Ascension Rebirth - The beginning of everything
CHAPTER XIV
PART ONE
It was a bright, sunny day in the middle of August when a certain baby girl was born.
She had black hair and red eyes. Not a surprise since the father had black hair and the mother had ruby eyes.
The girl was the third child of Aidus Crow Xix Ariadyne the Tetrarch of West Ariadyne. Before her was an older brother of two years and an older sister of five years.
When the girl was born she did not cry much, instead she almost looked like she had given up on life upon birth. It was as though she had been stillborn, of course that was not the case; her heart beat normally. It was a mystery for even Lorna and the doctors.
Aidus stared deeply at his new baby girl. He felt an odd sort of empathy for the girl. He too often had such eyes.
Lorna felt a mixed rush of emotions as she gave birth. She felt exhilarated that she was able to give birth to another child of her beloved husband but at the same time she knew what he wanted was another male heir.
That being said, Aidus was not such a cold man that he did not disregard the effort his wife had put into bearing him another child. He would love this child just as the two before her.
Since he already had a male heir, another one was just for insurance.
Of course it was not as though he saw his children as mere pieces on a board he could move. The only reason he wanted another male heir was because of his experiences from childhood.
His own father and brother were brutally assassinated before him, which forced him to succeed the throne extremely early in his life. Such experiences was what made the current west Tetrarch the man he was today.
"What shall we name our new daughter, honey?"
Lorna asked with a face weakened due to just having given birth.
"This child will be known as [Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne]. A name similar to yours."
"I see, a lovely name, thank you, honey."
Aidus made a satisfied face as he left the room. As the Tetrarch of the entire western most part of the country he was a busy man. It was doubtful that he could spend much time with his family after this either, but he was thankful that they understood that his job was important and supported him from behind.
It was because he had the support and love of his family that he was able to keep up with his iron persona. As stated before he had succeeded the throne from an early age after his father and brother were assassinated, that was why he had hardened up to be such a man.
Their first child's name was Lyssa Crow Xix Ariadyne. She was known as a prodigy amongst her peers for her superior intellect and unmatched talent with the sword. It was everyone's opinion that she would grow to become an extremely influential military commander.
The second child's name was Leon Crow Xix Ariadyne. While he wasn't gifted with talent as his older sister he was very dedicated into fulfilling his purpose. That was to become the next West tetrarch.
The wife, Lorna Crow Xix Ariadyne was one of the most beautiful woman in all of the country. She was the daughter of a powerful duke, the one who had helped Aidus succeed the throne.
Although their marriage was a political one, over time they had come to love each other, it was the best ending that both parties could've hoped for. She gave birth to healthy heirs and supported her husband to the best of her abilities.
"Welcome to our life, Liliana."
Lorna called out as she held her daughter in her arms.
The baby did not respond but looked up at her, as if it had understood what she was saying. She had reacted to the word 'life'.
Lorna gave her a soft smile as she hummed her a song.
PART TWO
The [Crow Xix] Tetrarchy was one of the most ironclad of the four.
Aidus had set up multiple harsh stance on the public, however each one of them were fair and justified.
His aim was to remove as many corrupted nobles as possible throughout his reign, for the most part was successful. However doing so also incurred the wrath of many nobles who were scared that they would lose power.
Many times assassins had come for his life, but his trusted [Praetorian Knights] were more than enough to repel these invaders.
One such Praetorian Knight was a woman named [Soumee]. She looked relatively young, however her real age was a mystery as she never spoke of it. She had platinum white hair and distant crimson eyes that seemed to gaze into a person's soul.
She had a distinguishable scar running down past her left eye.
Beauty was a relatively common thing in this world but even amongst them she stood out.
She was known as the [Goddess of the battlefield].
Her swordsmanship was without peer. However that wasn't all she was capable of.
She had many talents. [Alchemy]. [Archery], [Brawling] and [Magic]. She was a prodigy when it came to combat. In fact, if she ever wanted to she could probably take over the entire Western Tetrarch's castle in a single day.
However she had no such desires, she merely wished to continue her service. She served and served to the point of fatigue and self damage. It was unsightly how hard she worked, it was almost as though she were punishing herself for something.
That the work she did she saw as a form of redemption.
However because of the works of people like the West Tetrarch and Soumee, the western part of Ariadyne was one of the safest and stable part. With rigid rules but very little corruption there were hardly any cases of starvation or conflict.
Aidus had succeeded the throne from an early age when his father and brother were assassinated. At first many of the people were wondering if he'd do a good job since he was only around the age of 24 when he took up the mantle.
However he showed his dedication and talent for governing and soon garnered the support of one of the most powerful noble house in the entire country.
This was the house of [Zeph], the very one that Lorna had been a member of. After a politically arranged marriage between the daughter of Zeph and Aidus, he had solidified his rule and began his true plan.
To rid of corruption within his realm.
Of course there were fierce opposition but with the help of house Zeph he was able to repel all those opposition.
The citizens all showed their support towards the Tetrarch.
As such he had gained the nickname [Iron Tetrarch] due to his sturdy policies and unbreakable will to rid corruption.
On the family side, the Crow Xix were of course the most distinguished family as they were the Tetrarch's family. Their house was not a simple house or a mansion, it was the entire capitol building of the west.
Hundreds of people lived with the Tetrarch's family since the building was so large, thereby making it impossible to feel a sense of loneliness.
Even without their father's direct presence the children and Lorna had not felt any sort of discomfort living. They knew it was necessary and normal for Aidus to be very busy with his work.
And so [Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne] was born.
PART THREE
-LILIANA'S SIDE-
[Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne].
That's what the people around refer to me as, but I have a different name.
