Liliana wanted to cry at the numbers she was seeing before her. In comparison, her own sheet looked far too pitiful. She knew beasts got bonuses when they evolved their Species, much like humans did when they got a class. She also knew the bonuses were usually less for beasts, with few exceptions, because beasts could go past the level 700 cap that humans and other humanoid races had. It was all in the name of balance. It didn’t mean she had to enjoy looking at stats that eclipsed hers.

Well, some of them, Liliana amended her statement, seeing the basic Charisma and Dexterity. Which were both still at 10. Another bonus humanoid races had, they could stat train. Beasts couldn’t, neither at level 1 or at any other level in combat. They got their level stat points and whatever was given because of their Species.

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

4

Level:

90

Species:

Evanesce Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

6

Health:

3,170

H-Regen:

+31.7/1.1sec

Mana:

1,550

M-Regen:

+19/1.1sec

Stamina:

2,330

S-Regen:

+23.3/1.1sec

Magic Power:

2,200

Magic Control:

2,256

Experience: 132,600/828,100

Vitality:

317

Endurance:

233

Strength:

220

Dexterity:

10

Wisdom:

155

Intelligence:

190

Speed:

90

Charisma:

10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Liliana rubbed her temples, focusing on the stats themselves rather than on how they measured up to her own. She was sure she’d bypass some of Lelantos’ stats by the time she got to his level because of combat stats, her boon and her class. She consoled herself with that fact as she examined her Bond’s stats. He was definitely allocated to be a tank. Either a result of his species or his species evolved because he had allocated his stats in such a way. His Intelligence and Wisdom were high for a tank, which meant he had strong magical abilities. Liliana closed the stat sheet and opened the ability sheet. It looked rather different from her own.

Affinity

Light

68%

Illusion

53%

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 112

[Stealth] Lvl 110

[Tracking] Lvl 104

[Dodge] Lvl 102

[Predator] Lvl 95

[Consume] lvl 89

[Enhancement] Lvl 79

[Sentinel] Lvl 65

[Enrage] Lvl 48

[Bestial Roar] lvl 32

Spells

[Vanish] Lvl 101

[Entrance] Lvl 91

[Light Manipulation] Lvl 85

[Light Claws] lvl 82

[Morningstar] Lvl 72

[Reinforcement] Lvl 68

[Light Cloak] Lvl 63

[Duplicate] Lvl 52

[Reflect] Lvl 45

[Enlargement] Lvl 27

Another benefit humans and mortal races got over beasts were unlimited Skills, Spells and access to General Skills. Beasts were capped at 10 Skills and 10 Spells. As a general rule, there were exceptions and differences, but those had little to do with Lelantos or herself at the moment. Liliana looked over the abilities. She could figure most of them out based on name alone, but she double checked any that had unfamiliar names for her. [Sentinel] provided a bonus to Strength and Vitality at the cost of Stamina. It also added weight to Lelantos, making him harder to knock back.

[Bestial Roar] was an intimidation skill. [Enrage] boosted his Strength and Speed when his health was below 25%, a fairly normal skill for higher leveled beasts. [Predator] gave him a bonus when attacking anything with 50% or less Health. [Consume] let him absorb Mana Stones and essence from the corpses of monsters for additional bonuses. Another typical creature skill, Liliana assumed Polaris had something similar as he’d seemed to level after eating part of stronger monsters she’d killed. It would help him keep up with her leveling as he’d get little to no experience fighting the creatures she’d fight at her level.

[Vanish] was precisely what she expected. It was a skill granted to all Cheshire’s, though its effects varied on the type. Lelantos’ let his strips fade to match his surroundings and the rest of him disappear through light refraction barring his eyes, which couldn’t be effected, or he’d lose his sight. [Reinforcement] was a channel that boosted his Vitality. [Light Claws] was well… claws of light, so no surprises there.

[Light Manipulation] let him manipulate Mana aspected with Light and use it, a spell that Liliana was intensely jealous of herself. [Reflect] would reflect a certain amount of an attack on whoever attacked him, though he still took damage. [Light Cloak] coated him in light as a means of additional defense. [Morning Star] made his tail into essentially a morning star made of light. [Entrance] was a skill he’d used on Liliana. He could use the way light shifted over his coat or eyes to hypnotize prey. [Duplicate] let him make light clones of himself. And [Enlargement] let him boost his physical size, and his Vitality and Endurance, for a fixed Mana cost.

