Chương 36: Chapter 33 Part 2 – Favored by Mayhem

Assign Blessing? Y/N Chelsea's lips parted slightly.

"Of course a blessing does all that." Her voice was barely more than a breth. She didn't hesitate long.

"Yes." The moment she whispered it, something subtle shifted inside her. Like a door had been opened somewhere in the back of her mind. Text flickered. New title acquired: Favored by Mayhem She pulled up the eyes and noticed her title section updated immediately. Chosen Titles: The Blessed Demon Child N/A N/A N/A N/A Chelsea's brows lifted.

"Five." Okay. That was… insane. Right? That's totally insane? A small grin tugged at her lips. Without overthinking it, she slotted in another.

'The Baby Bird.' The title settled into place beneath the first. Chosen Titles: The Blessed Demon Child The Baby Bird N/A N/A N/A She felt it. Not physically. Not like a stat increase. More like… alignment. Like something in her had clicked into a more natural position. Her wings twitched faintly where they rested behind her. For a brief, dangerous second, she considered testing them right now. Inside. While being held hostage by Adriane's arm. Probably not the best idea.

"Later," she murmured to herself. Her attention snapped back to the new title. She focused on it. Favored by Mayhem The god of mayhem has chosen you to be his favorite among his blessed. All concept skills along the path to mayhem are unlocked and level at a rate of 2x. Unlocks UR mayhem sub-class variants. Required races: Demon, Devil, Gremlin, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Dark Seraph, Gorgon, Arachne, Vampire Chelsea stared at it. Then read it again. Then a third time.

"What the hell does any of that mean?" She whispered. That's just… nonsense words jammed together. All concept skills? Don't know what that is. Two times leveling. Great, I can get them to level six faster. UR variants? Now it's just fucking with me. She didn't even know what half of that meant, but she knew enough to understand one thing. This was absurd. Her stomach did a little flip. Not fear and definitely not excitement. Something in between?

Adriane shifted slightly behind her, tightening her hold just a fraction in her sleep. Chelsea stilled. Then, slowly, carefully, she relaxed back into it. Her mind was racing, but for just a moment, she let herself stay there. And very aware that she had just made a decision that was going to change her trajectory. General warrior class sounded bland but this was the opposite. It sounded promising, but Chelsea decided to hold off on assigning it fully.

Adriane would have a better sense of what it actually meant in practice, and this felt too important to rush. Her eyes lingered on the list of required races. There was more information there than she expected. Demons and vampires were separate, which answered one question. Then there were names she didn't recognize at all. Arachne stood out the most. The word alone painted a picture in her head that she wasn't entirely comfortable with. Some kind of spider creature, probably not just a normal spider.

Something with a human shape mixed in. She made a small face. She would ask later.

"You awake yet?" Adriane whispered behind her.

"Yeah," Chelsea whispered back. Morning light filtered throgh the thin curtain, soft and warm. Adriane shifted, lifting her arm from around Chelsea so she could move. The sudden absence of pressure felt noticeable, even if Chelsea pretended it wasn't. She turned, propping herself up to face her sister.

"How did it go?" Adriane asked.

"Well, I am now officially Blessed by Bodarex," Chelsea said with a quiet sigh.

"I feel like it was the right call. The blessing seems really good." Adriane smiled at that, something gentle in her expression. She reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from Chelsea's face.

"I'm sure your choice was the right one. What does the blessing do?"

"Two things mainly. It gives a title. Here, let me read the title for you and see what you make of it. I don't get most of what it means." Chelsea pulled the description back up and read it carefully, making sure she didn't miss anything.

"Then it just says what races can actually use the title." Adriane listened closely, her attention fully on Chelsea as she spoke. By the time she finished, Adriane's expression had shifted into something more focused.

"That's actually really good," Adriane said, a hint of excitement slipping into her voice. She pulled her arm free and sat up properly, her posture straightening as she shifted into a more instructive mindset.

"Just like you taught me something about our loan, I'm going to teach you something about classes." Chelsea mirrored her, sitting up and tucking her legs beneath her.

"Ok! Let's learn."

"That title gives your warrior class a path," Adriane began.

"Or more like a direction to lean in. Sometimes that direction is very specific, like a mage focusing entirely on taming squirrels. Other times it's broader, like a mage working with animals in general. Are you with me so far?"

