“Ahhhhh, why is making magic circles so difficult? This never gets easier.”
With a feather pen in my hand, I dipped its tip into our homemade charcoal ink and continued writing on a wooden slate. Since ink was already widely spread around Altrust, Ellaine and Grimnir were quickly able to make a ton of jars full of it using charcoal, vinegar, and cornstarch.
Plain charcoal was easier and more flexible to write with, but sitting at a table and using ink to write just felt … more civilized. Well, not as much as writing on my party bracelet’s blue screens, but hearing the scratching of a feather pen sent me back to my past life. Nostalgia, the most powerful of “magic.”
“Lady Hestia, here is your tea. The roots from the mushrooms on floor 15 are rather spicy, so I added some honey and lemons to balance the taste. Please, have a try and enjoy. Any feedback would be great.” After placing an aromatic tea on my table with some freshly baked biscuits, Tasianna bowed and returned to our garden.
I took a bite from the biscuit, enjoying its sugary sweetness before sipping the tea. As Tasianna warned, the spiciness of the tea was quite prominent, barely contained by the honey and sour lemons. “Beet sugar might be better for the sweetness than honey, Tasianna. Jeez, these mushroom tree roots are spicy. Might be better in a curry than tea.”
Life was good. The RV was finally finished and able to drive on the road well enough without shaking around too much, a testament to Grimnir’s abilities. He might say that carpentry wasn’t his forte, but he certainly had the skill to make all of this stable enough without the aid of a dedicated professional. Adding springs to wagons and carriages was already a thing in Peolynca thankfully, so Saori and I didn’t have to explain the concept to Grimnir.
After living for multiple months in the Belzac forest, walking has become more or less a normal activity for me. Unlike Ellaine, I enjoyed walking. However, being able to do things like creating custom spells, taking a nap whenever, or working on Saori’s tools was made infinitely more comfortable now that we had a vehicle. We could do whatever we wanted without having to pause our travel.
Speaking of custom spells, I was currently working on a few. While reviewing my tablets with Master Kush’s tips and instructions, I was experimenting and thinking of new ways to use my two empty vessel magics—[White Flames] and [Corrosive Fire].
[Sanctified Blaze] and [Panzer] were made using these two skills; however, I haven’t made any new ones recently. Mostly ’cause most of my ideas were redundant with System spells I already had. A powerful white fire laser scorching the ground from the sky was already covered by [Omnictus] and [Symphonie des Feuergottes]. Powerful blades of obsidian slicing into my enemies were already a thing with [Bedrock Blades] and [Earthen Spear].
It was difficult trying to think of something completely new. “Saori and Tasianna had it kinda easy,” was something I always thought when I was stuck and unable to think of a new spell idea. Of course, that wasn’t really the case. Even with all my System magic, spell creation was limited by a mage’s imagination. Honestly, if I had the internet right now, I would just steal some OP spell concepts and be done with it.
But I couldn’t. So, I was writing down spell ideas, testing them out, creating the chant and magic circles for spells I liked. It was mentally tiring, but Master Kush would scold me if he saw me despair this much.
Halo of Consecration and Unheilige Engel. At least, my naming sense has improved, I think.
After finishing my tea, my body and mind began to ache, telling me to move my body around. When I began to stretch, I remembered how we weren’t done decorating the RV with certain furniture and workplaces just yet. Unable to figure out what we were missing, I stood up to inspect our new home once again.
First things first, I was currently on the second floor of Grimnir’s RV, the one we added after we pointed out the space issue. Aside from making the entire RV larger and more spacious, we also reinforced the wooden walls with the sturdy timber we had on us. This included the grove treant from the felgheist nightlord loot box, the barkwraiths’ bodies, tree logs from floor nine, and also conventional lumber we got from the Sarlenzia Trading Company.
Since the RV was about as large as a house at this point, we had to focus on keeping it sturdy in case we ever got attacked. Starting with an eoriant and voldunna metal skeleton, we then added the logs, adding a coating of voldunna paint on it afterward to act as a fire retardant. Since both the grove treant and barkwraith materials could regenerate themselves using mana, we also had a way to restore any damage so long as the whole RV didn’t disappear completely.
The grey voldunna paint gave the RV a pretty approachable outer shell, while the inside felt rustic. We haven’t added any colors yet, so it was still the same brown wood color everywhere. With no rugs, posters, or whatever, our home did feel a bit barren. Simple.
On the second floor, four single-person beds were gathered together in the furthest corner from the stairs. This was Aurora’s female quarters, equipped with a bath and toilet hidden behind a small door, enclosing the room for a [Silence] rune to work. Aside from obvious stuff like a drawer, some chairs, and a table, there was also a bookshelf for Saori’s books, a desk to work on spells and songs, our garden, Tasianna’s alchemist bench, and a clean stand for Ellaine’s armor. There were also three windows. It made our rooms a bit cramped, but we still had enough space to move around freely.
Going downstairs, I saw Ellaine who was currently being trained by Grimnir to become an artificer while Saori was cooking our lunch next to an open window. As the news of those dragonslayers appearing in Cedaraille was so sudden, we hadn’t had any time to eat when we departed. Technically, we hadn’t said goodbye to either the duke, the hunter’s guild, or to Newt Sarlenzia, so I felt a bit bad if they suddenly were worried about us.
Anyways, the first floor was where Aurora’s major facilities were. We had a small kitchen with a counter for everybody to eat to enjoy their meals, Ellaine’s artificer workstation, and Grimnir’s smithy for his blacksmithing and runesmithing duty, the last of which took up the most space occupying the whole back of the RV.
To prevent fires, the walls and floors surrounding his smithy were covered with rocks he mined on floor 15. We initially wanted a wall to separate the kitchen from the smithy, but space was too limited. We could have made the RV longer, but it just wasn’t practical since it would make navigating inside a small town cumbersome. I had to do my baking outside as such.
There was also the issue with Grimnir’s bed. He was currently sleeping inside his smithy, with all his ores stashed inside a single large barrel and a bath right next to it, linked with the one upstairs. There was also limited space for him to place his future creations since Grimnir showed some interest in opening up an armor and weapon shop for the public. We wanted to commit to this idea. After all, this RV was originally his shop also.
