“So, you’re Ethan’s newest project,” said Ethan’s mother, giving Alice a warm smile. Alice saw a variety of System Perks flood out of Ethan’s mother. They reached across her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her ears, and every orifice of the top half of her body. It seemed as if literally her entire body, and every sense, was being improved by several Perks at once. And the Perks didn’t only affect Ethan’s mother: they seemed to radiate into the air around her, like dozens of tiny little knots of mana.

The sight was honestly fascinating. Ethan’s mother had so many different Classes and Perks being activated at once that it was nearly impossible to track which was which. Each Perk was clearly much smaller and weaker than the Perks and Classes used by other Immortals, but the sheer quantity of Classes and Perks combined created a dizzying sight.

Alice quickly realized that even though Ethan’s mother had done things quite differently than a normal Immortal, there were massive benefits in addition to the obvious downsides of concentrating on many Classes instead of a few.

Ethan’s mother may not have the raw power and ability that someone focused on raising five Classes might have gained after spending a few centuries working on them. However, in exchange, Ethan’s mother had a lot of versatility. While Alice couldn’t pick out every Perk she was using, she could still figure out what a few of them were, just because she had seen them before. Ethan’s mother was detecting lies, making their conversation private, enhancing all five of her senses, doing something that let her gather a lot of information from all of Alice’s reactions and facial expressions, and scanning their surroundings for danger. And several Perks were layered on top of each other, boosting each other and feeding into each other in strange but fascinating ways.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Ethan’s mother probably had dozens of passive Perks activated as well. Even though her primary Class barely met the requirement for reaching Immortality, with so many passive and active Perks, Ethan’s mother wouldn’t have any weaknesses. It was an incredibly fascinating build that Alice had never heard of before, and she found herself curious to know what Perks and Achievements made the whole thing possible. Ethan’s mother clearly didn’t suffer from the same downsides other people did when raising secondary classes. All, or at least part, of the downsides of secondary Classes had been negated. Unfortunately, it was probably related to combat power, so asking Ethan’s mother about it would be rude, and Ethan’s mother probably wouldn’t answer any questions about it.

She found herself rather disappointed about that fact.

Then, Alice realized she was spacing out, and quickly tried to focus on the conversation again. She realized that Ethan’s mother was simply staring at her, waiting for a response.

“Yes, I’m Ethan’s apprentice. Alice. It’s a pleasure to meet you, honored Immortal Myra,” said Alice. At the side, Alice could see the second Princess, who Ethan’s mother had previously been talking with, stiffen a bit, and give Alice a more measured look, before nodding and giving Alice a friendly smile.

“I’d be pleased to get to know you later, Lady Alice,” said the second princess, before standing up and excusing herself. She gave Alice a very warm smile and extended a hand towards her, and Alice quickly shook it. “I should go, though. I know Immortals and their apprentices like to get to know each other without outside interference.” Then, the second [Princess] quickly got up from the table and made her way towards one of the flower bushes nearby.

“Thank you, dear. I’d love to continue our conversation later,” said Ethan’s mother as the second [Princess] departed. The second Princess turned towards Ethan’s mother for a moment, and shot her a slightly more mischievous grin, before she continued making her way towards the flowers. Then, Ethan’s mother turned towards Alice.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance! I’m Ethan’s mother, Myra. You know, none of Ethan’s projects have made it to Immortality yet, but he seems especially optimistic about your odds. And I hear you’re a Mage! Being a Mage is a very big advantage when working towards Immortality, you know. Even though Mages only make up around 2-3% of the population, they make up over a fourth of the global Immortal population. Starting out with a 20% aging reduction is huge, and Mages just have opportunities that other people don’t have access to,” said Myra. “I’m glad to see Ethan is so optimistic about your chances! I haven’t seen him this excited anytime within the past… four rounds of disciples!”

“What makes you think Ethan is optimistic about my chances?” asked Alice.

