Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit. Also thanks to Angel Wraith for reading my rough draft and provide important feedbacks.
Special credit to DJman248, whose review directly inspired me to write the exchange between Malty and Iris near the end.
More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.
"We are not picking our options out of a hat, or straws." The air seems to become colder around the rabbit demi-human. Joking or not, clearly Irileth does not appreciate the imp's input.
Naofumi finally looks up from his musing. "The way I see it, you can either make the best of your situation and bargain with this seed, or you can air on the side of caution and destroy it."
"I didn't take you as someone who'll risk the lives of others at first glance." The bodyguard's glare towards the Shield Hero is colder than before.
"Look, I'm not saying we throw away caution. But Jarl Balgruuf is going to face a food crisis before the Wave is over, am I right?" The Shield Hero holds his hands up above his shoulder. Irileth keeps staring at him for a few more beats longer before she reluctantly nods. "Something has to be done about it, or all of you will be eating dirt while you are fighting the Wave monsters."
Bertia looks up, her mouth opens halfway before the pudgy girl swallows whatever she wants to say right back to her stomach. Too bad for her, Katarina notices her hesitation and grabs her hand. The monkey girl of House Claes waves Bertia's hand over their head, much to the Notches heiress' dismay. "Hey, hey, hey! Tia wants to say something!"
Everyone turns their heads towards the Noches heiress, her face turns violet as she buries her face into her chest. The Spear Hero steps over and wraps his arms around her shoulders. "Don't be afraid, Bertia. Take a breath and say what you want. Anyone has a problem, they'll have to get through me."
The redhead looks up at her hero and gives a firm nod. She takes a deep breath like Motoyasu suggested. "Shouldn't we ask what the villagers want first? It's their land."
That's actually a good point.
Chapter 43: Resident Evil
It doesn't take too long for the soldiers to bring forth the important people of Balafon. The village elder, the innkeeper and the shopkeeper. Aside from the village elder, the other two both try their best to not lock eyes with anyone while shuffling their feet on the ground.
"So, I'll keep this short as you gentlemen obviously have better things to do. The heroes retrieved the magical seed, and the good news it's a man-made magical item, not an Outsider artifact. But they also destroyed the instruction on how to safely plant it." Zylden stops to take a swig out of his wine, letting the three locals digest the information.
"It's still made with the Outsider God's evil magic." Irileth helpfully adds while she crosses her arms.
"We can destroy the seed and all of you go with the knight lady back to your lord or do whatever you can to survive on your own, trade this seed to this rich Golden Coast lady here for her family's food produce till the Wave's end." Zylden points his arm at Iris, who gives the three locals a courteous, but cold nod. "Or we can go ahead and plant the seed anyway, and hope for the best."
The three locals exchange looks at each other. The innkeeper and the shopkeeper both stop their eyes on the village elder. The old gentleman looks down and lets out a silent sigh as he turns around to look at the Lord's bodyguard. "Balafon is our home. We... don't want to lose it, so long as there's still a chance."
In other words, the Balafon locals choose to take their chances with the seed.
"Very well." The face of the rabbit Housecarl remains cold. "But my duty as the Jarl's Housecarl means I have to place my Jarl's well-being above everyone else. And I will not waste the lives of my men away if the seed causes a disaster."
The elder and his two fellow locals all look down at the ground. "We... understand, Lady Irileth."
"That's why every one of you is to start packing up, and be ready to leave with my men immediately, if the seed's Outsider magic does become a problem. I will order anyone not on guard or patrol duties to help." The rabbit bodyguard's words make the locals look up at her.
"If we are planting the seed, we'll have to take every precaution." Naofumi nods his head along as he looks around the group. "I suggest we plant it away from the village out in the field, that'll give everyone time to evacuate if something goes wrong. My group will camp nearby to monitor its growth."
"If you are camping out, I'm camping out too." The Spear Hero whips his head around to stare at Naofumi.
The Shield Hero stares back at his spear wielding counterpart with the blandest face he can muster. "It's not a camping date. We aren't taking your luxury carriages."
"I can camp like a real adventurer!" Motoyasu stomps his foot on the ground and turns to look at his female companions. "Isn't that right, Iris, Katarina, Bertia!?"
The Amelia heiress looks away and starts fanning herself, while Bertia buries her face into her chest for a moment before looking back up. "You've mistaken poison ivy for healing herbs, Master Motoyasu."
"That happened ONCE!"
"Well, I think it'll be fun! We can learn something from the Shield Hero's party, and snuggle up with our fluffy birds for comfort." Katarina hops over and cling up to the Spear Hero with one arm, and runs the other alongside the back of her yellow filorial. "Isn't that right, Kou?"
"Guah~!/Yeah~!" Kou waves his long necks around with excitement.
"See, Kou agrees. Come join us, Tia, Iris!" Katarina stops petting her bird and looks at her fellow heiresses, she becks her hand at them.
Bertia's right foot scratches the dirt, but she looks up at Iris instead of walking over. The Amelia heiress looks down at her and gives an affirmative nod. "Go ahead if you want to, Tia. I'll join you all, after I finish my budgeting project."
"Okay." Bertia nods her head and walks over to Katarina's side.
"It won't be all fun and games." Naofumi gives one last glance towards his self-proclaimed rival and shakes his head. He walks away and turns towards Raphtalia. "We don't know what'll happen, Raphtalia. You stay back here in the village."
"NO! I'm staying with you, Master Naofumi!" The child almost screams out her objection, almost making Naofumi and Mein both lose their feet.
Naofumi locks eyes with Mein, the princess runs her hand through Raphtalia's hair while shaking her head back at Naofumi. The Shield Hero kneels down and rests his hands on the raccoon girl's shoulder. "I'm not leaving you, Raphtalia. But we don't know what this seed will do. I don't want you to get hurt, like what happened yesterday in the dungeon."