At this point, I didn’t know how often I’ve mentioned how little space we still had left. We could still move around comfortably, thankfully. Considering further improvements, excluding adding more space, we also had to add some decorations to liven up the place in addition to adding certain manatechs.
We still had to get rid of toilet waste manually and Tasianna had to fill up our baths with water by herself. We planned to copy the bath Ellaine’s mansion in Firwood had, which meant some slimes for the toilet and a manatech which created water using mana for anybody to use. We also needed manatech light bulbs to replace our candles. Since the cost for all of this was quite high, Saori was hoping Ellaine could produce some of them on her own so we could save money.
In any case, that was our RV’s interior. On the first floor, we also had two doors: one in the back leading out from Grimnir’s smithy and one next to Ellaine’s workbench to the right. I opened the latter, jumping out and spreading my wings and used [Tailwind]. Closing the door, I then flew up to the roof of the RV, looking down to watch the four garms moving everything.
Of course, despite me calling it an RV, it was still a wagon. It had no motor and had to be drawn by someone. In our case, it was the garms.
Initially very reluctant to do so, as it was beneath them, the garms seemed to have warmed up to the idea in the short time we were outside. We had only just left Cedaraille, so it was a quick opinion change. The reason was they actually had a reason to stay outside Saori’s shadow. Since the garms were [Shadow Garm]s, they practically could stay inside Saori’s shadow forever, outside of eating and going to the toilet. Only two wolves were needed to drag the wagon, but all four were enjoying the fresh air.
Wolves love going outside. It shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise.
I then looked into the distance, and then behind me. Only the road, the forest, and the sky were in sight. Small animals and critters scrambled around us, living their lives as we peacefully moved down the streets. My [Detection Sensor] wasn’t picking up any larger targets, nor could I smell any humans or beastmen. Luckily, it seemed as if the dragonslayers weren't pursuing us just yet.
We’ve been moving for a while now, evident as no civilization was in sight. Cedaraille was hidden behind all the trees and our destination, Griffonpeak, was still a few days away. Considering I could technically fly now, I wondered how long it would take me from here to Griffonpeak on my own as I stared into the sky.
Listening to Yorshka, I’ve decided to stay in my [Humanize Lv. 6] form. In short, it meant I would leave my wings out for everybody to see as I finally found a use for them aside from using them like another set of limbs for fights. Being able to fly again was certainly the most fun thing I’ve experienced in the last few months … aside from my concerts, of course!
Deciding to play with the garms, I settled on the coachman seat and spent my time there until Saori was finished with lunch. We then parked the RV at an open area beside the road for our picnic. Ellaine and Grimnir, who were still focused on artificer stuff, told us to go on before them, deciding they wanted to finish their current task before eating.
Considering they were using Grimnir’s blasthammer mana batteries as practice material, repairing them back into a usable condition, I guess the work was causing them to tunnel vision. Seeing Ellaine so dedicated to her work really motivated me to continue writing some more songs when we finally reached Griffonpeak.
Our RV might have been impossible to move without the aid of some strong pack animals, but we still haven’t added any security measures against bandits or thieves stealing our stuff. We moved away from the RV, but not too far so we couldn’t see it anymore.
This reminded me a bit of a certain death march light novel. No harem lord here, though.
“This curry could give Indian and Thai curries a run for their money. The mushrooms make my tongue burn. These are stronger than normal peppers, but milder than those with higher scoville,” Saori commented on her curry. Strangely, everybody in Aurora enjoyed spicy food.
The pain caused by spicy food was enjoyable for Saori and me, Tasianna, an ice mage, liked it as it warmed her body up, Ellaine’s gourmet, noble palette could be satisfied if the food was well made, and Grimnir enjoyed eating it with alcohol. As we brought a whole keg with us to this picnic, he should be happy.
Of course, there were other dishes, but this was Saori’s newest creation. An addition to Aurora’s menu for the spice lovers. Eating the curry with some rice really made me happy. Furthermore, there was peace! Two weeks had gone by and nothing bad happened, and here I thought our party’s luck was that terrible.
I mean, in Firwood, we spent about two months there, but in that time, we always had to deal with something serious. Cedaraille was peaceful for some time before a giant fire-breathing spider broke through a cave and tried to destroy it. Rather ironic, since so many people on Earth want to burn spiders just cause they look scary. Jokes on them, in Peolynca, the spiders set you on fire.
So, it really was awesome that we could just enjoy a meal like this witho—
“Huh?” [Detection Sensor] was acting weirdly, informing me something was approaching us at an incredible speed, like, breathtakingly fast. What could—
“Spread out!” Saori shouted, throwing the bowl she had in her hands on the ground.
Without questioning her command for even a second, Tasianna, her four garms, and I listened and jumped far away from our picnic spot, only to see a massive electric stake ram into the area and explode. The crackling of lightning reverberated inside our ears, only ending once the dust cloud began flying up to the sky. Not only was that attack so fast we barely were able to react to it, but it had the destructive power of one of my explosions. Not only our lunch, but also the trees and grass vaporized into black ash.
[“No flames, no misleading scent from your scale powder. It was an easy find this time …”] A voice entered our minds.
This scent!
My nose was agitated. Memories from a few months back rushed through my head, a reaction caused purely by this familiar scent. Last time, I wasn’t able to fully register it, since my head was more occupied with just surviving and living through it. Now, this scent was all too familiar, only it did not have that “sweetness” Cernust, Priscilla, or Yorshka had. It unnerved me greatly.
“Shit!”
From behind the dust cloud, a green-haired dragonewt man with a broken horn appeared before us, wearing a neat emerald-scaled suit. His appearance was that of a clean-shaven man in his early thirties. His emerald eyes were glaring only at me, sending a chill down my spine as I took a step back.
