Chapter 22: Day 101 - 105
- Day 101
When I woke up this morning, it felt like almost an entire year had passed in my sleep. It was strange but the feeling quickly left when I looked to my side to see Fu sleeping soundly by my side. The others had returned to their own rooms after having their way with me though Fu and Hazuki decided to go for another round. I swear they must have some form of endurance skill I'm unaware of.
Regardless of all of that, once we had woken up and I was successfully freed from Fu's grasp, which was surprisingly difficult since I didn't want to hurt her, we all went downstairs for breakfast. We got a few odd looks from some of the patrons but the people who were here yesterday had already gotten used to our presence. What worried me was the strange looks I received from the people who shared the same floor as us. I probably should have sealed the rooms so that sound didn't leak out.
Since I can't exactly go around eating people's souls in the city, I decided to join everyone for the meal this time. It's not bad, eating alongside others. The inn's poster girl, the bear child who almost witnessed something unpleasant, also joined us for a chat when she wasn't busy. Thanks to her, we learned that in order to enter the dungeons, any race recognised as a monster needs to buy an identification plate. Essentially a dog tag used by monsters to show that they aren't spawned by the dungeon. Even with that, the likelihood of a monster being mistaken for a dungeon monster is still quite high. Supposedly, the monster should be exonerated for acting in self defence but a lot of people, soldiers and civilians alike, don't see it that way. I don't really care but apparently the price to buy them can range from two silver to forty silver. I'm assuming the increased price only happens when a fool shows up or someone they don't like since it's necessary to enter the dungeon. At least in this city, you also have to buy a new one every time you enter, supposedly to prove that it isn't stolen or fake. I guess it's a good thing I managed to acquiesce some money from the bodies during the little war in the forest so we don't have to worry about that for now.
The main issue I've been fretting over is who to take with me and who to leave. I doubt Emery would do well in the dungeon, although I'm sure she would enjoy looking at all the ores. While I was thinking about this, Emery and Cilia came up to me and told me that they would like to explore the city and look at the kinds of things they sell. Cilia is interested in the crafts made with the moonstone while Emery wants to take a look at the work of the city's blacksmiths. I said that was fine but as I don't trust this city to be kind to two beautiful women walking the streets alone, I decided that Rinbo, the Dullahan and Ven, the Tiger man, would go with them. Both to protect them and to carry their purchases if need be. They agreed surprisingly fast and promised to make sure they stay safe or die trying. I admit that I'm impressed with their attitudes. I'll have to reward them if the day goes well.
Taking the rest of the group with me, we made our way to the dungeon's entrance. If I were to give my honest opinion, I would say it looked like a tourist attraction. Lisbeth went to find the merchant along with Sei and Dou so I was left to take a look around and purchase the IDs. All kinds of people wandered aimlessly around the area. Merchant stalls were selling strange crafts and pawning off poorly made jewellery. Some of them were actually trading cash for the Moonstone people managed to collect in the dungeon. Naturally, they charged extra. From what I could tell, the merchants and veteran adventurers tended to stay away from them, knowing it was a rip-off while the newer, younger adventurers happily cashed in their hard work for a pittance. It's kind of sad. I suppose that just goes to show the difference in education and experience.
I eventually found the one handing out, or rather, selling the IDs for monsters. The well armed soldier took one glance at me and a small glint of a smirk could be seen on his face. This should be annoying. I was right. The moment I asked for an ID, he told me I would need to pay a total of 48 silver for my own. This place is full of rats. I decided to use {Expert Bartering} and {Noble Knight's Ancestry} in an attempt to lower the price and I did quite well if I say so myself. In the end, Hazuki, Lisbeth, Ramura and Sigul didn't need the IDs so I only had to buy four. I managed to barter the price down from 84 silver to a measly 10. Safe to say the soldier wasn't seeing straight after that. I'd be surprised if I couldn't convince him that he's a flying purple dragon with skills like that.
With the IDs hanging around our necks, we were ready to head in. It didn't take long for Lisbeth, Sei, Dou, the miners and the merchant to show up. They had a shocked expression when they saw me, a relatively young-looking lord standing there waiting for them. Lisbeth made an attempt to introduce us but the merchant cut us off, citing time constraints. For a merchant, he's surprisingly young and well-built. He probably comes from a rich family, able to supply him with everything he needed to get started.
He went over the plan, saying that we were to guard them against anything that appears in the mines, stay alert at all times, especially once we've reached the lower levels and to not touch any of the ores. The last one was more of a demand than an instruction. The greedy little shit actually got so close to me while saying it that I could smell the drugs on his breath. He doesn't escape from all of the stereotypes. As I was thinking about this, the sound of glass shattering echoes in my head.
{Skill: {Merchant's Intimidation} has failed to take effect due to interference from Ko'Oh Tept's skills {Mind Resistance}, {High Magic Resistance} and {Nullify Negative Status Effects}
{Ko'Oh Tept's skill: {Counter Magic} has taken effect}
The Merchant who had attempted to intimidate me suddenly fell to his knees as his entire body shook in fear. It would appear that {Counter Magic} reflected the effects back at him. It's strange though. Normally {Magic Resistance} and {Counter Magic} should only work against magic used against me, not skills. Perhaps it was something I gained from evolving? The {Chaos Lord} race is extinct after all and I'm a variant on top of that. The other interesting thing to note is that {Counter Magic} activated on it's own. The last time I used it, I had to manually activate it. This time, I got another one of those strange notifications and now I have merchant who's wet himself on his knees in front of me. I let out a sigh and told one of the miners to help him up and tell him not to try anything like that again. The miners quickly agreed, as did the merchant.
Having entered the mine, it looked just about the same as one would expect a mine to look like. A little wider, sure, but not all that different from an average mine. If anything, the only real differences I can see is that normal people are allowed to wander in and little monsters scamper around the place. I tried killing a few of the lizard-like monsters but eating their souls gave me no skills so I gave up on that. As we descended lower into the mines, the people we'd see became more scarce and those that were around looked much more experienced and well-equipped. Come to think of it, the miners and the merchant came here pretty poorly prepared, all things considered. The miners are young, the carts for carrying the ores are brand new and the merchant, having gotten over his intimidation, is as oblivious to to the dangers around him as a newborn baby. Speaking of which, I wonder when the girls will end up having a child. It's not like I've been trying not to. Not like I've been trying to either I suppose.
We reached the entrance to the next floor and were about to go through when the guard stopped us. He informed us that the next floor was unexplored and only those of B-rank or above would be allowed to enter. When Lisbeth showed the guard that she is of an appropriate rank, he begrudgingly let us through, saying that our deaths wouldn't be on his head. I can understand why they do it but really, no one in this city likes to take responsibility.
Once we reached the floor the merchant specified, I activated {Ardent Minds Eye} giving me a complete sense of where everything is. Noticing the creatures present on this floor were more dangerous than the previous ones, I let the group know, telling them to stay on their guards and keep an eye on our employers. The merchant brushed off my caution and warning and yelled at the miners to hurry up and find an ore deposit and start digging.
It didn't take long to find one since this place was mostly unexplored. The large deposit of white stone glistened with mana, making it seem almost ethereal. I should come back and eat some Moonstone essence when I get the chance. Soon, the sounds of pickaxes hitting the hard stone filled our ears. Half of us stayed on guard while the others rested, taking turns since the threat wasn't that high. During that time, however, something had, at least thought it had, snuck up on me from the shadows of an unlit shaft. Hazuki's ear twitched at the sound of the creature which was distractingly adorable. She went to draw her blade and yelled for me to look out but I didn't move, instead allowing the attacker to slam it's fist into my exposed back. I didn't activate any of my defensive skills to test what my new race's natural defences are like, though to think it would do absolutely no damage. In fact, the monster that attacked, a large golem that seemed to be made of a mixture of stone with a moonstone core in its chest, could be seen looking down at its arm, confused. Its arm had been completely obliterated when it met with the immovable object, me.
