//Congratulations! You have played a crucial part in slaying the Rank C monster [Hole Digger] by trapping the monster! As thanks, you have been rewarded generously!

Level up: Level 7→Level 11!

[Independence] Rank E, Level 9->[Independence] Rank D, Level 11

[Perseverance] Rank E, Level 7->[Perseverance] Rank E, Level 9

[Reveal] Rank E, Level 3->[Reveal] Rank E, Level 4

[Anarchy Flare] Rank E, Level 9->[Anarchy Flare] Rank D, Level 12

[Abyssal Black Arrows] Rank E, Level 4->[Abyssal Black Arrows] Rank E, Level 9

[Abyssal Black Rope] Rank E, Level 3->[Abyssal Black Rope] Rank D, Level 14

[2 Skill Slots left]

//Integration with Devil Core 56% complete. ICHOR Trans-Shift available soon.

Alice stirred at the mechanical voice. When she opened her eyes, she was subject to a glaring beacon of light shining into her retinas. Wincing, Alice shut her eyes again.

“What are you doing? Hurry up, open your eyes. We need to check if you’re crazier than usual.”

Alice snapped her eyes open, the familiar gruff voice of Blanche registering in her ears. Immediately, Alice regretted her decision when she was met with the same blinding light but made herself endure it with the promise of seeing Blanche again.

“Okay, that’s enough, she’s obviously okay.” Alice’s heart soared at the sound of Blanche’s voice, and then she heard a small thud and a ‘Hey!’ The light vanished, only to be replaced with Blanche’s face.

It was hard to put into words just how relieved Alice was to see he was okay. She surprised herself with how charged her emotions were.

Blanche was definitely going to have a few scars, but they seemed to have all been taken care of by a medic; tiny bandages were scattered over his body. Half his beard was sheared off and his left eye had a dark bruise over it. Other than that, though, he was relatively unharmed.

“Hi—gurk!” Alice let out a strangled gasp when Blanche lunged forward and pulled her into a hug. She automatically stiffened, her body rigid against his chest. Eventually, she slackened and wrapped her arms around his back as well.

It was…nice. Weird, but nice. A warm feeling blossomed in her heart and spread outward. Her body still wracked with pain but the warmth from the hug…it eased her body. Alice smiled against Blanche’s shirt. It reminded her of Charlotte.

All too soon, Blanche pulled away. Almost reluctantly, Alice let him go, watching the dwarf take a couple steps back. He flicked his ragged hair back, acting as cool as ever, like he hadn’t just hugged her.

“Well then, I guess congratulations are in order.” Blanche said. He began saying something else, but Alice looked past him and found an alarming sight.

The serpent was dead. That was the foremost thing that went through her head. Alice took vindictive delight when she noticed numerous scars that went around the body of the serpent in the shape of a bind. However, it was clear that the fatal blow that had done the monster in was a pair of slashes crossing to make an X, centered on the serpent’s head. They went deep, easily going underneath the scales and into the pink flesh. Alice’s gaze fell upon a small crater on the lower half of the serpent’s body. Dark cracks ran along the scales, pulsating ominously even with the monster dead. Alice shivered, turning her gaze to the warriors that had fought the serpent.

There didn’t appear to be any casualties. Some were definitely more injured than others, with Alice spotting a couple who had even lost some limbs. Practically all of them wore thick bandages that were wrapped around a limb with blood soaking through, exempting Lily and her friend.

Speaking of the elf…Alice studied her for a bit. She stood awkwardly to the side while the rest of her team bustled around, either approaching the monster or tending to the others. Alice’s lips turned down. Lily had played a crucial part in slaying the monster. While it was entirely possible her team had already thanked her for her services while Alice was out, but thinking back to the peculiar interactions Lily had with her team, Alice doubted it.

Alice couldn’t help but feel sad for the girl. Even Alice had somebody come running towards her asking if she was okay. Lily…didn’t seem to have anybody.

A sharp pain went off on her forehead and Alice shrieked, reaching up to caress her forehead. She focused on the preparator. Blanche still had his finger up, which he lowered to his side with a disgruntled expression on his face.

“Whatcha looking at? I’m congratulating you and you find something else more interesting? What’s your Skill?” Blanche demanded to know.

Alice chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry. I just—“ Alice went back and listened to his last sentence again. “Wait, new Skill?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Blanche signed. “You helped kill the monster and fought it one-on-one for an extended period of time. We may not know about the System, but we know it rewards those kinds of things. You must have leveled up. What new Skills did you receive?”

Alice recalled the moment she’d woken up. That’s right…the System had said something about it. She tried to remember but she’d still been in a state of semi-consciousness when the System had told her about her new Skills. “I don’t remember. Should I ask?”

Blanche seemed tempted to tell her yes but an inquisitive expression flitted across his face as he pondered it. He glanced over his shoulder and Alice followed his kind of vision to the serpent. Or more exactly, a man who was examining the hanging maw of the snake.

“Wait…is that Baron?” Alice exclaimed, squinting. It was hard to see but the figure was around the same height and build. Blanche nodded, keeping his eyes on Baron.

