Hello, welcome to chapter 9. I decided to make chapter 9 the first flashback :)
Year 1, Month 12
Past status.
Shard Soulspear
Level 1
Strength: 482 E
Endurance: 378 F
Dexterity: 810 A
Agility: 723 B
Magic: 0
Skills: Perceptive: improves all 6 senses immensely and improves reaction time. Can be toggled off.
Magic: REDACTED BY AUTHOR
"No stat points at all?" I asked, my preteen voice chirping as I looked sadly at my sheet.
"It happens, especially with someone like you…" Loki trailed off but I knew what she meant. Weak, flawed. Especially compared to perfect Aiz, always months ahead, always stronger and tougher with no loss in speed. I was admittedly envious, she was practically a goddess in her own right. I told myself I should not compare myself to her, but who else could I? I had a full extra year in falna, and I was only a few years senior in physical age. I noticed loki staring into my eyes… she had a good ability to guess what I was thinking, except for my origins… I wrote my journal in the English I learned, rather than the language of Orario. This made it an uncrackable code and I was grateful for that. It would not do for them to think I was mad, or worse, that I was an abomination. My magic hinted at my origins but far more subtlely than even a goddess could discern. I sighed
"Look, I know you are anxious, but your progress in under two years is still amazing." Loki consoled leaving out the fact I had hit a wall. No to mention my magic was useless. For a frontline combatant such a long chant was practically impossible, also I wasn't sure if my mind could handle it. Riviera told me that the longer the spell the more mind it consumed, I felt certain I would suffer mind down at the end of it.
I went back to the shared childrens dorm. Ais and I were the only two preteens in the loki familia at the moment so we shared the room for now. Though I was 12 in physical age I knew I was a late bloomer and the falna slowed the age growth… hopefully it also deals with the acne that I knew was coming. I pushed the thought out of my mind and tried to get to sleep. Aiz and I were going into the dungeon tomorrow.
I woke up tired. Even after more than a year, no ac, no alarm clock ect was strange. Aiz was still asleep so I quickly changed and left. I took a shower, the familia was still small enough that the room was mostly empty. However Loki was planning on expanding it more, the twilight manor would within a few years have almost 100 people rather than the current 35. As I walked to the kitchen I considered the absurdity of my situation. Pulled out of college and thrown back 10 years in age to fight for a female version of one of the many gods I dismissed as fiction long ago. At least it wasn't as bad as a standard medieval fantasy, the magic mimicked several technologies. I quickly grabbed pan and began frying some bacon. I watched as people came in, mostly low levels like me… however loki did not require people under 13 to draft duties due to the risks involved. I remember the first time around when I tried to cook at 12, even alone in my kitchen I still made a mess. With 4-5 other people it was normally too risky. Fortunately I finished making the bacon and quickly grilled some bread with the bacon grease before the people who were actually supposed to be in here finished. I added some fresh fruit and carried the two plates out. As I expected Aiz was already waiting, after about a year of a somewhat similar schedule she had gotten used to me making her meals. We began eating quickly, both of us eager to enter the dungeon to expand our skills. The 3 leaders of the group were all in an expedition along with all the level 3's and the more experienced level two's. This left only a few newer level 2's like Aiz and the level ones like me. When it was like this the two of us went down in the dungeon's upper mid levels alone, in fact this was how Aiz leveled. Killing a oversized baby dragon with moderate assistance from me.
"So, we doing the usual today?" I asked nonchalantly. The tiny girl stared at me, relatively level due to my short prepubescent height. Her gold eyes filled with a seemingly endless fire.
"I guess." She uttered. I stared into her eyes, as I focused I saw the hints that my enhanced senses were revealing. The sadness behind the fire… I am still not used to this. My skill was only a couple months old and I still found it overwhelming. I had to spend most of my time with it toggled off. Especially with the 6th sense. I felt someone staring every time I turned it on. I could tell it was the same person, but it was passive. It was strong enough my first day in Orario to feel it without the skill. Now however I could feel her eyes. I don't know how I could tell it was a woman but at least it wasn't lustful… given my physical age I would be very creeped out. I knew I had met the person before but I could not for the life of me figure it out.
After eating we geared up. Aiz's fancy new sword looked very cool, a saber with one very sharp edge. I grabbed my Glaive, I used a spear earlier but we quickly learned that I wasn't quite the right fit. The glaive allowed me to better redirect strikes that I had launched that foes blocked allowing me to avoid and block strikes without losing all offense ability. I was not as precise as fin but I reacted faster and was better at chaining my motions together fluidly. Aiz was not at all similar. She was somewhat fast but slower than fin and myself but with durability and strength more on par with Gareth, of course she had that incredibly overpowered spell Ariel as well. I wore only very light armor. The purpose of which was simply to not die from a stray hit. I did not gain much endurance from damage and I rarely took hits resulting in endurance more on par with most mages of a similar level. Aiz meanwhile wore more sturdy armor, something on the lighter end of medium armor but combined with her insane single target damage and very high natural durability. With the level up I felt like an unnecessary add on to her. A waste of space. It wasn't like any Isekai I had seen. I was talented beyond the average but the average was low, compared to those special in this world I was useless.
