“Are you tired Lady Liliana?” Astrid asked and Liliana started a bit, she had almost entirely forgotten the maid had been with her. She’d been so wrapped in her own thoughts and the woman had been so quiet.

“My legs seem to not be entirely up to so much excitement, I simply need to rest for a bit,” Liliana responded, blinking at the words that came out. That had been far more eloquent than what she’d meant to say. While she appreciated the help the body was giving her it was still odd to do or say things she hadn’t entirely meant to say or do.

“This is far further than I thought you would be able to walk my lady, it seems the Goddess has blessed you with a speedy recovery as well,” Astrid responded, a warm smile on her face that Liliana instinctively returned. Her eyes were drawn back to the magical fountain and the hedge maze outside. It was beautiful, and it was peaceful. She could see herself spending time here, it was almost like she was in yet another world. One where she didn’t need to worry about a Goddess’s quest or pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

As she stared at the fountain, wondering how it worked, Liliana remembered her skill. She almost smacked her head at her stupidity. She had gotten [Identify] and barely used it. With a thought she activated it, focusing on the fountain.

Unicorn Fountain: A fountain made of marble by a talented artificer who imbued it with runes for a multitude of effects.

Huh I wonder what other kind of effects it has? Liliana kept focusing on the fountain but after no further information was given she focused on something else, the gazebo.

Glass Gazebo: A gazebo made of enchanted metal and glass by a talented artificer. It will lessen the effects of the sun and the elements.

Why did that one give me more information? Is it simpler or is it because I already saw the effect? Liliana mused over the information, she’d need more to make a hypothesis. Her eyes flicked to Astrid who was standing to her side and with a small tilt of her head Liliana tried the skill on her maid, wondering if it would work.

Astrid Tailor

Level 26

Huh that’s not much but useful. How is she level 26 though? Liliana almost pouted. She had figured a maid wouldn’t be so much stronger than her, and yet here she was 26 times stronger.

“Lady Liliana, was there something you needed?” Astrid asked, seeing Liliana staring at her intently. The girl blushed and looked away when she realized she’d been staring at the woman for several minutes in silence.

“I was just trying out my [Identify] skill,” Liliana murmured and Astrid's sharp intake of breath had her head whipping back to look at the woman. The maid was looking at her with wide, disbelieving eyes and Liliana felt panic leaking into her heart. What had she said wrong? Did she know that she was a fraud? Her breath started coming in shorter gasps as she felt metal bands tightening around her ribs.

“You got a skill? My Lady, did you Awaken?” Astrid asked and Liliana stared at her in confusion. She had no idea what she w-

A memory surfaced of another Liliana sitting with Astrid, struggling over an embroidery hoop, yelping when she pricked her finger and blood bloomed over the fabric. The noble girl flung the hoop down in annoyance, earning her a chastising from the maid. She had asked when she’d get a skill for it like Astrid had, a skill that would make the process far easier and lessen the amount of blood she shed when fighting the ever difficult thread and fabric.

Astrid had calmly reminded her that she wouldn’t be Awakened until she was sixteen, unless her Father took her to a temple to have it done sooner. She told her she couldn’t get Skills until then, which had Liliana asking why it even mattered if she knew how to do embroidery now. The question sounded well used and the smile Astrid gave her showed it was a familiar argument. Astrid had reminded her that any work she did before she was Awakened would show in her new skills, enabling her to acquire them faster and even get them at a higher level when she first got them. It had mollified the noble girl and she had once more picked up the detested embroidery hoop.

The memory faded and Liliana was left reeling. That information had been entirely new, and the memory was clearer than the last one she had seen. She still knew it wasn’t her memory but she felt the ghost pain of a needle puncturing flesh on her finger. Could remember the frustration from yet another failed attempt in her chest.

“Yes I have Awakened, I believe it happened when the Goddess healed me,” Liliana answered the question Astrid had asked, “I haven’t gotten any skills except [Identify] yet so I wanted to test it out, “Liliana further explained and Astrid nodded, a proud smile on her face and a touch of awe in her eyes.

“That is expected my Lady, to gain the skills you worked on you’ll need to do them at least once,” Astrid informed her, the words giving her a sense of deja vu from the recent memory she had been shown.