Mein feels Raphtalia's head under her hand shake. The girl looks like she wants to say, or shout out something again, but she stays quiet in the end and lets out a quiet 'okay'.
"Good girl. I won't leave you behind, you know this by now, right? I promise I'll come back." Mein can feel Raphtalia nodding her head. Naofumi stands back up and looks at the princess in disguise. "Stay together with Raphtalia while we go monitor the seed, Mein. It's ... probably easier for her if you stay with her."
"Of course, Master Naofumi. You have nothing to worry about." The princess gives a firm nod back to the Shield Hero. Aside from taking care of Raphtalia, this also gives her a golden opportunity to reconnect with Iris away from most people's eyes and ears. She may find out the reason for Amelia heiress' sudden interest in the so-called 'miracle seed'.
The rest of the day flies by. Naofumi's party packs extra camping equipment from the guards for the Spear Hero's party, and they leave for the plains outside Balafon's palisade after lunch. Mein and Raphtalia's afternoon and evening is divided between helping the Balafon villagers packing up their meager belongings, and practicing their magic together.
"The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in the lowly places that others despise. Therefore it is near the Eternal..." Mein reads the content from Grimoire of Water to the raccoon girl as the sun slowly begins to fall towards the horizon. Raphtalia keeps looking at the side, scratching her own ears and cheeks. It's clear the girl's mind is on something else.
The trotting sound of raptors make them both look to the main road. A full squad of Whiterun guards are being northward by Irileth and Zylden. The princess clamps her grimoire closed and stands up on the bench together with Raphtalia. "Are you going to check the seed, Imp?"
The rabbit demi-human stops her raptor. Zylden spins himself around to sit sideways on the reptile's back to face Mein and Raphtalia, two short, stump-like legs dangling on the beast's back. "Yep, I want to make sure the heroes haven't been eaten by a mutated plant monster while we aren't looking. You two coming with us?"
"What do you say, Raphtalia?" Thinking back on Raphtalia's earlier jumpy behavior, the princess smiles at the child. "Want to go check up on Master Naofumi before we turn in for the night?"
"YES!" The raccoon girl furiously nods her head like a bouncing rubber ball.
"We'll come with you." Mein looks at the columns of guards, trying her best to pick out which one of the dirty, sweaty soldiers is the cleanest.
"Grab a seat. Don't keep us waiting." The imp waves his arm back at the yellow-coated Whiterun soldiers. He spins right back to face the front, short arms wrapped around the rabbit demi-human's waist.
The princess fights back the instinct to scowl back at the half-man. She brings Raphtalia with her to the back and carries the child up on the last raptor and has her sit right in front of the guard. Mein climbs up herself right after, sitting on the guard's back. "Don't try anything funny, or say goodbye to your kneecaps."
"I'm a married man, lady." The soldier replies back with a blank voice.
The raptors of their group start out with a light trot and slowly pick up speed till they break into full sprint. Mein looks forward from the guard's shoulder toward the direction the heroes' party left earlier in the day. The terrain around Balafon is fairly flat, so it shouldn't be too hard to spot where the heroes planted the seed and camped at.
Turns out, they didn't have to look up hard at all. To the northeast of the village halfway between the village and the mountain forest where hordes of beak things make their nests, beside the small river runs presumably down from the distant Griffin's Back mountain range, a strange-looking monstrosity seems to have sprouted out from nowhere.
Considering the spike-like structure wasn't there yesterday when they went to explore the lost laboratory dungeon, Mein is willing to bet the Spear Hero's miracle seed is solely responsible for the sudden monument.
As they move closer, the Princess is able to get a good look at the plant. Calling it a tree wouldn't be entirely accurate. It looks more like a bundle of a good dozen chartreuse-shaded thorny vines, each the size of a regular tree's trunk coiling and twisting together into a rough tree shape. Overall, the plant sprouting out of the miracle seed is easily as large as the crepe tree in the town of Trumpet.
Mein can already see many orange colored, sphere shaped fruits roughly the size of a child's head hanging from the vines. Small lines of blue light glowed and pulsating like blood vessels on the vines, reminding everyone the seed was created with Outsider's god's magic.
"Hey, don't just grab it!" Naofumi doesn't seem to notice the people coming up from behind him. He's currently trying to get past the Spear wielding idiot and stop Katarina from climbing the tree... no, the vines, or maybe roots and get to the fruit. "Remember Zylden said the fruit might have side effects? We should have him check them out before eating them."
"Take it easy, worrying too much makes you go bald." Katarina hangs upside down onto the vine with her legs and reaches for a fruit near her with her empty hands. She notices the raptors coming their way and waves at them with her free hand. "Oh, hey! There comes Zylden and friends."
"He's here now? Good..." Naofumi turns his back against the miracle plant. Before he has a chance to say anything, or even wave at the approaching party, a dark shadow falls right on top of him and the Spear Hero makes them into a tangled mess of limbs on the ground. "AH!"
Mein swears she heard some inhuman sounding screeching noise coming from the Shield Hero's cloak. The rubbery abominations probably didn't appreciate being suddenly squeezed.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia flails her way out of the guard's arms and leaps down from the raptor. She darts over to the Shield Hero's side. Mein quickly dismounts and follows right after.
"Katarina! Master Motoyasu!" Bertia also runs towards them and helps the raccoon child pick apart two heroes... and one human noble girl that probably has some monkey demi-human heritage somewhere in her bloodline. Even if it's believed children between humans and demi-human will always be demi-human. "You shouldn't have climbed that tree, Katarina. Have Master Motoyasu and Master Shield Hero get you a safety rope next time, like we did back in the dungeon."
