Novels2Search

Chapter 41 - Gaining Trust

I trusted her. No, even worse, I let myself develop feelings for that… that… monster.

I can never forgive myself for what happened because of my blindness.

- Excerpt from a note written by [Commander] Lee Hartfield

-------

There was a hearty celebration after our clear of the dungeon and the reclamation of the [Hero’s] chest piece.

That meant drinking, food, and music. None of which I was terribly inclined to partake in. I would have loved to slip away, but that wasn’t in the cards. [Commander] Lee proclaimed that Erica and I had saved everyone, so we were the women of the hour.

We were sat down at the head of the table and given the best food, and I desperately tried to choke it down.

“Yeah, it’s great,” I said as I took a bite of ash-tasting turkey. “Lovely. Quite good.”

My poker face must not have been up to snuff.

“Not to your taste?” [Commander] Lee asked. “We could get you something else.”

“I’m honestly not that hungry,” I replied.

He shrugged. “A drink, then?”

I paused. “Yes, a drink sounds good,” I said. Then I remembered that I was going to be stuck at that party for who knows how long with a bunch of people I didn’t know and didn’t care to know. “Actually, make that several.”

Two of the [Soldiers] shared glances, and then one pulled out a flask and whispered. “If you’re looking to get drunk, this is the stuff. Alchemist’s ale. Just one sip has been known to put grown men on their-“

They both paused and watched in horror as I drained the entire flask in one go.

I made a very unladylike belch immediately after.

“Decent stuff,” I replied. “Got any more?”

------

Erica was having a good time at the party until the drinking started. Then things began rapidly going downhill.

She could deal with the repeated pressure to drink along with them, even though she was only 15. She could handle the off-key and slurred singing. Actually, she found that part kinda funny. No, the main problem was that the more she drank, the more Titania became… belligerent.

“And then thish little ship just cashts [Fire Bolt]!” Titania said as she shook Erica in an awkward one-arm hug. “Firsht time! Do you know how long… how long… how long it took me to learn that?”

Titania paused for a few seconds and then even tried counting a bit on her fingers.

“A long frickin’ time!” she finally declared. The gathered group laughed while Erica slowly slipped out of Titania’s grip.

“Umm… I think you might have had enough,” Erica said as Titania went for another drink.

Titania glared at her, and the entire room froze.

Meanwhile, Erica got the worst of it. She felt a giant weight descend on her. One that said that she was small. Insignificant. That she should be afraid.

All Erica could do was tremble in place.

“Ah, ship,” Titania muttered as she staggered up from her chair. “Aura.. can’t let the aura out. Need to get out of here…”

She walked to the door but calling it a walk was charitable. She ran into practically every person between her and the exit before stumbling out the door.

[Commander] Lee stood up. “I’ll go after her, make sure she’s-“

“N-no,” Erica replied. “I’ll go. Thanks. Sorry.”

Erica made her way out onto the street. She was slightly worried about catching up to the drunk woman, but there was no need to be. Erica immediately spied Titania slowly zigzagging her way down the street. She caught up quickly.

“[Hero]? Go back and enjoy the party,” Titania said as she waved Erica off and almost fell over for her trouble.

“Umm… It… Well…”

“Spit it out!” Titania snapped.

The feeling was back. Erica froze.

“Aww, ship,” Titania groaned as she put her face in one of her hands. “I’m so bad with kidsh.”

“H-hey!” Erica finally managed to reply. “I’m not a kid!”

“Trusht me,” Titania slurred. “When you get to be my age… if you get to be my age… How old am I again?” she asked, then shook her head. “Doeshn’t matter. Listen, you’re a kid. Heck. Even 18 feelsh like a kid. In fact, if you only lishen to one piece of advice-” She gave Erica a serious look… which had most of its gravity negated since she was swaying in place. “Growing up’sh a trap. Don’t do it.”

That was perhaps the most useless piece of advice Erica had heard since she literally had no say in the matter… and it also seemed like a bad idea even if she could pull it off.

However, she needed to tell Titania something, and she didn’t want another dose of… whatever that skill she had was.

“Ummm… thanks,” Erica replied awkwardly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Titania nodded in satisfaction and then pulled a flask out of her inventory.

“Umm, maybe you shouldn’t-“ Erica started as Titania tipped the flask back and drained it in one go.

“It’s fine!” Titania said as she wobbled a bit more in place. “I drank way more than this-“

Her eyes widened.

“I… may have overestimated this body’s alcohol tolerance,” she stated quietly.

Before Erica could ask her what on Earth that meant, Titania showed her by faceplanting directly onto the hard cobblestone.

“Titania!” Erica shouted as she knelt next to her. Oh no! I need to get help! She thought frantically. Wait, I should [Heal]- no! That will hurt her! What do I-

She finally looked over at Titania’s health bar, which hadn’t budged an inch.

“Oh. Right,” Erica said to herself. “If she was in trouble, she would lose health.”

That put Erica in the awkward position of being in charge of her drunk [Mentor], who had passed out in the middle of the road.

“Sorry, excuse me, sorry!” she muttered as she gracelessly dragged Titania over to the side of the road past the few curious onlookers who were out at that time of night.

That marginally improved the situation since they were no longer blocking traffic, but she still had to wonder about her next steps.

I could call the [Commander] over to help carry her. Erica thought. She was just about to do that through the party when she realized something. Wait. I’m a lot stronger now because of those levels, right? So, maybe I don’t need to bother him after all.

