“And this man was how old you say?”

“I don’t know, he looked a little older then me, maybe early twenties?”

The soldier wrote that down next to the other notes James had told them about the man who attacked her.

“Alright, thank you for the help in describing this man. We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for him. For now, just enjoy your time in the city.”

James nodded, and he quickly grabbed his things and left. The knights seemed to have everything under control, and he’d rather get to exploring the city. It was about sunrise now, so Tristan was just coming to life for the day. For the biggest city in the kingdom, she was rather disapointed. It was really just an upscaled version of her old village, but with a market and more stone buildings. Still, she took a moment to peruse the marketplace, but she had a severe lack of money at the moment, so she couldn’t afford much. But now was a good time to start her search, so she walked up to one of the more popular vendors.

“Excuse me, do you happen to know if any relatively experienced mages live around here? Especially ones who deal in illusion magic?” She asked the man at the booth.

“Eh, mages? Hmm…I suppose it depends on what you mean. Any mages who are still strong enough are out there doing things for the kingdom. But if you just need experience, theres always Mrs. Thornwallow. She’s an old retired mage, sweet old woman. Can I ask why you wanna talk to her?”

The man sounded suspicious of her. Reasonably so, she looked like some dirty old delinquint to be honest.

“I’m hoping for her tutilege in some spellwork.”

“Oh, alright then, good luck with that. And are you gonna, you know, buy somethin?”

“Oh uh, I would, but I think he was first in line.” She said, pointing behind him. As he turned around, she cast Invisibility and bolted. Did she actually have to buy something? Maybe not, but she wasn’t a fan of talking to people. As she walked, she realized she hadn’t actually asked directions to the womans house. After stopping a couple people on the street, she managed to get the address. It was in the direction of the kings castle, which she had to admit was the one thing that really set this city apart. It was a stunning building, the many different spires and large bridge leading to it gave off a real sense of power.

One thing she wasn’t expecting was the amount of people who were seemingly homeless on the streets. She assumed anyone who lived here would be somewhat well off, but she had heard news the economy wasn’t doing great recently, so that probably had something to do with it. Why the economy was the way it was, she had no clue, as she didn’t pay attention to much other then killing slimes.

As she was walking, she noticed a clothing shop on the corner that had some dresses on display. One caught her eye, a black lolita dress with lots of frills and long sleeves. Despite how she dressed most of the time, she actually did have an interest in fashion, just womens fashion. Huh, maybe this whole she thing made more sense then she thought thinking back on it. Now all she had to do was actually, you know, figure out what it meant, but that could wait till later. Besides, she couldn’t afford the dress anywa- not that she would actually want to wear it!

“Okay, let’s stop thinking for a little bit and just get to this house without having another panic attack.” James thought to herself.

When she finally arrived at the address, she simply knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later it opened, and an old woman poked her head out. Her pale skin was very wrinkled, and her hair completely gray, but she could tell from the womans stature that she wasn’t frail in the slightest.

“Can I help you?”

“Hello. I’m James, i’m looking for someone to help teach me an illusion spell. I was told you’re an expert with magic.” She asked, and the woman eyed him up and down.

“Hmm, and why should I help you? You got anything useful for me?”

James sat there for a moment, a blank look on her face, before she put her head in her hands.

“I knew I forgot something.” She said as the woman began to shut the door, but she quickly stuck her hand out to stop it.

“Wait, I have this weird magic bell thing! Maybe you could study it or something? Also please open the door some more this really hurts!” The woman opened the door to free her crushed hand, and James handed her the bell. She examined it for a moment before shaking it a bit. James knew better and covered her ears, but the woman zoned out for a second, before gasping as she came back to reality.

“Huh, well that’s certainly something. Alright, one spell kid, come on inside.” She said, and James silently celebrated as she walked in. The womans house was rather large, and as she was led through she noticed it was mostly devoted to a rather impressive library. Reading was actually one thing other then killing slimes she enjoyed.

“So, what spell are you actually looking to learn?”

“Alter self, an illusion spell.”

“An illusionist eh? Don’t see a lot of those, not much appreciation for it here. Of course, the military mostly cares about blowing up enemies, so that’s fitting. Rather niche spell but if you need it to keep learning I can help you out.”

“Uh, yes, that’s why I need it.” She said, and she wasn’t technically lying. That was one reason she wanted it, just a much less important reason. She wasn’t about to learn all this magic just to stop at this spell, she did still enjoy getting stronger. Speaking of strength, she should make sure her teacher actually knew what she was doing

[Janet Thornwallow’s Stats-

Before it could finish, she felt some odd mental pressure, and the scan cut out. She looked down at the old woman who was smiling at her.

