Eve stared at the shocking stereotype in the flesh before she accelerated her thoughts into a frozen moment of time. A quick look around demonstrated that there were a suspiciously high number of food merchants with an unhealthy fixation on the situation. They might only be looking out of the corner of their eyes, but when nine out of ten people did that it was pretty clear something was up. With her mind operating at a higher level it was easy to discern the so-called young master’s true identity.

Bait.

What better way to fish out those hidden in the depths than present a supremely easy bug to squish? Like children given power beyond understanding, the impulse to destroy an eyesore would easily reveal hidden masters with too much pride. Equally likely, this living bait, known as a young master moron would reveal talented younglings that didn’t understand there were skies beyond skies. Once revealed, the choice of living or dying would be out of the talented one’s hands depending on their backing, or lack of it.

Still, such action requires remonstration. Eve thought as she planned her next steps. Nothing lethal, since I just arrived and the gate guards will have the record of me along with my students. Lethal actions bring lethal scrutiny.

True terror didn’t need to be deadly though, Eve knew well. Entire cultures had been built not on physical pain, but instead on mental knives which cut far deeper for far longer. Reaching out to the Witch’s Dust spread in massive quantities a single spark of will from her ignited a horrific tribulation of terrific consequences that would mar this young master for life. Eve’s mind receded from the frozen moment as she shifted her expression to a horrified one while pointing a finger and screaming in a high-pitched tone, “Pervert!”

As attention couldn’t help but shift to the young master under the Law of Train Wrecks, Eve used Spatial Step to shift into a nearby alley. A quick shift from adult into the body of a child completed her escape as clothes appropriate to her youthful station draped themselves upon her body. With a last look in a full-length ice mirror, all discrepancies were wiped away.

Exiting the alley Eve showed the same curiosity a young child would upon seeing a gaggle of adults pointing and talking. Moving to a nearby food stall serving skewers of meat, vegetable, and savory smelling sauce Eve asked, “What’s going on?”

The stall owner turned and seeing nothing more than a well-dressed cute child said, “Young Master Andrews kicked an iron board. A passing master did something horrible to him.”

Eve allowed her eyes to widen as she asked, “Did he get his mouth washed with soap!? Mother does that to father when he says the bad words.”

The stall owner choked on the drink he had just taken a sip and cleared his throat before saying, “No he was made to show the world his true nature.”

Eve tilted her head and looked confused before shrugging and saying, “Ten skewers please, mister.” The stall owner promptly raised a single eyebrow before shrugging. He clearly thought she was buying for others and the exchange of Rune Coin for food was completed without issue. Strolling off Eve used Storage to hold the excess skewers and moved to watch the ongoing fun that had already gathered a crowd.

Young Master Andrew was currently being interrogated by the city guards who were less than amused at the casual display of sausages in the middle of a busy street. Eve listened closely as the young master moron attempted to claim it was the work of a passing evil witch. Taking a bite of her skewer, she let the delicious greasy street food calm her irritation. If she dealt fatally with every single problem there would never be entertainment like the current comedy routine going on before her.

A guardsman who looked like he would rather be doing anything else said, “So, just to be sure I have the facts straight Mr. Andrew. You flaunted non-existent authority as a young master of the Bellington clan at a random woman on the street. In retaliation, she then proceeded to bewitch your entire entourage in less than a second flat before vanishing into thin air. Are you sure you wouldn’t perhaps like to add anything else?”

“That’s what happened!” replied young master Andrew.

“No one witnessed this woman. None of the stall keepers give a description that matches your own. None of the guards under me detect the use of spatial manipulation in the surroundings. Are you absolutely certain this is the completely unsupported story you want to go with?” the guard leader asked in a tone that promised dark things with a pleasant smile.

“Y-Yes?” replied young master Andrew. Eve saw he clearly wasn’t used to dealing with people outside the microcosm of enablers that normally handled things for him. Witnessing his rather tragic crash and burn against a guard patrol leader that was using logical arguments to corner him was like watching a small arrogant puppy get the rolled-up newspaper it deserved.

“I see. Since you are in violation of the public nudity law, and you have lied repeatedly to me, I have no choice but to detain you and your men. I’m certain the Bellington clan leader will be thrilled to bail everyone out.” the guard leader said as he waved his men forward to take the young master and his entourage into custody.

“My father will hear of this!” Young Master Andrew screeched, “If you think Tier Four and a half trash will get away with such disrespect, think again!”

Eve noted the guards were head and shoulders above most of the crowd, which was no surprise. While the guard patrol leader was Tier Five, the others were half a step away. She doubted a clan leader would be so idiotic as to challenge someone who was probably either the same level or close enough to make no difference to mention, a challenge to the city guard could be answered by the city lord.

What city lord wouldn’t jump at the chance to beat down a family that produces such a prodigy? Eve thought as she looked at the surrounding stalls. Deciding that it was too much bother to visit each one, she simply twisted space with a variation on Spatial Step pulling food into her Storage while replacing it with Rune Coins.