"Ouch... sorry. I got pricked by a thorn and lost my grip. Hehe..." Katarina pokes her tongue out as she giggles to herself. She suddenly seems to remember something as she holds up the fruit over her head with both hands. "At least the fruit is safe!"
"Are you okay, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia sits back down from the new freed heroes. The eldritch monstrosities squirming in her embrace as she runs her tiny hand over their top.
"It's okay. I didn't feel a thing." Naofumi bushes himself up from the ground, brushing away a few strands of hair in front of his eyes before he gives Raphtalia's hair a gentle message. "Was more surprised than hurt."
"I'm okay TOO!" The Spear Hero jumps right back up on his feet. He gives one quick look, and edges away from Raphtalia... or more specifically the things wriggling on her arms. Once he puts some distance away from the monsters, he turns to smile at Katarina. "You are soft."
That has got to be the most corny pickup line Mein heard in a good while. The Claes heiress doesn't think so as her face turns slightly pink. "Really? Always thought I'm built like a boulder with all the farming and tree climbing."
"Ahmm! As fun as your flirting is, we are here to inspect the result of the Outsider's Magical Seed before sundown." Irileth clears her throat, making both idiots jump on their feet. The rabbit bodyguard looked up at the seed. "So, this is the result of the so-called 'miracle seed'."
"Not... exactly?" To Mein's surprise, it's the Spear Hero who is voicing his objection. He pokes his finger at the large spherical fruit in Katarina's hand. The tip of his finger easily sinks into the skin of the squishy flesh. "In Emerald Online, it was a tree that made regular fruit. Not whatever this is."
"I'm not going to say I told you so ... but I told you so." Naofumi rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "This world isn't the same as whatever game the three of you ... or my little brother played."
"Well. Are the fruits safe for ingestion, at least?" The rabbit demi-human lowers her head to look at the fruit slowly dripping its juice down on the ground.
"Only one way to find out!" Katarina opens her mouth wide, and takes a huge bite out of the fruit before anyone can stop her. Her cheeks bloats up as she munches on the fruit's flesh, making her look like her filorial steed. Every filorials around them at the campsite lick their beak with barely contained envy. "Hmm... taste like oranges ... but also kind of like a tomato? Not bad."
"No! You mustn't swallow it, Lady Katarina!" Bertia charges right into the comparatively dainty-looking Claes heiress before Katarina can take a second bite. She wraps her fat hand around Katarina's neck and furiously shakes the Claes heiress' head. "Do you want to grow a second head!? Or worse... have that other thing Mister Zylden was talking about! Like a... a wet nurse!"
"Shtup, sssaken me..." The face of Katarina starts to slowly turn purple, yet she still holds onto the fruit in her hand like her life depends on it.
"Don't strangle Katarina, Bertia." Motoyasu pries Bertia's hand off Katarina's throat and carries the pudgy Notches back in his arms. "How are you feeling, Katarina?"
"I feel fine. More than fine, actually. I feel GREAT!" The Claes Heiress opens her hand and aims it in front of her. "Earth."
With a loud rumble, dirt and rock split apart right underneath Motoyasu and Bertia, making them both fall down the sinkhole with an unprepared yelp. Naofumi and Éclair rush over to the newly created sinkhole and peeks down, before Naofumi's bodyguard follows right after them. The Shield Hero, and the Seatto knight reach their arms down and help both victims climb back up.
"Wow, thought I'd make a little hole in the ground. Didn't see that coming." Katarina giggles to herself and scratches her head. "Sorry about that, again."
"Please, stop eating strange fruit all the time, my lady." Katarina's personal maid rips the fruit out of her master's hand. "This isn't House Claes' estate where all the vegetation is planted by our gardener. You'll get more than an upset stomach."
Zylden hops down Irileth's raptor and walks around Katarina for a few circles, looking at her up and down. "Well, at least you don't look any different on first inspection. Hand me over the fruit. Let me measure its mana concentration."
The imp becks his hand towards the maid. She obediently gives the fruit to the self proclaimed arcane expert, much to her master's charring. "Hey! I was eating it!"
"You had enough strange fruit for today, my lady." Ann pulls her screaming and kicking master away from the fruit tree.
"Something's definitely up with the fruit, and this ... tree?" Naofumi walks closer to the plant and slaps his palm on the skin a few times. "Growing as large as a century old tree in half a day and producing fruits. How did this happen?"
"Didn't you listen to your dwarf?" Motoyasu smirks at Naofumi while he's petting down the dirt over his armor and cloth. "It's magic."
"How's that supposed to explain anything?! This is a real world, not some shitty fanfiction written by a no-name talentless hack!" Naofumi pulls his hair and then throws his arms up with frustration. He balls his left hand into a fist and slamming repeatedly into the vine beside him. "I know you flunked your grade school, but surely even you know plants need water, and nutrients in the soil to make up its cellular building blocks! How does a plant grow this large in half a day without turning the soil of this entire area infertile!?"
"Hey! Not cool, man!" The Spear wielding idiot hops and stomps his feet, shaking a fist back at his shield counterpart. "I'll have you know I only start failing my life science tests till' high school!"
"And you are PROUD of this, because?!" Both heroes look like they are ready to start a second round of their duel when Zylden holds his hand up.
"Okay, if you two lovebirds want to take a moment before you start kissing each other. I just measured the mana concentration of this fruit." Zylden looks up from his gauge. "It measures at 500 mana count."
Mein starts to suck in breath, same as a lot of the Whiterun soldiers.
"...Meaning?" Naofumi cocks his head sideways and shrugs his shoulders at the half-man.
"Right... nobody explained the basics to you two-dimensional interloper heroes, again. Go figure…" Zylden mumbles under his breath while tossing the half eaten fruit over to Firo, much to the other filorial's ire. "In short, mana permeates this entire world we inhabit. The very ground we stand on, the air we breathe in as well as everything in this world all contain some amount of mana leaked from the Endless Ether between worlds. That's how people, and monsters use magic, either utilizing naturally strong bloodlines, or through long term training regiments to manipulate mana to get a certain result."
