Shielded by Seals [Chapter 8] (Patreon)

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132353583

In the short term, nothing changed even if I now knew the grisly shape of Argyle’s plan. I just couldn’t look at him without my mind replaying his high pitched giggle, and also picturing my throat slit body being tossed upon my mother’s mummified remains.

I tried not to fixate on the deadline: my fifth birthday.

Well, that’s not true; a few things changed. My meals improved. Father now fed me twice a day, leaving me to play around on the ground floor at other times while he went back upstairs. But it was difficult to appreciate these benefits when I knew that his focus on caring for me came with the caveat of him looking at me like a suckling pig he was trying to fatten up.

“Thtill, it’s not like I don’t have mefods,” I clenched a fist and gave myself a small pep talk. “The thith birthday timeframe… is from by the Child Role, but someting abut the medayins… If I get my Mana Pool to that point early and can figure them out…”

Rejuvenated and filled with hope, I began working again. 

Your Skill Clean has reached a new Proficiency! Beginner III-> Apprentice. Clean affects a larger area. The effects of Clean linger for a longer time. Your Mana Pool deepens.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +10%.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Genius, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +4%.

Your Role Child has reached a new Proficiency! Apprentice-> Usable. Your potential increases. Your sensitivity to Mana and other energies increases. Due to reaching the Usable Tier, you have gained access to additional Proficiency Tiers! The Tier “Proficient II” has split into Proficient II and Proficient III. Please continue to develop the Role Child for further improvements.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Genius, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +8%.

After Apprentice… comes Usable? I felt slightly bemused. What a crass word… but this, too, can be considered a stepping stone. From Usable… likely to Proficient.

My eyes were bright. I clenched a baby fist. My target was within reach. The grinding resumed. Days turned to weeks, and then months.

Your Trait Mana Adjusted Physique has reached a new Proficiency! Beginner II-> Beginner III. Efficacy of the Trait Increases. Your natural resistance to energy attacks increases. Mana travels more easily through your body.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +10%.

For increasing Trait Proficiency while a Genius, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +4%.

Father made me increasingly complex meals. My body developed muscle and coordination, giving me the ability to run like a youth, at the age of two. My confidence steadily grew.

I tried not to notice that the diagrams in Argyle’s study proliferated their way outward across the walls, like a perverse sort of geometric wallpaper.

Your Skill Emit Mana has reached a new Proficiency! Usable-> Proficient I…

Inevitably, improving became more and more time-consuming, but my experience from my past life made trifles like this easy. Not only that, but the efficacy of the boost from Genius revealed itself: feat-based growth was the way Clean worked, only jumping up when a mess was eliminated. Based on a few experiments, it was a flat percentage.

For the first time in a while, I harbored predatory intent toward those early dumping grounds.

“Plus, my Mana Pool-.” My words ran together as I spoke, but I could speak with properly enunciated consonants! I giggled with excitement, betrayed by my toddler body. I was officially nearing two years old, standing and rushing back and forth on the bottom floor. “My Mana Pool is starting to feel like a pond! And then-”

I giggled again. Then I coughed into my hand. No one heard, but the display was quite embarrassing. After schooling my expression into one of concentration, I raised a hand and unleashed Emit Mana. The projectile cracked against the wall, leaving a long singe mark against the stone. Almost too late to assist, the seals flared and put out the remnant embers created on impact. I walked forward, the combination of my growth and my improved Mana-Improved Physique meant balance no longer thwarted me.

My good mood continued until I looked at my Status Screen and thought about my most recent experiment with Emit Mana.

Status

Name: Osiris Scowl

Level: 2 (Score: C)

Roles: Child (Usable, 12%), Genius (Basic, 16%)(1 Year, 6 Months, 1 Week, 2 Days)

Traits: Mana Hungry (Beginner I, 17%), Mana Adjusted Physique (Beginner III, 40%)

Skills: Emit Mana (Usable, 1%), Clean (Apprentice, 2%)

To get that 1% in Emit Mana… I had to shoot out a few hundred…

I hadn’t even been able to get 1% in a single day, with over ten naps and grinding cycles. To allow time for Argyle’s interruptions, it would take 120ish days of straight Emit Mana in order to improve to the next Tier. The diminishing returns gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. On the one hand, that was still a manageable stretch of time.

Yet how long would the next Tier take?

