I let out a sigh as my hair was jerked around by the maid. This grooming process was awful and annoying! Attor vanished back inside of me, but then he decided to floated around me to watch my suffering after he realized I was the only one able to see him. Are you happy, now? I glared at his apparition and grumbled. The brush yanked my head again.
“Silence, brat,” the old servant hissed. I did as I was told, but she was poised to snap back in case I resisted. The other servants avoided me, and the important adults seemed to look upon me with complete disdain, even after I was covered up.
How did I end up like this? When I went back inside the tower, I noticed the teleporter surging with energy from behind the magically sealed door. I gulped, since this place was no doubt a mess. The old hag appeared, and nearly shrieked at the sight of me. Apparently, walking around in torn up rags and smelling like goblin was not something the humans did. Therefore, she threw dratted, but more suitable clothing on me and dragged me by the ear back through the teleporter and the next thing I knew I was in a luxuriously decorated room. Well, stuck inside a barrel of cold water, but this place was far grander and spacious than the cramped tower’s bedroom. Perhaps Attor and I will switch rooms, I considered. Attor was my Familiar, after all, so what’s his is mine, right?
Attor protested, but the woman was shaking me by the shoulders. Is this concern, or an excuse to abuse me? I let it happen, since the pain of whatever this woman was trying to inflict upon me did not actually affect me, thanks to that Passive Skill I had. I hoped my acting could keep it up.
“It is dangerous outside,” she scolded me. “You can die out there! Have you gone feral? Your Father would never forgive me if you died out there!”
Well, I could have told anyone that it was dangerous outside! Isn’t my death desired for you foolish humans? I retorted in my mind. And I DID die out there. Multiple times, in fact!
Not that this wretched human would understand. I noticed a window above her grey head displayed her stats to me.
— Becca, level 9
— Class: Human Servant [Common]
HP: 100%
“What’s your level, Mrs. Becca?” I asked her. All her Stats were pitiful. They were each F Rank. The servant looked at me with a confused and hostile look.
“This again? Your Awakening is in a month! You need not think of those things until then, brat. You hear me?” She scolded, but inwardly I refrained from chuckling. She either did not know she was weak or was ashamed of herself and hid her level from others. Demons would devour her whole, if they knew she was such a weakling living in the clutches of a Master’s household.
“But you are level one,” Attor chuckled. No one but me could hear him either.
Shut it! I used to be level 20, so therefore I was stronger! Ha!
Attor simply rolled over in midair and crossed his neck with his talons, feigning death.
Oh, your insults would cut me deep, old man, I retorted. If you were in your original form!
The lady was scrubbing my back viciously—or at least that’s how it felt like— with a cold rock of some kind that left a trail of bubbles up my skin in its wake. It smelled clean. Too clean. Then I heard her lower her voice.
“I pray every day to the Gods that you cannot make it to the Ceremony, or that it gets delayed, child,” she sighed. Was that concern in her tone. “These Statuses from them will bring you nothing but trouble.”
“Mm, I agree,” I muttered. So far, what she said was true. I fought a lot only just to get stuck here.
“What did you say?” The maid changed her tone back to hostility.
“N-Nothing,” I stammered. I felt myself lifted in the air and wrapped by a dry cloth.
“Good,” she scrubbed me down once more. She uttered something, activating a Skill. Uh, Wisdom? What did she—
Immediately, I became wrapped in a warm light and the cold water vanished. A Skill for drying me off? Where was the one for cleaning me without the water? I refrained from sighing, because that would earn me a scolding. This tormentor of mine sure sent me mixed signals. Did she hate me or not want me to die?
“Now, we shall get you dressed for your meeting with your Father,” Mrs. Becca pushed me to a mirror and began to put restrictive blue fabric on me. Gah! How dare she?
Clothes Identifier: A Noble Young Lady’s Warm Blue Dress “Amrin” [Rare]. Offers no defensive stats.
The snugness was the true reason Wisdom told me to not try wearing that other dress inside the tower. It had to be! I tried to move, but the servant’s hands kept me from wriggling out of her grasp. I was supposed to see Father somewhere in here, though I was not exactly sure where here was. More articles of clothing was placed on me, constricting my movements even more.
Clothes Identifier: A Noble’s Scarf [Rare]. Offers no defensive stats.
Clothes Identifier: A Noble Young Lady’s Slippers [Rare]. Offers no defensive stats.
