Chapter 8- Special status’ first change

Changes are bound to happen, either very slowly or in the worst ways. When you realize that something has changed, it might be too late and you can’t do anything but accept it. Other times it might be so sudden it lands with a ‘boom’ and causes the greatest damage, or, if you’re lucky, the greatest evolution.

…

Reveka woke up to a big headache. She had vomited a lot last night, and now she felt like she had rocks on her head and cotton in her mouth down to her stomach. (She had a hangover even without drinking… this is amazing in itself)

“Mrs. Veta,” She called as she slowly got up on her feet.

No one answered.

She looked around curiously, and tried to find the owner of the house, but she wasn’t there. The big woman was always around, so not finding her felt strange.

She got up from the soft bed inside the small room and wobbly walked to the door that led outside the house.

What awaited her was a real mess.

She saw a lot of people sleeping in the streets…

No way.

“Rev, you’re awake.”

Why Rev?

“Kida…”

“If you’re awake, come help us.”

“What-” happened?

“I don’t know. It’s worse than last time.”

Last time?

Reveka watched Kida as she rushed and ran around trying to help the people on the ground, sometimes talking to the ones who apparently were still awake and sometimes lifting them princess style to send them to a safe place… ok, she held only the girls like that and shoved the guys around.

Reveka stood awed looking at her for a few good moments. When the one named San had said that Kida could beat all the boys, she had thought he was joking.

Nickname: Tomboyish princess

Age: 17

Race: Human

Status: Alive, healthy

HP: 270/270

MP: 190/190

Average Physical Ability: 39

Average Magical Ability: 63

Titles: ‘Little captain’ ‘Girl power’

Skills: ‘Iron-fist (little)’ ‘Iron-kick (little)’ >>

…It’s what appeared when she tried to appraise.

…It was a slap to her status… again.

“Revi, come help.”

Startled by the voice, she saw Veta walking towards her. The big woman looked unexpectedly tired. Her steps weren’t as steady as before.

“Drink this and lend us a hand.”

She handed Revi a glass full of weird orange liquid and with a small smile said “You’re stronger than you look, Revi, huh.”

Huh? She stared at Veta quizzically, but left it at that. Not thinking much, she drank the liquid and with a sweep her very bad headache and her throat cleared magically.

“What happened… to everyone?”

She asked as she finally got a full sentence to leave her mouth.

Veta eyed her weirdly before answering.

“Well, with as much as the elder told us, it seems that the mana in the area has gone up again.”

As she talked, Veta looked at Reveka and waited for some kind of reaction. Unexpectedly, the girl looked back confused, clearly not understanding what she was talking about.

“I have no real talent for magic, still I’m better than some others so I can endure, but many people here are no different than the magicless animals when it comes to magic power and its sudden eruptions.”

Reveka still looked at her confused.

“You can feel that the magic power has skyrocketed in the area, right?”

“…”

“Well, do you know that magic is what’s causing our current situation?”

“…”

“Do you even know what magic is?”

“Y-yes.”

“Really?”

In reality, Revi did know what magic was, but she also didn’t really know. If we talk about magic, then, you know, it’s that, the miraculous power that makes one’s dreams come true, the thing every being has wished at least once for… the thing that she couldn’t use even though she was in a fantasy world.

“Well, let’s leave that aside. Come help us. Even one more helping hand will be much better.”

Like that Revi was dragged by Veta to help around with the half dead people lying just about everywhere.

--Reveka---

…

I spent hours and hours and hours running around like an idiot, trying to take care of people I didn’t even know that well.

I think I’m either too kind,- which I seriously doubt,- or I am a complete idiot, and it’s either very easy to fool me, or I go too easily with the flow.

Right now for example, I was helping grind some medicinal plants.

I have thought, more than once, of how I’m going to proceed with my life from now on. As far as I could tell, for me, there seemed to be no real motivation to explore, learn about the world, get stronger with conviction and not ‘hey, I’m in another world, let’s get stronger’, and though I still believe that survival is a pretty good reason for powering up, my life has never been endangered during these days.

I have thought many times about leaving this village, and going about like every main character, but I feel strangely unmotivated.

I mean, look at me. I gained [Appraisal], but unexpectedly enough I feel no want to check everything and everyone’s statuses. It would be good to know what your sudden acquaintances are like, so that you can prepare for unexpected circumstances, but really, look at me, I couldn’t care less.

Even if I don’t want to do it, I should at least do it for my safety, I thought. Yet in the back of my mind I also thought If they want to kill, let them come, muahahaha…

…

…

Too creepy, me! What the hell are you- *cough* am I laughing for?

I feel my thoughts are a little jumbled. I suddenly have thoughts about weird things from time to time. I might have really become a little cuckoo in the head like the SS (Special Status) said, but hell if I’ m going to accept such thing.

…

As I kept grinding, I noticed a very familiar blue apple.

“Isn’t this poisonous?”