“So, you’re actually serious about thist hen? Only met maybe five other people who actually use scan. Course, I know how to stop it and you don’t, but I can see you really want this.” She said. James just nodded, confused as to how she was able to stop her scan.

“Well, if that’s the case, no time to dilly dally. So, how does casting illusion magic feel when you use it?”

“Well, at first it’s just like casting any other skill, but then I have to choose exactly what I want it to look like, how it moves, all of that.”

“Correct. The reason alter self is so different is because of how detailed it has to be. It changes you, your clothes, and any possesions on you. And it doesn’t skimp out on touch, if you make it look like you have a third arm, you can feel that arm. Of course you can’t actually move it, but it seems like it’s there.”

“But aren’t other illusion spells like that too?”

“In a way, but think about it like this. An illusion looks like and does whatever you make it do. If you want it to do something else, you have to spend more mana on it. This spell is doing that every time you move an inch.”

“I can see why that would be different. So whats the first step in learning it?” She asked, and Janet as she now knew was her name, pointed at a mirror hanging from the wall in another room.

“First things first is to get a feel for what you want it to look like. I wouldn’t go too drastic for your first attempt, but if you want you can. Just apply a base illusion to yourself for appearance, and try moving that as you move. Once you get it down, you should get the option to buy the spell.”

“Alright, that sounds fine. Are you gonna watch or what?”

“I, am going to go talk with some people about whatever the hell you brought me. You might have accidentally found something rather interesting here kid. I’ll be back in about two days, you can sleep in my living room. Foods in the kitchen, feel free to help yourself cause I doubt you can afford to buy much right now.” She said, and James blushed at this.

“Th-thanks. Before you go, can I ask something? How do you know so much about magic?”

“Well first off, im old as hell. Hundred and seventy three if i remember correctly, but I stopped counting for a little while about two decades ago. And before you ask how, theres some very hard to get skills that let you live longer. Secondly, I used to be in the military, though I can hardly believe I ever was now.”

“And why is that?”

“Tell ya what, why don’t you read up on some of the history of this country while you’re here. Third bookshelf on the left, three rows from the bottom should have a couple books that will tell ya. Then i’ll ask if you’ve figured out why I don’t much like the military of this country.”

James nodded, and Janet grabbed some things she needed before heading out. Not wasting any time, she moved over to the mirror. It was time to actually decide what she was going to look like. She could change it later, but this still felt like an important thing. First step, the body. She used her basic illusion magic to change her height, and while she felt the same her image in the mirror shrunk about a foot and a half to around five feet tall, give or take an inch. She began making various small changes across her body, giving her a more curvy figure and wider hips. Before she moved on to the more important areas she focused on her face, cause this face on her current body was making her feel odd.

As she gave herself much softer features and rounder eyes, she had to re do her work quite a bit to make sure she didn’t look too unrealistic. She finally got to a cute face that could actually belong to an especially good looking woman. For the final step for her head, she changed her mop of black hair to white, and made it a decent bit longer. She kept it slightly messy but it looked much more natural and pretty.

Now, before she did the next part, she needed to change how her clothes looked. She thought on what she might want to wear, and suddenly remembered the dress she saw earlier. Did she really want to wear a dress, and if so, what did that mean for her? While that was an interesting question, it was irrelevant, as she had already changed the spell before she realized what she was doing, and the dress manifested. It was fitted for her size, but other then that looked exactly how she saw it earlier.

“Oh. Uh, wow. I don’t know how to feel about this.” She thought to herself. It wasn’t that she felt ecstatic, more so that some weight that had been resting on her shoulders for years was removed in an instant. It felt…nice. Alright, on to the next step, the chest. Oh right, the chest. This would be a major turning point for her, and she thought to herself for a minute. Was she really considering- oh fuck it, she was already wearing the dress, may as well have a chest to fill it out. It took her a minute to find the perfect size, but she settled on the large end of C cup. Finally, she made her legs thicker to match her hips, but left some muscle to show off, and also gave herself a pair of black stockings. She decided to also go back and keep a little muscle over the rest of her body, but made it look more lean then she used to. There was one more issue that needed handling, but changing…that, could wait for now.

