An Unborn Hero

"So... To avoid ageless races cycling through every occupation and learning every skill, they're cursed to grow older with each new skill or sub-skill they learn?" asked Rose, having never heard that little fact before.

"Indeed," confirmed Rrillandral. "Accumulating too many skills is fatal to an elf. Furthermore, spells which slow or reverse ageing have previously been believed impossible to create, for any race. This [Age Correction] sub-skill is the first success I have heard of, and I've already confirmed it works on other elves of far more aged appearance than my own. A fascinating loophole."

"You aren't worried about being smitten?" asked Grace. "The gods tend to look poorly on exploits."

"I am not. I did not create the spell, it does nothing to overcome the ultimate cap on skill count, nor does it operate without drawbacks."

"Yeah, like bathroom trips," muttered Rose, a dark expression flitting across her face as she remembered the night before, and how close she'd come to an accident.

"I do not get to control my age. My fashion choices are heavily stunted. The mana cost of keeping it up continuously is prohibitive. Even my actions are somewhat restricted. Were I to share the spell among the general elven population, the men would be... vexed. Saying that, I do look forward to teaching it to my father. He often expresses the desire to be young again."

"Even at the expense of [Gender Bending]?" asked Hayedalf.

"Perhaps, for a time, although it will likely prevent him using it on a permanent basis. But I would not mention that requirement until after I'd demonstrated the spell myself and got his hopes up."

"That seems... mean," suggested Rose.

Grace just laughed. "I see. So that is another of your 'freedoms'."

"Indeed," agreed the elf. "But truthfully, I prefer my new age, and the opportunity to pick up useful new skills was appreciated. I merely kept my previous because it was useful for integrating myself with new heroes."

"Well, that's one hell of a disturbing claim," thought Mystery as the others ate. "Not least because it was successful. Although, given that she spoke English, I would have wanted to keep her around even if she hadn't been such good magical girl material. And I guess that confirms the achievement was her fault... How worried do I need to be about it? It kind of implies I've been punished already, but I haven't noticed anything."

Alas, breakfast was interrupted by the doorbell ringing once again.

"Probably your dad coming back, now that you're up," guessed Rose.

"... You probably don't realise this, but Father leaving the palace is not a casual event. Just think how many people they needed to wake last night, and how much preparation was required to organise their team of guards."

Rose thought about it.

"Oh," she agreed.

Kellela opened the door and confirmed that there was indeed no royalty present, although there was the [Royal Knight], who at least made a decent proxy.

"Doesn't he need to sleep?" thought Mystery, in the certain knowledge that, unlike Rose, he wouldn't have been able to turn in within seconds of the end of their nocturnal visit.

"Sorry for the early morning call, but we have a situation in the slums that perhaps you'd be best placed to deal with."

The [Royal Knight] was invited into the kitchen, where Hayedalf subtly poured his fresh cup of tea—still too hot to drink quickly—down the sink.

"What sort of situation?" he asked.

"There's a... vigilante."

"Sorry?"

"Someone is going around stealing food and distributing it to the destitute population."

The group looked at each other, no-one wanting to express what they were thinking.

Except Mystery. "... Robin... Hood..." she commented brightly.

"Is that... a name?" asked Grace. "No, never mind. Let me guess; you can't just arrest the perpetrator, because they've already bought enough support amongst the population that doing so openly would trigger riots. Then why come to us instead of arranging an... accident?"

Rose looked aghast. Mystery flashed an angry red.

"We tried. Twice. We were only able to recover one of the bodies."

"What?!" exclaimed Rose.

"How many dead in total?" asked Grace.

"What?!" repeated Rose.

Grace turned, aware that once more, something that was obvious to her wasn't to Rose. "If you will excuse the brevity of the explanation, those who possess food in the slums and want to keep it generally require extensive security. Theft of the food requires removal of that security. 'Vigilante' is one word. 'Murderer' would be another."

"Nine, so far," answered the [Royal Knight].

Mystery's red light blinked out.

"Oh..." said Rose.

"Worse, they've done it without earning any [Murderer] achievements."

"The deaths were self defence?"

"No. Some of the corpses had clearly been taken by surprise."

"Then the target must have killed at least five times in the past..." sighed Grace, looking distant.

"So, why us?" asked Kellela. "We aren't publicly known, so us going in would still result in the denizens siding with the killer."

