Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

[Congratulations! You have been chosen by the System. You will gain access to most of the perks and benefits that it offers. Would you like to receive a short overview of what the System can do for you?]

No. Disappear. I need to understand what the hell is going on first.

The System screen obediently closed, and she looked at her surroundings, doing her best to appear calm despite her racing heart. Thankfully, most of the girls in the orphanage were still sleeping, and the few who were awake paid no attention to her.

Good, seems like nobody has taken notice of me yet. I can't freak out, otherwise somebody might suspect I have gained access to the System. Play it cool. Keep calm. You'll figure this out slowly.

After taking a few deep, calming breaths, Melina got up from her bed, putting on the plain gray dress that every orphan girl was wearing. As she dressed, she observed her surroundings. There was a sack of her meager belongings sitting by her nightstand—she must have packed it the day before. Right, this was the day she had to leave the orphanage. She thanked her past self and reached out to take the sack when a blonde girl about Melina's age blocked her path.

"Happy birthday, Melina!" she said in such a tone that it almost sounded like an insult. Melina had to rack her brain trying to remember who she was. It had been 20 years since she had been in the orphanage and most of the people here had already been erased from her memory. "It is such a joyous day. Do you know why?"

A few other girls, slightly younger, appeared behind the blonde one and giggled in a way Melina had only heard gnolls do. She didn't answer them, instead eyeing her sack and trying to remember whether she had any plans. No, she could not remember. This day had been so frantic it completely overshadowed any other memories.

"Because I won't have to see your face anymore," blondie laughed and the girls behind her laughed as well, as if she had just told the best joke of the century. Melina, however, couldn't care less about their jabs, instead trying not to wince from her increasingly strengthening headache.

Alright, try to remember—what was your plan before the System screen appeared? I can't freak out like the first time and be taken away to the Church. But what do I do? If only I had been brought it back just a month before now, I could have spent some time understanding what to do next. Now I have no clue what to do. I'm an orphan with no money about to be kicked out into the big world this very day.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" the blonde girl huffed angrily, hoisting her hands on her hips.

"Who are you again?" Melina asked, genuinely not remembering the girl's name. It felt like it was on the tip of her tongue, but her head hurt, and trying to dig through her memories only made it hurt more.

"Are you that dumb that you can't even remember MY name anymore?" she snorted and threw a lock of her hair behind her back as if she were some nobleman's daughter looking down at a peasant. Except that she most certainly wasn't—she wouldn't be in this orphanage then.

"No, I cannot. But I suppose it doesn't matter. After all, I am leaving today. So would you be so kind as to move out of my way?" Melina said, pointing towards her sack. The blondie turned red from anger while the girls behind her gasped in shock. She lifted her hand up and was about to slap Melina when a gruff voice called from the entrance.

"What is going on here?" A corpulent woman in her late fifties stood in the doorway, looking at the scene with unhidden disgust.

"We were just congratulating Melina on her birthday," the blondie said, her expression instantly changing to a sickly sweet one. Melina remembered this woman. She was the orphanage's owner whom everyone called 'the old hag'. The grumpy woman scoffed and then looked at Melina.

"Melina, come with me. We have matters to discuss. And you, girls, if you have nothing better to do, then there's a mountain of dishes that need to be cleaned for breakfast," she said, and the three girls growled, glaring at Melina with all the intensity of an angry kitten.

"Coming," Melina said, grabbed her pack, and followed the woman out of the bedroom, leaving the fuming girls behind. As she passed by the entrance, she caught her reflection in the mirror and stopped to look at herself.

Long, wavy hazelnut locks stretched down her back while eyes as clear as sapphires looked at her from the mirror. It was astounding to see herself so young again. She looked rather thin, since the food in the orphanage hadn't been the most nutritious but other than that she was a picture of health.

It's amazing. I'm young again. I knew what the ritual would do, but I never expected that I could experience the results for myself. Everything pointed to the fact that I would bleed out before the time was rewound, but somehow… I survived long enough to go back.

Melina stared for a few more seconds as if to make sure that what was happening was real. That her reflection remained the same and it wasn't some fever dream. But it didn't change, her own face staring back at her, confused. Melina sighed and hurried after the orphanage's owner who was waddling through the narrow corridor like a bloated duck.

I'm going to live again. To think that I'd get this chance—it's like a miracle.

"Come in, come in, Melina. We have much to talk about," the old woman cooed, closing the door of her office once the two had entered. She had something akin to a smile on her face, although Melina was pretty sure it wasn't a genuine smile. The old woman wanted something from her.

