A/N- Hi guys, I'm back coming with a new chapter. Initial this wasn't suppose to drop until Friday, but I wanted it to drop before new years eve for some reason, don't ask.
Also on another note, I continue to re-write the newest arc, or rather adding some new ideas that have come to me, even if it will still follow the same route more or less, hopefully next week I will be able to resume the normal schedule, of posting once a week, but that all depends if I can finish everything until then. Well part of the blame its mine for always having new ideas that I would like to implement, also you guys are always coming up with great suggestions, that I try to see if I can implement, or at least take something out of it to add, so yeah... Not saying to stop, quite the contrary, I love to read all the ideas, even if they are crazy.
Also next chapter, I will be adding the new bows that Ryou as unlocked so far at the end.
My search for a Beta continues, and its proving difficulty, but hopefully it will work out.
Also on the newest chapter of the Manga, Rishia finally shined, so woot for that one, (Ryou is definitely proud).
With all of that said here it goes, hope you all had a great Christmas, and will be having an awesome New Eve, and remember, if you drink, "try" to do it with some manner of moderation, don't follow my example, I'm going to probably end up passed out on my cousin's couch along with the rest of the crew, as per tradition.
Now then... Where Quartz gets some clothes, Ryou and company make their attempt at dungeon crawling, and a new challenge presents itself.
Chapter 24. Braving Into a New World: Northern Cavern
One thing that Ryou realized when his theory that Quartz would eventually be able to change form became correct, was that she would need clothes- Magic clothes to be precise. Unfortunately, the only place he knew where those could be acquired was Castle Town.
Fortunately, one fact that Ryou had forgotten was that Almond was now Lord of two villages, one that had a tailor who was not only able to weave magic clothing but also had the necessary equipment to do so. Not only that but unlike what Gentlewood insinuated, Almond knew how to manage, and lead a village by example, so both villages were now doing much better then they were previously. So if such an esteemed leader wanted to abuse a little of that power to give Quartz free clothes, Ryou would not have any objection, especially since magic clothing was expensive.
What Ryou definitely objected too was what came after.
"Explain to me again how this is in any way, shape or form considered proper battle gear?" He asked tiredly. The Bow Hero could feel the beginnings of a headache.
"It absorbs the little lady's magic to augment its defensive capabilities Yuusha-sama." The tailor explained patiently.
"I get that… What I don't understand is why does it have frills? Why does it need frills? It has frills everywhere!" Ryou exclaimed, both of his hands motioning towards the newest addition to his party.
"Because it's aesthetically pleasing." The tailor answered with a small smile on his face. No doubt the man felt proud of his work.
Ryou's hands when for his temples rubbing them lightly, "Look... I won't proclaim to be a fashion specialist, but that isn't the point," the Bow Hero interjected.
"Of course it is!" The tailor lowered himself on one knee, in front of Quartz, hands raising as if presenting a masterful artwork." Look at her, she's beautiful!"
Ryou resisted the urge to groan out loud. It wasn't that the dress wasn't cute, Quartz would make a killing in any Cosplay convention, however, that didn't mean it was a something one should wear in battle.
This! This crap right here is why Motoyasu, and Ren think this is a game! Adding a little more force to his fingers Ryou continued to rub his temples and took another look at Quartz. The girl seemed content in ignoring the ongoing debate, choosing to instead spend her time admiring her new dress.
She looks like a soul reaping Gothic Loli she even as those wings to add to the look… I just have to steal L'Arc's scythe now…
Eyes turning towards the ceiling, Ryou wished for some divine intervention, or some form of enlightenment that let him understand the inhabitants of this world, "Rish please say something…" Ryou pleaded towards the ceiling.
Receiving no answer for a few seconds he turned towards his partner, "Rish..?" He questioned with a frown. Rishia's eyes almost looked glazed, and slowly following her line of sight Ryou finally understood what had enamored his partner so, and dread filled him.
"No!" He shouted. The shout made everyone inside the store jump, even a couple of costumers who turned to look at him startled.
"No! Nope! Not happening! Never!" Ryou announced shaking both his head and crossing his arms in front of him forming an 'X', before cutting the air in front.
"But...But its a Usapil costume!" Rishia said, turning towards him, her eyes almost sparkling, with what could only be her very best puppy eyes look.
Regrettably for his partner, Ryou had a younger sister, who besides being an even bigger Otaku then he was, had mastered that look to perfection, so to avoid being bankrupted every time he spent the day with her, he had developed quite the resistance.
Shaking his head, Ryou was quick to lunch an ultimatum, "Rishia, if you buy that I'm changing your nickname to Weirdo!"
