They slept underneath the starlit sky of Elysia for the first time. Coming from a city, Frost never had the chance to experience what it was like sleeping outdoors beneath the stars. She remembered the city lights. The sound of vehicles and machinery. The convenience of the modern world…

She didn’t miss them as much as she did anymore.

The sweet, savory scent of a roasted boar and the crackling of a smothered campfire lulled them until the break of dawn.

The soft grass was a godsend compared to the soil of the Black Forest. No to mention how comfortable her coat kept her. It was laid on to the ground like a makeshift bed for both her and Jury to share for the night.

She found it amusing how easily she ended up falling asleep. The woodlands of Grandis were teaming with life. Both with prey and predators alike. The howling of wolves was a frequent occurrence, as were the growling of distant bears, and the chirps of birds.

And yet she slept like a rock, unfazed by these creatures. This was because they feared her. They instinctively kept their distance and avoided her at all costs, allowing the two to sleep uninterrupted until dawn finally broke.

She winced when the fresh rays of pink light fell onto her through the thin leaves. The grogginess she remembered she used to experience was non-existent now. An unnatural amount of energy coursed through her in the morning of all times as she turned to Jury who was still sound asleep.

“… I want to sleep like that as well.” Frost complained in a whisper, annoyed that her body only required a little amount of sleep to function. “Maaan… eating has replaced everything for me, huh?”

“So it has. Will you find food to begin our long journey?”

“I’m already being asked a question so early in the morning… Haah.”

“You have the energy to respond. Please don’t pretend like you’re tired.” The System coldly spoke, causing Frost to make a strange face.

“Northeast, right? I have some of the One Thousand Eyed Bird’s meat already. But I want to try eating a wolf or a bear. Think I’ll get an ability from them?”

“Stats at best. Do you think wildlife have anomalous properties like the Corrupted?” The System said almost sarcastically.

“Well, I’m sorry for assuming that the wildlife of a different world aren’t like the ones back on Earth.” Frost groaned, holding back a small laugh. “But it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot while Jury’s still asleep. I’ll make her something before we head off. I want to level up as many of my skills as possible.”

“You certainly do have the mana to facilitate rapid growth.”

“The mana to facilitate… You know, I have a question about that.”

Frost began as she carefully pulled herself away from Jury, only now realizing that the woman had been cuddling her arm.

“Sorry Jury. What a carefree soul. As I was saying – what’s the average MP for my level?”

“It depends entirely on the professions and skills. But 5,000 is more suitable for a level 120. And that is on the higher end. 1,000 to 2,500 would be fitting for your level.”

“Y-You’re kidding right?”

“Do the feathers ruffle?”

Frost quickly glanced down and saw the feathers of the coat ruffle to Nav’s voice. How the coat even heard it in the first place was a mystery and left her bewildered. The coat does indeed ruffle to the truth.

That aside –

Her MP was ridiculously high, although she did not have any skills to properly use such a vast amount of MP.

In RPG games, the strongest magic or skill usually costed immense amounts of MP. Like an ultimate attack or a trump card. That was when she remembered the skills she had received from the One Thousand Eyed Bird.

“Can I have a look at the One Thousand Eyed Bird’s skills?”

< ACTIVE: Prejudice >

< All that mattered was that they were right >

< Deal 10,000 damage to those caught by your maw >

< Cost: 4,000 MP >

“T-Ten thousand…?” Frost almost yelled, shocked by the immense power of this skill. “I thought it would be weaker. That’s insane. Normal people only have up to a hundred HP… I almost feel sorry for anyone on the receiving end.”

It was tempting to spin up the Will of the Amalgam to test this skill out.

But she decided against it for the time being. As far as she was concerned, the was nothing out here that could last long enough for her to reach the Second State.

And that flavor text. It suits the tale of the Black Forest, alright.

“The others?”

< ACTIVE: Biased Verdict >

< They judged in order to not be judged themselves >

< Summon the forest to ensnare your target >

< Cost: 2,000 MP >

Prejudice costs twice as much as this one. I can see them working together nicely.

