It's impossible after all. I just can't fall asleep. For one hour I've been just lying in bed, staring up into the ceiling. And no, it's not because I ate a lot of cupcakes and are just having a sugar kick. It's because of THEM. Those invisible guys that's been following me around wherever I go!
They followed me into the bath and I had no other choice but to accept it but I figured that they would at least leave me alone when I go to bed but oh was I wrong. They are still here, staring at me. I can't see them but I'm sensing them with my Sensor skill. Because of them I didn't even dare to change my clothes! And there's more of them now compared to earlier!
It would be easier if I had someone to share my problems with but Babbit is already asleep and I don't wanna summon the others. They would probably just end up breaking something.
"Why don't you just ignore them?" you may ask. Well, before asking that, try having a group of people staring at you when you are trying to sleep and see how easy it is yourself. It's freaking creepy.
Perhaps I should call out to them. I wonder if they would answer... Oh to hell with it! You gotta take some chances in order to achieve your goals.
"Uhum, excuse me" I call out, "would you please mind leaving while I'm about to go to sleep?"
No answer. Well figures. But I ain't giving up so fast.
"If you don't go away then I will be forced to tell Bekkhildr".
Hearing this they start moving around and I can feel something... Is it fear? Well, I don't blame them. Getting on that powerhouse's bad side is nothing I would want to do. Finally they decide to leave and I feel victorious.
And now... let's sleep. Good night.
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They're back. No. Freaking. Way. And there's even more of them now! Could they possibly be more pervert? That would be terrible.
"Look, I don't understand why you are here and... staring at me but please, but please stop!" I exclaim. "I won't be able to sleep otherwise and if I don't then I will feel terrible tomorrow! So I beg of you, please get out" I end it with, bowing my head. This is embarrassing. If someone else heard me right now it would seem as if I was crazy and I am not crazy! (Yeah, right). Shut up author!
But before anything can happen the door to the room suddenly opens and in runs Esther.
"I'm sho shorrie Ruth-chaaan!" she exclaims before jumping up into my bed trying to hug me. But I dodge her hug-attack which causes her to ram head first into the wall.
"Esther!? What are you doing here!?" I exclaim, oh so shocked, for I did not expect this to happen.
"I deshtroyed your dinnehr with everybochy!" she shouts, tears running down her flushed cheeks. And what's this smell? It smells like... alcohol. Oh boy, she's drunk. Not good.
"Calm down Esther" I say with a calm tone, desperate to avoid another killer hug. "I am not mad, you only tried to welcome me".
"That ish what I shaid to the others but they shaid I was too much!" she cries out, like a child that just got scolded by their parents. I feel kinda bad for her... Slowly I jump up on the bed again, next to Esther and gives her a warm hug.
"It's ok, it's ok, cry it out if you have to" I say, rocking slowly from side to side. Esther continues to cry but after a while she calms down and only a light sobbing can be heard.
"There, better?"
"Better" she confirms, wiping away her snot and tears. Well, at least she's trying too.
"Then, let's get you back to Florent so you can have a nice nights sleep, ok?". I don't believe that she can find herself back to her own room in this condition. And why didn't Florent stop her? Maybe she escaped when he slept.
"Ok" Esther says, giving me a brilliant smile. Ah, the power of beautiful people sure is strong. She even looks beautiful with all that snot on her face.
"Good girl, then take my hand and tell me where to go so I can lead you there".
And so began our journey through the almost empty halls of the castle to find Esther's room. Because she was so drunk her descriptions were a little bit... off. But luckily we met some guards and maids that could point out where to go. They even offered me to take her there but I humbly dejected them. I couldn't sleep anyway so taking a night stroll like this is not that bad. The culprits are still following me but I don't much care right now.
... I can imagine this looks quite weird, a young child holding a crying adults hand like a parent comforting their child. Sigh, is this woman really one of the generals? How could that ever happen?
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Finally we arrive in front of a large door, fitting the description the maids and guards gave me. I knock on the door and waits for a few seconds. Nothing happens. I knock again. Nothing.
"Florent! I've got Esther here with me and she's quite... drunk! Would you care you open the door?". No answer. Sigh. "Esther, would you care opening the door for me?" I ask.
"Shure!" she exclaims in her drunken happiness before wobbling towards the door and opening it with ease. I grab her hand once again and enter the room.
This... is a forest isn't it? A genuine forest. Not a garden, a forest. How the hell does an entire forest fit in a castle? You know what? I don't even wanna know. All I want to do is find Florent and hand over this mess to him.
"Esther, do you know where Florent is?"
"Of courshe! He'sh my treeh after all!". Esther starts walking into the forest and I follow her. While we walk I observe the forest. It's truly outstanding. All these trees, the grass and even some small animals... And look at that! There's even a starry sky! Did we perhaps go outside? But the landscape I saw before does not match this one...
"There he ish!" Esther suddenly exclaims, pointing towards something. It's Florent but he looks... different. His formerly greens leave are now softly pink, like cherry blossom.
"Why are his leaves pink?" I ask, not being able to comprehend what's going on.
"Oh thatsh shimple! Whatever happensh to me affetsh him!"
"So when you get dead drunk then he get's dead drunk too?"
"Exschately! It'sh sho fun! But now I'm tired so Imma go to shleep! Good night!" she says before collapsing onto Florent.
... I feel bad for him. To be affected by his wife's stupidity to this length... I will never forget you sacrifice Florent-sama!
