Waking up to the sound of knocking, I get up and rub my eyes. I felt groggy and sore, my right leg was very sore, like I had been standing on it for a few days. Getting out of the bed slowly, I stumble a bit before putting on the dress that I received from Flannery. Opening the doors, my eyes met with Jessica.
Bowing slightly, Jessica meets my eyes again. “A message from Elise. Head to the Guild by midmorning. It’s important and can not be delayed.”
“S-sure.” Stifling a yawn, Jessica continues staring at me.
“One last thing.” Reaching a hand out, she pats my head and smiles slightly. “Good work.”
Feeling a bit confused, I watch as Jessica leaves before I close my door and touch where Jessica had patted my head. What was that about?
Picking up the sleepy Alice who’d just woken up, I made my way to the bath, planning to head to the guild shortly after breakfast. Seems like the plans I had made last night would have to wait.
***
Finishing our breakfast, I noticed it was still very early in the morning, the sun having just risen, if I was to head out now I’d be very early. Knowing I had some time, I grabbed the bag of Gale Ant cores and the book about bonded pets. The Gale Ant cores would help grow my Wind magic, or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Grabbing one and throwing it into my mouth, I started reading.
After an hour of reading, and a dozen cores, I closed the book and went over everything I’d learnt. According to the book, bonded pets levelled differently than anything else. The reason was unknown, but a rule of thumb the book said was to triple the bonded pets current level and add 5 more levels and it will show roughly what level they were according to how everything else levelled.
Looking towards Alice, I saw she was level 7, and according to the booklet, she’d be around level 26. Frowning, I bring up her stats.
Stats
Alice
Strength: F 50 Agility: F
50
Intelligence: F+ 160 Toughness: F+ 160
Crossing my arms, I knew just by looking over her stats they were much lower than mine. According to the book, this was normal as evolution will make a bonded pet much stronger, but it never said how much stronger. Her only spell currently was Blindness and I wasn’t sure how she’d learn more, the book never covered that.
Another topic it covered was about the link between bonded pets and their owners. There were three types of bonds you can form, one of which is a Blood Oath, which is how we were bonded. The Blood Oath bonding method means there is a link between Alice and I, and it continues to grow as we level. At first, it’ll be a faint mental link, we could feel each other's feelings. Then it becomes deeper, stronger. At a certain point, it’ll allow the use of each other's magic. Which meant I could use Darkness magic, and Alice could use all of my magic.
Even if we could use each other's magic, if we weren’t proficient in it then it would be best not to use it. The book stated this could happen under intense situations, such as the attack with the bear, where our lives are on the line. This could be temporary or permanent, and the way to tell was if the System told you. Checking my Status and notifications, I didn’t see anything except for one notification, and pinching the bridge of my nose, I had forgotten about a notification.
Emergency Unique Quest, Kill the Enslavers has been completed. Rewards available.
Recalling, I realised I had planned to open this after the massacre but Elizabeth had awoken so I never checked it. Checking the notification, I felt a shock go through my body.
Kill the Enslavers Rewards:
200,000 Experience
50,000 Class Experience
Unique Title: Monster
You have levelled to 28!
Gained the following Stats:
Agility: +40
Strength: +30
Intelligence: +25
Toughness: +5
You gain 10% more Stats due to Aspiring Hero, you gain the following:
Agility: +4
Strength: +2
Intelligence: +2
Toughness: +0
Health increased to 2,500.
Lunar Mana Increased to 19,000.
Your Class, Lunar Fist of the Wind, has increased to 2.
Your control over Lunar and Wind Magic has been greatly enhanced, giving you an additional tier to both.
+2 Stat Rank to Strength.
+2 to Agility
-1 to Toughness
You have a stronger affiliation for Wind Magic.
