Osmen’s Perspective

Osmen was scared.

As soon as Ione stepped back from ushering the others to a safe distance, the mood changed.

She could hear her heartbeat thunder in her ears and as she looked at the elven girl, Osmen knew that a monster was staring right back at her. Stone faced and wide eyed. Ione didn't look excited, but she certainly didn't look scared; she looked ready.

Suddenly, Osmen wanted to call it off. She wanted to go back to her friends and sit down and get whatever Ione was teaching over and done with so she could tell her friends not to bother, and that the elf was wasting their time.

Yet, was she wasting their time? Osmen could feel her doubts grow, but before she could give more thought to them, she heard Ione speak out.

“Ready?”

“Uh, yes!” Her voice cracked, and she quickly cleared her throat. “Yes, I'm ready!”

“Jahren, why don’t you do a 5-second countdown?” Ione asked.

“Sure! Okay, 5…”

“4…”

“3…” Osmen was hyper aware of her surroundings, and instantly noticed Ione adjusted her weight. Her friends leaned forward in anticipation and she couldn't help but wonder, are they rooting for me, or for Ione?

“2…”

“1…”

“Go!”

DING! Quest Obtained! Please refer to the quest tab to get a detailed explanation.

Before Osmen could blink, Ione was right in her face! She immediately ducked and went to tackle her ankles, but before her hands could get a good hold, the elf jumped inhumanely high off the ground.

She distantly heard gasps, but she was too focused on the white-haired girl currently high above her head. Silhouetted by the morning sun, with just a sliver of blue sky behind her, Ione’s face was entirely cast in shadow. The elf looked like a demon from her nightmares; a being that came to snatch her away from all she knew. She ran away, scared that Ione would land on her and attempted to scramble up a tree.

She was unsuccessful at first, and Osmen turned around and watched as Ione landed on both feet, right where she previously crouched. Gray eyes bored into her soul as the younger girl started an inexorable walk towards her. With haste, Osmen brought her attention back to the tree, this time able to climb, and got halfway up the evergreen before turning to see where Ione was, then she started to scream when she saw the girl climb after her at breakneck speed, not unlike a spider. She activated [Fear Resistance].

She’s gonna get me!

Hyperventilating, Osmen worked her limbs faster, adrenaline pumped through her veins and she soon screeched as a cold hand grasped her ankle.

She only had half-second to think before she felt her shoulder and leg seized, and Ione dragged her to the top of the tree.

“Don’t think I didn't catch you eyeing Fellis,” Ione murmured in her ear, before she spun Osmen twice around and then threw her over the tree line. The blonde-haired girl’s heart seized as she soared above, her fear so great that she couldn't even scream anymore.

Huh, I’ve never seen Whisperwind look like this.

As she got past the apex of the throw, her body hurtled towards the ground and she closed her eyes, to avoid the inevitable.

I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, were the thoughts repeating in her mind.

However, she opened her eyes just as Ione shot up from the tree line, her arms wrapped around the terrified girl, and then landed back down on the ground, creating a very small indentation in the earth.

Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Survive the Fight!

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She ignored the notification, instead she immediately scrambled out of Ione’s arms and blew some hair out of her face. In an effort to throw a good punch, she leapt forward with gusto and aimed a clenched fist towards the elf's face. Unfortunately for Osmen, Ione walked around the outstretched fist and simply nudged her to the ground. The extra momentum caused the older girl to face plant and Ione swiftly crouched above her, grasped her wrists before she could make a move to get up and leaned down to her ear.

“You will not touch a hair on Fellis’ head, do you hear me?”

“Get off of me!” She yelped as craned her neck to see where her friends were and they were nowhere in sight. Before she could scream for them, Ione snaked a hand across her mouth and Osmen dimly realized that Ione had thrown her in a direction where her friends weren't around.

“This is your single warning. I’m telling you right the fuck now, you. Will. Not. Touch. Fellis. You will regret it. Do you understand? Nod your head.”

She nodded. [Fear Resistance] helped keep her panic in check, but even then, she was terrified.

20% lessened my ass!

Osmen had never seen Ione act like this. The elf was normally amused, and jovial, even when she shouldn't be, but in regards to Fellis she turned into an entirely different person. Gone was the cheerfulness, now she had awoken a monster deep within the girl that had its sights set on her.

“Fellis is my sister,” Ione said, in a conversational tone. “As my time grows here, I find myself increasingly protective of her. Please, take this as a warning, the way it should be. I’m not sure what you were thinking of doing, but don’t think about it any more. Can you do that?”

She frantically shook her head. A muffled “yes,” could be heard as well.

“Perfect.” Ione released the grasp on her mouth and wrists and gripped the back of her tunic, when Ione stood up, she dragged Osmen up with her which ended with both of them on their feet. The elf lightly dusted some dirt off of her shoulders and then took a step back.

“Sorry about your shirt,” She said as she gestured to the front of Osmen’s dirty tunic. “You’re probably going to have to get a new one.”

Now, she was back to the Ione she knew. That terrified her more than anything; the knowledge that the little girl was harboring that kind of persona.

