When Nemo fell from the chandelier, no one heard her scream. She was mute, of course no one heard her. When she was falling closer to the ground, when the chandelier became further and further away, there was only one thought in her mind.
Darn it. I was so close.
Thud.
[Damage sustained. HP: 360 -> 120]
Ouch.
Nemo lied on her back and stared at the chandelier. Her body flickered. She thought about her climb and how it was a success, if she ignored the jump and fall. The good thing about having gigantic hallways was that every nook and crannies were enlarged as well, giving her plenty of footing. The bad thing about having gigantic hallways was that even if she reached the top, she could never jump over to the chandelier.
With a muted sigh Nemo scratched her head. Surprisingly the fall didn’t really hurt. The initial bump felt like being hit by a volleyball, but there was no lingering pain. The System was such a convenient thing. Once she put on her maid’s uniform and gained the Path of a [Housemaid], her measly 3 health points suddenly became 360. Apparently each Path came with its own perks, and one of which was the increase of stats and attributes. The Count said it wasn’t actually that much, but she was thankful since it allowed her to attempt the climb.
Without her Path Nemo’s health would be 0, which was bad, which also meant that she couldn’t try it again until her health recovered. See, she could do math.
It had been a month since that fateful day. Nemo met the Count, had a room in his golden mansion, and according to him, almost got plastered by the Duchess. This also meant it had been a month since Nemo became a housemaid.
“Nemo, what are you doing?” asked a stern voice.
Nemo quickly sprung up and saluted the woman in front of her. Demon Lady still wore the same impeccably straightened business suit and the same expressionless stare. Her eyes were the same sea of blackness and golden ring that threatened to suck her in.
Nemo initially found her stare unsettling, but now that she gotten used to it, the only thing on her mind whenever she saw the Demon Lady was the urge to touch her fangs. However, having lived with her for a month, Nemo more or less learned to read that expressionless look. Just listen to veins popping or knuckles crunching!
Nemo decided not to bother Demon Lady today.
Demon Lady was still waiting for an answer so Nemo gestured wildly about how she was doing the rounds. She wiped an invisible wall in the air, referring to her using the[Clean and Dust] ability to make sure the golden sparkly hallways shined even brighter. She crossed her arms and opened them in a shrug, indicating that she was bored cause there was nothing interesting. She pointed the walls and climbed them, showing how she decided to brave the walls and conquer the chandelier.
Demon Lady grabbed the back of her uniform collar and plopped her onto the floor. Nemo struggled and flung her arms and legs widely, reenacting her fall.
Demon Lady sighed and raised an arm out. Magical energy gathered into her open palm and shadowy tendrils appeared on the floor, extending forward. When the tendrils caught Nemo, she was then surrounded by swirls of dark blue light. Warm air fluttered around her and she felt lighter.
[Spell - Creeping Tendrils (rank E)]
[Healing received. HP: 120 -> 360. Buff received. Health Regeneration + 20% for 3 seconds, Quickness + 20% for 3 seconds]
Nemo let out a silent praise of wonderment. She could try again and be faster as well!
Demon Lady already figured out her intention and Nemo found herself running in the air. It was pointless to try and escape Demon Lady’s iron grasp so she slumped and let her boss once again plop her onto the floor.
“Remember what my master said to you after you acquired the Path?” Demon Lady said and Nemo nodded in response. However, Nemo still gestured to the sparkly interior. Everything was already clean before she even arrived. She didn’t even have the opportunity to use her magical cleaning abilities!
“Nemo, understand that until you learn to wield all three basic abilities of the [Housemaid], the parts in which the mansion needed cleaning is still too difficult for you. Besides, the other guests rarely visit these hallways that is why these halls are the perfect place for you to practice.”
When Demon Lady finished, thundering steps could be heard around the corner, but they were not louder than the sound of Demon Lady’s veins popping and knuckles crunching. She was clearly annoyed that someone contradicted her statement.
