Life’s Greatest Gamble

There was only a finite number of different books whose contents a grimoire could display. Depending on the personality, species and past experiences of the person setting its effects into motion, one of these would be selected, to more easily get them engrossed in reading and facilitate a smooth procedure.

If there was one area where the variety of potential books was more than a little lacking, then it was 'monsters', or rather, any publications discussing monsters' peculiar inborn Magics. Therefore, it was no surprise that Ray, just like Averin, had her grimoire assume the content of 'Modern Magical Theory - On Monsters'. There probably were a handful of other tomes about this topic, but simple probability had resulted in both of Isaac's Xenos subordinates getting to read the same book.

After Ray had gotten her hands - or rather, her wings - on her grimoire, she had asked her fellow leaders, Lyd and Gros, to watch over her while she would read it, as well as to not make a big deal out of the whole ordeal. The two had agreed and stood guard a few meters away, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible - however, that had only served to make them appear like suspicious henchmen protecting a VIP. They had successfully kept most of the other Xenos away, though, aside from Fear, who had been curiously glancing at Ray over their shoulders.

Right after the Siren opened the book, which she had placed on a raised stone platform, she realized that it would be extremely difficult to turn the pages - not only for her, but for most of the Xenos. With an awkward blush on her cheeks, she read the first page, then she leaned forward as well as downwards and managed to flip to the second page using only her lips. She didn't get to mentally dwell on this embarrassing and clumsy display for long, though, because the very next paragraph succeeded in fully triggering the grimoire's effect.

So she asked herself: What was magic to her?

"A path to freedom, as well as a catalyst for romance to bloom. It's one of the origins of miracles."

Looking right back at her from within a vast mirror, there was another her, one that was entirely made up of letters. It smiled at her somewhat dotingly, then it mouthed another question.

'Why do you yearn for all of these?'

Accompanying its words which sounded straight in Ray's mind, the surface of the mirror rippled a little, as if a small stone had just been dropped into a serene lake. Following these undulations, what it displayed for her to see had changed completely.

In the midst of a massive forest of towering trees that were at least several hundred meters tall, there lived a race of people that looked almost the same as the Elves of the present. Their ears weren't as long, and their beauty not as otherworldly, but their way of life was pretty much identical.

They lived in harmony with nature, and it wasn't rare for some of them to survive until their ages had to be expressed in four digit numbers. Up until their late teens, they would age like regular humans, upon which their aging process almost entirely grinded to a halt. Sometimes, the inhabitants of these woods would be blessed with many years of peace, but at other times, they were forced to violently contend with hordes of monsters, or with other races that wanted to intrude upon their homeland.

For thousands upon thousands of years, they successfully repelled any and all invaders, and developed an efficient system of education, as well as a top-notch military force. Although this race had never yearned for these achievements, the hardships that they had to face every so often had forced them to adjust their way of life.

From a young age, their children would be taught by their elders, and all who seemed particularly talented in the martial ways, or any who fervently wanted to protect their homeland, would be separated from their peers and more thoroughly trained, to become supremely qualified soldiers and elites. Any one of these could easily handle an entire squad of the other races' forces, but due to the long-eared race's relatively smaller population and slight fertility issues, there was only ever barely enough manpower to keep up the balancing act.

One year, a pair of fourteen to fifteen year old youths got admitted to the military facilities, a boy and a girl. They had been childhood friends, and had always had each other's back. Many of their acquaintances even treated them as an 'item' already, because even the simple thought of living without the other had never crossed the two's minds.

In the following years, each of them grew a lot stronger and more proficient at their respective roles. But what had also changed was the nature of their relationship. While they had never partaken in any lewdness, they had nonetheless already promised each other to marry, and to always stay together. They would have to do their duty and perform their military service first, before they could happily retire, but for a long-lived race like theirs, what was a hundred years but a short wait?

When the girl turned 19 years old, the decennial selection of the long-eared race's most elite military force, the Gryphon Riders, was underway, and it was detected that she was uncommonly talented at interacting with the beasts. This opened up a whole new career path for her, one that countless of her peers envied her for. She would become one of the heroes of her people, easily overshadowing all of their life-long efforts!