So, without further ado, Erica grabbed Titania and lifted her onto her shoulder.

Wow. 21 levels must be a lot. Erica thought as she adjusted the passed-out woman on her shoulder. I’ll have to ask her about it when she wakes up.

With that mentally added to her list of questions, Erica made her way back to the barracks. It was still an awkward walk because no number of levels would fix the foot difference in height between her and her [Mentor], but that was at least a step up from the impossible task it would have been without her newfound strength.

She dumped Titania into her bunk and winced a bit at the graceless landing, but if Titania took damage, it certainly wasn’t enough to be noticeable.

What do you do with drunk people again? Erica wracked her brain. I think there was something about putting them on their side, so they don’t… choke on their own vomit.

Erica involuntarily crinkled her nose at that thought and then put Titania on her side.

“Now, I guess it’s good night?” Erica asked. She had never actually seen Titania sleep before, so she watched her just long enough to realize something.

“She’s not breathing,” Erica said with a sharp intake of breath. “Has she not been breathing this whole time? Is the health bar wrong?”

Titania always scolded her for asking too many questions, but these questions needed immediate answers!

“Who can I ask? Who can I ask?” Erica asked herself as she paced the floor. [Commander] Lee was the first that came to mind, and she almost reached out to him through the party before remembering a better option.

“[Message] Lee Hartfield!” Erica cast. “Titania isn’t breathing, but her health bar isn’t going down. Is that normal? Is she okay? What should I do!?”

Lee Hartfield: Suffocation causes HP damage, so she’s likely fine. I’ll come just in case.

It only took a few minutes for [Commander] Lee to get there, but it felt like forever.

“Still not breathing?” the [Commander] asked as he entered the room.

Erica shook her head. “No, I’ve been watching her like a hawk, but she hasn’t taken a single breath!”

Lee frowned. “She’s still full on HP, but perhaps we should get her a [Combat Medic] anyway. I’ll call for-“

“Ugh, my head,” Titania said as she rolled over onto her back and put both of her hands over her face. “Since when can I get hangovers?”

“Titania!” Erica shouted as she jumped onto Titania and wrapped her in a hug.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Titania replied. “Not so loud. My head’s killing… wait. One sec.” Titania shuffled Erica off her, and a look of concentration came over her face. “[Restore].”

There was a glow of light as the spell took effect, and then Titania sighed. “Much better.”

Erica gasped. “Was that another spell!? What does that one do? Can you teach me?”

Titania rolled her eyes. “Sure, just give me-“ Then she finally noticed [Commander] Lee. Her eyes widened, and she shot upright. “[Commander]. Sorry for uhh… causing such a scene.”

Lee chuckled. “Not to worry, you’re not the first one under my command to black out from having too much to drink.” He gave a wry grin. “Though, you are the first to go through an entire platoon’s ration of alchemist’s ale in one night.”

Titania groaned and facepalmed again. “Well, don’t worry [Commander]. We’ll be out of your hair soon enough.” She looked over to Erica. “Your next quest was at Deepmine, right?”

Erica nodded. “Yup! Unless…” She flipped open her status and looked at her quests. “Dave’s Paradise is closer?”

“Dave’s Paradise?” [Commander] Lee asked.

“It’s a zone up near Jenkin’s,” Titania answered. “Looks like we’ll have a lot of traveling to do. Anyway-“ she turned back to Lee and stood up. Then she gave a slight bow with her fists pressed together. “Thank you for your assistance. We would not have succeeded without you.”

“Besti, interesting,” Erica barely heard the [Commander] mutter before he returned his own salute by pounding a fist against his chest. “The [Soldiers] of Gram are always glad to assist the [Hero].” Then he paused and gave another small smile. “But it will take a bit more than that to get rid of us. I spoke with command, and due to the levels we gained from the last mission, my squad has been assigned to assist with your quest on a permanent basis. We’re with you until the [Hero] no longer needs us.”

“That’s great!” Erica said as she barely stopped herself from jumping for joy. “With your help, the [Demon Lord] won’t stand a chance!”

Titania hesitated for a brief moment, and if Erica hadn’t spent so much time with her recently, she would have never noticed the slight strain in her voice. “Yes, that’s great to hear. Glad to work with you.”

“We’re headed to Deepmine in 3 days. Make sure to stock up on any supplies you need while you can,” the [Commander] stated as he headed towards the door. “Oh. And we have priority on the obelisk once again for upgrades. We head there first thing tomorrow. Make sure to give some thought to what you want to get.”

As the [Commander] left the room, Titania’s face deepened into a frown.

Should I ask her about it? Erica thought timidly. However, she got the feeling that Titania didn’t want to talk at the moment. So, for once, she decided to leave the question unasked.

------

After my first mortifying meeting with drunk Titania, I had been sincerely hoping that I would never have to see [Commander] Lee’s squad again. That’s why I should have known that they would be chosen to be our tagalongs for the rest of time.

The only upside to all of that was that my drunk display seemed to have earned me even more respect from them.

Apparently, being able to drink anyone in the squad under the table and being a competent enough fighter to take on any of them one on one was enough to earn their admiration.

And it was much better to have their admiration than their suspicion. I had been present when everyone had said the magic word at the obelisk, and I had only mimed along. I had also been incredibly reticent to share what I got with my non-existent upgrades, which should have made any normal person even more suspicious.

