Taboo

"Thank you for your hospitality. I'll clean your place as compensation."

Luna proceeded to face the messy and bloody room, closed her eyes and clasped her hands. She called out to the system inside her head which it responded and summon The Book of Lyneth's Everything. She turned the pages, stopping on the 'Chants & Spells' section and read a particular spell in Latin out loud. Not longer than a minute, a huge violet magic circle outlined with black, enveloped the whole building's ground. Just like how one would rewind a movie, everything returned back to its place, except the dead men of course, and evaporated the blood, cleaning everything up. She also added a reinforcement spell as everything looks sturdy and new.

'Ha! It worked! Haha!' proud that her months of studying has paid off. With her beaming smile visible under her hood, she faced the man and his daughter once again.

"There! We'll be in your care for tonight, good sir!"

"This..." the man stuttered as he roam his eyes at everything, agaped.

'That'll do for you, Uncle?' she asked through their mind link and peeped at him behind her hood.

"The key." gritted Berin.

"U-uhh... T-the key?" the man still in awe stuttered.

"I said the key to our room!" as he slammed his hand on the counter.

"Yes! H-here... I'm sorry." handing over the keys before Berin snatched it from his hand.

Luna broke off cold sweat after hearing his tone. Why's he angry? Did I do something wrong?

'Follow me. We need to talk.' and proceeded to walk upstairs. Seeing her Uncle's grim face, she can't help but gulp and felt the sweat on her armpit ran down on her sides.

Bang!

She flinched after he slammed the door shut. "Why didn't you tell me you could cast spells?" visibly clenching his teeth.

"I-I... I want to surprise you." after Berin broke her out of a trasparent red rock, she spent two days of whining and hysteria. When she regains her rationality, she started her new life by calling out to the system first which made things much clearer, that he's inside a game. Aside from having the shop, and her untouched level and stats, she possesses a skill 'Appraisal'. Although her acquired weapons in her past life were gone and only her scythe and an unfamiliar book remained. But what made her feel sus about it is that that book's appraisal is locked, surprisingly, she can open it. And another of her hobby aside from playing games is reading so as soon as she opened it, she started reading it. It hooked her even more as it concerns ancient times, when God made everything and some magic and stuffs.

'Well, who wouldn't want to ba a lit OP character, right?' and showing it off to Berin filled her mind, she really wanted him to be surprised and amazed, thus she diligently read and secretly practiced in their three months of journey. However,

"Surprise?! Well, you did! Anyone who'd be seen using any relation towards magic will be hunted and killed!"

"B-but you didn't..."

"Didn't what?!"

"You d-didn't tell me beforehand..." she whispered while fumbling her cloak.

"I..." realizing this unpredictable mistake, he stopped and released a sigh. "How would I know you'd be this... talented." and sat on the bed before slumping his back and massaged his temples, defeated.

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to cause such a ruckus. I thought it's okay too since you used magic earlier."

"Being talented is not something to be sorry for. Just tell me earlier next time if you have any more tricks behind those sleeves. And that barrier earlier was simply my mana."

'Well, I do have many but it's too early to be popular. However that stunt was totally not a talent, it's just me reading a weird but freakin awesome book.' Although she was very surprised when she understood the Latin phrases in that book when he didn't even get to learn Latin in his past life. Nevertheless, she was intrigued by the mana barrier. She thought it was simply magic but it was more complex than she thought it would be.

"Of course, Uncle."

Berin grab her shoulders lightly. "Luna, listen. Everything that concerns about magic, and I mean EVERYTHING, is treated as taboo. So if you don't want to find your body in a ditch somewhere, please... please don't use it anywhere, let alone blabbing it to strangers. You'd be even lucky if you're body would be found."

"Was it that bad?"

"Yes. So be very careful next time. And don't you ever trust just anybody. For all the things you needed to learn, we can teach you so no rush." with a very stern face.

"Yes, Uncle. I trust you!"

Taken aback, Berin can't help but chuckle a bit. He just told her not to trust anyone yet she told him she trust her right after that.

"So Uncle, I'll go take a bath first if you won't?"

"Go ahead. We'll talk more about it first thing tomorrow morning after we leave."

As soon as Luna closed the bathroom door, she released a deep sigh.

'This is easier in a computer screen.'

Although she really was startled with her Uncle Berin's outburst. Any kid would get frightened and cry if scolded with his deep voice.

'Even a twenty-year-old me was scared, tsk. Anyway, how am I supposed to know that sorcery is treated as a blasphemy to the Rulers in this game? Is it again because I'm personally here? But for now, I just hope the people down there won't report us to the authorities. Well, at least report it late.'

.

.

Berin:

Pat.

A white slender hand patted the broad shoulder of Berin. She wore an outfit just like what Aya wore in AC, although the difference is that her outfit matched her hair which is a dark mahogany shade.

"Berin. You need to find her quick. She must not fall in the hands of others. The prophecy..."

"I know, Elora. You don't need to stress yourself too much. I'll be back after six months if troubles won't keep us."

"Yes. And if you could teach her things it would be great."

Berin released another sigh. The memory before he traveled to find Luna flashed back giving him another headache. 'Elora ... this is difficult.'

First of all, he's a very capable guardian but in terms of teaching, especially to a child, is out of his field of experties. Second, Luna is not 'just' a child. He doesn't know what happened during the conception but his speculation is the blessing from either of both opposite beings she received or simply a dna mutation which explains most of his observations.

A normal joker would have dark hair colors, mainly jet black, mahogany, and burgundy but hers is white as snow. In terms of innate powers, Haerem (Jokers) have the Fallen Ones' powers, however there are some who were blessed with the two archdevils, Levith and Zebub, making them more stronger than the others, while hers... is currently unknown. Although Berin is certain that it is either from a prominent angel or an archdevil.

In addition, their birth and reproduction is not like the others. They are born in an emerged red transparent crystal from below the Earth and can't reproduce by themselves.

According to Haerem ancestors, their race had always been born inside a red crystal ten decades later after the other was born and just like an egg, when the crystal cracks, we are born. Although not as an infant but in a sixteen to eighteen-year-old body with an empty mind.

From generations to generations, the whole Haerem race would always know when another youngling would be released in the crystal, or simply put born, because all Haerems would dream of it. For the location, it would be a bit difficult to find but the place where the rock should emerge would be void of life hence very easy to distinguish.

But then in Luna's case, she's the youngest throughout their race's history and was given birth twenty decades after Gringo, the youngest before Luna's birth.

'It also seemed like she's already mindful as she cursed immediately and wailed after I carried her out of the crystal.'

To further complicate things, Luna can summon a scythe in three days and possesses incredible strength and battle prowess when in fact, Berin and the others undergo rigorous training given by their elders for years and should forge their own weapon themselves if they were ready to engage in real life combat.

'I don't even know if I'll be impressed or scared when her 1st Stage of Awakening happened just this evening, which was only almost four months since her birth.

For how all these peculiarity came to happen, I need further investigation and help from the others. For now, taking Luna home is my first priority.'