh goodness, you two are getting so strong! You’ll break me if you get any bigger!” Liliana complained, though the warm smile on her face belied her words.

Her sapphire eyes that held deep shadows that didn’t match her smile, the dark circles confessing the truths of her sleepless nights, were cracks in the facade she tried to maintain. She may be able to smile again, two months after the tragedy, but she was far from healed, far from better. She’d be alright, one day, but not yet.

“No one could break you, Miss Liliana,” Clover told Liliana, raising her horned head to look at Liliana with deep brown eyes swimming with certainty.

Since the children had come back from their forced vacation, their faith in Liliana had been cemented. To the two children tangled in her legs, their still too thin arms wrapped around her, Liliana was as strong and infallible as any other adult. They may have seen things no child should have, experienced hardships they didn’t deserve, but they were still children. And once they chose to trust someone, to place their belief in them, that faith was all-encompassing.

The tales Liliana had regaled them with of meeting a mysterious Rank 1 beast right out of myths and fables had not helped their belief. It didn’t matter that the entire encounter had hinged on more luck than Liliana thought she had, didn’t matter that Liliana hadn’t fought Minori. To them she had faced a creature out of legends, and survived to come back home. She’d faced insurmountable odds yet still kept her promise to them. And to them, that was all they needed to catapult Liliana right up there in their minds with the heroes of legend.

“I’ve been training, Miss Liliana!” Flint told her eagerly, his tail vibrating behind him with his excitement.

Liliana shifted them so she was sitting comfortably, and they weren’t sprawled over her. Both children still kept a hand each attached to the leather of her pants, and Liliana didn’t mention it. The children had been clingy after they returned, and Liliana would admit silently she enjoyed their constant need to be around her. It felt good to be needed by someone. It reminded her to take care of herself, if only to set a good example for the two children who looked up at her with stars in their eyes and mimicked her behaviors.

“Have you been?” Liliana asked. Flint nodded his head eagerly, jumping up and grabbing her hand to tug her forward.

“Come look!” Flint urged and Liliana stood, taking Clover’s hand in her other as she let the feline beastman child lead her to the edge of the courtyard, where it met the stone wall covered in creeping vines.

Flint let go of her hand to grab a long, mostly straight stick. Liliana’s eyebrow raised as he took a serviceable fighting stance and began to move. His forms were sloppy, and he was probably more of a threat to himself than any attackers, but as Liliana watched, she could see the potential. He was obviously mimicking her own moves and stances from when she practiced with Emyr, Alistair, Silas, or even Jason in the courtyard.

Perhaps I should have Jason or Silas begin training Flint, Liliana thought as the boy continued his display. It was difficult to tell what weapon would be best for him, and Liliana was far from an expert, but she thought perhaps training him with a sword at least wouldn’t be a bad idea. She wouldn’t make an assumption based on his feline traits. She didn't even know what type of cat he was, but she knew very well that being part cat didn't mean he’d be predisposed to light weapons. Lelantos was a cat, and he was the least dexterous creature she’d ever met. The years of malnutrition also meant Liliana couldn’t determine if Flint was going to grow to be bulky or slim. A sword was at least a fairly good neutral weapon. If he was going to end up slim and speedy, he could transfer to lighter swords like Emyr’s rapier, or if he was going to be bigger, he could switch to heavier swords like a claymore, or even a sword and shield.

“What did you think?” Flint asked as he set his stick down, panting slightly. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but his mismatched eyes were shining with pride and eagerness.

“I think you did very well. You have a lot of potential. Do you want to be a fighter when you get older?” Liliana asked as Flint hurried back over to her, grabbing her hand once more.

“I want to grow up to be strong so I can help you, Miss Liliana!” Flint told her and Liliana blinked in surprise. Her heart squeezed as she looked down into the eyes of the small child who was looking up at her with something akin to hero worship.

“You know you don’t need to, right? It’s enough for me if you two grow up happy and healthy,” Liliana said carefully, worried that perhaps Flint thought he had to repay her.

She had offered to him the option of joining the guards when he got older, but she didn’t mean to imply he had to. He and Clover could remain servants if they wished, or even leave to make their own way in the world. In her opinion, they were under no obligations to repay her. She simply had them ‘working’ because she knew they’d have never believed in charity without a catch.

“I know! But I want to, Miss Liliana. I want to be strong like you one day. And when I get older and stronger, I can help keep you safe!” Flint told her, his voice holding a surprising amount of conviction for one so young. Liliana felt her eyes stinging with tears and she smiled softly down at Flint before kneeling and wrapping the boy in a hug that elicited a squeak that sounded suspiciously close to a meow.

“Okay, but you have to make sure you take care of yourself, and eat all your meals, so you can grow up big and strong and be able to protect me.” Liliana told Flint as she pulled back, her voice stern as she looked at the child. Flint nodded quickly and Liliana’s mask broke into another warm smile.

“Lili!” a voice called out and Liliana stood, turning to see Alistair and Emyr standing in one of the doorways to the courtyard. Liliana’s smile widened as she freed one hand to wave at them before turning back to the children.

“Go back to exercising Lelantos and Polaris, okay, kids?” Liliana asked.

Flint and Clover nodded seriously. After all, taking care of Liliana’s Bonds was their ‘job’. They’d even graduated to feeding the Bonds under heavy supervision. They took a lot of pride in their work, and quite a bit of enjoyment in it, too. Liliana turned from the children, who had run after a ‘sleeping’ Lelantos, to move to her friends. As soon as she was in range, Alistair reached out to ruffle her hair, messing up her ponytail. Alistair had grown a few inches recently, and he enjoyed lording his new height over her. He’d always been taller, but now it was just getting ridiculous. Liliana just hoped she would catch up soon, otherwise she’d be dwarfed before long.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Emyr asked as Liliana swiped at her brother, her fanged teeth bared in a false threat. Alistair and Emyr had adjusted to her physical changes as easily as they did her increasingly animalistic tendencies. It was becoming harder and harder for Liliana to not hiss or growl at inopportune times when she was feeling particularly annoyed or irritated.

“Yea, I have everything packed. How about you two?” Liliana asked as she redid her ponytail with a glare at her brother, who smirked at her.

“I have everything packed and ready. You remembered rations and potions?” Emyr directed the last question at both of them.

Alistair’s expression soured a little. They were heading out to the dungeon the duke had gotten them into tomorrow. It would take a little less than a week to get there, and they’d have a week in the dungeon to clear it and level. However, it was decided, by Silas specifically, that they were old enough to prepare for dungeons themselves. Including getting their own rations and potions. Silas would be here later tonight to check over everything and make sure they hadn’t made any fatal errors. There’d be a chance to buy anything they forgot on the way there, thankfully.

“I got everything I thought I might need,” Liliana confirmed.

Unlike Alistair and Emyr, she had far more experience with dungeons, even if it was behind a screen. She had always been over prepared for any dungeon or boss fight she did, and that had translated well here. She knew she was well stocked and provisioned for the endeavor.

“Pretty sure I got everything,” Alistair grumbled. “Don’t know why we have to do it ourselves, though.” He finished, tone almost whining.

“Because when we get to the Academy we won’t have servants to do it for us, and there won’t be anyone making sure we got everything we needed, either. It’s best to learn now, when we have someone to correct us, then to do it when there’s no one to catch us if we fall.” Liliana told Alistair, who groaned but didn’t argue. He knew she was right.

The three of them moved to where Nemesis was laying, all of them sitting down, leaning back against the sun warmed scales. Liliana had her knee pressed to Alistair’s, and she saw on his other side Emyr was leaning into him.

“Heard anything about another dungeon after this?” Alistair asked as he leaned his head back, eyes closing as he basked in the sunlight.

“We have another in three months. You know any Rank 8 to 6 dungeons will be hard to get,” Liliana told him.

It went unsaid that it would be more difficult for them in particular. Rosengarde had money, but so did many other nobles, and with their slight fall from grace, the name Rosengarde didn’t move them up lists anymore. It didn’t help that many noble children who would be joining the Academy this spring would be filling the dungeons to grind out any levels they could get beforehand, and any nobles going the next year like they were would be feeling the deadline looming.

Liliana knew leveling would slow considerably the next year, with a week here or there where they could jump up thanks to dungeons. But she didn’t foresee them being able to get into more than maybe six or so dungeons before the time came for enrollment. She had less to worry about. Her Boon would ensure she progressed during the times she could level, but Alistair and Emyr would likely begin to slow or even plateau. But as long as they were all comfortably in Rank 6 Liliana wasn’t overly worried. If they got desperate, there were still areas in their territory that would have beasts of the necessary level, even if it would be slower leveling than a dungeon.

Their conversation turned to discussing the upcoming a dungeon, a familiar topic nowadays, and Liliana let her mind wander. Life was slowly getting better, since Imogen was sentenced and imprisoned. It didn’t heal the still aching wounds in her soul, or erase the scars she bore, but the woman’s absence finally gave her the chance to begin healing. Every day, she could feel the anger and fear that had long been her constant companions slowly fading, the hurt in her heart lessening fraction by fraction.

Liliana could finally look to the future, think in terms of months rather than days. Instead of worrying if she’d find an assassin in her room every night, she could think on what the Academy would be like, the next step in her path. She knew the Academy would be difficult. Perhaps as difficult as anything she’d already undergone. She’d be tested, mentally and physically. But she would admit, she was excited. For the chance to leave the manor behind, and to advance herself.

Her task, the reason she’d been granted this second life, still hung over her head. But it was a vague, faraway thing that hardly dimmed the path she saw forming before her. She’d need to face it one day, but that day wasn’t anytime soon. For now, she could let herself feel like a normal teenager, getting excited over school and the possibilities it would hold for her.

She’d already altered the fate that had been determined for her, and she couldn’t wait to see what changes the future would hold for her now that she no longer stood alone.

Chapter 114: A Long Awaited Exam

“Lili! It’s time!” Emyr’s voice called out in the relative silence of the courtyard. Liliana turned her head slightly, just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye before returning her attention to her opponent before her.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” She called out as her hand slid slightly down the haft of her weapon.

Four daggers were strewn around the packed dirt of the training circle. Taking a deep breath, Liliana activated [Threads of Control] and grasped them, the blades flying through the air to rotate around her. Silas gripped his broadsword and drew it in front of his body, eyes easily following her movements. Liliana let out her breath as [Wind Surge] activated quickly, followed by her Finisher Combo Chain.

In a heartbeat, she had passed the distance between them, her body wreathed in razor sharp winds that blew dust and debris up around her. Her five blades shone under the afternoon light, one shining like a trapped star as it passed through the air, an afterimage left behind it. Steel clashed as Silas blocked her first two daggers with his sword, the other two scored marks against his skin, healed as soon as they appeared. But they had been distractions.

Her naginata slipped past his stilled sword, aiming for his center. As it began to pierce through the leather protecting him, a concussion of force shoved Liliana back. The bottom of her weapon dug into the ground to keep her on her feet. Her daggers flew past her, landing deep in the earth once more as Liliana panted.

“That’s enough for today. You did good.” Silas sheathed his sword to signal the end of the fight.

Liliana sighed and dropped to the ground, leaning her head against her naginata still embedded into the ground. She closed her eyes as she canceled her active skills and spells, excluding [Regeneration] which was working to fix her bruises, cuts and a few slightly damaged bones. Silas was holding back against her far less now, which meant she sometimes came out with injuries from their trainings. It made her feel better to know he rarely came out of a bout without some of his own injuries, however fast he healed them.

“Come on, you need to get cleaned up to meet the Academy proctor.” Silas told her, his voice sounding close. Liliana opened her eyes and looked up at him with a small pout.

“That won’t work on me. You can’t miss your assessment,” Silas told her, his tone broking no argument even if his eyes danced with amusement.

Liliana groaned and grabbed his offered hand, dismissing her weapon to storage as she rose. When she was on her feet, she flicked her wrist in an unnecessary gesture, reactivating [Threads of Control] and summoning her daggers back within range to dismiss them as well.

“Ugh, I’m disgusting,” Liliana grumbled as she picked at her sweat, blood and dirt stained training clothes. Dusting off her clothes, she activated [Cleanse], perhaps her favorite spell she’d ever gotten. The dirt, blood and sweat vanished from her clothes and skin in seconds, leaving her looking as clean as if she’d just had a bath. It technically worked just as well as a bath, but Liliana still preferred a good hot soak whenever possible, but [Cleanse] had been a lifesaver in dungeons.

“Now you look less like a dust urchin from the gutter,” Silas said approvingly, earning himself a harsh smack against his arm that he hardly seemed to notice.

“Lili.” Emyr’s voice called out, drawing her attention from her smirking instructor.

Emyr was leaning against the threshold to her rooms an exasperated expression on his handsome face. The last year had been kind to her friend, transforming him from a pretty child into a handsome youth that had begun to attract attention at social gatherings. Something he lamented about constantly. His dark blue hair reached his shoulder blades now, though he usually kept it tamed in a low ponytail.

Unlike her brother, who had apparently taken bears as a blueprint for his form, Emyr had kept his thinner frame, though Liliana knew that he held a strength most would find surprising. However, like her brother, Emyr had shot up in height over the past year, quickly dwarfing Liliana. Both boys were pushing six feet, if they weren’t there already. Liliana had hardly grown two inches in the past year, coming in at 5’4 and she feared she would be stuck at her diminutive height for the rest of her life.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Liliana snapped at her friend with little heat.

Emyr raised a brow and shrugged but turned to enter her rooms, likely to wait for her. Liliana might have gotten a [Time Keeper] skill, but she was still not the best at keeping track of social obligations. Some could call her spoiled. Her father was not likely to scold her for her lack of punctuality now and there was always something she had to do. Be it physical training, magic training, studying, or alchemy, her days were full. Wasting time with things like tea parties, balls, or galas felt pointless to her when she knew her future wouldn’t include nobility. What good was networking when she would never make use of it?

“Thank you for the practice, Silas,” Liliana turned to Silas and gave the man a hug, his arms coming around her in a now familiar embrace.

“It was my pleasure. Don’t know how many more of these we’ll have,” Silas said, his voice a bit rough.

Liliana pulled back, her lips down-turned as she was reminded of her impending departure. She was happy to be turning her back on this manor that held more nightmares than happy memories, but it didn’t mean she wanted to leave everyone inside of it. She had friends here, friends who wouldn't necessarily be able to come with her on the next step of her journey.

“Don’t frown. You’re sixteen now, you don’t need a nursemaid,” Silas chastised her, his voice gruff but his tone gentle.

“I haven’t needed a babysitter for ages,” Liliana responded, rolling her eyes as she let Silas distract her. She pulled back with a sigh, “Guess I gotta go now then,” Liliana groaned.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Silas told her with a wave of his hand.

Liliana returned it and began to walk towards her rooms. She paused for a moment as she entered, letting her eyes adjust to the darker lighting before continuing in. Emyr was lounging in the room that had become half study, half alchemy workroom, lazily flipping through one of her potion journals. Liliana ruffled his hair roughly as she passed, earning her a curse as she went. Entering her dressing room, she closed the door to the workroom.

“Clover?” Liliana called out as she shed her clothing, dropping it in the soiled clothing bin for a maid to clean later.

Clover popped out between a rack of dresses, hands full of fabric, her brown eyes sparkling. The girl had taken it upon herself to learn how to become a lady’s maid over the past year. She had applied herself determinedly to the task. Clover was still a child, though, something Liliana kept in mind. She couldn’t yet take on all the responsibilities of a lady’s maid yet so some of the manor maids aided with the tasks. But when it came to dressing Liliana, Clover wouldn’t let anyone else do it. She adored getting to dress Liliana up. She certainly took more enjoyment out of it than Liliana did.

Liliana finished removing her clothing and waited for Clover to grab a stool to begin dressing her. In record time, Liliana was adorned in a pretty, but simple, navy blue gown that brought out the blue in her hair and her eyes. Liliana sat down for Clover to do her hair. Nothing more than a simple crown braid. Anything elaborate was still outside of the girl’s skill set.

“Thank you Clover, you did wonderfully,” Liliana smiled warmly at the beastman child, ruffling her hair gently between her antlers. Clover beamed up at her, face flushed with pride.

“Thank you Miss Lili, it was fun!” Clover spoke softly but with happiness. The child had gotten better about talking, though she rarely spoke around strangers and Liliana had a feeling she’d always be soft-spoken. Flint more than made up for his friend’s quietness with his boisterous energy.

“Are you done yet?” Alistair’s voice, muffled by the door, startled Clover, causing the child to squeak and duck behind Liliana’s skirts.

“Yes, you impatient beast!” Liliana called back, with a last ruffle of Clover’s hair Liliana stood and moved towards the door of her dressing room emerging into her bedroom where Alistair, and Emyr, were lounging on her bed as if it were their own. Liliana wasn’t surprised that Emyr had gravitated to Alistair as soon as he’d entered her rooms.

The last year had been good to Alistair as well, physically. He had grown by leaps and bounds both in height, muscle, and level. Alistair dwarfed Liliana now in not only height but in sheer size. He truly had picked the right class going for tank. Liliana couldn’t imagine her bear of a brother picking up a staff or wand. He was still obviously a teenager, but it was becoming clearer every day what he would look like when he grew up, a mountain of a man that neither beast nor mortals would be able to move. She also supposed if he wasn’t her brother, he’d be a handsome youth in his own right. He certainly looked every part the golden hero of tales.

However, unlike Emyr, he got far less positive attention at social gatherings, a year too short a time for the nobility to forget the sins of his mother. Or rather the fact she was so inept as to be caught in her machinations, for Liliana doubted there was a noble alive that didn’t have blood on their hands and poison in their pockets.

“Gods woman, you take forever to get ready,” Alistair complained, earning him a shoe thrown at his head. Alistair yelped and waved off the projectile, though they both knew he hadn’t been hurt by it.

“You really aren’t one to talk. When did you start getting ready today? 5th bell? 4th?” Liliana asked as she caught the shoe thrown back at her by her brother.

“No. No sibling brawl today. We need to go.” Emyr rose from the bed to stand between them, taking on the role of mediator with a tired familiarity.

Liliana hissed softly but capitulated, striding towards the door to the sitting room. She barely paused as she entered, the memories from that day still drawing pains in her heart, but they no longer debilitated her. With a slightly shaky breath, she passed through the room and into the hall, her brother and friend on her heels.

“So what is the assessment going to be like?” Liliana asked as she slowed down enough to walk beside her brother, both of them turning to stare at Emyr, Liliana having to lean forward a good deal to look past her brother’s bulk. He had siblings that had been to the Academy and was the most likely to have information.

“I have no idea,” Emyr said with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. The sibling’s eyes narrowed in sync, an aura of suspicion forming around them.

“No seriously. They put up a barrier when they do the assessments, so I could never find out and my siblings were tight-lipped.” Emyr held up his hands as if to ward off their suspicion, murmuring under his breath, “It’s really creepy when you two do that together.”

“Maybe they’ll have us fight a monster!” Alistair grinned, a fist forming in front of him.

“I think we’d notice them moving three beasts to the manor,” Liliana drawled.

“We’ll find out soon enough, we’re here,” Emyr stated as they stopped in front of the door leading to the drawing room appropriated for their assessments.

All three teens stared at the door, nervousness and anticipation running rampant through them all. It was rare that a noble who met the level requirements of the Academy was denied, but it wasn’t impossible. There was a chance for failure, however slim. They’d been training every chance they got for the past year for the Academy, to be sure they’d be strong enough for it.

What if it wasn’t enough?

That was the thought running through all of their heads as they stared at the door as if it was the gates to the abyss itself. It was Alistair who moved first. Not a surprise. Alistair was always the first to run into danger, leaving the other two to chase after him and often rescue him when he inevitably rushed into danger too much for him to handle. His fist beat against the door, so loud in the silence it sounded like thunder booming.

“Come in,” a feminine voice called out. Alistair hesitated a moment before grasping the doorknob and throwing the door open with perhaps too much force, based on the way it banged harshly against the wall.

Liliana and Emyr followed after Alistair, the two of them leaning past his frame to get their first glimpse of the proctor. Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked at the woman, moving to the side of her brother as she took in the woman who would determine her future.

The proctor was dressed in the Academy’s colors, gold and black in what Liliana assumed was a uniform. It looked vaguely militaristic but with more embellishment. A black top that Liliana suspected was armored fit the woman well, adorned with a red capelet held on by a golden pin with the Academy emblem on it. She wore a pair of black trousers with gold buttons and thin stripes down the sides over a pair of dark boots. A thin sword was strapped to the woman’s hip. The woman’s dark brown hair was gathered into a tight bun on top of her head and sharp green eyes assessed them from a deceptively soft face.

“Good, none of you are below the required level,” the woman spoke again with a nod. At the woman’s comment, Liliana activated [Identify].

Constance Wirga

Age: 132

Level: 342

Rank: 3

Class: Star Mystic Knight

Health: 60,400

Energy: 56,720

Liliana felt her lungs lock up and her eyes widen as she took in the information given to her. [Identify] had changed when she ranked up, giving her Health and Energy or Mana, depending on what the target used, as well as other information. It was useful in a fight to know how much health an enemy had, but right now, it just made her feel terrified. She’d never used it on someone so high leveled, and seeing the raw stat difference was both humbling and horrifying. Based on the sharp breaths she heard from Emyr and Alistair, they had seen something similar. Their proctor was a monster, and Liliana fervently hoped their assessment wouldn't require they fight her. They’d surely die.

Is everyone who works for the Academy so highly leveled? Or are the proctors at their highest levels? Or maybe their lowest? Liliana wasn’t sure how she’d feel about being taught by such powerful people. Though she was certain it would be useful to be such a highly leveled teacher, their auras alone could probably force a room of rowdy teens to be silent.

“Now that introductions are out of the way, we’ll begin.” Constance spoke up.

Introductions? Does she consider using [Identify] on each other an introduction? I suppose it is, but nobles usually also greet each other. Liliana blinked, still shell-shocked over the proctor’s level.

“Emyr Bealstal, you’ll be first.” The proctor said, taking their silence as agreement rather than stunned befuddlement. By the time the three of them had recovered, Constance had set up a barrier and pulled out a large glass orb from her storage.

“Place your hand on this. It will show me your status and skill sheets. Quickly I have five other houses to visit today,” Constance barked out, startling Emyr badly enough that he lurched forward before he seemed to understand what he was told.

He recovered himself and approached more gracefully, hesitating only a second before placing his hand on the orb. Liliana couldn’t help leaning forward to watch, curiosity widening her eyes as the orb glowed with a myriad of colors, black, a smoky dark gray, red, orange, a swirl of colors that looked almost cosmic. It took Liliana a moment to understand the colors of the orb reflected the affinities Emyr had. Dark, Shadow, Fire, Heat, Celestial.

“Pass.” Constance stated, nodding at Emyr to step back. As soon as his hand left the orb, the colors vanished, leaving a clear globe behind.

Is that it? It’s almost disappointing. Liliana thought, though she was careful to not let her emotions show. She was grateful she didn’t have to fight anything, but it seemed almost a letdown. However, nerves still clogged her throat, what if she still wasn’t enough?

“Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde,” Constance called, and Alistair walked forward with more composure than his friend. His hand touched the orb and like before, colors swirled, gold, soft yellow, brown, steel gray, shifting rainbow. Light, Illusion, Earth, Metal, Crystal.

“Pass.” Constance freed Alistair, and the boy stepped back with a sigh of relief, shooting Liliana and Emyr a grin.

“Liliana Rosengarde,” the proctor called out, and Liliana stepped forward robotically.

It felt like her heart was in her throat, choking her. She had kept her level hidden constantly thanks to [Deception] leveling so much. It was strange to her to reveal it so readily to someone, at least this orb only checked Status and Skill sheets. Not all of her sheets. Liliana didn’t know what she’d do if they checked Title sheets, had no idea how she would explain away her titles. Liliana touched the orb, startled at how warm it felt.

Quickly, the orb filled with colors, gold, dark purple, vibrant green, soft yellow, white, light blue, lilac purple, gray blue. Light, Soul, Life, Illusion, Wind, Astral, Psyche, Telekinesis affinities. Constance’s eyebrow raised minutely as she looked at the colors, taking a few seconds longer looking over Liliana’s sheets than she did the boys. Liliana felt fear fill her, fear of being found out and rejection. She wasn’t sure what would be worse.

“Pass.” Constance stated. Liliana breathed out a deep sigh of relief as her hand fell from the orb, backing up to stand beside her brother.

“Expect letters in two weeks with instructions and a list of recommended and required supplies. Make sure to send your replies within a week so your school provided supplies and uniforms can be sent to you in time. Do not speak of the specifics of the assessment to anyone. We will find out and you will be expelled.” Constance dismissed the globe and barrier, bowing to the three nobles before turning on her heel and exiting the room. The three of them stared after her, blinking as their heads spun at the woman’s quick dismissal.

“Did… that just happen?” Liliana spoke up, turning to look at her brother and friend.

“I… think so?” Emyr said hesitantly, looking down at the hand that had touched the orb.

“Was that it?” Liliana asked hesitantly, still not entirely certain the test was over. Just touch an orb and that’s all? No practical? No written exam?

“It was… strangely easy.” Emyr said hesitantly, his eyes stormy the way they were when he was deep in thought.

“Why do we have to keep it a secret?” Alistair wondered aloud, and Liliana tilted her head, considering the question.

“Maybe. That’s part of the test?” she said hesitantly, slowly though confidence filled her as she spoke. That would make sense. Maybe the orb placed some spell or something on them and if they spoke of the test to anyone without a similar mark, the Academy would find out and deny them. It would fit the convoluted rules of aristocracy, Liliana thought. She looked over her hand and checked her status but didn’t see anything. Then again, in a world of magic, she wasn’t about to discount the possibility of spells or effects too strong or subtle for her to see at her lowly level.

“Sounds about right.” Emyr agreed, though his eyes were shining now, as if he was dying to find out the why behind the secrecy, and what other secrets might be hidden behind the mystery of the exam.

“More important than that. We got in!” Alistair’s voice rose as he spoke, a beaming grin spreading across his face.

“It would appear so.” Emyr agreed, tone monotonous but eyes sparkling with mirth.

“We got in. We got in!” Liliana repeated, voice bordering on a squeal as she turned to her brother and threw her arms around him, excitement overtaking her curiosity and suspicion. He grabbed her and picked her up, spinning them around until their laughter filled the room. Eventually they collapsed on the ground, Emyr standing a safe distance away, watching the siblings giggling like children.

They were excited for slightly different reasons, but both shared an almost manic happiness. For Liliana, this was the first time she’d ever gone to something close to high school. The experience she’d been robbed of her in her last life. She didn’t imagine it would be easy, but it held the potential for all the experiences she’d missed in her first life. Making friends, gossiping with them, school crushes, dances, everything she’d watched happen to others on TV and in movies was now possible for her. Even the things other teens would bemoan, tests, quizzes, projects, papers, studying, pulling all nighters excited her.

So what if the tests came with quests to fight fire breathing salamanders or if her teenage crushes would have a side of infiltrating drug cartels? So what if instead of chemistry or trigonometry she’d be taking Battel Training and The Basics Of Soul Affinity? And if instead of running the mile they’d be running mock battles? It was a high school, no matter how magical. It was Liliana’s chance to be a teenager for the first time in her life, even if the kingdom was training the next generation of nobles and fighters. The Academy wasn’t just her opportunity to escape her home, or to become strong enough to face the great evil Vita had sent her here to defeat. It was her chance to finally live this second life.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

16

Level

118

Class

Beast Souled Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

6

Health

1,620

H-Regen

+16.2/1.1sec

Mana

3,130

M-Regen

+24.5/1.1sec

Stamina

8,090

S-Regen

+80.9/1.1sec

Magic Power

4,794

Magic Control

4,526

Experience: 756,821/1,416,100

Vitality

162

Endurance

809

Strength

406

Dexterity

798

Wisdom

313

Intelligence

245

Speed

853

Charisma

698

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

92%

Soul

94%

Life

86%

Illusion

31%

Wind

20%

Astral

15%

Psyche

10%

Telekinesis

7%

Quintessential Skills

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 4

[Aspect Of The Beast] Lvl 2

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 121

[Dodge] Lvl 112

[Leap] lvl 110

[Solar Samba] Lvl 109

[Dance of The Windsong] lvl 101

[Regeneration] Lvl 95

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 95

[Stealth] lvl 93

[Mana Manipulation] lvl 90

[Pierce] Lvl 90

[Persistent Casting] lvl 87

[Dance Of The Tiger] Lvl 86

[Dance Of The Fox] Lvl 84

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] Lvl 83

[Dance of The Serpent] lvl 82

[Borrow] Lvl 67

[Last Stand] lvl 12

[Wind Manipulation] Lvl 5

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 123

[Dancing] lvl 120

[Deception] Lvl 112

[Skinning] Lvl 112

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 103

[Pain Resistance] lvl 101

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 100

[Alchemy] lvl 99

[Perception] Lvl 98

[Mounted Combat] lvl 93

[Herbalisim] lvl 92

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 90

[Persuasion] Lvl 85

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 84

[Acrobatics] Lvl 79

[Reading] Lvl 70

[Riding] lvl 69

[Writing] Lvl 68

[Etiquette] Lvl 65

[Wilderness Survival] lvl 63

[Mathematics] lvl 56

[Embroidery] Level 50

[Multitasking] lvl 47

[Battle Focus] Lvl 43

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 25

[Resist Cold] Lvl 15

Spells

[Radiant Edge] LVL 119

[Radiant Ignition] LVL 117

[Dance of The Heaven’s Domain] lvl 110

[Gatling Barrage] lvl 103

[Shine] LVL 94

[Soul Strike] Lvl 89

[Windwalk] Lvl 87

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 86

[Gale] Lvl 76

[March of Madness] Lvl 75

[Companion Heal] Lvl 74

[Barrier] Lvl 71

[Invisibility] Lvl 70

[Wind Surge] Lvl 69

[Empathy] Lvl 66

[Astral Projection] Lvl 65

[Dance of The Tempest] lvl 54

[Threads of Control] Lvl 42

[Cleanse] Lvl 40

[Bonding Contract] LVL 34

[Shove] Lvl 33

[Adjust] lvl 26

[Wind Blade] Lvl 23

[Soul Slash] Lvl 20

Beast Souled Blade Dancer: Class Requirements: Blade Dancer Class. At least 2 Beast Soul Bonds. Level 80 in a bladed weapon. Level 80 in Dancing. 400 Speed, 300 Dexterity, 300 Charisma, 300 Endurance.

A Blade Dancer who dances beside beasts of ferocious power and bearing. The blade of their weapon is as fearsome as the fangs of their partnered allies. Dancing in perfect harmony beside the beasts they have linked their souls with they bring death and destruction on their enemies and victories to their enemies. A part of a deadly but entrancing choreography that only they and their soul bonded companions can devise.

+12 to Speed Per Level, +12 to Endurance Per Level, +12 to Dexterity Per Level, +10 To Charisma, +5 to Strength Per Level.

Aspect Of The Beast: Soul. You have bonded your soul to multiple beasts, through the strength of your connection to those whose souls you share assume a portion of their power and majesty for yourself. Chose one beast to become one with. Take 40% of their stats as your own, unlimited access to their skills and spells for the duration of Aspect Of The Beast.

Skill can only be used once per 24 hours.

Cost: 3000 Stamina,1500 Mana

Set Up

[Solar Samba]

[Dance of the Windsong]

[Dancer of The Heaven’s Domain]

[War Maiden’s Waltz]

[Dance Of The Tempest]

Escape

[Invisibility]

[Leap]

[Windwalk]

[Wind Surge]

[Gust]

Beast’s Dance

[Dance of The Tiger]

[Dance Of The Serpent]

[Dance Of The Fox]

[Threads Of Control]

[Wind Surge]

Ranged

[Windwalk]

[Gale]

[Radiant Ignition]

[Gatling Barrage]

[Wind Blade]

Finisher

[Radiant Edge]

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade]

[Pierce]

[Soul Slash]

[Soul Strike]

Status Sheet

Name:

Polaris

Age:

16

Level:

190

Species:

Shadow Winged Kitsune

Genus:

Kitsune

Rank:

4

Health:

2,300

H-Regen:

23/1.1sec

Mana:

15,260

M-Regen:

201/1.1sec

Stamina:

3,250

S-Regen:

32.5/1.1sec

Magic Power:

17,452

Magic Control:

23,493

Experience: 2,910,348/3,648,100

Vitality:

230

Endurance:

325

Strength:

100

Dexterity:

520

Wisdom:

1,526

Intelligence:

2,010

Speed:

1,460

Charisma:

1,300

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

73%

Illusion

39%

Dark

76%

Shadow

31%

Chaos

27%

Wind

25%

Quintessential Skill

[Illusory Palace] Lvl 101

[Revelry in the Night] Lvl Lvl 79

[Entropy] Lvl 53

[Dominion Chaos] Lvl 3

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 225

[Stealth] Lvl 219

[Shadow Walk] lvl 210

[Consume] lvl 195

[Tracking] Lvl 181

[Dodge] Lvl 174

[Enrage] Lvl 150
[Double Step] Lvl 141

[Flight] Lvl 134

[Disruption] Lvl 102

Spells

[Dark Manipulation] Lvl 229

[Dark Kitsunebi] Lvl 226

[Enthrall] Lvl 221

[Havoc Claws] Lvl 215

[Chaos Breath] Lvl 210

[Chaos Pierce] lvl 209

[Havoc Shadows] Lvl 205

[Wind Manipulation] Lvl 187

[Winds of Discord] Lvl 156

[Wings Of Bedlam] Lvl 147

Status Sheet

Name:

Nemesis

Age:

4

Level:

159

Species:

Dicentra Serpent

Genus:

Flowered Serpent

Rank:

5

Health:

2000

H-Regen:

+20/1.1sec

Mana:

9,040

M-Regen:

+123/1.1sec

Stamina:

1090

S-Regen:

+10.9/1.1sec

Magic Power:

10,521

Magic Control:

13,225

Experience: 1,277,019 /2,560,000

Vitality:

200

Endurance:

109

Strength:

105

Dexterity:

560

Wisdom:

904

Intelligence:

1,230

Speed:

901

Charisma:

60

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Earth

79%

Dark

62%

Shadow

11%

Poison

43%

Quintessential Skills

[Vengeance] Lvl 6

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 185

[Garden Song] lvl 185

[Consume] lvl 181

[Tracking] Lvl 175

[Stealth] Lvl 173

[Venom] Lvl 169

[Dodge] Lvl 158

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 156

[Enrage] Lvl 153

[Antidote] Lvl 123

Spells

[Minimize] Lvl 185

[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 183

[Earth Spike] Lvl 172

[Earth Scale] Lvl 170

[Earthquake] Lvl 162

[Shadow Wave] lvl 159

[Shadow Cloak] Lvl 151

[Poison Shot] Lvl 129

[Poison Scales] Lvl 121

[Poison Breath] Lvl 96

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

45

Level:

146

Species:

Mirage Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

5

Health:

10,520

H-Regen:

+105.2/1.1sec

Energy:

10,240

E-Regen:

+109.8/1.1sec

Energy Power:

12,201

Energy Control:

13,563

Experience: 1,203,383/2,160,900

Vitality:

1,052

Endurance:

771

Strength:

661

Dexterity:

85

Wisdom:

253

Intelligence:

327

Speed:

150

Charisma:

35

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

82%

Illusion

60%

Earth

10%

Quintessential Skills

[Fortress] Lvl 4

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 181

[Stealth] Lvl 173

[Tracking] Lvl 165

[Dodge] Lvl 163

[Sentinel] Lvl 157

[Predator] Lvl 156

[Consume] lvl 151

[Enhancement] Lvl 148

[Bestial Roar] lvl 145

[Enrage] Lvl 135

Abilities

[Distortion] Lvl 180

[Empowered Claws] lvl 172

[Reflect] Lvl 163

[Enlargement] Lvl 160

[Morningstar] Lvl 156

[Reinforcement] Lvl 154

[Light Armor] Lvl 140

[Bulwark] Lvl 58

[Radiant Aegis] Lvl 54

[Light Screen] Lvl 45

Chapter 115: Welcome To The Academy

“What the fuck was that?” Alistair asked, his face ashen as he clutched at his stomach. Beside him, Emyr had fallen to his knees, vomiting into a conveniently placed trash bin. Liliana had to wonder if that was placed there because of how often vomiting was a side effect of teleportation.

Heh, noobs. Liliana thought smugly, consciously ignoring her first time teleporting, and her own debilitating nausea afterwards. It was only thanks to the multitude of trips she’d taken to visit Marianne that teleporting did little more than give her faint, temporary nausea now.

“That would be the experience of teleportation,” Liliana informed her brother, rather unnecessarily, as she was fairly certain his question was rhetorical. The glare he shot her reaffirmed that assumption.

“I’d rather walk,” Emyr groaned out, his voice hoarse.

“Even by carriage, it would’ve taken over a month to get here. Provided we didn’t run into monsters, brigands, storms or other natural disasters.” Liliana informed the two of them.

They knew it was true, too. Had they gone a conventional way, they’d have had to leave the manor almost as soon as they got their letters. Teleporting meant they could take their time preparing. It also meant Liliana got a bit more time with Silas, Jason, Flint, and Clover. All of whom couldn’t come with them.

Guards and servants weren’t permitted at the Academy. Partially for security reasons, and partially because the Academy strove for equality. A funny thing, considering they almost exclusively accepted students from noble families. Then again, it was only nobles who had the funds to enable their children to get the required levels for entrance, not to mention the tuition fees. Only the wealthiest of common families could afford to pay for the early Awakening, weapons and gear necessary to level quickly in this world.

Despite that, the Academy did not let students use their standing to further themselves once enrolled. Nobles were limited to 3 pieces of gear or weapons brought from home, the rest had to be earned from the school, the assignments they were sent on, or gotten as dungeon drops. Students without gear were provided three items by the Academy. They weren’t even permitted to buy gear outside the Academy, unless it was specifically requested by a class. The Academy also allegedly did not permit favoritism based on societal rank or nepotism once enrolled, but Liliana would hold her judgment on if that was a true rule or not until after she saw it.

“Come on, if you two are done regurgitating breakfast we need to get going,” Liliana spoke up, earning herself a dual set of baleful glares that only made her smirk. Over the past year, she had caught up with Emyr and Alistair in levels and strength, even exceeding them, but she still enjoyed being better than either of them at something. Even if it was something as simple as holding her stomach down.

Thankfully, they had no luggage to carry, everything stored in their storage devises. Those weren’t counted as gear, thankfully. The Academy provided students without a storage device one, so they didn’t count them against nobles. Emyr regained his feet, looking a bit unsteady, but at least he was standing. Without speaking, Alistair stepped closer to his friend, and Emyr leaned against him. Liliana smirked again. Turning on her heel, she approached the door to the familiar room and opened it.

“Lili!” A white blur catapulted into her arms. Liliana took a small step back as she caught her friend, not because Marianne was strong enough to push her back, but because Liliana knew it made the other girl feel good to think so.

“Crown princess Marianne,” Alistair said, bowing and almost causing Emyr to fall as his support vanished.

“Crown princess Marianne,” Emyr belatedly echoed, doing his best to bow and not topple over in the process.

“Mari…” Liliana trailed off, her tone warm but mildly exasperated.

“No! You can’t scold me this time! It’s a special day!” Marianne pulled back, shooting Liliana a glare. Liliana raised her hands in defense, a small smile on her face.

“Mari, you know you can’t accost me every time you see me. What would become of your public image if you did this in school?” Liliana asked, her tone dipping into teasing as her friend leveled her with a pout.

“I’m the crown princess. It doesn’t matter what they think! Mother would tell me to just stab them,” Marianne trailed off, looking away with her arms folded. Liliana hid a smile and laugh behind her hand. It did sound like something the queen would say.

“Oh! Hello Alistair, Emyr,” Marianne finally noticed, or more accurately decided to acknowledge, the others in the room. Emyr and Alistair were watching the interaction between the two girls with wide, disbelieving eyes. They’d heard of Liliana’s friendship with Marianne in passing, but had not quite realized how close the two were. Close enough for Liliana to treat Marianne as if she was a normal girl, and not the future queen of their country.

“And please, don’t call me crown princess unless we’re at some official event. It’s a mouthful honestly, and we’re going to be classmates!” Marianne told them, moving back a few steps with a smile on her face as she sketched out a quick curtsy. As the princess, she did not need to curtsy to anyone in their country barring her mother, doing so showed she did see them as her equals.

“Yes pr-Marianne,” Alistair recovered first, giving Marianne a winning smile. Emyr nodded beside him.

“Good, now that we’re done with that, let’s go! I want to see our new school!” Marianne darted forward, grabbing Liliana’s hand and beginning to drag her out of the room. Liliana sighed and shook her head, but let the other girl lead her on, Alistair and Emyr following a few steps behind.

“So, what class did you get into?” Marianne asked as they walked. Liliana was used to the palace at this point, but as she checked over her shoulder, she could see Emyr and Alistair being taken in by the sights.

“We’re all in class S,” Liliana told Marianne with thinly veiled pride. Class S was the best class in the school. Based on the information they were sent, there were 6 classes per year, S, A, B, C,D and E with S being the top and E at the bottom. Getting into class S was a mark of pride, apparently. Her father had certainly thought so.

“So am I! Then we’ll have the same core classes! Do you know what elective you’ll chose?” Marianne barreled on, her voice chipper. As was typical when she was around Marianne, Liliana found herself relaxing. The girl’s optimism and aura of happiness always set Liliana at ease.

“I’m not sure. I want to get more proficient at Soul, so at least a class with that,” Liliana said with a shrug. The Academy had an extensive list of electives and clubs students could choose from. It was part of what made the Academy so renowned. Any affinity, any weapon specialty, fighting style, jobs, hobbies, it all had a class or club one could take with teachers known to be masters at the chosen topic. They weren’t expected to choose their electives until after the first week, and they could change those electives after a semester.

“I want to take Life and healing classes,” Marianne said with a smile. Liliana nodded.

That was expected. Marianne was a healer in the game, the choice in game was made based on her back story of being terminally ill for most of her life. Awakening had saved her life, and she’d taken her experiences to devote herself to healing others. Liliana had empathized with that story because of her own history. However, she’d taken another route. Rather than focusing on healing others, she’d decided to fight death head on, refusing to be so weak as to be taken by his hand so easily again.

“Don’t fall too far behind or you’ll get lost,” Liliana called out to Alistair and Emyr, noticing they were dropping back as they found new things to gawk at.

Liliana sighed and activated [Threads of Control] grabbing onto their uniform jackets and tugging them forward. The spell wasn’t strong enough to pull a human, but it would be enough to tug at them and emphasize her point.

“Sorry, it’s just so… much,” Alistair said sheepishly as he and Emyr jogged to catch up.

“Don’t make me leash you,” Liliana threatened.

“I’d like to see you try pipsqueak,” Alistair taunted. Emyr stepped smoothly between the two siblings before Liliana could retaliate. With words or actions was yet to be determined.

“Don’t fight. Starting school from a jail cell would be inconvenient.” Emyr said tiredly, subtly pushing the two siblings further apart.

“Huh, so that’s what it’s like to have siblings?” Marianne asked from beside Liliana, her head tilted to the side.

“Yes. Nonstop headaches,” Liliana grumbled.

“A pain in the ass.” Alistair agreed with a solemn nod of his head.

“Alistair, you can’t curse in front of the princess!” Emyr hissed, whacking his friend on the back of his head. Alistair yelped, looking mildly ashamed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry! Lili rubbed off on me,” Alistair apologized.

“Don’t blame your bad behavior on me!” Liliana snapped, smacking her brother on the arm before Emyr could prevent the attack. Alistair swiped at her, missing, as Liliana ducked beneath the attack. She retaliated with a kick to his shin that was hard enough to make him squeal.

“Are they always like this?” Marianne asked from beside Emyr, who had retreated in defeat.

“Yes.” Emyr said with a sigh of one forced to play the mediator for far too long.

“Getting a knight to drag us to the carriage feels like overkill,” Liliana grumbled from her seat in said carriage, next to Marianne.

“I can’t believe you asked one of the nation’s best fighters to drag us like misbehaving children,” Alistair agreed. Marianne giggled and waved off their grumbled complaints.

“You two were taking too long and we have to be at the Academy by ninth bell,” Marianne explained.

“Feels like an abuse of power.” Liliana accused with a huff, her eyes were glued to the carriage window, eager for the first glimpse of the Academy.

She’d been around the capital before. Marianne had taken her to see the sights before, but the Academy was outside the capital, technically. Though it was still on the island that the capital was built on. Because of its distance from the capital, they’d never gone to see it, so this would be the first time she saw it in real life, and she was excited to see the place she’d be living for the next four years.

“There it is!” Liliana announced as the towers began to peek over the tops of the trees that lined the roadway. Almost immediately, the other three occupants of the carriage were pushing to get a look, and as they all pressed against the door, the carriage rounded a curve, the trees falling away to reveal the Academy in all its splendor.

A tall wall surrounded the Academy, and its grounds, behind it stood a building that would rival the palace for size. Eight towers rose above the buildings of the Academy, one for each of the core affinities, Liliana noted. As the carriage entered the opened gates, more of the Academy was shown. A large main building greeted them, a long line of carriages full of new and returning students before it. The entire Academy was built of pale gray stone threaded with blue, the same stone that had been used for the wall surrounding Ravencross. It spoke to the wealth of their kingdom that an entire Academy had been built of the rare stone. Though with so many children practicing dangerous magics, stone that was resistant to magical attacks was undoubtedly necessary.

Memories flooded Liliana’s mind as she recalled hours spent in Realm of Hope, exploring this very building. Memories of stumbling upon hidden rooms and pathways, of unlocking secret quests and rewards and the rush of accomplishment that would follow filled her. She remembered mini games used for the classes, of story encounters and choices, quests and rewards. Hours upon hours of memories played in her mind, enough to send her head spinning from the dump of information.

“Lili?” Marianne’s voice broke through her thoughts and Liliana shook her head to dispel the memories, seeing her friend looking at her from outside the carriage with concern.

How long had she been trapped in her head? Liliana gave Marianne a smile to assuage her worries and stepped out of the carriage, looking up at the tall building before her. A sense of nostalgia and familiarity rushed through her. She’d never been here, not in this life and not really in her last life, but somehow coming to the Academy felt a bit like coming home.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it? The jewel of the Cista queendom,” Marianne said as she stood beside Liliana at the bottom of the steps.

“Yea, it’s everything I’d hoped it would be,” Liliana said quietly before shaking off the odd feeling. “Let’s go, we need to learn our new home!” Liliana said with a smile. Marianne nodded and grabbed Liliana’s hand once more to drag her forward. Liliana barely had time to grab onto the sleeve of Emyr’s uniform, which prompted him to grab Alistair, and the four of them walked up the steps of the Academy as a very odd train.

“That felt weird,” Liliana murmured as they passed through the door of the main hall.

“Wards,” Emyr stated quietly, rubbing at his arms as if he was scrubbing off the odd feeling. It was like walking through a particularly thick spiderweb.

I didn’t feel the wards when we went through the gate, though there must be countless ones on them. For them to be so strong you can feel on the buildings themselves, combined with the stones, what are they expecting students to do? Set off a nuke in math class? Liliana wondered as they proceeded further into the hall.

Marianne had dropped Liliana’s hand as she got distracted herself by the artwork and decor of the mysterious Academy. Luckily, they weren’t the only ones gawking at the sights. Other students, who Liliana assumed were first years, were staring around with wide eyes.

“First year class S students this way!” A voice called out. Other voices began to call out for other first-year classes, or perhaps they’d been calling out the entire time and Liliana had just finally noticed them. The four teens made their way to the voice calling for them, finally locating the source. A girl too young to be a teacher stood there, her black and gold uniform marked as different by the red band on her arm. Her most noticeable feature, the Liliana at least, was her bright pink hair tied up in twin ponytails on either side of her head.

Acacia Sailta

Age: 17

Level: 174

Rank: 5

Class: Fractal Illusionist

Health: 2,000

Mana: 21,880

Ah, a second year then? And with a focus on Intelligence and likely Wisdom, so a mage or stealth based fighter. Liliana blinked away the [Identify] screen. She was a bit surprised the girl was only rank 5. She’d expect a higher level for a second year. She remembered I the game that the Academy had been a wealth of experience for her because of the quests she could take almost constantly. Then again, in the game, your character didn’t have to sleep, and classes were nothing more than mini-games that rewarded you with skills and spells if you won enough of them. It was probably harder to balance leveling with classwork in real life.

“Give me your names so I don’t miss anyone,” Acacia called out to the small crowd of students surrounding her.

All were dressed in the same uniform, with small deviations. A black jacket over a gold shirt and either a black tie or bow, with the school crest embroidered over the heart. Skirts and leggings or trousers depending on personal choice in black with gold thread and edging, or gold strips on the side for trousers and black shoes. Liliana had chosen trousers for her uniform. She didn’t have anything against the skirt, but it would be troublesome if she had to fight in it. Class S students also had a single star under the school crest. Liliana noted Acacia had two stars under her school emblem, marking her a second year Class S student.

“Marianne Summerwarden,” Marianne introduced herself.

“Oh! Your highness I apologize for not noticing you,” Acacia apologized, curtsying to the princess. Students murmured around them at Marianne’s introduction.

“Please, don’t. Station doesn’t matter at the Academy and since you’re a second year, you’re actually above me here!” Marianne was flushed as she tried to get the older girl to stand up.

“Yes, of course. I apologize,” Acacia said as she stood straight, looking slightly flustered.

“Liliana Rosengarde,” Liliana stepped forward to introduce herself and cut off anymore awkward conversation.

She could tell Marianne was uncomfortable being treated with deference here. Liliana ignored the whispers that began with her name, though it was a bit harder to ignore the whispered derisive words when Alistair introduced himself next. Emyr went after him and the rest of the gathered students came forward to give their names, no few glances being sent the way of the four teens standing to the side.

“There goes any anonymity,” Liliana sighed, crossing her arms.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Alistair grumbled. His hands were clenched into fists at his side and Liliana felt anger flaring in her. Her brother wasn’t as used to spiteful whispers and cruel words as she was. For so long, he’d been the golden boy. Revered by nobility as the next Duke Rosengarde. Now he was the son of a murderess.

“Zir’elon Kastrioti,” a voice called out. Liliana’s head whipped around to lock on a very familiar face. He towered over the surrounding students, dark purple horns crowned a head of similarly colored hair, with streaks of vivid red woven throughout. Glowing violet eyes with no sclera or pupil looked back at her. Zir’elon, one of the five playable heroes in the game, prince of the Alfein Empire.

“Diana Baker,” another voice called out, and Liliana tore her eyes from the Dæmon prince to a head of blond hair. The last playable hero, the prodigy commoner.

Liliana wasn’t naïve enough to think she’d befriend all five heroes. She’d already seen how her actions had changed the events of the game. There was no telling if some butterfly effect had occurred that caused Diana and Zir’elon to change from who they’d been in the game. In the game they’d been Liliana’s enemies, in this life she just hoped they’d stay away from her. Diana was her least favorite character. Even in the game, her sweetness had come off as fake. And Zir’elon was an elitist. Liliana doubted he’d want anything to do with a half commoner like her.

He’d been one of the original Liliana’s most staunch bullies in the game, though he had the best path for a front-line fighter, Liliana’s preference in the game. As was normal with Dæmons, he’d unlocked a Fire affinity upon Awakening. He naturally progressed along a sword fighter path if left on his own, using his Fire affinity to devastating effect in combination with his sword skills.

Diana could turn into anything, and typically if you didn’t play her, she chose whatever fit best for your existing party. She unlocked all eight core affinities when she was Awakened at 13, in her back story her parents had saved for years to afford Awakening and her unprecedented unlocking of all affinities made her into a prodigy. In the game, the original Liliana had hated her for being a commoner, and earning the respect and adoration of the other nobles despite her background. Something the original Liliana had always been denied, no matter what she did.

Liliana could try to befriend her. They had something in common, after all. But in her opinion, her roster of heroes was filled. She would be happy to make friends in the Academy, but she’d like to avoid dealing with anymore heroes.

“Koth’talan Kastrioti,” another familiar name was called out, and Liliana looked away from Diana to see a second Dæmon.

Dark red orange horns twisted above a riot of flaming hair. Amber eyes shone with the same unearthly light as his brother’s, but what drew attention to him were the glowing lines engraved on his face. Infernal marks. Those, combined with his status as a bastard son, removed him from any chance of becoming the emperor of the Alfein Empire. However, it was alleged that his father, the emperor, loved Koth’talan’s mother and so gave her son his last name and status as a prince. He wasn’t a playable character and had only a few quests tied to him, mostly tied to Zir’elon, who despised his half brother.

“Our classmates look so cool!” Marianne whispered beside Liliana.

“Yea,” Liliana agreed distractedly as she rubbed her temple. She had a feeling her time at this school would be more stressful than she expected.

Chapter 116: The Tour Begins

“Alright, all of first year class S is checked in. Now I need to handout your identification cards and your status readers.” Acacia called out, distracting Liliana from her thoughts of future hero-related headaches.

Liliana did a quick headcount while she waited for their guide to begin pulling out whatever she meant by identification cards and status readers. Their class had 20 students total from her count, a small class based on her experience in her previous life. She’d never paid much attention to how many students each class had in the game. Most of them were NPCs that you never interacted with.

What she did vividly remember of the game and classes was that if your ‘score’ in the classes dropped too low, you could be kicked to a lower class rank. Lower class ranks meant worse rewards and quests, so she’d always striven for high scores on the class mini-games. She wasn’t sure how much would transfer over, but if the Academy was half as competitive as it was reported to be, she wouldn’t place a bet on class ranks being set in stone.

Liliana looked around, seeing several other students with the red band that marked them as second year guides surrounded by gradually larger groups of students. Liliana couldn’t tell which class was which, but if she was to hazard a guess, the lower the rank, the more students in a class.

“Lili,” Emyr’s quiet whisper directed Liliana’s attention back to her group, and she saw Acacia had begun handing out clear, glass-like items.

One was small, maybe as big as a driver’s license in her original world. The other was perhaps a bit bigger than her hand. Liliana stepped forward to grab hers when there was space to get to the older girl, her friends with her. The four of them stepped back once more, still part of the group but to the side.

“Looks like everyone has one. Now channel a bit of Mana through both. One will be your ticket into the Academy ground, your dorm room, and your meal card. The other will be used by your professors during any spars to determine your Health and Mana so they know if a bout needs to be called. They have a master version of the status readers, so once yours is registered, they can pull the information up on their own. You can also use it to check your status sheet and Skill sheet without pulling them up in your vision by swiping on the device to change what is presented. Arguably most important, there is a map of the campus on it that can be enlarged, and it will mark your current location.” Acacia projected her voice just enough for their entire group to hear and Liliana could see the clear devices lighting up in various student’s hands as they did as instructed.

“Once activated, only you, or a staff member, will be able to use them, so don’t worry about theft. If you do lose either of them, you can speak to your homeroom professor. They’ll be able to locate it on their own. Both of these are nearly indestructible, however if you manage to break it you will be paying for replacements,” Acacia’s voice went stern at the last warning and Liliana resisted the urge to shiver. She had no idea how expensive something like this was, and she certainly didn’t want to have to pay for it.

Following the older girl’s instructions, Liliana channeled a small bit of her Mana through both devices, smiling slightly when they lit up with multicolored light. She noted absently that it was the colors of her affinities. It seemed affinities tinted one’s Mana. On the ID card she saw her name, age, and class rank appear in neat writing as if by an invisible hand. Another person’s name and the code S105 were also on her identification card. She assumed one was her homeroom professor, and the other was her dorm room.

The status reader had filled out and the first thing on it was her Health, Mana and Stamina. She swiped through it quickly, seeing her status sheet, then skill sheet come up. There was nothing new on it, so she diverted her attention to the map. She took a moment to look it over, affirming that the Academy in this world was, in fact, the same as the game. The device was remarkably similar to a smartphone if it had no network connection or apps. It made her wonder if technology like that would be possible. There was already Oracle affinity in this world, which could be used to see and communicate at a distance, but it required one to have the affinity and necessary skills and spells to utilize.

Perhaps if one had a Runeic and Oracle affinity, they could make it. However, to get both, I’d need Fire and Water affinities first. Liliana mentally recoiled from the thought of getting a Water affinity. It was what Rosengarde was known for. Every Duke or Duchess of Rosengarde blood had a Water affinity since their ancestors gained their noble title by creating massive rivers to stop invasions. And that was precisely why Liliana didn’t want the affinity. She knew she shouldn’t hold a prejudice against an entire affinity because of her detestable father, but she would admit to having a petty streak.

Crafting isn’t my focus right now. I already spread myself thin enough with Alchemy. If I added learning, mastering, then inventing with Runeic I’d stall my progress with leveling and fighting entirely. Liliana reasoned to herself. She might approach someone eventually who did focus on crafting and had the necessary affinities, but she wouldn’t personally be the one to create new technology. She’d never been much of a creative inventor in either life, anyway.

“Mari, what can you tell me about those two?” Liliana directed her attention to her friend.

Currently, Acacia was letting everyone get used to their new devices, and they had a spare moment. Liliana inclined her head towards the two Dæmons, who seemed to make a point of standing far apart. They were the only two Dæmons in the class and stood out for that.

“Zir’elon is the fifth prince in the succession for the throne. Koth’talan is a bastard prince who has no right to succession, because he wasn’t born by the first wife or any royal concubines.” Marianne began to whisper.

Liliana noted Alistair and Emyr leaning closer. So far it was information Liliana already knew, but she wanted to see if Marianne had information she did not. Royal information gathering should never be looked down upon, and Liliana was almost certain Marianne had been given information on all of her prospective classmates.

“Apparently the two were born on the same day, but the Emperor was only present for Koth’talan’s birth and bestowed his name on him. He didn’t come see Zir’elon until a week after his birth to give him his name.” Marianne continued to murmur to the three teens huddled close to her. She seemed to relish the gossip and Liliana mentally noted she’d need to pry the girl for more information on their classmates later.

“The favoritism continued through their lives. By all accounts, Koth’talan was very loved by both his mother, a viscountess, and his father. Despite being illegitimate and illegible for the throne. Or perhaps because of that.” Marianne continued her explanation, and Liliana’s eyebrow raised.

She hadn’t known that. Nor that Koth’talan had been named first, though she knew both boys were born on the same day. Some of Zir’elon’s animosity was beginning to make sense, as well as his aggression towards Liliana and his close friendship with Alistair in the game. He was likely projecting his own experiences on the two and condemning Liliana before ever knowing any particulars. Simply hearing ‘daughter of a commoner and noble, unable to succeed’ and ‘full noble brother’ had been enough for him to make his own conclusions.

“Unlike us, where the eldest child is the one to inherit for nobility and the eldest daughter ascends to the throne, Alfein Empire goes based on who the emperor appoints as heir, whoever it may be. So the fight for succession always ends up bloody, as siblings attempt to outdo or eliminate the competition to raise their rank in the succession. With eight concubines, there are 18 children in total that are eligible for succession. What I’ve been told is there were recent attempts on Koth’talan and the emperor chose to send him to the Academy to keep him out of the danger. Zir’elon is allegedly being sent for the same reasons, but being away from the Empire for four years means he’s almost guaranteed to fall down the line of succession. His only hopes of gaining the throne is if an heir is not crowned before he graduates and returns.” Marianne finished her mini-debrief and Liliana nodded.

Some were new bits of information. She hadn’t known the brothers had 18 siblings, or that there were eight concubines. But she’d known about Zir’elon’s succession issues. In the game, Zir’elon could forfeit his right to succession with most choices, especially if you had him marry Marianne. There were a few lines where you could return to the Alfein Empire and complete several quests to end his story with being the emperor, but that restricted post-game, so most didn’t elect to do it.

“Has everyone had time to get used to their devices?” Acacia called out, before Liliana could get a chance to pump Marianne for information on Diana. When the older girl got nods and calls of ascent from all the gathered students, she nodded and turned.

“Then follow me. We’ll begin our tour. Do not stray from the group. You’ll have time to explore the ground during the four days before classes begin,” Acacia called out as she began to march them forward. Liliana’s group ended up near the front, thanks to Marianne dragging them there.

“This is the main building, and holds the administration offices on the first and second floors, the ballroom used for events is on the third and the headmistress’ personal quarters are on the fourth and fifth floors.” Acacia began her duty as tour guide and Liliana could see students pulling out their status readers to look at the maps to give themselves a visual representation of what was being said.

Liliana didn’t need it. She already knew the information being given and instead let her eyes wander as she got her first chance to see the place she’d spent so much time in when she played the game. The art in the game couldn’t compare to the reality.

She mentally listed out the names of the headmasters and mistresses as they passed their portraits hung along the walls of the main building. Their names were in plaques under their portraits, but Acacia spent little time on any of them except the founder, Myer Vidiara, and the current headmistress Adelaide Wraithe. The founder was where the name of the Academy came from, Vidiara Academy. Though everyone, even in the game, largely referred to it as just the Academy. There were no other academies in the Cista Queendom, so there was little chance for confusion.

“This is the main courtyard, branching it you will see the four year buildings. First, second, third and fourth year. The first year building is where you’ll take your core classes and where you’ll find your class specific training rooms along with personal training rooms that can be reserved, also separated by class rank.” Acacia continued as their group walked through the large courtyard behind the main building.

The four buildings Acacia had pointed out walled in the courtyard with the main building. Liliana knew from the map that the five buildings made the shape of a star with the courtyard in the center. The courtyard was a work of art, with gardens, footpaths, benches and tables strewn about. There were even a few small groups of trees that would provide students with a modicum of privacy. Liliana was sure once classes began, the courtyard would be crowded and mentally noted she’d need to find a different place to relax on the grounds. Acacia led them in a circuit around the courtyard, letting them get acquainted with it before she entered the building for the first years.

“The first level iclass Srooms and lab rooms for C, D, and E classes.” Acacia informed them before she led them up the stairs to the second level, only stopping long enough for them to get a look at it. “The second level iclass Srooms and lab rooms for class B and A,” she informed them before leading them up another flight of stairs, finally bringing them down the hallway.

“And this is the third level, with the classroom and lab rooms for class S.” Acacia told them, opening a door and ushering them into a large room with tiered seating. At the bottom was a huge board made of the same glass like material used for their ID cards and status readers behind a large desk and open area for a teacher to instruct them from. Behind the desk was a second door, likely leading to an office or supply room. Acacia stood by the door while the students took the chance to explore what would be their classroom.

“Class S gets the best materials and lab rooms. The Academy invests heavily into students that show promise. The privileges you’re afforded reflect that.” Acacia told them when the class gathered back together and she began to direct them to the lab rooms.

She didn’t permit them to explore those on their own, instead leading them through so they could get familiar with the setups, but not lingering long enough for them to mess with anything. When they’d finished exploring the third level, Acacia led them down the stairs once more, but instead of stopping on the first level, she descended a set of stairs.

“The underground levels are split the same as the upper levels. Class C, D, and E training rooms and personal training rooms are on the first lower level. A, and B are in the second, and S is in the third. However, there are additional personal training rooms for class S on the fourth level as well. There are exactly twenty personal training rooms for class S, meaning every student in class S can have their own.” Acacia informed them as she led them to the designated levels. Liliana was becoming rather grateful to her high Endurance as the amount of stairs they’d already traversed was considerable and she had a feeling it was only the beginning. She remembered very few single-story buildings in the Academy in the game.

Acacia lead them through the main training room for their class and one personal training room. The walls of the main room were covered in training weapons of every imaginable type, even ones Liliana hadn’t realized existed. The main training room and personal training room had training dummies that identified as automatons. Liliana assumed they were made to act like real opponents. The wards on the rooms were intense, too. If she thought stepping into the main building was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to stepping into a training room. It was like walking through a slightly permeable wall.

There were weights and other equipment Liliana thought would be used for working out, as well as an indoor track and fighting ring. Acacia informed them the training rooms could even change terrains and weather to mimic any type of battle environment. Acacia confirmed Liliana’s assumption of the training dummies. They would fight back with whatever weapon chosen or even limited magic. There were even difficulty levels that could be adjusted by a teacher in the main training room, or by students in the personal rooms. It was obvious the Academy spared no expense when it came to training their students.

They were led out of the building, students chattering excitedly about what they wanted to test out in the personal training rooms as soon as they were given leave to use them. Liliana was excited as well to begin using the rooms. She had experience fighting in Rosengarde territory, which was mostly forested and mountainous with snow during a third of the year. But she had no experience in desert, marshland or plains. She’d like to get herself used to fighting in any terrain and weather. The training dummies meant she could also get herself used to fighting a multitude of weapons she hadn’t had a chance to fight against.

“Behind the main class buildings you’ll find the cafeteria, the infirmary and the library.” Acacia pointed out the large buildings, each more than double the size of the year specific buildings and multi-storied.

Acacia lead their group through each building and Liliana began to understand why they were required to get to the Academy so early. It would be night by the time they were done. As it was, by the time Acacia ended the tour of the three buildings with the cafeteria, it was time for lunch and their group took the chance to get their first taste of the Academy’s cuisine. The cafeteria was six stories tall, separated by class rather than year, with class Ses at the top. Students could access their class’ level and any lower but could not go higher than their class level. So class S could access all levels, but class E was restricted to the first level. Liliana didn’t see why one would want to go to a lower level unless they had friends in another class, as the food options got better the higher you went.

Liliana was beginning to get a feeling that the school encouraged class rivalries. If she was right and you could drop or rise through class ranks, it made sense. The school wanted to encourage students in lower classes to improve themselves to get access to better privileges. And it wanted to encourage students in higher classes to push themselves so they wouldn’t lose their ranks, and the bonuses that came with it.

The perks weren’t anything to sneeze at either, at least from what Liliana had seen so far for her class. From the classrooms, training rooms, personal training rooms and included equipment, to the individual study rooms in the library provided for class S alone. All other classes had only class and year specific study rooms. The only place so far that didn’t have special treatment based on class was the infirmary, where everyone was seen as equal. The school stopped shows of favoritism based on merit when it came to making sure the students didn’t die or face debilitating injury, at least.

Liliana had to wonder, though, if the game was right about rising or dropping through classes. What else was the same in the Academy? In the game, if your scores dropped so low you were ranked in the last five by the end of the school term, you failed the game because you were expelled. You couldn’t complete the game if you failed the Academy, as it was necessary for story quests. So it was an automatic ‘game over’ if you dropped too low.

Liliana pushed the worry to the back of her mind. Failing so badly in the game was nearly impossible, and it had never happened to her. She knew the Academy would be hard, but she doubted it would be so difficult she would drop all the way from class S to the last in class E. She had no confirmation on her assumptions yet, so it was pointless to stress herself over something that might or might not be true.

Chapter 117: Tours, New Rooms, and New Faces

“Next are the outdoor training grounds,” Acacia informed their group as they left the cafeteria, all a bit rounder around the middle. They really spoiled class S students at the Academy. Even Marianne said the food was on par with what she ate at the palace.

Liliana wasn’t sure if her small group of friends had noticed it yet, but she’d been quietly ensuring they stayed as far from Dianna and Zir’elon as possible. She was less concerned with the other prince; he wasn’t a hero and therefore not as much a threat to her current status of having a head, but he’d come with drama from his brother. If she could get through all four years with minimal interaction from Diana and Zir’elon, she’d be happy, but with such a small class she didn’t think her chances were great. There was also Marianne. As the princess of their country, she’d need to speak to Zir’elon at some point. Liliana just wanted to get through her first day in the Academy with no hero encounters, if possible.

Alistair looked the most interested at the mention of training grounds, though Liliana would admit her own interest probably mirrored his. They’d seen the indoor ones. How would the outdoor ones compare? The only purpose Liliana could imagine for them was the increased size an outdoor training ground could have, and of course, showing off to other classes. Or give chances for other classes to learn about their competition.

Or perhaps they need the extra room for magic users who have a tendency to go overboard, Liliana thought as she slid a look towards Emyr, who was doing his best to hide in Alistair’s shadow. Her friend had taken to his Fire affinity with gusto, and had unlocked his Celestial affinity in record time. He was nowhere near proficient, but he was a danger on the battlefield with what few spells he had already. A danger to everyone on the battlefield. Allies included, as Liliana had learned the hard way. Friendly fire might not exist in the game, but it certainly existed in real life.

“As you likely expect, the training grounds are split based on class. Year groups have their training at different times of the day, so while each training ground is shared by all years of a specific class, there is no overlap.” Acacia told them as they reached the training grounds in question. In size, Liliana would compare the smallest of them to a football field from her previous life, with class S and A having the largest, bordering on the size of two football fields for class S. They truly must be expecting large-scale magic to be used if that was the amount of clearance they gave.

Liliana noted that other years had different time slots. It would be good if she could get a chance to watch upperclassmen in their training, perhaps pick up some new skills or spells by observing and applying their techniques. Their group approached the class S designated field and saw a veritable army of training dummies lined up, awaiting direction.

There was a building beside the deactivated automatons, which they were shown was filled to bursting with a multitude of training weapons. When they filed back out, Acacia smiled at them and approached a large crystal sticking out of the ground. She placed her ID card on it and after a few minutes, the first years were rewarded with the entire training field shifting until it resembled the ruins of a city.

It reminds me of those paintball courses I saw on the Internet. Liliana thought in awe as she looked over the drastically changed scenery. Several types of magic had to be used to create this, Illusion, Earth, Metal, at the least and likely Runeic for enchanting the crystal and grounds as well. Liliana changed her assumption of the outside training grounds to include large-scale battle practice. Probably to test their leadership abilities and teamwork.

Acacia did something with the crystal and the training ground reverted to the hard packed earth it had begun as before, motioning to their slightly wonder-struck group to continue. Whispers abounded in their group as their classmates excitedly conversed about what they’d just seen.

“They use the same thing for Knight training,” Marianne told their small group with an excited whisper, “Mother never let me participate, but she let me watch. I don’t know if it’s the same at the Academy, but the one the Knight’s use can pull from a set list of terrains, and any terrain the user has personally been in! It can even summon illusory opponents or beasts to fight, though they’re not as strong as the real things. Sometimes the Knights have beasts shipped in to fight.” Marianne gushed to them, practically vibrating with excitement. Liliana assumed she was chomping at the bit to use something she’d been previously banned from.

“I can’t wait to try fighting in a city setting, or to command troops.” Alistair said with a grin, his fists clenched in front of him as if he was ready to start duking it out with imaginary foes immediately.

“I wonder if my spells would reach all the way across the training ground,” Emyr murmured quietly and Liliana’s head whipped around to stare at him.

“Emyr. No.” she hissed out, earning her a slow blink from the boy.

“Emyr, yes.” Emyr responded quietly but with a small smirk that promised devastation to their poor training ground in the near future.

“[Starfall] wouldn’t, but [Starfire Blitz] might, or [Nova].” Alistair spoke up, naming off several of Emyr’s spells without even pausing. Liliana blinked in surprise. She barely knew Emyr or Alistair’s skills and spells. It’s not like they went around shouting them out loud when they activated them. She did know [Nova] though it was Emyr’s Rank 6 Quintessential skill, and it was the reason she had to buy a hair-growth potion. Sometimes she’d still swear she smelt burning hair in her dreams.

“Alistair, please don’t encourage him,” Liliana nearly begged, but the group was cut off when Acacia stopped in front of a new building.

“These are the stables,” she announced to the group.

“Wait, I thought we couldn’t bring mounts?” Alistair asked in confusion. He was echoed by several other students who looked rather irritated at the thought they’d been denied the chance to bring whatever expensive creatures their parents had bought for them to ride into battle.

“The stables for tames, and mounts for year 3 and 4 students. Classes A, B, C, D, and E keep their tames here. class S keeps theirs in private stables,” Acacia informed them in response to Alistair, and several other student’s, questions.

Liliana leaned forward, curious about what other beasts were in there. She had a new bestiary for the area around the capital, but she hadn’t had a chance to see any beasts not native to Rosengarde territory in person, and she was curious. She hadn’t even realized there were enough tamers to justify such a large building, but if it doubled as a stable for mounts, it made sense. Taming wasn’t a popular discipline, but it wasn’t necessarily rare. And not all Tamers went for quality over quantity, like Liliana.

It made sense for the stables to be so close to the training grounds too, if a student didn’t want to keep their Bonds in soul stones, or didn’t have any, it would be quick to bring them from the stables to the training grounds. Same for any upperclassmen practicing mounted combat.

“The beasts kept inside the stable are given the best care and are carefully guarded. Any attempt to harm or interact with any beast that is not yours will be met with quick and decisive disciplinary action. So do not even consider it,” Acacia warned them with a stern voice.

Liliana’s hands went to her soul stones protectively at the warning. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if someone tried to harm her bonds, or poison them. Safe to say, it would be best for the Academy to get to them first, before she did. Acacia let her words sink in before she turned and led them from the stables without taking them through. There was little reason to show them off, as they’d have personal stables and none of them had mounts.

“Next are the towers. We have one for each main affinity. Between them are the buildings for the sub-affinities.” Acacia told them as they walked towards the eight tall towers and buildings that connected them. Liliana thought the way the towers and buildings were arranged looked rather akin to a crown.

“We have masters for every affinity who teach each of these classes. Unlike your core classes, and your training classes, affinity electives are not split by class.” Acacia explained as they reached the first tower, the one for Light affinity. Liliana tilted her head at the new information, but upon consideration, it made some sense. There were 44 different affinities. If every student in her class picked a different one, there would be 14 empty classrooms. It would also mean finding 6 different masters for each affinity. There was special treatment and then there was idiotic, pointless spending.

“However, class S students are permitted extra tutoring by their teachers for affinities once your electives are chosen. Be sure to take advantage of having such esteemed masters giving you private lessons. It’s not something you’ll get a chance to enjoy once you’re graduated.” Acacia called out to them as they entered the first tower.

Ah, there’s the class favoritism. Can’t let their S jewels fall behind the chaff. Liliana thought with amusement as they explored the first tower, then the connected building. The classrooms didn’t deviate from the ones they’d already seen too much.

“This is where you’ll also find the classrooms for the electives for fighting style. So casters, ranged, healers, tanks, rogues, front-line fighters, you’ll find your classrooms here as well. These electives are split by class.” Acacia told them as they finished their exploration of the first tower and filed through to the connected building.

The school made good use of their land, building above and below in many cases. The towers were eight stories tall, though only the first four floors, split by year, were open to students. The others were private offices for the teachers. The connected buildings were smaller half the size at five stories tall, one for each year group and the top floor for teachers. They also went five stories deep, split with A, B, C, D, and E classes for each year on the first four levels, with class S getting the fifth level, split into 4 for each year level.

By the time they finished their walk through of the affinity and fighting style buildings, it was well into the afternoon and Liliana could see several in their class lagging. Not everyone was a physical class. Many might have ignored Stamina the same way she ignored her pitiful Vitality.

“Two more stops after this,” Acacia told them with some empathy.

She led them a small distance to a large colosseum style building. The older girl walked them in and allowed them to sit down on some of the seats. Liliana noted other guides leading their designated groups through as well. The guides, or the Academy, had made sure there was little interaction between the different classes during their tours, Liliana noted. Even now, the other five classes were being sat down in different areas of the huge colosseum.

“This is the colosseum, used for the twice yearly tournaments. You won’t be seeing this again for a few months yet, but remember it. Many futures have been made or destroyed within it.” Acacia informed them as she took a seat herself. Their group took a few minutes to absorb the dire warning and replenish their Stamina.

“How do you look fine? We’ve been walking all day!” Marianne panted beside Liliana, leaning heavily on her shoulder as if the princess could no longer support her own weight. In comparison, Liliana wasn’t even sweating. It would take more than a leisurely walk and some stairs to tire her body out now.

“I have around eight thousand Stamina,” Liliana said with a small smile. Marianne glared at Liliana as if she’d just insulted her mother.

“Damn physical fighters,” Marianne grumbled. Liliana ducked her head into her shoulder to stifle the laugh that wanted to emerge.

“Alright, now to the final stop before we go back to the cafeteria for dinner,” Acacia rallied their group, leading the twenty students, many still quietly complaining about their feet, out of the colosseum.

Liliana was excited, because the only place left to show them was the dorms. However, despite being class S, they were still first years, so their dorms were furthest from the bulk of the campus. Liliana doubted many of their group had the energy to appreciate the beautifully done foot paths paved with black and gold stones arranged in beautiful patterns, and the small enclaves surrounded by flowering bushes and trees with benches and tables set out for students to rest outside their dorms.

They would be good for studying, if students didn’t want to take advantage of the study rooms in the library. As with all the paths around the school, they were also protected by clear, magical coverings that didn’t impede their view of the sky but would shield them in case of inclement weather. When they finally arrived at the first year dorms, thankfully for them class S dorms were the first, it was to a exhausted cheer.

“These are class S dorms. Only classes S and A have individual rooms. All other classes have shared rooms. Class S also has personal bathing rooms, as opposed to communal baths. Girls are in the west wing, boys in the east. Do not try to cross into the other gender’s side, there are harsh consequences. Your homeroom teacher has a room here. Should anything happen that needs their attention,” Acacia warned them before she opened the door to the Tudor style dorm. Combined with the beautiful roses, daffodils, and peonies and the fountain with a naiad so well sculpted she looked real in front of it, it looked like something out of a fairytale.

“You’ll see a communal living space here, and a kitchen as well. Please don’t try to cook if you do not know how.” Acacia called out as they entered the dorm. The communal living space was large, with chairs and couches spaced around. More than enough to fit all 20 of them.

“If there are any tamers among you, you’ll see your rooms are on the ground floor. This is because of the private stables connected to your rooms.” Acacia informed them before releasing them to explore their new homes. Liliana and Marianne waved goodbye to Alistair and Emyr as the group split and then hurried towards their side of the dorm. Liliana pulled out her ID card and looked at the dorm room on it. S105. First year, first floor, room 5. Liliana held up her card to the specified door and pushed it open. Marianne invited herself in, following behind Liliana and closing the door.

The room was large, bigger than her bedroom at the manor, but smaller if you accounted for her connected rooms there. Other than what was revealed to be a closet and bathroom, she had no excess rooms in her dorm. It was certainly bigger than the bedroom she remembered from her first life, and much larger than the hospital room she’d spent too many years in.

There was a queen-sized canopy bed draped in blacks and golds, two bookcases against one wall, a desk between them, a vanity and a storage chest at the foot of her bed. The floor was a dark wood Liliana wasn’t familiar with, covered in several places by round rugs with the Academy’s emblem on them.

“Oooh, I wonder if my room looks like this?” Marianne wondered as she wandered around the room exploring.

Liliana shrugged and moved towards the glass French doors that opened to a small, walled, covered courtyard backed by a set of stalls. Liliana opened the doors and walked out, turning around to take it in. It was smaller than her courtyard at the manor, but she’d be close to her Bonds without needing to keep them in stasis constantly.

She’d read the rulebook cover to cover and knew she could have her Bonds out in between classes, but she couldn’t have them out during classes except for training and certain elective classes. As well, if a Bond attacked a student or staff member, it was seen as if the tamer had attacked, and the punishments varied from black marks to expulsion. With how testy Nemesis could be, it would be best if she were kept away from other students whenever possible.

“My lady,” a woman’s voice called out and Liliana nearly had a heart attack as she whirled around to see a woman in the Academy’s staff uniform bowing to her.

“I’m Laura Fulker, and I’ll be the groom for your personal stables,” the woman, Laura, introduced herself. Liliana blinked. After a moment, something in her brain clicked, and she nodded her head at the woman.

When they meant private, they really meant private. It even came with its own staff. Liliana thought with some amusement. Class S really was given the royal treatment.

“What are your job duties?” Liliana asked curiously as the woman stood straight.

“I’ll groom, feed, clean up after and, if necessary, exercise your Bonds.” Laura said promptly. Liliana nodded. It was as expected. She was here for Liliana’s Bonds, not for Liliana herself.

Liliana tapped her soul stones to release her Bonds, and soon the courtyard was filled with beasts. Nemesis was in her small form and almost immediately tried to wind her way up Liliana’s leg, only to be thwarted by fast hands that set her back on the ground. Lelantos stretched and sat, looking around his new territory with interest. Polaris stretched his wings and set to sniffing around the perimeter.

“Can you be sure they’re taken care of? They’ve been in stasis all day,” Liliana asked Laura, who to her credit didn’t seem the least bit phased by the sudden appearance of three beasts. The woman nodded to her and turned to the stables, presumably to get their food ready. Liliana had sent her tames’ diet and care guidelines in response to the letter sent by the Academy weeks ago, so she was certain the woman was prepared.

‘Play nice. Do not attack anyone, and do what the nice lady tells you to.’ Liliana mentally ordered her Bonds, getting the equivalent of a grumble back from Nemesis and acceptance from Lelantos.

‘Can we explore the area?’ Polaris asked her.

‘No, we’ll go out tomorrow and look around.’ Liliana told her Bond, earning a slightly annoyed but accepting huff from him.

Satisfied that her tames would be taken care of, Liliana turned and grabbed Marianne, who had been a second away from launching herself at Lelantos. Liliana tugged the girl out of her room and towards the stairs so the princess could explore her own room. Liliana was hungry and Marianne could play with her Bonds later.

Chapter 118: A Chance Encounter

“What are we doing?” Polaris asked, as he kept pace with Liliana.

It was their second day in the Academy, and most of her classmates had not yet awoken. Liliana had been waking up before the sun rose for over a year now, either because of her schedule or because of her nightmares, and it wasn’t a habit she’d broken. Nor did she see a reason to. There were only so many hours in a day, and she had much she wanted to accomplish daily.

Besides, it was easier to forget the horrors she saw so often at night if she had something else to focus on. If she could do it fast enough, and long enough, those scenes that haunted her nights would fade away like mist under the light of the sun.

“Exploring. You wanted to do that yesterday.” Liliana mentally responded. Since mastering telepathic communication with Polaris, she saw little reason to verbalize their conversations unless he was including someone else in them.

“You didn’t want to bring your friends with you?” Polaris asked as they left the dorm building into the early dawn air. The Academy might be more southern than the Rosengarde manor, but it was still spring and there was a slight bite to the air.

“I know this might startle you, but despite how charismatic I am, I’m not, in fact, a social butterfly,” Liliana responded drolly as she looked around.

She knew the layout of the Academy, so there was little point in exploring for the sake of familiarizing herself with it to prevent becoming lost. But she did very much want to look around the place that had once been nothing but a series of code and graphic design to her.

“Oh. What a grand shock. I may very well perish on the spot from this unbelievable revelation,” Polaris teased, dodging Liliana’s swat with a yipping laugh.

“Besides, I love my friends, but they can be a bit much. And there are some places I want to look around today that aren’t very conductive to socialization,” Liliana explained as she turned right and headed down the pathway.

She saw other dorms for first years as she walked, all quiet at this early hour. Size wise they looked the same as the S dorm. Likely, class S got bigger rooms while the lower classes got smaller, shared dorms to maximize space. Liliana shivered at the thought of being shoved into a closet sized room with another person. She really needed to keep her spot if she wanted to retain her privacy.

“Will they be a problem?” Polaris asked her when they cleared the dorms, approaching the thickly forested area behind the dorms. He was referring to Diana and Zir’elon, Liliana knew. Polaris had access to her Earth memories. Liliana had not hidden those from him. He understood as much about the game as she did and knew the threat the heroes posed to her.

“Maybe. The heroes were catalysts in the game. I’m not sure if it’s the same in this world, or if maybe they were randomly chosen in the game. If their personalities remain much the same, Diana shouldn’t become an issue if I don’t interact with or antagonize her, but Zir’elon will probably be a problem.” Liliana responded as they walked past the first few trees standing sentry to the peaceful forest.

Liliana could feel the Mana density in the air strengthening as they walked further in. It would do little good for humans, dæmons, and beastmen to attempt to absorb the Mana from the environment. All of their abilities came from their internal Mana core. But beasts could take in Mana from surroundings, which could raise their Magical Power and Control.

According to Polaris, who had heard it from Minori, beasts could also absorb enough Mana to advance their stats. But it required such absurd amounts of ambient Mana and time it was a foolish endeavor. However, practicing in high Mana areas was beneficial for any living being. The pressure from high density Mana on one’s core could help them strengthen their core and advance their skills and spells faster, like how pressure deep in the earth created diamonds over time. The gains were more noticeable for beasts, but it was useful for humanoid races as well.

Liliana had noticed that Acacia had not shown their class this. She wondered if it was purposeful, or if the second year did not realize the benefit of this forest, either. Perhaps it was something the Academy wanted students to learn on their own, a secret test. Perhaps many students thought it was simply here for decoration, not realizing nothing in the Academy was for decoration. Every last thing in the Academy existed for a purpose. One just had to be smart enough to figure it out. Or have a cheat sheet.

Class S might be the only class with personal training and study rooms, but the forest was open to everyone. While it might not be able to change its terrain or offer automatons programmed to be the perfect opponent, the forest could prove to be a priceless tool in itself. Practicing skills, spells or Magic Control and Power here could enhance gains tremendously.

Liliana doubted many had figured out that the reason Dungeons could give bonus experience was because they naturally had higher densities of Mana, which created the dungeons in the first place. Liliana doubted she’d know, had Polaris not revealed it to her. Perhaps she would’ve figured it out, eventually. But high density areas of Mana would always be beneficial to any living thing willing to put in the effort to utilize them.

“There are a lot of rare plants here,” Polaris said, sniffing at a bush with leaves as large as her hands and flowers resembling stars, but in shades of orange.

Frianna, a plant native to their continent but not overly common. It was used for enhancement potions as a main ingredient, be it reflex, speed, strength it was a necessary component and with how popular such potions were for adventurers and nobles alike, demand was always greater than supply.

Liliana was surprised to see it in the forest as opposed to being cultivated in the greenhouses she knew were on campus, but not shown in their tour yesterday. Likely because they didn’t want a bunch of sixteen-year-olds around rare and dangerous plants unsupervised.

The urge to harvest some flowers for alchemy was strong, but Liliana held off. She didn’t have a personal alchemy set up here, and she wouldn’t start her alchemy classes until she selected it as an elective and was enrolled at the end of the first week of classes. Besides, while harvesting in the forest was fine in the game, she wasn’t sure it was alright with the Academy. Games let you walk into people’s houses and break their pottery too, didn’t mean you could do that in reality.

“Leave them. Try to remember what you see so if we can harvest we can come back, but for now, let’s not commit potential theft,” Liliana cautioned her Bond as they moved on, meandering deeper into the forest.

She had a rough idea of where she wanted to go, but for the most part, she was enjoying the peace of the forest. There would be no beasts on the grounds that would attack her, so she could relax her guard a little and truly enjoy the scenery.

“I should be warning you of that. Or were you not the one who scaled a wall to get into someone’s personal gardens and steal a rare berry?” Polaris replayed the memory in question, causing Liliana to blush and puff her cheeks as she turned her head away in a huff.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never do something so undignified.” Liliana responded.

“Of course. You’re the epitome of grace and poise. A proper lady.” Polaris sarcasm was heavy as he trotted ahead of her with a yipping laugh.

“I smell cherry blossoms,” Polaris alerted her a few moments alter, perking Liliana up from where she’d been muttering darkly about smartass foxes. Her steps picked up and soon enough, she could see pink through the branches of the surrounding trees.

“Someone’s there.” Polaris mentally hissed, drawing Liliana up short. Both dropped a bit, reflexes honed by many battles coming to light as they proceeded silently and cautiously towards the trees.

“Polaris. To the shadows.” Liliana mentally ordered as she activated [Invisibility].

She knew that there wouldn’t be an enemy of the Academy grounds. There wasn’t a humanoid alive, powerful enough to break through the barriers around the esteemed campus. But she didn’t know who was in the grove she’d been searching for.

It could be a professor, in which case it would be best to slip away quietly and not bother them, or a student. If they were an upperclassman, it might be best to slip away from them, on the chance they took her presence as spying or annoying and took offense. However, if they were an upperclassman and didn’t notice her, she could perhaps get a bit of spying on, maybe learn new techniques before class even started.

If it was one of her year, she could watch for a bit, see if it was someone who had figured out the benefit of this area and mark them as a future threat and challenge to monitor. If it was someone simply trying to get some peace away from others she need not bother them, as she’d prefer to avoid conflict over something as inane as rights to sitting in a grove in a forest.

Polaris slipped into the shadows, his [Dark Manipulation] and [Shadow Step] making him as invisible as she was in the shadows of the forest. They both crept closer until they came upon the protective ring of cherry blossom trees that circled a small pond, reminiscent in a way of Minori’s domain. It was part of why Liliana had wanted to come here, knowing Polaris would appreciate a little taste of home.

Past the trees, heavily laden with pink flowers, a form in a dark uniform sat cross-legged, leaning back on his arms on a protruding stone by the pond, staring blankly into the water. He was immediately recognizable, his tall form obvious even sitting, his riot of fire-orange hair and darker horns twisting above it. Koth’talan, the bastard prince of the Alfein Empire.

Liliana’s eyes scanned him, seeing the relaxed way he was sitting, and she deduced he hadn’t come out here to practice or train. He had been looking for a private place to relax, nothing more. Though it was surprising to her to see someone not only of her year but of her class out in the forest so early. She felt herself relax a bit, and she began to draw back. She’d find another place to enjoy the early morning and leave him to his thoughts.

“I know you’re there.” A voice called out, dark, deep but with a slight rasp. Liliana would compare it to the sound of a fire crackling, if she had to. Her movements froze and her head whipped to look at the boy, whose glowing amber eyes had locked with her form.

How high is his [Perception]? No one can usually spot me when I’m invisible unless they have a Wind or Earth affinity and can sense the disturbances my form makes. Liliana thought as she stood stock still under his gaze.

Her mind ran through the possibilities. He likely didn’t know who she was, so she could run, and he’d never know it was she who stumbled upon him. She doubted he’d catch up, not with her Speed. Or she could reveal herself and greet him, as was proper.

After weighing the options, Liliana saw little reason to run from the boy. She was no coward, and he wasn’t a threat to her. He hadn’t attacked her or made any move to stand from his reclined position. A part of her had also itched at the thought of running anyway, so with a sigh she straightened her form and turned off [Invisibility]. Koth’talan kept his eyes on her, his eyebrow twitching a small amount when he recognized her as one of his class.

“I apologize. I was seeing who was here first. I have no plans to challenge you for this area.” Liliana said with a slight bow. He might be a prince, but in the Academy they were equals, and she wouldn’t be showing him deference while that held true.

“I don’t care. If you want to sit here, it’s fine by me. If you want to leave, do so. I don’t own this area, so it matters little to me what you choose to do.” Koth’talan said bluntly, turning his gaze from her as he seemed to become bored.

“I’m simply exploring the area.” Liliana said, getting a silent half shrug from the prince.

She felt herself bristling at his cold demeanor before she reigned in her temper. It was best if he showed little to no interest in her. It meant she wouldn’t need to deal with his brother if the two of them didn’t develop any kind of friendship.

Still, he could at least look at me, Liliana thought grumpily. Feeling a bit petty, she mentally asked Polaris to reveal himself. It was obvious the prince hadn’t detected the Rank 4 Kitsune, and she wanted to see the cold prince surprised. Polaris mentally sighed but stepped out of the shadows, dropping his cloak of darkness to stand beside her. Liliana got the pleasure of seeing Koth’talan jolt, his head turning sharply to look at the beast that had just revealed his presence.

“We’ll be off then. I’ll see you around,” Liliana said smugly, waving one hand flippantly as she turned and walked through the trees. She could feel the dæmon’s eyes on her until the trees blocked his vision.

“Was that smart? To reveal me so early?” Polaris asked, though his thoughts were tinged with amusement. He loved a bit of mischief in the morning.

“You’re not my secret weapon or anything, and I’ll probably need to reveal all of my Bonds in training soon enough. Besides, any noble in this queendom knows I have a Rank 4 Bond. Little reason to keep it hidden. More importantly, his expression was worth it.” Liliana said with a cheerful hum as they walked on.

She wanted to get a chance to practice a little before lunch. Afterwards, she’d be heading to the library to take advantage of the culmination of more than a continent’s worth of knowledge. Other students might think the school year hadn’t yet started and use the days before classes began to relax, but Liliana would be utilizing every second she had here to advance herself. She had four years here and she wouldn’t let a moment of that go to waste.

“You could’ve had me dump him in the pond if you wanted to really give him a shock,” Polaris said, with a bit too much glee at the thought.

“No, his brother will probably end up an enemy. I don’t need to make more enemies in this school. There will be enough nobles who have a problem with me. Besides, if Zir’elon does end up targeting me like in the game, I might need to user Koth’talan to counter him.” Liliana said with a sigh. She hoped, fervently, that Zir’elon would ignore her existence entirely. But she doubted she’d be so lucky.

She wouldn’t go out of her way to antagonize him, but if he picked a fight, she would not stand down. And the most important factor in any battle was information. Know thy enemy. She might have knowledge from the game, but Koth’talan had grown up with Zir’elon and nothing could compare to that kind of knowledge. Polaris didn’t respond, but she felt his acceptance of her reasoning.

“This will do,” Polaris decided after they’d walked for another twenty minutes.

It wasn’t the same as the clearing with the cherry trees, but it was still a beautiful spot. An old tree had fallen, opening the canopy next to a stream. The tree was covered in moss and made the perfect seat. Liliana settled down and summoned several objects from her storage. They were weights, starting at one pound and increasing to ten.

Her [Thread Of Control] could only lift four individual objects that weighed just over one pound each. She’d been trying to increase her weight limit, but each half pound over her weight limit tripled the Mana cost for each additional object. It took a 200 Mana channel spell and could quickly turn it into a spell that cost 2,400 Mana a second. Which would exhaust her in two seconds.

However, she knew if she kept pushing the spell, it would eventually level, and in the process, preferably increase its weight limit. The spell had started with barely being able to lift half pound objects when it had first evolved from [Grasp] but time and effort had gotten it to over a pound for each object. It was a slow gain, but Liliana was patient. Her goal wasn’t to simply be like Natalia, guiding hundreds of daggers, but to eventually advance to controlling multiple swords.

Swords were larger, sturdier and had a longer reach than daggers. They’d be able to block more effectively than daggers could, and if she had to worry less about her defense in fights, she could be a more effective fighter. Her build’s largest weakness was her abysmal Vitality and lack of defensive abilities. She didn’t want to divert her stat points into Vitality when she desperately needed them elsewhere, and she didn’t want to divert her focus on her offensive abilities to defensive ones. Learning and mastering defensive skills felt like a waste of time to her when she could instead turn offense into defense.

With her goals in mind, Liliana took a deep breath and began her exercises, grabbing first a single one and a half pound weight and holding it until her Mana dropped to concerning levels. She meditated while she waited for her Mana to regenerate, doing two the next time and then three, then four weights, meditating between each channel. She knew Polaris was practicing his own abilities, but she paid him little attention as time passed her by.

Chapter 119: Everything Is A Mimic Until Proven Innocent

“Lili!” a voice called out to her as Liliana opened the door to the first year class S dorms. With an ease that spoke of many avoided hugs, Liliana side stepped and slid past the princess who had attempted to wrap Liliana in an embrace upon her arrival.

“I’m sweaty,” Liliana cautioned as she continued walking away from the door and towards the common area where Marianne had originated from. She could see a few of their classmates spread around. No heroes, thankfully. Alistair and Emyr were seated on a couch by themselves and had looked up at Marianne’s outburst.

“Where did you go? You missed breakfast!” Marianne pouted, following after Liliana like a crestfallen puppy.

She didn’t try to hug her again, thankfully. Liliana didn’t mind the hugs, but she felt gross. The workout of her spell had drenched her in sweat, as if she’d been lifting weights with her own limbs and not her spell. She’d gotten a level in [Threads of Control], though, bringing it up to level 43.

“I was training,” Liliana said simply as she waved at her brother and friend before turning and making her way to her room. She wanted to wash before she ate lunch and went to the library.

“What? Why? Class hasn’t even started!” Marianne followed Liliana without hesitation, confusion plain in her voice.

“Class might not have started, but our time here has. I’m not going to waste a second of my limited time here.” Liliana explained as she entered her room and gathered the clean uniform and towel she’d left out for her to use when she returned.

“You’re insane! Shouldn’t you be resting? You spent the entire past year either in a dungeon, or preparing and training for one,” Marianne said as she dropped onto Liliana’s bed, Polaris following the princess and curling up at her side. Marianne absentmindedly dropped her hand onto his head and began to scratch behind his ears.

Liliana could bemoan the fact that Marianne was so comfortable in her room, and what a strange thing that was as Marianne had never visited her at the manor so her being at home in Liliana’s dorm room was an unexpected turn of events, but she found the sight endearing if she was honest.

“There isn’t time for rest, Marianne. While I’m sure many in our year share your sentiment, there will be those who don’t, who will use the next few free days we have to progress, taking advantage of the many privileges afforded to us. I won’t let myself fall behind.” Liliana said, her voice cool as she leaned against the door to her bathroom and fixed the princess with a steady gaze.

“It’s not a competition. Besides, we don’t even know if these elusive ‘they’ exist at all. You could be preparing for nothing,” Marianne said, but her voice was soft, unsure, lacking in conviction. As if she didn’t fully believe her own words. Good. She’d noticed too, then. Marianne was to be the next queen, she should have been trained to pick up on small details and trends. To predict and understand based on both what was said and what was not, what was seen and, more importantly, unseen.

Even without her god-granted knowledge, Liliana would’ve thought something was off about the school. There was too much favoritism for the top class, and too many seeds of discord sown. If the school was not built to test the students, not just with their coursework, but also by using their own peers to drive them to further heights, then all classes would be treated the same.

They wanted lower classes to resent, to covet, what was freely given to higher classes. To strive for it. And they wanted that threat of losing their privileges to light a fire under those who were already at the top, so they’d become even better, always pushing because there would ever be someone one step behind them, ready to topple them from their throne. The Academy hated complacency, of that Liliana was certain.

“Are you sure?” Liliana asked and, at that, Marianne quieted, shaking her head after a few silent moments.

“Even if it’s not a competition, even if there’s no ‘they’ at all, it’s wasteful to not take advantage of what has been given to us. We won’t have these facilities forever, only for a measly four years. Every second lost is a level we don’t get in a skill or spell. Or is knowledge lost we will never gain. Levels and knowledge that one day might be the things that would’ve saved your life.” Liliana took some pity on her friend, further explaining her reason.

Marianne didn’t have the life experience Liliana did. For the princess of their country, leveling was as safe an experience as it could be made. Dungeons were something equatable with a walk in the park with the amount of guards that joined her in them. The closest Marianne had come to death was before she Awakened, when she still had to contend with her illness. But she’d never had to experience the feeling of utter powerlessness when an assassin far above her level plunged a dagger towards her heart. Never stood on her own against a beast in a fight that would leave one of them dead, with no guarantee it wouldn’t be her.

Liliana had faced death repeatedly, had turned him into a foe meant to be defeated, not a faraway eventuality. She’d stared into his eyes time and again and knew a universal truth. The only thing that would prevent death from taking her life before she was ready was strength. Power. The power to turn those who sought her life into defeated enemies, crushed like bugs under her heel. She couldn’t entirely stop death. She knew that better than most. But she could do everything in her power to ensure the next time she took his hand was at the end of a very long, fulfilled life.

So what she said might be rough, harsh for someone as sheltered as Marianne to hear, but it was essential. As a princess and future queen, she’d face her own enemies sooner rather than later. Her mother couldn’t shield her forever, as she had for sixteen years. There would not always be guards or knights to protect her, or they would not always be strong enough. There was never a guarantee that someone else would be there to fight her battles, and one day she may need to pick up the blade and fight for her life on her own. The stronger she was, the better her chances for survival. And if Liliana was going to live a long life, she wanted those she cared about there for all of it, too.

“I’m going to shower and then we can go eat something. Afterwards I want to stop by the library. Do you want to come with me?” Liliana offered, her voice softer and warmer. Marianne looked up and searched Liliana’s face for a moment before sighing loudly and giving the girl a wan smile.

“Yea, I guess I can start getting ahead of coursework.” Marianne agreed and with a smile, Liliana turned and left her friend to wash off the dirt and sweat from her morning.

Thirty minutes later, Liliana was leaving their dorms with Marianne, Alistair and Emyr in tow. Even more of their class was either awake or had returned to the dorm, for the common room was active and full of noisier as students began to make socialise, testing the waters, building the beginnings of bonds that would see them through the next four years. Hopefully.

Liliana noticed, but did not remark on the fact that Alistair had not been engaging in any introductions or conversations with their classmates. The glances made by the other students spoke enough. Not everyone at the academy was from the Cista Queendom, but enough of them were. And so many of the students from their own country were nobles that there was no possibility that the events from a year ago would be kept secret.

It hurt, more than Liliana would admit out loud, to see her once bright, extroverted brother turned into a shy introvert. Every longing glance he sent towards groups of friends laughing and joking was a dagger of guilt drilled into her heart. A burden she’d agreed to bear when she made her choice. A choice she knew her brother agreed with and would defend to his dying breath. That knowledge might take the edge off the guilt, but it didn’t erase it.

“Do you think they’d let us into the personal training rooms before the start of classes?” Alistair asked as they walked the path towards the main campus.

“I’m surrounded by training addicts,” Marianne muttered darkly, but there was affection in her voice too.

“I’m not sure. We could ask a teacher or an upperclassman if we see them in the cafeteria,” Liliana said with a shrug, ignoring Marianne’s comment. She hadn’t been sure herself if they could use the training rooms yet, which was part of why she’d practiced in the forest. Her head turned as they passed the outside training grounds. The sounds of spells going off stopped their entire group and, with a silent agreement, they deviated from their path and headed towards them.

It didn’t take long to spot the culprits of the noise. Several class A upperclassmen were engaged in a mock battle. Spells, Skills, Abilities, and weapons flew through the air at speeds that were nearly impossible to follow. On more than one occasion, Liliana saw missed attacks hit the barrier surrounding the training ground, the only thing protecting the small crowd of watchers from annihilation.

Liliana tore her eyes away and as she looked around, she saw most of the training grounds were occupied, though few were as flashy as the class A upperclassmen, but all were training just as hard.

“Well, we know the outside training grounds are open, at least,” Liliana commented as her group pulled away after several moments of open-mouthed watching.

Liliana kept her eyes moving as they continued to the cafeteria, and she saw students rushing around the campus as if class was in session. The cafeteria was far more lively than it had been during their tour; the levels dedicated to the lower classes full to bursting, as the majority of the student population was part of them. As their group climbed the stairs, the cacophony characteristic of so many teenagers and young adults cramped together in a small space became less obnoxious.

Compared to the lower levels, the class S level was practically barren. Groups of upperclassmen spread about here and there, with more than a few sitting alone. Nothing close to the full eighty class S students that the school had, perhaps closer to a third of them.

Liliana’s group grabbed their lunch, Liliana electing for roasted Quillhog herself, coated in a rich truffle sauce with a side of fresh spring vegetables. The food here was even advertised with the buffs it provided. Her own gave a 20% bonus to Stamina and Vitality regeneration, though she’d selected it because of how good it smelled, not because of its buffs. She doubted she’d be running around in the Library, and at worst she’d have to fear a paper cut. Her Vitality wasn’t so dire that she had to fear for her life from a paper foe.

“You ask,” Emyr hissed after their group had settled into a free table and begun to eat. He and Alistair had almost immediately started arguing about who would approach an upperclassman to ask if the training rooms were open for them yet. Liliana watched silently with amusement as she dug into her food.

“No, you. If they find out, it’s me. They probably won’t even talk to me.” Alistair brought up a good argument, but logical points wouldn’t overcome Emyr’s deep-seated hatred of talking to new people.

“Well, what if they get so annoyed a first year is bothering them and they turn me into dust?” Emyr shot back, glancing around at the other upperclassmen in the room as if they’d decide to do that simply for the insult of first years being in their presence. Liliana’s eyes shifted to the side as she heard a deep sigh and felt Marianne push back from the table, though the boys didn’t notice, too engrossed in their argument.

“They’re not going to murder you for asking a question. Besides, if you’re worried about dying, why would you want me to go?” Alistair insisted.

“Excuse me?” Marianne’s voice cut through their argument, more because it was coming from behind them rather than in front of them, where they expected her to be.

Emyr and Alistair whipped their heads around to see Marianne had left their table to approach a pair of upperclassmen. The princess was beaming at the upperclassmen, and they turned easily to address her, no hostility in their expressions. In fact, they looked a little indulging, like they found it cute that a younger year had braved them to ask a question. Perhaps they’d heard Emyr and Alistair’s bickering.

“Hello, are you a first year?” one of the upperclassmen addressed Marianne, a dæmon woman with light brown hair, rich earth brown horns curled like ram’s horns and piercing heterochromatic eyes, one purple and one blue. Her skin was dark, a few shades darker than her horns and her jewel colored eyes glowed in contrast and with the unearthly luster of all dæmon eyes. She gave Marianne a warm smile that invited the girl to continue speaking.

“Yes! I’m so sorry to bother you, but we were wondering if the personal training rooms are open to be used?” Marianne asked sweetly. The woman’s smile widened, her eyebrows raising a little as she did, her eyes turned to their group for a moment and Liliana would swear she saw her nod slightly, approvingly.

“Day one and you’re looking to start training? That’s good. Many take this time to relax. A choice that will come to bite those who make it in the ass soon enough. The training rooms are open, there should be a few teaching assistants in the main training rooms. Just tell them what you’re doing so they can monitor you and you’ll be good to go.” The upperclassmen informed Marianne, though the way she projected her voice and how she looked back at their group made it clear she was talking to all of them. Liliana activated [Identify] out of curiosity.

Kor’iat Ruakui

Age: 18

Level: 211

Rank: 4

Class: Infernal Runecaster

Health: 2,100

Mana: 25,350

Huh, I wonder what a Runecaster is. Rune mage, I suppose? I guess she has a focus on Fire or Dark effects based on her race and class name. Another glass canon build, are they popular? Makes sense as there’s a lot of noble children here and nobles do love to stand out. Powerful casters certainly stand out. Liliana specifically ignored the part of her mind telling her she was a glass canon build.

Unlike mages that ignored most stats except for Intelligence and Wisdom, her build let her avoid hits with her Speed and Endurance. She could outrun most attacks and outlast most in a battle. If glass canon builds were as popular as they were looking to be, Liliana might have an easier time here than she thought. Especially if they were mages, which were often stationary thanks to the long cast times of powerful spells.

“Thank you so very much!” Marianne smiled at the upperclassmen again, waving as she walked back towards their table. Kor’iat watched for a moment before returning to whatever conversation she’d been in when Marianne had interrupted.

“It’s a good thing we decided to start early. Seems this place is as rigorous as mother warned me,” Marianne said as she plopped back down next to Liliana.

“Yea, good thing,” Liliana drawled, tone tinted with sarcasm as she looked at her friend. The friend who had been ready to use the days before classes began as a vacation. Marianne pointedly did not look at her as she ate the rest of her lunch.

“Wonder why they didn’t tell us that in the tour, or the information they sent with the letters,” Alistair pondered as they finished up their lunch.

“They want to see who takes initiative,” Liliana said simply.

It seemed obvious to her as she put the pieces together, based on her previous knowledge and what she’d seen. Classes might not have started, but school had begun the second they stepped on the campus. They were already being tested. Liliana just hoped she wasn't found lacking.

“They should just tell us this stuff,” Marianne grumbled as they left the cafeteria, waving at the upperclassmen who had helped them.

“Does the enemy general let you know his plans ahead of time? Do other countries tell you they’re planning on invading? Do your enemies send letters to give you a heads up to the assassin they’re sending that night?” Emyr was the one to speak up, his quiet and solemn voice holding a heavy weight. Lilian was reminded that like her and Alistair, he came from a military family as well.

“They’re seeing who takes everything at face value, who takes the initiative, who digs deeper.” Liliana added on, continuing where Emyr left off easily.

“Ugh. Who knew school would involve so much-“ Marianne cut off, waving a hand lazily in the air as she searched for the right word.

“Thinking?” Liliana supplied with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, hush you,” Marianne flapped her hand against Liliana’s arm.

“Suspicion. Intrigue.” Marianne finished.

“Oh, Lili will do great here then. She’s suspicious of everything. I saw her giving her chair a glare before, like it might secretly be a monster.” Alistair jumped in with a smirk.

“I am not that suspicious. Besides, after that Mimic dungeon, I’m more surprised you’re not suspicious of furniture. I half expected you to smuggle a Mimic out to hide in my jewelry box,” Liliana accused.

“He tried, it almost took off his hand though,” Emyr said, revealing his friend’s secret with a smirk.

“Is that how that happened? I thought you said it was when you were fighting them! That injury messed up our timing while we waited for you to heal. Bones take ages!” Liliana turned to her brother with an accusatory glare. He was looking at Emyr as if his friend had mortally wounded him.

“Em, you weren’t supposed to tell!” Alistair whined, “and I was fighting. The Mimic certainly couldn’t tell the difference between peaceful capture and a fight to the death. And I did kill it after it nearly took my hand off.” He finished with a grumble, whispering quietly, “it would’ve been a good prank.”

“Well… I doubt the Academy has any hidden Mimics in the furniture,” Marianne said between soft giggles as she watched the trio with amusement.

“You can never be sure, though.” Liliana insisted and if the four of them stopped and stared at the closest piece of furniture, a rather innocent looking bench.

“Not a Mimic,” Alistair said quietly.

“Yea,” Liliana agreed, but her eyes narrowed as she assessed the bench.

“Probably.” Emyr said, shooting one last look at the bench.

“Oh, come on! It’s not a Mimic!” Marianne hissed at them, though Liliana noted she had shifted so Alistair was between the princess and the bench.

“Then go sit on it,” Liliana challenged.

“Would you look at that? We’re right by the library! Didn’t you want to take a look, Lili? We’ll see you two at dinner. Let us know how the training rooms are! Okay, bye!” Marianne rushed out, grabbing Liliana’s hand and dragging her towards the large building that housed the library. It took a moment, but as the two girls made their way to the building, it was to the sound of loud laughter from the boys, Liliana’s own laughter soon joining the chorus.

Chapter 120: A Quest For Knowledge

“Acacia said first years get access to the first lower level of the library, right?” Marianne asked quietly as they entered the library.

Liliana didn’t stop, but she did take a moment to enjoy the architecture of the building. Black marble threaded with gold covered the floor and made up the walls. Far above them she could see the stained glass of the roof, flooding the building with rainbow colored sunlight. The floors above left the center empty, railing allowing each floor to look back down to the center, where a statue of a phoenix sat, a moment of burning glory and spread wings captured for eternity.

The first floor they were on didn’t look like it belonged to a library, not entirely, more like a study area. Couches and desks spread around and hidden in alcoves, empty today though Liliana suspected soon they would be filled with frantic students working on last-minute assignments There were bookshelves, but as she’d learned the day before when they toured, they were for common books assigned for reading, or copies of textbooks if someone lost or destroyed the ones they were provided. The real wealth of books laid under the building. The levels seen from outside were mostly study rooms for classes and individual usage.

“Yea, though the library goes deeper than four levels, even fourth years need special permission to go deeper, and the full depth is unknown to most students,” Liliana responded quietly, parroting the words Acacia had told them the day before. It made Liliana curious as to what kinds of knowledge were kept locked away beneath their feet.

“So, are you planning on reading the textbooks?” Marianne asked as they walked towards the doors that led to the staircase to enter the depths of the library.

“No, I can do that in my room. I wanted to see what else they have here,” Liliana said as they padded quietly down the stairs. She noted that the sounds of their footfalls were muffled, as if silence spells or enchantments had been cast on the stairs, or perhaps the entire building.

They'd been given textbooks for all their core classes. World History, Mathematics, Spell, Skill, and Ability Fundamentals. Even their Battle Training class had textbooks, one was focused on anatomy and the body, the other was on battle tactics. The classes deviated from what Liliana remembered of Earth, where core classes were English, History, Science, and Math.

This world didn’t force students to learn science if they weren’t going to use it, and the Academy assumed anyone who was admitted had a solid understanding of the common tongue. World History was essential for a world where wars were common, both between countries and beasts. Mathematics was necessary, with the System throwing numbers everywhere. Learning about the theory and basics behind Skill, Spells and Abilities built on what they’d learn and implement in Battle Training and any electives they chose.

“So, if you want to get ahead, why not focus on the class material?” Marianne asked as they entered the first underground level.

Both paused a few steps out of the door as an automaton made of paper walked past, its movements quiet except for the soft shushing of paper moving against paper. Even seeing it for the second time, it still widened Liliana’s eyes in wonder. The quiet automatons kept the library running, organizing the books, maintaining them, and even finding books if a student asked them to.

“Class Material doesn’t include rare bestiaries you can only find here,” Liliana informed her friend as they finally broke from the spell of amazement the automaton caused.

“What is a rare bestiary going to do for you here? You can’t exactly run off in the middle of the week to chase after some legendary monster,” Marianne said as they walked down one of the aisles. Liliana craned her head back to see the top of the bookshelves that made up the walls of the aisle. They must reach fifteen feet, if not more. She wondered how students without flight skills could even get to some of the books.

“Partially I want to look at one for pleasure. But also, what if someone here has a rare beast as a tame that I haven’t read about before? I’d be defenseless against it without information.” Liliana explained, though the tactical reason was weak. She really did want to look at rare bestiaries just to see what kinds of wondrous creatures existed in this world.

Marianne didn’t speak, but her gaze held enough weight that Liliana could understand what she meant.

“We can also look for books on the founding of Cista, if you want to get ahead. I looked at the textbooks last night. The first few chapters of our textbook are about that, so I assume that’s what our first few lessons will be on. If we want to get ahead of any papers or assignments, we can checkout a few books about that. If there were any battles around that time, we should probably pay attention to those as well, because Battle Training might incorporate it.” Liliana sighed, cheeks puffing out slightly as she reluctantly compromised.

She was at the Academy to learn, but was it so wrong if she wanted to do some self study too? Eventually they’d be allowed out on assignments for the school, and if she had an idea of the rare creatures that might live in their country, she could try to pick assignments in those areas, and potentially come across a rare creature to tame.

“That’s… rather clever of you, actually.” Marianne said slowly. Liliana gave her an insulted look that Marianne grinned at. “Keep this up and I’ll have to stick close to you to keep my grades up!” Marianne teased, causing Liliana to roll her eyes.

“You just want to copy off my homework,” Liliana groused.

“That too!” Marianne said, voice chipper but teasing as she bumped Liliana’s shoulder good-naturedly.

Her talk of looking into the founding of their country wasn’t based on any game knowledge. Though she did remember learning a lot of the game world’s lore thanks to the world history classes in the game, though the tests and homework had been nothing but mini-games. But it was simple logic. If the first chapters of their textbook were about the founding of the country, then that’s what they’d begin learning, and what any first assignments, projects, and papers would be on.

Getting additional material early was smart, as any books on it would likely be checked out as soon as the teachers gave the assignments. And unlike her world, where books could be mass produced, this world hadn’t quite reached that point. Magic made things faster, but there weren’t a hundred copies of each book floating around.

It was a limited supply, and Liliana suspected even if the Academy could have hundreds of copies of each work, they wouldn’t. Another test for their students, those who were smart or lucky enough, would get what they needed. Those who were too slow or too lazy would find themselves with no material and quickly dropping grades. Liliana doubted the teachers would accept ‘there were no more books!’ as an excuse.

Supplies and resources were always finite, be they gold, iron, people, or something as simple as books. Those who would succeed would gather their resources before they needed them. Those who would fail would scramble to throw what they could together at the last minute.

I’m beginning to think the Academy might even turn sleeping into some kind of hidden lesson. Liliana thought before shooing away the pessimistic thoughts. Much of what she was thinking was unfounded, based only on what she’d seen and what she was assuming, thanks to her knowledge of the game. Nothing was confirmed, but then again, even if she was wrong, at the very least she wouldn’t come out the worse for her assumptions. She’d just be a bit ahead of others in her year.

“Do you two young ladies require assistance?” a voice spoke right behind Liliana, causing the girl to yelp and spin around quickly, subconsciously putting her body between the new threat and Marianne. Liliana noted that when she tried to summon her naginata from her storage, it wouldn’t appear. Some kind of anti-weapon enchantment, then.

“Oh, I apologize if I startled you,” the man backed up a little and Liliana felt her body relax out of the battle stance it had dropped into instinctively.

She was still wary as she took in the man, dragon, person before her, but the adrenaline was fading from her blood. The man was towering, reaching a height of ten feet if not taller, though Liliana noted he was hunched over a bit. As if trying to make himself seem smaller, less intimidating. An endeavor that was partially thwarted by the thick wings that hung heavily behind his shoulders and the six horns that twisted from his head, which only served to make his height and form more imposing. His skin, that she could see for he wore long-sleeved and full white and brown robes that reminded Liliana of the color of old books, was covered in black scales.

Liliana saw long claws, their ends dulled as if carefully manicured regularly, wrapped around a thick tome in his hands. His serpentine snout was pointed at the two girls and a pair of small glasses perched there. Behind his snout and glasses were golden eyes with slit, snake-like pupils.

As Liliana looked over the beastman, she felt herself relaxing further. His first appearance was frightening, but it was obvious as she looked over at him that he had taken great pains to make himself as approachable as possible. Even as he spoke, he did so carefully, as if trying to hide the viciously sharp fangs he bore. The last nail in the proverbial coffin for her fear was the warmth that shone in his gold eyes, making them feel almost familiar to her. Alistair’s golden eyes held the same kind of kindness and warmth in them.

Taalib Hakim

Age: 500

Level: 409

Rank: 2

Class: Guardian Of Knowledge

Liliana sucked in a sharp breath when she read what [Identify] showed her. As expected of someone so high ranked, she couldn’t glean as much information from him as those of lower ranks. She was certain she was only reading what he wanted her to see. Liliana didn’t feel the same fear she experienced when she used [identify] on the queen’s Knights, though. She felt the healthy amount of fear and respect due to one so far advanced in ranks, but she didn’t get the feeling he’d squash her like a bug for daring to [Identify] him, or for looking at him askance.

“Sorry, I’m a bit jumpy,” Liliana apologized, flushing slightly when she realized she’d been staring for far longer than was polite.

“It’s alright. Quite alright. Many here are like that. Fast reflexes and honed instincts will one day save your life. Who am I to fault you for a trait what your teachers will try to hammer into your skull?” Taalib said, his voice was soft though Liliana noticed a slight lengthening of s sounds, as if his Draconian snout wasn’t entirely suited to the common tongue.

“Now, I believe two young ladies who journeyed into this dusty old library on such a beautiful day didn’t come here for pleasure,” Taalib began. Liliana coughed and looked away, flushing harder. She had come here for fun.

“Or perhaps you did. Either way, may I assist you in finding what it is you search for? It’s rare to see first-year students in the library before the first assignments go out.” Taalib finished, though Liliana noted his tone had shifted from helpful and polite to warm and borderline friendly.

“Are there any bestiaries about rare or legendary creatures native to Cista?” Liliana jumped in, emboldened by his kind tone. Marianne sighed loudly behind her, but Liliana didn’t look back. She could feel Marianne’s eyes boring holes in her skull.

“And books on the founding of the Cista Queendom,” Marianne interjected when it was obvious Liliana wouldn’t mention it.

“A budding zoologist? Oh, no, looks like you’re a tamer, hm? Well, we have a few bestiaries that might tickle your fancy. Though the more rare and, some may say, interesting ones are farther down, I’m afraid.” Taalib spoke, but Liliana could see one of his clawed hands moving slightly, as if typing, and his eyes glowed and shifted as if he was looking at something they couldn’t see. Before he was even done speaking, a paper automaton had appeared, three books held in its grasp.

“And the founding of the Cista Queendom? We have some in the common tongue,” Taalib began and Liliana perked up.

“It’s alright if they’re in the Ancient tongue,” Liliana spoke up.

“You can read Astrati?” Taalib paused, raising one brow ridge. He had no hair, so no eyebrows to raise.

“Fluently, yes.” Liliana confirmed. I can read any language in this world, thanks to a meddling goddess. Liliana thought, but did not say.

The boon had been one she didn’t use much. Almost all books in the manor were in Common but she’d suspected books in the Academy would be written in all different tongues. And unlike many of her classmates, something as trivial as a language barrier wouldn’t prevent her from uncovering hidden knowledge.

“Then I have several tomes that you may find to be useful.” Taalib said, his eyes sparkling with delight.

It took a moment longer for a second automaton to join them, the reason obvious as it was carrying three times the amount of books. Taalib looked through the books, separating and organizing them. It took him seconds, his hands moving at blurring speeds as Liliana was more used to seeing on the battlefield than in a library.

“For the young lady who has in interest in beasts and languages, these should do you fine. I included a journal from an ancient tamer in there, written in Astrati. Most of the beasts he talks about haven’t been seen for hundreds of years, but even if they’re extinct, I’m sure you’ll get some enjoyment from it. The other two tomes are on the founding of our country.” Taalib had finished his organization and one of the automatons presented Liliana with the books. She eagerly took them, hugging the precious books to her chest, a wide smile on her face as she imagined the secrets and knowledge pressed against her fingertips.

“For the young lady who shows a dedication to her studies, here are three books on the founding of Cista. One even includes an account from the first queen, something I’m sure you’ll find much interest in.” The other automaton presented the books to Marianne, who blinked in surprise as she shyly took the books. She hadn’t announced her name, or her position, but it was obvious the librarian knew.

“Please do not hesitate to seek me out if you have any questions or are struggling to locate something. My paper automatons are also here if you need assistance.” Taalib told them, smiling in an almost grandfatherly way at the two girls before he turned and walked off, his fingers already moving.

Liliana assumed he was giving orders to the automatons that populated the library. Liliana noted that despite his colossal size, the man moved with a silence she had seen few match. It was as if he was a ghost moving about, a very large ghost.

“Since when can you read Astrati?” Marianne asked, moving close to Liliana.

“I picked it up a while ago,” Liliana answered vaguely with a shrug.

“Can you read any other languages?” Marianne asked suspiciously.

“A few,” Liliana didn’t look at her friend as she started back towards the stairs. If the private training rooms were open, then the far safer study rooms would be too. She had an ancient book on rare beasts to read and she wanted to get started immediately.

“How many is a few?” Marianne hissed, hurrying after Liliana who was moving at speed to get to the study room quickly.

“A few.” Liliana responded unhelpfully. Marianne groaned behind her, but dropped the topic.

“Well, if you could at least give me the abridged version of those books, that would help me out. I bet there’s not many in our class who can read Astrati, and how good do you think our grades would be if we turned in reports with information only found in ancient books written in a dead language?” Marianne was almost skipping as they moved up the flights of stairs towards the study rooms. Liliana had already pulled out the journal and had flipped open the first page as she walked.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Liliana murmured distractedly.

“And I’ve lost her.” Marianne grumbled, grabbing Liliana’s wrist the princess took to guiding her friend to one of the private class S study rooms, which opened with the presentation of their student IDs.

“Marianne? Did you know there used to be a giant monster called a Charybdis that lived in the seas south of Cista? Apparently it was part of the reason this continent took so long to find and come to,” Liliana looked up some time later, noticing finally that their scenery had changed. Marianne was sitting in a desk with her three books open around her and a notebook in front of her.

“Look, they managed to kill it and it was over three hundred feet long! Isn’t it gorgeous?” Liliana turned the book around, showing an illustration of a Charybdis. It was a long, serpentine like creature. Its head was crowned in long tentacle like appendages, and it had a large, circular mouth full of countless teeth.

“Lili. That’s something right out of a nightmare.” Marianne said, recoiling from the image with a look of disgust.

“I think it’s beautiful. It could create whirlpools and storms! Could you imagine the power of it?” Liliana sighed wistfully as she looked back at the journal.

“One day. One day you’re going to disappear and reappear a year later with some ungodly nightmare beast. The country will be in a panic because it’ll be some portent of the apocalypse and you’ll just keep telling everyone how cute it is.” Marianne said, her voice hollow and eyes dark as if she was seeing an ominous future. Liliana perked up, turning bright, excited eyes to her friend.

“Do you think so? Oh, that would be amazing, to find and bond with something so powerful. What do you think it would be? A dragon? A wyrm? A world turtle? A Fenrir?” Liliana asked eagerly, eyes wide and positively glowing with her enthusiasm.

“That wasn’t a good thing, Lili. And whatever it is, just please don’t destroy my country.” Marianne asked as her head thunked onto the desk.

Chapter 121: Early Mornings And Unwanted Princes

“It’s really not going to be fun, Polaris.” Liliana groaned to her Bond as she slipped on the blazer of her uniform, the dark silk contrasting nicely with the gold of the blouse that went under it. Liliana would’ve still preferred the school colors to be blue and black. She looked good in blue, but she could admit the gold didn’t look bad against her tanned skin.

“I’ve never been to an… ’orientation’ before. Isn’t this school thing supposed to be about new experiences?” Polaris asked, sounding too innocent.

“Have you been rifling through my memories of Earth school dramas and academy novels?” Liliana asked, slowly turning towards her Bond.

“They make up a large percentage of your memories.” Polaris said, voice sounding defensive.

“Is that why I’ve been having nightmares about answering questions in class in my underwear?” Liliana asked with a groan, closing her eyes to rub at her temples.

She didn’t truly mind Polaris going through her memories while she slept, better than him doing it while she was awake and potentially dragging her into a flashback. Still, she worried what kind of effect the school dramas and questionable quality of the academy novels she’d devoured in her last life might have on the fox.

“Don’t answer that question. Just. Be good, don’t bite anyone.” Liliana sighed.

It had not been stated in the rules that bonds couldn’t attend the orientation. Just classes they weren’t needed for, not that she thought Polaris, Lelantos or Nemesis would wish to sit through math or world history. She barely wanted to sit through math or world history, if she were being honest.

“I shall be a ‘model student’, as your stories would call it.” Polaris promised her, though his vulpine grin made Liliana believe he had no intentions of that.

“I will put you in your summoning stone before you can yip if I see you do even one thing that might get me detention on my first day at school.” Liliana warned, tapping his summoning stone to emphasize the point.

Thankfully, for her school record, orientation day was the first day of school, but it was the only thing they would do for the day other than meet their homeroom teacher. Polaris would have to be put in stasis for that much, as it was the first stop today and bonds weren’t allowed out in classrooms. He happily dematerialized. His essence sucked into the stone on her wrist.

Liliana sighed, turning to look at her two other bonds, who were lazing in their courtyard currently.

“Either of you two coming as well?” Liliana mentally called to them, as there was a door and too much distance for vocal communication.

“Humans.” Nemesis’ voice responded immediately, the word a curse and refusal all in one.

Nothing more really needed to be said. Nemesis might love Liliana and even enjoy the company of Emyr and Marianne, not that the serpent would ever admit to it, but it was quite clear Nemesis saw them as the exception to the rule.

“No hunts. No fun.” Lelantos’ reply followed Nemesis, his mental voice far rougher than the serpent’s or the kitsune’s.

He struggled the most with forming words, often defaulting to communicating through images and emotions. Liliana wasn’t sure if he simply had little interest in it, or if it was because he had only recently reached Rank 5. Lelantos cared little for anything that didn’t have to do with fighting, hunting and killing. He could communicate just as well with images and emotions for those activities, so Liliana knew he didn’t try as hard as Nemesis did with learning another means of communication.

Liliana was half convinced Nemesis was learning to talk more fluently just to have more words to insult humans with. Or to gain more knowledge, she’d seen the serpent staring at her bookcase with a hunger she typically reserved for prey. Whatever the case, she was taking a hands off approach with her bonds regarding learning how to communicate verbally. She communicated mostly through words with them, only resorting to images or emotions if she was feeling panicked. She hoped it would encourage them to pick up the skill easier, but other than that, she let them move at their own pace.

“Alright. Be good. Don’t eat anyone while I’m gone.” Liliana waved at her bonds before exiting her room.

It was early, half past eighth bell. Orientation was set for tenth bell, and they had to be in their home rooms by half past ninth bell. Liliana watched a few of her classmates stumble down the stairs groggily, moving towards the kitchen, likely in search of coffee.

Nobles and their tendency to sleep in. Liliana thought with a small shake of her head. She’d been awake since the sixth bell, and that was late for her, but she’d been up late with nerves. She’d spent the first hour and a half of the morning reading some of the books she’d gotten from the library before she started to get ready. Liliana hadn’t had enough time to justify going into the forest to train, but she’d perhaps get the chance after orientation.

“Lili,” a voice murmured right before an uncharacteristically dim Marianne bumped into Liliana’s arm.

“Marianne? Are you alright?” Liliana asked with concern, not used to seeing her bubbly friend so subdued.

“Too early. Make the sun go away.” Marianne grumbled, leaning further into Liliana. The girl was almost certain the princess was attempting to fall back asleep on her.

“It’s half-past eight bell. You know our classes start tomorrow and they begin at seventh bell.” Liliana told her friend, raising an eyebrow Marianne couldn’t see with her eyes closed.

“Gonna tell mom to get the Academy to start at a reasonable hour. Like noon,” Marianne sleepily murmured into Liliana’s arm. Liliana sighed and dislodged the princess, grabbing the girl’s shoulders before she could fall. Liliana began to push her friend forward. She was quite used to this behavior, having lived with Emyr for so long, and her panic over seeing Marianne so off subsided.

“Enough of that. Let’s get you some coffee, then breakfast. You can fall asleep during orientation.” Liliana said as she guided her friend, who she wasn’t convinced hadn’t gone back to sleep, to the shared kitchen.

There was a line for coffee, students stumbling forward to grab a cup and fill it with the liquid that would magically transform over half of Liliana’s class from the undead into living teenagers. By the time Liliana and Marianne had reached the head of the line and Liliana had shoved a cup of the steaming brew into Marianne’s hands, the princess looked marginally more awake.

“Morning Ali, Em.” Liliana called out to her brother and friend as they exited the kitchen, Liliana still guiding Marianne forward and directing her around hazards, like other students with boiling hot cups of liquid in their hands.

“Morning Lili,” Alistair called out with a smile, like her Alistair was a morning person.

Emyr looked up from where he was nursing his own cup of coffee and hissed at her. Emyr was not a morning person in the least, but Liliana had learned by now how to avoid his attacks when he was disturbed too early. She was just glad that their dorms had opposite sex restrictions; she wasn’t expected to wake him up when he inevitably slept in. Let Alistair, the tank, deal with the dangers of waking up a sleeping Emyr. Last time she’d tried, he’d shot a fireball at her head and nearly singed off her eyebrows.

“You direct Emyr, I’ve got Mari,” Liliana told Alistair. She knew if they let the other two decide their pace, they wouldn’t get breakfast and would likely be late for their first meeting with their homeroom teacher.

“Aye aye Captain Lili,” Alistair said with a grin and salute as he grabbed Emyr’s arm and began to drag the boy towards the door. Liliana merely huffed at the nickname her brother had given her after their multiple trips into dungeons over the past year.

“I will carve your eyes out with a rusty spoon,” Emyr growled at Alistair between sips of his coffee as he glowered at his closest friend.

“Yea, yea. Just keep drinking your coffee, you hellish gremlin,” Alistair teased, earning him the next hiss.

“We could just let them be late,” Liliana said as they left their dormitory.

It was still chilly this early in the morning, but Liliana barely felt the cold anymore. A brisk Spring morning had nothing on the hell that was a Rosengarde winter.

“Then he really would carve my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon, and probably feed them to me.” Alistair snorted with a shake of his head.

He swapped out Emyr’s coffee with a practiced hand, replacing the empty cup with a full one. The used cup disappeared into his storage ring. There would be more coffee at the cafeteria, thankfully, because Emyr wasn’t human before his fourth cup of coffee.

“A pox on your family line and a curse on all mornings,” Emyr grumbled darkly from next to Alistair. The boy didn’t fight Alistair at least as they walked, simply speared his friend and every living thing he saw with a baleful glare.

“Yes, a curse on mornings.” Marianne echoed sleepily from in front of Liliana. Thankfully Marianne didn’t seem like the violent kind of not a morning person. She just seemed the type to fall asleep standing up.

The walk seemed to wake up Emyr and Marianne marginally. By the time they got to the cafeteria, they were walking mostly on their own. Though Emyr was still muttering dark curses and death threats under his breath and Marianne had to be diverted from running into the doors. It was progress though because Emyr looked like he was only considering mass murder and not about to act on the impulse, and Marianne was at least walking on her own even if her navigation left much to be desired.

“Ugh, it’s noisy,” Liliana’s nose wrinkled as their group made their way up the stairs.

The worst of it was the E and D levels, they had the most students and despite the many students who looked ready to fall asleep on their meals there were plenty more who were awake enough to converse, and that many conversations created a roar of noise Liliana couldn’t say she enjoyed. She wasn’t used to being around so many people at one time, and it made her skin crawl.

“A curse upon all of them. May their socks always slide down their feet in their shoes.” Emyr muttered, glaring around them at anyone who dared to speak at above a whisper as they climbed the stairs.

“That’s a nasty one, Em,” Alistair snorted.

“May your clothes always be too loose or too tight,” Emyr muttered, glaring now at Alistair, who Liliana was certain he was currently blaming for the injustice of being awake this early.

“Ouch, rude.” Alistair chuckled, sharing a smirk with Liliana. They were both very used to Emyr’s colorful and creative curses at this point.

“Here you two sit. We’ll get you food.” Liliana directed Marianne to an empty table, Alistair plopping Emyr down next to her. Emyr glared at them both until Alistair sighed heavily.

“And coffee as an offering for the dark lord,” Alistair told his friend with a mock bow.

Emyr nodded, looking marginally pleased, though his glare never left his face. It was at least directed at the other students in the class S cafeteria rather than them finally.

Liliana looked around, her fingers tapping nervously against her thigh as she took stock of who was in the cafeteria. Most students she didn’t recognize, she barely remembered the upperclassmen who had given them advice that second day here and the second year who had guided them. But she wasn’t looking for people she didn’t know. She was looking for those she knew too well.

She’d managed to keep Zir’elon and Diana away from her friends these past few days, mostly by being very insistent they start preparing for classes and practically dragging them to training rooms or the library. It had been effective. Most of their class apparently had no idea they could or should be starting to hone their skills and knowledge, and so there was little chance of an encounter yet.

But today would be the first time they were all in one place for an extended period of time since the tour the first day. And Liliana wasn’t sure how strong a compulsion ‘fate’ would be. She wanted to keep Zir’elon and Diana away from her friends for as long as possible, as quietly as possible. She couldn’t exactly explain why she wanted her friends far, far away from the two of them. Liliana found herself half wishing the two other heroes would start a fight with her or her friends, to at least give Liliana a reason to keep her friends away from them.

As Liliana and Alistair left the line with trays of food for themselves and their friends, Alistair balancing an extra tray filled with coffee, Liliana felt her stomach drop to her feet.

Speak of the devil. Fucking fate. Liliana mentally growled as she watched Zir’elon leaning against their table, attempting to engage Marianne in a conversation. Liliana let out a hiss under her breath as she strode towards her table, anger flaring in her chest that she quickly tamped down. She’d learned her lesson, she wouldn't let her anger drive her. But if need be, she could channel that anger into power to drive a dagger through the prince’s hand if he tried something today.

“-y father told me a lot about your mother, and since we’ve never been able to formally me-“ Zir’elon was droning on as Liliana and Alistair approached.

Liliana threw a glance over her shoulder and saw her brother staring at the prince with a wary gaze. Her sociable, trusting brother was long gone. He’d heard too many cutting remarks from nobles he used to call friends to approach any newcomers with an open smile any longer. He caught Liliana’s eyes and words went unspoken between them. Liliana tilted her head and Alistair nodded before she turned her head forward again and dropped her trays on the table with a touch of more force than was strictly necessary.

Zir’elon jumped, head turning to look at her with slight surprise on his face. Liliana let a small half smirk slip onto her face.

Terrible spacial awareness. Liliana noted to herself.

“Hello.” Liliana greeted as she stood next to her seat.

She didn't like to sit when someone was standing. It immediately made her feel like she was lower in the power dynamic. There was a lot of power in being taller than an opponent, and she wasn’t going to give anyone more height on her than they already had. Liliana heard her brother drop his trays with more grace than her, but she felt his presence at her back and knew he wasn’t sitting either.

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to have our breakfast. You’d better get yours too, before it’s too late,” Liliana told the prince with a saccharine sweet smile on her face, her eyes showing none of the sweetness she’d laced her voice with.

“Well, I was just talking to prin-“ Zir’elon started.

“Marianne.” The girl in question piped up between bites of a warm bun she’d slathered with honey butter.

“We’re all equal here. We don’t use honorifics at the Academy,” Alistair’s voice added in, his tone steely, defensive.

“I apologize. I was speaking to Marianne here. Perhaps I can join you for breakfast?” Zir’elon recovered with a grace and suave that spoke to his raising as a royal prince.

“Sorry, Emyr gets testy in the morning and he doesn't normally like new people as it is. We wouldn’t want you to lose a finger or eyes,” Liliana put on a concerned look, nodding her head at Emyr, who looked up at the mention of his name and hissed darkly at them all before drinking his coffee like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

“Ah yes, the youngest son of the Marquess Bealstal, correct?” Zir’elon asked, eyes taking on a calculating gleam before he switched back to his charming smile, “Oh sorry, it’ll take some time for me to get used to the culture of the Academy.” Zir’elon recovered, but Liliana’s eyes narrowed.

“If you do not mind, we’d like to enjoy our breakfast. Perhaps we can speak after the orientation,” or never, Liliana added mentally.

“Of course, I shall depart now,” Zir’elon said, bowing slightly to them. “It was nice meeting you, daughter of Duke Rosengarde, or is it heir now?” Zir’elon asked, but he turned and walked off before either Liliana or Alistair could retort. Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she stared at his back, a barely heard growl rumbling in her chest.

“Lili,” Alistair’s voice was soft behind her, and Liliana sighed, turning away and dropping into her seat with a huff. Alistair sat beside her, throwing a concerned glance her way as she tore into her breakfast.

“It’s too early to be dealing with social climbers,” Marianne sighed as she sipped her second cup of coffee, looking far more alert now. Her eyes were still tired, but Liliana thought it had little to do with how early it was anymore.

“It’s too early to be dealing with people at all,” Emyr said.

He’d barely touched his food, but he had three empty cups of coffee arranged around him like some sort of breakfast court and he was gulping down the fourth cup, his fifth so far. For a brief moment, Liliana considered an intervention, then astutely decided she preferred her internal organs being inside of her and discarded the suicidal notion.

“I don’t like him.” Liliana declared, stabbing her bacon with a fork before tearing into the strip viciously. Anger did always bring out the more animalistic traits she’d gained from her bonds in her.

“Lili, you hardly like anyone.” Alistair said with a sigh, as he ate his own food with far more decorum. “But I can’t say he’s endeared himself to me, either.” Alistair murmured as he stared at his plate.

Liliana paused her revenge against breakfast food kind and looked at her brother, eyes sad. Alistair was still officially heir to the Rosengarde duchy, but since his mother’s arrest and conviction, and Liliana’s latest bond, there had been more than a few rumors saying it would soon be her who held that title. She knew that scared her brother. If he wasn’t the heir, then there was every chance their father would toss him out.

He was adopted by blood magic, but other than that, there was nothing forcing the duke to keep Alistair as his own. If their father disowned him, then Alistair would have nowhere to go. No lordship to inherit, no money to his name except what he’d been bequeathed from his mother by the queen.

“You know if they try to give me the heirship, I’ll just change my name and run off, right?” Liliana whispered to Alistair.

She’d assured her brother, many times, that she wanted nothing to do with being the heir or duchess of Rosengarde. What neither of them had dared bring up, though, was that if Frederick really wanted to, he could name Blaine or Beatrice his heir. He wouldn’t, not now that his power and position were so tenuous. He needed a strong heir. But they also both knew if the duke thought that it would gain him more power to cut his losses, he would. He was practical, in the worst kind of way.

“What was the last name you decided on? Fiona Bloom?” Alistair asked with a quirk of his lips.

“Better than your suggestion. Gertrude Swannings.” Liliana rolled her eyes as she resumed eating, her movements less violent. Liliana looked over at her brother and saw the thanks in his eyes, and she smiled softly to him, letting her eyes say what her words weren’t.

I love you, brother, and I’d do anything I have to, to ensure your happiness.

Chapter 122: First Day Of School

“We should sit up front,” Marianne said as they approached their classroom. Emyr and Liliana immediately shook their heads at the suggestion in tandem.

“Never leave your back open,” Liliana said firmly.

“Oh please, Lili, they’re not enemies.” Marianne said with a sigh.

“Everyone is an enemy until proven otherwise,” Emyr insisted. Alistair kept quiet in the growing argument, finding extreme interest in the walls and floor. He’d learned long ago to not argue when Liliana and Emyr agreed.

“But if we’re in the back, we might not be able to see the board.” Marianne could sense she was being outvoted and switched tactics.

“Back of the room has a door, though,” Liliana said thoughtfully.

“Easy escape, but someone could come through,” Emyr agreed with a nod.

“The desks are arranged in two lines, with the door in the middle and a path between.” Liliana pointed out.

“We can sit so we can see the door and the room if we’re in the back, then.” Emyr said, Liliana nodding in agreement.

“Back it is.” Liliana finalized.

“Back it is.” Emyr echoed, Alistair shrugging when the decision was made, happy to go along with the choice.

“Mother would be disappointed in me to be outvoted.” Marianne grumbled.

“Your mother would be happy to see you assessing for risks and minimizing potential threats,” Liliana rationalized, earning a spiteful glare from the princess that morphed into a pout.

Liliana grinned impishly at her friend and slipped her arm through the other girl’s as they entered the room. Marianne looked wistfully towards the front of the room but allowed herself to be guided to seats that would give them a view of the entire room and doors.

Marianne was sat closest to the wall, Liliana next to her. Emyr and Alistair took the seats in front of them. Liliana noted that, across from her, with an empty seat between them, was Koth’talan. Liliana didn’t recall seeing him in the common room at the dorm or in the cafeteria. He must’ve gotten up far earlier than the rest of the class. Liliana idly wondered if he’d spent the morning in the forest.

A few more of their classmates had arrived before them, but there were still ten minutes before their entire class was expected to be here. Several students had taken some of the seats closer to the front, but the rest were scattered. Liliana noted there were exactly twenty seats, just enough for their class. She’d have preferred a larger room, with more seats and therefore fewer chances of others being too close to them all.

“If I fail my classes because I can’t see the board, I’ll make your life hell,” Marianne muttered to Liliana, who rolled her eyes.

“You can see the board just fine from here, the room isn’t even that big.” Liliana told her friend as she rested her chin in her palm and looked around. Her [Identify] came back with information as she fixed it on each student. She skimmed over everything but the names. She’d have ample time to analyze her classmates, her potential rivals. As more students filtered in, more names appeared for her and Liliana summoned a notebook and fountain pen to begin noting them down, each name getting its own page for findings.

Anya Chadbourne, Nor Dawn, Leo Dunstan, Edward Coppercolt, Diana Ravenswood, Lucienne Allencourt, Basil Zindru, Brinley Eaglebow, Gwladys Remrence, Jasper Rathwater. She already had notes down for Diana and Zir’elon and had marked down Koth’talan before today. Some other names she’d already noted earlier and had filled them in before the students came into the classroom. Marianne noticed her marking down the names and her eyes slid to Emyr, who was doing much the same.

“Are you sure that you and Emyr aren’t the real siblings here?” Marianne asked.

“I ask myself that often,” Alistair sighed as he looked over at his friend’s notes.

“Information is power.” Emyr said simply as he tapped a finger on his notes, already filling it out further. Liliana didn’t look up, but pointed her free hand at Emyr in silent agreement. He got it.

Liliana tilted her head and mentally reminded herself to ask Emyr what he’d found out already. Liliana’s head rose when she saw Zir’elon enter the room. His eyes slid over the room, settling for a long moment on her group before he proceeded on and chose a seat several desks ahead. Liliana noted he chose a seat next to Leo Dunstan and struck up an easy conversation with the other boy, the two girls seated ahead of him being drawn in. Lucienne Allencourt and Gwladys Remrence.

Liliana also noted that the two seats ahead of Alistair and Emyr were inhabited by Anya Chadbourne and Edward Coppercolt, though neither had turned to speak to Emyr and Alistair. Across from Liliana were Jasper Rathwater and Koth’talan, and Liliana wondered if the reason his brother hadn’t chosen a closer seat to her group was because of the proximity to the bastard prince.

Possible shield from his brother? Liliana noted in clean script under Koth’talan’s name in her notebook. She’d have to weigh if the animosity she’d undoubtedly receive from Zir’elon would be worth the distance Zir’elon evidently strove to place between him and his brother.

Elspeth Mildenhall, Simon Chiverton, and Hywel Goldstein all came in close to the bell, slipping into some of the few remaining seats. Liliana added their names and looked around. There was one remaining seat open, the one across from Zir’elon. Diana Baker had yet to show up and Liliana tapped her pen against her notebook as she wondered if perhaps the girl had run away, an unlikely outcome but a desirable one.

Liliana’s attention was drawn from her musing at the opening of the door next to the board. A man stepped out. He was tall and skinny, almost unhealthily so. His impeccably tailored uniform, much like the students, only served to show off his thin frame all the more. His hair was neatly kept, black with specs of gray strewn through it and Liliana could see he had cold blue-green eyes that looked almost purple in some lights as they shifted to look over the students. He stared at the class with a frosty glare as the students slowly quieted, intimidated by his glower. Liliana used [Identify] on him as the room went deathly silent.

Akorian Vereign

Age: 96

Rank: 2

Liliana sucked her teeth quietly at the little information she was given. He had some kind of [Deception] skill then. She was satisfied to know that their homeroom teacher was such a high Rank though. From her observations the past few days, she hadn’t seen a single staff member under Rank 3. The Academy seemed to only employ the best. She wondered if the upper year class S had Rank 1 teachers. Rank 1 was rare, but she thought if any place was likely to have such people, it would be the Academy.

“I see you’ve all finally finished with your pointless chit-chat,” Vereign said, his voice dripping with derision. Several students flinched as his eyes landed heavily on them, the worst of the talkers.

“It seems we’re missing a student,” Vereign said as he noted the empty seat. As if on cue, the door to the classroom burst open and Diana Baker came rushing in.

“I’m so sorry! I woke up late and got lost!” Diana babbled as she froze at the door, the entire weight of the class and teacher’s attention on her.

“Punctuality isn’t simply a virtue, it is an essential in my classroom Ms. Baker. As it’s your first day, I will let it slide, however in the future I will not permit such flimsy excuses as being ‘lost’. You have a map of the school. Use it.” Vereign chastised the girl, who nodded but smiled shyly at the professor before moving to her seat. Liliana watched her carefully, smothering the disappointment she’d felt when the girl had entered the classroom. She had really hoped the girl had fled the Academy.

“Now that all theatrics are finished,” Vereign was looking pointedly at Diana, who flushed and dropped her head.

“I wish to lay some ground rules. You shall refer to me as Professor Vereign. Not ‘Prof’, ‘Mr. V’, or ‘Teach’ and under no circumstances will you ever refer to me by my first name. I expect students to be sitting at their desks, their materials out, and to be quiet at the sound of the bell. From today onwards, the doors will be locked at the bell. If you are late, you will not be permitted inside the room. I will respect your time by being here every day, on time, and you shall respect me similarly. If you do not respect my time, do not expect me to respect yours. You can, however, expect detentions, demerits, and the removal of privileges if you foolishly choose to disrespect me.” Professor Vereign informed them, his voice severe as he looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each student.

Liliana held his gaze though her hands fisted on her desk as she did. The man was terrifying, and she could feel his power in his gaze, even if he hadn’t let his aura slip even slightly the entire time he’d been in the room.

“If you have questions you need answered, my office hours will be given to you in your syllabus, as will all your other teachers’. Any emergencies in the dorms can also be brought to me, as I will be staying there. However, I expect my class to behave themselves, and as such, I don’t expect the door to my private residence to be knocked on often.” Professor Vereign’s eyebrows raised, and the class nodded in agreement to him.

“Presuming you can all manage to retain your spots in the class, you will be with me through all four years. So it’s best you get used to the rules I’ve set. You’re the best of the best at this school and I will accept nothing less than exemplary behavior from you all. Do not assume for any preferential treatment from me, either because of your family’s name or because of your ranking here at the school. Any questions?” Professor Vereign waited for any of them to raise their hands. It was obvious his latest comment had birthed curiosity in the students, but many were too intimidated by the commanding teacher to risk drawing his attention. Liliana was debating raising her own hand, if only for confirmation, when Marianne beat her to it and raised her own.

“Ms. Summerwarden.“ Professor Vereign acknowledged her.

“You said presuming we can retain our spots, sir. Does that mean we can lose them?” Marianne asked, her eyes darting to Liliana for a moment.

“Good ear, Ms. Summerwarden. Yes, I did say presuming you can keep them. This has not yet been explained to you, as it is the task of the teachers to address it if any of the students are intelligent enough to question it. Your spots in class S are not guaranteed and can be lost to those below you.” Professor Vereign said with a small smile. There were gasps around the classroom at that confirmation.

Should’ve asked about it. Liliana thought with a small pout, a bit put out she hadn’t been the one to be praised for noticing or suspecting what had just been confirmed. She raised her hand next quickly.

“Ms. Rosengarde.” Professor Vereign nodded at her.

“Thank you, sir. How can we lose our spots? Can we get them back if we lose them? Is it a single event that can cause us to lose them or are there multiple factors that can attribute to the loss? Will we lose our privileges with the loss of our spots? What class are we sent to if we lose our spots?” Liliana fired out her questions quickly, but kept her voice even and respectful. Professor Vereign’s eyebrow raised, and she saw his smile widen slightly at her questions.

“Very good, Ms. Rosengarde. I see we have some this year who are more observant than most.” Professor Vereign nodded at her and Liliana smiled happily at the praise.

“Losing your seats is a rather simple affair. As you all should know, students in each year are ranked. These ranks are determined by your grades, your assignment completions, and by the tournaments held at the end of each semester. Your rank at the end of each semester is what determines your placement in which class. The top twenty students are placed in class S. Students ranked 21 through 45 are in class A, students 46 through 75 are in class B, 76 through 115 are class C, 116 through 165 are class D, and 166 through 220 are class E.” Professor Vereign informed them all.

The tension was clear in the room as the students shifted nervously. This was the first time many of them were being confronted with the fact that all those privileges they’d been told of could be taken away from them. Liliana wasn’t immune to the tension, but she pushed it aside as her hand flew across her notebook, noting down the information. It would be vital to know where each rank placed her, especially as it would be directly effecting her quality of life during her time here.

“If you are ranked below the top twenty at the end of the semester, you’ll be placed with the class suited to your ranking at the beginning of the next semester or term. You will have the privileges afforded to that class, and will not be able to access any of the privileges associated with your previous class. This will also mean a move of dorms.” Professor Vereign finished answering her questions, and he looked around, his gaze hard.

“Look around you, because by the end of the year, more than half of this class will not be here. That’s how it is every year. Do not get complacent. I can guarantee the other classes are being told of this if not today, then soon. And there will be many gunning for the very seats you’re in now. Your rank and class are never guaranteed. Remember that.” Professor Vereign’s dire warning hit the class, but Liliana could see there were those who did not take it seriously, those who didn’t believe they could be ousted and Liliana thought they would perhaps be the ones who would be gone at the end of the semester.

Liliana vowed to not be among those to lose their spots. She was not a stranger to fighting, for recognition, for power. Liliana was well versed in pushing herself to be ever stronger and to refuse to admit defeat. But she noted what Professor Vereign said. Their positions weren’t guaranteed. Even if they lost them, they could get them back.

“You were right.” Marianne murmured quietly, her voice shocked.

“She usually is.” Emyr whispered in front of them.

“It’s usually better to just do what she says and don’t ask questions,” Alistair murmured from his spot with a shoulder shrug.

Liliana thought he, more than most in this class, was familiar with the possibility of losing something important if he wasn’t strong enough, impressive enough. She knew he would fight for his spot as viciously as she did hers. She raised her hand.

“Ms. Rosengarde,” Professor Vereign nodded, eyebrow quirked again.

“Thank you, sir. What happens to the students who are ranked last at the end of the year?” Liliana asked next. It was a gamble, to reveal she suspected something most students would not, but she needed to know if the game over one faced in the game translated to real life. She had a feeling that information like this had to be specifically asked about, that the Academy wanted to test the student’s perceptiveness.

“What brings this question up, Ms. Rosengarde?” Professor Vereign asked, though he had that smile Liliana suspected came out whenever a student showed they were particularly intelligent or clever.

“I noticed there were fewer students in each year, sir.” The lie slid from her lips easily. It wasn’t even a full lie. She had noticed there were fewer students in each year, but that was a result of her looking for that.

“Very good observational skills, Ms. Rosengarde. Five merit points for that. Students who rank in the last five at the end of the year are expelled.” Professor Vereign let this newest bombshell hit his class while Liliana sat back and bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth.

She was a bit excited by the merit points. She knew what those were. They all did, that had been told to them in the information they were given by their acceptance letters. Merit points were gained by teachers’ designations, grades, and complete assignments and could be used to buy things from the school shops. They were essential as it was the only place except for dungeons students could get gear during their enrollment. Even admittance to a dungeon required a payment of merit points if it wasn’t part of a class trip.

What concerned her was the confirmation of expulsion. So that was the same too then. It would be game over for her if she was kicked out, because it would be so much harder for her to progress in power without the Academy. It would also make her political and social standing take a severe hit, and that was deadly. Her political power and social standing were what made her useful to her father and kept her on his good side until she could enact her revenge, and what kept the queen interested in her and gave her some measure of protection.

She saw other students looking around in concern. They all were far from the last five in ranking, but it wasn’t impossible to drop so far. Their intelligence hadn’t been what they were tested on when they were admitted to the Academy, they were tested based on their level and possibly their skill and spell levels. Their class was presumably all strong fighters, or at least would look like that under an evaluation. But their grades, their intelligence, not just their fighting prowess and raw power, would impact their ranking starting now. Liliana saw some students wide eyed in fear at the thought of being kicked out not for being too weak, but for being too bad at academics.

“Now that all questions have been answered, it’s time for us to go to the orientation. Follow after me, do not wander, do not cause a ruckus, do not give me a reason to call you out.” Professor Vereign spoke up after giving his class a few minutes to digest the information they’d been given. He crossed to the door at the back of the classroom swiftly. It took a moment but students filed out after him, Liliana’s group some of the first after him, though she held them back so they wouldn’t be directly behind the professor.

“We can be expelled?” Marianne whispered in horror as she huddled close to Liliana as they walked.

Their class was quiet, subdued, as they walked, but whispers still traveled amongst them. Professor Vereign didn’t seem to mind, as long as they weren’t overly loud.

“We just have to make sure we stay in the top twenty.” Liliana comforted her friend, who looked stressed by the information they’d been given.

“Easy for you to say,” Marianne grumbled.

“Easy to say, hard to do. But if we don’t slack off, we’ll be fine.” Liliana assured her friend, looking over at Emyr and Alistair, who both nodded.

“We’ll help each other. Once classes start, we can have regular study groups, so if anyone needs help with a subject, the others can pitch in. And we can practice together, so our skills stay sharp.” Alistair jumped in, Emyr nodding behind them. Marianne looked around, her eyes slightly wide before she gave a weak smile.

“Like an alliance?” Marianne asked hesitantly.

“No, like friends.” Liliana asserted, slinging an arm over the smaller girl’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

“Friends.” Marianne murmured quietly, but her smile was soft now, warm as she looked over at Emyr who nodded firmly, and Alistair who smiled brightly, utterly confident. Liliana was reminded that Marianne had grown up without any real friends before they met. Friendship would be a very dear thing to the princess.

“Friends.” Liliana confirmed, giving Marianne another hug as her heart twinged painfully. She knew too well how Marianne felt, and how precious a thing friendship truly was.

Chapter 123: New Friends and Surprising Revelations

The entire school, it seemed, had gathered at the coliseum for the orientation. Professor Vereign had guided their class to what Liliana assumed was their assigned seats. She noted it was the same section Acacia had sat them in when she did their tour. Instead of separating the students by year, they were divided by class rank. First years were seated at the front of their respective class sections, then second years behind them, then third and finally fourth. Liliana assumed the upper years were placed at the back of their section because they had already gone through three years of orientation.

Looking around, Liliana sighed in relief when she noticed several upperclassmen with bonds accompanying them. She spotted a class S third year with a Night Owl on her shoulder, a fourth-year class A boy with a Horned Serpent draping over him like a very large, very lethal scarf. Further on she saw a second year class D boy with a Grim laying at his feet. Another third year, a class B girl, has a Kamaitachi lying in her lap. Liliana was certain there were other tamers in the student body, but she couldn’t see them all, and some probably had bonds that wouldn’t fit. Liliana stroked the summoning stone that held Polaris and the Kitsune materialized, stretching and yawning, before he settled down next to Liliana.

“Hello Polaris,” Emyr greeted politely, reaching out to scratch the Kitsune behind his ear. Marianne cooed quietly on Liliana’s other side.

Liliana looked around and saw Professor Vereign looking at her. When she met his eyes, he gave a small nod before he returned to scanning his class with a watchful gaze, as if just waiting for one of them to make a spectacle of themselves. Sighing in relief that she hadn’t somehow missed an obscure rule banning first years from having bonds out during the orientation, Liliana relaxed.

“So many younglings,” Polaris remarked as he looked around with clear curiosity.

Liliana placed a hand on his back, just above where his wings were, and her fingers twisted into his silky fur. Partially for comfort and also to keep Polaris from causing mischief.

“Some of these ‘younglings’ are older than you,” Liliana reminded the Kitsune beside her. Polaris snorted derisively, as if such a notion was absurd.

“In years perhaps, in knowledge, wisdom, cunning and experience, I believe I have many of them beat. Besides, beasts mature much faster than you two-legged children. We don’t take so many years to be able to protect ourselves.” Polaris declared, and Liliana didn’t disagree with him. He wasn’t exactly wrong there.

“These are your skulk?” Polaris asked, as he seemed to focus on the students nearest to them. Several of whom were now openly staring at Polaris, and, by extension, Liliana.

This was another reason Liliana had been alright with Polaris accompanying her. He was her strongest bond by far, and this was a clear power play. She already knew no one in their class exceeded Rank 6, therefore, Polaris would be a foe none of them could stand against. And by that same token, Liliana would be someone they couldn’t stand against. Best they realize that today, before they try something idiotic, and she had to enlighten them in more direct ways.

“Classmates, Polaris, classmates. I don’t consider any but Ali, Em and Mari close enough to call them a skulk.” Liliana gently corrected her bond, who had also detected the eyes settling on him. He enjoyed the attention and sat straighter, yawning again to show off his deadly sharp fangs.

“Prey then?” Polaris asked, a touch of amusement tingeing his voice. Liliana snorted and shook her head with a wry smile.

“Not yet, not unless they give us a reason to hunt them.” Liliana told him, and Polaris responded with an overly dramatic, disappointed sigh through their bond. In another display of dramaticism, Polaris flopped down, resting his head heavily on Liliana’s lap.

“He’s beautiful,” a voice said in a wistful sigh behind them, and Liliana jolted a little, shifting to catch sight of who had spoken.

She took in Anya Chadbourne, the girl who had sat in front of Emyr in the classroom. Her short, wild gray hair matched her fluffy gray wolf's ears, that were pointed up and forward. Her yellow eyes, predator eyes, Liliana noted, were fixed on Polaris, and Liliana spotted a fluffy gray tail wagging behind her. The girl looked to be around Marianne’s size, but Liliana could see Anya was more athletically built than her friend.

“Don’t stroke his ego, he doesn’t need it.” Liliana said with a sigh, but she smiled kindly at the girl to lessen any sting in her words. Polaris turned his head, from where it had been nearly pointing at the sky in pride at the compliment, to nip at Liliana.

“You know it’s true, you cocky little thing,” Liliana chided gently.

“I’m not familiar with Kitsune’s, though I’ve seen plenty of foxes. I was told they were beings of remarkable beauty, but I didn’t realize until I’d seen one,” Anya told her easily and Liliana watched the girl’s hand twitch, as if she was restraining herself from reaching out to pet Polaris.

Definitely not a noble of Cista, she would’ve avoided talking to me yet if she was. Many are testing the waters, waiting to see how well I do before they communicate with their parents and are informed if they can reach out to me or not. So either a noble from Athana or from a rich common family. Liliana mentally noted. That was good. It meant she could easily befriend the girl if she proved amicable. If the girl wasn’t a foreign noble, it wouldn’t cause any issues with Liliana’s status, and could in fact prove an easier time than navigating the landmine filled war zone that was any noble interaction.

“I have it on good authority that all foxes are Kitsunes, they just haven’t gotten their second tail yet. But I’d say they're full of more chaos and mischief than beauty.” Liliana informed the girl, whose eyes finally moved from Polaris to fix on Liliana with the new information.

“Oh! I didn’t know that! Do you have an interest in beasts?” Anya asked, and Liliana’s smile widened into something far more genuine.

“Oh, no.” Emyr murmured while Marianne dropped her head into her hands.

“Please, don’t get her started!” Marianne wailed quietly, voice muffled by her hands.

“I have a passion for beasts, you could say.” Liliana admitted with a small glare towards her friends.

Alistair snorted and Emyr chuckled lowly at her downplay of what he had dubbed a ‘rabid obsession’ on more than one occasion. To be fair to him, her interest in magical beasts and seeing them in their natural environments had put the three of them in more than one dangerous situation. To be fair to her, it wasn’t everyday you could see magical beasts out in the wild! Well, you could, but some were rare, or uncommon!

“Ignore them. They’re all prone to fits of histrionics.” Liliana said primly.

“Diomedes.” Emyr hissed at her and Liliana whipped her head around to glare at her friend.

“You can’t keep blaming me for the Diomedes Mares, Em! I’m not the one who broke the branch and alerted them to our presence!” Liliana replied hotly.

“They were carnivorous horses, Lili! They eat people!” Emyr reminded her.

“Well, did we die?” Liliana asked with a huff.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes. Does that count?” Alistair asked, and Liliana fixed her brother with a withering glare. He’d been the one to break the branch!

“Oh look. It’s happening again. So many memories flashing before my eyes, this is the end.” Alistair said in a deadpan tone. A quiet giggle brought Liliana’s attention back to Anya, who had been watching the bickering with growing amusement.

“Oh, you four are interesting!” Anya declared with a wolfish grin that showed off far more canines than any human Liliana had met had. Predator indeed.

“Please don’t include me in that. These three are nothing but balls of violent chaos. I’m at least a proper lady,” Marianne said with a soft whine.

Liliana fixed her friend with a raised eyebrow. They all knew the only reason Marianne hadn’t been causing chaos with them was because her mother hadn’t permitted Marianne out of the castle without at least four knights and thirty guards. No one could have fun or cause trouble with that many babysitters!

“Who said chaos was a bad thing?” Anya asked with a grin, and Liliana found herself grinning back. Oh yes, she could very much find herself enjoying this girl’s friendship.

“Lili.” Emyr’s voice, soft with a warning, brought her attention back to the sands below them.

A hush was settling over the students, who had all been talking quietly among their classes, starting with the fourth years and ending with the first years. A cloud of anticipation seemed to hover over the students, building higher and higher until a sudden conflagration in the center of the sands broke it.

Liliana leaned back instinctively from the fire that reached taller than the coliseum, but she soon found herself and the other first years around her, leaning forward as if mesmerized. The colors of the fire were beautiful, whites and brilliant blues that were so vivid they made everything else around them look almost washed out. Despite the size of the inferno, no heat washed over the students. The flames built until it looked like a giant bird made of flames was poised over the coliseum.

As suddenly as the flames had appeared, they vanished, revealing a woman standing in their place. She wore a different uniform from the rest of the staff. Instead of black and gold, she wore blue and white. Liliana recognized her instantly, Adelaide Wraithe, the headmistress. In contrast to her cool colored uniform, the headmistress had fiery red hair with highlights of bright copper and lowlights of a deep burgundy that made her long hair look quite like a living fire on her head. She was a tall, thin woman, with sharp features and a slightly long, pointed nose. Liliana silently thought the woman looked somewhat similar to a bird of prey as her eyes scanned the gathered students. Liliana noted her eyes were somewhere in between gold and orange.

“That’s interesting.” Polaris said quietly, and Liliana noted he was pressing a bit more firmly into her side, no longer resting his head in her lap, instead his eyes were locked with frightening intensity on the headmistress. A bit scared of what she’d find, Liliana activated [Identify].

Adelaide Wraith

Rank: 1

Liliana forgot to breathe for a moment and from the choking she heard around her, she wasn’t the only one to have checked the headmistress’ information and been rendered breathless.

A Rank 1. A Rank 1 was their headmistress. Someone who had achieved what hundreds of thousands, millions, worked towards their entire lives without ever coming close. The highest Rank a humanoid race could reach, the closest any of them would ever come to godhood. And she stood there, watching them pretty as you please, as if she couldn’t simply annihilate everyone in this school in the blink of an eye with minimal struggle. Liliana saw the effortless grace, the quiet confidence in each movement the headmistress made. This was a woman who knew her power, who wore it like a familiar cloak.

“Welcome to Vidiara Academy to our newest students, and welcome back to the older students who still remain with us. I’m glad to see so many familiar faces still here.” Headmistress Wraith spoke and her voice carried clearly even across the large coliseum.

“I see seated before me, the best and brightest of this generation. Not just of the Cista queendom, but of all nations among you. I see the potential for the next legends sitting before me. The next saints, the next kings, queens, emperors, and clan leaders. Though many of you are still young, your potential still raw and not yet molded, I see before me greatness waiting for the chance to flourish. I can guarantee that if you are willing to put in the efforts, Vidiara Academy will help you not only achieve that greatness lying in wait within you, but to surpass it.” Headmistress Wraith’s voice rolled over them, her words holding an almost enchanting lull. Liliana felt something stirring within her, a want to impress this terrifying, awe-inspiring woman before her. To match her expectations.

Subtle mental control? Liliana wondered. Perhaps, had she not fallen prey to the pendant and experienced the might of Minori, she wouldn’t have even noticed the gentle persuasion the woman was working into her words. Liliana’s lips quirked into a small smile. It was clever. It was nothing harmful, and it would push the students to work harder. She could appreciate the logic behind it, even if she was a little miffed at having any kind of mental magic used on her. More alert to the machinations, Liliana was able to keep herself from falling under the woman’s spell as she continued to speak, moving from compliments and encouragement to the real reason for the orientation. Dull information best presented to the entire student body at once.

Liliana listened as the headmistress went over the school rules. The ban on any duels performed without a teacher present, and the ban on any first year duels until their second month. The curfew that was enforced for all students, unless excused by a professor. A strangely specific ban on any pranks, and prank materials, between year groups and classes that had Liliana thinking someone, or someones, had to of done something in particular to get that rule enforced. Why else would the ban include enchanted paint that lasted for three days and was extremely resistant to being removed? Granted, Liliana only knew those facts about that specific paint because Alistair had used it on her. It was alright though. She’d brewed a potion that turned all his clothes pink for a week in retaliation.

For the first years, and as a reminder to the upper years, they were told to have their elective classes submitted to their homeroom teacher by the end of the week and their club choices by the end of the month. Liliana’s attention was wandering as the headmistress spoke, finding far more interest in Polaris’ growing unease. A mental prodding had her Kitsune finally responding.

“She’s not human, Liliana. She’s a beast in human form.” Polaris told her. For a moment, it felt like Liliana had been dunked into a frozen lake.

“Are you sure?” Liliana asked.

“I was made and raised by a magical beast who had achieved a Rank so high she could create other sentient beings. I am certain.” Polaris told her, and Liliana’s hand tightened on his fur. He was right. If anyone would be able to sense another beast, even an unbelievably powerful one hiding in human form, it would be Polaris.

Well, this year just got a lot more interesting.

Chapter 124: Skills Vs Levels

Liliana tapped her pen against her notebook as she looked out unseeingly upon the classroom. Their first day of actual classes had arrived, a day that should be filled with excitement and anxiety, but Liliana’s mind was too consumed by other thoughts to spare the energy for such emotions.

After the bombshell Polaris had dropped during orientation, Liliana had scarcely paid any attention at all to whatever the headmistress, headbeast? Had told them. Nor had she paid much attention to anyone else, happily fleeing to her dorm room as soon as they were dismissed. She knew her friends were curious, and mildly concerned, by her behavior, but she hadn’t explained. Not yet. She wanted to figure out this particular puzzle first before she presented her conclusions, and she’d admit she was nervous that if she actually spoke the words, the headmistress would know that she knew.

The high Mana concentration in the forest makes sense now, as does the presence of rare or uncommon plants and trees. Within their chosen domain, high ranked beasts can manipulate the Mana to do pretty much whatever they want. Liliana thought, as she absentmindedly started to bite at her nails.

The structure of the school makes sense as well. Though, has the headmaster or mistress always been a beast? Perhaps handed down through a lineage? But the base premise of the Academy being a survival of the fittest is aligned with how beasts think. Is that why I picked it out so quickly, discounting my god given knowledge? Because of my bonds? Liliana had several notebooks spread before her, one she was writing in her questions and thoughts in ‘code’, or English. A language she still remembered but was unknown in this world. She was confident that even if the headmistress was aware of everything happening in her domain, she wouldn’t be able to understand what Liliana was writing.

Liliana was also writing down her theories of what type of creature the headmistress was. Her current favorite theory was a phoenix of some type, as there were several. A dragon was also a possibility, specifically one fire aligned. A thunderbird wasn’t out of the question, as they had fire and light affinities so could use fire magic as she’d been shown.

She could be nothing commonly related to the fire affinity though. Her show could’ve been a distraction tactic. For all I know, she could be a kraken! Liliana frowned but added the beast to her growing list of possibilities.

She’d visited the library after an in-depth discussion with Polaris to make sure the Kitsune was certain the headmistress was a beast. Librarian Hakim had been helpful in supplying her with books on any known fire attributed beasts that were available for her year. Thankfully, her interest in beasts was already pre-established, so he had little reason to suspect her, if he was even aware of what his employer was. She’d let it slip she was considering branching out for her next bond and wanted to look into creatures she did not share an affinity with, though, to avoid any suspicion. Maybe it was paranoid, but to be fair to Liliana, her own stepmother had tried to kill her no less than five times, that she was aware of. Paranoia felt like a suitable trait to pick up under such circumstances.

Liliana wasn’t even sure why a beast of such power would bother teaching humans and other races, known for hunting and killing beast kind, how to be better fighters and, by consequence, hunters. It was low on her concerns. After meeting Minori, she was of the opinion that high Ranked beasts were eccentric and prone to doing things for obscure reasons that weren’t always bound by the laws of logic. It did make her curious though, as the Academy had existed almost as long as the Cista queendom, being established towards the end of the first queen’s reign.