Overall, she was rather happy with her new image. Of course, currently it was simply unmoving and blankly staring forward, and she couldn’t see how she looked under the clothes. So for now, it was time to get to the actual practice.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

—————————————————————————

“Skill level is now acceptable, skill Alter Self is now unlocked for purchasing.”

James let out a cheer and hurried to her menu. It had taken about a full day of practicing, but she had finally gotten it down. She bought the skill as quickly as she could, and cast it. This time, she physically felt the changes happening, and she looked up at herself in the mirror. She lifted a hand to touch her face, and her reflection followed her perfectly. As she looked down at her body, she felt her dress, and was suprised at how accurate the illusion was to the sense of touch. Her dress felt light and soft, and it moved with her. She had an odd urge to spin around, and so she did, her dress flaring up around her.

She giggled to herself, a dopey smile on her face. After all this time, she had finally done it. She could be whoever she wanted now. Well, there was one more thing to take care off. She made a quick alteration to the spell, and felt the changes go through. She would have to take off her dress later to make sure her body looked normal, but she was pretty sure everything worked out. And the best part was, she didn’t have to worry about the dress being torn or damaged, considering it was just her armor being disguised. So technically it had the durability of the armor while being cute at the same time!

Now that she was finished, she figured she should read some of those books she was told about. She took a step towards the bookshelf, and instantly fell directly on her face. She realized she had completely forgotten about her new height difference, and was trying to walk like normal. She got up and much more carefully walked her way to the bookshelf. Pulling out the first book she saw on history, she sat down on a nearby chair and got to reading.

“In the year 453 LC, the Avant rebellion bravely pushed against the tyranny of Lengarde, who enslaved the other two kingdoms of our land, and ever since Avant has stood as the leader of the civilized world.”

Okay, that made sense. She knew that the other two countries weren’t treated especially well, with some nobles even taking slaves of the other two kingdoms. But what calender system was that? She looked at the glossary and found it was the Lengarde calender. But wait, if the calender system has been changing, how long have all three kingdoms been around? She tried to recall, but wasn’t aware of it ever being taught in schools. She grabbed another book and cracked it open, hoping to solve this mystery. Eventually, she came across somewhat of an answer, in a book that Janet had kept tucked away behind all the others, called “History Of The Three Kingdoms.” She had tried to get this in a library once, but apparently it was restriced due to some opinions of the writer. Eventually they just took it off the shelves entirely.

“By doing some searching of historical records with myself and a reputable historian with whom I have made acquaintaince with as of recent, we were able to determine the leading kingdom of our realm as we decided to call it, has changed fifteen times in the last three thousand years. In this time, the new leading kingdom goes on to act cruelly to the other two, most going as far as enslavement or even genocide to keep the other kingdoms weak. This inevitably leads to uprisings and a new main kingdom coming to lead. I ask, when will this cycle of madness and death end? Will we ever truly change our ways, or is it something else keeping us locked in this struggle? That is what I hope to find out some day.”

Well, shit. That certainly explained why Janet wasn’t such a fan of the military. She should probably ask her about how the other kingdoms are treated when she got back tommorow. For now, it was time for her to get some sleep. She layed down on the couch, suprised at how much comfier it was with her current body.

Mana Tolerance Acquired

Mana Tolerance 1 -> 2

“Warning, certain skills should not be used for longer then a few hours. Please turn off all skills if not in an emergency.”

Mana Reabsorption Acquired

—————————————————————————

The first thing James did upon waking up was vomit. She ignored the voice saying something to her and leaned over the side of the couch, vomiting all over the floor. Currently, she felt like her entire body had been beaten from the inside, Thank the gods for pain resistance, or she would have been much worse. After a little bit her mind cleared up, which made her feel a better, but the sight in front of her definetly didn’t help. The floor was not covered in just vomit, but blood, and lots of it.

“Kid! Say somethin dammit!”

James looked up and saw Janet standing over her, a very worried expression on her face.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“Oh thank the gods, you’re alright. I was worried you were gone there. What the hell were you thinkin leaving that spell on all night?! Any mage who’s been taught anything knows to take off your spells

before sleeping!”

“I taught myself, never knew about that. I feel horrible.”

“Well, you should feel pretty lucky. I’ not sure how you arent dead right now! Here, let me check…oh, I see now. That’s interesting.” Janet said, as James felt her using scan. She decided she would scan herself just to be sure.

