Immediately, Alice shook her head. She clapped her hands against her cheeks, the dull sting snapping her out of her stump. No! I can’t think like that, don’t give up!

Alice clenched her hands into fists. If I’m not making a difference in the world, then that obviously means I’m not trying enough. I can’t afford to keep wandering around aimlessly, and letting others make decisions for me.

Alice gazed towards the horizon, where the sun was nearing the completion of its arc. Alice had no other choice; she could no longer abide by the orders of others and ‘go by the flow.’ She needed to make her stance clear.

“Enough….is enough.” Alice muttered under her breath.

“W-what did you say?” Lily squeaked.

Alice looked up, just now remembering there was somebody else present. A faint blush passed across her cheeks but she refused to act embarrassed. “Nothing. Just coming to terms with a couple of things.”

Lily kept a wary eye on Alice but she seemed more willing to let the girl remain where she was. Alice inhaled deeply; it wouldn’t hurt to forge a relationship between a member of the village. “Are you okay?”

Lily blinked. “What?” The elf tilted her head to the side curiously, one finger on her chin. Alice grimaced. Of course just jumping in like that would confuse her.

“I mean, I noticed you didn’t seem to have the best relationship with the rest of your party,” Alice began. “I was wondering if there’s a reason behind that?”

Inwardly, Alice smirked. If I can help her with her problems, then she’ll trust me more!

The light in Lily’s eyes dimmed and it was like a wall slammed shut inside her mind. Her face became as cool as a cucumber and she turned her back to Alice.

“This conversation is over.” For once, her voice was steady and firm. Alice bit her lips to prevent herself from screaming in frustration. She settled for running her hands roughly through her hair, wincing when her fingers got caught in the messy strands.

Damn it, she’s closed off again. I may have just ruined what little progress I had. Alice couldn’t risk pushing the conversation any further, not when it was so glaringly clear that the subject matter was something Lily had no intent in sharing.

Admitting defeat for the moment, Alice lowered herself to the dusty ground and crossed her legs. Shutting her eyes, Alice tried to block out the noise around her. With her newfound determination to make an active change in the world, she couldn’t afford to not use the gifts she was given.

Alice still didn’t enjoy the idea of wielding enormous amounts of magic, but she could admit that if she had used the System to its full potential rather than squandering it out of fear, many unpleasant occurrences could have been avoided.

I have more Skill slots remaining from leveling up and killing the snake. How do I get access to them? Alice scrounged through her memories and all the teachings she’d been received, but one moment in particular popped out from the rest.

During the serpent attack, she’d learnt that the Skills she received were partially based on the situation she was in. Since she had been in mortal danger when the serpent arrived and needed to fight, the Skills she had been given were all offensively based. If she tried getting a Skill right now, it would most certainly be a more passive Skill.

Kinda like that [Taunt of the Weak] I got. Okay, so what Skills do I have available? System?

//You do not have any Skills available to you at the moment.

Alice’s eyes snapped open and she whirled her head around, momentarily forgetting that the System was all in her mind. Closing her mouth and trying to ignore Lily’s befuddled gaze, Alice shut her eyes again and focused.

What do you mean I don’t have any Skills available? I know I do, you said it yourself!

//No Skills fit your current situation. You must have outside stimulation to trigger Skills.

Alice groaned. She’d miscalculated; it wasn’t that the Skills were partially dependent on the situation she was in, they were completely dependent on that.

So my actions are what the System uses to determine the Skills I receive? Alice pursed her lips, racking her brain. There has to be more to it. How come I get random Skills when I do the most absurd and useless things, but not other times when I need it? There’s another factor that decides what Skills I get, I’m sure of it!

Manergy Core…..Conversion rate…..no, I don’t think any of those. What is it? Think, think!

Alice gasped when a revelation slammed into her with all the force of an earthquake. What was the one thing Alice had continually overlooked, time and time again when checking her stats?

Class!

Alice was a [Destroyer] Class, the same as the Devil. She’d passed that off as common sense; she got her powers from the Devil, so it made sense she received the same Class. But looking back through all her Skills, they were all Skills that one could attribute to a [Destroyer].

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Even the Skill most akin to a healing variant was geared more towards combat. [Perseverance] merely dulled the pain and kept her going; it’s sole purpose was to ensure victory in the moment, it didn’t care whether she survived or not after the battle.

Was it possible to change her Class? No, her [Destroyer] Class would probably be instrumental in helping her change the world. But there had to be other Classes that could fit her needs better. Was there possibly an [Assassin] Class? And more importantly, could she get multiple Classes?

Something tapped her on the shoulder and Alice’s instincts took over. She lashed out, grabbing the offender by the wrist and pulling them forward. Alice spun around, getting onto her feet and raised her hand, preparing to strike.