Her beloved was overjoyed for her, but both of them were a little saddened at the realization that she would have to endure even harsher training from now on, all alone. She was transferred to the Gryphon Riders' headquarters, and was instructed in their ways there. Every few months, she got to exchange letters with her loved ones, which made the excruciatingly tough days a bit more bearable.

Then, after ten years, she had finally risen to become an official Gryphon Rider, the pride of the long-eared race. Because there was currently no war ongoing, she didn't have to immediately rush to one of the forest's borders to reinforce the troops, and was granted a few weeks of leave, which she had been looking forward to all this time. She couldn't wait to see her beloved again! From the letters that they had exchanged with each other over these years, she knew where he was currently stationed, and with her newly obtained authority, getting to spend some time with him was no issue. In an effort to surprise him, she didn't notify him beforehand, and made her way to the barracks that he lived in, straight to his residence.

What greeted her after a few knocks, however, was the face of an unfamiliar woman, who had clearly had a 'good time' just moments prior. Her beloved's voice could be heard from the bedroom, inquiring about who the one who had interrupted their fun was.

Before the surprised woman could even notify the man of the arrival of a prestigious figure with the emblem of a Gryphon Rider on her shoulder, the young woman in question had already bolted away. Her face had paled and tears were streaming down her cheeks, as the reality of the situation settled in.

Many things that she had wondered about these last few, most recent years, finally made sense to her. She had continuously swept these slight nagging feelings of discomfort at the back of her mind under the rug, not even entertaining the possibility that her beloved could betray her like this, but in retrospect, she felt really stupid. The signs had already been there for so long! They could have had the opportunity to meet a few times during the past five years, but the one who she had thought would become her husband in the future had continuously recommended to postpone their meeting, to avoid 'distracting her from her training'.

Wallowing in grief, the now 29 year 'old' young woman spent all of her leave in her own home, slowly coming to terms with everything. Her life had changed completely and abruptly, and it took her a while to find any meaning in it again. Ultimately, she chose to devote herself fully to the defense of her homeland.

Over the following years, she never interacted with her ex-beloved again, but couldn't help but occasionally keep tabs on him. She told herself that she only did this to ensure that he was safe, and to get some peace of mind, but deep inside, she knew that she simply couldn't forget him, despite the betrayal.

She slowly became a more prominent figure in the military, achieving the rank of battalion commander of the Gryphon Riders at age 112. All of these years, she had devoted herself to her duty, and had refused any and all attempts of courtship from her many admirers. For one, she couldn't forget about her first love, and even aside from that, she didn't think that she would ever be capable of growing to trust someone again, at least in a romantic way. War was very different from the battlefield of love, after all.

It was that year, during her regular bout of nostalgia, that she realized that her first love… had died. A few months ago, during the invasion of one of the many raiding parties that a neighbouring kingdom had sent into the forest, he had been on patrol, and not a single member of his squad had survived. The woman that he had grown close to in her ten years of absence had been a part of that group as well.

Emptiness assaulted her heart, and familiar tears streaked down her cheeks again. In her sadness, she took a prolonged leave, and only half a year later did her emotions settle down again.

She had always been a very devoted person, and her love pure. From the moment that she had made that promise to her first love, her heart's path had been set in stone. There would never be space for another man in her life. She would have even endured it if her husband-to-be had taken a second wife, or a concubine, as long as he had been honest about it from the start. After all, she had been way too madly in love with him to ever want to dull his happiness - in other words, she would have been easily exploited and taken advantage of. What 'saved' her from such a fate, what had truly hurt her to her very core… was that he had kept such a relationship from her, that he had lied to her for all of those years in their letters. Such a betrayal, she simply couldn't forgive. And yet, her heart ached at his passing, as the space that had always been occupied by his shadow now was left with a gaping hole.

Never again in her life did she ever entertain thoughts of romance. She spent all her years in the military, and later on turned into the chief instructor for the younger generations. After dying from natural causes at the age of 1,293, her funeral wasn't a lonely one, because countless people had benefited from her teachings and had grown to deeply respect her.

Nobody knew, however, that during her last moments, she had lamented that she had never allowed herself another chance for romance. All these years, although she had been surrounded by many people, in actuality, she had always been alone, without a confidant that she had truly trusted, or someone that she had loved from the depths of her numb heart.

