Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – Adventurer Arc

Later that day, I open my eyes after sleep for a while and then look around, finding something unfamiliar on my bed.

"Uh? What's this black cover book doing next to me? I don't remember having a book like this."

I sit on the bed and place the book on top of my lap excitedly to check its contents.

Once I open it my fingers start passing the pages, making my expression change to disappointment.

"The book is blank? What's the point of it being empty?"

I put it back next to me as I couldn't find the title or anything written in it or outside of it.

The moment I do, the book suddenly transforms into a blonde girl with blue eyes startling me in the proccess, an exact reflection of myself but the color that gazes at me.

"Who, who are you!?"

"Aurora the girl you saved from the mirror in your past life, didn't I release your memory?"

"Oh... I understand now." I exasperate releasing all the tension from such a surprise.

"It's been 8 years since we last met... it took quite the effort to free myself."

"Why do you look so much like me aside from the blue eyes?"

"Oh, this?" She transforms into a floating grimoire.

"That's amazing! Is it a skill or something?" I shout surprised while clapping twice unable to hold my excitement.

She transforms back to a human being.

"Can't communicate in a grimoire form and this one feels better overall. That was my skill, one called transformation."

"Thank you, you can't chat because you don't have a mouth as a grimoire?"

"I think so yes, but I can see somehow even though I don't have eyes which by itself is odd," she replies with a cold tone despising being a magical book.

"To have one thing but not the other, it's so strange." I laugh innocently unaware of her emotions.

"To think you'd keep your name from the past life Iris," she stares at me expressionlessly.

"True, I was surprised myself, but it feels best like this, also your name is very pretty Aurora, it sounds lightful."

I smile brightly irradiating my happiness towards her.

"Thank you, Iris, I like yours too. It's funny you say that as I have the unique dark element," in her mind she recalled,' and a pretty dark personality.'

"That element? Does that mean, that you were the one who had it back then when I did the test with my parents?"

"Yes, when you activated yours, mine got activated too, and ever since then I've been eating the light from that stupid seal."

She then fixes her hair due to the transformation leaving it in a strange shape while continuing to talk.

"Apparently not only do I get sealed in our past life, but I also received the same treatment in this world by the System, and cursed too."

"Well, the seal is gone I believe, but how about the curse?"

"I was able to uncurse myself. I absorbed it with my dark element and it became a skill."

"A skill? What's it about? What does it do?" I ask excitedly unable to contain my interest.

"I don't really know what it does now."

"I really do wonder what it does..." I repeat to myself in a lower voice entangled in my own curiosity.

"Would you like to see it?" She looks at me expectantly.

"Sure! Please show me!" I replied excitedly, and full of curiosity briming with delight to see what else Aurora can do.

She extends her left arm to the side of the bed and shouts, "mirror!"

"It's the one from back then, I'm surprised it even kept its appearance."

An antique mirror bigger than ourselves about 2 meters tall and 40 cm in width.

"Since it's a skill and has glass maybe it reflects magic?"

I take out my shoe and mana coat it with a bit of mana.

Notice: 50 mana has been deducted.

 

I throw it at the mirror the moment, and the moment it touches it goes inside suddenly disappears.

A moment later, I feel something hitting the back of my head hurting me slightly.

"Ouch! What just happened?"

Notice: 2 health has been deducted.

 

I look behind shocked and find my shoe there, hearing Aurora words next to me.

"Cursed... Mirror..." Aurora says with a cold tone along with an eerie expression looking at it shivering slightly.

I throw my shoe again to understand what happened, this time ducking the moment it hits.

Notice: 50 mana has been deducted.

 

Nothing happens and the shoe falls on the floor.

I try again... Yet nothing. I pick other things and try with various items I find in the room.

"So strange it's not working anymore..."

I look at Aurora but she shrugs her shoulders feeling as clueless about it as I do.

"Have you tried to go inside?"

