Awakening #3

Mallory was not given any opening as she was kept within the cage and was then moved straight to the place of auction.

Unlike before, Mallory could faintly sense something ominous around the many slaves which was something like an ominous aura or a cloud of death she had read about during her studies. 'Is this? Don't tell me this is! Is it a cloud of misfortune or is it a sign of approaching death? Hmm..'

She looked around the room and saw that while some did not seem to have the same cloud, others had a little black mist around them while others were much thicker. 'Lets observe for now.'

Although she could not see how her own situation was, she could investigate other people around her and figure out from the clues.

Those that were bought before her were a lot of the ones with no black aura or a tiny amount so when she observed the buyers in the distance, they did not seem like wicked people by their aura or their appearance but those with stronger black mist around them were purchased by people that clearly did not have good intentions.

She saw one that was right by her side and Mallory couldn't help but keep her distance a little as some of the thick black aura that had almost swallowed that person had some slithers of it coming towards her. 'What…'

Mallory knew that the person by her side probably did not have long left to live from how the black had almost consumed them.

After closing her eyes for a while the mists disappeared which left her a little confused but as she repeated the same thing, they reappeared as if she had switched how she viewed the world around herself.

Mallory felt helpless that she could not help herself but she also had to watch on helplessly as others would soon be fated to die at the hands of their buyers.

She tried her best to go over her memories to help herself out of the situation but her mind kept coming back to the final word which was a part of her awakening which probably had something to do with her power. 'Apotropaic.'

Apotropaic has the meaning 'to ward off' and Apotropaic magic or practices are intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye.

It fit well with her current race as a leopard demihuman which has myths in her old world about leopards being able to ward off harm and evil influences but it also matched a lot with many of her religious and superstitious practices that she learned alongside her master. 'Maybe this is the reward for the good I did in my previous life? While it is good to have my memories, this situation is still very difficult.'

Mallory was dragged onto the stage as an announcer proudly raised their voice. "For the final auction of the day.. we have a special individual that comes from a tribe that many of you know and fear. Though she only seems to be a hybrid, she still has their blood flowing through her veins. Now lets begin!"

Many voices came one after another and Mallory desperately searched around the crowd which were seated for their different auras but she soon saw an unusual or holy kind of aura among them.

That person was a woman who had the look of a scholar but she wore a cheetah mask to cover her face.

Mallory locked eyes with her and she looked over with pleading eyes as she knew that those bidding for her were most likely not going to treat her well. 'She seems to be the only one that seems to have the power to change anything.'

Meanwhile on the seating area, Seshat the goddess of knowledge and wisdom who was wearing the cheetah mask raised her hand and made a much larger bid compared to the others before whispering to the person by her side. "It looks like I have found myself another interesting familia member."

However inside her thoughts were like this… 'So cute! What a beauty! Those lovely eyes just locked with me with that pitiful and pleading look! I was going to buy her anyways since I love cats but now I want her even more! Heh heh heh.'

While Seshat looked very reserved and scholarly on the surface, she did have her own hidden side and quirks just like all the other gods.

The Seshat familia may have a decent size but it was not too powerful because it mainly invited cat demihumans and half cat demihumans because of the gods liking for them but the main focus of the familia had always been related to the role as a scribe or record keeper.

Most of her familia have various non combat roles as accountants, architects, astronomers, astrologers, builders, mathematicians and surveyors but there are those few which she brought in due to her whims which had some fighting capabilities.

While the Seshat familia did not play a big role in the power struggle that was ongoing within Orario between the bigger familia, she did have her familia spread around the continent as they took up non combat jobs and some gained a high position due to their abilities and upbringing within the familia.

Some even went on to assist the guild with their duties but she had never had a high level or famous enough person appear in her familia which could reach the high levels of what was within Orario.

Mallory was dragged back to the familia home where each rooms wall had bookshelves on them where lots of books and scrolls were kept neatly and all in order.

The familia home was like a small mansion or church building but it had been modelled to suit the goddess and familia's tastes so it became a library or a scribe building.

Seshat removed the mask and revealed herself as a beautiful but intelligent looking woman who wore a neat scholarly dress with a little spotted pattern on it, her skin was a little tanned while she had brown eyes and black hair which was neatly clipped back.

On her forehead was an emblem which had a long stem with a seven petal flower on top, surmounted by horns which seemed to be a tattoo or marking of some kind.

Seshat put on a welcoming smile towards Mallory and said. "Welcome to the Seshat familia, from now on you are a part of this familia and you will live here from now on. For now you must learn and improve yourself so that you can pay off the Valis that was used to buy you. Follow me to my room."

Mallory knew what was coming so she did not resist as she walked into the room and had to remove her upper body clothing as she laid on a bed.

Seshat looked at the status which appeared the light faded from Mallory's back and her eyes went wide. "You already have a skill and you are so young. But this skill.. it is not like anything I have seen before. So unusual. You could have a bright future if you do lots of good but if you are lazy then this skill may be wasted on you. We shall see how you will be in the future."

She handed the printed paper over to Mallory and she read the details. 'This.. now I can see why this seems so overpowered. If in the right hands.. a person could grind excelia to boost their stats and abilities if they knew how to do so.'

There was the same emblem as what was on the head of Seshat and lots of information which detailed her name and affiliation then more details about her level, stats, magic, curse and skills but the thing that caught her attention was her skill named Apotropaic.

———

Name: Mallory

Familia: Seshat

Level: 1

Strength: I (16)

Endurance: I (14)

Dexterity: I (23)

Agility: I (23)

Magic: I (2)

—

Skill: [Apotropaic] [None] [None]

Magic: [None] [None] [None]

Curses: [None] [None] [None]

—-

[Apotropaic: Turn away harmful or evil influences from others. Perform deeds that impress the gods. Exorcise evil monsters. Put a halt to evil and harmful people or events. The greater the good deeds the greater the rewards.]