"Fueee! W-W-Weirdo!?" The girls shuttered almost in shock.
"Yes, weirdo!" Ryou declared, nodding his head seriously, "Look…Everyone and their mother know, I hate my title, and most of what comes with it, but the very least we should do is look the part. Do you know what we would look like if someone in my party wears that?!" He finished pointing towards the abomination displayed in the corner.
"We would look pretty." Quartz supplied helpfully, looking up to him.
"No Quartz…" Ryou denied slowly, "…we would look like a circus! And we are not supposed to look pretty, we are supposed to look intimidating." Ryou explained.
The small girl blinked a couple of times, then took another look at her dress, one hand gripping the hem.
"Is Quartz intimidating?" She questioned, still clutching her dress.
The Bow Hero, crossed his arms, pondering before nodding. In dragon form, the small girl had been a sight to behold.
"A little bit?" Rishia supplied in a small voice. Ryou strategically ignored her tone since it was obvious she wasn't getting her costume.
"Without a doubt Quartz-chan!" Almond added from his place in the corner of the shop.
The girl continued to play with the hem of her dress, nodding slowly. "Is Quartz pretty?" She questions lightly.
Is this a trick question?
"Yes, Quartz your pretty," Ryou admitted, wondering where the small dragon was going with her questions.
"Quartz-chan is very cute…" Rishia followed after a moment later. Her voice still possessing a trace of disappointment.
"It is as my darling daughter says! So worry not Quartz-chan!" Almond once again added.
The girl nodded once more, and standing on one foot she twirled around, the skirt dancing with her, before coming to a stop, "Quartz is pretty… But she is still intimidating, so she can get the dress right Onii-shama?"
Said Hero just let his shoulders dropped slightly at the dragon's reasoning. Flawless logic right there...
In the end, Quartz got to keep her black dress. Quartz could change into dragon form so there wasn't that big of a problem even if Ryou wasn't all that happy, though, the costume that Rishia wanted, Usapil or otherwise was where he drew a line and put his foot down. The only way he would even consider such a thing would be if the stats on it completely surpass the ones on her current armor, and as it stood they were much worse.
A few hours later the party observed the entrance to the Northern Cavern, and Ryou let a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Even if they had much more time he hadn't been able to make nearly as much progress as he wanted. Between watching over Quartz, and everything else he was starting to feel a little restless, especially since the wild-life around Northern Village was mostly tame.
"Quartz since you're still new to this I want you to stay in the back, and let me, and Rish deal with anything that we come across," Ryou commanded while approaching the grand entrance. The entrance itself, a giant hole, in the face of the mountain, one of many that set the boundary between, Melromarc, and Faubley.
The small girl nodded, following along. That had been something that Ryou was truly grateful for. Unlike Filo, Quartz was surprisingly obedient, if it didn't involve the topic of food, and rarely showed much in the way of emotions, unless she was getting petted. Another thing was that she was incredibly intelligent. Ryou knew Dragons were supposed to be full of wisdom, but Quartz had learned how to talk just by hearing them in dragon form, and that happened in days.
Turning to his partner, Ryou saw that she had come to a pause a little behind them a slightly apprehensive look on her face.
"You okay there Rish?" He questioned.
Rishia shook her head slightly, and tried to put on a determined expression, however her apprehension still shined through, "Y-Yes, it's just that father, and the other kids always told scary stories about this place…" She admitted, and Ryou understood the feeling.
It's like that old abandoned house in your neighborhood, the one that spikes the imagination of every child, and is some times a stage for imaginary horror stories…
"It's fine Rish. You aren't a child anymore, nor are you weak." Taking another look, at the entrance, he couldn't completely erase the small spark of apprehension, at what might lie beyond in its deeps. "Besides if worse comes to worst, I'll just teleport us out…" Ryou finished. That would be a last-ditch solution, because of the cooldown, but served as a pretty good emergency escape if needed.
"Right." She said looking slightly more reassured.
"Already, let's check this place out." And with that Ryou took a tentative step into the cavern.
Taking a few steps, he waited for his vision to adjust. What lay before him, was expected if slightly disappointing. The hole opened, into a rather big open area, mostly filled with grey rock walls. Parts of mining equipment half-buried in the gravel, underneath their feet were visible, but nothing Ryou could use to unlock a new bow.
"Would it be too much to ask for a stick of dynamite or two?" Ryou questioned out-loud, kicking the head of a pickaxe out of the gravel. His eyes, following the long walls of stone, that showed signs of having been stripped mine.
"W-Why didn't you absorb some of the explosive powder from Lute village?" Rishia questioned, coming to a stop near him.
