It would be far too easy to think that she’d take one look at me and instantly submit. If she was dead, then her soul had already been corrupted by miasma. She had already been a morally questionable woman when she was alive, well, alive the second time. She had even made plans to destroy her husband, so I had no belief at this point she’d just roll over without a fight.
My only chance at success would be to win her over once again. This time, I didn’t have an entire group of support giving me their energy and power. I also had a feeling that using that to sway her over wouldn’t be as effective this time around. All in all, I just had to tackle this dungeon like any other, learning about it along the way and coming up with a plan to help her. Only once this story was complete could I restore my own dungeon.
“Then, I will be going. Ruby?” I turned to the woman who had been waiting quietly with a group of soldiers a polite distance away.
“Ah… it’s okay if you wish to go. The remaining infected are being contained.”
“I may be able to do something about their infection,” Xin responded. “As a sword user, I grew familiar with qi.”
“Qi?”
“It’s a means of affecting the soul through just the use of the sword. It’s high-level sword work for someone who does not become a mana user.”
I guess that made sense. Not every sword user became a Magic Swordsman like me. I incorporated mana into my sword, using it for attacks. However, a Swordsman like Xin or Lydia would only be able to attack physically. Creatures like ghosts would be immune to them. To counter this, there must be spirit attacking abilities. They were called qi. Lydia could take advantage of qi, huh? I wished that I had Xin to train Lydia. She wouldn’t have needed to leave to find a teacher. At the time, Xin had still been two parts monster and one-part Swordsman, so it didn’t make sense.
“Then, I’ll leave the city in your care, Xin.” I bowed. “Please, protect it.”
“I will.”
I was putting some trust in her, but she was my slave now, so I felt I could trust her. Even if it wasn’t a direct order, with Slave Empath I was certain of her emotions, and I knew she wasn’t lying to me.
“Then, Alysia.” I lifted my palm, the back of my hand starting to glow.
“Eh! No, she’s staying with me!” Xin cried out.
“M-mom!”
“What? That’s my sword.” I frowned.
I didn’t want to sound possessive over Alysia, but our souls were kind of linked.
“It’s fine if she stays out here, isn’t it?” Xin asked.
“How will I get through a dungeon without a sword?” I cried out helplessly.
“In this dungeon, you won’t need it.” Xin declared. “Trust me, this isn’t a dungeon with mobs.”
I looked at her dubiously. She looked between the sword in her hands and me reluctantly, and then she sighed, pulling out the sword from her belt. She tossed it at me and I had no choice but to catch it.
“Take this! It’s best if you follow the maid hero’s story alone.” Xin spoke mysteriously. “Besides, I wish to spend quality time with your sw- ahem… my daughter.”
“Quality time? You want to swing her around, don’t you?” I accused.
“Ah! I-I’m just going to put her through a workout. I want to see what my daughter can take!” Xin broke down and admitted.
“M-maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” Alysia suddenly sounded panicked.
“P-please! Just this once! This is a soul blade! I’ve never even heard of such a thing!” Xin’s eyes brightened.
“I feel like she doesn’t care that I’m her daughter at all!” Alysia cried.
I took Xin’s sword and tossed it into my Inventory and sighed. “Alysia, this is time you can spend with your mother. Do you want to refuse?”
“That… I’ll stay.” Alysia’s voice sounded defensive.
“Then, I will leave you. Take care of this city until I return.”
“Yes!”
I had everything I needed in my Inventory. It had been growing since I started leveling Blue Mage, and now it was as big as any Inventory ring. It was still missing most of the good stuff I had collected from previous dungeons, but my collections would return in time, and I wouldn’t lose my stuff again. Of that, I was determined.
I walked up to the dungeon entrance that looked both very familiar, and completely foreign. It was time to learn her story, the story I hadn’t heard.
{You have entered the Maid’s Lament. Destroy the lore to break the curse, or complete the lore for extra dungeon points and a blessing!}
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