´I didn´t mean to´ would be the best words to describe the Goblin father´s expression. His breath roughens, a whirlwind of emotions in his head.
The rain stops
*Ba-Thump* *Ba-Thump*
However, Vienessa's heart does not.
~Title~
[Undying has been obtained]
--
Vienessa opens her eyes.
The first thing she sees is five concerned Goblins pushing their faces right into hers. She remains lying down and looks back at them. Her mother is the first to move and applies a mixture of processed herbs to the Demon´s wounds. This should prevent a further decline in her condition. She also prepares some potions which act as painkillers. Ma sends the onlookers who do nothing but only stand in her way to a separate part of the cave, then quickly returns with some more potions in her hand.
The Demon turns her head away. But her mother won´t have any of that. Quickly realizing she has no other choice, the girl gulps down the concoction and closes her eyes once more.
´It tastes like green and red´
The pain goes number with each second and her body relaxes.
“I´m… going to sleep for a bit, okay?” is what her mind tells her to say, but she doesn´t. It would be a good idea, except for some reason the Demon doesn´t like it. She gets up and sits against the cool cavern wall and rubs her eyes
“[Heal]”
But nothing happens, she can´t cure the damage she received from her father. Or, the Mana seems to get repelled once it touches her body. The light from her magic flickers like a broken lamp before going out.
“Why… It won´t listen”
She looks up and watches how her father receives a deadly glare from his wife. The Goblin starts stomping further into the cave, toward him, while he retreats until he´s pushed up against a wall. He looks down at his wife´s scowl. Then he´s packed by his ear and dragged across their home. The two stop in front of their daughter, Pa gets thrown to his knees. Ma presses some air through her nose and points at him with her thumb
“So… it´s because of Pa it doesn´t work?”
She nods, so does he, releasing a big sigh
“One of your |Skills|?"
He nods again
“Damn”
Vienessa grits her teeth “You mean you´ve held back this much?”
She almost forgot how it felt. This feeling; this infuriating, disgusting feeling of defeat. She covers her eyes with her arm, they feel a bit wet: “I… I´m tired. I´ll be in my bed,” she says.
Slowly trying to stand up, she actually manages to stumble a few steps before being caught by her father. She looks at him and sees a pile of agony, as if he was the one who got beaten up. The girl averts her gaze
“…Thanks, dad”
The night turned out to be long, very so. Maybe not what Vienessa wanted, but what she needed.
--
Waking up to the smell of food is how a fresh day should start. The vigorous sizzling of fire accompanied by a creamy aroma fills the air. One breath is enough to tell the strong, juicy flavor. Yet the fragrance is somehow gentle… No, not quite gentle. It´s elegant. Elegant with a fruity side to it.
Vienessa´s stomach grumbles. She stands up from her bedding and stretches. Her body feels unusually light. Trailing the smell of food, she arrives at an open fire right outside the cave. Her mother is sitting next to it and roasting something akin to a wild boar over the flames. The monster has a wooden stake pierced through the middle, an apple sticks out of its mouth.
The girl doesn´t even have to say anything for the Goblin to turn around. Walking up to her daughter she checks on her wounds, pressing some spots here and there. She seems relieved, showing Vienessa a gentle smile. The Demon doesn´t say anything, she simply looks at her mother who has now become the same height as her. Or maybe it´s the other way around, she remembers Madeleine telling her she grew taller.
The Goblin slightly tilts her head, dragging the girl out of her own little world: “No, it´s fine. I´m okay. Thank you for yesterday,” she tries to find her composure. Ma shakes her head as if saying that it´s only natural for a mother to care for her children. “Right, It's normal. That´s how it shoud be...”
Shortly, the Goblin returns to her cooking. Vienessa sits down by her mother´s side and watches how she accurately regulates the flames with one hand and slowly turns what presumably will be their dinner with her other.
It appears that Vienessa slept through the night and another half day. Her father and siblings are currently out hunting, which leaves the two girl behind.
It´s peaceful. Yet somehow, the tranquility is suffocating.
--
Name Ma (?) - The Last Saintess Species High Nymph Blue Hobgoblin – LV: 316 Stats
HP
MP
????/????
????/???? Vitality ??2? Strength
----------------------------------------
Intelligence ???1
----------------------------------------
???? Endurance ???? Agility ?9??
Skills [Blocked]
“Holy…”
Vienessa closes the Appraisal Window and lets her head sink to the floor.
