"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
"Your strength isn't a factor right now. First you need balance and control, from that comes the basic physical discipline needed. Again! Hyaa!" The old lady was not going to give up on Rishia. She'd do this all day if she had to…
Which she very well may.
…
The heroes followed their guides to a meeting room, Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Liviccic. Naofumi was already there, having Raphtalia there to help him when he left. The queen was also already seated. The others filed into the room, everyone stealing a glance at Naofumi, seeing how hurt he still was. Motoyasu did a bit more, approaching them both and lowering his head.
"I'm so sorry. I've attacked you again… I… I never would have…" Motoyasu began to apologize to both Naofumi and Raphtalia.
"Motoyasu, drop it. I'm pissed, really damned pissed, but I know how the curse series works…" Naofumi dismissed, seeming to not want to fan his own temper.
"You can't say that… Not after what I almost did to Filo-chan." Motoyasu was sounding angry with himself in place of Naofumi.
"...What did you do?" Naofumi flashed a hint of something darker. He remembered Raphtalia spoke about Filo, but-
"Heroes, take your seats. We will update those who missed the details of the wave." The queen told them.
After a moment of hesitation, Motoyasu took a seat. The queen began. "What will be talked about here will likely raise tempers. I ask that we all remain calm and collected, understood?"
She waited for everyone to affirm.
"Firstly, we need to start from where Motoyasu lost consciousness." The queen motioned for the others to start.
"After you lost it, L'arc demanded a truce." Ren began.
"What?" Motoyasu barked.
"He seemed genuinely concerned for you, but we weren't buying it. We had to divide our attention between you, them, and the inter-dimensional whale." Naofumi added.
"At one point, L'arc pulled me from the water and saved my life to show that he was not trying to kill a hero currently. We agreed to deal with you together…" Ren explained.
Motoyasu didn't show it, but that made him feel a little better, and much less bitter.
"There's a lot of details you don't need to know, but you took out Monti, Filo, and Leon, sent Teal flying, and generally made everything quite difficult." Liviccic glossed over.
"Liviccic and I finished the wave boss and we all joined to subdue you. You were using a skill, but it involved a chant like magic." Itsuki recalled.
"Just like my [Iron Maiden]. It's probably just as strong… It nearly killed me." Naofumi said, gritting his teeth, doing his best to remain calm.
"Probably stronger. He never finished the skill. Everyone showed up to destroy the skill before it could finish. L'arc among us." Ren clarified.
"..." There was a pause. No one seemed to want to talk about what happened next.
"So how did you guys stop him?" Naofumi asked the quiet room.
"..." Again, no one wanted to speak.
"Guys? What happened after I was out?" Naofumi felt worried.
The queen went to speak. "The details aren't that importan-"
"I remember being on top of Filo-chan, blood everywhere. Everyone was holding me back and screaming… The first thing I remember is nearly killing her…" Motoyasu refused to not speak the truth.
"..." Silence fell again. Naofumi clenched his fists as tightly as he could. The strength that he seemed to lack from the recovery was all found in those words. He attempted to stand, but Raphtalia kept her arms on his shoulder, holding him down.
"You piece of shit! Why Filo specifically!? Go ahead, why did you target Filo specifically!? Say it!" Naofumi was roaring at him.
Motoyasu matched Naofumi's eyes. Naofumi was furious, rightfully so. Motoyasu entered his weapon form menu and looked at the spear that caused all this.
"This thing is called [Spear of Envy III]... I was thinking about how for the third time, my friends tried to kill me, leaving me alone. I assume all forms of envy were being amplified at the time…, but my problems have nothing to do with Filo-chan. She never caused them, she is blameless. So… I'll never bother her again. These are my problems, not her's…" Motoyasu thought aloud.
Naofumi was still furious, but Motoyasu wasn't weaseling out of it. More importantly-
"Envy? Not Wrath?" Naofumi asked.
"Yeah." Was all Motoyasu said.
"So we're dealing with the seven deadly sins?" Ren asked rhetorically.
"The seven what?" Liviccic was lost.
"A set of extreme personal failings and shortcomings that a religion in our world referred to as the seven most serious detrimental actions or feelings one could possess. Wrath, envy, pride, sloth, gluttony, greed, and lust." Itsuki answered concisely.
