*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 8
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 9
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 10
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 11
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 12
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 13
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 14
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 15
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 16
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 17
*Ding*
The Golden Flame is currently ten levels higher than the Obsidian Flame, creating an imbalance in your body.
Your mind is calmer and more peaceful.
Current Unbalance: Mild.
*Ding!*
Your Tutorial Ability activates.
[Tutorial Message]
Level Up the Obsidian Flame to restore the balance.
Monica had just spent two hours healing everyone in the village. No one had been nearly as bad as the blacksmith and Madeline. With the Mana Potions that Lucas had scavenged in Ivor’s house and their house, Monica had managed to heal all the residents and restore half of her Mana reserves. Lucas told her that with all the Mana Potions she had consumed, she probably should avoid drinking more unless she wanted to have her Mana regeneration crippled for the next three days. Monica didn’t have a problem with that.
It was about two and a half hours after dawn, and she went to wake up Tertius inside the blacksmith’s house, where he was guarding the three idiots whose teeth she’d punched out the day before. Monica found Tertius on a stool, hugging a spear, half asleep, half awake. She gave him a pat on the shoulder when the blacksmith, whose name was Hank, let her into the room where the four had been sleeping. Tertius almost fell forward but quickly regained his balance, and Monica gestured for him in silence to leave the room. He followed the order sleepily and went to lay on the blacksmith’s couch, immediately passing out.
Monica went up to Ivor, finding the Fire Mage sleeping soundly, even on the rocky pavement of the unadorned room. She grabbed his face, squeezing tightly. His eyes shot open, alarmed. She stopped him from screaming and summoned a Golden Flame over her hand.
She felt a good chunk of Mana leave her body and looked at the man with an annoyed expression. “You cost me Mana that I could definitely put to better use, Ivor,” she said. “So, think very well before replying to what I’m about to tell you.”
She felt her mind unusually calm and peaceful, and so she had to push very hard through it to get the mean bones of her going. “You and these two idiots will come with me to the Crystal Wolves’ Lair that spawned nearby,” Monica said. “You will fight, you will level up, and you will become useful to this village. I will now ask a few questions. And if you lie to me or if I don’t like your answers, I am killing you. Do you understand?”
Nod for yes. Ivor nodded hastily.
“Very well.” Monica removed her palm slowly from his mouth, looking at him with a poignant look. Ivor didn’t dare to speak first.
Monica smiled and said, “First question. Why did you want the house?”
As a reminder, if you lie or I don’t like your answer, you’re dead.”
Ivor quickly scuttled back to the wall, sitting with his back against it, and looked around, trying to think of an answer.
“Do not think, Ivor. Just give me an answer. If I think you’re lying to me, you’re dying anyway. Be sincere.”
She saw Ivor actually blush as he started explaining himself. “I just was jealous that she had the best house even though she’s useless. I’m the village chief. I should have the best house.”
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Monica decided that really worried Ivor. But the man didn’t know that she liked the answer. It was a straightforward idiotic answer—idiots could be worked with. It wasn’t real evil malice that hid behind the man. It was just pettiness.
“Second question,” Monica said. “Describe your duties around here to me.”
Ivor seemed to think for a second before saying, “Sometimes a wolf will come by, and I have to stay up and kill it. Wolves getting into the village are very dangerous to everyone, me included. Other than that, we have a council every now and then if there’s a widespread issue, but that’s it. That’s what I do.” And then something crossed his mind. “Well, also, if a merchant comes by, I will be the one alongside the council telling him what to bring next time or things like that. But this is a small village. It doesn’t really matter what people do. They can pretty much do whatever they want. If they want to build a house, let them build a house. We don’t have rules.”
“So you’re in charge—well, you were,” Monica emphasized the ‘were’, “in charge of the village safety. But you took the most vulnerable woman out of her house, the most frail being in this village who had two children, because you wanted that house.”
Ivor immediately sputtered, trying to find justification. “Well, she didn’t pay the taxes. We do levy a little tax because we need to buy materials like the tools for the lumber we use for the palisade. And—”
Monica raised a finger, and Ivor immediately shut up.
“The palisade is in shambles. It’s actually a surprise that monsters haven’t just folded it over. And that’s not my question. My question is whether you use this justification or the other. You just went to the weakest woman with two children and threw her out of her place.”
Ivor opened and closed his mouth, but he was clearly ashamed of himself.
Shame is not enough, Monica thought. Lots of bastards can talk themselves out of shame, but at least he is not without a conscience. I might be able to work with him. But I’m still not fully sure. I have to wait and see how he behaves when real danger shows. That’ll tell me everything I need to know about him.