´I knew I wasn't the strongest yet, but...´
After thinking about it for a while, she can´t handle the flood of depression any longer. So she uses a trick she didn´t need to rely on for quite some time now; She grits her teeth and converts all her feelings into anger. Anger at herself, not only for being ´weak,´ but also for the time she wasted in her sulking state. She could´ve gotten stronger in this time, but no, instead she did nothing. She just threw it away for no reason whatsoever. She imagines where she could´ve been now and notices how this thought only infuriates her more.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
She abruptly stands up and: “Fuck!!” shouts into the forest
The Goblin jumps up and turns to her daughter, a few treetops rustle as birds flutter out behind her.
“Ma,” her girl suddenly addresses her. Not knowing what´s gotten into her daughter, the mother just gives her a confused look
The Demon slaps her own face to make sure she´s in her right mind before continuing: “I´m sorry you had to see me in such a state, but I´m fine now. I made up my mind. I´ll definitely become stronger… No, the strongest there is. Next time Pa won´t be able to play around with me anymore. He´ll need to use everything he got and I… I will still win! And then it will be his turn next! Just watch me!”
The Goblin doesn´t quite know how to respond, especially since she doubts that this was the lesson she wanted her daughter to take out of the whole mess. But, sensing the determination surging from her little Demon, she can´t help but laugh to herself. It seems her daughter managed to distract herself for a bit. She shakes her head. Well, why shouldn´t a mother be happy when her child is alive and kicking? She decides this outcome is okay as well. The Goblin hugs her daughter, and receives a strong hug back.
It´s usually Vienessa who breaks free from hugs, but this time the Goblin separates first. She gives the boar a quick glance; It still needs some time roasting over the flames.
She turns around and heads inside their home, then appears a few seconds later after realizing the Demon didn't follow her. She instructs her to do so with a small gesture.
The two enter the deeper parts of the cave until coming to an abrupt stop.
“Uhm, Ma?”
The Goblin ignores her daughter and stretches out her arm to touch a seemingly random part of the wall. All of a sudden she releases an absurd amount of Magic that gushes through her body and into the stone, as a side-effect brightening the entire place. The Demon at first squints, then is almost swept away by the shockwave that of Mana. Though she somehow manages to persist while protecting her head with her arms.
Not that this is her main worry because the wall seems to start imploding
“Ma! What are you doing?!” the girl yells, but the next moment, she sees something strange.
There´s something unusual. A white space? No, with every second of magic flowing the space expands and takes on a clearer shape. As if created right here and now. Furthermore it fills out with... things:
First earthy ground, then greenery and flowers of all colors and variety. And finally, a crystal pedestal protrudes through the earth and stands there like a single giant's diamond tooth in the center of the space.
Vienessa´s mouth is gaping a little. Her mother rubs some sweat off her forehead and pulls Vienessa into the plane, as if passing a portal. Inside, the girl´s breath is once more taken away. The doorway her mother created connects the cave to what appears to be a separate reality:
They step onto a green square Vienessa thought was only a part of the room, but it seems to be the only ground that floats in a vast galaxy filled with stars glistening in the far distance, each of different sizes and colors. Left, right, above and even beneath the only thing you can find is nothingness.
Vienessa slowly turns her head, eyes sparkling. She quickly runs back to the exit of the space and sticks her upper body into the familiar cave. Then she enters the other dimension again and runs up to her mother: “Woah this is crazy! How did you do that?? Where are we?”
The Goblin softly laughs at the reaction she had hoped to see before dragging the girl forward to the Pedestal and looking at what lies on top of it, protected by a forcefield that emits electric sparks. The smile that had covered her face until now turns somewhat sad. Vienessa first looks at her mother and then follows her gaze to the huge crystal. There, she makes out an |Artifact|… Or rather something that is usually worn
“Sandals?”
Vienessa tries to grab them, but her the Goblin stops her. Instead, she reaches for the |Artifact|, her hand goes right through the force field as if it weren´t even there. She looks at them one more time before turning to her daughter.
Although the shoes are made from the most soft-looking material and are patted with leaves so green they almost seem to be still alive, in the end, they´re still shoes. Or more like something a gladiator would wear. Or a Goddess, your choice. Yet, they are decorated with nearly inimitable fine golden patterns that run through the material like veins, pulsing the dense magic the |Artifact| contains as if it were blood. In a sense, these sandals are an extraordinarily beautiful piece of craft.
But, unfortunately, Vienessa doesn´t care about prettiness, she judges items by their practicality:
Saintess´ fleeting footwear
Saintess´ fleeting footwear
Rarity: Intermediate Grade Legendary Explanation:
A near indestructible |Artifact| created from the World Tree´s Core and tailored by the most talented craftsmen of a long lost civilization.
Adjusts to wearer.
Equipped with Self-Regeneration.