Meanwhile, I also didn’t pay too close attention to anyone else’s upgrades because I frankly didn’t care.

… At least, I tried not to care. Erica ended up asking a question about which spell she should pick up with the 30 spell points that she gained, and then she managed to shock us with a slew of new options.

[Inferno]. [Hailstorm]. [Hurricane]. [Earthquake].

Yeah, those spells that [Commander] Lee immediately took note of under muttered breath as “tier 3” were utterly unheard of. That made sense because they all cost a whopping 25 points to purchase, and most people couldn’t even scrape together that number of spell points in their entire life… much less get the spells before them that must have been prereqs.

Anyway, the discussion went back to the same old one. “Don’t pick fire because the [Demon Lord’s] immune” and “don’t pick ice because the [Demon Lord’s] resistant” left it between [Hurricane] and [Earthquake].

In the end, she chose [Hurricane].

From there, it was a boring couple of days’ travel north. The only thing of interest was that I was paranoid of the [Commander], who always seemed to be watching me, even when I was just riding my horse in formation.

Fortunately, I had something to take my mind off that soon enough.

------

System: Zone entered, Starry Forest. Faction - Neutral

“Son of a dave!” I groaned and dismounted my horse as I looked at the faction the zone was tagged as.

“Titania!” [Commander] Lee called as he motioned for the squad to stop. “Is something the matter?”

“Yup,” I replied sourly.

“What is it?” Erica asked

“You’ll see soon enough,” I sighed.

Right on cue, we heard the familiar sound of Placeholder’s most common enemy… and a lot of them.

The ensuing battle was nothing to write home about. It was only a small attack, and Jake’s party had been able to handle as much with half the levels and a tenth of the combat experience.

However, that didn’t mean that there weren’t any problems. I was fighting non-dungeon monsters for the first time as Titania, and I had to ensure I didn’t accidentally cause a zombie outbreak in front of everyone, thanks to my curse.

I could feel the [Commander] watching me as I pulled Insurance out of my inventory, and I was sure that his suspicions were mounting up again as I killed wolf after wolf with my blade.

Shouldn’t have outed myself as a [Martial Artist] first. I thought as a bear appeared on the scene. Frick. But then we wouldn’t have survived the Faroff Forest dungeon.

The bear swiped its paw at me, but I spun underneath the high attack.

But even without my fists, I still have some elemental damage up my sleeve!

“Fire, strike my foes. [Fire Bolt]!” I cast with my offhand even as my right hand scoured a slash across its flank.

“Ice, freeze my foes. [Ice Bolt]!” I cast again as I blocked the bear’s next swing with a sword strike.

It was a party, or a squad, of 10 people. Most of them were magic users because of the composition we needed for the Faroff Forest dungeon.

So, the fact that I was still the only one targeting the bear finally made me stop.

They’re all just… watching me.

I cleared my throat and then briefly gestured at the bear before returning to a fighting stance. “Any time you want to help out.”

“Of course!”

“Right!”

“On it!”

“Fire at will!”

The entire party replied with their own acknowledgment simultaneously.

The poor bear was treated to a cavalcade of bolt spells that probably would have been sufficient… and then Erica decided to throw in a [Shining Barrage] for some reason.

That obliterated the poor monster, body and all.

“That… was a bit much,” I said to the [Hero] while raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled nervously. “Sorry. I… umm… felt bad for not helping, so I thought I would make up for it!” She paused. “And I got an achievement for it!”

I nodded in recognition. Ah. The overkill achievement. “Well, I suppose it was worth it then. Let’s get these bodies cleaned up.”

That was the next obvious course of action, but I made a blunder by suggesting it. That meant I couldn’t leave it to the other people and act like it was beneath me.

Frick. I mentally cursed at myself. Come on, Titania. What are you doing? You’ve been completely off your game. At this rate, they’ll find you out!

Instead of dwelling on what would happen if I was discovered, I just threw myself into the boring work of stabbing wolves while looting their bodies.

That immediately raised some eyebrows from the rest of the squad, but no one said a thing… well, except for the [Commander], who was making the rounds.

He gave out rough claps on the shoulder, “good jobs,” and there was even a hair tussle thrown in for the [Hero] for good measure.

Then he got to me.

“Titania,” he started. He initially reached a hand toward me but then paused and seemed as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Eventually, he cleared his throat and let it fall to his side. “Good work, as always.”

“Thank you,” I stated simply as I stabbed another wolf corpse and looted it.

He stood there awkwardly for another moment but then started looting corpses next to me.

“Is that a Besti custom?” he asked, gesturing at my sword.

I debated lying for half a moment and saying yes, but there was always the chance that our travels ended us all the way in the east.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“No,” I replied. “But it is a Titania custom. You have enough corpses come back to bite you and you start being a bit more cautious.”

He gave me an appraising look. “Have you had that much of a problem with the undead?”

I barked a short laugh. “I guess that’s one way of saying it.”

Fortunately, we ran out of corpses to loot soon enough. [Commander] Lee wanted us to take a short break before getting back on the road, but I had to get something out immediately before it killed us all.

“I will need to split from the party,” I stated calmly during our rest period.

“One of the primary rules of squad tactics is to keep everyone together unless absolutely necessary,” [Commander] Lee stated with a raised eyebrow. “Or to give the version an adventurer may be more familiar with, never split the party. Why, by Jake’s sword, would you want to do such a thing?”

