Swarming Sovereignty

Chapter 45: Dimension Shopping

When Lia awoke, she was back in her fox form. No one else was around, so she took a moment to check her status and see what had changed since her last evolution.

Name: Lia Mios

Race: Swarm Fledgling Kitsune Beguiler

Level: 1/40, 0/20 EXP, 2,385 Blood Money

HP: 45/45

Stamina: 45/45

Mana: 60/60

Strength: 15

Defense: 15

Dexterity: 15

Magic: 30

Magic Defense: 30

Mental Fortitude: 35

Title: Conqueror of Death

You have died and lived to tell the tale. Your life signature becomes undetectable by effects that only

And, just as she thought, Rose was indeed within the general vicinity of the dorm building. Lia could see her out the front windows in the lobby, talking to Olivia, who was listening with rapt attention. In fact, of Lia’s siblings were listening to Rose, similarly entranced.

“What are you guys talking about?” Lia asked, stepping outside of the building.

“Lia!” Rose said. “How’d the evolution go? Did you get a permanent humanoid form?”

“No, but close to it.” Lia said. “The evolution leveled up my Skill, and I have twelve hours of uptime now. Or, at least, twelve hours if I look like this. If I pick a different form, it’s only six.”

“You look…different.” Maria said. “And you’re not hiding your tail.”

Lia shrugged. “I can change my body however I want, so I went ahead and gave myself all this things I wanted to change before. And I didn’t want to keep the old tail, it was too embarrassing.”

“So, you cheated to get a better tail.” Robin said flatly. “That’s not fair.”

“She’s probably underselling her tail, to be honest.” Rose said thoughtfully. “In terms of raw magic potential, I wouldn’t be surprised if she beats you, Maria.”

“No way!” Maria said. “I’m an now! My tail’s like…as bushy as it can get before level thirty!”

“What’s your Magic?” Rose asked.

“Twenty.” Maria said smugly. “And I ‘m only level one.”

“Thirty.” Lia said. “And I’m also level one.”

“You’re lying!” Maria accused. “There’s no it’s that high at level one!”

“I’m also a Champion race and have evolved like…seven times, with the last four further specializing me in magic.” Lia said. “I’m built differently than I was before.”

“What your Job before?” Rose asked curiously.

“Hunter.” Lia said. “So…my magic stats were pretty trash.”

“And what’d you just evolve into?”

“Fledgling kitsune beguiler.” Lia said. “So…still fledgling, I just hopped lines to one that looked more powerful and put me back at being a Champion race. But…back to my original question, what are you all doing here?”

“I’m teaching them how to fight.” Rose explained. “They were complaining about not having much to do, so I figured I would teach them some useful skills.”

“And you said we could fight in controlled conditions or whatever!” Robin said defensively. “So, it’s fine!”

Lia sighed. “I suppose so. You weren’t putting them through anything dangerous, right?”

“Of course not.” Rose soothed. “I was just getting a handle on what their skills were like.”

“And what do you think?”

“Honestly? I’m kind of surprised; they’re a lot better at fighting than I thought. But…they fight like monsters.”

Lia frowned. “What does that mean?”

“When you fight enough monsters, you get a feel for it. They share a similar way of fighting. There are some differences from monster to monster, but by and large they all are the same; they have solid fundamentals, but little…personalization. It’s like…like they have a really solid grip on the of using a weapon, but little .

“And I think that’s what’s happening with your siblings. I think whatever part of the system is responsible for determining how monsters act gave them the instincts required to use their weapons, but not much else.”

“So…do you think they’re going to always be like that?” Lia asked. “They’re not, right?”

“I highly doubt it.” Rose said. “Between your…past couple of days and watching Mia fight, I’m confident they’ll be able to grow just like anyone else. In fact, it almost certainly is going to expedite their progress, since I won’t have to drill the basics into them.”

“Good to hear.” Lia said. “How have you three been behaving?” She asked, turning to her siblings. “You’re not making trouble for Rose, are you?”

“We’ve been good!” Olivia said happily. “Rose is a really good teacher, and the lessons are lots of fun!”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say , but it’s definitely been enlightening.” Maria said. “Rose really seems to know what she’s talking about.”

“Of course she does.” Robin said. “She was the best there ever was. I bet she knows more than all our old teachers combined!”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Rose said, blushing. “I’ve forgotten a , and I’m honestly relearning as I teach you three. Besides, your teachers have the benefit of time, my techniques are hundreds of years out of date.”

“And many are still in use today.” Lia said. “Anyway…have you seen my parents recently?”

“They dropped by about an hour ago.” Rose said. “Why?”

“I want to head through that portal Amelia left us. Connie hinted that there might be a lot of Blood Money in it for me, and I want to save up and get us some proper entertainment now that my siblings are here. But it’s also probably going to be dangerous, so I want to have a decent force for our first expedition.

“Since they’re still working, though, I think we’ll get to it tomorrow. You keep teaching the kids, I’m going to go check up on Lily, and maybe grab some soldiers and get myself a few easy levels at the library while I’m at it. Sound good?”

“Fine by me.” Rose said. “Good luck out there.”

“You lot, any books you want while I’m making a trip?” Lia asked her siblings.

“Twisted Time Tanglers!” Robin said. “Especially books three and four!”

Lia nodded, then paused. “Wait, aren’t those the ones with the Ruby Emperor? Why would you want ? You’ve got the in front of you!”

“I sorta wanted to see how accurate they were.” Robin said, looking away embarrassedly. “And those were always my favorite.”

“Twisted Time Tanglers?” Rose asked. “What’s that?”

“A book series about a group of kids who go back in time and have adventures with famous people.” Lia said. “They got printed pretty widely because they help teach kids about the past in a fun way. Everything’s not totally accurate, since it’s a kid’s series and they had to keep it exciting somehow, but as far as historical fiction goes it’s pretty okay stuff.”

“And…there are about me?” Rose asked weakly. “Was I really big a deal?”

“I keep telling you you were, but it never seems to set in.” Lia said, smiling. “Even your says you were the most important person in the world. And you’re the only one who can say they ruled over the . That makes you a big deal by default.”

“I know, I just…” She hesitated, glancing at the kids, then looked back at Lia meaningfully. “Well, it feels , you know? And, Robin, I’m very different now than I was then. Back then, I had an image to maintain, but now I can be who I always to be without worrying about what people will think. The me you read about is…not really me at all.”

“Oh.” Robin said. “I…did think you were a little different than I remembered people saying you were.”

“Lia, I want that book of bedtime stories mom used to read us!” Olivia interrupted. “Please?!”

“I’ll see if I can find it.” Lia said. “And I’ll get the Twisted Time Tanglers for you, too, Robin.”

“Can I have some love stories?” Maria asked bashfully. “M-maybe even a couple where the protagonist and love interest are both girls? I’m…kind of curious.”

“I can totally handle that.” Lia said. “Alright, I’ll be back in a few hours, so you all be good, okay?”

“Yes, Lia!” Her siblings chorused.

“Rose, don’t hesitate to tell me or my parents if they act up too much.” Lia said. “And if they get on your nerves or anything, feel free to send them to their rooms.”

“I doubt that will be necessary, but I will keep it in mind.” Rose said, smiling. “So far they have been a joy to teach.”

“Good. See you all in a bit, then!”