“Run, run, run!”

Alice wasn’t certain who declared that but she didn’t argue. Clambering to her feet, Alice forced her stiff legs to move. Activating [Perseverance], Alice sighed in relief as the effects of the fear subsided slightly.

Now instead of terror so intense she was paralyzed, she was merely inflicted with terror so scary that she wanted to throw up.

Alice sprinted towards the treeline, following the small group of people doing the same. Being out in the rocky riverbed, with the sun glaring down at them was enough to make them feel unprotected. Vulnerable. Humans wearing leather and steel weapons didn’t exactly blend in with boulders and pebbles.

Alice crossed the treeline, her world shifting into a darker gradient as the treetops effectively nullified the sun. Alice went in a few more feet before spinning on her heels and staring out at the bedside, where more than a dozen people remained, scattered haphazardly over the place. Many were still on their knees, struggling and failing to get up. Others were managing a couple of steps before the fear overtook them and they crumpled again.

Another ear-splitting hiss announced the serpent was getting closer. Damn it! Is it coming to drink water or can it sense us somehow!? I swear this wasn’t in the territory Blanche outlined!

Something moved past Alice and she hopped in surprise as the members of the group who’d gotten to the forest safely dashed back into the sunlight. Alice watched them help pick up their teammates, slinking their arms over their own shoulders and dragging him. Alice took a step forward to help when Blanche gripped her shoulder tightly, holding her back. She turned, eyes blazing. “I can help them!”

Blanche’s face was grim and his gaze was locked onto somebody behind her. “Not yet.” was all he said. Startled, Alice followed his line of sight to Baron, who had draped a couple of people across his back and was making slow progress towards the forest.

That’s right; they know each other! Then why isn’t he letting me help? Alice struggled half-heartedly, already knowing it was useless, and resigned herself to observing the team.

Less than a minute later, most of them had come into the safety of the treeline. Unfortunately, there were still three people who remained; a girl with long brown hair was dragged across the rocks, two people on either side supporting her weight. A messy trail of blood marked the rocks where her left leg hung limply and touched.

“Lily…she still hasn’t recovered,” somebody nearby said in a hushed tone filled with fear. Alice spared them a glance before snapping her attention back to the straggling trio. Another hiss permeated the sky, and a wave of fear hit Alice.

A grunt slipped past her lips and Alice fought to stay upright, feeling like an elephant was dropped onto her back. Clutching a tree for support, she struggled valiantly against the extreme pressure forcing her down. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Blanche and Baron were the only ones who seemed unaffected, remaining steadfast and resolute.

The hissing noise died down and with it, the immense pressure. Alice gasped as she took in a hefty lungful of air, finally being able to breathe easily again. As the people around her also recuperated, she turned to look at the trio that were outside.

They hadn’t been spared the effects of the serpent, and all three were sprawled across the rocks. One of them even seemed to have fallen unconscious as a result of the fear factor, and it was becoming evident the remaining healthy person would have to make a critical decision: help Lily, who couldn’t reach the treeline with her injured leg, or help his fallen friend? Choosing either one would mean leaving the other to die.

Alice shot furtive glances at other members of the team. Blanche had already made his decision but surely they would want to rescue their teammates? It looked like it, with many of them murmuring encouraging words under their breath. Yet, nobody made a move even though they clearly wished to.

Alice searched the masses for Baron. He appeared to be the leader in the interactions between him and Blanche; if anyone was going to save the trio, it would have to be him, right?

Finally, she located him near the edge of the treeline. Contrary to the other members of his team, he remained composed and cool as a cucumber, nonchalantly watching the trio. Alice narrowed her eyes; he was almost too relaxed. His stance was firm, but his grip on his sword was slack. It was like he didn’t care about them.

Wait a second, that little rascal! He’s going to let them die! Frustration boiled within Alice at this realization. She surveyed the rest of the team. They’re the same! At least they showed concern, but it didn’t look like they were going to jump in any time soon. Alice’s gaze met Blanche and very slightly, he shook his head.

The anger threatened to boil over. Alice wanted to change the world and help people. How the hell was she supposed to achieve that if she let the people in front of her die?

Ignoring Blanche’s exasperated sigh, Alice dashed into the sunlight. Upon reaching the trio, she grabbed the brown-haired girl’s left arm and slung it over her shoulder, supporting her weight. Lily looked at her with a mixture of confusion and gratitude, and Alice nodded once before beginning to move forward. Behind her, she heard the duo making progress as well.

It was tough-going; Lily was essentially the same weight as Alice, and they had to go slow or risk injuring her leg even more. Alice couldn’t count the number of times the heart-pounding fear nearly overwhelmed her and made her flee. The sound of the serpent knocking aside trees in its path was becoming more and more evident, but Alice soldiered through, the thought of betraying her own ideals enough to keep her legs moving.