I changed my mind about this old hag. Not only was she a terrible human being, she was also trying to get me killed by throwing me at Father with no helpful armor or clothing? What if I had to battle him, like some Demons do?
“Charlotte,” Attor sighed. “You’re a human. Families typically don’t fight each other in places like these.”
“How would you know?” I mouthed back to him. Gah! You’re rubbing the fact that I’m a part of this foolish race in my face, aren’t you!
Soon, I found myself in front of the huge double doors of my Father’s place. This reminded me of the Boss Rooms in the Demon Labyrinths, only more ominous and carrying a powerful authority behind it. The guards eyed me and simply ignored my presence as if I was a mere insect. I might as well be in a high level dungeon like this, people! Of course, I’m out of place here! I gulped, but the old lady pushed the door open and then shoved me inside. The doors slammed shut, sealing me alone with the beast within. Thanks for throwing me to my death, Becca, you horrible fiend!
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The giant man stood in front of a beautiful window, admiring the moon outside. I hesitated to say anything at all, since I was not sure how well my Martial Art Skill could hold up against him. Surprisingly, he masked his killing intent well. Why was he hiding it? If he wanted to fight, he would immediately have an upperhand in sheer size alone without needing such an underhanded tactic! His Status was even more terrifying. A massive skull icon hovered above the stats.
— Charles Bohun, level ???
— Class: ???
HP: ???
— Stats: ???
Attor sighed. Yeah, I know! I would not stand a chance. If only I knew what to say and knew what to bargain for. I could not fight my way out of here alive!
“First, the Pure Sapphire Star, then Prince Devon,” Father Bohun said. He turned to me, with a such a stern and stony look I could sharpen my claws on if I was a Demon again. I shrunk. “Next thing I hear from the servant, you are walking around like a savage and smelling like the High Hells!”
Hey, mister! The Hells smelled a lot nicer when I took over! I wanted to shout back at him, but one look at Attor quickly shaking his head from behind the tower of a man. Should I lie and blame the servant? I was already in trouble, I guessed. I would not have anyone believing even one sentence out of me. He was glaring down upon me, poised to strike. Well, I refused to back down without a fight. Have this, for a counterattack, Father! Hah!
“It is true, Father,” I bowed apologetically. “I will not be doing that again.”
Silence hung in the air, but then Father started pacing.
“What is it that you want, daughter?” He hissed. I don’t know what the old Charlotte wanted, and if I asked wouldn’t he know I was an imposter? Whatever, I sighed. It’s time to end the charade. The old me, or old her, is now gone! Lost forever! Her dark wishes, coveted Princes, whatever that Sapphire Star thingy is can all go to the far reaches of this Human Realm. My only desire is to get stronger and see that this plane can no longer harm mine again. The man who is my Father must have seen the flames grow in my face, so he urged me to spit it out with a grunt.
“Father,” I steadied my breath. He was a terrifying figure. “Well, I don’t know what I want. I will tell you what I don’t want anymore. I do not wish to see Prince Devon, nor whatever trinkets I previously wanted.”
There! Take that! Ora! I may be out of place here, but I can still pack a wallop! He sighed.
“I wish I could believe you this time, Charlotte,” he sat down on the chair behind his desk. His eyes never left me. Curses! Has the old Charlotte tried this before but had broken his trust already!? Double curse you, old me! I scanned the room and noticed that he had a portrait of a woman who looked like me on the edge of it. Was that my Mother? “Guards. Escort her away to the Tower. I… I need some time to think over this.”
Yes! I nearly broke character and grinned. I was out of this Boss fight for free! Let’s go, guards! The tin men yanked my arms and prepared to drag me screaming and kicking like I must have done in the past, but I resisted them easily.
“I can walk with you on my own, thank you very much,” I glared at the soldier who dared to test me. Attor raised his tiny dragon arms proudly. I turned to Father, hoping to deliver the final blow that will make him leave me alone. “I do not care for your trust, Father. I will change your mind!”
With that, we walked down the ornate hallways directly to the large teleporter. A sage lifted his staff high, and placed it down in one of the intricate patterns on the ground. The magic poured out of the circle and a portal manifested above it. I flinched. These damn humans and their portals! Still, this has to be one of the last times I’ll be in this dreadful, gaudy place. I hope I’ll never come here again, but a boot kicked me through the glowing portal before I could stick my tongue out at the soldiers.