[Kirisaki Yui].
That's the name I was supposed to have but everywhere I go I am called [Liliana].
No, correction, everywhere I go they call me [Lady Liliana].
I think it should be obvious by now but I was reincarnated.
Reincarnated with all my memories of my previous life intact. It was a rather cruel punishment since I also have my trauma from the end of my life.
Yet, I was given a second chance in this world.
This world was not normal, it had magic and monsters; knights and adventurers. It is a world that people from my previous life would call 'fantasy world'.
When I first came here (by birth) I felt extremely depressed. The trauma from the end of my life had overcame me and I was living like a corpse. 'How cruel of god' I thought to myself. I didn't even have any time to accomplish anything in that life.
For the first few years of my life I had lived like that. I interacted very little with the people around me and spoke under 12 words a day.
Like that four years had already passed by. Depression was a scary thing, it consumes your time so fast that you couldn't even feel its passage.
It was by then that I started to come out a bit more and realized that I had a strange ability. Though I'm not entirely sure I should be calling it an 'ability' since it's more of a way to perceive the world.
User Interface. That was the closest thing I could equate it with. Every time I interacted with an object or even concentrated on it a little a small interface box would appear to describe it for me.
I'm not trying to brag, really I'm not, but back in my world I was a little bit of a massive otaku. I would watch anime, read manga, light novels and play online games in my spare time. My job was really just a way to fuel my hobbies.
So it would be fair to say that this ability of mine was a godsend.
I could even pull out things like [Status Menus] and [Skills tab].
[Status Menu]
Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne. Level 1
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5
Insight: 5
[Status point: 10]
Gaining experience wasn't too hard. Combat is required but it isn't necessary to kill the opponent. Of course killing an opponent would yield much more experience.
By training with a knight named [Soumee] was able to level up 4 times and my level was sitting at level 5.
Soumee was the only person I ever really confided in. Even my own family I do not talk to them much. Although I'm trying to rectify that now.
She's like an older sister to me, more so than my real older sister in this life. She looks young but she acts more mature than the adults around here. Just being by her side makes me feel safe.
If I had to describe her it would be one of those silent distant types that actually care deep down.
Speaking of which, there was another person that made me feel that way. I'm talking about the person that was sitting next to me during my last moments. He gently stroke my head and embraced me even through that hell like situation.
[Hiyama Kyousuke].
I don't know what became of that person but he's most likely dead. There was also a possibility that he was also reincarnated into this world but the chances of that are slim. There were three hundred people on that plane and if they all reincarnated into this world then I should have heard something about them but I haven't.
Thus I assume they didn't reincarnate with me.
Though, it would be nice if he were alive. I want to see him again.
Love? Perhaps, I wasn't so sure in my own feelings. He said he had a fiancé so it wasn't like I could make a move anyway. Though I do suppose if he did indeed come to this world I might have a chance.
I'm sidetracking, I'll think on that matter more later.
But for now I'll discuss about how things are going on my end.
It seems every time I gain a level I get 5 [Status Points].
Currently, I had 10 status points but when I pressed [+] to distribute them I found that I couldn't. Instead another UI box popped up with the following.
[Status points cannot be distributed until a class has been selected].
When I first saw this my eyes glowed up like Christmas. I was an avid gamer in my previous life so seeing something like this got my gamer spirit going.
But how do I select a class?
When I thought that, my UI ability immediately answered my questions for me.
[Please choose a class]
Then it showed me a list of classes to choose from.
[Magician]
[Knight]
[Assassin]
[Archer]
[Cleric]
[Necromancer]
[Brawler]
[Alchemy]
I had to think carefully about what kind of class I wanted to be. I doubt I'd be able to get another chance at this.
Now, when you think of standard RPG, normally what comes to mind are things like [Knights], [Magicians], [Alchemists] and [Archers]. To be honest those classes would fit incredibly well into the background of this world.
Which was exactly the reason why I wasn't too thrilled on choosing vanilla jobs. It was so stereotypical it would be a waste do something like that when I'm given a real chance at an RPG kind of situation.
[Necromancer] and [Brawlers] were rather refreshing ideas but because I usually played games that didn't have those classes in my previous life I didn't think it'd be a good idea to choose them.
It was too different to how I would play a class normally that I wouldn't be able to efficiently play them.
So my only options were [Cleric] and [Assassin].
Now for [Clerics] just because they're named as such didn't mean that they have to be the robe wearing/back line healer types. I've seen clerics in this world and most of them are actually front line tanks.
They equip themselves with heavy armour and shields and use their power to heal and defend their allies and themselves exponentially increasing the party's survivability.
In that respect I could compare them to [Paladins].
I thought it was a fairly cool idea and didn't mind at all becoming this.
[Assassins] were also rather standard, some games have them. I haven't had a chance to see any real assassins in action so I could only imagine it using th knowledge I already had.
Shadow-dwelling, teleporting, elusive fighters.
To be honest I felt like this class fitted my pre-established personality trait more. I had half a mind to just choose this class.
Once I choose a class I won't be able to use skills from other classes. That's obvious but in a world filled with magic to not be able to use any magic was a little bit of a shame.
Then again, in a world where magic users are abundant to choose a character that doesn't use magic was the norm for gamers. It was much cooler that way.
Call me a hipster I guess.
Yeah, okay, I guess there's no use pondering on a choice I've already made right?
I pressed on the [Assassin] tab.
[Do you wish to finalize this decision?]
[Yes]
As I pressed on the [Yes] everything turned black for a few seconds before returning to normal.
Soumee burst into the room in panic.
"Lady Liliana! Is everything alright?!"
