Of course, Ione would do that after her Choosing. She was mad at Belan for having the audacity to think a simple heart explosion would scare her.
She wasn’t completely braindead. With a contract, there was always a second copy.
“Can I have this?” Ione asked as she pointed at the parchment on the table.
Belan was puzzled. She clearly expected another reaction, one, that Ione refused to give her. “I-yes? Yes, you may.”
With an innocent tone, she questioned, “but how will you remember what was said on it?”
[Deception] was a hell of a drug.
Belan, still confused, gestured at the document on the table. “Another copy is automatically written elsewhere due to the enchantment. If I have any wish to change it, then I can do so. Do you have any further questions about the contract?”
“What would have happened if I didn’t sign the contract?”
The older nun nodded towards where she sat. “That chair you’re sitting on would have sent a spike through your heart. You did well to sign it.”
A chill went down her spine. She didn't get a warning for the contract, she got a warning for the damn chair. Ione was glad she decided to sign the contract. There was a small inkling that something like this would happen and while she didn’t give too much thought to it, she was glad to have gone with her gut.
The path of least resistance, indeed.
Belan looked at her. “Don’t you see the status affliction?”
“What status affliction?” Ione looked genuinely puzzled.
DING! You’ve earned the general skill: [Lying] Tier 1 LVL 1. Check the status page for more information!
Finally. When in doubt, gaslight.
The older nun stared as Ione blinked owlishly. “Is there supposed to be something in the status affliction? It’s empty.”
The nun leaned forward. "Why did you give me that look?"
"What look?" The little girl tilted her head.
"The one you gave after you had signed the contract."
"Oh! Because I felt a weird feeling in my chest. That's because of the contract right? Sorry, it startled me."
"That's all?" The older nun rasped.
"Yeah." Ione nodded.
Belan's brows furrowed and she grabbed the contract. “This can’t be," she muttered and flipped it over and and over in a frantic search. “I paid good Yora for this! I have the affliction, why don’t you?" Her gaze was locked on Ione. "Tell me the truth.”
As stated in the contract, Ione had to be honest about her status page, otherwise the consequences would get quite messy. Though, she had noticed that she had gotten a tier upgrade for [Deception] after her last sleep.
Deception… Tier 3: Deception has extended to beings of all.
The contract was a being; it was something that existed, and so, was susceptible to her skill. She was elated to know that it appeared to work on the contract. Her heart did not explode and she would have danced around Belan’s office if not for her knowledge of a potential spike waiting behind her back. It was a gamble.
Yet, it paid off. In spades.
“Maybe elves don’t get afflictions like humans? Didn’t they break the agreement that caused the war in the first place?”
“I-I…” The nun’s lips thinned, and then she closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Fine. Let’s just get you situated and then I’ll figure this out later.” She tossed the contract to Ione.
The white-haired girl didn’t say anything, except give a small nod. She knew the next course of action was to destroy Belan’s copy of the contract, and now, with the extra free time she had managed to get herself, she would be able to work on the skills she needed, uninterrupted. They both rose out of their seats, and the older nun ushered Ione to the dormroom.
As they ventured through the hallways, Coranne came upon them, and Ione’s lips thinned. She quickly looked away from the young nun, but could see her in the corner of her eye.
Time to show Coranne what a monster Belan is.
“Hey, Ione. Mother Belan. How’s it going?” Coranne said with a smile. The nun curiously glanced at Belan before her gaze settled on the little girl.
Ione turned, only to see Belan with a sour look on her face. “I just want to reiterate, Mother Belan, this contract-” she waved the document around- “states that I can’t speak with Coranne, right?”
The withered woman narrowed her eyes at Ione as Coranne’s own widened in alarm. Ione loved malicious compliance with a raging passion.
The older woman ignored her. “Sister Coranne, the elf will no longer be a part of your group. She is being transferred to a different room as well, so I will be helping her place her belongings in her new lodgings. If you would like to join us, you may, but Ione does not have permission to speak to anyone I deem she has had an influence on, which includes you.”
Coranne shook her head in an attempt to clear it. “I-okay, I’ll join, for a bit.” She quickly shot Ione a concerned look before her features smoothed over.
“Excellent.”
A crestfallen Coranne joined them, and the walk was long and awkward on account of how silent it was. Belan led in front as Ione and Coranne trailed behind and the little girl wanted to laugh at the absurdity. Deeply amused, she glanced at Coranne and the young nun met her eyes. Ione gave a reassuring smile and mouthed, ‘Belan fucked up.’ Coranne let out a breath and bestowed a small, yet confused smile.
They arrived at the dorm room and soon enough, the young nun scurried off. The white-haired girl couldn’t blame her, she imagined that Coranne couldn't stand the silent atmosphere, and Belan’s harsh presence didn’t help. Of course, a good look at her face would have helped Ione, but at that point, Belan could see her every action.
