An Unborn Hero

Rose sat on the dusty, frozen ground, cross-legged. It was cold, but it also wasn't real. She damn well wasn't going to let a dream give her frostbite.

"Okay. What do I know? That this isn't real. It's a dream of some sort. I know I am Rose, an adventurer, and I was travelling to Karn's Vigil with my parents to answer a call from the adventurers' guild to cull the forest's monsters. It was to be my first proper mission. My parents got me new equipment and everything. But... I don't remember arriving. The last I remember, we were in a passenger carriage, pulling into Karn's Rest. Did something happen in Karn's Rest?"

She considered the question for a while, but her memories seemed to fray as the carriage arrived. Or... was it as the new passengers were climbing in? Did someone get on board that whoever was responsible for this dream didn't want her to see?

"Next, what do I suspect? That we actually passed through Karn's Rest some time ago. That I met new people since. That something doesn't want me to remember them. That I replaced this gear my parents bought with something more appropriate."

She considered that for a while, too. Why would she have changed her equipment? Maybe a lot of time had passed, and it had worn out or she'd outgrown it. Maybe there was some incident in which it was destroyed. Perhaps a class change had rendered it unsuitable.

Rose blinked as realisation dawned. "Well, I can check that," she thought, bringing up her status.

She stared in incomprehension.

"So, whatever is controlling the dream isn't going to let me see my occupation," she thought, peering at the unrecognisable characters that made up her class. One of her skills, too.

But something about that didn't ring true. It felt like her occupation was supposed to be in that language.

"It's not hiding my occupation, but it's taken my memories of that language," she realised. "Did I learn a whole new language since we were at Karn's Rest?"

She carefully inspected herself, looking for signs of growth or ageing. Not a completely reliable method of checking, since there was no reason for her appearance in this dream to match the real world, but it wasn't as if there was other evidence available. Perhaps she was a little taller than she thought, but not by much. It couldn't have been long. Was it possible to pick up a new language in mere months? Especially one so foreign she didn't even recognise the script.

"Is there anything else weird on my status?" she thought, checking through the full thing. The answer turned out to be an emphatic yes, and things got worse the further down she went. "What's this [Sword Rain] sub-skill I have for [Swordplay]? And [Dancing]? How did I get that? Why did I get that? Wait, [Demon Slayer III]?! What in the hells? [Hero's Party Member]? I'm in a hero's party?! But the last I remember, a [Hero] hadn't even been born! I must be missing over a decade! And what's with [Royal Pervert]?! Given that I'm still alive, I can't have done anything too bad. Is there a prince in our party I've been flirting with? I suppose [Monster Slayer VI] isn't too surprising, in comparison to the others..."

It took a little time to regain her bearings after the view of her status. That she'd been in a hero's party was a significant revelation, to say the least.

But it still didn't make sense.

Yes, her levels had improved, but not by as much as they should have. In the decade it would take for a [Hero] to emerge and build a party, she should have made far more progress on her day-to-day skills, like [Swordplay], [Robust] and [Increased Attributes]. Why would a [Hero] be interested in her if her progress had been that slow? How did she end up with an epic occupation?

Heroes came from alien worlds, with their own cultures and languages. Then, perhaps the language of her new occupation matched that of the [Hero]?

"That new skill is important," she mumbled. "If only I could read it... This body doesn't seem much older, even if it might be fake, and my skills haven't advanced enough to account for decades, so maybe the [Hero] was born a while back but not publicly announced? But then I would have the opposite problem. According to my status, I'm not strong enough to fight alongside a [Hero], and yet I have silly high ranked demon and monster slayer achievements. I mean... Me? Slaying an arch-demon? Not that I can imagine myself flirting with a prince, either."

She continued to sit, picking over the scant evidence she had.

"Presumably we were battling demons or monsters, and one of them hit me with a mental attack of some sort. In that case, there's a good chance the other party members are trying to break me out. Unfortunately, I can't rely on that, because there's also a chance they were all captured too. I need to act assuming no rescue is forthcoming. If only I could read the rest of my status. Why is it even in a foreign language?"

A status was supposed to always be comprehensible to the viewer. That included not only translations for speakers of different languages, but even such helpful aides as narration for those who couldn't read. The only time something was incomprehensible was when the viewer was not capable of comprehending. When there existed no means of conveying the information in a format they could understand.

"So it's something from the hero's world that we don't have an equivalent of here?" thought Rose, thinking of the [Pioneer] achievement. It hadn't been that surprising, compared to some of the others she had no memories of earning, but it presumably meant she was the very first to gain this occupation. "It involves [Dancing], but the only new skill I have that's obviously related is just as unreadable. Well, a clue is a clue, so best I make use of what I have..."

