NOVEL WEB Volume. 2: Chapter 1: Stuck.
Chapter 1: Stuck.
*Erika’s POV*
Two weeks later, and still no word from anyone… Although I didn’t bring any entertainment with me, I did bring tons of food, so at least I wasn’t going to starve any time soon. Unlike last time, the meals that I had brought with me are all extremely high quality. Made by the chiefs at Victoria's estate.
I honestly don’t know how or why, but whatever you put into your inventory, what state it was in when you did put it in your inventory, it will be in that state when you take it out. So if you put a hot meal in, it will still come out as a hot meal. Magic bullshit is truly convenient!
Because of my experience in that zombie dimension, I had damn near completely filled up my inventory full of food. Now that my INT was higher, as well as my MAG, I had so many inventory slots that there was no way that I could use them all any time soon. Even if I ask them to make me hundreds plus more meals on top of what I already asked for...
I can’t ask Lilith to confirm or deny that MAG has something to do with Inventory space but considering that my INT Stat Rank didn’t really get that much higher but, I now have 500 inventory spaces which leads me to believe that MAG has something to do with it.
The World Tree wasn’t much of a talker. After the first week, she had asked me when I was going to leave. I told her that I was stuck in this dimension for the time being and she kinda looked mad.
I told her that I had no plan to take over her dimension and then she became calm again. She must have really hated those Saviors... I mean, who wouldn’t be pissed off when some random group invades your dimension, and tries to take it over? I would be.
The World Tree would sometimes show up and stare at me. She would always do that for a few minutes straight before leaving again. I would ask her why she was doing that but, I could tell that she was slowly changing her appearance to be more human-like.
She did take inspiration from me, but she did look different.
Her body was still plant-like and didn’t have anything resembling skin or organs. By that I mean, that she didn’t have eyes. Since she didn’t have eyes, I assume that also didn’t have any other organs as well.
She looked as if a gardener decided to sculpt a tall bush into a beautiful woman. Which was something that I actually found sorta funny…
As I said, she didn’t talk much or really at all. With no one to talk to, not even that cheeky Lilith, and nothing else to do, I was left with complete and utter boredom by being stuck in this dimension.
This boredom had finally led me to do something really stupid… And I mean, something really stupid. Something so stupid, you would second guess my intelligence…
Erika: “I wonder what would happen if I eat a Monster Core…” I say while playing with an F Grade Monster Core with my hands.
I didn’t bother to talk in my own head since the World Tree wasn’t around. And it’s not like anyone else was either. Boredom will lead you to do stupid things…
After playing with all of the F Grade Monster Cores that I still had left, I realized that they didn’t have a specific color. Each one was a different color. Honestly, they kinda look like really tasty candy...
How could you even tell the difference between Grades without an inspect skill? Just dumb luck, I guess...
Anyway, like I said, I was beyond bored so I decided to take a bite of a Monster Core. Yeah, you heard that right…
As for the Monster Core, it kinda tasted like rock candy. I felt no problems with eating it, so I swallowed the pieces of it still in my mouth. It went down smooth… NOT!
Erika: “Ugh!” I grunt in pain after spiting up blood.
I… did I just really stupidly consume poison? Does my INT Stat even do anything? No, I can feel that it does… It’s just that it doesn’t prevent me from doing stupid things.
It’s not like smart people never do something stupid…
Erika: “Status.” I say after wiping the blood from my mouth.
:General:
Name: Erika Ardent.
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Age: 18
:Stats:
Available Stat points: -0. (Error.)
HP: 135,000/175,000 (0/8,650)
MP: 45,000/45,000 (0/2856)
INT: SS+ (0/2363)
STR: S (0/1564)
AGI: S (0/895)
MAG: A (0/735)
DEF: S+ (0/3456)
LUCK: SSS+ (MAX)
:Skill list:
Knife Mastery: Level 8.
One-Handed Sword Mastery: Level 2.
Inspect: Level 5 (MAX).
:Titles:
Dark Savior: S.
System Update Tester: ???+
All of this time even in the extremely dangerous situations that I’ve been in… The first time my HP has even gone down, was because I did something so stupid…
At least there was something to distract me from my own stupidity. My Stat Point's are negative and there is an error message next to it.
