Chương 21: XXi. Level 3 [Acolyte]

Jasmine's face was still red, and her arms were crossed. Her blue eyes were half-lidded, and she stared at her feet. If Addy was here, he'd know what to say. But he wasn't. It was just me. I closed my eyes and forced myself to reach forward and grab Jasmine's wrist. Her skin was soft and wet with sweat, but I pulled her along anyway. We winded the street corners, until I shoved the glass door of The Cat's Cradle open.

Freshly baked bread topped with butter filled the small shop with its smell, and Jasmine's pout melted as she sniffed the air. Madeleine waved her wand and the oven door opened. Small loaves of bread with a cross on the center floated out, and the brown crust crackled. They floated atop a crystalline serving tray, and before the top could be placed, Jasmine and I grabbed one.

"Careful – " Madeleine began, but the heat had already burned into my skin. It was just out of the oven, and the soft crust cracked with the smallest of touches. But the fresh, yielding bread inside burned, and the butter that poured from the opened hole scalded my skin. I immediately dropped it, and it began to fall. And then it stopped. Madeleine's wand pointed at it, and the loaf lazily floated upwards towards my hand but didn't touch.

"Good Protector demoiselle, have you never learned how to eat?" Madeleine said, and pointed towards Jasmine. Jasmine had the sense to use her sleeve to hold the loaf, and she blew on it before taking a bite. I however looked at my sleeves, and the green dress that Addy had bought me was the only good clothing I had. With no other option, I leaned into the loaf and opened my mouth –"Seigneur, donnez-moi la force," Madeleine muttered, pulling the wand back and in turn, the bread – making me bite into empty air.

She then waved the wand again, and a napkin beside the crystal tray floated up, wrapping itself against the loaf and then being given to me. She shook her head, eyes closed, before her face returned to her natural smile.

"It went well, I hope?"

"Yeah, the [Guild] is ma–""She called me a NPC!" Jasmine shouted, mouth stuffed with bread. Crumbs spilled out, and the redness returned to her cheek alongside her furrowed brows. Madeleine turned towards me, eyes narrowing down.

"Demoiselle! We are all equa–""Wha? Nah - Not–" Jasmine said, but the bread stuffed her mouth. She coughed, before finishing her sentence.

"Agent Marigold! Said I was an NPC! An uneducated hick! Bet she ain' ever been a [Maid] before, callin' it [Commoner] work! Wouldn' last a day havin' to sort out all the spoons, polishin' them, countin', cleanin'..."

"Allons, Allons," Madeleine said. She stroked Jasmine's back as she ranted, and shot me a soft, tight smile with her eyebrows arched upwards. I think it was supposed to be apologetic, but –"I don' think she said any of that," I said.

"An' besides, a [Commoner] job is more about how hard it is to learn the basics than how diff–""Demoiselle, please," Madeleine said, raising her finger to her lips.

"We know. It's not about the difficulty but the… respect? Are you not masquerading as a [Farm Girl]?"

"That's different!" I said.

"Besides, I'm an Agronomist, not a [Farm Girl]! I went to the Academy!"

"That'd just make you an [Expert], chérie," Madeleine said, waving me off with one hand and rubbing Jasmine's shoulder with her other.

"I was… how do you say? A [Herboriste] et [Boulanger] in Milifont. And I still love to bake! But no matter the mastery that you obtain, it is not seen as anything more than [Commoner] work. You should know that, Agronomie." I rubbed my eyes which turned into wiping my face.

"Fine, she was kind of a… bitch."

"Thank you!" Jasmine said and extended her arm towards me. I looked down at her fingers as they grasped my wrist, and pulled me into the two. It was warm, though a bit too close. Madeleine smelled like fresh baked bread with lavenders sprinkled in, and Jasmine smelled like sweat, smoke, and perfume. I suppressed a gag and quickly pulled back, but the two of them still talked far too closely. Well, I did have other things to do too.

