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ABH - CH 9 - Godspeed and Growth
🕑 Added 2024-08-13 15:41:23 +0000 UTCA/N: This is the THIRD of six releases today!!
Chapter Nine
Godspeed and Growth
Rise of Winter, Week 3, Day 6
[Congratulations! Running is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Quick Fight is now Level 2!]
[Congratulations! Quick Fight is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Imbue Flame is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Fire Step is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Sparkler is now Level 2!]
[Congratulations! Sparkler is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Sparkler is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Regeneration is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Inspect is now Level 3!]
[Congratulations! Fire Conjuration is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Fire Manipulation is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Quick Fight is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Imbue Flame is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Regenerate is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Fire Step is now Level 4!]
[Congratulations! Fire Conjuration is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Fire Manipulation is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Quick Fight is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Imbue Flame is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Sparkler is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Regeneration is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
[Congratulations! Running is now Level 5! New features unlocked.]
As the final notification came in, Freddie collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
“Finally!” She shouted, her voice hoarse. The force of her exclamation caused her to start wheezing and then coughing.
“Tilly!! That’s all but [Inspect] and [Bright as a Flickering Flame]!”
And my two otherworld Skills, Freddie thought to herself but did not say aloud.
[Status], she commanded.
[Name: Fredericka Nemo]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 8]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 0]
[Vitality: 97 Endurance: 29]
[Strength: 52 Dexterity: 48]
[Perception: 26 Magic: 46]
[Luck: 78 Divinity: 37]
[0th Tier Class: Child of the Gods, Max Level]
[Boon: Druigr’s Blessing]
[1st Tier Class: Young Lady of Flame, Level 11, 12.6%]
[Skills:
0th Tier: Inspect Lv. 3, Running Lv. 5, Sparkler Lv. 5
1st Tier: Quick Fight Lv. 5, Bright as a Flickering Flame Lv. 1, Fire Step Lv. 5
2nd Tier: Otherworldly Lv. 1, Fire Conjuration Lv. 5, Fire Manipulation Lv. 5
3rd Tier: Imbue Flame Lv. 5
Untiered: Hidden Heart Lv. 1, Regenerate Lv. 5]
“Yes,” she hissed to herself, pride lining her voice. Sitting back up, she dismissed the crimson screen.
“Lady Fredericka,” TIltham said coolly, “Decorum, please.”
Freddie waved her off.
“Save that grievance for Marasha.”
I’ll have to examine all the new features, Freddie half shouted in her own head, excitement causing her to buzz.
[Regenerate]
Magma flooded her veins and seemed into her muscles, healing her soreness. As the aches faded, Freddie felt the mist of Quick Clean and True Wash potions come over her, and she was spotless—no hint of the hours of sweat she’d accumulated in order to hit the final level of [Running].
She was as good as new, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet and punching the air jovially in a mock battle with an invisible opponent.
“Does this mean we can head back to the manor?” She asked as she landed a side kick on her non-existent target.
Tiltham, who usually held a single expression of nonchalance, had a wide grin on her face, “Indeed it does, my lady. We’ve done all we can here. Your affirmation is just days away now.”
Freddie, choosing to ignore the unsettling smile, simply stopped her shadowboxing and jumped for joy.
“Oh, thank the Gods—no offense, Tilly, but I could use company that isn’t you.”
Pulling her ponytail down and letting her pink hair flow around her, Freddie made for the dwindling bags of jerky and jugs of water, “Not to mention real food. I am so tired of jerky.”
“So you’ve made abundantly clear, my Lady. Often. And loudly.”
“You’ve got jokes, now? You must really be excited to get out of here,” Freddie snorted, ripping off a bite of jerky.
Tiltham ignored the jab and stood by the door waiting.
“If you finish that, we can head out now and be back to the manor before sunset.”
Before Tltham finished speaking, Freddie shoved the remaining jerky into her mouth and chewed rapidly. A few quick gulps and steps later, she was standing next to the knight.
“I’m ready. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
Tiltham shot Freddie a bewildered look but still handed Freddie a thick, lined cloak that made Freddie feel suffocated. Less so when Tiltham opened the barn door and revealed a world dusted in white. Snow coated the Moors of Hernel several inches thick. Dead bushes were lumps of pale cold, and trees were brown and white. A strong gust passed through the open doorway, and the cold nipped at Freddie’s nose.
She had, momentarily, forgotten Nemo was in the North.
Tiltham stepped out first, and Freddie followed closely behind.
“Can we run back?” She asked.
“Not in this weather. We have to be careful. We saw the Clematis Serpent last time, but now we’ll see snow beasts if we make too much noise.” TIltham looked back at Freddie briefly. “And they’ll be hungry.”
“Them and me both, then,” Freddie grumbled, kicking a bit of snow out of her way.
Tiltham ignored her and continued on. Overall, it was a quiet hour heading back to the manor. The snow chilled Freddie, but she dared not use mana and attract a beast —because Tiltham had told her if she did, Tiltham would leave her. They both knew it was a lie, but Freddie didn’t want to attract more than she could handle.
As they approached the stone manor, Freddie could see movement in the windows. This time, they didn’t use a side stairwell and instead made their way to the main entryway. It was late afternoon, with the suns hanging low on the horizon.
When they began climbing the stair to get to the front door, it was pushed open viciously, and several bodies rushed out.