I could hear Hazuki sigh in relief as I turned to face the golem. It attempted to slam its other fist in my face, perhaps thinking that it would have better luck attacking me from the front. It was wrong. I lazily lifted my arm and caught its own in my hand. While it was struggling to free itself, the golems behind the attacker began moving closer. This gave me an idea. Time for some impromptu training.
[Kei] "Hazuki! Lisbeth! You two are on frontline duties. Sei, Fu, I want you both to support them with magic."
The group seemed surprised by my announcement, especially the miners and the merchant who seem to have been terrified by the golem. Lisbeth and Hazuki were ready and willing but Sei was upset that she couldn't use attack magic and Fu was disappointed that they weren't living creatures or undead. I got them in the mood by promising them a reward when we were done here. For the next few hours, the girls all worked hard to improve. Sei successfully held back from using attack magic while supporting the others and Fu protected her from any golems that got past the other two using her gauntlets. Apparently Emery fixed them after she melted them when she ranked up. As for Hazuki and Lisbeth, Hazuki definitely held her own better than Lisbeth. Her movements were smooth and sharp without a hint of wasted movement. Dou even commented on that, saying that he was impressed. Lisbeth on the other hand was much more brash. Her movements were bestial and random. I suppose it suits her job but she definitely got tired faster than Hazuki. That said, with the constant stream of golems, they did both tire out and fall back. Even Sei was a little out of breath since she doesn't usually use support magic or hold back.
I decided to have Dou, Ramura and Sigul take over for them while I tended to something that was bugging me. These golems shouldn't be unlimited. Either someone did what I tend to do and got a little overzealous with their golem crafting, in which case I would very much like to meet them. The other possibility I could think of is that something is spawning them automatically like an assembly line. If that's the case then I want to eat it's essence and make my own. I let the others know that I would be going to put a stop to the golems at the source and my group accepted it while the merchant and miners grew worried. When Dou and Sigul showed what they were capable of however, they quickly calmed down and kept working. Ramura didn't inspire them much though since her specialty is lightning and that doesn't exactly work very well against rock unless it's powerful. I'm sure she'll manage to break her own fair share.
As if hearing my thoughts, she perked up and began firing off bolts of electricity with twice the power as before, smiling meekly in my direction. I chuckled for a moment before turning and running down the shaft, accidentally destroying golems as I ran. With the help of {Ardent Minds Eye} I managed to get to the end of the golems and find myself at the entrance to a strange room. The room itself is well lit by moonstone that feels as though it's been drenched in mana. It's wide and sparse, similar to what you'd expect of a boss room in a video game. At the centre, is a large pyramid. A doorway at the bottom has a constant stream of golems spewing forth and at the top rests a glowing, white orb. If I was a betting man, I'd say that's what was creating these things.
I could feel the saliva dripping from my mouth as I thought of the taste of that orb's essence and what skills it would give me. Without wasting another second, I began sprinting towards the pyramid, leaping up to the top in a single bound with {Improved Jumping Ability} and completely ignoring the golem infested pyramid below. Now standing within reach of the orb, I could now see that inside of the orb is a small image of the Moonstone golems it has been replicating. I suppose that means it can only create one thing at a time but it can make a whole lot of them. Without wasting another moment, I take the essence of the orb and eat it. The taste is light, soft and fluffy like a marshmallow.
{Skills Gained: {Golem Replication} {Item Replication} {Auto-Alchemy} {Equivalent Exchange} {Greater Mana} {Spawn Point} {Command Settings} {Advanced Golem Creation} {Light}}
That was a surprising amount. A lot of those skills could easily be synthesised with others which is exciting. {Golem Replication} and {Item Replication} sound amazing but they aren't able to create them out of thin air. It's only been working because it's been pulling resources from this mine. {Equivalent Exchange} lets me trade one item for another as long as they hold the same worth. {Spawn Point} only works with the {Golem Replication} skill and other similar skills to choose where the replications are "spawned". {Command Settings} is interesting since it lets me give commands to my golems on a much greater scale than before. It actually seems similar to coding. For example, I could send them hunting, gathering or set them to obey certain commands or protect certain areas. {Light} is exactly what it sounds like. It lets me create light at various levels of brightness. Whoever created this place just wanted to make their orb look cool.
With the orb gone, the golems stopped moving as well. I wonder...
[Kei] "Kneel!"
The golems did as I asked and kneeled where they were standing.
[Kei] "Holy shit."
Not a moment after I did that, Lisbeth contacted me with {Ally Communication} to ask if I had done that, saying that all of the golems suddenly started kneeling in front of them. I told her they were under my control now and not to tell the merchant or the miners and that I would be back soon. She accepted my explanation and stopped the communication. With an army of moonstone golems at my command, I decided to finally check out the inside of the pyramid, thinking that there must be something else inside if they created a golem army to protect it.
Going inside, it was almost impossible to move through the sea of golems so I commanded them to go outside, making sure to specify "outside the pyramid" not outside the dungeon. With the golems cleared out and waiting outside, I could now walk around without bumping into one. The place is larger than it looks but a lot of old artwork, items and high quality moonstone clutters the place. I can collect all of that later though. The thing that interests me is the fancy sarcophagus at the back. Something about it felt like it was trying to draw me in. Like the moment I opened it I would be devoured.
Not willing to take the chance of a mummy pharaoh jumping out at me, I drew {Volcanic Shard} the lance I got from the Mother Cherufe, from my storage. Taking a moment to aim, I threw it towards the sarcophagus, obviously not using anywhere near my full strength. The lance hits its target, burning through the fancy coffin's material. As I was enjoying the show, the sarcophagus began screaming. That's right. It was screaming.
The sarcophagus shakes and trembles as it tried desperately to open. This is just getting depressing. I decided to end its misery and use Chaos Magic, <flare>. The ball of fire slams into the sarcophagus and explodes in an explosion of flame. The shrieking soon died down and the Sarcophagus falls to the ground, burnt to a crisp. With whatever that was, dead, I walked over to its corpse and devoured its soul.
{Skills Gained: {Transfiguration} {Mimic Appearance} {Advanced Disguise} {Void Grasp}}
Was that a mimic? With those skills it seems likely. Considering I didn't get anything besides the skills from defeating it, this wasn't a boss which means there's likely a lot more floors to go through. I made sure to give its body one last kick before putting the pyramid's loot in my storage and collecting my lance. Taking another look at the golems, I opened my {Inter-Dimensional Storage} wide enough for them to step through and commanded them to do just that. As I made my way back to the group, I had every golem, even the ones currently being watched by the others, return to the pyramid and walk themselves into my storage. Thanks to that, I gained 78 moonstone golems while collecting the dropped cores on the way gave me 56 of those. In all likelihood, I'll end up taking them apart and using the cores for more powerful golems.
[???] "We need to get out of here! We've got what we came for and no idea what those golems are doing! Your boss is probably dead already so I'll give you a new job if you want, let's just go!"
Oh? That merchant is really capable of spewing shit from his mouth when I'm not around. I planned on using {Ambushing} and {Presence Erasure} to sneak up on them and {Piercing Stare} to terrify him. Instead, the moment I got there, I saw Sigul, Dou, Hazuki and Lisbeth all pointing their weapons at him while Fu and the others looked at him with glares that rivalled my own {Piercing Stare}. The merchant let out a high pitched squeak of fear and immediately apologised. That was when I decided to make my presence known. The moment the merchant saw me his face paled. He must think that I heard him, though he wouldn't be wrong. Of course, I don't plan on killing him. Why would I kill the employer if all he's done is a few negligible words? Besides, the fear instilled in him is enough punishment for now.
