And (N)one Shall Remain

Esperanza felt that despite the hardships they had to face, the people of Navef lived an arguably blissful life all considered.

 

Sure, they might not have all that much free time for themselves. Their lives were also regularly at risk from the wildlife that inhabited the forests around their village, and their existence was one where they had to eke out their living the hard way, by hunting and gathering, supported by the small farms within the enclosure of their villages.

 

On the other hand, they also had far less of the worries that often plagued people who had easier lives. Their small community lived in peace and harmony with one another, each person trying their best to contribute to the continuation of their quaint little village. Their children – and even many of the adults – had that quality of innocence that was often so hard to find amongst modern people.

 

Maybe it was that simplicity of life that allowed them to afford that innocence. The lack of scheming and abusive people around them meant that they had little need to brace themselves against such troubles, after all.

 

Tired of the too-much obeisance the villagers kept showing her despite her tersely worded commands, Esperanza had left Navef after a couple of days. She had not gone far, however. Instead, she only went a short distance away from the village, in the direction of the forest depths, and built a small house there, a crude hut made out of branches and leaves that would have probably horrified any proper survivalist.

 

The building process itself was relatively easy with her newfound physical qualities. Her fangs easily bit off branches from trees and converting a finger to a claw allowed her to trim the smaller bits with ease. Being able to lift weights she would have never been able to lift in her previous life with one hand also helped a lot.

 

Both Dali and Gordy weren’t idle during that time either. While they lacked a way to help Esperanza build the house, they had other ways they could help out with. Gordy had brought her the large, dried leaves that she used to waterproof to roofs as best she could, while Dali found and brought long, sturdy vines she could use as ropes to tie things up with.

 

They also went out to hunt regularly. 

 

Esperanza had asked the two – she was certain that they understood what she said, even if they couldn’t speak back and she only had an inkling thanks to [A Glimpse of Understanding] – to patrol the area around Navef, and to take down any dangerous beasts that happened to wander too close. That meant any predatory beasts of the second tier or above.

 

She purposely left the lower level beasts and the non-dangerous second tiers so that Adan-Zil and the other village hunters would have something to do as well, even though her pets would often drop the prey they took down in front of the village gates from time to time. She was going to stay around for a while anyway, so no reason not to help contribute a bit to the village. 

 

When Esperanza made it clear to the villagers that she would be leaving back then, many of them had reacted with palpable relief. She had not blamed them. It must have been stressful to have someone they considered a messenger from the deities they worship present and walking about their place like that. In the end, them going their own ways was probably the best for both sides.

 

Her decision to still remain in the vicinity was partly so she could keep watch over the village for a while, partly to make sure that what she saw wasn’t just a trick, or worse, some kind of show put up in order to appease her. She couldn’t help but to be a little bit paranoid about things, even with how nice and hands-off Oldies had been so far, so like he said she should, she wanted to make sure for herself.

 

Naturally, the village’s hunters found her presence – and her house, which was rather hard to miss – the next time they went out. Most of them kept a respectful distance after they paid their obeisance, and even gave respectful bows when they occasionally ran across Dali or Gordy during their hunts. Out of the villagers, only Adan-Zil and his apprentices occasionally visited, bringing “offerings” from the other villagers.

 

Other than them, the village’s children were her other frequent visitors. Quite expectedly, the young children were still too young to fear her, nor did they show the excessive obeisance of their elders. Of course, she was not so irresponsible to allow those children to traverse the route to her place on their own, and only allowed them to come over when they saw Dali or Gordy coming to the village and followed them back.

 

Dali or Gordy’s presence was plenty to assure their safety, after all, and the children loved the two. Since neither of her dogs seemed to mind the children’s affectionate displays, she just allowed them to play together near her house, until the kids grew tired and she had her dogs send them home, often having Gordy carry them on her back.

 

Some of the “offerings” from the village also came in handy, as they included sweets, something that was likely a rarity for such an isolated village. To say that the eyes of the children gleamed when they saw Esperanza offer them some sweets was an understatement, and it proved to be a very effective way for her to get the children to no longer fear her at all.

 

Amusing how fear easily turned into adoration with a few pieces of sweets, but it was that innocence that endeared them to her in the first place.

 

It was all probably a waste of her time, staying by the village instead of heading towards the deeper depths of the forest and leveling up, but it most definitely soothed her mind, and helped Esperanza regain some balance over herself. Even the thought she had worried her somewhat. When had she ever considered running around to kill things whose only fault was existing in her way a normal thing?

