CHAPTER FOUR

Brian removed the chain, letting it dissipate into thin air. The skeleton moved its arms and legs, making sure everything was okay.

“You can go now.”

Unless he imagined things, it almost looked like the skeleton had a sad expression on its face as it bowed. It lingered a few more seconds and left out the metal doors with shuffling steps.

Now I can focus on the next employee. Brian brought up the window again to see the name of the next creature. He stared at the word, waiting for his brain to pull out a forgotten piece of memory. What the hell is a gnoll?

The only fantasy creatures he knew were the basic ones like vampires, dragons, goblins, and those constantly shown in media.

Call the gnoll.

After a few minutes, the doors opened to reveal a creature that made Brian’s heart burst out of his chest. What the fuck is that! Grey spotted hair shooting up in all directions, long-teeth vicious enough to rip the skin off of its prey, and a large build that was two times bigger than his own; the humanoid hyena was the most off-putting and scariest creature he’d ever seen.

The gnoll stood on its hind legs, excited to meet her master.

He was humped in his seat, unable to process the likings of the creature he summoned. He knew this monster probably wouldn’t eat him up (hopefully?) but the sight was too horrifying!

And funnily enough, the gnoll was wearing a black and white maid outfit - complemented with a hat and feather duster. The attire should’ve made the appearance comedic. The sleeves of the dress and the upper bodice were ripped due to the intense muscles underneath. Ultimately, the attire clashed with the gnoll’s appearance, but he wasn’t going to be the one to break the news.

Black irises stared into his soul and waited for Brian to speak.

Silence filled the air. Brian could not open his mouth.

The two just stared at each other.

He scratched the back of his head. Why don’t I pull out its stats?

Gnoll [lvl 8]

Species

Gnoll

Basic Stats

Health

150/150

Strength

80

Agility

10

Speed

10

Mental Stats

Cannot be calculated. Based on the host.

Skills and Magic Spells

「Vicious Bite」

Have a bite strong enough to rip through skin and bones.

「Maid」

House chore ability to clean three times faster than the average person. Ability to spot dust, inconsistencies with furniture, and organize objects.

The gnoll had so much more health than he did, topped with undeniable strength. He wondered if the gnoll was just intense, or he was weak. While he was the master of the house, he made a mental note not to piss the creature off. When he looked down at its skills, the attire all made sense. Though, he wasn’t sure why an animal like this was a maid in the first place.

Oh, wait… Mental stat cannot be calculated? Isn’t that similar to my description? His eyes lit up.

“Can you talk?”

The gnoll snarled. “Res.”

Not knowing if that was a yes or a pure coincidence, he asked another question. This time, something that wasn’t a yes or no answer. “What is your gender?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Grrrl.”

There was a pause. “Do you have a name?”

The gnoll shook her head.

His whole body filled with relief, and the fact he wasn’t the only sane creature in this castle was reassuring. Sure. The gnoll was hard to look at, and the maid outfit didn’t help, but at least he wasn’t stuck alone in this place. Brian would never admit it - but it was quite lonely being alone in this throne room. Plus, the skeletons weren’t the best companions.

He took one more glance at the gnoll and placed his index finger on his chin. A name, huh? Although there was only one gnoll in the castle, he didn’t want to call her by her species.

What would be a good name?

Nothing popped up in his head.

The vibe that this gnoll was giving him was a…

“Brenda? Let’s call you Brenda.”

Strangely enough, the morbid creature reminded him of his next-door neighbor. Specifically, the old grandma who always sent his family baked goods every weekend. The creature gave off a motherly vibe and they both had eerily similar smiles - if he tried hard enough to get past her aggressive exterior.

Sorry, grandma Brenda. I don’t mean that as an insult.

Confirm Name Change: Gnoll → Brenda

No

Yes

He confirmed the action.

The corners of Brenda’s mouth curled into a smile, making chills run up his spine.

“Renda.”

“Brenda. With the B.”

She let out a snarl. “Renda.”