“Very well,” Monica said, exhaling and walking toward the two goons who had woken up and looked at her fearfully. She placed a hand on each of their mouths and healed their teeth, feeling now less than one-fourth of her Mana remaining.
“We leave at noon. You will train with me and then return here to actually do your job. If I find you didn’t, at some point, I will come back, and I will remember your name, Ivor. I’m sure that they will fill you in on who I am. So when they do, and you find out that I can keep coming for you till the day you die because I cannot indeed die, you will find that a convincing argument to stop being a piece of shit. Do you understand?”
Ivor nodded, scared out of his wits.
“Tremendous.” Monica clapped her hands. “Now I have other business to attend.” She entered the forge of the blacksmith, which was just a few feet away from the house made of stone, unlike the wood of the man’s house. It was much cruder than Madeline’s own house, but it was definitely something that wouldn’t catch on fire easily.
“Hank.” Monica smiled. “Gather up the council.”
* * *
Monica only had a brief discussion with the council, telling them to watch over Madeline and Ronnie and that she would be training Ivor.
Initially, they had expressed reservations about having Ivor be stronger, but Monica had assured them that, by the time she was done with the Dungeon, she would have a system of checks and balances for them.
Then, by noon, she found Tertius, Ivor, and the two goons by the center of the village. Beside them stood Dotty, with Madeline watching worriedly over her.
“Lucas,” Monica said, handing the man the Book of the Twin Flame. “Watch over her and the kid. By the time I return, I would like the highlights from the book.”
The tome was thick enough that Monica had quickly lost patience while riding all the history about the Twin Phoenix. Since Lucas was a Scholar, it was a task better suited for him—not to mention it would keep him away from giving another shot at Cultist life.
“Of course, milady,” Lucas’s eyes shone like stars as he cradled the book in his arms like a newborn baby.
Unexpectedly, she saw the blonde Healer walk up to her.
“I want to come,” Heidi said.
“Why?” Monica asked.
“My Lord would want me to. This is a Corrupted Dungeon we’re talking about.”
“Heh, wrong answer,” Monica brushed her off, turning away and about to inspect Dotty’s pack.
“Hey! I said—”
Monica turned with a cocked eyebrow.
“Yes?” The Avatar of the Twin Phoenix asked.
“I—I…”
“To please your God is not a good reason. Without good reasons, people act like idiots. These guys?” Monica pointed at Tertius, Ivor, and the two goons whose names she realized she’d have to learn sooner or later. “They are here to save their lives. That’s a decent reason.” Then, she turned to Dotty. “She understands that power is a currency and that she needs it to protect her family.”
“I want to become stronger, too!” Heidi protested.
“Perhaps,” Monica agreed. “But you’re behaving childishly. If I bring you, who knows how many you’re going to get killed.”
“I’m a Healer!” Heidi said through her teeth. “My job is to heal people!”
“I have quite literally a divine flame that does the same job but better,” Monica said with a shrug. “You serve no real purpose in terms of usefulness. While I could see some use for your services, you would be a liability. And, if decided to bring you, it would only be because of my large heart, Healer. Not because you’re of any use as of this moment.”
Heidi was flabbergasted by Monica’s reaction. No one had ever spoken to her so candidly. Not even her teachers, who had inculcated in her brain that Healers were a superior Class among them all, able to render unique services that only they, and their patron God, could dispense.
“So?” Monica smiled. “Do you have anything else to say?”
She felt a terrible need to prove herself after being foolishly captured by the Cultists. She had been on a small expedition of low-level Adventurers sent by her Church to preside over what should have been an easy hunt. Instead, they had gotten ambushed and killed by Cultists. Part of the blame was on her for not requesting a stronger escort for the Adventurers. She had known they had been too weak to go on their own, but she had foolishly thought that her healing abilities would have made up for that.
“Please?” Heidi asked, desperate.
“Alright,” Monica smiled. “Asking nicely and a little groveling are good. Now, stay away from Dotty unless I give you explicit orders. Those four are all yours, though. Do you understand?”
Heidi nodded, slinging a pack over her shoulder and standing in line with the others.
Good. I’ll take care of Dotty, Monica thought. Plus, this will help save me some Mana and let the Obsidian Flame catch up. I don’t want the Golden Flame to level even more and influence my mind more than it’s already doing. I don’t like being softer.
So far, being her real, mean self had been a struggle. Despite the ‘Mild’ description of the Status Condition, the Golden Flame had a rather strong effect.
“Are we going?” Tertius asked.
“When I say so,” Monica replied, craning her neck to look at Madeline’s house in the distance. “Madeline, is Ted home?”
“No, he packed and left in the middle of the night,” she said.