This is a daily reminder: You have 4 unallocated stat points

  You have gained [Two Separate Minds] Basic 3

  Gain 1 exp

  More underwear and some bras. I feel the pair I am wearing, nice. I review my memories. I turn around to see my new attendant work dress draped over my anvil. Hmmm I started thinking of it as mine again. Quirk of the skill? It still separates my memories. What is my sister’s is mine as well. My soul warms at the thought. I snicker at my sister reviewing this. I go over to the work dress, reviewing my work. I used my iron fire thread as my sewing thread. It holds tighter than my silks which like to stretch. I swap my clothes so I can start on making a new robe. There are various scabs on my exposed skin. Leveling cut again. The venom burns were healed.

  First a drink. The blood skin is empty. So is the container. My sister hadn't noticed. Well sister try to be more courteous, our body is bigger and running the 25 hour Sara mart requires more blood.

  I walk to the gate and find it closed. Damn. It can wait but I am more annoyed now. I spot a slightly dozing guard. I feel bad but it's better to know than to guess.

  “Pardon me ma'am, what time does the gate open?”

  The woman is startled, “Who what now, um hello did you have a question.”

  “Yes, when does the gate open?”

  “Oh I can let you out now if you want, you won't be allowed back in till morning light though.”

  Guess I'll just fill the container. Could go find some more death trillium.

  “I would appreciate that, just so I know does the gate close when the evening becomes night?”

  She nods as she opens a small door in the gate, having to swing a cross bar out of the way. I have to turn my body to step through. Big body problems.

  “Thank you.”

  The door closes and I hear the wooden bar come down securing it.

  -----

  I dropped off the filled container at the shed. I think I will buy two more. Better to be stocked than running out. I head to the guild to get a small gold. I yawn. Almost midday. Eh, it'll be fine. I start to head to reception, the dwarf girl has become a male lamia. When a hand lands on my shoulder I turn to the woman who has stopped me.

  ? ? Troll Maknor West Gate Adventurer Guild Master, Adventurer

  -----

  You have gained [Two Separate Minds] Basic 4

  Gain 1 exp

  There is an angry lavender troll lady in front of me. The dwarf receptionist is sitting next to her, scared to look at me.

  -Hey hurry up and review your memories, I'm not sure how long I can stay awake.

  Sister?

  -Memories now, Sister.

  I review my memories quickly. We are getting possessive aren't we? Sister yawns, no longer paying attention to anything but maintaining a gaze at the troll lady.

  “Are we boring you, She who Mourns.”

  Got it. Sister is already asleep.

  “Sorry long night, I regret my actions deeply. I was being petulant to the receptionist when she didn't care about my wishes.”

  “Which she shouldn't, what sort of adventurer returns payment.”

  She places the 4 small gold, five large silver on the table.

  “The kind that cares about doing the job they were hired for.”

  “That party told me you saved their lives.”

  “It wasn't what they hired me to do, I failed as a porter.”

  She leans forward grasping her chin with her left hand. She is studying me.

  “Would you remove your hat?”

  “I would prefer not to.”

  “Too bad, either you remove the hat or the guard will when I report you for assaulting Lindur here.”

  Her eyes flash purple. I sigh and take off my hat. My cat's ears are clearly visible.

  “I can see why you're hiding yourself. How old are you, fourteen, fifteen?”

  “I told Lindur, I was eleven.”

  She quirks an eyebrow, red haired. I shrug.

  “I have reports of a possible adventurer on the run that's ten who looks like an infused Pimar.”

  I just stare at her, I doubt I could mislead her again. Her mental mana sights prevent me from using a sound illusion to lie for me.

  “Its not like the adventurer was going to stay ten forever. Roll up the sleeve on your dress.”

  Damn, I do as she asks, keeping the scaled forearm towards her. It didn't matter, she flipped my arm to reveal the scars on my fleshy underside. I wince, she wasn't gentle.

  “So Scratches care to explain how you managed to re-register as an adventurer.”

  I look at her annoyed, and then flick my glance to Lindur. She flinches from my gaze. It breaks my heart. I push the coins towards her.

  “Sorry Lindur, I still don't believe I deserve this money, please take it for the turmoil I caused.”

  Lindur looks between me and the guild master. The guild master rolls her eyes.

  “Take it and go, you know the rules about confidentiality, not a word about our troublemaker.”

  She nods and leaves.

  “I really don't appreciate you revealing me to others.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Tough shit, learn to control yourself better. Answer my previous question, I need to learn the loophole you used so I can close it.”