Her legs were jelly and before she could take a step she collapsed to the ground. Osmen looked up at the elf and the girl's expression scared her; Ione was smiling. Like she knew this would happen. She knew she would win, and she knew Osmen would have no choice, but to join in.

There was only one conclusion she could make.

Ione could have killed me, Daniah, Kraylin, or Trikka. At any time.

Soon , her friends and Jahren burst through the underbrush and her heart warmed at the thought that they were searching for her.

“Ione, did you win?” Daniah asked. Instantly, Osmen’s mood soured.

Her mind was brought back to what Ione said about Fellis and as she watched the elf walk towards her friends, she realized she had vastly underestimated the girl.

The skills Ione casually displayed were world shattering. Her attributes of strength, dexterity, and stamina were in a whole other class above her own.

She looked at her own [Stat Page].

Status Screen

HP: 70 | ST: 85 | MP: 60

Name: Osmen Portunda

Race: Human

Birthday: 02/10/694 RY (Renewal Year)

Age: 14.3

Class: locked (EXP bank: 450)

Class skills

Passive: locked

Active: locked

Class aptitude skills: Locked

Attributes (0 points available)

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Constitution: 14

Wisdom: 12

Stamina: 17

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 12

Status afflictions (none):

General Skills (5):

Davlin Standard LVL 1 Tier 7

Homemaker Tier 3 LV 2

Child Carer Tier 3 LVL 9

Leadership Tier 1 LVL 2

Running Tier 2 LVL 5

Arcane perks (1):

Innate Senses

Resistances (2):

Fear Resistance Tier 1 LVL 7

Cold Resistance Tier 1 LVL 6

Taken Quests (2):

Become the Mother You Wish you Had

Shut Ione’s Mouth {FAILED}

Gear (none):

INBOX

300 EXP

15 Attribute Points

Smoothie of Higher Skill

…

Accept Rewards?

She briefly looked at the rewards and shuddered. It was a reminder of how scary the elven girl was, that even surviving the fight netted her recompense for her terror.

She turned off [Fear Resistance], as she felt that she was okay for now.

Osmen was nearly 100% sure that Ione had something wrong with her. From her skills, down to her mannerisms and dual personas, there was something not right and while she wanted to whisk her friends away, they were all too focused on what the elven girl could give them, as opposed to what she could do.

Yet, she lost. If there was one thing she was, it was a keeper of her word. She had to stay, and join.

The fallen girl watched as Ione sat down on a rock across from her, and crossed her legs. Like an adult.

“Okay everyone, gather around.” A shuffling of footsteps was heard as Osmen’s friends, and Jahren, sat in a circle. “This will be the start of the most important aspect of your life. Where you can take control, and choose your own destiny.”

Before she could stop herself, she asked, “why are you helping us?”

Ione replied with, “would, ‘because I want to?’ Be enough?”

“No.” Osmen knew there was a better reason than that.

“Well, okay. I want to help you guys because you each have strengths that I value.”

The blonde girl narrowed her eyes. “Value for what?”

“Good question,” Ione hummed. "I want to create a group of people that I can rely on. In the future there are some things I plan to create and I'll want your help at some point. The question becomes, will you give it? But I don't want your answers. Not right now. I just want to entice you enough to see if you'll bite. I give you power over your own future,” she laid her palms upright, “and when the time comes I'll ask a few favors here and there.” She gently waved her right arm.

“So you plan to use us!” Osmen shouted, then stood up and pointed. “You plan to do nice things for us now, and then plan for us to be a part of your evil schemes in the future!” She looked to each of her friends and pleaded with them, “guys, please, it's so obvious what she's trying to do.”

Unfortunately, when Osmen glanced at their faces, Daniah, Trikka and Kraylin, all bore the expression of consideration, distinctly averting their eyes’.

The older girl couldn't help the panic that trickled into her brain. She grit her teeth in an effort to stave off the feeling and soon activated [Fear Resistance] again.

Ione spoke. “Osmen, sit down. You didn't let me finish.”

Osmen sat while she gnashed her teeth.

“As I was going to say…” Ione shot her a pointed look, as if to subtly tell her to ‘be patient.’ The blonde girl sniffed, but otherwise stayed quiet. “You all will have the option to decline the favors. All that I request is that you hear me out, and then decide for yourselves.”

Jahren asked, “and what if we ‘decline’?”

The white-haired girl shook her head. “‘What if’? What do you expect me to do? Kill you?”

Yes.

Osmen opened her mouth, but Ione was faster, “Osmen, don't answer that.”

The blonde girl’s lips thinned.

“You can decline all you want.” Ione continued. “Nothing will happen to you.”

Stillness took hold as everyone contemplated their options.

“Well, that sounds good to me!” Exclaimed Jahren and the rest of the girls agreed. Osmen, who succumbed to peer pressure, hesitantly agreed as well. It wasn't that the offer was bad; the option to decline was good, but she wasn't sure how much the elf’s word could be trusted.

“Perfect. So now we have to figure out the boring stuff; schedules, your stat pages. Then we have to figure out what class you each want, and I’ll devise a plan for each of you. I assume we're going to meet at the same time everyday?”