"Alright," she replied dryly and sat down on the chair in front of the owner's desk. The woman's eyebrow twitched, but her smile remained as she slowly waddled over and sat down in her own, oversized chair.

"As you know all these years we and especially I have been taking care of you to the utmost of my ability, Melina. I've always wanted what was best for you," she began her ramblings, and Melina instantly tuned her out. How could she have forgotten? It was the famous pity speech that the orphanage's owner gave to adult orphans in order to guilt trip them into "donating" some of their government stipend to the orphanage.

Right. I completely forgot, because I never really experienced this myself. It was what other kids told me. Instead I had to deal with all the System shenanigans. But since I never told the old hag that I have gained access to the System, I get to leave the same way normal kids do. By listening to an hour long monologue. Great.

Melina sighed mentally as the orphanage's owner kept going and going about all the things she had ever done for her, how she'd changed her diapers and fed her from the bottle and calmed her in the late hours of the night. Although Melina was quite sure she arrived at the orphanage when she was already five years old, long past the age of diapers and bottles.

It seems like this might drag out for a while. Maybe I can take a look at my Status Screen while she yaps. Not like she can see it anyway and it could give me an idea as to what to do next.

Melina mentally commanded the System to show her the Status Screen and it appeared right in front of the orphanage's owner's face. Perfect. She could look at the screen, but for the woman it would appear like Melina was looking at her.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

[Name: Melina Dufour]

[Level: 1]

[Class: None]

[Intelligence: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Strength: 5]

[Skill: 5]

[Charm: 5]

[Active Skills: 0]

[Passive Skills: 1]

[Archmage's Shadow.]

She barely managed to keep her expression neutral as she saw the passive skill that she definitely did not have the first time around. The woman was still prattling on without a care in the world, wiping at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Melina willed the System to bring up information about her passive skill .

[Archmage's Shadow: Once an archmage, now bound to never use magic again. However, the past cannot be fully erased.]

That doesn't explain anything. There are no additional effects, no boosts to stats or skills. Well, the first part is pretty clear—bound to never use magic again. That was the price I paid to activate the ritual.

Melina commanded the System to show her the list of basic combat classes, wondering if the skill forbade her from seeing the [Mage] class.

[Currently, you may unlock these basic combat classes: Fighter, Hunter, Rogue, and Monk.]

[Mage] class really isn't there. So is there no way for me to access magic? What would the System do if I asked it to show the requirement for unlocking the [Mage] class?

[Sorry, but you are unable to unlock this class.]

Okay, so that part of the skill is pretty clear—magic truly is out of the picture. Just don't dwell on it now. You have to remain calm in front of this woman.

Better focus on the skill—like what does 'the past cannot be fully erased' mean? Does this refer to the fact that I have retained my memories? Or is it something else entirely? I wish these descriptions weren't so vague.

"And so Melina, it is my honor to present you with this generous stipend that will be enough to sustain a young, wonderful adult such as yourself for years," the orphanage's owner said and put a meager-looking pouch onto her desk. Melina commanded the System screen to close and focused her attention fully on the woman.

"Thank you," she said and reached out for the pouch. However, the woman pulled it back a little and looked Melina in the eyes.

"You do understand that I cared for you as if you were my own daughter," she said with a smile.

Oh, great, she wants me to give her some of this money. No way. I'll need every copper coin to survive.

Melina put her hand on the pouch and adopted a long-practiced fake smile of her own.

"Of course. I have always thought of you as a mother as well. I understand that as a mother, you would always do your utmost to care for me and other children and offer us an arm and a leg for our well-being. These measly coins cannot compare for the love that you've shown me," Melina said and the woman released the pouch, something akin to shame appearing on her face.

Bullshit. You don't care for me, I don't care for you and I'm not giving you any of my stipend. Six gold coins is barely enough to survive for three months and you want to take some of that for yourself? Greedy hag.

"I… Of course, Melina. If you—" the woman began, but Melina was already up on her feet and out the door. She got what she needed, and had no reason to linger in this place anymore. But as Melina stepped out of the orphanage and onto the busy city street, once again she was faced with the question—what was she supposed to do next? She had spent seven years surviving from one day to the next, wondering each day whether she'd even see the next sunrise.

What do I even do? My magic is gone so I can't be an [Archmage] anymore even if I wanted to. Should I become an adventurer? Unlock a combat class or a support class and fight monsters again? But what would be the point of that? I'd just be repeating the same thing again only with a different class.