“One of the perks of my class, and I mean that literally,” I replied. “Tell me, how do [Soldiers] and adventurers gain experience for their classes and levels?” I asked while looking around at the squad.

“Killing monsters?” one of the mages finally piped up.

I nodded. “And so, how would a [Mentor] best help their mentee become stronger?”

“You would have them get in a lot of fights. By… attracting… monsters,” the same guy replied in a tone of realization.

“Precisely,” I nodded.

“And you cannot turn that perk off?” [Commander] Lee asked.

I shook my head. “It technically counts as a negative perk. No turning it off.”

As the party chewed on that, I continued. “While we could handle more mobs easily with our group in many zones, Starry Forest is not one of them. I will circumnavigate it and meet you all at DeepMine.”

“Negative,” [Commander] Lee replied with a shake of his head. “You’re a part of my squad which means that your safety is my responsibility. If we need to travel around the zone to get to the objective safely, we will.”

I barely held back an eye roll. “[Commander], have you forgotten the text of the [Hero’s] quest?” I replied. “Seize the [Demon Lord’s] armor. Seize. The [Demon Lord] is likely going for his armor as we speak. Do you really think that we have the days to spare to take a waltz around the forest?”

“Even if I do let you go, do you think that we have the time to wait for you in DeepMine, then?” the [Commander] challenged. “Under the assumption that the next dungeon is also enhanced, I will not go in without our squad at full strength. We all skirt around the zone. That is my final decision.”

“I do not take orders from you, [Commander],” I replied coolly. “And I refuse to waste time. You will not be the one waiting if I decide to leave the party, but don’t worry, I won’t start the dungeon without you.”

The [Commander’s] gaze narrowed, and I was sure things were about to get heated… if not for the [Hero].

“Ummm?” a hesitant voice interrupted us. “I trust Titania, so I’m sure that if she thinks she can get there faster without us, she’s right,” Erica stated softly. “But… umm… just to be sure, maybe we could test it out first?”

[Commander] Lee and I looked at Erica and then back to each other.

“1 hour,” I stated. “If you can’t keep up, I go alone.”

“And if we can, you stick with the party,” the [Commander] replied.

“Deal,” I stated as I stuck out my hand. He paused briefly before shaking it.

“Now, let’s get back to the horses and-“

I snorted. “Who said anything about horses?”

I took off running and left the bewildered party in the dust.

Some of them went for the horses. Others realized that with their levels, they might have a better shot at keeping up on foot.

Among the party, the [Commander] gave the best show of it. As a late-twenties/early-thirties military man in peak fighting shape, I’m sure I would have struggled to outrun him back on Earth.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t back on Earth, and no amount of grit and mental fortitude will get you past a stamina bar that is sitting on empty.

With [Athletics] at level 7, this wasn’t even really a fight. I thought as I examined the party’s resources at the end of the hour.

I probably could have kept up my word about getting there first just by running, but that way of getting to DeepMine was for chumps.

“[Message] Erica Jensen,” I cast. “I’m going to drop out of the party for now. I’ll keep in touch.”

Erica Jensen: Wait! Do you have to? Couldn’t you just stay in the party anyway? We

“[Message] Erica Jensen. It will be fine. Just listen to [Commander] Lee,” I replied.

I ignored her pleading message in reply and then pulled out Singularity.

I missed you. I thought briefly as I examined the black staff with its red crystal. Then, while still running for the entire cast time since it was so long, I cast [Teleport].

I… may have overestimated my range with that spell.

System: Zone entered, Starry Forest. Faction - Neutral

Ah, frick. I thought to myself as I took off running for real. How far north did I get? How much of the zone do I have left?

Even as I thought that, more howls sounded around me.

What’s the play? Kill some of them and have them fight as undead? I asked. Use AOEs? Climb trees?

The first wolves loped onto the scene while the [Commander’s] question about turning off my perk looped in my mind.

“Of course, I can’t!” I raged to myself. I smashed the first wolf that jumped me with Singularity and continued my complaints. “I’ve had this perk for centuries!” I spun and kicked another wolf that immediately returned as a zombie. “If there was a way to turn it off, I would have… oh.”

The third wolf latched onto my left arm, and I awkwardly shook it off as I stowed Singularity.

“[Disrupt],” I stated aloud as I pointed the skill at myself and snapped.

As I suspected, it worked. I couldn’t help but kick myself about that.

How much grief could I have saved myself? I asked. Well, I wasn’t level 10 for several of my problems in my first life, but still… The road to Hold Over. The gargoyles and trolls while I was climbing… Even my trip to the north. None of them would have been a problem.

Which in turn led to another realization.

Without all those extra monsters, Gertrude wouldn’t have had to save me or try to kill me afterward. I thought sourly. At least I haven’t heard of her in decades. Maybe she finally kicked the bucket somewhere.

A part of me knew there was no way I could be so fortunate, but it was at least a nice thought.

With my mood partially restored, I went back to my pleasant run. And pleasant it was. I breezed through the rest of the zone while facing only the standard amount of mobs that a single adventurer would face.

Does everyone normally have it this easy? I wondered to myself as I effortlessly beat down the alpha and six normal wolves that comprised the largest attack of the day. I’m jealous-

I snorted. “I guess technically I’m envious.”