I figured that maybe it was just another visual bug like Lilith mentioned before so, I just decided to close the System and reopen it again.
:General:
Name: Erika Ardent.
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Age: 18
:Stats:
Available Stat points: -0. (Error.)
HP: 133,978/175,000 (0/8,650)
MP: 45,000/45,000 (0/2856)
INT: SS+ (0/2363)
STR: S (0/1564)
AGI: S (0/895)
MAG: A (0/735)
DEF: S+ (0/3456)
LUCK: SSS+ (MAX)
:Skill list:
Knife Mastery: Level 8.
One-Handed Sword Mastery: Level 2.
Inspect: Level 5.
:Titles:
Dark Savior: S.
System Update Tester: ???+
It’s still an error… wait… my health went down again?! Reopening my System once again confirmed this. My HP was constantly dropping…
Despite this dangerous outcome, I didn’t panic since one, I had a shit ton of HP and, two, I still had that Health Potion that I had pocketed a while back from my first kill.
Erika: “World Tree.” I say while holding on to a tree with one of my hands.
It took but seconds for her to show up once again.
World Tree: “What is it? I’ll have you know that I was sleeping.” She said with a yawn.
Erika: “Well, you see… I was bored and ate a Monster Core.” I reply with a nervous tone.
World Tree: “You… You what? Is this some kind of joke?” She said with a serious tone.
Erika: “No. Why would I even joke about that?” I ask with a confused tone.
World Tree: “If you ate a Monster Core, you should be dead!” She said with a loud and serious, as well as concerned tone.
Erika: “I have a lot of HP so don’t worry about me dying any time soon. Although, it’s constantly decreasing by the second.” I say with a serious tone.
World Tree: “The amount of HP you have is meaningless, you should have died the instant that you consumed the Monster Core.” She said with a thinking pose.
Erika: “Okay then, why am I not dead yet, but dying instead?” I ask with a thinking pose of my own.
World Tree: “That’s what I don’t understand… Here, let me check your body.” She said before putting her grassy hand in between my breasts.
She didn’t respond to my questions but instead looked to be focusing. I didn’t mind her hand inbetween my breasts since, she wasn’t doing it in a sexual manner.
It was like if you had to CPR on someone. If you find such a situation to be of a sexual nature, pal, you’ve got some problems. To say the least.
World Tree: “Good News Erika, you’ll be fine.” She said with a bright smile.
Erika: “And what of my decreasing HP?” I say with a head tilt.
World Tree: “It won’t kill you. Although I have no idea why, you’re evolving.” She said with a laugh.
Evolving? What the hell does that mean? Her laugh was pretty cute, though. That’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh actually.
Erika: “And what exactly do you mean by me evolving?” I ask with a confused tone.
World Tree: “It’s not like your Status or body will change, just your race is what will change. For instance, right now you’re a human, as for what you will evolve into, I have no idea.” She said with a shrug.
Erika: “Does HP decrease constantly for everyone that evolves?” I ask with a curious tone.
World Tree: “No.” She quickly denied.
Erika: “Then why is this happening to me?” I ask with another sigh.
World Tree: “There are two reasons that I can think of. One, you ate a Monster Core and forced an evolution, two, things that evolve, they always pass out before the whole process starts.” She said with a serious tone.
Erika: “So should I just go to sleep or something?” I ask with a head tilt.
World Tree: “Don’t just take my word for it. I have no idea how you can even stay awake in so much pain but, you should probably stay awake and monitor your HP, just in case.” She said with a concerned tone.
Pain? Ah, I guess that I am in pain but, it’s nothing compared to the pain I endured in my last life. Even the pain of having my System being updated was worse than this.
While I was lost in thought, a green glow appeared around me. It was extremely warm and comfortable. I imagine this is what it would feel like to be a child held by a loving mother. But how would I know that? I’ve never had a real mother before…
World Tree: “Erika, I would feel bad if you died so, I healed you. If your HP goes under 5000, wake me up again and I’ll heal you once more.” She said with a warm motherly tone.
Erika: “Thanks, I will do just that. I don’t want to die either.” I say with a laugh.
World Tree: “Actually... I’ll only heal you again, but only on one condition.” She said with an evil smile.
Erika: “Huh? What kind of condition?” I say nervously.