“Good morning!” a chipper voice called out, drawing Liliana from her musings. Liliana looked up to see Anya leaning against her desk, her wolf's tail swishing behind her to match the grin she shone at the four of them.

“Morning Ms. Chadbourne,” Marianne greeted happily, Liliana echoing her.

“Hey,” Alistair greeted with a wave, Emyr nodded his head quietly from his own corner before going back to his own notes, where he was scribbling down information.

Shit, forgot to ask him yesterday about what he’d found. Should do that soon. Liliana noted as she closed her notebook upon noticing Anya’s attention on the foreign words.

Liliana noted that Anya’s partner, Edward Coppercolt, had turned slightly at the conversation but had turned back around after his eyes landed on Alistair. Liliana frowned, but neither she nor Alistair spoke up on the rudeness of the gesture, though Liliana did note Alistair’s shoulders drooping slightly.

Coppercolt had been as close to a friend as one could be considered when it came to nobles before the events of the previous year. He’d been part of Alistair’s ‘group’, as the son of a Marquess. Even if he wasn’t the heir, he was nearly as high in social ranking as the son of a duke.

If things were different, Coppercolt may have even been considered a marriage partner for me, Liliana thought as her glare bore into the boy. Not that she’d ever accept something as archaic as an arrange marriage.

She still had little motivation for a romantic relationship, though she did quietly admit in the recesses of her mind that she’d noticed some people in the Academy she could call attractive. But romance would be a distraction she couldn’t afford, not even accounting for the many hurdles and complications that came from entering into one at all.

There were the matters of her current rank to consider, and the social status of anyone she was interested in. Whether they were suitably stationed for her, or if they had a blood feud with her family or an ancestor, whether her father personally disliked or hated the patriarch or matriarch of the family and so on. She planned to cut ties with the Rosengarde family one day, but for now, she still had to dance to the tune of a noble daughter. Simpler to abstain from romance entirely until she was an adult and able to separate herself from nobility. Then she could merrily romance anyone she wished to.

“So what do you think classes will be like? Do you have your Kitsune with you today?” Anya asked Liliana, distracting her once more from her thoughts.

“Classes will either be an overview of what we’ll be doing for the year, or we’ll be jumping right into lessons. And I do. I have all my bonds with me today just in case we have any practical exercises that necessitate them,” Liliana answered Anya. Marianne whined behind her.

“Don’t say that. You’ll tempt the gods and then we really will have lessons and probably three essays assigned today,” Marianne hissed.

“Isn’t what you just said more tempting to fate?” Alistair asked, and Marianne’s face paled rapidly as her mouth opened.

“Oh no. I’ve cursed us all.” Marianne whispered in horror.

“Don’t do that. You know how easy it is to stress her out,” Liliana chided her brother.

“But it’s so easy,” Alistair said with an impish smile, though his eyes were still sad.

“Well, I don’t much care for the regular lessons, but I am hoping our Battle Training starts right off. I’m excited to try fighting against new styles. And against something smarter than a gnoll or troll.” Anya certainly did seem excited by such a prospect. Her tail was wagging behind her and her ears were perked up at the thought. Liliana raised an eyebrow and used [Identify] curious as to what class someone so battle hungry would have.

Anya Chadbourne

Age: 16

Level: 103

Rank: 6

Class: Heavy Weight Brawler

Health: 4,750

Energy: 6,950

Liliana’s eyebrows rose slightly higher as she looked at Anya’s information. She wasn’t a glass cannon, as was so popular for their year. It added credence to Liliana’s theory that the girl wasn’t a noble, as nobles seemed to disproportionately favor glass cannon builds. Her class also let Liliana know the girl was a front-line fighter, who could probably double as an off-tank, or a replacement for a tank entirely, if there was severe enough need.

“Well, hopefully you’ll get your wish, Ms. Chadbourne.” Liliana said as she canceled [Identify] with a blink.

“If we have any practical exercises, we should partner up!” Anya said before her eyes widened and the girl yelped, “Class is about to start, I’ll get to my seat!” she said before rushing to her spot in front of Emyr. Liliana watched her with amusement. It seemed Anya was full of energy even this early in the morning.

“You can’t partner with her, you’re supposed to partner with me!” Marianne hissed as she grabbed Liliana’s arm possessively. Liliana sighed but let herself be tugged closer to the princess.

“Actually, she’s most used to fighting with me and Alistair, logically she should pick one of us.” Emyr spoke up, glaring slightly at Marianne, who returned his glare.

“If you two keep it up, I’ll partner with someone random. If we even have partners and it’s not solo fights to assess where we are as far as skills go before we move on to group battles to test our teamwork, leadership skills and cohesion.” Liliana spoke up before her friends could get into a spat about who had ‘Lili rights’.

“Or if the teacher says my bonds count as partners on their own,” Liliana added thoughtfully. It was a distinct possibility as tamers had an unfair advantage of having their own partners, or even at time armies, available to us against someone who might be fighting them on their own.

She didn’t say if she had to pick a partner, it would be Alistair. It made more sense for her to partner with a tank who could cover her rather than a squishy mage or a healer. If the two of them were smart, they’d figure it out themselves and then they’d all be fighting over who got to partner with Alistair.

“Why’d you have to bring logic into this?” Marianne grumbled playfully. Liliana just grinned at her friend, who rolled her eyes but finally released her hold on Liliana’s arm.

“Do you really think that’s how Battle Training will go?” a sweet voice asked nervously, and Liliana turned, her grin melting off her face as she looked at the newest intrusion.

Diana Baker stood there, shifting her weight as four different gazes fell on her. She tugged at her long blond curls in what Liliana thought might be a nervous tic. Liliana’s eyes assessed the girl, taking in her uniform and school issued dimensional storage ring. It was obviously the schools as it had the Academy crest on it, announcing to any and all that the girl hadn’t been able to afford her own.

“It’s the most logical scenario.” Liliana said slowly after a moment of quiet. Her voice was careful, but cool.

She struggled to keep her dislike of the girl out of her face and voice, as there was no known reason for her to hold animosity toward the commoner girl. But this close to her, Liliana couldn’t help the almost instantaneous dislike that rose up in response to her. Whether it was a result of her knowing that in some parallel universe this girl would have a hand in her death, or if it was simply because she’d never liked her character when playing the game, she wasn’t sure. She just knew she wished that the girl was far away from her. Preferably on a different continent.

“You also knew about the possibility of losing our spots? And getting expelled, too. Right?” Diana pressed, leaning closer, her sky-blue eyes wide and sparkling.

I didn’t even realize people’s eyes could actually sparkle. Is that some passive skill? [Sparkling Eyes]? Liliana thought as she leaned subtly away from the girl infringing on her personal space.

“I didn’t know. I simply suspected. It was an easy conclusion to come to if one paid attention to the way the Academy is set up and noticed the shrinking class E in each year.” Liliana finally explained when it was clear the girl wouldn’t be leaving without some answer or another.

“Well, I didn’t notice,” Diana murmured, pouting slightly. Many would find the expression cute, but Liliana just found it vexing.

“Class will begin soon, Ms. Baker. Considering your first impression yesterday it would be prudent of you to not attract notice a second time in as many days,” Liliana was able to keep her voice kind, and even managed a soft smile that felt painted on to her but apparently was convincing enough for the common girl.

“You’re right! Thank you, Li-er. Ms. Rosengarde?” Diana stumbled over the proper way to address Liliana in the Academy, but recovered and Liliana nodded her head at the girl, who grinned and skipped to her seat. Liliana sighed in relief.

Do I have a sign above my head that says ‘Hey! Come talk to me! I’m an extrovert!’ or something? Liliana wondered as irritation flared in her. She didn’t mind Anya, in fact she found the wolf girl rather charming. But Diana had soured her mood quite handily.

“So popular,” Emyr teased, accurately sensing Liliana’s annoyance.

“Keep it up and I’ll start dragging you around to meet people that are apparently drawn to me,” Liliana hissed the threat. Emyr’s eyes widened, and he turned away, occupying himself with his notes rather than risk her making good on her threat.

“At least you don’t have people stopping you every other minute to compliment you or something,” Marianne said with a sigh as she twirled her pen. Liliana raised her eyebrow as she turned to the girl, encouraging her to continue.

“Just people wanting to get close to the crown, curry favor. I’m used to it from the balls and such, but now that we’re at the Academy I imagine it’ll be more common. At least for the first semester or so.” Marianne shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Liliana saw the way the other girl’s jaw clenched.

Liliana opened her mouth to reply when the door at the bottom of the classroom opened and Professor Vereign entered in time with the bell ringing through the school. Immediately, the room went silent as conversations were cut off by the presence of the intimidating professor.

“Good. You learned.” Professor Vereign said as his eyes took int he students facing him, materials ready and quiet. “I see everyone is on time as well.” Professor Vereign noted, his eyes pausing for a moment on Diana, the girl in question shrinking in her seat, much to Liliana’s petty amusement, before moving on.

“Now we’ll begin your homeroom. This will be the time when any announcements will be made. Such as changes to your class schedule, alerts for events coming up or field trips for the class, and more often a chance for private study before the start of your classes. In the spirit of announcements, I’ll open up with one of the most important ones, barring what you learned yesterday. Some of you,” here Professor Vereign’s eyes paused on Liliana before moving on, “may have noticed something interesting about the levels of the upperclassmen.” Professor Vereign stopped here and waited as the class seemed to shift around, many of them trying to recall the levels of the older students they’d seen.

The levels were low, for a school that focused on pumping out the strongest fighters. You’d think they’d focus on power leveling students as quickly as possible. But they don’t. Why? Liliana leaned forward, her gaze locked on their Professor.

“The reason for this is simple. Except for assignments, approved or assigned dungeon excursions, and specific permission given by a professor, we do not allow students to level. Disobedience of this rule will result in 50 demerits per level gained without permission.” Professor Vereign finally revealed the answer after the class had refocused on him, and promptly threw it into chaos. Students began to talk, voices raising in disbelief and anger.

“Silence.” Professor Vereign ordered, and for a moment Liliana felt an instinctive fear fill her, so potent it froze her in place. Professor Vereign had just released a portion of his aura on them. The sound cut off abruptly as her classmates were silenced with terror as Professor Vereign waited a few frightening seconds before his aura vanished.

“Now, it seems that many of you don’t agree with this rule. I find a visual demonstration often works better than explanation. So would Mr. Zir’elon Kastrioti and Mr. Rosengarde please come down here for me?” Professor Vereign called out over his much more subdued class.

Alistair jolted and looked back at Liliana for a moment, confusion plain, before he got up and walked down. Zir’elon practically strutted down, apparently none the worse for wear after enduring a Rank 2 aura. The two boys stopped before the Professor and he tapped both boys. For a moment, a bright light surrounded both boys before it faded to be a subtle shimmer.

“I’ve shielded you both and obscured your information. Don’t both trying to use [Identify] on each other.” Professor Vereign informed them before he raised a hand and barriers made of light came up around the boys. “And now the classroom is protected. I want you two to fight. Don’t use skills or spells, weapons only. Use whatever you have. First hit wins.” Professor Vereign stepped back, leaning against the wall of the classroom. Zir’elon and Alistair looked at the professor for a moment before looking at each other.

“Well, alright then.” Alistair murmured before he summoned a shield and a sword. Zir’elon summoned a one handed sword that Liliana didn’t recognize and couldn’t [Identify] thanks to whatever block Professor Vereign had placed on them.

“Start.” Professor Vereign declared as soon as both boys had their weapons.

Alistair watched his opponent from behind his shield, and Liliana leaned forward in interest as Zir’elon watched him back for a long moment. Then suddenly the prince moved, his Speed making him a blur. There was a clash of metal against metal as the prince’s sword hit Alistair’s shield. Zir’elon jumped back to avoid the retaliatory swing of Alistair’s sword.

So it passed for the next few minutes. Zir’elon would engage and Alistair would block or deflect. No matter how Zir’elon tried to get around his defense, Alistair was ready. Rather than just defending, Alistair used every attack Zir’elon initiated to retaliate when the prince’s sword was caught on his shield. More than one time it was only thanks to the prince’s Speed that he avoided losing, but as the fight went on, it was obvious the Prince couldn’t get past the tank’s defenses, and if the fight progressed for too long, he’d lose by virtue of exhaustion. His Endurance couldn’t match Alistair’s.

And Alistair is used to sparring with me, and my Speed rivals or exceeds Zir’elon’s. This is nothing new for him. Liliana thought, a bit smugly, as she watched the prince ineffectively bash his sword against Alistair’s shield again and again. Finally, the prince made a mistake, which Alistair had been waiting for. In a deft move Alistair bashed the prince’s sword aside, forcing the other boy to leave himself open long enough for Alistair’s sword to slash across his chest in a move that would have killed him, had the shield Professor Vereign put on him not flared and deflected the hit.

Zir’elon stumbled back, face a mask of shock as he looked at Alistair, who had lowered his weapons and dismissed them as soon as the win was his. Liliana watched the prince’s face, the way shock transformed to anger for a brief second before his mask was back in place and he straightened, dismissing his weapon.

“Very good,” Professor Vereign clapped his hands slowly, which spurred the class to follow. The professor dismissed the shield on the room and the boys with a wave of his hand.

“Please wait here. Your information is still hidden.” Professor Vereign told the boys before turning to the class.

“Now I want someone to tell me who they think is the higher leveled of the two,” Vereign requested.

Liliana’s eyes narrowed. This smelled like a trick to her. What would the point of this entire show have been if not to prove that levels weren’t everything? It was obviously based on the smug look in the professor’s eyes and the entire theme of his announcement that Alistair was the lower level. Liliana bit her tongue though and let another student attract their professor’s attention.

“Ms. Allencourt,” Professor Vereign called out.

“Rosengarde is the higher level, right? How else would he have won?” Lucienne Allencourt asked, though as Professor Vereign’s eyebrow rose, her voice became more unsure.

“Is that so?” Professor Vereign asked, subtle amusement lacing his tone. He waved his hands at the two boys still standing a bit awkwardly in the front of the classroom.

“I want everyone to [Identify] these two.” Professor Vereign ordered the class.

Liliana bypassed her brother. She knew he was level 112, he was lower leveled than her finally, as her boon gave her an unfair advantage. What surprised her was Zir’elon. He was level 123. Almost at the max level for Rank 6. By all rights, the prince should’ve won the fight. Liliana hook her head lightly. She’d suspected right then. Clever of the professor to make such a blatant show.

“Go to your seats,” Professor Vereign told the boys, who shook hands before returning to their seats. Professor Vereign waited until they had sat back down before addressing the class.

“As you all saw, Mr. Kastrioti is the higher level. Yet he lost the fight. Can anyone tell me why?” Professor Vereign asked the class. Several hands went up, and he nodded at one.

“Difference in class, sir? Mr. Rosengarde is a tank and had more Endurance.” Elspeth Mildenhall ventured.

“A reasonable assumption, but that’s not the reason. While Mr. Kastrioti did have lower Endurance, it wasn’t low enough that he was exhausted yet.” Professor Vereign nodded at another student.

“Weapon mastery difference, sir.” A voice called out and Liliana jolted slightly in surprise, not expecting Koth’talan to speak up.

“Very good Mr. Kastrioti. You are right. The difference is skill level, specifically in weapon mastery. I chose the highest leveled student in the class and put him against a student with a higher level in his chosen weapons. I want you all to note that despite a difference in levels and stats, Mr. Rosengarde won because he had a higher level in a skill.” Professor Vereign had taken to slightly pacing in the front of the room as he addressed the class.

“This is why we restrict your leveling, because we’ve found it to be frightfully common for students to come here with high physical levels but low skill, general skill, and spell levels. No matter how high your level is, it means nothing if you have weak skills. I’ve seen many students severely injured because they think high levels mean strength, only to be beaten by someone or something with a lower level but better mastery in their skills.” Professor Vereign continued. His demonstration had done what it needed to, while some students still looked disbelieving most of the class was nodding along.

“Any questions?” Professor Vereign asked, and this time there were no hands in the air. He nodded and smiled.

“Good, now you have fifteen minutes before World History. Take the time to study up or quietly converse amongst yourselves.” Professor Vereign ordered before he took a seat behind his desk and summoned papers to work on.

Chapter 125: Gym Class Hell

Liliana settled into her first few classes easily enough, with no small amount of hidden excitement. In her previous life, she’d barely had a chance to enjoy something as normal as going to classes with others her age, thanks to the health issues that had eventually taken her life. While she was no stranger to learning in general, being able to sit at a desk and take notes as a teacher talked about their chosen subject, quietly whispering to friends, was a novel experience she relished.

Liliana had watched coins change hands when their World History teacher, Professor Clintone, had assigned an essay due at the end of the first week on the founding of the Cista queendom. Emyr had simply lifted his hand behind him, laying his palm in front of Marianne, and the princess has reluctantly placed three gold coins in the boy’s waiting hand. Liliana wasn’t sure when the bet had been placed, but he’d evidently placed one with Alistair as well, who more easily parted with his own gold.

Their next class, Math, had a surprise quiz that would allegedly not have an impact on their grades, but was instead being used to assess the class’ general level of understanding. Spell, Skill and Ability Fundamentals, which was apparently commonly shortened to simply Fundamentals according to the professor, Emerson Reviee, had no homework or surprise tests. They instead were given an overview of what they’d be learning over the year. The closer the clock got to the start of Battle Training, the more the students began to shift excitedly.

“Do you really think we’ll have to fight today?” Marianne whispered during the short break they were afforded between classes. Liliana was going over her notes from the previous classes, though she’d been staring at the same paragraph for three minutes now.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll jinx us again,” Liliana responded as she closed her notes with a sigh.

She really wouldn’t be taking anything else in with so much excitement rushing through her. She did hope that the next class wasn’t theory, and instead practical. If nothing else, it would give her a chance to be rid of her nervous energy.

“Do you want to place another bet?” Emyr asked with a smirk as he played with a gold coin, running it over his knuckles.

“No, I’d rather not lose more money today,” Marianne said with a sniff, turning away from the boy. Emyr shrugged his shoulders and turned to Alistair.

“Ali?” Emyr asked. Alistair sighed, but nodded.

“Five on practical,” Alistair said. Emyr gifted him with a lopsided grin, and Liliana watched with no small amount of amusement as Alistair’s skin darkened slightly before her brother turned his attention to his notes.

Maybe I should bet on how long it takes those two to confess. Liliana thought with a secretive smile as she twirled her pen around absently before chiding herself for picking up on Emyr’s less reputable habits.

“If we have a practical I want a rematch, Rosengarde.” A voice called out and Liliana almost dropped her pen as her head turned to look at Zir’elon, who had gotten up and made his way to their corner. His voice was calm, perhaps a touch playful, but Liliana had seen the anger on his face when he lost. His pride had been bruised, and she didn’t think it was something the boy was used to.

“You already had your fight today. Give someone else a chance.” Liliana stepped in before her brother could speak up.

She couldn’t really help it. Zir’elon rubbed her wrong much as Diana did. Besides, she’d been watching the boy, perhaps more closely these last two days, and had seen how the prince seemed to be trying to build his own miniature court here. Case in point, he had two others trailing after him now, Dunstan and Remrence.

“Oh? Were you jealous of your brother? Did you want a chance to show off too?” Zir’elon’s eyes shifted to Liliana, and she smirked when she saw the distaste flash across his face for a moment before it was hidden. So he’d been updated on her situation then, but was likely playing nice for now. Likely because her own political standing was unknown and her closeness with Marianne made her more of a threat.

“You’re not a tank. I thought you might appreciate a sparring partner whose fighting style matches yours a bit better,” Liliana said with a casual shrug, as if she truly didn’t much care about what happened. She would privately admit to wanting to knock the prince down a few more pegs, though.

“Well, if we get paired, I promise to not go too hard on you, Ms. Rosengarde.” Zir’elon said, a touch of patronization to his voice as he looked down at her. Liliana just smiled up at him.

“Much appreciated, Mr. Kastrioti,” Liliana said with a nod of her head. Apparently, she sounded differential enough to appease him, and Zir’elon strutted off, head held high.

“’Much appreciated’? Really?” Emyr asked, his voice taking on a mocking falsetto as he mimicked her. Liliana threw a piece of balled up paper at his head for the slight.

“If it means he underestimates me, what do I care?” Liliana asked with a huff.

“Why did he seem so confident?” Alistair asked, as he turned to look at his sister. Liliana smirked devilishly at him.

“[Deception],” Liliana whispered happily and her brother widened his eyes before quickly checking her stats himself.

“Level 102? Really, Lili?” Alistair asked with a sigh as he blinked away the information.

“Wait, how long have you had that skill?” Emyr asked suspiciously. Liliana shrugged evasively.

“What even is your level?” Marianne asked next, leaning towards their huddle.

“High enough,” Liliana said with a satisfied smirk as the princess pouted at her while Emyr nodded approvingly at her.

She raised an eyebrow at her friend and his lips tugged slightly in a barely discernible smile, answering her unasked question. So Emyr had a deception type skill too. Likely maxed out if she knew him. It did make her wonder what his real level was and if he was hiding that information like she was.

The door at the bottom of the room banged open, startling the students who had all settled back in their seats. Liliana’s grip on her pen had shifted to one more appropriate for daggers with the sudden noise, but she relaxed it when she saw the familiar uniform on the large man striding into the room.

The man looked nothing like Silas, but he had the same type of no-nonsense gruffness about him that she found herself unconsciously relaxing as his eyes took them in. Liliana was surprised by the fact that he was the first teacher they had who was clearly a beastman, one resembling a lion. Thick tawny hair, or perhaps fur, surrounded his tanned face in an impressive mane. Two small lion-like ears sat perched on his head and a tufted tail whipped behind him. He was large, both in height and stature, though Liliana saw he was not fat. The muscles straining at his uniform asserted that. The man was probably as tall, if not taller, than Zir’elon and Koth’talan. He stood close to seven feet, if not taller. Liliana activated [Identify] as soon as she’d finished physically assessing their most intimidating professor yet.

Léonce Guérin

Age: 84

Rank: 2

Class: Hell Raiser Templar

Liliana had to duck her head and cough into her hand to stop the giggles that wanted to erupt when she read his name. She didn’t think the man would appreciate it, but truly, his name was too funny. A lion beast man named Léonce? Then again, from what she knew of lion type beasts they were rather prideful beings, and while she wasn’t sure how much of that transferred to the beast clans she could hazard a guess they named their children suitably lionesque names as they didn’t think any others would do. Or maybe his mother enjoyed puns.

“Let’s go, you lot.” Professor Guérin growled out at their class before marching towards the door in the back of the classroom without any other explanation.

There was a moment where the class stared after the man, then looked at one another before they all began scrambling to put up their things and follow him. Liliana didn’t stall her group this time, her own excitement overriding her wish to stay out from directly under a professor’s gaze. Though they and the rest of the class had to hurry to keep up. Guérin had not waited on them as they gathered their things and was almost at the stairs by the time they had left the room, and his long legs and presumably higher Speed gave him a distinct advantage over the teens.

The professor did not speak to them as he led the way to the class S training room, but he also did not complain when students began to whisper amongst themselves. Liliana, too suspicious to chance a misstep this early on, had shot her friends glares when they tried to start up a conversation. Perhaps Professor Guérin did not care if they talked, or perhaps it was another test. She’d wait and see before she took his lack of response as permission.

As the students filed into the training room, Liliana noted there was another man there, a quick [Identify] gave her information on him.

Suune Rauk

Age: 27

Level: 230

Rank: 4

Class: Storm Reaver

Liliana hummed almost silently as she dismissed the information, taking in the man. He likely wasn’t a full teacher, probably closer to an assistant than anything based on his age and level. Though reaching Rank 4 was still impressive at such a young age. He was far more lean than Guérin. His skin showed a deep tan, but what caught her eyes the most was his dark hair pulled into a tight tail with electric blue scattered throughout it.

“Looks like a disappointing lot this year, eh Rauk?” Guérin asked his co-worker. Rauk’s eyes scanned them beside the imposing lion man. Guérin had folded his thickly muscled arms, glaring at them as if they were bugs under his boot. Rauk held more control over his expression, but he did not seem overly impressed, either.

“Who knows, all we’ve seen so far are loose lips.” Rauk finally spoke, his voice louder than Liliana expected of such a lean man.

This was a man used to shouting commands. Liliana kept her own face neutral, though many of her classmates seemed to be struggling under the insulting words and gazes. They were a class filled mostly with nobility, children not used to being so blatantly looked down upon. A mix of long ingrained etiquette and a healthy dose of fear for the imposing teachers kept them quiet, for now.

“Alright you sorry lot. Mine, and Rauk’s, job is to shape you into warriors who probably won’t die in five seconds during a real fight. I imagine after three hours of sitting around you’re all ready to burn some energy, and inevitably confirm my assumptions. Rauk will lead you through your warm-ups and direct you.” Guérin barked out, his voice louder than Rauk’s as he addressed them, the hints of a roar tickling the edges of his voice. Rauk might be used to shouting commands, but Guérin was used to being heard and obeyed.

“Wait, you’re leaving us to a Rank 4?” Zir’elon’s voice burst out.

Liliana was rather glad the boy was not close to her, even so, she found herself inching further away. She’d watched the guard practice as Silas led the guards through drills, and she’d seen what he’d done to those who were so dumb as to question an order. Guérin’s eyes settled on the prince and stayed there for a long moment, during which the prince shifted but held his head high. Liliana would give him points for bravery, even if it was stupid bravery.

“Do you think you could take him, boy?” Guérin finally asked, his voice softer now, and even more deadly for it.

“I-“ Zir’elon gulped, “no sir,” he finally said, thought he words sounded like they’d been dragged from him.

“Then he can teach you just fine. If you lot don’t overwhelmingly show yourselves to be abysmal disappointments, maybe I’ll step in. For now, I see no reason to bother.” Guérin said, his voice louder now, and Liliana saw Zir’elon take in a breath when the teacher’s eyes finally left him.

“Alright, ten laps around the room.” Rauk stepped in, his voice raised as it boomed around them. Liliana didn’t wait to hear anything else. She took off. Almost two years under Silas had ingrained an instinctive response to orders said in that tone. Emyr and Alistair followed only a half step behind.

“What are you waiting for? Those three have the right idea! GO!” Rauk’s voice boomed out once more and Liliana finally heard the sound of seventeen pairs of feet hitting the ground as they all began to run.

Liliana kept her pace easily enough, not pushing her Speed to the max but not dawdling either. She knew how to pace herself so her Stamina would regenerate anything she lost. Alistair kept pace with her easily, his Endurance matching or exceeding her own. Emyr struggled to keep their pace, needing to go slower to not exhaust his smaller Stamina pool. Liliana watched with amusement as several of their class took this as a race, and inevitably exhausted themselves before they’d even finished half their laps. Others made the mistake of going too slow, or even walking, and got yelled at for the trouble.

By the time they were done, three students had puked, and been yelled at, five had gotten in trouble for trying to walk or go too slow, been yelled at, and had an additional three laps, and the majority left looked tired and winded. Liliana, Alistair, Emyr, Koth’talan, and Rathwater all looked none the worse for wear. Anya was bouncing on her heels, still full of energy and Nor Dawn, while tired looking, wasn’t huffing like the rest of their class was. Liliana was fairly certain tired was Dawn’s default setting, though, as the girl constantly looked close to falling asleep in their classes.

“I hate running,” Marianne said from where she was bent over, hand on her knees as she gulped in air. Her pale face was flushed a red almost matching her eyes and Liliana smirked at her friend.

“How are you so composed?” Marianne asked between panting gasps.

“High Endurance, and I’m used to this.” Liliana said with a shrug.

When the last of their class, the ones assigned extra laps, joined them, Rauk began them on various different exercises after leading them in stretches. Push-ups, curl-ups, pull-ups, weight lifting and other physical conditioning. Liliana started to get an idea of what he was looking for halfway through the curl-ups. Much like their math professor had set them a quiz to estimate their knowledge, their Battle Training teachers were testing their limits. Stats could give an idea of where they were, but high Endurance or Speed didn’t mean they knew how to ration their energy to prevent burnout. High Strength didn’t mean they knew how to lift weights in a way that prevented injury. They had the stats, but based on the amount of yelling she was hearing, many didn’t really know how to use those stats for anything more than terrorizing dungeon monsters.

I’m going to buy Silas a whole library of cookbooks, Liliana thought as she wiped sweat off her brow and set her weights down. Rauk had corrected her form a bit, with the customary amount of yelling, but he spent far less time with her than with many of her other classmates. Allencourt looked a few seconds away from crying in frustration as Rauk berated her for dropping a weight on her foot, though Liliana noticed he had waited to yell at her until after determining the girl wasn’t injured.

“Alright, gather up.” Rauk commanded, and it was a far more exhausted grouping of students who stood before the man now compared to what they’d looked like at the beginning. Liliana was feeling good. She enjoyed the familiar burn in her muscles, though she didn’t look fresh either. Sweat stuck errant strands of hair to her face and her uniform was damp. She’d need to change before lunch.

“Now that you’re all warmed up, we’re going to start on quick five-minute spars.” Rauk informed them with a vicious smile. That smile grew as quiet complaints floated around them, but no one wanted extra exercises as punishment, so the complaints were kept to low mutters and baleful glares. Liliana smirked, fingers curling into fists as she felt the familiar beginning of adrenaline filling her veins.

Chapter 126: Power Plays and Spars

“Chadbourne, Rathwater. You two are up first.” Rauk barked out. As he spoke, he walked towards a crystal pillar that came to around his chest. He placed a hand on it and after a moment, an area in the center of the room rose slightly.

“Get into the ring,” Rauk ordered.

Anya bounced towards the battle ring with a vicious glee shining on her face. Jasper Rathwater looked far less enthused about the upcoming fight, and Liliana noted he was one of the students who had thrown up from the physical exertion. His skin was still pale, and he was obviously dragging his feet. Liliana had little illusion to how this fight was about to go.

“Shields placing, don’t move.” Rauk spoke and as he did, there was a flash of multicolored light that enclosed the fighting ring, pulsing brightly before it turned nearly invisible but for a slight visual distortion. As the first shield closed, two more appeared, surrounding the two combatants with a similar show before those shields too went nearly invisible.

“The shields on you will take as much damage as you have Health before they go red. As soon as they turn red, you’re ‘dead’ and the fight is over. Whoever dies first, or whoever has the least amount of health after five minutes, calculated off percentages rather than raw amount, loses.” Rauk informed them as he stepped back from the control crystal.

“Now bow and begin on my call.” Rauk commanded the two students. Anya bowed eagerly to Rathwater. The boy mirrored her, though his face just looked much aggrieved by the entire thing.

“Start,” Rauk called out, his voice filling the large training room and echoing.

As soon as he gave them the go ahead, the students moved. A high pressure torrent of water flooded from Rathwater’s hands, aiming for where Anya had been. Anya had taken to the air, her body flying far above the attack and the water hit the field shield instead of her, splashing ineffectively against the defenses.

Liliana watched Anya twist in the air and she smiled when she noticed the girl already had her weapons called, some type of metal gauntlets that covered her hands, spikes coming out of the knuckles. For a long moment, Anya hung in the air, far longer than she should’ve. Then the wolf girl moved. Wind swirled around her as she spun through the air, aimed at Rathwater like a small, furry missile.

Rathwater canceled his spell, summoning a shield of ice just in time to block Anya’s charge. There was a loud shattering sound as the girl burst through the shield, but Rathwater darted to the side, throwing sharply pointed shards of ice at Anya. Wind and darkness surrounded the girl like a violent shield, catching or misdirecting the projectiles she didn’t weave between. The entire time she moved, a smile stayed fixed on her face, lips stretched wide to show off her fearsome fangs. Liliana couldn’t get over the feeling that Anya was hunting Rathwater. She had the same predatory glint in her eyes that Liliana often saw in her bonds seconds before they went in for the kill on some unsuspecting prey creature.

Rathwater backed up, tossing out blades made of water and ice, desperately trying to get Anya away from him. But every attack either missed, or was dodged as Anya stalked closer and closer to the boy. In a panic Rathwater summoned as a great wave of water to crash upon his opponent, but Anya took to the sky once more, this time she was far closer to him and when she directed herself back at him he paused for a precious second that ended with him on his back, his shield going red as Anya’s weight bore him heavily into the ground, a spiked fist punching into his chest and the other pressed to his head, Liliana heard the sound of stones breaking and cracking as the two were driven down.

“Win, Chadbourne.” Rauk announced, his hand on the control crystal once more.

Anya jumped off Rathwater, doing a small flip as she grinned happily. Rathwater took longer to stand. His face was bloodless and his chest rose and fell in quick breaths. Liliana was sure he was still panicked, perhaps even going through shock. That last attack from Anya had been brutal, and if he hadn’t had the shield on, he’d be dead.

“That was fun. Good fight Rathwater,” Anya said with a cheerful wave as the shield around the ring disappeared. She jumped down to rejoin the group of students. Rathwater stared after her with wide eyes.

“Rathwater, get down here. Sit down,” Rauk barked out, his loud voice breaking through whatever shock Rathwater was in.

With a jolt Rathwater moved, climbing down from the ring and wandering to a wall to sit, guided slightly by Rauk’s hand, pushing him in that direction. His head was in his hands and Liliana noted that Rauk watched him for a long moment before turning back to the class.

“Bealstal, Coppercolt. Go.” Rauk ordered, and Liliana brought her attention back to the ring.

She noted the damage from the last fight was already gone, fixed during the few minutes after the end of the first fight. Emyr walked to the ring silently, a barely there smirk on his face. Coppercolt was dragging his feet. Though he hadn’t been one of the ones to throw up, he had gotten extra laps for trying to walk instead of running.

Emyr was sweaty but not as exhausted as Coppercolt obviously was, and the difference was apparent when they stood across from one another, waiting for the shields to be placed, then bowing. Rauk evidently did not want to repeat himself, for he said nothing more than announce the shields and calling the start.

As soon as the fight was called to start, the entire ring devolved into darkness, earning some calls of surprise from the class, for they could no longer see anything. Liliana sighed but smiled as she watched.

“Shadow Domain.” Alistair commented, naming one of Emyr’s Quintessential Skills.

“Show off,” Liliana snorted with a shake of her head.

It took a minute, during which they could hear Coppercolt cursing and stumbling around, the sound of attacks hitting the shield, but they couldn’t see anything. Not until the shadows vanished in a burst of blazing light that forced everyone to avert their eyes or risk blindness.

“Nova,” Alistair murmured and Liliana smirked, both at the show of power from Emyr and at how Alistair didn’t seem to realize he had all of Emyr’s skills and spells memorized, or what it implied. He certainly didn’t have her skills and spells memorized.

“Win, Bealstal.” Rauk announced.

Liliana looked over to see the training ring demolished, the stone blackened and cracked, parts of it white hot. Emyr stood there with the same barely there smirk, Coppercolt lying against the ring’s shield, his own shield a bright red. Emyr jumped down as soon as the outer shield vanished.

“Coppercolt, get down and sit by Rathwater.” Rauk ordered. The noble boy struggled to his feet and shakily made his way to where he was directed. His entire body trembled as he more fell than sat down.

The next few battles continued in a slightly less dramatic fashion. Zindru versus Allencourt, win for Zindru who had an impressive mastery of Nature. He’d used vines to cut through Allencourt’s illusions and her water abilities did nothing against the vegetation. Ravenswood versus Goldstein ended in Goldstein’s win, though it was a near thing. Ravenswood had an Acid affinity that ate through Goldstein’s earth defenses until the girl trapped Ravenswood in a cyclone of sand she couldn’t dissolve, Goldstein finished the fight with a concussive Sound blast that turned Ravenswood’s shield red.

“Rosengarde, older. Summerwarden.” Rauk called out.

Liliana jolted, looking towards her brother and friend. Both looked at each other before shrugging and moving towards the ring, once more in pristine condition. Liliana wondered if there was anything that would permanently affect it, likely nothing her class could do. Marianne and Alistair bowed to each other when the shields were placed, and then the battle began. Alistair summoned his shield and sword, and an ornate staff topped with a vibrant red ruby appeared in Marianne’s hands. Shining lights surrounded the two of them as they both began to activate defensive skills, spells, and buffs. A circling shield made of Crystal appeared around Alistair and Liliana spotted how his skin shifted to a darker, almost metallic hue.

Liliana watched closely, holding in a sharp gasp when she saw Marianne cut her arm with a small knife in a motion that looked far too practiced. Red blood dripped down, but never touched the ground. Instead, it began to form around her, deep red crystalized armor that covered her vital areas, and climbed up her staff, extending into a blade. In seconds, she held a formidable scythe of hardened blood that looked sharp enough to slice through bone. A darkness that felt somehow very different from the shadows of a Dark affinity seemed to surround the macabre weapon.

Marianne stared at Alistair for a moment. The boy hadn’t moved, and he held his position. Any unease he had over the show of blood didn’t show on his face. Marianne nodded and waved her hand, drops of blood spilling into the air as they turned into spears. Water spears followed, appearing in the air from nothing until it was almost impossible to see Marianne behind the wall of bristling spikes, all of them tipped with that odd not-Dark-darkness.

Another wave and the spears made of blood and water flew through the air, pelting into Alistair. His shield rose to block him, his floating crystal shield rising to cover his weak spots. But with every hit, his summoned shield cracked, darkening and decaying until it broke in a shatter of crystals. The projectiles broke against another shield of light that appeared, surrounding him, but it too began to crack and then shattered.

Attacks started to make it through his summoned defenses, hitting against his reinforced skin. Every hit, Liliana saw small cracks, tendrils of darkness growing. The onslaught seemed unending, but Marianne hadn’t been idle as she chipped at Alistair’s defenses. She’d begun to move as Alistair was distracted, her Speed far higher than Liliana had seen yet, the effect of some skill or spell.

Marianne moved until she was behind Alistair, her summoned blood and water spears still stabbing and breaking against Alistair, even as they slowly whittled down his Health. Marianne raised her staff-turned-scythe, the ruby embedded in it shining like a trapped star even as the blood darkened until the blade looked near black, and slashed it at Alistair’s open back.

A bright flashing light filled the air, and Liliana heard the clang of metal on metal. Alistair had turned, raising his shield to catch the weapon and with a smug grin, he stabbed his free sword at a surprised Marianne, breaking through her blood armor and rendering her own shield red. Behind him, the spears from her first attack were splashing against the crystalline shield, the one that had supposedly shattered not two minutes before, coated in glowing light. Liliana noted with wide eyes that the ‘damage’ she’d seen on Alistair’s skin was gone, too.

Illusions. He used illusions to trick Marianne into thinking he was struggling, Liliana thought in proud amazement.

“Win, Rosengarde older.” Rauk called out.

Marianne shook her head and dismissed her skills and spells. The spears of blood and water vanished, and Liliana watched with morbid curiosity as the blade on her staff turned back into a liquid and dripped off with the remains of her armor. The cut on her arm closed quickly. Evidently, it had been kept open through one of the princess’ skills.

“Good fight. That was a clever tactic.” Alistair complimented Marianne as they left the ring to rejoin Liliana and Emyr.

“Yea, but you knew I was coming.” Marianne said with a pout.

“It’s a tank’s job to keep an eye on the entire battlefield,” Alistair said with a shrug. “If you’d been against a different type of fighter, you’d probably have won.” Alistair was obviously trying to console a crestfallen Marianne.

“You hid some of your defensive skills and spells with illusions so she thought she was winning too, didn’t you?” Liliana asked, and Alistair’s skin darkened in a sheepish flush as he looked down.

“Yeas. I knew she was probably faster, so I needed her to get confident enough to get close.” Alistair said bashfully. Liliana grinned and bumped her brother with her shoulder. She was rather impressed with his clever thinking.

“Rosengarde, younger. Kastrioti older.” Rauk called out next.

Liliana jolted a little in surprise, head turning to look at Zir’elon, who was grinning at her, though she wouldn’t call the gesture a kind one. Liliana merely nodded at him before walking towards the ring. She almost paused, wanting to ask if she could use her tames, but shook her head. The professors knew she had tames. If they didn’t want her to use them, they’d have said so. Just in case, to at least ensure they got shielded, Liliana called out Polaris and Lelantos as soon as she stepped into the ring, her eyes going to Rauk’s. The man looked from her to the two beasts, but nodded silently.

“It’s time to fight?” Polaris asked her, and Liliana silently confirmed it for both of her bonds.

She could’ve brought out Nemesis too, but there were still too many people, too many humans, around and she didn’t think she’d need all three of her bonds for this. As it was, Polaris was overkill, but that was the point.

“Wait. A Rank 4? This isn’t fair!” Zir’elon had apparently clocked Polaris’ rank, and he turned to their professor, an enraged look on his face.

“They’re Rosengarde’s bonds. She can use them in this fight if she wishes.” Rauk said impassively. “If you have bonds, you can feel free to use them as well,” Rauk said with a raised a brow at Zir’elon, who huffed and turned his back on the professor.

“If you’re scared, I can call Polaris back.” Liliana offered with a taunting smirk. Zir’elon’s eyes narrowed, shooting her a hateful glare as he looked between her and her bonds. Liliana’s smile widened as she turned to look at Polaris.

“Sit this one out,” she spoke aloud, just to rub it in. Polaris sniffed before sighing, acting as if this was all a great inconvenience to him, though Liliana saw the amusement in his eyes.

This was all according to her plan, anyway. And Polaris knew that, he’d read her intent the second he appeared and approved of the petty move. She had never really planned to use Polaris in a fight this early. She just wanted to make Zir’elon take a hit socially. Showing she had Polaris and then oh so graciously calling him back to make the fight more ‘fair’ would show she was more powerful than Zir’elon, and was simply playing with him. Polaris vanished as he disappeared back into his summoning stone. A last, silent, barking laugh filling her head.

“Now that it’s been made more… fair, are you ready, Kastrioti?” Rauk’s voice, dripping with sarcasm, floated up.

Zir’elon looked ready to go into a tantrum. His lips curled into a scowl and his fists clenched so hard Liliana was worried he’d accidentally break his own fingers, nodded stiffly. Liliana nodded as well, shooting a smile at the professor, whose eyes were sparkling with some amusement. Liliana thought the young teacher enjoyed seeing so many nobles being brought down a few pegs.

“Shields.” Rauk called out as first the shield around the ring, then the shields around the combatants, formed. Liliana and a very reluctant Zir’elon bowed after the shields appeared.

“Start.” Rauk called out.

In less than a heartbeat, a naginata formed in Liliana’s hand and she jumped into the air, landing on Lelantos’ back even as she activated her Set Up chain combo. Power flooded her veins, racing neck and neck with the adrenaline her heart was pumping through her, as the skills activated. She could feel Lelantos activating his own spells, [Empowered Claws] covered his claws in bright light that would help him sheer through anything. [Enlargement] made his already fearsome form grow until Liliana felt like she was crouching on the back of a tiger shaped elephant. [Reinforcement] strengthened his body, [Light Armor] surrounded his body in light that would block and absorb damage.

Zir’elon had taken a step back, and as Lelantos let loose a [Bestial Roar] he stumbled back several more, his weapon held tightly in his hand. Liliana grinned, a vicious thing as she activated [Gatling Barrage]. Small bullets of light appeared behind her, forming in circles. With a mental nudge, the spell began firing off, the circles of lights rotating as they fired off. They would fire five shots per second and last for five minutes, following behind her and firing a whatever she directed them to. It wasn’t a channeled spell, thankfully, and it provided quite a bit of use in a fight. Opponents often had to choose to dodge her blades or her bullets, but either way, they got hit.

“Let’s go.” Liliana mentally ordered Lelantos, who let off a non-enhanced roar as he crouched down, then pounced towards Zir’elon, who was moving around to avoid the light bullets firing at him.

Liliana watched as Lelantos got closer and noted that Zir’elon had impressive Speed and Dexterity, for few of her bullets landed on him. The dæmon swung his sword in a wide arc as the giant tiger and rider approached him, a wave of fire coming from it that Lelantos was forced to dodge around.

“High low.” Liliana told Lelantos as she gripped his fur with one hand, her muscles coiling tightly as Lelantos charged at the prince once more.

Another wave of fire shot off and Lelantos barreled through this one, as Liliana activated her Escape chain combo even as she deactivated [Gatling Barrage] early to avoid detection. Her form disappeared as she jumped over the fire attack that washed over Lelantos, [Leap] taking her farther into the air. [Windwalk] activated at the apex of her jump, settling her feet in the air as if it was solid ground.

As [Windsurge] activated, Liliana tilted her body, so she was poised to fly at Zir’elon, who hadn’t yet noticed her absence. Winds whipped around her, forcing her forward, her weapon held out like a lance as Zir’elon clashed with Lelantos, claw and fang fighting against flame and steel. [Gust] pushed her on faster and as Liliana got in range, she activated her Finisher chain combo. The blade at the end of her naginata lit up a pure white.

“Wha-“ Zir’elon turned, fast, faster than Liliana expected, but not fast enough as the blade that had been poised to spear him through the back instead collided with his chest. [Dance of the Vanishing Blade], [Pierce], [Soul Slash] and [Soul Strike] all activated consecutively as her blade connected. [Radiant Edge] condensed before spreading out in a violent explosion of light and force, as the rest of the spells and skills hit Zir’elon was forced back, his body hitting the ground before skidding, his shield turning a bright, blood red.

Liliana landed in a crouch, [Windwalk] softening the landing. She deactivated her active abilities with a sigh as she stood straight. She no longer stumbled anymore when the effects ended, but it was always disconcerting. Her skills and spells made her so much faster, stronger, than she was normally. It always felt like she was becoming weaker, fragile, when she turned them off.

She dismissed her weapon back to storage as she stood there, laying a hand on Lelantos. The fight had been fast, as she preferred it. Her active abilities from her Set Up were all channels and would drain her of Mana fast, combined with the other spells and skills she was wont to use, so she always aimed to end fights quickly. Even with the 45% buff to her Intelligence and Wisdom from [War Maiden’s Waltz] she simply couldn’t keep everything up forever. She could keep the Set Up going, but with her activating other abilities, it could quickly result in her running out of Mana if she wasn’t careful, so it was always better to end a fight before then. Not that she didn’t know how to last in a fight, it was just easier to finish a fight early, safer too.

“Win, Rosengarde.” Rauk called out.

Liliana smiled as she scratched a now smaller Lelantos behind his ears before sending him back to his stone. Liliana spared a look towards Zir’elon, who was just climbing to his feet, his face a portrait of impotent rage, before she turned and used a bit more of her Speed than was strictly necessary to get back to her group. She didn’t trust the prince to not try attacking her back.

“Kastrioti, get down.” Rauk barked out at the prince who was still standing there, eerie eyes filled with anger and some hate, gripping his still flaming sword.

“Kastrioti!” Rauk yelled, and it finally snapped Zir’elon out of his rage fueled stupor. With a scowl, he dismissed his weapon, and the surrounding flames before stalking off the stage, his mask back in place, but his anger still clear in his violet eyes.

“He’s going to be a problem,” Emyr murmured.

“Probably.” Liliana said, but her eyes were on a different dæmon, one who was regarding her with an icy interest that contrasted greatly with his fire colored eyes.

Chapter 127: Finishing The Fights

“Dawn, Eaglebow.” Rauk’s voice cut through the room.

Liliana turned her attention to the ring, where the two girls stood across from each other as the shields dropped into place. As with the other fights, once Rauk called the start, the students moved. Shadows boiled around Dawn, rising and coating her until she was nothing more than a wraith made of shadows and darkness. A trailing cloak of pure Darkness fluttered behind her. Two wicked, serrated short swords appeared in her hands. Across from her, Eaglebow had summoned her own weapon, a rather ironic choice in Liliana’s opinion as it was a bow.

All she needs is an Eagle Bond to complete the pun. She thought in amusement. Her amusement was short-lived as the girl pulled back her string and an arrow appeared, one swirling with white and black denoting a Chaos affinity. She fired at the shadowed form of Dawn and Liliana shivered. She could swear she felt the power of that arrow even through the shields, the promise of utter annihilation that the Chaos ability always carried with it.

Dawn moved, her form almost seeming to flicker as she avoided the attack. The arrow hit the ground and tore through the rock, demolishing the area Dawn had been standing in seconds before. If Dawn was perturbed by the attack, she showed no hint of it. She dodged with an effortless grace between the following attacks sent her way without hesitation. As Dawn moved, Liliana noted her shadow separating and pulling away from her, rising up. By the time Dawn had cleared half the distance between her and Eaglebow a second Dawn, this one made entirely of shadows, was pursing the girl in a pincer formation with the real Dawn.

Eaglebow stepped back and, faster than Liliana could follow, began sending out volley after volley of arrows, some made of Light, some Dark, some Chaos and several illusions, based on how some arrows vanished when they hit the ground. Dawn flickered between the attacks. Either her Speed was so high it looked like she was teleporting or it was some [Shadow Step] skill. Eaglebow cursed when Dawn got close enough to engage with her weapons, raising her bow to deflect the hit even as she pulled back the bowstring to fire an arrow pointblank at Dawn. As the arrow released, Dawn vanished, startling Eaglebow enough that she lost precious seconds in her confusion.

The fight ended in those seconds as Dawn’s shadow clone closed in and Dawn herself emerged from Eaglebow’s shadow. Four blades empowered by skills mercilessly drove into Eaglebow, turning her shield red.

“Dawn win.” Rauk called out as the shields came down.

Eaglebow was on her knees, hands on the ground, her bow laying on the ground beside her as she panted. Dawn canceled her skills, the shadows receding from her body even as her clone melted back into her shadow. Dawn didn’t hesitate before exiting the ring, not even bothering to glance at her defeated opponent. After a few moments to catch her breath, Eaglebow vacated the ring and headed for the wall to sit down, resting her head on her knees, and even at a distance, Liliana could see how the other girl was shaking.

Death. They’ve never been so close to death before. Liliana thought as she looked at the students sitting on the wall, all of them going through some type of shock or another. It wasn’t all the student who had lost, Liliana noted, just it seemed the ones who had never been confronted with their own mortality. Marianne, for example, was rather chipper even after her loss, but with her illness Death had been a close companion to the princess for many years. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look back at Rauk, who was focusing on fixing the ring once more.

The point of this was to introduce us safely to death or the possibility of dying. Liliana realized. It was why Rauk had tired them out before the fights, though she was sure there were other reasons on top of that. The main one, she was sure, was to make it so they were more likely to make mistakes. So the losses would be more startling, more disturbing.

“Kastrioti younger, Baker.” Rauk called out.

“Huh.” Liliana murmured, earning her the attention of her friends.

“What?” Marianne asked, leaning close to Liliana.

“Just… didn’t expect that combination,” Liliana murmured as she watched the two students walking into the ring with interest.

“What do you mean?” Alistair asked next.

“Rauk’s been assigning people who are well matched. Support types against support types. Casters against casters, speed types against speed types, weapon focused, etc,” Liliana explained as she watched the two combatants waiting for the shields to drop.

She remembered Koth’talan being a caster type, though his character had so little story importance he was barely featured. If Rauk was matching people based on their classes, then it meant Diana had chosen a caster type. She had almost expected the girl to follow her normal routes, where she was the perfect fit for the hero’s team. It would’ve meant she’d pick up a ranged speedy attacker, like an archer, as Emyr filled out the caster role.

“I just wasn’t expecting those two to have a similar class,” Liliana trailed off, her eyes glued to the ring as the shields formed and Rauk called the battle start.

Diana immediately summoned a pillar of earth to raise her ten feet into the air and give her the high ground. Even as the pillar rose, so too did spikes erupt across the ground, aiming to impale Koth’talan. A haze of heat billowed out from Koth’talan, brushing against the earth spikes. Liliana expected nothing to happen. Heat versus Earth was a weak matchup, but to her surprise the spikes began to melt, turning first a dark orange, then a violent red as the earth shifted to lava. The heat haze continued, turning the ground between him and Diana to lava that roiled and rose, a tidal wave of deadly magma that crashed towards Diana.

A credit to the girl, she didn’t balk. Instead, she jumped from the pillar, summoned wind keeping her airborne as she summoned a wave of her own, one made of water that collided with the lava. Steam billowed out and filled the ring, trapped by the shield and obscuring visibility. The steam did not lessen as the seconds ticked into minutes and Liliana had to assume Koth’talan was summoning more lava and Diana more water, keeping the cover up. Flashes of light and what could be fire lit up the steam, but it didn’t lessen, leaving an increasingly curious class to wonder what was transpiring in the hidden ring.

Right before the five-minute mark before there was a scream, a distinctly feminine scream.

“Win, Kastrioti.” Rauk announced, and with some magic of his own, the steam was banished.

Liliana blinked in astonishment. The entire ring had been demolished, turned into a wasteland of abstract obsidian and stone sculptures, with some pockets of lava still bubbling ominously even as they cooled with angry hisses. Diana was collapsed on the ground, her shield a cherry red, a circle of blasted rock around her, and Koth’talan was standing across from her, looking around as if he was bored.

Koth’talan bent down and helped Diana to her feet. The girl was shaking but seemed to be less shell shocked than many of their class. Without waiting for her to speak, or thank him, Koth’talan dropped her hand and wandered out of the ring. Diana followed a few seconds afterwards on shaky legs, but she didn’t retreat to the wall.

“What happened?” Marianne voiced the question rattling around in Liliana’s own brain. How had Koth’talan beaten someone with all the affinities? And done it where no one could see?

“Dunstan. Mildenhall.” Rauk evidently was not as befuddled as the rest of the students because no sooner had the ring been repaired than he was calling out the next students.

The last two fights passed quickly. Dunstan summoned automatons made of earth and metal, using what Liliana assumed was Animation to give them some semblance of life and sent them off even as he continuously summoned more creatures made of earth and metal to harry Mildenhall, who tried to disable Dunstan with attacks made of gases even whilst she fought off his automatons with water and ice. Dunstan won quickly, as Mildenhall didn’t have enough defenses to give her the time she needed to take out Dunstan.

Remrence won, in a surprise to everyone as Chiverton started out strong, using a Combustion affinity to charge in at Remrence even as he began detonating explosions around her, but her Muck affinity quickly left him neck deep in a pit of mud he couldn’t escape. From there, it was only a matter of her throwing Earth attacks at him while he couldn’t move until his shield turned red.

By the time all the fights were done, nearly half the class was against the wall.

“You lot, to the infirmary.” Rauk ordered to the students who were still suffering shock at their ‘deaths’. It took several minutes before the order seemed to register to them, then they stumbled out of the training room looking more like phantoms than students to Liliana. Rauk watched with something a very generous person might call concern in his eyes, but mostly disappointment.

“The rest of you, I’m sure you’re expecting me to congratulate the winners. Puff up your egos and tell you how amazing you were, right?“ Rauk asked as the training room door closed. The students left shuffled nervously. It was clear many of the winners had thought exactly that. Thought they’d impressed their teacher.

“You beat school children. Pampered kids of nobles who have never faced a real life or death battle against something or someone as smart, or smarter, than them. That doesn’t make you special, or a prodigy. It means those of you who won were lucky, or perhaps had better training than them.” Rauk’s scathing voice and cold eyes raked over the class.

“What I saw out there was sloppy. Children playing around with powers they barely understand. Maybe how you fight works against dungeon monsters, or maybe it works because the adventurers your parents pay for are there to cover any of your frankly deplorable mistakes. But there is a large difference between fighting low ranked dungeon monsters and fighting against humanoids, or fighting against higher ranked dungeon monsters and beasts. Creatures that can think, that can strategize, most definitely better than you lot can.” Rauk ripped into them and the students ducked their heads, or glared at Rauk with eyes full of righteous fury. This might be the first time many of them had ever been told they weren’t the best thing in the world, that they weren’t perfect.

“A few of you show some potential. But mostly I’m just disappointed. This is the best we have of this year? None of you are what I’d call fighters.” Rauk sniffed disdainfully as he crossed his arms and leveled them with a glare, “but I’ll make every last one of you into one by the end of your time here as long as you manage to keep your spots. Not that I’m feeling very optimistic for the majority of you.” Rauk looked over at them all before shaking his head.

“I want an essay from all of you, three pages. On everything you did wrong in your fight, and how you could’ve done better, due at the end of the week. Class dismissed.” Rauk barked out before turning on his heel and stalking off. The class stared after him, some in fear, some in anger, others in embarrassment. After a long moment of silence, the class began to move, some crowding together to complain, others leaving the training room presumably to take a shower and change to clothes not soaked in sweat.

“He was kind of…” Marianne trailed off, her voice soft.

“Amazing?” Liliana asked, her voice awed as she looked off to where Rauk had vanished.

“Did… Did you take some brain damage during class?” Marianne asked with concern, moving towards her friend and activating some healing spell as she waved a glowing hand over Liliana’s head. Liliana frowned and waved off the princess

“Mari, I’m fine. I just think Rauk is an incredible instructor.” Liliana said primly as she turned and walked towards the doors. She needed a shower and a change of clothes. She felt disgusting.

“He just insulted all of us.” Marianne said, deadpan.

“That’s how you know he’s going to be a great instructor! He doesn’t bother with false flattery, or trying to get close to prominent noble families by going easy on their kids.” Liliana said with confidence as they walked towards the stairs.

“He didn’t have to be so mean, though,” Marianne whined.

“Battle isn’t a nice place.” Alistair said with a shrug.

“Exactly. He can’t be nice to us, can’t give let us think we’re better than we are. Overconfidence will just kill us.” Liliana said with a nod.

“We don’t have to like him. He just has to make sure we don’t die.” Emyr said quietly. Marianne groaned but gave up the argument, clearly outvoted.

Chapter 128: Private Training Time

Liliana rushed out of the cafeteria as soon as she swallowed the last bite of food on her plate. She only stayed that long because of Alistair’s strong hand planted on her shoulder, where he’d placed it when she tried to escape after eating just enough food to take the edge off her hunger. She’d thrown a rushed explanation of wanting to practice more and a quick promise to Marianne that they’d meet up after dinner for studying before she was gone.

“Professor Rauk?” Liliana called out hesitantly as she opened the door to the class S training room. She’d made a stop at her dorm room to drop off Lelantos, Polaris had requested to come with her, and to change into clothes better suited to combat practice.

“Ms. Rosengarde.” A droll voice responded, and Rauk emerged from where he’d been examining a training dummy. He looked over her with an eyebrow raised and she resisted the urge to avert her eyes and shuffle like a child being scolded.

“Shouldn’t you be exploring the electives?” Rauk asked her.

That was true enough, though not an explicit requirement. The first week first years were encouraged to examine the various electives offered, via exploring the classes where the professors would explain to interested students what each class was about. Liliana had an entire week to delve into the few electives she was interested in, Soul, Telekinesis, Bladed Weapons, and Wind. She would also be looking at the Beastology and Alchemy clubs during the two-day club festival held over the weekend.

“I have a good idea of what I want to choose already, sir. I thought I might better use my time today with some practice.” Liliana said politely, holding the man’s gaze resolutely. Rauk’s lips twitched slightly in what Liliana thought might be a smile.

“So you need me to authorize the use of a personal training room for you?” Rauk asked, and Liliana nodded eagerly.

“I was actually wondering if I could get a scheduled authorization? So I don’t have to bother you constantly for permission?” Liliana ventured. Rauk folded his arms and leaned back, looking over at her for a moment.

“You understand, with first years, we usually wait until the second semester before we do this?” Rauk asked with a raised eyebrow and Liliana valiantly fought down a flush.

“Yes, I understand. And I understand why as well, sir. You don’t want us to get injured in the rooms with no one around to help us. Asking for permission before each use means someone is well aware we’re there, and monitoring our status in case of critical injuries.” Liliana took a deep breath and reminded herself she wasn’t technically asking for special treatment, she was asking for a logical concession based on advantages she had that others didn’t, “However I have something most don’t, a Rank 4 tame that can step in and neutralize any of the training dummies we have as they’re not allowed to go above low Rank 5.” Liliana said confidently. Rauk hummed and Liliana was now almost certain the twitching of his lips was, in fact, a smile.

“You understand this would be special treatment?” Rauk asked finally, and Liliana could help wilting at the comment. It was a no then.

“So while I can’t approve under those circumstances, however, since it’s likely you won’t be the only first year in your class to seek out the training rooms, I can be sure I’m around as a result to be available for any enterprising student seeking to better themselves. Let’s say I’ll be here between second and fifth bell each day.” Rauk offered carefully, and Liliana brightened noticeably. Rauk’s lips continued to fight against his hidden smile, but she thought she detected some amusement in his eyes.

“Thank you sir, that would work for me.” Liliana bowed her head respectfully, though she couldn’t banish the smile from her face.

“With the extra practice, I expect to see a better showing in the coming classes, Ms. Rosengarde.” Rauk warned her, and Liliana’s smile widened as her eyes sparked with fiery blue determination.

“Of course, sir!” Liliana promised. Rauk nodded at her and pulled out his own clear glass device, something similar to a status sheet but larger, a bit bigger than his two hands. He tapped it a few times and nodded.

“Personal training room 1 is open for you today.” Rauk informed her, and Liliana bowed her head once more.

“Thank you, sir!” Her voice was full of glee as she turned and bolted out of the door towards the room she’d been assigned.

Liliana didn’t look back and missed the head shake and Rauk’s loss against the battle to contain his smile as he watched the young girl dart away with a fervor for battle he remembered from his own days in the Academy.

“Room one, room one,” Liliana muttered to herself as she ran down the hallway.

She skidded to a stop in front of the correct door and pressed her ID card against it, letting out a quiet squeal of excitement when the door opened. Liliana darted inside, closing the door behind her, and looked around with eager eyes. She’d been inside the personal training rooms before with Alistair and Emyr, but hadn’t had a chance to be in one by herself yet. Five training dummies sat against a wall covered in training weapons and beside a crystal pillar similar to the one in the class S training room. The room was smaller than the class’ room, but still sizable. Perhaps a hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, more than enough for a singular person, or even a small group of students, to practice in.

Liliana tapped her finger against Polaris’ summoning stone as she moved towards the training equipment. Polaris formed next to her, shaking off his stasis as he followed her, his cunning eyes taking in the room with great curiosity.

“Where is this?” Polaris asked, sniffing at the deactivated dummies as Liliana examined the many weapons.

“Personal training room, I want to get a few hours of training in today. A lot of my classmates are strong, scarily so. I don’t want to be caught by surprise in a fight.” Liliana explained as she pulled down several daggers. Unlike the practice weapons at home, these were wickedly sharp. Then again, with the shields that were placed on students in fights, they didn’t need blunt weapons to ensure safety.

“You wouldn’t need to worry if you let me fight with you,” Polaris said imperiously as he finished his investigation of the automatons. “These smell of false life.” He informed her as he moved towards the crystal pillar to sniff at it and promptly devolved into a sneezing fit. He backed away from the pillar with a glare as he rubbed his nose with a paw.

“That smells of many magics, potent and strong magics.” Polaris explained to a bemused Liliana.

“It’s not fair for you to fight with me, not against a bunch of Rank 6s. Especially not in a class where I’m trying to learn, not win in five seconds. I can’t get better if you just do everything for me, dear heart.” Liliana informed Polaris with a tone that was tired of many iterations of the same words. This was an old argument.

Polaris shot her a look that said he didn’t like her argument, no matter how logical it was. Her bonds didn’t enjoy her being in any sort of danger, and no matter how many times she explained she wouldn’t be in danger in the Academy.

“Are the pillars made by the headmistress, do you think? Or an older headteacher? Were they all beasts, I wonder.” Liliana mused as she pressed a hand to the pillar, feeling it hum under her palm.

She felt the magic in it, strong, stronger than anything she’d felt. She reached out a small tendril of Mana and pictured firmly in her mind a sandy, desert like environment. Liliana had never seen one in person, but she’d watched enough movies in her old life to have a multitude of images ready to use. The magic in the pillar seemed to vibrate for a moment and the training room, except a small ten-foot area where the dummies, pillar, and weapons stood, began to transform into an expanse of sandy dunes. The light in the room got stronger and heat filled it. In seconds, the comfortable room had been transformed into a desert.

“You shouldn’t remove all your advantages, else you risk others thinking you are prey.” Polaris cautioned as he watched the transformation with interest, “And perhaps, beast magic and the magic of the mortal races don’t feel all that different in creations. I can say I’m not personally aware of any beasts capable of making such creations, but Mother could change the environment of her territory on a whim.” Polaris explained with a shrug of his shoulders, a distinctly human gesture he’d picked up from Liliana.

“Don’t worry, I have plans for you to join me in the tournaments. No one will think me prey if we win.” Liliana said with a vicious smile. She also mentally added that if anyone in class particularly annoyed her, she wasn’t averse to pulling out Polaris to soundly thrash them if they faced off in a spar.

Liliana focused on the pillar again, first activating the shield function. As the multicolored light surrounded her and Polaris, she focused on the Automatons, activating two of them and setting them to Rank 6, level 124. One close ranged, a polearm user, and a ranged archer. Two of the automatons straightened, their eyes glowing a bright green as they walked to the wall and grabbed their weapons. Liliana watched with fascination. They hadn’t been authorized to use the pillars before classes and she hadn’t even expected this to work, as the automatons stepped onto the sand and moved towards the other end of the room. For all the complicated magic behind the pillars, they were remarkably intuitive to use.

“Good. I won’t permit you to be anything less than the best in this school.” Polaris told her, and Liliana paused, wondering for a moment if that threat was aimed at her, or whoever dared to try and oppose her.

“Your fate means you have no other choice, Liliana, then to be the best.” Polaris told her, sensing her thoughts as he regarded her with a rare solemnity in his eyes. Liliana broke eye contact first, her hands gripping the borrowed daggers tightly as she looked down.

“I-I know that, Polaris. I know what my fate is. It’s just-.” Liliana cut off, frustrated with the emotions roiling inside of her that she was struggling to vocalize.

She’d been a teenager twice now. Why didn’t she have a better grasp of her emotions? Or was it the inevitable eventuality for every teenager to be emotionally volatile and confused? Gods above and below, she hated puberty the first time around, even if she hadn’t gotten to finish the process entirely. Now she had to undergo the influxes of irrational emotion borne of raging hormones again, on top of the perfectly reasonable emotional reactions one should have when reminded that they were saddled with the fate of an entire damned world.

“You’ll be ready. I’ll ensure that, Liliana. And I’ll be there with you, through it all and until the end.” Polaris promised her, reading her emotions through their bond and the words she couldn’t say. Liliana closed her eyes as they began to sting and felt a pinch on her nose that always heralded oncoming tears, even as her throat clogged with emotions.

“Thank you,” Liliana said, quietly, her voice hoarse as she let her body sag for a moment, Polaris’ steady presence was there in a blink as he pressed against her and held her up.

Her closest friend, the other half to her soul, the one being in this entire world that understood everything, understood her and loved her fiercely despite it all. Metal clattered against the stone ground as her fingers twined through silky fur the color of a night sky as Liliana took solace in Polaris’ presence. Taking a shaky breath, Liliana rubbed at her eyes and banished the moisture she found there as she straightened her spine, her troubled eyes once more showing familiar blue fire.

“Come on, I need to train so I can defeat this great evil.” Liliana said as she activated [Threads Of Control] and grabbed the daggers, and an extra two from the wall. Her naginata appeared in her hands, a familiar and comforting weight. Her naginata might have changed much from her first one, but the weapon itself was always familiar to her, feeling like another limb.

“And so you can trounce that horned prick again,” Polaris added, his tone teasing as he took to the sky. He’d monitor the fight but wouldn’t step in unless he thought Liliana was in grave danger.

Liliana snorted before taking a deep breath, shoving her tangled emotions down and forcing a sense of cold clarity on herself. She was still less than stellar at mediation, unless it was the weird unaware state she went into whenever figuring out new spells and skills from scratch, but she could manage a clear head almost consistently now in fights. Emotions of any kind made her sloppy and Silas had begun punishing her ruthlessly whenever she began to show hints of anger or frustration in fights.

Your General Skill [Battle Focus] can evolve into the skill [Battle Clarity], would you like to accept?

Warning! Accepting this skill will mean you cannot accept the skills [Battle Frenzy], [Battle Rage], [Berserker’s Fury], [Wrath] and other such rage based skills.

Liliana paused as she blinked at the box like a stunned rabbit. She hadn’t expected a new skill evolution today, let alone one that restricted access to other skills. Such things weren’t foreign to her. In the game, there were skills and spells that were fundamentally incompatible with others and, therefore, couldn’t be learned by the same character. However, they weren’t exactly common, thankfully.

“Polaris?” Liliana asked as she examined the notification, wanting her Bond’s feedback.

“Take it. Rage based skills are a bad fit for you anyway, since you’ve been working for so long on not being controlled by anger.” Polaris responded almost immediately, and Liliana nodded in agreement as she accepted the skill. She pulled up the skill for more information on it.

Battle Clarity

Clear your mind of stray thoughts and harmful emotions as you step on the battlefield. Narrow your focus on the fight before you, rather than inconsequential worries that may inhibit your abilities. Improve your focus in battle and on your opponents, while dampening emotions for the duration.

Cost: 100 Stamina a minute

Channel

Huh, it’s a good skill, cheap too, though it doesn’t do anything offensively. It’s better than the effects of [Battle Focus] which just helped me subtly. Liliana mused as she activated the skill.

Instantly she felt her mind clear, and the emotions she’d shoved down became distant. They were still there, but they didn’t affect her. It was like she was sensing at them through a thick, opaque glass window. Her mind felt clear, cold. The effects were a startling contrast to [Battle Focus] which had only ever helped her keep intrusive thoughts from invading during fights, rather than doing anything for her oftentimes volatile emotions.

Her eyes flicked across the room, looking for her opponents and noting she couldn’t see them. As she stepped onto the sands and began the exercise, she activated first her Set Up chain, then she draped herself in [Invisibility] before she used [Leap] to get into the air and [Windwalk] to keep her there as she looked around.

Adrenaline flooded her veins as her eyes locked on the two automatons prowling around the far side of the room, looking frighteningly manlike as they moved. The one with a spear spun it, much like a person would, and the archer kept its eyes roving. Liliana felt a smile slip onto her unseen face as she noted that [Battle Clarity] didn’t affect the adrenaline pumping through her and with an experimental tug she noted she could choose to feel specific emotions, like excitement. She shoved the emotion back down. Excitement could make her hasty and likely to make a mistake. Something she was surprised to find herself realizing. She’d never thought that before. But it seemed [Battle Clarity] allowed her an impartial opinion on her emotions, and what effects they could have on her in a fight.

Liliana disregarded the thoughts for later, she had very little time with [Invisibility] and she needed to get to a better position before it ran out, otherwise she’d be forced to close the distance while visible and with a ranged opponent she’d be a sitting duck. She ran across the air, her feet supported the same as if she was on the ground. [Windwalk] allowed her to take to the sky and treat it as if it was the ground, for a price of 600 Mana and 1200 Stamina a minute.

Liliana slipped above and behind the two automatons and she quickly dropped her height advantage to save her Mana and Stamina as she gently settled on the sand. She frowned when the sand immediately started to shift under her added weight, the small movement and noise drawing the immediate attention of the two automatons. Without hesitation, the archer began to shoot out crackling arrows filled with Lightning. She hadn’t chosen their affinities, so she guessed the pillar had done it for her.

Liliana rolled to the side even as she activated [Gatling Barrage], [Radiant Ignition] and [Wind Blade]. For a moment she mourned the loss of [Wind Bullet], which had merged with [Light Barrage] to create [Gatling Barrage], a fourth ranged spell would be nice right about now, though she’d probably bottom out her Mana if she did. As it was, she was toeing the line between what she was using and what she regenerated per minute. Luckily [War Maiden’s Waltz] had improved with levels. Now it gave her a decent 70% bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom, which made her Mana regen effectively 2,499 per minute and her Mana pool 5,321. As well, all her ranged spells were onetime costs, not channels like most of her dances were.

The sand around the automatons exploded in a geyser of sand as her ranged spells pelted the area, though Liliana noted the automatons were doing a decent job of dodging the attacks, even if the explosion from [Radiant Ignition], the evolved and far more powerful form of [Light Burst], had formed a deep pit in the sands, which was quickly filling back in and creating treacherous footing for her opponents. Thanks to the environment and her opening salvo, far more of her attacks hit than they likely would’ve under different circumstances, but Liliana wouldn’t complain about advantageous situations.

Liliana dodged the returning attacks from the ranged dummy as it targeted her even whilst it struggled with its footing. Half its shots went wide thanks to the shifting sands and her Speed took care of the rest. Liliana noted that even with her high Speed and Dexterity, fighting in the sand made her slower, clumsier, as it tried to suck her feet down.

As her Mana regenerated, filling her pool once more from the hit it’d taken, she activated her Beast’s Dance combo. Her bestial dances activated one after another, each of them were thankfully onetime costs each at 1000 stamina and 500 Mana, which took a sizable chunk out of her pools but it was worth it as the combined bonus of 35% Strength, +25% to all Light spells and an added Light attribute to all her attacks, from [Dance of The Tiger], 75% Speed and +40% dexterity, from a combination of [Dance of The Serpent] and [Dance of The Fox].

Finally [Wind Surge] activated and Liliana shot forward, her feet barely touching the ground as she flew across it at such a fast speed the sand flew up around her still invisible form. Lightning crackled and struck around her, sand blackening and turning to glass from the extreme power and heat of the strikes as Liliana dodged between them. Despite her still invisible state, the automaton was following the ranged automaton was following her movements thanks to the way the sands shifted and blew around her with every move. The scent of ozone filled her nose, stinging it as she moved, but the strikes continued to miss her as she pushed herself to her maximum Speed.

Liliana jumped as she reached the edge of the filling sand pit, twisting in the air, her daggers floating around her as she landed on the ranged automaton, her daggers struck as she drove her naginata down. The automaton had lost sight of her when it could no longer track her movements from the shifting of the sands. Yet even as her weapons mercilessly slashed it, the automaton fought back. A volley of arrows, not born of the bow but appearing in the surrounding air in a circle, fired at Liliana at close range. She jumped into the air once more but she couldn’t escape them all and she hissed as they collided with her shield, causing it to flicker first yellow then orange as it approached red, but not quite getting there. She was ‘injured.’ If she didn’t have the shield, she’d be a pincushion.

It was far less than optimal, and it was quite obvious the automatons were better fighters than the students had been, even when placed at the same Rank. Automatons didn’t freeze, feel pain or fear. Though she was sure any psychic or emotion affecting skills would still have effects, it wouldn’t be smart for the Academy to impede the use of those skills as they were very common. But their lack of reaction to stimuli that would make most humans balk, or hesitate, made them far more deadly opponents than something sentient and fearful of death. Liliana would need to remember that. The automatons wouldn’t hesitate to take her down with them if they got the chance.

The ranged automaton deactivated as its eyes went red. Its attack on her had been a last ditch effort. Liliana frowned as she activated [Wind Surge] to avoid landing in the still shifting sand pit. Her [Invisibility] faded as she landed and she turned to face her last opponent, the spear wielder. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she adjusted her strategy to account for an opponent that wouldn’t hesitate before a killing strike, or balk when faced with imminent death.

Let’s go.

Chapter 129: A Prideful Challenge And A Talk Amongst The Cherry Blossoms

“But do you really think this is good enough?” Marianne fretted in the study room they’d more or less commandeered.

“Mari, for the last time, it’s good. I translated enough of those books for you that I doubt anyone else is going to have the same information,” Liliana said, her voice patient but with an undertone of irritation.

Unlike the rest of their classmates, the two of them had been prepared for this essay, so it was really just a matter of writing down everything they’d uncovered. Well, mostly Liliana did the uncovering, after Marianne had held her bestiaries hostage until she’d read and translated some of the Astrati books. Since they’d already had the research part handled, all they had to do was spend a few hours doing the writing and citing sources.

“I just don’t want to fail the first assignment,” Marianne murmured as she looked over her essay again, the sixth draft, in fact.

Liliana had done hers in two, but she supposed she had a slight advantage over Marianne. Until she got too sick that even schoolwork was too much for her, she’d been enrolled in online school, back on Earth, and she’d had plenty of experience writing up essays. She just hadn’t expected her teacher’s assurances that they’d ‘use these skills in the future’ to translate into speeding through her magical school homework.

Liliana started to gather her things after checking the time. She had a few hours before curfew and she wanted some time in the forest. Liliana could practice her skills in a training room. She had, in fact, leveled up a few during her grueling fights with the automatons. [Wind Surge], and [Invisibility] had risen by a level. [Threads of Control], [Dance of The Tempest], and [Wind Blade] had jumped two.

It was good progress for a day, but she wanted to see if she could push them a bit further by practicing in the forest during the same day. The Mana density was something she wanted to take advantage of, and the forest relaxed her in a way nothing else quite could anymore.

“Where are you going?” Marianne asked as Liliana finished placing everything in her storage.

“More practice,” Liliana explained. Marianne looked up at her with a raised brow before shaking her head and bending back over her essay.

“Insane.” Marianne murmured, barely loud enough for Liliana to hear it and apparently unaware of the hypocrisy of her statement.

Liliana rolled her eyes and bid her friend goodbye, slipping out of the study room and library and making her way towards the forest. She didn’t rush, taking in the sights of students moving about with interest. She’d never really had this before, the chance to be around so many others her age. To just be… a school girl. While she was a schoolgirl at a magical boarding school that had a chief focus on combat, she still reveled in the feeling of normalcy that suffused her as she watched groups of students chatting. She was a part of this; she realized with a small, warm smile.

Liliana shoved her hands in her pocket as she walked, people watching as she strolled along. She could see older students gathered in groups, laughing and playing around. People she assumed to be couples, holding hands and leaning towards each other as they meandered around the grounds. Even one couple, who were badly hidden in one of the decorative gatherings of flowering trees, kissing rather passionately. Liliana averted her eyes with a furious blush when she realized what she was looking at. Her steps picked up a little to get her further away from that.

“Rosengarde.” A voice called out.

Liliana’s face twisted into a scowl before she banished the expression from her face, assuming a cool mask she was familiar with as she turned to face the boy who was approaching her. He strutted towards her, head high and chest puffed out, and inwardly she sighed.

“Kastrioti.” Liliana greeted, her voice cool but not rude.

“Alone for once?” Zir’elon asked with a sniff.

“I’m a tamer, Kastrioti. I’m never alone.” Liliana said blandly, but the comment did what she wanted.

Kastrioti flinched back, almost imperceptibly, at the not-so-subtle reminder of Polaris. Almost immediately, she saw anger flash in his eyes at the involuntary show of fear. He took a step closer, as if to prove he wasn’t afraid.

“Look, the only reason you won is because you threw me off. It wasn’t a fair match.” Zir’elon said, his tone bordering on disdainful but not quite.

“You seemed fine during the match,” Liliana said as her hands slipped out of her pockets and her legs slowly shifted into a fighting stance, balancing her better. She didn’t want to fight Zir’elon in the middle of the school grounds, but if he started something, she was going to finish it.

“I’m just mentioning it because you wouldn’t want people to think you won because your opponent wasn’t at their best,” Zir’elon insisted and Liliana couldn’t help raising a brow, or letting a small smile spread over her lips.

Pride. That’s his fatal flaw, and he thinks it’s mine. Liliana thought with amusement as she listened to him, trying to goad her into issuing a challenge. Something they weren’t even allowed to do yet, as he should well know. This was nothing more than an attempt to get her in trouble.

“A win is a win, Kastrioti. I don’t much care how I achieve it as long as I’m the winner.” Liliana said easily, her smile widening slightly when the prince seemed thrown by her words, unable to comprehend for a moment that someone didn’t much care about something as useless as pride. What was pride on a battlefield except for something that could get you killed? Liliana had little use for it.

“But-that’s. Don’t you care if people think you cheated?” Zir’elon asked her, aghast.

“Professor Rauk would’ve called me out if he thought I was cheating. I played by the rules and won the match. What more is there to it?” Liliana asked simply, internally giggling as Zir’elon’s mouth opened and shut a few times.

“If that’s all, I’ll be going.” Liliana said, turning slightly.

“Next time I won’t lose no matter what tricks you pull out, Rosengarde.” Zir’elon found his voice, and there was anger there, licking at the edges of his words.

“We’ll see.” Liliana threw over her shoulder as she turned and walked off. She wasn’t afraid of him attacking her back, not now that she knew his game. Zir’elon wasn’t angry enough, not yet, to do something so reckless. He’d wanted her to issue the challenge, so he could claim the first match had been invalid, if she’d accepted on the basis of him accusing her of cheating. Then he’d likely turn around and get her in trouble with the professors for trying to start a duel when they were banned for first years right now.

Liliana was rather entertained by his attempt, but mentally she did mark him to watch. More so than she already was. That pride of his, and his temper, could be dangerous. He’d ever be an ally, not as long as she was a half blood who was stronger than him, and she’d never let herself be weaker just to appease him. And he’d figure that out soon enough, and likely resent her for it. It would make him into an enemy, sooner or later.

Liliana picked up her pace as she walked towards the forest, not wanting to be stopped by any more classmates looking to challenge her for some inane reason or another. She doubted that would happen, not yet, but she didn’t feel like tempting fate that much. When she got to the first trees marking the start of the forest, she paused and released Polaris from his stone. The Kitsune formed quickly, his wings stretching out as he looked around.

“More training?” Polaris asked, and Liliana sent an assent to him. As they began to walk deeper into the woods, she mentally relayed the interaction with Zir’elon to her Bond.

“He’s going to be a problem,” Polaris echoed her own thoughts.

“One day, yes. We knew that was a possibility, though.” Liliana said with a shrug.

It was no skin off her back if Zir’elon ended up hating her. It’d be annoying to have an enemy, but she suspected such things weren’t uncommon at this school, where they so fiercely encouraged competition.

“It’s a shame you can’t do things the sensible way and just kill him.” Polaris said with a sigh.

He understood humans better than nemesis or Lelantos did, but some things simply didn’t make sense to a beast, no matter how smart they were. Thins like leaving a threat alive was inconceivable.

“If I kill him, it would just make more problems than solve them, you know this.” Liliana reminded him as she paused and crouched down to look at an oddly colored rose, an Azure Bloom.

It was a beautiful thing and her fingers gently stroked its silky petals for a moment before she rose and continued on, her footsteps quiet on the forest floor. Despite the fact that she’d yet to see another student in the forest, except Koth’talan, the trails were well maintained, far from the deer paths she was used to following in the forests of Rosengarde territory.

Liliana closed her eyes for a moment as she walked. Taking in a deep breath, she let the scent of the forest flood her and wash away the stress of the day. The sweet scent of pine, the delicate fragrance of countless spring flowers, the strong earthy aroma all forests had carried away the stress and irritation that had been hanging onto her. She always felt more grounded when she was surrounded by nature. Perhaps it resulted from her three soul bonds. Bonding with beasts changed your soul, and it had quite obviously changed Liliana physically and mentally. She wondered how many bonds she had to make before she was more beast than human anymore.

Or maybe the reason forested and wild places felt like home to her was something more simple than even that. Maybe it was because the forest had been her first, and constant, refuge from the manor she couldn’t ever really bring herself to call home.

Liliana opened her eyes and blinked slightly at the light, thin though it was filtered through the canopy above. It was still more than the darkness of her lids. Shaking her head, Liliana picked up her pace a little. Beside her, Polaris said nothing. If anyone would understand the way she felt in the forest, it would be him. No words needed to be spoken, no judgment was held between them.

When they came upon the small pond surrounded by cherry blossom trees, Liliana was glad to see it was empty. Polaris darted off to run between the trees, jumping up just enough that the petals of the trees shook off, falling on his fur and sticking in some places. His yips of happiness drew a warm smile from Liliana as she watched her bond frolic.

Liliana settled down on the large rock that Koth’talan had been on when she’d seen him here. The stone was warm from the sun and Liliana leaned back until she was lying on the rock, her eyes half closed as she just took in the feelings. Wind brushing softly against her skin, late sunlight trickling through and warming her skin, the heat of the stone behind her, the gentle sound of the pond rippling and splashing as whatever creatures lived in it moved around. Stronger than all of that was the feeling of Mana, heavy in the air she breathed and pressing into her. Wild, untamed, but oh so comforting all the same.

Liliana let herself slip into a half meditative state, her mind focused in a detached way on what she wanted to do. Her hand lifted slightly and her eyes slowly moved to stare at it as she focused on the feeling of wind slipping over her skin, through her fingers. She reached out, slowly letting Mana course through her body, pooling beneath the skin of her palm as she reached out to the wind. It brushed against her own Mana and paused, swirling in circles around her palm as she fed it more, taking control of the wild element and gently encouraging it to listen to her. It twisted and turned, a small, barely seen tornado forming on her palm as it whipped around. She watched for a few minutes, simply basking in the control she had of such a wild, free thing as the wind.

The sound of footsteps on the ground alerted Liliana to a visitor, but she didn’t loosen her concentration as she shifted the tornado into a ribbon of wind that swirled around her arm, ruffling her loose sleeve. An image of a face she was beginning to become familiar with flitted through her mind, courtesy of Polaris.

“I can send him off,” Polaris offered from wherever he was at.

“No, it’s fine.” Liliana lazily responded.

“Should we work out some sort of schedule? A custody arrangement?” Liliana asked out loud, her voice soft but still enough to be heard. She didn’t turn her head to look, or even move at all. She felt relaxed, and she didn’t want that to shatter.

“Doesn’t sound fair. I found this place first.” Koth’talan’s low voice responded.

Liliana raised her other hand slowly, carefully, to not break her concentration, directing the wind to swirl between her hands. She pushed a bit more Mana into it, drawing more strands of the playful element to her as it circled her two hands in a figure eight that few would even see.

“Did you?” Liliana asked, her voice still soft while she mentally continued to float in that weird, almost dissociative haze where she didn’t feel entirely connected to her body, but was so strongly tethered to her Mana and how it moved. She heard Koth’talan shift, move closer. Still, she didn’t turn to look at him.

“No one has disabused me of the assumption,” Koth’talan said.

A soft, dreamy smile widened Liliana’s lips as the wind shifted, winding between her fingers, down her arms, then back up to repeat the cycle.

“You’ll find assumptions are dangerous things to make,” Liliana mused quietly.

The wind was shifting through her hair now, what bits that weren’t held down by her body laying against the rock. It tickled a little, and she didn’t much mind that her hair would be a mess when she went back.

“So I’ve seen.” Koth’talan said, almost as quietly as Liliana had, but he was closer now and it was no trouble at all to hear him.

“How strange. First, I’m approached by your brother, now you. Do let me know if you have any more siblings hiding around who aim to approach me.” Liliana said, her soft voice tinged with amusement as Polaris dropped down next to her.

The wind shifted again, flowing through his fur and picking up the petals left there, returning to her to swirl above her hands, petals dancing in the winds.

“He challenged you then? He never could take his pride being bruised,” Koth’talan responded, no surprise in his tone but with plenty of vindictive glee in his voice.

“He tried to get me to challenge him, didn’t work as he thought it would. Those who let pride rule them are baffled by those who don’t.” Liliana said simply, though her smile twitched a bit at Koth’talan’s snort.

“So you have the measure of him, then.” Koth’talan said and Liliana heard him settling down somewhere close by to sit.

Liliana wondered if perhaps there was something about this clearing that made others more calm, more comfortable, for she could hardly imagine why Koth’talan hadn’t left as soon as he saw her here. Or perhaps the show she’d put on that had embarrassed his brother had endeared her to him in some way.

“Perhaps. I know enough, I think.” Liliana said with a small shrug of her shoulders as the wind twisted high above her now before diving back down to flow over her, the petals still held tightly amongst the wind. It really was quite lovely.

They didn’t say anything else as Liliana continued to play with her wind. Eventually, Polaris got back up to resume his romp around the clearing. She could sense Koth’talan watching her, watching Polaris, but he didn’t speak again. That was fine with her, she had come out here for a reason and as she continued to gather more wind, continued to push her [Wind Manipulation] skill she settled deeper into that not-quite-there state of mind and she wasn’t sure she’d even be able to respond.

[Wind Manipulation] has reached level 6!

[Wind Manipulation] has reached level 7!

[Wind Manipulation] has reached level 8!

Each notification came and was brushed off as time passed. The last one came as the sun finished its descent, dropping them into twilight. Liliana slowly let herself sink back into her body. The wind that had been playing around her brushed once more against her before disappearing into the woods as she released her control of it. She slowly sat up, eyes blinking tiredly as she took in the darker vista around her. [Night Vision] activated on its own and she could still see perfectly fine, even if colors were washed away.

Liliana stood and stretched out before turning for the first time to Koth’talan, who was staring out at the water with a contemplative expression.

“Be sure to get back before curfew,” Liliana advised as she jumped off the rock, Polaris materializing from the shadows as she began to walk off.

“Be careful. There’s a lot that lurks in the night.” Koth’talan called out as she reached the border of trees.

“I know. I’m one of them.” Liliana called back with a grin over her shoulder before she stepped into the forest, melting into the darkness and making her way back to the dorms. A feeling of peace and satisfaction filled her, and she kept her smile on her face as she walked.

It had been a good day.

Chapter 130 :Settling In To School Life

The second day of classes was both similar and different from the first.

It started out much the same, a line of tired students lining up for the sweet, sweet nectar of the gods they called coffee. Or that was what Emyr hailed it as with devout reverence when Alistair placed a mug in his hands. Liliana and Alistair dutifully dragged their two friends along with them, first to the cafeteria to get breakfast, where they were blessedly left alone this time, then to class.

Everyone settled into the same seats, and the more perceptive of them noted that their names were engraved on the desks. A neat thing, but Liliana wondered how easy it was to change, when the Academy didn’t expect most of them to keep their seats.

Homeroom started soon after the last of the students meandered into the room, Professor Vereign nodding slightly when he saw that all of them were sitting quietly. He spent the first half of their homeroom reminding them of the deadline for elective selection and the club fair that would be held during the last two days of the week, then giving them the rest of homeroom to finish any homework.

“Psst,” Liliana hissed softly at Emyr after Professor Vereign had settled down to do paperwork.

He didn’t seem to mind if students talked, at a very low whisper. Anything above that would earn a reproachful glare, and if the student didn’t stop, a sharp barked call of their name.

“Hm?” Emyr hummed, tilting his body just ever so slightly to let Liliana know he was paying attention to her, even if his eyes never left the notebook he was jotting down notes in.

Liliana tossed a piece of paper to him and he ignored it for a moment, finishing his sentence before he grabbed it and opened it. Emyr read over the note quickly before he tucked it into his notebook, producing a blank piece of paper that he wrote on quickly. In minutes, it was folded and tossed onto Liliana’s desk.

Liliana opened the note and smiled down at it. She and Emyr hadn’t had a chance yet to sit down and talk about what they’d learned about other students yet. Liliana was too busy trying to fill every minute, not spent eating or sleeping, with training or learning.

She’d remembered, or more aptly, Polaris had remembered for her, that note passing was a popular thing in the high school dramas she’d watched once upon a time. Truly, Polaris loved watching her memories of those and any other dramas she’d watched. She had considered taking him to see plays before, the closest thing she could get to a movie in this world. His fixation with the shows she remembered could be at times detrimental, but now it was useful, like with the idea of note passing. It was both an experience she should get to experience and a useful way to trade information with Emyr.

Good info on Mildenhall. Didn’t know she was an Earl’s daughter. Means she’s likely from the South, as we don’t see them in the North often, even for the Royal’s balls there. Same reason we don’t go South. Have seen her hanging around Zindru a bit though, so it’s telling.

You should know, Zindru is the son of the Southern Duke Zindru. Heir too, set to take the Duchy when his dad passes, which, seeing as the man is over 300 years old, isn’t that far off. He’s fairly popular in the southern circles from what I’ve seen because of his rank. Not a bad ally to have. He’s fairly even-tempered as best I can tell. Don’t have anything else on him yet. Seems to like the company of Eaglebow though, so maybe we’ll see an engagement when they come of age?

Liliana slid the paper into her own notebook that existed solely for the purpose of information on classmates. She tapped her fingers against the wood of the table for a moment as she considered the request she wanted to make. Emyr was amazing at gathering information, a gift that wasn’t to be underestimated. But she wondered, if she asked him to gather intel on Diana, would fate tug at the strings of his life and draw him into her orbit?

She found herself wondering, as she often did, how much fate mattered. How strong its pull was. Or if it even existed, if the game was fate, or if it was just some person’s interpretation of events that the gods had seen happen and were trying to stop. Would things have happened the same as the game if she never came here? Or would Emyr and Alistair have never befriended Marianne, Diana and Zir’elon? Or if they did, was it not because of fate and just because originally their personalities had meshed so well?

She couldn’t see the Alistair she knew now getting along with arrogant, prejudiced Zir’elon. Couldn’t see her sweet, sometimes over-protective brother befriending anyone who looked down on her. In fact, after she’d told him of what had happened the day previously over breakfast, her voice hushed to avoid it getting around the class, he’d looked ready to spring to his feet and challenge Zir’elon to duel then and there. Even now, she could see him shooting suspicious, dirty glares at the Dæmon prince.

She couldn’t see Emyr, who was loyal to a fault, who held a grudge like no one else, befriending Zir’elon either. In fact, once he’d heard of the events, his eyes had imperceptibly narrowed, lips twitching into a small, wicked smirk that promised something far more painful than a simple duel. Marianne, sweet, fierce Mari, had sniffed and frowned, but Liliana suspected the princess could be as vicious as the boys in their group if she so chose. Her little show during Battle Training the day before certainly led one to think so.

But Diana? She had done nothing to any of them, nothing that would give a reason for the others to not befriend her. She was… nice. In a sickeningly sweet kind of way, that made Liliana’s skin crawl like she’d just had fire ants dumped on her. It sounded insane to say someone was too nice. Marianne was perhaps the sweetest person she’d ever met, and Liliana adored her. But Marianne’s sweetness was tempered with a sharp wit, a sweet tongue that hid carefully crafted insults and a vicious streak a mile wide, if someone knew the right buttons to press to uncover it.

Suffice to say, Marianne’s sweetness felt real, because it wasn’t all she was. But Diana, it felt like that was all she was. Like she’d taken the word ‘nice’ and decided to make it define her being. She was outgoing, talking to anyone she could with a bubbly attitude that would draw most in. Liliana had never seen her get angry, or say a single mean thing, looking always happy to be there. Even when the nobles snubbed her or spat out derisive insults at her.

No one. Absolutely no one could be that nice all the time. Liliana refused to believe it. It wasn’t possible. Perhaps, by having Emyr look into her, she could uncover whatever Diana was hiding behind her thick veneer of niceness. Because she had to be hiding something.

Still, to be safe, she’d hold back on sending Emyr off after Diana until Liliana had something more to go on than a gut feeling. It would be safer to send him after someone he was already inclined to dislike. So Liliana pulled out another price of paper and wrote down her request.

Look into Zir’elon for me. And his brother, if you can. I’m more concerned about Zir’elon. Any dirt, any weaknesses.

Liliana folded and sent the paper to Emyr, who swiped it from the air and slid it onto his notebook, looking over it quickly. He nodded, an infinitesimal movement no one not looking for would miss. Then he balled the paper up and a slight flash of flame appeared before vanishing. He opened his fist and ash fell from it; her note gone, all evidence of her request gone. Best not leave incriminating notes lying around.

“Do I want to know?” Marianne asked softly from where she’d watched the note passing exchange from over her essay she was checking again.

“Plausible deniability Mari.” Liliana informed her. Marianne sighed but shrugged. Liliana watched her frown over her essay for a moment before she snatched the paper away.

“Hey!” Marianne hissed at her.

“You’ve revised and rewritten this enough, anymore and you’ll come full circle from perfect back to abysmal.” Liliana informed her as she tucked the essay under her books. Marianne glared before sighing and giving up, a bit of relief mixed in with her exasperation.

“Plotting?” Alistair asked in a whisper, leaning close to Emyr, so close his breath blew the strands of dark blue-green hair Emyr had left loose today.

Emyr jolted, body going ramrod straight and his pen jerking harshly against his paper, leaving a long, severe line across it. Liliana snorted, covering her mouth to hide the laughter that wanted to burst forth. Oh, those two really were hopeless.

“Em? Are you alright? You look flushed. Do you have a fever?” Alistair asked, his voice heavy with concern as he leaned closer even as Emyr tilted his body away from his friend, nearly falling out of his chair as he scooted to the edge of it in the effort to put space between them.

Liliana watched on, eyes dancing with amusement. Emyr sent her a panicked look, eyes wide in desperation, and Liliana sighed.

“Ali,” Liliana called out quietly, drawing her brother’s attention.

He leaned away from his friend, though concern was still clear on his face. Liliana would’ve called his actions flirting. If it wasn’t blatantly obvious Alistair had no idea what he’d done.

“You know he’s jumpy in the morning. All that caffeine makes him jittery,” Liliana chided gently, and Alistair’s face relaxed as he settled back in his seat. The mystery resolved.

Emyr was sitting back fully in his own seat, though he’d moved further from Alistair, Liliana noticed. His shoulders were rising and falling faster than normal as he regained his composure. He shot a thankful look at her before ducking his head back down.

They didn’t speak much more before classes began. The day proceeded on and Liliana could sense that, while the routine hadn’t settled yet, it would soon. She craved it, in a way she hadn’t expected. The monotony of a school day, where your entire day was scheduled out predictably. Once electives and clubs were selected, all of them would settle in, getting used to the way their lives would proceed for the next four years. She really couldn’t wait.

Liliana was likely alone, or in a minority, in that. It seemed as the day went on, more and more of her classmates were growing frustrated. The first day of real classes had not been a fluke, in fact based on the growing list of homework and essays the Professors had been going easy on them. By the time Battle Training rolled around, Liliana had five chapters assigned to read in the textbook for World History. Two sheets of math problems to solve for Math, and an essay on the differences between Skills, Spells and Abilities.

The assigned reading was no trouble. She could finish that quickly enough even if it was dry, but she had a feeling it was going to lead into a longer paper sometime soon. She’d have to note what topics were covered and checkout relevant material to prepare. Or there was a quiz or test coming. Either way, preparation would be good. Not that she minded the extra reading she was assigning herself.

She liked history. On Earth, history had intrigued her because it was like reading stories, but about real people rather than fictional. In this world, it was better, because there was magic, great mythical beasts, and it was still real. In fact, because of how long people lived in this world, or could live, their history was far more accurate, many books and even their textbooks written and updated from first person sources. The people they read about were sometimes still alive, and that was wild to Liliana.

Math was less interesting to her, but not necessarily difficult. If she was honest the math lessons were behind what she learned around this age on Earth. Once you understood the formula, it was a simple matter of plugging the numbers into the equation and getting the answer, though it did make her miss calculators something fierce. Math was much harder when you had to work it all out in your head or on paper, rather than having a piece of technology do the heavy lifting for you.

Fundamentals were as interesting to her as History, but in a more practical way. They used Spells and Skills every day, and understanding the why behind them was a fun mental exercise for her. She found herself with more questions than answers the more she listened in that class, so researching for the essay wouldn’t be a chore. She was probably in more danger of forgetting to do the assignment in her search for information.

This time, when battle training came around, the students were more prepared, or most of them were. Many had taken the break between classes to go to the bathrooms and change into better suited clothing. Not all of them, Liliana noted. A few seemed to have not gotten the memo and were still dressed in their uniform when Rauk came to collect them. It truly seemed that Guérin was serious about having nothing to do with them until enough of them showed they were worth his time.

“There are changing rooms and showers downstairs by the training room. Tomorrow I expect all of you to be dressed and standing outside the doors to the training room by the time the bell tolls,” Rauk informed them before he led them out like a very prickly mother duck leading a trail of upset ducklings.

There was no fighting this time, to a mixed reception. Many of the students who had lost were relieved, and those who had won or wanted a rematch were upset. But none of them could hold on to the anger or relief for long. They didn’t have the energy to spare. Rauk led them through the same exercises as the previous day, then in a new form of torture he set them all in front of a training dummy and ordered them to use their lowest leveled attack Spell or Skill against the dummy continuously for the rest of the class. They were there for an hour and three students had ignored warnings to rest before their Mana bottomed out and had to be escorted to the Infirmary for Mana exhaustion.

Liliana hated Rauk a bit by the end of the class. Consistently draining your Mana was never a fun experience, but she knew she did it to herself often enough she couldn’t be that upset. Still, it was a special kind of exhaustion when you drained your Mana pool again and again for a long period of time. It made something inside of you ache, like an exhausted muscle pushed almost to the breaking point. But it wasn’t a muscle you could ease with a heated bath, it was your Mana core and your channels.

Still, [Soul Slash] had gone up by 2 levels, up to level 22, and Liliana had used [Battle Clarity] at the same time, to double her benefits as they drew from two different pools. That had gone up to level 6, gaining 3 levels in the class. So she couldn’t really deny the results.

It was a starving class S that descended on the cafeteria at lunch. Liliana had gotten two servings of a roast quail with local greens and fruits as her sides. They had small buffs to Intelligence and Wisdom that would help her abused Mana core.

“I need to start allocating more points to Wisdom and Intelligence,” Liliana muttered as soon as she’d eaten enough that the sharp pain in her stomach had eased.

“Not a bad idea. You need all the wisdom and intelligence you can get. You’re sorely lacking on those fronts.” Emyr quipped smoothly.

To anyone listening, it wouldn’t be an insult, just an observation of a weakness in her build. But Liliana knew he wasn’t talking about the stats, and the small bird bone she threw at his head showed her displeasure.

“I’d say you’re missing quite a bit of wisdom if you’re mocking me, or did you forget a stiff wind can drop your Health to zero?” Liliana asked.

“What are you talking about? Wisdom is my highest stat.” Emyr asked, tone as innocent as it could be, which only showed how fake it was. Emyr was never innocent.

“I thought you were a physical class?” Marianne asked, slipping into the conversation before it could turn nasty. Emyr frowned at her for ruining his fun, his love language was insults Liliana swore it.

“No, I’m supposed to be a spell blade but ah,” Liliana coughed, flushing slightly as she looked away.

“She forgot.” Emyr said bluntly, a mocking smile on his lips. Lilian’s head whipped up as she glowered at her friend, her fork raised in threat.

“Well, it’s not like you’re too far in.” Alistair was the next to stop the impending fight.

The three of them were well used to each other, and truly, all three of them regularly slipped into the role of mediator for the other two when arguments brewed. It was an excellent system that worked well for them. Marianne was fitting in well to their dynamic, as if she’d always been part of it, and Liliana would never outwardly admit how happy she was that her friend worked so well with her brother and best friend.

“Yea,” Liliana said, frowning at her food. The four of them ate some more before anyone spoke again.

“Don’t you have that skill that boosts your Wis and Int?” Emyr asked, an olive branch Liliana took easily, and just like that, their snipping was forgotten.

“Yea, it scales off my Charisma. But it can only do so much when my Int is as low as it is. I fell into the trap of dumping into the stats my class is already boosting.” Liliana whined with a pout.

“I think you’ll be alright, that’s the point of the Academy, isn’t it? To teach us where we need to improve before we go too far and can’t fix our mistakes.” Marianne patted Liliana on the shoulder consolingly.

Liliana sighed but smiled. It was true. She had drifted off her path, but not so far she couldn’t find her way back. She was only Rank 6, she had plenty more Ranks and levels to fix her error.

“Where are you going?” Marianne asked as Liliana got up, her food finished. She looked over in question at her friend, who had grabbed the back of her uniform.

“Um, to the training room?” Liliana asked hesitantly.

“Oh, no you don’t. We’re going to check out the electives today.” Marianne’s voice was an order, and her ruby eyes were sharp. Liliana slowly sat back down, shoulders slumping.

“But Mari…” she trailed off, voice sullen.

“No. You have four years to lock yourself in that training room until you work yourself to the bone. Today you’re going with me to check out the electives.” Marianne’s voice and face said she’d drag Liliana kicking and screaming if she had to. Or well, she’d probably get Alistair to do the dragging, as Marianne wasn’t exactly what anyone would call physically strong.

“You’re going to drag me to the club fair too, aren’t you?” Liliana asked, defeated.

“Someone needs to remind you what sunlight looks like.” Marianne said primly, but she was smiling.

Liliana sulked, but didn’t really fight it. She knew it was true. Left to her own devices she’d work herself to exhaustion, she knew she needed someone to drag her away even when she didn’t want to be. She was just lucky she had friends who cared enough to do that for her.

Chapter 131: New Classes And Old Faces

“This is sunlight, and fresh air. I know you’ve probably forgotten what it looks like,” Marianne’s sweet voice teased from next to Liliana, where the princess had linked their arms together tightly.

“The horror. I think I’m dying. Help. It burns. Oh, no.” Liliana responded, deadpan. A choked snort came from behind them and Liliana looked over her shoulder to see Alistair muffling laughter behind a hand. Emyr was smirking next to him.

“And over there, those are people. You know, for you to talk to and socialize with.” Marianne continued as if she hadn’t heard Liliana’s comment, though there was amusement in her voice.

“Oh, now that’s actually terrifying. I’ll have nightmares tonight.” Liliana kept her deadpan tone up as she was dragged towards the towers marking the elective buildings. There was a soft, quiet chuckle behind them and Liliana smiled, knowing she’d gotten the laugh out of Emyr.

“You’re a nightmare.” Marianne muttered. Liliana smiled benignly at her, widening her eyes a little to sell the innocence.

“You love me,” Liliana informed her, leaning closer. Marianne huffed and rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched into a smile.

“Unwillingly.” Marianne said.

Liliana’s head turned as sounds of battle reached them. They were passing the outdoor training grounds, and it seemed an upper year class had Battle Training today. Her steps slowed, and she veered towards the grounds, curious about what class was fighting, what they were learning, what they were doing.

“No. Nothing about fighting right now.” Marianne ordered, digging her heels in to try to slow Liliana. It was hilariously ineffective, but Liliana slowed anyway. Marianne might not be able to overpower her physically, but she truly didn't want to earn her friend’s ire.

“But.” Liliana whined, bottom lip protruding as she pouted pitifully. Marianne raised an eyebrow, face stern and looking so much like her mother that Liliana found herself straightening and turning away from the training grounds on instinct.

“Good. Now what electives have you been considering?” Marianne said as she patted Liliana’s arm. Liliana shot one last, longing look at the training ground before she trudged along beside Marianne.

“Soul and Telekinesis are ones I need to take, then either Wind or Astral for my third.” Liliana murmured.

This was why she didn’t feel much need to check out the electives. She already knew what she wanted. For clubs, she was going to take Alchemy and likely Beastology, if it met on alternate days. She’d considered Herbology, but three clubs would fill her time too much. They’d gotten packets that detailed the clubs and electives when they were accepted, and she’d already went over all the information before she even stepped foot on Academy soil, bolstering what she learned from the packets with game knowledge.

“I was thinking of taking Wind too. If you take it, we’ll be together!” Marianne gushed excitedly.

“Wind? Why?” Liliana inquired.

“I want to get the Music sub-affinity, it’s a good support affinity.” Marianne said with a shrug of her shoulders. Liliana blinked, a bit surprised.

“Why Music, though? Wouldn’t Purification or Creation be better?” Liliana asked curiously. Marianne gave her a heavy look.

“If you’re a dancer, you need music. Don’t you?” Marianne asked. Liliana gaped at her, something choking her throat even as her eyes stung fiercely as she stared at her friend.

Liliana felt an almost overwhelming urge to hug Marianne and never let her go. It was ridiculous, childish, truly, that something like this would choke her up and throw her entire mind into turmoil. But it was the simple certainty held in Marianne’s voice and eyes, that she and Liliana would be friends for so long that choosing an affinity to match their fighting styles together would be necessary, would be a good investment.

People’s builds were sacred in this world. It was so hard to change them once they became set. Your affinities, your fighting style, dictated the classes you could get, which would determine your life. After a certain point, it became unchangeable. Marianne was telling her, in far fewer words, that she planned for them to stay friends, to stay so close they would be fighting together, for a long, long time.

For a girl who had gone so long with no friends, with so very few emotional connections, it meant something to Liliana. She wouldn’t admit it, but some part of her always expected others to discard her, eventually. To leave one day, as everyone else had in her first life. Insecurities that had stuck with her past the veil of death and into a second life. Something only reinforced by the memories she’d witnessed, the loss she’d already undergone since coming here.

“Y-Yea,” Liliana said, instead of the hundreds of things that were flying around her mind.

Yet it seemed Marianne understood everything she didn’t say, read it in her eyes and her shaky voice and wide eyes that shone a bit too much to brush off. Marianne’s face softened, and she pressed more firmly against Liliana, leaning her head against the taller girl’s shoulder. A simple understanding, an unsaid ‘I see you’.

“I’m going to take Crystal and Metal.” Alistair jumped in, either unaware of the emotional moment that had just happened or aware and trying to lighten the mood. It was a toss up with Alistair. He could be incredibly empathetic but also emotionally dense as well. He was definitely dense in regards to his own emotions, if he hadn’t figured out he was in love with Emyr yet.

“Oh? Anything else? You have a third slot. Or do you want a free period?” Marianne took to opportunity to move to less heavy topics easily. Liliana settled her breathing, subtly wiping at her eyes to banish any damning wetness.

“Well. I was thinking. Maybe. Water?” Alistair mumbled the last word, so very hesitant, and Liliana didn’t have to look to know he was watching her closely for her reaction. She stopped for a moment and let Alistair come up next to her, slipping her arm through his and squeezing it comfortingly.

“Water would be good, to get you to Ice or Muck.” Liliana said simply. Permission to her brother that she wouldn’t hold it against him if he took the one element she refused. She had her own reasons for forsaking the element of Water and all it offered, for refusing to take up what was her so-called birth right. But it didn’t mean she would demand everyone around her follow the same path.

Liliana didn’t tell him she was almost relieved he would be taking a Water affinity. It was the Rosengarde element. Every Rosengarde since their house was ennobled had a Water affinity. It wasn’t a stated requirement for the heir, Duke, or Duchess to have it, but it was an expectation. If Alistair had the element and she didn’t, it would give him a better chance of retaining his position of heir, something Liliana didn’t want, had never wanted, and would never want.

“Exactly! I was thinking, since I can’t move around much or very quickly, an affinity that will slow down or trap my enemies and negate any Speed advantages they have on me would be best. Plus, if I can keep them down, it gives Emyr time to set up,” Alistair shot a grin at his friend, who had slunk up beside him.

Emyr stumbled for a moment, apparently as easily thrown off as she by the easy confidence their more open friends had that they’d stay friends for so long their fighting styles would need to blend together well. Emyr handled it better than Liliana, his surprise hidden so quickly that anyone who didn’t know him wouldn’t have noticed it.

“I’m going to take Fire, Celestial and the Mage training class.” Emyr said simply, his voice a bit more rough than normal, but it was barely noticeable.

Liliana smiled secretly to herself, catching Emyr’s eye when he looked over at her. She raised an eyebrow, and he glared before looking away. Her smile widened. Hopeless, her boys were utterly hopeless, pining fools. And she loved every second of their nonsense.

“Let’s check out Wind first, since two of us are going to take it.” Marianne decided, leading them at the split in the path to the designated tower. Alistair shrugged, a cheerful smile on his face. Emyr didn’t speak up in either confirmation or denial, but the fact he stayed with them was his own version of approval.

They walked into the tower, all four pausing and blinking for a moment to adjust to the dimmer interior before Marianne led their group to a classroom where the sound of a voice was emerging. Looking in, they could see a small gathering of first years sitting down while a professor went over what they could learn in the class. They settled into seats close together and listened. Liliana noted that students entered and left without comment from the professor. It seemed they had free rein to pop in and out of the speeches given. Once the professor’s speech looped back around to where it had been at when they walked in, their group got up and left.

Marianne took point, leading them through the elective buildings. They hit the Life class next, one of Marianne’s considerations, as it was closer. Then they followed the buildings, hitting Water, then Support, then Mage, and Healer classes. Marianne was debating between Support or Healer for her third elective class. They visited Fire, then Metal and Crystal. Liliana’s mind was stuffed full of information on affinities and classes she never planned to take, but she would admit even if the information was technically unnecessary, it had been interesting to learn a bit about her friend’s classes and affinities. She was relaxed and enjoying herself when they walked into the Telekinesis class, the one she was most excited about.

“Natalia?” Liliana whispered, her eyes wide as she froze in the doorway.

“Isn’t that the performer Lili had a crush on?” Alistair asked, eyebrows high, as he looked at the woman standing in the front of the class. She was almost unrecognizable out of her costume and in the Academy professor uniform.

“It is,” Emyr confirmed with a smirk.

“I didn’t have a crush on her!” Liliana hissed, that comment breaking her from her stupor. She stomped to a seat. However, her words held no real heat.

“A crush?” Marianne asked, her voice excited at this tidbit of gossip.

“It wasn’t a crush! I admire her in a professional way. Like a role model.” Liliana bit out, folding her arms over her chest as she scowled at her friends.

Despite her protestations, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the front of the room, where Natalia was telling the gathered students what they’d learn in her class, daggers dancing around her in a visual representation of the affinity. They swooped and flew through the air, maybe twenty of them overall, moving as if they had a life of their own. Natalia’s eyes caught Liliana’s for a moment and there was recognition in her eyes, and a small, brief smile and perhaps even a nod, before the woman’s gaze drifted to another student as she spoke.

“We’ve lost her.” Alistair said, his voice solemn, but when Liliana looked at him, amusement was bright in his eyes and his lips were stretched in a smile. Some part of her heart melted.

That smile of his, the carefree one that radiated so much happiness he looked like he would burst, was so rare these days. He used to hand out that bright smile like candy to anyone and everyone, but overtime the cruelty of others had dimmed that sparkling smile and made it something precious, sometime he hoarded and rarely bestowed anymore. It was like watching the sun itself slowly lose its light.

Not to say he didn’t smile anymore, he did, but the smiles that truly showed happiness, that was carefree, effortless, without shadows darkening his eyes. Those were seldom seen.

“Hush you.” Liliana grumbled, kicking at his chair with her foot hard enough to nearly send him toppling. He yelped, quiet as they were in a class, but his smile didn’t dim.

Maybe this school will be good for all of us. To remind us, we are kids. And how to be happy, again. Liliana thought wistfully.

“So, is this who any of your suitors will have to measure against?” Marianne asked, and it seemed her friends weren’t going to leave this. Liliana felt her face burn as she shrunk down in her chair petulantly.

“I told you. I don’t have a crush on her!” Liliana insisted but the disbelieving looks sent her way, heavy with mischief, said her friends didn’t believe her. Or if they did, they would not let go of it anyway, if only so they could continue to poke at her.

“Strong and forbidden, it’s her type.” Emyr decided with a nod, lips in a half smirk as his eyes dared her to disagree, because if she did, he’d just keep needling her.

Liliana met his eyes, raising a single brow. If anyone should be teased for a crush, it should be Emyr. He met her gaze, but when her eyes quickly flickered to Alistair before returning to him and she raised her brow higher still, his smirk dropped. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair in defeat. Liliana settled back into her chair with a satisfied smirk.

“I never realized, Lili. You never told me you had a type.” Marianne teased.

“Because I don’t have a type. I haven’t really thought of romance or dating or stuff like that before.” Liliana said with a huff.

It was true. She had never really looked at others with the idea of who she’d want to date or not. She wasn’t even sure herself what her type was. Or what it would be. Sure she’d had crushes on celebrities in her last life, didn’t everyone? People in books, who were impossibly perfect, or in games. False images, not real people with flaws and baggage and complications. But romance had never been something she had a chance to explore or even give serious consideration.

“Anyway, if you three could be quiet so I could focus on the class.” Liliana hissed at her friends.

Alistair raised his hands in defeat and Marianne frowned, but they both quieted. Liliana gave them one last suspicious look before looking to the front, where Natalia was telling them about the varied uses of Telekinesis, both for combat and not.

Apparently Telekinesis aided in multitasking, as you had to focus your mind on multiple different things at once to truly excel at the affinity, it was a mentally draining affinity to use and many barely got further than a few skills or spells before hitting a wall. You had to be able to focus your mind, and a chaotic mind or one ruled by emotions wouldn’t be able to master the affinity, as emotions could muddle the thoughts.

Natalia’s refusal to teach her before made more sense now as she listened. As she was a year ago, Liliana would’ve never been able to master Telekineses. It would’ve been a useless endeavor for Natalia to teach her and a fruitless, frustrating lesson for Liliana.

Liliana’s mind wandered to the advancement of the affinity she’d seen, with the new information she could see her success with progressing in the affinity, and the evolution of her spell [Grasp] into [Threads of Control] did coincide with her emotional growth. As she let go of her hurt, her anger, her hate, learning the affinity had become easier.

Liliana was certain, before she even saw Natalia, that she would take this class. Seeing the woman she had looked up to teaching it simply reaffirmed that decision. Liliana would finally get the chance to show Natalia that she had grown from the girl she had been, that she didn’t let her anger or hate fuel her anymore.

She still got angry, and she wouldn’t say she was an overly calm person, but she thought perhaps she was becoming someone she could be proud of. It surprised her a little, that she was so strongly hoping for Natalia’s approval, this woman she barely knew and who, during their one conversation, had insulted her more than anything. But she did want that approval.

As Natalia’s speech wrapped back around to where she’d started, it seemed all the professors had pre-planned speeches and demonstrations they just repeated through the day so all the students could get the same information, Liliana’s group stood to leave. Liliana was the last out, looking back at Natalia once more. The woman met her eyes again, and this time Liliana knew that was a nod of approval she saw.

“Definitely a crush.” Marianne commented when Liliana joined them, a beaming grin that would do Alistair proud on her face and her eyes lit up with happiness.

“Aw, my little sister is in looove.” Alistair cooed.

“That’s it.” Liliana growled.

Alistair’s eyes widened, and he made a high-pitched squeak before bolting out of the building, Liliana hot on his tail. As they zig-zagged across the grass in front of the towers, dodging around other students, Alistair laughed brightly, loud and free.

“Get back here!” Liliana shouted at him, but her smile hadn’t left her face.

When she finally caught up to her brother, she leaped and jumped onto his back. Alistair stumbled, but didn’t fall, and his arms came around to hold her legs as she smacked his head lightly.

“I give! I give! Have mercy!” Alistair yelled out between bouts of laughter. His mirth was infectious and Liliana was soon giggling helplessly, her face resting against Alistair’s shoulder as he ran around with her like an oversized backpack, her body shaking from the laughter filling them both. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and took a deep breath as their laughter finally subsided.

“I love you, Ali.” Liliana told him. She didn’t say it in words often. Such emotional admissions always made her uncomfortable. She preferred to show it in actions, in looks and other ways.

“Love you too, Lils,” Alistair said, his voice soft and full of emotion.

Liliana tightened her arms around him in a hug, her chest so full of sweet warmth she thought she might burst from it. After a moment, he started to walk back towards their friends and Liliana just reveled in the knowledge that her brother would always be there for her. No matter where they had started, estranged and full of complicated emotions, too afraid to care for each other because of the pain it would guarantee, she knew that now nothing could come between her and her brother.

They were family, born not just of blood, but built on a foundation of trust and through the harsh tribulations of battles, not fought simply in a dungeon or in a forest, but wars raged in their own home. A bond so strong nothing would sever it.

A brother wasn’t something Liliana had ever thought she’d need. But now, she couldn’t imagine her life without one. Couldn’t envision a future where Alistair wasn’t with her, supporting her when she was weak. Where she wasn’t beside him, reminding him how to smile when he forgot what it was like.

When they reached Marianne and Emyr, Alistair unceremoniously dumped her on her ass. Liliana kicked his leg hard enough he fell over, clutching at his leg as he whined, but the laughter that filled the air stoked that warmth in her chest ever higher. Even if they did get their share of odd or hostile looks for the scene they caused from other students, they didn’t care; they were happy, and that was far more rare than it should’ve been.

Chapter 132: Club Fair

“Oh, come on, it’s the weekend!” Liliana argued as she stabbed a fork into her food.

She’d avoided Marianne until lunch. The other girl had slept in during their first weekend day. Liliana never got the same luxury. She was up before the sun rose every day, no matter if she tried to sleep in or not. Not that she did, she had too much to do. It meant she got the time to practice her skills in the forest and even cajole Rauk into letting her spend some extra time in the training room before lunch, but as soon as she’d entered the cafeteria Marianne had pounced.

“Exactly! The club fair is going on during the weekend, and we need to look at all of it! I heard from an upperclassman that they take this opportunity to show off what they can do. The only thing that beats it is the festival they hold in the fall.” Marianne slapped her hand on the table.

Liliana sighed and elected to shove food into her mouth rather than replying. She’d expected this, she had. She’d hoped that after they’d toured the elective classes Marianne would get distracted, or be appeased, and Liliana could use the two free days of their weekend to further her training while everyone else was busy with the fair.

She’d already seen the fair, all the clubs putting up stalls and displays between the elective towers and the class buildings, completely commandeering the outdoor training grounds. She’d had to make a very large circuit to avoid the fuss just to get to the first year building.

“You did already agree,” Alistair pointed out, the traitor.

“I did no such thing.” Liliana hissed, pointing her meat knife at him in an explicit threat.

“It was implied,” Emyr agreed, not even blinking when the knife was redirected towards him.

“Traitors, the lot of you.” Liliana grumbled, her shoulders drooping as she went back to eating her food, directing glares at all three of her friends.

“It’ll be fun. You like fun.” Marianne cajoled her sweetly.

“There will be people there, Mari.” Liliana whined.

“That’s a good argument that, can I change sides?” Emyr asked, the realization dawning on him suddenly that this endeavor would involve people, and a lot of them.

“Nope. Death before betrayal Bealstal.” Marianne informed him with a chipper tone that didn’t fit her words.

“Then kill me.” Emyr said bluntly.

“Me first, I call dibs,” Liliana jumped in.

“No one is dying!” Marianne huffed out, rolling her eyes.

“Not with that attitude,” Liliana snarked, but her scowl was morphing into a smile no matter how hard she fought it.

“It’s just a fair! Not a war!” Marianne groaned, rubbing her temples.

“Wait, is a war an option because I’d rather,” Liliana sat up straighter in her seat. Marianne let out a loud groan and buried her face in her hands.

“Are you guys checking out the fair?” a familiar voice asked before a body plopped into the seat next to Liliana.

“Anya! Save me!” Liliana turned to the wolf girl with wide, pleading eyes. Anya’s eyebrows rose, her ears swiveling as she looked around in confusion, not entirely prepared for what she’d just jumped into.

“From what?” Anya asked.

“People,” Liliana said, spitting the word out like a curse. Anya just looked more bemused at the explanation and she turned to Alistair, the only one acting normal at the moment.

“Liliana doesn’t like large crowds of people,” Alistair began.

“No, just people at all.” Liliana corrected. Alistair continued on as if she hadn’t spoken.

“And Marianne wants to go to the fair. Liliana agreed,”

“I didn’t!”

“She implied an agreement, and Marianne likes to bring Liliana out because otherwise she’ll cloister herself in a training room or study room and forget to eat, or drink or to take care of herself.” Alistair finished, spreading his hands and shrugging his shoulders with a ‘what can you do?’ face before he went back to calmly eating his food.

“Oh, so you need some help, Marianne?” Anya said after a moment, her eyes bright and her tail wagging behind her.

“Yes! Please!” Marianne nodded, lifting her head from her hands to look at the other girl.

“Okay, so we’ll all go to the fair together and get Liliana here some much needed sunlight and interaction.” Anya said with a nod and sharp toothed grin.

Liliana crossed her arms, face in a pout. Her eyes kept flicking to the wagging tail as her fingers twitched on her arms. She really wanted to know if her fur was as soft as it looked. She was fairly certain it was rude to ask, though.

“What clubs are you interested in, Anya?” Marianne started the conversation now that the argument had been decided in her favor.

“I don’t know if I’ll take any, honestly I’m most interested in fighting, but none of the clubs here specialize in that.” Anya said with a shrug.

“You were rather interested in Polaris. Have you considered the Beastology club?” Liliana spoke up. She might not want to go to the fair, but she wasn’t going to be rude to Anya about it. She quite liked the girl.

“That’s not a bad idea. Are you thinking of joining that one?” Anya asked curiously.

“Yea, that and Alchemy club are going to be the ones I pick.” Liliana said easily, biting back the tangent she wanted to go on about the clubs themselves. She was excited about starting them.

“That’ll be a lot to juggle with the course load, too,” Anya said. “If I pick a club, I think I’ll only do one.” The wolf girl said decisively.

“It’ll be a lot, yea.” Liliana agreed with a shrug.

She didn’t mind having a lot to do, and clubs weren’t graded. They were there for students to expand their skill sets. The benefit of the Alchemy club was she wouldn’t have to provide her own materials, the school provided everything, including ingredients. Beastology focused on beasts and was geared towards tamers, so it went over how to care for different creatures, which Liliana would need to know if she planned on bonding more, which she very much wanted to do.

The five of them finished up their food and set out to the fair, Liliana and Emyr dragging their feet. Alistair walked next to Emyr, making sure the other boy couldn’t slip away and Marianne had threaded her arm through Liliana’s as soon as they stood up, gluing herself to Liliana’s side. Anya took Liliana’s other side, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was a prisoner being escorted to her execution.

“Oh, look, Lili! A dancing club!” Marianne exclaimed, dragging Liliana to watch the show being put on by the club. And that was how the fair started. Marianne getting excited by each new presentation and pulling Liliana with her. Anya caught on to the mood quickly, and before long she was joining in the towing of Liliana every which way.

“Oh, these are so good,” Alistair groaned as he took another bite of a cupcake they’d picked up from the Baking Club.

Liliana nodded as she devoured her own treat, licking icing off her fingers in a completely uncouth manner that would send her father into a rage if he’d ever seen it. None of her friends commented, and she even saw Marianne licking vanilla icing off her own fingers.

“Alistair, you should join that club so you can make us all sweets.” Liliana decided. Alistair startled, looking flummoxed by the suggestion.

“Me?” he asked, pointing at himself as he looked at her as if there was another Alistair around them she could’ve possibly been referring to.

“Yes, you.” Liliana said.

“I never thought of baking before,” Alistair said honestly, his hand dropping and suddenly looking rather insecure.

“It could be fun for you. You always like A-“ Liliana cut off suddenly, her hands tightening into fists, “cookies. You always liked cookies, and used to beg the cook for extra servings of dessert.” Liliana bit out, her mood ruined by the name she’d almost uttered. Her heart twanged, a sudden shooting pain going through her chest. She lifted her hand to rub at her chest, but it did nothing to dispel the ache.

“Yea. Maybe you’re right, Lili.” Alistair said softly, catching her hand in his much larger one. He gave it a squeeze. “I think I’ll take your suggestion,” he said softly before releasing her.

“Lili! Look at this!” Marianne called out, tugging on her arm, oblivious to the painful reminder Liliana had just endured.

With a soft, sad smile, Liliana let her friend drag her along to the next booth, some kind of wood carving club. It took four more clubs before Liliana could summon the happy feeling she’d had before, and even then her chest still throbbed.

“Emyr?” Alistair called out, looking around.

Alerted by his voice, the three girls paused and looked around. It was Anya who found Emyr. He had slipped away unnoticed somewhere between the jewelry crafting club and the blacksmithing club. The group converged around him where he was looking over a stall covered in odd bits and bobs.

“Enchanters Club?” Marianne asked, picking up something that looked like a ribbon but gave off a strong sense of Mana that you didn’t feel in mundane objects.

“Yea,” Emyr said softly, putting down a ball and picking up a block of wood. “I thought it would be a good thing to pick up,” Emyr said with a shrug.

“Hello, hello!” a voice called out.

A girl who looked to be a second year stepped up with a wide, pretty smile. Liliana looked over the older girl, noticing her easy confidence as she smiled at all of them. She was a pretty girl, Liliana could admit. Long, wavy blond hair flowed behind her full form. Bright, light gray eyes shone as she took them in.

She was easily one of the prettiest people Liliana had met, which was saying something as this world seemed flooded with gorgeous people. Liliana immediately clocked her as a noble, her perfect posture and polished accent gave her away, even if her looks hadn’t.

“I’m Marise Featherborne, second year, which is why I got stall duty today,” Marise greeted them, flashing her smile once more.

It was enough to dazzle someone, truly. Liliana resisted the urge to squint and rub her eyes. Yea, she was sure being a second year wasn’t why Marise was stationed here.

“Did you make any of these?” Emyr asked, surprisingly. But his tone was all business, and he seemed utterly unaffected by the beautiful girl who focused her attention on him.

A small, pained sound next to her drew Liliana’s attention, and she saw Marianne’s eyes were wide, mouth slightly open and a pink flush on her face.

Oh jeez. Liliana thought, and she turned to Anya for help, only to see the wolf girl similarly bewitched. Her tail was wagging furiously, her ears perked so high it had to hurt. Liliana rubbed at her eyes with a resigned sigh. Teenagers. Hormonal teenagers. She steadfastly ignored the fact that she was a hormonal teenager herself.

“I did, here,” Marise leaned forward to gently unwind the ribbon that had been in Marianne’s fingers. A sweet floral scent washed over them from Marise, her perfume undoubtedly. It reminded Liliana of honeysuckle and jasmine.

“Excuse me, darling.” Marise said softly with a sweet smile at Marianne before she turned to show Emyr the ribbon, going over what it did, how she’d made it.

Even Liliana was finding it hard to breathe a bit. Marise was rather gorgeous enough to drive someone to distraction, made all the worse by how obviously passionate she was about enchanting. Her gray eyes filled with the light of excitement.

“Oh my gods,” Marianne whined as she looked between the pretty second year and her hand, where Marise’s fingers had brushed against to take the ribbon.

“Yea,” Anya sighed wistfully, shooting puppy eyes at Marise that the second year seemed to not notice, too engrossed in the conversation with Emyr.

I need to get them out of here before they faint. Liliana thought as she shook her head, turning towards Alistair for assistance, only to see her brother shooting a dark glare at Marise. His arms were crossed, his hands gripping tightly to his upper arms as if he was holding himself back.

“Okay, time to go.” Liliana said, freeing her arms from Anya and Marianne.

She turned the girls around and shoved them away from the stall. As she walked, she grabbed Alistair and tugged at him. Her brother dug his heels in and Liliana would swear she heard him growl.

“Em!” Liliana called out, “let’s go!” she laced enough of an order in her voice for him to perk up. He took one look between the four of them before focusing on Alistair, who had a thunderous look on his face. Emyr was at his side in seconds.

“I’ll see you at the club, yeah?” Marise called out.

“Yea,” Emyr called back distractedly over his shoulder as he took over guiding Alistair away from the stall. Alistair shot glares at Marise as he walked off and she waved at all of them, either unaware or amused by the chaos she’d caused. Liliana could find it funny herself, even if she was stuck herding her friends away and watching Alistair out of the corner of her eye to be sure he didn’t challenge Marise to duel over Emyr.

“She was just so…” Marianne sighed wistfully as Liliana pushed the girls further away. Liliana heard Alistair mutter something uncomplimentary under his breath that the girls ignored.

“Perfect.” Anya agreed with a silly smile on her face.

“Maybe I should join the Enchanting Club?” Marianne asked.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Anya agreed with a vigorous nod.

“No, you won’t.” Liliana declared as she slid between the two girls again, looping her arms through theirs. It was her turn to drag them to the next stall.

“But Lili!” Marianne whined.

“You aren’t interested in Enchanting, just Marise. Why waste your time like that?” Liliana asked.

“Because she’s so pretty.” Anya said with a pout. Liliana rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Here look. A Band Club. You wanted to get a Music sub-affinity, didn’t you Mari? Learning instruments would be good,” Liliana said as they stopped before the Band Club giving a concert.

“I can already play the harpsichord.” Marianne said with a frown.

“You can’t take a harpsichord into battle, Mari. You need something smaller. Like a flute, or a fiddle or something.” Liliana said.

“Ugh, I hate you and your cursed logic.” Marianne pouted, but she seemed interested in the concert and by the time they finished watching, she seemed to have gotten over Marise. Their group continued on until Anya nearly bolted towards another demonstration, forcing the rest of them to jog to catch up.

“This is a club?” Anya asked as she watched the show before them with wide eyes. Liliana stopped next to her, eyebrows raised high.

“It looks like a sport?” Liliana said hesitantly as they watched two teams chasing after a ball.

She’d say it looked like soccer, but the various projectiles and weapons included in it made it hard to draw a comparison. Only the fact it had a ball that had to be kicked around and the two goals shared any similarity with the Earth sport.

“I’m sorry, is that a ballista?” Liliana choked out with wide eyes. It was, in fact, a ballista and it seemed, based on the colored arm bands, that they were manned by members of the teams.

“Did that ball just fly?” Alistair asked with interest as the ball rose from the ground and shot over the heads of the players who had been chasing it.

“I’m joining. Where do I sign up?” Anya decided, looking around until she located a sign-up sheet that had a fair list of names on it already. It explained how they could even have a sport like this, as there were no other schools for them to play against. So many students signed up they had more than enough for multiple teams.

“Do any of you want to sign up with me?” Anya asked with excited eyes.

“Nope. I choose life.” Liliana said, crossing her arms in front of her in an X.

“Yea, it looks a little much for me.” Marianne agreed with a wince as a player was tossed ten feet in the air in a vicious move involving a very large hammer.

“Looks like it meets on different days than the Baking Club. I’ll sign up with you.” Alistair said, taking the pen from Anya to add his name.

“You’re signing up for Scrimmage, Rosengarde?” a voice called out. Liliana groaned, scowling for a moment before she collected her features. Alistair’s smile dropped as he turned to face Zir’elon.

He’s like a cockroach, keeps popping up where you don’t want him to. Liliana mentally grumbled as she looked at the dæmon prince.

“Yea, what of it, Kastrioti?” Alistair asked, standing straighter as he crossed his arms. Liliana noted that while Zir’elon was taller, Alistair had him more than beat in the muscle department. Honestly, Alistair looked like he could easily snap Zir’elon like a twig if he felt so inclined. Liliana wouldn’t mind it if he did.

“I joined too. Guess we’ll see each other on the field then.” Zir’elon said with a smile that held no kindness in it.

“One can hope,” Alistair said, returning the sharp smile with one of his own.

“Ali, ready to check out the next stall?” Liliana called out when it was clear neither boy was going to back down from their posturing first.

Alistair held Zir’elon’s eyes for another long moment before turning away and re-joining them. A derisive snort came from behind them, but Liliana gripped Alistair’s arm tightly to keep him from turning around and confronting Zir’elon.

“Is that smoke?” Emyr asked after another few stalls.

Liliana perked up and looked around, seeing a vibrant pink cloud of smoke rising into the air. She was the one to dart off this time, leaving her friends behind as she weaved through the crowd of students. She burst through the press of bodies into a rare clear area in front of a stall with potions with a sign declaring it the Alchemy Club. Liliana could see a bubbling cauldron, where the smoke had originated from.

“Don’t run like that!” Marianne scolded, out of breath as she caught up to Liliana, who had just finished signing her name on the sheet for the club.

“But Alchemy.” Liliana said simply, pointing at the cauldron, where three students were huddled around, one dropping ingredients in, the other stirring and the third preparing the ingredients.

“You should’ve expected that,” Alistair said with a shrug as he joined, Emyr and Anya following in his wake. Alistair made a very good buffer for the crowd. Others moved out of the way of his bulk instinctively.

“What are they making?” Emyr asked Liliana as he stopped next to her.

“Ah, I’m not sure,” Liliana said sheepishly.

A student popped out from beneath the stall, startling all of them as he grinned a bit manically. His brown hair was spiked every which way, and he had a purple smear of something on his cheek. He wore a thick leather apron over his uniform and it was covered in dried substances and stained a multitude of colors.

“We’re making a Dreamland Potion!” He said in a chipper, excited voice. “Here look, we have one right here and if you toss it down like this,” he picked up a vial from the stall and tossed it down to the side of their group.

Pink smoke, like what had come from the cauldron, billowed out, condensing together until it formed a very lifelike, dog sized rainbow colored dragon that paced next to them. Their group took a step back instinctively from the threat. The empty space around the Alchemy club stall suddenly made far more sense.

“It’s completely harmless! Like an illusion. In small amounts, it makes one small illusion, but larger amounts can make bigger illusions!” The student explained.

Liliana took a step forward, hesitantly waving her hand through the roaring dragon. It went through, just like most illusions. She held up her hand and turned it side to side, to see if there was any residue, but there was nothing.

“That’s amazing,” Liliana murmured.

“Charlemagne! Can you grab some more Siren Tears?” A student called out.

“I told you to call me Charlie!” the boy shouted back before turning to smile at them. “Sorry about that. Hope to see you guys in the club!” he told them before scampering off.

“That was odd.” Marianne said slowly.

“I love it.” Liliana said with a longing look at the cauldron.

“We’ve lost her, again.” Alistair said with a huff of laughter.

“Lili, didn’t you want to see the Beastology club?” Emyr asked her. Liliana’s head whipped around, her eyes wide and excited.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Liliana said, rushing back to her friends to drag them towards more stalls so they could find the Beastology Club.

“Normally I’m not one to advise caution but, um. Is that safe?” Anya was the one to speak up from where most of the group has paused a safe distance from where the Beastology club has set up.

Their reason for concern was that apparently Liliana wasn’t unique in her rabid fascination for anything furred, feathered, scaled, fanged and clawed. Because the Beastology club had brought out several decidedly deadly looking creatures as their hook for the club.

“It’s perfectly safe!” Liliana called out to her friends between chatting with an upper year who had a hand on a Fire Drake, a very distant cousin of the dragons and incapable of flight. Or reaching the great sizes of its cousins. It didn’t mean it was a small creature by any means. It looked like it could comfortably swallow a small teenager whole.

“Oh, hello Kor'iat,” Marianne spoke up in surprise. She was the first to overcome her initial fear of the beasts before them. She approached the familiar upper year scratching the stomach of an Umbra Panther.

“Mari! They have a Fire Drake! And an Umbra Panther! And a Coatl! Those are so rare, and they’re not even native to this continent! Can you believe it? And look, there’s a Nightmare, isn’t she beautiful?” Liliana pointed excitedly at the beasts, grabbing onto her friend and nearly vibrating with excitement. It was obvious she was barely restraining herself from approaching the animals.

“And a Qilin! Also not native to this continent! I never thought I’d get to see one so soon! And look! Look a Valravn! Look at the luster of its feathers!” Liliana chattered on about the beasts brought out for show, the upper classmen manning the booth looking both amused and proud.

“So I take it you’re joining?” Kor'iat asked, nudging the sign-up sheet closer to Liliana. The girl needed no other encouragement. She signed her name with haste, as if afraid someone would rip the sign-up sheet from her.

“I’d come every day, all day if I could.” Liliana said with utter seriousness.

Alistair snorted, Marianne huffed in amusement and Emyr let out what could be generously considered a quiet chuckle. Her friends wholeheartedly believed that.

“Oh, we have another fanatic. Maud, you have competition.” Kor'iat teased the girl Liliana had been talking to with an affectionate smile.

“The more the merrier,” Maud said with a decisive nod.

It took a solid half hour before Emyr and Marianne could drag Liliana away from the booth to continue their look through the club fair. Though Liliana soon found herself flagging long before many of her friends, Emyr doing even worse, his tolerance for people far lower than Liliana’s. Both were getting short with their friends, the exposure to so many people draining their social batteries dry with nothing to distract them like interesting enchantments or rare beasts. Their more sociable friends decided they’d seen enough, and the group retreated to the cafeteria for dinner, time having gotten away from them in the fair with so many things to look at.

As drained as she was, Liliana was happy when she came back to her dorm room. Marianne had been right to drag her out. She stretched tired limbs and lazily ran a hand through Polaris’ fur when he bounded to her side. Liliana settled at her desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment. She’d survived her first week at the Academy, and she had a letter she needed to write and send.

Chapter 133: Nightmares Made Of Memories

Liliana shot up from her bed, fighting off the twisted tangle of sweat-soaked sheets pinning her arms to her body. A scream was stuck in her throat and a name tasting of acidic guilt lay heavy on her tongue, barred from her lips by a wall of gritted teeth. Air rushed into her lungs as her wide, panicked eyes roved over the dark of her room, picking out familiar furniture. Her heart beat against the walls of her ribs like the wings of a trapped hummingbird. Her chest heaved as she struggled to gasp in the air her lungs craved around the heavy emotions clogging her throat.

Tears she didn’t feel were falling down her face like a waterfall, blurring her vision and further dampening the ruined sheets as her body shook. Her chest felt constricted, and as she gasped in each new breath, it felt like someone had wrapped her in chains that were tightening on her, collapsing her lungs.

“Lili!” a voice called out from somewhere far away as Liliana’s hands clamped tightly to her arms, her nails biting deeply into flesh, the hot blood feeling like fire against her too cold skin.

Bones creaked and muscles screamed from the iron grip she held on her arms, but she couldn’t release herself, couldn’t even feel the pain. The darkness of the room felt like it was swallowing her whole, tunneling her vision already hindered by the tears further. There was a rushing, ringing sound in her ears that sounded almost like screams, like the screams trapped in her throat that she couldn’t give voice to.

“Lili! Listen to me. Listen kit. You don’t have to speak, but tell me please, five things you can see, dear heart. Do that for me, please.” That far-away voice was back, somehow not impeded by the screams ringing in her ears.

She couldn’t recognize the voice, her mind too flooded with fear, panic and the need to scream, to run, to hide, to get away now. But something deeper than the fear recognized the voice, something core to who she was, urged her to listen so her eyes flitted around, locating items in the dark as she put names to them.

“Sheets. Desk. Bed. Books. Door.” Liliana didn’t speak, couldn’t speak past her locked jaw and that horrid acid coated name that still rested heavily on her tongue.

“Good, good job, dear one. You did so well. Now four things you can touch.” The voice didn’t seem bothered by her mental response. It’s, no, his voice was warm, filled with love and concern and somehow it helped. It gave her the strength to drop her hands from her arms and flex her fingers, to categorize the textures she felt.

“Sheets, scales, fur, my nightgown,” Liliana listed the feelings, and with each new word her breathing evened a bit more and the darkness receded from her vision. She was still shaking and drowning under bruising waves of fear, but she didn’t feel like she was being washed out to sea now. She could see the bottom of the water.

“Very good, Lili. You did well. Now three things you can hear.” The voice was back, pushing her on.

“Wind, I can hear my breath, and hissing,” Liliana responded after a moment of listening, the sound of screams in her ears quieting to whispers, her breath coming in easier now, almost unhindered. The clog in her throat was falling away, dissolving and letting her breathe with far more ease. Her arms were aching now, a sharp and dull pain throbbing in them.

“Good, I’m so proud of you, dear heart. We’re almost there. Now, can you tell me two things you can smell?” The voice directed her and automatically Liliana drew in a deep breath through her nose, scrunching her nose slightly when she realized what she was smelling.

“Copper- blood. And sweat.” Liliana told the voice, Polaris she realized as the waves of panic in her mind began to calm, a tumultuous sea turning slowly into a placid pond, steadying almost in time with the slowing of her heart.

“One more thing for me, Lili. Tell me one thing you can taste,” Polaris urged her, his voice calm and patient and so full of love it helped ease the tension in her shoulders as she drooped in the bed.

“Blood,” Liliana said, her voice hoarse though she hadn’t been screaming. It wasn’t quite right. Her mouth tasted like it had been coated in acid and ashes, but there was the unmistakable tang of copper there too, sharp and metallic on her tongue.

“Oh Lili,” Polaris said, his voice sad, so soft it felt like a gentle caress in her mind as he pushed his body more firmly against hers.

She blinked and saw he had wrapped her in a wing, lying across her lap as if to hold her down, or ground her. On her other side, Lelantos was half in the bed, his enormous head pressed to her side. A rasping of scales on skin told her Nemesis was wrapped around her arm, and a gentle tickling feeling alerted her to the serpent licking at the blood streaked on her skin, still pouring down her arms.

Liliana raised a shaking hand, wincing at the sharp pain the movement caused, and pressed gently against aching skin, surprised to find the gouges ripped into her skin that were slowly healing. She hadn’t even known she’d hurt herself. Hadn’t realised the damage she could do to herself when she wasn’t in her right mind.

“Thank you,” Liliana rasped out as she dropped her hand.

She’d need to clean up, but for now she didn’t want to move from the safe nest of bodies she was in. The smell of copper was heavy in the air, making nausea roll painfully in her stomach. Both from the smell and the knowledge she had just earned through horrible means. Liliana’s Strength was considerably higher than her Vitality and she could do severe damage to herself, so easily if she wasn’t careful, and she hadn’t been careful. She was lucky she hadn’t amputated herself; she was strong enough to do it. Liliana was also lucky she would heal before classes, or her friends would think she’d been attacked in her room.

The gouges in her skin weren’t clean or superficial. They were deep, going past skin and into muscle. It was only thanks to [Pain Resistance] being at level 101 that she wasn’t screaming in agony right now. It still hurt, but it was like the pain was dulled by pain killers. She was aware of it, highly aware now that her mind wasn’t a mess of chaotic panic, and it was uncomfortable, but it wouldn’t incapacitate her from the pain. The damage made it difficult to move her arms, though.

“No thanks needed, dear heart. We are of one soul. We will always be here for you. No matter what, if we face beast, man, or the monsters lurking in your own mind. We will be here, always.” Polaris told her, voice soft and warm and full of heavy promises, linking them all together tightly.

“You are ours. We are yours. We protect our own. Even from themselves,” Nemesis agreed, nosing against Liliana’s arm, above the wounds thankfully, before setting back to her self-appointed job of cleaning Liliana.

“Protect. Family. Always.” Lelantos, his words far less eloquent but no less full of feeling.

Liliana felt her lip tremble as new tears filled her eyes, overflowing as she sniffed pitifully, full of too many emotions for her exhausted body to process. Love inflated her heart, and she leaned forward to bury her face in Polaris’ fur, weak sobs shaking her body. One hand gripped his fur, burying deep in the silky strands, the other rested on Lelantos’ head, threading through the tiger’s coarser fur.

Her heart ached though, along with the love, because her entire family wasn’t here and she wanted it to be so badly. She had three pieces of her soul pressed tightly to her, but the other parts of the puzzle weren’t. Some were lost forever, some were too far away to be brought to her, and others were close, so very close, but still out of reach. Yet she wanted them none the less, and a childish wish pressed against her lips, bittersweet on her tongue.

I want my brother.

It wasn’t the only wish she had, but it was the only one she could admit to. The other one was too painful to admit to, so she drowned it in her mind, buried it deep under the ground where it couldn’t come back up, because it was a wish that could never be fulfilled.

When her tears dried, Liliana took a deep breath, sniffling past a stuffed nose that was still leaking snot and blinked burning eyes that felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. She was so tired, exhausted mentally and emotionally, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again. The mere thought of going back to sleep, where the nightmares prowled, sent a shiver of fear through her. Once she had one nightmare, she’d have more. There wasn’t a point in trying to sleep again, else she end up in this same position in another hour or two.

It took a little focus to bring up the time, half past the third bell. So she’d gotten about four hours of sleep, then. She freed one hand to rub at her eyes as she sat back up, wincing again at the pain. A quick check let her know she hadn’t just shredded her arms, she’d broken bones. That was why it was taking so long to heal. Bones took longer than skin to heal. Broken bones added a de-buff that slowed the entire process, the same way a sliced artery would add a bleeding de-buff that would prolong healing. Her arms would be healed before she saw anyone, but it would still leave her injured for another hour or so. Liliana activated [Regeneration] to try to speed up the process somewhat.

As she lifted her head, her eyes locked onto the desk. The reason she had this particular nightmare tonight. Sitting innocently on the desk was a half-written letter. Addressed to Silas, it talked about her first week at school. On its own, it wouldn’t cause any trouble. But it was the thought that had come to her halfway through the letter. The reminder that there had once been someone else she would’ve sent the letter to. Someone she would’ve sent the letter to before her first day had even concluded. Someone who would never read another letter again.

Liliana looked away, feeling almost like she was running away. But she couldn’t deal with anymore feelings right now. She felt like she was held together with spider silk, liable to break into a million pieces at the first bit of pressure. Liliana closed her eyes for a moment, dragging in a steadying breath before she opened her eyes and activated [Shine]. Light bloomed above her, illuminating the room. Her abused eyes winced at the sudden brightness, but now everything was back to being colored, rather than the monochrome of [Night Vision].

Liliana looked down at herself and almost canceled the spell. There was far more blood than she expected, even with the overwhelming scent of it tainting every breath she drew in. Her arms were more red than tanned skin, patches of golden hued skin peaking out rarely between sticky dark crimson and drying rusty brown. Her sheets looked like they’d been subject to a macabre tie-dye job, more red than white at this point.

She couldn’t see the red on Polaris’ fur, but the stuck together clumps shining in the light with still wet blood told her he needed a bath as badly as she did. Nemesis, who was still wrapped around Liliana’s arm and stubbornly cleaning her, was perhaps the most coated in blood, her brown-green scales unseen under the coating, and her white head a startling crimson, the petals of her hood were less obviously tinted, already being a bright pink. Lelantos was the least affected, streaks of red marring his iridescent fur, but nothing a quick cleaning wouldn’t fix.

“Bathroom, come on.” Liliana said as she shivered.

Now that she wasn’t in a panic, she could feel how cold she was, the sweat and blood-soaked sheets only serving to further chill her body. She couldn’t bear to sit in this mess for a moment longer, so even though it caused sharp stabs of pain, she rose from the bed with the assistance of Lelantos and Polaris propping her up. Her legs, though they’d suffered no damage, were as weak and clumsy as a newborn fawn’s.

It took longer than it normally would’ve for her to get to the bathroom, and Lelantos couldn’t follow her, too large to easily fit through the small door. Polaris alone bore most of her weight until she could carefully lower herself to sit by the tub. Polaris used his muzzle to turn on the water as Liliana trailed a blood crusted hand through the water, tinting the clear liquid pink.

Liliana fought with Polaris for a few minutes when the tub had filled, wanting him to clean up first, but the kitsune was insistent and she didn’t have the energy to argue, really. So she slipped into the tub and hissed as the hot water stung the slow to heal gashes on her arms. The blood wasn’t flowing from them anymore, scabbed up unnaturally fast thanks to [Regeneration]. Small mercies. Nemesis swam through the water, ducking down beneath to clean her own scales before wrapping around Liliana’s neck. Liliana tilted her head back, closing her eyes as she let the warm water soothe her aching body.

It was over an hour later that Liliana emerged with a damp Polaris on her heels, but she walked with her own power and the gashes on her arms were nothing but thick angry red lines, scars that would fade over the course of the next few hours until they were nothing but silver lines on her body, joining the countless others that littered her skin. Health regen and [Regeneration] could heal many injuries, but there was always something left behind for the worst of them. The most dire and potentially fatal left the most severe scars, as if it was the System’s way of reminding them for all their gained strength, they would always be mortal.

Liliana cleaned up her bed, gathering sheets and blankets and leaving them in the hamper that was in each room. The hamper was linked to a laundry room somewhere in the Academy where staff would clean the clothes and linens before sending them back to the students in a little cubby next to the bathroom. It was fascinating magic and on any other day, Liliana might try to examine to figure out how it worked, but today she was just glad it meant the evidence of her night wouldn’t be there for anyone else to see.

She grabbed the spare set of linens and only paused a moment to stare at her mattress, unblemished by the blood, before she shook her head with a mutter of ‘magic’ and made her bed. Perhaps the biggest adjustment was the fact she had to make her own bed again, after living the life of a pampered noble for years and before that, a hospital bed bound invalid. Making her own bed was a chore she had little familiarity with. But she’d figured it out, eventually. It wasn’t as pretty as what the maids at the manor could do, but it was serviceable.

Liliana walked around her room after she made her bed, tapping on the mage lights to turn them on. They turned on automatically at the 6th bell, but it wasn’t even fifth bell yet. She canceled [Shine] and began to dress in her uniform. When she finished, she looked around, unsure of what to do now. One hand reached up to Nemesis, still wrapped around her neck, and stroked the smooth scales and petal like hood of her bond. She rubbed her other hand across her face before grimacing. She probably looked a mess. Her next task decided, Liliana went back to her bathroom, looking into the mirror for the first time that day.

I do look like shit. Liliana decided as she looked at herself. Her tanned skin looked almost sallow, far too pale beneath the golden tones. Her eyes looked bruised, dark purple circles under them and still swollen from her tears. The sapphire blue of her eyes shone in contrast to the broken blood vessels filling the whites of her eyes, almost beautiful in a twisted kind of way. At least she didn’t look starved, not anymore. It had taken a long time after That Day for her to go back to eating with any regularity, and for months she’d looked into mirrors only to see a shell of the girl she’d once been. But now she could at least say self imposed starvation wasn’t one of her many issues. Under her sickly skin, her face held a healthy weight.

Liliana sighed and activated [Adjust], gently layering an illusion over her face, erasing the dark circles and hiding the swelling. Red tinted sclera slowly bleached back to white, and her skin regained its tawny beige complexion. By the time she was done, she looked like a normal sixteen-year-old girl, and not one who had spent her night trapped in a nightmare, only to wake into a panic attack that ended with her seriously injured at her own hands.

Liliana left the bathroom after throwing her hair up into a simple ponytail, with no energy for anything more elaborate. She stared at the letter on her desk for a long moment before snatching a book off her desk and settling on the floor, resting against Lelantos. Polaris settled down, laying across her legs, his weight comforting. As the sun rose in the distance, Liliana quietly narrated the history book she was reading out loud to her bonds as she waited for the day to begin, trying her hardest to forget how it started, to shove the nightmares deep, deep down.

Chapter 134: Just Trying To Get Through The Day

“When the first refugees escaped the Laete Kingdom, of the Escora Continent, which today is known as the Zeros Isles, better known as the Shattered Isles, Queen Calliope was a Marquise in her home continent. They originally found the Ileas continent as a mostly untamed place, ran wild with beasts and dungeons though there were native peoples to the farther north, at the time an unknown collective of beastman clans in what is now known as Athana, and the native residents to the west that later laid claim to what is today known as Gadria,” Professor Clintone continued on with her lecture on the original discovery of the Ileas continent and the eventual founding of the Cista queendom, birthed from the desperate need of refugees fleeing a tyrant ruler whose own son was later part of the reason the Escora Continent was no longer a continent at all.

They were mostly reviewing information they’d covered the previous week, there was supposed to be a test coming up next class and this information would be on it, before they delved into the actual treaties that Calliope put in place with beasts and native residents that still held to this day. Which would be far less interesting to read or learn about compared to the relative exciting nature of a woman who bravely set forth with nothing but hope and far too many lives depending on her to find freedom. Treaties were boring, on principle, filled with flowery and confusing language meant to prevent any unforeseen loopholes, which meant they were usually unreasonably long.

Liliana wasn’t paying much attention to the lecture, nor the eventual soul sucking lectures they’d be subject to once treaties were brought up. She was staring, unseeing, at the board, her eyes still feeling too hot, too swollen and too heavy. Her head felt like it was stuffed full of steel wool, grating painfully every time she blinked or breathed. Her arms, healed now even if the silvery scars would remain forever a reminder of the control she’d lost, felt far too heavy and clumsy. Like her bones were made of lead and her muscles of weights, dragging her down, down, down into dark places she couldn’t breathe in.

She resented the rule that she couldn’t have her bonds with her in classes. She’d do anything to feel Nemesis’ cool scales running across her skin, hear her gentle hisses in her ears as she silently insulted every student in increasingly imaginative ways. Or to have Polaris’ warm body pressed into her legs. To have Lelantos’ strong bulk at her back, his steadfast presence a bulwark from attacks originating from outside of her as well as inside.

Instead, she was left here, alone, while her teacher talked about historical events that should have her full attention. Tales that sounded too fantastical to be true, yet they were. She was drowning, silently, while other students leaned towards each other, whispering and laughing quietly, notes passing hands with various levels of subtlety. No one could tell, no one seemed to sense that the nightmares Liliana had hoped to leave in her bed had clung to her like creeping ivy, wrapping cold tendrils around her, tightening no matter how far into the sunlight she walked.

No one could tell, because Liliana had hidden the signs of her distress under layers of illusions. No one could see because Liliana had smiled, had forced laughter past lips that felt too numb, too cold. No one could hear it in her voice, because she’d been careful to joke with her friends, trading sarcastic quips with Emyr when he’d had enough coffee to be coherent. Because she’d teased Marianne about her homework. And no one could hear the pounding of a heart that hadn’t figured out yet that she wasn't in mortal danger.

Liliana thought she’d been fine. She’d assured her bonds who hadn’t truly believed her, evidenced by the fact that all three were currently resting in their soul stones on her right now. So close, yet too far away. But she wasn’t fine. The bit of composure she’d gained in her room was all she’d had. A thin veneer brushed over a fraying painting. She hadn’t left the nightmares behind. They stayed with her.

This wasn’t the first time Liliana had dealt with a sleepless night. Not her first time facing a day, while memories and ghosts haunted her every thought. It had just been so long since she’d had a day this bad, and it felt like every step towards the progress she’d made was erased. She almost wanted to cry again, to rage at the injustice that no matter how hard she tried, how ferociously she fought, how far she’d come, that one letter, one name, had been enough to drag her back to her starting position.

But whatever her internal turmoil, Liliana didn’t let it slip through the carefully crafted mask she used like a shield. To protect her wounded heart from the world, and perhaps to protect the world from the darkness raging inside of her. So when their class ended, she switched out notebooks and textbooks, shot a smile at Alistair, and threw a crumpled piece of paper at Emyr when he wouldn't look up from his notes.

She chatted with Marianne about how they thought their first days at their clubs would be. They were coming up soon. Liliana’s first day in Alchemy club would be tomorrow, and the day after Beastology. When Professor Daykin came into begin their math class, Liliana had to force her clouded mind to focus on the equations written on the board before she could zone out when the professor began talking about different uses for each one.

So it continued. Liliana forced herself to answer any questions or problems set before them. She attempted and likely failed at note taking; she played pretend with her friends, but mostly she checked out. Eyes unseeing as she floated in a stormy sea of her own mind, never sure if she’d get another breath in. And it worked, even if Alistair looked at her for maybe too long a few times. Even if Emyr’s piercing, knowing eyes seemed to look behind her mask and right into her soul. Even if Marianne frowned at her sparse notes before redoubling her efforts on her own, as if she could make up for Liliana’s failings by rubbing off on her.

It wasn’t until they were changed and standing in the training room that Liliana felt some kind of relief. Fighting, training, pushing her body to its limits, was something she was familiar with. Something she could find release in. Training didn’t force her to think, to force a mind too strained past its limits to function when it couldn’t. She knew if she pushed her body hard enough that it could silence the voices whispering in her mind.

When they were set to their warm-ups, Liliana took to it with gusto. She pushed herself as hard as she could, almost recklessly. She didn’t care if Professor Rauk stared at her too hard. He didn’t call her out. Liliana didn’t let herself fall, even as she drained her Stamina at a rate that wasn’t wise. She still had some sense and kept herself from going quite too far, though her muscles and lungs burned. But it felt good, something warm compared to the pervading chill that had been filling her all day.

“Today we’re going to spar again. I want to see you lot have any kind of improvement from where you were last week.” Rauk barked out when they’d gathered again after their warm-ups.

Liliana was still dragging in gulps of air, sweat shining on her skin. Alistair had switched from occasional long glances to outright concern and was standing right next to her, pressing his arm into hers as if he was afraid she’d fly off if she wasn’t grounded. Maybe he was right.

“We’re going to do it a bit differently this time. You’ll all be fighting at once. I’ll be walking around to supervise. Once a fight is done, leave the ring. Sit on the wall if you need to or come back here. I’ll talk to you all afterwards about your performance.” Rauk informed them, stepping to the control pillar as he spoke.

At his touch, the training room shifted and ten smaller rings rose from the ground. Not enough room for the bigger battles they’d enjoyed the first day, but enough for a fight, and that was all Liliana cared about.

“Kastrioti, elder.” Rauk acknowledged the raised hand.

“Will beasts be permitted this time?” Zir’elon asked, a slight sneer in his voice as he pointedly looked at Liliana.

A flare of disproportional anger flared inside of Liliana, the first emotion other than panic she’d felt that day. It broke through the haze of apathy that she hadn’t even realized had coated her. It was hot, so hot, and she was almost willing to grab onto it just to feel something. But she’d spent too long denying her anger, controlling it and taming it, to let some idiot prince ruin her progress. So she grabbed the anger and shoved it down, banked the flames until nothing but coals were left burning in her chest.

“Yes, they will be. Unless you’re willing to forgo use of weapons in your fight or perhaps a limb?” Rauk asked, his voice full of false pleasantness.

“That isn’t fair,” Zir’elon hissed.

“Life rarely is. If you think Ms Rosengarde will be the only tamer you’ll face, you’re sorely mistaken. There’s over thirty students in your year alone. Best learn how to handle it now before the tournaments, because bonds will not be restricted then.” Rauk informed him, voice harsh as he put Zir’elon in his place.

“Fine. Can we pick our partners, then?” Zir’elon gritted out through grinding teeth.

“As amusing as it would be to watch teenagers work out their petty squabbles in my classroom, no. I’ll be assigning any sparring partners you’ll have in this class until I decide this class is mature enough to be trusted with it.” Rauk drawled. Zir’elon huffed and crossed his arms, but said nothing more.

“Any other questions? No? Good.” Rauk barely gave time for anyone else to speak before he started barking out names and pointing to rings.

He left Liliana and Alistair for last, their pairing obvious, though a bit surprising to Liliana. She didn’t mind, Alistair would force her to really fight. His high Vitality and Endurance meant it wouldn’t be a short fight, and that was exactly what she needed. As they started towards the last ring, Rauk intercepted them.

“Mr. Rosengarde, go to the ring. Your sister will join you momentarily.” Rauk informed Alistair, who hesitated for a moment, looking at Liliana. She nodded, giving her brother a small, fake smile to reassure him. He walked off but didn’t look happy, throwing glances over his shoulder.

“Look I don’t know what’s going on with you, and honestly I’d like to avoid any in-depth explanations of your many and very important woes,” Rauk’s voice was heavy with sarcasm but as Liliana looked into his black eyes, she saw concern in there, true concern that threw her off. She hadn’t really expected the teachers here to care about the students. Then again, her track record with adults caring for her was abysmal, so her surprise and general suspicion was warranted.

“But I don’t like to see my students pushing themselves until the break. Don’t do anything stupid. You’re one of the more promising students out of this class. Don’t let one bad day ruin your progress.” Rauk’s eyes searched her face and for a moment, Liliana was worried her mask had cracked. Her mouth opened and closed silently, unsure of how to respond to these unexpectedly kind words from a teacher who had spent the past week acting like the students here were annoyances.

“And today you’ll find you can’t get into the personal training rooms. After classes today, rest. You look like you need it, no matter how many illusion’s you’ve slapped on your face.” Rauk finished, moving away.

Liliana blinked before she could feel herself blanching behind her illusions. How did he know? How could he see? Behind that realization was the annoyance at basically being grounded. It was for one day, but she felt those embers of anger flaring again at the fact that Rauk had read her so accurately. She’d planned to work herself until she collapsed in the personal training rooms after her afternoon classes. Now she’d have to find something else to distract herself with, or worse, face the ghosts of nightmares in her room and try to sleep.

Before she could respond, Rauk moved off, going to watch the students already fighting in their rings. Perhaps it was for the best, because Liliana wasn’t sure what would come out of her mouth if she’d been given the chance to speak. A venomous remark that would get her detention, or maybe she’d collapse into tears. Either option was unacceptable. Liliana closed her eyes and breathed out hard, shoving the anger back down. She opened her eyes and moved towards the ring where Alistair was standing, watching her with open concern.

“What did Professor Rauk want?” Alistair asked as soon as she stepped up.

“Just telling me I couldn’t use the personal training rooms today. Something about needing a rest day.” Liliana got out, opting for something close to the truth. Alistair didn’t look like he entirely believe her, a frown marring his face, but he didn’t push it.

Liliana tapped on a summoning stone as the shields settled around them. There was the familiar flash of shifting colors before a small flowered serpent appeared at her feet, a shield dropping around her too. Liliana bent and let Nemesis slither up her arm, settling around Liliana’s neck and tightening her coils slightly in her version of a hug.

“You’re not bringing out Lelantos or Polaris?” Alistair asked as he summoned his shield and sword, Liliana mirroring him with her naginata. She had no daggers to summon. The necklace Alistair had gifted her, and the ring from Emyr took her other two slots for items. She needed to save up merit points to buy daggers. Hopefully, she’d have enough soon.

“No, the fight would end too soon.” Liliana said as she twirled her weapon.

Alistair’s frown deepened, obviously thrown off by her declining an advantage, but he nodded at her. Without another word, they began, Alistair stepping back and activating skills and spells. Liliana activated her Set Up chain and felt the familiar rush of skills and spells bolstering her. Adrenaline pumped harder through her, this time with a target finally in place. It was far easier to handle this way, rather than feeling like she was in mortal danger in math class.

Liliana activated [Battle Clarity] almost sighing as the skill quieted the distress in her mind, pushing everything down where it wouldn’t inhibit her. The skill could be addicting, she thought. A crutch to be used to escape painful emotions, but not one she was overly tempted to abuse yet.

Liliana took off, calling upon [Gatling Barrage] and [Wind Blade] as she ran, pelting her brother with projectiles that seemed to have little effect on his defenses. For the first time that day, a genuine smile slipped on her face as the exhilaration of battle flooded her. Finally, her mind was quiet. No painful memories, no ghosts of nightmares, just her, her weapon, and her opponent.

She and Alistair had sparred together so many times that the entire thing was familiar in a way battles rarely were. They knew each other well, perhaps too well. Alistair’s familiarity with her fighting style showed through when Liliana’s initial tactics were thwarted, and she narrowly dodged more than a few fatal blows from her brother’s sword.

But he suffered from it too. His shield was not fast enough to block all of her attacks, and she knew it. Knew his tendency to drop his shield slightly before he struck with his sword. The fight was everything she’d needed it to be, grueling, long and punishing in the way that was only found when one fought someone who knew them, or when they faced off against something too strong for them to fight. Strange how fighting someone who knew her fighting style almost as intimately as she did provided a similar challenge to fighting some of her hardest bosses.

Liliana was perhaps too reckless in her fighting style, taking risks she normally wouldn’t, pushing herself further than was advisable. But the rush she felt with every narrowly dodged slice of her brother’s sword, flying so close the wind of it tickled her skin even through the shields, was worth it.

The way her heart pounded a bruising rhythm behind her ribs, lungs burning with every new breath, the way her muscles screamed when she forced them to their limits, twisting and flipping around her much slower brother. It was all a reminder of how alive she was. That no matter how much she felt like she was drowning, she was alive. And as long as she was alive, she could continue on. As long as she was alive, there was hope. And hope was something Liliana desperately needed on a day where her nightmares had tried to tell her there was none.

Liliana thought she’d won when she used her brother’s shield as a springboard, flipping over his head to drive her weapon at his back. She hadn’t expected her brother to predict the move and twirl around in an elegant move and shove his sword straight into her chest, turning her shield red. Liliana stumbled and fell, her balance thrown off from the hit, and stared at her brother in openmouthed shock. It hadn’t been the first time her brother had won; they were fairly even with wins and losses in spars. Despite her boon-boosted stats, her brother still beat her through virtue of knowing her so well. But she’d never seen him look so graceful in a fight. That footwork had almost looked like a dance step for a moment.

“What? I can’t learn some things from you?” Alistair teased with a grin, deactivating skills and spells.

He held out a hand to her and Liliana took it after she recovered from her surprise. As she stood, she deactivated her own active skills and spells and her naginata vanished back into storage. Alistair didn’t let go of her hand, using the leverage to tug her into a tight hug that almost had her breaking down. Alistair felt so warm, so safe, so much like home.

“You can come to me, Lili. Whenever. I’ll be there.” Alistair murmured before he gave her one last tight squeeze and pulled back.

Liliana quickly rubbed at her eyes and coughed to clear her throat. This time, when she smiled at her brother, it was real. The adrenaline of the fight was still fresh in her veins and the exhilaration making everything sharp, colorful.

“Of course, Ali.” Liliana said. Alistair nodded and nothing more was said as they stepped down and joined the rest of their class, the other fights having finished long before theirs.

Rauk looked at her sharply, and Liliana knew he saw Nemesis still coiled around Liliana’s neck, but he didn’t say anything, just gave a barely perceptible nod before focusing on the class as a whole.

“Today’s showing was marginally less disappointing than the first. I still wouldn’t trust any of you at my back in a real fight, but at least there is some hint of progress. You’re dismissed.” Rauk barked out, much to the general displeasure of the students.

The students filed out of the training room and into the changing rooms, some taking the time to shower before going to lunch. Liliana elected to use [Cleanse] instead of a shower. As she walked out of the changing room, she felt her energy flagging. The adrenaline was fading and her body was reminding her how much of a bad idea it was to push herself so hard when she had barely slept and woke into a panic attack.

“Let’s get some food,” Alistair said softly, throwing an arm around Liliana’s shoulders before she could stumble, as if sensing how close his sister was to collapsing. He and Emyr had been waiting right outside of the changing rooms for them. She didn’t comment on the gesture, merely leaned into the warm strength of her brother, grateful beyond words.

“I think today calls for something sweet.” Marianne decided, taking up the position on Liliana’s free side. Marianne looped an arm through hers and tightened her grip, as if she was prepared to hold Liliana up if Alistair failed.

“Yea,” Liliana said softly, her throat thick with emotion.

It was clear now that she hadn’t been as good at hiding her distress from her friends as she thought, but they didn’t say anything, instead offering their support, free for her to take if she needed or wanted to. It meant more than Liliana could ever express.

“I think I missed some notes too, did you Lili? We should compare notes after classes. What do you think, Emyr?” Marianne asked as they started to walk towards the cafeteria.

“Yea, I think we should, maybe get ahead on the treaties.” Emyr agreed.

Liliana closed her eyes on the tears stinging in her eyes. Her head still felt like it was full of steel wool, her limbs felt even heavier now after her reckless showing in Battle Training, but her heart didn’t feel as sore when faced with the freely given love of her friends. Her path would never be an easy one. She’d suffered too much, had too many ghosts that would forever haunt her, but it didn’t seem as impossible as it had a few hours earlier.

It was nice, she could admit to herself, to not be quite so alone as she once was.

Chapter 135: A Familiar Idol And A New Friend

“Soul is one of the most dangerous affinities to use, both for the user and for the victim.” Professor Sirius Valenstrong started their introductory class with a rather dire warning.

Liliana blinked her heavy eyes, trying to get herself to focus. She was less unsettled than she’d been earlier, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t tired. Even three cups of coffee, which was its own kind of punishment because the stuff tasted awful and Emyr had looked at her like she’d killed his first-born child when she’d put cream and sugar into her cup to make it palatable, she was still exhausted and she had two more classes after this. Perhaps she should’ve used her third slot as a study period, as several students had elected to do.