With a pointed look, his status window came into view, "I did, it didn't unlock anything." Ryou said. Scrolling down his inventory, he finally found what he had been looking for, and placing his hand forward he brought it out. Mostly black, with a circular glass panel around it, it looked like a completely normal item, if it weren't for the bluish marking on it.
Human-powered Oil-Lanterns, this is what efficiency looks like. According to what one of the merchants had explained, they were magically powered mostly. Ryou had been surprised, that they work on a very similar concept as normal lamps. Gathering magic from the user, to power the light spell imbued, before circulating it back to the user, that way the expenditure would be minimal.
Handing one to Rishia, the girl was quick to strap it to her hip. That was another plus of the Magic Lamps, they didn't need to be completely in contact with the user, to draw magic. After also handling one to Quartz, the small girl, tilted her head, as the interior sparked to life, the light illuminating her face. Her eyes shining with childlike curiosity, as she waved the lamp around, her eyes following the light.
Ryou watched, as she continued, twirling around with the lamp, her eyes glued to the light, "Are you some kind of dragon-moth Quartz?" He questioned in a joking manner, patting his lamp, and it too burst into life.
"Fuee, Ryou that's mean…" Rishia chastised him however, it was clear her mind wasn't in it, as her gaze moved from one side to the other, watching the shadows cast by Quartz Lamp with apprehension.
The dragon girl came to a stop from whatever dance she was doing, "It's so pretty Onii-shama, it reminds Quartz of stars." Then her eyes left the light to look at the Bow Hero, her head tilting in confusion, "…Quartz is Quartz, and Quartz is a… dragon?"
Why did you state it as a question? Don't tell me she's having an identity crisis, a little more than a week after being born… Ryou wondered in amusement, moving slowly into the depths, " That's nice and all, but stop playing with it. Not only was it expensive, but if you break it, we don't have another, so take care of that one."
"Okay…" She answered, her eyes still followed the light very few seconds.
Slowly their lights illuminated, the other side of the entrance area, and Ryou came to a spot near three distinct tunnels. The left one seemed, to go up at a steep angle. The other ones were also angled, but much less severely, and when deeper, probably into lower levels.
Nothing like an old classic way of choosing things like these… Eeny, mini, miny, moe, screw me over wherever I go… Ryou singed in his head, finishing in the middle path.
"Well let's go that way…" Ryou said motioned with his hand towards the chosen tunnel. With a flick of his wrist, he griped his Great Fanged Bow. Rishia soon followed suit, pulling her rapier out.
After walking for a few minutes, down the tunnel hardly big enough to fit Quartz in her dragon form, Ryou decided to break the silence, the darkness, and the atmosphere itself slightly getting to him, "So Rish, since your such an expert in mining, care to tell me what should I be on the lookout for?"
The girl in question jumped a little, at being addressed, lightly biting her lip, her eyes moving towards him for a second, before they returned to the front, "M-Mithirl veins or deposits are easy to i-identify… They shine, with a metallic blue tint…" She paused, eyes moving towards the walls, for a moment, "You could try using your digging s-skill, but…" She trailed off, looking upwards.
Ryou's eyes also went upwards, and he clicked his tongue, "Yeah, I get what you're saying, this doesn't look like the most stable of tunnels, for me to be poking random holes in…"
His own knowledge about mining and cave exploring wasn't the best, but the stone ceiling above them didn't look all that secure.
"But seriously Rish, where did this interest in mining came from?" Ryou questioned, taking a short glance at Quartz, who seemed to be sniffing the air, before nodding to herself.
"L-Like I said, there were these stories a-about this Cavern, and even if it was scary, t-there was a part of me that was curious, but since we were forbidden from coming here, I just tried to find i-information about it…" She explained, eyes lowering slightly.
So you decided to study every bit of knowledge you could get your hands on to satiate your curiosity… Your such a nerd Rish…He commented mentally, almost fondly, before his eyes come back to the front, and the Bow Hero came to a stop.
In front of the group stood another intersection that branched off into what looked like five different tunnels, all looking the same, in Ryou's eyes.
"I figured this would happen…" Ryou murmured mostly to himself, yet his voice echoed slightly. Opening his Status window he noted that his mini-map was showing only a displaced image almost like static.
How convenient… The moment I need it, it doesn't work…
"R-Ryou we should mark the way, or we will get lost…" Rishia advised, a small tremor still present in her voice.
"Drilling shot!" The arrow flew from his bow, and hit the ground in front of them, creating a swallow trench nearly three meters long. Eyeing the now newly made trench, Ryou examined it for a few seconds, before he unleashed a second shot straight down, at the beginning of the trench. leaving a slightly deeper hole at the beginning of the trench.