< PASSIVE: Rightful Ignorance >

< They turned their heads the other way knowing it was wrong >

< Open all one thousand of your eyes. They have come to your aid >

< PASSIVE: Fear of Retribution >

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

< One day it would be their turn to be judged >

< Emotions will heighten even faster >

Exciting and certainly useful. What about the last two?

“I unfortunately cannot find any information on Hysteria and Judgement. Your Will of the Amalgam must reach the second state and manifest as Judgement again.”

“I’m guessing they’re my trump card of sorts then.” Frost nodded to herself, satisfied with Nav’s rundown. “It’s just a matter of time. Thanks Nav. Let’s get going then. I want to test out the new skill I got.”

“Solemn Counter?”

“Yep. Exactly that.”

* * *

A red eyed, brown bear was chosen to become her test subject. Frost stood defiantly before the roaming beast with nothing but her bare fists. It easily towered over her when it stood on its hind legs. But the bear’s mass could not compare to the immense pressure that was oozed from her body as naturally as her breath.

It instantly shrunk and suppressed a roar.

Just by looking at the bear it was instantly frozen in terror. She didn’t even inflict it with Scrutiny. Its fight or flight instincts simply perished in the presence of being like herself.

Red-Eyed Bear

LEVEL : 40 ORIGIN : Animalia HP : 600 ATT : 100 MAG ATT : 0 AGI : 15

“It certainly doesn’t see me as a human. That’s for sure.” Frost murmured, disappointed with the situation.

While it was a massive boost to her ego to have a gaze that could make creatures prostrate themselves, it was problematic when she wanted to actually fight. Additionally, she also had to wonder how this would affect other people.

“Hey… don’t tell me it’ll be like this for everything we come across.”

“Try to relax maybe? You obviously see it as an enemy. Maybe try closing your eyes.”

Frost, listening to Nav’s suggestion, shut her eyes tightly in the face of one of the only few creatures that were truly feared back on Earth. The reason why she did this so nonchalantly was not solely because of how weak it was or her experiences in the Black Forest.

Rather, it was because she could still sense it with the invisible eyes.

The bear refused to budge. In fact, it wouldn’t even be a surprise if it stopped breathing right there and then to spare it of the agony of being eaten by whatever Frost was.

And so, she simply crushed its head with a single strike.

Red-Eyed Bear | HP : 0

There was no point in taking pity on a beast. Not when she needed to eat. If she were as weak as it was, then the bear would have had no qualms in eating her either. Such was life. Eat or be eaten.

The blood that stained her clothes were cleaned with Cleanse as she feasted on it.

< Minor stats from the Red-Eyed Bear gained >

What was left was dragged back to Jury and prepared into skewers. Her Home Cook skill somehow enhanced her butchery work. She had taken a knife from the Village of Virt solely for cooking purposes and used it to carve it into cubes.

Afterwards, they were skewered on sticks and laid out onto the re-lit campfire to cook. Jury shot awake at the slightest scent of charred meat and rolled towards the campfire, her hair amess.

“Morning.” Frost hummed.

“Sun rise.” She replied, almost drooling at the sight of the cooking meat.

“Close enough. Let’s have some food before we head out. It’ll be our first big trip. Nav. Do you know any places we’ll come across?”

“I only know of major locations fitted with a Relay Site. The next place we’ll find ourselves is a large town called Little Tais if we continue northeast. Mind you, I do not know the circumstances surrounding these places. I only know of their existence and some context around them.”

“It’s more than enough for me. Little Tais. Any idea what sort of town it is?”

“A trading town. A place were people come to hire and come to be hired. Usually as carriage or merchant escorts. Lots of good circulate there. I do not know any specifics, but I shall leave that to your imagination.”

It did not take a genius to understand what Nav implied. Slave trade and perhaps other sinister things were at play in that town. The mere thought of it pushed Frost off the idea of visiting the town. The words of warning Cer gave her returned.

She had turned into a girl, was a Blessed, and she could heal.

… I’d probably fetch for a good price. Then there’s Jury. Tch… I don’t even want to think about it.

However – it had a Relay Site. It was possible that they could return to the Nexus through it. As if reading her mind, Nav suddenly explained:

“Jury can be Hyperlinked with you to the Nexus. She has access to the facilities of the Nexus. The only problem is that neither of you have Nex to spare a single second within the Nexus.”