“When dealing with the soul, mistakes have grievous consequences. Unlike a severe wound to the body, damage to the soul is difficult if not entirely impossible to fix.” Professor Valenstrong continued, pacing the front of the room. This class wasn’t that large, but it was bigger than her normal ones, since all class levels shared electives. She’d counted thirty-five students, counting herself. She’d have to ask the others how big their classes were, especially Emyr, as Fire was a popular affinity.

“It’s why things such as soul bonds and oaths are only to be taken with the utmost care, because they cannot be undone once sealed.” Professor Valenstrong paused and looked at several students pointedly, Liliana one of them. She had to wonder if he was looking at students who had soul bonds. Could he see that somehow? Some type of [Soul Sense] skill? Or had he looked over his student’s information before they came in? The man was Rank 2. She’d easily believe he could simply see their souls and any connections to them.

Liliana forced herself to focus on what the professor was saying, as opposed to trying to decide if a [Soul Sense] skill could see through walls or not. With how tired she was, and knowing how often nightmares plagued her, she was starting to wonder if she should try to buy or unlock some type of [Memory Recall] or [Record] skill. Maybe something in the Illusion affinity would fit best with such a skill? Most likely Psyche, if she was trying to delve into her own memories to enhance them, but she’d hardly touched that specific sub-affinity.

Maybe she could pioneer recording devices. This world still used illusions and portraits to record events and images, and they were dependent on the memory of the one making the illusion. Something that could record on its own would be revolutionary, and would make her classes much easier when she felt five seconds from passing out on her notes. She’d probably need to approach the Enchanter Club or Emyr to get something like that made. Gods knew she didn’t have the skills to do something like that.

“Tying your soul to another’s soul is irreversible. It’s partially why we believe the system doesn’t allow oaths to be taken by any under the age of 18, as oaths are decidedly one sided, the oath taker having to devote part of their own soul to the magic whilst the oath giver has to sacrifice nothing. There are vows and such that require both parties to devote parts of their soul to the vow to uphold the magic of it, many marriages were such things though the popularity of such soul bonded marriages has fallen off in the last three hundred years or so,” Professor Valenstrong’s voice held a tone that led Liliana to believe he wasn’t a fan of such practices falling off, then again many noble marriages weren’t love matches and tying your soul to someone you didn’t even like wasn’t a fun idea to anyone.

Maybe Professor Valenstrong was simply a romantic and secretly bemoaned the decline in love matches for nobles. The man was certainly a noble. His impeccable posture and accent was something Liliana had only ever seen in nobles. Perhaps he’d been the unfortunate victim of a political marriage? It would explain his dislike of the current trends for noble marriages.

Liliana looked down at her notes, where she’d been writing without paying much attention to the contents, and scowled. Her hand had taken to writing her errant thoughts in the margins. Valenstrong + star-crossed lovers? Was written in her familiar neat script and she hastily scratched through it before the professor in question could chance across it. She didn’t think musing on her professors’ love lives would endear her to any of them.

Liliana rubbed her free hand against her face. This was a nightmare, ironic word choice not intentional. Her panic and feeling of not entirely being tied to her body had faded after she’d been able to direct her energy somewhere in Battle Training. Fighting always did place her head firmly back in her body. Her friends’ care had helped ground her further, the easy physical affection that sometimes earned their group odd looks, nobles simply don’t behave so uncouthly, had soothed her ragged heart and reminded her that no matter how alone she often felt, she no longer was. But it really didn’t solve the fact that she had barely slept, had exhausted herself mentally, emotionally and, arguably physically, before classes had even started, then pushed her body to its limits and she still had classes to survive through.

She’d been so excited about school, but she hadn’t truly been prepared for the torture that was trying to focus on her classes while her entire body screamed for sleep.

The bell announcing the end of class was a godsend. Liliana had managed, by some miracle, to take mostly legible notes for the first Soul class, and the only homework they had was to acquire the requisite textbooks for the class. They'd be able to pick them up from the school store for free the first time. If they lost the textbooks or destroyed them, they’d either have to pay in merit points or hope there were some left in the library to checkout.

Liliana nodded to her desk mate, a quiet boy named Fabian Amberstar, who had not spoken a word other than to introduce himself. If Liliana remembered correctly, he was the son of a northern noble, Viscount Amberstar, she was fairly certain. No one who usually traveled in the same circles as her, but someone she thought she remembered seeing a time or two at the bigger balls she’d attended. Either way, he’d been perfectly polite and quiet, which was precisely what Liliana hoped for in a desk mate. At least she could be certain he wasn’t a social climber, as if he was he’d have tried to ingratiate himself with her. Even as the ‘unwanted’ half blood child of the Duke Rosengarde, Liliana still had considerable social rank on the son of a Viscount, heir or not, which Liliana wasn’t sure if he was.

Liliana trudged out of the classroom and towards the building that held the Telekinesis classroom. She tried to force more energy into herself, futile an effort it might be. She didn’t want to walk into her first class with Natalia as her teacher looking like death warmed over, even with her illusions in place. Rauk had already relinquished her of the belief that no one could see through them. The lingering looks from her other professors had suddenly made far more sense with that uncomfortable revelation. She had to wonder if the professors had talked about her and that had pushed Rauk to confront her or if he’d done it simply out of concern for her.

All the professors so far had been fairly distant, strict, but extremely fair. Not shy with giving merit points or subtle compliments to students who showed they were intelligent or clever in classes. Liliana just assumed their distance was because they didn’t want to invest in students who wouldn’t even be in class S in a few months, once the first semester ranks came out. Though they obviously encouraged students who showed the drive and potential to retain their positions.

Perhaps that was why Rauk had reached out. Maybe he thought she had what it took to keep her seat and didn’t want to see her squander that potential. She would admit to not seeing very many of her classmates heading into or out of the training rooms, or even in the library. The library in particular was a surprise, as Liliana clearly saw many upper years in the building, so often she thought some of them slept there. She and Marianne had certainly made going to the library after dinner a ritual, even with it only being their second week. Emyr and Alistair often joined them, thanks to Marianne’s many insistences that four heads were better than two for figuring out homework.

Liliana slipped into the Telekinesis classroom and paused, for once unsure where she’d sit. Her instincts screamed at her to take the back seats. She’d have a full view of the room, a wall at her back and an escape right there. But this was Natalia’s class. A good part of her wanted to be front and center. There were far more desks in this room, too. Liliana’s mind subconsciously counted and came back with fifty-three, which was absurd. A core affinity had only thirty-five students, but a sub-affinity which required said core affinity had more? Liliana’s gaze raked over the students already present, and she mentally sighed.

Ah, horny teenagers. Liliana decided as she looked at the amount of students staring hungrily at the door that teachers entered classrooms through. Memories of how her friends had mocked her for her ‘crush’ on Natalia, she did not have a crush, made the choice for Liliana. She slid into a seat in the back, her battle-won instincts heaving a great sigh of relief at having a wall to her back.

Liliana opened a new notebook and tapped her pen against the pages, looking over the students. She saw no one she recognized, at least in Soul she’d seen Dunstan, even if they’d been on opposite sides of the room. This class was entirely made of new faces.

Perhaps new for only a few more months. Who knew which of them might be in class S starting in the second semester? Liliana wondered. It reminded her that these elective classes were one of her best chances to scope out the competition, the students who would undoubtedly be fighting for her own seat in class S. It wasn’t the students currently in class S she had to worry about being better than, it was the students they were separated from, progressing away from their sight. Waiting in the shadows to strike when they least expected.

Call Liliana cocky, but she truly doubted she’d be easily usurped from her position. From what she’d seen so far, many students simply didn’t possess the drive she did. Perhaps thanks to her multitude of near death, and actual death, experiences she had a zeal for acquiring power to prevent ever feeling so weak again.

Whether that power was martial or mental, she didn’t care. Power was power, and there was the age old adage that knowledge was power, so Liliana did not skimp on book learning either. That didn’t mean she shouldn’t take interest in her possible future classmates, and to be knowledgeable about if any of them would be true threats to her. She definitely didn’t have a monopoly on near-death experiences that inspired a fervor for betterment.

“Hello,” a soft voice greeted her, drawing Liliana from her thoughts. Liliana looked up to see a girl standing by her desk and she noted the room had filled considerably, the low murmur of many voices filling the background.

“Hello,” Liliana greeted, nodding at the seat next to her in silent confirmation of the girl’s unspoken request.

The girl slid into the seat with a grateful smile and Liliana immediately decided she wasn’t a noble. Her posture was abysmal, and she showed her emotions far too easily on her face. Though she was the kind of pretty Liliana would normally attribute to a noble, so perhaps a bastard or a child of a mistress. She had dark red hair tied back in a thick braid and pretty emerald green eyes over tan skin dotted with so many freckles they looked like constellations transplanted from the night sky to the girl’s skin.

“Fioralba Maisto,” the redhead introduce herself as she pulled out a few notebooks and her own fountain pen, though one markedly less ornate than the one Liliana had. Liliana internally winced at her comparison of their items. When had she become such a snob?

“Liliana Rosengarde,” Liliana greeted the girl with an open smile.

Unlike her peers, she would not be rude to someone simply because they hadn’t been ‘blessed’ to be born to nobility. Honestly, the commoners were lucky to not be born nobles. It was damned irritating to be one and ten times as annoying to deal with them. The money was nice, though.

“Oh! That name is familiar,” Fioralba started, tapped her pen against her lips in thought.

“I’m not surprised, as the Rosengarde family controls the north.” Liliana said, tone dry as she raised an eyebrow at her new desk mate. Fioralba froze, green eyes widening as her mouth dropped open almost comically.

“Wait, as in Duke Rosengarde?” Fioralba asked, her voice a bit pitchy.

“Yea, that’s my father. Whether that’s a good thing or not truly depends on who you’re talking to.” Liliana quipped with a smirk. Fioralba snorted, a hand covering her mouth.

“Sorry, that was rude of me. I can find another seat, if you’d prefer,” Fioralba said softly, and Liliana frowned at how her desk mate looked suddenly shy and unsure of herself.

She couldn’t blame her. Commoners were raised to treat nobles with extreme respect. The other girl was probably scared, fear of nobles ingrained in her from brith because of the ease with which a noble could kill a commoner with little to be done. The Academy’s ‘equal treatment’ be damned. It would do little to protect commoners when outside the walls of the Academy.

“Please, I don’t mind. Honestly, it’ll be nice to have a partner who isn’t a noble where I have to watch every single thing I say for fear of it being used against me in the future.” Liliana soothed, though it was a slight lie.

Other than her electives, which were two for two for good seat partners and her next would be with Marianne, she usually sat with her friends. And the only thing she had to be worried about was them using something she said to rib her endlessly. But her white lie worked. Fioralba was relaxing and gracing her with a hesitant smile.

“Well, if you’re certain you’re alright with me being here,” Fioralba offered her one more chance to escape before they were locked into their seats for the rest of the semester.

“I’m sure. Now tell me, did you take this class because you have the affinity or because you’re taken with the professor?” Liliana leaned forward with a smirk as she nodded towards a pair of boys a few desks ahead of them that were obviously watching the door with love-sick expressions.

“Oh, I have the affinity! I would never take a class for such a stupid reason!” Fioralba said, looking quite disgusted at the many students who had in fact taken this class for ‘such a stupid reason’.

“That’s good. We’ll get along then.” Liliana said as she leaned back and, in a fit of showmanship she usually wasn’t prone to, activated [Threads Of Control] to lift her notebook, her pen and two of Fioralba’s notebooks and made them dance in the air for a moment before settling them back down and canceling the spell.

“Wow,” Fioralba’s eyes widened at the show before she turned to Liliana with a hunger in her eyes that was mildly intimidating. She normally only saw looks like that when Lelantos was looking at his dinner.

“How many things can you control at once? Do you have a weight limit? What’s the cost? How long did it take you to develop the spell?” Fioralba leaned forward, a notebook and pen in hand and waiting for Liliana to speak to note down the information.

Definitely took this class because she likes the affinity. I think she’d have taken it if an ancient crone was the professor. Liliana decided as she felt her lips quirk into an amused smile.

Liliana and Fioralba chatted for the rest of the time before class started discussing Liliana’s spells and then Fioralba’s. Liliana had goaded her into showing her own spell, which only lifted one thing, but the weight limit was much higher than Liliana’s, as was the range. When Natalia walked into the class, Liliana felt marginally more alive. Fioralba’s excitement was contagious and had helped push some of Liliana’s exhaustion down, even if it still felt like someone had swapped her bones with lead.

“I wish to remind many in this class that you may change your electives at any point during the first month.” Natalia began the class with a sudden warning, and Liliana had to wonder if it was some unspoken rule of the electives to start classes with some dire warnings.

“I advise this because I am quite aware many in this class do not have the requisite sub-affinity. You have been permitted to be in this class if you either have the sub-affinity or the necessary core affinities to unlock the Telekineses sub-affinity. However, if you do not have the sub-affinity by the end of the month, changing your class is no longer optional, it will be required. We will begin actively using Telekineses in the class after that first month, and any without the sub-affinity will fail because of their lack of ability to take part.” Natalia leaned against the desk, lounging on it much like she had in her tent amongst piles of pillows. She had the same air of utter confidence and no-nonsense she’d had then. Liliana felt herself freezing, even though the warnings weren’t directed at her.

Liliana was certain several students were actively sweating now, and she shared a quick, wide-eyed stare with Fioralba, both of them undoubtedly thinking, ‘thank the gods I actually have Telekineses.’ Liliana did not want to be one of the students squirming in their seats and looking at the ground because they were who Natalia was talking about. As Liliana looked over the room, she noted very few students seemed to be uncomfortable at the warning, and Liliana surmised that by the end of the month, this class would be smaller than even the Soul class had been.

“Now that we have that understood, let’s begin learning about the affinity of Telekineses. Telekineses is one of the hardest sub-affinities to learn, barring other mental affinities like Astral and Psyche. The reason mental affinities, and Telekineses especially, is so difficult to master and learn is because it requires one to be in control of their mind, and subsequently their emotions, something few adults let alone teenagers are capable of,” Natalia started her lecture, never moving from her lounging position even as a piece of chalk was picked up and began to write what she spoke behind her, a subtle but endlessly impressive display of her control of the very affinity she was teaching.

Liliana settled back, pen moving to copy the notes diligently. She was excited perhaps the most for this class, and she was glad to see being a teacher hadn’t dampened the performer’s love of theatrics in the least.

Chapter 136: An Overdue Confrontation

Liliana had hardly stepped foot into the Wind affinity classroom when she had an armful of bubbly white haired princess.

“Lili! Are you excited about the class? How were your other classes? Did you learn anything new?” Marianne rushed out her questions as she pulled back, dragging Liliana to the seats she’d evidently picked out. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that if she chose any seats but the ones in the back Liliana would’ve revolted.

“Mari, calm down.” Liliana sighed as she sat down, fighting down the urge to hunch her shoulders and shrink in her seat.

So many people were looking at them right now and Liliana couldn’t say she enjoyed it. Wind was certainly a popular class and Liliana counted around seventy seats set out, by and far the largest class she’d been in. There were a few familiar faces from class S. Anya had slid into the seat in front of Liliana and Marianne, and she saw Hywel Goldstein several seats away. She thought she recognized a few faces from her other classes, but she wasn’t certain.

“I’ll be happy if I don’t pass out in this class. The other classes were fine. We just went over the basics of the affinities and a bunch of dire warnings for Soul.” Liliana answered Marianne as she set out her materials, rubbing a free hand against her eyes. By the gods, she was exhausted. The bit of manic energy she’d had earlier in the day had faded and now she just wanted to lay her head on her notebooks and go to sleep.

“How did you like your classes?” Liliana asked Marianne when it looked like the princess was going to bombard Liliana with more questions. Marianne was eager to answer her and Liliana let herself zone out a bit, paying enough attention to respond appropriately to what Marianne said. When Marianne wound down, Liliana delicately turned the princess’ attention onto Anya and let the two girls who had far too much energy, in her opinion, carry the conversation with little input from her.

When the bell rang, every seat was filled and if Liliana wasn’t using the small bit of energy she had left to simply stay awake, she would’ve already pulled out a notebook to begin noting down names. But she’d be in a class with these people for the rest of the semester. She had time to gather information when her mind wasn’t begging for sleep.

“Welcome to Wind affinity,” the teacher boomed out as the door crashed open, a rush of wind filling the room and sending pages fluttering. The man looked a bit like a wind sylph himself, all thin limbs, sharp pointed features and platinum blond hair that hung long down his back, blowing in a breeze that seemed to circle around the man like a faithful pet.

“I’m Professor Gideon Barriddle, and I’ll be teaching you the intricacies of mastering the fickle element of Wind.” Professor Barriddle began his introductions, his voice cheery as he crossed his legs and sat, in midair, floating around the front of the room. Liliana could admit it was a neat trick. She wondered idly if she could do that, or perhaps make a wind bed and just fall asleep in the air wherever she wanted.

“Now I can suspect many of your teachers have given you warnings of the dangers of their affinities, the mercurial temperament of flame, the unmoving stubbornness of earth, the graceful yet deadly flow of water. Wind is not like the other base elements, while winds can ravage and destroy with ease the element is not necessarily as inclined towards destruction as fire or even water is. No, the trouble with wind is that the element can be capricious. It’s more inclined towards subtlety, a delicate touch. It can be forced to be something devastating, but to truly master the wind affinity, you need to understand the very nature of wind.” Barriddle began his lecture and Liliana started to note down what he said, blinking when the words swam but pushing on.

Her handwriting only survived her exhaustion through virtue of her general skill, though she thought she detected some nonsense words and repeated phrases in her notes. If she was lucky, it wouldn’t be utter trash when she was awake enough to review it.

The class continued on much as her previous two had, going over the bare basics, an overview of what they’d be focusing on during the semester, and a list of books they’d need to pick up. By the time the class ended, Liliana could hardly keep her eyes open, and she’d felt her head nod a few times. A pounding headache born of lack of sleep had taken up residence right behind her eyes and she gratefully stored her materials as she stood, stumbling for a moment, when the world tilted unexpectedly.

“Lili?” Marianne asked, her hand gripping tightly to Liliana’s arm to steady her.

“I’m fine, just. Tired.” Liliana got out, her voice betrayed the exhaustion her illusions were still hiding from her face.

“Let’s get you back to the dorms, yeah? I can bring you something from the cafeteria to eat.” Marianne coaxed and Liliana was too tired to argue, she nodded and let Marianne lead her out of the room, not even jumping when Anya took her other side, supporting her with a sharp toothed grin.

“Damn it all,” Marianne muttered when they exited the tower, only to see a large group of students circled around something, loud voices heard even over the din of so many students talking. It took Liliana a few moments for her tired brain to connect why Marianne had cursed, because she recognized those voices. She’d rarely ever heard Emyr raise his voice, let alone shout, but she knew his voice.

“Shit.” Liliana murmured, freeing her hand to rub at her eyes and taking a deep breath before her back straightened and she strode forward.

When they reached the ring of students, Liliana paused before she tapped a soul stone. In seconds Lelantos materialized, Liliana set a hand on his fur. Where before the students were packed tightly with a growl from the formidable tiger, a path opened and Liliana kept her head held high as she walked through them, ignoring the whispers and looks as she approached the noise.

“We’re just saying the son of a murderer has no place here.” Words reached her, finally decipherable as something other than just noise.

“Oh, really Coppercolt? Are you trying to tell me that your parents have clean hands? Because I’ve heard some rather interesting rumors,” Emyr’s voice cut through the air, dripping in venom and clear threat.

“At least my mother isn’t sitting in the royal dungeons for life! And I didn’t have to steal the position of heir from the rightful one!” Coppercolt’s angry voice barked back. A harsh laugh filled the air, full of mocking heat.

“Heir? You’re the spare Coppercolt.” Emyr taunted as Liliana finally reached the circle.

She paused for a moment and saw Alistair, his face a hard mask that didn’t disguise the pain in his eyes, standing behind Emyr, a hand gripping tight to his friend’s shoulder. Emyr’s eyes were flashing and his lips were twisted in a sneer as he looked seconds from launching himself at Coppercolt.

Coppercolt wasn’t alone. He stood beside Dunstan, an older student Liliana recognized as Benjamin Runehold from the many social gatherings she’d been to, and another older student, Clarence Blackburn. Neither heirs, Liliana’s exhausted mind slowly supplied. No, none of them were heirs. Heirs would have more sense than this. Heirs were the mouthpiece to their families when the head of the family wasn’t around. No heir would risk angering the heir of the Rosengarde duchy in such a way. Zir’elon was there too, towards the back of the group, arms folded as he watched on, a smirk on his face and eyes dancing with amusement.

Liliana had no illusions of who had started this. She’d expected something like this to happen, eventually. The nobles had barely been polite to Alistair at best, but it was barely their second week here. For them to outright confront her brother, someone had to have pushed them. All of this nonsense because of his damned pride. Liliana should’ve expected he would hold a grudge against her brother too, for beating him in front of the entire class.

“What exactly is going on here?” Liliana asked as she moved towards her brother and friend, Anya and Marianne behind her.

At the sight of reinforcements, or perhaps a large beast with barred teeth, the group of nobles paused. Though Marianne would be little more than moral support, the politics involved in the crown princess disparaging or even attacking children of nobles, even if they weren’t heirs, would be too dangerous for Marianne to dare stepping in further than she had simply by being there.

“We’re making our opinions known. Many of us are uncomfortable sharing classes and a dorm with the son of a murderer.” Dunstan was the one to speak up this time.

Liliana heard a low growl from her side and, to her surprise, it was from Emyr and not Lelantos. Liliana felt her thin patience wearing down. She really was too tired for this shit. It was with a heroic effort that she maintained the strained noble mask she had pasted on her features instead of simply stabbing Dunstan and ending this damned argument once and for all.

“Say that again Dunstan and I’ll give you something to actually be afraid of,” Emyr bit out, his hands flexing as if he was imaging Dunstan’s throat under them.

“Are you going to threaten us for valid concerns? How are we supposed to know if he’s like his whore of a mother? Should we all start checking our drinks for poison?” Runehold stepped forward, shooting a cruel glare at Alistair.

Liliana felt rage boiling in her chest, breaking through her sleep deprived, weakened defenses, fracturing her weak mask. It flooded through her mind and through her bond. Lelantos let out a roar that had several students scrambling back and someone screamed.

“Keep talking, Runehold, and poison is going to be the least of your concerns.” Liliana’s voice was cold, her anger like frozen fire in her veins as she bared her teeth, pointed canines flashing and making her look half feral as she stood there with a hand on Lelantos, appearing as if her hold on him was the only thing holding the beast back from attacking.

“Why are you defending him? He stole your position! He’s not even a true Rosengarde, his whore of a mother seduced the duke and tricked your father into adopting him before trying to kill you to ensure his succession!” Blackburn regained his courage first, his voice rising as he pointed wildly at Alistair.

“Say one more word and you’ll be going home in pieces, you bastard.” Emyr shouted, his voice rough as he tried to surge forward, only Alistair’s hands on him holding him back. Fire and shadows thrashed wildly around Emyr as he lost control of his temper.

“Stand down before I decide that the satisfaction of letting Lelantos tear you apart is worth the expulsion.” Liliana snapped, her voice still filled with cold rage as she stepped forward, Lelantos prowling beside her until she stopped before Blackburn. He was taller, but she was well used to it and she let her anger, the promise of pain and violence, shine in her eyes as she stared the older boy down.

“And if you say another word about my brother, I promise you’ll regret ever speaking his name.” Liliana hissed, letting her anger fuel [Wind Manipulation] as winds whipped up around them. She held first Blackburn’s eyes before meeting the gaze of every boy who had decided today was the day to test her. Then she turned on her heel and walked back to Alistair, Lelantos snarling at them one last time before following her.

“Such uncouth aggression directed towards those who bring up valid concerns,” a voice spoke out as Liliana reached her friends and she whirled on her heel, eyes flashing.

Zir’elon had stepped forward and unlike the disgust and anger painted on the other boy’s faces, the prince had a calm mask in place, his hands wide as if he was trying to play mediator even as he stoked the fires of tempers higher.

“Is it not the right of every student here to be comfortable? To be allowed to engage in a civil discussion about issues we have?” Zir’elon said, his voice projecting to reach the crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.

“We have simply brought up our very reasonable fears,” Zir’elon continued, his voice almost pleading, but Liliana could see the mockery in his eyes, the smirk on his lips. She felt the last tethers on her temper snapping. Beside her Lelantos crouched, readying a pounce even as Liliana began to summon her weapon, all reason leaving her, only the need to wipe that damned smirk from his lips remaining.

“Then if we’re bringing up reasonable concerns, perhaps I should bring issue to you sharing classes and a dorm with me.” A voice called out as a new form stepped in front of Liliana, stopping what was going to be a charge.

Liliana blinked at the unexpected intervention. Sense came back, beating back the fires of her anger that had almost cost her so much for a few moments of gratification. She belatedly canceled the weapon that had only just started to form in her hand. She reached out and placed a hand on Lelantos, gripping tightly to his fur.

“Koth’talan.” Zir’elon spoke, the word sounding like the most vile of curses as he spat it out, his face twisted into something ugly as he looked at his brother who had stepped in. Liliana looked at the dæmon standing in front of her in confusion. Koth’talan spared a look at her over his shoulder, his eyes holding a warning in their fiery depths.

Shit. This is what Zir’elon wanted. He planned this. He wanted me to snap and attack him to either get me thrown out or to be able to fight me and beat me in front of witnesses to prove his strength. And I would’ve played right into it. Liliana realized, horror drowning out the remnants of the anger that had so recently ran rampant in her.

“Well, brother?” much as Zir’elon had spat his name out, Koth’talan said the word brother as if it was poison on his lips.

“Shall I bring up my many concerns with you, since you’ve chosen this as the place to air out grievances, however unfounded they may be? I can assure you, my concerns are far more solid than the weak ones you and your cronies have presented. Shall I begin?” Koth’talan asked, voice innocent yet holding an undertone of threat that Liliana didn’t doubt Koth’talan would make good on. It seemed Zir’elon realized it too, as he scowled at his brother.

“I believe we should all take some time. It seems tempers have grown out of control and we need to cool our heads.” Zir’elon ground out, stepping back with a glare at his brother. If looks could kill, Koth’talan would be ash on the grass.

“Sounds reasonable,” Koth’talan said amicably, his hands slipping into his pockets and his posture relaxing. Liliana realized he’d been standing in a battle stance until that moment, as if he was ready to go to blows with his brother.

Koth’talan didn’t move as Zir’elon and his posse turned away and walked off, pushing through the crowd of observers who had dispersed when the potential for a fight faded. When it was clear his brother was gone Koth’talan started to walk away and Liliana reached out before she could think, gripping his wrist and almost flinching back when she noted how warm he was, or perhaps she was just that cold that his skin felt like a burning brand under hers.

“Thank you,” Liliana said, when Koth’talan paused and looked at her.

“Didn’t do it for you. I didn’t want to see my brother win.” Koth’talan said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Still, if you hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve attacked him.” Liliana said, shame raising color to her cheeks, but she refused to drop her gaze as she stared into the unfathomable depths of his eerie, flame colored eyes.

“Like I said, didn’t want him to win. Don’t read into it.” He shrugged again.

“I owe you.” Liliana said with a shake of her head, refusing to let this go. There was no way he had stepped in, blocked her when it was clear she was about to attack, stepped between a giant tiger and his brother, simply out of spite.

“If you want to see it that way, fine.” Koth’talan said and looked down, raising an eyebrow. “Can I go now?” he asked, his lip twitching into a small smile. Liliana jolted, realizing she was still holding onto his wrist, and she yanked her hand back as if she’d been burned.

“See you around Rosengarde.” Koth’talan said with a wave as he walked off. Liliana watched him for a long moment, her mind too tangled and tired to make sense of the enigma that was Koth’talan Kastrioti.

“Liliana Loretta Verity Rosengarde!” a shrill voice called out, and Liliana froze, her eyes going wide.

“Fuck me.” Liliana muttered as she slowly turned around to face a furious Marianne stomping up to her, and even though the princess was shorter than her, Liliana felt suddenly much smaller than her friend.

“Ah, hey Mari.” Liliana said hesitantly, flinching back when Marianne smacked a hand against her arm.

“What the ever loving fuck was that?!” Marianne demanded, and if the situation wasn’t so very dire Liliana would find amusement in Marianne’s vulgarity, she’d heard the princess curse twice today and Marianne never cursed.

“Ah sorry, I lost my temper.” Liliana said sheepishly, and even Lelantos was lying low to the ground, his ears pressed tightly to his head in the face of Marianne’s anger.

“No! I want to know why you didn’t beat that smug, self-centered prick so badly even his mother wouldn’t recognize him!” Marianne yelled at her, fuming as she glared at Liliana, then off in the direction where Zir’elon had retreated.

“I-What?” Liliana asked, flabbergasted. That was not what she thought Marianne was going to say.

“You listen to me Liliana, the next chance you get, I want you to make him hurt. Beat him black and blue and bloody until he runs off with his tail between his legs!” Marianne ordered her and Liliana nodded back dumbly, unsure what else she could say in the face of an incensed princess.

“Don’t worry Marianne. I plan to make them all rue the day they decided to join the Academy.” Emyr said darkly as he walked up, Alistair trailing behind looking like a kicked puppy.

“I’m sorry. This was all my fault. You guys almost started a fight because of me.” Alistair said softly, head bowed and shoulders drooping. For such a large boy, he looked so very young, and small at that moment.

“This wasn’t your fault, Ali,” Liliana said, her heart aching as she looked at her brother, her strong, proud brother brought so low by the vicious words of idiots. She stepped up to him, grabbing his hands in her own and squeezing them until he met her eyes.

“I’d happily fight anyone in this school, in this queendom, who would say such awful things about you. You’re my brother, and I don’t let anyone talk shit about my family.” Liliana said softly.

“You’re my best friend. You’d fight for me if someone said such things about me.” Emyr said with a huff, his eyes still full of silver fire as shadows whipped around him.

“No one gets to insult the friends of the princess of Cista and not suffer consequences.” Marianne growled out and Liliana would feel bad for the boys who had started this if she didn’t think they deserved whatever vengeance Marianne would bring upon them.

“I’m always down for a fight. And you’re a nice guy Alistair, you even loaned me your notes when I fell asleep in Math the other day.” Anya said with a grin, bouncing up to them.

“You always try to protect us Ali, but it’s okay to let us protect you too,” Liliana murmured lowly as she wrapped her brother in a tight hug he desperately needed. He gripped her back hard enough that her spine cracked.

“Thank you,” Alistair murmured into her hair before he let her go and repeated the sentiment to the group.

“Now, if we’re all done being a spectacle, I’d like to go and pass out in my bed, please.“ Liliana said with a tired smile at her friends.

Chapter 137: Grand Theft Serpent

Liliana was happy that her nightmares left her alone for the nap she took the day before, and even more happy that they let her sleep through most of the night before waking her up in a tangle of sweat-soaked sheets she had to strip from her bed when the sun had barely risen above the horizon.

She didn’t suffer through a second night terror induced panic attack in as many days either, then again it could be because the nightmare she’d had this time had been almost familiar. Dark voices, blood, death, a monstrous Imogen, all perfectly normal things for her to dream of, almost comforting in the familiarity. At least her twisted mind hadn’t dredged up memories that really made her hurt this time, even if dreaming of being covered in blood wasn’t her idea of a restful sleep.

It made it easier to get ready that morning, even if she still needed some illusions to hide the dark circles under her eyes because even with a two-hour nap the day before and getting five hours of sleep that night wasn’t nearly enough. She had the energy this time to guide a half asleep Marianne to the cafeteria and to let Emyr’s hissed insults roll off her back. She wasn’t better, but she was good enough to survive her day, and that was all she asked for. All she could hope for.

She’d had just enough sleep that her mind was back in working order, and without a lingering panic attack, she could pay attention to her teachers and write legible notes. She’d been right. The notes for her first Wind class were nothing but jumbled nonsense, but Marianne had saved her by writing doubles of all her notes the day before and handing them to Liliana with a smile. It was thanks to the notes Marianne, and Emyr, had slipped to her that she could pass her World History and Fundamentals quizzes.

It was lucky that Battle Training’s first non-physical class was that day and not the one before, because Liliana wasn’t sure she’d have been able to copy the anatomically correct diagrams Rauk had hung up at the front of the room before he began going over the different organs and where their positions could subtly differ between races. Such as dæmon hearts being on the right side of their chest, not the left. Beastman physiology could differ either slightly or highly between the different clans, such as bird beastmen having honeycombed bones and larger lungs, with bigger rib-cages to compensate.

Classes had settled into something of a routine, even with slight changes made here and there, such as Battle Training being a coin toss if they’d be fighting or learning where each race kept their spleen. Though there was one difference that had come as a bit of a surprise.

Coppercolt had found his seat quite inhospitable when he tried to slip in next to Anya, who had said nothing but the rolling growl she let out, ears pinned tight to her head, had made it clear he was risking life and limb if he sat down. He’d switched his seat with Basil Zindru after some hushed negotiation. The southern duchy heir had nodded politely to them all, even going so far as to greet Alistair in what was a very clear display of him accepting Alistair.

Many things could be said about the four duchies, but no one could say they didn’t have their own kind of warped loyalty to each other. As long as Alistair was still the heir, no matter how tenuous the position was, the other duchies would accept him, even if the rest of the nobles didn’t.

Another change, one Liliana darkly hoped lasted, was Emyr’s venomous remarks every time Zir’elon, Coppercolt or Dunstan spoke, moved or even breathed. Anytime one of them was called out to answer a question and got the answer wrong, Emyr’s hand was raised high in an uncharacteristic willingness to accept attention. Liliana would’ve never expected if she didn’t know how spiteful Emyr could be. Anytime they got the answer right, Emyr had a ready, quiet quip on his lips insisting they were lucky, or cheated, or that someone around them had whispered the answer to them.

“Anyone with a brain cell knows the date the Cista Queendom was founded. We celebrate it every year.”

“How did Dunstan not know the name of the first queen’s adviser? Theres an entire chapter about their alleged romantic affair! Guess reading is another thing the shithead doesn’t know how to do.”

“Mildenhall definitely slipped him the answer. Why such a smart girl would spend time with a social climbing twat like Coppercolt is beyond me.”

“He wouldn’t know the difference between a Skill and a Spell if someone stabbed him with one.”

“I bet Coppercolt is good at math with how much money laundering his father does for his illegal gambling ring.”

“Are we sure some dæmons don’t have brains at all? Zir’elon probably has a piece of coal in there. Maybe he’s a special anomaly. We should ask Rauk to study him for research purposes.”

It had taken all of Liliana’s mental strength to resist bursting out into laughter with each new insult that came from Emyr. Alistair had to lay his head in his arms several times, while his shoulder shook with barely concealed laughter. Marianne was egging him on with her own remarks. Anya had barked out a loud laugh at one point that got her three demerit points that she was too amused to be mad about, and Zindru had covered his face with his hands after one comment about Dunstan’s mother’s rumored dalliances with a donkey, which surely explained his far too big ears. Liliana wasn’t sure if Zindru rued his choice to switch seats or if he was enjoying the show. The humor in his eyes when they all left, and that he actually bid them good day, made Liliana think he perhaps enjoyed their brand of chaos.

Liliana thankfully didn’t have elective classes with the trio of bastards, as Emyr had dubbed them, except Dunstan, who sat far enough away from her in Soul that she didn’t have to acknowledge his existence. She felt bad for Emyr, knowing he was in Fire with Zir’elon. A class she was surprised to hear that Koth’talan also took. She assumed he was in Lava and Earth as his second and third elective classes then, as those had been the affinities she’d seen from him so far. Alistair had taken Water, Crystal and Metal so she couldn’t know for sure. Though Alistair hadn’t unlocked the Water affinity yet, he was apparently waiting until this weekend to be sure he meshed with the element well enough.

Liliana was just leaving Wind, Marianne chattering next to her to Anya while she tried to come up with a valid reason to invite Fioralba, or Fiora as she’d told Liliana to call her after the second time the girl’s name had tongue tied her, to their study sessions. The other girl was a bit intimidating. Her passion for their shared element lit her up with such fervor it regularly struck Liliana dumb with the strength of it. So she could admit she was nervous to invite her to study with her, especially as she didn’t consider her as close as her other friends.

She’d managed to talk to Fabian before Soul started and discussed meeting up on Terradays for joint studying easily enough. He was far less intimidating than the fiery Fiora, perhaps because he didn’t have the same passion for Soul that Fiora held for Telekinesis. He had a quieter sort of aura around him, with his dusty blond hair pulled into a bun with a pen stuck through it more often than not, with deep, soulful brown eyes.

Maybe Liliana just wasn’t used to interacting with people who weren’t her friends, if she was walking towards the library while Marianne chattered about how she spotted Acacia making out with some third year in the bathrooms thinking about deep soulful brown eyes and how Fiora’s eyes lit up like emerald fire when they discussed Telekineses.

They blame stuff like this on hormones in the books, right? Let’s just blame it on puberty or something. That’s why I can’t focus or ask classmates to study with me like a normal person. Liliana decided just in time to shriek when Emyr popped out of the shadows cast by some trees like a shadow clad groundhog.

“Emyr?” Liliana asked as she pressed a hand to her chest. She’d forgotten Emyr’s tendency to just jump out of shadows whenever it suited him, using them like his own personal secret tunnels.

“Do you have Nemesis with you?” Emyr asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

“I-What?” Liliana asked, confused by the sudden question.

“Nemesis. Is she with you?” Emyr said slowly, as if talking to a child. Liliana frowned at his tone, debating smacking him for the fright and the insult.

“Yes, she’s with me today.” Liliana said as she crossed her arms.

“Can I borrow her?” Emyr asked, and Liliana’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead.

“You can’t use my Bond to kill someone.” Liliana huffed out, rolling her eyes.

“I won’t be using her to kill anyone. Even if they deserve it.” Emyr insisted, though the way his lips pulled into a small pout made Liliana think that had been one of his plans.

“What are you even planning to use her for?” Liliana asked, her lips tugging into a slight smirk.

“Spying. I need to gather more information.” Emyr said in a whisper as he dragged her off the pathway towards the trees he’d just jumped out of, Marianne and Anya following behind her.

“Who are you spying on?” Anya asked, her head tilting to the side.

“Are you going to dig up dirt to bury the three bastards?” Marianne asked with a vicious smile.

Why are all my friends terrifying? Liliana wondered as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. She’d had to sit through four murder plots the day before after her nap when she was going over the notes her friends had handed her. They only got more ridiculous and unfeasible the later it got.

“Yes, and I need Nemesis to do it.” Emyr insisted, turning his attention back to Liliana.

“She’s more likely to eat them than to spy on them, and what? Am I supposed to play translator between you two since she still refuses to talk to anyone else?” Liliana hissed as she glared at Emyr. “Why not take Polaris? He’s able to hide in shadows too and he’d think this is all great fun, and he’ll actually talk to you.”

“He’s likely to play some malicious prank on them instead of just watching. Nemesis won’t eat them if you tell her not to. Polaris won’t listen if you’re not right by him and then we’ll all have detention because he dumped a skunk in their rooms or something.” Emyr refuted and Liliana leaned her head back to groan because he was right.

“This doesn’t solve the issue of her not talking to you, or that she might decide not to.” Liliana pointed out, and Emyr gave her a shit-eating grin, his silver eyes sparkling with victory.

“I think I can convince her.” Emyr said secretively, and Liliana rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. I’ll bring her out just to watch her deny you and maybe bite you for bothering her.” Liliana growled out as she tapped the serpent’s stone.

Nemesis appeared at Liliana’s feet and before she could gather the serpent, Emyr darted down, picking Nemesis up in his hands. The flowered serpent hissed threateningly at Emyr, but the boy didn’t look bothered as he stepped away from the girls to whisper at the serpent. Nemesis hissed back, her hood flaring, and Liliana knew she was about to strike when something Emyr said froze the serpent. Right before Liliana’s amazed eyes, her serpent’s hood folded closed and her head waved from side to side as she considered whatever offer Emyr had made her. Nemesis nodded her serpentine head and Emyr grinned back happily before walking to Liliana with Nemesis wrapped loosely around his arm.

“Wait, he did it?” Marianne asked, eyes wide. Nemesis liked Marianne best out of all the humans she’d met, barring Liliana, but even the princess hadn’t gotten the serpent to speak to her.

“Yes, I agreed to his deal.” Nemesis said, sounding slightly put out by this fact. Marianne squealed, her hands flying to cover her open mouth.

“She spoke!” Marianne whispered between her fingers, looking as if every wish she’d ever made had just come true.

“Yes, I did. I did not want the first human I spoke to, to be this guileless hatchling.” Nemesis said primly, turning slightly to hiss at Emyr.

“I resent the accuracy of that statement.” Emyr said, but he was still grinning proudly.

His grin dimmed a bit when Marianne squealed again and almost ripped Nemesis from his arm, the serpent going willingly. He watched as Marianne whispered and chatted to Nemesis and the serpent listened, bobbing her head and hissing back soft replies that Marianne could understand based on her million watt smile.

“Why wasn’t she like that with me?” Emyr asked, his tone accusing as he turned to Liliana.

“Nemesis likes Marianne better, she compliments her endlessly every time they see each other and has special rare rodent beasts imported for her to try.” Liliana said with a shrug.

Marianne spoiled all of Liliana’s bonds as if they were her own. Sometimes Liliana thought her bonds loved the princess more than her, but she knew deep down she’d always have her bonds love. Even if Marianne had better treats.

“Anyway, we need to go. I have Alchemy soon and now I don’t have the time to get a quick study in beforehand.” Liliana grumbled as she checked the time.

She’d hoped to get her half done math homework finished before her club, but now it would need to wait. She waved at her friends, Marianne still chattering at Nemesis while Emyr fidgeted nearby, looking three seconds from absconding with the serpent and Anya nervously standing to the side, eyes fixed on the serpent as her hands twitched with the obvious urge to pet.

Liliana returned to the path and picked up her pace, eager to get to the Alchemy club room early so she could look over all the different ingredients and equipment they had. She was nervous about leaving Nemesis with Emyr, but she could easily check in on her Bond at any time, and she’d know the second anything went wrong. She really hoped nothing went wrong.

Liliana opened the door to the club, the room several floors below the elective classes. They hadn’t been told of the extra classrooms below the buildings, but then again, it hadn’t necessarily been something they needed to know, as clubs were entirely optional. Just another thing the Academy didn’t tell you, but let you stumble upon yourself.

Speaking of stumbling upon, Liliana still needed to check if the secret passageways existed in this world or if it was game only. Her mind occupied, Liliana didn’t spot the telltale smoke curling under the door to the club and when she opened the door, a foul smelling wave of smoke crashed over her.

“Sorry about that! I got lost in an experiment and forgot the time!” A sweet feminine voice called out through the thick smoke as Liliana coughed and used [Wind Manipulation] to clear the smoke surrounding her.

Seconds later, a more robust wind cleared the smoke entirely from the room, revealing a woman with her thick brown hair tied up in a messy bun, held together with three stirring sticks. Hazel eyes sparkled at her behind goggles and though Liliana couldn’t see it, she felt the beaming grin the woman had on behind her mask.

Is she related to Fabian or something? They have the same hairstyle. Liliana wondered idly as she waved the woman’s, her teacher she assumed by her age, concerns away.

“It’s fine. I’ve done worse at home than a bit of smoke.” Liliana said easily as she walked in. Before she could get a chance to [Identify] her teacher, her eyes snagged on the boiling cauldron and she hurried over, eyes wide with excitement as she took in the ingredients spread around it.

“Is that valerian root? And Nightmare hair? Are you making Sleeping Death?” Liliana asked eagerly. “Wait, this is Luna Moth dust, and is that Reaper Adder venom?” Liliana asked in amazement as she fluttered her hands over the ingredients.

“Yes! I thought I could increase the area of effect if I used the Luna Moth dust as they are mostly area of effect creatures and use the Reaper Adder venom to keep the effect strong even when diluted by the distance,” the woman gushed as she picked up the ingredients before frowning at her cauldron. “But when I mixed in the venom, it started smoking terribly, and it was only thanks to the nullification wards placed around the room that it didn’t knock me out, I believe.” She said with a huff as she set the venom down.

“You’d need something to bind to the venom without neutralizing it,” Liliana said with a hum as she looked at the cauldron, seeing the violently boiling black brew.

“You’re right! Hm a binding agent that would work with the other ingredients and not neutralize the effects.” the woman tapped her finger to her lips for a moment before her eyes brightened and she darted off for a door Liliana hadn’t noticed before. When the woman opened it, Liliana saw a large room, bigger than the classroom, filled floor to ceiling with ingredients and supplies.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” the woman said, popping her head out the door to look at Liliana. “I’m Maria Gambrill, the adult supervision for this club and the Poison instructor. Come in here and grab some supplies and ingredients, the approved potions for each year are posted by the door. If you want to make something else or experiment, let me know. I’ll require a research paper on any unapproved potions you want to try, including reasons why you think you should be allowed to make it. For experiments, just tell me what you want to try, why you think it’ll work, and I have to be there to supervise! Other than that, welcome to Alchemy club and have fun! Blow some stuff up in the name of invention!” Maria rattled off the information before ducking back into the storeroom. Liliana’s lips split into an excited smile as she rushed towards the storeroom to get started.

She was going to enjoy this club.

Chapter 138: Sibling Shenanigans And Beastly Acquaintances

Liliana glanced over the group at her dinner table. Emyr was sitting there with Nemesis wound around his neck, whispering in his ear as he absentmindedly ate. Marianne was chatting with Anya excitedly. The two girls had really hit it off and always had something to talk about, even if Liliana was convinced half their conversations were nothing but nonsense. Liliana looked towards Alistair, who was gazing at Emyr with a soft smile she doubted he was even aware he wore.

Liliana’s eyes darted down to Alistair’s tray, where a slice of chocolate cake sat. She had an identical piece on her own tray, sitting untouched. Liliana looked between the two cakes for a long moment, judging them before she decided. Her hand darted out and grabbed her brother’s cake and dragged it to herself. His fork aimed to impale her thieving fingers was not nearly fast enough to catch her.

“Give me my cake back!” Alistair growled at her. Liliana smirked as she pulled the slice of cake closer to herself.

“It’s mine now.” Liliana smirked.

“You already have a slice! Of the same exact cake!” Alistair huffed, his voice rising.

“Yea, but I wanted your cake.” Liliana said with a slight pout as she sunk her fork into the stolen confectionery.

“Lili, I swear to Vita if you eat my cake.” Alistair threatened, trying to lean forward to grab the cake from her. Liliana leaned back, balancing the cake as she quickly darted the forkful into her mouth, chewing with a huge grin on her face.

“Lili! Stop eating my cake!” Alistair shouted, shooting to his feet to come around the table. Liliana jumped up onto her seat and vaulted over the table, cake in hand, with a shriek.

“Never! Just take my slice!” Liliana called out as she darted away from her brother, popping another forkful in her mouth as she ran.

“I don’t want your slice. I want mine!” Alistair yelled as he chased after her.

“So your slice was better! I knew it! You dick!” Liliana said over her shoulder before shoving another forkful in her mouth.

She started weaving around tables of other class S students, the fourth years too absorbed in the textbooks they always had in their hands to notice the ruckus, the third years looking amused but unbothered, the second years looked a bit irritated but most said nothing and their first year classmates looked either embarrassed, angry or entertained by the siblings. Liliana was frantically shoving bites of cake in her mouth as she turned, twisted and jumped around the cafeteria to avoid her brother, who was shouting insults and threats behind her.

“Oh, fiddlesticks, look like it’s all gone,” Liliana called to her brother as she darted back to their table, dropping the empty plate on the table. Liliana fell into her seat and grinned up at her brother, who was staring at the plate in shock.

“Guess you have to eat my cake now instead. Such a shame.” Liliana said with a smug smirk. Alistair’s head whipped up and his eyes narrowed. Liliana barely had time to open her mouth to curse before her brother tackled her to the ground.

“Get off of me!” Liliana cried out as her brother shifted so he was sitting on her back and he could start tickling her sides.

“Spit it out! Spit my cake out, you fucking menace!” Alistair demanded, as Liliana choked on giggles.

“Do you want to eat my vomit, you freak?” Liliana gasped out between laughs.

“On three.” An exhausted voice said. Seconds later, Alistair was being dragged back while Marianne caught Liliana under the armpits and pulled her back when she tried to launch herself at her brother.

“Lili. Sit.” Marianne said in Liliana's ear and Liliana slumped before sticking her tongue out at Alistair, who was being pulled back by Anya and Emyr.

Liliana sat down in her seat and noticed as Marianne took her seat next to her that the girl was shining slightly before it turned off. It explained how Marianne had pulled Liliana back. She was using skills and spells to boost her Strength, though Liliana hadn’t really wanted to break out and chance hurting Marianne.

Liliana sat down in her chair and pouted as she ate under the stern gazes of Emyr and Marianne. Anya just looked endlessly amused by the events that had transpired. Alistair shot a murderous glare her way, but Liliana could see the smile trying to break through. She pushed her slice of cake towards her brother, who snatched it from her as if he was afraid she’d take off with that one too.

“Why must you two do this?” Marianne asked as she rubbed at her face with a hand.

“They’re siblings.” Emyr said with a shrug.

“My littermates were like that, too. Fighting over everything,” Anya said with a grin, though her eyes looked sad.

Liliana had to wonder what it would be like to go to a school in a different country with no one you knew. She’d learned enough of Anya to know the girl wasn’t native to Cista. Her family was very wealthy though, so they’d been able to afford to send one of their kids to the Academy. Apparently the entire group, or litter as Anya called them, had to fight. The winner got to go, and that was Anya. Still, she always talked about her family with love clear in her voice, and Liliana couldn’t imagine how much she missed them.

In her mind, the faces of Silas, Jason, Clover, and Flint flashed by, and Liliana rubbed at her chest. Perhaps she could imagine it, because she missed the rest of her hodgepodge family fiercely.

“I’m glad I don’t have siblings if this is normal.” Marianne said with an exasperated sigh.

“This was light. There was no blood drawn,” Anya said, and she sounded almost disappointed by that.

“Yea, if they get into it bad enough, there’s no pulling them apart. You just have to hope weapons don’t get pulled.” Emyr said with a shrug as he bit into a piece of his steak.

“You locked your sister in a closet and left her there for four hours when you were eight.” Liliana said, voice deadpan as she looked at Emyr.

“Yes, but I don’t get into tavern brawls with my siblings over cake.” Emyr said with a derisive sniff.

“She took the last cookie your cook had made for the day.” Alistair cut in, his voice as deadpan as Liliana’s.

“It wasn’t cake.” Emyr said with a huff as he turned his head and started to very pointedly whisper to Nemesis. Liliana and Alistair traded wry glances, lips quirking and eyebrows raising as they silently communicated how ridiculous Emyr could be.

“I expect my Bond back in my room when I get back from Beastology Club,” Liliana warned Emyr as she gathered her finished meal.

Beastology club started after dinner, closer to late afternoon. Apparently, they switched the meeting time of the club every few weeks because many of the creatures the students and professor had were more active at certain times. Liliana was excited for when the club switched to meeting after dark. She wanted to see what kind of creatures they had that were strictly nocturnal.

“Fine.” Emyr said petulantly.

He had quite enjoyed the last day of having Nemesis with him, saying she was quite adept at spying. Liliana had heard some of what Nemesis had found out, though she was waiting for Emyr to compile all the rumors and secrets he’d uncovered, and she could admit using her Bond to spy on their enemies was useful.

“Oh! Are you going to study?” a sweet voice called out just as Liliana started to stand. Liliana felt a very sudden and illogical urge to bash her head against the closest hard surface.

Why Vita, why. Is this some cosmic joke? Liliana wondered as she painted on a pleasant smile and turned to look at Diana, who had found her way to their table.

“No, sorry. I have the Beastology Club I’m going to.” Liliana said, keeping her voice even.

“Oh.” Diana said, her smile dimming as she seemed to droop. Liliana had the oddest feeling, like she’d kicked a puppy.

“I was hoping to study with you. You always seem to know the answers when you’re called on, and Professor Clintone complimented your essay the other day.” Diana said, her voice sad as she looked at her feet for a moment. She perked up slightly and looked at the rest of the table.

“Maybe I could study with you guys?” Diana asked hopefully, eagerness clear in her voice.

Liliana’s eyebrow rose in surprise. She wasn’t expecting Diana to try so hard to interact with them. None of them had gone out of their way to befriend the girl. Then again, Liliana remembered that Diana was a commoner, there was a chance she was struggling to fit in with class S which was currently made up of mostly nobles. Maybe Diana thought their group would be more inclusive, as Anya wasn’t a noble and Liliana’s mother was a commoner. Diana might have charmed the nobles in the game, but Liliana knew this world wasn’t always like the game, and it took longer than a week and a half to charm people enough that they forgot the prejudices they were raised with.

“Sorry, we have Scrimmage tonight.” Alistair with a shrug and Anya nodded.

“I was planning on spending the night practicing my notes with the flute I’m trying with for the Band Club,” Marianne said with an apologetic smile. Emyr didn’t even say anything. In fact, he didn’t acknowledge Diana’s presence at all, which was rather in character for him.

“Oh, well, maybe next time?” Diana asked, though she looked quite crestfallen. Liliana felt torn between the urge to offer to study with her and the instinct to stay away from Diana and all the trouble a fourth hero could bring into her life.

“Next Lunaday we can study together if you’d like,” the words were said, feeling like they were dragged out of Liliana’s lungs forcefully.

“Really? That would be great! Thank you so much, Lili!” Diana said, her face brightening and her eyes doing that odd twinkling thing where it looked like the girl had dusted glitter over her irises.

“Liliana, or Rosengarde. Only my friends call me Lili.” the words came out a bit sharp, but something about Diana calling her Lili had raised her hackles. Diana blinked, looking a bit taken back and unsure for a moment before she smiled again, if a bit more sheepishly.

“Yes, right. Sorry, I just heard everyone calling you Lili, so I thought… I’m really bad at this etiquette thing. I’m sorry.” Diana said, her eyes wide and her smile drooping a bit more into a pout. And the feeling of kicking a puppy was back.

“It’s fine. We can’t expect those who weren’t raised like us to know all the intricacies of noble etiquette. Just call me Liliana, alright?” Liliana put as much false niceness in her voice as she could, her sweet smile aching on her face. Diana seemed to take her words and expressions at face value and she smiled at Liliana again before waving goodbye to the table and walking off.

“I’m going to go to the club before I get accosted again.” Liliana said, as her pleasant mask dropped.

“Yes, run for cover before any more admirers come circling,” Alistair teased. Liliana shot him a venomous glare that just prompted him to grin at her. Liliana shook her head and walked off. If her walk was more of a stomp, she’d never admit to it.

Liliana started a fast walk towards the building the Beastology Club used as soon as she got out of the cafeteria. A large annex connected to the stables. Liliana assumed it was there because it made it easy for students without summoning stones to bring in their bonds and mounts, and they got access to a special section of the large fields used for the stabled beasts.

Liliana walked into the large barnlike building, slipping through the doors and pausing as she took in the many beasts spread around the room. Some were sleeping, others were patiently standing or sitting, others still were running around or even on the students already there. A bright purple Skvader dropped onto her head for a moment before taking back to the air, where it used its rabbit legs to bounce off walls and ceiling.

“You made it!” a voice called out, and Liliana looked to see Kor’iat walking to her, waving a hand. Maud walked next to her, a grin on her face.

“I wouldn’t miss this club!” Liliana said as she walked to the older girls, eyes barely able to focus on them as she looked at all the creatures.

She could see a flock of Dragonflies, actual miniature dragons with translucent insect wings, fluttering around. Someone had a Caladrius, its snow white plumage glowing on their shoulder. There was Gryffin cleaning its fur, and a Manticore was using its deadly tail to play with juvenile Solion. And so many more.

“If you have any bonds that can be around this many others and not cause a fight, feel free to let them out,” Maud said, but her eyes looked hungry, as if she was dying to see what creatures Liliana had. Liliana could understand that hunger and need to see every beast there was.

Liliana tapped on the stones for Polaris and Lelantos. Both had been informed they needed to be on their best behavior, and Liliana trusted them to not cause malicious harm. Polaris would probably cause some mischief, but he wouldn’t try to hurt anyone. Lelantos would either find someone to play with or take a nap.

“A Mirage Tiger? And a Shadow Winged Kitsune?” Maud asked as the two beasts appeared, both a bit on edge from suddenly being around so many other beasts but behaving. Polaris immediately latched onto Maud’s voice, sniffing out the possibility of compliments. Lelantos just pressed closer to Liliana.

“Do you have bonds, too?” Liliana asked the girls as she watched Maud slowly creep closer to Polaris, murmuring compliments about his coat, his wings, his tails and his eyes as she tried to coax the Kitsune into allowing her to pet him.

“Not me. I joined mostly to learn more about creatures I might have to fight. Most of the club are tamers or have bonds, but some of us are here to learn about creatures too.” Kor’iat said with a shrug, and Liliana nodded. That made sense. Most dungeons had beasts of all varieties in them, and the biggest everyday threat to people was beasts.

“I have a Pegasus, a Quillboar, three Kelpies though they barely listen to me, a Heliobear, and a Frozen Wraith.” Maud said offhandedly as she finally began to stroke Polaris’ fur.

Liliana’s eyes widened at the long list of creatures. Granted, Kelpies weren’t impressive. You could find one in most bodies of water, if not an entire herd. They couldn’t fight on land at all, even if they could take form on it. They took increased damage on land, and got sick if they were on it for too long, so they were only effective in water. Still, that was seven creatures bonded.

“Many tamers have a lot of bonds. They used varying types of contracts with them, so it’s not always such a task to bond. Some are contractual for a set amount of time or until something is done. And most tamers tame creatures at their level or lower. As most tamers don’t fight, they send out their bonds.” Kor’iat jumped in to explain because Maud was lost to them entirely.

“Ah.” Liliana eloquently replied.

She knew, objectively, that most tamers did things much differently from what she did. Taming lower leveled creatures was easier and you could build up an army of fodder creatures quickly that way, effective if you needed a lot of bodies between yourself and the threat, especially as most tamers pumped into Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom almost exclusively as it would let them buff their creatures better and tame more.

Liliana was odd in that she fought with her bonds, so she couldn’t follow the typical path for tamers. She also didn’t tame anything on her own level, aiming always for at least a Rank above her. It meant she had fewer bonds, and wasn’t able to buff her creatures the same way a dedicated tamer could, but it also meant she had very strong tames and she wouldn’t be defenseless without them.

“Here, if you’re okay with leaving your Bond to Maud, I can show you around. We usually spend the first half just exercising our creatures and talking to each other about our own. The other half will be a lesson given by Professor Ferron on a voted creature. He talks about their habitats, behavior, evolutions, mutations in the species, how to care for one. If we have one of the creatures he’s lecturing on, he does a live show, and we go over how to fight and kill them or to negotiate with them.” Kor’iat explained the club as she walked Liliana around, waving at other students who called out to her.

It surprised Liliana to see Fabian Amberstar among the students. She hadn’t thought the boy had tames with how he seemed in Soul class. But the normally reserved and quiet boy was almost unrecognizable with the wide grin and mussed clothes he was wearing as he played with a Chamrosh that was doing tricks for him. Liliana noted before her attention was taken by a Cockatrice that his brown eyes shone when he was happy, the gold flecks in them standing out more.

“This is Bonnie, she’s a sweet girl, just don’t pull on her feathers,” Kor’iat introduced Liliana to the Cockatrice who made a noise somewhat like a hissing coo. Liliana raised a hand for Bonnie to nudge with her beak before prompting Liliana to stroke her head. Liliana marveled at how the rooster feathers faded into hard scales.

“Feel free to approach any beasts you see. They’re all friendly. Sometimes their tamer will be with them, and you can ask about their Bond. Have fun,” Kor’iat said to Liliana, who only paid slight attention to her words as she reverently petted the Cockatrice.

Kor’iat wandered off, but Liliana didn’t feel lonely. She walked around the club greeting new creatures and getting to play with them, pet them, or even talk to them with the ones that had advanced to being able to communicate. She also had several people approach her to ask about Lelantos, who was following behind Liliana.

Liliana couldn’t wipe the grin from her face the entire time she was in the club. She felt like if there was a heaven it was a barn attached to stables full of mythical creatures and people just as interested in beasts as she was.

Chapter 139: Team Fights Begin

The next few weeks settled into something of a routine.

Liliana got accustomed to her classes, even as the workload increased gradually. It was clear that the Academy expected the best out of them, because they were always pushing them to their limits. Essays became something assigned daily for their classes, along with reading. Tests were weekly, with surprise quizzes a constant threat in their classes. Combined with her clubs and the self practice, Liliana did she rarely had time to rest. Her afternoons were filled with punishing training as she pushed herself to get stronger, cementing whatever lessons they’d learned in Battle Training.

Her evenings were full of studying, grouped in the study room she and Marianne had claimed, with a rotating circle of classmates coming in. Emyr and Alistair most commonly studied with them, but Fabian and Fiora would join them occasionally to go over their electives. And much to Liliana’s annoyance, Diana had begun to show up with some regularity.

Liliana was finding fewer and fewer reasons to protest the girl’s presence. Diana was irritatingly quite smart, and Liliana could begrudgingly admit that studying with her was a boon. She always had a smile ready for anyone who looked at her and was willing to listen when someone talked. She was utterly nice and after weeks of her presence, Liliana couldn’t find a single logical reason to dislike her. More often than not, she found herself pushing the voice in her mind, claiming Diana was up to something, down.

Zir’elon, by contrast, continued to engineer reasons for Liliana to dislike him. The worst part was she thought he might be trying to help her, in some odd, twisted way, as he seemed to have focused on Alistair as an enemy. In a reversal of the game, Zir’elon had decided that Alistair was the one in the wrong and she, somehow, was the one in the right. His rumors of Alistair aiding his mother in trying to steal Liliana’s position as heir and assassination attempts were prolific and constantly circling. Liliana rarely got through a day without Zir’elon or his sycophants muttering about how Liliana was the true heir and Alistair was a thief.

The only reason Liliana hadn’t attempted to kill him yet was because for every rumor about Alistair they started, Emyr had two whispered around the Academy about them, most of them true. Emyr was downright vicious when he wanted to be, and he had set his sights on Zir’elon and anyone following him in some sort of rumor war.

Liliana knew that the powder keg was just waiting for the spark to ignite it, but she hoped it would dissipate after the end of the semester. She hoped that Zir’elon wouldn’t stay in class S after the rankings came out, and she knew several of his followers wouldn’t, based on the amount of questions they got wrong when they were called on by teachers. Liliana would appreciate the reduction in stress, at the very least.

She had enough stress thanks to her nightmares, most of them familiar at this point, but there were still nights where she’d wake up with a scream trapped in her throat and her heart thundering in her ears. She had gotten more or less used to forcing herself to focus through exhaustion in her classes, and if she failed, Marianne and Emyr would share their notes with nothing more than a concerned look. Her sleepless nights were a badly kept secret in their group, and on more than one occasion she’d fallen asleep in their study groups only to wake up covered in a blanket, Marianne shaking her shoulder to tell her it was time to go to the dorms before curfew.

Today, thankfully, Liliana had only her normal nightmares. She didn’t think too long about what it meant that she preferred nightmares soaked in blood, but dreams were a foreign concept to her at this point. She had more interesting things to think about, anyway. Today was the day Rauk had told them they’d finally start team fights.

Apparently, they’d gotten to the point where Rauk thought they wouldn’t be as much of a danger to themselves and their teammates that he was allowing it. Guérin still didn’t teach them, only coming around occasionally to sneer at them in their training. Liliana wondered if the man would ever teach them, or if he was waiting for after the first ‘culling’, as Liliana had heard the older students call it.

“I’m glad he’s letting us pick our teams,” Alistair said as they stood from their seats and started to walk out of the class S classroom towards the changing rooms.

“He’s probably doing it so he can ream the students who pick their friends only to end up unbalanced,” Emyr said cynically.

“Isn’t that what we’ll be doing?” Marianne asked with a frown.

“Yea but we’ll be balanced,” Liliana pointed at Alistair, “We have a tank,” she pointed at Emyr, “A mage for large scale AOEs,” she pointed at Marianne, “A healer,” she pointed at herself next, “A fast moving physical and magical attacker,” she pointed at Anya, “and a hard-hitting purely physical attacker who can also double as a tank.”

“Still wish we could have six people per team,” Diana pouted, and Liliana shoved down the urge to scoff at the girl. Honestly, why was she like this? It was getting frustrating, and she’d assume some kind of mental manipulation if she didn’t wear Alistair’s necklace every day.

“Five is the normal setup for a dungeon team, and we only have 20 students. We can’t do teams of 6.” Liliana pointed out, and Diana’s pout got deeper as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re going to be with Zindru, right? You’ll be fine.” Marianne soothed the girl, and Diana’s pout melted as she smiled at the princess.

“I’m just excited to fight five people at once!” Anya said, bouncing next to them. Liliana rolled her eyes affectionately at the wolf girl. Anya had been excited since the team fights were announced.

“Remember, you’re not in fact alone,” Liliana chastised her gently.

“I know! Wolves are great pack hunters, did you know?” Anya asked with a sharp toothed grin. Liliana felt a phantom pain in her calf, and she barely resisted the urge to rub at the scar she wore now as a reminder of how exactly she’d come across that knowledge.

“Yea, I’m rather intimately aware of that,” Liliana said dryly, Emyr flicking an amused glance at her.

Their group split up at the locker rooms and they got ready quickly, switching from uniforms into training clothes, things they wouldn’t be too fussed with if they got ruined, not that the shields ever let anything through. As cool and admittedly necessary as the shields were, Liliana almost wished they didn’t use them for every fight.

She could see how a reliance on the shields could make them unaware of the true dangers of fights, believing they couldn’t really die. She doubted the nobles would like their children being put in so much danger in school, though. And causing pain to reinforce their ‘deaths’ would probably be seen as child abuse. Some people could use a little more martial punishments, in her opinion, though.

Liliana’s group gravitated towards one another when they got into the training room. Much of the class had split into cliques, some small, like the trio of Koth’talan, Rathwater, and Dawn. Or Eaglebow and Ravenswood. Others were large, like her group, with the small clique of Zindru, Chiverton, and Goldstein hovering close to them, but not quite connected.

Zindru wasn’t what Liliana would call a friend, but he did talk to them in classes and had even stopped by a couple of times to study with them. He was more of an ally than anything. Then there was Zir’elon’s clique with him, Dunstan, Coppercolt, Allencourt, and Remrence.

Liliana had seen a few class A first years and some older years hang around Zir’elon’s group too, Emyr pointing out they were all second or third children of their parents. Nobles not set to inherit anything, clinging to a prince who could one day maybe become emperor. Social climbers and sycophants trying to ensure a better future for themselves through sucking up to someone higher ranked than themselves, rather than putting the work of actually bettering themselves. Perhaps all their social climbing was why they weren’t doing so well in class. You could barely read a textbook if your tongue was glued to someone’s boot after all.

“Do your warm-ups, then get into your teams,” Rauk barked out right after the bell rang.

Their class needed no other instruction, well used to the routine by this point. No one passed out, puked or got assigned extra laps or exercises anymore, the rebellious tendencies had been exhausted out of them, and by now they’d all learned how to ration their Stamina. When they were done, the class had split into their teams. Zir’elon was grouped with his clique. Diana had teamed up with Zindru, Chiverton, Mildenhall, and Goldstein. Koth’talan was grouped up with Rathwater, Dawn, Eaglebow, and Ravenswood.

“Who are the team leaders?” Rauk asked after the groups had been made, a small sneer on his face as he looked over some of the team compositions.

Alistair, Zir’elon, Zindru, and Eaglebow raised their hands, and Rauk’s sneer lessened slightly as he nodded at them. Liliana’s team had wanted her as the leader, but she had declined on the basis that Alistair had enough rumors about him not being fit to be the heir. If she took the leader spot, it would just reaffirm some of those rumors.

Alistair wasn’t a bad leader. He could think tactically and strategically. He still beat her and Emyr at chess more times than not. He just needed to not get overexcited and rush into battle before thinking it through. Marianne had declined the leader position, quoting that queens weren’t generals, they were political leaders.

“We’ll have the teams face off. The winner of each fight will face the other winner. The team that wins the entire thing gets twenty merit points for each member.” Rauk informed them, causing an eruption of excited whispers.

They all had merit points by now, but they usually earned them in small amounts. One or two from correctly answered questions, if their answers were properly clever. A point for perfect homework or tests, so on and so forth. Getting twenty at once was a huge windfall. If everyone wasn’t pumped for the fights before, they certainly were now.

“Rosengarde versus Eaglebow. Kastrioti versus Zindru. You have five minutes to prep before the fights start.” Rauk told them, stepping back as the teams whispered between themselves.

“Emyr?” Alistair turned to his friend, and Emyr’s eyes glinted.

“So Eaglebow has Light, Dark, Chaos and Illusion affinities. Her preferred fighting style is to stay far back while she throws out her attacks, switching between her affinities and sending out dud attacks to confuse her opponent. She’s incredibly weak close up and has only rudimentary close combat abilities. She’s a major threat, so she needs to be taken out quickly, as she’ll try to guide her team from her vantage point and pick us off.” Emyr started, sounding like a spy giving off an intelligence report.

“Anya, you’ll be on Eaglebow. You can get to her quickly and can handle if she hits you once or twice. Focus on her.” Alistair turned to the wolf girl, who nodded excitedly, jumping on the balls of her feet.

“Rathwater has Water, Ice, Wind and Storm affinities. He’s a mage and focuses on big attacks. If he can get us covered in water, he’ll freeze it and lock us in place. Like Eaglebow, he’s not good close up and tends to get tripped up when someone engages him in close combat.” Emyr immediately jumped in on the next opponent.

“Lili, we need Nemesis on him.” Alistair said, and Liliana nodded.

“Dawn only has Dark and Shadow affinities, but she’s very proficient in them. She prefers close combat, sneaking up on her opponents and using her shadow selves to compound her attacks. She strikes hard and fast. If they’re smart, they’ll have her hit me or Marianne.” Emyr scowled at that, but Liliana wasn’t sure if it was because Dawn was better with the Dark element than him or that he was a target.

“Lili, we’ll need you to focus on Dawn and take her out. You’re the only one fast enough to intercept her in time.” Alistair told her and Liliana nodded, her eyes searching for the quiet, unassuming girl who was a nightmare made flesh on the battlefield.

“Ravenswood has Dark, Water and Acid affinities. She may try to combine Water attacks with Rathwater to make them more powerful, and she’s also more of a caster. She’s not very good at close ranged attacks either. But her Acid means even close up she’s dangerous, though her fire power is weaker than Rathwater.” Emyr looked rather unconcerned with her overall. Alistair didn’t give a designation with her and nodded at Emyr to continue.

“Kastrioti is a mixed fighter. He has Fire, Heat, Earth, and Lava affinities that we’ve seen, though I suspect he’s hiding other affinities we haven't seen yet. He can fight close combat but prefers to use Lava and Earth to keep people at bay and control the battlefield. Overall, their team is far ranged fighters and casters, with Dawn being the only exclusively close ranged fighter.” Emyr finished his report and looked to Alistair.

“I’ll be playing aggravating tank, keeping most of their attacks on me. Lili, Anya and Nemesis will focus on taking out Eaglebow, Rathwater and Dawn. Lelantos will play backup tank, protecting Marianne and Emyr. Marianne, we need you able to move around the battlefield fast, so get on Lelantos if you need to. We need to keep everyone’s Health up. Emyr, I want you focusing on getting a big spell off, enough to take out Kastrioti and Ravenswood in one go, or the rest of their team if the others haven’t finished them by the time the spell is prepped. Focus on nothing else Emyr, we’ll keep you covered while you get ready.” Alistair stood tall as he gave them their orders and the group nodded along, Liliana hiding a proud smile behind her hand.

“Are we sure Lili can’t bring out Polaris for this?” Marianne asked with a slight frown.

“It would be too easy that way,” Liliana said with a shrug. “He also refused when I asked, saying I need to get used to fighting without him there.” Liliana finished with a sigh.

“But it’s twenty merit points.” Marianne said with a pout.

“And we’ll win without him. We have the best balanced team here.” Liliana pointed out.

“Yea, but I wanted to destroy them,” Marianne muttered. Liliana blinked at her friend, a bit thrown off by her comment. Even if she’d seen how bloodthirsty Marianne could be, it always clashed in her mind with the image she had of Marianne as a sweet princess.

“We’ll be fine. We have Nemesis and Lelantos too, which means we have more fighters than the rest of the teams. We’ll be fine.” Alistair soothed Marianne to some success.

“Right! We don’t need Polaris. We can beat them into the ground without help!” Anya enthused, still bouncing as her tail wagged frantically behind her. Liliana was more worried about how fast her team would win rather than if they would. With Anya and Emyr on their team, she almost felt bad for Eaglebow’s team. Almost.

“Five minutes are up. Teams get to your rings.” Rauk’s loud voice cut into their chatter.

Liliana took a deep breath as their team turned to one another and traded nods and smiles, all their eyes excited about this chance to fight together. Liliana shook out her arms as they walked to their ring, feeling the familiar sensation of adrenaline flooding through her veins. Sometimes it felt like this was what she was born for, this feeling of excitement mixed with fear thrumming through her in the quiet moments right before a fight began.

Liliana called out Nemesis and Lelantos, the serpent retaining her small form as she curled up at Liliana’s feet, Lelantos taking point with Alistair as they stood arrayed out on the ring. Anya and Liliana stood behind and the sides of the tanks, with Marianne and Emyr behind them. They faced the opposing team, waiting for the shields to come out and for Rauk to call start.

Chapter 140: Dance With Me, Dawn?

As soon as the start was called, the two teams burst into rapid movement.

Liliana activated her Set Up chain immediately as she separated herself from the group, circling to the side. Nemesis had already disappeared into the earth and Lelantos had fallen back to cover Emyr and Marianne.

“Lili!” Alistair called out as he activated his skills.

Metal appeared in front of him, rapidly forming into four daggers that he tossed into the air. Liliana activated [Threads Of Control] and yanked the weapons from the air. Her naginata appeared in her hands as she moved, the familiar weight a steadying balance for her as [Battle Clarity] cleared her mind of useless thoughts and emotions.

Liliana felt spells layering on top of hers and she spared a look towards Marianne to see the princess giving her a grin. Her Mana, already boosted from [War Maiden’s Waltz] jumped higher still, refilling rapidly. Liliana smiled as she activated her Beast’s Dance combo. The power filling her was intoxicating, making her feel like her veins were live wires, shooting electricity through her body and pushing her on, begging for action. Liliana was more than happy to oblige as she forced herself to the limits of her increased Speed, her form blurring until it was nearly invisible. Her eyes kept track of Dawn, her target, even as she ducked under a barrage of arrows sent her way.

Liliana spun under a wave of water and then vaulted over a pool of rapidly expanding lava. She activated [Wind Walk] running across the sky, taking in the battlefield for a second. In very little time, it had become utter chaos. Marianne was flinging out spears of blood while simultaneously tossing healing and buffing spells at anyone she could see. Emyr was cloaked in darkness behind her, utterly unmoving as his focus lit up brightly.

Alistair had activated some aggro-drawing ability that forced projectiles to swerve and target him, splashing ineffectively against his shields. Liliana’s head turned sharply when she noticed a blur to her right and she saw Anya in the sky with her. She looked towards Eaglebow and in a second an idea formed in her mind.

“Anya!” Liliana called out, and the wolf girl changed her trajectory, hurtling towards Liliana without hesitation. Liliana grabbed her hands, shocked for a moment at how light the girl was.

“I’m going to throw you at Eaglebow. Ready?” Liliana told her. Anya’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she eagerly nodded her agreement.

Liliana grinned at her friend as she gripped both her arms and spun, building up momentum before she threw Anya with every bit of Strength she had, sending the girl streaking towards Eaglebow below them. She didn’t pause to see if the wolf girl had hit her mark. She had spotted Dawn moving along the edges of the fight, eyes trained on Emyr in the back. Liliana ran across the air, picking up speed before she activated [Wind Surge] and aimed herself at Dawn.

Dawn looked up at the last second, eyes widening as she jumped back. Liliana’s blades cut through smoky shadows instead of hitting her target. Liliana didn’t let the dodge stop her as she landed lightly and turned to Dawn.

“Dance with me, Dawn?” Liliana asked as her daggers circled her and she gave a small bow.

Nor Dawn looked at her with impassive eyes, her shadows lashing out instead of answering. Liliana grinned as she ducked and dodged beneath the attacks, her daggers flashing out to block a sneak attack by Dawn’s shadow twin at her back. Liliana’s naginata whistled through the air, blade trailing light as she activated [Radiant Edge] and cut through the shadows effortlessly. Steel met steel and the alluring harmony of battle filled Liliana’s ears, backed by the steady tempo of her heartbeat. Dawn jumped back again, unwilling to fight a polearm with two short swords. Her shadows picked up their attacks, blades and spears made of darkness striking at Liliana.

Twisting around one sword shaped shadow, Liliana jumped over three spears aimed at her stomach before she rolled under another set aimed at her head. Liliana couldn’t keep her grin off her face as she turned the fight between her and Dawn into a dark ballet. She danced through the barrage, her Speed ensuring she could more than keep up with the attacks even as her shining blade slashed the shadows to pieces, forcing them to dissipate like mist confronted by sunlight.

“As lovely as this dance is, Dawn, I believe our song has come to a close.” Liliana said as she activated [Gatling Barrage], bullets of light shooting out around her, eviscerating the shadows that had tried to surround her.

Liliana prowled forward, her naginata a shimmering blur as it spun around her, blocking and destroying the shadow attacks. Dawn grimaced as she backed up further, only to find the ring shield at her back. Liliana grinned widely at how she’d cornered the girl. She burst forward, [Wind Surge] boosting her Speed so much it looked like she teleported, her five blades plunging into Dawn even as she tried to disappear into her own shadow. Dawn’s shield turned a cheery, bright red.

“That was fun, Dawn, good fight.” Liliana told the girl before she turned and took to the air without waiting for a response.

As Liliana got to the sky, she heard a scream and her head whipped around just in time to see the earth swallow Rathwater up to his chest. Nemesis burrowed up from the earth and breathed out a noxious gas over the boy at the same time a spike of earth struck him in the head. Nemesis was gone under the earth again before Rathwater’s shield turned red.

Two down. Liliana noted as she looked over the remaining fighters. Three. Liliana noted, seeing Eaglebow on the ground, her shield red as well. That left only Koth’talan and Ravenswood.

Koth’talan had built something of a fort for himself, surrounded by lava. Ravenswood was focused on Alistair, who was slowly approaching her. Her attacks seemed to have no effect on him, the Water, Dark and Acid attacks only splashing against his shields. Liliana wasn’t sure if they were having no effect or if Alistair was hiding the effects with illusions to frighten Ravenswood. His intimidation tactic seemed to be working as the girl was in a right panic, cursing at him even as she frantically threw spell after spell at him without a thought for Mana conservation.

Liliana got ready to jump in and finish the girl off, when an unexpected sight froze her in place. Marianne letting out a war cry as she rode on Lelantos towards Ravenswood, her blood scythe raised high as the tiger charged with his rider. Ravenswood fumbled at the unforeseen attack and Marianne smelled the blood in the water, swinging her scythe down at Ravenswood. The scythe connected and dragged along the girl as Lelantos ran past, ripping the girl off her feet and sending her skidding. Liliana watched in bemused horror as the girl’s shield didn’t immediately turn red, instead it very slowly turned yellow, then orange, then finally red crept over the shield, like tendrils of blood spreading out until it covered Ravenswood completely.

What the fuck is on her scythe? Liliana wondered as Marianne cheered, Lelantos roaring with her. Liliana turned and dropped down next to Emyr, eyes trained on the last combatant, Koth’talan.

“Is the spell ready yet?” Liliana asked her friend as the others converged together again, Nemesis popping out of the ground by Liliana’s feet. She swiftly bent and picked up the serpent, letting her wrap herself around Liliana’s throat.

“One minute.” Emyr got out, his forehead beaded with sweat.

“We don’t need a minute to win! They only have one fighter left!” Anya said, turning her attention to Koth’talan, who was still holed up.

“We might be able to end this without the big spell,” Alistair said, though Liliana could hear his labored breathing now that she was close to him. Her eyes narrowed at him, wondering how much Health he had lost attracting most of the ranged attacks to himself against a team that was made up of ranged attackers.

“Let’s go!” Marianne urged, and Liliana looked at Alistair, who nodded.

“If we don’t have him out by the time Emyr’s spell is ready, we’ll pull out at his call. Mari, you and Lelantos stay close to Emyr. Step in if it gets bad.” Alistair ordered.

Marianne didn’t look happy, but she didn’t complain as Liliana, Anya, and Alistair moved forward. They had crossed half the distance between them and Koth’talan when he finally made his move.

“Shit! Get behind me!” Alistair shouted as a wave of lava rose high up above them and then crashed towards them.

Liliana and Anya ducked behind Alistair as he raised his shield high, activating a multitude of skills as light, earth, and metal bloomed around them, encasing them. They couldn’t see the lava anymore, but they could feel the heat scorching away any moisture in the air and making every breath feel like their lungs were blistering. Alistair groaned in front of them and went down to one knee, still holding his shield up, even as the barriers around them cracked. Liliana’s breath caught in her throat, feeling distant fear pounding against the dam of [Battle Clarity]. If she didn’t have the skill, she was sure she’d be panicking at the thought of being drowned in molten earth. A rumble under her feet alerted Liliana to the incoming attack.

“Under us!” Liliana shouted. Alistair cursed and fell to both knees, his hands pressing to the ground even as the shields around them split open, pushing the lava coating them back.

“Go!” Alistair ordered, and Liliana grabbed Anya as she activated [Wind Walk] just as Koth’talan burst from the earth, every inch of his skin glowing brightly with runes.

Koth’talan turned on Alistair, a blade made from dark metal covered so thickly in glowing runes she could barely see the metal underneath them. He slashed at Alistair, and the shield around his form turned a light orange. A second strike hit his shield as Alistair struggled to his feet and Liliana went to join her brother, that this was just a spar and that he couldn’t actually die a weak argument against her need to protect her brother.

“Lili! Go!” Alistair told her as he blocked another hit from Koth’talan.

As if to accentuate his point, spikes of lava coated earth shot out at Liliana and Anya, hovering dangerously close to the pools of lava that still bubbled in a circle around Alistair’s defenses. Liliana retreated quickly but still stayed close, unwilling to just leave her brother.

“Throw me at him like you did before! I can take him!” Anya insisted.

“Ready!” a voice called out from behind them, and Liliana’s head whipped around to look at Emyr, who was surrounded by a maelstrom of fire and shadow. Liliana looked back at her brother, then at Anya, her lips settling into a grim line. She grabbed Anya and threw the girl with all her strength towards Marianne and Lelantos, even as she flew back towards her brother.

“Now!” Liliana screamed towards Emyr as she landed on Koth’talan, shoving him down and using him to push herself at her brother, whose shield was now a red-orange color.

“Hold your breath!” Liliana ordered Alistair as she grabbed him.

She frantically communicated her need to Nemesis as she drove her brother to the ground. Earth fell beneath them, covering their backs as Nemesis buried them deep down. Alistair caught onto what she was doing and using what was probably the last of his Mana, he wrapped them in a cocoon of metal and light, turning so Liliana was under him and further from the devastation Emyr was about to bring.

The ground shook violently around them, the metal around them heating as Alistair groaned. Liliana couldn’t feel his shields breaking, but she assumed they were based on his grimaces. Liliana clutched tightly to her brother as the Nemesis tried to dig them deeper and deeper down. Finally the shaking stopped, Liliana’s lungs burning with the strain of not breathing.

We need to go up. The shields won’t stop us from suffocating, and if we catch the tail end of Emyr’s spell, it’s better than dying down here. Liliana thought to Nemesis, and the serpent sent her assent. Nemesis began to push them towards the surface, far too slowly for Liliana’s aching lungs. Alistair caught on to what was happening and, with the help of his Earth skills, they reached the surface just as black spots were dancing in Liliana’s eyes.

Liliana gulped in air, spitting out rocks and dirt from her mouth as she climbed to her feet, gripping Alistair’s arm and pulling him up with her. He leaned heavily into her, his eyes looking dazed. She worried he had used too much Mana and was suffering Mana exhaustion for it. As they walked away from their hole, Liliana stopped, mouth dropping open in shock. The entire ring was demolished, the earth was cracked and pitted as if some great meteor had fallen from the sky. The only untouched area was a small circle around Emyr, where the rest of their team were huddled.

“Nova.” Alistair said weakly, breaking Liliana from her stupor. Even dazed as he was, Alistair could still tell exactly which spell Emyr had used.

“Lili!” a voice called out seconds before a body barreled into her.

“Is Koth’talan out?” Liliana asked immediately, pushing Marianne back slightly so she could look over her friend.

“He’s out, tried to get underground like you two but didn’t go deep enough, and Emyr aimed for where he was.” Anya said with a grin as she nodded at the epicenter of the blast, a few feet from where they had popped up.

“Could’ve taken their whole team out if you three weren’t such glory hogs.“ Emyr grumbled as he walked up, but his eyes were full of concern as he looked at Alistair.

“You almost took us out.” Liliana snarked back, but Emyr was deaf to her, his focus on Alistair as his hands fluttered in front of him, his eyes roving over Alistair and trying to pick out where he was injured.

“Mana exhaustion.” Liliana told him before she turned to Marianne, who was patting her body and frantically looking for any injuries.

“Are you alright Lili? You were right at the center of the blast, and there was that lava wave, too! Are you burned anywhere? Cut? Did you break any bones? Sprain or pull anything? Does anything hurt at all? Actually doesn’t matter. Let me just,” Marianne was speaking a mile a minute, face twisted in worry as she fussed with Liliana before she placed her hands on Liliana’s shoulders and a bright white light enveloped Liliana.

The light should’ve blinded her, but it didn’t. A warm, relaxed feeling suffused her body and aches she hadn’t even noticed faded away. Liliana sighed into the feeling. It was almost reminiscent of a loving, motherly hug. As the light faded, Liliana felt refreshed and ready for another fight.

“There you should be all better now!” Marianne said with a chipper tone as she smiled brightly at Liliana.

“That was amazing. What was that?” Liliana asked, stretching out her free arm.

“That was my Quintessential skill, [Healer’s Wish].” Marianne said with a wave of her hand.

“You just used a Quintessential skill on me? When there was no chance I was severely injured thanks to the shields?!” Liliana asked, her voice raising in pitch, getting shrill towards the end.

“Yes, of course. We can’t have you injured at all! Shields aren’t foolproof, you know.” Marianne said with a pout, turning away from Liliana to focus on Alistair.

Marianne laid several healing spells over him, nothing as dramatic as an ultimate skill, but by the end of her ministrations, Alistair was looking more alert. He pulled away from Liliana and she let her arm drop, only to be replaced immediately by Emyr, who didn’t look confidant that Alistair was in fact strong enough to stand on his own yet.

“Don’t do something like that again, Lili.” Alistair told her sternly, and Liliana frowned at him.

“What? Save you? I had it handled.” Liliana said, crossing her arms and meeting his glare with one of her own.

“It was reckless and unnecessary!” Alistair growled at her.

“If you think I’ll ever leave you to die, even in a spar, you’re insane, Alistair Rosengarde.” Liliana bit back, her glare never wavering.

“If you five are quite done, we have a class to continue,” Rauk’s droll voice called out to them, putting a pause on the siblings’ argument.

Their group turned sheepishly towards their professor and filed out of the ring. Liliana noted several students were back to sitting against the wall, some shaking or just staring at nothing. Ravenswood, Eaglebow and Rathwater were some of them. Koth’talan nodded at them as they passed him, and Liliana hesitantly smiled back at him. Seemed there were no hard feelings for the fight. Dawn nodded at her too, though reading her was always particularly difficult for Liliana. It could be a nod of a good fight, or she could be initiating a silent challenge.

“Next fight will be team Kastrioti versus Rosengarde. You have ten minutes to plan and rest. I’ll hand out Stamina and Mana potions to help you get back to peak shape. Don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence. Next time you either bring your own or deal without.” Rauk informed them once their group had settled.

Liliana traded looks with her friends, all of their faces saying the same thing. They didn’t care about simply winning this fight. They were going to make it hurt.

Chapter 141: Battle Of Illusions

Their group pulled away from the rest of the students after they took the potions from Rauk. They stopped when they were sure they were out of hearing range and huddled close together. Their faces were determined, with vindictive excitement shining in all their eyes. Spreading rumors about Zir’elon and his group was fun, but never as satisfying as beating them to a pulp.

“Our focus will be on Kastrioti, Dunstan, and Coppercolt. Agreed?” Alistair asked, getting nods from everyone.

“Kastrioti will focus on me. He has some sort of fixation on me and this gives him the chance to finally fight me, since Rauk has refused to pair us up for a spar. He’s going to want to use this chance to try to beat me. I’ll handle him while the rest of you take care of the others.” Alistair began, immediately causing voices to rise in argument. Alistair raised his hands to calm the sudden mutiny.

“Look, it’s me he’s wronged. It’s my right to avenge my own honor.” Alistair chastised them.

“Doesn’t mean you should get all the fun, though.” Anya grumbled with a pout, her ears drooping on her head.

“And I won’t. Dunstan and Coppercolt were there too, so we need them taken out. Lili, you need to focus on Dunstan. His automatons are going to be an issue. With them, he can more than match our team.” Alistair turned to Liliana, and she frowned, unhappy that she wouldn’t be the one to face Zir’elon, but she knew Alistair was right.

Thanks to their attention on the trio, they all knew quite well what affinities they had and what their fighting styles were. Emyr was quite effective at digging up information when he was properly motivated by revenge.

“I’ll bring out Polaris for this fight.” Liliana said, drawing attention to herself as her teammates stared at her.

“Didn’t you say-“ Marianne started, but her eyes were dancing with a dark glee.

“I know what I said. I said that before we knew we were facing the trio of assholes, and I’d rather see them suffer than learn something from this. Besides, this is a chance for me and my bonds to experience what it’s like fighting against another tamer. Even if Dunstan isn’t real a tamer, it’s as close as I can get before the tournament.” Liliana justified her reasoning, even if she didn’t truly care about the experience. She just wanted to be sure they won as mercilessly as possible.

“Good, then we can keep Lelantos on Marianne and Emyr while I distract Kastrioti.” Alistair said with a nod, a cruel smile on his face.

“Marianne, you’ll need to focus on healing and supporting me and Lili. I need to keep Kastrioti well distracted so he can’t give orders to his team or give them backup. Lili will be fighting an army on her own, so will probably need the most help.” Alistair turned to Marianne, who had looked rather disgruntled at being labeled as necessitating protection. With the mention of Liliana needing help, however, her face transformed into determination. Liliana was amused that when it came to her friend, the only thing that mattered to Marianne more than getting a piece of the action was making sure she was okay.

“Anya, you’ll be on Coppercolt. He only has Earth and Metal, but he’s very focused on those affinities. He won’t be able to fight you head on in the sky, but he specializes in long range attacks, so be careful of that. His affinities mean he’s tough, close up as well.” Alistair gave Anya her assignment and the wolf girl perked up, excited by the prospect of a challenge and the chance for revenge. Despite only being their friend for a month, the girl was startlingly loyal. An insult to the people she had decided as her friends was equivalent to an insult against her, and Anya didn’t take insults well.

“Allencourt and Remrence will probably back up one of those three when we focus on them. Emyr, what’s the information on them?” Alistair turned to his best friend, and Emyr stepped up.

“Allencourt has Light, Illusion, and Water affinities. She has some buffing skills and spells she’s used on herself before, but her primary tactic is to use wide scale illusions to distract and confuse her enemies. She prefers to attack from the back when her opponents are distracted by her illusions. However, she’s got very low Vitality, so one powerful attack and she’s out. Best thing to do when she starts her illusions is to do a wide scale attack to guarantee you hit her.” Emyr eagerly gave them information on the first of the girls in Zir’elon’s group.

“There’s a chance she’ll try to hide her entire team. Which will make hitting the targets difficult. Emyr, do you have any other wide scale attacks than Nova?” Alistair asked the celestial mage. Despite likely knowing his friend’s spell list by heart, Liliana wasn’t sure if he was pretending to not know to spare himself the embarrassment or if he was doing it for the team’s sake.

“I still have a wide-scale Dark ultimate, but it will blind everyone and mostly provide cover and boosts to my Dark skills. I have a few area-of-effect Celestial attacks but nothing on the scale of [Nova]. They take less time to cast too, so I can get more of them off, but I’ll still need time to set up.” Emyr said honestly with a shrug. Alistair frowned and went quiet as he mentally rearranged his strategies to account for this.

“Polaris has a wide scale Illusion ultimate and Dark ultimate. His Chaos skills are all single target attacks. But if we can use a conflicting illusion, it will negate their advantage. No one will be able to see anything and it’ll be a stalemate until one or the other illusion is broken. The dark skill could work off of Emyr’s ultimate.” Liliana spoke up. Alistair perked up at the words, and Liliana could almost see the gears whirring frantically in his head as plans were made and discarded.

“We’ll do the illusion plan. That way we’re only down one more Quintessential skill rather than two. We’ll need to move quickly once it starts so they can’t fire at where we were. With me and Lelantos in the front, we can take any attacks they send. Nemesis and Anya can hold the sides with earth fortifications and brute strength. How long does the illusion last?” Alistair nodded as he vocalized his plan before he turned to Liliana.

“We’ll have ten minutes under cover before the illusion stops.” Liliana informed him, rubbing her hands together and bouncing slightly as she got excited. She could feel the victory just within grasp.

“Is that enough time, Emyr?” Alistair asked the boy.

“I can get off two, maybe three, spells. We should be able to take out Allencourt in that time, if not more of them.” Emyr confirmed with a dark smirk.

“Good, now Remrence.” Alistair instructed.

“Remrence has Earth, Water, and Muck affinities. She likes to trap her opponents and whittle them down. She doesn’t have many powerful spells or skills; she mostly focuses on traps. If she can immobilize her opponents, she doesn’t have to worry about overpowering them. Remrence can take her time while they sit without being able to move. She struggles with anyone who has flight based skills, as she can’t do enough damage to them in the air before they take her out. She has a few wide scale trap attacks that could get most of our team in one go.” Emyr rattled off the information, and Alistair grimaced.

“If I was Kastrioti, I’d have Allencourt use an illusion to cover the ring, then have Remrence trap us all while we can’t see, then pick us off. So it’s likely what they’ll do as soon as the illusions start. Me and Nemesis have Earth affinities, but that would be a control fight. We’d be constantly trying to change the muck back to earth, and that’s not a guarantee, and we’d be hemorrhaging Mana. I’ll need to get us on a crystal or metal base to ensure we’re out of danger. Lili, can Lelantos hold long enough for me to do that?” Alistair turned to Liliana again, and she frowned, turning to her bond, who had laid down behind them. He regarded her with one multicolored eye and nodded his head to her. He would hold.

“He says he can take being the tank for however long you take to keep us from being trapped.” Liliana confirmed.

“Good. Once Allencourt is taken out, I need Emyr to focus on Remrence, so we don’t all get trapped once vision is restored.” Alistair nodded at Emyr, who smirked, his eyes glowing with excitement.

“Lili, Anya, once Allencourt’s illusions break, you two head for Dunstan and Coppercolt. Since you two can get airborne, Remrence won’t be as much of a concern for you, and as soon as Kastrioti sees me, he’ll tunnel on me. Which will give Emyr the chance to send off another attack at Remrence.” Alistair shot out the orders to them, and Liliana fisted her hands before her. She was ready for this fight. Anya looked like she was about to sprint off and start that very moment.

“Marianne will probably be stuck with me and Emyr until Remrence is down, but once she is, Marianne will move between me and Lili to provide backup. Anya, if you beat Coppercolt before Lili finishes Dunstan, help her. Emyr will split his attention between all three remaining targets once his own are down.” Alistair finished and everyone nodded to the plan, if not happy with their assignments, at least satisfied. Alistair had put them all where they would do best.

Liliana shook out her arms. Her body hadn’t had time to come down from the adrenaline high of the first battle before the chance to fight Zir’elon and his friends reignited it. She couldn’t sit still with so much excess energy flooding through her. She knew this fight wouldn’t be easy, and she was already resigned to needing to use everything she had to win this. Dunstan was one of the few classmates she saw as a real threat in a fight for her. Even with Polaris, she knew this wouldn’t be an easy win.

“Time’s up. Kastrioti, Rosengarde to the ring.” Rauk called out, barely two minutes after Alistair finished.

Liliana looked around the room as they walked towards the new ring in the center. None of class S was blind to the bad blood between their group and Zir’elon, and even the students who sat against the wall looked interested. This fight would shift the power balance in their class. Neither group had gotten the majority of the support in their class, but today would reveal which side was actually the stronger one. As Liliana’s gaze traveled to their class, she was caught by a burning gaze. She paused for a step, looking at Koth’talan, and somehow she knew what he was trying to communicate through a look alone.

Destroy him. Koth’talan’s eyes screamed at her, and Liliana let a small smile slip onto her face as she inclined her head subtly at Koth’talan.

She and Koth’talan had come to an odd relationship. Liliana wouldn’t call it friendship, but they often found each other in the forest. After that day by the cherry blossom pond, Liliana had kept returning and Koth’talan either found her there or was already there. They’d both do whatever they came there to do, a silent agreement to share the space. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn’t. They hardly talked other than that, and Liliana never saw him outside of class besides in the forest. Where he spent the rest of his time, she had no idea.

She thought, though, that if they won this fight, it might tip her relationship with Koth’talan into friendship, something she was surprised to find she wanted. Not just because Koth’talan was powerful, as their last fight showed, or because he had information on Zir’elon that Liliana felt would be useful. No, she found she wanted to be friends with Koth’talan because she was beginning to genuinely like the enigmatic dæmon.

Liliana focused her attention back on the fight ahead as she stepped into the ring. As soon as their group stopped, she found Zir’elon’s eyes and with a wide grin; she tapped the stone holding Polaris, letting the kitsune materialize next to her. Zir’elon’s eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into a scowl. He didn’t speak up against it, perhaps learning from the last time he’d tried. Or more likely because he wanted to prove he was stronger than Liliana and her tames, no matter their rank.

“I thought we agreed I wouldn’t aid you today?” Polaris inquired.

Liliana finally broke her staring match to look at Polaris, and quickly as the shields dropped, she pushed the memories of the plan to Polaris, who understood the reasoning and his tasks immediately.

“Good, we’re finally teaching them that they’re the prey, not you.” Polaris said, his voice full of pride and mischief.

“Start.” Rauk called, and before the word had finished echoing around the room, the ring transformed.

Liliana blinked as the world shifted, turning into a twisted manor. She couldn’t see her friends, only walls all around her and a twisting hallway full of paintings of abstract landscapes that hurt her eyes to look at. Seconds later, the illusions shifted, the vision of a manor changing until the walls were expanded and covered with trees and underbrush. It looked like a noble’s manor had been abandoned and left to return to nature, walls broken by trees, floors cracked by roots. Liliana almost jumped when her teammates suddenly reappeared, barely moved from where they’d started.

“I built off the existing illusion. You should be able to see your friends, but I can’t warp the girl’s illusion so much that you can see them. I can only overpower her illusion to alter it because of the difference in our powers. The illusions aren’t physical, so you can walk through the walls and trees. They’ll still be able to hear you, and you them, so be mindful.” Polaris warned them, and based on the reactions from her team, she wasn’t the only one to hear him.

As if to reinforce his warning, Liliana heard a shout of surprise and anger from the other team before the noises were hushed. Allencourt likely reminding her team that she couldn’t disguise sounds.

Alistair held up a hand and motioned to them before he took off, running in a random direction, away from the shouts they’d heard, their team following him without hesitation. As they moved, Liliana could see spells and skills activating as her teammates prepared for a fight. She activated her own Set Up combo but held off on activating anything else.

Her naginata appeared in her hand as she ran, the weight comforting to her in this unfamiliar battlefield. Her steps picked up, but she kept to a few feet behind Alistair. She had low Vitality and her Speed wasn’t useful if she couldn’t see the attacks to dodge. As they moved, metal and earth whizzed around them, wildly off target, making it obvious their opponents couldn’t see them. Liliana ducked under a rock the size of her head as it appeared through an illusory tree, barely avoiding the attack.

The ground under them softened, and Alistair held up a hand to stop them. Rocks and metal arrows still flew through the air and their team shifted, even as their feet started to stick to the ground, so Lelantos faced the direction the attacks originated from and the rest of them huddled behind his enlarged form. Alistair dropped back and looked at the ground, his face twisting with the effort of covering a large enough area in a substance Remrence couldn’t turn to muck.

Crystals rose around them, jagged and sharp to cover their sides, even as metal slowly appeared under their sinking feet. Liliana had sunk down to her ankles, the sensation of being trapped making her want to take to the sky, by the time Alistair managed to build a platform of metal thick enough and big enough to hold them all and prevent their descent. He didn’t move even after they had ceased sinking and Liliana realized he was probably adding something under it to prevent Remrence from sinking the metal with them on top of it. Sweat beaded on his forehead and Liliana winced, knowing he was using manipulation skills, things that took far more Mana to accomplish than dedicated skills and spells.

“Done,” Alistair gasped out in a whisper, hands on his knees as he bent nearly double, gulping in air.

Marianne moved forward and pressed a hand to his shoulder, infusing him with a soft light. After a moment, Alistair straightened and moved to stand next to Lelantos, summoning his shield and sword. Liliana watched him activate skills and spells, his skin taking on a metallic sheen as a crystal shield appearing to circle his body.

Liliana kept her head moving, looking around for attacks from unexpected positions, her nerves drawn tight. The waiting was almost as bad as the not being able to see their opponents. She didn’t like this. She was used to fights where she could see her opponents, hear them. With the ring covered in illusions, she couldn’t see the threats coming, and it made her scared.

She couldn’t fight an opponent she couldn’t see, couldn’t dodge the attack if she couldn’t see it coming. Her fighting style depended on her being able to see the attacks so she could compensate for her low Vitality with high Speed so she never had to be hit in the first place to worry about her Health. Liliana activated [Battle Clarity], if only to tamp down on her fear before she did something reckless and stupid. Calm flooded her, and she relaxed.

“Ready.” Emyr whispered behind her, and Liliana turned.

His eyes were open, and he was smiling as he raised a hand. They couldn’t see anything, but seconds later there were sounds of something heavy hitting the ground in multiple places, shouts of surprise and screams of fear. The illusions of manor walls shivered for a moment but didn’t break, making Emyr frown before he closed his eyes and started on another spell.

Liliana looked at the rest of her teammates and saw a mixture of anticipation and fear on their faces. Nemesis was constricting slightly and releasing around her neck. The serpent was uncomfortable with not being able to sense her opponents. Lelantos was barely restraining a growl as his head moved from side to side, his nostrils flaring as he tried to scent out their enemies. Polaris was sitting, his expression bored, but Liliana could see his ears swiveling as he tried to hear the other team.

“Don’t shoot off any attacks. They might be able to find us based on the trajectory.” Alistair whispered out just loud enough for them to hear, his gaze directed at Marianne, who had summoned spikes of water that splashed to the ground at the order.

The random attacks from the other team increased in frequency and Liliana could see the ground around their metal platform bubbling as Remrence redoubled her efforts to trap them before Emyr’s next attack ruined their advantage. Alistair grunted as a stone collided with his shield, but he didn’t call out. With the added frequency of attacks, a few managed to hit their tanks as they waited anxiously for Emyr’s next spell.

“Ready.” Emyr called out softly.

This time, when he raised his hand, Liliana could almost see the spell. In a few places, they broke through the illusions, looking like falling stars before they vanished. Their entire group held their breath as shouts of surprise and curses rang through the ring until there was a piercing scream and the illusion of the manor dropped. The forest illusion remained, but finally they could see their opponents scattered before them. They were turning around frantically as they tried to locate the origin of the attack and Liliana could see one fallen body coated in a bright red shield.

“Go.” Alistair ordered and Liliana grinned as she took to the sky, activating [Wind Walk]. They could finally start.

Chapter 142: Game Mode: Never Ending Horde

Liliana only took a moment to locate her target.

[Battle Clarity] kept the impulses of curiosity at bay, so she felt little need to check on the rest of Zir’elon’s team, and she trusted her own team to know they’d handle their own parts. She had to trust them for this to work, and she’d already depended on Emyr and Alistair with her life countless times before. Trust in your friends during a class spar that was relatively low stakes, all things considered, was easy when compared to trusting someone to ensure a monster didn’t attack your back and end your life.

Liliana saw Dunstan, hulking vaguely humanoid constructs made of earth and metal, flanking him and standing before him. If she felt any compassion for Dunstan, she might have advised him after the fight to try creating automatons that were more animalistic, or to at least not stick so rigidly to humanoid shapes.

Two arms were great, but what about four? Six? Sword hands? Axe hands? Creatures full of teeth and claws and nightmarish in form, so horrific in their design the mere sight of them gave enemies pause. But she didn’t feel compassion for Dunstan, didn’t want to aid someone who she had firmly decided was her enemy the day he disparaged her brother. So she mentally shoved the thought down, a task made infinitely easier with [Battle Clarity], something to think about if one of her friends picked up Animation, or if she did one day.

Liliana ran across the sky, her steps feather light as the air itself held her high above her enemies. She dodged shots of earth and metal, something so easy now that she could see the projectiles. She had never truly appreciated the ability to see until it had been taken from her, another reminder of how weak she was. Another flaw to fill on a list of far too many.

“Can I have fun?” Polaris asked, keeping up with her despite her speed, seeming almost lazy as he dodged the attacks sent at them.

“Destroy him. I don’t much care how you do it.” Liliana told her Bond.

Polaris flashed his fangs in a vulpine grin as his wings tucked close to his body, flames made of darkness and light popping up by his tails, the telltale color of a Chaos element. He fell through the air, a bullet of darkness and light, as he aimed himself at the automatons surrounding Dunstan. Liliana felt her lips tug in a sympathetic grin. The party was really starting now, and it had been so long since Liliana had a chance to really let loose with her bonds.

“Nem, you remember what I did with Anya?” Liliana asked her Bond quickly.

Nemesis sent back an affirmative tinged heavily with suspicion. When the plan was pushed to her, the serpent only sent back resigned acceptance. Liliana pulled Nemesis off her throat and then, as she drew up above Dunstan and his army of earthen and metallic soldiers, she dropped her serpent.

In seconds, what had been a fairly ordered line of perhaps ten automatons devolved into chaos. Polaris hit first with his head start, his [Dark Kitsunebi] bobbing around him, deceptively harmless, until one of the floating balls of chaos connected with one automaton. Black and white flames roared over it, but they didn’t burn. They ripped and tore and twisted until the automaton was unrecognizable, a mass of earth coated still in entropic flames. Far less horrifying to look at than when she’d seen it used on a living being. But the [Dark Kitsunebi] was an opening move for Polaris and he was far from done.

Polaris reveled in twisting, in ruining, the minds of his opponents, as most Kitsunes did. It wasn’t enough to kill their enemies; their enemies had to beg for their death. Either because they were so enthralled by the Kitsune, or so broken by the things they’d seen. Kitsune were normally mischievous beings, pranksters by nature, but when you made an enemy of one, they were sadistic.

[Chaos Breath] followed as Polaris’ wings snapped open seconds before he would’ve collided with an automaton, dragging him back up as his jaws opened and he unleashed something from the depths of hell. A breath of pure, unadulterated pandemonium. Anything it touched as it leaked out of his mouth, spread further by his flight, was made wrong. Limbs twisted, deformed, remade. Earth, stone, and metal creaked and groaned and screamed.

An unholy symphony followed in Polaris’ wake as he banked back up into the air just as Nemesis made her own entrance. Her body, once small, expanded until she was at her full size, large enough to swallow a teen in a single gulp. [Earth Scale] reinforced her scales and [Poison Scale] made her very body noxious. As she landed, automatons, both whole and distorted by Chaos, fell beneath her bulk. She had hardly landed before [Earth Spike] tore through the man made army, limbs and bodies impaled through before the ground beneath them shook and trembled and tore. Cracks, small at first before they turned large enough for thick legs to sink into.

Liliana was almost disappointed as she stood in the air. A bare handful of minutes and Dunstan’s little army was in shambles, what wasn’t destroyed was broken, what wasn’t broken was immobilized. Liliana had been expecting a true challenge, but this fight was shaping up to be less challenging than Koth’talan.

“Is that all you’ve got, Rosengarde?” Dunstan yelled up at her, drawing his attention off of her, and if she could feel fear, it would be shivering down her back right now, leaking ice into her veins. Because Dunstan was grinning as if he’d just won. As if everything was going according to some unseen plan.

“All that cocky strutting you’ve been doing for weeks, thinking you’re untouchable with your Rank 4 Bond, and this is it?” Dunstan asked her, mocking her as if this was some grand joke.

Liliana’s hand tightened around her naginata and she sent out a quick order to Nemesis, who shrunk in a burst of petals and earth, sinking deep into the ground. Polaris was hovering next to her, unease flowing through their bond. Something was wrong.

“Little matter if your pet snake runs away. You all can exhaust yourself against my automatons while I sit back.” Dunstan called at her as earthen walls reinforced by metal surrounded him, a heartbeat later his automatons dissolved, returning to the earth as more than three times their number seemed to appear from the ground, rising like someone standing from a bath, dirt and rubble falling off of them like water.

More and more appeared, climbing or rising from the ground, all humanoid, standing seven, eight, ten feet tall, arms thicker than Liliana was around, legs as big as tree trunks. They made the ones from before look like children in comparison. Weapons bristled in their hands of all varieties, battle axes made of stone, metal spears and halberds, great claymores fashioned of earth.

Liliana had called his earlier group of automatons an army, but they were nothing compared to the thirty plus giants that faced her now. This was an army made real. This was a threat Liliana could acknowledge. This was something she wasn’t sure she could defeat, even with Polaris and Nemesis with her. This was a challenge. Made even more risky because Liliana didn’t know if Dunstan could keep replenishing their numbers. They weren’t like a human army, where too many casualties decided the result. Dunstan could keep raising more fighters until his Mana ran dry. And Liliana did not know how much Mana he had left. He could be running on empty, or still close to full.

Liliana looked at the enemies arrayed before her and felt a grin stretching her lips, bearing those inhuman fangs she’d gained. This was what she’d wanted, what she craved. A true challenge. Something that would push her to the edge, an uncertain victory at the other end. Something that would force her to go beyond her limits.

“Nemesis. I’ll keep [Wind Walk] going, feel free to take the ground out from under them. Poison won’t work on them, but Earth and Shadow will. Rip them to pieces.” Liliana sent the information to her serpent, still hiding underground, giving her Bond something she so rarely did. Full permission to do what had been denied to her for so long. To wreak unbridled vengeance on a human.

“Polaris, he wasn’t able to reabsorb what is still covered in Chaos. Taint it all. It doesn’t matter if he has the Mana to keep making soldiers if there’s nothing left to make them from.” Liliana sent the orders to Polaris, who yipped in excitement. This would be the closest thing to a challenge he’d experience here. They might be mindless drones made by a Rank 6, but even rats could kill a wolf if there were enough of them.

Liliana watched for a moment as her bonds set on the renewed and improved army, the earth shaking and turning against them even as Chaos twisted their false bodies. For every automaton that dropped, two more sprung up in its wake. She picked and discarded ideas. Liliana thought of her Quintessential skill, [Aspect Of The Beast]. She’d need to drop one of her channels to use it, but it would give her so much power. Ten minutes of strength far beyond what she could reach otherwise, even with all her skills and spells.

Her eyes turned to Marianne, still unable to move just yet, stuck with Alistair as Emyr focused on a new spell to knock out Remrence, who was trying to turn the ground around the tank into a mire. Remrence couldn’t do anything by Liliana and Dunstan without neutralizing Dunstan’s automatons, but she could cripple Liliana all the same by preventing any type of backup.

Liliana turned from her friends, discarding the idea of using her ultimate. Emyr would take out Remrence soon enough. When Marianne could get to her, she could unleash her full power with the help of the Mana boosting abilities Marianne had, but for now she’d cull what she could.

Liliana activated [Gatling Barrage] and pushed herself down through the air as she waited for her Mana to regenerate. Bullets of light cut through the earth automatons easily, but dented the metal ones. Liliana’s blade whistled through the air as she cut through an earth automaton, bisecting it from shoulder to hip before she twisted to block a hit from one wielding a sword.

Its reach was far greater than hers, but Nemesis’ [Earthquake] left it unsteady on its feet. Liliana didn’t suffer the same disadvantage as she kept [Wind Walk] up, hovering inches off the ground. Its blade slipped and Liliana ducked beneath it, activating [Radiant Ignition] as her blade collided with its metal torso. She had to exert far greater force to cut through its body than with the earth one, but still she persevered, her blade of light slicing through it and exploding, sending metal shrapnel flying everywhere, cutting through the bodies of other automatons around her.

Liliana kept moving, her feet never touching the treacherous earth that didn't cease its revolt against the things treading upon it. Liliana saw flashes of Nemesis’ scales and hood, swimming through the earth with fluid ease, sending spikes of earth and waves of shadow to destroy everything in her path. She heard the yipping laughter of Polaris and felt the Chaos cracking in the air as he cavorted around the battlefield, leaving broken, distorted wrecks in his wake.

Liliana didn’t stop, her blade kept swinging, nothing more than a flash of silver around her and a ribbon of trailing light as she activated [Radiant Ignition] in between renewing [Gatling Barrage]. She lost herself to the fight, to the dance she made of it. Twirling around deadly swings that cleaved the earth when they missed her. Earth rained down on her, metal flew around her, hitting her at times and slowly tainting her shield yellow.

She was taking damage, but it was nothing on what she returned. Every rhythmic step, made to the tempo of her heart, saw earth and metal constructs falling, yet no matter how many she felled, still more rose. This was a battle of attrition and unless something changed, the end would be decided by whether Dunstan’s Mana ran dry, or if Liliana’s Stamina did first. His automatons were many, but they were slower than her, and what little hit her was glancing, barely chipping away at her shield. But if she ran out of Stamina, it would be over. All the Speed in the world wouldn’t save her if she couldn’t move.

Liliana didn’t know how long she fought, lost as she was to the intoxicating ballet that was battle, when a voice called out to her. Clear and loud it sliced through the delicate harmony of battle that followed the beat drummed by her heart, screaming metal and cracking earth the vocals that sung to her, whispering the secrets of victory in a language only she could decipher.

“Lili!” Marianne called out, a heart stopping roar following the shouted name that made even the brainless automatons pause and shudder.

Liliana turned and saw her friend sitting astride the Mirage Tiger, looking like some goddess of war with her body coated in blood armor, armed with a scythe that looked like it was stolen directly from the god of death, held high in her hands. Marianne dipped on Lelantos’ back, slicing a metal automaton in two, blackness turning the metal into something decayed and wrong, like Chaos in its utter unnaturalness but different.

“Mari!” Lili called back, making her way to her friend, her naginata a twirling hurricane of destruction around her as she made her own path through these never ending constructs until she stood at Lelantos’ shoulder, finally getting a chance to breathe from the onslaught while sheltered by his bulk.

“What can I do?” Marianne asked as she summoned spears of blood and water to cut into the surrounding army.

“I need more Mana. I can’t get to Dunstan like this. The automatons just keep coming. We need to take him out.” Liliana said, surprised at how out of breath she was as she panted the words. How long had she been fighting?

“How much Mana do you need?” Marianne asked.

“As much as you can give me.” Liliana said, and Marianne’s eyes took on an almost mad light as her lips twisted into a grin that promised nothing but violence.

“Lili, can you cut your hand for me? I need your blood. The shield will let you hurt yourself.” Her friend asked her and it was a mark of how much she trusted Marianne that Liliana didn’t hesitate before she dragged her blade deep into her arm. It had to be deep, or she’d heal in seconds.

Her shield took on a distinctly orange color as her blood dripped to the ground for a breath. Before more than two drops had hit the earth, the rest of Liliana’s blood lifted, twisting away from her and linking to a rope of Marianne’s own blood.

Something flooded Liliana, hitting her like a kick to the chest from Lelantos. She gasped in a breath as her mind understood what it was. Mana, so much Mana, far more than she had normally. It felt like her Mana pool was endless.

“[Bonds Of Blood], my other Quintessential skill. It lasts until our Mana runs out or we hit twenty minutes, but until then, our Mana and Mana regeneration will be shared. Now let’s really make it ridiculous.” Marianne said with a cackle that sounded distinctly maniacal as she covered Liliana in spell after spell, boosting her Health, Stamina and Mana regeneration even more.

Liliana understood after a moment why Marianne was so excited. Healers couldn’t affect themselves with their own spells, but if their Mana was bonded for the duration of [Bonds of Blood] then any Mana regen or increasing spells used on Liliana would help Marianne too. It was a loophole.

Liliana looked at her Mana and almost choked, the surprise breaking through [Battle Clarity]. It had been at five thousand with her own buffs, but now it was more than doubled. She was sitting on over fifteen thousand Mana. Her regeneration was at a hundred and forty per second. A manic type of joy overtook her shock and Liliana tilted her head back and laughed, the sound loud and so very alien when juxtaposed with the sounds of battle all around her.

Liliana turned to the automatons and let out another laugh as she activated [Aspect of The Beast]. She chose Polaris as the Bond to connect to for it and power flooded her veins. 40% of her Bond’s stats was a considerable boon and her Mana jumped once more. She didn’t even bother to look at the numbers. They were absurd. Liliana activated every skill and spell she had that boosted her stats. She felt like she was humming with power, her awareness increasing thanks to her frankly over powered Speed now, making the battle seem like it was proceeding in slow motion, every automation moving as if trapped in thick molasses.

“Go, Lili, we’ve got your back. Destroy them. Make them fear us. Make them regret making an enemy of the house of Rosengarde and the crown princess of Cista.” Marianne ordered, her voice filled with glee and an undertone of righteous vengeance waiting to be delivered.

When Liliana looked at her friend, covered in blood from her skills and with the light of battle in her eyes, Liliana could see Queen Gwendolyn shining through. Right now, in the middle of a battle, Marianne was every inch her mother’s daughter. It was terrifying; it was awe-inspiring; it was beautiful. Liliana was never more thankful than at that moment that Marianne was her friend and not her enemy. And she fervently hoped that she would never be her enemy.

Liliana turned from her friend, every movement so fast now, so quick that seconds felt like minutes and minutes were hours. Her heartbeat, that had felt so frantic before, boosted by adrenaline, was now a sedate drumbeat in her ears. Liliana moved, and she had destroyed three automatons between one beat and another. With her bonds flanking her now and Marianne behind her, Liliana became an unstoppable force of annihilation, her naginata moving so quickly it was utterly unseen. Automatons seemed to burst into shards or drop into pieces as she walked past, her movements relaxed and lazy for how swiftly she moved. She barely had to even try to destroy them now. It was no more effort than killing a fly.

It didn’t matter how many automatons Dunstan summoned, he could no longer keep up with how rapidly Liliana destroyed them. By the time he had summoned two, Liliana had destroyed thrice that many. What had felt like a never ending horde of earth and metal monsters was nothing but wheat to be culled by her blade. Liliana forced her way through the once impenetrable forces, her bonds and Marianne cutting off anything she missed as she headed with single-minded determination towards the center.

Liliana stopped before the reinforced bubble Dunstan had hidden himself in, far more formidable than it had originally been. Dunstan had been adding layers since this started. It mattered little now. With so much boosted power in her now, Liliana made short work of it, light and wind and metal blade chipping into it. One swing, two, three, four and she was through, cracking the bubble like an egg and revealing Dunstan standing there, looking at her with shock and something else. Fear. Liliana realized her manic grin had never dropped as she moved. She couldn’t stop it. The exhilaration, the sheer feeling of power, was too strong for even [Battle Clarity] to dampen.

This fight was over, but Liliana had always been one for dramatics, made worse after her bond with Polaris. A trait amplified, cemented, boosted by her Bond’s own theatric nature.

“I should thank you, Dunstan. For providing me with an actual challenge in this fight, something I hadn’t expected. But a useless piece of shit like you doesn’t deserve my gratitude. However, before I remind you who you should fear, who you should respect, I’ll give you the comfort of knowing I actually had to use a Quintessential skill for this. You made me try.” Liliana crooned, her voice mocking in its sweetness, her careful mask discarded, cracked to pieces like the automatons razed around her. There was an edge of battle madness around her features, the villainess she could’ve been flirting with her face and voice, a side of herself she kept under lock and key most of the time. Except when someone made themselves her enemy.

“Remember this warning. Next time you open your useless mouth to spew your noxious drivel, remember this. Remember what it looks like when I actually want to destroy something, because next time there might not be a shield to save you.” Liliana hissed at him, her grin twisting into something between a smile and a snarl, her sharp, too sharp, not human, canines on full display as she bent forward like she would rip his neck out with them. Perhaps she would, if she could. Sometimes when she was in the middle of battle, when her blood was hot and her heart was pounding, she felt more beast than human.

But not today. Today she pulled back as Dunstan stumbled back and fell, his face pale as he stared at her like she was Death itself standing before him. It did him little good, his pathetic attempts to put space between them. His back hit his own protections, now a prison rather than a fortress, as he scrambled away from her.

It took Liliana no time to step forward, to thrust her naginata at him, its blade shining with a light so bright it could blind, straight for his head. Her strike was so powerful, filled with every scrap of her enhanced Strength she could put into it, boosted by an anger she had kept chained every day, waiting for this one moment to finally be unleashed, that Dunstan’s body burst through his protections, flying until it hit the ring’s shield. His own personal shield was soaked red before he even hit the ground, where he did not rise.

“So dramatic, Lili.” Marianne chided as she walked up to her. She delicately stepped over the remnants of the bubble, now twisted and rent apart.

“You’re just mad you didn’t get to put the fear of the gods into him.” Liliana teased her friend as she turned to look at the rest of the fight.

Remrence was down, obviously. Coppercolt was a crumpled heap, the ground around him in a crater. Liliana didn’t know what Anya had done to him, but she didn’t think it was any prettier than Dunstan’s experience.

Anya was with Alistair, facing off Zir’elon, her shield a dark orange bordering red. It hadn’t been an easy fight for her either and even as Liliana watched, Zir’elon got a hit in that finished her shield off to a true red as Anya dropped. Liliana felt a snarl take over her face, an animalistic growl rumbling in her chest. It was a fake fight. Anya was fine, but it didn’t matter to Liliana right then. She had seen someone cut down her friend, and she didn’t take that lightly.

Before Liliana could move, even with her enhanced Speed, Alistair yelled something at the same time Emyr raised his hand. A shining sword filled with a righteous light came down at the same time six stars dropped from the sky, both attacks hitting Zir’elon in tandem and blasting him back and down, his body bouncing off the ground twice before it stilled, his shield such a bright red Liliana was worried they’d somehow actually hurt him.

The entire ring, the entire training room, which Liliana suddenly remembered they were in, went dead silent.

It was a class. Just a class. Not a real fight. No real deaths. No more people she loved dead, dead because she wasn’t enough, never enough. No more blood on her hands that she could never quite wash away, no matter how many hours she spent scrubbing her skin until it cracked.

“Win, team Rosengarde.” Rauk’s voice cut through the air, loud, startling, grounding.

It reminded Liliana of where she was, when she was. She almost stumbled under the weight of the relief, and as Liliana canceled her skills and Marianne did the same, she really did stumble, the exhaustion making her knees weak. Her naginata felt like an unbearable weight in her hands, too much to hold, too much to lift, so she dismissed it to her storage ring.

Marianne’s arm wrapped around her, offering support and a kind, sympathetic smile, and Liliana wondered what Marianne had gone through for her eyes to hold so much knowing in them. To somehow encompass with just her eyes, with her soft smile, that she understood that for a moment Liliana hadn’t been here, she’d been trapped in memories, in a nightmare of blood, death, screams and a guilt so great it stained her soul with it.

“We’re done, Lili. It’s over. We won. We’re alright.” Marianne whispered to her. Liliana nodded, mute, swallowing on a throat that she realized now was coated in dirt and so dry it hurt.

It was over. Just a spar. Just a class.

They won. They won so severely, so violently, that Zir’elon and his followers would remember it for a long time. They would remember that Death had breathed down their necks, only stayed by the shields placed upon them by an instructor that couldn’t be there every second of every day.

Chapter 143: Power Balances, Revelations, And Upcoming Dungeons

After the first of the team spars the power balance in class S shifted, tilting towards Liliana’s group like a pendulum, as fickle as the weather but as noticeable as a raging storm.

It was obvious, to her at least, that many of the noble students had written to their parents detailing the events, the results, and getting orders back. Advice to align themselves with the clear power houses in their year, because in their world might so often made right. That her group held the crown princess and the heir to the Rosengarde duchy only further encouraged the nobles sniffing out a chance to climb the social ladder. Better to align with people who would clearly hold power rather than second and third sons, and a foreign prince with no guarantee of ever ascending his father’s throne.

So where many students had been quiet, neither part of one side or another, they suddenly stopped by at meals to greet Liliana’s group. To offer their aid in studying, to help with homework, or to simply try for small talk. Obvious attempts at trying to endear themselves to those who had more power than them.

The exceptions were few. Zindru didn’t change much. Any difference in his actions could be read as him opening up more to them. He was a powerhouse in his own right, heir to a southern duchy that controlled a good portion of their country’s naval power. Koth’talan didn’t change much, either. If perhaps he and Liliana spoke more often during their forest meetings, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking.

Liliana thought if anything, the bastard prince had warmed up to her because of her part in his brother’s humiliation, something that had brought a rare smile onto his face that day in class. Rathwater, surprisingly enough, also didn’t change too much. He greeted them more often, but didn’t accost them at meals or try to slip into their study sessions. He was an heir as well, in his own right. When his mother retired or passed on, he’d be Marquess Rathwater. He had less need to endear himself to anyone with the power he would hold in his own right.

The other two heirs in their class, Eaglebow, heir to a barony, and Chiverton, heir to a county, chatted with them in between classes but didn’t push too hard. Heirs as they were, they were still heirs of relatively low-ranking nobles that would benefit from an alliance with a duchy or the crown, but they held more tact than the desperate second and third children that made up the rest of the nobles in their class. They didn’t have to fear being turned out when they reached the age of majority, or being forced to take up some position in the army or clergy if their parents saw fit. They didn’t need power as desperately as non-heirs did.

It was all quite exhausting to Liliana, who cared little for politics, even the clumsy version played by children. She’d hate all of it if she didn’t delight in the way Zir’elon’s group suffered. Many refused to talk to them at all, ignoring them and icing them out.

Now that team fights were allowed more often, once every other week, no one willingly paired with them. The single and double spars were brutal, everyone wanting to prove they were better than those that had lost so spectacularly after puffing themselves up so much, after making enemies they couldn’t best. Enemies were fine to make if one could defeat them. Picking an enemy you couldn’t beat was stupid, and nobles didn’t fancy aligning themselves with idiots.

So the next few weeks settled, once more a new normal coming over them all. Liliana fielded offers from nobles, both in their own class and others once the rumors had spread. She suffered through pointless small talk, happily listened to gossip spread by hopeful lips, wanting to impress her and hers.

She pushed herself in training, Rauk’s eyes on her and her friends now more than ever after he’d seen what they were really capable of when they were motivated. Zir’elon’s group was paired against them on more than one occasion for group spars, singles, and doubles. Rauk sensing it was a way to guarantee that they’d show all they were capable of.

Liliana was proud to say they hadn’t lost to them yet, though she was by no means undefeated in class. Alistair gave her trouble when she was paired against him. Koth’talan had beaten her more than she beat him. Now that his secret weapon of runes had been revealed, he used them to a devastating advantage. The power they offered him, someone who had a mastery of the affinity that belied his age, made him a match for her, as did his skill with his sword.

Her skills and spells leveled constantly, at a rate she hadn’t seen since she first Awakened. Rauk was a grueling, unforgiving taskmaster, but his methods worked. And Liliana wasn’t like her classmates, who never put more into training than their class. She spent hours in her personal training room every day, and hours more in the forest. Any time not devoted to physical training was spent studying. Their teachers seemed dead set on drowning them in homework, waiting to see who sank or swam.

As time passed and the workload only increased, Liliana watched more and more of her class become frazzled, desperate, when they realized losing their spots was a real threat now. It wasn’t any easier for Liliana; she went to sleep late, more than one night spent passed out at her desk, a textbook her pillow. Only to wake early just to finish homework and devote more attention to her studies, to stay ahead, to stay better.

Exhaustion was a constant companion, and she soon found herself sipping on coffee, tainted unforgivably by creamer and sugar that made Emyr turn judging eyes on her. But it tasted good, and it kept her awake while she filled her mind with facts and numbers and information.

Liliana had almost no time left to devote to socializing. But she still found time to speak to Fiora and Fabian, the latter bonding with her over a similar love of beasts, though nothing quite as obsessive as her own. They talked about his Bond, a Chamrosh named Ariel, quiet a bit as Liliana was curious about any beast and Fabian quite obviously loved his Bond.

He wasn’t a full tamer class, but was considering it. For now, Ariel was a companion more than a battle Bond. She learned Fabian was a support class, who had a Music affinity that he used to help his teammates. He was closest to a conventional bard class, but his personality was so different from the charismatic showman bards she was used to, far more shy and modest. However, the first time she heard him sing, after days spent cajoling him, she was convinced he had siren blood somewhere in his lineage. Liliana had mourned the loss of recording devices, for if she could, she’d have loved to hear his voice whenever she pleased, rather than on the rare occasions she convinced him to show off.

Liliana learned that Fiora was a healer who wanted to use Telekineses to learn how to better heal, to use the affinity and spells from it as added hands to help her heal others. She had little interest in being a battle healer, like Marianne, but instead wanted to become a devoted healer, likely employed by a noble. But her dream was to open a clinic to help the less fortunate get healing.

It was an admirable dream, and the passion she had for it lit her from the inside out whenever she talked about it. Liliana lost track of her thoughts any time she heard Fiora discuss her passions, just watching the way the girl’s green eyes flashed with emerald fire and how her red hair seemed to flare around her like a halo.

Liliana was finding she lost track of her thoughts often when confronted by people filled with passion. She’d forgotten how to speak, stuttering out nonsense words when Fabian sung for the first time, his passive, closed off face blooming like a flower before the sun as he sang, as if the music was filling him and overflowing into the world.

When Koth’talan would speak about the culture of his homeland, or runes, his fiery eyes would burn into her own as he went on for hours about either topic, his careful tongue finally freed from its shackles. She’d nearly forgotten she was in the middle of a fight when Marianne had turned a wide, beaming smile to her, her cheeks smudged with her own blood and her ruby eyes glowing a richer red than even the blood on her.

Liliana wasn’t sure what was happening in those instances, when her mind would white out and she’d drink in the sight of these people, filled with life, with enthusiasm, with zeal so strong it couldn’t be contained. Her skin would heat and her heart would pound like she was in the middle of a fight and her stomach would twist and knot like it was filled with a million Riodinaes, meat eating metal butterfly like creatures, running battle drills in her guts.

All she knew was that she wanted these people to keep talking, to keep filling the world with their light and passion, that maybe some of their passion would leak into her, would warm her body that always felt too cold. That maybe for a second, she could share some of that enthusiasm, some of that light.

But she had little time to spend devoting to understanding these new feelings in her, to discern why she became a mumbling, stumbling idiot. Feelings like these were low on her list of priorities when she had to focus on learning, on being better, on being enough. No, not just enough, to be the best. Enough wouldn’t keep her in class S, enough wouldn’t save the world from whatever monster was coming to destroy it in little more than six years.

So she pushed aside the strange feelings, the theories she wouldn’t admit to even herself that she had on them. She focused on her classwork, on her studies, on her training. She focused on her friends, on helping them, on letting them help her.

All of her friends, even Diana. Who had firmly entrenched herself in their group despite Liliana’s original misgivings, and after weeks in the girl’s company she could admit the girl’s niceness had yet to falter. She had to accept that maybe, just maybe, someone could really be that good, that pure. That instinct she’d had, the instant dislike, was fading away. Only the faintest occasional twinges popping up every now and again. So easy to push aside because Diana was nice. She was good; she was helpful, and Liliana would admit she liked the girl.

Despite her best effort, Liliana liked Diana Baker, could see in this girl the hero she was fated to become. The saint like woman who, in one life, would one day help save a country being destroyed by a villainess that would never rise in this life.

She liked the girl’s bright smile that no one could dim, no matter the cruel words they said to her, cruel words that were coming less and less often as more of their class had the chance to fall under her natural charisma. Liliana liked her sweet laugh with the little snort that was so improper, yet endearing. Liked her clumsiness, despite her Dexterity, that should prevent it. She even found the way the girl would so easily be brought to tears for others endearing.

So as the weeks passed, Liliana began to call Diana a friend, and slowly let herself trust this girl she’d been dead set on hating. She let this girl come behind her emotional walls. Something she’d have never dared before Emyr, before Alistair, before Marianne. But her friends had taught her how to trust, had taught her the wonder that she could experience when she let others into her heart.

Liliana let Diana in, let Anya in, though it was far easier with the wolf girl. A girl who was half beast and who seemed to understand the parts of her that her other friends never could. The animal parts, the parts of her changed irrevocably by her soul bonds.

Anya was easy to trust, with her easygoing smile, readiness to fight, and her unshakable loyalty once gained. Anya was the friend she wanted at her back in a fight, the partner she’d want with her on a hunt. Diana was the friend she wanted to braid her hair, to confess her heart’s ills to because she knew she’d listen, and cry for her.

She let in Fiora, and Fabian, even Koth’talan. In two months her friend group had more than doubled, her heart feeling so much the better for it. It was still injured, full of scar tissue that ached and stung and itched, full of hurts that would take so long to heal if they ever truly did. But her heart, damaged as it was, felt far more whole and full than it ever had in her life.

She had so many people in it now, so many people who made her smile, who brought light and color to her life. Her heart was so full and she knew she had her first friends to thank for teaching her how to open her heart, how to trust, how to love.

So for all that the Academy demanded more than many could give, for all the sleepless and barely slept nights, the stress and anxiety before every test and the breakdowns over homework someone had at least once a week, Liliana was happy. Because the Academy had given her back her childhood, had given her the chance to meet and make friends she treasured so very much.

It was a tired but excited Liliana who stood in their Battle Training class. Her friends were gathered by her, and everyone was whispering in excited voices. Two months they’d been here and finally, finally, Rauk had deemed them passable enough to enter their first dungeon. To enter one of the dungeons deep beneath the Academy.

The Academy was the only place in the Queendom where several dungeons existed so close together without causing an outbreak. Liliana knew now that it was because the headmistress was a beast. She could create her own dungeons, she was over Rank 1. Adelaide Wraithe was as close to a god as any mortal creature could get, if she was even mortal any longer.

No one knew for sure how long beasts over Rank 1 lived. They were so rare. Many thought the Academy had been built here because of the dungeons, to control it while training their children. Liliana and Polaris alone knew the truth of it though Liliana wouldn’t discount the possibility that other tamers might know. She hadn’t tried seeing if anyone in the Beastology club knew the truth of what their headmistress was. It was too risky.

Their class had been split into two teams for this. It meant their teams were oversized, more people than what was necessary for a typical dungeon, but Rauk didn’t trust them enough to have smaller teams. In dungeons, they wouldn’t have the shields granted by fighting in Academy rings. But they would have a teacher with them. Liliana’s group would have Rauk, and Zir’elon’s group would have Vereign. Zir’elon had puffed up at having the higher ranked teacher, but Liliana didn’t envy the group being overseen by Vereign. The man still terrified her, even as she respected him.

Liliana’s group was made of herself, Emyr, Alistair, Marianne, and Anya, of course. Then Diana, Zindru, Koth’talan, Rathwater, and Dawn finished it off. All people they got along well with and who would work with them easily enough, they at least respected her team’s combat ability enough to listen.

Zir’elon’s team was composed of himself, Dunstan, Coppercolt, Allencourt, and Remrence, the only five who looked happy about the team designations. Mildenhall, Goldstein, Ravenswood, Eaglebow and Chiverton looked disgruntled or outright angry about their team, but the teams had been decided by Rauk, so none could argue against it.

Liliana thought he’d paired up those who showed a clear chemistry and friendliness where he could. In a dungeon, it mattered less how compatible your builds were and more if you could trust the person standing at your back. You could deal with an unbalanced team, but if you didn’t trust your teammates or hated them, you were doomed to fail or die.

“We’ve gone over the safety precautions and procedures for dungeons the past week. Remember, this is not a chance to prove yourself a hero or some legendary fighter.” Rauk’s eyes cut across all of them sternly, a clear warning in them.

“This is your chance to get experience fighting in a large group and to show that you’ve retained something I have taught you these two months. If we see you being reckless, putting yourself and others at risk to show off, you’ll be pulled out.” Rauk paused on a few of them and Liliana bit back a smile when their teacher’s eyes stopped on Marianne for a moment. Marianne had shown herself to be a bit of a loose cannon in fights, especially team fights. Liliana often wondered if a healer wasn’t the wrong class for her friend, but Marianne seemed to enjoy holding the power of life and ‘death’ over everyone, even her teammates.

“If it’s bad enough, we’ll pull the whole group and fail you all. I’d rather you fail than die, because while me and Vereign will be there, this isn't riskless. There’s a chance you could die in this dungeon before we can get to you. So don’t give us reason to pull you out if we think you’re a hazard to yourself and others because we care more about seeing you survive this than giving you a chance to show off.” Rauk cautioned them, his voice harsh and cutting as he looked each of them in the eye, pausing more than once on some of the more flamboyant students.

Liliana’s cheeks puffed out when he paused on her for a second longer than others. But she smirked when Anya got an even longer stare. Zir’elon got the longest warning stare of them all.

When Rauk judged them appropriately warned and dissuaded from dramatics that could kill them, he nodded. Liliana bounced on the balls of her feet, adrenaline already pumping in her veins. Finally, a real dungeon, with genuine risks, actual monsters, things she could kill and destroy while envisioning Zir’elon’s face on them. She had missed dungeons and enemies that had the good manners to properly die when you defeated them.

“Let’s go. Team A, with me.” Rauk ordered and led them from the room to the dungeon.

Chapter 144: Facing Your Greatest Fears

Liliana looked up at the stone archway that heralded the beginning of the dungeon. It was deep beneath the main building of the Academy, accessible only by teachers and with enough wards and shields around it that Liliana felt her skin itch from the almost suffocating magic all around them. There were guards too, staff Liliana had never seen whose sole job seemed to be ensuring nothing got out of the dungeon. They felt almost redundant with all the spell work, but the lessons on the shattered continent weren’t all that long ago. They all knew the damage a dungeon could do if allowed to run rampant and gorge itself on Mana.

Rauk had stopped them right outside. Vereign was doing the same with his group further from them. It was so they could have a chance to get equipped, to put on spells and activate skills and whatever else they needed to do before entering. It was stupid to wait until one was in a dungeon to start their active spells and skills, since there was no telling how far in a dungeon one would get before they started running into the denizens and traps.

“Two Health potions, one Mana and one Stamina for everyone. It’s all I could make in time.” Liliana advised her group as she passed out the potions. She’d spent so many hours in the Alchemy club, even coming in on days the club didn’t meet with Professor Gambrill’s approval to make more. They had a large group and only one healer. The potions could keep someone stable long enough for Marianne to get to them.

Everyone took the potions and stepped off to start equipping themselves and activate their abilities. Liliana summoned her nagianta and four new daggers. Basic things, they’d still drained a good amount of her merit points, twenty a piece. It had cost her eighty points to get them. Alistair had complained that she’d wasted her money on weapons instead of getting something protective, but Liliana cared little. She had fifteen points left over and she planned to save up for a while before she got more gear. If they were lucky and completed the dungeon today, she might get more gear. Liliana activated her set up combo and [Threads of Control], picking up the four daggers so they floated around her in a lazy circle.

Marianne flowed through the group, already covered in her blood armor and wielding that terrifying scythe of hers. She pressed a hand to each member, soaking them in spells and bolstering their Health, Mana, and Stamina. Liliana grinned when her friend finally got to her, and she watched as her own Health, Mana and Stamina increased. Her Health went from fifteen hundred to just over two thousand. Her Stamina jumped from eight thousand to almost nine. Her Mana boosted from its boosted five thousand to seven thousand. And her regeneration of it went up to fifty Mana a second. Liliana activated her Beast’s Dance combo, mentally forcing [Wind Surge] to not activate, as soon as Marianne gave her the boost. Liliana was practically vibrating in place with the power running through her with so many active running at once.

Lelantos and Nemesis were ready and waiting, already released. Polaris was in his soul stone, but wouldn’t be called unless it got dire. He would make the dungeon too easy and would sap experience away from everyone. As it was, Lelantos and Nemesis would mostly sit out, only there as additional protection. They were both too high to share experience with the students, and it would make this entire dungeon pointless if they weren’t allowed to get the experience they had been denied for so long. As it was split ten ways, it was likely no one would level today, despite the sixty-eight percent boost this dungeon specifically gave.

“Is everyone ready?” Rauk asked when the students had finished preparing.

When he got confirmations from everyone, he motioned for them to walk into the dungeon. Despite being underground, the walls of the dungeon were high, the path wide enough for them to gather in groups of up to four comfortably. Alistair took point, Liliana next to and slightly behind. She had a polearm and needed to be in the thick of a fight, so it was best if she was close to the front, Anya was at Alistair’s other side; she needed to be close as well and she had enough Health to act as a second tank. Koth’talan stayed near them. As another close combat fighter with defensive capabilities, he could help hold off a force and do damage.

Behind the vanguard was Zindru. He was a mid range fighter with his Nature affinity and he had more than a few defensive skills and spells that would help hold off an attack from reaching their more vulnerable mages. Next to him were Marianne and Emyr, their hardest hitter and their healer protected by their vanguard and Zindru. Behind them were Rathwater and Diana, mages who would need protection but close enough to help wherever their firepower was needed. Diana was versatile with her affinities and could run quickly to whoever needed aid. Dawn trailed at the back, a strong fighter who could cut off any attack from the back. Lelantos followed behind her, a reserve tank and a comforting presence at their backs.

Rauk followed several steps behind Lelantos, clearly not part of their group but close enough he could intervene if something went terribly wrong.

Their group was quiet as they entered the dungeon and walked, nothing but the sound of their own feet and the rustle of equipment to fill the empty caverns. Light hung high above them, magelights placed there by someone or by the dungeon itself. The light didn’t fill every shadow, and it somehow made it all the creepier, the shadows all the darker for the light. When they got to a crossroads, they paused.

“Right. Vereign will take his group left.” Rauk called out, and they followed his orders easily, almost instinctively, after two months of his tutelage.

“Are we going to see anything? Is this dungeon empty?” Anya was the first to break the silence and even her normally loud and bright voice was dull, quiet in this place that held true danger.

“Sometimes dungeons are like this, lulling you into a false sense of security before something truly awful drops on your head.” Liliana responded and almost on cue, all their heads craned back to look at the ceiling, a sigh of relief flooding through their group when they saw nothing waiting above them.

“Hopefully, there’s nothing too bad in here.” Diana said next, her voice nervous.

“No spiders, please.” Marianne said next and Liliana could feel her friend shivering even if she wasn’t looking.

“Mari, we talked about the jinxing thing.” Liliana chided her friend.

“Great, now there’s going to be spiders,” Emyr muttered darkly.

“Those are easy enough. Just burn them.” Zindru jumped into the conversation with ease after spending so long listening to their banter in classes.

“Wait, do you guys hear that?” Anya asked, her ears perked up and straining forward.

The group stalled, everyone dropping into combat stances as Anya tilted her head to hear better. Liliana strained her ears, her sense were sharper than many of her friends now and even she struggled to hear it. It was faint, almost unheard over her own breathing, but she heard it. Rhythmic clicks, like something hard hitting the stone.

“Pickaxes?” Liliana asked in a hushed whisper, confused. There weren’t many dungeon creatures that would be able to mine. Perhaps ogres had the intelligence for it, but not the drive.

“No. It’s insects.” Anya decided with a frown. Liliana couldn’t help turning to stare at Marianne, as did many of the group. The princess frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“This isn’t my fault.” Marianne argued against the disbelieving looks.

“Feels like it. You said spiders. Now we hear insects.” Alistair pointed out, one of the few not to turn and look, his eyes trained ahead of them, on alert and waiting for danger to appear.

“It’s a coincidence!” Marianne insisted, but it was obvious no one believed her as they all turned back to the front.

Slowly they started forward and no more conversations started as they all strained themselves to hear or see these mysterious insects. As they walked through the caverns of the dungeon, the noise slowly picked up until everyone could hear the rhythmic clicking of many chitinous legs hitting rock.

“Something’s coming.” Anya forewarned seconds before Liliana heard it. A different clicking of legs moving quickly against the ground, heading right for them.

Everyone tightened their grips on their weapons and spread out a bit. Spells lit and weapons pointed forward as they waited. Finally they saw it, appearing from the darkness like a nightmare made real. It was huge, shorter than Lelantos bug half as tall as Alistair, wider than two of her brother put together too. The mage light illuminated the vibrant emerald of its carapace as it moved, its huge pincers dripping something that sizzled as it touched the ground.

Liliana didn’t check her [Identify], didn’t need to as the sight sent fear coursing through her so strong it broke through [Battle Clarity] like a brick through a window. A centipede. A horrendous, disgusting, terrifying centipede. A giant centipede, big enough to slice her in two and eat her in seconds. Liliana could find something to love about any creature that walked, crawled, flew or swam in their world, but she could find nothing to love about centipedes, whatever size or shape they took. She detested the insects; she hated them; she feared them.

“Fuck this.” Liliana said as she backed up first one step, then another. She was tempted to run the other way, failing the class be damned. She didn’t want to deal with that.

“Lili.” Alistair’s voice cut through her panic.

He knew how she felt about these things. Had seen her scream herself hoarse and cry herself sick when a small one had crawled over her hand one day, had held her through the panic it caused. The dungeon couldn’t have picked something worse for her to face if it tried. Fear was dumping adrenalin through her veins, terror was making her heart pound so fast she thought it just might fly away. She wanted to run away, far, far away.

“Lili. If it’s dead, it can’t hurt you.” Alistair told her, his voice tight but still comforting as he addressed her fear even while he stood in front of them all, ready to face this hellish creature down.

His strength stilled Liliana’s urge to flee, and his words helped turn her fear response of flight into fight. Anger licked at the fear, pushing it back long enough for [battle Clarity] to take back over and force all emotions down. Just in time too, because Rathwater’s lightning hit the beast square on, causing some of its armored chitin to blacken and a squeal to emerge from its hideous mouth. That seemed to be the signal for their mages to start throwing out spells. Lightning, ice, water, blood, fire, and darkness converged on the beast, hitting it so hard and so much that by the time it reached Alistair, it was nothing but a corpse.

Liliana danced back an extra step from the giant insect, her face twisted in disgust as she looked at it. She would normally be annoyed that she missed a chance to get experience, but she was just glad she hadn’t needed to touch the awful thing.

“See? Not my fault. That’s not a spider.” Marianne declared, easing the tension.

“I still blame you.” Liliana told her friend as their group moved forward. She shuddered as she passed the corpse, picking up speed to get past it faster.

The next threat they face was three of the giant centipedes, and that was almost enough to break through [Battle Clarity] again. But Alistair’s voice calling to her. The knowledge that her friends needed her to be strong, to fight these creatures made of her worst fears, helped keep the fear under control. She turned that fear into motivation, and when she jumped into the fray, she attacked with prejudice, vicious and brutal, as she sliced the creatures to pieces. Removing limbs and breaking through chitin to dig into their weak flesh beneath until they were nothing but massacred, twisted corpses flung around her.

“Ew, ew, ew, get it away from me.” Liliana squealed as she jumped over the still twitching bodies and amputated insectoid limbs to hide behind her brother again, frantically removing bits of bug from her body as her skin shivered and twitched.

Several classmates chuckled or giggled at her antics. Liliana was always unflappable in a fight, never afraid of anything or anyone and ready to face down any challenge with a mad grin on her face. To see her turn into someone who shrieked and danced as she beat at her body to remove bits of bug blood and broken chitin was amusing.

“I hate this dungeon. Hate it. This is awful.” Liliana whined as they moved on, once more skirting the corpses with a fast pace and carefuller averted gaze.

“Could be spiders.” Marianne said with a grimace and earning herself deathly glares from everyone.

“I’d rather spiders.” Liliana muttered angrily.

“Could be a bunch of snakes,” Rathwater spoke up, his deep voice a surprise. He rarely talked at all, but his voice always felt too deep for a sixteen-year-old boy. His comment seemed to spawn a conversation where everyone began naming things that would be worse than centipedes.

“Roaches. Millions of Roaches.” Dawn spoke up, her tired voice yet another surprise.

“Moths.” Zindru said with an exaggerated shudder.

“Bears.” Diana said with a haunted tone to her normally happy voice.

“Rats.” Koth’talan said with a frown on his face.

“Sharks,” Emyr had announced with a glare as if daring someone to mock his fear. Emyr didn’t like most things that swam, he wasn’t comfortable with water combat as it was.

“Baku.” Alistair said quietly. Liliana frowned, a bit surprised by that one. Baku were fairly weak creatures, they were ambush predators that killed when their prey was asleep, eating first their dreams, then their life force.

Their conversation calmed Liliana a bit though, to hear that she wasn’t the only one with fears, with a phobia. To know others would be weak to some things simply because of fear. It made it a little easier when they came upon a group of eight centipedes in a wide room, some crawling on the walls as others raced across the ground to get to them.

Knowing her team had their own fears helped her manage her own, helped her force it back. Knowing her team needed her to survive this, that without her they might fall, might fail, might die, helped her keep it firmly locked under [Battle Clarity] where it couldn’t freeze her limbs and turn her into a liability.

Liliana took to the ones in the front as the mages were ordered to keep the ones coming on the walls back. She found herself next to Koth’talan as they both weaved and stabbed and ripped and tore into these unholy abominations that should never exist. Koth’talan’s fighting style was as different from hers as it could be, all viciousness, brutal and violent. Liliana looked like a dancer even in the middle of a fight, sometimes making others forget she was fighting until blood flew and screams sounded around her. But Koth’talan never let you forget he was in a fight, all harsh movements and ruthless attacks. In its own way, his fighting style had a savagely beautiful quality to it.

Somehow their very different fighting styles meshed well, and despite their the lack of familiarity with fighting together rather than against each other, they slipped into a type of rhythm. Liliana would dance forward and strike before spinning out of range as Koth’talan rushed forward to rip into what she cracked. So they traded off, moving around each other and decimating whatever came before them. Anya jumped in and out, a third to their dance of savageness and elegance. Anya was far more familiar with Liliana’s fighting style and always partnered well with her.

As they fought, there were some slips, some mistakes. A mage firing too close, or missing and clipping one of them. But as they fought more, everyone got more comfortable judging each other’s moves, with anticipating, or at the very least focusing on something the melee fighters weren’t targeting. Dawn slipped around the entire fight, barely staying anywhere long enough to see her before she dropped back into the shadows, leaving broken bodies and bleeding injuries behind.

Marianne hardly had time to fight herself as she moved around the fight. Healing Alistair before rushing to the mages to give them more Mana before running to the melee fighters when they dropped back for healing.

Their group found a rhythm where fewer commands and shots had to be called as they made their way deeper into the dungeon, as more and more centipedes rushed at them, coming from in front, to the sides and even, terrifyingly, from above. Fewer mistakes were made, fewer spells clipped others as they got comfortable with each other in the middle of a bloody battle.

It was hours later, with a much more tired group, that they finally came upon a rest room. Rauk finally spoke up to let them know it wasn’t a trick room, and they would be fine resting here before he went back to silently observing them. Undoubtedly grading them, remembering every mistake and misstep to berate them over later. At least he would wait until they were done before telling them every way they’d messed up.

“We have another two hours before we need to head back,” Alistair told the group that was loosely circled. They’d all sat down, weapons still out but resting next to their legs and arms. Food and drinks took up their hands now as they ate and filled stomachs aching with hunger from so much Mana and Stamina use in one day. This was the hardest workout many had experience since the start of school. Battle Training was only an hour and a half and they’d been in this dungeon for three hours already.

“We won’t get to the boss today,” Liliana pointed out with a sigh. Dungeons took days at a shortest to clear, sometimes weeks if it was a big enough one. They wouldn’t finish the dungeon today, or any day soon. Not until they were permitted a longer field trip. Or if they got permission to use the dungeon over a break.

“We just need to clear more monsters than the other team to win.” Anya pointed out with a smile. Liliana was rather certain they’d cleared more. While many of them had never fought together before, their team worked well. They trusted each other, and that had helped them come to a comfortable fighting rhythm. Zir’elon’s team was half filled with people who very much didn’t like each other. They would struggle.

The conversation continued from there as they all rested for another ten minutes as they finished their food and stretched out sore muscles, Marianne making sure everyone was healed and whole.

“Let’s finish this,” Alistair declared, as everyone gathered their weapons. Liliana shuddered once more at the reminder that they’d be facing more of those gods-curse centipedes, but she pasted on a strong face as they moved out.

Chapter 145: A Disappointing Lack Of Murder Attempts

“Some days I wonder if Zir’elon will finally find the balls to just stab one of us.” Emyr declared, entirely unprompted during what had been a rather normal lunch.

“Excuse me, what?” Liliana blinked at her friend, her fork halfway to her mouth. Alistair had just choked on his drink and was trying to remember how to breathe, and Marianne’s head was already descending to rest in her palms.

“That’s rather… violent,” Diana said delicately as she set her own fork down to stare at Emyr as if he’d grown a second head.

“How did we go from discussing our upcoming assignments to this?” Zindru asked no one in particular from his seat down at the end of the table.

Much to Liliana’s continued irritation, their group at meals had grown. First the group battles and then their successful dungeon trip had catapulted her group into some form of popularity she hadn’t been prepared for. Everyone seemed convinced that simply spending time around her group could ensure they retained their seats. Liliana had almost resorted to stabbing people herself to keep the greater part of their class out of their study sessions. Diana and Anya were as much as she could stand.

“He’s glaring at us.” Emyr said as if it explained absolutely anything.

“He does that most days. After the dungeon trip, where he was removed two hours in for running headfirst into a battle without his team and nearly died, his rivalry with Alistair evolved into full-blown hatred.” Liliana said with a sigh, resisting the urge to seek out Zir’elon in the class S lunch room.

She didn’t have to look to know the dæmon prince was glaring at them. Since the dungeon, he seemed to blame Alistair, and by virtue of being his friends, the rest of them, for his every failing. Bad marks on a History test? Alistair probably rigged the test. Didn’t remember the answer to a Math question? Oh, it must be Alistair. The other boy seemed wholly incapable of owning up to his own failures and improving. If he applied even half the effort he put into his mental gymnastics to blame Alistair for everything to his studies, he’d probably be top of their class.

“Yes, but I wish he’d just stab one of us rather than glaring all the time, following us around and trying to start rumors. It would all be easier that way.” Emyr said, sighing dramatically as he flung his hands in the air as if this was all some great inconvenience that none of them had been physically attacked.

“A murder attempt would make it easier?” Marianne asked between her fingers.

“Yes, in fact.” Emyr said with a nod.

“Bored with your counter rumor war already?” Liliana asked as she resumed eating her lunch.

“All of class S, hells all of first year, already knows he’s persona non grata. There’s not much more I can do to his reputation,” Emyr said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Then perhaps you should turn your focus to our upcoming assignments rather than inciting a murder attempt.” Marianne entreated Emyr, sounding quite done with all of them.

She was stressed once again, this time because of the upcoming assignments. Tomorrow they’d have a longer homeroom so Professor Vereign could introduce them to the assignment board, which would live in their classroom from now on. Assignment requests would be posted there and they could take them as they pleased.

They had finally progressed to an acceptable point, according to Rauk, to be trusted with their first assignments. It would start with assignments that could be done over the weekends. Anything that would take longer than two days to complete wouldn’t be posted until after their first semester, and even then, such assignments would be rare until their second year.

Vereign would determine their first assignments after showing them how the entire process worked, so it added a bit of stress to the entire affair. No one would have a choice in their assignments and would have to complete them, whatever they may be, within a month to get full credit for it. That they had their first break coming up in two weeks added to the stress. Everyone wanted to get their assignments done before the start of their summer break so they could enjoy the time off from school.

Liliana was excited, as the assignments were as close to a quest as she would come. There was a certain familiarity in being assigned a task with a deadline and requirements for success. She was fairly confident that there was nothing that would be assigned to a first year that would give her real trouble, and from what she’d heard from the older years in her clubs, first year assignments were usually something that helped around the Academy. Finding specific herbs in the Academy forest, organizing or translating texts from the library, running every training dummy for their class through drills to ensure they were functioning properly, etcetera. Basic things, just to be sure the students were capable of following instructions before they were given assignments from the city and the adventurers’ guild.

“But murder attempts are so much more interesting!” Emyr lamented.

Alistair rubbed a consoling hand on his friend’s back, which had the double effect of thoroughly distracting Emyr and flustering him. Liliana traded a knowing glance with Marianne when Emyr’s skin predictably darkened and he went tongue tied.

“I just hope I don’t get sent to the store for my assignment.” Anya jumped in to distract the conversation and the group from Emyr’s impending disaster.

It hadn’t taken the group long to figure out that Alistair and Emyr were both in love with each other and hilariously oblivious to the other’s feelings. The group swung between being entertained by the drama and being frustrated that neither would come out and confess. There was an entire betting pool going as well.

“Well, you know what happens when one of us says something like that. Now you’re definitely getting the store.” Alistair pointed out, entirely oblivious to the mess he’d made of his best friend.

“The gods of irony do love us,” Liliana agreed with a sage nod.

“Then I really hope I don’t get assigned to the library.” Marianne spoke up.

“Oh, you’re not going to get it for sure now, because the gods of irony don’t like being tricked.” Liliana quipped with a grin. Marianne pouted as the table erupted into chuckles. Marianne’s tendency to curse their group and herself with her words was well known. The dungeon just proved it to them all.

“Let’s just all hope we get something that’s not unbearably dull, yes?” Diana tried, and the group accepted the concession.

Best not test fate too much this close to their assignments. Or Vereign, Liliana wouldn't put it past the dour professor to lurk around just to hear what they didn’t want so he could assign it to them. It was the sort of thing she’d certainly do if she were a professor, if only to enjoy the chaos she caused.

“Since we’re being individually assigned, the tasks will probably be something we’re all comfortable with. So it’s best to not worry, I’m sure we’ll all do fine and then we have our break.” Liliana shifted the conversation and soon the table jumped into discussing their plans for the summer break.

Liliana didn’t discuss too much. She had plans to join Marianne in the palace for a few days, but she was fairly certain she’d be staying at the Academy for most of it. Her father had sent a ‘request’ for her to return to the manor, but she was ignoring it with a flimsy excuse that the travel time was simply too long for such a short break.

She would’ve liked the chance to see Silas, Jason and the kids again, but she didn’t want to step foot in the manor ever again. Silas had mentioned visiting the capital with the rest of the group so she would get to see them at least, and she was excited about that.

Anya was excited because her parents and family were visiting the capital over the break, since she couldn’t travel home in time to get back. Alistair was evasive when asked about his plans, and Liliana knew he was planning to stay at the Academy, too. Emyr was actually returning home. His siblings would all be home for once, so he was obligated to visit to see them all, and Marianne had offered use of the royal teleporters to get him home and back in time.

Diana’s family lived close to the capital, so she would go home for her break. Zindru said his family had a house in the capital that he would stay in while his father taught him more statecraft. Liliana knew her family had a house somewhere in the capital, but her father never left his territory, so she’d never seen it herself.

The rest of the day was normal, and despite Emyr’s hope, with no murder attempts from one angry dæmon prince. By this point, even Liliana’s interest in Zir’elon had faded. She had pictured him as some great and powerful threat who could shift her fate back into what it had originally been. She was, to be honest, disappointed to discover he was just an arrogant, spoiled child with rather sub-par in abilities when compared to the other heroes she’d met. His brother had more hero qualities than he did, with his impressive mastery of runes and creative application of them.

Liliana had little doubt that by the end of the first semester, Zir’elon would be gone from class S and no longer a problem she needed to care about. So far, her Academy experience was shaping up to be relatively calm and untroubled. Which was fine by her, her life had been filled with enough adventure and intrigue to last her a few lifetimes already. A few years where her biggest worries were her grades would be a much welcomed reprieve.

By the time the homeroom rolled around the next morning, their entire class was filled with nervous energy, almost nostalgic in its similarity to their first day. Vereign walked in and stared out at the students, who had gone quiet as soon as the bell rang. No one wanted to irritate Vereign today of all days, when he could assign them something truly horrid as a punishment for disrespect.

“Good. Today, you’ll all receive your first assignments. If you’ll look to the left, you’ll see a large board. This will fill over time with assignments sent to us by various staff members, the guard from the capital and the adventurers’ guild. Every assignment on the board will have been pre-approved by me before it ever appears. Despite this, before you can accept any assignments, you’ll need to discuss the choice with me.” Vereign paused, looking over the class with a steely gaze to reinforce his words before he continued.

“Occasionally, I, or another teacher, may give you an assignment we believe is suited specifically to you. These will never be optional. You can quit any assignment before it’s completed, but failed or uncompleted assignments will negatively affect your ranking. Conversely, completed or assignments where you go above and beyond will have a positive effect on your ranking, so remember to always do your best. Someone is always watching.” Vereign finished his speech with the rather unsettling warning.

Liliana wasn’t sure if it was true. Could anyone watch them all at all times? If they could, who was this person? Whether or not this elusive person, or persons, existed, it seemed to influence the class, quieting them further and making the lot of them even more nervous than before.

Vereign barely let them adjust to the information and warning before he began calling them up. He went alphabetically, so Allencourt went up first. He walked her to the board, showed her how to press her student ID to it and how to accept the assignment that appeared before he approved it from his side. The rest of the students walked up and took their assignments as they were called.

“I got assigned to help the Blacksmith club with controlling the fires in the forges for 16 hours,” Emyr announced when he sat down with a frown.

It wasn’t a very elegant assignment, but it wasn’t awful. It would help him with his control of his Fire affinity, something he was honestly not the best at. Since he favored explosive, high damage spells, he didn’t care too much about finer control, which usually meant his teammates could suffer if they were caught in the effect area.

“I have to test run all the class S dummies through drills to be sure they’re working well.” Anya told them as she flopped into her seat with a frown.

It would be boring, but the wolf girl struggled to focus on anything that wasn’t directly combat related. Her grades had only managed to stay as high as they were because of a combined effort from Marianne, Liliana, and Alistair to force her to study. Perhaps her assignment would teach her to focus better, even on things she found dull.

Alistair was called before Liliana was, and he didn’t have time to tell her what his assignment was before she was called up front. Liliana couldn’t help the nerves that made her hands want to shake as she walked to the front. She felt like everyone’s eyes were on her, and she hated it. She was certain she was walking oddly and stiffly as she made her way to Vereign, who waited by the assignment board.

“Ms. Rosengarde, put your ID up to the board and it will show you all currently available assignments for you.” Vereign ordered her in his brisk tone.

Liliana hastened to place her ID card on the board and a single assignment pulled up seconds after she had. For a moment, Liliana felt a sense of déjà vu. It was like looking at a large touch screen computer. It felt so alien in this world that was firmly in the medieval era, despite all its magic. Liliana wondered if she was perhaps not the first person from Earth to find themselves in this world.

“Now tap the assignment, yes, just like that. It’ll expand and display the assignment, the requirements, who assigned it, and the time frame it needs to be completed in.” Vereign told her.

He gave her a few minutes to read over the assignment, and Liliana’s eyes quickly took it in. She was being assigned to the stables for 16 hours, same as Emyr’s time. She was to help the stable hands with caring for the creatures, doing whatever they asked of her. It was well assigned to her, as she had an obvious love of beasts. Vereign likely thought she wasn’t very adept at taking care of beasts, something a tamer would need to know, as she was a noble and would’ve always had someone to take care of her beasts for her. They weren’t wrong, but Liliana felt a little insulted. She knew how to care for her bonds!

“Now tap your card against the assignment, and I’ll approve it from my side.” Vereign told her once it was clear she’d read over it. Liliana followed his instructions, and she watched as a little paper emblem popped up on her student ID, denoting she had an open assignment.

“You can check your status reader to check the assignment’s details. When it’s completed, whoever assigned it will send us a notification of it, with any details or notes to add on about your performance. It will update on your status reader so you can review it. All completed assignments will be kept on your status reader for you to refer to. Questions?” Vereign asked her. When Liliana shook her head no, he shooed her off and called the next student, Marianne, as she returned to her seat.

It’s all so much like the game. The quest board, the way the quests, assignments, work. Even being able to see completed ones, it’s just like a quest log. Sometimes it’s hard to remember this isn’t a game and that Realm of Hope was just based on this world, not the other way around. Liliana thought, caught up in her mind as she took her seat again.

“Lili? What’s your assignment?” Marianne asked and Liliana realized she’d been in her head long enough for Marianne and Zindru to get their assignments, the last of the class.

“Ah, I have to help in the stables for 16 hours,” Liliana explained with a shrug. She’d enjoy the chance to see so many beasts, even if it would be manual labor.

“Lucky, you’ll probably love every second even if you’re just shoveling beast poo.” Marianne pouted. “I got the store, 16 hours for it too! Can you believe my luck?” Marianne groaned as she flopped dramatically onto her desk.

Liliana smiled at her friend’s antics. The store would be good. It would be busy, and would teach Marianne how to multi-task and handle stress, and to work through it.

“I’m going to be helping set up the coliseum for the first Scrimmage games and doing equipment checks. I think they just wanted me for manual labor.” Alistair said with a half grin and flex of his muscles.

Liliana noted it wasn’t just Emyr’s eyes that followed the motion, and she frowned. She didn’t like the thought of other people finding her brother attractive. What was attractive about him? He was a big idiot. She could excuse Emyr, he’d been trapped early and probably had brain damage from being dropped as a baby. It was the only explanation for why he was still in love with Alistair despite knowing him since they were kids.

However, the other noble’s in their class who were staring at Alistair as he flexed, she couldn’t excuse. Apparently, many of the nobles in their class had shifted their impression of Alistair from being an undesirable to being once more a sought after partner. How quickly the whims of nobles shifted.

Besides, other than Emyr and maybe Marianne, not that the other girl seemed the least bit interested in Alistair, Liliana didn’t think anyone in their class was worthy of her brother. None of these mercurial nobles deserved someone as good and kind as Alistair. Liliana might need to worry about beating off suitors with a stick soon if those looks turned into anything else. Liliana started noting down names. Just in case someone needed to be more forcefully told to back off. Perhaps at knife point.

“I’m going to be helping in the greenhouses for 16 hours, too. I think they want me to expand my repertoire when it comes to my Nature affinity.” Zindru spoke up, distracting Liliana from her brother’s nonexistent dating life.

“Do you even have a Herbology skill?” Liliana asked the ducal heir.

“I do not, in fact.” Zindru said with a shameless smirk. Liliana’s eyes-brows rose high on her head in disbelief. How did that make sense?

“Isn’t Nature one of your highest affinities?” Liliana pressed.

“I ended up meshing well with the affinity. I had taken Earth and Life intending to become more of a support role. But I ended up with Nature rather unexpectedly. It’s rather intuitive for me, so I never considered looking deeper into plants and the ilk. I suppose this will be a learning experience for me.” Zindru explained with a shrug of his shoulders, acting rather unconcerned with it all.

Liliana pushed down the urge to smack the boy. Zindru was infuriatingly good at most things he set his mind to, and even things he didn’t. He consistently got high marks in their classes without ever seeming to really try. To find out he had gotten an affinity and was just naturally great at it even while he barely understood said affinity was mind-bogglingly frustrating.

Liliana purposefully ignored the fact that she had been gifted a high percentage of unearned mastery in three affinities by a goddess. That didn’t mean any of them came instinctively to her. The only one she could say came naturally was Wind, and she still struggled to raise it.

“Light was like that for me, and Metal.” Alistair said, nodding as if it all made sense to him.

“Life was like that for me,” Marianne agreed.

“Fire for me.” Emyr chimed in, lighting a flame in his palm to show it off.

“Gravity was natural for me.” Anya said with a grin as she made herself so light she floated off her chair for a moment before settling back down.

“Great, I’m surrounded by prodigies.” Liliana groaned with a huff. She froze when four sets of wide eyes glared back at her.

“Really? Really, Lili?” Alistair demanded.

“What? What did I say?” Liliana asked, confused by the sudden change in the emotions of her friends.

“You tamed Lelantos when you were what? Rank 8?” Marianne asked her, a rhetorical question.

“Then Nemesis, when you were Rank 7. And Polaris!” Emyr added in.

“You have 8 affinities, half of them sub affinities. Which are harder to get at all,” Anya listed off on her fingers.

“And you unlocked combos in a single night!” Alistair finished for the group. Liliana shrunk into her seat, her face heating with every new word as she tried to melt into the ground.

“Alright, so we’re all prodigies?” Liliana hazarded an answer. It didn’t seem to really appease them all, and Liliana was still convinced Zindru was unfairly gifted in comparison, but it was obvious no one else would listen to her about it.

She wasn’t a prodigy. No matter what the others said.

Chapter 146: All It Takes Is A Cookie

Sometimes it was the simplest thing that could unravel all her progress. That could remind Liliana that no matter how she had bandaged and nursed her heart that under it all, she was still wounded, still broken. Even though she had tried to piece herself together as best she could, with bleeding and weak fingers.

A letter could summon memories she had tried to bury, drowning her under the tumultuous waves in her mind. This time it wasn’t a letter, left half finished on a desk, abandoned as she tried to futilely flee the memories full of sharp edges and bitter poison.

This time, her downfall came at the hands of her brother.

“Lili? Will you try these?” Alistair asked hesitantly after he’d knocked at her door.

It was close to curfew, and she had been distracting her ever sleepless mind with assignments that weren’t even due yet, trying to quiet the noise in her head with more words, more facts. Until the new information was so loud, so overwhelming, it drowned out the whispers and memories. To exhaust herself until the words on the pages swam in her eyes and she passed out in a fatigued slumber that would perhaps finally be free of the nightmares that plagued her.

Her time at the stables earlier that day had been a welcome reprieve, a distraction she sought and surrounded herself with eagerly. But now she was left without her distractions, left to the silence of her room and the loud screaming of her thoughts. She was grateful for the distraction her brother provided. His light always did frighten the shadows of her demons into hiding.