I told them about the pyramid and the mimic that waited inside but lied about the orb, saying that there was just a massive storage of the golems. If I said what was really there, I have no doubt that things would get annoying. Once I had finished explaining, I was informed that the miners had finished their job as well, meaning we could now leave. I'm definitely coming back here.
The guard at the entrance to that floor was surprised to see us and asked what had happened down there. Apparently fighting the golems has made quite a lot of noise. Lisbeth explained everything since I'm sure the human guard would prefer to speak to a human adventurer and, while he was shocked, he accepted her explanation before telling her to report everything to the guild. How boring.
Once we made it to the surface, the merchant handed over two rolled up parchments, telling us it was the proof of completion he had agreed upon with the guild. Lisbeth dealt with that matter and we reported in to the guild while the others went back to the inn. When we spoke to the receptionist at the guild and handed her the parchments, she seemed confused until she opened them. She immediately paled in complexion and hurried off through the back. We didn't have to wait long until she came back with a small sack that clinked with the sound of coins every time she took a step. Naturally this caught the attention of the other adventurers but I let out a bit of {Reapers Spiritual Pressure} and they backed off real quick.
In total, we earned a total of 39 silver and 57 gold. As I don't know the currency of this country very well, I was unsure whether this was a rip-off or not but Lisbeth seems to be extremely happy with this amount so it's fine. When we got back to the Inn, I found Fu, Sei and Hazuki waiting for me on my bed with Lisbeth trying to push me towards them. Apparently they already had an idea of what they wanted for their reward.
Synthesis results:
• {Advanced Alchemy} + {Auto-Alchemy} + {Equivalent Exchange} + {Item Creation} + {Item Replication} + {Transmutation} = {Creation Master}
• {Golem Creation} + {Golem Replication} + {Advanced Golem Creation} = {Golem Factorum}
• {Magic Resistance} + {High Magic Resistance} + {Lesser Magic Damage Reduction} = {Magic Dead-Zone}
• {Ambushing} + {Presence Erasure} + {Improved Ambushing} = {Total Presence Erasure}
- Day 101: Side Story
• Ven's Account
After receiving our orders from Kei, both Rinbo and I agreed that we would complete the task given to us with utmost ability. We owe our freedom and strength to Kei, obviously protecting his lovers is the least we could do.
Cilia and Emery both received looks from the surrounding humans as they looked through the shops. Some gazed at them warmly, as though they had been blessed. Others looked at them with jealousy as they continued to buy products from various stores. Others stared at them with less than noble intentions. Those kinds of people attracted some attention of their own. Ours. I'd glare at them, which would unnerve them for a moment before they started laughing to themselves. It's then that they would notice Rinbo "staring" at them. I have a long way to go before I can be as intimidating as a headless Dullahan.
Emery spent her time speaking to the blacksmiths, surprising them with her knowledge of the practice and skill in the workshop. With Cilia, it didn't matter where we went, she always got her purchases for at least half price. Honestly it was amazing seeing a high elf at work, weaving words like a spider's web that left the store owners trapped like flies. I dare say that she could convince Kei to do almost anything she wanted with negotiating skills like that.
By the time they were ready to go back to the inn, a group of humans had surrounded us. In truth, they had been following us for a few hours now. We didn't act on the knowledge since they weren't strong enough to beat us, even together. They tried it though. Catching us in an alley and demanding that we hand over our "masters". We drew our weapons and killed every enemy that came near. Unfortunately, one of the humans at the back of the pack shot an arrow imbued with magic. Where someone like that would get a magic arrow, I haven't a clue but that's not important. I attempted to get in the way of the incoming arrow, however Cilia simply pulled out a dagger and split the arrow in two before I had the chance to intervene.
Looking at the blade, it was obviously just as, if not more, enchanted than the arrow, allowing it to cut through with ease. It was likely a gift from Kei for her self protection but the way she used it to cut down the archer...I see now why high elves are held in such high esteem. I'm glad I'm on their side now. Rinbo and I both agreed, we would never do anything to anger Kei or his group.
- Day 102
Today started out the same as the last. We went down and ate breakfast together, where we were informed of a rumour going around about a group of monsters who went down to one of the unexplored floors of the mines and came back with a tonne of high class ores. Now people are scrambling to go down there and reap the rewards of whatever is left, expecting the monsters to have taken care of the worst dangers. A surprisingly valid rumour. When we confirmed it was us, the little inn girl smiled happily, telling us that this would be good for business.
As for what we would be doing today, it was decided that Lisbeth would take another guard job, though this one wasn't to the lower floor so only half of the group would go with her. The other half would also be going into the mines however it would be alongside Emery and Cilia. They had heard quite a few interesting stories about the moonstone down there and wanted to check it out themselves. As for me, I would also be going down there, however I would be going on my own down to the lower floors to search for the boss. The likelihood of it being a golem is high since the dungeon isn't an Age of Gods dungeon, rather, it's classified as [Man-Made] like Velvet's tomb.
Having had to repurchase the IDs, we were forced to stick around at the entrance for a little longer than I would have liked which brought attention to our group. A few people tried to convince Dou, Ven and the other more accepted races to join their parties while others hit on Emery and Cilia who don't look like adventurers themselves. The moment they told people who they were with, they immediately backed off. I guess there are some perks to those rumours.
We headed in and quickly split up. Lisbeth and her group went off to guard the miners, Emery, Cilia and their group went to explore, though I told them to be careful if they choose to go further down and left Dou with them as their guardian. Dou had a few misgivings about not following me to the boss but I told him I'd spar with him later and he accepted. Lastly, before I left, Fu gave me a quick bite on the shoulder. I let her teeth sink in and her pleasant face was, as always, adorable.
After separating, I made my way down to the last floor we explored yesterday. As I had already mapped out this floor yesterday with {Ardent Minds Eye} I was able to find the next floor without issue. Surprisingly, other people had decided to take the risk and come down to this floor. The guard, who had moved his station down to this floor, greeted me nervously and asked what I intended to do. When I told him I would be going further down, he didn't tell me not to like I expected. In fact, he actually wished me luck, as did a group of passersby that recognised me from the guild. Before I went down, the guard mentioned one last thing. A group of adventurers descended to the next floor with the intention of taking on the boss or at least finding plenty of loot. He asked me to keep an eye out for them since they didn't look that old or experienced. I told him I'd keep an eye out for them but the probability I'd find them alive was probably pretty low. He agreed and said as long as the bodies could be buried outside the dungeon that it was fine.
With that, I descended. The next few levels had an almost identical layout to the last, though instead of golems, various different rock creatures would sporadically challenge me. They seemed slightly stronger than the golems but "slightly" isn't going to do much when the golems were fodder. I didn't receive any skills but I did manage to collect some more moonstone.
The next floor was certainly different. If I counted correctly, it's the 17th floor. The ground stuck to my feet like glue and threatened to drag me in like quicksand. The moment I realised this, I used {Ice Manipulation} to freeze the ground where I walked, completely voiding any difficult terrain. The next floor was the same except something actually lived beneath the murky earth. Stone sharks with eyes made of moonstone would leap out of the earth and try to bite down on me. I let one of them bite me but it broke its own teeth on my skin. I quickly dealt with them and earned the {Stone Swimming} ability. Essentially it allows me to do the same as the stone sharks.
The next floor was slightly different. The ground was no longer muddy but the sharks were still present. Instead of swimming through the earth, their bodies were much more streamlined and swam through the air. With the enemies all lined up in front of me like this, I used {Charged Power Strike} to take care of them all in one go, generating enough force from the blow to send a blast of air through the shaft, destroying every shark it hit. After eating all of their essences, I gained the {Magnetic Flight} skill. From what I can tell, it lets me magnetise my body to allow false flight. Unfortunately it only works in tight spaces with high levels of magnetism or magic. I'll probably synthesis it into a better skill at some point.
