“Captain,” Mikella nodded to her captain, but somehow Val wasn’t happy at all. In fact, she was glaring hard at her. She wondered why that is. It wasn’t as though she was slacking off or anything.
“Mikella. What in the world are you doing?” Val asked, or rather demanded. Mikella tilted her head in confusion. “What were you thinking? Separating from your team? I gave you specific instructions not to do that. You went against the captain’s order.”
Mikella scrunched her face. She was mad about that?
I didn’t take her for an idiot, The voice in her mind commented, more surprised than shocked.
“My team was useless. They couldn't fight for shit, so I left them. Besides, it’s not like they could’ve done anything to this thing I just killed.”
Mikella pointed at the corpse beneath her. It was a good fight, but in the end, it was just a monster. She would loot its corpse and get her rewards for that good fight.
Val, however, looked at her as though in disgust. In the back of her mind, she seethed at the sight before Val continued.
“Mikella… what happened to you?” Val asked, surprising Mikella. “I heard from Myra and the others how you’re… changing these past few weeks. And now I see what they mean. This is a lot different than how you were before.”
“What are you talking about Captain?” Mikella asked. She was starting to feel that perhaps calling her ‘Captain’ was now unwarranted. “I’m the same as always. I want to get stronger, so I’m putting in the work. It definitely doesn’t help that that mage is taking away my XP, so now I have to work even more for it.”
She shook her head. The thought of Zeke laughing it up like it was nothing made her cringe. How did she ever find anything noteworthy of the guy, she’ll never know.
“What…? Are you talking about Zeke?”
Now Val looked extremely furious. That actually surprised her. In the back of her mind, she was more confused than her face let on.
“How can you say that? Don’t you realize how much Zeke and the others are trying to get stronger? And–”
“Captain,” Mikella interrupted her. She had enough of this. “Can you just leave me be? I’m trying to do what we are supposed to do–hunting monsters and trying to stop the next horde.”
“And by that,” Val spoke again quickly. “Are you talking about killing the monsters to stop the next horde? I never said to do anything like that. I said to find the cause, not to try and make the monsters extinct.”
“It’s either that or let the horde happen again,” Mikella answered simply. “Since you and pretty much everyone else are out of commision, I have to do something.”
Finally, as though the line had been snapped, Val eased the expression on her face. Mikella figured that she was finally getting through to her. But instead, she felt something come at her.
A wave of bloodlust rushed straight at her. She caught herself in the raging river blasting from the waterfall. It kept trying to drown her, to destroy her very being.
She turned pale. But then she shook it off, realizing that it was all just in her head. Her body was fine, but she was starting to get a cold sweat. Even her fingers started trembling.
She looked back at the Captain, and it was as though she was finally seeing her for the first time.
Her eyes were furious. Her usually bubbly green eyes now turned sharp as blades. Even her irises turned sharp and slitted, forming a vertical line from up to down. It was such a change that perhaps not even her own child would recognize her anymore. Mikella was having a hard time as it was.
And there was something else to her too. Her skin looked… rigid, as though scales began to form across her cheeks and down her arms and hands, where the exposed skin was.
“...You dare to speak like that to me?” Val’s voice changed slightly. It didn’t turn deeper or lighter, it just… grew denser. Like there was weight behind the sound of her voice. “Who are you, a lowly Apprentice, to talk to me like that?”
Now that set off Mikella. It wasn’t her fault that she was still an Apprentice. She would’ve passed her milestone long ago if it weren’t for Zeke.
“You know why–”
“Because of Zeke?” Val interrupted her, tilting her head. That got Mikella to clam up. “Is that your excuse? Do you truly think that levels will change anything? You can keep leveling yourself and your skills all your life. If you don’t try and control yourself, you’re no different than a beast yourself.”
Val stepped forward, and just like a frightened animal, Mikella stepped back by instinct. And after realizing that, her brows creased in contempt.
“Don’t bother. I know you’re just using some skill to scare me!” She called out to the captain.
The captain only responded with a chuckle. Mikella’s cold sweat ran down her forehead.
“Oh, little girl. You think I need skills to scare you?” Val said almost sweetly, but her tone was anything but. “Skills are nothing but tools. Levels are nothing but power. True strength comes from experience–from living life. I lived long, so I gained true power. But you? All you did was kill monsters. You’re more useless than anyone else I’ve seen.”
“What the fuck?!” Mikella shouted back. Her anger finally beat her rising fear as she snapped back. “I’m the one actually doing any work around here. I’m the one that killed that stupid monkey, not Myra or her losers, or even the rest of the town! You think they’re better than me?”