“What?” Liliana asked, noticing finally what was in Alistair’s hands.

It was a plate of cookies. She remembered he had his bakery club on these days. He had taken the club after her suggestion, but none of them had yet to try one of his creations. Alistair shifted from foot to foot, looking nervous and unsure.

Such a foreign expression on her confident brother. An expression that, no matter how familiar it had become, always looked alien and wrong on Alistair. Alistair was bright. He was warm. He was a beaming smile in the sunlight, a guiding light in the dark. Alistair was light, a sun made human. And the sun did not dim, did not shy away from the gazes of mortals. It was unnatural and wrong.

“Alright,” Liliana said with an encouraging smile at her brother, trying to reignite that flame in her brother, to make the sun shine brightly in the sky once more. To banish the storm clouds in his eyes that had dared to eclipse the sun’s light.

Alistair smiled back, still hesitant, but his eyes were eager as Liliana took one of the cookies from the plate. It was still warm and as she held it she noticed how cold her hands had become, now so obvious with the heat of the cookie leeching into her skin. Liliana brought the cookie to her mouth and bit into it. The flavor rushed over her tongue, filling her mouth. It tasted of smiles and laughter and loving hugs.

It tasted like home.

Like a name she couldn’t say, even after a year and a half.

“Lili?” Alistair asked, his tone dripping with concern, and Liliana realized she’d gone still. Body turned to frigid stone as tears pooled and overflowed from her eyes.

Her mouth was filled with that taste, the taste of home. Memories were dragging themselves out of the water she’d drowned them under in her mind. Memories of smiles, of tender hugs, and declarations of love and care. Memories of a mother she had lost, a mother she would never again see. Never again tell she loved, never again feel hold her when she felt like her entire world was breaking apart.

“It tastes like hers,” Liliana choked out when she finally swallowed the bite she’d taken, it sticking somewhere between her throat and stomach, choking her on the memories and emotions that suddenly felt far too big, far too much, for her body to hold.

“I asked Silas for the recipe. I’m sorry. I thought you would like it.” Alistair said, his voice wretched as he hovered close by, unsure of how to help his sister as she fell to pieces right in front of him, no clear monster for him to fight. Not when all the monsters were trapped under her skin, in her mind, clawing, grasping, ripping, and tearing.

“It’s good, it’s good.” Liliana murmured as she took another bite, a sob emerging as more tears flowed down her face.

The flavor was so familiar, so welcome, but it hurt, too. Yet Liliana couldn’t stop herself from finishing the cookie and grabbing another, chasing after the feeling of home that she had missed with her entire soul. A homesickness she hadn’t even known she’d been suffering under lifting ever so slightly, even as her heart bled and wept crimson tears in her chest.

Pain and comfort. Bitter poison and sweet healing honey. Love and guilt. Grief and a bone deep wanting, Liliana hadn’t been willing to admit, even to herself, that she’d been sick with. It was a whirlpool of contradictions threatening to drag her down or lift her up, and Liliana feared she’d be torn apart in the middle of it.

Liliana felt her knees go weak before she was sinking to the ground, her legs pulling up to her chest as if they could protect her from the pain that originated from inside of her. Alistair followed her down, kneeling on the ground before her, the plate held in his hands desperately, as it would protect them both from the feelings that were threatening to drown Liliana under their weight.

Liliana reached out a shaking hand to take another cookie, to try to fill her mouth with the elusive flavor of home, as if she could use it to shove the painful feelings and memories back, as if she could chase those happy memories until she could finally feel them without guilt and pain tainting them.

Liliana choked on a bite, a sob getting caught between a swallow, and then she was coughing and sobbing and choking and retching from all of it, her head falling into her hands as the cookie tumbled from numb fingers. She heard the clatter of a plate hitting the ground between the sounds of her own retching and sobs seconds before warm arms wrapped her up and drew her into a familiar chest.

Liliana felt so small as she let her brother tug her into him, so large it felt like he could swallow her entire form in his own. She almost wished he could, that he could consume all of her so she didn’t have to feel this wretched emptiness in her chest where someone had once sat. She felt Alistair shift them until his legs came up on either side of her. Yet another barrier between Liliana and the world that had done so much to break her.

Liliana couldn’t care less if someone saw them, sitting in the doorway to her room, her body curled as small as it could get while her brother wrapped her up as if he could protect her from all the pain that had her body trembling violently with the weight of it. In that moment, Liliana wouldn’t care if the entire world burned around them. The bite of flames couldn’t possibly hurt more than what she was feeling right now.

Liliana clutched desperately to her brother’s shirt as her body shook with each sob that tore itself from her chest, a pitiful whine emerging between them, the sound of a wounded animal desperate for its pain to stop.

“Professor,” she heard Alistair say, his voice rough and rumbling under her head where it was hidden in his chest.

Liliana couldn’t even bring herself to look up, to acknowledge the teacher that had found her in such a state. She didn’t care. All she wanted was for the pain to stop, for Alistair to make it go away, to hold her until the pain became something she could handle.

“Take her into her room. Others shouldn’t see this.” Vereign’s voice came out, uncharacteristically gentle for him. It was still stern, but there was a softness there that Liliana had never heard, as if he was afraid that if he spoke too loudly, too harshly, she really might just break into a million pieces.

Liliana didn’t have it in her to feel grateful for the kindness from the teacher she expected it the least from. She only had room in her for the pain, for the guilt, for the unending grief that was dragging her down, down, down.

“Sir? But I thought…” Alistair said, his voice holding a desperate hope in it that finished his sentence.

“You’re her brother. It’s an exception we can make.” Vereign explained briskly. And that was all Alistair needed.

His arms slipped under Liliana, gathering her close to him as he stood, cradling her close to him as if she was some delicate porcelain doll that would shatter with a single jostle. Then Alistair was moving. A door slammed shut, the noise pulling a flinch from Liliana that her brother shushed with a gentle voice, a reminder she was safe here, always safe with him, as he moved deeper into her room. Far from curious and judging eyes that should never have seen a moment like this. Then they were sinking back down, Alistair settling them on the carpet of her floor, his back resting against a wall. The entire time, he kept Liliana in his arms, kept her safe, protected.

“I’m sorry, Lili, I’m so sorry,” Alistair murmured as his hand came up to stroke through her hair.

“No, no, no,” Liliana choked out in answer, desperate to let her brother know this wasn’t his fault.

It was never his fault that she was this broken thing that would fall to pieces with a cookie, with a memory.

“It tasted like home,” Liliana got out, her voice trembling and weak, nasally from where her nose had been stuffed with snot that was making a mess of Alistair’s shirt.

“Oh, Lili.” Alistair’s voice was a quiet noise of sadness, of grief.

Liliana knew he didn’t entirely understand the pain she felt. He wasn’t broken and shattered by the loss of the woman Liliana had known as a mother. He was hurting because she was hurting, taking on her pain as if it was the most natural thing he could do. As if by sharing the ache in her chest, he could lessen it, and maybe it did. Because while the cookies had tasted of home, Alistair’s arms also felt like home. Because to Liliana, home had never been a place, it had been people.

First Astrid had been home, warm, loving, full of kindness and understanding. But slowly Alistair had become home, too. Home was Alistair’s smile, his warm hugs that felt like they could protect her from every awful thing in the world.

Home was Emyr’s smirk and teasing comments that hid an undying loyalty and never-ending well of support. Home was Marianne’s laugh and exasperated voice. Home was Lelantos’ steady bulk, home was Nemesis’ scales wrapping around her neck, home was Polaris’ yipping bark and silky fur.

Home was all around her, always, but home was also gone, torn away by a jealous hand and a cup full of poison. And Liliana was sick with longing for a home that would only ever live on in her memories.

“You’re home, too,” Liliana finally voiced the thought when her sobs had calmed, even if the tears hadn’t stopped, even if her body was shaking like a leaf in a storm, barely holding on from being ripped away into the crashing thunder and wailing winds.

“You’re home for me too, Lili,” Alistair confessed to her, pulling her tighter against him. As if he could squeeze all the pain out of her, like lancing a wound and letting the infection drain out.

“Thank you,” Liliana whispered, her voice wrecked from the sobs, dry from the liquid she’d lost, soaked into Alistair’s shirt.

“For what?” Alistair asked with a dry laugh, his own voice still thick with his own tears.

“For giving me a memory of home,” Liliana said softly, her voice trailing off into a whimper.

Alistair hummed quietly, not replying, and for a while they sat in silence as Liliana’s tears finally stopped falling, but neither moved from where they were.

“How long?” Alistair finally asked.

Liliana contemplated playing stupid, pretending she didn’t understand what he was asking, but she didn’t like lying to her brother. There were enough lies between them, a mountain of her own making Liliana feared she’d never be able to clear. She did not need to add another lie to it.

“Always. The pain is always there. Sometimes I can ignore it. Sometimes I can’t,” Liliana finally said, her words a sigh, a soft confession almost lost in the noise of their breaths.

“Why didn’t you come to me?” Alistair asked, his voice hurting for her, for the nights she’d spent alone, trapped in her own mind, drowning beneath the waves of her pain.

“I didn’t want to burden you with it,” Liliana confessed as she moved her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder, trembling fingers picking at the hem of his shirt.

“Lili, you’re never a burden to me. You’re my sister. Please, don’t try to do everything alone. You’re not alone. Not anymore, never again.” Alistair begged, his arms tightening around her as if they could remind her she wasn’t alone anymore.

Liliana knew she wasn’t alone, but it was still so hard sometimes to reach out, to ask for help, to ask others to see her at her weakest, her most vulnerable. To trust someone with the broken shards of her heart and hope they treated them with the care they needed, to trust they’d help her piece herself back together and not break her down again. Trust did not come naturally to Liliana. It was something hard won and easily lost.

“Lili, you’re loved. So loved. Just let us, let me help you. Let me in.” Alistair asked, begged, pleaded with her, and she shut her eyes on the enormity of it. On the request he was making, because Alistair was asking her to let him see all the nasty, wretched and shattered parts of her she had tried so hard to hide from the world.

He was asking her to be weak, to let herself fall and trust he would be there to catch her when she did. Asking her to trust him to be strong when she was weak, a single port in the storm for her to return to, to cling to when it felt like she would be swept out to sea.

“Alright,” Liliana said. The word dragged from her heart, from her lungs and mouth, with monumental effort. It took everything she had to say that single word, to finally break down some of the last of the barriers she had erected to protect herself, to finally let Alistair in, further than she had ever allowed another person. Where he could either help her heal or destroy her once and for all. It was terrifying, it was comforting, it was freeing, it was everything and nothing and wholly too much.

Not all her barriers were down, not all her sins, her pain, had been laid bare. She still had her lies, her secrets, wrapped around her as a protective armor. Things she wouldn’t even let herself think on, let alone tell another person of. She was letting him see her weak; she was trusting him, and even if it wasn’t everything, it was enough. It would be her salvation or her destruction.

“Thank you. I’m here, Lili. I’ll always be here, no matter what. I’ll be here.” Alistair promised her, understanding without words the magnitude of her single word, understanding that she had just let him further in than she had any other being save her bonds.

This was somehow more profound than that, for her bonds were tied to her soul. They could no more hurt or betray her than they could rip their own hearts out. But Alistair was not bound to her soul through magic, he was bound only through his love and that felt both unbreakably strong and unbearably fragile a thing to place her trust in.

“Home,” Liliana said softly, her hand twisting in his shirt as she pressed herself closer to him, seeking the warmth Alistair always seemed to exude, hoping it could thaw the ice in her veins and teach her what it felt like to walk in the sunlight again, hoping it could banish the shadows and nightmares that were always clinging to her, dragging her down, under the waves to drown.

“Home, always.” Alistair promised her, resting his head on top of hers, his gentle breaths and thumping heart a lullaby that lulled her into a sleep that, for once, for the first time in years, wasn’t tainted by nightmares.

When Liliana woke up to the brightening of her mage lights, the alarm of the Academy, for the first time not clawing herself out of nightmares into the dark of pre-dawn, she was still pressed against her brother, but they had been moved.

Her bonds had respected their privacy, their moment, but when the two children had fallen asleep, they’d come to them. Alistair had been moved to lean against Lelantos, who had curled his body around them both, a bulwark against the world, his bulk a wall that almost entirely surrounded them. Where Lelantos didn’t cover, Polaris did, his wings stretched out until Liliana could see nothing but a nest of black wings and silver fur and iridescent stripes. Nemesis, in her smaller form, had wrapped around them both, her scales warm and heavy against their necks. Liliana was surrounded by warmth, arms, limbs, and fur.

Home.

Home.

Home.

The words were all she could think, all she could feel when she awoke from the deepest, most calm sleep she’d had in years. She was home, here on the floor of a room, surrounded by warm bodies that had taken up guard while she and her brother slept, protecting them when they were at their most vulnerable, hiding their pain from the world that would turn it against them.

Home. Something in Liliana loosened, a pain easing, a wound finally closing and scarring over. A hurt in her finally fading away into memory, and for the first time in over a year, Liliana felt a name rise in her mind that didn’t come with the heavy weight of guilt and agony.

Astrid. The name, so familiar but until today anathema to Liliana. A name she couldn’t say, a name that had tasted like ash and acid on her tongue, like a knife in her heart, twisting and shredding her until she was bleeding out.

But today, that name tasted like home on her tongue, felt like a warm smile and a loving hug in her mind. For the first time, the ache in her heart was almost sweet. Liliana knew she wasn’t healed, wasn’t better. But she no longer felt like she was a collection of open wounds hiding behind a strained smile. Her chest felt empty, but full, cold and warm, full of contrasting feelings, bitter and sweet, painful and comforting. Something was still lost, would forever be lost. A wound turned into a scar would still be a wound. But there were things found, pressing on the edges of her heart, holding the wounds closed with warmth and love.

She knew it wouldn’t be easy, this path towards healing, towards progress, but as she blinked into the morning light, for the first time in over a year feeling the sunlight on her, she thought she might really be able to heal. In this home she had made for herself, with this family she had found.

Chapter 147: The Eclipse Of The Sun

After her breakdown, there was a shift in Liliana’s relationship with her brother. They had always been close, since the apology, since Imogen was dragged off to prison to rot, but now it was as if their bond was stronger than ever. Alistair was more perceptive than ever of her moods, of her health. Watching with worried golden eyes while she ate, ensuring she did. His head turning in classes, making sure she was there, not drowning deep under the waves of the grief and pain he now knew were ever threatening.

He even invited himself to the second half of her assignment. It was suspiciously easy to get the stable-hand who was set to supervise her and give her tasks to agree to the extra pair of hands. Liliana had to wonder if Professor Vereign had a hand in that, if he’d mentioned something to the stable-hand, advised allowing the siblings to work together. If perhaps this was his way of caring for his students, silently aiding them, even if they weren’t always aware of it.

Or perhaps the stable-hand had simply been excited at the thought of getting free aid from someone like Alistair, tall and muscular and able to lift things others would struggle with.

The work in the stables was easy, if not glamorous. It mostly consisted of mucking out stalls and feeding the beasts she was allowed around, the ones who didn’t require a more experienced hand, who wouldn’t happily bite off the hand that fed them. But despite ending up covered in dirt, grime, sweat and fecal matter in the stables, and a concerning amount of blood from all the raw meat, Liliana loved it.

She enjoyed seeing beasts she had only read about, seeing beasts she’d never heard of. She loved having the chance to run her fingers through the mane of a unicorn, or to toss meat to a Solion who snatched it from the air. Liliana always felt the most at home in the wild, or around beasts. She supposed it was part of the reason she got along with Anya so well, so quickly. The girl was half beast herself, and that wildness in her soothed the part of Liliana that always craved to be back in the wilderness.

After her assignment was marked complete, and they’d both taken showers to rid themselves of the stink and grime coating them, they met back up in her room afterwards. A new routine they’d quickly fallen into after the night Liliana had fallen apart and let her brother help her pick the pieces up.

Alistair began to fidget, bringing Liliana’s attention off her textbooks she’d been pouring over to ready herself for the tests they had coming right before their summer break at the end of the next week.

“Ali?” Liliana asked as she turned in her seat to look at Alistair, who had sprawled out on her bed.

“Yea?” Alistair asked, propping his head up to look at her even as his leg bounced in the bed and his free hand worked at the blanket on her bed, picking at loose threads.

“You alright?” Liliana asked him with a tilt of her head, concern clear in her voice.

“I-,” Alistair cut himself off, face clouding over with indecision. Liliana frowned softly. It was clear there was something bothering her brother, but he was hesitant to tell her.

“Come on,” Liliana decided as she stood from her chair, stretching out muscles sore from where she’d sat hunched over her desk. A mental request had Polaris flouncing into the room, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

“What? Where?” Alistair asked in bemusement as Liliana grabbed his hand and tugged him off the bed, forcing him to find his feet or fall.

Liliana grabbed his arm with a secret grin as she tugged him out of her room and into the common room. Several heads rose to look at them. The new change in Alistair being allowed into Liliana’s room had caused a small stir, but it was accepted easily, as they were siblings. And perhaps because a few other students had witnessed Liliana crying in her doorway before Vereign shooed the siblings back into the safety of her room. Liliana waved at their classmates but didn’t pause as she dragged her brother out of the dorm, Polaris following on their heels happily.

“Lili? Where are we going?” Alistair asked as they started towards the campus.

“I’m going to show you a secret,” Liliana told him with an impish grin as they made the long journey towards the front of the campus.

Alistair’s confusion visibly mounted as they passed the affinity class towers, then passed by the year buildings, and he looked well and truly lost when she entered the main building. Liliana kept a smile on her face as she pulled them down a side hallway, stopping before a suit of armor. She dropped his arm to grab the sword held in the armor’s hands.

“Lili! What are you doing?” Alistair hissed, but Liliana shook her head at him as she tugged the sword towards her. She let go, and the armor stepped aside. The wall behind the armor silently moved to reveal a staircase lit with mage lights, free of dust.

“What? What the fuck? Lili, what is this?” Alistair asked. Liliana grinned at him as Polaris dashed past them, running up the stairs. Liliana grabbed Alistair’s arm and guided him into the staircase, the wall closing back behind them.

“Are we even allowed to be in here?” Alistair asked as they started to ascend the stairs, following the curving path laid before them.

“Well, no one told me I couldn’t use it, and there’s no signs or wards or blocks. They keep it in good order too, so I figure it’s here to use for anyone who finds it.” Liliana said with a careless wave of her hand.

“The absence of refusal is not permission, Lili.” Alistair hissed at her, but he followed her anyway, up the winding stairs until they came upon a wooden door, Polaris sitting in front of it, waiting for them.

Liliana pushed it open and revealed a small balcony that gave them a view of the campus up to the towers on the roof of the building. Soft mage lights hung around the balcony, just enough to give them a bit of light but not ruining their dark vision so they could still see the stars spread above them like a black blanket studded with diamonds, the moon hanging full and white in the sky.

Liliana settled down on the balcony, Polaris flopping beside her, resting his head in her lap as Alistair gingerly sat beside her, head whipping around as he tried to take it all in. Liliana tilted her head back as her hands ran through Polaris’ fur, drinking in the stars. The constellations were different from the ones she remembered from Earth, but there was a bit of comfort in them, too. No matter what world her soul found itself in, there were always stars, silent, eternal watchers gazing down upon them all.

Liliana picked out some of the new constellations she’d learned hung above this world. Vita’s veil was high in the sky. There was Mor’s scythe beneath it, Venati’s bow, and Ealirel’s sword hanging close to the horizon, the star at its hilt shining as brightly as ever.

“Sometimes, I miss her.” Alistair spoke, his voice soft on the night wind, but Liliana heard it anyway. She didn’t drop her head down to look at Alistair, waiting for him to continue. He had given her a safe place to fall apart, had let her trust him with her dark, broken parts. She could give him the same courtesy.

“I know I shouldn’t. She’s an awful woman. But sometimes, I remember when she wasn’t awful. I can still remember the times when she would be kind to me, when she would hug me and tell me stories before I went to sleep. I remember what she was like, when she could be kind. And I miss that. I miss that mother, the one I so rarely saw, that you never met.” Words were tumbling out of Alistair, the dam holding the tide back broken with that first confession.

Liliana’s hands curled against Polaris’ head, old anger curling in her chest. It was wrong to be angry at Alistair for wanting the most simple thing any person could, to want his mother. To miss his mother. But a dark, resentful and ugly part of Liliana wondered how anyone could miss someone like Imogen, for the only way she’d known her was as a vengeful, cruel, jealous woman who had tried many times to end Liliana’s life, who had ripped the woman Liliana had seen as a mother from her.

Stronger than that dark part, though, was love, was understanding. The fire was banked, smothered under waves of understanding. Even if the woman he spoke of was someone Liliana had never met. A side of Imogen that had died off long before their first meeting. Liliana couldn’t understand how Alistair could miss Imogen, but she could understand how he could miss his mother.

She, who had lost three mothers, knew better than most the ache such a loss caused. An empty, gaping wound in one’s chest that would never be filled. She had lost her first mother, from Earth, when cancer had finally taken her life. She had lost her second mother through Liliana’s memories, experiencing all the loss and grief of a five-year-old girl watching her mother’s casket lower into the cold earth. Then she’d lost Astrid.

Liliana understood, so very deeply, how Alistair felt. To lose his mother, not to death, but to her own horrible acts he could never justify, could never forgive. Liliana had lost all her mothers unwillingly, but Alistair had chosen to separate himself from his mother, to forsake her as no mother of his. But that didn’t make the pain of loss any easier. The character of his mother didn’t lessen the pain of her absence, either.

“But I lost her long before that day. The mother I knew, the kind one, the one who loved me. She was gone years ago. If she ever existed, if it wasn’t all just an illusion. But I miss that illusion, and I hate myself for it.” Alistair whispered the last words, as if they were a sin he feared would be punished.

Liliana finally dropped her head to look at Alistair. The need to comfort him, to assure him there was nothing in him worthy of hate, was overwhelming. She was shocked at what she saw. Her strong brother was crumpled, knees drawn to his chest, arms wrapped around them as if they could shield him. He looked so small, so young, with his grief and self hate painted clearly across his face as his golden eyes dripped tears.

“I wish so much that I could forget her. Erase every memory of her from my head. The good, the bad, all of it. I wish I could rip her from my mind, so maybe I wouldn’t miss the woman who tried to take my sister from me. Who hurt my sister so irrevocably.” Alistair could barely look at her, but she could see the guilt on his features so clearly, and it tore into her heart to know he still blamed himself for Imogen’s actions.

“I wish I didn’t still feel love for her, tangled and poisoned with the hate that’s so much stronger than the love, but never enough to kill it. I hate her, Lili, I do, but I still love her, too, and I hate myself for it. Every day that I look at you, every time I see the scars she left behind on you, on your soul, your heart, I hate myself a little more for still being capable of loving her.” Alistair’s voice had gained strength, but it was soaked in pain, colored in hues of guilt and hate, hate for Imogen, hate for himself, so thick Liliana thought it would suffocate her. Alistair struggled to gather breath, a sob ripping through him as if the hate poisoning him was already choking the life out of him.

“I hate myself Lili, I’m a monster. You deserve a better brother.” Alistair broke on the last word, face falling to his knees as he sobbed, body shaking from them.

Liliana watched as her brother shattered apart before her, his heart and soul scattered around them. Her brother, her strong brother, who was always so bright. The sun, finally extinguished by this cruel world who sought to consume any light it found. And it was all so wrong to Liliana. It broke her heart; it angered her. Who had the right to dim Alistair’s fire?

“You’re the best brother I could ever hope to have, and the only one I want.” Liliana said as she pulled Alistair to her, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, switching their positions from last week when it had been Liliana falling apart and trusting Alistair to pick up the shattered remains of her heart. Now it was her turn to help her brother piece himself back together. It was her turn to be strong while Alistair was weak, to provide him with the support he’d so freely given her.

Liliana knew it took all Alistair’s courage to reveal this to her, to let someone finally see him as weak. Brother and sister were alike in that. Neither ever wanted others to see them weak, to see them fail, to fall. Liliana’s surrender, her finally letting Alistair in when she’d struggled for so long on her own, had given her brother the courage to do the same. They might not be able to let anyone else see them like this, to hear their dark confessions they held deep in their hearts, but they could let each other know. They could allow this much.

“It’s alright, Alistair. To miss your mother,” Liliana told him as she stroked his braided hair with one hand, the other keeping him tight against her as he sobbed, as his tears and snot soaked through her shirt. Polaris had moved, sitting by the door, guarding them against any who might stumble upon this private moment.

“How?” Alistair choked out, the rest of his words lost in another rough sob and whine that broke Liliana’s heart to hear, to know her brother was hurting so much, tearing his own heart apart and all she could do was to be here for him.

She couldn’t fight his demons for him, but she could be here to prop him up when he faltered. It was what he’d done for her. It was what she’d do for him, always, forever, until the day he no longer needed his sister to give him strength and support, if that day ever came.

“I’ve lost two mothers, Ali. I’ll never begrudge anyone missing a mother, no matter who they were. I won’t offer you forgiveness, because there’s nothing to forgive. You lost your mother. No matter what she did, she was still your mother. And it’s alright to grieve her loss.” Liliana told him, squeezing him tightly to reinforce her words.

She would not resent her brother, a child, missing his mother. Same as she would never resent her younger half siblings if they grew to hate her for having a part in their mother’s imprisonment. She wouldn’t have even resented Alistair if he had hated her for what she’d done. She’d decided that when she’d made her choice to ensure Imogen’s downfall. She would have taken the hate as her due, her penance for her choices.

Now she could take her brother’s pain on, a different penance than what she’d expected, but no easier to bear. Imogen had dug her own grave, but Liliana had pushed her in. Her brother was hurting and in part it was Liliana’s fault for it. She could admit it.

So she’d take on her brother’s tears, his pain, for as long as he bore the burden. She would share this burden as her repayment for her choices. It was a straightforward choice to make, to choose to help her brother, to aid him in healing, because Alistair deserved to burn so brightly he eclipsed the sun, and Liliana would set herself on fire if it would reignite his own light.

Alistair sobbed, a wail muffled by her shirt as his arms finally came out and wrapped around her, grabbing desperately onto her as if she’d vanish if he let go, as if she was the only stable point left in the world. As he finally allowed himself to accept her comfort, her love, and perhaps, just a slight amount, believe her words as the truth they were.

She couldn’t stop him from hating himself, but she could assure him that she would never hate him. She could show him what it looked like to be loved until he learned how to love himself again. So Liliana held him as his grief and pain and hate ravaged him, a storm that raged inside of him, as she provided him a steady port to cling to instead of being swept out into the sea, to drown alone beneath the waves of his pain.

She held him through the sobs, rubbed his back when he retched from the sobs, from the choking, from the overwhelming emotions, and she soothed him through the shaking that felt like it would shatter him in her arms. Liliana held him through it all, and when the sobs calmed, when his tears were wiped away by her sleeve she helped him pick up the broken pieces of himself and put them back together with a kind smile and gentle hands, holding all his broken parts with the care they needed.

When they left the roof, leaving their moment there, secret, safe and far from prying eyes and judging words, Liliana understood her brother more than she ever had.

This boy, full of light and darkness, full of happiness and self hate, pain and comfort, love and guilt. A boy made of contrasts, all forming the brother she loved more than she ever expected, ever hoped she could. A brother she’d protect, and show how to burn brightly again, one day, when the darkness that tainted them finally faded under the daylight.

Just as she knew he’d protect her, teach her how to walk in the light. Both leaning on and learning from each other, with a bond forged in blood, in tears, in pain, and in stolen moments of happiness. Two siblings, both broken but not unfixable, once opposed, now standing shoulder to shoulder against all that sought to tear them down.

Chapter 148: Candid Teenage Moments

“I’ve never been so grateful for the summer before in my life,” Marianne groaned as she raised her hands over her head, stretching after their test in Wind, the last class before their vacation officially began.

“I’m ready for a break from school work,” Anya agreed as she shook out her hands, tired from the many essay questions they had to answer for the test.

“Don’t forget the homework we’ve been assigned,” Liliana cautioned as she rubbed at her eyes, weary from too little sleep, too many late nights studying and too many small words on paper. The Academy didn’t have midterms, not conventionally, but the tests before the beginning of summer break were about as close as they got.

“Nope. Shush. Don’t talk about school to me until I have a week of lazing around.” Marianne held up a hand, waving off Liliana’s words like she was deflecting an attack.

Liliana chuckled lowly, wincing at the twinge it caused in her head. She’d be happy to lock herself in her room and draw the curtains so she could get some relief from the pain, or perhaps she could stop by the student store and pick up a pain potion, if they even had any left.

“Lili!” a voice called out, announcing the arrival of Alistair, Emyr trailing behind him like a threatening shadow.

“Hey, Ali, Em.” Liliana greeted with a wince as her eyes were assaulted by the harsh rays of the sun. Alistair noticed and pulled out a pain potion, passing it to her.

“Alistair, you’re my favorite brother.” Liliana declared as she cradled the pain potion like a baby before she opened it and downed it, closing her eyes in relief as the potion began working immediately.

“I have more. Who needs them?” Alistair asked to an immediate chorus of agreements.

“You’re such a good mom, Alistair.” Marianne announced as she took the potion in a quick gulp.

“The best mom.” Anya nodded as she took her own potion.

“I’m not a mom,” Alistair said with a huff, resting a fist on his hip as he looked at his friends.

“You came prepared with potions. Don’t lie and say you weren’t about to offer water and some food, too.” Lilian teased, making her brother’s skin darken with a blush as he looked away from them sheepishly.

“Well, I had some cupcakes I made recently that I was saving for after the tests were over for everyone,” Alistair said hesitantly, drawing a small cheer from the group.

“Best mom, Alistair!” Anya cheered as Alistair huffed and lead their group towards a clear spot on the green area between the affinity towers and the training grounds.

Many other students had the same idea, teens from all years sprawling out on the grass in clumps of friends. Uniform blazers were carelessly tossed on the ground as everyone relaxed and reveled in the fact that their first long break had begun, that for the next month they were free of the pressures of the Academy.

When they found a clear area, they all flopped down, moving around until everyone was comfortable. Liliana ended up with her head in Marianne’s lap while the princess braided her hair, her feet in Alistair’s lap. Anya was lying over her legs and Emyr was sitting beside Alistair, leaning slightly into his friend, Anya’s tail flicking lazily against his arm as he made half-hearted attempts to catch it.

“Cupcakes for the brave defeaters of paper and ink,” Alistair proclaimed as he summoned the baked goods from his storage ring.

He had more than enough for the lot of them, filling three plates with the delicious confectionery goods. Soon everyone had one, or two in Anya’s case, in hand and they happily dug into them, praises for Alistair’s culinary skill coming out between bites.

Liliana tilted her head slightly to watch her brother, seeing him smile, first shyly, then with more confidence as the praise continued to pour out. It was like watching the sun finally peek out behind heavy winter clouds, the first heralding of spring, melting the frost holding the land captive.

“Do you have room for one more?” a sweet voice called out to them and the group turned almost as one to see Diana approaching them, her blazer already off in the face of the summer heat as she smiled brightly at them.

“We have cupcakes for all the worthy,” Liliana declared as she held up her half eaten cupcake to motion the girl over. Diana sat down delicately beside Marianne, the two girls crossing their arms as Diana used her free hand to grab a cupcake from the plates.

“We’re celebrating our victory, or defeat, at the hands of the dreaded boss, Academia,” Marianne informed Diana, who grimaced.

“Defeat sounds about right. I thought I might just ignite my Water test in frustration,” Diana muttered before biting into her cupcake, her face immediately relaxing as her eyes widened in the kind of joy only a cupcake could ever elicit.

“Do you have room for more?” another voice called out and Liliana didn’t even look up from where her eyes had drifted shut as Marianne kept tugging gently on her hair.

“There are enough cupcakes for many more,” Alistair said jovially, inviting Zindru, who insisted they all call him by his first name, Basil, now, to join their growing group.

“How went Nature?” Emyr asked their newest addition.

“Don’t talk to me about plants for the next two weeks, please.” Basil begged before his voice became muffled, garbled sounds of approval coming out as he tried to praise Alistair whilst stuffing his face.

Liliana cracked an eye open to look over their group, taking in the sight of some of the most prominent nobles in their country sitting around on the grass, faces smeared with icing as they entirely forgot their table manners. Sunlight painted their smiles, danced within their laughs as they choked them out between bites.

None of them looked like the next big names in their country, not the future queen and dukes of their queendom. They looked like children, enjoying the lifting of the weight of academic expectations and good food. It was a peaceful moment, and yet Liliana felt a sense of melancholy overtake her.

Something made her think this moment of peace, of happiness, of childhood, would be short-lived. A moment soon to be relegated to memories alone. Her heart ached, despite the moment not even ending yet, for the conclusion that was forthcoming. Liliana had learned well that good, happy moments were a rare treasure. Unexpected in their arrival yet fleeting in their lifespan. Flickering flames that filled one with warmth that would hopefully tide you over between all the darkness that came between them.

Liliana closed her eyes tight, trying to imprint the image of her friends, happy, free, innocent, in her mind. To carve the memory of their faces deep in her psyche, where they could never be removed. Never before had she so mourned the lack of technology as she did now, for she so dearly wished she could capture this moment in a picture, to last forever, even after the memories faded with age. Preserved as they were at this moment, forever.

Liliana felt something hit her face and her eyes shot open as she removed a piece of icing coated cupcake from her cheek, eyes seeking out her brother as the likeliest culprit immediately. His smile was teasing, but his eyes held a deep well of understanding that made her throat choke up.

His eyes said he understood what she’d just thought, felt, and he didn’t want her to wallow in her own wistful, depressed thoughts. Liliana rolled her eyes at her brother as she popped the bite in her mouth, wiping the icing off her face.

“Don’t waste good food, Ali,” Liliana chided her brother, even as her eyes communicated her gratitude, knowing he’d understand her though if she didn’t say the words.

“It’s my food. I’ll do what I please with it,” Alistair retorted, picking another piece of cupcake apart to throw at Liliana to make his point. Liliana shot up, catching it with her mouth with a shit-eating grin as she laid back down in Marianne’s lap to eat her stolen treat.

“Now you ruined the braid,” Marianne tutted as she tugged at Liliana’s hair in reproach before she started weaving Liliana’s hair back into some intricate design, weaving in flowers that Basil passed to her. Diana was busy making flower crowns as she chatted with Basil while he kept summoning new flowers for the girls to use. He was intermittently tossing petals at Anya, who was throwing grass back at him without missing a beat.

Liliana tilted her head to the side, looking out at the other students lazing out on the grass, each a candid portrait of teenage moments. Couples were cuddling, holding hands or kissing sweetly. Friends were teasing each other, roughhousing or chasing each other around. An air of relief and happiness hung over the Academy as a whole.

It made it all the more obvious when someone wasn’t partaking in the general joviality.

Liliana watched, at first with passing curiosity, as Koth’talan stalked past the green area, passing by the affinity towers with a thunderous expression on his face. She wouldn’t have thought more of it than simply a bad test if not for Zir’elon following the same path as Koth’talan had tread moments after the bastard prince disappeared from view.

His own face twisted in anger, a promise of violence in his violet eyes. Liliana felt her stomach twist with dread and unease. She turned her head back to her group of friends, all blissfully unaware of what she’d seen, all playing around, joking and happy. She knew she could ignore it. Koth’talan wasn’t truly a friend. His problems weren’t her own to meddle with.

Her mind replayed the day he’d stepped between her and his brother, fearlessly putting himself between a ready to charge tiger and the brother he so obviously despised. Liliana sighed, letting out a small groan as she knew what she was about to do. She slid her feet out of Alistair’s lap and out from under Anya, sitting up.

“Lili?” Alistair asked, echoed by Anya and Marianne.

“Just realized I have something I need to take care of real quick.” Liliana said with a strained smile as she stood up, grabbing her blazer and throwing it over her shoulder.

She knew she could ask her friends to come with her, but she didn’t want to interrupt their happy moment, to tarnish it with drama none of them needed to be part of. Besides, she knew she could handle Zir’elon on her own easily enough.

“I’ll catch you at the cafeteria, yeah?” Liliana asked as she brushed off the grass and petals on her uniform.

Her friends agreed, sending her off with smiles, even if some of their eyes held suspicion for her sudden departure. She paused a moment to give Alistair a reassuring smile before she turned and followed the path the two dæmon princes, her hand tapping at Nemesis’ summoning stone, grabbing the serpent from the ground in a fluid move as she walked, letting her twine over her shoulders and around her neck.

“Hide in my hair,” Liliana asked Nemesis, and the serpent readily complied, camouflaging amongst the other flowers woven in her hair easily.

Liliana kept a normal pace until she reached the affinity towers and then she broke out in a jog, eyes scanning the grounds and ears straining for familiar voices. There was only one place she could imagine Koth’talan heading to when he was upset and as she passed more dorms with no sign of either dæmon, her pace picked up. When she hit the edge of the forest, she was nearing a full run.

Liliana ducked and moved through the forest with familiarity, her footfalls nearly silent as she moved. She hadn’t even seen the trees surrounding the pond before she heard the raised voices spurring her on to greater speeds.

“Are you coming back to Alfeserin?” Zir’elon’s voice cut through the air, chilling and dangerous.

“What’s it to you, brother?” Koth’talan’s voice barked out.

“I’m telling you, halfbreed, you better not be returning to Alfein.” Zir’elon’s voice cut back, bordering on a yell just as Liliana emerged from the trees, her steps slowing as she crept forward.

“Or what? Tell me what you’ll do, your highness.” Koth’talan sneered out, and Liliana had never seen him so angry, his eyes flashing like forest fires as the infernal marks on his face flared brightly.

“Do you forget so easily what I’m capable of? What my mother is capable of? The Emperor’s favor protects your wanton slut of a mother, but it does not extend to his bastard.” Zir’elon’s voice hissed out, aiming to cut, to wound. To force his brother to bleed from the threat and cruelty lacing his words as surely as he would from a blade.

She paused for a moment to take in the scene, both brothers too taken with their argument to even notice her. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the blade in Zir’elon’s hands as he stalked towards his brother, intent clear in his eyes. It was the only proof and justification she needed to act.

With a mental command, Nemesis slid out of her hair, slithering into the surrounding grass, disappearing from view. Liliana summoned a dagger and had it under [Threads of Control] in a heartbeat, sending it flying to hit Zir’elon’s sword and force it to veer before he’d taken three steps.

“That’s quite enough.” Liliana called out, projecting her voice to be heard as she prowled forward, calling her dagger back to her to float around her

“This matter isn’t for the likes of you.” Zir’elon growled out as Liliana came to a stop beside and slightly in front of Koth’talan, her arms held loosely at her sides, her legs spread, knees slightly bent. A battle stance, ready to engage at the slightest hint of this coming to blows.

“No, but apparently you need to be reminded that while you’re on Academy soil, in Cista, you still abide by the Academy rules and Cista laws. So let me be that reminder, Prince Zir’elon. Murder and assault are illegal, and attacking another student while not in a duel is grounds for expulsion.” Liliana retorted, a razor sharp grin splitting her lips, little more than a show of teeth disguised thinly under a veil of civility.

“I don’t need to be reminded of the laws and rules by you. Little half-blooded rose.” Zir’elon spat at her, voice dripping in venom.

“So you went from hiding behind your mother’s skirts to hiding behind hers? What, are you two half breeds together? Bonding over how you’ll ruin the lives of those owed their place by right of blood?” Zir’elon didn’t give Liliana a chance to respond, turning to spew his vitriol at his brother.

“Liliana. You don’t have a part in this.” Koth’talan ground out. Liliana didn’t have to look to know his fists were clenched, every muscle tensed in preparation of this argument ending in a bloody brawl.

“I’m not doing it for you, I just don’t like to see assholes win.” Liliana retorted, throwing his words back at him. She heard Koth’talan take in a sharp breath behind her, recognizing the echo of his own statement made months ago.

“And what do you think you can do? You have none of your little friends or your pets around to help you.” Zir’elon taunted, and Liliana’s grin morphed into a sneer as she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Is that so?” Liliana asked, voice saccharine sweet.

As her voice faded, Nemesis shifted, her body enlarging until she reached her full length behind them, her head raising above Koth’talan, her mouth opened in a hiss ensuring her fangs, dripping in poison, were on full display.

“Unlike you, Kastrioti, I don’t pick fights I can’t win.” Liliana said, folding her arms as her dagger ceased its circling, coming to rest by her head, pointing directly at Zir’elon. She watched the prince’s eyes flick from her, to Koth’talan, to the giant serpent behind them, his skin blanching as the tip of his sword dipped in a clear showing of fear and uncertainty.

“One day, you’ll be all alone and on that day I’ll remind you why filthy mixed bloods like you are always below those with pure blood running in their veins.” Zir’elon spat at her, but he was backing up a step. He paused, sword lifting to point at Koth’talan behind her.

“And you. Don’t come back to Alfeserin if you know what’s good for you, bastard.” Zir’elon commanded. The effect of his threat was quite ruined by his retreat seconds later. The three of them watched him leave, not moving until they were sure he was truly gone.

“Thanks Nem,” Liliana said, dismissing her weapon and [Threads of Control] as she turned to her snake, patting a hand against her snout when she leaned it towards Liliana.

“I am fearsome. I frightened off the annoying one. He could not stand against my fangs.” Nemesis declared, her hood flaring pridefully.

“Yes, you’re a right terror you are. My lovely girl,” Liliana cooed as she rubbed at Nemesis’ head, pulling away to let the serpent lay out in the sunlight, soaking up as much heat as she could with her larger body.

“You didn’t need to interrupt.” Koth’talan told her and Liliana sighed, running a hand through her hair, flowers and petals drifting around her as she dislodged them.

“Didn’t need to. Wanted to.” Liliana said with a shrug, “Plus I owed you, so I guess we can consider us even now.” she tacked on when Koth’talan looked ready to argue. She smirked, walking towards the rock by the pond to sit on.

“Fine, we’re even.” Koth’talan conceded, looking like the admission was dragged out of him by force. Liliana’s smirk widened as she crossed her legs and set her chin in her hand, resting her elbow on a knee.

“We’re still not friends.” Koth’talan informed her, even as he walked to join her on the rock.

“No, of course not. You don’t have those.” Liliana teased with a roll of her eyes.

She sighed, moving her hands to rub at her eyes tiredly. Zir’elon was always exhausting to deal with. How did one boy fit so much audacity in his body? It was a marvel of physics.

“You need to tell the teachers what happened. He threatened you with a weapon.” Liliana told him, her tone turning weary and serious.

“No.” Koth’talan responded, his voice firm, final. Liliana removed her hands from her eyes to stare at him incredulously.

“Why the fuck not?” Liliana demanded.

“It won’t do any good. He’ll get a slap on the wrist. No one wants to expel the prince of a foreign nation and risk igniting a war over a bastard prince no one wanted in the first place.” Koth’talan said, his words curt but his tone dripping with derision and thinly hidden hurt.

“They won’t expel him for that, but it’ll be detentions, at least, a hit to his ranking, perhaps. If he keeps it up, he will be expelled.” Liliana insisted, insulted at the lack of faith in her own country’s, her own Academy’s, willingness to adhere to their own rules and laws.

“He won’t.” Koth’talan said, with a voice that spoke of many failed attempts to ask others, to ask adults, for aid that was never provided. “Don’t. Just drop it, Liliana.” Koth’talan said when she started to argue again.

Liliana shut her mouth with a frown. She didn’t want to let this drop, but it was obvious Koth’talan wouldn’t appreciate her intervening further than she already had. She’d let it drop for now, but she made a note to keep a better eye on both brothers from now on.

If Zir’elon tried something like this again, she’d say to hell with Koth’talan’s feelings and find a teacher to deal with it, and if that failed, she’d take matters into her own hands. Zir’elon needed to learn his actions had consequences and his position only granted him so much leniency before it ran dry. And Liliana would be more than happy to be the one to give him that particular life lesson.

“You called me Liliana.” She said after several minutes of tense silence.

“What?” Koth’talan asked, obviously not expecting the shift in conversation.

“You called me Liliana, my first name. So we are friends.” Liliana decided, pushing through the unease in her gut to force a smile on her face.

“We are not.”

“We so are.”

Chapter 149: Facing New Insecurities and Familiar Faces

“You ready?” Alistair asked, his voice a bit hesitant.

“Yea, I think so.” Liliana nodded with a gulp, reaching blindly to latch onto her brother’s arm as if hanging onto a life raft in the middle of a raging sea.

It felt like it had barely been yesterday when they had been celebrating with their friends, laying out on the green grass between the Academy’s affinity towers and the training grounds. Cheering, half drunk on the relief of finishing the last of their tests, covered in icing from Alistair’s cupcakes.

Now here they were, standing before an imposing building that wreaked of privilege, the Rosengarde crest engraved into the door. Neither of them had ever been to this house. Their father never left his territory. Instead, trusting an intermediary to handle any of his business in the capital. So they had ever had cause to stay in the capital house their father owned.

“What if,” Liliana bit off the rest of her sentence, unwilling to let the words pass her lips. Speaking the fears made them real, whereas, if they remained in her mind alone, they were ephemeral, not real, not solid.

“Lili?” Alistair asked, shifting his arm so it wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her close to his side. Liliana rested her head against him for a moment, turning her face until her sight was blocked by the silken vest he was wearing.

“What if they don’t care about me anymore?” Liliana finally confessed, pushing the words out, muffled by her brother’s clothes.

It was a ridiculous fear. She wrote letters to Silas, Jason and the children weekly, getting their responses back. Pages filled with them telling her of their days, of how much they missed her. But she was scared that once they were free of her, they’d realize she was nothing special. Just a pathetic girl, with no true power of her own. All she had was what she borrowed from her father, the money she had, the social standing. It was all because of her last name. What strength she had of her own was little when compared to those above her.

Sometimes, usually, all the time, if she was honest, it was easy to think of herself as who she had been. A sick, hospital bed bound girl. A girl with a body that had never been made to last, breaking down from the moment she was born until the day she died. Sixteen years of life and all she’d accomplished was living longer than many doctors expected, yet she died in the end, anyway.

Then coming into this world, taking on the life, the memories, of an unloved, unwanted girl destined to become a villain, until she died at her own brother’s hands. Her entire life, both of them, she’d been weak. A burden, nothing special, destined for failure. A legacy of never accomplishing anything but death.

So why would anyone want to care for her? The forgotten, unnamed girl she had been, the girl she was now. Liliana Rosengarde, the unwanted mistake. It was far easier to assume that everyone would leave, eventually. When they finally realized she was nothing special, nothing worth sticking around for.

Not worth their time, their care, their love. A burden anyone would be happy to be relieved of. She could give them nothing in exchange for their time, their love. She had no money to pay them with in exchange for it, no prestige to bestow upon them. All she had was herself, and what a lackluster gift that was.

“They came all this way, just to see you again, Lili. Of course they care.” Alistair refuted her claim, his arm gripping her tighter as Liliana burrowed closer to her brother, seeking the comfort he offered.

Alistair, she could trust to never leave her. Alistair, who had seen her broken and bleeding, who had cut his own hands open handling her shattered pieces. Alistair, who had ripped his chest open to reveal the wound ripping his heart apart to her. Alistair, who had once upon a time been destined to regret failing his sister his entire life, when she had fallen from grace and embraced the darkness. A twisted fairytale that would never come to pass.

She would never understand what she’d done to earn her brother’s undying loyalty, but it was something she knew she held, would always have. She’d never deserve it, but she was too selfish, too scared, to ever refuse it.

“Alright,” Liliana responded, not really agreeing but capitulating for now.

“Let’s knock then, shall we?” Alistair asked, but he didn’t wait for her to agree.

She might never have if he left it up to her.

Alistair walked them up, his arm a steel band around her shoulders, forcing her to walk with him or be dragged along like luggage. Alistair grabbed the ornate knocker, a stylized rose, because of course it was, and he banged it down. The sound echoed around them and Liliana would’ve sworn she felt her bones shaking in time to the thunderous booms that filled the air. Seconds after the last of the sound had faded, the door was flung open.

“Miss Lili!” a voice called out, and Liliana had to brace herself as two blurs rocketed into her legs.

“Flint, Clover,” Liliana greeted, her voice thick with emotions as she knelt down to wrap her arms around the two children.

They had grown several inches, if her estimate was correct, in their time apart. They had filled out as well, their distended stomachs and skeleton like forms from when she’d first found them long gone. Their skin was rosy with health, eyes sparkling as they both pulled back to look at her. Even their hair had thickened and Liliana could see their fur had filled in.

Flint had fur covering the edges of his face, coating his arms like a lady’s gloves. His ears were still notched, scars from his time in the streets, but he looked hale and hearty. Clover’s little horns had grown, gaining a point on each one. She had no fur on her face, but her arms were coated in brown fur that matched her curly locks.

“Miss Lili! We have so much to tell you-“ Flint started, grabbing her hand to bounce up and down in his excitement.

“We unlocked our Systems.” Clover spoke up, her soft voice abrupt, cutting off Flint’s ensuing ramble and getting to the meat of the topic. Flint paused, pouting at his friend as his thunder was stolen.

“That also means we know our birthdays, Miss Lili!” Flint declared, recovering quickly as he grinned up at Liliana.

“Why don’t we let lady Liliana come inside and settle in before we start peppering her with information?” a good natured voice broke in and Liliana looked up to see Jason leaning in the doorway. He hadn’t changed much over the months, but he seemed to be trying to grow a beard. It was patchy and Liliana hoped he wasn’t planning on keeping it.

“Jason,” Alistair greeted as Liliana stood up, the children taking a hand each, as they began to tug her into the house. She dug her heels in, wanting to greet Jason before she let the children lead her off to who knew where.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Liliana asked, nose scrunching as she looked at Jason.

“Really? Three months since you saw me, and that’s what you start with?” Jason asked. Liliana raised an eyebrow and Jason sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m growing a beard. The ladies love facial hair.” Jason explained.

“I don’t think anyone likes someone who looks like they ended up on the wrong side of a hair removal potion.” Liliana said bluntly. Jason huffed, but his lips twitched in a smile, mirrored by Liliana.

“Missed you, little lady.” Jason said as he drew her into a hug that Liliana released the children’s hands to reciprocate. Liliana gripped his shirt tightly as she was granted a physical reassurance that she hadn’t been abandoned, forgotten, left behind. Jason’s scent of leather, wood and oil relaxed a part of her she hadn’t realized was tense.

“You just miss being around someone who doesn’t take your shit,” Liliana said as she pulled back.

“No, that part was pretty nice. My ego had time to recover with you gone, as did my health, not having to drag you away from whatever new suicidal plan you’d devised.” Jason teased, ruffling her hair as they stepped apart, and Liliana’s hands were once more taken by Flint and Clover.

“Ah, so guard duty is too easy for you, then? I’ll have to speak to Silas and be sure you have more to fill your time.” Liliana said, tone deceptively innocent as she finally let the children drag her away.

“No! Liliana, that’s not what I meant!” Jason’s complaints fell behind her as the children guided her into the house.

Liliana looked around with interest. The halls were far less wide than the manor, and the style looked a few years behind what was fashionable. There were portraits lining the halls of people Liliana didn’t know but could guess at. They all had the trademark Rosengarde blue eyes, and many shared her dark hair and golden complexion.

“Mr. Silas said he wanted to see you,” Flint said as he tugged Liliana up several sets of stairs and down more hallways. Liliana was convinced this house was designed to be labyrinth like just to confuse her.

“Once you talk to him, we can show you what skills we have already!” Flint continued, and Liliana couldn’t help the indulgent smile that took over her lips.

She needed to do some shopping soon, to get the children gifts to celebrate their birthdays. She was a bit surprised they hadn’t told her of this over the letters, but looking at how happy they’d been to tell her in person, she assumed they wanted her to be there when they gave her the news.

“Have you two leveled any?” Liliana asked, and the reactions between the two children varied greatly. Flint looked ecstatic, and Clover looked disgusted.

“Jason took us to the Slimes! I’m level 5 now!” Flint declared, puffing his chest out in pride.

“It was horrible, Miss Lili. The Slimes are disgusting.” Clover informed her, face twisted in displeasure. Liliana had to bite back a laugh.

She remembered how gross the Slimes could be, getting goop all over her clothes and her weapon if she wasn’t careful. She didn’t think Clover, proper Clover who was shaping up to be the textbook definition of a perfect lady’s maid, would ever appreciate the grime and nastiness that came with fighting monsters. At least the girl was already an expert at getting blood out of clothing.

“It was great. I wanted to keep leveling, but we didn’t have a lot of time before we had to come here.” Flint said, ears drooping a little at the missed chance to level.

“Maybe I can take you two out leveling some time during my vacation?” Liliana offered, Flint cheering and agreeing immediately, Clover looking suspicious but agreeing reluctantly. Liliana mentally noted she should probably get the girl a bow and arrow set, or a slingshot. It would keep her far from the monsters and out of range of anything that could get her dirty.

“Mr. Silas has been spending a lot of time in here.” Flint told her as they stopped before a thick oak door on the third level of the house. Liliana didn’t even have time to get nervous over seeing Silas before Flint was throwing the door open and tugging her inside.

“Silas,” Liliana breathed out the word.

Warmth and trepidation filled her seeing the man she felt was more of a father to her than Frederick Rosengarde had ever been, sitting behind a desk covered in paperwork, his calloused hands stained with ink. He raised his head and every insecurity she’d felt faded away as his lips pulled into a soft smile, his hard eyes warming. He looked like a father seeing his daughter after months apart.

“Liliana,” Silas greeted, putting down his fountain pen and standing, moving out from behind the desk and crossing the distance in two large strides. His hands gripped her shoulders tightly as he looked over her. Distantly, she heard the door shutting behind her, the children leaving them to their moment.

“You’re thinner,” Silas noted with a slight frown, his eyes growing concerned.

“Can I get a hug before you start nagging me?” Liliana asked with a sigh.

She didn’t wait for his response, just leaned forward, wrapping her arms as far around Silas’ muscular form as she could. His arms circled around her and Liliana almost broke down, because she finally felt safe. For a long moment, she felt like a child in her parent’s embrace, with all the unshakable trust that the adult would take care of all her problems, would make all her fears go away.

Safe.

Home.

Those two words rebounded and bounced around Liliana’s mind as she melted into the hug, as she let the pine, wood smoke and leather smell of Silas wrap around her like a comforting blanket. She knew that as long as Silas was around her; she was always safe. He was an unyielding mountain of a man, unshakeable, unyielding.

“Come on, sit down, and let me nag my favorite charge.” Silas said, pulling back and guiding her to a chair.

Liliana collapsed into it, Silas taking the one next to it. Liliana drew one leg up into the chair, wrapping her arm around it. Silas raised an eyebrow at the improper posture and behavior but didn’t admonish her, and Liliana was grateful. She hadn’t even worn a dress today, choosing instead something closer to a suit, fancy enough to be proper but far more masculine than what many young noble ladies would do. There was no one around to tell her she couldn’t, and she preferred outfits that were easier to fight in. Just because she could fight in a skirt, and dresses could hide an appalling amount of weaponry, didn’t mean she wanted to.

“You’re not sleeping well, or eating well.” Silas didn’t pose it as a question, and Liliana sighed as she released the illusions she had begun to wear as a habit now.

It seemed Silas could see through them as easily as her instructors. She didn’t always sleep badly, notably when Alistair spent the night in her room, she slept well. But she knew she still wasn’t getting the recommended amount of sleep she should be. School stress and nightmares had combined for a terrible sleep schedule.

“I’m fine, Silas. It’s just school. The Academy is tough, and I have a lot to do between classes, studying, homework, training and clubs.” Liliana waved off his concerns.

“Liliana…” Silas’ voice held a warning and Liliana’s other leg came up until she was sitting curled up in her chair.

“It’s not like before,” Liliana said, tone defensive as she avoided his eyes.

She knew what he was concerned about. He was worried she was going to become what she’d been before. After That Day, after she no longer had revenge to focus on, after the high from finally beating Imogen faded, and all she had left was the empty hole in her chest. When she barely slept, because when she did, she’d wake up screaming so loud it could wake half the manor. When she’d screamed so often, no one bothered to come after the first few times.

When she refused to eat, because the grief filled her so much, there wasn’t room left in her for hunger or food. When she found herself on his doorstep more often than not, and he’d let her in to sit on his couch to stare at his wall, unresponsive to anything at all, but always seeking out the comfort his presence gave her.

Alistair and Emyr had seen some of it, but she’d avoided them so much in those days that they hadn’t seen the worst of it. But Silas had, because she’d always seek him out. He’d seen her when she was little more than an animated corpse.

He’d been the one to snap her out of it, finally breaking down and yelling at her, shocking her out of her state and bringing her back into the present. He’d gotten her to eat again, coaxing her with simple broths and soups until she could handle something more without throwing it back up. He’d helped her find her strength again, and she knew he more than anyone else would be worried about her returning to that state again.

“It really is the school. And I still have nightmares, so sleep isn’t easy. But it’s not as bad as before. I just need a break from school, and I’ll be fine.” Liliana explained tentatively, but wanting to reassure him that she really was doing better. She wasn’t good, she hadn’t gotten to that point yet even if some days she could almost believe she was healed. But she was nowhere close to how she’d been before.

“If you’re sure,” Silas said and Liliana nodded, wanting this conversation to end, to turn to something more mundane, safe.

“Tell me about the Academy.” Silas said after a few silent moments and Liliana uncurled, eager for this peace offering.

Silas would still worry and she’d have to show him she was doing better. So she focused on telling him about everything she hadn’t written in her letters. About her professors, about the friends she’d made, about the classes, the ones she loved, the ones she hated. And Silas listened, nodding along and questioning a few things but letting her fill him in on the three months they’d been apart.

And it was as if they hadn’t been apart for months. For an afternoon, Liliana could shove her wriggling insecurities, all the parts of herself that weren’t healed yet down deep. For an afternoon, she could be a normal girl, telling the man she saw as a father about something as normal as classes, teenage friends, gossip and silly drama.

Chapter 150: Family Game Night

Stress Liliana hadn’t realized she’d been carrying around for months sloughed off of her in waves. She loved the Academy, and relished every new memory she made, every second of feeling like a normal teenager, every precious laughter filled moment with her friends. She even enjoyed the more stressful moments, to an extent, appreciating the chance to go through normal experiences once barred from her.

However, she could admit the Academy was a trial, and it required more of its students than they could often give in the name of pushing them to be better. The month long break they were afforded was necessary, and getting to spend it with the people she loved was a balm on her tired mind and body. The simple joy the children took in everything, regaling Liliana with likely exaggerated stories of their time apart, Jason’s teasing, Silas’ stoic support. It all helped ground her.

Liliana was resting in the large sitting room on the second floor, one of several in this house that was more maze-like than any house had a right to be, watching as Flint reenacted his first battle against Slimes. By his telling there had been a thousand Slimes bearing down on him, led by a Slime King, and he had barely survived.

“Liliana!” Jason called from the door, his arms full of boxes.

“Yeah?” Liliana asked, turning with the children to watch the older man enter. He dropped the stack of boxes on the table before flopping onto the couch behind it with a huff.

“We stopped by Ariowood on our way here to pick up what you asked for from my parents,” Jason began, nodding at the boxes. Liliana immediately shot out of her seat, going to grab the ornate boxes she now saw were labeled with golden engravings.

“Did you get the extras? For the dorm?” Liliana asked as she held Risk and Clue in her hands, face in a wide, excited grin.

“Yea, I have a storage ring full of the games, so you can bring them back when your vacation is over. These were the ones made for you personally.” Jason said, waving a hand that held several rings on it at her before pulling one with a clear stone off and tossing it her way. Liliana set a box down and swiped the ring from the air, slipping it on her thumb, barely surprised when it resized to fit her perfectly.

“Dad wanted me to ask if you were still sure you didn’t want a portion of the sales,” Jason said as Liliana knelt to pull all the boxes out, opening them and looking over the contents.

“Yea, I don’t want any money. Just to get free games when I ask.” Liliana said with a shrug. She stacked the boxes around the table, leaving Clue out as she tapped on it.

“They’re starting to feel bad about it. These are your ideas, and you deserve something for it.” Jason said with a frown, “my family has made a lot of money off your games, so much they’re opening a second shop in Ravenswood and in a few years they may be able to get one in the capital. You’re turning down a lot of money, Liliana.” Jason continued, as if he thought she had no idea what she was refusing.

Liliana shrugged again, uncomfortable. She didn’t know how to explain that she didn’t feel right taking money for stealing games from Earth. She didn’t mind spreading them through the world. It desperately needed more entertainment, but she didn’t want to make money off of things she hadn’t come up with herself. She wasn’t even making the games herself. It wasn’t for her to make money off of stolen ideas.

“If they really want to repay me, just say your family owes me a favor.” Liliana conceded, still refusing to take the money. Jason sighed and shook his head but didn’t push, reading her stubbornness in her face and deciding it wasn’t his place to force her into something she didn’t want.

“Flint, Clover, can you two find Alistair and Silas? I want all of us to play a game together.” Liliana turned to the children, who had slunk forward to look at the games. At her order, they jumped up and shot out of the room. She could hear Flint’s voice through the house as he shouted for the others.

Liliana opened the box and set out the board, far more ornate and magical than any she’d seen on Earth. Each room was made in miniature, down to the furniture and depressed under the board, rather than over it, so everyone could see down into the rooms. The character pieces were all far more detailed than the basic versions she’d seen, each a perfect representation of their characters. Like the chess pieces she had, these too moved around and seemed to reflect the personality of the characters.

They had kept the spirit of the original pieces names, though as this world didn’t have mustard in the sense her world did he was named General Citrine and as this world’s peacocks were nothing like the ones she knew, nor were they just peacocks because why would they be, Mrs Peacock as such was now Dame Sapphire. They had slightly changed the other names to match the apparent gemstone theme and to fit the world better. Miss Scarlet was now Viscountess Ruby, Reverend Green became Priest Emerald as this world didn’t have reverends and a priest was the closest equivalent, Professor Plum was Professor Amethyst. Mrs. White switched to Mrs. Moonstone.

The weapons had also been slightly changed, and they looked realistic enough that Liliana expected them to grow to full size and be useable if she picked them up. Sadly, or perhaps for the best as children would be playing, they did not enlarge when she set them in place. The candlestick, dagger and rope stayed the same, but they changed the revolver to a crossbow. The lead pipe was now a cane, and the wrench was a hammer. She was fairly certain this world had wrenches, but she thought the change to hammer might be because more people were familiar with it and could recognize it easily as a weapon.

Liliana sorted the cards, marveling for a long moment on how well painted and designed they were before she shuffled them and picked out the three for the box that would hold them until the end of the game. She shuffled the rest of the cards and set them out for everyone to take. She set out the chalkboards included that could mark off rooms, weapons and characters last. Liliana had just finished setting up when the children returned, Alistair and Silas towed behind them.

“What’s going on? Flint grabbed me and didn’t say why,” Alistair started before his eyes locked on the game board and grin broke out.

“We’re playing a game. All of us.” Liliana declared.

Silas frowned but didn’t argue as he helped Liliana move the chairs around so they could all sit by the table. She detailed how the game worked and everyone picked out a character. Liliana took Dame Sapphire, Alistair grabbed Reverend Emerald, Jason took Professor Amethyst, Silas got General Citrine from a unanimous agreement. Clover took Mrs. Moonstone and Flint took Viscountess Ruby.

The game started off slowly; the adults and older teens helping the children understand the rules even if most of the adults barely had an idea how it worked and Silas had commandeered the rulebook. It was easy and fun and Liliana felt herself laughing and smiling more than she had in a long time.

“No, Clover, you have to roll a six to get into the kitchen. You only rolled a four.” Alistair gently informed the small beastman child, who was frowning at her dice, as if they’d personally insulted her.

“Why is my life determined by dice?” Clover asked, voice wearied as if she had lived a life full of gambling instead of simply being denied her choice of action.

“Flint, you can’t just shoot Priest Emerald because he might be the murderer. This is to solve a murder, not to cause one.” Liliana reached out to take the weapon out of Viscountess Ruby’s wooden hands, who seemed quite willing to try Flint’s method of sleuthing.

“Well, it would solve a problem if I did shoot him.” Flint said with a frown as he glared at Alistair.

“Why don’t you want to shoot Lili?” Alistair asked with an exaggerated pout. Liliana frowned at her brother and considered allowing this breaking of the rules.

“I could never harm Lady Lili.” Flint declared with a huff, earning a smile and ear scratch from Liliana.

“Jason, you can’t make your piece seduce the other pieces.” Silas said with a frown as he re-read the rule book and glared at his subordinate, who had been trying to get his piece to seduce the Viscountess Ruby piece.

“But I can seduce a woman, so why can’t Amethyst?” Jason demanded, finally distracted from his poor piece that looked to be on the verge of an anxiety attack from his player’s orders.

“You’ve never seduced a woman once in your life. Don’t lie, there are children, it’s a bad example to set.” Liliana chided with a frown.

“You wound me greatly, little lady.” Jason grabbed at his chest, falling back in a show of theatrics as if Liliana had dealt him a grievous wound with her words.

“Good. Your ego needs pruning.” Clover said in her no-nonsense tone of voice, setting Liliana and Alistair off in a round of loud guffaws. Jason looked flabbergasted at being told off by a small child, but he stopped trying to get poor Professor Amethyst to seduce the other pieces.

The game continued on, taking a while for everyone to get comfortable with the rules. Jason was the first to make an accusation and get it wrong, taking himself out of the running to win, much to his chagrin. Flint was soon after him, accusing Priest Emerald in the ballroom with the cane and getting eliminated when it was wrong as well. The remaining four players got serious as the others fell out and Liliana was reviewing her notes when Alistair made his suggestion and accusation.

“I accuse Dame Sapphire in the ballroom with the crossbow.” Alistair said confidently, going to check the cards, his face falling immediately.

“Hah, that’s what you get for turning on your sister.” Liliana said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

“Manners,” Silas said distractedly as he pored over his own notes and the rulebook.

The game continued with the three left, no one willing to make another wrong accusation as they kept suggesting and gathering evidence to win. Clover had a good poker face, her expression never changing when shown cards for her accusations, big doe eyes examining each room and piece as if willing them to tell her their secrets.

“Priest Emerald, in the ballroom with the dagger.” Liliana finally accused, certain after her suggestion of Professor Amethyst, the one she had been second most suspicious of, had revealed a card from Silas with the same character. She was grinning as she opened the box until she saw the proof that her accusation was only partially correct.

“This is my game. How did I lose?” Liliana asked as she flopped back in her seat with a groan.

They all watched on as Silas and Clover played round after round, moving around the board and throwing out the most random combinations of accusations. Silas seemed to take both the game and Clover seriously, which only made the young girl more determined to win. Despite being eliminated, the other four were on the edges of their seat when Clover finally set down her cards with a nod.

“It was Priest Emerald, in the ballroom with a crossbow.” Clover declared and when she opened the box she finally smiled, a full, rare grin from the normally reserved child as she revealed the cards stating she was right. Liliana watched in fascination as the other character pieces converged on Priest Emerald and dragged him off into a newly opened room, the dungeon, for his crimes.

“Good job,” Silas said as he set his cards down, nodding at the little girl, who sat up straighter, pride shining on her face.

“Alistair, how could you?” Liliana turned to her brother with a teasing smile.

“It wasn’t me! It was the priest!” Alistair defended, looking at his own chosen piece with betrayal.

“You picked him.” Jason jumped in, glad to not be the butt of the joke.

“I didn’t think a priest could be a murderer!” Alistair groaned.

“Can we play again?” Flint asked eagerly, and Liliana nodded, grabbing the cards to set it up again and freeing the poor priest from his imprisonment. Once everything was once more set up, everyone jumped back in, with a far better understanding of how to play the game and only a few instances of rules being broken.

They played the game for hours, Clover and Silas winning most of the games, with Liliana and Alistair both winning once. Jason and Flint didn’t win any, but the beastman child seemed to just enjoy playing rather than winning. Jason seemed to take his defeats personally and rejoined each new game with a vigor until he inevitably made a wrong accusation. Liliana had wanted to try out a few other games, but time flew by. It wasn’t until Alistair’s stomach growled, setting off a chain reaction around the room, that they all realized it was past dinnertime.

“Clover, could you ask the cook to make us something to eat?” Liliana asked the girl.

“But we want to keep playing!” Flint said with a frown, face reddening, when his stomach let out a long, loud growl that had the entire room chuckling at the noise.

“We can play again tomorrow,” Liliana told him. “Perhaps we can even try out some of the other games?” Liliana offered, nodding at the others. Flint perked up, mollified by this overture, and let Liliana put the game away for now.

Clover disappeared from the room to ask the cook to make them dinner. There was only a bare bones staff for the city house, two maids to keep it clean, and a cook. Since it would be used mostly by Silas and Jason, her father hadn’t seen a reason to pay more staff than what was strictly necessary to upkeep it.

Liliana couldn’t help but think it was his version of a punishment as well, knowing Liliana and Alistair would be staying there instead of returning home. If he thought less staff would make Liliana wish to return home, he truly had no grasp on who she was. She enjoyed the smaller staff. It meant fewer spying, judging eyes to watch her.

Silas left to finish the paperwork he had abandoned for the game and Jason wandered off to do... Well, Liliana wasn’t sure what, and she didn’t really want to. Probably try to ‘seduce’ the maids. More than likely, he would be rebuffed in his advances and nurse his wounded pride for a few hours. Flint left to get cleaned up. Somehow, he had managed to get dirt and something sticky on him during the process of the game. It left Liliana and Alistair alone in the room as she sat back on the floor to look over the games again.

“This was… nice.” Alistair said, as Liliana was pulling out Battleship to see how it differed to match this world.

“To just be a normal family?” Liliana asked with a soft, slightly melancholy smile at her brother.

“Is this what a normal family is like?” Alistair asked, voice unsure. Liliana paused, her smile falling as she looked at her brother before redirecting her gaze back to the game pieces in her hands.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is Ali.” Liliana said softly.

Not that she was an expert, but she remembered old memories, before this world, before the hospital, sitting at a dining room table, a game board spread before her. Two parents who filled a room with love and laughter as they played games together, disregarding rulebooks in favor of simply having fun. She remembered movies, shows, books, where characters had days like this often with their families. Days full of silliness, smiles, laughter, and love.

“Thank you,” Alistair finally said, sliding off his seat to sit beside her, leaning his shoulder into hers as he picked up one of the hyper realistic ships she was holding and turning it over.

“Why?” Liliana asked as she laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying the new closeness they had shared since they had revealed so much to each other. Touch starved was a term she’d read about, in her last life, that she thought might describe the two of them well. With how eagerly they both sought out physical affection and the comfort of someone to lean against.

“You gave me this, Lili. A family.” Alistair said softly, “You gave me something I didn’t even realize I had yearned for, not until you gave it to me and I saw what I had missed.” He finished, reaching out his free hand to grip hers, squeezing lightly.

“You gave me a family too, Ali.” Liliana told him with a smile, feeling her chest fill with warmth, love. A sense of being home.

Alistair was home, Silas, Jason, Flint, and Clover were home. A home that was starting to slowly feel more complete with each day that passed, with each new, happy memory she made with them. A family built painstakingly, bound together by love, not just blood. It was more than she’d ever dared to hope for, but something she’d dreamed of for longer than she could remember.

Thank you, Vita, for giving me this chance to have a family. To have a home. Even with everything else you put on me, it’s worth it. For this, for these moments. Liliana sent the thanks off into the ether, hoping the goddess would hear it, and understand her gratitude. She might still have mixed feelings for the goddess and the fate she’d forced on her, but she could be grateful for the good that came with the bad.

“We should go out shopping tomorrow. We need to get the kids’ presents for their birthdays, since we finally know what day it is, even if we missed it.” Alistair said after several long minutes spent staring at wooden ships, leaning into each other and enjoying this peaceful moment.

“They’re going to be so spoiled.” Liliana said with a grin.

“They deserve it.” Alistair said, and Liliana felt a pang in her heart.

She and Alistair had deserved to be spoiled, to have good childhoods. They might have not gotten the chance, but they could ensure these two children got everything they didn’t. They could break the cycle and ensure Flint and Clover didn’t have to grow up wondering what it was like to be loved, to be safe, what a normal family was like. It wouldn't make up for everything they hadn’t gotten, but perhaps in giving Flint and Clover what they didn’t have, they could heal some of the wounds still sitting in their chests.

Chapter 151: Shopping Sprees and Kidnappings

“How many shops are you going to drag me into?” Alistair asked with a beleaguered sigh, as Liliana practically skipped next to him.

“We have to get the kids’ gifts, Alistair. So we’ll go to as many shops as is necessary to get the perfect ones,” Liliana informed her brother, perking up when she spotted a jewelry store. “Clover would love something pretty to wear,” she stated, grabbing his arm to pull him into the store.

“Can’t you just get them toys or something?” Alistair groaned, but he let her drag him into that store, and the one after it, and the one after that.

For a shopping trip, Liliana bought little. She spent more time enthusing over the different things she saw, or picking apart the flaws in the items until the employees in the stores gave them dark looks that told Alistair it was time to drag his sister away before they got thrown out. Liliana wouldn’t admit she was slightly obsessed with getting the ideal gifts for the children who had crawled into her heart and made themselves at home. It was the first birthday they’d ever been able to celebrate. The gifts had to be perfect.

“We should stop by a weapon store next. I want to get the kids some weapons for leveling.” Liliana told her brother after they’d left a spice store where Alistair had ended up having a sneezing fit after Liliana shoved a bottle of spices under his nose to smell.

“I’d be happy if you just bought something,” Alistair groaned, rubbing at his puffy nose and shooting his sister half hearted glares.

“It’s got to be-“ Liliana started.

“Perfect. Yes, you’ve said that about ten times now, Lili. I think the kids will be happy with anything you buy them. They idolize you.” Alistair said, ruffling her hair despite her attempts to dodge the gesture.

“Jerk,” Liliana stuck her tongue out at her brother as she smoothed her ruffled hair. Her gaze wandered the shopping district in the capital, far more sprawling than Ravencross and many times more crowded. Her eyes caught on a familiar figure, and her face broke into a wide grin.

“Is that Diana?” she asked her brother.

“Looks like it is.” Alistair agreed once he noticed their classmate sitting at a cafe. Liliana looked at her brother, who seemed rather exhausted from the shopping trip.

“Why don’t you go eat with her? I’ll stop by the weapon shop and catch up with you,” Liliana offered. Alistair looked at her, eyebrows raised, and she smiled at him, pushing him in the direction of the other girl.

“Go on, I’ll be fine.” Liliana urged him and Alistair finally relented, walking off to greet their friend, while Liliana waved at the two before rejoining the flow of people making their way through the district.

It was the first time she’d been shopping, in any life, on her own. In her past life before the hospital, she’d always gone with her parents, for she’d been too young to go alone. In this life, she’d always had guards following her around, being sure she didn’t get kidnapped. But Silvergate was the capital, and far safer than Ravencross. There were city guard patrols walking the streets constantly, with additional guards posted at regular intervals. It was midday. The biggest danger to Liliana was pickpockets. She had Polaris with her in his soul stone. She was as safe as she could be.

Still, Liliana rubbed her arms, unused to being out in the open alone anywhere that wasn’t the Academy. Her steps picked up and she let out a small breath of relief when she got to the weapons store she’d seen and marked as a place to look at since they’d started this adventure. The Iron Sword declared the name of the shop from a sign hanging over the door. Slipping in to the sound of cheery bells, Liliana took a moment to take a breath of the familiar scent of metal, leather and oil.

Weapons filled every corner of the store. Swords in racks, bows of every kind on the walls, staffs, spears, halberds, daggers, they all covered the walls and shelves in the store. Liliana felt a draconian greed fill her as she drifted to the display of daggers. She picked up one with a serrated blade and held it in her hand, testing the weight. She set it down to try out another.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” a voice called out, and Liliana turned to see a thin whip of a man standing behind her. A quick [Identify] told her his name was Harold Forger.

“Ah, yes.” Liliana said, flushing slightly as she set down the bone dagger she’d picked up carefully. “I’m looking for a sword for a newly Awakened boy. He’s 10, about this tall,” Liliana motioned to her midriff, “and a bow for a girl about the same height, also newly Awakened, same age.” Liliana explained.

“Beastmen?” Harold asked, moving towards the sword display.

“Yea, how did you know?” Liliana asked as the man as she followed him.

“They’re the only race that Awakens at ten. We get a fairly diverse range of customers in Silvergate, more so than other territories.” Harold explained as he started to pull out weapons. “What are their lineages, do you know?” he asked.

“Ah, the boy, his lineage is Silver Tipped Ghost Cat. The girl, hers is Raindeer.” Liliana answered easily, information she’d gotten the day before when the children had happily informed her of it after getting access to their Systems.

“He’ll stay pretty slight then, so something light for him. The girl will probably end up taller than him. Raindeer are fairly robust creatures.” Harold said as he picked out a slim sword and moved to the bows, picking out a simple but elegant recurve made of a light wood.

“This has a forty-pound draw weight. It might be a bit much for her at first, but she should grow into it quickly.” Harold explained, and he picked out another recurve, this one dark wood, “this has a twenty-five-pound draw weight. She should start with this and move on once the draw gets easy for her. She’ll likely need a stronger draw before too long, so be sure to visit us again once she outgrows these two.” He elaborated as he moved on, picking out a quiver and grabbing a few bundles of arrows. He grabbed several bowstrings, a sheath for the sword, a case for the bow, cleaning and care kits for the weapons before he set the growing haul on the counter for her.

“Is there anything you want for yourself?” Harold asked her, looking pointedly at the daggers.

“No, I’m in the Academy. Can’t use weapons I buy outside of it.” Liliana said with a wistful sigh. She would’ve loved a chance to get some more weapons for herself. No matter how many she already had, there was no such thing as having too many.

“Shame that, maybe you could get a dagger for the two kids, though? It’s always good to have a second weapon.” Harold tried and Liliana smiled.

She knew he was trying to get a good sale out of her, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t like she was burning through her own money, and she’d have to buy out every store in the shopping district before she even put a noticeable dent in the Rosengarde treasury.

“That’s not a bad idea,” she said and Harold smiled genially at her and lead her through, picking out two daggers for the children.

Liliana did go for something a bit more ornate, but still usable, for Clover and something utilitarian for Flint. The counter was covered in weapons and supplies by the time they were done. Liliana didn’t bother wondering how Harold knew she could afford it. Even in the capital, the name Rosengarde was well known. She handed over a check for the cost and stored the children’s gifts in her storage.

Liliana waved to Harold as she left, checking the time and blanching when she realized she’d spent over an hour in the weapons store. Alistair was likely to organize a search party for her if she didn’t find him quickly. Liliana hurried through the throngs of people, not paying much attention to anyone as she moved.

Perhaps her lack of attention was why she didn't notice the shadow following her. Perhaps it was because she was excited at finally finding gifts for the children. Or maybe she’d grown lazy, being in the Academy for months, where it was safe.

Whatever the reason Liliana didn’t notice she was being followed, suspected nothing was wrong until a hand grabbed her and threw her into an alleyway in a move so smooth and swift she barely had time to realize she’d been grabbed before a knife was pressed to her throat.

“What-“ Liliana started, fear and adrenaline pumping through her once she realized what had happened.

Someone was standing in front of her, a male by his figure, but his face was obscured by a deep hood filled with shadows that could only be magical in nature. [Identify] told her nothing. She hardly expected it to. Someone going through so much effort to hide his face wouldn’t make such a rudimentary mistake as letting himself be identified. Liliana’s mind worked overtime to catalogue what she could of the man with her easiest manner of gathering information barred from her.

Broad shoulders, taller than her, perhaps an inch shorter than Alistair. His musculature was hidden by his clothes, baggy enough to disguise much of his body. Strong enough that Liliana knew she wasn’t going to break free of his grasp, and fast enough to snatch her off a crowded street without anyone presumably noticing, judging by the lack of shouting guards storming the alley.

“Scream and I’ll slit your throat before anyone gets to you.” A voice rasped out at her.

Liliana froze, her mouth half opened, prepared to do just that when the knife bit down, hard enough that she felt a sharp surge of pain and then the wet heat of blood trickling over her skin. Liliana’s eyes flitted between the man before her and the alleyway entrance, half obscured by boxes. No one could see her, no one would come unless she screamed. But her Health regen and [Regeneration] wouldn’t save her from a slit throat.

Should’ve put more points in Vitality, shit. Liliana thought as she felt her heartbeat speed up, thundering against her ribcage, begging her to run or fight, to do anything but stay against this rough brick wall with a knife pressed to her throat.

“You’re going to regret this.” Liliana got out, swallowing harshly against the feeling of a knife at her throat.

Her hands twitched around empty air, grasping for a weapon she didn’t have, and she barely held back a whimper as the knife dug deeper. She could feel blood staining her top now, the bleeding icon flashing in her peripherals as if it was mocking her.

“Ah ah ah, don’t try to grab anything, you’re not faster than me.” The man told her, and though she couldn’t see it, she could hear the satisfied smirk in his voice. Liliana forced her body to freeze. She couldn’t reach her summoning stone like this, couldn’t summon a weapon before she’d be dead.

If he wanted me dead, he’d have done it. He wants something. Liliana thought, mind moving at a breakneck pace trying to find a way out of this.

“What do you want? Money? You have to be desperate to grab me in broad daylight. My brother is going to be looking for me. He’ll call the guards if he doesn’t see me soon, then you’ll have half the guards in the city after you.” Liliana was rambling. She knew that. But she needed time, time to think of a way out of this that didn’t end with her bleeding out in an alleyway.

“I have enough time for what I need to do.” The man told her, leaning close enough she could smell his breath, rancid, rotten, foul enough to make her gag, the knife digging in as she tried to resist throwing up and slicing her own neck open on his knife.

“Well, don’t hold me in suspense. And please, don’t breathe on me. Soap exists, you know.” Liliana choked out, trying to not cough on the man’s stench. It wasn’t just his breath that stunk, it was the man himself. Had he been rolling around in a pile of decomposing corpses and taking baths in the sewers?

“Sassy. You should learn some manners before someone guts you for that mouth,” the man taunted, and Liliana blinked watering eyes.

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Liliana spat out. She wasn’t about to take decorum advice from a man who smelled like a dumpster and apparently liked grabbing young women and holding them at knifepoint in alleyways.

“I’m here as a messenger. You wronged someone you could never stand against.” The man whispered into her ear and Liliana fought hard against the instinctual response to get away from this man and his nauseating scent.

“Did Zir’elon send you?” Liliana gagged out. She’d skin the prince if he did this, Academy rules and Cista laws be damned. This was too far.

“Make a lot of enemies, do you?” The man taunted, and Liliana barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Were kidnappers normally this chatty? Better than him slitting her throat, but with how his stench was making her stomach roil, she was contemplating if that wasn’t the better choice at this point.

“It’s my favorite hobby.” Liliana hissed at the man with a glare.

“Hah, no. Someone far more powerful, far older. He doesn’t like it when his tools get minds of their own.” The man spat at her, his earlier teasing tone replaced with a cold, deadly timbre that sent shivers racing down Liliana’s spine. That was the voice of a killer.

“Once you’re his, you don’t get free. You made a pact and broke it, and he wants his due.” The man continued, his voice taking on a deeper tone, sounding almost like two voices layered on top of each other. Liliana felt as if she’d been dropped into an icy lake, a frigid chill filling her veins as her heart paused in her chest before redoubling its efforts to escape.

“You’re his. Always were. Always will be and he’ll be coming back to find his wayward pet soon enough,” the man’s inhuman voice crooned and Liliana pressed herself further into the wall, to get away from the man, his voice, his smell, everything about him.

It wasn’t possible. She had gotten away. She had buried that pendant somewhere even she could never find. There was no way this man was implying what he was, but… the voice. The words. Liliana knew, with a certainty that stole her breath and made her knees almost buckle under her, that it was real. She had never truly escaped.

“Lili?” a voice called out.

Hope bloomed in her chest before fear overtook it. She didn’t want this man, this thing, anywhere near her brother. She’d been praying to be found seconds before. Now she was hoping with everything fiber of her being that her brother wouldn’t find her.

“Maybe we’ll need to remove your pesky ties to remind you who you should owe your loyalty to.” The man was grinning. She could feel it. Fear and anger twisted together in her chest until the feeling overwhelmed her.

“Leave him alone.” Liliana spat out, hands flexing with the urge for a weapon to sink into this man.

“You lost the privilege to request things when you refused the offer given to you, Liliana Rosengarde. The time for niceties is over. You obviously need a far more permanent reminder of who you belong to.” The voice chuckled in her ear, the knife biting deeper, blood pouring down her neck, soaking her shirt. She felt her vision get dark around the edges as her Health trickled lower with each drop of blood she lost in this dingy alleyway.

“Remember what it’s like to be weak, because that’s all you’ll ever be without my help, little Liliana. I’ll take everything you love from you until you have nothing left but me.” The voice, that cursed voice that haunted many of her nightmares still, flooded her ears and drained the fight from her as surely as that knife was draining the blood from her body.

With one last bite of the knife, the man stepped back, fading into the shadows before she could summon a weapon or take in another breath, leaving her alone in the alleyway, hands grasping at her neck that was still pouring blood. Liliana sank to her knees, her legs giving out as fear slammed into her in a relentless and drowning tide. She activated [Regeneration], taking in short, panicked breaths as one hand scrambled for her summoning stone.

“Blood!” Polaris’ voice cried out as soon as he appeared.

“Who did this? Lili?” he demanded, hackles raised and fangs bared as he searched for a threat that was gone, or supposedly gone. Polaris crowded her, wings extended as he pressed into her, offering comfort while his eyes scanned the alleyway.

“Him.” Liliana shoved the memories at Polaris, and she felt the fear shake through her Bond.

Polaris and Lelantos knew best perhaps what she’d just faced. What wanted her back. What she’d tried so hard to run away from, what she’d thought was dealt with and over, foolish a thought it had been. Fate wasn’t done trying to right itself yet, it seemed.

“Lili?” her brother’s voice called out, louder now, but Liliana couldn’t get herself to talk.

Her mouth was frozen shut from the fear that was making her vision swim. Or was that the blood loss? Polaris called out to Alistair for her, summoning her brother, who entered the alleyway, face going from confused to concerned as soon as he spotted her, curled up on the dirty ground, covered in blood that her throat was still steadily leaking.

“Lili! What happened? Who did this to you?” Alistair demanded, as he fell to his knees before her and gathered her shaking body into his arms.

“Liliana?” a voice called out seconds before Diana walked into the alleyway, following Alistair. A scream ripped from the girl when she took in the disturbing sight: Liliana soaked in blood, wrapped in Alistair’s arms, her brother streaked with her blood from where he’d grabbed onto her. Liliana knew it looked like a murder scene and she didn’t blame the girl for her scream.

“Get the guards!” Alistair barked out to Diana, who looked seconds from fainting.

Diana bolted out of the alleyway, screaming for help as Alistair pulled her closer to him. His hands filled with potions that he pressed into her hands, forcing her to drink them when her hands wouldn’t grip them, filling her up on potions until the bleeding stopped, even if the trembling didn’t. She hadn’t realized she was shaking until her brother grabbed her wildly quaking hands in his own, nor did she realize how cold she was until the heat of his skin scalded her frozen hands. As if her fear had truly filled her with ice.

“Lili? What happened?” Alistair asked. Liliana could only shake her head, words still refusing to leave her lips, her mind a whirlwind of turmoil.

How could this happen? Polaris had hidden the necklace. There was no way someone could get to it, even if they found where he’d hidden it. It was locked, soulbound. Only she could open it. So how had that thing found her? It couldn’t be the entitiy’s true body, it had to be someone else it was controlling. But how?

Were there more pendants? More cursed items in the world, just waiting for someone to stumble upon them, to get trapped in its thrall? If there were, how many were there? And why wouldn’t that thing leave her alone?

Liliana was shaking. No matter how tightly her brother held her, no matter how many blankets the guards piled on her when they found her and escorted her to their offices to get her statement, a bone-deep chill had invaded her body. Because if that thing still wanted her, was still looking for her, she couldn’t imagine anything that could stand up against it.

She remembered the taste of power it had given her, how she could’ve leveled an entire manor with the bit of power it had given her. Who could stand against that, if it had more people under its thrall, with access to that power?

Lilian gave the guards what information she had on the man. Which wasn’t much, she couldn’t [Identify] him, couldn’t see his face. But she gave what little she had gleaned of his figure, noting how awfully he smelt, as that had stuck out to her the most, even in her panicked state of mind.

She couldn’t tell them about the entity. How would she even explain that? She’d never seen anything in the books she’d read in this world about possession, or entities that possessed through artifacts. She’d researched, looked everywhere she could for information on what had happened to her, and come up with nothing. Even in a world of magic and myth, there were some things that were still too strange, too impossible for most to believe.

If she told them of the entity, they’d think she’d gone mad. So Liliana told them what she could, and she accepted their assurances that the guards would find the culprit, knowing it was false promises. Hoping the guards didn’t find him, knowing none of them would be able to stand against him.

Liliana let her brother and Silas, who Alistair had sent a messenger to as soon as the guards came, guide her back to the house they were staying in. Let them fill her with hot soups and cover her in more blankets, let them fuss with her. But it was all useless, because a chill of fear had taken root, winding its thorny tendrils through her body.

And for the first time since she’d come to this world, Liliana had no idea what to do to fight an enemy. Had no plans, nothing but an icy dread resting in her chest.

Chapter 152: When You Hit Your Lowest, Take My Hand And Step Into The Light

“Lili, you need to eat,” Alistair’s gentle voice called out from the doorway.

Liliana didn’t turn her head to greet him, her gaze stuck on the window, sapphire eyes dull. She was ensconced in a mountain of blankets so high her head barely poked out, and there was a roaring fire in the hearth that blazed away, despite it being summer. The room was sweltering, and even still Liliana remained shivering, a bitter cold having set its teeth into her body and refusing to relinquish its hold.

A healer had been called an hour after she’d come home, her skin still cold to the touch. They’d worried there had been poison on the blade because of her reaction, but a healer found that there was nothing technically wrong with her. It was a mental affliction, one of her own making.

In a world where magic interacted so heavily with everything, it was within the realm of possibilities for someone to turn their own Mana against themselves. For their mental demons to become a genuine danger to themselves. For the cold she so vividly imagined icing over her innards, to become real enough to affect her.

There had been offers to have a healer with a Psyche affinity come to aid her, but Liliana had refused. She had too many secrets in her mind to risk having anyone else messing with her head. Her status as a soul from another world was safe enough. Her boons ensured no one would gain that knowledge from her, but the rest of it, the memories from this life, those were at risk. The healer had told them that she could overcome it on her own, but Liliana wasn’t so sure anymore. Wasn’t sure she was strong enough to untangle the choking tangle of dark thoughts jumbled in her mind.

“Lili. Please.” Alistair pleaded as he stepped further in.

Liliana flinched at his intrusion, and she didn’t have to look to know the heartbroken expression that surely painted his features. Liliana hadn’t flinched from her brother, not for over a year now. But she couldn’t help it. His presence hurt. The guilt was suffocating her, a heavy weight on her chest, pressing the air from her lungs. Alistair was at risk now because of her. At risk from an enemy neither of them could ever hope to defeat. How could they fight someone who had powers comparable to a god’s?

He was a target, because she had been weak enough to care for him. Now he was a weakness someone could exploit to break her, and he had no idea he was even in danger. He deserved to know, to understand the peril he faced because of his association with her. Because of the mistake he’d made in loving her. Yet Liliana couldn’t speak the words. Couldn’t admit to him her failures, what she’d brought into their lives thanks to the darkness tainting her soul and her greed for power.

I thought I’d changed the story enough. I thought I’d changed all of our fates enough, so it wouldn’t matter anymore what was supposed to be. Isn’t that how these stories are supposed to go? A person from Earth gets thrown into a fantasy world from a book or game and they change it so much that the original story is nothing but a faint memory? Isn’t the butterfly effect supposed to be real?

Have I not done enough? Am I so useless I can’t even do this much? Am I so incompetent and weak I can’t even turn a dark fate away from those I love the most?

Useless. Selfish. Incompetent. Stupid. Naïve. Once a villain, always a villain destined to hurt anyone close to me. Liliana thought darkly, curling her arms tighter around herself at the thoughts. The words reverberated in her head, an endless cycle, the voice gradually shifting from her own into a far more detested and hateful one. It was always Imogen’s voice she heard when her thoughts got the darkest. Over a year, the woman had been imprisoned and yet Liliana still was not free of her poisonous tongue.

A deep growl drew her eyes, finally, from the window to face Lelantos, who had risen from his position beside the bed, his hackles raised and his lips pulled from his formidable fangs in a snarl as he faced her.

“Lelantos?” Alistair asked, voice unsure and wary. Lelantos had never shown aggression towards Liliana. Of all her bonds, he was the least likely to disobey, to show any hostility towards Liliana. Her first bond, her most loyal and steadfast protector.

“No.” Lelantos’ voice thundered through their bond with all the strength of his roar. The force of it reverberated through Liliana, making her very bones vibrate with the conviction behind it.

“I’m not wrong.” Liliana sent back, her voice dull, toneless. Empty.

“Don’t you dare say that!” Polaris snarled at her, standing beside her on the bed, wings extended and tails thrashing behind him as he faced her.

It was so easy to forget sometimes that her bonds were very much wild creatures, not truly tame nor even close to domesticated. Intelligent they may be, but docile and tame, they most certainly would never be. Their wildness was never more evident than right then. As they stared her down, fangs bared, growls thrumming in their chests as they stood against her thoughts and declarations.

“A tiger fights. You do not welcome defeat; you fight it. Even if it comes from inside.” Lelantos pushed at her, his words more eloquently put together than ever before, even as they ripped through their bond with all the power of a challenge roar. It stirred something weak inside of her, an animalistic side of herself that had only grown with every new bond she made. The wild side of herself she kept hidden under a veil of civility, but was never truly caged. It hissed and clawed at the restraints of despair and numbness Liliana had placed on it, wanting to respond to the challenge in Lelantos’ voice.

But it was so hard to fight. She was always fighting. Someone, something. People. Monsters. Her own thoughts. Always fighting. What was the use of fighting when it all meant nothing in the end? All her years of effort worthless in the face of something that could bring a city to its knees.

“You are a fighter, Lili. You always have been. Do not lose yourself now. Fight, Lili. Fight death, fight this thing that means to ruin you. Fight.” Polaris ordered her, with all the force of his lineage behind him. For a moment, Liliana felt like Minori was in the room with them, her aura pressing down, her words decrees from heaven itself, bending the very world to her whims.

Once more, that beast within her growled and thrashed. Liliana could almost feel the chains on it cracking, hairline fractures skittering across thick shackles as it bucked against her hold.

“You would not let me lose myself to despair and vengeance, seeking absolution in blood and readying myself for a pointless death. Do not become that which you advocated against.” Nemesis hissed in her ear, coils tightening around her chest where she had wound herself, her fangs glittering with poison.

Liliana could almost hear the metal breaking in her mind, but the anger that filled her wasn’t directed at what it should be. It chose easier targets, leaking into her and turning her into a cornered, wounded animal, swiping at anything nearby to it in fear.

“Don’t you get it?! I can’t fight this! I can’t! It’s too strong, and they’ll all die because of me! It could target you because of me! Don’t you see? I’m a curse, a plague on anyone I let close enough to care about because now they’re all targets! And I can’t fight it!” Liliana finally cried out, not even realizing she had spoken aloud in her despair and rage as she sunk her hands in her hair, arms covering her face as she bent double, hiding herself behind the safety of her own body.

Tears poured down her face as she sobbed at the words, dropping her head to her blanket covered knees as she choked on her own agony. The shackles on the beast restrengthened themselves as Liliana forced it down, where it couldn’t remind her of what it felt like to fight. To curse this world and everything that told her she wasn’t enough and drove her on to prove them wrong. Because they’d all been right.

“Lili?!” Alistair’s voice cried out, finally shaken from his shocked stupor from seeing the beasts in the room act so bizarrely by his sister’s agonized words.

The tray crashed to the ground as he flung himself at his sister, prying her hands from her head and holding tightly to them as she fought against his touch, so warm it burned her gelid skin. Didn’t he understand? She had to hide herself away. She couldn’t look at their faces, encouraging her, believing in her. She didn’t deserve it!

“Lili, stop fighting me.” Alistair grunted out as she tugged at her arms, trying to free them, uncaring for how her bones creaked and her skin chafed from his grip as she thrashed in his hold.

“Let me go! I’ve sentenced you to death, Alistair! You should hate me!” Liliana cried out as Alistair physically moved her around until he was behind her, her wrists still caught in his iron grasp as he hugged her to his chest, his warmth leaking onto her skin, trying to defrost her frozen body.

“Lili, what are you talking about? Tell me, please. I could never hate you. Never.” Alistair reassured her, his voice verging on panic as he tried to calm her frantic state.

“I’ll tell him if you don’t. You can’t continue to bear this burden alone, kit. And he deserves to understand.” Polaris warned. Liliana let out a broken cry at his words, shaking her head fiercely.

“You can’t. You can’t. He’ll hate me, he’ll leave. You can’t. Please, I don’t want to be alone again.” Liliana pleaded with her Bond. It was selfish, her request. She knew it. But she knew she was a selfish being, from the first time she had accepted Alistair’s outstretched hand. No, from the first time she’d accepted anyone’s outstretched hand. She’d been desperate to ease the ache of loneliness that had transcended lifetimes.

Polaris regarded her solemnly, and she knew he would, because to him this wouldn’t be a betrayal. It would be what he deemed necessary for her health and life. It would be him protecting her, even if she disagreed. Even if it would bring to life her deepest fears.

Her greatest fear had never been becoming a villain. It had never been becoming something bloodthirsty and evil.

Her greatest fear had always been being alone.

It was a fear she and the original Liliana shared, strengthened and reinforced with the combined weight of two lifetimes of loneliness compounding. It was such a core part of who she was she had accepted the love and care of those who most needed to be protected from her. So deeply integral in her character that she’d built her class around never being alone ever again.

It was why she thought now, in the back of her mind, that the original Liliana and accepted the amulet and all it had offered. Not for revenge, not for power, though that might have been the surface motivations. But because she’d been a lonely, hurt little girl who just wanted someone who would never leave her.

“Fine.” Liliana spat out, eyes cold as she glared at her Bond.

He sent his love, his overwhelming concern and worry for her through their bond, for a moment drowning out her own feelings. Her glare faltered and her head dropped in the face of the honesty of his emotions. She could never hate him for loving her, even if he forced her to confront things she’d rather leave dead and buried deep in her subconscious. Where the only person they could hurt was her.

But she was no longer the only one being hurt by her memories, was she?

Just this once, she could be the selfless hero the brother she so admired would one day be.

“I didn’t tell the guards everything.” Liliana spoke, her arms relaxing and stilling as she leaned back into her brother, selfishly taking these last few moments where he still loved her. She’d always been a selfish person, and now Alistair would finally understand the depths her depravity reached.

“I know,” Alistair murmured, his arms folding around her, still holding her wrists as he hugged her.

“The man who attacked me- I don’t know who he is. That’s true. But it doesn’t matter, because I know what’s controlling him.” Liliana stared at the ceiling, eyes dull as she locked her heart up in her chest, boxing her emotions away until she felt a cold apathy taking over her mind. The growling of the beast inside her finally quieted as the soothing nothingness so reminiscent of the Void washed over her mind.

It was easier if she didn’t care, for now. She could postpone the heartbreak for later, and she wasn’t sure she could tell everything if she could feel the shame, the hate, she still harbored for herself.

You’ve discovered the skill Frozen Heart! Would you like to accept this skill?

Frozen Heart: Psyche

Stop your emotions, as if you had frozen your very heart. Your heart will still beat and function as normal, but you will not suffer at the hands of tumultuous and painful emotions as long as the skill is active.

WARNING: Frequent use of this skill can eventually result in an inability to feel any emotions and can impact soul bonded beings’ emotions and ability to feel emotions as well.

Cost:

200 Stamina a minute

Liliana paused her story at the notification that popped up. She stared at it for long moments, trying to judge if the skill was worth the cost.

Would it be so bad? To sever her emotions off? To not feel anything at all? Her pain, it would end with a single skill. She’d never again have to feel as if she was slowly bleeding out from a wounded heart again. Every step she took, tinged crimson with the blood she dripped every day from a heart that had never been given a chance to heal before some new cut was slashed into it.

“Do not accept. It will turn you into the very thing you do not wish to be. It will sever your love, Lili. You will no longer care for anyone or anything. It will turn you hard, cold, and cruel. You will become like your father.” Polaris warned, his voice harsh in her mind.

Liliana physically recoiled from the skill at his words and denied it. She might wish her pain would lessen, but she would never sacrifice the love she had for her friends, her family, her bonds. It was who she was, it was what guided her. Without that love, she would be nothing at all. She’d take agonizing, debilitating pain every second of every day if it was the price she had to pay for love.

She would never become like her father. She hated the man with every fiber of her being, and the thought of being like him made her ill. The apathy cloaking her lessened. Her emotions were still distant. But she could feel them now that the skill had been entirely denied to her. Something deep inside of her purred subtly, and she wasn’t sure if it was a response from her bonds or herself at her choice.

“Lili?” Alistair asked after the silence continued for too long.

“Sorry, a notification popped up.” She murmured as she remembered where she was, what she was supposed to be doing. Telling the truth, revealing secrets she had guarded as a dragon protected its hoard.

“The thing controlling him. I know it because,” Liliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fortifying herself, “because it controlled me, too.” Liliana whispered the words, shrinking down into herself, pulling away from Alistair to curl tighter.

“What? What are you talking about, Lili?” Alistair asked, his voice distressed and confused.

“The pendant. That we found in our first dungeon. Do you remember it?” Liliana asked, her voice so small, so broken now.

“Yes?” Alistair said it like a question, his hands flexing around her wrists.

“It was cursed. Or a conduit. Whatever it was, it enabled some thing to commune through it to whoever wore it.” Liliana spat the words out, tears prickling in her eyes. How could she face her brother once she confessed how rotten she was to her core? How weak she had been? How weak she still was?

“After-“ Liliana took in another gulp of air, “After the first assassin attacked, I wore it. I was so scared, and I felt so alone. I knew Imogen was sending the assassins and I-I-“ Liliana couldn’t continue, the words getting stuck. How could she confess she hadn’t been able to trust Alistair? When it was her who had done things that could never be forgiven?

“You couldn’t trust me, because you thought I might side with my mother.” Alistair finished for her, his voice soaked in sadness, but coated in understating, too. It loosened something in Liliana’s chest. That cloak of apathy lifted further, and she noticed, distantly, that her fingers stung as if they were heating up again.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Alistair.” Liliana said, tears finally breaking free and coursing down her face once more.

“Don’t be. I hadn’t done much to earn your trust by then. Not enough to make up for what she did to you.” Alistair said, his voice soft and kind as he tried to tug her back to him. Liliana resisted, shaking her head. She wasn’t done, and he wouldn't want to touch her once she was.

“The pendant, I didn’t know what it was, but I could sense the power on it. It oozed off of it. I thought it was my only option to protect myself from assassins I couldn’t hope to stand against.” Liliana continued, tears still falling and her voice weak and trembling like her body, still trapped in eternal shivers.

“It… whispered things. In my mind. Made me suspicious of everyone, seeing enemies where there weren’t any. It made- no. It suggested I distance myself from everyone and I listened.” Liliana corrected herself, not willing to lay the blame on the pendant when every choice had been hers to make, and she had. Influence or not, she had made her choices and she would own them.

“Then the night the second assassin attacked I-“ Liliana cut off again, hunching her shoulders and gripping at her sides, ignoring the hold her brother still had on her wrists.

“I was watching while the assassin’s blade plunged towards my heart. I couldn’t do anything. I was about to die. I was desperate, and I reached for anything that would save me. The pendant, whatever is behind it, reached back.” Liliana forced the words out around a suddenly numb tongue and closing throat.

She could feel it. The helplessness, the desperation. The will to live no matter the cost. The pain, the exhilaration, the delayed terror when she realized she no longer had control of her body and no idea if she ever would again.

“It took control of my body. Flooded me with power I’ve never felt before. It was like I was channeling a god. It was the most euphoric experience I’ve ever had, and the most violating thing to ever happen to me. It killed the assassin, using my body to do it. It broke my body, for the story it told me I had to sell. It used me like a puppet, and I let it! I asked for it to!” Liliana’s voice rose with each word, ending on a wail at the end, as sobs choked out of her.

“Oh Lili,” Alistair’s voice sounded broken behind her and he tugged her harder, and this time Liliana wasn’t strong enough, selfless enough, to refuse the comfort. She turned her head and hid it in his shoulder. He let her cry into him until she could breathe again, until she could get words out once more.

“That’s not all of it.” She said, her voice rough and ragged.

“It’s not even the worst of it. I would’ve kept the pendant. It was addictive, the power it promised. It was like a drug. I hated it, hated what it had done to me. I wanted to slough off my own skin to get the feeling of it out of my body. But I couldn’t let go of it. Not once it had given me a taste of the power it promised. I could’ve leveled the entire manor that night. It would’ve, if it felt like it. I had no control. Despite knowing that, I still couldn’t remove the thing. Lelantos had to rip it from my neck.” Liliana confessed, her voice full of the hate she still felt for herself. “It violated me, in the worst way it could’ve. It removed my free will. And I still wanted it even as I feared it, despised it, with every part of me.” Liliana whispered the last words, confessing her sin. But not the end of it.

“Lili-“ Alistair said, his voice still gentle. Liliana shook her head sharply, cutting his words off.

“I hid it in a ring, soul bound to me so no one could get to it. But I couldn’t get rid of it. I tried to destroy it, but nothing worked. And then. After Astrid, I-I,” Liliana’s nails bit into her arm as she forced herself to continue her sordid story, “I wanted to use it again. And somehow I knew, if I did, I’d kill anyone who stood between me and Imogen. You, Emyr, anyone. If I took the pendant out and put it on. I knew I’d never escape it a second time. And yet, I still considered it.” Liliana spoke the words as if they were punched out of her, in a rush that was barely decipherable.

“And then I gave Polaris the ring and ordered him to hide it somewhere no one would find it. And ordered him to never reveal the location to me, because I’d never be strong enough to resist its call if I knew where it was.” Liliana spoke her one redeeming facet to this story.

She’d ensured she could never fall so far again, but it was a pale redemption in the face of the fact that she had wanted the pendant. Had been prepared to sell her soul to the devil for revenge.

“I thought it was the only one. I was naïve. Now whatever is behind the pendant has found me again, and it wants me back. And it’s going to target everyone I care about to get to me, to shatter my heart and soul, so I come crawling back to it, a broken shell of who I was. Because of my weakness, my selfishness, you’re in danger now, Alistair.” Liliana finished her confession, voice dripping in venom directed at herself, her heart aching with the self-flagellation she heaped on it for all her mistakes.

“Lili,” Alistair started, then stopped. She braced herself for his words, for his blows that were sure to come. She deserved every cruel word, every strike.

“Lili, I’m so sorry.” Alistair finally said, the words so unexpected Liliana didn’t register them for a moment, then she went still with shock.

“What?” she asked, finally turning to look at her brother and recoiling at the open vulnerability on his features.

She could read his broken heart in his eyes, broken for her. There was no hate, no derision or disgust in his features, no matter how thoroughly she searched for the emotions. There was only love, and so much sorrow for her.

“Because of my mother, because I wasn’t a better big brother, because I didn’t protect you when I should’ve, because I turned my back on you too many times and ignored your pain for years. You felt so alone. You were scared, a terrified child who didn’t have anyone she thought would stand by her, protect her, and something took advantage of that. Used your loneliness, your fear, and offered you protection no one else had offered to you. Of course you took it. And it’s my fault. It’s the fault of everyone in our damn manor for leaving you alone and defenseless when you needed all of us the most.” Alistair spoke, his voice breaking but full of conviction and regret as he pulled her closer to him, cradling in his arms like the broken doll she felt she was now that her sins were revealed, all the cracks in her delicate skin finally bared to the light.

It was the most seen she’d ever felt in her entire life.

“You’re not at fault. You did what you thought you needed to, to survive. Something older and more powerful than you took advantage of your vulnerability and made you think it was all your fault.” Alistair told her, one of his hands finally freeing her wrist to stroke at her hair, and Liliana couldn’t comprehend it.

She heard his words, but she didn’t understand. It was her fault. She’d made her choices. She’d asked for it, so it was her fault. Why didn’t he see that? That all she’d suffered, it was her own fault? That she alone held the responsibility for what had happened to her. She didn’t deserve his kind words and gentle hands.

He should be screaming at her, slicing her apart with his sword for what she’d done. He should hate her, not love her. She was tainted, disgusting. She had allowed something dark and evil to poison her mind, had invited it into her body. And now the price for her sins had finally come up, and she wasn’t the one who had to pay it. Everyone she loved would be the tender used to repay her sins.

Couldn’t he see that? That she was corrupted beyond forgiveness? Beyond salvation? Her soul had been tainted to begin with, otherwise that thing wouldn’t have enticed her. There was something wrong with her, and he should be abandoning her for his own good.

“Lili, it wasn’t your fault. No one would blame you for what you did, and anyone in the same situation would’ve fallen. But few would’ve been able to pull away from it. Lelantos only ripped it away from you because you wanted him to. He would never have acted like that if it wasn’t something you needed and knew you needed deep down, something you wished for. He hadn’t tried to remove it before then. You tried to destroy it, and when you couldn’t, you got rid of it in a way that meant no one else would ever stumble across it. You were strong enough to walk away, and I know I wouldn’t have been. You’re a hero, Lili.” Alistair told her, as if reading her thoughts. Or perhaps they were painted on her face for him to see. She knew she had no more masks to hide behind now, they’d been shattered underneath the truth of her words today.

“He’s right.” A gruff voice called from the door and Liliana whipped her head around to see Jason and Silas standing in the room, the door closed behind them. How long had they been there?

“I let them in.” Polaris told her, sounding unbearably smug.

“Why?” Liliana asked him, huddling further into Alistair as she realized she’d confessed her sins to more people, people she had never planned to. Now they too would know of the darkness inside of her. Would hate her.

“You need your skulk. If you can’t fight it, then you need to ask for help from those stronger than you.” Polaris informed her, “They do not hate you. Look. Use [Empathy] if you do not believe.” Polaris said, voice softer as he urged her.

Mentally preparing for the hate she would feel, despite the concerned and woeful expressions on the older men’s faces, Liliana activated [Empathy], now strong enough to let her feel emotions around her, not just those of who she was touching.

Love flooded her as her emotional awareness spread through the room. It overwhelmed her, pressing down on her like a weighted blanket. It would’ve been suffocating if it didn’t feel like the most comforting thing she’d ever experienced.

She’d said the power the pendant offered was addicting, but it had nothing on this.

If she could feel this every day, she would never feel sad again. It was like the love was coating every inch of the room, soaking through it all. Behind the waves of love, was anguish and regret. Sorrow for her, regret for them not being able to prevent the events in her story. Liliana turned off [Empathy] before she got dizzy from the strength of the emotions in the room.

“How? How can you all forgive me for what I’ve done? For the danger I’ve put you in?” Liliana asked, her voice torn between wonder and anguish.

“Because there’s nothing to forgive, little lady.” Jason told her as he moved forward, sitting at the edge of the bed and taking one of her hands in his own.

“I was with you during that time. But you didn’t feel safe enough with me to trust I’d keep you safe. And I didn’t deserve that trust, because I didn’t protect you as I should’ve.” Jason said, shoulders slumping and Liliana could see him blaming himself for what had happened, despite him not being the one to wear the pendant, to ask for the power it held.

“And I wasn’t with you when I should’ve been. You were in danger, and I wasn’t there for you.” Silas said, leaning against the wall by the bed. The lines in his face deepened by the sorrow in his eyes and remorse in his voice.

“But, no. It was my fault.” Liliana tried to explain. Perhaps she hadn’t told her story properly. They had to see. To understand. They should hate her. Why didn’t they?

“No. It wasn’t Lili. You were taken advantage of because you didn’t feel safe. And that’s all of our faults alone, not yours. You were a victim, not a villain. And in the end you were a hero who fought a battle no one ever saw.” Alistair said, tone severe as he cut her off. Liliana blinked at the words, those hitting her harder than she expected. Victim? She had never considered herself a victim, had never thought she was one.

A hero? Her? Such titles were reserved for those like Alistair, pure, kind, undeniably good, despite circumstances constantly trying to mold him into something different. Such titles didn’t belong to forgotten daughters of dukes who accepted dark pendants and risked the lives of those they loved because of selfish desires.

“If it had been Marianne, in your same situation. Hunted by assassins sent by her mother, surrounded by people who had never before lifted a hand to help her, people who had more reason to give loyalty to her mother than her. If she had been utterly alone, weak, powerless, and she had reached out to a person who offered to protect her, offered her all the power to defend herself, and then took advantage of her in her most desperate moment. Would you hate her? Or would you still love her?” Polaris asked, and based on the way the men in the room shifted to look at the kitsune, she assumed he had made the words public for everyone to hear.

“No. It’s not the same, though.” Liliana shook her head, not willing to accept it. To let go of the self-hate, the blame she had born for so long.

“It is.” Silas told her, in a voice that brooked no argument.

“I don’t. I- I don’t understand.” Liliana finally said, sounding lost, confused, and so scared. She pressed herself further into Alistair, seeking his stability, his comfort, while her emotions ran rampant through her. He was the only thing that felt constant, while confusion twisted her mind and left her feeling like the world was suddenly upside down.

“You don’t have to, not yet.” Jason told her, with a reassuring smile as he squeezed her hand in his calloused one.

“Let us protect you now. When we couldn’t before.” Silas said, pushing off the wall, his gaze steely and filled with a simmering anger. “If this thing thinks it can hurt you like that again, I’ll skin it alive.” Silas growled, hand going to his sword he wore on his belt at all times, as if he would march out of the room to do just that this instant.

“You can’t! It’s too strong.” Liliana bolted upright, eyes panicked.

“You underestimate my power, and my connections, Liliana.” Silas told her, lips finally twisting into a grim smile.

“You’ve fought enough on your own. Now it’s time to let others fight for you. As they should’ve long before now. You deserve to be protected, to be safe, Liliana. You always did. Let us right this wrong.” Silas asked her and it was partially the surety in his every word, the confidence in his stance, and partially the fact that this was more words than the man usually ever spoke that mollified her.

And perhaps, it was because as much as she tried to be an adult, to shoulder burdens meant for older, stronger shoulders, she was still a child. And Silas was a man her heart recognized as her father, and a father was always supposed to be able to protect his child. A father was strong enough to fight any demon, any foe.

So despite the fear in her chest, the fear of Silas dying against this entity she didn’t know the true power of, she nodded hesitantly. Trusting him to protect her, to fight what she couldn’t. Until the day she could fight for herself. For all of them.

Inside of her chains shattered, metal raining like down like hail in her mind. The beast within her roared in triumph as the will to live, to fight, to protect this family she had found overcame her despair, bolstered by the all-encompassing love she could still feel lingering like a caress against her warming skin. Melting the chill coating her as the first breath of spring melted the frost over the land.

She was Liliana Rosengarde, and she’d lived every day fighting just to survive. Now she had something infinitely more precious to fight for, and she would do so until the day her heart stopped beating.

Chapter 153: The Path To Healing

Her family was conspiring against her.

Not in a paranoid delusion kind of way. It was neither paranoid nor delusional when it was a confirmed fact.

Her bonds, the traitorous things they were, had allied with the men in the house against her. She knew this was true because, while Polaris could keep secrets from her, Nemesis and certainly Lelantos could do no such thing. Liliana would feel betrayed and angry if she didn’t know it came from a place of love. It was all quite frustrating, regardless of intent, if she was honest.

She wasn’t allowed to be alone, and she couldn’t be sure if it was a precaution now that so many people understood the danger she was in, or if it was because they were worried about her mental health.

Liliana hadn’t even understood the true extent of the danger she was in, not until the alley. And even then, she hadn’t fully realized the danger she was still in. Danger was part of her life, something that had become so normal to her that she hadn’t registered she should be more concerned than she was. All her concern was wrapped up in the others that were now targets because of her.

Imogen had twisted her instincts, her perception of what was normal, what was safe, what was dangerous. Her life being in danger had been such a constant for almost a year, longer if she counted the memories she had lived through, that a new threat to it barely registered on her radar.

She had never gotten out of the habit of checking her food and drinks, always glancing at her ring to see if it had lit up to alert her to another assassination attempt. Her bonds slept in shifts, always had, just in case someone snuck in trying to kill her in her sleep. Instincts had been engraved in her, in her bonds, that even a year without a noticeable threat on her life hadn’t erased them. So this new threat, it required no changes in how Liliana acted in her life to accommodate it.

No, what had concerned her, what had filled her with terror and kept her awake at night, wasn’t that she was in danger. It was that someone, something, could slip in and rob her of the people she loved, the people she needed. It wasn’t concern for herself; she had spent so long fearing for herself that she had exhausted her emotional stores for such things.

And it wasn’t until everyone in her life, it seemed, conspired against her that she realized it wasn’t normal. That it was messed up, unacceptable, for her to be so used to such events that her own wellbeing didn’t factor into her mind during this newest grave threat.

It was made obvious that none of this was normal or acceptable when Silas had reached out to contacts he had in the capital guards to ensure there were always at least four on shift around their house. When Alistair sent a letter to Marianne, telling a very abridged version of what Liliana had told him, and royal guards were assigned to her to bolster the city guards.

When there was always someone in her room with her, one bond and one human. When she was moved to a larger room, with two twin beds so Alistair could spend the nights with her, so he could spring out of his bed when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night, and calm her down from the panic that strangled her throat and filled her blood with icy fear.

It all made it quite clear to her that to everyone else, what she had gone through, what she was still going through, wasn’t ordinary.

The worry etched in the faces of those she loved, not for themselves but for her, the regret swimming in their eyes, it all slowly wiped away the dust from the box she had hidden her worries for herself inside. It was a hard box to open because she had spent so long accepting imminent peril and murder attempts as just another facet of this new life she had, and she thought everyone should be far more concerned for themselves. They hadn’t made the mistakes she had, weren’t responsible for the danger they all faced now. She was. All these facts and hangups made it a monumental task to even crack that old, forgotten box open.

She was working on her self-blame as well.

Silas had demanded it, her seeing a Psyche healer. It did answer her question of if this world had therapists or not. The answer was ‘sort of, but actually no and it’s expensive’. Because there were two ways a Psyche healer could help her, they could enter her mind and forcibly reorganize it, erasing memories, adjusting reactions to stimuli and experiences. They could basically brainwash her into being healthy, but it could leave an impact.

Once something like that was done, it made one’s mind far weaker to any other Psyche affinity user, far easier to control, to manipulate. And it could make it so the person could handle no traumatic experience on their own, and at a worst it could mean they could handle no emotions at all, if enough ‘adjustments’ had to be made to the patient’s mind.

Typically, she was told, this method was used for patients who had only experienced one traumatic experience in their life that was impacting their everyday life. Not for someone whose entire life was a traumatic experience.

It was something Liliana had refused outright when the option was presented to her, and something the others agreed with her on. Especially when there was an enemy out there that quite obviously had a high level of mastery in the Psyche affinity.

The other option was that the Psyche healer could do a far less invasive intrusion in her mind. They could experience what the patient was feeling and walk them through processing the events, the emotions, and handling them. But ultimately it wouldn’t be the Psyche healer doing much more than watching and instructing, and the second option required the patient to either have a strong grasp of their own mind, or their own Psyche affinity to be able to adjust their own mind with magic.

It wasn’t like the therapy Liliana had experienced on Earth, something her parents had put her in when she got her diagnosis. That had required no magic, mostly talking about her feelings, her experiences, and developing healthy coping mechanisms. This world didn’t care much for coping mechanisms, even if they even knew what they were. This world had magic, and it used it to fix everything. From paper cuts to mental health issues.

It required her to relive her memories, the trauma from them, the emotions. Listen while some healer in her head told her why what was done to her was wrong, or why she wasn’t at fault, let go of the memory and place it in a book in her head with a lock on it, accept her emotions and then let them flow out of her. Forcing them out of her if she became trapped inside of them.

Then go over that she hadn’t done anything wrong until they tied it into her mind with magic and her Mana making it stick. Because it was her doing it, not someone else, not someone else’s Mana sticking in her mind and reorganizing it, it would actually strengthen her mind against foreign Psyche users as a side effect.

The second process was slower, held back by her own fear of her memories that she didn’t want to have to relive, by not wanting someone else to actually see and feel everything she had. Trust had never come easy to Liliana, and trusting a stranger was a herculean effort she could only submit to because Silas was so certain it was necessary. Her own low Psyche affinity also held progress back, as the affinity was something she rarely used.

Liliana wasn’t sure if it was the best thing to do, if it was correct, or even healthy. It was far different from Earth therapy. Instead of learning how to cope with the trauma, she learned how to experience it, accept it happened, and then lock it away, bound in Mana so it could not open at the worst times.

Whether or not it was good, whether or not it was healthy, it was the only option she had. And despite her many reservations, it did help. As more and more of her traumatic memories, and according to Healer Sybil, she had a lot of those, were processed, her nightmares slowly decreased. She found fear and anger overpowering her less and less as she learned how to release the emotions and to force them out with her own Mana when that didn’t work.

Her Psyche affinity was growing as an added benefit, and new skills were coming in as her sessions with Healer Sybil continued. Nothing effective for battle, but skills that made it easier and easier for her to control her own mind, to understand it, to turn it into a fortress of her own making, rather than a thorny labyrinth she was trapped inside of. Her mind stopped being a thing full of fear and demons and slowly became something closer to a sanctuary.

She was told, by Healer Sybil, that if she kept practicing her skills, they could eventually used on others. Most Psyche skills started by only affecting the user before they evolved to being able to affect others. Liliana shied away from the thought of invading someone else's mind and manipulating it, but she would admit it could be of use if she was desperate. She hoped she would never be that desperate, but experience told her it was an inevitable eventuality.

The general skill she got that seemed to tie into most of her new skills was [Mentiumancy], which made all mental arts easier. [Temperance] was one of the skills she got that assisted her with controlling her own mind. [Pathokinesis] helped her actually change and control her own emotions. [Mental Fortification] helped her both defend her mind from outsiders, and from her own inner demons.

She was advised very thoroughly by her healer to never force herself to feel good emotions, as it could quickly become addicting. It was one of the first things they did when she got the [Pathokinesis] skill, was to tie the warning to use it carefully in her mind with Mana.

Finally, the last skill she gained was at Healer Sybil’s suggestion, after the woman discovered Liliana had an easier time talking mentally with her bonds when in the middle of a panic attack, and, when they were terrible, it was the only communication she could hear. Liliana got [Telepathy] after days of working on the skill, using Mana manipulation and Healer Sybil’s guidance to gain it.

It wasn’t how Liliana thought she’d spend her summer vacation, but she could admit now that her mind was less jumbled, that it had been necessary. She hadn’t seen it before, hadn’t been brave enough to look that deeply into her own mind, but she had been fracturing.

The years of trauma, the many brushes with death and threats to her life, the loss and grief she had undergone, it had all piled up, shredding her mind and slowly poisoning it. Liliana had been one more traumatic event away from breaking beyond repair.

However, despite her progress, she was far from healed.

Even Healer Sybil said that they were only scratching the surface and it would take a long time before she was ‘better’. They had started with the most traumatic memories, the pendant, Imogen’s most recent and heinous actions, Astrid’s death.

But there were sixteen years of memories she had, all with their own share of trauma and pain attached to them, no matter than many weren’t even her original memories. She had still experienced them, lived through them, though it had been through her dreams. Those memories felt real to her, more clear than the memories she had of Earth more often than not as the days passed. That meant the trauma, the pain, the emotions were genuine, too.

But even if she wasn’t healed yet, even if the cracks and jagged fractures in her mind and heart weren’t yet closed up and scarred over, Liliana could admit she was getting better.

Her mind, day by day, was becoming clearer, less an enemy she was forced to endure, and slowly becoming an ally. It made it easier to accept the aid that the others were freely, willingly, and enthusiastically giving her. It made her nightmares less a constant, inevitable companion and something that no longer haunted her every night. It made the fear that had chilled her very body recede, allowing the frost coating her insides to thaw.

It made her smiles come easier, even if they were still rarer than they had been before summer. It made her laugh burst out of her in the most unexpected moments, filling her with warmth and happiness. It made the others look at her as herself, once more, rather than a delicate porcelain doll, already cracked and one touch away from shattering.

So the her last week of vacation, when she had spent weeks healing, taming her own mind, she was not surprised by the answer she gave to a forlorn request made to her.

“Miss Lili?” Flint asked, uncharacteristically quiet, from the doorway to her and Alistair’s room. Alistair was sitting behind her in the bed, braiding her hair as Liliana read a book on beasts Jason had gotten her, one of many gifts she’d received from everyone as they tried to cheer her up.

“What is it, Flint?” Liliana asked, her voice soft.

She was healing, yes, but she had yet to fully regain her voice. She was working back up to being the more confident self she had used as a mask for all her broken and bleeding parts. But for now, she was quiet, ever since she had bled her heart out to Alistair, Jason, and Silas.

Quiet was alright, Healer Sybil said, as long as she was communicating.

Healer Sybil didn’t just mean speaking, though, she meant letting someone else know her feelings when she felt them. When she was scared, when she needed a hug or comfort, when she was angry and why.

That part was hard.

Talking alone was easy, but revealing her weakness was a trial.

“You said we could play more games, and I was wondering if we could play games now?” Flint asked, his tail drooping behind him, but his ears perked up and eyes shining with hope.

A few weeks before, right after everything had happened, after her illusion of a happy life had been ripped away, she would have said no. She wouldn’t have accepted spending time around the people she loved, knowing the danger she had put them in. She wouldn’t have allowed herself the chance to feel happy, to feel loved.

But that was weeks ago, before Healer Sybil, before she started healing.

Now, she remembered the words Healer Sybil had told her, time and again, during their daily sessions. ‘You’re allowed to be happy, Liliana. You deserve to be happy’.

That had been hard to accept too, when Liliana felt she should be punished for her mistakes. This wasn’t the same as forgetting her homework or cheating on a test. She had put people’s lives in danger. But Healer Sybil had worked with her for weeks on that, on slowly understanding while she had made some bad choices. None of this was her fault.

She had been a scared, vulnerable child and even older, wiser, and stronger people had fallen prey to master Psyche users. Healer Sybil was confident whatever was behind the pendant had a mastery of that affinity, along with several others. That reassurance had done more than the healer knew to release some of the guilt that had been weighing Liliana down.

“Do you want to, Ali?” Liliana sent the thought to her brother.

She had begun to switch freely between telepathic communications and vocal. Telepathic was more useful than vocal at times, as she could talk to someone who wasn’t even in the same room, though she couldn’t hear them respond unless they also had a [Telepathy] skill.

Alistair had gotten a Soul affinity unlocked two days after Liliana gained [Telepathy], hoping to get the Psyche affinity so he could get the skill one day, too.

“Yea,” Alistair responded vocally, and Liliana nodded. She had expected as much.

“We’ll play a game, then.” Liliana said with a smile at Flint, whose mouth broke out into a wide grin before he whooped and took off down the hallway, presumably to gather the others.

“I’m so, so proud of you, Lili.” Alistair whispered as he tied off her braid.

He wasn’t all that good at braiding, but he had been watching Clover. Liliana thought it was his way of taking care of her. His mothering had only increased since she revealed the events with the pendant, never leaving her alone. She didn’t mind it most of the time. Liliana found a great deal of comfort in physical touch after being starved of it for so many years from anyone but Astrid.

She knew, too, it was because Alistair felt helpless to help her in any other way. He couldn’t fight this enemy. They both had to trust that to Silas, who had been meeting with the capital guards constantly as they searched for the man who had attacked Liliana.

So Alistair did everything he could to help Liliana how he could. By staying with her, by offering her comfort, a shoulder to cry on, hands to grasp when the nightmares she still had, even if they were decreased, woke her up. By ensuring that she ate, that she took care of herself and when she couldn’t, he would do it for her.

He was at times a brother, and at other times something closer to a parent. Liliana hoped soon he would resume being just a brother when she healed enough that she didn’t need him to be a parent.

“Thank you,” Liliana said as she fingered the braid, shooting her brother a grateful smile before they both followed Flint.

Liliana let herself enjoy the game night. Liliana let herself be happy, to smile, and laugh, and joke with the people she held most dear to her heart. And even if she wasn’t healed yet, she thought she was closer to being whole and healthy than she had ever been in either life.

Chapter 154: What Stories Do The Stars Tell?

“Lili! Lili, wake up!” A voice broke through the shadowy demons her subconscious summoned to terrorize her nights as Liliana shot up from her bed, sheets twisted around her.

“What?” Liliana asked, gulping in great big gasps of air as her eyes looked around the room, taking it in.

Alistair was in her bed, a hand on her shoulder. Polaris was laying across her thighs like an oversized weighted blanket, head perked up, looking at her with concern. Lelantos was lying by the door, ever the guardian, and Nemesis was curled around her neck, constricting in a gentle tempo, as if to teach her heart how to beat at a normal pace. She’s at home, not in whatever hell-scape her mind had conjured.

“Another nightmare?” Alistair asked as Liliana’s breathing calmed, hands coming up to her eyes to rub at them in frustration. She’d been doing better with the nightmares, but they were going back to the Academy in a few days, and the stress had triggered a new nightmare.

Some unholy mental conjuring where all the professors were arch-demons from Earth hell and her classmates kept trying to drag her into a lava pit. By and far, one of her less traumatic nightmares, but not a pleasant one by any means.

“Yeah, it was… yeah.” Liliana shook her head, already feeling the dream fading in her memory the longer she was awake. For the better, she didn’t need to keep the mental image of Vereign with cracked skin leaking fire and blood and too sharp talons.

Alistair hummed as he settled with his back against her headboard, one of his arms pressed to her side. Liliana tilted her head back until it head the headboard gazing up at the ceiling. She could feel her heartbeat slowing the longer she paced her breathing in a careful rhythm she’d used on Earth during her few panic attacks she’d experienced there. She had suffered far more in this world, but it was understandable with the amount of traumatic events she’d undergone.

“Want to go outside? I don’t think I can sleep again.” Liliana asked after a moment of staring at the dark ceiling, searching for answers it wouldn’t have.

Answers for how to just magically fix her mind with a snap of her fingers. The mind healing was working, her nightmares were decreasing, and she was feeling more stable than ever, but she still had so much to work through. Sometimes, she wished there was a quick fix, a perfect solution. But there never was, even in a world full of myths and magic.

“Yeah, we can go outside.” Alistair acquiesced easily.

She got a sense he was happy she was so willing to leave her room. She did want to leave, but perhaps not for the reasons Alistair wanted. Right now the dark room felt suffocating, claustrophobic. She needed fresh air, the boundless sky above her.

A forest would be preferable, but those were hard to come upon in the middle of the capital. Liliana tossed off her tangled bedding and slid out of the bed. Polaris and Lelantos settled back down to sleep when she told them she’d be fine with Alistair, Nemesis and, however many guards were lurking around the house now. Liliana pulled a light cloak out of her storage ring and threw it over her nightgown as she walked to her windows.

“The window? Really, Lili? We have doors, you know.” Alistair said, voice fond as he gently teased her, but he followed anyway.

“This way is faster,” Liliana said with a shrug, “Unless you’re scared of heights?” Liliana asked, throwing a small smirk over her shoulder at her brother, falling into familiar teasing and banter with ease.

“Please, I’m not scared of anything.” Alistair declared, earning a snort from Liliana as she threw open the window and swung her legs out of it, activating [Wind Walk] as she stepped entirely out of it and stood on the air, five stories off the ground. Alistair poked his head out and scoffed when he saw no support.

“You know not everyone can fly, right?” Alistair asked as he sat on the windowsill, legs dangling, uncaring for the long fall if he slipped. He’d live, with his Vitality he’d likely have nothing worse than a few bruises.

“That sounds like a you problem,” Liliana said with a shrug, but she stepped closer to her brother, holding out her hands.

“Can you hold me up?” Alistair asked with a look towards her arms, which, while she was quite athletic and had muscles they weren’t like the bulging ones Alistair had. Compared to Alistair, most people their age looked like weaklings. The boy put on muscle as easily as Liliana slipped on a cloak.

“Keep saying things like that and I’ll drop you on purpose.” Liliana told him.

Alistair rolled his eyes, but he grabbed her forearms and let her pull him out. Liliana adjusted to his weight, but he wasn’t difficult to hold up with her Strength stats and she tugged him with her until they got to the roof of the house.

It wasn’t a glamorous or elegant ascent by any means, but they both landed on the roof with only a few, allegedly accidental, mishaps where Alistair was banged against wayward bits of architecture.

“Was it really necessary to whack me against the gargoyle?” Alistair asked as he rubbed his shin, settling down on the blanket Liliana had produced for them to sit on.

“You’re right, that was rude to the innocent statue.” Liliana nodded, face and voice contrite, climbing to her knees so she could peer over the edge of the roof. “Sorry!” she called at the immobile gargoyle.

“You’re a little shit.” Alistair said, shaking his head as she settled back with a grin. “Emphasis on the little part.” Alistair added, motioning with his hand to show their height difference even while sitting.

“Hey, I’ve grown an inch since we started the Academy!” Liliana whacked his hand away with a huff as she laid back on the blanket, Alistair mimicking her.

“Really? Can’t tell from way up here. All you short people look the same.” Alistair teased.

“Cause you’re a mutant tree-boy,” Liliana muttered.

“What’s it like, never being able to reach things on shelves?” Alistair taunted. Liliana elbowed him in the side hard enough for him to groan at the hit.

“All the thin air up there must be why you’re so dumb, not enough oxygen going to your brain.” Liliana muttered, earning a curious noise from Alistair.

“Oxygen?” Alistair asked, and Liliana froze.

“Ah, air.” Liliana said quickly, remembering too late this world was far behind Earth in science.

They hadn’t even realized there was more in the air than just ‘air’. Haven forbid she try to introduce them to the Periodic Table. Did they still burn witches at the stake here? In her world around this time such talk would get her burned at a stake for sure, and she’d prefer to remain whole and not flambeed.

Alistair seemed to accept her explanation easily, though, and she relaxed. No death by fire at a stake tonight for her, then.

“Can you tell me the story again, for that constellation?” Liliana asked, pointing out a set of stars that made a rough image of a sword.

“Ealirel’s sword?” Alistair asked for confirmation, and Liliana nodded.

“Once, over a thousand years ago, there was a daughter of a king. Her name was Ealirel. Her country, Escora, was at war with the Alfein Empire. Unlike Cista, Escora did not approve of women learning how to fight,” Alistair began, Liliana shuffling closer until she could lean her head on his shoulder as he talked.

“Dumb of them, women make great fighters.” Liliana said quietly.

“Maybe they were scared. Women are terrifying on the battlefield. I know I’d never want to face off against Mari.” Alistair said with a shrug.

“Exactly! They were dumb.” Liliana said softly.

“Agreed, anyway. Her father wanted to broker peace, so Ealirel was offered up for a political marriage, and a marriage was arranged between her and the Alfein emperor’s heir, Meth’tothich.” Alistair continued on with the story, his voice settling into a comforting rumble.

“Ealirel did not want to marry the prince she had never met, not when his empire had been the cause of so many deaths of her people, who she cared for deeply as their princess. Not when it meant she’d have to leave everyone she knew behind to marry him.” Alistair’s voice turned mournful as he recounted the princess’ sad fate, marrying someone who was, at the very least, indirectly responsible for so many heinous crimes against her people.

“Poor thing.” Liliana said with a sigh. She couldn’t imagine being forced into an arranged marriage.

“She was desolate, refused to eat, to leave her room, but her father wouldn’t hear her protests and the peace treaties were all ready to be signed once the two were wed. Despite her protests, she was forced to continue. Meth’tothich arrived in Escora with a contingent of his men on a grand ship. The prince was handsome, and charmed any who met him. Ealirel found herself warming to the man who brought her flowers and exotic presents every day to woo her.” Alistair’s voice wrapped around her, and Liliana closed her eyes to better picture the story he was painting for her.

“Ealirel thought she’d found love in the midst of a terrible situation, and one night she went to find her husband to surprise him with a handmade gift. On her way, she heard him talking to one of his men. The peace treaties were a trick. On the night of the wedding, when everyone was partying, they were planning to have an army, who the prince had snuck into the country and had in waiting, attack the capital and kill the entire royal family. Ensuring the Alfein empire conquered Escora in one fell swoop.” Alistair’s voice took on a darker tone to fit the story and Liliana could see the poor princess, devastated and betrayed by the words of the man she loved as he spoke of killing her on their wedding day.

“Ealirel ran from the prince. He never knew she heard of his treachery, and she collapsed before an altar to the goddess Nastix, the goddess of war and retribution. The goddess heard her pleas and on the altar appeared a sword. Ealirel took the sword, and she heard the voice of Nastix tell her, ‘This sword will grant you the power to defeat the prince who has betrayed you and save your country. But the price for your vengeance will be high.’ Ealirel accepted whatever price would be asked of her as long as her country and family survived.” Alistair spoke, his voice heavier now, taking on a deeper tone as he mimicked the goddess’ words.

“Gods and their games,” Liliana murmured quietly with a shiver.

“Myths that include them rarely end well for the mortals in them,” Alistair agreed.

“Such is the price of being marked for destiny,” Liliana said, voice soft as she opened her eyes, glad her brother couldn’t see the weariness on her face.

“Ealirel took the sword and hid it under her wedding dress on the day of her wedding. Before the ceremony began, she went and met with Meth’tothich, asking to share one kiss before their wedding. The prince agreed and when he closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss his soon to be bride, she took her sword from her dress and cut his head off. The prince never saw it coming.” Alistair swung his arm as if he was wielding the same sword. He even added a sound effect just for the small giggle it elicited from Liliana.

“Good, the asshole deserved it.” Liliana said with a firm nod of her head.

“He really did. Ealirel walked into the temple, a bloody sword in one hand and the prince’s head in the other. In her crimson stained wedding dress, she stood on the altar before all the assembled nobility and announced that she had discovered the prince’s treachery. Thanks to her actions, Escora stopped the impending attack and routed the army that Meth’tothich had brought with him.” Alistair sighed and Liliana closed her eyes once more, knowing the saddest part of the story was coming up.

“The war continued on, but the Alfein offered another peace treaty, on the agreement that Ealirel would be sent to Alfein for execution for killing the prince. It was the price Nastix had told her of and Ealirel went willingly, knowing with her death thousands more would be saved from the war. The day she died, the sword she had been gifted vanished and reappeared in the sky. The gods recognizing her bravery and self sacrifice for the lives of others.” Alistair finished the story, and Liliana let out a breath of air.

“Such a sad story. She never got a chance to be free.” Liliana said as she opened her eyes and looked at the constellation, an eternal mark in the sky, remembering the woman’s deeds. A story of hidden strength, of a selfless nature, of vengeance, of tragedy, of salvation.

“You asked for that story. You could’ve asked about something happier.” Alistair said with a shrug.

“I like that story, though,” Liliana said. The ‘it reminds me of my own’ was left unsaid.

A young woman, given no real choice, turned into a pawn of the gods to fulfill a destiny, willingly walking into the fire to save the lives of thousands of others who might never know of what was sacrificed for them.

Sometimes, Liliana wondered if once her quest was over if she would have her own constellation in the sky. What form would it take if one appeared? A naginata? A fox? A serpent? A tiger?

What a cold comfort it would be, she thought, for all her struggles and pain to amount to nothing more than a cluster of stars in the sky. An empty consolation prize for all she had endured.

“You like all the stories behind the stars. You’ve asked me to tell you hundreds.” Alistair teased lightly, and Liliana shrugged.

“My mom used to tell me stories about the stars, when I was small. We’d sit and look at them for hours. She always seemed to know the name of every one of them, and every myth attached to them.” Liliana said, thoughtlessly. Only realizing after the words were out of her mouth that she meant her mother from Earth. There was something about laying under the cold gaze of thousands of stars that pushed her towards honesty even when it wasn’t the best choice.

“Violet?” Alistair asked hesitantly.

Liliana never spoke about Violet, the birth mother of the original Liliana, the body she inhabited. She had some memories of her, but Liliana had lost her at such a young age there were very few left by the time she had come to this world and was shown a lifetime of memories in her dreams.

“Yeah, Violet.” Liliana said softly, hating the lie even as it passed her lips, knowing she couldn’t tell Alistair that truth. Not even with the starlight pressing into her skin, urging her to do just that.

She doubted she ever would be able to. How could she tell him the Liliana he knew now, the sister he loved, was just a wayward soul, ripped from the void of death and shoved into the body of his real sister by a goddess looking to prevent some great tragedy? Alistair had forgiven her so many mistakes and sins, but she feared this one alone would be too great for anyone to forgive her.

Gods knew she still didn’t forgive herself for it, even if she’d had little choice. Even if the future she was building was a far better one than the one the original Liliana would’ve experienced. Liliana had already seen how fate could change, how it could be so easily rewritten. What was to say the original Liliana wouldn’t have diverged from her path of destruction and devastation on her own?

Now she’d never get a chance to.

“You never talk about her,” Alistair said, voice soft, careful. Drawing Liliana from her deepest guilt, her darkest secret that would forever remain locked inside her head.

“I don’t remember much about her,” Liliana told him, shifting uncomfortably with this line of conversation.

She didn’t talk about Violet not only because of the few memories she had of the woman making such a thing nearly impossible, but also because it felt sacrilegious to speak of a woman who had so dearly loved the original Liliana. The love she remembered was never hers to have or enjoy. The memories she had of the kind, beautiful woman known as Violet were never truly meant to be hers.

“What about the story of Daraas, Venati’s most faithful hound?” Alistair asked, pointing out the constellation for Venati’s bow, where the star Daraas sat just ahead of it, one of the brightest stars in the sky, always leading Venati towards prey.

“That sounds good. Wasn’t he originally a devoted follower of Venati?” Liliana asked, relaxing at the diversion of the conversation, grateful that Alistair had read her unwillingness to continue discussing Violet and had turned to an easier topic.

“Some say he was the best hunter to have ever walked. It was believed he was blessed by Venati at a young age, which was where he got his prowess. He was always respectful in his hunting, devoting every hunt to the god.” Alistair settled into the story easily.

He regaled Liliana with the tale of the hunter who was so loved by his patron god that when he finally died Venati had been so saddened by it that he snatched his soul before Mors could take it and fashioned a new vessel for the man, that of a faithful hound, made with the god’s own blood. So the two of them could hunt together forever more.

It had been remembered in the stars, Daraas’ star appearing in the sky before Venati’s bow to commemorate that the god of hunters and his most beloved follower would always hunt together for eternity. It was one of the few stories where a god was involved and the mortal ended up better off rather than worse.

This was exactly what she had needed, to banish the demons in her mind and fill her head with stories of myths and legends. To lay on the roof, under the warm summer night air, with her brother beside her. As Liliana breathed in the calm air, she felt it settled in her chest, steadying her, grounding her as much as Alistair’s presence beside her did.

Here, under the stars, listening to her brother’s stories, with Nemesis sleeping contently on her neck, the fear that often still tried to chill her blood was absent. She was no longer lost in memories of the past, in visions of an uncertain future. She was just herself, in the present, a girl listening to wild stories and giggling with her brother over some of their comments on the characters within them.

Liliana kept asking for stories, and Alistair kept providing them for her. Liliana had never asked where he got his knowledge of astronomy from, and he’d never offered the information. She was just grateful he always had a story ready for her to lose herself in for a while. For her to forget her own woes and instead experience the triumphs and tragedies of those forever memorialized in the stars above them.

Liliana didn’t realize that she was slowly drifting off, laying against her brother, his warm voice a lullaby that led her into the realm of dreams, blanketed and watched over by the eternal stars that freely offered their stories to any who bothered to search for them. This time, when she fell asleep, her dreams were full of women with swords, gods and their hounds and lovers whose romance was so grand and beautiful the gods had wished to leave a permanent reminder of it in the night sky.

When morning finally came, the sun washed over the two siblings, both long since lulled to sleep by the peace and comfort they’d found under the starlight.

It was Jason who found them, led to their spot by Polaris.

When he woke them up, with a bucket of cold water, Liliana found, as it had been since she began her sessions with Healer Sybil, that her smiles came easier than the day before as she summoned the energy to chase after a cackling Jason, Alistair beside her and both set on getting their revenge.

With wet hair, a grin on her face and a laugh in her throat, the encouraging yips of Polaris and the laughter of her family in her ears, Liliana let herself feel happy once again. Something that came easier with each day she made the choice to allow herself such things once more.

Happiness, she was finding, was often a choice. A choice to allow herself to enjoy her moments, rather than to wallow in her guilt and dark memories while time passed her by.

The more she made the choice to let herself be happy, the more the shadows she’d so long been shackled by faded, no longer corporeal enough to stand in the sunlight, banished just as the stars had been by the bright light of the sun.

When they finally caught Jason, they dunked him in the small pond in the backyard of the house, laughing over his disgruntled, mud-caked, face until he yanked Alistair in, and he in turn grabbed Liliana by her ankle and tugged her in, soaking all three of them to the bone.

Liliana laughed, and laughed until it hurt, enjoying the summer sun, the happiness of being with her family, not letting the darkness of what the future might hold bare down on her.

Because whatever the future might hold, in this moment, in this place, she was safe; she was loved, and she could let herself revel in it and allow herself to cherish these precious moments of happiness.

Chapter 155: Testing The Waters

“So, is your plan with the games to build ties with everyone or to tear our class apart?” Alistair asked from across the table, as he squinted at his cards. Liliana had included Earth card games in her requests for games and they were playing one together in the dorm.

She and Alistair had come back a day early to the Academy. It had been a much debated topic between the entire household. Silas had approved, as the Academy was a secure environment that would take an army to break into. Liliana had wanted to go.

She loved her family, but she had wanted time away from everyone. Their concern was heartening, but it was all overwhelming, and she wanted the time before everyone came back to ground herself.

The children had obviously been against Liliana returning to the Academy at all, and Jason, surprisingly, had taken their side. He seemed to be of the opinion that if Liliana was not in earshot; she was in danger. But with Silas and Alistair on her side, the argument had been decided eventually, and she had left with her brother a day early to the deserted campus. The goodbyes weren’t as painful this time, knowing she could visit any weekend she chose.

“Chaos.” Liliana responded, setting an attacking card down. Her brother hissed as he discarded one of his monster cards she attacked and shifted his dice to reflect his new health.

“The dorm is going to be on fire in three days,” Alistair grumbled. Liliana summoned a gold coin from her storage and grinned at her brother.

“I give it two days, and it won’t be fire. It’ll be someone getting so mad they throw a piece of furniture through the walls and it devolves into a huge brawl that brings the dorm down.” Liliana set the coin down. Alistair raised an eyebrow and pulled out his own coin.

“You’ve got yourself a bet. Three days, and it'll be Emyr setting it on fire himself.” Alistair said with a smile as Liliana took the coins to hold for whoever won.

“And you’ve got yourself a loss.” Liliana said as her turn rolled back around and she set down her secret weapon. Alistair threw his hands up, the cards flying from them, as he groaned.

“Be glad we banned betting on the games after the last time,” Liliana said as she used [Threads of Control] to grab the discarded cards and reshuffled her deck.

Liliana smirked as she remembered the chaos that had descended after Clover fleeced them all during a poker game when they’d made the mistake of using real money for the pot. Liliana was rather proud of the girl and had a feeling she had a future as a card shark if she ever felt inclined towards gambling. At least Liliana didn’t have to worry about the girl ever needing money with the way she could play all of them.

Alistair grumbled, but reshuffled his deck as they got ready to play again. It was nice, playing with her brother. Koth’talan, the only other class S student to stay back, had only stopped in for a moment to glance at them curiously before vanishing, presumably to go to the woods. Other than that, they were virtually alone. Vereign was likely in his own room, but they hadn’t seen the man, which was probably a good thing.

“The dorms are kind of weird without everyone crowding them,” Alistair commented as his face pinched, looking at his cards.

“It’s peaceful,” Liliana said with a grimace.

She wasn’t excited to have everyone back. She still felt raw, as if all her armor had been forcibly stripped from her, leaving her bare, vulnerable. She missed her friends fiercely, but she knew they’d pick up that something had changed. And she’d need to explain something to them.

Emyr at least knew about the amulet already, but she wasn’t sure what to tell the others. How much to tell them? Diana had seen the aftermath of the alley, and could be a target if the man who had attacked her had still been lurking around.

Marianne was likely in danger, too. She had no idea how much of her thoughts the amulet had access to. She had to assume all of them to be safe. So Marianne was a target, but she would be in the least danger. As a princess, she was always in danger, a new threat was nothing new to her and she was the most protected person on the planet.

There were likely hidden Knights lurking around the campus at all times, no matter what Marianne said. There was no way her overprotective helicopter mother would let her go anywhere without the Knights shadowing her. The queen might give Marianne the illusion of independence, but she would never actually let Marianne be in any real danger.

Anya was likely safe, as were any of her other Academy friends. The entity couldn’t spy here. No one who wasn’t a student could get onto the grounds. Family members had to give forewarning to the headmistress and wait for permission to be allowed in. Even the queen had to give a warning, and if she didn’t, she too could be denied admittance.

There was a whole thing in an old treaty about the Academy being neutral ground and not technically aligned to any country, despite its location. The treaty made far more sense if one assumed the founder was a beast. Who else could demand such stipulations be placed in a treaty but a sufficiently powerful beast?

What if one of the students has an amulet? The thought came on suddenly, freezing Liliana in place as her eyes widened and her heart pounded in her ears.

She had never considered it before, had never thought there was more than one amulet until her naivety had been violently ripped from her. Now she knew there could be more amulets, cursed artifacts, out in the world. Hundreds, thousands of them, maybe.

One of the students could have stumbled upon one before they came to the Academy, or even afterwards. She had found hers in a dungeon and the older students regularly visited dungeons.

“Lili?” Alistair’s voice broke through her thoughts, and Liliana reminded herself to breathe.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the steps Healer Sybil had taught her to calm her mind, taking in deep breaths, in through her nose, out through her mouth, accepting the fear, then letting it go.

No, the Academy had so many protections woven through every stone, a dark artifact couldn’t sneak through, surely. It would’ve set off one of the many wards. She was being paranoid again, and it wasn’t healthy to see dangers in every shadow.

She shook off the fear and suspicion. Products of her trauma, Healer Sybil had told her. Unhealthy coping mechanisms she’d developed as a way to protect herself that only made her mental state worse. Healer Sybil hadn’t called them coping mechanisms. Those were Liliana’s terms, but the sentiment was the same.

“Sorry, lost in thought.” Liliana said, giving her brother a wan smile as she set down an element card and a beast.

Alistair tilted his head slightly, eyes assessing her, before he nodded slowly and let it go. Liliana being lost in thought was becoming a common occurrence, as she got used to being comfortable with her own mind and applied the lessons and skills she’d leaned from Healer Sybil to handle her emotions and thoughts.

It meant sometimes she’d stop in the middle of a conversation, eyes going blank as she handled whatever had triggered a reaction she needed to adjust to and control. It was a change everyone had to make, allowing her the time she needed to accept her own thoughts. Liliana had been in a near constant survival state for years, all action and reaction. Stuck in fight-or-flight mode.

Now she was making a conscious effort to let herself think and get comfortable with herself and her mind. To actually figure out who she was, beneath the trauma and the defensive mechanisms she’d developed to protect herself. Alistair was patient with her, letting her have her time and helping her along when he could.

Liliana just hoped the rest of their friends would be similarly patient with her while she went through this time of change and development.

“Hah!” Alistair exclaimed when he managed to actually hit her health with a card.

Liliana’s smile was more energized as she shifted her dice to reflect the hit. Her worries faded away as she played with her brother. She was safe here, safer here than almost anywhere else in this world, and she let herself relax.

She and Alistair played several more rounds of the game before the door to the dorm opened, Koth’talan returning. He stared at them for a moment before taking one of the chairs in the common room, head tilted, as he watched them play a new game.

“What is this?” Koth’talan asked after close to thirty minutes of watching them play.

“It’s a card game,” Liliana responded softly as she set down a new ability card, Alistair hissing as it hit one of his beasts and killed it.

“Wow. I had no idea.” Koth’talan responded sarcastically. Alistair snorted as his turn came around, and he set down two new beast cards and a spell card.

“It’s called Monster Mastery.” Liliana said in a droll tone.

“Liliana invented it.” Alistair chimed in with a proud grin, wincing when Liliana kicked him under the table. “What? You did!” Alistair grumbled.

“And those?” Koth’talan asked, nodding at the piles of games against the wall.

“Games.” Liliana said with a shrug.

“Liliana invented all of those too,” Alistair elaborated before Koth’talan could respond with another snide remark.

Liliana’s eyes flicked to him for a moment. Normally, the dæmon wasn’t talkative. She had hoped he would remain that way, at least today. She did enjoy his friendship, but she had hoped for more time before she had to talk to people who weren’t her family. This interaction was already draining her quickly.

“Do you want to play with us?” Alistair asked, ignoring the glare she had sent his way.

“I don’t want him to play.” Liliana sent mentally to him and Alistair turned a stern look her way. He still didn’t have a Psyche affinity, but his eyes said enough.

Healer Sybil said interacting with your friends was good for you. So we’re doing this. His gaze told her and Liliana huffed, rolling her eyes and pouting but conceding his point.

“How do you play?” Koth’talan asked as he moved his chair closer.

Liliana handed him a pre-made deck. Koth’talan looked over it, eyes widening when he saw the moving pictures on the almost paper thin wooden cards. Liliana smiled smugly. She hadn’t suggested the moving pictures, but she had suggested the illusions that floated over them.

Whenever a beast attacked another, the illusions would clash, same with abilities, skills and spells. It was something she’d seen in the card game cartoons back on Earth and had always wished her world had, but in this world, those dreams were actually possible. The child in her had delighted over it when she had discovered the card game among the many Jason had given her. Magic was amazing, and as much as she missed technology, she could admit magic was better in some aspects.

If she could figure out how to make computers and cellphones in this world, she’d be set, and with magic she was certain it would take far less time to reach such innovations. She’d have to see if she could find an inventor in the Academy who could bring her ideas to life.

Liliana paused as she thought. Alistair was explaining the rules to Koth’talan, so it afforded her time to lose herself in her musings. Devoting herself to a project like that would be a good way to take her mind off the pendant and the threats. Healer Sybil had encouraged her to find things to distract her from worrying about things she couldn’t do anything about and would be best left to the adults.

Healer Sybil had also had a lot of opinions about what was and wasn’t her responsibility that clashed greatly with what Liliana believed. Pretty much everything in Healer Sybil’s opinion was an adult’s responsibility if it wasn’t related to her schoolwork.

Which was frankly ridiculous, because adults seemed pretty inept in Liliana’s opinion, and quite unperceptive no matter what their skill list might say. So she’d stay disagreeing with her healer on that, with the exception of Silas. Liliana trusted him to be competent and trustworthy. Other adults? Not so much.

The adults at the manor either had been too blind, or simply too uncaring, to notice what Liliana had gone through. Her father had the power to stop Imogen long before it escalated as far as it had, but he hadn’t cared.

The guards and servants had looked the other way or took part, with a few exceptions. Other nobles knew what was happening and hadn’t cared, or worse, had capitalized on the events. Even in the Academy, the teachers had seen her breaking apart and had done nothing about it. Rauk had showed some care, as had Vereign, but it was the bare minimum. The bar was in hell, and yet most adults in Liliana’s life had still managed to play limbo with it.

Was Liliana supposed to trust these adults with her problems when they had never given her the impression of caring about them? When she knew people like her father would gladly use it against her? When trusting the wrong person could’ve gotten her killed before?

I’m being paranoid again. Liliana refocused her thoughts. There was no point in rehashing her same grievances again when it would just make her upset and angry.

She trusted Silas and Jason. That would have to be enough adults to satisfy Healer Sybil, for there would likely be no more until Liliana and her friends reached the age of adulthood. Two was better than zero, after all. And she’d tell Healer Sybil that verbatim if the woman raised an issue with it.

She focused back on her thoughts of a pet project to fill her time with, trying to decide what technology would be the easiest to start with, and where to find someone to do it. She had wanted something to record lecturers and classes, and unlike computers and phones, which would require a network to connect to a recording device wouldn’t need so much. It would probably need someone with Runeic and Illusion affinities to make it work. Her best bet would probably be the Enchanters Club.

“Ready to play, Lili?” Alistair’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she blinked as she came back to reality, realizing the boys must have finished their conversation. Koth’talan had his deck ready and a hand of cards. Liliana nodded and shuffled her cards before focusing back on the game.

“A unicorn should not be able to beat a river dragon!” Koth’talan announced as he glared at his defeated card in betrayal.

“It does when you stack abilities on it.” Liliana said with a smirk, shrugging a shoulder. It had been her unicorn that defeated Koth’talan’s water dragon.

“Wait until she kills your Hellhound with a Rockrat.” Alistair grumbled as he set his own cards down.

“That’s fucking insane. This game makes no sense.” Koth’talan muttered as he looked over his cards and the booklet Alistair had handed him that explained the game.

“You have to stack cards. And it makes as much sense as a human killing these things. Magic.” Liliana said softly, but it was the most words she’d said to Koth’talan today, and he paused, looking over at her and sighing before nodding.

Despite her reservations about interacting with people, even her friends, she was relaxing. Perhaps Alistair was right. Interacting with Koth’talan gave her hope that seeing her friends tomorrow wouldn't be a disaster. And interacting with one person who wasn’t Alistair let her get acclimated to the experience before needing to do it with several people the next day.

“So, if I put this, and this, and this on my Kelpie, it should be able to kill your Unicorn, by your logic. Right?” Koth’talan asked, all faux innocence as he turned to her. Liliana paused as she stared at his boosted Kelpie and sighed. The illusions duked it out and her poor Unicorn died a valiant death before she took a hit to her health.

“And if I do this, it should finish off the rest of your health, right Lili?” Alistair asked, with a sickeningly sweet tone as his turn came. Liliana blinked at her brother, head swinging between the boys.

“You two planned this, didn’t you?” She hissed at them as she set her cards down with a huff. Alistair grinned victoriously at her as Koth’talan smirked. Liliana could feel the corners of her lips tugging up into a smile before she gave up and let herself smile.

“Just a bit of fun between friends, right?” Koth’talan asked, voice teasing. Liliana gaped at him before a grin broke out and she pointed at him in delight.

“You admit it!” She said. Her voice, while not a shout, was full of excitement.

“I believe you’re the one who made that decision, on your own, might I add.” Koth’talan evaded.

“Yeah, but you admitted it.” Liliana said triumphantly, looking towards Alistair for support, and ever the agent of chaos, her brother switched sides eagerly.

“You did admit it, man.” Alistair agreed with a sage nod.

“Gods dammit.” Koth’talan groaned, but he was smiling.

Chapter 156: Coming Clean

“Lili!” a voice shouted and Liliana barely had time to step behind her brother before a blur of white rocketed towards her. Alistair quickly caught the princess and kept her back from Liliana, who had flinched at the sudden movement and loud noise.

“Lili?” Emyr’s voice asked, concern lacing it as he walked up.

He and Marianne had arrived at the same time, Emyr having been granted the use of the royal portalists to get home and back in time for the end of break. Marianne had waited for Emyr to get back so they could return to the Academy at the same time. They’d told Alistair and Liliana the plan before the start of vacation, what felt like years ago now. Had it really only been a single month since she last saw her friends?

“Hey, Em, Mari.” Liliana greeted softly, moving just enough that she could see them from behind her brother but not enough to full reveal herself. Sometimes Alistair’s ridiculous bulk was useful, especially when Liliana needed a convenient place to hide.

“I told Alistair and the rest about… the pendant.” Liliana communicated mentally to Emyr.

To his credit, the boy’s eye’s widened in surprise, but he didn’t react negatively to her telepathy. The again, of all of her friends, he was the most used to the specific brand of chaos that Liliana exuded like an aura. He was likely just happy she hadn’t run off to get a new bond during the vacation. He was still occasionally pouty about not being with her for Polaris.

“Lili? What’s wrong?” Marianne asked, still restrained by Alistair.

She knew about the attack, but she didn’t know the details, or how traumatizing the event was. A single attack on its own, even one where Liliana was injured, wouldn’t normally be cause for concern. She’d had worse injuries before, so Marianne’s confusion was normal. Alistair had never prevented the princess from hugging Liliana, and Liliana had never shied away from her ready affection.

“Let’s head to Lili’s room,” Alistair said instead of an answer.

They’d already talked to Vereign earlier in the day to get permission for the conversation to be held in a dorm room. The Academy was updated on the attack, and some of the nature of it. Enough to know that other students were at risk from a powerful person who was still at large. They had to know that their students were in danger. It wouldn’t be right to keep that from them, to put other students at risk. Liliana was sure even more security measures were being put in place, but she wasn’t updated on them.

Liliana had asked to have the conversation in her room. It was her ‘territory’ so she felt safest there, and she was fairly confident there were no listening or spying spells inside the room. Best she and her bonds could tell, anyway. She was planning on having the majority of the conversation mentally regardless, eliminating the risk of others finding out information they had no need to be aware of.

“Alright,” Marianne said slowly, finally ceasing her attempts to free herself and get to Liliana.

Liliana led the way to her room, Alistair close behind her. Most of class S was back, or arriving, and the flurry of activity helped disguise the four of them slipping into Liliana’s room. Emyr was last in and he closed the door behind himself.

Liliana and Alistair took the bed, Liliana pulling her knees up to her chest and Alistair pressed into her side, a comforting support. Emyr settled on the ground in front of her and Marianne grabbed Liliana’s desk chair, setting in front of the siblings and plopping down, her features twisted in worry and wariness.

“Is this about the attack?” Marianne asked slowly.

Liliana sighed and nodded her head, trying to find her words. She had talked to Alistair about the story she wanted to tell their friends, or Marianne, as she was the only one who didn’t know everything. Alistair had been rather upset to find Emyr knew the story over a year before he did, but had eventually come to understand that Emyr had gained Liliana’s trust long before he did.

“It’s a long story,” Liliana started, stopping again when her bonds made their way into the room.

Lelantos laid in front of the door, blockading it so no one would surprise them. Nemesis slithered up Liliana’s arm until she could wrap around her neck, her scales hiding the newest silver scar that stretched across Liliana’s neck. Polaris settled on the floor between her and Emyr, his head resting on her feet.

Liliana wasn’t excited to tell this story for a third time, especially knowing she’d need to tell it a fourth time later. She had to tell Diana something, as the girl was a target now. But while she liked the girl, considered her a friend and even trusted her, she didn’t have a deep enough connection to feel comfortable telling her the details she’d be sharing with Marianne today. It was perhaps for the best that Diana wasn’t back yet and she could stagger her emotional conversations.

“Emyr already knows this story, as does Alistair. And because of the nature of the threat all of you are under now, I need to share it with you too, Mari.” Liliana explained through [Telepathy], mental voice choked with the guilt that was rising in her.

Alistair’s hand gripped her own with a squeeze, and it reminded her to control her emotions and not let them overwhelm her again. With a few steadying breaths, the guilt subsided, flowing out of her. She shook her head and steeled her will for what she was about to do.

So Liliana told the story again. She hated that Healer Sybil was right about this, but telling the story became easier each time. Telling it with intent, not fueled by guilt and grief and pain, made it easier to get through as well. The fact that these memories had been the first Healer Sybil, and she had worked through and, for lack of a better term, healed made this a far less traumatizing experience for her.

This time it was less like unleashing Pandora’s Box on her delicate psyche and ripping apart her carefully crafted armor and barricades, and instead, it was like lifting a burden from her shoulders. Like she was Atlas, finally being relieved of the weight of the world on her shoulders.

It didn’t take long for horror and sympathy to overtake Marianne’s face, and before the story was even half over, Marianne had tears streaming down her face, hands clasped to her mouth as she stared at Liliana with wide, watery, ruby eyes.

Emyr had shifted slowly, watching Liliana’s reactions as if she was an injured, wild animal, until he sat on her other side and bracketed her with Alistair, supporting her as he listened to the story again. Liliana kept a careful control of her emotions, trying to keep her mental communications to words only. [Telepathy] was much like mental communications with her bonds, with subtle differences.

Others, if they had enough mental defenses, could block her communications entirely. Her bonds and her, while they could block certain memories and ,as she’d found out before, block out communications to a point, their thoughts and emotions were always being communicated.

[Telepathy] was similar in that Liliana could communicate with emotions and images. Unlike her bonds, it was harder to communicate like that. Liliana wasn’t sure if it was because most people thought in words and beasts defaulted to thinking in images and emotions or if it was some other cause. However, if she was distressed or experiencing strong emotions or explaining an emotionally charged memory, it became far too easy to ‘infect’ others with her emotions and memories.

That hadn’t been a fun thing to realize when she’d been in the middle of a panic attack and had accidentally infected Alistair with twisted memories of the pendant. It had resulted in two panicked, freaking out teenagers and a very overwhelmed Jason who had screamed for Silas to help. The entire event would’ve been funny if Liliana’s panic hadn’t been exacerbated by her brother’s state.

It was a good reminder and warning for her to always be careful with her mental communications. Her bonds were well used to handling her emotions. Her friends, on the other hand, had no defenses for foreign mental invasions.

Liliana could still remember what the first few weeks with Lelantos had felt like, how foreign it was to have someone else in her mind. Foreign thoughts, emotions, instincts and impulses that weren’t her own effecting her. Bonding provided some protections for the bonded pairs and helped assimilate the bonds to the entire thing. [Telepathy] didn’t give those same protections to others. Her friends wouldn’t even realize they were reacting to her emotions until after the damage was done.

When Liliana finished her story, she was exhausted mentally and emotionally, but in a similar way to how she felt after her Psyche Healing. It wasn’t a bad exhaustion; it felt like progress. It was a type of healing similar to physical therapy, working out injured parts of her until they were back to full strength.

Liliana thought maybe one day, if she told her story often enough, maybe it would cease to have any hold on her. One day, it could just be another story she told, maybe even joked about. She wasn’t there yet, but she could feel herself getting closer to it.

“Because I don’t know what it saw in my mind. You could be in danger, Mari. Emyr is definitely a target as well. He was around me when I wore the pendant. The Academy is already alerted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your mom knows far more than what was included in the reports and letters already.” Liliana explained to them at the end of her story, leaning heavily on Alistair as she did, resisting the urge to hide.

She had learned, over the summer break, to trust her friends to not up and abandon her, but she was still scared. She was fairly certain Emyr wouldn’t leave. He had known most of this story already, and he was still here. But Marianne hadn’t gone through half the things she and Emyr had been through together.

“If that thrice damned pendant tries to come back, I’ll burn it to ash,” Emyr muttered, glaring at the wall. Liliana could almost feel his anger rolling off of him in waves, even without [Empathy].

“Well. Technically, it already has.” Liliana couldn’t help correcting with a wan smirk that was closer to a grimace. Emyr turned his glare to her, and Liliana pinched her lips together. It was a bad joke, she could admit it.

“That’s the last time I leave you alone. Every time I do, you get hurt. You can’t be trusted alone anymore.” Emyr declared with a huff, grabbing her hand and holding onto it with a death grip. Liliana was lucky his Strength was lower than her Vitality, or she’d have broken bones. Liliana felt tears pooling in her eyes and a sob catch in her throat.

She had known, trusted, and believed Emyr wouldn’t abandon her. But to have a confirmation that her first friend in this world, her best friend, the boy who was as much of a brother to her as Alistair, her first secret keeper, was still choosing to stay by her side, it lifted a dread that had settled over her for days.

Liliana pushed off of Alistair and flung her arms around Emyr, face hidden in his shoulder as she cried in relief, in happiness. Because she was happy for all the grim tale she’d just told. She hadn’t lost Emyr, and that was reason enough to fill her with happiness. To suffused her chest with a warmth that wanted to burst from her.

“Silly girl, I told you I’m here for you. Whatever you need. Always, nothing will ever change that, Lili.” Emyr murmured into her hair, rubbing a soothing hand on her back as she clutched at his clothes.

“I’m glad you told them, Lili. You never deserved to face everything alone.” Emyr told her, a soft, hushed whisper that she could only hear from how close they were.

“I didn’t have much of a choice. I broke, Emyr. I was so scared, so guilty, and in so much pain. I couldn’t handle it anymore.” Liliana confessed mentally.

Emyr’s arms tightened around her, and Liliana melted into the embrace. She knew, now more than ever, she had so many people in her life willing to protect her, to stand tall and strong when she fell.

It helped, more than she thought any of them could ever know, to see she was no longer alone. These people, who had seen her at her absolute worst, heard her long list of crimes, heard how she had put them in danger and yet still resolutely stayed by her side.

And Liliana would never admit it, but Emyr’s support meant perhaps the most to her. Emyr, who had been with her from almost the start. Who had reached out to her, when she was all rough edges and sharp tongue, and reckless stubbornness and little else. Emyr, who had saved her life again and again, even when it meant putting his own life on the line.

Who had stood by every choice she made, who had risked his dearest and longest friendship to aid her in putting an end to Imogen. Emyr, who had seen her go from a paranoid, stumbling fool into the broken but slowly healing mess she was now and was still willing to stay her friend through all the chaos and strife that came with her.

Liliana might, with time, recover from many losses. She’d change, she’d become someone harder, harsher, crueler with them. But she knew, deep down, that Emyr’s loss, more than almost any other barring her bonds themselves, would irreparably destroy her.

Liliana tried carefully to press her emotions through to him, for him to feel the relief, the love, the gratitude that thrummed through her so strongly it felt like she would explode. His arms tightened once more around her, and she knew he understood. She didn’t have to use [Empathy] to feel the love he felt for her. It was obvious in the way he held her, the way his hand moved on her back.

“If Alistair won’t take you, I’ll marry you in a heartbeat,” Liliana said, tone tentatively teasing as she pulled back. Emyr snorted as he wiped his own watery eyes.

“I’d take you up on that if I swung that way, Lils,” Emyr said with a soft smile as he brushed the hair away from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

It wasn’t the first time the two of them had joked that way, but while they had started their fair share of rumors in the noble circles, neither had ever felt anything stronger than a friendly love bordering on familial. Liliana looked over and saw Alistair staring at them, his eyes fixed on Emyr and something soft and warm in his eyes. Something Liliana would say was love, but of a different flavor than what Liliana felt for the boy.

Alistair had long since gotten over the jealousy Liliana had realized he’d felt when she and Emyr had gotten close. It was quite evident to anyone who was close to Liliana and Emyr that neither was romantically interested in the other, and she thought that had calmed her brother, who had yet to fully accept his feelings for Emyr. Now she thought seeing his best friend comfort his sister was only strengthening whatever love was hiding in his heart.