Seeing the information about my Class levelling up, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I had gained experience twice for it, but to suddenly get so much gave me a shock. Looking at the Toughness being lowered a rank, I felt despair. Agility had been increased to C+ and Strength went up to D+. Seeing these changes surprised me, Teacher Lee had told me months ago that raising these ranks a single time would take years of effort, yet they had increased quickly for me. I also felt a strangeness coming from my mana realm, is this the feeling that Ash told me about so long ago in Zalus? Deciding to leave it for now since I did not have much time remaining, I decided to discuss this with Elise to see if she knew the reason for my Stat Ranks changing so often. Looking at the last thing I received from the System, I found it to be a new title.
[Unique Title: Monster.
You have proven yourself to be a true monster, massacring humans is in your very nature. This title will continue to grow the more you kill.
Current Title Rank: Elite
Humans killed: 14/50
Current Stat Bonus: 20% to all Stats.]
[Your Stats have been updated.]
Stats
Alisha, the Aspiring Hero
Strength: D+ 316 (+63)* Agility: C+ 562 (+112)* Intelligence: D- 241 (+48)* Toughness: F- 93 (+18)*
Current Bonuses: Monster Title
Blinking twice, I reread the new title. I didn't hate it either, but rather found it surprising that I had received such a title. Opening my Status, I saw that it had been added to my name.
Elite Aspiring Hero, Alisha
“The…titles combined? Or does it show differently if you have multiple?” Feeling rather confused over it, I felt a bit glad my title wasn’t just saying “Monster” or something. Seeing my Stats, I became rather concerned. Is it normal to have Stats so high?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Looking outside, I got up and prepared myself to head to the Guild. I figured I needed to meet with Elise and ask her all of these questions that I had. For so very long all I’ve had is questions and no answers when it came to the System, and I figured it would be best to get answers. Putting my hood on to prevent the Church from finding me in the streets, I put Alice on my head under it and left my room.
***
Arriving at the street that led to the Guild, I made my way to a cafe and sat down. My body was slightly sore, but my regrown leg was throbbing painfully. Elise did say it was untrained, and it certainly acted like that. Rubbing my leg softly, a young girl in a black dress wearing a white apron approached me.
“Would you like to order?”
Keeping my head low, I simply responded “Sorry, I don’t. I just stopped to let my injured leg rest.”
“Ah, if madam is injured, we do have a medical drink that can help alleviate the pain. It only costs 2 Silver coins.”
Pursing my lips, I decided to take her up on the offer as I handed her 2 Silver coins. She quickly returned with a bottle with a thick, green liquid sealed inside. Handing it to me, I open it and smell a very strong bitter odour coming from it.
“It’ll be best if madam pinches her nose before downing it in one go.” Nodding, I do as she says and down it. The aftertaste was nasty, making me want to bring it back up. Keeping it all down, I hand her the bottle back.
“Wouldn’t a healing potion be better?”
“Madam makes a good point, however this medicinal drink helps to relieve pain more effectively. A healing potion recovers injuries, it doesn’t help pain, the pain only goes away because the injury does. Madam is suffering from leg cramps, so this medicinal drink will help much more than a healing potion would.”
Not quite understanding the difference completely, I noticed the difference almost right away. The pain from my leg dissipated quickly, and the muscles relaxed. Breathing with relief, I decided to ask her if I could buy a few bottles, and seeing her nod, I asked for five, handing her 10 Silver coins.
Returning once again with the bottles, she gave me advice. “Don’t drink another until at least tonight, after the sun sets. It’s strong and will last most of the day, drinking too much will…let's say cause problems a lady could do without.” Smiling sweetly, she spoke once again. “Is madam an adventurer?”
Nodding, she looked towards the Guild. “I see. It seems there is some sort of celebration or announcement today, a lot of adventurers have been heading there today saying they had been summoned. My guess is they are acknowledging those who performed well or died during the monster tide. I hope you have a wonderful day madam.” Bowing slightly, the young girl moved to another table.
Putting the bottles away, I got up and was relieved that my leg didn’t feel tired, in fact it felt stronger than this morning. The soreness all over my body had also disappeared. Smiling at this, I made my way to the Guild.
***
Arriving before the Guild building, I saw the doors to the building were closed with two fully armoured guards standing there. Guild attendants were directing adventurers to continue walking up the street to another location. Feeling a bit confused, I had thought the Guild was where I had to come to. Before I could turn to follow the rest of the adventurers, I felt a danger from behind me. A feeling that I’d only felt once before at the inn.
