In Loki's Honor

Vive la révolution! Long live the revolution! Power for the people!

I cheered inside as the people took matters on their own hands and did brutal and cruel justice to the overlords of the city. The heirs to the Baron were hanged. The new magistrate and other city officials killed by an angry mob with spears. I was disappointed that they had no pitchforks but this world was a brutal one. Every farmer knew how to wield a spear and some pitchforks had spearheads on the other side of the haft.

Lord Ackerton was miraculously spared. Our family by association. It was partly because we had Temple Knights guarding our gates and Bundeus' clergy was fueling the flames of revolution.

But I wouldn't put it beneath the Master to have a lot of his [Assassins] undercover working as agitators within the mob. Probably collecting contracts left and right as he put the competition out and settled old grudges. Why would the [Assassins] leave such tasty morsels of Exp to escape their grasp?

In a world with a game-like system like this, a most peculiar phenomenon happened. People leveled. The crowd leveled. There were many deaths on both sides but the crowd's average level rose by almost a dozen during the weeks of the revolution.

Things settled after there were no more targets to loot. The mob was driven by equal parts of justice and greed. Fights for the right to squat on abandoned mansions while the blood of the former masters stained the floorboards caused more deaths. But soon things settled in place.

Three months after the Baron's demise, the army arrived. A swift mobilization to march here given how long news takes to travel back and forth.

A magical spell caused a man's tenor voice to be heard over the whole city.

"By His Majesty King Argantry IV's will and command, the city of Kenan is under martial law. All people are to remain at home. We are conducting searches for agitators and traitors among you."

The army conducted a purge through the city. Their criteria were their own. Most of the wealth the townsfolk looted from the wealthy found their way to the King's coffers through forceful methods. For the crime of revolting against the upper echelon, the city bled for the third time.

It would've been worse. Fate or happenstance, the suppression force arrived at the start of the harvest season. Several "criminals" were condemned to slavery to work in the fields.

Those that died or were enslaved were the innocent or unwary. The smart ones, those with a few more Attribute points in Mind, or those that saw it happen before, had long left the city with their ill-gotten wealth.

The urban population, especially one with a mindset tainted by the dream of freedom and agency over their own lives, was a danger to the status quo. One that demanded dirt [Farmers] and impoverished craftspeople to fuel an abusive economy.

We were untouched. Lord Ackerton was declared the city's new ruler. A garrison of soldiers would work as peacekeepers while the new Lord asserted his control over the fief, funded by egregious amounts of coin from the new aristocrat's coffers.

Of the assassin guild members, all but a selected few went on vacation or undercover work far away from prying eyes. Lord Ackerton's new rule would see a sharp decrease in mysterious murders. Of those that still happened, those would be massively concentrated on his detractors and adversaries.

It felt as if Al Capone became governor of Illinois instead of going to jail for tax evasion. Well, things were different. Lord Ackerton was more than eager to fund the army with wealth extracted from the bloody hands of those that died during the revolution. What the people stole and later went to the army were pennies to the dollar compared to what the guild took.

The new Baron had to travel to the capital to get his conferred by the King. He didn't go alone. No. He took his guards, his trusted right-hand woman, and his two lovely adopted daughters along with a full complement of servants.

Yes, Anjou and I were with Lord Ackerton and Gloria in a carriage in the middle of a well-guarded caravan inbound for the capital.

My niece was a volcano of excitement and glee. She was going to become nobility.

Three weeks on the road with an overexcited and squealing teenager. A caravan moved at the speed of an armored man on foot. Not all guards had horses. The logistics of making and breaking camp meant fewer hours on the road. Some Skills and perks gave an incremental bonus to speed but that was just a minor boost.

Anjou and I shared a tent. With the lack of a suitable conversation partner, the girl settled with me. I won by W.O.

"I don't know how you can't understand what's about to happen to us! We are going to the capital! Frequent the King's court! Walk among the noble ladies! Get invited to balls, tea parties, afternoon tea, watch gladiators fight!

"And I am so glad we are out of that backwater town! Oh, Apricot, you can't imagine how much I suffered. Just because two of my suitors were diabolists, people said the most heinous lies about me! I'm glad to be rid of them."

I gave her my best "you're welcome" smile.

"But we are going to drown in suitors. I'll pass those I deem unfit for me to you."

She droned on the whole night. Every night. If anyone told her she was tormenting and sleeping next to a level sixty-seven [Assassin], she might behave and be less annoying, but nobody did.

We reached the capital and Lord Ackerton bought a mansion in the noble district. Baron Hendra didn't have one. Nenandil told me the house had two hidden basement levels, according to the amount of small blood bags living underneath, probably rodents.

The capital was a marvel of engineering. A massive aqueduct ran in from the north bringing fresh water from unpolluted sources. It was enchanted to keep the water clean. North was also where the Royal Palace was, a collection of pyramidal ziggurat-like buildings with tall towers at the four corners. I hoped no ancient sorcerer mummies were living inside. I had no eye sword.