The White Titan appeared from the corner and stomped forward slowly, each step taken the same pace as the one before. His plates slotted in an out to the rhythm of his movement, and each step shook the ground. His faceless gaze continued to stare forward. His height almost reached the ceiling and his shoulders would’ve punctured the walls if he stepped one step too far to the side.
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The White Titan was about to break the chandelier! This meant more cleaning and one less thing to swing from!
Nemo ran forward and stood in the path of the White Titan and raised one arm, commanding him to stop his advance. Surely he would stop, right?
Nope.
[Spell - Creeping Tendrils (rank A)]
[Healing received. HP: 360 -> 360. Unique buff - Embrace of the Dark Waves received for 12 seconds. HP regeneration + 100%, Swiftness + 100%, Extra Health + (unknown), Extra Mana + (unknown), Omni-resistance + (unknown), passive - Unstoppable received, passive Grounded received]
The White Titan’s feet didn’t stop. Nemo held her ground. The giant’s foot connected with Nemo, but instead of being sent flying to who knows where, Nemo felt herself punted, but her flickering body allowed the giant’s foot to phase through.
[Damage received. Extra HP reduced to 0. HP: 360 -> 320]
Ouch. That wasn’t very nice.
“Are you okay, Nemo?” Demon Lady approached the child and asked, but her tone betrayed no hint of concern.
Nemo nodded. The White Titan ignored the two and continued forward.
“Please don’t do that again. If my spell didn’t reach you in time or somehow connected with the White Titan, both of us would not come out of the aftermath unscathed. I’m pretty sure you would go poof more likely than not. If you were simply a mansion worker under my command, I wouldn’t mind that. However, you are the master’s friend, so please don’t make my life more difficult.”
Nemo heard her, but she wasn’t really paying attention.
Grandpa once said that in life, do not allow anyone to walk over her or look down on her.
The White Titan looked down on Nemo and walked over her, literally! That would not go unanswered.
Nemo ran and the Demon Lady, clearly annoyed that she was ignored, followed reluctantly.
There was still some distance before the giant hit the chandelier.
With the buff still active, Nemo ran. She dodged the giant’s steps, its predictable and slow nature made it easy. She gained some distance and skidded to a stop under the chandelier. She began climbing the walls, faster than ever before. She felt lighter, her movement unconstrained by the pull of her weight. Without much effort she reached the top in record time.
Nemo aimed at the chandelier and her little legs pushed.
It was not enough and she began to fall.
No. Not like this!
With a silent cry of defiance, she flung the towel she had tucked in her belt towards the chandelier, a movement like instinct.
[Skill learned - Strenuous Reach (rank E)]
[Unique passive - Embrace of the Dark Waves expired]
The towel latched onto the chandelier and Nemo dangled under it. She did it. A huge grin crept on her face, but it quickly disappeared with the sound of loud stomping.
She turned around and the White Titan continued approaching. Nemo would not allow him to ignore her a second time. Once again, Nemo raised one arm. She glared at the giant with all the intensity she could muster and commanded him to stop with her eyes and a silent growl.
Stomp.
Stop.
Stomp.
Stop!
Stomp.
Stop or I’m gonna punch you!
Stomp.
The White Titan stopped. His gaze fixated on the little girl dangling under the golden lights and examined Nemo. After what seemed like forever, the plates of his gigantic body turned, slotted away, and rotated until he now faced the other side. His thunderous steps resumed and the giant walked away.
Nemo smiled. She did it. No one was walking all over her!
Ahem.
The sound of Demon Lady clearing her throat snapped Nemo’s attention to the woman below. Her expressionless face was now not so expressionless. With a finger, she pointed to the floor.
Nemo was going to get an earful once she returned to the ground. However, she wasn’t on the ground yet!
With a grin she swung her feet.
Nemo was swinging on the chandelier. The wind, the speed, the exhilarating back and forth was everything she wanted. It was all worth it! The falling and the punting and the lecture later, nothing compared to the fun she was having at the moment!
Click.
Nemo later found herself lying on the ground. She swung so hard the chandelier fell and shattered. She spent the next hour cleaning up with the Demon Lady lecturing in the background, and another hour listening to the angry lecture.
Worth it.