Chapter 2: Chapter 2 – Kitchen carnage

And thus, the classes were bestowed:

[Worker] classes to work,

[Fighter] classes to fight,

[Ruler] classes to rule.

Everyone found their natural place,

and the world was in order.

-Excerpt from the [Holy Book of Order].

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Fayette’s mind was abuzz with the implications of the system message she had just received.

What? You can gain levels like this? And there’s so much progress too!

She leaned against the wall, head roiling with dizziness as she looked at the blood which had sprayed all over the room. Does this really count as fulfilling the duties of a [Maid]?

Before she could gather her thoughts further, Fayette realised that she was hearing a lot of disturbing sounds from outside the broken window. She bent to peek through and gulped once she saw the outside of the manor.

That was a lot of kobolds.

A horde of the creatures were currently busy rushing the main entranceway of the manor, while the manor’s automated enchantment defences hurled fireballs at them. The manor was not defenceless even if one got through the monster ward. Still, monsters shouldn’t be getting this far in the first place. What happened to the barrier?

Fayette turned her gaze towards the approximate location where the barrier should have been and yelped as she saw the destruction there. A huge pool of blood spread out in a curved arc. Did they overpower the ward through sheer numbers? These creatures are crazy! Why are there so many of them?

They seemed intent on the main entrance, so Fayette’s out-of-the-way window went unnoticed. That first kobold must have strayed from the pack quite a bit to crash through here in the first place. Having confirmed that none of them seemed to be straying her way, Fayette sat down under the window and took some deep breaths to calm herself. She had seen that the kobold horde was attacking from the northwest side of the manor, so at least the town should be safe.

That left the more pressing manner. Alright, how do I get out alive from this?

How fast had the attack happened? Did the [Guards] have time to arm up and gather? Was there organised resistance in the manor? Fayette had many questions, but few answers. She smacked herself on the cheeks to help focus—right now she could only count on herself.

Fayette looked at the smeared remains of the kobold she had killed. She still had a hard time believing it—she had managed to kill a monster, using her meagre [Maid] skills no less? It was common knowledge that whenever [Worker] class people came under attack, they had little hope but to assemble into a spear militia, trying to outweigh the disadvantage in combat skills with sheer numbers.

That was not what Fayette had just done. I beat a monster one-on-one and gained the advantage thanks to my very much so non-combat skills.

Then there was the even more pressing matter. And I gained so much experience from it! Comparatively, normal cleaning work is worthless!

It was not however the experience gain that was giving Fayette a feeling of rapture. She stared in a daze at the mess the kobold had made in the room, then looked at the silent, dripping blood and the gleaming monster core in the middle of the pool. That monster would never rise up again. Whenever I clean something up, it’s going to become a mess again eventually. But that kobold, it’s completely gone now. It will never rise up, it will never cause any more death and destruction ever again.

Fayette felt a newfound feeling of satisfaction. Never before had she cleaned something so perfectly, so thoroughly! For a moment, she just stared at the bloody remains and enjoyed this new sort of satisfaction she was feeling, until an especially loud explosion from outside shook her out of her reverie.

Oh. Right. I’m in a bit of a situation here.

She shakily rose to her feet, then peeked out the window again to make sure none of the creatures had decided to come this way. Many were being blasted apart by the fireballs, but many more had already managed to make it to the manor and were climbing in through broken windows and busted-open doors.

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Fayette considered making a run for it through the window, but she found the idea risky. She would have a hard time escaping from the creatures if she was spotted running across the open plain. Staying cooped up here seemed an equally bad idea. She did not want to get backed up into a corner if she was found.

I think I’ll have to make a run for the emergency escape tunnel, even though it’s much deeper in the mansion. If I have to fight, I’d much rather it be in narrow, open corridors than out in the open or trapped here. That’s also where the others would probably be headed.