“Yes,” Val answered simply. “They’re better than you because they follow my orders. Because they work towards a common goal, even if their skills differ. Just one single person working isn’t enough. And I don’t need that one person if it means that she would ignore my orders. It’s about working together to ensure a bright future for Eve Glade.”
“There won’t be much of a future if they’re left like that!”
Mikella pointed an accusatory finger at the direction of the town. Surely, Val should know the state it was left in. The fact that the wall was still in disrepair despite over a month has passed.
“Oh, there will be a future,” Val said, ignoring her implications. Mikella was left baffled by her sincere reaction. “Because I will make sure of it. I will not, however, let an arrogant brat like you make a mess of things. If you don’t follow my orders… then you are simply a leech.”
That finally stopped her brain from functioning properly. The idea of her being the useless one here… was just…
“You… You massive bitch!”
Mikella growled, her eyes turning bright yellow as her face was marred with fury.
An intense roar filled her mind as her skills took over. Despite Val’s insistence of being stronger, she already faced an Expert rank boss monster with ease. If what she calculated to be true, then Val should be above, or even around that level thanks to her wasting her resources on some stupid inheritance. It won’t be much of a future for her daughter if they end up dying because of her lack of stats.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
And besides, she was getting tired of Val looming over her, acting as though she was better than her just because she was two stages higher than her.
She was stronger than her. She was mightier than her. She won’t allow some old hag to boss her around.
Activating her Dragon Descent, she increased her speed and got close enough for her sword to land a hit.
Her Sword of Lightning crackled with electricity, and kinetic energy poured from her arms as she let loose her Heavenly Strike. Her increased stats and skill levels proved just how far she had come as she reached faster than ever before, even using the skill Aerial Advantage to improve her might by flying across the ground towards Val.
Yet, Val only sidestepped with ease. The sword covered in lightning, augmented by her kinetic force, missed her by a hair’s length. A powerful wave of air blew out from her strike, blasting away the crowns of the trees above. A shimmer of sunlight blared as the lightning from her sword dissipated into disappointing sparks.
Her eyes bugged when Val just as easily swung her fist. Well, she tried. She could only guess it was a fist as it slammed down the right side of her face.
Pain bombarded her as she was launched across the grassy field, crushing any nearby obstacles such as trees, rocks, and a rocky cliff face nearby. She flew for miles before landing on the ground with the force of a ragdoll.
Her breath was caught, pain racing down everywhere, but mostly along her back and base of her head. It was nothing like the hits she took these past few days.
She suddenly realized through the cacophony of pain and agony that the fist Val threw at her wasn’t even a fist. It was a… slap.
A bitch slap in Mikella’s eyes, and she just flung her away like she was a fly.
“W-What’s going on?” Mikella muttered, her mind starting to go on a fritz. When the pain came in, it somehow made her sharper, clearer.
She found out something was terribly wrong. Not this situation, but with herself. She didn’t know why. She only knew that something was making her be in a way that she wasn’t supposed to be.
No! This isn’t how it is supposed to be! I am stronger! I am a dragon! I am the mightier one here!
Her mind roared, her rampaging emotions returning in full force. To be slapped like that so easily was a sin. She growled as she forced herself to stand up, realizing that only a few seconds had passed after the hit.
So how the hell did Val suddenly show up right in front of her? She could barely pick out her presence, and suddenly Val’s sharp, monstrous eyes bore deep into her. Her body froze, actually holding her joints in place and not letting her move away.
She noticed a new type of icon blinking at the bottom of the corner. She figured it was some level or something, but it suddenly propped itself up in front of her eyes without her order. She gasped internally at the message.
> You are afflicted with a Mild Concussion.
> Your mental stats are reduced by 2%.
.....
> You are afflicted with Fear.
> Your Stamina and Mana regeneration was reduced by 5%. You have a chance of getting stunned when using any sort of action.
I definitely feel that concussion. Mikella shook her head in bewilderment, pain wracking it a second later. But fear? I’m not scared!
Yet her body refused to follow her commands. The more Val’s eyes kept staring down at her, the more she could feel her fear baring its fangs. She growled like a cornered beast facing the apex hunter of the forest as she screamed.
“G-Get away from me! Stop looking at me like that!”
“I thought you were going to stop me,” Val said, her voice devoid of any mirth or satisfaction. She actually sounded… disappointed. “Despite all the things you said. I don’t even have a skill that induces Fear, yet you look like you’re scared. Did you perhaps get a Fear debuff? Normally, that only happens when your weak body recognizes the bloodlust of the one fighting you. It’s the system’s merciful way of saying… that you should run.”
“Shut up!”
