“I take it that you have received your class options?” Wichita asked, feeling strangely confident for once.

“Yes.” Rose said. “There are a lot of them. Did the System read my mind? There are things in here that I would not expect it to know.”

“Yes.” Wichita answered matter-of-factly. “The System has been reading your mind since you arrived here, and I rather doubt it will stop.”

“I — I see. So, how does this go? Do I have to show my options?” Rose protested meekly.

Wichita sighed.

“No, but it would be better if you did. I cannot guide you if I don’t know what you have.” she said that, but she also used the Skill she had gotten from the System. [Forgotten Melody]

The forest hovered over her, judging her, reading her as she passed through its trials -

The forest hovered, it mutated, it was excited and bored, it wanted to know what they would do.

The forest was hungry it for their blood. The sight of their blood seeping into its roots filled her vision, her mana fed its trees -

Wichita grunted as she snapped out of the Skill.

“…what happened?” Rose’s concerned voice asked.

“I tried out a Skill to see what Story you were forming.” she said truthfully. “Then I could have given you advice without needing to know your options.”

“I take it didn’t go well.”

“No.” she confessed. “The forest’s Story is too overwhelming, I wasn’t able to handle it. That wasn’t so before, but…we have attracted its attention. I doubt I will be able to use that Skill properly before we leave, at most I might be able to get a sense of what the forest is trying to do. The thing is far more powerful than I thought it was previously, far, far more powerful.”

Three aspects. Like three different forests, and they were all judging her. That was inaccurate, she knew. There was only one forest, even if it was more sentient then she had presumed. So sentient that it had to be at least Tier 6. Wichita felt terror at just the thought of it. Tier 6 meant the forest could kill her easily, she did not have any chance of resisting.

“What does that mean?” Rose asked.

“That we need to get stronger before we move forward.” she answered, deciding to keep that information to herself for now. “I know you have your secrets, but I do hope you will reveal some of them. The three of you will be the only ones from your world for the foreseeable future. I would suggest just telling them and being done with it, instead of dragging it out for days and years.”

“Keeping secrets usually doesn’t end well in books.” the boy commented. “And Stories can apparently alter reality here.”

“Oh, shut up you.” Rose murmured, her words not carrying much heat.

The boy raised his hands in surrender anyway. “Just giving a suggestion.” Wichita wondered what was going on between them, but let it be.

“Well, the first thing you should know is that… I have powers.” she grimaced, as if expecting someone to strike her. The way she looked at the boy told her that she had a particular suspect in mind.

“What powers?” Tully asked, seeming as excited about this as she had been about magic. “Why didn’t you tell me about them?”

“I can see things around me without having to look at them.” she answered. So that was the mana she had sensed from her before.

“And?” Tully asked, still looking excited.

Rose grew irritated at that. “Just that. I am not one of the big five you know, I can’t blow up continents on a whim. There’s a reason most of us don’t want to be revealed.” The girl threw a glare at the boy.

“Come on, you know I don’t agree about that stuff!” the boy raised his hands in surrender again. “And besides, we’re in a new world, can’t we put that behind us?”

“I don’t know, Jace, can you bear to not drag me into a mother fucking portal to another world? Perhaps take a bit of responsibility for it?” she was practically shouting by the end of it.

Jace had his hands still raised, and he kept them there. “I didn’t ask for you to come, ok! But come on, you know that offer was too good to refuse. Don’t tell me you weren’t fed up with the world and wanted to-”

“Didn’t ask me to come?! What did you think I was about to do when my sister was walking through a portal to another world? Stay behind? Don’t act dumb, Jace, you knew what you were doing.” Rose growled out the words.

Jace looked like he wanted to protest, but wisely kept his opinions to himself. Tully was less wise.

“I mean, I was the one that -”

“Perhaps it would be best if we tabled this for now.” Wichita interrupted. “Perhaps continue it when we aren’t in a deadly forest that wants to feed you to monsters.”

Rose looked at her. “That’s what you saw?”

Wichita was surprised she figured that out. “A part of it yes, but I would advise against wasting time. I presume your powers have something to do with the classes you got?”

“Yes.” Rose sighed. “I have [Commoner Lady], [Suspicious Survivor] and [Overprotective Sister]”

Wichita froze. “Is there a rarity mentioned?”

“I only told you about the Narrative rarity ones. ” Rose said. “I presume the rarer it is, the better?”

“The System showed you the rarity?” she asked again.

“Yes.” Rose was getting suspicious by this point. [Suspicious Survivor] really did suit her.

“The good news.” she began. “Is that I know them all.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“But they aren’t very good?” Rose finished her sentence.

“Yes.” Wichita grimaced. “I suppose it has been too little time since you entered this world, your Story hasn’t really formed yet. The fact that you didn’t qualify for any transmigrator specific classes makes things worse.”

“So…suggestions?” Rose asked, pursing her lips. The girl did not seem to have been put down by her classes.

Wichita sighed. “[Suspicious Survivor] suits you best.” Tully and Jace snickered behind her as Rose glared at them. “But [Overprotective Sister] -” Tully snickered again. Rose was getting more irritated by the minute. “— would likely give you protection Skills that would be valuable. But I doubt your sister will be very happy with it.”

“Can I veto that class?” Tully asked. “I should be able to, I’m involved. And I don’t want my overprotective sister to have Skills to enforce it.”

“No.” Rose answered. Wichita sighed.

“Ignoring the talk of vetoes, I would still suggest [Commoner Lady]” Wichita continued.

Rose looked puzzled. “Why? The description makes it looks like something focused on parties and management. Not combat.”

Wichita smiled. “That is exactly what a class is. There is just one thing you should know. The class is nobility based. The kind reserved for rich merchants aiming for nobility.”