"I'm following you so far, at least." Naofumi gives a sideway glance to Motoyasu. "Go on."
"By this larger definition, everything in this world would be alchemist reagent since the academic definition for a reagent is an item that contains mana which can be extracted to synthesis certain desirable results. But obviously, the alchemist doesn't categorize everything as reagent and it comes down to two conditions." Zylden pulls an ice fruit out of his pouch. "First one is what kind of magic effect said item actually contains. For example, this ice fruit has ice-like properties which can be used to make potions with cold properties. And the second condition is the mana concentration. You can technically boil down dirt to get a mana restoring potion, but the amount of dirt needed is so much there's no practical reason to do it."
Mein turns her head around to look at the Whiterun soldiers. It seems everyone, even Lord Balgruuf's bodyguard is listening closely to the arcane researcher's explanation. She assumes not everyone is as lucky as herself, being homeschooled since youth by one of the best wizards in the world.
"I see... the law of diminishing return applies in this world as well..." Naofumi nods his head along, he whips his head right back at Zylden. "Wait, didn't you tell me woods are good mana conduits? Why aren't all plants considered alchemist reagents in this case?"
"ARGH! Can you two start making sense?!" The Spear Hero furiously scratches his hair and screams at Naofumi.
"You don't want to listen, go flirt with your girlfriends." Naofumi rolls his eyes at his self-proclaimed rival. Mein has a feeling he's getting tired of putting up with the childish man's antics. The Shield Hero takes a couple of deep breaths and asks Zylden with a much calmer voice. "Go on."
"Just because wood is a good mana conduit, doesn't mean it naturally retains mana well." Zylden pops the stopper of his wineskin and drops the ice fruit in. He holds the wineskin up and shakes it in front of Naofumi's face. "Think of it like a leaking container. Water can pass through it fine, but it constantly leaks out and very little is retained."
"I see, how does this relate to the fruit from this tree?" Naofumi turns his body around and taps on the giant vine once again.
"The highest mana concentration count of fruit that's not categorized as an alchemist reagent is banango, grown naturally on Cal Mira island and its surrounding archipelago region." Zylden takes his wineskin to his mouth to get a swig of his cold wine. "Banango's natural mana concentration is 100."
"That's five times more!" Naofumi looks up at the many orange fruits hanging over their head like stars.
"Yep. In other words, this fruit should be categorized as an alchemist reagent. Not simply a fruit. I don't recommend people eating it every day as food. This kind of high mana concentration will cause mana addiction." The imp walks besides the Shield Hero, hangs his wineskin back on his belt and picks up his axe.
"So, we planted this Outsider's artifact and put everyone's life on risk for nothing?" The face of Lord Balgruuf's bodyguard grows darker by the second. "It'll be hard to get rid of this damn tree now."
"Come on, haven't you been listening to me? I just said those fruits are alchemist reagents." Zylden's body freezes up for a second before he spins on his heel and shrugs his shoulder back at the bodyguard. He rubs the index and thumb of his free hand at Irileth. "Harvest them, sell them as reagents for coins and then buy your food with the money. Or better yet, don't you have an alchemist back in your town? Have them make potions out of this fruit and then sell it, even more shiny, clicky coins for your lord's coiffeur! Surely you aren't a meathead like those ox and boar demi-humans."
"Yes... I suppose that'll work." The rabbit demi-human narrows her eyes at the plant. "So long as that's all this plant does..."
"This still doesn't answer my question. How did this plant grow so big in the first place?" Naofumi looks down at Zylden as the half-man hacked away at the vine. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to break the surface so I can measure the mana concentration of this plant itself." Zylden pulls his axe back and looks at the edge. He moves back with the Shield Hero and becks his hand at the Spear Hero. "Tough bugger, my axe is chipped. Yo, spear boy. Make yourself useful and cut, or stab a hole on this blasted thing."
"Just watch me. [CHARGE]!" The Spear Hero swings his arm in circles, making everyone near him dodge away from his wildly flailing spear. He takes a deep breath, and lunges at the vine. The tip of the spear's blade bounces right off the skin of the vine, tripping him over and having him fall face first into the dirt.
"Master Motoyasu!" Bertia charges over to his side, she helps him up between loud huffs.
"Excellent work here." Naofumi slowly claps his hands together a couple of times while smirking back at his so-called 'rival'. "Keep it up, you'll beat me in no time."
The Shield Hero still gives the Spear Clown his hand in a show of goodwill.
"Shut up, I don't see you do any better." The Spear Hero brushes away his now messed-up hair and dirt off his face and slaps away Naofumi's hand. The spear in his hand changes shape into a black-colored, bone-like construct as he crawls back up.
The coloration, and the material both remind Mein of Gaelion's scales. It seems like annoyance or not, her Naofumi is generous enough to share his part of the spoil with his self-proclaimed rival.
"All I have is a shield with almost zero ATK rating." Naofumi takes a step back and holds his shielded arm up. "What's your excuse?"
"Alright, that was a fluke!" The Spear Hero holds his left hand up, he slowly lowers his hand and grabs his weapon firmly with both hands. "I'm going to be serious this time. [Spiral Charge]!"
The Spear Hero spins the spear in his hand to the point sparks seem to fly off its tip, he charges towards the thorny vine and the skin blows up outward with a loud crack, making wooden shards flying off all over. Both Mein and Raphtalia quickly hide behind Naofumi while he erects a barrier with his [Air Strike Shield].
A few dozens of the orange-colored mana fruits also fall down the vine. The birds let out happy chirps as they sprints over and start devouring the fruits. The balloons also jump out of Naofumi's cloak and start chomping down the fruits larger than them.
