AN: Welcome… to the first campaign session of Maidens & Magic! Now it is very important to note that the system is not D&D. It is however reminiscent of D&D and other TTRPG games.

Of course, if you've read my other fic, you know I originally intended to make a tank but… well, inspiration gave me a different idea, and before I knew it I had a several page document outlining my ideas, and another several page document for how the System works in this fic. Right at the start I'll say do not use D&D stats as a flat comparison. A 10 here is not the same as a ten in D&D, and a twenty is far from the highest.

The MC is female, I don't see why that would bother someone but I was told I should state it explicitly, although it's already in the description.

From there, it gets a bit… fun.

So hopefully you all enjoy.


Chapter 1: Death & Dice

"You have died."

Those haunting words ripped into my mind and I screamed, my eyes wide with horror despite not even being able to see anything. Just the sheer presence was ominous. Not maddening, just powerful.

It wasn't possible.

"You don't seem to understand."

Suddenly I could see. My mind opened and I saw everything. It was beautiful. Haunting. Indescribable. Horrifying. It was the truth. How small and insignificant I was, and how even more insignificant my death was. What death meant.

Then, as fast as it came, it was slammed shut. Like a weight on my mind, blocking out the fear and panic and forcing me to be calm as my mind was stitched back together.

What I saw lingered though, and… it was… something else. I tried to cling to it but it was fading, being pulled away from me. The burning sensation of my mind hurt, but I didn't want that knowledge to leave. Yet I couldn't stop it.

"Pay attention. You've died. Don't panic again. It's just death. You've done it several times before."

The harsh voice scoffed. It was indescribable. It didn't sound like English at all but the meaning of the gross and haunting sounds wormed their way into my mind anyway.

"Explain..." I managed to force out a hoarse whisper as the sensation very slowly began to fade away more and more with each moment. I felt like I was regaining a grip on myself.

"You're an old soul. You've reincarnated several times. Way more than the average soul does before it fades away. Thus… I have chosen you. So quit your whining."

Suddenly the black void was gone, and I found myself in a room made of gnarled and rotting wood. Black ooze dripped from the wall, and I could see yellow eyes peering at me from the cracks. It felt like they were watching my very soul.

I felt naked. Seen. Like my existence was laying bare before it's haunting sickly yellow eyes. Were those the eyes I had seen through…? What had shown me so much?

"Chosen for what? I want to know more..." I found myself able to speak as I looked around the empty rotting room. It was empty, but echoes of objects and people shimmered into view occasionally. I couldn't make much of them out.

I should be panicking. Rationally I know I should be terrified. But… something wouldn't let me. Instead I was curious.

"To be my champion… despite how foolish your last death was. Your soul was of interest to me. So I'll help you become worthy… I'll even make it as much fun as it is for me, for you as well~"

I didn't like their tone at the end of it. Playfully sadistic, twisted. Although I suppose they were something far beyond me after all. Images of me choking flooded into my mind. My own memories.

Choking on a D20 of all things… that had fallen into my drink when my friends were throwing dice around like idiots mid-session.

Of course I went out like a dumbass… mortality was so fragile, in the end.

"Since that silly game was your downfall, let it be your upbringing as well." The voice echoed into my mind as glittering gold letters on a dark gray screen appeared before me.

Status:

Name: ?

Race: ?

Player Lvl: 1 (0/100)

Class: Warlock

Subclass: (Locked)

Health: 10/10

Mana: 10/10

STR: 0

DEX: 0

CON: 0

INT: 1

WIS: 2

SOL: 4

SP: 0

GP: 100

"Is this… a game?" I muttered softly, watching as black ooze seeped up out of the ground and formed a table and chair in front of me. I took a seat, albeit tentatively. "Like D&D…? Where's Charisma… and my name?"

"Like a game. I extracted your memories and gave you this boon, loosely based on that game you loved so dearly~ But it's purpose is to help you become my champion, not to make friends. Charisma is not needed. Furthermore, you'll need a new name where you're going."

"I see…" This forced calmness felt so odd, but I didn't want to focus on it. If anything I appreciated being able to do this rationally. "What's SOL?"

"SOL is the strength of your soul. It is also how your mana is determined. SOL, along with WIS, are your two most important stats as a Warlock. Thus, your class gives you a starting +2 WIS, and +1 SOL."