Liliana hummed quietly in agreement as she considered it. She had no idea what skills she already qualified for, she knew of Embroidery now thanks to the memory. What other skills would a noble lady have? Art? Etiquette? Politics? Backstabbing? She had frightfully little information, and that fact was beginning to irritate her. With no information she was playing a dangerous game.

“Are there any books I could read about skills and awakening since I was blessed early by the Goddess?” Liliana inquired, meeting Astrid’s eyes again. She resisted the urge to wring her hands, the question was risky. What if the real Liliana had already read such books? She was betting that because she was both unfavored and too young to Awaken naturally such materials wouldn’t have been provided for her before.

“That would be a question for your governess but I believe there are likely some books like that in the library, “Astrid responded easily and Liliana let out an internal sigh. She hadn’t been suspicious about the question.

She felt exhaustion wearing on her, she’d only been awake for a handful of hours and she was ready to sleep already. The walk on top of the constant stress of trying to pretend to be someone she wasn’t was sapping her energy. She needed to figure out how to unlock Liliana’s memories soon, or she felt she’d break from the stress.

“I would like to visit the library in that case,” Liliana decided and Astrid nodded at her request.

She wasn’t excited at the thought of more walking, more pretending, but she was excited at the prospect of getting some of the many questions she had answered. The clear goal and potential of gaining some sorely needed knowledge helped Liliana ignore the complaining in her legs and feet as she got back up and made her way through the maze.

This time she paid more attention to the scenery as she moved, taking in the beautiful construction of the maze and it’s decoration of flawless roses. There was no way it wasn’t made with magic and Liliana was willing to bet that the Rosengarde family had some kind of magical gardener. As she walked back through the garden, her body knowing the way even if her mind did not, she used [Identify] on everything she saw. She wasn’t sure if it would help the skill level but she did it anyway, barely paying heed to the veritable flood of flora names that filled her mind.

When they reached the doors again Liliana waited for Astrid to open them, taking a deep breath to steel herself before she walked inside. Again she felt the eyes of the servants on her and her back straightened from the barely perceptible slouch it had. She tried her best to portray a noble air as she walked, though she once more noticed when she wasn’t paid the proper amount of deference. Normally she wouldn’t care, having anyone curtsy or bow to her was a wild idea, yet now it irritated her. It was a slight, an insult from the servants and she knew it was their way of mocking her.

Even the servants are rude to her. How did Liliana stay sane in a household where no one cared for her? She wondered as her irritation grew at every too short bow or curtsy. Some part of her knew she couldn’t speak out on it, a faint wisp of remembered scorn and punishment for her lashing out. That made the irritation worse, the knowledge she was being disrespected along with the inability to do anything about it.

When she finally got to the library Liliana was ready to pick up one of the ornate vases next to the doors and throw it in a fit of anger. When Astrid opened the door she practically rushed in, ready to cut off the judging gazes she could feel on her back.

Inside Liliana paused as she looked around the room, it was exactly the same as the game. It wasn’t a huge room, perhaps a bit larger than her bedroom. Yet it’s walls were covered in books and there were several plush seats around, even a loveseat before a window that she knew would look out on the garden.

Liliana walked towards a bookcase, eyes scanning the covers. They were all in a language she had never seen, the letters odd to her mind. Yet she could perfectly understand every word. It was strange, though in the grand scheme of things she’d dealt with in the past twenty four hours not the strangest by far. However she was looking for something specific as she scanned the bookshelves until her eyes finally caught on a familiar tome. It looked old and a tad dusty, it was titled Mathematical Formula but that wasn’t what she cared about. She knew if she pulled the book the bookshelf would slide open to reveal a short hallway to a hidden room filled with more books and a hidden spell scroll.

Or it had in the game at least, she had only found it because she enjoyed exploring every facet of a game and had been clicking randomly on the books until one had an effect. She had forgotten about the room until she was in the library, she had far too many other things on her mind to remember every hidden thing in the game. Liliana started to reach out for the book when a voice called out and her hand froze.

“Lady Liliana, I have found a few books regarding Awakening and Skills,” Astrid informed her and Liliana turned to see the woman in question holding three books in her hands. They were far newer volumes than the Mathematical book yet were clearly more used.

