Chapter 0040

“Perhaps love can make people do impossible things.” Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar thought of a certain loving mother who went crazy and destroyed the nation she built with her own hands because her daughter was killed.

“Yeah, people do crazy stuff for love.” Leviene thought of all the relatives who do a lot of stuff in the name of love.

“Let me cuddle you for the rest of the night Laurie. I’ll give you my yacht.”

“Come spend the day with uncle and aunty. Don’t worry, we’ll fly you to France.”

“Come shopping with me, I’ll buy you a diamond ring.”

It was a wonder how Laurie turned well as she is considering all the pampering everyone wants to heap on her head. The family on her father side is quite blatant about their affections. Her mother side… Laurie doesn’t know and want to know. Blinders on!

Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar stared at the Amulet of Endless Love in her hand.

After all the trouble she went through to obtain the amulet, she ultimately got it because Leviene asked for it. All the wasted effort was for nothing. She can’t reconcile the effort she put in for the Amulet of Endless Love on to get by the stupidest method possible. It’s like spending half her life trying to get around security in Louvre to steal the Mona Lisa and failed while a little shrimp asked the owner of the painting for it and got it. Then the little midget brat gave the painting to Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar as if it was nothing more than cabbage. It is an insult of the highest order, mocking the lady for all her effort previously. And yet. And yet she has to be thankful to the shorty and give her a reward her minimal effort.

Even though it is Leviene who gave her the Amulet of Endless Love, the idea just pissed her off.

Said dummy is standing before her expectantly.

Aggravating!

Luckily Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar had years of experiences handling disappointment.

“I hereby pronounce you have completed the quest.”

System: Quest - Remnants of a Great House: Completed.

[System]: Player Leviene gains 10 experience point.

“Wahhhhh. 10 experiences point only. Why did I go through all this trouble for?” Instant rolling on the floor temper tantrum.

“Are you done destroying your dignity?” A gentle chide from the Perrian Let who so resembles her set off Leviene even more.

Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar was like a parent in front of their toddler, helpless in the face of overwhelming odds. There is no reasoning with toddlers. They are not at the age where reason can be applied. Their personality is being shaped by their interaction with the world around them and as such, they test the boundaries placed by the adults. The only choice is either appeasement or waits out the temper tantrum. Children can’t keep crying forever. It may seem like it but they can’t.

Leviene got to be the brat she never could in real life.

“How liberating.” Leviene thought, “Is this how a drug addicts feel during their high? I can understand why do they drugs. It is as if all the restraint I placed on the real me melts away. Erica called me Saint Laurie? That was a facade created by intense repression. The real me is…”

Self realization hit Leviene. She’d spent her life living how a good girl ought to live that she doesn’t even know who she is anymore. The consequences of being free was so high she lived her life as if she was walking on a tightrope, with one misstep and she’d fall.

Arashia is a different world. It may mimic a virtual reality game, but she is here and they are there. She can be whoever she wants to be. She doesn’t know who Leviene is going to be yet, however, she knows she doesn’t want to be a cry baby rolling on the floor.

An abrupt 180 degree change in emotions, Leviene got up and act as if the previous event never happened.

The sudden change in Leviene scared Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar. The humans have a mental disease called Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. There are four basic types of bipolar disorder; all of them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. These moods ranges from periods of extremely “up,” elated, and energized behavior (known as manic episodes) to very sad, “down,” or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes). Less severe manic periods are known as hypomanic episodes.

Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar can peak into other worlds such as Earth. She got the definition of Bipolar disorder directly off their internet. Leviene fits the diagnosis to a T.

“Ahem, my apology over the unsightly behavior you’ve witness. I assure you such misconduct will be curbed in the future.” Of course Leviene never promise it will never happen again. She knows herself too well.

Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar opens Leviene’s character screen, scanning it intensely. The weird display of emotions unnerved the Perrian Let.

If she had a chat with Sylphie, she’d know Leviene seldom behaves in such a manner but episodes of extreme mood swing compressed in a short time frame does happen especially when she’s under stress.

“What are you looking at?”

“Your character screen.”

“I thought that was private information.”

“Your settings allow strangers inspect a character. You have to set it private if you don’t want random strangers to inspect you.”

“Where is it?”

“Menu - Settings - Characters - Character Profile. Public is the default and allows anyone to see your character screen. Extend Invitation extends allows party members, raid members and member of the alliances as well as friends and guild members to see your character screen. Semi-private limits the people to guild members and people on your friends list where as private, no one is allowed to see anything.” Honored Lady Valdis of Tainsoar explained absentmindedly.

Leviene immediately went to change her character profile information to Extended Invitation. The game has barely begun. She has nothing to hide. Yet.

The short Perrian Let cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. “How are you still able to see my character screen when I change the setting?”

“NPCs don’t count.”

“Ha! Admit it! You have high privilege level in the System!”

“Of course I do. I am an Honored Lady.”

Leviene was confused. “What does an Honored Lady have anything to do with it?”

“Titles determine the amount of power and access an NPC has to the System as you call it. Before you ask, players don’t follow this rule. They have their own set of titles.”

“Oh okay.” pause, “What are you looking for?”

“I’m trying to determine if you were cursed by that bastard when you went to retrieve the Amulet of Endless Love.”

“Huh?”

“These mood swings are too exaggerated for it to be normal. Unless you have what you humans call Bipolar Disorder.”

“I am not Bipolar.” Leviene said sarcastically. She had to deal with that label when it hit mainstream media, becoming all the rage in the movies and soap opera. Diagnosing mental disorder should be left to the professionals. Leviene hates when medical terminology becomes common labels used by the masses. A person should not be labelled with a disorder such as Bipolar or ADHD to explain their personality. They should not be put into the box that is other human’s perception and drugged up so they destroy who they are.

Unless the individual seeks professional help, then its nobody business but their own. No suicidal thoughts, no bothering people who doesn’t want to be bother, no self harm, no harming other people. They aren’t bothering anyone. Leave us be.

“I know. Another plausible conclusion is curses. You have been in contact with a powerful NPC. He might have left a nasty surprise for you.”

“He didn’t.”

“How can you be sure?” Honored Lady Valdis found nothing when she scanned Leviene’s character screen and indirectly the player herself. She found nothing out of order which frustrates the Perrian Let.

“I can be sure because I am like this before I came to this world. These fast changes in mood are me venting my stress, nothing more.” Leviene is aware she restrains her emotions a tad too much. She also aware she experiences extreme change in moods. She calls it venting. Her family calls it Damn PMS, Laurie lock yourself in your room before you do something stupid.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Leviene, “....”