"Then where are the rest of those points from? And how do I determine my other stats?" I asked, nodding along. The ability to increase the stat of my soul was… somewhat terrifying, but also… incredible.

"So you acknowledge its usefulness. Good. The other points come from your Perks and Feats. You can look at that after we fix up your status."

I looked down as a bunch of dice appeared on the table in front of me.

"Every time you level up you will receive 2+1d4 SP, stat points, to use as you see fit. For level one, each stat will receive 5+3d4. SOL is the exception, as it is 2+2d4."

"Alright… good I have such a bonus to SOL then…" I nodded as I followed along, ttying to ignore the obvious amusement in the entity's voice.

"Get rolling. Now." It ordered me. I could almost see a smug grin in the back of my mind as I obeyed, rolling the first set of dice. They were bright orange in color, and felt sticky. It was gross. I rolled a two, a one, and a three.

"Eleven, for your strength. Next will be your dexterity."

A new set of dice appeared in front of me in the former's place, a vibrant mix of green and blue. These felt dry and smooth. A three, a four, and another three.

"Fifteen, quick and skillful. A good stat to have large numbers in. Well, large starting numbers... Now for your Constitution."

The next set of dice were bright red, and wet. As if… bloody. I tried to ignore that part as I rolled them. A two, a one, and a one. I cringed at the numbers.

"Pity. Seems your new body will be quite squishy." The voice laughed softly. It was a surprisingly silky laugh compared to its harsh words, which I found quite odd.

The next set of dice were a greyish blue color, and seemed otherwise normal. A three, a two, and a one. In that order. Not as bad as the Constitution at least.

"Hmm, well I do as the dice say~ You just have to work with that Eleven in Intelligence." They said smugly, creating a new set of dice. This time they were pure white in color.

I rolled a two, another two, and then a three. Twelve… plus my starting two, fourteen. Even my dex was higher than that, which was rough.

Another set of D4 appeared. Just two instead of three. These were sickly yellow, and glowed ominously. I didn't like that these were what represented my soul.

I bit my lip and blew on the dice for good luck, shaking them before watching them scatter across the table. A four, and a three.

I grinned and pumped my fist. "Good."

"Good indeed. You wouldn't want a low SOL stat as a Warlock." The voice agreed, as my status screen returned before me.

Name: ?

Race: ?

Player Lvl: 1 (0/100)

Class: Warlock

Subclass: (Locked)

Health: 19/19

Mana: 29/29

STR: 11

DEX: 15

CON: 9

INT: 12

WIS: 14

SOL: 13

SP: 0

GP: 100

"Much better." I nodded softly. "Race and name?" I asked, raising a brow.

"I'll give you a name at the end of this all, we will generate you a race. You can choose to remain human, or… you can roll a special dice and end up as a random race from the world I have chosen for you. Either way, eventually you'll become something beyond it~"

"So it will be a race from that world? And which world is that?" I raised a brow, somewhat skeptical of it all.

"The race will be native to that world, but I won't tell you which world I picked based on your memories. I'll be generous and guarantee that even if you end up an animal, I'll give you a human form transformation perk at a discounted price… let's say 25 GP." The voice grinned.

"So I might not even be humanoid. What's GP about? And how much is the normal cost of that perk?" I asked cautiously. I was clearly dealing with something eldritch. Even if they were my patron, I didn't want to be tricked or fooled because I was hasty.

"GP is named after the gold pieces of your game, but… it's far more valuable~ You can trade it in the shop for items, feats and perks, or even skills. You can even convert GP into money, but that only works one way. Humanoid Form normally costs 2500 GP, so it's quite the discount. I only offer such because… well it would be quite the shame for me to put in all this effort only for you to die because you rolled poorly on race."

"I see…" I nodded along as the entity spoke. "I'll roll the dice."

A very large dice the size of a soccer ball appeared on the table, holding countless sides with various symbols. Symbols that changed constantly even. I guess they truly meant I could roll and land on any possible species.

I closed my eyes and rolled it, biting my lip as it clattered around before I heard a ding and a laugh from my patron.

"White Bengal Tiger. What an interesting roll~! How fun."

"I… well that could be a lot worse." I scratched my cheek. "I'll… buy that perk then."

"Done. You get some racial benefits of course, but that will be mentioned when we go over skills and perks."

"Alright… and what's next?" I asked, raising a brow.

