Empress' Evolution

Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Trrrrrrrrrrr! It was now 5:00 am.

Mirsha woke up from her slumber soon after the second ring of the blaring alarm echoed. She turned it off and then got out of bed, leaving her tired husband to rest.

She got out of the room and then went to the bathroom to freshen up and then the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Soon after that, she cleaned the house, sweeping the dusty floor and a quick mop.

After that, she cleaned everything else and cleaned out her staff and various equipment she would use for the day. Keeping them in a [Weapon Box], the item for the day had been prepared.

At 6:45, she woke up the sleeping logs of the house. Mirsha opened the door and caught sight of the sleeping princess that was her daughter.

"Lucia, dear, wake up now," Mirsha said as she opened the curtains.

"Sssshhhhh! Hiiiissssss!" Lucia hissed in dissatisfaction, "Sunlight! My only weakness!" she said as she covered herself with the blanket and returned to the land of dreams – Cocoland as she called it.

"Lucia, wake up now; you're going to be late if you don't."

"Ughhh… five more minutes… wait, better yet, can I just skip class today?" Lucia said from underneath her fortress of blankets.

"You have a lot of nerve saying that to me. Get up now, or else… did you forget about the deal?" Mirsha stated while picking up the clothes scattered on the floor.

"Ack… I feel sluggish today."

"You are sluggish every day." Mirsha corrected."...but… for the Silver Wand… I shall go take the endeavor of completing my perfect attendance sheet." Lucia said as she slithered out of bed, crawling out of the room until Mirsha picked her up, "Thanks mom." Lucia said and went to the bathroom with slumped shoulders, still yawning.

Mirsha looked at her daughter 'walk' to the bathroom. Lucia being up this early in the morning only happens on school days. With the 'little sloth' up and about, the next one must be awakened – her husband.

She entered their room and opened the curtains, and, "SHhhhhhh! Sunlight… my only weakne-"

"Lucia already did that, Hon."

"Really?" Will came out of his fortress and then rolled down the bed. He begrudgingly left the room while crawling on the ground.

"Lucia did that too already. Stand up already before I fry your hair. Come on, this is why Lucia is so lazy all the time; she got it from you. Try acting all energetic for once, will you?"

"Fineeeee, I'll stand up but nothing more." Will stood up and yawned as he left for the bathroom, where he saw his daughter with sleepy eyes and about to doze off while brushing her teeth, "Lucia, come one scooch over; dad needs to brush his teeth."

Lucia just rinsed her mouth and cleaned her face; she gave way to her father, "Hey dad, can you convince mom to let me stay home today? I'm feeling tired."

"We both feel tired every day, and do you really want your dad to experience the pain of your mother's wrath just so you can have a day off?"

"I will mourn your heroic sacrifice, dad – ack!" Lucia received a flick on the forehead.

"If I don't get a day-off, then you don't get one either. Just accept our fate and live with despair like me that we need to leave the comfort of our home. Also, you're 11 years old; why are you already complaining about staying home?"

"I'm your and mother's daughter. I'm blessed with mother's genius and your love for sleeping."

Lucia said and left the bathroom. Will was left there shrugging his shoulders, thinking, 'She has a point.'

It took the father and daughter pair thirty minutes to freshen up and fifteen minutes to finish breakfast.

Mirsha noticed the time and cleared his throat, saying, "You two also eat slow; maybe I should wake you guys up earlier starting tomorrow?" With those words, the two hasten their consumption of necessary nutrients.

"Done!" Lucia announced.

"Done." Will also said as he raised his hands and looked at his wife with disappointment, "I can't believe you're teaching our daughter with blackmail." Will received a lovely flick on the forehead.

"Enough of that; all three of us will be late if we don't hurry."

By 7:30, they left their two-bedroom apartment and went out on their own.

Picking up the Weapon Box that was much like luggage, Mirsha went to the doorway where she found Lucia with her worn shoes and old backpack. Mirsha was a hunter, and Will was a Dungeon Manager; they make sufficient money to live, but not enough to spend on things other than what's necessary.