Immortal Myra chuckled. “I’m his mother, and I have a pretty darn high level in a lot of Classes. Including [Psychologist]. I have a pretty easy time reading body language, and Ethan is very excited whenever he faces you. I usually see him with a little spring in his step whenever he starts teaching a new round of disciples, but it’s especially noticeable this time. So he must think your odds are excellent,” said Ethan’s mother, giving Alice an even more curious appraising look.

“To be honest, I think she might even reach Immortality with or without my help, mother,” said Ethan, finally deciding to interject into the conversation. “Some of her Achievements seem to be excellent, and while I haven’t figured out what they do, her levelling speed seems to be excellent. She pulls new abilities out fast enough that it makes my head spin sometimes.” Ethan had a rather fond smile on his lips as he spoke with his mother.

“Is that so? That’s promising. What level are you, child? Your highest level Class, I mean.”

Alice looked at Ethan, wondering if she should share this information, and Ethan nodded at her.

“Level 75.”

“And only physically sixteen or so?” Ethan’s mother whistled. “That’s pretty impressive. You’re making better time than even Allira did, and once she started levelling she took off like an arrow soaring through the skies. That girl still looks like she’s barely twenty,” said Ethan’s mother, grinning as she spoke of Allira.

“Is that so?” Asked Alice, suddenly curious. She hadn’t heard much about Allira’s rise to Immortality, beyond the fact that the Sigmusi were involved and that Allira had gained her levels during the previous war between the Sigmusi Colonia and the Shil Confederacy.

Ethan’s mother nodded. “Girl wasn’t anything special for the first seventeen years of her life or so. Just another [Bard] that sang for a few local inns for coin. But when the Sigmusi invasion reached her town...” Ethan’s mother winced. “She lived. And changed quite a bit as a result of what she lived through. But she’s a nice enough girl! Though, if she didn’t keep skipping out on our chats, she would be much better…” Ethan’s mother sighed, and shook her head. “The poor girl has really been through a lot. But I can wait as long as she needs before she’s willing to open up a little more.” Ethan’s mother seemed to almost be comforting herself when she said that, and Alice suddenly felt her image of Allira change a little bit. When she had met Allira in Cyra, the Immortal of Song and Shadow had seemed rather unusual. However, apart from her massive hatred of the Sigmusi, Allira had otherwise seemed friendly and approachable. However, while Alice was a little socially oblivious, she could read between the lines well enough to realize that Allira probably needed help from a proper [Psychologist] if she had really been through a bad enough set of experiences. Assistance with Myra seemed happy to offer, but Allira didn’t want to take her up on.

Ethan rolled his eyes, and for a moment, Alice found herself utterly bewildered as she saw Ethan acting… almost like a teenager, in some ways. Ethan rolling his eyes was something Alice had never seen before. She was far more used to him giving her annoying tests.

“Mother, I’m sure she would be more willing to talk with you if you didn’t keep trying to convince her to get married,” said Ethan dryly.

“She seems lonely! She spends so much time talking to other people, but she never connects with them during those conversations. I just think that she would be happier if she found a nice guy or girl and settled down for a few decades!” Ethan’s mother frowned. “I haven’t quite figured out whether she likes men or women yet. I’ll figure it out one of these days…” said Ethan’s mother, thoughtfully rubbing her chin.

“Ah, my apologies, dearie.  I seem to have gotten distracted. I wanted to get to know you, not talk about Allira. Especially if you really are going to be joining our little group. After all, it’s been almost a century since we last had a new Immortal, and I think it would be just lovely if we had another one. So what do you specialize in? Ethan is going around claiming that you’re focused on combat, but all three of us know that’s total nonsense. The speed at which you gain new Perks is completely inconsistent with how many combat encounters you’ve had in the past three months, as far as I can tell, and that means combat isn’t your specialty. What’s your real focus, dear?”

Alice felt herself drawing a blank and Ethan’s mother continued speaking. She looked at Ethan again, and Ethan seemed to take that as his cue.

