Eve took a sip of the latest concoction that Kudzu had created. It had the sharp tang of almost-orange juice combined with a soft blend of sugary spice. She looked out over the roof at the surrounding trees as they passed slowly by. Mornings had to be spent up here after breakfast because it gave her a nice slice of peace to enjoy. For her magical murder plant alchemist comrade, the relentless push from her to make miracles from her memory was endless. A slight shudder escaped her at the thought of chocolate. If Kudzu could ever make that correctly, without visiting civilization, it would be fantastic!

At least the two stray little serpent munchkins aren’t a hassle. Eve thought. Light has the older one well in hand, and the Soul Sparrow has decided to nest in the younger one’s hair. Both of them still seem cautious, as if this is all an illusion. Her mouth flicked into a frown for a few moments as she decided the best way to treat the problem was lots of furry therapy. It worked for veterans in wars. It would probably work even better for kids.

Asking for their names had caused both girls to give her terrified looks, which promptly made Eve feel like shit. However, the orphanages that were run in this place clearly were very different from Earth. When the girls had finally given her a string of numbers as their names, it had shocked her. Her glowing cold silver eyes had likely not helped put the children at ease, but the rage had taken her a bit by surprise.

What kind of orphanages are so overrun they assign serial numbers to people! Eve thought, the grip on her wooden paper cup copy tightening enough to crack before she repaired it. I’ll have to think of names for them. Serial numbers and letters are not my cup of tea, that’s for damn sure!

Shifting her paper chair, she lounged backward as she set the cup to the side on a small snack stand. Focusing on the air above her, she turned her attention back to her Class List of Skill and Spells. Eve tapped her fingers on the comfortable paper chair’s inflated armrest. She had made many rushed decisions recently in the last several months to gain power rapidly. However, as they slowly traveled towards the following layer's boundary in the Endless Forest, she had time to think things through and relax.

Now she was a little over twenty levels from being a Royal. In essence, she would turn into the highest-level individual outside of a major city at this point. In nature, Royals were the head of noble households, kingdoms, major trade organizations, and so forth. The steps between a Royal at level one hundred, and a Royal Ancestor at level five hundred, were many and varied. It was a well-known fact, according to the Pack, that the seeds of specialization took hold in these fertile fields of power.

A master of flames would deepen their mastery of fire as they proceeded higher.

This truth held the same for almost any Element, and Eve suspected her Miscellaneous Element of Paper was no exception. To that end, she had started thinking hard and come up with a few recent ideas.

Checking the notes floating on her left, she nodded at the current ideas.

First, she needed to upgrade her paper. The previous tests on materials of Rank Two supplied by the Pack proved that her introductory article might as well be actual paper from Earth since it was unable to cause anything but the barest damage to the higher Tiered material. This meant that the four crucial combat S’s were starting to come into play as she moved into the higher levels.

Spells, Skills, Stats, and Supply.

Supply was simple.

Gear, equipment, accessories, luggage, it had many terms, but essentially meant things not shown on her actual Status. She hadn’t been paying much attention since she utterly outclassed most of her opponents in the past. However, that wouldn’t last forever. If someone came at her wearing a total Rank Two set of higher-end metal, along with enchanted accessories, Eve didn’t like her chances.

The solution, of course, was to make better paper from superior Rank Two materials. Getting those materials, though, might be challenging. While Felix could help with experience, he flat out refused to convert mana into materials. Apparently, there were costs involved besides just mana, and Eve was told that she would have to wait a year if she wanted to re-negotiate their deal.

Besides, I don’t even know the mana costs involved. For all I know, it would take a billion mana for a copper coin. Eve thought, grimacing as she controlled her cup and took a sip. Better to gain power and just take the materials from somewhere that won’t miss them.

With that thought came the plan that she had been pondering for some time as they traveled. Eve was a bit tired of the complete lack of civilization. However, until now, it had been hard to justify approaching a town or city. Towns, cities, capitals, these were all major points in the fabric of civilization, and as such, were extremely organized.

The next layer in the Endless Forest, though, was filled with villages. The dungeon town was a bit of an aberration, as most of the Endless Forest's outer layer was small villages, then towns, then cities, then capitals as you moved inwards towards the center. Villages were a little slice of civilization, and best of all, to Eve’s mind, devoid of high-level individuals. A tiny village would not have a Runic Circle Network or a Link Tower, and it would be impressive if they had a chief over level fifty. She could gain a fundamental identity to reference as she moved deeper while at the same time keeping a level of safety.

I need some common sense from ordinary people. Eve thought. Otherwise, there will be absolutely no way ever to blend in anywhere.

