Chapter Twenty-Five

  Brooding was, of course, practical brooding for Harmony. It was how she hahe egativity whe hired, the tides of workpce politics, and Lord Tyler when it became necessary. Thinking about all the things that had gone wrong, are probably going wrong, and might g always made her unhappy. But one had to think about such things to adapt, progress, and survive.

  So many of the things she thought about were outside of her trol. She dug through her chest to the bottom, fingers brushing past the gym badge and skill stone she'd deposited upourning to grab her personal progression journal. "Harmony's diary." A few people had mocked her early on until they saw it got no response, but that was back before she proved herself a hard worker and willing to do the distasteful jobs. The matriarch slowly stealing her away to work on their beauty regimens was cutting into that. She feared resehat would bring the darker times back.

  Jessica's hostility was focused on her curreionship with Tyler. She had enough vinegar to stink up any arising problems. Hopefully, Bates would repce the sun priestess soon.

  The book didn't have personal ss about feelings or dreams. But instead, refles ressing and leveling. And as much as the maid disliked Thibodeux's narrow vision of skills, she appreciated his data rec, something Carter's Schema ignored because they went with the more flexible approach. She'd devised tests for every skill to measure and record the results. She'd updated them all before the trip to the lodge.

  It hurt to know that the measurements would spike due to the quick progression of two new levels, unlocked stats, and skill stohe record of writing down all the slight differences with every ial ge is now broken. Such seality wouldn't ge where she was now.

  As for what the neaneeded to duct her tests, only oem was required, her book. It rocessed enough to resist all of her skills. Trying to see how far she could unch a bit of bone would get it impaled somewhere and potentially hurt someone. Moving a book that her skills had difficulty affeg would hurt no ohe short distance was something she could easily measure. Going from level ten to level twelve in [Manipute Dead] moved the book twice the length she had managed before the trip, scooting it nearly across the whole room. That was with no synergies and actively not using her ats.

  Now for her stats. After what happened with the dress, she hesitated to use es. If all she focused on was the existence of the paper once being dead bits of tree and not f anything into it, it would probably be fihe worst that would happen is the book would turn into a pile of bck goop, and she'd have to redo the whole thing, but it was that or not get the information.

  Fog on the e, keeping her focus coordinated with her skill, simir to threading a needle. Eye, hand, tiny hole, and movement. In this case, skill, cept, stat, and with a bit of magic, a push. The book flew forward and crashed into the wall. "Ashes." She cursed.

  The ctter drew attentioepped in. "I know your trip with Tyler robably awful, but you don't o go and throw anything. Why don't you hug your frog or something."

  Harmony rushed over to her book and picked it up. "Sorry."

  "Your diary too. That bad?. Care to divulge?"

  The redhead was one of the spigots of the river of gossip. Harmony wouldn't be surprised if she was looking for her just to get the first tidbit of news. Keeping any information private meant that someone like Jessica would spread rumors and innuendo.

  "Tyler gave me lovely gifts so I wouldn't shame him in front of his friends. But they were Tyler gifts." They'd see her skills once she revealed them at the m che tomorrow. "A [Small Armor] skill so he could dress me in the armored equivalent of our maid uniforms. Then [High Kick] so I would have to kick up while wearing it."

  "And you don't like to funt anything. Not that Tyler is particurly circumspe how he shows i. If my suitors hadn't helped me fill out my skill spots, I'd certainly be tempted to join him fift like that. Good timing, too. I don't think Lady Coodly will let your skills out of her clutches again any time soon."

  "I did mao level twice, but the dungeon ru sideways. I don't think I'll go back for a long time."

  "Ha! Finally got your stats. Our Harm, now an adult. Of course, when the dy takes you to the capital, you'll have to evolve before they reize you there. That's why Jessica is so pissy. The irls and I should throw you a party."

  Harmony khe party would be more for them than her. "I'd love that." Best to say on their good side.

  "We dress up your frog too. That tie deserves a suit." Fel added, already looking into the clouds in thought.

  Harmony opened her mouth to protest that but shut it quickly, remembering Hyath's chuckles at her current situation. "Make sure it matches."