[“Hmm, the smell has gotten even more prominent than before. Hmm, the smell is coming from that wolfkin? Interesting.”] He stared at Saori for a split second before returning his gaze back to me. It was at this moment when Saori and Tasianna sent their own telepathic message to me, asking if he was speaking to me.
This behavior!
[“Asterios?”] My eyes widened when I made that realization, causing the dragonewt man before me to grin.
[“You remembered me, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. What an honor.”] Every word entering my head through this telepathic link was terrifying, as if some creeping dread was slowly corrupting my mind. I could feel … anger. [“God Kargryxmor … he has rescinded my Divine Quest. He has revoked my duty to escort you to him.”]
Mana Eyes!
_____________________________________________________________
Name: Asterios Level: 123 Race: Lightning Dragonewt
Age: 154 Years Job: None
Status: Health: 10649/10649 Mana: 4612/4612
Strength: 3760 Intelligence: 3567
Vitality: 3311 Wisdom: 3270
Agility: 4977 Stamina: 7457/7457
Effects: [Damaged Mana Path [Horn] (Moderate)] [Humanization (Moderate)]
Unique Skill: [Lightning Revolt Lv. 10] [Lightning Rod] [Boltreaving Blade Lv. 4]
[Electromagnetic Barrier Lv. 3]
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Control Lv. 9] [Arcane Mind Lv. 6] [Mana Efficiency Lv. 8]
[Fire Magic Lv. 10] [Fire Amp] [Fire Magic Efficiency]
[Inferno Magic Lv. 2]
[Wind Magic Lv. 10] [Wind Amp] [Wind Magic Efficiency]
[Storm Magic Lv. 7] [Lightning Magic Lv. 8]
[Silent Casting Lv. 1] [Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 2]
[Mental Stability Lv. 6] [Mental Warfare Lv. 7]
Physical skills and related:
[Dragonkin Claws Lv. 6] [Dragonkin Fangs Lv. 7]
[Toxic Claws Lv. 6] [Sundering Enhancement Lv. 9]
[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 5] [Crushing Enhancement Lv. 7]
Information Blocked
_____________________________________________________________
Shit, it’s still blocked! Damn, better than nothing, though.
[Identity Blocker] acted as the counterpart to [Identify] for a good reason, as information was king. Sadly, it did mean once the levels of these two conflicted skills began to equalize, the less effective [Identify] would become. In fact, once [Identity Blocker] reached level 10, getting any information from an appraisal was a coin toss. In other words, the fact I got this much from his Profile was lucky.
Asterios … the [Boltreaver Wyvern]—the same B rank wyvern Kargryxmor tasked to escort me out of the Belzac forest and lead me to him. Yet, when he and his two wyvern companions were about to fulfill this Quest, the grimgarian army attacked us, shooting Asterios down with a mana cannon and giving Saori, Tasianna, and me an opening for us to escape to Artorias.
I knew we would meet someday again, but I did not expect it to be like this. When the time came, I wanted to be far stronger than I currently was to make this into a cakewalk. Sadly, by commenting on our peaceful time, I set up this flag. Scheiße.
After hearing what Asterios had to say, I wanted to respond to him, but I was keeping my guard up so much I couldn’t speak.
Asterios, without waiting on me, continued speaking using [Telepathy], not even attempting to use his dragonewt mouth to speak. [“… A level up. I am missing two levels to become A rank. I have been waiting for so long. The Divine Quest was to give me those needed levels, levels to make me worthy compared to a true dragon. To have our God recognize me as somebody worthy!”]
[“Hestia, this guy … he has the eyes of a madman!”] Saori informed me after I sent her what Asterios told me.
[“I will fulfill this Quest. To Avitor Peaks. Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, you will come with me to meet God Kargryxmor!”]
I had expected that kinda response.
[“Asterios, I apologize for running away last time. The situation was just very hectic.”] It wasn’t an actual lie, but our group did run away with the intention of escaping from him. [“However, I have received information from Goddess Aurena that I should go to Griffonpeak, a human city very close to here. There I will speak with God Kargryxmor. If possible, if you could escort us—”]
[“Lies!”] Asterios interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. [“Lies! You tell me lies! You hold me for a fool! To lure me into the lair of those lowly beings, to then ambush me when I am at my most vulnerable. Those damn greenskins … my precious horn! That detestable ogre! It dared to attack me and break my horn! No! No! You will not bring me into another situation like that, salamander!”]
His [Terror Aura] began to grow, kicking my instincts into action. I had a bad feeling, and it grew to its peak with his next words.
[“I know. I know. Everything fell apart because of them. These two lowly beings! They tricked you, urged you to rebel against our God’s orders. You are but a whelpling, albeit a strong whelp fitting for a true dragon with the blood of God Kargryxmor himself. You are destined for greatness, but are held back by these unworthy beings. You tried to trick me. They influenced your naive mind,”]—Electricity began surging from Asterios’ body, and his eyes snapped towards Saori, showing her his full focus—[“They lured me into that trap. They broke my precious horn. They shall become my experience.”]
Die!
Flames exploded from my wings like a bazooka, shooting me straight towards Asterios and dispelling the mana mist which transformed me back into my lizardman-like dragonewt form. Using [Infernal Hellblade]’s Job skill [Instant Heat Ignition], my tail burst into searing fire without needing to sharpen it on anything. Like a swirling tornado, my body twisted mid-air before it fully stopped as my tail sliced right into Asterios’ forearm, breaking his scales and digging itself deep into it.
Asterios screamed, but that was when the electricity surrounding his body began to attack me like [Sanctified Blaze]’s automatic attack feature. His unique skill, [Electromagnetic Barrier] was at fault, but I simply glanced over it, relying on my [Draconic Barrier] and [White Flames] to keep my topped up in Health.
By the black wings of dread, created by corrupting flames. Sear into their flesh, sunder their bones, turn their blood into noxious filth. Melt their bodies with purple flames, crystallize their remains in stygian obsidian. Make way for the angel of blight, let it hear your cries for mercy!
Unheilige Engel!
A brown magic circle appeared at the edge of my eyes, quickly materializing a floating purple slime about the size of my body, all while Asterios’s expression was turning from crazy to confused. Without giving him a second to think, the purple slime solidified itself into a pair of skeleton-like obsidian wings, and dove into Asterios.