They all considered this.
"So an extreme feeling of any of those can send you four into a frenzy?" Liviccic sounded worried.
"Maybe you too. We don't know that your staff can't do the same thing." Ren told Liviccic.
Naofumi felt like there was something they were missing.
"I don't think it's just an extreme emotion. I want to come across this table and beat Motoyasu's ass. I really, really want to be violent right now." Naofumi admitted.
"And yet, no [Wrath Shield] activating?" The queen saw his point.
"Yeah… and trust me, if anger was the only trigger, your ass would be grass right now." Naofumi threatened.
"I understand that what happened was stressful and angering, shield hero. All the same, you will calm down." The queen said with all of her authority.
"..." Everyone collected themselves.
"For the time being, knowing that it's the seven deadly sins and not just anger gives us a means to not fall into it. We simply need to be self-aware." Itsuki said.
Everyone ignored that it was Itsuki saying that of all people and moved on.
"Can someone tell me what happened after that? I briefly saw Glass, you guys beat her?" Naofumi asked doubtfully.
"We reached an agreement of sorts. If I wasn't protecting you, I would have beaten her." Itsuki stated.
Naofumi failed to hold back a chuckle. "Sure."
"He is serious, Naofumi-sama. His attacks sent Glass flying. Even after she gained power from whatever L'arc poured on Glass' head, Itsuki's attacks remained effective." Raphtalia corrected his over estimation of Glass.
"Wha-?" Naofumi was genuinely doubtful.
"Yeah, I hit pretty hard now… Before we go forward, have you guys been using all of the power up methods we shared?" Itsuki asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, though I was late on using the ones that contradicted or went against my own methods." Ren answered.
"Same." Motoyasu echoed.
"I've been using all of them." Naofumi responded.
"All of them? How many times have you guys lowered your level?" Itsuki asked knowingly.
"I've been doing it for my party and I." Liviccic answered.
"..." No one else could say the same.
"I thought so. You guys are idiots. Now is the perfect time to use that method. When we have all this bonus EXP here." Itsuki lectured.
"It just seemed like a waste." Ren admitted.
"Well that waste is why I could hurt Glass. Rishia and I have been using that method like crazy since we got here. You should all do the same." Itsuki recommended.
"How many levels have you removed?" Ren asked in concern.
"At first I kept myself around 65 and Rishia at 41. Keeping her as low as I can without removing her class upgrade… Rishia's stats are the lowest I've ever seen, so it was necessary. I found out that the whip method isn't actually about levels though." Itsuki began explaining.
"What?" Liviccic thought it was, he'd used it himself.
"It's about the EXP. Going from level 70 to level 69 benefits you more than going from 42 to 41." Itsuki revealed.
"Because the amount of EXP needed to gain a higher level is of course higher." Naofumi considered.
"Right. So unlike my mistake before, all you have to do is stay below level 70 on the island. After level 70, you receive less bonus EXP from the activation event." Itsuki finished.
Everyone considered that.
"I'll do that right now." Naofumi said, lowering his level and Raphtalia's. He'd do the kid's levels later.
"That was quick." Ren was concerned how quickly Naofumi seemed to throw out nearly 20 levels.
"We've become too relaxed with the power we gained. We lost the winning mindset that helped us survive everything up until now. No matter how strong we get, we cannot rest until this is completely over. Not until the waves cease." Naofumi said in response to Ren.
"Speaking of the waves-" The queen motioned for the others to continue their explanation of the events.
"After the spear hero was finally subdued, everyone took a moment. Before we knew it, Glass had appeared." Liviccic started.
"How'd you keep her from killing me and Motoyasu?" Naofumi asked.
"It took everything we had to stop her from killing you…" Raphtalia said, showing Naofumi her now broken [Mana Blade]. "It took everything we had… Keel even came to help." Raphtalia thought to add.
"Fortunately, L'arc and that girl of his convinced Glass to spare Motoyasu. Protecting both of you would have been impossible." Itsuki told them.
Again, hearing that added something for Motoyasu. L'arc and Therese didn't hate him. They cared about him as he had thought before. He even now remembered L'arc saying that they 'are' friends, not 'were' friends after they turned on him. This did more than most thought to soothe his soul.