World Tree: “Nothing too hard. I just want some of your blood.” She said with a face that a yandere would have…
Erika: “My blood? Ah, I noticed that you’ve been remodeling yourself after me, Do you want my DNA?” I ask with a nervous tone.
World Tree: “That’s right! Just a drop will do!” She said with a crazy tone.
She did not wait for my consent for me to give her some of my blood. The World Tree used plants and vines to restrain me in place with one of my hands facing her.
I didn’t think that she would kill me, so I didn’t resist. She then took one of my fingers into her mouth. She did that after causing it to bleed with a sharp pointy vine of hers.
She then began sucking on my finger. It was like she was a vampire. If she looked like a human fully, I might have been aroused by this lewd situation but, luckily she wasn’t.
The World Tree sucked the blood from my finger for a long time. It was actually just a few minutes but it felt far longer than that. Hey, you try having someone suck on your finger. It felt like minutes to turned to hours…
Once she was done, she licked her lips and had a face of pure euphoria. She realized that I was still being restrained so she released me.
World Tree: “Thanks for the meal, Erika!” She said with an excited tone.
I’ve noticed that ever since I met her, she has become more and more humanlike over time. And what’s this about a meal? Is she actually a vampire? I mean, don’t plants die when they drink too much blood? Did I just accidentally kill someone?…
Erika: “Don’t worry about it.” I reply with a sigh.
World Tree: “I have something more to ask of you, this isn’t a condition but, a request.” She asked with a serious tone.
Erika: “What is it?” I ask with a head tilt.
World Tree: “Please give me a name. People need names, right? The beings in this dimension are very young and they haven’t developed such things as culture yet. Ah, of course, just a first name.” She said with an interested tone.
What the hell is up with everyone wanting me to give them a name? Should I get a Title or Skill regarding this or something? Erika, the Giver of Names! Nah… that sounds too stupid to be real title.
Should I just give her a cheeky name like Mother Nature or something?… No, that would be too rude. I mean, think about how rude that would be. It might even be slightly racist… I might be a ruthless killer, but I am not a racist.
Ah, I hate being put on the spot like this! Maybe I should give her a name like a fairy would have? Although I didn’t consume much entertainment in my first life, I did read a lot of books that Victoria has in her estate.
Because of that, my knowledge of names isn’t as bad as it was before…
Erika: “Would Aura be a good name?” I ask while doing a thinking pose.
World Tree: “Hm… sorry, I don’t like that name much at all.” She replied with a sad tone.
No dice, huh? Everyone else accepted my names on the first try… Maybe I just got lucky…
Erika: “How about Avicia?” I ask with a nervous tone.
She didn’t deny the name this time but seemed to be lost in thought.
World Tree: “I like it! From henceforth, I shall go by the name Avicia!” She said with a loud and happy tone.
And that was how I had created one of the most dangerous beings in existence… or not? Who knows, with my luck, I might have really done something terrible by giving her my blood and a name.
Actually… I’m curious about her Status… I managed to convince her to join a party with me and then I was able to peek on her Status. My shock almost managed to show up on my face…
:General:
Name: Avicia Ardent.
Race: ???
Sex: Female
Age: ???
:Stats:
Available Stat points: 0.
HP: 10,850,000/10,850,000 (MAX)
MP: 55,000,000/55,000,000 (MAX)
INT: SSS+ (MAX)
STR: SSS+ (MAX)
AGI: SSS+ (MAX)
MAG: SSS+ (MAX)
DEF: SSS+ (MAX)
LUCK: SSS+ (MAX)
:Skill list:
Creation Magic: Level 99.
:Titles:
Dark Savior: S.
The Great Mother of Creation: SSS+.
A being that has existed for all of time. Thought to be the one who created everything and set existence in motion. She went missing many years ago.
*Hidden information*
She has no memories of her past.
Am… am I just a magnet for overpowered beings or something? She also doesn’t fully remember her past. I wonder what race she is... It just shows up as question marks...
Though, her not having her memories would explain why such a powerful being is responsible for a small unimportance dimension like this…
But wait… Why did she get my last name as well?…
*Two months later.*
A little over two months in this dimension… Or at least, I think it was two months. Due to something very specific that happened, I don’t know for sure…
As for my Status, the whole decreasing HP thing ended after a few hours. I didn’t see any change from whatever happened, though.