Death.
Invoking my Wind magic as strongly as I could, I poured Lunar magic into my fists as I used Star Dust Fist. Pivoting on my foot as quickly as I could, I threw a fist with as much power as I could. It slams into something hard. Snow all around myself and the figure exploded outwards as I heard surprised cries of people around me. I felt my fist be grabbed as I was pulled towards the figure. I felt something on my neck.
Struggling, I looked at the person who’d attacked me and saw it was Elise. Looking down at me sternly, a thick bloodthirst came from her as she released me.
“Slow! You’d have been dead before you even invoked your magic.” Looking around us, she shouted to our surroundings “What’re you all looking at? Hurry up, the ceremony will start soon.”
Looking around, I saw adventurers of all kinds, some shocked while others had their weapons drawn, looking threateningly at me. Matching their stares without backing away, I watched as they slowly put their weapons away and continued walking.
“Come with me.” Facing Elise again, she grabs my hand before roughly pulling me into the Guild, past the two guards. A bit surprised at how Elise is acting, she continued to drag me into another room before releasing my hand. Turning to me, she put her hands on her hips and looked at me angrily.
“I told you to stay and rest! Leaving like that caused my heart to skip, only to hear you and Aubrey went and did a request for some tavern! Alisha, did you forget that you’re being targeted by a bunch of fanatics?!”
Elise stomps her foot down. “Stupid! Be more careful.” Sighing, she shakes her head. “Well, I can’t completely fault you. Aubrey is at fault as well, and you’re not exactly the kind to stay shut inside.” Pursing her lips and looking me up and down, she sighed once again. “Well, at least you’re still wearing that hood. Don’t worry about wearing it in the Guild. Adventurers tend to be…protective of fellow adventurers, even those at Black Grade will come to rescue a Bronze Grade.”
Biting my lip and looking down, I felt a bit guilty at her words. I hadn’t given any thought about staying in that room. Walking over, Elise removes my hood before patting me on the shoulder.
“Just be more careful, okay? I’m responsible for your safety. I’ve investigated the Church, and other than the Archbishop, they won’t be a threat to you once you’re about level 60. Though I still don’t know why they’re targeting you to the point of paying to teleport a level 100 monster to your location. Do you know why?”
Hesitating, I looked up at Elise. Biting my lip again, I nod. As I’m about to explain, Elise stopped me. “Alright, let's talk later. I’ll put off everything this afternoon to talk to you. I’m sure you’ve got questions for me as well. For now, I need to talk to you about why you’ve been summoned here. You may enter, Sir.”
Hearing the door open behind me, I turn to see a familiar person enter. It was Roland, the Royal Guard who had assisted me when I first entered Vale. Looking at me, Roland gave me a stern nod before turning to Elise.
“What does she know?”
“I haven’t said anything yet, sir.”
“Very well. Young Alisha, take a seat, please.”
Sitting down on one of the couches, Roland sat on the one opposite to me as he stared deeply at me. Feeling a bit nervous, Roland gave me a smile.
“I do feel the need to apologise to you, Alisha. I led you to the Church of the Moon Goddess and failed to ensure your safety. You had good instincts though, running like that without hesitation surprised me, but it seems to have saved your life.” Reaching into his pocket, he handed me a thin booklet.
“Consider this an apology from me. It’s a high level Lunar spell I ’acquired’ from the Church of the Moon Goddess earlier today. I believe it will serve you well.”
Looking at the book, it had a gorgeous night sky as its cover. I could’ve sworn there was a faint glow coming from it. The title of the book was written within the stars, Starfall. Thanking Roland, he waved at me.
“Don’t mention it. Consider it both as an apology and as a gift for saving the lives of those in the slums. Now, onto business.”
Leaning forward, Roland looked at me seriously. “The Guild is hosting a ceremony for the recent monster tide. The ceremony focuses on celebrating and rewarding those that performed exceptionally well, and mourning the deaths of adventurers. The Guild will be acknowledging you during the ceremony, for your performance in killing a level 100 monster while only level 27.