“Ouch! Hey, what’s the big deal!? Stop!” Lily screeched. Alice blinked, stalling her hand. She stared at the back of Lily’s head for a couple more seconds before coming to her senses.

Oh shit. She immediately let go and Lily toppled forward with a small yelp, landing roughly on the ground. Double shit.

“Sorry! Are you okay?” Alice asked, pulling Lily back to her feet. The poor elf looked stunned, her eyes wide and slight scratches littering her face. Alice winced at the sight of them; they looked painful.

“Y-yeah. I was just coming to ask you if you wanted to join us for the feast.” Lily said, looking like she would rather do anything than be here.

A tiny part of Alice wanted to take up the offer and see more of their culture, but simultaneously, it felt wrong. This was their time, not hers. Alice was certain all her presence would accomplish is making everyone uncomfortable. Besides, she needed some time to clear her head.

“I’m fine. Just bring me some food and I’ll be okay for the night.” Alice reassured Lily.

The elf didn’t look entirely convinced but she didn’t push it. “Alright then. I’ll bring you some meat later, okay?”

“Sure,” Alice said, plopping herself back onto the ground and trying to concentrate on the System again. She heard Lily shuffle back and forth on her heels, before exhaling and beginning to leave.

“Wait,” Alice called abruptly. “Do you have a feast every time the hunting party returns?” That sounded extremely counterproductive if it was the case.

“Oh no, we could never afford to do that,” Lily confirmed. “We only do it for special occasions. This time, the Church passed by our village a while ago and blessed our crops. We’re hoping this feast will appease them.”

Alice’s blood turned chilly. Numbly, she could hear Lily continue talking but it was like her voice was obscured behind a fog. They didn’t register; instead, Alice’s mind was running haywire, trying to come to terms with what Lily said.

Finally, Lily realized Alice wasn’t paying attention. “Is everything okay?”

“W-what?” Alice broke out of her reverie, glancing shiftily around her before focusing on Lily. “O-oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for holding you up. Have fun at the feast.”

Lily’s face practically screamed she was apprehensive to leave her, but Alice took it out of her grasp when she forcefully turned her back onto Lily. A couple of moments later, Alice heard the sound of Lily’s footsteps as she wandered into the village.

The instant Alice felt Lily was far away enough, she buried her face into her hand, trying desperately to control her emotions. To say it was difficult was a vast understatement, especially when it felt like a tsunami was rippling through her body time and time again.

“Charlotte…” Alice murmured, tiny puffs of cold air emanating from her mouth.

There was a good chance her sister had passed by here. This very village in which Alice was present. It all added up; the Church had passed by this in-the-middle-of-nowhere village while returning to the capital from picking up her sister. Alice may even have just missed her by a few days. If she set off right now, she may even be able to catch up to the carriage!

Alice almost did it. Then a voice whispered in her ear.

What makes you think she wants to see you again?

Alice gnashed her teeth. No. I don’t want to remember!

No matter how hard she tried to push the memory away, it was too late. Alice lost her grip and she was suddenly falling, falling into the past.

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“Alice, you know how I’ve never really wanted to follow Father’s footsteps! Really, I just want to learn more about magic. I want to breathe magic, feel magic, be surrounded by magic wherever I go. It’s just so…freeing!” Charlotte exhaled. Even in the midst of this crisis, there was a beaming smile on her face, as if she couldn’t control it. “I talked with Father about it first, and he agreed. I didn’t want to tell you about it, because I didn’t even know if I was going to get in. I knew you’d be devastated, so I didn’t want to hurt you unless I knew for certain that I would get in. And I was supposed to be the one to tell you tonight, but I didn’t think they’d make me leave so soon.”

The only thing Alice heard was that Charlotte knew it was going to hurt her. She knew that her actions would hurt Alice, and yet she carried on with it all the same.

Betrayal. That was what she felt. Betrayal, so deep and vicious, it couldn’t have been worse if Charlotte took a rusty dagger and ran it along the length of her body.

”Were we…am I not enough for you?” Alice choked on her words.

”No!” Charlotte insisted, but Alice knew. She’d always known when Charlotte wasn’t being truthful, it was in the way her lips turned down. And in this instance, at this moment, Charlotte was lying.

Alice wasn’t enough. Maybe she’d never been enough and only deluded herself into thinking so.

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Alice exhaled shapely and forced the memory away. “It doesn’t matter now,” Alice told herself. “We chose different paths, Charlotte.”

She glanced up to marvel at the night tapestry, pinpricks of light gleaming against the inky blackness. Alice raised a hand, gently uncurling her fingers and lifting her palm as if she could touch the sky.

Are you seeing the same sky, Charlotte?

“We’ll meet again, I promise.” Alice whispered. She turned her head to gaze towards the village, where she spotted a faint trail of smoke rising up from the center. Faint sounds of laughter and cheer drifted up along with the smoke.

Her eyes hardened. “But first, I need to take care of some things.”