[***** *****’s stats

Health: 722

Mana: 11375

Strength: 357

Agility: 682

Endurance: 310

Mental Fortitude: 1312

Physical Fortitude: 193

Points: 245]

[Skills: Scan 10, Basic Illusion 10, Illusion 10, Power 2, Speed 7, Enhance 7, Invisibility 10,

Blindness 1, Alter Self 1, Mental Resistance 10, Pain Resistance 10, Basic Magic Ability 10, Magic Ability 9, Fighting 3, Brawling 7, Mana Tolerance 10, Mana Reabsorption 2]

[Title: Novice Illusionist]

A lot had changed clearly. Why had her mana increased so much? She checked out her two new skills for more info.

[Mana Reabsorbtion]

[Increases mana gained through training at an exponentional rate. Aquired by consuming a large amount of mana over a long period of time, causing the strength of ones mana to increase.]

[Mana Tolerance]

[Increases the connection between the mana and the body, making it harder for one’s own mana to injure their physical form through misuse.]

Well that was a lot to take in at once. She looked up at Janet, hoping to get a better explanation.

“Okay, what exactly happened to me?” She asked, and Janet thought to herself for a minute.”

“Seems to me, kid, that you got real lucky. You happened to already be an oddly tough son of a bitch, so you managed to live long enough to get a skill for nearly dying to your own mana. Essentially, when you use a spell too long, you put a heavy strain on your mana. So you survived almost destroying your soul.”

“Oh. Um, how close was I to dying?” James said, and she saw Janet doing some math in her head.

“I’ve seen this happen to a couple people. Given all the odds, i’d say maybe a ten percent chance you live that. You’re at least the first person i’ve actually seen survive that, normally either people catch the warning from the system quick enough, or…you probably don’t wanna know what happens when they don’t survive. Either way, glad to see you alive. And it seems you got a rather nifty skill to go along with it.”

James was excited about her new skill, although that excitement was dampened a little by the fact that she had nearly died in her sleep right after getting the spell she wanted for years. She realized she was starting to breath rather heavily, and Janet clearly noticed as well.

“Calm down kid, just take a deep breath, and let it out. You’re all right, you made it.” She said, and she took her advice, breathing more steadily. Eventually, she calmed down a bit.

“Thank you, i’m sorry for panicking. And vomiting blood on your floor, that probably wont come out.”

“It’s alright. But I hope you learn a valuble lesson with this experience. This system isn’t some toy you can play with, it affects your body, mind, and soul. If you just do whatever you want with it, you can die. How the hell did you not wake up anyways, those system warnings are real loud.”

“I grew up in an orphanage and i’ve been sleeping in the woods a lot. I’m used to sleeping with lots of noise around.” She said as she stood up out of bed. Janet took a closer look at her form, her eyes widening.

“Interesting choice of first disguise there bud.” James froze as she said this, but Janet just smiled at her.

“Hey don’t worry, I wont judge. When I got that spell, I had some interest in seeing what the other side was like. Plus, you did a pretty stellar job designing the body, love the hair.”

James let out a sigh of relief, blushing a bit at the compliment from the woman. She went to go get some cleaning supplies from the kitchen, and when she came back Janet was looking at her expectantly.

“Are you gonna, you know, change back?”

“Huh? Why would I do that? I mean, I would have had to before, but now i’ve got the skill. I should be all good right?”

“Sure, physically you’re probably safe. But it’s taking up almost half your mana, and I figured you’d wanna get outta that body after a while.”

“Oh, nah, i’m gonna stay like this.” She said, and Janet raised her eyebrows.

“You’re gonna stay like that? As in, for the rest of your life?”

“Well i’ll change it up every now and then. But why would I ever wanna go back to that old body now? I mean, look at me!” She gestured to her new body, and Janet looked at her for a bit, before shaking her head.

“Well, you do what you want I suppose. You could at least give yourself some shoes though. Once you’re done cleaning that, I need to show you something.” She said, before walking to the kitchen. James looked down, quickly making a pair of some more practical looking boots that still matched with her dress appear on her feet. She got to work cleaning her mess up quickly, and in doing so noticed again just how different her new body was. She was still adjusting to the height difference, so she felt rather wobbly at times, and her chest being so prominent meant she would sometimes accidentally hit them on something, which almost hurt more then accidentaly destroying your soul. Once she finished, she went into the kitchen as well, and walked up to Janet, who was preparing something on the stove.

“Well I don’t think that stains coming out but I did the best I could. What did you need?”

“Glad to see you’re doin okay after that, cause I got a job for ya. First, did you actually do that reading like I asked?” James nodded to her, and she smiled.

“Good. Now, why do you think I don’t much like this kingdom?”