"At level one, you will be able to pick five spells. You get an additional spell each level. The maximum tier of spells is determined by your wisdom. Every twenty points of wisdom increases the spell tier maximum by one. For now, you get Tier 0 and Tier 1 spells only."

"Alright. That's… a slow learning curve for spells though. If I get a max of six points per level… and twenty per spell tier… and one spell per level, isn't that going to be super awful?" I frowned.

"Don't fret~ You can improve your stats through training and other means. If you gain wisdom and understanding of the world, your stat will increase proportionately. Furthermore, you can always buy stat points for GP." My patron assured, chuckling in amusement. "You can also make your own spells through trial and error. As your patron, I'm just letting you gain the knowledge of additional spells an easier way."

"I see… What's the cost of stat points?" I asked, leaning back in my chair as I tried to ignore the eyes watching me. Slowly, and I mean slowly, I was getting used to them.

"One hundred GP per point. Well, 50 for your first point. One hundred from there. Now, pick your spells."

I sighed and nodded, as the list expanded before me. It was… way more spells than in D&D. It was… so massive it hurt to even look, and it only showed Tier 0 and Tier 1 spells.

Time to sort through a long, long list of spells…


Almost two hours later and I had made my decision on all five spells. I was a bit surprised at how my patron hadn't complained at all. But apparently they appreciated that I was being intelligent about spell choices, and not just picking whatever I wanted. I had actually gained some stats just from trying to figure out which spells would be the best to take.

Apparently some Tier 0 spells could be cast without any mana at all, much like cantrips, as they were a part of my innate eldritch powers. As I leveled, I was curious about what else I could do innately if I grew stronger…

"Good…. Crave that power. A desire to be strong will serve you well as my champion. We're almost done. Now just decide if you want anything from the shop, before I send you off."

"No." I shook my head. I had already skimmed the shop. All the skills and perks that were good were way out of my price range. I would save the GP to buy stuff as I needed. "I would like to know the name of my patron though."

"You'll know my name when I deem you ready. For now… I am simply The Golden One."

"How ominous." I found myself chuckling a little in response to such a title, thankfully they didn't seem to mind. "What are you willing to tell me about my destination? My goals? What do you want me to do as your patron?"

"...good questions. I chose a world from your memories, that I believe would be a good, weak, world for you to start gathering strength. I may make requests from you at times, but for noe your goal is to grow strong until you are a worthy champion."

"I see… alright, I'm ready." I nodded softly and smiled.

"Good. This will be painful."

Wait what?

I barely had time to react as the walls crumbled and black ooze flooded the room, swallowing me whole. It felt like I was being devoured.

I couldn't even scream before I lost consciousness.


I jolted up in a panic as my body lingered with pain and agony, and immediately I tumbled onto my back, paws flailing in the air…

Paws… so it wasn't a dream… I had really just agreed to sell my existence to serve an eldritch deity just because of that stupid panic filter. I didn't regret it though.

"I am still connected to your mind, you know."

The golden one's voice didn't hurt my head like before, and no longer sounded harsh and aggressive. It was now a silky smooth voice.

I winced and sent a mental apology as I rolled upright. My nose and whiskers twitched as my entire body trembled. The disconnect of going from a human body to that of a tiger was awful, but… not as bad as I thought it would be.

Looking around, I was, apparently, in a jungle of sorts which made sense. I approached the shore of a lake, feeling the sand against my paws as I stared down at my reflection. I was, in fact, a white tiger. A young one. I didn't look nearly big enough to be fully grown.

I took a deep breath and used my perk.

Humanoid Transformation: The Golden One has blessed you with the ability to transform into a humanoid state at will. You may, to an extent, freely customize your humanoid form. However some traits may not be changed or edited.

I was a bit concerned about the last bit of the perk, but overall it was a necessity. I couldn't get along with only a tiger form.

I felt my body shift and change as I grew and bones shifted. It should have been excruciatingly painful but… it was harmless and seamless. Before I knew it, I was human. Or, mostly human.

My eyes remained catlike, and the same sickly eerie yellow color, and my hair was long and white, stretching down to my mid-back, with some blatch splotches and markings in it. I also had a pair of ears on my head. Tiger ears, specifically. Yet I didn't have a tail, which was weird. I tried to modify it, and I couldn't get rid of the ears, so I gave myself the tail.

All or nothing, right? I couldn't change the eye color. A shame. I wasn't fond of yellow. But I suppose it was to match my Patron, so it wasn't that bad.