Sensing that pronouncing the B was impossible for the creature, he dismissed his attempts of correcting her. Instead, he leaned against the right side of his throne with his hand supporting the bottom of his chin.

Now that introductions were set, he needed to obtain some answers. Although there was a language and intelligence barrier, it didn’t hurt to try. One of the things he was most curious about was the history of the castle and how it came to be.

In his head, there were two possibilities in this situation, either this castle and the character of Lord Alaric had existed before he arrived, or, the character and this castle, alongside these employees, were created upon his arrival.

Brian tapped his fingers against the metal armrest. “How long have you worked for this castle.”

There was a pause. Brenda squinted her eyes. Her ‘hands’ resembled a mutated version of a human hand and a paw, and they moved to resemble her counting numbers. Six fingers were up.

“Six days? Six months? Six years?”

Brenda shook her head.

Brian pressed his lips together.

“Six hours.”

She nodded.

So it was the latter.

That meant that everything in his castle - from the brick walls to the creature in front of him, came to life the second he came to this world. What kind of crazy situation is this? The whole purpose of this castle existed for him.

The existence of Brenda. If she was created for the sole purpose of cleaning and tending the castle, that meant that she had no past memories and only existed as a maid. This only confirmed that she was someone trustworthy and in the worst situations, could be someone he could lean on.

And... She would also have absolutely no answers to his theoretical questions about the system.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of his fingers echoed through the empty throne room. What else could he ask?

Suddenly, he realized that there was something else he needed to do to understand himself better.

“Do you have a mirror?”

Brenda nodded.

“Bring it to me.”

She bowed, her large body hunching forwards, before leaving the room to follow the request.

The doors closed behind her.

Brian waited patiently for her return.

All he hoped was that his face wouldn’t be messed up. He dared not to picture himself as Brenda.

Time passed and from Brenda’s speed statistics, it wasn’t a surprise that she took a while. Plus, since he didn’t have anything to consume his time, the wait seemed longer than expected.

Finally, the doors opened, revealing Brenda with a mirror.

One big ass mirror.

Instead of the small hand mirror Brian expected, it was a full-length, larger than his entire body piece of work. She carried it with two hands above her hands. The golden frame shimmered underneath the dim lights.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, the mirror was placed, almost too violently, down to the floor. Brian couldn’t help but imagine glass shards flying through the air. Ouch.

A forced smile appeared on his face, his eyes wincing. “Thank you.”

Brian walked down slowly and finally stood in front of the mirror.

Chills ran up his spine. The man in front of him was unrecognizable yet scarily familiar at the same time.

While his basic facial traits stayed, the system had morphed him to fit vampire beauty standards. His face was a scarily ethereal version of himself, casting an androgynous feel. His skin was deathly pale, no color blushing through the white, and contrasted with his short ebony hair.

His eyes were bloody red, embarrassing to think in his own words, but captivating. He understood why on Earth, girls were obsessed with Twilight back in the day. Furthermore, he was tall, his proportions rivaling any celebrity he’d ever seen on tv.

A step back.

The reflection in the mirror did the same.

His delicate fingers gently touched his cheek. Cold. He was cold.

A deep breath escaped from his lips. “Take this away.”

Brenda cocked her head but nodded.

Brian’s heart raced inside his chest; breath hitched at the back of his throat. He immediately stumbled onto the floor with his hand placed on his forehead.

Although Brenda was given the order, she hesitated, making sure her master was alright. Brian grit his teeth and sent her a glare. “Now.”

Once Brenda had left the room, a sigh escaped his lips.

From the moment he began to lose his memory till now - he had already suffered many mental blows. It was not easy having your whole reality and existence change in a mere second. For his own sanity, he tried to rationalize the whole situation, by pretending that this was a simple game.

But to see himself in the mirror to have truly turned into another creature. One that didn’t exist on earth… It was too much.

Brian’s vision filled with black as he closed his eyes. Maybe if he went into a good night's sleep, everything would go back to how it originally was.