She looked really frantic, it was rather cute since she hardly makes any other faces other than the default 'dejected' look. Maybe I should start causing problems from now on to stimulate more emotions from her?
I guess that would be kind of cruel to her.
Some of the servants came in as well to see what was going on. Speaking of maids, I've only ever seen the maid uniforms in maid cafes but they really were pretty. I wanted to wear one but I don't think my parents would allow that.
A shame.
Anyway I should calm Soumee down first.
"It's fine, nothing happened."
"But there was a brief moment of darkness."
"I said it's fine, I'm unharmed and nothing in the room has been damaged. If you're really worried why don't we visit the castle's cleric for a check up?"
"I think that's a good idea."
That was supposed to be sarcastic but she's rather inept at social conventions.
Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to get checked up as well, it would be a problem if there were some permanent damage to my body simply because I chose a class.
[Nicholai. Level 23. Cleric]
Nicholai was our family's trusted doctor. I heard he and father were friends since children. He was the same age as father: 37.
"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with your body. No external injuries at least, but there is something that's bothering me."
Nicholai made a sour face as he commented.
At those words Soumee became extremely frantic as you can imagine.
"So there is something wrong!"
She shouts as she immediately stands, the chair clanging on the floor as it fell.
It echoes throughout the large dome like structure of the medical office.
"Calm down Soumee, let the doctor finish!"
She turns towards me with a piercing gaze and in an instant I started to sympathize with all of her enemies on the battlefield. If my superior ever told me to go up against that I would just walk away even if I were to be executed for insubordination.
I'm just glad she's on my side.
"Please doctor, what's the problem with Lady Liliana?"
Soumee says, half teary eyed. Cute. And scary. But cute.
"Well, it's something that I've noticed for a while but Lady Liliana had an incredible amount of magical prowess lying dormant."
"Magical powers?"
Soumee tilts her head as she parrots the doctor.
"Yes, let's see~ if I had to compare it would be at the level of the mage hero from 500 years ago."
"?!"
Soumee averts her gaze and makes a sour face as she hears this.
Speaking of which, I've never heard of this mage hero, in fact I haven't really bothered to research about the history of this world that much. That's no good, any smart protagonist should consider information as their number one priority.
I feel like I've already failed at that part.
Right, I've decided to start doing a little bit more research into this world's history.
That being said, I was sidetracking again, we need to get back into the conversation.
Soumee was being uncharacteristically quiet for some reason. Odd for someone who was jumping about, so I decided to continue the topic.
"So what seems to be the problem now?"
"About that, right now I can't feel any magic from within you whatsoever."
"No magic?"
"Yes, it's almost as if your magic just disappeared. You have less magical capabilities than an average person."
"I see."
"No magical capabilities?!"
Soumee snaps back to reality but her face becomes pale as she hears the news. I feel like she's taking this much harder than I was.
Well, I already knew that I wasn't going to be able to do magic anymore as soon as I tapped on the [Assassin] class so it wasn't too much of a shock.
Even after we bid the doctor farewell, Soumee was jumping all over the place.
"What do we do, Lady Liliana?!"
Soumee turns back towards me panicking. I sometimes find it hard to believe that she's revered as the [Goddess of the battlefield] when she was panicking over something like this.
Though, I've seen her in actual combat so I knew her title was earned. It was a little while ago there was an assassination attempt on my life, it wasn't anything major, some level 12 punk tried to kill me but was easily deterred by Soumee.
Though everything turned out fine, it's at times like those I fully understand the principles of the [Sword of Damocles]. Those with power also have their own problems.
I've also been learning how to fight from Soumee so I can sort of guess at her skill level.
"It's fine Soumee. I don't mind it."
"But Lady Liliana! You've lost your magic! How can you be so calm?"
How can you be so panicked? Is what I wanted to ask but didn't.
"I didn't lose it."
"What do you mean?"
The existence known as [Soumee] is someone I can trust. Someone who's hands I can place my life into. In this world she's my only ally so I shouldn't hide so many things from her.
I won't tell her that I'm a reincarnated being but I don't want to keep too many secrets from her.
I'll confide in her.
"I didn't lose it, I gave it up."
"...? what do you mean?"
"I won't beat you in combat but do you want to see what I gave up my magic for?"
"?"
Of course she's confused. Well, let's give her a little demonstration.
PART FOUR
Let's talk about my family.
For the bulk of this life I've played the depression card so I haven't had many chances to interact with other people.
My father of this world was hardly ever there, but I admit he was the Tetrarch so I could understand his absence.
As for my mother, she has gotten ill recently, and has become bed ridden.
My older sister, Lyssa is usually out with the soldiers during field expeditions and training. She's also to start school from the next year at the age of ten so she'll be moving away. Just when I cured myself of the depression.
I haven't actually talked to her that much, she's a little scary to be honest even though she's only a 9 year old.
As for my older brother, Leon, he's rather cute I should say. She isn't that gifted compared to Lyssa but he tries really hard, it's so precious. I haven't spoken much with him either but he doesn't seem like a bad kid, he resembles mother in the way he acts gentle.
Since my mental development had already reached its apex I didn't really mind all that much about being left alone. I could coup with it.
Since Soumee was always with me that helped as well.
So then there's me. The 'black sheep' of the family. I get rather weird accusing eyes from the other nobles but I can understand that.
The nobles around us aren't bad people, that much was guaranteed by father's actions. Most of the corrupt officials were executed.
It was kind of refreshing to see actually. In my previous life, all of those corrupt politicians ran rampant and everything was a mess.
When things really are cleaned up like here it was actually nice to see.
The crime rate here, at least in West Ariadyne was pretty low.
If I had to give a numeric figure to it, perhaps at around 0.3%?