I was starting to wonder if those adventurers that came down here were eaten by something. However, when I got to the 20th floor and took care of enough floating sharks to move through the area, I began to hear what sounded like people. Using {Ardent Minds Eye} I was able to see that 4 young adventurers had somehow found themselves down here. One boy, no older than 17 sat on a stone while using his sword to keep himself up, one female mage with a brown cloak and long staff who seemed to be the most exhausted, one female wearing gauntlets and not much else. A glass cannon most likely. Finally, another girl with a snapped bow at her side, lying beside the others with a defeated look on her face. All of their clothing is tattered and dirty while their weapons, besides the archer girl's bow, aren't much better.
I decided to let them know I was here with a quick shout and they jolted to their feet, before quickly falling back down, lacking the energy to stay standing. I walked out to greet them and I expected them to start panicking, though what I received instead was the resigned look of someone who had accepted death. I asked them if they wanted to survive and they strained to look at me, confused. When I showed them I possessed enough potions to get them back on their feet, their eyes regained a portion of light. As for why I'm willing to help them, the ID around my neck keeps track of that kind of thing. If I kill another adventurer down here, it'll report me and that's just too troublesome.
The mage girl was the first to respond, asking what I wanted in return. I asked what they had to give and they started pulling out various supplies. When there was nothing of interest, I began get tired of waiting, until the boy pulled out a strange looking ring. When I told him I'd heal them and get them to safety in exchange for the ring he was expectedly hesitant, though soon gave in when he realised that was the only way they would survive. He handed over the ring and I gave them a couple of mid-tier health and mana potions.
When they were refreshed enough to move, I noticed that the archer girl still had a sorrowful expression as she held the two parts of her weapon in her hands. I decided to try something and told her to hand me her weapon. Trying out {Creation Master} and {Mending} I was able to fix the bow and even improve it with the use of my {Multi-Coloured Silk} which worked surprisingly well for a bow string and enchanted it with an auto-repair function. When I handed it back to her, her eyes finally lit up and she thanked me continuously.
The other members of the party looked on in awe, especially the mage girl. When I gave in to both their puppy dog eyes and my own curiosity for the crafting ability, I fixed and enhanced their weapons as well. I gave the Fighter girl's gauntlets a strength and full-body defence buff to make up for the lack of clothing and used moonstone to repair them. For the swordsman, I replaced the pommel with a wind spirit stone and replaced the hilt with moonstone wrapped in {Multi-Coloured Silk}. For the blade, I gave it the same auto-repair function and let that do the rest of the work. Finally, I took one look at the mage girl's staff and asked her if it had any sentimental value. When she said it didn't, I took the staff and tossed it away. She was shocked but it was old, falling apart and held no value either in a store or for a mage. In short, it was cheap trash. I made a new staff out of moonstone and when she told me her magic attributes were earth and liquid, I added an earth spirit stone to the tip of the staff and smaller water spirit stones along the shaft.
When I was done outfitting them, I gave them an ultimatum. I would be heading to the boss level which was likely either the 30th floor or below so they could come with me and I would guard them while they tried to level up or they could simply use the equipment I've given them to ascend the 20 floors up and leave. The group seemed willing to risk their chances going up than going down until the mage girl pointed out that I was able to descend without getting a scratch. The others soon noticed his too and eventually agreed that sticking with me was the best option.
They followed me into the boss room where we met a giant version of the flying sharks that had been terrorising the 4 the entire time they had been down here. They all froze in place as the giant stone shark stared at us with its massive moonstone eyes. It charged, attempting to slam into us. I activated {Divinely Forged body} and stuck my hand out, catching the giant creature with ease. Following up, with {True Earth Manipulation} I forced the shark's body to crumble, killing it within the span of a few seconds.
The only thing remaining was the two eyes. Perfectly spherical orbs of moonstone three times my size. I stealthily took the essence from one orb to avoid my ability being discovered by the adventurers. From that, I gained the {Stone Sight}, {Stone Sense} and {Stone-Borne} skills. None of them are all that useful considering I have {True Earth Manipulation} but maybe {Stone Sense} will help me find some rare ore sometime. The other one was stored away in my {Inter-Dimensional Storage}. I figure the storage skill is less rare than the ability to eat souls.
We descended the rest of the way with relative ease. I'd take out anything that was too strong and let the group take out anything they could handle. Apparently, by the time we reached the 30th floor, they had leveled up quite a lot. We had now reached the entrance to what I believe is the boss chamber. Large, intricate doors that exuded a sense of dread, at least, according to the 4 humans. Without hesitating, I opened the door to reveal a cluttered alchemists lab. Research, flasks, all kinds of things were strewn about.
The 4 adventurers seize the opportunity to search the area for loot. Meanwhile, my {Intuition} skill was going mad. Something was in here, we weren't alone. I yelled for the adventurers to get behind me, however the mage girl was the only one who complied. The others ignored me and continued searching, blinded by greed. Moments after she took cover behind me, a thick black mist began filling the room. Within seconds, the other 3 had vanished from sight. Before the mist reached us, I used the moon magic spell <Moonlight Barrier>. The silver barrier erects around the two of us as we begin to hear the dying gargles of the 3 others. It didn't take long for the bubble to burst, shining a bright light in the relatively small room.
The light seemed to cause the black fog to recede, revealing the bodies of the adventurers, or rather, what was left of them. Their bodies had rotted to the extent that their bones were visible while their eyes seemed to glow with a deep red. Whatever had killed them, had taken control of their bodies. As I was about to do something, spikes rose from the floor and impaled the swordsman as he leapt towards us. The mage girl had used an earth spell. If she's fine with killing her former allies, then I guess I have no reason to hold back against them either. It shouldn't show up on my ID right? I mean, they're already dead, I think.
Just to make sure, I used {Perfect Analysis} on them, revealing that they were now called [Fallen Soul: Erik], [Fallen Soul: Riria] and [Fallen Soul: Flit]. What gained my interest though, was the other name that popped up; [Alchemist Lich: Urethius]. Considering what was happening, I quickly gathered that Urethius was the one causing all of this mess.
Opening my storage and drawing one of the Holy Staff's I had created, I used <Bolt>. The magic glowed with a pure white as the beam of lightning shot out. A screech echoed in my head as the creature gained a solid, visible form. A black lab coat covered a human skull and upper body, missing its lower half. If that wasn't enough of a pain for it, there was now a large hole in its rib cage and Lichtenberg scarring running across its bones as electricity crackles around it. The Fallen Souls quickly change targets, moving in front of their new master to protect it from me. This just gives me a bigger group of targets. Telling the mage girl to give her final goodbyes to her previous party, I launch a powered up <Flare> with my holy staff as an intermediary, turning it into a <Holy Flare>. The blast slams into the group of undead and explodes, generating a large amount of heat that I'm forced to shield the mage girl from. From the epicentre of the explosion, I could make out the visage of the lich being destroyed.
{Cleared the Boss of Moonstone Mines: Alchemist Lich: Urethius}
{Cleared With Achievements: <Solo Kill> <Time Limit> <Holy Purge> <Alchemist's Gratitude> And Earned:}
{Protector} {Loved By Alchemy} {Shield of Re*|%*#-}
{Error: ••• not unlocked yet. Unable to complete process. Analysing error...}
Earned: {Protector} {Loved By Alchemy} {One Who Hunts Undead} {Saviour}
{Automatically Consumed Soul. Skills gained}
{Black Fog} {High Level Summoning: Revenant} {Corrosive Fog} {Nether Fog} {Void Magic Lvl 2} {Suffering} {Suggestion} {Death Control-Error...}
{Automatically Synthesising {Death Control} with {Death's Repertoire}}
{Necromancy} {Undead Fusion-Error}
{Automatically Synthesising {Undead Fusion} with {Chaotic Death}}
Whoa...that was a bit of a shock to the system. Literally, as well. What was with that? My skills automatically synthesised? I couldn't obtain one skill because I hadn't unlocked another one?
