[Author's Notes: The Chapters from here onward, are Machine Edited, so I don't expect them to be perfect. If you see anything that looks or sounds weird, please speak up!]
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Chapter 12 : Inheritance (Part 2) ​

About an hour later, Caroline walked through the office doors, a pair of fresh but otherwise plain shirt and pants on, similar to what she’d worn before, though thinner. The group sat in a small sitting area at one end of the office, drinking the light tea that a secretary looking lady had delivered a while ago. Caroline walked over to them and sat down in one of the large leather chairs, not even bothering to greet them before pouring herself a cup of now cold tea and leaning back to relax.

Mark couldn’t help but feel that though they looked quite similar, Caroline and Grace had a completely different air about them; Grace had a gentle and flowing nature that made you want to simply nod your head at whatever she proposed, while the woman in front of him seemed rough and unstoppable as a glacier, compelling you to obey. Though despite these seemingly contradictory natures, one couldn’t deny that they were Mother and Daughter. She sipped on her tea for a moment in silence, before speaking, slightly annoyed,

“Well? Tell me the Story…”

Alex chuckled nervously as he launched into his tale for the fourth time. At this point, he had gotten it down so well, Mark laughed to himself as he thought that maybe Alex should take up a job as a Storyteller instead. Caroline’s face hadn’t change a bit as Alex spoke, and when he finished, she sighed and laid the cup down. As she did, Mark noticed that the thick glass cup had several spider-web fractures spreading out from five clear indents in its surface. Caroline looked over at Selah and spoke in a low voice,

“This is troubling. On more than a few levels. I assume that your Sister has already begun preparations?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Good. We can leave it in her hands for now. If worst comes to worst, I can contact Brother. Merry, come here.”

At the Woman’s call, Merry gave a jump and slid from her space between Alex and Mark, before walking over and standing in front of Caroline. Caroline simply looked at the girl with a blank look and grabbed her chin, turning it from side to side as she examined her. Letting go of her face, she grabbed Merry’s arm and placed her fingers on her wrist. Caroline frowned slightly, before turning the girl around and pulling up her shirt to reveal her back. Merry blushed slightly as Caroline pulled several thin pitch black needles an inch long, from somewhere Mark couldn’t see.

Caroline stared down at the needles and Mark was amazed to see them begin to give off a light white glow. They shook for a moment and then one by one began to float in the air. Before aligning themselves and then as fast as lightning, the thin black needles plunged into several places on the small girls back. Merry only gave a slight squeal as she felt something akin to an ice chunk touching her back and then a soothing warmth began to spread out through her body.

Mark could only stare out in amazement as he watched. The little girl’s body flushed red and some of the lighter bruises began to clear up at a visible rate. After a while, the needles were pushed out one by one and felt to the floor, before crumbling to dust. Caroline gave a sigh and said in a tired voice,

“I’m no healer, but I can at least get rid of some of the pain. Don’t try and push yourself, runt, you still need a few more days of rest.”

Merry gave a quick nod before turning around to head back to her spot. She stopped halfway through, and turned to Caroline, looking as if she wanted to say something. Caroline looked at the struggling girl before raising an eye and giving her a look that said ‘just say it already’. Merry Looked down, and then reached into her carry bag, pulling out a small box and handing it to the woman. Caroline looked down with a frown for a moment, before slowly opening the box.

Her eyes went wide in shock at first, then a gentle light replaced the cold chill. Inside on a cushion sat a small shard of metal, as black as night but with tiny specks of green and blue mixed in. On the inside of the lid, sat a small folded note, the words ‘Happy Birthday’ scrawled in messy handwriting on the front. Caroline gave a gentle smile completely unlike the ones before, causing Mark’s heart to flutter. She leaned over and softly kissed the little girl's forehead and petted her head, speaking in a soft voice,

“Thank you.”

Merry blushed and quickly retreated back to her spot on the couch between Mark and Alex. When Caroline raised her head back up, the same old cold icy look had returned. Selah watched over with soft eyes, though as she watched her mother read over the small note, a mischievous light flashed in them. She grinned slightly and spoke to her mother in a teasing manner,

“Hoho, isn’t this great Mother? It must be nice to still get presents even at your age.”

“Shut up Girly. I am still a young woman.”

“Young Woman? Is that really something a cradle robber like you should be calling yourself?”

“C-cradle robber? How dare you, you little..... Your father and I are only 15 years apart!”

“And Father will be 142 next May. Doesn't that mean you just turn….”

“Don’t you dare!”