“So basically your parents.” Jace pointed out. Wichita glared at him.

“As nobility -” she stressed her words, trying to dissuade more interruptions. “— Rose would have the ability to swear herself to me. There would be no need for Skills and such, since that is what the class is for. To help one swear themselves to a monarch and become nobility.”

“And that would let her get a better class!” Tully grinned, catching on somehow. Wichita wasn’t sure how she’d connected the dots there. “That’s genius!”

Well, it really wasn’t, but she would take the praise. Wichita still wasn’t sure how the young human had figured it out. Was she familiar with the System somehow?

“So my recommendation is [Commoner Lady]. As the first lady to swear yourself to me, it should transform your class into a pretty rare one. And the fact that I swore a transmigrator in as my first noble should give me a level, and ensure I get the Skill to swear the other two in.”

In other words, their problem was solved.

“That seems too easy.” Rose said, echoing her thoughts.

“There is a price to pay, of course.” she continued. “If you do leave my service after we escape the forest, it will…reflect badly on you. Leaving as a noble is considered a pretty big betrayal. And if I just let you go, then it seems like you did something bad.”

“Oh, your Story would love it, but a lot of Monarchs won’t. I can’t speak to the customs of the world right now, but in my Age it would prevent you from becoming a noble again, unless you grow powerful enough that it would not matter. Then monarchs would love to have you for their skills, even if they wouldn’t trust you. But yes, there is a price.”

“A pretty big one.” Rose pointed out.

Wichita had the self-awareness to look ashamed. “Yes, it is true. I fear I can do little to allay it. The fact that we are getting this opportunity alone is likely due to your transmigrator Fae magic. But even that has its limits.”

“Doesn’t seem that lucky to me.” Rose murmured, but did not continue protesting.

“How important is rarity?” she asked.

“That is a difficult question.” Wichita said. “I can’t give you a straight answer, its too subjective.”

“Well, you know the subject.” Rose shot back.

“I am thinking.” she replied. “[Suspicious Survivor] is a safe option, it will give you observational Skills that can be very useful. If you survive, your Tier 2 class will be boosted by your…affinity with the class.”

“There’s a but in there.” Rose pointed out. “I can just feel it.”

Wichita wondered if she was a person whose luck was similarly terrible. The fact that she just presumed there was a but in things could imply that.

“Yes. The Skills will not be worth much. The forest is Tier 6 at least, your Skills will not be able to affect it at all.” she confessed. “And you will be approaching Tier 3 by the time we leave. The forest does not seem likely to let us leave anytime soon, and Tier 1 was built to be done by one-year-olds. The average person takes a week to complete it. Stuck in this forest, you’ll be done in a day.”

“So I have to take a class if I need to survive.” Rose said. “And the only option, only real option I have will basically swear me to you for life. How convenient.”

“The probabilities have been reduced.” Jace pointed out. “Doesn’t that mean Fae magic is at work?”

Wichita pursed her lips. “Yes, it could. I can’t be sure, but…it might be my Story acting here. I am a Queen with no land or subjects. Having a noble lady would be opportune. After forcing me into a situation where I nearly died saving you, it might think this is fair.”

As usual Fae magic was making trouble for her. Jace had already figured out it was at work, it didn’t take a genius to figure out whose. There went whatever trust she had built between them.

“Oh. I thought it might be the luck thing going on, but this makes more sense.”

Or maybe she had overestimated their intelligence and made things worse for herself. Of course, she had done that.

“There isn’t really that much that is bad about it.” she said. “I could offer to you autonomy. And really, I would be a fool to treat you badly. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear -”

“Oh fine! Not like I want to be nobility anyway!” Rose yelled, and Wichita felt it. Fae magic telling her that someone willing and able to be her first noble stood in front of her. Of course, she was smart enough to not mention it immediately.

“That was unexpected.” she commented. Rose glared at her. “I have read enough stories to know that something bad will happen, I will regret it, and it will turn into a tragic backstory. Did you get your level?”

“No, but you haven’t sworn yourself to me.” she answered.

“How do I -”

“Transmigrator Rose, do you accept the position of First Lady in my court?” she asked, feeling the weight of her Story taking shape. There were a lot more things she could have added in the sentences, maybe even some speech about responsibilities that would bind the girl. But doubted her new subject would like it if she did that.

“Yes.” Rose replied, and it was done.

[Forgotten Queen] has reached level 6

Skill gained: [Forgotten Call]

[Forgotten Call]: Call upon the lost, the dying, the forgotten. Raise them into your banner so they may rise with you. Grants the ability to call three persons into your banner per level. The persons must meet requirements.

Of course, it did not say what the requirements were. Wichita could feel it anyway, Fae magic revealed it to her. How it did was as mysterious as the magic itself, but she simply had knowledge of it. Thankfully, both the transmigrators qualified.

Wichita threw a fireball at the System in her mind, angry that it had given her such a ridiculous restriction. What monarch had restrictions on whom they could bring into their fold?

“So, what did you get?” she asked Rose, deciding to deal with it before taking the other two in.

“[First Lady of the Forgotten]” she replied. “The System didn’t mention the rarity.”

“Yes, that is typical of it.” Wichita said. The stupid thing was probably throwing a tantrum again.

“Well, it sounds impressive.” Jace offered as Tully nodded. “Were you from the Forgotten Lands or something?”

Wichita took a second to realize that the question was aimed at her. “No, but my class is the [Forgotten Queen] given my circumstances. I presume that is why the class is named so.”

Jace looked like he wanted to say something, but Rose cut in before he could.

“Wichita, what exactly is a Royal Skill? And why does it tell me to ask you for permission to use it?”