Seclusion [Old Version | Dropped]

 

I still could remember that particular day when my mother and I went to the small village to sell some of our crops. It was a lovely day—birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and a pleasant summer breeze flowed through my hair. Actually, this was the first time my mother took me to the village. At that time, I didn't know why she lectured me about a myriad of rules dictating what I could and couldn't do.

The most important one was to never show my fangs. Even using my hemomancy got banned. Technically, the rules forbid everything that was supposed to be fun on this trip. Nonetheless, my childish mind remained brimming with excitement. It would have been my first time to see so many people, after all.

However, as we walked through the village, all those bubbly feelings quickly dried up. Why? Because of the stares, the villagers were giving us. Never before had I seen so much disapproval and disgust. It was as if they were not seeing us as humans but rather like filthy wild beasts.

When my mother went into one of the shops, she told me to wait outside and not move too far from the entrance. Naive and still full of curiosity, I ignored her words and walked around roaming. Not too far away from the shop, I heard children screaming as if there were attacking something. Obviously, I wanted to know what was happening over there. The closer I got, the more I could distinct this jumbling of voices.

"C'mon, get her!"

"I eavesdropped on a conversation my father had with one of his friends. They were saying something about how her mother is 'selling' her body. When I asked my mom what this meant, she only stated that it was something extremely filthy and disgusting. Soo, we probably should be careful and use some sticks if we don't want to get sick," said another voice.

"Ewww, now I know why my parents always tell me why I shouldn't be friends with her," a third girly sounding voice declared.

After a few more seconds, they finally came into view. They stood at the first row of trees of the adjacent forest. I didn't know why they would do something so dangerous. My mum constantly warned me about the lurking dangers looming in the depths of those woods. A shiver ran up my spine when I imagined all kind of exciting situations which might occur in its vicinity. I myself was never allowed to approach it, so I was actually still quite apprehensive, but the bullied girl was in dire need of help.

Lastly, I threw the rules my mother had pettishly imposed on me overboard and rushed off to the other children.

"Stop doing this!" I cried out and only noticed now that those bullies were nearly a foot taller than me.

They turned around and looked at me somewhat skeptically. Like the other villagers, they had an apparent disdain in their eyes, as if I were something lesser.

Then the first one opened the mouth, "Who are you? Why do you look so weird?"

The second one—the lankiest of them—spoke, "Ohh, my sister told me about them. She must be the daughter of this freaky foxkin who moved into the abandoned house near the Wolf's Glade."

Now the girly bully spoke up, "What?! Do you mean that creepy place our parents warned us about? Why would anyone want to live there?"

"Just look at her and those tattered clothes. They are obviously piss-poor!" the lanky one answered her and laughed haughtily.

I grinned menacingly, baring my sharp teeth. Slightly frightened, they took a step back.

"Perhaps, since I'm so poor, I should bring home some fresh ingredients. How long do you think the three of you would last?"

"Y-you don't scare us! Your just a weak little girl!"

"Y-yes, don't pretend to be stronger than you really are."

I gathered my courage and continued to act as if I had the upper hand. I desperately wanted to save the girl. "Didn't you know that we foxkin can turn into scary monsters even if we look small and weak?" I bluffed.

The evildoers looked at each other uncertainly. The girl among them started shaking and tugging at the biggest one's worn-out shirt.

"W-we should leave, Ernst," she said quietly.

He just glared at me, then at the bullied girl, then back to me.

"Alright, Annette. C'mon Karl, let's go and leave those filthy beasts under their own devices," said Ernst, turned around and ran away. The others followed him.

Once they were far enough away, I fell to the ground since my legs couldn't carry me any longer after the unbearable tension. I was shaking all over. Moreover, I could hardly believe that my bluff had really worked. I laughed softly.

Suddenly, I heard a gentle clearing of a throat next to me and caught sight of the bullied girl. She appeared to be the same age as me and was only a tiny bit taller. Her long brunette hair was braided into a plait but had already lost some of its shape due to all the commotion. She peered at me with big green shy eyes. She mumbled something so quietly that I couldn't understand it, then stared at the floor for a brief moment before she apparently managed to muster the courage to look at me again. In a shaky and squeaky voice, she finally said.

"T-Thank y-you very much for helping me! B-But you shouldn't have done th-this. Now they will be targeting you too!"

I looked at her self-confidently and replied in a firm voice, "Don't worry, I'm tough!"

She gaped at me in amazement. A hint of amusement flashed in her eyes for a fleeting moment before it evanesced.

"I-I should go now," she said, moving a few feet away before she turned around again. "I'm Lusia, by the way."