I landed on my knees on the other side. Well, that could have gone worse. Attor simply floated around the room we ended up in, inspecting the dusty furniture. This was behind the magically sealed door in the tower! Now, I have access to it and more importantly, I can learn more about this teleporter's technology. I tapped the pattern beneath my shoes, but the mana inside of it must have been inactive. I guess it could not be helped. It was now time to claim Attor’s room as my own!
The preparations were completed in an hour. My bed made for a surprisingly difficult opponent for pushing up the stairs, but it took me only a mere two hours and three breaks of hefting it up the stairs to complete it! I stood triumphantly over the damn thing after shoving it into the corner of this room. It was much wider and had more space in a circular pattern, and I placed the throne between the two northern windows so the moon would rise between them. The throne for now was the dratted chair that was already up here, but it was a start! I had no idea what the direction north was, but Attor helped me out with that.
Yes, this fortress was all mine for now. I started to cackle evilly, but suddenly a knock pounded on the window beside me.
“Frampton!” I shrieked, cracking it open. “Can you not scare me while I’m about to laugh so sinfully?”
“F-Forgive me, Master!” He groveled. His head was so soft and fuzzy, so I did so at once. “I bring you news on several places you can hunt at.”
“Really?” I exclaimed. The excitement in my voice felt like it was too strong, but the truth is I was still elated to be alone with Frampton and Attor again. I cleared my throat. “Tell me all about them.”
“There are three locations I have found, Master,” the bat’s jaw slowly unhinged far beyond where it naturally would bend, rolling all the way down to the floor. Ah, his Skill: Magic Mirror! I clicked my tongue. I forgot he does that when he uses it! With dark magic, he can reveal whatever he saw and can remember through the mist flowing out of his elongated mouth. I cringed at his creepy maw. It was a macabre Skill, but it did the job, I guess.
The first vision was the forest and what remained of the Goblin camp. I smirked at Attor. You sure went overboard with my offering, huh? I teased him silently. He crossed his arms and pouted. A further distance from the destroyed outskirts revealed that sticky white strands covered the trees. Fat sacs dangled from the branches and wrapped around the tree trunks. Dead bodies, most likely scavenged from the village. I leaned further out my chair and inspected those odd mounds hanging everywhere in the dark trail.
“Webs?” I muttered. “Spiders?”
“Monster Spiders, like all monsters, are attracted to places with high concentration of mana. They most likely live near Magic Wood,” Attor mused. “It’s needed for a witch’s wand or a mage’s staff.”
As gross as those bugs were, I supposed I would be able to hunt them easily if I had access to the fire elemental spell. The Magic Wood, on the other hand, would be a good start for creating a wand. I would have to acquire a wand for that. The vision faded into swirling mist, then transformed to the view of the mountain’s foot. How does his jaw not get sore from being stretched like that?
“Hmm, dark caves, home to golem lizards,” Attor observed the vision with me. “They often hoard treasure, like my lesser, younger kind do and eat Magic Crystals.”
“Magic crystals?”
“Can be affixed to staffs and wands,” he explained. “They will make your magic much more potent, but golem lizards and dragons fight all the time in the Dragon Realm.”
“Where is your Dragon Realm?”
Attor looked out the window at the outline of the cloudy mountains.
“Through the Great Eye Portal of the tallest mountain’s summit,” he flew over to the window sill. “You will not be able to reach home at your level, and even so the Great Dragon Wizard must see you as worthy.”
“Wouldn’t you want to visit that place again?” I asked him. Tsk! How did he know I wanted to at least see the Eye? Great Dragon Wizard? What a weird class for a Dragon to take! Attor sighed. I gulped.
“It is too late for me, I’m afraid,” he floated back to me. “For now, I’m stuck here in the Human Realm.”
I felt the same way, probably. I longed to see what has become of the Demon Realm. Those golem lizards would be too tough to face, I believed so I motioned to Frampton to show me the last area of interest. My eyes widened as I took in the sight. Attor cocked his head at me. I shall go to them last, I supposed.
A human village? That simply meant I could extract human knowledge from them. Smoke rose from the center of buildings in worse conditions than the Goblin village before it got blown up.
“They appear to be bandits,” Attor remarked. “The likes of them are probably far apart from human civilization.”
I cracked my knuckles and laughed.
“Even better,” I decided that this dress would be useless in combat, but Father would tear my ear off if it was destroyed in battle. Nobody cared for weaklings who strayed far from my Order in the Demon Realm, so I doubt no humans cared if I used them for experiments! I would have to visit my room before going. Attor looked at me in confusion. “I’m going to hunt some spiders, of course!”