Most people were happy.
I'm side tracking again.
So about me. I was given equal education as my older brother and sister, of course.
Since I had rather large advantage of them I breezed past it, is what I want to say but I figure that would destroy my older brother's pride.
Having two prodigy sisters would be tough, I'll just play the role of an average kid.
I often run away from my tutors and slack off.
I tried my best to imitate those anime characters that play the delinquent, I hope I'm doing well.
Soumee always manages to find me. I think she's using magic to do that though. That's cheating.
Finally there's Soumee.
Soumee serves at a position known as the [Praetorian Knight]. One of the highest position within the Ariadyne Military, however they also act independently from the military at the same time.
Specifically they act as a 'special forces' group under direct control by the individual Tetrarchs.
These elite soldiers have high priority missions like apprehending heinous criminals, subjugating vile monsters, protecting the Tetrarch and their families and escorting crucial VIPs.
Most praetorian knights I've seen were around level 39 ~ 45.
Which makes Soumee a little bit more special because her name and title looks like this.
[Soumee. Level 97, Paladin].
That's right, she was a level 97, and a paladin. She's a monster.
I was first introduced to Soumee when I was only 2 years old. Most two year olds wouldn't remember that but since I was already fully self aware at that point I was able to. She was assigned to me as a [Praetorian Guard].
From since then, she's always stayed by my side. I know it's probably only because of her job, but she treats me properly and makes me feel safe.
Due to my mental age being much higher than my biological age I see her less as a bodyguard and more as a friend. I genuinely wish that our friendship will remain unchanged for all of eternity.
She got really worried about my magic disappearing. Nobles don't exactly need to use magic, of course being able to use it gives you extra points, but even without it no one will think less of you.
Since it was also a conscious decision on my part I don't mind that my magic is gone, but she didn't know that.
Which is why I've brought her out all the way to the backyard training grounds. There were no other people here since most of them have gone out on their daily jobs.
It was a large open field with little terrain objects. In a straight up fight like that, Assassins would have a disadvantage but that was fine. I only wanted to demonstrate what I traded my magic for to Soumee.
I opened my [Status menu] and dumped all of my stats into [Dexterity]. I made this decision very easily because as a gamer I knew what I was doing. [Dexterity], for the most part increases my reflexes and accuracy.
[Strength] increases my attack power.
[Insight] increases my prediction abilities.
For now I would increase my stats in ratio of 3:1:1
Of [Dexterity]:[Strength]:[Insight].
That ratio should be good for now, if need be I'll stop putting [insight] and make it a 3:2 ratio of [Dexterity]:[Strength].
But for now, everything goes into [Dexterity].
[Status Menu]
Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne. Level 4
ASSASSIN
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 35
Intelligence: 5
Insight: 5
[Status point: 0]
Next, I opened my [Skill tab] but there was only one skill.
[Instincts of the Assassin].
It was a passive skill as well.
The basic gist of the skill was that it improved my reflexes and movements exponentially. It was still only level 1 but I could feel that I was able to move my body much more easily.
Anyway I had no skills other than this single passive ability. At first I was confused but I understood what this meant.
There were games like this in my previous life so I knew.
Basically one has to 'gain' skills by experimenting on their own or through a tutor or book. Of course there were restrictions, for example I can't just start learning magic, the kind of skills that I could learn would have to be ones under [Assassination].
Now since I don't know what kind of skills they were I had to rely purely on my imagination. Thankfully I had an encyclopaedic level of knowledge when it came to RPGs.
I closed my eyes and visualized the kinds of skills that Assassins would use.
I probably needed to use them somehow in order to actually gain them. While I'm not too sure on the specifics I figure my [Instincts of the Assassin] would help me with that.
"Lady Liliana? Why are we here?"
"Like I said, I'm here to show you what I traded my magic for."
"'Trade', you say but I don't understand."
"It's simple, we're having a little mock battle. I haven't really experimented on my new abilities so I wanted you to be my guinea pig."
"Guinea pig?"
Yeah, of course those don't exist in this world.
"It's nothing, just do what we always do when we train but be on your guard. I'll probably be moving a bit differently now."
Soumee tilts her head in a cute way. As much as she is beautiful she is also fairly cute when she acts in a childish manner. I think this is what they call 'Gap-Moe'. It's the first time I've seen it in real life; it's so effective!
Since she always avoided answering when I ask her age I'm at a stalemate in how to actually treat her. Behaviour-wise she's probably around mid twenties but sometimes she has a distant look that only people decades old would get.
Women's appearances are always deceptive, this I know very well.
Anyway, she has no idea about my new 'abilities', well I, myself have no idea what I'll do either so I guess it's fair.
She readies her posture. She doesn't use any weaponry during our training, that should be obvious, she does however, wear her armour.
As for me I was wearing easy to move in clothes and had a small short sword. If an adult were to hold it, it would be the size of a small dagger.
It was blunt for obvious reasons but that itself shouldn't hinder my objectives for this mock battle.
"Whenever you're ready Lady Liliana."
I sometimes wish she would stop calling me 'Lady Liliana' since that's so cumbersome to say in conversations, but when I brought that up she objected fiercely.
I was given the first move.
Normally when we practice I hold my sword with the proper grip but right now I have a reverse grip. Seeing that Soumee makes a quizzical face.
"I'm coming~"
I say in a light-hearted manner to get her both ready and off guard. It's basics of any assassin, to let the opponent underestimate your abilities.
I start to lightly jog towards her, and as I do I feel a great force rising from within my body. I felt I could manipulate this 'force' to move my body however I wanted.
As I was thinking up of making a new skill a UI box appears before my eyes.