“She’s focused on research, mother. I would appreciate it if you could help me substantiate the little fiction that she’s focused on combat,” he said.

Ethan’s mother rubbed her chin. “Why is it so important? There’s nothing wrong with being focused on magical research, is there?” She gave Alice an even more curious glance, and then grinned. “Ah, I see. Do you have some sort of special Perk or Achievement? Something that would make the Society of Stars interested?”

Alice found herself slowly nodding. “Several things that the Society would be interested in. I’m quite afraid of them taking an interest in me.”

Ethan’s mother sighed. “Unfortunately, I doubt the Society is still fooled. I imagine that if they’re investigating young Alice at all, they’ll have already realized something is wrong. I’ll do what I can, but I expect this lie has already outlived its usefulness. And if they’re likely to take an interest in her, she needs to be able to defend herself sooner or later.” She paused for a moment, as another group of [Nobles] walked into the room and took seats near the back of the table, before giving them nods and then turning back to Alice. “Have you grown your self-defense abilities in the time Ethan’s lie has bought you? As an Immortal or prospective Immortal, it’s important to have some basic self-defense ability, and if the Society is truly likely to aim for you, it’s hard to predict when they’ll act. It’s important to be ready at all times, dearie.” For the first time, Alice saw the warm smile on the woman’s face fade away, replaced with something closer to a grimace. “While tragic, we’ve lost a prospective Immortal to the Society of Starry Eyes in the past. It’s uncommon, but it has happened. To stay safe, you need to be as competent as possible.”

 Ethan thought it over, before sighing. “Should we expect a society attack soon, then? I had hoped we would have more time, since I can’t be near her all the time. And while I’ve assigned her a [Hidden Guard], against a dedicated Society attack, who knows what they might bring to the table.”

Ethan’s mother shrugged. “I doubt they would be brazen enough to attack the capital, but you should probably keep an eye out for her whenever you’re out of the city. Especially if she’s research focused.” She turned back towards Alice. “Ah, have you grabbed any combat-related Classes, dearie? If not, I could help you pick up a few useful ones. I’m not a Mage, but I know quite a bit about Perks and how some of Perks from different Classes can combine together. And I have quite a few Perks that can boost learning speed. A few of them come from pretty unique Perk combinations, so it’s hard to replicate them, meaning they won’t overlap with other learning boosts.”

“Is that so?” Asked Alice. She had been rather curious about Ethan’s mother’s Class combinations, but she couldn’t ask about any information related to combat abilities. However, if the other woman was offering…

Ethan’s mother grinned and nodded. “I have a few learning boosts from [Psychologist] and a few from [Nanny]. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get those Classes to spit out levelling speed boosts, but I wanted them to boost levelling speed so badly that I found something to work with. I imagine you already have access to fairly good teacher boosts, so I won’t bother with any Perks from that Class. But would you like a couple boosts?”

Alice nodded, and Ethan did as well. “That’s part of why I brought her here, mother. I know how busy your schedule gets…”

“It’s no trouble at all, dear!” Said Ethan’s mother, before turning towards Alice.

Alice saw a few streams of rainbow mana pour out of Ethan’s mother, and then wrap around her. She didn’t receive any sort of System notification, but Alice was pretty sure the rainbow lights would boost her levelling speed for… a while.

Alice nodded.

“How long do they last, and how big is the effect?” Asked Alice.

“The two last about a month and a half, and they give a combined bonus of around 70%. That’s a 70% boost to combat and research Classes, as well as a few mana-related skills. I don’t have anything that overlaps with research beyond that. But your teacher should also be giving you a sizeable boost, and these Perks don’t conflict with any that a [Teacher] might have.” Ethan’s mother nodded, and Alice felt a surge of interest.

