An Unborn Hero

"This is starting to get concerning," said Hayedalf, fully healed and back on his feet.

"No, it was concerning two days ago. Now it's bordering on terrifying," answered Grace.

"She sounded rather depressed when we spoke last. She was worried about Rose."

"Why?" asked Rose, who was also back on her feet, albeit somewhat unsteady from the lingering anaemia.

"Because you had a hole punched through your chest?" suggested Grace.

"So? I mean, yes, it was bad, but it wasn't her fault, and we have a really good healer on our team."

Grace looked away, a touch of embarrassment visible on her cheeks.

"The recorder hasn't spat out anything interesting, and we know she isn't dead," said Hayedalf. "Beyond that... We don't know why she hasn't shown herself since."

"I can think of several possibilities," said Rrillandral. "I deem the most likely to be the recent demon attack scaring her badly enough that she's unwilling to fight."

"She didn't seem scared, as such," said Kellela.

"She literally suggested running away," pointed out Hayedalf.

"Yes, but it wasn't herself she was worried about. She blamed herself for Rose."

"If that's what you feel, my next guess would be that her biological development has progressed to the point that her soul can no longer operate independently of her brain."

"I know of no research whatsoever done in that area," said Kellela. "I don't see how such research could be done, either practically or ethically. It certainly sounds plausible, but the timing of it is suspicious."

"I agree, but the only other theory I have isn't much of a theory at all, merely an observation that Mystery does not respect any sort of range limit on [Astral Projection], and thus must have a sub-skill for it of which I have never heard. It may have conditions attached, which she no longer fulfils."

"I've been thinking about that myself," admitted Kellela. "There was an... incident, a while back. Do you happen to know what would happen to an astral projecting soul that expended the entirety of their mana?"

"They'd die," answered the elf, not mincing any words. "Maintaining [Astral Projection] would become impossible, and the link between body and soul would be severed. The body would die, and without protection, the soul would rapidly disintegrate."

"Really? Because Mystery has done so, and she's still very much alive."

Rrillandral considered that. "Interesting... Perhaps, as long as you had mana... Given the special circumstances around Mystery, I have to admit that I'm not sure."

"This happened some time ago, and Mystery didn't show herself for the following week. It wasn't until she received healing magic that she next emerged."

Grace immediately blasted Kellela with [Heal], to no apparent effect.

"That may well explain when she obtained the ability to disregard distance restrictions, but it doesn't tell us about any alternative restrictions she may have picked up instead."

There was a round of sighs and a bout of silence before Rrillandral spoke back up.

"I don't think it's safe to delay any longer. We must move to the Vale before the demons make their next move. I've spoken to my father and made the required arrangements, but Mystery's absence complicates matters. Should she not emerge, we will need to remain for years, rather than the mere months that we planned."

"Wait," said Kellela out loud, frowning in concentration. "She's saying something about [Astral Projection] not being useable?"

"She's talking to you? Since when?!" exclaimed half the group at once.

While the others worried about her, Mystery was stuck. Any attempt to use [Astral Projection] resulted in searing pain even before she could fully leave her foetus. Rrillandral's third guess had been spot on; with common sense intruding on Mystery's passion for magical girls, her wavering will had left her trapped. She didn't even know how long it had been since the fight.

She felt the pleasant tingle of healing magic wash over her, recognising it from when she'd first earned [Tether of Will].

"They're worried about me... I don't even know how long it's been, but I can't use [Telepathy] on someone I can't see."

She paused to think about that for a moment.

"... And there's yet more evidence that I'm nothing but an idiot incapable of using my brain. Or... my mind? I'm looking like an ugly little thing now, which presumably means I finally have a brain on the way?"

There was, of course, one person she could always see, even from the inside.

"... Am... okay..." she squeezed out.

ding

For reassuring a concerned parent, [Telepathy] advances to level 10.

"Yay. My first skill level since I got trapped here."

Half-formed words and static came in reply as Kellela attempted to respond via [Reciprocity], but without being used to the bandwidth limitations, she failed to make herself heard.

"... Speak... slower..." sent Mystery.

An incredibly slow and stunted conversation followed, but Mystery managed to explain her situation. Kellela, in turn, informed her that Rose and Hayedalf were both fully healed, and that no-one blamed her. Alas, that wasn't enough to stop her blaming herself.

"Guess we're waiting until her birth then," sighed Grace.

"No. From what Kellela has shared, that's no longer an option," stated Rrillandral.

"I concur," sighed Hayedalf. "Not that I have any idea what to do about it."

"What? How does that follow?" asked the [Magical Princess], somewhat confused.

"Yeah," nodded Rose. "Why does her being unable to use [Astral Projection] mean that we can't wait?"

"She's broken the tether that links body to soul," explained Kellela. "You're thinking only of [Astral Projection], but that tether is actually in use at all times. If her [Tether of Will] weakens enough, she'll die, even if not using [Astral Projection]. It's no different to if you removed your neck, yet expected your heart to continue to pump blood into your head."

"And spending months in near complete isolation, impotent to act, isn't going to help it get stronger," added Hayedalf. "If there's another demon attack, and someone gets hurt again, and she blames herself for not being in a condition to help..."

"Oh..." said Rose.

"Then what can we do?" asked Grace.

"The level of willpower required... It shouldn't be possible at all," considered Rrillandral. "Her unique situation and [Hero] occupation would play into it, but even then... She must have a driving obsession. One so powerful that she absolutely refuses to give in until it's fulfilled. An obsession that our recent battle has caused to waver."

The party looked at each other as comprehension dawned.

"Magical girls," they said in unison.

"It would explain how she managed to create the spell so easily," added Kellela.

