Most people would naturally assume small creatures to be generally weaker to their respective, larger counterparts and more often than not they would be correct in their assumptions. Bathilda's new world, however, was anything but average, as Bathilda was still coming to terms with.

After she had ended the life of the extremely-sneaky reptilian that had stealthily crept up behind her, a confidence like that of her old-employed self swept over Bathilda. The too-hairy gorilla and the hospital-sized turtle, suddenly found their own battle cut short at the hands of what they mistook to be a fly.

A fly with an OP (Reality Tear) that was.

After dishing up a swift and immediate death for the three, oversized monsters, Bathilda flew back above the clouds to plan her next course of action. Finding people was definitely still the goal, but floating around on the wind was not the way to go about it.

Bathilda's hair shone radiantly under the sun's rays and her heart warmed as it fluttered in to view. Taking a second to appreciate it, but not letting herself get distracted, she quickly brought up her status.

Amazingly, after only three swings of her arm, Bathilda was almost halfway towards her next evolution. It was unprecedented, especially when compared to how long it took her to arrive at her current self.

"Everything is so big. Luckily, bigger doesn't mean better on this planet. Or stronger. Well... I suppose it could, but I've yet to see any evidence of that. I do know that bigger mean lots of XP though," Bathilda giggled. As she looked over her numbers once more.

"I thought we were going to find people? It sounds more like you want to go monster hunting."

"Don't be silly. People are absolutely the number one goal! But if I happen to slice up a few monsters on the way and evolve before we find them, there's no problem with that, right?" Bathilda's eyes glint at the prospect of more XP.

The idea of evolution was becoming intoxicating. More so now that experience had become ridiculously easy to earn. Especially when she believed that her next evolution would bring her closer to what she desired. A taller, maturer version of the body she currently possessed was almost guaranteed in her mind.

Happy about the direction of her future, Bathilda used her newly-upgraded skill to summon two clones.

"Hey! Why am I still in here?" A dejected Hiro complained from inside Bathilda's head. He had not been placed in either of the the two newcomers.

As with all her other summonings so far, both clones were identical to Bathilda in every aspect bar height. Scarlett eyes and long-golden hair were their only defining features. Unless they happened to smile, even Lesser Vampires have fangs that are quite easily noticeable.

Not that Bathilda's clones were smiling. The two pale-skinned children hovered above the clouds next to the original and held no expression at all. They appeared lifeless and empty, unlike the times they had been operated by Hiro.

"There's a reason for that. They're not staying!" Bathilda gave Hiro another thumbs up, expecting him to know exactly what it meant.

"Right? And? What does that mean? That doesn't tell me anything? Hiro obviously had no idea what Bathilda was saying. Although, in his defence, most of the words she had spoken were lost of him as he didn't originate from Earth like she did.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Create clothing," Bathilda instructed her clones. They did as commanded and Illusion magic casts a cloud over their bodies. As it faded away, both of her clones were wearing the same short, white dress that Bathilda had on.

"This is part experiment and part hope," she informed her travel buddy. "For the experimental side of things, I need to find out how far away the clones can travel before they die... Or... Whatever it is that will happen to them when they reach that point. Maybe they'll fizzle out. That sounds better." She looked at her mini-me's and grimaced. Knowing she was sending them to their deaths and still carrying out made Bathilda feel awful. Even if they weren't real people, they still looked like they be part of society.

"Ah. That's what you meant by not staying." Hiro finally understood Bathilda's poor choice of words and was suddenly rather grateful he hadn't been chosen for the task. Being summoned into one of those clones, just to die again, would have sucked so bad.

"Yep and hopefully, they might actually find people while they're at it. I'm going to send them in different directions while we keep heading north." Bathilda was proud of her plan. She couldn't help but smile as she waited for Hiro to complement her plan.

Unfortunately for Bathilda, Hiro was too busy metaphorically fist-pumping the air in Bathilda's mind to congratulate her. Feeling a bit sorry for herself that she didn't get the praise she was expecting, Bathilda sent her clones off and brought her attention back to her status for a third time.

Mainly, to boost her ego a little.

Name: Bathilda

Race: Lesser Vampire

Class: None

Title: Rodent Exterminator

Level: 39

XP needed until next Level: 48,000

HP: 24,670/24,670

MP: 18,514/18,514

Skill Points Available

I wonder when I get a class? Maybe I have to join an alliance or a guild or something like that? Damn. I bet doing that would make me stronger too. I feel like I'm still missing out on so much.

Bathilda closed her status page and continued her journey. To make sure she didn't stray from her chosen direction, Bathilda dropped below the clouds to use the landscape to her advantage.

The world below was not lacking in nature and the forest continued on as far as she can see. Which was extremely far from her her position in the sky. Other than the monsterous-monstrosities barging their way through the nature's backyard, there was nothing else to use as a guide. So trying her best to use the sea of trees and its inhabitants as markers, Bathilda pushed on.

She released (Reality Tear) after (Reality Tear) at anything that moved, as she cruised through the sky.

"This is fucking amazing! Flying was cool before, but now that we're in the open sky it's even better." Bathilda spun, twirled, ascended and descended in wavy movements, enjoying her time thoroughly as she shot through the sky.

"I'm a fucking superhero!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

A few miles away, Bathilda could see large patch of land that wasn't swamped in trees. Inside was a wall that reached almost as high into the sky as she was herself. As she got closer, she noticed that the sturdy feature had been built to keep the forest at bay.

Arriving above it, not a single tree, shrub or mushroom, was visible inside. Neither were there people, unfortunately, but a single, dome-shaped building kept Bathilda's hope alive as she descended to the floor. A large set of doors that would open the way to the forest were built into the wall and was the only other indicator that people had been here at some point. Who else built doors?

"Why have we stopped here? This place is obviously desserted. As well as being eerily quiet, even though the forest outside is full of sound."

Feeling more than a little curious, Bathilda made her way towards the dome. It had a single door that was partially hanging on by a remaining hinge, which broke off as she pushed it open.

The room inside may have well been a replica of the land outside as it was bare of everything except a single, stone feature. This time, however, it was a stone pillar that stood in the center of the room. With no other doors, no furnishing features and nothing else of note, the eerie silence that Hiro had spoken off seemed worse inside the dome.

"I don't think you should go near that."

Stating the obvious, Hiro wasn't expecting Bathilda's next response.

"I know. The thing is though, Hiro. I really, really want too." Bathilda made her way toward the time-worn pillar. Almost pulled in by its featureless lure. As she placed her hand on the cold, smooth surface, Bathilda prayed that her clones would live up to her expectations as the world turned white.