With a somewhat reminiscent look on her face, the cloudy-eyed Ray sighed.

"This time, I want to be free and unfettered, and I want to find love."

An old woman's figure nodded at her gently from within the mirror, before dissipating. Then, the figure of a young long-eared woman appeared, its eyes reddened from tears. Between gritted teeth, it mockingly spat out a few words.

'Won't you just get betrayed again?'

These poisonous words didn't affect the Siren at all, however. She simply showed a resolute smile.

"Who knows? It's possible. But how would I know without trying?"

Clicking its tongue, the teary-eyed self shook its head dismissively.

'But what if it happens again? Won't you just turn into me again, and retrace all of these steps?'

As if she had expected these exact questions, Ray shook her head. She didn't even need to think to know which words to respond with.

"If I don't even try and stagnate due to my fear of getting hurt, then I'll also be you. So I'd rather take the plunge and see where it leads me."

Taken aback, the teary-eyed self widened its eyes a little. A few moments of silence later, it smiled mockingly at itself and shot the Xenos one last complicated look, before fading away just like that. All that was left now was Ray's reflection, which was staring back at her with an indecipherable look on its face.

'Love is a matter of the heart, one that magic should not directly interfere with. How, then, can magic help you to fulfill your wish?'

Due to the complicated nature of the inquiry, it took the barely conscious Siren a few minutes to figure out a satisfactory answer.

"What I need is time. If I live long enough, then I will eventually stumble across what I'm looking for. Before then, I can't allow the dangers of this world to lay their eyes upon me."

Craving for a longer lifespan would be all well and good if she resided in a safe environment - but the dungeon, and even the entire Lower World, was anything but. What use was there in being capable of living for thousands of years, if one slight misstep could spell her end at any moment? Therefore, she wanted to evade the gazes of those that would wish to do her harm. If they couldn't see her, if they didn't know about her, then they wouldn't raise their malevolent knives against her, and she would live longer as a result.

'That is certainly one way to go about it. Not too bad, me.'

Eyes glimmering in understanding, the mirror self accepted her decision and bade its farewell. Moments later, the all-encompassing darkness around her slowly engulfed the Siren.

When Ray next opened her eyes, her mind was dazed by confusion. Where was she? What had happened? Why was she lying down? When had she even fallen asleep?

She found herself resting on a familiar feathery lap, and upon moving her head a little, she saw the worried Fear staring down at her, looking her straight into the eyes.

"Ray! You're finally awake. Everything alright?"

Although the Harpy was usually cheery, her brows were furrowed a little right now. Apparently, Ray being in an unresponsive state for a few hours hadn't been that great of an experience.

Smiling slightly, Ray took a few seconds to recall what she had been doing before she had lost consciousness, then understanding flashed in her eyes.

'Ah, I see. So this is the grimoire's doing.'

With a glance to the side, she discovered a closed book nearby, which convinced her of her hypothesis. Before dealing with anything else, however, she first had to pacify this 'little sister' of hers.

"I'm fine, Fear. Thanks for taking care of me."

Not entirely reassured, the young Harpy tilted her head and looked at her inquisitively.

"Are you sure?"

Smirking amusedly, Ray sat up and playfully nudged Fear with her wings, tickling her in the process.

"I am! Really, I'm good now."

After spending some more time with her close friend, Ray finally managed to extricate herself and get some privacy. With a relieved sigh, she glanced at the grimoire that she had brought with her.

'I should have obtained a Magic now, right? Then… what's next?'

As if her thoughts had been a trigger, a drop of golden Ichor appeared in front of her eyes out of nowhere. It somehow didn't give off any Divine Energy whatsoever, so it didn't attract the dungeon's attention. Ignoring the surprise written all over the Siren's face, the drop of deity blood made its way to her back and started to update her Falna.

Because that sensation was still quite unfamiliar to Ray, she shivered and her breathing accelerated. Aside from that, however, she managed to keep a cool head and didn't embarrass herself. It didn't take long for the procedure to come to an end, and for her to feel the emergence of something 'new' within her.

The next moment, a sheet of paper sporting Isaac's handwriting materialized in front of her, then it steadily floated over to the closed grimoire and settled down on top of it. Successfully intrigued by this display, the Siren inspected the sheet's content.