Still, looking over her equipment did not fill Fayette with confidence. Her current armaments: a broom and a feather duster. Hardly what she wished to take along for a fight of this scale. Though, I did kill that one kobold with just my broom... What else could I do if I really tried to make the most of my [Maid] abilities?

Fayette had some ideas, especially due to her [Basic Alchemy (Cleaning Agents)] skill—she could whip up some nasty solutions if given the chance. The issue was that she would need materials for that, and those were in her cleaning cupboard, which quite a bit further inside the mansion. Though, I guess I’ll pass through there anyway if I’m going for the tunnel.

Fayette felt oddly thrilled at the prospect of rushing off to battle. That first kill had given her a taste of fast leveling, and she found herself wanting more. Her combat options were however a bit limited. I’ve kept this mansion too clean for [Sweep Dust] to be useful in most places. Curse my competence!

She checked over her broom to make sure it was still sturdy and was glad to find it so. It should serve to crack a few more skulls before the day was done. The gleaming monster core called to her, so she quickly picked it up and stuffed it into a pocket. Fayette had a fondness for shiny things—unattended gleaming pieces of rock were irresistible to her.

Judging herself ready, Fayette silently tip-toed to the door, and cracked it open just a sliver. The hallway seemed empty, but the broken windows revealed that this was not due to a lack of nearby kobolds. She used [Eavesdrop] and strained the ability to the limits of its range. The cooldown would be a bit longer, but she judged it worth it. It sounded like a lot of kobolds were moving and fighting near the main entrance hall, but the kitchen to the side seemed quiet.

I don’t think I can make it through that many of the bastards, guess I’ll have to cut through the kitchen.

Keeping her footsteps silent, Fayette crept forward to the kitchen door and peaked inside. She found out quickly why she could not hear any sounds of battle from here: the fight was already over.

The kitchen was a mess. The dishes on the central table had been thrown all over and the floor was chock full of broken ceramics. Of the soup pots on the stove, only one remained upright with the food still boiling within. One of the [Cooks] lay motionless in a bloody heap against the far wall of the room. A kobold was sitting atop the mangled body, silently chewing on a ripped-off arm.

Fayette’s resolve fluttered for a moment, but she activated [Maid’s Poise] and felt her emotions stabilise.

Trying her best to channel the disgust she was feeling into anger, Fayette stepped softly into the room and began creeping around the central table. The Kobold was too occupied with its meal to notice her immediately, so she managed to get approach it from behind and ready her broom for a decisive blow,

Just as she was about to reach the kobold, a floorboard creaked under her foot, and the rest happened in a flash. The monster twitched and swept its tail out, and Fayette’s broom was sent clattering onto the floor.

Acting on instinct, the [Maid] grabbed a knife from the kitchen top and pounced on the kobold’s back, over the lashing tail. She grabbed onto the back of its head and thrust the knife deep into the creature’s exposed neck, causing it to roar out with anger and pain.

Sharp claws tried to flash back at Fayette, but they were in an awkward position and only managed to graze her forearms. That did not stop her from twisting and thrusting the knife deeper in. The lashing tail sent cutlery clattering down from the nearby tables, and Fayette managed to catch a fork into her free hand. A fork which she then slammed into the other side of the kobold’s neck with her free hand.

She moved her foot on top of the monster’s tail to keep it from thrashing about, which pinned it in place while she tore at it with the cutlery. The monster twisted and raged as it tried to get its hands on her, but Fayette managed to keep the shorter creature under control. It did not last long.

With a last decisive thrust using both hands, Fayette thrust her cutlery deeper, and the kobold collapsed in a bloody splatter.

Fayette lost her footing and fell to the floor right in the middle of all the blood. For a few seconds she just laid there drenched in red, panting from the exertion and just barely aware of the system messages which appeared in front of her.

[Another piece of trash cleared, keep up the good work!]

[Level up: You have reached level 8!]

[1 Skill point gained!]

[You have gained a new skill: Cutlery Control!]

[Progress towards next level: 0%]