Rose stood back up and danced, deliberately not paying attention to what she was doing, and letting the skill do all the work. She found herself following the steps of a waltz, arms wrapped around a non-existent partner.

"No, this isn't it," she mumbled, stopping halfway through. "Yes, I've definitely done that in the past, but it isn't the dance. Not the important one. Dammit! Give me back my memories!"

She tried again and again, discovering she had muscle memory for a few different dances, even if she couldn't remember where she'd picked them up. The only unifying feature was that they were all dances for two.

Except for the fifth one. The fifth one she tried was weird. If not for the fact that [Dancing] was obviously kicking in to help her, she wouldn't even have called it a dance.

There should have been special effects. Motes of light joining in, dancing around her. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew.

"That's the one," she stated with certainty. "That's related to my new occupation."

But how? It wasn't the sort of graceful, fluid movements that would be helpful in combat. Nor did it match anything she'd ever seen before. Maybe some sort of entertainment from the hero's previous world?

Rose shuddered slightly as she realised the evidence was tilting towards a rather unflattering conclusion. That the [Hero] had taken her not because of her combat prowess, but as some sort of jester. A bit of light entertainment as others—real adventurers—dealt with the fighting in the forest. Heroes were well known for their harems. Had she joined one, willingly or otherwise? Was she some sort of concubine?

"No," she said out loud, mostly in an effort to reassure herself. "I would never do something like that."

She knew the second part was a lie. She could easily imagine a situation in which she'd take such desperate actions. Her parents injured on a mission, badly enough they could no longer continue as adventurers. She'd do anything to raise the money to get them healed, or if necessary, to support their retirement. Anything. Even sell herself to a [Hero].

"No," she repeated. "Mystery isn't like that. She..."

Rose froze, realising she'd used a name she was unfamiliar with. A strange name, for a strange [Hero]. "So the [Hero] was called Mystery. How appropriate. And... it seems that I trust her. Wait... her. Mystery is a... girl? No, she's a her, but not a girl? How does that work? Ah! Come on, I've almost got it! I can feel it! I'm like half a step away from remembering everything!"

She ran through the 'dance' again, concentrating on every slightest feeling it evoked. But it wasn't a feeling that formed the next clue, but rather the lack of one. A feeling that was missing, but that should have been there.

"Normally, when I perform this dance, I feel strong," she said. "Is it some method of strengthening myself, powerful enough to let me fight alongside a [Hero], even with my skills as low as they are?"

That was better than it being a dance for entertainment, at least. Not that the two were mutually exclusive. Watching Grace's embarrassment every time she performed... it...

"Dammit! I had it! But every time I notice I'm thinking about someone I'm supposed to have forgotten, it breaks my concentration," complained Rose, shouting at the unpopulated dreamscape. "We all did it! Every member of the hero's party. We danced and got stronger. It's that unreadable skill! Come on. One more time!"

She danced again, going over everything she felt. Every tiniest movement. Every last word she spoke.

"There were words!" she realised, stopping her dance and restarting, letting her mouth run while trying very hard not to think about what she was saying.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Aster Blue, transform...?"

More elements of her fractured memory came back. It wasn't a skill; it was a spell. That was the activation phrase. A spell that turned her into a fairytale character.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Aster Blue, transform!" she repeated, this time more sure of herself, and the motes of light that should have been there were. Her adventurer gear dissolved into the air, replaced by a dress of satin and lace. The shortest, least practical dress she'd ever seen. Certainly not an outfit that was useful for combat.

"So, I am just a concubine?" she wondered, before realising that didn't match the fairytale image she had at all. Since when did practicality matter to a fairytale? Characters in a book could quite happily walk through a forest on a freezing winter night in naught but a nightie without so much as catching a cold.

"Right. I am Aster Blue," she declared, her certainty growing by the second. "And it doesn't matter if I can't find whoever is responsible for trapping me here, because I can just do this."

She held up a hand towards the heavens, open palmed, and motes of light danced around it, building themselves up into a structure several times the height of Rose.

"Executioner's axe," she stated, and then brought the axe down with an almighty crash that split the landscape cleanly in two. But the crack kept on going, racing across the desert, cleaving the mountain range in half, and then continuing up into the sky. The violet sun split apart and then crumbled, and the world crumbled with it, leaving Rose in darkness.

"Damn, even after that, I'm still dreaming?" she sighed when opening her eyes didn't actually help her see anything, and her obviously missing memories didn't return.

"Who's there?!" exclaimed Grace, shocked to hear a second voice speaking out directly behind her.

The pair spun around to face each other, somehow getting a grip on a floor that didn't exist, and able to see each other perfectly despite the apparent lack of light. That shouldn't have come as a complete surprise, given how they were also both breathing despite the lack of air.

""Who are you?!"" they both asked in perfect synchronisation.

"I'm Rose."

"I'm Grace."