I made it to DeepMine with time to spare, so I decided to wait for the party. My time was already supernaturally fast, and I didn’t want to make them more suspicious of me than they already were.

------

Erica was sitting with the party… or squad, whatever it was called, around the campfire when an interesting topic came up.

“I’m telling you. Red eyes. Horns. An absolute beast in combat,” Stephen, the [Lineholder], said. “She’s obviously…” He paused dramatically. “The [Demon Lord’s] twin sister,” he finished.

Immediately after, Stephen had to defend himself from boos, jeers, and … was that a soup ladle that was thrown at him?

“If she isn’t the [Demon Lord’s] sister, then who is she?” Stephen asked when the barrage finally died down.

“Just a beastborn with a birth defect,” one of the mage twins answered.

Shoot. Which one is he again? Erica thought for a moment. Fortunately, being in a party made that fairly simple to find out. Right! Alex!

“Is it really a birth defect if it is just a difference in eye color?” his twin brother Axel asked from beside him. “And if it was a birth defect, wouldn’t she have just gotten it [Restored]?”

That stumped everyone present, but it didn’t stop Stephen for too long.

“Where is Titania from anyway?” he asked Erica.

“Umm… I don’t really know,” Erica replied awkwardly. “She doesn’t talk much about herself.”

“Come on! You’ve got to know something!” Stephen prodded her. “Where she was born, how old she is… Bust size.” He wiggled his eyebrows after the last one.

“Oh! I actually know that one since we went shopping! She’s a 36F!” Erica blurted out.

Then she immediately went white as a sheet. I can’t believe I just told that to a group of men! I’m sorry, Titania!

Fortunately, she didn’t have long to focus on her mortification. [Commander] Lee, who had been sitting with the party, but only half-listening while working on reports, drew everyone’s attention as his pen snapped.

The party swiveled to look at him as the embarrassed [Commander] cleared his throat.

“It’s highly improper to talk about a squad member who isn’t here, especially details like that,” he stated somewhat stiffly. Unfortunately for the [Commander], the fact that he was turning red was not doing his credibility any favors. “It would be one thing if the woman herself revealed that, but-“

“But this is your best shot of finding stuff out, isn’t it?” Stephen cajoled. “Her favorite foods, flowers, anything else you could use to wine and dine her. Now’s your shot! When else will she be separated from the party like this?”

“It is against regulations to pursue a relationship with someone under my chain of command,” Lee stated.

Erica thought she caught a hint of warning in his tone, but it went over the teasing [Soldier’s] head.

“Good thing she isn’t under your command!” Stephen prodded. “She said so herself! Or do you just think that she’s out of your league and-“

“[Lineholder],” Lee stated in a tone devoid of any previous frivolity.

Stephen, to his credit, picked that up immediately. “Yes, [Commander]!” he shouted as he shot up to his feet.

“Thanks for volunteering to take my watch so that I can catch up on reports. Report to your post immediately.”

He saluted with a fist to his chest. “Right away, sir!”

“Everyone else lights out!”

“But there’s still an hour of-“

“Lights out!” the [Commander] bellowed.

As the squad scrambled to obey orders, Erica couldn’t help but chuckle as she came up with an idea.

She walked over to the [Commander] and beckoned him to lean over.

“If I figure out any good gift ideas for Titania, I’ll be sure to let you know,” she whispered.

Erica dashed off toward her tent and left the beet-red [Commander] behind.

That was the first day Erica was apart from Titania, and it didn’t end up being nearly as scary as she thought it would be.

Even better, as the following days passed, she felt like she got to know so much more about the party!

First, there was [Commander] Lee. He was tough but kind to his squad, and Erica could tell he cared about each person under his command.

Then there was the troublemaker, Stephen. He was the loudest but also the most fun to have around. Erica once overheard the [Commander] scolding him and telling him that he was lucky that he was “high level and good for morale.”

The twins Alex and Axel were next. They knew so much about magic! They tried several times to teach Erica magic theory and [Enchanting], but it all flew straight over her head.

They were also a lot nicer than the other mages in the party. Erica tried to befriend Joseph, Kai, and Joel too, but the first two were too aloof for her to approach, and Joel seemed a bit… jealous… of Erica’s abilities as a [Sorcerer].

However, last and certainly not least was Eric. He was a big man and the hardest one for Erica to approach (even though she pointed out how it was cool how similar their names were!), but he was also the biggest softy once she got to know him a bit more.

He was a [Carver] as a second class, and he made a beautiful little horse carving just for her.

The days flew by, and Erica couldn’t help but wonder if Titania leaving her alone had just been yet another part of her training. Fortunately, she got the chance to ask that question soon enough.

-----

I reunited with the party as they exited the Starry Forest and pretended I had only just gotten there a bit ago.

That gave Erica time to talk my ear off about everything that happened while I was gone. Including the random theory that… one of the random schmucks in the party had about me being the [Demon Lord’s] sister.

I thought that part was amusing, but mostly tuned out the rest and gave non-committal grunts.

By the time we made it to DeepMine, it was too late to do a dungeon clear. So, we turned in for the night.

Well… most of us.

DeepMine should still have a decent cult presence. I thought as I snuck out late that night. I just need to find them and- I paused as I caught sight of several hooded figures sneaking, without the skill, toward our barracks. Oh. That was easy.