[ Shroud of Hel: (Passive) It will be 50% more difficult for other beings to notice the user. The sounds of the user's movements will be softer, the user's body will give off less odor, and they will more easily blend into a crowd.

(Active) The passive effects will be reinforced. It will be 95% more difficult for other beings to detect the user. Even the user's life force will be veiled to a degree. While in this state, every five seconds, a certain amount of mana will be consumed. Will require 50% less focus if activated via the chant.

Chant: "Renounce me, life. Engulf me, death. Oh veil that separates the realms, please shelter me!" ]

Taken aback by the nature of her new Magic, Ray blinked blankly. Why would she obtain something death-related? Only after reading through the description for a second time did she finally understand. This Magic was, essentially, a stealth enhancement, and nothing more. If that was the case, it wasn't too unusual for her to get something like it. She usually attacked her opponents from out of sight anyway, and this would only further reinforce that combat style.

'Wait, why does this name seem so familiar? Haven't I met a Hel recently? Yeah… there was a sickly girl with that name in milord's world that one time. Don't tell me that's her?!'

She hadn't really expected that the girl introduced to her offhandedly a bit more than two and a half days ago would turn out to be… another deity! And even more unbelievable than that was that she had now been gifted with a Magic that bore Hel's name.

'I should probably talk to her about this when I get the chance. Maybe she'll even be able to give me some tips, or to tell me what to look out for.'

Accepting this revelation remarkably quickly, the Siren stood up straight and decided to give her new Magic a spin. It was now a part of her, after all, so it was only natural for her to attempt to get accustomed to it.

"Renounce me, life. Engulf me, death. Oh veil that separates the realms, please shelter me!"

Out of nowhere, an immaterial mist enveloped her entire body. Strangely enough, it didn't actually seem to do anything, or to even exist. She couldn't feel it on her skin at all. If there was one difference from before that stood out to her, though, then it was that there was a very slight grey hue draped over everything that she was seeing.

When she tested the Magic's performance by silently walking around the Xenos' hidden village for a while, she realized that nobody seemed to pay any attention to her, even when she stood right behind them. Waving her hand in front of their eyes also didn't result in any reaction at all. It felt like she was a ghost that was separated from everyone else, as if she was on another plane of existence entirely, one that the others couldn't interact with - and yet, she could still partake in the events on their plane easily.

With a giggle, she hugged Fear out of nowhere, scaring the Harpy half to death, before the Siren dispelled her Magic and explained the situation to her. Ray had kept the Shroud of Hel active for more than ten minutes, and yet her vast mana reserves hadn't been reduced by much.

-----

In the empty living room of Isaac's subordinates' base, a sudden exclamation interrupted the tranquil silence.

"Eh?"

Hel, who had been reclining on the sofa and casually relaxing, suddenly shot to her feet. The shroud that she kept constantly wrapped around her body, her trusty Arcanum, had just sent her a rare but familiar feedback - one that involved the laws of this world.

'Someone has just obtained a Magic or a Skill related to my Shroud of Hel?'

After overcoming the surprise, she settled down again, before falling into deep thought. This could be both a positive and a negative development. She just really hoped that no enemy had gotten their hands on this almost broken ability, because even though it would surely be less powerful than her Arcanum, it would still be one of the most threatening stealth enhancements out there.

From what Isaac had told her, she knew that there had been two people amongst the members of the Blades that they had encountered so far who had mastered stealth-related Skills, but both of these people had only been capable of misleading those with weaker senses. In other words, at most Level 4 adventurers. An ability derived from her own, however, would be far more potent than that right out of the gate, and even a Level 6 or 7 adventurer's senses might not be sensitive enough to unveil its user.

'I should warn Isaac about this.'

Furrowing her brows, the perpetually pale goddess stood up again and was just about to make her way towards Ais' and Isaac's room… when a sheet of paper appeared on the table in front of her, attracting her attention.

'Ray is the one who obtained your 'Shroud of Hel' via her grimoire, so all is well. Thanks for worrying, though.'

Smirking at the ink that had yet to dry, Hel giggled to herself and plopped down on the sofa for the second time in less than a minute. In her head, she was already considering which lessons she should impart to the friendly Siren. Not for a moment did she hesitate - after all, she had boarded this train a long time ago, and she had no plans of disembarking.