"I don't want to, I've had my share of it," she said with a cold voice remembering the horrors from being locked there.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Would you like to try it? Though you could get stuck inside, so I don't suggest it."

She stares at me with a nervous, sorrowful expression.

'I'm trying to light her up but she feels a bit of a sad person, though after being stuck inside a mirror for who knows how long I feel like it's normal.'

'Excluding that place, the life she had before possibly was filled with a lot of bad things too. I'll try to support her, and do my best to open her up as my parents did with me.'

I smile innocently at her and add, "sure, it made me curious! Since the curse is gone, I can only expect something interesting to happen!"

I place my hand in the glass and put strength into it.

"It doesn't work Aurora."

The girl upon hearing me out leaves the bed walking next to me slowly and then touches it with the nail putting strength into it while feeling scared.

"Guess it doesn't work with me either," she answers while feeling relieved about it, breathing deeply and calming down.

"Mind if I try something else?" I ask her politely with a kind smile.

"Go ahead, and be at ease, you're like a sister to me now," in her mind she thought,' more than that even.'

'I thought Aurora was upset at me due to her cold tone, I guess that's just how she is normally?'

"Like? Why don't you become my real sister? I mean we even share the same appearance.”

"Iris... do you mean like twins?" She tilts her head taking an interest at the idea.

"Yes! We are very hard to distinguish disregarding the eye color, after all, the one my parents told me I had is green. I can finally see it in the mirror, and yours is blue."

Her cold eyes look at the glass following my gaze, "sure can be," she spoke coldly while reminding herself of someone from the past.

I place my hand on it and try to put mana into the glass but nothing happens.

Notice: 20 mana has been deducted.

 

"Well, I don't know, for now, it looks like a normal mirror, a very durable one."

"True..."

"It's okay, maybe in the future we'll figure something out, we have time!"

'I take a look at my status to see the changes from yesterday.'

Notice: 10 mana has been deducted.

Status:
Level: 1 | Experience 0/100
Fame: 50 | Disgrace: 3270
Class: None
Race: Human | Name: Iris | 8 Years old
Health: 458/460 | Mana: 670/800
Status Points:0
Strength: 133 | Stamina: 46 | Agility: 85 | Dexterity: 107 | Intelligence: 70 | Wisdom: 80
Attack: 0 | Magic Attack:0 | Defense:0 | Magic Defense: 0
Soul: 640
Titles: Reincarnated+(S), Mana(S), Mana Exhaust(S), Health(S), Beginner Reader(S), Purchase(E), Wisdom(F), Reader Series(E), Body Training(B), Animal Slayer(S), Intermediate Reader(S), Cooked Fish(S), Preyed Upon(F), Cheater (S), Heritage(S), Amalgam(S), Ice(S), Cooked Bird(F), Cooking Series (E), Slayer Series(F), Sale(E), Book Reader(F), Advanced Reader(C), Soul-bound(S).
Completed Series: Fishing(S), Farming(S).
Skill Points: 2
Actives: Status level 40(D), System Library level 10(E), Mana Coat level 5(F), Mana Wave level 1(F), Ice Bind level 1(F).
Passives: Bleeding Resistance level 10(F), Swordsmanship level 20(E), Sword Mastery level 10(F), Mana Control level 20(E), Ice Control level 10(F).
Unique: Appraisal level 1.
Cursed: Unidentified Skill.
Rare Element: Ice.
Cursed Soul-bound.

"Unique skill appraisal? Cursed unidentified skill? What are these things?"

"The first one I don't know, but the second one I also received it from the soul-bound that connects us."

"What does it do Aurora!?" I ask her shouting due to my curiosity startling her.

"I don't know you received it just before I left, I believe our soul-bound gave it to you."

"I see..."

I look back at the glass while thinking, 'yet another possibility, at this pace I'm stuck due to lack of knowledge.'

I frown which makes Aurora extend her right hand patting my hair, "don't worry Iris, as you said with the mirror skill, in time we will get to know more."