I snuck up behind them as one of them started speaking in a fervent whisper.

“Brothers and sisters!” he said. “Tonight, we fulfill our sacred duty to the [Demon Lord] and end the plague of the [Hero] on this land!”

“Except, the [Demon Lord] would really rather you not do that,” I stated as I appeared in the middle of them.

“We’ve been found out! Attack!” the leader shouted.

“Ow, rude,” I stated as I was treated to a slew of vials of alchemist’s fire. “I get it, I get it,” I said as I stood there on fire. “You don’t recognize me. Here. Let me help.”

I punctuated my final word with enough of my Demon Lord aura to drive them to their knees… if most of them weren’t planning on falling on their faces anyway.

“Your lord-err… ladyship!” the leader shouted. “Forgive this humble speaker for not recognizing you!”

However, them not recognizing me was the least of my concerns. A fire and shouting were enough to attract a lot of attention, and I knew that we had precious little time before the party or the Watch made it on the scene.

“Everyone get out of here,” I commanded as I let up my aura. They all obeyed immediately, including my speaker. “Except you,” I added as I shoved him back down with my foot.

“Of course, your ladyship! How may I serve!?”

I needed someone to take the fall for the attack, and I needed some way to make me look unrelated to it.

I grinned in a way that made even one of my most devoted cultists tremble as the pieces clicked together.

“You’re going to die for me.”

-----

Erica was woken by shouts and urgent commands, through the party and otherwise.

They all raced out onto the streets, only to find Titania alone with a hooded figure hefted over her shoulder.

“[Demon Lord] cultist,” Titania spat as she dumped the figure at the feet of [Commander] Lee.

“Did you kill him!?” Erica asked, horrified.

Titania rolled her eyes. “Right. Forgot to tell you about non-lethal takedowns.” She cleared her throat. “If you’re attacking another human, or humanoid I guess, you can choose to knock them out instead of dealing lethal damage.” She nudged the hooded figure with her foot. “That’s what I did with this guy. Figured you would want to ask him some questions.”

The last part was directed at [Commander] Lee, who nodded. “Indeed. We’ll have several questions for him. I’m assuming the [Hero] was their target, so how did they know we were in town? We’ll get him in for questioning immediately.”

“I’d like to be present when that happens,” Titania stated. “I have some questions for him.”

[Commander] Lee raised an eyebrow. “That will be a difficult sell, but-“

“A-a-and I want to be there too!” Erica added.

Both Lee and Titania turned to look at her.

“Why do you want to be in the interrogation?” Lee asked.

Erica paused. She wanted to be there because she was incredibly curious about why anyone would ever follow someone as obviously evil as the [Demon Lord], but she didn’t exactly want to say that out loud.

“Let the kid come,” Titania replied before Erica could get her thoughts together. “She has an entire group of people that want her dead. She at least has the right to learn a bit more about them, doesn’t she?”

The [Commander] caved, and that was how Titania, Erica, Lee, and the interrogator all ended up crammed in the small room with the cultist for the interrogation.

“I didn’t expect it to be this small,” Erica complained.

“It is a room that is only meant for two people,” Lee stated dryly.

“And why are you here anyway?” Titania asked Lee.

“Because I’m in charge of both of you, so if you misbehave, it is my head that will roll,” he stated. “Can we get this interrogation started so that I can get these two out of here?” he asked the interrogator.

The man shook his head. “The prisoner isn’t awake yet. Nothing I can do until then.”

Everyone looked at the still-comatose prisoner, and Titania sighed. “I got it. [Heal],” she cast.

The hooded figure suddenly burst upright.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“I will be the one asking the questions,” the interrogator stated. “For starters, how many of you are in DeepMine?”

The cultist laughed long and hard. “I will never tell you anything. Enemies of the Lord of Flame will get nothing from me!”

The prominently placed truth stone confirmed he was speaking the truth.

How are they going to make him talk, then? Erica asked herself. She… wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

The man turned his head and otherwise looked around the room. He was completely calm… until his eyes locked onto Titania.

“Pretender! Usurper!” he raged. “You shall never lay claim to your brother’s throne!”

“I never wanted the [Demon Lord’s] throne in the first place,” Titania replied as she crossed her arms.

The truth stone verified both statements.

Wait. What did she just-

“I’m going to use my question now,” Titania stated. She walked a step towards the cultist. “Where is the [Demon Lord]? Where is Titus?” Titania asked.

“Closer than you think,” the cultist chuckled. “But I shall say no more because I give this life [FOR THE DEMON-“

“GET DOWN!” Titania shouted as she pushed past the interrogator and tackled the cultist to the ground.

The world erupted in fire.

Titania took the brunt of it, and [Commander] Lee also shielded Erica with his own tackle.

What just happened? Erica asked herself.

“Ummm... Can you get off me now?” Erica asked the [Commander].

His only reply was a groan as he rolled off her.

However, Erica wasn’t even the one who came out of it the healthiest, nor was the [Commander] the one who took the worst of it.

“[Heal]!” Erica heard Titania cast. “Frick, not enough… Power of light, restore health to my ally. [Cure]!”

[Commander] Lee and Erica looked on as Titania saved the life of the interrogator, who had no one to shield him. However, Lee and Erica both noticed something at the same time.

“Why are you completely fine!?” Erica asked.

“Titania, I have some questions for you,” the [Commander] stated simultaneously.