“Forget it, even if the stress nightmares have started again, I can’t afford to stop.” I sighed. “Argyle won’t…”

I made a plan: First, I would focus on getting Clean to Usable, with the boost from the Genius Trait, and then-

The manor hummed around me, dragging my attention to the front of the building. I swayed on my feet; turning still required a little bit of extra attention. Then my bare feet made little noises as I rapidly dashed from the kitchen area to the great hall. The strange runes sealing the door had manifested. Again, the small white glow appeared next to the entrance to allow the door to open. Instead of going directly to open, I dashed up toward the nearby window and pushed aside the curtain. My mouth formed an O as I looked outside. Without me realizing, the year had spun and what waited outside was a winter wonderland. Snow fluttered down, covering the surrounding area with a layer of ice.

Eh? If it’s so snowy, why isn’t it cold? To think magical worlds have such powerful amenities… I peered out at the drawbridge. My heart filled with hope that the police had returned with more officers to force a search of the manor despite Argyle’s status in the community. When that happened, they’d find both the body of my green-skinned caretaker, the rotting body parts in the basement, the man pinned to the walls with a sword upstairs, the other scattered corpses-

As well as the husk of Mother in the upper room…

I frowned. It wasn’t the police this time. It was a woman with her grey hair in a ponytail, waiting in front of the closed door with her hands clasped behind her back.

In the end, I shrugged after studying the woman for a few seconds. Who cares who she is… better just to open and hope she can help me escape Argyle's madness.

I pressed my hand into the glowing section. The seals peeled back and the large wooden entryway swung open. I stood there, my blanket wrapped around me, trying to seem reliable. I decided to just reveal my ability to speak, so I could point immediately to Father’s crimes. Even if I wasn’t sure about the danger of being an intelligent almost-two-year-old, the danger of Father’s experiments had been proven by the corpses in the basement.

The door swung open. The woman looked down and squinted at me. On her chest, I saw that a giant green spider had been embroidered. 

I said. “Hello. I need your help, Ma’am.”

Using all my focus, I didn’t lisp at all. My tongue behaved.

If anything, the woman seemed disappointed by my speaking. She sneered. “Oh, I’m sure you do. Tsk. To think… hah, are you supposed to be the descendant of the Fang Family?”

I blinked at that question, trying to stay on track. “Uh… Father is upstairs. He has killed the servants. My mother’s body is still-”

The woman snorted, pivoted on a heel, and simply walked away.

I blinked at least a dozen times, trying to understand what went wrong. Then another thought struck me-- should I try to just make a break for it?

I stepped forward through the threshold… yet the seals on the door became a kind of mesh, wrapped around my body. My skin lit up with similar seals. I took several steps forward, but they kept binding me, stretching but not tearing. The more I pushed, the harder it was to advance. I reached the near edge of the drawbridge and felt the first waves of chill from the outside… yet no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t push forward any farther.

The elasticity of the seals pulled me back when my strength failed. The door remained open, the seals fading away, yet obviously present. I glared out at the retreating back of the woman. What the hell! I tell you my father is a murderer and you just walk away…!? Does no one care about child welfare?

*****

Amainya Fang marched back to the village, her feet crunching in the snow. Her eyes glittered. As expected, that leech Argyle wants more from the Fang Family, spreading false rumors that the heir survived… 

Heh, he even hired a child who looks younger than it is… the way, when asked if he was the heir, he began a premade speech? Pah. Even now, that bumbler is dragging the Fang Family name through the mud.

Yet dealing with a Chosen is difficult…

Amainya paused and pivoted. She looked back up to the manor on the ridge. She pursed her lips. She snapped her fingers. A rustling noise was the only sign of movement, and suddenly, a figure in dark, dark green robes knelt at her side in the snow.

The figure spoke to the ground. “Yes, mistress?”

“Keep an eye on the manor. Observe abnormalities and communications.” Amainya said. “The Chosen within is technically an Ally of the Holy One… yet they are plotting something. Inform me if the situation develops.”

“Of course, mistress,” The figure kept his head lowered for several seconds, then raised it. “Mistress… I hesitate to bring this up-”

“Yet you are,” Amainya narrowed her eyes. “I am aware of my earlier promises. You wished to return with me and improve your bond with the Holy One, yes? Alas, we must all take on thankless tasks. For the good of the Fang Family, even I…”

Amainya turned away, her own annoyance making her forget about the servant behind her. Instead, she pictured the cocky grin of the fool her niece had married. If you know what’s good for you, Argyle, you will stay cooped up there until you wither and die.

But if you dare try and take advantage of the Fang Family’s prestige… heh.