When we’ve all recovered from this, I might need to actually start pushing those two together. Liliana thought idly when a sniffle reminded her that there was someone else in the room. Liliana turned to Marianne, whose eyes were still filled with tears, her nose bright red and pale face splotchy. Marianne was not a pretty crier for all her inherent beauty.

“Can-Can I hug you, Lili?” Marianne asked, her voice small and unsure as the princess picked at her clothes with trembling fingers. Liliana had scarcely nodded before the princess was on her, thin arms wrapped tightly around her with surprising strength.

“I almost lost you before I even had you!” Marianne sobbed into Liliana’s shoulder.

Liliana found her roles switched where she was now the one comforting someone else. She barely had time to be surprised and happy that Marianne quite obviously had no plans to abandon her for less dangerous friends. She was too busy trying to calm her upset friend down from a panic to feel relief. It was hard to feel anything but concern when there was a princess wailing in her arms and Liliana surreptitiously checked her Health to be sure Marianne hadn’t actually burst her eardrum.

“It’s alright, Mari. I’m here. I’m… not alright, but I will be.” Liliana stopped herself before she could utter the lie.

She was trying to be more honest with her friends. She wasn’t going to stop lying anytime soon, especially not as a noble, but she could stop lying to her friends and the people who wanted to help her. Her lies had done nothing but hurt her and those she cared about, and ultimately put them all in danger.

“Aren’t you… mad?” Lilian asked when Marianne had calmed some, though she was still crying into Liliana’s shoulder.

“Why would I be mad?” Marianne asked, her confusion enough to stop her hysterics as she pulled back, red eyes gazing into Liliana’s as if she had spoken in a different language, which Liliana was at least 75% sure she hadn’t. It had happened before when she was translating books from Astrati to Common.

“Because I put you in danger?” Liliana meant to say it as a statement, but it came out as more of a question. Marianne snorted, giggles spilling from her lips as if Liliana had just told a particularly amusing joke.

“Lili, this is hardly the first, or even the worst, danger I’ve been in. It doesn’t even rate in the top thirty.” Marianne informed her friend with a bluntness that paused whatever Liliana had been about to say on her tongue. Marianne read her bewilderment, and she shook her head.

The princess looked at Alistair and, through nothing more than her expression, convinced the boy to move over so Marianne could squeeze in next to Liliana. Marianne took Liliana’s hands in her own and her face settled into something serious, a face Liliana only ever really saw when Marianne was acting in her official capacity as crown princess.

“Lili. I’m a crown princess of the largest country on our continent. I’m in constant danger, especially as the only heir. Other countries, even ones we’re allied with, have been sending assassins after me since I was born. Our own nobles have tried to kill me more times than I can count,” Marianne informed Liliana with all the tact of a battering ram, stunning Liliana to silence.

She had known, objectively, that Marianne was a target for assassins because of her position. She just hadn’t realized how prolific the attacks were.

“In fact, all of you are also in danger by nature of association with me. It’s not as great a danger as I am but…” Marianne trailed off, finally breaking eye contact to look away, “it’s enough that Knights have been dispatched to watch all of you for over a year now.” Marianne finished, her voice softer. Liliana still couldn’t speak. Her mouth was hanging open like a fish as she gaped at her friend.

“I knew about the attack before the guards did. Mother had the man followed as far as possible. They thought it might be an assassin sent to get information about me. We already have our own people looking into it, as well as the city guards. I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything about the Knights on you. Mostly because they’re not actually there to protect you…” Marianne trailed off again, and she looked truly uncomfortable now and guilty. It was an emotion Liliana was familiar enough to identify easily on others.

“They’re there to neutralize us if we’re compromised by enemies.” Emyr finished for her, his voice cold. Marianne closed her eyes, wincing as if Emyr’s words were blows, but nodded.

“Yeah.” Marianne said softly.

“They’re supposed to save you, if it’s possible, if you’re caught. But their first orders are to gather information, and if they can’t get you out or save you without compromising themselves, they’re to tie off any loose ends.” Marianne elaborated, the words coming out of her softly, and full of guilt.

Liliana’s head was spinning, but she could understand. At least from the queen’s perspective, who had control of the Knights. The queen’s first loyalty was the queendom, then her daughter. Liliana supposed she, Emyr, and Alistair didn’t rate very high on her list of priorities further than their closeness with Marianne, and therefore the information they held on the princess. Information that could be used to hurt, or even kill, Marianne and thereby destabilize their entire country. If Liliana was in the queen’s position, she’d likely have made the same choice.

It didn’t make the information easier to swallow, this knowledge that she was expendable, but Liliana didn’t blame Marianne for it. The princess had no control over the Knights, who were soul bonded to the queen.

She was upset her friend had never told her this, but in the end, having the information did her little good. If she was captured by enemies of their country, she’d either be strong enough to escape or she wouldn’t. And she certainly wasn’t strong enough to fight a Knight. If she was, she wouldn’t be captured in the first place. And, if she was honest with herself, she’d take the merciful death at the hands of a Knight rather than the slow death of torture. She just hoped she was never in a position where it was necessary.

“So, I couldn’t very well be mad at you for technically putting me in more danger, when for me, it likely isn’t danger at all.” Marianne said helplessly with a shrug, looking back at Liliana with hope and fear in her eyes.

Liliana knew what Marianne was feeling, because it was what she’d felt when she started her story. If Liliana hadn’t already been willing to disregard what Marianne had told her, this would’ve changed her mind.

“So, are we… good?” Marianne asked hesitantly.

Liliana pulled her hands out of Marianne’s, the other girl’s face crumpling as she did. Liliana didn’t give her time to get upset over the perceived rejection before she wrapped the princess in a tight hug.

“Yeah, we’re good.” Liliana said, feeling Marianne relax and return the hug.

“Your mom is a different story, though.” Liliana grumbled.

“That’s fine. I’m still mad at her about it.” Marianne said, her tone holding old, uncovered anger.

“How long is she banned from hugs?” Liliana asked.

“A year. It was six months after she first told me about the Knights. I thought she’d learned better, but after the Knight didn’t step in during your attack, I told her I’m not hugging her for a year.” Marianne said, her tone vicious.

“Good,” Liliana said, a giggle erupting from her. Marianne soon joining in. And Liliana knew they would be just fine.

It’s good to know that no matter what new fucked up event happened to her, she’ll always have her friends beside her. Finally, she could trust, completely and utterly, that whatever might come, it would never be enough to break the bonds they’d forged.

Chapter 157: Secret Tunnel

“How did it go with Diana?” Emyr stepped out of the shadows of a tree as Liliana left the library, where she’d finally managed to grab Diana for a private conversation.

They’d been back at the Academy for a week, and she hadn’t been able to get the other girl alone until today. Liliana could tell Diana was avoiding her. She didn’t even blame the girl. She had a feeling Diana was more… innocent than she and her friends were. Less used to seeing blood spilled in a dingy alleyway in broad daylight, and certainly not accustomed to seeing a friend injured.

“She… didn’t take it well.” Liliana confessed, veering towards her friend.

She had thought her friends were clingy before, now she felt like she was being unofficially guarded at all times. It didn’t matter where she went, someone was always close by. If she was studying, Emyr, Alistair, or Marianne were there. If she was training, someone was in the room with her. The only way she got to even go to the forest alone was because they knew Koth’talan would be there, and so Liliana wouldn’t be alone. Not that she was ever alone, really; she always had one of her bonds with her. But that didn’t seem to deter her friends in the least.

Then again, she’d had all her bonds with her the day she was attacked, and it didn’t make a difference.

“Was she mad at you?” Emyr asked, his voice darkening, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Liliana sighed as she grabbed a tree branch and heaved herself up, leaning back against the trunk and leaving a leg dangling. She tilted her head back and looked at the thick tapestry of leaves above her for a moment.

“No. Well. Maybe? She just seemed freaked out. It’s probably the first time her life has been in real danger.” Liliana explained, and she felt the menacing aura Emyr had been exuding weaken somewhat.

She knew if she had said that Diana had blamed her, or been cruel to her in any way, Emyr would’ve set off with every intent of ‘setting Diana straight’. The last thing Diana needed right now was a feral Emyr set loose on her.

“She seemed guilty too.” Liliana confessed, plucking a leaf and playing with it between her fingers, tearing the delicate greenery between her nimble fingers, the only outward tell for her anxiety.

“Why would she feel guilty?” Emyr said, his voice tinged with suspicion. Liliana kicked her leg at his shoulder.

“Stop that. She probably feels guilty for the same reason Alistair does. For not being with me, for not getting there fast enough, for not stopping it.” Liliana chastised her friend. Emyr swatted her prodding foot away from him, but settled against the tree, shifting slightly when bits of shredded leaf rained on his head.

“How are you feeling?” Emyr asked, shifting the conversation. Liliana grabbed another leaf, tearing into it for a few moments before she responded.

“Not the best. I might have lost a friend with this. And I wouldn’t blame Diana for it, either. And then there’s being back here, after everything. It feels off. And there’s so many people, it’s overwhelming.” Liliana confessed, as yet another leaf was dissected in her hands.

Her emotions were roiling under her skin right now, even as she tried to rein them in. She felt, to put it simply, like shit. She was sleeping better, with fewer nightmares. But she still felt raw. And being around so many people while she felt vulnerable was terrifying.

It felt like everyone could see through her weakened defenses, see the fragility inside of her. If they could see it, she feared they’d be able to easily reach in and grab the core parts of her and crush them to bits. Liliana hadn’t realized how much her lies, her barriers, had been acting as a cursed armor for herself. With them removed, she no longer felt as safe, as protected, as she had been.

She had only revealed the truth to a select few, but it had been enough to strip her of that armor entirely. To leave her naked on a battlefield with no shield or sword to defend herself with. It felt like everyone could see it, smell the blood in the water.

She knew that was her paranoia talking, but that paranoia had been so much a part of her for so long, it was hard to let go. It had kept her alive. It had also nearly been her undoing. It was hard to know what to do when she couldn’t even trust her own instincts because they’d led her wrong before.

That was without the issue of her fear of losing a new friend. Losing Diana wouldn’t be as great a hit as losing those she was truly close to, like Emyr or Alistair, or even Marianne. But it would still hurt to lose a friend, no matter how close they were.

Liliana knew she had a habit of getting attached to the people she let get close to her. It made her loyal, but it also meant it hurt that much more if one of the people she attached herself to decided to cut ties. Even if she wouldn’t blame them for the choice, it wouldn’t stop the hurt it caused.

“Well, if a single death threat is enough to chase her off, she’s a shit friend.” Emyr told her with a shrug. Liliana snorted a laugh, tossing a handful of shredded leaf at him.

“Most normal people don’t deal with death threats.” Liliana reminded him, making Emyr pause in his attempts to remove the green flecks from himself.

“That has to be false.” Emyr stated, looking at her with clear skepticism.

Liliana felt amusement and sadness course through her as she looked at her friend. What were their lives that death threats were normal? Was this what it meant to be a noble? Gold wrapped poisoned daggers, honey laced threats? Decadent balls disguising death threats? Emyr was the youngest child of a marquis, yet even he had grown up with the knowledge that his life was always in some form of danger from his family’s enemies. As Liliana had, as Alistair had, as all noble children were.

The life of a noble was one of privilege, but the price one paid for that finery was the loss of personal safety. The higher your status in this world, the more enemies you made, the more people who eagerly awaited your inevitable fall.

Perhaps Liliana had escaped much of it, being unwanted for so long and publicly known as such, but she had dealt with her fair share of murder attempts in her life. What had it been like for Emyr, a wanted child? A loved child? A child of a powerful family? How young was he when he was taught the reason nobles preferred to use silver utensils, to better detect common poisons in one’s food? How old was he when he first came face to face with the concept of death, and learned how close a companion it could be for the children of nobles?

“No, it’s not Emyr. For commoners in cities, many will live their lives without once worrying for their life.” Liliana said softly.

Yes, commoners could face their fair share of threats, especially the ones living in smaller towns or villages, where threats from beasts were more apt to occur. Even some cities, where the nobles did not properly manage it and crime flourished, could be dangerous, but for most not of the noble class, life-threatening situations weren’t the norm. A commoner would never have to check if their spoon turned black before sipping from their tea.

“Well,” Emyr paused, face brooding as he thought and adjusted to these facts, “any commoner who goes to the Academy is guaranteed to be in danger. More is expected of them, for being accepted, for graduating. Attention brings danger. Jealousy brings danger, and many nobles see the commoners who gain admittance here as stealing the rightful places of other nobles. Her life was already in danger, even if she never understood that.” Emyr finished with a huff, crossing his arms even as his steel eyes flashed with unease. So they were going to brush past the fact that their experiences with life-threatening encounters were not normal, alright.

“You’re right. But it’s still the first time she’s been in danger like this, seen it first hand rather than as some obscure concept. You don’t forget the first time, and it’s always the worst.” Liliana said softly, looking down at her hands.

Her fingers trailed across her skin as she traced scars, finding Lelantos’ tattoo on her arm and tracing the magical picture. Liliana still remembered the first time her life was in danger from another person in this world. She had realized it soon after she’d awoken, knowing that the reason she had been the one to wake up and not the original Liliana was because Imogen had poisoned her. The terror that filled her had stolen her breath and paralyzed her, made worse when the woman had come into her room, to see for herself that Liliana had survived.

If only she knew that she had achieved her goal. The little, scared girl she had poisoned had died that day. Her soul was gone. Hopefully saved by Vita, but more likely, it could be gone. Destroyed by the poison. Liliana had died and someone else, a girl with no name, had taken her place.

Liliana had known, from her first days in this world, how delicate life was. How easily it could be taken away. That fear of death had been her longest companion in this world. Had been the driving force behind her every choice. Liliana had already experienced death once before in its entirety, and she had no wish to return to the void any time soon.

So Liliana could understand, very well, what Diana was feeling right now. Could empathize, and would understand if the girl shunned her out of fear, out of self preservation. How could she blame Diana for doing what she herself had done time and again?

“I don’t.” Emyr said softly, jolting Liliana from her thoughts.

“Hm?” Liliana made an inquiring sound.

“I don’t remember the first time.” Emyr said softly. Liliana paused, head tilting as sadness filled her again.

Had any of them ever been children, really?

“Lili?” Emyr asked as Liliana shoved off her branch, dropping in front of him and grabbing his hands in a flurry of movement.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” Liliana said with a secret smile. She had had quite enough of sadness, of heavy, suffocating emotions. Enough of guilt, fear, suspicion, and melancholy. She wanted something light, something sweet. She wanted to feel the giddy hum of mischief flowing through her. She wanted to feel laughter bubbling behind her lips.

But most of all, she wanted to banish the dark look from Emyr’s face.

“Where are we going?” Emyr asked as Liliana dragged him past groups of students taking advantage of the summer warmth to spend time outside. Liliana made a bee-line for the Earth affinity tower as Emyr trailed behind her, not resisting, but his mouth down turned in confusion.

“Lili?” Emyr asked as she led them inside, turning at the door and glancing around to check that no one was watching before she started tapping the brickwork in a specific pattern.

“Lili? Did you drag me here to show me a wa-“ Emyr cut off as the bricks shifted, slowly forming an opening just large enough for a person to walk through.

Liliana grabbed his hand again and tugged him through, Emyr ducking at the last second to avoid getting brained on the low entrance. As soon as he got through, the bricks moved again, closing behind them. Darkness closed over them for a brief moment before mage lights shone, revealing they were standing on a platform, stairs leading down into the ground in front of them.

“Okay. What the fuck?” Emyr asked, eyes wide as he looked around, pressing a hand against the wall that had been a doorway seconds before.

“The Academy is full of hidden rooms, tunnels, and passageways.” Liliana said, smiling proudly as she nodded at the stairs.

“And where does this lead?” Emyr asked, passing her and looking down the stairs, curiosity clear on his face.

“Down the stairs, there’s a tunnel that leads to the infirmary.” Liliana said before her lips spread into a sharp toothed grin. “But if you know where they are, there are a few different other passageways you can access from here that lead to the Library, and some of the dorms.”

“Wait.” Emyr froze, turning to look at her, eyes narrowing as his mind worked. “Is that how you get back to the dorm sometimes without any of us being able to tell how?” Emyr asked, voice holding trace amount of accusation in it. Liliana bit her lip and flushed, looking away.

“All the dorm rooms have access to a passageway.” Liliana said softly, rocking on her heels slightly as her friend’s gaze bored into her.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Emyr asked, voice soft and all the more dangerous for it.

“Well… no?” Liliana tried, flicking her eyes to his face and quickly averting her gaze.

“How long have you known about these?” Emyr asked. Liliana bit her lip harder as she debated what to say. She’d technically known about the secret passageways since before they were even accepted. But she couldn't very well tell Emyr that.

“Since the first week?” Liliana said, though it came out more as a question than a statement. Emyr stared at her, silent, as she fidgeted under his harsh gaze.

“Lili, this would’ve been so much more useful for spying on those assholes!” Emyr finally groaned out, Liliana let out a sigh of relief.

“It wouldn’t have done you any good. I think the passageways connected to individual dorm rooms are coded to our IDs. I tried to use Alistair’s, and it didn’t work.” Liliana said with a shrug, and Emyr looked slightly mollified by this.

“How many of these are there?” Emyr asked, and he was back to being curious rather than menacing and disapproving.

“Hundreds. Most classrooms have at least a hidden room, if not a passageway. Theres a huge network of tunnels under the entire Academy, not to mention inside each building. It’s a maze.” Liliana said, excitement tingeing her voice.

She hadn’t had much of a chance to explore a lot of the hidden aspects of the Academy, but she knew it was basically a labyrinth of rooms, passageways, tunnels, and hidden staircases. If she didn’t have her memories from her first life, she’d have gotten lost more than once in the few times she’d delved into them.

“Probably in case of an invasion.” Emyr murmured as he looked back down the staircase.

Liliana shrugged. It was her best guess, but with her theories that the Academy had been created by a beast, it could’ve been for nothing more than to sneak around. Or because the original beast was one that preferred living underground and was more comfortable with confusing tunnels. Maybe it was some type of mole, or rabbit, or even a meerkat.

“I haven’t had much of a chance to explore. Do you want to help me map it out?” Liliana offered, and the way Emyr’s eyes lit up in excitement, the emotion washing off years from his face until he looked like the sixteen-year-old he was, made it all worth it.

For a moment, regret filled her. She should’ve shown the secret passageways to Emyr sooner. But she’d been so busy with school, with her deteriorating mental health, that she hadn’t thought of it. She banished the emotion. It didn’t matter; she was showing him now. And he looked so happy she couldn’t feel regretful for long.

“Come on,” Emyr said, grabbing her hand this time and dragging her down the stairs. Liliana grinned as he pulled her along.

“How’d you even find out how to get in here?” Emyr asked as they hit the end of the stairs. Liliana was prepared for this question for once, even if the lie tasted bitter on her tongue.

“Saw an upperclassman use it.” She said with a shrug as she took the lead, stopping by a stretch of wall and pressing her hand into a brick that had the Academy emblem carved into it.

“I figured out that most places that have the emblem on them are passageways. Some are more complicated to open.” Liliana explained, nodding at the new tunnel that was revealed as the wall swung open like a door. Emyr stared at it, then at her, before a notebook and a pen appeared in his hands and he flipped it open, beginning to sketch something out on the paper.

“Where does this lead?” Emyr asked.

“This one leads to the second year class C dorms.” Liliana explained, and she fell into the role of tour guide as she led Emyr through the tunnel, showing him the emblems and how to open the doors and explaining where they each led. Emyr was practically buzzing with energy as he sketched out a map, adding in something new with each thing Liliana told him.

Liliana guided them through the tunnels for hours. Sometimes they had to emerge into a building to get to the next passageway. Their travels had them walking through the affinities towers, sometimes going up or down floors for the next entrance. On more than one occasion, they startled wayward students hanging out in the towers.

It didn’t help that some of the entrances, and therefore exits, weren’t always in normal places. Sometimes they popped out of the floor, sometimes they walked straight through walls that were nothing more than illusions, and on one occasion they dropped out of a ceiling and scared a second year half to death when they fell right in front of the desk he’d been napping on.

One student even screamed, startling all three of them, when Liliana and Emyr walked through a mirror to exit a tunnel. And Liliana was fairly certain she heard a pair of third years whispering about ghosts and haunted buildings when they climbed out of the floor on the second floor of the Fire affinity tower.

“We need to get back to the dorms,” Liliana said as she rested on a couch in one of the hidden rooms they’d ‘found’.

Liliana had obviously known it was there, but Emyr didn’t, and she had to pretend it was a surprise to her. Sometimes she wished she didn’t have her memories from her past life, and right now was one of them. She wished she could experience what it was like to explore these passageways with no idea what she’d find.

While it was exciting to see them in real life, much of the wonder was gone when she knew where each passageway led to. But it was alright, because seeing Emyr get bright eyed with each new discovery made up for it. It might not be her first time seeing these hidden rooms and secret tunnels, but it was his. And that was enough.

“Can’t we just… not?” Emyr asked with a pout from the overstuffed armchair he’d taken.

This room was some kind of resting room, the best Liliana could tell. It had comfortable couches and chairs, blankets, and pillows. Liliana wondered if exhausted upperclassmen or teachers used it to sleep in sometimes. She had remembered this room from the game, but it hadn’t had the furniture or blankets in the game. It was always interesting to see how the world differed from the game, even in something as small as the use of a secret room.

“We can keep exploring tomorrow,” Liliana bargained, and Emyr looked up from his map with a calculating look.

“Promise?” he asked, and Liliana smiled.

“Promise.” She swore. Emyr stared at her for a long moment before sighing and standing, putting away his notebook.

“Think we can scare Alistair by popping out of a wall?” Emyr asked, a devilish grin on his face that Liliana matched.

“Let’s try it.”

Chapter 158: Letting Off Steam With Some Harmless Chaos

Liliana groaned, rubbing at her eyes as the words on the page in front of her began to swim. She was curled up in a corner of the couch in the study room she and her friends had, unofficially, claimed as their own.

Summer vacation felt like years ago now, though it had hardly been a month. However, since getting back from the month long vacation classes had gotten notably harder. As the days ticked closer to the end of the first semester, everyone felt the pressure pushing down on them.

For the first years, this would be their first tournament and their first ranking. It would mean a drastic change in their classes. According to both the professors and the older students, the first ‘culling’ would cause a major shakeup for the upper ranked classes.

While the lower ranked classes didn’t generally see too much of a change, S, A and B classes would be shuffled around as those who got in based solely on levels and not wit were shifted to lower classes. It was apparently accepted by the majority of later years and professors that the students in each class starting their second semester actually belonged there.

It grated Liliana that so many saw her, by token of getting into class S with her levels, as nothing more than a privileged placeholder. Looking at the majority of her class, though, she could see why that was a popular assumption.

The closer they got to the 10th of Symber, the more she could see it. As the tests got harder, the homework more extensive and the teachers more ruthless in their grading, Liliana watched as her classmates slowly frayed at the seams.

Training was becoming downright vicious as students who had gotten in through their levels tried to compensate for failing grades in the one class they thought they could do well in. The aura of desperation was becoming so heavy Liliana could taste it in the back of her throat.

Even Liliana could feel the stress pressing on her, though she was handling it better than some. Partially thanks to the new coping mechanisms she’d gained from working with Healer Sybil. Liliana still saw the Psyche healer every weekend to keep Silas happy, and if she was honest, because she wanted to.

Her mind had never felt so clear as it had since she began working with the Psyche healer. And she could admit having a clearer, healthier mind on top of the reduced nightmares meant she was doing better in classes than she was before.

Learning how to organize her memories, so she wasn’t bombarded with traumatic memories at some minor trigger, made her daily life far easier. By extension, it made her time in the Academy easier when she wasn’t walking on eggshells to avoid the minefields in her mind.

However, even with the aid of a clearer mind, the classes were still hard. Liliana wasn’t sure if the professors were trying to break them or help them anymore. Based on the amount of breakdowns she’d witnessed from her classmates, four today alone, she was starting to lean towards thinking the professors wanted to break them.

“Lili? Can you translate this for me?” Marianne asked, drawing Liliana from her thoughts.

Liliana nodded, and a book rocketed through the air towards her. She grabbed it and flipped to the bookmarked page. Marianne had discovered that Liliana could read far more languages than she’d originally admitted to. Liliana had been lazy about hiding that aspect of her boons in her pursuit of knowledge about any and every beast she could get.

Marianne hadn’t questioned it too much; rather, she’d been excited at the fact that she had a friend who could translate any text she found and therefore help her with her essay writing. Liliana mentally bemoaned the loss of the Internet and online translators that would free her from this responsibility as she read over the text.

“Draconian?” Liliana asked curiously.

Most beasts didn’t have a written language that they used, or if they did, no one had found them, which was more likely. However, Dragons had their own spoken and written tongue that was well known, likely because they ended up dealing with humans enough to warrant the need for the purpose of treaties and agreements.

“Yeah, it’s for the treaty between Xedrot and Celeste.” Marianne clarified, naming their second queen.

It would be about the treaty that outlawed the hunting or killing of natural born beasts and included certain species as protected. One of those species being Flowered Serpents. Liliana knew a good amount about said treaty even before coming to the Academy, having read up on it when she, Alistair, and Emyr went to the deal with the village that had broken the ancient laws.

Liliana shook her head, thankful for the sessions with Healer Sybil that locked away the darker memories she would have once attributed to that trip. Now she could remember the good times on their own, without the rest of it. Meeting Jason’s family, bonding Nemesis- even if that couldn’t necessarily be called a good memory, Liliana still treasured every memory of gaining her bonds.

“Xedrot Guardian Of The Glens hereby offers Celeste Clarise Stella Summerwarden protection when called upon during a time of need and a cease of hostile actions under the agreement…” Liliana narrated the words she read mentally to Marianne, hearing her friend quickly noting down her words as she translated the section Marianne needed for her essay.

When she finished, Marianne let her keep the book and Liliana set her Soul textbook to the side as she continued reading the account of the treaty from the perspective of the dragon. [Threads of Control] moved as she read, writing down her own essay.

Her fine control of the skill had grown in leaps and bounds through necessity. With the amount of homework all their teachers assigned them, Liliana often felt the need to have extra hands just to finish it all. The skill meant she did, functionally, have those hands.

However, it forced her to learn how to multi-task mentally, something made far easier with the newfound mental control she had. Though she doubted Healer Sybil had intended her to use what she learned in their sessions for homework, but then again, Healer Sybil wanted her to focus on school rather than ‘adult concerns’ so the woman couldn’t complain.

Healer Sybil also hadn’t intended Liliana to try to use her new skills to cheat in her classes, but much to Liliana’s disappointment, the wards on the classrooms prevented mental communications. Liliana supposed she was lucky she didn’t get punished for the attempt at least, though she would’ve been far more relaxed if she could communicate with her friends during tests.

But no, she had to study and take her tests like everyone else, without cheating. Well, mostly. Her memory was improving, and she did wonder if photographic memory was a skill she could learn. She doubted that could be considered cheating.

Desperate for any distraction from the mountains of homework she still needed to work through, Liliana picked up her Wind text book from the cushion next to her and she flipped through the heavily annotated pages, her neat, small script filling margins. She picked a page in the section they were going over in class today and read over it a few times before she closed her eyes and sunk into her mind.

A thick forest filled her mind’s eyes and Liliana traversed deep into it, the environment soothing to her where a few months ago it had been a raging sea full of riptides and whirlpools designed to drown her.

What a change two months and a Psyche healer could accomplish.

Liliana found what she needed quickly enough, trees widening until she was in a forest of thick redwoods, their trunks twisted into naturally forming bookshelves filled to bursting with tomes of every shape and color. Many were empty, waiting for something to fill their pages. Others were obviously already used, the chains wrapping around them denoting the ones filled with memories Liliana had processed and locked up.

Liliana picked up one such empty tome, and she pushed the memory of the textbook page she had just read onto it. Words filled the blank pages, and Liliana smiled softly as she replaced it. Opening her eyes, she blinked, readjusting to the real world. Closing the textbook, Liliana tried to recall the words, and while it wasn’t perfect, she could easily remember the gist of what she’d read.

Mentiumancy has reached level 27!

You’ve discovered the general skill Recall. Would you like to accept the skill?

Recall: Psyche

Rather than simply trusting your mind to remember key facts and events, you’ve taken it upon yourself to manually imprint memories in your mind. This skill will make remembering and memorizing information and events easier. As the skill progresses, your memory will improve and your ability to recall events and information will grow until you can perfectly remember events as they happened.

Liliana accepted the skill easily, a bit miffed she hadn’t gotten it sooner. Then again, her work with Healer Sybil was focused not on preserving memories, but on putting them to rest. Accepting what happened and working through the tangled emotions and trauma connected to her memories.

Nothing they’d done had been with the purpose of strengthening the memories, though apparently the techniques could be transferred to that purpose. Liliana shook her head. It mattered little. A new general skill was nice, but it likely wouldn’t make a major impact anytime soon and she had a test in Telekineses tomorrow she needed to focus on, and four essays due as well. She didn’t have time to work on getting new skills or bemoaning not having them in the first place.

“I need to take a walk before I burn the library down.” Emyr said as he slammed his textbook closed an hour later, distracting Liliana from her most recently finished essay.

Looking at her remaining half written essays, and the many opened textbooks strewn around her, Liliana shrugged and stood with a sigh. Her back cracked as she stretched out a body sore from hours spent curled up with a book in her hands.

“I’ll go with you. Want to get some coffee?” Liliana asked her friend as she carefully made her way through the room.

She had to utilize [Wind Walk] a few times to avoid stepping on books or parchment. There were only five people in the room, but it looked like the library had thrown up over the room as they all frantically studied and tried to finish their assignments.

The past few weeks such sights had become commonplace for Liliana, and even their dorms weren’t spared the explosions of paper and books. Liliana would swear she dreamed of essays now that her nights weren’t taken up with nightmares.

“Yes, please.” Emyr said, voice tinged with desperation as he glared at his almost finished essay for Fundamentals.

“Can you get me some, too?” Marianne asked distractedly, as she switched from writing one essay to another.

The pair agreed and quickly made their way out of the room. Liliana stretched again when the door to the study room closed, more of her joints making satisfying popping noises. She set off towards the stairs to get out of the library when Emyr grabbed her arm. Liliana paused and tilted her head at Emyr, a curious noise escaping her as he tugged her into a pool of shadows between the mage lights.

“I know which study room Zir’elon and his posse are using.” Emyr whispered, eyes sparkling with mischief. Liliana paused, and a smirk grew on her face as she thought over it.

“It’s been a while since we had any fun,” Liliana murmured.

Emyr grinned at her, a sharp slice of white teeth in the deep shadows they were huddled in. Liliana looked around and saw no one was watching. She’d learned over time that while the dorms were very well monitored and were almost impossible to play pranks in, the rest of the Academy had varying levels of protection.

Classrooms and training rooms were well protected and monitored, but places like the cafeteria, hallways, and study rooms were less monitored. Before, the high concentration of students made it harder to do anything without someone noticing. With the impending end of the first semester approaching, everyone was too busy studying to spend much time wandering about. Which meant far fewer curious eyes to catch them causing mischief.

“Did you know that there're passageways behind all the study rooms in the library?” Emyr asked as he pressed the toe of his shoe into a stone near the bottom of the wall they were leaning against.

A small door, just big enough for them to squeeze into, opened and quickly the two of them slipped inside, the wall sliding back in place behind them as lights illuminated a suspiciously dust free passageway.

Liliana had known about these passageways, but she was unfamiliar with where Zir’elon and his ilk were, so she followed Emyr as he led them through the confusing labyrinth of passageways. The Academy emblem popped up often, hidden entrances to the study rooms scattered throughout. Easy escape avenues, or in their case, perfect options for spying and causing chaos.

Liliana had to wonder how much time Emyr was spending exploring the hidden passageways of the Academy to be so familiar with them now. She was only slightly concerned for the chaos Emyr would use the passageways for. At least this time she would be there to supervise or, more than likely, escalate.

“This one.” Emyr stopped in front of a stretch of wall that looked much the same as the many others they’d passed. Liliana trusted him to be correct, though. He’d never given her faulty information before.

“So how do you want to do this?” Liliana asked as her fingers tapped against the wall near silently. Her nails were getting long again. She had to file them often as they were quite a bit sharper than they used to be and she didn’t enjoy accidentally cutting herself on them.

“I’ll slip in through the shadows and grab some of their work and textbooks. If they catch me, open the hidden door here and extract me. Otherwise get ready to run when I get back.” Emyr said with a smile. Liliana nodded and bounced on the balls of her feet as Emyr melted into the shadows, vanishing from view.

Was this wrong? Probably. Was it technically bullying Zir’elon and his friends? Yes. Did Liliana care? Not one bit.

Liliana was not inclined to feel sympathy or pity for her enemies, and she had long considered Zir’elon one. His threats and aggression towards her and her friends made him someone she would happily see ruined.

She knew that could arguably make her a bad person, but she couldn’t find it in her to care much. She had long ago accepted that she would never be a shining example of virtue. She cared too much for revenge and ascribed a bit too strongly to the eye for an eye mentality to ever be strictly good. She’d never hurt someone who was innocent, but those who made the mistake of gaining her ire would find no mercy from her.

Liliana pressed her ear against the wall, holding her breath to try to hear better. The walls were thick, but she thought she could hear some low conversation through the stones. There were some confused and frustrated exclamations, but nothing that would imply Emyr had been found out. Liliana jolted, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek, when Emyr popped out of the shadows, arms full of parchments and textbooks.

“Here, take these,” Emyr shoved half the stack at her with a hushed whisper and then the two of them took off down the hidden passageway, choked giggles trailing them as adrenaline surged.

When they had gotten far enough away and there were no sounds of pursuit they could hear they stopped, chests heaving as they panted, arms full of stolen goods. Liliana looked at Emyr, and he looked back at her. They held eye contact for a long, silent moment before they broke into laughter, both trying valiantly, and failing, to stifle the sounds, to not give away their position just in case someone had followed them. Liliana sank to the ground, body shaking with her smothered giggles as she curled over the papers and books in her arms.

“What are we even going to do with all of this?” Liliana finally managed to choke out between giggles.

“Let’s drop it off in front of the dorms.” Emyr said, and Liliana nodded.

She would’ve preferred to burn the materials, or to leave them scattered across the Academy so Zir’elon and his friends were forced to hunt down their missing items but that would take far more time, and they did still have their own homework to still finish. Something to consider for later, when she had more time instead of during an impromptu prank.

Emyr helped her back to her feet, and they set off, primarily using the hidden passageways and tunnels to avoid anyone seeing them with incriminating evidence as they made their way to the class S dorm. Liliana used [Invisibility] to place the stack of books and papers right next to the door to the dorm after ensuring no one saw her.

With the adrenaline from sneaking around flowing through her, she threw herself with more force than necessary back into the hole in the pavement that was the entrance and exit for one of the tunnels she and Emyr had ‘found’.

Zir’elon and his cronies would probably find their missing homework and textbooks when they retired to the dorm, but likely not before they tore up their study room looking for them. Liliana couldn't stop giggling as they headed back to the library and their own study room.

She could imagine how Zir’elon would look when he discovered his missing textbooks and homework, and she so wished she could watch. The mental images alone were enough to fill her with amusement and to fill her chest with laughter. Her mirth was infectious, Emyr chuckling as they walked.

High on the adrenaline from the successful caper, the two of them ended up playing tag through the tunnels and passageways to work off the excess energy. They arrived outside the door to their study room disheveled and red faced, laughter still bubbling out of them and eyes bright with happiness.

“What did you two do?” Marianne asked the second they walked in, causing the pair to freeze and glance guiltily back and forth.

“What ever do you mean, Mari?” Liliana asked, her voice dripping with false innocence.

“You did something. I can feel it.” Marianne said, eyes narrowing as Emyr and Liliana edged into the room, avoiding the princess’ gaze.

“Nope. We did nothing. Just a walk.” Liliana said, pushing down the urge to whistle.

“Is it going to be a problem?” Marianne asked with a defeated sigh.

“For us? No. Probably not.” Emyr said with a shrug as he sat back down next to Alistair.

“Good. Wait. Where’s my coffee?” Marianne asked.

“Shit. I knew we forgot something.” Emyr said with a groan as he tilted his head back.

Liliana stifled another giggle as she made her way back to her couch, listening to Marianne bicker with Emyr as she grabbed a textbook and sighed. The prank had been a good distraction, but it was time to get back to studying and homework.

Liliana couldn’t wait for the end of the semester and the tournament. She much preferred problems she could stab over mathematical equations and dry treaties.

Chapter 159: Preparing To Face Your Fears

“Your class will be going into the dungeons as your final exam for this class.”

One sentence had no right to fill Liliana with a volatile mixture of emotions. Fear, anxiety, excitement — all of it was twisted up inside of her, a tangled knot sitting in the middle of her chest, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

Normally, a dungeon dive would fill her with excitement, happiness. The chance to fight enemies that bled and died, to chase after the high that was leveling up, something she hadn’t experienced in months thanks to the Academy’s no-leveling restriction.

However, there was an issue she had with this particular dungeon, namely its choice to fill itself with things straight out of her worst nightmares. She had barely survived one dungeon dive through it without devolving into a fear ridden, stuttering mess. Now they were expected to spend three days and two nights inside of it rather than a small handful of hours.

Liliana would have to sleep in a bug infested torture pit where at any moment one of those cursed creatures with more legs than any living being rightfully needed could sneak up on her.

Suffice to say, Liliana felt a lot of things in regard to her final exam for Battle Training, but none of them were happiness.

“This is a hate crime.” Liliana grumbled as she sat on the floor of the training room, surrounded by her team, as they all checked over their gear.

Their class was once more split in half, their teams arranged the same as before. Her, Marianne, Alistair, Emyr, Anya, Diana, Koth’talan, Basil, Rathwater and Dawn. Others had tried to cajole and worm their way into the team, but they had worked well together the last time and didn’t want to risk changing up their structure during their final exam.

Not when the grade they got on this exam would have a massive impact on their ranking and could determine if they retained their seats in class S or lost them. It was perhaps one of the reasons Diana was still on their team, despite the strained relationship she and Liliana now had. That strained relationship had bled out into the relationships Diana had with the rest of the team, many of them friends of Liliana’s who didn’t appreciate the other girl’s distance. Especially the ones who knew what caused it, far less understanding of Diana’s reasons than Liliana was.

The ones unaware of the circumstances just saw Diana suddenly icing Liliana out and were even less understanding. Their team was strained as a result, but even with that, it wasn’t worth risking an unknown variable. The team would behave, if only because their grades were more important than personal grudges.

Battle Training had the first exam out of all their classes, a whole three weeks before the Tournament would be held. They’d have a week of rest before the exams for the rest of their classes, and the written one for this class began. Then another week of rest before the Tournament was held, which could be the last chance some students would get to hold their spots.

The Tournament wouldn’t save someone who had abysmally failed, but it could tip the scales for someone who had just barely dipped below the necessary ranking. Or shove the person at the end of the ranking for their class down to a lower class.

Everything was coming to a head, and this exam marked the culmination of their sleepless nights and panicked studying and training. They’d been warned a week in advance what their final exam would be for this class and, as a result, students who had never seen the inside of a private training room suddenly had an urgency to spend as many hours as possible inside of one.

Liliana was lucky to be in class S where there were twenty individual training rooms, otherwise she might have had to duel someone just to use a training room. It was already happening in other classes and years, and seeing someone issue a challenge to a duel was becoming a common sight throughout the Academy. Students were picking up extra assignments too in the hopes of saving up enough merit points to afford some of the nicer gear.

Liliana had already splurged on a bit of armor for herself. A thick piece of iron was held over her chest by sturdy reinforced leather straps that buckled over her torso, complete with places to strap on sheathes for her daggers. [Threads of Control] had advanced far enough that she could now control six daggers at a time and, thanks to that, she’d needed to buy two more daggers as well.

She was getting closer to being able to control swords, but she wasn’t excited about the cost that would be accrued when she needed to buy six swords for her to use instead of daggers. The daggers, the armor and the pair of knee-high boots with armor on the shins had wiped out her entire stock of merit points she’d been saving. However, if she did well on her exams, she stood to gain a good amount of merit points, or if she placed highly in the Tournament.

She was lucky that potions weren’t necessary for her to buy. Thanks to her enrollment in the alchemy club, she had access to as many potions as she could make. And when she was properly motivated, she could churn out quite a lot, as she’d found out. Thankfully, Professor Gambrill was the type of instructor who was so easily distracted by her own experiments she didn’t notice when students stayed a bit too late in the alchemy club room and perhaps ended up falling asleep under the tables.

It had only happened twice, but the professor hadn’t noticed, or if she had, she didn’t punish Liliana or any of the other students who had used the room as an impromptu bedroom during the exam season. The blankets the students would wake up under implied the woman perhaps understood a bit too well what stress they were under.

“It’s not a hate crime,” Basil chided her gently, reaching over to tug at her tight braid and earning a slapped hand for his troubles.

Liliana hadn’t expected to grow closer to any of her newfound friends after the events of her summer vacation, but Basil had grown on her. Like mold. He was softer spoken than many of her friends, a comforting presence. His silence wasn’t as caustic as Koth’talan’s could be.

His newfound enjoyment of Herbology meant they had something to bond over as well, and the quiet stolen moments she found with the other boy in the greenhouses had made their original acquaintance type relationship blossom into friendship. A memory rose to the top of her mind, the day their friendship had truly become something that could be called that.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to be here.” Liliana said softly, face flushed in embarrassment as she stumbled over her own feet, tripped up by surprise.

She had escaped to the greenhouses for a dual purpose, one to get away from her friends who had been hovering around her far too much lately. She appreciated their concern, but there were only so many sympathetic glances, gentle reminders to eat, and watching gazes she could stomach for so long. So she’d slipped into a hidden tunnel when they had looked away, hurrying down hidden passages until she found herself near to the greenhouses.

Her second reasoning was she wanted to see what plants were being cultivated, and potentially see what she could harvest for potion making. Some potions required fresh ingredients, as opposed to the dried and preserved materials in the potion room. Nemesis had also been begging to visit the greenhouses to explore. She knew right now there were no classes or clubs scheduled, so she wasn’t expecting to find another student in the greenhouse, least of all a student from her own class.

“You don’t have to leave, Liliana.” Basil said, his face in a soft smile as he sat next to a rainbow rose bush, one blossom cradled in his hands and his normally pristine uniform smeared with dirt and plant matter. It was obvious he’d been in the greenhouse for a while, working with the plants.

“If you’re sure?” Liliana said hesitantly, shifting her weight nervously.

She had barely spoken to Basil for weeks, not since the end of the summer vacation. She had distanced herself from most of her new friends, except for Anya, who refused to be ignored. Partially because of the bad reaction she’d gotten from Diana, there was a chasm between them now where there hadn’t been one before and Liliana worried they’d never bridge the space between them. Liliana feared her new friends would similarly turn away from her if she dared to get close to them, if they knew the danger her presence came with.

“Yes, let me introduce you to Sheila.” Basil said with a charming grin, his green and brown eyes lighting up in amusement as Liliana let out a giggle.

“You named the rosebush?” Liliana asked, taking a small step forward, head titled in interest.

“I heard that naming plants helps them thrive.” Basil whispered loudly with a wink.

Liliana felt the tension in her shoulder relax as she approached. Basil kept his movements slow and gentle as he told her about first the rainbow rose then other plants, speaking in a quiet, lilting tone as if he was addressing a feral animal he was trying to entreat closer.

“Well, I hate it.” Liliana grumbled as she finished sharpening one of her daggers, shoving it back in its sheath with a huff. Her lips were twisted in a small smile though, and Basil bumped his shoulder against hers.

He seemed to pick up on the fact that physical touch calmed Liliana better than words did, and so had slowly begun incorporating it into their interactions. Liliana wasn’t sure why the southern duchy heir was being so kind to her, why he seemed dead set on being friends with her, but she was grateful.

Liliana’s eyes drifted to Diana, who was talking to Rathwater quietly, as far from Liliana as she could get. The girl would talk to Liliana occasionally now, but the days where she spent meals with her group or nights in their study room were gone. It hurt to know Liliana had lost a friend, and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get her back. She had gotten so attached to the girl and now that connection had been severed.

Liliana thumbed one of her daggers absentmindedly, hissing when her finger slipped and the blade cut her. She looked down and glared at the cut even as it healed, leaving no mark besides a bead of blood for such a shallow wound. The weak pain refocused her mind, and she drew the blade against the whetstone, sharpening to a deadly edge.

“That doesn’t make it a hate crime,” Emyr informed her, placing his chin on her shoulder as he watched her sharpen her dagger. She paused her sharpening to flick him in the nose, forcing him to pull back slightly.

“It feels targeted.” Liliana huffed at her friend, tilting her head back to rest on his chest as she pouted, done with sharpening her last dagger.

“Yeah, sure, the Academy specifically made a centipede dungeon just to torment you.” Emyr drawled, tone heavy with sarcasm as he took her dagger from her lax fingers and flipped it, catching the weapon by the handle before tossing it in the air again.

“Exactly!” Liliana huffed, throwing her hands in the air.

Emyr snorted and slipped her dagger into one of her sheaths without prompting before he stood suddenly, making Liliana fall on her back at the lack of support. She glared up at her friend from the ground while her friends chuckled at her antics from around her.

“Lili, if you’re done playing around, we need to double check the potions you have,” Marianne snapped from where she was sitting with Alistair, poring over lists of supplies. The princess was obviously succumbing to the stress of the exams with her shortened temper.

Some had been supplied by the school, such as tents, sleeping bags, food, first aid supplies and water. Others they had to bring themselves, like anything for warmth, their own armor, and weapons. Small things like ropes, knives, maps and such had to be provided by the students as well.

Basil was bringing plant seeds, to supplement their food supply and to make the use of his affinity easier. Marianne and Rathwater would be able to summon water too if they needed extra, and Emyr functioned as a portable spark kit, but they had to bring their own firewood.

Basil could make trees, but green wood was a hassle to burn and produced more smoke than heat, and in a subterranean dungeon, smoke inhalation was a deadly threat. Liliana was tasked with the potion supply while others in their team were charged with various item acquisitions.

“Ugh fine. Haven’t I already told you guys what I have?” Liliana grumbled as she flipped to her feet and strode to where her brother and friend were sitting.

She summoned a parchment already labeled with her potion list. Twenty-five minor Health potions, twenty minor Mana potions, thirty minor Stamina potions, ten Major Health potions, five major Mana potions. She had focused on potions they would most likely need rather than anything that could increase their stats; she didn’t have a lot of time in the alchemy club and hadn’t wanted to risk not having enough necessary potions just so someone could have a boost to their Speed or Strength. Stat enhancing potions took longer to make and were more prone to failure when brewing anyway.

“We’re double checking.” Marianne informed her, snatching the paper from her hand and comparing it to the other parchment in her hand.

Liliana hummed as she sat down, leaning on Marianne’s side as the princess went over the supply lists again, mind drifting. She should’ve figured out how to make bug spray or something. A bug repellent potion or an aerosolized explosive would do nicely for this damned dungeon. Anything that meant she didn’t have to face her phobia.

“Do you have the breakdown of the creatures we’re most likely to face?” Marianne asked and Liliana shook her head, banishing fantasies of giant spray cans full of industrial strength bug killer.

“Yeah, I already gave everyone the copied sheets. My hand still hurts from writing out ten copies.” Liliana rotated her wrist to enforce her point. She swore her fingers were still stiff from holding a pen for so long, even with [Threads of Control] aiding her in her writing.

On top of potion duty, Liliana had been tasked with research into the centipedes and their possible evolutions. She now knew far more about the centipedes of this world than she ever wanted or needed to know.

Such as the fact that what they’d faced were Centipede Soldiers, a Rank 6 creature part of the Myriada species. It could evolve at Rank 5 into a Phalanxede, an armored version of the Centipede Soldier, or a Ceturionede, a more streamlined version with swords for legs and pincers. Those were what they were likely to face. If they were truly unlucky, there would be a chance to run into the Rank 4 evolution as a boss, a Millipede Strategus.

But that was highly unlikely, as she was certain the dungeon went no higher than Rank 5. They wouldn’t chance a class of Rank 6s against a possible Rank 4 opponent. Even if Liliana had a Rank 4 tame, they wouldn’t risk the other group in the same dungeon knowing they had no way of fighting a Rank 4 safely. Even with Polaris, Liliana wasn’t certain her group could survive an encounter with a boss Rank 4 creature with an army of Rank 5s and 6s.

Even so, Liliana had included the possible boss in her notes for everyone. Better safe than sorry.

Luckily, the entire evolutionary line stayed close to Earth and Metal affinities, with few chances of deviations. Unluckily, they had just passed the fall equinox, so Earth type beasts were stronger than normal right now. It was likely why the day for their exam fell only two days after the equinox, right after their short break for it. The dungeon would be at its hardest right now and it would be a struggle, even without any Rank 4s thrown into the mix.

“Times up for preparation.” Rauk called out, drawing the attention of the entire room.

There were four teachers this time, two for each group. It was obvious they were being more careful with this longer excursion into the dungeon, or they wanted more eyes to give and take points for their grades. Her group once more had Rauk, but Vereign had elected to join him in watching their team for the exam.

Guérin had actually graced their class with his presence and would be accompanying Zir’elon’s team into the dungeon, along with Professor Reviee, their Fundamentals’ professor. Liliana did not envy Zir’elon’s team with the way Guérin was glaring at them as if they were shit he had accidentally stepped in. Liliana hoped their Battle Training professor’s attitude towards them would improve after the tournament and exams, when the students remaining had proven they belonged in the class.

She much preferred having two of her favorite teachers following her around. Rauk and Vereign had done the most for her out of any of the staff, as little as it was. Regardless, it was clear they cared a little about her wellbeing. Even if they did less than the bare minimum, in her opinion, it was better than the nothing the rest of the teachers did.

Vereign had never revoked Alistair and Emyr’s permission to enter her rooms, though she suspected the teacher had some way of monitoring to be sure that nothing untoward was happening between her and Emyr.

After the break, Rauk had been careful who she was assigned against during the first few weeks, and had visited her when she was training privately to give her tips and advise her on her techniques. It was obvious that was his way of being sure she was okay. It was clear they were both doing something to help her, and she appreciated it even as she resented them a bit for not doing more.

But Liliana had long ago gotten used to being disappointed by adults and no longer placed expectations on them that they would ultimately never meet. Even if the expectation was something as simple as caring for her or protecting her. Jason and Silas were the exception to the rule, they had defied the trend set by every other adult in Liliana’s life.

“Ugh, into hell we go.” Liliana groaned as she stood, stretching out her muscles one last time to ensure she was ready to face her literal nightmares.

“Come on, Lili, face your fears and overcome.” Alistair teased gently, flicking her braid into her face.

“I will not hesitate to stab you.” Liliana deadpanned, fingering a dagger as she glared at her brother, who held up his hands in surrender.

“We’ll keep you safe from the big scary bugs,” Emyr assured her, throwing an arm over her shoulders as he dragged her towards the door, where the teachers had already left, heading towards the dungeons.

“Who is going to keep you safe from me?” Liliana asked as she elbowed her friend, making him groan, bending over and putting half his weight on her in revenge.

“My dashing good looks and charm?” Emyr wheezed and Liliana huffed but let her friend drag her out the doors.

“It’s definitely a hate crime,” she muttered under her breath as the confused tangle of emotions in her chest pulsed faster, spurred on by the hummingbird wing like beating of her heart. For better or worse, she would face the dungeon, and hopefully, she wasn’t about to fall to her fears and fail.

Chapter 160: Fierce Battles And Exhausted Fighters

“Four more coming from behind!” Marianne’s voice yelled out.

Liliana ducked under a grasping set of pincers big enough to slice her in half if they clamped around her. Three daggers flew through the air with lethal accuracy and buried deep within the Centipede Soldier’s eyes and mouth. Blue blood poured out of it as it reared back in pain, revealing its vulnerable underbelly to Liliana’s blade. She darted forward, dragging the sharp, shining blade of her naginata down the creature’s length, twisting away as a spray of blood and organs spewed out of the monster. A thought had her daggers digging out of its body and returning to her side to circle her body with the rest.

“Shit. Dawn?” Alistair called out from where he was holding off three soldiers himself, Lelantos beside him with his own monsters to contend with.

“A little busy right now,” Dawn’s voice called out, strain coloring it. Alistair cursed again as his blade lit up with bright light, and he bisected one soldier.

“Lili, get to the back!” Alistair barked out an order, and Liliana grimaced from where she was.

Koth’talan and she were ahead of Alistair, attacking the group of Centipede Soldiers that were focused on the tanks from the back, crushing them between the melee fighters and the tanks. Liliana wiped off the blood that was streaming down her face, blue and red mixing together from a glancing blow she’d taken to her face, the blue from the dead body she’d left in retribution for the injury.

“Boost me?” Liliana asked Koth’talan.

All she got was a two-fingered salute as a warning before the ground under her feet erupted and a pillar of hardened earth shot her into the air [Windwalk] caught her and [Wind Surge] propelled her further forward, boosting the momentum she’d gained as she twisted through the air. She directed herself at the first of the Centipede Soldiers that had erupted from the ground to attack their mages from the back. Dawn was already occupied with two of the beasts here before the sneak attack, darting around them but unable to break away lest they turn their attention to their physically weaker teammates.

Liliana flipped as she rocketed through the air, [Windwalk] cut off and she dropped from the sky like a stone. Her naginata bore down, cleaving through the head of the first of the horrid beasts and pinning it to the ground. Her daggers flew past her, glowing with [Radiant Ignition], the wet thunking noises announcing that they’d found homes in the bodies of the other beasts that had tried sneaking up on them.

Liliana yanked her blade out of the ground and the body of the Centipede that was still bucking under her feet. She activated [Pierce] and [Radiant Edge] as she pivoted on the ball of her foot, swinging her naginata down and slicing through its neck, beheading the creature and stilling its throes.

[Perception] gave her a half second warning of something approaching her and Liliana dug the butt of her weapon into the ground and used it to vault herself back and away, pulling on [Threads of Control] and summoning her daggers back to her. They came soaked in blue blood with another body falling with their brutal removal as Liliana dropped lightly back to the ground.

A warm hand pressed roughly into Liliana’s back, Mana and Health surged through her, the dipping bars jumping back up to nearly full as cuts and bruises Liliana hadn’t even felt healed in seconds. A thick blade of blood flashed over Liliana’s head and sliced through the legs of a Centipede Soldier charging them, sending it crashing to the ground.

“Thanks Mari,” Liliana called out as she rushed forward again, three of her daggers shining bright with [Radiant Edge] before they plunged into the wounded beast and shredded it.

Liliana sliced her polearm at the last of the beasts that had snuck up on them from behind, her blade gleaming, three daggers embedding themselves in the thing’s chitinous armor. Spears made of ice and blood thunked in tandem with her attacks. Liliana twisted her weapon as she danced to the side of the thrashing, injured beast and with a strong downward swing, she beheaded it, finishing it off. Liliana called her daggers back and turned sharply on her heel once more, dashing back through the grouping of mages. Mari pressing her hand against her arm as she passed, filling her with vitality and Mana once more before Liliana burst out behind Alistair.

“The back’s good,” Liliana called out as she jumped up, using Alistair’s shoulder as a springboard to throw herself into the air again.

[Wind Walk] caught her as she took a moment to gage the battle field. Anya was thick in the midst of the fight, carving a path with her fists as she jumped up and then fell back to the earth with all the devastation of a meteor. Koth’talan had a circle of lava around him, shredded Centipedes strewn around him. The sleeve of his shirt had gotten ripped at some point and Liliana could see the thick and intricate runes covering every inch of visible skin, glowing the same fiery orange as his infernal marks.

This fight had started with close to twenty Centipede Soldiers rushing them from the front, with another ten coming up from the ground. They were down to maybe twelve left, four on Lelantos, three on Alistair. Dawn had finished hers and was back in the shadows, protecting their flank. Koth’talan and Anya were facing off against the rest. The mages were directing whatever attacks they could at anything they could hit that wouldn’t strike one of their own. As Liliana watched a fireball, a bolt of light and several water spikes impaled one of the Centipedes facing Lelantos, taking it out.

Liliana directed a [Gatling Barrage] at one of the reaming Centipedes attacking Lelantos, all six of her daggers following after the bright light bullets and peppering the nightmarish creature from head to tail. It fell under Lelantos’ jaws a second later. Lelantos used the dead corpse to bludgeon an already lagging and injured Centipede, knocking it right into a brutal hail of blood and ice bullets.

Liliana canceled [Windwalk], falling to the ground, wind rushing past her face filled with the song of battle. A wicked grin slipped over her face as she fell. She loved flying, but there was something about a freefall that sent adrenaline surging inside of her. Her naginata arrested her fall as it dug deep into the middle of the last Centipede Lelantos was facing off against, pinning it down and making it easy prey for Lelantos’ claws.

Liliana tugged her blade out of the dead beast and ran off towards Koth’talan without a word as Lelantos turned to the Centipedes still fighting Alistair. The sounds of roars and explosions let her know their depleted mages were helping their tank finish off his opponents and Anya’s happy yell told her the girl had killed another of her Centipedes.

Liliana easily cleared the moat of cooling lava still around Koth’talan with a single leap and she twisted as she landed, daggers and naginata spinning with her in a tornado of flashing steel and death as she tore into the underbelly of a Centipede Koth’talan had knocked on its side with a shove of earth.

“How are you holding up?” Liliana asked, her voice rough from dirt and dust coating her throat.

“Mana’s getting low,” Koth’talan growled out as he ducked to the side of a Centipede that had rushed over his cooled lava moat, his blade flaring bright with fire and runes before it dug into the side of the beast and blue blood fountained out to cover the already muddy ground.

“Fall back,” Liliana barked out as she jumped over a charging Centipede, feet landing on its back just long enough for her to hack her blade into its chitin, two shining daggers driving down to rip the armor wider as [Gatling Barrage] pelted down on the wound and into the squishy flesh underneath.

“I’ll be-shit!” Koth’talan’s words cut off by a pained yelp. The sound of a body hitting the ground turned Liliana’s attention to where Koth’talan had been tackled by a Centipede. His sword skittered away from his fallen body, one arm sliced open from a pincer, the runes on it flickering weakly.

Liliana cursed colorfully under her breath as she directed the last four of her daggers into the Centipede she was on, her naginata’s blade shining brightly as she plunged it into the opened hole. She jumped off the thrashing beast, her body weight pulling the blade down and to the side, tearing the creature in two.

Liliana darted towards the sword, grabbing it and sprinting towards Koth’talan, who had barely gotten back to his feet and was backed into a wall, his right arm hanging uselessly at his side, blood painting the entire limb red.

“Catch!” Liliana called out as she threw the sword towards Koth’talan right before she plowed blade first into the Centipede trying to charge Koth’talan, sending it off balance and tumbling, her naginata sunk deep into its side.

Liliana was sent to the ground with it in a tangle of insectoid legs and human limbs as she struggled to get out from under it, her grip on her naginata lost in the process. Panic clawed at her throat and fear pounded in her blood, breaking through [Battle Clarity] like an axe through thin ice. Gods above Liliana really fucking hated these damn bugs. Fear pumped adrenaline through her veins like a rushing river and it filled her with strength and a desperate, primal need to get out.

Daggers flew to her, and she grabbed two, pushing them into its soft underbelly and shredding it, the other four digging in next and twisting around like a blender, [Radiant Ignition] lit the blades up seconds before six explosions rocked the beast. Liliana closed her mouth and eyes tight as a rush of blue ichor and other disgusting bits fell out from the destroyed creature. It writhed weakly in its death throes over her, falling to its side and finally freeing her.

Liliana kicked it back as she struggled to her feet, rubbing the blue blood from her face with her sleeve. When she could see again, she took in the battle, and she saw the last of the Centipede Soldiers falling to her team. Liliana shook her head and walked towards the one that still had her naginata embedded in its side. Her daggers followed after her like puppies as she planted her foot on the corpse and yanked her weapon out.

“You okay?” Liliana asked as she approached Koth’talan, who was leaning against the cave wall, his blade buried in the ground, his left hand grasping the hilt so tightly his fingers were white.

“Could be better.” Koth’talan got out through clenched teeth.

“We need Mari over here!” Liliana called out, double checking to be sure the fight was done.

Yup, it was. Anya was hefting one mostly intact Centipede Solider over her head and roaring out her victory to everyone. Lelantos was nosing at another body, clearly trying to figure out if it was edible, and the rest of the mages looked sweaty and exhausted. Even Dawn looked tired, well, more tired than normal.

This was their eighth fight of the day, and thanks to the equinox, the fights had been rough. They were always outnumbered, facing twenty, thirty, even forty Centipede Soldiers at a time, occasionally with a Ceturionede or a Phalanxede mixed in. Luckily, they weren’t deep enough yet that the evolved versions appeared in larger numbers than one or two mixed in with groups of Centipede Soldiers. That would likely change tomorrow.

“Lili? Are you okay?!” Marianne burst out of the group and rushed to Liliana, her face a picture of worry and concern as she looked at her friend.

Which, to be fair, Liliana knew she looked like shit. All the melee fighters did. That last Centipede had ensured she was drenched in blue blood and bug guts, so she probably looked one step away from the grave.

“I’m fine. Koth’talan needs immediate aid.” Liliana said, nodding at the prince, who was going a concerning shade of pale. Marianne looked at her for a long moment as if she didn’t believe her, but she turned her attention to the more injured of the pair and began layering healing spells on the boy.

“You’re all so fucking lucky I have a Blood affinity. Healing potions don’t do anything for blood loss and you all lose blood like it’s an unlimited resource. Honestly, is it so much to ask you not to get hit? We have two tanks. Why are you drawing aggro like this?” Marianne began her nagging as she patched up Koth’talan, something all the fighters had heard multiple times throughout both this dungeon dive and the one before.

The only one to escape most of Marianne’s caustic rants was Liliana, and she wasn’t sure if it was because Marianne was more forgiving of her mistakes or because Liliana got injured the least out of the melee fighters. Normally Liliana would be far more reckless with herself in a fight, but her need to not touch these cursed creatures made her more responsible, and less prone to getting hit.

Her phobia and ever present fear seemed to strengthen [Perception] too, letting her avoid attacks she couldn’t even see before they hit. If Liliana didn’t hate this dungeon with every fiber of her being, she would admit it was doing wonders for her battlefield awareness and fighting style.

Liliana checked over the battlefield one more time before she let her actives cut off, except for [Regeneration] which was working overtime right now. Liliana groaned softly and leaned her weight onto her naginata. Her daggers fell to the ground around her with a clatter of metal on stone. She’d need to clean them before she put them in their sheaths. But right now her ribs were screaming at her, some of them broken from her impromptu wrestling match with the Centipede.

A sharp, burning pain on her thigh let her know one of its sharp legs had sliced deep into the leg and she could feel the blood leaking out. She had a few other minor aches and pains that were fading with [Regeneration] but the broken bones were the most troublesome. Gods, Liliana could do with a nap right about now.

Warm, glowing hands pressed into her shoulders and Liliana lifted her head, not even realizing she had hung it low in exhaustion. She met Marianne’s bright, ruby eyes, filled with worry as her healing magic washed through Liliana.

Liliana closed her eyes in a wince as she felt the bones of her ribs shift back into their proper spots. The wound on her thigh itched something fierce as it stitched back together. When Marianne pulled back, Liliana was still sore. Her ribs ached with each breath, but it was the ache of a bruise, not a break. Liliana’s [Regeneration] could handle the rest of it on its own.

“Sorry, I’d do more, but my Mana is getting low.” Marianne frowned.

“It’s fine, thanks for the heal.” Liliana said with a smile as she stood straight again, ignoring the twinges of pain from her ribs and body.

Liliana looked over at herself and grimaced, her skin crawling as she saw the state of herself. She had so much drying, blue blood on her she hardly looked human. There were bits of gore and chitin stuck to her and Liliana gagged as nausea rolled through her. [Battle Clarity] was no longer active, and there was nothing stopping the tide of disgust and horror that washed over her.

“Oh, ew, ew, ew.” Liliana chanted, her voice rising in pitch as she frantically cast [Cleanse] again and again until all the bug matter was removed from her, and a few times again because her skin was still crawling.

“You had no problems during the fight.” A voice called out and Liliana’s head swung to glare at Basil, who was approaching their small group.

The rest of their team were either cleaning themselves, their weapons or skinning the Centipedes for what they could sell. If Liliana wasn’t utterly repulsed by the creatures, she’d find it funny that Alistair was one of the ones doing the skinning. The same boy who a couple of years ago hadn’t even known how to skin anything, proclaiming it a servant’s job. Now he had his sleeves rolled up and a knife in his hands as he sliced off chitin and dug for cores.

“Adrenaline and a clear mind skill do wonders.” Liliana grumbled as she picked up her daggers with [Threads of Control] and brought them with her to sit against the wall beside Koth’talan. She summoned cloths to clean off the blood and other things on her blades. Liliana couldn’t stop the quiet retching as she began to clean the first of her daggers. It was disgusting.

“Give me that.” Basil said with a sigh as he sat down in front of her, swiping the cloth and dagger out of her hands and cleaning it himself.

Marianne snorted as she watched for a moment as Liliana sagged in obvious relief before she turned and headed towards the rest of their team. To heal them and probably lecture them on getting hurt enough to need healing in the first place, undoubtedly. Liliana tilted her head and seconds later she heard Marianne ripping into Anya, who apparently had a broken ankle and a punctured lung. The girl must have a ridiculous [Pain Resistance] level if she had been strutting around with her kill held above her head with those injuries.

“Here,” Basil handed her back a sparkling clean dagger.

She slid it into a sheath, and she directed her next dagger to him without a word, too squeamish about the bug blood to complain about him cleaning her weapons for her. She was fairly certain he was doing it to get out of skinning their kills, anyway. Liliana watched Basil cleaning the daggers for several minutes, her breathing calming over time as the adrenaline faded from her system.

They kept trading clean weapons for dirty ones in a silent partnership, Liliana’s mind too tired for conversation. Exhaustion made her limbs feel heavy, as if her bones were made of lead and her skin steel. They’d been in this dungeon for hours. Fighting constantly. She was certain if they didn’t find a safe spot soon, they’d all pass out from Mana exhaustion and fail.

“Hey, Dawn found a safe spot a little further in.” Alistair called out, as if he could read Liliana’s mind. She could cry from the relief. If her eyes were a bit teary, then no one had to know, not even Basil, with his amused smirk.

“I’ll go and get it set up!” Liliana called out immediately, jumping to her feet, face not betraying the symphony of aches and pains that screamed with the move. She felt like one giant walking bruise on top of an overworked muscle.

“I’ll come with,” Koth’talan groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet, looking how Liliana felt. Like utter shit.

“Me too,” Basil offered as he finished the last of Liliana’s weapons, her naginata.

The three of them didn’t give the rest of the group time to agree or argue as they set off after Dawn, who had reappeared from her shadow lurking to lead them to the safe spot. Liliana just wanted any excuse to be away from those cursed bugs, dead or not.

Chapter 161: Mini-Boss Fight Start!

“Do you remember what sunlight looks like? I think I’ve forgotten,” Marianne lamented from where she’s lying on Lelantos’ back as the tiger prowled behind Alistair.

Marianne was the only person other than Liliana who the beast will permit to ride him and she was unafraid to take advantage of her privilege. Since she’s the healer, no one was brave enough to complain about it.

“It’s been maybe twenty-four hours, Mari. You haven’t forgotten what sunlight looks like.” Alistair huffed with a quiet chuckle.

“You can’t tell me what I have and have not forgotten,” Marianne responded petulantly, sticking her tongue out at the tank.

“Twenty-four hours of hell.” Liliana grumbled, arms crossed over her chest as her eyes flicked over the currently empty tunnel they were traversing through.

Her skin crawled with the knowledge of what lurked in this dungeon, what could be hiding right under their feet. Shaking off a shiver of fear, Liliana activated [Windwalk] and took to the air, landing on Lelantos’ back next to Marianne, who sat up to give her space. Liliana pulled her legs up to her chest and glared around herself.

“I hate it here.” Liliana grumbled. She had barely slept the night before in the camp, waking up every hour or so certain she could feel something crawling over her until she gave up and took the rest of the watch shifts. She’d finally ride herself of constant nightmares, only to still find no rest while trapped in her own personalized hell.

“One more night than we head back.” Marianne comforted her with a hand on her shoulder.

Liliana groaned and buried her face in her knees. She knew it was another night in this cursed place before they planned on heading back. It would be easier on the way back. The dungeon wouldn’t have time to respawn as many of the mobs, so getting back would take a fraction of the time it took getting however deep they ended up. But it was still another day and night and day again before she could be free of this awful place.

Something poked Liliana’s cheek, and she lifted her head to see a vine prodding her, a beautiful red rose in full bloom at the end of it. Liliana followed the vine to see it connected to Basil, wrapped around his arm and shoulders. He smiled at her and as he raised his eyebrows the vine twitched, poking her again until she took the rose off the vine, cradling the delicate blossom in her hands as the vine retreated to wrap around Basil, much like how Nemesis liked to wrap around Liliana. Basil never used weapons, but since descending into the dungeon, he always had a vine wrapped around him, ready to use it to fight, trap, or disable opponents.

Liliana smiled softly as she looked down at the rose. A hand reached over and plucked it from her grasp. Liliana’s head whipped up, a protest ready on her lips as Marianne grinned at her. The protests die off before they came to fruition as Marianne wove the rose into her tightly braided hair until it sat snugly above her ear. Marianne tapped one delicate finger against Liliana's nose with a mischievous and knowing smile that drew a flush to her cheeks despite the fact that the princess hadn’t said a word. Her look said more than enough.

“Any sign of monsters?” Liliana turned to her brother, looking away from her friend and trying to ignore down the insinuation Marianne was making with her expressions.

“Dawn, report.” Alistair called out, and seconds later, the quiet girl slipped out of the shadows to walk next to Alistair.

“There’s a large cavern after the next intersection. There’s thirty Soldiers in it that I can see, two Ceturionede’s and one Phalanxede. I spotted a chest at the back.” Dawn reported, her voice toneless and curt before she disappeared back into the shadows, presumably to resume her scouting.

Koth’talan had taken up guarding the rear in her place, Anya was in the middle. Liliana, Alistair and Lelantos guarded the front, keeping their squishy and powerful mages well protected between the melee fighters.

“Yes, a mini boss.” Marianne perked up, spinning her scythe as she leaned forward, trying to urge Lelantos forward.

The tiger ignored the princess’ unspoken request and continued padding along at Liliana’s mental order. The last thing they needed was for their healer to rush off on her own and get taken out. Without Marianne to heal them up, their group would fail before too long. Liliana didn’t want to even think of how Zir’elon’s team was doing without a healer to boost them.

“More fucking bugs.” Liliana groaned, but she sat straight, stretching out her body as she double checked her equipment, being sure she had all her daggers ready.

“I’m sure if you find it, you can take up your complaints with the dungeon core.” Emyr drawled.

“I’ll be sure to ask the next Centipede I see, ‘excuse me sir, can you take me to see your manager?’” Liliana snorted, assuming her best privileged, snotty voice. She had plenty of role models to pick from for that, having spent so much time around nobles. Karens, the lot of them.

“Wouldn’t it be take me to your leader?” Koth’talan asked from the back, voice tinged with amusement.

“No, I think it would be take me to your mother.” Anya said, with a head tilt and a wolfish grin.

“Did you just assume the dungeon core’s gender?” Liliana asked with a scandalized gasp.

“Do dungeon cores have a gender?” Rathwater piped in, face twisted in consideration. The group looked towards Liliana for an answer, and she rolled her eyes.

“Guys, I don’t know everything about monsters, which I’m not even sure you can classify a dungeon core as.” Liliana groaned. There were several disbelieving looks sent her away and a few suspicious hums. Honestly, go on a tangent about a beast one time, well, maybe more than once, and everyone thinks you’re a walking encyclopedia on beasts!

“Take me to see your maker then.” Diana interjected, voice soft and hesitant.

Liliana turned her head and met the girl’s cornflower blue eyes, so different from her own despite the shared base color. Light, like a summer sky as opposed to the stormy dark jewel blue of Liliana’s. There’s something in her eyes, not forgiveness, but a peace offering.

“I’ll be sure to ask the next Centipede I see to take me to see its maker then, right before I stab it to death.” Liliana said with a shy smile. Diana returned it and something that had been knotted and aching in Liliana’s chest released with a soft sigh of relief.

“Can they even understand human language?” Emyr asked, distracting her before the moment could grow to awkwardness.

“At Rank 5? Maybe. Rank 6, no.” Liliana said with a tilt of her head. She knew her bonds could understand her at Rank 6, but being bonded boosted their inherent intelligence because of their access to her mind. Normal beasts would likely be able to understand some language if they spent sufficient time around humans, but dungeon made creatures were notoriously dumber than the beasts found in the wild. And pitifully stupid if held in comparison to a natural born creature.

“Now, if they were more humanoid, like goblins, hobgoblins, orcs or trolls, they might, as those have already proven to have their own rudimentary language. Animalistic beasts its far less likely.” Liliana added on, her voice musing as she considered it.

“Wait, goblins have a language?” Alistair yelped, turning to her in shock. Liliana raised an eyebrow, confused, as the rest of the group paused to look at her in surprise.

“Yes? I thought everyone knew that?” Liliana asked, suddenly timid and unsure, with so many eyes on her.

“No. That’s not exactly common knowledge, Lili.” Emyr said, sounding a touch exasperated. Liliana looked from one face to another, bewildered as to how no one else knew of this. Sure, not everyone had a boon that granted them universal language comprehension, but surely someone had noticed there was a repetition and cadence to humanoid beasts speech that implied a language.

“How do you even know that?” Marianne asked and Liliana opened her mouth before closing it.

Because I have a boon from a goddess that lets me understand any spoken or written language and apparently goblins and their evolutionary line have something close enough to a language for me to understand it with the boon? Yeah, she couldn’t exactly say that.

“I read it in a book,” Liliana said with a helpless shrug, which seemed to sate the curiosity of the group.

“We’ve been killing creatures with a language?” Alistair whispered, horrified. He was looking at his hands as if he expected to see blood coating them, like some sort of permanent sign of sins.

Liliana snorted with a roll of her eyes. She’d feel bad too, if she wasn’t subjected to the nature of those particular creatures’ conversations. They were doing the entire world a favor by killing them. Nasty things, with nasty thoughts and words. Liliana shuddered with the memory of what she’d heard some goblins and their ilk say before. No one would feel remorse for killing them if they could understand them.

“You’ve killed bandits before and they’re far easier to empathize with than goblins.” Liliana huffed.

“Yeah, but what if they have a culture? What if they have little goblin babies and goblin wives or husbands waiting for them? Have we killed entire families?” Alistair demanded. Liliana rolled her eyes, but she jumped off Lelantos to approach her brother, laying a comforting hand on his arm.

“They’re dungeon beasts, Ali. They don’t have families, or cultures or partners. They’re Mana constructs made by the dungeon for the express purpose of defending the core and killing anything that comes inside so the core can feed off the Mana and grow in strength. They’re dumb as bricks and more vicious than a nest of Blood Hornets in the middle of summer.” Liliana comforted her brother, who looked a few seconds from collapsing into a crisis of morality.

“I, for one, don’t feel bad for killing goblins. They have nasty bites.” Koth’talan interrupted, rubbing at his arm as if in memory of such a bite. Perhaps he was. None of them were newbies to dungeons, and they all had their share of scars from fights long passed. Some more than others.

“I’ve seen what orcs can do to a village before, so I don’t care if they have a language, or culture or if they’ve painted the best damn art on this continent. I’ll kill them if I see them.” Basil chimed in with a frown. Liliana tilted her head curiously, wanting to hear more about the story she could sense under that comment, but she didn’t press.

“If you’re all done, we’re nearly there.” Dawn’s voice cut through their conversation on the sapience of goblins and their evolutions as she appeared from the shadows once more.

The only reason Liliana didn’t jump was because she was so used to Emyr doing the same. Secretly, she hoped the two don’t become overly close. She didn’t know what she’d do if they both began popping out of shadows to wreak havoc on them all.

“Ugh, time to kill more bugs.” Liliana grumbled, dropping her hand from Alistair’s shoulder as Marianne slid off Lelantos to start buffing their team.

Liliana smiled at her friend as the healer passed her, boosting her Mana and Health regeneration. She activated her Set Up chain and shook her arms as the rush of power flooded through her, chased by adrenaline rushing in her veins at the prospect of a fight. [Battle Clarity] activated and tamped down on the fear that’d been clutching at Liliana every second she’d been in the dungeon, dampening it and making it inconsequential.

Liliana ran her fingers over the two soul stones that radiated warmth onto her skin, a small good luck ritual. She hadn’t let Nemesis and Polaris out to fight in the dungeon except when they camp. She let them wander around then, knowing nothing in the dungeon would prove difficult for Polaris and Nemesis was clever enough to not fight anything she couldn’t handle. But she couldn’t let them out during the rest of the time. Lelantos was enough.

Polaris would clear everything and while it would mean Liliana would pass the exam with flying colors, the rest of her team would probably fail. Nemesis was also as much a danger as an ally for her team in close quarters like this. Her poison skills would harm her team as easily as the enemies. Only Liliana, Alistair and Emyr had high enough [Poison Resistance] that she knew of to be able to fight with the flowered serpent without worry of health risks.

However, they were still there, an option if things got too dangerous, if her team was at risk of really losing or being overwhelmed. Liliana had them to call on. It brought a second safety net to her, and probably to her team. They all know if they were at risk of really dying, one of the teachers would swoop in to save them, but they’d fail if that happens. If Polaris had to save them, they won’t fail. Their pride might be hurt, but they’d be able to keep fighting and recover their grade.

Alistair waved the group over, all of them closing in on him in a misshapen circle as he gave out his orders.

“Lili, you and Anya act as vanguard, try to take on the Ceturionede and Phalanxede while me and Lelantos draw the aggro of the rest. Koth’talan, keep to the back in case more come up to surround us. Emyr, once the Soldiers are focused on me and Lelantos, start prepping a large scale spell to take out a good deal of their number. While he’s prepping, Rathwater, Diana hit anything you can and try to keep me from getting overwhelmed. Basil, hold down as many as you can to give our mages easy targets. Dawn act as support, help anyone who is lagging. Mari, keep us all healthy, focus on the tanks since we’ll be holding off the largest number. Take shots if you can make them, but try to avoid anything big. If you run out of Mana, we’re fucked.” Alistair instructed them, giving Marianne a hard look when she started to argue, forcing her to shut her mouth with an audible click.

“Everyone ready?” Alistair asked when no one else tried to argue with him. Nine confirmations came back, and he nodded, turning towards the cavern entrance they could see just at the end of the lights several of them had summoned to see in the depths of the dungeon.

“Move out.” Alistair ordered, raising a fist.

Liliana smiled, looking at Anya, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. With a shared grin, the two girls peeled off from the group, running towards the cavern. As they reached the entrance, Liliana grabbed Anya’s arm. The wolf girl clutched tightly to her as Liliana activated [Windwalk] and dragged them both into the air, Anya weighing hardly more than a feather as her Gravity affinity came into play.

Liliana’s eyes took in the dark cavern, [Nightvision] working hard to make sense of the dark mass of shapes beneath them. She could see the roiling mass of bodies and too many fucking legs that marked the thirty or so Centipede Soldiers Dawn had told them of. Liliana’s eyes skittered over them, finding the bulky, armored shape of the Phalanxede and the thinner shapes of the Ceturionedes further back, guarding an ornate chest that looked entirely out of place in the rocky cavern.

“Preference?” Liliana asked softly as they reached the ceiling of the cavern.

“Give me the big boy.” Anya said eagerly and Liliana smirked as she grabbed the girl’s other forearm.

She spun them around, building momentum before she let the wolf girl go, hurling her off at the Phalanxede like a deadly rocket. Liliana didn’t take the time to watch the collision as she activated her Beast’s Dance combo chain, able to juggle the extra cost thanks to Marianne’s buff. Six daggers flew out of her sheaths as Liliana shot through the air, the wind whistling shrilly in her air as [Wind Surge] pushed her forward faster.

Liliana activated [Radiant Ignition] as she sent out her daggers to embed themselves in the body of one of the Ceturionedes. Six minor explosions rocked its body as Liliana’s naginata connected with its partner. The beast slid to the side right as she connected, making her blade skitter across its armored body rather than impale it into the ground. Chitin split far easier than its under-evolved brethren.

The Ceturionede sacrifices Vitality for Speed. Its armor is weaker than its brother, the Phalanxede, but it is far more deadly with its razor sharp pincers and blade like legs. Liliana recited from memory as she twisted to avoid a lightning fast strike from the beast as it turned on her. She jumped back into the air, avoiding a slice from one of its wickedly sharp pincers, which looked like scimitars melded on its face.

Liliana recalled her daggers, the six of them returning dripping blue blood on the ground. Behind her she could hear the roars and shouts announcing the rest of the party arriving, drawing aggro from the Centipede Soldiers that had turned at the appearance of two combatants. Now the lower leveled soldiers were focusing on the more flamboyant threat, drawn in by the aggro generating abilities.

Liliana twisted around a shot of earth from her own opponents as she gauged them. Their bodies were weak, easily pierced and sliced, but their legs and pincers were made entirely of metal. Unlike the Centipede Soldiers, which had a thin layer of metal woven in with their thick chitin to protect their bodies, but little protection on their many legs, the Ceturionedes had pure metal on their legs and pincers but nothing mixed in with their thinner chitin. She should be able to finish them quickly if she avoided getting nicked by their legs or pincers. A good, decisive hit and they’d be done for.

Liliana sent her daggers off again, aiming at the one she had already injured with them. It flitted between her shots, only one dagger landing. Liliana grimaced as she recalled the daggers. She couldn’t finish them from a distance then. Activating [Windsurge] again, Liliana charged at the already injured one, daggers held close to her as she strafed over the beast, her naginata swinging down and scoring a glancing blow that had it stumbling. Flipping in the air, Liliana turned to attack again, pulling up suddenly when a long body hurdled at her. The other Ceturionede.

“Wait your turn,” Liliana growled as she drew further back, the two beasts circling under her like sharks when she rose too high for them to approach. She hadn’t even realized the damn things could jump.

Liliana sighed and with a glance at her Mana, she activated [Invisibility], her form disappearing in the air. She sent her daggers out to harass the monsters, distracting them as she approached again. When their backs turned on her, she struck, diving fast to shove her blade behind the head of the more injured Ceturionede.

It writhed under her, forcing her to grip the haft of her weapon tightly as she strained. Despite its lower Vitality, it was still a Rank 5 beast and cutting its head off was more difficult than a Rank 6. Her blade finally broke free, its head tumbling off its neck, the body curled and seized under her in death throes as Liliana jumped to its side. Turning on her heel, she landed a kick to its back and sent the corpse into the path of the second Ceturionede, which had focused back on her approximate location.

The dead body tripped the other beast up, tangling them up in a mess of limbs as the deadly blades on the dead body scraped against the struggling form of its companion. Liliana didn’t give it time to recover as she sent six shining blades into its body, ripping, tearing and exploding as she rushed it. It was too occupied with freeing itself from the limbs of its fallen brethren and escaping the pain of the six daggers slicing into it to notice Liliana, invisible as she was, and it didn’t see its death coming until her blade sunk deep into its head, blade shining as [Pierce] and [Radiant Edge] gave her strike the strength to plunge deep.

Liliana pulled her blade out, recalling her daggers as she looked at her team, seeing them surrounded by a mass of Centipede Soldiers. At least fifteen more than the thirty they had originally seen had joined the fray, reinforcements having popped out of the ground during Liliana’s battle. Liliana grinned as she spun her naginata, daggers circling her as she jumped into the air again to dive into the middle of the fight.

Chapter 162: An Electrifying Battle

“Fucking assholes.” Liliana hissed as a sharp crack filled the air seconds before a dull pain radiated up her arm.

Her left arm dangled uselessly, the bones in it broken when forced to bend in a way they were never meant to. Liliana danced back, steps light and elegant despite the pain throbbing through her arm. A year ago, two years ago, this pain would’ve had her screaming from it even through the thick haze of adrenaline. She was fairly certain multiple bones were broken based on how they were poking out of her skin. [Pain Resistance] and [Battle Clarity] kept the pain lowered to a manageable degree, enough that it was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Liliana was more upset by the fact that for the rest of this fight, she would need to default to her secondary weapon, a dagger. She could use her naginata one handed, but it was less effective that way and using a dagger would be smarter. She couldn’t hope to have it healed during the fight. Marianne focused on patching them up during a fight, healing anything fatal or grievous, enough to get them back on their feet, but bones were harder to heal, and were never something done quickly.

Could be worse, the damned bug could’ve taken my whole arm. That would’ve been truly tiresome. Liliana thought with a grim practicality. She had never lost a limb, but it was something she accepted as an eventual certainty. No one delved dungeons regularly without losing limbs.

If you had the money, a lost limb was a few days down, depending on the size of the limb lost, but a minor inconvenience to be compared to something like the flu from Earth. You’d be miserable for a few days, maybe a week or two, but you’d be back on your feet soon enough. If you didn’t have the money or any high leveled enough healer friends, then well, you’d be down a limb. But money had never been a limiter in Liliana’s new life, so limb loss had never been a true fear of hers, not once she gained her father’s approval and subsequently access to his wallet.

“Cover me,” Liliana called out to Anya as she dropped further back from the fight they were embroiled in.

The wolf girl rotated to take up Liliana’s spot on the front lines as Liliana drew behind the tanks, giving herself the precious few minutes she needed to deal with her latest injury. All the melee fighters had been gaining injuries with concerning regularity the deeper they dove into this dungeon, the Centipedes and their evolved brethren becoming stronger, thanks to their increasing levels and still riding the boost from the equinox. It was a good thing this was likely their last fight before they turned in for their last night here. Liliana doubted they’d be able to go deeper before they hit a wall.

“Lili!” Marianne’s called out, voice thick with concern as she spotted the mangled limb hanging uselessly at Liliana’s side.

“I’m fine.” Liliana called back, her statement offset by the blood pouring down her arm, painting her skin a vivid scarlet from where multiple bones had burst through her skin.

[Regeneration] was working hard to offset the Health drain of the Bleeding and Broken Bones debuffs that were heavily limiting her natural Health regeneration, but provided Liliana didn’t get hit by anymore charging Phalanxedes she would be fine.

She would’ve dodged the hit if she could’ve, but as it was, she had just been able to shift herself so it rammed into her side rather than skewering her through her chest. That would’ve had her out for the rest of the fight rather than the few minutes it would take her to tie her arm to her side so she could jump back into the fight without her ruined arm flapping about like a flag in the wind.

“You’re bleeding to death don’t tell me you’re fine!” Marianne’s voice was rising into a high-pitched shriek as Liliana set to her work, dismissing her naginata to her storage as she summoned a length of rope and began the process of getting it around her body and arm one handed. The task was made more difficult as she tried to get the coils of rope over the small lengths of her arm that weren’t mangled with broken bones.

“I’m not bleeding to death,” Liliana muttered between clenched teeth as the tightening rope jostled her arm, making a sharp surge of pain shoot through her body. That stung.

“Here,” a voice called out, sounding resigned and soaked with the exhaustion that was weighing them all down. Green vines wrapped around her body and arm, binding her arm snuggly to her body while being as gentle as was possible under the circumstances, the vines carefully weaving around her broken bones.

“Thanks, Basil.” Liliana said, shooting a tired but grateful smile at the boy, whose eyes were heavy with apprehension as he looked at her.

Liliana gathered the rope back up and sent it into her storage now that it was no longer necessary. Liliana snagged one of her daggers from the air and flexed her hand around it for a moment with a small frown. She really did prefer her naginata, but she would manage. Liliana took a step forward to head back into the fray when a hand grabbed the neck of her shirt and dragged her back with all the force of an irate healer.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Marianne growled as she laid glowing hands on Liliana.

She hissed as the itch of skin trying to heal and grating bones filled her arm. Some of the bones shifted back under her skin, the gouges in her skin scabbing over once the obstruction was removed. Her arm wasn’t healed, none of the breaks had been even repaired, just shifted to a better position. But it wasn’t as bad as it had been and Liliana watched as her Health regen kicked up again, even with her debuffs.

“Thanks, Mari!” Liliana said with a smile at her friend, who was glaring at her with unease and fond exasperation.

“Don’t get hurt worse. The bones will be difficult enough to heal after this is done.” Marianne warned her and Liliana saluted the healer with her still functional hand before she turned and jumped back into the air.

Liliana took a bare second in the air to locate her target. It probably wasn’t the same Phalanxede that had broken her arm, but it would do for her revenge. This latest attack from the denizens of the dungeon was a company of ten Phalanxede and twenty Centipede Soldiers, by and far the most Rank 5 creatures they’d seen together yet.

The higher amount of Rank 5 beasts was what made this fight so much harder compared to the others. Already, two ultimate skills had been used by their group just to keep themselves from being overrun. One had been Liliana’s own [Radiant Revelry] to give them a chance to thin the numbers, the second had been Rathwater’s [Storm’s Rage], a devastating stormy lightning attack that had wrecked havoc through the metallic bodies of the creatures.

Even with those two attacks, this was still a hard fight, and Liliana knew Marianne was running ragged, keeping up with the growing number of injuries they were all accumulating.

Liliana shot for her target, flipping through the air as she neared to drive her feet into the head of the creature trying to charge at Koth’talan’s back. The Phalanxede crashed into the ground, digging a gouge into the rock with the force of her hit. Liliana stabbed her dagger into it, [Pierce] and [Radiant Edge] pushing the blade past the metal protecting the beast’s flesh for a few inches before [Radiant Ignition] helped her push further down as the Light skill exploded.

Liliana pulled her blade back out and five daggers plunged down as she struck again, her thighs gripping the slick, metallic sides of the beast as it regained its balance and bucked with her hanging on. Liliana pushed her weight into the blade, combining it with her strength to force it deeper, past the armor protecting the beast. Her body shifted instinctually to keep her hold even as it reared back, nearly bending completely in half on itself in its attempt to get her off.

Her other five daggers chipped at its metal body, chunks of alloy flying off as they tried to cause more damage. [Radiant Edge] lit up the blades at seemingly random intervals to push them further into the beast.

Liliana paid little heed to her other daggers as she raised and lowered her arm with an almost robotic meticulousness, [Pierce] activating every time it came off cool down and the vibrations of [Radiant Ignition] continuously rocking through her good arm until she thought her hand would go numb from it.

Blood gushed up from the wound as she finally, finally, got past its thick armor and into its soft flesh beneath. The beast thrashed frantically underneath her, body whipping back and forth fast enough to risk whiplash as Liliana tightened her grip on it, her thighs burning from the strain of it.

She twisted the blade viciously, activating [Radiant Edge], [Radiant Ignition] and [Soul Strike] almost simultaneously. Her dagger sunk deep into its brain until her hand almost disappeared inside the jagged hole she had ripped into its armor. The body under her shuddered, thrashing one last time before it collapsed.

Liliana gripped her dagger tightly, the blood coating it and her hand making her grip slippery as she heaved her blade back out of the beast, nearly sending herself sprawling from the force she had to use to remove the weapon from its gory sheath.

Liliana didn’t give herself a second to rest. [Perception] screamed at her for the dangerous few seconds she had spent as a sitting target. Other Centipedes could focus on her now that she wasn’t stuck to a violently thrashing opponent that had kept the damned beasts a safe distance away. Liliana gathered her feet under her, shooting into the air with a powerful leap, [Windwalk] caught her easily as her head swung to locate her next target.

[Gatling Barrage] activated even as Liliana dropped her held dagger for [Threads of Control] to grab as she summoned a Mana potion from her storage to down. Her Mana jumped back up from where it had been dropping to concerning levels thanks to her constant use of spells during her improvised Phalanxede rodeo.

Liliana aimed her spell at three Centipede Soldiers harrying Anya who was pinned down with another Phalanxede, the girl’s brawny arms holding its snapping pincers in a death grip as she strained and lifted the huge beast with her strength alone. The spell gave the girl time to get the creature into the air and use it as a living and impromptu blunt weapon against the Centipede Soldiers, beating into them with the still struggling body of their evolved brethren.

“Five Ceturionedes at the back!” Dawn’s voice called out over the sounds of battle and Liliana turned on her heel in the air to shoot towards the back of their group without hesitation. Dawn’s strained voice, usually void of most emotions, was more telling than the call out that the girl desperately needed backup.

“Lili!” Alistair’s voice called out as Liliana passed over him.

A glittering piece of metal flew up by her face and she snatched it out of the air on instinct. She took a moment to judge the projectile, seeing it was a rough dagger. Liliana smiled down at her brother as she ran past in the air.

It wasn’t a good dagger, but it was sharp, and it would do. She had seven weapons again, and that’s all she needed. Liliana juggled in the air for a moment as she switched out the hastily crafted dagger for one of her better quality ones to keep in her hand.

“Emyr, Basil focus on the back, Rathwater, Diana keep on the front!” Alistair shouted at the group as he activated a spell to draw aggro to himself once more, turning the depleted but still considerable force at their front against him and letting the melee fighters up front have a second to breathe.

Liliana took in the sight at their back, Dawn was arranged against the five Ceturionedes alone, her body flickering in and out of the shadows at a speed Liliana would struggle to follow if her own Speed didn’t match or exceed the other girl’s.

While she still had the element of surprise, Liliana reactivated [Gatling Barrage] and activated [Wind Blade] and [Gust] while her six floating daggers shot off like shimmering golden bullets to plunge into the substantially flimsier bodies of the Ceturionedes.

The attacks hit in a blaze of wind and light as Liliana chased after her own attacks. Liliana’s feet hit a Ceturionede a heartbeat after one of her daggers had embedded into it, her attack driving the blade deep into its body.

The collision knocked it off kilter as she kicked off of it in a flip that had her skimming just over its back, her dagger drawing a long but shallow wound across its thin chitin as she landed on its other side. Liliana spun, arm extended, dagger dragging against its side as she turned and struck at another Ceturionede.

Liliana and Dawn settled into a comfortable rhythm that Liliana rarely experienced with anyone else. The girl had a fairly similar fighting style to Liliana, hit fast and hard and don’t get hit. Dawn was also rather perceptive and able to read teammates’ body language with a fluency many people lacked unless they were long-time friends or teammates.

If the fight wasn’t so hard, Liliana narrowly avoiding more than a few fatal hits, it would be fun, exhilarating, to fight side by side with someone who fit so seamlessly into her fighting style.

They fought in a deadly dance that would bring many professional dancers to their knees with envy, twisting and striking around each other with a ruthless efficiency that still managed to look disturbingly beautiful.

They didn’t speak as they moved, Liliana twirling between hits as Dawn slipped in to strike viciously before she melted into the shadows. Even Dawn’s shadow twin moved with Liliana as easily as breathing. As if they’d been fighting side by side for years, not days.

Vines grabbed and tripped the beasts up, fireballs and falling meteors wove between them with a deadly accuracy. Emyr was more than used to Liliana’s style of fighting and knew how to incorporate his attacks in a way that didn’t ruin the rhythm of Liliana’s movements, which translated well to working with Dawn. It had only taken months of catching her in the midst of his new spells as unfortunate collateral damage for the two to develop a comfortable rhythm.

Basil was less used to fighting with her, but his method of using his vines to grab the legs of his opponents and hold them down for the melee fighters to finish off meant he was less likely to catch Liliana or Dawn in a spell by accident.

By the time all five Ceturionedes were taken down, Liliana had accumulated several new stinging cuts of varying severity and her body was soaked in sweat and blood. Some hers, some the bugs, an ugly combination of red and blue turning her form in a macabre abstract painting.

Phalanxede forced her to push her Strength to its limits, but Ceturionedes made her work her Speed as far as it would go. With five of the beasts to fight, even with help, it was still a hard battle that she couldn’t avoid getting injured in entirely.

Liliana could feel exhaustion tugging at her limbs, even under the rush of adrenaline. She knew her muscles would be screaming the next morning. As it was, there was an ever present burning throughout her body that she could just detect under [Pain Resistance].

With her body bruised, broken and bleeding, she was fairly certain she was only standing thanks to adrenaline and sheer spite. If she was killed, it would certainly not be by a gods’ damned Centipede. She would not let these bugs best her.

Liliana slipped back into the group of teens. Her Mana had dropped low enough during the fight that she didn’t want to waste it on [Windwalk] just yet. She had to use every Speed generating skill and spell she had to keep ahead of the Ceturionedes and she was suffering the consequences of that choice.

“Lili.” Marianne’s voice held a warning and threat in it.

It was a mark of how battle tired Liliana was that she stopped without the healer physically restraining her. Besides, she knew how she looked. Chest heaving as she gasped in deep lung-fulls of air, her body soaked in blood, cuts clear on her skin, still weeping blood freely that dripped with every step she took. She was certain she was leaving a trail of sanguine footprints with every step she took.

[Regeneration] was already preoccupied trying to fix her broken arm, her constant movements meaning the bones didn’t get the time they needed to shift or fuse before she shifted them out of alignment, so the new cuts weren’t healing at the rate they should and her Health was dipping even as she stood still and waited for Marianne to patch her up enough to continue fighting.

“You look like you’ve been put through a meat grinder,” Marianne chastised her, voice taut with stress but her hands were so gentle as they hovered over her wounds, the warm light of healing providing relief for some of the pains that had all combined to a throbbing ache in the back of Liliana’s mind.

“Still alive, though,” Liliana grinned wryly at her friend. That statement was probably less calming than it would be if she wasn’t blood coated and panting like a dog.

“Barely.” Marianne hissed as she shoved a Health potion to Liliana’s lips, which she drank with no argument.

Her Health jumped up as more cuts healed and, oh, when had she cracked her collarbone? It was a minor enough fracture to heal with the potion, even as most of the cuts on her body closed over, the itch of it more distracting than the pain had been. [Pain resistance] didn’t do a thing for itching, and that was a true oversight on the System’s part, in Liliana’s opinion.

“Please tell me we’re almost done,” Liliana groaned when the potion bottle was removed from her mouth by a mothering Marianne who was still fretting over her mangled arm, which the potion had done little for.

“Send those daggers out.” Rathwater spoke up and Liliana didn’t think before she completed the request, her daggers flying out to land in any insectoid bodies she could see around Alistair and Lelantos’ bulk.

Rathwater held up a hand and lightening crackled across his skin before it shot off, hitting the metal of the blades she’d sent out and bouncing between the bodies of the beasts, the smell of ozone and cooking meat wafted towards Liliana over the scent of blood, dirt and sweat that was the specific perfume of a battle.

“Shit, that was badass.” Liliana murmured. Rathwater’s lips turned up in a smug smirk as he straightened, almost preening under the praise.

“Can’t do it much with everyone in the thick of the fight. The metal of these things means the lightning can bounce and hit anyone touching one, but with something to focus on, it’s easier to control. It’d be better if they were made of copper, or the focus I used was. It’s easiest if I can see what I’m aiming at too.” Rathwater explained in a rare moment of talkativeness that Liliana would attribute to the high of battle and general exhaustion.

“Can you do it again?” Alistair called back. Rathwater gave an assent, and Alistair turned a questioning gaze to Liliana, who grinned back.

“Give me a boost?” Liliana asked Marianne, who grumbled but slapped her back, perhaps harder than necessary, and her Mana surged.

“Let’s get you an eagle eye view then,” Liliana grinned at Rathwater, not giving him a chance to argue as she wrapped her good arm around his waist and jumped into the sky. Rathwater let out a startled yelp and gripped her with his right arm tightly, or as tightly as the mage could with his lackluster Strength.

A mental order had Lelantos roaring, activating his Quintessential skill, [Fortress] and giving Alistair the breathing room he needed. A roughly made dagger was sent up to Liliana seconds later, and she noted before she sent it out that it was constructed of copper. She hadn’t realized Alistair could choose the metal he used, and that was something she tucked away for consideration later.

Liliana started playing a very odd game of catch and release as Alistair sent metal constructed dagger after dagger at her, and she sent them out with as much accuracy as she could manage. Metal sunk into the bodies of the remaining Centipede Soldiers and Phalanxedes. Liliana lost count of the daggers she sent out, and once most of the remaining insects had at least three copper daggers in them, she called out a confirmation.

“Anya, Koth’talan step back!” Alistair shouted, giving them a minute to fall back enough to get out of the danger zone before he gave Rathwater the command to send out his attack.

Liliana could feel the hairs that had escaped her tight braid floating from the static and the scent of ozone stung her nose from the close proximity as Rathwater summoned the electricity to himself, thankfully to the arm not touching Liliana.

Liliana watched in wide-eyed awe as lightning poured out of the boy, striking and jumping from insect to insect in a deadly but oddly enthralling wed of sparking electricity. Enemies dropped, bodies smoking and twitching under their now useless and detrimental metal armor as the lightning wreaked havoc on them.

The combination attack didn’t kill all the remaining opponents, and Liliana doubted it would’ve been half so effective if the insects hadn’t already been injured from the battle, but it cleared a good amount and injured the rest. Three Phalanxede and five Centipede Soldiers were left when the electricity stopped arcing between the highly conductive daggers acting as lightning rods. Their injuries heavily slowed all of them as a bonus effect.

Liliana slowly dropped back down, turning to Rathwater with new respect in her eyes. She released the boy as soon as their feet were firmly on the ground and he stumbled for a moment, leaning heavily against the cave wall, panting from the Mana exertion.

He’d probably had to use a manipulation skill to manage the lightning and keep it from accidentally jumping to one of their teammates. All of them had more than a few pieces of metal on them that would’ve drawn the lighting to them had he not stopped it. He’d be out for the rest of the fight, but based on the sounds of battle, Anya and Koth’talan had it in hand.

Liliana patted him on the arm before turning and jumping up, lighting on Lelantos’ sturdy back in a crouch as she viewed the fight. Anya had picked up the still smoking and more than a bit charred body of another Phalanxede and was using it as a bludgeoning weapon.

Liliana had to wonder if it was the same one she had used while alive to beat several Centipede Soldiers to death. Koth’talan was wading through the fight, lava surging around him even as his rune coated sword rose and fell, blue blood gushing with every stroke.

Ranged attacks from behind her landed on the remaining insects with vicious accuracy, all manner of elements showing up. Water, Earth, Nature, Light, Fire, Celestial.

Liliana looked around and located her daggers, tugging them back to her with [Threads of Control] she jumped off Lelantos and ran back into the fight, ignoring her body’s protests and surrendering to the siren’s call of adrenaline and bloodlust as she saw the fight to the bloody but victorious end.

Chapter 163: The Centipede Effect

“I hate it here,” Liliana groaned as she emerged from the dungeon, looking bedraggled and exhausted as she hung onto her naginata for dear life, using it as a walking stick to prop her abused body up.

“You wouldn’t be doing so badly if you’d slept once in the dungeon.” Emyr sighed behind her.

“I could feel their creepy little legs on my skin every time I closed my eyes, Emyr! How could I sleep with that?!” Liliana hissed, shooting a glare at her friend, who raised his hands in surrender, shrugging his shoulders though his lips were tilted in an entertained smirk as he regarded her.

By and far, her party was doing better than her, though all of them would need to have their equipment repaired. None of them had the dark circles under their eyes and twitching skin she sported, and her closer friends regarded her with ill-hidden amusement as they finally left the cursed dungeon.

How did I forget that this dungeon was a Centipede dungeon? I didn’t bother to consider it before, not with the stress of the Academy taking up most of my mind, but really. My memories are supposed to be divinely protected. Did I suppress it like some kind of incredibly traumatic memory? Liliana thought as she sat down with a sigh outside the dungeon, body going weak the second she no longer had the fear of Centipedes crawling out of the ground to harass her. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as the rest of her group stood or sat around, waiting for the instructors to emerge with their grades.

No. I’m sure I didn’t forget. Did the dungeon change? I know the butterfly effect is a thing, or maybe I can call it the Centipede effect in this case, and I’ve quite obviously changed a lot of the original plot of the game. Liliana thought as her eyes opened into slits as her gaze bounced between the faces she’d come to know even better than she had when she’d played the game so many times she could recite the cut-scenes word for word from memory.

All of them undeniable proof of what she’d changed so far, even if she disregarded herself which was the biggest change to the plot so far. Then again, she wouldn’t be doing her divinely given, forced, job of changing the fate of the world if she didn’t, well, change some fates around.

The first year dungeon was a Dire-bear dungeon the first time. I’m sure of it, and my memories haven’t been so vastly wrong before, not without there being some obvious effort on my part or logical cause-and-effect instances. Liliana closed her eyes, face scrunching up as she forced her exhausted mind to function and examine the events she’d changed, and the possible effects they could’ve had on a first year Academy dungeon.

The instructors didn’t seem surprised by the dungeon, meaning they were aware of the swap. Whenever it happened. If it happened. So that leaves something as powerful as a god, or a god themselves, manipulating my memories. Or the change happening before I even came here, which is odd in itself, but Dire-bears and Centipedes have similar affinities, so an adjacent switch wouldn’t be completely irregular for a dungeon to do, if it had sufficient Mana. Liliana thought, tilting her head with a bone-tired sigh. She could practically feel her brain smoking as she thought.

Or it means the instructors were informed of the change ahead of time. A Rank 1 beast has almost omnipotent power in their domain, akin to that of a god themselves. In theory, the Headmistress could change the dungeons at will. But why would she? Liliana groaned softly and buried her head in her hands, massaging at her scalp with her fingers as the different possibilities raced through her mind.

This world was so much easier to deal with when everything proceeded according to the original storyline. Liliana thought with grim amusement, but that would mean I’d still be a villainess and forced to suffer years more abuse before I got free and eventually fell to darkness and tried to destroy this country. Liliana wanted to scream in frustration borne of a lack of sleep and forced acclimation to her phobia on top of suddenly feeling like nothing made sense. As if someone had just informed her the sky was brown, and it, in fact, was.

I really can’t depend on those memories anymore, can I? Too much is different. They saved my life more times than I can count early on, but now they’re nothing more than a dangerous hindrance at best if I try to use them as some sort of holy document, incapable of deviating despite the evidence to the contrary. A wry smile twisted her lips as Liliana shook her head, still deep in her thoughts as she adjusted her very worldview.

I guess on some level I knew that. I haven’t been using them as a crutch for a long time now. But this almost feels like an official goodbye. As if I’m truly letting go of who I used to be, and accepting that the me I am now, Liliana Rosengarde, is who I really am. Liliana thought, surprised to feel her heart aching and tears stinging her eyes at the thought.

Perhaps I’m sad because I’m the only person alive in this world who will ever mourn that poor, sick girl from Earth who only ever found an escape from her failing body inside the world of games and stories. And now she’s facing her final death.

They say your first death is when you breathe your last breath, your second is when someone says your name for the last time and your third, and final death is when the last memory of you fades away. I already faced my first two deaths, but the final death will be when I, too, pass from this world whenever that may be.

Perhaps this is a type of middle death, when I accept that the life I lived before is no more, that the girl I was is truly, and utterly gone and all my ties to that life, even these memories that were supposed to guide me, have no further use or relevance to me. Liliana dug the heels of her hands into her eyes to rid herself of the treacherous tears that were filling them.

It was useless to cry for herself now, when she had died so long ago, when she was still alive. And yet her heart ached and stung as if she was saying goodbye to a dear friend, a feeling reminiscent of when she’d finish a story that had truly captivated her and she had to say goodbye to the characters who had led her through so many wondrousness adventures.

“Lili? Are you alright?” a voice called out and Liliana lifted her hands away to look at Marianne, who was bent over, her curly, white hair hanging like a curtain as she tilted her head to look at Liliana’s face, her ruby eyes brimming with concern and care.

Alistair was standing slightly behind her, looking towards Liliana with worry and love on his face. Emyr was a brooding shadow next to him, but even his impassive face couldn’t hide the love and disquietude in his eyes.

Beyond the trio were Basil and Anya, looking at her with troubled expressions, attention drawn by the hot tears Liliana could feel wetting her cheeks. Even Koth’talan was looking at her with unease, body shifted slightly as if blocking her from the rest of their group and the professors.

I suppose. It’s not so bad to say goodbye to old ghosts, when I have so much to be grateful for, to live for, in this life. Liliana thought, as a soft smile blossomed on her face.

“I’m just tired, that’s all.” Liliana said to her friends, her family, the people who reminded her every day that fate wasn’t what was written by some game designer or god, but what you made for yourself. She wiped the wetness from her skin and said a final, silent goodbye to the sick girl who died in a hospital bed.

“Well, of course you are! You didn’t sleep at all!” Marianne nagged as she sat next to Liliana, scowling at her friend but leaning on Liliana in a way that made her scolding have far less weight than the princess intended.

“You coddle her so much. When I broke my leg, you hit me with your scythe and threatened to cut it off!” Anya whined, flopping down and laying across Liliana’s lap like the overgrown puppy she was.

“Well, of course. I’d never threaten to hurt or seriously maim Lili!” Marianne said, wrapping her arms around Liliana and pulling Liliana towards her like a teddy bear to cuddle.

Is this what female leads feel like in romance novels? Liliana wondered sarcastic amusement, and a beleaguered sigh as she let the princess manhandle her. It was far easier to just let Marianne do whatever she pleased than to deal with her pouting if Liliana tried to pull away.

“I’m not a baby, Mari.” Liliana informed her friend with a groan as Marianne set to patting her hair, her hands glowing suspiciously as the princess undoubtedly cast healing spells on her. Mangle your arm one time in front of her and the princess acted like you were prone to accidents and bound to die if you weren’t healed every few minutes.

“No, you’re my best friend, Lili, and so I have to take care of you.” Marianne told her in a huff, muttering something that sounded like “Gods know you won’t do it yourself,” under her breath.

“Don’t you have a status sheet to check over?” Liliana asked, pointedly using her fingers to pull up her own as a hint to the princess.

They’d all been checking them during their rests, but Liliana had feared the visual distraction would allow a Centipede to sneak up on her and had been mostly ignoring her notifications and sheets in favor of constant vigilance.

As soon as she acknowledged the notifications, she jerked back as a veritable flood swamped her vision. Even with their see-through nature, the sheer volume of notifications rendered her blind.

Liliana let out a yelp as her eyes were assaulted with numbers and exclamation points, announcing skill, spell and general skill level-ups, experience gains and even her own level-ups and class given stats.

Liliana frantically swiped them away as soon as they popped up, just wanting to get rid of them, but the waterfall of system notifications kept coming until she felt herself becoming dizzy and mildly motion sick from the constant moving images in her vision. It was like the System was purposefully punishing her for ignoring it. Was it sentient? Did it have feelings? Was it upset she hadn’t looked at the notifications it had sent her? Gods, she would apologize to it if it would just stop.

“Mari… please use an anti-nausea spell on me.” Liliana murmured faintly, feeling her stomach twisting as her lunch threatened to make a hasty and very unwelcome exit back the way it had come.

“Do not tell me you’re suffering from notification-sickness.” Emyr’s voice growled from nearby. Liliana wasn’t sure exactly where from, as her vision was still entirely taken up by multiplying boxes.

They’re breeding like rabbits! Liliana thought, a touch of mania coloring the words in her head.

“Then I won’t tell you I’m suffering from notification-sickness.” Liliana responded sarcastically.

She might feel like her head was going to explode into a puddle of numbers and purple boxes, but she didn’t have to lose her snark, too. She’d sass until the day she died.

Hopefully, this wouldn’t be her cause of death. What a pathetic headstone that would make.

“Oh, Lili…” Marianne said softly, and Liliana could feel the princess shaking her head in disappointment, but she pressed a hand against her. Within seconds, the nausea and growing migraine faded.

“Did you not check your notifications once in the dungeon?” Alistair asked, voice equal parts amused and worried.

“I had to be vigilant! In case those Centipedes snuck up on me!” Liliana whined pathetically as the deluge of notifications finally ceased and she could see again.

“Oh, my dear brother! I almost forgot your face!” Liliana cried to Alistair, who was sitting in front of her now.

“Over-dramatic,” Emyr scoffed.

“I learned it from you,” Liliana replied, entirely deadpan as she stared at her friend, who turned his head away from her, his skin darkening.

“Now, if you’re done mocking me for my entirely rational fears and reactions, I’ll be checking my sheets,” Liliana harrumphed as she finally did what she’d been intending to before the System cruelly assaulted her for ghosting it for two and a half days.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

121

Class

Beast Souled Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

6

Health

1,620

H-Regen

+16.2/1.1sec

Mana

3,130

M-Regen

+24.5/1.1sec

Stamina

8,090

S-Regen

+80.9/1.1sec

Magic Power

4,794

Magic Control

4,526

Experience: 439,799/1,488,400

Vitality

162

Endurance

845

Strength

421

Dexterity

834

Wisdom

313

Intelligence

245

Speed

889

Charisma

728

Unallocated Stat Points: 21

Three levels, huh? Not bad. I’d be disappointed if I didn’t get at least this much, with my 50% boon and the dungeons 68% bonus on top of it. Everyone else probably got a level then, so I should adjust the level I appear to others with [Deception] accordingly. Liliana nodded approvingly at the level increases, more than slightly pleased to finally level after so long without.

I can’t wait to Rank up so my level locked skills can finally progress. And let’s put those points, hm, let’s say 15 into Intelligence and 6 into Wisdom? I was planning on focusing my stat points from levels solely into those stats so I could catch up to where I should be for the build I want. How pathetic that the transmigrator with godly knowledge of the game fell into the damn min-maxing trap. I’m still disappointed in myself for that. At least I caught it early before I got too far in my levels. 121 is still relatively low-leveled in comparison to the max-level of this world.

Liliana sighed as she assigned the points, pausing for a moment when she looked at her sad, neglected Vitality stat. She could almost hear it, begging for points like a street urchin begging for food. ‘Some points, sir? Please? I’m going to starve to death!’

Nah, that’s my dump stat. I’ll just get some gear later to rectify it, besides if I waste my points on it, I can’t devote enough to Wis and Int to really matter. It’ll just have to suffer being starved. I should do more training while dodging, thinking of my low Vit. That fight with Allencourt showed a weakness I need to rectify. I should start training with my eyes covered so I can figure out how to use my other senses. Yeah. That’s far more effective than putting stats in Vitality. Liliana finalized her point distribution with a shrug and a smile.

She’d figure out a way to compensate for her weakness, but the rest of her stats would be balanced enough to make up for it without being too much of a jack-of-all-trades and suffer for it. There were sadly drawbacks to every possible build when it came to stats, it was just a matter of which risk one viewed as worth the trade.

Besides, I’m no longer working on the assumption that I need to travel this road alone anymore. I don’t have to compensate for an entire team when I have one already that I trust to stand with me through everything. Liliana thought, looking at her friends as they talked around her, laughing and comparing gains from the dungeon.

She had her friends, who more than compensated for any weakness she had or would have, and she had her bonds who filled in all her faults in her build. She knew ignoring a stat almost entirely wasn’t always the wisest thing if one was going solo, but… she wasn’t. Was she?

What a difference two years can make. Liliana thought fondly.

Two years ago she was certain she’d be facing this world alone, and that Liliana would have blanched at her stat distribution, panicking over how she’d compensate for such weaknesses. But now she could choose a build that she honestly enjoyed, and fit her best, rather than something built purely out of need. She didn’t need to compromise what she wanted for what was needed. Not when others were there to fill in those gaps for her, willingly, happily, without ever being asked. Liliana shook her head slightly as she turned to her skill sheet.

Affinity

Light

92%

Soul

94%

Life

86%

Illusion

31%

Wind

28%

Psyche

26%

Astral

15%

Telekinesis

14%

Quintessential Skills

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 5

[Aspect Of The Beast] Lvl 10

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 125

[Dodge] Lvl 125

[Leap] Lvl 125

[Solar Samba] Lvl 125

[Dance of The Windsong] Lvl 125

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 124

[Regeneration] Lvl 118

[Stealth] Lvl 113

[Pierce] Lvl 113

[Mana Manipulation] Lvl 110

[Dance Of The Tiger] Lvl 110

[Dance Of The Fox] Lvl 108

[Dance of The Serpent] Lvl 107

[Persistent Casting] Lvl 103

[Dance Of The Vanishing Blade] Lvl 100

[Borrow] Lvl 95

[Battle Clarity] Lvl 72

[Wind Manipulation] Lvl 60

[Temperance] Lvl 28

[Pathokinesis] Lvl 24

[Mental Fortification] Lvl 22

[Telepathy] Lvl 21

[Last Stand] Lvl 12

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 125

[Dancing] Lvl 125

[Deception] Lvl 125

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 125

[Perception] Lvl 120

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 119

[Alchemy] Lvl 119

[Skinning] Lvl 112

[Dual Wielding] Lvl 112

[Mounted Combat] Lvl 109

[Herbalisim] Lvl 108

[Acrobatics] Lvl 103

[Pain Resistance] Lvl 101

[Reading] Lvl 99

[Writing] Lvl 98

[Persuasion] Lvl 98

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 93

[Time Keeper] Lvl 83

[Riding] Lvl 81

[Mathematics] Lvl 79

[Night Vision] Lvl 75

[Etiquette] Lvl 70

[Multitasking] Lvl 69

[Wilderness Survival] Lvl 64

[Embroidery] Level 50

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 36

[Mentiumancy] Lvl 35

[Recall] Lvl 25

[Resist Cold] Lvl 21

[Fear Resistance] Lvl 4

Spells

[Radiant Edge] Lvl 125

[Radiant Ignition] Lvl 125

[Dance of The Heaven’s Domain] Lvl 125

[Gatling Barrage] Lvl 125

[Windwalk] Lvl 123

[Soul Strike] Lvl 120

[Shine] Lvl 113

[Wind Surge] Lvl 103

[March of Madness] Lvl 99

[Invisibility] Lvl 95

[Gale] Lvl 95

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 91

[Barrier] Lvl 85

[Dance of The Tempest] Lvl 81

[Companion Heal] Lvl 80

[Threads of Control] Lvl 77

[Empathy] Lvl 72

[Astral Projection] Lvl 68

[Cleanse] Lvl 68

[Wind Blade] Lvl 60

[Soul Slash] Lvl 49

[Shove] Lvl 41

[Adjust] Lvl 41

[Bonding Contract] Lvl 34

How… how is [Cleanse] the spell that grew the most out of all my spells, skills and general skills?! Liliana thought, going over the information several times to verify that yes, [Cleanse] had in fact gained 7 levels in the dungeon.

Guess… that’s what happens when you obsessively use it several times after every single fight and then multiple times during your watch where you didn’t sleep because you could still feel Centipede guts on you… Liliana barely resisted the urge to facepalm. Of all her spells and skills to level so much, it had to be the one that was useless in combat. No one could know. She’d never live it down.

Well, as a consolation prize, I got a new general skill, [Fear Resistance]. Guess there’s some benefit for facing your phobia for upwards of 48 hours straight. Liliana dropped her face into her hands again with a groan. She’d have preferred a [Bug Killer] skill or spell or even a title. Though she supposed one probably had to clear the entire dungeon to accomplish that.

I mean if it got me a special title it might be worth it… Liliana pondered for a moment before the memory of tens of Centipedes exploding out of the ground, their beady eyes and skittering legs clawing towards her replayed in her mind and she immediately shoved the idea away. Nope. She wouldn’t be entering this dungeon for any reason except forced class excursions.

“Attention!” Rauk’s voice barked out, drawing Liliana from her thoughts. Immediately the students gathered stood tall, the ones sitting scrambling to a standing position at the sound of their instructor’s voice.

“Despite this class’ frankly pathetic, lackluster, and utterly disappointing showing at the beginning of the semester,” Rauk began, looking over the gathered students, covered in cut clothes and damaged armor and looking overall like a very sorry lot. A far cry from the perfectly pressed and tailored uniforms they’d greeted Rauk with on their first day.

Good pep talk, Rauk. Way to instill confidence in impressionable youths. Liliana thought with amusement, keeping her lips carefully shut lest her sleep deprived mind fully lose control of her brain to mouth filter.

She was unaffected by Rauk’s insults, well used to Silas’ far more gruff and, frankly, at times, rude commentary during training. Her class seemed as if they had expected Rauk’s words as well. A semester's worth of time growing acclimated to their teacher’s harsh words had helped build thick skin in all of them. If they learned nothing else from this class, they could all at least take an insult now.

“This group has shown marked improvement and has become, while not extraordinary by any means, at the very least… passable.” Rauk finished, sounding as if the words were vile on his tongue, but the twitching of his lips in the ghost of a smile and the pride in his black eyes belying his harsh words.

He truly was proud of them, and Liliana wasn’t the only one to notice. Students stood taller, faces breaking into relieved and prideful smiles.

“You all pass Battle Training. Your grades will be posted with your ranking the day after the Tournaments for each year are completed.” Rauk finished, finally losing the battle with restraining his smile as something vaguely resembling one, if one was particularly generous in naming it such, flitted across his lips.

“Go. Rest, you’ll need it for the coming exams and the Tournament. Don’t think this was the hardest exam you will face.” Rauk finished, making a shooing motion with his hands.

My first exam in this world, passed! Liliana thought, a giddy feeling pushing back her exhaustion and lightening her body as she shared a smile with her friends and group-mates. It was sure to pass soon, when the stress of the other exams came back with a vengeance, but for right now they could enjoy this very first true victory in the Academy.

Chapter 164: Would Trains Cause A Revolution?

It’s finally over. Liliana thought as she slipped out of the class S dorm.

Cool autumn air washed over her skin, refreshing after the heat of the dorm. So many bodies packed into the common room, celebrating with some debatably contraband alcohol smuggled into the Academy, had made the room stifling to be inside after an hour of partying.

My first highschool party and I’m running away as soon as I can. I used to dream of going to one of these. Liliana thought with a small, amused smile as she turned her head to look back at the door, imagining the happy but exhausted faces of her classmates.

Despite the tensions between the semi-warring factions in their small class, they had managed to reach a temporary truce for one night in the wake of finishing what was probably the single most grueling week any of them had experienced in their lives.

I’d gladly face down Minori again before I’d sit through another exam, at least for another six months. Liliana thought, face pulling into a pained grimace as she remembered the exams.

The difficult mini-games in Realm of Hope had done nothing to properly prepare her for the real thing. Not even her end-of-year exams in her online classes back on Earth had been even a fraction as difficult. Truly, the Academy made it obvious it only wanted to the best of the best to walk its halls.

At the very least, the professors expected every student to be some manner of genius based on the exam questions. Multiple-choice questions were a thing of distant, fond memories. All of her exams had required essay answers to the questions, her hands were still cramped from the frantic writing she’d done. Her affinity classes had all required demonstrations on top of the written exams as well.

Well, [Recall] got some levels as a bonus. I suppose exams count as skill training for it. Liliana thought, remembering the notification pop-ups during her exams.

Liliana shook her head, dismissing her thoughts as she looked around. The lights were on in every dorm she could see, partying for the end of exams not limited to just her dorm. The entire Academy seemed to have silently agreed to devote this night to celebration.

She could distantly hear the sounds of various instruments and loud voices carrying on the night wind. Liliana wondered if there were others like her, escaping the revelry for a moment of peace and quiet in the midst of the excited chaos.

Or couples sneaking off for midnight trysts. Liliana speculated with amusement as her eyes picked up a pair of giggling forms disappearing behind a dorm building.

Liliana looked back at her dorm once more, considering rejoining the party before she shrugged lightly and started walking down the path towards the Academy proper. She didn’t want to be around a room full of drunk teenagers and the walls to her room weren’t thin enough to block out the cacophony nineteen teenagers were capable of making.

It was well past curfew, but Liliana had a feeling no teacher would be out to stop her. Even Vereign hadn’t come out to stop their party once they’d started getting loud over various board games and hadn’t uttered a peep when Basil materialized bottles of alcohol for them to drink, so she doubted there would be a teacher who would complain about her taking a walk.

There were far more concerning incidents going on tonight, and she thought they’d care more about preventing teenage pregnancy than her taking a simple walk.

It’s a shame I’m going to miss Marianne’s attempt to stuff Alistair and Emyr in a closet together. She was talking about doing that after two glasses of whatever demons brew Basil brought us. The mental image was enough to coax a quiet laugh from her lips, the sound flitting away on the cold autumn air.

Part of her seeking a hasty exit was because Marianne had been looking at her with the same glint in her eyes and she wasn’t sure who exactly Marianne wanted to shove her in a closet with. She’d rather not find out in any case.

She might indulge herself in her little crushes in her head, but Liliana didn’t truly want them to go any further than that. Admiring someone from afar was as much of a luxury as she could afford right now. Not with all the complications in her life already. The Academy was difficult enough without throwing romantic attachments into the mix, not to mention her other issues.

Her father getting wind of anything like that would cause a mountain of issues she wasn’t at a point she could deal with just yet, she wasn’t ready to break off from the Rosengarde name yet and couldn’t afford to incite so much of his ire. Then there was the issue of the entity targeting her and anyone she was close to, and the god given quest she was on.

A shame, one of the things she’d been excited about when it came to living a real school experience had been engaging in one of the romances she’d only ever read of in books. Reality was different from dreams and fantasy, though. Liliana knew she wasn’t the heroine in a romance book, who would always somehow find time to woo several suitors before ultimately deciding on the one that was logically the worst for her.

If she had to put a genre on her life, she would probably pick horror.

No, best if I leave romance to others like Emyr and Alistair. Liliana thought with a shake of her head, ignoring the small pang in her chest. She had gotten so many new experiences, so many things she’d never dreamed she’d be able to enjoy. She didn’t need to be greedy.

Maybe one day. When this is all over, I can spend time on things like that. Liliana tilted her head back and looking up at the clear sky, spotting the moon hanging heavy and full in the sky surrounded by her coterie of stars.

If I survive to see my twenty-fourth birthday, I can start looking for love then. I’ll still be fairly young by this world’s standards, with hundreds of years left to live, more than enough time to find love and settle down or do whatever my heart desires. Liliana decided with a sad smile. There was a part of herself that didn’t think she’d truly live that long, but it was nice to have a hope, a dream for the future, however unlikely that future may be.

Liliana dipped her head back down and looked around, surprised to find she’d made it to the affinity towers during her walk. The grounds were dark, almost eerie in their silence and gloom. She was utterly alone. She couldn’t see or hear anyone in her vicinity and [Perception] was quiet, letting her know she truly was alone right now.

When was the last time I was alone? Liliana wondered, spinning around for a moment to be sure.

She couldn’t remember the last time, if she was honest with herself. There was always someone nearby in a place like the Academy. A friend, a classmate, even her bonds. Liliana trailed her fingers over her soul stones unconsciously. All her bonds were back in the dorm, either asleep or partaking in the party. Liliana shivered slightly at the realization. It was a little frightening, a little calming, to be so alone. It was new.

To think there was a time when loneliness was a familiar companion she’d grown so used to, she hardly noticed it. Now the brush of its fingers against her skin felt foreign, chilling. Yet in a contrast, the reemergence of such a familiar feeling felt almost like coming home, like nostalgia.

Liliana looked back towards the towers and inclined her head, a small smile playing on her lips.

There was no one around to see her if she did something stupid, and no teacher around to tell her she couldn’t do something. Shaking out her limbs and bouncing on the balls of her feet, Liliana crouched into a running position before she took off, pushing her Speed to the limit as she raced at the wall of a tower.

Her feet hit the wall, and she made it up several feet before gravity started to pull her back down. Liliana pushed off the wall, activating [Leap] and flying with a loud laugh. Throwing her arms out, she gracefully flipped in the air, letting herself fall for a moment before she activated [Wind Walk]. Liliana knelt down and pushed off her spot in mid-air, jumping as high as she could before she was caught in the air again by her skill.

She repeated the process, bouncing off the tower wall several times and flipping from spot to spot, smiling and giggling as she did something ridiculous and showy for no other reason than just because she wanted to. It was such a rare thing for her to be able to use her skills and spells not for combat but just for fun that she spent a long time just flying through the air.

Liliana’s feet landed lightly on the top of the affinity tower, perching on the thin, decorative rod that crowned the building. The towers were the tallest points on Academy grounds and from her spot she could see the entire Academy grounds spread out before her, neatly spaced and meticulously aligned as if by some godly hand.

Above the grounds, a thick blanket of stars covered the scene, like a black velvet cloak studded with diamonds. From this height, Liliana could almost believe she could stretch her hands out and snatch the stars from the sky. Hold them in her grasp like cold diamonds.

I rarely get a chance to appreciate it, but the Academy is truly a beautiful place. Liliana pondered as she looked over it like a queen examining her queendom. She imagined she could even see the bright lights of the capital from this height in the far distance.

Liliana spent several long minutes just taking in the grounds and the sights, mind going quiet as she absorbed the peace of the night. When her feet started to ache from the position she was in, she jumped off her perch and took a seat on the roof of the tower instead, tilting her head back to stare at the sky.

This place almost feels like its own little secluded kingdom. Liliana reflected idly as she traced constellations in her mind.

The thought made her think of her first home in this world, Rosengarde territory, which was its own sort of secluded kingdom. Many of the dukedoms were in such a large country, with travel being something that was both dangerous and expensive.

Most commoners never even left the town, village, or city they were born in because of the danger travel presented. Even lower ranked nobles wouldn’t often leave their territories because the danger was great even for them. Travel was a luxury for those with either the levels to survive or the money to afford safer forms of travel.

How would it change the world if travel was easier? Liliana wondered. The Academy was unique in its wealth of freely available knowledge, but many people in this world were ignorant because information could not easily be exchanged thanks to the restrictions of travel.

Anya struggles to see her family because of the distance between the Academy and her homeland. Even Emyr, a noble, could only see his family over the summer break because of Marianne. For those like Anya or Dianna or those without connections or money, they might not see their family until after they finish the Academy. Liliana considered, frowning at the thought.

On Earth, it was a simple thing to travel hundreds, thousands of miles. Airplanes, cars, trains all made such a thing a simple endeavor. Many even middle-class people could visit other countries, something only the richest of nobles in this world would even consider, and even then, it was a great undergoing to organize.

Traveling to across an ocean could only be done by the highest level masters of teleportation magics. Even royals used ships more often than not. And the oceans were filled with treacherous monsters that wouldn’t hesitate to attack any ship they came across.

Well, I can’t easily fix that problem… but maybe I can do something about travel issues in this country? Liliana thought. She had been planning on introducing Earth technology, if only for her own quality of life. Perhaps she could introduce something to this world for the purpose of making the lives of the everyday citizen better?

What came first for long distance travel? It was… steamboats, then… trains, right? Cista isn’t a river heavy country so steamboats would help on a small scale but for a major overhaul of travel it would need to be trains. Liliana thought, closing her eyes as she forced herself to recall memories not tied to the game, which were always the easiest for her to access from her past life, but instead memories from her classes on Earth, or specifically one class and one project.

They’d had to research steam engines and make their own rudimentary blueprints for a steam engine that would be able to work. The steam engine would be the key to making a train and getting it to work, as Liliana didn’t have knowledge of how modern engines actually worked on Earth. If she would’ve had a class on that, she hadn’t lived long enough to experience it and she had never had an interest in mechanics enough to research such a thing on her own.

We could eliminate the entire need for a boiler and coal with magic. If enchanting something to do it is too expensive, a low or mid leveled Wind or even Fire and Water mage would be enough to use. If necessary, a noble could sponsor commoners to get Awakened and trained high enough to be of use. Such a thing would be good for the economy as well, perhaps become the beginning of schools for trades for commoners in the future. Liliana smiled at the possibility. Stimulating the economy was always a good thing, and improving the base level of education for the populace could only be good.

Well, perhaps not so much for the nobles, but a little revolution is good for the spirit. Liliana giggled at the mental image of the nobles reacting to a more intelligent populace, demanding no taxation without representation. Perhaps trains wouldn’t cause such a large scale change, but maybe it would.

Travel always births change. Introducing a steam engine to a world stuck in the medieval age would shoot its progression up a few hundred years. It could be the beginning of the industrial revolution, but if I can get us closer to modern benefits, like the Internet and cell phones, I won’t complain. Liliana sighed longingly at the thought of being able to use a search engine or a calculator.

If I really want a revolution, I should introduce the printing press too. At least if the Industrial revolution happens I won’t have to worry about severe pollution like on Earth, all of this can be done cleanly using magic. In fact, it would be far more expensive to use a resource like oil or coal for this than simply power leveling a commoner to a high enough level to work a shift at an engine or machine. Liliana smiled at the thought that her ideas wouldn’t cause the slow death of yet another planet. Even if capitalistic greed undoubtedly took hold of those in power.

It would be a good way to make money as well. I am in need of a way to make money and power, since in a few years I won’t have my family name to lean on or the Rosengarde treasury to use. I’d prefer if Alistair was the duke already, so I could just have him bankroll the initial costs, but that bastard genetic donor of mine isn’t going to die naturally anytime soon. Liliana scowled at the mental reminder of her father.

She knew she’d need to break from her family sooner rather than later, but when her brother took power, she’d be taken back in without hesitation. However, in the time between, she’d be penniless.

Perhaps I could get Marianne to back me? The queen would definitely want to capitalize on this. It would strengthen her power and being in control of travel across the country would tilt the scales in her favor. If I can get enough together to prove this would work and be beneficial to her, I could get support and negotiate a contract where I have a good level of control and take out of this, and I’d be able to push for training schools for commoners for this. Liliana felt a dark grin spread on her face and she gave into the urge to cackle. Oh, the plan was coming together now.

It might be enough of an incentive to push the queen to strip my father of his title and give it to Alistair as well. At that point, I’d be far more of an asset to her than my father, and she might be willing to sacrifice her leash on the north for it. Liliana resisted the sudden need to rub her hands together and cackle again.

No one might be around to see her, but she didn’t need to act like an evil mastermind coming up with dark plans. Even if she was planning a hostile takeover, and a technological advancement that would give her unprecedented political control. And possibly cause a revolution, but that was just a bonus.

“What are you doing?” a tired voice asked her and Liliana’s eyes flew open as she sat straight up, whipping her head around until her eyes landed on Emyr, leaning against the rod of the tower.

“How long have you been there?” Liliana asked, feeling her face flush.

“Long enough to hear you cackle like a villain out of a bad street play.” Emyr stated, utterly deadpan as he stared at her. Liliana ducked her head, face burning as she rubbed a hand at the back of her neck nervously.

“Ah. I didn’t think anyone would see that.” Liliana muttered.

“What were you laughing about? Think of a plan to send someone else to jail? Maybe a certain foreign prince?” Emyr asked, tilting his head as his eyes lit up at the thought.

“No. I had an idea and was considering if the mayhem and chaos it would throw our society into were worth the results.” Liliana said petulantly, crossing her arms.

“That’s not all.” Emyr stated.

“And I was thinking it would make the queen indebted to me and probably give me a chance to have my father stripped of his title.” Liliana confessed, quickly flushing deeper as Emyr let out a laugh.

“You’re insane.” Emyr told her, finally walking closer to her and sitting down.

“That’s why you love me, though.”

“Nope. I utterly despise you.” Emyr responded without hesitation. Liliana gaped at him as he smirked at her, his eyes sparkling. Her eyes narrowed, and she jabbed at his side, making him collapse as he groaned.

“Gods woman, I’m not Alistair. Are you trying to kill me? I think I heard a rib break.” Emyr whined as he clutched his side, pouting at her.

“Oh yes, I forgot. You’re a delicate flower that wilts at the first strike.” Liliana grabbed his arm and pulled him back up. He kept clutching as he side, shooting her glares.

“Exactly! You brute.” Emyr muttered as he rubbed his side.

“What are you even doing here? I was sure by now Marianne would’ve locked you and Alistair in a closet.” Liliana said, rolling her eyes at his theatrics. Emyr froze and even in the darkness, she could see the way his skin darkened in a flush.

“Oh my gods, she did!” Liliana squealed, grabbing Emyr’s hands when he tried to stand up and walk away, keeping him in place.

“Did you two kiss? Is it official? Are you my brother-in-law now?” Liliana demanded, moving her grip to his shoulders and shaking Emyr in time with her words, which grew louder and shriller in pitch as she spoke. Emyr grimaced and ducked his head, not meeting her eyes as he quickly muttered something she didn’t catch.

“What was that?” Liliana demanded, shaking him again.

“Stop before you shake my brain out of my skull, woman!” Emyr hissed, smacking ineffectually at her hands, crossing his arms and looking away before he spoke again.

“He kissed me, but he was drunk off his ass, so he probably won’t even remember it.” Emyr finally said loud enough for her to hear.

Liliana stared at him for a long minute, mind processing the words before she screamed and threw her arms around Emyr, sending them both down in a pile of limbs as she hugged him.

“Congratulations Emyr!” Liliana told him as he sighed dramatically before wrapping his arms around her and patting her back as she giggled into his chest.

“Thanks, Lili.” Emyr whispered.

“How was it?” Liliana asked, lifting her head so she could see his face, still dark from the blush that hadn’t abated.

“Wet. Messy. Wonderful.” Emyr confessed the words pouring out of him, a smile he probably didn’t even realize he was wearing crossing his face. His eyes were soft and warm and Liliana felt herself grinning, seeing her closest friend so happy.

“I’m glad your first kiss was with your first love.” Liliana told him, resting her chin on his chest.

“What makes you think that was my first kiss?” Emyr demanded, and Liliana rolled her eyes, just staring at him until he sighed and hid his face in his hands. “Fine. It was.” He blurted out, and Liliana kicked her feet as she giggled.

“What did you do afterwards? Did you confess?” Liliana prodded him and Emyr groaned loudly, keeping his face hidden.

“I disappeared into the shadows and ran away.” Emyr told her and Liliana sat up, mouth wide as she stared at him in shock.

“Emyr! How could you?” Liliana demanded, and Emyr rolled over, hiding his face in his arms as he let out something in between a groan and a scream.

“I know! But like I said, he was drunk! He won’t remember anything and I was just so overwhelmed I ran.” Emyr whined pitifully and Liliana sighed, laying back down and setting her cheek on his back.

“If he does remember, you’re going to have to talk to him or he’ll be miserable and think you don’t feel the same.” Liliana informed him, eliciting another groan.

“I know. I don’t know which is worse, him forgetting or him remembering.” Emyr told her, turning his head so she could see his profile. His skin was still flushed, but the smile was gone, replaced with a frown.

“Either way, you know he likes you and you can’t just go back to how you two were before.” Liliana told him, and Emyr sighed.

“If he doesn’t remember, I’ll confess after the Tournament. If he does… I’ll tell him once he’s done suffering from his hangover.” Emyr promised her and Liliana let out a breath of air but didn’t push him further.

“Fine. But if you don’t get this sorted by midnight the day after the Tournament I’ll stick you both in another closet.” Liliana threatened, and Emyr flapped a hand at her, smacking her head lightly, but didn’t argue.

“How about you tell me this brilliant chaos inducing title stripping plan of yours instead?” Emyr asked, sitting up and forcing Liliana to do the same.

She glared at him but huffed and let him redirect the conversation, though she didn’t miss how he kept touching his lips and gazing into the distance during her explanation.

Chapter 165: The Long Awaited Tournament Begins

“I can’t believe we’re about to start our first tournament,” Marianne squealed, bouncing on the cushioned bench she was sitting on. It was basically a couch, and they were all lying to themselves, calling it anything else.

They were currently sitting under the coliseum in the class S waiting room. Since the tournaments were held over four different days, with each year group given a day, there was only one waiting room per class.

They’d get individual rooms later on when they were down to the last twenty contenders in the tournament. For now they shared, not that it was a grueling task for class S, as their room was huge. There were large bathing rooms attached, lockers big enough for one to walk inside of, even an area for them to spar or warm up with training dummies prepped and waiting.

Truly, the Academy did not hesitate to splurge when it came to spoiling their beloved class S. Liliana doubted class E had anywhere near as many amenities afforded to them.

“It’s the first of eight we’ll have to go through during our time here,” Liliana said nonchalantly, but she was excited too.

She nibbled on a macaroon; they were provided with snacks and drinks by academy staff. Sadly, they lacked any food buffs. That would be pushing favoritism a bit too far, even by Academy standards.

“Everyone remember the Plan?” Alistair asked, and Liliana could hear the capital p.

“I’d hope so. I helped come up with it.” Liliana muttered, earning herself a glare from her uncharacteristically stoic brother. He was trying to hide his nerves behind a calm facade, but the way his knee bounced revealed his anxiety.

This was their first tournament, their first chance to show the rest of the school their abilities.

While the tournament wouldn’t make or break their rankings if they scored high enough on their exams and general grades, it still mattered. The entire Academy came to watch all the tournaments, and the older years would be on the lookout for standout talent to recruit once they took over their families or made names for themselves outside of the Academy.

It wasn’t unusual for older years to mentor younger years, usually after their first tournament. Such relationships could be highly beneficial for both mentor and mentee, enabling them to make use of each other’s connections and network.

For nobles, it was less necessary than it was for commoners, who desperately needed connections to lift themselves from their humble beginnings. However, even for nobles, it was useful: alliances had been built and solidified on the coliseum sands.

Some would go so far as to say noble houses had been made and destroyed there, too.

For heirs of their family names, it would show other nobles if they were strong enough to hold that title, or if one day their territory would be ripe for the taking from such weak hands.

For Liliana, this meant even more. She was no heir, and she knew her time as a noble was limited, the sand in the hourglass shrinking every day. She needed to start making connections with strong allies to help her when she broke away from her father for good. Strong connections and allies would help her when she had to make her way on her own. Her future could very well depend on her ability to impress older, more powerful students who would be watching them.

For Alistair, whose heir position had become more tenuous and fragile as Liliana grew in power, he would need to make his own impact. He’d need to make it known he was no weakling to be easily pushed aside, and he’d need to impress others to help make connections and solidify his standing. He would, of course, have more chances to redeem himself later, but first impressions mattered and if he failed abysmally here, many would never forget that.

There was a time for lying low and diverting attention, but the tournaments were not it.

“Yes, we remember. Stay close, find a wall, build defenses and let the rest tear each other apart while Polaris, Emyr, Basil and Rathwater rain hellfire on everyone.” Marianne recited, waving off Alistair’s worry with a pout.

She was still peeved she wouldn’t get a chance to wreak unrestrained havoc and chaos during the first round. It was too much of a risk. The first round was always a battle royale. All 220 students would be pitted against each other and stray shots could as easily take down squishy targets like healers as a direct attack. Their best chance to survive and last to the next round was to utilize their tanks and Liliana’s high level bonds to survive.

Many students would adopt an every man for themselves strategy. While some of them would survive, it would be the students who had the intelligence to make use of the friends and allies they’d already made and team up that would be the majority of the winners.

The battle royale would last until 50 students were left standing and, as a result, would be a battle of attrition once the chaos calmed, and a team meant it was easier to manage Mana and Stamina.

Liliana couldn’t help but think Rauk’s insistence on team fights in Battle Training was a subtle hint that such a configuration would be necessary for the tournament. The professor had helped as much as he could, even if only the truly perceptive would ever realize the aid they’d been given.

Liliana had known this, thanks to the knowledge she had brought of the game into this second life, and had started putting together her team soon after the dungeon. Alistair, Emyr, Marianne and Anya had been obvious choices.

Firstly, because of their strong bond and natural synergy in battle. Secondly, because of the usefulness of their classes in such an environment. Alistair could erect strong defenses to protect them, especially when combined with Nemesis and Lelantos.

Anya would be useful when Alistair needed to step down from Mana use as a secondary tank and devastating physical attacker. Emyr would be useful, especially with Liliana’s [Telepathy] as they could coordinate attacks for him behind their defenses without him ever seeing the battlefield.

Basil was another choice who was both obvious and easy to cajole to joining their plan. His Nature affinity made him downright deadly in a mass-scale battle. He could use his affinity to bolster their defenses and entangle multiple enemies at once, leaving them as sitting ducks for Emyr.

Liliana had debated adding Koth’talan for several reasons. He was less useful in large battles as he excelled in one-on-one combat, but his Lava affinity made him both a good attacker and defender. His general detestation of working with others also made him a risk. But after a few meetings in their grove and a rather, in his words, annoying tenacity on Liliana’s part, they had added him to their group.

Diana would’ve been a good addition as well, with her many affinities she was able to fit in anywhere to be a valuable asset, but her and Liliana’s rocky relationship made such a thing untenable.

In a volatile environment, trust was essential, and Liliana simply didn’t feel there was enough between the two of them anymore for the partnership to be anything but a liability for all of them.

Liliana had grabbed Rathwater at the last minute. His Lightning and Storm affinities meant he was a useful AOE attacker and in a battle royale fight, that was precisely what they needed. She’d already seen what they could do together when they combined abilities, and they’d made use of their combination attack several times in the dungeon.

The reserved boy had been surprised but amiable to cooperating with her group, seeming relieved that this would increase his odds of making it to the single battle rounds.

Mages were powerful after all, but utterly worthless on their own without someone to block the blows that would quickly zero out their pitiful Vitality. Rathwater’s chances of progressing on his own were frankly atrocious.

It was a large team by their class’ standards with eight of them in it, but small compared to what other classes could put together. If one of the classes decided to team-up entirely, it would be downright dangerous and they could end up facing what amounted to a miniature army of students.

However, Liliana trusted in the innate ability all teenagers held to make enemies with those they spent the most time with and placed that possibility low on her list. She had plans for if it did happen, but the overall odds of her entire team making it to the next round lowered drastically if that eventuality came around.

Marianne, Emyr and Alistair knew the plan if such a thing did happen, as they would all be essential in seeing it come to completion, but she hadn’t shared it with the rest. It would only serve to further agitate their nerves and would risk harming their confidence, something they needed if they were to win this.

Liliana grabbed a pastry to eat as she tried to shake off the trembling in her fingers. Her role in this fight would be deceptively easy. She just had to sit in the middle of their group while the rest did all the hard work. Despite appearances, though, her role was vital, and mentally exhausting.

She’d be their control center, more or less. Using her telepathic connection to her bonds and her [Astral Projection], she’d be their eyes while everyone was closed behind layers and layers of protection. She’d need to communicate mentally to locate targets for their mages to focus on and attack while simultaneously keeping an eye on anyone attacking their defenses and find ways to neutralize them before they became a problem.

“Is everyone ready? Remember the plans? All weapons and armor prepared, repaired and primed? Anyone need a snack or water? Or to go to the bathroom?” Alistair pressed, looking over them all like a general surveying his troops. Or a mother panicking about her kids’ first dungeon adventure.

“Ali, we’re fine.” Emyr soothed his friend…? They’d had some kind of talk after the party, and both emerged from Alistair’s room with their hands intertwined, and they were even more inseparable than ever.

Liliana wasn’t entirely certain of what was going on for sure between them, but she had an entire speech prepared for both of them. And a shovel to threaten them with. It was hard to give a proper shovel talk to your own brother and best friend, but she would make it work. It was her first ever one!

Still, she was happy for them, and, more importantly, for the fact that she wouldn’t have to deal with two emotionally compromised variables in her plans for today. Even if their affection could be downright nauseating at times.

She’d lost the betting pool though, Anya had won the gold from that, as she’d predicted that they’d confess right before the Tournament. Marianne had been sure they’d confess over their winter break, as it was ‘so romantic’. Liliana had originally bet they wouldn’t confess until their fourth year and hadn’t changed her bet after her talk with Emyr on the roof.

Liliana was a sneak, but she wasn’t a cheat. She had some morals, after all.

“We have the best of class S here. It’ll be a breeze.” Basil added in with a grin.

Liliana rolled her eyes but returned the smile. Basil was the calmest of them all, seemingly confident in their chances of victory. Rathwater was sitting with his head between his knees and a distinctly green hue to his fair skin. He raised a hand and gave a thumbs up at least, so Liliana thought he was just dealing with the pressure of performing in front of so many watchers.

Performance anxiety was a real monster. Liliana didn’t much care about how many people watched her fight. It was the fight itself she cared about.

“We’ll pound everyone else into the ground!” Anya bounced around with her tail wagging furiously behind her.

Koth’talan just shrugged as he continued sharpening his sword, seeming to not care one way or another. Liliana was fairly certain that as long as he got further than his brother, the dæmon would be satisfied. They all had their goals for the tournament, and not all of them were victory.

Some just wanted to fight, some had something to prove, and others simply had enemies they wished to see fail.

“It’s time. Line up.” Vereign’s harsh voice cut through the chatter.

The room descended into anxious silence as the students rose and moved towards the door, settling into a long line grouped by friends and presumably team-ups. None of them were dressed in their uniforms.

Today was one of the few days where the dress code didn’t matter. They all bristled with weapons and armor bought from the school store or brought from home as part of their three permitted items.

Liliana was at the back of the line, her bonds trailing behind her or, in Nemesis’ case, wrapped around her neck. As armor and weapons were permitted to be donned before the start of the first round, bonds were allowed to be out, as not all students had soul stones to keep them in and the use of bonds was permitted in the tournament.

Liliana took a deep breath as they walked through the dim tunnels under the coliseum, her hand going instinctively to Nemesis’ scales, rubbing against them to calm both her and the vibrating serpent. The flowered serpent was doing well around so many humans, but Liliana was worried for her state once they were surrounded by the other first years.

At least she didn’t have to rein in her bond’s murderous impulses today. The shields placed on all of them soon would mean she couldn’t truly do any harm, but her viciousness could be helpful in culling the herd.

Liliana could hear the low roar of voices before she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. As they stepped out onto the hard-packed sand floor of the coliseum grounds, Liliana squinted and raised a hand to block out the harsh morning light.

The tournament started early, in expectation of how long it could go. There were no time limits on the fights, but none of the students fighting would be permitted to rest until the fights were over, except the small time they got between fights in later rounds. Towards the end they’d be fighting physical, Mana, and Stamina exhaustion on top of each other.

The winner of the tournament was as much decided through martial skill as they were in their ability to manage and ration their Mana and Stamina. It wasn’t an unusual sight for a tank to win a tournament.

Liliana blinked as her eyes adjusted and looked around the large arena, spotting other classes coming out of the tunnels behind their homeroom teachers. Liliana looked behind her and noted that the tunnel they’d emerged under was beneath the same seats they’d sat in during their tour and orientation. The Academy was very particular in separating the different classes.

Liliana looked forward in enough time to prevent from running into Marianne’s back as the princess stopped. They waited in silence as the rest of the classes found their own spots. They were arranged in a circle; the lines turning into rows of students as the teens moved without instruction to line up like ranks of soldiers.

It helped that they had practiced this before with their homeroom teachers.

The center of the circle was left empty until a flash of fire, once more in the shape of a large, winged creature, announced the dramatic arrival of their headmistress. Liliana had to avert her eyes to prevent compromising her eyesight as the flames burned bright white towards the bottom, where she was closest to.

She could feel Polaris tensing behind her, his hackles raising at the arrival of such a strong beast. Now that she was aware of it, she could almost feel a faint trace of an aura similar to what she’d experienced with Minori. Barely there and easily ignorable as a trait of a Rank 1 human if one didn’t know any better. Yet subtly different, other in a way only beasts were.

“Welcome! Today we begin the first of four tournaments. Here fortunes will be made or lost as the best and brightest of the newest generation strive to show what makes them extraordinary!” Wraithe began her speech as the flames died down and revealed her form.

“We will begin our tournament with our first years, the youngest and newest of our students. This is their initial chance to show if they truly belong among our hallowed halls, or if they’ll burn brightly only to fade quickly. Young they might be but perhaps among their number we’ll see some true diamonds in the rough!” Wraithe continued, her voice booming across the coliseum, so loud it set Liliana’s bones shaking and she had to put true effort into disguising her discomfort.

“Show us all what you’re made of, young fledglings. Let us see if the time spent on you so far was worth the investment, or if you’ll fall short of the expectations placed on you.” Wraithe turned towards the first years, her sharp gaze somehow piercing every student standing on the sands.

“The first round is a battle royale. It will continue until only fifty remain standing. Any who fall will be immediately removed from the field. Only the strongest and most cunning of you will proceed on to the next round. So do not hold back, push yourselves to the limit and prove to all watching that you belong here!” Wraithe commanded them, voice somehow running deeper than mere words and Liliana detected a magical suggestion woven in the headmistress’ words, easily pushed off by her necklace and mental protections, weak as the suggestion was.

She didn’t need any further incentive to win this tournament.

“Shields!” Wraithe commanded, and across the coliseum shields formed on the students and beasts waiting eagerly to prove themselves. A larger shield wrapped around the coliseum, protecting the audience from stray shots.

“Fall or rise by your own mettle and strength! Begin!” Wraithe commanded, vanishing in another gout of flames. The professors vanished with far less fanfare, leaving the students standing there alone.

Liliana wasted no time. Neither did her team as they immediately broke away from the ranks of students, sprinting for the wall closest to them as the other students caught on to the fact that the fight had begun.

In seconds, the coliseum devolved into utter chaos.

Chapter 166: The Mad Tea Party

“Lelantos, keep to the back and make sure no one gets sniped.” Liliana threw out the order as her feet pounded against the sand. She could hear screams and shouts erupting all around them as over two hundred teenagers turned on each other.

“Polaris, you already know your job. Go have fun.” Liliana instructed her bond, hearing an excited yip in response as Polaris peeled off from their group to do what he did best, wreak havoc and unbridled chaos.

Liliana wasn’t overly concerned that there was anyone here who could do him real harm. The large-scale battle would work in his favor. He could easily slip through the crowd and avoid any direct attacks and any accidental hits would mean little to the rank 4 beast.

“Let’s get started.” Liliana murmured as she came up on the wall, the first of her group to reach it, her Speed coming in handy. She whirled around, naginata at the ready as the rest of her team caught up.

They were lucky, in a way, that the first round of the Tournament was a battle royale that began with all the students clustered together. They’d all be too occupied fighting the bodies right in front of them to be concerned about chasing after anyone with the sense to run away from that nonsense.

Marianne, Emyr, Basil and Rathwater ran towards and behind Liliana, taking their designated spots without being told. Liliana twirled her naginata as she activated [Threads of Control] the only skill she was willing to use this early in the game as her daggers swirled around her.

Koth’talan took to guarding their right flank and Anya to their left as Alistair came to a stop just in front of Liliana and started to glow as he activated skills and spells. Lelantos stood before the distracted tank, fur bristling and body glowing as he prepared himself to defend them until their defenses were in place. A thin shield of light rose around them, enclosing them in a small space, enough to be comfortable but small enough to not be ridiculous.

“Koth’talan.” Alistair barked out as he closed his eyes and focused on the next layer of defense.

The dæmon prince grunted and held out a hand. Bubbling lava formed a few feet outside of their shield to give room for the additional defenses they’d be raising. In moments there was a thick moat of deadly lava bubbling and rushing around the shield of light. None had yet to fall to it, all the action concentrated at the center of the coliseum for now, but inevitably someone would lose today falling into that bright red viscous liquid.

“Work with Nemesis for earth defenses.” Liliana told Koth’talan.

The prince nodded, face set in concentration from having to do two different affinity manipulations, one after another. It would tax his Mana, but the point of this was that they would have the time to rest and recharge before they’d be forced to actually fight.

“Nemesis, help Koth’talan get defenses up.” Liliana instructed her serpentine bond.

Various spells and projectiles splashed ineffectively against the thin shield of light Alistair had already erected. Either missed shots or directed attacks. It was hard to tell under such chaotic circumstances.

Earth rose slowly, sand falling from the growing walls like water as Nemesis called to her affinity and forced it to protect them, Koth’talan working in concert with her. In seconds, the shield of light was covered in hard packed dirt. The sun was hidden from them with the new walls, though Alistair’s shield gave them enough illumination to see by.

“Putting up metal defenses once Basil gets the vines up.” Alistair told them, and Basil stepped forward, producing seeds from his pockets that he flung over the ground.

He didn’t need them, but creating life from seeds was far easier than from nothing. Vines sprouted quickly, growing in the blink of an eye before they tunneled under the hard packed earth, moving quickly with Basil’s Earth affinity and skills aiding them. Liliana could see the vines reinforcing the earthen barriers. She assumed they were creating an even thicker barrier around the earth they wove throughout.

“Done.” Basil said, wiping sweat from his brow as he stepped back.

Alistair nodded and looked to Liliana who sat down, her naginata across her lap as she placed her daggers back in their sheaths and turned off [Threads of Control]. She wouldn’t need them any longer.

She closed her eyes and activated [Astral Projection] sending her astral body outside of the protections they’d erected to face the battlefield. Her feet didn’t touch the ground as she moved, and she turned around to assess the defenses. The vines were huge, far thicker than she thought this particular breed of plant was typically capable of. The beauty of magic. The thorns native to it, which Liliana was fairly certain were poisonous, were as long and thick as her forearm.

Between the thorns and the lava, anyone sent this way would suffer a painful end. Liliana opened up a mental connection to her brother, communicating in images rather than words as she showed him what their defenses looked like.

“I’ll add metal to the inside then, and if I have the Mana, I’ll reinforce the vines with it.” Alistair told her, his voice coming to her clearly, even though her mental awareness was far from her body, as she turned to the fight. From here she could get glimpses of Polaris’ chaos faux fire flickering, though she saw none of the kitsune himself.

“Emyr, get ready for a spell, I’ll tell you where to aim.” Liliana instructed her friend mentally as she moved, approaching the thick knot of students still in the center of the coliseum.

It had only been minutes since the start was called, but far too many students had yet to take advantage of the large battlefield to give themselves much needed space. Liliana located the area that seemed to hold the most students clustered together and mentally directed Polaris away from it as she simultaneously instructed Emyr to aim for it with his spell.

Liliana flitted through the battlefield, ignoring her instinct to run away from threats and projectiles. Few could see her in her astral form, and even fewer of them could actually injure her like this. Weapons and spells flew through her intangible body as she just as easily stepped through unwary students, most only alerted to her passing presence by a cold shiver akin to someone walking over their grave.

Liliana kept an eye out for friends and classmates as she moved, looking for the best targets for her hidden mages to focus their attacks on. She kept an eye on anyone who looked to be a threat that would last to the next round.

She saw a few promising students she thought might survive the first round. A small girl who, if this world didn’t have dwarves, Liliana would swear had some dwarven blood in her, spun around with a wild war cry, her overlarge great axe turning her into a savage tornado of thick arms and deadly steel. More than one student went down when that sharp axe crashed into their kneecaps, shield or no shield.

There was a boy who seemed too thin to be healthy who had taken to the edges of the fight, making use of what, upon closer inspection, was a very clever mixture of Acid and Mist affinities. he was creating what Liliana would judge to be something chillingly similar to mustard gas.

It was good they had shields stopping damage because without them the crowd of students that deadly mixture washed over would need days with strong healers to recover, if they would’ve survived at all.

Good thing I never decided to introduce that particular brand of chemical warfare on this world. One insane teenager with that ability is quite enough. Liliana thought with a shiver as she hurried away from that nightmare fuel.

There was a third student, of indeterminate gender, who was making the most of what had to be a Blood affinity. Liliana fervently hoped they and Marianne never met because the way that person used a multitude of blood threads to control people like marionettes would certainly feature in at least one nightmare once the tournament was over. Liliana was grateful she was nothing more than an astral body as she made her way through that horrifying scene.

Liliana finally got a glimpse of Polaris bowling through a thick cluster of students, his tails tipped by his [Dark Kitsunebi] as he let out a thick stream of [Chaos Breath] on the ones he didn’t send flying with his reckless charge.

Students screamed as weapons, unprotected by shields, twisted and dissolved only for the insidious chaos flames to stick to their shields and slowly leech them to red even as the black and white flames covered their bodies entirely. Liliana watched with ill-hidden amusement as the students whose shields dropped to red vanished from the grounds, their shouts and screams still echoing in the air after they disappeared.

“Circle back and clear up anyone close to us.” Liliana instructed her bond as they parted ways after his show and Liliana headed towards another thick grouping of students.

She paused her movement when meteors fell from the sky, pelting down mercilessly on the group Liliana had directed Emyr to attack earlier. Her arms folded over her chest as she watched, wishing distantly for some popcorn to enjoy the fireworks show as bodies and dirt flew through the air.

Liliana smiled as she shook her head and moved on after a few seconds of gratifying watching, sending the mental memory of the event to everyone inside the protections. Her ears, the physical ones, took in the sounds of her friends chuckling and laughing at the sight.

In the next grouping, she finally saw someone she recognized, several someones, from their class. Zir’elon was surrounded by his small coterie of underlings, a few from other assorted classes in their year. They were facing off against students Liliana didn’t readily recognize, but she didn’t much care who they were. They’d be getting a helping hand today.

“Basil. Can you get some vines here?” Liliana sent mental images with the words to the boy. She waited a few moments while he presumably adjusted to the influx of foreign information before he responded.

“It’ll take a minute, but yes, I can manage that much.” Basil told her, and Liliana waited, keeping an ongoing litany of mental images as she waited.

Three of the students opposing Zir’elon’s group had gone down and one of his allies, by the time twisted vines erupted from the ground. They grasped tightly onto anyone they could wrap around, mostly Zir’elon’s group. Liliana smirked as she turned away from them and stepped back into the thick of the fight.

Liliana continued her job as the eyes on the ground for her group, focusing on large, closely packed groupings of students for them to hit. It ensured they’d always hit someone with how fast battles moved if she focused on large groupings rather than small or single targets. And the faster they eliminated as many students as possible, the faster this entire round would end.

Fire poured from the sky as Emyr rained hell down on anyone Liliana pointed out. The ground itself turned on unwary students, as Basil and Koth’talan often teamed up to wreak havoc on anyone dumb enough to trust their footing. Rathwater flooded and electrocuted whoever Liliana pointed him at.

I wonder. Liliana thought idly as she looked at the ground, covered in discarded weapons and various bits and bobs from the fighting. She activated [Threads of Control] not expecting it to work as she waited out Emyr’s latest spell charge, keeping a lock on the group she wanted him to target.

Her astral eyes widened in surprise when the spell worked, picking up the discarded short sword she’d been targeting. A devilish grin took over her face as she grabbed and lifted various other objects, twirling them around once to assure herself of her control before she sent her stolen weapons out, aiming for those with their backs to her invisible form.

Liliana hadn’t spent much time testing the limits of her [Astral Projection] skill, but with the revelation that she could use spells at the very least while in it, it changed this guerrilla warfare game they were playing.

Liliana continued to give their mages targets to focus on, but while she did, she wreaked her own brand of chaos on the unsuspecting students. She kept her own Mana in mind as she did it. In the middle of a battle where everyone was an enemy, it was easy to use her spells to casually trip someone right into a stronger attack from a different student. Or to rip their weapon from their hands during a pivotal moment, unbalancing them or ruining a block.

“Lili, the mages need to take a small break. You should too.” Marianne’s voice called to Liliana while she was in the middle of very subtly tying one boy’s shoe laces to those of another boy.

She gave them a light nudge with [Shove] so they’d crash into a girl and send all of them tumbling into the path of a mage who was ramping up for what would be a very devastating ice attack.

Liliana looked around the battlefield, judging that maybe a fourth of the students who had started this battle royale had been knocked out so far. She looked back towards their defenses, no longer the only hastily built stronghold. Either other clever students had planned it or had taken inspiration from hr team.

For now, the majority of students were focusing on the easier targets still out in the open, which was where the greatest amount of the first years were currently. Liliana mentally noted the locations of the other roughly built defenses to check out later before she summoned Polaris back to their defenses to guard it, while Liliana returned to her body.

She slowly opened her eyes, vision swimming a bit as her astral self settled back into her body. She felt a warm body against her back and she turned her head to see Lelantos lying behind her, by all accounts, taking a catnap in the middle of the fight.

The next thing Liliana noticed was the scent of tea and, of all things, cookies greeting her nose. Liliana’s brow furrowed as she stood, stretching out a body that was slightly aching from being stuck in one position for so long. Looking around, she discovered most of her team seated around what was apparently a table and chairs built from vines, sipping on tea and munching on real cookies.

For a moment, Liliana struggled to comprehend the scene. It was a stark contrast to the hellscape she’d witnessed outside, where over two hundred students were fighting to the, fake, death struggling to survive.

To go from that to seeing her friends gathered around a table, sipping on tea and nibbling on cookies as if they hadn’t a care in the world, made her worry that she’d somehow been poisoned with a hallucinogen.

“What the fuck?” Liliana asked, blinking as she walked forward and took the chair Marianne pointed at for her next to the princess, too bemused by all of this to protest or do anything more than accept the silent command.

“There wasn’t much to do while we wait for someone to figure out it was a good idea to attack our defenses, other than someone sending out an attack every now and again, and so I thought it would be a good idea to take a tea break.” Marianne said, setting down a very delicate and expensive teacup and saucer in front of Liliana and serving her.

A splash of milk and four sugar cubes were deposited in the cup of aromatic tea before Liliana could say anything. Marianne knew her preferences a bit too well.

“You’re having a tea party in the middle of a massive battle? During the tournament, our biggest chance to show off and prove our merit?” Liliana asked, but she couldn’t resist sipping on the tea. Marianne had the best teas and no matter how insane the situation, Liliana would not pass up good tea.

“It was that or pull out a game to play while we waited.” Basil said with a shrug of his shoulders as he sipped at his own tea.

“Besides, it just shows everyone how strong we are. We’re so unconcerned with our competition that we’re comfortable sipping tea in the middle of this.” Marianne sniffed haughtily over her tea and, well, Liliana couldn’t fault that logic. Talk about a power move.

She had to wonder if this was something the queen taught her daughter, which raised the question of, had the queen had a tea party in the middle of a battle before?

“How did you even get a full tea set in?” Liliana asked next, pushing away mental images of the queen in full armor daintily sipping tea in the middle of a war aside, as she grabbed a cookie to munch on.

Based on the taste, they were ones Alistair had made. Had this been a secret plot between the two? She expected this level of pure insanity from Marianne, Emyr, too, but Alistair was a surprise.

“Surprisingly, a tea set, tea and cookies were not on the restricted item list.” Marianne said with a smile. Liliana closed her eyes with a sigh, drinking her now much needed tea to fortify her nerves for the insanity that was this entire conversation.

“I don’t think anyone expected someone to hold a full tea party in the middle of the first round.” Liliana groaned, earning a snort from Emyr.

“To be honest, they should’ve accounted for this.” Emyr said with a shrug, his smile a bit too sharp.

Liliana was reminded of the way he’d cackled after seeing the damage his spells were doing on the battlefield. She mentally rewrote the list she kept in her mind titled ‘Most Likely to become A Supervillain’ with Emyr’s name taking place of pride at number one.

“It’ll probably be banned before our next tournament,” Rathwater murmured quietly and Lilliana nodded her head in his direction as an agreement.

She wasn’t sure if the professors would find this entire thing disrespectful or entertaining. Probably a mix of both, if her estimation of the staff’s characters were correct. But they wouldn’t want students to completely disregard the sanctity of the tournament in such an obvious way in the future.

“Some kits are taking an interest in your hide.” Polaris informed her and Liliana set her cup down carefully. She didn’t need to damage the good china.

She closed her eyes and saw through Polaris’. From his high vantage point, presumably on top of their fortifications, Liliana could see a group of maybe five students approaching them. Polaris could easily handle them, but he was panting a little from his fun earlier and deserved a break. Liliana tapped Nemesis’ nose, waking up the sleepy serpent.

“Can you handle them?” Liliana asked, and the serpent opened her fanged mouth in a large yawn before nodding and sliding off Liliana’s neck and arm to drop to the ground, where she burrowed into the earth.

Liliana closed her eyes again and looked through Polaris’ eyes, waiting for the serpent to emerge. It took a minute, during which time the students got to the lava moat, when Nemesis emerged behind them. She grew to her full size and before the students could even sense their danger, her large jaws unhinged and a cloud of noxious poison engulfed them.

Liliana quickly lost sight of the students, but evidently Nemesis did not, because she could hear the sounds of bodies impacting with reinforced scales and screams flooding from the cloud of thick poison. She got to watch one student get flung out of the cloud only to sink into the lava face first, and another fly right into the deadly thorns of the vines around their defenses.

The amusement Liliana got from the at first, screams of surprise, then screams of terror from the flung students was probably concerning, but she didn’t care. It was funny. It was a shame they were whisked away so quickly once their shields went red, truly. That one student’s struggling, somehow shoeless, foot as they slowly disappeared beneath the lava was peak comedy.

Liliana felt Polaris yawn, and he turned his attention elsewhere as Liliana left his mind to return to her own. Nemesis had things well in hand and Liliana gave her free permission to attack anyone else she felt like. The serpent sent back a feeling of excited happiness at the free rein Liliana had given her.

“Problem?” Koth’talan asked her as Liliana opened her eyes. Anya was bouncing in her seat, looking excited even as she carefully cradled her teacup in both her hands, as if she was afraid she’d shatter it.

She sent a mental communication to the group of the memories of the students being tossed out of the cloud of poison right as a few of them took a sip of tea. Liliana giggled into her cup when Emyr snorted tea out of his nose. He choked on tea and laugher as he got to see the student’s struggling, socked foot poking out of the lava as his shield slowly turned red. Basil let out an undignified snort when he saw the damage his vines did, and Anya whooped.

“Nemesis is handling some students who were smart enough to head our way. Nothing to be worried about.” Liliana explained the images as she sipped her tea, feeling herself starting to, of all things, relax.

Liliana shook her head and finished her tea and cookie before standing and moving to sit back in front of Lelantos. As nice, and utterly bizarre, as the break had been, they did still have a round to win and they couldn’t do it with their eyes on the ground occupied.

“Get ready. I’m heading back out.” Liliana warned them as she closed her eyes and activated [Astral Projection]. As her awareness left her body and returned to the fight outside their walls, she heard a cackle from Emyr that sent chills down her spine.

At times like this, she was really glad he was on her side.

Chapter 167: Eye In The Sky

Liliana watched with interest as a student was thrown through her astral form. It never got less funny, to her, to watch someone just pass right through her.

Thanks to her team’s targeted contributions to the general bedlam, they were down to perhaps half the original number of students on the field. Liliana looked up at the sky and frowned at the new position of the sun.

The first forty or so students who were knocked out gave her a misguided sense of how long it would take to finish off the rest. The first students taken out were the stragglers, the weak links in their year who were easily dealt with. As more students were eliminated, it became harder to get rid of the rest.

Like cockroaches surviving a nuclear blast, too many of her yearmates refused to roll over and admit defeat.

Still, there were large enough groupings of students left that her team’s tactics didn’t need to change overmuch. However, Nemesis had to be recalled to play protector, as more students had decided to take a shot at their defenses.

“Tch.” Liliana hissed as she darted to the side, avoiding an attack that felt distinctly more dangerous than the varied missed shots she’d been taking so far.