Mein looks back, where even the meat-loving raptors of the Whiterun soldiers are licking their lips. They will probably follow the filorials' example, if their masters aren't holding tight to their reins.
"Be careful where you aim your attack! Are you trying to kill us all?!" The princess shakes her fist at the Spear Hero with annoyance. The idiot miraculously is unharmed, probably thanks to the aura effect of his own attack bouncing the shards away.
"Tough materials, huh..." Naofumi picks up one shard and feeds it into his shield while Zylden walks over to the now cracked open vine. The Shield on his arm changes into a large oval shaped wooden shield with the same chartreuse shade and thorns all over. "Let's see here... [Living Shield], special ability, [Rapid Regeneration], rarity... [SSR]?!"
"What has you so spooked, Master Naofumi?" Mein moves over to inspect her Naofumi's new shield. She runs her finger through its smoother surface around the edge, away from all the thorns. She's not exactly a magical material appraiser, but on a first inspection the quality doesn't look any lesser than Gaelion's shield. Now that she has a closer look, the princess notices the natural lines on the wood seem to confine into some kind of well calculated rhythm, as if made by the finest and most meticulous craftsman.
"Think about it. My [Chimera Viper Shield], and [Locke Shield] are both only [SR] rarity. Heck, the [Dragon Scale Shield] I unlocked with Gaelion's scale is an [SR]!" The Shield Hero switches his shield into the three forms he's ranting at before switching it back into his new [Living Shield]. He taps the wooden shield with his index finger. "And this shield is one rarity grade higher. If we go by the rule of a gacha game from my world... the material comes from a boss monster on a completely different level from those two other boss monsters... maybe even Gaelion!"
A loud popping sound goes off near the plant, it reminds Mein of the sound those Faubley firearms make. But neither the Shield Hero nor the princess turned adventurer pay it any mind.
Mein gets the feeling that when her Naofumi says 'on a completely different level', he doesn't mean the difference between a level 2 to a level 1. But rather, the difference between the class-up level range. As someone at the pinnacle of Prestige level range of 100 compares to someone at the peak of Common level range of 40.
His implication doesn't bode anyone well, if the Outsider magic contained within this miracle plant does go out of control. As it would likely spawn a monster that's an entire level range above the strength of the second Wave's boss monster... or a Dragon Emperor.
Granted, Gaelion's scale is molted scale off a still alive Dragon Emperor so it doesn't contain their actual life essence compared to the scales harvested from a slain dragon. But that still means this miracle plant might be on the same level as a Dragon Emperor... if it becomes a boss monster.
"Good spear!" Motoyasu's cry of joy makes them both look over at the idiot dancing with a new wooden spear in his hand. "Well, this new spear is even better than the one I unlocked with your scales. That means I don't owe you anything now and we can go back to being rivals!"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want." Naofumi starts picking up all the shards of the miracle plant and feeding them into his shield. "Say, do you mind getting me more of this life root shards? I need them to fully awaken my [Living Shield]... err, enhancing my shield."
"What are you talking about? That's not how you enhance weapons in Emerald Online... what's that smell?" Motoyasu sniffs his nose. Mein notices a thick line of black smoke behind him near the now named 'life root'.
"That would be the smell of a freshly baked blown out quicksilver gauge, my boy." Zylden strolls his way over to the two heroes. "Well, my mana measuring device is completely busted by this damn tree. At least I now know the mana concentration in its vines is even higher than the fruit... it's over 9000."
"Over 9000! That's no way that can be right!" Mein screams back at the imp. "That's a higher count than Eldergleam's 7000! Or the Holy Crepe Tree's 8500!"
"I'm telling you what I measured." Zylden nudges his chin towards the smoking wreck of his measuring device at the foot of the Life Root. "Its quicksilver gauge can measure up to 9000, and it blew up when I tried to measure this monstrosity."
"That means this tree will cause a lot of problems, if it mutates into a monster, right?" Naofumi looks up all the way at the tip of the vine. "Do you think it'll become a problem, Zylden?"
"When it comes to anything involving an Outsider God, my guess is as good as yours. Or a village idiot who can't tell the difference between a wizard and sorcerer." The imp simply shrugs his shoulder. "Yes, if it turns into a monster it'll probably be as strong as a Wave Boss at least five, six Waves out. But I can't tell if it'll actually mutate. Heck, you have the potential to become the next King of Rape. Can't I predict how you'll turn out?"
"There's no way I'll be a rat bastard like that Mikage guy!" Naofumi immediately stomps his foot down.
"Anyways, it seems like the spear boy actually got it right this time." The imp points his finger at the Spear Hero, who jumps up with joy like an over excited birdy. "I don't know how that seed actually works, but if I have to guess... the magic sealed inside probably has it somehow connected straight with the Endless Ether between worlds. And that's how it manages to grow this huge so quickly without killing everything in Whiterun County. The damn thing's practically made of solid mana - you don't get this kind of mana concentration anywhere on Medea."
"Yes, yes, YES!" The Spear Hero dances around while pumping his fist up and down. "That makes it twice I beat you! This, and the dungeon with the Celestial Emissary."
"Oh, are you so happy to finally get two good punches in? Because I have completely demolished you everywhere else..." Naofumi narrows his eyes and crosses his arms at the spear fool.
"Lalalalala~ I can't hear you~." The idiot covers his ears and keeps dancing and spinning around.
Mein briefly wonders if she sets the tip of this fool's cloak on fire, how long will he start to notice. Hmm... perhaps she should actually do it, as an experiment?
"Well, he's no help to anyone." Naofumi throws his arms up again with frustration. He looks at the six birds and three balloons all munching the fruit of the life root. "Shouldn't we stop them? Will they develop mana addiction?"