"After that, we fought. We managed to pin L'arc and threaten to kill him. He apparently had a means of escape, but let us bargain him. I can't read that guy at all." Ren admitted.
This seemed like a good enough time for the queen to start.
"These are the events in the broad strokes. There are a number of things we need to discuss. Firstly, we've covered the new information we could garner of the curse series. Something I am now convinced to be of major concern moving forward." The queen began.
"Next… I'd like to lighten the mood a moment and say that despite everything, you've all improved a fair bit. You three are far stronger than you were before. These power up methods are indeed going to be a major key to future victories. In that regard, I have a reward of sorts for you all. We have finished cleaning out all the storehouses and holdings of the three heroes church, the traitorous lords and their other backers. We've stripped property from the guilty and find ourselves at a wealth of resources… Most of those resources will need to be funneled towards mending Melromarc in all its pains. However, we have a wealth of monster materials, ore, metals and other resources that would be of much use to you all. After they are properly divided up in a few days, you may take as much as you want from your given lots." The queen revealed.
This did improve moods some.
"Lastly, we must discuss what we learned about the waves…" The queen gestured for the others to continue. She could explain it herself, but wanted the heroes to communicate with one another more.
"We only really learned two things. The first is that on the other side of each wave is a second world also experiencing a wave." Ren said.
That reminded Naofumi. "So that's what that means."
"What does 'what' mean?" Itsuki asked.
"Monti's ability to make a wave. Its description said it is a 'one-way wave'. That means a 'two-way wave' must also exist…" Raphtalia spoke.
"So a normal wave is a two-way wave and Monti's doesn't affect any world but the one he is in." Naofumi concluded.
"If a normal wave leads to another world… then where does Monti's lead to?" Raphtalia asked.
"Probably where all the wave monsters come from? It's like… like all the multiversal space between worlds are…?" Naofumi tried to find an answer.
"Filled with 'monsters of chaos' or something?" Motoyasu answered, not satisfied with it himself.
"Maybe… That more or less means that Monti's ability is more accurately punching a small, temporary hole in the world than a world ending force." Raphtalia pondered.
While on the subjects of the waves and Monti, Naofumi thought of Fitoria. Naofumi had already told the kids he was okay and awake via his skill. When he did so, Filo gave him a message to pass on.
"By the way, Motoyasu… Fitoria would like to speak with you." Naofumi informed him with satisfaction.
At the mention of her name, the queen straightened up. The others took notice of that.
"Who?" Motoyasu asked.
"Fitoria, the queen of all filolials the world over. She can see things through Filo, so she saw what you did. Her job is apparently to keep us heroes in line. She wants to speak to you about your curse series." Naofumi's tone told Motoyasu that he should be afraid.
"W-What's she gonna do?" Motoyasu asked, worried.
"Whatever she wants." Liviccic responded.
Ren went to suggest protecting each other. "If she attacks him, we need t-"
"We will sit there and do nothing." Naofumi answered.
Itsuki assumed that Naofumi would abandon Motoyasu to his fate as a means of revenge. "I understand that Motoyasu fucked up, but-"
"It's not about what I want. Fitoria beat Monti down knowing I can't do a damned thing about it." Naofumi corrected the record.
"If everyone in this room and every ally we had, including the queen and all of our soldiers rose up as one force, we'd all fall as one. The day where we could collectively challenge her may come, but it isn't within sight. Regardless, her goal is the survival of the world. Our aim should be to cooperate with her, not fight her." Liviccic explained.
"So take your licks, Motoyasu." Naofumi said with a bit of enthusiasm.
Seeing as there was no discussion to be had on opposing Fitoria in any way, they discussed a few more things and they were about to wrap things up when Itsuki seized the opportunity.
"By the way, there's this martial arts master training Rishia right now. This old lady can do some crazy stuff. She said you saved her life twice, Naofumi. She'd probably train you too."
"Why should I care about martial arts? If the kids or Raphtalia want to, fine, but no matter how I throw a punch, it'll never do anything." Naofumi answered.
"No, no. You have to see it yourself. She can do some weird stuff. She called it [Hengen Muso]." Itsuki wanted to convince them all, or at least Naofumi.