She looked at the people who were walking along the streets, chattering happily among themselves. She looked at the children playing, while their mothers were laughing and watching over them faithfully. They all looked happy and content, their cheeks round and healthy without any signs of starvation or illness.

Melina walked past them slowly, carefully glancing in their direction— expecting them to point fingers at her, yell at her, perhaps even attack her. She knew it was silly—these people had no idea of the future that will never come to pass. The women merely nodded their heads at Melina as she passed by and carried on with their conversation.

These people have no idea of what had happened or rather what could happen. To them I am just another orphan girl. A completely normal poor orphan girl.

For a while, Melina kept wandering through the city, observing people and how they worked, wondering whether she could do what they did. But no matter how much she looked, nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed to fit her. She felt completely lost. Even if she had no magic left in her, was still a part of who she was.

But my magic is gone and there's no getting it back. It's the price I paid to erase my mistakes.

Suddenly, as she was wandering around the shopping street, a pleasant smell wafted through the air. Melina paused for a moment and noticed a pastry shop among the sea of stores. She peered in through the clean window and shelves with freshly baked pies, cute desserts and decadent cakes while customers were patiently waiting in a long line. The sight was oddly familiar.

Melina's stomach grumbled, she hadn't eaten anything yet, and she decided to check inside the shop. Her breath hitched when she saw the woman behind the counter. She joined the end of the line without any hesitation, occasionally glancing at the shop's owner.

Could it be? No, it couldn't. But she would be… right around this age after the time rewind.

"What would you like, dear?" the woman behind the counter asked Melina with a bright smile when it was her turn at the counter. It was without a doubt Elenor, only twenty years younger.

It took Melina a moment to tear her eyes away from her and look at the desserts displayed behind the glass case. The variety and colors overwhelmed her—she hadn't seen so much food in one place in years.

"I'll take a slice of chocolate cake. A-And some milk too if you have it," she said, pointing at the dessert closest to her. It felt wrong to order something so rich and decadent, but she wanted to taste it. Elenor's bread tasted wonderful so this cake must be something out of this world.

"Of course. That'll be five silver coins, dear," Elenor said, and Melina didn't even feel bothered by the high price. Logically, she knew that with the little amount of money she had, every little coin mattered. But this was Elenor—Melina was willing to make an exception.

She put a gold coin on the counter, and Elenor quickly counted the change. She was working fast, cutting up a slice of cake and retrieving a glass of milk from a refrigerated display case. Melina took her meal and went to one of the free seats. For a moment, she looked at Elenor, how she chatted with the customers and bustled around, smiling happily.

Could I also live a life like this? Just baking cakes, making pastries and then serving them to the customers?

Looking down at the cake, it appeared simple at first—three layers with some frosting in between them and ganache on top. But the smell was so wonderful that Melina could taste the cake from it alone.

Tentatively, she broke off a piece of it with her dessert fork and put it in her mouth. Melina chewed the cake slowly, savoring its rich chocolatey flavor and soft biscuit mixed together with the velvety cream. As she ate, tears began dripping down her cheeks. Like heavy raindrops, they fell onto the table, leaving a small wet spot behind them.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Elenor ran up to her, her face creased with worry.

"I… Yes. I'm sorry. Your cake is just so delicious it made me cry," Melina admitted, half-smiling half-sobbing. The dessert was just so good, so flavorful, so… alive. Elenor's bread had been good, but this was something else entirely. It was like a whole new world of flavor had shown itself to Melina. She wanted to see more. She wanted to know more. Could she create something like this too if she tried?

"Don't scare me like that, child. Although I am glad that you like it," the woman flushed a bit, taking Melina's tears as a sort of compliment, and left. After a minute she returned with another slice of chocolate cake and set it down in front of Melina. "Enjoy it. You look like you could use some more food in your belly."

"Thank you very much," Melina said to her, and then dug into her cake. She ate it with gusto, savoring every single bite, feeling the rich sweetness of it. While she ate it, Melina's conviction that she wanted to make something like this only grew stronger. To make something so delicious that it would bring others to tears.

"Thank you for the cake. It was incredibly delicious, Elenor," Melina said as she brought the empty plates and glass to the counter.

"I'm glad to hear that, child. Wait, how do you know my name?" the woman cocked her head curiously.

"Because you've told it to me once before," she showed a genuine smile in what felt like ages and turned to leave. Melina knew what she was going to do.