The architecture resembled a blend of Greek and Mesopotamian. Building materials were a mix of sandstone blocks and chiseled marble on the rich sections, and wattle-and-daub on the middle-class area. The metropolis was planned with square blocks and wide roads where two carriages could walk abreast. An enormous shantytown shacked outside the south wall, extending organically for a mile around the sewage river that ran out of the city.

One night, a few days after we'd settled down and finally washed all the grime from the road, I sat down with the Master to talk. Just the two of us.

"Is your niece sleeping?" He asked.

"Yes. Nenandil is watching her."

He scratched his chin. "You need to keep that fairy hidden. There are people here that will try to steal her from you. An archmage recently found a way to enslave fairies. Once it becomes widespread, I fear people will start to hunt them."

"Can he steal a perk? Can anyone steal perks?" I asked with a scientific interest in the subject. A perk lost was a disaster that would last for all my future lives, a perk gained was a profit for all lives. I was playing the second-longest game in this world, losing only to the gods.

"No. That should be impossible."

"Good then. I'm safe even if discovered but I'll exercise caution."

"She's a perk?"

"No. She's bound to me by a perk. Not even death can separate us."

"Amazing. You were really born with a blessing of traits."

"And you don't know half of them," I said absentmindedly. I hurried to correct me, "Sorry, not a threat."

"Don't worry," He gave me a fatherly smile. "By the way, you are making quite the reputation on two fronts."

I looked up, clearing the shame of my previous blunder away from my face. "What?"

"The Death Princess and the Demon-Hunting {Hero}. Both are making the rounds in the rumor grapevine around the capital."

There was an injustice here. I focused my spirit inwards and sent a mental message.

ACKNOWLEDGED. Your title will display as {Heroine} from now on. Scheduling global modification for all titles as part of the next patch.

I sagged on my seat, a sheen of sweat forming on my forehead as I felt drained. I could communicate with the System but it took a lot of spiritual energy. Not anyone could do that. It required a deep understanding of the System, knowing its nature, and a hefty investment of SP, or Spirit Points as I was calling it. I first did it as a fluke with Wyxnos present but after that, I sensed a faint connection. Something I suspect everyone has but almost nobody is aware of.

This wasn't the first time I tried but the first that I got a response.

"What's wrong?" The Master asked.

"Oh. I have a question, Master. Do you know anything about hidden Attributes?"

He smiled. "Did you unlock anything?"

"Not yet. But I've been feeling... strange feelings. Things I couldn't understand."

He nodded. "Good. The System frowns on people spreading this information but once you are aware of them, we can talk without any repercussions. There are ten Attributes. The standard Status only lists seven of them. The other three are hidden. Magic is an attribute of its own. The others are divided into three sets, the physical, mental, and spiritual."

"I had a hunch Spirit is one of them. Maybe Luck too?"

"Not 'spirit'. They are called Ego, Luck, and Soul, in this order. Ego is the strength of your belief of self. It relates to Strength, that is the strength of your body, and Mind that's the strength of your reasoning. Next is Luck. This is how quick your spirit can adapt to circumstances and act upon them. Their correlates are Dexterity and Charisma. Then Soul. The soul is how hardy your spirit is. Soul corresponds to Endurance and Willpower."

That led me to think. I had no idea what were the starting values for those Attributes but I knew all of them started a hundred points lower than they should. I also had no idea if they affected the viability of existence, or if I suffered those unconscious deaths at the hands of the System. Maybe the reason my first life was an amoeba was exactly that my spiritual power was so low.

But it also meant that I'd found where all my Attribute points from the previous four lives plus this one went. I had a deficit of three hundred points to pay off before I reached the starting point for everyone else. I could only assume this deficit was already paid. Nenandil said my spiritual power was higher than everyone else we've ever met in this life. Including the Hierophant.

"I've noticed that I'm missing a few Attribute points. Maybe they went that way."

He raised one eyebrow and opened his eyes wide. "You forgot to assign your Attribute points on a level up?"

"You could say that. Hey," I said pointing at my face, "I'm not the sharpest dagger in the bandolier."

The Master pinched my cheek. "You! You undersell yourself. You are a worthy successor for my business. The deadliest killer I've ever seen. You tore through the Hierophant's defenses as if they were nothing. Maybe because you can't use MP, I'll never know. Yet you are not entirely corrupted or bloodthirsty. It makes sense. Your Ego Attribute should be very high."

From a pinch, he held my cheek in his palm. His hand felt warm and comforting.

"Successor?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. My guild has been contacted four times to quote how much it would cost to assassinate me. If I don't give an answer, the nobles will connect the dots and realize House Ackerton is protected if not the owner of the Assassin's Guild."

He sighed. "It means Lord Ackerton will have to be assassinated. Only the Master will remain, as you call me. I'll marry Anjou to some minor noble house, maybe a Viscount, and send her mother as part of the package. Don't worry, I'll make sure to pick a House that will protect the two even after my staged demise."

"Successor?" I pressed.

"Yes. I'll nominate you my heir. You'll become Lady Ackerton. I'll rule the Guild from the shadows. And you can assassinate the King and the General."