"[Hengen Muso]? How lucky. If I am correct, the woman in question is Elrasla Ragnarok. She should be the only one to know that style." The queen spoke.
"My queen?" Liviccic was surprised she knew such random and specific details.
"In preparation for your potential failure, I sent out several letters and spies to gather whatever resources I could to help strengthen you all. Among them, Elrasla Ragnarok was one of the most promising leads." The queen admitted.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I know who you are talking about and I won't decline improvement at this point. Where is she?" Naofumi answered.
"...Before that… Naofumi, I… Rishia needs your help." Itsuki settled on that statement.
"Huh?" Naofumi was confused.
"Her stats are terrible, but she tries so hard. I've done everything I can to increase her power, but this activation event would need to last two more months at least to see her stat improve enough to be workable… So help her out, okay?" Itsuki revealed.
"...What do you want exactly?" Naofumi asked.
"Mia told me you have permanent stat boosting items. That and that broken class upgrade together might do more than I've done all week for her." Itsuki admitted.
"Permanent stat boosting items!?" Ren and Liviccic were practically falling out of their chairs.
Naofumi held up a hand. "They aren't as good as you think. We're talking around 10 more to each stat, one time, and it takes me a while to make. You can't benefit from it again and… I feel like something is missing from it." Naofumi explained.
"All the same, I'll pay." Itsuki told him.
"You aggravated me the most before Motoyasu's latest fuck up…, but you saved me and protected Raphtalia while I couldn't. If this Rishia girl is as weak as you say, then I'll help." Naofumi decided.
"Thanks… Now can you convince that old lady to teach me?" Itsuki added.
The meeting turned to a slightly lighter tone. They discussed a few more things and Motoyasu kept understandably quiet. Oddly, he seemed less depressed than before, maybe even less depressed than after the truth about Malty was revealed. Knowing that, at the very least, L'arc and Therese did care and that the friendship he had formed with them wasn't a complete lie told him that he wasn't hopeless. He'd just need to meet new people and start again, though, he admitted to himself that it'd be difficult for him.
Nearing the end, Ren and Itsuki explained that Glass eventually surrendered and left, but that they are unconvinced that she'll not be a problem in the future. Naofumi didn't know how to feel about that information.
The queen closed out the meeting with several people entering and sitting a few materials before each of the 5 current heroes. All were the same except a second cube of meat on Naofumi's plate, for Monti.
They all absorbed the pieces.
.
[Whale Horn Shield] 0/60 C
+2 def, +2 mdef
[Undersea Battle III] Becomes greatly better at battling underwater.
.
[Whale Magic Core Shield] 0/45 C
+1 def, +2 mag, +3 mdef
[Naval Combat II] Becomes moderately better at battling aboard a ship or vessel.
[Bubble Shield] Create and maintain a distance between yourself and foreign water. If used underwater, this will effectively form a bubble around you.
.
He also unlocked [Whale Shield], [Whale Skin Shield], [Whale Meat Shield], [Whale Bone Shield], and [Whale Eye Shield].
They all switched to their new weapons and were pleased by how powerful they were. With little else to discuss, the five of them went to leave.
"Lord Blackcrown, stay. I want a meeting of my lords." The queen spoke.
Naofumi turned and went to ask if he needed to stay as well. "Do you need me to-"
"No. It's about their progress in personal power and how Lord Blackcrown may help them further. Nothing concerning you." The queen answered before he could finish asking.
He accepted the answer easily and went to see the kids. Ren and Motoyasu went with Itsuki to see this supposed mystical power.
Once all four left and the door closed, the queen turned to Liviccic.
"If those invaders return again with ill intent, I'd need to consider counter-measures and other hostile responses." The queen revealed.
"So, you'd have me invade them?" Liviccic didn't sound surprised.
"If it comes to that. The cardinal heroes seem so against it…" The queen made sure he knew to keep this quiet.
"After hearing the heroes' reasons… Even if they attack again, and you do decide on this retaliatory method, I'd like to avoid killing anyone who is not directly involved." Liviccic expressed.
"Of course. We'd just want their attacks to stop." The queen answered.
"Then I will keep this to myself and hope it never comes to that." Liviccic finished.
