Beauty X Beast ~ Eleven!

“What in the… how’d I gain a skill level?” Even before chomping into her food, Danielle swiped her fingers across her arm, revealing the notification from the system. “Oh! Aura of Refinement? I haven't seen an upgrade in this skill for more than a year. It’s… what!” 

Skill increase! Aura of Refinement [Level 8 (Extensive) → Level 9 (Master)]!

Requirement to advance to level 10: Decide what a beautiful life looks like to you and take the steps needed to live it.

The requirement for increasing her Aura of Refinement to Perfection left Danielle absolutely flabbergasted. Until this point, all of her skill increases had been something tangible, an achievable set of instructions she would have to carry out in such a way as to progress. “What does this even mean? How many steps? How deeply into a new way of living do I need to get before it will upgrade?”

Greatly annoyed at the sudden loss of clear steps for increasing her skill—and doing her best to completely ignore the fact that she’d never wanted them to upgrade before—Danielle read over the details of the Advanced Class skill.

Advanced Skill: Aura of Refinement: Level 9/10.

Your presence subtly, permanently, and [Masterfully] enhances the beauty and charm of people and objects within your vicinity, based on the local aesthetic, reaching up to [9] meters from your body. This effect is gradual and automatic, becoming more pronounced the longer you are around people and objects or the more focused attention you give them with this skill.

Requirement to advance to level 10: Decide what a beautiful life looks like to you and take the steps needed to live it.

Danielle growled softly, swiping the words away.

“You seem disheartened. Was your knowledge truly so lacking?” The Beast's voice came from above her, causing Danielle to yelp and nearly overturn her plate as her focus broke.

Looking up, she watched with a mix of horror and interest as the massive machinery of the Beast descended from the ceiling like a spider, the cables slowly unspooling to bring it closer to the ground. “That's extremely unsettling. I can't think of a single person who would be happy to find you floating above them like that. Then again, how long has it been since other actual people were here?”

The silence stretched for a long moment, and Danielle blinked a few times as she made the connection. “Oh. A long time, then.”

“That is none of your concern,” the Beast enunciated with the sound of a steam engine attempting to turn over in cold weather. “I had come to check on your progress, and I find you glowering at your weak human flesh. Explain what your concern is, or I will take my leave.”

“Oh, right.” Danielle shook her head, tapping on her arm where golden letters had been etched by the system. “I just increased a skill from my Advanced Class. First of all, I never even considered that I would still be able to level those skills up after getting my Full Class. But, most importantly, the level increase requirement to achieve Perfection is… rather abstract.”

“That's a good sign.” The Beast jabbed a finger at the table. “Eat your food while I explain. It is a waste of your time to only sit and listen when you could be doing another task at the same time. Now, a ready answer for your first concern is that, by accepting your next class, you have locked yourself out of gaining new skills in your previous classes. Yet the system knows you aren’t always done with what you left behind. Anything already available to you can still increase up to Perfection.” 

The Beast paused a moment, and the Enchantress hurriedly took a bite of her food. With a grunt of approval, he continued speaking. “It is worth doing so, as it will provide system merits when unlocking skills in your Full Class. This may allow you to gain a better version of whatever skill you would have otherwise gained.”

“You don't mean to tell me that I may have missed out on gaining the Full Class skill I desired because I didn’t put in my full effort into raising my previous skills? Is there a standardized rubric for-” Danielle set her fork down after swallowing a bite of fried potatoes, reaching for her notebook so as to take notes on what she was learning. 

However, the Beast tapped a hand on the table to get her attention. “You don't need to do that. Your questions have simple answers. Read A Treatise on Skills in the general knowledge section of the library if you desire to have a better understanding of the subject. As for the abstract nature of your skill increase, again, that is a good sign for earning merits. If you have only simple requirements, you will only gain basic benefits from the system for completing them. In fact, this is a similar issue to what the Comte is facing currently.”

“But… there's no clear direction for upgrading!” Danielle shook her head, realizing how her complaint sounded. Letting out a soft chuckle, she shrugged and waved off her own concerns. “Then again, reaching Perfection only lets me more readily enhance the beauty and charm of the things or people around me. I likely have a long time before my Full Class skill unlocks, so I suppose it's not necessary for me to reach Perfection in the near future. But… I do so despise leaving things unfinished.” 

The Beast was silent for a few minutes as she ate the remaining food on her plate. When she finished, she settled back and looked up at the dangling, multi-limbed food preparation apparatus. “Thank you for yet another delicious meal!”

“It can't understand-” The Beast's chastisement was cut short as one of the limbs waved at her. “That… that is not supposed to be possible.”

“Sneezy told me that it was sad I was late for dinner. I just wanted to show it how much I appreciated the effort,” Danielle awkwardly explained after the Beast trailed off. “Err… it's always a good idea to be extra nice to the people who make your food. Or entities, I suppose?” 

That got his attention, and the eyes of the machine glowed brighter. “The other automatons can understand it? Again, this is supposed to be an impossibility. I need to inform the Comte. Also… as you have been given permission to continue your study of Doc and Sneezy, a third guard has been assigned to follow you. Do not attempt to influence it.”

The cables attached to the Beast retracted, near-silently pulling the machine back up into the shadows along the ceiling. Danielle watched him go with a shiver, halfheartedly shouting after him, “That’s still extremely creepy! Now… where's the third guard?”

“Duke will be waiting for you in the library or your room, whichever area you prefer to go next.” Sneezy quietly explained as it stared up at the ceiling. “I'm uncertain what the consequences of you informing the Comte of our ability to converse will be. Remember me fondly if I am decommissioned.”