"Like this, we will know what way we came from," Ryou said, walking over the trench, and continuing through the middle tunnel
They kept walking for over half an hour, passing other multiple intersections, the air was mostly stagnant, and the only sound besides small talk about mining was their breathing and the gravel beneath them.
Finally in what fell like forever to Ryou, light could be seen at the end of the tunnel of one tunnel, however since the air was still mostly stagnant, Ryou doubted it was an exit. A couple of minutes later his suspicions were confirmed, however, what he saw took both his and his party member's breath away.
Exiting the tunnel, the cave opened in a big open area, far bigger than the initial area. Stalagmites made of pure crystal were present in every inch of the high ceiling, the strangest thing however were the countless green-blue lights coming from everywhere, lightning up the entire cave.
"Fuee! It's beautiful!" Rishia whispered breathlessly.
Ryou couldn't help but agree, his eyes locking on the small crystalline lake in the middle.
It's almost like we entered an alien planet, "It really is amazing…" Ryou whispered, taking in the sight. He doubts that he would ever see such a sight in his old world. Almost like the night sky, only underground.
The movement broke Ryou out of his reverie, and he saw Quartz approaching one of the lights, from the corner of his vision before picking it up. Deciding to investigate what was giving off the light he approached the girl, yet to his complete disbelief, a second later she shoved whatever it was into her mouth, before, munching on it with a few crunching sounds.
Both him and Rishia were stupefied at the sight, mouth dropping open.
The small girl wiped her mouth, with the back of her hand. "Tastes weird…" Her soft voice echoed in the cave.
"Quartz… What the hell did you just eat?" Ryou asked slowly. Something that gave out that kind of light could not be healthy in Ryou's mind.
"It was a weird shiny thing with lots of legs Onii-shama…"
Lots of legs..? What? Ryou questioned, before approaching one of the lights and crouching near it. Observing it, he saw it was what looked like a beetle, with a semi-transparent oval area in its back, where the light passed shine through.
Throwing the dragon girl a slightly disgusted side-look, Ryou was ready to chastise her, however, Rishia beat him to it, with a look that matched his. "Quartz-chan you can't eat that! You have to be careful what you eat, or you'll get sick…" Rishia explained, crouching near the girl.
The small dragon girl tilted her head in confusion."But Onee-shama. How will Quartz know if it's tasty?" The Dragon girl inquired, eyes peering intensely towards Rishia.
"T-That's… Y-You..." The green-haired girl turned towards him for help seemingly at a loss.
Ryou raised an eyebrow before shrugging like it had nothing to do with him. "Ask your Onee-sama, she's the expert."
Rishia, mouth dropped lightly, looking even more lost, "Fuee… I don't… I'm not… I think this is something Ryou should teach." She said, in an attempt to shift the responsibility back to him.
Ryou shook his finger towards his party member, "Nope! She's your responsibility to Onee-sama, so have fun!" Ryou chirped in a happy tone. He could already see it, Quartz grabbing all kinds of critters, and invertebrates, before asking Rishia if they were tasty.
Rishia did try to fight back the decision a little, but between Ryou's pointed look, and Quartz hopeful one, it had been a losing battle from the start.
With that issue settled, Ryou brought the beetle near the yellow gem in his bow. Like any item, it was vacuumed, and the expected warning window appeared.
[Bio-luminescent Beetle Bow- Common - Sealed- Equipment Bonus - Night Vision Bonus (Small) - Special Effect - Bio-luminescent Light Emission]
"Change Bow: Bio-luminescent Beetle Bow!" Ryou ordered. A second later he had to squint his eyes. The bow had changed into a light green one, with small transparent crystals, that seemed to emit the same light as the beetles, only hundreds of times far more intense.
See, you morons… This is why you should try everything you can… His new bow, while not strong, or even something that could be considered combat-oriented was definitely beyond useful.
The bow also gave a boost to night vision, and that was where some strategic thinking came into play. Even if Ryou could see more or less in almost pitch dark, his partners couldn't or at least Rishia wasn't able to, but now with this new bow, the problem was more or less solved. Such a thing would be a bonus if they wanted to expand their grinding time on occasions.
Well, those two only think in game terms, so perhaps they are even sure that they will respawn if they die…
Rising, Ryou aimed the bow down, to get the light off his eyes, before ordering, "Alright let's check this place out."
His party fawned out, and Ryou took look at the crystal formations in the ceiling. A moment later an arrow found its target, breaking it in pieces, that fell down on the ground. Picking a small piece of crystal, hardly bigger than his hand, Ryou observed the gemstone. On closer inspection, he could see that it didn't reflect the light from the beetles, but the crystal itself shined with a soft blue glow.