After what felt like an eternity, Alice and Lily reached the forest and the shadows covered them. Alice gently lowered Lily onto somebody else’s waiting arms. A part of her wanted to refuse, considering she’d been the only person to rescue Lily but since Lily didn’t protest, Alice figured she didn’t have the right to do so.

When she handed Lily over, Alice noticed her pointed ears for the first time. “You’re an elf?!” Alice blurted out. Both Lily and the girl holding her tensed and Alice backed away, confused as to why they were staring at her like she was going to beat them up.

“Wha-?” Before she could ask, the serpent let out another piercing hiss, louder and stronger than ever. Alice recoiled, almost falling to the ground when all of a sudden, the effects of the shriek subsided.

Blinking, Alice glanced up to find a faint dome composed of golden dust around them. Beyond it, Alice could still dimly hear the serpent shrieking but other than a low throb in her skull, there was no effect. Alice’s eyes landed on a middle-aged man with his eyes closed and hands stretched up. Was he doing this?

Baron stepped forward and Alice didn’t miss the way his gaze flicked towards Lily with a mixture of contempt and regret.

Blanche stormed through the group, halting in front of Baron. Although his head barely reached Baron’s shoulder, the aura emanating off of Blanche in waves was enough to make Alice feel apprehensive of the scolding she was certain to get from him.

“You know of this serpent, I’m assuming?” Blanche cut to the chase.

Baron nodded. “Indeed. We’ve been hunting it for a while. A week or so, I’d say.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Alice tensed up. They were hunting it? She studied the team members with a new sense of respect—and no small amount of disbelief. Had they seen that monster? Alice couldn’t fathom beating it in a fight, much less going out of her way to hunt it!

“Then you must have a plan to kill it.” Blanche said simply, like he was talking about taking a stroll through the woods and not fighting a monster which beat both their asses before.

“Lily!” Baron barked. The girl in question stiffened at the volume before slowly hobbling over to Baron. Her ‘friend’ didn’t help her in the slightest, merely watching her struggle with pained eyes. When Lily reached Baron, he pointed at her. “She has a Unique Skill which lets her temporarily amplify the Skills and Techniques of anybody she chooses.”

Alice’s eyebrows shot up and she could tell even Blanche was shocked by the way he shifted his stance. The other people in the team appeared wary of how easily Baron gave away this information, crowding closer. And Alice completely understood why.

A Skill that could manipulate other Skills…it could completely upheave the hierarchy of magic and nobility.

“I’m assuming she doesn’t have much to protect herself?” Blanche asked.

Baron nodded. “The vanguard is supposed to protect her, while the person she chooses to affect with her Skill leads the rest of the party to kill the monster.”

Lily seemed uncomfortable with the way the two older men were talking about her like she wasn’t there, but she didn’t argue, settling for keeping her eyes on the ground. Alice narrowed her eyes, noting how Lily gravitated away from Baron; what was the story there?

“Are there any other requirements?” Blanche prodded.

Baron sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, the cool-down is of a crippling length. It depends on the person she uses it on, but on average, it takes around 2-3 months before she can use it again.”

Ah. That was kind of a big drawback. Alice felt her hopes of using Lily to overthrow the hierarchy be dashed and she quickly shook her head. Actually, what was she thinking!? She couldn’t use someone else for her own plans!

“How long does the Skill last?” Blanche asked.

“An hour or so. Why? Do you have someone in mind? We were planning on having Oberon get his Skills boosted.” Baron waved towards the gaggle of warriors and one of them stepped forward: a broad man with a bulky build, and a heavy set mace that he had planted onto the ground. He held Blanche’s gaze evenly, but Alice noticed how for a split second, he looked in Lily's way.

What’s with Lily and the rest of them? Is there some kind of beef between her and everybody else? Alice was so caught up in trying to figure it out that she missed Blanche pointing at her until she felt a dozen looks directed her way.

“Huh?!” Alice exclaimed, taken back by all the intense stares. What had Blanche said!?

“You want your apprentice to be the one who gets their Skills amplified?” Baron asked, with more than a pinch of incredulity in his voice. The others weren’t far off, whispering to themselves and not hiding their low opinion of her by the way they were shooting scornful looks.

Alice whirled onto Blanche, who merely retained his cool composure. What was he thinking!?

“That girl can’t even have a Skill, what use is there in wasting Lily on her?” one of them whispered. Quite loudly, Alice may add.

“I can hear you, ya know.” Alice grumbled. He had the decency to flush but didn’t apologize. Alice couldn’t really blame him. She did have a few skills, but she wasn’t sure the upgrade was going to be big enough to do anything to the serpent. Her [Abyssal Black Arrows] and [Abyssal Black Rope] hadn’t even registered against the scales. And Alice doubted [Independence] and [Perseverance] was going to do much against a monster that towered over the forest. If she was going to get a new Skill, now was the time, right?