I didn't disband the informal guild, and instead, opened the interface and turned it into a [Cult]! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW A LEVEL 3 [ACOLYTE]! [QUEST UNLOCKED: A FAMILIAR-ITY WITH THE END] [Invest] 0/1 Familiar A familiar? Like that dumb horse Addy named after my rabbit? Fine. But…

"Maddy, what does [Invest] mean?"

"Ah?" Madeleine said, finally releasing Jasmine. She moved behind her counter to pick up some objects, and dropped her wand and some bones on the table. Jasmine stared at them, raising an eyebrow, and inching towards another loaf of the freshly baked bread.

"My bâton will only work for me, since it is what I have [Invested]. All magical ite–""Right, Symphonic Resonance! Davi's Dialect on Demystifying Devices mentioned that!" I said, clasping my hands together. Jasmine however snickered, snatching a loaf of bread off the crystalline tray. Madeleine's eyes twitched.

"Chérie, you know it is very rude to interrupt someone when they're talking? Did not that [Vampire] tell you that last nigh– Oh, right!" She said, reaching underneath the counter and handing me another black envelope.

"Lady Hawthorne had requested your presence at her abode. Since you do not read letters, that would be Spring 18th."

"You interrupted me!" I said, but walked towards the bones. My eyes twitched. BONES"There, but for the grace of Danu, go I." ✧ ANIMA ANALYSIS ACTIVE ✧ ORIGIN: Wolf – Femur QUALITY: Common USES: Simple Tools, Complex Tools, Simple Weapons, Simple Reagents DURABILITY: 30/100 My hand waved over it. Tinges of green Symphony leapt from my fingertips, singing songs of maggots chewing through rotting flesh and the essence of blood bursting through veins and arteries. It was being rewritten, re-eaten, remade.

Ashley casts [Bone Mend]! This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I am so aware of this body; and what is owed of flesh. The cracks were flooded with the Symphony, and the bone calcium began to grow. It cracked and latticed around each other, until the holes were filled completely. The yellowing of the bone faded away, until it shined so brightly and so polished that I could see Jasmine and Madeleine's wide eyes on the reflection.

My hand then weaved again, and the femur followed my desire. The tip sharpened, and the material shrunk and solidified. Rhey'an formed into the carapace, and the circular sigil-tongue was enwrapped and hidden underneath designs of A Great Willow Tree, whose branches dropped its heartwomb. Ashley casts [Ossification]! Is your body a temple? Or is it a primitive tool?

"It Shall Be."

"Excusez-Moi? Please don't speak Cryptmouth here," Madeleine said, shoving my shoulder back.

"Huh?" The Rhey'an I was staring at became circles and lines instead of words once more. Madeleine shook her head at me, and lifted up the wand. BONE WAND A wand made of bone. Equivalent to an [Oak Wand] or [Iron Staff]. Can be further enhanced by a [Necromancer]. Quality: Common Invested: Yes Anima: 100%" [Anima]?" Madeleine said.

"Most Crypt-Tools use Vita…" Her eyes darted to the left, and scanned something.

"Chérie, you renamed [Vitae] into [Anima]? Impressive, though… needless. Maman will accept your gift, but why ask about [Invest]?" My eyes shifted to the side. I had only written that into my notebo– the Mortis Agrariae. Wait… even Vitae Analysis had become [Anima Analysis] – I changed the skill?

"I guess?" I stated.

"But uh, my new Quest is to get a Familiar, and I don't even know how to do that." Madeleine lifted her wand and kissed it. The green light shimmering around it cooled, and the Symphonic Resonance between Madeleine and the wand attuned. It floated beside her, and Jasmine reached for it.

"You should make me one!" Madeleine shook her head with a small frown.

"Sorry, pipelette… only an [Adventurer] class can invest. You can have a pet, but not a Familiar, oui?" she said, and then turned towards me.

"Did you get an ability to make a Familiar? Jasmine frowned, but I dismissed the level up notification. ABILITY UNLOCKED (1/4) [Cultivate Blight] An [Acolyte] can designate a [Zone] to become the [Source] of a [Blight]. This is a ritual.

