[An otherwise gorgeous face marred by age, luscious red hair that was starting to dry and crack, and lively green eyes.]

This was the description of Clyra Venrose within a flashback that she admits she's seen more times than what should be considered normal.

It was the description used for Thariel's mother, who used to be a concubine of a Vampire count before she was banished from the brood for one reason or another.

Honestly, the lore didn't speak much of Clyra besides the fact that she was the main motivation for why Thariel was as ruthless as she was when dealing with other vampires.

The reason why Clyra looked old even though she is only pushing her mid 30s was because her life force was taken from her by the count himself. Why? The lore didn't explain it.

For some reason, Clyra also didn't hate Thariel because of what happened, if anything, she loved her daughter even more.

And as curious as she was about why that's the case, that affection is problematic to her present plans.

Originally, way before the woman sternly looking at her was murdered by the vampire women hiding in the forest, Thariel was going to be sheltered in this house ala-rapunzel by her mother.

But since Clyra getting murdered wasn't part of her plans, she decided to try and argue her way out of this place instead, really, what else can she do? Wait for Clyra to die? Escape and then what? Get hunted down like a dog?

"Why not?" Thariel bit back, "I think I'm old enough to leave on my own,"

"Is that why you asked me your age just now?" Clyra bit back, her tone full of skepticism.

Thariel didn't want to admit the actual reason behind that question and Clyra's assumption was a good alibi as any so Thariel nodded, "yes,"

Clyra only nodded her eyes in response.

The Damphir cleared her throat, "and I also think that I look old enough that no one would bat an eye when they see me,"

"Those are all bad arguments," Clyra clicked her tongue in dismissal, "sure, you're 13, and physically, you look 16, but that's because Damphirs age faster, you still think like a child, you just don't look the part,"

"You're saying I'll get tricked," Thariel jumped the gun.

"I said no such thing," Clyra shook her head, "but let's say I did, what if you do get tricked, what then?"

"Well, you know what they say, experience is the best teacher," Thariel bit back, "I'll be fine, just let me go out there and-"

"No," Clyra denied again, "that's my decision, you're not getting out of here until I say you're getting out of here,"

Which was never going to happen unless Clyra herself dies, which will happen, eventually, but Thariel wasn't going to let this woman die just so she could leave this place! It weighs too much on her conscience damn it!

Thariel kept her silence and stared at the table, she could sneak out of this place, it wasn't a bad idea, but then she'd have to do it at night, which is the perfect time for the hags hiding in the forest to kill her.

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Her only other option was to run away while her mother was watching which was impossible.

The woman before her may not look like it, but Clyra is capable of using magic, and she's proficient at it too.

She's also a good combatant, enough that in one of the flashbacks, Clyra killed 3 of the 5 Vampires that attacked their home before going down herself.

And if she can do that, then she sure as hell can restrain Thariel if she does something as stupid as blatantly run away. Night or not.

"Prepare me then," Thariel had no choice, if she was getting out of here without risking her life, then she needed to do it with the permission of her mother.

"I'll think about it," was the answer which... Was good enough for now.

It wasn't like Thariel wasn't planning on getting stronger on her own, she also wanted to give herself a week to prepare before she leaves for the nearby village. Assuming Clyra agreed to it in the first place.

Hopefully a week is enough time for the woman to consider Thariel's request and agree to it.

"Fine, but you really should," Thariel relented, but at the same time, she also gave incentive, "I have a feeling that something in that forest is watching us,"

Clyra's eyes narrowed, hah! It worked! "again, I'll consider it, and you're a Damphir, your senses are sharper than an animal's, if you feel like something is watching, then maybe there is,"

Thariel huffed, what did the redhead even mean by that?

Also, Thariel doubted that the vampires were actually a threat without their element of surprise, Clyra could go out there right now and kill them while it's still day, it wouldn't even take her any effort to do so.