"No need to worry for the monsters." Zylden walks up to Naofumi's legs and slaps him on the butt. "They are naturally born with mana cores unlike us humans. All the extra power will go into their core and help them develop stronger."
"One less thing to worry about, at least." Naofumi lets out a sigh. "Do you think it's safe to leave this life root alone?"
"Hard to say at this point. I'd say we need to monitor it for a few days at least. Would help if I have my heavier research equipment." Zylden runs his stubby fingers across his chin, the imp actually looks serious for once despite his... exotic face. "I'll see about sending a courier back to the Melromarc Castle branch of Hickwaal & Sweed. I had them shipped to the Melromarc Castle branch when I came to Melromarc. With this specimen, it's not a bad idea to set up my lab right here like that last researcher."
"Just don't go about making another Outsider Artifact." Naofumi turns around to look at Mein. "Well, it looks like we'll stay around for a bit longer."
That's not ideal for Mein, of course. Considering the expedition team of the Three Heroes' Church might be right behind them. Right now, every second they have ahead of the church counts. "It can't be helped... we can't leave and have a boss monster at the level of a dragon emperor spawn behind us."
Yes... making sure this life root doesn't simply turn into a boss monster is the lesser evil in the long run. Especially since her ultimate goal is to become the queen of Melromarc. Having a boss monster empowered by Outsider Magic rampaging in her nation will cause even more damage than if they let the church have House Seatto's artifact. The church can be reasoned and bargained with, an Outsider monster can't.
It'll cause an even bigger blow to her future prospects, if she allows this monster to wreak havoc on a lord that's ... well, not quite an ally of her. But definitely someone who showed goodwill towards her when most are only willing to ride the dress frilly of her younger sister and mother.
"Yes, we must ensure the safety of Count Balgruuf's subjects. Especially after all the hospitalities he graced us and perks he granted you, Master Naofumi." Mein nods her head along.
"Yeah... that's at least something I could do as his thane, isn't it?" Naofumi's smile becomes stretched when Raphtalia seems to be sliding down his legs. "Are you tired, Raphtalia?"
"No, I can still- Ha~ Ah." A loud yawn breaks whatever the girl wants to say.
"Well, it's probably past your bedtime. Gaston?" Naofumi waves at the hunter fixing the tent for Katarina and her maid. All of them look over at the Shield Hero. "Can you take Mein and Raphtalia back to Balafon's inn?"
"You can count on old Gaston." The hunter quickly hammers down the pin for Katarina and her maid's tent and walks over to bring Wolfgang away from the fruits. "Okay, that's enough nightly snacks for you, old buddy. Time to work."
"Guah..." The black filorial lets out a sad whine, but he obediently follows behind his master over to Mein and Raphtalia.
Their ride back to Balafon was even more smooth than their trip away, thanks to filorials generally being more sure-footed than raptors (Naofumi's own gluttonous devil bird notwithstanding). By the time they reached Balafon's inn, most of the sun had already sunk below the horizon. And Raphtalia is sliding into Gaston's chest.
"Cute kid. Wouldn't mind having one myself." Gaston scratches at Raphtalia's hair before carrying her up with both of his arms. He hands the child into Mein's arms after she dismounts.
"Shouldn't be hard for you to get a wife, best hunter of Lute," Mein chuckles at the Lute hunter. She has to steady her feet to not drop the raccoon girl down. The child certainly came a long way from being the sad, barely alive thing inside Beloukas' cage. She got much heavier too.
"Well, I'm sure I can. But, anyways ..." The hunter looks away for a moment. He turns back to the princess in disguise and bows down. "Fair night to you, my ladies."
Gaston quickly rides away back to the plain, while Mein enters the inn with Raphtalia firmly laying on her arms. The princess carefully makes her way up the stairs and into their room. She gently lowers the raccoon in her arms onto the hay bed, and tucks the blanket over the girl. "Time for your rest, sleep tight, Raphtalia."
"Yes... sleep is good. Do you think, Master Naofumi … is sleeping safe?"
"I'm sure he's fine. He has a lot of people, and the Spear Hero watching his back." The princess lays down right besides the raccoon girl at the edge of their bed, Raphtalia rolls into herself against the wall to give Mein a bit more room. "You just have to take care of yourself, Raphtalia."
"I'll be fine. I have Master Naofumi... and you with me now..." The child's voice becomes quieter and quieter. Not too long after, Mein starts to hear light snoring coming from her side.
The princess slowly slides her face towards the slumbering raccoon girl. She quietly edges her body towards the side of their bed. Mein stays perfectly still for a few seconds before she lowers one foot onto the ground. When the child didn't show any sign of waking back up, she turns her body and sits up on the bed, before leaving the blanket and hay-covered wooden board completely.
The princess turned adventure stays quiet for another moment, making sure Raphtalia is still soundly sleeping, then tiptoes her way out of their room.
She makes her way around the second floor until she stops in front of the room Iris is staying at right on the other side. The princess slowly knocks on the door. The plank edges open, before a pair of bespectacled eyes inspect her up and down. "It's late and my lady desires her rest. Please, return tomorrow."
Mein quickly blocks the door with her feet before Tanya has a chance to slam it into her face. "Last time I checked, I was an ally of your master. Is this how she treats her allies?"
"My lady has no need to explain anything to you." The maid looks like she's ready to slam the door close, Mein's feet still in the way be damned. Until a voice calls out behind her.
"Let her through."
"Are you sure, milady?" The bespectacled eyes turn away.
Iris' voice stays silent for a moment before resuming. "She'll be more helpful in the know than left in the dark."
The door swings open with a dry creek. Tanya's face is like an ice sculpture, her stare even colder. "Don't try anything funny."