The mage girl walked out from behind me and stared at the area where her friends corpses would be if any part of them remained. Her eyes were glazed over until I took hold of her shoulder and shook her lightly. She snapped back to reality, looked at me and fell to her knees crying. Not another one...
I let out a sigh and contacted Lisbeth through {Ally Communication}, telling her that we may have another person to look after for a day or two. She confirms that there's enough space at the inn. I give her my thanks and end the call, kneeling down in front of the mage girl and as I was about to tell her she could stay the night with us, she interrupted me by throwing her arms around me and crying even harder.
I let out another sigh and stayed still, letting her cry as much as she needed and patting her back in an attempt to soothe and calm her down. About ten minutes later she had calmed down enough to stop crying, allowing me to go and collect the loot. There wasn't much in terms of weaponry or armour or even magical items in general but there were plenty of instruction manuals on how to make them. It should come in handy with my skills in creation.
After that, I carried the mage girl on my back and made my way back to the entrance. The guard at the lowest explored floor noticed us but I told him that she was the only one left. When he asked what happened, I simply said that we had a run-in with a boss and left it at that. When I exited the mines, I found everyone waiting for me. The girls all raised a brow at the sleeping teenage girl on my back so I told them that I had no intention of adding to my lovers. Hearing that, they seemed to let it go although Sei was curious about the mage girl, citing that she would like to talk to her when she's awake.
We went back to the inn and had a bed brought into Mine, Fu and Hazuki's room where we placed the mage girl for the night. Nothing else happened that night since here was an underage girl in the same room.
Synthesis Results:
{Advanced Disguise} + {Disguise} + {Mimic Appearance} + {Transfiguration} = {Malleable Form}
• {Heart of the Sword} + {Heart of the Shield} = {Heart of the Warrior}
• {Improved Life Drain} + {Acolyte's Life Drain} = {Advanced Life Drain}
• {Advanced Lightning Tolerance} + {Lightning Tolerance} = {Lightning Nullification}
- Day 102: Side Story
• Mage girl.
When Erik had asked me to join his party, I was surprised. He was known as both the [Rookie King] and the [Playboy Rookie] so I had my doubts. The other members of his party were both females as well so I certainly have a grasp of what he likes and wants. I would have rejected his offer, were it not for the fact that I'm currently low on money. I had just spent everything on an impulse buy that consisted of a rather expenses magic tome. While I did manage to learn some of the spells within it, I didn't even have enough money left to eat. I suppose it was obvious to him as well because he offered to pay for my meal and a new robe since my current one had become rather dirty.
The other girls giggled and complimented him on his chivalry but I could see it in their eyes. They're not interested in any of this. He likely bought them those clothes, those weapons. It was well known that he had enough money before becoming an adventurer to live off. The growling of my stomach hindered my thoughts and I accepted the deal. He bought me a brown cloak to match my favoured element, earth.
While we were eating, I overheard a group of people talking about how the 15th floor of the moonstone mines had been successfully explored, mined and looted by an unknown group consisting of monsters, mainly. Erik heard it too, commenting about how we would be going into the mines today to explore the 16th floor and below. Was he insane? I don't know. Definitely greedy. I couldn't pull out though. I owed him for the robe and the food. Perhaps that's one of the ways he gets his girls. It's disgusting.
We left the inn we had been eating in and found our way to the mines, descending down to the 15th floor. To be honest, the moonstone of this floor was clearly beyond the previous 14 floors. Why Erik wasn't happy with gathering the moonstone from here, I would never know. The 16th floor was filled with rock creatures I had never seen before. Each one took all of us to defeat, though my newer spells were able to dispatch them quicker than when the others got in the way.
Through our hard work on the 16th floor, I got to know the two girls a little better. The archer was called Flit. She was from a small village that needed the money she gained through working to survive. She was a little arrogant though because of the bow she carries. It had been given to her by the village chief, handed down for decades. It looked like a cheap bow but perhaps I missed something. The scantily clad fighter was called Riria. She was Erik's childhood friend, though she was the daughter of one of his family's servants. She promised to protect him no matter what and hoped to marry him, though she knew how little of a chance that had of happening.
When we got to the 17th floor, everything went to hell. Erik took the first step and was immediately trapped by the wet earth. It stuck to him and he started panicking. The girls tried to pull him out but his flailing got them stuck as well. They called out to me but I noticed that they had started sinking into the ground. I could have run. No one would have known. Instead, like an idiot, I reached out. They all grabbed my arm and before I knew it, we had all sunk into the ground.
The world was black. A squelching sound was all that I could hear until my hand felt the presence of air. Air. I desperately dug my way through the ground, finally getting my head free. I took in a deep breath before opening my eyes, seeing something even more terrifying. Stone Sharks swam beneath the earth below, waiting for us to fall into their mouths. Before I could fall, I freed my hand and staff, using the level 2 earth spell <Stone Barrage> to launch a flurry of small rocks at high speed at the creatures below.
The sharks avoided the stones, swimming deeper into the ground but they were never my target. The stones had formed a makeshift platform that I was able to land on once my body was free. Looking around for the others, I noticed them about to fall from the ceiling. Using the level 1 spell <Stone Formation> I was able to create another platform nearby for them to land on. They landed painfully bunched up and a loud snap resounded. Worried one of them had broken a bone, I called out to them but when Flit raised her distraught eyes to face me, I realised to her, it was something far worse. Her bow had snapped in half.
We didn't have time to comfort her as the sharks had returned, slamming themselves into the platforms. Erik swung his blade at them repeatedly, though it only served to chip the sword. With no other choice, I used <Stone Formation> once more, taking control of both of our platforms before yelling for them to hold on to it. With that done and everyone staying low and holding on to the platforms, I used the spell to send both of our platforms through the quicksand-like mud. It didn't take long until we made it through the other side, falling onto a hard floor. A hard, stable, floor. The 4 of us took a moment to catch our breaths before Erik gets to his feet and walks over to me.
For some reason, he picked me up by the collar of my robe and started yelling at me. What had I done? I had saved their lives. Why was he angry. Riria and Flit quickly tried to pull him away and calm him down as I fell on my behind. While Riria continues to speak to him, Flit offered me a hand up, thanking me for saving them. When I asked why Erik had gotten angry at me, she said that he had never experienced anything like this before and likely just blamed the first thing he saw that wasn't them.
I was about to tell them that it's fine when a strange sensation made the hair on the back of my neck literally raise. I turned on my heels to see the source, finding a stone shark swimming through the air. The feeling of dread filled my bones but I had to do something. We would all die if didn't. What did I study for, if not for this moment.
{Prerequisite: Earth Magic Lvl 3 - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Liquid Magic Lvl 3 - Complete}
{Skill Unlocked: Overflowing Mana}
{Skill Unlocked: Perfect Mana Control}
{Blessing Received: Divine Protection of the God of Nature}
{Skill Unlocked: Gaia's Tome}
{Magic System Unlocked: Nature - Lvl 1}
{Job Unlocked: Druid}
{Job Unlocked: Nature's Guardian}
{Prerequisite: Desperation - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Reincarnated - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Perseverance - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Beloved By Nature - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Determined - Complete}
{World Mission - [Saviour's Call] Now Commencing}
I barely remember anything that happened after my head was flooded by those notifications. Had a god descended to save us? That's what it seemed like. I felt my body suddenly well up with mana. Roots shot up from the ground and entrapped the sharks. I blanked out. When I awoke, Riria told me that I saved them and Erik carried me to safety. They asked me why I had been hiding such amazing magic but I was at just as much of a loss as they were. That was when I was suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion. I was close to collapsing when a voice called out. I must have been imagining it. There couldn't be anyone else down here. Who would be stupid enough to come down here. No, maybe it was a party of high ranking adventurers. If that was the case, we may be saved.