Even better, she could outfit her house and take time to work on two Crafting Professions she had decided to purchase, Scribe and Enchanter. Researching the Deeps and connecting with a Delver’s Guild branch at some point was on her list as well. First, learning the lay of the land quietly in a small village where she could quickly solve any problems sounded good. She didn’t want to point fingers at anyone. However, Eve was starting to feel a bit of cabin fever onset arriving.

As for a disguise, her short chat with the kids had revealed the perfect one ready and available from the local myths.

The Forest Hag.

Eve had listened to the minor children as the youngest one questioned if they would get eaten with a trembling voice. Hugging the small little child carefully while sitting on the bed in their room, Eve had explained that was a poor attempt at humor and wouldn’t happen again. They were guests in her home, and while she couldn’t let them leave, she would ensure they had plenty of delicious food to eat. The older one had marginally relaxed from hearing that, and Eve had pulled her into the hug as well. While she had never had kids, dealing with traumatized people was something she had undertaken before when Eve had thought of turning to social work in college after being discharged from the military.

Holding the little girls in hugs, and feeling those frail bodies that could be detected by touch through the fine paper clothing, had made Eve extremely sad. What type of stupidity led to being unable to feed a population effectively in a world of magic?

Moving her out of her memory and back to the choices she faced in reality, she took another sip of spiced tea before asking, “What do you think Kudzu, will the Forest Hag myth work for us?” She waited for an answer as her eyes flicked between the Class Spell and Skill list. Her desire for the Traveler’s Immortal Physique would have to be put on hold going forward. Glancing at the item she had previously wanted so badly made her sigh.

Traveler’s Immortal Physique

Requires: Celestial Body, Celestial Mind, Celestial’s Five Senses, Ascendant’s Physique

This primordial Physique teaches one how to generate power even where a Primal Energy Source does not exist.

All benefits of the previous requirements remain in effect.

True Travelers depend on none except themselves in the Deeps!

Physique Penalties: Reduce a known Domain to 90% of the current distance, permanent if the User cannot figure out how to expand it ever again. If no Domain is known, reduce all Stats by 50%, permanent unless the User learns how to train stats up to previous levels.

It was clear to her that a Physique like this was absolutely required by those who delved Deep. Seeing the penalties had reinforced once more a concept that she had theorized.

Why was the Domain reduced?

Why were the Stats reduced?

Because a person’s body needs to learn to pull from their own power source. Eve thought. It is the difference between a tank of gas and a nuclear reactor.

Right now, mana flows through her body, replenishing the ‘tank’ inside without end through mana regeneration. As a Celestial, her mana regeneration was massive, meaning her tank was quickly replenished and filled.

If her theory based on her brother’s notes was true, however, the Deeps were not a mana-filled environment. There might be some regeneration in them, but Eve thought it far more likely that there would be none or minimal amounts. She envisioned the Deeps as a place filled with trickles of the Primal Energy Source, Mana. That would explain why things were able to follow the Deeps up, like a dog scenting a particular trail of food. How they were kept from escaping and how they were trapped inside were things outside of her theories at the moment. Her brother’s notes no longer contained that answer, if they ever had.

Whatever the method, the Deeps are essentially Reality Traps. Eve thought. I might not know how to make them, but my brother’s notes explain it well enough to understand the bits I have read so far.

As the house slowly moves through the forest under Kudzu’s power, Eve finished her tea and unraveled everything except for her chair and clothing. Placing the paper back into her inventory, she looked at the Class Skill and Spell list's top three choices. These are the primary Profession and Spells linked to them that would make joining civilization viable.

Scribe 5 SS points

Grants the Scribe Profession.

Enchanter 5 SS points

Grants the Enchanter Profession.

False Parchment 5 SS points

Requires Scribe

You can create accurate Forgeries of a Document.

False Script 5 SS points

Requires Enchanter

You can create accurate Forgeries of a Status.

Paper Thin Skin 1 SS points

Requires Scribe, False Parchment

Mana is kept below the skin, preventing easy identification methods.

Blank Sheet 1 SS points

Requires Enchanter, False Script

Identification methods will return a Blank response and notify you of their use.

Taking these would allow her to disguise herself effectively as an elderly lady retiring from a life of adventure. From what Album explained, it was customary for strong old retiring adventurers to be difficult to identify. As long as taxes were paid easily without undue stress to families, most people wouldn’t care one way or the other. Eve further knew that having a house appear was expected, and there were several Skills, Spells, and items that could do such a thing. As a retiring adventurer, it would be par for the course to have one.

Before she pulled the trigger, though, it was important to have a chat with her most recent family members.

