Of the four abilities I had acquired this level, this was the only one that made me pause. I glanced at Maddy, breath held. My eyes scrunched before I exhaled and bit my lip.

  “Maddy, what is blight?”

  The [Witch] didn’t look up from her own book, flipping a page and humming to herself. She still had that same, stupid smile. “Blight is bad news for the living, and good news for Night-Things, chérie.”

  “That’s not helpful at all.” I groaned, moving toward her. My hand pushed into her book and forced it down. She looked up at me beneath her black-rimmed glasses.

  “I am sorry, chérie, but do I look like a woman who dabbles in the dark arts? Non. You’d be looking for someone like—how do you say—an [Acolyte]? One that actually makes it and understands what it does?”

  I stared at the next ability, then at her, and released her book. “Fine! Do you have any bones then? Also, what is [Invest]?”

  “Yes, I d—”

  “Not chicken bones,” I quickly interjected.

  “—do,” Maddy finished. She didn’t add anything for a bit as we awkwardly stared at each other. She then coughed and continued. “[Invest] is... how you say... oh! Concentration on an object from your own symphony, là? Magical artifacts, servants—these all need constant maintenance. Do [Farm Girl] not need to [Invest]?”

  “...No,” I responded, staring down at the ground. “Okay, how about the bones then?”

  “What kind of bones, chérie?” she asked, looking down at her black nails. She pursed her lips and blew on them before returning to that smile.

  “...I don’t know. I think any would do? How much are they going to be?”

  “For you, chérie? Free. Bones are usually trash items, but I can [Vendor] them for a few copper pieces—or silver if they’re from something useful... but outside of bonemeal, or an [Acolyte] friend... most don’t buy it.”

  I nodded at that, and Madeleine went downstairs. She returned with a bundle wrapped in parchment paper and let them roll against the table: femurs, rib cages—thankfully, no skulls.

  “Are they...” I began.

  “No humans. Too dangerous, and the Church tends to want to sanctify those bones,” she said. Her head quickly turned to look at the windows, even if we were in the back. Her eyes peered to the familiar corner. “Your boy-toy waiting outside?”

  I growled at her but shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m not his keeper,” I responded, and then looked down at the bones.

  “Shame. He’s very pretty. Getting a bit too ripe for me, but at that perfect time to be plucked.”

  “He’s my age!” I countered, confused. “And you’re older than me!”

  “And that’s why you should settle down with him, chérie. This entire [Acolyte] business is a bit much, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure he wou—”

  “He’s already betrothed, even if I wanted to,” I cut her off, my voice a bit too low for my liking. I could feel the burning lump in my throat as I spoke, which made me cough and swallow, letting rationality return to my head. I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes.

  I then felt cool hands on my back, rubbing along my spine. “There, there, chérie, if you want, I can turn her into a newt...”

  “No—wait, you actually did turn someone into a newt?”

  “He got better,” she teased, then leaned in to give me a hug.

  I pushed her away—or at least tried to. Maddy’s grip was a bit too tight, and honestly, it felt kind of nice. Heat rose in my face, which got doubly worse when I felt her lips kiss my cheek.

  “Maman Madeleine est ici, chérie,” she cooed, making me glare at her. My face must have been completely red; it didn’t make her back off. Instead she laughed and released me.

  I turned to look at the bones, wanting to concentrate on anything else. The bone in front of me was a femur, cracked and chipped. The very tip had been broken off, exposing the marrow underneath. It was dry and languid, and I felt like if I touched it, it would crack into a million pieces. I sighed and used [Identify].

  I glanced at the durability and waved my hand over it. [Bone Mend].

  I heard the Gray Song again as the cicadas chirped their off-color lullaby. The cacophony tightened, and I felt my concentration slip and fade away to the aether. The cracks in the bone filled with green light as the bone-material seemed to spread out. It took what was there and formed a new extension, repairing the bone to maximum durability.

  Madeleine looked at me and whistled. “Chérie! I knew you were an [Acolyte], but seeing real magic is so intéressant. But I thought Arcane couldn’t heal...?”

  “Not healing, Maddy. The material was already there, so it’s multiplicative. Divine would require it to be alive to create new, living material over it. It’s already dead, so... it’s no different than when you eat a conjured [Mana Cake], you know.”

  “...I want to know what those taste like. Can you make me some?”

  “I don’t know how! I’ll let you know when I do,” I muttered, before looking at the bone again.

  My hand wove over it. I said what I willed.

  “[Ossify].” The bone before me began to reshape and recreate itself into something different. I had been using a broken hoe-head for the longest time, mixing it with [Mage Hand] to till my fields. Now?

  The joint of the femur began to jut out, becoming flattened. The shaft smoothed, becoming a bar to grip. It tightened, growing thicker and firmer—while it clearly wasn’t at the level of iron, it wasn’t as brittle-looking as bone would be. I took a grip of it and aimed it up high.

  “Chérie! Do not swing that in my place. If you must, make something else with another bone that won’t destroy my floorboards. How about a stirring stick? I can assure you, my potion cauldron goes through metals like rust slimes...”

  I pouted but accepted that. I quickly used [Inspect].

  That caught my attention.

  [Necromancer].

  I glanced at Madeleine and looked at a smaller piece of bone. “Hey, Maddy, what does a [Witch] become?”

  “It depends on what a [Witch] does. I, myself, am seeking to become a [Gloomfang Sage] eventually...”

  “...A what? Wait... I thought there were only fixed advancements?”

  She laughed, but there was no mirth in her eyes. They were downcast, and her lips returned to a frown. She sighed.