"Yeah... you're right sister," I stare at her who doesn't disapprove of it blushing while feeling happy inside.

I push the mirror in front of the bed all the way to the opposite wall, so I can use it later to brush my hair and check outfits since it's so big.

Once I'm done the door of my room opens suddenly.

"What's up with all the dragging noise and the shouts Iris? Why are you talking alone as well?"

Rosaline stares dumbfounded at both of us, then quickly finds the right one, me with the green eyes.

"What in the world is this? Why there's a copy of you!?" She shouts loudly surprising both of us.

"Everything is okay mother, she's a friend, and apparently, transform back please."

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Aurora transforms back into a grimoire.

Mother approaches and grabs the book, then she opens it and checks the pages.

"They're empty? An empty book? What's the meaning of this Iris?" She stares at me feeling confused about it.

"Yes, it's a level 1 grimoire I guess she needs to level up some more till it can learn some skills."

Mother lets go of it, and it floats back to bed gaining some distance and transforming back into human form, which starts complaining.

"It's truly annoying how I can't speak in that form," she said in a cold tone despising the book once more, then adds a bit more information to the conversation.

"I've been reincarnated as a grimoire," she pulls the hair behind the shoulders, adjusting her looks.

"Reincarnated? A grimoire? Humans going through the cycle of life and death is something normal, but keeping memories is not. What does this mean? Just who are you?" Rosaline questions while pointing towards her.

"My name is Aurora, I too have a soul, and I'm a magical book of sorts. I believe the goddess of this world made me like this, or to be more specific the system did."

"So..." I interrupt the argument and then add with a kind smile trying to bring some peace between the three.

"Mother I present to you my twin sister Aurora, the blue-eyed me."

Rosaline takes some steps towards the bed sitting on it and then remembers something.

'When Iris was younger and she did the element test was it perhaps the influence of this being?'

She stares at Aurora and questions her without hesitation.

"Were you... the one with the dark magic? A book with such an ominous power?"

"Yes Rosaline, I possess the unique dark element," she replies in a cold tone despising being referred to as an item.

'Quite the tone this thing has!'

Rosaline grabs both hands tightly, changing her expression to a fierce threatening one and speaks seriously.

"What insurance can you give me that you're not harmful so that I don't kill you right here, right now?"

"I can't lay a finger on Iris, we're soul-bonded, if she dies, I die, if I die she dies."

"I vouch for that much mother! Aurora's telling the truth, I can see the soul-bound in my status! She's also not an enemy!"

"How do I break the contract?" Mother's expression changes into a worried one, concerned by such a side effect.

"It's cursed you can't, it's something that we have from before this life."

"From a past life? Does that mean you have the memories from before?" Rosaline asks feeling half confused and half curious.

"Yes, I've met Aurora in a different life, I even saved her, though I've never confessed the truth to either of you."

"Why Iris? Do you not trust me and your father?"

"I do... I just didn't wish to ruin the happiness you two felt as you were watching me grow up..."

With a relieved heart feeling that it was for a good cause Rosaline smiles kindly towards me, giving the three of us some space to calm down.

'So my daughter saved her. It would be nice if Aurora had some gratitude towards Iris.'

Changing the focus of her gaze from me to Aurora, Rosaline starts with a question.

"I understand the story more or less. Tell me girl what is your goal?"

"To research magic and be proficient at it, also to repay Iris in any way I can for saving me."

Upon that answer, Rosaline sighs and starts thinking deeply about everything that transpired in this room.

'She doesn't seem like a bad person, and I can't find a way to split them if their souls are bounded...'

'I'll have to research about this after work and talk with Luke, for now, I'll temporarily accept her.'

'After all, it's best if she's on our side and keeps Iris safe since her life also depends on it.'

'That is... if what she said is true. This girl could be hiding something else, I'll have to keep an eye on both.'

"If you wish to be part of the family, and my daughter, you must promise me you'll always protect Iris, Aurora."