They both blinked.

""You!"" they both exclaimed, once again synchronised perfectly.

"What's going on? Why can't I remember you?"

"I don't know. I... know you're important to me. Very important."

"I think we were going to get married," said Grace, remembering the feeling she'd had in the dream temple. The brief moment she'd hoped it was Rose at the front.

"... Uh..." interjected Mystery, having no idea where that declaration had come from. Both sides ignored her, being too busy quizzically staring at each other.

"Are you sure?" asked Rose. "That wasn't the impression I got. More like... close friends? Weren't we both members of the hero's party?"

She sounded uncertain. Would a mere friend have been crying over her like that? And... now that she saw her, she was fairly sure that [Royal Pervert] was an achievement she'd earned by doing something to Grace. Surely there was no way they'd be friends if she'd done something to earn that achievement non-consensually?

"We could find out?"

"... Uh..." repeated Mystery, but the girls only had eyes for each other.

"How?"

Grace took a couple of steps forward, embracing Rose. "Does this feel weird?"

"No... In fact, it feels... familiar. And... kinda nice," replied Rose, wrapping her arms around Grace in turn.

A few more memories surfaced. Grace was the one who'd taught her to dance. In all of those two-person sequences, the second person had been her. And they'd been cuddling together in bed... More than once... Maybe they really were...?

"Then, shall we try..." said Grace, bringing her face closer to Rose's in a way that made the implied end of the sentence obvious.

Rose closed her eyes and leant forward.

"... Uh..." tried Mystery for the third time, not quite sure how things had escalated so quickly.

""Shut up!"" ordered both girls, and then they kissed.

It was a good kiss, and it lasted quite some time.

By the time they withdrew, both sides were blushing furiously.

"So... no. We weren't girlfriends," said Rose, working through the wave of memories that had just been released.

"If you realised that, why didn't you stop?" asked Grace, who was going through the same process.

"Why didn't you?" snapped Rose before paling as she read something only she could see. "Wait, why did I get an achievement for that? You started it, not me! I didn't despoil anyone!"

"Again?" laughed Grace. "In that case, I want to say two... no, three, things. First: sorry, and I swear on my life that no-one in my family will hold it against you. Second: as much as he is a good [King], I realise now that my father was not a good parent. Third: please can we do that again?"

ding

For somehow managing to project the image of a nose bleed, [Telepathy] advances to level 21.

Mystery (Human)

Age: -9 months

Occupation: Hero (L)

Skills:

- Soul's Eye (U) (44/100)

>> Sense Vitality (U)

>> Sense Soul (R)

>> Sense Mana (U)

>> Sense Light (C)

>> Sense Sound (C)

>> Pierce Illusions (U)

>> Sense Miasma (R)

>> Multi-focal (R)

>> Sense Spirit (R)

- Astral Projection (U) (26/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (31/50)

>> Hardened Soul (R)

>> Secured Mana (U)

>> Pain Tolerance (C)

>> Strengthened Will (U)

- Stealth (C) (3/20)

>> Camouflage Vitality (R)

- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (29/30)

>> Age Correction (R)

>> Gender Bending (R)

- Light (C) (12/20)

>> Heterochrome (U)

- Increased Attributes (C) (11/20)

>> Mana Storage (U)

- Investigation (C) (8/10)

- Cosplay (U) (12/20)

>> Skit (U)

- Mana Absorption (U) (14/30)

>> Drain Mana (U)

>> Conduit (U)

- Translate (U) (11/20)

>> Two Way (U)

- Telepathy (U) (21/40)

>> Reciprocity (U)

>> Empathy (U)

>> Guarded Mind (U)

- Lightning Bolt (U) (8/30)

>> Multishot (U)

>> Continuous Discharge (U)

- Fireball (U) (9/30)

>> Multishot (U)

>> Overcharge (U)

- Wall of Light (U) (1/10)

- Energy Resistance (U) (7/10)

- Recharge (U) (4/10)

Achievements:

- Early Bloomer II (R)

- First Skill (C)

- Adept (U)

- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)

- I Broke The System, And All I Got Was This Lousy Achievement (E)

- Astral Explorer II (E)

- First Spell (C)

- I Broke The System Again, And Now The Administrators Hate Me (E)

- Famous Spell Forger (E)

- Demon Slayer III (E)

- Monster Slayer VI (E)

- Curiosity (U)

- War Veteran (U)

- Royal Audience (C)

- Diligent Hero (L)

- Studious (C)

- Pioneering Guider (E)

- Royal Pervert (R)

- I Couldn't Stop Breaking The System, And Now I've Been Smited (E)

- Royal Corrupter (E)

- Blessed of the Forest (C)

- Artefact Wielder (R)

- Veteran of the Corruption (R)

Artefacts:

- The Vale's Finger