"Ah…" I breathe out as I splash in the bath. I let the warm water lap at my blood-covered flesh. As the blood began to run off into the water, it slowly tinted the clean water a light pink. This was heaven, a good bubble bath was just what I needed after this morning. The mental fatigue I felt was still weighing heavily on my mind. The last thing I expected this morning was an impromptu sparring session with my brother.
Sinking lower into the warm water it quickly covers the top of my head. Completely submerged underneath the warm water, I felt at peace. It reminded me a lot of the time that I"d spent in my mother"s belly.
Holding my breath for a little while longer, I bask in the comfortable feeling of the water.
"Puah!" I breathe out as I come up for air. My hairs completely soaked through and through, it floating"s around the top of the water in inky black tendrils.
This was the most relaxed I"d felt in days. Looking around the tiled bathroom, I smile to myself. Everything was still and quiet at the moment.
I"d sent Herma away so that I could have some alone time with my thoughts.
Letting the glow of relaxation take over for a minute, I feel as if I didn"t have a care in the world. However, I could only pretend that I didn"t for a while longer.
I still had to deal with the reality, and it wasn"t a great reality, that I"d been bombarded with this morning. There were a few things that I needed to get sorts before I could give my whole attention to the task that was coming up quickly.
The task of obtaining my Cla.s.s.
"Life Page," I mutter.
The screen silently appears in front of my face.
「Name: Hollis Grey Astley
t.i.tle: Reincarnated Person, Trainee War Empress
Race: Pure-Blooded Vampire Level: 30 (50%)
Cla.s.s: n/a Job: n/a
Strength: 40 (10) Endurance: 34.5 Agility: 50.5 Vitality: 57.5
MP: 1,030 HP: 1,450 Pa.s.sives: Triple Exp, Insanity
Skill(s): Counter (Lv.4), Counter Strike (Lvl.3), Evasion (Lvl.5), Stealth (Lvl.3), Critical Hit (Lvl.4), Lethal Strike (Lvl.1), Bloodl.u.s.t Detection (Lvl.1), Fortress Stance, etc.
Unique Skill(s): Appraisal (Lvl.3), Devour (Lvl.2), High-Stakes Dice, War Might 」
Looking over my stats, I felt my mood sour as I notice that I"d gotten the pa.s.sive [insanity]. It had been added! It seems that I wasn"t going to be able to shake it that easily. But I should have seen that coming from the fact that not even a Panacea potion couldn"t get rid of the negative effect.
Kicking my feet, I wish I could have all of the G.o.ddess of War gifts and blessings back to her. But as the G.o.ddess of Death had told me, it was only possible to have these removed by the one that handed them out in the first place.
It wasn"t something that she could do for me.
Plus, knowing the temperament of War it was safe to a.s.sume that she"d never take these accursed gifts of hers back. She"d probably add onto them if I reached out to her.
Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I notice that there was something else that had been altered. My strength stat had ten extra points allocated to it.
Could this be due to my t.i.tle, but I thought that it had been deactivated?!
Had it permanently increased that stat?
A conflicting feeling rose up in the pit of my stomach. It was a good thing that that stat had been increased. With the extra strength, I"d be able to wield my scissors now. Yet, it was an increase that came from a negative pa.s.sive basically.
A negative pa.s.sive that would cause me to lose my sanity. Which could result in me injuring someone that was close to me...
That was something that could only be born out of the twisted mind of War, she probably held the t.i.tle of [Insanity Queen]!
Bitterly sighing, I raise a bubble covered hand and press on the t.i.tle.
「Trainee War Empress」
「A t.i.tle pa.s.sed down to those that are blessed by the insanity from the G.o.ddess of War. Driven forward they are destined to be a herald to War. A unique pa.s.sive accompanies the owners of this t.i.tle. Insanity, something that is born from the madness of war itself.
Activation of this t.i.tle will result in the activation of "Persona of War" with that active the acc.u.mulation of insanity will start. Also, once insanity has reached 100, you"ll be thrust into a Berserker state. All of your sanity will be taken away from you, and you"ll indiscriminately attack foe and friend! 」
Grinding my teeth, I read it twice before I let out a breath. It didn"t appear to be much different from the information earlier. Even though I wasn"t exactly sure, I"d been in the middle of a heated sparring session with my brother. It was nearly impossible to devote my full attention to the information boxes earlier.
The only positive that I could see to the situation that I found myself within was the fact that I could mitigate the effects of insanity. Although, it was costly to do that it was better than running the risk of losing my mind.
Even though it wasn"t a sure-fire fix it was better nothing, it at least allows a little leeway for me.
Splashing in the bath, I sink back underneath the water"s surface.
My mind was reeling from everything!
Sitting up the water splashes over the side of the bathtub and runs down onto the floor. Causing a puddle to form underneath the tub. Standing up in the tub, I step out and gingerly place my foot onto the ground.
I didn"t feel like slipping and hitting the floor. Once both my feet are firmly planted onto the ground, I reach and grab a towel.
Wrapping the towel around my body, I grip my long mane of her and twist. Water pours out from between my fingers as I wring out my hair. It feels a lot lighter once the waters been wrung out.
Walking towards the door of the bathroom, I throw the door open and find that Cecily stands just outside of it waiting for me.
She looks like a soft little cherub. Her wavy white ash-colored hair curls softly around her face, framing it nicely. Her sun-kissed skin seems to glow when surrounded by it. Even with the tattoos on her little face she still gives off a soft childlike vibe.
Her big round golden-brown eyes are looking at me, and her cute little bow-shaped lips are drawn into a warm smile. She dressed in a simple golden dress, that"s sleeveless and hit her about knee length.
In her hands, she is holding a small plate that has a wobbly looking slice of white cake that dripping with a yellow sauce that has a lemon slice on top of it. Besides the cake on the plate rest a small fork.
"Cecily brought you something sweet since Big Bro Clemente said that you were probably feeling down," she says bouncing towards me with an even bigger smile. She presents her hands to me, waiting for me to take the plate from her.
I take it with a smile. Looking down towards the wobbly slice of cake, I felt my heart warm up.
"Thank you," I smile as I pick up the fork. Slicing off a piece of the cake, I pop it into my mouth. It"s tasty but tart at the same time, it tastes like fresh lemons and sugar with a soft spongy cake underneath the tart.
"Cecily thinks you shouldn"t push yourself so much…you need to take a break! We"ve only gone one more day to rest before we"ve got to take our test at the Fate Temple. Everyone"s super nervous," she tells me twisting her fingers together as she speaks.
I felt a little bad, it looks like I made her worry about me unintentionally.
"I didn"t mean to make your worry about me," I tell her. Putting the fork down onto the plate, I reach out with my free hand and pat her head. She closes her eyes and the tense air that surrounds her dissipates.
"Cecily just wants you to know that she"s here for you! You can tell Cecily anything!" She tells me grabbing my hand that still patting her head. She drags it down and grips it between her two hands. A determined look appearing on her soft features.
"Thank… you, Cecily," I tell her with a smile.
"Of course," she says letting go of my hand.
Looking down at her I felt a warm feeling blossom in my heart. There was no way that I"d use that d.a.m.ned t.i.tle from War. Not if I ran the chance of hurting Cecily or anyone else that I cared about.
I"d sooner turn my blade onto War before I"d succ.u.mb to insanity and accidentally kill anyone close to me.