I asked a man whose name I never remembered. He acted as a healer in the village, so everyone called him healer or doctor, me included.

“Oh that.” He chuckled a bit as he saw that I was pointing to the apple that caused me, this very morning, to have my very first hangover wannabe in my life.

“Actually, only the skin of the fruit is a bit poisonous. We usually use it in very small amounts as a spice for cooking. But you went and ate it whole, haha.”

“Ugh.” Just being reminded of my headache this morning gave me headache.

…

I left the said healer sometime during the afternoon.

Most of the collapsed people were being taken care of in the village elder’s house as it was one of the biggest places.

However, everyone was still very busy.

Maya had been restless all day, taking care of people, helping Veta cook and other things.

Kida was quite good at ordering around the boys and everyone still on their feet and getting them to work.

Lola… I had not seen her at all today. I asked, and she apparently was fine. However, since morning, she had closed herself in her room muttering weird sentences. Weird, she never gets scared easily. What scared her this time? – is what Kida said when we visited her trying to get her to work. That kind of thing worried me but I brushed it off as ‘occult-woman having her days’.

“Rev, come here.”

Kida called me and interrupted my line of thoughts.

I approached her unhurriedly.

“What… is it?” You see how there’s fewer spaces between words. I’m getting better with my speech.

“Maya wants us to-”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

…

…

…

It took me awhile to register the scream. It reached my ears on time, but my brain a bit late.

“Maya! Lola!”

I saw Kida react almost immediately and, just as fast, she ran at the direction of the scream.

Ok, now what? I unconsciously raised my head just a bit, making my eyesight higher than normal.

Well, I think I shouldn’t have.

…

Jumping down from one of the houses was something that looked like a wild black monster.

It landed not too far from my own standing place.

Oh, so it is a wild black monster,- it’s so not what I thought.

At that moment even though my eyes had seen it, my brain had still to register the scene before me.

Whatever it was, it looked like a very large black dog, with one head and a half bump or bone or whatever coming out of its shoulder. It was baring its fangs, blood clearly visible in its teeth, and remains of someone’s arm in its mouth.

…

It was eating someone.

…

Everything had happened in a matter of seconds. No one had the time to react, nor had anyone the power to do so.

…

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Another scream was heard just a few houses away. After it came some sobs and some shouts.

…

I kept looking at the beast before me, unmoving.

The black thing looked my way and for a brief moment I met its eyes… There was an abyss in there. If one tries to think about it, animalistic instinct was what guided this thing. But, was it hunger… no it was madness. It had gone beyond hunting and fighting and protecting itself. It no longer knew fear.

The monster made a small step towards me.

Are you coming to eat me?

I asked this mentally as I stared at the dog.

It’s not that I wasn’t panicked, or scared. It’s not that I was brave or stupid. I may have been or may have not been all of these things but… the thing is, in that moment, I was probably crazy.

Because my reaction would have never been like this a few days ago.

Come at me. Before you kill me, I’ll destroy you.

------------------------

--Bride---

I had not talked to Revi since the day before. I mean, who just eats a poisoned apple nowadays. That stupid new master of mine…

In reality, I have yet to form a real bond with Revi. I’ve understood that she thinks I’m annoying.

Me too, I find her annoyingly weak. If someone stronger appeared to take me and use me, I would probably go with him.

…

It was a bit sudden, but I heard a few screams. I spread my sense to see what had happened, and I was shocked to find bloodied roads, bleeding limbs and…

‘Corrupted’? What is such a thing doing here?

I was worried about my new weak master. I may not have a real bond with her but I was really scared of losing her. I spread my sense through the entire village to find her faster.

She wasn’t really far. She was probably heading here until some moments ago… but now she was standing face-to-face with the corrupted being.

Aaah, I have to save her.

I was thinking like that quite desperately. I say I would abandon her, but I’m actually scared of her leaving me. I quite like her, really. No way I’m letting her die.

…

However, around this time I felt a shiver. I hadn’t realized that a change had happened within my master, nor had I realized that she was fighting the corrupted now.

The shiver ran through me and I felt strangely vulnerable to it. Before I realized, someone was gripping me. It was a firm grip, so balanced and strong yet so delicate.

I looked at the one who was holding me.

Reveka… master!

I was stunned but it was a fleeting feeling.

Fearful excitement suddenly took over and I somehow could only anticipate an oncoming destruction.

I felt the hand raise, and I used my perception to fully take in her awe-inspiring figure.

I will never say it aloud, but since the first time I saw her, I might have fallen in love with the way she looks. You say I’m superficial? I might be. How can I not be? Just looking at her, I already can’t take my eyes off.

…

The figure of that day had no smile in her face. Her eyes shone in a dark light and looked at everything almost uninterested. There was no anger, nor was there hatred or fear.

…

The appearance as she swung her sword that day was o so heartless.

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Hello. I have used italics in this chapter. It's a bit different from before. Is it confusing??