…and then we come to the role of the church. Their role is a necessity, of course, to guide and oversee. Classes like [Murderers], [Criminals], and [Villains] have to be curtailed, and that’s not even taking into account the truly sinister plague and disease classes… But I digress. Is the Chruch not overstepping its bounds? Directing instead of guiding? Perhaps even causing harm. Forcing someone into an unsuitable class has many times led to the person taking on a darker path in the...
2023-01-10 06:39:35 +0000 UTC
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“How about—a penguin?”
“What even is that? Can you get one out here?”
“Hmm, true. But I found Char down in a cavern, so who knows what is laying out there, hidden away. Let me think for a moment… an owl? I’ve heard those can be pretty clean.”
“No. No birds. I hate birds. So many droppings…”
“Isn’t that true for most animals? As a [Maid], you’ve had to clean up after a lot of different things, right?”
“Well, I suppose that is true...
2023-01-06 07:32:29 +0000 UTC
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In the beginning, it is said there were no classes. What did that society look like? That is a question I ask myself often. What kind of ruler would make the ideal society? In the years 50-500AS, the Hellen city states employed a system of [Senators], who were elected by public vote. Naturally, only the educated were allowed to vote, but the system still had its issues.
Firstly, high-level [Senators] losing elections often caused disasters as their skills faded from the nat...
2023-01-03 06:32:26 +0000 UTC
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Marie Adrianne Du Noelle paced around her cramped space in agitation, clutching a pen artifact in her hand. The others thought she was in the bedroom she had taken for herself at the inn, but she was actually a bit further inside, hidden away.
Inside her [Hidden Cupboard].
The first [Lady] skill she had ever gotten—one for someone who didn’t always want to be found inside the manor. For someone prone to procrastination and putting things off. Something needed doing? H...
2022-12-30 05:30:00 +0000 UTC
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Fire
So much fire… and blood.
Crossbows had been aimed at them, and when Fayette had acted, she had acted in that instant of stunned confusion. That instant had ended, and the men had reacted. Fayette stared at the crossbow bolt lodged into her thigh.
She had been hit by more, but the [Maid Armour] had made the impacts glancing, and they had ricocheted away. She was still knocked down on the floor.
The [Maid] pried herself off the floor, staggered to her feet, and fe...
2022-12-28 16:06:00 +0000 UTC
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A room in an office building was in a state of standoff. One side: an [Elegant Tea Party] and four young women—three hunters and the [Lady] they were accompanying. The other side: Weapons and the men carrying them, like the sneering [Lord] Marcel, and the [Mages], and the [Knight] in shining blue armor, and the—
Well, maybe this standoff was a bit unbalanced. But that lay in the preparation.
It was common in stories, but in reality, standoffs didn’t just start out of nowhere...
2022-12-27 08:27:09 +0000 UTC
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The titanic spider monster was still there, inside its giant chamber, excavating. The lumbering giant was using its limbs to first crack open the rocky surfaces, then scoop the broken-up stone away afterward. It still had that web of fire rotating around it—a cage with no openings.
It moved like a living rockslide, one with a beating heart of molten lava. Little veins ran around the body, converging on a glowing spot at its forehead, where the seventh eye of fire burned.
Fayette...
2022-12-25 08:40:32 +0000 UTC
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Spiders. Spiders never changed—at least in taste.
It never really got any better. Spiders for breakfast, spiders for lunch, spiders for dinner. Everywhere they went, there were spiders. And the things spiders ate.
Those really didn’t taste much better either. Mireille could almost sympathize with the oversized bugs—if the nasty cave rats, cave bats, and lizards were all they had to eat, she could understand why they invaded the mines above.
Humans tasted like chick...
2022-12-24 16:37:41 +0000 UTC
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The others were worried, but Fayette was actually feeling fine. Very fine in fact. She walked in a circle inside one of her many caverns, around a bubbling pot of stew, having a jolly old time.
“The [Cave Maid], the [Cave Maid],
The [Cave Maid] I shall be!
Spiders, spiders, spiiiiders,
and pretty rocks for me to see!
Insiiide a mouuuuntain,
There is a little me!
La-lala-la-laalaa,
dabba-dabba-dee!"
She paused, skipped two steps on her fe...
2022-12-21 07:25:24 +0000 UTC
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Going back some time, to just after Fayette had disappeared down into the pit, the others were in some trouble.
Mireille’s ears were ringing.
She was shouting, but she wasn’t sure what. Hopefully something coherent. She couldn’t tear her eyes off the crumbling pit, rapidly closing between two shifting bits of rock. The floor was steadily crumbling inwards, gradually blocking off the entrance, shift by shift. With a final collapse, It ground shut.
