Every day washed by like the repetitive dance of a moth to a flame. The shuffling of skeletons, the groans of a wandering zombie, and the occasional visit by Mr. Bones. For the past four years, this was Pell’s reality. This damn reality that he could do nothing about.

Yet, a new thread was sewn into the fabric. A recent change that angered him just as much as it gave him hope. A little girl—one with amnesia so severe she may have well been a newborn child. She lacked any concepts and even the simplest of words, even though she looked old enough to hold conversation. Dressed in such lavish apparel, yet lacked the guards that would normally accompany a person with such status.

Faint rustling of papers from behind him punctured the silence. The sound barely caught his attention, as he chose to ignore it entirely.

An entire week and a half had passed by since the arrival of the little brat. Despite such a short time, she had been learning at a quite rapid pace. Her learning curve was impressive—was it innate talent, or perhaps it was simply her regaining her memories she had once lost? Either way, her learning speed satisfied him—mainly because she stopped repeating words and jumping around like a rabbit.

“Pell! I’m…done with the book,” came the soft voice.

The sound of a book clapping shut came, followed by the quiet pitter-patter of little shoes approaching from behind. Pell straightened and twisted around atop his stool to face the little girl.

“I’ve read from beginning to end, in-including th-the bolded words at the end,” she said, trying not to stutter.

“You mean the glossary?”

“Uh-uhm…” she stammered, flipping through the pages of the book. “Yes! The um, glossary,” she confirmed, closing the book once more.

Pell gave out a sigh. No one ever reads the glossary, but whatever. “Alright, so you know what things like parties, dungeons, and classes are now?” Pell asked.

“I think so! Dungeons are places where monsters live, parties are groups of people who kill monsters, and classes are what they specialize in,” she replied promptly.

“Well…that’s not entirely incorrect, I guess. Could use a bit more detail, but that’s good enough,” Pell continued. That was a rudimentary explanation of the terms. Although it definitely left some details to be desired. “Well, now you should at least know some basics. You should be able to check your status and finally read it now.”

This was the moment of truth. He could finally learn who the hell this girl was, and if she was still in a party.

“O-okay,” she said.

After a few days of reading books, she had seemed to become less…childish. She had relaxed considerably and adopted a softer and more timid way of speaking. Pell wasn’t sure why this was the case, but it was better than the annoying personality she had before.

“Status,” she said.

Her gaze moved towards the blue transparent screen that appeared before her eyes. She read what she saw out loud so Pell could hear it.

Name: Enya Empyria

Level: 0

EXP: 0/10

Class: Unassigned

Skills: Mana Detection [D-], Mana Control [E+], Perception [D], Sage’s Insight [B]

Titles: High-Noble, Realm Hopper, Apprentice of Terran

The shock and surprise that washed over Pell was so immense, it left him reeling as she read off her stats. His entire body shook, and it felt like his jaw had dropped to the floor.

“Um, Pell… your jaw fell,” the girl said, looking over when she heard a clack!

Pell ignored the girl’s comments, as he was mentally trying to organize the information in his head. Her level and skills were unusual—well, extremely unusual. Her level was zero, which was almost unheard of for a girl at her age. But no, that wasn’t the surprising part—it was her titles that caused him to freeze up.

“Realm hopper…” Pell muttered, voice craggy without his jaw. He himself carried that title—an indicator of someone who traveled between layers, whether it be to ascend, or descend. He had started off as a peasant in the first layer and ascended to the second layer only six years ago. But seeing a young girl like her with the realm hopper title, in the second layer of all places and not the third or higher? This was an intriguing matter, but it paled in comparison to the other title.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The first title that she held was what caused his bones to rattle. It was obvious that the little girl—Enya—was a noble, given her extravagant attire. A fine silken material combined with such delicate craftsmanship—it was otherworldly. On any day, commoners could be seen sporting shirts, tunics, or even donning armor. Enya’s robe—one side cascading over the other, a cinch at the center, and an unorthodox shoulder design… It was truly extraordinary, and a style he had never seen before.

But no, Enya wasn't just a noble. She was a High-Noble. Pell clenched his fingers and popped his knuckles subconsciously. Meeting a High-Noble was an extremely rare encounter, especially for a commoner like him.

There were nobles in every realm. It's just how aristocracy and governments worked, no matter where you were. But high-nobles were a different breed. Even in the fourth layer, there were only a couple dozen High-Noble families, and they each held immense influence. Regular nobles were plentiful, but High-Nobles hailed from places above the fourth layer, and seldom ventured down. This was common sense that even children in the slums would know.