"The ministers don't want you to fight them; they want you to talk to them. Each time they distribute food, they give the same claim; the [Hero] is protecting the kingdom from outside threats, so we need to clean up the inside of the kingdom so that the [Hero] has somewhere decent to come back to. Since they claim the [Hero] is their inspiration, the ministers hope they'll listen to you."

"What does he mean, 'the ministers'?" thought Mystery. "He's saying that like he doesn't want us to... Is he that desperate to see them killed?"

"... Or they aren't subject to the Recorder..." mumbled Hayedalf, still hung up on something a sentence or two behind.

"So, you agree," responded the [Royal Guard].

"Huh?" asked Grace, who thought she'd been keeping up with the conversation perfectly. "Agree with what?"

"Another explanation for why the Recorder may not have recorded any [Murderer] achievements; the person... or demon... doing the murdering may not be capable of earning achievements. It would also explain how two of my men failed."

"Why in the hells would a demon be feeding the slums?"

"To lure out the [Hero]."

"How cunning," exclaimed Rrillandral, sounding almost happy about the fact.

"Wait. You already suspected this 'vigilante' was a demon, and you didn't mention it?"

"Oh..." thought Mystery. "That was why he didn't include himself, then..."

"I wanted to see if you came to the same conclusion, despite lacking one piece of circumstantial evidence I possessed. The day after the ball, an arch-demon assaulted four caravans, in each case killing all but one traveller. She gave each survivor the same message; bring the [Hero] or I will keep on killing."

Mystery, her opinion of the [Royal Knight] bouncing up and down like a yo-yo, flashed a wrathful red. "... Why... silent...?"

"A demon alone and stationary, however powerful, made for an easy target. We had no need to give her the bait she desired. Don't worry; she's most certainly dead."

The red light winked back out as the metaphorical yo-yo of opinion flipped back to the top of its string.

"So they tried a brute force approach, and now you suspect they're attempting a more subtle ploy?"

"Yes. But it is, alas, only a suspicion."

"So, you want us to go meet this vigilante, and then what? I'm not sure we're ready to face an arch-demon face-to-face, if that's what it is. And if we go in swinging and it turns out not to be: riots. Even if it is, we could still be facing a riot, not to mention the collateral damage."

"It's a pity disguised demons are so hard to recognise..."

"... They... are...?" asked a surprised Mystery. "... No... soul..."

Kellela blinked. "You have [Sense Soul]? No, why am I even surprised? It's not like I've been trying to get it for a month or anything without any success..."

"So, Mystery can spot a demon from a distance and warn everyone telepathically. That helps."

"But this is still dangerous. Why not approach them and say that the [Hero] wants to meet them inside the city?"

"That was the approach our missing agent was intending to take, except that he was to lead her into an ambush."

"This sounds dangerous..."

"Of course it is," agreed the [Royal Knight]. "My suggestion would be that the four of you other than Kellela exit the city first, and position yourselves near the gate. Kellela exits next and simply waits near the gate. If it's a demon, they'll be able to sense Mystery's presence, and they should approach you. Grace blasts them with her ability, Kellela retreats through the gate, and an army legion waiting behind floods out. If it's not a demon and they approach anyway, Grace's attack will have no effect."

"I'm... not too happy putting everyone else at risk if I'm just going to run away, but I suppose I have no choice," sighed Kellela.

"I have no better idea, but I'm no strategist," nodded Hayedalf. "If you swear that's what you think is best and safest for everyone involved."

"Except the demon," muttered Rose.

"Except the demon," agreed the [Royal Knight].

Later that day, Grace was hiding in a slum-dweller's shack, the owner having been bribed to spend the afternoon elsewhere. The place had no curtains, nor separate rooms. It didn't even have a toilet. She squeezed herself into a corner, confirmed that no-one was in sight, and took a few deep, calming breaths.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Jasper White, transform," she whispered, while carrying out a series of movements that could, under sufferance, be described as a dance.

"... Nice!..." exclaimed an enthusiastic Mystery.

"Why are you watching?!" exclaimed Grace, her suddenly maximised volume threatening any element of surprise.

Mystery didn't answer, casting the spell herself instead, Kellela consciously feeding her the mana it required. Testing had shown that the girls needed to cast it themselves to get the [Transformation Sequence] boost, but Mystery could cast again on top to give them an extra boost from her higher level. Given that they suspected the presence of an arch-demon, they wanted every advantage they could get.

"Thanks," begrudgingly allowed Grace. "But you still didn't need to watch! You could have come later."