[New skill developed: [Shadow Dash]]
I felt a grin on my face. Get ready Soumee~
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I used the skill that I just learnt and dash with a shadowy effect trailing behind me. I was moving extremely fast yet I felt almost no wind resistance. It could be an effect of the skill or my passive ability.
Almost instantaneously I closed a 7 meter gap in a second which surprised the heck out of Soumee, as evidenced by the shock clearly plastered all over her face.
Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was flapping about.
I was about to stab her with my dull practice short sword when another UI box appeared to distract me.
[New skill developed: [Assassinate]]
It sounded really ominous, like if I used this skill Soumee will die. That's what assassinate means.
However I threw that thought right out of my head because thinking objectively, whatever a level 4 does to a level 97 shouldn't be life threatening.
My short sword glows with a tint of red and particle effects surround it as I was thrusting down with a gravity assisted swing.
Soumee managed to intercept with her metallic gauntlets.
"Wha-?!"
It's not over yet!
And another UI box appears for a split second.
[New skill developed: [Shadow Cloak]].
Before I even land from my attack I used the skill. It's a skill that makes me temporarily invisible. Unfortunately my footsteps were still registered by the sandy floor and I was also losing my invisibility only after a few short seconds.
My skills were only level 1 after all.
If I continue to level these skills I should be able to overcome these defects.
Anyway, using my temporary invisibility I tried to use [Assassinate] on Soumee's unguarded back.
As expected of a level 97, she notices my presence and grabs my sword with her metal gauntlet and throws me aside.
As I land a cloud of dust form around me. I feel pain coursing through my lower back and right arms.
I lay there for a while even after the dust clears. I looked up at the clear skies and I feel a smile forcing itself onto my face.
For the first time in four years I felt like I was truly 'alive'. I was having fun for the first time in this life.
I could almost even feel tears running down my face. They were tears of happiness.
But as if to ruin the moment another UI box appears.
[New skill developed: [Back Stab]].
How ominous.
It was a passive ability that increases my attack whenever I strike from behind a person. Yeah, that sounded about right from what I remember of the Assassin class in RPGs.
Soumee came running over because I didn't get up.
"Lady Liliana?! Are you okay?"
She notices the tears in my eyes and once again enters a state of panic. She's way too fragile when it comes to my safety, for that I'm thankful but also a little worried.
"W-What's wrong Lady Liliana?! Did you get hurt?"
"No, these are tears of happiness."
"Happiness?"
"Yes, because I feel alive. It's thanks to you, Soumee, that I can feel like this. You have my eternal gratitude."
"Are you sure you're not hurt?"
"It's fine, getting hurt is a part of training."
"I suppose but you shouldn't over do it, as a noblewoman you have to keep appearances too."
When I first met Soumee, my impression was that she was the soldier type who lives for battle and nothing else matters. However that assertion couldn't be any more wrong.
She understands social conventions very well. How a noble should act and that they should keep up appearances.
I thought such superficial things wouldn't even be considered by her but she thought of it. She's much more down to earth than just a brute soldier.
So when she tells me that 'as a noblewoman I should keep up appearances' I know it's not sarcasm.
Lying here on this floor I could see up Soumee skirt. She was wearing a silky miniskirt that was lined up with metallic plates.
Underneath those short skirt was a thin piece of black laced underwear. I could swear that they were almost transparent.
Is it a man?! Who would dare touch my Soumee?!
I don't swing that way, but if it was for Soumee, I just might.
Seeing her so unguarded made my adrenaline pump back up.
I could once again feel the force of battle within my body welling up.
[New skill developed: [Blink]].
In an instant I disappear in a shadowy effect leaving Soumee once again shocked.
I appear behind her and try to attack but she once again notices my presence and defends herself and throws me across the training field once more. This time I was able to land perfectly on my feet.
For a second I saw an ominous smile flash across her face. It was bone chilling.
Realizing herself she steps back.
"Ah, my apologies, it seems that my blood has started boiling with the scent of battle from you, Lady Liliana."
"Oh?"
"I don't know what you did but it looks like you've become stronger. I see now why you traded your magical abilities for this mysterious art. I guess it's fine for me to stop worrying about your lost magic?"
"Yeah, like I said, I gave it up willingly."
"I see."
"So, how about it? I'll permit you to do more than just defend, want to have a real mock battle?"
Soumee has a sort of malicious smile which fade away almost instantly. I guess that's her usual battle face?
With that kind of scary look I wouldn't even be surprised if her nickname turns into the [Demon of the battlefield].
PART FIVE
If I had to summarise the results of my mock battle with Soumee in the afternoon in a single word, it would be: 'Failure'.
I was completely beaten without even being given a chance to retaliate to any of her movements. For the first time in my two lives I thought that an unsurmountable wall has been erected before me.
Equal parts depressing and equal parts motivating.
This was the first 'Goal' I had since coming to this nonsensical world.
My first objective was to 'beat Soumee'.
Now that being said, I wondered the corridors of the castle during night.
There's no electricity in this world so that means no light bulbs. I wasn't able to use magic either so I truly had no way to see that well in this darkness.
As I squinted my eyes a familiar UI box appears.
[New skill developed: [Night Vision]]
Certainly this was fairly 'assassin' like but the amount of skills I'm getting recently is kind of scary.
[Night Vision] was a passive skill that allowed me to see through heavy darkness like it was a bright sunny day.
While it was a passive ability I could still turn it off whenever I don't need it. If I couldn't do that it would become extremely annoying when I needed to sleep.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was wondering throughout the castle.
I had no real purpose or destination. I just couldn't sleep because I was still feeling a little excited about my new found powers.
