When Cecillia woke up, Blackie was still asleep, just like always. Bluey didn’t seem to sleep much; its faint light would dim for several hours at a time, but Cecillia wasn’t really sure if that counted as sleep. Even when it was in its little dark mode, the slime would always react to her voice, making her wonder if the slime species needed to recover in the first place.

‘Bluey has a stamina bar though,’ she squinted.

Regardless, Cecillia stretched her arms, relishing the refreshing feeling that followed a good night’s rest. A tiny yawn escaped her lips and she hopped off the bed to wake up Blackie.

“Blackie, go find Laen okay?” she said.

The wolf’s eyes drooped, but it complied with a growl and left the tent. Cecillia watched its twin tails swish their way out before she started to dismantle the things inside her tent. It took no more than five minutes for her to neatly pack everything into a small bundle that could easily fit on the carriages.

Cecillia sighed as she glanced down at her finished work, then heaved the entire thing onto her back. Others from the camp were starting to do the same, a daily ritual at this point. They waved as she passed, and she returned a small smile while the Bluey atop her head bobbled happily. The weary exhaustion of travel was evident on their faces but there was nothing they could do. It was only a week left before their journey would end at Windhaven, and the grueling days within the Forests of Elendar would soon be over.

Cecillia looked forward to reaching the city as well. From what she had heard so far, Windhaven was a bustling, port-side town with lots of things happening everyday, especially trade. The weather was said to be wonderful, and the magnificent view of the salty sea drew plenty of travelers.

Not to mention the recently completed Sea to Sky railway that connected Windhaven to several other major cities. Once that small bit of news had been mentioned, excitement had exploded. Even Cecillia found herself engaging in conversation with the others. It had been so long since she had seen a train, and by the sounds of it, it wasn’t anything like those typical ether-tech engines she was used to.

No, the train was supposedly powered by a mana-core steam engine that brought back memories of highschool. She remembered how in those ancient physics textbooks they had described the invention of the steam engine and how it changed the world forever. The descriptions dated back over four hundred years and she desperately wanted to see how one of them worked.

Further adding to her excitement, there was the fact that the seal placed on her mana would dissipate in approximately six days. Every day, a portion of her time was watching that timer inevitably tick down.

[Divine Seal (XX) | Remaining Duration: 6 days 9 Hours]

Despite her growing anticipation towards the future, her heart was filled with anxiety. Cecillia’s steps dragged as she walked towards her designated kitchen carriage. She could see the tent in the distance, smoke already starting to wisp to the skies as they prepared the breakfast.

The head chef’s words had echoed in her mind the entire night and as she approached, her thoughts already echoed dread. Her hands shook slightly but she strode into the tent with a tight grimace.

“Cecillia! You came!”

The voice belonged to an older middle-aged woman named Olivia that loved apples. But before she had a chance to reply, the voice’s clamor drew the attention of all the other cooks in the tent. Whatever they were doing immediately halted, and all eyes turned towards the entrance. Cecillia stared at them awkwardly, wondering why she had garnered this much attention for just walking in.

At the far side of the room, a man with graying hair—Bruce—revealed a wide grin. He glanced around at the other chefs, eyes gleaming with a mockful giddiness.

“Well, well, well,” he drawled. “Y’all boys and girls better be paying up.”

Groans of disappointment rippled through the tent as the other half of the kitchen cheered.

“Oh shut it, gramps,” A woman next to him snapped. “Like hell you’ll still be alive until we reach Windhaven.”

Bruce only released a laugh as the woman rolled her eyes. She slapped several coins onto the table with a muttered curse. “Damn it.”

Bruce greedily scooped up the coins as the same scene repeated multiple times around the tent Cecillia wordlessly stared as coins were exchanged until Olivia walked up to her. The woman seemed to be elated, being one of the people to receive money from another poor individual.

“Seems like you had a good night, Cecillia,” Olivia smiled and took a bite from an apple. “Now why don’t you put your things over there, the men will get it packed once we finish breakfast.”

The woman pointed to the corner of the tent with her apple where a number of bundled packs were neatly wrapped with rope. Yet Cecillia’s narrowed eyes lingered in Olivia’s hand, she had never once seen the woman without an apple. She shook her head and nodded to the cook.

“Thanks,” she said and carried her things over to the spot that Olivia had indicated. Cecillia carefully placed her belongings down and returned to the woman.

“What was all that about,” her gaze swept the room. “With the money stuff.”

“Oh that little game?” Olivia chuckled. “You see, we made a fun bet to see if you would come in this morning or not. Gordon said the Head Chef really hounded your ass last night, so we figured that it wouldn’t hurt to make some extra cash you see.”

“Is that so?”

It didn’t take long for Cecillia to find Gordon who looked at her apologetically. She shot him a glare and he quickly averted from her gaze. It was obvious that everyone knew of her failures from last night.

‘Fuck the head chef…’

Cecillia allowed herself to sigh as she turned back to the woman. The only reason why she was here was to get back at that gorilla, but it seemed like the chef was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the chef?” Cecillia asked. She expected the woman to walk right through the entrance at any moment, but she never came.