I seemed to be of… some eastern descent, but definitely with a lot of european mixed in. Maybe 17 or 18, I would guess. Most notably, I was gorgeous. Like, supernaturally so.

I couldn't help but feel very grateful for that. I could go into modeling. Not that I cared to do so. I wanted to get stronger… and reach that level I had been shown, even if I had only seen it for a second.

Still, even I could appreciate my new form. Like… damn. Was this the true power of eldritch magic?

I sighed softly. "Gold. Buy a set of normal clothes that are compatible with transformation but cheap."

"Picky, picky~ Normal clothes are 1 GP. Transformable clothes are 10. Per piece of clothing."

"Just do it…" I groaned as I felt 40 GP go down the drain, and I was given a change of clothes. Garments, jeans, and a white blouse. And then, a pendant of a golden eye…?

"Cute outfit choice, thanks, but… what's with the pendant?" I asked, just getting changed and clasping the necklace around my throat.

I only got a laugh from my patron as another window appeared in front of me.

Golden Eyed Pendant: A gift from The Golden One that masks all magical or extra dimensional energies. A small boon to their Warlock. It changes size to match your form as opposed to disappearing when you shift like the clothes.

"Huh, thanks." I smirked softly. I guess I had a generous patron.

I quickly changed back to a tiger form, letting out a chuff. I wanted to stay in my tiger form until I found civilization. One, so I could get used to my new body. Two, because of the perk.

White Bengal Tiger: You are a powerful large predator, and have incredibly sharp senses, Darkvision, and a powerful body.

+3 to DEX, CON, STR at all times, and acts as if you had a further additional +5 while in Tiger Form. This only counts for saves, rolls, and checks. This does not apply to your maximum health. The enhanced senses and Dark Vision translates to your Humanoid Form.

It was a major boost. Effectively a plus eight if I was in tiger form. Currently my status isn't too bad.

Name: Caerwyn Dior

Race: White Bengal Tiger

Player Lvl: 1 (0/100)

Class: Warlock

Subclass: (Locked)

Health: 22/22

Mana: 29/29

STR: 14

DEX: 18

CON: 12

INT: 13

WIS: 15

SOL: 13

SP: 0

GP: 35

Lien: 0

I now had a Lien counter though… I could only assume that was normal currency? I suppose that would be pretty easy to confirm once I found civilization.

Along with my tiger perk and my transformation feat, I had a few others as well.

Older Soul: You have reincarnated many times. Even if you do not remember these past lives, your soul has grown beyond what the average soul has.

+3 to SOL

Champion of The Golden One: The Golden One has chosen you as a potential champion, and will help you rise beyond your mortal chains.

? ? ?

+1 INT, +Knowledge of the Common Tongue, Unknown Benefits, Potential for more Boons later on.

Awakened Mind: You have had your mind's eye forcefully opened by the Golden One. You may cast Telepathy at will to transmit your thoughts to any being with a mind. You may only read their thoughts if they open them to you.

+1 INT, +1 Mana, Unknown Benefits

Then there were my starting skills that my Class gave me. I assume these were like a mix of standard D&D Proficiencies and normal game skills.

Eldritch Comprehension - 1: Your ability to comprehend things greater than you without going completely insane.

Mental Fortitude - 1: Your ability to ward off mental invaders and maintain your sanity.

Mana Proficiency - 1: Your current skill proficiency in controlling Mana.

Over all? I was looking pretty good for level one. Now I just needed to figure out where civilization was, and what world I was in.

Shouldn't be too hard, right?


Tigers were fast. I had sort of just chosen a random direction and began booking it, but damn could I run. Sure my endurance wasn't the best, but it was even better than it was in my previous life. My senses were alive as well.

Everything was so vibrant and incredible. It was amazing.

I could hear a branch crack in the distance, and legs of somr kind hitting the ground and coming near me. It wasn't paws or feet, I could tell that much. But it was also big. Bigger than me, even. Although I didn't think it was by a huge amount.

I crouched down low, ready to either pounce or run depending on what came into view. I gathered up some mana and cast my first spell.

Mage Armor - Tier 1: For a varying amount of mana, you can create a mana shield of armor around you proportionate to an armor value of two points of shielding per one point of mana spent.

I put four points of mana into the spell to get a small shield, just in case. And it clicked in my head when a giant black and white scorpion walked into the clearing.

Remnant. RWBY.