After that brief conversation was over, a shadow moved to reopen the door, allowing Mia and the others to enter.
"Wait outside for us." Mia told Walter, who in turn tucked his ears.
They had a small meeting in which the queen assigned a shadow and a noble of their given area as advisers. Though they failed to do much to L'arc, that was true of any non-hero. L'arc was previously holding off Monti and Filo, so losing to him was far from a failure. She saw that they were indeed improving and suggested they ask the heroes to lower their level for the remainder of the event.
As the meeting ended, the queen noticed Walter and when asked was told of Mia already taking steps in her weapons development. Mirellia preferred the realm of politics over a world of pure power, but the weapons Mia made would serve her well as leverage. While none of her lords were aware, the queen had an ulterior motive. To gain enough power, through weapons and the heroes to safely back out of a disgusting agreement she was forced to make.
Malty was no longer a carrier of the name Melromarc, but she was still Mirellia's daughter and she'd risk much to spare her the fate planned for her.
…
The Iwatani family
…
Naofumi and Raphtalia went straight to the kids. Raphtalia began to feel guilty for how she prioritized Naofumi over the others as she did. It had only occurred to her now. The pair opened the door to see the kids and Teal eating in their room. The moment they entered, the kids stood and charged at them both. They tried slowing themselves down, but to no avail. They knocked the pair over, as the kids climbed on top of them and started hugging them both. It was not an unpleasant experience.
They did their best to not cry or become too loud, everyone was still hurt. Raphtalia grew more and more upset with herself. She left the kids fearing the worst. Eventually, they let Naofumi and Raphtalia sit upright. There were many happy faces as the worry left the kids' faces. That they worried so much gave Naofumi a deeper appreciation for them all.
The good mood ended when Naofumi saw Filo's hands. Naofumi saw Leon's wound and knew Filo's back had a long cut, but he hadn't seen this injury before.
He slowly took Filo's hands and began unwrapping the bandages.
"Um, it's okay. Filo is okay." Filo said, knowing how Naofumi was feeling and how he was about to feel.
As Naofumi took the rest of the bandages off, he inhaled sharply. There were deep, heavy cuts on each of her fingers. They may have gone to the bone. He took a moment figuring out how she got them, then held Filo's hands in his own.
"It was never your place to stop his blade… It was mine. I'm supposed to be the shield hero… I'm so sorry." Naofumi let a few tears fall.
"Filo is already doing a lot better! Filo can move all Filo's fingers and every time Filo soaks in the hot spring, Filo feels better, honest!" Filo tried to get him to stop crying.
Naofumi laid a hand on her head and looked at the others.
"I'm so glad we didn't lose anyone we know…, but it was close. It didn't have to be. I'm not saying that we work ourselves to the bone…, but we can't think that we are ever far enough ahead. We're not aiming for a certain amount of power, nothing is going to be 'good enough'. Please, none of you should be satisfied with how strong you are now." Naofumi told them all.
And they agreed.
Monti's use of the Replica could have beaten Motoyasu before he stole [Zweite Aura V], but only after that was he willing to use it outside of its shield form. He had played pretend, imitating his father, ignoring that his own merits were in his ability to cause massive damage, not being a fake second shield hero.
Teal's body and abilities were still far from fully understood by anyone, including herself. Yet, she didn't dedicate herself to learning what she could do or exploring new ways to improve. She was far more preoccupied with trivial matters and relied on others to make the difference she should have provided herself.
Leon fancied himself a master of magic, but had he actually mastered [Dragon's Vein] he'd not need to rely on Gaelion and Wyndia to defend his family for him. He was keeping himself from learning something he knew himself to be perfectly capable of achieving because it wasn't as easy as other magic.
Filo had a personality that could be counter-productive, but of the four, she was the one with the least self-induced sabotage. That was why Naofumi decided to rely on her during the fight with Motoyasu. That said, relying on her alone to deal with a hero with a curse series was beyond reasonable.
They'd need to improve further and this was the first step.
"You should all be receiving a message, accept it." Naofumi told them.
None of them bother to read it. They'd listen to their father. One tap of the finger later and a faint glow after that… they were now level 60.