 

Those thoughts worried her.

 

Oldies had mentioned in the past, during one of their early conversations, that the body it formed for her might have a semblance of its own instincts, which might partially affect her in some way. If they told the truth, it might well be that the thoughts of hunting and feasting that often crossed her mind were part of those instincts.

 

She most definitely had no thoughts of lurking around a forest to jump down on and devour helpless creatures in her previous life, that was for certain. She most definitely never even thought of eating her prey raw and bleeding like she often did so far in this new world, though back then, it was necessitated by survival, arguably.

 

It also helped greatly that she could turn her taste buds and noses “off” as she devoured those poor creatures, while still being able to taste things that she preferred later on. While her new form had many issues she was still in the midst of addressing somehow through the skills she had gained so far, it also had its conveniences.

 

That said, it was not as if she wasted her time doing nothing while she stayed near the village. Her level had remained static, sure. The pitiful experience from the beasts that Dali and Gordy killed was nowhere near enough to push her to the next level, given that the area had a dearth of higher level creatures. She had not remained idle and instead practiced her skills where she could, though.

 

Results were had from that diligence.

 

The frequent talks she had with the children – or Adan-Zil when he visited – helped raise her [Language Understanding] skill to level 3. She also gained a general skill called [Quick Learner] which helped her learn new things faster, probably from having some of the kids show her around and teach her about the local herbs and fruits on occasion.

 

[A Glimpse of Understanding] already reached level 5 from the constant usage, since she kept using it as much as she could, even with Dali and Gordy. The increase in skill level helped her make use of the skill from further away, though it was still limited to unguarded, surface thoughts. People who were used to hiding their thoughts would be impervious to the skill.

 

Frequent practice with [Gauze of Oblivion] and the constant usage of [Aura Control] – she had to constantly keep her aura confined to the depths of her soul, lest the passive effect from [Far Down the Deep End] affected the villagers, who most likely wouldn’t be able to resist it – also raised those skill to level 4 and 8, respectively, which made them easier to use and also allowed her to remain stealthed for longer.

 

The biggest change to her skills however, came from [Shifting Guise] and [Fleshweaving]. The former skill was harder to level after its evolution, though her constant practice and usage allowed it to reach level 9 just the day before. On the other hand, the same amount of practice brought the latter skill to its maximum level of 10, and it evolved on the spot.

 

Class Skill [Fleshweaving] has reached level 10!

Class Skill [Fleshweaving] has satisfied all requirements for skill evolution!

Class Skill [Fleshweaving] Evolved into [Flesh is but a Vessel]

 

[Flesh is but a Vessel]

Rare skill

Level 1

 

For what are these fragments of flesh and bone we call a body but a receptacle of the Soul?

Allows the user a great degree of freedom to change the material of parts of their body at will. Level 1: Small-scale alterations, changes of material composition are only possible for alteration into other natural bodily materials. 

 

Where [Shifting Guise] was what allowed her to shift her shape around, [Fleshweaving], and now [Flesh is But a Vessel] allowed her to alter the composition of her body to a greater extent. [Fleshweaving] had been how she moved eyes, fangs, and teeth around even as her body’s form changed, but the evolved skill allowed her not to just move them around, but to alter parts of her body to whatever she wished it to be.

 

Esperanza quickly tested it by forming a sharp claw on one finger. In the past, she had to move around multiple fangs and merge them to achieve that effect. Currently however, she simply shaped part of the finger into the claw shape then altered the composition of that part into a hard, nail-like substance. Within moments her finger was topped by a sharp claw just as she wished.

 

She naturally started experimenting with the evolved skill. The change of material composition worked both ways, she found. She could turn the claw back into the leathery skin that was the best approximation her current form managed without issue, and back to a lethal tool all within moments. She expected that she would be able to perform the transformations even faster with more practice and skill levels.

 

Some quick attempts also allowed her to create a scale-like structure on her skin, which acted as a sort of natural armor for her. The surprising part about the evolved skill was that the transformation cost nothing to maintain, and could remain as they were indefinitely until she chose to revert them back. Only the process itself cost her some mana.

 

As such, Esperanza had no hesitation in replicating the scale-like armor all over her body, as a second layer of sorts beneath her skin. That way she looked no different from the outside, but gained all the benefit of the armor-like scales. At the same time, she formed claws within her fingers, ready to be pushed out at a moment’s thought when the need for them came.  

 

Better be prepared and not have to use them than find herself unprepared when she needed them.