Much to Mein's surprise, the inn room the Amelia heiress, the richest Melromarc noble house is staying at, isn't any more luxurious than her own. The only thing different from the one Mein's is sharing with Raphtalia are many parchment and scrolls spread open on a small table at the foot of the hay bed. On one chair sits Iris, still writing numbers down on a parchment under the light of a candle. Iris points the tip of her quill at the chair opposite to her. "Sit down, make yourself at home."
Well, no reason to refuse, or trying to flee from the scene now. Mein walks into the room despite the cold glare of Tanya and sits across from Iris. "I have to go back before my ward has a night terror, so I'll be straight. What were you trying to do with that damn magical seed? You have money, and you have influence. But throwing your weight around was never your style. No, you like to have your pet Katarina, or whoever else be your muscle."
"Not my finest moments, I'll admit." Iris doesn't show any sign of being provoked, despite Mein's bluntness. "But the seed is much more important than a count's bodyguard can ever understand. It's an investment worthy of every bit of the risk, and I can't let it be destroyed."
"In that case, you'll be happy to know the Shield Hero already planted it down on the plain north of Balafon. Hope you aren't too disappointed that you didn't get to have the seed after all." Mein smirks underneath her scorched hood and cloth mask, as happy as the Spear Hero to finally having a win over her long time rival.
"Good. Master Motoyasu suits my needs just fine. But I always knew I could count on the Shield Hero to act intelligently." Much to Mein's surprise and disappointment, the Amelia heiress doesn't look upset. "If I knew the Shield Hero would have stepped up and convinced Irileth to not destroy the seed, perhaps I would not have made my move earlier. Then again, maybe he stepped up because I made my move first. It makes no difference in the end. Preserving the miracle seed is the most important thing in the end."
"You are willing to leave your tall grass and show your fangs, only to have the artifact slip away from your grasp?" Mein narrows her eyes at the Amelia heiress. "What are you playing at?"
Iris finally sets her quill down and looks up at Mein. The princess feels the heiress' gaze is piercing right through her despite her hood and mask. "Tell me, Your Highness. Who is the biggest threat to us, Glorious Melromarc?"
"Do you take me a fool, Amelia?" Mein scoffs back at the perfect noble lady of Melromarc. "Even the children of most illiterate common rabbles know the savage animals of Siltvelt is our mortal enemy since time immemorial."
"No, you are thinking about this." Iris daintily moves her head left and right as she points at her chest, her hand slowly rises up to rest on the side of her head. "I want you to think here."
The princess glares back at the heiress again, but she begins to think over Iris' question like the heiress requested.
Of all the major players in the world, Zeltoble is a free city mutual defense alliance formed mainly around the mercenary city of Zeltoble, the Aldorian duelists of Restov, and the red wizards of Dalaran after the collapse of the Great Siltvelt Empire. At best, they can defend themselves against foreign threats, but the nature of their alliance makes them unable to go on the offense at the other major players.
Shiltfreeden is its own sovereign power in name only. Its fertile plains means they have no natural barriers to protect themselves against the other major players. That's why the 'nation' has only kept its own sovereignty when it has strong leaders who can inspire and unify their people. Now, it's a glorified henchman of Faubley.
This obviously, leaves Siltvelt and Faubley. The Great Empire of Siltvelt has collapsed after the Great War from twenty five years ago, but Siltvelt, the nation still stands on its own unlike Shiltfreeden, and recently its more hawkish members are slowly but surely winning back most of the upper leadership. Although Iris just dismissed it as Melromarc's largest threat.
That leaves Faubley, Melromarc's supposed 'long time ally against the animal invaders'. In terms of territory, Faubley's current size is second only to the Great Siltvelt Empire at the peak of their power. In terms of power, their foundational power on the common level range is second to none, thanks to their industrial revolution from thirty years ago, and the technomancy boom following shortly after.
Now that Mein thinks about it... the reason most of Melromarc was occupied during the Great War was because Faubley didn't lend aid to Melromarc. The chief god damned Pig King let Siltvelt and Melromarc beat each other bloody, until he finally launched his full offense to crumble apart the Great Siltvelt Empire.
Who says he can't plot more... and add Glorious Melromarc to his collection together with those damned half-breeds of Shiltfreeden? "Our greatest threat... it's Faubley."
"Exactly, The Game played between nations have no everlasting friendship, nor everlasting hostility. There is only everlasting greed to come out on top." The corner of Iris' mouth curls up, not quite splitting into a smirk but still blows enough warmth into the otherwise freezing room. "My family is one of the most powerful within our glorious nation, yes. But I want my legacy to be more than a glorified clerk working to fatten the Faubley pigs."
"Alright, you want our nation to catch up to Faubley. I can respect that." The princess sits back up on the chair. Despite what she thinks for the Amelia heiress, she can certainly find use for someone who is willing to build up her future nation together with her. "How is the seed going to help us?"
"We already lost too much ground on Faubley, and I don't mean territory. I respect the works my father did with your parents to build our nation back up after the Siltvelt occupation, but while we tiptoe to regain our former glory, Faubley has already taken large strides to build their nation to a higher level previously unheard of." Iris grabs a scroll out of her pile and spreads it over on the small table. "We'll only widen our gap, and we'll become glorified puppets of Faubley within our generation, if no drastic measures are taken."
Mein realizes the scroll Iris opened up isn't some secret knowledge. No, it's only a common looking map of Medea; a slightly well off commoner can hang up in their home.
The Amelia points her long finger at the area where Shiltfreeden sits. "Faubley doesn't have to worry about facing a starvation and developing their industry might thanks to the World's Basket of Shiltfreeden feeding their entire nation. I take pride in the Golden Coast, but even my father's land can't compete with Shiltfreeden in the sheer volume of food production. That's the way to even take our first step to truly catch up to Faubley, we'll have to find a way to bridge the gap between our food production. So we can free up our man power to either develop our own industry, or develop newer and easier ways to use magic."