Liliana felt herself sweat, looking at all the abilities. He hadn’t used most of these skills or spells during their fight. He… hadn’t taken them seriously at all. That was why he hadn’t used them. They weren’t worth it. Liliana looked over to where Lelantos was playing with a giant leather ball in the courtyard. She’d asked to have one made the night before and a very fearful looking maid had delivered it this morning. He looked rather adorable as he rolled around with the ball and not like the vicious killer who had been doing nothing more than playing with his food before she’d Bonded him.

The only reason she could imagine that he’d accepted the Bond was a mixture of free food, a fairly cushy life in comparison, her not inconsiderable Charisma and plain old feline curiosity.

I need to be more careful. Had Lelantos really wanted us dead, we’d have died before we knew what was happening. Liliana shivered again at the reminder of her own reckless idiocy. That Astrid hadn’t stopped her was amazing, though likely born of the fact that ultimately she wouldn’t stand against Liliana.

If Emyr hadn’t been there, I’d be dead. Her traitorous mind whispered, and Liliana grimaced as she shoved the thought down. She had almost let herself forget who Emyr was. A noble, a hero fated to end her life. She couldn’t let her guard down. She couldn’t be that stupid.

This world might resemble a game, but it was not. She wouldn’t revive if she died. She’d be sent back to the void, if she was lucky. More than likely Vita would shred her soul for failing her Quest. Liliana could imagine a god, any god, doing that. Hell, the gods had cursed an entire world because someone fought against them. What would they do to someone who failed them? It was a terrifying thought.

“Are you ready, my Lady?” Astrid asked and Liliana looked away from the open doors.

“Yes,” Liliana stood and mentally sent a call to Lelantos. The tiger reluctantly left his ball behind as he padded into the room, Astrid taking a hasty step back when he stopped by Liliana.

“You be good, don’t eat any humans, don’t destroy my room entirely,” Liliana instructed the tiger seriously. She knew he was likely to spend the day napping, something common in big cats. Still, she wanted to warn him as she’d be away from him today. It was uncomfortable to leave her Bond behind for so long, but it wasn’t possible to bring him.

Lelantos looked at her for a few moments and Liliana could feel him, considering if it would be worth the inevitable consequences if he disobeyed.

“I’ll bring you home something tasty if you don’t cause trouble,” Liliana bargained, and that got his agreement. With a smile and kiss to his head, she sent him back to the garden, where he promptly fell asleep in the sunlight.

“Let us go,” Liliana said, and she led the way out of her new rooms. It was odd to come out into a new hallway, and it took a moment to get her bearings. A moment later, she was walking with more confidence and poise than she felt. Astrid had told her they’d be taking the carriage to the city. The nearby town wouldn’t have everything she needed, so it would be the city they’d need to travel to.

Following the road, and not taking a major detour through the surrounding forest, would have them there around two bells. Or so Astrid told her. Allegedly, the carriages were enchanted, and the horses used were leveled high enough to have a Wind affinity to aid their speed. Liliana had wanted to ride Lelantos, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. He also wouldn’t be able to get her to the city in as little time, perhaps in the middle of the night. That was simply the difference between creatures that were min-maxed for Speed and Endurance.

As odd as it had felt to enter through the main doors, it felt even stranger still to exit through them, with another servant opening them for her, no less. Liliana was grateful when the door shut behind her, when under that roof she could never shake the feeling of being watched.

Before her sat a rather nice carriage, though her experience with them was lacking. It was painted in white and blue, with the Rosengarde crest on the sides. Four white horses were at the front of it. Beside the carriage were four guards. Her new guards her father had assigned. Liliana looked over at them and noticed with a small smile that the guard, Sam, who had called Lelantos cute, was one of the guards.

A fifth guard stood by the carriage door, holding it open for her. Liliana accepted his helping hand to climb into it. Astrid followed and then the guard himself, much to Liliana’s surprise. She’d thought she’d have some privacy. Now the carriage felt far too small.

“The Duke ordered you to always have a guard near you outside the estate, Lady Liliana,” the guard explained, seeing her confusion. Liliana’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t speak, simply nodded. The guard called to the driver to set off and with a lurch, they were on their way. Liliana’s eyes were drawn immediately to the window where she could see the scenery slowly passing. She was disappointed at first. Lelantos was certainly faster than this, until they passed the gate.

