“Miss Stone?” an unfamiliar voice behind the former goddess asked. “May I have a moment of your time?”

Though she’d been given a very nice suite in a fancy hotel when she arrived in Lustria, the capital city of the Gentrius Empire, it came with a ‘liaison’ that did things like letting people into her supposedly private room.

The intrusion was unwelcome, especially since it came during what little free time the former goddess was granted by those in charge of her schedule.

Isa turned to see an older man wearing a suit and a false smile so practiced he probably thought it was genuine.

It was not.

The man was a politician if ever she’d seen one. Even without using an identification spell, it was easy to see the taint of lies and false promises surrounding the man.

“How can I help you?” Isa asked without standing.

Her lack of proper decorum caused the politician’s expression to falter momentarily, but the former goddess didn’t care. She did not respect nor owe loyalty to any of them. She was there to do the Senate and the citizens of Gentrius a favor while earning a massive amount of experience.

That was it.

If the people in charge had wanted to build some kind of relationship with her, they probably shouldn’t have isolated her from the others and saddled her with a guard. Calling the woman who served as her perpetual shadow a liaison didn’t change anything.

Liaisons didn’t carry weapons, nor did they watch their charges like they might erupt in violence at any moment.

The woman standing outside of her door did both.

Her guard had also gotten angry the first time Isa had set out traps to kill monsters while she worked, claiming it was not her place to perform beyond the scope of her assignment. Isa had merely glared at the presumptuous woman tasked with ‘accompanying’ her before promptly ignoring everything she said.

There was nothing a weakling like her could do about it anyway. The weapon she carried was non-lethal and designed to combat normal, unenhanced humans. Isa was neither of those.

At most, the weapon might slow her down. More likely, it would be an annoyance, especially with the points she’d added to her body attributes and the protections she’d incorporated into her armor and bodysuit.

Besides, she was there as a volunteer on a mission to neutralize the dungeon monster threat. Isa had not volunteered to play construction worker and build walls all day.

Further, she was not beholden to the government, nor did she particularly care if they had a problem with her displays of initiative. She was a Horizon citizen now, and if they didn’t like her killing monsters like she was requested to, that was just too bad.

After complaining loudly and even getting a bit aggressive, the woman finally realized that she had no authority over the younger woman, regardless of what her government might claim.

The very next day, her tablet showed a change to her assignment, which authorized her to neutralize any monster threats she encountered as long as such efforts wouldn’t interfere with her primary mission – building the outer wall of the city.

Isa rolled her eyes when she saw it.

She didn’t care about the silly posturing on display. Ultimately, she was going to do what she wanted. Quite frankly, they were lucky she was bothering to help them in the first place.

Glancing at her status, Isa was annoyed at how slow her progress had become since arriving in Lustria. Had she stayed with her old team, she would probably be close to her next racial upgrade already.

Since the upgrade was based on average stats, she was still likely quite a bit ahead of the rest of Gentrius, though it was possible someone else had managed to get a race upgrade early. There was no real way of knowing without direct access to the system.

Name: Isamie Stone

Race: Human – E Grade

Level: 28

Class: Spell Crafter

Attributes:

Mind: 33

Memory: 33

Cognition: 35

Perception: 30

Body: 25

Strength: 21

Flexibility: 26

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Recovery: 27

Spirit: 38

Control: 39

Sensitivity: 38

Manifestation: 36

Available Points: 0

Class Abilities:

Spell Anchor

Enhance

Meditation

Spell Deconstruction

Delayed Activation

Transfer

Spells:

Stun

Air Blade

Ice Shard

Water Jet

Create Water

Learned Abilities (expand)

Learned Spells*(modified list):

Air Blast

Create Air

Dismissing her status, Isa eyed the man intruding into her hotel room. The slimy politician’s presence annoyed her, but she was curious why the government representative had sought her out during her limited free time.

Smarmy smile in place, the politician launched into what could only be a prepared speech.

“Senator Rosin wanted to express his gratitude for all the hard work you’ve done to protect the world, especially in light of how unfairly you were treated less than two months ago. Imagine our surprise when we learned that you were the same child prodigy responsible for creating a working atmosphere on Sumar! Senator Rosin was appalled to learn that your reward for such an amazing accomplishment was exile to the wastelands—”

“Horizon,” Isa said, interrupting the man’s theatrical performance. Everything was so over the top that she wondered how anyone could fall for such a blatant attempt at manipulation.

His flow disrupted, the man paused and said, “I’m sorry. What?”

“It’s called Horizon. It’s the equivalent of a country and is by no means a wasteland. Referring to it as such, especially when its people are the very ones you are currently relying on for your long-term survival, is both rude and counterproductive.”