"Then that is rather convenient," beamed Rrillandral. "Let us proceed to the Vale and show Mystery what her obsession has wrought."

"Wait, what?" asked Rose. "What has she done to the Vale?"

Grace, working it out for herself, facepalmed.

"Well, this is an interesting sight," said Hayedalf carefully, unwilling to voice his full thoughts in case they led to a diplomatic incident.

"That is certainly a statement which is one hundred percent accurate," replied Grace, likewise choosing her words with caution.

"Hey, don't knock it," replied one of the several thirteen-year-old girls guarding the teleport station. "My knees have been twinging ever since I accidentally picked up [Painting] a decade back, and now look at me. Back in perfect health."

"Yeah," replied another. "I was wondering what King Lehibeborn was smoking when he gave the order to let humans into the Vale. Then I tried it for myself, and, well, here we are."

"Personally, I just joined in because everyone else was doing it," shrugged a third guard, completely unabashed.

"Anyway, Miss Rrillandral there knows where you're going," continued the first guard. "Please don't wander off on your own, and respect our laws while you're here."

The group stepped out of the teleportation chamber, Rrillandral leading them down a corridor towards the outside world.

"Funny how they were all wearing exactly the same costume as Rrillandral, and had exactly the same hair," commented Rose.

"They had different faces, but everything else was identical," agreed Grace. "They were all even the same height. It was somewhat uncanny."

"I taught my father my Leaf Green variant, and he spread it throughout the Vale. Perhaps in time others will come up with variants of their own, but for now, it's understandable why they look like me."

"Funny that all the guards did it, though. Were none of them..." started Rose, stopping when they stepped outdoors and the Vale of Myllearn came into view. "Wow," she said.

"Yeah... That's some seriously skewed demographics," nodded Grace.

"Actually, I was talking about the trees," responded Rose, who had taken the gender, age and fashion biases of the population in her stride, but hadn't expected the sheer scale of the vegetation.

"Impressive, aren't they," asked an apparently thirteen-year-old elven girl in a short, leafy dress. "The big ones can grow a few miles high."

"Thank you, but I can give the tour. Father requested that we keep interaction limited," said Rrillandral.

"Oh, did he now?" grinned the other elf. "Well, far be it from me to go against our king."

Rrillandral frowned at the disrespect, before her face morphed into one of suspicion.

"... Father?"

"Oh my. Is our princess mixing up a little girl with the emperor of all elvenkind?" gasped the other elf, bringing hands to mouth in a show of faux horror. "Are you going senile in your old age?"

Rrillandral whacked him over the head.

"Ow!" he complained. "What was that for?"

"Being an idiot. What are you doing out here?"

"Hey, I don't often get the chance to wander around incognito, and right now, everyone from here to the Heart is a serviceable body double."

Grace imagined herself whacking her father and calling him an idiot to his face. Oddly, the thought didn't seem as impossible as it had done back before she'd met Mystery. Back when she'd been a proper princess, and not whatever the hell she was now.

A small grin formed on her lips. Then she imagined him in Rrillandral's leafy green costume, with long, green hair and the grin widened.

"Ah, now that's what I wanted to see," beamed the alleged [Monarch of the Vale].

"Pardon?" asked Grace, surprised.

"Well, Mystery seems convinced that you're only here because you think it's your royal duty, and that she's destroyed your life, so I'd like to prove her wrong."

"That was certainly true at first, but not..." started Grace, before her brain caught up with her ears. "Wait, you're talking to Mystery?"

Mystery remained motionless in her foetus, which didn't really have much in the way of muscles with which to move. She was feeling distinctly uncomfortable, but didn't really have any points of reference for how a foetus was supposed to feel. It wasn't really a topic of conversation that often came up.

In her latest slow and stunted conversation with Kellela, she'd learnt that they were travelling to the Vale, where they would apparently be safe from demons for a while. No doubt the demons would make a mess of the rest of the world while they hid, but at least her new friends would be safe.

ding

For withstanding slow soul degradation, [Robust] advances to level 21.

"Huh? Soul degradation?" thought Mystery. "But I haven't even tried to use [Astral Projection] for ages."

"How do you think your soul is attached to your body normally, when you aren't projecting?" came an answering thought.

"Huh? I just assumed they were kinda welded together and didn't need anything else. Are they not? Wait... Even if they weren't, how would I know that? What just happened? That... wasn't me, was it? Who's there?!"

ding

You have noticed a subtle use of another's [Telepathy] to guide your thoughts, upgrading [Telepathy] with [Guarded Mind]. Level cap of [Telepathy] increased by 10.

For discovering a new aspect of psychic communication, [Telepathy] advances to level 11.

Guarded Mind (Uncommon)

[Telepathy] is useful not only for communication, but also as a weapon, from distracting an opponent with noise to slipping a despairing thought to a wavering enemy. This sub-skill will help you reject unsolicited telepathic contact or involuntary mind reading and aid you in noticing when thoughts are not your own.

"It seems my daughter wasn't exaggerating when she mentioned how quickly you pick up new skills," continued the foreign voice, now more obviously external and less like her own thoughts, but nevertheless cutting through [Guarded Mind] like wet paper.

"Daughter? Who are you?" repeated Mystery.

"You can call me King Lehibeborn. And now, let me show you my home. An entire city of magical girls."

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) (23/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (21/40)

>> 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) (4/10)

- Cosplay (U) (4/10)

- Mana Absorption (U) (4/20)

>> Drain Mana (U)

- Translate (U) (6/20)

>> Two Way (U)

- Telepathy (U) (11/40)

>> Reciprocity (U)

>> Empathy (U)

>> Guarded Mind (U)

- Lightning Bolt (U) (3/10)

- 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 III (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)