Most wouldn’t have an effect on her astral form. The only attacks that would were Soul attacks, as she was in a soul form right now. As Liliana dodged the attack, her eyes roved the torn up coliseum to locate the origin of the strike, her eyes locked on a gaze looking right at her.

The student nodded his head in her direction, a smirk tugging at his lips. Liliana vaguely recognized the student as someone in her Soul class and she cursed silently. She had accounted for the fact that some with sufficiently high enough mastery in the Soul affinity would be able to sense or even see her presence, but she had hoped the general mayhem of the battle royale would mean they mostly ignored her.

“I’ve been spotted.” Liliana told her team as she took off when a second attack honed in on her from the student, dodging through another student and forcing them to tank the hit.

“Does that mean we can finally get out of here?” Anya asked, voice taking on an almost begging tone.

“You know the plan. We stay behind those walls until someone breaks them open and forces our hand.” Liliana told her group as she melted into another fight, putting more bodies between herself and danger.

She sent out the mental images to the mages as she moved around, using [Threads of Control] to pick up discarded weapons and to trip unwary students. Her aim wasn’t to do as much damage as possible, but to cause the most confusion she could.

She knew the plan chafed at their more battle thirsty teammates. Anya had it the worst of all of them. She had to sit on her thumbs as her skill set revolved around close combat. It meant none of them could truly stand out in the first round, but with so many bodies fighting, it was hard as it was to get noticed.

If they could conserve their Mana and Stamina for the one-on-one fights later, they could make a bigger impact. Stand out far more in comparison to students already tired from spending hours embroiled in the battle royale.

With Polaris and Nemesis defending their little fortress, it was unlikely anyone would get through, and protected as they were, it gave their mages the luxury of picking and choosing the most effective targets to thin the herd. If they were to bring down their walls, their mages would need to go on the defensive, targeting whoever attacked them and potentially running themselves dry.

Liliana herself itched at the plan, despite being one she had a large hand in coming up with. She’d like nothing more than to feel adrenaline pumping through her veins as her heart beat a staccato rhythm in her chest and her weapons flashed in the light as she cut through students, pushing her body to the limit. Seeing the students fighting made her want to fight all the more, yet she was relegated to passing off information and tripping up others where she could.

But this wasn’t a matter of doing what she wanted, she needed to do what was the most effective. What would get their entire team through the first round and onto the second.

Liliana looked to the sky, wanting to take to it but refraining with the knowledge she would simply make herself more of a target. Other students were already airborne and had been. Some with Wind skills and spells, others with more unconventional means.

She saw some beastmen making use of their wings to fly, a small handful riding flying mounts, and others who had somehow acquired wings through skill or spell use dipped and twisted in the air. If Liliana had the luxury of time, she’d be taking notes on the creative use of elements students employed to get the high ground.

“Where was that student who targeted you, Lili?” Emyr’s voice came to Liliana, and she focused back on the ground rather than the sky as she looked around.

She saw students fighting, every skill or spell imaginable employed. Students rose from the ground, as fires raged and wind wailed, beasts made of every possible element rushed past, crashing into students too slow to dodge. Constructs let loose mute war cries as they crashed into students, but Liliana couldn’t locate her attacker.

With a sigh, she activated [Windwalk] and stepped into the air. She rose higher and higher, taking in a better view of the coliseum and hopefully making herself enough of a target to draw out her little admirer.

There! Liliana twisted and dropped through the air as another shot of pure Soul energy whipped past her head.

She turned and spotted the boy from earlier and sent the information to her team. She kept the relay of images going in the back of her mind as she started a very twisted dance in the air as shot after shot targeted her and forced her to keep moving.

Flying students screamed when Liliana darted behind or through them, using them as shields to block the attacks. More than one student fell from the sky into a crumpled heap on the ground as they were forced to bear the brunt of attacks meant for Liliana. Unable to even see the invisible battle going on around them.

Liliana watched with a mixture of amusement and awe as a threefold attack finally hit her annoying clinger on, stars fell from the sky like deadly rain as vines broke through the ground and wrapped the boy, whose attention had tunneled on Liliana during their cat-and-mouse game.

The boy barely had time to realize his error when the stars pelted onto him, burning and pummeling him, cutting through the vines restraining him even as a loud crack of thunder followed a bright strike of lightning hitting him head on.

“Ah, I think you guys got him.” Liliana told her team, bemused, as she watched the boy’s red form collapse on the ground. She had expected one attack, possibly, not a three-way combination attack.

“Talk about overkill, you three.” Liliana chided with a shake of her head as she turned her attention back to the battle raging under her.

Now that she was safe in the sky once more, she rose higher until she could get a better view. She couldn’t make use of her spells from here, but she could easily direct attacks from the mages, and apparently they needed more targets if they could afford to spend so much Mana on one boy.

“It’s not overkill. It’s a message.” Emyr told her in a huff.

Liliana didn’t deign that with a reply, knowing it was a lost fight to argue against her friends’ overprotective tendencies. She was just surprised he’d managed to rope Rathwater and Basil into it.

“Emyr, hit that group. Rathwater, can you get a chain going with that fight? Basil hold those down. Koth’talan, we have some students approaching. Give my bonds a break.” Liliana sent out as she twisted in the air, taking in the fight.

Nemesis was doing a valiant job at keeping most students away from their defenses with a cloud of poison she kept refreshing. If anyone made it through that, Polaris would quickly deal with them, but she could see their Mana dropping steadily. Polaris could easily handle any student in their year, but the sheer number of them meant his Mana was in a constant drain.

Liliana watched as a wave of lava rose and crashed upon a small knot of students who had gotten through Nemesis’ poison cloud, washing them back into the cloud even as it ate through the health of their shields.

Liliana looked away when she was sure of the outcome and looked towards Basil’s targets, a fight between what Liliana assumed were students of two different classes. Vines burst through the ground, seeming almost sentient as they wrapped around students and constricted, leeching their shields ever closer to red as those who remained free capitalized on the opportunity and struck their compromised foes.

Lightening struck and webbed out, fire fell and meteors ravaged as Liliana kept directing her team from on high. Students screamed, shouted, and fell as Liliana orchestrated their demise. Bodies vanished and the number of students left standing steadily declined as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

Those left remaining as time went on became more ragged and spread out. Fights went from grand things waged between large numbers of students to smaller skirmishes, as battlefield alliances were struck and discarded just as quickly.

From above it all, Liliana capitalized on every stabbed back and turned tables, aiding some students with the help of her teammates and bringing ruin and defeat on who so ever she chose. A student protected in one turn by a giant tree sprouting and taking down their enemies with grasping branches could be felled minutes later by a strike of quick lightning.

Liliana played with the students as she directed attacks, choosing to shoot down whoever she thought would get them closest to an ending for this round the quickest.

It was a heady thing, this control Liliana had over the denizens of the coliseum. Since the student who had been able to target her, she hadn’t suffered another scare, leaving her unmolested as she stood in the sky like some god smiting whoever displeased her.

Fire, lightening, strangling vines and chaos fell at her word and slowly, the first round inched ever closer to its end as students fell to their year mates and the invisible girl in the sky playing a game none of them were aware they were part of.

“Break.” Marianne called out, letting Liliana know their mages needed to regenerate their Mana with Marianne’s help.

The mages wouldn’t be so low it was dangerous, but it had been agreed upon to not let their mages drop below half Mana during the first round, just in case. Liliana hoped they wouldn’t start another tea-party.

As the number of students on the sands dwindled, more had begun targeting those who had the sense to erect defenses and hide behind them. Liliana could no longer leave her astral form as she needed to keep a constant eye on their defenses and give relief to Polaris and Nemesis when her bonds Mana dropped too low.

Next tournament, I’m leaving Lelantos out too. We might even shift the arrangement and leave Anya out as well so she can get rid of her energy somewhat. Liliana thought as she flew back to the defenses to take a more active part in the defense while the mages took their break.

“Oh, hello Dawn!” Marianne’s chipper voice reached Liliana’s physical ears. Liliana stuttered in the sky, the urge to return to her body almost overpowering, knowing there was a threat near her friends.

“Would you like to join us?” Basil’s amused voice asked next and Liliana let out a deep breath, an odd thing to do in her astral form that needed no air. Her body kept up its normal functions on its own when she was like this, but some habits were hard to break.

“Are you… having a tea party?” Dawn’s voice sound tired, and so utterly done.

“Of course, we have extras if you want to partake.” Alistair sounded like he was holding back laughter.

“I’m going to. Go.” Dawn’s curt reply was heard, and based on the disappointed noise Liliana heard from Marianne, the girl had vanished.

Well, apparently the tea party worked quite well as an intimidation or confusion tactic, at the very least.

“She could’ve at least stayed for a bit. We aren’t going to bite.” Marianne muttered mulishly.

“Speak for yourself.” Anya retorted, and Liliana heard the clacking of teeth as the wolf girl presumably snapped her teeth in the air in a false bite.

“I don’t bite, but I might stab.” Emyr added in.

“Her loss. The tea is delicious.” Basil murmured consolingly and Liliana shook her head, returning her attention to the battlefield. Her friends had effectively confused a potential enemy away. How on brand.

Liliana raked an assessing gaze over the vine covered ball her body and team were still holed up behind. The recent scare from Dawn breaching their defensesmaking her hyper vigilante and paranoid.

Attacks, either purposeful or accidental, had worn through some of the vines covering it, revealing the hard packed dirt behind the vines. The earth walls showed less damage, thanks to Nemesis reinforcing them whenever she could.

Even as Liliana watched, a ball of fire washed across the vines, shriveling some of the more damaged pieces and leaving the rest singed. A second attack, acid, splashed against the same spot, eating through the weakened vines and a third, a sharp large spinning spear of ice, drilled into the earth, pushing past to hit the metal beneath.

“Nem, fix the damage. Polaris, help me take them down.” Liliana ordered as she turned and shot through the air towards the origin of the hits.

She didn’t recognize the attackers, not that it surprised Liliana, as she was becoming intimately acquainted with the fact that she didn’t recognize most of the first years. It was a trio, friends if she had to guess based on their body language.

Two girls and a boy, the boy looking more like a mage with his large staff held in his hands as he summoned another fireball over the top of his weapon. One of the girls was styled closer to a rogue with her twin daggers, and the other was some sort of ranged fighter, using a bow with no arrows to summon ice based attacks with.

Liliana activated [Gatling Barrage] from above them, the light bullets shooting down to distract them from their target. Liliana had a moment to enjoy their confusion at the attack with no obvious origin before Polaris barreled into them, [Chaos Breath] proceeding him as it washed over their bodies.

The trio fell back, screaming as they dropped twisted, destroyed weapons before Polaris reared back, his wings pumping with the activation of [Wings of Bedlam]. Wind whipped around the three, tainted with chaos as it forced them to huddle together until Liliana lost sight of their forms behind the rising chaotic winds as it overwhelmed them.

Satisfied the three would be knocked out after suffering two Rank 4 attacks, Liliana turned and looked at their defenses. Satisfied that Nemesis was repairing what she could, she started back to her place in the sky when a familiar scream drew her up short.

Her head shot to the side and her eyes locked onto Diana, alone against a group of five students steadily gaining on the young woman even as she threw panicked shots of whatever spells she could. Earth spikes, water whips, fireballs all rose and shot towards her assailants, but Diana was obviously exhausted. Her attacks were sloppy and easy to avoid.

She’s not on your team, she’s not your concern. You should focus on playing defense until the mages are ready to fight again. If she falls, it’s on her. You’re barely even friends now. She’s not your problem. Liliana tried to reason with herself, but watching Diana’s shield flash orange sent all those thoughts spinning out of her mind as she moved.

Liliana was restricted with minimal spells that would work right now, but she used what she could as she barreled through the bodies of the students attacking Diana. Without a physical body her charge had no effect, but a [Wind Blade] targeted at undefended shins tripped three of the students up, even as Liliana picked up a weapon thrown out of someone's hand by their fall with [Threads of Control].

The stolen sword slashed through the air, clanging against the metal helmet of one of the students still standing as Liliana activated [Gatling Barrage] again and let the light bullets pepper the confused and disorientated group.

“Run!” Liliana telepathically shouted at a stunned Diana, shaking the girl from her stupor at seeing her attackers fall to what looked like a ghost and a possessed sword.

Diana shook her head and took a step back before her face hardened and the ground below the five students shook as it split. The three who had fallen, not able to regain their feet while being pelted with shots of light, scrambled for purchase ineffectively as the gap in the earth widened. Liliana aided in their inevitable fall with an enterprising use of [Shove] to send them toppling.

The earth snapped shut, cutting off the screams from the fallen and Liliana really hoped those shields they had stopped suffocation and being compressed. The last student, left mostly unmolested, looked at his comrade, who was still being accosted by a flying sword battering his helmet as he flailed around. He looked then at Diana, who had a large chunk of rock floating near her ready to fly, before turning on his heel and running away.

Liliana pulled back the sword and with another use of [Shove] at the helmeted student’s legs and a hit from the sword at his kneecaps, the boy went down. A large boulder dropped on his head from Diana ended his struggling and turned his shield red. His body disappeared almost as soon as his shield went red.

“Thanks,” Diana said, turning her head around to try to spot her invisible savior.

“Just survive until the next round,” Liliana sent telepathically, watching as Diana’s eyes widened and mouth dropped into a large O.

“Liliana?” Diana asked, hesitantly, almost guiltily.

“Yeah, I’ve got to go, so stay safe. I won’t be able to save you again.” Liliana told her, giving the girl a small smile she couldn’t see.

“I-Ah. Thanks. You too.” Diana said, shuffling awkwardly.

Liliana hesitated to say more but decided the middle of a tournament wasn’t the best place to try to start a heart to heart with her once, and maybe eventually again, friend. So she turned around and moved back to the defenses her team had built and when she looked back, Diana was gone.

Ten minutes later, Liliana was given the all clear from Marianne, letting her know their mages were back to full and ready to fight again. Liliana left thoughts of friends and reconciliations to the side as she took to the sky once more.

Her attention was focused on directing the mages in what was slowly becoming an arduous task as the number of students steadily dropped. With fewer students, there were less standing around, stuck in the middle of fights. Most kept moving, either to avoid stray shots or because they had wised up to the fact that they were sitting ducks if they stayed still.

As the numbers dropped and the amount of available targets sitting in the open lessened, the miniature fortresses erected by other students had become more popular targets. Her team included. They were down to the metal barrier by the time the end was called, and Liliana had begun to fear that her contingency plan would be necessary to enact.

“Stop!” a voice cried out, shaking through the coliseum.

Spells and skills fizzled out as students froze under the force of that command. Even Liliana’s [Astral Projection] was canceled, throwing her roughly back into a body that felt too small, too tight and constraining. Liliana grimaced as the sensation gradually faded, but she didn't move, held still under the echoes of that command.

“The first round has ended. What remains are fifty students. The top fifty of the first year, the best and brightest of your year. The one-on-one rounds will begin in two hours. Take this time to rest and ready yourselves.” Headmistress Wraithe informed them, her voice tinted with pride that surged through them all at her words.

Liliana batted away the subtle mental manipulation as the words faded, even if she could still feel the remnants of the words echoing deep in her bones. Rank 1 beasts were far too dramatic. She sincerely hoped her own bonds were nowhere near this bad when they got to Rank 1.

“So… we did it?” Alistair was the first to ask in the silence that followed.

“I-We survived?” Rathwater whispered quietly, his voice soaked in disbelief.

“Of course we did.” Basil said, and Liliana could hear him stretching.

She opened her eyes, blinking slightly as she adjusted to seeing things through her physical eyes. Astral sight was different from her real sight, almost… wider, as if she was seeing with more than her eyes. She stood, stumbling slightly as she readjusted to using her body.

I need to be careful about extended use of [Astral Projection] especially in the middle of a fight. Liliana thought as she regained her sense of balance and winced as she felt her body complaining. Her muscles had cramped up somewhat from being in one position for so long.

“Let’s take these walls down and get ready for the real fight.” Liliana said as she stretched out her arms, nodding at the walls. Rather than taking down all of it, Alistair set to forming a hole in the defenses large enough for them to walk through.

Liliana looked around at their group as they got ready to leave the coliseum and prepare for their individual matches. They were chattering in excitement, all of them congratulating each other on well-done hits or attacks. Riding the high of surviving the first round of their first ever tournament.

Her plan had worked. They’d gotten through the first round with their entire team whole and healthy. None of them had exhausted themselves in the first round, meaning they would be more rested and ready than many of their opponents. Provided they were lucky and none of them faced anyone from their team early on, they could get far in the individual fights.

Maybe one of them could even win the entire tournament.

Chapter 168: A Day For Apologies

"Best moment was when we tag teamed that group. Did you see their faces when Basil locked them down with vines only to realize there was a horse sized meteor headed right for their faces?" Emyr cackled in joy as he reminisced about the first round as their group made their way through the tunnels under the coliseum towards the class S waiting room.

They'd been directed to return to their original waiting room when they approached a bemused, and faintly concerned, looking professor after they left the 'Mad Tea Party Dome' as Liliana had mentally named it. She wasn't entirely certain why the professor had only looked at their group like that.

Perhaps they'd heard Emyr's maniacal laughter and crowed 'dance you pathetic weakling worms, dance.' after one particularly large and effective spell? Though why their entire group was leveled with that look when it was Emyr who showed villainesque tendencies, she couldn't be sure. Or perhaps it was because their group was laughing and smiling while the rest of the first years looked distinctly... traumatized.

Honestly, Liliana had no idea why the rest of her year looked as if they'd just come face to face with the grim reaper and been spat back out of hell as they stumbled along. She'd watched the entire first round almost entirely from her perch in the sky, and it wasn't that bad.

Sure, there was an almost nonstop barrage of deadly spells being flung around and a general sense of chaotic mayhem during the first round, but was it really that terrifying? It couldn't be worse than an entire dungeon of centipedes.

"My favorite moment was when Dawn got into the Dome and just froze when she saw us." Alistair said with a snort.

"It was rather rude of her to not even join us for some tea," Marianne huffed as she crossed her arms.

"You're lucky she didn't attack any of you." Liliana called back to her group as she rolled her eyes. Honestly, inviting an opponent to tea?

"Only an utter monster would interrupt tea time." Marianne cried, outraged at the very idea.

"Says the girl who decided to have tea in the middle of a massive battle!" Liliana retorted as she swung open the door to the class S waiting room.

"I don't know if you noticed, Lili, but there wasn't exactly an abundance of things to do inside the dome!" Marianne hissed at her, poking Liliana's side.

"Oh, so sorry princess that you were bored. I was a bit too occupied making sure you stayed safe and our plan proceeded to be concerned with your entertainment." Liliana sarcastically replied.

"This is why we only invited you to tea time once." Emyr said with a shrug.

"How many tea parties did you have?" Liliana demanded as they took their seats in the waiting room, barely acknowledging the other students in the room. A good amount of their class had made it, the majority from their team. About half were missing, though, and the remainder looked weary and battle worn.

Liliana was fairly certain she heard some whisper in horrified disbelief 'Were they having a tea party during the first round? What the fuck?'. She and her group chose to ignore that comment entirely.

"Four?" Basil said, tilting his head as he considered the question. "And a game of One." He added with a nod.

Liliana rolled her eyes. She'd had to hear the shouts from that card game while she managed the mage attacks. Another thing not on the contraband list this tournament that likely would be come next time- card games.

"Gods, the professors are going to think we're not taking this seriously." Liliana muttered, rubbing at her temples.

"Well... we sort of did, but we didn't?" Alistair said with a shrug, "with your plan, we didn't need to really take the first round too seriously. And that was the point, wasn't it? To save our energy?" Alistair finished with a helpless smile.

"Yeah, the plan worked a bit too well. Hopefully, the professors take it as a sign that we're just that good, and not a bunch of disrespectful hooligans." Liliana said with a resigned sigh. She felt like her team’s general aura of chaos and nonchalance was at least, partially, her fault.

"I wish the plan worked a bit less well. I haven't gotten to punch a single person yet!" Anya whined, flopping down on the bench so her head rested in Liliana's lap, where she stroked the wolf girl's head consolingly.

"Look at it this way, you get to punch people to your heart’s content in the single fights coming up." Liliana offered as an appeasement.

"It'll do, I guess." Anya muttered grumpily, her wagging tail betraying her excitement for a chance to finally fight.

Liliana was ready for a real fight herself. Causing mischief and harassing people with what spells she could use in Astral form was all well and good, but it was no replacement for real combat. She was ready to really fight, to show everyone here what she was made of. She'd shown the professors her ability to coordinate and plan, now she wanted to show them she could back it up with martial power as well.

"I am just glad I made it this far. I did not think I would get past the first round, truthfully." Rathwater said softly as he hovered at the edges of their group.

It was obvious he wasn't sure if he belonged with them, now that the round was over and he was no longer necessary for any plans. Liliana was of the opinion that if you fought together of your own free will, you were elevated past mere acquaintances. He might not realize it yet, but Rathwater had been adopted into their every growing group of misfits and rabble rousers.

"I'm sure, even without our help, you would've gotten to the next round." Alistair assured the boy with a welcoming smile.

"You're a strong mage." Koth'talan said with a shrug.

It was surprising he spoke up. He'd been glaring at his brother ever since they got back to the waiting room and saw the other prince already there. Somehow, he had survived the first round. He was as tenacious as a cockroach. Liliana pointedly kept her attention off Zir’elon, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her ire at his presence.

"You did well." Liliana added with an encouraging smile towards Rathwater.

Rathwater looked around at the group and his shoulders relaxed from the protective hunch they'd been in, as if he was waiting for them to tell him to shove off and leave now that they no longer had a use for him.

"Liliana?" A voice called out.

Liliana turned her head and met the gaze of Diana. The girl was standing hesitantly to the side of their gathered group, looking markedly worse for wear compared to Liliana's team, who looked as fresh as they had at the start of the round.

"Yeah?" Liliana responded, tilting her head slightly.

"Can I talk to you? Out in the hall for a moment?" Diana asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot nervously.

Liliana nodded and gently extricated herself from Anya, following Diana as the girl left the waiting room and walked a ways down the tunnel until she was sure they were out of hearing range. Diana looked down at her tightly clasped hands, glancing at Liliana a few times before darting her eyes away. As if she didn’t even have the strength to keep eye contact.

Liliana leaned against the wall, one foot pressed to it as she crossed her arms and waited for the other girl to work up her courage to say whatever it was she brought her out here for.

"Thank you for saving me." Diana said, softly, still not looking at Liliana.

"No problem. I know we're not really friends right now, but I didn't want to see you get hurt if I could help." Liliana said with a shrug, hoping she kept the pain from her voice. Diana rejecting her still stung, even if she understood why.

"I didn't deserve it, after I just dropped you like that. I was an awful friend to you, and I'm sorry." Diana rushed the words out, tripping over her own tongue as they spilled from her lips. As if she was scared if she didn't say them all right this second, she never would. Liliana felt her breath catch in her throat as her heart gave a painful squeeze.

"It's okay. I mean, I get it. I put you in a lot of danger you never signed up for and it wasn't fair to you. I never held it against you." Liliana said softly, holding her hands out in a placating manner. Diana looked on the verge of tears or panic as she finally lifted her baby blue eyes to meet Liliana's.

"Even when I was so mean to you, you're still so nice. I don't deserve this at all." Diana blubbered as the tears finally fell and Liliana let out a fond sigh at the familiar waterworks.

Diana crying was something she saw often when they had been friends. Liliana gathered the other girl into her arms gently and rubbed a consoling hand on her back as she cried. At least Diana didn’t hate her so much she wouldn’t allow this much.

"It's alright. You were just protecting yourself, and there's nothing wrong with that." Liliana soothed as Diana cried. When the other girl’s tears finally slowed, she pulled back, looking up at Liliana with wide, shining eyes and a trembling lip. Liliana was a bit jealous of how pretty Diana was, even when crying.

"Can we be friends again?" Diana asked hesitantly, and Liliana felt a wide grin split across her lips.

"Of course!" Liliana told her, hugging the other girl tightly.

Diana let out a sigh of relief as she pressed her face into Liliana's shoulder and hugged her back just as tightly. They stayed like that for a few minutes before breaking apart, Diana wiping at her damp face, erasing the signs that she'd been a sobbing mess a few seconds ago. The girl had perfected crying without getting swollen eyes or a bright red nose.

"Sorry for getting your shirt all dirty." Diana said with a small grimace as she motioned to Liliana's soggy top. Liliana shrugged it off.

"It's fine. It'll get soaked with sweat and dirt soon, anyway." Liliana said with a small laugh, "and I can clean it in a snap, see?" She activated [Cleanse] erasing the tear stains as the spell washed over her, returning her clothes to their previously clean state.

"Gods, cleaning spells are so useful." Diana groaned, a hint of envy in her tone.

"Right? Thats why I bought one. Should I grab you a spell scroll for one, too?" Liliana asked as they started to walk back to the waiting room.

She knew someone from a commoner family like Diana likely couldn't afford to spend money on a frivolous cleaning spell, but Liliana had access to Rosengarde money and no compunction about blowing it.

"I couldn't ask you to do something like that." Diana demurred as they got to the door. Liliana waved her concerns away as they reentered.

"You're not asking, I'm offering. It's not a big deal for me, and what are rich friends for? Right?" Liliana joked as they returned to the group.

She noticed several raised eyebrows at their jovial behavior, especially considering until today Diana and Liliana hadn’t even been on speaking terms. Liliana saw more than a few suspicious glances sent Diana's way beside the disbelieving eyebrows and glances. Liliana had easily forgiven Diana, and even understood her reason for pulling away. Her overprotective friends, however, would take longer to warm back up to Diana.

Diana could obviously feel the less than hospitable welcome she received from the group as she hesitated on the outskirts. Liliana situated herself back in the spot she had vacated, not entirely oblivious to the way the others shifted closer to her, as if closing ranks.

She knew she couldn't outright chastise them for this, no matter how rude it was. They wouldn't listen and it would only serve to further embarrass Diana, to have it pointed out blatantly. Besides, while Diana had apologized to her, she hadn't made amends with the others yet. And Liliana wasn't the only friend she'd hurt by pulling away from them all.

"Ah, I have to check over my gear. Maybe after the tournament we could get a meal together in the caf?" Diana asked, eyes bouncing from face to face even if it was obvious her question was directed at Liliana.

"Of course. Good luck in your match." Liliana said with a warm smile as Anya dropped her head back in her lap, eyes narrowed at Diana. There would need to be a lot of apologies in her future if she hoped to integrate back into their group.

"You too." Diana said, giving a strained smile before scuttling off to another part of the room.

"Be nice." Liliana hissed after Diana had left, pitching her voice low.

"No." Emyr said bluntly, meeting her eyes in a challenge. Liliana rolled her eyes and sighed. She hadn't expected anything else from him truly.

"She can't just waltz back in and act like she didn't ignore us for months!" Marianne muttered darkly, leaning against Liliana protectively.

"They're right, Lili. You're not the only one she hurt. If she wants us to forgive her, the least she can do is apologize to all of us." Alistair said with a shrug, face disgruntled.

He had taken Diana's rejection almost as badly as Emyr, but his protective nature had been ignited by Liliana's revealed traumas and any perceived attack on her hadn't been received well by her older brother.

"And that's fair. But it doesn't mean you need to act like you all forgot your etiquette lessons at the door." Liliana chided her friends.

"I never had those, so I'll be as rude as I want." Anya retorted mulishly, sticking her tongue out at Liliana from her lap. She got a flick on her nose for her impertinence.

“What, were you raised by wolves?” Liliana responded on instinct. It wasn’t until the words left her mouth that she finally realized what, exactly, she’d said. She closed her eyes, resigned, as the group went quiet.

“Yes! I was! Problem, rich girl?” Anya flashed a smile full of too long fangs as Liliana groaned.

"So, any idea what we're supposed to be doing?" Basil asked before a fight could erupt between the two girls.

"We get a one-hour break before the start of the individual rounds so everyone can regenerate Stamina and Mana, and so the audience can get food. They should be putting the listing for the fights up soon once they're decided." Liliana answered promptly, waving away Anya's hands that were swatting at her.

"This is the last real break we get. The others are whatever time we get between matches, however short or long that may be, they won't be stopping them until we have a final winner." Liliana finished with a shrug.

She'd played through enough tournaments in the game to know the itinerary by heart. It had been one of the most enjoyable experiences in the Academy arc in the game, since opponents were entirely up to RNG and it was one of the very few instances where sometimes you wouldn’t be in a team, as match types were also randomized.

While there was a set roster of possible opponents, they were so widely varied only the most dedicated players had a thorough plan for every one of them. Liliana had enjoyed, and simultaneously cursed, the randomness of it. Now she was just excited, and more than a bit confident. She was certain there wasn't a first year in the Academy that would pose a risk for her, not with her tames.

She was, admittedly, a bit overpowered for their year when she factored in her tames. Even without them, the bonus stat points she'd been getting at each level meant she would always be ahead of those on her own level. She was certain that barring any outrageous outliers, she would get to the finals, at the least. The only way she wouldn't was if she made a truly heinous mistake.

In a way, Liliana was a bit disappointed that the tournament that held such weight in the Academy wouldn't prove to be a true challenge to her. But she'd rather be disappointed than outclassed. She'd come to the Academy to gain power, not limit herself. If that meant wiping the floor with the tournament, then so be it. Liliana would take her wins and every advantage she could scrape from it.

"How will they give us the match assignments?" Alistair asked, and Liliana shrugged. In the game, it had simply been a pop-up.

"Maybe an announcement?" Liliana hazarded a guess.

"Or perhaps a list will be pinned on the door?" Koth'talan said.

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable." Liliana said with a shrug.

"It should. Since that is what has been done." Koth'talan said, voice faintly amused as he nodded at the door, where a large parchment was now pinned.

That had not been there a few minutes ago.

Liliana's group looked at each other for a moment before they all scrambled wildly to get to the door, pushing and shoving at each other. Liliana ended up behind Marianne, who had utilized her very sharp and bony elbows to get to the front.

Everyone searched the list for their names, groans and sighs emerging when they found them. Behind them, Liliana could hear the rest of their class rushing to the door when they figured out what had drawn her group.

Liliana scanned the parchment until she found her name, letting out a sigh of relief and annoyance. She wouldn't be fighting any of her team, or even her class until at least her fourth fight, and it would be Rathwater if he made it that far. Her first round would be against a student named Tristan Blythe, and they'd be fighting in the fourteenth round.

She checked the document again and smirked, meeting her brother's eyes. If they both made it to the semifinals, they'd be fighting each other.

"See you in the semi-finals, brother?" Liliana asked as their group pulled away from the door to let the rest of their remaining classmates see.

"Be prepared to lose." Alistair promised her. Liliana smirked, showing off her fangs.

"I don't lose, brother dearest." Liliana promised him.

Chapter 169: A Series Of Unexpected Outcomes

Liliana crossed her legs on the couch she was seated on. A giant illusion had popped up across one wall of the class S waiting room when the headmistress’ voice had rolled through the coliseum ten minutes prior to announce that the first round of individual fights was going to start soon. The illusion had displayed the empty coliseum sands for them to see, up until Zir’elon was called out to come to the sands for his fight.

Zir’elon had the misfortune of being in the first round, and Liliana was eager and hopeful that she would see him defeated in the very first individual round of the tournament. He was facing off against an Adela Eastes from class A. Liliana didn’t recognize the girl, but once more that came as no surprise.

I really should pay more attention to my yearmates. Liliana thought as the rules for the fights were announced. Which basically amounted to: keep fighting until someone’s shield went red. No attacking once the fight was called to an end, and no fighting before the fight was called to start.

Liliana did wish she could be in the proper audience of the coliseum. She’d have liked the chance to [Identify] the other girl. Though she had a feeling such skills were blocked right now. The professors seemed to enjoy keeping them as off balance as possible, and that included preventing them from identifying opponents to gain some small sliver of information and possible advantage.

“Who wants to place a bet on the outcome?” Emyr asked, a gold coin swimming across his knuckles as he grinned at his friends.

“I’m not betting, I just hope he gets knocked out so I can laugh at him.” Liliana said, crunching into a cookie. She truly missed popcorn at times like this. The rest of the group either declined the bet offer or placed their bets. Most of them, unsurprisingly, bet against Zir’elon.

The fight was called to a start, and the two teenagers moved. Zir’elon summoning his curved sword from his storage, fire rushing across the length. Adela summoned what looked to be a wand and Liliana sighed in disappointment. A mage then, not a good match up against a fighter like Zir’elon. The girl gave a good fight, as much as she could with such a clear disadvantage.

Liliana picked out Gas and Acid affinities, which did prove troublesome for Zir’elon when he idiotically tried to burn through some attacks, finding out the hard way that some acids and gases were highly flammable. With Eastes’ Fire affinity, he couldn’t turn the unexpected flames to his own advantage, and as Eastes likely had a higher Magic Control stat than him, she kept firm control over the created fires.

However, once Zir’elon figured out fighting a mage for magical control was a lost cause, he gave up and right out charged the girl, and mages weren’t known for their Speed or Vitality. Once Zir’elon got within sword range of the girl, the fight was decided. The girl went down after a scant handful of strikes and the fight was over, and the dæmon prince was declared the victor.

Liliana couldn’t wait to watch that smug look get wiped from his face. Marianne and Dawn were in his bracket. If they failed, Emyr, Anya or Koth’talan would be up against him in the semi-finals and Liliana was confident any of them were five times the fighter Zir’elon was. He could enjoy his paltry victory for now. It wouldn’t last.

If all her friends failed. Well. Liliana would ever let Zir’elon win a tournament as long as she drew breath. Call her petty, but she would never permit him to have such a victory.

“That’s me.” Marianne said as the two combatants were shooed from the sands.

The princess handed over her gold to Emyr, having bet against Zir’elon and lost. Oddly enough, Emyr had bet for Zir’elon and had won the pot. Liliana gave her friend a tight hug as she stood to prepare to leave.

“You better win. We don’t want a weak queen.” Liliana teased as she pulled back. Marianne stuck her tongue out at Liliana.

“I’m out to win this whole thing, so you better be ready to congratulate my victory.” Marianne informed her, accepting the wishes for good luck and hugs from the rest of the group before she left the room just as Zir’elon strutted back in.

“See that? That’s what a real winner looks like.” Zir’elon announced to the room, the comment rather pointedly directed at Liliana’s group.

“What’s that? I think someone under the national average intelligence just spoke.” Liliana said, face scrunching up as she held a hand to her ear.

Zir’elon could have his victory, but it didn’t mean Lilliana had to let him enjoy lording it over the rest of them. Truly, she was performing a public service, punching a hole in his ego and letting out all the hot air he was filled with. She was helping him, honestly. If his head got much bigger, he wouldn’t be able to fit through doors.

“No Lili, I think you just heard a cockroach. They’re getting so big-headed and noisy now.” Emyr told her sagely.

“Guess someone should get on exterminating them, then.” Koth’talan added in, dragging his whetstone across his sword deliberately. Wow, did he pull that out just for a bit? Talk about dedication to being dramatic. Emyr could take notes.

“You sure it’s not a dung beetle? I heard they’re full of shit.” Alistair said with a smirk.

“Maybe we should ask for a different room. This one seems to have a pest problem.” Anya added in with a grin. Liliana snorted a laugh and slid her eyes to look at Zir’elon, whose skin was darkening in anger. He really was far too easy to poke fun at. He should get thicker skin if he was going to continue tossing insults he wasn’t prepared to have thrown back at him.

“Oh, you’re still there? Shoo now little bug, you’re stinking up our air.” Liliana cooed at the prince, waving a hand at him.

Liliana gave him a sickly sweet grin when he clenched his jaw so hard she swore she heard teeth cracking. Zir’elon stalked off to his friend, the laughter of her group trailing him. Eventually, he would learn better than to pick fights he would ever be capable of winning.

“Now, onto more pleasant topics,” Emyr said, shifting the group’s attention to the illusion before them, where Marianne was just walking onto the sands. Her opponent was an Adelaide Kaylock, class B.

“Anyone want to bet on our favorite royal?” Emyr asked, wincing when he looked at Koth’talan, “sorry ‘Talan.” Emyr said belatedly, earning a shrug from the dæmon.

“It’s fine. She’s my favorite royal, too.” Koth’talan said, earning nods from the group. Marianne might scare them all in a fight, but she was unanimously seen as the baby of the group. The little princess had effortlessly wormed her way into all of their hearts, and wasn’t about to leave anytime soon.

“Is there a point to betting when we all know she’s going to win? If not from fighting skill, then from pure intimidation factor.” Anya asked, eyes going slightly distant, a shudder of horror shaking her for a moment as she undoubtedly remembered Marianne in a fight. For a healer she had a startling amount of blood lust and willingness to see that blood spilt.

It was for the best, for them, for society, that Marianne had chosen to be a healer, and as such, was restricted by the limitations of her class. Liliana did not want to think of what untold horrors Marianne would be willing and capable of enacting if she were a dedicated fighting class.

“You know what, fair point.” Emyr agreed, and that put an end to any talk of betting on this fight. The group settled in as the fight rules were once more repeated before it was called to start.

“Oh shit, did she just pull bones out of her storage?” Liliana muttered, eyes wide as Kaylock dumped a small mountain of bones on the sands.

“A Reanimation affinity?” Alistair asked quietly. It was the only explanation for why someone would just carry bones on them, and why they were allowed at all. That or Kaylock had a very odd aesthetic she was dedicated to.

Liliana’s mouth dropped open when the bones started to move and assemble, and her mouth fully gaped when the bones were coated in blood. In seconds, something straight out of a horror movie faced Marianne. It was some sort of crocodilian creature, best Liliana could guess, and if the bones weren’t enough to make it something ripped right out of the most horrid of nightmares, the blood coating it like macabre skin only served to make it ten times more terrifying.

“A Blood affinity against a Blood affinity? What are the odds?” Emyr asked, and Liliana shook her head.

Reanimation and Blood were two affinities that could be considered rare. Either because of their gruesome nature or because they weren’t the most conventionally useful affinities for a fight. Blood was more useful than Reanimation, but often required blood-letting from the user at least to start and many people didn’t want to injure themselves to fight.

Reanimation required corpses or bones to use, or for one to just carry the supplies with them. And there were few people who were alright with toting around dead bodies in their storage. And of the few that did, Liliana wanted to meet absolutely zero of them.

“I might be sick.” Rathwater whispered, horrified and looking distinctly green. Several of their group closest to him subtly edged away.

“At least it’s a skeleton and not a rotting corpse?” Liliana offered with a grimace.

Rathwater let out a whine and dropped his head between his knees, taking deep breaths to presumably keep the nausea at bay. The rest of the group couldn’t remove their eyes from the illusion as the two Blood affinity users began their fight.

Unlike Zir’elon’s fight, this one was far better balanced. Neither combatant was a close combat fighter, at least as their primary choice of strategy. For all that Marianne wished she was. Blood dyed the sands of the coliseum red as Marianne and Kaylock sent spell after spell at each other. Marianne was forced to keep herself moving, alternating her attacks between Kaylock and her pet monstrosity.

However, whatever weird secondary effect Marianne incorporated in her attacks seemed to have a particularly strong effect on the Reanimated horror. The longer the fight went on, the more the creature fell apart, bones decaying and turning to dust.

When the blood and bone skeleton was forced on its stomach after two legs had been dissolved, Marianne finished it off. Her gruesome scythe swung down with all the precision of an executioner’s axe, decapitating it. The black edge to her bloody weapon quickly consuming the rest of the skeleton and leaving the blood to splash to the ground.

Without her disturbing protector, Kaylock swiftly fell when all of Marianne’s attention was focused on her, a startled falter in response to one of Marianne’s trademark battle cries spelling her inevitable end.

Liliana was the first to jump to her feet, cheering for the princess’ victory, joined soon by the rest of her friends. Their cheers had barely died down when Marianne re-entered the room, causing a new round of cheers and congratulations as they rushed to hug their friend. The group settled back down, the crown princess firmly in the middle as they continued to suffocate Marianne in compliments.

“So, who bet on me?” Marianne asked when the group had calmed down.

The third fight had already begun, but it was between two students from other classes, so they only paid it enough attention to glean vital information from the fight.

“No one, we all knew you’d win.” Liliana told her. Marianne blinked in surprise, something warm and soft crossing her face for a moment before satisfaction stole over her features.

“Damn right.” Marianne nodded with a cocky grin.

Liliana grinned back at her friend, reaching out a hand to ruffle her white curls affectionately. Their attention turned back to the fight going on, calling out fighting styles and any affinities they picked out. The fight ended with Vanessa Lincoln from class B winning. Marianne would be facing her later on in the tournament.

“Good luck, Dawn.” Liliana called out as the quiet girl slid from the shadows she seemed to always be hiding in to leave the room. Her fight was up next.

While she wasn’t really part of their group, or any group truly, the girl remained firmly outside any of the social cliques that had formed without making enemies, Liliana still hoped the girl would win. Dawn was one of her favorite opponents to fight, she was the only one in class S who could challenge Liliana’s Speed to any worthwhile degree.

The rest of Liliana’s group called out wishes for luck, as did a few of the other students in the room with them. Dawn stared at them all, tired and unreadable eyes gazing at the room. Liliana thought she saw some surprise hidden in those fathomless eyes for a brief second before it vanished. Dawn nodded at them before she slipped out of the door.

“Okay, bets for this round?” Emyr asked, holding out a hand.

“Ten on Dawn.” Liliana said immediately.

The calls for bets came in as their group bet for or against Dawn as the two students appeared on the illusion and listened to the rules read out. Dawn was against Salathiell Carlyll from class D. Food and drink were passed around as those closest to the refreshment table grabbed them for the group and handed them down the line as they all settled in for a show.

Dawn went with her typical strategy as soon as the round was called to start, melting into the shadows. Liliana kept her eyes on Carlyll’s own shadow and the shadows behind her, expecting Dawn to appear from there for a sneak attack. It was her favoured tactic when against a new opponent. Fast and effective, few people thought to check their own shadow for an enemy.

“Holy fuck.” Alistair choked out, coughing as the finger sandwich he’d been eating went down the wrong pipe.

Liliana couldn’t help but agree, her eyes widening as she watched the scene before them. Carlyll had a Gravity affinity, for damn sure. She’d just used some type of wide range Gravity spell on the entire coliseum, the sand compacting and cracking under her feet as she forced the gravity of the entire ring to be far heavier than it had been before. Dawn stumbled out of a shadow, body falling as she was crushed under the weight of the modified gravity.

“Can you do that?” Emyr turned on Anya, tone demanding as he pointed at the illusion. Carlyll was walking as if the spell she’d cast, and was still maintaining, didn’t affect her in the slightest. The sand cracking under her feet told a different story.

“Definitely not. All my abilities are focused on me,” Anya murmured, eyes glued to the scene before them as she tried to get her apple slice into her mouth and missed, poking her cheek.

Carlyll stopped a distance from Anya when the trapped rogue summoned shadows to strike at the other girl. It was obvious she was struggling; the gravity spell effect was slowly turning her shield an orangish yellow color. The gravity seemed to even affect her shadows, slowing them down considerably.

Carlyll tilted her head, looking at the trapped Dawn like a bird of prey considering an intriguing mouse. She held out her hand and cut through the air at Dawn. A ghostly image of a much larger hand, in what Liliana recognized as a Soul aspected attack, slammed into Dawn.

“What was that?” Alistair demanded as Dawn’s shield went fully orange.

“A Soul attack.” Liliana answered in a breath as she stared, unblinking, at the illusion.

Dawn was clearly struggling against the gravity holding her down, body half melted into shadows even as a shadow clone tried to claw itself out of Carlyll’s shadow. Giving up on fully emerging, the shadow cut a dark blade across the girl’s Achilles tendons, forcing her to stumble.

For a moment the gravity holding Dawn down seemed to falter, and she surged to her knees as Carlyll caught her balance. The shadow clone behind the girl capitalized on the moment of freedom, shadowy blades whirling and striking at the girl’s legs, forcing dark yellow to bleed across her shield until Carlyll could reinforce her spell.

“So she has to focus to maintain the channel.” Emyr muttered, eyebrows drawn as he analyzed the fight.

Liliana nodded and hummed in agreement. It made sense for such a strong area of effect skill. There were always checks and balances, and she was almost certain that spell was an ultimate skill of some type. Those always had the strongest effects, but oftentimes the harshest consequences. Liliana wasn’t sure if she’d say using a quintessential skill so early in the tournament was a good idea, but then again, she wasn’t sure if Carlyll would have gained and kept an advantage without it.

When the spell brought Dawn and her clone back down, Carlyll did not hesitate to let loose another strong Soul attack, directing a second one behind her at the already weakened shadow clone and forcing it to fade into nothingness. Trapped as she was with no more options for retaliation, Dawn was shortly finished off, making her the first of class S to lose an individual fight.

“Well, damn.” Liliana muttered, feeling a pang of sadness at her classmate’s loss.

“Guess there’s some hidden talent in other classes.” Koth’talan noted and even he looked a bit dispirited by Dawn’s loss. That was more of a surprise than anything, as Koth’talan made his general lack of interest and care for his classmates quite apparent.

This was the first proof they’d seen that the other classes were a very real threat to them. They’d all known that, objectively, but it was something else entirely to be shown it. Suddenly the possibility of not just losing their round, but losing their seats in class S was a far more real possibility than any of them had been comfortable considering before now.

Emyr collected the gold and handed out the winnings from the bet, but not even those who had won were in the mood to celebrate. Dawn wouldn’t be returning to the waiting room, and who knew if they’d see her in their class come the start of the next semester. With how rarely they saw anyone from other classes, their wishes for good luck might very well be one of the last times they saw the girl at all.

The tournament wouldn’t make or break a ranking, if one had done well enough in their classes, exams and assignments. But now, no one was as certain that the grades they’d gotten in their classes and on their exams would keep them safe. If they had been barely holding onto their seats before, this tournament could very well decide if they kept their seats at all. The tournament suddenly felt like it held far more weight than they’d assumed before.

The other three remaining class S students, Zir’elon, Leo Dunstan, and Diana, were equally subdued as the next round started. The mood of the room had quickly taken a far more solemn turn with the reminder that as privileged as they were in class S, there were hundreds of students gunning for their position, and evidently quite capable of stealing those seats out from under them. Class S had been confident that, having gotten their spots for their levels, they would be the best fighters here.

That naïve illusion had been thoroughly ripped away from them.

Chapter 170: Friend Vs Friend, A Loss Whichever Way You Turn It

Dunstan was the next class S student up, and it was a far more solemn class S that watched him leave.

Liliana couldn’t help but think it would’ve been far better if he’d been the one knocked out rather than Dawn. There was no love lost between her and Dunstan, the boy having thrown his lot in with Zir’elon and effectively made an enemy of herself and the rest of her friends with that choice.

Still, if he won this round, she hoped it would be her or one of her friends that got the chance to knock him back down.

When he emerged on the sands on the illusion, another student stood across from him, Lawson Bexley of class B. The two students listened while the rules were read out to them once more before the round was called to start.

Immediately, Dunstan started moving, automatons rising from the ground between him and Bexley.

Dunstan’s lifeless toy soldiers moved forward even as Dunstan continued to back away, putting space between himself and his opponent. Fire and earth rose to Bexley’s side as he threw gouts of flame and thick boulders at the approaching automatons, yet every one he brought down only seemed to spawn two more in its place, like a hydra.

“He should’ve struck hard and fast as soon as the round started. Not given Dunstan the chance to build his army.” Liliana sighed, tapping her fingers against her thigh in annoyance.

“He was buffing himself. Did you see that light that covered him? He has a Life affinity or I’ll eat my shoes.” Marianne replied with a frown.

“He wasted precious time buffing himself instead of attacking.” Emyr said with a shake of his head.

They all knew that Dunstan was a powerful adversary. If you couldn’t overpower him and his toys in a dedicated fight, then your best bet was to knock him out before he could start building an army. There was a reason in team fights that he was almost always a top priority target in their class. Something Bexley sadly seemed to be unaware of, at as he continued to focus his attention on the circling automatons, leaving Dunstan free to continue summoning more to surround him.

The fight had been decided in the first thirty seconds, Bexley just didn’t realize he was already a dead man walking. It was obvious Bexley was far more accustomed to fighting with a team, if his first instinct at the beginning of the fight had been to buff rather than to go on the offensive. When fighting someone you didn’t have information on, it was best to knock them out as soon as possible, instead of risking giving them time to build a devastating attack.

It took Dunstan five minutes total to knock Bexley out, his automatons practically drowning the other boy under their numbers. Money changed hands once more around their group from won or lost bets as Dunstan exited the field, looking none the worse for wear from his fight.

Dunstan had more sense than Zir’elon. Rather than crowing about his victory, he returned to the prince’s side with hardly a glance at Liliana’s group. The next combatants stepped onto the field minutes after Dunstan returned, one student from class C and the other from class B. Liliana recognized Devina Stuart-Lane from both her Soul class and from the Beast club.

Liliana leaned forward with interest. She knew Stuart-Lane had a few bonds. A Hellhound, a Shadow Wolf, and two water Nymphs. As the game was called to start, Liliana watched as four creatures were summoned to the ring, Stuart-Lane falling behind their ranks as they faced off against Audrey Wilkins.

Stuart-Lane fulfilled the customary role of a tamer, staying out of the fight and seeming to continuously buff her beasts, her affinities showing through in the various elemental armors and advantages she gave her beasts, from armor made of darkness itself to acid tipped claws.

Wilkins seemed to have fewer affinities, but she was proficient in them. Blades made of darkness and flames cutting into the beasts that tried to bring her down. As opposed to Stuart-Lane’s tendency to stay back in a fight, Wilkins seemed more comfortable in the thick of it.

Her weapon of choice was one Liliana had only ever seen in stores or on the training room walls. A Kusarigama, a sickle at the end of a chain. She used it with ruthless efficiency, the blade slicing and tearing even while she used the chain to trip and block opponents.

The fight ended when Wilkins got past the beasts and struck Stuart-Lane with a devastating attack. The class B student had made the mistake of saving none of her bonds for defending her, sending all of them out to attack. Liliana sighed in disappointment, both for the coins she lost betting on a fellow tamer and at seeing one so easily defeated.

Then again, the strongest beasts in the world would never make up for a weak tamer, or one so critically lacking in tactical thinking.

“It’s us now, I guess.” Emyr said with a sigh as he and Anya stood up. They were the only ones on their team who would be fighting each other in the first round of fights.

“I won’t go easy on you just ‘cause you’re my friend.” Anya warned Emyr, cracking her neck and shaking her arms out, throwing mock punches in the air.

“Neither will I.” Emyr promised her, eyes darkening with a cruel glint.

“Good luck, both of you.” Liliana told them, followed by the rest of the group.

They were all excited for one of their friends to get into the next round of fights, but they knew it would mean one of them wouldn’t be coming back. The possibility that it wasn’t simply the next round one of their friends wouldn’t be returning for, but the semester itself hung heavy above them like a guillotine’s blade as the pair stepped out of the room.

The group turned to the illusion, eyes glued to it. No one stepped up to ask for bets. No one was willing to bet against either of their friends. Or to profit off of a friend’s loss at the hands of another.

“Is it possible for two people to lose a round? If so, I bet those two idiots can manage it.” Zir’elon’s taunting voice carried over and Liliana whipped around, eyes narrowed in a glare.

“Keep talking. How long do you think it would take a professor to get here? Five seconds? Ten? Enough time for me to cut that disgusting tongue out of your mouth so you learn how to keep quiet.” Liliana growled, her fear for her friends easily igniting into a righteous fury in her chest.

A heavy hand clamped tight to her shoulder and Liliana looked to the side to see Alistair gripping her, holding her back.

“Don’t bother, he’s so toxic his blood would probably foul any blade of yours beyond repair.” Alistair told her, and Liliana let out a low hiss before she shook her head, turning back around.

Zir’elon finally seemed to find a brain-cell, because gods knew he had none as it was, and kept his mouth shut. Liliana took a deep breath, grounding herself and letting the anger wash out of her.

“If you ever make good on that threat, please let me watch.” Koth’talan leaned towards her to whisper, and Liliana felt a smile tug at her lips.

“Maybe I’ll sell tickets for the show.” She said with a snort.

The group quieted when Emyr and Anya stepped out onto the sands, side by side, as they approached the professor acting as referee. Rules were read. By this time, Liliana would bet money on all first years being able to recite them by rote. It was the only thing they could hear over the illusion, all other sounds muted. By design or lack of imagination, Liliana wasn’t sure.

The game was called to start, and the two students moved. Anya charged at Emyr, great leaping bounds that took her further than anyone without a Gravity affinity would manage. Emyr vanished into the shadows just as Anya reached him, leaving her to strike hard packed sands rather than his body with her fists.

As Anya whirled around, ears swiveling and eyes scanning for Emyr, her shadow surged, thick ropes made of darkness wrapping around her legs and restraining her. Anya struggled, breaking free of the trap, but the time spent getting free gave Emyr the time to send a spell her way. Anya barely managed to jump into the air above the hungry flames, her feet still taking damage and turning her shield a light yellow as she hung almost weightless in the air.

Anya spun in the air, trying to find where Emyr had hidden himself, but the shadowy mage didn’t reveal himself. Instead, around the entire coliseum, small balls of fire appeared, dancing for a moment before they all shot at Anya.

The wolf girl dropped through the air like a falling anvil, impacting the ground with enough force to leave cracks surrounding her as the balls of fire converged where she’d been seconds before, a huge blast sending a wave of air and heat across the coliseum. Anya went down to one knee, hands digging into the ground as she struggled to keep herself from being thrown back at the force.

As Anya focused on keeping her balance, Emyr wasn’t idle. More shadows rose from the darkness pooled behind Anya, expanding and gripping onto her, trying to drag her the rest of the way to the ground. Anya wrestled with the shadows, fighting both them and the force of the blast still pinning her in place. She was unable to dodge the wave of black tinted fire that crashed into her.

Anya was sent tumbling back, body hitting the ground twice before she found her feet, hands and feet digging into the ground and leaving deep gouges in the sand until she stopped. Her shield was dyed a cheery yellow that didn’t match the thunderous look on her face as she looked around for the still hiding Emyr. Her mouth opened, shouting something they couldn’t hear through the illusion. Probably an insult.

In response, four swords formed of darkness and wreathed in flames shot at Anya from behind. The wolf girl was forced to dodge, punching one sword, ducking under another, and jumping over the last two. Yet even as she fought, more shadowy swords appeared, firing at Anya with no reprieve, keeping her moving and on the defensive. Anya couldn’t fight against the swords, for when she made the mistake of trying, one attacked her open back, tinting her shield closer to orange.

Anya kept herself moving, taking to the air as often as she ran across the ground. Swords made of shadows and flame, fireballs compacted so tight they barely looked bigger than a fist, yet left craters in the ground where they hit, and waves of shadow and flames harried her.

“He’s running her Stamina down,” Liliana murmured.

It wasn’t a bad plan.

As long as Emyr kept to the shadows and moving, sending a nonstop stream of attacks, Anya would struggle to locate him. Her sense of hearing and smell was enhanced compared to a human’s, but with so much noise and scents from his attacks confusing her, and his attacks keeping her attention, she wouldn’t be able to find him. If Anya could land a single hit on Emyr, the fight would be over, and he knew that.

The only question was, would Anya run out of Stamina before Emyr ran out of Mana?

“No, look at the sky.” Alistair said, nodding at the illusion.

Liliana dragged her eyes from watching Anya dancing between attacks to look at the sky above the coliseum, eyes widening when she saw what appeared to be five stars sparkling in the noon sky.

“He’s keeping her distracted, so she doesn’t realize he’s channeling a spell.” Marianne said, voice soft and awed. Liliana whistled, leaning forward and watching even more intently as the fight continued.

Anya was obviously getting quite annoyed as the game of cat and mouse continued with no mouse in sight for her to beat into submission. The stars above her head continued to grow in size and light, but Anya never looked up.

Anya’s shield had turned a yellowish-orange when Emyr finally made his move.

Shadows converged in the center of the coliseum and Emyr stepped out of them, a satisfied smirk on his face. Anya noticed him almost immediately and, with what was probably a fierce battle cry, charged straight for him.

“Isn’t he going to dodge?” Rathwater asked when Emyr continued to stand still even as Anya got closer.

It was only at the last second that he threw up a thick wall of shadows, just enough to slow her charge and take some of her momentum as she broke through it, barreling into him and bearing him to the ground. Emyr’s shield turned a dangerous shade of burnt orange as Anya held him down, raising one fist back to punch down and finish the fight.

Emyr grinned, jutting his chin and presumably telling her to look up.

Anya faltered, head tilting back to look up. The second her eyes were off of him, Emyr melted into the shadows made by his and Anya’s bodies. A heartbeat later, the five stars finally free broke from the sky, crashing into Anya, who only had the time to presumably mutter a curse before meteors the size of Lelantos barreled into her.

“Well. Shit.” Liliana eloquently said, as Emyr was declared the victor. The rest of the team muttered something of a similar sentiment except Alistair, who was glowing with pride.

The group was happy for Emyr’s decisive and clever victory, but their cheer was dampened, knowing it came at the cost of Anya’s own victory. It was bittersweet, because one of their friends would go on, but another would not. And it would sting Anya terribly, having been knocked out before she ever truly got a chance to fight.

“My turn now,” Alistair said, standing up and stretching out his body.

“Don’t you dare lose, I want a chance to pound you to dust.” Liliana ordered him.

“I won’t lose. I need to remind you to respect your elders in our fight, after all.” Alistair told her, ruffling her hair with a cheeky grin.

“Good luck. Show them why class S is the best.” Marianne ordered him and Alistair nodded.

Rathwater and Koth’talan offered their own well wishes. Alistair headed for the door just as Emyr stepped in. With a glance at the group, Alistair dragged Emyr out of the room, presumably so they could have their own private talk.

“Wanna bet they're making out?” Marianne asked with a smirk, and Liliana gagged.

“Gross! I don’t want to think about my brother and the guy I see as a brother kissing.” Liliana groaned, grimacing and wishing she could purify her brain of the mental image Marianne had just put in there.

Emyr walked back into the room moments later. Liliana saw Marianne opening her mouth, eyes glinting with mischief, and quickly covered the princess’ mouth with a hand.

“That was a good fight,” Liliana jumped in to say. Emyr blinked at her, eyes dazed for a moment before they cleared and he coughed slightly.

“Thank you.” Emyr nodded at her.

“Clever of you to keep her distracted like that.” Koth’talan grunted. Liliana yelped as a wet tongue licked her hands and she yanked her hand away, shaking it with disgust.

“Did you just lick me?” Liliana demanded.

“Shouldn’t have covered my mouth.” Marianne said primly, shrieking and scuttling away when Liliana tried to wipe her spit damp hand on Marianne’s face. Liliana settled on wiping off the nasty wetness on her pants.

“Savage gremlin.” Liliana muttered with a scowl at her defaced appendage.

“Hush, Alistair’s fight is starting.” Emyr barked at them, eyes locked on the illusion.

“Young love, so precious.” Marianne teased, settling back next to Liliana when it was clear she had no more spit to wipe on her. Liliana elbowed the princess carefully, and they settled in to watch the fight.

Alistair was against Francis Rowe of class A. Liliana didn’t recall seeing the boy in any classes or clubs with her, so she had little idea of what affinities he might have.

“Earth, Dark, Life, Plague.” Emyr murmured quietly.

“You know him?” Liliana asked as the rules were read and the match called to start.

“He’s in my Dark class. I make a point to know about anyone in my classes.” Emyr shrugged, as if keeping track of so many students was nothing.

Liliana narrowed her eyes, Emyr not seeming to even notice the assessing stare being leveled on him as his attention stayed fixed to the illusion.

She’d bet he had some information on every first year. She should remember to ask him about that later. Next tournament, she shouldn’t walk in with so little information. Her year mates wouldn’t always be so far below her and her tames. Eventually, they might be able to match her abilities. She would do well to be prepared for that.

Alistair immediately started by buffing himself when the fight was called to start. His skin became metallic, shimmering slightly under the sunlight, and an extra shield made of light and one of metal popped up to circle him even as he strode towards Rowe. His opponent was a ranged fighter, not a mage but employing what looked like a blowgun and a small crossbow that sat on his wrist.

Liliana wondered if that was how he utilized his Plague affinity, imbuing his projectiles with disease. His fighting style was probably closer to a rogue than an archer. His weapons were midrange rather than the longer range of a proper bow or larger crossbow.

The smaller projectiles made it harder for Alistair to block them, his floating shields and the one he used manually kept most away, but some still got through the gaps in his defense to bounce off his Academy shield.

However, if they managed to still get him with an effect, it would take time to see. Plague was less quick than Poison in affecting others, but was just as deadly. If not more so. A Plague user was far more deadly to an army than a Poison user. One on one, though, Poison would always be superior. And in fights like this? There was no contest.

Rowe kept darting back as Alistair approached, always staying out of range of the tank’s sword. However, Alistair kept coming, steady and relentless. Liliana knew the tactic and knew how effective it could be. Alistair’s Stamina would be far greater than that of a rogue type fighter, who usually focused on Speed, Dexterity and Strength. Or, more rarely, Speed, Dexterity, Intelligence and Wisdom. Alistair could outlast almost any fighter as a tank.

That was how the fight proceeded, Rowe trying to stay back, peppering Alistair with attacks. Some obviously aspected with one of his elements, others seemingly mundane but possibly heavy with disease. Alistair continued to block, easily breaking through any Dark attacks sent his way with his own Light affinity until Rowe abandoned using the affinity at all.

Rowe tried several times to attack Alistair from the back, learning fast that it was a quick way to lose when Alistair turned on a dime and struck without hesitation. Some of his attacks got through, though. Alistair’s shield was a bright yellow by the time ten minutes had passed. However, Rowe, while having taken no damage yet, was slowing, panting and stumbling as his Stamina ran low.

Rowe tripped, going down when trying to back away, and Alistair finally struck, exploding into movement as he charged. His sword crashed down with deadly accuracy. It took three hits for Rowe’s shield to go red, but the battle of attrition was finally ended with Alistair the victor.

Liliana cheered with the rest of her friends, feeling a mounting anticipation rise inside of her. She was the next of her group to fight.

Three more fights and then it would be her turn.

Chapter 171: A Lackluster Showing

“Took you long enough,” Liliana called out the second her brother returned to the room, a grin on her face.

“Sorry, not all of us have a ridiculous amount of Speed.” Alistair responded as he took his seat, Emyr leaning towards him ever so slightly, a subtle change in his body language most wouldn’t notice, but spoke volumes to Liliana.

“I almost took a nap, probably could have and woken up before your fight ended.” Liliana ribbed her brother as the next two students stepped onto the sands.

Elsie Crawford, from class B,a student she vaguely recognized from her Soul class. Her opponent was Johanna Baker, of class E. The first student from class E they’d seen fight so far.

From what Liliana remembered of the bracket sheet, only 3 students from class E had even gotten past the first round. They were either very lucky, or powerful, to have overcome the disadvantages being in a lower class restricted them with.

Baker was also obviously a commoner, her last name was telling. As with Diana, who shared the last name but likely not a relation, the name most likely came because of her parent’s profession. Or grandparents. It was beyond impressive that a commoner from the lowest class in their school had gotten to the top fifty in the tournament. That fact alone would have eyes on the girl.

“Get your bets in now,” Emyr told them as the rules were read to the combatants.

Of course, that would be the one thing they could hear through the illusion. Liliana would figure out the magic herself if it meant she didn’t have to endure watching silent fights a second time. Had the professors chosen to do this, just to torment them?

“Baker,” Liliana tossed three gold coins at Emyr.

“Betting on a class E student?” Emyr raised a surprised brow as the others in their group made their own bets.

“I like an underdog,” Liliana said with a shrug as the fight started.

Almost immediately Baker summoned a large battle hammer, flames spreading over her body like a deadly armor. Crawford summoned her own type of armor in response. Gauntlets made of water covered her arms, wicked looking claws emerging from the fingers.

Finally, a battle between two close range fighters. The two charged at each other, flaming hammer meeting water. Electricity crackled over Baker’s hammer, but before the current could pass through Crawford’s watery weapons, the girl broke away, dropping down to send a kick reinforced with more water at Baker’s legs.

“Water for Crawford so far. Fire, Light and Lightning for Baker.” Emyr noted as they watched the fight.

Baker fell to the hit to her legs, her fiery armor exploding out from her when Crawford tried to capitalize on her opponent’s fall. Crawford flipped back, stopping barely an inch from where the flames ended. Baker surged back to her feet, flames wreathing her once more as she rushed back for Crawford, hammer drawn back for a devastating blow that Crawford slipped under, sending another hit to the other girl’s middle, left unguarded by her wide strike.

Baker tanked the hit, stumbling but not falling again, her shield impossible to see under the flames that covered her body. Baker swung her hammer back around for a hit to Crawford, but once more it was as if the girl was predicting her opponent’s attacks, rolling away from the hit before it had even gotten within range of hitting her. The fight continued much the same way for several minutes. Baker attacking and Crawford reacting as if she had foreknowledge of the fight.

“Soul, Water, Oracle.” Emyr decided, eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed the fight.

“Some kind of short-term precognition ability?” Marianne asked curiously, Liliana shrugged, personally unsure.

Oracle, as with any Soul based elements, had not been in the original game. Liliana couldn’t help but think if the game designers of Realm Of Hope knew of the affinity they had struggled with on how to incorporate it and its derivative elements in a game focused on combat. If they had known of it, they hadlikely cutit just to save themselves the trouble of figuring out how to translate it into a game. As a result, Liliana had the least amount of information on those elements, though she had learned much about the Soul affinity since coming to this world.

However, Oracle was an affinity tied to Water, and therefore one Liliana cared little for. She knew it could be used for long distance scrying. That was the most popular application for the affinity. Despite the name, Oracle, it wasn’t an affinity that could be used to see far into the future, she’d checked once in the hope of finding a secretly OP ability. At most, you could use it to see the future in minutes. It was far more proficient at seeing the past.

A rather good skill for someone who was interested in history, or crime solving, she supposed. But not of overmuch use to Liliana. Not enough to justify her taking the one affinity she wanted nothing to do with.

“Perhaps not something so strong at her level, likely she can see intent, movements based on what someone intends to do. Likely just their next move.” Emyr said with a shake of his head.

“So the best tactic would be to react instinctively, or to keep her from dodging. Overwhelming Speed or a large AOE spell would take her down.” Liliana theorized as they watched Baker get blown back by a hit straight to her chest, steam filling the air from the water and fire connecting.

“Or blinding,” Koth’talan said wryly as Baker let out a pulse of blindingly bright light from her hammer at the same time she rushed at Crawford, forcing the girl to keep her eyes open or risk getting bowled over.

Crawford backpedaled frantically to avoid the charge, but it was too late. Crawford was stunned by the light, stumbling back with her hands raised to her likely stinging eyes. Baker capitalized on her chance, swinging a sparking hammer with deadly accuracy, sending Crawford flying through the air from the force of it.

“Can’t dodge if you can’t see the attack coming.” Alistair muttered as they watched Baker chase after Crawford’s falling form, striking before the other girl even got a chance to stand again.

Crawford panicked, water surging around her and it spelled her undoing as a lightning covered hammer connected with the water, turning the girl’s defenses into her undoing. Crawford’s shield turned a bright red and Baker was announced as the winner.

“Gimme my money,” Liliana said, holding her hand out to Emyr, who reluctantly placed the pile of coins in her hand. Koth’talan was the only other one to bet on the class E girl, and he got the rest of the share.

“You know, that wouldn’t be a bad skill for you to have.” Alistair said to Liliana, who grimaced.

“I’ll be sure to add it to the 20 other affinities that would be good for me.” Liliana said with a shrug.

She could work in almost any affinity with her fighting style. Fire could give her more firepower, Lightning could make her tactic of using multiple daggers useful, Gravity would help her get faster, Spatial could let her teleport, Animation could give her additional creatures to field with her bonds.

The simple matter was, Liliana didn’t have time to get and master every possible affinity she could use. She already had 8 affinities, and she struggled to master those as it was. She didn’t use several of them in combat at all, leaving them to languish in disuse. There was a reason even those at the higher ranks didn’t spread themselves thin with a multitude of affinities. At a certain point, it simply became too many to manage.

“Next fight is up,” Marianne pointed out as Isabella Pinnick of class E and Austen Hillington of class C stepped onto the sands.

“Betting on the underdog again?” Emyr asked her and Liliana smirked as she handed over her gold to the gambling addict.

“What can I say? It’s satisfying to see them knock some modesty into the nobles.” Liliana said with a shrug.

“You’re a noble,” Basil reminded her.

“Barely, if you listen to the gossip.” Liliana said with a snort.

“Twice as noble as those vipers who circle like sharks at mother’s balls.” Marianne grumbled, nudging Liliana’s shoulder with hers.

“No, no. Liliana could do with some modesty knocked into her too.” Emyr teased, ducking the bonbon Liliana threw at his head.

“It’s starting,” Koth’talan chimed in before Liliana could launch herself at Emyr.

The group settled down as the two students began their battle. Immediately Pinnick raised her staff, clouds covering the coliseum under the shield erected for the fights, winds whipping around her as she rose slowly from the ground.

Water fell from the clouds in a thick downpour, obscuring the view of the fight as Pinnick vanished in the clouds. Hillington struggled to hold his ground as water and wind assaulted him, lifting his… lute? Liliana was fairly certain it was a lute. It was a stringed instrument that vaguely resembled a guitar, if you squinted, at least. Light surrounded him, shielding him as he played some song they couldn’t hear.

Water continued to strike at the shield of light around Hillington, winds growing fiercer as Pinnick continued her assault. Yet despite the typhoon raging around Hillington, he kept playing, his shield glowing brighter and expanding with every note, well Liliana thought it was with every note. It was hard for her to accurately discern without sound. The rain faltered, the wind stilling for a heartbeat before it picked up.

“This fight is kind of…” Marianne said, frowning.

“Boring?” Liliana finished for her as they continued watching a silent bard play in the middle of a contained typhoon.

“Agreed.” Basil said with a disappointed sigh as they watched Hillington strum his lute, the wind and water continuing to falter every few seconds.

“Hillington would’ve gone down far faster if his shield took concentrated damage,” Liliana sighed. She already knew how she’d win this fight, but apparently Pinnick didn’t share her ability to strategize.

“Storm affinities aren’t good for single target,” Rathwater spoke up.

“You have a Storm affinity, don’t you?” Emyr asked, getting a nod from their quiet friend.

“Why do you have lightning, then?” Marianne inquired curiously, all of their attention effectively off the fight before them.

“I also have a Lightning affinity. It pairs well with Storm, so mother made sure I got it.” Rathwater explained with a shrug.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use a Fire or Light ability.” Alistair said thoughtfully.

“I don’t… synergize well with those affinities.” Rathwater said with a grimace.

“You don’t need to get the prerequisite affinities high to get a derivative, not if you have a strong natural talent for it.” Basil said with a nod, and Liliana groaned.

“Another prodigy. Do I just attract them?” Liliana asked the air. Was it a secret boon? Did she have prodigy-nip hidden on her person somewhere?

Her friends’ responses were cut off when something interesting finally happened on the illusion. Pinnick fell from the sky, the clouds vanishing, as all of her channeled spells cut off, body impacting the ground with a terrifying amount of force, almost immediately turning her shield red. Yet she still didn’t rise.

“A lullaby,” Marianne noted, explaining the end to the fight.

No wonder it had taken so long. Sleep spells were best used on calm targets, not someone pumped full of adrenaline. Hillington had probably spent the entire fight layering the sleep spell over and over again to get it to affect Pinnick. A ham-handed strategy, and not anything Liliana would’ve personally chosen, but an effective one, apparently.

“One more fight.” Liliana murmured, knee bouncing with anticipation. She barely even cared that she’d lost the latest bet.

“You’ll do great, Lili.” Marianne comforted her and Liliana raised an eyebrow.

“Was that ever in doubt?” Liliana asked her friend.

“See? Needs some modesty beat into her.” Emyr pointed out, ducking behind Alistair when Liliana faked a lunge for him.

The next two students walked out. Wyborough Frankeleyn of class C and Solomon Oliver of class A. Liliana could hardly pay attention to the fight starting, despite it beginning with a literal bang as Oliver used a Combustion ability to obscure himself in a haze of dust and smoke, Frankeleyn hiding behind a shield of thick vines.

Liliana watched the fight with a distant mind, vines and explosions flashing before her eyes as she focused on getting herself into a mindset for her upcoming round. She was confident she’d win, no matter what Tristan Blythe had hidden up his sleeves.

She pulled out her daggers, double checking their edges as she ran through different tactics in her mind. She’d do best to end the fight quickly, not give Blythe a chance to channel any truly dangerous abilities, or use a quintessential skill.

Anticipation and excitement raced through her with every second closer she got to her fight. Finally, finally, she’d get a chance to fight. To prove to everyone here that she belonged. That she had earned her spot in class S. That the nobles who had shunned her for her bloodline had made a fatal error.

The fight between Frankeleyn and Oliver ended with Oliver blasting his way through Frankeleyn’s vines, turning the defenses to charcoal, leaving Frankeleyn to the mercy of Oliver’s explosions. Liliana took a deep breath, settling her nerves as she felt adrenaline leaking into her veins, speeding her heartbeat. She checked her braid to be sure it was still tight as she stood, shaking out her arms and legs.

“Good luck,” Basil told her with a small smile, Koth’talan and Rathwater echoing the words.

“Beat him into the ground.” Marianne ordered with a vicious grin.

“Don’t lose before I get a chance to beat you,” Alistair told her, giving her a hug. Liliana gripped him back tightly for a moment, fortifying herself for the fight ahead.

“I’m going to be betting against you, so lose, please.” Emyr said with a smirk, yelping when Liliana swatted at his head.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Liliana told them, projecting confidence.

She truly did think she’d win, but there was always a possibility of loss. Of an unexpected variable turning the tides, even with all her advantages. Liliana shook the doubts away as she walked to the door, giving her friends one last look before she left, entering the far quieter hallway.

“Alright, come out to play.” Liliana murmured, tapping against her summoning stones, watching as her bonds formed around her.

“Hunt?” Lelantos asked her.

“Yes, and no holding back this time.” Liliana told them, picking up Nemesis and letting her settle around her neck.

Polaris pressed against her side as Lelantos turned and walked ahead of her. Liliana followed her bond, one hand buried deep in Polaris’ fur, the other resting on Nemesis’ scales. Her heart pounded in her ears, a war drum only she could hear. Her every step was an accompanying strain to the melody of battle she could already hear humming in the air around her.

Liliana could feel the adrenaline singing in her veins as the light at the end of the tunnel approached. She could hear the distant low rumble of the crowd growing steadily louder with every step closer to the exit they got, building into a roar.

Liliana paused for a moment as she emerged from the tunnel, blinking under the harsh light of the sun after so long inside. The thunder of the crowd cheering for the upcoming fight struck her, disorientating her for several heartbeats as she readjusted to the new stimuli.

Nemesis hissed around her throat, uncomfortable around so many humans. Polaris yipped, excited by the attention. Lelantos just continued padding forward, uncaring for anything that was not the fight he was promised.

“Come! Let’s give them a show worth watching!” Polaris encouraged, jumping forward and reminding Liliana to move, rather than just stand around like a dazed mooncalf. She shook her head, smiling at her bond and his silliness, even in the face of the tournament.

“Prey?” Lelantos asked as he stopped in the center of the arena seconds before Liliana joined his side.

Across from them stood a boy, Tristan Blythe of class B. Liliana didn’t recognize him from any of her affinity classes, so she would not be facing against another tamer, which would be the only opponent who could pose a challenge for her. On instinct she tried [Identify], unsurprised when nothing came up. Damn Academy and their tricks.

“Class S?” Blythe called out, a sneer on his face as he regarded her. Liliana raised an eyebrow, cocking a hip as she regarded the boy before her.

“Obviously. Or is class B full of illiterates?” Liliana responded with a sharp toothed smirk.

“Tch. Big talk, everyone knows class S all bought their spots. I can’t wait to show everyone that money can’t buy skill.” Blythe spat, folding his arms over his chest. Liliana snorted, letting out a mocking laugh.

“Oh, we’ll be showing everyone something, that’s for sure.” Liliana retorted, letting her hand on Nemesis fall to plant on her hip as she fell into a deceptively lax and cocky stance.

“He wants a show. Let’s give him one then. As soon as the fight starts, take him down. I’ll ride on you Lelantos. Polaris, rush him. Nem, we’ll do the ‘flying snake’ maneuver.” Liliana ordered as a professor stepped up between Liliana and her opponent.

“The rules for the fight are as follows. All abilities, skills and spells are permitted. The fight continues until one of your shields turn red. In the case of a tamer, even if a bond is knocked out, unless the tamer is knocked out, the fight continues. If the tamer is knocked out, even if the bonds have not been, the fight is over. Under no circumstances are you to attack your opponent after the fight is called to an end, or before it is called to start. Such actions will result in immediate disqualification, and disciplinary action.” The professor informed them, looking at the two students with a harsh glare.

“Any questions?” the professor asked. Liliana shook her head, as did Blythe.

The professor nodded, raising a hand, shields appearing around Liliana, her bonds and Blythe. Liliana gave Blythe a mocking wink as the shields finished forming, watching with amusement as his lips twisted into a snarl.

“Then let the fight begin. Start!” The professor proclaimed, vanishing as their hand dropped.

Liliana shot Blythe one last mocking smirk as a wand appeared in his hand, water forming around him in some spell, balls of water flying towards her. Liliana burst into movement, activating her Start Up combo and jumping into the air above the attacks that splashed the ground behind her ineffectively. [Threads of Control] activated as she flew, her daggers bursting out of their sheaths to circle her airborne body, deflecting a few attacks sent her way.

She landed on Lelantos’ back, her naginata appearing in her hand as her body settled on the giant tiger. Lelantos let out a [Bestial Roar] that thundered through the arena, his body growing in size. Blythe stumbled slightly, taken off guard by the intimidation skill, his latest water spell destabilizing and canceling.

Polaris blew past Liliana and Lelantos, a yipping laugh filling the air as his wings pumped. He dived for Blythe, forcing the boy to focus on him as Liliana sent the mental order to Lelantos to charge. The tiger tensed under her, muscles going taunt before he sprang, rushing towards Blythe in a thunderous charge.

Blythe was already struggling against Polaris, water and ice flying around him as he tried, and failed, to hit the speedy kitsune. The boy’s form wavered, and then there were five Blythes spread out. Lilian tsked as Lelantos rushed through one illusion, taking hits from the water and ice but not connecting to their opponent. Liliana wiped off the water that splashed on her face, entirely unharmed from her position high on the tiger’s back.

Sometimes she really enjoyed having such a tanky bond.

“Nem.” It was the only warning Liliana gave her bond before she took Nemesis off her neck and tossed her towards the line of Blythes as Lelantos skidded, his considerable bulk taking a moment to change his momentum. Nemesis sent back a resigned annoyance as she was thrown into the air, her body growing in size before she landed on yet another illusion.

“Polaris. Nem. Fill the arena, don’t give him a place to hide.” Liliana commanded as she ordered Lelantos to fall back. Lelantos could tank the damage from Polaris and Nemesis’ skills, but it was unnecessary to do so.

The tiger growled at being told to stand down, but held back as Nemesis and Polaris opened their mouths wide, Chaos and Poison flooding around them. Illusions flickered and failed when the attacks passed through them, finally leaving one Blythe standing, surrounded by noxious poison and covered in chaotic flames that ate at the health of his shield, turning it first yellow, then a deep orange.

“Pathetic. Finish it.” Liliana said aloud, voice dripping disdain, dismissing her naginata and returning her daggers to their sheaths. All bark, no bite. This fight would be done in the next minute.

Polaris circled high into the air, claws made of pure Chaos appearing around his paws as he tucked his wings in close to his body and dived straight for Blythe, who tried to back away, throwing up water and ice as a paltry defense. Nemesis hissed, and the earth shook under Blythe’s feet, sending him to his knees as he scrabbled to find purchase as the ground heaved and bucked beneath him.

He didn’t even have time to scream before Polaris connected, sending his body down into the earth, claws raking viciously at his shield and turning it a bright red.

“Winner, Liliana Rosengarde,” a voice called out, and Liliana sighed.

“Polaris, enough.” Liliana ordered her bonds.

Polaris whined pitifully that his fun was being ended so soon, but he pulled back. Liliana jumped off Lelantos, lightly landing upon the ground, canceling her active abilities. She walked towards Blythe, who was still laying in his small crater, eyes wide with shock.

“What a disappointing fight.” Liliana told him, shaking her head as their shields vanished now that the fight was officially called to an end.

As the shields dissolved, Liliana recalled her bonds to their stones, sending them gratitude and pride as they faded. She couldn’t help the dissatisfaction flooding her, though, as she regarded a still shell-shocked Blythe. Was this truly all her year mates were capable of?

Liliana knew she was stronger than many of her year mates, she routinely withheld her bonds in fights just to ensure she got the experience she needed in her Battle Training classes. But was she truly this much stronger than most?

As Liliana disappeared back into the tunnel, the roars of the crowd falling behind her, she wondered if all of her fights would be so easy.

Chapter 172: Berserkers, Brawlers, Mages, and Tanks Oh My!

Liliana walked into the class S waiting room and was almost immediately tackled in a hug by Marianne, the princess gripping tightly as if Liliana had been gone for years instead of mere moments.

“You were merciless Lili! It was beautiful.” Marianne gushed, voice tinted with envy and awe.

Liliana felt her cheeks darken in embarrassment. Coughing lightly, she turned her head aside to hide her face, and her blush, slightly.

“He looked like he saw Mors out there. He was so traumatized.” Emyr snickered, in a surprisingly good mood for someone who had presumably lost gold betting against her.

The ruthlessness of her victory had probably mollified him. Emyr had always enjoyed seeing someone be utterly destroyed. Liliana thought his mean streak was the reason they were so close. He recognized and embraced her darker traits.

“I think that was the fastest fight so far.” Basil hummed, head tilted thoughtfully, a playful smirk flickering over his lips.

“Gods, I hope my opponent isn’t like that.” Rathwater groaned, looking almost as shell-shocked as Blythe had been.

“I doubt there’s anyone quite like Lili in our year.” Alistair tugged Liliana into another hug when she finally extricated herself from Marianne’s octopus like grip and walked back to her friends. “My sister is special, after all.” Alistair declared proudly, crushing her to his chest with no small amount of strength. She’d swear she heard bones pop in her back. She had to wonder if Alistair just didn’t realize quite how strong he was now.

“She is certainly unique.” Koth’talan’s deadpan voice wouldn’t be considered teasing by most, but she could see it in the way his lips quirked in the smallest smile when Liliana could finally squirm away from Alistair’s best attempts to suffocate her.

His smile held a tinge of relief to it as well, showing he was glad she had won, and returned to them. Not that he’d ever say that. Liliana was fairly certain he’d sooner pull a tooth out before he did something as horrifying as admitting he honestly enjoyed her company and saw her as a friend.

“Yes, yes, bow before your goddess mortals.” Liliana rolled her eyes, voice a sarcastic drawl as she dropped onto the plush couch her group had commandeered. Marianne settled down next to her, pressed tightly to her side.

“Oh, how could we forget we’re in the presence of divinity?” Emyr snorted, sketching out a mocking bow from his seat.

“Keep it up and she might smite you!” Alistair joked, shoving Emyr lightly.

“Well, if her holiness would permit it, the next fight is starting.” Koth’talan pointed out, nodding at the illusion where two new students were walking out.

Alfred Brewster of class D and Dexter Mercer of class D as well. Liliana wondered if the two were friends or- oh, most certainly not. Mercer had just spat on the ground at Brewster’s feet, face twisted in an ugly sneer. This fight would be personal, and all the more enjoyable to watch because of it.

“Isn’t Mercer the son of a count?” Alistair asked.

Emyr nodded thoughtfully, eyes locked on the illusion, undoubtedly analyzing already, picking out weaknesses and strengths, secrets hidden in the way someone held themselves or moved.

“Under the western duchy.” Emyr muttered softly. So one of the two duchies not represented in this room. Liliana was fairly certain the other duchies had heirs close in age to Alistair and Basil, though she did not know them personally. Caspian Drisbow was the eastern duchy heir, and Lorelei Rothsmar was the western duchy heir. If she remembered correctly, Caspian was seventeen and Lorelei was eighteen.

Liliana would’ve called it a coincidence if she didn’t know the duchies regularly had children around the same time, in the hopes of pairing their children together. Other nobles had always followed the trends set by the duchies. Heirs of nobility were almost always in a similar age bracket, allowing them to grow up together and build ties that would transfer when they came into their power. It was an effective strategy, if a bit weird to her Earth sensibilities, that an entire class of people scheduled their children’s births.

Liliana focused back on the match, as it was called to start. Runes appeared on Mercer, a glowing web of mystic symbols that burned brightly on any clear inch of skin on the boy, which was quite a lot as he had foregone a shirt. Blazing runes painted his skin like magical tattoos, and Mercer threw his head back in a roar.

“Barbarian or berserker class?” Liliana theorized when Mercer pounded his fists together and charged at Brewster.

“Probably the first one we’ve seen so far.” Marianne commented, face curious as she watched the fight.

Brewster pulled a claymore from his storage, hefting the large blade without strain as he met Mercer in the middle of the ring. The large blade cut through the air, a distortion in the air around it, like a heat haze.

“Fire and Heat for Brewster.” Emyr commented as they watched white flames flickering across the metal of the blade.

Mercer caught the blade with both hands before it could bisect him. Smoke rose from where his flesh touched the metal, but his shield was barely tinted as the runes flared brighter at the damage.

“Berserker for sure,” Alistair observed when Mercer let out another roar and shoved the blade away with enough strength to send Brewster stumbling.

He hardly got his blade back between him and his opponent in time to block a speeding fist. The impact sent Brewster skidding back, feet digging trenches in the sand. Brewster shot back at Mercer. He slashed through the air at Mercer and his blade extended, darkness and flame lengthening the blade and crashing into Mercer.

Mercer raised an arm to block, but his shield finally took on a light yellow tint as the damage registered. The damage only seemed to further empower Mercer, and he pushed through it. A flurry of powerful blows exchanged, blade and empowered fists connecting with a strength that had sand flying around the pair.

Brewster’s skills and spells seemed to be focused solely around empowering his blade. Shadows, flames and heat dancing across it, extending his reach, adding power to every strike. Mercer, by contrast, seemed to only have skills and spells that empowered his body, muscles bulging and flexing with each added skill, fists undoubtedly creating thunderous booms with each strike.

They were well matched, two powerhouse attackers focused entirely on Strength, Endurance and Vitality. Neither could be called fast, but the power in their attacks would’ve been enough to end Liliana in two blows.

However, where Brewster seemed conscious of his health, avoiding and blocking hits with his sword, Mercer took the opposite approach. He had no weapons to block and no defensive abilities. He got stronger as his shield tinted closer and closer to red, but all that power would be useless if he got knocked out.

The fight was approaching its end, Mercer’s shield a light red, Brewster’s a deep yellow by contrast. Both boys were panting heavily, the fight having gone on for over ten minutes at this point. Mercer’s muscles had bulged almost ridiculously with every power up he got from his class and runes. Brewster had more health left, but Liliana was certain if Mercer landed one hit as jumped up as he was, it would end the fight.

Mercer seemed to realize that and made a last charge at Brewster, powerful legs coiling and propelling him in the air as he pulled his hand back for a final, devastating hit. Brewster pulled his sword back, arms tense and taut as he waited.

When Mercer was almost on top of him, Brewster struck, sword moving with a speed they hadn’t seen before, white flames dancing hungrily across it, threaded through with shadows. Steel met flesh and for a moment Mercer hung in the air before he was shot across the coliseum, the hit so powerful Liliana could see the shock wave roll across the sands.

Mercer’s shield was red before his body plowed into the ground, leaving a crater around his stilled form.

“Well then,” Alistair whistled lowly, eyebrows raised.

“Anya would’ve loved that fight.” Liliana sighed, imaging the wolf girl cheering over such a physical fight. She probably was cheering from the stands. There was no way such a happy-go-lucky girl had let a defeat kill her spirit.

“She’d have tried to jump in, if she could.” Marianne snorted.

“She’d definitely try to take them both on.” Liliana agreed with a smile and a shake of her head.

The next students were already walking out, the coliseum repaired in seconds. Kenneth Levy of class E, the last of that class, and Elizabeth Pearce of class A. Liliana recognized the girl from her Soul and Wind classes, and Levy she recognized from the first round.

He’d been the boy using Gas and Acid elements to devastate entire groups of students. A threat that Pearce didn’t seem to appreciate, seeing no more than the boy’s class when she turned her head away from him in a very clear slight.

“Ten gold on Levy.” Liliana said, handing the gold to Emyr before he could even ask for bets. Emyr raised his eyebrows at her insistence.

“Underdog?” Emyr asked and Liliana shook her head with a wicked grin.

“No, Pearce is the underdog in this fight. She just doesn’t know it yet.” Liliana said mysteriously as she kept her eyes glued to Levy.

If she was even more of a betting woman, she’d place money on him getting one of the class S spots too. His use of his affinities was creative, the kind you didn’t get by being stupid. He was clever and underestimated, and that would work in his favor. His form didn’t help with his intimidation factor.

If Liliana thought vampires existed in this world, she’d have said he was one. He was small compared to someone like Alistair or Koth’talan, probably no more than 5’7, and thin as a whip, almost unhealthily so, his skin such a pale shade of white it was almost transparent. His inky black hair hung limply over his face, but Liliana thought she saw rusty brown eyes hiding under his thick fringe.

Pearce, in comparison, looked every bit the perfect noble daughter. Rich brown hair contained in a perfectly coifed crown braid, skin a rich olive tone and light gray eyes clear and filled with derision as she looked at her opponent. Her posture was perfect, but communicating she was overconfident about the outcome to this fight.

“You’re that confident in him, Lili?” Marianne asked and Liliana nodded as the rules were read out.

“I saw him in the first round. He left enough of an impression I remembered him.” Liliana elaborated slightly.

Marianne hummed, showing more interest in the fight. It was a badly kept secret that Liliana didn’t bother much with remembering people, caring little for anyone who didn’t make an impression on her. She only remembered her classmates’ names because she saw them so much.

The fight was called to a start and Pearce kept her position, finally turning faintly glowing eyes on Levy.

Levy kept his gaze averted as a thick layer of mist poured off his body, quickly obscuring his form as it condensed, holding unnaturally still. Liliana was reminded of Lelantos when he crouched just before pouncing on prey, body held with a stillness that would make one believe he was a statue.

Pearce frowned and winds kicked up, trying to dispel the thick mist that clung to the sands. Yet no matter how the winds howled and raged, the mist stayed where it was, Levy’s control of it strong enough to resist Pearce’s spells. Pearce was growing frustrated as her eyes glowed brighter, a faint dark purple color taking over them as she opened her mouth and spoke something none of them could hear.

“What kind of affinity is that?” Liliana asked, frowning.

“Control.” Emyr said darkly.

Liliana shuddered. Control wasn’t a popular affinity, it had negative connotations many didn’t want anything to do with. You could use it, at higher ranks, to control a person if used in concert with a Psyche affinity.

Liliana silently thanked Healer Sybil that the reminder of such things could no longer drag her into flashbacks that would leave her a panicked mess.

Thankfully, at Pearce’s presumed level she could likely only use her Control affinity to turn other’s spells and skills against them. It worked best if you also had the same skill or spell, or at least the same affinity as the ability used. However, a combination of Pearce evidently not having the same affinity and Levy’s apparent high mastery of his affinity meant Pearce’s attempts to wrest control from the boy were ineffective.

Levy seemed to bore of playing with Pearce and his wall of mist began to creep across the sands, flowing out as it started changing colors, going from an innocent gray to a more foreboding toxic green. Winds whipped around Pearce in a veritable squall as she tried to push the encroaching mist back, falling back when nothing seemed to deter the mist, steadily inching towards her. She kept backing away, the mist slow enough she could keep ahead of it as she continued to speak, eyes now so filled with dark purple Liliana couldn’t see the whites of her eyes any longer.

Yet nothing could stop the inevitable rolling of the mist and eventually Pearce’s back hit the shield of the coliseum. By now, almost the entire coliseum floor was covered in mist and Pearce was starting to panic, head whipping around as she looked for an escape.

Her feet finally left the ground in a weak float as she tried to find relief in the high ground. The mist crashed into the edges of the shield, rising after Pearce like a relentless hunter as she tried to rise above it, once more finding herself trapped by the top of the shield.

The mist hit her feet first, and her shield started slowly tinting yellow, a steady color change as the mist rose higher, covering her legs and stomach as her shield turned orange. Her head was covered last, her eyes blown wide in fear before she vanished from view.

Seconds later, the round was called to an end, Levy declared the victor, and the mists vanished, gone as if they had never been there. Pearce’s form was huddled on the ground below and Levy stood in the same place he’d been at the start, expression unchanged.

“That was… terrifying.” Rathwater said weakly as Levy exited the sands without a backwards glance.

“To see something coming for you and know there’s no way to escape it? Yeah.” Liliana agreed, shivering slightly.

She had seen Levy’s mists move far faster than that in the first round. He’d gone slow on purpose, just to instill more fear, more hopelessness in Pearce before she inevitably fell. It was ruthless, and a touch cruel. In a closed battlefield like that, his mist was an almost unfair advantage. Even she might struggle against something like that. She had no idea if [Poison Resistance] worked against acids, but knowing her luck, it didn’t.

“That fight was decided as soon as it started.” Emyr said, voice low as he kept staring at the illusion. His curiosity had been piqued, no doubt.

“Told you I wasn’t betting on the underdog.” Liliana said softly, taking her winnings from a distracted Emyr.

The rest of the group kept quiet, faces drawn in curiosity or mild fear. Levy had certainly left an impression on them, and likely many in the audience. He most definitely wouldn’t be in class E come the new semester.

The next students walked out before her group had recovered from the last fight. Ebenezer Hicks from class B and Joane Stace of class C. The rules were read, and the fight called to a start.

Hicks immediately pulled out a large tower shield, made of a reflective material Liliana couldn’t identify. Stace in contrast summoned two fans made of metal, wind dancing around her like a playful pet. Hicks hunkered down behind his shield as Stace waved her fans in an elegant move, sand and wind kicking up and growing, whipping around the arena in a furious dervish.

Both of the combatants disappeared under the resulting sandstorm Stace had summoned. Liliana could only see flashes of movement between the vicious winds and rising sands. A fan vanishing back into the wall of sand and wind, a flash of a shield, a momentary glimpse of a face, or arm.

“Not a good tactic if you’re trying to show off.” Marianne grumbled, obviously irritated she couldn’t see the fight.

“So inconsiderate of her, to block our view like this,” Liliana teased her friend, tugging on a lock of snow white hair.

“Exactly!” Marianne exclaimed, throwing her hands out. Chuckles filled the air as the others focused on the more entertaining show of Marianne throwing a tantrum rather than an illusion filled with sand.

“Oh, something is happening.” Liliana pointed out as the sands flickered, as if they were glitching.

“Illusion?” Alistair asked, mildly surprised.

The sandstorm flickered again, more roughly, and they all got a small glance of Hicks still standing behind his shield, which was glowing brightly as Stace panted. A wave of sand and wind rushed at Hicks and the illusion went back in place, hiding them from view. Seconds later, the illusion failed entirely, and they got to see Stace flying back as she was hit with what looked like her own attack, but far stronger than it had been when she sent it. A veritable rapid of sand rushing at her and flinging her back, her shield turning red as she fell under the tide of sand.

“Oh. Reflection affinity.” Emyr snapped his fingers, as if he’d had an epiphany, and Liliana’s mouth dropped into an O.

The Reflection affinity could be used to store attacks from opponents and send them back with the stockpiled power. It was usually used by empowering a weapon or shield so you didn’t have to take the damage yourself. It was a good affinity for tanks or berserker classes to take. As for tanks, it could turn them into an offensive and defensive powerhouse. Berserkers, well, they were going to take damage anyway for their class, might as well turn it into more power.

Liliana turned her attention back to the illusion as Zir’elon stepped out. She was hoping this time the prince would finally fall from his high horse.

Chapter 173: That Was Not On My Bingo Card

“Five on Rothchester.” Liliana called out as soon as Zir’elon left the room.

“You’re just hoping he loses.” Emyr chuckled, taking her money nonetheless.

“Damn right I am.” Liliana huffed, glaring at the illusion when Zir’elon walked onto the sands. If he won a second battle, he’d be incorrigible. If he could get his big head back through the door afterwards, that is.

“I hold far less affection for my brother than you do, but he is a skilled warrior. It will not be a simple task for ones in a lower class to best him.” Koth’talan spoke up, face dark as he stared at the illusion, as if the power of his glower alone could strike his brother dead.

Much to Liliana’s disappointment, Zir’elon continued strutting across the sands as if he owned it, a cocky grin on his face. Koth’talan would have to work on a real [Death Glare] skill if he wanted to have a hope of striking his brother dead with a look.

“Let me guess, trained from birth to be a killer?” Liliana asked, holding her sarcasm in as best she could.

She knew Zir’elon’s story. Knew the culture of the Alfein empire, how the battle for the throne was a very literal, and bloody one. There was one way to become the heir, and one way only. To kill all other contenders for the throne and prove yourself strong enough to hold your crown. It was why the emperor sent Koth’talan away. As a bastard child, he was not eligible for the throne, but his siblings still saw him as a threat and tried to kill him. Zir’elon was sent with his brother as a cover for the emperor’s affection for the son of the woman he loved.

Zir’elon had been fighting for his life the second he took his first breath. Learned how to wield a dagger before he spoke his first word. He was born and bred to be a killer. His tale was as tragic as many of the others in Realm of Hope, but any sympathy Liliana felt for him had long ago died a brutal death at the hands of his ego and horrid temperament.

Koth’talan had faced much the same, if not worse, without a true title to defend him. And while no one would make the mistake of calling him kind or approachable, he was a far better person than his brother. When holding the two up to compare it only damned Zir’elon further.

“Correct. All those I call sibling did. It is kill or be killed in the emperor’s court for those who share his blood.” Koth’talan kept his voice neutral, but his amber eyes swirled with untold emotions, memories of a childhood painted red with blood haunting them.

“It is the difference between us and many who live in this queendom. We will not hesitate to go for the killing strike.” Koth’talan finished.

His face was grave, and he looked far older in that moment than his sixteen years. Liliana wondered how red his hands were, and if they were as coated in blood as her own. Sometimes did he still see blood staining them? Blood that wouldn’t wash off no matter how hard he scrubbed? Tattooed deep into his skin?

Liliana looked at the rest of her friends and wondered who else hid hands so stained they were permanently dyed red? Marianne, who smiled so sweetly and happily, who went on for hours about how attractive different classmates were? Basil with his gentle voice and hands that held flowers so carefully? Rathwater who trembled in fear at any conflict, always staying in the shadows and trying to fade from sight?

How many of them had been damned before they were even adults? Liliana already knew her, Alistair and Emyr had lost their childhood innocence before they even knew what it was. But between all of them, would there be enough blood to drown them in a sanguine river?

“I think you’ll find, Talan, that many of us outgrew that hesitation a long time ago.” Emyr murmured, voice soft yet still carrying the truth in it, giving it a heavier weight that settled in the air around them.

“Yes. Perhaps.” Koth’talan said after a long moment, glancing around the room. No one spoke after that, turning their attention to the fight going on.

Zir’elon’s shield was a dark yellow, but Rothchester’s was a deep orange. The girl had presumably tried to get distance from the dæmon and failed. She had two short swords in her hands and was trying desperately to counter Zir’elon’s punishing strikes, but the prince struck quickly, utterly controlling the flow of the fight and forcing Rothchester to stay on the defensive.

She was obviously using a Muck affinity to give Zir’elon trouble with his footing, but kept getting herself caught in her own traps, as he wouldn’t give her the space to retreat without taking damage. It left the two of them knee deep in a mire of mud that did nothing to slow the speed of Zir’elon’s strikes. His sword moved so fast it was hard to follow, but the flickers of fire following it like a cape filled the air around the pair, drying the muck as quickly as Rothchester could summon it.

Zir’elon twisted his blade and one of Rothchester’s swords went flying, sinking into the muck and vanishing. With only one short sword left, it took little time for Zir’elon to finish the girl, sending her down into her own trap with a series of punishing strikes that turned her shield red. The fight was called to an end, and the combatants climbed out of the muck; the shields vanishing and leaving their legs caked with grime.

Zir’elon said what Liliana could only assume was an inflammatory remark at Rothchester, probably because his clothes had been ruined, that had the girl starting towards him, only to have her form vanish as the professor reminded them that fighting after the end of a round was called was prohibited.

“Honestly. Can’t blame her for that.” Marianne sighed, flopping back into the couch with a disgruntled look.

“Few more seconds and she could’ve ruined the rest of his outfit and gotten some justice.” Alistair mourned.

Emyr was handing a pile of gold to Koth’talan, the only one who was willing to bet on his brother. Koth’talan took the gold with a slightly disgusted look, as if he resented the fact that it came from his brother’s victory.

This time, when Zir’elon returned, he held his tongue, skin darkened in a flush as his shoes made a disgusting squelching noise with each step. Apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to give her group more ammunition to mock him with by confronting them when his lower half was coated in oozing mud. Luckily, there were showers attached to the waiting rooms for the classes, probably for situations like this, and Zir’elon headed straight for them.

Her group waited all of three minutes, trading wide-eyed looks before Marianne broke first, dissolving into hiccuping giggles. Shortly after, chuckles, giggles, and guffaws filled the room.

“The noises!” Liliana gasped out, snorting on another laugh as she doubled over, stomach aching from the strain.

“He-he left footprints!” Emyr choked out between laughs, leaning into Alistair, who had his head thrown back as his laughter rolled out of him in booming waves.

“Prince of mud!” Alistair announced when he got a breath to speak, sending all of them off again.

“I-I have to go,” Marianne said as she stumbled to her feet, still shaking with laughter as she swayed towards the door like a drunk.

Wishes for good luck were spread between laughs as the princess made her way out the door and probably bolted for the sands. The group barely managed to calm down in time to see the match called to start. Marianne was against Vanessa Lincoln of class B, same class as Rothchester from the previous round.

Liliana wiped away tears as she took in deep breaths, rubbing a hand against strained abdominal muscles as she leaned back to watch the fight. Liliana perked up when she saw Lincoln summon floating balls of flames, dyed the familiar black and white of Chaos. She had hardly seen any other using the element, and she was curious to see how the use would differ from Polaris.

Lincoln seemed pretty dedicated to the fire theme that Polaris implemented, but as the fight continued, it became clear it was a result of a Fire affinity. Polaris simply mimicked the fire element, but Lincoln had managed to meld the two together, creating attacks that could burn and distort.

Lincoln was obviously a fighter, using a morning star as her preferred weapon choice. It forced Marianne into close quarters, not her best position as a healer, but what the princess seemed to prefer. Her bloody scythe clashed time and again against the spiked ball, keeping Lincoln at a distance with the reach afforded to her by her weapon.

Blood clashed against flames and chaos. The chaos ate at the blood and shattered attacks, but the blood kept Marianne from being touched by the deadly attacks. Waves, walls, spikes and spears of blood emerged from Marianne, barely keeping her protected.

However, her element’s drawback made itself known as her shield started to tint yellow. Blood had to come from somewhere and with the shields preventing any of Marianne’s hits from spilling her opponent’s blood, it had to come from her. She might have blood regenerating abilities, but the amounts she was using were exceeding what she could regenerate.

Marianne pushed Lincoln back with a wave of water, giving herself a few seconds of breathing room, just enough time to call back what blood she could and reform it.

“Did you know she could do that?” Emyr’s jaw dropped. Liliana mutely shook her head as she watched the illusion, struck as dumb as the rest of them.

Four additional ruby arms grew from Marianne’s side, the blood hardening until it lost its liquid sheen. Marianne’s new fists clenched as more blood formed four short swords to sit in her additional hands. Her shield faded to orange with the increase in blood loss, a price to pay for her advantage.

Lincoln froze for a moment when she was confronted with the sight of Marianne, coated in bloody armor and sporting four new limbs. Marianne let out a silent war cry, scythe raised high as she charged back at Lincoln. The other girl hardly got her morning star up in time to block the scythe, but she didn’t account for the four additional weapons striking at her.

The flow of the battle shifted as Marianne forced Lincoln back, ruby swords and scythe flashing through the air. Lincoln could block one, but it left four more blades to cut into her and her shield started to fade to orange as Marianne gave her no room to breathe or regroup. Each strike of the macabre weapons against Lincoln left a small splash of black on her shield that was slow to fade.

Chaos and fire flashed as Lincoln desperately tried to fight against an opponent with too many arms and blades. Marianne flinched when one arm was destroyed, chaotic flames eating at it. The arm detached before the chaos could touch her and she continued her relentless assault.

By the time Lincoln’s shield turned red, Marianne was down to only two additional arms, the others having been destroyed and left in the pair’s wake. Marianne’s shoulders shook with her heavy breaths as she was declared the victor and the blood finally dripped off of her, leaving a girl with, thankfully, only two arms.

“Well, ‘Marianne having six arms’ wasn’t on my tournament bingo card.” Liliana said with a headshake, getting a few looks. She had introduced the game to them, though, so they at least understood her Earth reference.

Marianne stumbled back to the room, steps clumsy as they had been when she left, but for an entirely different reason this time. Despite her obvious tiredness, Marianne’s lips were split in a wide smile, her eyes slightly glazed.

Punch drunk. Liliana thought as she stood and guided the princess to the couch after she nearly fell bumping into a table and apologized to the inanimate object.

“Since when can you summon extra arms?” Liliana asked when she settled the princess down, letting her lean on her shoulder with a dopey smile.

“Issa new shkill.” Marianne slurred, giggling slightly, and Liliana reformed her initial diagnosis.

Punch drunk and probably loopy from blood loss. Chuckles filled the air as the others watched what was essentially a drunk Marianne. They’d seen it before at the finals party, but it never made it less entertaining.

“Mari, use your blood regeneration spells,” Liliana patiently instructed.

Marianne blinked big, ruby eyes at her as if she’d spoken a different language before the words registered her in her hazy mind. Her face lit up, and she nodded so hard she almost fell off the couch, only Liliana’s arm wrapped around her thin shoulders keeping her in place.

“Sssshhhoooo shmartish Wili!” Marianne said, in what was possibly Common. Whatever it was, even Liliana’s boon couldn’t give her an accurate translation, but it sounded like an affirmative.

Marianne’s face scrunched adorably as she focused entirely on using a spell. It took several minutes for her body to let off a light glow that signaled one working. Liliana looked at the fight on the screen for a moment, long enough to note it was Miranda Renaud of class D and Salathiell Carlyll of the same class up before she focused back on Marianne, concern for her friend outweighing interest in a fight.

“Ooooh, my head,” Marianne moaned, hands coming up to rub at her head as she curled slightly into herself.

Liliana frowned, rubbing her friend’s back gently as Marianne coated herself in more spells, likely low level healing spells or blood spells only. As a healer, any of her own high level Life skills wouldn’t be able to affect her. The tense muscles under Liliana’s hand slowly relaxed as Marianne let out a sigh of relief.

“I might have used too much blood in that fight,” Marianne groaned as she finally sat up and leaned into Liliana, seeking physical comfort. Liliana tightened her hold on her friend.

“Yeah, probably.” Liliana chided. Marianne gave her a sheepish smile, eyes sparkling.

“But it was a great fight!” Marianne gushed, her exuberance returning as she flexed her hands, as if she missed having the weight of a weapon in them.

“What was with the four arms?” Liliana asked again, and Marianne brightened.

“It’s a new spell I got after I leveled in the dungeon! It uses a ton of blood, so it’s better if I’m around things that can, you know, actually bleed, but I can maintain it on my own if I have to.” Marianne waved her hands around, eyes glowing with excitement.

“Why would you get a combat skill as a healer?” Alistair tilted his head, brow furrowed in bemusement.

“It’s because I kept grabbing people with blood whips, I think. I guess the system though I needed extra hands to grab idiots with to heal them. I can channel my touch spells through them.” Marianne explained, the entire group shivering at the thought.

Marianne did not need more hands to whack them with when they got injured. Then again, a healer with more hands to heal with was never a bad thing. Unless it was a particularly aggressive healer. Then it just meant they’d get to take even more damage before they were eventually healed. When Marianne felt they’d learned their lesson.

“Fight’s almost done.” Emyr announced and drew their collective attention back to the illusion.

Just in time to see Renaud vanish and reappear behind Carlyll and wrap a thick garrote around Carlyll’s neck. Carlyll tried to lean forward, employing a Gravity affinity to give her more weight and presumably break the garrote. An unseen force, Telekinesis Liliana would bet as she recognized Renaud from the class, forced Carlyll back long enough for her shield to turn red. Her desperate move to break the garrote had backfired, ending the fight far faster.

Renaud was declared the victor, and the two broke apart, shaking hands and sharing a smile in a show of camaraderie not seen in many of the fights so far.

“Well, that was a bit vicious.” Basil rubbed at his neck, as if he could feel the garrote against his own skin.

The scar on Liliana’s neck twinged with a phantom pain. The memory of cold steel digging into tender flesh didn’t resurface, but Liliana couldn’t help the small shiver of empathy she felt. At least the shields stopped anything from actually touching you, meaning Carlyll didn’t have to experience the suffocation.

“Interesting weapon choice,” was all Liliana added to the conversation as the students left the sands and they waited for the next to step up.

Those who had been paying attention relayed the pertinent information from the fight as they waited for the next fighters to step up. Renaud had used Spatial, Telekinetic and Wind affinities during the fight. Liliana mourned the missed opportunity to watch someone using a Spatial affinity, one of the affinities she wanted to get. Renaud had won her fight, though, and Liliana would get at least one more chance to see her skills in action. Hopefully without a loopy Marianne to corral.

Chapter 174: Progress Isn't Always Measured In Numbers

Next thing I’m introducing to this world is popcorn, I swear to Vita. Liliana thought as the next fight started on the illusion. She could feel a very distinct craving for the buttery snack while watching the fights.

Do they even have corn here? Or something genetically similar? Her head tilted as she considered the variety of odd fruits and vegetables she’d seen since arriving here.

Many held only the slimmest resemblance to their Earthen counterparts, even if they shared a name. Others were completely alien, showing that different planets did in fact progress differently when it came to flora evolution, not that a difference in evolution was ever in question, considering everything Liliana had seen so far in this world to date.

Earth certainly didn’t have magic, or animals that could talk, or a System that gave every living being on the planet the ability to become something akin to a demi-god. A difference in the way plants evolved was perhaps the least odd and most realistic thing she’d seen.

Surround sound speakers should also be on my list. These fights are far less thrilling to watch without noise. Liliana added the item to her growing list of things she wanted to create or bring to this world.

She still had her plans for trains on the forefront of her mind, and she knew she’d be shoving this world right into the industrial revolution if she wasn’t careful. Not that it would be a bad thing. Based on the history of the world, it hadn’t advanced technologically in a long time, having been stuck in a medieval era for over a thousand years. The disadvantage of the denizens in this world living for so long meant change and advancement took a far longer time to start and take hold, as those in power got more entrenched in their ways the longer they lived.

The soundless fight on the illusion played out before Liliana as she refocused on it, leaving her thoughts of technological advancement to the side. Ophelia De Clare of class B and Rycharde Wardeby of class C.

Two nobles from differing areas, if Liliana remembered her classes on the peerage correctly. The De Clare family was a county, the Wardebys were a viscounty, but arguably held more political and monetary power than the De Clares as they were renowned through Cista for their Rune and enchanting work.

They regularly head-hunted promising commoners from the Academy and outside of it who had a talent for Runes, and employed them to keep hold of their power and further their reach. There were even rumors that they had a history of marrying with commoners of sufficient talent, but nothing had been adequately proven, so the rumors were assumed to be baseless.

If Liliana remembered correctly, Wardeby had beaten out Fioralba in his first fight. She had been far too distracted by Dawn’s loss to pay overmuch attention to the fights between hers and Dunstans. The fight had ended frighteningly quickly from what little she could remember. Fioralba was not a combat specialist in any way. Unlike Marianne, she was the kind of healer who firmly preferred to stay in the back of a team and away from any danger.

She’d put up her best effort, but Wardeby had smelled the blood in the water and forgone any complicated tactic in favor of punishing the weak healer for every obvious mistake she made in the fight.

Wardeby showed his family’s trademark talent in full in this fight, in contrast, now that he was against a worthy opponent. Utilizing a tactic Liliana had yet to see in a Runeic affinity user. Rather than covering himself in runes, one of the most popular methods, or a weapon, he’d summoned crystals and coated those in runes of unknown effects, tossing them about the sands at seemingly random.

The crystals varied in size, some so small they were impossible to see over the illusion. Some large pillars sticking out of the sands like the jagged fangs of some felled giant beast that had been summoned straight from the ground.

Wardeby showed remarkable multitasking ability, sending out his runed crystals while simultaneously building what appeared to be a roughly crafted fortress of earth and crystal, coated so thoroughly in flaming runes that Liliana thought it might take a small army to break it down.

De Clare for her part was fighting hard to chip at Wardeby’s defenses, and failing with each new rune that was placed, any damage she did regenerating before her next attack even connected.

Her first mistake had been letting Wardeby put up walls at all. The fight was lost after that. Not that she’d had much chance to stop him, as he’d pulled up a wall of runed crystal the second the fight began, stopping De Clare in her tracks and giving him the opportunity to summon more defenses in the time it took De Clare to rethink her strategy.

The more fights Liliana witnessed, the more it became clear that the winner of a fight would almost always go to those who were capable of adapting quickly in the middle of a fight, and prevented their opponents from gaining advantages.

It might have taken over ten minutes for Wardeby’s plan to become obvious, but it did, and when his final move was made, it left the room in awe.

The various runed crystals he’d spread around the coliseum connected, forming an intricate web of power and glowing lines, almost akin to the laser traps Liliana remembered seeing on fictional TV shows back on Earth. De Clare was taken out in short order after that, unable to move or she’d suffer heavy damage from the deadly lines of power that burned into her shield at the slightest flinch. It left her an open target for Wardeby and the battle was called a mere minute after his web was formed, Wardeby the victor.

It was an impressive example of how a fighter focused on trapping could become a dangerous foe to face if allowed the time to set up.

“It is my turn it seems,” Koth’talan stood, sheathing the sword he’d been alternating between sharpening and oiling the entire time he’d been waiting.

“I’d say good luck but I don’t think you need it so instead, don’t play with your opponent too long.” Liliana snickered when Koth’talan rolled his eyes at her, but his lips were twitching as if he was barely holding back a smile.

“Remind them why class S is the best class here.” Alistair gripped Koth’talan’s forearm in a tight grasp, earning a nod from the bastard prince.

“Do your best, don’t lose me money.” Emyr threw in offhandedly, flipping a coin over his knuckles.

“Do not bring any more shame on our name.” Zir’elon’s condescending voice floated over them, turning smiles into scowls as heads turned to look at the, regretfully, clean prince who was lounging in his own chair as if it was a throne.

Liliana could see the fire burning in Koth’talan’s eyes as he glowered at his brother, hands clenching as if wishing his sword was in his grip, so he could more easily sink it into his brother. Zir’elon was not ignorant of his effect on his brother, and the smile he gave held no kindness in it, only a mocking tilt that only seemed to further ignite the fury blazing in Koth’talan’s amber eyes.

Koth’talan’s jaw clenched, and he turned on his heel, striding from the room, anger trailing off him like a cloak. Liliana would swear the temperature in the room rose several degrees before the door slammed with a resounding boom as Koth’talan left.

“Don’t.” Marianne’s voice hissed in Liliana’s ear, it only registering then that she was half out of her seat, a dagger already in hand.

“He doesn’t need a tongue if he can’t use it properly.” Liliana growled back, but she let the princess drag her back down, the hand on her arm feeling like a shackle.

Anger was burning cold flames in her chest, demanding retribution and blood. Koth’talan was her friend and Liliana did not abide someone insulting or hurting those dear to her, not without a pound of flesh given in repayment for their crimes against hers.

“Maybe not. But you can’t attack him here. You’ll be disqualified at the least, suspended or expelled at worst.” Marianne reminded her, and Liliana let out a harsh exhale of air. She slammed her dagger back in its hilt and through force of will dispelled the anger begging her to attack.

“That’s right. Listen to your owner like the good dog you are, bitch.” Zir’elon taunted and this time it took Alistair and Marianne holding Liliana back to restrain her from launching herself over the back of the couch and at Zir’elon’s smug face.

“Did that last fight rob you of the only intelligence you had left?” Alistair growled at Zir’elon, shoving Liliana back down, arms straining, as she fought against the arms holding her back.

“Don’t start a war in our first year at the Academy, Lili, please.” Marianne whispered frantically at Liliana and it took far longer this time for Liliana to dispel the anger shaking her body. Had this happened at the beginning of the school year, before Healer Sybil, Liliana would not have been able to control the anger inside of her so easily. As it was, a part of her didn’t even want to.

She almost hoped Zir’elon lasted until the final round, just so Liliana could kick him across the coliseum until he forfeited. She would make the loss as humiliating and drawn out as possible, if only to watch him become the laughingstock of the Academy.

“There are a lot of ways to hide a body, Kastrioti. And the teachers can only watch us on the Academy grounds.” Emyr’s voice was heavy with threat from where he sat, face passive as if he hadn’t threatened to kill Zir’elon and ensure no one ever found out. If anyone could get away with a perfect murder, it would be Emyr.

“Not everyone comes back from away assignments alive, after all,” Emyr added in, eyes glinting with a malicious darkness that would make Liliana shiver if it was directed at her.

Sometimes, she truly had to wonder if any of them could truly be considered good. Sometimes she had to wonder if she even cared.

Zir’elon finally quieted, wisely deciding he’d had enough threats against his life for the next few minutes before he inevitably forgot and tried to instigate again. Liliana let the last of her anger fade, putting it away with a silent promise of someday, someday I’ll drag him off that high horse and ruin him. They had all just settled back down when Koth’talan’s fight began, all of them having missed the rules being read out during the verbal spar and barely avoided murder attempt.

Koth’talan was against Oscar Stratsay of class A. Unlike many of the combatants so far, Stratsay did not bring any weapons, but instead made them as soon as the match began. From shoulder to hand, his arms were covered in rough, sharp crystals, the ends forming the shape of a dragon’s roaring head, extending past his fingers. Even his legs were covered in crystals, the only breaks around his joints to give him ease of movement as he rushed at Koth’talan.

Why buy a weapon when you can just make yourself a weapon? Liliana thought with a weak smile at her silent joke as she watched crystal and runed blade meet in a clash of sparks. Ice crystallized along Koth’talan’s blade wherever Stratsay struck, forcing the prince to hastily coat his blade in fire to melt it, or risk the integrity of the metal and having his blade break.

Stratsay struck with fist and leg, a dervish of crystal limbs and frozen touch that kept Koth’talan on the back foot as they clashed again and again across the sands.

“Shit. Is he going to lose?” Marianne asked, face drawn in worry as they watched the fight.

“No, look at his feet.” Emyr pointed, finger drawing attention to where the sand was melting beneath Koth’talan achingly slowly, gradually turning the compacted sand to sparkling glass with each step.

Liliana’s eyes widened as she grasped Koth’talan’s strategy. He had been testing Stratsay in the first few clashes, seeing what elements he utilized to better formulate a strategy. He was assuming the other boy was a true threat and acting accordingly. Once he’d registered that the other boy had Water and Ice elements, he had decided using his own Lava affinity would be a losing game, and end with him lacking visibility.

It was a marked difference from his first fight in Battle Training against Diana, when he’d used lava against her and she’d used water, robbing him of sight. This time, he was proceeding in a far more calculating manner. He’d learned to respect his opponents, and assume anyone he faced could prove a true challenge and should be treated as such.

He was fighting smarter, not harder, and it showed so much growth from who he had been that it took Liliana’s breath away for a minute.

It was hard to see sometimes, from up close, the progress she and her friends had made in only six months. Being around so many others of the same age and similar power levels had forced them to grow. It was something easy to forget, with the lack of level up notifications that many in this world saw as the only form of progress. But even if their levels had hardly grown in six months, they themselves had.

Something in Liliana’s head clicked, like a light bulb going off. She thought she understood now, a bit more, what the purpose of the Academy truly was. It didn’t exist to simply churn out high leveled individuals. It was trying to make them truly strong. And strength wasn’t something only measured in levels and stats, it was something that necessitated intelligence, thinking, cleverness, and strategy they could only learn when pitted against others at a similar level of progression as them.

Their class ranks weren’t a punishment or reward, it was the Academy placing them where they could best learn and grow. Putting them against those who would truly challenge them, without either steamrolling them or being steamrolled. You couldn’t learn that way. You could only learn when you went against others around your same skill level.

Koth’talan’s patient strategy finally paid off when he stumbled back. His act of being off balance and thrown off was so realistic, Liliana only knew it was an act because she could see the ground where his feet had been sparkling under the light.

Stratsay didn’t see the same thing. Eager to wrest his victory from Koth’talan’s hands, he rushed forward, only for his crystal coated feet to find no traction on suddenly too slick footing. All that heavy crystal dragged him down in a heap of weighed down limbs and Koth’talan jumped forward, striking without hesitation as Stratsay struggled to regain his feet. The glass ground and his own limbs, once a boon, now a burden, prevented him from rising as Koth’talan’s punishing strikes rained down like a god’s judgment.

Stratsay’s shield turned red before he ever managed to stand again, and Koth’talan was declared the victor. The dæmon prince paused, half turned away before he strode back to Stratsay and held out a hand, face set in an emotionless mask as he waited for the other boy to take or decline the aid. Stratsay stared at the hand as his crystal made armaments broke off of him in segments.

Shaking his head, Stratsay grinned, taking Koth’talan’s hand and allowing the other boy to lift him to his feet. Stratsay said something to Koth’talan none of them could hear, getting a shocked blink from the prince and a small head shake.

Stratsay threw his head back in a laugh, pounding Koth’talan’s back good-naturedly before he walked off to his own tunnel. Koth’talan watched him for several moments, his face faintly bemused, as if he wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened before he turned and walked to his own tunnel.

“Tsk. Suppose even a mongrel can win against weak opponents like that.” Zir’elon muttered from the back and Liliana closed her eyes, reminding herself that murder was illegal and if she wanted to get away with it, she couldn’t do it with so many witnesses around.

“Don’t start fights when I’m not here, Elon.” Dunstan’s voice warned as he stood.

His second fight was next, and he walked out of the room quickly, not sparing any of the others a glance. Zir’elon sucked his teeth but seemed to place some merit in his friend’s words, for he kept his trap blessedly shut. If Liliana didn’t dislike Dunstan so much, she might have been inclined to thank him.

Liliana handed over gold to Emyr with a smile. The small smidge of goodwill Dunstan had earned wasn't enough for her to bet in his favor. She wouldn't pretend she was a good person, she would watch in delight while her enemies fell, and would pray to the gods for it to happen. And if she got a bit of money out of it? All the better.

Chapter 175: A Beautiful Nightmare

“Make a friend?” Alistair teased lightly when Koth’talan walked back in.

If one didn’t know Alistair as well as Liliana did, they might not even notice the subtle strain in his tone that belied his calm demeanor. Zir’elon was testing all of their patience, and Liliana could only hope they got private waiting rooms or Zir’elon was knocked out soon. If only for the prince’s own safety.

“I’m not sure. He asked to spar again sometime.” Koth’talan sounded vaguely lost, as if the notion of making friends was still an utterly foreign concept to him.

Perhaps it was all the friends he had now had more or less shoehorned themselves into his life. Liliana had to wonder, were they his first friends? The environment he’d grown up in wasn’t one that encouraged friends. His entire life, he’d undoubtedly had to wonder if anyone offering a hand in friendship was simply a ploy from one of his siblings in some new scheme to kill him.

Such an upbringing did not encourage proficiency in social skills. The Academy would be the first place he’d ever been where his siblings had little to no influence, where he could actually make friends without fear that they’d sink a poisoned dagger in his back.

“You should. Sparring against the same people can make you stagnant. More sparring partners can only enhance your skills.” Liliana suggested, wording it in a way that would be more comfortable for Koth’talan.

Friendship and connections were still strange and terrifying because of the newness of it. However, combat and fighting were something familiar to the prince. Progression was necessary and therefore a justifiable reason to build a relationship, even if the prince wouldn’t realize he had made a friend until it was too late to back out of it. But that would be best for him. Koth’talan deserved to have friends, to be a kid, just like the rest of them.

“Yes. Perhaps I shall take him up on it.” Koth’talan nodded, relaxing slightly when the offer was newly framed as nothing more than a way to advance his skills further.

Emyr shot a glance at Liliana, eyebrow raising and lips twisted in a half smirk. He knew exactly what she was doing and found it amusing. Liliana rolled her eyes at him and quirked a brow, asking him if he had a better way of doing it with her expression.

A subtle shrug and minute shake of his head told her he had no issue with what she’d done and doubted Koth’talan would’ve accepted the offer if it’d been framed as simply an overture of friendship. Liliana nodded firmly. She knew that she wasn’t dumb. Emyr snorted and shook his head, looking back at the illusion and ending the silent conversation.

“It’s so weird when you two do that.” Rathwater said, sounding faintly amused and more than a bit wary.

“Do what?” Liliana asked, half her attention on the illusion where Dunstan was summoning his army of automatons.

Even in the tournament, the boy had no originality, no sense of style in his creations. Many in her class had grown, but some still remained stagnant, unwilling or unable to change. Animation was an amazing affinity, but it was limited to the user’s imagination. A user with a boundless imagination was a real threat with that affinity, but someone stuck in a box was ultimately doomed to fail.

“Have an entire conversation without saying a word.” Rathwater shook his head, looking mystified. In that one sentence, it became incredibly clear Rathwater was both an only child and had likely as few friends growing up as Koth’talan had.

“We’ve known each other for a long time. It’s just something that… happens?” Liliana clumsily explained, holding her hands up in surrender.

How did you properly describe the depths of a connection you had with someone who had seen you at your best and worst? Who had saved your life time and again, and you theirs in return? How did you explain a bond that was built brick by brick, with aching slowness, mortar made of blood, tears, oaths and promises?

How did you explain that when you had seen all of someone that reading their thoughts in the quirk of a lip, the shimmer in their eyes and the slight adjustments of their body was as natural as breathing?

Liliana didn’t need a mind reading skill to know what Emyr or Alistair were thinking at any given moment, and she hardly ever needed [Telepathy] to let them know what was on her own mind. As much as they were open books to her eyes, she was one to them as well.

“It’s… admirable,” Rathwater said finally, his voice faintly wistful, his eyes holding traces of envy that said for all he tried to shy away from others, for entirely different reasons than Koth’talan, he wanted the connections he witnessed.

Liliana felt a surge of protectiveness, of something akin to claiming if she had to put a name on it, though she wouldn’t say it was the right one, flutter in her heart. She did have a habit of picking up strays. Any of her friends could put credence to that claim.

If friends, if a sense of belonging, were something Rathwater sought, then Liliana would make sure he found it. He might not realize yet that he had as much a place in their group of friends as Koth’talan and Anya did, but he’d understand, eventually. In Liliana’s opinion, there was no such thing as too many allies or friends to have.

The more people she could call hers in her life, the stronger she was. She had overcome her assumption that she needed to face the world alone and had seen the strength she could bring to bear with others lending their own to her. There were many different kinds of strength, and Liliana would not limit and weaken herself by denying any of them.

The conversation with the quiet Rathwater come to an end, Liliana turned her attention fully back to the illusion.

“Oh, I want wings like that.” Liliana sighed as Liliac Murrish of class A, Dunstan’s opponent, grew wings made of pure darkness.

Looking at them was akin to looking into the void itself, nothing but a black so deep it absorbed the light around them. They were so large they easily dwarfed the girl as she took to the air with great heaves of the new limbs that created gusts so powerful the automatons approaching her were tossed back.

“Make some then,” Marianne shrugged, as if the answer was obvious and Liliana leaned forward, eyes glued to Murrish’s form.

Wings, enabling a true flight skill like Murrish was using as she dove and twisted in the air like a bird of prey, were something she desperately wanted. The uses of such limbs in a battle would be beneficial as well. Damage to created limbs like that wouldn’t touch her own Health, only her Mana if it was a channel or if she had to reform them.

They could be used defensively if they were big enough, and mobile enough, to wrap around her, and she could use them as weapons to batter and push back opponents. The benefits were numerous. Though if Liliana was honest, her motivation was based on the fact that wings looked really cool, not because they would help her in battle.

She would never claim to be someone who didn’t put stock in appearance. She had a dancer class, for goodness’ sake. Her penchant for the spotlight and performance was abundantly obvious even to the System.

Liliana ran through her available affinities, trying to determine which one she could force to her will to fashion her own wings. Truly, the only ones she could reasonably use were Wind or Light. The rest of hers weren’t skills that created something material.

She was sure she could give her astral form wings if she wanted, but it was pointless as her astral form was already essentially a ghost. Wind would be difficult. It was a physical element, but it wasn’t inclined towards making things. It preferred movement, not staying stagnant.

Light would be her best bet, and she had a high enough mastery that it would be easier to make wings out of that element than out of a new element if she unlocked one specifically for the purpose. Training a new element to a point where she could get some type of control over it to form even something small, let alone large limbs like wings, would take her months. If not an entire year to get to that point.

After the tournament, during our small break between semesters, I’ll have to focus on trying to create wings. It’ll be fun to introduce a new flashy skill like that in our first Battle Training class in the second semester. Liliana thought with a smile as the fight proceeded on the illusion.

Murrish was running circles around Dunstan, despite his numerous automatons. He had no Wind affinity himself, so he couldn’t get any of his creations airborne. It meant he was left sending shots at her from the ground and having his automatons throw created boulders and projectiles at her, all of which Murrish evaded with a proficiency and speed that had Liliana dying to face the girl herself. Her favorite opponents were ones that matched her speed and truly pushed her.

Murrish seemed content to do nothing more than avoid attacks, darting around the coliseum as if she was out for a leisurely afternoon flight, dipping and diving gracefully. The match ticked on, Dunstan getting more and more frustrated with every missed shot and minute that passed as Murrish seemed to disregard the fact they were in a match at all.

She appeared entirely content to show off her impressive flying skills to the audience, making daring maneuvers that had even Liliana gasping along.

Murrish was treating this like a performance rather than a battle. That fact became abundantly clear as the match reached the point where it was the longest time yet for a fight since the start of the second round.

All eyes were on Murrish as her void black wings fluttered in the air, propelling her through it. Which meant it came as a surprise to the entire audience when the match was called to an end rather suddenly, Murrish declared the victor. Liliana’s eyes darted to Dunstan, who she had forgotten had even been on the sands. His shield was a bright neon red.

“What?” Liliana blurted, utterly confused as Murrish dove for the ground, wings tucked around her and snapping out scant feet from the ground.

Liliana was certain if she could hear it, a thunderous crack would’ve sounded as the wings made of darkness caught her from plowing into the ground. Murrish’s feet lit delicately upon the ground and she bowed to the audience, wings spread out behind her. When she stood back up, the wings wrapped around her form, vanishing like smoke in the wind, leaving a smiling and waving Murrish behind as she pranced off the battlefield.

“She was distracting all of us, even Dunstan, while she did something to him.” Emyr said, voice impressed.

Alistair let out a low whistle as his eyebrows traveled up his forehead. None of them had noticed that Dunstan was being hurt during Murrish’s performance, and that was more than slightly terrifying. More than anything they had seen witnessed in the matches so far, a death you never saw coming, never even noticed, was a horrifying thing.

Beautiful nightmare was a title Liliana would readily give to Murrish, and the urge to face the girl herself rose. Even if she didn’t fight her today, she hoped the girl got into class S, or Liliana could find her later and ask her to spar. The things she could learn from someone like that.

“What kind of affinity could even do that?” Marianne asked in a hushed voice.

“Poison?” Rathwater offered up.

“Plague? Death?” Liliana added in.

There were several affinities with skills and spells that wouldn’t leave a visible marker of their effects. There were clear poisons that could be aerosolized if mixed with a Gas or Wind affinity. They’d already seen someone use an Acid affinity in a similar manner, though that one had been harrowingly obvious.

Though Levy’s tactics had probably been so obvious for the express purpose of instilling hopelessness and fear in his opponent.

“Soul, Psyche, even attacks hidden behind illusions could do it,” Marianne added on and Liliana nodded with a frown.

Murrish had done something few so far had managed. She’d kept the majority of her affinities hidden. The only ones she’d obviously used were Dark and Wind. There was no telling how many others she had, what other tricks she had up her sleeve, and that made her a dangerous threat for whoever faced her next.

She was clever and intelligent in a way her performance had done much to hide until the end. Anyone watching her had undoubtedly assumed she was disrespectful and empty-headed. Up until she ‘killed’ someone without ever laying a hand on them, all while keeping the entire audience’s attention on her.

Had she been able to take out Dunstan the entire time, and only waited until the point where she could be sure no one was watching him to strike? Had the entire fight been a calculated? How had she knocked out Dunstan without anyone, even presumably Dunstan, noticing? Liliana had so many questions she wanted answered, and she couldn’t help but suspect that was all part of Murrish’s plan as well.

The tournament was as much a performance as a series of fights. It was essentially a very violent talent show. The entire purpose of it was to show off what they could do. To generate interest from older students and forge alliances and partnerships between more experienced, or more powerful, people with up-and-coming talent. And Murrish had certainly gained herself the lion’s share of attention with her fight.

Even if she didn’t end up in the finals, Murrish would have offers of mentorship and partnerships before the start of the next semester or Liliana would eat one of her daggers. If the girl stayed in class A and wasn’t moved to class S too, Liliana would lose faith in the Academy as a whole. Barring a truly terrible showing on her exams, Murrish deserved to be in class S.

“My turn,” Diana said softly as she walked towards the door, shooting a hesitant look back at Liliana and her group.

Emyr didn’t glance in her direction, as if he hadn’t heard the girl speak. Marianne sniffed delicately, arms crossing and jaw clenching. Alistair gave Liliana a look, raising an eyebrow, and Liliana gave him a minute shrug of her shoulders. She wouldn’t demand any of her friends forgive Diana for what she did. Diana had hurt them too with her actions, and Liliana wouldn’t ask them to forgive that without an apology.

“Good luck,” Liliana turned to Diana with an encouraging smile.

Diana smiled back, tensed shoulders relaxing. She waited in the doorway for a moment longer, hopeful eyes bouncing between the others in the group. Rathwater offered her a smile and Alistair turned to give her a silent nod, but the rest pretended as if she didn’t exist.

Much as she had done to them for months.

Diana’s shoulders slumped as she slipped out of the door, and Liliana’s heart twinged painfully. But it was nothing more than the consequences of the girl’s own actions, however justified they had been. Every choice had consequences of some kind, and Liliana had a feeling Diana was learning this fact. Every action had an equal and opposite reaction, and Liliana couldn’t, wouldn’t, fix Diana’s problems and mistakes for her. Gods knew she had enough of her own to deal with.

If Diana wanted her friends back, she needed to repair the damage she had done herself. Make her reparations and let the hurt parties decide if they were good enough, if they would permit someone who had already betrayed them, hurt them, back in their life. Liliana couldn’t do that for her, and couldn’t force her friends to forgive Diana even if she did apologize to them. They had every right to be mad, to never forgive Diana even if she begged on hands and knees.

Diana walked onto the sands and gold changed hands as bets were made, more than a few bets were made against Diana in favor of Audrey Wilkins of class C. Liliana couldn’t tell if the others honestly thought Wilkins would win or if it was done purely out of petty spite. With many of her friends, it could be either.

Rules were read, several of her friends mouthing them with exaggerated expressions that spawned giggles and chuckles before the shields were formed and the match called to start.

Diana almost immediately summoned a pillar of earth to shoot herself into the air. It gave her the high ground and would prevent any melee fighter from easily getting her, while letting her rain attacks down on them from on high.

Wilkins watched the move with a deceptive laziness, one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she watched. When Diana reached the height she wanted, Wilkins finally moved, summoning smooth rocks, no bigger than a fist, and shooting them into the thick tower of earth and rock Diana had crafted.

Wilkins looked around for a moment before jumping back several yards and, in what was obviously an unnecessary motion, snapped her fingers.

Diana’s tower exploded.

The stones Wilkins had placed combusted, tens of miniature bombs going off at once and turning Diana’s tower to rubble in seconds. Sand, rock and clods of dirt flew across the coliseum, some colliding with the shield protecting the audience.

Diana tumbled from her spot, mouth opened in a silent scream and she twisted desperately in the air. She caught herself with a gust of wind feet from the ground, just barely saving herself. Wilkins frowned from her spot but summoned more of her stones, undoubtedly imbued with exploding properties, and didn’t give Diana much of a chance to reorientate herself before she sent her barrage of deadly projectiles at the girl.

Diana was forced on the defensive, but in an ironic twist, Wilkins’ assault allowed Diana to show off her proficiency with multiple elements. Diana switched between elements with a fluidity that many would envy.

Walls of water, gusts of winds so strong they knocked entire salvos of the exploding stones away, walls and shields of stones and earth, constructs made of darkness and light. Diana didn’t hesitate to bring every element she had to bear. Her capability to seamlessly weave multiple elements together kept her safe, even as she slowly herded Wilkins around the sands.

As the fight progressed, the sands of the coliseum slowly became a hellscape Liliana had only seen the likeness of in textbook pictures of war zones. Great, jagged craters from deflected bombs littered the ground and rubble from destroyed defenses left the footing unstable and treacherous.

Diana had far less trouble than Wilkins in keeping her balance, easily manipulating the ground under her to make a pathway even while throwing up shields and blocks with whatever element she chose to implement in the moment. The fight was almost at a standstill, Diana stuck on the defensive and Wilkins unable to get past the mage’s expert defenses.

Wilkins was so absorbed in trying to overpower Diana that she didn’t notice she was being lead, and when she took a step back only to find air, her arms windmilling before her body tumbled down into a crater her own missed attacks had created, Diana finally switched gears.

A raging torrent of water shaped like a great serpent with its mouth open wide poured into the crater, boulders the size of horses plummeted down mercilessly, pushed to greater speeds by whipping winds, and a snarling wolf made of flames and darkness pounced the second the water disappeared.

Again and again Diana pumped spell after spell onto the downed Wilkins, never allowing the girl to regain her feet and keeping her advantage with a grim determination until Wilkins’ shield was turned red and the match called to an end, Diana declared the victor.

Liliana let out a low breath, lungs aching. She’d scarcely breathed during Diana’s attack. Once more, it was made blatantly apparent to her just how much her peers had grown in the months since they joined the Academy.

Monsters at their level rarely required any kind of strategic thinking further than ‘hit it until it dies’. Many of them had come to the Academy cocky and reckless. They’d been forced to learn to be creative, thoughtful in their fights once they were faced with opponents that could think and strategize. The tournament was showing, at least Liliana, that many of them had taken the lessons they’d learned in their classes seriously.

It made her wonder, if six months could change them this much, what would four years do?

Chapter 176: The Cost Of The Fight

“Every one of you better bet on me,” Emyr announced as he stood up, stretching his arms and shaking his shoulders in a lazy shrug.

“Five on whoever is your opponent,” Liliana responded dryly, summoning the gold to wave it mockingly in his face. She darted her hand back when Emyr tried to swipe it from her grip.

“You’ll lose it soon enough,” Emyr shrugged as Liliana put away the money.

The rest of the group gave their well wishes to Emyr as he made his way to the door, Alistair whispering something in his ear that had Emyr’s normally stoic facade cracking for a moment, a soft emotion blurring his features.

“You don’t think he’ll really lose, do you?” Marianne murmured as Emyr left the room, Diana entering seconds after him.

“No, he’s far too clever to lose so early in the game. He probably knows the weakness of most, if not all, of the students.” Liliana said honestly as they turned their attention to the illusion, waiting for Emyr to step onto the sands.

As with every match that had involved one of their own, their attention was glued to the illusion. A tension hung so heavy in the air, Liliana thought she could cut it with a knife. They all knew it was unlikely that every one of them would make it to the finals. The likelihood of them facing someone stronger, or with a fighting style that directly countered them, or even blind, stupid luck, was too high the more fights they participated in.

They’d done well to save their energy in the first round, but as they’d already seen with Anya, that didn’t always work. They could end up fighting each other, people who knew their fighting styles from months of watching them evolve. Or they could end up against someone else who had saved their energy in the first round and was as well rested as they were, or had more Stamina or Mana to call on.

There were no guarantees, and sometimes even the tiniest slip in a fight could spell defeat.

After all, even Achilles had been defeated by a single arrow to his hee,l.

Emyr stepped onto the sands, the long, black coat he wore whipping around him in the wind as he strode across the sands. His opponent was Roy Lawry of class C, a boy who appeared to be challenging her brother for the most muscled teenager in their year. He wore a loose reinforced leather vest that managed to hang off his bulky frame as he faced Emyr down, giving him a friendly smile before the rules were read and the match called to start.

Emyr stepped back into his own shadow when the match began, vanishing from view. Lawry must have paid some attention to the previous match Emyr had been in, for he didn’t look surprised by the move. A hammer larger than the boy appeared beside him, so heavy it pressed down into the sands, Lawry’s hand loose on the haft.

“Can he even lift that?” Basil asked.

“It does not appear so.” Koth’talan responded, and indeed, Lawry didn’t raise the weapon. As if he couldn’t heft his own hammer. Liliana had to wonder how heavy it was that even someone as large as Lawry could not move it, and what the purpose of a weapon he couldn’t even use was.

Lawry shook his head on the illusion and the several in the room drew in sharp breaths when the veins they could see on Lawry’s body bulged grotesquely. His body seemed to inflate, or bloat might be a more apt description of the phenomenon, and Liliana finally understood why his vest had been over sized. By the time a minute had passed, it was straining against his body and Lawry lifted his hammer with apparent ease.

The entire time Lawry had been… transforming, Emyr had not made a move. Liliana wasn’t sure if he was subscribing to some form of chivalry, not attacking Lawry during his preparations or if he knew something the rest of them did not.

“Blood, that’s a blood skill. If you follow the self augmentation path.” Marianne spoke up, eyes wide as she looked at Lawry, who was scanning the seemingly empty arena with a calculating gaze.

“You can just… go beast mode?” Liliana said with a wrinkle of her nose.

She’d known, intellectually, that the Blood affinity could be used inside one’s self to increase their physical attributes. It wasn’t a common affinity for physical fighters to use, but it wasn’t a bad one to take. Not her personal preference, especially seeing it in person.

“More or less,” Marianne shrugged, looking as disinclined as Liliana to try it for herself.

Lawry seemed to have picked a target and with a surge of powerful muscles he jumped into the air, hammer swinging back and down as he crashed it into a cluster of dark shadows. The force was so great a depression was dug deep into the sands, a tremble shaking around Lawry from the power behind the hit. Lawry hoisted his hammer out of the ground with a surge of obscenely bulged muscles and frowned at the shadows before he took off in another blood and muscle enhanced jump to target another bank of shadows.

Still, Emyr didn’t make an attack.

Liliana wasn’t sure what he was doing, or where he was even hiding. She thought she saw some shadows appearing and vanishing across the arena that could be Emyr or a diversion to attract Lawry’s attention, but no other moves were made by the dark mage. Unlike Anya, who he had spent his entire match distracting and harrying, herding her into the perfect position to strike, he was, by all appearances, running from this fight.

“What is he doing?” Liliana finally asked when the five-minute mark had passed with no offensive attacks from Emyr.

“I’m not… sure.” Alistair said, face drawn in consideration as his eyes scoured the illusion for a hint of Emyr.

Learning from the last fight Emyr had been in, Liliana looked to the sky, searching for meteors hanging only to find none. It was as if he’d entirely left the arena, no hint of him to be found in it. It was impossible, though. The shield that surrounded it was far too powerful for someone of their rank to slip out of it until it was taken back down at the end of the fight.

He had to be on the sands, even if she couldn’t see him. Even if Lawry’s hammer couldn’t strike him, no matter how many shadows he pulverized, leaving craters and holes in the earth with each strike that shook the arena around him like a walking earthquake.

Ten minutes came and passed. The sands turned into a desolate zone of pitfalls and holes that even Lawry was beginning to find troublesome. Each new crater only created more shadows that seemed to lengthen and darken with each passing heartbeat. Liliana would almost say the class C student was bordering on paranoia as he started to strike at shadows erratically, turning sharply at unheard noises only to chase after yet another stretched out shadow, every strike leaving a new hole, and multiplying shadows as the light was obstructed.

Fifteen minutes approached and finally, something new happened. Emyr did not emerge as he had to taunt Anya, but the shadows surged around the arena, a tsunami of darkness that rose up against the shield, cresting halfway up and entirely blocking their view of the arena before they crashed down, swallowing the sands and Lawry under their onslaught.

Liliana saw Lawry try to jump out, his hammer swinging, but shadows gripped his body like skeletal hands, dragging him back down under the darkness, his hammer the last to fall under it. Shadows roiled and writhed as if they were boiling. Flashes of bright white fire broke through the shadows in spurts, only to be snuffed out as more crashed down, a never ending tide of darkness that devoured the light and anything held inside of them.

“Dark Dominion.” Alistair said softly.

“It evolved?” Liliana asked incredulously. She’d seen the spell used before, but it had never been like that.

“Mm, recently. Became a long channel, takes over ten minutes if I remember correctly, and is a huge Mana sink, so he doesn’t like to use it unless he absolutely has to. Requires most of his focus. Hard to manage collateral, too.” Alistair explained, ever the Emyr encyclopedia for his skills and spells.

Was he even aware how much he knew, or did he have a little journal squirrel away somewhere that he noted all of this down in? Maybe Liliana should search his room and find out. It could be wonderful blackmail material.

Only occasional hints of Lawry’s form were seen in flashes when he managed to break free, through force or through small spurts of what Liliana thought were Purification flames. Each minute glimpse of Lawry they were afforded showed a shield slowly turning red.

Despite the overwhelming and apparently powerful nature of the spell, it still took several more minutes before Emyr was declared the victor. The entire time, not a single person in their room could see what happened. Nor what skills or spells were used in tandem to the area of effect spell. If any were. Liliana couldn’t help but think that it had been Emyr’s intent to hide the full extent of his abilities.

The shadows took a moment to vanish, slowly retreating to their original positions, dripping off Lawry’s panting and red form like they were reluctant to release their captive. Emyr, ever the dramatic shit he was, stepped out of Lawry’s shadow as if it was a stairwell, brushing off his dark coat and giving Lawry a brisk nod before turning and walking off the sands.

He hid it well, but even on the illusion, Liliana could detect the minute shake in his shoulders, the tight clench of his jaw and the way his hands had buried themselves in his pockets to hide the tremors. Others would never see it, but Liliana had known Emyr too long, knew him better than she knew herself.

Emyr was exhausted.

Whatever he’d done, if it had been [Dark Dominion] alone or a combination of that spell and others they hadn’t seen, he’d drained his Mana during his fight. For all his initial bravado, Lawry had been a real threat to him, and Emyr had known it before he’d ever stepped onto the sands. He’d known he’d need to use a big spell to take him down, and more than anything that made Liliana pay attention to Lawry as he walked off the sands, shoulders slumped and overlarge hammer gone, his body deflated like an old balloon.

Alistair stood as soon as Emyr vanished from the illusion. His fight was next.

“Good luck out there, don’t… lose, alright?” Liliana stood and grabbed her brother in a tight hug, whispering the words to him. The sudden knowledge that Emyr had come far closer than anyone had noticed to losing had shaken her.

It might just be a tournament in a school, with no real stakes for them, but Liliana didn’t want to see any of her friends lose. Didn’t want to see them defeated. Weak, broken. It was ridiculous, and she knew that. A loss here didn’t mean they would be truly hurt, or dead, but the irrational fear defied her logic. It was too close to seeing them defeated in a real fight.

She wanted her friends to be strong, to be unbeatable, as impossible as such a concept was. Not because their power added to hers, but because if they were strong enough, then maybe they wouldn’t be taken from her. This was a cruel, harsh world filled with blood and death. It was a fact Liliana never allowed herself to forget. The weak were too easily culled and ended. And Liliana feared she’d never be powerful enough to protect them if they couldn’t protect themselves.

“Hey, I’ll be fine. I’m your big brother. Have some faith.” Alistair hugged her back, rubbing a hand over her hair and tugging at her braid playfully. Liliana pulled back and adopted a carefree mask, making an annoyed face at her brother.

“Shoo, go give your boyfriend a victory kiss.” Liliana grumbled, sitting back down. Alistair’s mouth dropped open, and he floundered for a moment, skin darkening.

“He’s not-We’re not- it’s. Ugh! You’re awful!” Alistair stammered out, turning and leaving the room, laughter and good lucks trailing after him. Liliana smiled, but unease curled tightly in her stomach, hardening into a stone that weighed her down.

Emyr entered a minute later, looking exhausted, to Liliana, but a little happier. She reached out and dragged him onto the couch next to her before he could get to his original seat, pressing her side tightly to his. Reassuring herself, he was still here, not defeated.

Gods what is with me. This is all fake. None of it is real. It’s just a silly talent show where we get to show off our skills to other students. It’s not even like it’s the final fourth year tournament where alumni are invited. The stakes are low. Why am I so unsettled? Liliana shook her head, leaning it on Emyr’s shoulder, who allowed the action with a questioning hum but didn’t press.

Probably just the stress of the exams and the tournament getting to me. And the amulet. I’m just redirecting my anxieties about other problems on this. Liliana decided. She’d always been sensitive. [Empathy] hadn’t been a surprising skill for her to get, and even Healer Sybil had said she had a natural gift for Psyche work that implied she was more intuitive when it came to others and herself. This was just another example of her sensitivities getting the better of her. She needed to control herself.

Alistair stepped onto the sands, walking tall, with his back straight, as he faced his opponent. Ena Goldcomb of class A. Goldcomb, for her part, seemed at least genial when she nodded at Alistair. Her face was arranged in a careful noble mask. Then again, Liliana expected nothing less from the daughter of a baron.

“It’s almost not fair he has to fight her when he’s already had a fight and she hasn’t.” Liliana muttered, fingers twitching for a knife to play with.

“That is simply how they’ve chosen to organize this endeavor.” Koth’talan shrugged.

Liliana hummed and didn’t respond, gnawing at her lip until she tasted the sharp copper tang of blood. Her lip traced the already healed cut before her lip returned to between her teeth to repeat the process.

“I had to, too. And Emyr. It’s just how it is.” Marianne soothed her. Liliana made a distracted noise, tongue heavy with the taste of blood.

Alistair and Goldcomb listened to the rules read out with passive faces, nodding to show they understood. The fight was called, and both combatants moved. Alistair called his kite shield and sword out immediately, his skin turning from its familiar umber tone to a darker metallic shade, shining under the heavy autumn sunlight above. His shield glowed brightly, the light leaking over his body as he activated his defensive skills. His feet dug into the ground as he set himself up to wait out Goldcomb.

Goldcomb, for her part, was not idle. Jumping back on light feet, she called out an ornate rapier and used it like a conductor as creatures made of earth rose from the ground. Vaguely humanoid and beast alike rose in ranks before Goldcomb, sand falling from them like water as they shook their newly made limbs.

Small beings, almost childlike in appearance but with arms so long they dragged the ground, tipped with stick thin three jointed fingers and wicked curved claws. Large hulking man like creations with nightmarish faces configured to look like they were snarling or screaming, fangs so long they dipped past their chins and spikes up and down their arms and legs.

Thin, eight foot tall man-like creatures that looked like they’d been stretched, every part of their bodies long, too long and disturbing to stare at for any amount of time. Beasts formed to look like overlarge wolves, but with too many teeth, like a shark, and heads coming off their sides.

In minutes, Goldcomb had summoned an army of nightmares painted in the dark brown colors of the earth.

“Gods.” Marianne muttered, pressing her side tightly to Liliana’s as a shudder of fear passed through her as she looked across what Goldcomb’s imagination had wrought.

“That’s a real Animation mage there.” Liliana said, equal parts horrified and impressed.

She couldn’t help pitching her voice just loud enough for Zir’elon to hear it back in the room, hoping the jibe stung after Dunstan’s loss. Perhaps if he had Goldcomb’s imagination, he might have survived his round. There was something to be said for psychological warfare.

Goldcomb’s tactic might have even worked against a weaker man. But Alistair had seen monsters made of his own flesh and blood. Followed Liliana when she chased after beasts only she would deign to call beautiful. Monsters, twisted nightmares and hulking brutes would not sway his determination.

She’d seen him face down packs of ghouls, rabid zombies, slavering hell hounds and many more such creations without flinching. He was a tank, and he’d be a poor one if he broke his stance in the face of overwhelming odds and hellish beasts charging him. Alistair’s fearlessness in the face of death was one of the many things she respected about her brother.

She’d never once doubted that he would stand tall against anything that faced him. She could say she’d had never met someone capable of matching her brother’s courage.

Earthen limbs clashed against bright metals and crystal as Goldcomb directed her army to strike like a general. In seconds Alistair was surrounded and his shield was raising and bashing even as his sword moved in concert with it, cutting through thick, false limbs and dropping man-made monsters as he held his ground. Liliana’s eyebrows furrowed and her abused lip left her teeth.

“Illusions,” Liliana breathed softly, catching as a third strike of Alistair’s passed through a monster’s body like it wasn’t there.

Liliana’s eyes bounced from monster to monster, re-examining them with the new information she had. So many creatures, so many illusions, meant the chance of mistakes would be higher. Illusions that moved were the hardest for someone to control, and when there were multiple, it got infinitely more difficult. Liliana began to catch mistakes in Goldcomb’s illusions, real automatons’ limbs clipping through an illusion there, one with their leg phasing through the ground there, a flickering body half hidden in the ranks.

Liliana readjusted her original count for the monsters, the numbers dwindling drastically when she realized that well over half of the automatons were fake. Either Goldcomb didn’t have the Mana to sustain such numbers, or she was trying to conserve it. Automatons still appeared from the ground as their fellows were felled, but as Liliana analyzed the new additions she saw for every real one, three false illusions were summoned.

Alistair seemed to come to the same conclusion Liliana did, and with a grim set smile that Liliana could hardly see behind his shield, he started taking slow steps forward, cutting a swath through false automatons and real.

Attacks, both true and fake, crashed against his body as he moved, but his health shield barely changed. Goldcomb’s automatons were terrifying, but they didn’t have much power behind them, and earth was always weaker than metal.

Dirt fell like rain as Alistair cut his way through the automatons, moving forward at a glacial pace, but a consistent one. Goldcomb was backing up as Alistair cut a swathe through her defenses. It was a slow fight, but an inevitable one. With each step Alistair took, more real automatons fell, and far fewer rose to replace them.

Goldcomb’s arm shook so much her rapier kept dipping and sweat was pouring off her face. Liliana no longer assumed she was preserving her Mana. If anything, she was approaching Mana exhaustion as Alistair kept coming for her.

The fight ended when Goldcomb’s back hit the shield, unaware she’d been methodically herded into a corner. Five illusions and three real automatons fell under Alistair’s blade before their master followed shortly afterwards.

Alistair’s shoulders heaved as he sucked in great breaths of air on the illusion, his sword and shield vanishing as he helped Goldcomb back to her feet when the fight was called to an end. Goldcomb was shaking, swaying on her feet, but she kept hold of her noble mask by the skin of her teeth. She nodded at Alistair imperiously before she turned on her heel, nearly falling, before she walked off the sands with as much grace as her obviously exhausted body could manage.

Alistair turned only when Goldcomb vanished from sight, his worry for the other girl obvious, and walked off the sands himself with far more composure. Yet, to Liliana, his tiredness was obvious. Fighting so many opponents had not been an easy task for him. It being his second fight of the day had not helped.

Liliana let out a deep sigh, relief slamming into her with the knowledge her brother had won. He was battered and tired, but he had made it to the next round of fights.

Chapter 177: Fangs Of A Flower

Alistair had hardly stepped in the door before Liliana and Emyr had catapulted out of their seats to crash into him.

The tank stumbled, back colliding with the door and shaking it under the force of the assault. Blinking owlishly, he looked down at the two forms wrapped around him before chuckles shook his chest and he wrapped them in one of his trademark bear hugs, bones creaking under the stress of his strength.

“You did well, brother.” Liliana told him, her voice muffled from where it was pressed to his armored torso. Emyr nodded beside her, by all appearances trying his hardest to burrow into the other boy.

It was never easy watching one of their friends fight. It was harder still watching Alistair, Emyr or Liliana fight alone. They’d fought side by side for so long, for years, that sitting still while one of the others was in danger felt wrong on a bone deep level.

When they’d had no one else beside them, they’d always had each other.

Liliana could only pray that the elder years and her memories were right in that the fight types rotated year by year. Sometimes several rounds of single battles. Sometimes doubles or group battles. She wasn’t sure she could do this seven more times over the next three and a half years, watching her friends, her family, fighting alone with no backup. Shields or no shields, it was wrong to sit back and do nothing.

“Can I sit down now, or are we just going to keep blocking the door and keep Basil from getting to his fight?” Alistair asked his new human barnacles.

“Mmph. Fine. You stink anyway.” Liliana backed off, rubbing at eyes that definitely weren't wet in the slightest. And anyone who claimed they were was a filthy lying liar who lies.

She wouldn’t cry over her brother winning a fight. Especially not one he was in no danger during. Not her. Not Liliana Rosengarde, a paragon of mental health and stability.

You’ve discovered the General Skill, Denial. Would you like to accept this General Skill?

Liliana glared at the System notification, shoving it aside. Har har, very funny. Good to know the System still has a sense of humor when it feels like it. Liliana mentally grumbled. The frequency of sassy alerts she’d gotten had lessened over time, but it seemed the System still liked to joke when it felt like it. She was almost curious enough to ask if anyone else got borderline prank notifications, but the fear that it was something specific to her made her keep her mouth shut.

Vita had implied the system was above even the gods. There was a chance it was a god in its own right. Perhaps the creator of the rest. If it was sentient, there was every chance it was quite well aware she was a transmigrator. In fact, if it was sentient, it definitely knew. Her boon list said as much. Perhaps she had more than simply Vita keeping tabs on her.

But it did make her wonder, did the goals of Vita and the others gods line up with the goals of the System? Or did it even have any at all?

The trio made their way back to the couch, Marianne moving to the side so they could all fit, squished together tightly on the surface, Alistair bracketed by Liliana and Emyr. No one seemed upset by the close quarters and borderline cuddle pile they had formed. Legs and arms were thrown over other limbs without a care as everyone settled in.

“Guess it’s finally my turn.” Basil stretched in his seat like a cat before standing, all liquid grace and noble poise.

Despite his clothes, far under the normal quality of a duke’s son, Basil still managed to exude an aura of nobility that many nobles failed to ever achieve. He ran a hand through loose, platinum blonde hair and shot the group a self-assured smile.

“Wishes for good luck, or are we all assuming I’ll win?” Basil asked.

“Well, with all that confidence, who needs luck?” Liliana teased. Basil gasped at her, clutching his chest dramatically.

“Not even a token from my fair lady before I go off to battle?” Basil demanded, throwing a hand over his eyes as if he was prepared to faint.

“Here Basil, a token of luck from a real lady.” Marianne shot Liliana a faux glare before placing a kiss on Basil’s cheek accompanied by a wish for good luck.

Liliana and Alistair let out twin wolf whistles, shit-eating grins firm on their face as the princess pulled back. Basil bowed with a flourish at Marianne, his own grin spreading across his face. The group called out wishes for good luck as he walked to the door and left.

“So, betting on the underdog or on Basil?” Emyr leaned around Alistair’s considerable bulk to address Liliana.

“Basil, obviously. I have some loyalty. Unlike some princesses who play with people’s hearts like they’re toys.” Liliana sniffed, handing over her gold to Emyr. Marianne screeched, swatting at her as Liliana tried to block the incensed princess’ strikes, light though they were.

“Are you calling me a cheat, Liliana? I’ve never been so slandered in my life!” Marianne squealed, her swats turning to pokes as she sought out Liliana’s ticklish spots with a cruel accuracy.

“I give! I give! Mercy, your highness! Have mercy on this poor pitiful being!” Liliana choked out between giggles, Marianne finally ceasing her tormenting and falling into Liliana’s side with a huff.

“If everyone is done flirting,” Koth’talan started, sighing when shouts of protest arose and waiting out the cacophony, “the match is about to start.” He finished, pointing at the illusion.

The room settled down into a semblance of calm, which they all knew was a thin veneer one teasing remark away from shattering, as they looked to where Basil was facing off against Johanna Baker of class E.

“The girl with the hammer, right?” Marianne asked. Liliana and Emyr immediately responded with affirmatives.

Unlike Lawry, who had at least looked like he could easily wield a giant hammer, Baker was easily dwarfed by her weapon. Basil wasn’t the tallest in their group. That award went to Koth’talan, but he was only a scant handful of inches taller than Liliana herself. And even in comparison to him, Baker was small. What she lacked in height she more than made up for in pure muscle mass.

As her hand wrapped around her weapon, flames flowed to cover her once more in a deadly armor. Her tactic would have far more effectiveness against Basil, whose affinity of choice was Nature, than against her previous opponent who had used Water.

Basil removed his hands from his pockets, fists closed tightly around whatever he had kept in them as Baker charged. Basil danced back several steps in leaping bounds, one hand coming up and tossing out whatever he had hidden. Baker paused for a moment at the projectiles, blinking in confusion when several burned up in her flame armor as others pattered to the ground harmlessly.

Liliana didn’t need to read lips to know the words that came out of the class E girl’s mouth.

“Seeds? Really?”

Basil shrugged carelessly as he backed up several more steps, Baker shaking her head and charging forward. Only to face plant two steps in when vines sprouted and wrapped around her feet, withering as quickly as they could grow. Basil paused his retreat, opening his other fist and tossing seeds around him in a wide arc.

Baker struggled back to her feet, kicking off blackening vines by the time she had regained her stance. All the vines Basil had summoned were dead, charred bits left as casualties at her feet. Basil shrugged his shoulders again, palms open as if saying, ‘Oh well, what can you do’, with a smile on his face.

Baker seemed to huff, setting her shoulders before she marched forward towards Basil, her confidence in this match coming to a quick conclusion obvious. Basil dropped his hands, his smile turning into something mischievous as he back up again. Vines erupted from the sands like a wave of green, blocking Baker’s path.

Flowers burst into bloom along the vines, a riot of dark purple bordering on black, edged with a bright blue that seemed almost neon against the dark of the purple. Liliana sucked in a deep breath, finally understanding Basil’s strategy.

A disbelieving laugh spilled from her lips as Baker threw her head back in annoyance before attacking the vines and flowers with hammer and fire, ignoring the way her flames birthed a bright purple smoke, threaded with vivid blue like lightening, even as it surrounded her.

Basil, by comparison, was surrounded by thick, fern-like plants that blocked the smoke from reaching him.

Liliana knew those plants. Of course she did.

Papaver Pasithea, or more commonly known as the Nightmare Poppy. A mix of a sleeping herb and a hallucinogenic. It was great for putting someone to sleep if you wanted them trapped in their worst nightmares. Most potent if burned.

Liliana wasn’t entirely sure how the shields worked for airborne poisons. She knew they blocked them out to some extent as she’d never been poisoned, even if her shield would reflect damage she should have gotten from such attacks. The shields seemed to recognize what Basil had done as a type of poison, leeching Baker’s shield slowly towards red.

Baker hardly noticed the color change, her movements growing sluggish, answering Liliana’s question if sleeping poisons could get through the shields. Evidently they weren’t registered as ‘harm’, though she assumed, hoped, the secondary effect of the plant were blocked.

Baker never made it past the walls of vines, body falling limp to the ground, hands still clutched to her hammer as she passed out, coated in dangerous smoke that shifted her shield from yellow, to orange, to red. The entire time, Basil stood, unaffected and uncaring behind his shield of air-purifying Arachiodes Filiformis.

When the match was called to an end, Basil banished his vines, leaving his protective ferns until the dangerous smog was cleared by some unseen professor’s skills, and finally those too wilted and vanished. Basil nodded towards the professor acting as referee. Baker’s unconscious body had already been cleared from the field, and Basil turned and walked off.

“Gimme my money,” Liliana turned to Emyr the second Basil vanished from the illusion, hand held out, fingers curling and uncurling until gold was placed in her waiting palm.

“I did not think you had it in you,” Koth’talan greeted Basil when he returned. The southern heir raised an eyebrow, looking slightly insulted, slightly amused at the comment.

“Plants are often overlooked, but a flower can kill as many as any sword.” Basil told the dæmon as he settled back into his seat.

Liliana nodded in agreement. She knew that well. She handled deadly plants often in her potion making, and Nemesis was a very solid reminder that flowers could have fangs.

“Many poisons begin as nothing more than an innocuous plant,” Koth’talan conceded with a nod, turning back to his sword.

“A flower for my lady fair, whose token gave me the strength to persevere and achieve victory in her name.” Basil turned to Marianne, producing a white rose with a flourish of his hands and magic.

“Could you not? You sound like an old grandfather trying to woo someone.” Liliana covered her face with her hands as Marianne took the flower, flushing and giggling like a schoolgirl. Which, to be fair, she was. But it didn’t make it any easier to hear or witness.

“Dost the lady harbor jealousy for the treatment of thy dearest friend?” Basil leaned harder into his act, and Liliana could respect him for committing to the bit, but it was going too far now.

“The lady dost have a dagger most sharp she will sink into thine throat if thy does not cease his antics post haste.” Liliana lifted her head from her hands, grabbing a dagger and waving it at Basil to punctuate her threat. Basil leaned back, delighted laughter spilling from him.

“Alright, how can I deny the flower of my heart when she makes a demand of me?” Basil teased, summoning a second flower, a sapphire blue rose that looked almost too vibrant to be nothing more than a plant, and not a jewel disguised as an innocent flower. He handed the flower to Liliana, who took it with a suspicious look.

“You will always be the only one in my heart.” Basil winked, a rakish grin spreading across his face, and Liliana huffed to disguise the way her cheeks flushed.

“Incorrigible flirt. You missed your calling as a bard.” Liliana grumbled, but she cradled the flower gently in her palms, a thumb stroking the silky soft petals.

“How would I give a flower to all the beautiful ladies I meet then, if I was a master of music instead of nature?” Basil asked, incredulous.

Liliana snorted and shook her head, relaxing into her seat. Basil seemed pleased his act had gotten a smile out of Liliana, at least. Though Koth’talan was glaring at the whole of them, and Liliana could hear the accusation of flirting in his eyes.

Liliana lifted her gaze from the flower in her hands to the match on the illusion. Howard Lale of class B and Austen Hillington of class C. A bard versus a… bard?

“Speak of the devil and they shall appear, or in this case. Bards.” Liliana muttered quietly as she watched the match.

Lale’s strategy was different from Hillington’s, showing that even in the same class, there was ample variety in fighting styles. Lale apparently had no shortage of affinities that he made ample use of, floating mirrors made of water and light surrounded the arena. Somehow, they bounced his music off of them.

It effectively turned Lale into a one man marching band, and Liliana regretted the lack of sound once more. She could tell that something was happening, the illusion showing the magical music in the air but not letting them know what it sounded like as it whipped through the arena.

Typically, a bard on bard battle would come down to who had more songs in their repertoire, who was more skilled with their fingers or lips, and who could shoot their spells and skills off faster. But when you could bring an entire orchestra to bear, a single bard had no hope against it. Hillington fell under the onslaught of music, his lone voice nothing against the chorus Lale had brought to bear.

The match ended and one bard stood victorious, harp held high as he soaked in the applause and adoration of his audience before strutting off the field with that cocksure confidence all bards seemed to have as a requirement for the class.

The next round started soon after, Diana Upperton of class B and Solomon Oliver of class A. They’d already seen Oliver in his explosive debut on the sands, when he burst his was through his opponent’s defensives. Liliana wondered if Upperton would have a better time against the Combustion user as she mentally giggled at her own puns.

In the back of her mind, Liliana could already feel the familiar thrum of adrenaline pulsing in her veins. She’d once more follow Oliver. Her match was next up.

As the match was called to start, Oliver erupted into action immediately, hands and feet sparking with explosions as he propelled himself at Upperton. The girl, to her credit, seemed to have paid attention to Oliver’s previous fight and a wall of dirt and stone rose from the ground in Oliver’s face.

His momentum was too great to veer off his course, and he crashed headfirst into the barrier, tumbling through it in a rain of dirt and stone, his shield a cheery yellow as he fell on the other side in a heap of limbs.

Upperton used the chance and moved. Like a viper striking two arms’ length weapons, Liliana hesitated to call them daggers they more closely resembled long needles, lashed out. In a flurry of movements, Upperton landed several strikes before Oliver let off a blast around his entire body, sending her flipping back. Upperton landed in a crouch, odd weapons at the ready.

Oliver’s shield had suffered for his fumble, inching closer to orange with each heartbeat. In fact, Liliana pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her own heart thudding under her skin, sped up as it was by her upcoming battle. His shield was changing, tinting subtly darker, in time with an accelerated heartbeat.

“As if he’s been poisoned.” Liliana muttered, Emyr humming in agreement.

Poison was a deadly weapon, all the more so on a battlefield, where hearts thundered at a quick pace, spreading the toxin through the body at a breakneck pace.

Liliana watched in admiration as Upperton began to play a game of cat and mouse with a dead man walking. Dodging fluidly out of Oliver’s reckless charges. Charges that worked well against stationary, easily cowed opponents but failed when confronted with someone who moved with all the grace and speed of a deadly serpent.

Several more times Oliver was tripped up by walls of dirt and stone appearing in his way, Upperton capitalizing on his weakness. Oliver struggled with hairpin turns and quick adjustments while airborne. All power, no dexterity. Every time Oliver was thrown from the sky, Upperton was there, her fang like weapons striking and filling him with more poison.

Liliana committed the match to memory, certain Nemesis would find interest in this human who acted so similarly to a snake.

The fight was called when Oliver’s shield dipped to bright red, undone by poison he had never realized he was falling victim to. Or maybe he had, and it was why his attacks had gotten more desperate and erratic at the end. Either way, he had lost the second he let Upperton strike him. In a real fight, even if he had taken her down, it would’ve been nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory.

Liliana let out a long breath as the fight ended and the combatants left the field, one looking far more pleased than the other. She could feel the familiar tingle of adrenaline in her fingers, her muscles warming as she stood and stretched them out.

It was time to fight again.

Chapter 178: A New Feathery Friend

“Good luck, Lili.” Marianne gave Liliana a tight hug, squeezing with all the strength held in those deceptively thin arms.

“Do I even need it?” Liliana teased as she broke from her friend, only to get hugged by Alistair next. She felt distinctly passed around, like some type of communal emotional support teddy bear.

