Oena was excited as the spot before her throne lit up with the magic of the hero summoning. She eagerly leaned in as the form began to materialize.

“What?”

Tess opened her eyes as the flash of light died down. She saw a woman sitting before her on a seat of polished stone. It looked rather uncomfortable to her, but the woman sitting on it seemed confused. Her brow was furrowed in focus and her blue eyes shown with concern as they flicked back and forth. She finally leaned back, brushing a stand of blond hair back behind her ear.

“I didn’t realize that it would be two,” said the woman.

“Two?” said Tess.

“You think I would let you jump in front of me?” Olivia demanded.

Tess turned around, seeing the spiteful… apprentice? No, that was not the right term anymore. Just calling her an acquaintance should do.

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me? That you hated me?” Tess commented.

“I do,” Olivia pushed past Tess, “Oh goddess, please listen to me! See this imposter before us that has come to destroy all that you hold precious!”

“What?” Tess asked in disbelief.

“This one spews nothing but deception! See how she has stolen all the things that I was to bring with me? How will I save the world against such a vile being?” Olivia continued, unperturbed by Tess’s interruption.

The woman seemed just as shocked.

“Silence. I, Oena, shall make the decision. My world is threatened by a concentration of evil, a demon lord. As such, I have brought you, a hero, to bring salvation to my people.”

Oena paused, unsure of which hero to point towards. There were not supposed to be two. She could only grant power to one. But which one was worthy? In the span of seconds, one had spoken degradingly of the other. Yet the other seemed unfazed.

“Give me your names,” Oena commanded.

“I am Olivia. A devout believer of the great powers wielded by the gods! When I was selected, I could only rejoice for my faith had finally been acknowledged and rewarded!”

Tess raised an eyebrow in amusement. Considering Olivia had appeared in the Tutorial dazed, confused, likely drunk, and had immediately passed out, that she was attempting to spin such an elaborate lie was bold.

“I see,” replied Oena.

“Theresa, but please call me Tess. I was selected a while ago but I got stuck. But I’m here now.”

“You… got stuck?”

“It’s a long story. But simply, we all train at this one place, and I was there a long time. The only reason she might be any good is that I trained her too,” Tess said, pointing at Olivia.

“What she says is a blatant falsehood!” Olivia cried out, “It was I who trained her! She is just not a very competent student, and then she had the audacity to insult me! She then forced me to be brought before your greatness, goddess Oena! I’m unworthy to be in your presence and desire to return. Yet I fear that I will be unable to do so.”

Olivia was laying it on thick. This was not the result of some skill or statistic though. This was natural skill, gained only from routine practice outside of the bounds of the System. Tess recalled that some of the first things out of Olivia’s mouth were threats and demands. If her statements about hating Tess were true, then everything she said when they had seemed to grow friendly was likely a lie too. Tess had known it was possible, but that Olivia had become so open made her throw away such a notion.

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“Is this the real you? Is your name even Olivia at all?” Tess asked.

Olivia began to cry. Tess has fairly sure it was fake, given the act she had been putting on so far.

“See, Oena! She denies even knowing me! When I gave her so much.”

Tess’s anger was rising. She had never been truly angry at any of the apprentices she had cared for during their brief tenure. Olivia was the first to truly get to her. Tess brought out a simple looking staff, though it was a very powerful one disguised with Appearance.

“Silence,” Tess said.

Olivia’s mouth was instantly covered with a magical gag, preventing her from speaking. Tess advanced on her and slapped her yet again. Olivia spun around yet again as the impact was so forceful, as Tess had not held back this time. There had been a cracking of bones at the impact. Olivia had tears well up within her eyes, legitimate ones this time. Tess knelt next to her and grabbed the collar of her shirt.

“You think I’m a bitch now? You haven’t seen that side of me,” Tess stared into Olivia’s eyes.

Muffled screams tried to get around the magical gag as terror filled Olivia’s eyes.

“Enough! I’ve seen enough!” Oena shouted.

Tess turned to shoot a glare.

“I’ll get to you in a second,” Tess growled.

She turned back to Olivia.

“How dare you insult me? I am the ruler of this world!” Oena snapped, “You will release my hero.”

“No, I won’t. She is no hero.”

Oena snapped her fingers, sending Tess flying backwards from Olivia.

“You are no hero.”

Oena snapped again, causing all of Tess’s gear and pouches to come flying off, leaving her in nothing but her undergarments.

“Be gone. My world shall deal with you swiftly.”

Oena snapped a third time, and Tess was no longer present. Oena hurried over to Olivia, dispelling the gag and healing the shattered bones in an instant.

“My champion! I am sorry for even doubting you in the slightest. I send you with everything that false hero had and ask that you lead my people into a new age of prosperity. I shall watch over you.”

As Oena embraced Olivia, the latter smiled with a viciously vile grin. She had ensured that naive woman’s death. She may not have daddy’s backing here, but she knew how to dirty her own hands.

—

Iriea

—

Tess was falling. She flipped in midair so that she could see the ground. There was still quite a few seconds before impact. That she had allowed her temper to flare so dramatically was no one’s fault but her own. She had caused her own failure. Now as a punishment, she was not even deposited gently onto the ground, in a town, near people. No, she was falling through the air, rather rapidly.

She didn’t think the impact would kill her, as quickly checking her statistics and skills showed that it was indeed only her items that had been stolen by the goddess. However, she should probably try and save herself. How to do it in a fun and cool manner though?

“Ah,” she said, forcing the word out despite the air pressure.

She recalled a former apprentice that had a fascination with birds. Together they had crafted a build that centered around controlling birds and being able to transform into a bird. She thought about the types of birds that the boy had droned on about at length each night, selecting one.

As she thought about it, Tess transformed into a falcon. She angled herself nose first into a sharper dive, picking up even more speed. As the treetops approach was iminnate, she thrust out her wings and pulled up. The strain was immense, but between her stats and form, she survived the leveling out and shot off with most of the speed from her freefall intact. If not for the falcon vision and her own enhanced vision, the trees would have been a blur with how fast she was flying. The speed did not last long though.

Regaining proper control over her movement, she scanned the immediate surroundings for signs of life. There was the forest she was above now, with some mountains that stretched from the north to the east in the distance, a rolling grassland to the distant south, and more forest to the west. As she was deciding which direction to go, it seemed that someone else made that decision for her.

There was an impact against her left wing. Being that she was hovering, it made sense that someone targeted a bird just sitting there. It was not painful, but she did lose focus on flying and crashed through the trees, hitting the ground.

“Yeah! I got it!” she heard from the distant source.

Since she was not interested in becoming someone’s dinner, Tess undid her transformation. However, she was slightly tired so she remained laying in the spot of her impact. A moment later, the rustling of the forest undergrowth signified the arrival of her hunter. There was a pause.

“Lady? Why are you naked in the forest?”

Tess felt the redness come to her face.