"You believe the so-called 'miracle seed' holds the answers." Mein looks up from the map and stares at Iris in her eyes.
"Exactly." Iris wraps the map back up and returns it to the pile of scrolls.
"And you truly don't care that the seed isn't directly under your control? Your family's most income comes from your grain exports, having Whiterun County overtake you would cut the air from your throat."
"Do not mistake my intentions, Your Highness. I have no intention to sacrifice my own family to ensure the rise of our nation." Iris sits back up and looks right back at Mein. "On the contrary. While I would obviously prefer to have direct influence over the miracle seed, having Count Balgruuf become the major food producer of Glorious Melromarc will not hurt my family in the long run. It simply means we'll be freed to transform our raw resources into high tier goods."
Iris seems to realize Mein is staring blankly at her, as she further elaborate. "Grain can be distilled into liquor for either luxury consumption, or used as reagents. Many fruits and vegetables we produce can also be further processed into cooking condiments, or delicacy dishes. All it takes is a little bit of creativity with one's head to add further value to the natural resources we sell for dirt."
"And you told me all your future plans... because?"
"People gossip about House Amelia being the shadow monarch of Glorious Melromarc, Your Highness. But one thing we will never have is legitimacy to sit on the throne. House Melromarc, House De Gallia, even House Arc all have stronger claims to the throne than us by the right of succession." Iris opens up her paper fan. "That's why we need to ally ourselves with the rightful ruler of our nation. As you inspire to become the next queen... can I trust you to build this nation together with me in the future, Mein of Samphor?"
The princess thinks over the proposal from Iris. She doesn't like to swallow her pride, especially at this childhood rival who she never wins outside their fencing matches. But then again, she hates the possible future of becoming a glorified puppet of her uncle... and whoever he chooses as his heir.
What's the point of escape from the marriage contract with her uncle and become a queen, only to have him control her like a toy doll?
"Very well, Iris Amelia." The princess stands up from her chair and looks at the Amelia heiress. "As the first princess of Glorious Melromarc, I promise to treat you fairly as my ally if I were to sit on the throne, unless betrayed by you first."
"Of course, and I promise to serve you faithfully to build up our nation together. As long as you wear the crown." Iris looks up and smiles at the princess.
Mein quietly makes her way back to her room with Raphtalia with her curiosity satisfied, and sense of duty strengthened. When she carefully slips back into their room, she lets out a breath she's been holding when she sees Raphtalia still sleeping quietly. The princess slowly, and silently climbs right back into the bed underneath the blanket, wraps an arm around the child and closes her eyes.
She doesn't know how long she's been slumbering, but the princess hears the sound of screaming and groggily opens her eyes. It seems like Raphtalia is having her night terrors again.
Then, she realizes the room is quiet, and the screaming seems to come from outside.
That's when a giant wave of shadow sweeps into the top half of their room, it cuts right through walls, and flips away the roof over their head, leaving both the princess and the still sleeping demi-human open to the element. Mein joins the many voices outside in the village of Balafon, and screams on top of her lungs.
End Note
So, in case people hasn't figured out I'm an idiot who doesn't know what I'm doing yet... me uploading my original unedited version last chapter should be a good indication. Jokes aside, hope I uploaded the right one this time.
Funny story, originally I can't decide to name this chapter Resident Evil, or its Japanese title BioHazard. Since originally the big bioplant boss fight was planned to take place this chapter. But then I decided it doesn't make any sense we don't even get to see the full bio plant before it mutate and jump directly into the boss fight. Which in term, made me increase the length of a single paragraph exposition where Malty and Raphtalia simply stays in Balafon till they turned in to bed into most of this chapter where all kind of hijinks ensues near the bioplant (Life Root).
And I have to admit, originally I didn't really consider boosting the bioplant's tier up to SSR. Since originally I only planed to have the shield unlocked from the four Guardian Beasts be SSR. But then, I kind of increased the tier of RotSH dragon emperors by adding element of both Skyrim (thu'um and immortal soul) and Dark Souls (scale that makes them everlasting, and the ability to form covenant). I think if dragons are SSR, this bioplant that's born from an outsider god's magic should also be SSR tier. Hopefully, this makes up for the lack of the battle scene with Gaelion.
Speaking of battle scene, not sure if the lack of action scenes in Act I was an actual problem for anyone, but from this point on ward, every major arc of Act II will have some kind of an action scene where the cast fight some kind of boss (monster... or people). Next chapter will obviously be balls to the wall action against the now mutated Life Root. I actually like writing action scenes, I just absolutely suck at writing them.
:P
Guest review time.
To Guest:
To be honest, Malty probably doesn't even realize tanuki could sprout into an adult any moment. As you probably noticed by this point, she can be quite dense at things.
XD
To HeshGerlan:
Most of the Japanese dumb power fantasy WN is pretty much just doing what Chinese WN community was doing back since the early 2000 (and I mean the year 2000, not 2000-2009), with a few different. Chinese power fantasy WN tend to have much less interesting premise (basically JRPG inspired pseudo western-fantasy setting), but at least make the main character start as the underdog little guys at the start and start OP God Mode around the middle of the story through a series of contrived opportunities, usually involve the MC discover some powerful cheating artifact, or gets pampered rotten by some kind of OP cheating veteran. While this current wave of Japanese WN tend to have more interesting premise in general, but have the MC be a God Mode little pussy-ass-bitch from the start. I honestly can't tell which one is worse. That's probably why I hate most of them, since I already got enough of it with the flooding of badly written Chinese WNs.
Well... I can't tell if the SPAG mistakes from later chapter is due to my own idiocy, or if there really was an increase on mistakes. Hope this chapter will be better.