This attack wasn’t able to penetrate the electric barrier around him, however, I was able to free my tail blade from his arm, pushing him away from me. I quickly used [Panzer] to fortify my body before using [Dragoon Jump] with [Air Walk] to catapult myself forward, bypassing Asterios’s delayed reaction from my surprise attack, and striking another deep gash into his body, this time on his collarbone.
“Arrrrghhhh!”
My surprise attack was a success, buying me enough time to deal some critical damage on his body before he could react, but nothing good would last forever. When the wyvern’s instincts finally activated, the lightning current surrounding his body became stronger, to the point I could feel the pricking on my scales just from standing near him.
Using [Wind Blast], [Tailwind], and my rocket boosters, I blasted myself out of harm’s way before the electric explosion could harm me. In the air, I quickly removed my party bracelet and boots and placed them into my storage. This was not a battle I could allow myself to hold back.
When I landed, Asterios’s face contorted like an enraged beast’s as he glared at me. [“Y-you dare set another ambush on me? You cowardly little skink!”]
[“Fuck you, too. You call what I did cowardly, I call it a necessity for survival. I had to survive on surprise attacks up until I became strong enough to confront enemies head on. Hmph, thankfully, I never forgot about it.”] It didn’t matter if Asterios’s stats were high, I was still a glass cannon with a lot of skills to boost my attack instead of my defenses. [“Also, this is your problem. Just like last time, you wanted to separate me from my friends—my family! You don’t do that! Last time, I didn’t have the strength to confront you, but now … I have Aurora.”]
[“You—HUH!”]
Without a single warning, from Asterios’s right side crackling lightning could be heard before it exploded into a wolf’s howl, tearing through the ground as Saori’s [Hadean Dragon Thunder] consumed Asterios’ whole body in a black colored railgun beam. The sound of the wyvern’s cries only lasted for a second before a sword of electricity shot out from the stream of stygian lightning, splitting it apart and dissipating it.
[“E-electricity damaged me? Me? A monster created to dominate the thunder? H-how!”]
Of course it would, this wasn’t lightning, this was stygian lightning. This confirmed his [Dark Resistance] was pretty low since it did do good damage. Saori was no longer that pup he met last year.
As he was recovering from the black lightning, a cyan-colored magic circle suddenly appeared under his feet before a magical blizzard began ravaging Asterios. The cold air inside the magic circle froze into sharp spears, launching themselves at Asterios. They broke apart, unable to pierce Asterios’s barrier, but the cold was definitely having an effect on him as he quickly cast the inferno spell [Blazing Twister] to surround himself like a protective veil.
Tasianna’s custom spell [Ice Age’s Paradise], however, did not appreciate this flaming tornado. Instantly, ice and fire clashed, causing steam to rise from the circle. It eventually got to the point the whole area was surrounded by a smokescreen.
The three of us knew a battle was incoming.
Humanize.
Mana mist escaped my body, transforming me back into my dragon form. To my sides, Saori was flanking my left in her fenrir form with her garms while Tasianna flew next to me with two pairs of wings, one was her fairy wings while the other was made from ice using the spells [Fairy of Winter]. Using her newly acquired ice spell, she also constructed a golem made from ice with [Winter’s Golem].
As Tasianna’s [Ice Age’s Paradise] dissipated, Asterios revealed himself from the steam, finally back in his wyvern form. His dragonewt form had already reminded me of him, but in his original form, it made my embarrassing loss to him all the more vivid.
[“Blast you, you skink! I will drag your body back to God Kargryxmor, even if I have to do it with—”] Once again, before Asterios could finish speaking, something interrupted him. This time, it was a small blue cube. The moment it touched Asterios’ electric barrier, it exploded, leaving another scar on the ground.
“I apologize for being late! I had to equip my armor.” Ellaine appeared, shining brightly in her crimson armor, pointing her upgraded sword in Asterios’ direction. “This enemy … urgh, it feels strong.”
“Enough with the trepidation, lass. We have battle to do.” Grimnir, appearing last, smacked Ellaine’s back to encourage her before swinging his blasthammer over his shoulder.
Due to his unfortunate loss of his previous armor, he had to make a new one using any of the remaining scales, fur, and spider material we had left from Ellaine’s equipment. Unfortunately, it did not have as many powerful skills as Ellaine’s armor. Although, Grimnir’s new set of armor was designed to increase his defense to the point he could act as the party’s tank.
Dragon, fenrir, fairy, human, and dwarf.
Hestia, Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and Grimnir.
This was Aurora.
“Grrrrr.” As you would expect, Asterios didn’t receive any damage from that attack, but it seemed to have angered him even further. The time for talk was over.
What a huge difference.
Last time, Asterios was aided by two snow wyverns while I only had Saori and Tasianna. At that time, when I was trying to turn my [Imperial Hellfire] into a spell, it fizzled out and failed as a spell.
However, how was the situation looking now?
By the sanctified blaze, I call upon heaven's aid. Sacred is the fire which burns the tainted and heals the wounded. In this inferno, righteousness shall reign supreme, enchanting goddess’s army with pure blades. Strike forth, for the saintess is on your side. In the light of faith, burn the blight from the world!
Sanctified Blaze: Halo of Consecration!
A pure white, flaming halo appeared on my head as the white magic circle disappeared after my chant. The area around me began to emanate a holy aura, displaying its outer ring with white flames. Flames suddenly enveloped Ellaine’s and Grimnir’s weapons like a paladin’s enchantment, burning on them like purifying light. Magic circles for [Sanctified Blaze] began appearing on everybody’s bodies, removing my need to cast it on them separately.
My allies have grown while yours are gone. None of my new spells fizzled out, they’re working just as I wanted them to.
[The Will to Fight and Survive] began to play, signaling the countdown to the second round of this revenge match. My wings of obsidian transformed back into a formless slime while small flames blasted from my real wings.
[“Aurora! It is time to shine!”]