Pell found it hard to get words out—partially because his jaw was still lying on the floor.

Meeting a High-Noble was like meeting royalty in the third or fourth layers…probably. He didn’t actually know which was more rare. Having an audience with a king, or simply meeting a High-Noble? Normal people wouldn’t ever need to answer this question.

Pell stared at the brat, scrutinizing her confused and worried expression—one that did not befit nobility or royalty.

Calming down, he crouched down to pick up his jaw, and snapping it back into place with a satisfying clink. Pell took a deep breath as he stood back up. Or, at least, what would have been a deep breath—missing lungs and all.

The last title she held seemed to be a hint at who she actually was. She was the apprentice of a person named Terran. The name Terran didn’t ring any bells, but that was probably to be expected. There was no way Pell would know about the dealings of High-Nobles. But even though that title could hint at her identity—what happened to everyone else?

Enya tilted her head as she looked at Pell’s shocked expression. “Pell?”

Lost in thought, Pell ignored her call. His mind raced, thinking of different scenarios and situations. In a matter of moments, an overwhelming number of questions crowded his mind, far surpassing the number of questions he pondered over in the past week.

Where was her party? Where were her guards? Did she actually come here all alone? The system could register party members, so surely she should have read their names off if she was in one. But if she didn't read them off, then that meant she was not in a party with anyone else. However, another issue had been persistently worrying him. Something that bothered him ever since he first met her.

Pell was about to speak, but his words didn’t come out. He wanted to ask, but it was obvious she didn’t know the answer to his question. It was something he questioned once, but it seemed trivial and unlikely. However, that same question rose back up to the forefront of his mind. Was there a chance that she was never in a party to begin with?

The girl's origins were honestly quite odd. He only assumed that she had amnesia, but it's not like he ever confirmed it. She had seemingly popped up out of nowhere, with no signs of traveling gear or guards. There were no traces of any other person in the dungeon. Complete silence loomed the hallways like they always did. No sounds of conversation, footsteps, or any fighting.

Pell held a conflicted expression. “Your stats…” Pell muttered.

Her stats…they were terrible. How did a noble like her have stats like that? Her level was zero, and she hadn’t ascended to a class yet. Given her age, how was that even possible? Most children at an orphanage had classes, and they would be even younger than this girl.

However, her skills were surprising. Four separate skills at level zero? As far as he knew, it wasn’t possible to even obtain more than one or two skills before obtaining a class. Three of them sounded blatantly obvious at what they did. But that last one, Sage’s Insight—what the hell was that skill?

Pell shook his head. Skills and all of that didn’t matter right now. "Hey... you don't happen to remember anything now, do you?"

"Uh, no?" she replied, after taking a moment to think.

“You… you said that you were a High-Noble…Enya?”

Enya looked at him with a perplexed expression. After a few moments, she finally understood. “O-oh, I’m Enya,” she chuckled. “Sorry, I thought you said a word I didn’t know yet.”

She glanced back at the transparent panel and read over the lines once more. “Yeah, it says I have a title called ‘High-Noble’.”

Pell winced. “Do… you know what that is?”

“No?”

She looked even more confused than before. She obviously had no clue why Pell had been so antsy ever since she read off her stats.

Pell’s mind raced as he thought of how to deal with the situation. He thought for a few moments before deciding on the best course of action. Act normal. It would be odd if he completely changed his personality now. And besides, it was only a little girl. Hell, she didn’t even know about her own status.

Pell thought back to when he had swung a sword at the girl’s neck when they met. He cringed upon the realization of what consequences would have befitted his actions. Perhaps it was fortunate that the girl suffered from amnesia.

He straightened and looked at her in his usual demeanor, “Well, alright. Just forget about it for now, I guess. You know what nobles are, right? People with a lot of power and prestige? You should have read plenty of books with nobility included in the plots.”

“Y-yeah. I know what nobles are, but what is a High-Noble then?” she asked.

Coughing, Pell replied calmly, “They are basically like normal nobles, but… more… strong. They are better than regular nobles.”

The little girl’s eyes brightened up. “So I’m actually really, really, awesome?” she asked, clutching her hands together.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re amazing, brat.” Pell’s body froze. He had been calling her a brat this entire time. Calling a High-Noble a brat? He may have well just thrown a pie made of horse feces at the ruler of a nation.

Glancing down at the girl’s still-shining eyes, the tension in his body slowly released. Just act like normal. She still has amnesia. There’s no point in trying to appeal to her now. He thought.