It was a Creature of Grimm. A Death Stalker specifically.

I lunged to the side to avoid a pincer strike only… for it to never arrive. The Deathstalker Grimm just stared at me blankly before walking off.

Oh right… I was an animal. Grimm only cared about people. This… could come in handy for grinding.

I gathered up energy for my favorite tier 0 spell: Conjure Tentacle. It was very on brand for my class, and it reminded me of mage hand but better.

I could create a shadowy tentacle from my body, or from a nearby surface within eyesight range. This tentacle was completely free, and could exert up to 100 pounds! The best part? If I did decide to use Mana, I could make more tentacles, or make my tentacles bigger and stronger

The thing is, this spell was busted. I wasn't sure why, but a single point of mana added 50 more pounds of force.

"Because you have an affinity towards it because of me~ It's an easier and more efficient spell for you, isn't that great of me?" My patron commented smugly, and I didn't disagree.

Although I was curious, did that mean Gold's true form involved tentacles? A bit on the nose for eldritch stuff, but still cool.

I poured ten points of mana bringing it up to six hundred pounds, and making the tentacle around sixty feet long. The Deathstalker skittered back away from it warily.

It was terrifying, and I couldn't help but chuff in amusement as the tentacle whipped around the Deathstalker and wrapped around it several times over. I made the tentacle constrict and tighten, as the deathstalker thrashed and hissed in pain. I kept squeezing it until it was crushed completely, and it faded into ash

+113 EXP!

+7 GP!

Level Up!

Ha…? That much for just one? Good to know I get GP from killing Grimm too.

"A Beowolf would have given you much less, to be fair. However you get much, much, much more GP for killing people…"

I mentally raised a brow at that comment. Were they… encouraging it?

"Not really. Just informing you that creatures with stronger souls, like humans, have much more GP to harvest."

So clearly GP had something to do with souls. EXP might be the same. It was a bit concerning to be honest, but at the same time in a world of Bloody Evolution? It was me or them. That didn't mean I would kill people just to grind though. That would get the authorities after me.

So what about my stat points? I asked mentally, focusing on my link with Gold.

In response a single d4 popped in front of me, a black die with a glowing gold plus two floating above it. So I had to physically roll for it every time… that meant I probably couldn't level up mid fight.

I altered my conjure tentacle spell a bit to make a very tiny one to pick up the dice and roll it. It landed on a four, which got a satisfied chuff out of me.

I opened up my status window and immediately poured two into INT, WIS, and SOL.

Pain.

Then I practically yowled and roared in agony, pawing at my own head as I thrashed as I felt my mind expand, knowledge worming it's way in and my very soul growing. It was over as fast as it came, but in that brief moment it was excruciatingly painful.

Skill Developed: Pain Resistance - 1

I panted heavily as I heard The Golden One's voice echo around in my head, just laughing a bit. "Skills are not so easily developed, normally they're bought. To get one so early, must've hurt~"

Sadistic fucking eldritch gods man…

I just wanted to equalize my stats a bit before saving the stats from all future levels for when I needed them, but now I was kind of worried how bad it would be if I used a lot of stat points at once.

"You can use GP to forcefully level up your skills and Proficiencies, you know. Only ten GP per level." Gold commented.

I just gave a tired shake of my head. That would only be if I needed an emergency boost in my skills. It would be foolish to spend GP willy nilly. Better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not to have it.

Clearly it was a valuable commodity harvested from souls, or perhaps spirit. Well, Grimm didn't have Souls, so maybe it was more like Willpower? I wasn't sure. I would need to learn more about that.

WIS has increased by 1 Point

I flinched almost Instinctively before I was overcome with relief. Naturally gained stats weren't painful. Which kinda made sense. Kinda.

I also get another spell, right?

I mentally chuckled as I could practically hear my patron sigh, as the spell window popped up. I made my decision very quickly this time.

Psychic Suggestion - Tier 0: You may target any creature with a mind and produce small psychic suggestions to guide them. These are very weak unless mana is poured into the spell.

Note: Tier Lowered from 1 to 0 by Awakened Mind Feat

This would help me as a stranger entering villages, and in general I could see it being handy in a variety of situations. It also synergized quite well with my Minor Hallucination spell.

Which kind of already made me like a slightly weaker version of Emerald. At least, psychically speaking. Actually, I could also do suggestions and telepathy, so I was still probably better than her.

Of course, she also had combat training. All I had was more powers.