Mireille felt herself ...
2022-12-19 12:12:48 +0000 UTC
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Fayette saw nothing, but she heard it all. Sounds of skittering shapes, creeping along the rocky ground, getting closer. Her body ached and hurt, but she had to act—fast. My broom, is my?—she felt at her hand, then noticed the tool was still right there in her right arm, gripped tight. Shifting to a two-handed grip, she turned against the incoming tide.
She swung out blindly, trying to estimate where the sounds were coming from, but she hit nothing. Something hit h...
2022-12-17 07:23:41 +0000 UTC
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The party walked off from the headquarters in silence. Mireille was leading, Olivia by her side, followed by a thoughtful Marie. Fayette was last, keeping a watchful eye until they were well out of the building’s sight. She had felt eyes on her as they left, and she thought she had spotted the [Lord], watching by the window.
“…Did we maybe go too far?” Marie eventually asked, looking troubled. “I mean, we did all that, but what if he’s not really guilty or anything? I would ...
2022-12-16 07:28:04 +0000 UTC
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Arreau was a humble mining town, so it had no great manor overlooking it, but there was of course a building, the mining company’s headquarters. A simple two-story building, with a large office space on the top floor. A room arrayed with countless cupboards, all full of various reports, letters, and other texts.
The room’s only occupant, a gaunt, almost skeletal man who had little hair left despite only being at the age of 35, was pacing. As was usual for him these days. In...
2022-12-15 14:04:09 +0000 UTC
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Every journey had its end, and for escort quests in particular, that was often something to look forward to. Fayette was the first to spot their destination. She was standing on top of a wagon’s roof as it crested the hill, and a hillside valley opened in front of her.
Arreau. It was a place rather singular in focus, as mining towns tended to be. The buildings all gravitated to the hillside, gradually growing taller the nearer they were to it, giving off the impression of a ramp. Then...
2022-12-14 10:24:29 +0000 UTC
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Fayette slowly peeled her layers of clothing off, freeing herself from the grime of travel. Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t quite managed to stay freshened up for the whole trip—during the latter part, she had felt like her [Maid Armour] was barely at half efficiency.
At first, she had been able to maintain a balance. Find enough time here and there and she could keep herself up to a passable standard, but then that balance had been broken. The culprits?
The bandits.
<...
2022-12-13 06:03:51 +0000 UTC
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The skill rippled out, a wave of power marking the area. The miss looked at the bandits calmly, then spoke, eyes locked on the leader. “It is rude to intrude on our gathering without introducing yourselves.”
The bandit leader responded with a knife.
It was fast, flying much faster than Fayette could block, at least normally. However, almost on instinct, her [Cutlery Control] stopped it midair, and Fayette picked it up into her hand. She felt a charge of power...
2022-12-12 13:59:21 +0000 UTC
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“So, what do you think, Martin? Have any insights to give on these?”
The hunter brushed at his mustache, then turned to Mireille. “They’re definitely from not too long ago, though I can’t say I recognize these. Luckily I’m not the [Ranger] of our party.”
He waved at another of his party members, a woman dressed in dark green who carried a fine longbow. She walked over and joined their group, who were standing by a set of footprints in the mud. It had been a few days ...
2022-12-12 10:53:49 +0000 UTC
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The sun was beginning to set, and its last rays were painting the trees with a soft orange, which gave the area a serene, painterly mood. The trees were acting as a natural barrier between the road which traveled behind them, and the lake that stood in front. A doe was leisurely drinking from the lake, and birds sat nestled together in the trees, enjoying the last warmth of the day’s sun. A scene of true peace.
BOOM!
The branches of the trees were the first to r...
2022-12-10 16:16:32 +0000 UTC
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Fayette almost danced as she packed up her portable table setup. She took off a leg piece from the table, twirled it in her hands, then tucked it into her apron. Two rhythmic steps to the right, a bow down, then onto the next piece.
She wasn’t dancing to any tune per se—if anything, it was still that rhythmic clanging of a [Blacksmith’s] working that rang out in her mind. She hummed along quietly to the beat, internally celebrating her success.
Yes! Good job Mireille! A ...
2022-12-10 15:49:16 +0000 UTC
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Right at the break of dawn, in a peaceful roadside forest meadow, a tea party was beginning. Naturally, there was a table—a bit hastily put together and shaky, but a table nonetheless. Set around the table were half-a-dozen rickety wooden stools, somewhat lacking in elegance, but perfectly serviceable considering the circumstances. They were a modular design, allowing Fayette to disassemble and assemble them quick and easy.
