Serah huddles on the ground in a lazy fetal position. She was covered in blood while three dead animals lay nearby. The scene reeked of fresh blood and flies were beginning to gather and carrion birds hovered nearby, waiting for Serah to leave. But Serah had no will to move. She simply laid there, her eyes wide-open and her mind blank.

The deity of war made no move to speak to her. Only time would heal this wound.

Eventually, the light from the day faded, and the stars began to shine, unnoticed by Serah. The birds had waited long enough, and seeing that Serah didn’t move, they grew brave enough to fly close and feast.

Serah continues to stare, her eyes half-lidded. Eventually, her mind drifts into slumber.

“Meow…” The cat calls out softly, a short distance away.

…

…

Serah woke up with the understanding that she had killed a man. Two men. But she wasn’t going to let two disgusting men get in the way of her life. So she did what any rational person would do, she burned their bodies with the bear, hoping to cover up any evidence of their death. If they were residents of the town she was heading towards, it wouldn’t look good if any association to them was traced back to her.

Serah smells the burnt flesh wafting in the air and she spits on the ground, only caring to add more wood to the fire. She also burned their camping gear and their other supplies. She wanted it all gone; the thought of using any of it caused her to feel sick.

…

…

A lot happened that day, and Serah wasn’t able to notice that she had leveled up. She was now level four.

Skill points available : 12

Serah was shown a very long list of skills. After scrolling through for a while, she still didn’t see the end. So on a whim, she decided to ask, hoping there was a search function.

“Can you show me the fighting skills? Or swordsmanship, maybe?” She asks the floating text.

Hearing her will, the list was narrowed down to a shorter list, but it was still quite long.

Damn, there’s a magic swordsmanship skill. I want a flaming sword. That would be badass! She thinks before trying to select it.

You do not have the prerequisites for this skill.

Damn! She thinks before reading through the skill summary. Swordsmanship Level 3? Mana Control Level 3? Mana Container Level 3? Damn… She thinks before finding the necessary skills. She put three points into Swordsmanship, three points into Mana Control, three points into Mana Container, and finally she was put the remaining three points into Magic Swordsmanship.

With an excited grin, Serah hurriedly pulls out her sword and tries to make it magic. But nothing happened. Damn, gotta gather mana. She thinks before instinctively feeling the mana in the air and gathering it into her mana container. She continues until her container is full, then with another excited grin she allows her mana to flow into her sword. Eventually a purple glow surrounds her sword. “Hyaa!” She says with enthusiasm as she slashes out. A purple energy exits out of her sword and with the force of the slash, flies forward and cuts through a tree like a sycthe. The tree, losing its support, leans away until it falls and collapses on the ground. Serah, delighted, immediately lets out an evil laugh. Try and touch me now, bastards! She thinks, satisfied.