  Through their bond, she could sense Hyath's u Harmony's current state of mind, not that she thought he kly what she was thinking.

  "Of course. I don't have the [Fashion] skill for no reason."

  "So, what did I miss while I was away?"

  Harmohe gossip spigot turn open as she listeo Fel prattle oaff and the lords, noting the little things that might be useful. The everyday mundaneness of it rexed her as she let it push aside the other problems she had no trol over.

  The following day she stood before the head butler, Bates, and dispyed her skills. Fel and the rumor mill had ehat for most of the staff, none of it was much of a surprise.

  "[Cold Touch]?" The head butler asked.

  The sense of that skill and the final death of everything tickled her mind at the question. "It's good for chilling drinks," Harmony answered.

  "Useful." The approval in his voice was strictly job-reted. "You'll need your toad for today's task. I've been informed the attic ste will be accessed early this year. "He handed her the attic key.

  Nasty things teo take up residency during the te fall and winter. Spiders, rodents, minor monster spawns, even a young troll one year. Harmony winced involuntarily, not even keeping her poise in check. She'd only been level five that year, and Hyath had strained himself to pull her through the shadows to safety. The first time he'd dohat particur trid something he didn't try again until retly.

  "I'll get it done, sir."

  "Make sure it's quick. The madam has several social es this evening and has requested your skills."

  Quick!? The st time it had takewo whole days to clear out and the entire space. Hyath poked her through her [Familiar Bond], chastising her ck of fidence. Adva was tricky that way. Your brain had to catch up with your new abilities.

  "I'll ha."

  Bates pounded his e, and they were dismissed.

  "Wao pull out some work clothes?" Jimmy asked.

  Harmony was about to say yes when her brain caught up to her. "I've got it hahis time."

  "Meet you there." She told her familiar as he veered off into the shadows. And they were off.

  The attic had its ow of stairs. There ulley system for the loading and unloading of oversized items from ste, but that required a team. The magical key unlocked the door made to keep the attic secure. Valuables were sometimes kept up there, but mostly to keep people from getting into trouble. The story was that when Bates was young, a house boy took a maid up there for some private time, and both were put out of ission from several scale spider bites.

  The open door revealed her shadow toad happily g on four scale spiders. She pushed mana into the glow stone by the door. It greedily drank up the magid started to emit light. She closed the door behind her.

  The maid set aside her uniform, remembering the damage to her clothes the first time she sed them and the disfort of holding something uable inside herself. She summoned her paired armor. It snapped into pce along with the sparkling bck dress. The two seemed even more fused, eg all the separate pieces into a uniform that began with the armloves and ended with her armored boots. The inky bck material stretched down along the outside of her leg, linking the boots to the shin guards like a specialty garter as a fully ected piece. The redistribution of the slick bck material to do that left more skin uncovered along her back. Undampened by the time inside her skill's space, the new creation sparkled even brighter with its motes of light.

  "Let's see how good this is as work clothes. Should be more than capable of handling any attic pests." She used her [Analyze] skill on it.

  Night

  Unique Armor

  A rare fusion with luminous properties.

  Paired.

  The glowing bits weren't much illumination, but in the dim light, it was enough to illuminate a small area around her suffitly that she didn't feel the o hunt down and recharge every glow stone iic, even if the low ceili she could reach them.

  Harmony made a mental o have someoh more advanced or specifialysis skills check the armor for more information. It was stu her soul even if it had no special skills or properties and deserved a closer look. But with all her other problems, that was low on her list of priorities.

  “You ready, Hyath?”

  Before she leveled and gained her stats, the east parlor and Tyler's room were the limits of what synergized [Manipute Dead] and [Dust] could handle. Memories of the journal smming into the wall yesterday enced a vision of pulling the whole colle down and costing her her job. And now she knew she would be careful not to pull too hard and break some dishes or even something from the young lord's colle.

  That attic, she'd been there when they packed it up. She could let loose with minimal repercussions, no worse than any bumbling house boy unpag and moving items for events or seasonal ges. Everything breakable or valuable sat stored is. Retired portraits and seasonal paintings were ed in ented paper to protect them from rodents, spiders, or other beasties.

