Girl Who Killed a God Remake - Chapter Eight

Her mind itched as she strolled through the city streets. It was a strange sensation. Grace honestly felt liberated—and yet by the time she’d finally broken free from her restraints, she’d already shackled herself to a new master.

But one who will give me more freedom than I could ever achieve on my own. I’ll be a god, with a master of one… as long as Azaroth keeps his word.

Now that she’d accepted her role as an agent of the Sovereign of the Endless Abyss, she wanted to learn more about the changes happening within her. And as soon as she had the thought, the word came almost unbidden to her mind.

“Attributes,” she whispered as she and Lily slowly walked down a street.

[Attributes]

Physical: 9

Mental: 7

Spiritual: 8

Glancing at the red window and back at the street, Grace considered what those words meant.

“Define attributes.”

Physical: The measure of one's physical body. All damage, speed, strength, endurance, resistance to all physical attacks and effects are based on this stat. As the number increases, perks may be gained at certain thresholds.

Mental: The measure of one's acumen, cognitive intelligence, perception, and wisdom. All knowledge may be accessed through this stat. A weak mental state will leave one susceptible to mental attacks. As the number increases, perks may be gained at certain thresholds.

Spiritual: The measure of how one interacts with the hidden world of magic and other forces. All magical abilities and proficiency with spells are based on this stat. Some magical attacks use this stat for resistance, while others use the other two stats. As the number increases, perks may be gained at certain thresholds.

Grace stopped walking as she read the three different stats. It took her a moment as she read them again and again.

Mental attacks? Magic? Magic actually exists?

There were rumors of magic of course, but they were mostly related to bedtime stories and fantasy novels for the nobles. While Grace had indisputable proof for the existence of gods, she’d never put much stock in mana. Magic was wholly outside the realm of the divine. It was said to be an energy source on par with divine power.

She snorted and shook her head with a sigh. “Just what have I gotten myself embroiled with?”

As she stood there, an older couple with a young man walked toward her, giving her a weird look. Aware she probably had some crazy expression on her face, Grace forced out a smile and moved towards Lowtown.

Taking a deep breath to help center her turbulent thoughts, Grace worked through the system messages. Not knowing what an average person might be considered for any of those stats, or even if people know of them, she tried to gauge some numbers.

Max was the strongest person she knew.

Even with all she had seen him do and how he had broken men down like firewood, none of his attacks she’d witnessed had near the same level of impact as hers did now that she had increased her stats.

That means he has to have a lower physical stat than I do…

She felt her cheeks becoming warm when she considered that if it came to a fight between them, she might win. Doing so would cause a lot of problems. His size and reputation kept the guard away unless they needed a reason to crawl that deep into Lowtown.

Max was also an anchor for the rest of the gangs. Heavy and unyielding. He was a force for peace and calm when the other gangs got out of hand. He usually slapped them back down real quick to maintain order.

He stayed out of their business otherwise, and only stepped in when he had to. Most of the gangs respected him—and the ones that didn’t… well, they soon found themselves in need of new management.

It was a damned effective mediation tactic.

If they fought and she won, it would destroy that reputation, and the fallout would be horrendous. That knowledge gave her some idea that an average person was well below her abilities.

The mental side obviously was why she noticed so many little things she hadn’t before. Grace had always been observant, but this was on a whole other level. Her thoughts also came quicker, and she was much more decisive than she had been.

Though as she had the thought, she paused, wondering if the increase to her mental stats was what finally broke down the inner wall of her psyche? Her inner self had grown in strength just as she had, and Grace was no longer able to keep the walls up.

At least not after she painted them in blood.

She’d chipped away at the cracks on her own volition. Grace had opened the door, and that was all it took to let her dark thoughts free to run rampant once more.

But with everything that had happened, and was likely to keep happening, she wasn’t sure if that was such a bad thing anymore.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, Grace focused on the last attribute as she ducked through a run down side alley.

Magic…

Her mind hurt, trying to consider that thought, but then the ability she passed up… Heal… it had to have been considered magical and would have fallen into that stat.

What other magic could there be? Lightning? Fireballs? Turning lead into gold?

Magic was magic after all. It defied the laws of nature by its very existence. The thought of being surrounded by a mountain of gold coins was enough to make her mouth water. Her inner thief relished the idea of an infinite supply of wealth, before her inner self reminded her that her goals were not so limited now.

What does a mountain of gold compare to an entire world? To the Gilded Heavens and the High Thrones? I will become a god, and then a god-king… nah, god-queen. That’s better.

 Grace had the sudden urge to test out her new abilities. Her thoughts had led her to the conclusion that she was far stronger than she realized, and she needed to see just how much stronger that actually was.

A small house came into view. It was as run down and dilapidated as the rest of the outskirts. A broken pile of bricks lays discarded next to one of the decaying buildings next door. This area had been under construction before the Blight had swept through the city. It would serve her well enough as a target dummy.

Grabbing one, she rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. “Here goes nothing.”

 She took a step and tossed the brick into the air. There was a heavy whistle as the brick flew like an arrow over the house and disappeared over the city skyline. She suddenly felt very sorry for whatever was under it when it landed.