Mark gave a sigh as he watched the two go back and forth, Caroline’s normally cool and calm attitude crumbling as her face went red at her Daughters jabs. As they continued on, something clicked in Marks mind, as he realized something strange. Did he mishear? Tilting his head in confusion, he stealthily focused on the red-faced woman sitting across from him and activated Examine.

~~~~~~~~~~＜Status＞~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Caroline Whitewood <Myth-Forger>
Race: Dwarf
Age: 157
Active Sigil: Earthsinger

Sigil Level: 78
HP: 8,000/8,000
MP: 14,556/17,250

STR: 375 (30 + 65 + 5 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 100)
END: 165 (20 + 65 + 5 + 25 + 50)
WILL: 485 (20 + 390 + 5 + 25 + 50)
DEX: 415 (40 + 195 + 5 + 25 + 50 + 100)

ACTIVE SKILLS: Earth Pulse Needle, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???........
PASSIVE SKILLS: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???........
UNIQUE SKILLS: Deep Priestess, ???

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[Author’s Notes: Remember, status numbers (HP, MP, STR, END, WILL, and DEX) and are more like digitized Information, rather than some physical force like you might see in other novels. The numbers are a generalization so that overall ability can be understood at a glance. A quick tip for understanding the number. While numbers vary, the average adult male will have stats around 10, with each 10 after that representing roughly a 50% increase in ability (I.E. someone with 100 STR would be as strong as 4 “normal” men).

The First number is that person’s “Natural” state, before any modifications. The second bolded number is modifications done by the sigil as it increases in level. The italicized numbers after the second, are modifications by passive skills. Any number that is BOTH bolded and italicized at the end are Temporary effects from buffs or active skills. Again, take the numbers with a pinch of salt, there IS a pattern and method to the idea, but they are more here as a guide rather than an Absolute. ]

Looking at the screen Mark could feel his eyes bulge. He still didn’t know what the standard of this world was, but even he could tell that these numbers were not normal. Tsutsuji who was sitting on Mark’s shoulders, looked at the screen with a frown, being the only other one in the room that could see it. She leaned over and spoke in a low voice, unusually serious.

“As expected of Myth-Forger Caroline, abnormal is the simplest word to describe her. All of the Whitewoods are Insane. You’d best step your game up Mark, there are plenty of powerful people in this world. If you don’t want to be walked on, then you need the power to back up your words.”

Mark’s hand tightened into a fist at Tsutsuji’s words. It was kind of ironic; in his old world he was fairly confident he could protect himself, but ever since he arrived in this world, he started to become more and more aware at how weak he really was. Scanning the information once more, Mark confirmed what he had suspected before, but as he opened his mouth to ask, Tsutsuji beat him to it,

“It’s the Magi. In your world, your bodies were governed by the natural laws and aged accordingly. In this one, a person’s internal Magi are able to make repairs and sustain the body for much longer. The average Human lifespan for a healthy adult is close to 200 years. For Dwarves and Elves who are naturally born stronger, they live a little longer, 220-225 years. 230 if they are lucky. The Relickin are a bit different, they technically have no determinate lifespan, though without proper care they may only reach 400. Congratulations Mark! You’re a spring chicken again!

As for her looks. That’s because she’s a Dwarf. The Dwarves were engineered as manual laborers, and old workers are just a drain on your resources. Dwarves stop aging at their optimal state; for females their early to mid-twenties, for males their mid-thirties. There’s an old saying, ‘Elves may be eternally beautiful, but Dwarves are eternally young.’ ”

Human, Elves, Dwarves and Relickin, the four major races of this world. Mark remembered reading about them in Merry’s Book. Elves and Dwarves were said to be branches of the human race; mutations caused by the selective breeding and genetic modifications of the Ancients in order to produce better and stronger workers. Collectively, they were “Mankind”. The Relickin, on the other hand, were something different; semi-organic artificial life forms, said to be someone’s attempts at mimicking the Magi, though somewhere along the line they gained sentience and life of their own.

Mark found his thoughts wandering as the Mother-Daughter pair was still going at it, when his eyes landed on Selah, and he found himself wondering. Just as he was about to activate Examine again, Alex spoke up in a curious voice,

“I’ve actually been wondering this for a while, but from the stories I’ve heard Mrs. Caroline, You and Matthew only had one Child, Grace. So who…”

Caroline and Selah stopped their banter and stared at Alex with a strange look, causing him to sweat slightly before Caroline gave a sigh and nodded,

“Correct. Officially, Grace is our only child. Selah, she’s…”

“I’m adopted.”

Selah spoke in a neutral voice, crossing her arms as she gave Alex a look that dared him to say something about it. Caroline gave a nod and spoke in a voice as if reminiscing about something,