“I won't let him!” Danielle gasped at the thought of the little flamethrower’s fire being quenched. “You're far too interesting to be cast aside. If you've been learning, improving, and growing beyond what was originally expected of you, that can only be a good thing.”

Her guards remained silent as Danielle walked back to the library, and she winced slightly at the thought that she may have inadvertently done something which would cause them to be destroyed.

As she pushed open the door to the library, a quick scan of the room revealed no new guard. Looking around suspiciously, Danielle went back to her favorite chair, pulled out her notebook, and eagerly picked up where she had left off with her studies.

Hours passed in quiet concentration, the rhythmic scratching of her quill the only sound in the large library. Eventually, a familiar tingling discomfort crept into her legs. Even with her enhanced flexibility, Danielle couldn't remain seated in the same position for so long without some discomfort, so she leaned back to stretch out her legs… only to feel a soft object shuffle under her feet. 

Slightly taken aback by the change, she slowly shifted her position so she could see what was under her… only to raise an eyebrow quizzically at the seemingly normal footrest. “That's a comfortable resting position, thanks. Are you a machine as well? My new guard?”

“That is a cushion, madame Danielle.” Doc’s tinkling voice called out with wry amusement, causing her to blush ever so slightly. “Not every object in the manor has been… enhanced.” 

“Sorry, that might’ve been silly of me to-” The footrest wiggled, letting out a low growl when she tried to push it away. Danielle was startled into letting out a soft shriek, which she quickly stifled with both hands flying up to cover her mouth. “Ahh!”

“Doc…” Taking a few deep breaths, she cautiously watched the footrest, then turned to the razor-edged guard which had been assigned to her since the day she arrived. Danielle quizzed him with mock severity. “Did you play a prank on me?”

Doc's silence, combined with the slight *whirring* emanating from Sneezy, told her everything she needed to know. Danielle couldn't help herself, and a chuckle bubbled up from deep within her, turning into a deep belly-laugh. “You totally played a prank on me! Was this revenge for accidentally alerting the Artificer to how you’ve all been growing? I totally deserved that!”

Both of her original two guards started making sounds she could only interpret as laughter. As the laughter of the group began to subside, Danielle lifted her feet from the footrest and stood, shaking her head but still allowing the smile to linger on her lips. “With that, I think I've officially stayed up too late. What's your name, little guy? Oh, the Beast already told me. Duke, right?”

“Unfortunately, Duke is not equipped with a method to hold conversation,” Doc explained in its sharp, tinkling voice. “His original design is based on a guard dog, though he has been lazing around the manor for the last six years. At this point, it might be better to describe him as a pet dog.”

The footrest, now confirmed to be her newest guard, growled slightly, capturing Danielle's full attention once more. She noticed that the fabric across the cushion had clearly once been a deep, velvety red, but it had faded to a muted, pinkish hue. 

Reaching out, the Enchantress stroked the cushion, feeling more than seeing the intricate gold threadwork running along the edges and across the surface, forming elaborate patterns which spoke of a true master of their craft creating the original object before its ‘enhancement’. Under close inspection, the geometric patterns shimmered faintly in the light, hinting that they may have been a material, such as gold-dipped thread, or simply worked with a high-level, system-granted skill. 

“Wow, you're a pretty little guy. I suppose I couldn't expect anything less from a member of the high nobility.” Running a hand across the cushion as though petting an actual dog, she found that the fabric was still soft to the touch but heavily worn in several areas. Especially along the edges, there were small, threadbare patches, which no one had bothered to maintain or mend. “You know what's extra interesting about you? Even with the toll time has taken on you, this was the first time I’ve seen something in the estate which is here purely for comfort and aesthetics. You must be quite important to the Comte.” 

The footrest let out a pleased grumble, shifting slightly closer as she tried to pull her hand back, forcing her to give it a few more gentle pets. That was fine with Danielle, as her mind had started wandering. “How long has it been since the Comte stopped caring about appealing to others or giving himself an opportunity to relax and recharge? I’d bet… probably almost exactly as old as you are now, hmm?” 

She blinked as she observed an oddity on the fabric surface of the cushion and leaned closer to inspect it. There were two clear, oblong sections of the fabric which looked decidedly cleaner and newer than the rest. “Was that where my feet were resting? Don’t tell me you're trying to snuggle up to me just to refresh your upholstering?”

A shift in its position, slightly sagging in the middle, was the only indication she’d been understood and had guessed correctly. 

“Giving me the puppy-dog eyes would only work if you had eyes.” Danielle shook her head and smiled. “I'm too tired to delve into this right now; let's go to bed. Wait… the bed's not ‘enhanced’, is it?”

“Absolutely not,” Doc deadpanned, earning itself a squint from the Enchantress. 

After getting ready for bed, Danielle looked at the three guards stationed to keep an eye on her. “Doc, you're made out of razor blades, Sneezy, you might light my bed on fire, so I hope neither of you take offense to my having never held you close at night. I want to try an experiment. Duke, here boy!” 

The footstool happily jumped up onto the bed, twirling in place a few times before going still at her feet. Danielle watched on with the bemusement, as it didn't lay down—it had solid, stiff legs—but otherwise acted exactly as she’d expect a dog to do. 

“Are you sure about this, madame?” Sneezy carefully questioned the Enchantress. “You were given explicit instructions not to attempt to alter your newest guard.”

“I just reached level nine in one of my skills, and I want to see what close contact will look like. It's only a surface-level change; I'm not opening him up or anything like that.” Danielle snuggled deeper into the bed, wrapping her blanket tightly around her. “Let's see… I’m focusing my attention on Duke… and going to sleep. Hopefully, by morning, you’ll have some of your color back, little guy.”