During the day there are many servants and nobles roaming these corridors but right now it's so desolate.
I was sitting alone in the garden located at the back of the castle. There was a small stone shelter in the middle of the garden that served as a perfect place to procrastinate.
Well, if I were to see this scene in an objective manner it would be kind of creepy. A four year old girl sitting alone in the garden at the dead of night.
I quietly served myself some tea that I made.
I looked up towards the stars as I leaned against the stone bench.
Stars.
I guess that means that there were other planets in this world too. I wonder if people of this world has ever visited their moon like we have. It seems unlikely, but with magic, who knows?
"Who's there?!"
As I was about to start dozing off I heard a voice from close by. It was a familiar voice.
"Soumee~?"
I called out in my half-dazed condition.
"Lady Liliana? What are you doing here at this hour?"
Well, she would be confused. To be honest I wasn't even sure what I was doing right now.
I couldn't sleep so I took a little walk but after calming down in the garden I suddenly felt a lot sleepier. Really, what am I doing?
"I just couldn't sleep."
Soumee walks over to the stone shelter in the middle of the garden.
I wonder if she could see in the dark as well as I can.
She didn't have troubles walking so maybe?
She sits beside me.
"Want a drink?"
"I don't mind."
I offer her my half drunk tea. She took it without reservation and drank straight from it. I wonder if this would count as an indirect kiss?
I slump over and lean my head against her shoulders as I look up above to the stars.
"Lady Liliana?"
"Let me be like this for a bit."
"..."
She doesn't say anything but I don't think she's against it.
Back in my previous life I had no siblings or close friends to do something like this. All my life I only drifted and when I was old enough to work I only used it to make money for my hobbies.
I had no significant other, nothing really to live for. I'm not saying I was suicidal but I was a little melancholic.
Ironically the best thing that happened to me was dying.
In my death I was able to meet Hiyama-san, who comforted me, and Soumee who stays by my side.
This world can be nonsensical at times but it isn't overly malicious. I wouldn't mind living here from now on.
Soumee started to stroke my hair from behind. It was a gentle feeling.
I felt a sense of security as I let sleep overtake me.
PART FIVE
Today it's my first time outside the castle city of West Tetrarch.
I was with Soumee of course. With her as my bodyguard I doubt there was anything any assassin could do to me.
Though since I'm the third child I doubt my life would be readily aimed for.
Anyway I was out on a little expedition with a small group of soldiers, my older sister and Soumee.
We were there to subjugate a group of monsters that has been appearing recently on the borders.
Because it would be too dangerous if left alone my father sent a small force to deal with them. I just happened to be tagging along in secrecy.
Of course no one knew I was coming until it was too late.
We were already at a border village known as [Cherm Village].
It was a small town with only a few hundred people living here. Upon first arrival it really was as though it was straight out of an RPG. Small houses with no electricity, village children running around, the village chief.
I could feel my heart pounding from excitement.
I think I had a big dumb smile on my face so my sister came to correct that.
"We're not here to play around, Liliana."
I was scolded.
"I, I know that sister. We're here to deal with the monsters that's been appearing right?"
"That's right, that's why I think it best if you took one of the guards and headed back home."
"No, I want to subjugate the monsters as well!"
"Liliana!"
I know she was just worried for my safety but I also had a role to play. I wasn't intentionally trying to be a brat but there were some things adults have to grit their teeth and do.
I hope this sister of mine will understand that someday.
As I justified my actions to myself I ran to Soumee for defense.
"Soumee said I could come!"
"Eh? Did you Soumee?"
Soumee gives a small non verbal nod.
"I, I see. If Soumee says so then I guess it's okay."
Soumee is one of our most powerful knights, so her decision was taken very seriously. Since I could numerically see that as well that fact went double for me.
As for my sister.
Her stats look something like this.
[Lyssa Crow Xix Ariadyne. Level 9, Swordswoman].
Have to hand it to you sis, you're pretty strong for a 9 year old.
Incidentally this is what my stats looked like now after training a bit with Soumee.
[Status Menu]
Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne. Level 11
ASSASSIN
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 56
Intelligence: 5
Insight: 12
[Status point: 0]
I went with the 3:1:1 stat distribution scheme as I planned.
Suffice it to say, I was actually stronger than Lyssa, but since I haven't shown anyone that power, everyone was doubtful.
Yeah, yeah I get that I look like an average noble girl on the outside but on the inside I'm actually a deadly assassin.
I also improved on my general abilities as well.
[Instincts of the Assassin] was now at level 4.
[Shadow Dash] was now at level 4
[Shadow Cloak] was now at level 5.
[Assassinate] was now at level 7.
[Blink] was now at level 3.
[Night Vision was now at level 2.
[Back Stab] was at level 3.
The average level of adventurers around West Ariadyne was only really around level 12~17.
I was slightly below average if you put it numerically but any good gamer knows that levels don't really mean a whole lot in the long term.
It's how one utilizes their skills that really matters.
Against human opponents I might actually win simply because of the surprise factor. No one would expect such a level of skill from me so I could use that to my advantage.
However against monsters was a slightly different matter.
I guess it really depends on what sort of monsters I'm fighting but on a general level I don't really have a good idea of how they fight.
I think basing my entire combat knowledge on scripted AI movements of computer games in my previous life would be a fatal mistake so this was truly the first time I get to see how monsters act.
Eat your heart out developers I get to see the real thing!
Hehehe! I'm getting excited again.
You have to admit that this would be an opportunity that people would kill for back in my previous life.
So far nothing was happening.
The other knights and my sister were talking with the village chief about the monsters that were appearing.
I was simply waiting outside being bored. With Soumee of course.
"Hey, lady. You're from the capital aren't you?"