At some sort of silent command, the horses moved. Scenery flashed by in a blur as Liliana was thrown back into the plush cushions of the carriage. Her eyes were blown wide as she watched. They were going nearly as fast as a car in her old world! Was this the power of magic? Could they make carriages that didn’t even need horses? Liliana wondered as she watched the guards around them keeping pace with the carriage. Likely also riding Speed and Endurance boosted mounts with enchanted gear. Perhaps the guards also had skills that sped their mounts up?

“How do they keep up with the carriage?” Liliana asked, looking to the guard who had intruded on her privacy.

“All the guards you see around you have a [Rider’s Boost] skill. It boosts their mounts Speed,” the guard answered easily and Liliana nodded, filing the information away.

“So fast,” Liliana murmured, and she heard a low chuckle from the guard.

“It’s always startling, the first time,” the guard explained, and Liliana once more turned to look at him. She took in his appearance. He was no supermodel, but he wasn’t ugly either. Fairly attractive, as most people in this world seemed to be. He had short cropped brown hair and hazel eyes over a ruddy complexion. His skin was covered in freckles that made him look younger, though the wrinkles by his eyes implied he was older than he seemed.

Jason Fletcher

Level: 95

Rank: 6

Class: Guard Lieutenant

Liliana blinked in a bit of surprise at that. She had known the Guards weren’t weak, but she hadn’t expected to have someone level 95 sent with her. Some would think it meant her father cared for her. More than likely, it was Silas who had assigned her guards. The thought of Silas looking out for her made her smile. She also had a feeling any guards sent by him wouldn’t be as antagonistic as some servants likely still were. Even if many now feared her.

“Be careful about that, Lady Liliana,” Jason wanted her and Liliana raised an eyebrow.

“Are you threatening me, Lieutenant?” Liliana asked with a small smirk. She didn’t think he was, but she needed to act a certain way because of her social rank.

“No ma’am,” Jason hastily tried to fix his faux pas, “my big mouth always gets me into so much trouble! I’m surprised the Captain set me to this duty at all,” Jason said with a self-deprecating laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. Liliana couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. It was refreshing to be around someone whose first instinct wasn’t duplicity, but blunt honesty.

“No, what I mean is using [Identify] on people,” Jason clarified and Liliana nodded for him to continue.

“It’s not common, but also not rare, for someone to have some kind of [Perception] skill to let them know if a skill like [Identify] was used on them. All Guard’s have this skill as it comes with the class,” Jason continued to explain as blood drained from Liliana’s face. She could only thank pure luck that her using [Identify] on everyone in the manor hadn’t alerted anyone to it.

“Most nobles don’t have a skill like that, my Lady,” Astrid rushed to calm Liliana, and it helped.

“Why didn’t you tell me that, Astrid?” Liliana asked with a raised brow and the maid flushed.

“I thought you knew, my Lady. You always seem to know so much, and you spend so much time reading. I didn’t want to insult you by implying I knew something you didn’t without you asking,” Astrid explained, and Liliana saw actual guilt in her eyes. She blew out a breath, letting go of her annoyance. It made sense, their disparity in social class once again causing issues.

“In the future, even if you have even the slightest doubt about whether or not I know something, please tell me,” Liliana urged, and Astrid nodded. Jason was pointedly looking out the window, not wanting to take in part in the conversation.

“Why don’t nobles have a skill like that?” Liliana turned the conversation, trying to figure out why they wouldn’t have it.

“Typically, you only get that skill with Guard or Thief type classes, or military classes,” Jason was the one to explain, excited by the prospect of talking. Liliana was beginning to think the man enjoyed the sound of his own voice. She didn’t mind, it meant she got valuable information.

“So it’s seen as beneath a noble,” Liliana surmised and Jason winced but nodded. Liliana pursed her lips in irritation. Stupid weird rules of nobles.

“It’s also because one’s level is a status symbol now, so nobles are happy to make it obvious. They want to be seen. If they had a [Perception] skill, it would go off constantly,” Astrid further explained and Liliana bit her lip, but nodded in understanding. Now that made sense. She knew nobles loved their parties, and showing off. She couldn’t imagine trying to navigate the trap filled social events nobles frequented while also getting constant alerts that someone had checked your information.

“Why is being a noble, so complicated?” Liliana grumbled, earning her a chuckle from Jason and an admonishing look from Astrid. Liliana turned her attention back to the window and watching the scenery pass them by.