Titania, with her full health bar, just sighed. “Fine. I guess I owe you some explanations…”

-----

It turns out that when you cop to being “the [Demon Lord’s] twin sister,” you end up getting asked some questions. Officially. In an interrogation room.

However, the fact that it at least looked like the cult had tried to kill me and bore no allegiance to me was a strong point in my favor. Another couple of strong points were that I could swear on truth stone that I…

Had no clue where Titus was (which was true as long as I said Titus and not [Demon Lord]).

Had no allegiance to the [Demon Lord’s] cult or my brother (sorry, random brother from back on Earth who may or may not still be alive).

Was fully dedicated to the [Hero’s] quests and to keeping the [Hero] alive (that was true at least until I’d reclaimed all my armor. Then it was a tossup).

After that, questions turned more toward my capabilities, and I had to reveal that I was fairly similar in strength to the [Demon Lord]. I mentioned that I had most of the same skills, but with careful wording, I convinced the interrogator that only Titus would have the monstrous second form that marked the [Demon Lord’s] class.

That just about ended the “interview.”

There was obviously some deliberation about all of that, but it went in my favor pretty quickly. I’m sure that having both a [Commander] and a [Hero] vouch for you and say that you saved their lives does quite a bit for your trustworthiness.

That fact was solidified when I was given clearance to join the party on our dungeon clear the very next day.

“The boss fight should be full of armored spiders,” I stated as we made our way through the combat-mode dungeon and therefore didn’t have to fight a thing. “At least that was the normal version. It’s a good thing that we have so many mages. We’ll likely need the elemental damage.”

We were confident we could deal with whatever it threw at us.

As soon as I saw the boss’s name, I knew that thought was hubris.

“Iron Spider Matriarch” had been replaced with “Adamantium Spider Matriarch.”

We… might all be dead. I thought.

“The plan doesn’t change!” I shouted, trying to keep the slight hint of fear out of my voice as the colossal spell-resistant monster stomped into view. “Light it up!”

All of our mages immediately threw some type of spell at it. There was an [Air Cutter], a [Fireball], my pitiful addition of a [Fire Bolt], and even Erica’s-

“[Shining Barrage]!”

That last time I’d been in DeepMine, Jake had one-shot the boss with his [Hero] skill, so there had been a part of me that was banking on that to happen again. At the very least, with Erica dumping all of her mana and part of her stamina into the attack, I was hoping it would get us close.

It did not. The metal creature took a mere quarter of its health bar and then stopped and roared.

Frick. I thought.

Answering its call, dozens of adamantium spiderlings that were almost as tall as I was, appeared around the room and charged us.

Meanwhile, the boss itself wasn’t standing still. It was charging toward our group along with its summons.

I sprinted forward, even as I relayed what I could of the plan.

Our frontline would keep the spiderlings busy. Our mages would try to take out whatever they could. And we would all buy the 1 minute we needed for Erica’s skill to be off cooldown… which left me with the unenviable position of keeping the boss busy.

“Over here, you overgrown rust bucket!” I shouted as I sprinted away from the group.

Unfortunately, it’s not quite so easy to change a boss monster’s aggro. It continued its path toward Erica since she was the obvious threat.

“I said, look at me!” I shouted. I was scrambling for ideas to draw aggro, and I didn’t have anything in my arsenal to deal enough damage to outpace the [Hero’s] skill. So, I threw the only thing that I could think of. My aura.

I blanketed a bit too much of the area with it, but to my surprise, everything that it touched immediately turned to look at me. That included the boss, a few spiderlings, and even the two [Soldiers] we had up front with their large shields.

Huh. That’s not quite what I expected that to do. I thought as I focused my aura so that only the boss was included. Meanwhile, everything overcame its stupefaction. The [Soldiers] focused back on the incoming wave, the spiderlings continued their charge at the party, and the boss turned and bore down on me.

It’s easy, Titania. I reassured myself. Just dodge its attacks, and you’ll be fine.

That was simple for the first one. It brought one of its several-ton legs down like it was trying to step on me, and I quickly leaped to the side to get out of the way.

Unfortunately, did you know that spiders have eight legs?

Two more legs crashed down in pinpoint strikes that I barely evaded after that, but that left me open for the follow-up horizontal swing of its fourth.

I had the equivalent of a construction beam made of adamantium hurtling at my face, and the only way to dodge it would be [Flash Step]… but I refused to blow that cooldown that early.

I met the attack head-on with a dual [Fire Strike].

I had a brief moment of doubt that it would work, but the lack of sudden intense pain seemed to indicate that it went in my favor.

I still slid backward a dozen feet, but a block is a block.

However, that wasn’t the end of the good news. The spider was slightly off-balance from having so much of its momentum killed, which gave me an opening.

I punched the leg with an [Air Strike], and to my shock, actually pushed the entire dang colossus back a foot.

Thanking the System for Placeholder’s buggy knockback interactions for once, I continued the assault and peppered the boss with blow after blow.

It did no noticeable damage to the boss’s health bar, but I was more than content with winding down the remainder of Erica’s cooldown by just knocking the boss around.

Unfortunately, the boss wasn’t too happy about that. It flailed two limbs in my direction simultaneously, and I had no choice but to dodge underneath the spider.

Which almost immediately put a stop to its attacks.

“Can’t reach under here, can you!” I taunted. “[Summon Dave]!” I cast and hucked the slimeball up to the spider’s underbelly.