“Oh actually,” Olivia started and her face grew sympathetic. “The Head Chef didn’t want you working on the breakfast and lunch so she specifically asked you to come in at dinner so you could… prove yourself.”

Cecillia’s heart sank. She didn’t think her cooking was terrible to the point where she couldn’t even help out with the easy meals. She had even been looking forward to making some breakfast.

‘Oh well…’

Being dismissed for dinner wasn’t all that bad, at least she had the time to go and hunt with Laen for the day. Something that she was actually good at.

“I see,” Cecillia said quietly. She forced a smile to her lips and started walking towards the exit. “I’ll be back. Thank you.”

Although her steps paused as Olivia strode after her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman gave her a small, encouraging smile.

“Don’t let it get to you too much. The Head Chef was tough on everyone, it's just how it is when you live in a small village in the middle of nowhere. She only wants you to be at your best, okay?”

Cecillia hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Thanks Olivia.”

With that, she turned and left, hearing the woman’s final words trailing after her.

“Good luck!”

Cecillia waved back and stepped out into the morning air. She was afraid that the boy would have left already, so she started running and her hair lazily drafted after her. Bluey’s grip tightened on her head and a moment later, the location of their camp was seen. Thankfully, they had just finished packing for the day’s journey, and the boy was still there with her wolf, talking with his father.

“Cecillia! I thought you couldn’t come? What happened?” Laen asked as she walked up.

Blackie came up to her and nuzzled against her leg as she ran a hand through its fur. Doran gave her a brief glance and Cecillia returned a curt nod. Though, she doubted the man saw the gesture as he started to rummage through a bag.

“Nothing happened. I’m not needed for breakfast,” said, facing the boy.

Laen snorted, “What? Did you get fired already?”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“No… it’s not that. The Head Chef wanted me to come at dinner so I could prove myself,” Cecillia shook her head with a sigh. “I don’t think this is going to work out.”

“What are you talking about?” The boy rolled his eyes. “Your cooking isn’t that bad. The cooks are just really good because that’s their job.”

“Still,” Cecillia pressed. “My cooking level didn’t even go up a single time and it's already been two entire days.”

A bead of sweat appeared on the kid’s forehead and he quickly cleared his throat. Doran’s grip fumbled as he almost dropped the bag and Cecillia bit her lip. This wasn’t fair at all.

“W-well,” Laen began. “At least you can level up your class now.”

Cecillia shot Laen a glare as he hid behind his father. The boy’s giggles resounded like a leering taunt, daring for her to catch him. A frown appeared on her face and she took a deep breath.

“When do we leave?” Cecillia asked.

“Now.”

Doran spoke for the first time and she glanced up at his face as he tossed a bag towards her. Peering inside, she was met with ten baked buns, a small dagger, and a parchment of paper. Her gaze lifted once again, and her head tilted to the side as she stared at the man.

“...Why are you so surprised,” Doran deadpanned. “I know you haven't eaten yet so why wouldn’t I give you food. There’s a map in there too. I’ve marked down the places we’ll stop for lunch and dinner.”

“Father!” Laen cried. “Why don’t I get anything?!”

The man stifled a grimace. “You can share with the girl.”

The boy’s head drooped, but he accepted his father’s words and stood next to Cecillia. She pulled out one of the buns and offered it to the boy. Laen took it gratefully, but it was obvious that behind his maturity he was still a young child.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Cecillia hummed a response and her eyes turned to the map. Whoever had drawn the map had done so with extreme attention to detail. She saw the stream running across the paper in a thin blue line, the valley they were currently in, and the Tunnel of Kaust that connected the forest to the plains. Although, the massive tree forming up the entrance to the Tombs of Elendar was nowhere to be seen.

“Don’t stray too far,” Doran said as a last reminder. Cecillia gave a nod and the boy replied with a grin.

“We won’t!”

***

Half of the day had passed as the sun came and went. The dagger that Doran had given her wasn’t better than the one granted by the system, but it wasn’t all that much worse. As she sliced into a wolf’s heart, her nose wrinkled while she extracted its core.

[D Grade Core (Level - 8)]

[Origin - Gray Wolf]

The sphere shone in her hand, but Cecillia didn’t give it another glance before tossing it above her head. Bluey stretched forward, gobbling the core in an instant before it bubbled happily. She had repeated the motion countless times in the past hour alone, and the weight sitting on her head would’ve caused a strain on her neck had it not been for her stats being doubled.

Cecillia wondered if she could change the sound of the system notifications. The current noise in place was like a blaring chime, rattling her brain every time she had done something significant. Although to no avail, anything she tried resulted in no change.

Sighing, Cecillia sat on a nearby rotting stump as she opened the dreaded backlog. She spotted Laen hacking away at a corpse from the corner of her vision and a smile flitted onto her lips. After watching the boy fight, it was tough to say if she would lose if they were to ever go head to head. His level was high above hers, and the King’s Valor helped narrow that gap, but it seems that Doran had taken good care of the boy. Shaking her head, she turned to the countless messages.

