LMS - Bonus Pt.2 - Reborn (Patreon)

=::= Six Months Ago =::=

"Confirm."

As soon as I uttered the word, my vision was flooded with bright white light. At the same time my skin prickled as though my naked body was being pulled backwards through pine boughs.

The uncomfortable light and sensations lasted two or three seconds before both faded. I found myself still sitting on the ground at the base of a tree, while my horse stood quietly nearby.

A brand new page of text was floating in the air before me.

My heart skipped a beat as I looked it over, then my eyes flicked back to the first line. I stared quietly at that name until the text faded away.

Candice.

My new name was Candice!

I scrambled to get to my feet and almost stumbled as the hem of my dress caught on my boot heel. I steadied myself against the tree as I stared down at myself, almost unable to believe what I was seeing.

My dress. I was wearing a green dress. It was form-fitting, nearly two dozen buttons down the front held it tight to my body. The bodice revealed the swell of my breasts and the narrowness of my waist, while the skirt flowed over my wide hips and a posterior that stuck out further than I remembered. What I could see of my legs were smooth and soft, and my feet were snug inside a pair of small soft brown leather ankle boots.

Next my eyes were drawn to my hand as I leaned against the rough bark of the tree. My fingers were delicate, my hand small. I had a narrow wrist and my arm was smooth and slender.

I was aware my hair was longer now, I could feel it moving against my neck and shoulders. I reached up and pulled some forward, and found myself looking at a lock of bright pink hair. It was improbable and unusual but it was absolutely perfect.

A very quick peek under my skirt and down my bodice revealed my feminine undergarments, along with my feminine assets. The sight confirmed what I already knew.

I was a girl! And I was free!

With my horse, my bag of coins and bag of gemstones, and the fact that I was already a half-day's ride from home, it was like my wildest dreams had just come true. I knew I had at least two or three more hours before my parents would decide I was late, and perhaps even until dusk before they realized I was missing. If I was lucky they wouldn't start searching for me until morning.

And the best part was, they'd never find me. After all, they'd be looking for him, for a person who didn't exist anymore.

I was smiling so wide my face almost hurt.

My belt with my sword and dagger lay on the ground by my feet, and it struck me how much larger the belt seemed now. It obviously much too big for my slender, smaller form.

I bent down and picked up the belt and for a moment I was surprised how heavy it seemed, with the sword and dagger still hanging from it. A moment later I realized the truth. I was weaker than I used to be. The knowledge didn't bother me, it was fairly obvious in retrospect that as a small slender girl I'd be weaker now. On the other hand I actually felt smarter than before, which was another strange sensation.

"Status," I said to myself, and that page of text immediately re-appeared before my eyes.

According to my status sheet, I was now five-foot-four and weighed only a hundred and ten pounds. That meant I'd lost about nine inches of height and I'd become over seventy pounds lighter. I had no idea what my old stats were, but I was confident my strength had dropped several points. And I suspected my intellect and wisdom had gone up.

My health and mana points were both quite good. Having eighteen health was very slightly better than average, and my twenty-one mana was one point higher than normally possible. That was thanks to a slight bonus I received based on my wisdom stat being above average.

Next I focused on the Abilities and Specials entries. I knew there'd be a randomly-assigned Ability after I confirmed my selections, but I wasn't expecting two of them. And I had no idea what the Specials entry was.

I focused on each of those entries and requested Information on them in turn.

'Detect Truth (1): Natural ability, passive. You can usually tell the difference between a truth, a half truth, and a lie in any statement spoken to you. Range to speaker: 1m.'

'Seek Truth (1): Natural ability, active (cost: 1 mana/level). You may attempt to learn the truth when you have been lied to. Range to speaker: 1m.'

'Analyze (1): Special ability, active (cost: 1 mana/use). Provides instant access to System information when used on an item or object. Note: results not guaranteed when used on sentient beings. Range: 1m.'

Apparently my randomly-assigned abilities were all based around knowledge, which seemed like a good thing. Being able to instantly know when someone was lying or speaking the truth would certainly come in handy, as would the ability to magically get the truth if I was lied to. The only disappointment was I couldn't try them out right away, since there was nobody around to speak with.

It also made sense why I received two of them rather than the one I was expecting. They worked together, they were more like two sides of the same ability rather than two completely separate ones.

My Special seemed interesting too, and unlike the two abilities it was something I could actually experiment with immediately.

I looked at my dagger and activated my Analyze ability. A paragraph of text appeared in the air floating above the weapon as it hung from the belt in my hands.

'Nobleman's Dagger. This is a high quality close-range weapon of fine craftsmanship. It bears the Beaumont family coat of arms on the pommel. You are able to wield this weapon. Quality: Very Fine. Enchantments: None. Value: 225 gold crowns.'