I’ll just wait under here until-

My eyes widened as all of the spider’s legs kicked out at once. I was wrong about it not having an attack for underneath it. It still had a belly flop.

I [Flash Stepped], dove, and managed to only get knocked back a bit from the shockwave of rock that resulted from dozens of tons of adamantium striking the cave floor.

I rolled and popped back up to my feet.

“Is it ready yet!?” I shouted to Erica as I dodged another strike from the spider’s leg.

Something that big has no right to be that fast! I complained internally.

“Almost!” she called back.

“Good!” I replied as I blocked another horizontal swing with a dual [Fire Strike] and ducked underneath another that came right on its heels.

“You need to push past your limits!” I shouted as I continued dodging. “You need to be willing to sacrifice! Be willing to use up even your HP to cast the skill! If you don’t take it out here, all of us are going to die!”

A mental nudge through the party and the [Commander] set the stage. “[Squad Skill: Second Wind]!” he shouted. “Go!”

“I’ve got it!” Erica shouted. “[Limit Break]! [Shining Barrage]!”

I had to shut my eyes against the radiant light that shone forth from Erica’s wand as she shot the skill.

It was nearly as bright as Jake’s back when he ended my first life.

I nodded in satisfaction. Surely that was enough. I thought as I opened my eyes.

Unfortunately for all of us… It was not.

The boss still had a full quarter of its health remaining.

It released a long hiss of steam, turned red-hot, and took off toward the party.

“No, you don’t!” I shouted. I tried to reach out with my aura, but I could practically feel it snap back as it found no purchase.

Despite my efforts, the boss was going for the party at full speed. The party that had no way of fending it off. The party that had a [Hero] who was curled up on the ground at a quarter health and dry-heaving from exertion. The party that I needed alive if I had any chance of completing my goals in this life.

However, I had one last gambit that I could make.

Without any hesitation, my helmet appeared in my left hand, and Singularity in my right. I slammed the helmet home for the extra 200 HP, even as I gathered mana for the spell that I had no clue how to cast yet.

The standard progressions is bolt, AOE, wide-AOE. I thought as I mentally turned over what I knew of the elemental spells.

[Air Bolt], [Air Cutter], [Hurricane].

[Ice Bolt], [Ice Shards], [Blizzard].

I could instinctively feel what the electric versions of each could be.

[Shock Bolt], [Lightning Bolt], [Thunderstorm].

But my problem was I needed single-target damage, and while I could tell that [Lightning Bolt] would work decently well for that, it wouldn’t be efficient to pump in my extra mana with my pitifully leveled [Overchannel] skill. Meanwhile, [Thunderstorm] would be too wide of an area and take too long to cast.

That meant I simply had to make my own tier 3 spell instead.

No pressure. I thought as I dove deeper into my mind to focus.

From there, I could almost… feel… the different balance points for a spell.

Mana cost. Cast time. Chant length. Cooldown time. Even different gestures that had to be done with the spell or items that had to be sacrificed to cast it.

Everything had to be balanced against each other.

I immediately shoved the mana cost as high as it would go and capped out at 1000.

And while the boss seemed to me as if it was moving in slow motion, I knew I had precious little time to actually cast the spell. I fought to set both the cast time and chant length as low as I could.

However, I could tell it wouldn’t be strong enough. It needed more demerits. I upped the cooldown time from being measured in minutes or seconds to being a full day.

But that was still not enough. So, I did something I had yet to do with any of my spells. I added choreography. Specific movements that would be required to cast the spell.

And just like that, it was ready. It would be enough, but the only question left was whose HP would give out first.

I knew the answer was mine if I allowed Envy form to auto-activate, but the question was whether I should go into Demon Lord form or not. Going into that form would practically guarantee that I live… and that everyone else there would die.

Almost before I could justify it to myself, I [Disrupted] the auto-activation of [Demon Lord] form.

“Now, let’s do this,” I stated as the world seemed to return to normal speed.

“Lightning, become my radiant blade-“

I traced a large arc in front of me with a staff sparking with electricity.

The boss slammed through our frontline and tossed them aside like ragdolls.

“-that will pierce the darkened heavens-“

[Commander] Lee tried in vain to cover the [Hero], but the boss shattered his sword through his [Power Strike] and knocked him away.

I held the staff like a spear as I cocked it back.

The boss reared back to end the [Hero]… But I was faster.

“[Lightning Spear]!” I shouted as I thrust my staff forward.

The flash of light and thunderclap that echoed from my cast deafened and blinded me, which meant that I didn’t actually see that the giant bolt of lightning shot forward and left a smoldering hole through the immediately dead boss.

Instead, I was left on the ground, convulsing in pain as electricity arced through me.

… I think I was also screaming, but I don’t actually know.

I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, I could only smell ozone, and the smell of burning flesh that I belatedly realized was my own.

Ah. I guess [Fire Immunity] doesn’t protect me from burns caused by electricity. I stopped convulsing but immediately followed that up by hacking up what I knew had to be blood.

I’m not dead yet. Maybe Erica can [Restore]… Oh… I never did teach her that one.

As I continued coughing up blood, I couldn’t help but reminisce.

I wonder what they’ll call this life. Titania the idiot. Titania the soft-hearted. Titania the-

With that, my last tenuous grasp on consciousness failed, and I knew no more.