[Defeated (Wolf - Level 8)]

[Defeated (Wolf - Level 10)]

[Defeated (Slime - Level 7)]

[Defeated (Minor Forest Ent - Level 14)]

[Defeated (Runic Bear - Level 17)]

…

Perhaps she could be called a murderer on a killing spree. The two of them had probably slain over a hundred enemies over the course of six or so hours. Sure, the rewards were great, but they were just a little overwhelming.

[Congratulations! You’ve leveled up five times! Displaying levels gained…]

[You are now level 12!]

[You are now level 16!]

[Updated Available Stat Points: 50]

[Basic Skill: Identification has reached level 2!]

[Congratulations! Your taming job has leveled up twice!]

[Job: Tamer is now level 3!]

[Domesticated Animals will now be more likely to trust you. Approximate value 1%]

[Showing Status Page]

Name: Cecillia Black

Age: 19

Class I: Cryomancer

Class II: [Locked]

Jobs: Cook, Tamer Lvl. 3

Level: 16

Status:

Afflictions: King’s Valor, Mana Corruption, Divine Seal (XX)

Health: 554/600

Mana: -/-

Stamina: 490/800

Attributes:

Available Stat-Points: 50

Strength: 30x2

Constitution: 30x2

Endurance: 40x2

Agility: 60x2

Wisdom: 18x2

Intelligence: 22x2

Soul: 0

Basic Skills:

— Identification lvl 2

Class Skills:

— Cryomancy lvl 0

Leveling up five times was more than she had expected, and the stat points gained was nice to see. But the usual sense of dopamine wasn’t there. By now, she had scrolled past at least a hundred little tabs, and the sheer number was starting to get to her. Laen had finished up with the corpses and a little pouch filled with valuable claws, cores, horns and whatnot sat next to him. He munched on their last remaining bun as Cecillia assumed the boy was also scrolling through a number of notifications.

Taking a quick break from the updates, she raised her head and looked to the sky. The blue was starting to fade into purple and it wouldn’t be long until it would turn completely black. She stretched her body, and once again she was back at it. First up, the big bad Blackie.

[Your contracted companion has assisted you in defeating one or more foes. Displaying level ups…]

[‘Blackie’ is now level 17!]

[‘Blackie’ is now level 18!]

[Skill: Stealth is now level 10!]

[Skill: Night Slash is now level 8!]

[Displaying updated status…]

[Contract Information]

[Species: Twin-Tailed Wolf]

Name: Blackie

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 18

Health: 1980/2000

Stamina: 1432/1600

Mana: 727/900

Skills:

(Passive) Minor Regeneration Lvl. 3

Night Slash Lvl. 8

Stealth Lvl. 10

Blackie didn’t really level that much since it was already so much higher than the monsters they had slain. The wolf also didn’t want to eat any of the lower quality manacores so it had lost out on some potential levels there. Although, when she thought about it, it was strange that Blackie had only leveled twice. Cecillia already had the assumption that the more challenging a fight would be, the more levels would be granted. A risk reward type deal, but still, shouldn’t the wolf deserve more than just two levels?

Bluey on the other hand, wasn’t able to participate efficiently in the hunt, but the improvements the slime had gained was ridiculous. Cecillia ought to have fed the creature at least a hundred of them, and unlike the wolf, the slime wasn’t picky at all.

‘Here we go again…’ she mumbled dejectedly.

[Your contracted companion has leveled drastically. Displaying level ups…]

[‘Bluey’ is now level 7!]

[‘Bluey’ is now level 15!]

[Skill: Devour is now level 6!]

[Skill: Regurgitate is now level 6!]

These changes since she had last checked were, of course, massive. But the most interesting part was the notification left to come.

[Due to the attunement of bond ‘Cecillia Black,’ Bluey has gained a new skill!]

Skill Unlocked: Magic Ice Transformation Lvl. 0

This skill allows the user to coat its body in a layer of ice, forming a protective armor.

[Displaying updated status…]

[Contract Information #2]

Species: Blue Slime

Name: Bluey

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 15

Health: 800/800

Stamina: 700/700

Mana: 1660/1700

Attribute: Void

Skills:

Devour Lvl. 6

Regurgitate Lvl. 6

Magic Ice Transformation Lvl. 0

Well… Cecillia scratched her head. The skill itself didn’t seem to be that useful and Bluey, seemingly noticing her agitation, wobbled in response.

“What?” she asked.

Bluey hopped down from her head and bounced on the rock. The slime spun around, displaying its new icy sheen of armor, but Cecillia only sighed. She placed a hand on its surface and found it to be a comfortable cool.

After leveling up so much, Bluey had nearly doubled in size. Though, it was able to control how big it wanted to be to a certain degree. At least the creature would have one defensive layer before anything could pierce through its core. Cecillia would be saddened if her second pet had perished so early, thus the lackluster skill turned out to be a net positive.

That seemed to be all for the notifications, and she closed the pages with a tired yawn. It had been a long day indeed, but the hardest part was yet to come.

Cecillia stood and turned to the boy who had finished a while earlier than she had.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Cecillia nodded, and into the forest they went.