Status

Liliana’s heart was in her throat as she thought the word. Yet minutes passed and nothing appeared. Her heart dropped, but her stubborn nature didn’t let the hope die off quite yet.

“Status,” she spoke and her voice rang out in the empty room, yet nothing popped up. Liliana’s eyes narrowed with annoyance until a sudden memory made her smack a hand against her forehead.

Status was a shortened term gamers used, but the actual page was called a status sheet. With more confidence, she thought the term.

Status Sheet.

Liliana beamed as a box appeared in her vision, filling it with numbers and words.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

100

H-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Mana

100

M-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Stamina

100

S-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Magic Power

100

Magic Control

100

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

10

Endurance

10

Strength

10

Dexterity

10

Wisdom

10

Intelligence

10

Speed

10

Charisma

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Of course, I couldn’t be lucky and already have levels. Liliana grumbled mentally. That would’ve been far too easy, start out at some high level and just blast her way through her problems. Though she was confused, Liliana was 14. How could she be level 1? Had her levels been reset with the soul-swap or had she simply never tried to level?

Her eyes went back over the sheet after she got over the level 1 status and found her eyes catching on two stats. Magic Control and Power. Those had not been in the games at all. She could glean what they did. It was a bit obvious, but as she focused on them, more information came up.

Magic Power: This determines the power your Spells and Skills have. Affected by Wisdom, other ways to increase this stat are currently unavailable.

Other ways to increase the stat? That gave her pause. In the game, the only way to increase a stat was by allocating your points, equipment, temporary potions, or some buffing spells and abilities. This implied that there were other ways to improve stats. She pushed that thought to the side for the moment as she focused on the other mystery stat.

Magic Control: This determines the control you have over your Spells and Skills, affected by your Intelligence, other ways to increase this stat are currently unavailable.

Both of the stats were what she expected them to be based on their names. Them being affected by Wisdom and Intelligence was unexpected, but the most important thing was that this implied there were other ways to increase your stats than the ways she knew. On a whim, Liliana focused on Vitality to see if it gave a hint of how to increase a stat without leveling or gearing up.

Vitality: Determines your Health and body’s ability to defend against physical attacks. Can be increased through repeated physical injury.

So to increase your health you have to lose health? Liliana mused. It sounded painful, and the information didn’t tell her how much she had to get hurt in order to increase the stat even by one point. Was it harder at higher levels? Though with a measly 100 Health, Liliana was loath to actively try to get hurt, she was liable to die from a level 2 Slime’s attack.

She could guess at the other stats’ ways to train, but she checked just to be sure. Endurance was increased by pushing yourself to your limit stamina-wise, Dexterity by performing tasks that required it, Strength by physical training, Speed by forcing yourself to be faster. The physical skills were expected, and she waved them away. She could figure out a more concrete way to handle those later. The non-physical stats interested her. Wisdom was increased by critical thinking, Intelligence by learning, and Charisma was increased by successful social interactions.

Liliana was a bit relieved that she could increase some of her stats pretty easily without putting herself in danger immediately. She wasn’t keen to die anytime soon and if she could raise her stats enough that she would be able to easily take care of level 1 threats, she’d prefer that. Liliana made a mental note to work out a regimen for herself soon. She’d have to figure out if there was paper or some writing implements somewhere. She needed to write down a lot of this information, if only to keep track of it. Keeping all of it in her mind just meant it was apt to get jumbled and confused.

You have met the Requirements for the Skill [Identify] Would you like to accept this Skill?

The pop-up dragged Liliana from her musings and she stared at the box for a moment. She focused on the Skill to see if she could get more information out of it. Pure curiosity drove her as she had an idea of what the Skill was, though it was not one that was in the game.

Identify: Lets you obtain information about the world around you by focusing on what you wish to know about.

Not really a lot of information about it, but that’ll be useful as hell with figuring this place out, Liliana mused, and mentally she accepted the skill.