If it were just that, it would hardly be a proper, elegant te...
2022-12-10 15:30:57 +0000 UTC
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Apologies for the silence and lack of chapters! Frankly, I'm surprised anyone is still in here, so you all have my greatest thanks! Also! I changed this patreon away from monthly billing! No more first of the months scams, now things will run forward from sub day
I know I should have communicated here and stuff, but somehow I just had zero energy for anything in the past few months, and I felt a kind of dread at looking at any of my writing things. I didn't look at my patreon, RR or dis...
2022-12-10 15:29:26 +0000 UTC
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As Fayette went over her power-leveling options, she realized she would be facing a special challenge: organizing proper [Lady]-level service in the middle of a caravan trip would not be the easiest task. However, that would just up the challenge factor, potentially giving her even more experience. Her mind set, she excused herself from the group for the morning and went for a manic shopping spree through town to gather all her needs.
Once done, she caught up with the group and began fo...
2022-09-14 14:14:33 +0000 UTC
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Fayette knocked on a [Lady’s] door and waited.
Despite psyching herself up, she was feeling nervous and wary, mostly because this would be her first time really dealing with a [Lady]. Back at her old job, she had never risen up high in the ranks, and had thus mostly remained in periphery work, rarely working directly with anyone important.
To be honest, that may have been a blessing. Her old master hadn’t been the type she would have ever liked to be more directly involved wit...
2022-09-08 19:32:36 +0000 UTC
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All in all, arriving in town, getting signed up at the guild and finding an escort mission turned out to be a surprisingly fast affair. So it was, that after accepting the request from Miss Adrianne, three young women found themselves in a new town with some time to spare.
The caravan would be leaving on the following morning, so our trio had a good half a day to spend as they wanted.
In a way, Fayette felt like she was getting a small break. She hadn’t really had much time to e...
2022-09-07 22:30:55 +0000 UTC
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For the first time, Fayette beheld a [Lady] from up close and personal. She felt disappointed.
Her first, instinctive impression of the woman had been one of grandeur, but on closer inspection, those bits of grandeur slowly but surely dripped away. Her garments may have been fancy, but they were in a bit of a mess. Her dress was quite rumpled and fit the woman awkwardly, as if it had been tied up all wrong.
Her makeup and hair were also in a slight state of chaos, as if done by un...
2022-09-05 22:16:39 +0000 UTC
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The town of Tarbes was an ordinary sort of town: a crossroads town. Two ancient trading paths had once crossed here, and naturally, a town had sprung forth to cater to the needs of travelers. There were no great works of culture or famous sights here—travelers didn’t have much time for such.
Instead, the local attractions were of a more down-to-earth sort. That one street food stall that sold meat skewers that were just a bit above average, which locals swore were the best in the re...
2022-09-02 20:53:34 +0000 UTC
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Sir Lecoq took a sip of water from his bottle and grimaced at the taste. Saints, why is the water so foul-tasting today? As if the rest of all this wasn’t enough. Do we really have to invest in new water purification wards for the house?
He sighed, put his bottle away, took some time to light his pipe and puffed a few clouds of smoke with it. Then, finally, having taken enough time, he turned back to his task. The [Guard] sitting in front of him was squirming in his seat now,...
2022-09-01 20:17:28 +0000 UTC
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“Alright, hey, enough, enough!”
“Aww, already?”
“We’re in a bit of a hurry here.”
“Well, fine...”
Fayette reluctantly released Olivia from her crushing hug, while Mireille rubbed her forehead in the background. The Seamstress had more practical concerns. “So, Olivia, welcome to the team and all that, but how exactly are we going to get out of the city? I don’t think assaulting the gates at this hour is going to be an easy task.”
The [Docto...
2022-08-30 21:14:26 +0000 UTC
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Olivia Nightingale had been living a relatively repetitive life for a good while. There was a flow to it—she would move to a new place, establish her practice in a place she could find patients, aid people for a while and earn a modest living, then run once authorities started to get wind of her. Or when public sentiment started to turn.
One had to be observant with such things—being chased out of a village by a pitchfork-wielding mob was not the most pleasant thing.
Thus, one...
2022-08-29 20:30:28 +0000 UTC
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It was a simple task: eliminate one enemy, and Mireille would be freed from his ability. Fayette felt annoyed, to be honest. It was like her class was itching just from the presence of a noble. Is being a [Maid] with no master really that bad? I should hurry this up.
Mireille slowly looked over the scene, eyes stopping at the warehouse wall beside them. “Fay, did you have an extra explosive left over?”
“I do—the one.”
“Can you give it to me?”
“...
2022-08-27 19:52:05 +0000 UTC
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