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“Ahhhhh, why is making magic circles so difficult? This never gets easier.”
With a feather pen in my hand, I dipped its tip into our homemade charcoal ink and continued writing on a wooden slate. Since ink was already widely spread around Altrust, Ellaine and Grimnir were quickly able to make a ton of jars full of it using charcoal, vinegar, and cornstarch.
Plain charcoal was easier and more flexible to write with, but sitting at a table and using ink to write just felt … more civilized. Well, not as much as writing on my party bracelet’s blue screens, but hearing the scratching of a feather pen sent me back to my past life. Nostalgia, the most powerful of “magic.”
“Lady Hestia, here is your tea. The roots from the mushrooms on floor 15 are rather spicy, so I added some honey and lemons to balance the taste. Please, have a try and enjoy. Any feedback would be great.” After placing an aromatic tea on my table with some freshly baked biscuits, Tasianna bowed and returned to our garden.
I took a bite from the biscuit, enjoying its sugary sweetness before sipping the tea. As Tasianna warned, the spiciness of the tea was quite prominent, barely contained by the honey and sour lemons. “Beet sugar might be better for the sweetness than honey, Tasianna. Jeez, these mushroom tree roots are spicy. Might be better in a curry than tea.”
Life was good. The RV was finally finished and able to drive on the road well enough without shaking around too much, a testament to Grimnir’s abilities. He might say that carpentry wasn’t his forte, but he certainly had the skill to make all of this stable enough without the aid of a dedicated professional. Adding springs to wagons and carriages was already a thing in Peolynca thankfully, so Saori and I didn’t have to explain the concept to Grimnir.
After living for multiple months in the Belzac forest, walking has become more or less a normal activity for me. Unlike Ellaine, I enjoyed walking. However, being able to do things like creating custom spells, taking a nap whenever, or working on Saori’s tools was made infinitely more comfortable now that we had a vehicle. We could do whatever we wanted without having to pause our travel.
Speaking of custom spells, I was currently working on a few. While reviewing my tablets with Master Kush’s tips and instructions, I was experimenting and thinking of new ways to use my two empty vessel magics—[White Flames] and [Corrosive Fire].
[Sanctified Blaze] and [Panzer] were made using these two skills; however, I haven’t made any new ones recently. Mostly ’cause most of my ideas were redundant with System spells I already had. A powerful white fire laser scorching the ground from the sky was already covered by [Omnictus] and [Symphonie des Feuergottes]. Powerful blades of obsidian slicing into my enemies were already a thing with [Bedrock Blades] and [Earthen Spear].
It was difficult trying to think of something completely new. “Saori and Tasianna had it kinda easy,” was something I always thought when I was stuck and unable to think of a new spell idea. Of course, that wasn’t really the case. Even with all my System magic, spell creation was limited by a mage’s imagination. Honestly, if I had the internet right now, I would just steal some OP spell concepts and be done with it.
But I couldn’t. So, I was writing down spell ideas, testing them out, creating the chant and magic circles for spells I liked. It was mentally tiring, but Master Kush would scold me if he saw me despair this much.
Halo of Consecration and Unheilige Engel. At least, my naming sense has improved, I think.
After finishing my tea, my body and mind began to ache, telling me to move my body around. When I began to stretch, I remembered how we weren’t done decorating the RV with certain furniture and workplaces just yet. Unable to figure out what we were missing, I stood up to inspect our new home once again.
First things first, I was currently on the second floor of Grimnir’s RV, the one we added after we pointed out the space issue. Aside from making the entire RV larger and more spacious, we also reinforced the wooden walls with the sturdy timber we had on us. This included the grove treant from the felgheist nightlord loot box, the barkwraiths’ bodies, tree logs from floor nine, and also conventional lumber we got from the Sarlenzia Trading Company.
Since the RV was about as large as a house at this point, we had to focus on keeping it sturdy in case we ever got attacked. Starting with an eoriant and voldunna metal skeleton, we then added the logs, adding a coating of voldunna paint on it afterward to act as a fire retardant. Since both the grove treant and barkwraith materials could regenerate themselves using mana, we also had a way to restore any damage so long as the whole RV didn’t disappear completely.
The grey voldunna paint gave the RV a pretty approachable outer shell, while the inside felt rustic. We haven’t added any colors yet, so it was still the same brown wood color everywhere. With no rugs, posters, or whatever, our home did feel a bit barren. Simple.
On the second floor, four single-person beds were gathered together in the furthest corner from the stairs. This was Aurora’s female quarters, equipped with a bath and toilet hidden behind a small door, enclosing the room for a [Silence] rune to work. Aside from obvious stuff like a drawer, some chairs, and a table, there was also a bookshelf for Saori’s books, a desk to work on spells and songs, our garden, Tasianna’s alchemist bench, and a clean stand for Ellaine’s armor. There were also three windows. It made our rooms a bit cramped, but we still had enough space to move around freely.
Going downstairs, I saw Ellaine who was currently being trained by Grimnir to become an artificer while Saori was cooking our lunch next to an open window. As the news of those dragonslayers appearing in Cedaraille was so sudden, we hadn’t had any time to eat when we departed. Technically, we hadn’t said goodbye to either the duke, the hunter’s guild, or to Newt Sarlenzia, so I felt a bit bad if they suddenly were worried about us.
Anyways, the first floor was where Aurora’s major facilities were. We had a small kitchen with a counter for everybody to eat to enjoy their meals, Ellaine’s artificer workstation, and Grimnir’s smithy for his blacksmithing and runesmithing duty, the last of which took up the most space occupying the whole back of the RV.
To prevent fires, the walls and floors surrounding his smithy were covered with rocks he mined on floor 15. We initially wanted a wall to separate the kitchen from the smithy, but space was too limited. We could have made the RV longer, but it just wasn’t practical since it would make navigating inside a small town cumbersome. I had to do my baking outside as such.
There was also the issue with Grimnir’s bed. He was currently sleeping inside his smithy, with all his ores stashed inside a single large barrel and a bath right next to it, linked with the one upstairs. There was also limited space for him to place his future creations since Grimnir showed some interest in opening up an armor and weapon shop for the public. We wanted to commit to this idea. After all, this RV was originally his shop also.