A small warmth filled her with the acquisition of the skill. Her current status sheet didn’t change, but she sensed there were more sheets to check out. It was normal for the game as the player’s stats, equipment, Skills, Titles, and such were all on separate pages. She mentally pulled up the next sheet.

Titles

Beloved By the Goddess of Light and Life

Being beloved by the Goddess of Light has granted you five boons.

Reincarnated From Another World

You have been granted the ability to remember memories from your past life, certain memories will be forever preserved. These memories cannot be lost, nor can they be forcibly revealed.

Boons

Increased Growth: You have been bestowed a Boon that gives you 50% additional experience for any experience-generating actions.

Greater Advancement: You have been bestowed a Boon that allows you an additional two stat points per level.

Universal Language: You can understand any spoken or written language, and use it with no difficulties.

Advanced Affinity: You have been bestowed affinities for Light, Life, and Soul magic granted by the goddess. You do not need to have these affinities unlocked and you have been granted a boost to these magics. You also have increased resistances to these types of magics.

Memories of The Past: You can access the previous memories of the body you now inhabit.

“That’s broken as fuck,” Liliana muttered, staring at the page before her in shock.

In her mind, Vita gained a bit of forgiveness for the situation. She hadn’t expected the next page to be Titles, but she was glad it was. She had nearly forgotten Vita’s promise of boons. Five boons were insane, on top of two titles. Titles were rare at early levels, and usually gave some kind of buff when you got them. They typically had odd or obscure requirements. It had taken months for those more dedicated to the game to fully figure out every last title and requirement and post it online for the game. She had never seen a god-bestowed Title though, not even the most hardcore gamers had ever spoken about a Title like that.

There were Titles that gave a small boost to experience, nothing higher than 5% though. 50% was insane. She’d be able to level at a speed she didn’t think anyone in this world would be able to match. And additional stat points per level? That was never a recurring thing. There were rare, super rare, potions that could give you one or two additional stat points and that was it. She’d get two additional points every level. She would be a monster when she reached higher Ranks and levels. Those were the two most impactful boons, though the rest were useful, no doubt.

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Liliana was a bit relieved she wouldn’t need to learn a whole new written language. It would speed up her aim to increase her Intelligence by sneaking into the manor’s library whenever she could. It also explained why she had no trouble understanding Astrid, who she fully realized now had not been speaking in English. Her mind had been a bit occupied originally, but now she could recognize that both she and the woman had been speaking in a language she did not know. Or well, hadn’t known before today.

The advanced affinity was nice; usually, you had to wait to level twenty before you could have an affinity unlocked at a temple. You also usually started at 1% for those and had to work up with them to get stronger spells. Though she wondered if affinity had more impacts in the world versus the game, would your spells be stronger with a higher affinity?

One of the listed magics was a mystery to her, Soul. It wasn’t one of the ones you could pick in the game. Those were Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, and Life. There were, of course, sub-types of the main elements, such as Earth giving Metal magic at high enough affinity. Or Wind and Water if raised to 50% together, giving Storm spells. There were a lot of ways to pair the affinities and a lot of branches off that had helped diversify the game. Yet Soul had never been an affinity she’d seen, let alone a magic, and Liliana wondered if there were other magic types in this world she didn’t know.

Focusing her attention on the magic type, she waited for the box to pop up and smiled when it did. It was incredibly useful to have this System, or whatever it was, explaining everything to her.

Soul: A type of magic dealing with the soul. Needs 50% affinity to learn Soul Boosting and Mending magics. Needs 70% affinity to learn Soul Rending and Destruction Magic. Needs 90% affinity to learn Soul Bonding magic.

Wait. Bonding? That wasn’t a type of magic in the game. What does it entail? Liliana stared at the strange words and focused on them, scowling when no new boxes popped up to give her knowledge. Apparently, she either needed to increase her [Identify] or she’d need to find out the old-fashioned way, with research.