“In fact, it’ll soon be 20 years since a dirty little rug-rat no older than Merry showed up on my forge floor.”

“I wasn’t that dirty!”

“Really? I distinctly remember having to cut clumps of mud and twigs from your Hair.”

Selah seemed unable to retaliate and stomped her feet and she puffed her cheeks out and fumed at her Mother. Alex paled a little as he bowed and spoke out quickly,

“I-I’m Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry into private matters!”

“No, it's alright boy. It’s more of an open secret really. Officially, Selah is my Elder Disciple, though it has been a long time since anyone in the city has thought of her as anything but a Whitewood. Mostly it is to keep those wolves in the Capital at bay; they’d just love to sink their teeth into a little princess. I am thankful that Grace is a little too ‘Hot’ for them to handle, so at least I don’t have to worry about her. This one, on the other hand…..”

“Mother!”

Selah’s face went another shade of red darker, almost blending in with her hair, as Alex nodded his head in understanding. Selah took in a deep breath and breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself. Slowly, her face cooled down and she looked up at a nearby clock,

“Mother, we have to move on to business. We don’t have much time before we have to leave.”

Caroline looked up at the clock after her Daughter and nodded her head,

“Yes, let’s head to the Vault. We can continue there.”

She gave a sigh and stood, motioning for them to follow her. Mark and Alex stood up confused as they followed after, Tsutsuji riding on Merry’s head as the little girl walked behind, hand gripping Mark’s coat.

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After walking through a seeming maze of hallways and rooms, the group finally arrived at a large door at the back of a smaller room. The Door looked heavy and thick, the distinct grainy luster of whitewood peeking out from the peeling paint. Caroline reached out and touched a nearby brick, and as if the brick was made of clay, pulled out a small metal key from inside.

Instead of inserting the key into the keyhole on the door, she turned the key around and touched the butt-end to several places on the door in rapid succession. There was a series of clicks and the sound of metal grinding as the wall nearby slid to the side and revealed a long narrow staircase descending into the depths. Not only was there a Dummy Lock and hidden key, but it seemed even the Room on the other side was just a diversion. What could be down there that required such security?

The group entered in the hidden entrance and they descended down into the depths. They arrived at another door shortly after, and as Caroline opened it up and ushered the group in, she spoke in her normal cold voice,

“This is the Whitewood Vault; we store my best works and the more valuable Relics in the city here. Matthew asked me to open it up as part of your reward.”

“Mrs. Caroline, like I told your Husband, there is no need for something like this. I didn’t do what I did to ask for a reward.”

Alex shook his head at her words, though his eyes lingered on the rows of glistening swords lining the Wall. Caroline gave him a cheeky grin and spoke like a salesman,

“Now, don’t be like that. This isn’t just a matter of your pride. What would we say if it got out that the Whitewoods don’t repay their debts?”

“Right, Right, like Mother says. You’ll be doing us more harm than good by refusing this small token.”

Selah nodded her head in agreement with her Mother, a serious look crossing her face. Double teamed by the ladies, Alex could do nothing but sigh and begin to look around the room in earnest, though it wasn’t long before he became entranced by the various pieces of equipment stored in the room. Tsutsuji soon followed and the pair looked like a couple of children stuck in a candy shop.

Selah chuckled lightly as she watched, then noticing Mark had yet to move, she asked in a questioning tone,

“Not going to pick anything?”

“No need.”

“What, you think this old blade is better than something Mother can make?”

With a practiced hand, she drew the old rusted blade hanging on his hip, giving it an ugly look. Truth be told, it was the opposite. Mark was a soldier, yes, but he specialized in unarmed combat and survival. He’d never even picked up a real sword until about a week ago. Unless they had a rifle stashed somewhere in this room, there wasn’t anything in this room he could make good use of. The most he could say was that he was confident in the throwing skills he’d trained in the Army as a pastime and the Bo-Staff training he’d picked up while studying his Martial Arts.

As Selah held out the old blade, Caroline gave it a queer look, and plucked the blade from her Daughter’s hands, looking over it with strange but serious eyes, before asking Mark in a low voice, never looking away from the blade,

“Where did you get this…?”

“Off one of the Forest Goblins that attacked the girl. Don’t know where it got it.”

“A Forest goblin, hu? Humm…”

She looked at the blade for a long moment, lost in thought, before sheathing it at Mark side and spoke out,

“Either way, you’d better choose something else. You’re not fit for a blade, judging by your hands. What do you prefer?”