[Blue Mascgite Crystal]
Never heard of this… Probably some kind of magical crystal, if the way it is shining is of any indication… Ryou considered before letting his Legendary Weapon absorb the new material.
[Mascgite Bow - Common- Sealed - Equipment Bonus +3 Magic, Magic Defense Bonus(Small), Magic Effectiveness Bonus (Small), Special Effect - MP Bonus(Small), MP Cost Reduction Bonus(Small)]
So it is a magic crystal, and if I take the abilities from the bow into consideration, It's probably a good idea to save some of them for future upgrades, especially for Rish... The Bow Hero decided before picking a few more crystals and shoving them in his inventory.
Exploring the rest of the vast area, Ryou was starting to feel slightly weary, they had gone pretty deep without either opposition nor mithril something that he found strange. He had expected even a couple of monsters.
Approaching the other side of the area, circling the small lake, Ryou converged with his party peering into another tunnel that continued into the depths.
"Onii-shama something smells bad in there," Quartz said, her little nose scrunching up at a smell Ryou couldn't detect.
"Does it? I can't really…" Ryou stopped for a second, peering into the tunnel, "... What's that sound?" He asked confused. It sounded familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"A pig? Here?" Rishia wondered out loud slightly confused.
It finally clicked in Ryou that was what he was hearing, although that only added to the confusion.
How did a pig end up in this place? Might it be the legendary pig-man?
Slowly making his way into the tunnel he motion for the others to follow. As Ryou walked deeper the sound became clearer, a mixture of grunts, and snorts, definitely what one would expect from a pig.
The tunnel then made an almost ninety-degree curve, a soft light emanating from just beyond sight. Ryou made a stopping motion with his hand, before taking a peek. He grew slightly annoyed though when Rishia also peered from behind him and shot them a look when Quartz joined the fray.
Walking into plain sight Ryou examined the creature not even five meters away from him, for a moment before giving voice to the thoughts of everyone present.
"You… Are by far the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life…" Ryou accused, his face scrunched up in almost disgust.
The creature seemed to turn in his direction for a moment, before returning to munch on the black goo on the ground.
Not only is it ugly but it's also an ass apparently...
The creature while sounding exactly like a pig looked nothing like it if anything it looked something straight from a horror story. About as tall as Ryou was, it stood on four legs, in a dirty green color. It had no eyes from what the bow hero could see, what he could see however was that half of its oval body was nothing but a giant maw for of spiky teeth. On the other end, were four tails, or tentacles like protrusions, waving in the space. Three of the tentacles ended in a flat shape, with one side full of spikes. The last one ended in some kind of bulbous like organ, that flickered with yellow light.
Looking at the flickering light, Ryou, "I wonder if this is a terrestrial version of a fish from the abyssal zones…" Ryou muttered, aiming at the monster.
"Onee-shama is that tasty?" Quartz questioned, a finger on her lip eyeing the creature.
"Fuee… I don't think so." Rishia answered slight hesitantly. Her eyes also on the monster that was far too comfortable ignoring them.
Ryou continued to eye the monster, his bow lined up with the creature's body for almost half-a-minute, before he lowered it a moment later. Taking one hesitant step, Ryou slowly made his way towards the creature, until he was in touching distance.
"R-Ryou what are you doing?" Rishia questioned. The green-haired girl had followed him until she was halfway between the curve, and the monster, her arm slightly raised in his direction. Quartz tilted her head, right next to her still eyeing the creature.
This is really triggering me… Extending his hand, Ryou poked the creature's body a couple of times. It's skin both soft and hard at the same time, a strange mixture. Tilting his head in confusion, the Bow Hero rested his palm on the creature, feeling it breathing. The Eldritch Pig, only turned its maw slightly, before returning to eat whatever black substance it was eating.
"This is freaking weird," Ryou said. His palm still resting on the creature's body, his eyes traveling towards the tentacles on the back.
"Y-Yes it is! The fact that your petting that monster, it's very weird!" Rishia exclaimed incredulously.
Frowning, Ryou shook his head slightly, "That's not it Rish. This thing isn't aggressive at all, Why?" The Bow Hero wondered. Every single monster he had come across had been aggressive towards humans, even Usapil's had no problem trying to attack people, yet one of the most menacing creatures he had come across, Quartz withstanding, was passive.
"I don't know… Quartz-chan come back here!"
The small dragon girl completely ignored Rishia's order and came to a stop near Ryou crouching. Raisin her small hand she also poked the creature with her finger a few times. "When are we going to eat it Onii-sama?" She asked a moment later, her eyes skin on the creature.