“Grab your belongings.” Belan ordered.
Ione quickly swiped her items from the trunk, relieved that she didn't have anything of importance under the secret spot she made under the bed, and then turned to Belan and said, “Okay. All done.”
The older nun nodded and then turned around with a flourish. Ione gave her a weird look. The pair walked down more hallways until she was fairly certain she knew what room they were going to, and when they stopped in front of the door, Ione was baffled. They arrived at the room that Amahn had originally taught her in.
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Welcome, old friend.
She nearly laughed.
Belan opened the door to reveal the same room, exactly as Ione remembered, save for a bed, a nightstand, a trunk and an extra lamp at the left corner. The chair, desk, and chalkboard that she was familiar with were still present.
“When were you able to get a bed in here?”
“After you had left for Amahn’s classroom.”
“So, were you waiting for the opportunity to stick me back in this room?”
“Yes.”
“Ah. Well, okay.” At least she was honest about that.
Ione placed her items in the chest, just a simple cloak, extra sandals, and a couple tunics. She kept the contract on hand.
Belan spoke. “Your teacher will come by later today for dinner. You will not be eating with the rest of the children. You will eat in a separate area, supervised. This will likely be the last time you see me before your choosing, so I sincerely hope you do not do anything to break the contract. It will have dire consequences.” She gave a shake of her head and then walked out of the room.
Dire my ass. I’ve out-swindled the swindler.
Ione heard the distinct click of a locking mechanism and she immediately went to the door. Footsteps faded into the distance and she gently closed her hand around the handle to give it a turn. Lo and behold, the handle couldn't complete a full rotation. Something to be expected and something she had hoped for.
Ione knew she could probably kick the door off its hinges, but for the sake of peace, and needed experience for a lock picking skill, she decided not to. When she sat down on the bed she looked over the contract again:
I, Ione G’alatria,
Will live at Orphanage No. 4 until the day of my Choosing, unless otherwise stated. I will have my own room and my own teacher, and will work to the best of my ability to be the most upstanding human I know I can be. I will not kill anyone. I will not injure anyone. If asked about my skills, resistances, or anything else about my status page, I will give truthful answers. I will not speak or interact with Coranne, Amahn, Fellis, Daniah, Trikka, Kraylin and Jahren. When my Choosing Ceremony happens, I will choose a class deemed appropriate by Mother Belan. I will not make a nuisance of myself and I will follow directions by my teacher or by Mother Belan. All that has been stated can be amended by Mother Belan at her discretion.
I, Mother Belan, will not kill, starve, maim, or otherwise injure Ione G’alatria while she lives in Orphanage No. 4. She will receive a proper education and her well-being will be ensured. She will have a class that befits her role in the war, and she will be guaranteed her freedom once her position is no longer needed.
Signed: Ione G’alatria.
Signed: Belan Twattis.
Heh, sounds like Bellend Twat. She snickered to herself, then shook her head in glee. All of this can be waved away because of [Deception].
She gave an evil smile. She could almost kill whoever she wanted without fear of being held accountable. Umin was next on the list. While she did want to kick the door down and kill Belan, she wasn't sure of what else the old nun could be hiding. If she had some magical spike waiting in a chair, of all things, for the prime opportunity to pierce through the hearts who unfortunately sat on it, who knew what else Belan had at her disposal? She wouldn't attempt to kill the old hoot in her room, or in her office. Those were the two most likely locations where strange magical enchantments and traps hid for an unlucky murderer. The best thing to do was to kill her when she exited the Orphanage. Which, she never did, except for when there was a choosing ceremony.
Once Belan was dead, she knew it would be time to leave the Orphanage. At that point, all attention would be on her. Too many strange things had happened, and no matter if Belan was found in a ditch, or massacred in her bedroom, there was no doubt that fingers would be pointed in her direction. So, she was going to wait for the time being. She will enjoy her new room, the solitude and the new opportunity to work on skills that she had been thinking about for a long time. She will learn from her new teacher, eat the food they provided, find Belan’s contract and throw it, along with her own, into a void crystal. She would also be sure to grab her buried items and throw those away too. At the time, she still wasn’t fully integrated into the realities of this world and what it offered, but now, she would truly utilize everything.
After all of that, then she would kill Umin.
She thought of what to tell Coranne, Fellis, and the rest of the gang. Ione knew that once she would be able to reliably pick the lock without issue, she would pay them sporadic visits. She thought of writing them letters at first, to get them used to the idea that eventually, she would be gone. That was a thought that didn't sit well with her.
Good thing she didn’t always listen to her thoughts.