Her mind scoured the information she had, trying to find any hint of Soul Bonding. The closest she could assume had been in the game had been the original Liliana's magic. Her actual magic was never told to the players, but she had several tamed monsters. Monsters the heroes had to fight over time as they plagued the country. Eventually, when fighting Liliana herself, the villainess had transformed into the monsters they’d fought previously. Her final form was some kind of chimera form where she was a mix of all of her monsters. The unholy amalgamation of magics and abilities had made it one of the most difficult fights she’d ever fought in a game. In fact, the battle was so difficult that it took a month for someone to beat Liliana after the game had been released.

Liliana felt a hunger inside of her, an almost overpowering need for that kind of power at her fingertips. While it hadn’t been enough to save Liliana in the end in the game, she knew the death flags to avoid, for the most part. Perhaps with her previous knowledge, she could become even stronger than the Liliana she remembered, so strong no one could take her new life from her.

Another part of her, the side that loved mythical creatures and had sunk hundreds of hours into various taming games, very much wanted some kind of companion. She felt lonely, in a strange world full of people who would never really understand her. A soul dragged from death and shoved into another body, complete with memories of her past life.

She might be sheltered from a lack of experience in person, but she’d read plenty of stories. Learned from the bloodstained history of the human race, people that were different were often eliminated. She held no illusions that if she told anyone in this manor, full of people who didn’t even like Liliana, who she was, she'd be thrown out at best. Probably thrown in a dungeon or burned at a stake as a heretic or a changeling at worst.

So the part of her that could already feel the familiar cold shiver of loneliness biting at her grabbed onto the possibility of perhaps being a bit less alone in this life.

She looked over the other magic affinities, pushing down the excitement that thrummed through her veins at the thought of having her very own little dragon or unicorn. Though the fact she was looking at her own affinity for magic filled her with elation. She had no idea how to use it, how she’d get spells to use, but the fact that the possibility of it was there filled her with excitement. The rush of happiness pushed down the more dour emotions lurking at the edges of her thoughts.

Light and Life magics were good, strong magics. Light could be used defensively and offensively and even for buffs. Though Light was best for defense and fell off in comparison to other magic as far as pure damage in later levels. Life was a healing class through and through, though it could boost other types of magic if combined. Liliana was going into this with the assumption she would only have herself to depend on. She knew how Liliana Rosengarde was seen by others. She couldn’t depend on getting the full party of five that you got by the time you finished the Academy quest line.

So being a tank or a healer was out of the question. Besides, she didn’t relish the idea of being a tank. Getting beat on by everything sounded distinctly not fun. If she was in a world with magic, she would be using it to avoid getting hurt where she could. She’d hurt and suffered enough in her past life. She’d like to not have to endure the same experience this time.

She had never enjoyed playing a tank or a healer in games. Tanks were too boring for her, and healing was far too stressful. Being a far ranged caster was out as well, it was almost as boring as being a tank! If she could, she’d like to be a front-line fighter of some type. This was a world of magic, after all. Anything was possible.

Liliana brought her attention to the last boon and the one that made her more than a little squeamish. She had access to the old Liliana’s memories. It felt...like an intrusion of privacy, seeing into a dead girl's memories. More so than simply taking her body like some kind of inter-dimensional body snatcher. She knew it would be integral to her survival in this familiar yet alien world. The last thing she needed was to be burned as some sort of changeling or something. Which she was technically, but she was also doing it because of a goddess's request for aid. Either way, while she felt awful, both for stealing the girl's body, life, and now memories, she didn’t feel so guilty she was okay with laying down and dying.

She consoled herself with the thought that Vita had likely given the girl a new life, one where she got loving parents and a normal life. And no memories of her past life. She hoped she did, at least. She wished she could directly ask the deity, but based on what Vita had told her, they couldn’t intervene too much into a world, and answering her questions likely fell under that.

Liliana pushed the guilty thoughts aside, placing them in the same box her panic and growing hysteria were currently sitting in. She would deal with those emotions later. Or never. Never would be good.