"Is that all you think about?" Ryou muttered, lowering his arm to the side.
Finally finished with its meal, the creature turned around. Ryou leaned lightly back, as one spiky tentacle passed near his face. The creature slowly made it's way down the tunnel, the flickering light slightly illuminating it.
Alright then, take me to your leader… Slowly, Ryou began to follow the creature, motioning with its hand for his team to follow, "Come on let's see where this guy is going."
Rishia fell into step with him an instant later, almost tripping in the gravel." Fuee… W-Why are we following it?!" She whispered, her eyes going from the flickering light in front of them, to the Bow Hero's face.
Ryou shrugged his shoulder, but his lips went up a little, "This guy picked my interest that's all."
"T-This is definitely a b-bad idea…" She said, but her voice sound resign.
"There's nine, out of ten chances that your right Rish…" Ryou allowed. He knew that following something out of a horror story was bound to end badly, but maybe something good would come out of it.
The party continued to follow the strange passive creature in silence after that, through a myriad of tunnels. It wasn't until they crossed into a new tunnel, that Ryou realized, that the cavern walls, had been slowly changing in composition, if before they were made of mostly common stone, now the entire tunnel was made from white rock, something that seemed to affect how the light reflected, even the ground was filled with white stones, of different sizes, but most of them somewhat round.
Probably marble… Crouching on the ground, Ryou grabbed one small piece of white round rock. The Bow Hero inspected the rock from various sides, with an inquisitive look. From what he knew of geography round rocks mostly came from the effect of water eroding them, yet there were no signs of an underground river having passed through the tunnel, especially since the walls didn't show any type of erosion.
Bringing the small rock to his bow, he raised an eyebrow when nothing happened.
"I was expecting to unlock a Marble Bow, maybe with a stone crafting skill attached to it or something…" Ryou muttered, throwing the stone to the side.
Rishia watched the stone path as it hit the side of the tunnel, "Stone crafting… I might have some books back home if you're interested…"
Ryou turned to Rishia exasperated, "Rishia, I can't read yet remember? Besides I was jokin..!"
Squeal!
The cry from the pig almost agonizing echoed within the tunnel, followed by a sound almost primal of something being torn apart. Ryou turned wide-eyed, to the front, only to catch the last flicker of light amid the darkness, before it was extinguished.
Eyes narrowing, he raised his bow, to flash some light an instant later towards where the pig had been.
Jesus… The Eldritch Pig, or what was left of it had been torn apart, into something that had almost no resemblance. Blood splattered on the walls near it, running down in small rivulets, staining the white wall in red.
"R-Ryou…" The fearful whisper came from slightly further behind, but Ryou refused to take his eyes off the front. However, try as he might he couldn't find the culprit.
Where are you, you bastard… Eyes on the tunnel in front of him, that was mostly straight, he found no traces of what had killed the passive creature. Raising his eyes to the ceiling proved to be just as fruitfulness.
I remember this feeling though… Ryou concluded as every hair on his arm stood to no end. The feeling of being hunted.
"Onii-shama, this place smells bad. Everywhere smells bad…" Quartz noted.
At the sound of the dragon girl's voice, Ryou turned to look at her, flashing his bow down the where he had come.
It happened in an instant. The moment he had turned, he felt a shiver go through his spine, and without hesitation the bow hero dove forward. His eyes lock with Rishia's, whose expression changed into one of horror.
Son of a Bitch! Ryou hissed, as plain bloomed from his back, a burning sensation expanding from the middle of his back until his hip.
Touching down, Ryou rolled on his back, gritting his teeth trying to ignore the pain, as he aimed.
"Flame Shot!" The flaming arrow detonated on the creature's torso before his eyes could register what had he hit, leaving only a flaming pair of pale humanoid legs, hardly attached.
The sound of metal clashing with something had him turned his head slightly, and he found his partner blocking a claw with her rapier, her arms shaking from the effort of keeping the creature at bay.
A moment later, a small barrage of arrows, punctured holes in its side, one severing a pale clawed arm. The arm dropping to the ground, a strange appendage, that separated at the elbow, forming another new arm.
The action gave Rishia time to find her balance. The other clawed arm swung, but the green-haired girl weaved under it, her rapier coming forward, stabbing the larger humanoid creature in the chest. Blood squirted from the new puncture wound, and the girl pushed the rapier deeper with both hands, as the monster screeched. A whooshing sound echoed, and a new hole appeared in the monster's faceless visage courtesy of Ryou.