Then again, Vampires, especially counts, were known to be protective of their "brood" so that may be why Clyra was so keen on taking caution against the five hags.

"Right," Thariel nodded, she reached out and pulled the plate of food Clyra placed in front of her, she ate her breakfast in silence.

If she remembers correctly, Thariel, the original, should have a shed around here where she taught herself how to be an alchemist, apothecary, and also a bit of magic.

She wasn't sure if the shed was ever mentioned in canon- however briefly, - or if this was just a fan theory she read on some forum that she turned into head canon though.

After breakfast, Thariel went out back to check and...

She was right, it was canon, the shed in front of her was exactly as she remembered Thariel describe it as; well maintained, ominous looking, and imposing in size.

She got close to the structure and gave it a good look.

Overgrown vines crawled all over its mossy walls, the wood that made up the structure looked rotten, it was a miracle that it even lasted till this day.

But that was just how it looked on the outside, internally, things were different.

A [witch's hut], that was how Thariel's room was commonly described within the game.

The half-blood had cauldrons, shelves of monster parts and herbs alike, and half open books that revealed pages of recipes for potions next to cutting tools on her tables.

This place was also like that, everything was a chaotic, disorganized mess that left the current Thariel confused just by looking at it but there was also a sense of cohesion to it all.

She just couldn't see it, and probably never will- since Thariel decided that if she was going to work here, then she might as well organize it in a way that suits her tastes

Which is to say, less chaotic.

Books were closed and properly stacked, materials were labeled, the cauldron was cleaned, and the floor finally got to know what a broom was.

When she finished, Thariel stood inside a much more orderly shed.

Now, to actually use this place, starting with the books...

Thariel checked her tomes, she skimmed through the pages to get a general gist of what they were supposed to be.

Three were an introduction to alchemy, magic, and herbology, complete with written theories and the like, while the remaining two contained alchemical and medical recipes.

Five books in total, Thariel thought they were useless at first but then she realized that it was only true for the ones with recipes, which were redundant and downright useless when compared to her game knowledge.

The theory behind these recipes and how they work functionally was completely lost to her however.

So not all of them are useless, just the two recipe books.

She was excited to learn more about the magic system but thought that it was better to only get the basics down for now.

Thariel opened the book for magic theory and it was exactly as she thought it would be, a basic guide for how to control Surge.

These never existed in the game, as Surge, as a system, only ever existed to explain why the characters can get skills. The theory behind it was lost.

The basics is that there are channels which can be naturally found across the body of any being and according to the book, any creature intelligent enough to understand what these channels are can utilize them to cast magic by making energy flow through them.

To do that, she first needed to get used to the feeling of energy flowing inside her system which was harder than Thariel thought it would be.

She must have spent at least several hours trying to get the Surge in her system to start flowing and when she did, she kept her stinking cross-legged pose for another hour or two so that she gets used to it.

She only stopped when she was confident that she could easily repeat the process the next time.

When Thariel opened her eyes, she noticed that it was already noon and also that a plate of bread and berry spread had been placed next to her feet.

She ate it while silently contemplating about what this could mean, did Clyra agree to her request? Was this her way of saying that she did?

Thariel wasn't sure, she's never read any dialogue or lore related to the original being given food while she was in her shack, in fact, the original Thariel never mentioned this thing at all!

Regardless, she still needed to prepare, she can't just go to Streamwise empty handed after all.

The food aside, now that it was noon, she could work on her other plans, mainly; gathering slimes and then cooking them up to make more of her sunscreen as well as a ballistic suit.

The ballistic suit is a big deal too, as it's an item that can only be found in two places; the academy or a military outpost. What it does is absorb the impact of blows or hits.

Basically, it was an upgrade to the gambeson that knights wore, and usually, someone of the lower class wouldn't have access to it but she knew the item's recipe and could make one from scratch.

And to make that, she first needed slimes.

Thariel stood up, grabbed the basket and net on the wall, and then set off to nab herself some of the gel-based creatures.