“She— she killed it! The Mind is dead from this bastard’s tainted blood!”
Tiffany was the first to scream. Her shrill, accusatory screech grated on my ears while I stood there, dumbfounded. Why did the magnificent brain have to die at this time? I’m E-rank, armed with only a stick and a borrowed knife. The siblings in front of me were overflowing with hostility.
Eric pointed a finger at me, joining in on the dogpile. “It’s her fault. She should be put to death!”
Rocks began to fall from the roof as the temperature in the room dropped. Risa’s red eyes were fixed on the lifeless Armoured One’s Mind. She cast another spell circle, hovering it over the corpse. Its biggest eye—or the brain monster’s equivalent of one—stayed wide open, like a gashed chunk of roadkill staring at me in its final moment.
I stared back at the big creature. I don’t suppose my healing could revive such a big fellow like you from death, now can I?
Risa’s spell faded, shock flashing across her face. “It’s gone— you!”
The adventurer looked at me in horror. Something told me the spell she used had returned bad news on what I supposedly did to it. Hostile intent was thick in the air. I panicked, unable to see a way out. How should I know how it died?
I had only a stick and a small knife. Glancing at the handle, I noticed a small window with an [X] from my Plus Menu. That meant I probably couldn’t use it and I had no time to check why. Great. It was essentially just a butter knife. No range at all. Four against one was completely unfair—especially when one of them was too high-leveled.
“You’re a Healer class, right?” Tiffany accused, pointing at me. “Why don’t you heal it?”
“Didn’t you hear Risa?” Eric sneered. “She’s a worthless E-rank! What could she possibly do to bring a Mind back to life?”
“Right,” Devon chimed in. “A life for a life would pay the price, right?”
“We should toss her in that pit!” Tiffany cheered along.
They were in sync, I’d give them that—and now they were slowly climbing the steps toward me. I gripped my staff with both hands and backed away.
Wait.
I stared at my finger. It was bloodstained, but uninjured. The poke I’d given it earlier had vanished. Huh?
I backed up. “C-can’t we talk this out?”
The only response was jeering and the ominous ring of drawn swords. Risa didn’t try to stop them. Her red eyes were frozen in fear, glowing with the same pale mist that had clung to the Mind while it lived.
Could she see menus too? Was it telling her how I killed it?
———————————————
Notifications
> Encountered an Armoured One’s Mind. It has been added to the Monsters Database [Locked].
> The Armoured One’s Mind has been slain! Host has gained 91 status points. [Total: 149 status points]
> The Host has leveled up!
———————————————
Great. There it was, an irrefutable proof that I was the cause of the thing’s death. My level up brought with it a host of new Status points and new problems. I don’t suppose a Healer has many tricks that can fend off three attackers, right? Should I invest in Constitution?
A health bar, no matter how big, probably didn’t mean much if the owner couldn’t fight back. It would only extend my suffering for a bit longer. Since I couldn’t exactly afford to test the stat, maybe I should put my Status points into several attributes? The knife clinked against my hip as I took another step back. If I invested into Attack, I could at least give someone a good smack before I died.
Someone’s boots quickened, rushing towards me. Forget it! I decided to commit about half of my Status points to a live test. Attack Power it is! The moment a hint of sharp metal flashed in the ceiling lantern’s dim light flashed in my eyes, I swung my staff like a baseball bat, catching someone’s head. A sharp crack lashed the Laboratory’s quiet atmosphere. A body thumped the ground, tumbling and crashing into several glass beakers on the way down.
I stumbled after the home run, kicked the sword that clattered near my boot away and let out a roar. “Trying to toss me in that pit, huh? Come on! I’ll take one or two of you down with me!”
The footsteps encroaching into my personal swinging space ceased their movement. I was left breathing hard and a pounding heart. No one moved. Blood dripped from the top of my staff, with rivers trickling down the dais’s steps from the body’s head. I glanced at who it was.
———————————————
— Devon Ravenclast [Unconscious]
———————————————
Not dead, but definitely not getting back up. Good. I checked the Plus Menu and saw that I had added 73 points to my Attack in the middle of the fight. It must’ve made a big difference, because even Eric and Tiffany stayed back, as if I was a cornered beast.