Rishia took a look a the Bow Hero, her eyes widening slightly. Grabbing the handle of her weapon with both hands, she lowered into a stance, "As source of thy power, I order thy. Decipher the laws of Nature, and cut the air in front of me!".
Ryou knowing what followed lowered himself parallel to the ground.
"Faust Wind Cutter!" The tip of the rapier shined brilliantly, as she swung it in an arc in front of her, a translucent scythe of wind following after, bisecting another humanoid monster, as cutting deeply into a second.
Coming to his feet, Ryou took in the front of the tunnel were Rishia had shot her spell. Clenching his teeth, he quickly aimed, "Rapid Flame Shot!"
Three flaming arrows flew towards the three imminent threats, detonating in domes of fire that filled most of the tunnel in front of him.
"Fuee! Ryou stop! You'll bring the entire tunnel down!" Rishia shouted in panic, as a couple of white boulders fell from the ceiling, courtesy with his skill.
Shit, she's right… But where the hell are these silent hill rejects coming from? Ryou demanded mentally looking towards the front as the fire dissipated, leaving only charred remains.
A crashing sound, had him look backward, and he saw one of the faceless creatures slamming into the ceiling. The Impact so great that it burst open, blood raining down on the ground and on Quartz who still had her fist extended upwards.
Turning towards him the small girl sent him a wave, that would have been reassuring if she wasn't coated in blood. An instant later a shadow appeared behind the girl, a claw coming for her head, yet even before he could begin to issue a warning, her tail lashed out, without even looking, she slammed it into the creatures mid-section, and the monster blurred, disappearing into the darkness, followed by a crashing sound echoing in the distance.
With no more present threats, Ryou surveyed his surroundings, from side to side," Did one of you see where they came from?"
"Fuee! No… One moment they weren't there, the other they just appeared out of nowhere!" Rishia exclaimed, mimicking Ryou, eyes searching for signs of more monsters.
"Onii-shama, there's more…Many, many more…" Quartz added, sniffing the air with a slight frown. Both her small fists and her hair raked with dark red.
Do they come from the ground, or are they just invisible? Ryou wondered, backing away until he was near Rishia. Still locking every inch of the tunnel from clues, the Bow Hero put his brain into overdrive trying to understand where the monsters had come from.
According to Quartz, there's more, we just can see them… The moment he thought about it, Ryou was hit with another thought. Crouching he placed his hand on top of one of the monsters, willing his bow to absorb it.
[Marble Horror Mimick Bow - Common - Sealed - Equipment Bonus - 6+Attack, Hiding Bonus(Small)- Special Effect - Monster Lure, Monster Attraction Range Bonus(Medium)]
"Marble Mimick…", Ryou muttered, his eyes widening, as he lowered his gaze to the ground. Kicking one of the small round rocks lightly, he watched it rolling on the ground before it came to a stop. A moment later the rock shook a little by itself, before coming to stop. Head moving slowly, eyes on the ground, the Bow Hero took in the countless amount of round stones just in his immediate area. Bringing his bow he pointed it further down the tunnel, eyes on the ground, repeating the action in the opposite direction, another shiver crossing his body.
Shit… "Their hiding as rocks, their mimic type monsters!" Ryou warned, raising his bow, and backing away towards a wall.
"Ryou, if what Quartz's saying is true, we have to leave!" Rishia pleaded, also backing away towards the wall.
His back hitting the marble wall, Ryou gave his surrounding a quick look, before taking a side glance to the dragon girl, "Quartz get over here slowly. Rishia blow any rocks near us with your Wind Blow spell!"
Quartz slowly made her way, carefully sidestepping the suspicious rocks. The moment she reached them, Rishia how had been chanting her spell, released it in a cone in front of them aim at the ground. The wind spell blowing every rock near them, along with kicking up a dust cloud.
There's no way every single rock is one of them because if that's the case there are hundreds, if not a thousand of them… Ryou rationalized, Bow lock on the dust cloud as it slowly dispersed.
"Okay, I'm going to try something, Quartz get ready to sneeze," Ryou ordered.
The small girl inhaled, her cheeks puffing, as Rishia griped her rapier tighter.
Here goes nothing…
"Change Bow! Marble Horror Mimic Bow!" With the com and, a pure white bow materialized in the bows heroes grip, the arc of the bow finishing in two appendages eery reminiscent of the monster's arms.
A moment passed, and Ryou felt his hopes rising, only to be completely dashed, the next second.
"Hell no! Teleport: Northern Village!" The scream came out of his mouth, along with a tilt of his head, as a claw impaled itself right next to it, and in the next moment, his vision was filled with blue.