A lot of things were already pricy as it is.

But, seeing Lucia wear such worn-out shoes that had been with her for years made Mirsha feel guilty.

"Your shoes, they are basically falling apart. Why don't we buy a new one for you?"

"Why? It is still usable, so why waste the money, mom?" Lucia asked her mother, "Any growth spurt has yet to start anyway, so buying now would only cost us unnecessary cost… and besides, you said you would get me the Silver Wand, so I don't really want anything else."

Mirsha knew that Lucia wasn't acting to show a good daughter act; this was simply her belief. Lucia was brought up in a family that has little to no luxury other than sleep. She was raised that she doesn't have much interest.

Lucia had little interest that it was concerning enough for Mirsha and Will that they tried introducing her to different hobbies. From the dozens of things Lucia was introduced to, the thing she loved the most was Magic and pillows.

They left their apartment and walked to the station. Mirsha parted to Will and Lucia; their destination was on the opposite side of her workplace.

"Take care, mom."

"Bye honey, take care and make sure not to undertake any dangerous missions, okay?" Will said as she boarded the train with Lucia.

"I won't, don't worry."

Mirsha boarded another train leading to the station, and on the way, she read the news.

'The Hunter Association Head is resigning? That was unexpected. Oh, the newest model of the Gabal Staff is out.' Mirsha read through it and just sighed.

She reached their City's Hunter Association. No one greeted her other than her fellow Hunters, who viewed her with respect.

"Hunter Mirsha, can you help us with the Raid of the Gragal Dungeon?"

"Maybe next time, I am still finishing a quest."

"Hunter Mirsha, congratulations on reaching level 120."

"Thank you."

Mirsha was known for her excellent leadership skills despite being a Solo Hunter. She's only a B+ Rank level 118 Hunter, but she's reliable and acts as the big sister of the branch despite only becoming a Hunter five years ago.

Mirsha was walking down Hunter's Headquarters, and a middle-aged man took notice of her and quickly came to her side. Seeing this, Mirsha let out an exasperated sigh.

"Good morning Mirsha, did you think about my offer?"

"Good Morning Baek, and again, my answer is no."

"Come on, you're the only one who can lead us, Mirsha. Didn't you say that you wanted a good recommendation to reach the A-rank? This is a good opportunity for that."

"I will not partake in the hunt of the Scorching Forest; it is too dangerous. You know that."

Baek was a hunter of the B+ Rank like Mirsha. He was a veteran hunter who had hunted quite a lot of monsters in his younger years who wants to raise his Rank to A on the oncoming evaluation.

He had been talking about wanting to take on the Scorching Forest that's been the talk of the Association lately so his name would become more known. But he knows of his limits. That's why he wanted to enlist Mirsha as the leader.

"Are you really saying that? The only reason why you're still a B+ Rank hunter is because of your indecisions. As a B+ Rank Hunters, we don't earn a lot on our regular salaries, and the benefits are incomparable to that of an A-Rank Hunter. The tax they put on our hunt is unbelievable. Do you really want to continue living like this? You have a child nearing Middle-School correct? You would need a lot of money for her to go to a good school."

"Then go join a Guild if you don't like the tax cut. And I worry about my family's matters on my own, don't use them against me."

"You know Guilds are assholes, Mirsha. Didn't you also said you don't want to join them because they're too greedy?"

"Stop – follow me, and you're getting a fireball to the face, Baek."

[Women's Changing Room]

With slumped shoulders, Baek gave up, "Mirsha, if you ever change your mind, just call me, and I'll appoint you as the Raid Leader. We'll be leaving the City in two days, so contact me before then!"

When Mirsha came out of the changing room, Baek was no longer there. Mirsha spent the day hunting on her regular hunting ground outside the City, farming for Experience points and then selling the carcass of the [Blue Fur Hounds] for extra cash.