———————————————
> Status [+76]
Attack Power: 83 (F)+
Magical Power: 35 (F)+
Constitution: 20 (F)+
Wisdom: 15 (F)+
Movement Speed: 10 (F)+
———————————————
Heh, I chuckled and closed the screen. They probably couldn’t imagine a Healer like me could fight back and beat their leader. Honestly, I had no idea I could do that a few moments ago. A good stick can give a beat down no matter the class, I supposed. As long as it keeps the shiny sharp toys of theirs away from me.
The air remained thick with tension. I didn’t eye the foolish duo in front of me, but at the silent Adventurer behind her. Risa seemed like she blue screened, unable to reboot from the information that spell gave her. So, only a silent standoff remained between me and my fellow batchlings.
A door creaked open in the hazy darkness and broke the confrontation, revealing two pairs of red glowing eyes in the fog. One of the figures was clapping, giving an amused chuckle.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
That evil sword hanging off his hip and that arrogant frame. It must be the family’s Hero, Ethan.
He swept a hand over us. “Hah, what a show, what a show! This is your Batch, little sis! Though, I quite like this one! I thought you said that she was weak and ungrateful! Well, look at her now!”
The Hero pointed at me and laughed like he won a bet.
Who, me? I wanted to ask, but I stayed quiet with my staff raised defensively. Now that there were six people here there certainly wasn’t any way I’d survive a battle here. Emily’s eyes were locked onto me. The Human Knight seemed different than the arrogant Slapper of Faces I had first encountered. At least, she didn’t appear to be angry over me looking at her briefly this time, but was distracted by something else besides the Mind and the fallen test tube baby under my boot. What was she looking at?
“Risa,” Emily’s cold voice silenced the Hero. Her gaze aimed directly at the frozen Adventurer. “What is the meaning of this?”
“L-Lady Ravenclast,” Risa stammered. She bowed deeply. “The last one in the batch— She’s an anomaly! Her blood poisoned the Mind and she defeated—”
“That old thing?” Ethan snorted. “Find another Rift and retrieve a new one. What’s the issue?”
Risa’s excuses instantly caught in her throat. I guessed that while she was a level above us, she was still not a Main Family Branch member and still owed the Ravenclast Daughter a lot of respect. Emily glared at the remaining members and me.
“You two are with Ethan, and you—” Her eyes assessed me like I was some kind of newly discovered species. “You are coming with me to the camp, trash.”
She tacked the insult at the end of her address to me as if it was a necessary compulsion, though I sensed the curiosity outweighing her disdain for me. She couldn’t be too nice to us lower lifeforms, couldn’t she? Eric and Tiffany glared at me, but followed the Hero out. Ethan gave me one last mysterious and mocking look, before his barking orders echoed out further in the chamber.
Risa looked flustered, but said no more as she activated the pitfall again through the tablet. This time, it was the dead Armoured One’s Mind’s turn to get dumped into the darkness. The chains rattled violently, but I didn’t hear any splats or crashing. A throat cleared from behind me. Right, the powerhouse, Emily, was waiting.
I marched behind her, not forgetting to stomp on Devon’s back for good measure on the way out. The smell of dirty rain smacked my nostrils as hard as the wind slapped my hair into my face. Yet, it was better being out here rather than going through strange rituals in a Cult building. I’ll take the great unknown outdoors over a cramped room that reeks any day.
As I passed the silent Carrier statues at the doorway, I supposed I have passed this Test successfully. I felt a little guilty over the dead Mind, because that piled work for someone else and could temporarily halt the Batch blood ritual for others. But only slightly. Less of those little grunts giving me trouble was good, I supposed.
Emily didn’t spare me another glance. Good, since that big axe hanging off her back would definitely have no trouble breaking me and my staff apart. Her steps quickened and several guards had joined us. One whispered something to her, but she merely dismissed him with a wave. I didn’t want to talk to her anyway, so instead of worrying about things happening externally, I decided to look internally. My Plus Menu’s red dot notifications flashed in my mind again. Three of the little things awaited me.
———————————————
Notifications
> Devon Ravenclast has been struck with great force!
> Devon Ravenclast is unconscious.
> Host has received 5 status points! [Total: 81 status points]
———————————————
I pondered over the amount of status points briefly, but then remembered what the face-slapper mentioned. A camp? Come to think of it, I glanced at the naked trees getting pushed around in the rainstorm and the gravel path muddying up my boots. Something told me that I was going to find out what exactly a Rift was very soon.