I was incredibly wrong. From around corner walked a humanoid creature. A lord, most likely. Purple eyes, black hair, a marking beneath his eye and skin so pale it looked porcelain. It wore a coat, shirt, pants and boots with what looked to be ivory accessories. I wasn't the only one to notice it. The others froze in place. Their eyes showed a sense of dread that bordered on giving up. It greeted us but nobody moved.
It gazed at us curiously, as though it were trying to figure out what condition we were in. While I was thinking that, something unexpected happened. It offered help. That was when I noticed the ID hanging around it's neck. The others wouldn't respond, they had already resigned themselves to death. That was, until the monster showed us a collection of potions. The others sat up, hope reignited within them. The monster waited for an answer so I asked it what it wanted in return. There was no way a monster would offer something like that without an ulterior motive.
Eventually it was decided that Erik would give up his signet ring. Apparently it wasn't worth much anymore but the monster seemed to find it interesting. Once we had partaken in those potions, it was obvious that they were of much greater effect than the potions sold by the merchants in the city. My curiosity had been peaked. Even more so when it did something unbelievable. It fixed Flit's bow. In fact, the bow itself became something worthy of being passed down as an heirloom. It did the same thing with Erik's sword and Riria's gauntlets. When it got to my old staff, it didn't fix it. Instead, it tossed it away.
I was shocked when it pulled out moonstone from thin air and began melding it into the shape of a staff. The finished product was amazing; just holding it made me feel like my mana was welling up again. He then gave us an ultimatum. We could try our luck ascending the 20 floors back to the surface on our own or we could follow him as he went to the 30th floor, leaving alongside him when he was done. The answer seemed obvious to me but he others thought otherwise. Just because we have a few new weapons, doesn't mean we can survive the horrors above us. We would be better off relying on this monster.
After they agreed, we followed him into the boss room as he called it. It was there that we saw the massive stone megalodon. I couldn't feel my legs as I stared up into its massive orbs. It charged, intent on devouring us. The monster stood in front of us and took the blow. I expected to see the monster injured or dead but he just stood there, holding the nose of the giant shark with little to no effort. What followed next will forever seem like something out of a fairytale. The shark crumbled, leaving the two massive moonstone eyes behind.
Once the 4 of us regained our bearings, we followed the monster further down. We faced many strange stone creations. The monster even helped us deal with them, saying that it would be best for us to level up if we ever wanted to do something like this again. We did as we were told and it worked. Nothing stood in our way. That was until we made it to the 30th, final floor.
They died. All three of them. They forgot the terror. They forgot the training they had just been put through. They were greedy. They ran off to loot the room and ignored his warning. They died. Then they came back. Erik was the first to attack us but I used <Stone Spear> to stop him. The spike ran through his chest but he still gargled and shrieked. That's when the monster used magic of its own. When I looked up, he held a white staff that exuded a sense of purity as white lightning crackled around the dark creature at the other end of the room.
The others moved to guard the Lich but the monster simply launched another spell. This one completely obliterated them all. It was over. I kept looking, waiting for them to come back. Waiting for something else to attack but nothing came. Finally, my legs gave out and I fell to my knees. It was then that the monster knelt down to me. A monster began comforting me. A monster. No, he's not a monster. He's the one who saved my life. There's no way I could ever repay him for that.
- Day 103
{World Mission [Saviour's Call] Complete}
{Assessing Individual...}
{Assessment Complete}
{Blessing Received: Divine Protection of the God of Nature}
{...}
{Error}
{...}
{ErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorError}
{Prerequisite: Compassion for Others - Complete}
{Prerequisite: Death's Repertoire Activated - Complete}
{Prerequisite: System's Blessing - Complete}
{Prerequisite: System Error - Complete}
{Unlocking Skill...}
{...}
{...}
{Unable To Unlock Skill}
{Assessing Damage...}
{Damage Assessed}
{Result: Blockage}
{Solution: [Nature's Guardian] [Moon Child] [Daughter Of Flame] [Prideful Gladiator] [Man Of War] [Ardent Seeker] [Ardent Stone Keeper] [Woman Of Faith]}
{Unlocking Suitable Skill...}
{Unlocking...}
{Skill Unlocked: Fate Steal}
What the fuck?
When I woke up, my head was assaulted by so many notifications I almost couldn't read it all. I got a blessing, a whole bunch of errors, completed a {World Mission} whatever that is and I have some kind of blockage. That last part doesn't sound good.
Alright, if I go over the last couple notifications, it said that it was trying to unlock a skill, failed and gave me a way to unblock it. The solution consists of a bunch of things. I know what the [Ardent Seeker] and [Ardent Stone Keeper] is. Could [Moon Child] be that otherworlder kid that I killed back in the forest? As for [Nature Guardian], I have no clue what that is. I've never met someone like that or received a skill like that.
I was drawn out of my thoughts when the mage girl from the dungeon started waking. Ah, is it her? She's the only new person I've met that's survived and I can't see the other 3 having that skill. A mage would suit it. Or maybe a druid. I'll have to ask her what jobs she has.
The moment she sat up in bed, she turned to face me, meeting my eyes with her own. She didn't turn away like I had expected. Instead, she walked over to me, bowed her head and thanked me. I told her not to worry about it and instead asked her to answer some questions I had. She agreed but when I asked if she knew anything about the {World Mission [Saviour's Call]} notification, she started tearing up again. I managed to calm her down and she explained how she had gotten the notification while they were on the 19th floor of the dungeon.
If that's the case [Saviour's Call] must have been referring to her calling for help. A "call for a saviour" so to speak rather than a "saviour's call". So because I happened to be passing by when it activated, I ended up being the one to complete it, gaining all those weird notifications. I decided to tell her about the blockage in my notifications and asked if she knew anything about this [Nature's Guardian]. She quickly responded, without any hesitance, that it was her new job.
So [Daughter of Flame] [Prideful Gladiator] [Woman of Faith] and [Man of War] are likely other people too. I just need to meet them then? I may have the other 3 myself but [Nature's Guardian] is hers. I don't recall eating her soul. Alright then, I guess I know what we're doing next because I refuse to have a skill be blocked. Besides, if it has this many blockers, just imagining what kind of skill it is has me practically salivating.
As I was thinking, the others woke up and Fu, seeing me speaking to the mage girl, decided to jump on my back and gently bite my shoulder. If I had to think of a reason for this, I'd say she's marking her territory. We sat there for a moment in awkward silence until the mage girl's stomach began rumbling. She flushed with a pink hue as her stomach made the sound of an angry ox so we went down for breakfast.
When I said it was fine for her to join us, her face lit up and she ordered a filling but cheap meal. When I turned to take a seat at the table, Fu still hanging off of my back like a lovestruck sloth, I saw the merchant from our first trip to the mines. Just sitting there, all alone, looking at us with a calculating smile. He called me over so I cautiously took a seat, willing to hear what he wanted but ready to turn him down. We began talking and it turns out he came to me with another request. A guard job for his trip to the entertainment city, Shiltvelt. His reason for going there is that a large event is happening in the colosseum there and he wants to get a piece of the action. That is, selling his wares to all of the nice people who go to watch people kill and maim each other.
Honestly, if he had come to us yesterday, I would have turned him down but I'm looking for a Gladiator now so I may as well see if I can find them in Shiltvelt. Who knows, maybe I'll enter the event myself and see how they compare. If nothing else, I could probably have that sparring match with Dou. I agreed to the request and asked Lisbeth to come with me to officially accept the quest from the guild while the others got prepared to leave at the front gate.
As we were leaving, I received an extra surprise when the mage girl asked if she could join us. I told her that we tend to run into things just as, if not more, dangerous than the Lich from the mines but she was adamant that she wants to come. I even told her that we were part of a mercenary group but she still wouldn't budge. In the end, I gave in and welcomed her to [Death] of [Parabellum]. She happily hugged me and we went to the guild.