"Wha!? My level! I lost 17 levels! Now Filo is-" Leon was the first to freak out, but he saw that they were all level 60. Naofumi and Raphtalia included.
"This is the whip method that Sophia described, right?" Teal understood.
"That's right. As long as we stay below level 70, we will receive more EXP. How much EXP we lose to the whip method is how much it boosts us." Raphtalia answered.
"Heya buddy, got some cool stat boosting for me?" Keel injected herself.
Naofumi gave her a deadpan look.
Keel stared back, the same mischievous smile on her face.
"..." They stared for a moment.
"Fine. I was told you helped a bit." Naofumi caved.
Keel accepted the message and lowered her level.
"Thanks bud. Yeah, I hit that scythe guy real good. You should have seen it!" Keel exclaimed, far too proud of the single cheap shot she gave a heavily injured L'arc.
"I'm sorry I wasn't more help. Now I wasted the replica's mana. It doesn't have enough for another skill." Monti told them.
"Monti, it's fine. Had Motoyasu not stolen my [Zweite Aura V] before, you would have likely won that trade… and had you the buff instead, the fight would likely have ended with all of us okay… except maybe Motoyasu." Naofumi only gave thought to Motoyasu's survival at the end.
"If the replica is low, we can add our mana to it every day. I don't know how long it will take to let you use a skill again, but even once a month would be incredibly helpful." Teal offered.
They discussed a few more things and eventually Naofumi gave Monti the cube of meat to eat, granting him another general buff, but nothing special. Soon, they all left the hotel and went to the area Itsuki indicated.
When they arrived, they saw Ren and Itsuki seeming rather aggravated with the old woman. Motoyasu stayed quiet to the side.
"Good, you're here. Tell her to stop withholding training from us." Itsuki said.
Itsuki was coming along, but… he still had his moments.
"Ah, savior. It is good to see you again. I didn't get a chance to thank you for helping the village during the wave. We were all too busy fighting and then I needed to rest at its end. I never got to meet your entire party. I am nearing level 100, but I am aware that you are not hurting for allies. So instead of joining you… Allow me to teach you the art of [Hengen Muso]." The old lady offered.
"Itsuki made it sound like something worth looking into…" Naofumi looked over to see Rishia pushing her finger into a rock as hard as she could… It looked ridiculous.
"Ah, I am glad that he can at least relay information reliably." The old woman cut in.
"He also told me you refuse to train him… and by the looks of it, you won't train Ren or Motoyasu either." Naofumi observed.
"After what they did to you and your family, to withhold my teachings is the lightest of punishments imaginable. I can't give to them so freely, while my life is owed to you." She explained.
As she finished speaking, a shadow appeared. She knelt respectfully towards the old woman and offered her a scroll.
"Elrasla Ragnarok, it is my duty to inform you that the queen wishes for your help in our trying time. She requests that you train the heroes as best you can and provide them with a means to living up to their expectations." The shadow spoke without lifting her head.
The old lady looked at the seal on the scroll. She took the scroll with a nod. She read it over quietly. "My queen asks me to help my country and its people. How can I refuse? I hope you can forgive the lack of accountability, savior." The old lady pocketed the scroll thoughtfully.
"It's fine. Itsuki and Ren saved my life and the lives of some of my family just yesterday… We are more or less not enemies with Itsuki or Ren." Naofumi told her.
"Hmm, and the spear hero?"
Before Naofumi could respond, Motoyasu piped up. "It's fine if you don't want to bother with me. I can't train with you anyways. I promised to not bother Filo-chan again." Motoyasu told them.
"...Can you really train all of us?" Naofumi ignored Motoyasu for a moment.
"I admit, this is a large group. I can't tear you each down to build you back up if I must divide my attention so much." The old woman admitted.
A few people perked up at the 'tear you down' comment.
"I seem to have more people to teach than just you as well. Several other lords it seems." The old lady added. The scroll likely specified that.
"Then why don't we stifle our hours? We're going to keep gaining EXP from the event, right? So why don't we make a rotating schedule?" Teal pitched her good ideas again.
Naofumi shared a look with the other heroes, they nodded.
The old lady's look changed to one of excitement, with the slight glint of wickedness.
"That I have the opportunity to whip so many talented young ones into shape… I might go a bit overboard." She warned.