Sigh, now it's time to head back to my room I guess. Wait, maybe not yet... This is the perfect time to train. I know, I know, it's the middle of the night but I can't sleep anyway and I won't be able to wake those two up, even if I scream! This is also the perfect time to try out some new skills!
So let's start with some running. But just running alone would not be challenging, or funny, at all! Feather Minions, come here! Five feather minions appear in front of me, just as I wanted.
"Ok, so the goal is that large tree over there! I will run towards it and your mission is to stop me, no matter what it takes!" I exclaim. The feather minions simply nods. "I will give you one minute to get ready and I will not use Sensor to see where you are nor will I summon the others in order to make it harder for me! So ready, set, GO!". By my signal the feather minions enters the forest and disappears from my sight.
Hehe, they may think that one minute head start was just for them but I will use it too! Planning is always crucial in battle.
The feather minions are absolutely quiet and produce to sound when moving around. It seems that they are also able to communicate telepathically with each other, making speaking useless. They are also very intelligent and stealthy but possesses no personalities nor sentience. Simply put, they are like computers. Their only physical weapons are their claws.
They are definitely arranging some kind of trap or are planning to ambush for me. Therefore I have to be extra careful when proceeding. I could also illuminate the area using fireball, but that could be a fire hazard since we are in a forest...
Oh, it seems a minute have already gone by. Well, I guess time to get started. I take of my shoes since they will only be in the way and put up my hair with a ribbon. Alright, let's go! Ready or not, HERE I COME. Wow, that sounded way more sinister than I meant it to be.
I take a stance similar to that of an athlete about to run and set off. The wind brushes against my skin and the grass tickles my feet.
This is amazing! I have not done this for such a long time, just letting everything go and just run! It's the best thing ever!
No, I got to concentrate! They could be behind any corner- AH!
Suddenly one of the feather minions appears right in front of me, attempting to cut me with its claws. I did not expect such a direct approach. It certainly took me by surprise.
I jump backwards but the feather minion follows me. Luckily I am faster and can easily avoid each attack. This is far too easy... Just as I think that something suddenly grabs my ankles. I look down and see another feather minion, peeking out of some bushes. So this was their plan huh? To lure me into a trap in order to stop me from moving. Really clever. But this will not stop me!
I activate Fire Step, causing my feet to catch on fire and disintegrate the feather minions hands before destroying it with Quake Stomp. Quickly I then activate Earth Armor, making the other feather minions attack ineffective and when it's close enough I blast it away with Mana Lance. Two gone, three left.
Hmm, this would be a perfect time to try out my partial physical transformation... Oh, you don't remember? Well that's because I haven't used... ever.
It's just as the name suggest, the skill allows me to partially transform my body into my other form, you know my monster form! And now that I am in this safe place I am free to use my skills without holding back!
How should I do this? I guess my feet would be a good start so let's try it! Focus on my feet and legs, focus, focus... Suddenly I can feel how my legs start to twist and change and when I look down I see a magnificent set of claws adorning my feet and gray feathers covering my legs.
Yes! A complete success! Now let's try out these bad boys! I sink my right foot into the ground and starts running, this time much faster than before.
Weeeeeeeeeh! This. Is. AMAZING! Aahahaha! Oh, there's the tree! I'm almost there! Wait, I'm almost there. I slow down until I stop completely. I have only fought two out of five feather minions which means that this is most likely-
Suddenly the three remaining feather minions appear around me, having jumped down from the trees. But that's not all. Now that I look I see that this entire area is rigged with wires. If I had just continued to run I would definitely have gotten stuck in at least one of them and tripped. This would have given them the perfect advantage that they need to take me down.
I smirk. To think they are this clever. Heh, I'm really proud of you. Now face defeat. All at once the feather minions attacks me with their claws ready. I activate mana dome, stopping their attacks before piercing them all with mana lances. They didn't even stand a chance.
When they are destroyed I walk towards the tree and put my hand on it. It's my win.
//Feather Minion leveled up and have reached max level! Feather Minion Max Level evolved into Feather Assassins Lv 1!//
Feather Assassins Lv. 1
This skill allows you to create minions out of your feathers. They will always follow your commands and when they die they turn into feathers again. Compared to feather minions, feather assassins are much more durable and strong. They also have incredible stealth abilities and their attacks are stronger if the target is taken by surprise.
Current summons available: 3, current mana cost; 35.
As I read the text on the blue window that popped up in front of me I feel an incredible joy. Why? Because I have my own Assassins Cr**d right now! I need to summon one right now, just to check it out! Come out my Feather Assassin!
A being dressed in a gray cloak appears in front of me. It looks similar to a Feather Minion except for a few changes. For example, the coats color is darker and it's decorated with red patterns. Also, it's much, much taller! And I mean tall! Even if I were three times as tall as I am right now I still wouldn't even reach it's shoulders! How could something this big be stealthy? Well it's stats are much better that earlier so I guess you can't judge a book by its cover.
Hah? I just got an excellent idea! I take a step towards the feather assassin and start investigating it's cloak. Hmm, just as I thought, its body consists of nothing else than this cloak so that means that the inside is hollow...
Without warning I enter the cloak and darkness immediately surrounds me. This is perfect! Like this no one can stare at me while I'm sleeping!
"Feather Assassin, lie down on the ground" I order, to which it obeys without questing. It feels as if I'm camping and this is my tent. It's really cozy... Ah, finally, I will be able to get some sleep. Yawn. G'night Feather Assassin.