Liliana walked away from the shelf, she wanted to check out the hidden room but she wanted to do it when she was alone. Astrid might be the only person in the entire manor who cared for Liliana but she didn’t trust her. She would turn on her as fast as anyone else if she found out she wasn’t really Liliana.

Liliana walked to the window seat and Astrid set the books next to her before stepping back and taking a position against a wall. Liliana watched her for a moment, how uncomfortable must it be to just stand all day?

With a shake of her head Liliana turned her head back to the books next to her, examining their covers. The Process of Awakening, A Compendium of Skills, and A Novice's Guide to Skills, Stats and Their Uses. Liliana picked up the book on Awakening first, wanting to get more clarity on her situation.

Hours passed as the world around her fell away, Liliana completely absorbed into her reading. The sun had begun it’s descent in the afternoon when she set down the first book. The girl blinked, her eyes heavy and delicately stretched out muscles sore from sitting in one place for too long.

You’ve met the requirements for the General Skill [Reading], would you like to accept the skill?

Liliana accepted the skill immediately, excited to see if the skill would aid her with reading faster or perhaps understanding the information better.

Because of previous experience with the General Skill [Reading] it is advanced to level 4!

Liliana grinned at the second notification; so it was true that previous experience contributed to increased Skill levels. Though it was obvious it was based on the original Liliana’s experience, as if it had been her own it would be far higher. She’d spent hours reading in her last life and would’ve surely been at level 10 at the very least.

Dismissiing the notifications Liliana focused back on the information she’d just learned from the book. It was all very enlightening, and far different from what she’d learned in the game.

So Awakening is just when we become connected to our Mana. It naturally happens around sixteen but it can be expedited by a Priest with a Divine blessing. Or I guess directly by a Goddess in my case. Awakening any earlier than thirteen can permanently damage one’s Mana Core, which is how we generate our Mana. It grows slowly until one is Awakened and then it can grow faster through experience gain. Apparently our Mana Core can improve all facets of our being, which is what the Stat Points do directly. It’s how we can get superhuman levels of health, strength, speed and such. Our Mana Cores directly improve us. Basically even a level 2 human is leagues stronger than an Unawakened human. And the power difference only increases, high level humans are almost Gods compared to unawakened or low levels because of how much their Mana Core has improved them.

Now that she was aware of what it was called Liliana closed her eyes and tried to locate where her own Mana Core was, apparently once Awakened one could locate it. It took several minutes before she found the small warm core floating in her abdomen. It was incredibly small but it pulsed with power. With magic. She marveled over the magic, the unlimited potential resting inside of herself. She reached out to it and as she came in contact with the pure magical essence she felt warmth from it. Enchanted by the warmth she tugged at it slightly, wanting more of that warmth. As she pulled she felt her body warming with the energy. The power inside of her dimmed quickly but her body felt like it had been hooked up to a live wire. Her eyes opened and the world around her seemed brighter, more colorful. Her fingers twitched with the urge to move.

Liliana moved her hand and almost hit herself in the face when the limb moved faster than she had expected. Excited by the change Liliana stood up and moved around the library, her body moving far faster than it had before. The aching muscles didn’t even complain, her body felt better, stronger. She looked around to find something to lift, she felt energy in her muscles crying for her to use it. She heard Astrid calling out to her but paid little mind to it. The energy inside of her wouldn’t let her sit still. She grabbed a chair and hefted it with far more ease than she would have earlier. It was still heavy and she only managed to lift it a few feet before her magically enhanced muscles would raise it no further. She set the chair back down and went to find something else when the energy faded suddenly.

Liliana stumbled, barely managing to collapse into the very chair she had lifted. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were heaving. She felt like she’d run an entire marathon and then gone to do a five hour weight lifting session at a gym. Every muscle in her body screamed at her and ached.

Ow, what the fuck was that? Liliana wondered, though her mind was moving slower than before. As if even it had been worked out to its limits.

You have met the Requirements for the Skill [Enhancement] Would you like to accept this skill?

