My Servant System

Kat PoV

"Tell me, what is it that you see?"

Standing atop a hill, Lilith rested her hand on my shoulder and waved the other out over the landscape before us, asking me a question as we took another break; the rest of the group was down below us, making the most as they took quick naps or gnawed on wolf jerky to sustain their bodies.

"Are you asking for some theatrical, in depth analysis of the simplistic forest we are looking at right now, or do you legitimately want me to describe this forest to you?"

The Demoness laughed at that, but as I turned to look at her eyes I noticed that they were serious as she asked "Either or, but preferably I want you to look deeper than surface level, Katherine Zara. Tell me, what do you see when looking at this forest?"

It was rather startling with how her moods could shift at the drop of a hat, but perhaps that was what had given her the ability to reach where she was today; this level of magical control that had resulted in being so powerful, filled with such potent mana that the 'rule' I had come to believe needed to be followed was being ignored by her.

Her eyes were still visible despite being so very clearly stronger than Lady Fenyras, whose silver eye was only visible because she had taken a half step into whatever realm these people were on; the level that the Sultana, Duchess Klaki, and the Empress alongside some of the Empress' wives were at.

Lilith didn't seem to care about that rule though, and that was a bit frightening when it came to trying to determine where she was at in terms of power, so having her focus all on me was quite... unsettling.

So I looked back at that forest and quickly soaked in its surface level details first, searching for something that made it unique; it was a truly plain forest, the green not being as vibrant as some of the others we had seen - inside and out of the Labyrinthian - while the various pieces of flora were just as simple.

If it was truly that simple though she wouldn't be asking me this question, but I wasn't certain of where I needed to start, only to pause when I noticed something from the corner of my eye; a flicker, a wisp of something that was there, but when I turned I couldn't see anything at all.

But then it was there again, on the other side, right where I had been looking before; when I turned back I couldn't see anything different, which was a telltale sign that things were definitely different than what I was seeing.

The question just became what that difference was, and learning that was likely a piece - or perhaps the entire part - of the answer that Lilith was searching for, and after another few seconds of silence the Demoness asked "Anything at all?"

Her tone was steady, but when I answered "I don't have a complete answer just yet, but there is something there, at the edge of my vision. Flickers of either something appearing from the forest or perhaps of a... 'veil' being lifted, perhaps?" she smiled and squeezed my shoulder 'comfortingly'.

"Being able to provide a part of the answer and admit that you don't have it all is a valuable trait; not acting like it is all there and you know everything... you'd be surprised how many people attempt to provide a certain answer without having all the pieces.

Now, I want you to try something, Katherine. Guide your mana slowly and carefully towards your eyes. Small amounts at first, and close them to keep yourself from getting a migraine. When you have a steady stream going you can open them again, alright?"

I nodded and did as she asked, my skills that had been honed personally and enhanced with the System making that an easy enough task as I guided my Ice Mana into my eyes, trying not to grimace as they grew uncomfortably wet and cold at this sudden shift.

When I opened my eyes again the forest that had stood before us - that expanse of greenery and normalcy - was gone, replaced instead with a decayed graveyard of rotted trees and pitch black obsidian spikes piercing through the dark soil.

Despite the trees being leafless and nothing more than a giant stick with dozens of smaller ones attached to their canopies, the forest was anything but lifeless as hundreds of goblin-esque creatures stood on the border of these biomes, staring out listlessly at the lava lakes.

"What..? How is it..?"

"How is it what?" Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

Lilith was smiling at me again, and as I turned towards her I cried out when I noticed that the Demoness was little more than a pillar of radiance standing beside me, the swirling red, blue, green and brown colors of each element writhing together to create this woman.

"Ah, so you managed to do it that quickly. Color me impressed, Katherine. I would stop the mana from flowing to your eyes for now, lest they turn to jelly."

She turned my head for me and gave me a few moments before she continued on, ignoring my agony as I clenched my eyes shut and tried to stop seeing only colors even as my eyelids clamped down together, the darkness they were supposed to provide never showing up.

Her brilliance had been seared into my eyes at this point, at least that was what I was convinced of as nothing but light consumed my head, but with its gradual fading I was able to hear her as she said "If I had known you were so talented with control I wouldn't have wasted our time like this. Not everything in the world is as it seems, and if you weren't that talented you would be temporarily blind right now, which I could have healed.

Anyways, this forest was a perfect moment to teach you that there is more to what you see each day then... well, what you see. Outside, sure, these things aren't even considered rare; they simply don't happen, so no one has ever actually found a need for this sort of skill. It used to be a niche part of magic way back when, but I digress.

What you just did is looked past a 'worldly illusion' and saw what was really there. The Labyrinthian itself is actually laden with these things, but that forest was the first deadly example of it. Now, why does it matter, I hear you asking yourself mentally? That's the fun part~!"