We, or rather, I received some strange glares when I walked into the guild with the mage girl at my side. Even the receptionist asked if everything was alright. She dispelled their worries a little by telling them that I had saved her in the mines and she wanted to go with us on the quest. We managed to make it past that hurdle but now there's a group of people that have been following us since we left the guild.
We turn into an alleyway and though I intended to deal with it quickly, what I saw was a pair of faces that seemed very familiar and one that was new. A man dressed in poorly crafted leather gear stood there with the woman I met at the gate and her little daughter. The little girl ran up to me so I kneeled down and said hello. The mage girl seemed confused so the woman explained who they were and how we met.
When I asked them why they were following us, they said that the little girl saw me from a distance and wanted to say hello. The father didn't want to let her go over to me alone because I could have just been someone of the same race or not as nice as she remembered. I chuckled at the thought of another {Chaos Lord} appearing. I'm pretty sure it'd be a larger mess than anything this city has seen considering it wouldn't have memories of being human. Well, it probably wouldn't.
I went on to tell the family that my group and I would be leaving today and the little girl started to get upset. I'd had enough of crying females for one lifetime so I quickly used {Multi-Coloured Silk}, {Creation Master} and {Golem Factorum} in combination with a small piece of moonstone as a core to create a little woven doll golem in the image of a stuffed bear for her. I quickly enchanted it with enough skills that it could protect her if she ever got in trouble with strangers. When I held it out in my hands and it bowed politely, she turned her frown into a giggle and responded with a bow of her own. I let out a sigh as the mother and father let out a chuckle of their own. I told the little girl this was a parting gift for her and she immediately gave it the name {Polly}. The name is cute. Using {Command Settings} I set {Polly} as the name and gave it orders to protect and be a friend to the little girl. It turned around to me and saluted with such vigour that I felt comfortable leaving it with her. I handed Polly to the little girl and she immediately began hugging it tightly, as though it would suddenly vanish if she let go.
They walked with us to the gate and waved goodbye as we left. We didn't use the carriage I made since the disguise wore off after I synthesised the skills. Instead, we had three normal carts. One for the merchant and his wares, where I sat alongside him at the front. One for the group, where they were able to sit with relative comfort for the next 3 days. One just for wares, driven by one of the merchant's workers with Dou sitting beside him, inspecting his sword for the thousandth time. I could swear I heard laughs mixed in with various "awwws" from the group cart. What in the world could they be talking about?
Synthesis Results:
• {Brave Heart} + {Heart of the Warrior} = {Brave Warrior's Heart}
• {Banshee's Uproar} + {Earthshaking Scream} + {Fenrir's Howl} + {Hellish Roar} + {Infernal Howl} + {Ravenous Scream} + {War Cry} = {Reaper's Rage}
• {Convince} + {Charismatic} + {Bribe} = {High Charisma}
• {Piercing Power} + {Calamity Insect's Piercing Power} = {Ultimate Piercing Power}
- Day 104
{Automatically Synthesising {Reapers Rage} with {Death's Repertoire}}
{Automatically Synthesising {Reaper's Spiritual Pressure} with {Death's Repertoire}}
So that happened. These notifications have been going insane since I ranked up. Making up for lost time I suppose.
Today wasn't all that interesting. I couldn't add to my golems and the likelihood of finding a deadly monster out here was extremely low. In the end, I spent most of the day trying out {Creation Master}. I made a few interesting things that could sell for a quite a bit to the nobles around Shiltvelt if the merchant's words could be trusted.
I made around 10 more of those silk bears, though I didn't make them golems. I spent the rest of the day making trinkets out of moonstone or repairing and enhancing the trinkets and jewellery in the cart at the behest of the merchant. Naturally, I convinced him to pay around 45% more than he would have for the work thanks to {High Charisma} and {Expert Bartering}. I have a feeling that those two skills are going to come in handy quite often while in the cities.
Synthesis Results:
• {Powerful Bite} + {Rending Bite} = {Powerful Rending Bite}
• {Miasma of Undeath} + {Black Fog} = {Deadly Fog of Undeath}
• {Corrosive Fog} + {Exude Calamity Poison} = {Calamity Corrosion Fog}
• {Stone Swimming} + {Enhanced Digging Speed} = {Masterful Stone Swimming}
- Day 105
The day started out much more interesting than the last. Not long after we packed up camp and began our journey, the scent of blood caught my noise. With {Ardent Minds Eye} I was able to see a group of knights further ahead protecting a rather fancy-looking carriage from a group of what looked to be very well equipped bandits.
I told everyone what was happening and had Hazuki, Dou and Sigul join me to exterminate the bandits. We rushed them. Hazuki and Dou with their blades, Sigul with her Guan Dao and myself with Gomon-Sha. The majority of the bandits went down quickly but the survivors attempted to flee. Sei and the mage girl caught up and combined their efforts to take care of them. The mage girl used an earth spell to trap them while Sei used her favourite fire spell and completely obliterated them.
Now the only one left was the leader who was facing what seemed to be the leader of the knights protecting the carriage. The bandit wielded a large great sword while the knight held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. The two clashed. Their blades sparked each time they connected until eventually, the Knight's sword snapped in two. I was about to intervene when I noticed the knight doing something. He slipped past the bandit's final swing and pointed the remaining blade towards the bandit's body. Moments later, a blade of flame erupted from the bandit's back. The knight sliced upwards, carving through the bandit's torso and head, leaving him to fall to the ground.
When I asked Sei, she confirmed that he had used a level 1 fire spell. So he's a spell-sword then? Interesting. He walked over to us and removed his helmet, revealing the blonde haired man beneath. As he was questioning us on our reason for being there, he managed to slip in an acceptable thank you in the form of a few gold. Apparently the one he's guarding doesn't like money very much and believes that people are inherently good. I cringed a little when he went on to say that she believes people would do what we've just done simply because they were kind and the gods had dictated their actions.
It's a nice thought I suppose but there is literally a God of the Netherworld. Somehow, I don't see them sending kind people to help those in need. As we were talking, the door to the carriage opened, revealing a young girl in holy garments, followed by a woman with similar clothing however, the second woman was much taller than the girl, had golden eyes and a huge ra-pair of a-personalities. They both had great personalities, I'm sure.
The girl bowed to us in thanks and asked which god had sent us. This must be the girl the knight was talking about. I went through he blessings I had and decided to go with the Demigod of Kindness. The holy woman beside her smirked when I told her my blessing before telling her younger companion that I seemed to radiate both a sense of light and darkness. The girl was confused until I admitted that I have blessings from both the God of Light and God of Darkness. Oh, the girl fainted.
After the girl was safely placed back in the carriage, I continued to speak with the well endowed woman. She informed me that she knew of my race and intended to keep both my race and blessings a secret if I promised her something. When I asked what it was, she told me that a girl called the [Holy Maiden] was to be kidnapped by a group in the city to the north of Shiltvelt in two weeks. She wanted me to save her. It's unfortunate that it wasn't the one I'm looking for but as long as there's a payment, I'm sure we could work something out. That's when I realised that this woman, with her seemingly great knowledge, may know where to find the person I'm looking for. When I asked her, she responded by saying that her main job was [Scion of the God of Light] which sounds overpowered and a little boring. Then she added on that she recently gained the [Woman of Faith] Job which she had no knowledge of. We made a deal that once I saved the [Holy Maiden] we would meet again and she would do what she can. I added her to the {Ally Communication} list and we bid them farewell.
Later that day, we were struck by a sudden downpour and had to stop the carts to account for the muddy roads. I used {True Earth Manipulation} to create a shelter for everyone and decided to go exploring while we had to wait. A few others did the same but I had the others remain with those who couldn't fight. Sigul, Hazuki, Sei, Lisbeth, Ven, Rinbo and the mage girl stayed behind with the merchant and the supplies.