Liliana gave a small smile at the box, well that explained what she’d just done. Seemed she had found a Skill. If she wasn’t exhausted down to her bones she’d have been excited to get her second non-general skill, one that could actually be used in combat. To get a skill that used actual magic. She was familiar with the skill from the game, it was a low level one almost every character got. But she still identified it both to possibly raise the level but also to see if the skill was different.

Enhancement: 5% Increase to Speed and Strength for 2 Minutes.

Cost:40 Mana

It looked the same as the game, Liliana accepted it with another small smile. It was mana intensive for right now but she knew at higher levels it would be worth it. Until level 10 of the skill percentage it would increase by .5 increments but the mana cost wouldn’t change. After level 10 it would become an intermediate Skill and get a small boost of another 5%. After that every level the time for it would increase by 5 second intervals, the skill percentage would increase by 1% and the mana would increase by 1 point each level. At level 25 of the skill would become an Advanced Skill get another 5% boost, and every level after would see a 2% increase, 10 second increase and another 5 mana. At level 50 it would get a flat 15% increase raising it to an 80% increase and transition into a channel skill. That would be its final advancement and if the skills in this world were the same as the game it would be outclassed by other skills eventually. However until then it was a solid skill that would see a lot of use until then.

“Lady Liliana?” A voice interrupted her thoughts and she startled, suddenly remembering where she was. For a moment she’d almost forgotten this wasn’t a game, lulled into a false sense of security by a familiar skill. Liliana felt her back straighten, her legs crossing delicately and her chin raising. Her posture had suffered during her mental musings and now that she was aware of it she could feel a bit of fear associated with the bad posture that she couldn’t find a reason for. Most likely a reaction from her body born of memories she didn’t have.

“I apologize, I acquired the [Enhancement] skill and was a tad overjoyed at the development,” Liliana explained to her maid, who was looking at her with concern.

“New skills can be very exciting my Lady, though I would remind you that practising such things should not be done indoors, and not in your current health,” Astrid chastised her gently and Liliana felt warm blood rush to her face as she flushed in embarrassment. For some reason Astrid’s disapproving look held the same weight as her own mother’s and Liliana found her eyes dropping from the maid’s.

“I’ll be more reserved in the future with other skills,” Liliana said, gently playing with some of the lace on her dress with her fingers.

A rumbling sound from her stomach startled her and she dropped the lace. She realized she felt famished, far more than she had felt even after awakening. Did using skills drain the body's natural resources on top of Mana? It made sense as it was her body doing the actions, and Liliana noted the information down in her mind. She’d have to be careful if skills drained her energy too. With a thought she pulled up her Status sheet to see if her Stamina had dropped as well.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

1

Class

Locked

Race

Human

Rank

Locked

Health

100

H-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Mana

85/100

M-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Stamina

79/100

S-Regen

+1/1.1sec

Magic Power

100

Magic Control

100

Experience: 0/400

Vitality

10

Endurance

10

Strength

10

Dexterity

10

Wisdom

10

Intelligence

10

Speed

10

Charisma

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Liliana nodded to herself at the information, some time had passed since she used the skill so it seemed her regeneration had raised her Mana and Stamina back up. She didn’t remember the [Enhancement] skill using Stamina in the game, nor was it on the skill but it most definitely did. Was it just such an obvious thing that it wasn’t put on the skill or was the information she was given determined by how high her [Identify] was when it came to skills?

Liliana wanted so very badly to grab the other two books and read through them. She had a feeling they might have some of the answers for her questions, but another growl from her stomach changed her priorities.

“Astrid, could you bring me lunch? All of this activity has left me rather peckish,” Liliana asked her maid, and she noticed the woman was giving her a small smile, probably because of Liliana’s rasther vocal stomach.

“Of course Lady Liliana, I’ll return shortly,” Astrid curtsied, the correct curtsy Liliana’s mind noted, before she left the library. Liliana blinked at the door for a moment as her mind slowly registered that for the first time since her breakdown the day before she was alone.

Her eyes were drawn back to the bookshelf hiding a secret room and Liliana worried her lip as she tried to figure out if she had enough time to get into the hidden room, look around it, and get back out before Astrid returned. It would depend on if the woman had to make a meal or if there was food available to bring to her. At worst she had maybe ten minutes before she was back.