We walked to the tower and descended. The first 10 levels were a breeze as Aiz cleared almost every monster before I could even ready my weapon. At level 13 I noticed she was slowing down… I considered that she might be pushing herself to hard but I dismissed that notion, just because I would fall if I acted as aggressively and moved as quickly as she was doesn't mean that it was overtaxing. I turned on my senses to be sure. In the dungeon the calmer, less populated rooms made the ability easier to manage. I could tell she was pushing herself but she should be fine, her heart rate was only slightly elevated. It will be fine I thought as I turned off my senses.
Aiz Pov:
I cleaved through the first 14 floors with few issues. I could afford to be reckless because I knew if I made a mistake Shard would cover my blind spots. I felt myself getting tired around the end of the 14th floor though. At the landing for floor 15 I stopped. I thought the goliath was Slain but I was not sure. I began to walk forward slowly, letting Shard carry some of the burden as we fought through. I then turned the corner and saw 10 red eyes. 5 minotaurs, one of them red. I could not let Shard fight those. I rushed the red and began battle, Shard distracted one as I began slaughtering the others. I heard a slam as I saw Shard hit the wall out of the corner of my eyes. By this point my blade had killed all but 1 of my foes. I cut down the last one engaged with me before A pain in the back of my head caused me to lose consciousness.
Shard Pov: I recovered from being slammed against the wall just in time to see the minotaur knock Aiz unconscious. My heart sunk, however strong she was it was scaring to see a little girl covered in blood on the ground. I stood and threw my glaive before rushing it, the glaive landed in the arm of the minotaur making a slight cut. I reached the handle ripping the blade out just as the minotaur turned. I dodged the swipe at my head rolling under its legs, I picked up Aiz's blade as I prepared my cast. My previous bout showed me that I could not defeat this beast conventionally. I gathered distance and hoped that minotaur's operated similarly to bulls. I was right, the minotaur charged. I thought back to how Riveria casted her spells.
"I call upon the gift I had forgone." I rolled to the side slicing the leg lightly with Aiz's sword. It was hard but I continued to focus on the cast.
"I call upon gods, demons, and all other forces of this world." The Minotaur slammed the ground forcing me to fly into the air. It roared triumphantly as I activated preceptive. My mind started to hurt between the strain of the spell and the sensory overload, but I kept focused.
"Though this violates natural law and humility it is endowed to me through Divine providence, and my own will." I swung my glaive wildly as the minotaur launched itself at me. I saw out of the corner of my eye Aiz's eyes open. She didn't stand but I threw myself over the minotaur's head launching myself with the glaive. As I flew the glaive fell out of the minotaur's head. It landed near Aiz and my heart soared as I saw her grip the blade.
"Now return me from my winding road, Bring my mind to bear." I landed just in time to duck under the minotaurs swipe. Aiz began to stand herself up and I could hear her muttering what I could only assume was Ariel.
"Gods, answer my bargain. Demons, grant my wish." I saw Aiz collapse to one knee again but the winds were swirling around her. I needed to give her an opening… however hard it might be.
Aiz Pov:
Aiz looked up, Aiz knew she would be fine in less than a minute but by then it would be to late. There is no way he could take down a minotaur. And he is frail enough one really solid hit would kill him. But then she heard it as he dodged the minotaurs downard smash.
"All I ask for, all I request, is a little more time. Temporus."
The first thing Aiz heard was the sound. A stopwatch ticking constantly. She tried to Follow Shard's movements but he was simply moving too quickly. Tick tick tick tick. Every second several new small gashes appeared on the minotaur. After a few seconds she saw the eyes of the minotaur gouged out. She started to stand. At this point the minotaur was a shell of its former self. Both legs were damaged to where it could not stand, both arms could no longer swing and both eyes and ears were ripped apart. However whatever he was doing he still could not pierce the thick central skin and bone. A few light scars were there. Perhaps the glaive could pierce it. Then she saw the stab in the back, a perfect hole to reach the crystal. She then saw him. Whatever spell he cast had ended. He began to stab, but just before he finished the job he passed out from mind down and physical exhaustion.
Aiz stood and charged her ariel charged. After she reached the minotaur she stabbed through the hole dusting the beast. After this she picked him up and began the long trek back to the surface.
Well. That was a short chapter too… I guess I lied about that. Hopefully I can return to my old chapter length soon but I do not know. Next chapter will almost certainly be back at the present.