At this point, I didn’t know how often I’ve mentioned how little space we still had left. We could still move around comfortably, thankfully. Considering further improvements, excluding adding more space, we also had to add some decorations to liven up the place in addition to adding certain manatechs.
We still had to get rid of toilet waste manually and Tasianna had to fill up our baths with water by herself. We planned to copy the bath Ellaine’s mansion in Firwood had, which meant some slimes for the toilet and a manatech which created water using mana for anybody to use. We also needed manatech light bulbs to replace our candles. Since the cost for all of this was quite high, Saori was hoping Ellaine could produce some of them on her own so we could save money.
In any case, that was our RV’s interior. On the first floor, we also had two doors: one in the back leading out from Grimnir’s smithy and one next to Ellaine’s workbench to the right. I opened the latter, jumping out and spreading my wings and used [Tailwind]. Closing the door, I then flew up to the roof of the RV, looking down to watch the four garms moving everything.
Of course, despite me calling it an RV, it was still a wagon. It had no motor and had to be drawn by someone. In our case, it was the garms.
Initially very reluctant to do so, as it was beneath them, the garms seemed to have warmed up to the idea in the short time we were outside. We had only just left Cedaraille, so it was a quick opinion change. The reason was they actually had a reason to stay outside Saori’s shadow. Since the garms were [Shadow Garm]s, they practically could stay inside Saori’s shadow forever, outside of eating and going to the toilet. Only two wolves were needed to drag the wagon, but all four were enjoying the fresh air.
Wolves love going outside. It shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise.
I then looked into the distance, and then behind me. Only the road, the forest, and the sky were in sight. Small animals and critters scrambled around us, living their lives as we peacefully moved down the streets. My [Detection Sensor] wasn’t picking up any larger targets, nor could I smell any humans or beastmen. Luckily, it seemed as if the dragonslayers weren't pursuing us just yet.
We’ve been moving for a while now, evident as no civilization was in sight. Cedaraille was hidden behind all the trees and our destination, Griffonpeak, was still a few days away. Considering I could technically fly now, I wondered how long it would take me from here to Griffonpeak on my own as I stared into the sky.
Listening to Yorshka, I’ve decided to stay in my [Humanize Lv. 6] form. In short, it meant I would leave my wings out for everybody to see as I finally found a use for them aside from using them like another set of limbs for fights. Being able to fly again was certainly the most fun thing I’ve experienced in the last few months … aside from my concerts, of course!
Deciding to play with the garms, I settled on the coachman seat and spent my time there until Saori was finished with lunch. We then parked the RV at an open area beside the road for our picnic. Ellaine and Grimnir, who were still focused on artificer stuff, told us to go on before them, deciding they wanted to finish their current task before eating.
Considering they were using Grimnir’s blasthammer mana batteries as practice material, repairing them back into a usable condition, I guess the work was causing them to tunnel vision. Seeing Ellaine so dedicated to her work really motivated me to continue writing some more songs when we finally reached Griffonpeak.
Our RV might have been impossible to move without the aid of some strong pack animals, but we still haven’t added any security measures against bandits or thieves stealing our stuff. We moved away from the RV, but not too far so we couldn’t see it anymore.
This reminded me a bit of a certain death march light novel. No harem lord here, though.
“This curry could give Indian and Thai curries a run for their money. The mushrooms make my tongue burn. These are stronger than normal peppers, but milder than those with higher scoville,” Saori commented on her curry. Strangely, everybody in Aurora enjoyed spicy food.
The pain caused by spicy food was enjoyable for Saori and me, Tasianna, an ice mage, liked it as it warmed her body up, Ellaine’s gourmet, noble palette could be satisfied if the food was well made, and Grimnir enjoyed eating it with alcohol. As we brought a whole keg with us to this picnic, he should be happy.
Of course, there were other dishes, but this was Saori’s newest creation. An addition to Aurora’s menu for the spice lovers. Eating the curry with some rice really made me happy. Furthermore, there was peace! Two weeks had gone by and nothing bad happened, and here I thought our party’s luck was that terrible.
I mean, in Firwood, we spent about two months there, but in that time, we always had to deal with something serious. Cedaraille was peaceful for some time before a giant fire-breathing spider broke through a cave and tried to destroy it. Rather ironic, since so many people on Earth want to burn spiders just cause they look scary. Jokes on them, in Peolynca, the spiders set you on fire.
So, it really was awesome that we could just enjoy a meal like this witho—
“Huh?” [Detection Sensor] was acting weirdly, informing me something was approaching us at an incredible speed, like, breathtakingly fast. What could—
“Spread out!” Saori shouted, throwing the bowl she had in her hands on the ground.
Without questioning her command for even a second, Tasianna, her four garms, and I listened and jumped far away from our picnic spot, only to see a massive electric stake ram into the area and explode. The crackling of lightning reverberated inside our ears, only ending once the dust cloud began flying up to the sky. Not only was that attack so fast we barely were able to react to it, but it had the destructive power of one of my explosions. Not only our lunch, but also the trees and grass vaporized into black ash.
[“No flames, no misleading scent from your scale powder. It was an easy find this time …”] A voice entered our minds.
This scent!
My nose was agitated. Memories from a few months back rushed through my head, a reaction caused purely by this familiar scent. Last time, I wasn’t able to fully register it, since my head was more occupied with just surviving and living through it. Now, this scent was all too familiar, only it did not have that “sweetness” Cernust, Priscilla, or Yorshka had. It unnerved me greatly.
“Shit!”
From behind the dust cloud, a green-haired dragonewt man with a broken horn appeared before us, wearing a neat emerald-scaled suit. His appearance was that of a clean-shaven man in his early thirties. His emerald eyes were glaring only at me, sending a chill down my spine as I took a step back.
[“Hmm, the smell has gotten even more prominent than before. Hmm, the smell is coming from that wolfkin? Interesting.”] He stared at Saori for a split second before returning his gaze back to me. It was at this moment when Saori and Tasianna sent their own telepathic message to me, asking if he was speaking to me.