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She knew leaving them would be the right course of action, she was already leagues above them in terms of skills and attributes and while she deeply cared for them, she was on a path of severe bloodshed that had no space for them. They were best suited to the…less messy aspects of life.
Her mind was brought back to the idea of enchanted contracts. Now that she knew enchanted contracts existed, she would have to watch out for them. While she was lucky that her [Deception] skill could negate the effects, and she wasn't sure if other contracts would be as susceptible. The idea of enchanted contracts should have been obvious, but that was the first time she had ever come across something like that; Belan wasn’t a devil, she wasn’t Fae, yet, the old nun had managed to get her hands on a parchment that enabled the hearts of those who signed it to explode if they breached the stipulations. Ione had barely scratched the surface of what this world offered, or what was possible.
There was nothing else she could do except wait, so with a giddiness she hadn't experienced in some time, she laid down and looked at her stats.
Status Screen
HP: 1,990 | ST: 2,435 | MP: 2,050
Name: Ione G’alatria
Race: Human-Elf
Birthday: 06/01/700 RY (Renewal Year)
Age: 9.5
Class: locked [EXP bank: 3,750 EXP]
Class skills
Passive: locked
Active: locked
Class aptitude skills: Locked
Attributes (105 points available)
Constitution: 398
Wisdom: 410
Stamina: 487
Strength: 476
Dexterity: 464
Intelligence: 586
Status afflictions (1):
Binding Contract
General Skills (26):
Davlin Standard Tier 1 LVL 1
Water Breathing Tier 4 LVL 8
Peaceful Aura Tier 4 LVL 7
Multitasking Tier 3 LVL 9
Prey Sense Tier 6 LVL 5 - New Tier!
Predator sense Tier 4 LVL 6
Sun Absorption Tier 4 LVL 8
Spatial Awareness Tier 5 LVL 3 - New Tier!
Camouflage Tier 3 LVL 7
Climbing Tier 5 LVL 5
Running Tier 6 LVL 6
Escape Tier 3 LVL 3
Survival Tier 6 LVL 5
Stealth Tier 3 LVL 8
Tracking Tier 4 LVL 4
Homemaker Tier 2 LV 4
Child Carer Tier 2 LVL 7
Swimming Tier 5 LVL 9
Intimidation Tier 5 LVL 1
Leadership Tier 1 LVL 8
Jumping Tier 4 LVL 8
Danger Sense Tier 3 LVL 7
Deception Tier 3 LVL 2
Dash Tier 1 LVL 6 - New Skill!
Skill, Resistance, and Attribute Pedagogy Tier 1 LVL 9 - New Skill!
Lying Tier 1 LVL 2 - New Skill!
Arcane perks (2):
Increased Experience Acquisition
Omniglot
Resistances (22):
Water Magic Resistance Tier 5 LVL 2 - New Tier!
Mind Control Resistance Tier 2 LVL 9
Fire Magic Resistance Tier 4 LVL 5
Resistance to Disease, Virus, and Infection Tier 4 LVL 3 - New Tier!
Piercing Resistance Tier 3 LVL 4
Plant Magic Resistance Tier 6 LVL 2 - New Tier!
Crush Damage Resistance Tier 3 LVL 7
Sun Resistance Tier 4 LVL 3 - New Tier!
Slashing Resistance Tier 5 LVL 5
Fear Resistance Tier 4 LVL 3- New Tier!
Drowning resistance Tier 3 LVL 9
Mind Reading Resistance Tier 2 LVL 8
Blast Resistance Tier 2 LVL 4
Hunger Resistance Tier 3 LVL 6
Thirst Resistance Tier 3 LVL 7
Lightning Magic Resistance Tier 2 LVL 2
Wind Magic Resistance Tier 3 LVL 3
Ice Magic Resistance Tier 4 LVL 2 - New Tier!
Cold Resistance Tier 3 LVL 3 - New Tier!
Heat Resistance Tier 4 LVL 1 - New Tier!
Pain Resistance Tier 7 LVL 8
Poison Resistance Tier 2 LVL 2 - New Tier!
Quests (7):
Find Al’Varo
Escape the Orphanage
Kill Mother Belen
Obtain the Tutorial Book
Ascend
Kill Nemoa
Kill Father Umin
Gear (none):
She had ignored her skills and resistances in favor of [Deception], but now she had the chance to really look at what was waiting for her.
Dash Tier 1: You have used [Running] and [Jumping] in conjunction to avoid a blow. You may now utilize this skill to dodge sudden hits that may come in your direction.
Skill, Resistance, and Attribute Pedagogy Tier 1: You have imparted knowledge onto others. You’ve gained an intuitive understanding into those you teach to help them acquire skills, attributes and resistances.