She had a lot of practice bottling and hiding her emotions. Years of cold and clinical doctors giving her bad news had shaped that skill as a matter of survival. If she’d allowed herself to break, she had known her life would’ve been over because she’d have never been able to pick the pieces back up. It would’ve destroyed her will to live, the only thing that had kept her alive years longer than the doctors had thought she’d last. And she couldn’t put the extra burden of her panicking and freaking out on her parents. They’d been so stressed and worn down by both her illness and the hospital bills she’d tried to avoid heaping any other issues on them. Even when they suggested therapy, she had declined, knowing the added bills would’ve meant they’d be even more stressed over money.

She pulled up the next sheet waiting, cutting her sad memories of a life long past short.

Affinity

Soul

92%

Light

90%

Life

85%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 1

General Skills

No Skills Available

Spells

No Spells Available

This sheet was much smaller than the others, though she knew over time it would grow to be rather large. Skills and spells hadn’t been capped in the game. Well, not hard-capped. Different skills and spells required different things, some required specific stats, some required specific affinities. Others required both, or specific levels or Ranks. Others could only be learned if you completed specific quest lines or found spell or skill scrolls. Some were even only dropped by monsters or bosses.

The pitiful lack of skills or spells hurt, though it added to her confusion. How was it possible that Liliana hadn’t gotten a single Skill after 14 years? She’d gotten [Identify] after a few minutes. It added credence to her theory that all of Liliana’s levels had been reset by the soul swap. Which was irritating, though, considering the boons she’d received, she couldn’t complain too much. Even if she’d have appreciated something for a skill. She was a bit curious at the lack of a [Poison Resistance] skill of some sort, but she quickly figured it out. The poison used had been a soul poison. Meaning it had only affected the original soul in the body, so her current soul had done nothing to earn the skill, as it hadn’t been poisoned. Yet.

She was really starting from the bottom here, except with her affinities. Which were high. Ridiculously so. She had high enough affinities to learn advanced magic for all three of the affinities she had. Though she could only learn any skills or spells that her stats, level, and Rank would allow.

The important thing, to her at least, was she had a high enough affinity to learn Bond magic. Now it was just a question of how to do that. Liliana found her mind fixating on that, a goal she could see herself working towards. The goal Vita had given her had been pushed to the back of her mind. Even brushing against it caused her panic to rise. How was she supposed to save the fate of an entire world? She couldn’t even form an idea of how to do that. No, it was easier to focus on something she could easily figure out.

Liliana focused on a checklist in her mind, concrete goals for her to work towards. First, she needed to get paper or a journal. She needed to write out the information she had jumbled in her mind. Then she would find out if the manor was still situated the way she remembered in her memories, if it was she’d get into the library. She’d find the books she needed to on Soul magic and Bonding, and raising skills.

For the first time in her memory, Liliana had a chance to be strong, to not be weak and frail. She was going to grab that chance with both her hands and never let go. She’d need every bit of strength she could scrounge up for the hell path she was being set on by taking up the life of Liliana Rosengarde. It wouldn’t be a tranquil life, not by a long shot, and the sooner she could defend herself from the inevitable fights she’d come up against, the better.

After she figured out what she needed to get Bonding skills, whatever they might be, and what she’d need to do for raising her stats, she’d focus on that. She knew the rest of Liliana’s family didn’t much care about her, and she could get away with sneaking out to train. Eventually, she would have to venture to areas she knew held low-level creatures to fight and get experience. Though she was loath to do that until she had a weapon and better stats.

Liliana mentally added getting a weapon to her to-do list. She wasn’t sure how she would, but even something as simple as a knife from the kitchen should work against low-level monsters. She knew there were crafting skills that existed that would let her make weapons, and she’d see if she could get information on them.

Were they actual skills you could learn or gain, or did one have to actually make items to gain the skill? Was it like [Identify] where she had identified several things before the skill was offered? If so, how did skills like that impact her making something? Did it give her the knowledge to make something or guide her hands, or did things get created with magic as they did in the game?