I also needed to know when in the timeline I was, now that I think about it. Maybe I would be early enough to actually be strong before cannon.

Oh! Another Grimm. Feed me your EXP.

This leveling thing probably wouldn't be too hard after all. Guess I just had to keep going.


After the first day, I had almost reached level two already. Nor was hunting for food. Tigers were really good at hunting after all.

I did discover a wild rabbit, which I only found as my surroundings became less jungle-esque and more foresty. Seems I was on the boundary of some kind of region change, as subtle as it was. What was interesting is that, while the rabbit offered significantly less EXP? It offered way more GP than the average Beowulf. Even more than that Deathstalker I killed.

I still hadn't reached back to my original hundred yet, but I had eighty nine GP after my grinding.

I shifted into my human form for the first time in hours and rolled my shoulders, starting a fire with my Eldritch Flare spell. While Warp Elements could control small amounts of things, Eldritch Flare could actually produce flame. Albeit fire of a purple hue. It was a tier 0 so it cost no mana to start it.

As I roasted my dinner, the sweet smell of rabbit wafting into my extremely sensitive nose, I debated whether I should buy salt. Unseasoned meat was… well, bland. I could definitely buy some salt to improve it.

Did I want to spend GP on that?

Well, it was only three GP for a small bag of salt…

Screw it. My taste buds would thank me later. The bag of salt appeared next to me and I felt the gp fade away.

Even with the salt, I had a very dissappointing overcooked dinner that night. Turns out cooking with eldritch fire tastes bad. Who would have guessed?


It turns out Mana, while it does regenerate naturally, it regenerates way faster when I sleep or meditate. Somewhat like a long rest, I supposed.

Of course, when I woke up the next morning I was back to running and traveling in tiger form almost immediately. Just running and running. I didn't tire all too easily, but even a tiger running non stop eventually felt the strain of it.

That was my goal though. If I pushed my body, I could get stat increases. It was also why I attacked every Grimm I could find.

Because it didn't take long for that sweet, sweet, Level Up!

It gave me five stat points this time, which was pretty lucky. I didn't spend any points this time. I would use them when it started getting really hard to level up stats naturally. In small doses of course.

I shuddered, recalling the pain, and instead opened the spell list and selected my newest power. I went for a tier one this time, something more directly offensive. I would probably try to alternate between attack and utility spells to keep myself well rounded. It was a bit pricey for a tier one, but I thought it was good.

Curse Bolt - Tier 1: You hurl a bolt of cursed eldritch energy from your hands costing 6 points minimum. It can travel a maximum of fifty feet, and strikes the target dealing damage. Furthermore, an enemy struck by this feels weakened and disoriented by a weak curse. This effect lasts 48 hours.

I would have to find some Grimm to test its effectiveness on. Although I wasn't sure how much the curse weakened people, nor the level of damage. The spell descriptions were very vague after all.

I leapt across the grassy floor and between the trees at high speeds, feeling my dexterity finally increase as I did so. I kneeled down between some bushes and eyed my prey, a simple Beowolf.

I took a deep breath as the knowledge on how to shape the spell entered my head, gathering up a crackling black and purple substance. With a swipe, it was sent flying towards the beowolf.

The beast was sent skidding back, slamming into a tree with large scorch marks on its side. I was hoping for an insta-kill, but it was already getting back up.

I shifted to my human form, tempted by curiosity, and stepped out into view. Immediately the grimm lunged towards me, and my eyes widened as I dashed to the side and put a few points into Mage Armor.

"Did you think I wouldn't give you a form good enough to trick those mindless beasts~?" Gold laughed in the back of my mind as I conjured a tentacle coated in purple and black flames to whip at the Beowolf.

It howled in pain as the flames burnt away at it, reducing to ash.

+56 EXP!

+4 GP!

"Haa…" I sat down on the ground and chuckled softly. I would have been embarrassed if I took any real damage from a simple beowolf of all things. Conjure Tentacle and Eldritch flare together was fun though.

"Having fun playing in the woods doing nothing?" Gold asked smugly.

"Well I don't know which way to go." I shrugged, rolling my eyes in response. It wasn't like my only goal was to kill grimm, but hey, I was getting stronger either way. Wasn't that the point?

I didn't get a response from my patron, which just led me to stand up and stretch a bit. If they didn't have any specific way they wanted me to go, then I would just keep on moving and grinding.