Glancing down at her hands, Grace marveled at the sensation coursing through her. A soothing heat suffused throughout her entire body. Even her skin was warm to the touch. Yet it didn’t burn, it filled her with incredible energy, and she longed to further explore her capabilities.

Making sure no one was watching, she picked up another piece of brick and bounced it in her palm for a few seconded before she turned and hurled it straight at the crumbling house across the street. It blasted through the wooden side in a shower of splinters as it carved deeper into the house. Something cracked a moment later and part of the house buckled, the rotting roof sinking in on itself as a cloud of dust cascaded through the open hole like creeping fog.

Coughing into her palm, Grace whirled around, deciding to take the long way back home. With an inconspicuous whistle she picked up her pace and headed back towards Midtown. She needed to return her “borrowed” books anyway, and in all the excitement, she’d forgotten she’d brought them with her.

Keeping a steady pace, Grace soon arrived at Quinten Kilgore’s Quill and Seal. Quinn was one of the few booksellers in Toran that catered to the lower-class citizens rather than the typical highborn clientele. In addition to selling books, he was also the local scrivener and notary.

As such, he made a decent living handling the official court documents for many of the citizens who only had their basic letters and numbers.

His store was a quaint affair on its own little plot of land near the residential district. It boasted a large bay window with the name of the store embossed in large golden letters that clashed horribly with the faded green paint that time had worn away to a muddle gray.

Inside the store was lit by candlelight and a single grand fireplace next to rows and rows of books. For how valuable each one was, having so many fire hazards in one place was brave of Quinn.

Grace checked to make sure the coast was clear and ducked under the huge bay window. The wooden paneling underneath the window could be removed with the right amount of pressure with her knife. She carefully pried it loose and gingerly set it aside to reveal a small cubby filled with books that were in the window rotation.

She took out the books she’d borrowed the week prior—and after dropping a few copper rale into the cover of one—she slid them back where she’d gotten them from. In their place was a slightly smaller pile of books this time.

Grace had discovered this hidden hidey hole one night when she was casing the store to rob it. She loved books, had loved them since she was a child, and after the fall of Malkin and having to flee Cressida, Grace had gone months without reading a single sentence.

So, after she was confident in her skills, one of her first targets had been the Quill and Seal. She’d soon found the opening from the store’s shoddy construction. She’d stolen as many books as she could carry then and devoured them in a matter of days. And back and back she went, stealing more books as they were replaced.

Until one day, Quinn got wise and stopped keeping books there.

Weeks passed without Grace getting to read a single new book. It wasn’t until she returned all of the ones she’d stolen that Quinn eventually started restocking the cubby. Now Grace only took a few at a time and made sure to keep them in pristine condition.

She didn’t even dogear the pages or crease the spines anymore.

And she even left a few coins when she could as thanks.

Quinn had to know what she was doing—even if he didn’t know it was her specifically. But now that she was merely borrowing them, as long as she kept them safe, he didn’t seem to mind her reading.

So as thanks, Grace made sure his store was off limits to the local gangs. It had taken some coin to make it happen, but Max had gladly declared the store off limits for what she paid him.

Tucking her new prizes into her satchel, Grace put the panel back and quickly left, heading back to Lowtown.

When she neared, she knelt and gave Lily a few head scratches. “Why don’t you go ahead and head back home, girl? I’ll see you in the morning.”

The dog gave a small bark and darted ahead, turning at the street she was heading and going to where Lily knew to stay.

Damn dog is smarter than most people I know.

As she reached the boarding house, Max and a different retinue of thugs were posted outside, playing a game of cards around an old whiskey barrel. As Grace approached the door, Max looked up from his hand.

The large man cocked his head and looked at her, a perplexed expression on his face. “Yer back early,” Max declared, not bothering to get up. “Usually, you don’t return till closer to evening.”

After killing two of Max’s thugs today, she didn’t want to give away any hints that she was involved.

Though, it was going to cost her some coin to keep up the deception.

“What can I say? Business was good today.” She held up her coin purse and jostled it. “Surprised a noble today in the markets near Naren St. Never even noticed his sudden drop in weight.”

Grace opened it and reluctantly parted with two silver. It wasn’t a huge amount compared to what she’d earned the past few days, but it still hurt to hand over so much money like this. But if it kept Max off her about Bones and Scarlett, it was a small price to pay.

After all, he has no reason to suspect me, and no way would I hand over so much money like this normally. It’ll reinforce my story—placing me on the other side of the city from the murder site.

As she handed them over, Max held her gaze and nodded to her. “That’s what I like about you, Grace. Most wouldn’t have told me, forcing me to eventually search them and their room. You understand the rules and always do right by me and mine. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

Grace returned his nod. “Thanks Max, and sorry again about what I said last night. I was a little out of line,” she said, the lie coming effortlessly to her. Then she grinned at him. “If you weren’t so ugly, I’d tell people you’re my uncle.”

Max roared, slipping the coins into his pocket as he leaned back on his seat, rubbing his bald head as he shook it.

“If you were a boy, I’d say you got a massive pair on you,” he replied after a moment spent laughing.

“Now who’s to say I don’t,” Grace said, winking at the man.

All the gang members laughed, and Grace moved to the door, opening it and shutting it quickly, ready to get inside and curl up with a good book. Tomorrow would be another busy day, so she wanted to enjoy her down time when she found it.