---
[ Faye’s Interface ]Name: Faye
Level: 6
Race: Highbreed
Class: Sorcerer
Title: N/A
Experience: 11 / 3022
[Status]- H.P: 28 / 30
- M.P: 29 / 181 (+37)
- S.P: 27 / 27
- Fatigue: 83%
- Defense: 3
- Offense: 34
[Skills]- Hydroblast: Level 3
- Identification: Level 5
- Ice Magic: Level 2
- Frost Shards: Level 2
- Eagle Eye: Level 1
- Frostbound Stride: Level 1
- Lowered Temperature: Level 2
- Mana Reservoir: Level 2
- Winter Clutch: Level 3
- Cryognize: Level 3
- Frost Lance Conjuration: Level 1
[Abilities]- Elemental Affinity (Ice): Unlocked
- Magic Circle magnification (Wanda)
『Expand』
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As I ascended the stairs, leaving Justaff behind to clean up the dungeon after our training, I approached a large door. My attention was fully absorbed by the virtual interface before me, so much so that I almost bumped my head into it.
"Let's see what attribute to level up this time," I mused, pushing the large door open. I managed to do so and walked out, but despite my attention being fully engrossed in the interface, I couldn't help but notice the small silhouette running at the end of the large corridor the door opened to.
There weren't many children in the Wei? family chateau, in fact, there was only one. "Cleon?" Yes, the silhouette was clearly that of the lastborn and heir of the Wei? family. He ran frantically, seemingly trying to escape from something, then turned down another corridor, leaving my line of sight.
"That was him... But what is he doing here?"
Being the heir of the family and his mother's long-at-last-obtained son, the little boy was rarely found without his mother by his side, which wasn't very unreasonable considering his age. This was the castle dungeon, a place I could hardly imagine that woman setting foot in, the same for her daughter. So, the only alternative I could think of was that his father was around, escorting him.
Not having the mental energy and not wanting to deal with that person, I, without a moment of hesitation, closed the door behind me and headed for the dungeon exit, which was on the opposite side of the corridor the boy had run to.
Initially, from the day I began my training 4 years ago, most of my training sessions were held in the chateau's backyard. Back then, it was the perfect spot for it. But as I went up in level, my training, which thus far involved harmless sparring to help me pick up any unlockable innate skills, began to involve monsters, for it is only by defeating monsters that one can acquire "experience," and it is by stacking that "experience" that one can level up. Actually, it didn't have to be monsters; it could also be any of the sentient races like elves, dwarves, or even humans. But as barbaric as this world appeared compared to the world we came from, it wasn't so barbaric to the extent where "that" would be suggested, at least not yet.
Anyway, so far, with how low my level was, my training mostly involved weak Animalistic Monsters like Voltfurs, Zephyrclaws, Inferno Drakoms, and Vipernoxs, which are respectively rabbit-like, bobcat-like, lizard-like, and fox-like monsters. While the first two were manageable for someone built like a proper adult and with an actual desire to live, the latter two weren't monsters you'd want to see roaming around and even less to deal with. And, while with Justaff around training me and keeping the creatures in check there was little to no risk, the possibility of an accident happening is just not 0, which meant that the backyard became a not-so-perfect spot for our training the moment I hit level 4.
Of course, it wasn't as if there were people actively complaining about it. Nobody dares. If there's someone who would actually dare, it would be Cleon’s mother and my beloved half-sisters. No one else would dare complain. But even then, the only one who actually did voice a complaint about it was Cleon's mother. Actually, less than a complaint, it was more of a voiced concern. Now that I think about it, this could be a reason why she would always be around Cleon? To be ready to protect the little prince the moment one of our training monsters is accidentally let free.
She's a Highbreed, one that I heard came from a family that met a similar fate to this former Royal family that we were, one that actually managed to decently raise her level in her days. I didn't know what her level was. I never considered ever asking, but I was pretty sure she was, despite her harmless appearance, at least level 10.
"A mother hen," I slowly mumbled under my breath.
A mother hen, that's what that woman reminded me of, an overcaring mother, always in the vicinity, often fussing but, most importantly, overprotective of her baby chick. And yet today, I just saw one of her precious baby chicks in this dungeon alone without her around.
Slowing down my pace, I came to a halt and turned around, looking toward the direction I came from and the one he ran to.