“Well, all we seem to do is trade off who’s enslaving who every few hundred years. I don’t know how no one else hears about this.”

“That’s because the royalty would much rather keep the status quo in check. Who cares if in a hundred years your children will be enslaved, you get to live like a king right now. And that’s why I need you to do somethin for me. This relic you found is divine to be sure. Those weird images you see when it rings? Looks the exact same as some holy ruins to the north of the city. Course, the kingdom doesn’t much like people exploring those ruins, and it’s filled to the brim with some nasty monsters. So, since i’m an old woman and you’re a big strong fighter, I need you to head out and see what the deal is with that place. You up for it?” James thought for a minute. Admitedly, she did want to know more about what was happening around here.

“What benefit does this give you?” She asked Janet.

“If I can figure out a reason why those stuffy royals never seem to even think about changing the way things are, I can show it to people. The other kingdoms have revolted against another kingdom before, but theres never been a revolution in the kingdom itself. Maybe we can really change this place.”

“That’s actually a pretty smart idea. But this sounds kinda dangerous. Mind throwing in something for me?” She asked, and Janet sighed.

“Fine. I’ll teach you one more thing, how’s that sound?”

“Deal. I wanna know how to cancel out those scans like you did earlier.” As she said this, Janet looked angry for a bit, but eventually her expression turned into more of an exasperated smile.

“Goin right for my big techniques eh? Alright, why not. But ancient divine secrets come first, you hear? And here’s some gold, it’s gonna take a couple days to get there so you’ll need some food.”

“Thanks, to be honest, I already have had some problems with the military. Some asshat attacked me on the road and the response from the knights seemed kinda lackluster. Asshole almost burned the forest down too, too busy talking about the Dawnbringer family or whatever to stop.” She said, and Janet eyes widened.

“Did you say Dawnbringer. You met that insane kid?”

“You know him?”

“I don’t know him, but I know of him. Was a normal kid before his families house was raided by bandits. No one survived but him. They say the found the bandits encampment in ashes the next day, and he’s been calling himself that fake name ever since, burning down whatever he deems unholy.”

“That’s horrible, why hasn’t the military done anything?”

“Because, he wants to join them and is oddly loyal to the kingdom. I heard from some old friends they’re giving him a full pardon, so i’d watch your back if I were you.”

“Unfortunately, that tracks from what i’ve learned. Thankfully I can outrun him, so I should be fine. I’ll see you in a couple days.” She went to leave, but Janet grabbed her shoulder.

“One last thing. I’m not joking when I said the monsters there aren’t something to mess with. Be careful.” She nodded, and quickly grabbed her things to head out. She first went back to the stand she saw earlier selling stuff. There were only three people waiting, so she hopped in line, and eventually made her way to the front.

“Hi, could I get a few of those apples there, and that loaf of bread please.” She asked the man behind the stall, and he quickly went to grab them for her.

“So, out doin some shoppin?” He asked her.

“Oh yeah, i’m just getting ready for a trip out of town.”

“Sounds nice. Be careful though, heard some odd things recently. Apparently some mad woman was seen around the castle, riding some beast with wings.”

“Wait, what? What did it look like?” She said and the man shrugged.

“I just heard about it. Someone said it was like a lizard?”

“Well that’s odd. I’ll keep that in mind, but how much do I owe you?” The man smiled at her as she said this.

“Five silver for the apples, and the breads free. Not gonna rake a nice young lady like yourself over the coals.” He said, and she blushed. That was a first, being flirted with. On the one hand, free food. On the other hand, she wasn’t exactly sure about her thoughts on men in general.

“Oh, um, thank you.”

“It’s no problem. Haven’t seen you around before, what’s your name?” He asked, and she froze. Inside her head, she was having a very panicked conversation with herself.

“Do I just tell him my real name? No dumbass, women aren’t named James! But i’m not a woman, or- you know what, we can figure that out later. First step, name. Uhh, what about your favorite flower? No, dandelion is a pretty weird name. Okay, improvise!”

Back in reality, she hoped she hadn’t been standing there thinking for too long.

“Um, i’m Sena.”

“Well, nice to meet you Sena. Hope i’ll see you around.”

“You too” She said, hastily grabbing her items and leaving. Sena, where the hell had that come from? But it did have a nice ring to it. Not a bad fake name, good goin Sena. Wait, did she just say…

“Gods above, again with this. Alright, guess i’m going with Sena for now.”

And so she left on the road, with a new temporary name. Well, she thought it would be temporary at the time.