“Even a dragon can fall to a well-placed arrow, Lils. Be careful.” Alistair chided her, tugging her braid.

“Shall I bequeath my lady love with a token for her battle?” Basil asked, jumping from his seat to bow over her hand.

“I feel like that would jinx me,” Liliana ripped her hand out of his hold, turning away to hide the burning in her cheeks.

She wasn’t used to people flirting with her so blatantly, even as a joke. Basil seemed rather attached to this one bit in particular. She hoped he grew bored with it soon. It was a fairly recent joke, so she was confident he would tire of it by the next day, most likely. She hoped, anyway.

“Make your enemies fear you more than your blade.” Koth’talan intoned. Liliana blinked at him for a moment, head tilting at the odd words.

“Alright?” she finally said, and it seemed to be the right thing, for Koth’talan returned to lavishing attention on his sword.

“Just know, if you lose, I get a lot of money out of it. I’ll even split it with you, thirty seventy.” Emyr told her, voice serious even as his eyes blazed with mirth.

“Hope you’re not attached to that money. You know better than to be against me.” Liliana shoved his head back with a finger, forcing the boy to fall back on the couch with a pout.

“Good luck, Liliana.” Rathwater spoke up softly.

Liliana gave him a soft smile and a nod before she turned to the door and walked out, back straight and head held high. As she walked through the empty tunnel, she passed her hands over her summoning stones, flashes of light proceeding the arrival of her bonds. Lelantos and Polaris fell into step beside her as Nemesis wound her way up Liliana’s body to drape over her shoulders like a deadly scarf.

Once more, the sound of the arena crashed into her like a physical wall. Liliana was better prepared this time around, and her steps didn’t falter, her eyes squinting slightly as they adjusted. The sands felt solid under feet as she walked to the middle. Her nose stung with the scent of sun-baked earth, sweat and the almost imperceptible smell of desperation that had soaked into the sands of the coliseum.

In her chest, her heart pounded, a war drum crying out before the beginning of battle. Adrenaline rushed through her blood, hot and heavy, begging for action. Liliana kept her limbs carefully still and loose as she stopped in the center, facing off against Corbin Newfeather of class B. A beastman, a bird, if she had to make a wild, unsupported guess.

His hair brushed his shoulders, black as night but with a sheen to it like an oil spill, with feathers interspersed throughout. Smaller feathers covered his cheekbones and trailed down the sides of his face. His hands had sharp talons crowning each finger, and Liliana would bet he had matching ones on his feet.

The most impressive thing about him, however, was not his beastly origins, but instead the coterie of creatures following behind him. A night black Pegasus stood tall and proud behind Newfeather, its fearsome fangs in full display as it threw its head back. A Siren stood to his side, beautiful feminine face out of place on the body of a golden eagle, her claws digging into the sands, the expression on her face implying she wished it were flesh under her talons.

A griffin stood to his right, red and gold feathers shining under the harsh sunlight, curved beak razor sharp as it clicked it in clear threat. An overlarge crow sat in pride of place on Newfeather’s shoulders and around his head three almost invisible Sylphs played with his hair.

Newfeather gave Liliana a warm smile, raising a hand to wave at her. Liliana tilted her head slightly but returned the gesture, recognizing him, or more accurately his bonds, from the Beastology Club.

“Another tamer, finally. Lelantos, focus on the Griffin.” Liliana thought to her bonds as the professor appeared to read the rules.

“Worthy prey.” Lelantos agreed, an eager chuff coming from his mouth.

“More friends to play with!” Polaris enthused, bouncing slightly in place, five tails whipping around in his excitement.

“Birds. I hate birds.” Nemesis hissed, Liliana could feel drops of venom hitting her skin.

Liliana and Newfeather agreed to the rules, and the shields were summoned, wrapping around them and their bonds.

“Polaris.” Liliana sent her idea in a flood of images as the start was called and the arena erupted into chaos.

Lelantos let off a [Bestial Roar] that sent the other beasts stumbling back for a moment as he activated [Enlargement] and [Enhancement], his body growing in height and muscle mass. Liliana used the small moment of distraction to swing herself onto Polaris’ back. While they did not often pull this maneuver, it was viable. Polaris had the size and Strength to bear her weight easily. He simply was a far less comfortable mount than Lelantos, his sharp bones prodding carelessly into her thighs.

Liliana could feel the muscles under her legs as Polaris’ wings beat, propelling them into the air within seconds. As Polaris took to the skies, Lelantos charged, tackling into the Griffin in a flurry of feathers and claws.

Liliana’s naginata appeared in her hands as her Set Up combo flooded her body with power, [Threads of Control] activating and ripping her daggers from their sheaths to fly around her and Polaris in a guard as they circled higher. [Battle Clarity] washed her mind clear of distractions, leaving the adrenaline alone as it hummed inside her, screaming in joy now that the fight had finally begun.

Below them Newfeather had vaulted onto the back of his Pegasus, taking to the skies with Liliana even as an ornate, bone flute appeared in his hands. His Siren kept pace with him, his crow circling above his head. Liliana could no longer locate the Sylphs and her daggers spun faster around them, weaving intricate patterns around them as Polaris hovered in the air.

Music filtered into Liliana’s ears as Newfeather lifted his flute to his lips, a haunting melody that made Liliana want to cry. Polaris dipped momentarily in the air when the Siren’s melodic voice joined the song, weaving together in a beautifully disturbing harmony. Liliana’s hand tightened on her weapon and [Gatling Barrage] appeared over her head as bullets of light targeted and fired at Newfeather. His spell was in full effect and Liliana could see a subtle shine wrapping around his bonds, their movements speeding up.

“Lelantos, don’t play with your prey. End it fast.” Liliana warned as Newfeather and his Pegasus dipped and dove between her barrage, some strikes managing to land, interrupting the song for a heartbeat at a time.

A support based tamer. Hopefully, he devoted his entire kit to buffing his tames. Liliana gripped tightly to Polaris with her thighs as he tucked his wings in and dove. Nemesis wrapped around her free hand as they approached the Harpy. As they drew level, Liliana flung her hand out and Nemesis flew through the air, mouth open, fangs shining with venom as her body enlarged.

Nemesis and the Harpy fell from the air, wings tangled in tight coils as the two natural enemies writhed and tore at each other even as they plummeted, striking the ground in a pile of feathers and scales.

Polaris’ mouth opened as his wings snapped out, the sound a thunder crack this close, jolting Liliana almost painfully in her seat. Newfeather and his Pegasus tilted to the side, wings pulled in to avoid the deadly chaotic false flames. Six shining daggers pursued, slashing into a shielded body and almost sending Newfeather from his seat.

A black blur shot like an arrow for Liliana’s head, [Perception] the only warning she got for the attack from above. As Polaris beat his wings to gain height once more, Liliana drew her naginata up in a flash of movement, striking a clean shot against the crow that was unable to dodge this close. Its body flipped through the air, struggling to find its balance as it fell through the air.

Newfeather launched from his seat on his Pegasus, arms wrapping protectively around the crow, tucking it close to his chest as he fell. His Pegasus swooped under him, catching boy and crow and circling away from Liliana and Polaris.

“We only need to knock Newfeather out. Get us close again.” Liliana recalled her daggers as Polaris strained his wings, shooting through the air in a blur of black and silver fur, [Dark Kitsunebi] trailing his tails. Liliana’s daggers surrounded them and she noted that more than once they hit resistance, nearly invisible Slyphs finally making their plays.

Liliana drew her feet up, crouching on Polaris’ back, only her Dexterity keeping her in place as he cut through the air at a breakneck pace. Newfeather and his Pegasus tried to dodge out of the way, but whatever level his Pegasus was, it wasn’t up to Polaris’ level, and every dodge was matched, every tight turn and twist, every barrel roll.

Polaris kept coming, a homing missile locked onto its target. Newfeather could hardly get his flute back to his lips to send out several more buffs with the constant evasive maneuvers forcing him to grip tightly to his bond.

Below, Lelantos had already finished the Griffin and was pacing under the airborne combatants, fangs and claws ready to grab any who dipped too low. Nemesis had the Harpy in her coils, constricting tight as she struck again and again, the Harpy’s shield steadily leeching towards red even as Nemesis stayed a bright yellow.

Two bonds down, five to go. Though the Sylphs would prove little consequence. Liliana was fairly certain she had the muster of Newfeather, his Harpy and Sylphs were meant to enhance his Music affinity. The Harpy could still be used in a fight, but Sylphs at such a low rank as they appeared, a higher rank would have more of a physical form, were only there to support.

Polaris lunged forward in the air [Dark Kitsunebi] and [Havoc Claws] ready as he collided with the Pegasus. Liliana launched off his back a heartbeat before the collision, daggers racing around her and cutting into the bodies of the Sylphs she could hardly see but could still hit. Her naginata was held before her and it struck true, dead center on Newfeather’s chest.

The two students went flying away from their entangled bonds. The Pegasus’ wings beating ineffectively as it fell towards the ground on its back, Polaris shredding into its soft underside with chaos tipped claws and vicious biting jaws.

Shining daggers connected with the crow, who tried to save his falling master, exploding and sending the crow tumbling into the waiting jaws of Lelantos below. Liliana drew her legs up to her chest and kicked out. She put every bit of enhanced Strength she had behind it as she sent Newfeather sailing down, arms windmilling and searching for purchase he wouldn’t find.

[Wind Walk] caught Liliana as she flipped back, her naginata twirling as she shot back at Newfeather’s falling body, [Wind Surge] pushing her on.

Before Newfeather could connect with the hard packed sands of the coliseum, his body was jerked up in the air, as if he had been caught. He floated there, his clothes straining in barely seen hands as he was saved from a harsh defeat on the sands.

Wind gusted under him and Newfeather gained a shaky stability, rising slowly as he looked around, face blanching when he saw three of his bonds down and out, his Pegasus still trapped in a fight with Polaris, their bodies rolling across the sands as chaos and darkness lashed out, wind buffeting but not deterring the Kitsune from his prey.

“So the little bird finds his wings,” Liliana taunted from above as she spun her naginata, daggers dancing around her.

Newfeather’s head whipped around to her, and Liliana struck. His flight skill and Sylphs had saved him, but it was weaker, not meant to be a battle skill like Liliana’s [Wind Walk]. It wouldn’t let him evade her strikes. Without his bonds to protect him, Newfeather was weak, nothing more than a support with no fighters to hide behind.

Liliana plowed into him, moving too fast for Newfeather to avoid. Her naginata struck again and again, shining blade impossible to follow as her daggers slashed and bit into his darkening shield.

The two students fell, the wind screaming her ears as Liliana pushed Newfeather out of the sky with punishing strikes he couldn’t hope to avoid until his back hit the sands with enough force to leave a small indention around him, Liliana’s feet planted firmly on his chest, his shield a bright, cheery red.

“Winner. Liliana Rosengarde of Class S!” a voice called out over the coliseum, accompanied by the thunderous applause of the audience. Liliana hopped off of Newfeather, mentally recalling her bonds to her side.

Lelantos dropped the crow he’d been carrying around like a prize, held surprisingly gently between his jaws. Nemesis finally unwound from the Harpy she’d refused to release even after her shield turned red, body shrinking in a tornado of flower petals, winding up Liliana’s body to hiss discontentedly in her ear. She was disappointed she hadn’t been able to really kill her natural enemy. Polaris bounded to her, tongue lolling out, mouth set in a foxy grin, tails practically vibrating with happiness from the fight he’d had.

“That was a fun fight. We should spar sometime,” Liliana told Newfeather, extending her hand as her skills and spells deactivated, her naginata vanishing even as her daggers slid back into their sheaths.

Newfeather blinked at her for a moment from his resting place on the ground as their shields disappeared. A lopsided grin stretched across his face, Liliana noting that he had dimples in the back of her mind. A warm, clawed hand wrapped around hers tightly, and Liliana lifted Newfeather to his feet. He was surprisingly light, as if he had hollow bones. Because he was part bird, perhaps?

“We should. I want to hear how you procured such powerful companions.” Newfeather told her, leaning slightly into her space, eyes sparkling. Liliana noted that his eyes were rather like a bird’s. Subtly blue tinted white around pitch black pupils. Disconcerting might be a word many would use, but Liliana found them intriguing in their difference from her own.

“Perhaps after the Tournaments we can meet and discuss our bonds? Mayhaps have a friendly spar or let them stretch their wings? Or-“ Newfeather glanced at Nemesis with an amused glint to his inhuman eyes, “Scales and paws?” Newfeather tilted his head, looking distinctly avian as he watched Liliana.

“That sounds good. Polaris has wanted more friends to play with.” Liliana rubbed an affectionate hand over Polaris’ head as the Kitsune yipped happily.

The clearing of a throat by them made the two teens jump back as the professor glared at them, eyebrow raised pointedly. Liliana ducked her head and coughed delicately.

“Then. Bye, see you later?” Liliana called out to Newfeather, who waved and smiled at her as he escorted his own ruffled bonds to his tunnel. Liliana hurried off the sands, only keeping herself from running by the smallest threads of self-control.

“Oooo, Lili has a boyfriend!” Marianne’s voice sing songed as soon as Liliana opened the door, her bonds crowding in behind her. She’d forgotten to send them back to their stones, and they seemed disinclined to return as they settled on the floor around the area Liliana and her group had commandeered.

“I do not!” Liliana huffed, face burning as she threw herself into her seat.

“From here, it looked like you two were having a romantic moment,” Alistair teased her, slinging an arm over her shoulders so she couldn’t escape the teasing. Basil gave her a wan smile but turned back to the illusion without saying a word, thankfully. She had enough people teasing her.

“We were just talking about sparring!” Liliana defended herself, but her face wouldn’t cool and she knew her cheeks were betraying her. Her friend would think she was blushing because she liked Newfeather, not because she was embarrassed at their insinuations.

“A spar is basically a date for you.” Emyr argued and Liliana groaned as she buried her hot face in her hands.

Marianne, Alistair and Emyr continued to tease her about her newest ‘paramour’ through the entirety of the next two fights. Liliana could hardly pay attention to them as she fought against their accusations.

She got that Alfred Brewster of class D won against Edwin Cushway of class B. And Kenneth Levy of class E won once again, this time against Ezz’iken Strevyn of class D. What weapons, affinities or tactics used were beyond her, however.

Look, just because she liked beasts, some would say to the point of obsession, didn’t mean that she would automatically be attracted to the first beastman to give her a fun fight! She had spent far more time around Anya, and as much as she adored the wolf girl, she wasn’t about to ask her on a date. Her friends and brother didn’t seem to hear her objections, gleefully jumping on any reason to tease her and drag her back down to earth.

Liliana might be the strongest fighter out of their group, but they never let her feel like she was better than them. Hard to feel powerful when she couldn’t even look up from her hands because her best friend was discussing wedding arrangements with her brother as she tried to hardest to melt into the couch and cease to exist.

Chapter 179: The Fall Of The Red Princess

Liliana drew her legs up to her chest, arms wrapping around them, as they watched Rathwater step onto the sands. He’d done his best to sneak out when his round was up, hands trembling and face absent of any blood, making him look like a walking corpse.

Liliana hoped his nerves didn’t lose the fight for him. Rathwater was a powerful mage. His greatest weakness was his lack of confidence. She’d originally thought he was simply shy, or disinclined to make friends. It had taken slowly getting to know the boy as a result of the multiple team exercises from Battle Training to learn his quiet composure was the result of insecurity.

“Come on Rathwater, he’s a Reflection tank. He’s weak to your affinities.” Liliana murmured, biting on a short nail as she watched the fight start.

Ebenezer Hicks of class B took out his tower shield immediately, hunkering down in preparation for the attacks. Rathwater took several steps back, eyes flicking across the arena, nervousness so clear he might as well be wearing a sign above his head. Above him, storm clouds gathered, darkening quickly, trembling ominously in unheard thunder as winds whipped around the pair.

Lightning flashed across the heavy bellies of the hovering clouds as they spread, taking over the top of the dome like shield of the arena until the sun was blotted out for the combatants. Rathwater seemed to find some comfort in his opponent’s lack of movement and Liliana thanked the gods that his first fight wasn’t against a melee attacker.

Rathwater’s face set in a mask that hid most of his insecurity as seven bolts of lightning struck Hicks at the same time. The violent flashes of light blinded Liliana for a moment, forcing her to look away, blinking the afterimages away.

Hicks was still standing when Liliana could see again, though his shield was yellow now. His reflective shield hadn’t been able to grab all the attacks then from a seven pronged attack. Said reflective shield was sparking with electricity as Hicks lifted it, pushing it in Rathwater’s direction. A thick, jagged bolt of lightning jumped from his shield, heading right for Rathwater.

A rare smile flitted across Rathwater’s face as he held his hands out, catching the electricity between them. The force of the hit sent him skidding back, body twisting around, but his shield barely flickered to the lightest yellow as the electricity surrounded him, twining and twisting like a living serpent, wrapping around Rathwater.

He turned on his heel to face Hicks once more and thrust his hands out, the lightning racing from him, thicker and even larger than it had been when it was sent at Rathwater. At the same time, five bolts of lightning cut through the heavy clouds, striking down at Hicks.

The attacks hit at the same time, Hicks’ shield only able to absorb some of them, his back and sides left vulnerable to the rest as his shield was washed orange. The battle continued as Rathwater found his feet and confidence, strike after strike of lightning coming from the sky like some divine judgment. Hicks tried to reflect the attacks back, but Rathwater’s [Lightning Manipulation] was more than enough to take all the attacks directed at him and send them right back again and again.

Reflection Tanks were great at holding off straight forward attacks from the front, and returning the power by however many increments their skills allowed. But they had a fatal flaw. Their returned attacks were useless at best against someone or something with high enough Manipulation skills in whatever element was used. And at the worst, they did nothing but give their enemies free ammunition.

It was far easier to manipulate an already existing element than to create it and then manipulate it. As they all got a perfect chance to see as Rathwater took whatever was sent his way and reused the energy to punish Hicks brutally.

Hicks’s shield was chipped down, his one tactic failing him spectacularly. A last ditch effort to rush Rathwater ended with him slipping and falling on a patch of ice Rathwater hastily covered the sands with, bolts of lightning striking Hicks as Rathwater presumably panicked and poured likely too much Mana into taking the tank down before he could touch him.

Rathwater was declared the victor, and Liliana had never seen someone flee the arena quite so quickly before. Hicks had just regained his footing when Rathwater utterly vanished from the illusion. Even the professor was watching with a faintly bemused expression.

“I never want to do that again.” Rathwater said as the door opened, just as Hicks walked off the arena on the illusion. The boy sure could move when he wanted to. Now if only he could move that fast in combat, rather than when running away from it.

“You did so well!” Marianne comforted Rathwater as she stood, placing a small hand on a trembling arm.

“I almost died!” Rathwater muttered, collapsing into his seat, body still shaking. From nerves, adrenaline, or Mana exhaustion, Liliana wasn’t sure.

“You would not have died. You had a shield.” Koth’talan told his maybe friend, voice bland.

“Died. Almost died.” Rathwater insisted, wrapping his arms around himself with a shudder.

“You were never this scared in the dungeons.” Emyr pointed out and Rathwater whipped his head up, eyes wide and staring at Emyr as if he was stupid.

“I had all of you there! Anything that wanted to kill me had to get through you maniacs before it touched me.” Rathwater waved his hands wildly in the air, and Liliana felt a sappy smile stretch across her face.

“Aww, you trusted us to keep you safe!” Liliana knew they were friends!

“I trusted your ridiculous need to win and sense of pride. Frankly, I’m not even certain most of you are actually mortal with some of the things I’ve seen.” Rathwater was still waving his hands about. Liliana had never seen him so animated before.

“You! You almost had your arm severed and just jumped right back into a fight!” Rathwater pointed at Liliana, and she beamed with pride. Rathwater rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe her audacity.

“You ran right into the middle of a fight without a care to drag Anya, who has on multiple occasions used the dead corpses of monsters as weapons, to drag her back and heal her!” Rathwater pointed at Marianne next, who perked up.

“You have, several times, run into the middle of fights with literally countless monsters and came back out with hardly a scratch!” Alistair was the next to get a compliment, and he looked rather pleased, nodding along.

“I was next to you for every dungeon, and I’ve seen you cackle so much you choked when you called down spells powerful enough to actually cave in an entire tunnel!” Rathwater turned to Emyr, who hummed, straightening and smirking.

“You encourage them! I don’t think I’ve actually ever seen you scared, or even slightly ruffled no matter what odds we had!” Rathwater looked at Basil, who shrugged with a half smile as he leaned back.

“You,” Rathwater turned to Koth’talan, who had ceased lavishing attention on his sword to watch with very faint amusement sparkling in his eyes.

“I don’t even have words actually for you. Just. You.” Rathwater slumped in his seat, chest heaving.

“You’re all insane. But I never once feared for my safety when I had you all watching out for me.” Rathwater finished, voice soft now compared to the near shout it had been at before. Liliana hadn’t realized his voice was capable of reaching that volume. It was a day of new revelations.

“I’ve never heard him speak so much before.”

“And it was all compliments, too!”

“I didn’t know he had so many nice things to say about us.”

“We appreciated you being on our teams too, Rathwater.” Liliana cut in between her friends, looking at Rathwater, who sighed, as if they had all somehow misunderstood his words. It was quite clear to Liliana what he had said. He greatly respected them and trusted them to keep him safe.

“You’re terrifying too,” Koth’talan told his desk mate, who huffed a snort and shook his head.

“As sickening as this disgustingly sappy moment is, it’s time for the princess and me to fight. Say your goodbyes. She won’t be returning.” Zir’elon, ever with the worst timing known to man or god, spoke up.

“So eager for your defeat, Kastrioti?” Marianne turned to glare at the taller dæmon. Despite the fact that the prince had over a foot on the diminutive princess, somehow Marianne gave the impression she was looking down her nose at him.

“Defeat? Dear delicate princess, unlike your previous opponents, I will not be so easily best by your trickery and luck.” Zir’elon snorted. A thick hand grabbed onto Liliana, holding her with an iron grip and keeping her firmly seated.

“Beat his ass Mari.” Liliana growled out. Her friend turned and gave Liliana a vicious smile.

“Gladly.” Marianne promised before she turned with a flourish and walked right past Zir’elon.

She slammed the door right in the prince’s face, laughter filling the room at Zir’elon’s disgruntled expression. He’d nearly lost his nose when Marianne had shut the door with enough force to shake it. He opened the door and shut it with more force than Marianne had used, but the slam echoed with embarrassment and defeat.

Liliana’s neck ached with how fast she turned her head to look at the illusion, waiting to see her friend. Her heart beat in her chest, a frantic rhythm that had her biting on her lip once again, tasting the sharp copper tang of blood as the cycle began anew.

She knew Marianne was unlikely to win. She had won her past battles despite her being a healer. But Marianne was not a fighter, never had been. Zir’elon, as much as Liliana despised him, was. He’d been practicing with a sword since before he could speak. Marianne knew enough to keep herself safe, but she was never meant to fight alone. And what she did know was not enough against someone as trained as Zir’elon was.

Liliana could only hope luck was on Marianne’s side. It was the only way she’d win, because Liliana knew Zir’elon outclassed Marianne in a fight.

Marianne stepped onto the sands first, a fast but regal pace to her steps. Zir’elon came in seconds after her, strutting once more like he owned the sands and everything in his sight. When the two faced each other, Marianne nodded her head at Zir’elon, her face carefully arranged in her ‘princess’ mask.

She could insult Zir’elon all she liked when she was around her friends, but before the audience made up of the entire Academy, she had to remember her position as heir to their queendom. She was the face of their queendom right now, not simply Mari. She could not let the future heads of noble houses who watched know her detestation for Zir’elon, or let them think relations between Cista and the Alfein Empire were strained, or worse, antagonistic.

When the fight was called to start, however, Marianne could let that mask drop a bit. No one would expect her to pull her punches here, no matter her position. All was fair in love and war, and no one expected diplomacy on the sands once weapons were drawn.

Bloody armor coated Marianne as she immediately activated her trump card, grisly arms bursting from her sides, deadly sharp ruby colored weapons held in their hands. Marianne gripped her own staff turned wicked scythe in both hands as she met Koth’talan’s sword strike.

There would be no stepping back and firing water and blood spells at Koth’talan from a distance. His Speed would not allow Marianne to take a step back. Marianne knew that and didn’t make the mistake of trying to run and give herself space. It would only leave her open, and Marianne might be hotheaded, but she was far from dumb.

Whereas in Marianne’s last fight, when her opponent had been taken off guard by the additional limbs and weapons, Zir’elon seemed to expect it. His Speed was high enough that his flaming sword was a blur of hungry fire as he struck and blocked attacks coming from five different weapons. His body twisted and turned, avoiding strikes and attacks.

Marianne hardly managed to knick his shield despite her weapon advantage. Black spots hung on Zir’elon’s shield where Marianne managed to hit him in glancing blows, but his shield barely dipped to yellow.

As the fight continued, in contrast, Marianne took damage, her Speed too low to allow her to dodge. Two minutes in, a blood constructed arm was lost, spinning away from the pair as they traded blows and strikes, dancing across the sands. Marianne’s shield was firmly orange by the time three minutes hit, and at four minutes she lost another arm in a hasty block, Zir’elon’s sword slicing through it as if it was butter.

“Why isn’t she making more arms?” Alistair demanded, his knee bouncing from his nerves as he leaned forward.

“Look at her face. She hadn’t entirely recovered from her blood loss earlier. She doesn’t have any more blood to use.” Liliana said softly, hands clenched so tightly together she could feel bones creaking.

As the fight progressed Marianne went from being on somewhat equal footing, her extra arms giving her enough advantage to make them even, to on the back foot. She was making less offensive strikes, turning her focus to defense as she tried to counter and block the barrage of hits from Zir’elon, who had not let up his assault.

Marianne had her entire focus on just keeping Zir’elon from finishing the fight. She didn’t have time to use any of her offensive spells to give her a moment to breathe. Zir’elon didn’t let her get the chance to strategize, forcing her to react only as he kept up his punishing pace.

Another arm was sliced off and Marianne was firmly stuck retreating, scrambling to just keep up with Zir’elon’s strikes with only two weapons left.

There would be no Hail Mary maneuver. No last second ultimate skill to use. All of Marianne’s quintessential skills were for healing, and none would work on the healer herself.

Liliana felt like she was watching a car crash in slow motion as Marianne lost her last blood arm. She held out for another thirty seconds before Zir’elon’s sword got past her guard and struck true and hard at her chest, breaking her blood armor.

Marianne had lost.

“No.” The word came out in an exhale of air, as if Liliana had been punched.

Zir’elon stood above the princess, who was kneeling, hanging onto her staff, panting heavily and swaying slightly. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he extended a hand. Liliana couldn’t hear what he said, or even read his lips to tell, but based on the venomous glare Marianne sent him, it had been something condescending.

Marianne regained her feet, forcing herself to stand straight and tall as she turned her back on the prince and marched off the sands with her head held high.

The room was silent as the group fully registered that Marianne had lost.

They all knew eventually they’d be knocked out, one by one. Only a single person could win the tournament after all. But they had all somehow repressed that fact. It had hurt when Anya was knocked out so quickly, but at least it was to one of them. Not to Zir’elon.

They had known, eventually one of them would be sitting in this room alone, maybe with one other with them. But as long as they didn’t talk about it, they didn’t have to confront it. They hadn’t taken the individual rooms that had been offered to them after the wins of the second bout of fights, now that there were few enough contestants to have them.

It hadn’t been discussed, but none of them wanted to sit in a room alone while they waited for their next fight to come. Watching alone as yet another friend fell.

Why Zir’elon remained was anyone’s guess. Diana had at least slipped out at some point to go to her own preparation room and wait. Rather than face down a group of people who did not appreciate her presence, even if Liliana herself had forgiven the girl.

“As I thought. You all act like you’re so powerful and strong, but alone, you’re each weak. Nothing. Perhaps you should learn what those in my country learn from birth. The weak should not draw the attention of the powerful, lest they be crushed under their boots.” Zir’elon, predictably, had something to say as soon as he entered the room. Because why would he go to an individual room when he could instigate fights?

Liliana would think the prince was some kind of masochist if she didn’t know any better.

“Maybe that’s a lesson you need to learn. Or have you forgotten that you haven’t won a single fight against me yet, Kastrioti?” Liliana spat out, voice full of venom and vitriol.

“Perhaps I’ve been waiting to show you your place in front of a proper audience. Little half blood rose.” Zir’elon taunted, eyebrow raised.

“Why are you even here? Don’t you have a room you could stay in?” Emyr asked next, one of Alistair’s hands across his chest holding the mage in place. For whatever good it would do. If Emyr really wanted to attack, he wouldn’t need to move.

“Perhaps I enjoy watching all of you stuck in your delusions of grandeur. Your faces filled with shock and despair are such beautiful, karmic justice.” Zir’elon shrugged with a careless air, eyes flaring bright with cruelty.

“Fools who do not have the sense to recognize the danger they are in should keep their mouths shut.” Koth’talan bit out, hand tight on his sword as he glared at his brother.

On the illusion the next fight was starting, but not a person in that room was paying it any heed. The tension in the air was thick, a taut thing holding on by the smallest hair thin thread. Fists were tight at sides, or gripped onto weapons as the group stood in a standstill facing off against Zir’elon.

The only thing keeping them in their place was the faint threat of punishment if they attacked, or for those who cared no more of the Academy’s rules, Alistair’s firm, unrelenting hold on them.

“Roses have thorns, and more than often have poison on their petals. Perhaps you should learn some caution, your highness.” Basil spoke up, twirling a rose in his hands. It was an unusual one, white petals tipped with blood red.

Bloodbane. Liliana noted absently. Poisonous, it was a slow death, infecting someone’s very blood and turning it into more poison, slowly killing anyone fool enough to let themselves be pricked by the thorns. However, it was most commonly used in blood replenishing and antidote potions. A plant that truly sat on the line of life and death, its thorns taking life, its petals giving it.

“Perhaps dogs should learn not to bark without their master’s command.” Zir’elon didn’t even look at Basil, as if the other boy didn’t register as a threat at all. Instead, Zir’elon locked his eyes on Koth’talan.

“Your fight is almost up again, brother. I shall enjoy watching your defeat, and the pain it causes in the misfits and ruffians you call comrades.” Zir’elon smiled, a sharp, cruel, ugly thing before he returned to his seat, crossing his legs and leaning back like a king on his throne.

“Can I kill him?” Liliana hissed at Alistair, body shaking with anger she wasn’t inclined to banish at the moment.

“I’ll help you hide the body.” Emyr clenched his fists, shoulders tight with coiled muscles.

“No. No killing while we’re students.” Alistair admonished, but his words came out strained from a clenched jaw.

“So afterwards? Got it.” Liliana nodded, leaning back, arms folded, nails biting into the cloth over her biceps.

It was too hard to focus on what remained of the latest fight as dark thoughts and anger roiled violently in Liliana’s mind; she spent the time calming the turbulent storms of her own emotions, reaching a state of mostly calm only when Miranda Renaud of class D was announced the victor over Rycharde Wardeby of class C.

Koth’talan stood and left the room with a quiet wave of good lucks on his tail, no one in much of a mood for loud or boisterous comments after recent events.

They all turned to the illusion, paying far more attention as yet another of their friends stepped on the sands. And every last one of them held a quiet prayer that Koth’talan would be returning. If only to make Zir’elon choke on his own words.

Chapter 180: Call Down The Stars

“Wait, is he against the girl who beat Dunstan?” Alistair asked as the two combatants took to the sands.

“Yeah. Yeah, he is.” Liliana said, fingers digging in tight to her arms.

“Did we ever figure out how she won?” Alistair leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

“No. There were too many affinities she could’ve used.” Emyr shook his head, looking distinctly perturbed by this fact. It was unsettling that even Emyr didn’t know what affinity had been used. He was better than even Lilliana at analyzing fighting styles.

The fight started, and Liliana could feel her heart in her throat. Liliac Murrish of class A once more summoned great wings made of darkness to take her to the skies, seeming content to stick to her distracting fighting style. Could it even be considered a fighting style if she raised neither hand nor weapon against someone?

Koth’talan stood underneath her as the girl swooped and dove, performing feats of airborne acrobatics like a performer, drawing all eyes to her and away from the dæmon standing with his sword resting against his shoulder.

Koth’talan made no indication of moving or even attacking as he kept his eyes on Murrish. Liliana, having learned from the last fight Murrish was in, kept her own eyes on Koth’talan. This time, she got to see the first hints of an invisible attack as Koth’talan’s shield began to infinitesimally turn yellow. The change was so subtle, so slow that if she hadn’t been watching for exactly that, she wouldn’t have even noticed.

It was something like poison, with its subtle traits, its slow damage. But different. Poison typically affected people in time with their heartbeat, as it pushed deadly blood through veins. This was somehow different, slower, but not tied to any pattern or timing Liliana could detect.

Koth’talan noticed the same thing, lifting his free hand to look at the shield covering it, turning it this way and that curiously. Above him, Murrish continued her performance, completely ignoring Koth’talan as if he wasn’t there. The lack of any attacks emboldened the girl, and she took more risks in her flight, dipping so low her fingers trailed the sands before she swooped back up, spinning and twisting to an unheard melody.

Koth’talan kept watching her without moving, even as his shield started to turn a more noticeable yellow. Still he stood there, as still as a statue as Murrish grew ever more comfortable. Assured of her victory and likely assuming Koth’talan had all but given up. Her stunts were more reckless, drawing her so close to Koth’talan he could reach out and grab her if he wished on one occasion. Yet he still kept his stance as his shield started to turn orange.

“The bastard finally learned his place. He’s giving up!” Zir’elon crowed from the back, derisive laughter pouring from him. No one gave him the satisfaction of even reacting, too occupied with the match.

When Koth’talan’s shield was firmly orange, and even his friends feared he had truly given up hope of victory, he finally made his move. Murrish had begun making almost predictable, daring moves that brought her close to the ground.

Murrish dipped low to the ground, spinning like a top when a great spike of earth punched out of the ground, hitting her square in the chest and sending the girl tumbling, body bouncing against the ground.

Koth’talan moved, springing into action as runes blazed flame bright on his skin, his sword a beacon of unholy hellfire as pillars of earth sprung up under Koth’talan, shooting him through the air. He crossed the distance in seconds, slamming his blade into Murrish, who was struggling to regain her feet after being so savagely thrown from the air.

Black wings covered Murrish as they blocked the hit from connecting with her just in the nick of time, but Koth’talan was ruthless, keeping her pinned even as she got her feet back under her. She could not easily take to the sky once more, with Koth’talan hacking into her wings, the only things keeping her safe. Murrish fought back, like a cornered animal she struck with wings, feet and hands. She was obviously comfortable with close quarter combat, despite her apparent aversion to even getting into a fight.

Koth’talan and Murrish traveled along the sands, the dæmon never giving Murrish the space she’d need to take off, grabbing her by the foot the one time she tried to and slamming her brutally back into the ground as punishment.

Yet despite Koth’talan’s overwhelming offensive, whatever Murrish had done was still affecting him, his shield taking on a red-orange tone that was dangerously close to red, even as Murrish’s shield slowly turned orange. Koth’talan was on a time limit. He had to do enough damage to Murrish to knock her out before whatever she did finished him off.

Murrish’s wings were tattered things at this point, notches and chunks taken out of them from the many hits they’d sustained. With a swing of his sword, Koth’talan severed one of her wings, the limb vanishing in a wisp of shadows and throwing her off balance. Spinning on his heel, Koth’talan lashed out with a powerful kick, sending an already off balance Murrish falling back.

And right into a waiting pool of lava Murrish had not seen forming, nor had she noticed Koth’talan slowly herding her towards it.

The girl fell, bubbling lava covering her flailing limbs like quicksand as her shield quickly faded to red.

Koth’talan was declared the victor, and Murrish was carefully lifted from the cooling lava. Murrish dusted off her clothes as her single remaining wing disappeared. She bowed towards Koth’talan then towards the audience with a flourish before she took her leave. Koth’talan leaving with far less fanfare.

Zir’elon, for once, had little to say in his corner in the back.

Koth’talan returned to a far more animated room, cheers and congratulations filling the air as he took his seat, a faint smile on his lips. No one made the mistake of trying to hug the prickly dæmon, but their words did more than enough. Relief was palpable in the air. They hadn’t lost another friend in this tournament. Not yet.

Emyr stood, and the relief turned back to subtle tension as he stretched out his arms, readying himself for his next fight. Against Diana.

“Don’t go too hard on her, okay?” Liliana asked her friend as she stood and hugged him tight.

“Lili, you’ve forgiven her because you’re too much of a bleeding heart to hold a grudge against anyone who will apologize to you. I, however, am not half so gracious.” Emyr told her, eyes dancing with a vindictive glee. Liliana sighed as she pulled back, mentally apologizing to Diana for whatever hell Emyr was going to bring to bear on the poor girl.

Diana was a good mage, and a good fighter. As evidenced by how far she’d gotten. But she still lacked the killer instinct one needed to be a truly great fighter or mage. And killer instinct was something Emyr had never wanted for. He was as much a product of their twisted world as any of them, learning from a young age if you hesitated to finish your opponent, they would rarely afford you the same kindness.

“Show them why the north is still the most powerful domain,” Alistair told his friend, gripping Emyr’s shoulder tight, something unreadable passing in their eyes.

“The Rosengardes guard the waters of the north,” Liliana whispered quietly.

“And the Bealstals are their unseen swords in the shadows,” Emyr finished for her.

An old pair of family mottos, hardly used but speaking of how long their families had been allied. A relationship that spanned the centuries, far older than any of them, or even their parents and grandparents. Originating from the very founding of their houses. A history so old it verged on myth, a story of Rosen and Beal.

Emyr walked out of the room, leaving them behind to watch the illusion. Emyr and Diana walked out, taking the center of the arena. Diana tried to smile at Emyr, but the boy kept his face expressionless in a way most found unsettling. Diana’s smile wilted like a flower dying under acid rain as the match was called to a start.

Emyr vanished into the shadows, as he had for both his previous fights. Diana didn’t look the least bit surprised as she started summoning earthen walls around her, boxing herself in. She’d learned her lesson about trying to get the high ground when it could be so easily turned against her. As her rough fortifications were finished, a squat building of thick dirt and stone walls with small windows like arrow slits around it to give her visibility, she sent out her first attacks.

Diana held no obvious favoritism for a given affinity. Bolts of light, spears of water, balls of fire, blades of wind, snapping serpents formed of darkness. She sent them all out to sink into every shadow in sight. Whereas his previous opponents hadn’t had the means, or the Mana, to strike every shadow in the arena at the same time, Diana held no such compunction.

She threw everything she had at him, and it was what forced Emyr to reveal himself, tumbling out of a shadow long enough to dodge a bolt of light thicker around than his chest before he vanished again.

Diana, emboldened by Emyr’s appearance, redoubled her efforts. The arena was turned once more into a war zone as Diana utilized every base affinity that would give her a usable attack to send volley after volley into the shadows, tearing deep into the sands without a care.

Liliana didn’t even want to think of how much Mana Diana was draining to keep up her ceaseless attacks. Again and again Emyr was forced to reveal himself to narrowly escape attacks, hopping in and out of the shadows, yet sending nothing in return.

Either he was conserving his Mana, trying to channel a spell, or trying to exhaust Diana. Any could be viable options, though they didn’t know currently how much Mana Diana had to use, or how long it would take for her to run dry. Diana had a Life affinity as well, and as long as she hadn’t progressed too far down a healing path, she wouldn’t have to deal with the healer’s curse.

She may very well be able to buff herself and keep up her attacks for longer than Emyr could dodge. Liliana knew his Stamina wasn’t high.

As the arena suffered more wanton destruction, the shadows readily multiplied, giving Diana ever more targets to hit and Emyr more places to hide. Liliana wouldn’t have noticed a single, razor thin shadow inching across the sands if it hadn’t been for Alistair, sitting straight up with a small gasp, and she followed his eyes.

The small, barely there shadow stretched, slinking between two thin windows on Diana’s hastily built fortress and climbing to the top. Diana had a single, small hole in the top, presumably to keep an eye out for any overhead attacks, but most of the roof was whole.

After all, the only one in their group likely to take to the sky was Liliana, and Emyr had shown no flight skills.

The shadow pooled on the roof until it was large enough for Emyr to climb out of, panting lightly as he softly sat down. In the one place Diana would not see him coming. Finally, in perhaps the only place in the arena that could currently be considered safe, Emyr crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Fire and darkness twisted around his body as he began to channel some spell.

Diana beneath him was continuing her reckless assault, growing more savage the longer she went without seeing Emyr appear. Or perhaps, more fearful. They all knew Emyr could bring powerful spells down on the heads of the unwary, as long as he was given time to channel the horrifically long cast times.

“What is he channeling?” Liliana turned her head slightly to see her brother out of her peripherals, keeping most of her attention on the fight. Emyr had been sitting on the roof for over seven minutes now, and Liliana was getting antsy.

“Look at the sun,” Alistair nodded, and Liliana’s eyes flicked up to the descending sun above.

Hours had passed since the start of the tournament, and the sun no longer rested dead above the coliseum. Liliana squinted her eyes, trying to see what her brother meant when she finally detected it.

The sun was slightly misshapen, something hard to notice, almost impossible if you were in the arena for looking at the sun would quickly blind you. It was something every fighter knew better than to do. And something Emyr was capitalizing on.

“Starfall.” Alistair said simply as Liliana detected what she thought were eight growing spheres of light. Appropriate to the name, they looked like stars, visible in the daylight if one was willing to strain their eyes to look at them.

Emyr opened his eyes and let out a breath as he melted into his own shadow, a thin trail letting him escape his now deadly position. If he had started casting as soon as he got on the roof, this had to be one of his longest cast times, sitting at over fifteen minutes just to get the spell set. If he’d somehow been casting it the entire time, then it had an abominably long cast time, which could only mean the damage was cataclysmic in proportion.

Diana had never stopped her barrage of attacks and once more Emyr was seen dodging out of shadows, though Liliana wondered if it was out of need, or to keep Diana’s attention firmly on him as the stars grew in the sky, overtaking the light of the sun.

It mattered little, in the end, why Emyr let himself be seen. Not a minute after he left the roof of Diana’s squat fortifications, the stars fell from the sky. Blindingly bright, as if Emyr had truly summoned the stars from the sky to come to his aid. Covered in fire so hot they burned pure white. Diana’s fortifications stood no chance as they were mercilessly obliterated, flaming clods of dirt and chunks of melted stone flying through the air as all eight stars pulverized them.

Liliana couldn’t even see Diana in the middle of the chaos. The stars blazed too bright, the gouts of earth that flew in their wake too thick to see through and to the girl inevitably in the middle of it. The light was hard enough to look at through squinted eyes, burning Liliana’s retinas.

When the spell finally concluded, Liliana could see charred black earth and burning debris in its wake, a great crater where once had sat a small earthen building. In the center, over two meters at the deepest, was Diana’s prone form, shield red.

Now Liliana could understand the long cast time on the spell. She rarely got to see Emyr’s most powerful spells. Most of them were more suited to open battlefields than to enclosed dungeons or classrooms. And sometimes she could forget how powerful Emyr had become, and why the Celestial affinity was known as unparalleled at large, AOE attacks. And Emyr had only just scratched the surface of what the affinity could do, not even getting into the Star and Constellation Aspects that would come to him if he kept mastering the affinity and leveling up.

There was a reason, a damned good one, why Celestial mages were also known as war mages. Damage like that was more appropriately seen against an army, rather than a single opponent. It was meant to decimate enemy ranks.

Emyr was the victor. He stepped from the shadows and walked to the edge of the crater where Diana laid, saying something none of them could hear. If Diana said anything back, none of them would know. Emyr turned away and walked off the sands, leaving Diana to be removed by a professor.

“You don’t know the meaning of restraint, do you?” Liliana asked Emyr the second he walked into the room. Emyr snorted at her, shrugging his shoulders as he took his seat, leaning into Alistair with a bone tired sigh.

“Who needs restraint? I’m trying to make people fear me,” Emyr retorted, huffing quietly when Alistair stood up and he lost his headrest. Alistair’s fight was up next.

“I think the term you’re looking for is overkill, and it’s essentially Emyr’s middle name.” Alistair told Liliana, ruffling an affectionate hand through Emyr’s hair, the other leaning into the touch like a cat.

“Better overkill than underkill.” Emyr defended himself, scooting closer to Liliana to turn her into his replacement headrest when Alistair removed his hand. He smelled of sweat, sun baked sand and almost overwhelmingly of sulfur, something dark and sweet on the edges. Liliana draped a careless arm over his shoulders, rubbing circles against his arm as Emyr sighed contentedly at the contact.

“Have a good fight, you two,” Liliana said with a smile, though her eyes were sad when Basil stood up too. The next fight was Alistair, against Basil. At least whoever was knocked out would be defeated by a friend. Liliana would admit, only to herself, that she hoped her brother won.

“I’ll give it my all, no offense, Basil. But I won’t be holding back.” Alistair told his friend, and Basil gave him a careless smile.

“I will not go easy on you either. We are friends within these walls, but on the sands, we shall be adversaries. I shall treat you as such.” Basil told Alistair, words oddly formal yet fitting for the circumstances. Alistair nodded, face solemn as they shook hands before leaving the room together.

“And then there were four,” Liliana murmured as she leaned her head on Emyr’s. Emyr reached up and grabbed her hand in a warm, tight grasp, squeezing gently. The room watched silently as Basil and Alistair walked onto the sands.

“So what did you say to Diana?” Liliana asked Emyr, eager for a distraction as they waited for the fight to start.

“That’s a secret.” Emyr turned his head enough for her to see him holding a finger to his lips, a devious glint in his eyes.

“Ah, you threatened her. Of course.” Liliana rolled her eyes. Emyr snorted, but neither confirmed nor denied her comment, which was as good as an admission from him. His hand squeezed hers almost painfully tight as the fight was called to start.

Only one of their friends could win, and both of them were hoping Alistair would walk back through those doors.

Chapter 181: Unstoppable Forest Meets An Immovable Tank

Alistair summoned his sword and kite shield as soon as the fight was called to start, preparing himself in to defend against whatever Basil would send at him.

Basil smiled at his friend as his hands dipped into his pockets, reemerging in fists as he took careful, measured steps backwards. Alistair, breaking from his typical strategy, rushed towards Basil. Wisely not giving his friend a chance to set up, knowing if Basil got the chance to summon too many plants with his affinity, he’d never get a chance to strike him.

Basil kept his slow path backwards, waiting until Alistair was almost on top of him, sword lifted to deal a decisive blow. Basil twisted suddenly, body moving with far more fluidity and grace than Liliana had expected from a mage. One hand opened, seeds flying through the air and falling like rain against the sand, burrowing deep. As Basil dodged a second strike, his vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Alistair’s legs and holding him still.

Alistair hacked at the plants, but the time he wasted was well used by Basil, the boy backing up further. Thick vines, bristling bushes and even a tree sprouted in seconds even as Basil continued backing up.

It was like watching spring on a speed run as Basil continued tossing seeds, forcing them to grow supernaturally fast. Greenery spread across the arena like a reverse forest fire. Basil, in a sparse handful of minutes, had quickly turned the coliseum into a wild jungle, his form disappearing inside the thick greenery. Alistair stood still, an unmovable wall against the growing horde of plants. His first charge had failed, but he would not be so easily taken down.

Vines slithered across the ground like seeking snakes, some holding deadly flowers heavy on their lengths. When one got close enough to Alistair, his sword would strike out, slicing them down. Even as spores clouded the air, Alistair’s shield didn’t change.

So long fighting next to Nemesis means his [Poison Resistance] is far too high for anything like this. Liliana thought, one of her nails on her free hand making its way into her mouth for her to chew on, giving her abused lip a much needed break.

The initial testing strikes of Basil’s vines were done, more gathered, closing ranks. Thicker, twining together to make great lengths resembling fists and arms. They surged at Alistair, striking at him from multiple fronts. Alistair’s shield rose to deflect even as his sword chopped down, breaking vines apart with every slash, but there was ever more to continue the assault. The shield made of light floating around Alistair took some of the damage, but with so many attacks coming from all directions, some inevitably made it through.

Alistair’s shield hardly changed, as whatever defensive skills and spells he had on his person took the brunt of the damage. He kept moving steadily forward, shield raised to deflect nonstop attacks, sword rising and falling like the sun, blazing with a light that would rival any star as he cut a swathe through the greenery steadily overtaking the arena.

Vines rose to grab Alistair’s feet with every other step, steadily culled by a bright blade. Trees swung branches as thick around as a full grown man, buffeting the tank as he tried to find their master. Bushes uprooted and charged, sharp leaves and needle like thorns trying to leave their mark before they were shredded. Any plant that so much as moved was treated to a violent demise, yet despite that, hits were making their way through as plants sprouted faster than they could be cut down.

Alistair was a tank, with a health pool that sometimes felt endless to someone like Liliana. But it wasn’t unlimited, and slowly, as Alistair cut and sliced his way into the thick of the jungle Basil had created, his shield began to fade to yellow. Deadly flowers were stomped underfoot, releasing toxins and poison in the air, ineffective alone, especially against someone with [Poison Resistance], but no resistance skill was absolute, not at their level. Eventually, there would come a point where the poison in the air was too strong, too potent, and it would overcome resistances.

Trees fell, their size and weight so much that the ground shook. Vines woven together to look like beasts were sliced apart. Yet with every felled plant, Alistair took more blows. And Basil was firmly entrenched deep in his own kingdom, unseen even on the illusion. Hidden, undoubtedly surrounded by deadly plants.

Alistair’s defeat was not a fast one. There was no single decisive blow that ended him. It was a slow thing, a gradual defeat as he kept moving ever forward with a stubbornness that dared even death to challenge him. But Basil knew Alistair. He’d watched him for months, had fought beside and against him countless times. He knew the way to drag a tank down if you didn’t hold such a level advantage you could squash him with a single hit was a slow and steady fight.

He’d used his seeds, conserving as much Mana as he could to outlast Alistair’s Health. Had hidden himself in a veritable maze, forcing Alistair to run himself down in circles trying to find him. He’d turned a neutral battle ground into one where he held every advantage.

Once Basil had his plants up, the biggest Mana expenditure he’d face, it was a matter only of controlling them, allowing his Mana to slowly regenerate. If Basil was permitted to get his initial defenses up, he could easily outlast most.

Eventually, inevitably, as Liliana had to admit to herself after the initial failed charge Alistair had made, Basil was declared the victor. Alistair’s shield leeched to red.

“Oh, Ali.” Liliana murmured, heart heavy as the plants dispersed from the arena and Basil emerged, approaching Alistair.

The two boys gripped arms in a show of camaraderie that quickly turned into a bear hug as a visibly exhausted Alistair tugged Basil close.

“I can hear you opening your mouth, Kastrioti. Remember, it was Alistair holding us back, and he’s no longer here to save you.” Liliana barked out.

She had no supernatural reason or skill that gave her a warning about Zir’elon’s impending heckling. Nothing more than the knowledge that the prince would take any reason to dig a knife deeper into them.

And Liliana did not want to deal with Alistair’s disappointed frown when he found out she’d murdered the prince.

There was a disgruntled huff behind them, but for once, Zir’elon had discovered self preservation and kept himself quiet. For now.

Basil returned to the room, covered in more sweat than before, and looking far less enthused by his win than he had with any other fight. It was to be expected, fighting a friend could be exhilarating, but when you were both fighting for something, knowing your win took something from a friend made the victory bittersweet.

And they were all fighting for something here. To cement their seats in class S, to prove to others that they deserved their position, to garner attention from older years, to build connections on the back of their power.

Then there were the things they were fighting for that they never spoke of to each other, troubles and tribulations swirling just below carefree smiles and laughter. Whose parents placed far too much weight on the outcomes of the tournaments? Who faced scorn and a raised hand when they failed? Who here fought for more than simple Academy acclaim?

Fortunes had been made and lost on the coliseum sands. That saying held more weight than any of them wanted to admit to.

“It was a good fight, Basil.” Liliana spoke up first, stilling Basil in his path towards his customary chair.

“Yeah. Yeah, it was.” Basil nodded, voice somber and without thinking, Liliana wrapped a hand around his wrist, tugging him to sit on her other side, the side that had gone cold ever since Marianne lost her fight.

“Did your heart ache so for me, my lady love?” Basil tried to tease as he fell into the couch, Liliana releasing his wrist as if she’d been burned.

“Be a shame if you went to your next match with a broken leg, Basil.” Liliana huffed, leaning into Emyr and away from the southern heir, but she let a small smile on her face, to show that she had taken the teasing in the nature it was meant, Basil trying to lift the dour mood that had fallen over the room.

“My heart, she is so cruel!” Basil whined, flopping against the back of the couch in a facsimile of a faint.

“You two showed true esteem for your bond, giving it your all in your fight.” Koth’talan spoke up once the mood had settled into something far less stifling. Basil turned his head and regarded the bastard prince with a long look before he nodded slowly.

The next fight started before any more could be said, not that any of them were in much of a mood to speak. Howard Lale of class B, against Dianna Upperton of class B. Another set of classmates. The last of class B.

If Liliana remembered correctly of the contestants remaining there was only 2 left of class D and one from class E. With six remaining of class S they by and far outnumbered their fellow year mates, proving that in terms of martial power they had deserved their spots in class S. In terms of academic intelligence though… well the exam results and new rankings would be revealed soon enough to prove if they deserved their spots.

It was a surprise that more of class B had not made it this far, as they had more students get into the second round of the tournament than any other class. That none of class A had made it this far was a surprise, that students of class D and E had made it when none of class A had been an even greater surprise. It spoke to the fact that initial class rankings were generally not used as a measure of talent, because once they were tested, too many of those placed in high class ranks were proven to be lacking.

Basil paid a good deal of attention to the match as it progressed. Whoever won this fight would be his opponent in the next fight he had.

Lale tried his same tactic from his previous fight, utilizing his Reflection affinity to create what Liliana assumed, as she still could not hear anything through the illusion, was a veritable orchestra of music.

Upperton, however, had learned from his previous fight, or perhaps knew his methods from their time together. She used her Earth affinity as she had before, though instead of blocking reckless charges she used it to interrupt the music bouncing between reflected surfaces.

His music skills constantly stymied, Lale was forced to fight with only his own instrument, and no accompanying sounds providing additional power to his spells. In the end, the fight became a contest of fighting skills, which was where Lale fell short in comparison to Upperton, who moved as frighteningly fast as she had before.

The fight between the last two students of class B was ended far sooner than the previous fight. Upperton ripping her victory from Lale’s hands in a bare handful of minutes.

“I’d hoped she wouldn’t be the one to win,” Basil sighed. “She knows how to use her Earth affinity with far more expertise than most.” He continued, face slightly pinched.

One might think a Fire affinity was the worst match up for a Nature affinity user like Basil, but as they had already seen, that was untrue. Earth affinity users were far more dangerous, especially if their mastery of the element outmatched the Nature user. Because what could plants do when the very soil they were placed in fought against them? Basil’s seeds and plants could be destroyed before they ever had a chance to grow.

Liliana stood up, stretching out her muscles as her dozing bonds awoke. They had little interest in watching the fights. Their only care was for when it was time for them to step onto the sands.

“Good luck, lovely Liliana.” Basil bowed in his seat to her and Liliana rolled her eyes. She turned to Emyr, who raised an eyebrow.

“Going to ask me to lose again?” Liliana propped a hand on her hips.

“It’s a futile game to hope you’ll take pity on me and let me win a big pot. So just go out there and do what you do best.” Emyr shrugged with a small, teasing smile.

“Fight?” Liliana asked.

“Win.” Emyr corrected.

Liliana felt a warm smile bloom on her face as she shook her head to hide the softness in her eyes. She walked to the door, letting Lelantos squeeze his bulk out first, followed by Polaris. She slipped out behind them, Nemesis comfortably resting around her neck.

The walk was becoming familiar to her now as she moved towards the exit, her mind already moving to the fight before her. Brewster was a fighter, favoring a large claymore. Using his Fire and Dark affinities to extend his reach, Heat to make his blade deal more damage. He hit hard, but not necessarily fast. At least, not as fast as Liliana.

Adrenaline was a hot surge in her blood, but Liliana was not feeling particularly afraid as she stepped onto the hot sands, hearing the pounding cacophony of the audience. She almost thought she heard familiar voices in the crowd, crying out her name.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking, to believe she could pick out a few beloved voices out of the rolling thunder that was the audience.

“Lelantos, you can handle him alone. Polaris, you circle around, hit his back while he’s focused on Lelantos. Let’s end this quick.” Liliana instructed as she stopped in the middle of the arena, Alfred Brewster of class D before her.

“You’re shorter than I thought,” Brewster said in way of greeting, but Liliana didn’t detect cruelty in his tone, just simple battle field teasing.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Liliana smirked as Brewster huffed, subconsciously flexing, as if to prove he was quite large. Thank you very much.

It didn’t intimidate Liliana. She’d been fighting Silas since she Awakened, and that man looked like he ate cows whole. She’d been fighting against and beside Alistair for years, and his arms were thicker than her thighs.

Muscle and tall stature alone couldn’t intimidate a girl who had flung herself at a murderous tiger, or who had let a giant serpent sink her venomous fangs into her body. Nor could it even sway the same girl who had stood face to face with a Rank 1 beast. There was only one thing that could make Liliana taste the bitter tang of fear on her tongue, and it was facing down someone, or something, so overwhelmingly powerful that she could hope only for a swift death.

But Brewster could try. It was amusing, if nothing else.

The rules were read, and the shields were dropped. As the fight was called to a start, Liliana used [Leap] to put distance between her and Brewster, even as Lelantos charged, roaring and growing in size with every step until blazing claws met heated metal.

Liliana activated her Start Up combo, her naginata appearing as Polaris left her side in a blur of black and silver fur.

This fight would require nothing from her, but she would be stupid to not have contingencies in place. Prepare for the worst, expect the worst, but hope for the best. Brewster’s attention was fully absorbed by the deadly giant tiger bearing down on him, unable to back away or even take stock of the arena, as he barely kept his sword between him and deadly fangs the length of his forearm.

Liliana kept her body in a battle ready stance, even against the urge to run in. To fight. But they were too close to the finals of this tournament. Not only was there no need for her to waste her Mana and Stamina in a fight, her bonds could more than handle it alone. It was foolish to charge in when she could achieve victory with minimal effort.

With her bonds and additional stat points per level, Liliana might be stronger than anyone in the same rank as her, but even she could be felled by overconfidence and low Mana and Stamina.

Polaris appeared behind Brewster in a flurry of whipping tails and extended wings as he let off a combination [Chaos Breath] and [Havoc Claws], the unexpected attack sending Brewster, shield already dangerously close to red from just two attacks from a Rank 4 beast, his Health must be high, stumbling. Right into Lelantos’ waiting jaws.

Two minutes. Perhaps not Liliana’s best time, but not a bad one over all. Her active skills and spells faded with her weapon.

A small part of her felt almost bad that so few in her year could give her any type of trouble in a fight.

A bigger, more logical part of her squashed that wistful thought. These students did not have the fate of the world on their shoulders. Liliana had to be at least this strong. She needed to be stronger, but that’s what the Academy was for, for her to become stronger. Strong enough. If not to survive, then to at least take whatever evil Vita was pitting her against down with her.

She had to be stronger than anyone here, if she hoped to protect everything she loved in this world.

“Sorry about that, but good luck next time.” Liliana waved to Brewster as Lelantos released the boy when the end was called.

Polaris had already returned to her side, whining about how boring the fight was, and when could they fight the bird boy again because that fight had been fun. Liliana very pointedly said nothing about that. Nemesis hissed her displeasure at not even getting to participate and devour the human boy whole. Another thing Liliana did not respond to, preferring to ignore the homicidal commentary of her serpent.

Liliana looked around the arena for a moment as she turned to leave. For a moment, she thought her gaze caught on a familiar pair of golden eyes before they were lost in the masses. Then the audience was gone as Liliana stepped back into the tunnel.

Three more fights. Liliana thought to herself. Three more fights and she could be standing on a podium, the crowned victor of the tournament.

She stepped back into the room, to the depleted group they had left, to cheers. Far smaller than what she’d heard out on the sands, but somehow so much more.

Chapter 182: Wave The White Flag

Rathwater stood up, hands shaking as tremors raced across his body. His match was next, against Kenneth Levy of class E. Liliana did not envy his match up, and she hoped he won. Because she’d be facing whoever won this match in her next fight. And she truly did not wish to fight Levy herself.

“Good luck.” Liliana offered as Rathwater grimaced.

“I feel like I’m walking to the gallows,” Rathwater muttered darkly. Liliana winced sympathetically. They had all seen what Levy did in his first match, and presumably his second, though Liliana had been distracted during it and unable to pay attention to the fight.

“Just blast him out the gate.” Emyr encouraged. Rathwater shook his head as he trudged towards the door, looking exactly like someone heading towards their doom.

The remaining four friends watched the illusion as Kenneth Levy walked onto the sands, Rathwater entering a minute later, dragging his feet as if this was the absolute last place he wanted to be. Levy’s pale face regarded Rathwater as he stood before him. Rathwater’s shoulders were hunched defensively as he kept his gaze averted, not out of rudeness but obvious nerves.

Levy did not speak other than to confirm his understanding of the rules, his face never changing. If anything, that seemed to unsettle Rathwater further. Liliana could see how his hands shook almost violently as the fight was called to start.

Rathwater had taken Emyr’s words to heart. Storm clouds gathered above the boys in seconds, lightning racing across the dark looming clouds before striking down at Levy. Rathwater scrambled backwards as the lightning struck, presumably to put space between himself and the deadly fog that was already pouring from Levy.

Levy was expecting Rathwater’s opening salvo, spouts of liquid, the wrong color for water, so Liliana assumed it was a type of acid, jumped up to meet the strikes, directing them away from the class E boy. The lightning almost seemed to swerve towards the gouts of liquid, leaving Levy untouched.

He’s smart. Actually smart. He knows that water isn’t conductive enough to attract the electricity, so he’s using something more effective. A type of conductive acid. How does he know the differences? This world isn’t exactly advanced when it comes to science. Did he spend time testing this? Are there students in class E with Lightning affinities and he kept testing different acids against them until he figured it out? Liliana’s mind was in overdrive as her eyes flicked over the illusion, as each electrical attack Rathwater used was diverted, shaking the already delicate confidence Rathwater was barely holding onto.

The entire time, more of the deadly gas was spreading, rolling closer to Rathwater with each second, backing him inevitably up to the wall of the coliseum and hiding Levy’s form.

Levy is dangerous, not just for his strength, but for his mind. It was the conclusion Liliana came to, and it sent a shiver down her spine. A sense of heavy foreboding settled on her shoulders. It wouldn’t be Rathwater she’d face in her next fight, it would be Levy.

Rathwater finally gave up his lightning attacks, and in a move of nothing more than pure desperation and animalistic fear, he used a skill Liliana knew was a quintessential skill. The clouds thickened, rain pelting down like bullets as the winds whipped wildly around the arena, circling as they picked up rain, sand, and flashes of lightning.

In under a minute, the arena contained a hurricane, held back from wreaking untold havoc only by the shield protecting the audience. Rathwater was untouched by his skill, sitting in the deceptively calm eye of the storm he had called, but the rest of the arena was not so lucky as winds strong enough to turn a building to splinters ripped and tore. Great chunks of earth flew through the air, and some of the gas that had previously been unmoved by any Wind skills mixed in with the hurricane.

Rathwater’s use of his quintessential was his undoing. The gas had moved slowly, at a snail’s pace, before. But either through Levy’s command or simple, abysmal luck, the thick fog of deadly acidic gas was mixed throughly into the hurricane as it whipped through the entire arena. Rathwater might not be hurt by his own winds, a small bubble of clear air around him, but his winds were nothing more than a method of transport for the gas that leaked into the clear air around Rathwater.

Had Rathwater better planned his skill use, ensured his own winds could not deposit anything they carried around him, or perhaps made a larger area of clearance around him, he might have won. But logical thought had fled the boy before he ever stepped foot on the sands.

Rathwater went down, panicking the whole time up until his shield went red and he slumped in defeated acceptance. The surprise came when the hurricane calmed and the gas vanished, revealing a crouched Levy, his own shield a dark orange bordering red.

Had Rathwater planned even the slightest amount rather than let his fear rule him, he would’ve won. Liliana could see the moment Rathwater realized it, when he buried his head in his hands and practically fled the sands.

“His fear won the fight.” Koth’talan said, sounding disappointed more than sad.

“He never was good at single fights, his lack of confidence always gets him,” Liliana agreed with a sigh.

It was such a shame, Rathwater was so strong. He had seven affinities. He was a prodigy all on his own. He had the potential to be a powerhouse. But he lacked the confidence such accomplishments should’ve given him. And he was so scared of getting hurt that he often lost his fights before the first attack was even made. Liliana looked around the room at the depleted number of friends remaining.

Half of their group was gone now.

“Enjoy watching a real fight, rather than a pathetic child fumbling around,” Zir’elon spoke up as he walked towards the door, his parting words cutting through the air, chased by the sound of a slamming door.

“Cowardly asshole had to wait until the last second to speak up, just so he doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of his words,” Liliana hissed, glaring at the door with enough rancor that she was almost surprised it didn’t burst into flames.

“He is confident, and prideful, but it is a mistake to assume he is mentally deficient,” Koth’talan grunted, examining his sword and testing the edge. Liliana couldn’t help but think the dæmon wished it was his brother’s neck he was testing his blade against.

“No, we could never be so lucky that he would be truly dumb on top of being a royal pain in our asses.” Liliana grumbled, hissing lightly when Emyr elbowed her.

“Language, Lili.” Emyr nagged, earning an eye roll.

“You’re one to talk,” Liliana teased.

“Ali isn’t here to remind you that you’re a lady, so the task falls to me.” Emyr huffed, but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Two curse words are too much for your delicate sensibilities?” Liliana asked as Zir’elon stepped onto the sands across from Miranda Renaud of class D.

“When they’re used in the span of two minutes? Yes.” Emyr nudged her again with his elbow once more.

“Oh, well then, I’ll be sure to censor my words so as not to hurt your precious, noble ears, Bealstal.” Liliana’s voice was sickeningly sweet, in a way that made Emyr’s face scrunch in disgust.

The fight was beginning, and despite the room’s severe distaste for Zir’elon, none of them would pass up the chance to see him defeated. Liliana held a stubborn hope that the prince would finally fall. The only thing sweeter than watching him submit under her own blade would be watching him fall beneath someone he saw as lesser. Luckily for her, Zir’elon saw everyone as lesser, so any loss would sate her need for justice.

Renaud made good use of her Spatial affinity, vanishing and appearing around the arena, sending Zir’elon on a merry chase the first few minutes when he tried to charge at her, only for her to vanish and strike at his back. The garrote Liliana had seen the girl use in a previous match was revealed to be a whip, and one the girl used with a great deal of success.

The whip, holding a small blade on the tip that looked downright vicious, lashed out at Zir’elon’s back every time the girl appeared. It would wrap around his limbs, tugging him off balance just enough to send him spinning and leaving him open for attacks.

Minutes in and for once Zir’elon was on the back foot, unable to hit someone that would vanish the second he was in range. He could hardly defend when he didn’t know where Renaud would appear. Whatever [Perception] skill he had only saved him from some attacks.

Liliana leaned forward, Emyr’s head falling off her shoulder where it had been resting. A smile was tugging at her lips as she watched Renaud whip Zir’elon up and down the arena. Maybe, finally, the dæmon prince would lose.

Zir’elon’s shield was turning a yellow-orange, and the end seemed to be nigh. Zir’elon couldn’t touch Renaud. No matter how fast he charged or struck, her body vanished before anything could touch her. The girl moved like a ghost across the sands.

It was when the match was reaching the five-minute mark when everything changed.

Zir’elon froze, turning on his heel with a supernatural speed, one hand snaking out and grabbing onto the whip that had been seconds from lashing across his open back. Zir’elon’s hand twisted, wrapping the whip around his arm and he pulled, arm muscles straining as Renaud, who had not expected the sudden move or change in rhythm, was pulled off her feet.

Instinctively, Renaud tightened her grip on her already lost weapon and was pulled directly into the path of Zir’elon’s sword, which blazed through the air so fast the flames left after images in the air. The sword crashed into Renaud’s side with all the force of a charging bull. Renaud’s grip on her weapon was ripped from her as her body was thrown through the air like a limp rag doll.

Zir’elon loosened his grip on the whip, letting it slide through his hand until he gripped the handle of the weapon. With a surprising level of competency, he swung the whip in the air, cracking it out to wrap around Renaud’s ankle, jolting her from the air and pulling her back in. Once more, a flaming sword slammed into Renaud. This time, her body fell straight down at Zir’elon’s feet with enough force that Liliana winced in sympathy. She truly hoped the shields absorbed most of the damage from that, or the girl would have broken ribs.

“How can he use that whip? He’s a sword user.” Emyr complained.

“The whip is his mother’s favored weapon, he was trained on how to use it.” Koth’talan explained, voice low and full of banked anger.

“He uses the sword for the same reason I do.” Koth’talan’s grip on his sword tightened, “because it is our father’s weapon.” He finished. Liliana’s attention turned from the illusion, where Renaud had finally regained her wits and vanished, but the girl was weaponless now.

Koth’talan was looking at his sword with burning eyes, hate and love mixed so thoroughly in them one could not untangle the emotions.

Who gave him that sword? Liliana had to wonder. Was it the father, whose blood was the reason Koth’talan was ostracized, denied any birthright yet hunted down? Was it his mother, trying to give her son a piece of the father who had doomed his own progeny?

Did Koth’talan hate the weapon because it reminded him of the siblings who had tried to kill him, had abused him his whole life? Did he love it because it reminded him of the father who loved his mother dearly and chose Koth’talan over his ‘rightful’ heirs?

Liliana wasn’t sure, had no way of knowing save by asking. And she knew Koth’talan well enough by now to know he would not welcome prying into his private life, into the history he kept close to his chest, locked away.

At least Liliana finally understood why Koth’talan used the same weapon as Zir’elon, so similar in form they could be brothers made by the same smith. It was not out of some twisted form of brotherly love. It was because it was the weapon the father they shared used.

Though perhaps their reasons for using it differed. Zir’elon using it to prove he was a rightful heir, as powerful as the emperor. Koth’talan… was harder to parse. To prove he was as much a son of the emperor as those born in wedlock? Out of love? Or perhaps to spite his father and siblings by using their chosen weapon? To remind them that no matter what, he was still his father’s son?

A mystery for another day. For another time, when fewer walls separated Koth’talan from the friends he had made. When he trusted them to not betray the secrets he so closely guarded.

Liliana looked back at the illusion in time to see Zir’elon grab a lagging Renaud with the whip once more and batter her mercilessly with his blade. Again and again Renaud vanished, only for Zir’elon to rip her from wherever she appeared with her own weapon and drag her in range of his sword.

He hadn’t been on the back foot at all. He’d been watching, learning her patterns. The range of her teleportation, until he could take her weapon from her, knowing it would seal his victory. Liliana breathed out, impressed despite herself. Such clever thinking, a strategy that required a certain amount of self sacrifice and thinking multiple moves ahead, it was beyond what she thought Zir’elon capable of.

He is confident and prideful, but it is a mistake to assume he is mentally deficient. Koth’talan had said those words, and Liliana had thought she hadn’t been underestimating Zir’elon. But it was clear she had been.

She might hate the prince, but she needed to admit that he was a worthy opponent. Strong, and smarter than any of them had given him credit for. At least, where battle tactics were concerned.

Has he really been hiding his full potential this entire time? Just to show off in the tournament? Liliana wondered, wanting to dismiss the idea as insane, but suddenly not entirely sure if she could.

Liliana hadn’t expected too much from the tournament, if she was honest. Her main goal had been making sure she and her friends got their chance to show their potential. She had not expected to have preconceived notions turned on their heads, to discover that six months could make her classmates grow in ways she had never foreseen.

Games could only show growth via numbers, a growth in levels, in skills and spells. It couldn’t show the way others grew as they watched and learned from each other, as their strategies evolved. Games couldn’t evolve the way humans, dæmons, and beastmen could. Programming couldn’t account for the vast adaptability mortal races had.

Zir’elon won his fight, Renaud defeated. The whip he’d stolen was tossed on Renaud’s fallen form, driven there by a final hit from his sword, full of too much power for a girl whose shield was already bordering red. A cruel, unnecessary attack. Then again, chivalrous was never a word Liliana would’ve attributed to Zir’elon.

“Our turn,” Emyr murmured as he and Koth’talan stood. Their fight was up next, a cruelly short time between their fight and Basil and Alistair’s. Once more, a friend would fight a friend, and only one would return.

Liliana grabbed Emyr’s hand as it swung close during a stretch, squeezing it tight.

“Good luck, Em.” Liliana smiled up at her friend as he let her see a rare grin.

“Do me a favor, Lili,” Liliana tilted her head, a curious noise leaving her as Emyr leaned in close to whisper, “bet against me.” He pulled back with a secretive smile and a wink as he left the room. Koth’talan left seconds after him, Basil giving him a wish for good luck. Liliana murmured her own goodbye, distracted by the cryptic message Emyr had given her.

Oh, Em. You stupid, kind-hearted jerk. Liliana blinked her eyes, feeling a bittersweet smile cross her lips as she looked at the illusion.

Either Zir’elon felt his winning was enough of a mockery to them, or he knew the danger he faced stepping back into the class S waiting room. Or, far more likely, a professor had been watching them and diverted the prince from returning to prevent a murder and international incident. Whatever the reason, after Emyr and Koth’talan left, Zir’elon did not return. A small mercy Liliana was thankful for as her heart gave a small pang, watching Koth’talan and Emyr step onto the sands.

Koth’talan looked fiercely determined, face set in a scowl. Emyr, by contrast, was cool, the smallest smirk playing on his lips, as if he knew a joke no one else did. The rules were read and agreed to, and the shields were summoned. The fight was called to a start.

No sooner had the words left the professor’s lips than Emyr was raising his hands, a piece of white fabric appearing in his grasp. Koth’talan was staring at Emyr as if he couldn’t understand what the boy was doing. Like Emyr was speaking some foreign language as his lips formed the words ‘I surrender’.

“He? What?” Basil sputtered, staring in slack jawed shock as Emyr’s shield turned red. Seemed there was at least precedent for surrender, the word being a code to automatically turn someone’s shield red.

Ten seconds, the fastest fight seen today. Ten seconds and Koth’talan was declared the victor without ever having to attack.

The makeshift surrender flag vanished from Emyr’s hands as he approached a bemused Koth’talan, gripping him by the shoulder and dragging his head down so Emyr could whisper something in the dæmon’s ear, something that had Koth’talan’s face hardening. As the dæmon pulled back, he nodded and gripped Emyr’s shoulder tight before the two parted ways. Koth’talan to return to the waiting room, Emyr to join their friends in the audience, his time on the sands done.

“Even when he surrenders, he has to be dramatic,” Liliana muttered affectionately.

She was more surprised Koth’talan had gone along with the plan. He seemed the type to find any surrender a slight against his honor. Then again, Emyr rarely did anything without being certain he would succeed, and he must have told Koth’talan something that made him accept his plan.

“What did he say?” Liliana turned on Koth’talan the second the door opened, and the bastard prince paused for a moment before he continued to his seat.

“He asked me what I would give to face my brother,” Koth’talan answered the two remaining students in the room, who were hanging off his every word.

“What did you say?” Basil prodded.

“I told him I’d do anything to face my brother and prove my might,” Koth’talan said, voice tinged with awe, then nodded at the empty illusion. “So he surrendered, to give me my chance. He told me to be sure I put my brother in his place, and make his sacrifice mean something.” Koth’talan looked down at his empty palms.

“He showed true bravery. I will not forget this sacrifice.” He murmured, almost too softly for them to hear as Liliana and Basil traded looks.

Bravery? No. Emyr just thought it would be more satisfying for Zir’elon to be bested by the brother he despises. And perhaps because he has a soft heart hidden behind his sharp tongue. Liliana thought with a shake of her head, internally cursing out Emyr for being both far too devious and far too kind.

Chapter 183: Battle Between Brothers

Liliana and Koth’talan watched the illusion after Basil left. There were only the two of them left remaining in the room now, besides Liliana’s resting bonds. The silence was almost oppressive, weighed down by all the friends who had been here and were gone now.

“Are you ready?” Liliana asked quietly.

Koth’talan looked at her, his fiery orange eyes assessing. Liliana appreciated that he did not have a response on the tip of his tongue, that he seemed to be weighing the words before he spoke them.

“I’ve been waiting my entire life to face my own siblings,” Koth’talan spoke softly, but his words held a weight to them. “The Alfein court is not a soft place, the empire is a deadly place, and will quickly break an unfit ruler under its heel.” Koth’talan looked down at his sword, testing a thumb against the edge, not even wincing when the razor-sharp blade bit into his flesh.

“Since I was born, it has been my destiny to face those I share blood with at the end of a blade. To either cut them down, or be cut down in turn.” Koth’talan slid his blade into the sheath sitting on his hip, the harsh sound of metal against leather far louder than his voice.

“So, am I ready to face my brother in a school contest where blood can not be spilled?” Koth’talan echoed Liliana’s question, an almost sardonic twist to his lips.

“I am ready to see if the skills I’ve been taught will be enough for me to keep my life, or if I’ll find that the only thing keeping my head on my shoulders is the sentimentality and softness of this country.” Koth’talan finished, leaning back in his chair as Basil and Upperton agreed to the rules on the sands.

Liliana watched the dæmon for a long moment as the fight was called to start. Flashes of greenery flickered in her peripherals, but the prince sitting before her held her full attention.

“Sentimentality, softness.” Liliana murmured, tasting the words on her tongue and finding them inadequate.

“If Alfein, there would be no shields. Death would be seen as a preferable outcome to loss in my country.” Koth’talan nodded at the illusion, where Upperton was using her Earth affinity to keep Basil from growing his plants, forcing him to only make use of his martial skills. It meant Upperton had to devote her Earth affinity and attention to keeping Basil from summoning anything, and put them on even ground.

But Basil was not a fighter, not like Liliana, or Koth’talan were.

“I think,” Liliana said quietly, eyes flickering to the illusion for a moment before she looked back, “that you’ve fallen for the illusion Cista weaves.” She finished, fingers drumming against the handle of a dagger.

“You think we’re soft, but you don’t realize, the most deadly predators are masters at camouflage. They wait for their prey to relax their guard under the illusion of safety. Never realizing they’ve walked right into the jaws of the death.” Liliana finished and let her attention switch to the illusion, where Basil was trying to avoid Upperton’s needle like daggers.

His orange shield showed that he had not been successful thus far.

“Perhaps, Lili,” Koth’talan spoke up as Basil fell under a brutal, lightning fast assault from Upperton. Liliana’s heart ached with the latest loss, but she had almost expected this. Now all that was left of their original group was Koth’talan and her.

One of them would be the victor of this tournament. Liliana would accept no other outcome.

“If I fail, in my battle against my brother, you can put truth to your words. And show my brother those fangs you hide behind your mask of civility.” Koth’talan tilted his head, a challenging smirk on his face as Liliana stood. Her fight was next.

“Have I ever hidden my fangs?” Liliana asked as Polaris and Lelantos stretched, standing.

“You always do. You defeat your enemies, and most will never realize you’re holding back. But I’ve seen it. The ruthlessness you keep on a tight leash.” Koth’talan leaned forward, eyes glimmering with something Liliana couldn’t decipher.

“Well, don’t lose then. So I can keep my image.” Liliana teased with a half smirk.

“Just once, Lili. I’d like to see you give a fight everything you have. I think it would be something glorious.” Koth’talan shrugged a shoulder, leaning back as Liliana walked to the door.

“Or something terrifying,” Liliana whispered so quietly she hardly felt the words on her tongue as she gripped the door.

She knew, better than anyone, what darkness lurked under her surface. Under that mask of civility, as Koth’talan called it. She knew what she was capable of, and she wasn’t sure anyone, least of all herself, was prepared for what would happen if she released the shackles she held herself bound with.

How appropriate, for a dæmon to see the demons Liliana kept hidden.

“You called me Lili.” Liliana slipped a smile on her face as she stepped out of the door after her bonds, leaning her head in as she looked at Koth’talan with a mischievous grin.

“Only my friends call me Lili.” Liliana shut the door just in time to avoid the projectile sent her way. Hearing the thud against the door, she giggled, turning to walk down the tunnel once more.

With every step she took closer to the arena, Liliana felt the calmness of battle settle in her bones. Her smile falling as adrenaline pushed into her veins. Her heart setting a familiar tempo, her feet instinctively matched it. Thoughts of friends losing before her eyes fell away, replaced with tactics and strategies.

“Levy uses a deadly gas mixed with his Acid affinity. [Poison Resistance] won’t do anything for it. However, his gas moves slowly, and does not rise quickly either. Best maneuver would be to take him down, quick and from above.” Liliana spoke to her bonds as they walked.

“Using poison to take down prey while he waits to strike when they have become weakened. He fights like a snake. This is a human I approve of.” Nemesis hissed lowly in Liliana’s ear.

“Acid, but it is similar to poison.” Liliana corrected as the stone under her feet turned to sand, light once more assaulting her vision in time to the roar of the audience in her ears.

“Lelantos, you take point. Charge and keep his attention. I’ll stay on your back and come from above and the front. Polaris swing from behind Levy and above. We’ll take him down in a pincer move.” Liliana shot off her orders as she met Levy in the middle of the coliseum.

“Before we start, I just want to say. I’m impressed by your tactics.” Liliana called out, giving Levy a smile. The boy blinked at her from behind thick black hair, and Liliana could finally see that his eyes were such a rusty red color they could almost be seen as brown.

“If it was anyone else from my class you were facing, I’m sure you’d win.” Liliana shrugged with an apologetic smile. “But you got me. So I’m sorry for what is going to happen.” She finished and Levy let out a soft snort, closing those inhuman eyes for a moment.

“Confident.” His voice was so soft it was hard to hear over the crowd, like the quiet shush of paper rubbing together.

“Realistic.” Liliana corrected with a smirk as the rules were read.

They both nodded to acknowledge them. A flash of light and their shields settled on them, the professor vanishing as the start was called.

Before the echo of the words had faded from the air, Liliana’s naginata was in her hands, daggers ripped from their sheaths as [Threads of Control] grasped onto them. Power flooded her veins beside adrenaline as her Start Up combo activated.

Liliana’s feet left the earth as she activated [Leap], landing astride Lelantos as he roared and charged, his body growing under her. Polaris was already gone, a blur of fur and wings. Levy must have been watching her previous fights, because as soon as the fight began, gas was billowing out of him like he was a faucet.

It wouldn’t be enough. Liliana had watched his fights. Even against Rathwater, he couldn’t produce the gas fast enough to out speed someone like her. It was his weakness.

Even as the gas came up to his hips, Lelantos was too close for him to stop. Liliana saw her bond’s health ticking down, his shield turning yellow, but she would have all the time she needed to finish this fight.

A yard from Levy, Lelantos came to a sudden stop. Liliana used the jolt to throw her into the air. Levy took a startled step back as Liliana flipped in the air, [Wind Surge] shooting her like an arrow at him. His attention was so focused on her, he never saw Polaris coming from behind and above.

The Kitsune was faster than her and hit first. The force of the hit of [Havoc Claws] and [Chaos Breath] sent Levy falling forward. Right into seven glowing blades as Liliana shoved her naginata and daggers into Levy’s shielded body.

Seven hits of [Radiant Edge] and [Radiant Ignition] on top of a point blank hit of two Rank 4 attacks were enough to drop Levy’s shield to red. Liliana’s feet hit the ground on either side of Levy, her blade keeping him pinned.

“You should’ve run,” Liliana whispered as the fight was called to an end. She pulled her weapon back, letting it vanish into her storage as her daggers slid back into their sheaths. Liliana’s active skills and spells dropped in time with Levy’s deadly mist.

“Would it have mattered?” Levy asked, voice bitter as Liliana stepped to the side.

“Maybe.” Liliana shrugged as she bent over and held out a hand to the boy. He blinked at it for a moment, eyes narrowing as he looked at her face, then her hand, as if waiting for the trick.

“I won’t bite.” Liliana sighed and Levy finally took her hand. She pulled him to his feet easily, shaking his hand once before releasing her hold.

“I’m excited to see you in class S. Perhaps next time we fight you’ll win.” Liliana smiled, honest in her words. Levy still looked like he was waiting for some hidden motive behind her actions, but he at least wasn’t sneering at her.

“It’s a promise.” Levy told her, eyes glinting. Liliana grinned as she turned to leave the arena.

“Can’t wait, Levy.” Liliana called over her shoulder as she stepped back into the tunnel.

“You could have given me a longer respite.” Koth’talan said to her a few feet inside the tunnel, leaning against the wall.

“Now we both know that is an unreasonable request.” Liliana teased as she crossed her arms.

“I suppose it is.” Koth’talan shrugged, pushing off the wall and looking past her at the arena. Where he’d face his brother.

“I’d rather face you than him when it comes to the finals.” Liliana admitted, lifting her chin defiantly when Koth’talan’s gaze fell on her.

“Confident you’ll make it there?” Koth’talan’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“I know I will.” Liliana corrected him and Koth’talan’s shoulders shook in a silent laugh.

“Yes, I suppose you will.” He agreed with a shake of his head, starting to walk past her.

Liliana’s hand reached out and grabbed him by the wrist, and for a beat her mind returned to a moment almost six months ago. When Koth’talan had stepped between her and his brother. When Liliana had reached out to grab him, exactly like this. To thank him for doing something he had not needed to.

“Beat him down, so badly he won’t get back up.” Liliana’s voice had lost its light edge, laced now with steel and fire. “Barring that, make him work so hard for his win it’s not even worth it.” Liliana finished, hand tightening on Koth’talan’s wrist, ignoring how hot his skin was, almost hot enough to burn.

“If my brother wins, it will cost him.” Koth’talan promised, and Liliana nodded, releasing her hold.

“If you lose, I’ll be sure he regrets it,” Liliana told him, as he stepped forward and out of her reach. Koth’talan raised a hand in acknowledgment to her statement as he walked onto the sands.

She stayed there for a moment longer before she turned and walked down the tunnel, returning to an empty room, nothing but her bonds and an illusion to keep her company.

At least, if Koth’talan lost this round, he could return. The losers of the next two fights would need to fight for the third place position. So neither would be exiled to the audience until their fight was done.

And then there would be the final match. The two best fighters of their years, facing off against one another. The victor would be declared the strongest of their years.

Liliana meant to hold that spot in this tournament and every one afterward.

Liliana sat down on the empty couch, Polaris jumping up beside her and resting his head in her lap, his body taking up almost the entire couch, his tails hanging off the end. Lelantos settled at her feet, his body so large he came up to her neck, even lying down.

Liliana watched, hand buried deep in black fur, as Koth’talan faced his brother on the sands. She could see Zir’elon saying something to Koth’talan, though the words themselves were lost to her. Based on the way Koth’talan’s shoulders tensed and his grip on his sword tightened, she could only assume it was an insult.

As if she had expected any better from him.

Koth’talan said something in return that had Zir’elon’s face darkening in apoplectic rage as his violet eyes glared. The rules were read and both dæmen spat out affirmatives. Shields dropped, and the fight was called to start.

Immediately, the two brothers charged, swords drawn and clashing. Runes glowed on every visible inch of Koth’talan’s body, blazing as if they were a physical representation of his hatred. Zir’elon’s sword burned with fire so hot, Liliana wondered if the metal would melt.

Again and again, blade met blade as the brothers clashed across the sands. Sparks flew as fire raged, both brothers emitting flames that blazed so hot they flared a blinding white.

It became clear as the fight progressed that when it came to swordplay; the brothers were almost equal. No matter the speed one attacked with, the other was ready to block. They settled into a rhythm that had neither of them on the upper hand.

Liliana had never put much thought behind the fact that Zir’elon and Koth’talan were brothers. Other than it being the reason that the two so deeply despised each other. They were vastly different, in appearance, temperament and personality, that if one did not know they shared blood, it would never be clear. Yet watching them fight, so perfectly matched it was like watching a mirror performance, Liliana could finally see it.

It was as if they had been trained in tandem by the same master.

Or by the same father.

There were some inconsistencies that broke the illusion, that made it clear their differences. The way Zir’elon’s mouth constantly moved, spitting out taunts even as they fought. How Koth’talan kept quiet, but perfectly in tune with every move his opponent made. How Zir’elon kept an eye on his environment, even in the thick of battle. How Koth’talan tried to use the environment to his advantage, turning sand to slick glass underfoot, or opening lava pits in the hopes of tripping Zir’elon into one.

Despite the distaste Liliana had for Zir’elon, she could admit he was a good fighter. A great one, even. And far smarter than she had ever given him credit for. Every trick Koth’talan tried to use to trip up his brother, Zir’elon subverted. Jumping backwards over pits, stomping down on glass to shatter it.

The fight had reached the six-minute point when Zir’elon disrupted the rhythm, dropping low under a swing from Koth’talan, one hand skating across the ground. He popped back up, tossing the sand he’d gathered right into Koth’talan’s face.

A dirty trick, but effective even in its simplicity, as Koth’talan jerked back, blinded for a second by the debris. Zir’elon leveraged his advantage, his sword cutting painfully into Koth’talan’s side, sending him stumbling. As Koth’talan struggled to regain his rhythm and balance, Zir’elon pursued, sword pummeling into his brother’s body without remorse or hesitation.

It took too long for Liliana to realize Zir’elon was pulling his strength back as he beat his brother across the arena. Holding back just enough that none of his strikes ended the fight too early.

He was trying to embarrass Koth’talan. To humiliate him in front of the entire school.

Anger burned hot and fierce in Liliana’s chest as she watched. Koth’talan put up a valiant fight, preventing Zir’elon from kicking him up and down the arena, but he’d lost the tempo of the fight. Liliana feared this would be where Koth’talan lost the fight, her teeth biting down into the soft flesh of her lips as she watched.

Koth’talan turned the fight around, regaining his rhythm when he swept Zir’elon’s feet out from under him. His runed blade came down heavy on Zir’elon’s stomach, sending him down, but the other prince rolled away from the strike aimed at his head. Zir’elon flipped to his feet, flames pouring out of him and forcing Koth’talan back. Zir’elon burst from the flames and the fight continued, blade meeting blade once more.

Neither brother had a clean shield. Koth’talan’s was an orange that matched his hair and eyes, Zir’elon’s a dark yellow bordering orange. Both brothers were panting from obvious exertion as the fight dragged on. It was late afternoon by now, and both princes had been fighting all day.

Their swords clashed together once more, and in a move that had Liliana gasping in the empty room, Zir’elon dropped his sword. Using the fact that Koth’talan was now unbalanced and overextended, Zir’elon slid underneath his guard, one hand coming up to press against Koth’talan’s face as flames erupted in his palm.

Koth’talan stumbled back, blinded a second time. Zir’elon twisted, elbow connecting in a painful hit that sent Koth’talan further off balance. Zir’elon grabbed his brother’s sword from his weakened grasp as he continued his turn.

Gripping the sword with both hands, Zir’elon stepped forward, using his momentum to send his stolen weapon into Koth’talan. The dæmon was sent flying, his shield turning red as he landed.

Liliana let out the breath she was holding as her eyes closed.

So, it would be her and Zir’elon in the finals match then.

Liliana raised her head, glaring at the illusory image of Zir’elon raising a hand in victory as he tossed his brother’s blade next to Koth’talan’s body as if it was trash.

Soon she would personally rip that smug smile from his face.

Chapter 184: Strike Like A Serpent

Liliana left the waiting room, the door slamming behind her as she stalked through the tunnel, anger weighing hot and heavy in her blood.

Her bonds were affected by the anger Liliana refused to leash leaking through their bond. Lelantos’ tail flicked sharply behind him as a growl rumbled in his chest. Polaris’ ears were pinned to his head, fangs barred as he pressed against Liliana’s leg. Nemesis’ coils were almost dangerously tight around Liliana’s throat.

“So.”

Liliana drew up short as the voice echoed through the empty tunnel. Koth’talan was leaned against the wall once more, but his shoulders were drooped under the weight of defeat.

“You lost.” Liliana’s voice was more a growl than human speech.

“Yes.” Koth’talan’s eyes shut as if the admission was a physical strike.

“I won’t.” Liliana took the few steps necessary to come up even with the taller boy. Koth’talan opened his eyes and Liliana read so many emotions in his eyes in the split second it took him to hide them beneath his iron mask of indifference.

“No. You will not,” Koth’talan said finally, and Liliana could read the request on his face.

“I’ll make it hurt,” she answered that request with a show of teeth that more snarl than grin.

“Good. Show them those fangs.” Koth’talan gave her a weak smile as one finger pressed under her chin, raising her head before he turned and walked off, to await his chance at third place.

Liliana did not watch him leave. She strode out onto the sands, her bonds beside her as they met Upperton in the center. The girl regarded Liliana and her bonds before nodding slightly. Liliana controlled her rage enough to nod back before the rules were read.

“She’s going to come at us fast. Try to knock me out before any of you can turn the fight around. We’re going to let her.” Liliana told her bonds as they ignored the rules being read. She felt the reluctant agreements given by her bonds as she nodded at the professor.

Unseen, Nemesis slipped under the collar of Liliana’s shirt, winding down her arm as the shields dropped.

Liliana took a deep breath.

Felt her heart beat in her chest. Once.

The professor called the fight to start.

Several things happened at all at once. Liliana’s combo activated, flooding her body with power even as her mind cleared of the red haze that had taken over it as [Battle Clarity] gave her control once more.

A second beat.

[Perception] screamed.

Upperton vanished in a blur of speed even as Polaris and Lelantos stepped aside. Liliana’s foot slid across the ground as she twisted her body. A long, metal needle passed by Liliana’s face as her hand struck out, closing tightly around Upperton’s neck.

A third beat.

Liliana let out the air in her lungs.

“You always strike from behind.” Liliana noted, voice cold, detached as the other needle like weapon struck at her arm, her shield flickered. The lightest possible shade of yellow washed over her.

“It makes you predictable.” Liliana continued speaking as Upperton stared at her, eyes wide, confused, as Liliana smirked. Her free hand whipped out, grabbing onto Upperton’s wrist as she tried to desperately strike once more with her weapon, this time at Liliana’s face.

The other girl’s eyes flickered over Liliana’s shielded body, at the light yellow color of it, at the fact that it had yet to deepen. The question of why the poison had not affected her was so clear Upperton didn’t even need to speak. Liliana took pity on the girl and her confusion.

“Poison resistance.” Liliana explained coolly as her hand tightened on Upperton’s neck.

“Let’s see whose poison is stronger, shall we?” Liliana asked, lips stretching in a fanged smile as Nemesis emerged from Liliana’s sleeve, striking at Upperton’s fearful face.

Liliana kept her grip, lifting Upperton off her feet as Nemesis wrapped around the girl, form enlarging and catching her arms under tight coils as Liliana let go of the other girl’s wrist. Liliana released her hold on Upperton’s neck and stepped back as the girl’s body vanished under brown-green scales, only her head visible.

Nemesis’ coils constricted even as she struck again and again. Liliana watched, her hand dropping to lie between Polaris’ ears as Nemesis kept Upperton tied down. Her shield slowly turned from yellow, to orange as Upperton tried to escape. Earth rumbled and shook around the pair, but Nemesis had an Earth affinity too, and would not so easily permit a mere human to use it against her.

Upperton might have gained the Earth affinity, but Nemesis had been born with it.

Nemesis, despite all appearances, was not primarily a constrictor. She could, but she was not naturally gifted with much Strength via her species. And the serpent did not readily devote many points to the stat. However, it appeared Upperton did not devote many points to her own Strength stat either, most of her points probably going to Speed, Endurance, Dexterity and Wisdom, if Liliana had to guess.

Strike fast, and let the poison take out her enemies. Effective, until she faced someone with a stronger [Poison Resistance] than her poisons.

It left the entangled pair fairly evenly matched.

Nemesis was not strong enough to end the fight via crushing Upperton. Upperton was not strong enough to escape, but just strong enough to keep herself from being swallowed by the restraining coils.

Liliana could’ve ended the fight faster, if she wanted. Kept still by Nemesis’ thick coils, Upperton was an easy target. But Liliana wasn’t feeling particularly merciful at the moment, even if Upperton was not the focus of her ire. Sadly, the girl had to suffer for it as her apparent [Poison Resistance] was high enough that her shield took a long time to deepen despite Nemesis’ constant strikes.

Hopefully, some of the effort she had to exert would leave her weakened and tired for her fight against Koth’talan. It was the only thing she could do for her friend.

Liliana kept watching as Upperton remained trapped, forced to wriggle ineffectively as Nemesis struck at her. The fight had been decided before they ever stepped onto the sands, but Upperton fought the inevitable every step of the way.

However useless the effort was, Liliana respected it.

Upperton’s shield went red, the fight was called, and Liliana recalled Nemesis to her, the serpent releasing her prey reluctantly. Liliana stepped forward to where Upperton was on her hands and knees, from where Nemesis had let her go, coughing as if she had just been strangled. Interesting, even if the shields blocked the damage it seemed there was some mental damage left from being wrapped and constricted by a giant serpent, it seemed. Liliana picked a shrunken Nemesis up and stared at Upperton for a moment until the girl looked up at her.

“Sorry, but you were in my way.” Liliana told her.

“You.” Upperton coughed, and Liliana had to wonder if this was all mental, or if the shields really did not protect well against constriction, “did not even draw your weapon.”

“I had no need to.” Liliana explained with a shrug as her skills and spells turned off. She immediately missed the power they gave her.

“I saw your fights. Has anyone been a threat to you?” Upperton asked, rubbing at her neck. Liliana extended a hand to the girl, who swiped her weapons from where they had fallen and accepted the gesture.

“No,” Liliana said honestly as she helped Upperton to her feet and released the girl’s hand.

“I would say this must be the difference between class S and the rest of us, but I think you’re something more,” Upperton remarked honestly as she dusted off her clothes.

“Perhaps.” Liliana shrugged as she turned and walked to the tunnel.

She already knew she’d see Koth’talan waiting, and was not surprised to find him there. She had to wonder if he’d even returned to the room at all. Perhaps he had decided the trip was pointless and had waited here. Liliana almost felt bad for the shortness of her match. She had dragged it out for as long as she could.

He would have had nothing more than the few minutes her fight had taken to rest. Then again, Upperton would have no respite before her next fight began, either.

“Show them your fangs, Lili,” Koth’talan called out as he stepped forward.

“Show them yours,” Liliana murmured quietly as she watched Koth’talan step onto the sands.

Liliana looked down the tunnel. She could return once more to the empty room, and remember how recently it had been so full of voices, laughter and warmth. Or. Liliana looked toward the sands she could so easily see from her position just inside the tunnel.

Liliana turned and took a step back until she felt the cold of the stone through her clothes. Slowly, she let her body slide down the length of the wall until she hit the ground. Her knees came up, and she laid an arm across them, her head resting against it as she watched Koth’talan’s back as he stopped in the center.

It would not be as good of a view as she got from the illusion, but it felt right to wait here. Polaris sat down next to her, leaning his body into her side as he laid his vulpine head over hers. Liliana huffed out an amused snort at the move. Lelantos settled down on the ground in front of her, careful to not block her vision.

“You did well, Nem,” Liliana told her serpentine bond.

Nemesis was always susceptible to flattery, and out of all her bonds seemed to crave it the most. Liliana tried not to think that it was because she had been a baby, by her species’ standards, when she lost her family.

“Of course. No human snakelet can stand against my fangs,” Nemesis hissed proudly, raising her head to sway in Liliana’s sight, barring those very same fangs. At her current size, the expression was distinctly cute to Liliana. Her fangs were so small.

“Of course not. You’re too fierce a huntress, and your venom is too potent.” Liliana humored her bond, lifting her free hand to scratch just under Nemesis’ chin. The serpent’s eyes closed as she practically melted.

“We face the kit with the loud mouth next, yes?” Polaris asked, and Liliana hummed as Koth’talan’s fight began.

“Yes,” Liliana confirmed, moving her head slightly to follow the breathtakingly fast fight going on before her.

The Academy had cruelly robbed them by not giving them sound in their illusions. This close to the fight, but protected by the shield that wrapped up the coliseum, she could hear every strike of metal on metal as sword met strange needle like weapons. It was a beautiful melody that Liliana reveled in, only wishing it was her on the sands fighting once more.

“You’re going to ask us to stand back.” Polaris didn’t phrase it as a question, but Liliana treated it as one.

“Yes. I do not need your aid to take him down, and it will be more embarrassing if I very obviously limit myself. What a delicious victory that will be against someone who values his pride above all else. To know he can’t even beat me when I’m handicapped, let alone when I’m at my strongest.” In the privacy of the darkened tunnel, with no one but her bonds to see, Liliana let a cruel smile blossom on her face.

Koth’talan was right. She did hide her fangs from everyone.

But never from her bonds, who knew her. Knew every dark corner of her soul that shied from the light. They alone knew all that she was, every part of herself that she loved and despised. Knew every part that came together to form who she was. And loved her anyway. Not despite her flaws, but because of them.

Because her flaws and her strengths made up who she was. Her flaws balanced her strengths. Her capacity for cruelty was matched only by her capacity for kindness. Her willingness to destroy anyone who stood in her way balanced her fierce loyalty.

All that made her good was mirrored by what could make her truly terrifying.

The potential to be a hero was as easily matched by her potential to be a villain.

But then again. Hero and villain were titles granted by those who wrote the history books. One person’s hero was another’s villain.

So maybe Liliana should not place too much weight in such mercurial titles.

If her enemies saw her as a villain, then all the better. Because she would become their nightmares made flesh if it would keep them down. As long as her friends still smiled at her, she cared not for what titles others might give her.

Liliana watched with slowly blinking eyes as Koth’talan met Upperton on the sands. Both combatants were obviously exhausted, and fighting through their own bodies’ limitations to finish this fight.

Liliana felt a moment of regret when she realized that Upperton was less exhausted than Koth’talan. His fight with Zir’elon had gone on for far longer than hers. She doubted his Stamina and Mana had had any chance to recover at all. Upperton had been defeated far quicker, even if she spent every moment struggling. Her Mana and Stamina would still be higher.

Koth’talan proved that he would fight through anything, though. Even as his arms shook with exertion, he kept meeting Upperton blow for blow. But whatever tricks he had up his sleeve had been used in his fight against his brother. Liliana would bet he had exhausted every last drop of his Mana in his fight with Zir’elon, and was using all he had left just to keep his runes burning so he could match Upperton in Speed.

Upperton, by contrast, likely still had Mana to spare. And this time she was not against something with a mastery of the Earth affinity that would render her efforts useless.

No matter how good a swordsman Koth’talan was, no fighter could fight without their footing. And unlike Liliana, he could not so easily take to the sky when the ground became treacherous.

Koth’talan’s leg disappeared into a hole up to his knee, sending him off balance as he went from blocking Upperton to trying not to face plant. Upperton used her advantage and struck as viciously quick as any serpent. She jumped back as Koth’talan ripped his leg from the trap and pursued her, but the damage was done. His shield was steadily inching towards orange with each beat of his heart.

Slower than others, undoubtedly as a prince he had more than a small amount of levels in [Poison Resistance] but whatever poison Upperton preferred to use must be potent, for it still affected the prince. Liliana mentally filed away the information that her [Poison Resistance] was higher than Koth’talan’s, and like Zir’elon’s. Some advantages to having a venomous bond who would routinely bite her, she supposed.

Koth’talan made Upperton earn her victory, however, as he continued to chase her over the sands, sword slipping through her guard on more than one occasion, chipping at her Health each time. But Koth’talan was exhausted and Upperton had the upper hand in that regard, for all the girl was obviously tired too. She used her spells sparingly, but as Koth’talan lagged more, he became far more prone to mistakes, to not noticing the holes that opened under his feet.

Upperton used every mistake, punishing them with a ruthless efficiency, but she didn’t always get off without a cost.

The round ended when Koth’talan went down once more, seemingly at his body’s limits. His head bowed in defeat, his sword on the ground under his hands as Upperton rushed forward. In the last moment, Koth’talan exploded into movement, sword striking out when Upperton was too close to dodge.

Metal met shield and one went red.

Koth’talan shook his head, a disbelieving laugh reaching Liliana even over the distance. His shield was a bright red, Upperton’s an orange so red it almost matched his.

Almost.

But not quite.

Liliana let out a long sigh as she raised her head, Polaris lifting his own off of her. On the sands, Upperton helped Koth’talan to his feet, and the two shook hands. They broke apart, and they both turned to leave.

Liliana stood in the tunnel and met Koth’talan’s eyes across the distance. He held her gaze for a long moment, unsaid words heavy in the air between them. Liliana barred her teeth at him, fangs on full display, and Koth’talan gave her one of his rare, real smiles as he nodded at her and then vanished from her sight as he walked off the sands.

Liliana strode out of the tunnel a heartbeat after Koth’talan had left the sands. Her bonds flanked her as the crowd roared, the loudest it had been yet. They were ready to see the final fight. To see who among the first years would be declared the strongest they had.

Zir’elon met her in the middle of the coliseum, a smug smirk on his face that stoked the fires of rage ever higher in her chest. Liliana let the anger fill her, burning every trace of hesitation from her system.

“Are you ready to lose, just like that mongrel?” Zir’elon asked her with a sneer. “Or perhaps like that bitch of a princess did?” he continued to prod as Liliana regarded him with a baleful glare.

“Do you remember our first fight, Zir’elon?” Liliana asked, voice sweet as honey and as deadly as belladonna.

“Oh, do you hold that memory close to your heart? I never knew you admired me so. I have to tell you, I’m not interested in half blooded mutts like you.” Zir’elon spat the words with a charming grin on his face that Liliana wanted to claw off. Slowly. Painfully.

“No. I just wanted you to know. The humiliation you felt that day? I hope you haven’t forgotten the flavor, because it’ll be nothing compared to what you’ll taste today.” Liliana kept her voice sweet, sugar coating poisoned steel.

“You’ll think on that day and beg the gods for something as sweet as the taste of defeat you felt in front of only eighteen other students.” Liliana leaned forward, lips parting to reveal sharp fangs, “and you’ll rue the day you made an enemy of me. When you’re crying, on your knees before my blades. Just remember. You asked for this.” Liliana spat the final words out, all sweetness gone, nothing but vitriol and venom now as she leaned back.

She had timed her words perfectly. Before Zir’elon could get the words out of his opened mouth, the professor spoke, reciting the rules to them. Liliana grinned at his anger filled face. His confirmation of his understanding of the rules sounded more like a curse than an affirmation.

Liliana’s grin turned into a snarl as the shields dropped.

The fight was called to a start.

Liliana took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as light flooded the coliseum.

Chapter 185: Show Your Fangs

Liliana kept her eyes closed for a heartbeat as the sounds of the audience faded in her awareness. Rage thumped in her chest like a second heartbeat, the fires of anger scalding in her veins. Something in her howled in victory that she finally released it from its shackles. A beast, driven near rabid from its imprisonment.

Light turned the darkness of her eyelids blood red before she opened them, seeing the sands illuminated under a pure white light. Zir’elon stood before her, frozen, his sword raised, foot forward as if he had been prepared for a charge.

Liliana felt the comforting weight of her naginata materialize in her palm, the haft pressed into her back; the blade pointed towards the ground. A slow, satisfied smile grew on her lips as she regarded Zir’elon.

“You know, I’ve never tested this skill on a human,” Liliana said softly, almost conversationally, as she took a step forward.

She couldn’t see what she looked like, but she’d heard what others had said about it. The bright crown made of light floating above her head, striking against the blue black inky darkness of her hair, the vague wing like shapes behind her, all of it making it almost painful to look upon her. Liliana liked to imagine, in her more vain moments, that she resembled the visage of an avenging angel.

A rather appropriate thing for Zir’elon to face.

“I don’t enjoy taking away the free will of other sapient beings,” Liliana continued to speak to her captive audience of one as she reached Zir’elon. His mouth was kept locked shut at her wishes. She could only imagine the countless things he wished to say to her.

“So I never tested it on another person. But you bring out something nasty in me.” Liliana hummed as her free hand reached out and took the sword from Zir’elon’s grasp, testing the weight of the weapon for a moment.

She truly hadn’t been sure if her [Radiant Revelry] would work, but the skill had never specified it couldn’t be used on one of the mortal races. Only that the targets had to have a lower Intelligence than her Charisma, and that the effect was increased on those with a Dark alignment. Already, the slight damage over time of the skill’s effect on anything with a Dark affinity was starting to take hold, darkening Zir’elon’s shield.

Well, Liliana knew Zir’elon didn’t have an Intelligence stat over 728, and as a dæmon, he naturally unlocked a Dark affinity. So she had estimated the odds of her skill working being rather high.

It was always so gratifying to be right.

“You like to feel powerful, like to believe it’s your right to be above others. To play with them, to humiliate them.” Liliana tossed the sword in the air, catching it by the hilt deftly with one hand before she turned on her heel and threw it.

“Catch,” Liliana called out.

On cue, Polaris jumped from where he had sat at the edge of the arena, snatching the weapon out of the air before settling back down. Liliana turned back to Zir’elon, her smile widening, fangs barred in a facsimile of a grin.

“And truly? I’m not so good-hearted that behavior like that would normally draw my ire. I’m not a champion for the weak. I don’t share the honourable disposition my brother has.” Liliana tilted her head slightly, shrugging.

“But what I do have an issue with is when someone decides to target the people I hold dear.” Liliana dropped all pretense of kindness as her voice lowered into a growl. She leaned forward as if sharing a secret.

“You want to know the most important lesson I ever learned, Zir’elon?” Liliana paused, as if waiting for a response.

“Oh, nothing to say for once?” Liliana asked, faux concern thick in her tone before she let out a mocking laugh when Zir’elon neither moved nor spoke.

“Of course, you can’t talk. Not unless I want you to. Not until you hit forty percent Health at least.” Liliana purred, “Well, I’ll tell you, anyway. As a treat for good behavior.” Liliana smirked.

“I learned that if someone wants to make themselves a threat to you or those you love, you should cut them down before they get a chance to strike.” Liliana leaned back, taking a step away from Zir’elon as her face went cold.

“Kneel.” The spoken order was unnecessary, but Liliana felt it added to the humiliation as Zir’elon’s body forced him to obey.

Or, she supposed, it was the shield around his body doing it. The shields prevented any harmful attacks or effects from affecting the students, but it would also mean they had to enforce certain effects.

She had been curious as to how the shields would handle effects like those of her [Radiant Revelry] or Psyche and Control skills geared towards body or mind control. If they would let it slip past the shield, or if the shield would turn into a prison. She still wasn’t entirely sure, but she wasn’t going to ask Zir’elon which it was.

He was so much more pleasant when his mouth was shut.

“Consider this the last and final warning you’ll get from me, Zir’elon. I’ve been so very kind to you these past six months. Remember the mercy I showed you when we’re done here.” Liliana leaned slightly down to meet Zir’elon’s eyes, the only part of him that could show the rage he was undoubtedly drowning under.

Good. Liliana had been choking on her fury since she walked into this fight. She could feel it, clawing in her throat, begging her to let it out, to soak through every word. To send her blade sinking deep into Zir’elon’s body.

For once, Liliana was inclined to indulge it.

“The next time you cross me, I’ll take it as an invitation to cut you down and end you as a threat to me and mine,” Liliana hissed as she stood straight once more, naginata whipping out in front of her. She rested the blade against Zir’elon’s vulnerable neck.

“Now, let’s have some fun, shall we?” Liliana asked with a vicious grin that displayed those fangs Koth’talan had asked her to show.

Well, he’d get his wish.

Liliana pulled her naginata back, twirling it and striking the butt against Zir’elon’s face. Zir’elon went down, his shield flickering slightly, far less than the damage over time effect of her skill. Liliana was purposefully holding her strength back.

Zir’elon wanted to act like a villain? Like he was so strong? Well, Liliana thought it was high time he met a real villain, and felt what true power tasted like. It was a lesson he sorely needed, and Liliana was more than happy to teach him. And just this once, during this one fight, Liliana would let him see exactly how dark she could be, and why he should’ve left her and her friends alone from the start.

Liliana stepped to the side and slid the tip of her foot under Zir’elon’s back. With a surge of muscles, she kicked him high into the air. She followed shortly with [Leap], [Wind Walk] catching her as she met his falling body. Swinging her naginata like a bat, she flung him halfway across the arena. [Wind Surge] enabled her to follow him and meet him before he landed, a hand snaking out to grab him by a limp arm, arresting his fall.

“You know, I could make you do anything I wanted right now. I could make you crawl across the ground like the worm you are,” Liliana told him as she held him a hundred feet in the air.

“I could make you bow before me, or lick my shoes.” Liliana hummed, tilting her head as if considering the options.

“I could make you take one of my daggers, and slit your own throat,” Liliana let the words fall from her lips with the same offhanded consideration she’d given the other options. Belying the deadly threat held within them.

“How does it feel? To know you’re completely at my mercy? To know I could have done this at any time?” Liliana asked, voice going as cold as her eyes as she stared at Zir’elon. Now there was something other than rage in his eyes. There was fear, too. And Liliana reveled in it.

“At any point, I could’ve taken away your free will. I could have made you turn your own sword against yourself.” Liliana told him, hand tightening on Zir’elon’s arm in what would’ve been a crushing grip, had there not been a shield in the way. As it was, said shield deepened in color.

“But I didn’t. Because I know what it’s like, to lose control of your own body. To be at someone’s mercy so utterly, to be powerless.” Liliana drew Zir’elon up, shaking his body slightly.

“But here I am, doing it to you. Because you finally pushed me to my limit, Zir’elon. And now you have to face the consequences of your own actions,” Liliana hissed, words coated in venom and something bordering on hatred. Her eyes flicked slightly to the edge of her vision as she checked her Mana.

Perfect.

“However, I’ll give you one last mercy, Zir’elon,” Liliana told him, smile anything but kind as she flung Zir’elon down to the ground hard. The impact left cracks in the hard packed sand around his body as his shield turned orange.

“Have your freedom back, for what good it’ll do you,” Liliana called out as she simultaneously canceled [Wind Walk] and [Radiant Revelry], her body plummeting through the air. As the wind whistled in her ears, Liliana activated [Aspect Of The Beast].

Power flooded her veins and Liliana could almost feel the physical changes the skill caused appearing on her, the silver marks like constellations spreading across her skin, twins to the ones on Polaris’ coat. Her teeth ached in her mouth and she felt the fangs she had gained when she bonded Polaris pressing into her lips as they lengthened.

The world seemed to slow as she adjusted to the way her mind was now processing things so much faster with the significant boost to her Speed. She almost felt like she was floating as she fell, and Zir’elon looked like he was moving through thick sludge as he stood.

The real reason she had canceled [Radiant Revelry] had not been out of some misplaced kindness, or sudden chivalry. No, Liliana knew herself well, and when it came to those she saw as enemies, she had no warmth in her heart for them. Her friends might see her as a good person. But Liliana knew she had never been a good person, would never be one.

And she wasn’t entirely sure she truly wanted to be good. Or at least, not what most people would see as good.

Good people didn’t drug their step mothers to force a confession. A good person would’ve found it in their heart to forgive. But Liliana didn’t want to forgive any who had wronged her. She wanted to make them pay.

In blood, in pride, in every way that would make them hurt. She wanted to rip everything they cared about from them, and leave them broken behind her. Too weak and defeated to ever consider turning on her again. She wanted them to fear her, and all she could and would do to them.

So, she’d stopped her skill because Zir’elon’s shield had been inching ever closer to red. And Liliana was not finished with him yet. She hadn’t made him pay enough to match the crimes he’d committed against her and hers.

This fight would end only when Liliana decided it was over, and not a second earlier.

Liliana hit the ground as Zir’elon found his balance, flames licking up his arms, twining with shadows. He moved towards her to attack, and Liliana had to smile. He was so slow.

With a Speed stat now well exceeding a thousand, it took no more effort than a breath to practically vanish as she moved, stopping behind a Zir’elon who had only just started to move his head to locate her.

“Too slow, such a shame.” Liliana taunted as her naginata swung and connected with Zir’elon’s legs, knocking him from his feet.

If she’d wanted to end this quickly, she would’ve borrowed Lelantos’ stats. His Strength would’ve ensured it only took her a hit or two to finish this. Polaris, however, had such a small Strength stat that forty percent of it was hardly noticeable. No, Liliana had wanted his Speed.

She wanted to be sure Zir’elon was forced to endure hit after hit, never able to retaliate as she beat him up and down these sands and made a mockery of him in front of the entire Academy, as he had tried to do to Koth’talan. She wanted him to burn with shame, knowing that he had never even gotten a single hit off on her. To understand, truly and utterly, the vast ocean of difference between them. Not just in power, but in temperament.

She wanted him to know that she could’ve ended this fight within seconds, and he wouldn’t have been able to stop her. That she chose to draw it out, because she could, because she wanted to. She wanted him to fear not just the power she held, but her. Wanted him to wake up screaming in fear from the manic light in her eyes, and the mad smile on her face as she laughed at his pain and humiliation.

He would know, by the end of the fight, what kind of viper he’d grabbed, and the sting of the venom it held in its fangs.

“Get back on your feet, or are you more comfortable in the dirt?” Liliana ordered, pressing her foot into Zir’elon’s face, jumping lightly back when he tried to grab her ankle.

“The mighty prince, brought so low by a half blood rose.” Liliana mocked when Zir’elon stood once more. Every second it took felt like years to Liliana.

The moment he was on his feet, Liliana struck. His arms had hardly risen an inch in what would have eventually been a block had Liliana given him the few seconds needed to complete the move. However, Liliana was not feeling generous today as her naginata struck him in the chest, throwing him back and down once more.

“Gosh, so pathetic. Is this the might of the self proclaimed strongest son of the Alfein Emperor? Your father must cry himself to sleep every night, knowing his blood runs through such weak veins.” Liliana’s voice dripped sickly sweet sympathy as Zir’elon rose to his hands and knees, just in time for Liliana’s foot to catch him under his chin and send him flying again.

Fire climbed up Zir’elon’s body as he got back to his feet, but the flames moved at a glacial speed, like some lagging game from Earth. It was nothing at all for Liliana to strike him without suffering damage, the flat of her blade slamming into Zir’elon’s face, sending it to the side, his body following.

“You know, I complimented Dunstan once in a battle. He was a strong enough opponent that I was forced to use my Quintessential skill,” Liliana spoke as if she was discussing the weather, even as she spun a kick into Zir’elon’s ribs, sending him back down again.

“But I don’t want you to think I was forced to use this skill, I don’t want you to misunderstand.” Liliana told Zir’elon as she jumped slightly to grab him by a horn, dragging his head down to meet her knee. She released her hold on his horn and kicked out, her foot connecting with his stomach.

“You see, I could have beaten you quite easily without ever touching a Quintessential skill. Truly, it would’ve been as easy as squashing a bug.” Liliana’s next attack went low, naginata hooking behind Zir’elon’s knees and sending him into a flip that landed him on his stomach.

“The difference between you and Dunstan is I had to use the skill to win with him. But you? Oh, I just wanted to,” Liliana told him as she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her hip.

“Honestly, I thought I’d be bored by now. I’ve met ten-year-olds who put up a better fight than this.” Liliana planted her naginata on Zir’elon’s chest and kept him down as she leaned over him.

“This is so much fun, though! Perhaps we should do this again. Without the shields. Do you think that would be a good idea, little weak prince?” Liliana asked him, lips stretched wide in a grin.

“Nothing to say for once? Or did you bite through your own tongue?” Liliana asked, laughing when Zir’elon tried to grab her weapon at the same time as flames erupted over his body. It was adorable, how he kept trying.

“Bitch,” Zir’elon spat out, voice slow to Liliana’s ears.

“Ah ah ah! If you have nothing nice to say,” Liliana tutted, striking with her weapon dead center on Zir’elon’s mouth, sending him back. “Then say nothing at all. Did your mother not teach you manners?”

Liliana gaged Zir’elon’s shield. She’d been holding back her strength, only ever using enough to knock Zir’elon down, while targeting spots that would ensure the hits sent him off balance. But there was always momentum to account for, and with how fast her strikes were, her momentum was considerable. His shield was a deep orange red. Liliana checked the timer on her skill and sighed.

Well. She supposed it was time to end this fight. Or, well, calling it a fight would be an insult to all fights. This was nothing more than a vicious beating.

A delightful, satisfying, long over due beating. But a beating none the less.

“This has been fun, and I hope you enjoyed yourself too, Zir’elon. Or at least learned something. I hope my lesson was impactful,” Liliana swung her naginata into the side of Zir’elon’s knees, “enough to make it through your thick skull. Tell me, was I a good teacher?” Liliana asked as she stomped a heavy foot down on Zir’elon’s chest.

“The only regret I have about this is that we have these pesky shields. I think a few broken bones might have made the lesson stick a bit better. Don’t you think?” Liliana’s blade smacked harshly into Zir’elon’s hand as he tried to raise it.

“If I have to teach you this lesson again, I’ll be sure it will be a permanent one. So study up, do your homework and make me proud, little prince.” Liliana’s voice was honey coated steel as she flipped back.

“And just know,” Liliana’s voice lost its sweet edge, all the rage that was burning inside of her coloring her words now, “none of this had to happen. I would’ve happily ignored you for four years. But you forced yourself into my life. Forced me to see you as an enemy. All of this? It’s nothing more than the result of your own actions. You made this happen. You made me show such an ugly side of myself.” Liliana spat the words out between clenched fangs.

It was tedious, to activate so many skills and spells at once. But if she didn’t get to show off at the tournament, when would she? And for once, she didn’t have to worry about her Mana. With Polaris’ stats, she had 9,290 Mana.

In the time it took Zir’elon to stand once more and make two steps towards her, Liliana activated every skill and spell she could think to use. Her Set Up and Beast’s Dance combos, power and speed thundering so thickly through her body she thought she might explode with it.

For the first time this fight [Threads Of Control] activated, tugging her daggers free. [Radiant Edge] and [Radiant Ignition] turned every blade she wielded blindingly bright. [March Of Madness] summoned four copies of herself, each with their own weapons arrayed on and around them.

Liliana did not stop with her own skills and spells. No, she had access to Polaris’ as well, and she would use them. [Dark Kitsunebi] summoned balls of shadows dancing like flames around her. [Havoc Claws] surrounded her blades with chaotic energy on top of the light.

Her set up done, Liliana moved, clones and blades moving with her as she activated her Finisher combo on top of [Chaos Pierce] and [Winds of Discord].

When every attack and spell Liliana had used hit Zir’elon, there was a moment, a single breath, that felt like eons. As if the world had frozen in that second. Everything hung still, suspended in time. Zir’elon’s eyes full of hate, fear and resignation as he stared at her, her blades a hair from his body.

Then time restarted, and even with Liliana’s faster comprehension, it was a struggle to see and process everything. There was a deafening boom, a flash of light and chaos that burned Liliana’s eyes and a blast of concussive force that had Liliana digging her feet and naginata in the ground to keep her balance as she was forced back several yards. In the second it took Liliana to blink, Zir’elon had been flung clear across the arena, and there was a second thunderous boom when his body collided with the shield.

He hung there for a heartbeat, like he’d been glued to the shield. Then, his body fell to the ground, his shield such a dark red, Liliana wondered for a split second if she’d somehow broken it. Or truly killed Zir’elon.

“Winner, Liliana Rosengarde.” With the announcement, the sounds of the audience crashed on Liliana, nearly as deafening as the thunder crack when she’d struck Zir’elon with everything she had.

Liliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she let it out, every skill and spell she still had activated turned off, her rage flowing out of her with them. Somewhere inside of her, a dark beast returned to its cage, purring in contentment. She locked her knees to keep herself from stumbling, or worse, falling, when she felt the strength given to her by her skills and anger drain from her like a bucket with a hole punched in it.

When Liliana opened her eyes, she had her ‘mask of civility’ placed firmly on once more, and she looked like nothing more than an utterly ordinary girl as she waved at the audience.

She had won.

Lili's stats during the fight, after using Aspect Of The Beast:

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

16

Level

121

Class

Beast Souled Blade Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

6

Health

2,540

H-Regen

+25.4/1.1sec

Mana

9,290

M-Regen

+106.4/1.1sec

Stamina

9,750

S-Regen

+97.5/1.1sec

Magic Power

4,888

Magic Control

4,703

Experience: 439,799/1,488,400

Vitality

162(254)

Endurance

845(975)

Strength

421(461)

Dexterity

834(1,042)

Wisdom

319(929)

Intelligence

260(1,064)

Speed

889(1,473)

Charisma

728(1,248)

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Aspect Of The Beast: Soul. You have bonded your soul to multiple beasts, through the strength of your connection to those whose souls you share assume a portion of their power and majesty for yourself. Chose one beast to become one with. Take 40% of their stats as your own, unlimited access to their skills and spells for the duration of Aspect Of The Beast.

Skill can only be used once per 24 hours.

Lasts ten minutes

Cost: 3000 Stamina, 1500 Mana

Chapter 186: In The Blink Of An Eye

Liliana leaned her head against the wall of the room a professor had directed her to after her last victory.

She had won.

Not simply her fights, but the entire tournament. The revelation was still swimming in her head, tinged with a dreamlike quality. She had expected to be more powerful than her peers. Her additional stat points and the levels of her bonds outclassed most. Even other tamers. Few were willing to undertake the risk of taming creatures so far above them in levels.

Few are willing to foolishly risk their lives when they can achieve power in a more sensible fashion. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Emyr whispered in her mind and Liliana batted it aside with a roll of her eyes. No guts, no glory, right?

Still, knowing on paper that she was stronger and having it be shown to her were two different things.

Liliana wasn’t sure how she felt about this not so new information she was being forced to finally acknowledge. So she pushed it aside, to be dealt with later. She focused her mind on the present, on what was expected of her. Something far more annoying, and far less stressful.

Apparently, simply winning the last fight and being sent on her way was not quite enough. She didn’t know why she had hoped for anything less; the Academy was filled with children of nobility and royalty. Something so simple would never fit into their preferences.

She remembered how in the game, the end of the tournament always had a cut scene with the character greeting the headmistress, accepting their victory on a pedestal in the middle of the coliseum while a faceless crowd cheered as the sunset bathed them in hues of gold and crimson. In the game, it had been cool, but in reality, it was just… inconvenient. Embarrassing.

Mostly inconvenient at the moment, as she was forced to peel off her battle wear and ‘clean herself up’.

It wouldn’t do for their champion to be sweaty or disheveled. Wouldn’t do to show her off to the student body wearing her rough leather clothes and the few bits and pieces of armor she had put together from the Academy store. So she’d been instructed to put on her uniform, it was left unsaid that the uniform needed to be in perfect order, but even a toddler could’ve read that subtext.

At the very least, they didn’t expect her to don a gown. Liliana quite liked her dresses, enjoyed how they looked on her. But they were troublesome to put on alone, if not outright impossible. She could be grateful that such formal attire wasn’t required of her today.

She’d be grateful for small mercies, for they seemed to be all she’d get.

Liliana opened her eyes and turned her body so her back leaned against the wall, looking down at herself. Her uniform looked as it always did, perfectly neat. At least her Dexterity meant she rarely had to worry about soiling her clothes through clumsiness. Purposeful sabotage, on the other hand, was always a possibility, and Liliana was a spiteful enough creature to give the idea serious consideration.

She already missed her daggers. She’d feel far less naked with them, and her nerves were still high-strung and taut after so many fights in such a short amount of time. Whether or not they’d been, in the end, easy.

Liliana looked towards the door, scowling. She did not relish the idea of being shown around like a show pony. As if the Academy could claim responsibility for her skills and fighting prowess. As if every skill she had wasn’t the result of her risking her life time and again to gain her power. Hours upon hours of effort, for years, spent strengthening her body and abilities until she couldn’t take a step or breath without pain.

The handle on the door turning jolted her from her thoughts.

Immediately Liliana pushed off of the wall, body falling into a fighting stance. It was too soon for the professors to come to get her. She’d been told she, and the others, would have a reprieve to rest and make themselves presentable before they would announce the first, second and third place students.

Assassins? No, they couldn’t get through the Academy’s protections. Zir’elon coming to attack me in a fit of rage? Liliana’s mind ran through the possibilities as she heard the low murmur of hushed voices through the thick wood of the door. Multiple assailants? A smart decision, Zir’elon would know he couldn’t take her alone.

She’d thought her lesson would stick for a little longer, not forever. Zir’elon was more prideful than he was intelligent, after all, but she thought he’d be cowed for a few days at the very least.

The lock on the door clicked and slowly it inched open. Liliana summoned her naginata to her hand and, without hesitation, struck.

She met golden eyes, widened in surprise, and froze, her weapon lowering from where it had pressed into the throat of the first person to walk through.

“Um.” Alistair coughed, looking at the weapon, then Liliana.

“Well. That’s one way to let me know what you think of me, sis.” Alistair teased. Liliana rolled her eyes as her body relaxed, her naginata disappearing.

“How are…” Liliana leaned slightly to the side to see the others huddled behind Alistair, various guilty or pleased expressions on their faces.

Emyr, in particular, looked rather smug. He’d likely been the one to pick the lock. As far as she knew, he was the only one of their friends with that skill. Marianne was looking around the hallway, clutching to the back of Alistair’s shirt as if nervous they would be caught. Koth’talan looked beleaguered, as if he’d been dragged unwillingly into this endeavor.

“You all here?” Liliana finished as she straightened, backing up to allow the four to slip into the room and shut the door.

“We wanted to see you!” Marianne announced, moving past Alistair and flinging herself at Liliana. Expecting the move, Liliana caught the princess easily, not thrown off balance by the light girl.

“I planned to give you my compliments on your battle after the awards were done, but I was informed my participation was not optional.” Koth’talan explained as he leaned on the wall, oddly enough, in the same place Liliana had taken up moments earlier.

“You enjoyed the show?” Liliana asked, setting her chin on Marianne’s head when the princess gave no indication of releasing her any time soon.

“It was satisfactory.” Koth’talan nodded, the dark glee in his eyes belying his nonchalant words and uncaring tone.

“Satisfactory? It was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life!” Marianne huffed, sending Koth’talan a glare at his less than enthusiastic words before turning to Liliana with eyes full of stars and admiration. She was looking at Liliana as if she’d hung the moon, and presented her with the keys to every kingdom and empire in their world. Liliana would privately admit that she was not entirely upset at the warm feeling the admiration birthed in her chest.

“It was a more than a bit terrifying,” Alistair added in, shuddering in an exaggerated manner before he grinned. “Good job, Lili.”

“He’d annoyed me. I was just getting my frustrations out.” Liliana shrugged, internally preening at the praise.

A part of her had worried that her friends would shy away from her after seeing what she was truly capable of when pushed. That they would fear her. Liliana had never wanted fear from her friends. It was reassuring to know that no matter what parts of herself she showed, her friends would remain at her side.

Perhaps because, unlike the caricatures of these people she’d come to love that she’d seen in the game, they each had more than a bit of their own darkness inside of them, too.

“If that’s what you look like annoyed, I don’t want to know what you look like angry,” Alistair muttered, reaching out to ruffle Liliana’s hair.

“I do. I think it would be glorious.” Marianne pulled away, a wicked grin on her face. Liliana wondered if the queen had any idea what kind of monster she had raised.

Thinking about her experiences with the queen, Liliana decided that the queen was likely well aware. If not directly responsible for Marianne’s more ruthless side.

“It would be terrifying,” Emyr decided, but his tone implied that he would enjoy seeing it just as much, if not more, than Marianne. Sometimes Liliana had to wonder how three people fated to be heroes could be so… bloodthirsty.

Perhaps fate doesn’t know very much at all, she thought. A little rebelliously, a little spitefully.

“Well, after that fight, I doubt Zir’elon will be a problem for us any longer.” Alistair stepped forward to hug Liliana next, crushing her into him as her spine cracked and strained under the hold.

“Hard to believe the girl I saw out there is the same girl who was getting berated by Silas for dropping her weapon what feels like just yesterday,” Alistair told her, and Liliana snorted.

“He still berates me when we spar, just for different reasons now. If he had been here, he’d probably have a list of a hundred things I did wrong during the fights ready for me,” Liliana groaned, tone thick with affection.

Silas had always been hard on her, on all of them, when they trained. But she knew it came from a place of love. He was training them for battle, for situations where the smallest mistake could kill them. He was hard on them because he didn’t want them to die.

A wave of homesickness filled her.

She wished she could see Silas today, wished he had been here to see her fights. Even if he’d critique her every move. He’d end his analysis of her failings with a small smile and gruff word telling her how proud he was of her. And Liliana really wanted to hear how proud he was of her, of her growth.

He had seen her grow from the weak, lost girl who barely knew what the right end of her weapon was, who stumbled and fell but always got back up, into the young woman who had dominated every fight she’d stepped into today.

She wanted him to see how far she had come, and to know that it was because of him. Because of his training, his faith in her. He had never tried to dissuade her from learning to fight, nor mocked her for her failures. He’d always been there for her, supporting her, training her. Picking her back up when she didn’t think she could stand again, and telling her to fight, dammit, fight Liliana.

Even if some days she’d hated him, when her body was covered in bruises and she could hardly move her muscles for the pain. She was everything she was today, the fighter she was, because of Silas. And her victory felt ever so slightly hollow because he couldn’t see the fruits of his labor.

“I doubt Zir’elon will even be able to look at Lili for a while. She traumatized him.” Marianne crossed her arms, a proud smile on her face as Alistair and Liliana broke from their hug.

“I did not.” Liliana rolled her eyes at the dramatization. “I didn’t even break any of his bones. He’ll be fine,” Liliana asserted when she got looks of disbelief.

“Lili… I’m pretty sure he’s going to have nightmares about this fight for weeks.” Alistair said slowly, as Liliana blinked owlishly at him, fighting down a satisfied smile at the thought.

In her opinion, Liliana had gone easy on Zir’elon, if only because of the shields preventing true harm from befalling any student. She’d have much preferred to carve her lesson into his skin so deep it the scars would never fade. So phantom pain would flare anytime he so much as looked in her direction or considered going against her or her friends.

She had satisfied herself with simply embarrassing him as much as possible in front of all his peers, but she hadn’t thought it would truly traumatize him.

If it did? Well, Liliana wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

“He will be licking the wounds to his pride for some time, at the very least. My… brother,” Koth’talan spat the word out as if the very taste of it sickened him, “has not been dealt such a decisive loss in some time. Not since we were small. He is not used to being so thoroughly outclassed, and then made a fool of in such a public manner,” Koth’talan finished, voice thick with satisfaction as his cool mask finally broke. Liliana thought he was probably replaying the fight in his head.

“I aim to please, your highness,” Liliana drawled, smirking, when Koth’talan glared at her with a fierce scowl.

“So was my defense of your honor enough to earn a confirmation of our friendship?” Liliana pressed, smile widening when Koth’talan’s glare grew more intense.

With a sigh that spoke volumes of how much this was all a very great ordeal for the prince Koth’talan closed his eyes.

“Fine. We share a relationship that can be construed in a way that implies a closeness akin to that of friendship.” Koth’talan said the words as if he was being forced at knifepoint to utter them, after hours of a long, grueling torture.

“Translation?” Alistair asked in the silence that followed, head tilting as he tried to decipher the words.

“He admitted Lili and he are friends.” Emyr supplied with a smug smirk. Alistair’s eyes widened in understanding, and he nodded his thanks to Emyr.

“Ah, the true reward for the tournament, getting you to admit we’re friends,” Liliana crowed, a silly smile on her face as warmth filled her.

She had known she and Koth’talan were friends, to some degree. He spent too much time around her and her group, voluntarily, to be anything else. But to have him admit to it, when it was obvious, to her at least, that he did not willingly get close to many at all, it made it feel special.

“Maybe the real victory is the friends we made along the way,” Marianne said sagely, a hand on her chin as she nodded. The room went quiet again as everyone stared at the princess in bemused disbelief.

“No. Pretty sure it was getting to watch Zir’elon get utterly destroyed.” Emyr broke the silence.

“That was my favorite part too, made it worth losing,” Alistair agreed, raising a hand in solidarity.

“That was the part that I found the most pleasure in witnessing as well,” Koth’talan added in and Marianne pouted.

“We almost had a moment straight from a book, and you three had to ruin it,” Marianne huffed, crossing her arms and kicking a foot against the ground.

Liliana covered her mouth with a hand to stop herself from giggling or, worse, cooing at Marianne. She looked adorable. Like a toddler being told they couldn’t have a toy they wanted. Liliana had to take several deep breaths to control herself, and she clenched her hand into a fist to resist the urge to reach out and pinch Marianne’s cheeks. She’d probably get bitten if she did.

“I’d consider getting to embarrass Zir’elon the victory too,” Liliana threw in just to see Marianne’s pout deepen as she looked at Liliana as if she’d stabbed her in the back.

“You too Lili? Even my very best friend has betrayed me in my moment of greatest need?” Marianne demanded and Liliana lost the battle for control, laughter spilling from her lips as Marianne whined.

A knock on the door silenced the entire room. Wide-eyed, panicked looks were traded as they all realized a professor had come to retrieve Liliana, and there was nowhere for the rest to hide, or escape.

“Shit, get to the back,” Liliana hissed, pointing behind her as she moved to the door.

The others scrambled to squeeze into the back of the room, crouching low to avoid notice. Alistair tried his best to squeeze his bulk down. Koth’talan looked physically pained at being forced into close quarters with the others as they all squished together. When Liliana estimated they were as out of sight as was possible in the small room, she carefully opened the door, keeping her body in the way.

“I have come to escort you,” Vereign greeted her, as brusque as ever.

“Alright, I’ll just…” Liliana moved to step out and Vereign sighed, looking over her head for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a breath.

“Tell your friends they need to return to their seats as well,” Vereign informed her, and Liliana’s eyes widened, opening her mouth to deny the very accurate accusation.

“Don’t. I’ve been teaching teenagers for too long to not expect this.” Vereign cut her off and Liliana sighed, pushing the door open to reveal her friends, huddled on the floor in a pile in the back of the room.

“Oh! Hello there, Professor Vereign. What a surprise to see you here.” Marianne popped up, dusting off her clothes.

“Seats. Now.” Vereign barked and the other four scurried out of the room past Liliana and Vereign as if they were being chased by rabid beasts.

Marianne threw a smile at Liliana that withered under Vereign’s glare. Emyr gave her a thumbs up, ducking his head to avoid Vereign’s gaze. Alistair squeezed her shoulder as he passed, shrinking under their homeroom teacher’s eyes. Koth’talan was the only one to not show a reaction, but he hurried all the same, giving Liliana a nod as he passed her.

“Sorry, sir.” Liliana muttered as her friends disappeared.

“Teenagers.” Vereign’s voice held years of exhaustion packed into a single word as he closed his eyes again and pinched the bridge of his nose. When he opened his eyes, for a moment, Liliana almost thought she saw a flash of amusement, but it was gone so quickly she was certain she imagined it.

“Follow me.” Vereign ordered, and Liliana fell in behind her professor as he walked through the tunnels under the coliseum.

He said nothing more to her as they walked, and Liliana could feel a niggling thread of nervousness working through her. It was one thing to face the entire population of the Academy when she was fighting. It was another to face them with no weapon in her hand, none of her bonds at her side. She felt almost naked, vulnerable.

“Wait here. You will be called out.” Vereign informed her as they stopped by the entrance to the arena.

Liliana looked out at the sands under the late afternoon sun. She could hear the cacophony of close to a thousand students and teachers in the stands. She looked back towards Vereign, only to see he had vanished.

She was alone again.

Liliana took a deep breath as Headmistress Wraithe appeared in a plume of fire in the middle of the coliseum. Whatever words Wraithe said escaped Liliana. She assumed it was some grand speech about the prowess of the first years. Something simultaneously encouraging and threatening, as most of Wraithe’s speeches were.

Liliana wondered, would this ever get easier? Would the wait feel less suffocating over time? Would her heart stop pounding as if it was trying to escape her chest, would her stomach cease tangling itself in knots if she was to experience this a second time? A third? A fourth?

Liliana closed her eyes, taking another deep breath. She waited for her name to be called. It felt like years passed as Wraithe spoke. Time faded and stretched. A year, two, three, slipping through her fingers like the grains of sand in an hourglass. Speeding past were flickers of memories of laughter, smiles, and sleepless nights surrounded by books. New friends and connections made, others straining and drifting as time marched on, unstoppable in its journey.

It never did get easier.

“I am proud to announce our victor for the first fourth year tournament of the year. Over the past three and a half years, this young lady has won every tournament she has been in. This is her seventh victory, an unprecedented record in the Academy. Our victor of today’s tournament, Liliana Rosengarde.” Wraithe’s voice crashed into Liliana.

Liliana’s back straightened as she forced her nerves under a well-practiced mask.

Three and a half years of this, and she still felt as nervous as the very first time she’d stood here. Six times she’d been presented before the Academy, regaled as the best and brightest of her year. And yet still, her heart pounded, her stomach twisted.

If anything, it got worse, as she felt the weight of all the eyes on her. Full of expectations, of jealousy, of admiration. She had gone from someone utterly unknown in the Academy to the most recognized student as a result of her six, now seven, consecutive victories.

Perhaps her eighth victory would be less harrowing an experience. Liliana could only hope. At least, in six months’ time, she would be done with the Academy, and free of the constant feeling of eyes on her.

Liliana opened her eyes and stepped onto the sands to accept her seventh victory.

Chapter 187: The Words Of A Goddess Should Not Be Disregarded

Samantha Luminaris bared her teeth in a pained snarl as her free hand gripped tightly to her middle, where a deep gash was bleeding steadily. Her eyes darted around, seeing what was left of her team. Daniel, their fighter, had already been taken out, evacuated by their healer, Tral’deon. The remainder of her team were lagging, sweat pouring off of them in waves mixing with the blood that flowed freely from their accumulated wounds. They were low on Health, Mana, and Stamina, doing all they could just to stay standing.

They wouldn’t last long now.

They had been misled in their assignment details, told it was only a small band of roving trolls harrying several villages. No one had told them what attacked the villages were different war bands, all belonging to a single collection, army, truthfully, of trolls. Far more than they could handle alone, at their levels. This was a doomed mission. Samantha had led them to their deaths. She was the leader, and the guilt laid far heavier on her shoulders than her armor ever had.

“Run!” Samantha shouted back at her team as her hand tightened its grip on her sword.

Samantha was all that stood between what remained of her team and certain death. Sending a prayer to her patron goddess, Vita, Samantha raised her sword and charged forward at the ranks of trolls. Samantha tasted death on her tongue, hoping against hope her actions would give her group time to escape. Better she alone die than all of them. If she could just give them a few minutes, they could get away. Most of her team could survive, and only her life had to be paid in recompense for the mistakes she’d made.

A bright blaze of light blinded Samantha before she could make contact, drawing her up short as she released her slowly healing wound to raise her shield.

“We heard you needed some help,” a melodic masculine voice called out, and Samantha blinked dazed eyes to look up.

For a moment she was certain she was dead, because standing in the sky in front and above her was a woman coated in white light, a crown of light on her head and great, thick wings made of what looked like sunlight itself spread behind her. A wave of Vita’s comforting presence rolled off the winged figure, so powerful Samantha wanted to drop to her knees.

The figure beside the, surely an angel, was a boy dressed in all black, feathers accenting his clothes, and woven in his hair, smaller feathers trailing across his cheekbones as he sat atop a majestic onyx steed.

Samantha was convinced, for a moment, that Vita’s angel and Mor’s reaper had come to take her on to her next life.

“Pfft, she thinks I’m an angel, Corbin. And you’re a reaper,” the angel spoke, her voice less sweet to the ear than the reaper’s, but right now Samantha was prepared to call the voice of any angel saving her the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard.

“Lili, it’s rude to listen to other’s thoughts,” The reaper chided, Corbin? Were Mor’s reapers named? They surely must be. She had seen depictions of Mor’s reapers and Vita’s angels in the temple murals, and these two could’ve walked right off of one. They so closely resembled the holy beings.

“I know, but it’s hard to ignore when someone is practically shouting them at me,” the angel, Lili, said.

“Wait, are you Liliana Rosengarde?” one of Samantha’s teammates, Neoni, their Umbral Panther beastman rogue, asked, voice tinged thickly with awe and relief.

“Got it in one! Give the girl a prize.” Liliana’s words were traced with amusement as she nodded her head, apparently uncaring that there was still an army of trolls in front of them. Oddly enough, the trolls, usually such vicious creatures ready to attack at any chance, held still. As if they, too, were spellbound by the angelic visage before them.

“As in, seven time tournament winner, undefeated Liliana Rosengarde?” Cynthia, their mage, asked, and Samantha was slowly coming to the realization she wasn’t dead. That these two figures who radiated power in a thick aura around them were not holy beings sent to retrieve her soul for the beyond. Strange, this Liliana was coated in Vita’s energy. Samantha had only felt such a powerful godly essence around the highest ranked of the priests.

“Aw, you have little fans, Lili. Should I be jealous?” Corbin teased.

“Oh no, your position as vice president of my fan club is being threatened, the horror,” Liliana snarked, tone thick with sarcasm that firmly shattered the last of the illusion of holiness Samantha had for the woman.

Evidently looking for something more interesting to focus her attention on, the woman turned to the spellbound trolls, who had still yet to move. Perhaps they, unlike Samantha, were still under the impression this Liliana was a holy messenger and showing the proper deference for such a being.

Eight swords appeared around Liliana, floating in a circle like devoted worshipers in a chapel. The swords turned on their sides and shot out too fast for Samantha to follow, seeming to vanish entirely. Samantha startled, drawing back a step when blood gushed in great gouts of crimson as the blades, moving too swiftly for her to track, began to slice mercilessly into the bodies of the still trolls. Limbs were sliced clean off, wounds opened up as if from nothing, and finally some of the trolls began to move.

“You just going to stand there looking pretty or are you going to help?” Liliana called out as a wicked-looking polearm appeared in her hands and she dived from the air into the midst of the tolls, turning into a whirlwind of shining light and singing steel faster than Samantha could process.

Samantha assumed she was talking to Corbin, but the boy seemed content to lounge on his flying horse. Rather than join in the fight, he pulled a flute out and playing an upbeat melody that not at all matched the grisly scene in front of her. A bard then, an odd choice to accompany a clear physical fighter such as this Liliana Rosengarde, but Samantha was too busy watching the brutal decimation of the trolls to pay much mind to how such a pair would work together.

A blur of movement rushed past Samantha, the paladin only registering the presence when it was past her, her hair ruffling in the tail wind left behind. A yipping noise she could not place filled the air in accompaniment to the raging roars of angered trolls, steel slicing through flesh, and the happy flute music. Samantha watched, utterly dumbstruck, when she saw a winged, multi-tailed fox appear for a moment before it disappeared in a flash of chaotic fire.

“Samantha, come back here.” Cynthia tugged on the paladin’s armor and Samantha stumbled back, steps clumsy as she watched in open mouth disbelief as Liliana and her strange fox like creature cut a bloody swathe through the assembled trolls that had nearly wiped her team.

She had never seen a fox that looked like that. She was fairly certain they were not supposed to have wings. Or quite so many tails. Its size was closer to that of a wolf as well, though far larger than the ones she had faced in the past. She was suddenly filled with a gratitude that it seemed to be working with this Liliana, who appeared to be at least an ally and fellow student, rather than trying to fight them. Samantha knew she and her team would’ve fallen in seconds to that multi-tailed winged fox/not-fox.

“Who?” Samantha finally managed to choke out as her team converged around her, all of them watching the fight.

“Don’t you pay attention to the tournaments, Sam?” Neoni scoffed, a rhetorical question.

They all knew Samantha cared little for performative shows of strength, like the tournament. They were nothing more than posturing, vain attempts at worthless glory. She was in the Academy to gain strength to better fulfill her goddess’ requests. If Vita did not send a divine sign to her to pay attention to a tournament, then Samantha cared not at all for them, unless she was in it. And then only so much as she gave a good showing to properly pay homage to her goddess, and the advantages she’d been gifted.

“That’s Liliana Rosengarde. She’s a fourth year, and has won every single tournament she’s been in. No one has managed to beat her, and there are rumors she’ll be the first Academy graduate to win all eight of her tournaments.” As Cynthia spoke, Samantha could recall some rumors and chatter about a Rosengarde, but Samantha tried to stay away from gossip.

It was not holy or just to participate in such things, speaking of someone when they were not there, and often only speaking lies or slander meant to harm. Vita taught to be kind to all, for all that lived was of her creation. All with life within them were of the goddess. To speak badly of those who held the spark of Vita’s power inside them was sacrilegious.

“Her friends are all beasts, too.” Neoni sniffed, shaking her head, “every year they manage to get in the top fifty. Most of the time, the only people who can knock them out are each other, or those from class S. The lot of them have been in class S since their first semester.” Neoni continued as they watched Liliana behead six trolls simultaneously.

Corbin was reclining on his flying horse, fingers dancing over his flute, as the song switched to something victorious. He seemed utterly unbothered by the fight, almost bored in his body language. It drove home to Samantha how outclassed she and her team were in this moment. These trolls that had nearly killed all of them were nothing more than a mere inconvenience to these two. What kind of power did they wield to be so lackadaisical about facing down a veritable army of monsters?

“Wait, they’ve never dropped down a class?” Samantha asked, finally finding her voice again.

It was unheard of in the Academy to not drop your class at least once. It was a like a rite of passage, a much needed knock to many’s egos, to be shown they were not all they thought they were. It reminded them to be humble, and to never think themselves too great. There was always someone stronger, and many needed to be shown that.

“Not once. They’re monsters.” Cynthia held a hand out at the scene before them to punctuate it, where Liliana was tearing apart the troll army like it was nothing.

Some had still yet to move, and Samantha suspected whatever skill gave the girl a glowing crown had something to do with it. In the time she and her teammates had been talking, over half the trolls had already been dealt with. Minutes, a handful of minutes, and so many were already taken down.

Liliana looking as if she was doing nothing more than performing a dance recital. Under the sounds of the flute playing, Samantha would almost swear she heard a haunting accompaniment, so light it almost slipped beneath her notice. It was as if… as if Liliana’s blades were singing as they cut through the trolls like chaff.

“You three okay on Health, or do you need a boost?” Corbin called out, his song pausing momentarily. The three girls jolted, not expecting the attention of the older man to turn on them.

“Um, yes, we need some uh Health, Mr. Newfeather, sir,” Cynthia squeaked out, face flushing as she half hid behind Samantha’s bulk.

Corbin smiled down at them, inhuman eyes glinting with amusement as he drew his flute back to his lips and a soothing song poured out. Samantha let out a sigh when she felt her Health Regeneration kick up. The wound on her stomach stitching closed quickly, other wounds accumulated across her body closing up with the itching sensation of healing. Samantha had hardly realized how dire her situation was until the multitude of pains had faded.

“Lili, you almost done?” Corbin paused his playing again to shout at the fighter who was dancing between her own floating blades as if they were her partners, leaving felled trolls with every step in her hauntingly beautiful ballet.

Perhaps Samantha should’ve been paying more attention to the tournaments.

“Yeah!” Liliana shouted back as her wings exploded from her body, feathers shaped like swords digging deep into what trolls remained standing, even as her eight blades slashed and struck between.

Another minute and Liliana stood in the middle of a field of felled corpses, her vulpine companion resting on a pile of bodies. The crown above her head faded and Liliana recalled her swords to her, dismissing them to her storage along with her odd polearm.

“I didn’t even get any experience from that. They were too low leveled,” Liliana called out to Corbin, sounding disappointed as she crossed the sea of bodies in a single bound, landing before Samantha and her group. Her fox followed on her heels, flying rather than jumping and settling at her side.

Neither one of them had a speck of blood on them.

Corbin’s flying mount landed and the bird beastman slid from his seat with a liquid grace as he walked to Liliana and shoved her shoulder.

“You knew you wouldn’t get any when we arrived,” Corbin told her, and Liliana rolled her eyes. The banter would’ve relaxed Samantha if she hadn’t just witnessed this woman take down an entire army of trolls that her group had struggled to simply survive against.

“We were in the area for an assignment,” Liliana started, turning to address Samantha and her group. Cynthia and Neoni both were hiding behind her now, peeking out shy eyes.

“Assignment? That’s a nice way to say you cajoled a professor into letting you go here under the guise of an assignment because you heard there’s a cute beastie stalking these forests,” Corbin teased, laying an elbow on Liliana’s shoulder.

The two were almost the same height, close to Samantha’s own 5’10. Corbin was maybe an inch above her, Liliana perhaps an inch or two below. The move was obviously meant to tease the girl as she glared at her companion. The two must be close, for them to be so obviously comfortable around each other. The glare Liliana leveled the man with held no true heat, and even some fond amusement in it.

“And you joined me because you want to see it too,” Liliana hissed at the feathered boy, who shrugged with a wicked grin.

“Maybe I just like being near you,” Corbin teased.

“Maybe I’d like to sink a dagger in your gut if you don’t shut up.” Liliana growled, her eyes flashing in warning. They were such a deep, striking jewel blue that Samantha didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed them earlier.

“Anyway,” Liliana glared once more at Corbin, who pantomimed locking his mouth, “we got your distress signal and came over immediately. Did you lose anyone?” Liliana’s face turned gentle as she looked over them, her attitude change so sudden it gave Samantha whiplash.

“N-No,” Samantha spoke as her teammates seemed star struck and utterly useless right now, “We didn’t lose anyone. Our fighter had to be evacuated by our healer, but he should be fine. Thank the grace of Vita,” Samantha said, gripping her hands together in a small prayer.

“Oh gods, not a religious type,” Samantha thought she heard Liliana mutter softly, her face drawn in distaste before it cleared to a kind smile.

Odd that someone who so clearly had the heavy touch of Vita on them would disdain others who loved and followed the goddess. Vita worked in mysterious ways incomprehensible to human minds, however, so if Vita had chosen this girl for some reason, Samantha would not question her patron’s choices. It was obvious her disdain had no effect on the favor the goddess bestowed upon her, and Samantha was not one to question the relationship between Vita and her chosen ones. Such things were incredibly private, and none of Vita’s followers would dare ask or pry into them.

“Good, that’s good. Why would you three face so many trolls? They matched you for levels, you didn’t stand a chance.” Liliana didn’t let silence fall as she switched her questions, reassured that no one had died. Her questions held a distinct tone of interrogation and disapproval now, though, and Samantha felt like she was being chided by a senior priest or a professor.

“We were told it was only a small band of maybe ten at the most. The assignment information said nothing about an entire camp.” Samantha defended her team’s choices. Her choices, she was the leader.

“Shit. Again?” Corbin muttered, voice dour, and Liliana’s face darkened, nodding.

“We’ll tell Vereign when we get back. This is the sixteenth instance of incorrect information on an assignment this semester. That we know of,” Liliana muttered. Corbin’s arm slipped off her shoulder and he crossed his arms, his playful attitude gone.

“Why did you not have someone scout first before initiating a fight?” Liliana turned back to Samantha, and the paladin gulped under the weight of those cold eyes.

“We were confident in our intel and were certain we could get the fight over quickly and head back,” Samantha explained, voice uncharacteristically small. She knew she had made a mistake, a nearly fatal one.

“Tch. Reckless children,” Liliana spat, shaking her head. Samantha wisely chose not to comment on the fact they were only a year or two younger than Liliana, hardly children.

“You could’ve all died here because you didn’t take the time to scout. I’ll be telling your homeroom teacher to restrict your assignment privileges until you learn your lesson.” Liliana lectured them and Samantha shrank, her teammates hiding fully behind her as the older woman dressed them down.

“Corbin, is there anything in the area dangerous enough to harass them?” Liliana turned to her partner as soon as she was certain the three girls were suitably chastened.

“No, between your bonds and mine, nothing more dangerous than a Cloud Rabbit is in a fifty-mile radius,” Corbin responded almost immediately. Liliana nodded as bright wings made of pure light burst from her back, flapping slowly, as if she was getting used to them.

“Then we have to go. Take care of your wounded and head back to the Academy. Immediately. If you're still in the area when we come back, I’ll drag you back by the ears myself. Understood?” Liliana turned to all of them, and Samantha nodded mutely. Liliana took a step back to prepare to leave when Samantha felt the familiar essence of her patron fill her.

Liliana shivered before her, body freezing as her head whipped around, blue eyes locking onto Samantha.

“Vita wishes to tell you, Be careful little dancer. It is beginning. If you do not act, then all you love shall be consumed. Remember your quest, for your time for idleness runs short.” Samantha spoke, but her voice was not her own. Somehow more, somehow other. It was the voice of her goddess, speaking through her as she could choose to when it came to her chosen ones, her paladins and priests. She did not often choose to speak directly to them, instead communicating in small signs. Or in small nudges of intention they could interpret.

“Fuck all the way off Vita, I don’t need more of your cryptic riddles.” Liliana hissed, voice thick with venom as her wings flared, feathers made of light bristling like a cat’s fur.

Samantha stumbled back a step at the pure anger in Liliana’s voice, but she had no chance to say more when Liliana flung herself into the air, wings heaving and quickly turning her into a small speck in the sky.

“Sorry for that girls, see you back at the Academy. No more fights with trolls, okay?” Corbin called out, already astride his flying horse as it took off. Samantha only noted, after Corbin and Liliana were blots in the distance, that the fox following Liliana had vanished.

“Did that really happen?” Cynthia whispered.

“Did we get to see the Liliana Rosengarde in action, get reamed by her, and then did Samantha get possessed by her goddess? Only for Liliana Rosengarde to sass a goddess?” Neoni asked, voice faint.

“Yeah,” Cynthia responded, breathless.

“Gods. What the fuck.” Neoni whined the words and Samantha wanted to whine with her.

What in the gods had just happened?

“Liliana.” Corbin’s voice reached her over the screaming of the wind, and Liliana slowed her pace slightly. She felt like she was running. Running from Vita, from her duty, from the great darkness she was somehow supposed to defeat.

“Should we talk about how you apparently know the goddess Vita enough to curse her out?” Corbin asked, his voice so soft it was almost erased by the wind.

“I’d rather you forget you heard that. Please.” Liliana turned her head to look at him and Corbin held her gaze for a long moment as Liliana stopped moving and hovered in the air. Finally, Corbin sighed and shook his head.

“Fine, but that warning? Gods don’t often give warnings to mortals. They shouldn’t be taken lightly.” Corbin met her gaze, eyes sharp, missing the playful tint they normally had. Liliana looked away, shying from his gaze that seemed to see past her defenses.

Friends for three years and he could already see right to the soul of her.

“I know.” Liliana whispered, hands clenched in tight fists.

She knew her time was running out. She had roughly two years left before the original Liliana was set to become the endgame boss. That wasn’t happening this time, but it meant she had at most two years before whatever had made the original Liliana came out to play. Or a different boss took her place.

“Lili, what are we going to do?” Corbin prodded. His Pegasus, Lysander, circled closer to her in the air.

“We? Nothing. We’re going to find this beast. Then we’ll go back to the Academy, you’ll forget everything you’ve heard, and I’ll do what I’ve been doing for the past six years.” Liliana whipped her head up, eyes sharp and cold, as she looked at Corbin.

“Prepare for the enemy I’ve known about and make sure when I face them, they’ll fall.” Liliana spat out, Corbin jerking back in surprise at the venom in her tone.

“Lili, I ca-“ Corbin reached out a hand and Liliana lurched backwards in the air.

“No. No, I will not put you in danger like that. Leave this to me. Vita’s warning was for me, her quest is for me. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. For now, just. Just keep being my friend, but don’t try to fight my battles for me. I have enemies that would crush you without a thought, Corbin.” Liliana hated that her voice had taken on a pleading edge, when she’d meant to sound sure and confident.

She knew, when it came time to fight the ‘great evil’ Vita had told her of, she would need her friends beside her. But if she could prevent some of them from ever seeing that battlefield, she would. Corbin, perhaps most of all. He was no fighter, had never been, had never pretended to be. He was a bard, supporting his bonds that he loved with his whole heart.

She couldn’t ask him to step on a battlefield where some were sure to die. Could not. Would not ask him to send his beloved bonds to war, where some might not make it. Couldn’t ask him to willingly tear his soul apart when he lost one.

Liliana wouldn’t ask that of anyone, but she knew there were those amongst her friends and family who would come regardless of her requests. But if she could make sure at least some of them remained safe, then she could face her fate happily. All of this, her training, her fighting, her desperate accumulation of power, it would be worthless if she lost everyone she was trying to protect in the end.

“Alright, Lili. Whatever you say.” Corbin’s melodic voice was soothing as he held a hand out in a calming manner. Liliana looked at him and couldn’t read the truth in his eyes and she felt her heart ache and crack.

Friends were a curse and a blessing. They’d never let you face your battles alone. And that was why they were as much a curse as they were a blessing. You were never alone in a fight, but you might one day have to watch the friend who had stood at your side fall in a fight they never had to be part of.

Be careful little dancer. It is beginning. If you do not act, then all you love shall be consumed. Remember your quest, for your time for idleness runs short.

Gods, I hope only I have to bear the consequences for the deal I struck. Liliana thought, eyes stinging as she turned in the air and shot off, hopefully before Corbin could see the pain in her eyes.

Six years. She’d had six years in this world, six years more than she ever thought she’d have, and six years too little.

Chapter 188: A Monarch's Request

“Are you sure this creature is even in the area?” Corbin sighed from his perch in a tree across from Liliana.

The late fall foliage was poor camouflage, but Corbin managed to almost disappear in the shadows of the tree. His dark clothes and hair helped him melt into the shadows. Liliana pulled her dappled cloak tighter around her. The camouflage of it helped her to vanish into her surroundings.

“Unless that information is faulty too, but it shouldn’t be as we got it from a professor before it was made into an assignment,” Liliana responded, eyes moving quickly as she looked over the river they were hiding above.

On the banks were the cooling corpses of the Greater Caiman that had more teeth than sense. If nothing else, Liliana would be making some coin off of the materials they’d ripped from the bodies of the beasts that had called the river home. At least the trip wouldn’t be entirely for nought, even if she didn’t find what she was looking for. But the thought of returning without a tame itched her.

She’d heard other tamers talk about it, the urge, the almost undeniable need, to find and tame more creatures. It seemed to afflict those who commonly tamed weaker creatures the worst. Liliana hadn’t felt the urge much herself until more recently. But it could also be her urge to always seek out more power, rather than some odd tamer superstition.

“Maybe the professors are in on the conspiracy.” Corbin shrugged as he cleaned his flute, a leg dangling carelessly. Not that he had much to fear in the surrounding area any longer, Lilliana had handily cleared anything she had sensed that could be a danger or nuisance out.

“You’ve been spending too much time around Emyr, talking about conspiracies.” Liliana sighed when she saw no new movement. Yet another bust then. She tugged out a map from her storage and marked it down.

They’d been out here for days, checking different bodies of water in search of an elusive creature that was little more than a rumor. No one who had reported encountering the creature had gotten a clear view of it, so all they had were wisps of fables to run after. The most frustrating part was that there was no consistency with where the beast appeared. Liliana had narrowed down the territory for the beast, but it was still a large area to comb over manually.

The beast was making a name for itself, locals calling it the Spirit of The Water, if they were kind. Water Demon was another one. Liliana had opinions, none of them complimentary, about the locals’ naming prowess. The tales of it varied as well. Some saying they had been saved by the creature and healed, others saying they had been chased by a great monster made of water and death.

Liliana wasn’t much concerned with the stories. Those so often grew and twisted so quickly they hardly resembled their origins. What she cared about was that this creature was strong, and rare enough that others couldn’t easily figure out what it was. And based on the bits and pieces she had put together of it, it would fill several holes in her own build. Namely, it had the potential to be a healer. One class she didn’t have easy coverage of in her own bonds.

She had Marianne as a friend, but the princess could not always be at her side in a fight, and Liliana would need to be sure she could be self sufficient. To achieve all the plans she had. And to keep the promise she’d made to Marianne.

“Lili? Could I talk to you?” Marianne was shifting her weight, looking nervous in a way that didn’t fit the mental image Liliana always had of her friend.

“Yeah, I can talk.” Liliana set down her weapons and turned off the training dummies she’d been fighting against. They were mostly alone in the class S personal training room. Polaris was napping to the side, or ‘supervising’ as he’d call it. The only thing he was supervising were his own dreams.

“Do you know why my mother agreed to send me to the Academy?” Marianne asked after they’d sat down. Liliana blinked at her friend, unsure of the reason for the question.

“I assume the same reason any of our parents send us here, for the prestige and the power.” Liliana hazarded a guess. Marianne shook her head with a small, humorless smile.

“No. No, mother doesn’t care for prestige. And if it was simply power she wanted me to have, she’d keep me in the castle, training with the knights.” Marianne picked at her sleeves as she explained, eyes still downcast.

“Then for political advantages? To make connections and alliances?” Liliana tried another common option and Marianne let out a small, dry, humorless laugh.

“No. Mother didn’t send me here for those reasons, either,” Marianne denied and Liliana sighed.

“Then I don’t know, Mari. Why did she agree to send you here?” Liliana repeated her friend’s question with a frustrated huff.

“You know. My mother has a favorite saying: a commander is only as strong as their soldiers. Or a queen is only as strong as her Knights.” Marianne switched the subject again, fast enough to give Liliana whiplash.

“The reason mother would never send me here for the purpose of me gaining power is: no matter how strong I become, it won’t matter if my people are weak. A Rank 1 queen is useless to a country full of helpless children. An army of sufficient size would destroy it, no matter the strength of the one who bears the crown.” Marianne’s hands were trembling as she gripped onto the fabric of her uniform. Liliana wanted to reach out and comfort her friend, but she wasn’t sure if her gesture would be appreciated.

“Alliances are only worth it if both sides have enough power that the other wouldn’t try to break them. Prestige is useless on the battlefield. A beautiful castle falls the same to cannons as an ugly one. In this world, there is only one thing that matters at the heart of it. Power. But when you’re a queen, it’s not your own power you need to care about, it’s the power of your entire country.” Marianne closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Liliana felt her own heart speeding up, a sense of foreboding filling her.

“The reason my mother sent me here, Liliana, wasn’t to become powerful on my own. She agreed to send me here because a queen is nothing without her Knights. Without a strong foundation, the queen and queendom will fall.” Marianne opened her eyes and met Liliana’s. Ruby red eyes were sharp as swords as they pierced into her. At that moment, Liliana wasn’t talking to her best friend, Mari. She was talking to the future queen, Marianne Summerwarden.

“So I ask you, not as your friend, but as the heir to the queendom of Cista, to the person who has the potential to become the strongest person in this queendom. Will you be my first Knight, Liliana Rosengarde? Will you stand beside me and swear your life to this queendom? To defend the future of our country with everything you have?” Marianne’s voice was solemn, and Liliana could almost see the image of a crown on her head and a scepter in her hands.

Liliana knew what it must have taken for Marianne to ask her. To ask her friend, her first and closest friend, if she was prepared to make an oath that would demand she lay down her life if there was a need. To give her life over to Marianne. It went beyond friendship; it asked for loyalty, devotion. You could love a friend, but you had to obey a monarch.

She couldn’t say she had never wondered if Marianne would ask her to become her Knight. It seemed like the natural progression in their relationship. A clean and tidy solution to many of her problems. Knights could have no ties to their families of birth, discarding the family names they were given in exchange for becoming the voice and hands of the queen.

Her father would have no further hold on her if she were to become a Knight. She would no longer be his daughter. For all intents and purposes, Liliana Rosengarde would die the day she took her oath as a Knight.

However, there was a not so small issue that stopped Liliana from giving her agreement easily.

The soul bond that came with the oath of a Knight. It wouldn’t be like the ones she had with her own bonds, where it was an equal partnership. Marianne would give nothing in the exchange, but Liliana would give a portion of herself to Marianne. There was the potential that the bond would give her friend unfettered access to her mind. And if the need was great enough and Marianne, or the queendom, was in enough danger, then Marianne would have access to her power as well. It was not often that it was necessary for a queen of Cista to sacrifice her Knights to draw their strength into herself to overcome some enemy, but it had happened before.

And sometimes, the queen would ask for everything a Knight had to give, including their very life.

Liliana wouldn’t mind that on its own. If Marianne was in danger so devastating she had to take Liliana’s strength, she would offer it gladly. But there were secrets she still held deep within her mind that she was not eager to have revealed. The knowledge of a previous life, of the fact that she had stolen the body she resided in now. These things would be laid bare before Marianne if they shared a soul bond, for there were no secrets between souls. Liliana knew that well from her own bonds.

“No.” Liliana finally spoke, the word falling from numb lips. Marianne’s look of relief mixed with dejection was a physical strike to Liliana’s heart.

Marianne was relieved that she would never have to ask her closest friend to pay the greatest price, but saddened that the person she most wanted to be her Knight was declining the offer. It was written over her face, so easy for Liliana to read after knowing Marianne for so many years.

“There are things, secrets, that I have that I can’t afford to have anyone know yet, Marianne.” Liliana forced herself to keep speaking, to try to banish the look on Marianne’s face.

“And as I am now, I’m not strong enough to be worthy of that title. Because I’m still too much of a coward to tell those closest to me all of my secrets, and because there are still things out there that I can’t protect you from.” Liliana continued, Marianne straightening from her slouched posture as hope filled her eyes.

“Ask me again, at the end of our fourth year. I hope by that time I’m finally someone who deserves to be called a Knight.” Liliana finished, trying for a smile and falling short, but it was enough. Marianne’s scarlet eyes filled with tears as she launched herself at Liliana, wrapping thin arms around her neck.

“Thank you, Lili. I wouldn’t have anyone else as my first Knight than you. I won’t accept anyone else until you’re ready.” Marianne promised her, and Liliana chuckled. The solemn spell that had held them bound broke as her arms wrapped around Marianne and she gripped her friend as tightly as she dared.

Liliana didn’t care much for the queendom of Cista, or for the people who lived in it. She did, however, care deeply for the girl who would one day rule this queendom. Silently, Liliana added Marianne to her reasons for gaining strength, so she could one day become worthy of being her friend’s Knight. So she could stand at her side and protect her. If she survived long enough to see the day Marianne took the throne.

She hoped she did.

If Liliana wanted to become Marianne’s Knight one day, she would need to become a one woman army. She knew by now she did not have to fight alone. Her friends had made that clear time and again. But if she was to be a Knight one day, she would need to have the power on her own to rival any who would dare to strike against Marianne. And those who would strike against Marianne would not come alone, for to strike against Marianne would be to strike against Cista.

They’d come with their armies, with their warriors, and if Liliana was to stop them, she’d need to be able to hold the line against whatever army stepped foot on their land.