As the time passed I grew more confident in hunting Grimm, mostly relying on the combination of Conjure Tentacle and Eldritch Flare.

+82 EXP!

+7 GP!

I smirked as the alpha beowolf faded away and hurled a curse bolt at the next as it attacked a Hallucination of me. It was sent flying as it crumbled away like the last one.

+37 EXP!

+5 GP!

"Almost to that next level…" I muttered, remaining in my human form. I had come to the decision that while my tiger form was better, having opposable thumbs and a proper body was more comfortable.

That, and this way Grimm seeked me out instead of me having to chase them down. I flicked my wrist and watched as a shadowy tentacle pinned the last Beowolf down, and purple flames burned it away to ash and smoke. It smelled awful, but it meant EXP so I didn't really care.

+43 EXP!

+3 GP!

Level Up!

A dice popped into my hands as usual, with the floating plus two above it. I gave it a toss and watched it carefully. Two. Which meant a total of four points at this level.

I opened my status window with a soft hum.

Name: Caerwyn Dior

Race: White Bengal Tiger

Player Lvl: 4 (13/400)

Class: Warlock

Subclass: (Locked)

Health: 22/22

Mana: 14/32

STR: 14

DEX: 19

CON: 12

INT: 16

WIS: 18

SOL: 15

SP: 9

GP: 121

Lien: 0

I bit my lip in hesitation before I turned to the side, locking onto a tree. They did say I could make my own spells aside from the free ones I got from leveling up.

I gathered up some mana and shaped it into a dagger and mixed a little bit of the cursed energy into it. It took a few attempts, but eventually I heard a ding as a new window popped up.

Hex Weapon - Tier 1: For a minimum of 3 mana you may create a solid weapon of cursed energy to attack. Injuries caused by this weapon apply a weak curse effect for one hour. As weapon size increases, mana cost does as well.

"Heh…" I cracked a grin. This changed a lot. I wasn't sure how to make Tier 0 spells yet. I didn't have an understanding of how to warp reality without mana yet, but if I could make other spells, then I should always use my free spell per level to get strong and complex spells so I can learn from them.

WIS has increased by 1 Point

"Even better!" I cheered, taking one of my stat points and placing it in WIS as well to reach that twenty point benchmark.

Immediately my head throbbed and I let out a sharp gasp, clutching it as my mind expanded just a bit. "Heheh…"

I then opened the spell list, looking at the now available Tier 2 spells I could learn.

Rend Mind - Tier 2: For a cost of 12 Mana Points, you may lash out at a target mind to deal damage to their mind. In the process you may glean information or knowledge from the target.

Perfect. It synergizes well with my other mental abilities, and would likely be good at incapacitating people. Well, if it didn't turn them into a vegetable. I wasn't entirely sure how much damage Rend Mind did, but well… Rending someone's mind didn't sound pretty.

I was also curious on how to make Tier 0 Spells though…

I paused, ears twitching as I heard a very distant bang, then another, and another. Gunfire.

"Oh boy… time to have some fun." I grinned widely as I felt my muscles and bones shift, changing me from lady to tiger.

I took off towards the source of the gunfire, eager to finally meet the people of Remnant. Who knows? Maybe they'll give me an excuse to rend some minds…


AN: So I hope you all enjoyed this introductory chapter to Maidens & Magic! Cae is… not nearly as much of a sweetheart as Sybil, the main character of my other story, Game of Artifice. Tampering with the eldritch twists someone. So she's going to be kind of Grey. Of course to keep the spirit of D&D, I did genuinely roll for everything. Even for her species, I rolled a d4 for

1, Human

2, faunus

3, animal

4, grimm

And then from there I had to roll subcategories for each until I landed on a specific race, which led me to White Bengal Tiger… like… what? I'll be honest. When I landed in the animal category, I was hoping for something thematic. Like black cat, or octopus (because eldritch tentacle shenanigans), but… white bengal tiger was the result I got.

An eldritch Grimm also would have been a bit cool. Part of me was expecting something awful, like starfish. Imagine being an eldritch starfish. Actually nevermind, that still sounds kind of cool.

And yeah, character creation took some time. But in my experience? D&D character creation does take quite some time so that really does make sense. In my opinion at least.

I had her pick out all her spells all at once, but when showing off her final status I left them out because I just didn't want to text dump all her spells at once on top of the existing text walls. I thought I'd just show her spells off as she used them.