The door I entered appear to have been some kind of kitchen door, possibly to ease the transport of food and stuff. After climbing a few stairs, I find myself in the first room I can truly call a kitchen in this world. Previously, there has only really been a "main room" where cooking, eating, and general being in takes place. Sometimes there aren't even bedrooms. The few times I have been in places, where there might be kitchens, like the count's manor or the association, I have only been in the dining area.

As I walk around, searching for Atna, I quickly run into a piece of trouble, that being I don't know the layout of the palace at all. My read allows me not to cross the path of anyone else, but I have no idea where she is. My first instinct was to look in some kind of basement, a dungeon maybe, but I can't find any stairs or the like leading downstairs, though I know there is one, since my read gets a few signals from below.

In addition, more and more signals are starting to move around. My power activates pretty early in the morning and I am used to be among the earliest up, when I fall asleep, but with less than an hour till that time, people are starting to move about the mansion. As I am passing in a hallway, my read catches someone who is right next to a door close to me. Panicking, I rush there and as soon as the door opens, I tackle the person, holding my hand over their mouth and my sword to their throat.

It appears to be an old maid. I briefly remember my grandma. Damn, why didn't I have enough luck for this to be her? Well, this could still be a boon to me. Panicking a little, I exert pressure and speak in a low voice, but as intimidating as I can.

"No screaming, or I kill you. Answer my question and stay quiet about me, and you can leave as if nothing happened, understand?"

She is clearly terrified. Shit I feel like a scumbag, but she nods her head none-the-less.

"A girl should have been brought here recently, do you know where she is?"

She nods slowly.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"I'm gonna remove my hand and you are going to tell me how I can get to her, and I am reminding you, scream and you are dead".

She looks like she about to cry, but still nods. Fuck, why do I have to do this? Shitty world, shitty nobility, shitty game we were playing.

As I remove my hand she speaks in a shaking, hoarse voice "Continue down the hall. You will get to large room. Up the stairs and the hallway to the left, the third door on your left, she is being held there" Thank god I didn't end up down in the dungeons then.

I nod. "Really sorry about this, and thank you." I don't know what to do with my guilt, so I give her some blue coins from my pouch, which she hesitatingly accepts.

I use read to check for a clear coast and move. I can duck into many empty rooms along the way, and I do so close to the great hall, since there is a decent amount of traffick here. Shit, when will it clear up?

It takes nearly twenty minutes of waiting, but I sense an opening and go as quickly as I can without making too much noise. In the middle of the room, I sense people are starting to move. Shit, I have nowhere to fucking go! Don't come here! Don't see me!

But my prayers aren't answered. "Intruder!" Is yelled loudly and I immediately break into a sprint following the directions I was given. But more bad news, I recognize a small cluster of signals are at my location and as I enter the hallway, I see two guards standing outside the door. Fuck!

I quickly create a spike like the one I used on a guard outside and throw it hastily, but I am already noticed and it is parried away. I read my sword and shield and charge in anyway. I try to use bestowal, but panic strikes me as I can't. I run out of mana in the middle of constructing the pattern, shit. Luckily there shouldn't be long left before I get my refresh, but right now I have two people in front of me, and some chasing me, this is bad...

I see my only option is to overwhelm the guards in front of me quickly, but my strikes are met with parries and returns and my anxiousness grows to incredible levels. I hear an "Over here" behind me. I have to do some drastic shit again.

I block one sword with my shield and immediately grab another coming towards me with a free hand, yanking him as hard as I can towards me. He is thrown off balance, and I slash my sword deep into the side of his neck. As I tug it free again, I stumble a little, and lose balance, in which the other guard sees an oppurtunity to deliver a blow. It cuts deep into my shoulder, which starts bleeding profusely and I can feel myself losing all strength in my shield arm. I regain my stance, but as I do, I feel a cut in my back. I didn't even sense them approaching, being caught up in what was in front of me.