Liliana rubbed her head. She could feel a headache starting as the multitude of questions ran through her head. She was exhausted, and she’d only been awake for an hour or two. The emotional toll had drained this recovering body of energy and her mind running a marathon hadn’t helped at all.

Liliana jolted when the door to her room opened. She half expected to see Astrid entering, but instead, it was a different woman entirely. She was clothed in an enormous dress that barely fit through the door. The deep red of the dress paired well with her deep ochre skin, and somehow didn’t detract from the pure gold that shone in her eyes. Her hair was braided and gathered in an elaborate updo. Despite seeing her own reflection recently, Liliana was dumbstruck by the pure beauty and elegance the woman exuded. She looked like a piece of art come to life.

It was partially her tired mind, still reeling from being dropped into a new world and into the body of a future villainess, and partially the shock over seeing someone so beautiful in her room that she didn’t immediately register who it was. However, her body, or rather the body she had stolen, seemed to know the noble lady before her. It felt like ice had been injected into her veins as a sense of doom fell over her. Her heart sped up so fast she feared it would gallop out of her chest. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Terror. That was the feeling that suffused her entire being.

Imogen Thornebell-Rosengarde. The Duchess, Liliana’s stepmother. The woman who just tried to kill her. Liliana’s mind supplied, finally catching up and providing her with vital information, and explaining her body’s visceral reaction to the woman moving towards her like a hunting cat approaching weakened prey. Her golden eyes gleamed with malice, even if her lips were twisted into a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Liliana, my dearest daughter. I heard that you had awoken, and I rushed over quick as I could to see if it was true. I cannot tell you how my heart rejoices over your unlikely recovery,” Imogen told her as she closed in on the girl trembling under her blankets, hands grasped tightly in the fabric as if it could shield her from the evil witch who had invaded her room.

A delicate hand dripping in golden jewelry reached out and caressed her cheek. Liliana flinched from the contact, but the hand grasped her face tightly before she could get away from the unwanted contact. Manicured nails dug into her skin hard enough, Liliana feared blood would be drawn. Her breathing sped up more, gasping breaths flying in and out of her lungs at a breakneck pace.

“Now, now. I know it must have been a terrifying experience for you, to come down with such a terrible sickness,” the Duchess put special emphasis on the word sickness, her fingers tightening ever more on Liliana’s skin and summoning a whimper that the woman ignored.

“Look at you, so pale and sickly looking. Though you did finally manage to drop some of that baby fat you’ve been carrying,” Imogen hummed as she turned Liliana’s head this way and that. Liliana shook like a frightened rabbit, tongue heavy and flat in her mouth. She was too scared to talk. This woman had just tried to kill her. What could she say? What if she’d come to finish the job? What if she figured out she wasn’t the real Liliana?

“I can see you’ve got a spark of… health in your eyes now. That’s good, it seems you’ll make a full recovery,” Imogen finally released her face and Liliana jerked back as the woman took a step away from the bed.

“You should take some time, rest, and regain your strength. We all know how pitiful commoners’ vitality is. Wouldn't want you to get sick again so soon,” Imogen continued as she walked off, shooting Liliana a look that was nothing but a mockery of motherly concern.

“Yes, I’ll tell your father you need more time to rest. We’ll deny any invitations that come for you, of course. Don’t argue this,” Imogen held up a hand as if to forestall any protests from Liliana, though she hadn’t uttered a word since the woman barged into her room.

“Mother knows best. Everything I do, my dear Liliana, is for the benefit of my children,” Imogen informed her as she returned to the door and shot one last cruel smile her way.

“Do try to not scare us all like this again Liliana, it was such an inconvenience for us all,” Imogen told her, and then the woman was gone, nothing but the overly sweet scent of her perfume and the stinging of Liliana’s skin to prove the woman had been there at all.