Thanks to my sensory skills, I was able to find a good amount of animals and monsters to hunt for food for the others. Unfortunately they weren't at the level to give me any skills but they likely would have been worthless anyway.
I continued on and eventually came across a large, dense forest area. The closer I got, the more the trees seemed to back away, as though they were alive and noticing my presence. Walking through the thick brush, I came across a small alcove, just large enough for me to crawl through. It was filled with sharp thorns but they weren't able to break my skin. When I came out the other side, I was welcomed by an incredibly strange sight.
A beautiful garden filled with flowers of varying shapes, sizes and colours. I'd never seen anything so beautiful. While walking around, I was very careful not to trample on the garden, eventually relenting and using {Elytra Generation} and {Natural Flight} to explore through the air. In the distance, I could see a large tree with shining, blue leaves sitting atop a lone hill.
When I went to get a closer look, I noticed a group of lights flying around erratically. When I was close enough, I used {Perfect Analysis} to find out that these little lights were actually [Spring Fairies]. I slowly approached them as they did me, cautiously, watching my movements. One of them decided to come to me, allowing me to see the little fairies up close. Hair and clothing that seemed to be made of sweet smelling grass, silky smooth, spring-coloured skin, deep, orange eyes without pupils and small wings that fluttered on their backs.
I greeted it, saying that I had no intention of causing any harm, having just wandered in without knowing what this place was. A few of them suggested erasing my mind but I told them that wouldn't work due to my {Mind Resistance} skill. After going over various possible choices they had, I simply suggested that I just leave. They vehemently opposed that idea, saying that they couldn't trust me not to tell anyone about this place.
When I asked them what I could do to make them trust me, they gathered in a small group far enough away that they didn't think I could hear. A few of them made some rather insulting remarks but I decided to let it go when they came back and suggested that I be judged by the [Mana Blossom]. The tree at the top of the hill. I agreed, knowing what they actually intended for me and followed them to the base of the giant tree.
They told me that all I had to do was place my hand on the trunk and the tree would determine the purity of my mana. If I was accepted, they would let me leave, simple as that. If I didn't, I could never leave. In reality, I overheard them state earlier that the Mana Blossom has never accepted anyone. It will drain all of the mana within me until I'm nothing more than a dried husk. They thought this would be the only way to kill me since I so obviously outmatch them physically. Unfortunately for them, I have skills. In fact, if I wanted to, I could use {Mana Absorption} {Mana Tendril} or {Magic Dead Zone} to reverse or cancel the effects.
Instead, I secretly devoured the essence of one of my holy staffs and gained the {Purify Mana} skill. I have jobs that increase the amount of mana at my command, the {Greater Mana} and {Magician's Wish} skills which I quickly synthesise, receiving the {Great Sage's Mana Reserve} skill.
Placing my hand on the tree, I felt myself unable to remove my palm. The fairies snickered but quickly stopped when I activated {Purify Mana}, sending an astonishing amount of pure mana into the Mana Blossom. The Mana Blossom was surprisingly hungry. It took almost an hour to fill it but when it did, the tree's leaves began to glow with a brilliant white light. The fairies scattered and the tree began to sprout fruit. Spherical, white fruits with a golden design that seemed to radiate a holy energy and incredible mana. I took a bite the large essence that came out of it and received a shock to the system.
Skills Gained: {Nature's Blessing} {Holy Scripture} {Light Magic Lvl 2} {Nature Magic Lvl 2} {Beloved By Spirits} {Chaotic Nature} {Calming Aura} {Mana Drain} {Spirit Magic Lvl 1} {Mana Blossom's Seed} {Bright Seal: Shadow Elimination}
That was after one bite of the essence. When I finished the fruit completely, I got another notification.
{System Error: Divine Fruit ••• Unable to be analysed}
{Prerequisites not yet met: Storing Essence for later date}
These fucking prerequisites are getting annoying. Just give me the damn thing. I contemplated eating the rest of the fruits just to quell my anger. As much as it was pissing me off, those things were actually really damn good.
I went around picking the fruits and as I was about to eat another, my {Intuition} started going off like crazy. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Every part of my being was telling me to save the fruits for another time. That they would be necessary for another event. My {Intuition} hasn't been wrong yet and it seems to feel pretty strongly about this so I stored away the fruits and started making my way back to the camp.
When I was halfway back, I got a call from Lisbeth. There was something wrong, I could feel it. Apparently, as the day went on, Hazuki had become more irritable. As soon as she looked up at the moon, her eyes turned a deep red and her hair turned white. She ran off into the night with a terrifying laughter. When Lisbeth told me the direction she ran, I told her I'd handle it and began sprinting in her direction.
I could feel the muddied ground beneath me tear as I ran, not caring about the damage I was causing. I used {Ardent Minds Eye} to find her and when I did, it was like she realised I was watching her. She turned in my direction and dashed at shocking speed. A purple aura encased her katana and purple markings ran down her body as her kimono hung loosely, revealing a section of her undergarments.
I avoided the first swing, noting that it seemed to cut through the darkness itself but decided to try to catch the second swing. With the blade successfully taken out of the fight thanks to {Divinely Forged Body}, I was able to take a better look at her face. She was smiling. I could see it in her eyes that she recognised me. She wanted to fight. Whatever this form was, it made her instincts go wild.
I couldn't help but smile back, after all, this ability of hers doesn't seem that different to my own. I could see it. A mutual understanding. We would fight. I let go of her blade and she took a few steps back, laughing softly as the moonlight reflected on her blade through the trees. I equipped my {Calamity Insect's Carapace} and summoned a simple blade, enchanted to hell and back.
We stood there, staring into each other's eyes, waiting to see who would make the first move. Our patience thinned. We both launched ourselves forward. Our swords clashed and the ground beneath our feet shuddered. Again and again, our swords connected. Naturally I couldn't go all out, this may be a duel but she's not as strong as me and I don't want to kill her.
Our blades separated and connected, like dancing under the moonlight. I activated {Undead Strength} to increase the power behind my blows, gaining a decisive advantage over the weretiger.
{Ko'Oh Tept's subordinate [Hazuki] has activated skill {Rampage of Darkness}}
{Ko'Oh Tept's subordinate has gained a 100% increase in abilities}
With that sudden boost, she actually managed to equal out my current, held back strength and slice through my blade.
{World's Psalm Updated}
[Chaos Incarnate Saga]'s subordinate [Hazuki] has achieved conditions: {Rampaging Darkness} {Beauty of Destruction} {One Who Cuts Through Darkness} {Recognised By Chaos}
[Character: Hazuki - Added to White Eclipse Demon's 7 Generals]
{Reward of [Rampaging Swordsman's Dark Blade] received}
Hazuki takes one last swing for my neck, however with {Slashing Resistance}, {Calamity Insect's Carapace} and {Divinely Forged Body} all activated, her blade shatters against my skin. Dropping the blade, she attempted to strike me with her fist. I caught it in my own hand. Unable to free her hand thanks to {Calamity Constriction}, she attempted to throw her other fist at my face. I caught that one as well. She struggled for moment but chose to give up on her hands, leap up and kick me in the face with both feet.
She follows up by wrapping her legs around my head and attempting to choke me out. This doesn't work. With the fight effectively done, I activate {Calming Aura} and the level 1 light spell <Soothing Light>. Thanks to these skills, she manages to relax, releasing me from her grip as I do the same. That is, until I pick her up by the waist. She looked at me with a confused expression until she noticed the look on my face. Her expression quickly turned to pride, then embarrassment. It was adorable.
When {Calming Aura} and <Soothing Light> wore off, her aggression came back so we dealt with it in a different way. I made sure to let Lisbeth and the others know everything was fine and that we likely wouldn't be back until morning.
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