Unleashes full potential when worn in a complete Set.
Current Bonus: +50 Agility
|Saintess´ fleeting footwear| – Legendary (Intermediate-Grade) (Explanation: A near indestructible |Artifact| created from the World Tree´s Core and tailored by the most talented craftsmen of a long lost civilization. Adjusts to wearer. Equipped with Self-Regeneration. Unleashes full potential when worn in a complete Set. Current Bonus: +50 Agility)
Vienessa finds these shoes very pretty.
The girl is prompted to take the |Artifact|. She was kind of expecting that would be the case… And yet, she still hesitates a little
“I don´t really know what´s going on, but these are important to you, am I right?”
Ma bites her lower lip, then nods
“Mom, are you sure you want me to have them?" The girl looks around with her eyes "There´s only these shoes in here, right? Quite an effort for an |Artifact|. You know that I don't treat tools that get into my hand kindly.”
Ma smiles after hearing her words and nods for a second time “No… Re…gret,” she says, though her voice somewhat bittersweet.
Vienessa looks at the expression on her mother´s face for a while longer before reaching out her hand. Stopping mid-way, she pulls it back to her chest again, but in the end decides to take the |Artifact|. She sits down on the prickly grass and puts them on. Though she retreats her hands in surprise as vines extend from within the sandals and symmetrically wrap around her lower leg until the strings have tightened.
[+50 Agility has been temporarily added]
[Compatibility as a Set confirmed. Current number: 2. Bonuses have been added]
[Ryū Ō´s Armament: Increase Attack → (Greatly) Increase Attack]
[Saintess´ Fleeting Footwear: Wearer’s Agility +20%]
Now, it would be an understatement to say Vienessa found them pretty. The girl stands up and sees that her mother is beaming at how well the |Artifact| fits her daughter. Then, as if she remembered something important, the Goblin rushes out of the room.
´The food!´ is written on her face.
Vienessa takes a final long glance around the abstruse place before leaving it as well.
As she enters the cave she notices that there´s still the sensation of a soft flowerbed beneath her feet. She furrows her brows and crouches down to touch the ground with her hands. It´s hard, cold rock. She lifts her foot and touches her new |Artifact|
“Huh, that´s cool. Hey, Ma! Wait for me!”
--
Due to the sudden, large boost to her Agility, Vienessa spends the rest of the afternoon adjusting to her new equipment. Ma tries supporting her during with her struggles, but there´s nothing really she can do besides cheering her on... and peridoically hiding a smile at the strange attempts.
This continues until the other four family members return from their hunt. Re, the first to run up to her big sister, is also the first to notice the new footwear on her legs. She looks at them with sparkling eyes and a face that Vienessa has never seen before
“Beautiful? Indeed. The |Stats| they give are insane."
The small Goblin tilts her head
Huh? Who cares about how they look? Beauty is measured by usefulness,” is the Demon's response to her little sister´s excitement.
Re´s mouth falls open to what she just said. Ba and Ro as well give their big sister an incomprehensible look. They´re clearly on Re´s side on this one.
“What? Why are you all looking at me as if I´m the weird one?”
The kids are too absorbed in their little scuffle to notice how their father has fallen into a state of shock seeing what the Demon wears. He repeatedly looks between his wife and the |Artifact|, but seeing the smile on the face of the woman he loves, he shakes his head and deeply sighs. He´ll need to address what she´s done later when they´re alone.
For now, they´ll have their long-awaited feast. The Boar is finally done.
--
The rest of Vienessa´s stay passes in a flash: Other than spending more time catching up with her family, she had asked her father to seriously train her while the opportunity presented itself. He showed her a face that said ´are you sure you´re ready for that?´ to which Vienessa immediately replied that she's ready for anything he might throw at her.
´Don´t say I didn´t warn you… and don´t you dare quitting mid-way´
And so, hell began for the little Demon. I´ll spare you the details, but let me just say that Vienessa made astonishing progress in such a short amount of time:
~Skills~
[Intermediate Physical Reinforcement → Intermediate (+) Physical Reinforcement]
[Minor Feeble Soul → Minor (+) Feeble Soul]
[Minor (+) HP Regeneration → Intermediate (-) HP Regeneration]
~Title~
[Dedication to one´s Art has been obtained]
-- -- --
The next day, Vienessa had to leave early in the morning. Being sent off by all 5 Goblins she promised to visit them again soon. It wasn´t as difficult to leave as it was a little more than a month ago when she did so for the first time. Maybe because she realizes now that it's not goodbye forever? Who knows.
Yet, what the girl didn´t know at that time, is that she wouldn´t be able to keep what she promised.