  “Poor [Farm Girl]. Only used to [Commoner] classes, huh? Maybe even an [Expert]? [Hero] classes are much admired by society since they...” Her hands clasped, then expanded outward in a circular motion. “...are all over the place. There are many advancements for a [Hero] class, and sometimes it’s not even linear. For example, do you wonder why everyone calls your boy-toy an [Inquisitor], but he uses [Paladin] abilities?”

  I... frowned. I had never once thought about that. Actually... “Wait, when I inspected Add—Inquisitor Skye—” the slipup made Maddy return to her teasing smile “—he was a [Paladin], not an [Inquisitor].”

  Madeleine nodded. “[Paladin] is a base [Hero] class, like [Witch]. You are still at the level of an [Adventurer], so you aren’t able to branch just yet. I used to be a simple [Herbalist], then became a [Wiccan] as my [Adventurer] before finally earning my [Hero] class, [Witch]. There are many more classes I can ‘become,’ but that would become a [Role], something you aren’t able to see yet. For example, let me do this...” She glanced upward at... something.

  She clicked her tongue, then smiled. “There! Now, chérie, [Inspect] me.”

  I did so.

  I blinked in utter confusion. “What in Flora’s name? How do you have a description like that? Did you write that?”

  She chuckled, then leaned over and patted my head. “Oui, I did. See, your classes belong to what we call [NPC], but you’re making the jump to be somebody! That means when you [Inspect] important people—like... Addy—” I glared at her, and she smiled again, blowing me a kiss.

  “—you get to see their description. Inquisitor Skye is a [Paladin] who is working as an [Inquisitor]. When he’s done with that role, he can absorb it to himself and learn a new [Role], until he decides he wants to advance—possibly an [Archon]. For me, it’s the same. [Black Market Dealer] is the [Role] I have—though the veiled [Role] is [Alchemist]—and when I get enough there, I’ll work toward [Gloomfang Sage]. It has a lot of requirements.”

  “...How do I find these requirements?”

  “You? Like your [NPC] quests and your [Adventurer] quests, it’ll be tailored—but you’ll see the ‘tree’ eventually. And then you’ll have your own message! I believe [Necromancer] is one of the [Hero] classes you’ll get... but I don’t know many [Acolyte]. Usually, it’s a set of three.”

  “[Necromancer]...” I repeated. A smile crept over my face, which Madeleine spotted.

  “Oooh~ going that full way, huh, chérie? Anyways... make Maman Madeleine a stirring rod?”

  I nodded and looked at the small piece of bone. I sighed and heard the cicadas sing.

  [Bone Mend]. The small chips and broken juts fixed themselves under my command.

  [Ossify]. The bone became a rod, suited to stir and mix and plate. For fun, I even engraved it with a floral pattern, since it seemed like something Madeleine would spot.

  And then I wanted to test something. I took the other end, where I’d left a pointed bit, and held it out to Maddy. I knew my blood would guarantee or fill it up, but a [Witch]? Sure, she was a [Hero], so that would mean something different than if I used a [Commoner] like Jasmine or an [Expert] like Melissa.

  “I need an ounce of your blood, Maddy.”

  She rolled her eyes, and I swear I heard her mutter something about “stupid necromancers...” before taking the jutted end and slicing her palm.

  I used [Inspect] on the tool.

  My mouth opened in shock. That much Anima from an ounce of blood? That was insane. Was a [Hero] that much more important than me? Madeleine looked at me, confused. She inspected it too.

  “...Chérie, iron tools are not that impressive. I can buy you a new iron hoe if that’s why you’re amazed...?”

  I looked at Madeleine before shaking my head. “Your blood made its Anima 200%.”

  “My... what? What is Anima, chérie?”

  “...Don’t worry about it. Can you [Invest] it?”

  “No. Can you?”

  “Yes, but I do—”

  She clicked her tongue. “[Invest] it for me. Right, you’re new to this. All you have to do is begin the [Invest] spell.”

  I glanced at the stirring rod and then shrugged. I called upon my newest talents to [Animate Bones]. I heard the symphony of insects around me—from cicadas, but now... locusts, maggots, and other scavenging things. Gooseflesh rose on my skin, but my heart beat steadily, unbothered. There was a coldness to the song, staccato and piecemeal, yet it created a haunting tone.

  With the stirring rod animated, Madeleine stepped in. Her hand reached out to touch the glowing tool, and for a moment I heard frogs croak and dragonflies buzz. I could even smell the lively tones of a swamp—far too humid and dank for me.

  “Ah... I see Anima. I call this wild-force, which lets me use the magical ability inside, chérie. Since this is animated...”

  Her finger moved, and the stirring rod flew with it. She giggled. “Excellent!”

  Her finger guided the rod to the cauldron. “[Adventurer] spell, so probably basic, right?” I nodded, and she shrugged. “Keep stirring the cauldron, mon petit baton.” And the stirring rod did so.

  “Got to keep commands simple with enchanted tools like that. I just have to bleed on it every once in a while to maintain? Magnifique, what a wonderful thing, chérie. I won’t even charge you for the bones.”

  “You weren’t going to charge me anyway!” I shot back, annoyed.

  She laughed again, waving it off. “Oh, by the way, to answer your question about blight... Lord Elias is coming next week. He’d love to have you for dinner, but I told him no. So instead, he’s hosting—would you be interested?”

  “...That a vampire, Maddy?”

  “Why yes, chérie, he is!”

  “Of course I’m interested. But I think I have to maintain my farm first?”

  “Yes, you go do that. But remember, in a week, Lord Elias.”

  “Yes, yes, I heard you, Maman.”

  “It’s Mommy to you,” she countered immediately.

  “The hell it is,” I shouted. Again she laughed, before leaning in and kissing my cheek. This was even more humiliating since she was shorter than me—she was Adrian’s height, for Flora’s sake. I frowned but left.

  “I was going to do that anyway...” I muttered.