  Her css and profession seraio pick up the yers of Dust, the growing decay, and the hint of death long fragmehe es there, the Synergies between neancer and maid that might not have been obvious, and the of her [Mana Rotation]. She activated that mana skill ahe rush as the power inside her spun up, tained and supported by her, her stats, and the movement a boost towards maximum effect. With that, her bread and butter of a ing skill surged forth with a level of power she'd never felt before.

  ostasis kicked in. The perception of her beati slowed, and still, the bits of debris, Dust, flecks of skin, shed rat hairs, and decayed grains of wood rushed at her faster and from further than she expected. That sped-up mental trai. "Oh shit!” and slowed everything down for her even more.

  The ground shook from the sudden movement, and a deep thrum started. The Dust dispced air and pulled at everything. She directed all the loose bits of material to a particur spot, and the first rat appeared. Not running away or towards to attack, but floating, pulled by the dead hair on its back, caught up in the empowered spell. The vicious rodent that low-level workers could hunt for adva was frozen with an expression of rodent terror.

  It wasn't the only rger object caught up in the maelstrom, Scale spiders pulled by their carapace. Larger ks of wood, a bat. Of course, more rats. Her eyes tracked items as they ehe small area of light she produced. A sheet of paper, a wooden ring, or a napkin holder she directed off to the side. The rest she let hit her focus point with a ch. And the critters didn't have much time to make a sound. Her heart beat a thing that rang in her head so infrequently that it was noticeable as she mahe mass of ining materials.

  The st bit from the furthest spot hit the densed pile of dirt, critters, and now pacted ks of debris, while a colle of items she separated sat off to the side, three books, nearly a hundred sheets of paper, and a small mound of little more than a dozen odds-n-ends that weren't obvious trash. Doing this in Tyler's room would have been a disaster.

  The maid's ears popped, her heart beat normal, and the awkward ball of crap sat nearly half her size in front of her like a tightly packed boulder. The boulder started to bleed and ooze a little. As quickly as it began, it was over.

  "Eww."

  “Gryup.” Hyath entated.

  "I'll o break it up to move it ter. Let's check out the damage and see what I may have knocked loose before dealing with it or the extras. Keep a for anything unusual."

  Together they walked deeper into the attid it became clear that Harmony might have been a little forceful. Pallets and chests were shifted. ed paintings toppled. Not a speck of Dust, though, and Hyath sighrough their bond that any critters who survived the casting had run off as quickly as possible. She trusted her adorable predator's sense of prey.

  She straightened as she checked and recharged the glow stoo make it easier for those who would e . It was like everything had been given a good shake, but not a scrap of Dust to be found. It was quick-paced work, but she'd only checked on about half the attic before a pounding drew her back to the attitrance.

  She opehe door to a red-faced Bates. "I asked you to . Not make it sound like you're blowing the roof off! Several lords and dies were awakened by the sound and the ceiling rattling."

  Had she made a sound? Everything did move, but while she mahe casting with everything slowed down, all sound was a muted quiet. Her professional danger sense perked up at questioning the head butler's observations. "Sorry, sir, I was testing my gains with my ing skills. I didn't notid might have been a bit overzealous. I have almost pleted the task. I only o break that down and take out the garbage."

  She watched his eyes move from her face to over her shoulder where the bleeding rock sat, a boulder nearly half Harmony's height.

  "Ahem. We all uand the growing pains of quick adva and unlog stats. I merely ask that you focus on the care and fort of our masters first. A servant is quiet, unobtrusive, and always at hand."

  "Of course, Mr. Bates. I'll try not to let it happen again," She responded with a curtsey slightly more awkward than usual with the armor on.

  She watched his eyes widen as he noticed her armor, his mouth dropping open as if to say something before shutting. "Finish up, then ensure you are properly dressed before ing down. After lunch, the dy will need your services for some meetings." With that, he turned a.

  “Grr-rr-rrupt.” Hyath chuckled behind her.