“Fred!” Came a deep voice.
“Freddie!” Was another, more feminine and high-pitched.
“Frederika, you left us.” Was a final woman’s voice, coming from Freddie’s aunt.
Behind the three people—her aunt, uncle, and cousin—was Freddie’s mother, her arms crossed and an amused look on her face.
Freddie was already grinning by the time her uncle’s arms wrapped around her and brought her to his hip.
“Darling, you won’t be able to work the farms,” He said sadly. “I’ve heard your class is not suited to it.”
“Bah, I bet it’d be fine,” Freddie laughed. “But I’m planning to move on to greener pastures than your run-down dung heap.”
“Tch, I knew it! Betrayer!” He said, spinning Freddie around to face the others, her cloak whipping around them. He brought her inside on his hip, but set her down once they’d crossed the threshold.
Inside, there was a crowd of family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and—yes, brothers. Both of Freddie’s parents had moved to the back when she wasn’t looking, but her grandfather was waiting at the center of it all, circled by his children and grandchildren.
Pandemonium promptly ensued, with cousins bombarding her with questions and aunts and uncles looking on knowingly. It was the boys that were the real kicker, offended and pleased both to not know her Class name but to know it was important.
Freddie was filled with a warmth she had never felt in elsewhere. Rather than the magma of mana, this heat originated from her chest. She knew what it was, even if she was unaccustomed to it. It was love.
She loved these crazy people with their intrusive questions and probing jokes.
“Okay, okay, can we please wait to have this conversation until dinner? I’m desperate for a real bath and a change of clothes!” Freddie said after several long, jovial minutes.
The questions ended as her grandfather placed his hand on her shoulder and shot the family a look. Tiltham had noticeably disappeared in the chaos, and Freddie regretted that she didn’t have a chance to call her Tilly one last time. Alas.
In the far corner was Marasha, patiently waiting for the family to disperse. Her black and silver uniform was pristine and neatly pressed, and her hands were gently placed in front of her. She looked every bit the perfect Governess, and Freddie didn’t quite run to her. No, she maintained a respectable speed and posture as she went to Marasha.
“I have loads of questions,” Freddie started, only to be silenced by the exasperated look on Marasha’s face.
“My Lady, please. It has only been three weeks. Use the proper greeting.”
Freddie’s groaned, “But I’ve already started. Can’t I just do it next time?”
“Practice only makes perfect if–?” Marasha prompted.
“If it’s practiced perfectly,” Freddie grumbled, then stepped back and plastered a broad smile on her face.
“Marasha, good day,” she said over-enthusiastically before dropping her smile. ”I have loads of questions.”
Marasha huffed a laugh and relaxed her posture, “And we’ll go over them after you’ve had a proper chance to rest.”
“Perfect,” Freddie started off, heading up the main staircase to her room. Marasha followed closely behind.
It was a quick process, finding her room. She knew well where it was, after all. Marasha made swift work of setting up a bath and laying out clothes for Freddie to change into. As Freddie sank into the warm water she explored the options that Level 5 had given her Skills.
[Sparkler] was the simplest, as it now created both Troya, the red sun, and Dreya, the yellow sun. [Running] helped to control body movements and added an active Sprint function. [Quick Fight] helped with footwork and added an active Enhand Speed function. [Regenerate] added a passive regeneration rate. [Fire Step] could now be split into two at once. [Fire Conjuration] gave several color options for flames unrelated to their heat, whereas [Fire Manipulation] now allowed adjustment to the heat of the flames. [Imbue Flame] allowed multiple activations at once without having to use the Skill twice.
Overall, Freddie was pleased with the haul of new abilities. It would be easy to adjust her fighting style to accommodate her new capabilities and she was looking forward to the grueling training that would lead to many Skills and skills. She couldn’t wait to have her muscle memory back.
Using her new ability to alter the heat of her flames, she lowered the temperature of her flames using [Fire Conjuration+Fire Manipulation]. Setting the color to a deep red that matched her System notifications, she dried off. Freddie ran the flames over her body, just hot enough to evaporate the droplets of water off her skin but not so hot as to melt the insides of her body. She’d had quite enough of that over the past few weeks. Her Skill [Imbue Flame] had required much testing, after all.
Once she was finished drying, she brushed her hair and allowed it to flow around her. She simply tucked the front pieces behind her ears to get them out of her face. Sliding into the outfit that Marasha had laid out was easy to do by herself and so she popped on her shoes and headed back downstairs.
It was time for dinner, and nothing would keep Freddie away from real food. Real, true not-jerky food.
Freddie was salivating at the very thought. It was as she was passing by the window before the main staircase that she caught a glimpse of color in the snow with her Perception. Someone was out there. And they were bleeding. The red painted the snow around them.
Without hesitating, Freddie stopped and snapped open the window. Her [Inspect] wouldn’t work this far, but it didn’t matter anyway. There was someone out there, and they were in danger, and Freddie was ready and willing to help.
With the window pushed open. Freddie launched over the side, landing gracefully on the balls of her feet and ducking to catch her momentum.
[Running] was activated before she consciously thought about it, and [Imbue Flame] and [Fire Conjuration+Fire Manipulation] created dancing orange flames across her fists.
It was time to test her limits once again, it seemed.
Freddie grinned as she ran through the snow.
Comments
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
