--- You have slain the corrupted hydriad. You received 630 EXP. The Goddess Artemis favorability towards you +2.
--- You have leveled up! Return to the nearest shrine to activate the class change. May the gods be with you!
--- Return to the chieftain to receive the rewards for the quest.
"Now that's done, let's get it over with."
The former hydriad had finally revealed her human form to Brook and David, who were bedazzled by the bright light illuminating the whole forest. They still had no idea what kind of creatures the woman in front of them was, but they stayed silent in fear of offending her, a mysterious powerful entity.
"What are you?" Brook muttered.
"An enigma," she said. "I can easily fool the gods even with the system, though I have to take some precautionary first before anything else."
The woman in front of them plastered a smile. She had the fairest skin out of all the women they had seen; her nose, hair, and lips couldn't be described than anything less than perfect. The white silk dress that dropped to the ground accentuated her feminine figure. It would be a stretch not to call her a god.
"You guys are so cute," she winked. "Anyhoo, it was so annoying to be in that skin. The poor naiad was already begging me to kill her. Although I did, I did it in a way she loved – giving the human she loved access to the springs."
"So, that's why you were labeled as corrupt by the interface," said in realization by David. "How'd ya pass through their surveillance, dear fair lady?"
"Stop kissing ass," she harrumphed. "You can call me Deirdre. With a little bit of titanium, and of course powers that could oppose them, you can do anything you want."
"Uh-huh," Brook said skeptically. "How did the system recognize the mission clear? And what are you?"
Deirdre, who's identity is still unknown, sat down on the large root elevated from the ground. She slid her hands onto her hair and pushed it behind her ear.
"Well, it's really really simple. All you have to do is understand how the system works, even if you don't know how it was made. The deal I made with the naiad was something, more or less, about identity taking."
Brook's face turned sour after hearing what she said. There was a fine line between taking someone's identity and controlling their body as if they owned them. In his head, he thought of Deirdre as even worse than gods who gave him powers over fate.
"You must think I'm worse than those old fogeys, but I'm not. Here's the contract she had signed under full disclosure."
Deirdre gave the piece of paper enchanted my complex magic to Brook, who read everything from top to bottom. It was stated in the paper that the hydriad (naiad) would willingly turn over its life to Deirdre, the contractor, in return of accomplishing tasks she gave out, including her own death.
"She didn't specify what kind of death she wanted. I'm glad that's over now, because I already finished what I needed."
She used her own magic to elevate herself up from her position. From there, she flew over the David, who had been quiet all the time.
"You know, you're pretty hot for a human," she flirted.
"Thanks," David scratched his head. "I guess?"
"Brook!" Deirdre suddenly called out. "I almost forgot to answer your queries. Oh, I just love using British words."
She then flew over to Brook, who had sat down from overloading his head with thoughts he couldn't absorb.
"First and foremost, the system. It's created by your Neutrum gods just to keep everything under their wraps. Well, of course, many strong creatures could easily bypass that."
"What are Neutrum gods?" David asked, feeling left out.
"Dear David," she slowly said. "Neutrum gods are gods from either side of Bonum or Malum that decided to join up as one force to stop the war. Or so they said. However, in layman's terms, what they actually wanted was control of everything."
After telling David, who was now in a state of utter confusion, she went ahead and talked about the questions Brook had.
According to Deirdre, she did not in anyway risk herself to the gods because of her own powers and some item she couldn't say out loud. Anyway, with or without the item, she could stay hidden from the gods whom she despised so much. She moved away from them, easing the tension they both had felt from the overbearing aura she exuded.
"Oh, my god!" She shrieked. "I totally forgot about my aura, sorry. Right, I also forgot about my thing, silly me."
Deirdre explained to them why she needed us, specifically Brook. Brook was sponsored by a Netrum god, he could basically go everywhere without risking his identity and he could also bypass some of the systems that those gods made, though she did not clarify about what it is that he had to pass through.
"So, basically, you're on the neutral plane of the ongoing war between the two sides?" David summed up everything he understood. "And you, Deirdre, want us to take something from both sides. Is it because you couldn't?"
"Never thought you had a brain," she smiled. "Basically, that's it."
"What is it for us?"
She had stated that she would give something they both wanted and it's still subject to change, even after they have said their requests. Something of equal value will be given, and if their demand wasn't enough, she would give additional rewards as compensation to the labor work they will do.
Brook remained skeptical, clearly maintaining distance from her. The trust in this exchange was, with no doubt, missing. Even Deirdre held some reservations in the negotiation.
"I can also unlock the artifact that you're holding as bonus," she offered.
The sword artifact in my sheath was still lifeless. An artifact that grew from and harnessed magic had a life, and back then, according to legends, they could take on a physical form. For example, King Arthur's Excalibur. Excalibur was known to be an ill-tempered sword, and whenever it had taken on a human form, its mouth, or in this case his mouth, would never stop blabbering about how annoying he was.