"Actually, yeah, that makes total sense," Chelsea said, nodding as she ran her fingers through her hair. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Yours, being warrior, is a general concept," Adriane continued.

"So it's about as broad as it gets. Unlocking all of the mayhem-based skills means you now have access to a specific group of abilities that most warriors wouldn't even see. As you use them, they grow faster. Over time, that pulls your class in that direction and shapes it into something more defined." Chelsea leaned forward slightly, following along.

"So instead of just being a general warrior," she said slowly, "I become a very specific kind of warrior based on how I fight."

"Exactly," Adriane replied with a small nod.

"And in your case, that direction is mayhem." Chelsea smiled at that, a little too pleased.

"Sounds on brand."

"Can you explain the sub-class thing? I want to understand it."

"Sure," Adriane said, settling into it a bit more.

"Classes are general roles with a bit extra layered on top. Warriors, like yourself, are weapon users who typically wear heavier armor and rely on physical combat. You specifically are a general warrior, which means you are not locked into anything yet. You can take that in almost any direction." Chelsea nodded, following.

"Now the sub-class pinpoints what a person actually does with that class," Adriane continued.

"An example is Edgar. His class is assassin. His sub-class is spell-blade. So instead of just being someone who kills quietly, he mixes magic into it. That's what makes him different from other assassins."

"So if I became a spell-blade warrior, I would be the warrior version of Edgar?" Chelsea asked.

"Sort of," Adriane said with a small smile.

"You would still fill a different role, but the idea is the same. You are defining how you use your base class."

"Ok, I think I get it," Chelsea said. She paused for a second, then tilted her head slightly.

"Why is it so good to be able to unlock mayhem?" Adriane's expression shifted again, more serious now.

"Because mayhem is a concept, not a physical thing," she explained.

"Most skills can be forced. If you want to learn spears, you pick one up and start practicing. You struggle, you improve, and eventually the system recognizes it. That's how most people grow." Chelsea nodded again.

"Concepts don't work like that," Adriane went on.

"You can't just pick up 'mayhem' and practice it. There's nothing to hold, nothing to repeat. It's something deeper, something tied to how you act, how you think, how you fight. Most people never touch those kinds of paths at all." Chelsea's eyes lit up a little.

"The way your title is written, it sounds like you're being given direct access to it," Adriane said.

"Not just mayhem either. Probably chaos as well, or anything along that line. That's… not normal." That clicked for Chelsea.

"Oh! So it is really good," she said, a little more excited now.

"What is the UR thing?"

"It's the subclass rarity," Adriane answered.

"It doesn't mean it's stronger, just that it's extremely rare. People get obsessed with that part and make bad decisions because of it." She let out a quiet breath, like she was remembering something annoying.

"I knew a guy who picked a class just because it was the highest rarity offered. He wanted to become a necromancer. Something powerful, something useful. He ended up as a lepus necromancer."

"Lepus," Chelsea repeated.

"That sounds familiar. Wolves?"

"Rabbits," Adriane said flatly.

"He could raise rabbits from the dead. The problem was he needed actual rabbit remains nearby, and they had to be intact enough to use. Not exactly terrifying. Mostly just bringing owl poop back to life." Chelsea stared at her for a second, then snorted.

"Okay, yeah. That's rough."

"Moral of the story," Adriane said, pointing lightly at her, "ignore the rarity."

"The rarity is just random letters to ignore. Got it," Chelsea said with a firm nod.

"I feel like assigning that title will be homework," she added after a moment.

"So I'll add it on when I have some free time and paper to write everything down." Adriane's expression shifted quickly.

"Oh no," she said.

"You lost your other title, didn't you?"

"I did not," Chelsea replied immediately, a grin spreading across her face.

"It would seem Magalesa's ineptitude actually worked in my favor this time." Adriane narrowed her eyes slightly, then nodded once.

"Ok. Then keep that title assigned until you get most of your basic class skills to at least five," she said.

"No point in complicating things too early."

"Actually," Chelsea said, straightening a bit, "the blessing has a second effect." Adriane looked at her expectantly.

"And that is?" Chelsea took a small breath, like she was about to reveal something important.

"I can assign up to five titles now." Adriane smiled immediately.

"Oh, you're so cute," she said.