Again, a few perked up at her warning. Leon was looking around worried, wondering why no one was picking up on her dark words.
From there, they made a schedule where everyone got 2 hours of instruction a day. It wasn't much, but the activation event was a finite resource. Motoyasu had to share training time with Mia's team, but the old lady wanted to keep Itsuki and Rishia's training as just the three of them.
When asked why, she simply said, "I've already scouted an excellent student."
By day's end, the schedule was set and everyone agreed, with Naofumi's group taking the last training and Motoyasu taking the first, making sure they didn't see him more than necessary.
The training involved gathering up an energy inside yourself and using it to pierce a rock with your finger. Somehow the old lady turned that into hell on earth. They didn't gather the energy from some sort of meditation, no, they had to use extreme physical activities. She'd then pick up on when and how they were subconsciously using the tiniest glimpses of their life force and expound instruction on how to grasp that power again.
After their two hours, each group had their own ways of dealing with the damage. Itsuki, Rishia, and Mia's group would need a short nap, otherwise they'd be useless the rest of the day. Ren was sore all over, but in his usual fashion, he didn't complain. Motoyasu, Liviccic's group, Naofumi, and Naofumi's group were fine for the most part, but only because Motoyasu, Liviccic, and Naofumi knew healing magic to lighten the punishment. Liviccic also had healing, but as someone who primarily used magic and didn't physically fight himself, he would usually pass out before being able to heal himself. Motoyasu offered to heal those that shared training time with them, but after they saw his curse series, they stayed weary of him.
After two days with no progress, Naofumi considered abandoning the training.
"Are you healthy again, savior? May I demonstrate something to you?" The old lady asked in response to his complaints.
Naofumi allowed her a chance, but he'd regret that 'sure'.
The two had a small mock battle. Naofumi thought it pointless, since she wasn't going to be able to hurt him…
The moment the 'fight' began, it was over. The old lady used a feint to bait Naofumi to block high with his shield, blocking his sight of her. She followed it up by sliding under the shield and punching him in the chest.
It hurt.
And not just a little bit. It felt like he took a punch in his old world, without the stats and systems to assist him. He found himself flat on his back. He considered things a moment before speaking.
"Defense rating attacks…? As in, attacks that hit me WITH my defense stat…!" Naofumi realized.
"You figured that out rather quickly." The old lady was pleased.
"My defense is absurd, so no other explanation makes sense… How do I deal with that? That kind of attack I can't beat. I can stall, but-" Naofumi scrambled for an answer.
"Indeed, such attacks would doom someone like you. But you can use [Hengen Muso] to defend against it. Let me show you how to block a… you called it a defense rating attack?" The old lady offered.
She knew just how to tempt Naofumi. Simply show him a glaring weakness and patching that hole becomes his number one priority. For the rest of their training, there was no talk of quitting.
She had to demonstrate herself and put a few people in their place over the week. She'd not admit how much she enjoyed the chances she had to show this generation what she could do.
Things moved fast over the next week. Naofumi's group was a bit slower in EXP gain and [Hengen Muso] training than the other groups because of their numerous injuries. They still made great progress. The old lady's expression changed quite a bit when she inspected Teal's attempts.
"My word! How much life force do you have!?" The lady seemed to look at Teal similar to the way she looked at Rishia.
They were told that while Rishia has the potential in technique, Teal had more raw life force than the rest of the party combined. She legitimately considered making Teal a more direct student of hers, but Teal's raw power didn't translate to technique. She seemed no more talented at using her life force as anyone else, she just had more of it.
All the same, she was the second person to pierce her rock, after Rishia. No one else pierced their rocks during the trip
While they gained EXP as normal and trained with the old lady, many did other things to improve themselves.
Teal rooted herself in the ground each night, to passively gain EXP from the event. It never became a level gap though, because the whip method kept them the same level.
Liviccic finally received his accessory from Naofumi and paid him with Therese's gemstones that Sophia had stolen. Naofumi seemed more than happy with his payment.
Leon and Wyndia trained in [Dragon's Vein]. Leon was worried for no reason. He was a natural and picked up on everything faster than even Wyndia expected. However, it was still quite the effort to perform and remained non-practical outside of the most demanding situations.