“I, the Amalgam, must pay my Nex like tax?” Frost hung her head in disappointment, thinking she would have at least been exempted by being an Archetype. “Haah… but I haven’t even earned any Nex. I’m still dry.”

Jury, whilst listening to the conversation, gobbled up the skewers happily.

“That’s where the Repository comes in. Nex can be gained from completing quests given to by the Adventurer’s Guilds or the Nexus. The Repository assesses for proof and then rewards them. It also acts as a mass dimensional storage compartment, requiring Nex to use. It is a method of preventing the Blessed from stagnating or becoming lazy. Archetypes are no exception.”

“That’s like the actual house itself kicking out the homeowner.” Frost sighed as Jury looked on in confusion.

“Your analogies are bizarre.” She felt Nav seemingly sigh.

< Home Cook has gained a level >

* * *

For now, Frost followed the main path which saw no other living soul in sight. These roads were weathered by nature and saw little evidence of human usage. She had hoped to find someone along the way just to know how much time had passed but it seemed like these parts were abandoned by civilization.

The elevation eventually lowered and evened out as they came across a major fork in the path. The trail they had been following was like an animal path compared to the bricked, road that stretched both towards the northwest and directly east.

A broken, splintered sign was the only point of interest here, aside from the stunning mountains that surrounded them on all sides. The world finally opened into a vast, amber plains which led to more woodlands, and then the foot of mountains.

Kilometers into the distance she could vaguely make out a walled structure. It was no doubt a town, though it looked quite small for one. Her vision was phenomenal, but it also had limits. The distance was too great to make out what it exactly was.

Either way, they would arrive at that place sooner or later.

Their speed was unmatched along these plains. Giant bird-like creatures roamed these parts and ran along in herds. These were called Gracebirds; a giant duck-like creature with a thick neck and a large head. Their beaks were lined with soft teeth, used to chew plant matter.

Other avian creatures also freely thrived in these plains, and near the summit of mountains a flock of dozens of giant feathered beasts could be seen hopping from peak to peak.

“Teraddans. Level 90 creatures that feed on those that stray too close to their nests. They are otherwise harmless.”

“I wouldn’t mind eating those. It’s just that I don’t exactly have any long-range skills.” Frost reminded. “Grandis has a thing for birds, huh? Two of their biggest Corrupted were bird-like as well.”

“It is a common theme.”

“Iscario also wore a coat of white feathers. Do you think he received that coat from a Corrupted like mine?” Frost needed to ask.

If that was the case, then she needed to exercise extreme caution the next time they met.

There was no telling what anomalies the Corrupted Objects were capable of.

“It is highly likely that is the case. It could also be an Atelier item specifically designed for him. Iscario has certain ties to Grandis, no? I recall your exchanged dialogue.”

“He does. He absolutely does. He called Paradise his entitled kingdom. Was there a prince of Grandis? How the fuck didn’t anyone catch onto him if that was the case?” Frost asked as the blur in the distance steadily became clearer with each passing second.

“The Kingdom of Puritas. It is the name of the Kingdom that controls the majority of Grandis. I do not know of any known prince. But there is a story that revolves around its late princess.”

“Another story? Not again… wait – princess – could that be his sister!? The one I apparently reminded him of!?” Frost painfully hesitated to utter these words.

It disgusted her more than she was willing to admit. Being compared to anything remotely close to Iscario made her skin crawl, and her blood boil. Just remembering his face was almost enough to cause her to reach the First State.

But Nav’s following words suddenly sobered her.

“Perhaps. It is the story of the little girl who ate the fruit from a tree that the King had forbid all to eat from. A story of blame and guilt. Of death and suffering. Of the judgement of many for the sin of one.

This is the story of the Price of Paradise. Frost. We have completed but one chapter in this grand tale.”

And in the distance, she realized that the town they approached was in utter disrepair as smoke began to rise.

“The price of paradise… don’t make me laugh. You’re only just telling me this now?” Frost questioned Nav with severe edge.

“Believe me when I say this Frost, but someone’s voice who I cannot hear is reading this to me.”