I wouldn't say I was particularly familiar with the Dungeon's layout. Up to very recently I just knew that it was there, that it was the place where high-level members of the family trained, and where I knew monsters captured for my training were kept.
With my level increasing, the level of the monsters involved in our training began to be something beyond what the backyard could handle. I was given the Dungeon to use as I see fit by my grandfather when I last visited him two weeks ago for my training. While the place was a bit more claustrophobic compared to the backyard, which constantly blessed you with a nice breeze, the Dungeon was just a better place since it spared me the worry of having to hold back. So, yes, it could be said that I was new to it, but I was very positive that the corridor and the direction the boy ran to was where Justaff stored the monsters we used for training.
For a moment, I hesitated.
A big part of me was hesitating. If the reason for which he ran in that direction was because his father was around, going there would have made me meet him, I was in no mood to entertain him today. But another part of me, one that believed there was a chance his father wasn't in the Dungeon, and that the damn kid just ran in that direction because of me opening the door, didn't allow me to just proceed as if I didn't notice anything, which would’ve been more like me. But having reincarnated over and over, I'd, much against my will, gotten the opportunity to learn a lot about children, among which was the fact that a child knowing his misdeed may attempt to escape punishment or avoid confronting the situation. The ironic thing is that it wasn't just children that did that.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Having come to a decision, I pivoted on my heel and set off in the direction the boy had darted. As I passed the doorway I had just emerged from, I followed his path, tracing his hurried steps. Suddenly, just as I took the turn he took, I heard a scream that would've pierced the air had its intensity not been dampened by the door it reverberated through. I recognized the door instantly, it led to the room where Justaff kept and fed the monsters for our training.
My pace instinctively quickened, propelled by something I'd long forgotten. But before I could reach the door, another scream, unmistakably the boy's, erupted, clearer now as the door gave way to something pushing against it. In that moment, his silhouette burst forth, crashing into the adjacent wall in a flurry of panic. Yet, despite his disarray, his eyes widened in relief at the sight of me. Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed to my side, his breath ragged. It was then that I noticed something on his arm.
Upon reaching me, the boy hooked onto my leg, trembling, with tears streaming down his cheeks. His sobs echoed in the air. Ignoring his distress momentarily, my gaze remained locked on the door he had just fled from, my curiosity piqued by what could have caused such a panic. Listening intently, I could hear faint growls emanating from the room beyond. Given the room's purpose, the sound wasn't entirely unexpected, yet it illogically sent a shiver down my spine. The monsters were kept in cages, but the possibility of one breaking free lingered in the back of my mind.
After a few moments, with nothing outlandish happening, such as a Hexfen lunging out of the room, I took a deep breath, tore my gaze away from the door, and focused on the thing clinging to my leg. His grip was tight, his fear palpable.
Despite being my half-brother, the boy and I weren't all that close. Not that I was particularly close with any of my many half-siblings in the first place. Of course, I wasn't so childish as to say that I hated the kid; it was just that I never tried to bond with him. And to be fair, his mother doesn't seem like the kind to encourage that to happen. So we were, despite being related, distant, not out of any hateful feeling on my part, and I don't think that at his age he harbored any towards me. We were just raised in a way that kept distance between us.
So, very awkwardly, I reached down to him, whispering, "It's okay," trying to calm the little man. "You're safe now."
At that moment, I took a step back to put some distance between us, observing what I had earlier noticed. "Are you alright?" I asked, despite knowing well the answer might not be straightforward.
After several failed attempts at calming himself, he nodded, though tears continued to streak down his cheeks. Then, as if trying to confirm something, he began looking around his body and finally noticed what was obviously wrong with his right arm: it was dislocated at the elbow in a weird way.
Perhaps the painful sensation hit him belatedly, or perhaps he just felt like doing it again; upon panicking at the sight, he cried, or at least he was beginning to when I cut him off.
"Hold on a second, answer this first: are you alone?" I asked, reaching out to his shoulder.
Despite being confused by my sudden question amidst his soon-to-unleashed cry, he nodded.
"How did you—actually, nevermind. What happened? Did you get startled by one of the big wolves?" I asked, slowly sliding my hand from his shoulder down to his injured elbow.
He once again nodded.
"I see. Tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have come here," I said, crouching to his level, before extending my right arm up to the side, and then activating my skill, Cryogenize, on the air around my fingers, causing a phenomenon similar to snowing to occur.