It was during one of their magic trainings that Wyndia finally asked for the advice she desperately needed.
"Say, Leon?" Wyndia called to him.
They were on the beach using the refreshing ocean-side location to practice drawing out the power from the world.
"Hmm, what is it?" Leon responded, still trying to call upon a force.
"Ren is a lot different from what he used to be like, right?" She began.
"Hmm, I guess. At least he isn't attacking us." Leon allowed no positive remarks to leave his lips about Ren Amaki.
"I mean, he saved our lives, remember?" Wyndia pushed a bit.
She needed advice on Ren and she couldn't get it with Leon acting like… Leon.
"...I might somewhat recall a small level of assistance…" Leon struggled to downplay it.
Wyndia wasn't making progress there, but she had to ask her nestmate for advice.
"Ren's been trying very hard lately… Too hard… He never gets enough sleep, always pushes himself, and always ignores our advice that he slows down." She told Leon, her ears down flat and upset.
"Good. He has a lot to make up for." Leon was not picking up on Wyndia's mood at all.
"You sound just like Ren." Wyndia thought bitterly.
"But how do I get him to stop?" Wyndia came out and asked.
"He doesn't listen to you at all?" Leon asked, proving he wasn't fully paying attention.
"He'll listen to me when I dangle his guilt over his head…, but otherwise… I don't know how to get him to listen."
"Then find a way to use that guilt to get him to do what you want."
That rubbed Wyndia the wrong way.
"It's not about what I want, it's about what's best for Ren!" She shouted in frustration.
Leon flinched and turned to her with genuine confusion. "Why are you yelling at me? What did I do?"
"Because I don't want…!" Wyndia went to blow up, but stopped herself.
"...Sorry, forget it." She gave up.
She wanted to find a way to have Ren value her opinion without him feeling so guilty while doing it. Currently, those two things are mutually exclusive. She'd need to think of who else could help her or maybe, find the answer herself.
No one seemed to stand out or excel in training with the old lady besides Teal and Rishia. The old lady said that they were all learning very quickly. That seemed so weird and disingenuous to say though, because the others didn't see their progress. This deterred several people, but they all stuck with it.
A week had passed and the truth was known before they even left the hotel. The event was over. No one knew the exact length of time the activation event lasted, but some adventurers fought at night or left very early. Those types of adventurers were returning early with the sad news that the EXP they received was back to normal levels, and that meant Cal Mira's activation event was officially over.
Naofumi and the others would soon leave.
Motoyasu had to meet with Fitoria. After that, he planned to travel to Zeltoble. He hoped to seek out new allies. Hoping to find people as nice as it appears L'arc and Therese truly were…, but maybe someone from this world this time. What are the odds that he befriends an otherworlder again?
Ren and his party had no particular plan. They'd travel as they fancied for the most part. Though, Wyndia asked to visit Mirso village, or more accurately, her monster friends that lived in her father's cave.
Itsuki and Rishia planned to travel north again and do all they could to help those that Itsuki hurt. They only needed Naofumi to allow Rishia to use Filo's special class upgrade first.
Mia, Fitts, and Godiva would travel to the lands that the queen ordered them to and to establish themselves as the new lords of the area. With power and papers to prove it. Chloe would continue following Fitts, and Walter was officially hired by Mia. He was very happy until Mia asked Naofumi to lower his level to 39 so he could get Filo's better class upgrade as well.
Liviccic would return to Briarhaven and build up his soldiers. Relying on deals with Naofumi and (oddly enough) Itsuki to secure him materials and such in his travels.
Naofumi, his family, and Keel would return to Lurolona village. They planned to leave Keel there as another notable fighter to provide the village with protection and continue with keeping their promise to Fitoria by traveling to Siltvelt.
Before any of that, though, they needed to return to Castletown and receive their rewards and supplies.
If only a parade wasn't marching its way to Lurolona, and nearly there.
.
[Author's Notes]
Sorry for the delay. First my PC monitor goes out, meaning no writing for over a week, but now I am working a job that has far more hours than I even need. So, hopefully I'll update more frequently than this, but my old speed of once per week is not likely to return.
Anyways, Cal Mira is over. Now is the interlude.
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