No it would be best to come back later when I have more time to myself. No way to know for sure what’s in there, and I’d rather keep the room a secret if I can. Liliana decided the prospect of having a secret sanctuary in this strange world was too important to her to risk revealing it in a moment of impulse.

Liliana slowly stood back up, wincing at the way all of her muscles protested the action. The skill had certainly done a number on her, she hoped it got easier to use over time. Otherwise if she used it in some kind of altercation she’d be useless after it ended.

Making her way back to her original seat, far more slowly and carefully, Liliana sat back down with a sigh of relief before grabbing the next book she wanted to read. She looked over the cover of The Novice’s Guide, fingers trailing over the decorated titling and leather cover before she flipped it open. Almost immediately she could feel the world falling away as the familiar lure of written words drew her back in.

When Astrid came back several minutes later Liliana was still enthralled by the book and it took the woman calling her name several times before she jolted suddenly, blinking in confusion until she recognized the maid.

“Oh, thank you Astrid,” Liliana said as she noticed the tray of food. There was sliced fruit and bread and her stomach growled hungrily as the scent of fresh fruit reached her. As quickly as her new noble lady instincts would allow her Liliana cleared the tray of food. She was pleasantly surprised at how much she had been able to eat compared to earlier the same day, it would seem Mana use did wonders for one's metabolism. She almost giggled at the thought, if using mana burned calories she’d have found the single best diet.

One fireball to burn off those holiday meals! Doctors hate her! Liliana mentally joked as she gently fingered the book still in her lap. Even with only a few minutes to devote to it she had learned a good amount. She had been right about her theory with [Identify] increasing the information given on skills. Without it you were given the basics of what the skill did, but almost never the costs. With a low level of it you could see some of the costs or effects. Higher levels would give you more information on what it cost, and even tell you how a skill would evolve. That had been the basic information on skills, Liliana had seen a section devoted exclusively to the [Identify] skill that she hadn’t been able to look at yet and she wanted to. There was so much information in the book that she knew she needed and she wanted to get back to reading it.

“Is there anything else you need my lady?” Astrid asked as she gathered the tray and dirty dishes.

“No that will be all, I would like to continue reading,” Liliana answered and Astrid nodded with a warm smile.

“Then I’ll get these to the kitchen, if you need anything please ask My Lady,” Astrid responded and Liliana nodded, but her attention was already locked on the book she was opening.

The door closed and Liliana left the world behind, the door opening again barely registered until her book was ripped out of her hands. Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked up and saw someone who so closely resembled the woman who had terrorized Liliana the day before that she didn’t even need her game knowledge to identify the boy before her. Alistair Thornebell-Rosengarde. Her stepbrother, the current confirmed heir of the Rosengarde family, despite his lack of blood relation to the family. Her father had adopted him soon after he married Imogen and had named him an heir not long afterwards.

The Duchess had birthed Liliana’s half siblings, two twins, not even a year after the wedding. They had more right to the duchy than Alistair, and Liliana had the most right as the eldest daughter with true Rosengarde blood in her veins, but Alistair stayed heir. Liliana knew in the game he inherited the duchy, though it was plagued with monsters for a long time, destroying the towns, farms and cities in it. It was later revealed to be the work of the original Liliana, seeking revenge on her family for her mistreatment, and it had nearly bankrupt the duchy. Alistair had been rewarded by the crown for his aid in defeating her though and lived ‘happily ever after’ with his blood money and stolen duchy.

The boy looked at her with blatant disgust, as if he couldn’t stand to even be in the same room as her, he held the book between two fingers as he examined it. Liliana’s eyes caught the title and the blood drained from her face, her heart stopped as fear filled her once more. An emotion she was beginning to become intimately familiar with once more. A Novice's Guide to Skills, Stats and Their Uses, it was incredibly suspicious for her to be reading such a book when she wasn’t even supposed to be Awakened.

Need to think of something, so reason for me to be reading a book like that. Light reading? Curiosity? Preparations? Yea maybe that. Liliana’s mind worked overtime, scrambling to find a reason. She was lucky that out of all the heroes she had to handle first it was Alistair, his character wasn’t known for his brains, more his brawn. He was a typical Tank character, rather stereotypical as well. A jock type, but he was also a noble and well used to the games of intrigue the nobles played.