The one to make conversation was a small boy about my age, I mean about the age of this body.
"That's right, we're here to subjugate the monsters plaguing this town."
"Hmm? What can you do with that small body?"
"Small? How rude, I'll have you know I'm plenty powerful. Especially compared to you, Royce."
"Eh? How did you know my name?"
"Huhuhu~ don't underestimate me. There is nothing I don't know."
"Whoa~ amazing!"
The boy had twinkles in his eyes.
Of course I simply only read his stats a little to figure out his name.
[Royce. Level 1, Villager]
It seems only nobles in this world have last names.
"Cool! Cool! So what else can you do?"
"Eh?"
I may have over hyped him a little too much.
"Can you use magic?"
"Magic? No, but someone like me doesn't need magic."
"Oh! So what can you do?"
"I can do this!"
I used [Shadow Dash] and [Blink] in succession to do a little pallor trick.
"Amazing! That was so cool! I've never seen anyone move like that."
"Huhu~ now you understand the extent of my greatness. That's good."
"What are you doing Liliana?"
My older sister came.
It looks like they've finished with the boring talks.
"Nothing, just playing with this boy."
"Leave it at that, we're leaving."
"That's what she says, sorry Royce, I'll play with you next time."
I used an accusatory tone to make my older sister look like the bad guy. Royce made a pouting face as he looked at my sister with teary eyes.
PART SIX
There was a small forest near Cherm Village where monsters usually roam. From what I can understand the usual monsters that appear here are something like goblins, slimes and ogres.
However recently more corrupted and powerful versions of those monsters have been propping up. Thus the town decided to ask the capital for some help.
Since this was a matter regarding our entire west Ariadyne of course my father consented to it immediately.
It's because father displays such decisiveness like this that he is very well liked in the country.
I'm a little proud to be his daughter because of that. It might be a little weird though, I don't think I have a electra complex.
In any case, we were now off to the forest to subjugate monsters!
My first adventure, Yay, a round of applause please.
As we walked deeper into forest I felt a plethora of hostile enemies like I've never felt before, because I actually haven't felt that before in the capital.
They were the signs of monsters, it was completely different to human energy signatures.
I could clearly feel hostile intentions locked onto us. It's a little hard to describe it but it was kind of like the feeling of someone staring at you during a train ride.
The mixture of that uncomfortable and awkward atmosphere.
I actually couldn't find where the hostile intentions were coming from. I knew the general direction but not the actual location.
This wasn't good, if they had some sort of ranged weaponry it could be fatal. I'm sure Soumee would cover for me today but someday she might not be next to me, which is a depressing thought.
But that was reality. I know I was acting fairly childishly lately but that was all within acceptable bounds, I knew where to draw the line.
The fact that Soumee will one day leave was something I had to face sooner or later.
Anyway, I'm sidetracking again, but the root of the problem still remains.
I need some way to detect enemies.
Luckily I've read enough manga and played enough games to know what to do.
Or at least I hope that the information from there was applicable.
I had to develop a new skill.
A skill to detect enemies.
While continuously walking I slowly closed my eyes.
I've seen it multiple times in pop culture, you know the scene where an old sage like character teaches a younger protagonist.
They'll usually say stuff like, 'concentrate on the enemy'.
'Don't let your real senses fool you'.
Things like that.
I tried doing a similar thing.
I focused on the direction of the hostility I was picking up from [instinct of the assassin].
I think it was starting to work.
I was getting a very vague imagery in my mind.
"-na."
I thought I heard someone, must've been my imagination.
I continued on.
I focused on the image.
It got a little less blurry.
It was a tall figure.
Odd, this doesn't really look like a monster.
I suppose I should concentrate a bit more.
"-ana."
I think some of the soldiers were talking, it was actually quite distracting to what I was trying to do.
I was honing in on the large tall figure.
"Liliana!"
"Eh?!"
I opened my eyes and finally understood what that tall figure was.
Unfortunately I could not stop in time.
"Ouch~"
It was a tree.
I bumped into a tree.
This really was something straight out of a comedy skit.
"Eh?"
I was seeing stars.
"What are you doing? You have to pay attention to where you're walking."
Lyssa was scolding me again. It was quite vexing to hear that from a 9 year old.
I mean really, think about it, if you were told off from a 9 year old what would you think? It was even in a tone that kind of looked down on you.
I know she was only trying to look out for me but I wasn't exactly playing around by closing my eyes.
[New skill developed: [Keen Mind]].
Great.
Thanks, UI box.
Well I guess I managed to develop the skill I was trying to make.
Ironically the way I achieved it was the least aware way. Bumping into a tree.
I think I was a tad bruised.
Soumee came up and rubbed the wound on my forehead.
I think she applied some magic to it because the pain went away.
"Thanks."
I gave her the brightest smile I could muster.
She gave me a gentle grin and nodded.
So cool!
I wish I could be like her one day.
We walked a bit further into the forest.
By the way I found out the hostile gazes were from goblins. I could feel their presence, it was a little creepy though.
"Watch out!"
Since I felt something I shouted it out.
"Eh?"
This time it was my sister who was caught off guard.
She stopped immediately and a small blue puddle appeared in front of her.
I think it should be obvious but that wasn't really a puddle but a monster known as 'slime'.
[Slime. Level 4].
They didn't have any jobs or titles. Guess that's fair since it's a monster.
"How did you-"
My sister was about to ask how I knew but I ran in and tried to stab it with the knife I was given.
The knife kind of just went through it without doing any sort of damage to it.
Well, it was a sort of liquid based monster, why did I think that physical attacks would work?
I should know this, I'm a gamer!
I took a few steps back.