That was the first time I met my future best friend. When I told my mother what had happened, she scolded me at first, but in the end, she was glad that nothing bad had befallen me. Since then, I was allowed to accompany my mother every time she went to the village to sell our goods. And every time I managed to meet Lusia and make friends with her bit by bit. I really thought that this friendship would last forever. But how wrong I was...

That fateful day on which I lost my mother, I was taken to the village—after they finished their filthy crimes in our house—to one of their warehouses that I secretly visited with Luisa by gaining access through a few loose boards in the back. With the help of my hemomancy and the last strength, I was able to gather, I freed myself from the ropes. However, when I finally used the secret entrance, I hadn't anticipated the scene that would await me on the other side.

As I pushed the boards aside and slowly squeezed out, I thought for a short moment I could escape. But my hopes were crushed shortly after I spotted the abductors just a few steps away. There was a hint of mockery in her eyes. Then the voice of one of my captors rang out.

"The whore's girl was right. Really didn't expect her to tell the truth. But oh well, no one from the country could say no to some gold."

I ignored everything else he said and just plumped down on the ground. I lost all my remaining meager strength. Not only had I lost my mother, no, but even the person I thought of as my best friend betrayed me.

On that day, I learned that gold was worth more than any friendship. Unfortunately, this was not the only lesson I would learn in the years to come. It was only the first of many tragic stories.

 

---

 

"Nyriel? Nyriel!" a voice pulled me back into reality.

Dazed, I glanced around and remembered that Maera brought me into her bedchamber. It was totally freezing in here.

"Good gracious, they really did the number on you, huh? Why did you join the fight in the first place? You are in no condition to fight at all. Ey, hello? Is your mind present?"

With chattering teeth, I answered her, "I'm fr-fr-freezing."

"Oh, oops. My bad! Totally forgot to change my form. Wait a moment."

Huh? Form? What Form?

But before I could ponder any further, the temperature in the room suddenly changed. I carefully observed my Mistress and noticed that even the initial coldness in her eyes was gone. Instead, they emitted a different kind of feeling. It reminded me of the expression my mother used to give me when we sat—nestled together—in front of the warm fire in the living room. Still, somehow it felt yet somewhat different. It was hard to pinpoint, but after a few moments, I finally knew what it was. Where my mother looked at me with love and happiness for having me, Maera did not. It was more like she was proud of having me, not as a person though, but as a good—it was unsettling. But before I could dwell further on this train of thoughts, Maera raised her voice.

"Better?" I only nodded in response. "Good, good. Anyways, back to the topic. I have something that should deal with your cravings and help you at the same time to recover your health and strength. Still, this will be only a one-time exception. Never again will I give you something like this, so don't get your hopes up too high about seeing a second time in the future."

With this, she concluded her sentence, opened her [Storage Box], and took out a little crystal flask with a strange red glowing liquid.

She held the bottle out to me with her right hand and indicated that I should take it.

Questioningly, I stared at it. I knew that she obviously wanted me to drink the contents, but I still wanted to know what it was exactly, especially since I hadn't the Skill [Appraise].

"Come on, take and drink it, then you'll definitely feel better," she spoke a little impatiently before ultimately taking my hand and pressing the vial into my palm.

I looked at her a little bit aghast, but she seemed to ignore it completely. I sighed and thought for a moment if I should really drink this weird liquid. For some reason, I had the feeling that if I swallowed it, my future would change forever. But then the memory of the betrayal flashed through my mind again—no, never again would I be so utterly helpless. I swallowed hard, opened the crystal flask, and gulped down its contents. A strong metallic taste spread throughout my mouth—it was clearly blood.

Suddenly, warmth and energy—which I'd never felt before in my life— rushed through me. I could observe how my emaciated arm regained its shape; all scars and injuries disappeared. My whole body regenerated and changed so fast as if everything done to me in all those years were suddenly null and void. I felt how torn muscles heal and new ones form. After a few seconds, the whole spectacle was over, or so I thought until I heard the [System Messages] pop up.

"W-what?!" I exclaimed in surprise, staring at the message boxes in front of me. My mouth was wide open as I silently read through it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maera watching me with a smug face and a broad grin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I honestly just couldn't believe anything I saw right now. It was just way too absurd. I gained much more Levels and Stats than I would have if I had led a normal life.

The abilities and improvements alone were indescribable. I just didn't know what to say about it. I'd to reread all of it calmly when I was alone. Especially the possible class evolutions interested me a lot. What advantages I could acquire only thanks to them...

But what made me wonder the most was that I got a Blessing and a Curse which even the system didn't recognize. It scared me a little bit, albeit making me curious at the same time. Still, an open question remained.

"What the hell did you just give me!!!" I yelled at my Mistress.

Maera peered at me innocently and said, "Something delicious, obviously!"

She then took two more vials out of her [Storage Box] and gulped them both down in one go.

...

"You know what... never mind."