She had been thinking about her low experience multiplier just a few weeks ago, and now, Ethan’s mother had made up nearly a fifth of the experience boost she still needed to get back to levelling at a decent speed. Alice wasn’t necessarily as interested in reaching Immortality as she was in learning more about how the System worked, but she certainly wasn’t opposed to becoming an Immortal if she could get there. A 70% levelling speed boost may not quite make up for the massive growth penalty she faced past level 75, but at the very least, it would help a lot.

That being said, Alice still felt the proper solution was to get another Achievement or two working. She hadn’t gotten one from her previous experiment with Class seeds yet, since she hadn’t actually done anything with the information, but she was sure that with a little more thinking she could turn it into a good Achievement, or possibly boost {Seeker of Truth} again…

Oblivious to Alice’s thoughts, Ethan gave his mother a brief hug. It wasn’t quite ‘proper’ to do so in public, but since they were Immortals, they could get away with a lot. “Thank you, mother.”

“No problem, dearie,” said Ethan’s mother, returning his hug and giving him a smile.

Then, Ethan’s mother turned her attention back towards Alice.

“So, Ethan did mention that you went through a mana baptism, instead of being born a Mage. What’s the story on that? Were you born impoverished?” Immortal Myra frowned. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being born impoverished, mind you. What matters the most in life is what you make of your situation, not how lucky you were when you were born. I’m simply curious.”

 “I went through a mana baptism by accident, Honored Immortal Myra.“

“Is that so? That must be quite a story. It’s pretty unusual to encounter a big enough clump of mana that you end up going through a mana baptism accidentally. Normally, if you’re out in the wilderness, you would get a map of all of the nearby mana clumps, right?” Ethan’s mother gave Alice a more curious look. “Did you used to be an [Adventurer] or something before becoming a Mage? And then perhaps get lost or chased around by monsters for a while?”

Alice shook her head, and then eyed Ethan again. On one hand, she had to admit, she was grateful that Ethan hadn’t revealed anything about her past without her permission.

On the other hand, Alice also really wasn’t sure what she could and couldn’t say here. Would telling Ethan’s mother about Earth be a good idea, or a bad one? If she tried to lie about her past, what should she say? Ethan’s mother almost certainly had a lie-detection Perk, and Alice seriously doubted she could carefully word her answer to skirt the Perk. Ethan’s mother had an exceptionally high [Charisma] score, even for an Immortal, which meant that she must enjoy socializing quite a bit. Alice seriously doubted that the woman would somehow miss Alice carefully wording her answers.

“Lady Alice has some rather unique circumstances, mother,” said Ethan. “For her safety, just assume that she didn’t exist before she arrived in Illvaria and underwent a mana baptism by mistake. That’s the best way to treat her past.”

“Is that so?” Asked Ethans mother, giving Alice an even more curious glance. “Well, if that’s the case, I won’t pry. But I am quite curious, dearie. When we get to know each other a bit better, maybe I can get some more of your story out of you. I’m very interested.” She sighed. “But I suppose that will have to wait until we get to know each other a little better.”

Alice actually felt surprisingly bad about the fact that she wasn’t telling Ethan’s mother more about herself. But now really didn’t seem like the time, even if they were surrounded by a Perk keeping their conversation private. On the other hand, Alice was happy to know that Ethan hadn’t told his mother about Alice’s circumstances. Even if it might have made this conversation easier for her, Ethan seemed perfectly happy to respect her desire for privacy until Alice was strong enough to face attacks from the Society of Starry Eyes head-on.

Then, Alice noticed that while the group had been talking, several more [Nobles] had trickled into the tea party. The room was quite nearly full, and the second [Princess] was already seated in her spot near the head of the table again. Even as Alice watched, a few final [Nobles] entered the room, and, based on the number of chairs in the room, Alice realized everyone was here.

Immortal Myra also realized the same thing, and gave Alice a final, friendly nod. “Let’s get to know each other more in the future, dearie. I’d love to learn more about you in the future!”

The final [Nobles] took their seats, and the second [Princess] cleared her throat and gave everyone who had come to the tea party a warm smile.

It was time for the proper tea party to start.

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