She could accept missions, but she didn't want to leave the City and endanger her life. Staying here was enough for her; hunting and earning the minimal amount of money satisfied her.

Afternoon, while Mirsha was hunting on her seventh return to the Hunting Grounds, she received a message on her HNP.

[Will: Honey, I'm sorry, but I'm going home late today, can you please pick up Lucia from school? Work has been keeping me from leaving; we were asked to monitor a Dungeon Manifestation that's at a large scale. Sorry about this (TT.TT).]

[Mirsha: I'm just about to leave too, good luck out there, Hon.]

Soon after Mirsha received the message, she left and changed her suit. Dressed in her business suit, she left the Hunter's Association with her luggage in tow.

She took the train and then reached Lucia's School.

"Excuse me, I am here to pick up Lucia?"

"You must be Mrs. Mirsha. Mister Will already called about this. Wait a minute, I'm going calling her now."

The teacher left to call Lucia.

Mirsha observed her surroundings, looking at the other kids and their clothing and then turning back to Lucia.

Mirsha inadvertently turned away from the others and just focused on Lucia.

"Bye teacher, see you tomorrow. Also, before I go, Alex is pouring adhesive substance on teacher's bag as a prank again."

"What!? Alex! Stop that!"

Lucia and Mirsha watched as a young boy experienced the wrath of his teacher. Lucia watched the suffering began, and she smirked before holding onto Mirsha's hands, smiling at the kid named Alex as if to say, 'Hah! Come at me if you dare.' Lucia had the protection of her mother, and she knows it.

The two soon left after Lucia flashed them with her victorious smile.

'Oh, she has other hobbies too, I see.'

Mirsha thought to herself, seeing that smile.

The two of them went home; when they reached their tiny apartment Lucia took off her shoes, wiped the dirt from them, and just said, "I don't mind having these kinds of shoes or backpack, you know?"

Mirsha stopped in her tracks, "What do you mean, dear?"

"Back in school, weren't you looking around the other children's accessories and clothes and comparing them to mine? You were also asking me about it this morning, which only made it more obvious. Why? Does mom think I need such luxuries? They're just material items; I don't need them."

"No, I just thought it was time to change them after so long."

"Like I said, I don't really need them. I'm already glad that we're eating well enough." Lucia stated.

"…you know sometimes you act too smart for your age."

"Thus, is the curse you have given me, Mother. And as I finish making a point, I must now retreat to my fort and rest for the day; please wake me up on dinner time." Lucia then entered her room, saying, "Don't waste money on me, okay, mom!? But if you will, I want the new pillow from Fluff Inc., okay?"

Then in a matter of seconds, Lucia fell asleep in her room after changing clothes.

That night Will came home late, but Lucia, who had been sleeping since the afternoon, woke up, ate with her family then returned to sleep like nothing.

'I wonder, how does she remain so slim?' it was a mystery for Mirsha, and soon after dinner, they finally went to bed.

But, Mirsha remained awake, her mind remaining on the past and then at present.

'…I wonder, how long has it been?'

"Is something wrong, honey?" Will asked with his eyes still close.

"It's nothing."

"Yes, and I don't like sleeping, come on, tell me what's wrong. I may not be able to open my eyes at this time, but my ears are yours."

"Okay… but don't freak out, okay?"

"When did you ever see me freaking out?"

"When your blood was taken."

"Ooohhh, yeah, I forgot about that… must have turned that into repressed memories. Well, tangent aside, I promise I won't freak out."

"I'm thinking of going through the Scorching Forest Raid."

Will finally opened his eyes, "What? Why?"

"I just think… I can do it now."

"I know of your capabilities, but…"

"Don't worry about it, Hon; I'm going to be as careful as possible. Besides, we need more money as soon as Lucia enters Middle-School." Mirsha smiled.

Will held onto Mirsha's hand, "You know I'll support you with anything, Hon, but, please, just be careful."

"Thank you, honey."

Mirsha kissed Will, and then, she left their room to contact Baek and join the Raid of the Scorching Forest.