"... Already... later... You... last..." whispered Mystery, having already done the other three. It was by no means fair to blame Mystery that Grace had spent so long picking the corner from which she was least likely to be overlooked. "... Good... luck..."

With four girls in position, each hidden in a shack that bordered the plaza in front of the gate, Mystery zipped back to her mother.

"... All... ready..." she informed her, along with the waiting legion of soldiers.

The soldiers looked at Kellela expectantly.

"Okay, let's go," she said, walking nervously towards the gate.

"Wait. Aren't you forgetting something?" pointed out the [Royal Knight], who was personally overseeing the operation.

"... No? I don't think so."

"... Transform..." pointed out Mystery.

"But I'm not fighting!"

"Not deliberately, but if we're correct about this being a demonic plot, expect an immediate attack. You need your defences up."

Kellela sighed. "At least turn around, please?" she begged.

"You heard her! No peeking!" demanded the [Royal Knight], to a sea of grumbling disappointment.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Lotus Pink, transform," said Kellela quietly, as with Grace, performing something that was almost but not quite entirely unlike a dance.

ding

Your full squad of magical girls has assembled itself for a major operation, protecting the defenceless and weak. [Magical Girl Transformation] advances to level 21. You know... we've all been joking up here about how utterly bonkers you are, but... Just don't die, okay?

"Huh?" thought Mystery. "That was almost... nice. Where's the snark? This is making me feel uncomfortable..."

She pondered a moment more before realisation dawned.

"Dammit. So much for no snark. The defenceless and weak? This is to protect me! They're calling me weak. Rude! True, yes, but still rude!"

"Mystery?" prompted Kellela, so Mystery recast her spell. Kellela downed a mana potion, waited a minute to recover what the spellcasting had cost, and then resumed her walk to the gate.

Outside of which, Mystery could see wisps of miasma drifting across the plaza.

Wisps that had not been there earlier.

"... Wait..." she telepathically whispered as loudly as she could as Kellela stepped through the gate.

ding

For spotting a well-hidden danger, [Soul's Eye] advances to level 36.

For your intuitive use of [Telepathy], even if fractionally too late, it advances to level 9. But don't worry; it's not over yet. We're all rooting for you, our little alien mascot.

Lilith was angry. Time and again, she'd underestimated the intelligence of humans. First there was the pointless death of Melcrinash, and now her own strategy hadn't gone at all to plan, her brightly coloured disguise wasted. The kingdom she'd dealt with during the previous cycle hadn't seemed nearly so competently run.

She'd hoped to attract the [Hero], but instead she'd attracted assassins. The first tried to kill her outright, despite the man's laughable weakness. The second tried to draw her into the inner city, into what would certainly be an ambush. Now the [Hero] had come at last, but she'd watched from a nearby rooftop—drawn there by the presence of the [Hero] approaching the walls—as another ambush was prepared, and the companions of the [Hero] prepared for war.

They obviously knew she was a demon, somehow, but they had no idea she was right there, watching. Competently run, yes, but just because they were intelligent for humans didn't mean they were a match for her. If they were planning to use the [Hero] as bait, she'd just need to seize it.

Mystery (Human)

Age: -9 months

Occupation: Hero (L)

Skills:

- Soul's Eye (U) (36/100)

>> 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) (22/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (20/40)

>> Hardened Soul (R)

>> Secured Mana (U)

>> Pain Tolerance (C)

- Stealth (C) (3/20)

>> Camouflage Vitality (R)

- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (21/30)

>> Age Correction (R)

>> Gender Bending (R)

- Light (C) (12/20)

>> Heterochrome (U)

- Increased Attributes (C) (10/20)

>> Mana Storage (U)

- Investigation (C) (3/10)

- Cosplay (U) (3/10)

- Mana Absorption (U) (4/20)

>> Drain Mana (U)

- Translate (U) (6/20)

>> Two Way (U)

- Telepathy (U) (9/30)

>> Reciprocity (U)

>> Empathy (U)

- Lightning Bolt (U) (2/10)

- Fireball (U) (4/20)

>> Multishot (U)

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

- Energy Resistance (U) (1/10)

Achievements:

- Early Bloomer II (R)

- First Skill (C)

- Journeyman (U)

- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)

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

- Astral Explorer I (R)

- First Spell (C)

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

- Spell Forger (R)

- Demon Slayer II (E)

- Monster Slayer V (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)