This behavior!
[“Asterios?”] My eyes widened when I made that realization, causing the dragonewt man before me to grin.
[“You remembered me, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. What an honor.”] Every word entering my head through this telepathic link was terrifying, as if some creeping dread was slowly corrupting my mind. I could feel … anger. [“God Kargryxmor … he has rescinded my Divine Quest. He has revoked my duty to escort you to him.”]
Mana Eyes!
_____________________________________________________________
Name: Asterios Level: 123 Race: Lightning Dragonewt
Age: 154 Years Job: None
Status: Health: 10649/10649 Mana: 4612/4612
Strength: 3760 Intelligence: 3567
Vitality: 3311 Wisdom: 3270
Agility: 4977 Stamina: 7457/7457
Effects: [Damaged Mana Path [Horn] (Moderate)] [Humanization (Moderate)]
Unique Skill: [Lightning Revolt Lv. 10] [Lightning Rod] [Boltreaving Blade Lv. 4]
[Electromagnetic Barrier Lv. 3]
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Control Lv. 9] [Arcane Mind Lv. 6] [Mana Efficiency Lv. 8]
[Fire Magic Lv. 10] [Fire Amp] [Fire Magic Efficiency]
[Inferno Magic Lv. 2]
[Wind Magic Lv. 10] [Wind Amp] [Wind Magic Efficiency]
[Storm Magic Lv. 7] [Lightning Magic Lv. 8]
[Silent Casting Lv. 1] [Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 2]
[Mental Stability Lv. 6] [Mental Warfare Lv. 7]
Physical skills and related:
[Dragonkin Claws Lv. 6] [Dragonkin Fangs Lv. 7]
[Toxic Claws Lv. 6] [Sundering Enhancement Lv. 9]
[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 5] [Crushing Enhancement Lv. 7]
Information Blocked
_____________________________________________________________
Shit, it’s still blocked! Damn, better than nothing, though.
[Identity Blocker] acted as the counterpart to [Identify] for a good reason, as information was king. Sadly, it did mean once the levels of these two conflicted skills began to equalize, the less effective [Identify] would become. In fact, once [Identity Blocker] reached level 10, getting any information from an appraisal was a coin toss. In other words, the fact I got this much from his Profile was lucky.
Asterios … the [Boltreaver Wyvern]—the same B rank wyvern Kargryxmor tasked to escort me out of the Belzac forest and lead me to him. Yet, when he and his two wyvern companions were about to fulfill this Quest, the grimgarian army attacked us, shooting Asterios down with a mana cannon and giving Saori, Tasianna, and me an opening for us to escape to Artorias.
I knew we would meet someday again, but I did not expect it to be like this. When the time came, I wanted to be far stronger than I currently was to make this into a cakewalk. Sadly, by commenting on our peaceful time, I set up this flag. Scheiße.
After hearing what Asterios had to say, I wanted to respond to him, but I was keeping my guard up so much I couldn’t speak.
Asterios, without waiting on me, continued speaking using [Telepathy], not even attempting to use his dragonewt mouth to speak. [“… A level up. I am missing two levels to become A rank. I have been waiting for so long. The Divine Quest was to give me those needed levels, levels to make me worthy compared to a true dragon. To have our God recognize me as somebody worthy!”]
[“Hestia, this guy … he has the eyes of a madman!”] Saori informed me after I sent her what Asterios told me.
[“I will fulfill this Quest. To Avitor Peaks. Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, you will come with me to meet God Kargryxmor!”]
I had expected that kinda response.
[“Asterios, I apologize for running away last time. The situation was just very hectic.”] It wasn’t an actual lie, but our group did run away with the intention of escaping from him. [“However, I have received information from Goddess Aurena that I should go to Griffonpeak, a human city very close to here. There I will speak with God Kargryxmor. If possible, if you could escort us—”]
[“Lies!”] Asterios interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. [“Lies! You tell me lies! You hold me for a fool! To lure me into the lair of those lowly beings, to then ambush me when I am at my most vulnerable. Those damn greenskins … my precious horn! That detestable ogre! It dared to attack me and break my horn! No! No! You will not bring me into another situation like that, salamander!”]
His [Terror Aura] began to grow, kicking my instincts into action. I had a bad feeling, and it grew to its peak with his next words.
[“I know. I know. Everything fell apart because of them. These two lowly beings! They tricked you, urged you to rebel against our God’s orders. You are but a whelpling, albeit a strong whelp fitting for a true dragon with the blood of God Kargryxmor himself. You are destined for greatness, but are held back by these unworthy beings. You tried to trick me. They influenced your naive mind,”]—Electricity began surging from Asterios’ body, and his eyes snapped towards Saori, showing her his full focus—[“They lured me into that trap. They broke my precious horn. They shall become my experience.”]
Die!
Flames exploded from my wings like a bazooka, shooting me straight towards Asterios and dispelling the mana mist which transformed me back into my lizardman-like dragonewt form. Using [Infernal Hellblade]’s Job skill [Instant Heat Ignition], my tail burst into searing fire without needing to sharpen it on anything. Like a swirling tornado, my body twisted mid-air before it fully stopped as my tail sliced right into Asterios’ forearm, breaking his scales and digging itself deep into it.
Asterios screamed, but that was when the electricity surrounding his body began to attack me like [Sanctified Blaze]’s automatic attack feature. His unique skill, [Electromagnetic Barrier] was at fault, but I simply glanced over it, relying on my [Draconic Barrier] and [White Flames] to keep my topped up in Health.
By the black wings of dread, created by corrupting flames. Sear into their flesh, sunder their bones, turn their blood into noxious filth. Melt their bodies with purple flames, crystallize their remains in stygian obsidian. Make way for the angel of blight, let it hear your cries for mercy!
Unheilige Engel!
A brown magic circle appeared at the edge of my eyes, quickly materializing a floating purple slime about the size of my body, all while Asterios’s expression was turning from crazy to confused. Without giving him a second to think, the purple slime solidified itself into a pair of skeleton-like obsidian wings, and dove into Asterios.