  I close my eyes to calm myself. She is not wrong, she just doesn't care.

  “I have a unique pariah title. I can attach it to titles. I have to do so to equip the titles. If I sever the title, I lose the title.”

  “Which let you reacquire the previous one. Is that what you hit Lindur with, your pariah aura?”

  “No.”

  “Well then what was it?”

  “It used to be an [Intimidation Aura], it's changed…”

  She gives me a hard look, a moment passes.

  “Hit me with it, your [Intimidation Aura].”

  You have gained [Horror Aura] Basic 4

  Gain 1 exp

  “Feels like Maknor spiders are trying to climb into me while I am being watched by something bigger. You learn some sort of aura mimicry skill.”

  Oh system, don't let anyone try to mimic worthlessness.

  “Something like that.”

  “Alright you said it was a unique pariah aura? I don't have that in your registration.”

  “Thought the guild didn't keep those.”

  “Why else would we write it down? It's useful when we find creative liars. Doesn't matter, I understand there were three other adventurers when Scratches went missing.”

  “She who Preys, She who Stomps, and She who Titters were killed by zealots of Gadvak.”

  “Now you remain, She who Mourns. How did you live?”

  “I prefer not to say.”

  The guildmaster looks very cross with me. Her anger is steadily rising.

  “I need to know if you betrayed your fellow party members or not Scratches.”

  Now it's my anger that rises.

  “Want to make a vow to not reveal what I tell you. You're more than welcome to kill me after, if you find my act repulsive.”

  She squints at me. “Only if you place a geas on yourself to answer my question truthfully.”

  I nod.

  “I, Winctal [Maknor West Gate Adventurer Guild Master] vow to remain silent on what I learn today from the adventurer before me so long as she answers me truthfully for one hour.”

  A geas of conditional silence is being offered

  Do you accept

  The geas settles onto my soul. My mental eyes watch as it settles on Winctal.

  “So how did you survive?”

  “I didn't.”

  She looks very annoyed at that, but grows more curious as the geas is still active.

  “And yet you sit before me. Explain.”

  That's not a question but fine, “The third soul boon is an immortal soul core. When I died my soul fled into it. My body was undead for a while until I repaired it with life magic.”

  “Are you trying to tell me you're unkillable?”

  I shrug, “I'm not sure, it's not as if I plan to find out. If they had cremated my corpse I doubt I would still be here.”

  “So you revived and fled. Why haven't you reported in?”

  “I don't have good experiences reporting things to authorities, last time I almost got executed. I'm being hunted by zealots that I don't understand. I burnt down their monastery in my escape.”

  “That was you? Troublemaker is right.”

  I look at her annoyed.

  “It wasn't me who put me in their morgue.”

  “Fair enough.”

  We sit across from each other, the guildmaster in thought. I was waiting for the next question.

  “Which do you want to carry on as?”

  That was not where I expected this interrogation to go.

  “That is not in question. I am She who Mourns.” My soul thrums at my acknowledgement.

  “Do you not wish to return to Yetna, to those still there.”

  “If they are still there, then I have judged them wrong. If I returned to Yetna, I would still be in mourning. It would hurt more, the familiarity of setting without those who I was familiar with.”

  “You did work in the clinic of Yetna. Are you willing to set up shop here?”

  She wishes to constrain me. Curious.

  “I am willing to run a clinic from breakfast to dinner. I expect room and board to be provided and your continued vigilance to protect me. I do not yet have sustainer magic.”

  The nights will still be mine to prepare myself.

  “What is your life magic at?”

  “Competent.”

  “Another thing you didn't list in your interview.”

  “Are we retreading old ground then?”

  “No, I will contact the mage guild for a trainer. Competent life is what is necessary to learn sustainer magic. Come, I will show you to the clinic.”

  I follow her. It was like what mother had. More rooms for patients though.

  “I'll call a tailor to produce you some priestess robes.”

  “I will procure my own.”

  She raises an eyebrow to that.

  “I don't want more eyes on this body than necessary. Where will I be staying?”

  She grumbles but opens a door to some private quarters at the clinic. I should be able to fit my smithing tools there.

  “I require a cover artifact.”

  “Why?”

  “I have a hobby in smithing, I do not wish to disturb my patients.”

  “I will see it delivered. Anything else?”

  I swap my title to priestess. Time to shoot for the stars.

  “I want a key to the Gadvak dungeon.”

  “Why, you won't have time to go there with your duties.”