“Now, I’m here to give you some advice. While it’s not unheard of for someone low level to kill a higher level being, those cases don’t compare to yours. I’m sure Elise has knocked it into your head already, however I will remind you to not let this inflate your ego. The last thing I want to see is the young girl with a cute raven dying in some ditch because she believed herself to be stronger than she really is. You nearly killed yourself casting that spell, in fact you would’ve done so if not for timely help.
“You will be celebrated, many people will want to drink, eat and talk to you. Many will see you as a hero, I’m sure you’ve heard of the rumours already of a silver-haired fox girl being celebrated as the hero of the slums. However, with such fame will come those who want to defame you. Jealousy runs rampant amongst humans, adventurers are the worst for it. My advice to you is to keep your head down, wear that hood whenever you come to the Guild and soon they will move onto the next big thing.
“That does not mean you can not be proud of the achievement. And you should be proud, you saved hundreds of lives. If not for you, that bear would’ve rampaged for three minutes before a team arrived to deal with it. Instead, that team…no, nevermind.”
Watching as Roland sighs and leans back, I thought over what he said. “What about the others? If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to cast that spell.” Roland turned his gaze to Elise, who offered a nod, before returning his focus to me.
“The Guild only acknowledges those that contribute the most. While Bloom, Amelia and Leon all assisted, they ultimately did not do any damage to the Elite Disaster-Class Bear. Meanwhile, Elizabeth did not contribute in the slightest. Aubrey on the other hand contributed by ensuring you lived long enough to cast the spell, and maintaining your life shortly after.
“Do not worry, the Guild has offered them a small reward in private. Due to you dealing the killing blow, you will be acknowledged as the one who saved the lives of those in the slums. Don’t worry, you can still share that achievement with your friends, this is just how the Guild operates. If we reward everyone who contributed it would go against the reason why we host these ceremonies, which is to motivate people.”
Understanding what he meant, I decided to leave it there. I was still fully digesting everything he’d told me, especially the advice on how to handle the fame Roland had told me about.
“Well, that’s why I requested you to be summoned here early today. I had thought it best to talk and offer you this advice. You’re quite the popular topic amongst the Royal Guard as well, not often is anyone willing to put their life on the line to save others in such a manner. If you ever want to join the Royal Guard Alisha, come find me. We’ll accept you at any time.”
Standing, he turns to Elise. “It’ll leave the rest to you. Young Alisha, I’ll see you soon.” Nodding to me, he leaves the room as Elise sits.
“An invitation to the Royal Guard isn’t to be taken lightly, Alisha. Though, I would advise against it, after all, your goal is to return home. The Royal Guard must take an oath to remain in Vale or perish with the city, it would quite literally tie you down here.”
Nodding to her words, I appreciated her telling me that. I ultimately wanted to return to Crater Hell, not be tied down here. Crossing her legs and leaning back, Elise looks me up and down.
“The ceremony will begin in about thirty minutes. While that dress looks good, it’s not quite what an adventurer would wear. Did you have your adventurer clothing?” Nodding, I took my spare set out. Smiling, Elise said “Good, wear that instead. Another thing, get some more clothing to wear when you’re not heading to the dungeon. I’d recommend four or five different sets, mix it up a bit. Make it harder for the Church to find you. You’ll need to move from the inn as soon as possible as well…well, that might actually happen…”
Standing, Elise headed out of the room. “Get changed and come meet me outside. I’ll lead you to the ceremony. And don’t wear a hood. The Branch Master has ordered that you can not wear it, and for a good reason as well, one I can not inform you of.”
As she exits the room, I lean back and exhale deeply. I felt my mind spinning with tiredness already and the day had barely started. Everything that Roland said to me was still on my mind. Picking Alice up off my head, I looked down at her while smiling. “That sure was rather…long wasn’t it.” Stroking the top of her head, Alice leans into my hand.
After a minute, I got changed, put the hood away as Elise said and met her outside. Following her lead, we exited from the Guild building and made our way further up the street.