This attack wasn’t able to penetrate the electric barrier around him, however, I was able to free my tail blade from his arm, pushing him away from me. I quickly used [Panzer] to fortify my body before using [Dragoon Jump] with [Air Walk] to catapult myself forward, bypassing Asterios’s delayed reaction from my surprise attack, and striking another deep gash into his body, this time on his collarbone.
“Arrrrghhhh!”
My surprise attack was a success, buying me enough time to deal some critical damage on his body before he could react, but nothing good would last forever. When the wyvern’s instincts finally activated, the lightning current surrounding his body became stronger, to the point I could feel the pricking on my scales just from standing near him.
Using [Wind Blast], [Tailwind], and my rocket boosters, I blasted myself out of harm’s way before the electric explosion could harm me. In the air, I quickly removed my party bracelet and boots and placed them into my storage. This was not a battle I could allow myself to hold back.
When I landed, Asterios’s face contorted like an enraged beast’s as he glared at me. [“Y-you dare set another ambush on me? You cowardly little skink!”]
[“Fuck you, too. You call what I did cowardly, I call it a necessity for survival. I had to survive on surprise attacks up until I became strong enough to confront enemies head on. Hmph, thankfully, I never forgot about it.”] It didn’t matter if Asterios’s stats were high, I was still a glass cannon with a lot of skills to boost my attack instead of my defenses. [“Also, this is your problem. Just like last time, you wanted to separate me from my friends—my family! You don’t do that! Last time, I didn’t have the strength to confront you, but now … I have Aurora.”]
[“You—HUH!”]
Without a single warning, from Asterios’s right side crackling lightning could be heard before it exploded into a wolf’s howl, tearing through the ground as Saori’s [Hadean Dragon Thunder] consumed Asterios’ whole body in a black colored railgun beam. The sound of the wyvern’s cries only lasted for a second before a sword of electricity shot out from the stream of stygian lightning, splitting it apart and dissipating it.
[“E-electricity damaged me? Me? A monster created to dominate the thunder? H-how!”]
Of course it would, this wasn’t lightning, this was stygian lightning. This confirmed his [Dark Resistance] was pretty low since it did do good damage. Saori was no longer that pup he met last year.
As he was recovering from the black lightning, a cyan-colored magic circle suddenly appeared under his feet before a magical blizzard began ravaging Asterios. The cold air inside the magic circle froze into sharp spears, launching themselves at Asterios. They broke apart, unable to pierce Asterios’s barrier, but the cold was definitely having an effect on him as he quickly cast the inferno spell [Blazing Twister] to surround himself like a protective veil.
Tasianna’s custom spell [Ice Age’s Paradise], however, did not appreciate this flaming tornado. Instantly, ice and fire clashed, causing steam to rise from the circle. It eventually got to the point the whole area was surrounded by a smokescreen.
The three of us knew a battle was incoming.
Humanize.
Mana mist escaped my body, transforming me back into my dragon form. To my sides, Saori was flanking my left in her fenrir form with her garms while Tasianna flew next to me with two pairs of wings, one was her fairy wings while the other was made from ice using the spells [Fairy of Winter]. Using her newly acquired ice spell, she also constructed a golem made from ice with [Winter’s Golem].
As Tasianna’s [Ice Age’s Paradise] dissipated, Asterios revealed himself from the steam, finally back in his wyvern form. His dragonewt form had already reminded me of him, but in his original form, it made my embarrassing loss to him all the more vivid.
[“Blast you, you skink! I will drag your body back to God Kargryxmor, even if I have to do it with—”] Once again, before Asterios could finish speaking, something interrupted him. This time, it was a small blue cube. The moment it touched Asterios’ electric barrier, it exploded, leaving another scar on the ground.
“I apologize for being late! I had to equip my armor.” Ellaine appeared, shining brightly in her crimson armor, pointing her upgraded sword in Asterios’ direction. “This enemy … urgh, it feels strong.”
“Enough with the trepidation, lass. We have battle to do.” Grimnir, appearing last, smacked Ellaine’s back to encourage her before swinging his blasthammer over his shoulder.
Due to his unfortunate loss of his previous armor, he had to make a new one using any of the remaining scales, fur, and spider material we had left from Ellaine’s equipment. Unfortunately, it did not have as many powerful skills as Ellaine’s armor. Although, Grimnir’s new set of armor was designed to increase his defense to the point he could act as the party’s tank.
Dragon, fenrir, fairy, human, and dwarf.
Hestia, Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and Grimnir.
This was Aurora.
“Grrrrr.” As you would expect, Asterios didn’t receive any damage from that attack, but it seemed to have angered him even further. The time for talk was over.
What a huge difference.
Last time, Asterios was aided by two snow wyverns while I only had Saori and Tasianna. At that time, when I was trying to turn my [Imperial Hellfire] into a spell, it fizzled out and failed as a spell.
However, how was the situation looking now?
By the sanctified blaze, I call upon heaven's aid. Sacred is the fire which burns the tainted and heals the wounded. In this inferno, righteousness shall reign supreme, enchanting goddess’s army with pure blades. Strike forth, for the saintess is on your side. In the light of faith, burn the blight from the world!
Sanctified Blaze: Halo of Consecration!
A pure white, flaming halo appeared on my head as the white magic circle disappeared after my chant. The area around me began to emanate a holy aura, displaying its outer ring with white flames. Flames suddenly enveloped Ellaine’s and Grimnir’s weapons like a paladin’s enchantment, burning on them like purifying light. Magic circles for [Sanctified Blaze] began appearing on everybody’s bodies, removing my need to cast it on them separately.
My allies have grown while yours are gone. None of my new spells fizzled out, they’re working just as I wanted them to.
[The Will to Fight and Survive] began to play, signaling the countdown to the second round of this revenge match. My wings of obsidian transformed back into a formless slime while small flames blasted from my real wings.
[“Aurora! It is time to shine!”]
AbyssRaven Time to beat the past!
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