For sorcerers who depend on spell-like skills when the level of a skill goes up, it means that the skill gets stronger. But this doesn't just mean the skill got more potent or just that it does more damage. It also means, for some skills especially the spell-like ones, that there is a certain increase within the range of control one has over the skill. Take for instance the skill I just used, Cryogenize. At level 1, it only allows the wielder to turn into ice the target of their choice, the only condition for activation being direct contact and the target being liquid. At level 2, there's no particular change except an increased potency of the skill; the only condition for activation being direct contact and the target being liquid or solid. At level 3, the wielder is not only able to choose the target but also gains the ability to limit the MP inputted into the skill, making one be able to limit the spreading of the skill's effect; the only condition for activation being direct contact and the target being liquid, solid, and even gaseous.
This is what I did here, cryogenizing the air around my fingers, which had the effect of momentarily locking the boy's attention onto the skill effect. The moment it did, I firmly reached onto his elbow, then with the other hand, I quickly grabbed onto his arm with the other and pulled it. He didn't even have the opportunity to scream, just gasped as a pop was heard from the dislocated elbow as it returned to its rightful place. "Aaaahaa! Aah—"
"Hold on!" I once again interrupted, "Don't cry yet. It feels better now, right?" I said, forcing him to flex his elbow.
Despite being clearly not pleased by the remnant of pain, he was still objective enough to nod despite wincing at every flex.
It was only at that moment, seeing him wincing, that I realized something. "See? You're good to go now, Cleo—."
Having witnessed the power and consequences of Greed and Resurgence, the authority that allows us to be reborn into this world time and again with our very eyes, we, to not end up like that person, have meticulously crafted a set of guiding principles for our reincarnation. One fundamental rule is that upon reincarnating, we are endowed with an additional "self." This persona is the one we primarily embody and use to engage with the world. However, it's imperative to remember that there is ultimately only one essential self that truly matters: the original and authentic "me."
Not only did I realize that what I just did was needlessly rash, the moment I saw him what I should've been doing was escort him to the exit of the dungeon or to Justaff, I also realized that it didn't look like what my persona of "Faye, the Wei?s family's little princess," would do. It also very certainly didn't look like what my true self would do; instead, it looked like the behavior of a past persona of mine.
In that moment, images of what happened long ago flashed in my mind, without me being able to suppress it, giving me the equivalent of a headache but instead of having it in my head, I had it in my chest. It went on for several seconds until at some point I noticed the boy distancing himself away from me, like he usually does at the sight of me.
Reaching for my face and massaging my temples, I stood up, taking a moment to rearrange myself before declaring, "It's dangerous down here. I don't know how you got here, but it's time you leave. Follow me," before heading for the entrance, where he silently followed.
As I passed by the door where I knew Justaff was, I thought about telling him what had happened. But getting him mixed up in this mess, especially with how overbearing his mom can be, was the last thing I needed. So, I just walked past the door and headed straight for the Dungeon exit.
The Dungeon, being just a large underground section of the domain, had its exit, a portcullis that could be closed, but for very pragmatic reasons, usually isn't, in an obscure corner of the chateau. This made me wonder how the boy found his way in there, but as curious as I was, I didn't intend on asking how. Though I couldn't help but feel pity for whoever was guarding the kid if he did so by sneaking away from a servant's notice. Let's hope for whoever that person is that he snuck away from his mom instead.
"Do you know where your mom is?" I asked as we reached a junction in the corridor, one path leading to the section of my room and the other allowing him to go his way, wherever that'll be.
He nodded. "In Grandfather's room," he said.
"Great, go there. You know how to go there, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Great. Tell them what happened and how it happened. Tell your Grandfather about your arm."
This was what I should've done in the first place, sending him on his way out of the Dungeon. It wasn't our fault that he got there, and being a Cleric and a Highbreed, I'd be very surprised if the old man didn't have any healing-related skills.
"Can you do that?"
"Yes," he said with a strong nod.
"Then go."
Oddly moving with the compliance and earnestness of someone well-accustomed to obeying orders, he took his leave. But as he arrived at some distance away he came to a halt, turning on his heel to face me.
With a wave of my hand, I told him to hurry up. Only then did he turn around to take his leave. As he disappeared around the corner, I heaved out a sigh.
"Let's just hope that this will be the end of this for me," I prayed, taking my leave for my room.