“Why are you reading something like this? You know mother has already denied every request you made to get Awakened early, think you can scrape together some coins and get a Priest to do it? “Alistair mocked as he held the book out mockingly at her, his eyes glinting cruelly. He had his mothers eyes, not just in color but in the nasty hatred she saw sparkling in them too. Hatred planted and nurtured by his viper of a mother. Hatred that didn’t get cured and rectified until it was far too late to save Liliana in the game.

“Granted how could you? Father never even gave you an allowance, can’t trust commoners with money after all. They tend to use it on stupid things,” Alistair continued as he grinned at her, showing off too many teeth for it to be considered a friendly gesture. A part of her, she assumed from the original body, wanted to shrink away from the boy while equally wanting to lean towards him. Liliana couldn’t tell if her body wanted to run away or simper and plead for his mercy. She wasn’t sure if the original Liliana even knew, poor girl was stuck in a family that abused and neglected her whilst also craving love and affection just like any other child did.

“I just wanted to do some research… I was sick for so long, I’m terribly behind in my studies and I wanted to engage some light reading. I thought a book such as this could properly prepare me for when I Awaken on my sixteenth birthday,” Liliana spoke softly, though not purposefully. She’d meant to say the words confidently, but the body she was in had other ideas. She railed against playing weak and defenseless in front of a bully like Alistair, it went against her entire personality for earth. She was a fighter, always had been. Whether it was fighting her own body, other kids who had mocked her in school, or Death himself she’d been willing to put her fists up and blacken the eyes of whoever stood against her. Even if it left her tired, spirit worn, or with a broken nose. This girl who sat, avoiding her brother’s eyes with her shoulders pulled up to her ears and her voice whisper soft and weak as gossamer was not her.

“Whatever, enjoy your dumb reading. Useless as it’ll be for a commoner like you. Things like this are so obviously above your level it’s kind of adorable, really. Like seeing a puppy trying to figure out mathematics.” Alistair tossed the book at her, with far more force than necessary as when it hit her Liliana had to bite back a yelp of pain. Her chest stung terribly where it hit and she could feel a bruise forming. Alistair grinned, seeming to take delight in her pain.

“I just wanted to see if the rumors were true, that you’d actually woken up and were wandering around like a lost little lamb. Seems you survived, I half expected you to die,“ Alistair explained, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn’t care if she had died or not. The blatant cruelty in that statement hurt more than the book did, it felt like a rusty nail had been shoved into her heart and twisted, Liliana felt tears burning in her eyes. This was the family she had to deal with? How had the original Liliana survived so long? How had she not run off?

Run away and done what? Died in the forest? Get picked up by slave traders or something? Get eaten by a monster? What skills did the original Liliana even have to survive with? She wouldn’t be able to feed herself, or survive. Liliana winced at the reminder. It made sense, and the same chains that had tied the original Liliana down were now her own to bear. Trapped in a household filled with hate, and unable to leave. As much as the original Liliana couldn’t survive on her own, neither could she. Sure she was two years older than her, but her life experience amounted to hospital rooms, video games and fantasy books. She’d give herself about the same odds for surviving on her own.

That was to assume her father, the Duke, didn’t send bounty hunters after her. How bad would it be for his reputation if his daughter ran away from home? And if she ran away from home she probably wouldn’t be able to get into the Academy. In the game the Academy was huge for class advancement, skills and spells and important quests. She didn’t think the actual world would have quests, but the amount of useful knowledge the school would have, not just on classes, skills and spells but on this new world she found herself in would be utterly vital for her survival.

“I can see that you’re still alive, and as boring and utterly unremarkable as ever though,” Alistair continued and Liliana focused back on her stepbrother rather than her ideas of running away from this hellhole.

“I’m leaving, before whatever commoner sickness you had rubs off on me,” and then he was gone, as quickly as he had barged into the room and upset her mental state. Liliana stared at the door for a long moment, rubbing her chest where a deep ache throbbed. She couldn’t tell if it was from the book or if it was from a broken heart.