Osmen had some choice thoughts about that, and so she voiced them.

“Um, you’re not seeing my stat page.”

“But, I’ll have to in order to figure out a class plan, unless you just want to spectate?”

“I’ll just follow along, but I’m not giving you my page.” She said firmly.

The elf shrugged. “Alright then. But you can’t participate in group activities.”

“Fine.”

That went surprisingly easy.

Ione continued. “Is everybody else okay with what I said?”

They nodded and after some deliberation and planning, recess was over.

As the group were making their way back, Osmen surreptitiously glanced at the little girl who was trailing after them. She didn’t want the elf to be out of her sight lest she decided to try something. One last glance before they entered the orphanage, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Ione was staring at her.

“I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Osmen, unsettled, lifted her nose. “How do I know that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because we fought and I didn't injure you at all? Maybe because I have done nothing to hurt you, save for scaring you to not hurt the people I care about? I know you’re hanging around because you care for your friends. Have you given any thought to the idea that we’re a lot more similar than different?”

“Similar?” The blonde girl exclaimed. “Me and you?”

“Yea? At least, we both deeply care about the people we’re closest to. And I’m sure there’s more.”

“Impossible,” Osmen said with a shake of her head.

“You’d be surprised. Just a little bit of trust? Like how I trust you to not go after Fellis.”

Osmen gaped. “Trust me? Why would you do that?”

The elf laughed. “Because I want to. To receive trust, you have to give some in return and believe it or not, I know you have potential. It’s just a matter of if you’ll do anything with it.”

“I have the potential to provide great soldiers to our kingdom. That's what I've been told I'll do and that's what I'm going to do.” The blonde girl jutted her chin.

“That’s the propaganda talk, but suit yourself. You're going to miss out.” Ione hummed.

Propaganda talk? She didn't even know what that meant.

Before Osmen could shoot a snarky reply back, Kraylin turned around and gave her a look that said, ‘are you done?’ The blonde decided to take the high road and say nothing.

~~~~~

As time went on and their recess was taken over by Ione, Osmen couldn’t help but slowly begin to trust her.

Despite the scare, she could feel how deeply the girl cared about the group. She was patient, kind, and nurturing. It was absurd how those traits came from an 8-year-old and as they had learned about reincarnators, Osmen was nearly sure Ione was one. She had tried to rope her friends into a conversation about it, but soon gave up when she realized how little they cared about it, which was a result of how much they were progressing.

Osmen felt like she was missing out. Two months later, the blonde-haired girl regretted the decision she made. She didn't want to be a spectator anymore, she wanted to join in. Everyday the rest of the group played a different game; tag, kings and pawns, tug of war, tree climb racing, freeze, and hide and seek, while she sat on the sidelines. She was familiar with tag, hide and seek, and tree climb racing, but all the others sounded like she just made them up, which Osmen concluded to be a result of the elf having more memories and skills than others.

Even Fellis, the little girl that looked at Ione in adoration, joined their merry band of unlikely friends. Osmen completely ignored her as she had taken what Ione said to heart.

I’m stupid, but not that stupid.

Ione encouraged Jahren to include a couple of close friends, but he refused, his mood soured at the idea. Osmen wasn't privy to what they spoke about after the boy requested a private conversation with Ione, but he seemed chipper after the discussion. He was slowly growing on her as his crush seemed to diminish. She remembered the very brief date they had, and it was lackluster at best on account that she didn’t really participate in it. She had regretted doing it, and now felt bad that she didn’t put her best effort in. Not that she had wanted his affection, but he did a favor for her, and she treated him like the dirt she walked on. She knew he didn’t deserve that. The lingering glances disappeared and she wondered if they could be friends at the very least. Osmen had never really wanted to know him, but his interactions with her friends painted him in a positive light. He was encouraging, teamwork oriented, and determined. Jahren would make a great friend and could see the value he brought to the group.

Over time, her gaze towards Ione became less hard and more pleading. Her pride disallowed her from asking to join, rather, she wanted Ione to offer the same opportunity again so that she could graciously accept, as if she was doing the elf a favor. She didn't even mind Ione knowing her stats at this point. Daniah, Kraylin and Trikka gushed everyday about their gains and Osmen had no choice but to force a smile. Of course, she was happy for her friends, yet she also wanted to join in on the conversation, share how far she’d gotten and receive the congratulations she had started to desperately want to hear.

The blonde-haired girl only had 4 more months until she turned 15, and that weighed on her. She didn't have much time left before she would choose a child caring class, and then she would start having babies, the pinnacle of womanhood. Yet, did she want that? The more she saw her friends play, grow and develop more skills and attributes, she wanted to join in. She tried to reason with herself.

Just because I don’t want a class focused on childcare, doesn't mean that I wouldn't be allowed to have babies. I can adventure, and then have all the babies I want!

It was as Osmen pondered this, that Ione asked her the fabled question.

“Osmen, are you sure you don’t want to join?”

The older girl stared at the elf before she huffed.

“Ugh. I guess. If you insist.” She rolled her eyes. Ione smiled, and Osmen decided to ignore her.

She wouldn't be left out anymore, that was for sure.