As the blue light disappeared, and the gates of Northern Village came on again into sight, the Bow Hero took a deep breath, to calm himself. Feeling some weight on his shoulder, he took a look, his face morphing into one of disgust, as he took note of the extra appendage still clapped in it. Grabbing the severed arm, he almost threw it into the distance before resigning himself, and let it drop to the ground.
The Bow Hero let himself drop on the grass, taking note of his party members. Rishia had already taken a seat and looked no worse to wear if a little out of breath. Quartz, he had to hold a small snort at the sight. The small Dragon Girl also looked fine, not counting having a severe claw between her teeth, and was shaking it rapidly, growling almost like a rabid dog.
"Well, that ended in failure," Ryou commented airily.
"T-That was scary…"She commented. Her eyes were still wide. Taking a breath she shook her head. "...It c-couldn't be helped though, there were too many."
I could have dealt with them if I was alone… The traitorous thought crossed the Bow Hero's mind. The Marble Mimicks move rather slowly and didn't appear to capable of jumping, so it would have been easy for him to jump onto the ceiling with his gripping skill, and take them out one by one if needed.
Almost immediately had the thought crossed his mind, Ryou shook his head almost furiously. It wasn't that his party members were slowing down, quite the contrary, it was fate once again locking him in a situation that he had been at a great disadvantage.
"Well, at least we know what we are dealing with… Now we just need to figure out how to deal with a thousand enemies without the usage of unreasonable amounts of explosives…" He rationalized out loud, having his hand lazily in the air.
"Fuee! We are going back?!" Rishia exclaimed in horror.
At the sound of her voice, Ryou lifted himself into a seated position, to look at the green-haired girl, before scoffing light, "Well obviously. I'm not leaving without getting that mithril, isn't that the entire point why we went there…"
"Onee-shama is scared," Quartz interjected, waving the severed claw in the air.
Turning to look at the small girl, Rishia eyes fell on the appendage for a few moments, "Fueee! Of course I'm scared! There's no reason to take that risk when it isn't even worth it!" She continued her voice a pitch higher.
Ryou closed his eyes for a brief moment, the Shadow Maid words still very much present in the corner of his mind.
"Because you were hesitating!"
"You are the wisest, and the most prudent of the Four, there's no doubt about it, but you were poking the ground in front of you with a stick before stepping on it!"
"I saw you! I'm almost always following you! You were even afraid of stepping out of Castle Town! You have the potential to be an amazing ally and the strongest among the four of you for sure, but there's a fine line between being cautious and being a coward, and guess to what side you were leaning towards?! How can we trust a hero to save us, if he's even afraid of his own shadow!"
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again, "Rish… I understand where you are coming from, I really do but…" Another deep breath, "...but this is something I have to do. We have to do."
A frown made itself apparent in her face, as she questioned, "Why?"
Ryou took a moment, before replying, "Because among the four legendary heroes… I'm the biggest coward of them all." The Bow Hero admitted, releasing a chuckle a moment later, one hand rubbing his face.
"It doesn't matter if I try to cover it up with nice words like I'm being prudent, or I'm being logical, in the end that's the harsh truth. It also doesn't matter if the other two somewhere in their mind think they there immortal, or if Naofumi is just touched in the head… No, perhaps because he is the Tate-no Yuusha, he figured it's a given that he is going to get hurt… Maybe that's part of the reason why I was chosen to be the Yumi-no Yuusha. To have the ability to just stay out of harm's reach…"
Rising off the ground, Ryou dust himself. Taking the frown on his partner's face, that appeared to have gotten more severe, he continued, "Rish I already told you the story about what happened in my first week here."
Rishia nodded slightly, "T-The wolves…"
"Yeah, with the wolves… The same thing happened with Gentlewood, and with the Chimera at the wave… Unless I'm not given a choice, my first instinct is always the same." Looking upwards towards the sky, his lips turned down, "That's who I am, but in there lies the problem… This place… The fact that I'm the Yumi-no Yuusha, and this world will not allow me to be me, that's why I have to change… That's why even if it's dangerous we have to do this. Perhaps you're right and its a meaningless risk, and it might not be worth it, but it's still something we have to do."
Slowly the Bow Hero turned towards Northern Village gates.
"Think of it this way. At least we know what we are dealing with now, so let's pull resources, and figure out how to deal with this situation." The Bow Hero finished. Making his way into the village, he came to a stop by the sound of Rishia's voice.
"A-And if we can't?" She took a breath, eyes rising to look at the Bow Hero's back. "Find a way to deal with it, I mean."
"Then…" Ryou's eyes narrowed, as he clenched his fist. "...I'll just brute force my way through them if that's what it takes..."
Next Chapter: Leaving No Stone Unturned...