Next I tried it on my sword, with a similar result.

'Nobleman's Sword. This is a top quality close-range weapon of expert craftsmanship. The grip, crosspiece, and pommel have been inlaid with precious metals. You are not able to wield this weapon. Quality: Excellent. Enchantments: None. Value: 1,500 gold crowns.'

Finally I tried to Analyze my horse.

'Horse, Light, Riding. A well-trained mare of steady temperament. Equipped with Tackle [Analyze] and Saddlebags [Analyze]. Age: 4 years. Health: Good. Enchantments: None. Value: 70 gold crowns.'

I didn't bother analyzing anything else. That was enough to give me a feel for how it worked, and told me that I couldn't cheat and analyze multiple things at once.

At that point I'd got through everything on my Status screen, and my focus shifted to my over-all situation.

I had a new name and a new body, a new appearance. I was free of my family legacy, free to be myself and live my own life. On the other hand I was still deep within my family's territory, and at some point this afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest my father would send out his men to search for me.

I had a horse, but her tackle and gear bore my family's livery and crests. I knew there was some food in the saddlebags, and perhaps a blanket and some other useful gear. I also had a small fortune in coins and gemstones.

And finally I had a nobleman's sword and dagger. The former I could no longer wield despite six years training. The latter I could still use, but it bore my family's coat of arms and was meant to be proof of my identity. Except there was no chance anyone would believe I was the Duke's son anymore, for which I was eternally grateful.

Unfortunately that meant rather than proving my identity the dagger would probably get me hanged as a thief. Ditto the sword, there was no way a strange girl of unknown origin would own something like that. I certainly couldn't claim it was mine, considering I could barely swing the thing. Even the tackle on my horse could bring suspicion on me.

It only took a moment to make some difficult decisions. I'd keep the dagger since I could hide it in a saddlebag, but the sword and scabbard had to be left behind. I hated to give it up. Apart from being worth a fortune there was some sentimental value, but I knew it would bring me more harm than good. Particularly since there was no way for me to even use it now. Even if I was willing to train as a swordswoman I'd require a smaller, lighter weapon.

Instead of simply abandoning the sword on the trail or forest floor, I looked for somewhere to hide it. After a moment I spotted a large tree with a split trunk, and quickly decided that was my best bet. It was about a dozen meters upstream from where the trail crossed the brook. I carefully stuffed the sword and scabbard inside the tree and did my best to ensure it wasn't visible in there.

My hope was it'd still be there should I manage to return some day in the future. And with luck, the tree would somewhat shelter it from the elements.

With that done, I checked the contents of both saddlebags as I tucked the dagger and belt away. The left bag contained a full wineskin and some bundled up food, which was meant to be enough for my breakfast and lunch. I could probably stretch it for a full day, maybe even two. The right bag contained a large warm blanket and a coil of rope. My family's crest on the horse's tackle was a risk but for now it couldn't be helped.

As for my destination, that wasn't even a question.

My goal was to find and enroll at sorcery school, and I already had a pretty good idea where that was. According to my mother, it was very close to the magical academy where I was supposed to begin studying wizardry next month.

I knew the academy was to the east, three or four days away by horse. If I managed to avoid trouble then in half a week I could be at the sorcery school. And my bag of gemstones should buy me at least a few years of tuition.

Finally, I'd need some story to explain myself and how I came by such wealth. I couldn't tell anyone about the System, and I definitely wasn't going to mention that my dad was Duke Henri Beaumont. But I was smart, I'd cook up a story over the next few days. I'd make it something convincing but boring, so nobody would bother looking that closely or asking too many questions.

With my plans in mind I was ready to set out, and ran into my first problem. Despite over six years of experience on horseback, it took me four attempts to get myself up into the saddle. And two of those tries saw me actually end up on my behind on the forest floor.

At first I thought it was because of my height. I was used to being taller, I needed to adjust for my smaller size. Then I blamed my dress, the skirt was definitely in the way and I wasn't used to wearing that sort of garment. In the end I realized the truth. My dexterity was probably a lot lower than it used to be.

I knew from all my reading that the average for all stats was eight. With a strength of five I was weaker than most, even for a girl my size. And my four dexterity points meant I was going to be a clumsy girl. It was another eye-opener, but I wouldn't complain.

I was Candice now, I was a girl, and I was free.

There was a wide smile on my lips as I continued further north along the trail. I knew there was a road another hour or so ahead, and that would take me east. In a few days I'd be close enough to the magic academy that I'd likely be able to ask directions to the sorcery school.

Then my new life would truly begin.