Erika: “Hey, Avicia, what do you want to do with this dimension?” I ask with a curious tone.
Avicia: “Hm? Oh, I haven’t thought about it much.” Avicia replied with a sigh.
Erika: “Really? I would have assumed otherwise.” I say with a laugh.
Avicia: “Hey… Erika?” Avicia said with a small voice.
Erika: “Hm? Yes, what is it?” I say with a head tilt.
Avicia: “When you’re able to leave this dimension, will you ever come back to see me? I’d hate to never see you again.” Avicia said with a concerned tone.
Erika: “I don’t think that I can, maybe I can ask Sofiel to take me back here but, I don’t know for sure.” I reply with a thinking pose.
Avicia: “I… I see.” Avicia said with a sad tone.
Avicia, two months after I gave her a name and my blood, she tapped me on the head and I fell asleep. She did that after I told her that I had no idea if I could come back to this dimension.
To me, it felt like I was only asleep for a few seconds but, the sight before me leads me to believe otherwise…
Before she did that, we talked a lot. Mostly things pertaining to culture but, what she was interested in the most was me. I thought that she was just interested in learning about things that I know.
But I clearly recall her only really listening to things about me that I told her.
Now the present, when I woke up, instead of just a huge forest around me, there was an entire civilization of elves.
Actually, now that I look at it, there was more than one race present. Not just elves…
I was currently in what I assume is a huge city. All around me I could see humans and elves. They were holding trays of food and drinks.
The most shocking thing was that I was on a throne… Oh God… Do they worship me or something?
Their language, I did not speak or understand it, but there were definitely worshiping me… Bowing up and down on their knees, etc…
Though, they luckily only did that when I first woke up; afterwards, they went back to standing as still as possible. This is the most shocking thing that has happened to me…
Okay… That was a lie, the most shocking thing is that, there is a ring around my ring finger. It was a beautiful silver ring with a luxurious looking small and emerald green diamond on it.
Taking off the ring, I looked at the inside of it. There was an inscription on it. It was in my language so I could read it. What it said was so shocking that I almost dropped it.
It read as follows, “To my dear loving wife, Erika, with love. From Avicia.”…
Holy shit! She really was a yandere!
Do I really have to keep getting myself into these situations? It was just some blood and a name… I’m a married woman now? I haven’t even dated anyone yet, though…
???: “Oh dear, I’m so glad that you’re finally awake! You seemed to be in a deep sleep this time… But, why did you take your ring off?” A woman said with a warm and loving tone.
The woman... she was definitely Avicia… How’d my blood turn her into this?
She was a milf… That was the best way that I could describe her.
Avicia had emerald green eyes similar to one of mine. Her hair was emerald green as well. It went down to her knees. She was easily a foot or two taller than me. Her skin was pure white without a blemish in sight. Although her breasts weren’t as big as Sachael’s, there was still far bigger than mine. She radiated mommy energy… Did I have a thing a milf’s or something?…
No, no, this was the not the time to thing about my taste in women… I was going to respond to her since I had left her question unanswered for a few minutes but, Lilith’s voice rang in my head.
Lilith: “Erika! Please tell me that you’re awake now!” Lilith yelled in my head.
Erika: “What do you mean?” I say with a confused tone in my head.
Lilith: “Oh thank god! Nadia was damn near about to rip my head off. Look, that green haired woman, she will be suspicious, reply to her like an extremely happy married couple would talk like. Do it quickly!” Lilith said with an urgent tone.
She was right, it looked like Avicia was getting suspicious of me...
Erika: ”Ah, it’s nothing, dear. I just thought that my ring you gave me was quite beautiful. I wanted to look at the wonderful inscription that’s on it again. My heart fluttered so much that I was lost in thought. On top of that, dear, you showed up and it was just too much for my pretty little brain to handle.” I say with a cheerful tone and expression.
Avicia: “Oh really? Hearing that makes me so happy, dear! Although I wish that I could stay with you longer, I have a meeting at the parliament to attend.” Avicia said with a remorseful tone.
Lilith: “Erika! That’s a lie! She’s on to you, she just got back from that meeting!” Lilith’s urgent voice rang in my head once again.