"You must have misread it. Read it to me word for word." Chelsea's grin didn't fade. If anything, it widened.

"Grants…" she said slowly, watching Adriane's face, "four… additional… title… slots…" Adriane didn't react at first. Then she stared. Really stared.

"No," she said flatly.

"It doesn't say that."

"It sure does," Chelsea replied, completely unbothered.

"Prove it," Adriane said, leaning forward now, her tone sharpening. Chelsea blinked at the sudden shift.

"How?" she asked, a little unsure where the aggression was coming from.

"Assign two." She replied quickly.

"Already did," Chelsea answered. Adriane didn't even pause to question her. She was already moving. She pushed herself out of bed in one quick motion and grabbed Chelsea by the wrist, dragging her along with the same urgency she had back at the castle. Chelsea barely had time to get her footing before they were out the door and into the hallway. Adriane turned immediately and knocked on the neighboring room. No answer. She knocked again, harder this time.

The door swung open on the second knock, and Bea stood there, hair a mess, eyes half-lidded, and very clearly not in the mood.

"What?" she started, voice rough from sleep.

"Use The Eyes on her," Adriane instructed, cutting her off. Bea blinked at her, then at Chelsea, then back to Adriane.

"…Uh, ok." She reached out to press her hand to Chelsea's head. Adriane swatted it away.

"No. Just her name and title" She rubbed one eye, squinting as she focused.

"Uh, I think it says her name, 'the something demon' something, 'the uh something something'," Bea mumbled. She yawnd mid-sentence.

"Adriane, I was up late. What's this about?"

"You're sure it says 'the' twice in her title?" Adriane asked, her tone tight. Bea frowned, forcing herself to look again.

"Yeah," she said after a second.

"They both look the same." That was all Adriane needed. She turned and dragged Chelsea right back down the hall without another word. The door shut behind them. They were back in their room before Chelsea could even process what had just happened. Adriane finally let go of her wrist and turned, her expression serious.

"Remove your second title. You can't walk around a city like that." Chelsea blinked, confused.

"I don't get it. Why?" Adriane took a slow breath, visibly reining herself in before answering.

"As a demon, you are already a walking title for someone else," she said, her tone controlled now.

"There are titles people can earn just by killing certain things.

'The Slayer of Demons' is one of them. It's not prestigious, but it exists. Someone can earn it by killing a single demon." Chelsea's brows furrowed as she tried to connect the dots.

"Okay, but what does that ha…" Adriane held up a hand, cutting her off cleanly.

"No one, Chelsea, and I mean no one, has more than one title," she said firmly.

"If someone saw that you did, you would be targeted immediately. A-ranks or higher. They would assume you are something rare, something valuable. And whatever they get for killing you would be worth the attempt." Chelsea went still.

"I don't even have a rare demon title yet," Adriane added, quieter now.

"And I've killed more demons than anyone else on the continent."

"Oh," Chelsea said, eyes widening.

"Noted. One title at a time when in the city."

"Exactly." Adriane exhaled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

"That being said," she continued, her tone shifting again, "having five title slots is incredible. I couldn't even imagine what I could do with that. I'm a bit jealous, if I'm being honest." Her eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint creeping in.

"If I kill you, do you think I'll get the extra four slots?" Chelsea opened her mouth in exaggerated shock, placing a hand over her chest.

"You wouldn't dare," she whispered dramatically. Adriane smirked.

"Actually, Bea might get the chance first," she said.

"She scheduled a section of the guild's training field to teach you how to use a spear today." Chelsea blinked, the shift in topic catching her off guard.

"Is she good with one?"

"When it comes to spears, she's the best in the family," Adriane said without hesitation.

"She can teach you the core principles. From there, you'll build your own style based on your skills and attributes." Chelsea made a face.

"Great, the psycho is going to have sharp sticks," she muttered under her breath. Adriane laughed at that, the earlier tension finally breaking.

"Just remember," she added, "she'll heal whatever damage she does to you. She said your guild assessment is happening in four days, and she wants to see how high she can get you ranked." Chelsea winced slightly at that.

"Have you removed the second title yet?" Adriane asked.

"Oh, let me fix it now," Chelsea said, closing her eyes briefly as she focused inward.

"What will you be doing today?"

"We still have a debt to pay," Adriane replied simply with a wink.

"Can't start slacking now."