Chương 4: Enverna Alteri
{Enverna}
A small audience waited patiently outside of the Alteri manor.
They'd been waiting for a while, their patience wearing thin.
"I'm guessing this stalling is owed to the rather embarrassing realization that they don't have anything of value to show, do they?" One voice reached Enverna's ears from the open windows.
"Probably," a woman answered. "Honestly, a minor house wasting our time like this should be punishable by law."
Within the Alteri manor's living room, a woman with skin like snow, eyes like gleaming pearls, and short, blue-white hair in a wolf cut stood, taking slow, calming breaths. She wore a blue vest and the tight, black pants of a fencer, along with cotton-soled, black shoes.
More comments wafted into the manor, each one feeling like another heavy stone on Enverna's shoulder blades, stacking higher and higher.
Enverna stared down at her spear, the tool she'd soon use to impress these people, the tool that signified her responsibilities. Engraved onto its purple, wooden shaft was the name, "Storm". The spear was named as such due to the blue-white blade at its tip, which matched Enverna's hair, and made the spear look like a bolt of lightning crashing down from the heavens.
Footsteps drew closer from the right. Enverna did not have to look to know who was coming, as everyone in her family had their own, unique stride. Judging by the calm, arrogant pace, it was her mother.
"Keep your damned chin up," she commanded. "You want them to see you looking like a beaten dog?"
"Am I not allowed to be nervous?" Enverna asked quietly, still keeping her eyes on the spear.
"No," her mother made clear, "the entire point is to show your worth. We want people asking for you, begging for you to join their Guilds. Who would hire someone who looks this unconfident?"
"Right. Of course. My apologies."
After 17 years of life in this household, Enverna had learned it was easier to just concede the point and move on rather than argue about her feelings.
"How much longer do you plan to keep them waiting?" A different voice asked.
This one belonged to Enverna's stepfather, Treon, the man her mother had married to ensure the Alteris' financial stability after Enverna's biological father passed away.
"I will walk out in just a moment," Enverna replied. "I was merely... Preparing myself."
"In what way?" Treon asked flippantly. "You've gone through the routine several times, haven't you? What else is there?"
[My anxiety, dear father.]
She couldn't say that, however. Such a thing would simply be cowardice in her stepfather's mind, and cowardice was something he would not tolerate.
"Goodness gracious, let the woman breathe! She'll do fine," a new voice added.
Again, going off her sporadic, carefree pace of the footsteps drawing closer, Enverna had known her older sister was coming before she'd even spoken.
Prima was quite a lot like Enverna but with a few key differences. She was older by a couple of years, and it showed in her height and the length of her hair, but she also had far fewer responsibilities than Enverna.
Mainly, because the moment her Instinct first popped up, all of the responsibilities Prima had went to Enverna instead.
"She's trained every day for this showcase," Prima vouched for her, walking up and throwing an arm around her sister's shoulders. "Everyone outside is going to be left in awe by the time this is done."
Her parents probably didn't sense it, but the subtle resentment in her voice did not escape Enverna.
"Hm... We can only hope," Treon responded. "Now, Enverna, come. You've kept them waiting long enough."
[... Very well.]
Walking outside, following behind her father, Enverna shielded her eyes from the sun. The group outside was as small as they were important. Each one was a member of some form of a larger house, and each one had only come on the off chance that this would be mildly entertaining.
"Finally!" One of them said. "Took you guys long enough."
"Our apologies," Verana replied with a polite smile. "Enverna got some butterflies. She's ready now, though."
"Let's get on with it, then!" A man begged, and Enverna stepped forward, intending to do just that.
For the spectators, this was just one of many different pieces of entertainment they'd have today. For Enverna, this may have been one of the most important moments of her life.
So, Enverna went over her status, so she could see what exactly she'd be showing them.
Enverna Alteri
MP: 25/25
STR: C-
END: D+
DEX: C+
MYS: C
L: F
---
Skills:
Block: 10
Blade: 21
Blunt: 12
Lance: 14
Unarmed: 10
Archery: 15
Sneak: 10
Healing Magic: 10
Combat Magic: 15
Summoning Magic: 10
Utility Magic: 10
---
Traits:
None
---
Instincts:
Cascade - 1-minute cooldown
{Coat your weapon in the power of water. Attacks leave behind a line of liquid that applies bonus damage. Every time an enemy takes damage from this ability, the amount of damage they take from you is increased by 10%. This ability stacks.}
Her stats weren't particularly impressive, but her Instinct...
That could be what set Enverna up for the rest of her life.
Everyone around Enverna backed away.
Enverna inhaled slowly...
And, she finally began.
She got started by twirling her staff. It wasn't exactly a combative technique, but it looked flashy and would serve as the appetizer for the performance.
The crowd went quiet. Enverna finished those twirls and transitioned into the next part of her performance, which was to do actual combat techniques. Thrusts, sweeps, leaping strikes, and spinning slashes.
She snuck a glance at the crowd and found that a couple of them looked impressed, but most of them clearly didn't care about anything but the main event. The ability that the Alteris had put a lot of effort into spreading rumors about.
[Fine.]
Thus, Enverna gave them what they were waiting for.
Triggering her Instinct, her eyes glowed, shining with their unique silver color. Her spear was coated in water in the middle of her combo. Enverna lifted her spear up and spun it in the air, creating a ring of water.
The expressions of those watching her changed from moderate boredom to great interest.
It was working.
Enverna thrust her spear forward and then pulled it back. Water burst forward. The Instinct didn't mention that you could create new attacks like this, but Players had long since discovered that experimenting with their Instincts could result in odd effects like this.
The small crowd cheered.
At this point, Enverna finally calmed down as Verana told the spectators:
"Her Instinct is incredible. I cannot share the details, of course, as I'm sure you understand, but it increases her damage substantially. Not just that, but her potential is far beyond the average person as well."
Enverna misstepped.
A couple of people noticed, but Enverna regained her composure and kept going.
Her misstep was caused by one simple reason.
That last part of what Verana said was a lie.
The memory flashed before Enverna's eyes. The evaluator took her mana, gave her a regretful look, and informed Enverna that her potential was only C-tier. Knowing how her family would react, however, when Enverna faced them, she couldn't bring herself to tell them this. Instead, she said her potential was A-tier, and the evaluator did not correct her.
So, now, Enverna danced and danced, trying her hardest every step of the way. All the while, the excited chatters, and soft applause faded into the background until all she could hear was the voice in her head calling her nothing but a lying disappointment.
If one of those drops of water reaching the grass didn't come from her spear but instead from Enverna's eyes, well, all she could do was hope no one noticed.
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