-X-
Two blades clashed, ringing out over the training ground. Sparks rained all around them as the bind reflected two faces. Emily’s brows furrowed in concentration, while the other face in front of her simply had an infuriating smirk on his face. She exerted even more strength. She needed to get stronger. That had always been the Ravenclast way.
Still, against her own will, her blade was slowly giving way to Ethan’s.
More magic flowed into her veins, and the aura around her grew vicious. The strength of the Bearer was also within her. Her stance left a depression in the ground as she pushed back with all of her might. Then, the back of a sword hilt struck her squarely in the back before she could even utter the Family’s Skill [Ravenclast Slash]. Instead, her world became a vision of dirt and humiliation.
Prismatic glowing orbs twinkled and twirled around her, showing her humiliation and flashing like they were taunting her.
Her Skill, Spirit Watcher, revealed how he did it. Ethan had simply withdrawn his attack at the height of her strength, stepped aside at a perfect distance and delivered a light smack to her back. The momentum was all on her. It was quite like her dear brother, to let others take the fall for him.
It was feint. She lay flat on the ground for a solid moment as the pain caught up to her. Her aura had become a solitary wail, full of the helpless futility of a kitten drowning in a raging river. How could she get stronger if a simple trick could do her in? Clapping came from above her. Ethan was mocking her.
“You’ve gotten stronger haven’t you, little sister?” He scoffed. “That was a lot more power than the last time we’ve trained before.”
He stuck out a hand, but Emily ignored it and got up herself.
“Thank you for the match,” she said as firmly as she could muster. The Spirits around her reverted to blue colors, dancing in swirling patterns above her head. Ethan was about to say something, but a soldier burst through the gates and immediately knelt before them.
“What is it now?” Ethan said irritably.
“Sir, a Rift has spawned right at the eastern wall,” he said. “The Scroll of Identification had revealed it as a D-ranked Monster Rift. A Labyrinth. We’ve got the camp ready for the latest batches. The Patriarch has sent his commandment.”
Ethan turned to Emily, whose heart had sunk. The Rift’s sudden appearance meant that the new batches will not survive at all, didn’t it? His smile widened, answering her questioning look. “Well, well, well. A Field Rank Rift, all for the both of us, dear Sister.”
The Spirits had turned red again at the provocation, but Emily understood that this Test was going to come for her sooner or later. Succeed or be exiled like her sister. They couldn’t afford to have another breach.
“I’ll go at once, Brother.”
Emily tossed the training sword at the guard and took her axe. She supposed that the new Hunters given to her were probably stationed at the Eastern camp already, though she doubted they’d be helpful. Were it not for her Skill, she wouldn’t have survived that C-ranked Rift. At least, Ethan and his chosen Hunter parties were also going to be involved with the Rift this time.
“Wait,” he called out. Emily halted, her nerves already thoroughly tested by this brother of hers. “I heard your favorite Hunter had survived the Reading Test and gotten her Blood Potency read already, along with most of her batch. Aren’t you curious to see what happened to her?”
“No,” Emily said flatly. “But I’ll go see if any of the trash can be used.”
As she headed to the Laboratory, she heard footsteps following behind her at a leisurely pace. She gritted her teeth. Of course, he had chosen to follow and meddle.
Later when she arrived, the results in front of her had shocked her. The Spirits darted in zigzags all around the Laboratory’s Ritual Chamber, while she took in the scene before her. From the broken pieces of glass shattered and scattered along the floor, she could tell that some kind of altercation had occurred here. Infighting was expected in the Hunters, especially recently. But she hadn’t expected the victor to turn out to be… her.
The frail trash stood there, her breath ragged, gritting her teeth and brandishing her staff in a laughably defenseless pose. Blood oozed out of one of the Batch 1061 members’ head, making a small river down the tiered steps between the circular rows of desks. A spirit told her that he was somehow left alive from the strike. And, somehow, the brain was dead because of that strange staff wielding creature.
Risa stammered out an excuse for the Armoured One’s Mind, but Ethan actually was helpful for once. He dismissed her with a wave, and in his typical fashion, took the pair with the highest potential away with him.
That left Emily with this strange creature. One whose class did not fit in with their clan, who was unwilling to show gratitude only a few days ago. Now, she was quiet, but still had an edge of defiance in her eyes. The Spirits fluttered away from her, shimmering in yellows and whites when she urged them to draw near the girl. They were terrified of her. But why?
She made up her mind. She, Emily Ravenclast, will get to the bottom of this mysterious failed experiment.