"What exactly is a [Blight]?" I said. Madeleine stopped fiddling with the bone wand, and turned to me.

"All I know is it makes Amaril's Gaze less deadly to [Night-Things], chérie. It also makes the land very, very sick. You are not considering making the [Blight] for the vampires, are you?" Madeleine said. I shook my head.

"No, I was just wondering if you had more information."

"A [Blight] is from La Grand Ennemi, you would have to ask an [Acolyte] or [Necromancer]. Know any, chérie?" I scowled at her, but dismissed the notification. I could test out what a [Blight] actually did later. ABILITY UNLOCKED (2/4) [Blighted Blood] An Acolyte's blood is fetid and cursed. Her body feels cool and her heartbeat slows as she begins the descent to the grave. While considered [Mortal], she claims kinship with [Night-Things] and does not trigger hostile effects like [Life Anathema] or [BLOOD THIRST].

This effect provides the same protection to her [CULT]. I touched my own hand and felt nothing. Of course, I was my own body temperature… and I didn't really want Jasmine and Madeleine to hug me again. I quickly dismissed that notification. ABILITY UNLOCKED (3/4) [Skeletal Grasp] An acolyte's use of [Mage Hand] is amplified with tools of [Necrotic] origin. They may use their [Symphony] instead of [Stamina] when using [Necrotic] tools they are trained with.

[Skeletal Grasp] may pick up [Necrotic] equipment scaling with [Intelligence], instead of a static weight. So, if I replaced all my [Copper] tools with [Bone]...

"Maddy, do you have more bones I could buy?" She tilted her head to the box.

"A hunter had provided an entire carcass for me to skin. The rest of the wolf, if you'd like it." I nodded, and took the [Wolf Carcass] from the chest. It was cracked, yellowing bones, but I could fix that later. And make my own tools! I didn't have to pick up [Miner]! ABILITY UNLOCKED (4/4) [Animate Familiar] An [Acolyte] can share lifeforce with a deceased [Beast], creating a [Familiar]. This familiar will be loyal to her and share intelligence.

It can be used as a conduit for spells and, later, become a [Phylactery]. I swallowed, and my heart beat intruded onto my thoughts. Mirchie's grave was in the forest, but a dead rabbit following me around was… gruesome. Her gut was ripped apart, and by now, she'd be nothing but bones. If I re-animated it, would it be the same bunny?

"... Chérie, are you alright? You've been staring at nothing for a minute now," Madeleine said.

"I… did not get a way to make a… Living… Familiar," I said.

"Ah, not an issue there. I have my own [Familiar], a Black Cat that stalks this shop," she said. Both Jasmine and I glanced around, and the many times we've been here – I don't recall seeing one. Madeleine chuckled, and pulled out a cat from underneath the counter.

"Sœurs, this is Mademoiselle Guillotine, or Guilly for short. She is – " Jasmine lunged towards the black cat with a white scuff. Guilly yowled angrily, but her white paws didn't claw into Jasmine's encroaching hand. Madeleine held onto Guilly but Jasmine tugged harder, ripping it away from her hands. The cat's golden eyes regarded Jasmine's face, before Guilly hissed angrily. Jasmine didn't release the cat at all, even when Guilly nipped at her hand.

"I love her!"

"... Please let her down, Guilly likes her – ""YEOW!" Jasmine released the cat who gracefully landed on the floor. It licked the blood off her paws, hissed at Jasmine, and ran back behind the counter – I assume to wherever she was sleeping? Jasmine however had a vicious cut across her cheek, and Madeleine was already touching it up with a napkin.

"... Personal space." Madeleine finished.

"I can [Bind] a familiar for you, chérie. Unless your quest specified it had to be undead?"

"No, it did not," I said.

"Alright, that means I have to buy a rabbit. Jazzy, is Auntie Laura's place still open?"

"The ranch?" she muttered, wiping her face.

"Aye."

"I'll be right back, Maddy. I have to find a rabbit." Auntie Laura's ranch was near the Farm, and it was where we bought Mirchie the first time.