Well, I'm completely out of options when fighting such monsters.
I think I need to devise some sort of skill that allows me to deal magic based damage instead of physical ones, for this kind of situations.
"Step back."
Soumee coolly instructed me as she summoned a small fire based magic spell.
[Fire bullet] I think it was called.
It was pretty small, I thought.
Well against a slime I guess that would do the trick.
But I was naïve. That small fire bullet was turned into a gigantic explosion upon impact.
There was even a large hole in the ground where it used to be.
"Eh?"
All of the soldiers and even my sister had their eyes wide in shock.
Even I was pretty stunned at that.
An attack from a level 97 paladin, should have expected right?
"Amazing."
I muttered under my breath.
"Let's continue."
That's all Soumee said, but why did I think that line was so cool? To not give a damn about such a large event, so cool!
I was actively drooling at this point, because my sister saw me she made a pained expression while she wiped my mouth with her handkerchief.
"Sorry."
Deep down she's a softy too.
I sensed something else coming for us so I stopped a bit.
When I did the others looked at me in confusion.
Even Soumee.
Perhaps they couldn't sense things like I did?
"What's wrong?"
My sister gives me a quizzical look.
"Something's coming."
"What do you mean?"
Indeed, what do I mean? This presence was pretty big. It was stronger than a slime or a goblin.
The only monster I could think of that fit the bill was.
"An ogre?"
As if on cue, a large grey skinned monster appeared.
It was around 2.4 meters tall with ragged clothing.
On its forehead was a small horn.
Its fingernails were all dented and ragged, I feel like it could cut through your skin.
It was breathing heavily as though it was enraged.
[Ogre. Level 9].
For something so big it was pretty weak.
Was I underestimating it?
Even after I said to myself that a difference of a few levels didn't really mean anything?
I think it's a standard mindset of players to often think monsters are weaker than them by a lot.
In its hand was a weapon made from bones of dead monsters.
Now I could let the soldiers handle this but I wouldn't really get any experience.
Soumee looked like she was ready to attack at any moment.
After coming all the way here I think it's only fair that I get a go first right?
Without even saying a word I made a dash for it.
"Liliana!"
I heard my sister shout out in a clearly worried tone.
Since my stature was small I probably avoided its line of sight.
I was crouching right under it with my dagger ready.
It hadn't even noticed my presence.
That's good.
I stabbed its foot.
"RAAHH!"
It cried out and looked down to see me. It had clear malice in its eyes, ready to pummel me into the floor.
Oh, how scary.
Well, that was my plan after all.
No, not to get pummelled into the floor, of course not.
To see me it had to bend over.
Taking that opportunity I used [blink] to position myself slightly above its back.
The Ogre was confused that I suddenly disappeared.
Excellent.
As I was in perfect striking position I managed to swing down my dagger with a gravity assisted [Assassinate].
The dagger dug deep into its back.
The passive effect from [back stab] in addition to a gravity assisted [assassinate] was a powerful combo.
Gamers, at least those amongst us who play a lot of RPG like to min-max their damage.
I chose the most optimal way of dealing the most amount of damage.
The ogre didn't even stand a chance.
It died after a few seconds.
[You have gained a level].
Yay.
"W-What?!"
My sister was visibly shaken by that abhorrent display of barbarism by me. I mean considering I was supposed to be a noble girl I guess my movements would have looked pretty vicious.
The soldiers on the sideline also looked at me in surprise.
Incidentally the average level amongst soldiers were around level 15.
Not so much different from me.
If I convert the numeric values into real life skill level, then it could be said that I was only slightly weaker than an experience adult soldier or adventurer.
So watching a four year old with that much skill and power would have been an amazing sight.
And now I have to deal with the backlash of my display.
"Ehehe?"
I cutely laugh it off.
My sister ran up to me and held my shoulders, check me all over.
"Eh? Eh?"
She furrowed her eye brows.
"What's wrong sister?"
"How did you do that?"
With a mixture of worry and confusion she asked me. Considering that she spent most of her brief life training with soldiers she would be pretty confused as to how I, an untrained noble girl was stronger than her.
I put both hands on my waist and looked at her with a triumphant stare.
"Because I'm strong!"
"Eh."
"Lady Liliana has been training with me for a while."
Coming to take down my triumphant display was Soumee. While it was true that she trained with me it was really me who came up with those skills, based of RPGs that I've played in the past. But still!
"Oh, I see."
It looks like my sister came to some sort of conclusion based on that but, I don't know I think she might have gotten the wrong idea.
Well that's fine, I didn't really feel like explaining to them about how I have some sort of RPG like ability.
I added the 5 status points into 3:1:1 again.
That was the first time I've killed a living monster. I didn't really have much qualms killing monsters, I did that almost every day behind a monitor, it kind of just became second nature to me.
You'd be right in saying that real life killing and killing some 1s and 0s are different but I was fairly desensitized.
Besides, if I were to continue living in this world I think it was a good thing I didn't have much difficulties killing monsters.
With that, our journey into the forest continued.
END REPORT
[Status Menu]
Liliana Crow Xix Ariadyne. Level 12
ASSASSIN
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 59
Intelligence: 5
Insight: 13
[Status point: 0]
[Skill menu]
(PASSIVE) [Instincts of the Assassin]: Level 4
(ACTIVE) [Shadow Dash]: Level 4
(ACTIVE) [Shadow Cloak]: Level 5
(ACTIVE) [Assassinate]: Level 7
(ACTIVE) [Blink]: Level 3
(PASSIVE) [Night Vision]: Level 2
(PASSIVE) [Back Stab]: Level 3
(PASSIVE) [Keen Mind]: Level 1