She ignored her demeaning words, the sharp pain in her chest of being called weak again. She lashed out, slashing her sword across Val, and this time, she caught her.
Or rather, Val just let it hit her. The blade actually made contact with her face. She sliced her face across the nose, feeling the blade hitting the skin, the bridge of her nose.
Normally, at this distance, with that power, she can easily cut apart a monster’s head with ease. She should’ve killed Val. Yet, no blood poured out. Her head was still attached to her body.
She just had a glaring pink mark on the bridge of her, like someone stamped a metal plate on her for too long and left a mark. That was the amount of damage she gave to Val.
Was it even treated as damage? Her eyes opened wide, realizing that she hadn’t activated her Heavenly Strike.
She tried again, redirecting her sword. As though she knew that was going to happen, Val slapped the hand that carried her sword and then closed her hand into a fist before hackhanding Mikella's face once again.
Before she could even recognize the pain, Val continued her onslaught. A punch, a kick, several jabs to her torso, kicks to the stomach and face.
She was just beating her up. The fact that her stats have been decreased didn't matter at all. In fact, Val was practically using her current state to her advantage.
To utterly beat Mikella without worry of overdoing it.
Mikella's mind whirled as pain overcame her senses, bruises showing more than her skin now. But despite that, she still held onto her sword, somehow. She tried to activate Heavenly Strike, a move she knew that could actually affect Val.
But just when she was churning her stamina to use the skill, Val kicked her down. Hard.
“Gah!” Mikella cried out, but Val’s foot stomped further down, causing her gut to squeeze and her voice to stifle.
She stared upwards, at the menacing look on Val’s face. She looked so scary, so frightening, Mikella wanted to run away.
But that went against her logic. Her mind refused to give way, to give in to someone’s command. She tried to push off the foot, but it only dug deeper.
“Gaaaah!” Mikella screeched. Her voice was reaching a higher length than usual.
“Give up,” Val decreed. “You have no chance against me.”
Those words, those two stupid words, wrung in her mind. She wanted to. She wanted to stop fighting, to beg for forgiveness, to survive. If she doesn’t, she will die.
But the strange voice, which she was starting to realize wasn’t her own, insisted on fighting back. She was stronger. She was better. She can’t give up. She can’t let that happen.
But then, if she did die… what then? Something, some will of its own, was trying to wrest control from her–but her instincts, the will that she imprinted deep within her core, blazed through. She finally realized it.
If she died, then Clara will be left alone. Nobody can understand Clara like she can.
If Mikella dies, then she won’t be able to protect Clara. There was no point in having pride if nobody could take care of her after she died. Hell, what’s the point of pride? In the end, what mattered to her the most in the world was Clara.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, the realization hitting her like a bag of bricks, or rather, it hit her harder than Val’s foot ready to stomp her life. She cried out.
“P-Please… let me go,” Mikella cried out. Her shame and embarrassment was nothing compared to her survival, to be with Clara. “I’m sorry… Please, forgive me…”
Tears fell down her cheeks as her fear, her own survival, took over completely. She let go of her pride, the nasty voice in her head, and let it all bare. Val kept glaring at her, staring down hard at her, but finally she released her foot.
“Captain!”
Voices were heard from beyond the forest, making Val turn around to find Mikella’s team running up. Their eyes widened at the scene, and even worse at the bloody, almost mangled body of Mikella crying on the ground.
“Captain… w-was this really necessary?” Myra said, though Mikella’s eyes were too blurry to see her expression.
“Yes,” Val said. Her voice returned to the usual Captain demeanor as she explained. “It’s the only way to shock her back to her true self. It’s clear now that her class has taken over her.”
“Her class?” Myra asked inquisitively.
“She has a rare class, a class that nobody else had in a long time. I didn’t realize it, but I should’ve seen the signs forming. I was too late to correct her before this came up.”
“Oh…” Myra stood quietly, but Mikella could hear whispers going on as Myra seemed to step closer.
“Don’t waste a Health Potion on her,” Val ordered, stopping Myra’s steps. “I know it looks bad, but she’ll make it through. Besides, she’ll have plenty of time to recover when we get back home.”
Myra stood quiet for a moment. Somehow, Mikella could tell that something wasn’t right, as though the atmosphere turned tense. Then, Myra let out a breath as she stepped away, her members walking back with her.
Then, without Mikella realizing it as her eyes were closed from the pain, someone picked her up. Strangely enough, she thought she was going to be treated roughly. But it was pleasant, gentle, like being picked up by a worried, exaggerated mother.
As her consciousness faded, she recalled Val looking down at her from up close, her face now twisted with pain and guilt.
“You stupid girl… you took on too much on yourself.”
Her mind faded into darkness.