Because why would you call someone trash when you obviously want something from them? It defied logic.

“Right,” the man – who had yet to bother introducing himself – said before continuing. “Senator Rosin was appalled to learn that your reward was exile to… Horizon.” He said it like the name had a bad taste. For a politician, he wasn’t very good at adapting. “I’m here because we’d like to correct that egregious mistake and reinstate you as a Gentrius citizen, effective immediately. We’ve already taken the liberty to—”

“No thanks,” Isa said, interrupting the man once again before returning to her project and showing him her back. It was about as clear of a rejection as you could get, but the goddess could sense the man struggling to comprehend her actions.

“No…thanks?” the politician repeated in confusion. “I don’t think you understand what is at stake here, young lady. The fact that you are still a minor—”

“I’m not a minor,” Isa said without turning around. “I was emancipated before my exile. I’m sure you are already aware of that.”

Besides, she was only a few months away from turning eighteen. She wasn’t quite sure what they hoped to accomplish by bringing up her age, but it wasn’t like it was going to change anything.

“Ah, well, that’s not entirely accurate,” he said in faux apology.

Tensing at the implication, Isa mentally reached out to the man’s phone. It took less than a second to hack into the barely secured device, and she quickly read through the communications between this man – Naver Cryson – and his boss.

What she read made her fume, and Isa stood from her chair and turned to face the puppet of one who’d dare threaten her family.

“Yes, it is,” she said in a tone that allowed no argument. “The paperwork was validated before my exile, and I am not a supporter of revisionist history. You might think you know who I am and what motivates me, but you would be wrong. Even before the system came, I was a genius. Do you think I’ve suddenly become a pliable tool for your government to wield as you see fit?”

Isa shook her head, but otherwise, she didn’t move. She didn’t trust herself not to act if she allowed herself any more leeway. The former goddess had an amazing amount of self-control, but there were limits to what her current physiology and mental stats could support.

Through gritted teeth, Isa asked, “Why would I trust a government that exiles anyone who shows even a hint of independent thought? Do you think I would place myself in your hands when the Senate has already proven they are incapable of reacting in a manner that was best for their citizens? Who would want to be a citizen of Gentrius when its leaders have already proven they are not up to the task?”

The man’s face had gone red at her initial rebuttal, and had continued to discolor as Isa pressed the subject. By now, she wondered if the man was going to have a stroke. A quick spell showed the man was only a level two Politician. He was weak and likely hadn’t put any effort into leveling, even with such a fitting class.

He was pathetic.

“You do not want me to become a citizen again. I am the worst kind of dissenter because I not only have the knowledge of how corrupt and weak the government is, I have the power to do something about it. DO NOT MAKE ME YOUR ENEMY,” she said coldly as her words echoed with a hint of threat. “Whatever leverage you think you have, reconsider. I do not respond well to threats or attempts at coercion.”

The politician’s mouth opened and closed several times before he finally stiffened his back. When he spoke, his voice was full of self-righteous indignation and false superiority. The man was clearly delusional.

“Are you threatening me?” he sneered. “Are you openly threatening the Gentrius government? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“No. I made no threat. I merely stated a fact,” the young woman said. “I am not a Gentrius citizen. I am here on a relief mission at the request of your government to save the lives of citizens they placed at risk through their selfish ignorance. Any attempts to manipulate me will be seen as an act of aggression, and I will not hesitate to react.”

The politician overtly fumed at her outright rejection and negative views toward her former government. He simply could not understand how a nobody like Isa got the gumption to reject the most powerful government in the world.

Not just reject, but directly challenge. It was unfathomable to the man.

“It is obvious that we will not come to an agreement today,” the politician said with a scoff before turning toward the door. Over his shoulder, he said, “Perhaps someone else would be better suited to discuss this topic with you.”

“I am not going to change my mind,” Isa replied as he walked away. “I am not going to work for your government. You should not try to force the matter, or the consequences will be solely on your collective heads. At a minimum, I will refuse to assist in the protection of Gentrius cities any further. I will also ensure every tool I’ve created becomes useless, thus ensuring the death of additional civilians. Leave me alone, and I’ll complete the mission I was tasked with. It’s an easy choice.”

As the man stormed from the room, she could already tell he was not going to take her advice. She listened in as Naver briefed his boss using the phone she was still connected to. She didn’t bother concealing a scowl as she heard the man’s response.

She’d told him what her minimum reaction would be, but she’d never mentioned the extent of the damage she could cause. The former goddess had no real connection to the people of Gentrius. Aside from her parents, both of whom were on Sumar, the entire Empire could burn for all she cared.