The guard leader who had finished capturing the public eyesore turned sharply scanning the watching crowd. Eve watched in amusement as he clearly decided not to investigate the minor space fluctuations created by her variant technique. Once the show was over she mixed quickly into the crowd. Skewer in hand, Eve strolled through the street people watching. There were mercenaries, clearly purchasing lunch, their gear displaying the brutal specialty of each with ease. Medical monks moved in a small group sticking exclusively to the vegetarian food stalls. A flamboyant mix of women that looked like nothing so much as a group of exotic dancers flirted with the young owner of a food stall securing a minor discount with their charming figures.

As she moved Eve shifted her form into a young teenager. All it took was a minor manipulation of her permanent Ritual of Obscurity. Eve’s eyes narrowed as she realized the person who had been tailing her as she moved along the street only paused for a moment before trailing her again.

So they can discern the addition of a new face in the crowd? Eve thought slowly moving off into an alleyway. Witch’s Dust gave her a clear view of her tail and she grinned. Cute is justice!

Ritual of Mimicry shifted Eve into a box matching the enchanted boxes outside a doorway in the alley. Her tail hadn’t seen the transformation, so Eve was shocked when the small girl stopped in front of the boxes and said, “Mr. Barlow only orders ten boxes from Maggy’s Meat factory. He can’t afford more with the current competition cutting prices.”

Eve shrugged before shifting back into her normal Zun form with appropriate clothing. She took a long hard look at the small girl that had managed to spot the inconsistency of her hidden form in moments. The young girl was clearly smart, but the cut of her clothing, and the slightly tired eyes hinted at desperation. Since she had nothing better to do, Eve decided to entertain herself.

“Do you commonly follow shapeshifting women into badly lit alleyways?” Eve asked with an arched eyebrow.

“If you were a bloodthirsty monster, Master Andrews would be dead, instead of merely scarred for life.” the young girl said with impeccable logic.

“True. I’m bored waiting for my students to complete their homework. Perhaps you can entertain me, little one?” Eve said, glancing at the girl out of the corner of her eye.

“My name is Lily. While I am not likely able to entertain you, my brother however would definitely be able to interest you.” Lily said. If she didn’t have senses that could peer into the secrets of reality, Eve might have missed the shaking of the girl’s hands as she mentioned her brother.

Interested even further, Eve said, “Oh?”

“My brother Mark is, was, a heaven-blessed genius able to terrify major clans in the City of Gold,” Lily said as her tone and eyes gained a dead quality to them. “But, the potential is after all only potential.”

Eve fully faced the girl before stepping forward to place a hand on her shoulder and before saying, “Visualize your brother.”

Ritual of Detection pulsed through the dungeon town locating a person who shared the same genetics as the girl next to her. Spatial Step shifted the world once more and Eve found herself within a small cozy apartment that smelled of herbal disinfectant. Her eyes drifted to the shriveled form of a young boy slightly older than Lily who watched her from a nearby bed.

Scanning the child’s body made Eve’s face settle into an impassive mask. It had been a long time since she had seen such deliberate cruelty. Someone had taken the time and care to strip the mana channels out from the boy before forcing them to heal back wrong. The dedication and meticulous attention to detail required to do something like this spoke of hatred bordering on the level of mental disease.

Eve moved forward crafting a chair out of paper before taking a seat next to the crippled child and saying, “Your sister has risked her life to gain you the opportunity of a lifetime, Mark.”

Mark’s eyes flickered to his sister Lily whose hands were clenched into fists out of sight behind her small form with a raspy voice he said, “How can I be of service, Lady?”

“I am bored. Entertain me.” Eve said slumping back in her chair as it shifted into a divan for her to lay sideways on.

Mark’s eyes blazed with an inner fire as he told Eve a story about a young boy whose talent was discovered during the City of Gold’s annual exams. Talent was the lifeblood of a city lord’s forces, and the young boy had it in spades. Unfortunately, the city servant who handled the testing wasn’t immune to the blandishments of the powerful clans. Information that should have remained secure was purchased for a hefty sum. Clans were always looking for new blood to poach, and the boy didn’t really see any difference between serving one master over another.

Mark admitted the boy’s viewpoint was rather small and narrow at the time, but youth excuses the mistakes of many children. Upon entering the clan’s compound, he discovered that there were unique ways of transferring talent from one person to another. In the normal course of things, the boy would never have realized his mistake but he was blessed to have a sister who was talented, too.

In healing.

The younger sister didn’t have enough medical knowledge to heal her brother, but she did have a great deal of love. With the tiny amount of knowledge she had, and desperation bordering on insanity, the boy’s beloved sister managed to force his mana channels to heal.

As a copy of her own.

Which of course, made them completely unsuitable for the boy’s use, but at least preserved his life.

Eve had to admit, the tale was a horrifying look into how things could go completely and utterly wrong for small children without powerful backing. Since she didn’t really have anything better to do, this sounded like a project worth spending a few months on.

Indeed, justice is blind, but that doesn’t mean she can’t smell bullshit a mile away. Eve thought as she spread her Witch’s Dust into the young boy’s body to map his mana channels in depth.