Alice opened the System to find a Skill that would best serve against the serpent but was almost instantaneously overwhelmed by the sheer number. Alice shut down the options, panting heavily. What was that?!

//Taking into account the current situation and locating specific Skills for use. Total number of options…….7839.

So the System chose the Skills available depending on the circumstance? Can’t you just choose the best one for me?

//Analyzing……[Negative]. Vast Majority of Skills are not accessible for you at your current level of integration.

Was it saying she was too weak? Aargh, then why even give her those options?! Giving up on getting a new Skill at the moment, Alice sidled next to Blanche, ignoring the way Baron tracked her movements.

Standing on her toes, she brought her mouth up to Blanche’s ear. “What the hell are you thinking? I can’t do jack squat against that monster, no matter how big of a boost I get! You’re always criticizing my power, so you should know better than anybody else!”

Blanche texted a hand onto her head and Alice froze at the unexpected motion. Then he moved his palm back and forth and Alice relaxed at the surprisingly calming act. “Exactly. I know your power better than anybody else which is why I know you’ll succeed.” He pulled his hand away and Alice twitched.

“W-wait! Hold on—!”

In a split second, the mood changed; almost like a giant hand was pushing down on everybody there. Alice gasped, her spine bending in half. The golden dome shimmered wildly before cracks started to appear.

“It’s here. Protect Alice and Lily!” Blanche snapped. Purple wisps of smoke gathered around his sword, and he leapt upward, slipping through the dome like it wasn’t even there. A strangled yell slipped out of Alice’s throat but he didn’t look back once as he slipped through the treetop.

Alice clenched her shirt. What if Blanche died?

The others looked to Baron for support and Alice wanted to snap at them to hurry up. Baron glanced at her before looking into the treetop, clear confliction in his gaze. Finally, he said, “Go! Vanguard, stay back and protect Lily and Alice! We shall help Blanche buy time!”

His team must have been feeling doubtful of placing all their trust in a stranger but they didn’t show it. Half of them followed Baron past the dome, and even Oberon only spared a second to look their way before disappearing from view. A second later, the dome shattered into fractals, glimmering in the forest air before fading away as dust.

Only seven remained, including Lily. Six of them set up stations around the clearing they were in, making sure to keep an eye both on the surroundings and on Alice. The same girl who had carried Lily approached her now and they whispered something in hushed tones, sometimes glancing at her. Alice barely registered it. The only thing that went through her mind was that the longer they waited, the greater the chance Blanche was going to die.

Finally, the two girls touched their foreheads together and the other girl walked away, leaving Lily alone standing awkwardly. In any other circumstance, Alice would have tried understanding her situation better and been more gentle.

Right now however, all their lives were at stake. Alice stomped towards the elf, ignoring her panicked whimpers. Stopping just barely a foot in front of her when Alice registered the intense amount of bloodlust leaking from the other six people, Alice held out a hand.

“So? How do we do this? Is there a set of rules you need to activate your Skill? Anything I need to do?” Alice checked.

Lily shook her head hastily. “N-no!” Her voice cracked. “J-just hold on.” She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, resembling a nun.

Alice shifted uncomfortably. She could hear the fight occurring just outside their little zone. The sound of metal harmlessly bouncing off scales, the noise of something slamming the ground. Alice didn’t know how their group hadn’t been squashed yet in the conflict, but she was sure Blanche and the others wouldn’t last much longer.

“Done!” Lily declared, her eyes snapping open. Alice startled as Lily held her hands out, gently touching her forehead.

“W-wha!?” Alice barely constrained her movements. She figured this was something required to clarify that Alice was the target; physical contact wasn’t that weird! Still, she couldn’t fight back a blush when Lily gingerly palmed her forehead.

Alice gasped when a small shock ran through her body. It was like a current of power, surging through every single nerve and vein. The small orb of energy in her chest suddenly ballooned to twice—no, to thrice its size. The mechanical voice spoke again.

//Registering interference by the Skill [Transcendent Connection]. Artificial, rapid growth in Skill Points.

[Independence] Rank E, Level 9->[Independence] Rank E++, Level 25

[Perseverance] Rank E, Level 7->[Perseverance] Rank E++, Level 25

[Reveal] Rank E, Level 3->[Reveal] Rank E++, Level 25

[Anarchy Flare] Rank E, Level 9->[Anarchy Flare] Rank E++, Level 25

[Abyssal Black Arrows] Rank E, Level 4->[Abyssal Black Arrows] Rank E++, Level 25

[Abyssal Black Rope] Rank E, Level 3->[Abyssal Black Rope] Rank E++, Level 25