  Each key was a unique instance of the dungeon. That such a thing was absurd. But the space in the dungeon was already absurd. It had a sky underground. Clearly different subspaces. I wanted my own instance.

  “I still want one.”

  “The dungeon only just produced its twenty-fourth key, it hasn't been announced. You can hold onto it. The dungeon gets decent traffic, we tend to have twenty keys out at a time. Should things get busy I expect you to relinquish the key until it is not.”

  I nod, she leaves. I do too.

  -----

  After getting all my stuff moved I sit in a chair in front of the clinic. The damn landlord didn't give me back my money for the two weeks in advance I paid. I am still in my attendant work robe. The priestess robe will need to wait till tonight. I think on that. I'm a level fifteen priestess. They aren't going to expect great mana reserves from me. Most will assume I have no core. I can work with that. Hmm silk bandages perhaps. Seeped in life magic I could bind wounds in it. They will recover. I shrug more work for tonight then. Lindur is approaching me.

  “The guild master said you are to train my mental mana sight. She was rather annoyed at the illusions you pulled off on me. Here is the key you were promised.”

  She is shifting, still afraid of me. I take the key from her and place it in my pocket.

  “Sure, do you need instructions on how to open your mana sight?”

  A small purple dot lights her right eye. I formed a dancing illusion for her to study. When she gets close to it, I make it quack. She stubbles back. The dot looks a little bit bigger.

  “Sorry, figure you would require some sound illusion too.”

  “Fuck, sure. Just wasn't expecting it to quack in my face.”

  She looks to be tiring. The eye winks out.

  “Don't get how you are only two level higher but can maintain such magic.”

  I shrug, her soul is smaller than my daughters. She likely has little mental fortitude as well.

  “I have a way to train my mental fortitude. It has helped my reserves.”

  “I got time before my next shift, can you teach me that?”

  “No.”

  “Why the fuck not.”

  Seems her fear of me has already waned.

  “You got hit by one of my auras and it broke your nerve. The one that raises my mental is worse.”

  She grows fearful again, but then gets annoyed. The fear is replaced fully when she speaks again.

  “Fuck you, no hand holding, hit me with it. I'm tired of looking around for skitterings.”

  That sounds awful.

  “Go to the door. I will pull my pariah aura out and make its density grow as it is closer to me. You can decide how close you can move towards me. If anyone comes I will pull the aura back.”

  “What's it do, this pariah aura?”

  “It's an aura of worthlessness. Just keep in mind that the door is your way to freedom. I'll be right cross if you try to kill yourself.”

  She looks like she has lost her nerve again, but it comes back. She stands at the door glaring. I do as I said I would. She takes two steps and shudders. Another step and crouches down. When she stands again determined to move forward, I beckon to her.

  “Your goal is not to reach me but gaining skill ups. Don't overdo it.”

  “Fuck you, you’re not my mom.”

  She takes another step forward. This repeats once more, but five steps in is her limit. She gets up to leave after a bit. I quirk my eyebrow.

  “Reached the apprentice threshold, need to do more converts to get by it.”

  I nod as she leaves. My aura back in me. It's about time for dinner. I head to the guild food hall. Just to keep up appearances.

  -----

  This hall has three meat meatloaf as well. Rabbit, axens and … goblin. It's all the same goblin smell, must be dungeon goblin. I wonder if the other adventurers know. Would they even care? I sigh and pick at my meal. My knowledge souring me. Which is rather hypocritical considering I am more than willing to drain dungeon goblin of their blood. I should see if the axen tastes better. Lindur slams her tray on the opposite side of the table in front of me. I look up.

  “I ain't going to get over this until I get used to your dumb pretty face.”

  Should I be insulted or flattered? I just shrug. I keep pecking at my meal.

  We eat in silence. Prin shows up.

  “Um, She who Mourns, I'm glad you're safe, my party just wanted to apologize for making you uncomfortable enough to leave. Gil wasn't trying to harm you, he just didn't understand what had happened. Actually we still don't know how you managed to slay the hydra so fast.”

  “Afraid I won't be explaining it either, my fervent wish is that we all just drop it. I'm sorry I left you all in a lurch.”

  “No, no, no problem at all, I will just leave you to your meal.”

  Lindur arches an eyebrow at me as Prin leaves. I finish my meal and head back to my room. The room has no locks but it does swing inwards. I divest myself of clothing and sit against the door. Sara the half ton door stop. I begin to pull more thread, time to make my priestess robes and some bandages. I sip from my blood skin as I work.