There was a closer goal than that, though. If she had any hope of fighting whatever being it was Vita was so scared of she’d need every advantage, trick and cheat she could pull. A healer on her side could very easily be the difference between defeat and victory.

She couldn’t expect Marianne to be with her whenever she faced down the ‘great evil’ Vita had set her after. In the game, she might have been one of the five heroes, but in this world she was a princess, the only princess of their queendom. She was not someone who could be risked in such a fight.

So whoever ended up at her side in that fight, Marianne could not be one of them. And they’d need a healer to keep them up and fighting until they took the being down.

Having a healer could very well be the only thing that would stop Marianne from forcing herself into that fight. If she knew her friends couldn’t win without her, there would be no force on this planet that could keep Marianne away from the fight. Duty and queendom be damned.

“Off to the next one?” Corbin asked as Liliana stood on her branch, stretching out her cramped muscles.

“We’ll have to. It’s not here.” Liliana rolled her shoulders as the heavy weight of wings settled on them.

The feathers made of light felt comfortably warm, like metal heated in the morning sun. It was perhaps one of her favorite skills, [Wings Of Radiance], gained from long days of painstaking work and leveled through weeks and months of effort.

“Your Sylphs find anything?” Liliana asked as her wings beat behind her slowly.

Corbin summoned Lysander from a stone, the black pegasus appearing in a burst of darkness and feathers. Corbin didn’t hesitate to jump from his perch, knowing instinctively that his bond would catch him. Liliana crouched and jumped from her branch, wings heaving as she broke quickly through the canopy and into the air above the thick forest.

“Nothing, but we expected that. Lelantos or Polaris find anything?” Corbin asked as Lysander followed Liliana’s path to the sky.

“Like I’d ask them to find a creature I want to bond.” Liliana snorted as she paused in the air, circling slowly to decide on a direction. “Lelantos would try to kill it, just to prove I don’t need another bond. Polaris would want to play with it, and could potentially kill it as a result.” Liliana sighed as she banked in the air and chose a direction they hadn’t been in yet.

“So little control,” Corbin tsked as Lysander tried to keep pace, Corbin resting lazily on his back, his flute out as he tried to play a few testing notes, the sounds ripped away by the harsh wind of their flight.

“You want to try to control a Kitsune?” Liliana shot back.

“There’s a reason I never tried to tame one,” Corbin was practically shouting over the wind and Liliana snorted quietly. She had a small barrier of air around herself that stopped the effects of the wind from affecting her at such speeds, but other than [Telepathy] she’d yet to find a way to make communication while flying any easier.

Liliana slowed as they approached a new body of water, a pond that was attempting to be called a lake. This high up, it looked so small, like a forgotten gemstone discarded in the dirt. Liliana could hardly see much more than the glimmer of water as she swung herself in circles above it.

“Think this will be lucky number thirteen?” Corbin asked, and Liliana huffed out a laugh.

“Knowing my brand of luck, I’ll end up grievously wounded.” She responded, giving Corbin a grin when he squawked in surprise, sounding rather bird like.

“Excuse me, can you give some explanation for that?” Corbin demanded, finally sitting up straight on Lysander’s back.

“You’ve met my bonds. You think I got them to agree to a contract by asking nicely?” Liliana didn’t give Corbin time to answer as she dived, wings pressed tight against her back.

There was one thing Liliana knew about all beasts. They didn’t like intruders, threats, in their territory. This only got worse the higher their Rank. One of the fastest ways to get a beast to show themselves was to make them think they needed to defend their home. They wouldn’t attack if they thought the intruder was too strong for them, but Liliana was hoping that this beast wouldn’t see her as a dangerous enough threat to flee from.

If she was stronger than it, then it wouldn’t be worth bonding in the first place. Liliana had only ever bonded creatures stronger than her, to add their power to her own.

It was a dangerous strategy, and a risky one. Something the majority of tamers wouldn’t dare attempt, because the risk of death was too high for the reward. But Liliana was well used to facing off against stronger enemies by now, and she had yet to fail.

“Come out, come out, little beastie,” Liliana muttered as her wings snapped out with a crack and her dive turned into a swoop.

Her body skimmed the surface of the large pond, which she could see now was covered in floating waterlilies and lily pads. A rippling under the surface of the water, disturbing the tranquil stillness, was the only warning Liliana got before a form covered in glowing water erupted under her.

“Gotcha.” Liliana grinned as she rolled through the air, barely avoiding the attack.

Liliana pulled back into the air, gaining distance as the beast dropped back under the water before Liliana could get a good look at it. She could see some of its body moving under the water and plants, a glowing form that had adrenaline pumping into her veins. It was far larger than she’d thought it would be.

“Fuck. Guess we found it.” Corbin called from a safe distance above her, his flute already in hand.

“You ready?” Liliana called out as her swords appeared in the air around her, her naginata forming in her hand with its comforting weight.

“You sure we can’t do this by talking?” Corbin asked, voice bordering on a whine.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Liliana asked him, eyes locked on the moving form in the water.

It had been far too long since she’d tamed a beast. She had to wonder what price in blood she’d have to pay for this one.

Chapter 189: The Weakness Of A Healer

Liliana couldn’t help the pure delighted laughter that erupted from her as a gout of water rushed at her. Six swords formed a star in front of her, glowing brightly as they blocked the hit from ever touching her, only small splashed of water spraying her lightly. Gods, she had been itching for a fight against something with enough bite behind its attacks to be a threat to her.

She tried to [Identify] the creature again, but it kept slipping out of sight, only the glow around it giving her any idea of its location deep within the water below. Liliana cursed as she flapped her wings and flew higher. She was getting nowhere right now. She could only avoid its attacks as it was, she couldn’t counter. The evolution of her [Threads Of Control] to where it could easily handle managing eight swords meant she had far more ways to defend herself than she had when she was younger, but she was a fighter, not a tank.

“Any ideas for how to get it out of its hidey hole?” Liliana called out to Corbin.

“You could go into the water,” Corbin offered ever so helpfully, sighing when one of Liliana’s swords poked threateningly into his chest.

“Then I’d be dead. I don’t have any skills that I can use in the water, and that’s this beast’s territory. It’ll drag me down and drown me.” Liliana grumbled.

“It’s not a kelpie, Lili.” Corbin rolled his eyes, but she noted that Lysander circled higher and Corbin was eyeing the water with trepidation. How typical for him to ask her to do the dangerous thing he wasn’t willing to do himself. She’d normally do it anyway, but that wasn’t the point.

She had known going after a water-based creature wouldn’t be easy, by any stretch of the imagination. But she had thought it would at least surface at some point, as all the other water beasts she’d fought had. If only so they could get to her to kill her when she got out of their range.

As it was, any of her ranged attacks did little more than damage the aquatic plants that decorated the oversized pond. The beast was too fast and hard to lock onto under the water, and her swords didn’t work half as well under water. None of her own bonds would help in this scenario, either. They weren’t water fighters. Even if Lelantos and Nemesis were able to easily swim, they couldn’t breathe underwater and would be easy targets. Or they’d kill the creature. Which was the exact opposite of Liliana’s goal here.

She needed to get it out of the water, where she could at least hit or [Identify] it to determine if any of this effort was worth it. Liliana tried to remember what she’d been told by the villagers, any information that might possibly give her an idea to get it out.

“Yer lookin fer the beastie hidin out in them there waters?” a grizzled man covered in more fur than Lelantos approached Corbin and Liliana, who had taken a rest in a tavern in some backwater village. Liliana was fairly certain it was called Stone Point. Or maybe Woolhope? The names blurred together after a certain amount of time. Corbin knew, so Liliana didn’t really have to concern herself with the small details like that.

“Hello sir, we’re indeed searching for the creature.” Corbin was the one to greet the man while Liliana kept half an eye on him, the other looking around the tavern. She hadn’t noticed any villagers here with a high enough level to be problematic, but it didn’t mean someone wouldn’t try something. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Robert Ferrier

Age: 93

Level: 163

Rank: 5

Class: Veteran Trapper

Health: 18,760

Energy: 19,570

Highest Affinity: Nature 64%

Highest Stat: Dexterity 2,060

Liliana didn’t let the window she’d seen change her expression. He had fairly high stats that she could see, so he’d probably been trained by someone at least. For most commoners, apprenticeships were their only chance at getting better classes. Often there weren’t many people in villages or small towns capable of training someone.

The System offered classes based on the experiences someone had gone through, crafting them for each person, almost individually. It was why nobles so often had better and more varied class options. They could afford to pay someone to train or teach them whatever they wanted. Even if they couldn’t get into the Academy, they’d still have far better options than a commoner who only had the slim chance of gaining an apprenticeship for hope of a better class.

“If yer wantin to ask someun about that ye two blue bloods should talk to the wee un that saw it. Lil Rose. She’s not a one fer tall tales and the ilk. Good kid, though her mama’s been worryin somethin fierce since she saw the monster of the waters,” Robert told Corbin rather easily, the bard’s high Charisma making itself obvious.

“Thank you for the tip, sir! That is very kind of you. Can I offer to buy you a meal to repay you?” Corbin offered as Liliana stood, dropping coins on the table to pay for their own meal as she moved next to and slightly behind Corbin. She’d rather not draw the man’s attention and be forced into the conversation. She had little patience, and would undoubtedly manage to insult the man and ruin Corbin’s progress with charming him.

“Well ifin yer wantin to treat an old man like me, I ain’t gonna tell you no. You can find lil Rose out front her house most days. It should be three doors down from ‘ere.” Robert took the gold Corbin offered with a speed that did his undoubtedly high Dexterity justice, making the gold coin vanish in a blink.

“Thank you again, good sir, and may the gods smile upon you.” Corbin bade the man farewell, and they left the tavern quickly.

Liliana was glad to see that no one followed them. She always felt a bit bad beating up villagers, even if they were trying to rob her. Even if they had the levels to match them, they rarely had the training to be any threat. It felt like hitting kids, in a way, and left Liliana feeling slimy afterwards.

“So, what do you think?” Corbin asked her, his tone slipping from the sweet cajoling lilt it had when he was talking to strangers he wanted something from.

“It’ll probably be another dead end, but anything is better than nothing,” Liliana said honestly as they walked down the dirt road that cut straight through the small village.

It had the bare basics, a tavern that doubled as an inn with only two rooms, a blacksmith that had likely never made a sword in his life, and a slightly larger than normal house for the headman. The rest were all houses bundled close together like cattle closing ranks to protect their young from predators. There were a few farms in the area as well that were connected to the village, but not many. It was one of the villages that you’d blink and miss if you were traveling through. It was a surprise it was even on maps at all it was so small.

“This it?” Liliana asked when they reached the house three down, noticing a little girl spinning wool. She was no older than seven, if Liliana was being very generous, with curly brown hair pulled back in a tight braid.

“Hope so.” Corbin murmured before he pulled out his sweet smile, the one specifically for kids as he approached.

“Hello little one, we’re looking for a Miss Rose. Would you be she by any chance?” Corbin greeted with a wave, keeping carefully back so the girl wouldn’t feel threatened.

As it was, the little girl regarded him with an assessing, suspicious gaze Liliana knew was common in village children. They were far too familiar with the dangers of strangers, with how often bandits liked to target outlying villages. It was depressing to know even a child so young would be aware of how twisted and dark their world was capable of being.

“If I is, who’s askin?” the little girl asked, all spit and fire. Liliana immediately liked her.

“Well, I’m Corbin Newfeather, from the Academy. Me and my compatriot here, the lovely Liliana, are looking to meet a very special beast.” Corbin waved at Liliana with an overly dramatic gesture that had Rose fighting back a smile. She lost the battle when Liliana played into Corbin’s antics and dropped into a low curtsy despite her pants.

“Well, if I is Rose, and I ain’t sayin I is, maybe I know somethin.” Rose sniffed, trying to regain her stoic composure. It was frankly adorable. Her abysmal grammar that would send most nobles into cardiac arrest only made her all the cuter to Liliana. She might dislike most people on principle, but she’d always had a soft spot for children.

“Miss Rose, do you like beasts?” Corbin leaned forward to stage whisper at Rose, the girl unconsciously leaning in.

Rose looked around, as if wanting to be sure no one else could overhear her secret before she nodded, young face serious. Corbin grinned as he tapped his summoning stone. The girl flinched back at the sudden appearance of a Pegasus in her front yard before her eyes widened with wonder.

“So pretty,” Rose squealed, standing up, her wool forgotten on the ground as she rushed towards the beast with the lack of fear only a child could ever have.

“Horse gets them every time,” Corbin whispered to Liliana with a smirk when she walked up next to him, both watching with amusement as the child started clumsily patting Lysander. The Pegasus stood there patiently, well used to being used by Corbin for the purpose of calming or distracting children.

“So as you can see, me and my friend here very much like beasts too. We’d like to make friends with the beast you met too. Could you tell us about them?” Corbin entreated the little girl when he determined she was thoroughly enchanted by Lysander and willing to spill any secret she had.

“Well, dun tell my mama, but I went off the path she told me to stick to whens I was lookin for the shrooms she likes to put in her stew. I sat down by a river ‘cause my feet were hurtin’ and whens I got up I slipped and cut my hand. I was a big girl and didn’t cry, but it hurt real bad. There was lots and lots of blood. A pretty light came out of the water and it touched my hand and it was all better!” Rose babbled happily from between Lysander’s legs and Corbin smiled smugly at Liliana, who rolled her eyes at him.

Well, it wasn’t much, but it was something. At least the beast didn’t seem to be malicious.

“I have an idea,” Liliana told Corbin, who narrowed his eyes at her.

“Emyr warned me about this. That’s not a good thing.” Corbin straightened from where he was on Lysander’s back.

“It’ll be fine. I won’t die. Probably. If it looks bad, pull me out,” Liliana called out as she dived back down, ignoring Corbin’s shouts of protest behind her.

The beast had helped an injured child, and she wasn’t the only story of it helping those who were hurt. There were no reports of it killing anyone either, injuring them, yes, but never fatally or even maiming. As if it was simply warning threats away.

It wasn’t malicious.

Liliana didn’t give herself too much time to think, or to worry that the plan was reckless as she called one of her swords to her even as she dropped through the air, picking up speed the further she fell towards the water. She could see the water bubbling up and beginning to rise to meet her in another attack. With a thought, Liliana sent all her weapons back into her storage, leaving only the one floating sword behind.

This was going to hurt.

With a mental command, her sword speared her through her gut. Liliana grit her teeth through the dull pain that throbbed from the hit, [Pain Resistance] keeping the agony at bay. If she didn’t have that skill, she would never have even considered this plan.

Liliana ripped the sword back out of her and dismissed the sword even as she continued to fall. Blood flowed behind her in the air, staining her wings crimson. She could hear Corbin’s shouts taking a panicked edge as he noticed the blood pouring out of her. Liliana took a deep gulp of air in as she prepared herself.

The water ahead her almost seemed to hesitate before a pillar rose up to meet her when she was scant yards from hitting the surface of the pond. It caught her, rather than blasting her back, and Liliana knew her gamble had paid off. She held her breath as the momentum of her fall sent her down into the pillar of water, the water tinting red quickly from her wound.

Liliana was drawn deeper into the water and she forced her eyes to stay open even as the blood dirtied water stung at her eyes. She could see a golden light approaching her slowly, as if waiting for an attack. As Liliana hung there without moving, lungs beginning to burn from lack of oxygen, it gained confidence. The creature approached her and Liliana was stunned enough she forgot to use [Identify].

She had expected a creature resembling a water dragon, or perhaps something serpentine. She had expected a beast matching or exceeding Nemesis in size.

She had not expected to be greeted with a creature barely longer than her forearm, and just a hair thicker. It had a body of such a pure white it glowed with delicate light pink accents. If Liliana had to compare it to something, she’d say it vaguely resembled an Axolotl from Earth, with long feathery appendages coming off its head, and a thin body with small legs. Its head was pointed, more closely resembling that of a venomous snake than the blunt, wide heads she remembered Axolotls from Earth having.

A snake. Or a dragon. Liliana thought idly as she looked at the creature. She finally remembered to [Identify] the not-Axolotl as it got close enough to touch, swimming around her body and focusing on her wound as the light around the creature flared brighter, some breaking off to coat her wound. Liliana could feel the itching of a healing wound as whatever healing spell it used activated.

Serenity

Healer Of The Deep

Axolong

Age: 25

Level: 302

Unlike the creatures she so closely resembles, Serenity is neither fierce of fang or temper. Preferring instead to heal those who visit her waters needing her aid, and intimidating those who would do her harm, she strives for a peaceful existence. She does not often allow any to see her form. As with most creatures in the Pseudo Dragon genus, her biggest defense is her ability to mimic the appearance of the terrifying beasts of legend.

Rank: 3

Health: 7,340

Mana: 46,490

Stamina: 2,550

Liliana felt relief hit her as she saw that the beast, Serenity, was exactly what she was searching for. She reached out with [Telepathy] even as she felt her lungs begging for air and her wound slowly closing. She didn’t want to have to repeat this process to get a second chance to talk to this beast.

“Hello Serenity. I’m Liliana.” Liliana sent to the creature, not making a full connection, more akin to talking loudly with her mind. The Axolong paused in the water, looking up at her with wary curiosity.

“Hello, human,” the soft feminine voice responded, and Liliana felt a smile poking out of her mouth. Talking was good, much better than attacking.

“Why have you come to my home and tried to harm me, only to harm yourself instead?” Serenity asked, swimming around Liliana until she could look her in the face.

“I wanted to meet you. I didn’t mean to scare you. Most creatures try to eat me, so my first instinct is to attack. But I met a little girl who said you helped her, and I thought you might be less intimidated by me if I was injured.” Liliana offered, wincing at the painful ache in her lungs that [Pain Resistance] did nothing for.

“I can’t breathe underwater. Could I go to the surface but continue speaking to you?” Liliana requested politely.

Liliana tried not to think on the fact that it was far easier for her to be polite to a beast than to a human. But to be fair, she was trying to charm Serenity, and most humans she didn’t care about enough to charm. Serenity regarded her for a long moment, enough time passing that Liliana could see the edges of her vision going dark. The urge to take a breath, even knowing it would cause her to drown, was becoming overwhelming.

“Yes.” Came the reply and Liliana kicked her legs to get to the surface, breaking through the water and taking in deep gulps of air. She felt a lily pad slide off the top of her head, but she was too distracted by beautiful, delicious air that she didn’t care that she was painting a pathetic picture.

“Why did you want to meet me, human?” the Axolong had followed her, but remained under the water. Liliana could feel her swimming around, her cool body occasionally brushing against Liliana’s skin.

“I’m a tamer, of sorts. I look for strong creatures to enter into a partnership with. I heard of you and wanted to ask you if you would join me,” Liliana told her honestly, waving a hand at Corbin, who was shouting at her from above and looked seconds from diving into the water himself.

He only seemed marginally appeased at seeing her break the surface, not drowned. Liliana paid him little heed, focusing her attention on Serenity, and trying to infuse every last scrap of her over three thousand Charisma into her words. She truly didn’t want to have to repeat her self inflicted stabbing to convince Serenity to bond with her. Liliana dived back below the water, Serenity stopping in front of her face once more. Conversations like this were best had face to face.

“Why should I? I am comfortable in my home. I have food here and little bothers me.” Serenity’s voice had taken on a dismissive tone and Liliana felt a small tingle of panic. She really didn’t want to go with her Plan B if her Charisma failed her, which was to continuously injure herself until Serenity gave up and agreed to the bond. She had all this Charisma to make taming easier. What use was it if it didn’t work?

“I can guarantee a home for you, food even in winters, safety, and a family.” Liliana cajoled the Axolong who tilted her head to the side, considering the offer. Liliana tried to fill her body with Charisma, hoping it was oozing out of her pores. If this didn’t work, she was going to burn every book that proclaimed Charisma essential for taming and convincing beasts to work with you.

“Me and my other bonds can also aid you in gaining levels.” Liliana enticed the Axolong gently.

“No. As I have said, I have a home, I have ample food, I can keep myself safe.” Serenity turned as if to swim away and Liliana reached out a hand, almost desperate. Healing creatures were rare. She had no idea when she’d find another, if she would. She could not let Serenity get away.

“We need you.” Liliana pushed at the Axolong, not sure it would work but something inside of her pushed her to say it.

A creature who would reveal herself to heal others even with small scrapes and pains? Serenity had a compulsive need to help others. The little not-dragon paused in the water again but did not turn. But she wasn’t swimming away, it was progress.

“Me and my bonds. We don’t have a healer. We get hurt, and it takes time to recover. One day I’m scared they’ll get so hurt that they’ll die, and I won’t be able to do anything to stop it. We need a healer. We need you. I need you to make sure they stay alive. Please Serenity. Join us, join me and help us. We need you.” Liliana ruthlessly ripped into the weakness she had found, digging in her claws. Serenity turned in the water, approaching Liliana slowly. It took every shred of composure Liliana had to not grin and shout in victory. So close now.

“You… need me? Not to fight, but to heal?” Serenity inquired, voice hesitant now. Liliana would’ve sighed in relief if she wasn’t underwater.

Hook.

“Yes. To heal, to fix what breaks. Please. Help me keep my bonds alive. There’s something coming that means to destroy us all, and I need a healer to ensure we can face it.” Liliana was nearly begging now, making herself as pathetic as possible in the hopes of appealing to Serenity’s obvious need to help, to heal, to care.

Line.

“I do not wish to harm or to kill. But if you wish for my aid to heal… if you need me to heal. Yes, I shall join you.” Serenity finally agreed and Liliana could’ve wept.

And sinker.

“I’ll never ask you to fight. If you do not wish to, you will not have to. We’ll do the fighting for you. We’ll keep you safe and you’ll keep us whole and healthy.” Liliana swore to her. With the relief of success fading, the burning in her chest made itself known with a vengeance. Liliana kicked herself up to the surface quickly. Her head barely broke the surface before she was gulping in more air, slightly dizzy from lack of oxygen.

Liliana buried her face in her hands for a moment as an exultant smile stretched across her face. She did it. She only had to get severely injured once, and it was by her own hand. By and far, one of her easiest tames on record. The books were right, thank the gods. Charisma was an amazing thing. If she could’ve kissed a stat, she would’ve.

“I can’t do the bonding in the water. I’ll drown. Can you breathe above the water?” Liliana asked once she’d gotten herself slightly under control, the words rushing out of her. The need to cement the bond as quickly as possible before Serenity could change her mind was strong. She could not let such a rare creature slip out of her grasp.

“Yes.” Serenity replied, swimming after Liliana and finally poking her head over the water.

Liliana ignored Corbin’s questions and coos when he saw the Axolong, a far cry from the near hysterics he’d been in minutes before. Liliana swam to the edge of the pond, heaving herself out of the water. Serenity followed her out of the water, scampering onto the ground by Liliana’s leg.

“Ready?” Liliana asked, and Serenity took several heartbeats to reply. It felt like years passed as fear chilled Liliana’s skin. Was Serenity going to back out now?

“I am ready, human.” Serenity finally agreed and Liliana reached out swiftly, fear still heavy on her skin.

Serenity pressing her muzzle to the skin of her palm. Liliana activated [Bonding Contract] the moment she felt the cool scaled nose press into her hand. A bright ring surrounded them and she prepared herself for soul burning pain.

Chapter 190: The Sins Of The Mother

“Another incorrect assignment?” a dark voice asked from the depths of flickering shadows.

“Looks like it. It’s a good thing Lili noticed so quickly and told our group to start picking up assignments in the areas lower year groups are heading into.” A tired, deep baritone responded.

A man in golden armor accented with hardened crystals sighed as he pushed back braided hair, the metal trinkets woven throughout tinkling gently as he did so. He could still remember how Lili had begged to braid his hair for him, surprising him with the ornaments with an impish grin, telling him how she thought they brought out the gold in his eyes.

Golden eyes that are a lie now. Alistair thought darkly as his hand dropped down to cover his eyes. He wasn’t sure what was worse, having the same eyes as the woman who had tried to kill his sister, or having the blue eyes of the man who had been so willing to neglect that same sister. Was he doomed to mimic the worst people he knew? Were his eyes always going to mirror the tainted blood running through him?

Lili has the same color eyes though, Alistair rubbed his face at the familiar thought. So familiar it had worn channels in his mind from the frequency with which it whispered through him.

He wasn’t even sure why he kept up the illusion now, hiding the sapphire blue eyes he’d gained after his Water affinity hit 50% mastery. He’d known the blood adoption had done something. Nobles wouldn’t put so much stock in it if it didn’t. However, finding out he’d gain Rosengarde blue eyes when he took and began to master the noble house’s element had come as a surprise to him. A not very welcome surprise.

Sometimes he truly wished he could be like his sister, or his friends. People who didn’t seem to think their own blood was a crime they had to repent for. No matter who their parents were, they never seemed to believe the sins of their parents should be paid by their children. But it was something Alistair couldn’t stop feeling, a guilt carried deep within him for crimes he’d never even committed.

Sometimes it felt like only Koth’talan understood that part of him. Fire colored eyes staring at him, too knowing, filled with a guilt and disgust for his own blood.

Would Lili see herself in his eyes if he were to take off the illusion? Or would she only see the man she hated so much? The same way Alistair did? Oh, she thought she hid the fact she utterly despised her father so well, but Alistair knew. There was little Lili could hide from him anymore.

If anything, her hatred of Frederick Rosengarde exceeded the hate she had for Imogen, if that was possible. Then again, the man’s willful ignorance of his wife’s actions had directly resulted in Astrid’s death. And Alistair had never known Liliana to let go of a grudge.

“Should we let them know they’ve got help coming?” Emyr asked, stepping out of the shadows he was lurking in order to crouch next to where Alistair was hiding.

[Stealth] wasn’t anywhere close to his highest leveled skill, but hiding from a bunch of third years was child’s play at his level. At any of class S’s levels. He wondered if Liliana realized the effect she’d had on their class, all of them leveling furiously whenever they were given the chance, just in the hope of keeping up with her growth. And still, as the years passed and Lili gained more levels, they all seemed to fall further and further behind.

How long before she left them all in the dust? It felt like he was always chasing after her back, just out of reach, as she kept moving forward. Alistair feared the day she became so powerful, he could no longer stand at her side and protect her. He was her older brother; it was his duty to protect his littler sister.

Gods knew they were the only ones in their family left they could depend on. Lili might make friends with an ease that belied her reluctance to deal with any social situation, but Alistair was not quite so inclined to build a found family. He had friends, but in his mind, Lili would always be his only family. She would always come first. He owed her that, at the very least, in repayment for what his own mother had done to her. Taken from her.

He could live a hundred lifetimes and still never make up for what she had lost. But he would try every day to do so. He could at least make sure Lili knew she was never alone, that she didn’t have to bear the burden of whatever it was that put that haunted look in her eyes so often now. He was a protector, had always been, ever since he’d made that final promise to his father. The only father he recognized, no matter what he called Frederick out loud.

“The most important thing I can teach you, son, is to always protect what you value most.” Artair Thornebell told his son, face serious and voice solemn, as he looked at the nine-year-old standing across from him.

Alistair would look back on this memory in later years, and wonder if somehow his father knew death was close. If he knew that the woman he married was a viper laying in wait in his bed, poised to strike. Had he already been suffering the effects of the mysterious ‘illness’ that would slowly turn him into a husk of a man already? Could he taste death in the back of his throat even then? Did it taste of poison dripped carefully into his food and drink by the woman he’d foolishly fallen in love with?

Alistair hadn’t seen it then, hadn’t realized that his mother had already set her sights on the widowed Duke Rosengarde, who was rumored to be looking for a new wife finally. Hadn’t seen that he was even then being used as a pawn in his mother’s game, a ready-made noble born heir just waiting to be placed where she needed.

Looking back, it was so obvious what she’d done. What she’d used him for.

Alistair had thought Artair meant he was to protect his mother, who he loved with all the fervency a small child could, still deep in the hero worship all children held for their parents. He hadn’t seen that his father, his true father, had been speaking of the sacrifice he’d already made. If Artair had fought his fate, would Alistair have turned into a target to be used to control Artair instead?

Had he already been used as such?

Or would he have been killed too, in his mother’s quest for power?

“When you find someone you love with your entire heart. Someone that you’re willing to lay your life down for. Make sure you’re strong enough to protect them. Be their shield, Alistair. Be the wall at their backs so no blade can touch them. Become strong, Alistair, so no one can take what you love from you.” Artair gripped his son’s shoulders in a gentle grip that none would expect from the hulking man’s size.

Artair was a man that more closely resembled a bear with his trunk like arms, bushy beard and barrel chest. But he had always handled Alistair as if he was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. His laugh was like rolling thunder, the most comforting noise Alistair could imagine.

He always felt safe with his father, always knew no harm would befall him as long as his father was around. Perhaps that was why everything had started to go wrong when he died, because Artair was no longer there to protect him.

Alistair had always wanted to be a man just like his father. Even then. Even now.

“I promise, papa!” Alistair told his dad with a wide grin, earning one of those deep, rumbling chuckles from his dad as white teeth appeared in the forest of fur that covered his face. Artair picked up his son, a small Alistair shrieking in delight as he was placed on one sturdy shoulder.

“That’s my boy. You’ll be a proper tank in no time.” Artair declared. Alistair hadn’t realized the look in his father’s rich brown eyes was sadness, regret, until he looked back on the memories much later.

Artair had known he would never see his son grow up, become the protector he’d promised he’d be. All he could do was try to impress on the young mind of his only son to become a good man who would protect those he loved, and hope his lessons withstood the poisonous influence of his mother.

Alistair hoped he had become a man his father could be proud of.

He thought he was.

He just wished Lili could’ve met his father. He thought the two would’ve gotten along, that Artair would’ve taken in the haunted and hurt Lili without a second thought. Artair had been a man with a heart as big as his muscles, a reason why he was such a beloved man amongst his employees. Lili had deserved to have a father like Artair, not Frederick, who saw his children as nothing more than things to use.

“Better do it before they decide to run into that warehouse half cocked and die, despite using a beacon to call for help.” Alistair decided as he stood, cracking his neck and back with a satisfied groan.

It was getting suspicious that so many incorrect assignments were being sent out. A couple of assignments being wrong was normal, as they couldn’t always depend on the reports from outlying villages. But so many? No, this was something else.

Emyr had already converted an entire wall of his room into what Lili called a ‘conspiracy board’, complete with red string Lili had given the mage with that mysterious smirk on her face. He’d started tracking all the incorrect assignments they knew of, trying to locate a pattern. So far, they couldn’t figure anything out, but the increasing frequency was starting to send shivers of fear down his spine.

Currently, no students had died, but how long would that be true?

This one was worse than some of the other wrong assignments they’d seen or heard about. Had these students attempted it, they would have been the first casualties.

From what he and Emyr had heard from the third years, they were only supposed to be attacking a small time gang. This was no small gang, it was an entire organization spanning multiple cities. From the information the third years had gotten, it was, in fact, a human trafficking organization, at least. But there were far too many high-level criminals working there for such a small and under-leveled group to handle, on top of the hostages.

Alistair could hear the students still talking, and he knew Emyr could as well, likely waiting for the perfect opportunity to pop in and scare them half to death.

Emyr nodded and stepped back into the shadows, melting away. Alistair sighed with a small smile. So they were going for dramatics then? Oh well, he could play along since it made Emyr so happy.

There was a time when I loved being the center of attention, drawing eyes. When did I change so much that I don’t even care? Was it when I discovered who my mother was and realized all the petty worries I had were inconsequential? Was it when I had to order the deaths of villagers for breaking the law? Or was it when the attention I used to crave turned toxic in the wake of my mother’s crimes being brought to light? Alistair wondered idly as he let his aura roll out, [Aura Of The Protector].

Aura skills were the quintessential skill every person got at Rank 4, but unlike other quintessential skills, they didn’t have a cool down. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They were abominably hard to control.

Class S had dealt with a lot of impromptu fights when they all started reaching Rank 4 and struggled to control their auras.

Auras debuffed others with lower Magic or Energy control levels than the caster and increased the caster’s own stats. If you didn’t put a lot of Mana or Energy into your aura, they mostly just alerted others to your presence, or if they were too low leveled, could freeze them in place. Generally effective for dealing with a bunch of dumb teenagers. Alistair knew Vereign had used his plenty enough times to deal with class S over the years.

The six students before him froze as they felt his aura before they jumped up, grabbing weapons as they turned to face him. Alistair strode confidently through the doors of the abandoned building they were hiding in, like he didn’t see them as a threat. And he didn’t. They might be only a year younger than him, and there might be six of them, but doubted they’d be a threat even if they all attacked at once.

“We got your beacon. Looks like you six are in over your heads,” Alistair said in greeting as he came into sight.

He could feel them identifying him, [Perception] a dull alert in his mind that he easily ignored. He was well known around the Academy and seeing his name might ease their worries. The stench of fear was so strong in the building he could almost taste it. This was probably the first time these students had been confronted with a situation they were clearly too weak to handle.

“Alistair Rosengarde?” Sor’gozan Tigdron, the leader of the team and the tank best Alistair could tell, asked incredulously.

“Their reaction time is a little slow, but seems their heads aren’t entirely empty,” Emyr called out from the shadows, nearly scaring the students out of their skins as they jumped and spun, looking for the hidden mage.

Alistair snorted lightly and placed a hand on his hip as he shook his head. Emyr always waited for the perfect moment to make his presence known, usually when he knew it would frighten his targets the most. The moment when all six students’ attention was focused on Alistair had been too tempting for the lurking celestial mage.

“With your reflexes and perception this low, your professors would be disappointed. We’ve been watching you six for over an hour,” Alistair chided, and he grinned when he saw several faces flush darkly in embarrassment.

Had they been this self-conscious and silly just a year ago? Alistair could hardly remember. Sometimes he didn’t feel like he’d changed much from that fourteen-year-old who had been too scared to love his own sister, treating her horrendously out of fear and not hatred. Then sometimes he looked at the younger years in the Academy and saw the chasm separating them from him and was confronted with exactly how far he’d been forced to climb.

When compared to his sister, he so often felt he’d hardly grown, but looking at these children, he couldn’t even remember ever being that weak.

Was that what power did to you? Make you forget being weak? A slow creep that gradually erased the memories of who you’d once been?

“We’re sorry sir, we’ll strive to do better.” Tigdron bowed his head towards Alistair, though his eyes were flicking about, trying to locate Emyr.

“It’s fine, you’re all young, you have time to improve.” Alistair waved a hand as he approached, looking towards a patch of darker than normal shadows.

“Emyr, get out of there and stop harassing the kids,” Alistair ordered. He could hear the mage suck his teeth in annoyance but he stepped out of the shadows, his dark clothes making it look like the shadows continued to cling to him.

“You ruined my fun.” Emyr told him petulantly as he walked to Alistair’s side, staying slightly back, almost in Alistair’s shadow.

“Alistair Rosengarde and Emyr Bealstal? Holy shit.” A voice whispered in quiet awe. Alistair thought it came from Alicia Talclair, the fire mage of the group. She likely looked up to Emyr. He was well known for his proclivity for setting things, and people, on fire.

“Now we think we’ve got all the details from listening to your scout’s reports, but if you’d be so kind as to hand over that map of the facility they’re hiding in, we can handle this. You six can remain here. We’ll send the prisoners to you and you can take them to the guard.” Alistair spread his legs slightly, shoulders thrown back as he used his ‘commander’ voice, as Mari liked to teasingly call it.

The six third years stood up straight unconsciously, responding to the commanding nature of his tone and, likely, his aura, which was still surrounding them. Unlike the aura of a damage dealer, his aura was less inclined towards smothering or crushing others unless he saw them as enemies. For those he saw as allies or those necessitating protection, he’d been told it felt like they were being wrapped up in a warm hug.

“Um, sir, are you sure we can’t help you? There’s only two of you…” Tigdron trailed off as he looked between the two of them, audibly gulping. Alistair turned his head slightly and saw the maniacal grin on Emyr’s face.

He’d been hoping they’d be able to get through this conversation without traumatizing the kids. Seemed that was a failure.

“We’ll be fine. Should have this branch of the organization down in no more than an hour. But it’ll be hard to get it done if we’re worried about where the prisoners are going. So you’ll be helping us a great deal if you can take care of them. If you tried to fight with us, you’d just be in the way.” Alistair shrugged, apologetic. But it was true. If they tried to help in the fight, he’d have to worry about protecting them from damage rather than just keeping attention on him and off Emyr.

He saw the way several of the student’s faces darkened in anger and shame. The truth hurt, but it was necessary for them to hear. Hopefully, they’d take that shame and realization of how weak they were and use it to fuel their progression. Nothing pushed someone better than seeing how outmatched they were.

Alistair knew it kept class S going, seeing Lili climb so high. He’d heard professors discuss how their class was the strongest class S they’d seen in decades, and he knew it was all because of Lili and his class’ unwillingness to fall behind her. All of them wanted to match her, and more than one of them wanted to be able to finally beat her.

“Here.” Tigdron pulled a map out of his storage and handed it over, face set in a scowl as he glared at the floor.

Alistair gave the students an encouraging smile, but he knew it would do little to soothe their wounded egos. Well, they’d get over it or they wouldn’t. He wasn’t their teacher, they weren’t his concern further than making sure they didn’t die trying to take on something so far out of their level.

Alistair looked over the map, noting the guard rotation, the number of people in the facility, and the location of the prisoners. Looked like they were pretty far in. They’d need to be fairly stealthy until they got the prisoners out, or risk having the criminals use them as hostages to stop their attack. Alistair checked the time against the guard rotation.

There would be a guard change soon. If they took out the new guards, it would be several bells before anyone noticed their absence. Emyr wasn’t an assassin class anymore, but he was stealthy enough to handle it. If they took out the guards, Emyr could slip in undetected and get to the prisoners and escort them out. It would take a while, but once they were out, it would be simple enough to raze the building and everyone in it.

The guard did have dead or alive bounties on this organization, so Alistair didn’t think they’d mind if their corpses were singed.

“Got it. Emyr, we’ll take out the guards once they switch over and then you’ll head in and get the prisoners out. I’ll direct them back here and you six will handle treating them and holding them for the guard. Once all the prisoners are out, we’ll take it down. No one gets out, got it?” Alistair handed the map to Emyr, who poured over it and nodded his head when he had the layout memorized. The six students nodded as well, albeit reluctantly.

“Alright. Let’s head out. We have some scum to clean out.” Alistair said cheerily, voice hiding the anger he felt licking up through him.

Human traffickers were the worst of the worst, and Alistair wouldn’t see a single of them leave this night alive. The dark chuckles he heard from Emyr as he vanished back into the shadows told him that he wasn’t alone in the sentiment. Or maybe Emyr was just excited about a chance to let loose. It was hard to say.

Terrifying. That was how Lili always referred to Emyr, and Alistair thought it was an apt descriptor. But sometimes it took a nightmare to take down another nightmare.

Alistair shoved away the misgivings and foreboding he felt at discovering yet another incorrect assignment. He’d report it to the Academy and Liliana when he returned. As he headed out of the abandoned building, he focused on his objective.

Blood would be spilled tonight, and he would revel in it. He might be a protector, but for those who stood against him, he was nothing more than the sword of judgement coming to strike them down for their sins.

Chapter 191: Distress Beacon

“Emyr is going to kill me. He’s going to cut me up into a hundred tiny Corbin pieces and scatter then around like a macabre scavenger hunt,” Corbin was muttering as they flew. Liliana was resting on Lysander’s back, behind Corbin, Serenity in her lap.

“He won’t kill you,” Liliana murmured softly as she traced one hand down Serenity’s smooth skin. The Pseudo Dragon shifted slightly in her sleep but didn’t wake. Upon close inspection, Liliana could see Serenity had scales covering her body, but they were so silky soft she couldn’t differentiate them from skin.

“He’s going to kill me, Lili. Violently, slowly, in ways our minds can’t even imagine,” Corbin insisted, throwing his hands into the air in a great display of unnecessary dramatics.

“Just don’t tell him I got hurt. I did it to myself, anyway.” Liliana shrugged, leaning slightly away from Corbin’s wildly flailing limbs, trying to protect her newest bond from unneeded damage.

Liliana looked down at her forearm, her left one. On it sat a magical tattoo. A twisted mirror of the tiger on her right arm. This one was the form of a small Axolong, surrounded by flowing waters. Colored in whites and pinks, that stood starkly against the rich golden tone of her skin, darkened from her many days in the sunlight.

Liliana wondered how many more bonds she had in her future. How many more times she could easily split her soul into parts, taking from wild beasts who submitted to the bond to fill in the holes she rent in her own soul? Would her body one day be painted so thoroughly in magical marks that the very color of her skin was hidden?

Would she even recognize herself one day? The woman she became, the weapon she was forged into. Would the girl who had fallen into this world find herself in the body of a woman hardened by a world so unforgiving?

Would that girl even recognize the person she was now? Would she look upon the Liliana she was today and see herself in her? Would she fear her? Respect her? Would she understand the choices she had made, the sacrifices she’d had to perform? Not made in blood, but in herself. Parts of herself she’d let go, preconceptions, beliefs, morals, all laid at the altar of this new world that crushed those who were weak and naive, mercilessly.

Liliana didn’t know. Wasn’t sure anyone could give her the answer to the questions that ricocheted through her head.

She pulled Serenity closer to her, cradling the small creature delicately in her hands. She had expected some degree of kindness, purity, in the mind of a beast who was so dedicated to healing. Who abstained from killing.

She hadn’t realized how deep the innocence ran. Hadn’t thought any being could live so long and resist being tainted by this world. Her skin felt too dirty to even touch Serenity, and the need to protect her was almost overwhelming, despite the knowledge that Serenity was far stronger than her.

The need was not entirely one sided in its nature. Upon the completion of the bonding contract, both sides had unfettered access to each other’s minds. Serenity had seen all that Liliana had experienced in her time in this world, and before.

Something had blossomed inside of Serenity, something stronger than her attachment to her territory. Something almost maternal in nature when confronted with the barely healed hurts resting in Liliana’s heart and soul.

Had Liliana known all it took to convince the small, but powerful, healer to join her was showing off the battle scars of her trauma, Liliana would’ve opened with that. Serenity’s compulsion to heal was strong, far stronger than Liliana had assumed upon first glance.

Serenity was… good. In the most pure, undiluted form, such a concept could take.

Liliana could only hope that she would not taint such a pure soul.

“He will know Lili. I don’t know how, but he will. And then I’m going to die,” Corbin wailed, and Liliana sighed as she leaned as far as she could without falling off Lysander.

Her skin, her body, her soul still ached. Phantom feelings of fire and electricity ripping across her skin. Serenity had fallen asleep soon after the bonding, unfamiliar with such excruciating pain. Liliana wouldn’t have submitted to being carted around like some weak, fainting noble lady normally. But she didn’t trust her body to not fall right from the sky if she attempted to fly on her own.

Every second she was forced to endure Corbin’s dramatics was a second closer to her deciding the risk was well worth the reward. She’d have a few minutes of blessed silence before she fell and broke her body on the ground, at least.

“You won’t have to worry about Emyr killing you if you continue to make a spectacle of yourself. I’ll slide a dagger between your ribs before Emyr ever sees you.” Liliana hissed, pulling a foot up to kick at Corbin, and nearly sent him over Lysander’s head.

The pegasus snorted, something bordering on amusement, if Liliana had to guess. The Pegasus was not one for much talking, the exact opposite of his tamer. Still, after a couple years being around him, Liliana thought she understood his body language well.

“All I’ve done for you, and this is how you’d repay me, Lili?” Corbin demanded of her as he barely kept his seat, recovering and turning around to face Liliana.

Well, it wasn’t like he had to direct Lysander. He didn’t even have reins for his bond. Liliana didn’t blame him, she thought Lysander more likely to bite off fingers than to take a bit.

“You haven’t done much for me at all. I have a multitude of memories of you lazing around while I’ve done all the fighting since we left the Academy,” Liliana told him bluntly.

Corbin gripped his chest, falling back over Lysander’s neck dramatically. Liliana watched, hopeful he’d fall. To her disappointment, he did not. Despite lacking wings of his own, Corbin had a remarkable sense of balance Liliana had only ever seen in acrobats and those with ridiculously high Dexterity stats.

Perhaps Corbin had been raised in a circus. She’d need to add it to the list of possible back stories for Corbin. Maybe his clan was raided in the middle of the night and his mother barely escaped, finding haven with a troop of traveling performers.

Despite his deceptively open personality, fooling any who saw him into believing he wore his heart on his sleeve, Corbin was an enigma that never failed to pique Liliana’s curiosity. Despite the time she’d known him, she only knew the Corbin he allowed them all to see.

His history, his family, his hopes and dreams. All were things he kept carefully guarded, expertly directing conversations far from such topics if anyone tried to broach them.

Liliana didn’t judge. She knew too well what it was like to keep your secrets locked away, where no one could touch them. Safe, so they could not be turned upon you. She wasn’t sure, though, if he hid them to protect himself, or if he enjoyed the chase.

If he liked seeing others try to uncover his hidden secrets like archaeologists digging through ruins. Pulling up the smallest, broken shards of pottery and trying to piece together entire cultures. If she pulled him apart, if she looked at his bones, what would she find engraved upon them?

Perhaps it was a test. To determine if those who he let near him were worthy of his friendship. Had he been scorned, hurt before by those he thought he could trust? Had he locked himself up behind thick stone walls, secretly hoping one day someone would be tenacious enough to scale the walls and bring light back into his life?

Emyr was utterly convinced Corbin was some kind of ex-spy, on the run from his country of birth after being raised from infancy to be a killer. Alistair thought he had narrowly escaped an arranged marriage with a woman three times his age, a match made by his destitute family, in a bid to regain their prestige. Marianne thought he had a tragic story, one of family and loves lost, forcing him to wander the world until he found a place to call home.

Truly, Corbin was the cryptid of their class. Differing theories about him abounding, but none were able to prove them. Maybe that had been his plan all along, to drum up interest and intrigue. Perhaps he had a normal life, with a loving family, and he simply wanted to remake himself into some mysterious figure for his career as a bard.

“I did plenty for you! You didn’t buff yourself, you know. And those monsters certainly didn’t debuff themselves,” Corbin huffed, voice heavily insulted.

“Sounds like something a lazy, good-for-nothing moocher would say.” Liliana raised a brow in challenge.

It was entertaining to banter with Corbin. He always indulged her and played up the act. Sometimes she could even manage to get him angry, though she still could never tell if his anger was an act or real. And sometimes, if he got angry enough, she could get him to duel her.

An angry Corbin dueling with her was one of her favorite things. With his bonds, he was the closest thing to a challenge she could get in the Academy. And when he was angry, he fought like it was real. With intent, rather than acting like it was a game.

Truthfully, he was one of her favorite partners for assignments, for those reasons. Emyr and Alistair were nice, as they could fight together without speaking. But she couldn’t take one without the other, most times. And she was always stuck feeling like the third wheel on a very violent date, since they never felt the need to disguise their relationship from her.

She was happy they were together, and still going strong, but she did not need to see her brother making out with his longtime boyfriend, who was also her best friend, every five minutes.

Marianne was always nice, but Liliana felt like the princess was hell bent on giving her gray hairs. She’d always run headfirst into a fight, confident Liliana would be there to keep her from dying. A good time if Liliana wanted an adrenaline rush, but overall, bad for her heart. Anya was hardly better with her penchant for charging in half cocked, but Anya could at least back her decisions up with raw power.

Basil… well. Things had gotten a bit odd between them after they briefly dated in second year, only to part on mostly amicable terms. There was still something between them, ghosts of passion past that refused to be laid to rest. They were still friends, and Liliana would run to his side in a second if asked, but it made spending time alone with him… awkward at best.

Koth’talan was always good to go on assignment with, now that he had firmly decided Liliana was, in fact, his friend and ally. Their fighting styles complimented each other, even if he was more focused on strength than speed. But they would often butt heads on who got to be in charge, neither willing to relinquish the control, and they’d usually end up fighting most of the time.

Which could be fun, in its own right, but could also be inconvenient if they started fighting each other in the middle of fighting something else.

Koth’talan preferred to go out with Jasper Rathwater instead, as the boy would defer to anyone with a stronger personality. Which, truthfully, was anyone who wasn’t a new-born baby. He was also powerful, which made him a good choice for most assignments. As long as he didn’t get frozen with fear in the middle of one, but Koth’talan had always had a knack for calming Jasper that the rest of them didn’t.

Diana was too... hesitant, for Liliana’s tastes as a partner for assignments. Always second and third guessing any choice and decision. Needing to recheck any information they were given so many times it bordered on obsessive. Almost four years in the Academy and Diana still better personified a shrinking violet than a battle mage.

So Corbin was always her first choice for a partner for an assignment. As a Blade Singer, having a bard as her partner was beneficial as well. Her classes had always almost been perfectly crafted to mesh with a bard type fighter best. With Corbin’s music surrounding her, she could fight for longer, faster, and better than she could without him.

Luckily, Corbin was almost always willing to partner with her. As a strictly support class, he needed someone with combat prowess to ensure he could get through his assignments alive. His bonds helped, but Corbin needed the extra muscle. With Liliana adding her own might and bonds to the mix, the two of them were essentially an army all on their own. It meant they could usually take more ‘dangerous’ or ‘advanced’ assignments that usually required a full team by themselves.

“Fine, then next time fight without my help and see how far you make it, ungrateful wench,” Corbin challenged spitefully. Liliana raised her brows, lips splitting into a dangerous smile that was all fangs.

“Want to try that again, birdy?” Liliana hissed, leaning closer to Corbin.

“I feel that I’ve made some type of mistake.” Corbin gulped, looking between Liliana’s sharp fangs and sparkling eyes.

“I’d say so.” Liliana nodded, eyes locked on Corbin as she let go of her iron grip on her aura.

[Aura Of The Predator] billowed around them. Corbin shuddered minutely, and she felt Lysander almost miss a wing beat. She’d been told her aura felt like being hunted by a great beast in a pitch black forest. The heavy weight of hungry eyes on a back, the panic and exhaustion of running yourself to the bone, hearing the panting breath in your ear. The moment before jaws closed around your neck.

Her aura felt like impeding death, of being prey before a predator you couldn’t hope to overpower or outrun. Deadly.

“Alright, alright, I w-“ Corbin raised his hands in surrender, only to freeze at the same time Liliana did. A feeling like a bolt of electricity shooting through them drew them both up short, Liliana’s aura retracting immediately.

“Another distress beacon?” Corbin asked, unnecessarily.

For all off campus assignments, students were given a ring. If they were in danger, they could press the stone in it with the intent of requesting aid. Any other Academy students or personnel in the area would get an alert through the rings they held and a sense of direction to head in. The level of desperation behind the call for help would determine how strong a reaction others felt.

Vita’s little ‘paladin’ had felt like being struck with a full lightning bolt. This one didn’t feel as severe, but it still wasn’t good. It wasn’t a ‘take your time, we’ll be okay. Just might need a bit of help’, it was a ‘we’re not actively about to die but we probably will in the near future,’ kind of call for help.

“I’ll run ahead, I’m faster. Take care of Serenity.” Liliana handed off her newest bond as carefully as she could.

The need to run, to get to the students, the children, in danger, almost robbed her of her critical thinking. Serenity roused slightly from her sleep but quickly succumbed once more, still mentally drained from the pain of the bonding. Liliana empathized. She would have been nigh on useless if she didn’t have the experience she did with bonding.

“Lili, you can’t. You’re still hurting. You could fall, you could die.” Corbin grabbed her arm with a tight grip, his other hand cradling Serenity close to his chest with the care only another tamer could ever show.

“And those kids could die if we take too long. I’ll call Polaris back to me, and send Lelantos on ahead of us in case it’s too much for me alone, but I can’t wait on Lysander to get there. You know I’m faster, and even a few seconds can mean the difference.” Liliana broke out of his grip with a harsh twist of her arm, Corbin’s delicate musician’s fingers too weak to hold her down if she didn’t want to be.

“Fuck,” Corbin cursed, shoulders slumping in defeat. He knew he couldn’t talk her out of anything she’d put her mind to. She was too stubborn, and strong, by half.

“Don’t die, Lili. Or I’ll never tell you my secrets,” Corbin bargained as Liliana stood on Lysander’s back, unaffected by the swaying of the pegasus’ body as he flew. Bright wings made of light burst from her back as [Wings Of Radiance] activated.

“Guess I can’t die then.” Liliana grinned wolfishly at Corbin before she stepped back and off Lysander, body twisting so her head was pointing at the ground.

Her wings heaved, pushing against the wind of her fall and gravity itself. Her wings were constructs made of light, but they connected to her body through her shoulder blades and Liliana could feel them straining, the muscles burning slightly as she swooped up in the air and took off like a shot.

“Polaris, to me. Lelantos, to the beacon. Now.” Liliana sent the order over her bond, feeling the kitsune and tiger respond back with affirmatives, sensing them changing their directions to follow her instructions.

Liliana pushed her body faster, hoping she could get to the students in danger in time.

Status Sheet

Name:

Serenity

Age:

25

Level:

302

Species:

Axolong

Genus:

Pseudo Dragon

Rank:

3

Health:

7,540

H-Regen:

75.40/1.1sec

Mana:

46,690

M-Regen:

488.4/1.1sec

Stamina:

2,750

S-Regen:

27.5/1.1sec

Magic Power:

49,360

Magic Control:

50,297

Experience: 1,870,260/9,180,900

Vitality:

754

Endurance:

275

Strength:

155

Dexterity:

3,569

Wisdom:

4,669

Intelligence:

4,884

Speed:

1,900

Charisma:

155

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Life

81%

Water

73%

Light

61%

Mirror

50%

Blood

32%

Soul

20%

Quintessential Skill

[Restoration] Lvl 243

[Healing Waters] Lvl Lvl 211

[Light Of Life] Lvl 187

[Aura Of Life] Lvl 166

[Mirror Call] Lvl 73

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 323

[Stealth] Lvl 320

[Swim] lvl 320

[Dodge] Lvl 316

[Mana Manipulation] Lvl 310

[Camouflage] Lvl 304

[Consume] lvl 243

[Tracking] Lvl 220

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 219

[Enrage] Lvl 121

Spells

[Heal] Lvl 342

[Liquidation] Lvl 340

[Cleansing Waters] Lvl 331

[Soothe] Lvl 324

[Life Manipulation] Lvl 320

[Water Manipulation] lvl 319

[Reflecting Waters] Lvl 311

[Ease Pain] Lvl 302

[Blood Regeneration] Lvl 284

[Water Dragon] Lvl 133

Chapter 192: Lady Of Stone And Serpents

Faster. Fly faster. The words ricocheted through Liliana’s head as she poured everything she had into her wings.

Mana ran rampant through her veins as she pushed all she could spare into her wings, the light in them building as she rocketed through the air. Had she a thought to spare, she would’ve noticed she resembled nothing so much as a shooting star blazing in the middle of the day.

None had died yet from an incorrect assignment being given out, but they’d come too close for anyone’s comfort. Liliana had begun spending more and more time out of the Academy, taking assignments almost as soon as she returned. She was running herself ragged, but to her it was a small price to pay when the alternative was the death of a child, full of hope, of life, of possibilities. Snuffed out too soon.

Her grades were only maintaining the heights of her previous years as a result of fourth years being expected to be out of the Academy so often. The class work almost seemed to get easier the more years they were in the Academy, but the requirements for the number of completed assignments only increased.

By the time they were in fourth year, students were expected to be mostly done with needing the guidance of their professors, for learning anything inside the confines of a classroom. Their fourth year was their chance to show what they had learned, with the questionable safety net of the Academy still under them.

Students were never technically sent on assignments alone. Besides the requirements of partners or groups, any area with an assignment always had other teams of varying years deployed for other various assignments within range of a distress beacon. A safety measure that had never seen nearly as much use as it had in the past six months.

“Lili,” Polaris’ voice came to her as she flew, a black and silver blur falling behind her.

Polaris’ wings were pumping, the strain in his voice clear to her. She had passed him in Speed some time ago, his stats more focused on Intelligence than Speed, almost the opposite of her. She had devoted more of her stats to Intelligence and Wisdom in the past three years, and her classreflectedthat,but Speed would always be her highest stat. She’d always be a fighter, never a true mage.

“What’s in the area, Polaris?” Liliana asked as she gained on the location of the beacon. So close, so far, she needed to be faster.

“Snake territory. Gorgons.” Polaris warned, and a colorful variety of curses flowed through the bond.

Gorgons, deadly on their own. If only they ever traveled alone.

They were always in at least packs of three. Sisters. Liliana had never read of a male Gorgon in her research, not that it mattered much. They were dangerous, mythical class. A creature didn’t evolve into a Gorgon until Rank 4, at the very earliest. They could be dealing with anything from Rank 4 to Rank 2, depending.

It would’ve been a wonderful opportunity to acquire a new bond, if anyone had ever had success with bonding a Gorgon. It could be a result of them having the same preferences as Unicorns, which was to say they utterly abhorred any male creature with a bone deep hatred that was downright obsessive.

Unlike Unicorns, which could be bonded by a woman if they felt the tamer was suitably pure enough, a Gorgon might not hunt down a woman, but none had successfully tamed one. Perhaps because they were so firmly tied to their sisters, and trying to tame three strong creatures at once was beyond any tamer’s capabilities.

Liliana would likely not succeed even if the Gorgons didn’t attack her on sight based on the fact she had two male bonds already. Her main objective would be removing the students in danger regardless, not the best environment to try to convince a dangerous creature to join its soul with hers.

A shame, a Gorgon’s petrifying gaze would’ve been an incredible asset in a fight. But there were always Basilisks and Cockatrices.

“How did the information get so off? A Gorgon should only be taken on by a team of fourth years, if that. This should’ve been something an adventuring guild handled.” Liliana passed down the bond, Polaris having no easy answer for her. He was intelligent, more intelligent than many of her classmates at times, but the workings of human minds often escaped him.

“Perhaps they thought it was Nagas. They’re a lower class of monsters. Never above Rank 5.” Polaris offered and Liliana growled.

“Even so, Naga territory can easily turn to Gorgon territory. It’s within their evolutionary line.” Liliana hissed angrily as she felt the beacon building. They were close now. Almost there.

“Lamias, then? Same family, but far weaker.” Polaris threw out the next possibility, and Liliana had to admit it was likely.

She’d been sent after Lamias attacking a village as a second year. They were dangerous, powerful magical creatures, but physically weak. Easy enough for a team of four or six second years to handle realistically.

But there was no way someone would mistake a Gorgon for a Lamia. A Naga for a Lamia, sure, but never a Gorgon. If someone had seen a Lamia in the area, the information would’ve had to be months, years, out of date. It would take that long for a Lamia to get the levels necessary to evolve into a Gorgon.

Someone was messing with the assignments. If that wasn’t clear before, it was clear now. Liliana just didn’t know how.

“Regardless, we’ll deal with the why later. Gorgons are Earth, Dark, Poison, Soul and Control creatures, usually. There are variables, but we have to assume they’ll have those. No Dark skills in case they can turn your skills and spells against you. Stick to elements we know or can expect them to not have. Light, Chaos, Wind, Spatial.” Liliana instructed, as the sounds of screams finally reached her. They were here.

Liliana took a moment to analyze the battlefield. A rocky expanse, a mountainous region emerging from thick forests. Cliffs and caves abounded. Gorgon territory, if she’d ever seen it. [Eagle Eye] activated and Liliana scanned for movement. Her eyes, as sharp as any bird of prey’s, quickly located the shapes of humans that she focused on. The Academy students, running through winding paths between rocky walls.

Liliana banked higher into the air and sucked in a tight breath. The students were unaware of it, unable to devise they had been herded into a maze, too preoccupied with running for their lives. She could see two Gorgons from where she was, steadily hunting the students through their territory. Herding them.

Liliana’s eyes scanned the area, navigating the labyrinth from on high as she tried to find the end point. The destination the Gorgons wanted the students to reach. She located it, eyes widening when she saw the Gorgon lying in wait for her prey to arrive. By the time the students got there, they’d be exhausted, run ragged by the other Gorgons. Helpless.

“There. We need to take out the one at the end. It’ll give the students a clear exit to escape while we double back to hit the hunters. Only three Gorgons, so if we hit the waiting sister together, we can separate to take on the others individually. The one waiting is likely the strongest, as she was positioned to take on all the students alone. Even weakened by running, no sensible monster would take on five opponents alone unless they were certain of victory.” Liliana pointed out to Polaris, who had caught up to her and was panting lightly in the air.

“Lelantos, ETA.” Liliana sent out through her bond to her tiger. She was lucky her bonds had access to her Earth memories, and could deduce the meaning behind her odd slang she’d brought with her.

“Far. Too slow. On your own.” Lelantos sent back, as eloquent as ever in his speech. At this point, Liliana knew it was on purpose. He saw no use in expanding his vocabulary further than what was essential for battle.

“Fuck. I can’t use Nem for this. They’ll take her spells if they have a stronger mastery. I can’t risk it.” Liliana hissed as eight swords appeared in the air around her, glowing with the same light as her wings.

[Threads Of Control] kept them close to her as she spun the swords around her body in a deadly tornado of blades. Her naginata materialized in her hand and Liliana took a deep breath as she started activating her chains.

It would be just her and Polaris in this fight. Corbin likely wouldn’t arrive until after they finished off the Gorgon taking point. Power, strength, speed all flowed through her as her abilities stacked.

“Focus on her eyes. Gorgon’s always get a Paralysis ability that turns their opponents to stone when they get their evolution. It’s always eye based. Their Control affinity requires line of sight as well. We need to blind her or we’ll risk death.” Liliana instructed Polaris as she surged higher in the air, circling just above the hiding Gorgon.

Liliana’s eyes flicked towards the maze the students were still trapped in. They had to take the Gorgon out before the students got there. They would be a liability at best in the middle of a fight, at worst used as hostages. If the students arrived before the Gorgon was neutralized, then their chances of victory would plummet.

I miss when beasts were dumb and couldn’t devise plans and strategies. Liliana thought mournfully as she reached a point she was happy with.

“Ready?” Liliana asked Polaris, who had been suspiciously quiet, none of his normal mischievousness flowing through their bond.

This was not a game, not today. This was dangerous.

They had far less information than Liliana was typically comfortable with going into this. The outcome was not assured, and Liliana hated making a bet without knowing her odds. She didn’t even know the Gorgon’s level, couldn’t know without getting close enough for the Gorgon to detect her presence.

Briefly she considered activating [Aspect Of The Beast] but withheld. She could activate it later, if it was necessary. But she couldn’t waste it this early in the fight. There was always the chance this Gorgon wasn’t the strongest, and if she needed the skill and it was on cool down, she would be killing herself. She had backup, but no idea when it would get here.

“Ready.” Polaris responded, and Liliana nodded.

Liliana took a deep breath as [Battle Clarity] washed all her emotions away, leaving only the thick rush of adrenaline in her body. Her heart pounded a staccato rhythm in her chest, the start of a melody she would soon fall into. She’d be doing this fight blind, depending on senses she had honed over the years in expectation of fights where she couldn't use one or several senses.

No backup, only Polaris with her.

It was dangerous; it was reckless.

It was exhilarating.

Liliana flipped in the air and drew her wings tight to her back, plummeting through the sky. Her eyes were shut tight against the wind that wailed in her ears as she picked up speed, as the force of gravity drew her to the ground.

[Bestial Instincts] and [Perception] flowed out, returning back with information that almost made up for the loss of her sight. For a moment, Liliana regretted leaving Serenity behind. The Pseudo Dragon’s Mirror affinity would’ve been invaluable in this fight. But she knew she would never convince Serenity to walk into a fight, to kill another creature.

Liliana had survived this long without Serenity. She could last one more fight.

Liliana opened her eyes for a bare second when she judged she was close enough. Just enough time to grab a quick [Identify] a second before the Gorgon noticed her presence.

Donelle

Lady Of Stone And Serpents

Gorgon

Age: 123

Level: 269

Born of stone and hate, Donelle is a creature who seeks the destruction of any male who dare steps foot in her territory. With the aid of her sisters, Donelle has laid claim to a vast territory, using the natural geography to lead prey right into her fangs. While she has no qualms with female creatures, if they are seen aiding a male in her territory, Donelle shows no quarter for their crimes. Any who would harm her or her sisters will be dealt with viciously and swiftly, falling to her piercing eyes, which hold only death for her enemies.

Rank: 3

Health: 2,250

Mana: 36,510

Stamina: 4,350

Shit. Named, she’s a boss creature. I hope her sisters aren’t named too. That gives them too much of a boost. A Rank 3 too, thank the gods I flew ahead of Corbin. He can’t fight this, none of his bonds can. It’s up to me and Polaris. We’re the only ones who can do this. Liliana took a deep breath. She could hear a hissing screech building below her, through the wailing wind rushing in her ears.

Liliana knew she was lucky. Her boon meant she was effectively 90 levels stronger than she appeared, if one discounted the bonus stat points gained from a class, which her boon did not grant her. But it would put her on close to even footing with a beast 63 levels above her, hopefully. With Polaris, it would make it a fair fight, if just.

The Gorgon had less Health than her, though a much larger Mana pool. Over double what Liliana had, though the Gorgon’s Stamina was far lower. It meant if this ended up as a battle of attrition, Liliana could likely outlast if she rationed her Mana and forced the Gorgon to chase her. But this singular Gorgon wasn’t her only concern. Liliana couldn’t afford a drawn out battle with the students and other Gorgons approaching.

She’d need to hit hard then.

[Bestial Instincts] and [Perception] screamed at her when Liliana was within range. The element of surprise gone, Liliana released her [Aura of The Predator] feeling it increasing her Speed, Endurance and Strength. Despite the overwhelming urge to open her eyes, Liliana kept them closed. Her wings snapped out with a crack like thunder as she adjusted her body, keeping her momentum. Her naginata swirled in the air and she felt it connect with a body almost indistinguishable from stone except for a minute give no stone would have.

She heard metal collide with stone, hissing screams filling the air as her swords danced through the air.

“Female human, why do you attack?” the words came and Liliana kept her movements going, swinging back into the air. Unlike beasts that didn’t resemble humans in the least, Gorgons could and did use human speech rather than natural telepathy.

“You’re hunting humans that belong to me.” Liliana responded as she activated [Hail Of Bullets], seeing even through her closed eyes the bright streaks of the attack as it pelted the Gorgon and surrounding area with bullets made of light.

“They are in our territory. They are oursss to hunt,” Donelle hissed.

Liliana’s head twitched to follow the sound of the sibilant voice. The rocky walls and chasms around them were sending noises bouncing, making it harder to pinpoint her enemy’s location with hearing alone. Luckily, [Bestial Instincts] and [Perception] didn’t use only hearing to extend her senses.

“Let them, and us, go without a fight and you won’t have to die today,” Liliana bargained, but kept moving.

She could feel the attacks coming at her, stone and earth flying through the air as she ducked and dived. A lucky shot clipped her wing, sending her spinning in the air. Another sharpened stone passed clean through her side, taking a chunk of flesh with it, a dull ache that throbbed in the back of her mind. Liliana had spent too long fighting over the years to let those things affect her in the middle of a battle. Her swords came up from where they’d been harrying the Gorgon to deflect the attacks sent her way in her moment of distraction.

“If you ssstay you will die, leave usss our prey and we ssshal not pursssue,” Donelle warned and Liliana huffed out a derisive laugh.

“I have killed stronger beasts than you, Donelle. Listen to me and no one has to die today.” Liliana pleaded as she took higher to the sky.

“Can you get a clean hit to her eyes?” Liliana asked Polaris, who had dropped off into the shadows the second Liliana had made her appearance.

“Almost. Keep her occupied for another minute,” Polaris asked. Liliana sighed lowly but swung back down for another strafing shot, [Hail Of Bullets] once more activating. Liliana could hear hisses and whines of pain as some of the shots connected.

“We will not relinquisssh our prey, human girl. Leave thisss place, you have a touch of beasssst in you, we will ressspect the kinssship we feel if you do not make enemiesss of ussss,” Donelle offered once more. From true kinship, or because she saw Liliana as a real threat, was unclear. Liliana could feel Donelle trying to retreat behind stone walls that her empowered swords cut through as easily as they sliced through flesh.

“I don’t want to fight you, Donelle. If you insist on killing these students, I will, and I’ll kill you and your sisters. Make the right choice and allow them to pass through unharmed. They are children.” Liliana tried one last time to reason with the Gorgon, already prepared for it to not take.

Donelle’s Intelligence stat would match her Wisdom most likely, and Liliana’s Charisma was lower than that. She couldn’t charm the Gorgon out of this, and was hoping logic and fear for her sisters would override the Gorgon’s characteristic hatred of men.

“No. They have malesss amongssst them, we do not permit malesss in our territory. They ssshall die and ssso ssshall you,” Donelle hissed and Liliana banked sharply up, feeling the sharp stones flying through the air at her, one scraping a cut deep enough to gouge bone on her cheek. Another burrowed into the meat of her left shoulder, almost sending Liliana reeling from the force of the hit. Her grip on her naginata weakened, the muscles torn and struggling to heal. Inconvenient, but she could still fight.

“Now.”

“Then I’m sorry. You did not have to die today.” Liliana dove back down, twisting through the air to avoid the attacks she could sense coming at her.

Stooping like an eagle striking prey, Liliana’s feet connected with Donelle’s body, sending the heavy Gorgon back, and right into a waiting Polaris. A scream rent through the air as Liliana felt the distinct flavor of Chaos surrounding her. She felt Polaris’ emotion’s surge with victory and satisfaction, telling her more than words did that he’d succeeded.

Liliana opened her eyes to see Donelle kneeling, clawed hands clutching at her face, her eyes, which had been burnt and destroyed by a blast of point blank [Chaos Breath]. The snakes that made up the Gorgon’s hair were writhing, hissing, and striking at the air. Liliana could feel the dull throb of a bite on her calf from where one had gotten through the leather of her pants and sunk its fangs deep.

Not that it would do much with [Poison Resistance] preventing the deadly venom from harming her further than a few hundred Health points.

“You will die human, and male beassssst,” Donelle hissed at her, struggling to her feet blindly.

“No, I think not.” Liliana shook her head, stalking forward on silent feet. Donelle swung her head, somehow able to pinpoint Liliana’s location despite the loss of her eyes.

The snakes. They’re communicating with her, somehow. Liliana thought as she shot to the sky a half second before the ground under her split like the maw of a great beast. Polaris took off with her, chaotic false flames trailing him. Donelle might be able to use her snakes to make up for her blindness, but it left her slower. Too slow to match Liliana’s Speed.

Too slow to dodge the swords coming for her, sliding deep through her reinforced skin. Cutting deep, burying up to the hilt in the Gorgon’s thighs and calves, pinning her to the ground. Too slow to avoid the destructive power of Polaris’ [Entropic Claws] as they ripped deeply through her rocky flesh, removing stone like snakes in his pass over. And far too slow to avoid the decisive blow of Liliana’s blazing naginata and remaining swords as they sliced through her neck, the last serpents in her hair falling limp with the death of the Gorgon.

“You really did not have to die today,” Liliana sighed as she landed, poking at the head distrustfully. Dead snakes could still bite, and she did not trust the serpents to not still have venom in their fangs.

Liliana glanced at her Health and tsked lowly. Her hand reached up and dug mercilessly at the stone still embedded in her shoulder, ripping it out and sending blood flowing as [Regeneration] began its task of slowly healing the wounds she had accumulated.

She was already bruised, bloody, and slightly poisoned. And if she wasn’t wrong, her ankle was fractured from the Gorgon shooting a column of rock at her mid flight and clipping her foot before she could dodge. With a wince from the dull spike of pain it caused, Liliana reset her foot for it to heal. And she still had another fight to go.

Donelle had been willing to talk to her, which had left her open for the surprise attack that spelled her end. She doubted the Gorgon’s sisters would be as willing to talk, not when they would taste their sister’s death on her. And the next Gorgon Liliana would be fighting alone. She couldn’t risk the Gorgons catching up to the students. They had to take them both out at the same time.

Corbin, get here soon, I’ll need the backup. Liliana looked towards the sky, bare of anything but a heavy sun and a few clouds.

“Let’s go. We need to get rid of those other Gorgons so the students can get out safely.” Liliana instructed Polaris, who yipped softly, licking at one of the dull aching wounds littering her body.

“We hunt.” Polaris agreed as Liliana jumped into the air, blood falling like vermilion rain beneath her.

Polaris' Tables:

Status Sheet

Name:

Polaris

Age:

19

Level:

286

Species:

Chaos Touched Kitsune

Genus:

Kitsune

Rank:

3

Health:

3,250

H-Regen:

32.5/1.1sec

Mana:

32,500

M-Regen:

409.1/1.1sec

Stamina:

4,000

S-Regen:

40/1.1sec

Magic Power:

35,289

Magic Control:

43,942

Experience: 7,006,119/8,236,900

Vitality:

325

Endurance:

400

Strength:

160

Dexterity:

600

Wisdom:

3,250

Intelligence:

4,091

Speed:

3,200

Charisma:

2,800

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

85%

Illusion

72%

Dark

81%

Shadow

64%

Chaos

51%

Wind

47%

Spatial

23%

Quintessential Skill

[Illusory Palace] Lvl 287

[Revelry in the Night] Lvl Lvl 263

[Entropy] Lvl 234

[Aura Of The Trickster] Lvl 203

[Dominion Chaos] Lvl 17

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 312

[Stealth] Lvl 310

[Shadow Walk] Lvl 302

[Consume] Lvl 300

[Flight] Lvl 290

[Tracking] Lvl 285

[Dodge] Lvl 283

[Enrage] Lvl 256
[Haste] Lvl 229

[Disorder] Lvl 201

Spells

[Dark Manipulation] Lvl 315

[Dark Kitsunebi] Lvl 311

[Entropic Claws] Lvl 301

[Chaos Breath] Lvl 294

[Disarray] Lvl 290

[Turmoil Blight] Lvl 285

[Wind Manipulation] Lvl 273

[Malestorm of Discord] Lvl 266

[Wings Of Bedlam] Lvl 259

[Blinkl] Lvl 222

Small retcon: Polaris was supposed to get his Aura ability at Rank 4. So Dominion Chaos and Aura of The Trickster were switched. Aura of The Trickster is his Rank 4 skill, Dominion Chaos his rank 3 one.

Chapter 193: Griefing Gorgons

“I’ll warn the students, you run ahead and start on the Gorgon to the left,” Liliana instructed Polaris, falling back slightly as her bond pulled ahead with a yipping bark.

“Don’t die,” Liliana whispered across the bond, an aggrieved huffing noise sent back her way.

Polaris was insulted at the insinuation that something as weak as a Gorgon could end him. Liliana watched him speed off above the canyons for a moment before she shook her head and dived towards the students rushing towards what had once been a trap.

“The way ahead is clear now,” Liliana shouted out, dodging an ice spear sent her way by a trigger-happy, panicked boy.

“Save some of that Mana for monsters, not the person saving your lives.” Liliana huffed as she circled lower, hissing as her wings scraped across the jagged stone walls of the canyon.

This place was awful for flight. Her wings vanished and she dropped, landing before the students, all of them panting and haggard.

“Who are you?” a boy stepped forward, seventeen maybe eighteen. No one Liliana recognized.

“Come on, you’re telling me you don’t have an [Identify] skill?” Liliana asked with a raised brow.

The boy flushed, ducking his head to hide behind golden hair that was far too long to be practical in a fight, especially when it wasn’t tied back. So far, her first impression of these younger years wasn’t favorable. Except the one who sent an ice spear at her. She liked that one.

“That’s Liliana Rosengarde, Tom, don’t insult her, she could kill us all!” a girl hissed behind the boy, Tom, allegedly, tugging on his shirt to pull him back.

“Murder isn’t on the itinerary for today, actually.” Liliana corrected with a grin, snickering slightly when several of the students took a noticeable step back.

“Is it sometimes on the itinerary?” a horrified voice whispered and Liliana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to resist the urge to burst into full laughter. Oh, she forgot how much fun it was to mess with younger students.

“I don’t have a lot of time, but just keep running. I already took care of the Gorgon who was waiting for you, and I’ll take out the ones coming after you. Just get out of here, go back to the Academy and report this. If I need any more information from you all, I’ll find you later.” Liliana pointed behind her to the safe path. She crouched, preparing to jump into the sky, when she paused.

“And if you see a giant shimmering tiger, don’t attack him. He’s mine. He’s just a bit slow.” Liliana added on before jumping into the air, her wings emerging in a burst of light as questions and shouts followed her. She could feel their confusion, so thick in the air their thoughts were rising to the top. Liliana pushed them away with practised ease, focusing on rising above them.

Adrenaline still pumped through her, but in the back of her mind she cataloged the damage she’d already suffered. Her shoulder was slow to heal, the cut on her face was closed, even if the blood remained hot and sticky against her skin. Her ankle still smarted, but the bone was healed, if weaker than she’d prefer. Bleeding debuffs kept her natural regeneration slow, but the various cuts and bruises across her body were healing with every wing beat.

She’d be healed by the time she got to the next Gorgon. She’d be fine to take her on. She had to be.

“Polaris?” Liliana called out as she streaked across the sky, a blur of light.

“On the Gorgon. Not done yet.” Polaris sent back and Liliana sighed.

It would be harder to take on Gorgons on their own. They’d been able to take down Donelle so efficiently thanks to having two of them fighting her. Being able to surprise her and take out her eyes early on had done much to speed up killing her.

I’ll have a half second to grab an [Identify] on this one and to judge where she is. The close quarter nature of this fight will mean she can’t get a lot of distance from me easily. But I’ll be surrounded by stone and earth, which will be to her advantage. It’s unlikely I’ll get out of this without taking damage. I’ll need to focus on her face. If I have all my swords on her, I can overcharge [Radiant Edge] to make it blinding. It’ll take a lot of Mana, but if I have eight swords flashing blinding light in her eyes, it’ll make her easier to fight. If she’s blind, I can use [Side Step] and get behind her, since I need line of sight for that skill.

Liliana took a deep breath in as she approached the Gorgon to the right of the students, circling high above the Gorgon’s ability to perceive her. She’d have a half second when she was in range to use [Identify] before the Gorgon looked up. That was all she’d have, or she’d be dead, with no backup close enough to save her.

Liliana was alone, and she’d have to make it work.

Her wings tucked close to her back as Liliana dived, eyes open as the air screamed around her. As if it was warning her of the foolishness of this choice. Too late to change her mind or devise another plan, Liliana let herself plummet, swords arrayed around her like another set of wings. [Identify] activated and Liliana slammed her eyes closed as she heard the hissing scream of the Gorgon finally spotting her.

Gorgon

Age: 99

Level: 238

The younger sister to Donelle, The Lady Of Stone And Serpents, this Gorgon does not have a name. Her poison is no less lethal for her lack of a name, and a single glare will send any in her way to their knees. The bite of the serpents she carries on her head like a venomous crown is enough to kill foes even stronger than she. Unfailingly loyal to her sisters, as any Gorgon is, she is far more deadly when facing one who has raised a hand or blade against her sisters.

Rank: 4

Health: 2,000

Mana: 32,260

Stamina: 3,340

[Bestial Instincts] and [Perception] flowed around her with her [Aura Of The Predator], giving Liliana some idea of what was around her. Her wings snapped out as she twisted in the air, her constructed wings taking the brunt of the attack of sharp stones sent her way by an enraged Gorgon.

Liliana’s swords pursued the Gorgon, [Radiant Edge] activating as Liliana pumped Mana into the spell, the light so bright it pierced her eyes even through her lids. A pained screech let her know the Gorgon’s eyes had not appreciated the assault to her retinas.

“Polaris, will you need help?” Liliana asked as she shot over the head of the Gorgon.

“Have faith, kit. I need no aid.” Polaris returned and Liliana nodded to herself.

Then it was time to end this before her bad luck could turn it around on her.

Not willing to take chances alone as she was, she activated [Aspect Of The Beast], Liliana felt Mana and Stamina drain from her at an alarming rate even as she selected the bond to share with. Speed would do her little good here, she needed Health.

Connecting with Lelantos, Liliana felt her gums ache as her teeth, her fangs, enlarge, and sharpen. She could feel her nail beds sting as her nails turned into claws. Stripes burned across her skin.

The physical effects of [Aspect Of The Beast] had only gotten more noticeable as the skill leveled. Her hearing was sharper, as was her sense of smell. Even without her eyesight now, she felt like she could see the battlefield with a perfect clarity.

For a moment, it was overwhelming, the influx of sudden stimuli coupled with the staggering power coursing through her. Lelantos was by and far the strongest, physically, of all her bonds. Her skin throbbed when her muscles bulged, her body as it was not able to account for the new physical strength and forcing an accelerated growth that would leave her sore later when it was over.

She was lucky her armor and clothes had give, to account for this, a lesson learned from previous times when she’d ripped through less accommodating clothing.

She could hear every breath the Gorgon took in, the hissing quality to it ringing in her ears. Could smell her stone skin, and the anger flaring off of her so thickly it coated Liliana’s throat. Liliana activated [Evanesce], Lelantos’ skill. It didn’t make her entirely invisible, but it was close enough, distorting her form until she was nothing more than a heat mirage moving around, a flicker of sparkling light too fast to follow.

“Don’t suppose I could talk you into walking away?” Liliana called out as she flitted around the fight, her swords kept bright as they forced the Gorgon to devote her attention to blocking, protecting her eyes.

“Ssssisssster killer. I sssshall end you to avenge my sssissster,” the Gorgon hissed at her, words wet as if she was spitting venom with each syllable.

“I’ll give you the same offer I gave your sister, Gorgon. Walk away and keep your head.” Liliana barked out as she flipped, wings wrapping around her body to block the stone pillar sent to impale her.

Feathers broke off and fell as Liliana landed, feet digging into the hard stone. The light around her swords exploded, sending the Gorgon reeling as she screeched, temporarily but not permanently, blinded. [Radiant Edge] reactivated, quickly growing once more to levels none could easily look upon, keeping the Gorgon disorientated, and more importantly, keeping her eyes closed.

“Die,” was the only response she got, and Liliana sighed.

A Gorgon tame would’ve been amazing, a shame they were always so recalcitrant to the possibility. Feathers exploded out of Liliana as she activated [Shatter Wing]. The hissing whines of pain from the Gorgon let her know more than a few had landed.

“Then let’s dance,” Liliana muttered as she activated [Radiant Armor], [Bulwark] and [Radiant Aegis]. Light armor coated her, thick and cumbersome but more than enough to deflect the attacks sent her way, preserving her increased Health.

She needed the Gorgon to get stupid, to use [Enrage], a skill all beasts had, which decreased their Intelligence but boosted their other stats. If the Gorgon went rage dumb, it would be far easier to land a hit across her eyes. Liliana let off a [Bestial Roar], feeling the reverberations through her chest as the roar thundered out of her. It echoed across the walls of the canyon, rocks shaken loose and falling down on them.

“Your sister died on her knees, pinned down by my swords,” Liliana taunted. and was rewarded with a scream of pure rage and grief as the Gorgon lunged.

“Too slow, just like she was,” Liliana moved between furious swipes of poisoned claws, feeling snakes striking at her body, only for their stone fangs to slide off her defenses even as her naginata bit and tore.

The Gorgon’s movements were sloppy, over extending and exerting too much power in each swipe and magical strike. Uncaring for conserving Stamina or Mana any longer, as rage took over and robbed her of critical thinking. The Gorgon was powerful in her anger, but far too open. Liliana could feel the strength in each hit as she ducked under them, heard the way the wind screamed as claws rent the air with too much power, leaving the Gorgon off balance.

She could feel the overpowered magic in each stone and rock sent into her, the ones she couldn’t avoid shattering on her defences, chipping away at them even as Liliana pressed herself to move faster.

Her swords joined in the fight, swirling around the pair and striking at every blind spot as Liliana danced between physical and magical attacks, [Blade Song] activating and sending all her bladed weapons to humming, biting deeper with each pass. Liliana ducked and twirled beneath strikes, feeling the pressure of the air changing, the hissing of stone and claw in the air.

Even blind she was able to move with the grace her class demanded, her Speed unmatched in the Gorgon. Donelle had been able to keep up with her, until her eyes were lost, but her sister was a poor shadow of her prowess. Lower leveled. Weaker.

For every attack Liliana failed to dodge, her defenses borrowed from Lelantos were more than enough to handle it. As light armor cracked and fell, her skin repelled the attacks, her Health barely dented by anything that got through, her regeneration making up the difference.

Liliana kicked off the ground, body flipping as she struck out a hand to grab onto the Gorgon’s face, clawed hands bit deep into delicate eyes as Liliana finished her arc, pulling the Gorgon back and down with her enhanced Strength. Snakes struck again and again, breaking the armor and finding flesh where their venom could infect. Liliana paid no heed to the pain, nor the poison getting cleansed from her system.

Liliana opened her eyes as she landed, pulling her bloody hand back. Some hers, some the Gorgon’s from the removal of her greatest weapon. The Gorgon’s hands were at her face as she screamed, a piercing shriek that filled the canyon.

Liliana gave her no time to recover, swords striking and biting deep, pinning her to the ground as she writhed. She was half dead already, her low health drained by the fight. Whatever skills or spells she’d used to reinforce her body were not enough to save her now as Liliana stood tall, looking down at the Gorgon before she drove her shining naginata down into her throat.

The Gorgon’s screams ended with a gurgle as Liliana ripped her blade through her neck, her skill enhanced Strength making it a simple task to cut through stone flesh.

“Polaris?” Liliana called out mentally as she summoned her blades back to her to float around her, gleaming in the light but coated in dark red.

“The other Gorgon is dead,” Polaris responded, a touch of pain in his communication, but nothing concerning. Liliana sighed in relief as she leaned back against a pock marked wall of the canyon.

“Then it’s done. Collect the body and take it back to where Donelle’s body is. We’ll deal with them there while we wait for Corbin to catch up.” Liliana directed.

She grabbed the dead Gorgon by a leg, keeping the still dangerous even in death snakes from her body as her wings reappeared and she took to the sky. She took longer this time, not pushing her body to the limit.

She arrived back to the spot Donelle had been defeated at the same time as Polaris did. He seemed to have the same idea as her, carrying the dead Gorgon by an ankle and depositing her as soon as he could.

“You lot should be gone by now,” Liliana called out to the students lurking in the shadows.

“We thought we might be able to help,” a feminine voice called out as a girl dressed in robes walked up, clutching a staff for dear life.

A healer, if Liliana had to guess. She hadn’t cared enough before to [Identify] them and she didn’t now. They were younger than her, weaker. That was all she knew, and all she needed to know. Their names, their classes, their ages, were all inconsequential. Useless information she’d forget as soon as she saw it.

“The only thing you can help me with,” Liliana grunted as she pulled out a shard of stone from her thigh. When had that gotten there? “Is by telling me why you lot thought walking into Gorgon territory was a smart decision?” Liliana finished as she tossed the bloody stone away.

She sat down as she started looking over her body, tugging out smaller, rocky shrapnel from the fight. Her body could push it out on its own, but it was faster to remove it by hand. Even if she had to dig pebbles out of her flesh.

“I can heal you?” the girl offered tentatively, and Liliana snorted.

“I don’t need it. Check my Health, I’m nowhere close to dying.” Liliana shot her down as she removed a finger long, needle thin, sliver of stone from her forearm.

She’d taken more hits than she thought in that second fight. Or perhaps it was left over from the first, she couldn’t be sure. Whatever the case, it was annoying to find all the spots she’d been turned into a rock pin cushion. [Pain Resistance] worked against her at times like this. Most of the stones and injuries were too small to even ache, leaving her to find them by sight and feel.

“Gorgons. You lot. Why is this an equation I had to solve?” Liliana looked up, past the healer to the boy who had confronted her before. The leader.

Her arm twisted awkwardly as she felt along her back, finding the slick warmth of blood and digging into a thumb sized hole just below her shoulder blade to remove a jagged stone.

“We were told there was a coven of Lamias here, not Gorgons. The villagers told us it had been some time since they sent the request to the Adventurer’s Guild in the area, but the attacks were still in line with Lamias. Gorgons and Lamias will both use poison, snake bites, to kill prey. Thats what we found from investigating the killed livestock,” the leader, Tim? Todd? Something with a T, Liliana was sure, spoke up. He sounded as disgruntled and shaken as every other student she’d talked to after saving them from an assignment gone wrong.

Their pride was hurt, and their confidence was badly damaged. They were alive, though, and that was all Liliana cared about. Pride and confidence could heal, death couldn’t be fixed. She knew that better than most.

“The petrified or paralyzed monsters littered around the territory didn’t give you a hint?” Liliana asked disbelievingly. She started using her clawed fingers like tweezers to remove broken stone fangs from her wrist, flicking them towards Tobias.

Gorgons and Lamias did share a hunting style, preferring poison. Lamias bit to inject their poison, and Gorgons used the snakes on their head, or sometimes their own bite, to do it. But Lamias left rotting corpses around their territory as markers.

Gorgons left stone creatures, or humans, to warn other beasts and humans to beware. Much as a Basilisk would leave paralyzed bodies, funny Basilisks and Gorgons hated each other when they shared so much in common. Different evolutionary lines, though.

“We thought it was only one Gorgon, a newly evolved one, maybe Rank 4. We thought we could handle a coven of Lamias lead by a Gorgon,” Tristan said, defensively.

“Then you’re stupid, reckless, and not worth being a leader. Gorgons, even one of them, is out of what you lot could handle on your own,” Liliana dismissed with a sneer as she finished fishing out stone from her body. Her clothes were sticky and wet with blood where it had yet to dry into an itchy mess. A thoughtless [Cleanse] removed most of the blood and grime, and Liliana relaxed marginally.

“We cou-“ Tyler started, and Liliana raised a hand to cut him off.

“No. You couldn’t. You lot are what, second year? Lamias are the upper end of what you could handle alone. Even then, you must be some of the stronger students in your class to be allowed after them. Anything higher on the evolutionary chain is too much. Accept that, so the next time you come against something too strong to fight, you don’t learn the lesson via death.” Liliana mercilessly dressed Taylor down, watching with satisfaction when his shoulders slumped.

Another important lesson learned in assignments that most, especially the nobles, needed was understanding there would always be things out there stronger than they were and they needed to know when to back off. Apparently, that was the moral of the story today for Teddy. Otherwise, Liliana wouldn’t have been here right now, removing stone fragments from her body and three Gorgons would’ve still been alive.

There had been unnecessary death today, and Liliana rarely relished being a reaper for creatures with sapience. Left alone, the Gorgons wouldn’t have done much more than kill livestock and any who walked into their territory. They were intelligent, they could have been reasoned with by someone with knowledge of their habits.

When they weren’t in the middle of a hunt, anyway. Few beasts could be talked out of a hunt once they had prey in sight.

Had Liliana been here, before these students trespassed, she might have been able to convince the Gorgons to leave the villagers alone. Or worked out an agreement where the villagers gave a tithe of livestock for protection. Now the ecosystem was off balance, and eventually a stronger beast would take over to fill the power vacuum and it might not be half as logical as a Gorgon was. These students had no idea what they’d done by being overconfident and stupid.

“Come on, Lili, don’t be so cruel to the kids,” Corbin’s melodic voice reached her and Liliana tilted her head back to see Corbin and Lysander circling low before landing.

“You’re late.” Liliana informed him as Corbin took in the sight of Liliana sitting beside three Gorgon corpses, several wounds still bleeding sluggishly even as they healed.

“You’re too fast,” Corbin retorted, and Liliana rolled her eyes.

“You’re just lazy,” Liliana countered and Corbin gasped, falling back against his bond. His free hand, the one not still holding Serenity like a precious, delicate jewel, grasped at his chest. Liliana watched with ill-hidden amusement at his theatrics. He loved an audience.

“Gorgons this time?” Corbin asked when he’d recovered from his ‘fatal wounding’, earning some shy snickers from the younger students.

“One was named.” Liliana jerked her chin in the direction of Donelle as Corbin approached, poking the head with a foot and jumping back when one of the snakes on her head snapped at him.

“You sure they’re dead?” Corbin asked, scampering behind Liliana for safety.

“They’re dead, but a snake can still bite even when dead.” Liliana shrugged, reaching out to take Serenity from Corbin’s hands and cradling the Pseudo Dragon to her chest.

“You got hurt again,” Serenity grumbled sleepily at Liliana.

“I had to fight,” Liliana responded affectionately, rubbing a gentle finger down Serenity’s head. A pulse of warmth filled her and any wounds still left were healed in a flash.

“You do need me. Separated for no longer than a half hour and already you have become so injured. How did you survive before?” Serenity asked, opening one eye to give Liliana a glare before she curled tighter in Liliana’s hands, seemingly falling back asleep.

“Named?” Tucker asked, sounding horrified, and Liliana snorted.

“A Rank 3, too. Newly Rank 3 but a Rank 3 all the same. You would’ve all died in seconds had you faced her.” Liliana’s eyes snapped up to meet the boy’s, and he blanched, stumbling back.

“Now you’re getting it. Go back to the Academy, tell your professor about this. Get some rest, and next time pay more attention. You won’t always have someone there to save you.” Liliana ordered, and Theodore nodded, dazed, as some of his team came to him, huddling close as they turned to leave.

“A Rank 3 on a second year assignment? Lili, that’s not just a mistake,” Corbin whispered as he sat next to her.

When the younger students were out of sight, Liliana released her active skills and spells, feeling the energy drain from her and sending her swaying. That part never got easier, the sudden feeling of weakness.

“I know, but what can we do about it? The Academy won’t stop setting assignments,” Liliana sighed, leaning over to rest her head on Corbin’s shoulder.

“Do you think it has anything to do with that warning you got?” Corbin asked, voice a hushed whisper barely louder than a breath.

“I hope not, Corbin. I really hope not.”

Lelantos' Tables:

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

8

Level:

247

Species:

Ephemeral Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

4

Health:

34,420

H-Regen:

+344.2/1.1sec

Energy:

32,540

E-Regen:

+332.8/1.1sec

Energy Power:

33,564

Energy Control:

35,287

Experience: 3,435,887/6,150,400

Vitality:

3,442

Endurance:

2,971

Strength:

2,081

Dexterity:

215

Wisdom:

283

Intelligence:

357

Speed:

215

Charisma:

65

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

89%

Illusion

72%

Earth

28%

Crystal

15%

Quintessential Skills

[Fortress] Lvl 199

[Guardian Aura] Lvl 67

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 261

[Tracking] Lvl 235

[Guardian] Lvl 231

[Stealth] Lvl 233

[Predator] Lvl 227

[Consume] lvl 220

[Augmentation] Lvl 213

[Bestial Roar] lvl 212

[Enrage] Lvl 209

[Dodge] Lvl 201

Abilities

[Juggernaut] Lvl 259

[Evanesce] Lvl 256

[Reinforcement] Lvl 255

[Radiant Armor] Lvl 243

[Radiant Aegis] Lvl 240

[Bulwark] Lvl 237

[Reinforced Claws] lvl 222

[Disruption] Lvl 211

[Morningstar] Lvl 204

[Crystallization] Lvl 145

Chapter 194: Homecoming

“Home sweet home,” Corbin called out as the Academy came into view. It was late evening, and they had been flying for most of the day to reach the Academy before night fall.

“Would’ve been here days sooner if we didn’t have to hunt down your bonds,” Liliana griped as she circled above and dropped down on Lysander’s back with a groan. The Pegasus whinnied but kept flying, well used to Liliana dropping on him to take breaks during flight.

“Like yours were any better,” Corbin shot back at her with not a moment of hesitation.

Liliana winced at the memory of them spending days tracking down both their wayward bonds. And chasing Lelantos for miles when he refused to relinquish his ‘trophy’. A rotting head of some beast too far dead for even Liliana to devise its original form. It had a lot of teeth, too many teeth. Wrestling a decomposing corpse from the maws of tiger that looked like it could snack on a Clydesdale and have room left for more was no one’s idea of a good time.

What was worse, if it was possible, is it seemed Liliana was the very last to learn of this new trend. Polaris and Nemesis had seemingly reached an unspoken agreement with Lelantos and had been found with their own trophies proudly displayed in their mouths. Liliana turning to Lelantos to lecture him for his bad influences had done nothing to abate his overbearingly smug aura.

Corbin, the lucky feathered bastard, had been spared his bonds learning of this fun new game, which seemed crafted solely to torment Liliana. She would’ve reveled in watching the bard trying to remove something from his Siren or Griffin’s grasp.

“Mine were worse, and you know it. Yours were simply better at hiding from us,” Liliana hissed back, tapping against her summoning stones with annoyance, her pointed nails clicking against them. All of her bonds were safely ensconced, including Serenity. Without their gruesome chew toys.

“So they are.” Corbin shrugged, unbothered by the fact that his bonds could easily hide themselves from him if they so wished.

Liliana had long since learned that few tamers had such a strong bond to their creatures as she did. Her bonds could run, but they could never hide from her. The nature of their bond, the strength of it, would never permit it.

Liliana did not mind it, this way in which she differed from others. It was one among many, and Liliana had come to a weary peace with her own otherness. She would not change her bonds for anything, the comfort their ties to her gave her. The knowledge she was never alone, never again.

“Are you ready to return to classes and droll academia instead of daring death defying feats?” Corbin asked, with a rather impressive amount of alliteration.

Liliana sighed and leaned her body heavily against his back. Corbin grunted at her sudden weight but did not protest. His thinly veiled jibe at her running herself through with a sword to tame Serenity was clear, and Liliana let it flow past her, choosing to be obtuse. Corbin could keep his ridiculous fear of Emyr to himself. Liliana was done indulging it.

“I’m ready for a break but I fear we won’t get much of one,” Liliana muttered, closing her eyes and turning her head to hide her face in Corbin’s back, feeling his crow wing dark hair tickling her skin, feathers smooth as silk intertwined thoroughly with the strands.

Corbin smelled of a fall breeze, the well-oiled leather of his jerkin and something reminiscent of the end of fall, the beginning of winter. Pine, Liliana thought drowsily. He also smelled of sweat, and tasted of road dust and exhaustion, born of being in the wild for over a week. Liliana wouldn’t be surprised if she smelled much the same, if not worse. The cool late fall wind that blazed past them was swiftly cooling the sweat she’d worked up flying, sticking her clothes to her.

“Another clandestine meeting in your future?” Corbin asked with deceptive nonchalance. Liliana snorted and shook her head, not opening her eyes. Worst kept secret of their group, that one was.

“Undoubtedly, once I get reports from everyone.” Liliana sighed softly. Corbin reached a hand around, to where her own had lazily wrapped around him and rested above his hip, to grip the scarred hand in his own and give it a small squeeze.

Liliana felt, more than heard, the thought that seemed to scream from his mind. As [Telepathy] and [Empathy] had gained strength, they seemed less and less inclined to wait for her to activate them, working on their own, picking up particularly strong thoughts or emotions as easily as Liliana might pluck a flower from the ground.

Why must it always be you, Lili?

Why must it be? Liliana wondered that often, but she knew the answers. She was god-touched, in the worst way. Vita’s damning signature coated her so thoroughly anyone even slightly tuned to the divine could sense it. To beasts of Rank 1 or beyond, it was like she was a walking beacon. ‘This girl has a destiny. Marked by the gods, entangled within Fate. Change follows where she treads.’ Or that’s how it had been so poetically explained to her.

There was no escaping it. There had only been a blessed three and a half years where she could drown herself in delusions. Three and a half years where she could pretend that there wasn’t a war on the horizon she’d be on the front lines of. Where she could exist under the illusion that the fate of an entire world did not rest squarely on her shoulders.

Three and half years where she could prepare herself for the storm that was coming.

Liliana opened her eyes, looking at the back of Corbin’s head, and wondered not for the first time: Would he remain? When the binds of the Academy no longer held him back? Would he remain when blood was spilled and nightmares came to life?

Sometimes, Liliana wished she could bond humans to her as easily as she bound beasts, so she would not have to harbor this worry deep inside of her that eventually they would leave her to stand alone. It was tempting. If she focused just a little, she could so easily see Corbin’s soul, effusing his body and leaking about him. She could reach out, with the lightest touch, and tangle their souls together.

But free will was something Liliana held in the highest regard, so she resisted, as she always did. She’d let him make his own choices and let herself trust in the friendship they’d developed over the years.

She did the hardest thing she could imagine, and she’d believe.

Believe in this strange, mystery wrapped enigma of a man and the love she had felt him slowly nurture over the years. Different from the love she felt for Emyr or Alistair, or they felt for each other, but somehow similar to the love she and Marianne felt for one another. The same, but different. Unique, as she was finding love always was. As multi-faceted as the humans who harbored it were.

It was strange, this constant dichotomy she lived in. Where she fervently wished that none she cared for or loved would place themselves in harm’s way for her sake, while desperately wishing they would, so she need not face her battles alone.

“Because there’s no one else,” Liliana murmured softly, closing her eyes again as Corbin sighed, shoulders drooping under her head.

“Mind reading is rude, you know that Lili,” Corbin chastised with a gentle pinch on the skin of her hand. Liliana hissed lightly at the reproach.

“Don’t shout then,” Liliana grumbled petulantly but did not pull her hand away. It’s not like she ever heard anything important, just words thought so loudly there was hardly a difference between thought and talk.

“Could not Marianne take over? She is the queen to be,” Corbin redirected their conversation, and Liliana snorted. Beasts cared not for who held an ornamental crown, they respected very little other than power.

And even if Liliana was not powerful enough to stand toe to toe with a Rank 1 beast, yet she held the undeniable potential, no, not potential, because that implied the possibility it would not happen. She held the certainty within her that she would, one day, perhaps sooner than even she had thought, be on their level.

Beasts, Rank 1’s especially could see it, though she suspected as a result of Serenity’s fairly quick turnaround that others of lower ranks could sense a bit of it. So, though Marianne would be respected by any of the mortal races, she was little more than a girl playing dress up in the eyes of beasts.

“It has to be me,” Liliana answered, bereft of any explanation for the why. Corbin was far more clever than was sensible, and Liliana did not need her Psyche skills to know his mind was returning to the words spoken by a goddess, heavy with the weight of prophecy.

‘Be careful, little dancer. It is beginning. If you do not act, then all you love shall be consumed. Remember your quest, for your time for idleness runs short.’

Liliana wanted a fucking refund on this nonsense. What kind of chosen one didn’t even get a proper prophecy? Where were the lyrical verses, riddles with three different meanings and a hidden one tucked between the lines?

Liliana ignored the fact that if she would step into a proper temple devoted to Vita, she could probably get her gods damned, thrice cursed prophecy. Likely, along with a crushing sense of parental disappointment she was sure Vita felt for her. But Liliana had avoided anything Vita related for years, and she wasn’t trying to willingly break her streak now. Running into a Paladin on accident did not count.

Corbin gripped her hand tightly, his emotions leaking through the physical contact, as if he was shoving them at her. Concern, annoyance, fond amusement, and protectiveness. A fairly typical mix for anyone who spent time with Liliana. Her penchant for nearly dying seemed to seed such emotions in those around her. The fact that trouble unerringly sniffed her out no matter what she did only made it all worse.

Liliana pulled away from the touch, opening her eyes and yawning, jaw cracking from it as she stretched out her arms. Corbin hissed lowly, sensing he’d made a misstep in the delicate balancing act they participated in, dancing around each other, playfully flirting but never daring to take a step into territory Liliana was not comfortable with.

Perhaps, if Corbin had admitted to his feelings earlier, perhaps if Liliana was not forever terrified of romantic relationships, it could be something else. Perhaps if the weight of the words spoken by a goddess had not reminded Liliana so cruelly that her time for such foolish dalliances had come and passed.

It had taken Basil over a year to carefully cajole Liliana into trying something, and that had inevitably ended when Liliana could not let herself open herself up emotionally in the ways Basil had needed. Liliana thought, perhaps, ones made for destiny were not ones meant for love. It was no wonder to her that the heroes who were immortalized in the stars had stories that were so often tragedies. Love was for those who were not meant to fight in a battle they were fated to die in.

Fated to fight, not to love. Liliana thought sardonically as she looked at the Academy grounds that were swiftly approaching. [Eagle Eye] activated and sharpened her eyes like those of a bird of prey as she focused on the once ant like shapes of students, now brought to clarity for her. Liliana scanned them with a speed only one who had over three thousand points in Speed could manage as she searched.

Liliana grinned when she miraculously found the one she was looking for. By some unknown blessing, he was outside. Liliana gaged the distance, waiting until Lysander was positioned above her target. Between one wing beat and the next, Liliana slipped off the Pegasus’ back, free falling through the air as [Wings of Radiance] burst from her back in a dazzling show of light.

Before she was completely out of range, she heard Lysander speak to Corbin.

“She jumped,”

“She what?!” Corbin squawked back, his voice barely reaching her over the screaming rush of the wind. Likely panicking at the thought of Liliana falling hundreds of feet so close to Emyr, who would hold any damage to her against the beastman. Nevermind that Liliana could fly.

Liliana laughed as she fell, wings fluttering behind her before they caught the air, swelling and pushing, turning her fall into a controlled flight as she locked onto her brother. When he was in range, Liliana used [Attract], feeling the Gravity skill change her point of gravity to her brother, and increasing the pull so she flew faster than before.

“Alistair!” Liliana shouted as swords appeared in a spinning circle around her, her aura unfurling and making younger years scatter in fear from the oppressive feeling.

Older years, those who had their own auras, scowled in her direction and flared their auras to push her’s off. Liliana did not care for their annoyance, eyes only for her brother, who turned on his heel. His great hulking sword and shield, that seemed almost dainty when held up to his fearsome size, appeared in response to her call.

Alistair got his shield up in time to catch Liliana’s feet as she plowed into him. The force of it was enough to kill any beast Rank 6 or lower in one hit, but Alistair only flexed biceps larger than Liliana’s head and grit his teeth, shoving her back with all his considerable strength. Liliana let the momentum take her, activating [Repel] on Alistair and deactivating [Attract]. Liliana flew away, flipping once more as if shot from a cannon, her swords flashing past her to strike at her brother.

“I’ll catch you unawares one of these days, brother,” Liliana hissed as Alistair kept her swords at bay, turning with a grace and speed that belied his large size.

“Perhaps if you did not announce your presence so loudly, you would, sister,” Alistair grunted back at her as his body shone, dark metal coating him, light suffusing him as if he held a sun deep beneath his skin.

“I was just so excited to see you,” Liliana taunted as she flew, darting in to strike at him with palms and feet. Beset from nine different sides, Alistair was forced to take some hits on his metallic skin, the chiming sound of it ringing across the grass, which had steadily emptied of other students with the sudden fight.

“Could you two cease before a professor decides to hand out detentions and demerits for an unsanctioned duel?” Emyr snarked from his position, lounging on the grass, a book held in his hands. He looked more annoyed at the distracting noise and closeness of some of Liliana’s blades, than the potential punishments.

“Duel?” Liliana and Alistair asked, tones equally baffled as they glanced at one another, never pausing their battle as they looked at Emyr.

Alistair raised his sword to parry a strike and tilted his sword to deflect another. Liliana lashed out a foot and managed a painful sounding kick against his knee that likely did more damage to the delicate bones in her foot than his leg.

“We were just saying hello,” Liliana said, but she dismissed her swords, Alistair vanishing his own weapons in the same moment.

“Attempted murder is a greeting?” Emyr asked with painful slowness, as if he were speaking to particularly uneducated children.

“It’s not attempted murder.” Alistair shook his head as Liliana scrunched her nose.

“It’s simply keeping him on his toes. Attempted murder is what happened the last time he tried to keep me from cookies,” Liliana clarified as she finally let her feet alight upon the ground, her wings fading from view.

“I didn’t get that sauce out of my uniform, had to burn it,” Emyr muttered, eyes faraway, haunted, as he membered The Great Food War of third year.

The entire class S cafeteria had been turned into a war zone, alliances were made quickly, and just as swiftly broken, casualties were many. The staff still hadn’t fully forgiven them. Liliana’s food was always lukewarm to this day.

Liliana had never seen Vereign so close to quitting before, and that was saying something as he often proclaimed they were by and far his most troublesome class in his entire tenure as a professor. Rauk had quietly complimented her on her quick battle thinking and rapid assembling of a small army.

“Lils,” Alistair turned to his sister with a small wince at Emyr’s traumatized expression. He should be. Alistair had been the one to betray Emyr in that war and was the cause of the sauce on his uniform.

“Ali,” Liliana replied, and then she flung herself at her brother.

She let him wrap her in a bone pulverizing hug that had her entire spine creaking and cracking like dry twigs as he swung her around, her feet far off the ground. No matter than Liliana had shot up in the past years, her brother always managed to surpass her in height and weight, standing more than a head above her and likely three times her width.

Liliana clutched tightly to her brother. She loved his hugs, the way she felt entirely enclosed in his arms, protected in a way she never thought she’d get to feel. Hidden from the world, and all the pain it wanted to inflict on her.

His scent was overpowering, sun warmed metal, honey and whatever oil he used on his armor and weapons, the smell of home. After several long moments, he released her and held her by the shoulders, examining her closely. Liliana rolled her eyes and whacked his arm, hiding her wince of pain. Even without his metal coating, Alistair was far too solid.

“I’m fine, you overprotective mother hen,” Liliana folded her arms with a huff as Alistair kept checking her over.

“If you’re not, I’ll pluck every feather out of the glorified song bird’s head and roast him like the over grown pigeon he is,” Emyr said idly, standing languidly and moving to steal Liliana from her brother’s grip for his own hug.

Liliana wrapped her arms around his lanky body, all sharp edgers covered in whipcord muscles, a deadly blade hidden under dark clothes. He smelled like fire and sulfur, and something dark and sweet. Liliana had missed her brother in all but blood as much as she had missed the one who shared her name, if not more. Emyr was the brother of her heart, of her soul, and any time they spent apart, it was as if Liliana had cut off a limb.

“Stop scaring him so,” Liliana chastised as they pulled apart, Emyr giving her a smile equal parts warm and threatening.

“He doesn’t need to be afraid unless he did something wrong,” Emyr informed her, and Liliana sighed, giving up. The two of them hadn’t even been this bad with Basil, and he’d confessed to having recurring nightmares about them.

“Enough, I need to shower and we need to have a meeting,” Liliana directed their attention towards important matters, instead of harassing her friend and partner. Immediately, Emyr and Alistair’s faces turned somber. Liliana felt her heart drop to her stomach.

“We have news.”

Nemesis' Tables:

Status Sheet

Name:

Nemesis

Age:

6

Level:

257

Species:

Calla Serpent

Genus:

Flowered Serpent

Rank:

4

Health:

3,000

H-Regen:

+30/1.1sec

Mana:

27,000

M-Regen:

+317.5/1.1sec

Stamina:

2,400

S-Regen:

+24/1.1sec

Magic Power:

29,641

Magic Control:

32,379

Experience: 3,123,008 /6,656,400

Vitality:

300

Endurance:

240

Strength:

135

Dexterity:

1,603

Wisdom:

2,700

Intelligence:

3,175

Speed:

2,361

Charisma:

90

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Earth

86%

Poison

81%

Dark

70%

Shadow

54%

Quintessential Skills

[Vengeance] Lvl 215

[Venomous Aura] Lvl 86

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 265

[Consume] lvl 265

[Venom] Lvl 265

[Tracking] Lvl 263

[Stealth] Lvl 261

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 258

[Antidote] Lvl 245

[Garden Song] lvl 230

[Dodge] Lvl 222

[Enrage] Lvl 201

Spells

[Minimize] Lvl 265

[Earth Manipulation] Lvl 260

[Poison Manipulation] Lvl 255

[Deadly Stalagmite] Lvl 240

[Toxin Barrage] Lvl 239

[Earth Rend] Lvl 233

[Toxic Shadow Torrent] lvl 228

[Venom Cloud] Lvl 219

[Pernicious Onyx Scales] Lvl 216

[Poison Breath] Lvl 211

Chapter 195: A Reunion And An Unwanted Confession

Corbin slipped into the room with little fanfare, sticking closely to the edges, hugging the wall as he tried to avoid the sharp gazes of Alistair and Emyr, who were sprawled across Liliana’s floor. It did little good and Liliana watched with amusement as Emyr pinned Corbin in place with one steel colored glare from where he sat lounging between Alistair’s legs, back resting against Alistair’s chest as if her brother was little more than human shaped furniture.

Liliana dipped her fingers into Marianne’s white curls, tugging and twisting the strands gently as the princess laid across her bed, content to cuddle into Liliana’s lap, one arm strewn across her legs and tapping the rhythm to a song Liliana couldn’t quite remember on her knee. From here, Liliana could smell her delicate, floral scent tinged with something copper and sharp, like a blood stained violet.

“The others?” Liliana asked, distracting Emyr from his task of threatening Corbin with nothing more than his expression.

Corbin sighed gustily in relief, slinking to Liliana's side and without request or permission, falling onto her bed and leaning heavily into her side. Liliana noticed it meant her body was between Corbin and her brother and his lover.

“Coward,” Liliana hissed softly, tilting her head slightly to nip at Corbin’s shoulder with sharp, fanged teeth. Corbin whined softly at the rebuke but did not move, stealing a lock of Liliana’s hair to begin braiding it.

“He’s terrifying,” Corbin murmured softly.

“And I’m not?” Liliana asked equally softly. Marianne snorted in her lap and freed one hand to pinch at Corbin’s thigh, within her reach now.

“I’m being assaulted,” Corbin grumbled petulantly but settled more firmly in his place, his foot tapping in time to Marianne’s rhythm.

“They’re coming, I called them,” Alistair told her, breaking through the whispered conversation with a pointed glare at Corbin, who was very clearly avoiding his gaze.

“They have news as well?” Liliana asked warily, fingers stilling in Marianne’s hair.

“Yes,” Emyr responded instead, and Liliana closed her eyes, leaning her head back as weariness washed through her.

News for them was never good, not anymore. Not since students began being sent on assignments with incorrect information. Others had noticed it, mutters and rumors running rampant, but it seemed their group alone was trying to track and understand these instances. It was enough, at least, that class S would at least listen to her and stick to taking assignments that sent them in range of younger years who may call for help.

Perhaps no others are fully aware of the gravity of the situation because no other students have been forced to take on the responsibility, Liliana thought bitterly as her hands resume fiddling with Marianne’s hair, eliciting a happy hum from the princess.

The door to her room opened again and Liliana mused with amusement that Vereign had likely given up any hope of restricting who came and went from Liliana’s rooms. Likely even Vereign was well aware of the lack of romantic dalliances Liliana had indulged in, and had decided there was nothing worth stopping when it came to others entering her rooms. Or orders had come from higher up to permit the meetings that occurred in her rooms, for all she knew.

“Talan,” Liliana greeted the dæmon prince warmly as he closed the door behind him, looking around the room and deciding to take the only chair available, the one in front of Liliana’s desk. He straddled the back, his long limbs and tall stature that dwarfed even Alistair, even not accounting for his horns, draping across it in a show of effortless grace.

“Lili,” Koth’talan nodded at her, a small smile on his lips as the tension he always carried on his shoulders in public melted away like snow before spring’s warm breath.

What a transformation she’d witnessed in the bastard prince since their first year, seeing him blossom, surrounded by friends he gradually realized he could depend on and trust. He was still cold and unapproachable to any not within their tight-knit circle, but behind closed doors he would allow himself to smile, to laugh, in ways Liliana knew he never thought he could before.

Liliana knew him so well because, at times, it felt like she was peering into a mirror whenever she looked at Koth’talan. And she had to wonder if he felt the same.

“Who else is coming today? The usual?” Liliana asked.

“Basil and Anya are left,” Emyr informed her, and Liliana nodded, looking at Koth’talan with a raised brow.

“Jasper wanted to rest,” Koth’talan answered the unspoken question.

They had gone out together, partnered, for their latest assignment. They must have returned recently, within the last day. The worst assignments usually saw Jasper locking himself in his room for a day at the least.

Violence was not something he handled well, but he did not handle social interaction well either, so it could be either. Liliana fervently hoped the worst that happened on their assignment was that Jasper had to interact with strangers.

“Diana?” Liliana asked next, the last person they would consider letting into these mildly secret meetings disguised as study sessions to the rest of their class. Liliana doubted the rest of their class was fooled, but that was fine.

“She went with Basil, so he’s reporting for her.” Alistair responded, and Liliana hummed in acknowledgement.

Diana handled violence worse than Jasper did, and it had escaped none of their notice that she never accepted assignments where there might be cause to kill another human. Beast subjugation or aiding others were the only ones she’d ever accept. Liliana had to wonder what about her latest assignment was so bad she could not make her report with the rest of them.

Diana was dear to her, but Liliana cannot help but think the girl weak, for all she was blessed with so many natural affinities. This world had no mercy for those unwilling to spill blood, not for those with power.

Perhaps, if Diana was a normal commoner girl, destined to do little more than take over her family’s business, she could exist in a fairly safe bubble of naivety. But she was not. She had power, and that meant she would have to learn how to steel herself to the dark, rotting side of their world that demanded kill or be killed. How she’d managed to escape learning such a lesson after nearly four years in the Academy was a mystery to Liliana.

Something in her, though, almost wished Diana would hold on to that innocence for a little longer. If only to give Liliana hope that such a pure being could survive in their world. That everything need not be tainted so thoroughly by the darkness that seems to infect every inch of this world. Absently, Liliana rubbed a finger against the summoning stone that held a slumbering Serenity.

Basil and Anya entered next, together. Anya, keeping a tight hold to her bubbly personality despite the years, bounced to the group on the bed and jumped onto them, sprawling across limbs and bodies without a care, her tail wagging ferociously.

Basil glanced at Liliana, eyes catching hers for a moment before sliding away, and he took a seat on the floor against the wall close to Alistair and Emyr. Liliana ignored the soft pang in her chest at the silent dismissal and looked down at Anya.

“Beast,” Liliana teased lightly as Anya wriggled around, lying diagonally across Corbin and Liliana’s legs, head resting on Marianne’s back.

Anya growled playfully at Liliana, snapping at the hand that bopped her head with gentle rebuke as Marianne grumbled about the wolf girl’s weight. Corbin was watching the wagging tail with focused interest, hand twitching as he resisted the urge to grab it. To be fair to him, Anya’s tail was quite soft to the touch.

For a moment no one spoke, everyone just enjoying the company and Liliana released the hold she had on her more magical senses. She always seemed to hold them back from activating, rather than waiting to activate them. With her hold released, they flared, [Empathy] and [Soul Sense] breaking out as the room was washed in colors and sensations.

Love floated lazily through the room, the many different flavors of it twisted together into a beautiful, sensual rainbow that coated all of them. There was fear, and exhaustion too, hanging around all their limbs, anxiousness a sharp spiky thing radiating out of bodies. Over it all were the hazy, almost ephemeral bonds that stretched between them.

The greatest surprise of gaining [Soul Sense], that was truly no surprise at all to Liliana when she had considered it, was seeing that even without actually creating magical soul bindings, they were all bonded together. The strongest bonds were between her, Alistair, Emyr, and Marianne. The original four. The intricate web of bonds was thick, as complicated as a spider web, but stronger than steel. The bonds between the rest of them were not as reinforced, but they had been growing over time.

They were all connected, in different ways, for different reasons, but they were bound. As time went on, the bonds between them, between their hearts and souls, only grew, and Liliana had a sense, almost like a portent, that soon they would become irreversible. Unbreakable. She already knew the bonds between her, Alistair, Emyr, and Marianne had reached that point, and the others were fast approaching that point as well.

With a soft, tentative mental tug almost reminiscent of [Astral Projection] but subtly different, Liliana tugged lightly on the different bonds, sending them vibrating in a resonance that was just on the very edge of her perception. It sounded like a song, a forgotten one. Old, deep, beyond perhaps even the System itself. Around the room she knew the others felt something when she did, in the way bodies went languid and the anxiety, fear and exhaustion softened, not dissipating but weakening ever so slightly.

It was a small thing Liliana could offer her friends. A comfort she gave whenever they had these meetings. Something to take the edge off of the solemn nature of what they discussed. A reminder of why they were all here. No matter what history they shared, this room contained people who loved each other. Who would fight and die for each other.

Alliances and bonds built in our adolescence that will follow us for the rest of our lives. Fates decided inside the walls of a school. Destinies written between exams. Liliana thought with a weariness that made her feel twice her age. Had this been what it was like for their parents? Choices that would decide the course of their country, made between children in their time in the Academy? Liliana could hardly imagine her cold-hearted father as a child, let alone one who made something as emotional as friendships.

“So, who wants to go first?” Marianne spoke up when the moment of singing bonds passed. Emyr and Alistair shared a look filled with hundreds of words.

“We had a set of third years who were sent to take out a small time gang. Ended up being a major crime syndicate specializing in human trafficking. Most of the criminals were above their levels,” Alistair offered, face dark, and Liliana knew not to ask how much more blood was on his hands now. If any of those criminals survived, it won’t be for lack of trying on her brother and Emyr’s parts. She hoped they died screaming.

“Set of third years sent to subdue a pack of Blood Wolves. It was a pack of over thirty Werewolves,” Koth’talan spat out with a grimace.

Liliana winced in sympathy. Werewolves in this world shared some similarities to the ones from her world, except they did not have human forms. They were bipedal, massive lupine creatures with venomous bites that gave victims something akin to rabies from her world. They were also not beholden to the phases of the moon, though they were strongest on full moons.

Worst of all, they were only weak to silver weapons and fire spells. Jasper would’ve been miserable the entire time, and Koth’talan had likely needed to buy a new sword just for the task. A Werewolf assignment would likely have never been assigned to even their class, not without a full team on it.

It was impressive Koth’talan and Jasper managed to handle it alone, and it spoke to exactly how strong they were. Then again, in this room sat perhaps the strongest students the Academy had ever produced.

“Group of second years, mostly healers, sent to handle a Delirium plague. It was actually from a Corrupter clan residing in the underground rivers that fed the town well.” Marianne shuddered.

Liliana rubbed soothing circles on her scalp, mind sliding away to her internal encyclopedia of beasts that tried to bring up information on Corrupters. Eldritch beings that could cause mental madness simply from looking upon them. They were nightmares to deal with, and fed off the madness they caused. It was well within their power to poison water and feed off the insanity it caused in a village. In fact, they would delight in it.

“Third years, sent to handle a rogue Leshy attacking a village. It was a pack of Yowies,” Basil spoke next, drawing a knee up to his chest and hugging it to him.

Liliana closed her eyes and let out a harsh, hissing breath. That explained why Diana wasn’t here. Yowies were terrifying creatures, and naturally magic resistant. It was no minor miracle Basil and Diana had managed to handle them.

“Third years, sent to fight a single roving band of trolls. It was an entire war band. How they managed to amass so many without anyone noticing is still beyond us. Then a set of second years sent to handle a coven of Lamias. It was Gorgons, one a named Rank 3,” Liliana finished them off, raising a hand to rub at her eyes.

She heard hisses and curses from the others at her report. She and Corbin seemed to be the only ones to run into two incidents, but it did not comfort her. This was the first time all of them had had to intervene at the same time. It was ramping up, and that was concerning, to say the least. She could hear Emyr scribbling down notes, recording the data, and undoubtedly making copies for her later.

“Any losses?” Liliana asked, not opening her eyes. Her shoulder relaxed when negatives came from everyone.

“Tell them,” Corbin hissed in her ear, his warm breath contrasting with the icy chill that shot through her blood at the words.

“No,” Liliana hissed back.

“There’s more,” Corbin spoke up, ignoring Liliana’s words. Her eyes shot open to pierce Corbin with a deadly glare. He met her eyes unflinchingly, resolute.

“Lili?” Alistair’s voice, soft and concerned, floated to her, and Liliana growled. She refused to look around, keeping her gaze on Corbin, refusing to explain. Corbin frowned at her, and something settled in his eyes.

“There was an… Incident with a paladin,” Corbin began, and Liliana freed her hand from Marianne’s hair to grip onto Corbin’s wrist tightly, trying to make him stop. He winced in pain but kept going. Stubborn bird.

“She had a message from Vita,” Corbin spoke slowly, his eyes telling Liliana either she could continue or he would, but it would be said.

Liliana felt an intense dislike fill her, and she closed her eyes, activating [Telepathy] and reaching out to everyone in the room, replaying the memory for them rather than sit through Corbin explaining the interaction. When it finished, she cut off the skill and sat in the heavy silence that descended. Then everyone seemed to speak all at once.

“Holy fuck,”

“Did she really curse out a goddess?”

“It’s Lili, of course she did,”

“I want to fight a goddess too!”

“That wasn’t exactly a fight, more a verbal smack down,”

“What the hell was that warning about?”

“Was it a prophecy?”

“Lili?” Emyr’s voice, taut and harsh, rose above the voices of the rest and Liliana could sense them all looking at her.

Liliana felt fear fill her, a panic that begged her to flee. This was getting far too close to secrets she’d guarded for years, secrets she was never prepared to have come to light. Secrets she meant to take to her grave. Liliana’s mind worked quickly, thinking of how to reveal just enough of the truth to satisfy without telling them all things they never needed to know.

“When I… almost died, when I was fourteen,” Liliana began slowly, opening her eyes and finding Alistair’s gold ones, seeing sad understanding fill them. When his mother had poisoned her. The first time Imogen had truly tried to kill her.

“I had an encounter with Vita,” Liliana got out through gritted teeth, feeling every eye in the room locked on her, gasps and hisses filling the room. While the gods had more of a direct impact in this world, it was not often they interacted with those not in their service.

“She,” Liliana grimaced, “saved my life. I suppose she has a plan of some kind for me,” not untrue, though I’m omitting that I know what that plan is. “It seems the time for whatever grand plan she has for me draws near.” Liliana finished. Disbelief, shock, amazement were all thick in the air and Liliana let it sink in.

“Well. That’s not ominous at all,” Anya broke the tension with a snort, and Liliana had to wonder if beastmen carried the same derision for gods that high ranked beasts seemed to. As if they acknowledged the gods as powerful beings, but held no respect for them.

“It doesn’t matter right now. The main concern is the fact that younger students keep being sent on suicide missions,” Liliana said firmly, with a warning glance around the room.

She would not continue discussing her interaction with Vita. Emyr gave her a warning look, and she knew she’d be talking to him later. Emyr, who kept every secret she’d ever given him, who had stood by her, who had risked his life for her so many times… He perhaps deserved more than most to know as much as Liliana was able to tell of her complicated relationship with a goddess. She could handle telling him, but not the others.

“With this additional data, I might be able to track some kind of pattern,” Emyr muttered as his eyes left her, looking down at his well-used notebook and Liliana relaxed once more when the room tentatively started to discuss possible patterns.

If they could find a pattern, they would be one step toward discovering what, or who, was behind this. At the very least, they might be able to predict incidents and stop them until they could find the culprit.

Liliana's Tables:

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

19

Level

236

Class

Blade Singer

Race

Human

Rank

4

Health

3,200

H-Regen

+32/1.1sec

Mana

18,050

M-Regen

+274.6/1.1sec

Stamina

22,160

S-Regen

+221.6/1.1sec

Magic Power

22,587

Magic Control

21,633

Experience: 3,748,028/5,616,900

Vitality

320

Endurance

2,216

Strength

1,318

Dexterity

2,746

Wisdom

1,805

Intelligence

1,799

Speed

3,720

Charisma

3,228

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

97%

Soul

96%

Life

88%

Wind

79%

Telekinesis

63%

Illusion

56%

Psyche

54%

Spatial

51%

Astral

48%

Dark

34%

Gravity

20%

Chaos

15%

Quintessential Skills

[Aspect Of The Beast] Lvl 182

[Radiant Revelry] Lvl 150

[Heart Of The Wilde] Lvl 89

[Aura Of The Predator] Lvl 33

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 250

[Dodge] Lvl 249

[Leap] Lvl 244

[Regeneration] Lvl 236

[Stealth] Lvl 234

[Radiant Rhythm] Lvl 230

[Dance of The Zephyr] Lvl 227

[War Maiden’s Waltz] Lvl 222

[Battle Clarity] Lvl 218

[Pierce] Lvl 215

[Mana Manipulation] Lvl 212

[Dance Of The Tiger] Lvl 210

[Dance Of The Fox] Lvl 210

[Dance of The Serpent] Lvl 210

[Persistent Casting] Lvl 209

[Wings Of Radiance] Lvl 205

[Dance Of The Ephemeral] Lvl 204

[Borrow] Lvl 203

[Wind Manipulation] Lvl 201

[Bestial Instincts] Lvl 200

[Temperance] Lvl 189

[Pathokinesis] Lvl 186

[Mental Fortification] Lvl 185

[Telepathy] Lvl 184

[Soul Sight] Lvl 166

[Light Manipulation] Lvl 150

[Position Swap] Lvl 149

[Side Step] Lvl 147

[Blink] Lvl 142

[Attraction] Lvl 138

[Repel] Lvl 133

[Enrage] Lvl 126

[Eagle Eye] Lvl 113

[Last Stand] Lvl 54

General Skills

[Polearms Mastery] Lvl 255

[Dancing] Lvl 254

[Deception] Lvl 250

[Dagger Mastery] Lvl 246

[Perception] Lvl 245

[Animal Husbandry] Lvl 240

[Pain Resistance] Lvl 239

[Alchemy] Lvl 237

[Skinning] Lvl 235

[Multi Wielding] Lvl 233

[Mounted Combat] Lvl 230

[Riding] Lvl 230

[Herbalisim] Lvl 225

[Acrobatics] Lvl 220

[Reading] Lvl 219

[Writing] Lvl 218

[Persuasion] Lvl 215

[Poison Resistance] Lvl 213

[Multitasking] Lvl 211

[Time Keeper] Lvl 210

[Mathematics] Lvl 206

[Night Vision] Lvl 202

[Wilderness Survival] Lvl 200

[Hand To Hand Combat] Lvl 195

[Mentiumancy] Lvl 193

[Recall] Lvl 190

[Fear Resistance] Lvl 184

[Resist Cold] Lvl 123

[Etiquette] Lvl 110

[Embroidery] Level 50

Spells

[Radiant Edge] Lvl 251

[Radiant Ignition] Lvl 250

[Dance of The Heaven’s Domain] Lvl 249

[Hail Of Bullets] Lvl 245

[Threads of Control] Lvl 243

[Soul Rend] Lvl 241

[Fox Fire] Lvl 237

[Boreas’ Blessing] Lvl 236

[Ballet of Bedlam] Lvl 231

[Invisibility] Lvl 230

[Galeforce] Lvl 228

[Healing Harmony] Lvl 226

[Barrier] Lvl 223

[Cleanse] Lvl 220

[Tempestuous Tango] Lvl 218

[Companion Heal] Lvl 215

[Empathy] Lvl 211

[Astral Projection] Lvl 205

[Wind Sword] Lvl 201

[Soul Shred] Lvl 200

[Glamour] Lvl 183

[Wildeheart Waltz] Lvl 172

[Light Domain] Lvl 166

[Shatter Wing] Lvl 164

[Blade Song] 76

[Blade Ballet] Lvl 65

[Bonding Contract] Lvl 55

Chapter 196: Oath Of Fealty

The weight of Emyr’s gaze upon her was heavy as their clandestine meeting drew to an end.

Basil was the first to rise, moving towards the door and bidding his farewells. His eyes landed on Liliana for a moment, and she gave him a soft, tentative smile. There was still a hurt there, hidden behind a nobleman's mask, but Basil nodded at her and Liliana felt a tightness in her chest releasing.

Koth’talan went next, standing with a lazy grace. He had always had a remarkable understanding and control of his body, but he’d grown into his long limbs and tall body over the years, less prone to attempting to slink into the shadows. Unafraid now of drawing attention to himself, a side effect, Liliana thought of being her friend.

A quiet life had never been something Liliana had imagined she’d have, and her time in the Academy, the seven won tournaments, ensured there was always a spotlight on her. And on those who were within her circle.

Liliana gently shook her legs, dislodging Anya, who by all appearances had started to nap in her position sprawled across multiple laps without a care.

“Time to go back to your own bed.” Liliana tugged gently at Anya’s ear, fingers gentle but insistent against silky smooth fur.

“Dun wanna,” Anya muttered, swatting a clumsy hand at Liliana. Liliana tugged more sharply on Anya’s ear and the wolf girl groaned but rolled her body off the legs she had flopped across, melting off the bed in a puddle of limbs and sleepy glares.

“Come on Anya, I’ll help you back,” Marianne offered, climbing off the bed with far more grace and extending a hand to Anya, who took it and groaned with great drama as she stood. Liliana felt her eyebrows raise as she watched the two girls, wondering if they’d get much further than Marianne’s bedroom.

“Feel up to making a bet about where those two are going?” Corbin’s voice was silky and warm against her ear, apparently following the same train of thought as Liliana.

“I don’t make losing bets, Newfeather,” Liliana responded, jostling her shoulder and silently urging him to follow the lead of the others in the room and make his departure.

“Come, gossiping about Marianne’s newest romantic acquisitions is one of the highlights of my days,” Corbin teased, evidently unwilling to listen to subtle hints to leave.

“Anya isn’t exactly new, her and Mari have an arrangement.” Liliana rolled her eyes. They all knew of it.

As Marianne had explained it when Liliana had asked, it wasn’t anything built on romantic love, but lust. They both found each other attractive and when neither of them were tied to anyone else, they often found comfort in each other’s beds. It was odd to Liliana, who found it hard enough to even enter into anything romantic let alone something as casual as a friends with benefits situation, but as long as her friends were happy with it, she had no issues with it.

“Newfeather, I believe you and I have things to discuss,” Alistair’s voice was full of honeyed threat as his hand landed heavily on Corbin’s shoulder. Liliana winced.

They had all long evolved to using first names, Alistair relegating Corbin back to his last name meant he was angry. Liliana wasn’t even sure how he knew to be angry. They had kept the specifics of how Liliana had convinced Serenity to bond with her a secret, but somehow her brother knew.

“I’m going to die,” Corbin whispered, horrified, face so pale Liliana worried all his blood had fled his body already.

“I’ll be sure to pick good flowers for your funeral arrangements,” Liliana responded, not entirely joking. Black Seeker Lilies would be appropriate, she thought. They had a subtle shine to them that in the right lights looked almost blue, much like the blue tone to Corbin’s hair and feathers.

“Traitor,” Corbin hissed vehemently, letting out a whimper as Alistair dragged him off the bed and out of the room. The door shut behind them, leaving Liliana alone with Emyr, whose eyes had yet to leave her.

There was a whistle in the air as something sharp and fast split it, a dull pain against her ear, the warm trickle of blood and slight itch as a cut was healed.

So he was upset. That was, in hindsight, to be expected. Emyr never did take well when Liliana’s secrets came back to threaten her life. He’d nearly died multiple times trying to keep her alive, after all.

Liliana moved her head slightly and turned it, seeing a dagger embedded deeply in the wood of her headboard, still shaking from the force it was thrown with. She slowly raised a hand and wiped the wet blood off her skin, looking down at the smear on her fingers before looking up at Emyr.

“I don’t believe my furniture deserves to bear the brunt of your ire,” Liliana said softly. Emyr’s eyes, steely and flashing with a blazing anger, and under that a bone deep fear, pinned her in place more thoroughly than his dagger would have had it met its mark in her body. But Emyr didn’t miss shots like that, and despite the dagger, she felt no fear for her friend. He was angry, but he’d never really hurt her.

“Secrets, Lili,” Emyr growled, voice a low rumbling thunder that precipitated a raging storm.

Emyr stood slowly, darkness coiling over his limbs, flickers of flame appearing and disappearing as his anger loosened the chains of his control over his chosen elements. The scent of sulfur was filling the room and Liliana kept herself still, like prey frozen before a great predator hunting it.

“I-“

“No,” Emyr’s voice rose, cutting her off before she could speak, a harsh thing, like the slashing of a blade. Emyr stalked forward until he stood over her, looming.

As if he could intimidate her into staying safe. A battle they both knew was a losing one.

“You’ve kept secrets for years. From everyone, for your own reasons. I’ve always respected that. But I’ve always been the one to hold your secrets, to guard them, to know what you keep to yourself so I can at least try to protect you from the reckless, desperate, idiotic plans you devise to deal with whatever new trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.” Emyr’s hand crashed against the handle of his dagger, caging Liliana effectively in place with his body.

Liliana shut her eyes for a moment. Remembering, feeling the truth of his words. The howls of wolves, fangs closing around her, the stench of death. A falling body, a leaping tiger. Venomous fangs inches from her skin, only to find their home in Emyr’s body as he shoved her to the side.

Emyr, choosing her. Even when the choice could mean he’d lose Alistair. Going against Imogen, knowing the woman was a killer. A murderer, willing to kill anyone in her way. Telling him the story of the pendant, and Emyr’s silence for years about the secret. A secret that could’ve ruined her.

And more recently, too. A raging mad Dandelion charging at her, her leg broken under her, wrapped in vines. A yell of rage, falling fire and darkness. Ashes thick on her skin as Emyr tackled her into a hug, laughing at the realization she’d survived.

“I’ve allowed you to hold on to the other secrets you’ve kept from even me for all these years. I’ve never pushed, never pried, because I thought one day you’d trust me with them. But I can’t keep waiting, not when the secrets you’re keeping are coming back now,” Emyr leaned forward, his other hand grabbing Liliana’s chin, grip firm but gentle, even in the midst of his anger as he forced her to meet his eyes.

Pools of liquid silver met her gaze, full of fury, and deeper than that, hurt and fear. So thick and overwhelming, it stole her breath. It was clear Emyr was less concerned with the secret itself, or that she’d kept it, as he was terrified that she was in danger once again. And upset, devastated, by the fact that even after all these years, she couldn’t trust him.

Liliana’s teeth sunk into her lip, the bitter copper taste of blood flooding her tongue as her own heart ached with the knowledge that she had hurt her closest friend. Because Emyr thought she didn’t trust him.

Do you? Do you trust him? A voice asked in her mind, sounding suspiciously like Polaris. Or do you fear, even now, that once he knows everything, he will hate you? Even after the years of friendship, after everything you two have faced together. Still, you do not fully trust him.

Liliana closed her eyes, hiding from the pain and fear, from the anger, the accusation in his eyes. From the truthful thoughts in her own mind. She didn’t want to lie to Emyr. She never had wanted to lie to him, not Emyr, who had, ever since that day he followed her on her foolhardy quest to tame a tiger, kept every secret she’d given him. Had never once turned on her, had been willing to betray the boy he loved with his entire heart, even at fourteen.

But how could she tell him the last of the secrets she kept?

Liliana opened her eyes. She could tell him something. Not the whole truth, but enough at least for him to believe she trusted him still.

A lie by omission is a lie all the same. Trust built on deceit is doomed to crumble. Inner-Polaris chided her.

What can I do? Tell him everything? He won’t even believe me! Liliana thought back to the voice of her conscience that had taken upon itself to assume the voice of her bond.

Great, I’m talking to myself now. Maybe I am really insane. Liliana thought with disgust as she met Emyr’s gaze, willing herself not to flinch from what she saw there.

She was reminded of the first time she used [Empathy] on him and discovered that Emyr’s stoic mask hid a depth and strength of emotion that had taken her breath away. Most would think Emyr felt nothing, few knew he felt everything and so much of it, it was a wonder he could even think. She didn’t need to use the skill right now to know how furious his rage was, or how painful his hurt was. Or how chilling his terror was. His fear for her.

Liliana took a deep breath, mind working quickly to piece together a story that had enough of the truth in it to not feel like a complete lie. To repair what she had broken and hope to the gods that the last of her secrets would remain as they were.

Emyr’s eyes narrowed and Liliana felt a spike of fear spear through her heart, remembering too late that while she could weave lies to many others, Emyr had known her too long to be so easily misled. Too observant to miss even the smallest micro-expression of her face, and for all she knew, he had some emotional sensing ability of his own.

“You still don’t trust me,” Emyr’s voice was soft, and for a moment a look of heartbreak flashed across his face.

Liliana felt her own heart tear at the sight. A look of grim determination took over from that and Emyr ripped the dagger from the headboard. In a movement so shocking and unexpected, Liliana, even with all her Speed, was unable to stop it, Emyr dragged the blade of his dagger across his hand, opening a deep cut that wept dark blood freely.

“Emyr?” Liliana demanded, reaching for his hand as he pulled away, out of her reach.

“With my blood, the blood of the Bealstal family, I make this oath. For as long as my blood runs through my veins, I shall never raise hand nor weapon against the daughter of the Rosengarde family, Liliana Rosengarde with intent to deal her true harm. I vow my body, my mind, my blade and my magic to her aid and defense. I vow to protect her secrets, to never reveal them to any others, through word or deed. On my life I make this oath, and on my life may it be taken if I break it.” Emyr’s voice took on a deeper tone, solemn and grave as light surrounded him, like that of a bonding contract but different.

Emyr Bealstal has made an Oath of Fealty to you.

Liliana blinked dazed eyes at the notification. Unlike others she had seen, it offered no option of accepting or declining.

Because Oaths of Fealty are not reciprocal as soul bonds are. Liliana’s mind provided, drawing the information up from a class they’d had the year before, when most of them had become legal adults and therefore, in the eyes of the System, able to make such oaths. There were many oaths one could take, but fealty oaths weren’t something seen often any longer. There were oaths made for alliances, marriage oaths, and such that were far more common.

However, few were willing to take an oath that gave them nothing in return, like a fealty oath did. In fact, the time they’d spent on that oath had been full of warnings to not take one, for it would bind you to someone forever, and depending on the wording, could make you little better than a slave.

Emyr will die if he breaks his oath. Liliana thought, panic beginning to fill her on top of a fierce anger at her friend for doing something so reckless and stupid. A sharp pain on the index finger of her left hand drew her attention and Liliana looked down, shocked, to see a new tattoo forming on the skin of the finger, like a ring. It burned as if it was being drawn with lava, silver ink forming a band.

Shaking her hand as if to dismiss the pain that her [Pain Resistance] did nothing for, she looked toward Emyr, who was no longer surrounded by the light of his oath, his dagger gone as he cleaned the blood off his hand. Liliana noticed on his left hand, and on the same finger as hers, there now sat a tattoo as well, but his was far more detailed. A blue rose sat on his finger, covering the skin between his third and second knuckle. The symbol of the Rosengarde family.

“You-you reckless, foolish idiot!” Liliana rose from the bed, stomping towards Emyr as her voice rose to a near shout. She wanted to shake him until he found the sense he’d lost at some time this night, to force him to find some way to undo this oath.

“Why would you do that, Emyr? You know what happens if you break your oath!” Liliana shouted, grabbing onto his upper arms tightly. Emyr gazed down at her, his own eyes still full of anger, but his lips twisted in a smug smile.

“I know what will happen. I said the oath,” Emyr responded, voice calm. Liliana stared at him, mouth open in dumbfounded disbelief before a shriek left her and she gave into the impulse to shake him.

“Why?” Liliana demanded as Emyr reached his hands up and carefully removed her grip from him, Liliana letting him.

“Because now you know I can never tell your secrets. I swore an oath. And I can never leave you, Lili. You can’t lose me now, so just tell me.” Emyr gripped her hands tightly, his thumb brushing against the still tender skin where the silver tattoo sat. An eternal reminder of the oath. Liliana felt tears filling her eyes as her anger deserted her as quickly as it had filled her.

She’d done this. She’d pushed Emyr so far that he thought the only way to get her to fully trust him was to make a dangerous oath, to tie himself to her for the rest of their lives. No matter what happened now, Emyr would have to stand at her side. To protect her, and her secrets. Liliana could turn traitor to their country, she could become the villain she had long stopped fearing she’d become, and Emyr would have to follow her.

“You could’ve gotten out, you idiot. You could’ve been safe,” Liliana hissed as the tears broke free and ran down her cheeks. Liliana’s body felt like it weighed a hundred tons and she swayed forward, pressing her head against Emyr’s shoulder.

“No, I couldn’t, Lili. I never needed an oath to follow you, to stand by you and protect your secrets. But you did,” Emyr murmured, voice soft and gentle and Liliana choked on a sob at the truth of it.

She knew, deep down, she never would’ve been able to trust him, anyone, entirely without something like this. For all she had grown, for all she had become, sometimes she still felt so much like the scared, paranoid girl who had been so very, very alone in this world full of magic and danger.

Sometimes, no matter how much someone could grow, the lessons learned when they were young were the ones they could never escape. Tactics and habits formed in the name of survival that would forever dictate how someone moved throughout their life, even long after the danger that had necessitated their creation was long gone.

No matter who we become, we are always who we are.

“Now, tell me. No more lies, no more secrets. Let me in, Lili. Tell me the worst things you keep locked away, so I can help you, so I can protect you. If not from what you’re afraid of, then at least from yourself.” Emyr’s voice was still gentle, but this was no request. It was an order.

“I don’t need to be protected,” Liliana said obstinately, itching even now at the thought of it. She had gained the power she had now, was always trying to gain more, so she could protect herself, so she could protect all the people she’d come to love. Even the ones who made stupid oaths that tied themselves to her.

“You do,” Emyr was blunt and Liliana hissed, pulling back to glare at him. He glared right back, and Liliana sighed. The willingness to fight drained from her with her anger.

“I need to sit for this, you will too,” Liliana muttered, tugging Emyr back to the bed, where she collapsed immediately, leaning heavily into Emyr’s side as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her close.

Liliana took a deep breath, filling her lungs with his scent of sulfur and fire, something dark and sweet, like incense almost. It mixed with the scent of roses from the hair oil Liliana used that coated her rooms. Liliana closed her eyes and felt fear reignite inside of her, sending her heart fluttering in her chest, as if it wished to run away from this conversation.

He can’t leave now. Even if he knows it all. Even if he knows I stole this body, stole this life. Even when he learns, I’m not the Liliana he knew. She thought, hating the comfort she found in that. Hating that Emyr had spoken the truth.

Liliana had needed this oath to tell the truth, to fully trust him. She hated that the only way she was able to overcome the distrust that was so deeply ingrained in her it was etched into her very bones was for her friend to stake his life on an oath that would force him to keep her secrets close. Liliana activated [Telepathy], knowing this conversation would be far easier if she could communicate with memories as well as words. Her world would seem as much a fantasy to Emyr as this one had been to her, once upon a time.

“A very long time ago in another world, there was a girl who was very sick,” Liliana started, filling Emyr’s mind with memories of Earth as the words tumbled from her lips, as if they’d been waiting this entire time, eager to be spoken.

Chapter 197: A Friendship, Reaffirmed

Liliana picked nervously at the edge of Emyr’s sleeve. He hadn’t spoken for over five minutes now, and she knew if she looked up, his face would be a stoney mask, his whirling thoughts locked carefully away.

Over the course of her story, they had shifted. Her legs were thrown over his thighs, her head fit firmly under his chin, and his arms were wrapped around her. Protectively, she thought. He’d gripped her rather tightly when he realized, through seeing her own memories of it, that she had a far closer and more intimate relationship with death than anyone else they knew.

After all, no one else they knew had actually died and seen what came after.

She’d tried to pull away, when she revealed, with stuttering words barely more than whispers, body shaking like she’d been electrocuted, that the girl Emyr had known for the past almost six years was not the same Liliana who had been born in this body. That’s when Liliana ended up half in his lap. He’d refused to let her go, tugging her as close as he could and silently encouraging her to continue her tale.

It should’ve been suffocating. Restrictive. Being wrapped up like a constrictor coiling around its prey. But it wasn’t. It felt safe.

Now she was done speaking for long enough that the room had devolved into a tense silence. Nothing but her uneven breaths, just this side of panicked, filling the air and the sound of blood pumping in her ears.

Does he regret his oath now? Does he hate me? Hate himself for tying himself to someone who has lied to him the entire time he knew me? He can’t tell anyone, can’t turn on me because of the oath. Does he resent it now? Liliana wondered, feeling panic and fear coursing through her, turning her muscles to rigid stone as she stiffened in her spot.

Liliana thought, believed if perhaps with a touch too much foolish, naïve hope, that she could survive many of the people she loved turning from her. It would hurt her, wound her, and would undoubtedly change her. But she doubted many could break her.

Emyr though, there was no doubt, no wonder or theorizing of a possible survival in the wake of him leaving her behind.

He had been her very first friend in this world, the first person her own age she had allowed herself to trust without the security of a bond tying them together. The first person she’d thrown herself in harm’s way to save. Emyr was… so much to her, she couldn’t even find the words to fully describe it. Best friend. Brother. Secret keeper. Partner. As much a part of her as any of her bonds, as her own heart and lungs.

She’d die for him without a moment’s hesitation.

If Emyr turned from her… Liliana knew she wouldn’t survive it. Whatever was left when he took her heart with him, it wouldn’t be someone she would even recognize. Empty. A shell.

“Stop spiraling, I’m processing,” Emyr chided, one of his hands, not the one Liliana was picking at incessantly from her nerves, rubbed up her upper arm comfortingly. Once more she had to wonder if Emyr had some kind of emotion sensing skill, or a mind reading one. Or perhaps, simpler than that, he just knew her too well.

“I wasn’t spiraling,” Liliana hissed, her voice too full of relief to be properly insulted.

Emyr chuckled lowly, the sound rolling through her from where she was pressed so firmly against him and doing as much as his touch to calm her ever dismal thoughts. Liliana moved her ministrations to his finger, the one that held the Rosengarde rose on it now, a permanent mark of the choice he’d made.

A choice he’d made for her, because he understood her in a way no one else ever had. Because he knew how deeply her ingrained distrust ran, now matter how fiercely she loved. Trust had never been a requirement for her to love, and sometimes she wondered how different she’d be if that were not true.

“I don’t regret it,” Emyr answered her unsaid thoughts, turning his hand to tangle their fingers together and squeezed tightly.

Liliana squeezed back, marveling not for the first time at the easy physical affection she traded with her closest friends. She had watched them with others, even in their own group, and saw they did not often engage in such things with each other. But those closest to her seemed to sense, or understand, some signal she unconsciously gave off, that she craved such things. Needed the warmth and comfort of physical connection.

The only exception she had seen was Anya, who was physically affectionate with everyone. Liliana thought it was a result of how she was raised in a large, very physical family. Anya had told her how all the children of her family would sleep together in a large pile more often than not, much like the wolf cubs they resembled, in ways often times deeper than their simple outwards appearance.

Marianne, however, was usually only physically affectionate with Liliana, or Anya, or whichever unlucky student had fallen prey to her flirtations that particular day. Alistair was similar. He only traded physical affection with Liliana or Emyr. And for the longest time, until the two boys had finally acknowledged what everyone else had seen, it had only been Liliana that Alistair was comfortable trading easy affection with.

“Even after…?” Liliana trailed off, too unused to speaking so openly, to speaking at all of the greatest secret she’d kept from everyone for so long.

It still felt surreal that she had opened the Pandora’s box she’d kept so tightly locked inside of her for so long. She was almost convinced she’d wake any moment and realize this had all been a dream. But even her imagination could’ve never come up with this.

“Yes, even after realizing you came from a different world full of fantastical things, saw me through some magical seer device, died, talked to Vita and came to this world,” Emyr elucidated, carefully avoiding mentioning the fact that Liliana had stolen her current body. Not willingly, not through any choice, but it didn’t change the old guilt she still harbored over it.

“It’s called a video game. I told you that,” Liliana huffed slightly. She wasn’t upset. Her relief that was making her limbs feel fuzzy and her mind almost blank with the force of it was too all-encompassing for anything else to slip in.

She hadn’t expected him to truly understand many of the things from her world. Too much of the technology was so far advanced it would be indistinguishable from feats of incredible magic to Emyr. Some things were similar, such as plumbing, lighting and general cooling and heating. But trying to get someone from this world to understand something like the Internet would take far more than a single evening.

There were other things… weapons Liliana could remember the damage of, but not anything about. She knew those were memories taken by Vita in the process of her reincarnation. Liliana wasn’t too upset by that. This world was capable of doing enough damage with magic. She didn’t want to know what they could do when combined with the weapons that had death tolls in the hundreds of thousands as well.

“One of those words makes little sense to me, and I don’t see how a scrying illusion capable of seeing the future that gave you details of my life could be considered a game,” Emyr retorted, a bit of irritation leaking into his voice.

And. Well, that was fair, if Liliana was honest. She couldn’t imagine she’d enjoy finding out someone had been playing her life in some game and using it as a source of entertainment when it was filled with so much pain and strife for her.

“I didn’t know you were real,” Liliana said softly, squeezing his fingers again, “but I’m so glad you are,” she added, voice low but full of love.

“Are you… upset? That I… stole this body?” Liliana asked, voice small and filled with a fear she couldn’t hide. Emyr squeezed her tightly against him in response.

“Based on what you told and showed me, I don’t see how it was your choice,” Emyr started and Liliana felt some of the guilt that always weighed her down like a ball and chain lift slightly.

“And bad as it sounds, I’m glad you did,” Emyr continued, and Liliana pulled back enough to look up at him, eyes wide in shock. Emyr stared back at her, face set in mulish determination.

“You’re glad that she-she died?” Liliana asked, aghast.

“Yes, I am. Because I didn’t love her, I love you and if you had never taken her body, I would have never met you. From the paraphrased explanation you gave me, she would’ve in fact become my enemy. So yes, I’m quite glad she is dead and not here trying to kill me, and that you’re here instead. And if I had a choice, I’d sacrifice her again for you,” Emyr stated without hesitation, his blunt honesty striking Liliana mute and dumbfounded as she stared at Emyr.

She’d considered how this conversation could go a million times. Run through different possibilities and reactions in her mind time and again, had decided based on what she’d imagined that the risks were far too high to ever reveal the truth to anyone.

But she’d never imagined someone would tell her they were glad that the original Liliana was dead. She’d imagined them forgiving her, yes, for her crime. Coming to accept it. But not to be glad. To say they’d repeat the event if given a chance to sacrifice another’s life and soul for her.

Perhaps… Liliana had been underestimating her friends. She knew, without hesitation, that she’d make the same choice for them. She’d sacrifice anyone, innocent or guilty, for those she loved. She’d raze cities if needed for them. She knew her own loyalty and love, and knew the lengths she’d go for those she cared for. But… she had never considered that perhaps the sentiments weren’t entirely one sided in nature.

Then again, if anyone was going to murder someone for her sake, her first bet would always be Emyr. He had few morals as it was, though he hid it beneath a veneer of propriety. When it came to those he cared for, Emyr saw no length too far, no cost too great. In that, they were the same.

“Lili,” Emyr said slowly, face softening when he saw her obvious confusion, “is it that hard to accept that you’re loved? Not because of anything the girl who had this body before you did, but because of you? Because of all you’ve done?” Emyr asked gently, reaching up a hand to rub away a tear Liliana hadn’t even realized she’d shed.

“I-I don’t,” Liliana stammered, struggling to get her mind to comprehend this. To handle what Emyr was saying, words she’d never even considered, along with the fact that her mind was restructuring the preconceived notions she’d been basing so much of her behavior around.

“Lili, it was you who tackled a giant tiger when we were only fourteen to keep me safe. It was you who nearly died taking a dagger for me not much later. It was you who let a serpent impale you with fangs so you could save my life. And it was you, a hundred times more, who never hesitated to step in front of me to take damage in my place.” Emyr gripped her face with strong but careful hands as he held her gaze, impressing upon her the veracity of his words. Forcing her to see, to understand where Emyr’s loyalty, his love, was coming from.

It came from a fourteen-year-old boy, who had followed a fourteen-year-old girl on a reckless quest, knowing she disliked him. Who had watched the same girl who disdained his very presence fling herself at a tiger who could kill her with a blow. It came from a boy who had seen a girl, full of a desperation for power and mistrust, risk her life for him, time and again, without hesitation.

It came from a boy who had seen a girl, so full of hurt, anger and paranoia, slowly allow him into her very rare trust. From a thousand gifted secrets, great and small, each a precious gift she’d never given to another.

“So, is it that odd that I don’t really care about the girl who I never really knew? Who never did anything for me? I regret not giving her the apology she deserved, but I will never regret that you’re in my life,” Emyr finished, leaning forward to press a kiss to Liliana’s forehead. Liliana let him pull her back against his chest as she forced herself to take a deep breath and came to terms with this new information.

“Is that why you didn’t trust me at first? Because of the game?” Emyr’s sneer was audible in the last word several minutes later, when Liliana had time to process this new revelation.

“That and the memories, but the game was a big part, yes. You killed me in that game!” Liliana defended her reasoning, flushing at the admittedly perhaps rash and foolish reasoning she’d used.

She’d been young though, in a new world and surrounded by people she’d thought, with good reason, were enemies. She deserved some clemency for her choices, foolish and illogical as some of them were in the hindsight age and wisdom now gave her.

If she had the option, she’d make different choices. Who wouldn’t, when considering the choices they’d made as children? But she knew she’d had reasonings that she’d found entirely logical at the time.

“I didn’t kill you. A possible future version of me killed the previous soul who happened to share a face and body with you. But you’re two very different people,” Emyr clarified and Liliana’s mouth shut with a click as that registered.

Two different people. It was such a simple thing.

Liliana had come to accept that she’d changed this world to some degree with her simply being in it. Changes were inevitable when new variables were introduced to an environment. But some part of her had never fully accepted that the Liliana from the game and the Liliana she was now were two vastly different people, if only by virtue of their wildly different experiences.

Liliana wondered, had she told Emyr this sooner, had he said those words to her sooner, how different would things have been? What choices would’ve changed? If she’d had someone tell her, bluntly, that she was a different person to the villain she’d seen in the game, how would that have altered her?

There was no way to know, not for sure. All she could know was that as the words settled in her mind, digging in deep like a burr, that they would change her in some way she couldn’t anticipate just yet.

“Would you still… if I was like her?” Liliana asked, half curious, half afraid. Because she knew she was dark at times. Her moral compass had been distorted so far by this world she wasn’t sure she even had a true north anymore.

“If you became some kind of dark overlord?” Emyr asked, and Liliana nodded.

“Then I guess I better brush up on my evil monologues and maniacal laughter,” Emyr said without hesitation, startling a laugh from Liliana.

“No, please don’t. You already terrify the younger years,” Liliana admonished as she giggled. The laughter felt good. It loosened the last of the fear and anxiety from inside of her.

“What a waste. I’d be a very good minion,” Emyr sighed gustily, as if this was some great tragedy, to veer away from becoming an evil villain.

Liliana thought perhaps Cista should award her some medal of valor for this. She wasn’t sure the country would survive Emyr if he truly wanted to become evil. But for all he’d made a joke, Liliana was sure if she truly decided to do just that, he would join her.

It settled something inside of her. This… trust she hadn’t had before that, no matter what, Emyr would stand by her. She somehow knew now that there was nothing Liliana could do that would turn him away from her.

Liliana didn’t realize how secure it made her feel, to know without a shred of doubt, that even if the entire world turned on her, she’d still have at least this one person who would stand with her. It was more than the oath, because Liliana had a feeling Emyr would’ve done all of this without it. He had said as much. It wasn’t he who needed the oath, but her.

“You’ll be the first to know if I decide I need a minion for world domination,” Liliana teased, and Emyr chuckled.

“Good. I wouldn’t want to miss it,” Emyr told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair as Liliana let out a breath in contentment.

“Would you… want to share more of your world with me?” Emyr asked softly and Liliana felt a thrill of happiness at the thought of sharing a world that had once been her home with someone so very dear to her.

Her bonds knew, though generally only Polaris cared about it. To share it with another person though, a friend, to no longer be the only human on this world who knew of Earth, it lifted a loneliness Liliana had hardly realized she’d been dealing with.

“I’d love that,” Liliana said, smiling so widely her cheeks hurt from it as she tightened her hold on his hand.

She appreciated that Emyr was directing the conversation to lighter topics, sensing in his uncanny way that now was not the time to dive into the deeper ones. To discuss Vita, or the quest she’d been set on. Liliana didn’t think she could handle it, as emotionally drained as she was already.

Emyr also had not brought up revealing this secret to anyone else, not even Alistair. His reasons for not doing it were unknown, but Liliana appreciated it nonetheless. It was unlikely he would ever press her, though. He never had when it came to sharing her secrets. He only pressed when Liliana kept secrets from him. He didn’t usually seem to care what she kept from others.

A yawn surprised Liliana until she checked the time and realized it was far later than she normally stayed up. Her body was exhausted from a day of flying, and her mind was dulling with tiredness.

“We’ll hold off on the stories until tomorrow. You need to sleep,” Emyr said upon noticing her yawn.

“Stay?” Liliana asked sleepily, the yawn seeming to be her body’s signal to turn towards sleep as she blinked heavy eyes.

Emyr gave a noise of assent and Liliana reached out a tendril of Mana to dim the lights in her room as they shifted from sitting to lying down. Sleeping together wasn’t an unusual thing for Liliana and her friends. Liliana truly thought Vereign had just utterly given up on their entire group when it came to such things. It helped that he knew none of them were doing anything untoward.

Well. If you ignored Marianne, they weren’t doing anything untoward.

She probably owed their homeroom Professor a fruit basket, thinking on that. The poor man, they had terrorized him for three and a half years.

“Night, Lili. Love you,” Emyr murmured.

“Night Em, love you too, even if you want to be an evil minion,” Liliana responded with a smile as she felt herself drift off to the sound of his low chuckles.

Table of Contents

Information
Chapter 1: The End Is Where It Begins
Chapter 2: Always Read The Fine Print

Chapter 3: I met a Goddess and all I got for it were these Titles

Chapter 4: A Day In The Life Of A Noble Lady

Chapter 5: Books and Brothers

Chapter 6: My Sleep Paralysis Demon is Actually Kind of Chill

Chapter 7: The True Villain In This Story, Embroidery.

Chapter 8: Bruises, Bonds and Brand New Discoveries!

Chapter 9: A Horse Girl Is Born

Chapter 10: Vitality Training is Just Another Name For Torture

Chapter 11: Steel is a Girl's Best Friend

Chapter 12: What's an Adventure Without Slimes?

Chapter 13: Slimes? You Mean Globs of Free EXP?

Chapter 14: It's Too Cute To Kill!

Chapter 15: Classes and a Furry new Friend!

Chapter 16: The Fox is Trying To Kill Me.

Chapter 17: Fierce Fight and Forgotten Tales

Chapter 18: A New Hero Arrives

Chapter 19: Isn't It So Cute?

Chapter 20: No More Shadowy Stalkers Please!

Chapter 21: Surging Shadows, Bursting Lights and Piercing Screams

Chapter 22: Overdramatic Teenagers are Overdramatic

Chapter 23: Curiosity Killed The Cat But Satisfaction Brought It Back

Chapter 24: Here Kitty, Kitty, kitty

Chapter 25: What's In A Name?

Chapter 26: This Isn't Goodbye, it's Simply See You Later

Chapter 27: Time To Make An Entrance

Chapter 28: Moving Up In The Manor

Chapter 29: Monsters Are Terrifying and Nobles Are Dumb

Chapter 30: A Totally Normal Shopping Trip
Chapter 31: Lessons and Bullies
Chapter 32: Just A Game

Chapter 33: Facing Your Demons and Cat Therapy

Chapter 34: A Side of Venom With Your Veal?

Chapter 35: A-Hunting We Go!

Chapter 36: No More Pigs Please

Chapter 37: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo A Noble Woman I Make Of You!

Chapter 38: Dancing With The Vipers
Chapter 39: I Made A Friend
Chapter 40: Explosive Potions and Equinoxes
Chapter 41: Outside Looking In
Chapter 42: Rank 7 Here We Go!

Chapter 43: It's Just A Not Even Slightly Suspicious Chest

Chapter 44: The Boss Battle Begins

Chapter 45: The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall

Chapter 46: Is It Still A Bug Or Is It A Feature?

Chapter 47: Self Reflection And The End To A Dungeon

Chapter 48: A Banquet Of Death
Chapter 49: A New Quest Appears
Chapter 50: Duty, Justice, or Greed?
Chapter 51: Off We Go With A Few Minor Bumps
Chapter 52: So Beautiful Yet So Deadly

Chapter 53: It's Not Too Late To Say I'm Sorry, Is It?

Chapter 54: The Night Holds Dark Deeds, and Darker Truths

Chapter 55: A Warm Welcome Home

Chapter 56: Finding Families and Forgetting

Chapter 57: Dining With Nobles Isn't Half As Much Fun As It Sounds

Chapter 58: Eavesdroppers Hear No Good Of Themselves.

Chapter 59: Breaking Free

Chapter 60: Best Way To A Guards Heart Is Through Boardgames

Chapter 61: Grief and Superstition are a Dangerous Combination

Chapter 62: The Scent of Flowers and Death

Chapter 63: Fruitless Searching and Watching Eyes

Chapter 64: Trapped Between a Rock and a Flower

Chapter 65: I See You
Chapter 66: I Just Want To Sleep
Chapter 67: Violence Isn't Always The Answer
Chapter 68: New System Unlocked!
Chapter 69: Named for Death

Chapter 70: Just Because It Looks Edible Doesn't Mean It Is

Chapter 71: I Hate Horde Monsters

Chapter 72: A Contingency Plan

Chapter 73: Dazzling Flames And Dancing Blades

Chapter 74: Welcome To The Show!

Chapter 75: Wonderous Sights and Marvelous Memories

Chapter 76: A Bloody Verdict
Chapter 77: Today, Let The Kids Be Kids
Chapter 78: Memories So Dark
Chapter 79: Board Games and Word Play
Chapter 80: A House Not A Home

Chapter 81: Break Me Down And Build Me Back Up

Chapter 82: Planning And Plotting

Chapter 83: Plotting With Friends

Chapter 84: Fairytale Moments and Embarrassing Mothers

Chapter 85: Invisibility and Espionage

Chapter 86: Let's Play A Game

Chapter 87: Shopping With A Side Of Subterfuge

Chapter 88: Thieves, Beggars and Bread

Chapter 89: Introducing Your New Kitten To Your Cat

Chapter 90: Challenges Lost And Won

Chapter 91: Who Are You?

Chapter 92: Pointless Parties And Crimes Against Cupkind

Chapter 93: It All Comes Crashing Down

Chapter 94: Broken Hearts and Bittersweet Memories

Chapter 95: White Lilies On Dark Wood

Chapter 96: Plots, Plans and Machinations

Chapter 97: Temporary Goodbyes and Collateral.

Chapter 98: An Overdue Confession

Chapter 99: The Death of A Dream

Chapter 100: The Guardian of The Frostfang Mountains

Chapter 101: Facing An Endgame Boss
Chapter 102: A Much Needed Reunion
Chapter 103: Conversations With A Kitsune
Chapter 104: Shock Is One Hell Of A Drug
Chapter 105: Divine Intervention
Chapter 106: Exhausted Confessions
Chapter 107: The Final Play
Chapter 108: A Bittersweet Victory
Chapter 109: Look At Me

Chapter 110: The Calm Before The Confrontation

Chapter 111: The Villain She Almost Made

Chapter 112: Alliances Made And Promises Kept

Chapter 113: The End Of One Path And Beginning Of Another

Chapter 114: A Long Awaited Exam
Chapter 115: Welcome To The Academy
Chapter 116: The Tour Begins
Chapter 117: Tours, New Rooms, and New Faces
Chapter 118: A Chance Encounter

Chapter 119: Everything Is A Mimic Until Proven Innocent

Chapter 120: A Quest For Knowledge

Chapter 121: Early Mornings And Unwanted Princes

Chapter 122: First Day Of School

Chapter 123: New Friends and Surprising Revelations

Chapter 124: Skills Vs Levels
Chapter 125: Gym Class Hell
Chapter 126: Power Plays and Spars
Chapter 127: Finishing The Fights
Chapter 128: Private Training Time

Chapter 129: A Prideful Challenge And A Talk Amongst The Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 130 :Settling In To School Life
Chapter 131: New Classes And Old Faces
Chapter 132: Club Fair
Chapter 133: Nightmares Made Of Memories

Chapter 134: Just Trying To Get Through The Day

Chapter 135: A Familiar Idol And A New Friend
Chapter 136: An Overdue Confrontation
Chapter 137: Grand Theft Serpent

Chapter 138: Sibling Shenanigans And Beastly Acquaintances

Chapter 139: Team Fights Begin
Chapter 140: Dance With Me, Dawn?
Chapter 141: Battle Of Illusions
Chapter 142: Game Mode: Never Ending Horde

Chapter 143: Power Balances, Revelations, And Upcoming Dungeons

Chapter 144: Facing Your Greatest Fears

Chapter 145: A Disappointing Lack Of Murder Attempts

Chapter 146: All It Takes Is A Cookie
Chapter 147: The Eclipse Of The Sun
Chapter 148: Candid Teenage Moments

Chapter 149: Facing New Insecurities and Familiar Faces

Chapter 150: Family Game Night

Chapter 151: Shopping Sprees and Kidnappings

Chapter 152: When You Hit Your Lowest, Take My Hand And Step Into The Light

Chapter 153: The Path To Healing
Chapter 154: What Stories Do The Stars Tell?
Chapter 155: Testing The Waters
Chapter 156: Coming Clean
Chapter 157: Secret Tunnel

Chapter 158: Letting Off Steam With Some Harmless Chaos

Chapter 159: Preparing To Face Your Fears

Chapter 160: Fierce Battles And Exhausted Fighters

Chapter 161: Mini-Boss Fight Start!

Chapter 162: An Electrifying Battle

Chapter 163: The Centipede Effect

Chapter 164: Would Trains Cause A Revolution?

Chapter 165: The Long Awaited Tournament Begins

Chapter 166: The Mad Tea Party
Chapter 167: Eye In The Sky
Chapter 168: A Day For Apologies
Chapter 169: A Series Of Unexpected Outcomes

Chapter 170: Friend Vs Friend, A Loss Whichever Way You Turn It

Chapter 171: A Lackluster Showing

Chapter 172: Berserkers, Brawlers, Mages, and Tanks Oh My!

Chapter 173: That Was Not On My Bingo Card

Chapter 174: Progress Isn't Always Measured In Numbers

Chapter 175: A Beautiful Nightmare
Chapter 176: The Cost Of The Fight
Chapter 177: Fangs Of A Flower
Chapter 178: A New Feathery Friend
Chapter 179: The Fall Of The Red Princess
Chapter 180: Call Down The Stars

Chapter 181: Unstoppable Forest Meets An Immovable Tank

Chapter 182: Wave The White Flag
Chapter 183: Battle Between Brothers
Chapter 184: Strike Like A Serpent
Chapter 185: Show Your Fangs
Chapter 186: In The Blink Of An Eye

Chapter 187: The Words Of A Goddess Should Not Be Disregarded

Chapter 188: A Monarch's Request
Chapter 189: The Weakness Of A Healer
Chapter 190: The Sins Of The Mother
Chapter 191: Distress Beacon
Chapter 192: Lady Of Stone And Serpents
Chapter 193: Griefing Gorgons
Chapter 194: Homecoming

Chapter 195: A Reunion And An Unwanted Confession

Chapter 196: Oath Of Fealty

Chapter 197: A Friendship, Reaffirmed