Liliana nearly jumped out of her bed when her door was opened again, her heart pounding in fear. The insane idea that someone had figured out she wasn’t the real Liliana and was coming to drag her out to a stake to get burned flashed in her mind. Or that Imogen had returned, this time to really finish her failed assassination attempt. Until her eyes locked on Astrid's form, carrying a tray with bowls and cups on it, and she relaxed for a moment.

Wait, if anyone is going to figure out I’m not Liliana, it’s going to be the woman who is basically her mother, she thought and icy fear crashed over her.

“Okay, Lady Liliana, I’ve got you some broth, a bit of bread, and some water, nothing heavy, since you’ve not eaten in weeks. It’s only through the efforts of the doctor that you didn’t waste away,” Astrid said as she made her way to Liliana in the bed. She set the tray on the nightstand and helped Liliana sit up more, fluffing pillows behind her to help keep her supported. Satisfied, the woman placed the tray on her lap and ran a hand through Liliana’s hair.

“Thank you, Auntie Asi,” Liliana said, pausing at the nickname that fell from her lips.

As she tried to understand where that nickname had come from, a faded memory came into her mind of her in the woman’s lap, trying to say her name. Her young tongue got stuck on the T and D, so she had settled on ‘Asi’ and it had stuck. The memory was odd. It didn’t feel like her own, but like she was watching a video. Yet she recognized it as being her body there, and she could remember the feelings young Liliana had felt then, warm and safe. Happy and loved. It was odd and if her body hadn’t informed her it was ravenously hungry, it would’ve disturbed her to a higher degree. Though her growing headache was warring with the hunger she felt for dominance, the hunger ultimately won out.

“Anything for you, my lady. You gave me quite a scare,” Astrid said, sitting on the bed as Liliana picked up a spoon. Her mind told her it was specifically a soup spoon, though she’d never known there were different types before that moment. At least this information didn’t come with an odd, not quite her own, memory.

Liliana felt a pang of familiar guilt in her chest at the words. She’d heard similar words from her parents more times than she could count. She had known, technically; it wasn’t her fault that she had been sick. Yet it was her body, and her that had been scaring her parents all the time with her failing health. Her failing body that had drained their bank accounts and forced her parents to take out loans and work constant overtime to barely keep up with her mountain of medical bills. Her fingers tightened around the metal of the spoon. She’d get strong enough that she wouldn’t worry someone else who cared about her like that again.

Liliana dipped the spoon into her soup and despite her urge to pick up the bowl and drain it dry, her hand moved with an elegance and poise she’d never had as she delicately sipped the soup. The flavor exploded on her tongue and she closed her eyes with a happy hum. It had been too long since she’d had food, and at that moment, this simple broth tasted like the finest dish she’d ever had.

She opened her eyes again and shot Astrid a grateful smile before she resumed tucking into her meal. In a few minutes, she’d cleared the broth and her stomach was feeling rather close to full. It was an odd experience to eat without having accompanying nausea, without feeling the food immediately crawling back up her throat. She couldn’t remember when the last time was that she’d been honestly full.

Liliana wiped the rest of the broth up with the bread and took two small bites out of it before she was entirely filled. She drained the cup of water and leaned back into her pillows, sated. Her body felt heavy and her eyelids were weights trying to drag her into slumber.

“You should get some more sleep. Your body is still recovering,” Astrid said as she stood and took the tray from her lap. Liliana held out a hand and grabbed the woman’s apron.

“Could you get me a journal and some writing implements, Auntie?” Liliana asked, her voice a bit slurred from exhaustion. Every second was a fight to stay awake at this point.

“Of course, my lady, it should be here when you awake. Now let's get you settled,” Astrid smiled at her, and the expression was so full of love that Liliana felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. It wasn’t her mother’s love, no it wasn’t even love really directed at her, but she let it wrap her in a warm feeling of comfort nonetheless. She let the woman gently maneuver her into a sleeping position and, before her door had even shut, Liliana was asleep.