Ah, the cheeky girl is actually helping me this time…
Erika: “You have another meeting there? Didn’t you just get back from it, or Did it get pushed back or something?” I ask with a questioning tone.
Avicia: “You know what, you’re right. It just slipped my head that I already attended it. Unfortunately, I do have something else that requires my attention.” Avicia said with a sigh.
Erika: “Oh? That’s a shame… I was looking forward to spending time with you again. Is it something dangerous?” I ask with a sad tone.
Avicia: “It’s just some people trying to invade this dimension, nothing I can’t handle, don’t worry about it.” Avicia replied with a warm tone.
Erika: “Avicia… Is it okay to talk about this with all of these people around?” I say with a quiet tone.
Avicia: “It’s fine dear. Just as long as we speak in your language, they won’t understand us at all.” Avicia said while lovingly rubbing my head.
Erika: “But… what if there is a spy?” I ask with a serious tone.
Avicia: “I would never let such a dangerous person near you, dear.” She said with a bright smile.
After rubbing my head for a few more minutes, she left the throne room. One of the maids beckoned me to follow her. I was led to a huge bath and carefully stripped of my clothes. Five maids then began to thoroughly wash me from head to toe.
Once the washing was over, they gave me a very good massage in the bath. I might have fallen asleep, if I didn’t get pampered even better at Victoria’s estate.
Lilith: “Erika, just follow the staff. No, you can’t understand them. Avicia never let you learn the language.” Lilith said with a serious tone.
Following Lilith’s advice, I was taken by the maids to a big room. It was clearly my and Avicia’s room. I was served tea to drink and sweets to eat, I was also given a bell to ring. I assume it’s for when I need their help or just need more tea and or sweets to eat.
Lilith: “Okay Erika, we should be safe to talk now.” Lilith said with a sigh.
Erika: “Lilith… I am very confused right now.” I say in my head while taking a sip of my tea.
The tea wasn’t as good as the tea at Victoria’s, but it was still quite good.
Lilith: “How long were you asleep for? I mean, how long did it feel like?” Lilith asked with a curious tone.
Erika: “A few seconds at most.” I reply with a shrug.
A shrug in my mind that is. On the outside, I just took a bite of a cookie. It was also pretty good.
Lilith: “Fuck… That’s bad.” Lilith exclaimed with a sad tone.
Erika: “Lilith… You aren’t going to tell me that I’ve been asleep for a very long time, right?” I ask with a nervous tone.
Lilith: “It wasn’t that long…” Lilith said trying to avoid answering me.
Erika: “How long exactly? Come on, tell me already. I won’t be mad, it wasn’t your fault anyway.” I say with a serious tone.
Lilith: “Uh… Erika, did you know that it’s your birthday tomorrow?” Lilith said with a nervous tone.
Erika: “Is it?” I say with a confused tone.
I haven’t even celebrated one of my birthdays yet in this life… How many did I miss?
Lilith: “Erika, happy 158th birthday!” Lilith said with a deadpan tone.
What?… She’s just messing with me, right? No! I can’t have been asleep that long… I… I have to check my Status…
:General:
Name: Erika Ardent.
Race: Part Human, Part Angel, Part Demon.
Sex: Female
Physical Age: 18
Real Age: 158
:Stats:
Available Stat points: 0.
HP: 175,000/175,000 (0/8,650)
MP: 45,000/45,000 (0/2856)
INT: SS+ (0/2363)
STR: S (0/1564)
AGI: S (0/895)
MAG: A (0/735)
DEF: S+ (0/3456)
LUCK: SSS+ (MAX)
:Skill list:
Knife Mastery: Level 8.
One-Handed Sword Mastery: Level 2.
Inspect: Level 5 (MAX).
:Titles:
Dark Savior: S.
System Update Tester: ???+
My Status was basically the same as it was before. The only difference was my race, which seems to have finally changed, and my age… I was really asleep that long… Wait, was I actually asleep the entire time?
Lilith: “I know that you’re confused Erika, no, you weren’t asleep the entire time.” Lilith said with a sad tone.
Erika: “What do you mean?” I say with a confused tone.
Lilith: “Avicia had put you under a spell. You were made to think that you were always her lover and wife.” Lilith said with an angry tone.
Erika: “Why would she do such a thing? We didn’t even know each other for that long…” I ask with a shocked tone.
