Going to my first Ancient Resonance
"M-master! Wait for me!"
The next morning, I went out of the palace. I sneaked out, found a way thanks to Aubrey, my personal maid. She had heard it from the other maids, who probably learned it from my siblings.
I stopped to wait for her. We were in the forest that was behind the palace.
She got assigned to me a couple of weeks before that day, around the time she came to the palace. She was a cute Dark Elf maid.
She had chocolate skin color, her hair was purple, straight, and long, and her eyes were blue. She was about my same height.
Cute was saying little. She was already 18 and had a nice figure, especially her hips and thighs. The maid's uniform hugged her curves, and the cleavage was right about generous.
I will not call myself innocent, but because of her personality and her figure is that she was usually the target of lecherous looks from my siblings and other members of the family. There was little I could do to protect her... so she was sleeping in my chambers, and I always tried to keep tabs on her.
And we all know that the servants cannot deny us. As if my family couldn't do anything else to make me hate it more, that was it.
"I told you to wear sandals or shoes. Heels are not good for what we are doing."
"S-sorry, my master!" She answered while recovering herself. She was wearing high heels in the forest, and I could tell from the beginning she was not used to them. "B-but you know there is a d-dressing code for us maids."
Yeah, the one set by father and "fixed" by one of my A+ siblings.
"Okay... it doesn't matter."
I turned around and continued the stroll through the forest.
"M-master... you didn't tell me exactly where we are going..." She asked while trying to keep pace with me. "If we continue this way, we will find a-"
"An Ancient Resonance. I know, that is where we are going."
"E-Eeeeeh?!" She was surprised. "M-master! Y-you cannot go in! Is illegal for minors to enter and I am not allowed to take part on incursions!"
"That law doesn't say I cannot enter. It says I cannot be forced to enter and my loot stolen from me by my parents."
"S-still, I cannot ent-"
I placed a finger on her lips, and she looked at it with her eyes wide in surprise.
"Then I guess this will be our little secret," I said with a smile on my face. "And I am not allowed to exit the palace anyway, and yet here we are."
I removed my finger.
"Hmmmph... you are always doing this to me, master..." She said, looking to the side and grabbing her skirt. Her pointy ears twitched.
"Good girl..." I answered when she complied. I did not want to get her into trouble, but if I am still an F rank, it will be dangerous for me alone.
I turned and started to walk again.
"We are just going to explore the first level and see what we can get... we are returning when it either becomes too dangerous or too-"
"D-don't call me good girl just like that!"
She yelled at me with her eyes closed.
When she realized what she had just done, she apologized for yelling at me. I apologized for teasing her like that.
[Up ahead: Abandoned Factory Ancient Resonance
Rank F
Levels: 3
Status: Boss active/not defeated]
After a few minutes walking, the system woke up for both of us, alerting us to the presence of the AR. And when I raised my sight and looked further into a clearing... There it was.
ARs from a distance appeared like a light distortion that moves the image like it were water. Once you are nearby enough, it is hard to miss. F rank ARs had little effect on their environment, the majority being just the distorted area that was the entrance. The higher ranks are more dangerous to approach, and often affect the flora and fauna.
"There it is," I said.
"Are you sure about this, master... You might get in trouble..."
"Is not like my reputation with the old man could get any worse."
"I meant about your mother, Lady Adiva."
I went there that day because she was traveling. If she discovered what I was doing, she would give me a mouthful. She was returning in the next couple of days, so I had to act quickly.
"Thanks for your concern, Audrey. But I can handle Mom myself." And avoid any shrapnel go into my maid's way. "Show me your status screen."
She hesitated for a second, but did as asked for.
[Name: Audrey
Class: Magic Medic (D)
HP: 450 MP: 500
STR: 185
DEX: 190
CON: 170
INT: 200
WIS: 210
CHR: 180]
Not surprisingly, her stats were higher than mine. Just 1 rank above me, and she already had double what I had. Her class used magic to heal HP. It is a rare class, so it is impressive that she was reduced to a simple maid even when she was useful in almost any combat scenario.
Meanwhile, me...
[Name: Anastasia Jerlaine
Class: Vanguard Mage (F) Lv1
[HP: 300 MP: 250
STR: 95
DEX: 90
CON: 100
INT: 100
WIS: 95
CHR: 80]
My class was meant to use magic in direct close-quarters combat. I have a few buff and protective spells to keep myself from taking too much damage. In essence, I was a tank that used spells for defense.
"We should be okay, this AR is just a rank F."
Then I looked at her in the eyes... and she seemed about to star crying.
And before I could ask her what was happening-
"I'm sorry my master!" She bowed forward and stratched her arms over her head, offering them to me. "I am out of line for having a higher Rank than you! You can punish me any way you deem necessary! I deserve it for being a bad gi- maid!"
"I have not said anything about it!"
That is what I meant about her personality... She was constantly anxious, in the verge of crying or ready to become the victim of someone.
And did she almost call herself a bad girl?!
I still cannot be mad at her... I am mostly just amused.
B-but master... can I ask... why does yours say Level 1?"
I smiled at her as she noticed the difference in our systems.
"Let's go in. You will see soon enough."
I was managing to keep myself controlled as we walked, but I was anxious. I had no idea what was ahead, how they worked exactly. All I knew is that they were like a video game dungeon.
As we approached, I could hear static, like a radio on an empty signal. It became louder as we got closer tot he distorted light.
And in the blink of an eye... we everything around us was different.
[You have entered Abandoned Factory Rank F
You can hear gears and valves shifting and moving in the distance
Something is watching you]
We were surrounded by a series of ancient machines that seemed to have rusted away generations ago. I could not put a finger on what they were... but I could take a guess and say they were machinery from an old factory that went out of business. The walls of the chamber we were in seemed to have met a similar destiny, and the marbled floor was cracked with puddles of chemicals and other liquids pooling around. The ceiling... was impossibly high, consumed into darkness when I looked up.
"Time to get down to business."