Mark looked down at Caroline in silence, slightly impressed that she could tell with a casual glance. He finally gave a sigh and spoke out in a resigned voice,

“Staff.”

“Staff is it. Humm.”

Caroline looked down to the floor, hand on her chin before seeming to come to a conclusion. She stood straight and immediately walked to the back of the room and moved some things around. After a while, she seemed to find what she was looking for and pulled out a large, long box, then walked back. She placed the box on a nearby table and opened it up, dust flying out as she did. Mark leaned over and looked inside to see.

A Stick. A long solid Whitewood branch, slightly gnarled and rough with age. It was roughly 8 foot long and as thick as a man’s calf. Mark looked down in confusion as the thing that could be called more a log than a staff. It was ugly as an old dried bone, but he found himself strangely attracted to it like he was seeing a long lost friend.

Caroline looked down at the branch fondly and spoke in a sad voice,

“It used to belong to a dear friend. Long ago. But it’s never found anyone it’s taken a liking to after her. How about it, want to give it a Shot?”

Mark looked down at that gnarled branch for a moment, the strange feeling again overtaking him. He swallowed, then slowly he reached down and grabbed firmly onto the branch. As he made contact with it, Caroline’s eyes seemed to light up but quickly dulled as if not seeing what she was expecting. Mark was about to lift his hand when he felt a slight quiver run through the branch, then strangely it began to twist in on itself, like a towel being wrung dry.

Caroline’s face lit up again as a small smile played over her icy face. Only a moment later, the large branch had shrunk down to 6 foot long and only 3-4 centimeters thick. The dense grain pattern on its surface was as smooth as glass and its length as straight as an arrow without a single flaw. Amazed, Mark reached down and lifted the strange staff out of the box, grunting slightly as it was far heavier than he thought it would be. As he held it in his hands, it felt comfortable, like it had always belonged there. Gripping the staff in both hands, he quickly moved through several forms testing out the balance and feel.

Despite how heavy it was, Mark was surprised at how easy the staff moved, it almost seemed as if it was doing half the work itself. As he finished his forms, Caroline gave light applause as he stood to the side, her eyes still icy and cold as ever, but a slight smirk crossing her lips as she spoke,

“Bravo. Good job. I’m assuming that it is up to your standards?”

“….Yes.”

Mark once again looked at the strange staff in his hands, before nodding and giving his answer. On a whim, Mark focused his mind on the staff and activated Examine,

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Penitence

Quality: Engraved
Origin: Unknown
Quarks:
--- Dense: made of super compressed Whitewood, this staff is far harder (and heavier) than normal. It takes great skill and power to properly use such an unwieldy thing. [Requires Long-Weapon lvl 6]
--- Will (lvl-1): Over the years, this weapon has taken on a slight will of its own, allowing it to predict its wielders intent and assist them as needed. Only usable by those that it has acknowledged.
--- ???
--- ???

Index Entry: A specially made Staff carved from an ancient Whitewood. The Staff’s original owner was said to have been a traveling Monk who would appear in times of need, but only the Staff itself knows the truth of the matter.

~ A vow fulfilled, a debt forgotten, a life changed. ~

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Mark stared at the Staff for a long while, deep in thought before he was roused by the sound of Selah’s voice,

“Well, now that we seem to be done here, how about we continue on with our tour of the city?”

Mark looked up to see that the others had gathered near the doorway. He quickly glanced over them, curious as to what they had chosen. Contrary to what Mark was expecting, Alex didn’t choose a new Sword. Instead, on his arm was strapped a medium sized shield. At first glance, it appeared to be solid bronze, with a few specks of azure tarnish on it and engraved with a detailed image of a towering windswept mountain. However, there seemed to be more to it than just a pretty picture; Alex moved around with the large shield as if it weighed nothing at all, easily swinging the arm through the air as he tested his movements.

Tsutsuji desperately clung to a large crystal, almost as big as herself, glancing into the nearby shadows suspiciously as if each one contained a thief. Mark didn’t know what it was, but if it was stored down here, then he doubted that it was something normal. Even Merry, it seemed, had been allowed to take something, though carefully guided by Saleh so as not to stumble on something dangerous. Unsurprisingly what the young girl carried in her arms was a small book the size of a notepad. It was a strange, crude thing, its cover made of hard whitewood and its binding seeming to be raw fiber. Even the paper look crude and low quality, but strangely the whole thing gave off an air of freshness as if it had just been made the other day.

The group gathered together and headed up the stairs, Caroline closing the doors behind them.