Lilith: “I can only say that she must have fallen in love with you.” Lilith replied with a sigh.
Erika: “Why did it take me so long to wake up?” I ask with a sigh of my own.
Lilith: “Okay Erika, a lot happened since you were put under her spell.” Lilith said with a serious tone.
She then began to explain some of the things that I missed out on.
The reason why I lost contact with her, was because it was all hands on deck trying to save Alice, Victoria, and Sofiel. Although they still don’t know why Sofiel was also affected, those three had evolved just like me.
My stupidity made the situation worse. Originally the evolution was small and manageable but, when I ate the Monster Core and started evolving, they had a double evolution.
The weird thing that is people are NOT supposed to be able to evolve. According to Lilith, only some Monsters can do that. Those three started evolving when I finished completing the tasks in this dimension. No one knows why, though.
As for why I couldn’t return home, it was because my dimension was in lockdown. Because of the three, the mana in the dimension was going crazy, and it required almost every Administrator to prevent it from tearing itself apart, and also ensuring that those three did not die.
Lilith: “You said that it wasn’t my fault but, it definitely was.” Lilith said with a remorseful tone.
Erika: “What do you mean?” I say with a confused tone.
Lilith: “It was my decision to leave you here in this dimension. I could have easily taken you back first but, I thought that it was too risky to expose you to that dimension.” Lilith replied with a sad tone.
Erika: “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I say with a laugh.
Lilith: “Laughing in this situation? I honestly don’t understand you… Want to know something that will make you not laugh?” Lilith said with a cheeky tone.
Erika: “I’ll regret it but, sure.” I say with a sigh.
Lilith: “Currently Alice, Victoria, and Sofiel are raging a war against Avicia.” Lilith said with a laugh.
Erika: “And why is that funny to you?” I ask with an annoyed tone.
Lilith: “No blood has been spilled yet. Avicia is extremely good at repairing any holes they try to open up to this dimension.” Lilith said with another laugh.
She said that she didn’t understand me but, I honestly don’t understand her at all…
Erika: “Didn’t answer why I only woke up now.” I say trying to avoid her teasing of me.
Lilith: “It took over a hundred years but, I finally managed to break you out of the spell. Which is good because Nadia was just about fed up, and she would have taken matters into her own hands if I took any longer.” Lilith said with another chuckle.
Erika: “Okay… I’m free now, do I just go back to Victoria’s dimension?” I ask while taking another sip of tea.
Oh wait… I’m out of tea and things to eat. *Ring!* Two minutes after I rang the bell, ten maids come into the room in a flurry and refilled my tea and sweets, and left all within three minutes… scary…
Lilith: “So, here is the bad part, Erika…” Lilith said with a nervous tone.
Erika: “What?… How bad could it really be?” I say in denial.
Lilith: “You’re aware of who she is, yes?” Lilith asked.
Erika: “Mother of all creation, right?” I reply with a thinking pose in my head.
Lilith: “That’s right. So… um… you have to convince her to willingly let you go.” Lilith said with a nervous tone.
Erika: “What do you mean? Why would I have to do that?” I ask with a fed-up tone.
Lilith: “Erika… Remember what I told you about Stat Ranks getting an update? Avicia is so damn powerful that she might have all of her Stat Ranks near the new max… She didn’t originally have a System either. She was a being that did not need one. She accepted the System just to be with you.” Lilith explained with a serious tone.
Erika: “Okay… let me get this straight, I have to get her to accept my will, because if I just leave, she’ll go on a rampage?” I say with a vein clearly showing up on my forehead.
Lilith: “Yes, that is correct.” Lilith confirmed.
Erika: “How?” I ask with an angry tone.
Lilith: “We’ll cheat!” Lilith said with an excited tone.
Erika: “Cheat how?” I ask with a confused tone.
Lilith: “I understand the spell she used perfectly. Every time she uses it on you again, I’ll just undo it. She’ll have to give in eventually.” Lilith said with a smug tone.
I talked to Lilith some more just to make sure that I didn’t miss anything else. I didn’t.
Now I just have to figure how to get Avicia to agree with me, and finally let me go…
Why did she even do this? I have no memories of the past hundred plus years being with her so, I honestly have no idea… From my basic understanding of her, she is probably a yandere…