“Yeah. We’re going to leave this place soon. You should hold off on learning your new Skills until we’re in a private place.” Blanche recommended. Alice furrowed her eyebrows. Blanche was looking at Baron like he was untrustworthy. All of a sudden, Alice’s neck pricked and her gaze darted around, scanning everybody. She felt bare and vulnerable, and surrounded by enemies.

“Why? Do you not trust them?” Alice asked. She passed over Lily and paused. It was difficult to correlate the shy girl with the image of the bloodthirsty warrior she had in her mind.

“It’s foolish to trust anybody in this world. I’ve known Baron for many years, and I’ve been able to glean only the smallest and most insignificant information from him. The one thing I know for certain is that he loves his people, and will do anything to protect them.” Here, Blanche stared at her, conveying absolute seriousness through his eyes. “He’s seen your power firsthand now, and knows you are a boon. He’s holding off on recruiting you because you are my apprentice, and he’s not willing to cross me yet. If he figures out what new Skills you have and they are appealing to him, he may very well try to get you to stay.”

A chill ran down Alice’s spine. Was this really a commoner’s life? It sounded more like what happened in the Nobility! She glanced at Baron discreetly, not wanting to be caught. As he ordered his people around, Baron appeared to be the ideal leader: efficient yet understanding. It was hard to see the drive Blanche had described under his stoic face, but given the absolute command he had over his team…Alice would rather carve out her heart than join him.

“That won’t happen.” Alice insisted. “I’m going to fix the world, and that can’t happen while I’m stuck in a village somewhere.” Besides, I need to go see Charlotte, went unsaid.

Blanche’s lips pressed into a thin line. “He may not give you a choice. If you become enough of a prize, Baron might kill me and leave you defenseless.”

“WHAT!?” Alice roared, leaping to her feet.

“Idiot!” Blanche snapped, rising up to meet her.

Realizing her mistake, Alice slapped a hand over her mouth and looked around. Her outburst had caught the attention of everybody in the clearing, who all spared a second to stare at her. Alice pretended not to notice, looking up at the sky and whistling harmlessly. Eventually, everybody else went back to their job and Alice sighed.

“That was nerve-wracking,” she admitted.

“Imbecile! I told you all the dangers and you go and blurt it out?!” Blanche glowered.

Alice crossed her arms. “How am I not supposed to!?” she whispered. “You said they were going to kill you!” Despite her best efforts of maintaining a lower volume, the last three words went up a pitch or two.

Blanche winced, rubbing his ears. “I said they might. They might kill me. I say there’s a 50/50 chance.”

Alice groaned. “So then why are we coming with them? Just thank them for helping us kill the monster and leave.”

Blanche arched an eyebrow in that manner he was so proficient in, making her feel like a complete idiot. “Wow, that sounds like a great idea, why didn’t I think of that? Oh right, maybe because we lost all our supplies. If we’re going to survive and get to the capital, we need to restock. Not to mention, the forest is a bit…dangerous to traverse at the moment.”

That caught her attention. “‘Dangerous?’ We just killed the serpent!” A realization struck her with the force of a train and her stomach plummeted to somewhere around her toes. “Don’t tell me there’s another monster like that!”

Alice didn’t know how she’d handle it if that was the case. With Lily’s Skill needing to recharge and Alice too spent anyway, Alice couldn’t see how they would defeat a monster of the same caliber.

“What? Of course not.” Blanche snapped. Alice slumped in relief. “The serpent monster ruled this part of the forest for a week or so. In that time, the hierarchy of monsters who lived here got overturned. Most monsters fled to persevere themselves. They’ll know that the alpha monster is dead, and will begin the process of returning. If we leave right now on foot, we’ll have to go through a parade of monsters.”

Alice’s mind flashed forward, envisioning hours of slicing and dicing through monsters. She shuddered; that’d slow down their trekking progress to an extreme degree!

“…fine. I guess we don’t have a choice. We leave as soon as we get the supplies?” Alice confirmed.

Blanche nodded. “Who knows, I could get us a carriage, too. We’ll have to see how much money we have left over from killing the…”

Blanche continued talking about expenses but Alice’s attention was wholly on the possibility of riding a carriage. Alice didn’t know why, but some part of her yearned to ride a carriage so much, it was almost scary. One would think after helping kill a giant monster, Alice would view something as mundane as riding a carriage as boring, but she couldn’t help it!

Alice certainly hadn’t had the opportunity to ride any in her village; in fact, the only time she’d ever laid eyes on a carriage had been when Charlotte left. Even the merchants more often than not traveled by walking. Her mind briefly ran through how smooth the ride would be, how comfortable it would be, how fast it would go, until it all coalesced down to one conclusion:

I have to ride one!

Blanche wrinkled his nose. “Why are you beaming? Stop. It’s creeping me out.”

Alice wasn’t going to let Blanche’s typical attitude get her down. Biting her lip to prevent a squeal from slipping through, Alice pumped her fists into the air, brimming with barely contained excitement. She was sure her eyes were sparkling as she gazed into the sky.

I’m going to ride a carriage!