"I promise," she smiles kindly without a hint of hesitation.

'That smile is pretty convincing, is her personality just a bit twisted?' Rosaline thought to herself feeling unsure.

'I'll make sure to discuss this with Luke, and try to reach some sort of solution with him. If we fail... we'll have to accept this situation and adapt to it the best possible.'

Grasping this moment of silence I take a few steps forward, pulling them closer to me hugging both feeling tired of the discussion.

"We're family now, please understand mother Aurora's not a bad girl."

I voice out in a low tone towards both ears that are close to me.

"Aurora you got to be nice to mom and dad too, otherwise I won't like you."

"I understand," she said expressionlessly without resenting the situation, taking it in as natural as possible.

Mother pats us both understanding that this argument isn't going anywhere.

"Alright girls let's go take the breakfast and speak some more about this, speaking of which, can you even eat Aurora?"

"I don't need to eat or sleep or go to the bathroom, I'm ultimately... a book."

"Weren't you sleeping earlier?" I ask confused remembering how she was in a grimoire form not moving.

"Sort of, I can shut down a bit but it's something different than sleeping, it's more like resting I suppose."

"I see..."

Mom got up and said," well keep us company at the very least."

'This way I can learn more about this Aurora person, and study her personality and get to see if she really is good or not.'

"Alright."

"Let's go!"

As we are eating breakfast mother questions me.

"So, what do you remember from your past life?"

"Not too much, and from what I remember it wasn't a happy life."

I look at Aurora and pat her hair," I believe the same can be said for you."

"Yes..." She replied with a sad look.

"Well, you both have received a new chance to live happily, I can tell that Iris has been, so Aurora you can grab that chance too," mom replied with a smile.

'Hopefully, she gets influenced by Iris who's usually cheerful and happy.'

"Perhaps, I may be able to, who knows."

"One day at a time, that's how I started Aurora," I add a kind smile at the end.

"I know sister, I copied your memories."

"You can copy memories?" Mother asks surprised, making some of the crumbs fly to the table.

"Ah, not anymore I was able to when I was sealed inside Iris soul."

"That means you already have the same knowledge she does, reading, writing, basic math, etiquette, and so on?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"How about swordsmanship?" I questioned her curiously.

"I have, but I don't have the skill or the feel for it, I copied your skills but I'm ultimately a book..."

"Hey, that wouldn't be fair! I worked hard for them, " I shout at her in a joking tone.

We laugh together, except Aurora who looks sad.

"If that's the case did you manage to copy some of them at least?"

"Yes, the ones related to magic, since I'm a magical book a grimoire."

"Sounds like we're on equal foot in that aspect, which is great so you don't have to spend the time I did learning them."

"That's right."

"By the way mother I'm stuck with my system library skill for a while now I haven't received any new books."

"Did you finish all the ones you had to read?"

"Yes! System library."

Notice: 10 mana has been deducted.

System Library:
World of Artana I, II
Fishing I, II
Baking I, II
Cooking I, II
Farming I, II
Lumberjack I, II
Hunting I, II
Maid I, II
Butler I, II
Miner I, II

"World of Artana, fishing, baking," Aurora starts reading from my screen uninterested in them.

"You can read my screen sister!?" I shout startled thinking that no one could.

"Yes, probably due to the soul-bound."

She presses her finger in the world of Artana, but the finger goes through the screen.

"Seems like you can't touch it, how about thinking mentally about wanting to read one of them?"

"Hum... nothing happens, it doesn't work."

"It's already good you can read them with me at least, I'll let you read them at some point so you get the same knowledge that I possess."

"I copied your memories, Iris..."

"Oh right... Perhaps the future books then if I get any new one."

"Have you tried physical books, since it's a system? It can probably copy a book into it as I do with my transformation skill?"

"I didn't think of that," I leave the table and run to my room where I have my old birthday gift.

Once I grab the book from inside the box I use the skill system library on it.

Notice: 300 mana has been deducted.

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