“Kudzu, can you bring the older one up first, please?” Eve said, watching as a vine quickly opened the roof trap door and grabbed the older serpent girl. As the vine closed the trap door, Eve created a comfortable seat next slightly off-center of her own. When the younger female girl was seated, Eve took a long look at her.

S-19-47-8X-01

Level 1

HP: 5/5

MP: 5/5

Seeing the serial number in place of a name caused a sick feeling too well up in Eve’s stomach. Pushing it down, she said, “Hello. We haven’t talked much, and I noticed neither you nor your sister has managed to sleep yet. Could you tell me the problem?”

The young girl shifted in her chair, her eyes desperately trying not to look at Eve. Her entire body language spoke of fear, and the scent wafting off her confirmed it.

Eve lowered her tone, taking the same manner she used on small animals or scared military veterans, “There is nothing to fear here. Before I picked you both up, I checked for anything that your owners could use to track either of you. Neither you nor your sister has anything that could allow you to be traced here.”

The words caused a small minute relaxation in the girl’s body before it tensed up again. Eve wouldn’t have caught it without Celestial’s Five Senses working overtime.

“Do you have a name you would prefer to go by?” Eve asked, keeping her tone calm and measured. It had the effect she was looking for as the young child slowly relaxed back into her seat.

“Ren. I want to be called Ren.” the young child said, mustering up her courage to glance at Eve.

“That’s a beautiful name. I would be honored to be allowed to use it, Ren.” Eve said, giving a brilliant grin at the girl.

Ren was extremely nervous, as if she expected something to leap out of the morning shadows nearby to eat her. Eve was starting to think there had been something else going on wherever the girl had been before. Her mind flashed to all the unsavory things that young girls could be forced to do with no one else around to witness them.

“Ren, is there anything you would like to tell me? I’m here. I will listen to whatever you want. If you don’t want to speak, that’s fine, too.” Eve said, her voice filled with honeyed calm. She didn’t let any of her suspicions leak; children, especially young children, were incredible detectors of the slightest emotions. Allowing her anger, rage, or fear to leak would only resonate with the young child, leading to a worse situation.

At least having a younger brother was good for something besides saving my life, eh? Eve thought as she waited for Ren. Learning to deal with him when he clammed up as a kid was a lot harder than dealing with Ren.

Eve watched as her words relaxed Ren, it took a few moments, but finally, the younger child said, “A-Are you going to sell u-us?”

“No, I would never sell you. Is that what was waiting for you back in the town?” Eve said, her tone keeping the same relaxing melodic inflection as before.

“Y-Yes. Mother, mother couldn’t, she couldn’t f-feed us.” Ren said, her eyes starting to tear up as she continued, “We were the newest, the youngest, the others were useful, but w-we, were n-not.”

Eve used her power to pull the crying girl over into her embrace, holding her tightly and letting her body warmth provide the sense of touch that Ren’s own mother had destroyed. Without judgment, she calmly listened as the child explained how they had been sold by their mother to provide food for the rest of the older siblings. Eve murmured wordless noises to keep Ren from freezing up, slowly drawing the rest of the story out from her in fits and tears.

What truly made her enraged was that Celestial’s Five Senses told her the entire story was nothing but the truth.

The two girls had been sold to a specific outfit that trained women in Classes to provide a steady flow to the brothels that had existed in the dungeon town. Eve had already checked them as she grabbed them, so she wasn’t worried about any form of pursuit. A few gentle questions had removed any fears that there might be blood links, a contract, or another method of finding the girls. Unless a child was slated for special training, it wasn’t cost-effective to use such methods. Ren and her sister were part of the commoner pool and hadn’t yet been tested for anything along those lines. When the young child finished the outpouring, her body collapsed against Eve as the stress and tension released their grip on the frail girl’s body.

Eve sat there rocking gently back and forth after a few minor adjustments to her chair to make it able to do so. Her mind slowly crystallized the idea of finding a village to take up residence in. Traveling with small children was indeed possible. However, it had long-term ramifications that would affect her young charges for years.

Better to settle down for a bit. As long as I follow Rule 1 and make sure I can obliterate any threats in the village itself, there should be no issues. Eve thought. A bit of research from the Pack should see any problems nipped in the bud.

“Kudzu, can you bring the younger one up here as well, please? I just want to double-check the story Ren gave me.” Eve said she took a look at the girl who had fallen asleep, resting her head upon a large distracting asset that males would drool over.

Ren

Level 1

HP: 5/5

MP: 5/5

One of Kudzu’s vines duplicated their previous effort, pulling the younger girl up before seating her in the seat Ren previously was in after opening and closing the trap door.