Lying Tier 1: You have continuously told untruths and have managed to do so successfully. You've gained the ability to lie with more effectiveness, and are more likely to remember lies that you have told.
She noticed the slow rate of progress. As the dreams lessened, the less attributes, resistances, and skills she received. She knew the dreams would run out sooner or later, as it was largely dependent on the length of days, months and years of a planets rotation, but 10 years of dreams was relatively long in comparison to her other reincarnations. Now, she was lucky to average 1 dream a week that gave a few or less attributes, skill, or resistance levels.
Prey Sense… Tier 6: If You are being watched, you can gain the maximum amount of information about the watcher/s: power level relative to yours.
Spatial Awareness… Tier 5: Radius increased to 40m
She gushed about [Prey Sense], then she looked at her resistances.
Water Magic Resistance…Tier 5: Damage negated by 60%. You may absorb some of the mana from these attacks to replenish yourself.
Resistance to Disease, Virus, and Infection… Tier 4: Damage negated by 50%
Plant Magic Resistance... Tier 6: Damage negated by 62%. You may take control over a single plant for 5 seconds
Sun Resistance... Tier 4: Damage negated by 50%
Fear Resistance... Tier 4: Fear lessened by 50%
Ice Magic Resistance... Tier 4: Damage negated by 50%
Cold Resistance... Tier 3: You can live in colder environments for 2 months without feeling cold effects
Heat Resistance... Tier 4: You can live in hotter environments for 3 months without feeling heat effects
Poison Resistance... Tier 2: You can eject poison 3x faster
As she viewed her page, her impatience to get a class grew. She was semi-immortal, so, of course, she had grown used to having nothing but time, still, she wanted immediacy. Since her status page wasn’t that different from the last time she had checked it, save for her attributes marginally increasing, as well as certain skills and resistances, she wanted to note that her time of receiving dream skills and attributes was nearing its end. They simply couldn't be relied upon anymore.
As she was looking at her stat page, she was briefly distracted by the slide of parchment underneath her door.
Ione eagerly picked it up and noticed a pebble that fell off of the second page, a deep blue in color. Before she could examine it, she noticed that [Spatial Awareness] dinged a humanoid walking away from the room, looking to the right. She decided to stay near the entryway, using the aforementioned skill so that she would know if Belan or the teacher were coming. The stone captured her attention again, and she picked it up, then noted it was weirdly greasy, so she gently wiped it, and marveled at the pretty cerulean color. Curious about the significance of the object, she opened the letter and read the contents:
Dear Ione,
I know that you cannot speak to me. I was unaware that Belan would go to such lengths to keep you isolated, enchanted contracts are forbidden, but It should have been expected. I have notified Fellis and the rest of your friends, so they are aware. I know this would be against the rules, but I thought to write you a letter. I hope it’s something you appreciate. I just wanted to let you know that you’re in my thoughts and I hope to hear from you soon. If you can’t write to me, I understand. But I will write to you again.
Also, have you noticed that Sister Vanria has started talking about me? I thought she was content making snide comments when we pass each other in the hallways, but now I hear from the other nuns that Vanria can't stop complaining about me. I think she's jealous that my girls are much better behaved than hers. It's as you say, I live 'rent free' in her mind.
Fellis has written you a note as well, it's the page after this one
Love, Coranne.
Ione stared at the letter. She really didn’t want to throw it into the void crystal. Although, the white-haired girl found it funny that she and Coranne had the same thought process of writing notes.
She switched pages and read Fellis’ letter:
Helo sister!
Im sad that we cant play anymore. I miss you already! I gave you a pretty peble. Reminds me of you. Its stuk to the note with somthing, i dont know what. Pleas dont ask.
Luv you. I want to see you! Just to make sure your okay
Ione clutched the stone. That was one thing she would keep with her, always. She looked at the area the pebble was stuck to and noticed a weird yellow substance that caused the paper to darken with moisture. She sniffed it.
Was that…butter?
A laugh was pulled from her chest. What a strange little girl.
She turned the page around, noticed that it was blank, and tried to see if there were any writing utensils on, or in, the nearby desk. It was weird how the orphanage had both pencils and quills. She wasn't sure why there was such an odd discrepancy, but if she could find either one, she would be elated. To her delight, she soon found a quill.
With a quick wrist, she wrote letters to both Fellis and Coranne, with short blurbs for the rest of the gang to warn them of what happened, and to make it out before their choosing days. There was a promise bestowed to each of them, that she would try to come and speak to them when she could. She also told them to keep up the good work and to continue working on what they talked about. Confident that she would find a way to get the letter to them, she hid it under her tunic and waited
She was extremely happy. Complete and utter peace and quiet, albeit, not exactly of her choosing, but something she preferred. Solitude was an old and welcome friend.