S-19-47-8X-02

Level 1

HP: 5/5

MP: 5/5

Lazy corporate work if I ever saw it, not even bothering to change anything on the serial number except the last digits. Eve thought, hiding her grimace. I don’t even need to check with Wilson. Obviously, as the Den's owner, I can change the names of those within it probably because I am vastly superior to them in level. That would explain easily how their own names were changed, as well.

Nodding to herself, Eve stared at the youngest child.

Surprisingly enough, the youngest child returned a calm level stare without any of the bubbly cheerfulness that the younger one typically had. Eve watched as the younger one’s eyes flickered to her sister before widening fractionally.

Before there was a chance for Eve to speak, the younger child said, “I want to be called Rin.”

Eve raised an eyebrow before she acknowledged, “If that is what you would like to be called, then Rin will be your name.” She watched as the young child’s eyes flickered to read her Status before a grin split the munchkin’s face.

“Wow.” Rin said, her face going back to a calm poker façade.

“I have a strange feeling you might be slightly different from your sister.” Eve said as she looked at Rin. She was serious, so profound it was seriously adorable.

Rin

Level 2

HP: 10/10

MP: 10/10

Rin slowly regained her bouncy cheerfulness as she answered, “Yes! I’m the older one. I just didn’t have enough food. With enough food, I’ll get…bigger.” Eve noted how the young child was staring at her chest when she made that comment and grinned.

Eve pretended to ignore the innuendo before she raised one eyebrow in a silent encouragement to continue. The wet sensation from the drool that was starting to drip down her paper clothing from Ren caused her to take rapid action. A quick twist of thought made the part that Ren was sleeping on drool-proof. Eve didn’t miss how Rin noticed the change and decided to treat her as a young adult. A short, adorable, cute young adult that was trying her best for her big sister.

“We got sold. It happens. It is common. We were lucky. The people Mother sold us too were some of the better flesh peddlers.” Rin said, her voice calm and collected as if she was discussing market prices for vegetables at a stall. Even though she attempted to remain calm, Eve saw her hands twitch in anger. Rin continued, “I saw it coming a year in advance, so I convinced one of my brothers to help me kill rats. As soon as I leveled, I put everything into intelligence. I knew when it happened. I would have to be the smart one. I would have to keep Ren safe.”

“Do you feel safe here in my home?” Eve asked, her voice dripping with honey and kindness. If the little girl didn’t say she felt safe, it might be a critical blow.

“Yes. No one who has so many magical creatures can be anything except powerful. All the fluffy creatures are super fluffy, and the only non-fluffy creature is the big brother plant that is everywhere.” Rin said, her voice cheerful as her adorability rating skyrocketed. Not-serious munchkin was the best munchkin in Eve’s opinion.

“Excellent. I have been considering taking the time to spend a few years in a village on the outskirts. What do you think about something like that?” Eve said, her voice soft and compassionate. She watched the bevy of emotions flicker over the smaller girl, everything from fear to hope to happiness.

“T-That would be very n-nice.” Rin said, her little hands twisting the paper clothing she wore as she looked downwards.

Eve decided there was no reason to keep the adorable little girl on a separate chair and quickly used her clothing to float her over to the opposite side of her sister.

Rin made a small squeak as she was deposited before her body gradually relaxed into Eve’s own.

“Your part of my family now, and I keep my family safe.” Eve said as she continued to rock gently. Like Ren, Rin’s own tension bled out until both girls were fast asleep in the rising light of the morning.

Eve created a shaded pavilion over her chair as she continued rocking. She had an appointment with Felix, but she was in no hurry. It was nice to have two adorable bundles of cuteness asleep in her arms.

Slowly drifting off, Eve decided to take care of leveling later. Before she was fully out, she glanced at her Status and made the previous purchases to ensure anonymity.

Race: Human

Class: Celestial Scholar

Professions:

Scribe I

Enchanter I

Level: 79

Health: 1,250/1,250 (12.5 HPs regen)

Mana: 3,750/3,750 (3,750 MPs regen)

Stats: Str 125, Dex 125, Con 125, Wis 375, Int 375

Free Stats: 275

S/S Slots: 0

Skills:

Paperweight I (2%)

Origami Ascension I (2%)

Celestial’s Five Senses (57%)

Spells:

Domain of Celestial Paper I (75%)

Mental Traits:

Celestial Mind (95%)

Physical Traits:

Ascendant’s Physique (6%)

Celestial Body (95%)

Eve watched as the Domain of Paper I devoured False Parchment, False Script, Paper Thin Skin, and Blank Sheet. She gave a soft sight as she kissed Traveler’s Immortal Physique goodbye until further down the road. If she would be in a village, there would definitely not be any openings to the Deeps or a Dungeon nearby.

Taking a lesson from her two munchkins, Eve decided to take a nap too.